After giving two officers in Springfield, Missouri, a good run, the escaped pet was caught by the long arms of the law
US law enforcement is familiar with pursuing much more dangerous escapees but there was one guy in stripes this week who gave officers the run-around, then ultimately came quietly.
“We see the tail,” a cop called as he gave chase through the darkness of a public park equipped only with a large towel.
Continue reading...Jason Brown, 48, linked to neo-Nazi group, charged with criminal mischief after police said hate banners were hung in Orlando
Florida authorities have arrested a man after he allegedly hung extremist hate symbols including swastikas over a bridge.
On Wednesday, the Florida department of law enforcement (FDLE) announced that 48-year-old Jason Brown of Cape Canaveral was arrested for allegedly hanging swastikas and other antisemitic banners along the Daryl Carter Parkway overpass in Orlando and charged him with criminal mischief.
Continue reading...State senate moves to oust nonpartisan elections administrator Meagan Wolfe, who became lightning rod for conspiracy theories
Wisconsin’s top elections official suffered another blow on Thursday when the Republican-controlled state senate voted to fire her by a party line vote of 22 to 11. Meagan Wolfe’s status as elections administrator will now likely be determined in court.
Legal experts and the Wisconsin attorney general have disputed the move by Republican senators to remove Wolfe, a respected and accomplished non-partisan leader. Her removal would affect the administration of elections in 2024 and illustrates the increasingly wide reach of election deniers and rightwing conspiracy theorists in Wisconsin politics.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed. For the full report on Hunter Biden’s charges, click below:
House speaker Kevin McCarthy, speaking to reporters after a tense closed-door GOP meeting, insisted he would not “walk away from a battle” as he tries to hang on to his position amid rising discontent among the party’s most hardline members. He said:
If it takes a fight, I’ll have a fight.
Continue reading...Former House speaker says people shouldn’t underestimate vice-president and that she will work to get Biden and Harris re-elected
Nancy Pelosi seemed to offer a less-than-ringing endorsement when asked if Kamala Harris was the best running mate for Joe Biden next year, saying: “He thinks so, and that’s what matters.”
But the former US House speaker also had praise for the vice-president, telling CNN: “And, by the way, she’s very politically astute. I don’t think people give her enough credit. She’s … consistent with the president’s values and the rest.”
Continue reading...US president says he is ‘not focused on impeachment’ but believes inquiry is linked to Republican desire to achieve federal shutdown
Joe Biden said Republicans launched an impeachment inquiry against him because “they want to shut down the government”.
Biden was speaking at a campaign event in McLean, Virginia, on Wednesday, a day after the House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, conceded to pressure from the right of his party and announced the inquiry.
Continue reading...Police say woman, 40, arrested and charged with felony child neglect as sheriff’s office says charges could be upgraded
A 11-month-old baby and a dog died after being left in a car for over six hours in Virginia, authorities announced on Wednesday.
Police responded to a call at a hospital in Newport News at about 4pm on Tuesday after a man in his 80s entered the emergency room and said he had a “deceased child” in the back of his car, the York-Poquoson sheriff’s office said in a press briefing.
Continue reading...Storm, which has already brought strong winds and heavy rain to Bermuda, is weakening in strength but expanding in size
Parts of coastal New England and Atlantic Canada are under a tropical storm watch this week as Hurricane Lee continues on its path upward.
With maximum sustained winds of up to 100mph, Lee was 265 miles south-west of Bermuda as of Thursday morning, the National Hurricane Center said.
Continue reading...District judge Andrew Hanen’s ruling expected to be appealed, leaving supreme court to rule on program’s fate for the third time
A federal judge on Wednesday declared illegal a revised version of a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the US as children.
US district judge Andrew Hanen agreed with Texas and eight other states suing to stop the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) program. The judge’s ruling was ultimately expected to be appealed to the US supreme court, sending the program’s fate before the high court for a third time.
Continue reading...Bill Gates, Sundar Pichai, Sam Altman and others gathered for ‘one of the most important conversations of the year’
A delegation of top tech leaders including Sundar Pichai, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Sam Altman convened in Washington on Wednesday for a closed-door meeting with US senators to discuss the rise of artificial intelligence and how it should be regulated.
The discussion, billed as an “AI safety forum”, is one of several meetings between Silicon Valley, researchers, labor leaders and government and is taking on fresh urgency with the US elections looming and the rapid pace of AI advancement already affecting peoples’ lives and work.
Continue reading...Justice department takes on tech giant in court, seeking to prove it illegally used its power to maintain monopoly on internet search
The court battle between the US justice department and Google has entered its second day, as the United States government seeks to prove that the tech behemoth illegally leveraged its power to maintain a monopoly over internet search engines. The trial is a major test of antitrust law and could have far-reaching implications for the tech industry and for how people engage with the internet.
