U.S.CBS NewsTeacher's elevator death blamed on human error
State inspectors said a fatal elevator accident in Boston was caused by human error and not a mechanical problem. Officers found 38-year-old Carrie O'Connor, a lecturer at Boston University, in the elevator on the first floor of a building in the city's Allston neighborhood on September 14. In a report released late Friday and obtained by CBS Boston, inspectors said O'Connor was moving a large package into the elevator when it struck a gate switch at the top of the car.
U.S.The IndependentTrump supporting write-in candidate declares herself governor of Ohio after discussing plot to kidnap Mike DeWine
A woman who ran as a write-in candidate against Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has unlawfully declared herself governor of the state and been implicated in a plot to kidnap and prosecute Mr DeWine. Renea Turner, who ran against Mr DeWine as a write-in candidate in 2018, posted a video to her Facebook on Thursday in which she places her hand on a Bible and proclaims herself the governor of Ohio. "Ohio is free from Tyrannous leadership," she wrote in a Facebook post following the stunt.
PoliticsNational ReviewBiden Staff Tells 60 Minutes He Misspoke in Saying Free College Would Cost $150 Billion
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's staff said the former vice president misspoke in saying that the government cost to provide four-year college education would be $150 billion, when in fact it would cost nearly twice as much. The comment came during an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes that aired on Sunday, in which Biden said he could send “every single qualified person” to four-year college if he made “significant institutional changes” that would include a 15 percent minimum tax on corporations. “I can send every single qualified person to a four-year college in their state for $150 billion,” Biden said.
PoliticsThe WeekKushner faces sharp criticism after he suggests some Black Americans don't 'want to be successful'
President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner is facing some sharp criticism over what his detractors believe was a textbook example of a lack of self-awareness. During a Fox News interview on Monday, Kushner, speaking about Black communities in the United States, said his father-in-law's policies "are the policies that can help people break out of the problems that they're complaining about, but he can't want them to be successful more than they want to be successful," before claiming there has been a groundswell of support for Trump among Black voters. Kushner's comments were understood by his critics to imply that some Black Americans don't strive for success, and he was quickly rebuked.
U.S.Miami HeraldFamily’s dog turns ‘vicious’ and kills infant as parents slept, Virginia police say
An infant was attacked and killed by a family dog early Monday as both the child's parents slept, according to police in Hampton on the Virginia coast. The identity and exact age of the baby have not been released, but a police officer told TV station WTKR at the scene that the child was “less than a year old.” The child's father killed the mixed-breed German Shepherd after discovering the attack, police said.The dog was shot “outside of the residence,” WTKR reported.
PoliticsThe IndependentJaime Harrison runs out the clock on Amy Coney Barrett question as South Carolina chooses between him and Lindsey Graham
Democratic Senate nominee Jaime Harrison has spent millions upon millions of dollars in the last several months attacking his Republican opponent, Senator Lindsey Graham, for not being transparent with South Carolinians about where he stands on the key political issues of the day, from immigration reform and racial justice to his support more broadly for Donald Trump. Mr Harrison and Democrats across the country have assailed Mr Graham for “flip-flopping” on his declaration in 2016 — which he re-affirmed again in a now-infamous clip from the winter of 2018 — that he would not seat a Supreme Court nominee during the 2020 presidential election season.
- EntertainmentYahoo News Video
Trump says Biden called him George. He didn’t. He was referring to George Lopez.
At a campaign rally on Monday, President Trump claimed that former Vice President Joe Biden referred to him as George on “60 Minutes. Biden was, in fact, participating in a campaign event and referring to comedian George Lopez who was a co-host.
U.S.INSIDERA Florida man drove a stolen bulldozer through a neighborhood and destroyed Biden-Harris campaign signs, police say
James Blight, 26, is accused of stealing a bulldozer, knocking down a fence, and destroying Biden-Harris campaign signs on residential lawns in Haines City, Florida. Blight told police he had "been drinking whiskey all day and did not remember most of the day," Haines City Police told NBC News. A man in Florida has been accused of stealing a bulldozer and destroying residential yards to remove Biden-Harris campaign signs.
PoliticsBusiness Insider'60 Minutes' says the huge book Trump's press secretary presented to Lesley Stahl as his 'healthcare plan' was largely filled with existing legislation
A heavy book that the White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, presented to Lesley Stahl as President Donald Trump's healthcare plan during a "60 Minutes" interview was largely filled with existing legislation, the show said. Stahl said in a clip — and "60 Minutes" suggested in a tweet on Sunday — the book had a series of executive orders and congressional initiatives "but no comprehensive health plan." The Washington Examiner reported last week that a copy of the book it obtained did contain some details about a healthcare plan but that much of it was 13 executive orders and 11 pieces of healthcare legislation enacted during Trump's presidency.
