| Accused Gangster Charged With Ambush Shooting of L.A. Deputies Posted: 30 Sep 2020 12:41 PM PDT  After a three-week manhunt, a Los Angeles man was arrested and charged Wednesday with attempting to murder two sheriff's deputies who were ambushed as they sat in their car.Deonte Lee Murray, 36, is facing two counts of attempted murder of a peace officer and possession of a firearm for allegedly walking up to the squad car parked outside a Metro station on Sept. 12 and opening fire, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday."They became victims of a violent crime for one reason: They wear a badge," L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a press conference.'Cowardly': Video Shows Gunman Ambushing Two L.A. Deputies in Patrol CarMurray, who faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, was recently charged with attempted murder for a carjacking in Compton two weeks before the shooting. He allegedly used the stolen car as a getaway vehicle in the ambush.He faces further charges of being part of a criminal street gang, discharging a rifle inflicting great bodily injury and personal use of a rifle in the carjacking incident.The two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies, identified in media reports as 31-year-old Claudia Apolinar and a 24-year-old man, were sitting in their car in Compton when Murray allegedly approached the front passenger side and opened fire.A security video showed a man in dark clothing approaching the patrol car before raising his handgun and firing several rounds through the window. One deputy is then seen emerging from the car and stumbling for several seconds."Despite being critically injured, deputies valiantly cared for each other's wounds and safety, communicated their location and plight to others and tactically prepared for another attack," the sheriff's department said in an earlier statement, adding that the suspect fled the scene in dark a Mercedes-Benz.Apolinar was shot in the jaw while her partner was shot in the head—and both are now at home recovering.The shooting was seized on by President Trump, who claimed it was part of ongoing attacks on law enforcement by anti-police brutality protesters.While authorities on Wednesday wouldn't comment on Murray's motive, Kent Wegener, captain of the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau, said the 36-year-old "obviously hates policemen and he wants them dead, not specifically.""It is part of the environment we are in right now," Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva added.Murray was charged earlier this month over the Sept. 1 carjacking. He allegedly confronted another man in Compton, shot him in the leg then stole his car. Murray was found and arrested on Sept. 15 after a lengthy standoff in Lynwood. Speculation was rife after the Sept. 15 arrest that Murray was the same person who had ambushed the deputies, however officials said at the time that he wasn't. On Wednesday, however, Wegener said authorities later learned the car Murray used to flee the scene of the ambush on Sept. 12 was the same car he'd stolen two weeks prior in the carjacking. A ghost gun used in the shooting was recovered by investigators in Compton.Murray is scheduled to be arraigned in Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday, where prosecutors are recommending bail be set at $6.15 million.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| ‘Fox & Friends’ Trashes Trump for Blowing the Debate Over White Supremacists Posted: 30 Sep 2020 06:42 AM PDT  President Donald Trump might have choked on his Egg McMuffin on Wednesday when tuning into his favorite morning show.Fresh from an aggressive debate performance which his campaign chalked up as a victory before it had even happened, Trump most likely tuned into Fox & Friends expecting the kind of sycophantic flattery he's become accustomed to over the past four years. However, even the president's pals at Fox thought his debate performance, well, kinda sucked.All three of the hosts—Brian Kilmeade, Steve Doocy, and Ainsley Earhardt—made clear how deflated they felt the morning after the debate. In particular, Kilmeade seemed despondent that Trump blew the big moment in the one-on-one with Biden: When he failed to grasp the opportunity to condemn white supremacy and the extremist Proud Boys group.> Fox & Friends' immediate debate takes -- disappointed about no "knockout punch," "when we were walking into work this morning everyone was just shaking their heads," and "we were the big losers last night, meaning the American people." pic.twitter.com/Xc2yx6MGKJ> > — Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) September 30, 2020After saying it was pretty rude of Biden to call Trump a "clown" and "the worst president ever," Kilmeade went on to criticize Trump. "Donald Trump blew the biggest layup in the history of debates by saying, not condemning white supremacists," he said. "I don't know if he didn't hear it, but he's got to clarify that right away. That's like 'Are you against evil?' Why the president didn't knock that out of the park I'm not sure."The disheartened host was referring to perhaps the key moment during the debate, when Fox News moderator Chris Wallace challenged Trump to condemn right-wing extremism live on air. Instead of doing that, Trump managed to provide a thrilled Proud Boys group with a new slogan that they rapidly incorporated into a new logo: "Stand back, Stand by."Trump Planned to Go Feral on Biden. Now His Allies Want to Call Animal ControlDoocy was perhaps the saddest-sounding of all the hosts, comparing the debate to a substandard meal at a well-regarded eatery. In a heartbreaking analogy, the co-host said: "You know how you really look forward to Friday night, and you plan on going to your favorite restaurant, and you get there after a week of anticipation and it's like 'Hmm, that was just okay.' I think a lot of people today are frustrated because we thought, on this, the post-game show, we'd have a winner... We didn't see that."Striking the same subdued tone, Earhardt said, when she was walking to work today, "everybody was just shaking their heads." She added: "Punches were thrown, it got a little nasty... But I don't think any minds were changed after watching last night, there weren't any big zingers."Kilmeade then remarked that "we were the big losers last night," before quickly clarifying that he meant the American people in general, rather than himself and his two co-hosts.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| A 3-Michelin star restaurant in Napa has burned down in California's latest wildfire Posted: 29 Sep 2020 06:36 PM PDT  The Restaurant at Meadowood was engulfed by Napa Valley's Glass Fire on Monday morning and couldn't be saved.
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