U.S.Associated PressTexas woman accused in cyclist death arrested in Costa Rica
A Texas woman suspected in the fatal shooting of professional cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson at an Austin home has been arrested in Costa Rica, the U.S. Marshals Service said Thursday. Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, 34, was arrested Wednesday at a hostel on Santa Teresa Beach in Provincia de Puntarenas, the Marshals Service said in a statement. “The Marshals Service elevated the Kaitlin Armstrong investigation to major case status early in this investigation, which likely played a key role in her capture after a 43-day run,” said U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Texas Susan Pamerleau.
PoliticsThe WrapFormer Trump Staffer Alyssa Farah Says She Led Cassidy Hutchinson to Liz Cheney: ‘That’s How This Shocking Testimony Came About’ (Video)
Former Trump staffer Alyssa Farah revealed Thursday that she was instrumental in this week's January 6 committee hearing, claiming she directed Cassidy Hutchinson to Liz Cheney for her explosive testimony earlier this week. During Thursday's episode of “New Day,” Farah – who resigned from the Trump administration in December and has been vocal about her distaste since – told her CNN co-hosts that Hutchinson came to her directly, saying that there was more information she wanted to give the committee after her initial testimony. She did her interview, she complied with the committee, but she shared with me 'There is more I want to share that was not asked in those settings.
WorldThe Burlington Free PressThis Vermont ski resort is changing its name in the interest of mental health
A small ski area in Vermont has announced that it's retiring its name, Suicide Six, this summer amid growing concerns about the insensitive nature of the historical name. The resort said on its website on Tuesday that it shares those concerns and “embraces the increasing awareness surrounding mental health. The feelings that the word 'suicide' evokes can have a significant impact on many in our community,” the resort statement said.
U.S.Yahoo Celebrity'ER' actress Mary Mara's cause of death revealed
Mary Mara, who was found dead in New York's St. Lawrence River on Sunday, died of asphyxiation, or suffocation, due to drowning, according to autopsy findings. The ER and Ray Donovan actress's cause of death was announced Wednesday by police, bringing an end to online rumors around the fatal accident. "The Jefferson County Medical Examiner's Office performed a post-mortem examination and determined that Mary Mara's manner of death was an accident, due to asphyxiation, and water drowning," says an updated statement provided by a New York State Police Troop D spokesperson.
U.S.Fox NewsCarnival cruise brawl caught on camera broke out over alleged cheating, passenger says
An all-out brawl that broke out between dozens of passengers aboard the Carnival Magic cruise ship was sparked over allegations of cheating while on the trip, according to an eyewitness passenger who shared video of the fight with Fox News Digital. Theresa James, who said she is a travel agent, told Fox News Digital that the fight started just before 2 a.m. on the ship's fifth floor, where a dance club and casino are located. The brawl lasted about an hour, according to the travel agent, and took the parties involved from the fifth floor to the ship's first floor, which James described as a huge distance.
PoliticsINSIDERTrump's 'girth would prevent him from actually getting to the steering wheel' of his SUV, former Secret Service agent says: 'I don't see this president ever being able to do that. Ever'
A past White House aide said Trump lunged for the steering wheel of his SUV and an agent on Jan. 6. Former Secret Service agents questioned the account in interviews with Insider. One said Trump's "girth would prevent him from actually getting to the steering wheel."
WorldReutersPutin: Russia will respond if NATO sets up infrastructure in Finland, Sweden
MOSCOW (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would respond in kind if NATO deployed troops and infrastructure in Finland and Sweden after they join the U.S.-led military alliance. "But they must understand there was no threat before, while now, if military contingents and infrastructure are deployed there, we will have to respond in kind and create the same threats for the territories from which threats towards us are created."
BusinessAFPSalmonella found in world's biggest chocolate plant
Salmonella bacteria have been discovered in the world's biggest chocolate plant, run by Swiss giant Barry Callebaut in the Belgian town of Wieze, the firm said Thursday. A company spokesman told AFP that production had been halted at the factory, which produces liquid chocolate in wholesale batches for 73 clients making confectionaries. "All products manufactured since the test have been blocked," spokesman Korneel Warlop said.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderThe term 'no look handshake' is trending on Twitter after Biden was seen shaking hands with South Korea's president without making eye contact
In a moment captured on video, Biden appeared to shake Yoon's hands without making eye contact. Now, "no look handshake" is trending on Twitter in South Korea as users scrutinize the gesture. An awkward handshake between US President Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk Yeol, at the NATO summit in Madrid lit up social media on Wednesday.
