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Amy Coney Barrett: 5 things to know about the Supreme Court nominee

President Trump announced Saturday that he is nominating Amy Coney Barrett, a respected jurist and conservative darling, to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.

Sat, 26 Sep 2020 17:33:49 -0400

Sole Witness Who Heard Cops Announce Themselves in Breonna Taylor Raid Changed His Story

This week, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron made the bombshell announcement that the cops who fatally shot Breonna Taylor would not be charged with killing her, calling their use of force in the March raid “justified to protect themselves.”In that justification, he said that one witness corroborated the three officers’ insistence that they knocked and identified themselves at Taylor’s Louisville home while executing a search warrant in connection with a narcotics investigation. It contradicted claims from Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenny Walker, and 11 other residents, who said they didn’t hear the cops announce themselves. Instead, Walker thought he was being burglarized and fired a warning shot that triggered a tragic chain of events.But, according to documents and audio obtained by VICE News on Saturday, that sole witness initially told investigators days after the March 13 raid that he didn’t actually hear officers Brett Hankison, Jonathan Mattingly, and Myles Cosgrove announce themselves.The witness—identified by VICE as Aarin Sarpee but by other outlets and public records as Aaron Julue Sarpee—was picking up his daughter from a unit above Taylor’s when the raid took place.It wasn’t until he was interviewed a second time, about two months after the raid by a sergeant in LMPD’s Public Integrity Unit, that Sarpee said he heard police say, “This is the cops.”Sarpee’s flip-flop, the latest twist in a case that has made Taylor an icon in the Black Lives Matter movement, calls into question the strength of Cameron’s case and the grand jury report, which state officials are demanding be made public.“I never had faith in Daniel Cameron to begin with, I knew he was too inexperienced with a job of this caliber. I knew he chose to be at the wrong side of the law,” Tamika Palmer, Taylor’s mother, said in a Friday statement. “My hope was that he knew he had the power to do the right thing, that he had the power to start the healing of this city, that he had the power to help mend over 400 years of oppression. What he helped me realize is that it will always be us against them. That we are never safe.”On Wednesday, a grand jury indicted only Hankison, though only for recklessly firing shots that endangered people in other units. Mattingly and Cosgrove—the cop who fired the shot that killed Taylor—weren’t charged.Cameron’s charging recommendations were at least partly based on Sarpee’s testimony, since the attorney general said Wednesday that investigators had “an independent witness” corroborate the officer’s account.No Cops Charged With Killing Breonna Taylor“My office was not tasked with determining if this was a tragedy, as it was,” Cameron said Wednesday, admitting that it was unlikely more charges would be laid. “My job was to put emotions aside and investigate facts to see if state law was violated.”Wednesday’s charges came more than six months after a “no-knock” warrant was issued for Taylor’s apartment as part of a controversial narcotics investigation into the 26-year-old’s ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover.According to VICE, LMPD’s Public Integrity Unit first contacted Sarpee a week after the shooting. The officers involved in Taylor’s warrant had previously said Sarpee was outside the apartment upstairs and got in an argument with Hankison as they were banging on Taylor’s door.When Sgt. Jason Vance asked Sarpee if he heard anyone identify themselves as law enforcement, he answered: “No, nobody identified themselves.”At the end of the March 21 conversation, Vance told Sarpee investigators would be calling him again to conduct a formal interview. Investigation notes suggest attempts were made to contact Sarpee but he didn’t speak to the Public Integrity Unity again until May 15.In a seven minute call, Sgt. Amanda Seelye pressed Sarpee on whether he knew the individuals entering Taylor’s home were officers and if he heard them announce themselves.This time, Sarpee said he heard police identify themselves, a change that suddenly corroborated the testimonies of the officers at the scene.“It’s been so long now,” Sarpee told Seelye on the call. “I recall some of it.”Sarpee also told The New York Times that he saw the officers as he stepped out onto the exterior staircase of Taylor’s apartment unit with his 2-year-old. He said that before the officers ordered him to go back inside the apartment, he heard at least three loud knocks on Taylor’s door and heard at least one of the officers scream “Police!” Sarpee, however, insisted to the Times he only heard them say the statement once.Despite Sarpee’s changing story, his claim to have heard police from the front of an apartment doesn’t offer complete clarity on whether Taylor and her boyfriend would have heard it from their bedroom towards the back of their unit.Sarpee did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment. VICE reported that the witness declined to speak with them, saying he had to speak with his lawyer first. The LMPD and Attorney General’s office also did not immediately respond to request for comment.Hankison was fired in June for “extreme violations” of police protocol after “wantonly and blindly” firing 10 shots into Taylor’s apartment–including several shots through the patio door and window, and into a neighbor’s apartment—after Walker fired an initial shot. Mattingly, Cosgrove, and the detective who requested the warrant were put on administrative leave. Six more officers are reportedly under investigation for their role in the raid.Earlier this month, the city of Louisville reached a $12 million settlement with Taylor’s family in their wrongful death lawsuit.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.

