Today: October 06, 2024
Today: October 06, 2024

Latest From The Los Angeles Post

Political

Founders of crypto mixer arrested, sanctioned after US cracks down on Tornado Cash

U.S. government officials on Wednesday started cracking down on the co-founders of the virtual currency mixer Tornado Cash, just days after a federal judge decided that the government had the authority to sanction them. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Roman Semenov, one of the three co-founders of Tornado Cash, for allegedly supporting the North Korean hacking organization, Lazarus Group, among other things. Also Wednesday, the Justice Department unsealed an indictment charging Semenov and Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm with conspiracy to commit money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and other crimes. Storm was

Founders of crypto mixer arrested, sanctioned after US cracks down on Tornado Cash
Political

Senator Rubio urges Biden administration to freeze a former warlord's extradition to Colombia

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio is calling on the Biden administration to reject Colombia’s request for extradition of a former warlord after he was named a peace envoy in the South American nation, a move that could see him avoid additional prison time for human rights abuses. Salvatore Mancuso, the top commander of a former group of right-wing militias, completed a 12-year cocaine trafficking sentence in 2020. He has been held in U.S. custody ever since after Colombia at the last minute reversed a U.S. order that would’ve sent him to Italy, where he also has citizenship,

Senator Rubio urges Biden administration to freeze a former warlord's extradition to Colombia
Political

US approves new $500M arms sale to Taiwan as aggression from China intensifies

The Biden administration has approved a $500 million arms sale to Taiwan as it ramps up military assistance to the island despite fervent objections from China. The State Department said Wednesday it had signed off on the sale of infrared search tracking systems along with related equipment for advanced F-16 fighter jets. The sale includes the infrared systems as well as test support and equipment, computer software and spare parts, it said. Although the deal is modest in comparison to previous weapons sales, the move is likely to draw fierce criticism from Beijing, which regards self-governing Taiwan

US approves new $500M arms sale to Taiwan as aggression from China intensifies
Political

Donald Trump seems inescapable but many Republicans embrace a campaign discussion without him

Donald Trump’s decision to skip the first Republican debate may hurt television ratings and put more pressure on the eight contenders who will be on stage. But plenty of rank-and-file conservatives said they were eager to see their options without the former president dominating the conversation. “People are just so focused on the circus,” said Melissa Watford, a 53-year-old Republican from suburban Atlanta. “He’s just a distraction. Distraction, distraction, distraction.” Watford’s husband, Jack, said he would still consider supporting Trump if he wins the nomination, but he described the former president as “clickbait” and expressed relief that

Donald Trump seems inescapable but many Republicans embrace a campaign discussion without him
Political

Jail where Trump will be booked in Georgia has long been plagued with violence

Former President Donald Trump is expected to surrender on Thursday at the jail in Georgia’s most populous county — an overcrowded facility with a reputation for violence and neglect that has prompted a federal investigation into conditions there. Trump will be released from Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, known colloquially as the Rice Street jail, once he is booked on charges of illegally scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. Not all criminal defendants are handled that way. Others have spent months, or even years, there before they were indicted. Here’s a look at the

Jail where Trump will be booked in Georgia has long been plagued with violence
Political

North Dakota Gov. Burgum may miss GOP presidential debate after hurting himself playing basketball

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum may not be able to participate in Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate after he injured himself playing basketball and was taken to the emergency room. Campaign spokesman Lance Trover said Wednesday that it was “unclear if he will be able to stand at the debate.” He didn’t say what type of injury it was but said Burgum’s team would have more information later. The injury, which occurred Tuesday while Burgum was playing with campaign staff, was first reported by CNN. Missing the two-hour debate would be a major setback for Burgum, who is

North Dakota Gov. Burgum may miss GOP presidential debate after hurting himself playing basketball
Political

Giuliani is expected to turn himself in on Georgia 2020 election indictment charges

Rudy Giuliani is expected to turn himself in at a jail in Atlanta on Wednesday on charges related to efforts to overturn then-President Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. The former New York mayor was indicted last week along with Trump and 17 others. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said they participated in a wide-ranging conspiracy to subvert the will of the voters after the Republican president lost to Democrat Joe Biden in November 2020. Giuliani faces charges related to his work as a lawyer for Trump after the general election. “I’m

Giuliani is expected to turn himself in on Georgia 2020 election indictment charges
Political

Trump's classified-documents indictment does more than allege crimes − it tells a compelling story

The indictment of Donald Trump and an aide was ‘laced with rhetorical and narrative techniques.’ Photo Illustration by Drew Angerer/Getty Images When special counsel Jack Smith announced the charges he was bringing against former President Donald Trump for retaining government documents, he did something unusual: He invited the public to read the formal legal document, known as an indictment, detailing the allegations. And many did – concluding not only that the indictment was well-written but engaging. I study the ethics of using narrative and rhetoric in legal persuasion. I am also a lawyer. I know that nothing required Smith and

Trump's classified-documents indictment does more than allege crimes − it tells a compelling story
Political

Why somepeopletalkveryfast and others ... take ... their ... time − despite stereotypes, it has nothing to do with intelligence

