| Katie Porter, AOC among House freshmen making their mark by grilling witnesses Posted: 11 Sep 2020 02:00 AM PDT  Those tuning in to high-profile House hearings often find them most interesting toward the end, when junior representatives start asking questions.
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| Court-appointed adviser blasts 'corrupt' DOJ move to drop Flynn case Posted: 11 Sep 2020 10:35 AM PDT  It's not clear whether the brief by retired jurist John Gleeson will sway the District Court judge deciding Flynn's fate.
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| US mayor of Portland bans the use of tear gas by police Posted: 10 Sep 2020 05:13 PM PDT  The mayor of the protest-hit US city of Portland, Oregon on Thursday ordered city police to stop using tear gas for crowd control purposes.
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| Post-COVID heart damage alarms researchers: 'There was a black hole' in infected cells Posted: 10 Sep 2020 10:20 AM PDT  While more studies are needed, researchers and doctors throughout the country are warning of a likely connection between COVID-19 and a serious heart condition.
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| Explosive material found in Beirut port after blast was stored for years, says president Posted: 11 Sep 2020 05:38 AM PDT  Several tonnes of highly explosive material found at Beirut's port, just weeks after the same chemical was blamed for causing a massive detonation there, had been in storage for 15 years, the Lebanese president said on Friday. The army said on Sept. 2 it had discovered a stockpile close to the port of 4.35 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, the highly explosive chemical blamed for the huge Aug. 4 blast that killed about 190 people and ruined a swathe of Beirut. Critics said the lack of proper care and attention in storing such highly explosive material revealed the depth of dysfunction in the way Lebanon has been governed.
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| About 8,800 unaccompanied children are expelled at US border Posted: 11 Sep 2020 05:13 PM PDT |
| An influencer couple revealed their child's gender on Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world Posted: 11 Sep 2020 11:35 AM PDT  Anasala Family, a YouTube family channel with over 7.7 million subscribers, did a gender reveal event on the world's tallest building.
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| This Scandinavian Villa Was Designed to Blend Into Nature Posted: 11 Sep 2020 11:11 AM PDT |
| Federal Prosecutor Resigns from Durham Probe over Alleged Pressure to Wrap Up ahead of Election Posted: 11 Sep 2020 01:13 PM PDT  Nora Dannehy, a top federal prosecutor working with U.S. Attorney John Durham on his investigation into the origins of the FBI's Russia probe, resigned from the Justice Department on Thursday, partially over concern that Attorney General William Barr is pressuring investigators to conclude their work prematurely for political purposes.Dannehy, a career prosecutor who has worked with Durham over decades and joined his team in spring of last year, submitted her resignation in an email Thursday night that made no mention of political pressure, the Hartford Courant first reported.Durham was appointed by Barr last year to investigate the origins of the FBI's Russia probe. His appointment came just after former Special Counsel Robert Mueller submitted his final report to the Justice Department concluding that the Trump campaign did not conspire with Russians to influence the election, but could not reach a conclusion on whether President Trump committed obstruction of justice.Colleagues reportedly said that Dannehy, who does not support President Trump, was concerned about pressure from Barr to produce a report on the investigation before the presidential election in November and had been considering leaving the probe for weeks.Additionally, some Durham associates suggested that Durham is under pressure to produce results in some form before the election, citing concerns that the probe could be dissolved should Trump lose in November, the paper reported.Last month, Durham announced the first criminal charge resulting from his investigation against former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, who pled guilty to doctoring an email that investigators relied on to justify an application to surveil a former Trump campaign adviser, according to court documents.Barr suggested this week that more charges could be forthcoming from Durham's probe of the Russia investigation."Yeah, there could be," Barr said during an interview with NBC News, but he declined to say whether additional charges would be announced before Election Day.
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| US Marshals capture Oklahoma man accused of recording sexual assault of 6-month-old baby and posting it on social media Posted: 10 Sep 2020 05:12 PM PDT  Brice Gage Watkins, 22, is facing one count of felony distribution of child pornography and other charges for the alleged sexual abuse of an infant.
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| Beijing to impose restrictions on all US diplomats in China Posted: 11 Sep 2020 06:29 AM PDT  Beijing will impose "reciprocal restrictions" on all American diplomats on Chinese soil in response to curbs on its embassy personnel in the United States, China's foreign ministry said Friday.
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| Nearly 100 earthquakes swarm Yellowstone in 24 hours. Here’s what experts are saying Posted: 11 Sep 2020 10:31 AM PDT  Is that normal?
