News Daypop Archives

The stock market plunged Wednesday, with the Dow falling more than 600 points, a 2.4% drop and the S&P 500 dropping more than 3% as well. Both the Dow and S&P 500 are now down for the year. The Nasdaq plummeted more than 4%, which is its worst daily drop since August 2011. It is now in a correction, down nearly 13% from its all-time high set earlier this year. Technology stocks and media and communications companies accounted for much of the selling. AT&T dropped after reporting weak subscriber numbers, and Texas Instruments fell after reporting slumping demand. ... [Read Full Story]

On Wednesday afternoon, President Donald Trump said that threats of political violence have no place in the United States, promising a full investigation into suspicious packages that were mailed to prominent Democrats and other organizations. At an event on opioid abuse, Mr. Trump first addressed the incidents, saying “the full weight of our government is being deployed to conduct this investigation and bring those responsible for these despicable acts to justice. We will spare no resources or expense in this effort. In these times, we have to unify, we have to come together, and send one very clear, strong, unmistakable message that acts or threats of political violence of any kind have no place in the United States of America.” Earlier on Wednesday, the Secret Service said it had intercepted suspicious packages sent to former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Packages were also mailed to CNN, billionaire George Soros, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo, and others. All of the packages had a return address of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida Democrat.... [Read Full Story]

The New Jersey State Health Department said Tuesday that six children at a long-term care facility for medically fragile children in Wanaque, New Jersey have died as a result of a severe outbreak of adenovirus, and 12 others have become ill. The Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation “has been instructed not to admit any new patients until the outbreak ends and they are in full compliance. This is an ongoing outbreak investigation,” the health department said. Children at this center are severely disabled and for most, the center is their permanent home; some will live there from birth through age 21. The center is licensed to provide long-term care for 92 children and 135 adults. The strain of adenovirus identified at the center, No. 7, usually causes acute respiratory illness, such as pneumonia, croup and bronchitis, according to the Centers for Disease Control. According to the NJ state health department “unfortunately, the particular strain of adenovirus in this outbreak is affecting medically fragile children with severely compromised immune systems. The combination of a worse strain of adenovirus, together with a fragile population, has led to a more severe outbreak.”... [Read Full Story]

On Tuesday Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, announced that she has the beginning stages of dementia, and “probably Alzheimer’s disease.” The 88-year-old said in a public letter that her diagnosis was made some time ago and that as her condition has progressed she is “no longer able to participate in public life.” O’Connor added, “while the final chapter of my life with dementia may be trying, nothing has diminished my gratitude and deep appreciation for the countless blessings in my life. As a young cowgirl from the Arizona desert, I never could have imagined that one day I would become the first woman justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.” O’Connor’s announcement of her diagnosis came after a story was published that she had stepped back from public life. Her son, Jay O’Connor, said that his mother had begun to have challenges with her short term memory. O’Connor was 75 when she announced her retirement from the court in 2005, a decision which was influenced by the decline in the health of her husband, John O’Connor III, who himself had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. O’Connor last spoke in public more than two years ago.... [Read Full Story]

The National Hurricane Center said on Monday that Hurricane Willa, a potentially catastrophic storm, travelled towards Mexico’s Pacific coast with winds of 155 mph. Forecasters expect the Category 4 storm to make landfall along Mexico’s southwestern coast this afternoon or evening. Willa — described as an “extremely dangerous storm” — is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge, wind and rainfall over west-central and southwestern Mexico. Willa was located about 135 miles south-southwest of Las Islas Marias, Mexico, and some 110 miles southwest of Cabo Corrientes, Mexico, the hurricane center said as of 5 p.m. on Monday. Hurricane warnings were posted for a stretch of shore between San Blas and Mazatlan. A tropical storm warning was in effect for Playa Perula to San Blas and north of Mazatlan to Bahia Tempehuaya.... [Read Full Story]

