Trump signs U.S. reform bill into law after Nassar abuse scandal

  

(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday signed into law a bill designed to give Olympic athletes greater protection and more input into decision making in the wake of the Larry Nassar gymnastics sexual abuse scandal.

 

The Empowering Olympic, Paralympic and Amateur Athletes Act increases funding for the U.S. Center for SafeSport and creates more athlete representation on the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) board and sport National Governing Bodies (NGB).

If both fail to follow up on reforms, new mechanisms will be in place to allow Congress to dissolve the USOPC board and decertify NGBs.

USA Gymnastics is still reeling from the scandal that involved former team doctor Nassar, who was sentenced to up to 300 years in prison in 2018 after more than 350 women testified about abuse at his hands.

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Sean Connery, who defined the role of 'James Bond' for a generation, dies at 90

 

Goodnight, Mr. Bond.

Villain Auric Goldfinger uttered that line in the 1964 James Bond classic "Goldfinger,"before leaving Sean Connery’s Bond to die a certain death. The suave 007 managed to escape, of course, playing Bond seven times after debuting as the first Bond in 1962's "Dr. No."

The Oscar-winning Connery died at age 90, family spokesperson Nancy Seltzer confirmed to USA TODAY Saturday.

"His wife Micheline and his two sons, Jason and Stephane have confirmed that he died peacefully in his sleep surrounded by family," Seltzer said. "There will be a private ceremony followed by a memorial yet to be planned once the virus has ended."

Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said they were “devastated by the news.”

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Despite suppression tactics, young voters are 'raising hell' with historic early voting turnout

 

When he prepares to cast his vote in his first-ever presidential election on Tuesday, Noah Foster, a 20-year-old junior at Carroll University in Wisconsin, will go through a mental checklist:

Specialized school ID. Check. 

Proof of enrollment. Check. 

Proof of residency. Check.

Ride to the polling site. Check.

“It’s exhausting, for sure,” said Foster, who plans to vote for Democratic challenger Joe Biden in the presidential election. “These are the little issues we run into that makes the process so hard.”

From pandemic fears to complex ID requirements to lack of nearby polling places, young voters in the presidential election are facing an unprecedented array of obstacles, activists and voters said.

The barriers – some unintentional, others allegedly by design – have sparked a wave of lawsuits from New York to Texas to try to ease access to the polls for young and first-time voters.

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Michael Jordan’s NASCAR team partners with Gibbs, Toyota

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Michael Jordan expects to field a winning team when 23XI Racing begins NASCAR competition next season. The first move toward victory lane came Friday in a partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota.

Jordan partnered with current NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin as new team owners and will field the No. 23 for Bubba Wallace. The formation of 23XI — pronounced twenty-three eleven — was completed in September but the final pieces weren’t confirmed until Friday.

Joe Gibbs Racing won last year’s Cup Series championship with Kyle Busch and both Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. are in contention for this year’s title. Hamlin has driven for Toyota and JGR since 2008, so an alliance with any other manufacturer would have been a significant conflict of interest.

 

“My main goal for 23XI Racing is to be competitive for a championship as soon as possible,” said Jordan. “Our partnership with Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing gives us the equipment, resources and expertise to do it.”

JGR is the flagship Toyota team and considered one of NASCAR’s top organizations. Gibbs has won five Cup titles since 2000 and last year celebrated a banner season in which its four drivers combined to win 19 of 36 races.

But 23XI is not a fifth Gibbs car — that’s against NASCAR rules — and Hamlin had to prove its independence for the team to launch. 23XI will be a JGR customer and operate from a shop owned by Germain Racing, which is going out of business.

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With salsa, caravans, Cubans make last push to reelect Trump

 

MIAMI -- On the spur of the moment, a singer in a Cuban salsa band had an idea for a lyric to please fellow Trump supporters at a Miami birthday party.

Tirso Luis Paez flicked his hand so his band mates would let him take over during a crowd favorite, “Cuba is Me,” and instead of singing the usual chorus, he belted out: “Yo voy a votar, por Donald Trump!”

