U.S.Associated PressAide fired by George Santos says he got his job after sending money to Republican's deputy
A man who briefly worked as an aide to U.S. Rep. George Santos says he got his job after sending a series of payments to one of the Republican's top deputies. Derek Myers, 31, told staff of the House's ethics subcommittee during an interview Wednesday that while he was trying to get a job in Santos' congressional office in late January, he sent at least seven $150 payments to Santos' director of operations, Vish Burra. Myers shared details about the payments, including receipts and text messages, with The Associated Press.
BusinessMoneyWiseHere's the annual income you need to fall in America's lower, middle, and upper class — plus 3 simple tips to pull yourself up the ladder
Get in now for strong long-term tailwinds Here's how much money the average middle-class American household makes — how do you stack up? What do Ashton Kutcher and a Nobel Prize-winning economist have in common? An investing app that turns spare change into a diversified portfolio But once you factor in the ever-increasing consumer debt load, you've got the makings of class disruption, with many Americans poised to slip a run or even two in terms of their status.
WorldUkrayinska Pravda"There may be a knockout": Zelenskyy comments on closed shelter in Kyiv
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hinted at unpleasant consequences for Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko if it is confirmed that people died in the capital due to a closed bomb shelter. Details: Journalists asked the president who will be responsible if the information about the deaths of three Kyiv residents due to a closed shelter is confirmed. Quote from Zelenskyy: "Everyone will be responsible; the reaction will be firm...Russia, as the enemy, is not enough for us, we have internal enemies as well...I would say (who will be held accountable), (but) there are many journalists here; I would say, there is a word; it is on the tip of my tongue, but I can't say it..."
PoliticsReutersTape recording shows Trump acknowledging he kept classified document on Iran -CNN
Federal prosecutors have a 2021 audio recording of former President Donald Trump acknowledging he kept a classified Pentagon document about a possible attack on Iran after leaving the White House, CNN reported on Wednesday. The recording shows Trump, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, understood he retained classified material after he left the White House in 2021, according to the cable television network. Trump has denied wrongdoing.
U.S.People6-Year-Old Girl Hospitalized After Strap She Was Playing with While Riding in Truck 'Severed Her Feet'
Aubrey Scaletta was in emergency surgery for six hours "to repair her amputated feet," according to the Virginia State Police Association A 6-year-old girl remains hospitalized in Virginia after her feet were severed in a "tragic accident" last month, according to loved ones. Aubrey Scaletta “was playing with a ratchet strap” while riding in a pickup truck on May 17 when the incident occurred, according to a news release from the Virginia State Police Association (VSPA). As she did so, one end of the strap flew out the window and got wrapped around the drive shaft.
U.S.Sacramento Bee‘I’m going to drown!’ Cops watch as man drowns in Arizona lake, family says in lawsuit
Police officers looked on as 34-year-old Sean Bickings pleaded for help from the waters of Tempe Town Lake in Arizona, a lawsuit says. “It's been one year, and they're still grieving,” Benjamin Taylor, a lawyer representing his family, said of Bickings' loved ones. The lawsuit accuses the City of Tempe and the police officers on scene of negligence, saying they failed to uphold their duty to keep Bickings safe.
U.S.Associated PressOath Keeper who guarded Roger Stone before Jan. 6 attack gets more than 4 years in prison
A member of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group who was part of a security detail for former President Donald Trump 's longtime adviser Roger Stone before storming the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Thursday to more than four years in prison. Roberto Minuta, who was seen on video guarding Stone hours before the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, was among six Oath Keeper members convicted by jurors of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors said was a violent plot to stop the transfer of power from Trump to President Joe Biden after the 2020 election.
U.S.Reuters VideosCar launches into air after hitting tow truck ramp
STORY: The bodycam footage from a Lowndes County Sheriff's officer showed the car approaching the tow truck on Highway 84 at speed, hitting it and going airborne for a few dozen meters. The driver, a 21-year-old woman from Tallahassee, Florida, survived the crash but reportedly sustained serious injuries.
U.S.HuffPostFlorida Man Pointed Gun At Woman's Head After Her Friend Backed Into His Driveway: Sheriff
Vetsch, who was watching on his security camera, went outside with a handgun to confront the man, police said. Security camera footage taken from Vetsch's home and obtained by The Daytona Beach News-Journal shows the confrontation. In the video, a woman can be seen walking out of the home across from Vetsch's to confront the man, who then pulls out a gun and points it at her head.
