Teen brothers were 'randomly murdered,' family says

In a statement, the parents asked community members to share any leads on what may have caused the shooting that killed two of their sons.

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  • Jerry Falwell Jr. spent heavily on Trump, GOP causes with funds from nonprofit Liberty University

    Jerry Falwell Jr. resigned as president of Liberty University in August after a series of scandals involving sexual indiscretions and questionable use of university funds on friends and family, but Liberty's board is still split on the partisan direction Falwell steered the private evangelical Christian school founded by his father, Jerry Falwell Sr.Especially divisive, Politico reports, is the question of whether Liberty should continue funding the Falkirk Center, a conservative "think tank" named after Falwell and GOP activist Charlie Kirk that "has produced no peer-reviewed academic work and bears little relation to study centers at other universities," but did run "pro-Trump ads, hired Trump allies including former adviser Sebastian Gorka and current Trump attorney Jenna Ellis to serve as fellows, and, in recent weeks, has aggressively promoted [President] Trump's baseless claims of election fraud."As a 501c(3) nonprofit, Liberty University is technically barred from supporting political candidates and spending money on political campaigns. But the Falkirk Center, founded in 2019, "purchased campaign-season ads on Facebook, at least $50,000's worth of which were designated by the network as political ads, that promoted Trump and other Republican candidates by name," Politico reports. And more generally, since endorsing Trump for president in 2016, Falwell has "pumped millions of the nonprofit religious institution's funds into Republican causes and efforts to promote the Trump administration, blurring the lines between education and politics."Last July, for example, the Falkirk Center held a two-day summit on China policy at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., featuring a host of GOP officials and Trump allies but no Democratic speakers, Politico reports. Numerous evangelical groups have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars holding events at Trump's Washington hotel, where "prominent evangelical ministers were given VIP status," The New York Times reported in October. But Liberty University also has an academic mission, and slashed its humanities programs even as it poured millions into GOP organizations."The Falkirk Center, to me, represents everything that was wrong with Liberty when Jerry was there," Karen Swallow Prior, a professor at Liberty for 21 years who left at the end of last school year, told Politico. "It's brazenly partisan." University spokesman Scott Lamb said the donations to GOP organizations "are consistent with the mission and focus of Liberty University as an evangelical Christian university," and went toward "nonpartisan" activities like voter registration.More stories from theweek.com Judge appointed by Trump heard his case to overturn Biden's win, wholly rejected it on the merits National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, wife are reportedly making Europe event a holiday vacation Electoral College to vote, formalize Biden's victory, in state capitals nationwide

  • Putin installed a replica of his Moscow office at his beachside retreat so he could pretend to be in the thick of things while shielding from COVID-19, report says

    Vladimir Putin is heavily shielded from COVID-19, with visitors made to walk through disinfectant tunnels or quarantine for weeks before meeting him.

  • 'We have no oxygen': First journalist to access Yemen after Covid discovers major cover up in country of her birth

    Like many others in March I was spending my days locked down in my London flat, listening to reports about how overwhelmed the NHS was and the struggle to get essential supplies. However where I differed is that all I could think about was Yemen. I am British, but I’m originally Yemeni, and regularly report from it for BBC News and the World Service. If the UK was struggling to cope, I thought to myself, just how would the authorities in Yemen fare? I was terrified for them: my family, my friends, the nation. But I mainly feared for my grandmother. She is in her late 70’s and ticked all the vulnerable categories. I began calling my sister who lives in northern Yemen every day asking her if there were any cases. But while I was terrified, she, like so many others in the war-torn country was oblivious to the threat. The Houthi authorities in the north hadn’t announced a single case. From London I set about trying to find out what was truly happening, but it was near impossible. The Houthis had imposed a blanket restriction on all Covid reporting from areas they control.

  • Iran's Rouhani defends execution of captured dissident journalist Zam

    DUBAI (Reuters) -Iranian President Hassan Rouhani defended Saturday's execution of a prominent dissident journalist based in France and captured by Iran last year, saying the death sentence passed on Ruhollah Zam was carried out lawfully. European countries "have the right to comment, but Zam was executed upon a court's ruling," Rouhani told a televised news conference, noting that the judiciary was independent. "I think it's unlikely that this will hurt Iran-Europe relations."