The seemingly spontaneous moment with Los 3 de la Habana was live-streamed and soon viewed by tens of thousands. The Trump campaign quickly featured it in a national ad projecting Miami Cuban enthusiasm for the Republican leader to Latino markets across the country. An English language version, “Oh my God I will vote, I will vote for Donald Trump,” spread online as well.

Florida's Cuban American voters remain a bright spot in Trump's effort to retain his winning coalition from 2016. Polls show his strong support from these key voters may even be growing to include the younger Cuban Americans that Democrats once considered their best hope of breaking the GOP's hold. For Trump, that support could prove essential in a tight race in a state he must win to beat Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

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Oregon could become 1st US state to decriminalize hard drugs

 

SALEM, Ore. -- In what would be a first in the U.S., possession of small amounts of heroin, cocaine, LSD and other hard drugs could be decriminalized in Oregon under a ballot measure that voters are deciding on in Tuesday’s election.

Measure 110 is one of the most watched initiatives in Oregon because it would drastically change how the state's justice system treats people caught with amounts for their personal use.

Instead of being arrested, going to trial and facing possible jail time, the users would have the option of paying $100 fines or attending new, free addiction recovery centers.

The centers would be funded by tax revenue from retail marijuana sales in the state that was the country's first to decriminalize marijuana possession.

It may sound like a radical concept even in one of the most progressive U.S. states — but countries including Portugal, the Netherlands and Switzerland have already decriminalized possession of small amounts of hard drugs, according to the United Nations.

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Walmart Pulls Guns, Ammo Displays in U.S. Stores, Citing Civil Unrest

 

Walmart Inc. has removed all guns and ammunition from the sales floors of its U.S. stores this week, aiming to head off any potential theft of firearms if stores are broken into amid social unrest.

The retail giant, which sells firearms in about half of its 4,700 U.S. stores, said customers can still purchase guns and ammunition upon request even though they are no longer on display.

“We have seen some isolated civil unrest and as we have done on several occasions over the last few years, we have moved our firearms and ammunition off the sales floor as a precaution for the safety of our associates and customers,” a Walmart spokesman said. The company hasn’t decided how long the items will stay out of view, he said.

There have been days of violent protests and looting this week in Philadelphia after police fatally shot a Black man holding a knife in the city Monday.

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Falwell sues Liberty, saying school damaged his reputation

 

 

RICHMOND, Va. -- Jerry Falwell Jr. has sued Liberty University, alleging the evangelical school founded by his late pastor father damaged his reputation in a series of public statements that followed his resignation as president and chancellor in August amid a series of scandals.

The lawsuit filed in Lynchburg Circuit Court on Wednesday includes claims of defamation and breach of contract. It alleges that Liberty officials accepted what Falwell says are false claims about his involvement in an extramarital affair between his wife and a business partner of the couple's and “moved quickly” to destroy his reputation.

“When Mr. Falwell and his family became the targets of a malicious smear campaign incited by anti-evangelical forces, Liberty University not only accepted the salacious and baseless accusations against the Falwells at face value, but directly participated in the defamation. This action seeks redress for the damage Liberty has caused to the reputation of Mr. Falwell and his family,” the lawsuit says.

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Van full of explosives found in Philadelphia following week of social unrest: Police

 

The city of Philadelphia is on high alert Thursday after authorities discovered a van filled with explosives and other suspicious cargo – including propane tanks, torches and possibly sticks of dynamite – on Wednesday night following two nights of protests and unrest after the shooting death of a Black man by police in West Philadelphia on Monday afternoon, according to ABC News’ Phildaelphia station WPVI.

It is unclear how authorities came to be aware of the vehicle containing the explosives or who the owner or operator of the vehicle is but the bomb squad is on the scene and investigating.

 

Meanwhile, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney announced in a virtual press conference on Wednesday night that an undetermined number of Pennsylvania National Guard troops will begin arriving in Philadelphia on Friday to assist police.

"I have requested the assistance of the Pennsylvania National Guard,” said Kenney. “Their role, first and foremost, will be to safeguard property and prevent looting. They will also provide assistance for our police department and other operational departments as needed.”

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‘So many families have been targeted’: US troops say German tax officials are asking for sensitive personal information

 

STUTTGART, Germany — German tax collectors are trying to gather personal information about U.S. military personnel to build tax-liability cases against troops, and U.S. European Command appears to be OK with that, service members and Defense Department civilians have said.