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| US Navy scraps plan to fly fighter jet over New York City on 9/11 anniversary after it sparked outrage Posted: 11 Sep 2020 10:51 AM PDT  The announcement that the Navy planned to conduct flight training on 9/11 prompted a New York congressman to ask: "Are you out of your mind?"
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| UN condemns killing of LGBT activist in northern Mexico, Posted: 10 Sep 2020 03:45 PM PDT |
| Trump's 'Great American Comeback' campaign ad shows Ukraine stock footage Posted: 10 Sep 2020 01:50 PM PDT  The commercials are running in the battleground states of North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan
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| Rough arrest of Black teen in southern Louisiana prompts internal police probe Posted: 11 Sep 2020 10:25 AM PDT  One Lafayette officer was put on leave and two more taken of regular duties, following bowling alley confrontation.
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| The Postmaster General Says Ballots Will Arrive On Time. Postal Workers Aren’t So Sure Posted: 11 Sep 2020 08:20 AM PDT  Postal workers say 2020 election ballots may not be delivered on time due to changes made by the Postmaster General
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| Australia says security agencies acted on evidence in Chinese journalist raid Posted: 10 Sep 2020 07:23 PM PDT  Australia's security agencies acted on evidence related to a foreign interference investigation when a raid was conducted on Chinese journalists in Australia in June, the country's trade minister said on Friday. The incident, involving four Chinese state media journalists, was revealed by China's foreign ministry this week, in the wake of two Australian journalists departing China after questioning by Chinese police.
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| 2 Black Senate hopefuls look to make history, usher in a ‘new South’ Posted: 10 Sep 2020 10:49 AM PDT  Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins from Louisiana and Jaime Harrison from South Carolina envision a "new South" to address issues they say have been largely ignored by their longtime incumbent opponents.
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| In California: August Complex Fire becomes state’s biggest blaze ever at a whopping 471,000 acres Posted: 10 Sep 2020 06:50 PM PDT  Plus: The air quality is still terrible and it could continue through the weekend. And could Christmas be canceled?
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| Florida Supreme Court orders governor to pick new justice Posted: 11 Sep 2020 06:53 AM PDT  Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis must pick a new Supreme Court justice because the judge he picked to fill a high court vacancy is constitutionally ineligible to serve, the court said in an order issued Friday. The Florida Supreme Court ordered DeSantis to appoint another judge by Monday, nullifying the appointment of Judge Renatha Francis.
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| Return of Saddam-era archive to Iraq opens debate, old wounds Posted: 10 Sep 2020 06:57 PM PDT  A trove of Saddam-era files secretly returned to Iraq has pried open the country's painful past, prompting hopes some may learn the fate of long-lost relatives along with fears of new bloodshed.
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| Trump campaign misspells 'Nobel' Peace Prize in ad to fundraise off of his nomination, which anyone can get Posted: 11 Sep 2020 10:41 AM PDT  Trump celebrated his second nomination for the award earlier this week on Twitter, reposting several congratulatory tweets from conservatives.
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| Backpacker burning toilet paper started 2019 wildfire at Grand Canyon, officials say Posted: 10 Sep 2020 10:32 AM PDT  The high winds made the fire spread quickly and burned 64 acres, officials said.
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| Navy Early Warning Plane Damaged After Hitting Parked Super Hornet on Carrier Deck Posted: 11 Sep 2020 06:04 AM PDT  It was the second mishap on the Nimitz in two weeks.
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| Democrat running against QAnon supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene suddenly drops out of Georgia race for 'personal reasons' Posted: 11 Sep 2020 12:37 PM PDT  Democratic candidate Kevin Van Ausdal, who was running against Republican QAnon supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene, has announced he would be dropping out of the Georgia congressional race due to "personal reasons". "I am resigning from my race against Marjorie Taylor Greene," Mr Van Ausdal said in a statement on Friday. "I am deeply saddened by the personal and family reasons that prevent me from continuing on as a candidate for Georgia's 14th Congressional District."
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| Tory Lanez to Megan Thee Stallion after shooting: 'I ... just got too drunk' Posted: 10 Sep 2020 11:58 AM PDT  After he allegedly shot her, Canadian rapper Tory Lanez texted "WAP" hitmaker Megan Thee Stallion that he "got too drunk," according to TMZ.
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| After Senate bill fails, airline workers look to Congress to save them from October layoffs Posted: 11 Sep 2020 06:40 AM PDT  Without a new stimulus deal, airlines say they will have to furlough thousands of workers by Oct. 1. A GOP bill failed to clear the Senate Thursday.
