Lafayette

In his report, Mueller invites Congress to investigate Trump obstruction

The special counsel says "Congress has the authority to prohibit a president's corrupt use of his authority."

Children of California 'house of horrors' parents beg judge for more lenient sentence

The children of a California couple sentenced to life in prison for torturing them in a case that has shocked the US said they "forgive" their parents as they begged the judge for a more lenient sentence.  David and Louise Turpin's 13 children were discovered malnourished, shackled to their beds and living in filthy conditions when their 17-year-old daughter escaped the home and raised the alarm last January. "I love both of my parents so much," said one of the daughters, in a statement read by her brother at a sentencing hearing on Friday. The comments were echoed by some of the other children, with one asking for a lighter sentence because "they believed everything they did was to protect us". The couple, who pleaded guilty to 14 charges including child abuse and torture in February, have been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years. Investigators said all but one of the children - the baby - was abused Credit: UPI / Barcroft Images  The California "house of horrors" case, as it came to be known, shocked the US after the scale of the abuse was laid bare last year. When police entered the property in Perris, California they said it was covered in filth and the stench of human waste was overwhelming. The Turpins' offspring, who ranged from 2 - 29 years old at the time, were so severely malnourished they required urgent treatment for severe muscle wastage and neurological conditions. At least two girls have been left unable to bear children.  The deeply religious couple told the court they believed God had called on them to have so many children. Louise Turpin, left, listens to her attorney, Jeff Moore, during a sentencing hearing Friday Credit: AP Mrs Turpin, 50, wept as the first public statements from some of the children, who alternately spoke of love for their parents and what they had suffered. None of the children were publicly identified. One of the girls pleaded for a lenient sentence, saying her parents believed "God put it into their hearts" to home school the 13 children but were unable to cope.  Another said: "Life may have been bad but it made me strong. I fought to become the person that I am. I saw my dad change my mom. They almost changed me, but I realised what was happening. ... I'm a fighter, I'm strong and I'm shooting through life like a rocket." David Turpin, left, listens to his attorney during a sentencing hearing Friday Credit: AP Ahead of his sentence, Mr Turpin, 57, told the judge he never intended to harm his children, saying: "My homeschooling and discipline had good intentions".  "I'm sorry for everything I've done to hurt my children. I love my children so much," Ms Turpin said. Judge Bernard Schwartz told the couple they had delayed their children's "emotional, mental and physical development" as he jailed them on Friday. "You have severed the ability to interact and raise the children that you created and brought into this world," he said.   The court had previously heard how the children were only allowed to shower once a year and were mainly kept in their rooms except for meals, which had been reduced from three to one per day.  Other than an occasional family trip to Las Vegas or Disneyland, they rarely left the home. They slept during the day and were active a few hours at night. Although the couple filed paperwork with the state to home school their children, learning was limited.  "We don't really do school. I haven't finished first grade," the 17-year-old said, according to Deputy Manuel Campos. Investigators found that the toddler had not been abused, but all of the children were hospitalised after they were discovered. The seven adult children were living together and attending university in February when their parents pleaded guilty.

The Latest: Portugal confirms 29 Germans killed on Madeira

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — The Latest on the deadly bus crash on Portuguese island of Madeira (all times local):

North Korea calls for 'immature' Mike Pompeo to be dropped from nuclear talks with US

North Korea has called for US secretary of state Mike Pompeo to be removed from nuclear talks because of his reckless and immature behaviour, according to reports.The official KCNA news agency quoted Kwon Jong Gun, a senior foreign ministry official, as accusing Mr Pompeo of “fabricating stories like a fiction writer.”“Whenever Pompeo pokes his nose in, the talks go wrong without any results even from the point close to success,” Mr Kwon said.“I am afraid that, if Pompeo engages in the talks again, the table will be lousy once again and the talks will become entangled.“Therefore, even in the case of possible resumption of the dialogue with the US, I wish our dialogue counterpart would be not Pompeo but other person who is more careful and mature in communicating with us.”The statement was made shortly after North Korea announced that its supreme leader Kim Jong-un had overseen the testing of a new tactical guided weapon.It was the North’s first weapon’s test since negotiations over nuclear disarmament and US sanctions broke down at the second summit between Mr Kim and US President Donald Trump in February.Last week the North Korean leader announced that he would only consider a third summit if the US brought the “right attitude” to talks and changed its “hostile” policy, including tough sanctions, before the end of the year.On Monday, Mr Pompeo responded by saying that Mr Kim had promised to denuclearise during his first summit with Mr Trump and that officials were trying to “chart a path forward so we can get there.” The North Korean statement by Mr Kwon accused Mr Pompeo of “talking nonsense”.“We cannot be aware of Pompeo’s ulterior motive behind his self-indulgence in reckless remarks; whether he is indeed unable to understand words properly or just pretending on purpose,” said Mr Kwon.“However, it is a very dangerous situation if he really did not grasp the meaning. If his behaviour is intended, I think it is none other than silly calculation to be free from the constraint that the US should make a move until the end of the year, misrepresenting the meaning of our requirement as the finalization of the working level negotiation by the end of the year by help of his talented skill of fabricating stories like a fiction writer.”Mr Pompeo was also accused of “spouting reckless remarks hurting the dignity of our supreme leadership” – believed to be a reference to the secretary of state’s agreement that Mr Kim was a “tyrant”.Additional reporting by agencies

