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DOJ Releases 2023 Crime Statistics, Trump Campaign Fact Checks ABC
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Following the release of new crime statistics from the Justice Department, former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign on Thursday released a blistering statement, slamming ABC’s David Muir, who was one of the moderators of Tuesday’s presidential debate.

Trump commented during the debate that crime rates, especially those caused by illegal immigrants, have drastically risen during the Biden-Harris administration. But Muir shot back: “As you know, the FBI says overall violent crime is coming down in this country.”

The Trump campaign highlighted the figures in the Justice Department’s “National Crime Victimization Survey,” which was released on Thursday.

The survey found that violent crime was up 37% from 2020 to 2023, rape is up 42%, robbery is up 63%, and stranger violence is up 61%.

“If Kamala is given another four years and the chance to implement her weak-on-crime, defund the police, no cash bail policies, America will continue to turn into a crime-ridden hellhole for illegal immigrants, Venezuelan gangsters, and drug dealers,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

“Only President Trump will restore law and order, protect our police, secure the border, deport illegal immigrants, and prosecute criminals to the fullest extent of the law.”

“If you want to be safe, VOTE TRUMP,” she added.

Muir, who moderated the debate in Philadelphia alongside ABC’s Linsey Davis, fact-checked Trump at least four times during the showdown.

Other topics the moderators fact-checked the former president on included abortion, and whether Haitian migrants in Ohio are eating pets.

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The Polls Are Clear: Kamala Harris’s Honeymoon Period Is Over

Vice President Kamala Harris has lost steam and her edge against former President Donald Trump has slipped in three major polls with less than a month to go until Election Day — yet another blow to Democrats who were already starting to panic about November.

Harris has lost six percentage points on Trump in a single month in the NBC News poll, giving the former president the slimmest lead of 47% to 46% among registered voters — with third-party contenders included.

Last month, Harris scored 47% to Trump’s 41% in the same poll.

A separate survey from ABC News/Ipsos also showed voters moving in Trump’s direction nationally, with Harris still up among likely voters 50% to 48%.

But that’s a significant tightening from the 6-point edge Harris had scored in the poll last month among likely voters (52% to 46%).

Lastly, a CBS News/YouGov poll found Harris ahead of Trump nationally by 51% to 48% and up in the battleground state average of 50% to 49% among likely voters.

That poll had Trump gaining just one percentage in the national matchup from where he was in the September poll which had Harris up 52% to 48%. The battleground state average is identical.

With the fresh batch of polling, Harris’ lead in the RealClearPolitics aggregate of recent multi-candidate national polling has also slipped and now sits at 1.4 percentage points, down from 2.2 points on Saturday.

Trump is also up in the RCP no-tossup map of swing state contests.

Taken together, this is bad news for Harris. Most experts think she needs a five to six-point national polling advantage to win — a nod to past elections showing that Trump supporters tend not to respond to polls and that Republicans have an inherent advantage in the electoral college.

Even before these surveys, frustrated Democrats were sharing internal polling that showed Harris losing in swing states like Wisconsin and Michigan — states that will help determine the outcome of the November election.

And many GOP insiders have been all but ready to declare victory.

“There are lots of Republicans — I say lots — a not insignificant number of Republicans, who say the race is effectively over,” longtime political journalist Mark Halperin said last week on 2WAY’s “Morning Meeting” program.

He later said “there are a lot of really worried Democrats and there are really no worried Republicans, including at Mar-a-Lago.”

Underpinning the apparent shift in the poll appears to be Harris’ favorability slipping, according to the NBC News survey — with the vice president clocking in at 43% positive to 49% negative, falling particularly among younger and independent voters.

On issues, the NBC poll mirrored a myriad of prior polling showing Trump ahead with respect to the economy (46% to 38%), inflation (44% to 37%), immigration (46% to 36%) and dealing with the conflict in the Middle East (42% to 34%).

Harris got the lead on abortion (47% to 32%), looking out for the middle class (42% to 32%) and safeguarding democracy (44% to 38%).

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UPDATE: Vem Miller Breaks Silence to Deny Assassination Attempt

The man arrested outside Donald Trump’s Coachella rally has broken his silence, confirming he’s a supporter of the former president and denied he was attempting to shoot him.

Vem Miller, 49, is a registered Republican who allegedly tried to present fake VIP credentials at a Trump rally on Saturday and then found himself arrested on illegal firearms charges.

Miller said he told law enforcement about the guns as a courtesy, in an interview with The Press-Enterprise.

The 49-year-old said he received a special invitation to the Coachella Valley rally from the head of Clark County’s Republican Party.

Mr Miller claimed he had his vehicle was “ransacked” after he alerted officers to the guns. He alleged he bought the firearms in 2022 for protection after receiving death threats.

He added that he had never fired them and claimed he was unfamiliar with the difference between gun laws in Nevada and California

The assassination plot suspect also denied claims he presented a press pass at the checkpoint, alleging that he told security he had a  “special entry pass”.

When asked by Fox News about his political beliefs, he confirmed: ‘Yes, I’m 100% a Trump supporter.’

He added that while he’d supported Democrat Barack Obama in the past, thinking he would ‘save us from needless wars and censorship,’ he’s drifted rightward to libertarianism.

‘I’m certainly more Republican now,’ he said, claiming that he’s been ‘all-in’ on Trump since 2018.

Miller said that he briefly flirted with supporting Bernie Sanders ‘without realizing the implications of socialism’ but has come to see Trump as ‘a visual example of freedom of speech.’

‘This is a man that I deeply admire, because I was a closet individual in terms of my beliefs, because I worked in Hollywood. As my politics started to change, I realized that Hollywood is a homogenous community,’ he added.

Miller also says that there are no falsified IDs on his person, that there was confusion because he’s Armenian and some use his full birth name and others don’t to avoid potential anti-Armenian sentiment around the world.

His 2021 court documents list his name as ‘Vem Vim Yenovkian’, also known as ‘Vem Miller Yenovkian’.

Miller filed in Clark County, Nevada to change his name to Vem Miller in 2022. The court appears to have granted the request.

He further denied accusations made by Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco that he was a part of an anti-government ‘sovereign citizens’ movement.

‘That’s a nonsensical statement. I don’t think there’s such a thing,’ he said, calling it equally ‘nonsensical’ that Bianco saw him as ‘far right.’

‘Government is an inanimate object, it’s the individuals within government that matter, so no, I’m not a part of any of that. They’re saying that I’m part of these right-wing anti-government groups? Why aren’t they naming these groups? Because it doesn’t exist.’

Miller does have a somewhat checkered past, according to files obtained by DailyMail.

He married Sonia Gulian, 46, and had two children with her – but appears to have divorced and sued her in federal court in 2021 claiming she ‘kidnapped’ the kids and took them to the UK while he was working in Canada.

‘My ex wife Sonia Helen Gulian and her parents Zvart Gulian and Shahe Gulian kidnapped my American Children, who are born and raised in Los Angeles, California, while I was working in Toronto, Canada on a brief 2 year contract,’ he wrote in the legal complaint.

‘I am from LA, where I have lived since I was 15 years old, for nearly 30 years.’

He claimed he successfully fought a 22-month legal case in Canada and got his kids back, but a ‘corrupt judge’ returned them to the UK after three months

The judge dismissed the case as ‘frivolous due to lack of subject-matter jurisdiction’ two days after Miller filed his complaint.

UK company records list Gulian as a director of a Christian organization in Berkshire, England, appointed in February this year.

In an unsuccessful appeal in June 2021, he claimed that he had no income and only $4,000 in a checking account and a 2018 Kia Optima to his name.

However, property records show that he purchased a house in Henderson, Nevada for $240,000 in 2015, and previously owned a property in Studio City, Los Angeles.

‘All my costs of living are currently being paid by a 501C3 non profit corporation that is helping me with this legal process,’ he wrote in the filing, adding that the nonprofit was based in Las Vegas, though not naming the organization.

