Lafayette

Paul Krugman Warns Trump Is Poised To Disregard Democratic House Victory

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman fears that President Donald Trump's

How To Help Trans, Nonbinary Communities Amid Reported Trump Policy Plans

The Trump administration is working on a plan to severely narrow the legal

Saudis Used Mole At Twitter To Track Dissidents For Troll Farm: Report

The Saudi government apparently groomed a mole inside Twitter to keep tabs on

The Latest: 2 suspects charged in Georgia officer's slaying

SNELLVILLE, Ga. (AP) — The Latest on the fatal shooting of a Georgia police officer (all times local):

Kmart employee gives emotional announcement before the store closed permanently

The once-beloved American retailer Sears Holdings filed for bankruptcy earlier

The Yenko Chevrolet Camaro Returns with up to 1000 Horsepower

It's also available with only 835 horses.

ABC News' Paula Faris interviews Texas Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke

ABC News' Paula Faris sat down separately with Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke, who are competing for Cruz' U.S. Senate seat in Texas, to discuss the midterm elections, among other topics.

Costa Rica Rafting Accident Leaves 5 Dead, Including 4 American Bachelor Party Attendees

A white-water rafting excursion in Costa Rica turned deadly on Saturday when

Trump says he remains unsatisfied with Saudi accounts on Khashoggi

Trump said he had spoken with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the world's top oil exporter, and has teams in Saudi Arabia and Turkey working on the case. "I am not satisfied with what I've heard," Trump told reporters at the White House. Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and critic of Prince Mohammed who lived in the United States, disappeared after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 to obtain documents for his upcoming marriage.

Dozens Injured After Floor Collapses During Party Near Clemson University

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) -- The floor of a condominium clubhouse near Clemson

The Nevada Senate Race Was Supposed To Be Easier For Democrats. It's Still Up For Grabs.

LAS VEGAS ― It seemed like there was every indication Dean Heller was toast

US probe widens after 63 fetuses found at funeral home

Police in the US city of Detroit have found 63 fetuses at a funeral home during a widening investigation of alleged malpractice at such facilities, US media reported. "This is larger than we might know," The Detroit News quoted Police Chief James Craig as saying. Michigan state regulators suspended the home's license, a week after investigators found the remains of 10 fetuses in a false ceiling at another funeral home in the city.

8 combatants, 6 civilians die in Kashmir battles, clashes

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Three local rebels were killed in a gunbattle with Indian government forces in disputed Kashmir on Sunday, and six civilians were killed in an explosion at the site after the fighting was over, officials and residents said.

French Teenager Who Threatened His Teacher With a Fake Gun Was Charged

President Emmanuel Macron said threatening a teacher was "unacceptable"

Turkey's Erdogan Promises Details on Khashoggi Case for Tuesday

“Why did 15 people come here, why did 18 people get arrested?” Erdogan said in an Istanbul speech quoted by Haberturk. Separately, Istanbul’s chief prosecutor called 28 more Saudi consulate staff, including Turkish and foreign nationals, to give testimony on Monday in the Khashoggi’s case, TRT World News said in tweet, citing unidentified sources familiar with matter.

Leslie Jones Showed No Mercy As She Hilariously Live-Tweeted ‘The Shape Of Water’

Guillermo del Toro's "The Shape of Water" may have won the Oscar for Best

Special police force deployed in Nigerian state of Kaduna: Buhari on Twitter

A special police force has been deployed to flashpoints in the northern state of Kaduna on Sunday in the wake of communal violence over the last few days that has killed 55 people, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Twitter. The Kaduna state government imposed a 24-hour curfew on Sunday after violence broke out on the streets of the state's capital city, also called Kaduna.

Christine Blasey Ford's Testimony Quotes Were Graffitied On Yale Law School Steps

The entrance to Yale University Law School, one of the most famous and

First Florida Governor’s Debate Becomes The Donald Trump Debate

TAMPA, Fla. ― The All-Donald Trump primary election strategy of Ron DeSantis,

These are the top 10 moneymaking cities from travel and tourism

A new report reveals that Shanghai made the most money from tourism in 2017, raking in USD $35 billion mostly from domestic visitors. 

