Louisville

A year after deadly Maria, U.S. housing funds on way to Puerto Rico

A year after Hurricane Maria ripped through Puerto Rico with 150 mile-per-hour (241 kph) winds, government officials on Thursday announced that about $1.5 billion in federal funds aimed primarily at rebuilding housing will start flowing to the island. “One year (after the event) is quite good for what we generally do," U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson said. HUD allocated the funds in February.

Kavanaugh's accuser ready to testify under certain conditions: New York Times

A lawyer for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's accuser, professor Christine Blasey Ford, told a U.S. Senate committee on Thursday that Ford would be prepared to testify next week if the terms are fair and her safety is ensured, the New York Times reported on Thursday. In an email to the Senate Judiciary Committee, attorney Debra Katz said, however, that it was "not possible" for Ford to testify on Monday, as the committee had hoped, the Times said.

Maryland woman kills three people and herself in warehouse gun rampage

The shooting unfolded shortly after the suspect, a temporary employee there, reported for work around 9 a.m. EDT at the warehouse in Perryman, Maryland, about 34 miles (55 km) northeast of Baltimore, Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said at a news conference. The sheriff's office identified the assailant in a tweet as Snochia Moseley from Baltimore County. The sheriff said investigators have not yet determined a motive, but a law enforcement source told Reuters the shooting was believed to have been sparked by a work-related grievance.

Accuser of Trump's court nominee sets conditions for testifying

A lawyer for the woman accusing Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's U.S. Supreme Court nominee, of sexual assault told a Senate panel on Thursday the professor will not testify on Monday as Republicans want but would be willing to appear sometime next week if certain terms are met. Christine Blasey Ford, a psychology professor at Palo Alto University in California, has been given a Friday deadline by the Republican-led Judiciary Committee to decide whether to testify at a high-stakes hearing it has scheduled for Monday. If Ford agrees to appear, it would set the stage for a potentially explosive hearing just weeks before congressional elections that will decide the balance of power in Congress, against a backdrop of the #MeToo movement fighting sexual harassment and assault.

American Airlines joins rivals in hiking U.S. baggage fees by five dollars

American Airlines Group Inc said on Thursday it would raise domestic U.S. baggage fees by $5, joining major rivals in the price hike amid higher fuel costs. The largest U.S. airline said it would hike the price of a first checked bag by $5 to $30 and the second bag to $40 in the first price increase since 2010. Other U.S. airlines, including Delta Airlines Inc, United Continental Holdings Inc and JetBlue Airways Inc, have also announced price hikes recently.

Judge bars parade of Cosby accusers at sentencing hearing

A Pennsylvania judge on Thursday denied a request by prosecutors to allow additional women who have accused comedian Bill Cosby of sexual misconduct to tell their stories at his sentencing hearing on a sexual assault conviction. Cosby, 81, is due in Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas on Monday to be sentenced by Judge Steven O'Neill in the drugging and sexual assault of his one-time friend Andrea Constand, a former Temple University administrator, in 2004.

Trump releases first two names of U.S. war dead handed over by North Korea

U.S. President Donald Trump released the names on Thursday of two Army soldiers killed in the 1950-1953 Korean War whose remains were handed over by North Korea this year in a goodwill gesture. Trump said the first remains identified by the U.S. military belonged to Army Master Sergeant Charles H. McDaniel, 32, of Vernon, Indiana, and Army Private First Class William H. Jones, 19, of Nash County, North Carolina. "These HEROES are home, they may Rest In Peace, and hopefully their families can have closure," Trump said in his Twitter post.

New York lawsuit targets student loan debt relief fraud

New York's attorney general on Thursday sued 10 companies and two executives over their alleged roles in a scam to induce thousands of struggling borrowers into buying student loan debt relief services that they could have received for free. Barbara Underwood, the attorney general, said defendants typically charged more than $1,000 for their services, which often came with usurious interest rates, after luring borrowers with false claims such as being affiliated with the government, or that their help was needed. "It strikes me that the lawsuit has merit," Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Savingforcollege.com, said in an interview.

Trump chips away at liberal U.S. appeals court majorities

Although there are no guarantees a judge will rule the way a president might like, the number of Republican and Democratic appointees is generally an indicator of an appeals court's conservative-liberal balance. With the Republican-led Senate rapidly considering and confirming many of his judicial nominees, Trump already has appointed 26 appeals court judges. Trump's Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, appointed 55 in eight years as president.

Hurricane raises questions about rebuilding along North Carolina's coast

The privately owned Rodanthe pier has already undergone half a million dollars in renovation in seven years and the owners started a new round of repairs this week. “The maintenance and upkeep on a wooden fishing pier is tremendous,” said co-owner Terry Plumblee. “We get the brunt of the rough water here." Scientists have warned such rebuilding efforts are futile as sea levels rise and storms chew away the coast line but protests from developers and the tourism industry have led North Carolina to pass laws that disregard the predictions.

