New Albany

Trump: 'George Washington would have had a hard time beating me before the plague came in'

President Trump suggested that even an opponent as formidable as the nation’s first commander in chief would have had difficulty unseating him before the coronavirus pandemic.

Three killed in Bangalore clashes over Prophet Muhammad post

Police in the southern city of Bangalore opened fire on protesters angered by the Facebook post.

Appeals court seems wary of ordering dismissal of Flynn case

A federal appeals court in Washington appeared inclined Tuesday to let a judge decide on his own whether to grant the Justice Department's request to dismiss the criminal case against former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn. Many members of the court expressed repeated skepticism at arguments from the Justice Department and Flynn's attorneys that a judge was not empowered to probe the motives behind the government's decision to abandon the prosecution of Flynn, who pleaded guilty as part of the special counsel's Russia investigation to lying to the FBI. The case will almost certainly persist for months if the court rejects Flynn's efforts to get a speedy dismissal and returns it to U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, who refused to immediately grant the department's request to drop the prosecution.

Florida sheriff orders deputies not to wear masks, bans civilians in masks from office

"Now, I can already hear the whining and just so you know I did not make this decision easily," Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said in a memo to staff.

'Terror crocodiles' with teeth the size of bananas once roamed North America preying on dinosaurs

"Terror crocodiles" which had teeth the size of bananas and could reach 33 feet in length once roamed North America preying on dinosaurs, according to a new study. Researchers say the Deinosuchus, which means "terror crocodile", was the largest predator in its ecosystem when it roamed the earth between 75 to 82 million years ago, outweighing the largest predatory dinosaurs which existed at the same time. The new study, published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, revisited fossil specimens of the gigantic creatures and found the Deinosuchus had teeth “the size of bananas”, capable of taking down even the very largest of dinosaurs. It also confirmed that the predators grew to as much as 33ft in length, making them nearly as long as some city buses. Researchers also found that there were at least three species of Deinosuchus, two of which lived along western America from Montana to northern Mexico.

China retaliates against US sanctions with its own, targeting 11 US citizens in ongoing political skirmish

"That is little more than an effort to distract attention from its wholesale assault on the rights of the people of Hong Kong," Kenneth Roth said.

Pro Poker Player Was Bound, Sexually Assaulted, ‘Lit on Fire’ After Motel Meeting

Susie Zhao, the professional poker player whose charred remains were found in a remote Michigan park in July, was allegedly bound with zip ties and sexually assaulted before she was “lit on fire until she died” after meeting with a convicted sex offender, according to new court documents. Zhao, 33, was last seen around 5:30 p.m. on July 12 by her mother, the White Lake Township Police Department previously told The Daily Beast. The next day, her “badly burned” body was discovered at around 8:05 a.m. in a parking lot near the Pontiac Lake Recreation Area, about an hour outside of Detroit. Last week, Jeffrey Bernard Morris, 60, was charged from his hospital bed with first-degree premeditated murder. Authorities discovered the convicted sex offender allegedly met Zhao in a motel room the night before her body was found. Morris, who is homeless and has a “lengthy criminal history” is currently in jail after being denied bail. A Pro Poker Player Was Found ‘Badly Burned.’ Was She Murdered Over Gambling?“This is not the end of the investigation into Susie’s death but the beginning of the pursuit of justice for her and her family,” White Lake Township Detective Chris Hild said in a press conference. “We can only hope that where we are today brings some level of comfort to the healing process.”In new court documents, first obtained by WXYZ, authorities revealed what occurred the night the pro poker player, known on the circuit as “Susie Q,” went missing. Cell phone records indicate Morris and the rising poker star first met on July 12. In an interview with police the night of his arrest on July 31, Morris admitted to picking up Zhao on Watkins Lake Road before they both checked into the Sherwood Motel at around 9:26 p.m.  Morris told investigators the pair left the motel at some point to buy some alcohol and that Zhao left the motel at around midnight and took everything with her. Cell phone records, however, show the 33-year-old’s phone didn’t leave the motel until around 5 a.m on July 13, according to the court documents. Surveillance footage near the motel and cell phone records also show Morris left the room at around 5 a.m., before driving to a secluded section of the Pontiac Lake Recreation area— where Zhao was found. Court documents say that evidence suggests Morris was at the 3,745-acre park for about seven minutes. When Zhao was found the following morning, she was identified by fingerprints and was bound with zip ties. She had been sexually assaulted with a large object before being "lit on fire until she died,” the court documents state. A spokesperson for the Oakland County Medical Examiner told The Daily Beast that Zhao’s cause of death is currently unknown, pending an autopsy and toxicology results. When authorities pulled Morris over on a warrant in Ypsilanti weeks later, investigators found several hairs and other evidence with possible bloodstains. They also found duffle bags with a fitted bed sheet that appeared to have blood on it and a wooden baseball bat that also appeared to have a bloodstain. The items were taken to Oakland County Crime Lab for testing. Authorities are now scrambling to understand the motive behind the “mysterious death” that occurred just weeks after Zhao moved back to her home state of Michigan from California on June 9. Two childhood friends of Zhao previously told The Daily Beast that the poker player bounced between several cities—including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Florida—both for her job and because she was “a jet-setter.” According to PokerNews.com, Zhao was successful in the professional worker world, garnering several deep runs in the World Series of Poker Main Event—placing 90th in 2012 to earn $73,805. Over the course of her career, Zhao won $224,671, according to the poker database The Hendon Mob. Despite earlier speculation, authorities have said there is no evidence that Zhao’s death was connected to her gambling.“I don’t think there was ever anything else that she wanted to do. She was playing poker from a very young age,” Meredith Rogowski, a childhood friend, told The Daily Beast. “It was not a surprise. She was very bold and did whatever she wanted to do. Whenever we talked about her job, she was very nonchalant. But I do know it was exhausting to be in that world—it was long-hours and some of the people she met weren’t always genuine.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Coronavirus may spread farther than 6 feet indoors

