- NewsAssociated Press
The Latest: Epstein lawyers dissatisfied with autopsy result
A Justice Department official says people including jail staff members believed to have information pertinent to the probe into financier Jeffrey Epstein's death are not cooperating with investigators. The official says the people have not yet been interviewed by the FBI and that their lack of cooperation is a challenge as investigators works to try to determine the full circumstances surrounding Epstein's suicide. The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
- PoliticsReuters
"May God ruin Trump", Tlaib's grandmother says
BEIT UR AL-FAUQA, West Bank, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Sitting under an olive tree in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Muftia Tlaib scoffs at the attention she has recently received from the president of the United States. Tlaib is the grandmother of U.S. congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, at the centre of an affair that has drawn Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu together against U.S. Democrats. On Thursday, bowing to pressure from Trump, Israel barred a visit by Rashida Tlaib and fellow Democrat Ilhan Omar that it had initially said it would allow.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Jihadi Jack: Isis fighter stripped of British citizenship by Home Office
The Isis fighter known as Jihadi Jack has been stripped of his British citizenship, prompting a diplomatic row between the UK and Canada, it has been reported. Muslim convert Jack Letts, 24, who had held dual UK and Canadian citizenship, declared he was an "enemy of Britain" after travelling from Oxfordshire to Syria at the age of 18 to join the terror group. He has begged to be allowed to return to the UK, insisting he had "no intention" of killing Britons, after he was captured by Kurdish forces in 2017.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Roller coaster malfunction causes cars to collide; multiple kids taken to hospital
Ocean City police say five people, four children and one adult, were transported to Atlantic General Hospital Friday night after a roller coaster incident at Jolly Roger Amusement Park. OCPD Deputy Communications Manager Ashley Miller said at about 8:20 p.m. Friday night, officers responded to Jolly Roger near 30th Street to assist the Ocean City Fire Department.
- U.S.WABC – NY
Hours-old baby abandoned in Maryland woods found by passerby, hospitalized in stable condition
The infant was left in a wooded area in suburban Washington on a 90-degree day without so much as a diaper, according to police.
- NewsThe Independent
Hundreds of strangers queue for El Paso shooting victim’s funeral after husband feared no one would show up
Just about every morning for the past two weeks, Antonio Basco has risen before dawn to buy as many floral bouquets as he can fit in his car and carried them to a makeshift memorial for the victims of the mass shooting in El Paso. Soon after, the La Paz Faith Memorial and Spiritual Centre in El Paso would be spilling over with bouquets, as hundreds of strangers came to pay their respects to Ms Reckard at her visitation and prayer service. Mr Basco had invited the public to the service this week, worried that he would have to bury his partner of 22 years alone.
WorldAFPKuwait says emir recovered from 'setback'
Kuwaiti state media on Sunday reported Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah had "recovered", shortly after Iran's foreign minister indicated that the 90-year-old was unwell. The emir "has recovered from a setback and is in good health now", Kuwait's official news agency KUNA said, citing a palace statement, without specifying the nature of the "setback". Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had earlier on Sunday wished Sheikh Sabah a "speedy recovery" after talking with the Gulf state's officials.
- WorldBloomberg
Argentina Faces Fresh Turmoil From Resignation, Debt Downgrades
The embattled president is suddenly grappling with the resignation of his economy minister and a double downgrade to the nation's debt. Meanwhile, his opponent Alberto Fernandez, now favorite to win the presidency on Oct. 27, is calling on Macri to renegotiate the terms of a record $56 billion credit line with the International Monetary Fund. Argentina's global bonds will be the first to react, while the nation's currency and stock markets remain closed on Monday due to a local holiday.
- NewsCharlotte Observer
Smiling cops take selfie near where dead baby was just found. Missouri city apologizes
A Missouri city is apologizing after posting a selfie of smiling police officers near the crime scene where a dead baby was found hours earlier. Columbia police posted the picture on Twitter on Thursday evening of smiling officers near where investigators sought clues in the unidentified baby's death, officials said. The infant, who was estimated to be less than one year old, was found near a wooded area shortly before noon Thursday, according to police.