French, Spanish and Japanese are spoken faster than German, Vietnamese and Mandarin, with English somwhere in the middle. Aaron Amat/iStock/Getty Images Plus Pop culture abounds with examples of very fast talkers. There’s the Judy Grimes character played by Kristen Wiig on “Saturday Night Live,” or that guy from the 1980s who did commercials for Micro Machines and FedEx. Of course, there are also extremely slow talkers, like the sloth in “Zootopia” and the cartoon basset hound Droopy. Real-life fast talkers are staples in some professions. Auctioneers and sportscasters are known for their rapid delivery, though the slower commentary in golf

Why somepeopletalkveryfast and others ... take ... their ... time − despite stereotypes, it has nothing to do with intelligence
Political

How Ron DeSantis used Florida schools to become a culture warrior

Ron DeSantis ’ path to national prominence started in Florida’s classrooms, where he harnessed culture war passions and deployed them in education policies. In the name of “parental rights,” the Republican governor has banned instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity and limited what Florida schools can teach about racism and U.S. history. He has exercised control over the pronouns and bathrooms students use. Tenured professors now must undergo regular reviews, as part of sweeping reforms to police “left-wing ideology” and “indoctrination” in higher education. His policies have faced wide criticism from civil rights leaders and educators, among others, but

How Ron DeSantis used Florida schools to become a culture warrior
Political

Trump won't be at the GOP's first presidential debate. But his presence will be felt

He’ll be missing from the stage, but Donald Trump will still be a central figure at the first Republican presidential primary debate Wednesday night as the remaining candidates hoping to take on President Joe Biden confront each other in person for the first time. The eight contenders who are scheduled to attend the Milwaukee debate hosted by Fox News will likely face pressure to articulate how they would differ in style and substance from Trump, who holds a commanding early lead in the race. That could be a delicate task, forcing candidates to decide how closely to

Trump won't be at the GOP's first presidential debate. But his presence will be felt
Political

Who takes advantage of Donald Trump's absence and other things to watch in the Republican debate

Eight Republican candidates will meet on the debate stage for the first time Wednesday night in what may be the biggest moment in the GOP’s young 2024 presidential primary so far. The overwhelming front-runner in the contest, former President Donald Trump, won’t participate. He says he’s so far ahead that he’d be helping his opponents by showing up. But his absence also offers them opportunity. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a distant second to Trump in many polls, is betting that a strong showing will cement his status as the strongest alternative to the former president despite

Who takes advantage of Donald Trump's absence and other things to watch in the Republican debate
Political

At March on Washington's 60th anniversary, leaders seek energy of original movement for civil rights

Sixty years ago, Andrew Young and his staff had just emerged from an exhausting campaign against racial segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. But they didn’t feel no ways tired, as the Black spiritual says. The foot soldiers were on a “freedom high,” Young recalls. “They wanted to keep on marching, they wanted to march from Birmingham to Washington,” he said. And march they did, in the nation’s capital. Just four months later, they massed for what is still considered one of the greatest and most consequential racial justice demonstrations in U.S. history. The nonviolent protest, which attracted as many as 250,000

At March on Washington's 60th anniversary, leaders seek energy of original movement for civil rights
Political

MLK's dream for America is one of the stars of the 60th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington

The last part of the speech took less time to deliver than it takes to boil an egg, but “I Have A Dream” is one of American history’s most famous orations and most inspiring. On Aug. 28, 1963, from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Martin Luther King Jr. began by speaking of poverty, segregation and discrimination and how the United States had reneged on its promise of equality for Black Americans. If anyone remembers that dystopian beginning, they don’t talk about it. What is etched into people’s memory is the pastoral flourish that marked the last five

MLK's dream for America is one of the stars of the 60th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington
Political

Prosecutors say witness in Trump's classified documents case retracted false testimony

A witness in the criminal case against Donald Trump over the hoarding of classified documents retracted “prior false testimony” after switching lawyers last month and provided new information that implicated the former president, the Justice Department said Tuesday. The new information from the witness, a Trump staffer identified only as the director of information technology at Mar-a-Lago, was presented to prosecutors weeks before special counsel Jack Smith secured an updated indictment accusing Trump and two others in a plot to delete surveillance video at the Florida property. Prosecutors said in a court filing Tuesday that the witness

Prosecutors say witness in Trump's classified documents case retracted false testimony
Political

Biden to attend next month's G-20 summit in New Delhi, while Harris will head to Jakarta for ASEAN

The White House announced Tuesday that President Joe Biden will attend next month’s Group of 20 summit in New Delhi, India. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that meetings—and Biden’s talks with leaders on the sidelines of the summit—will focus on climate change, Russia’s war in Ukraine and more. The White House has not said which leaders the president will hold individual meetings with but China’s President Xi Jinping and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, are among officials from leading global economies who have been invited to attend the leaders’ meeting “He’ll discuss

Biden to attend next month's G-20 summit in New Delhi, while Harris will head to Jakarta for ASEAN
Political

