News Daypop Archives

Body Found In Search For Missing Iowa Student Mollie Tibbetts; Suspect Arrested

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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

Former Trump Campaign Manager Paul Manafort Found Guilty On Eight Counts In Tax Fraud Trial

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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

Woman Killed In Apparent Alligator Attack In Hilton Head, South Carolina

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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

Colorado Man Charged With First-Degree Murder In Killings Of Pregnant Wife, 2 Daughters

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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

Wildfire Moves Closer To Glacier National Park’s Scenic Road

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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

President Trump Trump Says He Has “Nothing To Hide” In Russia Probe

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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

Authorities Recover Bodies Of Missing Colorado Woman And Daughters The Day After Arresting Woman’s Husband For Their Murder

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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

FDA Approves First Generic Competitor To Mylan’s EpiPen

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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

White House Revokes Ex-CIA Director’s Security Clearance

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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

Traces Of Weed Killing Chemicals Found In Popular Breakfast Food

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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

Report Identifies More Than 1,000 Children As Victims Of Priest Abuse

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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

Italian Bridge Collapse Sends Cars Plunging, Killing At Least 26

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 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

FBI Fires Agent Peter Strzok In Wake Of Anti-Trump Text Messages

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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

2 Strong Earthquakes Hit Central And Northern Alaska Regions

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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

“Unite The Right” Rally Draws White Nationalists And Counter-Protesters To Washington, D.C.

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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

U.S. Appeals Court Orders EPA To Ban Pesticide Said To Harm Children

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 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 Pence Outlines Plan For New Space Force By 2020

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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

Trump Administration To Impose New Sanctions On Russia Over Nerve Agent Attack

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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

New York Congressman Chris Collins Pleads Not Guilty To Insider Trading Charges

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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

Remains Of Unidentified Young Boy Found At New Mexico Compound

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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

West Hollywood Council Urges Removal Of Donald Trump’s “Walk Of Fame” Star

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The West Hollywood City Council voted for the removal of President Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, this according to the city’s mayor. The neighborhood’s City Council passed the resolution, citing Trump’s “attacks” on “minorities, immigrants” and other groups, West Hollywood Mayor John Duran said. The council does not have any direct authority over the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but did share the resolution with the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce which does have authority. In a statement, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Leron Gubler said his group would refer the council’s resolution to its executive committee “for consideration at their next meeting. “As of now, there are no plans to remove any stars from the Hollywood Walk of Fame,” Gubler said. Trump’s star has been vandalized repeatedly in recent years. Last month, a man with a pickax smashed it to pieces, and in 2016 a man dressed as a construction worker also smashed the star with a pickax and sledgehammer.. ...Read Full Story

Facebook, Apple, YouTube And Spotify Remove Conspiracy Therist Alex Jones Podcasts And Other Content

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Apple Inc, YouTube, Facebook Inc and Spotify all took down podcasts and channels from U.S. conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, saying on Monday that the Infowars author had broken community standards. Since founding Infowars in 1999, Jones has built a vast audience. Among the theories he has promoted is that the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington were staged by the government.  Facebook said it removed the pages “for glorifying violence, which violates our graphic violence policy, and using dehumanizing language to describe people who are transgender, Muslims and immigrants, which violates our hate speech policies.” And Apple deleted most Infowars podcasts and a spokeswoman said in a statement that the company “does not tolerate hate speech” and publishes guidelines that developers and publishers must follow.  Infowars editor-at-large Paul Joseph Watson tweeted that the take-downs amounted to censorship and were intended to help Democrats in the national election this fall. . ...Read Full Story

Star Witness Rick Gates Testifies He And Paul Manafort Conspired To Commit Fraud

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Rick Gates on Monday took the stand in the federal fraud case against his former business partner, ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, testifying that he and Manafort conspired to commit bank and tax fraud. Manafort, facing charges of bank and tax fraud related to his work in Ukraine, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Gates is considered a star witness against Manafort, and struck a plea deal with prosecutors to cooperate in the case against his former business partner.  During his testimony, Gates read out loud the language from his indictment charging him with conspiracy and making false statements to the government. Gates testified that he and Manafort under-reported income an d failed to file Foreign Bank Account Report forms. He also testified that he lied to Manafort’s bookkeeper and accountants. Manafort served as chairman of Trump’s presidential campaign during the summer of 2016, and was forced out in August of that year amid news stories about his ties to then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.. ...Read Full Story

