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A 26-year-old homeless man from West Virginia faces charges for allegedly placing two devices that resembled pressure cookers in a New York City subway station. Police announced on Saturday evening that Larry Kenton Griffin II has been charged with the placing of a false bomb. Griffin was taken into police custody early Saturday, a day after he was seen in surveillance video at Manhattan's Fulton subway station holding one of the objects police identified as rice cookers and determined they were not explosives.

POSTED AUGUST 17, 2019 8:20 PM

Former vice president Dick Cheney will appear at a fundraiser for Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign, according to an invitation for the event, in a sign that the Republican establishment will publicly back his re-election bid.Mr Trump won the Republican nomination in 2016 as an outsider and has often clashed with senior figures in the party, such as Mitt Romney and the late John McCain.However, an invitation to a luncheon fundraiser in Jackson, Wyoming, shows Mr Cheney will appear alongside Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, according to The Washington Post.He will attend the event with his daughter Liz Cheney, who is a Republican congresswoman for Wyoming, for the fundraising group “Trump Victory”.Mr Cheney, who was George W Bush‘s vice president, previously said Mr Trump’s 2015 call for a “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” went “against everything [America] stands for and believes in”.Earlier this year, Mr Cheney also clashed with Mike Pence, the current vice president, over the administration’s foreign policy, criticising Mr Trump’s hard-line approach towards US allies in Nato.The invitation reportedly does not list the official titles of Mr Mulvaney, Ms Trump or Mr Kushner and insists that “their participation in the event is not a solicitation of funds”.Officials for the Trump campaign confirmed the event but would not say how much tickets would cost.Trump Victory has been known to charge up to six-figure amounts for tickets to its events.“Representative Cheney is honoured to be co-hosting this event and working hard to support President Trump’s re-election,” a spokesperson for Ms Cheney said in a statement. “The president’s policies are benefiting Wyoming and the nation.”The structure of the Trump Victory committee, which raises funds for both the Trump 2020 campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC), has shown how the president has been accepted into the Republican Party’s mainstream.By merging his re-election campaign with the national party, Mr Trump has become less vulnerable to an Republican opponent challenging him in the 2020 primary.However, linking the RNC to Mr Trump’s divisive presidency may be risky in the long-term for the Republican Party.In recent weeks, billionaire Stephen Ross has faced calls for a boycott of his Equinox luxury fitness company over his plans to hold a fundraiser for Mr Trump in the Hamptons.Additional reporting by agencies

POSTED AUGUST 18, 2019 1:11 PM

The Isis fighter known as Jihadi Jack has been stripped of his British citizenship, prompting a diplomatic row between the UK and Canada, it has been reported.  Muslim convert Jack Letts, 24, who had held dual UK and Canadian citizenship, declared he was an "enemy of Britain" after travelling from Oxfordshire to Syria at the age of 18 to join the terror group. He has begged to be allowed to return to the UK, insisting he had "no intention" of killing Britons, after he was captured by Kurdish forces in 2017.  The Home Office has now stripped Letts of British citizenship, meaning he is the responsibility of the Canadian government, The Mail on Sunday said. It was reportedly one of the last actions of Theresa May’s administration. Isil Rise and fall of a caliphate The decision is understood to have angered officials in Ottawa, prompting fears of a row between Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and Boris Johnson when they meet at the G7 summit in France next weekend. Letts, who travelled to the Middle East in 2014, is now among more than 120 dual nationals who have been stripped of their British citizenship since 2016, including Isis bride Shamima Begum. Ms Begum was one of three girls from Bethnal Green, east London, who left the UK aged just 15 in February 2015 and travelled to Syria to join Islamic State. It was thought Ms Begum may have a claim in Bangladesh because of her family background, something Bangladeshi officials denied. The move can only be made against people with two passports, because international law prevents the Government from making anyone "stateless".  John Letts and Sally Lane, the parents of a Muslim convert dubbed Jihadi Jack Credit: PA It will come as a blow to Lett's parents, Sally Lane and John Letts, who were found guilty at the Old Bailey in June of funding terrorism and given 12-month sentences suspended for 15 months. In an interview after their conviction, they said: "Jack is still a British citizen and we have pleaded with the Government to help us to bring him to safety, even if that meant that he might be prosecuted in the UK." A Home Office spokesman said: "This power is one way we can counter the terrorist threat posed by some of the most dangerous individuals and keep our country safe." In an interview with ITV earlier this year, Letts said he felt British and that he wanted to return to the UK, but admitted he did not think that would be likely. "I'm not going to say I'm innocent. I'm not innocent. I deserve what comes to me. But I just want it to be... appropriate... not just haphazard, freestyle punishment in Syria," he told the broadcaster. Struggling with obsessive compulsive disorder and Tourette's when he was at school, Jack converted to Islam at the age of 16. He used to attend the Bengali mosque in Cowley Road, Oxford, before he came into contact with men with a more radical ideology. Jack has previously admitted he was at one time prepared to carry out a suicide attack, telling the BBC: "I used to want to at one point, believe it or not. Not a vest. I wanted to do it in a car. I said if there's a chance, I will do it." He also said in the interview, which took place in October last year but was not broadcast until after his parents' trial had ended, that he realised he had been "an enemy of Britain" but added that he had made "a big mistake".