Flooding expected to worsen in Carolinas in Florence's aftermath

Flooding from rain-swollen rivers was expected to worsen across the Carolinas on Thursday and the next couple of days in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, which killed 36 people in three states, forecasters said. Twenty flood gauges showed some level of flooding in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, where some major waterways, well above their flood stages, were expected to rise through the weekend before they crest, the National Weather Service said. "People in flood prone areas or near waterways need to remain alert as rivers crest and stay above their banks in coming days," North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said in a written statement.

Trump urges Republicans to 'get tough' on border wall spending

The Senate passed a massive spending package that included a provision to fund the federal government through Dec. 7.

Creator of 3-D printed guns flies to Taiwan amid U.S. sex assault accusation

Cody Wilson, 30, was placed under investigation after a counsellor on Aug. 22 told police that a 16-year-old girl had said she was paid $500 to have sex with Wilson at an Austin hotel, Austin Police Commander Troy Officer said at a news conference. Police later interviewed the girl and on Wednesday obtained a warrant for Wilson's arrest, but by then he had caught a flight to Taiwan, Officer said. "We know Mr. Wilson frequently travels for business.

NBA- Mavs' Cuban to donate $10 million after probe into workplace harassment

The investigation followed a Sports Illustrated report in February that described a culture in the Mavericks' front office "rife with misogyny and predatory sexual behavior". The findings of an independent investigation, carried out on behalf of the Mavericks by external law firms and overseen by the NBA, were published on Wednesday. The NBA issued a statement summarizing the investigation's findings, which said that there was no wrongdoing on Cuban's part.

Trump defends Supreme Court nominee, accuser faces deadline

President Donald Trump on Wednesday stepped up his defense of his U.S. Supreme Court nominee, saying it was hard to imagine Brett Kavanaugh committed a sexual assault and that it would be unfortunate if his accuser did not testify before the Senate. With Trump's effort to cement conservative control of the nation's highest court on a knife's edge, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley set a Friday morning deadline for Christine Blasey Ford to decide if she will talk to lawmakers. Ford, a psychology professor at Palo Alto University in California, has said Kavanaugh, a federal appeals court judge, sexually assaulted her in 1982 when both were high school students in Maryland.

U.S. judge dismisses GM ignition switch criminal case

U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan approved a request filed Monday by federal prosecutors to dismiss the two-count criminal information. In 2015, GM entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York after the Detroit automaker was charged with concealing information from government officials, and wire fraud. GM agreed to pay a $900 million fine and accept three years of oversight by an independent monitor.

Sessions limits U.S. judges' ability to dismiss deportation cases

Unlike the federal judiciary system, U.S. immigration courts fall under the Department of Justice and the attorney general can rewrite opinions issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals. Sessions, a Republican former U.S. senator appointed by President Donald Trump, has been unusually active in this practice compared to his predecessors. Judges “have no inherent authority to terminate removal proceedings even though a particular case may pose sympathetic circumstances,” he said.

'Calm before storm,' Trump warns South Carolina after Florence deluge

"Over the next couple of days, it's going to get rough in South Carolina... Whatever you need from Washington, we are there," Trump told an official briefing in Conway, South Carolina. "Now it looks nice, but it's really the calm before the storm," he said referring to water draining into rising rivers after Florence's epic deluge over the weekend. Trump visited a neighborhood in Conway where residents were loading moving vans in anticipation of more flooding.

Elizabeth Smart says prison release of her captor poses danger

One of Smart's captors, Brian David Mitchell, was sentenced to life imprisonment. Barzee had been scheduled to be in prison until 2024 but was released after prison officials recalculated her sentence to account for time already served before going to state prison. "I do believe she's still a danger ... I am very concerned for the community, for the public, as much as I am for myself," Smart, now 30, said in an interview with "CBS This Morning" that aired on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Delta joins United, JetBlue in hiking U.S. baggage fees to $30

Delta Airlines Inc, the second-largest U.S. airline, on Wednesday joined other major airlines in hiking domestic flight baggage fees by $5 per bag to $30. Delta, United and JetBlue are now charging $30 for the first checked bag on domestic routes, up from $25 previously, and $40 for the second bag, up from $35.

Immigrant accused of killing Iowa student pleads not guilty

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a 24-year-old farm worker from Mexico accused of stabbing 20-year-old Tibbetts, appeared in a black-and-white striped jumpsuit at his arraignment in Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, Iowa. "Mr. Rivera pleads not guilty," his lawyer Chad Frese told the judge as Rivera listened through black headphones to a translator.

