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2 Lebanese soldiers killed and 3 others hurt in airstrike, Lebanese army says

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You have to walk carefully through the rubble. All that remains of three buildings entire demolished by Israeli bombs. Neighbors say the bombing killed at least five people including women and Children. The Arabic spokesman for the Israeli military will occasionally over Twitter or X put out evacuation orders for specific buildings in Beirut before they’re struck here in tire. There have been no warnings for 35 years. Baha has run *** small clothing shop next door. Now in shambles, history is repeating itself. She says *** three story building fell over our heads during the 1982 Israeli invasion. This ancient city is just 12 miles or 19 kilometers from the border with Israel. Most of the residents have fled north. Those who stayed behind live under constant threat. It was terrifying the missile hit and it collapsed. Says 70 year old Meqdad describing another Israeli strike that destroyed multiple homes in Tire’s old city for more than half *** century. Every generation has destruction and death. We’re used to. It says Med’s neighbor Yusuf, we’re used to wars. We’ve seen wars going back to the days of the Phoenicians tire has looked to the sea. Now *** forbidden zone. Israel has warned people to stay off the beaches and fishermen not to take their boats out. So in Ty’s Port Abu Ibrahim sits and smokes his water pipe. We go to sea so we can eat. He tells me now we can’t. How can we eat? An old man deprived of his Ben Wedeman CNN Tire. Southern Lebanon.

Two Lebanese soldiers were killed and three others wounded in an Israeli airstrike that hit a building near a Lebanese Army checkpoint in Kafra, Bint Jbeil province, the Lebanese Army said Friday.Since Israel launched its ground invasion of Lebanon, Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have clashed along the border while the Lebanese army has largely stood on the sidelines.As Israeli troops made their first forays across the border and Hezbollah responded with rocket fire, Lebanese soldiers withdrew from observation posts along the frontier and repositioned about 3 miles back.On Oct. 3, a Lebanese soldier was killed and another injured in an Israeli strike in Taybeh during rescue operations. On Sept. 30, another Lebanese soldier was killed by an Israeli drone targeting a Lebanese Army checkpoint in Wazzani.Video below: President Biden discusses U.S. efforts to prevent wider war in Middle East as U.S. helps Americans leave Lebanon

BEIRUT —

Two Lebanese soldiers were killed and three others wounded in an Israeli airstrike that hit a building near a Lebanese Army checkpoint in Kafra, Bint Jbeil province, the Lebanese Army said Friday.

Since Israel launched its ground invasion of Lebanon, Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have clashed along the border while the Lebanese army has largely stood on the sidelines.

As Israeli troops made their first forays across the border and Hezbollah responded with rocket fire, Lebanese soldiers withdrew from observation posts along the frontier and repositioned about 3 miles back.

On Oct. 3, a Lebanese soldier was killed and another injured in an Israeli strike in Taybeh during rescue operations. On Sept. 30, another Lebanese soldier was killed by an Israeli drone targeting a Lebanese Army checkpoint in Wazzani.

Video below: President Biden discusses U.S. efforts to prevent wider war in Middle East as U.S. helps Americans leave Lebanon

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October 11, 2024
3 officers convicted in Tyre Nichols fatal beating but 2 are acquitted of civil rights charges

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Three former Memphis officers were convicted Thursday of charges of witness tampering in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, and two were acquitted of federal civil rights violations in a death that sparked national protests and calls for broad changes in policing.After a nearly monthlong trial, a jury found Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith guilty of witness tampering.Haley was acquitted of violating Nichols’ civil rights causing death, but convicted of the lesser charge of violating his civil right causing bodily injury.Bean and Smith were acquitted of all civil rights charges.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.The jury has reached verdicts for three former Memphis police officers charged with violating Tyre Nichols’ federal civil rights in a 2023 videotaped fatal beating that sparked national protests and calls for broad changes in policing.After a nearly monthlong trial, jurors informed the judge Thursday that they had agreed on their verdicts in the case against Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith. The parties and attorneys were reconvening for the reveal of the jury’s decisions.Jurors began their deliberations Thursday, a day after prosecutors and defense attorneys presented closing arguments. Bean, Haley and Smith were among five officers who were fired from the Memphis Police Department after the Jan. 7, 2023, beating.Prosecutor Kathryn Gilbert told jurors that the officers wanted to punish Nichols for running from a traffic stop and that they thought they could get away with it. Prosecutors argued the beating reflected a common police practice that officers refer to as the “street tax” or “run tax. ””They wanted it to be a beatdown,” Gilbert said. “That’s what it was.”Defense lawyers sought to downplay their clients’ involvement.Bean’s attorney, John Keith Perry, told jurors that Nichols ignored commands such as “give me your hands” and said his client followed department policies.“The force was not excessive,” Perry said.Throughout the trial, jurors repeatedly watched clips of graphic police video of the beating and traffic stop that preceded it. The video shows officers using pepper spray and a Taser on Nichols, who was Black, before the 29-year-old ran away. The five officers, who also are Black, then punched, kicked and hit him about a block from his home, as he called out for his mother.As they held Nichols, officers said, “hit him,” and “beat that man,” prosecutor Forrest Christian said during closing arguments.“This was not a fight. This was just a beating,” Christian said.Nichols died three days later. An autopsy report shows Nichols — the father of a boy who is now 7 — died from blows to the head. The report describes brain injuries, and cuts and bruises on his head and elsewhere on his body.Two of the officers, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., pleaded guilty to depriving Nichols of his civil rights and testified for prosecutors. Haley, Bean and Smith pleaded not guilty to federal charges of excessive force, failure to intervene, and obstructing justice through witness tampering.Defense lawyers sought to portray Martin as a principal aggressor. They also suggested without evidence that Nichols may have been on drugs — something Christian called “shameful.” The autopsy report showed only low amounts of alcohol and marijuana in his system.The five officers were part of the Scorpion Unit, which looked for drugs, illegal guns and violent offenders. It was disbanded after Nichols’ death.After the beating, the officers did not tell medical professionals on scene or at the hospital that they had punched and kicked Nichols in the head, witnesses said. They also failed tell their supervisor on the scene and write in required forms about the amount of force used, prosecutors argued.Martin testified that Nichols was no threat to officers.Martin’s testimony provided a glimpse into the Memphis Police Department’s culture, which the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating.Martin discussed an understanding between members of the Scorpion Unit to not tell on each other after they used excessive force and said they would justify their use of force by exaggerating the person’s actions against them. He also described feeling pressure to make arrests to accumulate “stats” to be able to stay on the street with the unit.The five officers also have been charged with second-degree murder in state court, where they pleaded not guilty. Mills and Martin are expected to change their pleas. A trial date in state court has not been set.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. —

Three former Memphis officers were convicted Thursday of charges of witness tampering in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, and two were acquitted of federal civil rights violations in a death that sparked national protests and calls for broad changes in policing.

After a nearly monthlong trial, a jury found Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith guilty of witness tampering.

Haley was acquitted of violating Nichols’ civil rights causing death, but convicted of the lesser charge of violating his civil right causing bodily injury.Bean and Smith were acquitted of all civil rights charges.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

The jury has reached verdicts for three former Memphis police officers charged with violating Tyre Nichols’ federal civil rights in a 2023 videotaped fatal beating that sparked national protests and calls for broad changes in policing.

After a nearly monthlong trial, jurors informed the judge Thursday that they had agreed on their verdicts in the case against Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith. The parties and attorneys were reconvening for the reveal of the jury’s decisions.

Jurors began their deliberations Thursday, a day after prosecutors and defense attorneys presented closing arguments. Bean, Haley and Smith were among five officers who were fired from the Memphis Police Department after the Jan. 7, 2023, beating.

Prosecutor Kathryn Gilbert told jurors that the officers wanted to punish Nichols for running from a traffic stop and that they thought they could get away with it. Prosecutors argued the beating reflected a common police practice that officers refer to as the “street tax” or “run tax. ”

“They wanted it to be a beatdown,” Gilbert said. “That’s what it was.”

Defense lawyers sought to downplay their clients’ involvement.

Bean’s attorney, John Keith Perry, told jurors that Nichols ignored commands such as “give me your hands” and said his client followed department policies.

“The force was not excessive,” Perry said.

Throughout the trial, jurors repeatedly watched clips of graphic police video of the beating and traffic stop that preceded it. The video shows officers using pepper spray and a Taser on Nichols, who was Black, before the 29-year-old ran away. The five officers, who also are Black, then punched, kicked and hit him about a block from his home, as he called out for his mother.

As they held Nichols, officers said, “hit him,” and “beat that man,” prosecutor Forrest Christian said during closing arguments.

“This was not a fight. This was just a beating,” Christian said.

Nichols died three days later. An autopsy report shows Nichols — the father of a boy who is now 7 — died from blows to the head. The report describes brain injuries, and cuts and bruises on his head and elsewhere on his body.

Two of the officers, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., pleaded guilty to depriving Nichols of his civil rights and testified for prosecutors. Haley, Bean and Smith pleaded not guilty to federal charges of excessive force, failure to intervene, and obstructing justice through witness tampering.

Defense lawyers sought to portray Martin as a principal aggressor. They also suggested without evidence that Nichols may have been on drugs — something Christian called “shameful.” The autopsy report showed only low amounts of alcohol and marijuana in his system.

The five officers were part of the Scorpion Unit, which looked for drugs, illegal guns and violent offenders. It was disbanded after Nichols’ death.

After the beating, the officers did not tell medical professionals on scene or at the hospital that they had punched and kicked Nichols in the head, witnesses said. They also failed tell their supervisor on the scene and write in required forms about the amount of force used, prosecutors argued.

Martin testified that Nichols was no threat to officers.

Martin’s testimony provided a glimpse into the Memphis Police Department’s culture, which the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating.

Martin discussed an understanding between members of the Scorpion Unit to not tell on each other after they used excessive force and said they would justify their use of force by exaggerating the person’s actions against them. He also described feeling pressure to make arrests to accumulate “stats” to be able to stay on the street with the unit.

The five officers also have been charged with second-degree murder in state court, where they pleaded not guilty. Mills and Martin are expected to change their pleas. A trial date in state court has not been set.

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October 3, 2024
Iran fires dozens of missiles into Israel, escalating monthslong regional conflict

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Iran launched dozens of missiles into Israel on Tuesday, sharply escalating a conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed militias Hezbollah and Hamas that began nearly a year ago and threatening to push the Middle East closer toward a regionwide war.The orange glow of missiles streaked across Israel’s night sky as air raid sirens sounded across the country and millions of residents scrambled into bomb shelters. The attack raised the strong likelihood of an Israeli reprisal.Before Iran’s attack, Israel had landed a series of devastating blows in recent weeks against Hezbollah’s leadership in Lebanon. It then ratcheted up the pressure on the militant group — which has been firing rockets into Israel since the war in Gaza began — by launching what it said is a limited ground incursion in southern Lebanon.Israel has said it will continue to strike Hezbollah until it is safe for citizens displaced from homes near the Lebanon border to return. Hezbollah has vowed to keep firing rockets into Israel until there is a cease-fire in Gaza.Israel vowed retaliation for Iran’s missile barrage, which it said had caused only a few injuries.Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the country’s air defenses intercepted many of the incoming missiles, though some landed in central and southern Israel.“This strike will have consequences,” he said. He said the attack had caused only “very few” injuries, but did not elaborate.Israel and Iran have fought a shadow war for years, but rarely have they come into direct conflict.Israel considers Iran to be its greatest foe — citing Iran’s repeated calls for Israel’s destruction, its support for Arab militant groups and its nuclear program. Iran denies Israeli accusations that it is developing a nuclear weapon.Moments before Iran launched its missiles, a shooting attack in Tel Aviv left six people dead, police said, adding that the two suspects who had opened fire on a boulevard in the Jaffa neighborhood had also been killed.The United States had warned there would be severe consequences for Iran in the event of an attack on Israel. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris monitored the attack on Israel from the White House Situation Room.Iran launched another direct attack on Israel in April, but few of its projectiles reached their targets. Many were shot down by a U.S.-led coalition, while others apparently failed at launch or crashed in flight.Iran said it fired the missiles into Israel as retaliation for attacks that killed leaders of Hezbollah, Hamas and the Iranian military. It referenced Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, both killed in an Israeli airstrike last week in Beirut. It also mentioned Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader in Hamas who was assassinated in Tehran in a suspected Israeli attack in July.Earlier on Tuesday, Israel said it had begun limited ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire pounded southern Lebanese villages, and Hezbollah responded with a barrage of rockets into Israel. There was no immediate word on casualties.While Hezbollah denied Israeli troops had entered Lebanon, the Israeli army announced it had also carried out dozens of ground raids into southern Lebanon going back nearly a year.If true, it would be another humiliating blow for Hezbollah, the most powerful armed group in the Middle East. Hezbollah has been reeling from weeks of targeted strikes that killed Nasrallah and several of his top commanders.On Tuesday morning, Israel warned people in southern Lebanon to evacuate to the north of the Awali River, some 60 kilometers (36 miles) from the border and much farther than the Litani River, which marks the northern edge of a U.N.-declared zone intended to serve as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah after their 2006 war.The border region has largely emptied out over the past year as the two sides have traded fire. But the scope of the evacuation warning raised questions as to how deep Israel plans to send its forces into Lebanon.Questions raised over whether Israeli forces enteredAn Associated Press reporter saw Israeli troops operating near the border in armored trucks, with helicopters circling overhead, but could not confirm ground forces had crossed into Lebanon.Ahead of the Israeli announcement of an incursion, U.S. officials on Monday said Israel had described launching small ground raids inside Lebanon as it prepared for a wider operation.U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon has seen sporadic incursions by Israeli military forces, but “they have not witnessed a full-scale invasion.”Hagari said Israel had carried out dozens of small raids inside Lebanon since Oct. 8, when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel after the outbreak of the war in Gaza.Hagari said Israeli forces had crossed the border to collect information and destroy Hezbollah infrastructure, including tunnels and weapons. Israel has said Hezbollah was preparing its own Oct. 7-style attack into Israel. It was not immediately possible to confirm those claims.Hagari said Israel’s aims for its ground offensive in Lebanon were limited. “We’re not going to Beirut,” he said.The Israeli military was accused of lying to media in 2021 when it released a statement implying ground troops had entered Gaza. The military played down the incident as a misunderstanding, but well-sourced military commentators in Israel said it was part of a ruse to lure Hamas into battle. Israel strikes more targets and Hezbollah fires rocketsThe Israeli military official said Hezbollah had launched rockets at central Israel on Tuesday, setting off air raid sirens and wounding a man. Hezbollah said it fired salvos of a new kind of medium-range missile at the headquarters of two Israeli intelligence agencies near Tel Aviv.The Israeli military official said Hezbollah had also launched projectiles at Israeli communities near the border, targeting soldiers without wounding anyone.Israel’s statements indicated it might focus its ground operation on the narrow strip along the border, rather than launching a larger invasion aimed at destroying Hezbollah, as it has attempted in Gaza against Hamas.Hezbollah and Hamas are close allies backed by Iran, and each escalation has raised fears of a wider war in the Middle East that could draw in Iran and the United States, which has rushed military assets to the region in support of Israel.Israeli strikes have killed over 1,000 people in Lebanon over the past two weeks, nearly a quarter of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry. Hundreds of thousands have fled their homes.Hezbollah is a well-trained militia, believed to have tens of thousands of fighters and an arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles. The last round of fighting in 2006 ended in a stalemate, and both sides have spent the past two decades preparing for their next showdown.Recent airstrikes wiping out most of Hezbollah’s top leadership and the explosions of hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah indicate Israel has infiltrated deep inside the group’s upper echelons.The group’s acting leader, Naim Kassem, said Monday that Hezbollah commanders killed in recent weeks have already been replaced.As the fighting intensifies, European countries have begun pulling their diplomats and citizens out of Lebanon.

WASHINGTON —

Israeli police said six people were killed in a shooting attack in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening.

Police said two suspects opened fire on a boulevard in the Jaffa neighborhood in southern Tel Aviv. The two suspects were killed, police said.

The attack came moments before a massive barrage of rockets from Iran toward Israel, sending people toward bomb shelters across the country, including in Tel Aviv.

This is a breaking news update. Earlier story follows below:

Iran said it fired dozens of missiles into Israel on Tuesday, a sharp escalation of the monthslong conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed militias Hezbollah and Hamas. There were no immediate reports of casualties as Israel ordered residents to head to bomb shelters and as air raid sirens sounded across the country.

A series of window-shaking explosions were heard in Tel Aviv and near Jerusalem, though it was not immediately clear whether the sounds were from missiles landing or being intercepted by Israeli defenses, or both.

Israel and the United States have warned there would be severe consequences in the event of an attack on Israel from Iran, which backs the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris monitored the attack on Israel from the White House Situation Room.

Israeli army spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the country’s air defense system was fully operational, detecting and intercepting threats. “However, the defense is not hermetic,” he said.

Orders to shelter in place were sent to Israelis’ mobile phones and announced on national television.

Iran took responsibility for launching dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel. The claim was made in a statement read aloud on state television.

In its statement, Iran referenced Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, both killed in an Israeli airstrike last week in Beirut. It also mentioned Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader in Hamas who was assassinated in Tehran in a suspected Israeli attack in July. It warned this attack represented only a “first wave,” without elaborating.

The air raid alerts in Israel came a day after Israel said it had begun limited ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire pounded southern Lebanese villages where people were ordered to evacuate, and Hezbollah militants responded by firing a barrage of rockets into Israel. There was no immediate word on casualties as fighting intensified and concerns of a wider regional war grew.

A senior White House official warned of “severe consequences” should Iran launch a ballistic missile against Israel. U.S. ships and aircraft are positioned in the region to assist Israel in the event of an attack from Iran. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence.

Hagari also warned of consequences if Iran fired missiles into Israel.

He urged the public to stay close to sheltered areas. “The Iranian strike could be widespread,” he said.

Iranian officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

Iran launched an unprecedented direct attack on Israel in April, but few of its projectiles reached their targets. Many were shot down by a U.S.-led coalition, while others apparently failed at launch or crashed in flight.

While Hezbollah denied Israeli troops had entered Lebanon, the Israeli army announced it had also carried out dozens of ground raids into southern Lebanon going back nearly a year. Israel released video footage purporting to show its soldiers operating in homes and tunnels where Hezbollah kept weapons.

If true, it would be another humiliating blow for Iran-backed Hezbollah, the most powerful armed group in the Middle East. Hezbollah has been reeling from weeks of targeted strikes that killed its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several of his top commanders.

On Tuesday morning, Israel warned people to evacuate to the north of the Awali River, some 60 kilometers from the border and much farther than the Litani River, which marks the northern edge of a U.N.-declared zone intended to serve as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah after their 2006 war.

The border region has largely emptied out over the past year as the two sides have traded fire. But the scope of the evacuation warning raised questions as to how deep Israel plans to send its forces into Lebanon.

An Israeli airstrike hit a residential building near Beirut Tuesday, causing damage but with no immediate reports of casualties. The strike appeared to hit an apartment about 100 meters from the Iranian Embassy.

Anticipating more rocket attacks from Hezbollah, the Israeli army announced new restrictions on public gatherings and closed beaches in northern and central Israel. The military also said it was calling up thousands more reserve soldiers to serve on the northern border.

Questions raised over whether Israeli forces entered

An Associated Press reporter saw Israeli troops operating near the border in armored trucks, with helicopters circling overhead, but could not confirm ground forces had crossed into Lebanon.

Ahead of the Israeli announcement of an incursion, U.S. officials on Monday said Israel had described launching small ground raids inside Lebanon as it prepared for a wider operation.

Neither the Lebanese army nor a U.N. peacekeeping force that patrols southern Lebanon have confirmed that Israeli forces entered. The U.N. force said a cross-border operation would be a violation of Lebanese sovereignty.

Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif dismissed what he said were “false claims” of an Israeli incursion. He said Hezbollah is ready for “direct confrontation with enemy forces that dare to or try to enter Lebanon.”

Hagari claimed troops were conducting “localized ground raids” on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon to ensure Israeli citizens could return to their homes in the north.

“We’re not going to Beirut,” he said.

Israel has said it will continue to strike Hezbollah until it is safe for citizens to return. Hezbollah has promised to keep firing rockets into Israel until there is a cease-fire in Gaza.

He said Israel had carried out dozens of small raids inside Lebanon since Oct. 8, when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel after the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

Hagari said Israeli forces had crossed the border to collect information and destroy Hezbollah infrastructure, including tunnels and weapons. Israel has said Hezbollah was preparing its own Oct. 7-style attack into Israel. It was not immediately possible to confirm those claims.

An Israeli military official said troops participating in the latest incursion were within walking distance of the border, focused on villages hundreds of meters from Israel. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said there had been no clashes with Hezbollah fighters.

The Israeli military was accused of lying to the media in 2021 when it released a statement implying ground troops had entered Gaza. The military played down the incident as a misunderstanding, but well-sourced military commentators in Israel said it was part of a ruse to lure Hamas into battle.

Israel strikes more targets and Hezbollah fires rockets

The Israeli military official said Hezbollah had launched rockets at central Israel, setting off air raid sirens and wounding a man. Hezbollah said it fired salvos of a new kind of medium-range missile at the headquarters of two Israeli intelligence agencies near Tel Aviv.

The Israeli military official said Hezbollah had also launched projectiles at Israeli communities near the border, targeting soldiers without wounding anyone.

Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel shortly after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel ignited the war in Gaza. Israel has launched retaliatory airstrikes and the conflict has steadily escalated. In recent weeks Israel has unleashed a punishing wave of airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon.

Hagari said the U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war had not been enforced and that southern Lebanon was “swarming with Hezbollah terrorists and weapons.”

That resolution called for Hezbollah to withdraw from the area between the border and the Litani River and for the Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers to patrol the region. Israel says those and other provisions were never enforced. Lebanon has long accused Israel of violating other terms of the resolution.

Israeli official says no plans to march on Beirut

The military statements indicated Israel might focus its ground operation on the narrow strip along the border, rather than launching a larger invasion aimed at destroying Hezbollah, as it has attempted in Gaza against Hamas.

Hezbollah and Hamas are close allies backed by Iran, and each escalation has raised fears of a wider war in the Middle East that could draw in Iran and the United States, which has rushed military assets to the region in support of Israel.

Israeli strikes have killed over 1,000 people in Lebanon over the past two weeks, nearly a quarter of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry. Hundreds of thousands have fled their homes.

Hezbollah is a well-trained militia, believed to have tens of thousands of fighters and an arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles. The last round of fighting in 2006 ended in a stalemate, and both sides have spent the past two decades preparing for their next showdown.

Recent airstrikes wiping out most of Hezbollah’s top leadership and the explosions of hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah indicate Israel has infiltrated deep inside the group’s upper echelons.

The group’s acting leader, Naim Kassem, said in a televised statement Monday that Hezbollah commanders killed in recent weeks have already been replaced.

As the fighting intensifies, European countries have begun pulling their diplomats and citizens out of Lebanon.

___

Mroue reported from Beirut and Madhani reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut and Zeke Miller and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed.

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October 1, 2024
Blinken expresses frustration at attacks he says threaten to ‘derail’ Israel-Hamas cease-fire talks

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed frustration Wednesday at surprise escalations that threaten to derail efforts to broker a cease-fire deal in Gaza, noting that the United States is assessing a deadly attack that caused pagers used by Hezbollah to explode in Lebanon.Video above: Blinken says US ‘did not know’ about Lebanon pager attacksBlinken spoke to reporters in Cairo, where he traveled for talks on the cease-fire negotiations and U.S.-Egyptian relations. While Israel has not publicly spoken on responsibility in the pager attack, a U.S. official has said Israel briefed the United States after the explosions.The United States, Egypt and other international partners are working for an agreement between Israel and Hamas to halt nearly a year of war in Gaza and release hostages held by the militant group. The U.S. says such a deal is the best chance at tamping down wider regional tensions, with Israeli leaders threatening to step up military action against Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and the pager attack risking further escalation.“Time and again” when the U.S. and other mediators believe they are making progress on a cease-fire deal in Gaza, “we’ve seen an event that … threatens to slow it, stop it, derail it,” Blinken said in response to a question about the previous day’s explosions in Lebanon.Personal pagers used by Hezbollah in Lebanon exploded nearly simultaneously Tuesday, killing at least 12 people, including two children.Blinken reiterated that the U.S. was still gathering information on the circumstances of the pager attack and declined to make more specific comments. Video below: Blinken says US has not forgotten remaining Americans detained around the globeIn other unexpected events that have put a cease-fire deal at risk, Blinken spoke of the discovery this month of the bodies of six hostages who Israel said had been recently killed by Hamas. They were among those still held in Gaza following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks in Israel that launched the war.When news came of their deaths, negotiators had been making progress on the timing and other details of a swap that would have freed hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention, America’s top diplomat said.Blinken, who had meetings with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, said the most dire need in the troubled cease-fire negotiations was for both sides to show they actually wanted a deal.“The most important thing in this moment is to see a demonstration of political will,” Blinken said.He headed to his 10th trip to the Middle East since the war in Gaza began without the optimistic projections that the Biden administration has previously conveyed of a breakthrough in the negotiations. The U.S., Egypt and other allies say a deal is essential to quelling escalated attacks by Iranian-backed groups in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria.Israeli leaders warned this week of a possible military offensive in Lebanon to stop what have become daily exchanges of rockets and missiles between Hezbollah and Israel across the southern Lebanese border.Abdelatty, the Egyptian foreign minister, said Wednesday the region was on the brink of wider war and spoke critically of Tuesday’s targeted explosions in Lebanon.“Any escalation, including what happened yesterday, certainly hinders reaching a cease-fire deal and the release of hostages and detainees,” he said. “Certainly what happened doesn’t only hinder the current talks, but also risks getting into a full-scale war.”Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused of slow-rolling the talks for a cease-fire in Gaza because a deal could mean the collapse of his hardline coalition government, with some members opposed to any deal with the Palestinians.

CAIRO —

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed frustration Wednesday at surprise escalations that threaten to derail efforts to broker a cease-fire deal in Gaza, noting that the United States is assessing a deadly attack that caused pagers used by Hezbollah to explode in Lebanon.

Video above: Blinken says US ‘did not know’ about Lebanon pager attacks

Blinken spoke to reporters in Cairo, where he traveled for talks on the cease-fire negotiations and U.S.-Egyptian relations. While Israel has not publicly spoken on responsibility in the pager attack, a U.S. official has said Israel briefed the United States after the explosions.

The United States, Egypt and other international partners are working for an agreement between Israel and Hamas to halt nearly a year of war in Gaza and release hostages held by the militant group. The U.S. says such a deal is the best chance at tamping down wider regional tensions, with Israeli leaders threatening to step up military action against Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and the pager attack risking further escalation.

“Time and again” when the U.S. and other mediators believe they are making progress on a cease-fire deal in Gaza, “we’ve seen an event that … threatens to slow it, stop it, derail it,” Blinken said in response to a question about the previous day’s explosions in Lebanon.

Personal pagers used by Hezbollah in Lebanon exploded nearly simultaneously Tuesday, killing at least 12 people, including two children.

Blinken reiterated that the U.S. was still gathering information on the circumstances of the pager attack and declined to make more specific comments.

Video below: Blinken says US has not forgotten remaining Americans detained around the globe

In other unexpected events that have put a cease-fire deal at risk, Blinken spoke of the discovery this month of the bodies of six hostages who Israel said had been recently killed by Hamas. They were among those still held in Gaza following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks in Israel that launched the war.

When news came of their deaths, negotiators had been making progress on the timing and other details of a swap that would have freed hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention, America’s top diplomat said.

Blinken, who had meetings with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, said the most dire need in the troubled cease-fire negotiations was for both sides to show they actually wanted a deal.

“The most important thing in this moment is to see a demonstration of political will,” Blinken said.

He headed to his 10th trip to the Middle East since the war in Gaza began without the optimistic projections that the Biden administration has previously conveyed of a breakthrough in the negotiations. The U.S., Egypt and other allies say a deal is essential to quelling escalated attacks by Iranian-backed groups in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria.

Israeli leaders warned this week of a possible military offensive in Lebanon to stop what have become daily exchanges of rockets and missiles between Hezbollah and Israel across the southern Lebanese border.

Abdelatty, the Egyptian foreign minister, said Wednesday the region was on the brink of wider war and spoke critically of Tuesday’s targeted explosions in Lebanon.

“Any escalation, including what happened yesterday, certainly hinders reaching a cease-fire deal and the release of hostages and detainees,” he said. “Certainly what happened doesn’t only hinder the current talks, but also risks getting into a full-scale war.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused of slow-rolling the talks for a cease-fire in Gaza because a deal could mean the collapse of his hardline coalition government, with some members opposed to any deal with the Palestinians.

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September 18, 2024
Former CIA officer who spied for China sentenced to a decade in prison

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Former CIA officer who spied for China sentenced to a decade in prison

Updated: 11:43 AM EDT Sep 13, 2024

A former CIA officer arrested for espionage has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for conspiring to provide classified information to Chinese intelligence officials, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, 71, of Honolulu, had arranged for himself and a relative, who also previously worked for the CIA, to meet with Chinese security officers in Hong Kong and provide classified material in exchange for $50,000, according to his plea agreement. Ma pleaded guilty in May.Ma was later the target of an FBI undercover operation after applying to work as a linguist at the bureau’s Honolulu field office.“The FBI, aware of Ma’s ties to PRC (People’s Republic of China) intelligence, hired Ma, as part of an investigative plan, to work at an off-site location where his activities could be monitored and his contacts with the PRC investigated,” the DOJ said in a news release.During the course of his monitored employment with the FBI, Ma allegedly took a digital camera into the FBI office to photograph sensitive documents that he would then take to his handlers in China.Ma’s attorney, Salina Kanai, told CNN Thursday that “the judge had to weigh a host of mitigating and aggravating factors, many unique to Mr. Ma’s case,” adding: “We are glad that in considering so many variables, the court came to the same conclusion that the government and defense did – that ten years of imprisonment is the just sentence for my client.”The Justice Department said that “under the terms of the plea agreement, Ma must cooperate with the United States for the rest of his life, including by submitting to debriefings by U.S. government agencies,” and noted he has already been cooperative during multiple interviews.

A former CIA officer arrested for espionage has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for conspiring to provide classified information to Chinese intelligence officials, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, 71, of Honolulu, had arranged for himself and a relative, who also previously worked for the CIA, to meet with Chinese security officers in Hong Kong and provide classified material in exchange for $50,000, according to his plea agreement. Ma pleaded guilty in May.

Ma was later the target of an FBI undercover operation after applying to work as a linguist at the bureau’s Honolulu field office.

“The FBI, aware of Ma’s ties to PRC (People’s Republic of China) intelligence, hired Ma, as part of an investigative plan, to work at an off-site location where his activities could be monitored and his contacts with the PRC investigated,” the DOJ said in a news release.

During the course of his monitored employment with the FBI, Ma allegedly took a digital camera into the FBI office to photograph sensitive documents that he would then take to his handlers in China.

Ma’s attorney, Salina Kanai, told CNN Thursday that “the judge had to weigh a host of mitigating and aggravating factors, many unique to Mr. Ma’s case,” adding: “We are glad that in considering so many variables, the court came to the same conclusion that the government and defense did – that ten years of imprisonment is the just sentence for my client.”

The Justice Department said that “under the terms of the plea agreement, Ma must cooperate with the United States for the rest of his life, including by submitting to debriefings by U.S. government agencies,” and noted he has already been cooperative during multiple interviews.

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September 13, 2024
Tropical Storm Gordon forms in the Atlantic Ocean, forecast to stay away from land

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Tropical Storm Gordon formed on Friday in the Atlantic Ocean, with forecasters saying it is expected to remain over open water for several days.The storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was located about 990 miles from the Cabo Verde Islands. It was moving west-northwest at 12 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.Gordon formed during the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season that began on June 1 and ends on Nov. 30. It is the season’s seventh named storm.Gordon is expected to strengthen slightly before weakening starting on Saturday as it turns toward the northwest, forecasters said.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year because of record warm ocean temperatures. It forecast 17 to 25 named storms, with four to seven major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico —

Tropical Storm Gordon formed on Friday in the Atlantic Ocean, with forecasters saying it is expected to remain over open water for several days.

The storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was located about 990 miles from the Cabo Verde Islands. It was moving west-northwest at 12 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Gordon formed during the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season that began on June 1 and ends on Nov. 30. It is the season’s seventh named storm.

Gordon is expected to strengthen slightly before weakening starting on Saturday as it turns toward the northwest, forecasters said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year because of record warm ocean temperatures. It forecast 17 to 25 named storms, with four to seven major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher.

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September 13, 2024
Trump says there won’t be a third presidential debate

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Trump says there won’t be a third presidential debate

Updated: 1:51 PM PDT Sep 12, 2024

Former President Donald Trump announced Thursday that there would not be a third presidential debate.“KAMALA SHOULD FOCUS ON WHAT SHE SHOULD HAVE DONE DURING THE LAST ALMOST FOUR YEAR PERIOD. THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!” Trump posted on Truth Social.Trump debated President Joe Biden in June and Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this week.Harris’ campaign had called for another debate after the vice president and Trump faced off at ABC’s presidential debate on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON —

Former President Donald Trump announced Thursday that there would not be a third presidential debate.

“KAMALA SHOULD FOCUS ON WHAT SHE SHOULD HAVE DONE DURING THE LAST ALMOST FOUR YEAR PERIOD. THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Trump debated President Joe Biden in June and Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this week.

Harris’ campaign had called for another debate after the vice president and Trump faced off at ABC’s presidential debate on Tuesday.

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September 12, 2024
Trump lawyers fight to overturn jury’s finding that he sexually abused E. Jean Carroll

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While Donald Trump campaigns for the presidency, his lawyers are fighting to overturn a verdict finding him liable for sexual abuse and slander.Three judges of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are scheduled to hear arguments Friday in Trump’s appeal of a jury’s finding that he sexually assaulted the writer E. Jean Carroll. She says the Republican attacked her in a department store dressing room in 1996. That jury awarded Carroll $5 million.For several days, preparations have been underway in a stately federal courthouse in lower Manhattan for Trump to attend the arguments in person.Trump’s lawyers say the jury’s verdict should be tossed because evidence was allowed at trial that should have been excluded and other evidence was excluded that should have been permitted.Trump, who has denied attacking Carroll, did not attend the 2023 trial and has expressed regret he was not there.The court is unlikely to issue a ruling before November’s presidential election.The civil case has both political and financial implications for Trump.Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, has jabbed at Trump over the jury’s verdict, noting repeatedly that he had been found liable for sexual abuse.And last January, a second jury awarded Carroll another $83.3 million in damages for comments Trump had made about her while he was president, finding that they were defamatory. That jury had been instructed by the judge that it had to accept the first jury’s finding that Trump had sexually assaulted Carroll. The second trial was largely held to determine how badly Carroll had been harmed by Trump’s comments and how severely he should be punished.Trump, 77, testified less than three minutes at the trial and was not permitted to refute conclusions reached by the May 2023 jury. Still, he was animated in the courtroom throughout the two-week trial, and jurors could hear him grumbling about the case.The appeal of that trial’s outcome, which Trump labeled “absolutely ridiculous!” immediately afterward, will be heard by the appeals court at a later date.Carroll, 80, testified during both trials that her life as an Elle magazine columnist was spoiled by Trump’s public comments, which she said ignited such hate against her that she received death threats and feared going outside the upstate New York cabin where she lives.Lawyers for Trump said in court papers that he deserves a new trial in part because the trial judge, Lewis A. Kaplan, permitted two other women to testify about similar acts of sex abuse they say Trump committed against them in the 1970s and in 2005.They also argued that Kaplan wrongly disallowed evidence that Carroll lied during her deposition, and other evidence they say would reveal bias and motives to lie for Carroll and other witnesses against Trump. The verdict, they wrote, was “unjust and erroneous,” resulting from “flawed and prejudicial evidentiary rulings.”Trump has insisted that Carroll made up the story about being attacked to sell a new book. He has denied knowing her.Trump’s lawyers also challenged repeated airing at trial of an “Access Hollywood” videotape from 2005 in which Trump is heard saying that he sometimes just starts kissing beautiful women and “when you’re a star they let you do it.” He also said that a star can grab women’s genitals because “You can do anything.”In their written arguments, Carroll’s lawyers said Trump was wrongly demanding “a do-over” based on unfounded “sweeping complaints of unfairness” and other “distortions of the record, misstatements or misapplications of the law, and a steadfast disregard of the district court’s reasoning.”“There was no error here, let alone a violation of Trump’s substantial rights. This Court should affirm,” Carroll’s lawyers said.

NEW YORK —

While Donald Trump campaigns for the presidency, his lawyers are fighting to overturn a verdict finding him liable for sexual abuse and slander.

Three judges of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are scheduled to hear arguments Friday in Trump’s appeal of a jury’s finding that he sexually assaulted the writer E. Jean Carroll. She says the Republican attacked her in a department store dressing room in 1996. That jury awarded Carroll $5 million.

For several days, preparations have been underway in a stately federal courthouse in lower Manhattan for Trump to attend the arguments in person.

Trump’s lawyers say the jury’s verdict should be tossed because evidence was allowed at trial that should have been excluded and other evidence was excluded that should have been permitted.

Trump, who has denied attacking Carroll, did not attend the 2023 trial and has expressed regret he was not there.

The court is unlikely to issue a ruling before November’s presidential election.

The civil case has both political and financial implications for Trump.

Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, has jabbed at Trump over the jury’s verdict, noting repeatedly that he had been found liable for sexual abuse.

And last January, a second jury awarded Carroll another $83.3 million in damages for comments Trump had made about her while he was president, finding that they were defamatory. That jury had been instructed by the judge that it had to accept the first jury’s finding that Trump had sexually assaulted Carroll. The second trial was largely held to determine how badly Carroll had been harmed by Trump’s comments and how severely he should be punished.

Trump, 77, testified less than three minutes at the trial and was not permitted to refute conclusions reached by the May 2023 jury. Still, he was animated in the courtroom throughout the two-week trial, and jurors could hear him grumbling about the case.

The appeal of that trial’s outcome, which Trump labeled “absolutely ridiculous!” immediately afterward, will be heard by the appeals court at a later date.

Carroll, 80, testified during both trials that her life as an Elle magazine columnist was spoiled by Trump’s public comments, which she said ignited such hate against her that she received death threats and feared going outside the upstate New York cabin where she lives.

Lawyers for Trump said in court papers that he deserves a new trial in part because the trial judge, Lewis A. Kaplan, permitted two other women to testify about similar acts of sex abuse they say Trump committed against them in the 1970s and in 2005.

They also argued that Kaplan wrongly disallowed evidence that Carroll lied during her deposition, and other evidence they say would reveal bias and motives to lie for Carroll and other witnesses against Trump. The verdict, they wrote, was “unjust and erroneous,” resulting from “flawed and prejudicial evidentiary rulings.”

Trump has insisted that Carroll made up the story about being attacked to sell a new book. He has denied knowing her.

Trump’s lawyers also challenged repeated airing at trial of an “Access Hollywood” videotape from 2005 in which Trump is heard saying that he sometimes just starts kissing beautiful women and “when you’re a star they let you do it.” He also said that a star can grab women’s genitals because “You can do anything.”

