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Thursday, October 3, 2019

'A moment of madness'

The Short List

Thursday, October 3

People stand behind a police tape as they are evacuated nearby the police headquarters after an incident in Paris, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019. A French police union official says an attacker armed with a knife has killed one officer inside Paris police headquarters before he was shot and killed.

'A moment of madness'

Four die in a Paris knife attack. Robert De Niro is caught in a lawsuit. It's Thursday's news.

Ashley Shaffer writes The Short List newsletter for USA TODAY. To subscribe to this snappy news roundup, click here.

A knife rampage in Paris. A massive pile of garbage. And back-scratching allegations against Robert De Niro. Here's the news everyone's talking about today.

But first, a win for the ocean: The "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" cleanup is finally underway. Better yet – it's collecting trash and plastic flawlessly. 🌊

A deadly day in Paris

A French law enforcement official went on a knife rampage at police headquarters in Paris on Thursday, killing four officers before being fatally shot. A police union representative said the assailant "is a policeman who had a moment of madness." Union official Loic Travers told AP that the 20-year police employee worked as an administrator in the intelligence unit and had not posed any problems before Thursday's rampage. "Did he snap, or was there some other reason? It's still too early to say," Travers told BFM television.

**Are you talking to me?**

Robert De Niro has been hit with a multimillion dollar lawsuit. An ex-employee filed a complaint against De Niro and Canal Productions Thursday, claiming she was forced to resign after "years of gender discrimination and harassment." The complaint paints De Niro in an unflattering light, alleging Graham Chase Robinson, who became De Niro's executive assistant in 2008, was at the receiving end of "gratuitous unwanted physical contact," "sexually-charged comments" and verbal abuse. The complaint mentions back scratches allegedly requested by De Niro. She aims to win "in excess of $12 million," according to the legal documents viewed by USA TODAY.

Robert De Niro attends the world premiere of "The Irishman" at the 57th New York Film Festival on Sept. 27, 2019.

Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

What everyone's talking about

•	iPhone users in New York City can hail Uber helicopters like it's no big deal.
•	This "Handmaid's Tale" wedding photo is "deeply disturbing."
•	He thought his sperm donation would be for only 5 kids. He fathered at least 17, a lawsuit says.
•	Eddie Murphy is suddenly everywhere again. You can thank Obama.
•	Bed Bath & Beyond is closing more stores than expected. Is yours being shuttered?

Victims of Las Vegas massacre could get up to $800M from MGM

A potential $800 million settlement deal was reached between MGM Resorts International and the lawyers representing the victims and families of the Las Vegas shooting rampage that killed 58 people and injured hundreds in 2017. The hotel giant and lawyers for the plaintiffs issued a statement saying the total settlement amount is expected to be $735 million to $800 million. "Our goal has always been to resolve these matters so our community and the victims and their families can move forward in the healing process," said Jim Murren, CEO of MGM Resorts.

•	"You're always with us": Two years after Las Vegas shooting, community navigates loss.

Would any other country like to investigate Biden? Asking for a president

First Ukraine, now China. Already under investigation for asking Ukraine to dig up dirt on Joe Biden, President Donald Trump said Thursday that China should investigate his political foe – an all-but-engraved invitation to another foreign country to inject itself into U.S. politics. "By the way, likewise, China should start an investigation into the Bidens because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine," Trump said. Democrats and other critics denounced Trump for invoking China, saying he wants yet another country to interfere in the next U.S. presidential election just as Russia did in 2016.

•	Americans by a 45%-38% plurality support a House vote to impeach Trump, a new USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll found.
•	The State Department announced a $40 million weapons sale to Ukraine amid the controversy over Trump's dealings with Ukraine's president.

Real quick

•	Sen. Bernie Sanders will participate in the Democratic primary debate after a heart procedure.
•	20 people died in a limo crash. A year later, secrets and unanswered questions remain.
•	A doctor was sentenced to 40 years in an opioid prescription case. The feds say he gave drugs to every patient.
•	A New York attorney was sentenced to one month in prison for paying $75,000 to have someone correct answers on his daughter's ACT.
•	Twin births are dropping in the USA, and health officials say that's a good thing.

Cheers to this, friends 🍻

A Florida bar had about $14,000 in cash stuck to its walls. Its staff is carefully removing the money, dollar by dollar, to donate it to the Red Cross for Hurricane Dorian relief. The Siesta Key Oyster Bar in Sarasota has held a 16-year-long tradition since the bar first opened in which customers write messages on bills and staple them to the wall. After seeing how the Bahamas were affected by Dorian in September, employees at the beloved bar began detaching the dollars. After recent media coverage, more people have been adding to the walls – sometimes in $20 or $50 bills. Bar staffers have stripped $13,961, but there's still more cash to take down.

The cash-lined walls of Siesta Key Oyster Bar in Sarasota, Florida.

Siesta Key Oyster Bar

A break from the news

•	2019's richest people in America are ... not Kylie Jenner?!
•	Here are the 5 best Amazon deals you can get this Thursday.
•	Cable bills are the worst, but have you noticed yours getting pricier?