In the news today: FEMA doesn’t have enough funding to last through hurricane season, Mayorkas says; assassination attempts have reshaped how Donald Trump campaigns; and Los Angeles prosecutors are reviewing the Menendez brothers’ convictions. Also, a collection of photos chosen by AP photo editors look into the lives of insects and animals.
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Cindy White looks over the devastation inside her home after Hurricane Helene, Tuesday, in Morganton, N.C. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)
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Mayorkas warns FEMA doesn’t have enough funding to last through hurricane season
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency is being stretched as it works with states to assess damage from Hurricane Helene and delivers meals, water, generators and other critical supplies. The storm struck Florida last week, then plowed through several states in the Southeast, flooding towns and killing hundreds. Read more.
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Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was not specific about how much additional money the agency may need, but his remarks on Air Force One underscored concerns voiced by President Joe Biden and some lawmakers earlier this week that Congress may need to pass a supplemental spending bill this fall to help states with recovery efforts.
Hurricane season runs June 1 to Nov. 30, but most hurricanes typically occur in September and October. More than 150,000 households have registered for assistance with FEMA, and that number is expected to rise rapidly in the coming days, said Frank Matranga, an agency representative.
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Assassination attempts and new threats have reshaped how Donald Trump campaigns
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As Donald Trump returns to Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday for a rally at the site where a gunman opened fire in July, grazing his ear with a bullet, the scare underscores the lasting fallout for the candidate and his campaign even as much of the national attention has shifted to other crises. Read more. |
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Trump staffers are on edge. There have been death threats directed at his aides, and his team isn’t as able to quickly organize the mass rallies that have always been the signature of his campaigns. Armed security officers now stand guard at the campaign’s Florida headquarters, and staff have been told to remain vigilant and alert.
Events have been canceled and moved around because the U.S. Secret Service lacked the resources to safely secure them. Trump has accused President Joe Biden’s administration of intentionally denying security resources to help Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, by preventing him from addressing large crowds.
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Trump’s campaign also faces continued threats from Iran in presumed retaliation for his administration’s killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. In August, a Pakistani man alleged to have links to Iran was charged in a plot to carry out political assassinations on U.S. soil. Law enforcement did not name the targets of the alleged plot, but legal filings suggest Trump was a potential target. Iranian hackers have also been charged with stealing information from Trump’s campaign and trying to pass it along to news organizations.
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Los Angeles prosecutors to review new evidence in Menendez brothers’ 1996 murder conviction
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Prosecutors in Los Angeles are reviewing new evidence in the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez to determine whether they should be serving life sentences for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion more than 35 years ago, the city’s district attorney said Thursday. Read more. |
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Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said during a news conference that there is no question Erik, 53, and his 56-year-old brother, Lyle, committed the murders, but his office will be reviewing new evidence and will make a decision on whether a resentencing is warranted in the notorious case that captured national attention.
The new evidence presented in a petition includes a letter written by Erik Menendez that his attorneys say corroborates the allegations that he was sexually abused by his father. The brothers have said they killed their parents out of self-defense after enduring a lifetime of physical, emotional and sexual abuse from them.
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Their attorneys argue that because of society’s changing views on sexual abuse, that the brothers may not have been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole today. “Given today’s very different understanding of how sexual and physical abuse impacts children — both boys and girls — and the remarkable new evidence, we think resentencing is the appropriate result,” Attorney Cliff Gardner said in an email Thursday to The Associated Press.
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(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel/Markus Schreiber/Michael Probst/Sakchai Lalit/Alastair Grant)
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Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Sarah
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