A white former Texas police officer was found guilty of murder on Tuesday for fatally shooting an unarmed black teenager last year as the boy left a house party in a car full of teenagers. Officer Roy Oliver was fired from the Balch Springs Police Department days after the April 2017 shooting. Oliver killed 15-year-old Jordan Edwards after the then-officer fired into a moving car carrying five black teenagers leaving a local house party. Edwards was in the front passenger seat. Oliver testified during the Dallas County trial that he opened fire after seeing the car move toward his partner. He says he thought his partner was in danger; however his partner told jurors he didn’t fear for his life and never felt the need to fire his weapon. Testifying in his own defense, Oliver told the jury the car was about to hit his partner and said he felt he had no other option but to fire. Gross, however, testified that he did not fear for his life and never felt the need to fire his weapon. ... [Read Full Story]
Sen. John Sidney McCain III, who rose to the pinnacle of American politics after enduring years as a prisoner of war, died Saturday at the age of 81. At a Monday news conference, the senator’s former presidential campaign manager and family spokesman, Rick Davis, read Sen. McCain’s farewell letter addressed to his fellow Americans. “As John McCain faced mortality, he asked that a letter he has done be read and added taht the letter was “John’s final words.” In the letter, McCain warned that “tribal” politics weaken America’s greatness and standing in the world. He also expressed optimism in the American people’s ability to work together for the common good. He praised America’s role in liberating “more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history” and said the country’s standing and ideals are threatened “when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries … We weaken it when we hide behind walls rather than tear them down.” Ending the letter on an optimistic note, McCain said Americans will get through the challenges facing the country by working together. “We have always had so much more in common than in disagreement,” McCain wrote. You can see Sen. McCain’s full letter in the linked article below. ... [Read Full Story]
The United States and Mexico agreed on Monday to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), putting pressure on Canada to agree to the new terms on auto trade and other issues to remain part of the three-nation pact. President Trump and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said talks with Canada would begin immediately. The Mexico-U.S. discussions focused on crafting new rules for the automotive industry. A spokesman for Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said Canada would continue to negotiate, but would only sign a new agreement that is good for the country. The United States, Mexico and Canada do more than 1 trillion dollars in trade between them every year. Trump is expected to send formal notice to the U.S. Congress by the end of the week about his intentions to sign a new trade agreement within 90 days, which would give Mexico’s Pena Nieto time to sign it before he leaves office, the senior U.S. trade official said. U.S., Mexican and Canadian stocks opened higher on Monday on optimism about a trade deal.... [Read Full Story]
Memorial and remembrance plans are being made for Arizona Sen. John McCain, a day after he died following a battle with brain cancer. He will lie in state at both the U.S and Arizona Capitols. McCain will then be buried at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, Md. The senator graduated from the Naval Academy and has said multiple times that he wanted to be laid to rest there. Fellow Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake have said that former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have been asked to eulogize the senator. On Sunday, congressional leaders announced that McCain will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the announcement, in coordination with congressional leaders from both parties. The ceremony will take place on Friday, August 31. McCain will also lie in state at the Arizona Capitol on Wednesday, August 29. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said in a tweet that “this is a rare and distinct occurrence for a truly special man. John McCain is Arizona, and we will honor his life every way we can.” Memorial services will be held at North Phoenix Baptist Church on Thursday, Aug. 30, and at the Washington National Cathedral on Saturday, Sept. 1. McCain will be laid to rest at the Naval Academy the following day.... [Read Full Story]
A gunman killed four people and wounded several others on Sunday when he opened fire at a video game tournament that was being streamed online from a restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida. Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said one white male suspect was dead at the scene. The shooting took place at the Jacksonville Landing, a waterfront dining, entertainment and shopping site in the city’s downtown. It occured during a regional qualifier for the Madden 19 online game tournament at the GLHF Game Bar inside a Chicago Pizza restaurant, according to the venue’s website. The bar was livestreaming the football video game competition when the gunfire started, according to video of the stream shared on social media. Multiple reports are saying that the shooter was a gamer who was competing in the tournament and lost. Citing messages from another player in the room, the gunman appeared to target several victims before killing himself.... [Read Full Story]
