Palm Desert

Austin Powers movies' Mini-Me, Verne Troyer, dies

The diminutive actor who starred in the Austin Powers movies' as "Mini Me", Verne Troyer, died Saturday at a hospital in Los Angeles. "It is with great sadness and heavy hearts to write that Verne passed away today," his family posted on his Instagram account. Troyer, who was 2 feet 8 inches (81 cm) tall, is best known for Austin Powers movies "The Spy Who Shagged Me" and "Austin Power in Goldmember." He also had the role of the goblin Griphook in the Harry Potter movies.

White Sox struggle in wake of Farquhar brain hemorrhage

(Reuters) - The Chicago White Sox lost 10-1 to the Houston Astros on Saturday but matters on the field took a backseat to concerns about their reliever Danny Farquhar, who suffered a brain hemorrhage a day earlier. The White Sox said tests had revealed a ruptured aneurysm. White Sox starter James Shields told reporters prior to the game on Saturday the players were all suffering.

Turkey's Erdogan says U.S. should look at its own actions if it wants jailed pastor freed

President Tayyip Erdogan said the United States should look at its own actions if it wants the return of an American Christian pastor who has been jailed in Turkey for suspected links to a 2016 failed coup. Erdogan made the comment in a live interview with broadcaster NTV. Andrew Brunson, who has lived in Turkey for more than two decades, was indicted on charges of helping the group that Ankara holds responsible for the failed coup against Erdogan.

Barbara Bush remembered for her dignity and wit at Houston funeral

By Erwin Seba HOUSTON (Reuters) - Former first lady Barbara Bush was remembered at her funeral on Saturday as a formidable but caring figure whose devotion to her family was matched only by her commitment to public service. "She was our teacher and role model in how to live a life of purpose and meaning," one of her four sons, former Florida governor and 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush, told the crowded Houston church. Bush, the wife of the 41st president of the United States, George H.W. Bush, and the mother of the 43rd, George W. Bush, was lauded as an inspiration both to the country and her loved ones, a woman who leavened a strong sense of decency and honor with a self-deprecating wit she employed to great effect.

Turkey's Erdogan says U.S. should look at its own actions if it wants jailed pastor freed

President Tayyip Erdogan said the United States should look at its own actions if it wants the return of an American Christian pastor who has been jailed in Turkey for suspected links to a 2016 failed coup. Erdogan made the comment in a live interview with broadcaster NTV. Andrew Brunson, who has lived in Turkey for more than two decades, was indicted on charges of helping the group that Ankara holds responsible for the failed coup against Erdogan.

Former U.S. taekwondo star waits a decade for her #MeToo moment

It has taken a decade, but Mandy Meloon, a two-time taekwondo world champion thrown off the U.S. national team in 2007 after accusing her coach of molesting her at age 16, has won a measure of vindication. When she first complained about being sexually abused by Jean Lopez, then the team's head coach, USA Taekwondo officials said the claims were false slurs that damaged morale, and Meloon was soon suspended from the team. In 2016, she began serving a two-year prison sentence after assaulting an off-duty Texas sheriff's deputy who was trying to remove her from a bar after an employee asked her to leave.

Missouri governor charged with felony computer data tampering

Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, already facing an invasion-of-privacy trial next month in connection with an extramarital affair, was charged separately on Friday with felony computer tampering tied to his political fund-raising. The new case was brought by the same St. Louis prosecutor two days before the statute of limitations deadline for the charge, which stems from Greitens' alleged theft of a donor list from the military veterans charity he created and ran for several years. Greitens, a Republican under mounting pressure from Missouri politicians of both parties to resign since the sex scandal broke earlier this year, called the latest case part of a "smear" campaign orchestrated by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, a Democrat.

Internal review cleared Trump's CIA pick in videotape destruction

By Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An internal CIA review in 2011 cleared U.S. President Donald Trump's choice to head the agency, Gina Haspel, of wrongdoing in the destruction of videotapes depicting the harsh interrogation of an al Qaeda suspect, according to a memorandum that the CIA declassified and released on Friday. The spy agency released the memo in response to demands by U.S. lawmakers for more details on Haspel's career and as part of its effort to bolster her nomination. Haspel's bid to be the first woman CIA director faces scrutiny on Capitol Hill due to her involvement in a discontinued interrogation program that many regarded as using torture.