  • One person shot in violent protests in Washington state

    Police in Olympia arrested one person Saturday afternoon following a shooting at a violent protest between two heavily armed groups near the Capital building. The Olympia Police Department said the person who was shot was taken to a hospital by other civilians. The two groups had opposing political views, and each side was heavily armed with rifles, handguns and clubs, and engaged in violent clashes, police said.

  • More than a quarter of excess deaths in the U.S. in 2020 were from non-COVID-19 ailments, analysis finds

    More than a quarter of the estimated 356,000 excess deaths in the United States in 2020 have been attributed to ailments other than COVID-19, a New York Times analysis of estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.Diabetes deaths are believed to be around 15 percent above normal nationwide this year, and at least 20 percent in several states, including New Jersey, where the figure is estimated to be 37 percent.Deaths from Alzheimer's and dementia, high blood pressure, and pneumonia and the flu are all estimated to have increased at double digit rates compared to a normal year, as well. However, many of these cases could have been undiagnosed coronavirus infections, particularly early in the pandemic when testing was scarce.The Times notes the excess mortality, regardless of the cause, is likely at least partially related to the coronavirus pandemic, which has created disruptions in the health care system. Economic stress and social isolation stemming from lockdowns could also have played a role, especially for people with chronic illnesses. "You end up choosing between your prescription medications or buying groceries or keeping a roof over your head," Steven Woolf, director emeritus of the Center on Society and Health at Virginia Commonwealth University, told the Times. Read more at The New York Times.More stories from theweek.com Judge appointed by Trump heard his case to overturn Biden's win, wholly rejected it on the merits National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, wife are reportedly making Europe event a holiday vacation Electoral College to vote, formalize Biden's victory, in state capitals nationwide

  • Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls Joe Biden's agenda 'a little hazy' and criticizes his Cabinet picks as lacking an 'overall vision'

    Joe Biden has promised to build the "most diverse cabinet based on race, color, based on gender that's ever existed in the United States of America."

  • Blast on tanker in Saudi port caused by 'external source'

    An explosion on a Singapore-flagged oil tanker off the Saudi port city of Jeddah on Monday was caused by an “external source”, the ship’s owner said. The BW Rhine was hit while discharging refined oil products at Jeddah about 0400 on Monday local time, Hafnia said in a statement, without giving more information on the cause of the explosion. The 22 crew were uninjured and able to extinguish a subsequent fire onboard, the tanker company said. “It is possible that some oil has escaped from the vessel,” the statement read. “But this has not been confirmed and instrumentation currently indicates that oil levels on board are at the same level as before the incident.” Saudi authorities did not immediately acknowledge the blast, which followed several other recent incidents in the Red Sea, a vital shipping lane for oil and cargo. On November 25, an oil tanker was damaged at the Saudi terminal of Shuqaiq, south of Jeddah, which the Saudis blamed on a naval mine laid by Houthi rebels from Yemen. While Houthis have previously laid mines in the Red Sea, Dryad Global, a maritime intelligence firm, said if the Houthis were responsible for Monday’s blast, it “would represent a fundamental shift in both targeting capabilities and intent.”

  • U.S. expects to have immunized 100 million against COVID-19 by end of March -Slaoui

    The United States expects to have immunized 100 million people with the coronavirus vaccine by the end of March, the chief adviser for the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine program said on Sunday. The first vaccine was authorized for emergency use by U.S. regulators on Friday night and began shipping on Sunday. "We would have immunized 100 million people by the first quarter of 2021," U.S. Operation Warp Speed chief adviser Dr. Moncef Slaoui said in an interview with Fox News Sunday.

