Nation and world news in brief for September 13

Francine knocks out power to over 250,000 Louisiana customers

(Reuters) — Over 250,000 homes and businesses in Louisiana were without power on Thursday after Hurricane Francine barreled onto the state’s Gulf Coast, according to data from PowerOutage.us.

Francine weakened to a post-tropical cyclone earlier in the day, but not before it had pounded southeast Louisiana, southern Mississippi and Alabama with heavy rains and gusty winds.

The utility company with the largest number of customers affected was Entergy, which had 209,288 clients without power.

It was followed by Dixie Electric Membership Corporation, with 19,360 customers cut off in the state.

US imposes sanctions on 16 Venezuelan officials linked to Maduro

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Biden administration said on Thursday it was imposing U.S. sanctions on 16 allies of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in response to voter fraud in the country’s election and his government’s ensuing crackdown on the political opposition.

The move came just days after Edmundo Gonzalez, recognized by the U.S. and other countries as winner of the July 28 presidential election, fled to Spain after Maduro’s government issued a warrant for the opposition leader’s arrest.

Among those targeted for sanctions were Supreme Court President Caryslia Rodriguez, electoral council director Rosalba Gil and National Assembly Vice President Pedro Infante. The list includes others linked to the election as well as military and intelligence officials accused of post-election repression.

As part of the first punitive U.S. measures in response to Maduro’s disputed reelection claim, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was also imposing visa restrictions on an unspecified number of “Maduro-aligned” officials.

But the U.S. stopped short of announcing any new actions against the OPEC member’s vital energy sector, which is already under heavy U.S. sanctions, an omission that raises questions about the potential impact of the new measures.

$47 million flowed into Harris campaign in 24 hours after debate

(NYT) — Vice President Kamala Harris raised $47 million in the first 24 hours following her debate with former President Donald Trump on Tuesday night, a sum that will likely expand a widening funding gap between the two campaigns.

That tally, shared by the Harris campaign with The New York Times, included donations from 600,000 people. It is her largest 24-hour fundraising period since an initial burst of donations when she entered the race in July and raised $81 million on the first day.

Harris already had a significant financial edge over Trump entering September. Her operation said it had $404 million cash on hand, while Trump had $295 million. Harris’ campaign nearly tripled the Trump campaign’s fundraising in August.

Ga. judge tosses 3 more charges in Trump election interference case

(NYT) — A judge in Atlanta threw out three charges in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump and his allies Thursday, saying the state did not have jurisdiction to bring them.

In a separate ruling, the judge, Scott McAfee of Fulton County Superior Court, also upheld the felony racketeering charge against Trump and the 14 other defendants in the case — the centerpiece of the indictment — calling it “facially sound and constitutionally sufficient.”

But the decision to toss three of the remaining 35 charges was a win for the defendants, who have been trying to chip away at the case. They are also seeking the disqualification of its prosecutor, Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney.

Willis’ office originally brought 41 counts against 19 defendants in August 2023. Four defendants have since pleaded guilty, and McAfee previously quashed six of the charges.

Weinstein faces new sealed indictment in New York, prosecutors say

NEW YORK (NYT) — Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood mogul whose conviction for sex crimes in New York was overturned in April, is facing a new indictment, Manhattan prosecutors said in a hearing Thursday.

Weinstein, 72, was not in court Thursday morning. He was still in Bellevue Hospital after being rushed from the Rikers Island jail complex for emergency heart surgery Monday morning, according to jail records.

The new indictment is still sealed and awaiting Weinstein’s recovery so he can be arraigned, prosecutors said.

Weinstein “almost died,” and his health has continued to deteriorate in jail, his lawyer, Arthur Aidala, told the court. Judge Curtis Farber ordered that Weinstein be kept in Bellevue’s prison ward indefinitely, but said he could be moved to a regular bed if needed.

Farber set a hearing for Sept. 18 during which Weinstein would be arraigned on the new indictment if he is medically cleared to appear.

Alaska Airlines plane aborts takeoff to avoid collision with Southwest jet

(Reuters) — An Alaska Airlines airplane aborted takeoff at Tennessee’s Nashville International Airport on Thursday to avoid a potential collision with a Southwest Airlines jet, the airlines and authorities said.

Alaska Airlines 369, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplane with 176 passengers and six crew on board, aborted its takeoff around 9:15 a.m. ET after it had received clearance from air traffic control, Alaska said.

National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters the board was investigating. “We are clearly very concerned about this (incident) and others we are investigating,” Homendy said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it was also is investigating the incident, where Southwest Airlines Flight 2029 — a Boeing 737-700 — that was scheduled to depart for Jacksonville, Florida, had been cleared to cross the end of the same runway.

The Alaska pilots immediately applied the brakes to prevent the incident from escalating, the carrier added. The plane had been scheduled to fly to Seattle, Washington, and passengers were being moved to a new plane.

The FAA and Alaska said the 737 MAX 9’s tires were blown during braking.

‘Son of God’ preacher pleads not guilty to sex trafficking charge

MANILA (Reuters) — Philippine celebrity pastor Apollo Quiboloy, the self-proclaimed “Appointed Son of God”, pleaded not guilty on Friday to a charge of sex trafficking, his lawyer said.

Quiboloy, who is facing a raft of charges in the Philippines and the United States including sex trafficking, money laundering and child abuse, was arrested on Sunday after a weeks-long search of his church’s sprawling 74-acre compound by more than 2,000 security personnel.

Musk calls government ‘fascists’ over misinformation law

SYDNEY (Reuters) — Elon Musk, owner of social media platform X, on Friday called Australia’s center-left government “fascists” over proposed legislation to slap fines on social media firms for failing to prevent the spread of misinformation online.

Australia’s Labor government on Thursday unveiled legislation which could fine internet platforms up to 5% of their global revenue for enabling misinformation, joining a worldwide push to rein in borderless tech giants.

The proposed law would require tech platforms to set codes of conduct to stop dangerous falsehoods spreading and be approved by a regulator. The regulator would set its own standard if a platform failed to do so and fine firms for non-compliance.

Musk, who views himself as a champion of free speech, responded to a post by an X user linking the Reuters story about the misinformation law with one word: “Fascists”.

Death toll from typhoon impacts rises to 226

HANOI/THAI NGUYEN (Reuters) — The death toll in Vietnam from typhoon Yagi and the landslides and flash floods it triggered rose to 226 on Thursday, the government’s disaster agency said, as flood pressure eased in the capital Hanoi.

The Southeast Asian country is reeling from the impact of Typhoon Yagi, the strongest storm to hit Asia this year, which made landfall in Vietnam’s northeastern coast on Saturday.

More than 100 people remain missing, while some 800 people have been injured, the agency said in a report.