In their written arguments, Carroll’s lawyers said Trump was wrongly demanding “a do-over” based on unfounded “sweeping complaints of unfairness” and other “distortions of the record, misstatements or misapplications of the law, and a steadfast disregard of the district court’s reasoning.”

“There was no error here, let alone a violation of Trump’s substantial rights. This Court should affirm,” Carroll’s lawyers said.

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September 6, 2024
Large-scale polio vaccinations begin in war-ravaged Gaza

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Palestinian health authorities and United Nations agencies on Sunday began a large-scale campaign of vaccinations against polio in the Gaza Strip, hoping to prevent an outbreak in the territory that has been ravaged by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.Authorities plan to vaccinate children in central Gaza until Wednesday before moving on to the more devastated northern and southern parts of the strip. The campaign began with a small number of vaccinations on Saturday and aims to reach about 640,000 children.The World Health Organization said Thursday that Israel has agreed to limited pauses in the fighting to facilitate the campaign. There were initial reports of Israeli strikes in central Gaza early Sunday, but it was not immediately known if anyone was killed or wounded.Hospitals in Deir al-Balah and Nuseirat confirmed that the campaign had begun early Sunday. Israel said Saturday that the vaccination program would continue through Sept. 9 and last eight hours a day.Gaza recently reported its first polio case in 25 years — a 10-month-old boy, now paralyzed in the leg. The World Health Organization says the presence of a paralysis case indicates there could be hundreds more who have been infected but aren’t showing symptoms.Most people who have polio do not experience symptoms, and those who do usually recover in a week or so. But there is no cure, and when polio causes paralysis, it is usually permanent. If the paralysis affects breathing muscles, the disease can be fatal.The vaccination campaign faces a host of challenges, from ongoing fighting to devastated roads and hospitals shut down by the war. Around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people have been displaced within the besieged territory, with hundreds of thousands crammed into squalid tent camps.Health officials have expressed alarm about disease outbreaks as uncollected garbage has piled up and the bombing of critical infrastructure has sent putrid water flowing through the streets. Widespread hunger has left people even more vulnerable to illness.“We escaped death with our children, and fled from place to place for the sake of our children, and now we have these diseases,” said Wafaa Obaid, who brought her three children to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah to get the vaccinations.Ammar Ammar, a spokesperson for the U.N. children’s agency, said it hopes both parties adhere to a temporary truce in designated areas to enable families to reach health facilities.“This is a first step,” he told The Associated Press. “But there is no alternative to a cease-fire because it’s not only polio that threatens children in Gaza, but also other factors, including malnutrition and the inhuman conditions they are living in.”The vaccinations will be administered at roughly 160 sites across the territory, including medical centers and schools. Children under 10 will receive two drops of oral polio vaccine in two rounds, the second to be administered four weeks after the first.Israel allowed around 1.3 million doses to be brought into the territory last month, which are now being held in refrigerated storage in a warehouse in Deir al-Balah. Another shipment of 400,000 doses is set to be delivered to Gaza soon.The polio virus that triggered this latest outbreak is a mutated virus from an oral polio vaccine. The oral polio vaccine contains weakened live virus and in very rare cases, that virus is shed by those who are vaccinated and can evolve into a new form capable of starting new epidemics.The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 hostages. Around 100 remain in captivity, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say whether those killed were fighters or civilians. The war has caused vast destruction across the territory, with entire neighborhoods wiped out and critical infrastructure heavily damaged.The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent months trying to broker a cease-fire and the release of the remaining hostages, but the talks have repeatedly stalled and a number of sticking points remain.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip —

Palestinian health authorities and United Nations agencies on Sunday began a large-scale campaign of vaccinations against polio in the Gaza Strip, hoping to prevent an outbreak in the territory that has been ravaged by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Authorities plan to vaccinate children in central Gaza until Wednesday before moving on to the more devastated northern and southern parts of the strip. The campaign began with a small number of vaccinations on Saturday and aims to reach about 640,000 children.

The World Health Organization said Thursday that Israel has agreed to limited pauses in the fighting to facilitate the campaign. There were initial reports of Israeli strikes in central Gaza early Sunday, but it was not immediately known if anyone was killed or wounded.

Hospitals in Deir al-Balah and Nuseirat confirmed that the campaign had begun early Sunday. Israel said Saturday that the vaccination program would continue through Sept. 9 and last eight hours a day.

Gaza recently reported its first polio case in 25 years — a 10-month-old boy, now paralyzed in the leg. The World Health Organization says the presence of a paralysis case indicates there could be hundreds more who have been infected but aren’t showing symptoms.

Most people who have polio do not experience symptoms, and those who do usually recover in a week or so. But there is no cure, and when polio causes paralysis, it is usually permanent. If the paralysis affects breathing muscles, the disease can be fatal.

The vaccination campaign faces a host of challenges, from ongoing fighting to devastated roads and hospitals shut down by the war. Around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people have been displaced within the besieged territory, with hundreds of thousands crammed into squalid tent camps.

Health officials have expressed alarm about disease outbreaks as uncollected garbage has piled up and the bombing of critical infrastructure has sent putrid water flowing through the streets. Widespread hunger has left people even more vulnerable to illness.

“We escaped death with our children, and fled from place to place for the sake of our children, and now we have these diseases,” said Wafaa Obaid, who brought her three children to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah to get the vaccinations.

Ammar Ammar, a spokesperson for the U.N. children’s agency, said it hopes both parties adhere to a temporary truce in designated areas to enable families to reach health facilities.

“This is a first step,” he told The Associated Press. “But there is no alternative to a cease-fire because it’s not only polio that threatens children in Gaza, but also other factors, including malnutrition and the inhuman conditions they are living in.”

The vaccinations will be administered at roughly 160 sites across the territory, including medical centers and schools. Children under 10 will receive two drops of oral polio vaccine in two rounds, the second to be administered four weeks after the first.

Israel allowed around 1.3 million doses to be brought into the territory last month, which are now being held in refrigerated storage in a warehouse in Deir al-Balah. Another shipment of 400,000 doses is set to be delivered to Gaza soon.

The polio virus that triggered this latest outbreak is a mutated virus from an oral polio vaccine. The oral polio vaccine contains weakened live virus and in very rare cases, that virus is shed by those who are vaccinated and can evolve into a new form capable of starting new epidemics.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 hostages. Around 100 remain in captivity, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say whether those killed were fighters or civilians. The war has caused vast destruction across the territory, with entire neighborhoods wiped out and critical infrastructure heavily damaged.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent months trying to broker a cease-fire and the release of the remaining hostages, but the talks have repeatedly stalled and a number of sticking points remain.

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September 1, 2024
Hostage abducted in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack has been rescued, Israeli military says

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The Israeli military said Tuesday that it has rescued one of the scores of people abducted in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which ignited the ongoing war in Gaza.The rescue brought a rare moment of joy to Israelis amid months of grinding war but also another painful reminder of the scores of hostages remaining in captivity despite international efforts to broker a cease-fire agreement in which they would be released.The military said Qaid Farhan Alkadi was rescued from a tunnel “in a complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip,” without providing further details. It was not immediately known if the rescue was made under fire or if anyone was killed or wounded during the operation.The 52-year-old was one of eight members of Israel’s Arab Bedouin minority who were abducted on Oct. 7. He was working as a guard at a packing factory in Kibbutz Magen, one of several farming communities that came under attack. He has two wives and is the father of 11 children.Israel’s Channel 12 showed Alkadi’s family members sprinting through the hospital where he was brought after they received the news.His brother, Hatem, told reporters they saw him disembark from a helicopter and walk to the ambulance that took him to a nearby hospital for medical checks. Israeli media ran a photo of Alkadi appearing gaunt but smiling with his family.”We’re so excited to hug him and see him and tell him that we’re all here with him,” a family member who gave his name as Faez told Channel 12. “I hope that every hostage will come home so the families can experience this happiness.”Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the rescue operation was part of the army’s “daring and courageous activities conducted deep inside the Gaza Strip,” adding that Israel is “committed to taking advantage of every opportunity to return the hostages.”Hamas-led militants abducted some 250 people in the Oct. 7 attack, in which some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not say how many were fighters. It has displaced 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people from their homes and caused heavy destruction across the besieged territory.Israel believes there are still 108 hostages inside Gaza and that more than 40 of them are dead. Most of the rest were freed during a weeklong cease-fire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.Israel has rescued a total of eight hostages, including in two operations that killed scores of Palestinians. Hamas says several hostages have been killed in Israeli airstrikes and failed rescue attempts. Israeli troops mistakenly killed three Israelis who escaped captivity in December.The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent months trying to negotiate an agreement in which the remaining hostages would be freed in exchange for a lasting cease-fire. Those talks are ongoing in Egypt this week, but there has been no sign of any breakthrough.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced intense criticism from families of the hostages and much of the Israeli public for not yet reaching a deal with Hamas to bring them home.Hamas hopes to trade the hostages for a lasting cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants.Last week, after the Israeli military recovered the bodies of six hostages in southern Gaza, Israel’s military spokesperson, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the army was working to gather more intelligence for rescue operations. But he added that “we cannot bring everyone back through rescue operations alone.”

JERUSALEM —

The Israeli military said Tuesday that it has rescued one of the scores of people abducted in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which ignited the ongoing war in Gaza.

The rescue brought a rare moment of joy to Israelis amid months of grinding war but also another painful reminder of the scores of hostages remaining in captivity despite international efforts to broker a cease-fire agreement in which they would be released.

The military said Qaid Farhan Alkadi was rescued from a tunnel “in a complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip,” without providing further details. It was not immediately known if the rescue was made under fire or if anyone was killed or wounded during the operation.

The 52-year-old was one of eight members of Israel’s Arab Bedouin minority who were abducted on Oct. 7. He was working as a guard at a packing factory in Kibbutz Magen, one of several farming communities that came under attack. He has two wives and is the father of 11 children.

Israel’s Channel 12 showed Alkadi’s family members sprinting through the hospital where he was brought after they received the news.

The Hostages Families Forum via AP
This undated photo shows Kaid Farhan Al-Qadi, 52, who was held hostage by Hamas militants in Gaza.

His brother, Hatem, told reporters they saw him disembark from a helicopter and walk to the ambulance that took him to a nearby hospital for medical checks. Israeli media ran a photo of Alkadi appearing gaunt but smiling with his family.

“We’re so excited to hug him and see him and tell him that we’re all here with him,” a family member who gave his name as Faez told Channel 12. “I hope that every hostage will come home so the families can experience this happiness.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the rescue operation was part of the army’s “daring and courageous activities conducted deep inside the Gaza Strip,” adding that Israel is “committed to taking advantage of every opportunity to return the hostages.”

Hamas-led militants abducted some 250 people in the Oct. 7 attack, in which some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not say how many were fighters. It has displaced 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people from their homes and caused heavy destruction across the besieged territory.

Israel believes there are still 108 hostages inside Gaza and that more than 40 of them are dead. Most of the rest were freed during a weeklong cease-fire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Israel has rescued a total of eight hostages, including in two operations that killed scores of Palestinians. Hamas says several hostages have been killed in Israeli airstrikes and failed rescue attempts. Israeli troops mistakenly killed three Israelis who escaped captivity in December.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent months trying to negotiate an agreement in which the remaining hostages would be freed in exchange for a lasting cease-fire. Those talks are ongoing in Egypt this week, but there has been no sign of any breakthrough.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced intense criticism from families of the hostages and much of the Israeli public for not yet reaching a deal with Hamas to bring them home.

Hamas hopes to trade the hostages for a lasting cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants.

Last week, after the Israeli military recovered the bodies of six hostages in southern Gaza, Israel’s military spokesperson, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the army was working to gather more intelligence for rescue operations. But he added that “we cannot bring everyone back through rescue operations alone.”

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August 27, 2024
Tropical Storm Hone forecast to bring strong winds, heavy rain to Hawaii

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A tropical storm is expected to deliver strong winds and heavy rain to Hawaii this weekend, particularly to the Big Island and Maui, as it passes south of the island chain.The National Weather Service on Thursday evening issued a tropical storm watch for Hawaii County, which includes all of the Big Island, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Hone.The August storm has evoked memories of the powerful hurricane south of Hawaii that helped fuel a deadly wildfire that destroyed Maui’s Lahaina town last summer, but the weather service said that Hone was not creating the same conditions.Separately, to Hone’s east, Hurricane Gilma was moving west across the Pacific, but it was too early to tell whether it would affect the islands.Hone, which means “sweet and soft” in Hawaiian and is pronounced hoe-NEH, was expected to bring sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusts of 50 mph to Maui and the Big Island. Oahu and Kauai were forecast to get slightly weaker winds.The Big Island’s east coast and southeastern corner were expected to get 4 to 8 inches of rain Saturday night through Sunday night. Maui could get 2 to 4 inches of rain.These predictions could change depending on the storm’s course. Early Friday, the storm was about 670 miles east-southeast of Hilo and about 880 miles east-southeast of Honolulu. It was moving west at 16 mph with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.The Aug. 8, 2023, Lahaina fire was fueled by powerful winds whipped up by a combination of a hurricane passing some 500 miles to the south and a very strong high pressure system to the north of the islands. The weather service issued a red flag warning at the time, something it does when warm temperatures, very low humidity and strong winds combine to raise fire danger.Laura Farris, a weather service meteorologist in Honolulu, said some drier air was expected to move in to the western end of the state this weekend, which presents some concerns about fire risk.“But it’s not even close to what we saw last year,” Farris said.The pressure system to the north is not as strong now as last year and the tropical system to the south is a storm not a hurricane, said Pao-Shin Chu, a University of Hawaii professor and the state’s climatologist.“We do see something similar but not as dramatic as the Lahaina case we saw last year,” Chu said.Hurricane Gilma was packing maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, making it a Category 3 hurricane. It was slowly moving west. The National Hurricane Center said Gilma was expected to slowly weaken this weekend.The cause of Lahaina blaze, the deadliest in the United States in over a century, hasn’t been determined, but it’s possible it was ignited by bare electrical wire and leaning power poles toppled by the strong winds.To reduce the risk of wildfires, the state’s electric utilities, Hawaiian Electric and the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, have since started shutting off power during high winds and dry conditions.Last year, Maui County officials failed to activate outdoor sirens that would have warned Lahaina’s people of the approaching flames. They instead relied on a series of sometimes confusing social media posts that reached a much smaller audience.Amos Lonokailua-Hewett, who took over as the new administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency on Jan. 1, said in the event of a wildfire threat, his agency would send alerts over radio and television broadcasts, via cellphones and with the sirens.The sirens sound a steady tone and no message.“The outdoor warning siren is typically used when there is an imminent threat to public safety and the situation requires the public to seek more information,” Lonokailua-Hewett said in an emailed statement.

HONOLULU —

A tropical storm is expected to deliver strong winds and heavy rain to Hawaii this weekend, particularly to the Big Island and Maui, as it passes south of the island chain.

The National Weather Service on Thursday evening issued a tropical storm watch for Hawaii County, which includes all of the Big Island, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Hone.

The August storm has evoked memories of the powerful hurricane south of Hawaii that helped fuel a deadly wildfire that destroyed Maui’s Lahaina town last summer, but the weather service said that Hone was not creating the same conditions.

Separately, to Hone’s east, Hurricane Gilma was moving west across the Pacific, but it was too early to tell whether it would affect the islands.

Hone, which means “sweet and soft” in Hawaiian and is pronounced hoe-NEH, was expected to bring sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusts of 50 mph to Maui and the Big Island. Oahu and Kauai were forecast to get slightly weaker winds.

The Big Island’s east coast and southeastern corner were expected to get 4 to 8 inches of rain Saturday night through Sunday night. Maui could get 2 to 4 inches of rain.

These predictions could change depending on the storm’s course. Early Friday, the storm was about 670 miles east-southeast of Hilo and about 880 miles east-southeast of Honolulu. It was moving west at 16 mph with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.

The Aug. 8, 2023, Lahaina fire was fueled by powerful winds whipped up by a combination of a hurricane passing some 500 miles to the south and a very strong high pressure system to the north of the islands. The weather service issued a red flag warning at the time, something it does when warm temperatures, very low humidity and strong winds combine to raise fire danger.

Laura Farris, a weather service meteorologist in Honolulu, said some drier air was expected to move in to the western end of the state this weekend, which presents some concerns about fire risk.

“But it’s not even close to what we saw last year,” Farris said.

The pressure system to the north is not as strong now as last year and the tropical system to the south is a storm not a hurricane, said Pao-Shin Chu, a University of Hawaii professor and the state’s climatologist.

“We do see something similar but not as dramatic as the Lahaina case we saw last year,” Chu said.

Hurricane Gilma was packing maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, making it a Category 3 hurricane. It was slowly moving west. The National Hurricane Center said Gilma was expected to slowly weaken this weekend.

The cause of Lahaina blaze, the deadliest in the United States in over a century, hasn’t been determined, but it’s possible it was ignited by bare electrical wire and leaning power poles toppled by the strong winds.

To reduce the risk of wildfires, the state’s electric utilities, Hawaiian Electric and the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, have since started shutting off power during high winds and dry conditions.

Last year, Maui County officials failed to activate outdoor sirens that would have warned Lahaina’s people of the approaching flames. They instead relied on a series of sometimes confusing social media posts that reached a much smaller audience.

Amos Lonokailua-Hewett, who took over as the new administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency on Jan. 1, said in the event of a wildfire threat, his agency would send alerts over radio and television broadcasts, via cellphones and with the sirens.

The sirens sound a steady tone and no message.

“The outdoor warning siren is typically used when there is an imminent threat to public safety and the situation requires the public to seek more information,” Lonokailua-Hewett said in an emailed statement.

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August 23, 2024
School safety officer pleads no contest in fatal shooting of 18-year-old

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A former California school safety officer has pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter nearly three years after he was charged with murder for fatally shooting an 18-year-old woman as she tried to flee a physical altercation, officials said Tuesday.Eddie Gonzalez is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 8 and faces either three or six years in prison, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office spokesperson Pamela J. Johnson told CNN.The plea comes about four months after a mistrial was declared in the murder trial against Gonzalez, after the jury failed to reach a verdict.Gonzalez was patrolling an area near Millikan High School in Long Beach on Sept. 27, 2021, when he noticed a fight between Manuela Rodriguez, 18, and a 15-year-old girl, the police said. As Rodriguez and two others attempted to flee the scene in a nearby vehicle, the school safety officer allegedly fired his handgun at the sedan, striking Rodriguez, who was in the front passenger seat, police said.Rodriguez was taken to a hospital and died from her injuries approximately a week later, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said. She left behind a 5-month-old son.Gonzalez was soon fired for violating the district’s use-of-force policy, which instructs its safety officers not to shoot at a fleeing person, moving vehicle or through a vehicle window unless “circumstances clearly warrant the use of a firearm as a final means of defense,” the policy states. He was charged with murder a month after the shooting.“We must hold accountable the people we have placed in positions of trust to protect us,” District Attorney George Gascon said about the charge. “That is especially true for the armed personnel we traditionally have relied upon to guard our children on their way to and from and at school.”Last year, Rodriguez’s family reached a $13 million settlement agreement with the Long Beach Unified School District in their civil case. The Long Beach Unified School District had said the agreement was not an “admission of liability.”“I don’t know how to go on, how I’m here, how to move on without my baby girl. She meant everything to me,” her mother Manuela Sahagun said at the time. “All I want is justice – justice for my baby girl.”In April, seven of the jurors wanted to convict Gonzalez on the murder charge, while five jurors wanted to convict him on a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office told CNN.CNN has reached out to Gonzalez’s attorney for comment.The case against Gonzalez comes amid debate in U.S. school districts about whether armed officers should be present in schools. Some say the law enforcement presence helps protect students against gun violence, while others worry about police misconduct and an acceleration of the school-to-prison pipeline.In an effort to prevent school shootings in California, a bill introduced earlier this year that failed passage would have required K-12 schools statewide to have at least one armed officer. Currently, California law allows school districts to decide whether to employ or contract for armed law enforcement officers or unarmed security officers.Meanwhile, others have run local campaigns in California school districts to remove school police, who they say are far more likely to target Black and Latino students.The American Civil Liberties Union of California in 2021 released a report warning that having more police officers at public schools could have a detrimental effect on students. The study found that Latino students’ arrest rates were 6.9 times higher and Black students’ arrest rates were 7.4 times higher in schools with assigned law enforcement than in schools without. It also found that the groups were more likely to be referred to law enforcement.A report published in July by the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that approximately 45% of U.S. public schools reported having sworn law enforcement officers who routinely carried a firearm.

