The U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday that federal law enforcement agents will be sent to St. Louis and Memphis, Tennessee, to help fight violent crime. The announcement marks the expansion of “Operation Legend,” a plan introduced last month in several cities to address spikes in crimes such as murder. The operation was first launched in Kansas City, Missouri, on July 8, and has since been expanded to Chicago; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Cleveland; Detroit and Milwaukee.... [Read Full Story]
President Donald Trump issued executive orders on Thursday banning any U.S. transactions with ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns video-sharing app TikTok, and Tencent, owner of the WeChat app, starting in 45 days. The orders come as the Trump administration said this week it was stepping up efforts to eliminate “untrusted” Chinese apps from U.S. digital networks, caling the Chinese-owned short-video app TikTok and messenger app WeChat “significant threats.”... [Read Full Story]
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced on Wednesday that the city will be taking action against those who throw large parties in violation of health orders due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Garcetti said: “While we have already closed all bars and nightclubs, these large house parties have essentially become nightclubs.” He then indicated he would hold them to similar scrutiny. “The same thing we would do with businesses.”... [Read Full Story]
Former Vice President Joe Biden said he will not be travelingl to Wisconsin for the quadrennial Democratic National Convention, according to a release from its committee Wednesday, citing health concerns with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.... [Read Full Story]
As of Tuesday night, Tropical Storm Isaias killed at least six people as it made its way up the U.S. Atlantic Coast, including two deaths in North Carolina from a tornado due to the hurricane-strength winds.... [Read Full Story]
A massive fire in California that was sparked Friday afternoon by a malfunctioning vehicle has now spread over more than 26,000 acres in the Inland Empire, officials said Monday.... [Read Full Story]
Hurricane Isaias approached the Carolinas as a Category 1 with winds reaching 85 mph. The storm has caused flooding and damaged homes as it hit towns in both North and South Carolina. The storm is then forecast to bring torrential rain, flash flooding and storm surge up the East Coast, as well as dangerous winds to the Northeast.... [Read Full Story]
On Sunday, the U.S. Marines called off the search for seven Marines and one Navy sailor who went missing after a vessel sank off the California coast on Thursday night. All eight are presumed dead.... [Read Full Story]
On Sunday, Microsoft confirmed that it is in talks with Chinese company ByteDance to acquire the U.S. arm of its popular video app TikTok. Microsoft also said they discussed with President Donald Trump his concerns about security and censorship surrounding such an acquisition.... [Read Full Story]
Charges will not be brought against Darren Wilson, the white former police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, a black 18-year-old, in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. The decision comes nearly six years after a grand jury declined to prosecute Wilson.... [Read Full Story]
Dozens of new documents related to Ghislaine Maxwell’s dealings with Jeffrey Epstein were publicly released on Thursday. Maxwell, 58, is defending herself against criminal charges that she aided in the late Epstein’s sexual abuse of girls.... [Read Full Story]
During a hearing on digital antitrust issues on Wednesday, lawmakers on the House judiciary committee accused four technology giants of being monopolies that have “wielded their power in disruptive, harmful ways.”... [Read Full Story]
On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that rideshare drivers must receive state unemployment benefits within 45 days. A group of drivers and an advocacy group called the New York Taxi Workers Alliance sued Gov. Andrew Cuomo in late May, arguing that Uber and Lyft drivers were entitled to benefits and that the state was stalling in paying them.... [Read Full Story]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is warning Americans not to plant unsolicited packages of seeds that appear to be arriving from China. States have also told residents not to put the seeds in the ground, after they arrived in the mailboxes of people who did not order them. Officials said the seeds could grow invasive species that threaten crops or livestock.... [Read Full Story]
A woman was killed in an apparent shark attack off the coast of Maine on Monday, which authorities say is a rare occurrence that has only been recorded once before in the state by an unprovoked shark.... [Read Full Story]
On Monday, Senate Republicans unveiled their $1 trillion economic relief plan that would provide a second round of $1,200 coronavirus stimulus payments to many American adults and slash enhanced federal unemployment payments from $600 a week to $200.... [Read Full Story]
Hurricane Douglas approached Hawaii on Sunday packing torrential rains and damaging winds just east of the islands in the central Pacific. ... [Read Full Story]
Florida surpassed New York in total COVID-19 cases after reporting more than 9,000 new cases on Sunday. The Florida Department of Health on Sunday reported 9,344 new cases for a total of 423,855, surpassing New York’s total of 411,736. Florida also reported 77 new deaths of Florida residents for a total of 5,854. The state record was 173 last Thursday.... [Read Full Story]
On Thursday, the U.S. Senate passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act with a vote of 86-14. The $740 billion bill setting policy for the Pentagon that President Donald Trump has threatened to veto over a provision removing Confederate names from military bases.... [Read Full Story]
On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced the cancellation of the Jacksonville, Fla., component of the Republican National Convention. Trump said that the portions of the rally planned to take place in Florida would be replaced with online events citing surging COVID-19 numbers in the state.... [Read Full Story]
The United States said on Wednesday it had given China 72 hours to close China’s consulate in Houston “to protect American intellectual property and Americans’ private information.” The decision marked an escalation of tensions between the world’s two biggest economies amid fresh accusations of Chinese espionage in the United States.... [Read Full Story]
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced his plan to send federal agents to cities including Chicago and Albuquerque, in order to crack down on violent crime.... [Read Full Story]
Chicago police say that fourteen people were wounded on Tuesday during a shooting at a Chicago funeral home. One person was in custody, and the victims’ conditions weren’t immediately known, Chicago Police First Deputy Superintendent Eric Carter told reporters Tuesday night.... [Read Full Story]
On Tuesday, Twitter Inc. said it would permanently suspend accounts that violate its policies while tweeting about QAnon, a fringe group that claims “deep-state” traitors are plotting against President Donald Trump.... [Read Full Story]
One of the largest Florida teachers unions sued the state on Monday, in an effort to halt next month’s planned restart of classroom instruction. The lawsuit says classroom instruction poses “imminent threat to the public health, safety and welfare” of its members, students and parents. Citing the state’s position as a leading U.S. coronavirus hot spot, the Florida Education Association (FEA) argued in its lawsuit that in-class instruction violates the state constitution’s guarantee of a “safe” education for children.... [Read Full Story]
The attorney suspected of posing as a FedEx delivery man to shoot the husband and son of a New Jersey federal judge Sunday identified himself as an “anti-feminist” and “men’s rights” attorney. ... [Read Full Story]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved pool testing to detect the novel coronavirus, potentially allowing more Americans to be tested using fewer resources. Quest Diagnostics has been granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) allowing its test to be used with a batch of specimens at a time — up to four different swabs. If the overall sample comes back positive, then the individuals in the pool are retested in order to determine who has COVID-19.... [Read Full Story]
Just weeks after reopening its borders to international visitors, the Bahamas announced on Sunday that it was closing all of its airports and seaports to tourists from the United States, effective Wednesday. ... [Read Full Story]
