| A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck near Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey. The Associated Press reports that the earthquake hit about 7 miles from the state’s largest city, causing “lamp posts and trees to sway.” An AP reporter saw cracks in a 2-story building, and posts on social media show major damage to some roads. In a statement, the Anchorage Police Department announced that there was “major infrastructure damage” across the city and advised residents to “seek a safe shelter.” Earlier, a tsunami warning was also issued by the National Weather Service for southern Alaska’s coastal areas, but it was later canceled. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin wrote on Twitter that her family was “intact” but her house was not. “I imagine that’s the case for many, many others. So thankful to be safe; praying for our state following the earthquake,” she wrote. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted that President Trump was briefed on the earthquake and that staffers are monitoring damage reports. “We are praying for the safety of all Alaskans!” Sanders wrote. View this cheat in a browser to see this embedded tweet. |
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| A Dallas grand jury has indicted former police officer Amber Guyger for the shooting death of Botham Jean, the Dallas Morning News reports. According to court records, Guyger was indicted on a murder charge after she shot Jean, an unarmed 26-year-old, in his apartment earlier this year. The grand jury started convening on Monday. Guyger was arrested on a manslaughter charge on Sept. 9, three days after the shooting occurred. Guyger claimed she had walked into the wrong apartment, mistaking it for her own, and shot Jean, believing him to be an intruder in her home. Other details, such as whether the two exchanged words before the shooting, are reportedly in dispute. |
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| Donald Trump has admitted he “lightly looked” at building a development in Russia while he was running for president. In an ill-tempered Friday morning tweet sent from Buenos Aires—where the president is attending the G-20 summit—he insisted that his business dealings during the campaign were somehow “very legal and very cool.” On Thursday, Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen admitted he lied to Congress about his role in pursuing a deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, covering up that discussions stretched into the 2016 presidential campaign. “Oh, I get it!” wrote Trump on Friday morning. “I am a very good developer, happily living my life, when I see our Country going in the wrong direction (to put it mildly). Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail... Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didn’t do the project. Witch Hunt!” |
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| While we’re still very much navigating the results of the midterm elections, some of us are happy to also focus on gifting season. For your loved ones who have everything or who “prefer experiences to objects,” you’ll need to step up your game. For anyone difficult to buy for, a personalized gift is the way to go, like the fully customizable decorative maps from Grafomap. This company that wants to replace impersonal, trend-chasing wall art with commemorative pieces that don’t break the bank. As a gift to you, thoughtful gift-giver, they’re giving $15 off all posters this holiday season. Grafomap makes designing a personalized map is easy. Visit their site and type in any address that is significant to your giftee. You can zoom all the way down to street level for a super specific and personal map. From there, adjust design elements like color and perspective, to make this map fit with any style of decor. With the holiday discount, the map print is only $34. They also have framed or canvas options if you want to gift something that’s ready to hang on the wall right away. Scouted is internet shopping with a pulse. Follow us on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter for even more recommendations and exclusive content. Please note that if you buy something featured in one of our posts, The Daily Beast may collect a share of sales. |
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| Six Trump White House officials have been reprimanded for violating the Hatch Act by using their government Twitter accounts to engage in partisan political activity, the Office of Special Counsel said Friday. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed the complaint against the officials for, among other offenses, posting tweets in support of President Trump’s campaign. OSC ruled that any future engagement in prohibited political activity will be considered “a willful and knowing violation of the law, which could result in further action.” CREW expressed concern that the ruling is weak. “Warnings have not been enough to deter Trump Administration officials from using their official positions to engage in partisan political activity in direct violation of the law,” said CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder. The six Trump Administration officials cited for Hatch Act violations are: Principal Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah, Deputy Director of Communications Jessica Ditto, Executive Assistant to the President Madeleine Westerhout, former Director of Media Affairs Helen Aguirre Ferré, Press Secretary for Vice President Mike Pence Alyssa Farah, and OMB Deputy Communications Director Jacob Wood. As noted in CREW’s complaints, these officials posted tweets on their official government accounts supporting Trump’s candidacy, including the Trump campaign slogans “Make America Great Again” or “#MAGA.” |
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| Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt can be seen shoving and kicking a woman in surveillance video from a Cleveland hotel hallway, TMZ Sports reports. In the video, a 19-year old woman is reportedly arguing with Hunt outside of his room in the early morning hours of Feb. 10. Hunt can be seen shoving the woman, at which point she hits him in the face. People around Hunt attempt to hold him back, but Hunt rushes towards the woman, knocking down both his friend and the woman. Hunt is then seen approaching the woman and kicking her while she’s on the ground. Police were reportedly called and the video was also obtained by law enforcement. TMZ reports that no arrests were made because police could not determine if a crime was committed. At the time, the woman reportedly told police Hunt kicked her out of his room after she refused to hook up with one of his entourage members. Hunt’s friends told authorities the woman started calling Hunt the “n-word” and hit one of his female friends when she was asked to leave. Hunt has reportedly not missed a game for the entire season, and it is unclear if the National Football League saw video of the incident. |
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| Hours after Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) penned an op-ed calling for Ryan Zinke’s resignation, the interior secretary hit back, calling the Democrat a “drunk” who stole taxpayer money to hide his behavior. “It’s hard for him to think straight from the bottom of the bottle,” Zinke tweeted Friday. “This is coming from a man who used nearly $50,000 in tax dollars as hush money to cover up his drunken and hostile behavior.” He continued: “He should resign and pay back the taxpayer for the hush money and the tens of thousands of dollars he forced my department to spend investigating unfounded allegations.” Grijalva, who will likely chair the House Natural Resources Committee, wrote a USA Today op-ed on Friday, calling for Zinke to resign because of his “ethical and managerial failings.” Zinke has been targeted in 18 ethics probes since joining the Trump administration last year. |
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| Patrick M. Walker, 44, was serving a life sentence for first-degree murder when he escaped Friday from an Oklahoma jail that he was being held at for court, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections announced. Walker escaped by allegedly posing as his cellmate, whom he closely resembles, and posting bond for that inmate, the sheriff's department reported to ODOC. Walker is believed to be carrying his cellmate’s identification and might be going by his name: Charles Pendarvis. ODOC warned not to approach Walker, as he is considered extremely dangerous. Anyone with information about Walker’s whereabouts is asked to call ODOC’s confidential fugitive hotline at 866-363-1119 or email warrants@doc.ok.gov. |
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