News Daypop Archives

Second U.S. Judge Blocks Trump Administration From Ending DACA Program

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A second U.S. judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump’s decision to end a program that protects immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children from deportation. U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in Brooklyn ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, cannot end in March as planned. The decision is similar to an earlier ruling by a federal judge in San Francisco that DACA must remain in place while litigation over Trump’s decision unfolds. The Supreme Court on Friday is due to consider whether to take up the administration’s appeal of the San Francisco ruling. The court could announce as soon as Friday afternoon whether it is hearing the case.... [Read Full Story]

Suspicious Package Scare Hospitalizes Donald Trump Jr.’s Wife, Vanessa

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Vanessa Trump, the wife of Donald Trump Jr., and two other people were taken to a New York hospital on Monday after she opened a piece of mail containing an unidentified white powder that was later determined to be non-hazardous, officials said. New York Police Department spokesman Carlos Nieves said that “the substance had arrived by mail and it was addressed to Donald Trump Jr.” Vanessa Trump, the daughter-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, was hospitalized after she complained of nausea following her exposure, New York officials said. Three patients from the household were transported to the NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center for further evaluation.... [Read Full Story]

President Trump’s $4.4 Trillion Budget Moves Deficit Sharply Higher

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President Donald Trump unveiled a $4.4 trillion budget for next year that heralds an era of $1 trillion-plus federal deficits. The growing deficits reflect the impact of last year’s tax overhaul, which is projected to cause federal tax revenue to plummet.  Monday’s budget submission does not yet reflect last week’s two-year bipartisan $300 billion pact that wholly rejects Trump’s plans to slash domestic agencies.  The budget projects tax revenue would plummet by $3.7 trillion over the 2018-27 decade. In addition, Trump would again spare Social Security retirement benefits and Medicare as he promised during his 2016 campaign.... [Read Full Story]

New York Attorney General Sues Harvey Weinstein And The Weinstein Company

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New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has filed a civil rights lawsuit against former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein and The Weinstein Company. According to court documents, the lawsuit seeks to “remedy a years-long gender-based hostile work environment.” It targets Harvey Weinstein for allegations of sexual misconduct, as well as the executives and board of The Weinstein Company for failing to protect employees from Weinstein. Charges were filed in the New York Supreme Court and include new and “extensive” allegations against Weinstein. Earlier this month, it was reported that The Weinstein Company is reportedly in the process of being sold for up to $500 million. The suit comes after a four-month investigation by the Attorney General’s office into mounting allegations against Weinstein and The Weinstein Company.... [Read Full Story]

Plane Crashes Near Moscow Killing All 71 Passengers On Board

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A Russian passenger plane believed to be carrying 71 people crashed Sunday afternoon near Moscow, shortly after takeoff from one of the city’s airports. No survivors were immediately reported. The An-148 regional jet disappeared from radar screens a few minutes after departing from Domodedovo Airport en route to the city of Orsk, 1,000 miles southeast of Moscow. Footage on state television showed plane fragments strewn across a snowy field about 25 miles from the airport. Russia’s Investigative Committee said all possible crash causes were being looked into.... [Read Full Story]

DHS Cyber Chief Confirms Russia “Successfully Penetrated” U.S. Voter Systems In 2016

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A senior U.S. cybersecurity official has said that Russian hackers successfully penetrated the voter registration rolls of several U.S. states prior to the 2016 presidential election. Jeanette Manfra, head of cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security, said Russia targeted 21 states, and “an exceptionally small number of them were actually successfully penetrated.” NBC News said Wednesday that it had contacted the 21 states that were targeted. Five states, including Texas and California, said they were not attacked.  Many of the states said they weren’t provided specific details from the government about the cyberthreats. Others said they were waiting for the government to provide cybersecurity help.n The revelations have sparked fears that Russia or another foreign government could try to interfere in future elections using cyberattacks and other tactics.... [Read Full Story]

Newsweek Fires Top Two Editors And Two Senior Reporters After They Published Stories About Its Parent Company