Three mountaineers presumed dead in Canada avalanche

Three world-renowned professional mountaineers -- two Austrians and an American -- were missing and presumed dead after an avalanche on a western Canadian summit, the country's national parks agency said Thursday. American Jess Roskelley, 36, and Austrians Hansjorg Auer, 35, and David Lama, 28, went missing Tuesday evening in Banff National Park, according to media reports.

Air France-KLM offering free flights to those helping rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral

Air France-KLM is donating travel to assist with the reconstruction of Notre Dame.

Sporadic violence as millions vote in second phase of India's mammoth election

The Election Commission said 66 percent of more than 155 million eligible Indians had voted, as per provisional data, in 95 constituencies in 12 states. Results of the election to India's 545-member parliament are expected on May 23. In focus are the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, where the main opposition Congress party and its allies need to win big if they hope to stop Prime Minister Narendra Modi from securing a second straight term.

Don't Wait to Book Summer Air Travel | 737 Max

737 Max Fallout: Don't Wait to Book Summer Air Travel If you’re thinking of taking a summer vacation but haven’t yet booked your airline tickets, here’s one bit of advice: This is not the year t...

William Barr Just Ensured He'll Stay Front and Center in the Mueller Report Debate

Attorney General William Barr used his Mueller report press conference to give an emphatic defense of President Donald Trump. Here's what it will mean for Barr.

Man who carried gas cans into NY cathedral charged with attempted arson

Wednesday's incident occurred two days after a massive fire severely damaged the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, causing global shock and sorrow. A New York City Police Department official said Marc Lamparello, a New Jersey resident, was charged with second-degree attempted arson, second-degree reckless endangerment and trespassing after he entered the Roman Catholic cathedral in midtown Manhattan just before 8 p.m. on Wednesday and was confronted by a security guard. As Lamparello turned to leave the cathedral, police said, gasoline spilled from the cans he was carrying, causing cathedral staff to alert police officers stationed outside the church.

Bereft Catholics to be greeted by 'ephemeral wooden' Notre-Dame in front of the charred original

Catholics and tourists who can no longer approach Notre-Dame after Monday’s devastating fire will be consoled by an “ephemeral cathedral” made of wood until the stricken cathedral reopens, its chief priest has announced. Notre-Dame’s 12 million annual visitors will still be able to marvel at Europe’s most visited historic building from the outside, but Monseigneur Patrick Chauvet said for the faithful something more was needed. “We mustn’t say ‘the cathedral is closed for five years’ and that’s it,” he told CSNews TV. The prospect led him to ask the question: “Can I not build an ephemeral cathedral on the esplanade (in front of Notre Dame)?” Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, has backed the idea, he said. The wooden “cathedral” will host priests who will be able to address the crowds during reconstruction works, which President Emmanuel Macron said wanted to be complete within five years. As experts continued to assess the damage to the building, which lost its roof and “forest” of ancient wooden beams, along with its famed spire, President Macron led a day of tribute to the Paris firefighters who saved the Gothic edifice from collapse and rescued its treasures from the flames. They were to be awarded a special gold medal for “bravery and devotion”. Later, Paris town hall will stage a ceremony in the firefighters’ honour, with a Bach concert, two giant banners and readings from Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame. More than 400 firefighters took part in the nine-hour fight to save the 12th-century cathedral.  Despite a delay reportedly due to a computer glitch in the fire alarm sending security agents to the wrong part of the cathedral, its iconic towers, rose windows, huge organ and artworks were saved thanks to the quick and valiant work of Paris firemen. The building was only minutes from burning to the ground in a "chain-reaction collapse", said Jose Vaz de Matos, a fire expert with France's culture ministry. Miraculously, no one was killed in the fire, which occurred during a Mass. “The worst has been avoided,” said Franck Riester, the culture minister. But he warned that there was still a risk of collapse of three weak spots. “The main structure is out of danger but three areas remain fragile,” he told BFM TV. While the upper level and northern gable had been secured overnight, the western gable between the two bell towers remains “extremely weakened”, he warned. Another weak spot is the corner of the southern belfry, where the intense heat from the fire had turned the stone “crumbly”. The vault is also not out of danger. “Scaffolding will be installed to remove the debris from the vault because if it rains, water will gather and weigh down on it,” he said. With around €900 million (£780m) already donated to rebuild the cathedral from around the world, officials warned that fraudsters are taking advantage of the Notre-Dame fire to fool well-wishers into handing over cash. The French Heritage Foundation, which has so far collected more than €13 million from individual donors, said: "A number of scams have been flagged to us both in France and abroad.” It urged people to donate only to official sites.