Six people were wounded, three critically, in a possible gang-related shooting blocks from the Florida stadium where the NFL’s Houston Texans played and defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said several shots were fired about 12:35 p.m. Sunday on a boulevard outside in the general area of the stadium. Five men and one woman were struck by bullets and wounded. He said all were rushed to hospitals, ranging in age from 20s to 70s. The shooting came before the game’s scheduled 1 p.m. start, which went on and concluded without incident. Authorities had no immediate report on what led up to the shootings. The sheriff’s office tweeted that three of the wounded were rushed in critical condition for care. An update on their conditions wasn’t immediately available.... [Read Full Story]

People from across the U.K. gathered over the weekend in London to take part in a public protest over Brexit. The march, which organizers said drew more than 600,000 to west London’s Park Lane, was called by People’s Vote, a group that’s campaigning for the the public to have a say on any final Brexit deal to prevent the ruling Conservative government from forcing it through Parliament. As the March 29, 2019 deadline when Britain officially leaves the EU draws ever closer, the negotiations on Brexit have the general public divided, as well as made anxious many investors and businesses.... [Read Full Story]

On Thursday, authorities continued to search the area near the Wisconsin home where 13-year-old Jayme Closs vanished after her parents were murdered while she was inside, prompting a massive search that entered its fourth day yesterday. The Barron County Sheriff’s Department asked for 100 volunteers to meet at the intersection of State Highway 8 and 16th Street to help assist officers looking for Closs. Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said Closs inside the home when her parents, James and Denise Closs, were shot and killed in a town about 80 miles northeast of Minneapolis, Minn.  Jayme has been ruled out as a suspect in her parents’ deaths, but was nowhere to be found when police arrived at the home just before 1 a.m. Monday. An Amber Alert and nationwide search has since ensued, with more than 400 tips pouring in, though no credible evidence has been discovered. More photos were also released of the 13-year-old girl, described as being 5-feet, 100 pounds with green eyes and blond or strawberry-blond hair.  Anyone with information is urged to call Barron County Sheriff’s Department’s tip line at 855-744-3879.... [Read Full Story]

On Thursday, President Donald Trump threatened to deploy the military and close the southern U.S. border. This coming as more Hondurans and Salvadorans joined thousands of migrants in Guatemala headed north. Several thousand Honduran migrants traveled this week through Guatemala headed to Mexico, with some hoping to cross into the United States to escape violence and poverty in Central America. On Twitter, the President wrote, “I must, in the strongest of terms, ask Mexico to stop this onslaught – and if unable to do so I will call up the U.S. Military and CLOSE OUR SOUTHERN BORDER!” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo prepared to travel later in the day to Panama and then Mexico City, where he was to meet with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Friday. Trump also threatened to halt aid if Central American governments did not act. In a string of tweets on Thursday, the President also said the issue was more important to him than the new trade deal with Mexico to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement pact.... [Read Full Story]

On Wednesday, Retired Marine Sgt. Maj. John Canley of California –a Vietnam War veteran who saved 20 fellow Marines despite being wounded several times during an intense seven-day battle in 1968 — was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Trump. In an East Room ceremony at the White House attended by many former members of his Alpha Company, Mr. Canley, 80, was decorated by the president for his heroic actions during the Battle of Hue during the communists’ Tet Offensive. Mr. Trump told Mr. Canley that “America is the greatest force for peace, justice and freedom the world has ever known because of you and people like you.” Mr. Canley is a native of Arkansas who enlisted in the military using false papers at age 15, and served in Vietnam for more than five years. During the Tet Offensive, his company of the First Battalion, First Marines Regiment was ordered to take back Hue from communist forces.... [Read Full Story]

Canada has become the second country after Uruguay to legalize possession and use of recreational cannabis. Medical marijuana has been legal in the country since 2001.  At least 111 legal pot shops are planning to open across the nation of 37 million people on the first day, according to an AP survey of the provinces. That is just a sample of what ultimately will be a much larger marketplace. No stores will open in Ontario, which includes Toronto. The most populous province is working on its regulations and doesn’t expect stores until next spring. Canadians everywhere will be able to order marijuana products through websites run by provinces or private retailers and have it delivered to their homes by mail. Canadian provinces and municipalities have been preparing for months for the end of cannabis prohibition. They are responsible for setting out where cannabis can be bought and consumed.... [Read Full Story]