Southwest challenged engine maker over speed of safety checks

Southwest Airlines Co clashed with engine-maker CFM over the timing and cost of proposed inspections after a 2016 engine accident, months before the explosion this week of a similar engine on a Southwest jet that led to the death of a passenger, public documents showed. The proposed inspections would have cost $170 per engine for two hours of labor, for a total bill to U.S. carriers of $37,400, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said in its August 2017 proposal, citing the engine manufacturer. The documents reveal that airlines including Southwest thought the FAA had "vastly understated" the number of engines that would need to be inspected - and therefore the cost.

Missouri governor charged with felony computer data tampering

The new case, referred to prosecutors by Missouri's attorney general, was filed by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, according to her office, which also brought the privacy charge against Greitens in February. The criminal complaint in the computer tampering case, a copy of which was furnished by prosecutors, said the alleged computer offense occurred in April 2015.

Democrats sue Russia, Trump campaign for alleged 2016 election conspiracy

The Democratic Party sued the Russian government, U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign and WikiLeaks on Friday, charging that they carried out a wide-ranging conspiracy to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. In its federal lawsuit in Manhattan, the Democratic National Committee said that top officials in Trump's campaign conspired with the Russian government and its military spy agency to hurt Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and tilt the election to Trump by hacking Democratic Party computers.

Internal review cleared Trump's CIA pick in videotape destruction

A internal CIA review in 2011 cleared U.S. President Donald Trump's choice to head the agency, Gina Haspel, of wrongdoing in the destruction of videotapes depicting the harsh interrogation of an al Qaeda suspect, according to a memorandum that the CIA declassified and released on Friday. The spy agency released the memo in response to demands by U.S. lawmakers for more details on Haspel's career and as part of its effort to bolster her nomination. Haspel's bid to be the first woman CIA director faces scrutiny on Capitol Hill due to her involvement in a discontinued interrogation program that many regarded as using torture.

Trucker in deadly Texas migrant case given life sentences

The driver of a truck packed with migrants, 10 of whom died due to sweltering Texas heat in July, was sentenced on Friday to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty in October to federal human smuggling charges. James Bradley, 61, could have faced the death penalty in the case, considered one of the deadliest human smuggling incidents in modern U.S. history. "This was the equivalent of torture," U.S. District Judge David Ezra told Bradley when he handed out two concurrent life sentences at a court in San Antonio.

U.S., European regulators mandate checks on some 737 engines

WASHINGTON/PARIS (Reuters) - European and U.S. airline regulators on Friday ordered mandatory inspections within 20 days of aircraft engines similar to one involved in a fatal Southwest Airlines accident earlier this week. Engine maker CFM International on Friday recommended the ultrasonic inspections on fan blades that have been used in more than 30,000 cycles, and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Administration are making those recommendations into requirements.

U.S. students walk out again to protest gun violence

By Keith Coffman LITTLETON, Colo. (Reuters) - Demanding an end to gun violence and tougher restrictions on firearm sales, thousands of students again walked out of classes across the United States on Friday in hopes of putting pressure on politicians ahead of November's midterm elections. Timed to coincide with the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre, students left classes at midmorning, many waving placards with slogans including "I should be worried about grades, not guns," and "Enough is enough." Organizers said students from more than 2,600 schools and institutions were scheduled to take part, but that was fewer than participated in a similar walkout last month. In some places, demonstrators even met with resistance from school administrators.

Southwest giving passengers $5,000 checks on accident flight

Southwest Airlines Co confirmed Friday it has sent $5,000 checks to passengers aboard a flight that made an emergency landing this week after an engine failed, killing a passenger. The airline confirmed news reports from passengers it had sent the checks along with $1,000 travel vouchers. The CFM56 jet engine on Southwest flight 1380 blew apart over Pennsylvania on Tuesday, about 20 minutes after the Dallas-bound flight left New York’s LaGuardia Airport with 149 people on board.

Charges against New York officer urged in 2014 choke hold death: NY Times

Federal civil rights prosecutors have recommended charging a white New York City police officer for putting Eric Garner, an unarmed black man, in a fatal choke hold during a 2014 arrest, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing unnamed officials. Garner, a 43-year-old father of six, was stopped by police on July 17, 2014, for illegally peddling cigarettes on a sidewalk in New York's Staten Island borough. Garner argued with police and was tackled by Pantaleo, who brought Garner to the ground with an arm around his neck.

New York banning cars from Central Park starting this summer

New York City's Central Park will kick out cars this summer after more than a century, returning its roads to walkers, runners and cyclists, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Friday. It was built for people," de Blasio said. More than 42 million visitors a year are drawn to Central Park, which encompasses more than 800 acres (325 hectares) in the borough of Manhattan.

