Donald Trump and the tangled tale of the tapes

When Donald Trump gets in one of his frequent jams, caught between his own words and the truth, he likes to allude to the existence of tapes that will exonerate him. There was, of course, the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape that nearly derailed his campaign one month before the election.

Egyptian Officials Open Black Sarcophagus, Find 3 Skeletons Inside

After approximately 2,000 years sitting untouched, a black sarcophagus recently unearthed in Egypt has been opened ― and it wasn’t pretty. Authorities in Alexandria removed the massive granite lid on Thursday to reveal the skeletal remains of three people amid sewage water that had leaked in, the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced. Mostafa Waziry, the head of the Supreme Council for Antiquities, had some reassuring words in response to media rumors of bad luck. “The sarcophagus has been opened, but we have not been hit by a curse,” he said, according to the Guardian.

CEO Gives Own Car To Young Employee Who Set Out On Foot For Job 20 Miles Away

Walter Carr of Birmingham, Alabama, found himself in quite the predicament last week. A couple of hours into his trek, Carr stopped in a bank parking lot to take a break because his legs hurt. As he rested, a police car drove up, and an officer, identified as Mark Knighten, asked Carr if he was OK.

Best Bites Summer Entertaining: Pina colada cookie cups

What screams tropical vacation getaway more than a pina colada? Pina colada cookie cups! Check out the recipe on this episode of Best Bites!Ingredients:COOKIE CUPS3/4 cups (168g) salted butter, room temperature1 cup (207g) sugar1 large egg, room temperature

Anonymous Donor Pays Tuition For Medical School's Entire Inaugural Class

“Student debt is the number one deterrent for students when applying to medical school,” she told local outlet ABC 13. “This generous gift will allow such students an opportunity to attend and ultimately lead the future medical workforce.

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  Anonymous $3 million gift to fund tuition for UH med school's first class

  Houston Chronicle
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  Anonymous donor gifts UH $3M, pays entire tuition for medical students

  KHOU

Texas executes man for 2004 slaying of store owner

A Texas prisoner was executed Tuesday evening for the fatal shooting of a San Antonio convenience store owner after courts turned down appeals that the state parole board improperly rejected the inmate's clemency request because he's black. Christopher Young, 34, never denied the slaying, which was recorded on a store surveillance camera, but insisted he was drunk and didn't intend to kill 53-year-old Hasmukh "Hash" Patel during an attempted robbery after drinking nearly two dozen beers and then doing cocaine that Sunday morning, Nov. 21, 2004. Young and Patel knew each other, and Patel's family members had been vocal about not wanting Young put to death.

California wildfire moves toward Yosemite, small mountain towns

By Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A fierce California wildfire crept toward the boundary of Yosemite National Park on Tuesday as crews fought through steep, often inaccessible terrain and thick smoke to protect a string of small mountain communities in the path of the flames. "The fire continues to grow," fire spokeswoman Adrienne Freeman said. "There's a lot of vegetation and it's very, very dry, there's a significant amount of beetle kill (in the trees)." "The story is, this is steep terrain," Freeman said.

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  Two firefighters hurt battling fierce Yosemite blaze

  Reuters
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  Storms, dead trees could hinder firefighting near Yosemite

  Associated Press

MGM Resorts sues victims of Las Vegas massacre

MGM Resorts, owner of the Las Vegas hotel that was the scene of the worst mass shooting in modern US history, has sued victims of the massacre, triggering howls of protest. The suit does not seek money but rather aims to force around 1,000 people suing MGM over the October shooting rampage that left 58 dead at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, to drop their suits on grounds that MGM Resorts is not liable. The group filed suit Friday in Nevada and in federal court in Los Angeles.

Thai cave rescue: Trauma expert says journalists' questions could affect boys' recovery

Journalists had their questions moderated by a child psychologist at the first press conference with the rescued Thai boys. Trauma expert Neil Greenberg told The Telegraph that this time is crucial to help the boys develop a narrative of resilience about the events. According to Prof Greenberg, an academic psychiatrist at King's College London, the way the events are framed in the boys' minds will affect how they recover.

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  'Ready To Go Home': Thai Soccer Team Released From Hospital, Describes Dramatic Cave Rescue

  CBS 2 Los Angeles
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  Rescued boys explain how they survived in Thailand cave for 2 weeks

  Good Morning America

After Trump's defense of Putin, sighs of resignation — but nobody's resigning (yet)

After siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin over his own intelligence services, President Trump found himself on the receiving end of some of the harshest intraparty criticism of his time in office. This outrage led to calls that Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats or Secretary of Defense James Mattis should resign in protest and reminders of how Trump began his term attacking the intelligence community, including comparing them to Nazis. One member of the administration reportedly replied “Good question” when asked by CNN if anyone would resign over the summit press conference.

Elon Musk Apologizes For Calling Thailand Cave Rescue Diver A 'Pedo'

Elon Musk apologized to the British cave diver who was the subject of a slew of insults following last week’s rescue of 12 boys and their coach from a Thai cave. Musk said his comments against Vernon Unsworth, which included the use of the term “pedo,

Trump Wonders Why U.S. Should Always Have To Defend NATO Allies

President Donald Trump on Tuesday once again threw cold water on NATO, an intergovernmental military alliance between the U.S. and 28 other countries. Trump expressed skepticism over the decades-old defense pact, which obligates member countries to defend any other member country that comes under attack, during an interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson. When Carlson asked why the U.S. should protect a country like Montenegro, which joined NATO last year, Trump said he has asked himself the same question.

