Oakland NAACP, local leaders frustrated city missed deadline to apply for retail theft funds amid crime wave

Jason Dean Billingsley, a convicted felon suspected of killing Baltimore tech executive Pava LaPere this week, has been arrested, Baltimore police said early Thursday.

A mother in Mexico shielded her son from a brazen bear that jumped up on their picnic table and helped itself to their food — inches away from them.

One of the longest-running discrimination cases reached a settlement after nearly three decades of litigation alleging racial bias by the U.S. Marshals Service.

The teenagers were enjoying a family weekend at a Zacatecas ranch when several vehicles loaded with armed men broke into their home.

Three Baton Rouge Police Department officers have been placed on administrative leave as investigations continue into an alleged police "torture warehouse" in Louisiana dubbed the Brave Cave.

Suddenly, it just tumbled out: "Honestly, every time I hear you I feel a little bit dumber for what you say."That was former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley’s rebuke of businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, easily the best line of Wednesday night’s messy and awkward GOP primary debate. Ramaswamy, for his part, produced his own meme-worthy quote during a heated exchange with Senator Tim Scott: “Thank you for speaking while I’m interrupting.”Such was the onstage energy at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum: Chaotic, sloppy, largely substance-free. Seven candidates desperately fought for fresh relevance; none of them came away with it. Rather than pitching themselves as the candidate who can beat former President Donald Trump, these Republicans seemed to be operating most of the time in an alternate universe, in which Trump was absent not just from the stage, but from the race.Eight years ago, so many candidates were vying for the Republican nomination that the party took to splitting primary debates into two sessions: the main event and the undercard. The latter contest was mocked as the “kids’ table” debate. So far this time around, there’s only one unified debate night. Nevertheless, Trump has such a commanding lead over his challengers that, for the second debate in a row, he hasn’t even bothered to show up and speak. Voters have no reason to believe he’ll be at any of the other contests. Trump counter-programmed last month’s Fox News debate by sitting down for a sympathetic interview with the former Fox star Tucker Carlson. On Wednesday, Trump delivered a speech in Michigan, where a powerful union—United Auto Workers—are in the second week of a strike.All seven candidates who qualified for the debate—individuals with honorifics such as “governor,” “senator,” and “former vice president”—spent the evening arguing at the kids’ table. Barring some sort of medical emergency, Trump seems like the inevitable 2024 GOP nominee. As Michael Scherer of The Washington Post pointed out on X (formerly Twitter), the candidates on stage were collectively polling at 36 percent. If they were to join forces and become one person (think seven Republicans stacked in a trenchcoat), Trump would still be winning by 20 percent.[Read: A parade of listless vessels ]How many other ways can you say this? The race is effectively over. So what, then, were they all doing there? A cynic would tell you they’re merely running for second place—for a shot at a cabinet position, maybe even VP.One candidate decidedly not running for vice president is Former Vice President Mike Pence, who has taken to (gently) attacking his old boss. Nor does former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie seem to want a sidekick or administration gig. Christie has staked his entire campaign on calling out Trump’s sins, and, so far, it’s not working. Earlier this morning, Christie shared a photo of himself at a recent NFL game, with a cringeworthy nod to new Kansas City Chiefs fan Taylor Swift: “I was just a guy in the bleachers on Sunday... but after tonight, Trump will know we are never ever getting back together.”At the debate, Christie stared directly into the camera like Macho Man Randy Savage, pointer finger and all, to deliver what amounted to a professional wrestling taunt. “Donald, I know you’re watching. You can’t help yourself!” Christie began. “You’re not here tonight because you’re afraid of being on this stage and defending your record. You’re ducking these things, and let me tell you what’s going to happen.”[Here it comes]“You keep doing that, no one up here’s gonna call you Donald Trump anymore. We’re gonna call you Donald Duck.”“Alright,” moderator Dana Perino said.The crowd appeared to laugh, cheer, boo, and groan.The auto-worker’s strike, and criticisms of the larger American economy, received significant attention at the debate. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum laid the strike “at Joe Biden’s feet.” Pence came ready with a zinger: “Joe Biden doesn’t belong on a picket line, he belongs on the unemployment line.” (Another Pence joke about sleeping with a teacher—his wife—didn’t quite land.)Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, once seen as Trump’s closest rival, stood center stage but spent most of the night struggling to connect as all the candidates intermittently talked over one another. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, perhaps trying to fight back against those who claim he lacks charisma, frequently went on the attack, most notably against Ramaswamy, who, in the previous debate, claimed his rivals were “bought and paid for.” Later, Scott attacked DeSantis for his past controversial comments about race: “There is not a redeeming quality in slavery,” Scott said. But he followed that up a moment later with another sound byte: “America is not a racist country.”[Read: The GOP primary is a field of broken dreams]However earnest and honest Scott’s message may be, it was impossible to hear his words without thinking of the man he’s running against. So again: What was everyone doing Wednesday night? In an alternate reality, a red-state candidate like Scott, Haley, or Burgum might cruise to the GOP nomination. In a way, Fox Business, itself, seemed to broadcast tonight’s proceedings in that strange other world. The network kept playing retro Reagan clips as the debate came in and out of commercial breaks. And those ads? One featured South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem—not a 2024 presidential candidate, but certainly a potential VP pick—making a pitch for people to move to her sparsely populated state. Another ad argued that the Biden administration’s plan to ban menthol cigarettes would be a boon to Mexican drug cartels. What?It was all a sideshow. Trump’s team seemed to know it, too. With just over five minutes left in the debate, the former president’s campaign blasted out a statement to reporters from a senior advisor: “Tonight’s GOP debate was as boring and inconsequential as the first debate, and nothing that was said will change the dynamics of the primary contest being dominated by President Trump.” For all of Trump’s lies, he and his acolytes can occasionally be excruciatingly honest.

Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/GettyEveryone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth, and Vivek Ramaswamy’s plan for the second Republican presidential primary debate was to pivot from being a jerk to being Mr. Nice Guy. And yeah, that plan lasted about as long as most Mike Tyson fights.“These are good people on this stage,” Ramaswamy said early on in the debate. It was a stark contrast to the first primary debate, when he declared, “I’m the only person on this stage who isn’t bought and paid for.”This move took a lot of chutzpah. Vivek used the first debate to make a splash and gain notoriety in the attention economy—at his opponents’ expense. That strategy clearly worked, but polling and focus groups must have shown that he also came across as annoying. So—just like a politician who pivots to the center for the general election—the next step was to show a kinder, gentler Ramaswamy.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Taiwan’s plan to update its aging naval fleet highlights rising concerns over China’s threat, including the potential for its warships to encircle the island.

In a lawsuit first filed in 2020, Lior Onaly-Kelsey alleged they had faced discrimination based on their gender identity while in elementary school in Oregon.

CNN's Daniel Dale breaks down Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' comments during the second GOP presidential debate about recent changes to the state's African American history curriculum.

Arizona's Governor Katie Hobbs mysteriously stepped down for less than 24-hours on Wednesday night- leaving Treasurer Kimberly Yee as acting governor.

Seven Republican presidential candidates bickered about the economy, energy, China and each other’s past policy stances in the second 2024 primary debate Wednesday night.

Former President Donald Trump criticized President Biden, Democrats and the Big Three automakers over electric cars in remarks in the Detroit suburbs Wednesday night, as his Republican opponents were getting ready to take the stage in California for the second Republican presidential debate. CBS News chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa reports.

Republicans are about to deliver on the driving purpose of their House majority -- enacting Donald Trump's retribution.

Fox NewsIf there was one thing that was clear during Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate, it was that co-moderator Dana Perino did not want to hear from Doug Burgum.Throughout the chaotic two-hour event, which featured the GOP candidates desperately trying to draw attention to themselves to gain traction on Donald Trump’s commanding lead, the North Dakota governor repeatedly found himself hopelessly shouting from the side of the stage to no avail.Unfortunately for Burgum, he never even got a chance to debut an awful new nickname for Trump or fire off any cringeworthy jokes because the Fox News anchor was there to tell him to shut up.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley attacked entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy over his stance on Tiktok during the second Republican presidential debate. CNN Senior Political Commentator David Axelrod reacts.

Canning pitched six innings, giving up two runs and striking out five, but the Angels lost to the Texas Rangers 5-0 on Wednesday at Angel Stadium.

The "Somebody Else" singer delivered the news to fans as the band kicked off their North American tour in Sacramento, Calif.

Several conservatives took to social media to voice their frustrations over what turned out to be a chaotic second GOP primary debate.

Deploying the military was table stakes as candidates pushed ever-tougher measures

Joe Burrow and Aaron Rodgers have a connection to one another other than just being NFL quarterbacks. 

North Korea has amended its constitution to bolster and expand its nuclear force, with leader Kim Jong Un pointing to the growing cooperation between the United States, South Korea and Japan as "the worst actual threat" facing the isolated nation.

The 2024 Republican presidential candidate has come under fire for previously doing business with a company owned by the Chinese government.

Who won the second Republican primary debate? As the non-Trump candidates sought relevance, they often squabbled with one another

An Australian man who faked his own kidnapping to spend time with his mistress on New Year's Eve has been ordered to pay back the cost of the police operation to find him.

