Woman who confronted Black teen over phone in NYC has been arraigned

22-year-old Miya Ponsetto was arraigned Saturday on several charges, including attempted robbery, assault, and endangering the welfare of a child.

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  • ‘Sedition caucus’ facing mounting calls to resign after voting against Biden’s election win

    Corporations suspending campaign donations to 127 lawmakers who voted to nix president-elect Joe Biden’s victory

  • In 1st sermon since Senate win, Warnock says U.S. can't change until it faces the 'sickness of our situation'

    In his first sermon since winning his Senate race on Tuesday, Rev. Raphael Warnock told worshipers at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta that he wanted to talk to them about "God's victory over violence."On Wednesday, one day after Warnock was elected Georgia's first Black senator and fellow Democrat Jon Ossoff was elected the state's first Jewish senator, a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol. "Just as we were trying to put on our celebration shoes, the ugly side of our story — our great and grand American story — began to emerge as we saw the crude and the angry and the disrespectful and the violent break their way into the people's house, some carrying Confederate flags, signs and symbols of an Old World Order passing away," said Warnock, the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church."They were not protesters, they were rioters, tearing up the people's house, and they were handled with the kind of kid gloves with humanity," Warnock continued. "One could not help but juxtapose that to the response to those who were responding this summer to the deaths of George Floyd and the death of Breonna Taylor, those who rose up in peaceful, nonviolent struggle, and were met with brute force."The U.S. must face what happened on Wednesday, he said, acknowledging that "we cannot and we will not change until we confront or are confronted by the sickness of our situation. That applies to individuals, that applies to institutions, that applies to nations. You can never get better until you have an actual diagnosis."More stories from theweek.com Trump reportedly told Kelly Loeffler he'd 'do a number on her' if she didn't back Electoral College challenge 7 scathing cartoons about Trump's Capitol riot Sympathy for Ashli Babbitt

  • Trump-supporting Christian leaders and their Sunday messages

    Support for President Donald Trump has been consistently strong among evangelicals, with some professing that he has been the best friend Christians have had in the White House. On the first Sunday since a mob of his supporters seeking to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's election stormed the U.S. Capitol and five people including a police officer died, the messages from the pulpits of Christian leaders who've backed Trump were as disparate as the opinions of the nation's citizenry. Brian Gibson, pastor and founder of HIS Church, spoke to his Christian congregation and online viewers about his bus tour around the U.S. the past month to speak with supporters of President Trump.

  • FAA to crack down on unruly Trump supporters

    After video of unruly Trump supporters harassing lawmakers in airports and reports of distruptions on flights to and from Washington the same week Trump loyalists descended on D.C. and stormed the Capitol, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration vowed to take "strong enforcement action" . In a statement over the weekend, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said quote, "I expect all passengers to follow crew member instructions, which are in place for their safety and the safety of flight." Earlier this week, the flight attendants union said Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol should not be allowed to depart Washington on commercial flights after exhibiting quote "mob mentality behavior" on flights into the region. Alaska Airlines said on Friday it banned 14 passengers from future travel with the carrier after a number of passengers were quote "non-mask compliant, rowdy, argumentative and harassed our crew members" on a flight from Washington to Seattle last Thursday. American Airlines temporarily halted alcohol service on flights departing and arriving in Washington after last Wednesday's events. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was harassed on Friday by supporters of Trump and called a "traitor" at Washington's Reagan National Airport before departing on a flight.

  • Fishermen kill whale trapped for 19 days in Japan's 'The Cove'

    Fishermen killed a whale off the Japanese port of Taiji early on Monday morning, 19 days after the juvenile minke whale had been penned into a cove with nets. Ren Yabuki, director of the animal rights organisation Life Investigation Agency, said two fishing boats from Taiji approached the whale - which has been weakened by not being able to feed since it was trapped as by-catch on Christmas Eve - at around 6.30am. “There were two ships that worked together to put a rope around the tail fin and force the whale’s head beneath the water”, Mr Yabuki told The Telegraph. “They kept it alongside the boat and it took about 20 minutes for the whale to drown. “That’s a really bad way for an animal to die and I’m shaking with sadness at what I have seen this morning." His organisation and others around the world have been calling on the fishermen to release the whale and called on members of the public to message the governor of Wakayama Prefecture to demand that he intervene. Video footage obtained by a drone operated by Mr Yabuki showed the whale distressed and becoming visibly weaker The whale’s body was later hoisted onto the deck of one of the vessels, covered with a blue tarpaulin and the ship returned to the harbour. Mr Yabuki said he understands that the whale is being butchered within a building owned by the town’s fishing cooperative and that the meat will be sold at local supermarkets. Taiji has gained notoriety for its annual dolphin hunt, which was featured in the Oscar-winning 2009 documentary “The Cove”. The Australian branch of Humane Society International has also condemned the killing of the whale, with a spokesperson saying the organisation was “saddened by this dreadful outcome”. “It is soul-destroying to think that by merely lifting the net three weeks ago, this poor animal could have been swimming freed instead of being trapped in prolonged distress”. Angered at the international community’s refusal to permit Japan to resume commercial whaling, Tokyo resigned from the International Whaling Commission in 2019 and permits its fleet to harpoon 383 whales every year, including as by-catch in other fishing operations. “HSI believes that deliberately entrapping whales for prolonged periods under the guise of ‘by-catch’ is inhumane and we call on the people of Japan to speak out against this cruelty”, said Georgie Dolphin, head of the organisation’s Animal Welfare Programme.