A hazardous materials team was sent to the home of Republican Sen. Susan Collins on Monday, this after her husband received a letter with a note saying the envelope contained ricin. The FBI said preliminary tests on the letter and its contents indicated that there was no threat to the public, and the senator and her husband were allowed to stay in the home Monday night. It was unclear who sent the letter and why. Annie Clark, the senator’s spokeswoman, said “today’s incident is the latest in a series of threats against Senator Collins, her loved ones, and her staff.” The senator’s husband, Thomas Daffron, was at home when the letter arrived on Monday, but Collins wasn’t there. Collins issued a statement, expressing her thanks to first responders and other agencies participating in the investigation. The investigation into the letter, its contents and origin, is ongoing.... [Read Full Story]

At least 62 cases of a “polio-like” illness causing paralysis in children have been confirmed across 22 states so far this year, according to the CDC. The exact cause of the illness, called Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM), is unknown – although it has been linked to a number of viruses, environmental toxins and genetic disorders.  The condition largely affects children, and often begins with an upper respiratory infection, progresses to weakness, and leaves victims paralyzed within 24 hours. The rapid progression of the illness has drawn attention from medical experts. Though still considered rare, this is the largest outbreak in the nation of AFM since 2016, when there were 149 cases confirmed in 39 states including Washington D.C. There have been at least 386 confirmed cases of AFM in the United States since 2014, including 120 cases in 2014. Experts remind the public that while the effects of AFM are often compared to polio, it is not nearly as widespread.... [Read Full Story]

Paul Allen, who cofounded Microsoft with Bill Gates, died Monday afternoon after a battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was 65. Allen was not only a tech billionaire, he was a philanthropist as well as the owner of the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trail Blazers. Allen and Gates were childhood friends; Allen was best known for cofounding Microsoft in 1975 with Gates. He left the company in 1983 after receiving a diagnosis for Hodgkin’s disease, which he beat. Earlier this month, Allen announced that he was once again receiving treatment for lymphoma. He was last treated for the disease in 2009. At the time, Allen said that he planned on staying involved with his various business ventures. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella released a statement Monday praising Allen’s “inquisitiveness, curiosity and push for high standards.”... [Read Full Story]

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump toured the Florida Panhandle and parts of Georgia on Monday, in the wake of mass devastation left by Hurricane Michael last week. The President praised the work being done by Florida Gov. Rick Scott and emergency workers in the wake of the storm.  While speaking to media shortly after landing at Eglin Air Force Base, Trump said “Gov. Rick Scott has done an incredible job. He steps up in the biggest emergencies and the biggest problems.” Trump declared a state of emergency in Georgia last week, releasing federal resources to help the state. The White House said it was fully committed to helping state and local agencies with recovery efforts.... [Read Full Story]

Sears has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, after no longer being able to deal with its massive debt and losses. The company will close 142 stores before the end of the year and its CEO, Eddie Lampert, will step down, though he will remain its chairman. Lampert has blamed the company’s decline on the media, shifts in consumer spending, and the rise of e-commerce, among other reasons. In a statement on Monday, Lampert said: “Over the last several years, we have worked hard to transform our business and unlock the value of our assets.” Lampert said that Sears and Kmart stores “remain open for business” towards the holiday season, and that the bankruptcy process will allow the chain to “strengthen its balance sheet,” to “accelerate its strategic transformation,” and ultimately to “return to profitability.” Sears once dominated the American retail landscape. The company started out as a mail order catalog in the 1880s, but has lagged behind its competition and has incurred massive losses over the years. The operator of Sears and Kmart stores joins a growing list of retailers that have filed for bankruptcy or liquidated in the last few years. ... [Read Full Story]

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On Thursday, sources close to the matter said that President Donald Trump’s lawyers are preparing answers to questions for the U.S. special counsel probing Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. This new development appears to show progress after several months of talks between the special counsel, Robert Mueller, and Trump’s legal team in connection with the president answering questions in the investigation. President Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, said last month that Mueller wanted the president to commit to a follow-up interview to any written questions, which Trump’s legal team was resisting. But sources now say that Mueller is willing to accept written answers to questions without a commitment from Trump’s lawyers over what comes next.... [Read Full Story]

