promoearn: The gloves came off when FBI agent Strzok visited Capitol Hill

Thursday, July 12, 2018

The gloves came off when FBI agent Strzok visited Capitol Hill

Deputy Assistant FBI Director Peter Strzok testifies

Peter Strzok: 'Simply no evidence of bias in my professional actions'

Things got heated Thursday on Capitol Hill when FBI agent Peter Strzok, who had exchanged anti-Trump text messages with his co-worker girlfriend, testified about allegations of political bias within the Justice Department. Strzok's testimony before two House committees included several brusque exchanges, especially when he refused to answer some questions. Strzok did say he wasn't proud of the texts he sent about President Donald Trump to former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, but he vehemently denied that his political beliefs affected his work on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference or the probe into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server. For some Americans, Strzok has become the face of a "deep state" conspiracy within the federal government that has been working to undermine Trump. Democrats say Trump and House Republicans are using the allegations of bias to undermine Mueller's investigation.

After Baltimore riots, police stopped noticing crime

Baltimore police took a strikingly less aggressive approach to fighting crime after the riots following Freddie Gray's death in 2015 and a federal government crackdown on Baltimore officers' tactics, a USA TODAY investigation reveals. The analysis of years of city police data shows that after the riots, the number of incidents police reported themselves – as opposed to those called in by citizens – dropped by nearly half. It has largely stayed that way ever since, even as violent crime has surged and Baltimore has become the deadliest large city in the United States. "What officers are doing is they're just driving looking forward. They've got horse blinders on," said Kevin Forrester, a retired Baltimore detective.

Feds get new lead in 63-year-old Emmett Till case

The Justice Department announced Thursday that it had reopened the investigation into one of American history's most infamous cold cases: the 1955 abduction and murder of Emmett Till . The 14-year-old's gruesome killing – which came days after Till was accused of making advances on a white woman in segregated Mississippi – helped spark the civil rights movement. The Justice Department said it had obtained "new information" in the case but did not give any further details.

Is cutting the cord really trimming our TV bills?

It's a great time to be a pay TV subscriber, with several competitors and a variety of plans availalbe. We love our Netflix and Prime Video and Hulu. Yet, several live TV services such as Sling and PlayStation Vue have raised prices and started offering those channel bundles that many consumers wanted to avoid with cable. Don't get too discouraged, experts say. There are still ways to get the channels you want and save money, which was the point of cutting the cord to start.

HBO did this for 17 years. Now it's time for Netflix to shine

This year's nominations for the Emmy Awards marked a milestone for Netflix. The streaming giant walked away with 112 nominations Thursday, ending the 17-year streak of HBO receiving the most nods. The home of "Game of Thrones" still finished strong with 108 nominations. Other Emmy news:

•	Missed the announcements? Here's a peek at all the nominees.
•	You can't have award nominations without snubs. These were the biggest.
•	This year, it seems the Emmys got a lot more right than wrong with their picks.

Still hungry for news? We're here to serve:

•	Secret donors play a big part in all those outside congressional ads you'll see ahead of the November elections, a USA TODAY analysis found.
•	Stormy Daniels was arrested in Ohio, but the charges were dropped.
•	Build-a-Bear announced a "Pay Your Age" sale. It didn't end well.
•	Oscar-winner Mira Sorvino says she was gagged with a condom during an audition when she was 16.