Today: October 07, 2024
Today: October 07, 2024

Latest From The Los Angeles Post

Political

IRS says it collected $38 million from more than 175 high-income tax delinquents

The IRS is showcasing its new capability to aggressively audit high-income tax dodgers as it makes the case for sustained funding and tries to avert budget cuts sought by Republicans who want to gut the agency. IRS leaders said they collected $38 million in delinquent taxes from more than 175 high-income taxpayers in the past few months. In one case, an individual had used money owed to the government to buy a Maserati and a Bentley, and roughly 100 high-income individuals attempted to get favorable tax treatment through Puerto Rico without meeting certain tax requirements. Many of

IRS says it collected $38 million from more than 175 high-income tax delinquents
Political

US military chief praises Japan's defense funding boost as a buttress against China and North Korea

The highest-ranking U.S. military officer on Friday encouraged Japan’s commitment to doubling its defense spending over the next five years, calling Tokyo’s controversial push for a stronger military crucial to confront rising threats from North Korea and China. Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, mentioned Japan’s need for improvements in cruise missile defense, early warning missile systems and air capabilities, all of which would help the United States as it looks to counter North Korea’s push for a nuclear missile program capable of pinpoint-targeting the U.S. mainland and China’s increasing aggression against

US military chief praises Japan's defense funding boost as a buttress against China and North Korea
Political

US sets a grim milestone with new record for the deadliest six months of mass killings

Slain at the hands of strangers or gunned down by loved ones. Massacred in small towns, in big cities, inside their own homes or outside in broad daylight. This year’s unrelenting bloodshed across the U.S. has led to the grimmest of milestones: The deadliest six months of mass killings recorded since at least 2006. From Jan. 1 to June 30, the nation endured 28 mass killings, all but one of which involved guns. The death toll rose just about every week, a constant cycle of violence and grief. Six months. 181 days. 28 mass killings. 140

US sets a grim milestone with new record for the deadliest six months of mass killings
Political

2 massacres, 2 different decisions: How does the DOJ decide who should face death?

Two separate shootings 2,000 miles (3,218 kilometers) apart. One killed 11 at a Pittsburgh synagogue. The other killed 23 at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. Both were motivated by racial hate. Both involved gunmen who later claimed mental illness. But earlier this year, the Justice Department authorized the death penalty only for the case in Pittsburgh, where jurors will soon answer the weightiest of questions: Should Robert Bowers be put to death? Bowers’ trial is in the penalty phase after his June conviction for the 2018 antisemitic attack. A federal judge last Friday gave Patrick Crusius

2 massacres, 2 different decisions: How does the DOJ decide who should face death?
Political

GOP White House hopefuls face mounting pressure to stop Trump in Iowa

As the six-month sprint to the Iowa caucuses begins, the sprawling field of Republican presidential candidates is facing growing pressure to prove they can become serious challengers to former President Donald Trump. The urgency is particularly acute for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who entered the race in May with expectations that he would quickly become Trump’s top rival. For now, however, he has struggled to generate the level of enthusiasm that Trump commands from the GOP base, contributing to uncertainty that DeSantis will become the threat to the former president that he was once billed

GOP White House hopefuls face mounting pressure to stop Trump in Iowa
Political

Americans are widely pessimistic about democracy in the United States, an AP-NORC poll finds

Only about 1 in 10 U.S. adults give high ratings to the way democracy is working in the United States or how well it represents the interests of most Americans, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Majorities of adults say U.S. laws and policies do a poor job of representing what most Americans want on issues ranging from the economy and government spending to gun policy, immigration and abortion. The poll shows 53% say Congress is doing a bad job of upholding democratic values, compared with just 16% who

Americans are widely pessimistic about democracy in the United States, an AP-NORC poll finds
Political

Justice Department urges judge to not postpone Trump's classified documents trial

The Justice Department urged a judge Thursday to reject Donald Trump’s efforts to postpone his classified documents trial, saying there was no basis for an “open-ended” delay sought by his lawyers. Federal prosecutors last month proposed a Dec. 11 trial for Trump, who is charged with 37 felony counts related to the mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, though the actual date will be up to the judge. Trump’s lawyers countered this week with a request for a delay. They did not propose a specific date but said the case concerned novel legal issues, and

Justice Department urges judge to not postpone Trump's classified documents trial
Political

Rioter who hurled bow like a spear at police during Jan. 6 attack gets more than 7 years in prison

A professional butcher whose bloody, wild-eyed face became one of the most memorable images of the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced Thursday to more than seven years in prison for hurling a bow like a spear at police and attacking several other officers. Kyle Fitzsimons, 39, of Maine, was wearing a white butcher’s coat embroidered with his first name when he separately assaulted at least five officers near a tunnel as police desperately tried to protect an entrance to the Capitol from the angry mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters, prosecutors said. The federal judge who sentenced

Rioter who hurled bow like a spear at police during Jan. 6 attack gets more than 7 years in prison
Political

Arizona Democrats file complaint against No Labels over donor secrecy

The Arizona Democratic Party is looking to force new political party No Labels to disclose its donors or lose its status as a political party, an escalation of Democrats’ efforts to block a group they worry will boost Donald Trump’s chances of returning to the White House. Arizona Democrats filed a complaint Thursday with Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat who angered some in his party earlier this year when he formally recognized No Labels as a political party in the state. The complaint asks Fontes to suspend the nascent party until it discloses its donors.