LOS ANGELES —

A former California school safety officer has pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter nearly three years after he was charged with murder for fatally shooting an 18-year-old woman as she tried to flee a physical altercation, officials said Tuesday.

Eddie Gonzalez is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 8 and faces either three or six years in prison, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office spokesperson Pamela J. Johnson told CNN.

The plea comes about four months after a mistrial was declared in the murder trial against Gonzalez, after the jury failed to reach a verdict.

Gonzalez was patrolling an area near Millikan High School in Long Beach on Sept. 27, 2021, when he noticed a fight between Manuela Rodriguez, 18, and a 15-year-old girl, the police said. As Rodriguez and two others attempted to flee the scene in a nearby vehicle, the school safety officer allegedly fired his handgun at the sedan, striking Rodriguez, who was in the front passenger seat, police said.

Rodriguez was taken to a hospital and died from her injuries approximately a week later, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said. She left behind a 5-month-old son.

Gonzalez was soon fired for violating the district’s use-of-force policy, which instructs its safety officers not to shoot at a fleeing person, moving vehicle or through a vehicle window unless “circumstances clearly warrant the use of a firearm as a final means of defense,” the policy states. He was charged with murder a month after the shooting.

“We must hold accountable the people we have placed in positions of trust to protect us,” District Attorney George Gascon said about the charge. “That is especially true for the armed personnel we traditionally have relied upon to guard our children on their way to and from and at school.”

Last year, Rodriguez’s family reached a $13 million settlement agreement with the Long Beach Unified School District in their civil case. The Long Beach Unified School District had said the agreement was not an “admission of liability.”

“I don’t know how to go on, how I’m here, how to move on without my baby girl. She meant everything to me,” her mother Manuela Sahagun said at the time. “All I want is justice – justice for my baby girl.”

In April, seven of the jurors wanted to convict Gonzalez on the murder charge, while five jurors wanted to convict him on a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office told CNN.

CNN has reached out to Gonzalez’s attorney for comment.

The case against Gonzalez comes amid debate in U.S. school districts about whether armed officers should be present in schools. Some say the law enforcement presence helps protect students against gun violence, while others worry about police misconduct and an acceleration of the school-to-prison pipeline.

In an effort to prevent school shootings in California, a bill introduced earlier this year that failed passage would have required K-12 schools statewide to have at least one armed officer. Currently, California law allows school districts to decide whether to employ or contract for armed law enforcement officers or unarmed security officers.

Meanwhile, others have run local campaigns in California school districts to remove school police, who they say are far more likely to target Black and Latino students.

The American Civil Liberties Union of California in 2021 released a report warning that having more police officers at public schools could have a detrimental effect on students. The study found that Latino students’ arrest rates were 6.9 times higher and Black students’ arrest rates were 7.4 times higher in schools with assigned law enforcement than in schools without. It also found that the groups were more likely to be referred to law enforcement.

A report published in July by the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that approximately 45% of U.S. public schools reported having sworn law enforcement officers who routinely carried a firearm.

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August 22, 2024
Divers find 4 bodies during search of yacht wreckage off Sicily, 2 still missing

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Divers searching the wreck of a superyacht that sank off Sicily found the bodies of four passengers Wednesday and searched for two more as questions intensified about why the vessel sank so quickly when a nearby sailboat remained largely unscathed.Rescue crews unloaded three body bags from the rescue vessels that pulled into port at Porticello. Salvatore Cocina, head of the Sicily civil protection agency, said one other body had also been found in the wreckage for a total of four.The discovery indicated the operation to search the hull on the seabed 164 feet underwater was a recovery one, not a rescue, given the amount of time that had passed and that no signs of life had emerged over three days of searching, maritime experts said.The Bayesian, a 184-foot British-flagged yacht, went down in a storm early Monday as it was moored about a half-mile offshore. Civil protection officials said they believed the ship was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout, and sank quickly.Fifteen people escaped in a lifeboat and were rescued by a nearby sailboat. One body was recovered Monday — that of the ship’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, of Antigua.Thomas was born in Canada, according to his cousin David Isaac, but would visit his parents’ homeland of Antigua as a child, moving permanently to the tiny eastern Caribbean island in his early 20s. Italian officials previously listed Antigua as the nationality of someone on board.Video below: Maritime Historian Sal Mercogliano explains causes for sunken yachtThe fate of six passengers had driven the search effort, including British tech magnate Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter and associates who had successfully defended him in a recent U.S. federal fraud trial.Lynch’s spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.Meanwhile, investigators from the Termini Imerese Public Prosecutor’s Office were acquiring evidence for their criminal investigation, which they opened immediately after the tragedy even though no formal suspects have been publicly identified.Questions abound about what caused the superyacht, built in 2008 by Italian shipyard Perini Navi, to sink so quickly, when the nearby Sir Robert Baden Powell sailboat was largely spared and managed to rescue the survivors.Was it merely the case of a freak waterspout that knocked the ship to its side and allowed water to pour in through open hatches? What was the position of the keel, which on a large sailboat such as the Bayesian might have been retractable, to allow it to enter shallower ports?“There’s a lot of uncertainty as to whether it had a lifting keel and whether it might have been up,” said Jean-Baptiste Souppez, a fellow of the Royal Institute of Naval Architects and the editor of the Journal of Sailing Technology. “But if it had, then that would reduce the amount of stability that the vessel had, and therefore made it easier for it to roll over on its side,” he said in an interview.The captain of the Sir Robert Baden Powell sailboat, which came to the Bayesian’s rescue, said he had remained anchored with his engines running to try to maintain the ship’s position as the storm, which was forecast, rolled in.“Another possibility is to heave anchor before the storm and to run downwind at open sea,” Karsten Bornersaid in a text message. But he said that might not have been a viable option for the Bayesian, given its trademark 246-foot tall mast.“If there was a stability problem, caused by the extremely tall mast, it would not have been better at open sea,” he said.Yachts like the Bayesian are required to have watertight, sub-compartments that are specifically designed to prevent a rapid, catastrophic sinking even when some parts fill with water.“So for the vessel to sink, especially this fast, you are really looking at taking water on board very quickly, but also in a number of locations along the length of the vessel, which again indicates that it might have been rolled over on its side,” Souppez said.Italian coast guard and fire rescue divers continued the underwater search in dangerous and time-consuming conditions. Because of the wreck’s depth, which requires special precautions, divers working in tag teams can only spend about 12 minutes at a time searching.The limited dive time is designed in part to avoid decompression sickness, also known as the “bends,” which can occur when divers stay underwater for long periods and ascend too quickly, allowing nitrogen gas dissolved in the blood to form bubbles.“The longer you stay, the slower your ascent has to be,” said Simon Rogerson, the editor of SCUBA magazine. He said the tight turnaround time suggests the operation’s managers are trying to limit the risks and recovery time after each dive.“It sounds like they’re operating essentially on no decompression or very tight decompression, or they’re being extremely conservative,” he said.Additionally, the divers are working in extremely tight spaces, with debris floating around them, limited visibility and oxygen tanks on their backs.“We are trying to advance in tight spaces, but any single thing slows us down,” said Luca Cari, spokesman for the fire rescue service. “An electric panel could set us back for five hours. These aren’t normal conditions. We’re at the limit of possibility.”“It’s not a question of entering the cabin to inspect it,” he added. “They’ve arrived at the level of the cabins, but it’s not like you can open the door,” he said.The Italian coast guard said they had reinforced their dive teams and were using underwater remote-controlled robots, which can stay out for six or seven hours at a time and record the surroundings.The lack of any signs of life and the recovery of bodies led outside experts to conclude that the search was now a recovery effort and investigation to determine how the tragedy had unfolded.“I think the fact that there’s been quite a lot of diving presence around the vessel and that they haven’t been able to pick up any signs of life inside the vessel, is, is unfortunately, not a particularly good sign,” said Souppez.

PORTICELLO, Sicily —

Divers searching the wreck of a superyacht that sank off Sicily found the bodies of four passengers Wednesday and searched for two more as questions intensified about why the vessel sank so quickly when a nearby sailboat remained largely unscathed.

Rescue crews unloaded three body bags from the rescue vessels that pulled into port at Porticello. Salvatore Cocina, head of the Sicily civil protection agency, said one other body had also been found in the wreckage for a total of four.

The discovery indicated the operation to search the hull on the seabed 164 feet underwater was a recovery one, not a rescue, given the amount of time that had passed and that no signs of life had emerged over three days of searching, maritime experts said.

The Bayesian, a 184-foot British-flagged yacht, went down in a storm early Monday as it was moored about a half-mile offshore. Civil protection officials said they believed the ship was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout, and sank quickly.

Fifteen people escaped in a lifeboat and were rescued by a nearby sailboat. One body was recovered Monday — that of the ship’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, of Antigua.

Thomas was born in Canada, according to his cousin David Isaac, but would visit his parents’ homeland of Antigua as a child, moving permanently to the tiny eastern Caribbean island in his early 20s. Italian officials previously listed Antigua as the nationality of someone on board.

Video below: Maritime Historian Sal Mercogliano explains causes for sunken yacht

The fate of six passengers had driven the search effort, including British tech magnate Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter and associates who had successfully defended him in a recent U.S. federal fraud trial.

Lynch’s spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Meanwhile, investigators from the Termini Imerese Public Prosecutor’s Office were acquiring evidence for their criminal investigation, which they opened immediately after the tragedy even though no formal suspects have been publicly identified.

Questions abound about what caused the superyacht, built in 2008 by Italian shipyard Perini Navi, to sink so quickly, when the nearby Sir Robert Baden Powell sailboat was largely spared and managed to rescue the survivors.

Was it merely the case of a freak waterspout that knocked the ship to its side and allowed water to pour in through open hatches? What was the position of the keel, which on a large sailboat such as the Bayesian might have been retractable, to allow it to enter shallower ports?

“There’s a lot of uncertainty as to whether it had a lifting keel and whether it might have been up,” said Jean-Baptiste Souppez, a fellow of the Royal Institute of Naval Architects and the editor of the Journal of Sailing Technology. “But if it had, then that would reduce the amount of stability that the vessel had, and therefore made it easier for it to roll over on its side,” he said in an interview.

The captain of the Sir Robert Baden Powell sailboat, which came to the Bayesian’s rescue, said he had remained anchored with his engines running to try to maintain the ship’s position as the storm, which was forecast, rolled in.

“Another possibility is to heave anchor before the storm and to run downwind at open sea,” Karsten Bornersaid in a text message. But he said that might not have been a viable option for the Bayesian, given its trademark 246-foot tall mast.

“If there was a stability problem, caused by the extremely tall mast, it would not have been better at open sea,” he said.

Yachts like the Bayesian are required to have watertight, sub-compartments that are specifically designed to prevent a rapid, catastrophic sinking even when some parts fill with water.

“So for the vessel to sink, especially this fast, you are really looking at taking water on board very quickly, but also in a number of locations along the length of the vessel, which again indicates that it might have been rolled over on its side,” Souppez said.

Italian coast guard and fire rescue divers continued the underwater search in dangerous and time-consuming conditions. Because of the wreck’s depth, which requires special precautions, divers working in tag teams can only spend about 12 minutes at a time searching.

The limited dive time is designed in part to avoid decompression sickness, also known as the “bends,” which can occur when divers stay underwater for long periods and ascend too quickly, allowing nitrogen gas dissolved in the blood to form bubbles.

“The longer you stay, the slower your ascent has to be,” said Simon Rogerson, the editor of SCUBA magazine. He said the tight turnaround time suggests the operation’s managers are trying to limit the risks and recovery time after each dive.

“It sounds like they’re operating essentially on no decompression or very tight decompression, or they’re being extremely conservative,” he said.

Additionally, the divers are working in extremely tight spaces, with debris floating around them, limited visibility and oxygen tanks on their backs.

“We are trying to advance in tight spaces, but any single thing slows us down,” said Luca Cari, spokesman for the fire rescue service. “An electric panel could set us back for five hours. These aren’t normal conditions. We’re at the limit of possibility.”

“It’s not a question of entering the cabin to inspect it,” he added. “They’ve arrived at the level of the cabins, but it’s not like you can open the door,” he said.

The Italian coast guard said they had reinforced their dive teams and were using underwater remote-controlled robots, which can stay out for six or seven hours at a time and record the surroundings.

The lack of any signs of life and the recovery of bodies led outside experts to conclude that the search was now a recovery effort and investigation to determine how the tragedy had unfolded.

“I think the fact that there’s been quite a lot of diving presence around the vessel and that they haven’t been able to pick up any signs of life inside the vessel, is, is unfortunately, not a particularly good sign,” said Souppez.

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August 21, 2024
South Carolina Supreme Court agrees to hear convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh’s jury tampering appeal

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The South Carolina Supreme Court has agreed to hear convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh’s jury tampering appeal.The order, issued Tuesday, means the case will go straight to the high court, skipping the lengthy Court of Appeals process. The state Supreme Court could overturn a judge’s decision from earlier this year that denied Murdaugh’s attempt to get a new murder trial.His attorneys filed a motion in July requesting the high court review that ruling before his appeal is determined by the state Court of Appeals because the case “concerns an issue of significant public interest and a legal principle of major importance warranting certification.”Late last year, Murdaugh’s legal team requested a new trial based on allegations that the now-former Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca “Becky” Hill tampered with the jury by making comments implying Murdaugh’s guilt to jurors.On Jan. 29, retired Chief Justice Jean Toal held that Hill, the now-former clerk, was “attracted by the siren call of celebrity” and made improper comments to the jury, but ruled that the comments did not influence the verdict it reached.“I simply do not believe that the authority of our South Carolina Supreme Court requires a new trial in a very lengthy trial such as this on the strength of some fleeting and foolish comments by a publicity-influenced clerk of courts,” Toal said in January.In Murdaugh’s filing requesting the state Supreme Court review, his attorneys wrote that the “legal principle of major importance is whether it is presumptively prejudicial for a state official to secretly advocate for a guilty verdict through ex parte contacts with jurors during trial, or whether a defendant, having proven the contacts occurred, must also somehow prove the verdict would have been different at a hypothetical trial in which the surreptitious advocacy did not occur.”Hill has repeatedly denied the allegations, but has since resigned her position as clerk of court and is under state investigation, while facing numerous state ethics violations alleging she used her professional position for personal gain.Citing the “ongoing” nature of the matter, the state Attorney General’s Office declined to comment on the state Supreme Court order.Last year, after a six-week trial, a Colleton County jury found Murdaugh guilty of shooting and killing his wife, Maggie, and youngest son, Paul, at the family’s hunting estate in June 2021. He was sentenced to – and is currently serving – two life sentences in state prison for their murders.Murdaugh has also been sentenced in state and federal court, to 27 years and 40 years respectively, on dozens of financial charges stemming from more than a decade of stealing money from clients and his law firm.He is also appealing his federal sentence for the financial crimes.

The South Carolina Supreme Court has agreed to hear convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh’s jury tampering appeal.

The order, issued Tuesday, means the case will go straight to the high court, skipping the lengthy Court of Appeals process. The state Supreme Court could overturn a judge’s decision from earlier this year that denied Murdaugh’s attempt to get a new murder trial.

His attorneys filed a motion in July requesting the high court review that ruling before his appeal is determined by the state Court of Appeals because the case “concerns an issue of significant public interest and a legal principle of major importance warranting certification.”

Late last year, Murdaugh’s legal team requested a new trial based on allegations that the now-former Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca “Becky” Hill tampered with the jury by making comments implying Murdaugh’s guilt to jurors.

On Jan. 29, retired Chief Justice Jean Toal held that Hill, the now-former clerk, was “attracted by the siren call of celebrity” and made improper comments to the jury, but ruled that the comments did not influence the verdict it reached.

“I simply do not believe that the authority of our South Carolina Supreme Court requires a new trial in a very lengthy trial such as this on the strength of some fleeting and foolish comments by a publicity-influenced clerk of courts,” Toal said in January.

In Murdaugh’s filing requesting the state Supreme Court review, his attorneys wrote that the “legal principle of major importance is whether it is presumptively prejudicial for a state official to secretly advocate for a guilty verdict through ex parte contacts with jurors during trial, or whether a defendant, having proven the contacts occurred, must also somehow prove the verdict would have been different at a hypothetical trial in which the surreptitious advocacy did not occur.”

Hill has repeatedly denied the allegations, but has since resigned her position as clerk of court and is under state investigation, while facing numerous state ethics violations alleging she used her professional position for personal gain.

Citing the “ongoing” nature of the matter, the state Attorney General’s Office declined to comment on the state Supreme Court order.

Last year, after a six-week trial, a Colleton County jury found Murdaugh guilty of shooting and killing his wife, Maggie, and youngest son, Paul, at the family’s hunting estate in June 2021. He was sentenced to – and is currently serving – two life sentences in state prison for their murders.

Murdaugh has also been sentenced in state and federal court, to 27 years and 40 years respectively, on dozens of financial charges stemming from more than a decade of stealing money from clients and his law firm.

He is also appealing his federal sentence for the financial crimes.