BusinessReutersTesla doubles discounts on Model 3 cars in US inventory
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Tesla Inc has doubled discounts on some already made new Model 3 electric cars and offered discounts on the Model Y and others in its U.S. inventory to entice buyers amid economic uncertainty, rising competition and the upcoming redesign of its mainstay model. In California, a Model 3 variant in inventory was priced at $42,060, a discount of $2,680 to the price of newly ordered cars, according to its website. Tesla offered steeper discounts of $6,330 and $5,000 on some higher-priced Model X and Model S vehicles, respectively.
WorldThe TelegraphVera Putina, Georgian woman who claimed to be Vladimir Putin’s biological mother – obituary
Vera Putina, who has died aged 96, emerged from obscurity in 1999 claiming to be the biological mother of Vladimir Putin, whom she claimed to have abandoned when he was a child. In his “quasi-autobiography” First Person, Putin wrote that he was born and brought up in St Petersburg, the sole surviving son of Maria, a menial worker, and Vladimir Putin, a factory worker and ex-serviceman who had served in Stalin's secret police during the Second World War. As a result the Kremlin was never able to refute Vera Putina's claims conclusively.
WorldINSIDERSouth Korean lawmaker says they estimate Kim Jong Un is over 300 pounds and has a 'severe' sleeping disorder
A South Korean lawmaker says AI estimates that Kim Jong Un weighs about 300 pounds. The North Korean dictator lives a secretive life, and news about his health is often not shared. Kim also appears to have "severe" insomnia, the lawmaker said.
U.S.Associated PressCharges dropped against man who served 21 years in prison for deaths of 2 Michigan hunters
Prosecutors dropped murder charges Thursday against a man who spent nearly 21 years in prison for the fatal shooting of two Michigan hunters. Jeff Titus was released from prison in February when authorities acknowledged that critical information about another suspect — an Ohio serial killer — was never shared with his trial lawyer in 2002. After reviewing the case for three months, Kalamazoo County prosecutor Jeff Getting said Titus will not face a new trial.
U.S.ComplexSearch Ends for High School Grad Who Jumped From Bahamas Cruise, Possibly on a Dare
The U.S. Coast Guard says it has “concluded” its search for a missing 18-year-old high school graduate from Louisiana who went overboard on a cruise in the Bahamas. In statement issued over the weekend, the agency said its crew members had searched “more than 325 square miles” while helping with officials from the Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF). “Our Coast Guard command center and aircrews based in Miami supported RBDF search and rescue efforts since the initial report Wednesday evening, and continued through Friday evening," Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Spado said in a news release. 'We were informed by the RBDF this evening that they were suspending the active search efforts pending further developments, and were not requesting further Coast Guard assistance after notifying the Robbins family.
U.S.Sacramento BeeWoman driving cross country with boyfriend hasn’t been heard from in weeks, TN cops say
Nikki Alcaraz, who also goes by Nikki Cunningham, was seen in Moriarty, New Mexico, on May 6, according to a post on the Cheatham County Sheriff's Office Facebook page. Alcaraz, who lives in a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee, was traveling with her boyfriend, Steven Tyler Stratton, in a black Jeep Wrangler with camouflage seat covers, according to her family and police. Police officers in New Mexico made contact with Alcaraz and Stratton on May 4 after a witness saw Stratton punch her in the face as she was sitting on the ground in a rest area, according to a report from the Torrance County Sheriff's Office.
BusinessReutersFord Motor Co sues Blue Cross Blue Shield in antitrust case over ‘astronomical’ profit
Ford Motor Co sued Blue Cross Blue Shield Association in U.S. court on Wednesday, accusing it of a price-fixing conspiracy that caused the automaker to pay inflated costs for health insurance products for its employees. The lawsuit Ford filed in Detroit federal court accused the insurer and its regional Michigan branch of unlawfully dividing up parts of the country in a scheme to reduce competition with each other in order to drive "astronomical profits." The allegations from Ford, employing more than 170,000 workers worldwide, relate to a $2.7 billion settlement that Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and its three dozen member companies reached in 2020 with corporate and individual policy holders in Alabama federal court.