Sat, 26 Sep 2020 17:53:16 -0400

Australian firm says its nasal spray reduced coronavirus growth in animal study

Australian biotech company Ena Respiratory said on Monday that a nasal spray it is developing to improve the human immune system to fight common cold and flu significantly reduced the growth of the coronavirus in a recent study on animals. The study was led by British government agency Public Health England. Ena Respiratory said it would be ready to test INNA-051 in human trials in less than four months, subject to successful toxicity studies and regulatory approval.

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 21:56:06 -0400

The coronavirus may have 'one big trick.' Scientists are learning how to stop it.

The coronavirus appears to have "one big trick," Shane Crotty, a professor in the Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology, told Bloomberg.That trick — avoiding the human body's "initial innate immune response for a significant period of time," and, particularly, the response of a substance called interferon that typically helps orchestrate the defense against viral pathogens — is linked to more severe cases. Indeed, new studies published last week in Science found that an insufficient amount of interferon, the production of which may sometimes be inhibited in people with previously "silent" gene mutations, could signal a more dangerous infection because the lack of interferon can overstimulate the rest of the immune system.The good news is that, because scientists are catching on to the virus' strategy, they have a better idea of how to prevent it from causing severe infections. Per Bloomberg, the work highlights the potential for interferon-based therapies, which are typically used in in the early stages of a viral infection when it's easier to avoid life-threatening respiratory failure. Now, dozens of studies are focusing on interferon treatments are recruiting COVID-19 patients. Read more at Bloomberg.More stories from theweek.com Most of Trump's charitable tax write-offs are reportedly for not developing property he owns Report: Trump's tax write-offs range from Trump Jr.'s Russia-related legal fees to Apprentice haircuts 5 outrageously funny cartoons about Trump's election scheming

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 10:16:16 -0400

Prehistoric shark's tooth gifted to Prince George by David Attenborough demanded back by Malta

The Maltese Government has demanded the return of a prehistoric shark's tooth gifted to Prince George by Sir David Attenborough, claiming the artefact is important to the island's history. Kensington Palace announced on Saturday that Sir David had given the tooth to the young prince after the two met at a private screening of his latest environmental documentary. The naturalist found the megalodon tooth himself during a visit to Malta in the 1960s, and it is believed to be around 23 million years old. But the Maltese Government has asked for the artefact to be returned, claiming it as an important part of the country's "natural history". “There are some artefacts that are important to Maltese natural heritage and which ended up abroad and deserve to be retrieved,” Jose Herrera, the Culture Minister, told the Times of Malta. “We rightly give a lot of attention to historical and artistic artefacts. However, it is not always the case with our natural history. I am determined to direct a change in this attitude." Mr Herrera said he would now "get the ball rolling" on the tooth's return. Fossils are now counted as "moveable or immovable objects of geological importance” under a 2002 Maltese law, and cannot be removed or excavated.

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 09:01:52 -0400

Federal judge blocks Texas’ elimination of straight-ticket voting

Democrats sued the state in March to overturn the Texas Legislature’s removal of straight-ticket voting.

Sat, 26 Sep 2020 14:59:01 -0400

NFL legend Joe Montana confronts intruder 'who grabbed grandchild’

The alleged culprit now faces kidnapping and burglary charges.

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 16:50:21 -0400

Mexico official: definitive COVID-19 toll will take 2 years

Mexico’s top coronavirus official said Sunday that definitive data on the country's death toll from COVID-19 won’t be available for “a couple of years.” The statement by Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell is likely to revive debate about Mexico’s death toll, currently at 76,430, the fourth-highest in the world. Mexico does very little testing, and many people die without a test.