  • Iran president says Israel was behind killing of scientist

    Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Monday claimed that Israel was behind the killing of a scientist who founded the Islamic Republic’s military nuclear program in the 2000s in an effort to start a war in the last days of President Trump's administration. Rouhani's comments in a news conference marked the first time he has directly accused the Jewish state of carrying out the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh late last month. Israel, long suspected of killing Iranian nuclear scientists over the last decade, has repeatedly declined to comment on the attack.

  • China warns of interference over Bloomberg journalist arrest

    International pressure is mounting after a Chinese Bloomberg journalist was detained by Beijing.

  • Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler posed for a photo with a former KKK chief - but says she didn't know who he was

    Chester Doles was jailed in 1993 for viciously beating a Black man. On Friday, he posted a selfie with Loeffler to Russian social media site VK.

  • Philippines targets deal for 25 million doses of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine

    The Philippines aims to finalise negotiations with Sinovac Biotech this week to acquire 25 million doses of the Chinese company's COVID-19 vaccine for delivery by March, a coronavirus taskforce official said on Monday. President Rodrigo Duterte, who has pursued warmer ties with Beijing, wants to inoculate all his country's 108 million people, preferably buying vaccines from Russia or China. Philippine officials had met with Sinovac representatives on Friday and there would be another meeting this week to finalise a deal, Carlito Galvez, the country's vaccine chief, said.

  • In 1st public remarks since pardon, Michael Flynn says courts won't decide next president

    In his first public remarks since President Trump pardoned him last month, retired Army Gen. Michael Flynn told Trump's supporters not to "get bent out of shape" after the Supreme Court tossed a Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn the results of the presidential election.Speaking at a pro-Trump demonstration from the steps of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., Flynn — who briefly served as Trump's national security adviser in 2017 before pleading guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia's ambassador — echoed other Trump allies who have been pushing unfounded allegations that the president lost the November's election to President-elect Joe Biden because of widespread voter fraud. Like the others, including the president himself, Flynn didn't produce any actual evidence of fraud, but said "in this crucible moment of our time, we have to pray that truth triumphs over lies, justice triumphs over abuse and fraud, honesty triumphs over corruption. Our sacred honor triumphs over infamy."He added that there are "avenues" to keep challenging the results and that "courts aren't going to decide who the next president of the United States is going to be. We the people decide." He did not, however, elaborate on how that would work now that polls have been closed for more than a month.The Washington Post notes that after Flynn finished speaking "he was chased by shouting admirers." Read more at The Hill and The Washington Post.More stories from theweek.com Judge appointed by Trump heard his case to overturn Biden's win, wholly rejected it on the merits National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, wife are reportedly making Europe event a holiday vacation Electoral College to vote, formalize Biden's victory, in state capitals nationwide

  • New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo accused of sexual harassment by former aide

    A former aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo who is now running for Manhattan borough president accused him of sexual harassment in a series of tweets on Sunday, saying he made inappropriate comments about her appearance.

