Citing Trump impeachment 'charade,' Nadler's Democratic challenger demands primary debate

A Democrat who is mounting a surprisingly robust campaign to unseat House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler has challenged him to a debate in part over what she charges has been his bungled effort to impeach President Trump. “He's absolutely fumbled on this,” Lindsey Boylan, 35, a former New York state economic development official, said of Nadler in an interview on the Yahoo News podcast “Skullduggery.” “He's actually given credence, through this muddled, elongated, prolonged process of nothingness, to the idea that [impeachment] is entirely politicized. There is little indication that Nadler, a 26-year congressional veteran who represents New York's 10th District, is ready to take public note of Boylan's challenge, much less appear on a debate stage with her.

Bill de Blasio's net worth as he pulls out of 2020 presidential race

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this week he is officially out of the 2020 presidential race. The official statement comes after weeks of speculation that the presidential hopeful planned on dropping his 2020 bid. De Blasio joins the likes of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Eric Swalwell and Gov. Jay Inslee, among others, who have given up ambitions to potentially become the 48th President of the United States.

• 
  Bill de Blasio: New York mayor quits 2020 Democratic race, prompting sarcastic Trump tweet

  The Independent
• 
  Why Bill de Blasio’s Campaign Failed (Hint: Nobody Liked Him)

  FiveThirtyEight

Texas man wanted for allegedly divorcing his wife without her knowledge

A Texas man is wanted by police after he allegedly filed for and completed divorce proceedings against his wife without her knowledge. Paul Nixon, 51, was accused of aggravated forgery — a felony charge — after authorities discovered his fraudulent divorce paperwork, the Houston Chronicle reports. Nixon apparently filed the paperwork on Feb. 15, the day after Valentine's Day.

2020 Vision Thursday: Why Kamala Harris is struggling in the polls

The second poll, commissioned by Focus on Rural America and conducted by Harris's own chief pollster, took the temperature of Democratic primary voters in Iowa. It showed an even bigger decline for Harris than the new national poll: a loss of 13 percentage points between July and September. In that poll Harris now ranks sixth, behind Amy Klobuchar.

• 
  Has Kamala Harris Already Blown Her Chances in Iowa?

  The Daily Beast
• 
  2020 presidential hopefuls Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris revamp their campaigns

  FOX News Videos

Marianne Williamson wants a national mandatory service for people ages 18-26 to combat climate change

At a presidential climate change forum on Thursday, author and Democratic presidential hopeful Marianne Williamson floated the idea of a national mandatory year of service for young adults to tackle climate change. "I would like to ask your opinion, I think during the 'season of repair,' we should have a mandatory national service, one year, for people between 18 and 26 because we need you," Williamson said. "We need to fix this climate. MSNBC's Ali Velshi asked the audience, which consisted mainly of students, to raise their hands if they liked the idea.

Officials: Political donor caused deadly overdose during sex

Federal prosecutors released new details Thursday as they charged Buck, 65, with distributing methamphetamine resulting in Moore's death on July 27, 2017. A criminal complaint and accompanying affidavit detailed multiple allegations that Buck injected men with meth against their wishes during sexual encounters. The investigation found at least 10 alleged victims, several of whom described in salacious detail Buck's apparent fetish to pay men to use drugs and have sex, which often took a dark turn and led to several suspected overdoses.

• 
  'I assumed he was on something’: Democratic donor Ed Buck’s neighbors say things were seriously weird at his alleged meth house

  INSIDER
• 
  What will happen to Ed Buck?

  FOX News Videos

Elizabeth Warren Declares War on Lobbying, Hires Lobbyist One Day Later

“The fundamental promise of our democracy is that every voice matters,” Warren's plan states. The next day, Kimberly Diaz Scott, who registered as a lobbyist for the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates as recently as January 2019, announced that she was leaving the organization to head up Warren's campaign in Florida. “I won't be far from the movement, as I'm humbled and proud to announce my transition as the Florida State Director for Warren for President, assuring that we will continue to fight like hell to elect a brilliant leader who will work to protect the health, safety and future of ALL people,” Diaz wrote, the Miami Herald reported.

Death of troubled officer whose gun wasn't taken away marks record number of suicides in NYPD

A New York police officer's recent death has disturbingly highlighted the record number of suicides among members of the New York Police Department this year, according to the New York Times. On Aug. 14, Robert Echeverria, 56, shot himself at his home in Laurelton, Queens, and died at a nearby hospital. When detectives arrived at his sister's home to break the news, she had already suspected the worst, she told the newspaper.