ScienceBBC'Murder hornet': First nest found in US eradicated with vacuum hose
The first nest of Asian giant hornets found in the US has successfully been destroyed by scientists. The nest, in the state of Washington, was found by putting tracker devices on the hornets and it was sucked out of a tree using a vacuum hose. The invasive species insects, known as "murder hornets", have a powerful sting and can spit venom.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastMitch McConnell’s Conservative Challenger Gets a Boost... From Dems
In a last-ditch effort to unseat Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), a deep-pocketed Democratic group has begun airing ads backing the Libertarian candidate in Kentucky's U.S. Senate contest. A new super PAC called True Kentucky Patriots started buying television and digital ads last week in support of Libertarian Brad Barron, calling him “Kentucky's true conservative for U.S. Senate,” in the words of one thirty-second spot. Barron is one hundred percent pro-Second Amendment, one hundred percent pro-life, and one hundred percent pro-term limits.
U.S.INSIDERA cow escaped from home and ended up stuck on a neighbor's trampoline, and yes, there are pictures
A herd of 40 cows escaped their home in Australia and had to be rounded up and returned. One of the cows made that a bit difficult after it wandered onto a neighbor's trampoline and got stuck. The neighbor found the cow in the middle of the night and alerted its owner to the issue.
PoliticsThe IndependentTrump news - live: President holds three rallies in Pennsylvania as Biden stretches lead in must-win state
As the Dow Jones slides 700 points, Donald Trump's White House is set to host a celebratory reception for Amy Coney Barrett on Monday evening - assuming she is confirmed to the US Supreme Court, as is widely anticipated - despite fears it could turn into another coronavirus superspreader event. The president is meanwhile complaining on Twitter about “COVID, COVID, COVID” coverage in the media and attacking “bad Republicans” opposing him - like the prominent Lincoln Project - as he heads into the final week of campaigning, even suggesting reporting on a pandemic amounts to “election law violation” after the country recorded its highest number of new coronavirus infections so far over the weekend, reporting more than 84,000 cases on Friday and 79,000 on Saturday. Meanwhile, his White House senior adviser and son-in-lawl, Jared Kushner, is facing growing backlash over comments he made on a Monday morning Fox and Friends appearance in which he was accused of suggesting some Black people don't “want to be successful,” saying: “President Trump's policies are the policies that can help people break out of the problems they're complaining about … but he can't want them to be successful more than they want to be successful.”
ScienceAssociated PressMoon holds more water in more places than ever thought
The moon's shadowed, frigid nooks and crannies may hold frozen water in more places and in larger quantities than previously suspected. While previous observations have indicated millions of tons of ice in the permanently shadowed craters of the moon's poles, a pair of studies in the journal Nature Astronomy take the availability of lunar surface water to a new level. More than 15,400 square miles (40,000 square kilometers) of lunar terrain have the capability to trap water in the form of ice, according to a team led by the University of Colorado's Paul Hayne.
WorldBBCCovid in Australia: Melbourne to exit 112-day lockdown
The Australian city of Melbourne will exit lockdown from Wednesday after recording no new Covid-19 cases for the first time since June. Victoria state was the epicentre of Australia's second wave, accounting for more than 90% of its 905 deaths. The state capital, Melbourne, went into lockdown 111 days ago - enforcing home confinement, travel restrictions and and closing stores and restaurants.
U.S.Miami Herald9-year-old hunting with father accidentally shoots, kills himself, Nebraska cops say
A father-son hunting trip left a 9-year-old boy dead Sunday following an accidental shooting, according to Nebraska police. Gunnar Holte was pheasant hunting with his father around Branched Oak Lake in Lincoln on Sunday morning when the incident occurred, the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office told KLKN. The boy was reloading his shotgun when his father heard it fire, KETV reported from the sheriff's office.
CelebrityINSIDERFake heiress Anna Delvey says she wants people to stop showing up at her prison to visit her
Anna Delvey — the fake heiress whose real name is Anna Sorokin — says she no longer wants random people dropping by to visit her in prison. "The days of hoping to catch me slipping are over, and all you're achieving by coming here is wasting your time and interfering with my sleep schedule," she wrote in an Instagram post. Delvey was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison after she was convicted on charges related to an elaborate scam where she pretended to be a German heiress and tried to swindle banks into loaning her money.