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Newsweek has fired its top two editors as well as two senior reporters. According to reports, Bob Roe, the editor-in-chief, and Kenneth Li, the executive editor, were both let go, along with senior politics writer Celeste Katz and senior writer Josh Saul.  In the wake of the above events, the company’s chair and finance director both stepped down last week.  Hours after the firings went public, the company announced in an internal staff email that cofounder Jonathan Davis would return as interim Chief Content Officer, and that Nancy Cooper, the managing editor of IBT, is now acting editor of Newsweek.  ... [Read Full Story]

White House Aide Rob Porter Resigns Amid Ex-Wives’ Abuse Allegations

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A top aide to President Trump has resigned amid allegations of abusive behavior from his two ex-wives. White House staff secretary Rob Porter had been accused in multiple media reports published earlier in the week of choking and dragging his wives. Although White House aides had defended Porter in statements to the media, Porter submitted his resignation on Wednesday as scrutiny of his past relationships intensified.  “He is going to be leaving the White House. It won’t be immediate,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Wednesday.  Sanders also read a statement from Porter that described the allegations as “outrageous.”  “I will not further engage publicly with a coordinated smear campaign,” Porter said in the statement Sanders read. Porter is reported to be in a romantic relationship with White House communications director Hope Hicks. His last day in the West Wing has not yet been set. ... [Read Full Story]

Big Budget Deal In Senate Hailed As ‘Genuine Breakthrough’

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Senate leaders announced Wednesday they have sealed agreement on a two-year budget pact that would provide both the Pentagon and domestic programs with almost $300 billion above existing limits. The agreement is likely to be added to a stopgap spending bill that passed the House on Tuesday, aimed at averting a government shutdown Thursday at midnight. Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York called the Senate agreement “a genuine breakthrough.” However, it would not resolve the plight of immigrant “Dreamers” who face deportation after being brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California held the floor in the House, declaring she would oppose the measure unless her chamber’s GOP leaders promised a vote on legislation to protect the younger immigrants. ... [Read Full Story]

House Passes Bill To Address Sexual Harassment In Congress

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The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation Tuesday that would reform the way lawmakers’ offices handle cases sexual harassment.  The bill, born in the wake of the #MeToo movement, would overhaul aspects of the Congressional Accountability Act, the decades-old law that put in place the system through which sexual harassment, discrimination and other workplace-related claims on Capitol Hill are handled. But the bill would weaken the authority of the independent entity currently probing lawmakers’ behavior, according to some. The legislation had been worked on for months by a bipartisan group of lawmakers as a direct response to a series of allegations, resignations and retirements that have rocked Capitol Hill in recent months regarding lawmakers from both parties making inappropriate comments or sexually harassing female staffers. ... [Read Full Story]

President Trump Says ‘I’d Love To See A Shutdown’ If Congress Doesn’t Agree To Immigration Restrictions

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President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he welcomes a government shutdown if congressional leaders do not agree to a deal to keep the government open later this week. “I’d love to see a shutdown,” he said during a roundtable with legislators and law enforcement officials on immigration, adding that Democrats need to agree to his demands for immigration restrictions. “Shut it down.” Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.), who was attending the roundtable, told Trump: “We don’t need a government shutdown over this.” Lawmakers in both parties have said they hope to avoid another government shutdown like the one that occurred after talks broke down last month.... [Read Full Story]

U.S. Supreme Court Allows Revamp Of Pennsylvania Electoral Map

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to block a lower court ruling requiring Republican-drawn congressional districts in Pennsylvania to be reworked immediately, boosting Democratic hopes of winning control this year of the U.S. House of Representatives.  Justice Samuel Alito denied an emergency application filed by Republicans to stop the immediate reworking of the electoral district boundaries. The Jan. 22 Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling gives Republican legislators until Friday to submit a revised map to Democratic Governor Tom Wolf, who would have until Feb. 15 to sign off on the changes.  In a statement, the state’s top Republican lawmakers, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and House Speaker Mike Turzai, said they still believe the Pennsylvania Supreme Court exceeded its authority.... [Read Full Story]