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 21:54:31 -0400

Elon Musk says Tesla will 'probably' make 20 million electric vehicles a year by 2030 — more than 50 times what it produced last year

Tesla requires "consistently excellent execution" to produce 20 million electric vehicles a year by 2030, Elon Musk said on Twitter.

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 06:18:07 -0400

Transcript: Don McGahn on "Face the Nation"

The following is a transcript of an interview with former White House Counsel Don McGahn that aired Sunday, September 27, 2020, on "Face the Nation."

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 12:05:00 -0400

France to rule on alleged Rwanda genocide financier's fate

A top French appeals court is to rule Wednesday on whether alleged Rwandan genocide financier Felicien Kabuga will stand trial in France or face a UN tribunal in Tanzania.

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 06:04:14 -0400

British Museum 'won't remove controversial objects' from display

Cultural institutions received a letter from the government warning them not to remove artefacts.

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 08:10:02 -0400

California law requires prisons to house transgender inmates by gender identity

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law on Saturday that requires California to house transgender inmates in prisons based on their gender identity, only if the state does not have “management or security concerns.”

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 11:34:55 -0400

Army Leaders Want to Keep Pace with Diversity in Changing US Population

The plan promotes diversity through 2025 in an attempt to adapt to the country's shifting demographics.

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 10:44:29 -0400

Police clash with Portland protesters and press; more than 20 arrested

Police clashed with anti-racism protesters and pushed back members of the press in downtown Portland, Oregon into early Sunday morning, making more than 20 arrests. The violence followed a relatively peaceful rally by the right-wing Proud Boys group and counter protests by anti-fascist and Black Lives Matter activists on Saturday. Videos published online showed police pushing protesters and photographers to the ground and jabbing them with batons as officers drove them out of an area near Portland's federal courthouse.

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 05:44:56 -0400

Cars have hit demonstrators 104 times since George Floyd protests began

Amid thousands of racial justice protests nationwide since George Floyd's death, dozens of drivers have plowed into crowds marching in roadways.

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 18:55:35 -0400

Kyle Rittenhouse's mom reportedly received a 'standing ovation' from the crowd at a Republican event in Wisconsin

Kyle Rittenhouse faces multiple felony charges, including homicide, after shooting three people at a Jacob Blake demonstration in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Sat, 26 Sep 2020 14:09:28 -0400

South China Sea Watch: China holds drills amid new tensions

A look at developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple territorial disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons. China is holding new military exercises in the South China Sea amid an uptick in tensions between the Asian giant and its Southeast Asian neighbors and the U.S. The Maritime Safety Administration issued a pair of announcements blocking off seas around the area of the exercises running Sunday through Monday but gave no additional details.

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 23:42:55 -0400

Trump and team belatedly reversed course on the debate expectations game

Despite late efforts to recast Joe Biden as a champion debater, the president and his campaign have set the bar exceptionally low for him in the minds of many voters.

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 04:30:00 -0400

Man convicted of collecting urine from boys now faces child porn charges, Ohio cops say

Officials say the man liked to drink the urine he collected.

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 12:59:32 -0400

China chip giant SMIC shares plunge after US export controls

Shares in China's biggest chip maker plunged on Monday following weekend media reports that Washington has imposed export controls on the company, the latest salvo in the battle for technological dominance over Beijing.

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 22:49:27 -0400

Remains of 117 Chinese soldiers killed in Korean War returned

The remains of 117 Chinese soldiers who died in the 1950-53 Korean War were returned to China on Sunday in an annual repatriation delayed this year by the coronavirus outbreak. South Korea handed over the remains at a ceremony at Incheon airport outside Seoul, and a Chinese military transport plane flew them to Shenyang, a northeastern Chinese city near the North Korean border. Chinese soldiers fought on the North Korean side against US-led forces in the South during the war on the Korean Peninsula. Most of the 117 remains were found in the Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Korea. It was the seventh annual repatriation, and the largest since the 437 returned in the first one in 2014. In all, the remains of 716 Chinese soldiers have been sent back. This year's return, originally planned for the spring, was postponed for several months because of the spread of Covid-19.

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 02:19:18 -0400

Carrie Lam: The controversial leader of Hong Kong

A leader handpicked by Beijing has been a divisive figure in a city rocked by political unrest.

