U.S.NBC NewsEx-officer indicted for fatally shooting Texas woman whose dog ran at him
A former police officer in Arlington, Texas, who fatally shot a woman as he was aiming for her dog was indicted on a charge of criminally negligent homicide. A Tarrant County grand jury indicted Ravinder Singh on Wednesday, more than a year after the Aug. 1, 2019 death of Margarita Brooks, the county's District Attorney's Office said in a press release. Singh, who resigned from the Arlington Police Department in 2019, faces up to two years in state jail or a fine of up to $10,000.
WorldAssociated PressJapan police arrest fraud suspect linked to ex-PM's event
Japanese police on Friday arrested a man on fraud charges linked to annual cherry blossom viewing parties that were hosted by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but the new government ruled out an investigation into how the party and its budget were used. Abe's annual cherry party came into question last year when opposition lawmakers pointed out the number of guests and high cost, accusing Abe of using taxpayers' money to entertain constituents. Abe has denied any wrongdoing or personal ties with the suspect and is not facing any criminal investigation so far.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderFormer top Pence aide says White House officials wanted to get rid of the coronavirus task force as the pandemic raged in April
Vice President Mike Pence's former top aide on the coronavirus task force told The Washington Post in an interview published Thursday that some senior White House aides wanted to "wind down" the task force in April. President Donald Trump in early May announced he would wind down the coronavirus task force before abruptly reversing course. Olivia Troye left her White House post in August, and on Thursday she delivered scathing criticism of the president's pandemic response, accusing him of showing a "flat-out disregard for human life."
WorldReutersEthiopia files terrorism charges against leading opposition activist
Ethiopia has filed terrorism charges against a prominent media mogul and opposition politician from the Oromo ethnic group, Jawar Mohammed, the attorney general's office said on Saturday. Jawar, founder of the Oromiya Media Network and a member of the Oromo Federalist Congress party, was arrested in June amid the widespread unrest that followed the assassination of popular Oromo musician Haacaaluu Hundeessaa. Jawar and 22 other activists, including Oromo opposition leader Bekele Garba, face charges relating to the violation of anti-terrorism laws, telecom fraud laws and firearms laws, the attorney general's office said in a statement on social media.
U.S.INSIDERStudents and parents complained after a Dallas high school's class assignment placed the accused Kenosha shooter on a list of 'modern heroes'
Students and parents were upset when the suspected Kenosha shooter was on a list of "modern heroes" that they could choose to defend as part of a Dallas high school's class assignment, CNN reported. Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, was arrested and charged with first-degree intentional homicide and a string of other felonies tied to the killing of two people at a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Joseph Rosenbaum, who was shot and killed in Kenosha, was also on that list.
BusinessNBC NewsAmerican Airlines CEO says hundreds of thousands will lose their jobs without additional emergency aid
"Hundreds of thousands of people will be out of work, and service to small communities will be discontinued," if a new round of emergency airline funding is not approved, American Airlines Chief Executive Doug Parker said on NBC's "TODAY" show Friday morning. Parker's comments come after emergency talks at the White House on Thursday, when executives from the major U.S. airlines met with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in a last-minute plea for additional funding in order to avoid tens of thousands of layoffs across the entire airline sector. "We airline CEOs are here on behalf of the people that work for us, keeping our country moving when our country is largely paralyzed,” Parker told reporters outside the White House after the meeting.
PoliticsSalonFox News' Brit Hume begs Trump to not push through Ginsberg replacement before the election
Brit Hume Fox News Fox News contributor Brit Hume reacted to the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by cautioning Republican leaders against replacing the liberal icon before the November election. Hume made the remarks on Fox News after noting that both President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have previously vowed to hypothetically have a nominee approved before the election. "Lindsey Graham back in 2018… said that even if were were just into the primary season, he would not want to see a nominee advance in the election year," Hume explained.
U.S.Business InsiderA dentist who pulled someone's tooth while riding a hoverboard has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for fraud and 'unlawful dental acts'
An Alaska dentist who pulled a woman's tooth while riding a hoverboard has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for fraud, embezzlement, and "unlawful dental acts." The video was part of prosecutors' case against Seth Lookhart, who was found guilty of defrauding his customers by administering unnecessary procedures to rack up Medicare charges. Prosecutors are seeking $2.2 million in damanges, and Lookhart could also permanently lose his medical license in the state.
