Preet Bharara, US Attorney Fired By Trump, Joins CNN As Contributor

Politico’s Michael Calderone reported Preet Bharara, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York whom Trump fired in March, joined the cable news network as a senior legal analyst. The network also signed a deal with Walter M. Shaub Jr., the former director of the Office of Government Ethics, who resigned in July. Shaub, who battled the Trump administration for months, told CBS News that there’s “an appearance” that Trump’s businesses are profiting from him occupying the presidency.

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  Another Reason for Trump to Hate CNN: Fired Prosecutor Preet Bharara Joins as Legal Analyst

  The Wrap
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  Preet Bharara Debuts Podcast With Story of ‘That Time President Trump Fired Me’

  Bloomberg

Will Barcelona secede from Spain? Catalan independence is up for a vote — and Russia is stirring the pot

Here in Spain’s second-largest city, long a magnet for American tourists, life on the surface appears as festive as ever, from the beach terraces laden with pitchers of sangria to the crowds browsing the kiosks on the pedestrian median of La Rambla, which almost immediately returned to normal after last month’s terror attack. But the tension brewing just below the surface of Catalonia, the wealthy northeast region of 7.5 million of which Barcelona is capital, burst into the open Wednesday morning with a series of raids by national police on the regional ministry of finance, leading to at least a dozen arrests of senior officials, followed by hours of flag-waving marches and demonstrations. At issue is a wave of Catalan nationalism culminating in a referendum on secession, scheduled for Oct. 1.

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  Boats of Spanish military police blocked by Catalan ports as unrest grows

  The Telegraph
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  Catalonia closes ranks against Spain in referendum row

  AFP

Black Cornell Student Allegedly 'Bloodied Up' In Racially Charged Attack

Less than two weeks after someone chanted “build a wall, build a wall” near the Latino Living Center on Cornell University’s campus, a white student was arrested after allegedly assaulting a black student in front of his home and yelling racial slurs at him. “I will not tell you this is not who we are, as the events of the past few weeks belie that,” wrote Cornell President Martha Pollack in a statement on Sunday. The black student, identified only as a Cornell junior and member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, told The Cornell Daily Sun he’d arrived home at 1 a.m. on Friday morning to find a group of strangers “shoving” his friends.

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  Video Allegedly Shows Fraternity Members Who Violently Assaulted Black Cornell Student Repeatedly Say 'N****r'

  BET.com
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  Black Cornell Students Occupy Willard Straight Hall After Delivering Demands to President Pollack

  The Sun

A Lot Of Americans Don't Know That Puerto Ricans Are Americans, Too

Maria “will essentially devastate most of the island,” Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said earlier this week. “After Irma, the people of Puerto Rico stood up and helped others,” he said, according to USA Today. Fewer than half of Americans, however, even realize that Puerto Ricans are American citizens.

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  Buffalo's Puerto Rican community awaits word from loved ones hit by Maria

  The Buffalo News
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  In Puerto Rico, Hurricane Maria Brings 'Widespread Damage And Widespread Flooding'

  NPR.org

Cassini captured mysterious 'glitch' on Saturn's rings before death dive

Peggy lives along the edge of Saturn and is an anomaly from which researchers have been unable to unearth the source. The bizarre disturbance was first noticed in 2013 by London researcher Carl Murray, who named it after his mother-in-law after making the discovery on her birthday.

10 Things to Know for Today

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:1. WHERE HURRICANE MARIA IS HEADINGThe strengthening Category 3 storm is lashing the Dominican Republic and is expected to pass near the Turks and Caicos

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  Puerto Rico student rescues 90 birds from Hurricane Maria...and keeps them in her house

  The Telegraph
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  Hurricane Maria leaves a trail of destruction in San Juan

  Washington Post

WATCH: Video Of Georgia Students Hitting Teacher Goes Viral

A video of two students fighting and a teacher getting caught in the crosshairs has appeared online. The teacher who tries to break the fight up ends up getting slapped by the two students. According to Atlanta based ABC News affiliate WSB-TV, the incident happened at Rome Middle School in Floyd County, Georgia.

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  Georgia teacher uses racial slur in attempt to comfort 9-year-old black student

  Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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  Video: Middle school teacher repeatedly slapped during fight between students

  WTAE

Harrowing Videos Show The Moments An Earthquake Struck Mexico

People in neighborhoods across central Mexico watched as homes, businesses, and schools fell apart before their eyes during Tuesday’s catastrophic earthquake. In video posted to YouTube by the Mexican newspaper Milenio, pedestrians are seen milling outside of a building on a street corner.