Among the information members of the large American military community in Germany have been asked to provide to German tax officials are detailed job histories, real estate holdings and names of associates.

A questionnaire sent out by the Landstuhl-Kusel tax office, which covers an area near Ramstein Air Base, asked about property owned by service members at home or abroad, and who lives in it; if their children ever attended a German school, travel dates to Germany over the years, and whether and when a couple lived in a foreign country. The questionnaire, which was provided to Stars and Stripes by a military family who received it, seeks the kind of personal information service members are urged in military training to safeguard.

Asked whether personnel should answer the questions, EUCOM declined to answer, saying only that those affected should consult an attorney.

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U.S. arrests five alleged Chinese agents, accusing them of targeting dissidents

 

The FBI has arrested five individuals on charges they conspired as foreign agents in an operation called “Fox Hunt” to try to force immigrants from China who angered that country’s leadership to return there to be punished, officials announced Wednesday.

“China is violating norms and laws left and right,” said FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, adding that the unprecedented case sends a clear message to the Chinese government that “surveilling, stalking, harassing and blackmailing our citizens and lawful permanent residents carry serious risks.”

Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers said Fox Hunt sometimes targeted individuals who might have violated financial laws and were legitimate targets of law enforcement investigations. But many other targets, he said, were political rivals, dissidents or critics of the Chinese government. Pursuing those people with threats and coercion, sometimes directed at the relatives of those targeted, represents “a clear violation of the rule of law and international norms,” he said.

Rather than use established legal systems such as Interpol or requests for assistance from U.S. law enforcement, the Chinese agents took matters into their own hands and tried to intimidate people into returning to China, U.S. officials said.

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Predictions of more suicides, overdoses and domestic abuse during COVID are coming true

 

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the stay-at-home measures and disruptions to daily life that aimed to slow the spread of the virus and save lives led many public health specialists to worry that the nation also could see an uptick in suicides, drug overdoses and domestic violence.

Nine months later, those grim predictions look like they're coming true.

"There is a mental health wave to this pandemic," Dr. Ken Duckworth, chief medical officer of the National Alliance for Mental Illness, told ABC News. "We as a species don't do well with uncertainty."

The pandemic, for many Americans, has exacerbated already-stressful scenarios -- deaths of loved ones, illnesses, loss of income -- according to psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe.

Additionally, stay-at-home orders and school closures -- important actions to prevent virus spread -- created downstream consequences such as social isolation, eroding support networks and additional financial strain.

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Philadelphia police to boost response after shooting death of Black man sparks unrest

 

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Philadelphia will deploy additional police officers and has asked surrounding regions for law enforcement support as it braces for further unrest on Tuesday sparked by the police killing of a Black man, the police commissioner said.

 Protests erupted on Monday following the death of 27-year-old Walter Wallace, who was shot multiple times by two police officers who were instructing him to back off and to put down a knife, a bystander’s video shared on social media shows.

While the demonstrations began peacefully on Monday at Malcolm X Park on the west side of the city, they later turned violent, causing significant damage to businesses and leading to 91 arrests, commissioner Danielle Outlaw told a briefing.

“For today and this evening we anticipate the chance of additional incidents of civil unrest and as such we will be taking additional steps to ensure order,” Outlaw said, adding that she had asked surrounding counties for help.

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Keith Raniere, founder of cult-like group NXIVM, sentenced to 120 years in prison

 

ALBANY, N.Y. – NXIVM founder Keith Raniere was sentenced Tuesday to 120 years in prison for his role in leading a criminal enterprise that included a cult-like sorority where women were sexually exploited and branded with his initials.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced the sentence in a tweet.

Prosecutors were seeking a life sentence for Raniere, 60, who was convicted of seven felonies last year after a wild six-week trial where jurors heard explicit testimony about his polygamous sexual preferences and the many ways he manipulated his devoted followers into performing sex acts or forced labor.