ScienceINSIDERThousands of migratory birds are 'falling out of the sky' in a mass die-off that could be linked to the West Coast wildfires
"Hundreds of thousands" of migratory birds are dropping dead across the Southwest in what scientists are calling the largest mass die-off in recent history. Scientists first began investigating the phenomenon in late August after numerous reports of clusters of dead birds found in states including New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Nebraska. Scientists are unsure why this mass die-off is happening, but have addressed several factors including climate change and the ongoing wildfires as possible reasons for the deaths.
U.S.USA TODAYBoater rescues man stranded under bridge: 'He was out there all night in just shorts'
In five years aboard the Tropical Hideaway Too, Jerry Ash has ridden out some bad storms before, but Hurricane Sally was different. Anchored at the Perdido Key RV Resort and Marina in Pensacola, Florida, Ash and his compatriots in their similarly tied up sailboats, hunkered down for the night before the winds picked up. “I've been through some bad ones before, but I know better,” Ash said about riding through a hurricane on the boat.
PoliticsAssociated PressThe Latest: Biden says Russia will pay for election meddling
The Latest on the 2020 presidential campaign (all times local): 9:20 p.m. Joe Biden says Russia will pay a price for interfering in U.S. elections if he wins the White House. The former vice president said Thursday during a CNN town hall staged near his birth city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, that Russia would face repercussions for attempting to influence November's vote.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderJared Kushner reportedly said 'free markets will solve' the PPE shortage in March. Nurses are still paying for that approach.
New reporting on a March 21 meeting in the White House Situation Room quotes Jared Kushner as saying it was "not the role of government" to solve the PPE shortage and prevent states from outbidding each other, according to Vanity Fair. "The federal government is not going to lead this response," Kushner said, according to Vanity Fair. A PPE shortage persists today, with one survey finding 58% of nurses in Florida, Kansas, Missouri and Nevada saying they had to reuse N95 masks for five days or more by the beginning of September.
U.S.Associated PressAppeals panel won't speed release of NYPD discipline records
A federal appeals court agreed Thursday to keep the release of New York City police disciplinary records paused while public safety unions fight a lower-court decision that had cleared the way for their disclosure. Two of three judges who heard arguments on the matter Tuesday in the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to stay District Judge Katherine Polk Failla's Aug. 21 ruling as the appeals process unfolds. The other judge, Gerard Edmund Lynch, disagreed and would have upheld Failla's decision to lift a temporary restraining order, according to the court's ruling.
WorldReutersBelarus-Poland border remains open: Polish border guards
The border between Belarus and Poland remained open on Friday morning after Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said his country needs to close its borders with Poland and Lithuania, Polish border guards said. "The border is open, we see no disruptions, there are no waiting times and we have no signals that the border is to be closed," said a Polish border guard officer who declined to be identified as he is not authorised to speak with media. Lukashenko, dogged by weeks of protests over a disputed election, said on Thursday that Belarus needed to close its borders with Poland and Lithuania, and strengthen border controls with Ukraine.
PoliticsThe IndependentBill Gates says Donald Trump’s travel bans worsened coronavirus pandemic
Bill Gates says that Donald Trump's travel bans may actually have worsened the coronavirus pandemic not helped it. The billionaire Microsoft founder insists in a new interview that the speed with which the bans were introduced at the beginning of the crisis did not allow for proper testing or quarantines. Gates makes the claims in the interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday set to air this weekend.
PoliticsUSA TODAYFact check: Video online of Kamala Harris calling young people 'stupid' is missing context
Facebook post by conservative political organization ForAmerica insinuates Harris might not be an asset for the Biden campaign with young voters after all. What do we know about this population, 18-24? They are stupid,” Harris tells a laughing audience in the video clip posted to the social network.
WorldAssociated PressChina flies 18 warplanes near Taiwan during US envoy's visit
China's military sent 18 planes including fighter jets over the Taiwan Strait in an unusually large show of force Friday as a U.S. envoy held a day of closed-door meetings on the self-governing island claimed by China. Under Secretary of State Keith Krach, who handles the economic growth, energy and the environment portfolio, held talks with Taiwan's minister of economic affairs and vice premier. In response to Krach's visit, the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army held combat exercises near the Taiwan Strait, in at least the second round of war games this month aimed at intimidating supporters of the island's independent identity.
