Yahoo Movies
Kyle Lowry takes blame for costly foul vs Warriors
Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry fouled Damion Lee in the final minute of the 4th quarter against the Warriors. It was a mistake the veteran takes full responsibility for.
Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry fouled Damion Lee in the final minute of the 4th quarter against the Warriors. It was a mistake the veteran takes full responsibility for.
GM shares are on a roll this week, hitting an all-time high and gaining an astounding 17% over the past five days alone.
Wall Street's main indexes finished lower on Friday, weighed down by big U.S. banks after their earnings reports, while the energy fell sharply due to a regulatory probe into Exxon Mobil Corp. The S&P 500 banks index lost ground as shares of Wells Fargo & Co, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup Inc tumbled even though they had posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter profits.
The leading cryptocurrency's price fell sharply on Friday, dragging down the market value of companies with deep ties to bitcoin tokens.
New York prosecutors conducted an hours-long interview Thursday of Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former attorney, asking a range of questions about Trump's business dealings, according to three people familiar with the meeting. The interview focused in part on Trump's relationship with Deutsche Bank, his biggest and longest standing creditor, according to the three people, who weren't authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. The interview, at least the second of Cohen by the Manhattan district attorney's office, comes amid a long-running grand jury investigation into Trump's business dealings.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints condemned “lawless behavior” and the violence of rioters who broke into the U.S. Capitol in a statement Friday that marked the faith's first public comments since the Jan. 6 attack by pro-Trump loyalists. Top leaders from the Utah-based faith known widely as the Mormon church said they are concerned about political and cultural divisions in the United States and urged members to set aside partisan differences and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. The statement comes ahead of planned protests by Trump supporters at state capitols around the U.S. including at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City, just blocks away from church headquarters.
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden is proposing a $1.9 trillion plan to expand coronavirus vaccinations, help individuals and jump-start the economy. The plan, which would require congressional approval, is packed with proposals on health care, education, labour and cybersecurity. On Friday, he outlined a five-step approach to getting the vaccination to the American people, and to ensure that it is distributed equitably. “Equity is central to our COVID response,” he said. Here's a look at what's in Biden's plan: CONTAINING THE VIRUS — A $20 billion national program would establish community vaccination centres across the U.S. and send mobile units to remote communities. Medicaid patients would have their costs covered by the federal government, and the administration says it will take steps to ensure all people in the U.S. can receive the vaccine for free, regardless of their immigration status. — An additional $50 billion would expand testing efforts and help schools and governments implement routine testing. Other efforts would focus on developing better treatments for COVID-19 and improving efforts to identify and track new strains of the virus. THE VACCINATION PLAN — Working with states to open up vaccinations beyond health care workers, including to people 65 and older, as well as essential front-line workers. — Establishing more vaccination sites, including working with FEMA to set up 100 federally supported centres by the end of his first month in office . He suggested using community centres, school gymnasiums and sports stadiums. He also called for expanding the pool of those who can deliver the vaccine. — Using pharmacies around the country to administer the vaccine. The Trump administration already has entered into agreements with some large chains to do that. — Using the Defence Production Act, a Cold War-era law to “maximize the manufacture of vaccine and vaccine supplies for the country.” — A public education campaign to address “vaccine hesitancy” and the refusal of some to take the vaccine. He called the education plan "a critical piece to account for a tragic reality of the disproportionate impact this virus has had on Black, Latino and Native American communities” INDIVIDUALS AND WORKERS — Stimulus checks of $1,400 per person in addition to the $600 checks Congress approved in December. By bringing payments to $2,000 — an amount Democrats previously called for — the administration says it will help families meet basic needs and support local businesses. — A temporary boost in unemployment benefits and a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures would be extended through September. — The federal minimum wage would be raised to $15 per