In another bizarre legal complaint filed in Los Angeles in 2013, Miller claimed a company he was working with on a reality TV show had ‘planted a kilogram of white powder in [Miller’s] office, caused a private investigator to “find” the material and falsely accused [Miller] of drug possession.’

A friend and business partner of Miller told DailyMail earlier Sunday he is a full-blown Trump supporter and slammed police for ‘not understanding he’s one of us’.

Right-wing documentarian Mindy Robinson said Miller has been a MAGA activist for years, had no intention of killing the former president, and said she has been to several pro-Trump events with him.

In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Robinson described Miller as a journalist and documentarian.

The two set up an independent news site AmericaHappens.com after repeatedly getting kicked off YouTube for their stories promoting conspiracy theories, including that the deadly 2017 Las Vegas shooting was a ‘cover up’ with ‘multiple shooters.’

‘He’s a big, huge Trump supporter. It’s what we’ve been doing for years,’ Robinson said. ‘He’s my friend, we work together.’

That backs up what federal agencies have been saying about the arrest.

Secret Service sources told the New York Post they doubt Miller was going to try to kill Trump and the FBI is not investigating the incident as an assassination attempt.

Miller reportedly called the idea of going after Trump ‘complete bulls***.’

‘He had no intention to kill Trump,’ Robinson added. ‘It’s ridiculous. To me it feels like a setup, or really inadequate police work. A sh***y excuse to get in a car and try to find something wrong with a Trump supporter or something.’

Robinson slammed Riverside County cops, who stopped Miller at a checkpoint on Saturday, where he allegedly presented them with a fake press and VIP pass for the Coachella Trump rally, then searched his car and found illegal guns.

‘It sounds like it was an excuse to get in the car, look at his sh** mess of a car, and that’s when they found a gun. But every gun is illegal in California, it’s stupid,’ she said, referring to California’s stricter gun laws compared to some other states.

‘I couldn’t go because I was having some minor surgery. Thank God, because we probably would have carpooled and it’d be a hot mess.

‘Someone definitely jumped the gun. And the way they released it wasn’t the right way to do that either.’

She pointed to Miller’s swift release on $10,000 bail as a sign that law enforcement, and the Trump campaign, did not see him as an active threat.

‘It doesn’t make sense. Look at his social media. It goes back years, of the same politics not changing,’ she said.

Miller’s social media posts include videos at Republican events and selfies with pro-Trump media personalities popular among the right, including Vivek Ramaswamy, Steven Bannon and Roger Stone. He even got up close to Donald Trump Jr. at one GOP event.

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Hezbollah Drone Attack Kills 4 Israeli Soldiers, Injures 60+

Four Israeli soldiers have been killed and more than 60 people injured in a Hezbollah drone attack on an army base in central-northern Israel, according to first responders and the Israeli military.

The incident late Sunday local time is one of the bloodiest attacks on Israel since the beginning of the war last October.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, launched by Hezbollah hit an army base adjacent to Binyamina, a town north of Tel Aviv that lies some 40 miles from the Lebanese border.

In addition to the four soldiers killed, seven soldiers suffered severe injuries, the IDF said.

According to Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service, a total of 61 people were wounded in the attack.

The news comes after Hezbollah said Sunday it had fired a swarm of attack drones on an Israeli infantry training camp in Binyamina.

The Lebanon-based militant group said the attack was in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon Thursday that killed 22 people and injured 117, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

Hezbollah said it had targeted the Golani Brigade, an infantry unit of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that has been deployed in southern Lebanon. The claim of responsibility for the attack came shortly after the militant group released an audio message from its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah calling on its members to “defend your people, your family, your nation, your values and your dignity.”

Earlier on Sunday, the IDF said it had intercepted a Lebanon-launched UAV without specifying where. It was not immediately clear whether this was the same incident that led to the injuries.

Israeli air defence systems tend to be very reliable, but on Sunday, there were no reports of alerts in the Binyamina area at the time of the attack, raising questions of how the drone was able to penetrate so deep into the Israeli territory without being spotted.

Hezbollah said it had fired dozens of rockets toward the northern Israeli towns of Nahariya and Acre to engage Israel’s air defense systems, while simultaneously launching the drone swarm.

“These drones broke through the Israel defense radars without detection and reached its target at the training camp of the elite Golani Brigade in Binyamina,” Hezbollah said.

The IDF’s top spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the military would investigate how the drone got through without raising an alarm at the base.

“We will learn from and investigate the incident,” he said in a video statement from the base. “The threat of UAVs is a threat we are dealing with since the beginning of the war. We need an improvement to our defense,” he added.

‘Very difficult scene’

The Binyamina attack comes almost two weeks after Israel launched a ground operation in southern Lebanon. The IDF has insisted the operation is “localized” and “limited” – even though the reality on the ground suggests it might be preparing for a wider invasion.

The IDF has issued evacuation orders for a quarter of Lebanon’s territory and deployed units from four different IDF divisions to the border area, while also continuing an intense bombardment campaign.

More than 1,500 people have been killed and more than 8,000 injured in Lebanon since September 16, when Israel stepped up its campaign against Hezbollah, according to a CNN tally of Lebanese health ministry statements.

Tensions rose again on Sunday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the United Nations peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon to withdraw from the area following several incidents involving the IDF that left five members of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) injured.

The 40 countries whose soldiers serve as UN peacekeepers in Lebanon issued a statement on Sunday “strongly condemning” these attacks.

At the same time, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel would not allow Hezbollah to return to border villages in southern Lebanon after Israeli troops leave the area.

Despite the ground operation targeting its infrastructure, Hezbollah continues to fire dozens of rockets into Israel on daily basis.

The attack on Sunday also raises concerns over Hezbollah’s ability to use longer-range drones against Israel, as it comes just two days after another attack in which the IDF said two drones were launched from Lebanon.

The Israeli military said Friday it had intercepted one of those drones, but did not specify what happened to the other one. In the attack Friday, warning sirens had activated and while a nursing home in the coastal city of Herzliya, central Israel, was damaged, no casualties were no reported.

Magen David Adom said it declared a mass casualty event on Sunday evening and had evacuated 61 injured people from the scene. It said three people were in serious condition and 18 suffered moderate injuries.

A statement from the emergency service quoted a paramedic at the site as saying it “was a very difficult scene.”

“We declared it a mass casualty event and treated patients suffering from blast injuries and shrapnel. The injuries were severe, and we evacuated the injured to hospitals as quickly as possible for further medical treatment,” Rafi Sheva said in the statement.

Those injured in Binyamina were transported to eight different hospitals across Israel, according to Magen David Adom.

The Laniado Hospital in north-central Israel treated several of the people who suffered light injuries.

Its spokesperson Asahel Shahaf said that one man who was brought into the emergency room had a lucky escape when shrapnel from the drone lodged into his kippah, a head covering worn by Jewish men.

“The shrapnel did not scratch the wounded man,” Shahaf said, calling the incident “a small (big!!!) miracle.”

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Lauren Boebert’s Son Gets Sweetheart Deal After Guilty Plea

The son of Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) will spend no time behind bars after he was arrested earlier this year on multiple charges related to identity theft following a string of car break-ins.

Instead, a judge in Garfield County offered the teen a sweetheart deal in exchange for a guilty plea on a single felony charge.

Tyler Boebert, 19, was arrested in Rifle, Colorado, in February and accused of what police at the time called a “recent string of vehicle trespass and property thefts” wherein the teen sought to obtain documents to commit financial fraud.

The then-18-year-old and the eldest child of the congresswoman was charged with multiple felonies and numerous misdemeanors, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation announced. Colorado Public Radio reported:

Rifle police began getting reports of a series of break-ins and thefts last week. The affidavit detailed the accounts of four victims who had various items stolen, including debit cards, social security cards, and driver’s licenses. The victims said their credit and debit cards racked up several unauthorized charges. One attempted charge, which was denied, was for $717 on SHEIN, a fast fashion online retailer.