Hurricane Michael has left damage and destruction in Florida, where many homes have been destroyed. The storm also has brought flash flooding to hurricane-weary parts of North and South Carolina and Virginia. Florida’s Panhandle is a disaster zone after Michael brought catastrophic winds, heavy rain and devastating storm surge. Some of the worst damage was in Mexico Beach, where the hurricane crashed ashore Wednesday as a Category 4 monster with 155 mph winds and a storm surge of 9 feet. Michael was the third-most powerful hurricane ever to make landfall in the U.S. mainland, and the storm has been blamed for at least six deaths. As of Thursday evening, more than 900,000 homes and businesses in the Southeast had no electricity. Michael hit North Carolina and South Carolina as a tropical storm with heavy downpours and and threats of tornadoes. ... [Read Full Story]

The National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Michael weakened to a tropical storm Thursday, with 50 mph winds as it moved across Georgia. The eye of the storm was 30 miles west of Augusta, Ga., as of the NHC’s 5 a.m. EDT update. The storm was moving northeast at 21 mph with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph. Yesterday when it made landfall in the Florida Panhandle, Michael sustained 155 mph winds, 2 mph shy of a Category 5 storm. Storm surge watches are in effect from the Ocracoke Inlet to Duck in North Carolina. Michael is expected to head northeast through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia on Thursday as a tropical storm. However, forecasters warn that Michael could intensify again when it reaches the Atlantic Ocean late Thursday or early Friday. Additionally, the NHC forecasts up to 7 inches for eastern Georgia and the Carolinas up to southern New England. Isolated areas could get 9 inches and life-threatening flash floods, and isolated tornadoes are possible Thursday in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.... [Read Full Story]

U.S. stocks slumped to close sharply lower Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank more than 800 points and the S&P 500 had its worst day since February as technology stocks went into freefall. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went down 831.83 points, logging its worst one-day drop since February. Meanwhile the S&P 500 index lost 94.66 points, falling for its fifth straight day, the longest losing streak since November 2016.  Market action has been adversely affected by higher bond yields and interest rates, both of which could signal a new phase in post-crisis markets that have enjoyed a protracted period of ultra-low yields. ... [Read Full Story]

Hurricane Michael strengthened to a Category 3 storm on Tuesday as it headed toward Florida’s northeast Gulf Coast. By the time the storm makes landfall, it could be near Category 4 strength, forecasters said, bringing with it catastrophic storm surge, torrential rain and heavy winds. “Hurricane Michael is forecast to be the most destructive storm to hit the Florida Panhandle in decades,” Gov. Rick Scott warned on Tuesday. The storm is expected to move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico through Tuesday and make landfall in the Panhandle on Wednesday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. By Tuesday afternoon, Michael’s top sustained winds had risen to 120 mph, and the National Hurricane Center said some additional strengthening is expected before Michael hits Florida. Governor Scott on Tuesday morning urged residents in the path of the storm to evacuate, saying the effects of the storm would start well before landfall.... [Read Full Story]

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has resigned, and will be leaving her position by the end of the year. Appearing together in the Oval Office, Trump praised Haley as a “fantastic person” who has “done an incredible job” and said he would gladly welcome her back into his administration down the line. The President said that Haley had informed him about six months ago that at the end of a two-year period on the job, she’d want to take a break,  but the announcement caught many White House officials by surprise. Haley said she was leaving because she needed to take time out after an intense six years as governor of South Carolina, directly followed by two years at the U.N. President Trump has a working list of contenders to succeed Haley, according to senior White House officials. The President said he plans to name a successor for the US’s top diplomatic post at the United Nations in two to three weeks. Among the names floated as possible replacements for Haley are: Trump’s former deputy national security adviser Dina Powell, US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell and senior adviser and daughter of the President, Ivanka Trump.... [Read Full Story]

President Donald Trump said he had a “good talk” on Monday with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the Justice Department official in charge of the federal investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, and has no plans to fire him. There has been widespread speculation that Trump might fire Rosenstein after a New York Times report that he had made negative remarks about Trump and offered to record conversations with him. Rosenstein traveled with Trump on Air Force One to Orlando on Monday, and Rosenstein was seen smiling as he walked down the front stairs of Air Force One alongside Trump’s chief of staff, John Kelly. Rosenstein oversees Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Russia denies interfering and Trump says there was no collusion between his campaign and Moscow.... [Read Full Story]

