The Washington Post stories, Page 20
Coast Guard lieutenant planned widespread terror attack, prosecutors say
A U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant and self-identified white nationalist has been arrested after federal investigators uncovered a cache of weapons and ammunition in his Maryland home that authorities say he stockpiled to launch a widespread domestic terrorist attack targeting politicians and journalists. Christopher Paul Hasson called for “focused violence” to...
Google forgot to notify customers it put microphones in Nest security systems
The worst kind of microphone is a hidden microphone. Customers were caught off guard in early February when Google announced its home security system, Nest Secure, would be able to act as an AI-powered Google Assistant after a recent update. “With the flip of a switch in the Nest app,...
Family of Covington teen sues Washington Post for $250 million
The family of the Kentucky teen who was involved in an encounter with a Native American advocate at the Lincoln Memorial last month filed a defamation lawsuit against The Washington Post on Tuesday, seeking $250 million in damages for its coverage of the incident. The suit alleges that The Post...
Coalition of states sues Trump over national-emergency declaration to build border wall
WASHINGTON — A coalition of 16 states filed a federal lawsuit Monday to block President Trump’s plan to build a border wall without permission from Congress, arguing that the president’s decision to declare a national emergency is unconstitutional. The lawsuit, brought by states with Democratic governors — except for one,...
Defrocked cardinal McCarrick to remain in church housing for now
When Theodore McCarrick was defrocked Saturday, becoming the first cardinal ever removed from the priesthood because of sexual abuse, he lost his right to the support he has enjoyed his entire adult life — housing and income provided by the Roman Catholic Church. But McCarrick, who is 88 and has...
Travelers beware: Va. lawmakers approve use of speed cameras
Virginia lawmakers have approved legislation to allow the commonwealth’s first speed-camera program, a significant shift for the state, which has been slow to embrace technology that has long been used by law enforcement in neighboring Washington, D.C., Maryland and elsewhere in the national. The legislation, if signed by Gov. Ralph...
Florida student charged with misdemeanor after refusing to recite Pledge of Allegiance
A Florida student is facing misdemeanor charges after a confrontation with a teacher that began with his refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and escalated into what officials described as disruptive behavior. The student, a sixth-grader at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy in Lakeland, Florida, east of Tampa, refused to...
Senate panel to probe claim that Rod Rosenstein raised possibility of Trump ouster
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Sunday that his panel will investigate former acting FBI director Andrew McCabe’s assertion that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein raised the possibility of ousting President Trump through the 25th Amendment, calling the statement “beyond stunning.” Graham was responding to comments made by...
Trump says he found ‘real Collusion’ — on ‘Saturday Night Live’
President Donald Trump has gotten ahead of special counsel Robert Mueller III’s investigation, making one thing clear: There was collusion. Well, on “Saturday Night Live,” at least. In a Sunday morning tweetstorm, Trump blasted the previous night’s episode of “SNL,” which opened with Alec Baldwin portraying the commander-in-chief declaring a...
Trump foreign policy under attack from European allies
MUNICH — An annual security conference where Western allies have long forged united fronts erupted Saturday into a full-scale assault on the Trump administration’s foreign policy. European leaders, would-be Democratic challengers and even the president’s Republican backers took the floor to rebuke the president’s go-it-alone approach. German Chancellor Angela Merkel...
Critics say EPA action plan on toxic ‘forever chemicals’ falls short
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday announced what officials called a historic effort to rein in a class of long-lasting chemicals that pose serious health risks to millions of Americans. But environmental groups and residents of contaminated communities said that the agency’s “action plan” is short on action,...
U.S., Facebook negotiating record multibillion-dollar fine as a result of privacy lapses
The Federal Trade Commission and Facebook are negotiating over a multibillion-dollar fine that would settle the agency’s investigation into the social media giant’s privacy practices, according to two people familiar with the probe. The fine would be the largest the agency has ever imposed on a technology company, but the...
Mortgage rates dip to their lowest levels in more than a year
After soaring to seven-year highs in November, mortgage rates have been on a steady decline the past 2½ months and this week sank to levels not seen in more than a year. According to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate average dropped to 4.37 percent...
