Category: Politics

Israeli operatives killed Al Qaeda’s No. 2 leader in Iran in August: report

Al Qaeda’s second-in-command, accused of helping to mastermind the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa, was killed in Iran in August by Israeli operatives acting at the behest of the United States, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing intelligence officials. Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who went by the nom de guerre Abu

Alabama parents get jail time for locking adopted son in basement

An Alabama couple will serve just two years in prison for inflicting horrific abuse on their adoptive son — including locking him in a basement for 23 hours a day and nearly starving him to death. Richard Kelly, 60, and his wife Cynthia, 51, were sentenced Thursday in Shelby County to the maximum allowed under

Trump puts Rudy Giuliani in charge of 2020 election lawsuits

President Trump has tapped personal attorney Rudy Giuliani to helm his 2020 election result battles, putting him in charge of the campaign’s more than two dozen lawsuits and of all public statements concerning them, according to a report. Trump put the former New York City mayor and staunch supporter in charge in response to a

Trump puts Rudy Giuliani in charge of 2020 election lawsuits

President Trump has tapped personal attorney Rudy Giuliani to helm his 2020 election result battles, putting him in charge of the campaign’s more than two dozen lawsuits and of all public statements concerning them, according to a report. Trump put the former New York City mayor and staunch supporter in charge in response to a

House Democrats make new-member banquet ‘to go’ after backlash

House Democrats on Friday decided to make their traditional new-member banquet a “to-go” event after facing backlash for planning the lavish indoor dinner despite the risk of spreading COVID-19. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi initially defended throwing a socially distanced, but indoor, sit-down feast inside the Capitol building to greet newly elected congressional members to Washington,

CNN’s Amanpour slammed for comparing Trump’s term to ‘Kristallnacht”

CNN International anchor Christiane Amanpour is being criticized after she compared President Trump’s four years in office to Kristallnacht. “This week 82 years ago, Kristallnacht happened,” Amanpour said on air, Fox News reported. Kristallnacht, literally the “Night of Crystal,” was a series of violent Nazi pogroms that heralded the Holocaust — its name prompted by

PA judges toss out Trump campaign’s 6 challenges over absentee ballots

Two Pennsylvania judges served blows to President Trump’s re-election campaign on Friday, tossing out a combined six cases challenging absentee ballots. Judge James Crumlish of Philadelphia County’s Court of Common Pleas ruled in five related cases that the Trump campaign can’t scrap a total of 8,329 mail-in ballots that it had alleged were improper because

More polluted areas have higher spread of COVID-19, study says

COVID-19 spreads at higher rates in regions in the U.S. where people are exposed to the worst pollution, a new study says. Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis found that the quality of the environment appears to be a strong indicator that cases will increase more quickly in a region, according to a report

Senator-elect Tommy Tuberville drops the ball on basic facts

It’s a good thing he wasn’t a civics coach. Alabama Sen.-elect Tommy Tuberville — a former Auburn University football coach — committed a series of major fumbles while discussing American government and history with a local newspaper. The Republican misidentified the three branches of government when asked by the Alabama Daily News if Democrats and

Coronavirus testing lines swell across US amid influx of cases

Coronavirus testing lines swelled as swaths of the country battled spikes in infections and hospitalizations in recent weeks, new photos and videos show. In Newark, NJ — where Mayor Ray Baraka on Thursday imposed more restrictive measures in an attempt to stem the tide — dozens of drivers lined up at a testing site as

Donald Trump campaign shuts down prank-filled voter fraud hotline

The Trump campaign reportedly shut down its voter fraud hotline after the call center was flooded by prank caller since its launch last week. The hotline was set up at the Trump campaign’s headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, last week to give American voters the opportunity to send tips about apparent fraud in the election, ABC

Trump abandons AZ suit, supporters fail to win MI audit

President Trump’s campaign threw in the towel Friday on legal challenges to his projected loss in Arizona, as a judge in Michigan refused to order an audit of results that also favor Joe Biden. In a two-sentence “notice of partial mootness” filed in Arizona Superior Court, a Trump campaign lawyer conceded that Thursday’s latest vote

Long lines form at COVID-19 testing sites as cases spike in NYC

New Yorkers are braving increasingly long lines in the rain to get tested for COVID-19, as officials brace for a second wave of the deadly virus. At CityMD Astoria Urgent Care on Steinway Street, 40 people stood in a steady drizzle while waiting on a line that wraps around the corner Friday afternoon. “I’ve been

Tropical depression may strengthen into Hurricane Iota: forecasters

2020 just keeps on proving that when it rains, it pours. Forecasters have their eye on another hurricane forming in the Caribbean — as Central America and the US Gulf Coast is still reeling from Tropical Storm Eta amid this year’s record-breaking storm season. The National Hurricane Center expects Tropical Depression 31 to strengthen before

Experts say ‘nothing abnormal’ about massive alligator seen on Florida golf course

The behemoth alligator caught taking a stroll at a Florida golf course — and stupefying the whole of social media — is “nothing abnormal,” according to gator experts. The mammoth mutant was spotted at Valencia Golf & Country Club in Naples Wednesday as Tropical Storm Eta bore down on the Sunshine State, its massive swinging

