Palm Desert

Trump says he is holding up coronavirus aid to block Postal Service funds for voting by mail

The president said on Thursday that he is willing to block a relief package because it contains money for the U.S. Postal Service that would shore up election infrastructure amid the pandemic.

43 felony charges, new task forces: Here's what Chicago is doing to combat potential looting

Dozens of people have been charged in connection with widespread looting in downtown Chicago earlier this week, the county prosecutor said.

Bald eagle takes down government drone

The device was mapping shoreline erosion when it was attacked in the air.

Chainsaw-wielding men covered in blood arrested on Toronto beach

Two men have been arrested after appearing on a Canadian beach spattered in blood and wielding chainsaws.Witnesses alleged that they menaced and “charged” at various people gathered at Toronto‘s Cherry Beach on Sunday morning, before police quickly intervened, responding to reports of a large fight.

Feds say Yale discriminates against Asian, white applicants

A Justice Department investigation has found Yale University is illegally discriminating against Asian American and white applicants, in violation of federal civil rights law, officials said Thursday. Yale denied the allegation, calling it “meritless” and “hasty.” The findings detailed in a letter to the college’s attorneys Thursday mark the latest action by the Trump administration aimed at rooting out discrimination in the college application process, following complaints from students about the application process at some Ivy League colleges.

3 women arrested for allegedly attacking a Chili's host for enforcing social distancing

"I was kind of fighting for my life," restaurant hostess Kelsy Wallace, 17, said. "I was really scared, calling out for my mama."

U.S. judge dismisses NRA lawsuit challenging gun shop closures in New York state

A federal judge on Friday dismissed the National Rifle Association's lawsuit challenging New York's decision to close gun stores in the state in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. The decision came eight days after New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit seeking to dissolve the gun rights group, accusing senior leaders of corruption including the improper diversion of millions of dollars. U.S. District Judge Mae D'Agostino said the NRA lacked standing to challenge on behalf of its members a March 20 executive order by Governor Andrew Cuomo requiring gun stores to close in the state because they were "non-essential" businesses.

Authorities to allow sea lion killing to help struggling salmon population

U.S. authorities on Friday gave wildlife managers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho permission to start killing hundreds of sea lions in the Columbia River basin in hopes of helping struggling salmon and steelhead trout.

What the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings reveal about Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris’s questioning of Brett Kavanaugh when he was nominated to the Supreme Court won the senator praise for her prosecutorial skill.

Venezuela jails 15 for decades over botched invasion

Venezuela on Friday sentenced 15 people to more than two decades in prison over a failed invasion plot that President Nicolas Maduro has said was an attempt to overthrow him.

Ghislaine Maxwell won't be moved to general jail population, prosecutors say

Lawyers for the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein claimed she was being held in “uniquely onerous” conditions.

Hillary Clinton would 'consider' working for a Biden administration

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she would consider a role in Joe Biden's administration if the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is elected in November."I'm ready to help in any way I can because I think this will be a moment where every American – I don't care what party you are, I don't care what age, race, gender, I don't care – every American should want to fix our country," Ms Clinton said.

Portland State disarms campus police after Black man's death

Portland State University said Thursday it will disarm its campus police force, more than two years after officers from the department shot and killed a Black man who was trying to break up a fight close to campus. Portland State President Stephen Percy said the decision to have officers patrol the campus unarmed is the first step in a broader policy to re-imagine safety at the state-funded university in the heart of the city. Activists had been calling for Portland State to disarm campus police long before Floyd's death.

The US said federal agents have seized millions of dollars in bitcoin from terrorist groups al-Qaeda and Hamas

Officials said it's the US government's "largest-ever" seizure of cryptocurrency accounts controlled by terrorist organizations.

Mei Xiang, the National Zoo's female giant panda, is very pregnant and her cub could come as soon as this weekend

The panda cub could be the first cub at The National Zoo since Bei Bei was born in 2015. He left to China last year.

What’s slowing Miami’s COVID spread? Partial ‘herd immunity’ may play a part

One model estimates nearly a third of the county has been infected.

