- U.S.Olivier KnoxObama vetoes 9/11 lawsuit bill, triggers override fight
President Obama speaks at a memorial ceremony at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2016. Risking an election-year public backlash, President Obama on Friday vetoed popular but controversial legislation allowing the relatives of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia in U.S. courts. Obama’s rejection of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) sets up what seems likely to be the first-ever successful congressional vote to override his veto.
U.S.Caitlin Dickson'This is a peaceful masjid’: Muslims in Elizabeth, N.J., gather for Friday prayer after resident accused of bombingsNearly 200 people gathered at the Muslim Community Center of Union County Friday afternoon for the first jumah prayer — Islam’s largest weekly gathering — since Elizabeth resident Ahmad Khan Rahami was arrested in connection to mostly unsuccessful bomb attacks in New York and New Jersey last weekend. Like Faisal, the suspect’s father, Mohammad Rahami, is a longtime member of MCCUC, and is known to pray regularly at the red brick mosque, which sits on the leafy corner of a charming, residential enclave less than two miles from Elizabeth’s gritty downtown.
- U.S.The DriveMultimillionaire Gym Mogul Crashes Lamborghini Murciélago, Kills Uber Driver
J. Gerald Smith, an 82-year old Uber driver, died this week after a yellow Lamborghini Murciélago struck his Buick Enclave, which was sitting at a stop sign. Roger Wittenberns, the 60-year old multimillionaire health club mogul, was behind the wheel of the Murciélago at the time of the wreck. Mr. Smith was a retired real estate agent.
- BusinessThe DriveExploring the Remains of the Wyoming Company That Used WWII Bombers to Fight Wildfires
Hawkins & Powers got off the ground in the early ‘60s, snatching up planes and the retired crew necessary to keep them in the air. The company struggled on for a while, racking up debt to pay pilots and mechanics to keep their birds on the ground.
- U.S.Associated PressWitness: Christie used bridge authority to gain endorsements
Republican Gov. Chris Christie's office used the bistate agency that runs the New York area's bridges, tunnels, ports and airports as a clearinghouse for political favors aimed at gaining endorsements from local Democratic politicians, a witness testified Friday in the fraud trial of two former Christie allies. Among those directly involved in the effort or aware of it were Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni, who are accused of creating traffic gridlock at the George Washington Bridge in 2013 to punish one of those mayors for not endorsing Christie, according to David Wildstein's testimony. Wildstein said Christie and his former campaign manager, Bill Stepien, were among those who discussed the strategy at a meeting about Christie's 2013 re-election.
WorldAFPThird deadly drone strike in a week hits Yemen QaedaAden (AFP) - An apparent US drone strike has killed five suspected Al-Qaeda members in Yemen in the third such attack this week, a security official said on Saturday.Washington is the only government to operate drones over Yemen but only sporadically
WorldReutersMorocco, seeking support for W.Sahara plan, asks to rejoin African blocMorocco has applied to rejoin the African Union 32 years after it left, the bloc said on Friday, as the North African kingdom seeks support for its plan to end a decades-old row over Western Sahara. Morocco, which claims the sparsely populated stretch of desert, left the African Union in 1984 when the bloc recognized a republic covering part of the territory declared by Polisario Front independence fighters. Morocco submitted its letter of intention to rejoin the union on Thursday, the AU said in a statement, without giving details of any reasons.
- LifestyleThe DriveLexus’s New UX Concept Is Packed with Holographic Displays
When Lexus gave the world its first glimpse of the UX Concept a couple weeks back in advance of the car’s Paris Motor Show debut, we at The Drive were, well, less than wowed. The sole pic Lexus dropped—a rear three-quarter shot—revealed a two-box crossover that looked like a cross between the Ferrari GTC4Lusso and a Ford Raptor. It wasn’t ugly, but generally speaking, Lexus crossovers don’t do much for us.
- WorldChristian Science MonitorRemarkably unremarkable: Rouhani's UN visit sign of new US-Iran normal?
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has used his public appearances in New York this week to grouse about American non-compliance with aspects of the Iran nuclear deal. “We have always maintained good and positive relations with the nation and the people of the United States of America,” Mr. Rouhani told a hotel ballroom of journalists Thursday.
WorldAFPGoogle gets more time to answer EU charges: officialEU anti-trust authorities have granted US tech giant Google a few extra weeks to answer charges that it has abused its market dominance, an EU official told AFP on Friday. The Silicon Valley firm now has until October 13 to answer questions about its Google Shopping search engine, October 26 for its Adsense advertising business and October 31 for its Android mobile phone operating system. "In each of these cases, Google asked for additional time to review the documents in the case file," according to an official from the European Commission, the executive of the 28-nation union.
- U.S.Yahoo News PhotoSmithsonian Museum of African American History
The first national museum devoted exclusively to the history and culture of African-Americans is now open. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama opened the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall by ringing a bell from a historic African-American church. The push for the museum began in 1915 with African-American Civil War veterans looking for a way to commemorate America’s black experience.
- U.S.ABC News VideosPolice Remain Confident They Will Find Faith Hedgepeth's Killer: Part 6
Each year, Faith Hedgepeth's family holds a fundraiser and gives away two scholarships in her memory.
- LifestyleThe DriveHonda Civic Hatchback Pricing Announced and the Chevy Equinox Gets a Diesel Engine: The Evening Rush
The Evening Rush is your daily roundup of auto, gear, and lifestyle news, all in one place. The Honda Civic has always been affordable, but nowadays, it also packs enough niceties that it doesn't feel like a compromise. Case in point: the 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback is loaded to the gills with nice little features, yet it starts at just $20,535.
