Thursday, Jul 20th
Last update05:20:13 AM GMT
Rep. Jimmy Duncan Jr., a Republican congressman who represents Knoxville, has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars of campaign money into his family members and their businesses since at least 2013, campaign finance filings first reported by the Knoxville News-Sentinel reveal.
The payments included hundreds of thousands to an apparently non-existent company registered to Duncan’s son, who previously pleaded guilty to a felony relating to the alleged misappropriation of government funds.
Former Democratic National Committee Chairman (DNC) Howard Dean on Sunday blasted President Trump, saying the U.S. is now being run by "a criminal enterprise."
"I think at this point, Trump is Trump. He's going to lie. He's going to do all these things he does," Dean told MSNBC. "And the real savior for democracy is going to be Robert Mueller. He's going to find out what the truth is," he said, referring to the special counsel appointed by the Justice Department to investigate Russian meddling in the presidential election.
At least 21 people died and at least 20 are missing in flooding and landslides on Japan's Kyushu island after last week's rains, local governments reported.
A historic rainfall at the southern tip of Japan, beginning on Wednesday, prompted landslides and flooding. More than 2,000 members of Japan's Self-Defense Forces are working with firefighters, police and rescue workers in Fukuoka prefecture's Asakura area, one of the hardest-hit areas.
About 180 people, some elderly, were stranded by the flooding, and 1,700 were brought to evacuation centers.
About 12 hours after tweeting about possibly working with President Vladimir Putin and Russia on cybersecurity, President Donald Trump tweeted that he does not expect it to actually happen.
"The fact that President Putin and I discussed a Cyber Security unit doesn't mean I think it can happen. It can't-but a ceasefire can,& did!," the president tweeted Sunday night, referencing a cease-fire that was negotiated for part of Syria. As of Sunday night, the ceasefire was still in place.
A federal judge has ruled Utah's ban on secretly filming farm and slaughterhouse operations is unconstitutional, striking down what critics call an "ag-gag" law that Utah enacted in 2012.
The ban violates the First Amendment's free-speech protections, U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby said.
Shelby rejected the state's defense of the law, saying Utah had failed to show the ban was intended to ensure the safety of animals and farm workers from disease or injury.
The President's oldest son was assured damaging information about Hillary Clinton prior to meeting with a Russian lawyer in middle of the presidential campaign, according to a new report.
Donald Trump Jr. met with Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, inside Trump Tower on June 9, 2016, according to the New York Times.
The President’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and the former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, also attended the gathering. Veselnitskaya, who has deep ties to the Kremlin, promised to share damaging information with the campaign about Clinton, according to the Times.
It is unclear whether the lawyer turned over the promised dirt.
TVNL Comment: ....and Jared failed to report this meeting on his vetting form because.....? Just asking.
A cease-fire brokered by the United States, Russia and Jordan took effect at noon Sunday in southwest Syria.
The cease-fire began in the provinces of Daraa, Suweida and Quneitra along the Jordanian border. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces, which are aligned with Russia, earlier announced a halt to combat operations in the areas. The United States backs the rebel forces.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said "calm was prevailing" in the area.
A senior Senate Republican on Sunday said President Trump’s plan to work with Russia on cybersecurity is “pretty close” to the “dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called Trump’s Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin “disastrous” and said the president has a “blind spot” on Russia.
“When it comes to Russia I am dumbfounded, I am disappointed, and at the end of the day he’s hurting his presidency by not embracing the fact that Putin is a bad guy,” Graham said on NBC News’s “Meet the Press.”
The quickly spreading flames of a California wildfire that trapped more than 100 children and counselors temporarily at a campground continued to threaten hundreds of homes Sunday, according to a fire official.
The fire that started Saturday afternoon was “completely out of control” and had burned at least 4.7 square miles near Cachuma Lake, Santa Barbara County fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni said. About 90 children and 50 counselors were stuck at the Circle V Ranch before they were safely evacuated.
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