The question at the heart of the trial is whether Google’s place as the search engine for most Americans is the result of anti-competitive practices that gave internet users no other choice but to use its services.
Continue reading...Setback for Governor Lujan Grisham as judge sides with advocates for gun rights even after recent shootings took lives of children
A federal judge has blocked part of a public health order that suspended the right to carry guns in public across Albuquerque, New Mexico, the state’s largest metro area, as criticism mounted over the actions taken by the governor and political divides widened.
The ruling Wednesday by US district judge David Urias marks a setback for Michelle Lujan Grisham, the Democratic governor, as she responds to several recent shootings that took the lives of children, including an 11-year-old boy as he left a minor league baseball game in Albuquerque.
Continue reading...Lauren Boebert escorted out of show of Beetlejuice in Denver after audience accused her of vaping, singing and using phone
The US congresswoman Lauren Boebert was kicked out of a performance of the musical Beetlejuice in Denver on Sunday, according to security footage.
The theater didn’t name Boebert, but a spokesperson said on Wednesday that the video – which showed Boebert and a guest being escorted out of the venue – was of guests who were kicked out after audience members accused them of vaping, singing, using phones and causing a disturbance.
Continue reading...Lawrence Hecker, 92, earlier admitted to having sex with three underage boys in 1960s and 70s, but denied using violence
The retired Catholic priest Lawrence Hecker pleaded not guilty in a New Orleans courtroom on Wednesday, five days after he turned himself in to jail on aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated crime against nature and theft charges.
He’s accused in a grand jury indictment of raping a teenage boy in 1975 or 1976 after the unnamed victim “resisted to the utmost but … was overcome by force”.
In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit their website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at ascasupport.org. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International
Continue reading...Chamber’s investigations committee is targeting the PIF after refusing to voluntarily comply with requests for disclosure
Saudi Arabia’s $700bn sovereign wealth fund – which has been used as a lever of global influence by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – has been subpoenaed by a powerful Senate committee after it refused to voluntarily comply with information requests about its US dealings.
The subpoena, which was issued by the Senate’s permanent subcommittee on investigations, is targeting the Public Investment Fund’s wholly-owned US subsidiaries in connection to the group’s proposed golf deal and “related investments throughout the United States”.
Continue reading...Growth in prices still remains far below the decades-high inflation rates that were seen last summer, when rate peaked at 9.1% in June
US inflation in August rose for the first time since June 2022, rising to 3.7% as a sharp increase in energy prices pushed prices up toward the end of the summer.
Growth in prices still remains far below the decades-high inflation rates that were seen last summer, when the rate peaked at 9.1% in June. Still, an increase in inflation means the US economy is further from the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2% and will likely make officials consider pushing interest rates up later this year.
Continue reading...Tommy Tuberville aims to block policy offering aid to service members and dependents forced to travel for abortions
Defending his blocking promotions that has left hundreds of military officers in limbo and the US army, navy and marines without Senate-confirmed leaders, the Alabama Republican Tommy Tuberville demanded a congressional vote on Pentagon abortion policy.
He added: “We are not a communist country.”
Continue reading...New York pension funds and Oregon are long-term shareholders of Fox and accuse network of inviting defamation claims
New York City pension funds and the state of Oregon sued Fox Corporation on Tuesday, alleging the company harmed investors by allowing Fox News to broadcast falsehoods about the 2020 election that exposed the network to defamation lawsuits.
The lawsuit, filed in Delaware, accuses Fox of inviting defamation claims by amplifying conspiracy theories about the election, including a suit Fox News agreed to settle for nearly $800m with Dominion Voting Systems, a maker of voting machines.
Continue reading...Boycott would aim to use consumer power to pressure company to negotiate its first union contract
Calls for a consumer boycott of Starbucks are growing amid mounting criticism of the coffee chain’s aggressive union-busting activities.
A boycott, supporters say, would aim to use consumer power to pressure Starbucks to stop its union-busting and illegal actions and to finally negotiate its first union contract.
Continue reading...Nathaniel Fischer co-owns ammunition company that has contracts with federal government totaling $78,678
A far-right figure who is involved in a secretive invitation-only fraternal organization, whose founder has spoken of being at war with the US government, is also part-owner of an ammunition company that has contracts with the federal government and law enforcement, the Guardian can reveal.
Nathaniel Fischer – a venture capitalist, former Claremont Institute fellow and president of the Dallas lodge of the secretive Society for American Civic Renewal (SACR) – is also part-owner of Texas-based ammunition manufacturer S1 Armory, which trades as Stand 1 Armory.
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