WASHINGTON ― An incumbent Democratic senator is on trial this week on charges of federal bribery, and his colleagues in the Senate would rather not talk about it. Federal prosecutors alleged Wednesday that Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) entered into a “corrupt pact” with wealthy donor and longtime friend Dr. Salomon Melgen. In return, prosecutors alleged, Menendez helped Melgen expedite visa applications so his foreign girlfriends could visit him in the U.S. They claimed in a court filing on Wednesday that the relationship dated back at least as far as 2006, shortly after Menendez entered the Senate.
Irma made landfall in St. Maarten as a Category 5 hurricane with 185 mph winds destroying everything in its path before making its way to Puerto Rico, where the governor urged all to stay inside.
In her soon-to-be-released election memoir, Hillary Clinton takes on her numerous enemies and opponents—and supporters, including former Vice President Joe Biden, who criticized her campaign for its supposed neglect of middle-class voters. CNN was able to buy an early copy of “What Happened,” Clinton’s firsthand account of her election loss to President Trump, which is supposed to go on sale next week. “Joe Biden said the Democratic Party in 2016 ‘did not talk about what it always stood for — and that was how to maintain a burgeoning middle class,'” Clinton wrote.
The Washington National Cathedral, a central landmark in the U.S. capital, has announced its decision to remove two stained glass windows honoring Confederate Gens. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. The two 4-by-6-foot windows “are not only inconsistent with our current mission to serve as a house of prayer for all people, but also a barrier to our important work on racial justice and racial reconciliation,” church leaders wrote in a statement published Wednesday on the cathedral’s website.
Before: People on Fulton Street run from the collapse of one of the World Trade Center towers, Sept. 11, 2001. After: Fulton Street sixteen years after the collapse of the towers, Aug. 23, 2017. (Photos: Suzanne Plunkett/AP, Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News)
JR shared a snap of his new work in progress ― an enormous portrait of a young boy playing on the Mexican side of the border ― on Twitter on Wednesday. It’s not clear exactly where on the border it’s located. JR did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment. JR unveiled the piece the same week that U.S. President Donald Trump decided to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which offers protections to young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.
ABC News' Linzie Janis shows some of the damage incurred around the beaches of San Juan.
Oregon forestry officials say the state’s wildfires have scorched at least 822 square miles (2,128 square. Oregon Department of Forestry spokesman Jim Gersbach said that the estimated cost to fight the fires so far is at least $238.5 million dollars. Oregon wildfires burned 885 square miles (2,292 square kilometers) in 2015.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had "fallen in with a bad crowd" and was pressuring Moscow's diplomats, four years after the Kremlin gave him an honorary award. "We have given... Rex Tillerson an Order of Friendship some time ago.
President Donald Trump nominated the Notre Dame Law School professor to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit earlier this year. Barrett clerked for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The organization also objected to her views on the matter of stare decisis, or the doctrine of legal precedent.
Leslie Van Houten, the youngest of Charles Manson's murderous followers, was granted parole by a California board Wednesday. Van Houten, who was 19 when she killed for Manson during a series of murders that terrorized Los Angeles over the summer of 1969, appeared before a parole panel for the 21st time. The decision now goes through a process of review in which Gov. Jerry Brown may uphold, reverse or modify the decision.
The House Intelligence Committee has issued subpoenas requesting that the FBI and Department of Justice provide documents related to an unverified dossier about President Donald Trump. The latest subpoenas reportedly call on FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to appear before the House panel. The House Intelligence Committee is one of several congressional committees investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
As Hurricane Irma batters the Caribbean and threatens to make landfall in Florida this weekend, one sheriff has a stern warning: Those seeking shelter with a warrant will be sent to jail. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd issued a series of warnings Wednesday on Twitter ahead of Hurricane Irma. “If you go to a shelter for #Irma, be advised: sworn LEOs [law enforcement officers] will be at every shelter, checking IDs.
An expectant mother in Washington was reportedly denied service at a restaurant for wearing a crop top. Charisha Gobin is 7-and-a-half months pregnant with twins. According to the Seattle news station KIRO, she went to eat dinner at Buzz Inn Steakhouse in Marysville with her family on Sunday night, but a staff member told her she could not dine there because of her outfit.