For more than 15 years, Raniere led the Albany, New York, company he founded, NXIVM, which was a purported self-help organization whose participants paid thousands of dollars for various classes and coursework. But prosecutors alleged NXIVM was in actuality a criminal enterprise whose members viewed Raniere as an all-knowing guru and called him "Vanguard."

 

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New protests loom as Europeans tire of virus restrictions

 

MILAN -- Protesters set trash bins afire and police responded with hydrant sprays in downtown Rome Tuesday night, part of a day of public outpouring of anger against virus-fighting measures like evening shutdowns for restaurants and bars and the closures of gyms and theaters — a sign of growing discontent across Europe with renewed coronavirus restrictions.

Pedestrians and motorists returning home from work in Rome were taken by surprise when protesters, some of them hooded and members of an extreme-right political group, set afire to trash bins in Piazza del Popolo, overturned parked motor scooters and mopeds and hurled smoke bombs, state TV reported. Police vans unleashed torrents of water to disperse them.

It was a fifth straight night of violent protest in Italy, following recent local overnight curfews in metropolises including Naples and Rome.

After protests Monday night turned violent in the financial capital of Milan, police arrested 28 people. And in Italy's industrial northern city of Turin, at least 11 were arrested, including two who smashed the window of a Gucci boutique and stripped a mannequin of its lemon yellow trousers.

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Scientists remove 98 'murder hornets' in Washington state

 

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Workers from the state Department of Agriculture managed to destroy the first nest of so-called murder hornets discovered in the U.S. without suffering any stings or other injuries, the agency said Monday.

The nest, located in Whatcom County near the Canadian border, created concern because the Asian giant hornets are large and their sting can be lethal, especially if a person is stung numerous times. The hornets also pose a huge threat to honey bees that pollinate many crops.

"No one was stung and no one was even attacked that I am aware of,'' said Sven-Erik Spichiger, an entomologist who directed the nest eradication Saturday near the town of Blaine.

Scientists recovered 98 hornets from the nest, including 13 that were captured alive in a net, the agency said.

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This Restaurant Owner Is Using The Pandemic Downtime To Fly Animals To Safety

 

Eduard Seitan, a partner at One Off Hospitality is using his old plane — a military-style number that he says cost less than most cars — to transport cats and dogs to foster families and no-kill rescue organizations across the country.

The flights are coordinated by Pilots N Paws, a nonprofit that connects volunteer pilots to animals who have been abused or are in danger from natural disasters.

"Flying is my really happy place," Seitan told Today. "Since the pandemic started, because of the extra time I had on my hands, I have been flying a lot more than usual. But now, I only fly with a purpose for Pilots N Paws."

So far, he has flown over 40 pets to safety for the nonprofit.

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Police in Ohio are reportedly investigating a group that recruited for a plot to arrest Gov. Mike DeWine for tyranny

 

Police say they are investigating an alleged plot to arrest Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine for tyranny, local news station WSYX reported.

The plot came to law enforcement's attention when a man contacted them to say someone had tried to recruit him to the plan. The man who reported the plot said he had previously tried to have DeWine removed from office by filing charges of tyranny against him, but that he was not interested in operating outside the law.

His attempts to bring charges against the Republican governor were dismissed by the state. According to WSYX, he said when he received a phone call from a woman about kidnapping the governor for tyranny, he declined and told her he would be contacting the Piqua Police Department.

"At this point in my life I'm not shocked by anything," DeWine told WSYX reporter Geoff Redick. "People in every state believe they can take the law into their own hands, that they have every right to basically go and overthrow the government."

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Nancy Pelosi says she will seek another term as speaker if Democrats keep control of the House

 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says that she will run for another term as Speaker should Democrats keep control of the lower chamber. 

When asked whether she would seek reelection in 2021, Pelosi told CNN "State of the Union" host Jake Tapper, "Yes, I am. But let me also say, we have to win the Senate." 

The statement is in line with an agreement Pelosi made when she was elected to the office, which limits her speakership to four years.

The agreement came after the Speaker was challenged by several members of the Democratic caucus from more conservative districts who saw Pelosi's position as an impediment to the party's electoral chances.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY., a first-term progressive who has been one of the most vocal Democratic critics of House leadership, told CNN's Tapper she would support Pelosi for another term, provided no progressive challenger surfaced. 

