President Donald Trump threatened to “get involved” in law enforcement decisions at the Justice Department Thursday, telling supporters at an Indiana campaign rally that the investigations into his campaign were “disgraceful.”

“Our Justice Department and the FBI at the top – because inside they have incredible people — but our Justice Department and our FBI need to start doing their job and doing it right and doing it right now,” he said. “Because people are angry.”

Trump has stepped up his attacks on law enforcement agencies as a double-pronged investigation into his campaign has snowballed in recent weeks.

His former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort was found guilty this month of tax evasion and bank fraud for activities unrelated to the campaign. The same say, former Trump attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to fraud and campaign finance charges and agreed to cooperate with investigators looking into hush-money payments made to porn stars.

On Twitter, Trump has lashed out against top Justice Department officials – including Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has recused himself from overseeing the investigations because he was an adviser to the Trump campaign. A special counsel, Robert Mueller, is leading the investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russian agents in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Just before leaving the White House for the rally in Evansville, Ind., Trump complained that the Mueller investigation was “illegal” but told Bloomberg News that Sessions’ job is safe at least until November. 

“What’s happening is a disgrace,” Trump said in Indiana. “I will get involved and I will get in there if I have to. Disgraceful.”

More: President Donald Trump accuses NBC of ‘fudging’ interview with him

OnPolitics Today: Trump to federal workers: No raise for you

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Federal prosecutors announced two separate cases on Thursday in which men are charged with abusive sexual contact on aircraft bound for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

In one case, Babak Rezapour — 41, of Van Nuys, Calif. — allegedly used his jacket to hide the alleged assault of a sleeping woman who had drank wine and taken anxiety medication on a Norwegian Air flight from London to Seattle.

In the other, Nicholas Matthew Stevens — 37, of Anchorage, Alaska — allegedly feigned being asleep as he groped a women sitting next to him on an Alaska Airlines flight from Anchorage to Seattle.

The charges were announced Thursday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Washington state and follow a campaign by the FBI to raise awareness of the increasing number of reported sexual assault cases aboard airplanes. 

The men face the federal charge of abusive sexual contact on an aircraft, which is punishable by up to two years in prison.

In an April release, the FBI documents similarities between many sexual assault incidents that occur on an airplane.

The perpetrators are typically male and the victims are usually women or unaccompanied children.

March 2017: New York man admits to groping woman on Newark flight

Often the attacks occur on long flights in a dark cabin. Victims are often sleeping in seats away from the isle and are covered with a blanket or jacket. In many cases, victims have consumed alcohol or sleeping medication.

Reports of sexual assault aboard airplanes have increased more than 60 percent since 2014, according to figures from the FBI. However, the dozens of reported cases is a “relatively small” number compared to the millions of passengers who fly every year, the release says.

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“Unfortunately, people don’t think things like this happen on airplanes,” the release quotes special agent Caryn Highley, who investigates crimes aboard airplanes. “There is a perception on an airplane that you’re in a bubble of safety.”

The FBI offers a number of tips for preventing and responding to sexual assault crimes aboard an aircraft:

• Reprimand bad behavior: The FBI says offenders often test their victims, sometimes pretending to accidentally touch them.
• “Don’t knock yourself out”: Mixing alcohol with sleeping pills and other medications can increase risk.
• Report incidents immediately: If an incident is reported before the plane lands, law enforcement may be able to meet the plane at the gate to begin an investigation.

Contributing: The Associated Press.

 

 

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Scotland Women’s World Cup hopes are now out of their own hands after Shelley Kerr’s side could only beat Switzerland by just a single goal.

The Scots needed to beat the group leaders by two clear goals to control their own destiny with a game to go.

Erin Cuthbert and Kim Little fired the hosts into the lead within five minutes in Paisley only for Lara Dickenmann to hit back two minutes later.

Scotland now go to Albania on Tuesday needing to win and hope.

With automatic qualification now unlikely, the best four runners-up go up against each other for a spot in next year’s tournament in France with Scotland sitting well-placed to be in the mix.

Dream starts & false dawns

It was the dream start. The exciting, attacking football Kerr has been billing during this campaign. Scotland needed the win, they needed the goals and that intent was clear with Cuthbert’s early goal, the 20-year-old scoring her fourth of the campaign in the opening moments.

Little, who looked her most threatening since returning from injury for April’s away leg, added a second minutes later to have a record crowd on their feet.

