News Daypop Archives

The longtime executive producer of 60 Minutes is leaving CBS amid accusations of inappropriate behavior. The New York Times reports that Jeff Fager was ousted, this just two days after network CEO Leslie Moonves stepped down due to similar claims. Fager was accused of sexual misconduct by six former employees in early August, when The New Yorker reported he allegedly touched women inappropriately at company parties, and other CBS employees claimed that Fager protected those accused of sexual harassment in the workplace. Fager has denied all claims. A memo from CBS News President David Rhodes states that Fager’s departure “is not directly related” to the allegations of sexual misconduct. “However, he violated company policy and it is our commitment to uphold those policies at every level,” wrote Rhodes. However in a statement, Fager said the network “terminated my contract early because I sent a text message to one of our own CBS reporters demanding that she be fair in covering the story. My language was harsh and, despite the fact that journalists receive harsh demands for fairness all the time, CBS did not like. One such note should not result in termination after 36 years, but it did.” CBS stated that Fager’s second-in-command, Bill Owens, will lead 60 Minutes while they search for a new executive producer... [Read Full Story]

A man who caused a disturbance at a Southern California hospital was taken into custody and a handgun was recovered Tuesday, but authorities now say there’s no evidence that he fired any shots. Noone was hurt in the incident at Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center near Los Angeles, according to reports. The suspect threw a chair through a window before pulling out a handgun at a medical office building separate from the main hospital. The man was unarmed when he surrendered without incident a short time later just outside the building, and a gun was later found. The man was described as a 34-year-old resident of nearby Lynwood, and there were unconfirmed reports that he was a patient at the hospital. Police and Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies cleared the building room by room. Downey is a city of about 110,000 people southeast of downtown Los Angeles.... [Read Full Story]

Those living within the path Category 4 Hurricane Florence were advised on Tuesday to “take action now” by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Florence is headed toward the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic states with 140 mph winds and is expected to make landfall late Thursday or early Friday. More than 1.5 million people have been ordered to evacuate. FEMA Associate Administrator Jeff Byard warned residents in a press conference to expect infrastructure damage, power outages, and that the storm “has the potential to cause loss of life. We cannot emphasize the importance to take action now.” ... [Read Full Story]

State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert confirmed in a statement that the U.S. is shutting down the Palestine Liberation Organization’s office in Washington D.C., blaming the PLO for not taking “steps to advance the start of direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel.” National Security Advisor John Bolton also announced the Trump administration’s closure of the PLO office at a speech before the conservative Federalist Society. He announced the U.S. will ban ICC judges and prosecutors from entering the U.S., sanction their funds in the U.S. financial system, and prosecute them in American courts. Just minutes before Bolton made his announcement, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley convened a special meeting of the Security Council to discuss ways to combat corruption around the world.... [Read Full Story]

 Hurricane Florence grew even stronger early Monday afternoon as the storm continued moving across the Atlantic Ocean, with it’s eye set on parts of the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said in a special noon advisory, that Florence rapidly intensified to a potentially catastrophic Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 130 mph. Only an hour before, Florence had been upgraded to Category 3 strength but the storm soon grew stronger as it moved over warm Atlantic waters. Its center will move between Bermuda and the Bahamas from Tuesday to Thursday, before approaching the Carolinas on Thursday.... [Read Full Story]

A Dallas police officer was arrested Sunday on a manslaughter warrant in the shooting of a black man at his home, Texas authorities said. The Texas Department of Public Safety said in a news release that Officer Amber Guyger was booked into the Kaufman County Jail and that the investigation is ongoing. It said no additional information is available at this time. A statement from the Dallas Police Department Saturday says the officer is Amber Guyger, a four-year veteran of the force assigned to the Southeast Patrol Division. Guyger has told investigators that she was off-duty on Thursday night when she mistakenly went to the wrong apartment and shot Botham Jean. In the days following Jean’s death, rumors have swirled around the internet showing a photo taken from Jean’s Instagram account with him pictured, smiling, with three other women. Many have stated that one of the women in the photo was Guyger, but that rumor was shot down after Jean’s former employer, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, LLC, said that the women were colleagues of Jean’s. Jean, of St. Lucia, a Caribbean island, had previously attended Harding University in Arkansas before working for PriceWaterhouseCoopers, LLC in Dallas.... [Read Full Story]

Hurricane Florence strengthened Sunday as it moved across the Atlantic toward a possible direct hit on the U.S. Southeast by the end of the week. The storm prompted warnings for residents up and down the coast, and red flags flying on beaches warned swimmers to stay out of waters. Florence passed the 74 mph threshold from tropical storm to hurricane Sunday morning, and by evening its winds were up to 85 mph. Drawing energy from the warm water, it could become a Category 4 hurrixane with winds of 130 mph or more by Tuesday. Forecasters urged residents from South Carolina to the mid-Atlantic to get ready,with some forecasting models showing it could unload a foot or two of rain in places, causing devastating inland flooding.... [Read Full Story]