hour from the current rate of $7.25 per hour. — An emergency measure requiring employers to provide paid sick leave would be reinstated. The administration is urging Congress to keep the requirement through Sept. 30 and expand it to federal employees. — The child care tax credit would be expanded for a year, to cover half the cost of child care up to $4,000 for one child and $8,000 for two or more for families making less than $125,000 a year. Families making between $125,000 and $400,000 would get a partial credit. — $15 billion in federal grants to help states subsidize child care for low-income families, along with a $25 billion fund to help child care centres in danger of closing. SCHOOLS — $130 billion for K-12 schools to help them reopen safely. The money is meant to help reach Biden's goal of having a majority of the nation's K-8 schools open within his first 100 days in the White House. Schools could use the funding to cover a variety of costs, including the purchase of masks and other protective equipment, upgrades to ventilation systems and staffing for school nurses. Schools would be expected to use the funding to help students who fell behind on academics during the pandemic, and on efforts to meet students' mental health needs. A portion of the funding would go to education equity grants to help with challenges caused by the pandemic. — Public colleges and universities would get $35 billion to cover pandemic-related expenses and to steer funding to students as emergency grants. An additional $5 billion would go to governors to support programs helping students who were hit hardest by the pandemic. SMALL BUSINESS — $15 billion in grants to more than 1 million small businesses that have been hit hard by the pandemic, as well as other assistance. STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT — $350 billion in emergency funding for state, local and territorial governments to help front-line workers. — $20 billion in aid to public transit agencies. CYBERSECURITY — $9 billion to modernize information technology systems at federal agencies, motivated by recent cybersecurity attacks that penetrated multiple agencies. — $690 million to boost federal cybersecurity monitoring efforts and $200 million to hire hundreds of new cybersecurity experts. The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tapped nine of her most trusted allies in the House to argue the case for President Donald Trump’s impeachment. The Democrats, all of whom are lawyers and many of whom have deep experience investigating the president, face the arduous task of convincing skeptical Senate Republicans to convict Trump. A single article of impeachment — for “incitement of insurrection” — was approved by the House on Wednesday, one week after a violent mob of Trump supporters invaded the Capitol. At the time, lawmakers were counting the votes that cemented Trump’s election defeat. As members of the House who were in the Capitol when it was attacked — several hiding under seats as rioters beat on the doors of the chamber — the Democrats are also witnesses to what they charge is a crime. So are the Senate jurors. “This is a case where the jurors were also victims, and so whether it was those who voted in the House last night or those in the Senate who will have to weigh in on this, you don’t have to tell anyone who was in the building twice what it was like to be terrorized,” said California Rep. Eric Swalwell, one of the managers. It is unclear when the trial will start. Pelosi hasn’t yet said when she will send the article of impeachment to the Senate. It could be as soon as next week, on President-elect Joe Biden’s first day in office. The managers plan to argue at trial that Trump incited the riot, delaying the congressional certification of the electoral vote count by inciting an angry mob to harm members of Congress. Some of the rioters were recorded saying they wanted to find Pelosi and Vice-President Mike Pence, who presided over the count. Others had zip ties that could be used as handcuffs hanging on their clothes. “The American people witnessed that,” said Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., one of the managers. “That amounts to high crimes and misdemeanours.” None of the impeachment managers argued the case in Trump’s first impeachment trial last year, when the Senate acquitted the president on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of justice. The House impeached Trump in 2019 after he pressured Ukraine’s president to investigate Biden’s family while withholding military aid to the country. Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette, another manager, says the nine prosecutors plan to present a serious case and “finish the job” that the House started. A look at Pelosi’s prosecution team in Trump’s historic second impeachment: REP. JAMIE RASKIN, MARYLAND Pelosi appointed Raskin, a former constitutional law professor and prominent member of the House Judiciary Committee, as lead manager. In a week of dramatic events and stories, Raskin’s stands out: The day before the Capitol riots, Raskin buried his 25-year-old son, Tommy, after he killed himself on New Year’s Eve. “You would be hard pressed to find a more beloved figure in the Congress” than Raskin, says House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who was the lead manager during Trump’s first trial. He worked closely with Raskin on that impeachment investigation. “I know that part of what gives him strength to take on this burden that he now carries is knowing that this is something that would be enormously meaningful to his son.” REP. DIANA DEGETTE, COLORADO DeGette, who is serving her 13th term representing Denver, is a former civil rights attorney and one of Pelosi’s go-to allies. The speaker picked her to preside over the House during the first impeachment vote in 2019. DeGette said Pelosi trusted her to do it because she is “able to to control the passions on the floor.” She says she was surprised when Pelosi called to offer her the prosecutorial position but quickly accepted. “The monstrosity of this offence is not lost on anybody,” she says. REP. DAVID CICILLINE, RHODE ISLAND Cicilline, the former mayor of Providence and public defender, is in his sixth term in Congress and is a senior member of the Judiciary panel. He was heavily involved in Trump’s first impeachment and was one of three original authors of the article that the House approved on Wednesday. He and California Rep. Ted Lieu began writing the article together, in hiding, as the rioters were still ransacking the Capitol. He tweeted out a draft the next morning, writing that “I have prepared to remove the President from office following yesterday’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.” REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO, TEXAS Castro is a member of the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs panels, where he has been an outspoken critic of Trump's handling of Russia. He was a litigator in private practice before he was elected to the Texas legislature and came to Congress, where he is in his fifth term. Castro’s twin brother, Julian Castro, is the former mayor of San Antonio and served as former President Barack Obama’s secretary of housing and urban development. Julian Castro ran in the Democratic primary for president last year. REP. ERIC SWALWELL, CALIFORNIA Swalwell also serves on the Intelligence and Judiciary panels and was deeply involved in congressional probes of Trump’s Russian ties. A former prosecutor, he briefly ran for president in 2019. “The case that I think resonates the most with the American people and hopefully the Senate is that our American president incited our fellow citizens to attack our Capitol on a day where we were counting electoral votes, and that this was not a spontaneous call to action by the president at the rally,” Swalwell said. REP. TED LIEU, CALIFORNIA Lieu, who authored the article of impeachment with Cicilline and Raskin, is on the Judiciary and Foreign Affairs panels. The Los Angeles-area lawmaker is a former active-duty officer in the U.S. Air Force and military prosecutor. “We cannot begin to heal the soul of this country without first delivering swift justice to all its enemies — foreign and domestic,” he said. DEL. STACEY PLASKETT, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS Because she represents a U.S. territory, not a state, Plaskett does not have voting rights and was not able to cast a vote for impeachment. But she will bring her legal experience as a former district attorney in New York and senior counsel at the Justice Department — and as one of Raskin's former law students. “As an African American, as a woman, seeing individuals storming our most sacred place of democracy, wearing anti-Semitic, racist, neo-Nazi, white supremacy logos on their bodies and wreaking the most vile and hateful things left not just those people of colour who were in the room traumatized, but so many people of colour around this country," she said Friday. REP. JOE NEGUSE, COLORADO Neguse, in his second term, is a rising star in the Democratic caucus who was elected to Pelosi’s leadership team his freshman year in Congress. A former litigator, he sits on the House Judiciary Committee and consulted with Raskin, Cicilline and Lieu as they drafted the article the day of the attack. At 36, he will be the youngest impeachment manager in history, according to his office. “This armed mob did not storm the Capitol on any given day, they did so during the most solemn of proceedings that the United States Congress is engaged in,” Neguse said Thursday. “Clearly the attack was done to stop us from finishing our work.” REP. MADELEINE DEAN, PENNSYLVANIA Like Neguse, Dean was first elected when Democrats recaptured the House in 2018. She is also a member of the House Judiciary Committee, and is a former lawyer and member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. She says she hopes the prosecutors can convince the Senate and the American people “to mark this moment" with a conviction. “I think I bring to it just the simple fact that I’m a citizen, that I’m a mom and I’m a grandma," Dean said. "And I want my children, my grandchildren, to remember what we did here.” Mary Clare Jalonick, The Associated Press
One glaring deficit facing the healthcare system is the lack of Black doctors across the country — a condition that needs to be addressed.