As Hurricane Lane began to settle in on Hawaiians, Honolulu braced itself by opening emergency shelters, closing beaches and parks, canceling school for the remainder of the week, as well as putting non-essential government workers on leave. Though the National Weather Service has downgraded the storm to a Category 3, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell on Twitter urged people to prepare for the storm and to remain home if possible. “We do not want people out on the streets as Hurricane Lane approaches,” the mayor said. “We’re using a lot of caution here.” The powerful hurricane unleashed torrents of rain and landslides Thursday that blocked roads on the rural Big Island. As of Friday morning, Lane has already dumped more than 31 inches of rain on Hawaii’s Big Island, bringing catastrophic flooding and the life-threatening flooding could even lead to landslides or mudslides.The center of the hurricane sustained winds of 130 mph was expected to move close to or over portions of the main islands. Rainfall rates in the outer bands of the hurricane may reach 1 to 3 inches per hour, meaning flash flood watches will remain in effect through late on Friday. Lane expected to remain a hurricane for the next 12 to 24 hours but increasing wind shear could weaken the storm more quickly over the next two to three days. The storm is forecast to pull away from Hawaii by late Saturday.... [Read Full Story]
David Pecker, the CEO of American Media Inc.,the publisher of the National Enquirer, has been granted immunity and is cooperating with federal prosecutors as part of the investigation of Michael Cohen and payments made to two women who claim to have had affairs with Donald Trump Court documents unsealed at the time of Cohen’s guilty plea earlier this week outline a pattern of cooperation between AMI and the Trump campaign starting in 2015. Prosecutors claim that AMI and the Enquirer tipped off the Trump campaign of potentially damaging stories. In the case of Karen McDougal, who claims she had an affair with Trump in 2006 and 2007, AMI’s Dylan Howard arranged a $150,000 payment for her limited life rights. Pecker is a friend of Trump’s and would have access to emails and other records to corroborate prosecutors’ claims about the payments and whether Trump was aware of them.... [Read Full Story]
A number of Democrats are calling for the Senate to delay the hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, this coming after former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was found guilty on charges including tax fraud. Additionally, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to eight counts, including two campaign finance violations involving payments to silence women who allegedly had an affair with President Trump before the 2016 election. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor Wednesday that he believed the hearings should be delayed, in large part because Kavanaugh has previously shown support for the idea that a president cannot be indicted. ... [Read Full Story]
Former longtime Trump attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty Tuesday to eight counts, including two campaign finance violations involving payments to silence women he believed could be detrimental to the 2016 presidential campaign. Cohen testified in federal court that Donald Trump himself directed Cohen to commit a crime. Cohen’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 12, with bail set at $500,0000. The government calculates he should spend between 51 and 63 months in prison. Federal prosecutors claimed Cohen concealed more than $4 million from the IRS and, in 2016, made $280,000 in payments to two women who planned to speak publicly about their affairs with a “presidential candidate.” In all, Cohen pleaded guilty to five counts of tax evasion; one count of making false statements to a financial institution; one count of willfully causing an unlawful corporation contribution; and one count of making an excessive campaign contribution at the request of a candidate.... [Read Full Story]
An undocumented immigrant has been charged with first-degree murder in the presumed death of Mollie Tibbetts, an Iowa college student who went missing on July 18, officials said Tuesday. The body that officials believe is that of Tibbetts, 20, was found Tuesday. Authorities said surveillance video helped them determine a suspec, who led them to a cornfield where the woman’s remains were found. The suspect, Christian Rivera, 24, is an undocumented immigrant who authorities believe has been in the area for four to seven years. Authorities say the suspect followed Tibbetts on July 18 and then abducted her. An autopsy will be performed on Wednesday to determine when Tibbetts died and how. Tibbetts, a University of Iowa student, was last seen jogging on July 18 in the small community of Brooklyn, Iowa, about an hour east of Des Moines, according to the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office.... [Read Full Story]
Paul Manafort was found guilty Tuesday on eight of 18 counts in his financial fraud trial, with a mistrial declared on ten other counts. Manafort, former manager of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, was convicted on one count of failure to disclose a foreign bank account, two counts of bank fraud, and five counts of tax fraud. He faced a 32-count indictment stemming from a probe by special counsel Robert Mueller. The charges are not related to his work with Donald Trump, but rather focused on accusations of financial crimes stretching back to his time as a political consultant in Ukraine more than a decade ago.... [Read Full Story]