U.S. Navy carrier conducted exercises in South China Sea on Aug. 14

A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier conducted exercises in the contested South China Sea on Friday, the U.S. navy said in a statement. A strike group led by the USS Ronald Reagan conducted flight operations and high-end maritime stability operations and exercises, the statement said. "Integration with our joint partners is essential to ensuring joint force responsiveness and lethality, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific," U.S. Navy Commander Joshua Fagan, Task Force 70 air operations officer aboard USS Ronald Reagan, was quoted as saying.

Ex-FBI lawyer to plead guilty to falsifying documents in Russia inquiry; first case brought in DOJ review

Former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith was charged with making false statements in the Russia inquiry.

Astronomers find "Milky Way look-alike" 12 billion light years away

The galaxy appears as a near-perfect ring of light — a so-called "Einstein Ring."

Letters to the Editor: Defunding police isn't about money; it's about dismantling a racist system

Police have been able to lie and exert force with impunity for years. Efforts to 'defund' them are meant to hold them accountable.

What is inside the White House agreement with Israel and UAE?

Donald Trump has announced the “full normalisation of relations” between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, suspending Israel’s efforts to declare sovereignty over a third of occupied West Bank territories to instead focus on “expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world”.“Everybody said this would be impossible,” the president said from the Oval Office on Thursday.

Nigerian police rescue Kano man locked up in his parents' garage

The emaciated aged 30 had been left for at least three years without proper care, police say.

New York City's spring coronavirus outbreak was roughly as deadly as the 1918 flu pandemic that killed 50 million people

The COVID-19 outbreak more than quadrupled death counts from the previous year, while the Spanish flu merely tripled them.

Scorching temperatures in Death Valley will shatter records in West, southwest

Cities like Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson and Salt Lake City could experience record high temperatures in the coming days.

Greece has secretly sent away more than 1,000 migrants, taking them to the edge of the country's territorial waters and then abandoning them at sea

"I left Syria for fear of bombing — but when this happened, I wished I'd died under a bomb," Najma al-Khatib told The Times.

Amber Alert resolved for 16-year-old Florida teenager, authorities say

UPDATE: The Amber Alert for the unidentified 16-year-old girl has been resolved Friday night, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said.

In struggle to land a blow on Biden, Trump toys with nickname change

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has used belittling nicknames to describe his opponents throughout his political career, toyed with a name change on Friday for his Democratic rival in the Nov. 3 election, Joe Biden. Unable to hold his signature large campaign rallies because of the pandemic, Trump brought about 300 police officers who support his re-election bid to the open area outside the clubhouse at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club. Trump polled the crowd on whether he should stick with "Sleepy Joe" or change his nickname to "Slow Joe."

Bison violently attacks motorcyclist in South Dakota

A motorcyclist has survived a violent attack by a bison in the Black Hills of South Dakota, sheriff’s officials said.

A beloved lesbian baker in Detroit got a homophobic cake order. Here's why she made it anyway.

April Anderson, a Detroit pastry chef with national cred, was taken aback by a recent cake order that came into her Good Cakes and Bakes bakery.

China attacks new US demand to register Confucius Institutes

China accused the United States on Friday of trying to “demonize and stigmatize” relations between the two countries, in a scathing attack on the Trump administration's designation of Chinese-funded language and culture programs in the U.S. as foreign missions of the Chinese Communist Party. Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said branches of the Confucius Institute U.S. Center operating at U.S. schools and colleges are a “bridge and link to help people from all over the world learn Chinese, understand China, and strengthen educational and cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and other countries." Zhao said the accusations against the institutes were without basis and were motivated by “ideological prejudice and self-interest."

US economist proposes $12 trillion in slavery reparations to eliminate black-white wealth gap

A renowned economist has said that $12 trillion should be afforded to black Americans in reparation for slavery to help the close wealth gap.Duke University professor, William Darity Jr, and writer, Kirsten Mullen, jointly published a report for The Roosevelt Institute, an American liberal think tank, laying out a case for slavery reparations.

Special Tactics Airman Who Fought Off Taliban Despite Concussion Will Get Silver Star

For his actions on May 25, 2013, in Afghanistan's eastern Ghazni province, John Grimesey will receive the Silver Star.

Australia surfer saves wife by punching shark

A husband leapt on to the shark as it attacked his wife off Port Macquarie, New South Wales.