U.S.Kansas City StarDWI charge against Kansas City council candidate dropped after arresting officer fired
A drunken driving charge against Kansas City Council candidate Melissa Patterson Hazley was dropped Wednesday before it came to trial because one of the arresting officers was fired and no longer available to testify against her and others he'd arrested in separate cases, the Clay County prosecutor's office said. Patterson Hazley was charged with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated last year after an Aug. 20 traffic stop. According to the citation, an Excelsior Springs police officer pulled her over around 10:20 that night after noticing that her 2012 Mercedes 350 was driving on the right shoulder and almost left the roadway.
BusinessLA TimesDaymond John seeks temporary restraining order against former 'Shark Tank' contestants
Further, they alleged that their partnership with John and Rastelli Foods was problematic, and that Al Baker was excluded from key business meetings and left in the dark regarding real-time financial information. They say they have received only some 4% of the publicly stated $16 million in revenue from the business. In his complaint, John refuted many of the Bakers' claims, saying he played a vital role in helping their boneless rib business, including using his vast network of contacts.
PoliticsAssociated PressBiden trips and falls on stage at Air Force graduation; White House says he's 'fine'
President Joe Biden fell on stage at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation Thursday and the White House said he was “fine” after tripping over a sandbag. Biden had been greeting the graduates in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the front of the stage with salutes and handshakes, and turned to jog back toward his seat when he fell. Onlookers, including some members of the official delegation on stage, watched in concern before Biden, who at age 80 is the oldest president in U.S. history, returned to his seat to view the end of the ceremony.
WorldINSIDERPutin is terrified of being assassinated and is refusing to travel abroad after a drone attack near his luxury home: reports
Drones targeting Moscow struck near Russian President Vladimir Putin's home, a report says. The report said Putin was so scared of being assassinated that he was refusing to travel abroad. Russian President Vladimir Putin has long sought to project an image of invincibility through his notorious macho PR stunts and aggressive assertions of Russia's role on the world stage.
U.S.PeopleCalif. Woman Has 'No Feeling from the Chest Down' After Being Struck by Tree Limb on Vacation
Deanne Niedziela sustained a near-fatal spinal cord injury during a waterfall hike in Costa Rica with her husband, family says A California nursing director will soon be returning to the United States after she was hospitalized following a freak accident on vacation. Deanne Niedziela was on vacation in Costa Rica with her husband on Sunday when she was “struck by a falling tree limb” during a waterfall hike, according to a GoFundMe campaign. The couple was touring La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park at the time, according to ABC affiliate KABC-TV.
WorldAutoblogDashcam captures Russian missile section falling in traffic on Kyiv road
A dashboard camera captured the moment when a part of a missile fell next to a car driving on a Kyiv road, as Russia launched its 16th attack on Ukraine's capital on Monday, May 29. Video showed part of the missile falling onto the road right in front of a driving car, which then continued drove on. Reuters was able to confirm the location as Kyiv from the buildings and roads seen in the video, which matched satellite and file imagery of the area.
U.S.Fox NewsNearly 10K photos from Hunter Biden's laptop hit the web: 'Truth and transparency'
A trove of photos from Hunter Biden's laptop has been made available to the public through a new website that launched Thursday. The website – BidenLaptopMedia.com – will house almost 10,000 photos spanning from 2008 to 2019 and took months to complete, Garrett Ziegler, the founder of nonprofit Marco Polo, told Fox News Digital. "It's taken us a couple of months to, one, go through the photos, about 10,000 of them, and redact the genitalia on the photos," Ziegler, a former Trump White House aide, said of the contents found on the laptop once owned by President Biden's son.
U.S.Complex‘Family Feud’ Contestant Who Joked About Regretting Marriage on Game Show Found Guilty of Murdering Wife
A man who made a joke about how saying “I do” was the biggest mistake at his wedding during an appearance on Family Feud has been found guilty in the murder of his wife. Per the Associated Press, 40-year-old Timothy Bliefnick was found guilty by a jury in Illinois on Wednesday of fatally shooting his estranged wife, Rebecca Bernadette Postle Bliefnick. The man's arrest in the February murder was announced by the Quincy Police Department one month later, with Bliefnick being taken in on a no-bond warrant for first-degree murder and home invasion.
U.S.Associated PressCourt: No lawsuit immunity for Michigan official who had rifle during online meeting
A lawsuit can go forward against a Michigan official who flashed a rifle during a public meeting over video conference, a federal appeals court said Wednesday. Patricia MacIntosh is suing Ron Clous, alleging he tried to silence her right to free speech when he displayed the rifle during a 2021 meeting of Grand Traverse County commissioners. Clous has no governmental immunity at this stage of the litigation, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 2-1 opinion.
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