U.S. to return about $100 million to the Treasury for an Afghanistan project due to a lack of transparency

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that the United States would return about $100 million to the Treasury for an energy infrastructure project in Afghanistan and would withhold a further $60 million in planned assistance to the country due to a lack of transparency.

• 
  Pompeo: 'Abundantly clear' that Iran conducted attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure

  FOX News Videos
• 
  Citing corruption, US slashes Afghan aid days before election

  AFP

AOC's first congressional endorsements reflect subtle shift away from outsider status

It was seemingly an offbeat choice for the first endorsement by the leader of the Democratic insurgency heading into a presidential election year, when New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez threw her support behind Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., last week. Markey is a 73-year-old incumbent, and AOC's announcement was part of an effort by Markey to roll out as many endorsements as possible, to demonstrate that the party is with him and not with his 38-year-old challenger, Rep. Joe Kennedy III.

• 
  RFK's Grandson Rep. Joe Kennedy III Is Going to Run for the Senate in 2020

  People
• 
  AP source: Joe Kennedy to challenge Sen. Markey in primary

  Associated Press

Campaigning Trudeau vows Canada assault rifle ban

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, campaigning for re-election, vowed on Friday to ban assault rifles but fell short on handguns, saying only that he would help cities restrict pistols and revolvers in response to a spate of shootings. "You don't need military-grade assault weapons, ones designed to kill the largest amount of people in the shortest amount of time, to take down a deer," he told a news conference in Toronto. There have been 311 shootings in Canada's largest city so far this year, with gun violence having increased incrementally each year to almost triple the rate in 2014.

• 
  Trump responds to Trudeau blackface scandal: 'I was more surprised when I saw the number of times'

  The Independent
• 
  Trudeau again apologizes for blackface incidents

  Associated Press Videos

High school sparks controversy over 'ridiculous' lunch: 'It's honestly sad'

A Minnesota high school is facing criticism for serving a meal that many people have since called "ridiculous." Last Friday, Maryn Holler, a student at Apollo High School in St. Cloud, shared two photos of a lunch tray filled with baby carrots, a cup of marinara sauce and a hot dog bun filled with melted cheese. "Alright so i paid for this to eat at lunch today," she wrote on Facebook.

Why Trump had a wad of cash in his back pocket

While boarding Air Force One during a fundraising swing through California, President Trump was photographed with multiple $20 bills visible in his back pocket. The photo, taken at Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View by Reuters photographer Tom Brenner on Tuesday, quickly went viral. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his return flight to Washington on Wednesday night, the president was asked about the photo and if he normally carries loose cash in his pocket.

• 
  Money nearly falls out of Trump's pocket as he boards AF1

  Reuters Videos
• 
  $20 Bill Almost Escapes From Donald Trump's Back Pocket

  CBSTV Videos

'90s kids were asked to do 'simple things' to save the Earth. Gen Z is thinking bigger

When the book "50 Simple Things Kids Can Do To Save The Earth" published in 1990, children were taught small ways to have a positive environmental impact and offset others' negative impacts. Some tens of thousands of children are leaving their classrooms on Friday to demand systematic actions to address a growing climate crisis as youth-driven, grassroots organizations coordinated demonstrations and young activists testified on Capitol Hill this week. While simple individual level actions are beneficial and can in part help address global climate change, advocates and scientists agree massive changes are needed to adequately prevent climate change's destruction.

• 
  Climate Strikes Sweep NYC, the Globe as Protesters Demand Urgent Action

  WPIX - New York
• 
  Activists, youth in Chicago join global call for action on climate change Friday

  WLS – Chicago

House votes to end forced arbitration in business disputes

The House approved a bill Friday to end forced arbitration clauses that prevent workers and consumers from filing lawsuits in disputes with companies over employment practices, billing or civil rights. Supporters, mostly Democrats, said the bill would restore access to justice for millions of Americans who are now locked out of the court system and forced to settle disputes against companies in a private arbitration system that often favors the company over the individual. Opponents, mostly Republicans, said the measure would make it harder for individual workers or consumers by forcing them into lengthy, expensive court fights that may end up shutting them out of the justice system entirely.