A classroom simulation shows how the spread of the virus is significantly cut down simply by placing ventilation near a teacher.

Thunderstorms have hospitalized 52K Americans for breathing issues, study says. Why?

As global warming continues, more respiratory hospitalizations are expected.

Seattle shop owners close business after city council's decision to defund the police

Steepologies Tea Seattle owners Andrea and Joe Raetzer speak out.

South Dakota's Noem to build security fence around residence

South Dakota officials said Wednesday they plan to build a security fence budgeted for $400,000 around the official governor’s residence to protect Gov. Kristi Noem. Noem's office did not give specifics on any threats, but her spokeswoman Maggie Seidel said her security team recommended the fence. Noem's administration had proposed the fence last year, but she abandoned the plan.

Ghislaine Maxwell complains of unusual guards and special uniform as she requests to be moved from ‘onerous’ New York jail

Ghislaine Maxwell has requested to be moved from her New York prison cell amid claims that she is being watched by guards who do not appear to be “regular personnel” at the jail where she is being detained.Lawyers for Ms Maxwell, 58, have written a motion to Judge Alison Nathan asking that their client be moved into the general prison population at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn.

Supreme Court blocks path to Oregon redistricting ballot measure

The justices granted a request by Oregon officials to put on hold a July 10 injunction by U.S. District Judge Michael McShane in Eugene that had ordered the state to reduce the number of signatures needed to place the measure on the November ballot amid the coronavirus pandemic. Two of the nine justices, liberals Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, said they would have left the lower court's order in place. The drawing of electoral districts in Oregon currently is carried out by the state legislature.

I flew on JetBlue for the first time during the pandemic and had a sterling onboard experience that couldn't make up for a chaotic terminal and last-minute flight cancellation

The experience was among the best out of any airline once I got on the plane but the journey getting there was the biggest issue.

Mother says son with autism was 'kicked out' of church by priest

Julia Vicidomini said her son, Nicholas, was instructed to leave the church after he dropped a toy.

Mocimboa da Praia: Key Mozambique port 'seized by IS'

After days of fighting, IS is said to have driven government forces out of Mocimboa da Praia.

Agnes Chow: the former Hong Kong teen activist China wants to silence

Arrested for alleged national security crimes, Agnes Chow hails from a generation of Hong Kong democracy activists who cut their teeth in politics as teenagers and are now being steadily silenced by China. The media cameras flashed incessantly as the 23-year-old was led handcuffed from her apartment on Monday evening by police officers with Hong Kong's new national security unit. For Chow, her arrest was the latest in a long line of confrontations with China's authoritarian leaders and their Hong Kong proxies.

These states require travelers to self-quarantine or present negative COVID-19 test

States are opening back up, but some still require or recommend visitors self-quarantine for two weeks. Find out where.

Party with 400 people shut down during students’ first weekend back at ECU, cops say

Police say the number of parties was still a far cry from past opening weekends at East Carolina University.

