National News - Page 56

Jury Deliberates in Sean “Diddy” Combs Sex Trial

By Michael R. Sisak A jury will begin deliberations on Monday over the fate of Sean “Diddy” Combs after hearing wildly differing views from prosecutors and a defense lawyer over whether he engaged in sex trafficking for two decades. Two prosecutors insisted that he had coerced, threatened and sometimes viciously forced two ex-girlfriends to have sex with male sex workers to satisfy his sexual urges. They cited multiple acts of violence he carried out against them as proof that they had no say. A defense lawyer then mocked the government’s closing argument and warned that prosecutors were employing a novel approach to

Sen. Cotton Proposes Major Overhaul of ODNI Operations

By Dan De Luce and Gordon Lubold A top Republican senator is proposing a sweeping overhaul of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, slashing the workforce of an organization that has expanded since it was created in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. Under a bill by Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, the Republican chair of the Intelligence Committee, the ODNI’s staff of about 1,600 would be capped at 650, according to a senior Senate aide familiar with the proposed legislation. ODNI’s workforce was about 2,000 in January, but National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard has already overseen a reduction of

CDC Nominee Faces Scrutiny Over Vaccine Stance, Ties to RFK

By Erika Edwards and Berkeley Lovelace Jr.  Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s views on vaccines loomed over Susan Monarez’s Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday to be the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Monarez, who has a doctorate in microbiology and immunology, was previously the deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, a federal research funding agency focused on biomedical innovations. Her previous work looked at using artificial intelligence to improve health outcomes. If confirmed, she would be the first CDC director without a medical degree in more than 70 years. The roughly two-hour hearing

CIA: Iran Nuclear Sites Hit Hard in U.S. Airstrikes

By Brandon Drenon The head of the CIA has said US strikes “severely damaged” Iran’s nuclear facilities and set them back years, diverging from a leaked intelligence report that angered President Donald Trump by downplaying the raid’s impact. John Ratcliffe, the US spy agency’s director, said key sites had been destroyed, though he stopped short of declaring that Iran’s nuclear programme had been eliminated outright. It comes a day after a leaked preliminary assessment from a Pentagon intelligence agency suggested core components of Iran’s nuclear programme remained intact after the US bombings. Trump again maintained the raid had “obliterated” Iran’s

WV Black Colleges Resist DEI Ban, Uphold Inclusive Values

Flanked by state lawmakers in an auditorium last month, Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed a law to stamp out what he called “that woke virus that’s invaded West Virginia.” Since day one, the governor has purged state government of policies promoting fair and full participation of all people — particularly those historically excluded. He has demonized diversity, equity and inclusion practices as “DEI.” At West Virginia’s other universities, officials quickly closed diversity offices, changed job titles and removed statements from websites. “DEI is dead in the Mountain State,” Morrisey said. The crowd applauded. But months earlier, both of the state’s historical Black universities

Intel: Iran Nuclear Program Survives U.S. Strikes Setback

By Michelle L. Price A U.S. intelligence report suggests that Iran’s nuclear program has been set back only a few months after U.S. strikes and was not “completely and fully obliterated” as President Donald Trump has said, according to two people familiar with the early assessment. The report issued by the Defense Intelligence Agency on Monday contradicts statements from Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the status of Iran’s nuclear facilities. According to the people, the report found that while the Sunday strikes at the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites did significant damage, the facilities were not totally destroyed. The people were

Israel Orders Strikes on Tehran Amid Ceasefire Dispute

By Maayan Lubell and Steve Holland Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday he had ordered the military to strike Tehran in response to what he said were missiles fired by Iran in a violation of the ceasefire announced hours earlier by U.S. President Donald Trump. Iran denied violating the ceasefire. The armed forces general staff denied that there had been any launch of missiles towards Israel in recent hours, Iran’s Nour News reported. The developments raised early doubts about the ceasefire, intended to end 12 days of war. Katz said in a statement he had ordered the military to “continue high-intensity operations

Supreme Court Backs Trump on Third-Country Deportations

By Ali Abbas Ahmadi The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s administration to resume deportations of migrants to countries other than their homeland. By 6-3, the justices reversed a lower court order requiring the government to give migrants a “meaningful opportunity” to tell officials what risks they might face being deported to a third country. The court’s three liberal justices dissented from the majority ruling, saying it was “rewarding lawlessness”. The case involves eight migrants from Myanmar, South Sudan, Cuba, Mexico, Laos and Vietnam, who were deported in May on a plane said to be

Obama Warns U.S. Democracy Nearing Autocratic Danger

By Lisa Lerer Former President Barack Obama warned on Tuesday night that the country was “dangerously close” to allowing its government officials to act in a way “consistent with autocracies,” offering a veiled rebuke of the Trump administration that was delivered with trademark caution. Appearing before a civic group in Hartford, Conn., during a tumultuous stretch for the country both at home and abroad, Mr. Obama offered a winding explanation about the dangers facing American democracy. He pointed to an erosion of traditional values like the rule of law, an independent judiciary, the freedom of the press and the right

FBI Warns Governors of Elevated Threat After Iran Strikes

By Mike Levine Senior FBI and Homeland Security officials hosted conference calls with some of the nation’s governors and top law enforcement officials on Sunday to discuss how the U.S. missile strikes in Iran impact an already dangerous threat environment, sources told ABC News. The calls included one with hundreds of state and local law enforcement officials from around the country and another with state governors and their staff. An FBI official said on the call that the agency’s “posture is going to be enhanced” after the U.S. military action against Iran. The FBI is asking more personnel to be

1 … 54 55 56 57 58 … 221
Close

Never Miss A Story

Covering HBCUS
and The African American Community