Fire at Massachusetts assisted-living home kills nine
Fire at Massachusetts assisted-living home kills nine
July 14, 2025 | 4:19 PM GMT
Officials said at least nine people died and more than 30 were injured from the fire at Gabriel House in Fall River, Massachusetts.
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Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump urged supporters to see conspiracies everywhere. With Epstein, that's coming back to haunt him
NEW YORK (AP) — As his supporters erupt over the Justice Department's failure to release much-hyped records in Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking investigation, President Donald Trump's strategy has been to downplay the issue. His problem? That nothing-to-see-here approach doesn't work for those who have learned from him that they must not give up until the government's deepest, darkest secrets are exposed. Last week, the Justice Department and the FBI abruptly walked back the notion that there's an Epstein client list of elites who participated in the wealthy New York financier's trafficking of underage girls. Trump quickly defended Attorney General Pam Bondi and chided a reporter for daring to ask about the documents. The online reaction was swift, with followers calling the Republican president 'out of touch' and demanding transparency. On Saturday, Trump used his Truth Social platform to again attempt to call supporters off the Epstein trail amid reports of infighting between Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino over the issue. He suggested the turmoil was undermining his administration — 'all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein.' That did little to mollify Trump's supporters, who urged him to release the files or risk losing his base. At least one follower responded to Trump's post by saying it seemed as though the president was just trying to make the issue go away — but assured him it wouldn't. The political crisis is especially challenging for Trump because it's one of his own making. The president has spent years stoking dark theories and embracing QAnon-tinged propaganda that casts him as the only savior who can demolish the 'deep state." Now that he's running the federal government, the community he helped build is coming back to haunt him. It's demanding answers he either isn't able to or does not want to provide. 'The faulty assumption Trump and others make is they can peddle conspiracy theories without any blowback,' said Matt Dallek, a political scientist at George Washington University. 'The Epstein case is a neat encapsulation that it is hard to put the genie back in the bottle.' A problem that's not going away Last week's two-page statement from the Justice Department and the FBI saying they had concluded that Epstein did not possess a client list roiled Trump's supporters, who pointed to past statements from several administration officials that the list ought to be revealed. Bondi had suggested in February that such a document was sitting on her desk waiting for review, though last week she said she had been referring generally to the Epstein case file and not a specific client list. Conservative influencers have since demanded to see all the files related to Epstein's crimes, even as Trump has tried to put the issue to bed. Far-right commentator Jack Posobiec said at Turning Point USA's Student Action Summit on Saturday that he would not rest 'until we go full Jan. 6 committee on the Jeffrey Epstein files.' Trump's weekend post sought to divert attention by calling on supporters to focus instead on investigating Democrats and arresting criminals rather than 'spending month after month looking at nothing but the same old, Radical Left inspired Documents on Jeffrey Epstein.' His first-term national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, pleaded with him to reconsider. '@realdonaldtrump please understand the EPSTEIN AFFAIR is not going away,' Flynn wrote, adding that failing to address unanswered Epstein questions would make facing other national challenges 'much harder.' Other Trump allies continue to push for answers, among them far-right activist Laura Loomer, who has called for Bondi to resign. She told Politico's Playbook newsletter on Sunday that a special counsel should be appointed to investigate the handling of the files on Epstein, who was found dead in his federal jail cell in 2019 about a month after he was arrested. Experts who study conspiracy theories warned that more sunlight does not necessarily make far-fetched narratives disappear. 'For some portion of this set of conspiracy theory believers, no amount of contradictory evidence will ever be enough,' said Josephine Lukito, who studies conspiracy theorists at the University of Texas at Austin. Trump and his colleagues set their own trap The president and many figures in his administration — including Bondi,Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel — earned their political capital over the years in part by encouraging disproven conspiracy theories on a range of topics, from elections to vaccines. Now, they're tasked with trying to reveal the evidence they'd long insisted was there — a challenge that's reached across the government. Last week, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin posted on X what seemed like an endorsement of a notorious conspiracy theory that the contrails left by aircraft are releasing chemicals for potentially nefarious reasons. But a second post from Zeldin underscored the fine line the Trump administration is trying to walk by linking to a new page on the EPA website that essentially debunked the theory. The value of conspiratorial fabrications is that they help people get political power, said Russell Muirhead, who teaches political science at Dartmouth College. He said Trump has exploited that 'more ably than anybody probably in American history.' But the Epstein case brings unique challenges, he said. That's because it's rooted in truth: A wealthy and well-connected financier did spend years abusing large numbers of young girls while escaping justice. As a result, Trump needs to come forward with truth and transparency on the topic, Muirhead said. If he doesn't, 'large segments of his most enthusiastic and devoted supporters are going to lose faith in him.' A potentially costly distraction As right-wing outrage over Epstein dominates the political conversation, Democrats and other Trump rivals have been taking advantage. Several Democratic lawmakers have called for the release of all Epstein files and suggested Trump could be resisting because he or someone close to him is featured in them. Conservatives expressed concerns that Trump's approach on Epstein could hurt them in the midterms. "For this to go away, you're going to lose 10% of the MAGA movement," right-wing podcaster Steve Bannon said during the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit on Friday. There's also the challenge of governing. Bondi and Bongino had a tense exchange last week at the White House over a story about Epstein, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation. And Loomer, who is close to Trump, said Friday she was told that Bongino was 'seriously thinking about resigning.' Bongino showed up at work Monday, according to a person familiar with the matter who insisted on anonymity to discuss personnel issues. The FBI declined to comment. Patel also took to social media Friday to dismiss what he called 'conspiracy theories' that he himself would be leaving the administration. Dallek, the George Washington University professor, said it's alarming that the country's top law enforcement officials are feuding over a conspiracy theory. 'It's possible at some time voters are going to notice the things they want or expect government to do aren't being done because the people in charge are either incompetent or off chasing rabbits,' he said. 'Who is fulfilling the mission of the FBI to protect the American people?' ___ Riccardi reported from Denver. Associated Press writers Eric Tucker, Melissa Goldin and Gary Fields in Washington contributed to this report.