Member Of Trump’s Voter Fraud Commission Points To ‘Troubling Bias’

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President Donald Trump’s dismantled voter fraud commission uncovered no evidence to prove his claim that millions voted illegally in the 2016 presidential election, according to an analysis of administration documents by a former member. Maine’s Secretary of State and former commission member, Matthew Dunlap stated in a letter issued Friday “that the Commission predicted it would find widespread evidence of fraud actually reveals a troubling bias.” Dunlap, a Democrat, wrote that he joined the commission in “good faith” and with “optimism,” but that his experience with the bipartisan group left him skeptical of the intention of the study. The commission released documents on June 27 after Dunlap filed a lawsuit in November against it in an effort to gain access to materials and documentation he felt was being kept from him and other members of the committee.. ...Read Full Story

At Least 82 Killed In Devastating Indonesian Islands Earthquake

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A powerful earthquake struck the Indonesian tourist island of Lombok on Sunday, killing at least 82 people, one week after another quake on Lombok killed more than a dozen. The latest quake damaged buildings as far away as Denpasar on Bali, including a department store and the airport terminal. On Lombok, soldiers and other rescuers carried injured people on stretchers and carpets to an evacuation center. National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the toll had risen to 82 with hundreds others injured. Thousands of homes were damaged and most people were killed by collapsing houses, he said. A total of 65 of the deaths were in North Lombok district, nine in West Lombok district, four in the provincial capital Mataram and two each in Central Lombok and East Lombok districts, Nugroho said. The quake, recorded at magnitude 7.0 by the U.S. Geological Survey, struck early Sunday evening at a depth of 6 miles in the northern part of Lombok.. ...Read Full Story

Apple Becomes First U.S.-Based Company With A Trillion-Dollar Stock Market Value

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Apple Inc. became the first U.S.-based company with a market value of $1 trillion, four decades after it was co-founded by Steve Jobs and later revolutionized the worlds of computing, music and mobile communications. The consumer-technology giant briefly touched the milestone in New York trading Thursday morning, based on share count data the company disclosed in a recent regulatory filing. Other tech giants are not far behind Apple, with Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp. worth more than $800 billion each. Since its inception in 1976, Apple has consistently reimagined what a computer can be and defined how humans interact with devices and software. The iMac desktop computer, the iPod, iPhone, and iPad have all been hugely successful. . ...Read Full Story

U.S. States Vow To Fight Trump Administration’s Rollback On Auto Emissions

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California and 18 other U.S. states promised on Thursday to fight a Trump administration proposal to weaken fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks and force states into line, arguing the United States has an obligation to protect the environment for future generations. The 19 states, and Washington D.C, announced they would sue to halt the proposed rollback. The Trump administration billed the proposed rollback from Obama-era fuel efficiency standards as a way to help car companies and lower vehicle prices for consumers, but critics said the plan would accelerate climate change and increase fuel prices.  . ...Read Full Story

Pennsylvania Catholic Diocese Names Dozens Of Clergy Accused Of Sexual Abuse

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A Roman Catholic bishop in Pennsylvania released the names on Wednesday of 71 clergy members and seminarians accused of sexually abusing children since the 1940s, acting in advance of a release of grand jury findings on clergy abuse in the state. The name of every bishop in the diocese in the past seven decades will be removed from buildings in the diocese, in recognition of their failure to properly deal with accusations of abuse. Those on the list would be removed from “any position of honor” throughout the Diocese of Harrisburg in central Pennsylvania, the diocese said in a statement. “I express our profound sorrow and apologize to the survivors of child sex abuse, the Catholic faithful and the general public for the abuses that took place and for those church officials who failed to protect children,” Bishop Ronald Gainer of the Diocese of Harrisburg said in the statement.. ...Read Full Story

Trial Begins For President Trump’s Ex-Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort

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In opening statements that kicked off the trial of Paul Manafort on Tuesday, prosecutors accused former Trump campaign chairman of being a “shrewd” liar who orchestrated a global scheme to avoid paying taxes on millions of dollars. Uzo Asonye, a prosecutor working on the case with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team, said Manafort lived an “extravagant lifestyle” fueled by millions of dollars in “secret income” that he earned from his lobbying in Ukraine. In opening statements for the defense, Manafort’s defense attorney Thomas Zehnle shifted much of the blame to the Ukrainian oligarchs Manafort worked for and the business associates he worked with. Manafort is facing 18 charges, including accusations of filing false tax returns, failing to report foreign bank accounts and defrauding several banks. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 305 years in prison. He has denied all charges.. ...Read Full Story

Facebook Has Identified Ongoing Political Influence Campaign

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Facebook Inc. has identified a coordinated political influence campaign through dozens of inauthentic accounts on its platform ahead of November’s U.S. midterm election, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. The company said it had removed 32 pages and accounts from Facebook and Instagram because they were involved in “coordinated inauthentic behavior” Facebook said in a blogpost that “this kind of behavior is not allowed on Facebook because we don’t want people or organizations creating networks of accounts to mislead others about who they are, or what they’re doing. We’re still in the very early stages of our investigation and don’t have all the facts — including who may be behind this. ...Read Full Story

Robert Wilkie Sworn In As New Veterans Affairs Secretary

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Vice President Mike Pence swore in Robert Wilkie as secretary of Veterans Affairs on Monday. Wilkie served as acting secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs after former secretary David Shulkin resigned in March and Trump’s previous nominee, his physician Ronny Jackson, withdrew himself from consideration. Before Trump nominated Wilkie for the position at Veterans Affairs he worked for the Department of Defense as under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness.  “Since day one my administration has been focused on serving the men and women who make freedom possible, our great veterans, these heroes deserve on the best and they will have it under Robert Wilkie – I have no doubt about it,” President Donald Trump said during the ceremony.. ...Read Full Story

President Trump Says He’s Willing To Meet Iranian Leader Without Preconditions

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President Donald Trump said Monday he would be willing to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani without preconditions to discuss how to improve ties after he pulled the United States out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, saying, “If they want to meet, we’ll meet.”  Trump’s remarks represented a marked softening in rhetoric from a week ago, when he lashed out at Rouhani in a tweet, saying “Never, ever threaten the United States again or you will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before.” But when asked at a White House news conference whether he was willing to meet with President Rouhani, Trump said: “I’d meet with anybody. I believe in meetings,” especially in cases where war is at stake. Trump added that he had “no preconditions” for a meeting with the Iranians.. ...Read Full Story

Three Dead and Seven Wounded In New Orleans After Two Gunmen Open Fire On Crowd

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Two armed individuals walked up to a crowd gathered Saturday evening outside a strip mall in New Orleans and opened fire, killing three people and wounding seven more, the police chief said. The shooting happened on a busy thoroughfare about 3 miles from the French Quarter. Police chief Michael Harrison, said the two suspects believed to be wearing hoodies had a rifle and a handgun. He said they appeared to have fired indiscriminately into the crowd, striking ten people. Police responding to the shooting found three victims – two men and one woman – who were pronounced dead at the scene. Seven other victims – five men and two women – were taken to two separate hospitals.  “This was an extremely tragic incident. A lot of people were out here tonight. A lot of people, we know, saw what happened, heard what happened. And we need more than anything for people to come forward to help the NOPD right now solve this case,” Harrison said. Police do not know whether it was gang-related.. ...Read Full Story

At Least 6 Killed As Deadly Northern California Wildfires Rages

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Fire crews facing several weather uncertainties Sunday struggled to corral Northern California’s Carr Fire, a blaze that has left thousands evacuated. At least six people were killed by the fire, authorities said. Officials say there are more than 150 more engines on the way from out of state to help. Firefighters endured hot temperatures worried about gusty winds, said Anthony Romero, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The National Weather Service forecast hot and dry conditions in the area Sunday, with wind gusts expected late in the afternoon. The blaze grew slightly Sunday to 139 square miles, and is the largest fire burning in California. More than 5,000 structures were threatened, and the fire was just 5 percent contained. The latest tally showed 517 destroyed structures and another 135 damaged. ...Read Full Story