Arizona Democrats file complaint against No Labels over donor secrecy
Political

Justice Kavanaugh seeks to dispel the notion that the Supreme Court is partisan

Justice Brett Kavanaugh pointed to the mixed U.S. Supreme Court decisions this term as he sought Thursday to dispel notions that it is partisan, even after conservatives brought about the end of affirmative action in college admissions and struck down President Joe Biden’s student loan debt relief program. “The court is an institution of law. It’s an institution of law not of politics, not of partisanship,” Kavanaugh said at a judicial conference in Minnesota, in the first public remarks by a justice since the court recessed for the summer late last month. The Supreme Court has

Justice Kavanaugh seeks to dispel the notion that the Supreme Court is partisan
Political

US eyes massive ramp-up in diplomatic personnel and spending at new Pacific island embassies

The State Department says it plans a massive increase in diplomatic personnel and spending for facilities at new U.S. embassies in the Pacific islands as the Biden administration forges ahead with efforts to counter China’s growing influence in the region. In a notice sent to Congress this week, the department said it envisions hiring up to 40 staffers over the next five years for each of four recently opened or soon-to-be-opened embassies in the Pacific. Those include an embassy in Honiara, Solomon Islands, that opened in January; an embassy in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, that opened in May and

US eyes massive ramp-up in diplomatic personnel and spending at new Pacific island embassies
Political

Former police chief who defended himself at trial is convicted of conspiracy in Jan. 6 riot

A former California police chief was convicted on Thursday of joining the riot at the U.S. Capitol with a hatchet in his backpack and plotting to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. A judge in Washington’s federal court heard testimony without a jury before convicting Alan Hostetter, a right-wing activist and vocal critic of COVID-19 restrictions who defended himself at his bench trial with help from a standby attorney. Hostetter used his closing arguments to spin conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. He falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen from

Former police chief who defended himself at trial is convicted of conspiracy in Jan. 6 riot
Political

Pentagon says cluster munitions have arrived in Ukraine

Cluster munitions provided by the United States have now arrived in Ukraine, the Pentagon said Thursday. The munitions — which are bombs that open in the air and release scores of smaller bomblets — are seen by the U.S. as a way to get Kyiv critically needed ammunition to help bolster its offensive and push through Russian front lines. U.S. leaders debated the thorny issue for months, before President Joe Biden made the final decision last week. U.S. leaders have said the U.S. will send a version of the munition that has a reduced “dud rate,” meaning

Pentagon says cluster munitions have arrived in Ukraine
Political

Virginia's Youngkin surpasses previous governors' annual fundraising records in a single quarter

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s main fundraising apparatus will soon report raising $5.75 million in this year’s second quarter, a sum that surpasses what any previous governor of the state has raised over an entire year, according to the group’s accounting. The haul will bring to $8.5 million the total Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia political action committee has raised in the first six months of 2023, according to details provided to The Associated Press ahead of a Monday reporting deadline. And it will leave Spirit of Virginia with $6 million in cash on hand just over

Virginia's Youngkin surpasses previous governors' annual fundraising records in a single quarter
Political

US climate envoy John Kerry spars in heated exchanges with House Republicans ahead of Beijing trip

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry defended his negotiations with China — and angrily rebuffed what he called a “stupid” lie that he routinely travels by private jet — during a grilling by House Republicans on Thursday before he sets out on his next climate mission to Beijing. Kerry leaves Sunday for meetings with his counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, the first extensive face-to-face climate discussions between the world’s two worst climate polluters after a nearly yearlong hiatus. The questioning in Thursday’s hearing by the Republican-led House Foreign Affairs Committee’s oversight subcommittee underscored the risks for Kerry that rising tensions

US climate envoy John Kerry spars in heated exchanges with House Republicans ahead of Beijing trip
Political

Army colonel gets $975,000 in sex assault case against former Joint Chiefs vice chairman

A retired Army colonel has reached a court settlement of nearly $1 million in a sexual assault lawsuit against Air Force Gen. John Hyten, who served as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The settlement with the U.S. government ends more than four years of investigations, reviews and congressional digging into the matter, which delayed — but ultimately did not defeat — Hyten’s nomination for vice chairman in 2019. He served two years and did not seek a second term. Army Col. Kathryn Spletstoser, who served as Hyten’s aide in 2017, filed the lawsuit, and

Army colonel gets $975,000 in sex assault case against former Joint Chiefs vice chairman
Political

Republican senator should drop his 'irresponsible' protest and OK military nominees, Biden says

President Joe Biden on Thursday said it is “irresponsible” of a Republican senator from Alabama to block confirmation of military officers in protest of a Defense Department policy that pays for travel when a service member has to go out of state to get an abortion or reproductive care. “He’s jeopardizing U.S. security by what he’s doing,” Biden said of Sen. Tommy Tuberville. “It’s just totally irresponsible in my view.” More than 260 nominations are stalled by Tuberville, including Biden’s pick for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, America’s top military officer. The U.S. Marine