Judge delays ruling on deposition by Cosby accuser's friend

The judge in Bill Cosby's sex assault retrial on Friday delayed a decision on whether defense attorneys can introduce testimony from a woman they say could undercut his accuser's claim that she was unaware of the entertainer's physical interest in her. The 80-year-old entertainer, best known as the dad in the 1980s television hit series "The Cosby Show," is on trial on charges of drugging and raping Andrea Constand, 45, a former employee of his alma mater, at his Philadelphia-area home in 2004. Constand is one of more than 50 women to accuse Cosby of a string of sexual assaults dating back decades, and hers is the only claim recent enough to be the subject of criminal prosecution.

Ex-FBI No. 2 alerted then-FBI chief Comey of plans to talk to press: lawyer

By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe sent emails to then-Director James Comey alerting him he planned to push back against negative news coverage related to his oversight of probes into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a lawyer for McCabe said on Friday. In an interview with reporters, Michael Bromwich said the emails could help clear McCabe of allegations by the Justice Department's internal watchdog that McCabe "lacked candor" with Comey by misleading him into thinking McCabe did not authorize disclosures to a newspaper to combat articles about his wife's political campaign and his role in overseeing an investigation into the Clinton Foundation.

U.S. woman gets life sentence for Canada mall shooting plot

A U.S. woman has been sentenced to life in a Canadian prison for her role in an aborted Valentine's Day mass shooting at a shopping mall in 2015, local media reported on Friday. Lindsay Souvannarath, 26, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit murder. A Canadian man also accused in the plot, Randall Shepard, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2016.

America's nuclear headache: old plutonium with nowhere to go

Contract workers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pantex facility gingerly remove the plutonium cores from retired nuclear warheads. In Energy Department facilities around the country, there are 54 metric tons of surplus plutonium. There are enough cores there to cause thousands of megatons of nuclear explosions.

California does 'poor job' in assisting homeless: state auditor

Lawmakers should require the state's newly formed homeless council to create and implement a statewide plan by next April for addressing homelessness in California, where about a fourth of all homeless people in the United States live, State Auditor Elaine Howle said in a report. "California should do more to address homelessness ... and it does a poor job of sheltering this vulnerable population," the report said.

Gun-control activists rally near Columbine High School ahead of walkouts

Colorado gun control activists rallied on Thursday near Columbine High School, calling for an end to gun violence one day before the 19th anniversary of the massacre there and a planned nationwide student walkout. "The main objective of these students is to ban firearms completely, and confiscate the firearms of law-abiding Americans," Brown said.

New York governor presses banks, insurers to weigh risk of NRA ties

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday ramped up pressure on banks and insurers to revisit whether their ties to the National Rifle Association and other gun rights groups harm their reputations and the public interest. Cuomo, a Democrat, noted that some well-known companies, including the insurer MetLife Inc, have ended some business relationships with the NRA after a gunman killed 17 people at a Parkland, Florida, high school on Valentine's Day. The governor directed New York's Department of Financial Services to urge state-chartered banks and the more than 1,400 insurers it regulates to review whether their ties to the NRA and similar groups sends the "wrong message" to clients and communities.

Former New York Mayor Giuliani to join Trump legal team

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a one-time federal prosecutor, is joining U.S. President Donald Trump's personal legal team, Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow said in a statement on Thursday. "Rudy is great," Sekulow quoted Trump as saying.

Lance Armstrong settles U.S. federal fraud case for $5 million: attorney

The settlement ends the long-running false claims suit brought by fellow cyclist Floyd Landis and joined by the U.S. government, which had sought $100 million in damages on behalf of the Post Office, according to statements from Armstrong's attorney, Elliot Peters, and the U.S. Department of Justice. "No one is above the law," Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Civil Division Chad Readler said in a statement.

Valero's Texas City refinery hit by explosion, fire

An explosion set off a huge fire at Valero Energy Corp's 225,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Texas City, Texas, refinery on Thursday afternoon but the fire was quickly contained, according the City of Texas City Emergency Management office. No injuries were reported and the blaze, which was burning light hydrocarbons, was contained about an hour and a half after it broke out, Texas City Emergency Management said. Valero spokeswoman Lillian Riojas said the company was cooperating with local, state and federal agencies in responding to the fire, which was being fought by the refinery's firefighting team.

U.S. appeals court blocks Indiana 'selective' abortion law

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago said the 2016 ban on "selective" abortions imposed an "undue burden" on the ability to have the procedure. It rejected Indiana's suggestion that women's privacy rights covered only the "binary choice" of whether or not to have a child, not whether to terminate particular pregnancies, including for genetic disabilities. "The Supreme Court has been clear: the State may inform a woman's decision before viability, but it cannot prohibit it," Circuit Judge William Bauer wrote for a 3-0 panel of Republican-appointed judges.