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August 14, 2024
Moms on US women’s basketball team enjoy rare moments chasing Olympic history

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Breanna Stewart and the other moms on the U.S. women’s basketball team are enjoying some special moments while chasing Olympic history.Related video above: How Are Olympians Paid?In addition to trying to become the first Olympic team — male or female — to win eight consecutive gold medals, they are having a rare bonding experience at the Paris Games.The Americans will play Australia on Friday in the semifinals, looking to extend the program’s winning streak to 60 straight games and reach Sunday’s gold medal game.But they have an important appointment before the game: A birthday party Stewart’s daughter Ruby, who turns 3 on Friday.“There’s a ton of kids with our Team USA group,” said Stewart, a two-time gold medalist. “So I’m sure we’ll find something fun. Very Paw Patrol-like, but it’ll just be a great day for her. And, you know, for us, we’ll just be continuing on our journey.”These games are very different than the last Olympics. The 2021 Tokyo Games were held under strict pandemic protocols, and these women aren’t the only parents who’ve brought their children with them to Paris.In Tokyo, the U.S. women’s basketball team had only two mothers on the team: Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins-Smith. Now there’s five parents: four moms and one “Pops” as two-time gold medalist Brittney Griner prefers to be called as the newest member with her wife giving birth to a boy just a couple weeks before the team headed to Europe.Napheesa Collier said the children are making the Paris Games even more special. With families and nannies helping, the children held their own Olympics when the team was busy in group play. Collier’s 2-year-old daughter, Mila Bazzel, missed out on competing.“My daughter was sleeping, so we missed it,” Collier said. “It was during that time. But it’s really fun to have all of them … around.”Chelsea Gray and her wife have a baby boy. Taurasi and wife — former Australian Olympian and WNBA All-Star Penny Taylor — have two children: a boy and a girl. Stewart also has two children with her wife, retired Spanish basketball player Marta Xargay with baby boy Theo their second.With the U.S. women staying in Paris and commuting to Lille for group games, tipoff coincided with bedtime. Now that the medal-round games are in Paris, Taylor brought their children to Wednesday night’s win over Nigeria sitting a few rows behind the U.S. bench and Taurasi.For Stewart, the best part is knowing this isn’t the last time these children will hang together. And not just at future USA Basketball events or possible upcoming Olympics.“They’re just going to continue to grow with one another,” Stewart said. “But also, we all feel the same mom life as well. So like being great on and off the court and understanding, you know, how difficult that is.”That’s the lesson Olympic newcomer Sabrina Ionescu — who doesn’t have a child herself but is a self-described “kid magnet.” She appreciates how her teammates regularly manage work and childcare.These women have their children around while competing not only against the world but history. The only other team to win seven straight gold medals were the U.S. men’s basketball program between 1936 and 1968.The U.S. has the challenge of sustaining a standard started after its last Olympic women’s basketball loss in Barcelona in 1992. Ionescu said it’s been amazing to watch these moms chase gold, then immediately flip the switch from work to parenting.“They go back to the hotel, and they’re full-time moms,” Ionescu said. “Like they don’t get a break. And it’s really, really like amazing. You can’t really put into words like how strong these women are.”Collier is using her cell phone constantly to document this experience knowing her daughter won’t remember anything.“I take so many pictures and videos of her and us here, to help tell the story of that. … the best I can,” Collier said. “She’ll know what the Olympics is. so it’ll be easy to explain that part. But for her, it’ll be normal.”For U.S. coach Cheryl Reeve, this is part of basketball’s evolution of supporting women on and off the court. The coach of the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx has seen that league and players negotiate for better policies helping players with maternity leave and child care.“We’re evolving as a society I think in terms of what’s acceptable, what women can do, and women are obviously showing us that we can be anything,” Reeve said. “And we do. The harder it is, the more women are stepping up and doing it.”Having children along with families eases the tension of the high expectations on the court and feeling like the world is waiting for a U.S. misstep. Most of the children have better things to do than watch mom play.“I think they’d rather go to a playground or something,” Stewart said, “but it’s it’s great to have them here.”

PARIS —

Breanna Stewart and the other moms on the U.S. women’s basketball team are enjoying some special moments while chasing Olympic history.

Related video above: How Are Olympians Paid?

In addition to trying to become the first Olympic team — male or female — to win eight consecutive gold medals, they are having a rare bonding experience at the Paris Games.

The Americans will play Australia on Friday in the semifinals, looking to extend the program’s winning streak to 60 straight games and reach Sunday’s gold medal game.

But they have an important appointment before the game: A birthday party Stewart’s daughter Ruby, who turns 3 on Friday.

“There’s a ton of kids with our Team USA group,” said Stewart, a two-time gold medalist. “So I’m sure we’ll find something fun. Very Paw Patrol-like, but it’ll just be a great day for her. And, you know, for us, we’ll just be continuing on our journey.”

These games are very different than the last Olympics. The 2021 Tokyo Games were held under strict pandemic protocols, and these women aren’t the only parents who’ve brought their children with them to Paris.

In Tokyo, the U.S. women’s basketball team had only two mothers on the team: Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins-Smith. Now there’s five parents: four moms and one “Pops” as two-time gold medalist Brittney Griner prefers to be called as the newest member with her wife giving birth to a boy just a couple weeks before the team headed to Europe.

Napheesa Collier said the children are making the Paris Games even more special. With families and nannies helping, the children held their own Olympics when the team was busy in group play. Collier’s 2-year-old daughter, Mila Bazzel, missed out on competing.

“My daughter was sleeping, so we missed it,” Collier said. “It was during that time. But it’s really fun to have all of them … around.”

Chelsea Gray and her wife have a baby boy. Taurasi and wife — former Australian Olympian and WNBA All-Star Penny Taylor — have two children: a boy and a girl. Stewart also has two children with her wife, retired Spanish basketball player Marta Xargay with baby boy Theo their second.

With the U.S. women staying in Paris and commuting to Lille for group games, tipoff coincided with bedtime. Now that the medal-round games are in Paris, Taylor brought their children to Wednesday night’s win over Nigeria sitting a few rows behind the U.S. bench and Taurasi.

For Stewart, the best part is knowing this isn’t the last time these children will hang together. And not just at future USA Basketball events or possible upcoming Olympics.

“They’re just going to continue to grow with one another,” Stewart said. “But also, we all feel the same mom life as well. So like being great on and off the court and understanding, you know, how difficult that is.”

That’s the lesson Olympic newcomer Sabrina Ionescu — who doesn’t have a child herself but is a self-described “kid magnet.” She appreciates how her teammates regularly manage work and childcare.

These women have their children around while competing not only against the world but history. The only other team to win seven straight gold medals were the U.S. men’s basketball program between 1936 and 1968.

The U.S. has the challenge of sustaining a standard started after its last Olympic women’s basketball loss in Barcelona in 1992. Ionescu said it’s been amazing to watch these moms chase gold, then immediately flip the switch from work to parenting.

“They go back to the hotel, and they’re full-time moms,” Ionescu said. “Like they don’t get a break. And it’s really, really like amazing. You can’t really put into words like how strong these women are.”

Collier is using her cell phone constantly to document this experience knowing her daughter won’t remember anything.

“I take so many pictures and videos of her and us here, to help tell the story of that. … the best I can,” Collier said. “She’ll know what the Olympics is. so it’ll be easy to explain that part. But for her, it’ll be normal.”

For U.S. coach Cheryl Reeve, this is part of basketball’s evolution of supporting women on and off the court. The coach of the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx has seen that league and players negotiate for better policies helping players with maternity leave and child care.

“We’re evolving as a society I think in terms of what’s acceptable, what women can do, and women are obviously showing us that we can be anything,” Reeve said. “And we do. The harder it is, the more women are stepping up and doing it.”

Having children along with families eases the tension of the high expectations on the court and feeling like the world is waiting for a U.S. misstep. Most of the children have better things to do than watch mom play.

“I think they’d rather go to a playground or something,” Stewart said, “but it’s it’s great to have them here.”

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August 8, 2024
5 people killed in helicopter crash in mountains northwest of Nepal’s capital

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All five people on board a helicopter were killed when it crashed Wednesday in the mountains just northwest of Nepal’s capital, authorities said.The bodies of four men and a woman were pulled from the wreckage, said Krishna Prasad Humagai, the government administrator of Nuwakot district.Police and army rescuers reached the area and two rescue helicopters were also sent to assist in the operation, the official said.The crash site is in the Suryachaur area, which is just northwest of Kathmandu, and is on a mountain covered by forest.The helicopter had taken off from Kathmandu international airport at 1:54 p.m. local time and was heading towards the town of Syaprubeshi.The helicopter, an Eurocopter AS350 belonging to Nepal-based Air Dynasty, had lost contact with the tower just three minutes after takeoff, according to a statement from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.The four passengers are Chinese nationals, and the pilot is a Nepali man, officials said.The crash came two weeks after a passenger plane crashed just after taking off from the Kathmandu airport, killing 18 people and injuring a pilot, who was the lone survivor.All the people onboard the Saurya Airlines flight, including the co-pilot, were Nepali except for one passenger, who was a Yemeni national.A government investigation has been ordered into the crash of the Bombardier CRJ 200 plane, which was heading to Nepal’s second-most populous city of Pokhara for maintenance work. Most of the passengers aboard were either mechanics or airline employees, airport officials said.The pilot, who has injuries to his eyes, has returned home from a hospital.

KATHMANDU, Nepal —

All five people on board a helicopter were killed when it crashed Wednesday in the mountains just northwest of Nepal’s capital, authorities said.

The bodies of four men and a woman were pulled from the wreckage, said Krishna Prasad Humagai, the government administrator of Nuwakot district.

Police and army rescuers reached the area and two rescue helicopters were also sent to assist in the operation, the official said.

The crash site is in the Suryachaur area, which is just northwest of Kathmandu, and is on a mountain covered by forest.

The helicopter had taken off from Kathmandu international airport at 1:54 p.m. local time and was heading towards the town of Syaprubeshi.

The helicopter, an Eurocopter AS350 belonging to Nepal-based Air Dynasty, had lost contact with the tower just three minutes after takeoff, according to a statement from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.

The four passengers are Chinese nationals, and the pilot is a Nepali man, officials said.

The crash came two weeks after a passenger plane crashed just after taking off from the Kathmandu airport, killing 18 people and injuring a pilot, who was the lone survivor.

All the people onboard the Saurya Airlines flight, including the co-pilot, were Nepali except for one passenger, who was a Yemeni national.

A government investigation has been ordered into the crash of the Bombardier CRJ 200 plane, which was heading to Nepal’s second-most populous city of Pokhara for maintenance work. Most of the passengers aboard were either mechanics or airline employees, airport officials said.

The pilot, who has injuries to his eyes, has returned home from a hospital.

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August 7, 2024
LIVE: Witness testifies about blowout on a Boeing 737 Max earlier this year

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Investigators are questioning Boeing officials in hearings this week about the midflight blowout of a panel from a 737 Max, an accident that further tarnished the company’s safety reputation and left it facing new legal jeopardy. Watch a livestream of the hearing in the video player above.The National Transportation Safety Board’s two-day hearing, which began Tuesday morning, could provide new insight into the Jan. 5 accident that caused a loud boom and left a gaping hole in the side of the Alaska Airlines jet.“This was quite traumatic to the crew and passengers,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said as the hearing began Tuesday, speaking to anyone who may have been on the flight or knew someone aboard. “We are so sorry for all that you experienced during this very traumatic event.”The NTSB said in a preliminary report that four bolts that help secure the panel, which is call a door plug, were not replaced after a repair job in a Boeing factory, but the company has said the work was not documented. During the hearing, safety board members are expected to question Boeing officials about the lack of paperwork that might have explained how such a potentially tragic mistake occurred.“The NTSB wants to fill in the gaps of what is known about this incident and to put people on the record about it,” said John Goglia, a former NTSB member. The agency will be looking to underscore Boeing’s failures in following the process it had told the Federal Aviation Administration it was going to use in such cases, he said.Video below: NTSB hearing on Boeing door plug blowout begins with vow from chair: ‘We will not leave until all questions are asked’The safety board will not determine a probable cause after the hearing. That could take another year or longer. It is calling the unusually long hearing a “fact-finding” step.The first witnesses called Tuesday included Elizabeth Lund, Boeing’s senior vice president of quality — a new position — since February.Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems installed the door plug, a panel on many 737s that fills a cutout left for an extra exit required on some planes. The plug on the Alaska Airlines jet was removed and the bolts taken off in a Boeing factory to repair rivets.Witnesses for Spirit and Boeing testified about safety systems and inspection processes. Lund said production of Max jets dropped below 10 per month after the Alaska Airlines blowout and has increased. but remains under 30 per month.Video below: NTSB chair blasts Boeing during hearing: ‘This is not a PR campaign for Boeing’Later Tuesday, witnesses are expected to testify about the opening and closing of the door plug and the FAA’s oversight of Boeing.FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker has conceded that his agency’s oversight of the company “was too hands-off — too focused on paperwork audits and not focused enough on inspections.” He has said that is changing.The plane involved had been delivered to Alaska Airlines in late October and had made only about 150 flights. The airline stopped using the plane on flights to Hawaii after a warning light indicating a possible pressurization problem lit up on three different flights.The accident on flight 1282 occurred minutes after takeoff from Portland, Oregon, as the plane flew at 16,000 feet (4,800 meters). Oxygen masks dropped during the rapid decompression, a few cell phones and other objects were swept through the hole in the plane, passengers were terrified by wind and roaring noise, but miraculously there were no major injuries. Homendy said Tuesday that seven passengers and one flight attendant received minor physical injuries. The pilots landed safely back in Portland. The door plug was found in a high school science teacher’s backyard in Cedar Hills, Oregon.No one from the airline was called to testify this week before the NTSB. Goglia, the former safety board member, said that indicates the agency has determined “that Alaska has no dirty hands in this.”Tension remains high between the NTSB and Boeing, however. Two months after the accident, board Chair Jennifer Homendy and Boeing got into a public argument over whether the company was cooperating with investigators.That spat was largely smoothed over, but in June a Boeing executive angered the board by discussing the investigation with reporters and — even worse in the agency’s view — suggesting that the NTSB was interested in finding someone to blame for the blowout.NTSB officials see their role as identifying the cause of accidents to prevent similar ones in the future. They are not prosecutors, and they fear that witnesses won’t come forward if they think NTSB is looking for culprits. So the NTSB issued a subpoena for Boeing representatives while stripping the company of its customary right to ask questions during the hearing.The accident led to several investigations of Boeing, most of which are still underway.The FBI has told passengers on the Alaska Airlines flight that they might be victims of a crime. The Justice Department pushed Boeing to plead guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud after finding that it failed to live up to a previous settlement related to regulatory approval of the Max.Boeing, which has yet to recover financially from two deadly crashes of Max jets in 2018 and 2019, has lost more than $25 billion since the start of 2019. Later this week, the company will get its third chief executive in 4 1/2 years.Testimony from NTSB hearings is not admissible in court, but lawyers suing Boeing over this and other accidents will be watching, knowing that they can seek depositions from witnesses to cover the same ground.“Our cases are already solid — door plugs shouldn’t blow out during a flight,” said one of those lawyers, Mark Lindquist of Seattle. “Our cases grow even stronger, however, if the blowout was the result of habitually shoddy practices. Are jurors going to see this as negligence or something worse?”

WASHINGTON —

Investigators are questioning Boeing officials in hearings this week about the midflight blowout of a panel from a 737 Max, an accident that further tarnished the company’s safety reputation and left it facing new legal jeopardy.

Watch a livestream of the hearing in the video player above.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s two-day hearing, which began Tuesday morning, could provide new insight into the Jan. 5 accident that caused a loud boom and left a gaping hole in the side of the Alaska Airlines jet.

“This was quite traumatic to the crew and passengers,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said as the hearing began Tuesday, speaking to anyone who may have been on the flight or knew someone aboard. “We are so sorry for all that you experienced during this very traumatic event.”

The NTSB said in a preliminary report that four bolts that help secure the panel, which is call a door plug, were not replaced after a repair job in a Boeing factory, but the company has said the work was not documented. During the hearing, safety board members are expected to question Boeing officials about the lack of paperwork that might have explained how such a potentially tragic mistake occurred.

“The NTSB wants to fill in the gaps of what is known about this incident and to put people on the record about it,” said John Goglia, a former NTSB member. The agency will be looking to underscore Boeing’s failures in following the process it had told the Federal Aviation Administration it was going to use in such cases, he said.

Video below: NTSB hearing on Boeing door plug blowout begins with vow from chair: ‘We will not leave until all questions are asked’

The safety board will not determine a probable cause after the hearing. That could take another year or longer. It is calling the unusually long hearing a “fact-finding” step.

The first witnesses called Tuesday included Elizabeth Lund, Boeing’s senior vice president of quality — a new position — since February.

Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems installed the door plug, a panel on many 737s that fills a cutout left for an extra exit required on some planes. The plug on the Alaska Airlines jet was removed and the bolts taken off in a Boeing factory to repair rivets.

Witnesses for Spirit and Boeing testified about safety systems and inspection processes. Lund said production of Max jets dropped below 10 per month after the Alaska Airlines blowout and has increased. but remains under 30 per month.

Video below: NTSB chair blasts Boeing during hearing: ‘This is not a PR campaign for Boeing’

Later Tuesday, witnesses are expected to testify about the opening and closing of the door plug and the FAA’s oversight of Boeing.

FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker has conceded that his agency’s oversight of the company “was too hands-off — too focused on paperwork audits and not focused enough on inspections.” He has said that is changing.

The plane involved had been delivered to Alaska Airlines in late October and had made only about 150 flights. The airline stopped using the plane on flights to Hawaii after a warning light indicating a possible pressurization problem lit up on three different flights.

The accident on flight 1282 occurred minutes after takeoff from Portland, Oregon, as the plane flew at 16,000 feet (4,800 meters). Oxygen masks dropped during the rapid decompression, a few cell phones and other objects were swept through the hole in the plane, passengers were terrified by wind and roaring noise, but miraculously there were no major injuries. Homendy said Tuesday that seven passengers and one flight attendant received minor physical injuries.

The pilots landed safely back in Portland. The door plug was found in a high school science teacher’s backyard in Cedar Hills, Oregon.

No one from the airline was called to testify this week before the NTSB. Goglia, the former safety board member, said that indicates the agency has determined “that Alaska has no dirty hands in this.”

Tension remains high between the NTSB and Boeing, however. Two months after the accident, board Chair Jennifer Homendy and Boeing got into a public argument over whether the company was cooperating with investigators.

That spat was largely smoothed over, but in June a Boeing executive angered the board by discussing the investigation with reporters and — even worse in the agency’s view — suggesting that the NTSB was interested in finding someone to blame for the blowout.

NTSB officials see their role as identifying the cause of accidents to prevent similar ones in the future. They are not prosecutors, and they fear that witnesses won’t come forward if they think NTSB is looking for culprits.

So the NTSB issued a subpoena for Boeing representatives while stripping the company of its customary right to ask questions during the hearing.

The accident led to several investigations of Boeing, most of which are still underway.

The FBI has told passengers on the Alaska Airlines flight that they might be victims of a crime. The Justice Department pushed Boeing to plead guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud after finding that it failed to live up to a previous settlement related to regulatory approval of the Max.

Boeing, which has yet to recover financially from two deadly crashes of Max jets in 2018 and 2019, has lost more than $25 billion since the start of 2019. Later this week, the company will get its third chief executive in 4 1/2 years.

Testimony from NTSB hearings is not admissible in court, but lawyers suing Boeing over this and other accidents will be watching, knowing that they can seek depositions from witnesses to cover the same ground.

“Our cases are already solid — door plugs shouldn’t blow out during a flight,” said one of those lawyers, Mark Lindquist of Seattle. “Our cases grow even stronger, however, if the blowout was the result of habitually shoddy practices. Are jurors going to see this as negligence or something worse?”

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August 6, 2024
Israeli airstrike hits Beirut and kills 1 person in escalating tensions with Hezbollah

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Israel carried out a rare strike on Beirut Tuesday, killing at least one person and raising the stakes in the escalating tensions with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.Video above: State Department says US not currently planning to evacuate US citizens from LebanonThe Israeli military said the strike targeted the militant commander allegedly behind the deaths of 12 children and teens in a weekend rocket attack on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, as well as the deaths of numerous Israeli civilians hit in other strikes.Israel has blamed the rocket attack Saturday in the town of Majdal Shams on the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has denied any role. “Hezbollah crossed a red line,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant posted on the platform X shortly after Tuesday’s strike.Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that the strike, carried out with a drone that launched three rockets, killed one woman and wounded several other people, some of them seriously. The wounded were taken to nearby hospitals. Bahman Hospital near the site of the blast called on people to donate blood.It was not immediately clear if the intended target of the strike had been killed or injured.The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately release a statement, but minutes after the strike sent a photo of the prime minister with his national security advisor and other officials.A Hezbollah official and the group’s TV station said that an Israeli airstrike hit Hezbollah’s stronghold south of Beirut on Tuesday evening, causing damage.The airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburb of Haret Hreik damaged several buildings but it was not immediately clear if any Hezbollah official was hit, the Hezbollah official said on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.The strike hit an apartment building next to a hospital, collapsing half of the targeted building. The hospital sustained minor damages, while the surrounding streets were littered with debris and broken glass. Paramedics could be seen carrying several injured people out of the damaged buildings. It was not immediately clear if anyone had been killed.A resident of the suburb whose home is about 200 meters (yards) away said that dust from the explosion “covered everything,” and that the glass in his son’s apartment was broken.“Then people went down on the streets,” he said. “Everyone has family. They went to check on them. It was a lot of destruction.” He spoke on condition of anonymity out of concerns about his security at a tense moment.The last time Israel targeted Beirut was in January, when an airstrike killed a top Hamas official, Saleh Arouri. That strike was the first time Israel had hit Beirut since the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006.