PoliticsYahoo NewsFilmmaker who gave footage to Jan. 6 committee: Trump is 'dangerous,' living in 'cloud cuckoo land'
A British documentary filmmaker who recently testified behind closed doors to the House Jan. 6 select committee said that former President Donald Trump is living in “cloud cuckoo land,” and is incapable of ever acknowledging that his claims about voter fraud are “delusional.” Holder was granted exclusive access to Trump and his family in the months before and after the 2020 election, giving him the opportunity to compile over 100 hours of footage of the former president, his two eldest sons and eldest daughter talking in interviews and among themselves. When the Jan. 6 select committee learned of the project — which will be aired by Discovery+ in the coming months — they subpoenaed him hoping to find footage of the Trumps speaking candidly about events that are the subject of the investigation.
PoliticsHuffPostEx-Aide Releases Melania Trump's Revealing 1-Word Text Message From Jan. 6
Former first lady Melania Trump was given a chance to call for peace on Jan. 6, 2021 as her husband's supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol and attempted to block the certification of the 2020 election. Grisham, who was also a former White House press secretary and communications director, resigned later that day, but made no mention of the assault on the Capitol. Like others who served the Trumps, Grisham saved her criticism for a tell-all book.
U.S.Cincinnati.com | The EnquirerPolice warn of rise in car thefts of two particular car brands. Is yours one of them?
The Forest Park Police Department is warning residents of a local increase in car thefts of Kia and Hyundai brand vehicles, similar to instances reported in other cities across the country. The thefts are mainly of Kia cars newer than 2011 and Hyundai cars newer than 2015. Forest Park police say there were six reported thefts of these vehicle brands since June 21 from large apartment complexes at night.
PoliticsAssociated PressThe story behind AP report that caused Trump to throw lunch
The news story that reportedly caused former President Donald Trump to throw his lunch against a White House wall came from an exclusive interview that former Attorney General William Barr had arranged with The Associated Press. The scoop, which was published on Dec. 1, 2020, quoted Barr as saying that the U.S. Justice Department had uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 election. It was a bombshell that contradicted the concerted effort by Trump, his boss, to subvert the results of the election.
WorldThe New Voice of UkraineRussian assault ship hits mine near Mariupol — Odesa Oblast authorities
"We have reports that a Russian amphibious assault ship of project 1176 Akula of the Black Sea Fleet D-106 blew up near Mariupol,” he said. We are waiting for confirmation of the 'gesture of goodwill'," he added. Earlier it emerged that following powerful strikes by Ukrainian forces, the Russian occupiers of Ukraine's Snake Island in the Black Sea had hastily evacuated the remnants of the garrison on two speedboats.
- ScienceReuters Videos
Toxic foam cloud floods 30 homes in Colombia
STORY: Footage shows residents waking up amid a foam cloud sweeping at least 30 homes as firefighters sprayed water to disperse the cloud. Honestly, this (house) can collapse at any minute and I will have to sleep under the bridge,” Soacha resident William Sanchez said, while cleaning up his kitchen that was flooded with the toxic foam. Local media reported the foam came from a sewage gully that overflowed under the downpour.
WorldReutersCrypto crash threatens North Korea's stolen funds as it ramps up weapons tests
SEOUL (Reuters) -The nosedive in cryptocurrency markets has wiped out millions of dollars in funds stolen by North Korean hackers, four digital investigators say, threatening a key source of funding for the sanctions-stricken country and its weapons programmes. North Korea has poured resources into stealing cryptocurrencies in recent years, making it a potent hacking threat and leading to one of the largest cryptocurrency heists on record in March, in which almost $615 million was stolen, according to the U.S. Treasury. The sudden plunge in crypto values, which started in May amid a broader economic slowdown, complicates Pyongyang's ability to cash in on that and other heists, and may affect how it plans to fund its weapons programmes, two South Korean government sources said.
BusinessBusiness InsiderAn American Airlines passenger drove to Denver airport to rebook his seats after the airline's customer-service center left him on hold for nearly 4 hours
An American Airlines passenger spent nearly four hours trying to rebook his seats over the phone. An American Airlines passenger who spent nearly four hours on hold with the airline's customer-service center grew so frustrated he drove 45 minutes to the airport to rebook his seats at the ticket counter.