The arresting officer wrote that he was able to use financial statements to track down the suspects. The officer reviewed footage at a gas station and recognized Tyler Boebert from previous interactions, who was wearing a hoodie adorned with branding from his mother’s former restaurant, Shooters Grill. He was accompanied by three other people in the video.

The teen faced up to 18 months in prison and a $100,000 fine but Friday was sentenced to 80 hours of community service and ordered to pay court costs. FOX 31 in Denver reported:

At the Garfield County Courthouse, Boebert – whose family was in attendance which included his mom – pleaded guilty to one count of identity theft with the intent to obtain an item of value. All other charges he faced were dropped as part of the plea agreement. In addition to the deferred sentence, Boebert will have to complete 80 hours of community service within the first year and pay court costs.

If the 19-year-old completes his deferred sentence without another run-in with police in the coming year, his felony conviction will be removed from his record.

Tyler Boebert was initially charged with 19 crimes – four felonies and 15 misdemeanors.

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WATCH: NYT Reporter Tries to Bait Vance, Gets the Hook Instead

New York Times reporter Lulu Garcia-Navarro made repeated attempts to bait Senator JD Vance (R-OH), vice-presidential running mate to former President Donald Trump, but Vance made it clear early on that he was not having it.

Vance sat for the interview last week, and several clips made their way to X on Friday — including one in which Garcia-Navarro pressured Vance five times to say that Trump had lost the 2020 presidential election.

Watch:

“In the debate, you were asked to clarify if you believe Trump lost the 2020 election,” she began. “Do you believe he lost the 2020 election?”

“I think that Donald Trump and I have both raised a number of issues with the 2020 election, but we’re focused on the future,” Vance replied. “I think there’s an obsession here with focusing on 2020. I’m much more worried about what happened after 2020, which is a wide-open border, groceries that are unaffordable, and look, Lulu —”

“Senator, yes or no,” Garcia-Navarro interrupted. “Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?”

“Let me ask you a question,” Vance pushed back. “Is it okay that big technology companies censored the Hunter Biden laptop story, which independent analyses have said cost Donald Trump millions of votes?”

Garcia-Navarro ignored Vance’s question, saying instead, “Senator Vance, I’m going to ask you again. Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?”

“Did big technology companies censor a story that independent studies have suggested would have cost Trump millions of votes?” Vance refused to budge. “That’s the question.”

“Senator Vance, I’m going to ask you again,” Garcia-Navarro repeated. “Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?”

“And I’ve answered your question with another question,” Vance shot back. “You answer my question, then I’ll answer yours.”

“I’ve asked this question repeatedly. This is something that is very important for the American people to know,” Garcia-Navarro insisted. “There is no proof, legal or otherwise, that Donald Trump did not lose the 2020 election.”

“You’re repeating a slogan rather than engaging with what I’m saying,” Vance protested, arguing that it was irresponsible to answer her question without acknowledging the context that complicated either answer. “I’m worried about Americans who feel like there were problems in 2020, I’m not worried about this slogan that people throw out — ‘Well, every court case went this way — I’m talking about something very discrete: a problem of censorship in this country that I do think affected things in 2020, and more importantly, that led to Kamala Harris’ governance which has screwed this country up in a big way.”

In a second clip, Garcia-Navarro attempted to separate the housing crisis in the United States from the massive influx of illegal immigrants under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, and Vance was not having that either.

Watch:

“One thing that everyone agrees on is that more housing is necessary in this country, right? The reason that there is a housing crisis is that not enough houses have been built — Garcia-Navarro said, but Vane interrupted.

“And that we have 25 million people who shouldn’t be here. I think it’s both,” he said.

Garcia-Navarro went on to suggest that the housing crisis would get worse if illegal immigrants were deported because, she argued, they composed a large percentage of the labor force in the construction industry.

“Well, I think it’s a fair question because we know that back in the 1960s, when we had very low levels of illegal immigration, Americans didn’t build houses,” Vance dead-panned. “But, of course they did. And I’m being sarcastic in service of a point, Lulu: the assumption that because a large number of homebuilders now are using undocumented labor, that that’s the only way to build homes, I think again betrays a fundamental —”

“The country is much bigger. The need is much bigger,” Garcia-Navarro protested. “I’m not arguing in favor of illegal immigration. I’m asking how you would deal with the knock-on effect of your proposal to remove millions of people who work in a critical part of the economy.”

“Well, I think that what you would do is you would take, let’s say for example, the seven million prime-age men who have dropped out of the labor force, and you have a smaller number of women, but still millions of women, prime age, who have dropped out of the labor force. You absolutely could re-engage folks into the American labor market,” Vance replied.

Garcia-Navarro floated the argument that illegal immigrants had to be allowed to stay because Americans wouldn’t do those jobs.

“People say, well, Americans won’t do those jobs. Americans won’t do those jobs for below-the-table wages. They won’t do those jobs for non-living wages. But people will do those jobs, they will just do those jobs at certain wages,” Vance argued. “We cannot have an entire American business community that is giving up on American workers and then importing millions of illegal laborers. That is what we have thanks to Kamala Harris’s border policies. I think it’s one of the biggest drivers of inequality.”

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Axios: Tensions Rise Between Harris and Biden Teams as Election Nears

The relationship between Kamala Harris’ team and Joe Biden’s White House has been increasingly fraught in the final weeks before Election Day, 10 people familiar with the situation tell Axios.

Biden’s team wants Harris to win the election, but many senior Biden aides remain wounded by the president being pushed out of his re-election bid and are still adjusting to being in a supporting role on the campaign trail.

“They’re too much in their feelings,” one close Harris ally said of the president’s team — a sentiment shared even by some White House aides.

Some on the Harris team say that top White House aides aren’t sufficiently coordinating Biden’s messaging and schedule to align with what’s best for the vice president’s campaign.

Biden gave an impromptu press conference in the White House briefing room Friday just as Harris was about to do an event in Michigan, ensuring that her event would get less TV coverage than it otherwise would have.

Earlier in the week, Harris criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for not taking her call about the recent hurricanes, only for Biden to praise DeSantis soon after for being “gracious” and “cooperative.”

Biden has been eager to boast about a robust jobs report, helping to end the strike by the longshoremen’s union and other perceived victories recently. Harris has been trying to focus on voters’ pocketbook concerns, including inflation.

One person involved with Harris’ campaign told Axios: “The White House is lacking someone in the room thinking first and foremost about how things would affect the campaign.”

The tensions have played out on the staff level, too.

Harris’ team has been trying to add staff to the vice president’s official office to handle the bigger workload. It’s been frustrated at the White House’s pace in getting people detailed for that, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The White House has been working to help Harris’ team but has been frustrated by some of the rules about who can be detailed and when.

Several Biden aides have joined Harris’ campaign, but some feel like they’ve been labeled as disloyal by Biden’s team for leaving or even considering it.

A White House official told Axios: “Everyone from the president on down knows how important the election is, and we always anticipated a number of staff would want to transition from the administration to the campaign for the final stretch.”

On Harris’ campaign, there’s also awkwardness between some who were on Biden’s original campaign staff and the Harris allies who’ve been installed in recent weeks.

In the weeks after Harris became the Democratic nominee, there were squabbles about whether Biden’s main surrogates on television would continue in those roles or if new faces would emerge, two people familiar with the matter told Axios.

Harris’ team prevailed and new surrogates began appearing frequently.

Some on Harris’ team are wary of the Biden campaign crew they’re now working with.

After all, Biden’s team publicly argued that Harris was less electable than Biden in the weeks after the president’s disastrous debate in June.

“At the end of the day, we’d switch to candidates who would, according to polls, be less likely to win than Joe Biden — the only person ever to defeat Donald Trump,” deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty wrote in a letter to supporters after the debate, citing polling data.

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told Axios: “President Biden endorsed Vice President Harris immediately after leaving the race, rejecting other approaches that would divide the party, and has attested to her leadership abilities and continually made clear his support for her.”

He added: “While ensuring that all critical White House functions are fully staffed, we have made significant changes to guarantee the vice president’s team has all of the support and resources that they need.”