TEL AVIV, Israel —

Israel carried out a rare strike on Beirut Tuesday, killing at least one person and raising the stakes in the escalating tensions with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Video above: State Department says US not currently planning to evacuate US citizens from Lebanon

The Israeli military said the strike targeted the militant commander allegedly behind the deaths of 12 children and teens in a weekend rocket attack on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, as well as the deaths of numerous Israeli civilians hit in other strikes.

Israel has blamed the rocket attack Saturday in the town of Majdal Shams on the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has denied any role. “Hezbollah crossed a red line,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant posted on the platform X shortly after Tuesday’s strike.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that the strike, carried out with a drone that launched three rockets, killed one woman and wounded several other people, some of them seriously. The wounded were taken to nearby hospitals. Bahman Hospital near the site of the blast called on people to donate blood.

It was not immediately clear if the intended target of the strike had been killed or injured.

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately release a statement, but minutes after the strike sent a photo of the prime minister with his national security advisor and other officials.

A Hezbollah official and the group’s TV station said that an Israeli airstrike hit Hezbollah’s stronghold south of Beirut on Tuesday evening, causing damage.

The airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburb of Haret Hreik damaged several buildings but it was not immediately clear if any Hezbollah official was hit, the Hezbollah official said on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

The strike hit an apartment building next to a hospital, collapsing half of the targeted building. The hospital sustained minor damages, while the surrounding streets were littered with debris and broken glass. Paramedics could be seen carrying several injured people out of the damaged buildings. It was not immediately clear if anyone had been killed.

A resident of the suburb whose home is about 200 meters (yards) away said that dust from the explosion “covered everything,” and that the glass in his son’s apartment was broken.

“Then people went down on the streets,” he said. “Everyone has family. They went to check on them. It was a lot of destruction.” He spoke on condition of anonymity out of concerns about his security at a tense moment.

The last time Israel targeted Beirut was in January, when an airstrike killed a top Hamas official, Saleh Arouri. That strike was the first time Israel had hit Beirut since the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006.

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July 30, 2024
Russia seeks 18-year prison sentence for US reporter on trial on espionage charges

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Russian prosecutors sought a prison sentence of 18 years on Friday for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is on trial on espionage charges that his employer and the U.S. have denounced as fabricated.Video above: State Department comments on Evan GershkovichGershkovich, 32, was arrested March 29, 2023, while on a reporting trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. Authorities claimed, without offering any evidence, that he was gathering secret information for the U.S. He pleaded not guilty, according to the court, and The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government have called the trial a sham.Gershkovich appeared in court for a second straight day Friday as the closed-door proceedings in Russia’s highly politicized legal system picked up speed. A verdict is expected later in the day, according to court officials.Unlike previous sessions in which reporters were allowed to see Gershkovich briefly before sessions began, there was no access to the courtroom this week and he was not seen, with no explanation given. Espionage and treason cases are typically shrouded in secrecy.Court officials said the prosecutors requested an 18-year sentence in a high-security prison during closing arguments. Russian courts convict more than 99% of defendants, and prosecutors can appeal sentences that they regard as too lenient. They even can appeal acquittals.“Evan’s wrongful detention has been an outrage since his unjust arrest 477 days ago, and it must end now,” the Journal said Thursday in a statement. “Even as Russia orchestrates its shameful sham trial, we continue to do everything we can to push for Evan’s immediate release and to state unequivocally: Evan was doing his job as a journalist, and journalism is not a crime. Bring him home now.”The U.S. State Department has declared Gershkovich “wrongfully detained,” committing the government to assertively seek his release.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday at the United Nations that Moscow and Washington’s “special services” are discussing an exchange involving Gershkovich. Russia has previously signaled the possibility of a swap, but it says a verdict would have to come first. Even after a verdict, any such deal could take months or years.State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel on Thursday declined to discuss negotiations about a possible exchange, but said: “We have been clear from the get-go that Evan did nothing wrong and should not have been detained. To date, Russia has provided no evidence of a crime and has failed to justify Evan’s continued detention.”Gershkovich’s trial began June 26 in Yekaterinburg after he spent about 15 months in in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo Prison.The Russian Prosecutor General’s office said last month the journalist is accused of “gathering secret information” on orders from the CIA about Uralvagonzavod, a plant about 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Yekaterinburg that produces and repairs tanks and other military equipment.Lavrov on Wednesday reaffirmed the Kremlin claim that the government has “irrefutable evidence” against Gershkovich, although neither he nor any other Russian official has ever disclosed it.Gershkovich’s employer and U.S. officials have dismissed the charges as phony.“Evan has never been employed by the United States government. Evan is not a spy. Journalism is not a crime. And Evan should never have been detained in the first place,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said last month.Russia’s interpretation of what constitutes high crimes like espionage and treason is broad, with authorities often going after people who share publicly available information with foreigners and accusing them of divulging state secrets.Earlier this month, U.N. human rights experts said Russia violated international law by jailing Gershkovich and should release him “immediately.”Arrests of Americans are increasingly common in Russia, with nine U.S. citizens known to be detained there as tensions between the two countries have escalated over fighting in Ukraine.U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield accused Moscow of treating “human beings as bargaining chips.” She singled out Gershkovich and ex-Marine Paul Whelan, 53, a corporate security director from Michigan, who is serving a 16-year sentence after being convicted on spying charges that he and the U.S. denied.

YEKATERINBURG, Russia —

Russian prosecutors sought a prison sentence of 18 years on Friday for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is on trial on espionage charges that his employer and the U.S. have denounced as fabricated.

Video above: State Department comments on Evan Gershkovich

Gershkovich, 32, was arrested March 29, 2023, while on a reporting trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. Authorities claimed, without offering any evidence, that he was gathering secret information for the U.S. He pleaded not guilty, according to the court, and The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government have called the trial a sham.

Gershkovich appeared in court for a second straight day Friday as the closed-door proceedings in Russia’s highly politicized legal system picked up speed. A verdict is expected later in the day, according to court officials.

Unlike previous sessions in which reporters were allowed to see Gershkovich briefly before sessions began, there was no access to the courtroom this week and he was not seen, with no explanation given. Espionage and treason cases are typically shrouded in secrecy.

Court officials said the prosecutors requested an 18-year sentence in a high-security prison during closing arguments. Russian courts convict more than 99% of defendants, and prosecutors can appeal sentences that they regard as too lenient. They even can appeal acquittals.

“Evan’s wrongful detention has been an outrage since his unjust arrest 477 days ago, and it must end now,” the Journal said Thursday in a statement. “Even as Russia orchestrates its shameful sham trial, we continue to do everything we can to push for Evan’s immediate release and to state unequivocally: Evan was doing his job as a journalist, and journalism is not a crime. Bring him home now.”

The U.S. State Department has declared Gershkovich “wrongfully detained,” committing the government to assertively seek his release.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday at the United Nations that Moscow and Washington’s “special services” are discussing an exchange involving Gershkovich. Russia has previously signaled the possibility of a swap, but it says a verdict would have to come first. Even after a verdict, any such deal could take months or years.

State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel on Thursday declined to discuss negotiations about a possible exchange, but said: “We have been clear from the get-go that Evan did nothing wrong and should not have been detained. To date, Russia has provided no evidence of a crime and has failed to justify Evan’s continued detention.”

Gershkovich’s trial began June 26 in Yekaterinburg after he spent about 15 months in in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo Prison.

The Russian Prosecutor General’s office said last month the journalist is accused of “gathering secret information” on orders from the CIA about Uralvagonzavod, a plant about 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Yekaterinburg that produces and repairs tanks and other military equipment.

Lavrov on Wednesday reaffirmed the Kremlin claim that the government has “irrefutable evidence” against Gershkovich, although neither he nor any other Russian official has ever disclosed it.

Gershkovich’s employer and U.S. officials have dismissed the charges as phony.

“Evan has never been employed by the United States government. Evan is not a spy. Journalism is not a crime. And Evan should never have been detained in the first place,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said last month.

Russia’s interpretation of what constitutes high crimes like espionage and treason is broad, with authorities often going after people who share publicly available information with foreigners and accusing them of divulging state secrets.

Earlier this month, U.N. human rights experts said Russia violated international law by jailing Gershkovich and should release him “immediately.”

Arrests of Americans are increasingly common in Russia, with nine U.S. citizens known to be detained there as tensions between the two countries have escalated over fighting in Ukraine.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield accused Moscow of treating “human beings as bargaining chips.” She singled out Gershkovich and ex-Marine Paul Whelan, 53, a corporate security director from Michigan, who is serving a 16-year sentence after being convicted on spying charges that he and the U.S. denied.