Alibaba head's remarks spark debate over China working hours

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese e-commerce tycoon Jack Ma has long been an example of how the power of big dreams, strong leadership and sheer elbow grease can create massive fortunes in China's go-go economy.

Israeli tank, aircraft hit Gaza after cross-border fire: army

Israel on Friday struck Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip with tank and aircraft fire after troops were shot at on the Israeli side of the border, the army said. The Israeli military said in a statement that "no injuries to soldiers were reported" after its troops came under fire. Palestinian security sources in Hamas-ruled Gaza told AFP that the Israeli strikes hit Hamas military observation posts at three locations along the frontier.

Driver with STAYUMBL license plate, notorious for cutting people off around Durham, charged in incident with bus

The STAYUMBL license plate is notorious on the road and social media. Folks say the driver behind the wheel will speed up, cut people off and then slam on her brakes, sometimes causing a crash.

How Did Notre Dame Come to Be So Neglected?

With Notre Dame still smoldering, French President Emmanuel Macron promised to rebuild the great cathedral and called for donors. France’s luxury industry led the way, with Bernard Arnault, the billionaire founder of the LVMH fashion conglomerate, promising 200 million euros ($226 million) and Francois Pinault of rival fashion group Kering 100 million euros. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo offered money from city coffers and promised to organize an international donor conference.

The biggest revelations in the Mueller report

Key takeaways from the 448-page, moderately redacted special counsel report.

Thousands of Peruvians say goodbye to ex-president following suicide

Garcia shot himself in the head on Wednesday to avoid arrest in connection with alleged bribes from Brazilian builder Odebrecht, in the most dramatic turn yet in Latin America's largest graft scandal. Friends, allies and leaders across the political spectrum paid homage to Garcia at the headquarters of his APRA party, one of Latin America's oldest political parties, and one which twice helped usher Garcia to the presidency. Vizcarra ordered flags to be flown at half mast at the country's Congress and other public buildings to honor the ex-President and former lawmaker.

Here's What's Open and Closed on Easter 2019

Wondering where to get eggs on Easter Sunday 2019? Don't worry, we know!

The Latest: Columbine moves ahead with memorial events

LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) — The Latest on the investigation of a woman believed to have posed a threat to schools in Colorado (all times local):

Assad urges progress on Idlib deal ahead of Syria talks

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Friday called for progress on a stalled buffer zone deal around jihadist-dominated Idlib region ahead of fresh talks aimed at ending his country's eight-year war. Assad met envoy Alexander Lavrentiev from key ally Russia in Damascus to discuss the negotiations due April 25-26 in Kazakhstan. Iran and Russia are the major supporters of the Syrian regime, and along with rebel backer Turkey have sponsored repeated rounds of talks in the Central Asian nation.

Louis Farrakhan defends Rep. Omar’s 9/11 remarks

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan defended Rep. Ilhan Omar’s description of the Sept.11 attacks Monday by dismissing the attacks as a false-flag operation designed to draw the U.S. into Middle Eastern conflicts.

How Pete Buttigieg handled anti-gay protesters shouting about Sodom and Gomorrah at Iowa rally

"The good news is, the condition of my soul is in the hands of God, but the Iowa caucuses are up to you," Buttigieg responded, pointing at the crowd.

How to Get Rid of Lawn Weeds

Unless you stop them, weeds are going to grow in your lawn. Here's what you need to do.

Time-lapse shots of Notre-Dame spire may yield clues on blaze

Footage from the camera, which was placed on the northern bell tower, and is now in the hands of investigators.