Dow Jones Down More Than 1,100 At Closing Bell In Historic Plunge

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Wall Street continued a broad selloff Monday, as the Dow plunged a record 1,175 points amid inflation fears. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 24,345. The S&P 500 fell 113 points to 2,648. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 273 points to 6,967. The Dow fell as much as 1,597 points in afternoon trading, the largest intraday drop in history. The blue-chip index’s 4.6% decline reflected its worst day since at least Aug. 10, 2011. Coming off its worst week in two years, the Dow wiped out its 2018 gains with its pullback Monday.  ... [Read Full Story]

SpaceX Prepares For Dramatic Falcon Heavy Launch

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Thousands are expected to descend on the Space Coast for Tuesday’s inaugural SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch to witness the rocket lift off from Kennedy Space Center. The demonstration mission from pad 39A, which includes a 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. launch window, has already generated remarkable buzz online for an un-crewed mission. SpaceX announced late Saturday that when it conducts its first test launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket this Tuesday, it will also attempt to land all three of the giant rocket’s first-stage cores. Two will aim for landings at Cape Canaveral in Florida, while one, the center core, will attempt to land on a drone ship at sea.  ... [Read Full Story]

2 Amtrak Workers Killed, 116 hurt In South Carolina Train Crash

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An Amtrak passenger train slammed into a freight train parked on a side track in South Carolina early Sunday, killing two Amtrak employees and injuring more than 110 people, authorities said. It was the third deadly wreck involving Amtrak in less than two months. Amtrak’s Silver Star was on its way from New York to Miami with eight crew members and about 140 passengers around 2:45 a.m. when it plowed into the CSX train at an estimated 59 mph. The wreck took place around a switchyard about 10 miles south of Columbia.... [Read Full Story]

President Trump Expected To Approve Release Of GOP Memo Alleging Surveillance Abuses By FBI

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President Donald Trump is expected to approve the release of a controversial congressional memo alleging surveillance abuses by the FBI, after the White House agreed to some redactions at the bureau’s request, but the document may not be made public before Friday, according to senior administration officials. The redactions were the result of a review of the memo’s classified contents by White House and intelligence community officials. The memo suggests that the early origins of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election were tainted by political bias. Once Trump approves its release, the White House will transmit the memo back to the House Intelligence Committee, which has the authority to release it to the public. ... [Read Full Story]

12-Year-Old Girl Arrested After Shooting 4 Students At An L.A. Middle School

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A 12-year-old girl was arrested Thursday after opening fire inside a Los Angeles middle school, leaving four students injured, authorities said. Two 15-year-olds were seriously wounded in the shooting, hospital officials said in a press conference. Two others suffered minor injuries from what appeared to be grazing wounds. A 30-year-old woman also sustained minor injuries, according to the Los Angeles Fire department. Los Angeles Police officials said they began to receive reports of shots fired at Salvador Castro Middle School at 8:55 am, prompting the school to go on lockdown. Police said the suspect was taken into custody and a firearm, a semi-automatic weapon, was recovered. Law enforcement officials did not disclose what may have led to the school shooting, or if the suspect had any connection to any of the victims wounded Thursday morning.... [Read Full Story]

Twitter Notifies 1.4 Million Of Russian Account Interaction

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Twitter notified 1.4 million people that they may have interacted with fake Russia-backed accounts during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the company announced Wednesday afternoon. Twitter identified 3,814 accounts “potentially connected to a propaganda effort by a Russian government-linked organization known as the Internet Research Agency.” According to Twitter, an “interaction” with any of these Russian-linked accounts is identified as either following, retweeting, quoting, replying to, mentioning, or liking those accounts or their content.  Anyone who was actively following any of these accounts was suspended. ... [Read Full Story]

One Dead In Accident Involving Train Carrying GOP Members Of Congress

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A train carrying Republican members of Congress to a legislative retreat slammed into a garbage truck in western Virginia Wednesday morning, killing at least one person and injuring at least five others. The deadly crash occurred in Crozet, Virginia, about 15 miles west of Charlottesville. The Amtrak train carrying the legislators blasted into the garbage truck at about 50 miles an hour, according to lawmakers. The group was headed for The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia. The White House said in a statement that President Donald Trump had been briefed on the accident all morning. Later, in the Oval Office, he said the accident was “very sad.” ... [Read Full Story]

