U.S.Associated PressIllegal marijuana farms take West's water in 'blatant theft'
Jack Dwyer pursued a dream of getting back to the land by moving in 1972 to an idyllic, tree-studded parcel in Oregon with a creek running through it. From dusty towns to forests in the U.S. West, illegal marijuana growers are taking water in uncontrolled amounts when there often isn't enough to go around for even licensed users. Conflicts about water have long existed, but illegal marijuana farms — which proliferate despite legalization in many Western states — are adding strain during a severe drought.
U.S.INSIDERBrian Laundrie, fiancé of missing 22-year-old Gabby Petito, has also gone missing, attorney for the family says
Gabby Petito's fiancé, Brian Laundrie, has also gone missing, according to reports. The Laundrie family's attorney told local media that the whereabouts of his client, a person of interest in Petito's missing person's case, are unknown. Earlier on Friday, law enforcement entered Laundrie's home to speak with his family.
BusinessBarrons.comThe Stock Market Dropped Because There’s Something Scarier Than Taxes, Tapers, and Contagion
Wall Street has found something scarier than tapering, taxes, and China Evergrande Group combined. The reasons for a pullback are many: The stock market has rallied for too long and has gone up too smoothly, the Federal Reserve is about to remove the bond buying that has helped prop markets up, taxes are ready to rise, economic data are slowing. For the S&P 500, it was the first close since June 18 below its 50-day moving average—a technical measure of the previous 50 days' closes that often ends up acting as support or resistance and that currently sits at 4436.35.
U.S.Associated PressBody composting a 'green' alternative to burial, cremation
In a suburban Denver warehouse tucked between an auto repair shop and a computer recycling business, Seth Viddal is dealing with life and death. “It's a natural process where the body is returned to an elemental level over a short period of time,” said Viddal, who likened the practice to backyard composting of food scraps and yard waste. “This is the same process but done with a human body inside of a vessel, and in our case, in a controlled environment.”
PoliticsBusiness InsiderTrump floated the idea of repainting his private plane to look just like Air Force One 'as a way of taunting' Biden, book says
Trump floated repainting his private plane to look like Air Force One, a new book says. Trump described Air Force One as "his brand," saying, "I don't do the corporate jet thing." Former President Donald Trump floated the idea of repainting his private Boeing 757 plane to resemble Air Force One and fly it around the country "as a way of taunting" President Joe Biden, according to a new book.
HealthMiami Herald‘In so much pain’: Political activist Laura Loomer, who wished for COVID, now has it
Outspoken anti vaxxer and alt-right agitator Laura Loomer is feeling the effects of COVID-19. The 28-year-old Barry University alum announced she had contracted the virus on conservative social media platform Gettr Wednesday. “Yesterday I was feeling ill,” wrote Loomer, a onetime Republican nominee to represent Florida's 21st congressional district in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections.
- BusinessFood & Wine
If You've Purchased Chicken in the Past Decade, You May Be Eligible for a Settlement
Six major chicken producers have agreed to a $181 million payout over alleged price-fixing.
ScienceUSA TODAYScientists created the world's whitest paint. It could eliminate the need for air conditioning.
The whitest paint in the world has been created in a lab at Purdue University, a paint so white that it could eventually reduce or even eliminate the need for air conditioning, scientists say. The paint has now made it into the Guinness World Records book as the whitest ever made. “When we started this project about seven years ago, we had saving energy and fighting climate change in mind,” said Xiulin Ruan, a professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue, in a statement.
U.S.INSIDERAuthorities entered home of Gabby Petito's boyfriend Brian Laundrie to speak with his family
Law enforcement officials entered the home of the missing 22-year-old Gabby Petito's boyfriend, Brian Laundrie. Petito disappeared during a road trip with Laundrie, who has been named a person of interest by law enforcement. On Friday, authorities entered the home of missing 22-year-old Gabby Petito's boyfriend Brian Laundrie, in North Port, Florida, to speak with his family, the North Port Police Department confirmed.