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  Road 'breathes' in Mexico after earthquake kills 248

  Daily Mail
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  This is Mexico City before the quake. And after.

  CNN

GE to sell corporate jets in cost-cutting move

General Electric plans to sell its corporate jets in a cost-cutting move amid sluggish activity in key industrial divisions, a spokesperson said Wednesday. "As we have said, we are executing on a plan to take out $2 billion in cost by the end of 2018," the GE spokesperson told AFP. The company plans to sell the fleet, the spokesperson said.

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  BRIEF-General Electric to shut down its corporate jet fleet

  Reuters
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  GE Shelves Corporate Jets to Cut Costs Amid Sales Slump

  Zacks

Bipartisan health care fix dies in Senate

That talk of a bipartisan health care bill was a pleasant dream while it lasted. The day after Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., shelved their effort to reach an agreement on how to improve upon the Affordable Care Act, observers of the process gave varied explanations for why Republicans and Democrats failed once again to solve the problem. Republicans have been talking about repealing former President Obama’s 2010 health care law for nearly a decade, and Alexander’s focus was on preventing harm to Americans who might be hurt by rising premiums in the next year.

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  Study: Minnesota Medicaid funding would drop 30 percent under Senate health bill

  mprnews.org
• This Republican health-care bill is the most monstrous yet

  memeorandum

Breathtaking shots of king penguins marching in golden sunrise

Wildlife photographer Wim van den Heever, 45, visited the Falkland Islands this year to shoot pictures and scout the area for future tours. Wim’s breathtaking images show a small group of king penguins before they head out to sea at sunrise. Wim said: “The sunrise created beautiful vibrant colors and amazing reflections.

George W. Bush's Ethics Chief: This 'May Be What Puts An End To This White House'

If it turns out it was to block the Russia investigation, that would be obstruction, Painter said on MSNBC on Wednesday. “The president once again has the right to fire the FBI director,” Painter said on MSNBC.

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  The US Government-In-Exile Has A New President

  memeorandum
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  Trump Wanted NASA to Fly Past the Moon and They Just Said "No"

  PopSugar

Trump Uses RNC Funds To Pay For His Russia Defense -- Thanks To Hillary Clinton's Lawyer

WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump, a billionaire, is reportedly using money raised by the Republican National Committee to cover legal fees associated with the Department of Justice investigation into his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has used over $230,000 in money raised by the RNC for his own legal defense, according to Reuters. In a bit of an ironic twist, the RNC money with which Trump is paying for his legal defense is available for him to use thanks to the work of Clinton’s campaign lawyer, Marc Elias.

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  Report: Manafort offered to give 'private briefings' on 2016 campaign to Russian billionaire

  The Week
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  Mueller investigators seek documents from the White House

  Associated Press

How North Korea Could Start World War III: A War Between Russia and America

Ultimately, while American attempts to shoot-down a North Korean missile are unlikely to trigger an accidental nuclear war, it might not be good idea stress the Russian early warning system. The best option—time permitting—would be to forewarn Moscow of any attempt to shoot down a North Korean missile. If the United States decides to attempt to shoot down future North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests using the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, it is likely that Russia’s early warning system will not mistake the interceptors for a potential nuclear attack.

Kansas shooting suspect owes almost $400,000 in unpaid taxes

A man suspected in the shooting of a Kansas Department of Revenue employee in Wichita was under investigation by the agency and owed nearly $400,000 in sales taxes related to his construction business, according to police and records. Ricky Todd Wirths, 51, walked into the taxation side of the Wichita office on Tuesday afternoon and asked to see Cortney Holloway, a tax seizure agent, according to Wichita police officer Charley Davidson. The two men were discussing Wirths' case when Wirths pulled out a gun and shot Holloway, Davidson said at a news conference Wednesday.

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  State workers at site of shooting had guards, security until Kansas' privatization push

  LJWorld.com
• The Latest: Kansas shooting suspect owed $400,000 in taxes

  Associated Press

Virginian Charters Jet To Rescue 300 Pets Stranded On Virgin Islands After Irma

When Hurricane Maria took aim at the U.S. Virgin Islands last week, Sali Gear knew she had to move fast. Gear, the co-founder of Virginia Beach’s Island Dog Rescue, grew up in the islands. To make this happen, Gear initially aimed to fly 20 animals to the continental U.S. every day for one week, according to The Virginian-Pilot.