Rock Band “Jimmy Eat World” Explain The Origin Of Their Name

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Jimmy Eat World fans received a history lesson on Friday night (July 27) when drummer Zach Lind offered some insight into how the band came up with their name. In a series of tweets, Lind recalled how he and his bandmates settled on Jimmy Eat World, and how they definitely didn’t consider its acronym for merchandise and visuals at the time. Lind revisited how the band started playing under the moniker in the first place.  You can see the humorous series of tweets in the linked article below.. ...Read Full Story

Facebook Stock Suffers Largest One-Day Drop In History Losing $119 Billion

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Facebook lost about $119 billion of its value on Thursday, marking the biggest one-day loss in U.S. market history.  The company’s shares plunged $41.24, or almost 19 percent, to $176.26 a day after the social media giant reported disappointing results. The slide is the largest decline in market capitalization in history, exceeding Intel’s $91 billion single-day loss in September 2000. Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg saw his fortune drop by $15.9 billion to roughly $71 billion. Investors were influenced by Facebook’s forecast showing that its number of active users is growing less quickly than expected. The report, which marked Facebook’s first full quarter since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, startled investors with a bevy of red flags about setbacks to its revenue and user growth.  The share collapse merely returned Facebook shares to a level last seen in early May. At that time, the stock was still recovering from an earlier battering over a major privacy scandal. . ...Read Full Story

White House Disputes CNN Reporter Kaitlan Collins Was ‘Banned’

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The White House took issue with reports that they banned CNN’s Kaitlan Collins from covering a White House event Wednesday after the White House informed her that she was not welcome to attend. White House deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine challenged reporters on Thursday over the word “ban.” On Wednesday, Collins was representing the television networks in an Oval Office event where she shouted several questions to the president related to his former lawyer Michael Cohen and about a White House invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Shine refuted that Collins was banned, but repeatedly declined to tell reporters what word he would use to characterize the White House’s decision to block her from attending the event. The White House Correspondents’ Association issued a statement condemning the White House’s decision.. ...Read Full Story

House Republicans Move To Impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein

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Republican House members introduced articles of impeachment Wednesday evening against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, accusing him of trying to stymie congressional oversight of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of alleged interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. The resolution alleges that Rosenstein has withheld documents from and made misleading statements to Congress. Conservative lawmakers have accused the Justice Department of trying both to tar President Donald Trump with the Russia investigation and to downplay the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server when she was secretary of state.. ...Read Full Story

U.S. Appeals Court Upholds Right To Carry Gun In Public

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A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment guarantees a right to openly carry a gun in public for self-defense.  The ruling on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, makes the San Francisco-based court the sixth U.S. circuit court to interpret the Second Amendment that way and could set the issue on a path toward the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 2-1 decision on Tuesday, the panel found Hawaii infringed on the rights of plaintiff George Young when it twice denied him a permit the state requires to openly carry a gun in public. . ...Read Full Story

United States Announces Billions To Help Farmers Hurt By Trump Tariffs

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The Trump administration announced Tuesday it will provide $12 billion in emergency relief to ease the pain of American farmers affected by President Donald Trump’s trade disputes with China and other countries. The Agriculture Department said it would tap an existing program to provide billions in direct payments to farmers and ranchers hurt by foreign retaliation to Trump’s tariffs.  The administration said the program was just temporary. “This is a short-term solution that will give President Trump and his administration the time to work on long-term trade deals,” said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue as administration officials argued that the plan was not a “bailout” of the nation’s farmers.. ...Read Full Story

Judge Postpones Paul Manafort Trial As Five Witnesses Are Granted Immunity

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The federal judge in the upcoming federal court trial for President Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, released on Monday the names of five witnesses being granted immunity to testify, as he granted the defense’s request to delay the start of the trial. Those witnesses are James Brennan, Donna Duggan, Conor O’Brien, Cindy Laporta and Dennis Raico. All are believed to work for financial institutions. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III released those names as he granted the request of Manafort’s attorneys to delay the start of the trial; Ellis agreed to delay it until July 31. Manafort, facing charges of bank and tax fraud related to his work in Ukraine, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.. ...Read Full Story