A White House spokesperson added that Harris’ leadership team has been invited to strategic scheduling meetings.

Tensions between the Biden and Harris teams were likely inevitable.

Beyond Democratic leaders’ historic push for Biden to step aside so late in the campaign, every sitting vice president running for the White House has had staff infighting with the current Oval Office occupant.

This often-uncomfortable dynamic — a vice president running to replace the president they’ve served — also was evident with Al Gore and Bill Clinton in 2000, and George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan in 1988.

Despite the sore feelings among some Biden aides, much of the president’s staff is actively rooting for and trying to work toward a Harris victory.

There is frustration about coordination among senior staffers on both sides, but much of the mid-level staff is working well together, people familiar with the dynamic told Axios.

The White House denied there’s tension among senior staffers.

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Father Arrested for Killing Man Who Kidnapped and Raped His 14-Year-Old-Daughter

An Arkansas father was arrested after allegedly shooting and killing a man who was found in a vehicle with the father’s missing 14-year-old daughter.

Aaron Spencer, 36, reported his daughter missing on Tuesday, and Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to his home.

But as deputies were on their way to the residence, they learned that Spencer had found his daughter in a vehicle with Michael Fosler, 67. A confrontation ensued between the two men before Spencer allegedly shot and killed Fosler.

Deputies arrested Spencer on a preliminary charge of first-degree murder, a Class Y felony. He was booked into the Lonoke County Detention Center before being released the next day after posting bail.

Sheriff John Staley said in a video on Facebook that Spencer has not been formally charged yet and that the District Attorney’s Office will decide which charges to file.

“This is a tragic situation and my thoughts and prayers are with all involved,” Staley said.

Spencer’s wife, Heather, said on Facebook that Fosler had a “no contact order” with her daughter for stalking and raping the 14-year-old over the summer and that she and her husband feared he might kill her. She said that she and her husband were unaware Fosler was again in contact with her child.

“We absolutely called 911 during the entire event,” she wrote. “We had no idea this man was in contact with our child again. He was waiting 6-9 felonies for what he did, not 2. He was looking at the rest of his pathetic life in jail, and our daughter was the only witness.”

“Some things we will never know, but we know that the police department afforded this predator privacy they did not give our family,” she continued. “Including posting our home address. I’m deeply offended by the way this was handled by the county [sheriff’s] office.”

The woman added: “At the end of the day, our daughter is a victim and we have a long road of recovery for everyone. We are so thankful for all the calls, messages and prayers.”

Fosler had been arrested by another law enforcement agency in July and booked for internet stalking of a child and sexual assault, Staley told Usa Today.

“I absolutely do not support predators,” he said. I’m a daddy. “I have three daughters. I know she’s hurt right now, but there’s absolutely nobody I would put ahead of our children, their children, my children.”

The sheriff said deputies are looking into what happened leading up to the shooting.

“When we get on scene and there’s a homicide, it means one person took the life of another,” Staley said. “It’s either justified or not justified. That’s what the fact finding, that’s what the investigation is going to find out.”

The child’s mother had set up a GoFundMe to pay for her husband’s legal fees, but GoFundMe removed the fundraiser and returned the money to donors. GoFundMe’s terms of service prohibit fundraisers from raising money for the legal defense of anyone formally charged with an alleged violent crime.

Because of this, the woman is now accepting money on Venmo and Cash App.

“My husband is a hero and we are so thankful to have him home with us for now,” The woman wrote in a Thursday Facebook post. “We want to do everything possible to ensure he can continue to be here to protect us.”

She also thanked other victims who reached out to her with allegations that Fosler attacked them.

“We have gotten a clear picture of a predator who continuously worked with children and preyed on young girls,” she wrote. “This man was Chief of police in Indiana and resource officer, giving us a better idea of why the Lonoke county courts have been protecting him and going after my husband.”

The incident remains under investigation.

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Nigerian Pirate Loses Leg in Fight with Danish Navy — Then Gets Refugee Status and Taxpayer-Funded Prosthetic

ANigerian pirate injured in a 2021 gunfight with Danish sailors is now receiving a taxpayer-funded prosthetic leg after being granted asylum in Denmark, a decision that has brought significant public debate.

Lucky Frances was involved in a firefight with the Danish frigate Esbern Snare in the Gulf of Guinea, a region once notorious for piracy. A Danish Navy Seahawk helicopter took off from the frigate in response to information that a vessel with pirates was approaching several commercial ships.

The clash resulted in the deaths of four of his companions, while Frances suffered severe injuries that required the amputation of his leg. The Danes took care of the injured man, who was first admitted to a Ghana hospital, and his leg was amputated. He was later brought to Denmark for medical treatment.

During his stay in Denmark, Frances applied for asylum, citing his health condition as a reason to remain in the country. After a lengthy legal battle, he was eventually granted a prosthetic leg, according to B.T., a Danish news outlet.

His case quickly became a focus of Danish media, drawing widespread attention and criticism. Many politicians see it as a source of embarrassment for the Danish government, which has traditionally taken a tough stance on migration and asylum.

“I cannot defend this decision,” said Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who has faced mounting pressure over the matter. Her administration has consistently maintained a hard line against asylum seekers, making this case particularly controversial.

Despite being found guilty of endangering the lives of Danish soldiers, Frances did not serve a prison sentence. After his asylum request was approved, he was granted an education plan, job counseling and an “integration contract” to help him become a contributing member of Danish society.

As part of the integration process, Frances must sign an “integration contract” that outlines specific goals he must achieve to remain eligible for self-support and repatriation benefits. This plan also includes language lessons to help him become fluent in Danish and assistance in finding a job suitable for an amputee. Additionally, he will receive a stipend to help cover the costs of his prosthetic leg.

The Danish People’s Party (DF), a right-wing opposition party, has been particularly vocal in its criticism. Mikkel Bjørn, the DF’s integration spokesman, said, “This is absolutely absurd. That man should never have been in Denmark, and to imagine that he can now be meaningfully integrated into Danish society is completely beyond the pale.”

Initially, Frances expressed a desire to return to Nigeria after recovering from his injuries. However, he later decided to apply for asylum in Denmark, saying in a 2023 interview, “Going back to Africa will not be good for me.”

His lawyer, Emma Ring Damgaard of the Danish firm Storm Thygesen, defended the decision, emphasizing the complexity of his situation. “This makes good sense,” she said. “There is a long and painful rehabilitation program ahead. You can’t just send him back to Nigeria.”

The Gulf of Guinea is one of the world’s most dangerous waterways, with regular kidnappings. In 2019, the region accounted for more than 90 percent of global crew member abductions.

So far, Frances’ case has cost Danish taxpayers an estimated 4.2 million Danish kroner (approximately $615,000), including medical expenses, according to DR, a Danish broadcaster.

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Man Arrested Outside of Trump’s Coachella Rally with Multiple Guns, Fake Press Passes

A man was arrested outside of a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump in Southern California, and multiple guns were illegally in his possession, according to authorities.

The arrest took place at a checkpoint at the intersection of Avenue 52 and Celebration Drive in Coachella at 4:59 p.m. on Saturday, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said.

The rally was scheduled to start at 5 p.m.

The driver of a black SUV, who was later identified as 49-year-old Vem Miller of Las Vegas, was found to be in illegal possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun, and a high-capacity magazine.

Miller was then taken into custody and booked at the John J. Benoit Detention Center on suspicion of possession of a loaded firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine.

According to the Riverside County Inmate Information System, Miller was released from the detention center Sunday on $5,000 bail.

From social media photos it appears that Vem Miller is a Trump supporter:

The Sheriff’s Office said the incident had no impact on the safety of rally attendees or former President Trump.

No additional details were immediately made available.

Officials didn’t say where the guns were located in his SUV at the time of the arrest.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a noted supporter of Trump, said the incident was “probably” a third assassination attempt on the former President, according to the Southern California News Group.

Bianco told the news organization that Miller presented fake VIP and press passes at the checkpoint, which is what led to the search.

“We probably stopped another assassination attempt,” Bianco told SCNG.