Barzani makes comeback on both Kurd, Iraq fronts

A year after a disastrous independence vote he had championed in Iraqi Kurdistan, veteran leader Massud Barzani has made a strong comeback both on the home front and in Baghdad. While Iraq's presidency, a ceremonial post, has gone to Barham Saleh of the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) was on Sunday declared the clear winner of the September 30 parliamentary elections in the autonomous region of northern Iraq.

Best Ways to Help in the Aftermath of Hurricane Michael

Hurricane Michael is history, but work has only just begun on cleaning up the damage left behind by the monster storm. Residents of the Florida Panhandle face a long and costly recovery process. ...

Credibility of Saudi explanation for Khashoggi's killing questioned by US, Europe

ABC News Senior Foreign Correspondent Ian Pannell reports from Istanbul on the latest in the investigation into the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

From blackmailing princes to murdering journalists: how Saudi Arabia’s spy network has expanded under Mohammed bin Salman

Inside the Georgian mansion in Mayfair that houses Saudi Arabia’s embassy in London, two offices of Saudi intelligence operatives are busy at work.  The first office belongs to the General Intelligence Presidency, Saudi Arabia’s foreign intelligence agency. Its staff are engaged in the “normal” work of spies, meeting with MI6 to discuss Britain and Saudi Arabia’s shared fight against al-Qaeda or to swap secrets on Iran.  The second office has a darker purpose. There the staff of the Mabahith, Saudi Arabia’s secret police, are tracking people of interest inside the UK.  Its operatives are watching obvious targets like Saudi dissidents who have gone into exile in Britain, or London-based Islamists whose ideology is seen as a threat to Saudi Arabia’s absolute monarchy. But they are also keeping tabs on Arab businessmen and the decadent lives of Gulf royals living the UK. The Mabahith’s spies are especially interested in compromising material they can use as blackmail to further Riyadh’s interests.       “These guys gather the dirt and they hold it until directed,” said a former Saudi embassy employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “They want to know who is sleeping with who, who is drinking and doing drugs, who is spending money they don’t have.”  Saudi spies and secret police work out of the kingdom's embassy in London Credit: Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images The set-up in the London embassy is replicated at Saudi diplomatic posts around the world, forming a vast web of spies watching the kingdom’s enemies and surveilling its own people.  While this apparatus has existed for years, it has become more aggressive and more violent under Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince, who controls the Saudi security services.  His ambition to silence critics abroad and stomp out political rivals at home has depended on a new ferocity in the intelligence agencies. The murder of Jamal Khashoggi is just the most extreme example.   “For many decades Saudi Arabia had a system in which the king sought to develop a policy consensus within the royal family, the clerical establishment, and the entrepreneur elite,” said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer who now heads the Intelligence Project at the Brookings Institute.  “That has changed profoundly in the last few years. Instead of a consensual system they have moved to a very autocratic system, which relies much more on the intelligence services hounding out dissent at home and abroad.”  Maher Mutreb, a Saudi intelligence officer, was allegedly part of the squad that killed Mr Khashoggi Credit: Sabah via AP  Mr Khashoggi was no stranger to the craft of the secret police or how its methods changed over time. In the mid-2000s he worked at the Saudi embassy in London as an advisor to the ambassador, Prince Turki bin Faisal. The prince was Saudi Arabia’s spy chief before moving to the UK.   One of Mr Khashoggi’s embassy colleagues was Maher Mutreb, a Saudi intelligence officer stationed in London. Mr Mutreb is now under arrest in Saudi Arabia as part of the 15-man squad accused of Mr Khashoggi’s murder.    