ABCNEWS - New York state Capitol attack thwarted: FBI
The FBI arrested a woman Thursday who they allege was plotting to attack the Capitol in Albany, New York.
THENATIONALPULSE (Pulse Wires) - DATA: U.S. Unemployment Claims DROPPED Last Week.
The latest drop in unemployment claims suggests a stable labor market, despite the Iran war and a hiring slowdown, although inflation remains a concern for the Federal Reserve.
PULSE POINTS WHAT HAPPENED: The number of Americans filing initial unemployment claims fell by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 206,000 for the week ending August 15, according to the Labor Department. This drop comes despite the Iran war and a recent decline in the employment numbers for July, suggesting the labor market remains resilient. DETAIL: Economists had anticipated 210,000 claims but were surprised by the lower-than-expected figure. While some expected an increase in claims due to wildfires in states like Oregon and Washington, the data shows no such impact. Jobless claims remain within the lower range of 189,000-230,000 seen this year, reflecting a low-layoff environment even as hiring slows. IMPACT: With unemployment claims…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Sadie Smith) - FBI agents seize Eric Swalwell's phone and electronics at San Francisco Airport in sexual misconduct probe
Federal agents armed with a search warrant met former congressman Eric Swalwell at the gate when he stepped off a plane in San Francisco, seizing his cell phone and electronic devices as part of a criminal investigation into sexual misconduct allegations. The confrontation happened Saturday at San Francisco Airport, where FBI agents were waiting for […] The post FBI agents seize Eric Swalwell's phone and electronics at San Francisco Airport in sexual misconduct probe appeared first on American Almanac .
Federal agents armed with a search warrant met former congressman Eric Swalwell at the gate when he stepped off a plane in San Francisco, seizing his cell phone and electronic devices as part of a criminal investigation into sexual misconduct allegations. The confrontation happened Saturday at San Francisco Airport, where FBI agents were waiting for Swalwell as he arrived on a flight from Washington, DC. They served him with a court-approved search warrant and took his phone along with other electronic devices. Swalwell, a former Democratic congressman from California, cooperated with agents, according to well-placed sources who spoke to the Daily Mail . The next day, FBI agents executed additional search warrants at Swalwell's residence…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Alex Tanzer) - Tudor Dixon warns Abdul El-Sayed's Michigan Senate bid could 'permanently change America'
Former GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon says Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed's opposition to Sharia law bans, ties to a streamer who said America deserved 9/11, and progressive economic agenda make this Michigan race a fight over the country's future. Dixon, who ran for governor of Michigan in 2022, laid out her case against El-Sayed […] The post Tudor Dixon warns Abdul El-Sayed's Michigan Senate bid could 'permanently change America' appeared first on American Almanac .
Former GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon says Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed's opposition to Sharia law bans, ties to a streamer who said America deserved 9/11, and progressive economic agenda make this Michigan race a fight over the country's future. Dixon, who ran for governor of Michigan in 2022, laid out her case against El-Sayed in an interview with Fox News Digital published from Muskegon, Michigan. She framed the November contest between El-Sayed and Republican nominee Mike Rogers not as a standard partisan fight but as something more fundamental, a referendum on whether a candidate who, in her words, "fundamentally disagrees with the Constitution" should hold a six-year Senate term. El-Sayed is running for the…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Ken Jacobs) - Surrogate who refused to abort a baby with a heart defect says the newborn was taken from her the moment the cord was cut
A 28-year-old Alaska nurse who defied a California couple's demand to terminate a surrogate pregnancy is now fighting to see the infant she carried, and says she held him for just 60 seconds before he was removed from her arms. McKenna West gave birth on August 12 at a Texas hospital she had chosen specifically […] The post Surrogate who refused to abort a baby with a heart defect says the newborn was taken from her the moment the cord was cut appeared first on American Almanac .
A 28-year-old Alaska nurse who defied a California couple's demand to terminate a surrogate pregnancy is now fighting to see the infant she carried, and says she held him for just 60 seconds before he was removed from her arms. McKenna West gave birth on August 12 at a Texas hospital she had chosen specifically because she believed it could save the baby's life. The boy was diagnosed at 20 weeks with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a severe but treatable heart condition. When the biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed of California, learned of the diagnosis, West says they ordered her to end the pregnancy. She refused, and the legal and personal fallout has only escalated since. The day before the birth, West secured a legal…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Charles McAdams) - Illegal immigrant released under Biden charged with stabbing Virginia mother, dousing her body in gasoline
A 19-year-old Salvadoran illegal immigrant who entered the U.S. through Biden-era catch-and-release is now charged with the premeditated stabbing death of a Virginia mother, a case the White House calls "100% preventable." Fairfax County Police arrested Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos on Wednesday for the killing of Carmen Lizet Puch, a 42-year-old mother from Reston, Virginia, whose […] The post Illegal immigrant released under Biden charged with stabbing Virginia mother, dousing her body in gasoline appeared first on American Almanac .