But the Swiss, adamant they were not giving up top spot to the Scots, responded swiftly with skipper Dickenmann clawing one back soon after.

Undeterred the hosts continued to press their rattled visitors, whose first real sign of recovery came from Chelsea’s Ramona Bachmann but Jennifer Beattie was well placed to sweep it clear of the line.

Half-time brought relief as Scotland struggled to contain the awakening Swiss, a chance to regroup and offer more of the same high-tempo play that opened the match.

It was end-to-end action for much of the second half with striker Jane Ross being brought into the mix, a sign they were fighting for automatic qualification.

A free-kick from the edge of the box presented them an opportunity but Caroline Weir’s 25-yard attempt was blocked.

The final 10 minutes saw more chances come to Little, as player of the match Cuthbert picked herself up from yet another rough challenge.

Another change for the Swiss was not enough to help the, equalise but did prevent the Scots getting that group winning goal.

‘Campaign not over for scrappy Scots’ – analysis

The fight and passion was what fans had been hoping for in this campaign. The mood music in the days building up to this game had changed – there was excitement, an air of cautious confidence and sheer determination.

The nerves that held the Scots back in earlier matches was not on show here, they more than competed with the higher-ranked Swiss.

They left the pitch looking dejected but rallied in the face of the delighted young fans who had just watched their girls win, sure that the dream of gracing the World Cup stage was still alive.

This campaign is not over for the national side by any means, and the scrappy Scots will fight to the very end. Kerr’s Scotland don’t know anything different.

Teslas are well known for their acceleration, but flying?

A Canadian man caught some serious air after speeding over a railroad crossing in Barrie, Canada, on Tuesday at around 8 p.m. local time. A security camera happened to catch the incident, and holy crap.

The 46-year-old driver “became airborne and crashed over 100 feet into the opposing lane,” according to Barrie Today. The Tesla skidded after landing, and eventually hit a tree in a parking lot. Considering Teslas are, you know, not supposed to fly, it’s not surprising that the four-door vehicle, which appears to be a sedan, was totaled. The exact model was not released. 

Global News reports that the driver of the vehicle was charged with dangerous driving, and was treated at the hospital for minor injuries along with a passenger. Thankfully, no other vehicles were involved. 

Teslas are relatively heavy cars thanks to the electric battery, so it’s safe to say that the vehicle’s impressive acceleration capabilities did help the vehicle go airborne, though given the charges it appears that police are blaming the driver.

Here’s what the driver saw before liftoff: 

Image: screenshot/google maps

A Redditor who claims to live in the area said it’s quite easy to get airborne on the tracks: “I live near here and you literally just need to be going 30 to get air. The guy is a moron.”

Heather Locklear’s legal troubles are mounting. 

On Thursday, Locklear, 56, was charged with battery on a peace officer, battery on an emergency medical technician and resisting, obstructing or delaying a police officer in connection with a June incident, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s office. 

The three misdemeanor charges stem from a June 24 arrest after the actress allegedly grew combative toward emergency personnel who responded to a disturbance at her home in Thousand Oaks, Calif.   

More: Heather Locklear shares upbeat post on Instagram months after her arrest

Locklear’s attorney represented her in court in Ventura County Thursday and pleaded not guilty to all charges on her behalf, according to the district attorney’s release.

This isn’t the first time the “Melrose Place” alum had a run in with the law or reportedly acted aggressively toward authorities. 

In February, Locklear was arrested after officers responded to a domestic disturbance at her residence. The actress was “kicking” and “pushing” police officers, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Garo Kuredjian told the Associated Press. 

The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office saidt the new charges announced Thursday are in addition to the five charges Locklear  already faces for the February incident. (She pleaded not guilty to those charges)

She is due back in court September 27. 

More:Heather Locklear arrested and charged with battery against first responders for second time

 

 

 

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A Detroit man was charged Thursday in connection with a go-kart crash that injured one of this daughters and killed the other.

Ollante Young, 29,  was arraigned in 36th District Court on a charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death, two counts of second-degree child abuse and two counts of operating while intoxicated with an occupant under 16.

“It is imperative that the public understand that these ATV’s, mopeds and go-karts are extremely dangerous,” said Detroit Police Capt. Michael McGinnis. “They are not toys. They should be treated as vehicles because that’s, in fact, what they are.” 

The fatal crash is one of the latest incidents in what police have called a growing problem: Off-road vehicles on the streets.