Miller is a registered Republican. He filed to run for Nevada’s state assembly in 2022.

As of Sunday afternoon, Trump hadn’t publicly commented on the incident.

The arrest comes as multiple high-profile attempts of violence against the former President have taken place during the heated election cycle.

On July 13, Trump was grazed in the ear by a bullet coming from the gun of 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. Crooks was shot and killed by a member of the Secret Service.

Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, is currently being prosecuted on gun charges after he hid out near a Florida golf course in an alleged attempt to have a clean shot at the former President and current Republican presidential nominee on Sept. 15.

This article was updated.

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Texas Closes Noncitizen Voting Loophole

Facing an election integrity outcry, Texas’ top election official issued new guidance Friday night to election officials who encounter voters who try to get a ballot by presenting drivers licenses issued to non-citizens.

Secretary of State Jane Nelson issued the new guidance after an earlier memo sent out Tuesday created an outcry from Congress to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Critics were concerned the new guidance might allow non-citizens to vote.

The new guidance said that if a voter presented a non-citizen drivers license, he or she must also provide proof of citizenship before they could cast their ballot.

“The Secretary of State sought a formal legal opinion from the Office of the Attorney General on this important issue. In the absence of a response from the Attorney General, the Secretary issues this amended advisory,” Nelson wrote in the new memo.

“Election workers have an obligation under state criminal law not to facilitate illegal voting by non-citizens…. When an individual attempts to vote by presenting a temporary or limited-term driver’s license (which federal regulations say must be issued only to non-citizens who are lawfully present in this country) election workers must require that the individual produce a naturalization card or naturalization certificate demonstrating U.S. citizenship to receive a regular ballot,” she added.

Nelson’s office had issued guidance Tuesday authorizing using non-citizen driver’s licenses as voter ID if the individual is already registered to vote.

“It is possible for a noncitizen who was previously issued a limited-term driver’s license or ID card to subsequently become a naturalized citizen and then fail to obtain an updated, permanent driver’s license or ID card,” the advisory said.

“But when an individual presents a limited-term driver’s license or ID card to vote, the only thing that can be known for certain is that at some time—whether in the past or the present—the individual was a noncitizen who was not eligible to vote. Accordingly, our office has consistently made it clear that Texans should not use this type of license to participate in elections, even if it otherwise constitutes a valid form of ID,” the guidance continues.

The advisory explained that if a person is on the voter rolls and “possesses a limited-term driver’s license or identification card but also possesses another acceptable form of photo identification,” then “it is recommended that the individual present the other form of photo identification because the limited-term driver’s license or identification card necessarily denotes that the person was not a United States citizen at the time of its issuance,” according to the guidance.

If a person “with a limited-term driver’s license or identification card appears to vote and is listed as registered voter,” then an “election judge or clerk should inform the individual that the identification presented suggests that the individual is not a United States citizen. The election judge or clerk should then inform the individual as to the eligibility requirements to vote in the State of Texas,” the advisory stated.

The guidance also statesd that a person with a limited-term driver’s license or identification card can vote if they are listed on the voter rolls.

“If the individual does not have further questions or concerns and wishes to proceed to vote, the individual should be offered a regular ballot. Please note that it is possible the individual became a naturalized United States citizen after the limited-term license or identification card was issued and has not updated his or her Texas driver’s license or identification card since becoming naturalized.”

But if the person is not on the voter rolls and has a non-citizens driver’s license or ID, then they may vote by provisional ballot.

“In a situation where a person with a non-citizens driver’s license or ID tries to vote “and the election judge or clerk has reason to believe that the voter is not a United States citizen, the election judge or clerk may bring this to the attention of the county voter registrar,” the earlier guidance said.

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Mystery Drones Swarmed US Military Base for 17 Days — Pentagon Stumped

Unidentified drones spotted flying over Langley Air Force Base in Virginia have baffled US military officials who are not sure whether it is the work of hostile powers or hobbyists.

Airspace over Langley is restricted and the breach in December, first reported by the War Zone website, and which was reported to president Joe Biden, has triggered alarm among military experts.

The flights lasted 17 days, with the drones flying over the base about an hour after sunset.

In a statement, the US Air Force confirmed the breaches, but played down the potential threat.

“The number of UASs [uncrewed aerial systems] fluctuated and they ranged in size/configuration.

“None of the incursions appeared to exhibit hostile intent but anything flying in our restricted airspace can pose a threat to flight safety. The FAA was made aware of the UAS incursions.”

The parade of drones was witnessed by General Mark Kelly, from the US Air Force, the Wall Street Journal reported.

They were flying at around 100mph at 3,000 to 4,000 feet with witnesses saying they sounded like a parade of lawnmowers.

The incursion triggered two weeks of meetings at the White House involving officials from the Pentagon, including staff from its UFO office and the FBI.

Under federal law, the military is only allowed to shoot down drones over military bases if they pose a direct threat.

If they are suspected of snooping, although that is illegal, it does not mean they can be brought down, and members of Congress have called for powers to be strengthened.

In February last year, China triggered a security alert after a suspected surveillance balloon was shot down by the US Air Force.

Experts at the time believed the balloon, which flew over a major US missile silo, was a show of force rather than a serious attempt to gather information.

The latest reports are not the first time the alarm has been raised in the West by the use of drones.

Two years ago, Norway sent warships and fighter jets to patrol offshore oil platforms after drones, believed to be from Russia, were seen buzzing overhead.

Last month, Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, announced an expansion of its Replicator programme which has been developing attack drones to be used against China.

The drones will also be used to defend US bases at home and abroad to fight off attacks by explosive-laden drones from Iran-linked groups, which have been responsible for the deaths of several American soldiers in the Middle East.

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WATCH: Tim Walz Struggles to Load Shotgun at Hunting Event, Gets Mocked

Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) appeared to have trouble managing his own personal firearm when he went pheasant hunting on opening day in his home state of Minnesota on Saturday, participating in the 12th annual Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener.

Walz, who is vying for the vice presidency alongside current Vice President Kamala Harris, brought along staffers and reporters as part of an eleventh-hour media blitz geared primarily toward shoring up support among men for the Democratic Party’s 2024 ticket.

The Trump War Room shared video from MSNBC’s coverage of Walz’s outing, pointing out that even the reporter saw it for the political play that it was.

“MSNBC implies that Tim Walz going pheasant hunting is nothing more than a desperate attempt to make up ground with male voters. Sorry Tim, men aren’t voting for a gun grabber.”

When the photos began to circulate on X, however, all anyone really noticed was just how often everyone involved in the pheasant hunt was pictured without a firearm of any kind — Walz included.

“Tim Walz goes ‘pheasant hunting’ to try to appeal to men by showing he’s a regular dude. Only problem? No shotguns. Anywhere in sight,” Monica Crowley posted.

“Totally authentic. Walz just happened to have a camera crew and staff with him while pheasant hunting, in a sad, desperate attempt to appeal to male voters. Even MSNBC called him out on it lol,” Sara Rose posted.

“What’s @Tim_Walz hunting for, anyway? Bargains?” Jim Treacher asked.

“It’s strange to go hunting without a gun. Maybe Walz is just counting on Doug Emhoff to punch the pheasants to death,” Daily Wire host Michael Knowles added.

“Tampon Tim Walz did a lot of posing for the cameras during his ‘hunting’ photo op today. He didn’t fire his gun and shot exactly zero pheasants. It’s all fake,” the Trump War Room posted.

The one video that did show Walz with a firearm — his own personal Beretta — only made things worse as he appeared to struggle to operate it.

CBS campaign reporter Shawna Mizelle posted, “@Tim_Walz is out hunting pheasants for the season opener in MN. The Harris Walz campaign recently announced the hunters, gun owners & anglers coalition. Walz often says he supports the 2nd Amndmt but advocates for ‘common sense’ legislation. & we know Harris owns a Glock.”

Mizelle followed several photos with video of Walz attempting to operate his firearm and complaining, “It never fits quite right, it’s not quite right.”