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| Las Vegas shooting victims closer to getting $800M payout Posted: 10 Sep 2020 05:34 PM PDT  More than 4,400 relatives and victims of the deadliest mass shooting in recent U.S. history could receive a total of $800 million in payouts from MGM Resorts International and its insurers by January, the casino giant and attorneys said Thursday. After a year arranging details, Robert Eglet, the attorney handling the settlement of dozens of lawsuits, submitted documents asking a Nevada court judge to approve sweeping negotiations involving an eye-popping number of plaintiffs from nearly every state in the U.S., at least eight Canadian provinces, the United Kingdom, Iran and Ireland. It accuses the casino company of negligence, wrongful death and liability in the 2017 shooting that killed 58 people and injured more than 850 others on the Las Vegas Strip.
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| 'Living hell': Ethiopians detained in Saudi call for help Posted: 11 Sep 2020 03:51 AM PDT  Using a smuggled-in mobile phone, a detained Ethiopian migrant pleaded for help as he described harrowing conditions in a Saudi detention centre -- overcrowded and disease-ridden cells, food scarcity and rising suicides.
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| Fox News judge Andrew Napolitano: "More likely than not” that Trump slurred slain American troops Posted: 10 Sep 2020 11:03 AM PDT  "He often says what first comes to his mind without thinking of the likely consequences," Napolitano says of Trump
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| Alligator attacked woman as she was trimming trees near a Florida lake Posted: 11 Sep 2020 08:19 AM PDT  A woman was trimming trees near a country club lake when a Florida alligator went after her legs.
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| Inside the National Guard's Daring Rescue of Hundreds from a California Wildfire Posted: 10 Sep 2020 12:43 PM PDT  Two helicopter aircrews pulled more than 214 people from encircling fires last weekend.
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| Rhea Chakraborty: Why is Indian TV obsessed with Sushant Singh Rajput's death? Posted: 11 Sep 2020 06:59 AM PDT  Sushant Singh Rajput's death and the media frenzy around his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty have dominated news.
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| USC Professor Who Used Chinese Word That Sounds Like English Slur ‘Not Dismissed Nor Suspended,’ Admin Says Posted: 10 Sep 2020 12:37 PM PDT  The University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business' dean is on the defensive after receiving widespread backlash for his handling of an incident in which a communications professor at the school used a Chinese word that sounded like a slur in English, a new email obtained by National Review shows.Professor Greg Patton was giving a lecture about the use of "filler words" in speech during a recent online class when he used the word in question, saying, "If you have a lot of 'ums and errs,' this is culturally specific, so based on your native language. Like in China, the common word is 'that, that, that.' So in China it might be 'nèi ge, nèi ge, nèi ge.'"A group of students who identified themselves as "Black MBA Candidates c/o 2022" complained to university administration in an email, accusing the professor of pronouncing the Chinese word in a way that resembled the N-word "approximately five times" during the lesson in each of his three communication classes and said he "offended all of the Black members of our Class."The incident led the university to assign another instructor to Patton's class while he "agreed to take a short term pause while we are reviewing to better understand the situation and to take any appropriate next steps," according to a statement from USC to Campus Reform.After an online petition to "Re-instate USC Marshall Professor Greg Patton" collected more than 11,000 signatures and a group of more than 100 global alumni signed a letter criticizing the university's treatment of Patton, dean Geoff Garrett sent an email to Marshall staff on Wednesday saying that he wanted to "offer some clarification about the situation," because "some of the reporting about the situation has been inaccurate." The email had two attached letters — one from the dean and another from provost Charles Zukoski on behalf of the dean and the president.In Garrett's letter, dated September 6, he claimed "It was absolutely not my intention to cast any aspersions on specific Mandarin words or on Mandarin generally.""The student complaints we received had nothing to do with the Mandarin language but focused on the use of a polarizing example Professor Patton used when trying to make a reasonable and important point about communication," he continued. "In his apology to students, he noted he could have chosen a better example to illustrate his point."Patton had apologized in an email last month, saying he had received positive feedback on the lesson in years past but accepted blame for failing "to realize all the many different additional ways that a particular example may be heard across audiences members based on their own lived experiences."Garrett went on to say that Patton agreed to not finish out the accelerated course that ended last week and that administration is "following standard university procedures to explore the complaints students have raised." The provost's letter echoed Garrett's: "the course was scheduled to run for three weeks and, after student complaints were lodged, the professor volunteered to step away for the final two weeks. He was not dismissed nor suspended nor was his status changed. We are required to investigate all complaints and have a thorough process for doing so which we began