He used social media to pimp a 14-year-old in Miami airport hotels, cops say. He’s 17

A 14-year-old runaway told cops she got sold for sex at hotels across the street from Miami International Airport up to five times a day, according to a police report. The first statutory rapist called himself “Slime,” the girl said. He paid in Percocet.

Hezbollah will respond if Israel behind Beirut blast, says Nasrallah

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday that his group would wait for results of an investigation into the Beirut port explosion, but if it turns out to be an act of sabotage by Israel then it would "pay an equal price". The leader of the powerful Iran-backed Shi'ite Muslim group said in a televised speech that the two theories under investigation were that either an accident due to negligence, or sabotage caused the explosion of warehoused ammonium nitrate. Israel has denied any involvement in the Aug. 4 blast that killed 172 people, injured 6,000, damaged swathes of the city and left 300,000 homeless.

Antifa website redirected to Biden’s campaign site causes right-wing conspiracy meltdown

The website for anti-facist group Antifa redirected to Joe Biden‘s campaign website on Wednesday, which led some people to claim that the Democrats are connected to the organisation.For a few hours on Wednesday, Antifa.com redirected to JoeBiden.com, the campaign website of the presumptive Democratic candidate for president, before it returned back to the original page of the group Donald Trump has described as being run by “anarchists.”

Opinion: Sign of the times: A bishop bashes Biden and Catholics object (or yawn)

The reaction to a slam on Biden by Bishop Thomas J. Tobin is evidence America's Catholic voters no longer take their cues from the hierarchy.

Turkey's president warns attack against Turkish ships will pay 'high price'

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that any attack on a Turkish ship exploring for oil and gas in disputed Mediterranean waters would incur a "high price" and suggested Turkey had already acted on that warning.

Fact check: Obama did not resettle 70,000 Somali immigrants in Minnesota

The claim that Rep. Ilhan Omar's district received a majority of resettled Somali refugees is false.

New Jeffrey Epstein Victims, Including 11-Year-Old Girl, Come Forward in Lawsuit

A Florida woman who alleges Jeffrey Epstein sexually assaulted her when she was 11-years-old is among nine accusers who have filed a new lawsuit against the millionaire pedophile’s estate.The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court, alleges Epstein sexually abused them from as early as 1978—far earlier than Epstein’s previously known instances of abuse—and continued until 2004. Five of the women in the lawsuit claim they were underage when they were abused, including a Tennessee woman who says she was 13 when the financier raped her multiple times. The other four women in the lawsuit were over 18. They were part of a “massive sex trafficking network” run by Epstein for him and his wealthy and powerful friends, it claims.Victoria’s Secret Mogul May Finally Have to Explain His Epstein Ties“These nine Plaintiffs come forward to stand up for themselves and others, after they were sexually abused and assaulted by Epstein,” the lawsuit says. “Some... were raped by Epstein, repeatedly.”Epstein, 66, was found dead by suicide in his jail cell at Manhattan Correction Center last month. The sex offender was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges for allegedly abusing dozens of underage girls over two decades, beginning in the 1990s. The charges came 12 years after the disgraced businessman pleaded guilty in state court in Florida to soliciting prostitution. He was sentenced to 18 months behind bars in a widely criticized plea deal, and served 13 before he was released.Some of the most shocking claims detailed in the new suit relate to the woman from Tennessee, whose alleged abuse started in 1978 when she was 13, and continued for a long period. Epstein “sexually assaulted, abused, battered and raped her multiple times,” the lawsuit says.This assault is the oldest abuse allegation against Epstein, who would have been 25 at the time and working on Wall Street after leaving his teaching gig at the Manhattan prep school Dalton. A woman from Florida alleges in the suit that, in 1993, when she was just 11 years old, Epstein “sexually assaulted, abused, battered and digitally penetrated her on three, separate occasions.” She also alleges Epstein forced her “to perform oral sex on him,” according to the lawsuit. How We Got the Scoop on Jeffrey Epstein’s Arrest“As a result of the aforementioned sexual abuse, [the woman] suffered and continues to suffer from severe and serious injuries including... severe emotional distress and physical manifestations thereof,” the lawsuit states.The women were allegedly sexually abused by Epstein and his associates in New York, Florida, New Mexico, California, and the United States Virgin Islands—but the suit also claims abuse happened in South Carolina, a location not mentioned in previous lawsuits and criminal cases against Epstein. The suit doesn’t detail how the females met Epstein, or how they came to file a lawsuit together. They were able to sue Epstein’s estate due to New York’s Child Victims Act—which allows individuals abused as children to bring claims regardless of the statute of limitations.Dozens of victims have laid claim to Epstein’s estate, which includes his unsold $88 million Manhattan mansion.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

After months of haggling, Lockheed moves on German air defense bid

Lockheed Martin and MBDA Deutschland have submitted another bid for Germany’s next-generation air defense system, following negotiations throughout the summer that some observers said nearly tanked the project.