  • Capitol rioters shown beating face-down police officer

    Information continues to be released regarding Wednesday’s violent attack on the U.S. Capitol and the new updates prove to be just as shocking as what we already know. A new video released on Sunday shows pro-Trump rioters beating an officer who is laying facedown on the ground. The rioters pull the officer down and use objects in their hands to beat him.

  • Clyburn suggests House may wait to send Trump impeachment article to Senate until after Biden settles into office

    House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday that even if, as he expects, Congress introduces and votes on an article of impeachment against President Trump this week, they may not send it to the Senate right away.For starters, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has indicated that, because Congress is on recess, the upper chamber wouldn't be able to hold a trial until the afternoon of Jan. 20, which theoretically would be after President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in as Trump's successor. Clyburn's concern with that timeframe isn't related to Trump being out of office, though. Instead he's concerned it would distract Congress from important tasks during the early stages of Biden's presidency, which is why he thinks the House may consider sending the article to the Senate after the first 100 days of the new administration are up.> Rep. James Clyburn says while he expects the House will take action on the article of impeachment against Pres. Trump this week, House Democrats might wait until after President-elect Biden's first 100 days in office to send the article to the Senate. CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/aLjjNWAxG9> > -- State of the Union (@CNNSotu) January 10, 2021However, there's no historical precedent for impeaching an ex-president, so while there are legal scholars who think Trump could be subject to impeachment post-presidency, the question could lead to a lengthy court battle, pushing the congressional process even further down the road. > Obama administration veteran and author of Impeachment: a guide, Cass Sunstein, tells @PeteWilliamsNBC that he doesn't think you have impeach a president after he leaves. "I tend to believe it is only for current office holders"https://t.co/BmC1NuS8k5> > -- Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) January 10, 2021More stories from theweek.com Trump reportedly told Kelly Loeffler he'd 'do a number on her' if she didn't back Electoral College challenge 7 scathing cartoons about Trump's Capitol riot Sympathy for Ashli Babbitt

  • Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Arrested, Charged in Capitol Riot

    Larry Rendall Brock Jr., an Air Force veteran seen brandishing zip tie handcuffs during the pro-Trump siege at the U.S. Capitol, was arrested Sunday in Texas.

  • Melania Trump has ‘blood on her hands’ over Capitol riots, says former aide

    The Trumps 'lack character, and have no moral compass,' former White House aide Stephanie Winston Wolkoff says

  • EXPLAINER: Why Indonesia's plane safety record is a concern

    Saturday's plane crash in Indonesia, in which a Sriwijaya Air carrying 62 people plunged into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff, has once again turned the microscope on the safety of the country's aviation industry. Indonesia's aviation record is one of the worst in Asia, with more civilian airliner passenger accidents since 1945 than any other country in the region. While experts say there have been many improvements in recent years, the latest crash has experts questioning the true progress of Indonesia's aviation oversight and regulation.

