Amid turmoil, Prince Andrew to step back from royal duties
LONDON — Following days of turmoil that damaged the British royal family’s reputation, Prince Andrew announced Wednesday that he will step back from public duties because of his association with a notorious American sex offender.
The second son of Queen Elizabeth II said in a statement that his ties to Jeffrey Epstein had become a “major disruption” to the royal family’s charitable work. It was unclear whether the change was a temporary or permanent shift in his role.
Andrew said he had obtained the queen’s permission to step away. He also said he was willing to help any law enforcement agency with an investigation.
The scandal has rocked the royal family, particularly since a television interview on Saturday failed to ease the many questions about Andrew’s links to Epstein.
For a senior royal to step away from his duties is extremely unusual and reflects the degree to which charities and educational institutions had questioned their associations with him in recent days.
Phony `fact check’ account on Twitter raises new concerns
SAN FRANCISCO — The deception was easy to pull off and came with barely any consequences.
Britain’s Conservative Party changed the name of its press office’s Twitter account to “factcheckUK” during a televised election debate between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn this week.
The renaming made the account look like a neutral fact-checker, raising new concerns about all the creative ways groups and individuals can use social media to deceive voters.
The party hardly even got a slap on the wrist, as Twitter pledged to take “decisive corrective action” only if the Conservatives try to mislead people again.
The incident occurred after years of promises, new rules and millions of dollars spent by social media companies to prevent election interference following Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Netanyahu challenger fails to form coalition
JERUSALEM — Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief rival announced Wednesday that he had failed to form a new government, dashing his hopes of toppling the long-time Israeli prime minister and pushing the country closer toward an unprecedented third election in less than a year.
The announcement by Benny Gantz, leader of the centrist Blue and White party, prolongs the political paralysis that has gripped the nation for the past year. It also provides a new lifeline for the embattled Netanyahu, who is desperate to remain in office as he prepares for an expected indictment on corruption charges, possibly as early as Thursday.
Gantz, a former military chief, was tapped to form a government last month after Netanyahu failed to cobble together a coalition in the wake of inconclusive September elections. But during four weeks of intense negotiations, Gantz was unable to muster the support of a required 61-member majority in the 120-seat parliament by Wednesday’s midnight deadline.
Addressing reporters, Gantz accused Netanyahu of scuttling attempts to form a broad-based unity government between their parties.
“He should have come to terms with the fact that the outcome of the elections required him to negotiate directly, with no blocks or barriers,” Gantz said angrily.
GM accuses Fiat Chrysler of bribing UAW to get lower costs
DETROIT — General Motors is suing Fiat Chrysler, alleging that its crosstown rival got an unfair business advantage by bribing officials of the United Auto Workers union.
The unprecedented lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, alleges that FCA was involved in racketeering by paying millions in bribes to get concessions and gain advantages in three labor agreements with the union.
Details of the racketeering have been exposed in a federal probe of corruption at the union that has resulted in multiple arrests starting in 2017.
Also on Wednesday, the union’s Executive Board filed paperwork to oust President Gary Jones and Regional Director Vance Pearson, both of whom have been implicated in the widening federal probe.
GM’s lawsuit alleges that Fiat Chrysler corrupted the bargaining process with the UAW in the 2009, 2011 and 2015 union contracts to gain advantages over General Motors.
Police: Mother took daughter from care facility, killed her
ST. LOUIS — An elderly woman who feared she was developing dementia removed her mentally disabled adult daughter from a care facility, then fatally stabbed her in a suburban St. Louis hotel before attempting to kill herself, police and relatives say.
Marjorie Theleman, 78, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of her 51-year-old daughter, Sharon Theleman, after police were summoned to a hotel in Fenton, Missouri, because the pair had not checked out.
Sharon Theleman was pronounced dead at the scene. Her mother, who attempted to suffocate herself with a plastic bag, remained hospitalized Wednesday, according to a police news release. She left a typed note explaining her actions and a handwritten note telling housekeeping to call police, a police detective wrote in the probable cause statement.
Police said she was expected to survive. But one of her two sons, Scott Theleman, who lives in the Dallas area, said he has been told his mother is in a coma and has a “50-50 chance of surviving.” He said his mother lived in a retirement community and wanted to have his sister moved there from a group home because his sister’s mobility was declining.
“She was concerned about Alzheimer’s,” he said of his mother. “Her mother had it. She had spent many years trying to avoid it but felt she was heading that way.”