In his Washington Post column, Mr Khashoggi noted the aggression of Saud al-Qahtani, a senior aide to Crown Prince Mohammed who was sacked over the weekend amid the fallout out of the killing. The prince’s aide made no secret of his hatred for dissidents and once asked his 1.35 million Twitter followers to give him names for a blacklist. Mr Khashoggi pointed to the tweet as an example of how unrestrained Saudi repression had become in the last two years. “Writers like me, whose criticism is offered respectfully, seem to be considered more dangerous than the more strident Saudi opposition based in London.”  Saudi Arabia’s spies have always focused on the UK, which has given safe harbour to many Saudi dissidents as well as Islamists and anti-monarchists from across the Middle East.  One of their targets has been Sa’ad al-Faqih, the leader of Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia, a UK-based Saudi opposition group that campaigns to replace with the royal family with an Islamic government. Saad al-Faqih, a Saudi dissident based in London, has been a target for Saudi intelligence Credit: AP Photo/Richard Lewis Dr Faqih was attacked at his home in Willesden Green, northwest London, in June 2003 by two men who he said claimed to be plumbers. They tried to spray chemicals in his face and then attacked him with a spanner but he was able to fight them off.  He believes the two white men were British gangsters hired by Saudi Arabia to kidnap him, a claim that the kingdom has always denied.   Dr Faqih has not faced any more physical attacks since 2003. But he has felt a heightened threat since Crown Prince Mohammed began to gather power three years ago and he started taking new security precautions. “We feel extra danger because we know that this boy is reckless and impulsive,” he said.  Saudi dissidents were rattled by an incident in August this year on the pavement outside Harrods in central London. Ghanem al-Masarir, a popular Saudi political satirist who often mocks Crown Prince Mohammed, was confronted and attacked by two Saudi men.  يا شين المهايط فـ الخلا ما يحمّس يبربر على اسياده .. ولا احدٍ درا به ٰ سلامي على يـدٍ عطته ( المخمّس ) هذي اصغر ردود السعودي والاجابه��������#جلد_الكلب_غانم_الدوسري@GhanemAlmasarirpic.twitter.com/axejGsqNAt— بيع قصايد جزله .. (@Be3_600) September 9, 2018 “They were shouting about the king and Mohammed bin Salman and they said: ‘how dare you insult al-Saud?’” Mr Dosari said. He is convinced that the men were put up to the attack by Saudi intelligence.  “I don’t think they were trying to kill me or kidnap me but they wanted to insult me and to send a message that I was not safe where I was,” he said. Video footage of the attack was widely shared by pro-Saudi Twitter accounts under a hashtag celebrating the attack. The Saudi embassy in London did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story. Saudi Arabia insists that Mr Khashoggi's death was the result of "a rogue operation" which was not ordered by the government.   Before the killing in Istanbul made global headlines, the starkest example of the Saudi intelligence's new aggression was an apparent campaign to kidnap rebel princes in Europe and bring them back to Saudi Arabia.  According to the BBC, three princes who had fallen out with the royal family have been captured since 2015. One, Prince Sultan bin Turki, a grandson of King Abdulaziz, accepted a flight on a Saudi government private jet from Paris to Cairo in January 2016.     The prince went to sleep on the flight and when he awoke he realised the jet was in fact heading Saudi Arabia. He was dragged off the plane by Saudi agents and is believed to be under house arrest to this day.  Saudi dissidents joke darkly that Mr Khashoggi’s death probably means they are safer now than they have been in years because Riyadh will be unwilling to risk another international scandal. But none believe the danger has fully passed.  Over the weekend, King Salman ordered his ministers to prepare reforms of the Saudi intelligence services to prevent another incident like Mr Khashoggi’s death. No one should expect sweeping changes: the head of the reform committee is none other Crown Prince Mohammed himself. 

Trump's Reported Proposal To Redefine Gender, Eliminate Trans Rights Prompts Mass Protests

Hundreds of protesters gathered in New York City's Washington Square Park on

Russia: U.S. Withdrawal From Nuclear Treaty Would Be A ‘Very Dangerous Step’

The risks to global security could be severe if the U.S. pulls out of the

The 2019 Nissan Maxima Is Getting a New Look

The updated sedan will have more active-safety tech, and we'll learn the full details at the Los Angeles auto show.