  • Unlicensed dog breeder first to be prosecuted privately

    An unlicensed dog breeder was forced to give up two rescued pets after she became the first to have a private prosecution brought against her by an animal charity. Nicola Palmer, 39, of Kesgrave, Suffolk, was taken to court by Phoenix Rehoming after she breached her adoption contract by failing to neuter her male and female dog brought to the UK from Romania. Palmer had no licence to breed the dogs but allowed them to have a litter of nine puppies, five of which were sold for £300 each. The remaining dogs were given to family members. Animal welfare chiefs said the case reflected how "growing numbers" of people were looking to cash in on rising demand for puppies exacerbated during the coronavirus pandemic. Phoenix Rehoming, which spotted that Palmer's female dog Esme was pregnant at the age of 10 months, sought help from the charity Animal Protection Services which organised the private prosecution. Ms Palmer was accused of three counts of theft relating to the two adult dogs and the litter, and breeding dogs without a licence. She gave back the adult dogs when she was served with the summons at her home three days before Christmas and was allegedly told the police would be called if she did not comply. The theft charges were dropped at Suffolk magistrates court in Ipswich last Wednesday, in return for her pleading guilty to not having a breeding licence. Ms Palmer who is on benefits was given a conditional discharge, and ordered to pay £230 towards the estimated £11,000 costs of the prosecution, and a £21 victim surcharge. A spokesperson for Animal Protection Services which investigates and prosecutes animal cruelty said: "We believe this is the first ever private prosecution relating to an unlicensed dog breeder. "We have found that there are a growing number of people cashing in on the huge demand for puppies caused by the coronavirus pandemic and people spending more time at home. "While this case related to a woman who had broken the condition of adopting dogs, there are also organised crime groups who are getting involved in breeding. Many groups are switching from drugs to puppies because there is so little enforcement. "The law about licensing breeders is supposed to be enforced by local authorities, but they have only brought a handful of cases. "We are in the process of bringing a further seven private prosecutions of people involved in unlicensed breeding." Anyone making more than £1,000 a year from dog breeding has to have a local authority licence, although the requirement is not enforced for the breeding of family pets. The law introduced in 1999 to crack down on puppy farms was strengthened in 2018 when a licence became compulsory for anyone breeding three or more litters a year, even if not for profit, instead of the previous limit of five. Ms Palmer who lives in Kesgrave, Suffolk, made a donation of £530 to the charity for the pups. She said: "It wasn't made clear to me when I took on the dogs that the charity still owned them even though I had paid for them. I had all their paperwork and passports showing they had been imported from Romania so in my mind, they were entirely mine.”

  • Arnold Schwarzenegger has a pointed, personal warning about the 'broken men' who believed Nazi lies

    Actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) posted a video Sunday about Wednesday's assault on the U.S. Capitol, and he made some not-so-subtle comparisons to the Nazis. He said the "Nazi equivalent of the Proud Boys" had terrorized and rampaged against the Jews in the 1938 "Night of the Broken Glass," or Kristallnacht, and "Wednesday was the Day of Broken Glass right here in the United States. The broken glass was in the windows of the United States Capitol. But the mob did not just shatter the windows of the Capitol, they shattered the ideas we took for granted."Then Schwarzenegger got personal, noting that he was born in 1947 Austria, "in the ruins of a country that suffered the loss of its democracy." He shared a "painful story" about his father — and the other war-torn fathers who lived next door — getting drunk and beating their families."Growing up, I was surrounded by broken men drinking away their guilt over their participation in the most evil regime in history," Schwarzenegger said. "Not all of them were rabid anti-Semites or Nazis. Many just went along, step by step, down the road. They were the people next door," and they got violently drunk because "they were in physical pain because of the shrapnel in their bodies and in emotional pain from what they saw or did. It all started with lies, and lies, and lies, and intolerance.""President Trump sought to overturn the results of an election, and of a fair election!" Schwarzenegger said. "He sought a coup by misleading people with lies. My father and our neighbors were misled also with lies, and I know where such lies lead." He called "a number of members of my own party" spineless cowards and said while Trump is "a failed leader" who "will go down in history as the worst president ever," the elected leaders who "enabled his lies and his treachery" should remember that patriotism means to stand by the country, not the president.The video could have gone off the rails when Schwarzenegger pulled out out his sword from Conan the Barbarian, but he used it to illustrate a hopeful message about the strength and resilience of American democracy.More stories from theweek.com Trump reportedly told Kelly Loeffler he'd 'do a number on her' if she didn't back Electoral College challenge 7 scathing cartoons about Trump's Capitol riot Sympathy for Ashli Babbitt

  • Petition to Recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom Draws 1 Million Signatures

    The latest effort to recall California governor Gavin Newsom has gained more than 1 million signatures, with nine weeks left to collect the additional 500,000 that would enable the measure to be placed on the ballot.Should the recall effort receive 1.5 million total signatures by mid-March, a mid-year election would take place."The people are being heard loud and clear, and it is not a matter of IF we are going to reach our goal necessary that will trigger a recall election of Newsom, it is just when we cross the finish line," Orrin Heatlie, the Lead Proponent of the official RecallGavin2020.com, said in a statement.A senior adviser to the recall campaign, Randy Economy, previously told Fox News that it hoped to meet the benchmark required to place the measure on the ballot by mid-to late-January.He told the outlet the effort is nonpartisan, with supporters of both Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and President Trump backing the cause.While recall initiatives in the Golden State seldom make it onto the ballot, Newsom’s public image has been marred recently by a series of controversies, including his attendance at a mask-less, not-socially-distanced indoor dinner party late last year even as he enacted strict coronavirus restrictions in the state.Economy said a number of the movement’s supporters believe the governor has mismanaged the state’s coronavirus response, particularly as it relates to small businesses.Many small business owners in the state have lost their livelihoods while big-box stores have been allowed to remain open, he said. Newsom "put corporate interests before the people of California," Economy said.In 2003, Gray Davis became the first governor to be recalled in the U.S. since 1921. The vacancy was ultimately filled by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.