A 19-year-old Salvadoran illegal immigrant who entered the U.S. through Biden-era catch-and-release is now charged with the premeditated stabbing death of a Virginia mother, a case the White House calls "100% preventable." Fairfax County Police arrested Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos on Wednesday for the killing of Carmen Lizet Puch, a 42-year-old mother from Reston, Virginia, whose body was found beside her car in the parking lot of Difficult Run Park in Great Falls. A jogger had called police at approximately 6:45 a.m. Monday after spotting Puch unconscious just off a popular trail. Officers found her with stab wounds. She had been doused in gasoline. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Cedillos-Campos faces a second-degree murder…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Lynn Jenkins) - American student alleges rape in Vietnam, says police and suspect's family pressured her to stay silent
A 24-year-old American student from Houston says she was sexually assaulted during a group holiday in Vietnam, and that local police and the suspect's wealthy family tried to push her into settling quietly. Vietnamese authorities have now charged a 23-year-old man with rape after Nguyen Thi Quynh Tam refused to back down, rejected repeated offers […] The post American student alleges rape in Vietnam, says police and suspect's family pressured her to stay silent appeared first on American Almanac .
A 24-year-old American student from Houston says she was sexually assaulted during a group holiday in Vietnam, and that local police and the suspect's wealthy family tried to push her into settling quietly. Vietnamese authorities have now charged a 23-year-old man with rape after Nguyen Thi Quynh Tam refused to back down, rejected repeated offers of money, and fought through weeks of institutional resistance to get her case on the record. The charge came only after Tam's father reached out to the office of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, prompting belated action from the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi. Tam, whose family moved to the United States when she was five, had returned to Vietnam in May for a banking internship. On July 4, she joined a group of…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Lynn Jenkins) - Lake Mead gives up another body as drought drops water to 2026 low
Skeletal remains found along a Lake Mead shoreline mark the fifth set of human bones the shrinking reservoir has surrendered since 2022, and at least one earlier discovery was ruled a homicide with possible mob ties. A family outing at Boulder Beach turned grim on Sunday when Mario Lecano waded in after his daughter and […] The post Lake Mead gives up another body as drought drops water to 2026 low appeared first on American Almanac .
Skeletal remains found along a Lake Mead shoreline mark the fifth set of human bones the shrinking reservoir has surrendered since 2022, and at least one earlier discovery was ruled a homicide with possible mob ties. A family outing at Boulder Beach turned grim on Sunday when Mario Lecano waded in after his daughter and spotted what he first mistook for animal bones near her legs. Lecano, walking the Lake Mead shoreline with friend Dianelis Molina Cruz, had been tossing rocks in the shallows when he pulled up a jawbone, complete with teeth and what appeared to be dental fillings. Rangers from the National Park Service and officers from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded. The Clark County Coroner's Office recovered the…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Alex Tanzer) - Ro Khanna's family trusts traded $165 million in 2025 while he campaigned to tax the rich
Rep. Ro Khanna's newly filed financial disclosure reveals his family's trusts executed more than 5,400 trades last year, a staggering volume for a congressman who lectures Americans about wealth inequality and wants to tax billionaires. Khanna, a California Democrat who represents what has been described as the country's wealthiest congressional district, filed his 2025 financial […] The post Ro Khanna's family trusts traded $165 million in 2025 while he campaigned to tax the rich appeared first on American Almanac .
Rep. Ro Khanna's newly filed financial disclosure reveals his family's trusts executed more than 5,400 trades last year, a staggering volume for a congressman who lectures Americans about wealth inequality and wants to tax billionaires. Khanna, a California Democrat who represents what has been described as the country's wealthiest congressional district, filed his 2025 financial disclosure late last week. The document, first reported by the Washington Free Beacon , shows that trusts benefiting his wife, Ritu Ahuja Khanna, and their two children made 5,402 trades across 244 of the 251 active trading days in 2025. Total trading volume reached as high as $165.4 million, with securities sales, stocks, options, ETFs, and hedge fund positions,…Open
AMERICANALMANAC (Alex Tanzer) - Texas cop throws punches at dive-bombing bird in precinct parking lot
A Southside Place, Texas, police officer found himself in an unlikely standoff when a bird repeatedly dive-bombed him in his own precinct parking lot, and surveillance footage of the whole thing went viral. The officer had walked out to his silver truck on August 5 when the bird swooped in. Footage shared by the Southside […] The post Texas cop throws punches at dive-bombing bird in precinct parking lot appeared first on American Almanac .
A Southside Place, Texas, police officer found himself in an unlikely standoff when a bird repeatedly dive-bombed him in his own precinct parking lot, and surveillance footage of the whole thing went viral. The officer had walked out to his silver truck on August 5 when the bird swooped in. Footage shared by the Southside Place Police Department on Facebook shows the officer standing stiff, eyes locked on the bird as it circled. Then the bird nosedived straight at him. He bent at the waist to dodge. The bird swept across the parking lot, banked, and came right back. The officer raised his right fist and threw a punch at the air as the bird buzzed past. It missed. The bird missed too, and looped around for another pass. On the second…Open