“Watch Tim Walz struggle to load his shotgun and then complain that the kick usually hurts his shoulder. Men everywhere are in awe,” Amber Duke commented.

“I remember my first time holding a shotgun, too,” The Federalist’s Sean Davis added.

At one point, according to Fox News reporter Aishah Hasnie, Walz asked whether former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance — who make up the Republican presidential ticket — ever hunted. Someone responded by suggesting that if they did, they would hunt endangered species.

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WATCH: SNL Roasts Kamala Harris in ‘Family Feud’ Cold Open

“Saturday Night Live” (SNL) mocked Vice President Kamala Harris again on Saturday during a “Family Feud Election 2024” skit that took aim at the Democratic presidential candidate’s interview responses and her stories about her background and growing up in a middle-class family.

Kenan Thompson, who played “Family Feud” host Steve Harvey in the skit, asked Maya Rudolph, who has appeared as Harris over the last few weeks, why she wasn’t winning in a landslide. Rudolph responded, “That’s a question I scream into my pillow every morning.”

Thompson’s first “Family Feud” question asked his contestants to name something that people would keep in a glove box. Rudolph hit her buzzer first and began her answer, saying, “Steve, look, I was raised in a middle-class family.”

“SNL” has used its cold opens to joke about both sides of the aisle over the last few weeks, including skits about both the presidential and VP debates.

“Oh, here we go,” Thompson added.

“My mother raised my sister and me. She worked hard and saved up, and we had a second mother too, a small business owner named Ms. Shelton,” Rudolph quipped, as Thompson attempted to steer the conversation back to what she would keep in her glove compartment.

Rudolph finally responded, “a Glock, Steve,” referencing Harris’ interview with “60 Minutes,” during which she said she owned a Glock. The “Family Feud” board showed “a gun” was the second answer on the list.

Thompson then brought the question to the other Democrats on Harris’ team, including Andy Samberg, who played Doug Emhoff, Jim Gaffigan as Gov. Tim Walz, and Dana Carvey as President Biden.

Asked the same question about what someone might keep in their glove box, Samberg said, “I can’t top that. It was so perfect. I’ll go with the same answer, Steve — a Glock.”

“You want to give the same answer? Seems like a bad strategy,” Thompson said, before “a second gun” appeared as the top answer.

Harris has been criticized for dodging questions and giving vague responses during her interviews. Asked by Philadelphia’s 6 ABC anchor Brian Taff during an interview in September about what “specific” plans she has to bring down prices for Americans, Harris started her response by saying she grew up as a “middle-class kid.”

“Well, I’ll start with this: I grew up a middle-class kid,” Harris said. “My mother raised my sister and me. She worked very hard. She was able to finally save up enough money to buy our first house when I was a teenager.”

“You know, I grew up in a neighborhood of folks who were very proud of their lawn,” she continued. “And I was raised to believe and to know that all people deserve dignity, and that we as Americans have a beautiful character. You know, we have ambitions and aspirations and dreams, but not everyone necessarily has access to the resources that can help them fuel those dreams and ambitions.”

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1 Killed, 9 Wounded in Shooting Near Tennessee State University

A suspect opened fire near Tennessee State University (TSU) in Nashville on Saturday evening, killing at least one person and wounding several others.

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) announced that the fatal shooting took place shortly before a homecoming football game started at approximately 5:10 p.m. TSU faced Eastern Illinois University at Nissan Stadium.

“Multiple victims have been injured following a shooting on Jefferson Street and 27th Avenue North,” police wrote on Facebook at 6:30 p.m.

“The scene is secure and victims are at area hospitals.”

In an update, police said that a 24-year-old male had died and that there were 10 confirmed victims.

“At this point, there are 10 victims that have been confirmed to have been involved in that gunfire, one of which is deceased,” MNPD Public Information Officer Brooke Reese said during a briefing.

“Five of them were transported from the Nashville Fire Department to local hospitals,” she said. “Five others were dropped off by private vehicles.”

Reese said that three non-critical victims were juveniles and were transported to a nearby children’s hospital.

She highlighted that at least one of the injured was suspected to have been involved in the gunfire.

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SpaceX Makes History: Successful Launch and Booster Landing of World’s Heaviest Rocket

SpaceX successfully completed one of the greatest engineering achievements in the history of space travel on Sunday morning, launching the Starship spacecraft and then returning the Super Heavy booster used for the launch back to the launch site.

The 232-foot Super Heavy booster blasted off at approximately 8:25 a.m. ET and returned to the launch site within minutes, where it was caught in mid-air by two massive metal arms that Elon Musk’s company refers to as its “chopsticks.”

The company said it was a mid-flight decision to attempt the return to the Texas launchpad. SpaceX engineers could be heard cheering on the livestream as its host heralded the “absolutely insane” achievement, saying it “looked like magic.”

“This is absolutely insane!” the engineer said as the booster was caught. “On the first ever attempt, we have successfully caught the Super Heavy booster back at the launch tower. What an incredible feeling.”

The return of the booster to Earth is a major milestone for the future of space travel. The ability to reuse rocket parts for multiple spaceship launches drastically changes the economics of the industry, putting Musk’s dream to “revolutionize humanity’s ability to access space” in sight.

“With each flight building on the learnings from the last, testing improvements in hardware and operations across every facet of Starship, we’re on the verge of demonstrating techniques fundamental to Starship’s fully and rapidly reusable design,” SpaceX said ahead of the successful test.

“By continuing to push our hardware in a flight environment, and doing so as safely and frequently as possible, we’ll rapidly bring Starship online and revolutionize humanity’s ability to access space.”

The first time SpaceX launched the Super Heavy booster was last April. There was no intention for it to return to the launchpad as it did this morning, and it exploded before it would have been able to.

A massive effort was undertaken to improve the rocket since then. One of the most important improvements was a rebuild of the Starship’s “heatshield,” designed for it to withstand the temperatures of reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere. The spaceship could be seen turning bright red as it flew through space, but the improved “heatshield” appeared to be holding up during flight.

The Starship remained in its test flight, which is expected to last just around an hour. It will attempt to land in the Indian Ocean. Unlike the booster, the Starship isn’t yet built to survive the landing.

More than three million people are tuned in to watch the livestream.

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Christopher Columbus Was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe, Study Finds

Christopher Columbus wasn’t Italian or even originally Catholic but instead a Sephardic Jew likely from Spain who hid his heritage to avoid persecution, a new genetic study suggests.

A decades-long investigation into the famous controversial explorer’s background and conducted by Spanish scientists was meant to shed light on the lengthy debate over where the 15th century globetrotter was actually born, according to the BBC.

Traditional theories held that Columbus — who was sailing for Spain when he trekked across the Atlantic in 1492, sparking European interest in the Americas — was born in 1451 in Genoa, an independent republic on Italy’s northwest coast.

But many historians questioned that. And new DNA evidence pulled from some of the bones of Columbus’ corpse in Spain’s Seville Cathedral seems to prove them right.

“We have DNA from Christopher Columbus, very partial but sufficient,” forensic expert and investigation leader Miguel Lorente said in a documentary called “Columbus DNA: The true origin,” which aired in Spain on Saturday.

“We have DNA from Hernando Colón, his son. And both in the Y [male] chromosome and in the mitochondrial DNA [from the mother] of Hernando there are traits compatible with Jewish origin,” Lorente said.

Although researchers weren’t positive where Columbus was actually born, they believe it was likely Western Europe, possibly the Spanish city of Valencia.

They believe that Columbus either concealed his Jewish identity or converted to Catholicism to avoid religious persecution.

The findings are based on nearly 22 years’ worth of research that began in 2003, when Lorente, a professor of forensic medicine at Granada University, and historian Marcial Castro exhumed Columbus’ partial remains from the cathedral.

For centuries, countries had argued over his origin, with dozens of conflicting theories that claimed he was born in Poland, Great Britain, Greece, Portugal, Hungary or even Scandinavia.

But those ideas — including the novel thought of a Viking Columbus — appear to have been incorrect.