• 
  House Votes To Ban Forced Arbitration

  HuffPost
• 
  Why forced arbitration policies are a huge red flag for women at work

  Quartz

Architect Reinaldo Leandro on the Art of Building Design and Personal Style

The prominent architect and co-founder of the multidisciplinary design firm Ashe Leandro shares his thoughts on how the way he dresses relates to his design sensibility Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

Single 25-year-old mother of 3 diagnosed with terminal cancer: 'I'm scared of leaving them behind'

A single mother of three who had gone cancer-free for months has now been diagnosed with terminal cancer, WOIA reports. Kary Gomez, 25, of San Antonio, Texas, was first diagnosed with rectal cancer last year. After undergoing three surgeries, she was reportedly told in May that she was cancer-free.

Republican Rep Spars with Al Sharpton over Past Anti-Semitic, Racist Remarks during Congressional Hearing

Sparks flew at a House Judiciary Committee on policing last Thursday as Representative Matt Gaetz (R., Flo.) questioned witness Al Sharpton regarding derogatory comments he allegedly made about Jews, whites and African Americans. Gaetz posted a shortened version of the exchange on YouTube, which nevertheless runs to almost a quarter of an hour. Gaetz, like Sharpton, is known for his combative style.

India Is Planning a Huge China-Style Facial Recognition Program

India is planning to set up one of the world's largest facial recognition systems, potentially a lucrative opportunity for surveillance companies and a nightmare for privacy advocates who fear it will lead to a Chinese-style Orwellian state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government will open bids next month to build a system to centralize facial recognition data captured through surveillance cameras across India. It would link up with databases containing records for everything from passports to fingerprints to help India's depleted police force identify criminals, missing persons and dead bodies.

China Is Waging a Silent Media War for Global Influence

Xinhua declared that the two news agencies had established broad cooperation in such areas as new media, economic information, and the application of artificial intelligence. At the time, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission warned that Xinhua was rapidly expanding globally in an effort to discredit Western media outlets. The AP maintained, in response to a Congressional inquiry on the scope of the agreement between AP and Xinhua, that Xinhua would not influence its reporting or have access to sensitive information in AP's possession.

Mosques in Liberia dedicate Friday prayers to pupils killed in fire

The Monrovia suburb of Paynesville was a town in mourning Friday, as residents sought to come to terms with the loss of 27 pupils in a huge fire at a Liberian Koranic school. “How do you expect me to feel in this condition?” said Isatu Sow, mother of one of the victims, who was among the first to arrive at the Bassa Town Community mosque ahead of Friday prayers. Only eight of the 36 people inside the building survived when the fire broke out in the early hours of Thursday morning as the victims, who were all of Guinean origin, slept in the school dormitory.

Progressive revolt against Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema is exactly why Trump will win (again)

A group of Arizona Democrats are demonstrating why President Donald Trump will more than likely be a two-term president. Witness the liberals riding in on their unicorn, hoping to censure the first Arizona Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate in 30 years. It seems Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is just not Democratic enough.

'This Is an Emergency. Our House Is on Fire.' Greta Thunberg Addresses New York's Climate Strike

The strike, which is organized by The Climate Strike Coalition, was intended to kick off a week events to highlight climate change. One of the flagship protests on Friday was in New York City, three days before the U.N. Climate Summit. Tens of thousands of people turned out for the strikes with climate group 350.org estimating that as many as 300,000 attended.

• 
  Global climate strike protests take place across the country

  FOX News Videos
• 
  You Should Be at the Climate Strike: A Call to Arms From Bill McKibben

  Rolling Stone

History buff finds ships that sank in 1878 in Lake Michigan

A diver and maritime history buff has found two schooners that collided and sank into the cold depths of northern Lake Michigan more than 140 years ago. Bernie Hellstrom, of Boyne City, Michigan, said he was looking for shipwrecks about 10 years ago when a depth sounder on his boat noted a large obstruction about 200 feet (60 meters) down on the lake bottom near Beaver Island. "I've made hundreds of trips to Beaver Island and every trip I go out the sounder is on," he told The Associated Press on Friday.

Jerry becomes a hurricane en route to Puerto Rico; Humberto knocks out power in Bermuda

Tropical Storm Jerry strengthened into a hurricane Thursday as it trekked westward toward Puerto Rico along a path already followed this year by Hurricanes Dorian and Humberto. The National Hurricane Center said Jerry's center was expected to pass north of Puerto Rico on Saturday and east of the southeastern Bahamas on Sunday. inches of rain: Hundreds rescued from 'life threatening' floods as Imelda drenches Texas Forecasters warned of likely life-threatening surf and rip current conditions for portions of the northern Leeward Islands on Thursday afternoon.