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 03:34:36 -0400

100 Arrested During Unauthorized and 'Unruly' Car Rally in Maryland

People at the event shared videos of confrontations that erupted between police officers and rally attendees

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 15:43:53 -0400

What politicians from Amy Coney Barrett's home state of Indiana say about her Supreme Court nomination

Gov. Eric Holcomb said Barrett will add "another healthy dose of Hoosier hospitality to our nation’s capital."

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 13:59:02 -0400

Pelosi expresses hope that deal can be made with White House on COVID-19 relief

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Sunday that she thinks an agreement can be reached with the White House on a coronavirus relief package and that talks were continuing.

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 16:30:20 -0400

Russian dissident Navalny recovering faster than expected

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is recovering from the suspected assassination attempt last month faster than expected, one of his aides said Sunday. Navalny, who collapsed on a plane from Siberia to Moscow on Aug. 20 and spent nearly three weeks in a coma, was discharged last week from the Berlin hospital where he was being treated. “He is doing much better, I would say unexpectedly better," Leonid Volkov, Navalny’s chief of staff, told German broadcaster RTL.

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 15:23:00 -0400

Letters to the Editor: Black voters and everyone else have more than enough reasons to support Joe Biden

Trump says the Democrats play "plantation politics." To that, one reader says Trump and the Republicans are playing "genocidal politics."