Supreme Court temporarily halts Alabama execution of 83-year-old inmate

The execution of Walter Moody had been scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT (2300 GMT) at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. The death warrant expires at midnight (0500 GMT Friday) and state authorities were still preparing to conduct a lethal injection if the court lifts the hold and denies appeals. The Death Penalty Information Center, which monitors U.S. capital punishment, said the oldest inmate put to death since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976 was 77-year-old John Nixon in Mississippi in December 2005.

Cosby sex assault retrial to go to jury next week - judge

Prosecutors wrapped up their sexual assault case against comedian Bill Cosby on Thursday as experts offered conflicting testimony about the drugs he is accused of giving a then-friend before allegedly raping her. Judge Steven O'Neill said he anticipated Cosby's fate would be in the hands of the jury next week. Lawyers said deliberations could begin as early as late Monday in an attempt to reach a unanimous verdict, which eluded the jury in Cosby's first trial.

Judge rejects Missouri governor's bid to dismiss criminal case

A St. Louis judge on Thursday dealt Missouri Governor Eric Greitens another legal setback in the sex scandal embroiling his office, refusing to dismiss a criminal invasion of privacy charge stemming from an admitted extramarital affair. The decision by Judge Rex Burlison paved the way for the single-count felony case against Greitens, a Republican under mounting pressure from both parties to resign, to proceed to trial even as he comes under scrutiny for unrelated accusations of computer tampering. Greitens' lawyers last week sought to throw out the privacy case on grounds of prosecutor misconduct, saying St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, a Democrat, had tried to conceal video evidence supporting the governor and his assertions that the affair was entirely consensual.

Former New York Mayor Giuliani to join Trump legal team

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a one-time federal prosecutor, is joining U.S. President Donald Trump's personal legal team, Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow said in a statement on Thursday. Giuliani was one of three attorneys Sekulow said were being added to the president's legal team dealing with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Columbine students register voters ahead of anti-gun walkouts

Colorado teenagers kicked off a voter registration rally on Thursday, a day ahead of the 19th anniversary of the massacre at Columbine High School, when students nationwide plan to walk out of class in the latest demonstrations against gun violence. Organizers said Thursday's "Vote for Our Lives" event in the Denver suburb of Littleton, home to Columbine High School, where 13 people were gunned down in 1999, was to feature speakers including survivors of the shootings there, in Parkland and elsewhere. Mass shootings have occurred with shocking frequency across the United States in recent years.

Southwest challenged engine maker CFM over proposed FAA inspections

The documents, which are on a U.S. federal website and were viewed by Reuters, reveal the wrangling over previously proposed safety checks on CFM engines that are now the focus of investigations following a fatal engine explosion this week. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Wednesday it would order the inspection of some CFM jet engines after investigators said a broken fan blade touched off the engine explosion on a Southwest Airlines flight, shattering a window and killing a passenger.

Lance Armstrong settles U.S. federal fraud case for $5 million: attorney

The settlement ends the long-running false claims suit brought by fellow cyclist Floyd Landis and joined by the U.S. government, which had sought $100 million in damages on behalf of the Post Office, according to statements from Armstrong's attorney, Elliot Peters, and the U.S. Department of Justice. "No one is above the law," Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Civil Division Chad Readler said in a statement.

Black men arrested at Starbucks hope scandal sparks change

The men, Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson, sat down with ABC's "Good Morning America" as scrutiny of the popular chain and U.S. police tactics widen. The incident put Starbucks, which prides itself on diversity and inclusiveness, at the center of a social media storm after the cafe manager called police on Nelson and Robinson, who had not made a purchase and were waiting to meet a friend. Police Commissioner Richard Ross, who came under sharp criticism for the incident and his defense of the officers, apologized to Robinson and Nelson and said he had made the situation worse.

Puerto Rico board approves fiscal plan as governor vows defiance

Puerto Rico's federal oversight board on Thursday approved a fiscal turnaround plan that includes pension cuts and labor reforms that Governor Ricardo Rossello has vowed to defy, portending the latest potential court battle over the bankrupt U.S. territory's future. At a hearing in San Juan, broadcast via the internet, the seven-member board voted 6-1 to certify a plan that forecasts $6.7 billion in debt payment ability for Puerto Rico through 2023. Board member Ana Matosantos was the lone dissenter.