Two children left with bite marks off Fire Island after 'first New York shark attacks' in 70 years

Two children have been bitten while swimming in waters off New York state's Fire Island in what are thought to be the state’s first shark attacks for 70 years. A 12-year-old girl suffered bite marks “consistent with a large fish” while swimming at Sailors Haven beach and a 13-year-old boy on a bodyboard was taken to taken to hospital following an incident at nearby Atlantique beach, 50 miles east of Manhattan. Less than a dozen such shark bites on people had previously been documented in New York state, with the last one coming in 1948, officials said.

Girl With Disability Gang-Raped By 22 Men For 7 Months In India, Police Say

Police quickly rounded up 18 of the 22 men, including an elevator operator, gardener, housekeeper, electrician, security guards and plumbers in and around the apartment complex where the girl’s family lives in Purasawalkam, according to the Times Of India. There are conflicting reports about the girl’s age. Times of India reported the victim is 12, while other outlets gave her age as 11. The girl told police that an elevator operator named Ravi Kumar, 66, first sexually assaulted her when she arrived home from school before she entered her family’s apartment.

Flags, flowers greet first Ethiopia-Eritrea flight in 20 years

By Aaron Maasho ASMARA (Reuters) - The first commercial flight from Ethiopia to Eritrea in 20 years landed safely in Asmara on Wednesday to be greeted by dancers waving flags and flowers, cementing a stunning rapprochement that has ended a generation of hostility in a matter of days. As Ethiopian Airways [ETHA.UL] flight ET 0312 made the momentous switch from Ethiopian to Eritrean airspace, chief executive Tewolde GebreMariam took to the on-board intercom to remind the 315 passengers they were part of history. Families separated from loved ones since the start of a brutal 1998-2000 border war sat next to dignitaries on the flight, one of two that took off from Ethiopia on Wednesday morning.

Mexico's president-elect rebuffed by Zapatista rebels

Mexico's leftist President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been enjoying a honeymoon of sorts even with conservative businessmen, but was rebuffed by the Zapatista rebels. The leftist Zapatistas issued a statement Tuesday denying they have had any contact with Lopez Obrador's team and saying they don't want any. The Zapatista leadership taunted Lopez Obrador, noting his aides made an error in saying Pope Francis would participate in their planned forums on bringing peace to violence-wracked Mexico.

CIA 'had source close to Putin' and told Donald Trump that Russian leader ordered election hacking 

The CIA had a top secret informant close to Vladimir Putin who confirmed the Russian president’s personal involvement in hacking the 2016 US election, it has been claimed. According to the New York Times the source was giving information to the CIA during the Obama administration. The information, and the source, were reportedly considered so sensitive that John Brennan, the CIA director at the time, gave details to Mr Obama in an envelope, separate from the daily presidential intelligence briefing that is delivered in the Oval Office, the New York Times reported.

Multiple Papa John's Employees Describe Sexual Harassment, Nepotism

Papa John’s founder John Schnatter resigned last week as chairman over his use of a racial slur, but that incident may have just scratched the surface of the company’s problems. According to an explosive Forbes report published on Thursday, the pizza giant also fosters a toxic workplace culture that includes sexual harassment, nepotism and spying on employees. Several female Papa John’s employees described enduring a pattern of sexist and other inappropriate remarks from male colleagues.

Barack Obama says that 'men have been getting on my nerves lately'

Barack Obama has officially joined the countless women in 2018 who are annoyed by men. On Wednesday, while speaking to leaders of the Obama Foundation in Johannesburg, South Africa, President Obama got real about the recent behavior of powerful men, admitting he's straight-up annoyed. "Women in particular, by the way, I want you to get more involved," Obama said in footage shared by CNN.

We're Buying Target's Dorm Room Decor for Our Grownup Apartments

We're young at heart, okay?

Authorities in Desperate Search for Shark That Bit 12-Year-Old Girl at New York Beach

An unflappable 12-year-old is smiling in her hospital bed just hours after she says a shark attacked her leg. Lola Pollina was wading waist-deep in the surf at Atlantique, Fire Island — off the coast of New York's Long Island — Wednesday

Eight arrested over Boko Haram Chibok abduction: police

Eight men have been arrested in connection with Boko Haram's abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls from the remote town of Chibok in northeast Nigeria, police said on Wednesday. All the suspects were paraded at a news conference in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri. Borno state police commissioner Damian Chukwu said the men -- aged 20 to 48 and all from the Bama area of Borno state -- were arrested in Borno and neighbouring Yobe earlier this month.

Philippines to expel 'undesirable' Australian nun who irked Duterte

The Philippines blacklisted and ordered the deportation on Thursday of an elderly Australian nun at odds with President Rodrigo Duterte, calling her an "undesirable alien" who broke terms of her missionary visa by engaging in political activism. The resolution was the second time immigration chiefs have sought to deport Patricia Fox, 71, who two months ago had been granted a reprieve by the justice department. Fox has worked in the Philippines since the early 1990s and is a coordinator of a congregation of Catholic nuns called Notre Dame de Sion.