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Veteran actor lured in women, sexually assaulted them: Police
An actor is accused of luring at least three women into a "false sense of security" then violently sexually assaulting them without their consent, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Gabriel Olds, 52, was arrested and booked on seven felony sexual assault charges on Wednesday, LAPD said. His bail is set at $3.5 million. Police are asking additional alleged victims of Olds or witnesses to the incidents to come forward. On Jan. 19, 2023, a 41-year-old woman reported that Olds raped her in her home in LA. Two other adult victims later came forward and made similar reports dating back to 2013, describing consensual dating encounters that allegedly ended in violent sexual assault, police said.
Maui wildfires a year later: The major developments amid the cleanup and recovery
Thursday marks one year since the start of the devastating wildfires in West Maui that left 100 people dead or missing, destroyed thousands of structures and parched the local landscape. The historic town of Lahaina, the former capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, was damaged beyond recognition in the weeklong series of fires. A community plagued by a housing crisis and power struggles with the tourism industry were among the issues tested in the aftermath of the wildfire. There has been much progress in the year since the fires, and yet a lot remains to be done, according to community leaders who have witnessed the transformation in West Maui. The emotional scars are especially raw, and affordable housing within and surrounding the burn zone remains a central issue, Maui County council member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez told ABC News. Maui – and the Hawaiian Islands as a whole – have been facing a housing crisis that predates the wildfire tragedy. The destruction highlighted the state's ongoing struggles with high housing costs, lack of affordable housing options, and low wages.
What is Tim Walz's record on the economy? Look at Minnesota
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, has enacted economic policies in the state on key issues like job creation and taxes. The track record, stretching back to 2018, indicates how he may approach such issues if granted the nation's second-highest office. His positions could also help shape perceptions of the Harris-Walz ticket on the economy, which ranks as one of the most important issues among voters. Here's what to know about where Walz stands on key economic issues:
Biden reflects on deadly Maui wildfire, saying community shows 'strength and resilience' a year later
President Joe Biden penned a letter to commemorate one year since the fatal fires in Maui. In the letter, he reflected on the devastation he saw in his visit to the island and how the flames impacted the communities in Lahaina and Kula. "We said a silent prayer before your beloved banyan tree, which had been charred by the flames, but was still clinging to life. That sacred tree still stands today. Its new growth reflects the strength and resilience of your community," Biden wrote in the letter to the people of Maui. A devastating wildfire tore through the Hawaii island of Maui on Aug. 8, 2023, killing dozens of people and destroying the town of Lahaina. In the letter, Biden remembered the "tremendous loss and devastation" and also honored the "courage and kindness" that existed in the "darkest of moments."
Wearing masks in public is now illegal in this New York county, with exceptions
Lawmakers in a suburban New York county approved a bill to ban masks in public spaces, saying concealing your identity is a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to a year of jail time and a $1,000 fine. Proponents of the Mask Transparency Act in Nassau County, Long Island, say the ban will combat crime during protests. It was introduced in response to "antisemitic incidents, often perpetrated by those in masks" in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, Legislator Howard Kopel said during a public meeting on the mandate this week. The ruling does have exceptions, however, with individuals wearing face coverings for religious or health reasons being exempt.
Tropical Storm Debby tracker, maps: Latest storm path
Tropical Storm Debby is threatening the Carolinas and Virginia with major flooding as the slow-moving storm crawls north. Here's what to expect: Tropical Storm Debby made a second landfall early Thursday in Bulls Bay, South Carolina, just northeast of Charleston. Debby has dumped 18 inches of rain in South Carolina and 15 inches in North Carolina.
Romanian oligarch hired Hunter Biden to influence US policy, special counsel says
Prosecutors in special counsel David Weiss' office are accusing Hunter Biden of accepting payments from a Romanian businessman who was attempting to "influence U.S. government agencies," while his father Joe Biden was vice president. If true, the allegation would mark the closest prosecutors have come to tying President Joe Biden to his son's overseas business endeavors -- a matter congressional Republicans have spent years scrutinizing. The special counsel's claim, in a court filing Wednesday in the younger Biden's federal tax case, stems from Hunter Biden's work on behalf of Gabriel Popoviciu, a wealthy Romanian who prosecutors say hired the president's son for legal work in late 2015. Popoviciu was at the time facing corruption charges in his home country.