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  Here’s When Flights to Puerto Rico Will Start Again After Hurricane Maria

  Time
• Photos: Hurricane Maria slams Caribbean

  http://austinstatesman.tumblr.com/

Oil up 2 percent despite U.S. crude build; set for best third quarter since 2004

By Julia Simon NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices settled up 2 percent on Wednesday despite a rise in U.S. crude inventories, with the market heading for its largest third-quarter gain in 13 years after the Iraqi oil minister said OPEC and its partners were considering extending or deepening output cuts. Brent crude futures rose $1.06, or 1.9 percent, to $56.20 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 93 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $50.41. U.S. crude oil stockpiles jumped last week as imports and production increased, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said, as operations resumed from the impact of Hurricane Harvey which hit the Gulf Coast on Aug. 25.

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  Oil traders are focused on this OPEC—led meeting of major crude producers

  MarketWatch
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  Oil prices narrowly higher as producers meet on output pact

  Reuters

Trump Blocks Woman With Stage 4 Cancer On Twitter After Health Care Critiques

President Donald Trump blocked on Twitter a Nevada woman with advanced cancer after she began tweeting at him different criticisms of Republican health care bills, according to Think Progress. Laura Packard has stage IV Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and found out Wednesday morning that the president's Twitter account had blocked her. “I didn’t sleep too well because of the cancer,” she told ThinkProgress on Wednesday.

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  Woman With Stage 4 Cancer Responds After Trump Blocks Her on Twitter for Supporting ACA

  The Mighty
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  Chelsea Clinton Scolds Trump for Blocking Cancer Patient on Twitter: 'I Didn't Block Him' After Hillary Golf Ball Tweet

  People

8 Wellness Travel Destinations You Shouldn’t Miss

These wellness travel destinations combine healing waters with stunning design and exceptional service

Navy Hospital Staffers Removed After Sharing Disturbing Photos Of Newborns

“It’s outrageous, unacceptable, incredibly unprofessional, and cannot be tolerated,” the hospital said, without identifying the corpsmen by name. One video posted to Snapchat shows a woman holding up a newborn and forcing it to dance to rap music like a puppet, First Coast News reported. Attorney Sean Cronin, who has filed medical malpractice lawsuits against the Naval hospital in the past, told News 4 Jax that he was left “utterly shocked” by the content.

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  Two Navy Hospital Employees Have Been Removed After Inappropriate Behavior With Newborn Babies

  Essence
• Navy identifies corpsmen behind social post calling newborns 'mini Satans'

  ABC News

The U.S. Is Giving $32 Million To Assist Rohingya Refugees

The United States will dispense about $32 million in humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya ethnic minority facing persecution in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, the State Department said Wednesday. “Through this support, the United States will help provide emergency shelter, food security, nutritional assistance, health assistance, psychosocial support, water, sanitation and hygiene, livelihoods, social inclusion, non-food items, disaster and crisis risk reduction, restoring family links, and protection to over 400,000 displaced persons in Burma and in Bangladesh,” according to the press release.

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  Rohingya crisis dents Myanmar hopes of Western investment boom

  Reuters
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  Aid shipment blocked as Rohingya humanitarian crisis deepens

  AFP

Russia Accuses U.S. of Working With Al-Qaeda Affiliate

Russia's military has accused U.S. intelligence of ordering militants affliated with Al-Qeada to attack government forces in order to divert their attention from a battle they are fighting against the Islamic State militant group (ISIS). Bashar al-Assad's regime is battling ISIS in Deir Ezzor, once a stronghold of Islamist extremists. Since officially entering the Syrian conflict to support Assad's faltering regime in late 2015, Russia has repeatedly said it is fighting "terrorism," though its broad definition of the term includes no explicit list of organization.

Canoeist Emma Kelty was 'raped and tortured' before bungling attackers set off SOS alarm

Ringleader Evanilson Gomes da Costa, 24, died Wednesday after being shot by rival gangsters. Residents of the small riverside community of Lauro Sodre, near to where the crime took place, said all seven men accused of her murder are well-known drugs users in the village.