The DNA-driven results are “almost absolutely reliable,” Lorente said.

The results are consistent with historical records of the era, too, which showed that about 300,000 Jews lived in Spain before Catholic monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand ordered Jews and Muslims to either convert to Catholicism or leave.

Many left, settling in wide swaths of the world instead of giving up their religion.

The word Sephardic comes from Sefarad, or Spain, in Hebrew.

Columbus’ fame stems from his four expeditions to the Americas, trips were backed by Spanish monarchs looking for a new route to Asia.

But he slammed into the Caribbean islands instead, sparking a new era of exploration that led to the settlement and conquest of the New World — as well as the deaths of millions of native peoples who perished because of European diseases and wars with European invaders.

Columbus died in Valladolid, Spain, in 1506 but wished to be buried on the island of Hispaniola, which is shared today the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

His remains were taken there in 1542, then at least some of them moved to Cuba in 1795 and then to Seville in 1898.

Aside from questions about his origin, Columbus’ legacy has been swamped with controversy — mostly stemming from his barbaric treatment of the indigenous people who lived in the Americas before he arrived.

His men cut the hands off natives in Haiti and the Dominican Republic if they failed to provide gold every three months, the Washington Post has said.

His crews also chopped off the legs of native kids who tried to run away and aided in the sex -trafficking 9- and 10-year-old girls.

These new perspectives have changed the way people view the explorer and left many calling for his holiday — celebrated on the second Monday of October — to instead be renamed “Indigenous People’s Day.”

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Leaked Documents: Hamas Tried to Convince Iran and Hezbollah to Join Oct. 7 Attack on Israel

Hamas delayed its terror attack on southern Israel by a year in an effort to recruit Iran and Hezbollah into the plot, which the group referred to as the “big project,” according to a stunning new report.

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar planned the deadly Oct. 7 invasion for more than two years, according to documents viewed by The New York Times.

Sinwar and his commanders hoped to invade the Jewish State in fall 2022 but pushed back their plans by 12 months as they tried to get Iran and Hezbollah to join them.

In their discussions with Hezbollah, Hamas leaders cited domestic political unrest in Israel in the wake of the judicial overhaul there as a key reason they were “compelled to move toward a strategic battle,” according to the Times.

The revelations about the prelude to the Oct. 7 massacre comes from the minutes of 10 secret meetings of a small group of Hamas higher-ups which were seized by the Israeli military — then obtained by the Gray Lady.

The documents included 30 pages of previously unknown details about how Hamas’ leadership functions and the preparations for the deadly terror attack.

Hamas purposely avoided any major conflicts with Israel beginning in 2021, to focus on what they called “the big project.”

Hamas used the same language in similar contexts, but Israel intelligence officers did not understand what they were referring to until after the assault, according to two Israeli officials familiar with the situation.

In July 2023, Hamas sent a top official to Lebanon, where he met with a senior Iranian commander and requested help with striking the most sensitive sites at the start of the invasion.

The Iranian official assured Hamas that Tehran and Hezbollah were supportive of the effort, but needed more time to prepare, the New York Times reported.

Hamas ultimately decided to move forward without their allies’ direct involvement, in part because they wanted to stop Israel from deploying its advanced new air-defense system before the attack took place.

The Oct. 7 attack killed around 1,200 Israelis, and prompted Israel’s own offensive in the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands of Palestinians are believed to have been killed over the past year.

Hamas also took hundreds of hostages, about 97 of which are still in their clutches.

The minutes detailing the planning before the attack were found on a computer in late January by Israel Defense Forces soldiers who were searching an underground Hamas command post in Khan Younis, the New York Times said.

The documents were verified by experts, including Salah al-Din al-Awawdeh, a Hamas member and a former fighter in its military wing who is now an analyst in Istanbul.

The discovery also set off a flurry of questions within Israel’s intelligence agencies, as an internal military review demanded to know how Israel’s spies failed to obtain the information before the Oct. 7 attack or to understand what they described, the Times noted.

While Israel did obtain Hamas’s battle plans before the attack, Israeli commanders repeatedly dismissed the idea that Hamas had the ability or intention to carry them out.

The Iranian Mission to the United Nations denied the allegations made in the minutes.

“All the planning, decision-making and directing were solely executed by Hamas’s military wing based in Gaza, any claim attempting to link it to Iran or Hezbollah — either partially or wholly — is devoid of credence and comes from fabricated documents,” the statement to the New York Times read.

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Kanye West Accused of Drugging and Raping Ex-Assistant at Diddy Party

Kayne West drugged and raped his former assistant at a party with Diddy, she claims in a new lawsuit against the disgraced rapper.

Influencer and former OnlyFans star Lauren Pisciotta sued West in June for allegedly sexually harassing and stalking her while she worked for him in 2021-22.

Now, a new 88-page updated lawsuit filed on Friday night and obtained by DailyMail.com makes dozens of new disturbing claims.

Pisciotta detailed West’s alleged sick sexual obsessions, and his fetish for also wanting to sleep with his targets’ mothers – including his wife Bianca Censori’s family.

The lawsuit delves into his allegedly infamous sex parties and the full horror of his neo-Nazi views that included hate-filled rants and forcing staff to draw swastikas.

She also claimed West promised to pay her a $4 million a year salary, bragged about it to Jay-Z, then wrongfully fired her and reneged on a $3 million severance payout.

West denied the claims in her original lawsuit, calling them ‘baseless’ and accused her of ‘blackmail and extortion’, but has yet to file a defense.

‘Drugged and raped’ future assistant

But her most serious claim was that years before she worked for him, he drugged and raped her – only allegedly confessing in his last weeks as her boss.

Pisciotta claimed she met West when he invited her client, a musician, to a studio session and party he co-hosted with his friend Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.

West announced that everyone at the event at the Santa Monica studio had to drink if they wanted to stay, and she was handed a beverage by West himself.

Pisciotta after a few sips ‘suddenly started to feel disorientated and… began to slip into an altered and highly impaired state’, the lawsuit read.

‘She felt less in control of her body and speech and that is where [her] memories of the night escape her,’ it claimed.

The next day, she felt ‘ashamed and embarrassed’ that she couldn’t remember the evening and her musician client refused to discuss what happened.

Pisciotta claimed she only learned years later why her client ‘was too traumatized and disturbed to speak about that night’.

After years of believing she was drugged by a studio assistant but escaped without being molested, she allegedly learned the truth from West.

She claimed that not long before he fired her in November 2022, he was enraged about a comment his ex-wife made about him and Pisciotta having an affair while he was still married.

The ex-wife’s name was withheld in the lawsuit, but West’s only wife besides Censori was Kim Kardashian, who divorced him earlier in 2022.

Pisciotta told West she wanted to send Kardashian a text to clear things up with her, as it ‘appeared she was under the wrong impression’ about them.

However, she claimed West told her she couldn’t send a message denying they were ever intimate, due to what happened at the Santa Monica party.

‘We did kind of hook up a little one time,’ the lawsuit claimed West told her.

‘[West] then immediately proceeded to reminisce about the time he was referring to… where he “hooked up” with [Pisciotta] after she had been drugged,’ the lawsuit claimed.

Pisciotta claimed West had told Kardashian they ‘hooked up’ but ‘left out the true nature and severity of what he did to [her]’.

Had Kardashian ‘been told the truth and known [Pisciotta] was in fact drugged and sexually assaulted by Kanye West’ she would never have made the comment, the lawsuit claimed.

A shocked Pisciotta claimed she told West she had no memory of the night, and he laughed, saying ‘women love to say they don’t remember’, then changed the subject.

Depraved West ‘told Bianca Censori he wanted sex with her mother’

Pisciotta’s lawsuit claimed West’s true nature was ‘predatory, aggressive, compulsive, vulgar, perverse, and frighteningly calculative’.

It called him a ‘premeditative and sadistic groomer’ who used his fame and position to feed his ‘insatiable sexual gratification’ and ‘animalistic desires’ that have ‘little boundaries’.