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/FXIt’s hard to believe it has only been one week since we heard Kim Kardashian scream, “Tell [them] to suck my clit!” on the premiere of American Horror Story: Delicate. It feels like a moment that has been part of my consciousness since birth, as if my mother said something similar when I was in the womb. Fitting, given that the second episode of Season 12 is ultra-focused on Anna Victoria Alcott’s (Emma Roberts) journey toward a fruitful pregnancy.Unfortunately, Anna’s ruthless publicist Siobhan Corbyn (Kardashian) isn’t given anything quite as fun or semi-salacious as last week’s anatomical musing, but she’s doing her best surviving on scraps. The entire cast is doing the same, as Episode 2, “Rockabye,” is a big step down from the already drab season premiere. But much like last week, Kardashian remains the most exhilarating part of this installment so far, firing off winking, self-referential nods to her real-life celebrity antics and initiating a brief Madonna singalong. That’s got to count for something!This week in Siobhan’s World: Anna’s indie movie, The Auteur, is quickly picking up traction among the independent cinema scene, and Siobhan is gunning for Anna to be nominated for a Gotham Award. In this universe, a Gotham Award is the first stop on the road to an Oscar, to which I have to say (with all due respect ): is it? “Gothams, Globes, BAFTAs, SAG Awards, Oscars,” Siobhan says as she lays out Anna’s next few months. It’s not that a Gotham Award means nothing or can’t affect an artist’s chance at cinema’s biggest prize, but rather that they’re not often lumped in with those other, more notable ceremonies.Read more at The Daily Beast.

As his GOP rivals sparred in California at their second primary debate, Donald Trump was in Michigan to court blue-collar voters amid an autoworkers' strike.

The Siege of Yorktown, Virginia, began on this day in history, Sept. 28, 1781. Surrounded by Washington's army and French allies by both land and sea, the British realized their cause was hopeless.

The sisters' Dolce & Gabbana feud started after Kim decided to work with the Italian fashion house on the heels of Kourtney's wedding, which the brand hosted.

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/HuluIt’s fitting that Season 4 of The Kardashians, which streams Sept. 28 on Hulu, is airing just ahead of the most frightening month of the year, given that the premiere opens with a massive jump scare. No, not another close-up shot of Kris Jenner’s surgeries or her daughter Kylie trying to drive stick in the middle of a busy Calabasas road. Rather, the season begins with an outrageously loud drum beat that even Christopher Nolan would ask to tone down. It’s an energy that feels more appropriate for shuffling a few heads of state into a situation room and briefing them on an apocalypse that’s days away. The sound bangs into the frame as if the most cataclysmic, earth-shattering event ever has happened—and really, it has, lest we all forget about the appalling accusations that Kourtney lobbied against Kim last season, when Kourt alleged that her sister copied her Dolce Vita lifestyle.It was worse than a Kourtastrophe; it was Kimageddon.The two sisters are still at odds this season, but they manage to film a side-by-side, sit-down confessional (that doesn’t not look like the two of them are green-screened into the same shot) to air out their grievances. That’s much easier said than done, as they and the rest of America’s First Family are publicly coming to terms with the way their lives operate on a reality television schedule; they fight, make up, and then get even madder when they watch the episodes back and find out what each one said behind someone else’s back.Read more at The Daily Beast.

It is thought that the sauce known as Amatriciana, tomato-red, rich with bits of pork and slightly sweet from browned onions, originated in the town of Amatrice, in the central Italian region of Lazio, where Rome is located.

A letter writer is annoyed at their sister for pulling out a calculator when the dinner bill came.

Is there any way to make a “hardheaded” partner accept responsibility for more than a small fraction of a couple’s problems?

Letter writer resents their mom for not listening when they explain they’re not a morning person.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to go toe to toe with former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner.

The second GOP debate unfolded under Reagan’s shadow, while Trump commands a party that has seemingly moved on from the Gipper.

The rest of the field will just continue to underscore their own irrelevance. Their own time for choosing is rapidly running out.

"I just want everybody that was involved to have their day. I want to know detail for detail on what happened to my brother," Kisha Logan said.

"Big?Energy," the newly single "Summer House" star shared on Instagram alongside photos from her Bahamas getaway.

Emmet Sheehan provided a strong outing, Freddie Freeman homered as the Dodgers locked up the No. 2 seed in the playoffs with a 8-2 win over the Rockies.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie decided to take up his speaking time to send a message to former President Donald Trump, who again chose to skip the 2024 Republican presidential debate.

Second presidential debate, again without Donald Trump, was an echo of the first as candidates jockeyed to be the chief alternative to the frontrunner.

The former President's message in Michigan was a populist pitch geared toward winning over working-class voters

A South Korean man has been sentenced to jail for using artificial intelligence to generate exploitative images of children, the first case of its kind in the country as courts around the world encounter the use of new technologies in creating abusive sexual content.

The Chargers' Austin Ekeler missed the last two games because of an ankle injury but has hopes to play against the Raiders on Sunday after practicing on a limited basis Wednesday.

GOP presidential hopefuls try to seize on one of their dwindling chances to make an impression as Trump again skips the debate.

It’s Ronald Acuña Jr.’s world and we’re all just living in it. 

"Don't rip it!"