Republican senator should drop his 'irresponsible' protest and OK military nominees, Biden says
Political

Biden says he’s serious about pursuing prisoner exchange for WSJ reporter held in Russia

President Joe Biden on Thursday said he’s serious about pursuing a prisoner exchange for a Wall Street Journal reporter who has been detained in Russia for more than 100 days. The Kremlin earlier this month suggested that it was open to a possible prisoner exchange that could involve Evan Gershkovich, but it underscored that such talks must be held out of the public eye. Speaking at a news conference in Helsinki, Finland, Biden made clear that the U.S. is interested. “I’m serious on a prisoner exchange,” said Biden, who was concluding a four-day visit to Europe that

Biden says he’s serious about pursuing prisoner exchange for WSJ reporter held in Russia
Political

Many once-democratic countries continue to backslide, becoming less free – but their leaders continue to enjoy popular support

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been in power since 2003 and has tried to strengthen the executive branch during that time. AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis Democracy is decreasing globally – and has been doing so for the last 17 years, according to 2023 findings published by the nonprofit group Freedom House, which advocates for democracy. These leaders’ generous public spending on key constituencies and effective promotion of nationalism are two reasons why they remain popular. I am a political scientist who studies political and economic dynamics in low- and middle-income countries. This phenomenon of societies becoming less democratic after having

Many once-democratic countries continue to backslide, becoming less free – but their leaders continue to enjoy popular support
Political

3 takeaways from the NATO summit – and where it leaves the military alliance

Presidents Biden and Zelenskyy take to the stage. AP Photo/Susan Walsh The leaders of the 31 nations that comprise NATO made their way home on July 12, 2023, after concluding two days of highest-level diplomatic meetings. The summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius wasn’t just all talk – it provided an opportunity for the Western military alliance to reassess its purpose, size and structure in light of more than a year of war in Ukraine. John R. Deni, research professor at the U.S. Army War College and author of “NATO and Article 5: The Transatlantic Alliance and the Twenty-First-Century

3 takeaways from the NATO summit – and where it leaves the military alliance
Political

Former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, a key witness at Jan. 6 hearings, has a book deal

A former White House aide to President Donald Trump who became a prominent congressional witness against him and his allies in the wake of the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol has a book deal. Cassidy Hutchinson’s “Enough” will be released Sept. 26 by Simon & Schuster. “With ‘Enough,’ she provides a riveting account of her extraordinary experiences as an idealistic young woman thrust into the middle of a national crisis,” according to the publisher’s announcement. “She risked everything to tell the truth about some of the most powerful people in Washington and some of

Former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, a key witness at Jan. 6 hearings, has a book deal
Political

Biden is closing out his Europe trip by showcasing new NATO member Finland

President Joe Biden will close out his five-day trip to Europe on Thursday standing alongside Nordic leaders in an effort to show NATO’s expanding power and influence against a burgeoning Russia. The brief stop in the shoreline Finnish capital is the coda to a Biden tour that was carefully sketched to highlight the growth of the military alliance that the president says has fortified itself since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finland joined as NATO’s newest member earlier this year, an entry that effectively doubled the alliance’s border with Russia. Biden arrived in Helsinki after what he

Biden is closing out his Europe trip by showcasing new NATO member Finland
Political

The US House majority is in play next year after a weak GOP midterm showing and recent court ruling

Republican Rep. David Schweikert used to win his wealthy, suburban Phoenix congressional district by nearly 30 points. Then Donald Trump was elected president, and his victories started shrinking. Schweikert, who won his last election by just 3,200 votes, is now among the top 2024 targets for Democrats, who sense better-than-expected odds of retaking the House majority they lost last year. After an anemic showing in the midterms, Republicans have virtually no cushion in their quest to retain control of the House, which was made all the more complicated by a surprise U.S. Supreme Court decision last

The US House majority is in play next year after a weak GOP midterm showing and recent court ruling
Political

House Republicans set to interrogate FTC's Khan over ethics, antitrust issues

House Republicans who say the Federal Trade Commission has been overzealous and politicized under President Joe Biden are set to interrogate agency head Lina Khan on Thursday, bringing her before the House Judiciary Committee for the first time amid her court battles with big technology companies. Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, has criticized Khan in recent months on a multitude of issues, including what he says are politically motivated actions directed at Elon Musk after he acquired Twitter last year, questions about whether she should have recused herself from certain cases and her legal actions against tech

House Republicans set to interrogate FTC's Khan over ethics, antitrust issues
Political

Vice President Kamala Harris makes history with tiebreaking votes in Senate

Kamala Harris, who made history as the first woman or person of color to serve as vice president, made history again Wednesday as she matched the record for most tiebreaking votes in the U.S. Senate. The vote, her 31st, advanced the nomination of Kalpana Kotagal to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The only other vice president to cast so many was John C. Calhoun, who served as vice president from 1825 to 1832. “It is a moment and I think that there’s still so much left that we have yet to do,” Harris told reporters afterwards. “My

Vice President Kamala Harris makes history with tiebreaking votes in Senate

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