Meet the Hill staffers Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hired to upend Washington
WASHINGTON — One is the daughter of an immigrant from Nigeria who wanted to understand the causes of her mom’s plight, starting a search that would lead her to Spelman, Oxford, Harvard, Georgetown, the State Department and, eventually, the halls of Congress. The other was raised by a single mother...
House committee weighs mandatory background checks for gun sales
WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee spent hours debating a measure Wednesday that would require background checks for all gun sales and most gun transfers within the United States, the most significant gun-control legislation to be brought before Congress in years. The committee spent more than eight hours debating the...
FEMA chief Brock Long, who faced questions over his use of government vehicle, to resign
WASHINGTON — Less than two years into a tenure marked by five major hurricanes, multiple lethal wildfires and a tense relationship with his boss, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator William “Brock” Long resigned Wednesday “to go home to my family,” as he put it in an official statement released by...
Rep. Ilhan Omar rejects calls for resignation, fires back at Trump
WASHINGTON — Rep. Ilhan Omar rejected President Donald Trump’s call for her resignation by accusing him of having “trafficked in hate your whole life” while she privately has tried to make amends with her Jewish colleagues for her anti-Semitic comments. The Minnesota Democrat, who fired back at Trump in a...
Vulgar anti-Trump message in comic strip ‘Non Sequitur’ stirs anger
At first glance, Sunday’s “Non Sequitur” comic strip just showed bears dressed up like Leonardo da Vinci. The syndicated strip opens with Bear-Vinci holding a picture of a Virtruvian Bear. It ends with the ursine artist painting a Mona Lisa, who is also, you guessed it, a bear. They are...
‘Everyone deserves to be heard,’ Va. Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax says; Dems explore impeachment
RICHMOND, Va. — Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax said he will not step down and will preside over the Senate on Monday regardless of any attempts to remove him from office amid allegations that he sexually assaulted two women. In a telephone interview with The Washington Post Sunday night, as fellow...
Dan + Shay win Grammy for ‘Tequila’Video
Hometown fav Dan + Shay, the country music duo of Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney, picked up some more hardware for the hit song “Tequila.” The song earned the pair the Grammy for best country duo/group performance. They performed the award-winning song during last night’s show. Smyers is a Pittsburgh-area...
Former White House aide Cliff Sims sues Trump after attack over tell-all book
WASHINGTON — A former White House aide who penned an insider account about President Trump is now suing the president after Trump’s lawyers filed an arbitration claim saying the book violated a non-disclosure agreement. The former communications aide, Cliff Sims, filed the suit in District of Columbia court Monday after...
Unvaccinated teens are fact-checking their parents and trying to get shots on their own
Ethan Lindenberger, frustrated by years of arguments about his mother’s anti-vaccination stance, staged a quiet defection via Reddit. The Norwalk, Ohio, teenager needed advice, he said, on how to inoculate himself against infectious disease and his family’s dogma. At 18, he was old enough, Lindenberger explained. He wanted to get...
CIA may have used contractor who inspired ‘Mission: Impossible’ to kill RFK, book alleges
Robert Maheu was such a colorful character that it’s widely believed the television show “Mission: Impossible” was based on him and his private investigative agency. As an ex-FBI agent, the CIA asked him to handle jobs it wanted to steer clear of, such as lining up prostitutes for a foreign...
Retail woes revealed in numbers
Until this month, it seemed as though U.S. retail employment had recovered from its apocalypse — the wave of store closures headlined by last year’s implosion of Toys R Us — and was nearing another record high. Then came the latest jobs report. Upon further review, the Labor Department revealed...
Congressional negotiators near deal offering Trump much less border money
WASHINGTON — Congressional negotiators neared a deal Friday that would offer President Trump far less than the $5.7 billion he’s sought for walls along the U.S.-Mexico border, as lawmakers worked to prevent another government shutdown next week. Two people familiar with the talks said the understanding among Republicans is that...