President Trump Mulls Revoking Security Clearances Of Former Intel Officials

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President Donald Trump is examining whether to revoke the security clearances of former intelligence officials who have criticized him, his spokeswoman said Monday. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that Trump is considering revoking the security clearances of former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Director James B. Comey, former CIA Director Michael V. Hayden, former National Security Adviser Susan E. Rice, former Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr., and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. Sanders accused those former officials of having “politicized and in some cases monetized their public service.” She added that they have made “baseless claims” about the president’s relationship and contacts with the Russian government.. ...Read Full Story

Gunman Arrested After Standoff In Los Angeles Trader Joe’s Supermarket

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A gunman who got into a deadly shootout with police and took dozens of people hostage at a Trader Joe’s supermarket in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake has been arrested on suspicion of murder, authorities said Sunday. Gene Evin Atkins, 28, was being held Sunday morning on $2 million bail. A woman was shot and killed when Atkins ran into the supermarket on Saturday, but no hostages were seriously hurt before Atkins surrendered about three hours later. The victim of the shooting was identified on Sunday as 27-year-old Melyda Corado. Authorities said Atkins shot his grandmother seven times and wounded another woman, whom he forced into a car, at a South Los Angeles home around 1:30 p.m., police said. Atkins’ grandmother was hospitalized in critical condition after the shooting and police had no update on her condition Sunday. . ...Read Full Story

University Of Iowa Student Reported Missing After Going For Night Jog

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Officials say they’re searching for a University of Iowa student who went missing after she went jogging. Mollie Tibbetts went missing on July 19 and was last seen in Brookyln, Iowa, according to The Poweshiek County Emergency Management Agency. Family members say that Tibbetts was dog-sitting at another home when she went running. However, she didn’t show up for work the next day. Her boyfriend, Dalton Jack, said she went jogging at around 10 p.m. local time. Tibbets, 20, is 5 feet, 2 inches tall and around 120 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing gym shorts, running shoes, and a black sports bra, the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office stated. Anyone with any information about her whereabouts is urged to call 641-623-5679.. ...Read Full Story

U.S. Accuses North Korea Of U.N. Sanctions Breach, Demands End To Fuel Sales

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The Trump Administration accused North Korea on Thursday of breaching a U.N. sanctions cap on refined petroleum by making illicit transfers between ships at sea, and demanded an immediate end to all sales of the fuel. The United States submitted the complaint to the U.N. Security Council North Korea sanctions committee. The North Korea U.N. mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the U.S. accusation. The charge of a sanctions breach comes as Washington engages North Korea in a bid to convince Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons.. ...Read Full Story

Justice Department Plans Appeal Of AT&T-Time Warner Merger Approval

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According to a court filing, the Justice Department filed an appeal challenging its loss in the AT&T-Time Warner antitrust trial on Thursday, July 12. AT&T completed its $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner a few weeks ago after a federal judge rejected the Justice Department’s argument that the deal would be anti-competitive. AT&T is one of the country’s biggest telecom providers and its purchase of Time Warner allowed it to pick up some of the biggest media brands in the U.S., including HBO and CNN. AT&T said in a statement Thursday that the U.S. District Judge Richard Leon correctly decided the case.. ...Read Full Story

Comcast Offers $34 Billion For Sky TV, Topping A Bid From Fox

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The bidding war for Sky TV, the European pay-TV service, heated up Wednesday when Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox upped it’s offer, but then later in the day Comcast Corp. countered with an even higher offer. Independent directors of the London company initially approved Fox’s $32.5-billion bid, but they withdrew their support and accepted Comcast’s offer, which valued Sky at $34 billion. Martin Gilbert, Sky’s deputy chairman, said in a statement, “The Independent Committee welcomes this increased offer which presents an attractive premium for Sky shareholders. We have long recognized the unique position that Sky occupies in the European direct-to-consumer landscape and unanimously recommend this offer by Comcast.” It was unclear late Wednesday whether Fox would bid again. . ...Read Full Story