New York Times
41 minutes ago
- New York Times
The Epstein Saga
After years spent spreading spidery conspiracy theories for his own political gain, President Trump has found himself wrapped up in the stickiest one of them of all. For more than a week, the political movement he created has convulsed with righteous fury over Jeffrey Epstein and the things the administration has said and done — or rather not done — about his death. Trump's supporters simply cannot swallow the anticlimactic conclusion that the Justice Department reached eight days ago when it said: There's nothing to see here, folks. No secret client list, no ties to foreign governments, no clique of Washington protectors who shielded the financier and his friends from justice for preying on girls. Over the weekend, a rabble of conspiracists who've been hand-fed for years by Trump broke into open revolt. The fallout is testing the power that the president holds over his most loyal followers, the ones who've trusted him all along and who believed they would learn a whole lot more about the Epstein saga if they returned Trump to office. The unconvinced Maybe the revolt will sputter out, but it has been stunning to behold. It is a Möbius strip of paranoia and distrust: A political movement that began with a conspiracy theory — lies about Barack Obama's birthplace were central to Trump's rise — is cannibalizing itself over another conspiracy theory. And in a novel twist, Trump's usual playbook for getting himself out of trouble didn't work. In a social media post on Saturday, he blamed Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden for unresolved Epstein mysteries. But the base wasn't buying it. 'People are really upset at the outright dismissal of it,' said Natalie Winters, a 24-year-old protégé of Stephen Bannon. As Mike Cernovich, the prolific pro-Trump social media commentator, wrote online, 'Trump's persuasive power over his base, especially during his first term, was almost magical. … The reaction on Epstein should thus be startling to him.' One person close to Trump conceded that the president didn't grasp how deep and wide the discontent was because he doesn't spend all that much time on the internet, where Epstein conspiracies breed. The 79-year-old president's media diet consists primarily of cable news and print newspapers. But by Monday, news networks like CNN were devoting much more airtime to the uproar. A test of loyalty This is not the first time Trump's base has bristled at him. The faithful grumbled when he encouraged Americans to take Covid vaccines or dropped bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities. But the conjecture around Epstein's crimes and death is a many-layered mania that can't really be compared to anything else. The shadowy concepts that undergird the whole thing go to the 'very foundation of MAGA,' as Winters put it, because 'it gets to the heart of who is in control of the country.' She lamented that Trump and the people who work for him now had campaigned against the deep state and failed to deliver. 'Finally, you have the power to expose it, and either you're not, because there's nothing there, in which case it makes you a liar — and I don't believe that — or you're ineffective, or you're compromised.' The fallout is fundamentally about whether Trump can corral the conspiracy-driven forces that he weaponized. He sprang to power at a time of deep mistrust in this country after two wars and a financial crisis, selling himself as the only one who would tell the truth about a corrupt uniparty cabal that sold out the United States. But now that he is the one in control of the government, he is telling his supporters to move on from all of that. It has left many of them mystified. When the Department of Government Efficiency started slashing government jobs, its goal was to streamline America's bureaucracy. Until that happens, though, many federal workers are on an emotional roller coaster. They've been fired and rehired; their health insurance has stopped; their questions have gone unanswered. Eileen Sullivan spoke with workers left in the lurch. For instance: Erin Czajkowski was axed from her job at the Department of Housing and Urban Development in February, rehired in March, then fired again in May. She spent weeks trying to understand court orders and legal challenges to her firing. 'Honestly, I need this to be over,' she told The Times. Martin Basch was terminated in February from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. He started applying for unemployment benefits but was confused when paychecks began arriving again in his bank account. He later learned that a court case had led to his reinstatement. Sarah Garman was fired from the Internal Revenue Service in February and then reinstated in March because of a court order. But when she got back on the government's payroll, her health coverage was suspended — even as premiums were still being deducted from her paychecks. Read the full story here. Flash Floods Slow-moving storms have dumped several inches of rain across the Mid-Atlantic, causing long flight delays in New York and inundating roads in New Jersey. The National Weather Service said two cities in Virginia risked 'catastrophic' damage from flash floods and urged people there to move to higher ground. More heavy rainfall is expected throughout today. Education The Supreme Court decision allowing Trump to fire Education Department workers represents an expansion of presidential power: It lets Trump gut a government department created by Congress without legislators' input. Trump