WDRB 41 News

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Kentucky State Rep. Dan Johnson, who was under investigation for alleged sexual molestation, died of a “probable suicide,” the Bullitt County coroner said.

Bullitt County Sheriff Donnie Tinnell said Johnson drove onto the bridge over the Salt River on Greenwell Ford Road in Mt. Washington, parked on the north side of it and shot himself in front of his car. His body was found on the bank of the river, just past the bridge.   Continue reading “Kentucky State Rep. Dan Johnson dies of ‘probable suicide’ in Mt. Washington”

Business Insider – by Tara Francis Chan

Authorities in the Chinese province of Xinjiang have begun collecting DNA and biometrics from all its residents, Human Rights Watch reported Wednesday.

All residents between 12 and 65 are having DNA samples, fingerprints, iris scans, and blood types collected.

Called The Population Registration Program, police will be collecting iris scans and fingerprints during home visits or by creating centralized collection points. Medical authorities will collect DNA samples and blood type information during yearly physicals that are then sent to police bureaus “for profiling.”   Continue reading “A Chinese province is collecting DNA and iris scans from all its residents”

AOL

CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will not meet U.S. Vice President Mike Pence during Pence’s visit to the region this month in a snub over the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the Palestinian Foreign Minister said on Saturday.

Violence erupted for a third day in Gaza in response to President Donald Trump’s announcement on Wednesday, which overturned decades of U.S. policy towards the Middle East.   Continue reading “Palestinians to snub Pence during visit over Jerusalem move”

New York Daily News

Pope Francis wants to deliver us from a line in “The Lord’s Prayer” that he says confuses God’s grace with the work of the devil.

The pontiff told an Italian TV station that he’s opposed to the phrase “lead us not into temptation” in the current translation of the prayer, also known as “Our Father.”

“That is not a good translation,” Francis said during the interview.   Continue reading “Pope Francis proposes change to the Lord’s Prayer”

AOL

A former Republican spokesperson is leaving his party, citing President Trump and other GOP leaders’ endorsement of Roy Moore in the Alabama Senate race as the final straw.

Kurt Bardella said he no longer wants to associate with the Republican party over its support of Moore—an accused child molester—for the Senate.   Continue reading “Ex-Breitbart spokesman Kurt Bardella leaves Republican party over its support of Roy Moore”

AOL

Dec 3 (Reuters) – U.S. drugstore chain operator CVS Health Corp said on Sunday it had agreed to acquire U.S. health insurer Aetna Inc for $69 billion, seeking to tackle soaring health care spending through lower-cost medical services in pharmacies.

This year’s largest corporate acquisition will combine one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) and pharmacy operators with one of its oldest health insurers, whose national business ranges from employer health care to government plans.  Continue reading “CVS Health to acquire Aetna for $69B in 2017’s largest acquisition”

New York Daily News

President Trump employed 200 undocumented Polish workers who were paid as little as $4 an hour to demolish a department store where Trump Tower now stands, according to newly unsealed court documents.

In 1980, Trump enlisted the crew of undocumented immigrants to work back-breaking shifts that lasted upwards of 16 hours a day without gloves, hard hats or masks as they demolished the Bonwit Teller building on Fifth Ave., the New York Times reported.   Continue reading “President Trump paid undocumented Polish workers as little as $4 an hour to demolish department store”

Business Insider

While everyone’s talking about special counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation into the Trump campaign’s communication with the Russian government, the president’s lawyers are preparing for an altogether different case.

On Tuesday, in a New York state Supreme Court hearing, they’re expected to try to have a defamation case against the president dismissed. If they fail, the president could be forced to testify on allegations that he sexually harassed more than a dozen women.   Continue reading “Trump could be forced to testify on sexual-harassment allegations — and if he lies he could be impeached”

The Weather Channel

The wait is over. The first and only visible supermoon of 2017 is set to adorn the night sky Sunday.

December’s full moon, dubbed the Full Cold Moon, will appear up to 30 percent brighter and up to 14 percent larger than normal as the celestial body makes its closest pass to the Earth, according to Space.com.   Continue reading “2017’s Only Supermoon Coming Sunday: Here’s When and How to See It”

ProPublica – by Ryann Grochowski Jones and Abrahm Lustgarten

For the past year, ProPublica has been documenting the state of toxic pollution left behind by the military across the U.S. As part of this investigation, we acquired a dataset of all facilities that the Department of Defense considers contaminated. Today we used the data to publish an interactive news application called Bombs in Your Backyard. Here’s how you can use it to find hazardous sites near you — and what, if anything, is being done to remedy the pollution.

