Police in Munich warn of ‘imminent threat’ of terror attack
Police in Munich warn of ‘imminent threat’ of terror attack
BERLIN (AP) — Police in Munich are asking people to stay away from the city’s main train station and a second train station in the city’s Pasing neighborhood because of “serious, imminent threat” of a terror attack.
Munich police say on Facebook that according to “serious information, there will be an attack tonight.”
German news agency dpa reported Thursday night that one train station had been evacuated and trains would no longer stop there.
The warning came shortly before the city celebrated the start of the new year.
Belgium: 10th suspect arrested in Paris attacks probe
BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian authorities on Thursday announced the arrest of a 10th person in connection with last month’s bloodbath in Paris and said six others had been detained and questioned over a suspected plot to stage new attacks in Brussels during the holidays.
Law enforcement officials said there is no known connection between the two investigations, but they highlight the role of Belgium as a hotbed of Islamic radicalism in Europe.
Authorities said a Belgian national born in 1993 and identified only as Ayoub B. has been charged with terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group for his suspected involvement in the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, claimed by the Islamic State group.
The man was detained Wednesday following a search in the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels, where some of the Paris attackers lived, including suspected ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud.
Nine people in Belgium had already been arrested in connection with the attacks, in which 130 people lost their lives and hundreds more were injured.
Hard-fought legal battles expected in the Cosby case
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bill Cosby’s lawyers went on the attack Thursday after the comedian’s arrest, calling the sexual assault charges a flawed, politically motivated case that will not hold up in court.
They are expected to try to gut the prosecution’s case or get it thrown out altogether by a variety of means, including preventing some of Cosby’s numerous other accusers from taking the stand; blocking the use of testimony he gave in a decade-old lawsuit; and making an issue out of the 12 years it took to file charges.
“I have my doubts they get this to a jury anytime soon,” said Los Angeles defense attorney Mark Geragos, noting the thorny legal issues and Cosby’s advanced age (78) and infirmities, namely his badly deteriorating eyesight. Geragos, who is not involved in the case, added: “Generally, time is a friend of the defense.”
A look at some of the likely battleground issues:
Mother of ‘affluenza’ teen is jailed in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The mother of a fugitive Texas teen known for using an “affluenza” defense in a fatal drunken-driving accident will likely remain jailed for several days in Los Angeles after being deported from Mexico, investigators said Thursday.
Tonya Couch and her 18-year-old, Ethan, were taken into custody this week in Mexico, where authorities believe the pair fled in November as Texas prosecutors investigated whether he had violated his probation.
Ethan Couch was being held at a detention facility in Mexico City after winning a court reprieve that could lead to a weeks- or even months-long legal process in Mexico, a Mexican immigration official told The Associated Press on Thursday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he or she was not authorized to be quoted by name.
But his mother was deported and flown to Los Angles, where she was escorted through the city’s sprawling LAX airport in handcuffs by U.S. marshals early Thursday. She will remain jailed in Los Angeles until officers can take her to Texas.
That likely won’t happen until at least next week. Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Jane Robison said Thursday that no extradition hearing was planned ahead of the New Year’s holiday.
Carson staffers quit, question his readiness for White House
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Several top aides to Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson resigned on Thursday, citing frustration with the influence of the retired neurosurgeon’s business manager and questioning his readiness for the White House.
Barry Bennett and Doug Watts, both seasoned political operatives, stepped down with less than five weeks before voters in Iowa begin the nominating process with the state’s Feb. 1 caucuses.
Bennett was Carson’s campaign manager. Watts was communications director. But Bennett said Carson’s longtime business manager, Armstrong Williams, is the adviser who has Carson’s ear, even though Williams does not have a formal role in the campaign.
Carson is “one of the smartest men I’ve ever worked for,” Bennett said, but added that he believes Carson has become Williams’ “script reader.”
Bennett said that made it difficult to advise Carson and raised questions in his mind about what kind of president Carson would make if elected.