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 06:00:56 -0400

The Kid Who Masterminded El Chapo’s Secret Phone Network

It came in off the street one day—a tip, a lead, a rumor—whatever you cared to call it, it was one of the strangest things they had heard in their careers. Chapo Guzmán, the world-famous drug lord, had hired a young IT guy and the kid had built him a sophisticated system of high-end cell phones and secret servers, all of it ingeniously encrypted.The unconfirmed report—perhaps that was the best way to describe it—had arrived that Friday in June 2009 when a tipster walked into the lobby of the FBI’s field division office in New York. After his story had been vetted downstairs, it made its way up seven flights of stairs and landed with a curious thud among the crowded cubicles of C-23, the Latin American drug squad. For more than thirty years, the elite team of agents and their bosses had hunted some of the drug trade’s biggest criminals, and while tall tales of their antics circulated constantly through its squad room near the courts in Lower Manhattan, no one in the unit knew what to make of this one. The tipster’s account seemed credible enough, but it was sorely lacking details: The only facts he had offered on the young technician were a first name—Christian—and that he was from Medellín, Colombia. All sorts of kooks spouting all sorts of nonsense showed up all the time at FBI facilities, claiming they had inside information on the Kennedy killing or knew someone who knew someone who knew where Jimmy Hoffa was. In what were still the early days of internet telephony, it seemed a bit far-fetched that a twentysomething hacker had reached a deal with the world’s most wanted fugitive and furnished him in hiding with a private form of Skype. As alluring as it sounded, it was just the sort of thing that would probably turn out to be a myth.Inside Colombia’s ‘Air Chapo’ Cocaine Shipping ScandalIn the middle of a drug war, chasing myths was not enough to send C-23 into the field: reality was keeping the unit busy on its own. Three years after Mexico had launched a crusade against its brutal cartel kingpins, the country had erupted into incomparable violence, and much of the chaos had rolled downhill into American investigative files. Just that winter, a psychopath who called himself the Stewmaker had been caught near Tijuana after having boiled three hundred bodies down to renderings in caustic vats of acid. Two weeks later, a retired Mexican general was murdered in Cancún, his kneecaps shattered, and his corpse propped up behind the steering wheel of a pickup truck abandoned on a highway. Since late 2006, the country’s seven drug clans had all been at war with one another or the government—or sometimes both at once—and ten thousand people had already lost their lives.C-23 and other U.S .law enforcement agencies pitched in when they could, opening cases and offering intelligence to their counterparts in Mexico. But in the past several months, conditions at the border had only gotten worse and had metastasized from an ordinary security emergency into something that resembled a full-scale insurrection. From the American point of view, the Sisyphean struggle to end the bloodshed—and to stem the flow of drugs heading north—seemed increasingly impossible despite the constant seizures, the federal indictments and the helicopter gunships sent as foreign aid.In this target-rich environment, Chapo Guzmán was an interest- ing case. While he was neither the wealthiest nor the most sadistic trafficker in Mexico, he was by a matter of degree the most illustrious. His famous alias, “El Chapo”—often rendered “Shorty” but more accurately a reference to his squat, stocky frame—was globally familiar, with a recognition level that rivaled that of movie stars and presidents. Not since Pablo Escobar had ruled over Colombia had la pista secreta—the secret path of the narcotics business—seen a figure who was both a major criminal and a mass celebrity. For nearly twenty years, Guzmán had been at the center of the drug trade, involved in some of its best-known capers and disasters. In 1993, in his earliest brush with fame, he was sent to jail in Mexico for the murder of a Roman Catholic cardinal, Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo*, whose daylight killing at the Guadalajara airport introduced the world to the threat presented by Mexican cartels. Eight years later, in a move that earned him full folkloric status, Guzmán had escaped from prison, slipping out in a laundry cart after paying off his jailers.Ever since, he had been on the run, moving back and forth among a half-dozen hideouts deep in the Sierra Madre mountains, in the Mexi- can state of Sinaloa. Though he lived like an outlaw, he was treated like a king—loved by some, feared by many and inarguably one of the most powerful men in Mexico. A single word from him from one of his mountain dens could set in motion tractor-trailers in Nogales, planes in Cartagena, and merchant freighters in Colón. At fifty-two—an improbable age in an industry that did not promote longevity—Guzmán had reached the height of his career, running his business freely and warring against his rivals, all while playing cat and mouse with those among the Mexican authorities who weren’t on his payroll. While the American government was after him as well, a contrarian consensus had emerged in parts of Washington that at least he was contained in the Sierras, where he was spending exorbitant sums on his security and could not engage in the same bloody havoc that emergent mafias, like the Zetas or La Familia Michoacán, had recently been wreaking in the lowlands. It was also the case that no one—not the FBI, the DEA, nor their cousins in the intelligence community—had ever mounted a successful capture operation in the rugged region he had fled to. In the past two years alone, a panoply of American agencies had helped arrest Otto Herrera, Guzmán’s connection to Colombia’s cartels; Juan Carlos Ramírez, one of his top suppliers; and Jesus “El Rey” Zambada, the brother of “El Mayo” Zambada, his most important partner. The heir to Guzmán’s throne—Mayo’s son, Vicente—was in jail in Mexico City, and Pedro and Margarito Flores, the twin brothers who had handled much of his American distribution, were about to start recording him for U.S. drug officials. By mid-2009, Guzmán himself was already under indictment in San Diego and Tucson and would soon face further charges in Brooklyn and Chicago. But after all of this—countless