Mueller report: Trump said 'this is the end of my presidency', and other key findings from special counsel's investigation

The release of the 400-page, redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling and possible links to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is one of the most eagerly-awaited events of his first term.Following the release of attorney general William Barr’s summary of the report last month, many have been waiting for a more detailed look at Mr Mueller’s findings. There have been particular questions still lingering over the issue of possible obstruction of justice by Mr Trump since the release of that summary.Here are the key points in the report, which has been split into two volumes.The first section covered the issue of Russian election interference and the second dealswith the evidence surrounding possible obstruction.The instances of possible obstruction by the presidentMr Mueller’s report makes clear that he did not feel able to pass a traditional legal judgement on whether Mr Trump obstructed justice, but the report “does not exonerate him” with a number of episodes of possible obstruction examined. There were at least 10 such episodes, such of which will be explained in greater detail later in this article. They include: * The Trump campaign’s response to reports about Russian support for the would-be president * Conduct involving FBI Director James Comey, who initially led the Russia investigation until Mr Trump fired him in May 2017, and former White House national security advisor Michael Flynn * Mr Trump’s reaction to the Russia investigation as it was taking place – including angry tweets deriding the investigation * The president’s termination of Mr Comey * The appointment of Mr Mueller special counsel and efforts to remove him. This includes attempts to have White House lawyer Don McGahn deny that Mr Trump ordered him to have Mr Mueller removed[[gallery-0]] * Efforts to curtail Mr Mueller’s investigation * Efforts to prevent public disclosure of evidence that could prove useful to the investigation * Further efforts to have the attorney general take control of the Russia investigation * Conduct towards Mr Flynn, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and another redacted individual * Conduct involving Mr Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael CohenMr Mueller’s says at the start of the report: “A statement that the investigation did not establish particular facts does not mean there no evidence of the facts.”Mr Barr and attorney general Rod Rosenstein have decided that none of this evidence passes the threshold required to bring a criminal case.The investigation team involved dozens of investigators and lawyers At its height, the investigation had 19 attorneys, five from private practice, and 14 from the Department of Justice. There was also a number of other lawyers used to shift possible evidence. There were also three paralegal staff, nine administrative staff and more than 40 other FBI workers. There were 500 witnesses, 80 of whom were out in front of a grand jury.Trump thought he was “f*****” after Mr Mueller was appointedThe president did not react too kindly to Mr Mueller being given the job as special counsel by Mr Rosenstein. The president is said to have “slumped back in his chair and said: “Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I’m f*****.”Trump’s campaign ‘expected’ help from Russia but nobody conspired The report concludes that Russia definitely interfered in the 2016 election, but there was no conspiring between those on Trump’s team and people connected to Russia – despite a number of “links” between individuals.Here is what the report says: “[T]he investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts.”The investigation was slowed by messages being deleted, including by Trump campaign officials As well as numerous guilty pleas from a number of people over lies told to Congress and the FBI during the Muller investigation, the report also registers the seeming frustration of the Mueller team that a number of potentially useful communications were deleted by those investigated. This included some people in the Trump campaign.“Some of the individuals we interviewed or whose conduct we investigated – including some associated with the Trump campaign – deleted relevant communications or communicated… using applications that feature encryption,” the report says.Mueller chose not to subpoena TrumpThe report states that the written responses by the president to questions from investigators were “inadequate”, including that possible questions over obstruction of justice being left unanswered.However Mr Mueller said that due to the “late stage” of the investigation at the time, calling the president for testimony would cause a “substantial delay” and therefore one would not be issued.Trump’s attempts to fire Mr Mueller and influence Jeff Sessions were stoppedMr Mueller reports that aides and advisors in the White House refused to “carry out orders” from the president, preventing him from influencing the special counsel’s investigation through there own efforts.“The president’s efforts to influence the investigation were mostly unsuccessful, but that is largely because the persons who surrounded the president declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests,” the report says.White House counsel Don McGahn received a phone call at home from Mr Trump on 17 June, 2017 directing him to call Mr Rosenstein and tell him Mr Mueller “had conflicts of interest and must be removed.” Mr McGahn is said to have refused and responded he would “rather resign”. In another section, a message from Mr Trump to then-attorney Jeff Sessions about limiting the special counsel’s investigation to “future election interference” was not passed on as the White House official involved, Rick Dearborn “was uncomfortable with the task”.Mueller decided not to prosecute Trump Jr or Jared Kushner over Trump Tower meetingMr Mueller decided that prosecuting either Donald Trump Jr, or White House advisor, and President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner over actions in accepting and attending a meeting in June 2016 at Trump Tower with a Russian national who promised damaging information about election rival Hillary Clinton.Investigators could not prove Trump Jr or the other campaign officials at the meeting “willfully” violated the law.The other Trump official at the meeting was campaign chair Paul Manafort, who agreed to meet with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. The special counsel concluded that prosecuting the campaign officials present for campaign-finance violations would be too difficult to pursue.Mueller has left door open for Congress to investigateAs part of the special counsel’s constitutional justification for its own investigation, it also points out that Congress can also apply obstruction laws in investigating and impeaching a sitting president.“The conclusion that Congress may apply the obstruction laws to the president’s corrupt exercise of the powers of office accords with our constitutional system of checks and balances and the principle that no person is above the law,” the report states.