Israel delays eviction of West Bank Bedouin village

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday postponed the forced eviction of a Bedouin village in the occupied West Bank, a government official said. The fate of Khan al-Ahmar has drawn international concern after Israel said it planned to raze the village, a ramshackle camp housing 180 residents. Its residents, backed by foreign activists who have gathered at the site, have been waiting for bulldozers to move in at any time after an Oct. 1 deadline from Israel for the villagers to demolish their own homes expired.

6 shot on street near north Florida stadium before NFL game

Six people have been wounded in a street shooting blocks from the Florida stadium where the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars play.

Is Costco's Same-Day Fresh Food Delivery Worth It?

Costco recently added produce, meats, fish, dairy and other fresh groceries—including its popular rotisserie chicken—to the roster of items available for same-day delivery.  If you're a member an...

Oreo Candy Canes Are Finally Hitting Shelves

Suddenly, we're SO excited for Christmas.

Prince Harry Wants Meghan Markle to Have a Baby Girl and People Couldn't Be More Excited

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expecting their first child together

Siemens CEO Kaeser says he will not attend Saudi investment conference

Siemens's chief executive said on Monday he would not attend a three-day Future Investment Initiative conference in Saudi Arabia after the country admitted that journalist Jamal Khashoggi had been killed in its consulate in Istanbul. The German engineering giant was one of the last companies to decide against sending its top executive to the conference after Riyadh sought to cover up Khashoggi's Oct. 2 death before admitting to a "grave mistake". "Siemens is a reliable and committed partner of the kingdom and its VISION 2030.

Israel reopens people, goods crossings to Gaza: statement

Israel ordered the country's goods and people border crossings with Gaza to be opened on Sunday, just four days after shuttering them following a Palestinian rocket attack that sparked retaliatory strikes. "The decision comes after a decrease in the violent events in Gaza over the weekend and efforts (militant Islamist Gaza rulers) Hamas made to restrain" demonstrators, a statement from Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman office read. On Wednesday, Lieberman had ordered the closure of the Kerem Shalom goods crossing and the Erez crossing for people, after a rocket from the Palestinian territory hit a home in southern Israel, prompting the Jewish state to strike 20 Hamas targets in Gaza.

Trump Says Anybody Voting For Democrats ‘Is Crazy’ At Arizona Rally

President Donald Trump declared that anyone voting for Democrats in the 2018

2019 Ford Ranger Production Has Begun, and You Can Preorder One Now

If you submit your order by January, you're guaranteed to get your Ranger by July, Ford says.

US, Turkey to soon begin joint patrols in north Syria

AL-UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar (AP) — Turkish and American troops could begin conducting joint patrols in a matter of days around the northern Syrian city of Manbij within the coming days, the top U.S. commander for the Middle East said Sunday.

Manchester United does denim with True Religion

Manchester United is breaking into denim wear, with a helping hand from True Religion. The world-famous UK soccer club has teamed up with the LA-based fashion brand on a capsule collection of menswear and womenswear styles set to launch this week. "The range we have collaborated on includes the same attention to detail and craftsmanship that has made True Religion a global brand, creating a new way for our fans to express their support for their club through every day, easy-to-wear apparel," said Manchester United Group Managing Director, Richard Arnold, in a statement.

School Cook Fired After Serving Students Kangaroo Meat Chili

He argues that it's a lean, healthy meat.

Halliburton forecasts lower fourth-quarter profit, shares fall

Halliburton, the largest provider of hydraulic fracturing services, has seen demand for its services soften as U.S. producers cut down on spending and transportation bottlenecks in the Permian Basin of west Texas and New Mexico pushed the price of regional crude lower. Halliburton said it expects the U.S. onshore sector to find a "bottom" in the fourth quarter, as producers reset 2019 budgets and next year begin working through a record backlog of drilled-but-uncompleted wells. While demand for its North American completions services has weakened, the firm's international business is showing signs of recovery, the company said on Monday, as global oil prices have climbed to around $80 a barrel.