hours of investigative and prosecutorial effort—he had never spent a single day in an American court of law.That was why C-23’s new lead couldn’t be discounted, as crazy as it sounded. The possibilities it promised were simply too enticing. It stood to reason that a man in Guzmán’s position—on the lam, with far-flung operatives around the globe—would at least want a means of sending and receiving secret messages. Imagine the windfall if the drug squad in New York could hack into the system.That is, if it actually existed.While many of his coworkers shrugged at the story of the mythic cell-phone system, treating it like a piece of science fiction, Special Agent Robert Potash raised his hand and volunteered to run the rumor down. As the rookie in the unit, he had little else to do. Potash had joined C-23 only the year before and while he was as eager as anyone to succeed, he was still finding his feet among his older, more seasoned peers.One of those anomalies who came to law enforcement late in life, Potash had attended the FBI’s academy in Quantico just before his thirty-seventh birthday, the outside age for new recruits. For a federal agent, his background was unusual. Trained as a mechanical engineer, Potash had spent fifteen years of well-paid boredom in the private sector, designing robots and lasers before he realized that what he really wanted to do was put together criminal cases, not expensive widgets. The son of a toolmaker from Connecticut, he had always been something of a tinkerer. Even approaching forty, he often still thought about himself as the handy little kid who built the neighborhood treehouse every summer and spent all winter working on a soapbox car in his garage.Potash had never handled a cartel case before, but knowing of his technical bent, his bosses at C-23 had invited him to sit in on the interview with the tantalizing tipster. He left the conversation convinced there was something there and did not get much resistance from the squad when he stepped forward to investigate it further. Many of the unit’s top agents didn’t want the job, which, by the looks of it, was going to require studying encryption and reading up on arcane subjects like Voice over Internet Protocol. It was, to say the least, not the typical drug cop stuff of busting bad guys or grabbing kilos off the street. When you got down to it, it was more or less nerd work. But that was Potash’s lane.Joining him in his new assignment was his partner, Stephen Marston. Marston was eight times as experienced as Potash and nearly twice as tall. An agent cut from the classic mold—big, broad- shouldered, stolid, methodical—Marston, a New Yorker, had been at C-23 for much of the decade. In his own time in the unit, he had mostly focused on Colombians, among them the remnants of the cocaine cowboys from Medellín and Cali who had since the 1980s supplied cocaine to Mexican smugglers like Guzmán who worked along the border. While Marston didn’t know much about technology—his computer degree from 1993 was obsolete—he did know quite a bit about investigating drug cartels. And something in the tipster’s report had caught his eye.Under questioning, the tipster had explained that shortly before the young technician Christian had gone to work for Guzmán, he had built a beta version of his system for another trafficking group, the Cifuentes family, one of Colombia’s stealthiest and most successful smuggling organizations. Known as the “invisible clan” for their ability to work beneath the radar, the Cifuenteses were, like Christian, based in Medellín. The family had a long and tangled history with Guzmán and had for years been shipping him their product in everything from King Commander turboprops to long-range shark and tuna boats. Marston knew that the tipster’s story might have had a few implausible details, but he recognized its basic inner logic. If some of the Cifuenteses had acquired a new technology, it would certainly be reasonable to think that they had passed it on, through the man who had developed it, to their longtime friend and ally.Meticulous as always, Marston was not about to raise an alarm—or his boss’s expectations—without first thoroughly confirming the account. In the FBI, if you were smart, you always promised less than you delivered. As he and Potash started on the case, Marston decided that he needed proof of concept: some hard evidence that the secret system was more than just a pipe dream.What he really needed, when he thought about it further, was one of the damned phones.They started with their colleagues in Colombia.After squeezing the tipster for all that he was worth, Marston and Potash decided to run his story past the experts on the ground: the FBI’s legal attaché team and their DEA equivalents in Bogotá. They arranged a call with the embassy and to their surprise, when they mentioned Christian’s name, everyone seemed to know who they were talking about. A young technician—Christian Rodriguez, they were told—ran a small business in Medellín repairing computers and setting up communications networks. Rodriguez was also known to dabble from time to time in the city’s black-hat hacking scene. Though there wasn’t much in the way of solid proof, the agents in Bogotá were confident it had to be their man.Signing off, Marston and Potash dwelled on their discovery: The young kid that Chapo Guzmán had brought in as his infotech consultant appeared to have a day job as Medellín’s Geek Squad guy.*The murder of Cardinal Ocampo, on May 24, 1993, was a seminal moment in Mexico, awakening the public to the rising power and violence of the country’s drug mafias. It was also a seminal moment for Guzmán. He has always denied involvement in the killing; indeed, the evidence suggests that he may have been its target, not its perpetrator. Ocampo was likely killed in accidental crossfire when hit men from the Tijuana cartel tried to murder Guzmán. Guzmán never forgot that the cartel’s leaders, the Arellano-Félix brothers, attempted to assassinate him or that they let him take the blame for Ocampo’s death. The rancor spawned a bloody war between Guzmán and the brothers that raged intermittently from the early 1990s well into the first decade of the 2000s.EXCERPTED FROM EL JEFE: THE STALKING OF CHAPO GUZMÁN. COPYRIGHT © 2020 BY ALAN FEUER. EXCERPTED BY PERMISSION OF FLATIRON BOOKS, A DIVISION OF MACMILLAN PUBLISHERS. NO PART OF THIS EXCERPT MAY BE REPRODUCED OR REPRINTED WITHOUT PERMISSION IN WRITING FROM THE PUBLISHER.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.

