Social media model arrested in Hawaii on murder charge
Social media model Courtney Clenney has been arrested in Hawaii on a charge of second-degree murder with a deadly weapon. Hawaii County police said in a statement they assisted the U.S. Marshals Service as they arrested the 26-year-old on the Big Island. Officers used an arrest warrant issued by Miami-Dade County, Florida. Clenney is being held at the East Hawaii Detention Center while she waits for her initial court appearance on Thursday. Miami defense lawyer Frank Prieto told the Miami Herald that Clenney was in Hawaii while in rehabilitation for substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder. He says he looks forward to clearing her name in court.
Lawyer: Photos of Kobe Bryant's remains shared 'for a laugh'
A lawyer for the widow of Kobe Bryant told jurors that a “culture of callousness” led Los Angeles County deputies and firefighters to share photos of the remains of Kobe Bryant and other victims of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed the Lakers star, his 13-year-old daughter, and seven others. Vanessa Bryant's lawyer Luis Li said the photos were “visual gossip” that were shared “for a laugh.” Vanessa Bryant is suing for invasion of privacy. An attorney for LA County said the photos were an essential tool at the crash scene, and that officials successfully kept them from becoming public.
Deputy coroner: House explosion in southern Indiana kills 3
Authorities say three people were killed when a house exploded in the southern Indiana city of Evansville. David Anson, chief deputy coroner for Vanderburgh County, told The Associated Press that the identities of the people who died in the explosion Wednesday will not be released until the next of kin has been notified. Evansville police spokeswoman Sgt. Anna Gray says at least one other person was injured. Fire Chief Mike Connelly has said a total of 39 houses were damaged by the explosion at around 1 p.m. He said the department has not confirmed how many of the houses were occupied when the explosion. The cause of the explosion has not been determined, but the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating.
Joe Arpaio loses 3rd comeback bid in town mayoral race
Joe Arpaio, the 90-year-old former Arizona sheriff who was a once powerful figure in Republican politics, has been defeated in a race for mayor of the affluent suburb where he has lived for more than two decades. His defeat Wednesday in the mayor’s race in Fountain Hills against two-term incumbent Ginny Dickey marks Arpaio’s third failed comeback bid since his 2016 loss after serving 24 years as the sheriff of Maricopa County. Arpaio said he wasn’t conceding the race and instead was going to consult with an attorney to explore whether to challenge the results. Dickey didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
FBI's Wray denounces threats following search of Trump home
The director of the FBI has strong words for supporters of former President Donald Trump who have been using violent rhetoric in the wake of his agency’s search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. Christopher Wray says threats circulating online against federal agents and the Justice Department are “deplorable and dangerous.” He says, “Violence against law enforcement is not the answer, no matter who you’re upset with.” Wray made the remarks Wednesday following a news conference during a long-planned visit to the agency’s field office in Omaha, Nebraska. He declined to answer questions about the hours-long search Monday of Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida, resort.
Jennette McCurdy tells all in her memoir, CPI shows easing inflation, and more trending news
Jennette McCurdy makes some bold statements in her new memoir, starting with just the title alone. Get more on that and today's trending topics here.
Herrera Beutler third GOP impeacher to fall in primary
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler has become the third congressperson who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump to be ousted in a primary. Herrera Beutler fell to Trump-backed Joe Kent, a former Green Beret, in the 3rd Congressional District contest. The district is in southwest Washington state, across the border from Portland, Oregon. Herrera Beutler, who was first elected to the U.S. House in 2010, lead Kent by about 4,700 votes on election night but her lead shrunk throughout last week, and updated returns Wednesday night put Kent ahead by 1,050 votes. Kent will face Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in November.
New Mexico's Muslim community reels from arrest in killings
A fear of attacks that had rippled through communities nationwide after the fatal shootings of four men in Albuquerque, New Mexico, gave way to shock and sadness when it turned out the suspect in the killings was himself a Muslim. New Mexico court documents say that the suspect in the killings denied any connection to the crimes. But investigators say they have ample evidence to prove his guilt, though they have yet to uncover the motive. The first ambush-style shooting occurred in November and was followed by three more between July 26 and Aug. 5.
