Trump lambastes women accusers in leadup to Harris debate

Donald Trump on Friday left a Manhattan courtroom and aired a laundry list of grievances about a range of topics, including being found guilty of sexual assault and his presidential rival Vice President Kamala Harris just days before their high-stakes debate.

Remarkably, in the midst of a neck-and-neck presidential race, the Republican nominee — unprompted by reporters from whom he took no questions during an hourlong appearance in New York City — brought up allegations of rape and assault by three women and insulted each of them. Women voters will be key in November, analysts say, especially in battleground states.

The former president referred to the women, who have accused him of physically assaulting them in a retail store, on an airplane and at his Florida resort, denying each accusation, calling them fabricated “stories” and saying he didn’t know the women.

“When you’re rich and famous, a lot of people come up with a lot of stories,” he said at Trump Tower. “We have a very corrupt system of laws.”

—CQ-Roll Call

California lawmakers got tougher on crime this year. What will Newsom decide?

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In response to growing worries about crime in California, the Democratic-controlled Legislature has passed a set of stringent crime bills, marking a significant change in its approach to criminal justice reform compared with previous years.

Democrats who have recently made a consistent push to reduce prison populations by prioritizing rehabilitation and drug and mental health treatment had to find middle ground with new leadership this year who made alleviating public anxieties about crime a top concern.

As a result, lawmakers voted in favor of stiffer penalties for sex offenders, repeat shoplifters and car burglars, and rejected bills to limit solitary confinement in prisons and expand eligibility for parole. The change marks a complex and controversial moment in the state's debate over balancing public safety with progressive criminal justice goals.

"If we look at the history of California, the pendulum always corrects itself and shifts one way or the other," Jonathan Raven, the assistant chief executive officer at the California District Attorneys Assn., told The Times. "I think now you're seeing the pendulum swinging back."

—Los Angeles Times

New treatment could be 'game-changing tool' in fight against Alzheimer’s, CSU research finds

DENVER — Laboratory mice with cognitive issues including Alzheimer’s disease showed improved memory skills within a couple of weeks of treatment with a new medicine tested at Colorado State University.

The combination of drugs targets two brain proteins critical in neuroinflammation, which is involved in brain aging and Alzheimer’s, according to a study published in July in the Journal of Neuroinflammation featuring CSU researchers.

Results from the study show this medicine could become “a game-changing tool” against Alzheimer’s, researchers said.

“There are no effective treatments right now,” said Devin Wahl, a CSU postdoctoral fellow, who co-authored the study. “We have treatments that can manage symptoms, but we don’t have any that can stop the disease. We want to try to identify novel treatments that may be effective to slow, or even reduce, the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.” This cocktail of medicines could also improve memory in aging adults, the study found, and, potentially, reverse cognitive decline.

—The Denver Post

US demands probe as citizen killed by Israeli soldiers in West Bank

WASHINGTON — After the death of a U.S. activist in the West Bank, the White House called on Israel to investigate the case on Friday.

Washington has "reached out to the government of Israel to ask for more information and request an investigation into the incident," said U.S. President Joe Biden's spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, expressing deep shock at her tragic death.

"We deplore this tragic loss," said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. "The most important thing to do is to gather the facts," he said, adding actions and conclusions would be "driven by the facts."

Earlier, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that a U.S. citizen was fatally shot by Israeli troops while protesting the expansion of settlements in the northern West Bank. The woman died after being taken to a hospital with a major head wound, the report said, citing doctors.

—dpa