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.

FBI Lawyer to Plead Guilty of Falsifying Document for Carter Page FISA Warrant

Former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith will plead guilty to falsifying a document used to obtain a FISA warrant on former Trump-campaign adviser Carter Page.Clinesmith was charged in Washington, D.C., on Friday with one felony count of making a false statement, and will plead guilty in a plea deal with prosecutors conducting a criminal probe of the Russia investigation, the New York Times reported. The probe is being led by prosecutor John Durham, who was appointed to the task by Attorney General William Barr. Barr hinted at a development in the Durham probe in comments to Fox News on Thursday night."It’s not an earth-shattering development, but it is an indication that things are moving along at the proper pace, as dictated by the facts in this investigation," Barr said.Clinesmith is set to admit that he altered an email from the CIA in order to renew the FISA warrant against Page in 2017. That email stated that Page had worked as a source for the CIA, but Clinesmith changed the reference to state that Page was not a source."Kevin deeply regrets having altered the email," a lawyer for Clinesmith said. "It was never his intent to mislead the court or his colleagues as he believed the information he relayed was accurate."A report by the Justice Department inspector general found numerous inaccuracies in the FBI's applications to surveil Page.Page was monitored as part of the FBI's investigation into alleged collaboration between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russian operatives. The FBI agents who opened the investigation, including Joe Pientka, gave Trump his first intelligence briefing as presumptive Republican nominee. A memo with a summary of the briefing was approved by former agent Peter Strzok as well as Clinesmith.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Eagle rips propeller off mapping drone, sends it plunging into Lake Michigan, agency says

The drone was on its fourth day of a shoreline survey mission for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy — also known as EGLE.

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.

Oregon State Police Withdraws from Portland Courthouse after D.A. Announces He Won’t Prosecute Most Rioters

Oregon state police are backing out of an agreement to protect the Portland federal courthouse from rioters, after the Multnomah County district attorney announced he will not prosecute most rioters who are arrested.Portland has seen riots almost every night since the May death of George Floyd, an African American man killed during his arrest by Minneapolis police officers. Rioters initially targeted the federal courthouse in the city, but after federal and state law enforcement came to an agreement to jointly protect the courthouse, rioters moved on to attack city police.Multnomah County D.A. Mike Schmidt announced on Tuesday that his office would not prosecute most rioters who have been arrested, except where charges include deliberate property damage, theft, or threat of violence. Police have arrested over 500 people since the riots began, but less than 50 have been prosecuted so far.Oregon state police told KOIN 6 on Thursday that they are ending their deployment at Portland's federal courthouse because of anger over Schmidt's decision after being called in to assist as part of the agreement reached between local authorities and the federal government.“The Oregon State Police is continually reassessing our resources and the needs of our partner agencies and at this time we are inclined to move those resources back to counties where prosecution of criminal conduct is still a priority," OSP said in a statement.Governor Kate Brown said the withdrawal was being coordinated between all relevant agencies."This transition was made in coordination with local and federal officials," Brown wrote on Twitter. "If further state support is needed in Portland, OSP troopers will be available to return to the city.""The OSP Troopers assigned to this event demonstrated the best traditions of the agency's commitment to service, however, our initial commitment to the City of Portland has concluded and it is time we integrate this valuable resource back to their respective communities," OSP said in a statement to National Review. "OSP will always be here for Portland, as we have for decades and I'll continue to assess subsequent resource demands with the Portland Police Bureau Chief, whom I have a great deal of respect for and a strong working relationship."

North Korea's leader is tapping his own private food reserve to feed the country, and it could be a worrying sign

"It reflects the perfect storm of economic stresses that North Korea is suffering right now," a former CIA branch chief in Korea told Insider.

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.

White House report recommends Georgia issue statewide mask mandate

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is trying to stop Atlanta from mandating masks.

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."

Meghan Markle: ‘There’s So Much Toxicity Out There’

Meghan Markle has revealed she was “devastated” to return to America in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, but said the protests that followed and the subsequent social and cultural reckoning have “inspired” her. Prince Harry Was ‘Incandescent With Rage’ at the Racism Meghan Markle FacedMeghan, speaking to Emily Ramshaw, co-founder and CEO of The 19th*—as part of the site’s “The 19th* Represents 2020 Virtual Summit”—said it was “just devastating, so sad, to see where the country was in that moment.” In the peaceful protests and seeing how people “owned” their part in discriminating against others—specifically Black people—Meghan’s feeling “shifted from sadness to a feeling of absolute inspiration, because I can see the tide is turning.”“From my standpoint, it’s not new to see this undercurrent of racism and certainly unconscious bias,” Meghan said.Signaling she was relieved of being free to speak her mind now no longer a “senior royal,” Meghan said she was looking forward to using her voice “in a way that I haven’t been able to of late. So, yeah, it’s good to be home.”Meghan was cast as interviewer in the exchange, congratulating Ramshaw in setting up the non-profit woman-focused politics and culture site. Then Ramshaw asked Meghan why she thought a woman-focused news organization was needed.Meghan’s answer began by noting how a man had originated the word “suffragette,” originally intended as belittling—and what this symbolized in terms of the “ability of influence,” which when coming “from a patriarchal lens…shapes everything we see.”Meghan did not speak about the various legal cases she and Prince Harry have launched against the media—and neither was she asked about them. Nor was she asked about the couple’s meetings with senior figures in the digital world over their demand to de-fund “hate” platforms.Invoking her own “standpoint and personal experience,” Meghan said: “The headline is the clickbait alone. It makes an imprint. That is part of how we start to view the world, how we interact with other people. I think there’s so much toxicity out there.” Harry and she talk about it often, she said, “this economy for attention. That is what is monetizable right now when you’re looking at the digital space and media. If you’re just trying to grab someone’s attention and keep it, you’re going for something salacious versus something truthful.”Instead, Meghan said she wanted journalists to “tell the truth in reporting…through a compassionate and empathetic lens.” This would “help bind people as a community,” she claimed.Meghan went on to talk about the importance of women exercising their right to vote, and to “be really aware of not taking it for granted. My husband has not been able to vote.” (The Royal Family can vote in British elections, but have long chosen not to, according to their stance of political neutrality.)“The right to vote is not a privilege; it is a right in and of itself,” Meghan said. Women’s voices, she said, “are needed now more than ever, and the best way to exercise that is through voting.”Meghan concluded: “From my standpoint, it’s not new to see this undercurrent of racism and certainly unconscious bias, but I think to see the changes that are being made right now is really—it’s something I look forward to being a part of. And being part of using my voice in a way that I haven’t been able to of late. So, yeah, it’s good to be home.”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.