The lawsuit claimed he often had sex with employees and a ‘rotating list of guests’ in his Yeezy company’s offices.

Employees were ordered to construct makeshift bedrooms consisting of a mattress on the floor, pillows and a blanket in a room or even just a closet.

He also used the staff bathrooms and changing rooms, the lawsuit claimed.

West had a ‘kink’ for wanting to have sex with mothers of his sexual targets, as well as them, which he frequently talked about, the lawsuit claimed.

He allegedly sent Pisciotta a screenshot on September 28, 2022, of a text conversation between him and Censori about wanting to have sex with her mother.

‘i wanna f**k your mum. Before she leaves,’ he wrote, the lawsuit claimed.

According to the filing, he asked Pisciotta: ‘Should I add I meant I want you to watch me f**k your mom’.

Another time, he allegedly texted Pisciotta on September 13, 2022, about an ‘A-list fashion model’ he was ‘determined’ to have sex with, and requested she model for his sunglasses campaign.

‘Is [young A-list fashion model] better for me than [different A-list fashion model]? How do I tell her I need to f**k her mom baaad’.

Another time on June 14, 2022, he allegedly texted her about a sexual encounter with a model.

‘I feel like you could be a spectator… I just feel like she needs an audience. A beautiful audience lol,’ he wrote in a text, the lawsuit claimed.

One time, Pisciotta informed him of a delay with Japanese work visas, and she claimed he replied with a bizarre string of texts.

‘So I’ll come back to LA. I do wanna see my kids,’ he wrote, before reverting to type.

‘Aaaaaaaaand there’s soooo much p***y in LA I may rent a room, take the honey pack, drink some tequila and just take appointments,’ he allegedly added.

‘I’m a great guy and dad. But I love bad b***hes and I love to f**k the s**t outa bad b***hes and make them fall in love too.’

‘Sex trafficking’ girls from around the world and wild sex parties

Pisciotta claimed Kanye used his connections at companies like Adidas and Gap to get work visas to traffic women into the US for sex.

They were given ‘obscure job titles’ at his companies and had them sign NDAs about their experiences.

But he was ‘brazenly open’ with Pisciotta and other staff about it, giving them ‘grotesque details’ and always filmed it so they could ‘get the full picture’, the lawsuit claimed.

The lawsuit claimed West often ‘offered up’ his sexual partners, employees, and women he trafficked as ‘gifts’ to his friends and colleagues, both to ‘make himself look and feel cool’ and to gain an upper hand in business negotiations.

One was called a ‘gift straight from Russia’.

Pisciotta claimed he tried to ‘gift’ her too, but without success – including one time that the man he offered her to, an A-list celebrity, warned her about it.

The lawsuit detailed how West frequently hosted sex parties at hotels like the Nobu Ryokan Malibu hotel, Beverly Hills Waldorf Astoria and San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, California.

She claimed he made up elaborate schemes to lure her and other women there, usually claiming he needed something.

Often it was ‘sex honey’, a sexual enhancement product he allegedly took and required Pisciotta to always have ample supply on hand.

She claimed he once openly admitted his plan was for her to bring him some so he could involve her in one of the parties.

He texted her, ‘Aaaaaand yeah I wanted you to bring honey and stay but it didn’t work lol. What you want for your bday’, the lawsuit claimed.

The lawsuit claimed West had ‘ever changing moods’ that meant he would either respond to her shutting down his advances and invitations to sex parties with offers of luxurious gifts, or ‘intense anger and frustration’ and assignments that were difficult or impossible, just to punish her.

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DOJ Sues Virginia for Removing Noncitizens from Voter Rolls — Glenn Youngkin Responds

The Justice Department announced Friday that it is suing Virginia over its efforts to purge voter rolls within 90 days of an election, calling the state’s actions a violation of federal voting laws.

The suit comes about two months after Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order requiring the state’s Department of Elections to conduct daily updates to its voting list, including comparing the list of identified “noncitizens” to the state’s existing list of registered voters.

Local officials are required to notify people found on both lists that their voter registration will be canceled if they fail to respond to the notice and affirm their citizenship within 14 days. It is illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections.

According to the Justice Department, some of the people identified as noncitizens have U.S. citizenship, leading to some voter registrations being canceled unnecessarily.

“The Commonwealth’s unlawful actions here have likely confused, deterred, and removed U.S. citizens who are fully eligible to vote —the very scenario that Congress tried to prevent when it enacted the Quiet Period Provision,” the DOJ said in its suit, referring to the purging of voter rolls within 90 days of Election Day.

During a previous effort to purge voter rolls of noncitizens in Virginia’s Prince William County, which took place before July, 43 of the 162 people identified as noncitizens were U.S. citizens, according to the Justice Department’s lawsuit.

In a statement, Youngkin called the lawsuit “politically motivated” and a “desperate attempt” to attack the election’s legitimacy.

“Virginians — and Americans — will see this for exactly what it is: a desperate attempt to attack the legitimacy of the elections in the Commonwealth, the very crucible of American Democracy,” Youngkin said, an ally of former President Donald Trump.

Trump weighed in on the suit Friday by praising Youngkin and claiming that the Justice Department and Vice President Kamala Harris were seeking to undermine democracy.

“We must protect American Voters, and protect America’s Democracy!” Trump said in a post to Truth Social.

This is the second DOJ lawsuit in the past month against a state for alleged violations of a provision of the National Voter Registration Act that says that, while states have the prerogative to clean their voter rolls for various reasons, they cannot conduct systematic removals so close to a federal election as those predominantly affected are often naturalized Americans.

The DOJ sued the State of Alabama in September over alleged violations of the so-called Quiet Provision.

Virginia has voted Democratic in each presidential election since 2004. Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, recently visited the state to survey Hurricane Helene damage with Youngkin.

In the state’s Senate race, Sen. Tim Kaine, who was Hillary Clinton’s running mate in the 2016 presidential election, is facing a challenge from Republican nominee Hung Cao in a state that the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates as a solid Democrat race.

The Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights filed its own lawsuit against Youngkin on Monday, alleging the process to purge voters was illegal, discriminatory and error-ridden.

Monica Sarmiento, the executive director of the organization, praised the DOJ lawsuit in a statement Friday, saying the executive order Youngkin signed had “disenfranchised hundreds if not thousands” of eligible voters on the eve of an election.

“The Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights applauds the Department of Justice for joining in challenging Virginia’s unlawful citizenship purge program,” Sarmiento said.

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Harris Releases Medical Report

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, released a letter from her doctor on Saturday that pronounced her in good health and fit for high office.

In a memo distributed by the White House, the vice president’s physician, Joshua Simmons, said Harris’s most recent physical exam in April was “unremarkable,” that she maintains an active lifestyle and “very healthy diet” despite a busy schedule, suffers from seasonal allergies and sporadic hives, does not use tobacco and drinks alcohol only in moderation.

“She possesses the physical and mental resiliency required to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency, to include those as Chief Executive, Head of State and Commander in Chief,” the doctor wrote.

Harris, 59, is running against Republican Trump, 78, for the White House. She made her medical information public on Saturday in an effort to draw attention to his refusal to do so, according to a Harris aide.

The Harris campaign is eager to highlight the former president’s age since he became the oldest candidate in the race after President Joe Biden, 81, stepped aside as the Democratic standard bearer following a poor debate performance against Trump.

A White House doctor said in 2018 when Trump was in office that he was in overall excellent health then but needed to shed weight and start a daily exercise routine.

Simmons said Harris’s allergies had been well-managed with over-the-counter and prescription medications.

Her urticaria or hives were “sporadic and transient and do not seem to be triggered by any particular exposure nor are they associated with other symptoms” and respond well to antihistamine treatment.

Harris has been on allergen immunotherapy for the last three years, dramatically improving her allergy and urticaria symptoms and negating her need for medication other than occasional nasal spray, he said.

Harris wears contact lenses. Her family history includes her mother’s colon cancer. Harris was up to date on preventative health procedures including colonoscopy and annual mammograms, he said.

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