CCTV shows Saudi operative 'wearing Jamal Khashoggi's clothes and a fake beard' in consulate decoy

CCTV footage has been released which appears to show one of the 15 Saudi Arabian so-called “hit squad” members posing as a body double for murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The images, which were published by CNN on Monday, show the decoy leaving the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by the back door, wearing Mr Khashoggi's clothes, a fake beard and glasses in the hours after he was killed. The man has been identified as Mustafa al-Madani - an official who was reportedly brought from Riyadh to Turkey to act as Khashoggi’s impersonator. Four hours earlier Mr Madani, 57, who is of similar height, age and build to Khashoggi, entered the building by the front door, without a beard, wearing a blue and white checked shirt and dark blue trousers. "Khashoggi's clothes were probably still warm when Madani put them on," a senior Turkish official told CNN. It is believed the two did not look sufficiently alike so the Saudis decided instead to wipe clean the consulate's CCTV footage. Saudi Arabia initially claimed that Mr Khashoggi had left the consulate through the back door, although footage of the double was never released to back up their claim. A Saudi operative allegedly exited the consulate after Mr Khashoggi was killed wearing his clothes, a fake beard, and glasses Credit: CNN Mr Khashoggi entered the consulate on October 2. His body has still not been found Credit:  REUTERS The kingdom finally acknowledged Mr Khashoggi's death on Saturday morning, when they said he was killed accidentally in a "fistfight". They claimed it was not done on the order of heir-apparent Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Foreign Minister, told Fox News on Sunday that Khashoggi's killing was "a rogue operation" and that "we don't know where the body is.'" "The individuals who did this did this outside the scope of their authority," he said. "There obviously was a tremendous mistake made and what compounded the mistake was the attempt to try to cover [it] up. That is unacceptable to the government." Turkish media and officials meanwhile said the 60-year-old Washington Post columnist was attacked by a 15-man Saudi team, which allegedly included a member of the royal family entourage, that cut off his fingers and decapitated him. Riyadh’s account of what happened on October 2 has changed several times as it came under mounting international mounting to explain the journalist’s disappearance. How the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi unfolded Prince Mohammed and his father, King Salman, called the son of Khashoggi on Sunday to express condolences for the death of his father. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, has said that details of Khashoggi's killing "will be revealed in all its nakedness" in a speech in parliament on Tuesday, the same day an investment forum is to take place in Riyadh, spearheaded by Prince Mohammed. Speaking ahead of tomorrow's address, Ömer Çelik, spokesman for Mr Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), said Khashoggi's death was a "complicated" murder that was "monstrously planned". Mr Çelik told reporters: "Hopefully everything will be uncovered and those responsible will be punished so no one will dare to think such things again." The announcements will likely have been received with some surprise in the Saudi royal court, which might have thought their account of what happened would put to bed any independent Turkish investigation. Jamal Khashoggi | read more But the international fallout has continued, with Canada cancelling a multi-billion pound defence contract with Saudi Arabia. Asked about a key deal with Riyadh for the sale of light armoured vehicles worth CAD$15 billion, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said "in this contract, there are clauses that must be followed in relation to the use of what is sold to them. If they do not follow these clauses, we will definitely cancel the contract." Mr Trudeau’s announcement followed a similar one from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said her country would not export arms to Saudi Arabia amid the uncertainty around Khashoggi's death. Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday that there remains an “urgent need” clarification, though senior British officials have signalled there would be no end to arms sales with the kingdom.

Jordan wants Israel to return lands leased under 1994 peace deal

King Abdullah II announced Sunday that Jordan has notified Israel it wants to reclaim two small plots of territory leased under their 1994 peace deal. "We have informed Israel (that we are putting) an end to the application of the peace treaty annexes regarding Baqura and Ghumar," said the king, quoted by official news agency Petra. The land was leased to Israel for a 25-year renewable period under annexes of the 1994 peace treaty that lay down a one-year notice period, with Jordan retaining sovereignty.

Twitter Agog At Trump Whopper That Californians Are 'Rioting' Over Sanctuary Cities

President Donald Trump insisted Saturday at a Nevada campaign rally that

Discover the secret ingredient for creating a great chili

Ground beef chili is way more convenient than chili made with whole chunks of meat, but a truly great version requires a few tricks. To keep the meat moist and tender, we treated it with salt and baking soda.