Google said on Monday that it is closing it’s “Google Plus” social network following the discovery of a software glitch this past spring that may have exposed user information of up to 500,000 customers between 20015 and 2018. Ben Smith, Google’s vice president of engineering, confirmed in a blog post the company had detected a “bug” in March that impacted the profiles of as many as 500,000 Google Plus users. While it immediately fixed the security flaw, Google executives opted not to disclose the problem at the time because they feared trouble from regulators after the criticism encountered by Facebook over its privacy issues. The Google Plus data potentially exposed includes names, email addresses, occupations, dates of birth, genders and profile photos. According to Google, 438 third-party applications may have used the application programming interface that allowed possible access to the data. The company will wind down the Google Plus network during a 10-month period expected to be done by the end of next August. Meanwhile, news of the shutting down of Google Plus sent shares down $9.35, or 0. 8 percent, to $1,148.00, on Monday.... [Read Full Story]

Tropical Storm Michael has formed near Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, and is expected to threaten Florida’s Gulf Coast as a hurricane later this week, this according to the National Hurricane Center. On Sunday, the Weather Channel reported that “it’s a tropical storm at the moment, but looks like it will become a hurricane in the next 24 hours and stay a low-grade hurricane before it comes onshore and moves northeast across Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.” The storm is said to be moving quickly, which could mitigate flooding in the Carolinas, where the floodwaters of Hurricane Florence have just receded. The National Hurricane Center forecast that Tropical Storm Michael would become a hurricane on Monday, only two days before it is expected to reach the Gulf Coast. The hurricane center warned residents the storm could bring dangerous surges, rainfall and winds. In anticipation of the storm, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said he would be declaring a state of emergency in the Pensacola region and activate the state’s emergency operations center... [Read Full Story]

Twenty people died on Saturday after a limousine crashed in upstate New York. Safety officials are calling this the nation’s worst road accident in nearly a decade. The crash occurred in the historic town of Schoharie, about 45 minutes west of Albany. According to Christopher Fiore, first deputy superintendent of the New York State Police, a 2001 Ford Excursion limousine failed to stop at an intersection with State Route 30 and crashed into a 2015 Toyota Highlander parked near the Apple Barrel Country Store. All 18 people in the limo, including the driver, died. Two pedestrians who were struck also lost their lives. “This is the most deadly transportation accident in this country since February of 2009,” National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt told reporters. The names of the victims have not been released because next of kin were being notified, the New York State Police said in a statement. Their bodies were transported to the Albany Medical Center, where autopsies were being conducted on each person.... [Read Full Story]

Federal health officials said Thursday that one person has died and four were hospitalized in an outbreak of listeria linked to cured hams from North Carolina, The ham recall affects 89,000 pounds of ham products made by Johnston County Hams, Inc. in Smithfield, North Carolina. The ham maker has recalled the hams, which were produced from April 3, 2017 through October 2, 2018,. The CDC has recommended that consumers “return them to the store for a refund or throw them away. Restaurants and retailers should not serve or sell recalled Johnston County Hams products,”. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said they were distributed in Maryland, North Carolina, New York, South Carolina and Virginia. The illnesses that have been reported were in North Carolina and Virginia. ... [Read Full Story]

Republicans gained confidence on Thursday that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh would win Senate confirmation, this after two wavering lawmakers responded positively to an FBI report on accusations of sexual misconduct against the judge. The report was sent by the White House to the Senate Judiciary Committee in the middle of the night. Democrats have denounced it as a “whitewash” that was “too narrow in scope” and claimed it ignored critical witnesses. Thousands of anti-Kavanaugh protesters rallied outside the Supreme Court and entered a Senate office building, holding signs such as “Believe Survivors” and “Kava-Nope.” Depiste this, Republicans moved forward with plans for a key procedural vote on Friday and a final vote on Saturday on confirming Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.... [Read Full Story]