PoliticsAssociated PressGOP lawmaker: FBI gave immunity to top Clinton aideHillary Clinton's former chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, and two other staff members were granted immunity deals in exchange for their cooperation in the now-closed FBI investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server as secretary of state, says a Republican congressman. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told The Associated Press on Friday that Mills gave federal investigators access to her laptop on the condition that what they found couldn't be used against her.
- BusinessThe DriveThe 2015 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Final Edition Is the End of an Era
Because good luck finding a new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution on a dealership lot anywhere in the United States, since Mitsubishi pulled the plug on the Evo's production line back in August, as one of the final chapters of the company's two-decade realignment from "fun alternative Japanese carmaker" to "boring crossover-and-EV company." Hence this, the final version of the final car to carry on the performance legacy of the 3000GT, the Eclipse, and so forth. Don't think the Final Edition is one of those badges-and-floormats special editions, though. The Final Edition is the most potent stock Lancer Evolution ever to hit American streets, packing 303 horsepower and 305 lb-ft of torque.
BusinessReutersSome Yahoo users close accounts amid fears breach could have ripple effectsMany Yahoo users rushed on Friday to close their accounts and change passwords as experts warned that the fallout from one of the largest cyber breaches in history could spill beyond the internet company's services. After Yahoo disclosed on Thursday that hackers had stolen the encrypted passwords and personal details of more than 500 million accounts in 2014, thousands of users took to social media to express anger that it had taken the company two years to uncover the data breach. "We're probably just going to dump Yahoo altogether," said Rick Hollister, 56, who owns a private investigation firm in Tallahassee, Florida.
- HealthLiveScience.comA Look at Holiday Weight Gain in 3 Countries
Holiday weight gain isn't unique to the United States: A new analysis finds that people in Germany and Japan also pack on pounds during festive seasons. In the study, which was published today (Sept. 21) in the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers gave wireless digital scales to nearly 3,000 participants in Germany, Japan and the United States. People in all three countries gained weight, on average, around Christmas, according to the study.
- WorldThe Atlantic'I Do Not Believe There Will be Peace'
ERBIL, IRAQ—When Kurdish peshmerga, Iraqi army, and U.S.-led coalition forces move to liberate nearby Mosul, possibly within two weeks, Islamic State fighters will not abandon their prized city and quietly slink away as many in Washington have predicted, according to the peshmerga’s top military officer. “They will fight to the death,” said Gen. Jamal Mohammad Omer, Kurdish military chief of staff, in an exclusive interview in his office Thursday. Peshmerga commanders said they are awaiting political negotiations with Iraqi leaders they do not trust for a future they cannot predict.
BusinessAFPWall Street slumps on weak tech, energy sharesWeakness in energy equities and technology giants Apple and Facebook pushed US stocks lower Friday, cutting into the gains of the prior two sessions. An exception was Twitter, which surged 21.4 percent following reports it is in talks with potential acquirers, including Google and Salesforce.com. The broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.6 percent to 2,164.69, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.6 percent to 5,305.75.
- U.S.Yahoo News PhotoMall shooting north of Seattle
The 20-year-old suspect in the deadly Washington state mall shooting said nothing and appeared “zombie-like” when he was arrested by authorities nearly 24 hours into an intense manhunt, authorities said. Island County Sheriff’s Lt. Mike Hawley said he spotted Arcan Cetin from a patrol car Saturday evening in Oak Harbor, Washington, and immediately recognized him as the suspect who killed five people at the Cascade Mall in nearby Burlington. Hawley said at a news conference they had received information that Cetin, of Oak Harbor, was in the area.
- U.S.Associated PressPipeline developer buys ranch near North Dakota protest camp
The company developing the four-state Dakota Access oil pipeline has purchased a portion of a historic North Dakota ranch where a violent protest occurred earlier this month due to what tribal officials said was construction crews destroying burial and cultural sites. Morton County records show Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners purchased 20 parcels of land on the Cannonball Ranch totaling more than 6,000 acres from David and Brenda Meyer of Flasher. Financial terms of the deal, which was finalized Thursday, were not disclosed.
- EntertainmentThe DriveArtist Delivers Illustrated Movie Quote Every Day for One Year
Last spring, Ian Simmons made a pledge. On the occasion of his Reddit Cake Day, the artist announced an ambitious 365 project: Create an original illustration from a famous movie quote every day for one entire year. Dude delivered. And the results are
- LifestyleABC News VideosKellyanne Conway on 2016 Presidential Race
George Stephanopoulos talks to Donald Trump's campaign manager ahead of the first debate.
- BusinessThe DriveHow We Broke The Electric and Autonomous Cannonball Run Records
Two days ago, Franz Aliquo, Warren "Mr. X" Ahner, and I announced that we broke both the electric and autonomous vehicle Cannonball Run records, covering 2,877 miles from Redondo Beach, California to the Red Ball Garage in 55 hours—97.7 percent of that time with Tesla’s Autopilot in operation. California is the finish line of the Western world. Regular gas cars don’t have a lot of room for improvement, but with electric and self-driving cars, the sky’s the limit.
- U.S.Reuters'Bridgegate' trial star witness describes favors for endorsements
By Hilary Russ NEWARK, N.J. (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's office turned a regional transportation agency into a "goodie bag" from which to dole out favors and funds to Democrats who might endorse the Republican during his 2013 re-election campaign, according to prosecutors' star witness in the so-called Bridgegate trial on Friday. David Wildstein, a former executive at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who pleaded guilty and is testifying for the prosecution, described how requests from state officials went first to a top Christie aide for approval - for everything from patronage jobs at the agency to tours of the World Trade Center site, which the Port Authority owns. The aide, Christie's then-deputy chief of staff Bridget Anne Kelly, and William Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority, are on trial for wire fraud and civil rights deprivation.
