Two arrested in connection with vandalism in abandoned home owned by the son of Philadelphia Phillies co-owner
Two people were arrested on Wednesday in connection with vandalism in an abandoned Hollywood Hills mansion owned by the son of a Philadelphia Phillies co-owner.
John Powers Middleton, a film producer, owns a property that has long been left vacant and become a popular target for graffiti artists and squatters.
Continue reading...Death toll continues to rise in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas; Helene downgraded to tropical depression
The National Hurricane Center has said Helene is now a tropical storm as it moves farther inland over Georgia. It noted that “life-threatening storm surge, winds, and heavy rains continue.”
In a 4am update, the National Hurricane Center said “Helene continues to move inland over central Georgia and is producing hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall.”
Continue reading...The Grammy-nominated singer took the plunge with Jeremy Dufrene in waterside outdoor venue
In what some might see as an unlikely union, the Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey has married a swamp tour guide from Louisiana.
The Daily Mail obtained exclusive video and photos of the 39-year-old Del Rey’s wedding on Thursday to Jeremy Dufrene, 49, in Des Allemands, Louisiana, about a 45-minute drive south-west of New Orleans.
Continue reading...Residents in several states suffer power outages and heavy flooding as officials warn of ‘very dangerous environment’
Helene has reportedly killed at least 40 people across four states and inflicted about 4m power outages and dangerous flooding across the south-eastern US after crashing ashore in north-western Florida late on Thursday as a potent category 4 hurricane.
The storm – which registered maximum sustained winds of 140mph – weakened to a tropical storm and then to a depression as it moved across Georgia as well as the Carolinas on Friday afternoon, when residents whose communities experienced Helene’s peak effects more directly were only just beginning to fathom the recovery process ahead.
Continue reading...Ex-president hails ‘very good relationship’ as Ukrainian leader says pair share ‘common view’ that Putin cannot win
Donald Trump has met Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York in a high-stakes meeting at which the Ukrainian leader hoped to repair ties with the former US president.
The two men met at Trump Tower on Friday amid a growing feud between Zelenskyy and Republicans that Ukraine fears could sabotage further US military aid if Trump wins in November.
Continue reading...More than 50 patients and staff evacuated from Unicoi hospital in Erwin after deadly hurricane overwhelms area
More than 50 hospital patients and staff were airlifted from the roof of the building in Tennessee on Friday afternoon in a dramatic rescue operation after flash flooding overwhelmed the area.
An urgent evacuation was launched as the storm effects of Hurricane Helene were felt far and wide, with the state emergency agency and the national guard responding to the situation that quickly unfolded at Unicoi hospital in Erwin, Tennessee, about 100 miles outside Knoxville.
Continue reading...Beleaguered mayor in court as prosecutors allege Adams, 64, ‘sought and accepted improper valuable benefits’
Eric Adams, the embattled Democratic mayor of New York City, who was indicted on federal criminal charges in an unprecedented scene for a sitting mayor of the city, pleaded not guilty in court in Manhattan early on Friday afternoon.
The mayor arrived at court on Friday morning hours ahead of a scheduled arraignment, accused of accepting illegal campaign contributions and free overseas trips from foreign actors seeking influence.
Continue reading...S&P 500 index of major US companies registers near 100% gain on year ago amid expectation of interest rate cuts
A fall in US inflation expected to pave the way for further cuts in interest rates pushed stock markets to record highs on Friday.
Ending a week of gains that began when the Chinese authorities approved a huge economic stimulus package, the S&P 500 index of major US companies soared above 5,750 to register a near 100% gain on a year ago.
Continue reading...Tension between the Israeli PM and the UN has never been so high, but his behaviour over the Lebanon ceasefire has given him a bigger problem
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has for decades used set-piece speeches to the UN to denounce it. In 2017, he said it had been “the epicentre of global antisemitism” and there was “no limit to the UN’s absurdities when it comes to Israel”, but never have the tensions between him and the body he reviles reached such a pitch.
Since the 7 October massacre by Hamas, Israel has ignored four UN resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and has not just described the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa as a terrorist state, but launched a campaign to bankrupt it. Arab envoys have walked out when the Israeli ambassador has started to speak.
Continue reading...Surge could rise to as much as 20ft in some spots after huge storm strengthened as it careened across Gulf of Mexico
Hurricane Helene made landfall along the Florida coast on Thursday night as a powerful and potentially disastrous category 4 storm, bringing chaos to a wide swathe of the Gulf coast and threatening high winds, storm surges and drenching rainfall.
Helene was located about 70km east-southeast of Tallahassee, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 225 kph, the Miami-based UA National Hurricane Center said late on Thursday.
Continue reading...Forecasters warn that storm, one of the most powerful to hit the US this year, could create a ‘nightmare’
Hurricane Helene strengthened to a catastrophic category 4 storm as it barreled toward Florida’s Gulf coast, making it one of the most powerful storms to hit the US this year.
