U.S.Associated PressIllegal marijuana farms take West's water in 'blatant theft'
Jack Dwyer pursued a dream of getting back to the land by moving in 1972 to an idyllic, tree-studded parcel in Oregon with a creek running through it. From dusty towns to forests in the U.S. West, illegal marijuana growers are taking water in uncontrolled amounts when there often isn't enough to go around for even licensed users. Conflicts about water have long existed, but illegal marijuana farms — which proliferate despite legalization in many Western states — are adding strain during a severe drought.
U.S.INSIDERGabby Petito told police her 'downer' fiancé didn't think she could make it as a travel influencer, according to bodycam footage
About a month before Gabby Petito was reported missing, she was questioned by police. After Petito and her boyfriend were pulled over, she told officers he was a "downer." Petito said he didn't believe she could start a career as a travel blogger.
PoliticsHuffPostEven Steve Bannon Looks Skeptical About Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's Latest Claim
In her first year as a member of the House, Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene has said a lot of outrageous things. Greene, who has said she believes in the QAnon conspiracy theory but not in the effectiveness of vaccines, was being interviewed on Bannon's “Real America's Voice” podcast when she told the former Trump White House strategist: “I have been the most effective member of Congress this session.” Greene, however, has been unable to do much congressional work since February, when she was stripped of her committee assignments because of her support for racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories, and for advocating the execution prominent Democrats.
PoliticsReutersBiden approval drops to lowest of presidency: Reuters/Ipsos poll
Public approval of U.S. President Joe Biden has dropped to the lowest level of his presidency, with Americans appearing to be increasingly critical of his response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll. The national poll, conducted Sept. 15-16, found that 44% of U.S. adults approved of Biden's performance in office, while 50% disapproved and the rest were not sure. While most Americans support the kind of vaccine and mask requirements that Biden has ordered recently to slow the spread of the Delta variant, some Republicans have criticized what they consider to be an overreaction by the White House.
ScienceUSA TODAYScientists created the world's whitest paint. It could eliminate the need for air conditioning.
The whitest paint in the world has been created in a lab at Purdue University, a paint so white that it could eventually reduce or even eliminate the need for air conditioning, scientists say. The paint has now made it into the Guinness World Records book as the whitest ever made. “When we started this project about seven years ago, we had saving energy and fighting climate change in mind,” said Xiulin Ruan, a professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue, in a statement.
WorldThe WrapRight-Wing Activist Laura Loomer Has ‘Brutal’ Case of COVID After Claiming It’s No Worse Than Food Poisoning
Right-wing activist Laura Loomer confirmed this week she has COVID-19 and the symptoms have been “brutal.” In the past, she expressed an interest in contracting the virus so she could prove it's no worse than food poisoning. “Just pray for me please,” she wrote on Gettr, a social media platform launched by Jason Miller, a former spokesperson for Donald Trump.
U.S.ReutersCalifornia governor signs into law measure to fight housing crisis
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed legislation aimed at combating the state's housing crisis by expanding housing production and aiming to streamline housing approvals. Newsom's office said on Thursday California will put $1.75 billion into what his administration is calling a new California Housing Accelerator, which he claimed will accelerate building 6,500 affordable multi-family units that were stalled for lack of tax-exempt bonds and low-income housing tax credits. "Governor Newsom's California Comeback Plan will lead to over 84,000 new housing units and exits from homelessness, including today's announcement of $1.75 billion in affordable housing funding for the new California Housing Accelerator", his office said in a statement.
U.S.INSIDERUtah police considered charging Gabby Petito with domestic violence after a fight with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie
Utah police considered charging Gabby Petito - a 22-year-old woman who was reported missing on September 11 - with domestic violence last month following an altercation with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie, but opted not to when she said she didn't intend to hurt him, according to police body camera footage released on Thursday. Petito and Laundrie were pulled over by Moab City Police officers on August 12, about a month before Petito was reported missing by her mother. The couple told police that they had gotten into an argument in Moab that resulted in Petito slapping Laundrie, and Petito told officers she hit Laundrie again when she saw they were being pulled over.