had already started to diminish the Education Department before the court's decision. It is now about half the size that it was when Trump took office in January. Twenty-four states sued the Trump administration over nearly $7 billion in education funding that it has withheld a few weeks before the start of the school year. War in Ukraine Trump said he would help Europe send more weapons to Ukraine and threatened 'very severe tariffs' on Russia's trading partners unless it reaches a peace deal within 50 days. The Pentagon said details of the arms sales weren't finished, and some experts doubt the credibility of the tariff threat. Trump also criticized Vladimir Putin for Russia's heavy air assaults on Ukraine, saying, 'My conversations with him are very pleasant, and then the missiles go off at night.' In Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a plan to replace the prime minister with a loyalist. Critics called it a consolidation of power. Middle East Israel's defense ministry suggested relocating much of Gaza's population into a small zone along the Egyptian border. The proposal, which some legal experts likened to ethnic cleansing, could derail efforts to reach a truce with Hamas. Sectarian violence raged for a second day in Syria. More than 50 people have been killed. During their 12-day war, both Israel and Iran used social media and A.I. to spread disinformation. Trade The chipmaker Nvidia said the U.S. had lifted restrictions on selling an A.I. chip to China. China's economy grew steadily in the spring, despite Trump's tariffs. Exports to Europe and Africa jumped. E.U. officials have a plan to retaliate against U.S. tariffs. It's not clear they'll use it. Trump Administration A federal appeals court blocked the Trump administration's move to end deportation protections for thousands of Afghans. The Senate approved the first federal judge of Trump's second term. Senators confirmed judges faster in his first term. Other Big Stories Tech giants built water-guzzling data centers in Georgia to power the A.I. race. Then the neighbors' faucets and toilets stopped working. Officials in Kerr County, Texas, where flash floods killed dozens of people earlier this month, said they had received death threats over their response to the tragedy. A fire engulfed an assisted living residence in southern Massachusetts, killing nine people, officials said. Trapped people smashed windows and screamed for help. Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people, writes Omer Bartov, an expert on genocides and former Israeli soldier. Here are columns by Michelle Goldberg on Trump's base and Epstein and Thomas Edsall on eroding democracy in America. 'Happy growing up': The tooth fairy is real. She's a dentist in Seattle. Ask Well: Experts believe it's time to say goodbye to older antihistamines like Benadryl. Here's why. Your pick: The most clicked article in The Morning yesterday was about how climate change is remaking Europe's summers. Trending: Filming on the 'Harry Potter' HBO series has begun. The production released an image of the 11-year-old actor Dominic McLaughlin in costume as Harry, the BBC reports. See it here. Lives Lived: John MacArthur was a firebrand pastor in Southern California who influenced generations of evangelical preachers and became a culture warrior in his later years. He died at 86. M.L.B.: The Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh won the Home Run Derby, knocking 54 homers out of the park. M.L.B.: The sale of the Tampa Bay Rays from the current owner Stu Sternberg to a group led by the Jacksonville developer Patrick Zalupski for about $1.7 billion has been agreed to in principle and is expected to be completed as soon as September, according to The Athletic. You may have seen this viral video online: An Indonesian boy on the precarious front of a boat dances while men behind him row furiously. It's a study in contrasts, their effort and his ease. And he has inspired people around the world to find a similar level of Zen through 'aura farming.' In short, they do something that looks cool over and over to develop a better aura. Read more about the trend. More on culture Could you have landed a job at Vogue in the 1990s? Take a quiz. Woody Guthrie's estate is releasing 13 previously unheard songs that he recorded on tape at home. The recent couture shows in Paris were full of over-the-top, opulent and otherworldly fashion. See some of the looks. Burst tomatoes in this orzotto. Eat like a 2025 Wimbledon champion: Add strawberries and yogurt to pasta. (The crowd audibly gasped when Iga Świątek said she loved it.) Get into romantasy, the hottest genre in literature, with help from this guide. Sharpen your knives correctly. Make cold-brew coffee at home. Here is today's Spelling Bee. Yesterday's pangram was brought. And here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Sports Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@
CBS News
41 minutes ago
- CBS News
SWAT team responds to home after suspected gunfire on Chicago's South Side
A SWAT response is underway in Chicago's Chatham neighborhood on Tuesday morning. According to Chicago police, officers were called to the 8100 block of South Prairie Park Place just after 1 a.m. after reports of shots fired inside a home. Police said a 77-year-old woman was in an argument with a 45-year-old man inside the house, and as she left the house, she heard a loud noise, suspected to be gunfire. Officers requested assistance from the SWAT team. Police have not released further details on the man's condition. Chicago