immediately.""The complaints occurred in a course in communication across cultural lines," the provost continued. "Its purpose is to prepare students to be successful in business around the world. There is no intent to impose U.S. cultural norms on communications in other languages and cultures."Zukoski finished by assuring that the university's "internal procedures are fair and appropriate."However, in an initial August 24 email, the dean had apologized for Patton's use of a "Chinese word that sounds very similar to a vile racial slur in English," saying "understandably, this caused great pain and upset among students.""It is simply unacceptable for faculty to use words in class that can marginalize, hurt and harm the psychological safety of our students," he wrote. "We must and we will do better."He added that he was "deeply saddened by this disturbing episode that has caused such anguish and trauma."The dean's initial apology was in response to the group of students alleging that Patton had purposely mispronounced the word and that the phrase should always be "identified as a phonetic homonym and a racial derogatory term, and should be carefully used." "Our mental health has been affected," the group wrote. "It is an uneasy feeling allowing him to have the power over our grades. We would rather not take his course than to endure the emotional exhaustion of carrying on with an instructor that disregards cultural diversity and sensitivities and by extension creates an unwelcome environment for us Black students."The dean announced his reconsidered stance only after alumni of "more than a dozen nationalities and ethnicities" sent a letter standing behind Patton."Most of us are Chinese, some ethnically, some by nationality, and many others have spent extensive time in China," the letter reads. "Most of us live in China. We unanimously recognize Prof Patton's use of 'nei ge' as an accurate rendition of common Chinese use, and an entirely appropriate and quite effective illustration of the use of pauses. Prof Patton used this example and hundreds of others in our classes over the years, providing richness, relevance and real world impact."The group continued: "We are also deeply disappointed that the spurious charge has the additional feature of casting insult toward the Chinese language, the most spoken in the world, and characterized it and its usage as vile. We feel Marshall should be open to diversity in all areas – not only those areas convenient for the moment. We further suggest that any attempt to degrade this matter and suggest that a Chinese word different in sound, tone, accent, context and language itself is 'exactly like' an offensive US term would be naive, a disgusting and intentional stretch and would further degrade important societal discussion."
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| Fact check: No evidence child traffickers are tagging cars as potential targets with codes Posted: 11 Sep 2020 06:53 AM PDT  Child trafficking is a topic that is shared regularly on social media. But a claim that traffickers are identifying targets by tagging cars is false.
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| Nebraska Democrats name third pick to replace Senate nominee Posted: 10 Sep 2020 03:09 PM PDT  After months of bickering, accusations and apologies, Nebraska Democrats again named their candidate for U.S. Senate Thursday, and to no one's surprise, he isn't the Democrat on the ballot. Omaha activist and professor Preston Love Jr. is the Democrats' third choice to compete against Omaha baker and fellow Democrat Chris Janicek, who won the primary and is on the ballot against Republican Sen. Ben Sasse.
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| Huge swarms of mosquitoes kill hundreds of horses and cows by draining blood Posted: 11 Sep 2020 08:25 AM PDT  Tiny insects have exploded in number as eggs hatch after flooding
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| U.S. weekly jobless claims losing momentum labor market recovery showing signs of fatigue Posted: 10 Sep 2020 02:16 PM PDT  The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits hovered at high levels last week, suggesting the labor market recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic was stalling.
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| Eyewitness claims police killed 'antifa' Portland murder suspect before giving any commands Posted: 09 Sep 2020 10:23 PM PDT  An eyewitness said in a statement that police shot and killed Michael Forest Reinoehl before issuing any commands.
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| U.S. judges reject Trump plan to exclude many immigrants from representation Posted: 10 Sep 2020 02:35 PM PDT  A panel of judges on Thursday declared unlawful a directive from President Donald Trump to exclude people who are in the United States illegally from representation when apportioning congressional seats. The decision by a three-judge panel, which could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, is a victory for the 38 states, cities and counties, plus several immigrants rights nonprofits, that sued over the July 21 directive. The mostly Democratic-leaning plaintiffs, led by New York state, accused the Republican president of having a "xenophobic" purpose in pushing an unconstitutional directive that reflected "discriminatory animus" toward Hispanics and other immigrant communities.
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| Letters to the Editor: California's heat waves aren't as dramatic as its fires, but they're just as deadly Posted: 11 Sep 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Like toxic pollution and COVID-19, heat waves disproportionately affect low-income communities and those with preexisting health conditions.
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