Georgia school chief says state will restore public funding for AP African American studies course
Georgia Schools Superintendent Richard Woods announced on Wednesday that the state will restore public funding for Advanced Placement (AP) African American studies to be taught in public schools after seeking "guidance and clarity" from the state’s attorney general regarding whether state law permits its inclusion in the state-approved course catalog. In a statement posted to the Georgia Department of Education website, the Republican school chief said that "It has “been determined that this law shall not restrict local school systems from adopting any AP, IB, or dual enrollment course,” as long as “these courses are implemented ‘in a professionally and academically appropriate manner and without espousing personal political beliefs,’” as outlined by the law. "As I have said, I will follow the law. In compliance with this opinion, the AP African American Studies course will be added to the state-funded course catalog effective immediately," Woods' statement continued. In his decision last month to pull public funding for the course, Woods cited Georgia's House Bill 1084, Republican-backed legislation that became law in 2002 and that banned teaching “divisive concepts” in public school, including numerous concepts dealing with race and racism, including what is generally described as institutional racism.
Man accused of poisoning child with eyedrops after allegedly killing wife same way
A North Carolina man accused of fatally poisoning his wife with eyedrops is now being accused of attempting to poison their 11-year-old daughter with the same substance, resulting in her hospitalization, according to court documents. Joshua Lee Hunsucker's was booked on Tuesday and his bond was revoked amid concerns he is abusing and neglecting one of his children, neglecting another child and intimidating witnesses in his murder case. Prosecutors argued that he has become "increasingly aggressive" and that his "dangerous actions will continue to escalate," according to court documents. Hunsucker, 40, is accused of poisoning his then-10-year-old daughter with eyedrops over a year after he allegedly killed his wife with the same substance. He put the eye drops into his child's beverage and the substance was found in their urine sample, according to court documents. A drug commonly prescribed for depression and not approved for children was also found in her blood. Investigators had found the drug in Hunsucker's truck, according to court documents.
Dog starts house fire by chewing portable phone battery, officials say
A dog in Tulsa, Oklahoma, started a house fire after biting into a lithium ion battery, fire officials said. The Tulsa Fire Department recently released dramatic footage of the fire, which took place in May, showing the portable cellphone battery sparking and bursting into flames, sending two dogs and a cat running. The home sustained significant damage in the fire, but the pets escaped through a dog door and were not harmed, according to Andy Little, a spokesperson for the fire department. "However, the outcome could’ve been much worse if there had been no means of escape or if the family was asleep at the time," Little added.
NASA says Boeing's Starliner astronauts may have to come home on different spacecraft
The two astronauts who went up to the International Space Station (ISS) on Boeing's Starliner may have to come home on a different spacecraft, NASA officials said during a press conference Wednesday. Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams, who performed the first crewed test flight of Starliner, have been in space for more than 60 days. When they launched on June 5, they were only supposed to be on the ISS for about a week. Boeing and NASA officials have been resistant to exploring the option to bringing the crew home on another method but Kenneth Bowersox, NASA's associate administrator for space operations, said the team is considering it. "We don't just have to bring a crew back on Starliner for example. We can bring them back on another vehicle," he said. "In the case that we have with the Starliner crew flight test, the option to either bring the crew home on Starliner or to bring the crew home on another vehicle, we could take either path."
Wrongful death lawsuit filed over Titan submersible implosion
The estate of a Titanic researcher who was among the five people killed when the Titan submersible catastrophically imploded while on a deep-dive voyage to the site of the famous shipwreck last year has filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking more than $50 million in damages. The lawsuit, filed by the estate of French explorer Paul Henri Nargeolet, accused OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who also died in the implosion, and others of gross negligence by designing, building and operating Titan "in almost every way, in a manner outside the norms of the diving community and industry, driven by Rush's apparent...
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