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."

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.

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.”

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.

Americans could be staring down the worst public health crisis in recent history if COVID-19 rages on into the flu season, CDC warns

"I'm asking you to do four simple things: wear a mask, social distance, wash your hands, and be smart about crowds," CDC Director Robert Redfield said

An Arizona school district canceled its reopening plans because too many teachers refused to show up

Nearly half the teachers in the J.O. Combs Unified School District said they would not show up. Arizona has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wild boar who stole German nudist's clothes to be culled

A trained marksman is to be deployed to shoot a wild boar that stole the clothes of a naked German man, Berlin authorities said on Friday. The boar made international headlines last week after photographs of the portly nudist giving chase were shared on social media. But in a sad postscript to the incident, the local forestry department said yesterday (FRI) the boar would have to be killed as it has lost its fear of humans and presents a danger to public safety. The boar in question emerged from the forest with two cubs last week and made its way through crowds of Berliners seeking to cool off in the Teufelsee, one of the city’s many lakes. “You have to put yourself in the boar’s position,” Katja Kammer of the Grunewald forestry department told local RBB television. “The sun is hot on its black fur. So it heads for water or into a swamp.” Forestry officials have been tracking the boar in question for some time, Ms Kammer said. “Fortunately, there have not been any serious incidents involving wild boar at the Teufelssee.” Wild boar numbers are regularly controlled by licensed hunters around Berlin and many other major German cities. When the population becomes too high. the boars emerge from the forests to look for food and can turn aggressive when they encounters humans. In one famous incident, four people including a police officer were injured when they were attacked by a 265-pound boar that had wandered into the Berlin neighbourhood of Charlottenburg in 2012.

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.

9th Circuit ends California ban on high-capacity magazines

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday threw out California's ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, saying the law violates the U.S. Constitution's protection of the right to bear firearms. “Even well-intentioned laws must pass constitutional muster,” appellate Judge Kenneth Lee wrote for the panel’s majority. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra's office said it is reviewing the decision and he "remains committed to using every tool possible to defend California’s gun safety laws and keep our communities safe.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

Cancellation policies for the 4 major airlines show it’s almost impossible for customers to just get their money back

Many Americans are postponing or canceling their travel plans, and airlines are trying to hold on to the profits for as long as they can.

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.

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.

North Korea lifts lockdown in city, rejects flood, virus aid

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un lifted a lockdown in a major city near the border with South Korea where thousands had been quarantined for weeks over coronavirus worries, state media said Friday. Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency also said Kim replaced Kim Jae Ryong as premier following an evaluation of the Cabinet’s economic performance and appointed Kim Tok Hun as his successor. Entering the last year of an ambitious five-year national development plan, Kim Jong Un in December declared a “frontal breakthrough” against international sanctions while urging his nation to stay resilient in a struggle for economic self-reliance.

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.

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.

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.

Decades-old photo of Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell and a Confederate flag lives on and on

McConnell said he thinks the photograph was taken during his first term in the Senate at a Sons of Confederate Veterans meeting in Louisville.

TikTok's US employees are scared they won't get paid if the app is banned, and now they're planning to sue the Trump administration

"The fear is that we will not be able to receive our paychecks," Patrick Ryan told Business Insider.

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.

‘Wish I had my baby back.’ Suspect who shot Indiana toddler in mom’s car wanted by FBI

“This little girl’s life was stripped from her in an act of senseless violence.”

Census Bureau adds emails, phone calls to door-knocking

If you haven't filled out the 2020 census form yet, you may be getting an email, call or questionnaire in the mail asking you to answer the questions. The U.S. Census Bureau said Friday it was sending out emails to homes in neighborhoods where the response rate was less than 50%. The Census Bureau said it expects to send out 20 million emails, a first for a decennial census, as the agency enters the homestretch of the once-a-decade head count of every U.S. resident.

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.

Indian and Nepali prime ministers speak for first time since land dispute

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepali counterpart K. P. Sharma Oli spoke on Saturday for the first time since a diplomatic spat over a map and a disputed area of territory erupted earlier this year between the South Asian neighbours. Oli called Modi on the occasion of India's Independence Day and congratulated him for the country's recent election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, India's external affairs ministry said in a statement. On the call, Modi "recalled the civilizational and cultural links that India and Nepal share," the ministry added.

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.