POSTED AUGUST 17, 2019 8:00 PM

Five people were taken to the hospital Friday night after malfunctioning roller coaster failed to stop in Ocean City, Maryland.

POSTED AUGUST 17, 2019 11:08 AM

A man accused of operating a large drug-dealing ring on a popular messaging app appeared in an Israeli court Sunday after his extradition from Ukraine, where he had previously sought to escape. Amos Dov Silver, an Israeli-American, was taken to court in Rishon Lezion near Tel Aviv after his arrival from Ukraine, police said. Authorities in Ukraine said Saturday they had captured Silver a day after he escaped from the airport while he was being extradited.

POSTED AUGUST 18, 2019 9:29 AM

Before he died of suicide by hanging, The New York Times reports Epstein used his wealth to try and manipulate his circumstances in federal custody.

POSTED AUGUST 17, 2019 1:00 PM

Russia will not deploy new missiles as long as the United States shows similar restraint in Europe and Asia, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said on Sunday, after Washington's withdrawal from a Soviet-era arms pact. The United States formally left the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty with Russia earlier this month after accusing Moscow of violating the treaty and deploying one banned type of missile, allegations the Kremlin denies. Russia has also pulled out of the deal, but Shoigu said it had no plans to deploy new missiles.

POSTED AUGUST 18, 2019 4:44 AM

POSTED AUGUST 18, 2019 6:20 PM

(Bloomberg) -- Life just got a whole lot tougher for Argentina’s Mauricio Macri a week after his shock primary-election defeat sent markets into a tailspin.The embattled president is suddenly grappling with the resignation of his economy minister and a double downgrade to the nation’s debt. Meanwhile, his opponent Alberto Fernandez, now favorite to win the presidency on Oct. 27, is calling on Macri to renegotiate the terms of a record $56 billion credit line with the International Monetary Fund.The slew of negative headlines may unleash a fresh bout of market turmoil after a brief respite at the end of last week. Argentina’s global bonds will be the first to react, while the nation’s currency and stock markets remain closed on Monday due to a local holiday.“This will inject more uncertainty,” said Nader Naeimi, the head of dynamic markets at AMP Capital Investors Ltd. in Sydney. “It puts a huge question mark over the creditworthiness of the country and is likely to further pressure the peso and Argentine bonds. We are staying out.”Economy Minister Nicolas Dujovne, who led bailout negotiations between Argentina and the IMF last year, stepped down on Saturday, saying in a letter to Macri that the country needs “significant renewal in the economic area.” Hernan Lacunza, economic minister for the province of Buenos Aires, will replace him.Dujovne’s resignation came a day after Argentina’s credit profile was cut deeper into junk territory by Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings. Both cited the possibility of a sovereign debt default.IMF and DefaultThe IMF bailout had been instrumental in Macri’s strategy to stabilize the peso and ensure the country’s solvency. Yet, in an interview with La Nacion published Sunday, Fernandez said the deal needs to be reviewed because Argentina isn’t meeting the targets it agreed upon. He added that it’s “impossible” to repay the IMF on time, and that the only solution is to reschedule payments, according to the newspaper.In a separate interview with Clarin, Fernandez had a mixed message about the possibility of default. While saying the sensible thing is for Argentina to keep paying its obligations, he added that the country already finds itself in default conditions, as signaled by bond prices.Argentines Reflect on Last Week’s Election Results, Market ShockThe implied chance that Argentina will miss a debt payment, as measured by credit default swaps, soared last week. The Merval stock index lost 45% in dollar terms in the five days through Friday, bond prices tumbled about 30% and the peso weakened 18%.“While Argentina has been trading at distressed price levels already, we expect further downside on this news as it highlights an increased likelihood of a credit event,” Citigroup Inc. strategists including Dirk Willer wrote in a report.(Updates with Fernandez comments from seventh paragraph.)\--With assistance from Dana El Baltaji, Abeer Abu Omar and Jorgelina do Rosario.To contact the reporters on this story: Justin Carrigan in Dubai at jcarrigan@bloomberg.net;Walter Brandimarte in Brasilia at wbrandimarte@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Justin Carrigan at jcarrigan@bloomberg.net, Dana El Baltaji, Ros KrasnyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

POSTED AUGUST 18, 2019 12:12 PM

An “instant party” in Texas ended with a car chase and several people shot, police say.

POSTED AUGUST 18, 2019 2:32 PM