Hyundai unveils seventh and smallest SUV in the lineup yet

On Wednesday at the New York International Auto Show, Hyundai finally unveiled the compact but "bold" 2020 Venue that it has been teasing for weeks. To prepare for the launch of the 2020 Venue, Hyundai has been publishing teaser images of the model's name badge, design sketches, and even photographs of millennials partying on a rooftop. On Wednesday, the entry SUV finally made its debut in New York.

Columbine focuses on healing as questions loom after manhunt

LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado community changed forever by the attack that killed 13 people at Columbine High School moved ahead Thursday with ceremonies marking the anniversary of the tragedy while awaiting more details on what led a Florida teen "infatuated" with the shooting to buy a shotgun and kill herself in the snowy foothills nearby.

Appeals court upholds California 'sanctuary state' bill

A US appeals court on Thursday upheld a California "sanctuary state" bill that blocks state and local law enforcement from working with federal immigration authorities. The three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, headquartered in San Francisco, unanimously ruled to uphold Senate Bill 54, which prohibits police and sheriffs from collaborating with immigration authorities. "SB 54 may well frustrate the federal government's immigration enforcement efforts," said Judge Milan Smith in the ruling.

Amazon to pull plug on China retail operations: report

Amazon plans to close down its online retail operations that cater to consumers in China in an apparent admission of defeat to local e-commerce rivals such as Alibaba and JD.com, a report said on Thursday. The US e-commerce pioneer will maintain other operations in China such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Kindle e-books and cross-border teams that help ship goods from Chinese merchants to customers abroad, Bloomberg News said, citing unidentified people familiar with the plans. An Amazon spokesperson did not explicitly confirm plans to throw in the towel on domestic e-commerce, but said the company was looking to focus more on cross-border sales.

Cheap solar panels power consumer appliance boom in North Korea

Electricity shortages have been a perennial concern for North Korea, and leader Kim Jong Un has called for greater use of renewable energy as part of his drive for self-sufficiency as sanctions have ratcheted higher in response to the country's nuclear and missile programs. Now ever more households, factories and businesses are equipped with solar panels, leading to a greater variety of home electronics products available in increasingly common private markets known as jangmadang, defectors and recent visitors say. Among the hottest selling items are water purifiers, hair straighteners and electric bicycles, mostly from China but some made in North Korea or even smuggled in from South Korea.

Full coverage: Mueller report is released

Trump sought to obstruct justice — but White House aides wouldn’t do it, special counsel concludes.

Police official: Short-circuit likely caused Notre Dame fire

PARIS (AP) — Paris police investigators think an electrical short-circuit most likely caused the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, a police official said Thursday, as France paid a daylong tribute to the firefighters who saved the world-renowned landmark.

Opioid crisis: US doctors accused of trading prescriptions for sex and cash in major scandal