ScienceReutersStudy rewrites understanding of modern Japan's genetic ancestry
An analysis of ancient DNA is transforming the understanding of the genetic ancestry of Japan's modern-day population, identifying a crucial contribution from people who arrived about 1,700 years ago and helped revolutionize Japanese culture. Research published on Friday showed that the people of Japan bear genetic signatures from three ancient populations rather than just two as previously thought - a more complex ancestry for the archipelago nation of roughly 125 million. The researchers analyzed genetic information from 17 ancient Japanese people - DNA extracted from the bones of 12 specifically for this study and five done previously - and compared it to genomic data for modern Japanese people.
PoliticsHuffPostEric Trump Asks Question About His Dad, Gets The Same Stinging Response
Eric Trump received a resounding “no” in response to a question posed via a web address he shared Thursday on Twitter. Former President Donald Trump's son posted the URL doyoumissmeyet.com. It linked to a page featuring an image of his father in front of the American flag.
U.S.NBC NewsNYC restaurant hostess attacked after asking diners for proof of vaccination
Three people were arrested for allegedly assaulting a New York City restaurant hostess on Thursday after she asked a group of diners visiting from Texas to show proof they had been vaccinated before seating them. Cellphone footage obtained by NBC New York shows a brawl involving several people outside Carmine's Italian restaurant on the Upper West Side. “It's a shocking and tragic situation when one of our valued employees is assaulted for doing their job - as required by city policies...”
BusinessEngadgetMan who unlocked 1.9 million AT&T phones sentenced to 12 years in prison
A US district court has sentenced a man who unlocked 1.9 million AT&T phones to 12 years in prison. Muhammad Fahd continued the seven-year scheme to defraud the company even after learning of an investigation against him, according to the Department of Justice. At Fahd's sentencing hearing, Judge Robert S. Lasnik said he committed a “terrible cybercrime over an extended period,” with AT&T said to have lost $201.5 million as a result.
U.S.INSIDERGabby Petito told police her 'downer' fiancé didn't think she could make it as a travel influencer, according to bodycam footage
About a month before Gabby Petito was reported missing, she was questioned by police. After Petito and her boyfriend were pulled over, she told officers he was a "downer." Petito said he didn't believe she could start a career as a travel blogger.
PoliticsHuffPostEven Steve Bannon Looks Skeptical About Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's Latest Claim
In her first year as a member of the House, Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene has said a lot of outrageous things. Greene, who has said she believes in the QAnon conspiracy theory but not in the effectiveness of vaccines, was being interviewed on Bannon's “Real America's Voice” podcast when she told the former Trump White House strategist: “I have been the most effective member of Congress this session.” Greene, however, has been unable to do much congressional work since February, when she was stripped of her committee assignments because of her support for racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories, and for advocating the execution prominent Democrats.
U.S.Associated PressTexas teen posts images of slain family, then kills self
A South Texas teen who said he killed his family and posted graphic images of their bodies on social media killed himself after officers found him at his home, authorities said Thursday. The Aransas Pass police and San Patricio County sheriff's office say they started investigating after being alerted to the images on social media. They say the teen, identified as 15-year-old William Quince Colburn III, had also threatened to continue the violence at a school.
PoliticsWashington Examiner'Clinton indictment' blows Russia collusion conspiracy wide open, top GOP investigator says
The cybersecurity lawyer indicted this week by a grand jury in special counsel John Durham's investigation could end up being the "fall guy" for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, warned a top House Republican. Rep. Devin Nunes, the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, told Newsmax on Thursday there is evidence of a broad Russia collusion conspiracy — allegations the congressman's team investigated and referred to the Justice Department. But, he cautioned the Clintons "have a long history of their lawyers and agents disappearing."
U.S.The Daily BeastAnti-Mask Florida Official Dies of COVID—and Takes GOP Software Secrets With Him
Just a day after testing positive for COVID-19, a Florida Republican official who battled against mask mandates, attacked the vaccine, and railed at CDC officials has died in Tampa. Gregg Prentice, who was 61, led the Hillsborough County Election Integrity Committee—and his sudden death has sent the local GOP scrambling as it no longer has access to essential campaign finance software without his help. In a Sept. 14 letter to the Federal Election Commission, the Hillsborough County Republican Executive Committee reported it might not be able to file its monthly financial reports as required—because only Prentice knew how to do it.