The storm is expected to make landfall on Thursday night. Forecasters warn the enormous storm could create a “nightmare” scenario, with a potentially life-threatening storm surge that could reach 15-20ft (4.6-6.1 meters) in the Big Bend area of Florida’s Panhandle region.
Continue reading...Rockville Centre diocese in New York settles with more than 530 victims after proposed deal comes close to failure
A Roman Catholic diocese in Long Island, New York, announced a new bankruptcy settlement on Thursday that would pay more than $323m to about 530 sex abuse survivors who alleged they were abused by priests when they were children.
The diocese of Rockville Centre, which serves about 1.2 million Catholics in Nassau and Suffolk counties, said earlier this year that it did not think a bankruptcy settlement would be possible after abuse survivors rejected the diocese’s previous $200m settlement offer.
Continue reading...Executive order aims to crack down on conversion devices and 3D guns as Harris and Trump spar on campaign trail
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris unveiled a new executive order aimed at tackling gun violence on Thursday, as the vice-president and Donald Trump clash over the issue on the campaign trail.
The order establishes a new “emerging firearms threats task force” to crack down on machine-gun conversion devices and unserialized, 3D-printed guns. The policy also calls on federal agencies to develop guidance for schools on active shooter drills to mitigate potential psychological harm to students.
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Here is more from the federal indictment against Eric Adams:
In 2014, Eric Adams, the defendant, became Brooklyn borough president. Thereafter, for nearly a decade, Adams sought and accepted improper valuable benefits, such as luxury international travel, including from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish govermnent official seeking to gain influence over him.
By 2018, Adams – who had by then made known his plans to run for mayor of New York City – not only accepted, but sought illegal campaign contributions to his 2021 mayoral campaign, as well as other things of value, from foreign nationals.
Eric Adams, the defendant, sought and accepted illegal campaign contributions in the form of ‘nominee’ or ‘straw’ contributions, meaning that the true contributors conveyed their money through nominal donors, who falsely certified they were contributing their own money.
By smuggling their contributions to Adams through US-based straw donors, Adams’ overseas contributors defeated federal laws that serve to prevent foreign influence on US elections.
Continue reading...The PM and foreign secretary David Lammy met with the Republican candidate, but were not able to schedule a meeting with Kamala Harris
Keir Starmer has met Donald Trump for a two-hour dinner in New York, as he sought to establish a good relationship with the Republican presidential candidate.
The prime minister was accompanied by his foreign secretary David Lammy, who described Trump as a neo-Nazi sympathiser in 2018 but has since said he would work with him in office.
Continue reading...Democratic nominee calls Republican plan to end war between Ukraine and Russia ‘dangerous and unacceptable’
Kamala Harris, the US vice-president, has indirectly denounced the Trump campaign’s policy on ending Russia’s war against Ukraine as “proposals of surrender” as the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Washington to present his own “victory plan”.
Addressing Zelenskyy at the White House, Harris said that “some in my country” would pressure Ukraine to accept a peace deal in which it surrendered its sovereign territory and neutrality in order to make peace with Vladimir Putin.
Continue reading...Protesters gather outside UN headquarters in New York to oppose Israeli PM’s visit and to call for end to Gaza war
As the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, arrived in New York on Thursday ahead of his address to the United Nations general assembly, scheduled for Friday morning, protesters opposed to the war in Gaza gathered near UN headquarters.
One group of people who waved Israeli flags and campaign banners described themselves as an informal coalition of Jewish and Israeli-led organizations taking an anti-occupation and anti-war stance in relation to the Palestinian territories. They assembled close to the UN building in Manhattan to protest against Netanyahu’s arrival after he flew in from Israel overnight.
Continue reading...Emmanuel Littlejohn will be executed for role in 1992 shooting, which would be state’s third execution this year
A man in Oklahoma is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Thursday morning, despite conflicting evidence regarding his guilt.
Emmanuel Littlejohn, 52, will be executed for his role in the 1992 shooting death of a convenience store owner during a robbery in Oklahoma City. If executed, Littlejohn will be the third inmate put to death by the state this year.
Continue reading...Reported move follows recent departure of senior figures from ChatGPT developer
OpenAI is reportedly pushing ahead with plans to become a for-profit company, as more senior figures left the ChatGPT developer after the surprise exit of its chief technology officer, Mira Murati.
The San Francisco-based startup is preparing to change its corporate structure as it seeks $6.5bn (£4.9bn) of new funding, according to reports.
Continue reading...Israeli prime minister’s office ‘did not even respond’ to the plan. Plus, how Britishisms invaded the US
Good morning.
Israel has rejected a US-French proposal for a 21-day truce with Hezbollah to allow for comprehensive talks, after three days of Israeli bombing that killed more than 600 people in Lebanon.
Why does the US not call for an immediate ceasefire? US diplomats suggested it could be seen as accepting a moral equivalence between the two sides’ behavior, and the US categorizes Hezbollah as a terrorist group.
Have others been investigated? Yes – federal agents earlier this month raided the homes of senior officials in Adams’s administration.
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