Mom cries ‘I lost my baby!’ after migrant boat accident kills 74

Heart-wrenching video captured a distraught mother — whose boat packed with more than 120 migrants split in half, killing at least 74 — screaming, “I lost my baby! Where’s my baby?” The 6-year-old girl was among those who perished in the devastating shipwreck Wednesday off the Libyan coast, the latest in a series of migrant

Scientists baffled after leprosy found in chimpanzees for first time

Wild chimpanzees in Western Africa have been found with leprosy for the first time ever — and now scientists are struggling to get to the root of the infectious disease that’s mostly found in humans. The baffling discovery was made in several chimps at Cantanhez National Park in Guinea-Bissau, and in another more than a

Alabama teen accused of killing five shows ‘no remorse’: docs

An Alabama teen charged with killing his family — after discovering his mother wasn’t biologically related to him — has shown no remorse while locked up at a juvenile detention center, newly released documents show. Mason Wayne Sisk, 15, is facing capital murder charges in the September 2019 shooting massacre of his father, stepmother and

Pompeo to visit Golan Heights, Israeli settlement in West Bank

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to visit the Golan Heights and an Israeli settlement in the West Bank during a visit to the Jewish state next week – both firsts by a top US diplomat, according to a report. The international community considers both territories to be “illegally occupied” by Israel, though President Trump

Feds back down on threat to shut down TikTok in US

The feds have backed down on their threat to ban TikTok — for now. The Commerce Department has decided not to enforce an order that would have shut down the popular short-video app in the US amid a court battle over the move. The agency announced the decision Thursday afternoon — just hours before the

Chinese officials congratulate Joe Biden, Kamala Harris

After a nearly weeklong delay, China on Friday congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris on their election amid strained relations between Washington and Beijing. “We congratulate Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris. At the same time, we understand that the outcome of this US election will be ascertained in accordance with US

Fourth man of Sweetie Pies murder-for hire team charged

An additional suspect was charged in connection to the murder of Andre Montgomery, whose grandma’s St. Louis area restaurant was featured on “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s.” Travell Anthony Hill, 29, was indicted for conspiracy to commit murder for hire for his alleged role in the 2016 fatal shooting, prosecutors announced Thursday. Two days after Montgomery’s

Fourth man of Sweetie Pies murder-for hire team charged

An additional suspect was charged in connection to the murder of Andre Montgomery, whose grandma’s St. Louis area restaurant was featured on “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s.” Travell Anthony Hill, 29, was indicted for conspiracy to commit murder for hire for his alleged role in the 2016 fatal shooting, prosecutors announced Thursday. Two days after Montgomery’s

Fourth man of Sweetie Pies murder-for hire team charged

An additional suspect was charged in connection to the murder of Andre Montgomery, whose grandma’s St. Louis area restaurant was featured on “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s.” Travell Anthony Hill, 29, was indicted for conspiracy to commit murder for hire for his alleged role in the 2016 fatal shooting, prosecutors announced Thursday. Two days after Montgomery’s

Elon Musk says he took four rapid COVID-19 tests with split results

Elon Musk on Thursday night said he took four rapid coronavirus tests  — with two negative results and as many positive readings. “Something extremely bogus is going on. Was tested for covid four times today,” Musk tweeted. “Two tests came back negative, two came back positive. Same machine, same test, same nurse. Rapid antigen test

North Dakota hospitals at full capacity amid COVID-19 surge

North Dakota hospitals are reportedly at full capacity amid surging coronavirus cases and a shortage of healthcare workers. On Monday, Gov. Doug Burgum announced a new measure to address the dire situation, allowing COVID-19-positive healthcare workers who are asymptomatic to continue working on coronavirus patients, the Grand Forks Herald reported. The shortage in healthcare workers

Oklahoma state reps test positive for COVID-19

Two Oklahoma state representatives announced Thursday that they’ve tested positive for the coronavirus, according to local reports. The GOP lawmakers, Reps. Kevin Wallace and Tammy Townley said in separate statements that they have both contracted the deadly virus, according to local television station KOCO News 5. In his statement, Wallace said he did not participate

British government OKs plan to build traffic tunnel near Stonehenge

The British government on Thursday approved a controversial plan to build a traffic tunnel near the ancient Stonehenge monument, enraging critics who blasted the plan as “shameful.” The plan was OK’d by England’s Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps after proponents argued the proposed two-mile tunnel would reduce traffic on the A303 highway near the landmark, the

AOC defends ‘defund the police’ mantra after Dem losses

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defended her support for “defund the police” Thursday night after an election season in which Republicans weaponized the mantra to paint Democratic opponents as anti-cop and soft on crime. Democratic leaders complained that two issues closely associated with AOC — defunding the police and socialism — contributed to Democratic losses in House

Bridge collapses live on news in North Carolina amid heavy rain

Shocking local television footage shows the moment part of a bridge collapsed as a reporter stood just a few feet away amid heavy rains in North Carolina on Thursday. During the newscast, reporter Amber Roberts, of a local Fox affiliate in Charlotte, was showing viewers a flood of running water underneath a bridge and damage to