  • Father who 'begged' GP for an MRI scan dies from cancer after Covid backlog

    A father-of-two who had to "beg" to get an MRI scan because of the coronavirus crisis has died of cancer, his family have revealed. Sherwin Hall, 27, from Leeds, West Yorkshire, went to hospital on March 23 suffering from leg pain but despite repeated visits he was only given a course of antibiotics for a misdiagnosis of prostatitis. After "begging for a scan" and 13 hospital visits in four weeks, Mr Hall was finally given an MRI on May 26 which revealed a 14cm malignant tumour in his pelvis and 30 small tumours on his lungs. Before his death, Mr Hall said: "I kept begging them in April and May to give me an MRI scan, but no-one would listen. "Both my GP and my consultant told me that I couldn't get one because scanning services were slowed down because of the coronavirus." His widow, LaTroya Hall, who is being supported by the Catch Up With Cancer Campaign, said: "I am devastated. I have lost the love of my life. "If Sherwin's cancer had been found earlier it is likely he would still be here today. He would want me to do everything I can to prevent other families suffering as we have. "It worries me that the Government and NHS leaders continue to say cancer services are back to normal; our family's experience has been that, even now, this is simply not the case.” Mr Hall's death comes as cancer patients, celebrities and NHS staff have launched a Christmas video as part of a campaign calling on the Government to boost cancer services "devastated" by the Covid-19 crisis. The Catch Up With Cancer campaign was launched by the parents of Macclesfield beautician Kelly Smith who died after her treatment for bowel cancer was stopped because of the pandemic. TV presenter Victoria Derbyshire said in the film: "I'm Victoria Derbyshire and all I want for Christmas is for people who've noticed changes in their body or noticed unexplained symptoms to go to the doctor's please." Cancer charity MacMillan says the backlog of cancer patients from the first lockdown is 50,000 while there might be double the number of patients from the second lockdown. An international study has suggested that for every four-week delay in treatment there is a 6 per cent to 13 per cent reduction in survival which could lead to the death of tens of thousands of cancer patients who could have survived under normal circumstances. A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: "Cancer diagnosis and treatment has remained a priority throughout the pandemic and we urge people to come forward if they have symptoms. "The NHS is working hard so as many people as possible get the help they need and more than 870,000 people were referred for cancer checks between March and August. "We've given £3 billion to support the NHS in tackling the impact of Covid, including £1 billion to provide extra checks, scans and operations."

  • Two inmates who escaped a Tennessee prison arrested in South Florida

    Two inmates who escaped from a prison in Tennessee were arrested in Pompano Beach Sunday night, officials said. According to the Tennessee Department of Corrections, Robert Lee Brown and Christopher Osteen were arrested by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service after the two absconded from Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville on Friday. Brown, 36, was serving an 18-year sentence for aggravated rape, and Osteen, 34, was serving an eight-year sentence for burglary.

  • S. Korea bans flying of leaflets toward N. Korea by balloon

    South Korea’s parliament on Monday approved contentious legislation criminalizing the flying of propaganda leaflets by balloon toward North Korea, despite fierce criticism that the country is sacrificing freedom of expression to improve ties with the rival North. The legislation passed with the support of 187 lawmakers, mostly governing party members who support President Moon Jae-in’s policy of engagement with North Korea. It was the first time that South Korea’s parliament has passed a bill formally banning civilians from floating anti-North Korea leaflets across the tense border.

  • Germany likely to be under lockdown until early next year -Merkel aide

    Germany is unlikely to lift its coronavirus lockdown early next year, a top aide to Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday, signalling Europe's biggest economy will have to contend with the crippling restrictions well into the winter months. "A comprehensive easing is very, very unlikely," Helge Braun, Merkel's chief of staff, told the RTL broadcaster. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases reported more than 16,000 new cases and 188 deaths on Monday, almost half the daily infections reported late last week.

  • How conservatives think Biden could 'lessen evangelicals' opposition to him'

    The Trump administration has made expanding religious liberty a point of emphasis over the last few years, and some conservatives think embracing that aspect of the Trump presidency could help President-elect Joe Biden make inroads with evangelical voters, Politico reports.Some members of Biden's team are wary of President Trump's focus on religious freedom, which has led to measures to protect vulnerable minority sects overseas or criticize adversaries who clamp down on them like China. The skeptics, Politico notes, don't disagree that religious liberty is an essential cause, but they do suspect it was one Trump was utilizing to undermine other civil liberties, such as women's and LBGTQ rights. In short, there's a possibility Biden could be pushed to find ways to subtly scale back some of the current administration's agenda.Prominent conservatives, on the other hand, think Biden, who has made it clear he wants to reach out to Trump voters, should actually build on the infrastructure left by Trump. Richard Land, the president of the Southern Evangelical Seminary, told Politico that doing so "would lessen evangelicals' opposition" to Biden, and "make them feel more supportive of him."As things stand, Biden has not made any promises either way, but it seems likely he'll have to make a choice on the matter at some point. Read more at Politico.More stories from theweek.com Judge appointed by Trump heard his case to overturn Biden's win, wholly rejected it on the merits National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, wife are reportedly making Europe event a holiday vacation Electoral College to vote, formalize Biden's victory, in state capitals nationwide