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.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.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.
- U.S.Yahoo News PhotoCharlotte protests mostly peaceful on third night
Protesters massed on Charlotte’s streets for a third night Thursday in the latest sign of mounting pressure for police to release video that could resolve wildly different accounts of the shooting of a black man. Demonstrators chanted “release the tape” and “we want the tape” while briefly blocking an intersection near Bank of America headquarters and later climbing the steps in front of the city government center. Later, several dozen demonstrators climbed onto an interstate highway through the city, but they were pushed back by police in riot gear.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
ScienceAFP'Man-goat' among winners of spoof Nobel prizesA man who lived as a goat in the Swiss Alps and a scientist who studied how pants affect the sex drive of rodents are among the winners of this year's spoof Nobel prizes. The 26th edition of the annual Ig Nobel Prizes, which celebrate the silly side of science, were handed out Thursday at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The top honor in the reproduction category went to the late Ahmed Shafik from Cairo University, who died in 2007, for his work that showed how the sex lives of rats are affected by the fabric of pants they are fitted with.
- U.S.Inside EditionPolice Chief Defends Pepper Spraying Handcuffed 15-Year-Old Girl, Releases Body-Cam Footage
Police in Maryland released body-camera footage of an officer pepper-spraying a handcuffed 15-year-old girl who they say refused to cooperate after her bike collided with a car, saying it was a last resort action to de-escalate a potentially dangerous situation. Officers with the Hagerstown Police Department responded to a reported collision involving a car and a bicycle at Randolph and N. Locust Streets at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday, where the driver of the car told police that a teenage girl hit his car and attempted to leave, refusing medical attention at the scene.
- 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.
- WorldReutersU.S., Russia send mixed signals on Syria as bombing goes on
By Yara Bayoumy and Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States and Russia sent mixed signals on whether any headway was made on reviving a moribund Syria truce amid intense bombardment of Aleppo on Friday suggesting the effort was dead. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he made "a little progress" on halting the violence in talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who cited no progress and accused the United States of failing to honor the latest ceasefire deal.
- 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.
- PoliticsAssociated PressCruz throws his support to Trump's campaign at last
Donald Trump says he's "greatly honored" to receive the endorsement of defeated rival Ted Cruz, not that Cruz is using that word when acknowledging that he will vote for the Republican presidential nominee. Cruz and Trump had traded harsh words during the primary race and the tones of their statements Friday reflected their differences. "After many months of careful consideration, of prayer and searching my own conscience, I have decided that on Election Day, I will vote for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump," Cruz wrote on Facebook.
- BusinessPopular MechanicsYahoo Confirms 500 Million Accounts Affected In Breach
From Popular MechanicsYahoo says the personal information in 500 million accounts was stolen in a massive security breakdown. The breach disclosed Thursday, the latest setback for the beleaguered internet company, dates back to late 2014. The stolen data
- LifestyleU.S.News & World ReportTarget Corporation Spikes Kid Shopping Carts Amid Store Chaos (TGT)
The kids are not all right, as far as Target Corporation (ticker: TGT) is concerned. Target recently ended a test of kid shopping carts in certain Target stores. The company stopped the test on the account of consumer social media complaints, detailing ankle and shin bruising in addition to having trouble keeping control of kids and their carts, reports the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
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
- U.S.Inside EditionTeenager Charged after Toddler is Captured on Video with Weed in Hand
An Arkansas teenager was arrested after allegedly urging a three-year-old boy to smoke weed in an incident that was captured on video, Arkansas police said. Lamel Yancy, 17, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child after he posted the video to his Facebook page, according to police. A YouTube user later posted the video to the site.
- HealthLiveScience.comEggo Waffle Recall: How To Find Listeria
Kellogg announced on Monday that it is recalling approximately 10,000 cases of Eggo Nutri-Grain Whole Wheat Waffles due to possible contamination with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes. There are several ways that bacteria such as Listeria can get into food products, said Benjamin Chapman, a food safety specialist and an associate professor at North Carolina State University. One way is if the bacteria make their way into the food-processing plant, Chapman said.
- 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.
- 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.
BusinessAFP Relax NewsWhat the Marriott and Starwood merger means for hotel guestsThe merger between Marriott and Starwood is now complete, bringing with it a host of new implications for loyalty members at some of the biggest brands around the world. Nearly a year after announcing plans to acquire Starwood Hotel & Resorts, Marriott International is now officially the world's largest hotel company, a merger that expands the brand's portfolio as well as the benefits that loyalty members can now reap. To appease nervous guests who had racked up a healthy number of points with either Marriott Rewards or Starwood Preferred Guest, Marriott has announced that members will have their status matched across both programs, giving them access to brands and destinations that were previously unavailable.
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.
BusinessAFPRussia appeals WTO ruling against its embargo of EU porkRussia on Friday lodged an appeal against a ruling that its import ban on pork products from the European Union is illegitimate, the World Trade Organization said. The WTO ruling, handed down last month, concerns a ban imposed by Russia in early 2014, which Moscow said was necessary to protect its consumers following a small flare up of African Swine Fever in some EU states. Russia widened its ban against EU products later in 2014, a move many saw as retaliation against EU sanctions imposed on Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine.