The data, which has never been released before, comes from the Defense Environmental Restoration Program, which the DOD administers to measure and document cleanup efforts at current and former military locations.   Continue reading “Reporting Recipe: Bombs in Your Backyard”

USA Today – by Jessica Estepa

The Secret Service spent nearly $7,500 on golf cart rentals while President Trump was in at his private golf club Mar-a-Lago for Thanksgiving.

According to federal purchase orders flagged by progressive PAC American Bridge and reviewed by USA TODAY, the agency charged with protecting the president spent $7,470 on the rentals for Trump’s Florida golf outings.   Continue reading “Secret Service spent $7,500 on golf carts during Trump’s Thanksgiving Mar-a-Lago trip”

The Weather Channel

A rare 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck Delaware Thursday, causing rumblings that were felt in other cities along the East Coast.

The temblor’s center was reported near Dover, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. No injuries or damages were reported.

USGS geophysicist John Bellini told the Associated Press that any damages would be minimal.    Continue reading “Rare 4.1 Magnitude Earthquake Rattles East Coast”

New York Daily News – by Glenn Blain

ALBANY — A city Human Resources Administration worker and his wife were charged Tuesday with stealing more than $225,000 in government welfare benefits.

State investigators said Omar Jaata, a 42-year-old Bronx resident and an HRA employee since 2010, used his position to create multiple bogus accounts and obtain nearly $143,000 in food stamp benefits.   Continue reading “HRA worker, his wife busted for swiping more than $225G in welfare benefits”

Boston Herald

Americans have grown accustomed to hearing apologies from everyone from cheating car-makers to cheating presidents, but a Fortune 500 chemical company with a pollution problem in North Carolina is following a different model: don’t apologize, don’t explain.

For six months, Wilmington, Delaware-based Chemours Co. has faced questions about an unregulated chemical with unknown health risks that flowed from the company’s plant into the Cape Fear River, which provides drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people.   Continue reading “Chemical company’s response to water worries: Silence”

AOL

A North Korean state newspaper has issued a death sentence for U.S. President Donald Trump after he insulted Kim Jong-Un during his recent trip to Asia, according to the Guardian.

An editorial in the ruling party’s newspaper Rodong Sinmun declared Trump a “criminal” and said their nation’s people had sentenced him to death because of the unflattering way he talks about their country and their supreme leader.    Continue reading “North Korean state newspaper announces ‘death sentence’ for Trump”

New York Post

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia announced Thursday it has detained 201 people as part of a sweeping probe, estimating that at least $100 billion has been misused through embezzlement and corruption in past decades.

The kingdom’s Attorney General Saud al-Mojeb said in a statement that 208 people had been called in for questioning since Saturday evening, and that seven people were released without charge, leaving 201 people still in detention.   Continue reading “More than 200 arrested in Saudi Arabia’s ‘corruption’ crackdown”

Star Tribune

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas — The gunman who opened fire in a small Texas church, killing 26 people during worship services, sent threatening text messages to his mother-in-law before the attack, which appeared to stem from a domestic situation, authorities said Monday.

Investigators have concluded that the deadliest mass shooting in state history was not racially or religiously motivated, Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Director Freeman Martin said.   Continue reading “Police: Domestic situation led to Texas church attack”

Business Insider – by Natasha Bertrand

Russian actors organized both anti-Islam and pro-Islam protests in the same location at the same time on May 21, 2016, using separate Facebook pages operated from a so-called troll farm in St. Petersburg, the Senate Intelligence Committee disclosed on Wednesday.

A Facebook page named Heart of Texas, whose link to Russia was first reported by Business Insider, organized a rally at noon on May 21 at the Islamic Da’wah Center in Houston to “Stop Islamization of Texas.” The account paid to promote the event, which was viewed by about 12,000 people, said the committee’s chairman, Sen. Richard Burr.   Continue reading “Russia organized 2 sides of a Texas protest and encouraged ‘both sides to battle in the streets’”