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 04:48:10 -0400

Texas man charged with capital murder in deaths of Houston friends missing since 2016

Harvey Lester Cyphers, 53, of Austin, Texas, was arrested and charged with capital murder in the 2016 deaths of friends Sidney Taylor and Krislyn Gibson, both 35, who were visiting Houston for the 2016 Urban Music Festival. They were last seen alive on April 2, 2016. Cyphers was taken to the Travis County Jail where his bond was set at $1.5 million. The U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force and the Austin Police Department are investigating.

Sat, 26 Sep 2020 14:50:00 -0400

Going it alone on Covid-19 brings 'greater disaster': China foreign minister

The coronavirus is a wake-up call for the world, and trading blame "will only bring greater disaster", China's foreign minister said Monday.

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 10:22:10 -0400

Iranian dissident caught between rock and hard place in Cyprus limbo

An Iranian dissident who fled his country fearing arrest has fallen foul of politics and COVID-19 restrictions in ethnically split Cyprus. Since mid-September, Omid Tootian has been living in a small tent in Cyprus's buffer zone, a United Nations-controlled slice of territory carved out after a war split Cyprus in 1974. A musician critical of Teheran, Tootian left Iran for Turkey four years ago.

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 05:20:15 -0400

Israeli government admits errors in coronavirus response amid warnings of third and fourth lockdowns

Israel’s prime minister has admitted flaws in his response to the coronavirus crisis, as the rate of daily infections reached a new record of 8,300 and a leading scientist warned two more lockdowns may be required. Benjamin Netanyahu said he regretted the swift decision to reopen schools and event halls earlier this year, but then accused the media of spreading complacency about the virus. “Did we make mistakes in the past? Of course,” Mr Netanyahu said in a televised statement. “The opening of event halls was too fast [and] maybe the opening of the whole school system.” He also attacked members of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, for blocking some of the restrictions he had tried to impose on Israel before resorting to a three-week lockdown. A record 8,315 coronavirus cases were registered on Friday as the country entered its second week of lockdown, coinciding with the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. The death toll rose to 1,446 over the weekend and 200 patients have been placed on ventilators. In total, Israel has seen 231,000 cases of coronavirus since the pandemic began, of which the majority have recovered. It came as a British-Israeli epidemiologist warned that the outbreak was becoming so severe that more lockdowns could be needed in future.

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 06:03:08 -0400

Salt Lake City airport just opened a massive new terminal with canyon-themed art as Delta relies on the hub as a gateway to the west – see inside

The brand-new terminal comes at a $4.1 billion cost and uses immersive artwork to welcome passengers to Salt Lake City and the Mountain West.

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 08:43:00 -0400

Niagara Falls: Free admission and other things you may not know about this tourist spot

Did you know that Niagara Falls actually consists of three falls and that it's a state park that doesn't charge an admission fee?

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 17:31:22 -0400

S. Korea returns Korean War remains of 117 Chinese soldiers

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Sun, 27 Sep 2020 00:43:18 -0400

Trump and McConnell are reportedly already discussing Amy Coney Barrett's 7th Circuit replacement

Amy Coney Barrett has a reasonably clear path to the Supreme Court, and top Republicans reportedly know it.President Trump formally nominated the 7th Circuit Court judge to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Saturday. And with Republicans firmly in the Senate majority, Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) are "so confident" in Barrett's confirmation that they're already dreaming up her appeals court replacement, Axios reports.Republican senators nearly universally said they'd vote for Trump's Ginsburg replacement even before he announced it would be Barrett. Just Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) definitively said she wouldn't vote for Barrett, citing the 2016 precedent in which Republicans refused to consider former President Barack Obama's election year nominee. But she won't be enough to keep Barrett off the bench before Election Day.If Barrett is quickly confirmed after her mid-October hearings, it's possible Republicans could quickly shove her 7th Circuit replacement through the Senate as well. That would be "the cherry on top" of conservatives' Supreme Court victory, and "one that McConnell won't pass up," a GOP Senate aide told Axios. McConnell and Republicans are reportedly considering nominating Kate Todd, a White House lawyer who was also on Trump's Supreme Court shortlist, to fill Barrett's slot. Todd is "a favorite of White House counsel Pat Cipollone," Axios writes, though an administration official said no one is formally in consideration for the appeals court yet.More stories from theweek.com Most of Trump's charitable tax write-offs are reportedly for not developing property he owns Report: Trump's tax write-offs range from Trump Jr.'s Russia-related legal fees to Apprentice haircuts 5 outrageously funny cartoons about Trump's election scheming

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 10:07:24 -0400

Missouri man faces prison for assault after police officer broke hand punching him

Officer injured in fight to arrest suspect after speeding stop

Sat, 26 Sep 2020 21:36:17 -0400

NYPD officers charge at group of protesters and diners, arresting people on sidewalk

Police say they "responded to a large disorderly group obstructing vehicular traffic," but video of the incident appeared to show a different scene.