‘He better pick a Black woman’: Biden faces Whitmer backlash

African American activists and operatives say Biden would pay a steep price if he chooses a white woman for the ticket.

Cop posted "Kill em all" on protest livestream, investigation finds

The CSPD police chief chose not to fire Sergeant Wrede, calling his actions "an isolated incident of an error in judgment."

Op-Ed: If Biden wins, don't expect Trump to accept defeat and head for the exit

The only way to guarantee Trump doesn't ignore election results is a Biden win so decisive it's apparent on election night.

N95 respirators can be sanitized using crockpots and rice cookers, study finds

Researchers at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign say this new method can help hospital workers safely disinfect their N95 respirators.

1 Crew Member Hurt After Bullet Strikes Air Force Helicopter Over Virginia

A UH-1N Huey with 1st Helicopter Squadron was on a training mission when its crew was forced to make an emergency landing.

Coronavirus found on frozen seafood in China

Authorities in China have found the novel coronavirus on the packaging of imported frozen seafood that arrived from the port city of Dalian, which recently battled a surge of cases, a local government said on Tuesday. The virus was found on the outer packaging of frozen seafood bought by three companies in Yantai, a port city in eastern Shandong province. The Yantai city government said in a statement the seafood was from an imported shipment that landed at Dalian but did not say where it originated.

Mexico: Ex-President Enrique Peña Nieto accused of corruption and bribery

Prosecutors open an investigation after allegations made by the ex-head of the state oil company.

Iran's Rouhani hopeful US arms embargo push will fail

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani expressed "great hopes" Wednesday that a US bid to extend an arms embargo on his country will fail, warning of consequences if the UN Security Council backs it. Rouhani's remarks came after Iran's ambassador to the United Nations said the US would have to redraft its proposed resolution on the issue after being "rebuffed" by Security Council members. The ban on selling weapons to Iran is set to be progressively eased from October under the terms of Resolution 2231, which blessed the Iran nuclear deal that world powers agreed in July 2015.

China: No U.S-Taiwan ties under any pretext

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters during a daily briefing that "those who play with fire will get burnt". U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar attacked China's response to the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday (August 11) and said that if such an outbreak had emerged in Taiwan or the United States it could have been "snuffed out easily". Azar arrived in Taiwan on Sunday (August 9) as the highest-level U.S. official to visit in four decades, a trip condemned by China. Beijing considers Taiwan a breakaway province and has vowed to bring it under its rule, by force if necessary.

Kellyanne Conway blames White House shooting on people ‘losing it’ over four more years of Trump

Trump administration adviser Kellyanne Conway has cast yesterday’s security incident at the White House as an indictment of Democratic leaders who are “losing it” over the prospect of a second Trump term.In a Tuesday discussion on Fox News’s morning show Fox & Friends, Ms Conway was asked for her view on the events of Monday evening, which saw an “aggressive” man shot by a Secret Service officer and Donald Trump bundled out of a press briefing for his own safety.

Blood transfusions from recovered coronavirus patients could become the next FDA-approved treatment — here's how convalescent plasma works

The FDA might soon authorize convalescent plasma as an emergency treatment for COVID-19. It could prevent mild cases from becoming severe.

A father filmed a racist encounter with a white woman who called him the n-word and phoned the police over a parking spot

The 34-year-old was picking up his children from his aunt's apartment complex when an elderly resident accosted him.

Putin Announces Russia Has Approved a Coronavirus Vaccine and That His Daughter Has Been Given a Shot

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday that his country has become the first to approve a coronavirus vaccine, and that his own daughter has received the shot. The vaccine is in production and millions of people, including teachers and front line health-care workers, will be given the shot beginning this month, he claimed. China has already authorized one vaccine for use in its military, ahead of definitive data that it is safe and effective. The Russian vaccine was reportedly given to the scientists who developed it as well as 50 members of the Russian military and a handful of other volunteers. Putin made the announcement during a televised video conference call with government ministers, saying: “This morning, for the first time in the world, a vaccine against the new coronavirus was registered,” adding that his daughter was among those to be inoculated. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Monday's derecho damaged 10M acres of crops in Iowa; 600K still without power in Midwest

Iowa was especially hard hit, as the potent windstorm devastated the state’s power grid and flattened valuable corn fields.

Tiger King's Carole Baskin faces lawsuit from family of husband Don Lewis

The family of Don Lewis, who disappeared in 1997, file a lawsuit against his wife Carole Baskin.