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July 19, 2024
Trump accepts GOP nomination at RNC, describes assassination attempt in personal detail
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Donald Trump took the stage Thursday at the Republican National Convention to accept his party’s nomination again and give his first speech since he was cut off mid-sentence by a flurry of gunfire in an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.Trump’s address concludes the four-day convention in Milwaukee. He appeared each of the first three days with a white bandage on his ear, covering a wound he sustained in the Saturday shooting.Trump concludes speech after more than an hour and a halfTrump concluded his speech after more than an hour and a half, leading the crowd in a change to “Make America Great Again” as he closed it out.Melania Trump joined him on stage after he finished, and the band struck up, “Hold On, I’m Coming,” a song Trump frequently plays at the end of his campaign rallies.The Trump family the joined him on stage, including his daughter, Ivanka, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner. While they joined him at the White House, the couple has not been a part of his campaign.Red, white and blue balloons are dropping over the conventionThe crowd has settled into their seatsMany of the delegates were seated, as Trump’s speech passed 75 minutes, with occasional standing ovations, only to take their seats again.About half of Texas’ large delegation was noticeably seated (their cowboy hats give them away).Instead, the speech had settled into a typical Trump conversation with the audience in the room, broken by regular polite applause.But when he said, “We won’t have men playing in women’s sports,” a buzzword for the right, many of the delegation rose to its feet in raucous cheers.The Trump administration worked to dismantle the US refugee agencyTrump made a series of sporadic remarks about the two-decade war in Afghanistan, saying that he had negotiated a great deal with the Taliban before leaving office. But despite the chaotic withdrawal by the Biden administration in August 2021, there is no way to prove that a Trump administration would have done anything differently.The U.S. mounted a massive evacuation program to get Americans and Afghans who had served with U.S. forces in Afghanistan out. That project continues to this day and while there is no way to know if a Trump administration would have been more successful, the Trump administration had spent four years dismantling the U.S. refugee acceptance agency and making it more difficult for Afghans and others to enter the United States.Trump says Orbán wants him back in officeTrump cited Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a champion of “illiberal democracy” in his country. Trump has considered it a character reference.Orbán, who has endorsed Trump, is Russia’s closest ally in the European Union and is also close to China. He’s also fought against immigration and LGBTQ+ rights and his party has rewritten the nation’s constitution to give it control of the media and judiciary.“Viktor Orbán, prime minister of Hungary, very tough guy,” Trump said. He said Orbán, a repeat visitor to Trump’s Florida compound Mar-a-Lago — including one last week shortly after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin — was asked why the world seemed to be in chaos.Trump quoted Orbán as saying, “There’s only one way you can solve it. You’ve got to bring President Trump back.”“Russia was afraid of him. China was afraid of him,” Trump quoted the Hungarian prime minister as saying. “The whole world was at peace.”Trump returns to repeating immigration falsehoodsTrump has returned to his signature topic, immigration, and his plans to launch what he says will be the largest deportation operation in American history.“It is an invasion, indeed,” Trump said, using language that has been criticized for dehumanizing migrants.Trump is again alleging that migrants “are coming from prisons, they’re coming from jails, they’re coming from mental institutions and asylums,” even though there is no evidence countries are sending their criminals or mentally ill across the border, as he alleges.“We’ve become a dumping ground for the rest of the world, which is laughing at us. They think we’re stupid,” he said.‘Without that chart, I would not be here today’As he entered the second hour of his speech, Trump launched into his regular riff on Biden’s border policy and then stopped, realizing he was directing the audience’s attention to the same chart he posted Saturday just as gunfire broke out.“Look at the chart that saved my life,” Trump said as a chart of detentions at the border under his and Biden’s administration displayed on the arena’s screens. The chart shows a major spike under Biden.“Without that chart, I would not be here today.”Trump refrains from mentioning Biden by name for 45 minutesIt took Trump 45 minutes of his nomination acceptance speech to mention his opponent by name, twice noting “the previous administration,” but not using his well-worn nickname “Crooked Joe.” It’s a sign of what is a more subdued speech, the tone of which was set by a somber telling of the assassination attempt Saturday.When he finally mentioned Biden’s name, he did so only once — and pledged to keep it that way.The misspelling on Comperatore’s jacket was not Trump’s doingThe name of Corey Comperatore, the former fire chief killed at the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, is misspelled on the jacket brought to the convention stage. But that was not Trump’s doing. The Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company confirmed it was his gear and that it was sent to Trump, which the former president shared in his speech.While the volunteer fire department gave no reason for the misspelling, it responded to a reader who pointed out the mistake on its Facebook page, noting that it “was in error years ago, and it was left that way by Corey.” Saying the quiet part out loudTrump tried to make amends with the city hosting the RNC on Thursday. After criticizing Milwaukee as “a horrible city” during a private meeting last month, the former president thanked the city for hosting Republicans this year.He also made a plea for electoral support from the key battleground state of Wisconsin, saying that a second Trump term would heavily invest in jobs here. “I hope you remember this in November and give us your vote,” he said to a roaring crowd. “I am trying to buy your vote.” Trump said that he’s ‘beaten’ his indictments but the truth is more complicatedIt’s true that one case was dismissed this week, but he was also convicted in May in his hush money trial in New York. Though his two other prosecutions, both having to do with plotting to overturn the 2020 election, won’t go to trial before November, both remain pending.Trump also touted the ruling by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that threw out his classified documents case.He praised Cannon, whom he appointed, as highly regarded even though many legal experts have faulted her handling of the case and criticized her stunning ruling finding that special counsel Jack Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional. The decision had nothing to do with the merits of the case.Trump’s speech turns to familiar terrainAfter soberly recounting his harrowing assassination attempt and mourning those lost and wounded, Trump began to enter familiar terrain. He called for the country to unify and then said the best way to do that would be for Democrats to drop criminal cases against him.“We must not criminalize dissent or demonize political disagreement, which is what’s been happening in our country lately at a level that nobody has ever seen before,” Trump said.“And in that spirit, the Democrat Party should immediately stop weaponizing the justice system and labeling their political opponent as an enemy of democracy. Especially since that is not true. In fact, I am the one saving democracy for the people of our country.”Two of the cases center around Trump’s attempt to overturn his loss in the 2020 election.Trump kisses Comperatore’s firefighter helmetIn the middle of his remarks, Trump walked to Corey Comperatore’s fire jacket and helmet, which were hanging on a stand behind him. Trump leaned over and kissed Comperatore’s helmet and the crowd applauded. Trump returned to the lectern to continue his speech and thanked the fire department for sending his gear.Trump said that more than $6 million has been raised in a fund to benefit victims’ families.He then asked for a moment of silence in honor of the former fire chief. Trump recalls the assassination attempt against himTrump told the story of what happened to him Saturday when he survived a near assassination attempt.But he says, “You’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s too painful to tell.”Prior to the shot fired at Trump, the former president was talking about immigration and “in order to see the chart” his campaign had prepared, he said, he turned to his right “and was ready to begin.”But instead, he “felt something hit me really, really hard on my right ear.”“I said to myself, ‘Wow, what was that?’” he said. “It can only be a bullet.”Trump said he raised his hand to his ear and saw that it was “covered with blood.”“I immediately knew that it was very serious, that we were under attack,” he said, and proceeded to drop to the ground as bullets continued to fly. He said brave Secret Service agents rushed to the stage “and pounced on top of me so that I would be protected.”“In a certain way, I felt very safe because I had God on my side,” he said. If he hadn’t turned his head, he said, “I would be here tonight.”Images of Trump from the assassination attempt were being displayed on screens behind him, including pictures of him lying down on the stage with Secret Service agents piled on top of him. Trump promises to be ‘a president for all Americans’As he opened his speech, Trump pledged to be “a president for all of America.”It’s a line that Biden has often used against Trump, who’s been long criticized for trying to divide the country into his supporters and their enemies. Now, Trump said, “As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate. We rise together or we fall apart.”He was much more muted than usual as he opened his remarks. He was speaking slower and his voice was softer, a sharp departure from his rallies when he often brought his volume to a roar, cracked jokes and punctuated his remarks with impressions and unrelated anecdotes.References to Trump’s assassination are present on stageAs Trump strode across the stage, two uniformed men wheeled out a firefighter’s jacket that appeared to belong to Corey Comperatore, who was slain during Saturday’s assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.Video below: Trump honors firefighter killed during rally shootingSecret Service officers are lined along the stairs that lead up to the stands. Hundreds of Trump supporters are watching their candidate prepare to speak for the first time since the shooting Saturday.’I’m not supposed to be here,’ Trump tells RNC crowd while recalling assassination attempt“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump told the RNC attendees. The comment was met by chants of “Yes you are!”“Thank you. But I’m not and I’ll tell you, I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God,” Trump said. Trump gives much-anticipated speech at RNC, formally accepts party nominationDonald Trump took the stage to give remarks at the RNC. It’s the first public speech the former president has made since the assassination attempt on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump and vice presidential nominee JD Vance signed the paperwork to officially accept their party’s nomination ahead of the former president’s speech. Dana White, who is the president of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), introduced Trump. Prior to the former president taking the stage, Lee Greenwood played “God Bless the U.S.A.”Kid Rock performsMusician Kid Rock made an explosive entrance on the RNC stage and began singing ’fight! fight!” as the crowd repeated it back to him, a reference to the words Trump shouted after his assassination attempt.He’s sang a remixed song with calls for the crowd to say, “Trump, Trump.” The screens behind him show flames and an American flag.There were a lot of loud songs and speeches this week, but Kid Rock had the RNC arena literally vibrating. The bass during Rock’s pro-Trump song was so loud that it shook dividing walls set up right around the stage where the former president will soon give his prime-time headline address. Melania Trump makes first appearance on RNC floor in MilwaukeeIt is one of the most anticipated moments of the convention. Former first lady Melania Trump has been cheered loudly when mentioned by other speakers during the previous nights, but she finally entered the arena on the final night wearing a red jacket and pencil skirt suit and waving to the crowds.Melania has been largely missing from the campaign trail, missing key moments such as his Super Tuesday victory party and his 78th birthday party last month. She also did not accompany the Republican nominee during his more than month-long hush money trial in New York, with reporters repeatedly asking him at the courthouse “Where’s Melania?”She will not be speaking at the convention. Her office was the one that declined an invitation for Barron Trump to appear as a Florida delegate after the state’s Republican party chose him to join the delegation saying the couple’s youngest son had “prior commitments.”Her presence helps the Republican party show unity, a theme that has emerged more prominently after the attempt on Trump’s life. A day after the attack, Melania issued a statement calling on Americans to “ascend above hate, the vitriol, and the simple-minded ideas that ignite violence.”Franklin Graham is one of the few speakers to acknowledge abortionEvangelist Franklin Graham followed former wrestling icon Hulk Hogan onto the stage, and he smiled at the contrast.“God spared his life,” Graham said of Trump. “And when we go through those experiences, it changes us.”Graham also made a rare allusion to Trump appointing the Supreme Court justices who provided the key votes to overturn Roe v. Wade, a politically touchy subject the convention has avoided.“When he told me and this country that what he was going to do was appoint conservative justices, he did,” Graham said of Trump.Graham also led a prayer for God’s guidance for the country and aid for Trump and running mate JD Vance. Graham added of Vance: “We’re thankful for his strong stand for defending life.” Hulk Hogan takes RNC stageProfessional wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan was among the stars who were out at the RNC on Thursday, and the former WWE star took to the stage to voice his support of Trump.Sporting a red bandana atop his platinum blonde hair, Hulk Hogan took the stage waving an American flag before gesturing to the crowd with moves that he made famous during his wrestling days.In his speech, Hulk Hogan spoke of the electric energy of the crowd.Hogan, who once endorsed former President Barack Obama, used wrestling references to talk about the strength and character of Trump, and referred to Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, as “the greatest tag team.”As Hulk Hogan talked about the rage he felt when seeing the attempted assassination of Trump, Hogan, who was wearing a shirt that featured a wrestling-style image, tore off his shirt. Underneath, he was wearing a Trump-Vance 2024 T-shirt.”I didn’t come here as Hulk Hogan, but I just had to give you a little taste,” the longtime pro-wrestler said.The wrestler, whose real name is Terry Bollea, said he prefers to stay out of politics but felt compelled to speak at the convention and express his support of the former president.“As an entertainer I try to stay out of politics,” Hogan said as he briefly broke character. “I can no longer stay silent. I’m here tonight because I want the world to know that Donald Trump is a real American hero.”Trump and his family reenter the arenaHulk Hogan’s appearance came moments after Trump, who had left the convention floor for a time, reemerged and made his way to his family box at the RNC. He was joined by members of his family, including his adult children, Don Jr. and Ivanka, and his grandchildren. The band keeps vamping for timeThe convention programming was running around half an hour behind schedule during the prime-time show Thursday. The band was playing song after song as the crowd awaited what was expected to be a series of high-profile speeches including Hulk Hogan to Eric Trump Jr., with the former president closing out the night. Democratic Sen. Jon Tester called President Biden to drop out of the presidential raceThe Montana senator is up for reelection this year, hoping to hold onto Democrats’ only congressional seat in the state.“I have worked with President Biden when it has made Montana stronger, and I’ve never been afraid to stand up to him when he is wrong,” Tester told the Daily Montanan. “And while I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek re-election to another term.”He is the second Democratic senator to call for Biden to exit the race. Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont called for Biden to step down earlier this month.Tucker Carlson praises Trump’s reaction to assassination attemptFormer Fox News host Tucker Carlson says that he called Trump hours after Saturday’s assassination attempt and the former president didn’t talk about himself.“He said only how amazed he was and how proud he was of the crowd that didn’t run,” Tucker recounted. “Of course, they didn’t run; his courage gave them heart.”Carlson also said that Trump didn’t try to create division after the attack. “He turned down the most obvious opportunity to inflame the nation,” Carlson said. Country singer Jason Aldean greets Trump at the conventionHow much Trump loves music has come up several times in Thursday’s speeches, and he’s got a country star with him in the box.Jason Aldean is seated with Trump for the RNC’s final night. He and his wife, Brittany, shook hands with Trump and have been spotted speaking with him during the program.Aldean, a Trump supporter, dedicated his song “Try That in a Small Town” to Trump during a recent concert in Nashville following the Pennsylvania assassination attempt.Last year, the music video for the song — which became that summer’s political litmus test — received fervent criticism online, with some claiming the visual is a “dog whistle” and others labeling it “pro-lynching.”In the video, Aldean performed in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, the site of a 1946 race riot and a 1927 mob lynching of an 18-year-old Black teenager named Henry Choate.‘Every attack on President Trump only strengthens our movement,’ Trump attorney and adviser saysAlina Habba, Trump’s attorney and adviser, offered a humanizing portrait of Trump, a man she said “loves this country” and “lifts up those around him.”She told the story of being on the phone with him outside a courthouse when a man on the street yelled, “God Bless you and President Trump!” She said Trump overheard the man and asked her to hand over the phone so he could thank him personally for his support.“The left has tried to demolish Trump, but there is no bulldozer big enough or strong enough to remove the legacy that he has built or the future he has created,” she said, adding, “Every attack on President Trump only strengthens our movement.”She also talked about Saturday’s failed assassination attempt.“So let us not forget that President Trump did not just take a bullet in Butler, Pennsylvania. He has and will continue to take them for each and every one of us.”RNC video uses Ronald Reagan quote from 1980 presidential debateA video that played at the RNC before conservative media personality Tucker Carlson took the stage evoked the voice of late former President Ronald Reagan.The video used Reagan’s words made famous during the 1980 presidential debate against former President Jimmy Carter: “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?”In the video, Reagan asked voters to “ask yourself” if it was “easier” to buy products at the grocery store, if unemployment numbers have risen or fallen, if America is “as respected throughout the world as it was,” and if the nation feels more or less secure than it was four years prior.New York builders attest to Trump’s personal characterNew York builders father and son Steven and Zach Witkoff were among speakers meant to serve as witnesses for Trump as a friend and employer.The former president’s persona has been well-defined after a term in office and a highly public profile since leaving office.The father and son vouched for Trump as a boss and a grandfather.“I have witnessed his leadership in quiet moments,” Steve Witkoff said. “When times are really tough, when he has everything to lose and nothing to gain, Donald Trump is there for you.”Describing pain that was “unbearable,” Steve Wifcoff told of Trump’s outreach after the man’s son died of an opioid overdose.“That’s who he is,” Steven Witcoff said.In a passionate speech, a Detroit pastor speaks in favor of TrumpThe pastor of a Black church in Detroit that Trump visited last month has suggested that the former president came to his congregation to listen and learn.“Could it be that Jesus Christ preserved him for a time such as this?” Lorenzo Sewell, a Detroit pastor, proclaimed, as thousands of delegates cheered and rose to their feet.Sewell made repeated Biblical references, and reminded the crowd that Trump “came to the hood because he cares about average everyday Americans.”Sewell also made several references to the assassination attempt, saying that “if President Donald Trump would have moved just a millimeter,” he would not have been at the convention.Addressing his “Democrat friends,” Sewell asked if they knew of anyone who had been “convicted of 34 counts, raised 53 million dollars in 24 hours and could be the 47th president of America — and he was shot one time. Do you know anybody like that?”Senators night in Trump’s family boxA group of Trump’s most loyal allies in the Senate are seated in the former president’s exclusive box at the RNC on Thursday night. Sens. Mike Lee, Bill Hagerty, and Ted Cruz are filling the seats ahead of the arrival of Trump’s family for his highly anticipated speech. Some Senate hopefuls are also lounging in the area, including Nevada GOP candidate Sam Brown.Donald Trump arrives for the fourth night of the RNCAfter a video montage of the former president dancing at various events to The Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.,” Donald Trump arrived for the fourth night of the convention.With a bandage still covering his ear, Trump entered the floor of the arena to thunderous applause.Trump will speak later as he formally accepts the party’s nomination.Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo takes RNC stageFormer Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is highlighting the foreign policy accomplishments of Trump’s administration, saying, “We put America first every single day.”Pompeo also lashed out at Biden for the disastrous pullout from Afghanistan and blamed him for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Gaza’s attack on Israel.“We can’t trust the Biden administration,” he said.Pompeo, who also served as Trump’s CIA director and represented Kansas in Congress, considered challenging Trump this year for the GOP nomination. But he decided to stay out of the race, saying the time was not right for him and his family. Down the block from the RNC, dozens gather to mourn two deadDown the block from the RNC, about 50 family members and supporters of two Milwaukee men recently killed in separate circumstances rallied and marched to call attention to the two deaths.The event focused on the death of Samuel Sharpe, a homeless man fatally shot Tuesday by out-of-state police officers deployed to Milwaukee for the RNC, as well D’Vontaye Mitchell, who died last month after he was pinned down by security guards at a nearby hotel.The deaths of the two men, both of whom were Black, has inflamed tensions within the city, with Sharpe’s killing in particular focusing scrutiny on the law enforcement approach to the convention.Speaking to dozens of protesters and a phalanx of reporters, Angelique Sharpe attributed her brother’s death to the presence of out-of-state police officers.“I’d rather have the Milwaukee police department who know the people of this community (than) people who have no ties to your community and don’t care nothing about our extended family members down there,” she said.Police officials said Sharpe was shot by five Columbus, Ohio, police officers who spotted him lunging at another man with two knives.At the rally, Angelique Sharpe said her brother suffered from multiple sclerosis and was acting in self-defense against a person who had threatened him in recent days.Professional wrestling and other stars present at RNCThere was some star power as the events of the fourth night of the RNC kicked off. Professional wrestling fans recognized a couple of familiar faces as wrestling icon Hulk Hogan was at the convention. Additionally, Linda McMahon, who is the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), spoke from the stage, appealing to small business owners and others. McMahon, who is married to former WWE CEO Vince McMahon and served in Trump’s cabinet as the U.S. administrator of the Small Business Administration, spoke of her long friendship with the former president, who appeared in several WWE storylines over the years. “He is a good man. He has the heart of a lion and the soul of a warrior,” Linda McMahon said. “I believe if necessary he would stand at the gates of hell to defend our country.”Hogan and Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White were expected to speak at the event, and musician Kid Rock was also set to perform.NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty was also seen at the convention Thursday.‘Everyday American’ is GOP-backing billionaireOne of the “everyday Americans” speaking on behalf of Trump’s campaign is a former Playboy model who’s been listed among the country’s wealthiest self-made women.Wisconsin native Diane Hendricks told delegates how she started off as a single mom who got into real estate, met her husband and “risked everything we had” to start ABC Supply.Their company is the largest wholesale distributor of roofing supplies and one of the largest distributors of siding and windows in North America, with nearly 700 locations across the U.S. and Canada.Hendricks talked about the tens of thousands of jobs she’s helped create in the U.S. and told aspiring entrepreneurs, “if I can make it, you can make it, too.” She also lauded Trump’s business acumen as what the country needs.She’s been a big backer of GOP candidates both in her home state and elsewhere. Forbes lists her estimated net worth above $20 billion.New York builders attest to Trump personal characterNew York builders father and son Steven and Zach Witkoff were among speakers meant to serve as witnesses for Trump as a friend and employer.The former president’s persona has been well-defined after a term in office and a highly public profile since leaving office.The father and son vouched for Trump as a boss and a grandfather.“I have witnessed his leadership in quiet moments,” Steve Witkoff said. “When times are really tough, when he has everything to lose and nothing to gain, Donald Trump is there for you.”Describing pain that was “unbearable,” Steve Wifcoff told of Trump’s outreach after the man’s son died of an opioid overdose.“That’s who he is,” Steven Witcoff said.RNC speeches open with an appeal to voters in swing statesIn the first speech of the night, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican from Montana who is also the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, tried to appeal to voters in states where key Senate races are taking place this year. The GOP has been using the convention to appeal to swing state voters in hopes of retaining control of the House of Representatives and taking back control of the U.S. Senate.Daines attempted to appeal to voters in states like Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada, Ohio and Montana.Trump says he’s rewritten his remarksRepublicans throughout the week in Milwaukee have suggested the combative former president take a gentler tone in light of the shooting and have suggested the crisis provides a chance to de-escalate the divisive political rhetoric that has marked the 2024 campaign.Trump told the Washington Examiner that he had rewritten his acceptance speech in the wake of the Saturday shooting, emphasizing a call for national unity.“The speech I was going to give on Thursday was going to be a humdinger,” he said. “Had this not happened, this would’ve been one of the most incredible speeches,” aimed mostly at the policies of President Joe Biden.“Honestly, it’s going to be a whole different speech now,” he said.Any such dialing down by Trump will come before a delegation, many of whom have been moved by Trump’s own defiant words in the grasp of U.S. Secret Service agents Saturday, and have sparked their echo in the form of chants of “fight, fight, fight.”“I do believe that after going through that his message will be better, and I do think he will appeal to our better emotions,” Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Lawrence Tabas said. “He has an enormous compassion and empathy that doesn’t always come through.”Trump’s family will be at RNC, but not everyone will speakUnlike most national conventions, Trump’s wife Melania and daughter Ivanka who both spoke at the previous two conventions are not expected to address the convention but are expected to attend.Lara Trump, his daughter-in-law, ended the program Tuesday with a speech about Trump’s personal warmth and love for his family. The final day of the RNC is underwayTrump’s moment of survival has shaped the week, even as convention organizers insisted they would continue with their program as planned less than 48 hours after the shooting. Speakers and delegates have repeatedly chanted “Fight, fight, fight!” in homage to Trump’s words as he got to his feet and pumped his fist after Secret Service agents killed the gunman. And some of his supporters have started sporting their own makeshift bandages on the convention floor.Speakers throughout the week have attributed Trump’s survival to divine intervention and paid tribute to victim Corey Comperatore, who died after shielding his wife and daughter from gunfire at the rally.“Instead of a day of celebration, this could have been a day of heartache and mourning,” Trump’s vice presidential pick, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, said in his speech to the convention on Wednesday. Video below: Vice president nominee JD Vance addresses delegates at RNC The convention has tried to give voice to the fear and frustration of conservatives while also trying to promote the former president as a symbol of hope for all voters.The convention has showcased a Republican Party reshaped by Trump since he shocked the GOP establishment and won the hearts of the party’s grassroots on his way to the party’s 2016 nomination. Rivals Trump has vanquished — including Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — put aside their past criticisms and gave him their unqualified support.Even Vance, Trump’s pick to carry his movement into the next generation, was once a fierce critic who suggested in a private message since made public that Trump could be “America’s Hitler.” Notable speakers for RNC Day 4:Eric TrumpSen. Steve Daines, chair of the National Republican Senatorial CommitteeRep. Richard Hudson, chair of the National Republican Congressional CommitteeDiane Hendricks, a billionaire who is the co-founder of ABC SupplyLinda McMahon, the 25th administrator of the Small Business AdministrationFormer Secretary of State Mike PompeoSteve Witkoff, a businessman and developerAlina Habba, Trump’s attorneyTucker CarlsonDana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship
MILWAUKEE —

Donald Trump took the stage Thursday at the Republican National Convention to accept his party’s nomination again and give his first speech since he was cut off mid-sentence by a flurry of gunfire in an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Trump’s address concludes the four-day convention in Milwaukee. He appeared each of the first three days with a white bandage on his ear, covering a wound he sustained in the Saturday shooting.

Trump concludes speech after more than an hour and a half

Trump concluded his speech after more than an hour and a half, leading the crowd in a change to “Make America Great Again” as he closed it out.

Melania Trump joined him on stage after he finished, and the band struck up, “Hold On, I’m Coming,” a song Trump frequently plays at the end of his campaign rallies.

The Trump family the joined him on stage, including his daughter, Ivanka, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner. While they joined him at the White House, the couple has not been a part of his campaign.

Red, white and blue balloons are dropping over the convention

The crowd has settled into their seats

Many of the delegates were seated, as Trump’s speech passed 75 minutes, with occasional standing ovations, only to take their seats again.

About half of Texas’ large delegation was noticeably seated (their cowboy hats give them away).

Instead, the speech had settled into a typical Trump conversation with the audience in the room, broken by regular polite applause.

But when he said, “We won’t have men playing in women’s sports,” a buzzword for the right, many of the delegation rose to its feet in raucous cheers.

The Trump administration worked to dismantle the US refugee agency

Trump made a series of sporadic remarks about the two-decade war in Afghanistan, saying that he had negotiated a great deal with the Taliban before leaving office. But despite the chaotic withdrawal by the Biden administration in August 2021, there is no way to prove that a Trump administration would have done anything differently.

The U.S. mounted a massive evacuation program to get Americans and Afghans who had served with U.S. forces in Afghanistan out. That project continues to this day and while there is no way to know if a Trump administration would have been more successful, the Trump administration had spent four years dismantling the U.S. refugee acceptance agency and making it more difficult for Afghans and others to enter the United States.

Trump says Orbán wants him back in office

Trump cited Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a champion of “illiberal democracy” in his country. Trump has considered it a character reference.

Orbán, who has endorsed Trump, is Russia’s closest ally in the European Union and is also close to China. He’s also fought against immigration and LGBTQ+ rights and his party has rewritten the nation’s constitution to give it control of the media and judiciary.

“Viktor Orbán, prime minister of Hungary, very tough guy,” Trump said. He said Orbán, a repeat visitor to Trump’s Florida compound Mar-a-Lago — including one last week shortly after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin — was asked why the world seemed to be in chaos.

Trump quoted Orbán as saying, “There’s only one way you can solve it. You’ve got to bring President Trump back.”

“Russia was afraid of him. China was afraid of him,” Trump quoted the Hungarian prime minister as saying. “The whole world was at peace.”

Trump returns to repeating immigration falsehoods

Trump has returned to his signature topic, immigration, and his plans to launch what he says will be the largest deportation operation in American history.

“It is an invasion, indeed,” Trump said, using language that has been criticized for dehumanizing migrants.

Trump is again alleging that migrants “are coming from prisons, they’re coming from jails, they’re coming from mental institutions and asylums,” even though there is no evidence countries are sending their criminals or mentally ill across the border, as he alleges.

“We’ve become a dumping ground for the rest of the world, which is laughing at us. They think we’re stupid,” he said.

‘Without that chart, I would not be here today’

As he entered the second hour of his speech, Trump launched into his regular riff on Biden’s border policy and then stopped, realizing he was directing the audience’s attention to the same chart he posted Saturday just as gunfire broke out.

“Look at the chart that saved my life,” Trump said as a chart of detentions at the border under his and Biden’s administration displayed on the arena’s screens. The chart shows a major spike under Biden.

“Without that chart, I would not be here today.”

Trump refrains from mentioning Biden by name for 45 minutes

It took Trump 45 minutes of his nomination acceptance speech to mention his opponent by name, twice noting “the previous administration,” but not using his well-worn nickname “Crooked Joe.” It’s a sign of what is a more subdued speech, the tone of which was set by a somber telling of the assassination attempt Saturday.

When he finally mentioned Biden’s name, he did so only once — and pledged to keep it that way.

The misspelling on Comperatore’s jacket was not Trump’s doing

The name of Corey Comperatore, the former fire chief killed at the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, is misspelled on the jacket brought to the convention stage. But that was not Trump’s doing. The Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company confirmed it was his gear and that it was sent to Trump, which the former president shared in his speech.

While the volunteer fire department gave no reason for the misspelling, it responded to a reader who pointed out the mistake on its Facebook page, noting that it “was in error years ago, and it was left that way by Corey.”

Saying the quiet part out loud

Trump tried to make amends with the city hosting the RNC on Thursday. After criticizing Milwaukee as “a horrible city” during a private meeting last month, the former president thanked the city for hosting Republicans this year.

He also made a plea for electoral support from the key battleground state of Wisconsin, saying that a second Trump term would heavily invest in jobs here. “I hope you remember this in November and give us your vote,” he said to a roaring crowd. “I am trying to buy your vote.”

Trump said that he’s ‘beaten’ his indictments but the truth is more complicated

It’s true that one case was dismissed this week, but he was also convicted in May in his hush money trial in New York. Though his two other prosecutions, both having to do with plotting to overturn the 2020 election, won’t go to trial before November, both remain pending.

Trump also touted the ruling by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that threw out his classified documents case.

He praised Cannon, whom he appointed, as highly regarded even though many legal experts have faulted her handling of the case and criticized her stunning ruling finding that special counsel Jack Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional. The decision had nothing to do with the merits of the case.

Trump’s speech turns to familiar terrain

After soberly recounting his harrowing assassination attempt and mourning those lost and wounded, Trump began to enter familiar terrain. He called for the country to unify and then said the best way to do that would be for Democrats to drop criminal cases against him.