In April, a Free Press report found that there have been 57 crashes in the city involving off-road vehicles since 2004, and in the past three years, the number of crashes has been on the rise each year. Last year, crashes resulted in four deaths.

Read more:

In this case, police said, Young took his daughters, ages 4 and 5, on a ride at about 3 a.m. Wednesday.

He crashed the go-kart, which had only one seat and was not equipped with headlights or seatbelts,  into a parked car on the 19800 block of St. Mary’s near Seven Mile. The 4-year-old was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The 5-year-old was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Police said Young was intoxicated.

In addition to injuries and fatalities, leaders in the insurance industry have warned that go-carts and other vehicles designed for off-road use are not insured the same way and medical bills are likely paid by the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan, which is funded by the insurance companies. 

Operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death is punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine of $2,500 to $10,000. It can be up to 20 years if the blood alcohol content was high and the suspect had an prior convection.

Young received a $100,000 cash/surety bond at his arraignment.

He is due back in court at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 6 for a probable cause conference before Judge Deborah Lewis Langston. A preliminary exam is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sept. 11. 

Staff writer Ann Zaniewski contributed to this report.

Free Press archives contributed. Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

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Roger Federer continued his bid for a record sixth US Open title with a comfortable second-round win over France’s Benoit Paire.

The 37-year-old Swiss eased to a 7-5 6-4 6-4 victory in New York City in one hour 56 minutes.

Paire had not beaten the 20-time Grand Slam champion in six previous meetings and never looked like causing an upset.

Second seed Federer will play Australia’s Nick Kyrgios in the third round.

Kyrgios won 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 6-0 against France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert, fighting back from a set and a break down after being talked to by chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani.

Federer once dominated the men’s singles at Flushing Meadows, winning his five titles in a row between 2004 and 2008 in a run of 41 consecutive matches.

That success has slowed down in the past decade, with his only other final appearance ending in defeat by Novak Djokovic in 2015.

This year he says regaining the US Open title is one of his “bigger priorities”.

Asked whether the Federer of 2009 would beat the Federer of 2018 at Flushing Meadows, the Swiss said: “I really hope that this guy would win today just because I feel like I’ve improved many things over the years.

“I’m a more complete player than I was back then.”

Federer and sixth seed Djokovic, who is aiming for his third US Open title and 14th Grand Slam, are projected to meet in the quarter-finals this year.

Djokovic meets American Tennys Sandgren in the second round later on Thursday.

‘I played freer, he got frustrated’

While Federer was largely untroubled, there was a hint of danger in the first set which required him to dig deep to avoid any potential problems.

Federer let a break slip in the opening set as Paire fought back to level and then put the Swiss under pressure at 30-30 on his serve at 5-4, only for Federer to produce an accurate ace out wide for 40-30 on his way to a valuable hold.

Federer then broke in the next game when Paire produced a double fault on break point, enabling him to wrap up the set with a hold to love.

“It’s important to stay with your opponent. The first set can be so crucial, so it was definitely key to the whole outcome,” the Swiss said.

“I could play a bit freer, he got frustrated.”

Frustration began to turn to anger for Paire, who smashed three racquets in an extraordinary tantrum in Washington last month, as Federer took his serve in the fifth game on the way to the second set.

From that point there was no way back for the Frenchman.

Image: Richard James Mendoza/NurPhoto via Getty Images

You’re likely familiar with Twitter’s suggestions on who to follow. Now, the company is asking some users if they want to unfollow people. 

As first pointed out by Slate, the social media platform is testing unfollow suggestions.

“We know that people want a relevant Twitter timeline. One way to do this is by unfollowing people they don’t engage with regularly. We ran an incredibly limited test to surface accounts that people were not engaging with to check if they’d like to unfollow them,” a Twitter spokesperson told the publication.

The feature is reminiscent of Gmail’s unsubscribe suggestions, which prompts you when the algorithm detects you haven’t engaged with a particular sender in awhile.

People who were part of the test posted screenshots on Twitter, although the suggestions weren’t entirely welcome.

Twitter’s prompt tells users they “don’t need to follow everyone to know what’s happening.”

At the moment, Twitter’s explanation to users on why they should unfollow certain accounts seems pretty vague. 

Gmail’s unsubscribe prompts at least make it clear that you haven’t been engaging much with its suggestions, leaving no room for perceived bias in its selections — an argument which Twitter would perhaps like to avoid right now.