A Utah police officer allegedly kidnapped a member of his own family on Thanksgiving Day in what police described as a “paranoid” episode involving an involuntary joyride, a gun, and abandoned buildings. An unnamed relative told police that their nephew Scott Elliott Russell, a master officer with the South Jordan Police Department, had taken them for a drive before the family’s Thanksgiving dinner in Provo, Utah, […]
Blake Montgomery
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President Donald Trump’s administration signaled to President-elect Joe Biden that it was ready to begin the transition of power late Monday, according to a letter from General Services Administrator Emily Murphy. Murphy, a Trump political appointee, had refused to open up millions in government funding, data, and personnel to Biden’s incoming administration as Trump’s efforts to reverse the results of the election continued. In her letter, […]
For months, a group of governors across the country insisted that they would not impose a mask mandate because it represented government overreach or it just wouldn’t work. Some have since relented in the face of ever-rising case counts, but others like Wyoming’s Mark Gordon and South Dakota’s Kristi Noem have held firm. A new study released by the Centers for Disease Control on Friday adds […]
Milwaukee police mounted a large response to reports of an active shooter at the Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa, a suburb of Wisconsin’s largest city, on Friday afternoon. A SWAT team also responded to the incident. Local station WISN interviewed witnesses who said they heard between eight and 12 shots near in the vicinity of an Eddie Bauer store and a Macy’s. Other witnesses said they saw […]
Jim Watson/Getty Addressing the nation Saturday night as the first woman of color ever elected to the vice presidency, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) made clear she understood the weight her win would carry for future generations. “Every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities and to the children of our country regardless of your gender, our country has sent you a […]
Philadelphia police took at least one man into custody Thursday night in connection with an alleged plot to attack the city’s convention center where the swing state’s presidential votes are still being counted, according to reports. An armed group is said to have driven a Hummer up from Virginia with violent intent. No one was reported injured, and police did not identify the suspect or provide […]
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Saturday that England would enter a one-month lockdown beginning November 5, the country’s second since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. All non-essential shops in the country will be required to shut their doors until December 2, as will hospitality establishments, but schools and universities will be allowed to remain open. Johnson said the government will continue to provide financial […]
Police in Vancouver, Washington, are bracing for a second night of protests after officers fatally shot a 21-year-old Black man in a bank parking lot Thursday night. Clark County sheriff’s deputies shot and killed Kevin Peterson, Jr., 21, near a U.S. Bank just prior to 6 p.m. Thursday. The officers involved have not been named. Protesters gathered near the site of the shooting Thursday night, and […]
President Donald Trump flirted with the possibility of an authoritarian power grab yet again Saturday, suggesting to supporters at a campaign rally that he may not commit to a peaceful transfer of power should he lose the presidential election. Speaking in Circleville, Ohio, the commander in chief pondered why he should ensure a peaceful transition when he said the previous administration treated him so unfairly: “They […]
An Ohio priest respected as a “religious and community leader” has been sex trafficking vulnerable minors and adults for more than two decades, the Department of Justice announced in an indictment unsealed Friday. A grand jury has charged Rev. Michael J. Zacharias, age 53, with sex trafficking minors and sex trafficking both minors and adults by force, 10 counts in all. Federal authorities arrested Zacharias on […]
President Donald Trump said migrant children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border were “so well taken care of” during the Thursday night presidential debate against former Vice President Joe Biden. Asked about the practice of family separations by debate moderator Kristen Welker, Trump said, “They went down, brought reporters and everything. [The children] are so well taken care of. They’re in facilities that were […]
A new report from Columbia University on COVID-19 deaths estimates that hundreds of thousands of Americans died because the United States’ response to the pandemic was an “abject failure,” particularly the actions of President Donald Trump. With an adequate response, the United States could have avoided tens of thousands of deaths and an incalculable amount of suffering, the researchers said. Dr. Irwin Redlener, the lead author […]
C-SPAN has suspended longtime political editor and senior executive producer Steve Scully indefinitely for lying that his Twitter feed was hijacked last week. “I falsely claimed that my Twitter account had been hacked. These were both errors in judgement for which I am totally responsible for. I ask for [my colleagues’] forgiveness as I try to move forward in a moment of reflection and disappointment in […]
The Department of Justice has filed a complaint against Melania Trump’s former best friend for not submitting a draft of her tell-all book to the federal government for pre-publication review. Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, the planner of President Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration, penned Melania and Me about the sudden souring of her relationship with the first lady. The look into Melania’s inner circle painted an unflattering portrait […]
Tory Lanez has been charged with two felonies for allegedly shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot in July. Lanez, born Daystar Peterson, shot Megan, born Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, during an argument with her and one of her friends outside a July 12 party in the Hollywood Hills, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office. The two had been riding in an SUV […]
The mayor of Rochester, New York, was indicted for felony campaign finance fraud Friday. During her 2017 campaign, Lovely Warren allegedly used political action committee (PAC) funds for campaign purposes in excess of the allowed $8,557. She’s charged with first-degree scheme to defraud and illegally coordinating activities and expenditures. Warren called the allegations a “political witch hunt” in a press conference held before news of the […]