Bribes funded campaign of Mexico's Pena Nieto, ex-aide says

Multi-million-dollar bribes from a Brazilian construction giant financed the presidential campaign that brought Mexico's Enrique Pena Nieto to power, a former top advisor revealed Tuesday according to prosecutors. The explosive allegations from Emilio Lozoya, who was Pena Nieto's chief international strategist prior to the 2012 election, are the latest twist in a scandal that has shaken Latin America. It follows the former aide's extradition from Spain last month to stand trial on corruption charges linked to Odebrecht, Latin America's biggest construction company.

‘It Was a Planned Attack.’ Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Says Looting Was Organized

A day after looters overwhelmed police officers in Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot says the violence was an organized raid

Trump’s attorney general under fire for calling Black Lives Matter a ‘Bolshevik organisation’ with ‘fascistic’ tactics

US attorney general Bill Barr made waves with a Fox News interview this weekend in which he called the Black Lives Matter movement “Bolshevik” and “fascistic” – and the fallout is still simmering.Host Mark Levin, who conducted the interview, is now pushing back against the mainstream media’s coverage of the segment, accusing newspapers’ fact checkers of lying about Black Lives Matter’s true nature and declaring that journalists are in cahoots with “violent Marxists”.

MBS is stamping out the final threat to his rule, bringing an end to his 3-year coup marked by power grabs, forced disappearances, and assassinations

Crown Prince Mohammed is gunning for Saad al-Jabri and Mohammed bin Nayef, but they are old friends of the US, who want answers from the kingdom.

Germany to Russia: we will protect our people, online and off

The murder in a central Berlin park of a Georgian national, blamed by German prosecutors on the actions of a branch of the Russian state, has been a serious burden on relations between the two countries, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said. Speaking at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Maas said on Tuesday that Germany would do everything it could to protect its people, both in the online and offline spaces. "The murder in the Tiergarten, which prosecutors believe was commissioned by a Russian state organ, has seriously weighed on our relationship, so I made clear that we will defend the security of our people, both online and off," he said.

Georgia high school closes 8 days after reopening, confirms 14 coronavirus cases

"We know all parents do not believe the scientific research that indicates masks are beneficial," said the district chief.

Mysterious shark frozen at Smithsonian to study its ‘big mouth with a lot of secrets’

Little is known about the “elusive” species, experts say.

Downfall: BP worker sacked after Hitler meme wins payout

Scott Tracey used the scene from Downfall to portray scenes from company wage negotiations.

6-year-old boy being treated at CHOP for MIS-C after COVID-19 infection: Mother

A mother says it's been a nightmare in the hospital as her 6-year-old son continues to recover from Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) at CHOP.

Trump has reportedly privately said he intends to replace Mark Esper after November election

It doesn't sound like Defense Secretary Mark Esper will remain at his post for long after the November election, regardless of whether President Trump is re-elected, Bloomberg reports.Trump has reportedly said he intends to find someone else to run the Pentagon if he wins in November, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. And one source said Esper himself has told people close to him he intends to leave no matter the outcome, so, if the reports are accurate, the two do at least appear to be on the same page. On the other hand, an official close to Esper did tell Bloomberg he is committed to serving in the role as long as Trump wants him to.But it wouldn't be shocking if that turns out to be later this year — Trump has appeared frustrated with Esper on several occasions because the Pentagon chief doesn't always back him up on key issues. Esper also didn't agree with Trump's idea to send active-duty military to contain nationwide protests in the wake of George Floyd's death earlier this summer, Bloomberg notes. Read more at Bloomberg.More stories from theweek.com Trump and his aides reportedly think they have Democrats in a 'real pickle' with the COVID-19 aid stalemate The case against American truck bloat Trump campaign tweets mugshots of alleged criminals, all of them Black, to claim Biden is pro-crime

An admitted KKK leader has been sentenced to 6 years in prison after driving a truck through a crowd of protesters in June

A Virginia man who boasted to police of his Ku Klux Klan rank was sentenced to six years in prison after driving his truck into a crowd of protesters.

Taliban warn against attacks on freed prisoners going home

Ahead of an upcoming release of Taliban detainees held in Afghan prisons, the insurgent group warned the government in Kabul on Tuesday against any attacks on those released, saying such incidents would jeopardize the peace talks. A Taliban spokesman told The Associated Press there have been at least 11 such attacks in the past several months — instances when freed Taliban figures were killed, harassed and re-arrested by government forces. Kabul officials denied unwarranted attacks on freed Taliban.