President Trump Calls For Unity In State Of The Union Address

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President Donald Trump, whose first year in office saw division, said in his State of the Union address on Tuesday that he has ushered in an ebullient “new American moment” and issued a summons for “the unity we need to deliver for the people we were elected to serve.” The president set an ambitious agenda for his second year in office, from a $1.5 trillion plan to rebuild the nation’s crumbling infrastructure to a four-pronged immigration package to a pledge to reduce prescription drug prices. The president also laid out details of his immigration package, offering citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children, who are known as “dreamers,” in return for increased spending on border security, including for his promised wall at Mexico’s border; an end to the visa lottery; and limits on family reunification policies. While Republicans cheered throughout, Democrats sat stonily. . His one-hour, 20-minute speech was the longest since Bill Clinton’s State of the Union address in 2000.... [Read Full Story]

President Trump Calls For Unity In State Of The Union Address

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President Donald Trump, whose first year in office saw division, said in his State of the Union address on Tuesday that he has ushered in an ebullient “new American moment” and issued a summons for “the unity we need to deliver for the people we were elected to serve.” The President set an ambitious agenda for his second year in office, from a $1.5 trillion plan to rebuild the nation’s crumbling infrastructure to a four-pronged immigration package to a pledge to reduce prescription drug prices. The president also laid out details of his immigration package, offering citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children, who are known as “dreamers,” in return for increased spending on border security, including for his promised wall at Mexico’s border; an end to the visa lottery; and limits on family reunification policies. While Republicans cheered throughout, Democrats sat stonily. His one-hour, 20-minute speech was the longest since Bill Clinton’s State of the Union address in 2000.... [Read Full Story]

Employee Who Sent False Missile Alert In Hawaii Is Fired

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Hawaii’s emergency management leader has resigned and a state employee who sent an alert falsely warning of an incoming ballistic missile has been fired, officials said Tuesday, after the mistake caused widespread panic earlier this month. Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Administrator Vern Miyagi stepped down Tuesday, state Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Joe Logan said. A second agency worker quit before disciplinary action was taken and another was being suspended without pay, Logan said in announcing results of an internal investigation. The fallout came the same day the Federal Communications Commission revealed that the worker who pushed out the alert thought an actual attack was imminent. The state emergency agency worker believed the attack was real because of a mistake in how the drill was initiated during a shift change, the FCC said in a report.... [Read Full Story]

Terrorism Eyed After Driver Allegedly Targets Pedestrians In Philadelphia

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Terrorism was being eyed as a possible motive after a man in a black Honda targeted pedestrians Monday morning in Philadelphia, seriously injuring one person before being shot in the head by an off-duty cop, officials said. The driver, who wasn’t immediately identified, was pronounced dead at a hospital, police said. The driver was initially in “extremely critical condition” after the incident and was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross Jr. said at a news conference Monday evening that while initial reports said the driver attempted to hit multiple people with his car, police have been “unable to confirm that he was trying to strike several people.” Authorities said they were reviewing videos of the incident and looking for more witnesses for more information.... [Read Full Story]

FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe Stepping Down Ahead Of Planned Retirement

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Andrew McCabe on Monday left his job as deputy director of the FBI after enduring withering attacks from President Trump and other Republicans. McCabe went on leave from the FBI on Monday, pending the effective date of his retirement in March, said two government officials familiar with the move. McCabe already had intended to retire this spring, and he has been a frequent target of criticism from President Donald Trump. Earlier this month, reports said that Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions pressured FBI Director Christopher Wray to push McCabe out, and a report in the Washington Post said that Trump, after firing former FBI director James B. Comey, asked McCabe how he voted in the 2016 election. ... [Read Full Story]