U.S.NBC NewsNYC restaurant hostess attacked after asking diners for proof of vaccination
Three people were arrested for allegedly assaulting a New York City restaurant hostess on Thursday after she asked a group of diners visiting from Texas to show proof they had been vaccinated before seating them. Cellphone footage obtained by NBC New York shows a brawl involving several people outside Carmine's Italian restaurant on the Upper West Side. “It's a shocking and tragic situation when one of our valued employees is assaulted for doing their job - as required by city policies...”
ScienceReutersStudy rewrites understanding of modern Japan's genetic ancestry
An analysis of ancient DNA is transforming the understanding of the genetic ancestry of Japan's modern-day population, identifying a crucial contribution from people who arrived about 1,700 years ago and helped revolutionize Japanese culture. Research published on Friday showed that the people of Japan bear genetic signatures from three ancient populations rather than just two as previously thought - a more complex ancestry for the archipelago nation of roughly 125 million. The researchers analyzed genetic information from 17 ancient Japanese people - DNA extracted from the bones of 12 specifically for this study and five done previously - and compared it to genomic data for modern Japanese people.
PoliticsHuffPostEric Trump Asks Question About His Dad, Gets The Same Stinging Response
Eric Trump received a resounding “no” in response to a question posed via a web address he shared Thursday on Twitter. Former President Donald Trump's son posted the URL doyoumissmeyet.com. It linked to a page featuring an image of his father in front of the American flag.
- BusinessFood & Wine
If You've Purchased Chicken in the Past Decade, You May Be Eligible for a Settlement
Six major chicken producers have agreed to a $181 million payout over alleged price-fixing.
BusinessEngadgetMan who unlocked 1.9 million AT&T phones sentenced to 12 years in prison
A US district court has sentenced a man who unlocked 1.9 million AT&T phones to 12 years in prison. Muhammad Fahd continued the seven-year scheme to defraud the company even after learning of an investigation against him, according to the Department of Justice. At Fahd's sentencing hearing, Judge Robert S. Lasnik said he committed a “terrible cybercrime over an extended period,” with AT&T said to have lost $201.5 million as a result.
U.S.LA TimesWhat just happened with single-family zoning in California?
The first, Senate Bill 9, makes it possible to build more than one housing unit on land that was previously designated for only one unit. The second, SB 10, allows for denser development near public transit corridors, such as bus and train lines. Here's an explanation of the concepts and the new laws.
U.S.Miami HeraldDiners gone wild: Watch an all-out brawl at this upscale Brickell restaurant
Truluck's steakhouse in Brickell is where you go for a nice meal out with a sleek decor, expertly prepared seafood and steaks and spot-on service. But on Friday night, the longtime venerated eatery, with a handful of locations throughout the country, was a scene of absolute chaos as a brawl broke out among diners. The out of control scene captured on a bystander's cellphone looks like something out of an R-rated action movie, not a restaurant where entrees run you $40 and up.
U.S.Associated PressTexas teen posts images of slain family, then kills self
A South Texas teen who said he killed his family and posted graphic images of their bodies on social media killed himself after officers found him at his home, authorities said Thursday. The Aransas Pass police and San Patricio County sheriff's office say they started investigating after being alerted to the images on social media. They say the teen, identified as 15-year-old William Quince Colburn III, had also threatened to continue the violence at a school.
U.S.INSIDERPolice asked Gabby Petito's family to stop discussing her relationship with Brian Laundrie, without explaining why, attorney says
Gabby Petito's family has been told not to talk about her relationship with Brian Laundrie. It is unclear why police have asked them to do this, the family said. The couple's relationship became a focus after police were called out to a fight between them.