In a move that broke Senate rules, Democratic Senator Cory Booker released confidential committee documents on Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh regarding racial profiling. The move was headed by New Jersey Senator Booker, as well as Senators Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Dick Durbin of Illinois. Booker said he understood by releasing documents and emails that were deemed only available to Senate Judiciary Committee members — and not to the general public — could result in expulsion from the Senate. Booker said, “I understand the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate…I openly invite and accept the consequences of my team releasing that email right now.” Booker released 12 pages of emails from 2002 that Kavanaugh sent during his time as a staffer for President George W. Bush. With the email subject line “racial profiling,” Kavanaugh discussed whether “airport security and other law enforcement” should be working toward a “race-neutral” system after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to the emails released by Booker’s office. ... [Read Full Story]

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and to the suspension of all future long-range missile tests.  He also reaffirmed his faith in President Donald Trump’s efforts to settle a nuclear impasse, according to South Korean officials and the North’s official media. Kim also reportedly expressed frustration with outside skepticism about his nuclear disarmament intentions and demanded that his “goodwill measures” be met in kind. A South Korean delegation returned from talks with Kim where they set up a summit for Sept. 18-20 in Pyongyang between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, their third meeting since April.... [Read Full Story]

Health and safety officials are investigating an illness that struck people on an Emirates Airline flight from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Wednesday morning. Seven crew members and three passengers were taken to the hospital, Emirates Airline said.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said around 100 people on the overnight Flight 203 had complained of illness with symptoms ranging from a cough to a fever. Ten people were taken off the plane for treatment at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, said Eric Phillips, press secretary for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. He said nine others were found to be sick but declined medical attention. The aircraft was carrying around 521 passengers. Phillips stated “the plane’s been quarantined and the CDC is on the scene.” Though it has not been determined what caused the illness, Phillips stated that possibly a “flu outbreak” in Mecca, Saudi Arabia might be to blame, saying “it appears some of the ill passengers came from Mecca before getting on in Dubai.”... [Read Full Story]

President Trump on Wednesday continued to slam Bob Woodward’s new book, “Fear: Trump in the White House”, that paints an unflattering picture of his presidency. “The book means nothing,” Trump told reporters at the White House during a meeting with Kuwaiti emir. “It’s a work of fiction.” Excepts of the book published by the Washington Post on Tuesday has Woodward quoting several current Trump administration officials — including Chief of Staff John Kelly and Secretary of Defense James Mattis — making disparaging comments about the president.  But Trump said both men disputed Woodward’s account, and were “insulted” by the remarks attributed to them. Kelly was in the room Wednesday as Trump spoke. The White House has issued several statements since the excerpts were published, including one from Kelly who said “the idea I ever called the president an idiot is not true.” In a statement in response to complaints from the White House staff and the president, Woodward was unwavering, however, saying “I stand by my reporting.”  The release date for Woodward’s 448-page book is September 11th.... [Read Full Story]

On Tuesday it was reported that Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is set to appoint Former Senator Jon Kyl to the Senate seat left open by the late Sen. John McCain. Kyl is a former Republican senator for Arizona, serving three terms alongside McCain as one of the highest-ranked GOP lawmakers before retiring in 2013. He has agreed to serve until a special election can be held in 2020 but has indicated that he will not run to keep the seat at that time. Since retiring from politics, Kyl has worked as a lobbyist with Covington and Burling, representing financial service companies and pharmaceutical industries. McCain died last month after a yearlong bout with brain cancer. His widow, Cindy McCain, called Kyl a “dear friend” and expressed support for his appointment. Reports state that Kyl may be sworn into office as early as Tuesday night.... [Read Full Story]

Amazon became the second company worth $1 trillion on Tuesday morning, hitting the milestone one month after Apple became the first company to do so. Early trading pushed Amazon past the $2,050.27 per share mark it needed to hit a $1 trillion valuation. Shares dipped slightly afterwards, but were still up about 1 percent on the day. Just this year so far, Amazon’s shares have surged by more than 70 percent in 2018. The company’s success has made CEO Jeff Bezos the richest man in the world by far, with a net worth of about $150 billion. In July, Amazon reported $52.9 billion in revenue during the second quarter, along with a record $2.5 billion in profit. Part of the reason for it’s success is said to be that Amazon has morphed into a powerhouse on several fronts, from entertainment to cloud services to advertising.... [Read Full Story]

A weather system moving quickly toward the central U.S. Gulf Coast became a tropical storm Monday morning, bringing the threat of storm surges, strong winds and heavy rain to millions in the Southeast. Tropical Storm Gordon was about 15 miles west-southwest of Marco Island in Florida, as of Monday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center. Maximum sustained winds were clocked at 50 mph and the system is moving west-northwest at 16 mph. Gordon could be near hurricane strength when it makes landfall along the central Gulf Coast. Florida Gov. Rick Scott said the biggest impact is expected to be heavy rain. At 8 p.m. on Monday, Gordon’s top sustained winds had accelerated to 60 mph, was about 385 miles east-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and was moving west-northwest at 17 mph. The weather service projected that it would turn north in the next couple of days and that it was likely to make landfall as a hurricane somewhere along the central Gulf Coast overnight Tuesday.... [Read Full Story]