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have both tested positive for COVID-19, the president announced early Friday. “Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!” he tweeted. The news came just a few hours after news broke that Hope Hicks, one of Trump’s closest confidantes, had tested positive for COVID-19 […]
First Lady Melania Trump doesn’t much care for the holidays at the White House, according to a newly released recording of a private conversation. In a secretly taped July 2018 exchange shared by her former close friend Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, she said: “I’m working like—my ass off—on Christmas stuff, you know? Who gives a f–k about Christmas stuff and decorations? But I need to do it, […]
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he is prohibiting government contractors and grantees from offering racial sensitivity and diversity training to employees. In a series of tweets, Trump wrote, “A few weeks ago, I BANNED efforts to indoctrinate government employees with divisive and harmful sex and race-based ideologies. Today, I’ve expanded that ban to people and companies that do business…with our Country, the United States Military, […]
Attorney General William Barr said in a speech Wednesday that lockdowns intended to slow the spread of the new coronavirus were “the greatest intrusion on civil liberties” in the history of the United States since slavery. “You know, putting a national lockdown, stay at home orders, is like house arrest. Other than slavery, which was a different kind of restraint, this is the greatest intrusion on […]
President Donald Trump and his campaign visited Freeland, Michigan on Thursday for a rally where he spoke at length about former vice president Joe Biden, auto manufacturing, antifa, the suburbs, and the media. His campaign also ejected a New York Times reporter from the event, seemingly without explanation. Kathy Gray, a Times correspondent who lives in Michigan, tweeted, “And so it begins” with a picture of […]
The West Coast of the United States awoke Wednesday morning to a dark orange sky as wildfire smoke enshrouded wide swaths of the region in darkness and sent ash raining from the sky. Dozens of gargantuan fires are burning in California, Washington, Oregon, and Colorado. Blazes in Oregon surpassed 330,000 acres. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed and tens of thousands of people evacuated. “We expect […]
President Donald Trump boasted to supporters on Tuesday about his campaign intentionally misrepresenting itself in order to skirt coronavirus restrictions. “Joe Biden and his party spent the entire summer cheering on the riots, rampaging for Democrat-run cities, labeling them as peaceful protesters. We call you peaceful protesters, you know why? Because they have rules in these Democrat-run states that if you’re campaigning, you cannot have more […]
The chief of the Rochester Police Department announced he would resign Tuesday following the release of shocking footage of the March death of a 41-year-old Black man in police custody. La’Ron Singletary leaves the department after 20 years under heavy scrutiny over the death of Daniel Prude. His top two officers in the department—Deputy Chief Joseph Morabito and Deputy Chief Mark Simmons—also handed in their resignation. […]
A parade of boats near Austin, Texas meant to honor President Donald Trump ended in disarray Saturday afternoon as multiple watercraft sank and boaters continually rang local authorities in distress. With temperatures at 90 degrees and helicopters buzzing overhead, the parade began at noon. The Travis County Sheriff’s Office received its first call for help related to the event at 12:15, spokesperson Kristen Dark told The […]
A 41-year-old Black man suffocated to death in March after police in Rochester, New York, pinned him to the ground. Though Daniel Prude’s death occurred nearly six months ago, details became public at a press conference organized by his family Wednesday, according to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Body camera footage of the altercation also became available Wednesday, which Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren called “disturbing.” She […]
Actor Chadwick Boseman, star of Black Panther, has died at the age of 43 after battling colon cancer for the past four years, the Associated Press reports. “It is with immeasurable grief that we confirm the passing of Chadwick Boseman,” a statement from the actor’s official Twitter account read. The actor had continued to play blockbuster roles in between cancer treatments since his diagnosis in 2016, […]
President Donald Trump tore into Kamala Harris during a New Hampshire campaign rally on Friday night where he deployed his favorite 2016 talking points before hurling insults at his opponents and suggesting the California senator is not the kind of woman who should make history as the first female president. That honor should be reserved for his own daughter, Ivanka Trump, he said. “I want to […]
Becki Falwell had a sexual encounter with one of her son’s 22-year-old Liberty University classmates in 2008 and pursued him for months after, Politico reports. The former student told the outlet that and Trey Falwell were in a rock band together, and while the former student stayed in a guest room the Falwells’ house after a rehearsal, Becki Falwell entered his room and began to perform […]
The co-founder of Trump fansite The Federalist took to Twitter Wednesday to share a lengthy screed against wearing face masks to slow the spread of the coronavirus, ostensibly from a doctor. As the U.S. nears 5 million confirmed coronavirus infections and tops 157,000 deaths, Sean Davis retweeted claims that have already been repeatedly debunked. The Federalist enjoys the ear of a number of conservative politicians who […]
A federal grand jury indicted Democratic political donor Ed Buck on four felonies in addition to the five he already faces for allegedly enticing multiple men to engage in prostitution and providing them with drugs, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday. Buck, 66, allegedly solicited men on social media and dating apps to come to his West Hollywood apartment for long hours of sex, where he […]
Regis Philbin, one of the country’s highest-profile on-air personalities for decades, has died of natural causes. He was 88. In a statement, his family told People: “We are deeply saddened to share that our beloved Regis Philbin passed away last night of natural causes, one month shy of his 89th birthday. His family and friends are forever grateful for the time we got to spend with […]
The case of a missing Arizona State University professor who vanished in March took a dark turn on Friday as police announced his remains were found in a landfill, allegedly dumped there by two Louisiana teenagers. Junseok Chae, associate dean for research at ASU’s School of Engineering, was reported missing March 25 when he didn’t return home from work at the university. Authorities began searching a […]