A woman was killed Monday morning in an apparent alligator attack on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. Witnesses told investigators the woman was walking her dog near a lagoon about 9:30 a.m. when she was attacked and pulled underwater by the animal. Emergency responders found the woman’s body in the lagoon; she as identified her as Cassandra Cline, 45, of Hilton Head Island. An alligator believed responsible for the attack was found and killed at the scene, the sheriff’s office said. The attack happened off Wood Duck Road in Sea Pines Plantation. While alligator attacks on humans are rare, they are not unheard of in the Deep South. In June, a Florida woman walking her dogs was pulled into the water and killed by an alligator. An autopsy is being conducted at the Medical University of South Carolina to determine the cause of the death.... [Read Full Story]
A Colorado man was charged Monday with first-degree murder in the killings of his pregnant wife and their two young daughters, prosecutors said. Chris Watts is being held in the deaths of Shanann Watts, 34, and daughters Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3. Two additional first-degree murder charges accuse him of causing the death of a child under age 12. Watts also faces three counts of tampering with a body, and a count of first-degree unlawful termination of a pregnancy. Watts, 33, is being held without bond, with his next court appearance scheduled for Tuesday morning. Shanann, Bella and Celeste were reported missing August 13 from their home in Frederick, Colorado. Their bodies were found Thursday at the site of a petroleum and natural gas company where Chris Watts had worked.... [Read Full Story]
A wildfire in Montana’s Glacier National Park is forcing more evacuations, and has burned within a mile of the scenic Going-to-the-Sun Road. It was reported Sunday that officials say protecting the highway through the park is their priority, with firefighters taking precautions to keep it from spreading there. Operations chief Rocky Gilbert said the concern is that destabilization could lead rock and trees to fall for years. Officials evacuated the Fish Creek Campground and told residents in the small town of Apgar on Lake McDonald that they might have to leave. The historic Lake McDonald Lodge and private cabins along Going-to-the-Sun Road are already under evacuation orders. A wildfire near California’s Yosemite National Park has been fully contained following a recent week-long closure, ... [Read Full Story]
In a series of tweets Sunday morning, President Trump is defending himself and the White House from the ongoing Russia probe, saying he has “nothing to hide” — this amid reports that White House Counsel Don McGahn is cooperating with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Mr. Trump slammed a New York Times report that McGahn had been cooperating “extensively” with Mueller over the last nine months and has submitted to a series of three interviews with investigators – totaling 30 hours of face-time. Trump tweeted: “The failing New York Times wrote a fake piece today implying that because White House Councel [sic] Don McGahn was giving hours of testimony to the Special Councel [sic], he must be a John Dean type “RAT,”” Mr. Trump tweeted. He stated that he “allowed” McGahn and “all others” to testify, and that he “didn’t have to.” ... [Read Full Story]
The bodies of a pregnant missing Colorado woman and her 2 young daughter have been recovered in a Denver suburb, just one day after authorities arrested the woman’s husband on suspicion of three counts of murder. Searchers on Thursday afternoon found what appear to be the bodies of 4-year-old Bella Watts and 3-year-old Celeste Watts. The remains of their mother, 34-year-old Shanann Watts, were found earlier on property in northern Colorado owned by Anadarko Petroleum Corp, where the suspect, Chris Watts, had been employed. Shanann Watts (who was 15 weeks pregnant), and her daughters were reported missing on Monday afternoon. Her husband and the children’s father, Chris Watts, 33, was taken into custody Wednesday night in connection with their disappearance. Their case had made national headlines as her husband took to the airwaves earlier this week to plead for his family’s safe return. “This is the worst possible outcome that any of us can imagine,” Colorado Bureau of Investigation director John Camper said in a press conference on Thursday. Colorado prosecutors say they believe Watts killed his pregnant wife and two daughters in their home, though they would not provide any further details. ... [Read Full Story]
U.S. health officials have approved a new generic version of EpiPen, the emergency allergy medication. The Food and Drug Administration’s action Thursday opens the door to more competition for a drug that has faced public outrage over its price tag. The injections are stocked by schools and parents to treat allergic reactions to food and bug bites. The new generic version will be sold by Teva Pharmaceuticals. EpiPen maker Mylan has dominated the $1 billion market for two decades and competing shots are not widely marketed or prescribed by doctors. In 2016, Congress blasted Mylan for raising the price to $600, a five-fold increase over nearly a decade, in which the company responded to by launching its own lower-cost generic version for $300.... [Read Full Story]