China restaurant apologises for weighing customers

A restaurant in China has apologised for its controversial policy of asking diners to weigh themselves before entry in an overzealous response to a new national campaign against food waste.

He was working security at a Key West bar. Police say he’s part of a murder plot

Key West police and U.S. Marshals arrested a man working security at a bar in the Southernmost City this week who is a suspect in a stalking and attempted murder case in Nebraska.

US seizes millions of dollars of Iranian fuel bound for Venezuela

The US says it seized 1.1 million barrels of fuel from four tankers en route to Venezuela.

AOC challenges Trump to release his college transcript after he called her a 'poor student' on Fox News

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has challenged Donald Trump to release his college transcript to compare grades, saying she would do the same.The New York freshman congresswoman issued her challenge to the president after he said on Fox News on Thursday that she was "not even a smart person" and was "a poor student" during her time at Boston University.

‘It sends a strong signal’: Black voters respond to Kamala Harris’ nomination

While some hailed Joe Biden’s pick for vice-president, others raised concerns over the California senator’s background as a ‘top cop’China Cochran met Kamala Harris at a campaign event in Detroit last year and was swept away by the California senator’s ambition, charisma and leadership.So when the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden named Harris as his running mate on Tuesday – making her the first Black woman on a major US party’s presidential ticket – Cochran wasn’t just struck by the history.It represented a full-circle moment for Black women, who the Democratic party often refer to as its backbone of support, yet who for generations have fought for their voices to be heard and political aspirations recognized.“It tells Black girls that they can be president,” Cochran, who recently ran for state representative in Michigan, told the Associated Press. “I think it’s important for us to look at that and see other young women of color realize that they can go after their dreams and really make change in our world.”Harris’ selection also marks the first time a person of Asian descent is on the presidential ticket. Born to a Jamaican father, Donald Harris, and Indian mother, she often speaks of her deep bond with her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, whom she has called her single biggest influence.“My mother understood very well she was raising two Black daughters. She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya [Harris’s younger sister] and me as Black girls, and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident Black women,” Harris wrote in her 2018 autobiography, The Truths We Hold.> It’s important for us to look at that and see other young women of color realize that they can go after their dreams> > China CochranAs they appeared together for the first time as running mates at a high school in Biden’s home town of Wilmington on Wednesday, Biden and Harris reflected on the significance of the moment.“This morning, all across the nation, little girls woke up – especially little Black and brown girls, who so often feel overlooked and undervalued in their communities. But today, today, just maybe, they’re seeing themselves for the first time in a new way,” Biden said.Paying tribute to the many women that paved the way for her, Harris said she was mindful of all of the “heroic and ambitious women before me, whose sacrifice, determination and resilience make my presence here today even possible”.Harris joins the ticket during a national reckoning on racism in the US. The coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately affected Black Americans and other people of color. Protests against systemic racism and police brutality are prominent in the minds of potential voters.Black women in particular helped rescue Biden’s campaign earlier this year by delivering a resounding victory in the South Carolina primary, powering him to the Democratic nomination.As he prepares for the general election on 3 November, Biden is trying to recreate the multiracial and cross-generational coalition that twice sent Barack Obama to the White House. That will hinge on Black voters in battleground states like Michigan to turn out in force in November.“We’ve seen from an electoral process what happens if we don’t vote, that can mean the difference between winning and losing a state,” said Karen Finney, a senior Democratic strategist and spokeswoman for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.“We’re in this moral inflection point of this country and Vice-President Biden is someone who’s talked about healing the soul of our country and certainly one of the ways to do that is to uplift the voices of Black women.”Strategists said that Harris will help that effort.“It sends a strong signal about not only the current state of our party but what the future of our party looks like,” Antjuan Seawright, a veteran political strategist in South Carolina, told the AP. “And what better way to reward a group of people who have been the political glue in this party than to put an African American woman on the ticket.”Harris’ vice-presidential nomination also represents the first time that a graduate of a historically Black college or university (HBCU) will be represented on the ticket. Harris graduated from Howard University in Washington DC and is a member of the storied Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha.> It sends a strong signal about not only the current state of our party but what the future of our party looks like> > Antjuan SeawrightIn Wilmington on Wednesday, Debbie Harrington, a member of the AKA sorority, told the Guardian Biden’s choice of Harris had revealed something new about the candidate.“It showed that he was listening to the people who are speaking up around the world and asking for equity, justice and fairness,” said Harrington, referring to the nationwide anti-racism protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May.“His pick said: ‘I hear you. And not only did I hear you, I understand you and I’m going to do something about it.’”However, while Harris’ selection has largely been applauded among the Democratic party and voters, some have also raised concerns. Harris has previously labelled herself both a “top cop” and a “progressive prosecutor”, and her record as California attorney general and district attorney in San Francisco could make it difficult for Biden to galvanize support among younger Black and Latino voters.Lindsey Roland, a 31-year-old Black woman and Michigan real estate agent, said that background gave her pause.“While I fully appreciate her scope of responsibilities while she was in that role, I still think she was empowered to stand up more for minorities, and I think it was just a really missed opportunity,” she said. “But I absolutely will be voting. We have far too much at stake. And for me, as a mother, I’m frightened and I just feel like another four years with this administration will be catastrophic.”Writing in the Guardian, social movement lawyer Derecka Purnell said progressives will need to defend Harris against racist and sexist attacks, but they must still hold her to account.“When activists criticized President Barack Obama, we were scathingly reminded how hard it was for him to be a Black man in the White House,” she wrote. “He had significant executive power and influence to shift resources, call for legislation, and even free people from prison (which his own administration seemingly neglected). We were told to wait.”Some of the nation’s leading activists who have long fought for criminal justice reform see Harris as a potential ally in their push for change.Color of Change’s president, Rashad Robinson, said Harris has evolved over time and declared herself a “progressive prosecutor” who backs reform.“What I appreciate about her is that she’s been willing to listen and willing to evolve, and she’s been willing to put legislation behind that evolution and policy platforms behind that evolution,” Robinson said.“Yes, I think there will be very real things that people will raise, but I think that she has been listening and working to address those things.”Alicia Garza, the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, said the nation was in a moment where “deep and profound change is needed”.“For some activists, it is important that a Black woman is represented on this ticket, and for other activists, substance is going to be much more important than symbolism,” Garza said.“The trick of getting people out to vote will be a successful combination of the two. This is an incredible moment of opportunity, it’s a moment that is rife with possibility and I’m still hopeful that this newly announced ticket will rise to meet the moment.”> I still think she was empowered to stand up more for minorities, and I think it was just a really missed opportunity> > Lindsey RolandIt’s also not lost on many that the selection comes nearly 100 years after the 19th amendment was ratified, giving women the right to vote.But for Black women, the freedom to vote didn’t come until much later, part of a historical pattern of being denied justice offered to others.For Nse Ufot, CEO of the New Georgia Project, that’s a call for action and a reminder how much more work needs to be done. Ahead of the election, her organization is working to register more than one million Black, Latino and Asian American voters. So, far they’ve registered 425,000 in the state.“It took an additional 45 years of organizing to secure the rights to vote for Black women and other women of color,” Ufot said. “And so, you know, there is a long history of, sort of, uncredited work. I think the Biden-Harris ticket is going to make it easier for us to have conversations, particularly in places like Georgia’s rural black belt about why they need to vote.”Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, was overcome with emotion after the announcement.She wished her late mother could have lived to see the historic moment. She also wished that Black women who came before Harris – civil rights activists Fannie Lou Hamer, Dorothy Height, Ella Baker and many others – could know how their legacy and hard work culminated into this powerful moment.“I thought about my mother, my grandmother. I thought about my sisters. I thought about in this moment that as a Black woman, we are seen,” Campbell said. “This moment is more than about the VP slot. It affirms Black women and all we did for this country. I’m glad I lived to see it.”Associated Press contributed to this report