- PoliticsFOX News Videos
Gov. Huckabee reacts to Biden saying Trump could have prevented all virus deaths: ‘Outrageous’
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is accused of exaggerating his pandemic record during his town hall; reaction and analysis from former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee on “America's Newsroom.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderFauci says he'll take responsibility if a coronavirus vaccine rolled out in the US is faulty
Dr. Anthony Fauci replied in the affirmative on Thursday when asked by MSNBC's Chris Hayes whether he would "take the heat" for any problems with a vaccine. Redfield projected that a vaccine wouldn't be widely available until the new year — a sentiment largely echoed by health experts — but Trump argued one could come sooner. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading US infectious-disease expert, has pledged to "take the heat" for any problems with a vaccine for COVID-19.
PoliticsUSA TODAYWho might succeed Justice Ginsburg? Trump's short list begins with these four women (and one man)
A finalist for Trump's second high court nomination, which ultimately went to Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, Barrett, 48, is a favorite of religious conservatives. Barrett rocketed to the top of Trump's list of potential nominees after her 2017 confirmation hearing for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, when Democrats cited her deep Catholic faith not as an advantage but an obstacle.
U.S.INSIDERJerry Falwell, Jr. was found intoxicated and bleeding at his home following a bombshell report alleging a years-long sexual affair between him, his wife, and another man
Emergency calls reveal that Jerry Falwell Jr. was found intoxicated and injured on August 30, a week after a news report alleging a years-long sexual affair between him, his wife, and another man, the Huffington Post reported on Thursday. Falwell's wife called 911 after she had to break into her own home to reach Falwell, who she said was intoxicated and bleeding. The incident came after Falwell resigned as president of Liberty University following several scandals.
- WorldReuters
British bird group issues gag order over Taiwan-China issue
A British-based wild bird body has issued a gag order telling employees not to comment on its decision to expel a Taiwan conservation group that refused to sign a document related to the Chinese-claimed island's political position. Taiwan's Chinese Wild Bird Federation (CWBF), based in a small Taipei office, this week became the latest and unlikely front in the geopolitical battle between China and democratically-run Taiwan. In a statement on its Facebook page, CWBF said BirdLife International removed it as a partner after it refused to sign a document committing to not promote or advocate the legitimacy of the Republic of China or the independence of Taiwan from China.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderTrump says Kamala Harris can't be the first woman to be president because she 'comes in through the back door'
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, couldn't become the first woman to be president. "This is not what people want. And she comes in through the back door — this would not be what people want, especially because it's her," Trump said during a campaign rally in Wisconsin.
U.S.Associated PressHundreds of thousands still without power in Sally cleanup
Hundreds of thousands of people were still without power Friday along the Alabama coast and the Florida Panhandle in the aftermath of Hurricane Sally as officials assessed millions of dollars in damage that included a broken bridge in Pensacola and ships thrown onto dry land. While the cleanup pressed on, the record-shattering hurricane season notched another milestone: Forecasters ran out of traditional names for storms after three new systems formed in about six hours. That forced them to begin using the Greek alphabet for only the second time since the 1950s.
U.S.INSIDERBetsy DeVos and the Trump administration are set to deny funding to Connecticut schools over inclusive transgender athlete policies
According to The New York Times, Betsy DeVos and the Trump administration are cutting funding to certain Connecticut schools over their participation in the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference. The conference allows transgender student-athletes to compete with, and against, athletes who share their gender identity, a course of action Trump's administration has repeatedly fought against. If the schools refuse to cut ties with the conference prior to October 1, the education department has vowed to withhold $18 million in desegregation grants.
“The SAT is emblematic of higher education’s failure to keep up with the times...Just the stuff that systemic racism thrives on.”
“These tests create unnecessary stress for young people already dealing with mental health challenges.”
“Dropping the SAT requirement makes it harder for colleges to compare applicants against a common standard.”
“The best predictor of college success overall is a simple one: high school grades.”
“What matters more is a broader push to help minority students get better educations.”