U.S.Associated PressFamilies recount trauma at sentencing for school shooter
A judge on Friday sentenced a former student to life in prison without parole for a 2019 shooting inside a suburban Denver high school that killed one teenager and injured eight others, telling the defendant he had shown no remorse and had failed to help a devastated community understand his actions. Devon Erickson, now 20, was convicted in June of 46 charges, including first-degree murder in the death of Kendrick Castillo, an 18-year-old senior hailed as a hero for trying to stop the attack on a classroom at STEM School Highlands Ranch, south of Denver. Prosecutors said Erickson partnered with fellow student Alec McKinney in the May 7, 2019, shooting.
U.S.Miami HeraldDiners gone wild: Watch an all-out brawl at this upscale Brickell restaurant
Truluck's steakhouse in Brickell is where you go for a nice meal out with a sleek decor, expertly prepared seafood and steaks and spot-on service. But on Friday night, the longtime venerated eatery, with a handful of locations throughout the country, was a scene of absolute chaos as a brawl broke out among diners. The out of control scene captured on a bystander's cellphone looks like something out of an R-rated action movie, not a restaurant where entrees run you $40 and up.
U.S.INSIDERPolice asked Gabby Petito's family to stop discussing her relationship with Brian Laundrie, without explaining why, attorney says
Gabby Petito's family has been told not to talk about her relationship with Brian Laundrie. It is unclear why police have asked them to do this, the family said. The couple's relationship became a focus after police were called out to a fight between them.
U.S.ReutersCalifornia governor signs into law measure to fight housing crisis
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed legislation aimed at combating the state's housing crisis by expanding housing production and aiming to streamline housing approvals. Newsom's office said on Thursday California will put $1.75 billion into what his administration is calling a new California Housing Accelerator, which he claimed will accelerate building 6,500 affordable multi-family units that were stalled for lack of tax-exempt bonds and low-income housing tax credits. "Governor Newsom's California Comeback Plan will lead to over 84,000 new housing units and exits from homelessness, including today's announcement of $1.75 billion in affordable housing funding for the new California Housing Accelerator", his office said in a statement.
PoliticsHuffPostJon Stewart Admits Why He Was Wrong About Donald Trump
Jon Stewart admitted the mistake he made when Donald Trump first announced his candidacy for president in 2015. Back then, the then-host of “The Daily Show” figured the reality TV personality was a comedic “gift from heaven. But in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Wednesday, Stewart said he misjudged, failing to consider that Trump's “certainty, his ridiculousness, his shamelessness is what made him dangerous.
U.S.INSIDERUtah police considered charging Gabby Petito with domestic violence after a fight with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie
Utah police considered charging Gabby Petito - a 22-year-old woman who was reported missing on September 11 - with domestic violence last month following an altercation with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie, but opted not to when she said she didn't intend to hurt him, according to police body camera footage released on Thursday. Petito and Laundrie were pulled over by Moab City Police officers on August 12, about a month before Petito was reported missing by her mother. The couple told police that they had gotten into an argument in Moab that resulted in Petito slapping Laundrie, and Petito told officers she hit Laundrie again when she saw they were being pulled over.
BusinessYahoo FinanceWhy some airlines' planes fly slower than others
On Friday a flight-enthusiast passenger noticed that a Spirit Airlines (SAVE) plane that had taken off a few spots ahead of his United plane (UAL) from the Houston airport was now well him, according to a flight tracker. The passenger, who is also a licensed flight dispatcher, guessed that the Spirit flight was likely flying slower to save money, like a frugal driver on the highway. Despite the occasional pilot informing passengers (proudly) of an intention to “make up time in the air,” people usually assume planes are going as fast as they safely can, like a speed limit, similar to a bus or a train.
“It’s time for a late-stage empire to sober up a bit and refocus on building a functioning nation-state here on the home front.”
“The response to evil abroad cannot be to throw up our hands. Failure is not inevitable.”
“The United States keeps insisting that it must do that which it cannot do.”
“When the U.S. blames others, it doesn’t recognize its mistakes, so it repeats them.”
“Nothing has been resolved, no lessons have been learned, no meaningful assessment of the war on terror has been passed.”