State Department renews ban on use of US passports for travel to North Korea

The Biden administration is extending for another year a ban on the use of U.S. passports for travel to North Korea, the State Department said Tuesday. The ban was imposed in 2017 and has been renewed every year since. The latest extension comes as tensions with North Korea are rising over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and the uncertain status of Travis King, a U.S. service member who last month entered the country through its heavily armed border. “The Department of State has determined there continues to be serious risk to U.S. citizens and nationals of

State Department renews ban on use of US passports for travel to North Korea
Political

No harmful levels of PCBs found at Wyoming nuclear missile base as Air Force investigates cancers

No harmful levels of carcinogenic PCBs were found inside the missile launch facilities at F.E. Warren Air Force base in Wyoming, the service said Tuesday, as it looks for possible causes for cancers being reported among its nuclear missile community. F.E. Warren is among three nuclear bases the Air Force is investigating. Earlier this month the Air Force reported it had found harmful levels of PCBs at two locations at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. Results from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota are pending, as are water quality tests from each of the locations.

No harmful levels of PCBs found at Wyoming nuclear missile base as Air Force investigates cancers
Political

Attorney John Eastman surrenders to authorities on charges in Georgia 2020 election subversion case

John Eastman, the conservative attorney who pushed a plan to keep Donald Trump in power, turned himself in to authorities Tuesday on charges in the Georgia case alleging an illegal plot to overturn the former president’s 2020 election loss. Eastman was booked at the Fulton County jail before being released by authorities. He’s expected later face a judge to be arraigned in the sprawling racketeering case brought last week. Eastman is charged alongside former President Donald Trump and 17 others, who are accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of

Attorney John Eastman surrenders to authorities on charges in Georgia 2020 election subversion case
Political

Biden names former Obama administration attorney Siskel as White House counsel

President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that the new White House counsel will be Ed Siskel, a former Obama administration attorney who helped craft the response to the congressional investigations into the 2012 Benghazi attack that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador. Siskel, who’ll begin in September, takes over during a critical time at the White House, when Biden is vying for reelection and congressional and judicial investigations into his administration and family are swirling. “Ed Siskel’s many years of experience in public service and a career defending the rule of law make him the perfect

Biden names former Obama administration attorney Siskel as White House counsel
Political

Can South Carolina’s Haley and Scott woo the GOP’s white evangelical base away from Trump?

In 2015, Nikki Haley and Tim Scott attended the funerals of those slain by a racist gunman at Mother Emanuel AME Church. Scott would later tear up on the Senate floor recounting the faith of the fallen and their families. Haley would go on to write that she leaned on God and her faith deepened as she grappled with the trauma of the Charleston shooting. If the state’s first Asian American governor and its first Black senator since Reconstruction embodied how far South Carolina has come on race, the murders of the Emanuel Nine showed just

Can South Carolina’s Haley and Scott woo the GOP’s white evangelical base away from Trump?
Political

Cameras in the court: Why most Trump trials won’t be televised

Not inside: News cameras set up outside the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Federal Courthouse, where former President Donald Trump was due in court on Aug. 2, 2023. AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais Americans will have few opportunities to binge-watch the Donald J. Trump trials. It is unlikely the four court proceedings facing the former president will be televised live, with the exception of the case in Georgia, which favors public transparency under a policy established for that state’s courts known as Rule 22. The near blackout will leave 330 million Americans relying on news reports, artist renderings and social media posts

Cameras in the court: Why most Trump trials won’t be televised
Political

First Republican debate set to kick off without Trump – but with the potential to direct the GOP's foreign policy stance

When Republican presidential hopefuls take the stage in Milwaukee on Aug. 23, 2023, for the first debate of the 2024 campaign season, attention will center on how the candidates position themselves vis-à-vis former President Donald Trump and his four criminal indictments. What candidates say about foreign policy is another critical issue. Republican leaders are sharply divided over how the United States should position itself in the world. While some Trump supporters are pressing for the U.S. to pull back from world affairs, more traditional Republicans are calling for robust international engagement. Ever since the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower in the

First Republican debate set to kick off without Trump – but with the potential to direct the GOP's foreign policy stance
Political

How Trump's attacks on prosecutors build on history of using racist language and stereotypes

Donald Trump’s aggressive response to his fourth criminal indictment in five months follows a strategy he has long used against legal and political opponents: relentless attacks, often infused with language that is either overtly racist or is coded in ways that appeal to racists. The early Republican presidential front-runner has used terms such as “animal” and “rabid” to describe Black district attorneys. He has accused Black prosecutors of being “racist.” He has made unsupported claims about their personal lives. And on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump has deployed terms that rhyme with racial slurs

How Trump's attacks on prosecutors build on history of using racist language and stereotypes
Political

Trump's decision to back out of debate tests Fox News' ability to pivot again

If 2023 has taught anything to the people running Fox News, it’s the importance of being able to pivot. The decision by former President Donald Trump to skip Wednesday’s first debate of the 2024 presidential primary season likely deprives Fox of a huge late-summer audience. Even worse for the network, Trump has talked of appearing in an online interview with former Fox star Tucker Carlson at the same time. Trump’s announcement on Sunday wasn’t necessarily a surprise. Fox debate moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum had been preparing for two events — one if he were

Trump's decision to back out of debate tests Fox News' ability to pivot again

Follow