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey has called a provincial election for Feb. 13. Furey's request to dissolve the legislature follows two days of free-flowing funding announcements from the governing minority Liberals. The campaign will be the fourth provincial election since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, following elections in Saskatchewan, British Columbia and New Brunswick. It will also be the first provincial campaign for Furey since he was elected Liberal leader in August, replacing premier Dwight Ball. Furey's biggest competition will come from the Opposition Progressive Conservatives, led by lawyer Ches Crosbie, son of the famously outspoken politician John Crosbie. The election comes at a time of deep economic trouble for the province, which is suffering from the struggling oil and gas industry. With a population of just over 520,000, Newfoundland and Labrador faces a $1.84-billion deficit and a $16.4-billion net debt. At dissolution, the Liberals held 19 seats, the Progressive Conservatives held 15, the NDP had three and there were three Independents. More coming. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2021. The Canadian Press
Joe Biden has pledged to deploy the US National Guard and FEMA resources to distribute Covid-19 vaccines across the US as part of a vaccine plan aimed at rapidly speeding up inoculations after a stalled rollout under Donald Trump’s administration that fell significantly short of its goals. The president-elect, days before his inauguration on 20 January, will propose “new, federally supported community vaccination centres” and mobilise “thousands” of staff and contractors.
Court of Appeal labelled previous conviction ‘unduly lenient’
Louise from St. Louis is not done with the franchise.
WILMINGTON, Del., Jan. 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rigrodsky Law, P.A. announces that it is investigating Corning Natural Gas Holding Corporation (“Corning”) (OTC: CNIG) regarding possible breaches of fiduciary duties and other violations of law related to Corning’s agreement to be acquired by affiliates of Argo Infrastructure Partners, LP. Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders of Corning common stock will receive $24.75 in cash per share. To learn more about this investigation and your rights, visit: https://www.rl-legal.com/cases-corning-natural-gas-holding-corporation. You may also contact Seth D. Rigrodsky or Gina M. Serra cost and obligation free at (888) 969-4242 or info@rl-legal.com. Rigrodsky Law, P.A., with offices in Delaware and New York, has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of investors and achieved substantial corporate governance reforms in securities fraud and corporate class actions nationwide. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. CONTACT: Rigrodsky Law, P.A.Seth D. RigrodskyGina M. Serra(888) 969-4242 (Toll Free)(302) 295-5310Fax: (302) 654-7530info@rl-legal.com https://rl-legal.com
Stocks in Toronto trudged toward the finish of the second week of calendar 2021, burdened by losses ...
Wall Street dropped again Friday to close out its first losing week in three after reports showed the pandemic is deepening the hole for the economy, as Washington prepares to throw it another lifeline. Stocks of companies that most need a healthier economy took some of the sharpest losses. Treasury yields also dipped as reports showed shoppers held back on spending during the holidays and are feeling less confident. Stocks have run out of steam since setting a record a week before on optimism that COVID-19 vaccines and more stimulus from Washington will bring an economic recovery. On Friday: The S&P 500 fell 27.29, or 0.7%, to 3,768.25. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 177.26, or 0.6%, to 30,814.26. The Nasdaq composite dropped 114.14, or 0.9%, to 12,998.50. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies lost 32.15, or 1.5%, to 2,123.20. For the week: The S&P 500 is down 56.43 points, or 1.5%. The Dow is down 283.71 points, or 0.9%. The Nasdaq is down 203.47 points, or 1.5%. The Russell 2000 is up 31.54 points, or 1.5%. For the year: The S&P 500 is up 12.18 points, or 0.3%. The Dow is up 207.78 points, or 0.7%. The Nasdaq is up 110.22 points, or 0.9%. The Russell 2000 is up 148.35 points, or 7.5%. The Associated Press
Officers were investigating a security alert in the Wattlebridge Road area of Newtownbutler, Co Fermanagh, close to the Irish border.