PoliticsSalonWill Trump supporters accept defeat? If he loses, it could get really ugly
One of the more interesting (and somewhat confounding) polling results in this election cycle has been the belief among members of both parties that Donald Trump will win re-election, regardless of who they're actually planning to vote for. Regardless of whom they personally support, 56% of Americans expect Trump to prevail over Biden in the November election, while 40% think Biden will win. Republicans are more likely to believe Trump will win (90%) than Democrats are to think Biden will (73%).
PoliticsThe IndependentDemocrats planning 30-hour 'digital filibuster' to try to stop Amy Coney Barrett being confirmed
The Senate will vote on Sunday to send the federal judge's nomination to a full vote, which will be held on Monday. With little remaining hope of blocking her confirmation to the court, and her replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Democrats have announced a symbolic show of defiance. Unlike an actual filibuster, which slows proceedings and can make an unpopular bill run out of time and therefore be blocked, the digital filibuster will not affect the outcome.
HealthBusiness InsiderFauci calls October's COVID-19 case numbers in the US the 'worst that we've ever had'
The US hit new daily peaks for COVID-19 cases on Friday and Saturday, with reports of more than 80,000 new cases per day. "Now we're at the highest baseline we've ever been, which is really precarious," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading expert on COVID-19, in an interview Monday. Fauci warned earlier that Americans need to "hunker down" as the weather turns cold, or face increased outbreaks.
CelebrityINSIDERA man threw his boyfriend a 'surprise funeral' for his birthday and told attendees to pretend that he was a ghost
A man reminisced about an experience on his 33rd birthday when his boyfriend threw him a "surprise funeral" in 2017. In a Twitter thread on Wednesday, Eli McCann told the story of when his boyfriend, now husband, gathered his loved ones for a funeral service on his birthday, because "people shouldn't have to die in order for their friends to gather and say why they loved them." "It was so charming and funny and morbid and I loved every second of it," McCann told the Mirror Online.
PoliticsThe WeekTrump claims media's focus on COVID-19 amounts to 'an election law violation'
In a Monday morning tweet, President Trump once again touted what he believes to be the "tremendous progress" his administration has made against the coronavirus pandemic before baselessly accusing the media of coordinating negative COVID-19 coverage to alter the course of the election. More stories from theweek.com The very different emotional lives of Trump and Biden voters The 19 greatest and worst presidential campaign ads of the 2020 election The Trump administration has surrendered to the pandemic
PoliticsThe New York TimesTrump Had One Last Story to Sell. The Wall Street Journal Wouldn't Buy It.
Its Washington bureau chief, Paul Beckett, recently remarked at a virtual gathering of Journal reporters and editors that while he knows that the paper often delivers unwelcome news to the many Trump supporters who read it, The Journal should protect its unique position of being trusted across the political spectrum, two people familiar with the remarks said. As the Trump team waited with excited anticipation for a Journal exposé, the newspaper did its due diligence: Bender and Beckett handed the story off to a well-regarded China correspondent, James Areddy, and a Capitol Hill reporter who had followed the Hunter Biden story, Andrew Duehren. Areddy interviewed Bobulinski.
CelebrityThe TelegraphPrince Harry: 'Upbringing and education' meant he had 'no idea unconscious bias existed' until he met Meghan
The Duke of Sussex has said his "upbringing and education" meant he had "no idea unconscious bias existed" until he met his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. During the 30 minute interview, published by GQ Magazine as part of its GQ Heroes Conference, the pair discussed the Black Lives Matter movement, racism in the UK and their families. On unconscious bias, and its role within UK society, the Duke said: “From my understanding, having the upbringing and the education that I had, I had no idea what it was, I had no idea it existed and, sad as it is to say, it took me many, many years to realise it, especially then living a day or a week in my wife's shoes”.
PoliticsAssociated PressHouse already won? Pelosi thinks so, and reaches for more
With control of the House hardly contested, Pelosi is working to fortify Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and win extra House seats in case Congress is called on to resolve any Electoral College dispute with President Donald Trump. Pelosi said she feels so confident Democrats will keep the House this election, she's already preparing to win the next one in 2022. This year, I'm trying to win it two years in advance — by being so substantial in this election that as soon as we start into the next year, people will see our strength,” Pelosi told The Associated Press in an interview.
“Many are longtime Republicans wrestling with what they see as a choice between two lousy candidates.”
“Some undecideds turn out to be people who’ve long felt alienated from the two big political parties.”
“They’re not following the 24-hour news cycle. The election and politics are just not a high priority.”
“One common trait: at this stage of the game, the undecided voter doesn’t fit into an easy political profile.”
“More realistically...these voters may not be motivated to vote at all in the 2020 election.”