All About: Brett Kavanaugh resigned, Arizona lawmaker's, US airlines,

If there is a gathering of Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar's family this holiday season, there should be plenty to talk about after six of the Republican's nine siblings endorsed his Democratic opponent.

 

Senate Judiciary aide resigns amid sexual harassment allegation: NBC

A media adviser helping the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee respond to a sexual assault allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has resigned amid allegations of his own sexual misconduct, a committee spokesperson said on Saturday. Garrett Ventry, 29, a communications aide to Senate Judiciary committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, was "one of several temporary staff brought on to assist in the committee’s consideration of the Supreme Court nomination," a Senate Judiciary Committee spokesperson told Reuters.

Not all in the family - Arizona lawmaker's siblings back opponent

If there is a gathering of Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar's family this holiday season, there should be plenty to talk about after six of the Republican's nine siblings endorsed his Democratic opponent. In videos scheduled to begin airing on Arizona cable television on Sunday, the four-term conservative was peppered with rebukes from three brothers and three sisters, who urged voters to elect Democrat Paul Brill.

Accuser of Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh agrees to testify to Senate committee

A woman who has accused U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault has agreed to testify before a Senate panel next week but details of her appearance have not been finalized, her lawyers said on Saturday. U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley had set a Saturday afternoon deadline for Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assaulting her at a high school party 36 years ago, to decide whether and how she will testify.

Ordering opioids online? Mail carrier may also deliver handcuffs

He looked like a regular mail carrier, dropping off an unremarkable package at an upscale New York City apartment tower, but neither the man nor the package was quite what they seemed. The mail carrier was really a federal agent, conducting a so-called controlled delivery, a tactic the U.S. government employs to help stem the flow of heroin, prescription painkillers and other opioids fueling the nation's epidemic of fatal overdoses.

U.S. airlines score win as Congress drops 'reasonable fee' rules

The U.S. airline industry scored a win on Saturday as bipartisan congressional legislation dropped plans to mandate "reasonable and proportional" baggage and change fees, but included other new passenger protections. After weeks of negotiations, a 1,200-page bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was unveiled early Saturday that would require the FAA to set minimum dimensions for passenger seats -- including legroom and width -- and prohibits airlines from involuntarily removing passengers from flights after they’ve cleared the boarding gate.

South Carolina communities race to beat dangerous flooding

South Carolina communities along waterways near the Atlantic coast were racing on Saturday to prepare for the possible onslaught of dangerous flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, which has killed at least 40 people. Towns and cities across the state were filling thousands of sandbags, finalizing evacuation plans and organizing rescue crews as they nervously watched swollen rivers rise near or beyond their flood stages, a week after Florence dumped some three feet of rain on the region.

U.S. backs protecting Yellowstone’s northern gateway from mining

New mining claims should be banned for 20 years on more than 30,000 acres north of Yellowstone National Park to preserve scenery, wildlife habitat, waterways, and outdoor recreation that fuels tourism in nearby Montana towns, the U.S. Forest Service said Friday. The recommendation to withdraw 30,370 acres of the Custer Gallatin National Forest from mineral development comes after two large gold-mining operations were proposed near Yellowstone, sparking opposition from conservationists and local businesses in an area known as Paradise Valley.

Ex-White House aide revises Flynn sanctions conversation account: report

An ex-White House official has revised a previous statement by telling investigators that former national security adviser Michael Flynn may have referred to sanctions when they discussed his calls with a former Russian envoy, the Washington Post reported on Saturday. K.T. McFarland's statement revised an earlier assertion to FBI agents that sanctions on Russia did not come up when she spoke to Flynn in December 2016 about his calls with Sergey Kislyak when he was the Russian ambassador to the United States, the newspaper said, quoting unidentified people familiar with the matter.

Fugitive New Mexico priest pleads not guilty to abuse charges

A former Catholic priest who fled the United States after allegations he sexually abused a child in the 1990s has been extradited from Morocco and faced charges in New Mexico on Friday, U.S. officials said. The Catholic Church worldwide is reeling from crises involving sexual abuse of minors, deeply damaging confidence in the Church in the United States, Chile, Australia, and Ireland where the scandal has hit hardest, and elsewhere.

Trump administration moves to restrict immigrants who use public benefits

The Trump administration on Saturday said it would propose making it harder for foreigners living in the United States to qualify for permanent U.S. residency if they have received public benefits such as food aid, public housing or Medicaid.

The proposed regulation from the Department of Homeland Security would instruct immigration officers to consider whether a person has received a range of taxpayer-funded benefits to which they are legally entitled in determining whether a potential immigrant is likely to become a public burden.