Hamilton reported three new deaths in local seniors’ homes on Thursday, with growing numbers in outbreaks across the city. Public health is reporting 20 deaths at Shalom Village in Westdale as of Jan. 13 at 3 p.m. That’s an increase of two from the city’s report yesterday. The home, which has the second-worst outbreak in Hamilton, now has 196 cases, including seven new resident cases. Since the outbreak began on Dec. 9, there have been 108 resident, 83 staff, and five visitor cases, according to the city. Two people are in hospital, the facility reported Wednesday. The numbers do not reflect active cases. One new death was reported in The Meadows Long Term Care Home in Ancaster, for a total of four. The outbreak has had 39 cases since Dec. 16. No new cases were reported Thursday. Other outbreaks with new cases include Villa Italia Retirement Residence on west Hamilton Mountain, which has two new staff cases. That’s a total of 30 cases since the outbreak began Dec. 23. Blackadar Continuing Care Centre in Dundas and the city-run home Macassa Lodge each had one new resident case. Idlewyld Manor reported its first resident case, with two previous staff cases, for a total of three since Jan. 7. A new outbreak was declared at Alexander Place Long-Term Care Home in Waterdown on Jan. 13 with one staff case. One resident case was dropped from St. Elizabeth Retirement Residence’s tally. The home now has a total of 50 cases, including 33 resident, 16 staff, and one visitor case. There have been four deaths in the outbreak since Dec. 25. No new deaths were reported at Grace Villa and one staff case was removed, so there are now 234 cases at the facility, including 144 resident cases, 88 staff cases, and two visitor cases. A total of 43 people have died at the east Mountain home since the outbreak began Nov. 25. The city’s mobile vaccine clinic was expected to continue its rounds on Thursday with stops scheduled at Grace Villa and Arbour Creek Care Centre. Previously, the clinic travelled to Idlewyld Manor, St. Peter’s Residence at Chedoke, Hamilton Continuing Care, Macassa Lodge, Shalom Village, and Wentworth Heights. Maria Iqbal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Hamilton Spectator
WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump’s supporters massed outside the Capitol last week and sang the national anthem, a line of men wearing olive-drab helmets and body armour trudged purposefully up the marble stairs in a single-file line, each man holding the jacket collar of the one ahead. The formation, known as “Ranger File,” is standard operating procedure for a combat team that is “stacking up” to breach a building — instantly recognizable to any U.S. soldier or Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was a chilling sign that many at the vanguard of the mob that stormed the seat of American democracy either had military training or were trained by those who did. An Associated Press review of public records, social media posts and videos shows at least 21 current or former members of the U.S. military or law enforcement have been identified as being at or near the Capitol riot, with more than a dozen others under investigation but not yet named. In many cases, those who stormed the Capitol appeared to employ tactics, body armour and technology such as two-way radio headsets that were similar to those of the very police they were confronting. Experts in homegrown extremism have warned for years about efforts by far-right militants and white-supremacist groups to radicalize and recruit people with military and law enforcement training, and they say the Jan. 6 insurrection that left five people dead saw some of their worst fears realized. “ISIS and al-Qaida would drool over having someone with the training and experience of a U.S. military officer,” said Michael German, a former FBI agent and fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. “These people have training and capabilities that far exceed what any foreign terrorist group can do. Foreign terrorist groups don’t have any members who have badges.” Among the most prominent to emerge is a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and decorated combat veteran from Texas who was arrested after he was photographed wearing a helmet and body armour on the floor of the Senate, holding a pair of zip-tie handcuffs. Another Air Force veteran from San Diego was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer as she tried to leap through a barricade near the House chamber. A retired Navy SEAL, among the most elite special warfare operators in the military, posted a Facebook video about travelling from his Ohio home to the rally and seemingly approving of the invasion of "our building, our house.” Two police officers from a small Virginia town, both of them former infantrymen, were arrested by the FBI after posting a selfie of themselves inside the Capitol, one flashing his middle finger at the camera. Also under scrutiny is an active-duty psychological warfare captain from North Carolina who organized three busloads of people who headed to Washington for the “Save America” rally in support the president’s false claim that the November election was stolen from him. While the Pentagon declined to provide an estimate for how many other active-duty military personnel are under investigation, the military’s top leaders were concerned enough ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration that they issued a highly unusual warning to all service members this week that the right to free speech gives no one the right to commit violence. The