A picture and its story: Dogs in the disaster zone

Three days after Hurricane Florence made landfall in North Carolina, I was documenting the damage to Wilmington and communities to the south when I was tipped that volunteer rescuers were headed to a Leland church where people were isolated by rising floodwaters. Ryan Nichols and David Rebollar have another way of getting to people and animals trapped by floods: a boat they haul from their Texas home to disaster zones. In the case of North Carolina, that was more than a thousand miles (1,600 km).

U.S. prosecutors charge three men in $364 million Ponzi scheme

Federal prosecutors have accused three men of portraying themselves as investment professionals and using a phony portfolio of consumer debt to defraud hundreds of unwary investors out of tens of millions of dollars as part of a $364 million Ponzi scheme. Kevin Merrill of Maryland, 53, Jay Ledford of Texas and Nevada, 54, and Cameron Jezierski of Texas, 28, misused millions of dollars to maintain a lavish lifestyle, according to an indictment unsealed on Tuesday in a federal court in Baltimore.

Opposition to Kavanaugh grows, support at historic low: Reuters/Ipsos poll

The Sept. 11-17 poll found that 36 percent http://polling.reuters.com/#!response/TM1519Y18/type/day/dates/20180801-20180918/collapsed/true of adults surveyed did not want Kavanaugh in the Supreme Court, up 6 points from a similar poll conducted a month earlier. Only 31 percent of U.S. adults polled said they were in favor of Kavanaugh's appointment. If support for his nomination remains this weak, Trump's pick would rank among the lowest-supported Supreme Court nominees to later be confirmed, according to historical data from Gallup.

Tightening Texas race boosts Democrats' hopes of taking Senate: Reuters poll

The Democratic congressman aiming to unseat Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz in Texas has pulled even in the race, a Reuters poll found, a spark of hope for a party seeking a Senate majority to curb President Donald Trump's agenda. The Reuters/Ipsos/UVA Center for Politics Poll released on Wednesday of several competitive U.S. Senate races offered a mixed picture of Democrats' chances in November of winning the two seats they would need to take control of that chamber. It showed tight races in Arizona, where Democrats are hoping to win a seat held by a retiring Republican, and in Florida, where Republicans aim to unseat a Democratic incumbent.

Some gun-toting Texans embrace Democrat's call for tougher firearm laws

Martin’s nuanced view on firearms - he loves them but wants to see tougher restrictions - is one U.S. Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke hopes is gaining traction in Texas. O'Rourke, a congressman from El Paso and the Democratic challenger to Ted Cruz in November's Texas Senate race, has made reforming gun laws a central part of his platform, calling for universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons. In previous elections, a Democrat calling for gun reforms in Texas, which has the country's highest rate of gun ownership, faced almost certain political suicide.

Kavanaugh accuser wants FBI investigation before she will testify

A woman who has accused President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, of sexual assault decades ago wants her allegations to be investigated by the FBI before she appears at a U.S. Senate hearing, her lawyers said on Tuesday. The development further roiled a confirmation process that once seemed smooth for Kavanaugh, whose confirmation to the lifetime post could consolidate the conservative grip on the top U.S. court.

Los Angeles, city of fashion and glamour, moves to ban fur products

The city of Los Angeles, a leading center of the world's fashion industry, moved on Tuesday toward becoming the largest U.S. metropolis to outlaw the sale and manufacture of most fur products within its limits. Following the lead of San Francisco and two smaller California municipalities, the Los Angeles City Council voted 12-0 to direct the City Attorney's Office to draft an ordinance banning fur apparel and accessories ranging from mink coats to rabbit's foot charms. The draft must then gain final approval by the council and be signed by Mayor Eric Garcetti to be enacted.

Hog deaths, manure flooding from Florence seen surpassing 2016 hurricane

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services projected the animal death toll after emergency workers and veterinarians spent days in the field assessing losses at farms following the storm. "I'm just assuming, based on the depth of the water that we had in North Carolina and the amount of rainfall, that we probably will exceed what we had in [Hurricane] Matthew," Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said in an interview, referring to hog losses. North Carolina has 8.9 million swine, representing 12 percent of the U.S. herd, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA).

Kavanaugh accuser wants FBI investigation before she will testify: lawyer

A woman who has accused President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, of sexual assault decades ago wants her allegations to be investigated by the FBI before she appears at a U.S. Senate hearing, one of her lawyers said on Tuesday. The Senate Judiciary Committee, which is overseeing the nomination, has called a hearing for Monday to look into the matter, and the White House has said Kavanaugh was ready to testify.

Trump says FBI should not probe allegations against top court pick

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the FBI should not investigate a California professor's allegations of sexual assault against Trump's pick for U.S. Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, adding that he wants his nominee confirmed quickly. Asked whether he would ask the Federal Bureau of Investigation to open its background check on Kavanaugh, Trump told reporters at the White House, "I don't think the FBI really need to be involved because they don't want to be involved.