U.S.The Daily BeastAnti-Mask Florida Official Dies of COVID—and Takes GOP Software Secrets With Him
Just a day after testing positive for COVID-19, a Florida Republican official who battled against mask mandates, attacked the vaccine, and railed at CDC officials has died in Tampa. Gregg Prentice, who was 61, led the Hillsborough County Election Integrity Committee—and his sudden death has sent the local GOP scrambling as it no longer has access to essential campaign finance software without his help. In a Sept. 14 letter to the Federal Election Commission, the Hillsborough County Republican Executive Committee reported it might not be able to file its monthly financial reports as required—because only Prentice knew how to do it.
BusinessAssociated PressAP FACT CHECK: Biden's shaky claims on jobs, gasoline
Boasting that government policies can make a difference in improving the economy, President Joe Biden went too far Thursday in taking credit for job growth since taking office. Jeffery Born, an energy-markets expert at Northeastern University, said current gasoline prices are partly a result of production and refining capacity that was knocked offline by Hurricane Ida and other factors – even a shortage of tanker drivers.
PoliticsHuffPostJon Stewart Admits Why He Was Wrong About Donald Trump
Jon Stewart admitted the mistake he made when Donald Trump first announced his candidacy for president in 2015. Back then, the then-host of “The Daily Show” figured the reality TV personality was a comedic “gift from heaven. But in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Wednesday, Stewart said he misjudged, failing to consider that Trump's “certainty, his ridiculousness, his shamelessness is what made him dangerous.
- U.S.The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
50-year-old man allegedly raped 17-year-old girl after getting her high on meth
A 50-year-old man was arrested Wednesday after he was accused of raping a 17-year-old girl behind an outbuilding in Spokane Valley. The girl told deputies she met the suspect, Terrence Kelley, Tuesday night and the two went into an access alley behind a row of businesses between Mansfield and Indiana avenues, according to a Spokane County Sheriff's Office news release. She told deputies Kelley gave her methamphetamine, which she had never taken before.
U.S.Associated PressColorado school shooter to be sentenced to life in prison
A former high school student convicted of first degree murder and other charges for a 2019 shooting attack inside a suburban Denver high school that killed one student and injured eight others is set to be sentenced to mandatory life in prison without parole on Friday. Devon Erickson was convicted in June of all 46 charges against him, including murder in the death of Kendrick Castillo, an 18-year-old senior hailed as a hero for trying to stop the attack on a classroom at STEM School Highlands Ranch south of Denver. Prosecutors said Erickson, now 20, partnered with fellow student Alec McKinney in the May 7, 2019, shooting.
- HealthABC News Videos
New study says microbiome might be the key to losing weight
A new study about the connection between gut health and weight loss shows some surprising results.
U.S.INSIDERAn Alabama couple who trashed vaccines on their YouTube channel died from COVID-19 within 3 weeks of each other
An Alabama couple who opposed COVID-19 vaccines on YouTube died from the disease, AL.com reported. In a video, Dusty and Tristan Graham said the vaccine was "technically not" a vaccine. The couple's channel had 10,000 subscribers before it was removed from YouTube, Social Blade said.
WorldIn The Know by YahooTwitter users just discovered an ‘abandoned’ McDonald’s on a remote island in Alaska: ‘The prices haven’t changed much’
Twitter users are freaking out after discovering the existence of an abandoned McDonald's on an island in Alaska. The fast-food location, which has seemingly been untouched since the 1990s, is on Adak Island, a remote place in the Aleutian Islands, far out into the northern Pacific Ocean. The abandoned McDonald's, meanwhile, spread widely on Twitter thanks to a user named @RealJezebelley.
“It’s time for a late-stage empire to sober up a bit and refocus on building a functioning nation-state here on the home front.”
“The response to evil abroad cannot be to throw up our hands. Failure is not inevitable.”
“The United States keeps insisting that it must do that which it cannot do.”
“When the U.S. blames others, it doesn’t recognize its mistakes, so it repeats them.”
“Nothing has been resolved, no lessons have been learned, no meaningful assessment of the war on terror has been passed.”