chief of the U.S. Capitol Police was forced to resign following the breach and several officers have been suspended pending the outcome of investigations into their conduct, including one who posed for a selfie with a rioter and another who was seen wearing one of Trump’s red “Make America Great Again” caps. The AP’s review of hundreds of videos and photos from the insurrectionist riot shows scores of people mixed in the crowd who were wearing military-style gear, including helmets, body armour, rucksacks and two-way radios. Dozens carried canisters of bear spray, baseball bats, hockey sticks and pro-Trump flags attached to stout poles later used to bash police officers. A close examination of the group marching up the steps to help breach the Capitol shows they wore military-style patches that read “MILITIA” and “OATHKEEPER.” Others were wearing patches and insignias representing far-right militant groups, including the Proud Boys, the Three Percenters and various self-styled state militias. The Oath Keepers, which claims to count thousands of current and former law enforcement officials and military veterans as members, have become fixtures at protests and counter-protests across the country, often heavily armed with semi-automatic carbines and tactical shotguns. Stewart Rhodes, an Army veteran who founded the Oath Keepers in 2009 as a reaction to the presidency of Barack Obama, had been saying for weeks before the Capitol riot that his group was preparing for a civil war and was “armed, prepared to go in if the president calls us up.” Adam Newbold, the retired Navy SEAL from Lisbon, Ohio, whose more than two-decade military career includes multiple combat awards for valour, said in a Jan. 5 Facebook video, “We are just very prepared, very capable and very skilled patriots ready for a fight.” He later posted a since-deleted follow-up video after the riot saying he was “proud” of the assault. Newbold, 45, did not respond to multiple messages from the AP but in an interview with the Task & Purpose website he denied ever going inside the Capitol. He added that because of the fallout from the videos he has resigned from a program that helps prepare potential SEAL applicants. Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Larry Rendall Brock Jr. of Texas was released to home confinement Thursday after a prosecutor alleged the former fighter pilot had zip-tie handcuffs on the Senate floor because he planned to take hostages. “He means to kidnap, restrain, perhaps try, perhaps execute members of the U.S. government,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Weimer said. “His prior experience and training make him all the more dangerous.” Army commanders at Fort Bragg in North Carolina are investigating the possible involvement of Capt. Emily Rainey, the 30-year-old psychological operations officer and Afghanistan war veteran who told the AP she travelled with 100 others to Washington to “stand against election fraud.” She insisted she acted within Army regulations and that no one in her group entered the Capitol or broke the law. “I was a private citizen and doing everything right and within my rights,” Rainey said. More than 120 people have been arrested so far on charges related to the Capitol riot, ranging from curfew violations to serious federal felonies related to theft and weapons possession. Brian Harrell, who served as the assistant secretary for infrastructure protection at the Department of Homeland Security until last year, said it is “obviously problematic” when “extremist bad actors” have military and law enforcement backgrounds. “Many have specialized training, some have seen combat, and nearly all have been fed disinformation and propaganda from illegitimate sources,” Harrell said. “They are fueled by conspiracy theories, feel as if something is being stolen from them, and they are not interested in debate. This is a powder keg cocktail waiting to blow.” The FBI is warning of the potential for more bloodshed. In an internal bulletin issued Sunday, the bureau warned of plans for armed protests at all 50 state capitals and in Washington, D.C., in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, police departments in such major cities as New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Houston and Philadelphia announced they were investigating whether members of their agencies participated in the Capitol riot. The Philadelphia area's transit authority is also investigating whether seven of its police officers who attended Trump’s rally in Washington broke any laws. Michael Sherwin, the acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia said Friday that any off-duty law enforcement officers determined to have participated in the riot would not receive special treatment. “We don’t care what your profession is," he said. “If you are conducting or engage in criminal activity, we will charge you and you will be arrested and that’s exactly what we’re doing.” A Texas sheriff announced last week that he had reported one of his lieutenants to the FBI after she posted photos of herself on social media with a crowd outside the Capitol. Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said Lt. Roxanne Mathai, a 46-year-old jailer, had the right to attend the rally but he’s investigating whether she may have broken the law. One of the posts Mathai shared was a photo that appeared to be taken Jan. 6 from among the mass of Trump supporters outside the Capitol, captioned: “Not gonna lie. ... aside from my kids, this was, indeed, the best day of my life. And it’s not over yet.” A lawyer for Mathai, a mother and longtime San Antonio resident, said she attended the Trump rally but never entered the Capitol. In Houston, Police Chief Art Acevedo said an 18-year veteran of the department suspected of joining the mob that breached the Capitol resigned before a disciplinary hearing that was set for Friday. “There is no excuse for criminal activity, especially from a police officer,” Acevedo said. “I can’t tell you the anger I feel at the thought of a police officer, and other police officers, thinking they get to storm the Capitol.” ___ Bleiberg reported from Dallas and LaPorta from in Delray Beach, Florida. Robert Burns and Michael Balsamo in Washington; Jim Mustian, Michael R. Sisak and Thalia Beaty in New York; Michael Kunzelman in College Park, Maryland; Juan A. Lozano in Houston; Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia; Martha Bellisle in Seattle; and Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles contributed. ___ Follow Associated Press Investigative Reporter Michael Biesecker at http://twitter.com/mbieseck; Jake Bleiberg at http://twitter.com/JZBleiberg; and James LaPorta at http://twitter.com/JimLaPorta ___ Contact AP’s global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org Michael Biesecker, Jake Bleiberg And James Laporta, The Associated Press
EXCLUSIVE: Xander Berkeley (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) is set for a recurring role opposite Sarah Baker and Luke Mitchell in the CW’s The Republic of Sarah, from writer-producer Jeffrey Paul King, Marc Webb, CBS Studios and studio-based Fulwell 73. Written by King, in The Republic of Sarah, faced with the destruction of her town at […]
WASHINGTON — Federal watchdogs launched a sweeping review of how the FBI, the Pentagon and other law enforcement agencies responded to the riot at the U.S. Capitol, including whether there were failures in information sharing and other preparations that left the historic symbol of democracy vulnerable to assault by a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters. The inquiries, undertaken by the inspectors general for the departments of Justice, Homeland Security, Interior and Defence, could result in searing criticism of the government's handling of a deadly breach at the Capitol in which armed loyalists of Trump overran the police and came in close contact with elected officials. The reviews will encompass everything from whether the FBI adequately shared information with other law enforcement agencies about the potential for violence to how the Pentagon mobilized for the Jan. 6 crisis. The initiation of the co-ordinated inquiries comes as failings in the government's preparation and response are coming into sharper focus more than a week after the riot. The Capitol Police, for instance, has said it had planned for free speech activity at the Capitol but not for the sort of violence that erupted as lawmakers assembled to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Trump. The lack of preparation is notable since Trump himself had encouraged his supporters to come to Washington and had called on them to “fight like hell" at a rally shortly before the riot. The Pentagon has said the Capitol Police turned down an offer for help days before the riot. Once it became clear on the day of the event that more substantial aid would be needed, it was a logistically complicated struggle to bring in a larger force to back up the embattled police. Now, the Defence Department inspector general will review the Pentagon's “roles, responsibilities, and actions” in preparing for and responding to the riot. At the Justice Department, the inspector general investigation will examine whether information was adequately shared with other agencies, including the Capitol Police, about the potential for violence. The inspector general said it “also will assess whether there are any weaknesses in DOJ protocols, policies, or procedures that adversely affected the ability of DOJ or its components to prepare effectively for and respond to the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.” The review will almost certainly include an assessment of intelligence that the Justice Department — and particularly the FBI — had collected before and after the riot. Steven D’Antuono, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington field office, said last week that there had been “no indication” of anything other than First Amendment activity. Days later, The Washington Post revealed the existence of a Jan. 5 report from the FBI’s field office in Norfolk that cited an online thread with detailed threats from extremists to be ready for “war.” D'Antuono later characterized the warning as a “thread on a message board” that was not attributable to any particular person, suggesting there was not much that could be done with that information. He said the information was quickly shared with other law enforcement agencies through the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Washington. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general office said it would look into the response of its component agencies, focusing in part on the Office of Intelligence and Analysis. That unit issues alerts to law enforcement agencies around the country. The Interior Department’s internal watchdog, meanwhile, will review the actions of the Park Police, including how it handled law enforcement on the Ellipse, the site of Trump's speech to supporters at a rally before the riot. ____ Associated Press writers Ellen Knickmeyer and Ben Fox contributed to this report. Eric Tucker And Michael Balsamo, The Associated Press