Arizona authorities say they have found the body of a woman who was among four people missing after two boats crashed on the Colorado River. Mohave County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Anita Mortensen says 51-year-old Christi Lewis was found Monday in a section of the river that borders California and Arizona. Authorities say a boat carrying 10 people and another vessel with six people on board collided head-on Saturday night, ejecting more than a dozen people. Both boats sank and passing boaters pulled people from the water. None of the people in the two boats were wearing life vests. The search is continuing for the three other missing people.... [Read Full Story]

Michigan State announced Thursday that the NCAA has cleared them of any rules violations in relation to sexual abuse committed by former gymnastics team physician Larry Nassar, and of allegations raised in a February ESPN report accusing the athletic department of mishandling sexual assault complaints made against football players and basketball assistant. In a news release, Michigan State said it recently had received a letter from Jonathan F. Duncan, NCAA vice president for enforcement, informing the school the NCAA was closing both inquiries. The NCAA opened its inquiry in January; two Michigan State officials have been charged with crimes in connection with their handling of prior complaints (including, most recently, the school’s former longtime gymnastics coach, Kathie Klages) and legal experts questioned whether mishandling allegations of sexual abuse fell under the jurisdiction of the NCAA, which traditionally polices athletic departments for competitive violations.  The ESPN report accused Michigan State officials of “a pattern of widespread denial, inaction and information suppression” relating to sexual assault claims involving the basketball and football teams. While the NCAA found no rules violations, Michigan State’s Title IX office, which handles allegations of gender discrimination and sex crimes on campus, has drawn criticism for its handling of several cases over the last few years — most notably a 2014 complaint by a Nassar accuser that ultimately exonerated him. ... [Read Full Story]

President Trump announced Thursday that he was canceling a pay raise due to most civilian federal employees in January, citing budgetary reasons. In a letter to congressional leaders, the president wrote that locality pay increases would cost $25 billion. Those increases would come on top of a 2.1 percent across-the-board increase for most civilian employees. “We must maintain efforts to put our Nation on a fiscally sustainable course, and Federal agency budgets cannot sustain such increases,” Trump wrote before announcing that for 2019, “both across-the-board pay increases and locality pay increases will be set at zero. Trump’s letter added: “these alternative pay plan decisions will not materially affect our ability to attract and retain a well‑qualified Federal workforce.”... [Read Full Story]

A judge on Wednesday dismissed child neglect charges against three of five people arrested at a remote desert compound in northern New Mexico where 11 children were found living in filth and the body of a 3-year-old boy was discovered. Judge Emilio Chavez ruled that he could not keep the three in custody because prosecutors missed a 10-day limit for an evidentiary hearing to establish probable cause for the neglect charges. Prosecutors could still seek charges for Lucas Morton, Subhannah Wahhaj and Hujrah Wahha by asking a grand jury to indict them, but offered no immediate indication on how they would proceed. Authorities are pushing ahead with other charges filed against the dead boy’s father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, and his partner, Jany Leveille. They were due in court and are accused of child abuse resulting in death, which could carry life sentences in connection with the death of Abdul-ghani Wahhaj.... [Read Full Story]

President Donald Trump is tweeting that his White House counsel, Don McGahn, will be departing in the fall after the Senate confirmation vote for Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the Supreme Court. Trump praised his top White House lawyer on Wednesday, saying he has “worked with Don for a long time and truly appreciate his service!” McGahn has played a major role in Trump’s overhaul of the federal judiciary with conservative judges. And he played a prominent role in Trump’s selection of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and the president’s nomination of Kavanaugh. McGahn had threatened to resign last year if Trump continued to press for the removal of Robert Mueller as the special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russian election interference.... [Read Full Story]

Pope Francis issued an apology for the “crimes” of the Catholic Church in Ireland, saying church officials didn’t respond with compassion to the many abuses children and women suffered over the years. Francis read the apology out loud at the start of Mass in Dublin’s Phoenix Park. Protesters marched through the Irish town of Tuam and recited the names of an estimated 800 babies and young children who died at a Catholic Church-run orphanage there, most during the 1950s. Francis told the hundreds of thousands of people who turned out for Mass that he met Saturday with victims of all sorts of abuses: sexual and labor, as well as children wrenched from their unwed mothers and forcibly put up for adoption. Ireland has thousands of now-adult adoptees who were taken at birth from their mothers, who had been forced to live and work in laundries and other workhouses for “fallen women.”  Meanhile, conservative Catholic news outlets published a letter attributed to a former Vatican ambassador to the U.S. Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano which accused Vatican officials of knowing about the sexual escapades of ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick since 2000, but making him a cardinal anyway. Francis accepted McCarrick’s resignation as cardinal last month after a U.S. church investigation determined an accusation he molested a minor was “credible.” The Vatican didn’t immediately comment on the letter.... [Read Full Story]

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]