North Carolina AG in legal bind amid probe over 2020 TV ad
The campaign committee of North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein plans to ask a federal court to block enforcement of a state law looming in a probe of a TV ad aired against Stein's election rival in 2020. The state law makes it illegal to knowingly circulate false reports to damage a candidate’s election chances. Stein beat Republican Jim O'Neill that November. A Stein committee attorney filed the notice Wednesday, after a judge refused to stop a district attorney from potentially using the law to prosecute anyone over the disputed 2020 campaign ad. No one's been charged. Stein's committee argues the law is overly broad and chills political speech.
EXPLAINER: Online privacy in a post-Roe world
With abortion now or soon to be illegal in over a dozen states and severely restricted in many more, Big Tech companies that collect personal details of their users are facing new calls to limit that tracking and surveillance. One fear is that law enforcement or vigilantes could use data troves from Facebook, Google and other social platforms against people seeking ways to end unwanted pregnancies. History has repeatedly demonstrated that whenever people’s personal data is tracked and stored, there’s always a risk that it could be misused or abused.
Lower prices offer slight reprieve from inflation; Trump says he took the Fifth in civil investigation | Hot off the Wire podcast
Falling prices gave Americans a little bit of relief last month, though inflation is still high. More on that story, Donald Trump, monkeypox and other top news of the day on our daily podcast.
Teen's death is latest tragedy in flood-ravaged Kentucky
The mysterious death of a high school athlete who spent days helping his fellow eastern Kentuckians clean up from flooding has added another layer of grief to the tragedy. On Wednesday, Aaron “Mick” Crawford was counted as the 38th person to die as a result of the Appalachian flooding. Perry County Sheriff Joe Engle says the death is a crushing loss. The last time Engle communicated with Crawford, the 18-year-old asked where he could help flood victims. For three days, the football player and wrestler assisted in the flood cleanup before suddenly falling ill. He died late last week.
Russian journalist detained, charged over war criticism
Russian authorities have detained and charged a former state TV journalist who quit after staging an on-air protest against Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Her lawyer says she was charged Wednesday with spreading false information about the Russian armed forces under a new law that penalizes statements against the military. If tried and convicted, Marina Ovsyannikova faces up to 10 years in prison. She used to work as a producer with Russian state-funded Channel One. She made international headlines when she appeared behind the anchor of an evening news broadcast with a poster that said “stop the war, don’t believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here.” The new charges relate to a separate street protest she staged last month.
Disney+ ad-free subscription cost to rise by 38% in December
Disney said it is raising prices for streaming subscribers in the U.S. who want to watch Disney+ without ads as more viewers switch to what CEO Bob Chapek described Wednesday as the “best value in streaming.” The price increases are tied to a new tiered service Disney will launch in December for U.S. subscribers. The basic Disney+ service today costs $7.99 per month. Starting in December, that basic service will run ads, so a subscriber who wants no ads will have to upgrade to a premium service that starts at $10.99 per month, a 38% increase over current prices.
Trump says he took the Fifth in New York civil investigation
Donald Trump says he invoked the Fifth Amendment and wouldn’t answer questions under oath in the long-running New York civil investigation into his business dealings. Trump arrived at New York Attorney General Letitia James’ offices Wednesday morning, but sent out a statement more than an hour later saying he declined to answer the questions under the rights and privileges afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution.” Anything he said during the deposition could have been used against him in a criminal case, if one ensues. While James’ investigation is civil in nature, the Manhattan district attorney is running a parallel criminal probe.
Judge: Walgreens contributed to San Francisco opioid crisis
A federal judge has ruled that Walgreens can be held responsible for contributing to San Francisco’s opioid crisis for over-dispensing opioids for years without proper oversight and failing to identify and report suspicious orders as required by law. San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu says the pharmacy chain failed to track opioid prescriptions, prevented pharmacists from properly vetting prescriptions and missed red flags about over-prescribing doctors. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that for 15 years, Walgreens dispensed hundreds of thousands of pills, eventually contributing to the city's hospitals being overwhelmed with opioid patients. Walgreens said it would appeal the ruling, which it said was not supported by “the facts and the law.”