President Trump Opens Up On Variety Of Topics During Interview With Piers Morgan

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In an interview with Piers Morgan airing Sunday, President Donald Trump covered a wide-range of topics. The President said he usually tweets at breakfast or over lunch before getting down to the work of government in the day, and he insisted he was ‘very popular’ in Britain, despite vows from protesters that his visit to the country will be greeted with huge protests. Trump also sparked a diplomatic row by claiming the Prime Minister had invited him to make two trips to the UK this year, including a State visit in October. However Trump reportedly refused a State visit to the UK after Theresa May criticized him for retweeting videos from British far-Right extremists. The President said he would apologize if the far-right group is seen as being ‘horrible and racist’.  The President also answered the question of whether or not he is a feminist. His answer was a clear ‘no.’ Trump said, ‘no, I wouldn’t say I’m a feminist. I mean, I think that would be, maybe, going too far. I’m for women, I’m for men, I’m for everyone.”... [Read Full Story]

Four Killed In Shooting At Pennsylvania Car Wash, Suspect In Critical Condition

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Four people were killed in a shooting at a car wash in Pennsylvania on Sunday morning and the shooter is in critical condition, state police said. Officials originally reported five people were killed in the shooting, but police later identified the fifth person as the suspected shooter, 28-year-old Timothy Smith. Smith was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the head and is not expected to survive. Officials said it is possible the gunshot wound was self-inflicted. A woman survived the shooting, but sustained minor injuries from broken glass, as officials believe she was able to duck out of the shooter’s view. Officials said the shooter was armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a 9-millimeter handgun and a 308 rifle and was wearing body armor. Pennsylvania State Troopers said a motive for the shooting had not yet been identified.... [Read Full Story]

Engineer In Deadly Amtrak Crash Mistook Signal Ahead Of Curve

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The engineer on an Amtrak train that derailed in Washington state last month, killing three people, told investigators he mistook a wayside signal for another signal before the track speed dropped to 30 mph, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Thursday. Additionally more than 70 people were injured when Train 501 of Amtrak’s Cascades service from Seattle to Portland derailed and went off a bridge in the city of DuPont on Dec. 18. Both the engineer and conductor suffered “serious injuries” in the crash and couldn’t be interviewed until last week, the agency said. A cause has not been determined. The NTSB investigation is expected to take between one and two years.... [Read Full Story]

Trump Plan Offers Citizenship Path To 1.8 Million Immigrants

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The White House said that President Donald Trump is proposing a plan that provides a path to citizenship for 1.8 million of the “Dreamer” immigrants, tighter restrictions on legal immigration and $25 billion in border security.  Senior White House officials offered a preview of Trump’s immigration framework Thursday, casting it as a compromise that could pass the Senate. The proposal represents a reversal for the president, who once promised to eliminate an Obama-era program protecting immigrants brought to the U.S. as children and now in the country illegally. ... [Read Full Story]

U.S. Offers $3 Million Prize To Boost Solar Manufacturing

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The Trump administration is offering a $3 million prize to revive domestic solar manufacturing, this coming after imposing tariffs opposed by much of the U.S. solar industry. The Energy Department said Wednesday that the American Made Solar Prize would help “reassert American leadership in the solar marketplace.” Earlier this week, President Donald Trump decided to impose tariffs of up to 30 percent on most imported solar cells used in solar panels. Most of the U.S. solar industry revolves around installing solar systems for homeowners and utilities, and those companies largely opposed the tariffs. A federal trade panel recommended the tariffs, which had been sought by two U.S. manufacturers.... [Read Full Story]

President Trump Says He Is Willing To Be Interviewed By Mueller Under Oath

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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would be willing to be interviewed under oath by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.  “I‘m looking forward to it, actually,” Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said of an interview with Mueller. “I would do it under oath.”  He later added his lawyers would have to work out the details and that there is no date set but it could be in two or three weeks. The president’s lawyers began meeting with Mueller’s team in December and have been discussing how the president would respond to the special counsel’s questions, including the possibility of sending questions in writing. Sources familiar with the meeting said earlier this month that Mueller wanted to speak with the president directly.... [Read Full Story]