Police chief: Officer faked shooting, distress callAn Alabama police officer staged a shooting last month to make it look like he was under attack, a police chief said Thursday. Birmingham Police Chief Patrick Smith said that Officer Keith Buchanan made a distress call early July 21 while patrolling an isolated area. Shots could be heard in the background, and an abandoned police car was later found with a bullet hole.

Trump takes back seat as China bristles over Hong Kong unrestUS President Donald Trump said Thursday he would be taking a hands-off approach towards unrest in Hong Kong as China flexed its military muscle in a sign of growing frustration over weeks of pro-democracy rallies in the former British colony. The semi-autonomous southern Chinese city has endured two months of protests that began with a government bid to introduce a law that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China. Authorities have shown no sign of backing down, and China’s military on Wednesday released a propaganda video showing a drill in which armed troops quell a protest in Hong Kong.

Trump’s former economic adviser admits his tariffs are hurting US and helping ChinaDonald Trump’s trade war is hurting the American economy while failing to damage China as intended, the US president’s former chief economic adviser has said.Gary Cohn said tariffs imposed on billions of dollars worth of Chinese products had backfired.“I don’t really think it’s hitting the Chinese economy,” the former White House official told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.Mr Cohn – who quit his role as director of the National Economic Council last year – claimed Mr Trump had even helped Beijing by providing “a very convenient excuse” for China to slow the breaks on its overheated economy.“I think the Chinese …

APNewsBreak: Gun safety groups to host presidential forumTwo prominent gun safety organizations said Thursday that they will host a forum for Democratic presidential candidates in Las Vegas on Oct. 2, the day after the city marks the second anniversary of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The Giffords group and March For Our Lives told The Associated Press that the forum focused on gun violence will be the first of its kind for presidential hopefuls and will be open to all candidates who meet the Democratic National Committee’s polling and fundraising thresholds for the September debate. Guns are a complex issue in Nevada, an early …

Man opens fire in national park ‘because he thought he saw Bigfoot’A gun-wielding camper has opened fire in an American national park – because he says he saw Bigfoot.The man, who has not been named, offloaded several rounds at Mammoth Cave, in Kentucky, after telling other overnight visitors the half-man-half-ape had lunged at him.Park rangers have since said they had found no evidence Bigfoot was there – but are investigating the fact a firearm was fired.Madelyn Durand and Brad Ginn, who reported the incident, said the shooter had woken them at 11pm on Sunday by shining a flashlight in their tent."We got out and saw a man [and his son] who …

Kamala Harris Swings At Tulsi Gabbard For Going After Record As California ProsecutorSen. Kamala Harris referred to herself as a “top-tier candidate” and belittled Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s poll numbers during an interview after Wednesday’s Democratic presidential debate.“[T]his is going to sound immodest, but I’m obviously a top-tier candidate, and so I did expect that I would be on the stage and take hits tonight, because there are a lot of people that are trying to make the stage for the next debate,” Harris said in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper shortly after the debate.“Especially when some people are at zero or 1%, or whatever she might be at. So I did …

Navy revokes awards given to prosecutors in Navy SEAL court-martialU.S. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer on Wednesday revoked awards given to several military prosecutors in the court-martial of a Navy SEAL who was acquitted of murdering an Iraqi prisoner but convicted of unlawfully posing for photos with his dead body. The move coincided with tweets from President Donald Trump repeating his support for Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher and directing Spencer to rescind awards that were “ridiculously given” to prosecutors who, according to Trump, “lost the case” against Gallagher. It marked the third time the president has publicly commented directly on the court-martial of the combat veteran, who was accused …