PoliticsHuffPostMonica Lewinsky Drops Painfully Accurate Trump Meme After Bombshell Jan. 6 News
Monica Lewinsky responded with a fitting meme to a former White House staffer's explosive Jan. 6 hearing testimony on Tuesday. Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, testified that a Secret Service agent told her that then-President Donald Trump had gotten into a physical altercation on Jan. 6, 2021, when he tried to grab the steering wheel of the presidential limousine so he could go to the U.S. Capitol. The president said something to the effect of, I'm the f-ing president, take me up to the Capitol now,” Hutchison told the House committee investigating the Capitol attack.
ScienceTechCrunchOK, whose rocket just hit the moon?
You know you're living in the space age when a rocket hits the moon, and the industry as a whole points to the sky and, like an angry teacher holding up a paper airplane, asks "Who launched this?!" Truly, that is what occurred this week as an unidentified rocket stage (!) impacted the lunar surface, forming a new and interesting crater and leaving us all wondering how it's possible to not know what happened. The short version of this story is that skywatchers led by Bill Gray had been tracking an object for months that, based on their calculations, would soon impact the moon. Based on their observations and discussions, these self-appointed (though by no means lacking in expertise) object trackers determined that it was likely a piece of a SpaceX launch vehicle from 2015.
BusinessMarketWatch‘We’ve squeezed a decade of home price appreciation into a year and a half’: Here’s where home prices are poised to drop in the next couple of years, says one expert
Mortgage rates are cooling off after sharply rising. The hesitation is starting to show up in proprietary data, Rick Palacios, Jr., head of research at John Burns Real Estate Consulting, told MarketWatch. “The consensus is most forecasters … are anticipating prices to either flatten, and or go down next year, especially in a lot of these way overheated markets like Boise,” Palacios, Jr. said.
- PoliticsHuffPost
A Right-Wing Media Melee About Trump?
Some right-wing media outlets that once adored Donald Trump are turning their backs on him following Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony.
WorldReutersTwo gunmen killed, six officers wounded in shootout at Canadian bank
SAANICH, British Columbia (Reuters) -Canadian police shot dead two men and six officers were wounded during a gunfight at a bank in British Columbia on Tuesday, and nearby homes were evacuated after the discovery of a possible explosive device, police said. Emergency response team members arrived on the scene at the Bank of Montreal in Saanich, on Vancouver Island, near the border with the U.S. state of Washington, around 11 a.m. (1800 GMT), law enforcement said. "This remains an ongoing police incident with a heavy police presence in the area," Saanich police said on their website.
U.S.Miami HeraldMan arrested on flight to Orlando in sex abuse of minor, cops say. He offered an excuse
According to an affidavit first obtained by The Daily Beast, a 51-year-old California resident traveling on Flight 2954 is accused of allegedly groping a minor who was seated next to him in the early hours of Friday. A criminal complaint filed in the Middle District of Florida said that Brian Patrick Durning, of Altadena, was arrested hours later by federal agents upon landing at Orlando International Airport. The court document says a girl, referred to as “MV” (for “minor victim” older than 12, but younger than 16), was sitting in the middle seat and was allegedly touched by Durning, who was on the aisle to her left.
U.S.CBS NewsAnother giant African snail sighting forces Florida county into quarantine
The reappearance of an invasive snail species forced state officials to enact a quarantine order last week for residents of Florida's Pasco County, an area north of Tampa along the gulf coast. Authorities took action after confirming that a notoriously destructive breed of mollusk, known as the giant African land snail, was identified by a community gardener in the city of Port Richey. A division of Florida's department of agriculture that manages pest control began to survey the region for additional snail sightings once the quarantine mandate was in place, according to the agency.
WorldReutersRussia scolds British ambassador over 'offensive' UK comments on nuclear weapons
Russia said on Thursday it had summoned the British ambassador to voice a strong protest against "offensive" British statements, including about alleged Russian threats to use nuclear weapons. The Russian Foreign Ministry said a strong protest was expressed to Ambassador Deborah Bronnert over "the frankly boorish statements of the British leadership regarding Russia, its leader and official representatives of the authorities, as well as the Russian people". The ministry said Russia had told her it objected to British statements containing "deliberately false information, in particular about alleged Russian 'threats to use nuclear weapons'".
“Left unchecked, if artificial intelligence reaches cognition … it will be fueled by some of the most inhumane impulses of humanity.”
“Now is the time to stop and think — before our technology outstrips us once again.”
“I don't want to talk about sentient robots, because at all ends of the spectrum there are humans harming other humans.”
“Minds can take different forms … We should avoid reducing questions about AIs to ‘Can AIs think and feel like us?’”
“To identify sentience, or consciousness, or even intelligence, we’re going to have to work out what they are.”