“We must not criminalize dissent or demonize political disagreement, which is what’s been happening in our country lately at a level that nobody has ever seen before,” Trump said.

“And in that spirit, the Democrat Party should immediately stop weaponizing the justice system and labeling their political opponent as an enemy of democracy. Especially since that is not true. In fact, I am the one saving democracy for the people of our country.”

Two of the cases center around Trump’s attempt to overturn his loss in the 2020 election.

Trump kisses Comperatore’s firefighter helmet

In the middle of his remarks, Trump walked to Corey Comperatore’s fire jacket and helmet, which were hanging on a stand behind him. Trump leaned over and kissed Comperatore’s helmet and the crowd applauded. Trump returned to the lectern to continue his speech and thanked the fire department for sending his gear.

Trump said that more than $6 million has been raised in a fund to benefit victims’ families.

He then asked for a moment of silence in honor of the former fire chief.

Trump recalls the assassination attempt against him

Trump told the story of what happened to him Saturday when he survived a near assassination attempt.

But he says, “You’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s too painful to tell.”

Prior to the shot fired at Trump, the former president was talking about immigration and “in order to see the chart” his campaign had prepared, he said, he turned to his right “and was ready to begin.”

But instead, he “felt something hit me really, really hard on my right ear.”

“I said to myself, ‘Wow, what was that?’” he said. “It can only be a bullet.”

Trump said he raised his hand to his ear and saw that it was “covered with blood.”

“I immediately knew that it was very serious, that we were under attack,” he said, and proceeded to drop to the ground as bullets continued to fly. He said brave Secret Service agents rushed to the stage “and pounced on top of me so that I would be protected.”

“In a certain way, I felt very safe because I had God on my side,” he said. If he hadn’t turned his head, he said, “I would be here tonight.”

Images of Trump from the assassination attempt were being displayed on screens behind him, including pictures of him lying down on the stage with Secret Service agents piled on top of him.

Trump promises to be ‘a president for all Americans’

As he opened his speech, Trump pledged to be “a president for all of America.”

It’s a line that Biden has often used against Trump, who’s been long criticized for trying to divide the country into his supporters and their enemies. Now, Trump said, “As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate. We rise together or we fall apart.”

He was much more muted than usual as he opened his remarks. He was speaking slower and his voice was softer, a sharp departure from his rallies when he often brought his volume to a roar, cracked jokes and punctuated his remarks with impressions and unrelated anecdotes.

References to Trump’s assassination are present on stage

As Trump strode across the stage, two uniformed men wheeled out a firefighter’s jacket that appeared to belong to Corey Comperatore, who was slain during Saturday’s assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Video below: Trump honors firefighter killed during rally shooting

Secret Service officers are lined along the stairs that lead up to the stands. Hundreds of Trump supporters are watching their candidate prepare to speak for the first time since the shooting Saturday.

‘I’m not supposed to be here,’ Trump tells RNC crowd while recalling assassination attempt

“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump told the RNC attendees.

The comment was met by chants of “Yes you are!”

“Thank you. But I’m not and I’ll tell you, I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God,” Trump said.

Trump gives much-anticipated speech at RNC, formally accepts party nomination

Donald Trump took the stage to give remarks at the RNC. It’s the first public speech the former president has made since the assassination attempt on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Trump and vice presidential nominee JD Vance signed the paperwork to officially accept their party’s nomination ahead of the former president’s speech.

Dana White, who is the president of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), introduced Trump. Prior to the former president taking the stage, Lee Greenwood played “God Bless the U.S.A.”

Kid Rock performs

Musician Kid Rock made an explosive entrance on the RNC stage and began singing ’fight! fight!” as the crowd repeated it back to him, a reference to the words Trump shouted after his assassination attempt.

He’s sang a remixed song with calls for the crowd to say, “Trump, Trump.” The screens behind him show flames and an American flag.

There were a lot of loud songs and speeches this week, but Kid Rock had the RNC arena literally vibrating. The bass during Rock’s pro-Trump song was so loud that it shook dividing walls set up right around the stage where the former president will soon give his prime-time headline address.

Melania Trump makes first appearance on RNC floor in Milwaukee

It is one of the most anticipated moments of the convention. Former first lady Melania Trump has been cheered loudly when mentioned by other speakers during the previous nights, but she finally entered the arena on the final night wearing a red jacket and pencil skirt suit and waving to the crowds.

Melania has been largely missing from the campaign trail, missing key moments such as his Super Tuesday victory party and his 78th birthday party last month. She also did not accompany the Republican nominee during his more than month-long hush money trial in New York, with reporters repeatedly asking him at the courthouse “Where’s Melania?”

She will not be speaking at the convention. Her office was the one that declined an invitation for Barron Trump to appear as a Florida delegate after the state’s Republican party chose him to join the delegation saying the couple’s youngest son had “prior commitments.”

Her presence helps the Republican party show unity, a theme that has emerged more prominently after the attempt on Trump’s life. A day after the attack, Melania issued a statement calling on Americans to “ascend above hate, the vitriol, and the simple-minded ideas that ignite violence.”

Franklin Graham is one of the few speakers to acknowledge abortion

Evangelist Franklin Graham followed former wrestling icon Hulk Hogan onto the stage, and he smiled at the contrast.

“God spared his life,” Graham said of Trump. “And when we go through those experiences, it changes us.”

Graham also made a rare allusion to Trump appointing the Supreme Court justices who provided the key votes to overturn Roe v. Wade, a politically touchy subject the convention has avoided.

“When he told me and this country that what he was going to do was appoint conservative justices, he did,” Graham said of Trump.

Graham also led a prayer for God’s guidance for the country and aid for Trump and running mate JD Vance. Graham added of Vance: “We’re thankful for his strong stand for defending life.”

Hulk Hogan takes RNC stage

Professional wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan was among the stars who were out at the RNC on Thursday, and the former WWE star took to the stage to voice his support of Trump.

Sporting a red bandana atop his platinum blonde hair, Hulk Hogan took the stage waving an American flag before gesturing to the crowd with moves that he made famous during his wrestling days.

In his speech, Hulk Hogan spoke of the electric energy of the crowd.

Hogan, who once endorsed former President Barack Obama, used wrestling references to talk about the strength and character of Trump, and referred to Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, as “the greatest tag team.”

As Hulk Hogan talked about the rage he felt when seeing the attempted assassination of Trump, Hogan, who was wearing a shirt that featured a wrestling-style image, tore off his shirt. Underneath, he was wearing a Trump-Vance 2024 T-shirt.

“I didn’t come here as Hulk Hogan, but I just had to give you a little taste,” the longtime pro-wrestler said.

The wrestler, whose real name is Terry Bollea, said he prefers to stay out of politics but felt compelled to speak at the convention and express his support of the former president.

“As an entertainer I try to stay out of politics,” Hogan said as he briefly broke character. “I can no longer stay silent. I’m here tonight because I want the world to know that Donald Trump is a real American hero.”

Trump and his family reenter the arena

Hulk Hogan’s appearance came moments after Trump, who had left the convention floor for a time, reemerged and made his way to his family box at the RNC. He was joined by members of his family, including his adult children, Don Jr. and Ivanka, and his grandchildren.

The band keeps vamping for time

The convention programming was running around half an hour behind schedule during the prime-time show Thursday. The band was playing song after song as the crowd awaited what was expected to be a series of high-profile speeches including Hulk Hogan to Eric Trump Jr., with the former president closing out the night.

Democratic Sen. Jon Tester called President Biden to drop out of the presidential race

The Montana senator is up for reelection this year, hoping to hold onto Democrats’ only congressional seat in the state.

“I have worked with President Biden when it has made Montana stronger, and I’ve never been afraid to stand up to him when he is wrong,” Tester told the Daily Montanan. “And while I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek re-election to another term.”

He is the second Democratic senator to call for Biden to exit the race. Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont called for Biden to step down earlier this month.

Tucker Carlson praises Trump’s reaction to assassination attempt

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson says that he called Trump hours after Saturday’s assassination attempt and the former president didn’t talk about himself.

“He said only how amazed he was and how proud he was of the crowd that didn’t run,” Tucker recounted. “Of course, they didn’t run; his courage gave them heart.”

Carlson also said that Trump didn’t try to create division after the attack. “He turned down the most obvious opportunity to inflame the nation,” Carlson said.

Country singer Jason Aldean greets Trump at the convention

How much Trump loves music has come up several times in Thursday’s speeches, and he’s got a country star with him in the box.

Jason Aldean is seated with Trump for the RNC’s final night. He and his wife, Brittany, shook hands with Trump and have been spotted speaking with him during the program.

Aldean, a Trump supporter, dedicated his song “Try That in a Small Town” to Trump during a recent concert in Nashville following the Pennsylvania assassination attempt.

Last year, the music video for the song — which became that summer’s political litmus test — received fervent criticism online, with some claiming the visual is a “dog whistle” and others labeling it “pro-lynching.”

In the video, Aldean performed in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, the site of a 1946 race riot and a 1927 mob lynching of an 18-year-old Black teenager named Henry Choate.

‘Every attack on President Trump only strengthens our movement,’ Trump attorney and adviser says

Alina Habba, Trump’s attorney and adviser, offered a humanizing portrait of Trump, a man she said “loves this country” and “lifts up those around him.”

She told the story of being on the phone with him outside a courthouse when a man on the street yelled, “God Bless you and President Trump!” She said Trump overheard the man and asked her to hand over the phone so he could thank him personally for his support.

“The left has tried to demolish Trump, but there is no bulldozer big enough or strong enough to remove the legacy that he has built or the future he has created,” she said, adding, “Every attack on President Trump only strengthens our movement.”

She also talked about Saturday’s failed assassination attempt.

“So let us not forget that President Trump did not just take a bullet in Butler, Pennsylvania. He has and will continue to take them for each and every one of us.”

RNC video uses Ronald Reagan quote from 1980 presidential debate

A video that played at the RNC before conservative media personality Tucker Carlson took the stage evoked the voice of late former President Ronald Reagan.

The video used Reagan’s words made famous during the 1980 presidential debate against former President Jimmy Carter: “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?”

In the video, Reagan asked voters to “ask yourself” if it was “easier” to buy products at the grocery store, if unemployment numbers have risen or fallen, if America is “as respected throughout the world as it was,” and if the nation feels more or less secure than it was four years prior.

New York builders attest to Trump’s personal character

New York builders father and son Steven and Zach Witkoff were among speakers meant to serve as witnesses for Trump as a friend and employer.

The former president’s persona has been well-defined after a term in office and a highly public profile since leaving office.

The father and son vouched for Trump as a boss and a grandfather.

“I have witnessed his leadership in quiet moments,” Steve Witkoff said. “When times are really tough, when he has everything to lose and nothing to gain, Donald Trump is there for you.”

Describing pain that was “unbearable,” Steve Wifcoff told of Trump’s outreach after the man’s son died of an opioid overdose.

“That’s who he is,” Steven Witcoff said.

In a passionate speech, a Detroit pastor speaks in favor of Trump

The pastor of a Black church in Detroit that Trump visited last month has suggested that the former president came to his congregation to listen and learn.

“Could it be that Jesus Christ preserved him for a time such as this?” Lorenzo Sewell, a Detroit pastor, proclaimed, as thousands of delegates cheered and rose to their feet.

Sewell made repeated Biblical references, and reminded the crowd that Trump “came to the hood because he cares about average everyday Americans.”

Sewell also made several references to the assassination attempt, saying that “if President Donald Trump would have moved just a millimeter,” he would not have been at the convention.

Addressing his “Democrat friends,” Sewell asked if they knew of anyone who had been “convicted of 34 counts, raised 53 million dollars in 24 hours and could be the 47th president of America — and he was shot one time. Do you know anybody like that?”

Senators night in Trump’s family box

A group of Trump’s most loyal allies in the Senate are seated in the former president’s exclusive box at the RNC on Thursday night. Sens. Mike Lee, Bill Hagerty, and Ted Cruz are filling the seats ahead of the arrival of Trump’s family for his highly anticipated speech. Some Senate hopefuls are also lounging in the area, including Nevada GOP candidate Sam Brown.

Donald Trump arrives for the fourth night of the RNC

After a video montage of the former president dancing at various events to The Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.,” Donald Trump arrived for the fourth night of the convention.

With a bandage still covering his ear, Trump entered the floor of the arena to thunderous applause.

Trump will speak later as he formally accepts the party’s nomination.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo takes RNC stage

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is highlighting the foreign policy accomplishments of Trump’s administration, saying, “We put America first every single day.”

Pompeo also lashed out at Biden for the disastrous pullout from Afghanistan and blamed him for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Gaza’s attack on Israel.

“We can’t trust the Biden administration,” he said.

Pompeo, who also served as Trump’s CIA director and represented Kansas in Congress, considered challenging Trump this year for the GOP nomination. But he decided to stay out of the race, saying the time was not right for him and his family.

Down the block from the RNC, dozens gather to mourn two dead

Down the block from the RNC, about 50 family members and supporters of two Milwaukee men recently killed in separate circumstances rallied and marched to call attention to the two deaths.

The event focused on the death of Samuel Sharpe, a homeless man fatally shot Tuesday by out-of-state police officers deployed to Milwaukee for the RNC, as well D’Vontaye Mitchell, who died last month after he was pinned down by security guards at a nearby hotel.

The deaths of the two men, both of whom were Black, has inflamed tensions within the city, with Sharpe’s killing in particular focusing scrutiny on the law enforcement approach to the convention.

Speaking to dozens of protesters and a phalanx of reporters, Angelique Sharpe attributed her brother’s death to the presence of out-of-state police officers.

“I’d rather have the Milwaukee police department who know the people of this community (than) people who have no ties to your community and don’t care nothing about our extended family members down there,” she said.

Police officials said Sharpe was shot by five Columbus, Ohio, police officers who spotted him lunging at another man with two knives.

At the rally, Angelique Sharpe said her brother suffered from multiple sclerosis and was acting in self-defense against a person who had threatened him in recent days.

Professional wrestling and other stars present at RNC

There was some star power as the events of the fourth night of the RNC kicked off.

Professional wrestling fans recognized a couple of familiar faces as wrestling icon Hulk Hogan was at the convention. Additionally, Linda McMahon, who is the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), spoke from the stage, appealing to small business owners and others.

McMahon, who is married to former WWE CEO Vince McMahon and served in Trump’s cabinet as the U.S. administrator of the Small Business Administration, spoke of her long friendship with the former president, who appeared in several WWE storylines over the years.

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS
Former administrator of the Small Business Administration Linda McMahon speaks during the last day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 18, 2024. Donald Trump will get a hero’s welcome Thursday as he accepts the Republican Party’s nomination to run for US president in a speech capping a convention dominated by the recent attempt on his life. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

“He is a good man. He has the heart of a lion and the soul of a warrior,” Linda McMahon said. “I believe if necessary he would stand at the gates of hell to defend our country.”

Hogan and Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White were expected to speak at the event, and musician Kid Rock was also set to perform.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty was also seen at the convention Thursday.

‘Everyday American’ is GOP-backing billionaire

One of the “everyday Americans” speaking on behalf of Trump’s campaign is a former Playboy model who’s been listed among the country’s wealthiest self-made women.

Wisconsin native Diane Hendricks told delegates how she started off as a single mom who got into real estate, met her husband and “risked everything we had” to start ABC Supply.

Their company is the largest wholesale distributor of roofing supplies and one of the largest distributors of siding and windows in North America, with nearly 700 locations across the U.S. and Canada.

Hendricks talked about the tens of thousands of jobs she’s helped create in the U.S. and told aspiring entrepreneurs, “if I can make it, you can make it, too.” She also lauded Trump’s business acumen as what the country needs.

She’s been a big backer of GOP candidates both in her home state and elsewhere. Forbes lists her estimated net worth above $20 billion.

New York builders attest to Trump personal character

New York builders father and son Steven and Zach Witkoff were among speakers meant to serve as witnesses for Trump as a friend and employer.

The former president’s persona has been well-defined after a term in office and a highly public profile since leaving office.

The father and son vouched for Trump as a boss and a grandfather.

“I have witnessed his leadership in quiet moments,” Steve Witkoff said. “When times are really tough, when he has everything to lose and nothing to gain, Donald Trump is there for you.”

Describing pain that was “unbearable,” Steve Wifcoff told of Trump’s outreach after the man’s son died of an opioid overdose.

“That’s who he is,” Steven Witcoff said.

RNC speeches open with an appeal to voters in swing states

In the first speech of the night, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican from Montana who is also the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, tried to appeal to voters in states where key Senate races are taking place this year.

The GOP has been using the convention to appeal to swing state voters in hopes of retaining control of the House of Representatives and taking back control of the U.S. Senate.

Daines attempted to appeal to voters in states like Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada, Ohio and Montana.

Trump says he’s rewritten his remarks

Republicans throughout the week in Milwaukee have suggested the combative former president take a gentler tone in light of the shooting and have suggested the crisis provides a chance to de-escalate the divisive political rhetoric that has marked the 2024 campaign.

Trump told the Washington Examiner that he had rewritten his acceptance speech in the wake of the Saturday shooting, emphasizing a call for national unity.

“The speech I was going to give on Thursday was going to be a humdinger,” he said. “Had this not happened, this would’ve been one of the most incredible speeches,” aimed mostly at the policies of President Joe Biden.

“Honestly, it’s going to be a whole different speech now,” he said.

Any such dialing down by Trump will come before a delegation, many of whom have been moved by Trump’s own defiant words in the grasp of U.S. Secret Service agents Saturday, and have sparked their echo in the form of chants of “fight, fight, fight.”

“I do believe that after going through that his message will be better, and I do think he will appeal to our better emotions,” Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Lawrence Tabas said. “He has an enormous compassion and empathy that doesn’t always come through.”

Trump’s family will be at RNC, but not everyone will speak

Unlike most national conventions, Trump’s wife Melania and daughter Ivanka who both spoke at the previous two conventions are not expected to address the convention but are expected to attend.

Lara Trump, his daughter-in-law, ended the program Tuesday with a speech about Trump’s personal warmth and love for his family.

The final day of the RNC is underway

Trump’s moment of survival has shaped the week, even as convention organizers insisted they would continue with their program as planned less than 48 hours after the shooting. Speakers and delegates have repeatedly chanted “Fight, fight, fight!” in homage to Trump’s words as he got to his feet and pumped his fist after Secret Service agents killed the gunman. And some of his supporters have started sporting their own makeshift bandages on the convention floor.

Speakers throughout the week have attributed Trump’s survival to divine intervention and paid tribute to victim Corey Comperatore, who died after shielding his wife and daughter from gunfire at the rally.

“Instead of a day of celebration, this could have been a day of heartache and mourning,” Trump’s vice presidential pick, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, said in his speech to the convention on Wednesday.

Video below: Vice president nominee JD Vance addresses delegates at RNC

The convention has tried to give voice to the fear and frustration of conservatives while also trying to promote the former president as a symbol of hope for all voters.

The convention has showcased a Republican Party reshaped by Trump since he shocked the GOP establishment and won the hearts of the party’s grassroots on his way to the party’s 2016 nomination. Rivals Trump has vanquished — including Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — put aside their past criticisms and gave him their unqualified support.

Even Vance, Trump’s pick to carry his movement into the next generation, was once a fierce critic who suggested in a private message since made public that Trump could be “America’s Hitler.”

Notable speakers for RNC Day 4:
- Eric Trump
- Sen. Steve Daines, chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee
- Rep. Richard Hudson, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee
- Diane Hendricks, a billionaire who is the co-founder of ABC Supply
- Linda McMahon, the 25th administrator of the Small Business Administration
- Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
- Steve Witkoff, a businessman and developer
- Alina Habba, Trump’s attorney
- Tucker Carlson
- Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship
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July 18, 2024