President Donald Trump is revoking the security clearance of former Obama administration CIA director John Brennan, the White House said Wednesday. “Mr. Brennan has recently leveraged his status as a former high-ranking official with access to highly sensitive information to make a series of unfounded and outrageous allegations, wild outbursts on the internet and television about this administration,” press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. Brennan has been deeply critical of Trump’s conduct, calling his performance at a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Finland “nothing short of treasonous.” Sanders said the security clearances of other current and formers officials are also “under review.” They include former FBI Director James Comey; James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence; former CIA Director Michael Hayden; former national security adviser Susan Rice; and Andrew McCabe, who served as Trump’s deputy FBI director until he was fired in March. ... [Read Full Story]
Some popular breakfast foods and cereals marketed to children contain a weed-killing chemical that some health authorities have linked to cancer. New research out Wednesday morning discovered trace amounts of glyphosate in oats, granolas, and snack bars. Scott Faber, vice president of government affairs with the Environmental Working Group (EWG) said “we’re very concerned that consumers are eating more glyphosate than they know.” They found glyphosate, the active ingredient in the Monsanto weed-killer RoundUp, in all but two samples. EWG used its own more stringent standards to conclude that products with excessive levels of the herbicide included Quaker “Old Fashioned Oats,” Cheerios, Quaker “Dinosaur Egg” Instant Oats, Great Value Instant Oats, and Back To Nature Classic Granola Clusters. Quaker responded to the EWG’s report with a statement which read in part, “We proudly stand by the safety and quality of our Quaker products.” General Mills responded by saying, “Our products are safe and without question they meet regulatory safety levels. The EPA has researched this issue and has set rules that we follow.”... [Read Full Story]
More than 1,000 children were molested by hundreds of Roman Catholic priests in six cdioceses, while senior church officials took steps to cover it up, according to a landmark grand jury report released Tuesday. The grand jury said it believes the “real number” of abused children might be “in the thousands” since some records were lost and victims were afraid to come forward. The report said more than 300 clergy committed the abuse over a period of decades.The report faulted Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the former longtime bishop of Pittsburgh who now leads the Washington archdiocese, for what it said was his part in the concealment of clergy sexual abuse. Wuerl defended himself, releasing a statement Tuesday that said he had “acted with diligence, with concern for the victims and to prevent future acts of abuse.” The Pennsylvania grand jury heard from dozens of witnesses and reviewed more than a half-million pages of internal documents from the Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton dioceses. The identities of those clergy members remain under court seal.... [Read Full Story]
A 51-year-old highway bridge in the Italian port city of Genoa collapsed on Tuesday, killing at least 26 people and injuring 15 others. Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte called it “an immense tragedy … inconceivable in a modern system like ours, a modern country.” The disaster, on a major interchange connecting Genoa and other northern cities with beaches in eastern Liguria into France, focused attention on Italy’s aging infrastructure. What caused the Morandi Bridge to fall remained unknown, and prosecutors said they were opening an investigation but had not identified any targets. Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said the collapse was “unacceptable” and that if negligence played a role “whoever made a mistake must pay.” Officials in the Liguria region said Tuesday night that 26 people had died, saying two more bodies had been found and one of the 16 injured had died in surgery. ... [Read Full Story]
Twitter after the release of the audio, calling her “wacky” and “vicious,” though also acknowledging he had initially resisted Kelly’s previous attempts to oust her from the West Wing. ... [Read Full Story]
Peter Strzok, a longtime FBI agent who was removed from the Russia investigation over anti-Trump text messages, has been fired by the agency, it was announced on Monday. The FBI had been reviewing Strzok’s employment after the politically charged text messages were discovered last year. President Donald Trump’s allies have seized on the texts, saying they show the investigation into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia is tainted by political bias. Strzok was fired late Friday by FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich, said his lawyer, Aitan Goelman.... [Read Full Story]
Alaska’s North Slope was hit Sunday by the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in the region, according to the state’s seismologist. At 6:58 a.m. Sunday, magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck an area 42 miles east of Kavik River Camp and 343 miles northeast of Fairbanks, the state’s second-biggest city. The U.S. Geological Survey says the earthquake had a depth of about 6 miles. State seismologist Mike West reported that the earthquake was the biggest recorded in the North Slope. Later Sunday, another magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit at 1:15 p.m. near the city of Kaktovik on Alaska’s North Slope, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The epicenter was southwest of Kaktovik, which has about 290 people. Several aftershocks were reported across northern Alaska. The Alaska Earthquake Center said there were no reports of damage.... [Read Full Story]