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 14:04:00 -0400

Exiles return to rebuild post-Bashir Sudan

After 33 years in exile, El Sadig Mohamed gave up the easy life in Canada to return to help rebuild Sudan as it emerges from three decades of autocratic rule.

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 00:09:59 -0400

As U.S., China squabble at U.N., a plea - and warning - from one of world's smallest states

As China and the United States feuded at the United Nations this week over COVID-19 and climate, one of the world's smallest states pleaded for detente. "Micronesia asks our American and Chinese friends to reinforce their cooperation and friendship with each other ... to achieve what is best for our global community," the Federated States of Micronesia President David Panuelo told the U.N. General Assembly in a video address.

Sat, 26 Sep 2020 16:05:53 -0400

South African defence minister's pay docked over use of air force plane

South Africa's defence minister was accused of misusing state resources for party political business.

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 12:20:59 -0400

Frenchman says tattoos cost him kindergarten teaching job

A schoolteacher whose body, face and tongue are covered in tattoos and who has had the whites of his eyes surgically turned black said he was prevented from teaching at a French kindergarten after a parent complained he scared their child. But the teacher, Sylvain Helaine, 35, still teaches children from the age of six up, and said that, after an initial shock when they see him for the first time, his pupils see past his appearance. "All of my students and their parents were always cool with me because basically they knew me," said Mr Helaine, who estimated he has spent around 460 hours under the tattooists' needle. "It's only when people see me from far away that they can assume the worst." He said last year he was teaching kindergarten at the Docteur Morere Elementary School in Palaiseau, a suburb of Paris, when the parents of a three-year-old child complained to educational authorities. They said their son, who was not taught by Mr Helaine, had nightmares after seeing him.

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 06:19:21 -0400

Airports compete for worried flyers with on-site COVID-19 testing, TSA appointments, cleaning robots

In addition to their sanitation efforts, U.S. airports are trying new strategies to boost traveler confidence, like appointments to go through TSA.

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 07:27:22 -0400

Airbus' new zero-emission concepts reveal the direction of the aviation industry's planes of the future — here's why today's aircraft aren't cutting it

Travelers might soon find themselves flying on an airplane that's just a massive wing or using hydrogen for fuel, all in the name of sustainability.

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 08:22:00 -0400

Election 2020 Today: Tax bombshell, presidential debate prep

TAX BOMBSHELL: President Donald Trump's tax revelations threaten to undercut a pillar of his appeal among blue-collar voters while providing a new opening for his Democratic rival just two days before the first presidential debate. Trump has worked for decades to build an image of himself as a hugely successful businessman — even choosing “mogul” as his Secret Service code name. DEBATE PREP: Ahead of the first debate between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden, each campaign is promising a stark contrast in policy, personality and preparation.

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 08:30:48 -0400

Haunted house shooter thought someone had cut in line, Michigan police say

Police are searching for the suspect, who they say fled the scene in a blue sedan.

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 16:55:04 -0400

Moderator Chris Wallace previews first 2020 presidential debate

'Fox News Sunday' host Chris Wallace joins Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum to discuss his preparation as moderator ahead of Tuesday's presidential debate.

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 23:03:51 -0400

Greece warms to EU asylum pact but refugee groups rage

Greece's government has cautiously welcomed a plan from Brussels to reform the EU's shaky asylum system, but charity groups working with refugees on the ground have blasted a continued "outrageous containment policy".

Sat, 26 Sep 2020 22:51:06 -0400

With EU help, Taiwan gets rare win in China naming dispute

Taiwan said on Monday the European Union had stepped in to help after a global alliance of mayors stopped referring to Taiwanese cities as part of China, in a rare win for the island amid growing Chinese pressure. China has ramped up efforts to get international groups and companies to refer on their websites and in official documents to democratic, self-ruled Taiwan as being part of China, to the ire of Taiwan's government and many of its people. Over the weekend, Taiwan officials expressed anger after the Brussels-based Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy began listing on its website its six Taiwan member cites as belonging to China.

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 01:50:49 -0400

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