- WorldAssociated Press
Yemen rebel drone attack targets remote Saudi oil field
Drones launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels attacked a massive oil and gas field deep inside Saudi Arabia's sprawling desert on Saturday, causing what the kingdom described as a "limited fire" in the second such recent attack on its crucial energy industry. The attack on the Shaybah oil field, which produces some 1 million barrels of crude oil a day near the kingdom's border with the United Arab Emirates, again shows the reach of the Houthis' drone program. Shaybah sits some 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) from Houthi-controlled territory, underscoring the rebels' ability to now strike at both nations, which are mired in Yemen's yearslong war.
- PoliticsNational Review
The Bogus Story That Launched a ‘Collusion’ Probe
The George Papadopoulos Origin Story has never added up. It has been portrayed as the Big Bang, the Magic Moment that started the FBI's investigation of “collusion” — a suspected election-theft conspiracy between Donald Trump's campaign and Vladimir Putin's regime. You would probably also think Papadopoulos, Suspect One in The Great Cyber Espionage Attack on Our Democracy, might have rated a tad more than the whopping 14-day jail sentence a federal judge eventually imposed on him.
- NewsThe Telegraph
Duke of York pictured inside mansion of convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein
Peering out from behind the 15ft-high solid oak door Prince Andrew is seen to catch himself and check if anyone is watching as he waves goodbye to an attractive brunette. A video of the encounter emerged as the Duke of York faced a growing list of questions over this association with the financier who died in prison in an apparent suicide earlier this month. The Duke is seen in the video emerging in the imposing doorway of the New York building which Epstein's victims have dubbed the “House of Horrors” to chat for a few seconds and then wave goodbye to an unnamed woman.
- LifestyleCar and Driver
View Photos of Engines of Pebble Beach
Engines that caught our eye at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance 2019. From Car and Driver
- NewsMiami Herald
7 shot after random Snapchat invites to ‘instant house party,’ Texas cops say
An “instant party” in Texas ended with a car chase and several people shot, police say. Houston police say they were called to a house party early Saturday attended by an estimated 30-50 people who were invited on Snapchat, KHOU reported. “It was just a random group of people receiving an invite [on the app],” Houston Detective Sean Ragsdale said, according to the news outlet.
- WorldReuters
Argentina detains businessman at center of Mexican corruption scandal
Argentine authorities and Interpol detained on Friday a businessman who was at the center of a Mexican corruption scandal in 2004 that hurt the reputation of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who at the time was Mexico City's mayor and is now the nation's president. The detained Argentine businessman Carlos Ahumada was filmed in 2004 giving bundles of money to Lopez Obrador's main ally in the City Council, Rene Bejarano. Support for Lopez Obrador at the time was battered by the graft scandal.
WorldAFPSuspected online dope-dealer back in Israel after extradition
A man accused of operating a large drug-dealing ring on a popular messaging app appeared in an Israeli court Sunday after his extradition from Ukraine, where he had previously sought to escape. Amos Dov Silver, an Israeli-American, was taken to court in Rishon Lezion near Tel Aviv after his arrival from Ukraine, police said. Authorities in Ukraine said Saturday they had captured Silver a day after he escaped from the airport while he was being extradited.
- NewsThe Independent
Unprecedented heatwave 'kills thousands of fish' in Alaska
Climate change and warming rivers may have caused the mass death of salmon in parts of Alaska, scientists say. Large numbers of salmon died prematurely in some Alaskan rivers in July according to local reports, and scientists believe the cause could be the unprecedented heatwave that gripped the state last month. “Climate change is here in Alaska.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Child found dead inside vehicle parked at New Jersey train station lot
LINDENWOLD, N.J. – Authorities are investigating the death of a child found inside a locked vehicle Friday afternoon in the parking lot of the train station, authorities say. The child could not be resuscitated by first responders and was taken to a nearby hospital, the transit authority PATCO said in a news release Friday afternoon. PATCO President John Hanson said the baby was inside the car for an unknown number of hours and police were trying to locate the vehicle owner.