Scores of medical professionals across seven states were charged by federal prosecutors on Wednesday with schemes to illegally distribute millions of pain pills — in some cases exchanging opioid prescriptions for sex, in others for cash with an added “concierge fee”, and in one case routinely prescribing opioids to friends on Facebook.Officials called the case the “single largest prescription opioid law enforcement operation in history”.The indictments, unsealed in federal court in Cincinnati on Wednesday, accuse 60 people, including 31 doctors, seven pharmacists and eight nurses of involvement in the schemes, which included opioid prescriptions issued for gratuitous medical procedures like unnecessary tooth-pulling.In some cases doctors simply handed out signed blank prescription forms.“These cases involve approximately 350,000 opioid prescriptions and more than 32 million pills — the equivalent of a dose of opioids for every man, woman and child across the states of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and West Virginia combined,” Brian Benczkowski, an assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s criminal division, said at a news conference.Most of the charges were filed against people in those five states; one person was charged in Pennsylvania and one in Louisiana.Nationally, more than 70,000 deaths in 2017 were attributed to drug overdoses, with about one-quarter of them caused by prescription opioids.States wholly or partly in Appalachia recorded some of the highest rates of drug overdose deaths that year: West Virginia was first in the nation, Ohio second and Kentucky fifth.“The opioid epidemic is the deadliest drug crisis in American history, and Appalachia has suffered the consequences more than perhaps any other region,” Attorney General William Barr said in a statement.Prosecutors accused the medical professionals who were charged on Wednesday of conducting a wide range of schemes.Some involved small leagues of doctors and their office staffs, while in other cases, people acted alone, according to the indictments.Some doctors performed unneeded medical procedures to justify the pills they prescribed, prosecutors said, while others simply passed out prescriptions without going to the trouble of disguising their purpose.One of the doctors facing charges in Ohio had at one time prescribed more controlled substances than anyone else in the state, prosecutors said.A pharmacy in Dayton, Ohio, was accused of dispensing more than 1.75 million pills.And a doctor in Tennessee who called himself the “Rock Doc” was accused of prescribing hundreds of thousands of pills in exchange for sex.A doctor in Alabama, federal prosecutors said, “allegedly recruited prostitutes and other young women with whom he had sexual relationships” to become his patients, and allowed them to use illicit drugs at his home.In some cases, the quantity of drugs prescribed to the same patients at short intervals indicated that they could have been taking as many as 15 pills a day, prosecutors said.The charges announced Wednesday include unlawful distribution of controlled substances and conspiracy to obtain controlled substances by fraud.Prosecutors said that the charges could result in sentences of up to 50 years in prison.The indictments stem from four months of investigative work by the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Task Force, a group of prosecutors, federal agents and data analysts that was created in December 2018 to find patterns suggesting that doctors were prescribing inordinately high numbers of pain pills, and then follow up with traditional law enforcement techniques, including the use of informants and undercover investigators.Cases like this have been prosecuted before, including a Justice Department operation in June that resulted in charges against 162 defendants, including 76 doctors, for fraudulently prescribing and distributing opioids.Those cases were handled within the larger health fraud unit at the Justice Department.The Appalachian task force is different, Benczkowski said, because it is exclusively concerned with corrupt medical professionals, and is “doing it in a region of the country that is probably the hardest hit.”The New York Times

'Democratic socialists' Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez, and Tlaib prefer socialism to democracy

“Democratic socialism” turned out to be a chimera, and today’s “democratic socialists,” care more for socialism than democracy.

Down in the polls, Ukraine leader begs for second chance

Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko begged for forgiveness and a second chance Thursday as polls showed him facing all-but-certain defeat three days ahead of a presidential vote. In a dramatic televised address, Poroshenko pleaded with voters to support him over Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian with no political experience who has surged ahead in the polls. What did not work out hurts the most," Poroshenko said.

This 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Restomod Is A Showstopper

Case and point, this 1957 Cadillac Eldorado SeVille restomod currently listed by Streetside Classics. Finished in Bright Ruby Red and detailed with polished chrome work elevates this iconic design to new levels. Its creators were careful not to detract away from the timeless styling of the Eldorado, and have instead exaggerated its highly fashionable character.

BlackBerry Messenger or BBM to be shut down for consumers on May 31

The mobile messaging service BBM, one of the last remnants from BlackBerry’s heyday is about to be closed for consumers.

NFL defensive back Ha Ha Clinton-Dix's college degree withheld for $1 debt

Chicago Bears defensive back Ha Ha Clinton-Dix tweeted Thursday that the University of Alabama is holding his degree, which he earned in 2018, over a $1 unpaid debt. It's unclear why Clinton-Dix owes Alabama a single dollar but he should have no problem finding the pocket change as he recently signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Bears in the offseason.

Trump as Mueller report is released: 'I'm having a good day'

At a previously scheduled White House event on Thursday, President Trump made his first public remarks on the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.

Two-wave US flu season is now the longest in a decade

NEW YORK (AP) — Three months ago, this flu season was shaping up to be short and mild in the U.S. But a surprising second viral wave has made it the longest in 10 years.

Prosecutors want Felicity Huffman to serve 4-10 months in college bribery case

Court documents show that prosecutors will recommend the "Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman's sentence be on the lower end of 4-10 months.