White nationalists and counter-protesters gathered in front of the White House Sunday to mark one year since the violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia. Police in Washington, D.C. ordered tight security for the “Unite the Right” rally. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has declared a state of emergency in Charlottesville ahead of the anniversary. Last year, one woman, Heather Heyer, was struck and killed by a car driven by a white supremacist. That rally began as a protest against a plan to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, which still stands in Charlottesville. Also on Sunday morning, more than 200 people gathered at Charlottesville’s Washington Park to protest racism, gathering to recite poetry, sing songs and hold a moment of silence.... [Read Full Story]
A federal appeals court on Thursday ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ban a widely-used pesticide that critics say can endanger children and farmers. The 2-1 decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle overturned former EPA commissioner Scott Pruitt’s March 2017 denial of a petition by environmental groups to halt the use of chlorpyrifos on food crops such as fruits, vegetables and nuts. Pruitt’s ruling had reversed a 2015 Obama administration recommendation to extend to food a 2000 ban on chlorpyrifos that covered most household settings. “This shows that the EPA can’t just ignore the science that this pesticide damages children’s brains,” Marisa Ordonia, a lawyer for Earthjustice, which represented the petitioners, said in an interview. “The Trump administration has to follow the law, as does everyone else.” ... [Read Full Story]
Vice President Mike Pence has announced plans for a new, separate U.S. Space Force as sixth military service by 2020. Pence says it’s needed to ensure America’s dominance in space amid heightened competition and threats from China and Russia. He says that while space was once peaceful and uncontested, it is now crowded and adversarial.President Donald Trump has called for a “separate but equal” space force. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has endorsed plans to reorganize the military’s space warfighting forces but has previously opposed launching an expensive separate new service. However, any proposal to create a new service would require congressional action.... [Read Full Story]
The Trump administration said Wednesday it would impose new sanctions on Russia for its involvement in the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy, and his daughter Yulia Skripal. The pair were found unconscious on a bench after they came into contact with a Novichok nerve agent. They were taken to the hospital in critical condition and have now been released. The State Department announced Wednesday it had determined the Russian government had “used chemical or biological weapons” in violation of international law. The administration’s announcement came after demands from the GOP chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Ed Royce of California. Royce called on the administration to hold Russia accountable for the Skripal poisonings. British officials have blamed Russia for the poisonings, but Russia has denied any involvement.... [Read Full Story]
Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y. pleaded not guilty Wednesday afternoon to federal insider trading charges. The congressman was arrested earlier in the day on charges that he shared non-public information with family and friends related to Australian biotech company Innate Immunotherapeutics, on which Collins served as a board member. An indictment released Wednesday alleges that Collins, 68, called his son from the White House lawn and share information with him about a failed drug trial, and that his son and others then sold stock based on that tip before the trial results became public. Collins’ son, Cameron Collins, 25, as well as the father of his fiancee, Stephen Zarsky, 66, were also charged, according to the court filing. All three pleaded not guilty on Wednesday and will be released on $500,000 bond. The next court hearing is set for Oct. 11, less than a month before Collins will face reelection. ... [Read Full Story]
Searchers found the remains of a boy after raiding a makeshift compound last week in search of a missing Georgia child, authorities said Tuesday. The remains were found Monday during a search in Amalia, near the Colorado border; authorities were awaiting positive identification of the remains. The search for Abdul-ghani of Georgia led authorities Friday to the squalid compound where they found Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, the father of the missing boy, along with four other adults and 11 children living in filthy conditions. Wahhaj told the boy’s mother that he wanted to perform an exorcism on the child, who suffered from seizures, because he believed the 3-year-old was possessed by the devil. The mother told police that Wahhaj took the boy for a trip to a park and never returned. Wahhaj was armed with several guns, including a loaded AR-15 assault rifle, when he was taken into custody without incident at the compound, the sheriff said. Children ages 1 to 15 were rescued from the compound that had been under investigation for months.... [Read Full Story]