  • American Airlines pilot says he will drop Trump supporters in Kansas

    An American Airlines pilot on flight 1242 from Washington D.C. to Phoenix threatened to divert his plane to Kansas if passengers didn’t behave. “We will do that if that’s what it takes, so behave, please.”

  • Oaths questioned as Trump's backers fight against loss

    Before they take office, elected officials swear to uphold the U.S. Constitution. As some Republicans in Congress continued to back President Donald Trump's doomed effort to overturn the election, critics — including President-elect Joe Biden — alleged that they had violated their oaths and instead pledged allegiance to Trump. The oaths, which rarely attract much attention, have become a common subject in the final days of the Trump presidency, being invoked by members of both parties as they met Wednesday to affirm Biden's win and a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

  • Indonesian divers spot parts of Boeing 737-500 wreckage after signal detected

    Indonesia's military chief said on Sunday divers have spotted parts of the wreckage of a Boeing 737-500 at a depth of 23 meters (75 feet) in the Java Sea, a day after the aircraft with 62 people onboard crashed. "We received reports from the diver team that the visibility in the water is good and clear, allowing the discovery of some parts of the plane," Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said in a statement. He said: "We are sure that is the point where the plane crashed." He said the objects included broken pieces of fuselage with aircraft registration parts. Earlier, rescuers pulled out body parts, pieces of clothing and scraps of metal from the surface. "As of this morning, we've received two (body) bags, one with passenger belongings and the other with body parts," Jakarta police spokesman Yusri Yunus told Metro TV.

  • Gunman on 'murderous rampage' leaves at least three dead in Illinois

    A "violent criminal and his murderous rampage was stopped," Chicago police Supt. David O'Neal Brown tweeted.

  • China's state media says Pompeo 'crossed a dangerous red line' with latest Taiwan move

    Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saturday that he is lifting "self-imposed restrictions" on contacts between American diplomats and their Taiwanese counterparts, ending a practice that was in place to appease China.The United States, like most countries, doesn't have official relations with Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, but the Trump administration has "ramped up" its support for the self-ruled, democratic country over the years, Reuters notes, and Pompeo's latest move appears to be part of an effort to "lock in a tough approach" to Beijing before the White House transition takes place later this month.Taiwan's government welcomed the decision, but Chinese state media was unsurprisingly critical. One piece of commentary published by CGTN, the English-language channel of state broadcaster CCTV, called it a "cowardly act of sabotage" that "crossed a dangerous red line." And Hu Xijin, the editor of China's state-owned Global Times, warned — in a since-delated tweet — that Taiwan could face repercussions for Pompeo's actions, The Associated Press reports. "The option of using military means to solve [the] Taiwan question will also be put on the table," the tweet reportedly read.The move may not be universally applauded stateside, either, per Reuters. Bonnie Glaser, an Asia expert at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, predicts the Biden administration will "rightly be unhappy that a policy decision like this was made in the final days of the Trump administration." Read more at Reuters and The Associated Press.More stories from theweek.com Trump reportedly told Kelly Loeffler he'd 'do a number on her' if she didn't back Electoral College challenge 7 scathing cartoons about Trump's Capitol riot Sympathy for Ashli Babbitt

  • House Majority Whip Wants Investigation into How Rioters Found His Office

    House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D., S.C.) on Friday called for an investigation into how rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol earlier this week knew where to find his office.In an interview with SiriusXM Radio’s Joe Madison, Clyburn said that he had never before seen such a failure of law-enforcement leadership and claimed “something else is going on.”"My office, if you don't know where it is, you aren't going to find it by accident," he said. "The one place where my name is on the door, that office is right on Statuary Hall. They didn't touch that door. But they went into that other place where I do most of my work. They showed up there, harassing my staff.""How did they know to go there? Why didn't they go where my name was?"  he added. "Something else is going on untoward here," he said. "We need to have an extensive investigation to find out."He said that while he supports the Capitol Police, the agency’s leaders failed to do their jobs. He questioned why videos circulating on social media seemed to show officers opening barriers and taking selfies with rioters who broke into the building. "Why were they out there waving people on to the grounds? Why were they allowing people through those doors?" he asked. The rioting, which took place Wednesday as Congress met to count the Electoral College votes and affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, left five people dead, including Capitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick. Clyburn said those involved need to be held accountable."We've got to indict. We've got to convict these people because one of those Capitol Police [officers] died and somebody should be tried for their death," he said. "All those people who were on those grounds the other day were complicit in that."

  • Rep. Cawthorn on future of GOP: 'Time for Republicans to go on the offensive'

    The youngest member of Congress, Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., on the future of the Republican Party.