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Animals Keep Evolving Into Crabs, Which Is Somewhat Disturbing

 

 We knew the long quarantine was making us all crabby, but this is extreme: People now feel fully betrayed by the long history of crabification (technically, “carcinization”) of different species over time. That means groups of crustaceans have evolved into crabs in five completely different contexts, giving rise to a meme that the long arc of history truly bends toward the crab.

 BoingBoing shares a 2017 paper about carcinization. Carcinization sounds like something about prison at first blush, but on second look, you’ll see it shares a root with carcinogen as well as cancer itself—both from the Greek root karkinos meaning crab. Borradaile coined the new word based on the established scientific usages.

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Texas players stay on the field for "The Eyes of Texas" song

 

AUSTIN, Texas -- There was still no school band but the song still played. And this time, the Texas players stayed on the field for “The Eyes of Texas.”

While some sang with the crowd, others stayed quiet. Some put up the traditional “Hook'em Horns” hand sign, while others in the back kept their arms down.

Regardless of who sang or just stood around after Texas beat Baylor 27-16 on Saturday, Texas school officials got exactly what they wanted: The Longhorns stood on the field together and it appeared nobody left in protest.

"When it comes to the team, within the team, my honest opinion was it wasn’t an issue. But hopefully we can all put this behind us and we can move forward and just focus on ball,” said defensive lineman and co-captain Ta'Quon Graham.

The postgame ritual had erupted in controversy the last few weeks when most of the team left the field without staying to sing after Texas' first two home games and again in Dallas after a loss to Oklahoma. The issue had been brewing since the summer, when a group of players objected to the song because of its ties to racist elements in school history.

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‘Untouchable’ attorney arrested, charged with human trafficking after USA TODAY Network investigation

 

CINCINNATI – For more than 15 years, alleged victims of Michael Mearan felt like they were screaming into the void. 

In voices both strained with emotion and seemingly hardened with trauma, they stepped forward – cautiously, with trepidation – to level their allegations: that Mearan, a former Portsmouth, Ohio, city councilman and still-practicing attorney, trapped them in a cycle of drug abuse and sexual servitude. 

They told their stories to agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. To FBI investigators. To journalists with The (Cincinnati) Enquirer, part of the USA TODAY Network. The worst that came of it were the convictions of eight defendants who pleaded guilty to drug charges – and none of those eight were Mearan.

On Friday, everything changed. After decades of rumors and investigations, Mearan was arrested on human trafficking, racketeering and related charges. He’s expected to be arraigned in Scioto County Common Pleas Court on Monday. 

Mearan, 74, has previously denied having anything to do with trafficking, prostitution or drugs.

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USA TODAY's experts say securing a COVID-19 vaccine in record time could be easy, but distributing it won't be

 

Science is making incredible progress toward a COVID-19 vaccine, but as approval nears – potentially as early as December – worry has shifted to the complexity of distribution.

Overall, hopefulness was the theme of USA TODAY's vaccine panel this month. After five months, the panel's countdown clock to a widely available vaccine skipped forward another hour, to 8 a.m. 

Companies and observers generally expect at least one COVID-19 candidate vaccine soon will receive a regulatory thumbs up. Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, joined the chorus Tuesday when he told NPR he was "guardedly optimistic" one or more of the candidates will be judged safe and effective by the end of the year.

But reality is setting in about how hard it will be to get an approved vaccine into the arms of everyone who wants it – twice.

"The initial vaccine supply and the distribution and vaccination programs will not live up to the public’s desire for immediate, widespread access to a safe and effective vaccine," said Dr. Kelly Moore, associate director of immunization education at the Immunization Action Coalition.

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Antonio Brown agrees to 1-year deal with Bucs

 

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Suspended receiver Antonio Brown has agreed to return to the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a one-year deal, according to a person with knowledge of the move.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Saturday because the contract had not been completed.

The addition of the volatile seven-time Pro Bowl selection bolsters an already formidable arsenal of playmakers for Tom Brady.

Brown, who’s nearing the end of an eight-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct penalty, is eligible to return in Week 9, when the first-place Bucs (4-2) host the NFC South rival New Orleans Saints.

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