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The FBI is probing whether a prominent Russian banker with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin may have illegally funneled money to the National Rifle Association in a bid to help elect Donald Trump, according to a new report from McClatchy. The report, which is based on two anonymous sources, claims that special counsel Robert Mueller is now focusing on the deputy governor of Russia’s central bank, Alexander Torshin. According to McClatchy, the NRA spent $30 million supporting Trump during the 2016 election. In March of last year, The Daily Beast first reported the NRA had met with a Kremlin hardliner in 2015 who was sanctioned 18 months earlier for the invasion of Crimea and eastern Ukraine. BuzzFeed News reported on Wednesday that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Kremlin interference in the race has now honed in on “newly uncovered” money transfers made by Russian government officials. | |
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An afternoon scuffle in a juvenile court in Columbus, Ohio, ended with a deputy shooting a 16-year-old defendant dead on Wednesday. The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office said an altercation began outside the courtroom following a hearing for Joseph Edward Haynes, who was appearing for two delinquency cases. “There was an altercation involving the deputy and some of the family members,” said Franklin County Chief Deputy Rick Minerd. “The deputy was knocked to the ground as part of that altercation where he came under attack... one shot was fired.” Jennifer Brisco, who represented Haynes, said the involved deputy had threatened to arrest the 16-year-old. “Joseph was a little out of sorts because of how things went at the hearing,” she told The Columbus Dispatch. “The officer threatened to lock him up and a scuffle broke out. Joseph was resisting, and that’s when there was a scuffle.” | |
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In his now-expected early-morning tweetstorm, President Trump said his idea for a wall across the southern border of the United States has “never changed or evolved from the first day.” He said, “Parts will be, of necessity, see through and it was never intended to be built in areas where there is natural protection such as mountains, wastelands or tough rivers or water.” Trump also maintained—despite all reports to the contrary—that Mexico will reimburse the U.S. government for the cost of the wall. Just hours before Trump’s tweet, The Washington Post reported that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told Democrats that Trump’s campaign promises about the project were “uninformed.” During a conversation with members of the Hispanic Caucus this week, Kelly allegedly claimed that he had “tempered” Trump by educating him. Kelly told Fox News later on Wednesday that the president has “evolved in the way he looks at things.” | |
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The Department of Homeland Security has removed Haiti from a list of countries eligible for a program granting U.S. visas to low-skilled workers, Reuters reports. The Trump administration announced the news less than a week after President Trump questioned why the U.S. would want immigrants from Haiti in a meeting where he reportedly called Haiti and African nations “shithole countries.” The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday said it was barring Haitians from receiving H2-A and H2-B visas due to “high levels of fraud and abuse” by Haitian visa holders and a “high rate of overstaying” visa terms. The H2-A and H2-B visas, primarily for seasonal workers in agriculture and other industries, have served as one of very few legal avenues for Haitians to come to the U.S. since the program started in 2012 to help the country recover from a devastating earthquake. | |
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For aviation nerds, flight geeks, and thrill seekers, mini-drones can be a little, well — boring. Sometimes, smaller drones mean less flying features — but that's definitely not the case with the Fader Stealth Drone. It includes the best elements of a more miniature drone, without sacrificing any of the excitement or technical sophistication of larger drones. It’s ready to fly right out of the box and features a six-axis gyro module and awesome HD camera. As the name suggests, it’s both stealthy and lightweight, with auto-takeoff and land features, altitude hold, and ready-to-fly technology that’s great for beginners. But for expert fliers who long for a little more, there's a 3-level adjustable controller that offers advanced sensitive flight options. There's even a flip capability for a little bit of adrenaline-fueled flair, plus LED lights for night flights. The big takeaway is that the Fader Stealth Drone is easy to use regardless of skill level or ability. You can get the Fader Stealth Drone for $69.99 right now, which is 45% off the original price. Please note that if you buy something featured in one of our posts we may collect a share of sales. | |
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Snow, ice, and record cold temperatures across the South caused chaos Wednesday, sending cars sliding off roads and leaving at least 10 people dead. One of those killed was an 8-month-old baby in a car that slid off an overpass into a Louisiana canal. At least seven other deaths were reported in Louisiana, Georgia, and West Virginia due to cars spinning out of control in icy conditions. Texas has also reported deaths caused by low temperatures, with a homeless man and 82-year-old woman suffering from dementia among those killed by exposure. The brutal weather also caused government offices and schools to shut down in various cities, while icy runways prompted flight delays and cancellations in New Orleans, Memphis, and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. | |
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President Trump took a swipe at his predecessors while defending his cognitive abilities Wednesday, telling Reuters that previous administrations left the North Korea issue for him to deal with because he “scored the highest on tests.” Noting his doctor’s announcement that he’d gotten a perfect score on a screening for neurological impairments, Trump referenced former presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, claiming they didn’t do enough to curb North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s threats. “I guess they all realized they’re going to have to leave it to a president that scored the highest on tests. What can I tell you?” he said. It was not immediately clear what led Trump to believe his scores surpassed those of previous presidents. White House physician Ronny Jackson told reporters Tuesday the president scored 30 out of 30 on a cognitive exam, but he declined to compare Trump’s results to those of his predecessors. | |
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Federal officials in 2013 reportedly allowed a suspected CIA mole to return to China without asking him whether he was a spy for the Chinese government. According to The New York Times, they also did not ask the ex-CIA officer, Jerry Chun Shing Lee, about the classified information that he allegedly stole. The Times revealed an internal debate among federal investigators over whether to arrest Lee and risk “[tipping] off the Chinese and [allowing] them to cover their tracks.” They also reportedly took into consideration China’s efforts to dismantle the American spy network there, and whether arresting Lee would complicate the U.S.’s efforts to learn more about it. Lee was arrested Monday when he arrived unexpectedly at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. He was charged with stealing classified information. | |
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The Republican National Committee on Wednesday night botched the rollout of President Donald Trump’s “Fake News Awards.” After Trump tweeted out the link, the webpage—which was hosted on the RNC’s website—immediately crashed. Trump created the “awards” in an attempt to call attention to what he views as an unfair news coverage that is biased against him. The webpage later loaded, and it featured prominent examples of media mishaps, including those from The New York Times and CNN, two of his favorite targets. | |
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White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has reportedly told Democratic lawmakers President Trump’s campaign promises to build a wall with Mexico and make Mexico pay for it were “uninformed,” The Washington Post reports. Trump’s repeated promises to “build the wall” were a regular feature of his presidential campaign. He tweeted about the necessity for a “great wall” as recently as Tuesday—suggesting his ideas about the wall may still be at odds with those of his chief of staff. In comments with members of the Hispanic Caucus on Wednesday, however, Kelly said he’d “tempered” Trump on the issue of the wall by educating him on the realities of such policies. Kelly later stood by his comments in an interview with Fox News but gave the president credit for having “evolved in the way he looks at things.” “Campaign to governing are two different things, and this president has been very flexible in terms of what’s in the realm of the possible,” he said. | |
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