News Daypop Archives

On Tuesday, the Dow hit a record closing high but another drop in Facebook shares weighed on both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, driving both to finish in the red. The Dow was boosted by names such as Boeing and Caterpillar as investors remained upbeat on trade-sensitive companies following the deal negotiated between the United States, Canada and Mexico. Meanwhile, Facebook fell 1.91 percent. The social media company disclosed its worst security breach eve on Friday, and faces continuing calls for legislation to force technology firms to take responsibilities for online security seriously. ...Read more

About 225 million mobile devices across the U.S. will receive a test emergency alert on Wednesday. It’s the first nationwide test for a wireless phone emergency alert. It will be sent at 2:18 p.m. EDT. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said that it will sound like an Amber Alert or flood warning. The subject will read: “Presidential Alert.” The text will say: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.” A test of broadcast systems will happen at 2:20 p.m. EDT. FEMA officials say the test will last about a half-hour; meaning people may get it at different times. They expect about 75% of all wireless users to get the alert. The alert would be used in the event of a major nationwide emergency. ...Read more

On Monday, President Donald Trump spoke about the new free trade deal with Canada and Mexico, saying it was “a win” for U.S. workers. Washington and Ottawa reached an agreement on Sunday after weeks of talks to update the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement. The United States forged a separate trade deal with Mexico, the third member of NAFTA, in August. The new agreement is called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and is aimed at bringing more jobs into the United States, with Canada and Mexico accepting more restrictive commerce with the United States, their main export partner. At the White House, President Trump said “these measures will support many – hundreds of thousands – American jobs.”  He said the deal was “the most important” the United States had ever made.  ...Read more

A classmate of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at Yale University, Charles Ludington, will provide information to the FBI on Monday. News of Ludington’s involvement was first reported by The Washington Post, who said he planned to give a statement to the FBI at its field office in Raleigh, North Carolina, “detailing violent drunken behavior by Kavanaugh in college.” In a copy of his statement provided to the publication, Ludington, a professor at North Carolina State University, described Kavanaugh as a “belligerent and aggressive” drunk. During his Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week, Kavanaugh was repeatedly asked about his drinking habits in school, but denied having a problem. However in his statement, Ludington wrote that “if he lied about his past actions on national television, and more especially while speaking under oath in front of the United States Senate, I believe those lies should have consequences.” A senior U.S. official confirmed that the White House counsel’s office directed the FBI to interview the following witness list of four: Kavanaugh friends Mark Judge and P.J. Smyth, Leland Keyser, a friend of Ford’s who Ford says was at the party, and Deborah Ramirez, who accused Kavanaugh of exposing himself to her when they were both students at Yale University. ...Read more

Christine Blasey Ford’s legal team said Sunday they have not yet been contacted by the FBI — despite the short timeframe for the investigation into assault claims against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, which President Donald Trump ordered Friday. Trump ordered the agency to reopen the background check into Kavanaugh with the stipulation that it be completed within a week. The Senate Judiciary Committee requested the president make the request for a “supplemental” investigation. Ford testified Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school. Kavanaugh, in his testimony following Ford’s, categorically denied the allegations. ...Read more

A car explosion in downtown Allentown left three men dead, including the likely “perpetrator,” officials said Sunday. Federal authorities who are leading the investigation planned on conducting autopsies, saying “we know there’s been a criminal incident.” District Attorney James Martin told reporters at a news conference Sunday that “we have a high degree of confidence that the perpetrator was probably killed in the incident.” No further information about the possible cause of Saturday night’s blast, including whether it was a bomb, but Martin said, “Loads of us in law enforcement” are confident “this was A. an isolated incident and B. there’s no continuing threat.” The FBI, state police, and city and county authorities are investigating along with the ATF. Autopsies were planned Monday on the three males found dead after the 9:30 p.m. explosion, Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim said Sunday afternoon. Grim said he would probably be able to release the names Monday once their identities are confirmed and their families are notified. ...Read more

After a full day of testimony from Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, the first woman who accused the judge of sexually assaulting her, President Donald Trump reinforced his support of Kavanaugh. In a tweet on Thursday evening, the President said, “Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why I nominated him. His testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting. Democrats’ search and destroy strategy is disgraceful and this process has been a total sham and effort to delay, obstruct, and resist. The Senate must vote!”  Ford accused Kavanaugh of trying to rape her when they were teenagers. Kavanaugh has vehemently denied all of her allegations, as well as the allegations made against him by two other women. Both Ford and Kavanaugh sat through hours of questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee as well as an outside prosecutor who Republicans hired to ask questions on Thursday. Ford spoke emotionally when describing her allegations. Kavanaugh began his testimony with anger in his voice, but also became very emotional during his opening statement. The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a vote on whether to confirm Kavanaugh for Friday, but Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein and other Democrats have called for the vote to be delayed. ...Read more

The White House said on Thursday that President Donald Trump and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein have agreed to delay their planned meeting on Thursday until next week, so as not to interfere with the Senate hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Trump had expected to meet with Rosenstein, who oversees the probe into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, to discuss a news report that he had suggested secretly recording the president and recruiting Cabinet members to remove him from office. The meeting between the president and deputy attorney general was originally scheduled in the wake of a flurry of conflicting reports Monday, saying Rosenstein had either quit or was set to be fired. At the time, Trump was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.  ...Read more

The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for the third time this year. Policymakers under Chairman Jerome Powell unanimously agreed to raise the federal funds rate a quarter percentage point, to a range of 2% to 2.25%. The rate helps determine rates for mortgages, credit cards and other consumer borrowing. “Our economy is strong,” Powell said at a press conference on Wednesday. “These rates remain low, and my colleagues and I believe that this gradual returning to normal is helping to sustain this strong economy.” Central bankers raised expectations for a fourth rate hike in December, with a majority now in favor of such a move. In June, policymakers were split on whether the Fed should raise rates four times this year or three. Looking ahead to 2019, Fed officials expect at least three rate hikes will be necessary, and one more in 2020. The Fed raised its expectation for economic growth this year to 3.1% from 2.8%, but for 2019, Fed officials expect growth to slow to 2.5% amid worries about the growing trade rift between the United States and China.  ...Read more

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump said that Democratic attacks on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh over allegations of sexual misconduct were “disgraceful,” and would backfire on the party in November. “If the Democrats are playing this game that is disgraceful. It is a disgrace to the country. And I think you are going to see it in the midterms,” Trump said in New York, where he was meeting with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe during the United Nations General Assembly. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats on Wednesday urged President Donald Trump to withdraw Kavanaugh’s nomination. In a letter, all 10 Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee called on Trump to either withdraw Kavanaugh from consideration, or order an FBI investigation “into all allegations.” Kavanaugh was accused on Wednesday by another woman of engaging in sexual misconduct at parties while he was a student at Georgetown Preparatory School in the 1980s. The allegation came from Julie Swetnick, 55, who said she observed the future Supreme Court nominee at parties where women were verbally abused, inappropriately touched, made “disoriented” with alcohol or drugs and “gang raped.” Judge Kavanaugh has repeatedly denied allegations that he behaved inappropriately toward women.  ...Read more