- WorldAssociated Press
Thailand's lost baby dugong dies from shock, eating plastic
An 8-month-old dugong nurtured by marine experts after it was found lost near a beach in southern Thailand has died of what biologists believe was a combination of shock and ingesting plastic waste, officials said Saturday. The female dugong — a large ocean mammal — was named "Marium" and became a hit in Thailand after images of biologists embracing and feeding her with milk and seagrass spread across social media. Last week, she was found bruised after being chased and supposedly attacked by a male dugong during the mating season, said Jatuporn Buruspat, director-general of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources.
- WorldTime
Hong Kong Protests Show Little Sign of Flagging as Large Crowds Rally for Democracy
Tens of thousands chanted “Free Hong Kong! Democracy Now!” and “Fight for freedom! Stand for Hong Kong!” as a heavy rain fell. Many protesters carried banners decrying alleged police brutality and what they claim is collusion between law enforcement and criminal gangs known as triads. Vanessa, a 42-year-old protester attending the rally with her banker husband, said “We are here to support the young people.
- NewsBusiness Insider
Epstein's last days were spent emptying vending machines with his lawyers in a private meeting room, avoiding suicide watch, and paying other inmates' commissaries
The New York Times reported that late, accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein spent his final days trying to use his wealth to manipulate his circumstances inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center, leading up to his death by suicide. Epstein avoided spending time in his cell by paying lawyers to visit him in a private meeting room for up to 12 hours a day, emptying vending machines at the facility during periods of legal counsel. The financier and convicted sex offender also deposited money in other inmates' commissaries to avoid their attention and seemingly devised a way to hang himself without drawing attention in the understaffed facility.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Sudan's former dictator Omar al-Bashir due in court for corruption trial
Omar al-Bashir, the ousted former president of Sudan, is expected to stand in court on Monday for the first stage of a corruption trial which could see him jailed for many years. Bashir took power in a 1989 coup but was deposed in April after mass protests and security forces deciding to withdraw support for his brutal regime, which was behind an alleged genocidal campaign in the Darfur region. The 75-year-old former dictator is in prison awaiting the trail, where he faces allegations of possessing foreign currency, corruption and receiving gifts illegally.
- NewsMiami Herald
Mom aims head-on at a tanker to kill herself, sons. When truck dodges, she doubles back
Police say a Gainesville, Florida, mom of two young boys told a friend she was going to kill herself and her sons by crashing her car with everyone inside. Later that day, on Friday afternoon, Gainesville police say that Melissa Gail Mack tried to made good on her threat by loading her children, ages 4 and 6, into her van. According to the police report, Mack left the northbound lanes of US-441, switched to a southbound lane, and aimed to hit a tanker truck head-on, the Gainesville Sun and WCJB first reported.
- NewsSacramento Bee
Yuba City man dies in apparent suicide in standoff after police answer assault call
A 29-year-old man died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in his Yuba City apartment during a standoff with police on Friday, according to a Yuba City police press release. Yuba City police Sgt. Brent Slade said that the woman and children had fled their apartment when she called.
- WorldReuters
Russia says no plans to install new missiles unless U.S. deploys them
Russia will not deploy new missiles as long as the United States shows similar restraint in Europe and Asia, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said on Sunday, after Washington's withdrawal from a Soviet-era arms pact. The United States formally left the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty with Russia earlier this month after accusing Moscow of violating the treaty and deploying one banned type of missile, allegations the Kremlin denies. Russia has also pulled out of the deal, but Shoigu said it had no plans to deploy new missiles.