In August, The Miscarriage Association, a U.K.-based charity dedicated to supporting people who’ve suffered pregnancy loss, launched the #SimplySay campaign. “We have long worked to encourage people to talk more openly about miscarriage, but we’ve been struck by those affected who told us that one reason they didn’t talk or share was the responses they received,” The Miscarriage Association’s national director, Ruth Bender Atik, told HuffPost. “That promoted us to research public attitudes to and perceptions of miscarriage and the results we got were really significant ― many were sympathetic and wanted to help, but a lot of them said they held back for fear of saying the wrong thing – and clearly, people do, albeit with the best of intentions.” she added.
Elissa Wall’s lawyer said Wednesday that the decision lets attorneys investigate the secretive group’s bank accounts and property held in states all over the U.S. “This is hopefully to continue the attack on illegal and criminal conduct so they’ll comport their doctrines to what’s permissible under the U.S. Constitution,” said Wall’s attorney Alan Mortensen.
A pair of British sisters are feared missing after the category five Hurricane Irma struck the Caribbean island Barbuda. The family of 27-year-old Afiya Frank, who is more than six months pregnant, and 29-year-old Asha Frank, said they had not heard from the pair since earlier this week. Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic Ocean storms in history, passed directly over Barbuda, razing an estimated 90 per cent of the buildings to the ground.
A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle blew himself up outside an American base in Afghanistan on Wednesday, Afghan officials said, in an attack the Taliban claimed was revenge for a US leaflet deemed highly offensive to Muslims. US and Afghan authorities confirmed several people were wounded in the late afternoon attack at Bagram Airfield, America's largest base in the country. The Taliban claimed responsibility and said it was in retaliation for "their insult to the Islamic creed".
“Fixer Upper” fans likely know that Chip and Joanna Gaines have a pair of vacation homes for rent near the show’s home base in Waco, Texas. For those who aren’t aware: Chip and Joanna opened their massive Magnolia Market store in Waco in 2015 and Magnolia House, a nearby vacation rental, in 2016. Tourism to Waco tripled that year, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald. This month, reservations opened for Hillcrest Estate, another Gaines’ rental in Waco that will open in the fall.
A growing Oregon wildfire covered parts of Portland's metropolitan area Tuesday with ash and forced the shutdown of a lengthy stretch of highway through the state's scenic Columbia River Gorge. It was one of dozens of wildfires burning in western U.S. states that sent smoke into cities from Seattle to Denver — prompting health warnings and cancellations of outdoor activities for children by many school districts. The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, a federal agency that coordinates wildfire-fighting, said 80 large fires were burning on 2,200 square miles (5,700 square kilometers) in nine Western states.
Updated | Iran's foreign minister said Tuesday his country is prepared to open a dialogue with regional rival Saudi Arabia, but the kingdom appeared not willing to engage. Both major oil producers, Iran is a majority-Shiite Muslim country and Saudi Arabia is majority-Sunni Muslim. Ties between the two gradually worsened and were cut entirely early last year, but Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tuesday his country would be willing to let bygones be bygones and start talks aimed at ending the wars that plague the region.
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The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on Wednesday rejected NFL star Michael Bennett’s claim that Las Vegas officers violently detained him late last month because he’s black. “I see no evidence that race played any role in this incident,” Kevin McMahill, the undersheriff of the department, said at a press conference. Bennett, a defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks, tweeted earlier on Wednesday that the sound of apparent gunshots after the Aug. 26 Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight in Las Vegas drove him and others to flee the area.
WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump falsely claimed on Wednesday morning that the United States has the highest taxes of any country.“We are the highest taxed nation in the world,” Trump said in a tweet previewing a speech the president plans to deliver
Update — Tuesday, Sept. 6 at 1:06 p.m. EDT: After the story was published, a rep for Delta responded to International Business Times’ request for comment. The airline did not raise any prices because of the storm. The discrepancy apparently happened after the traveler, Leigh Dow, tried to book her ticket through Expedia.com.