NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 Tillerson status: President Trump tweeted Friday that he is keeping embattled Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, though he would not say for how long. “The media has been speculating that I fired Rex Tillerson or that he would be leaving soon — FAKE NEWS!” he tweeted. Trump met for lunch Friday with Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis. Earlier in the day, Tillerson called reports of his potential departure “laughable.” Senior U.S. officials a day earlier said Trump is considering replacing his top diplomat with CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
2 Rivera apology: Geraldo Rivera apologized Friday for a memoir published a quartercentury ago that recounts sexual experiences he says he’s now “embarrassed” about. In a tweet Friday, Rivera, now a Fox News Channel reporter, cited his “tawdry” book and what he calls “consensual events” it recounts. He describes its tone as “distasteful” and “disrespectful.” He says he’s “profoundly sorry” to the women involved and to anyone offended by it. The book, titled “Exposing Myself,” was published in 1991. Rivera’s post follows a tweet on Thursday by Bette Midler renewing an allegation of being drugged and groped by Rivera and his producer colleague in the 1970s. Midler demanded an apology from Rivera, and added the harassment-solidarity hashtag “#MeToo.”
3 Ricin arrest: A woman who lives at a retirement community in Shelburne, Vt., has been accused of making ricin and testing the deadly toxin on other residents by putting it on their food or in beverages over a period of weeks. Investigators say Betty Miller told them she wanted to “injure herself ” with the poison and was testing its effectiveness on others. Investigators said in court documents that Miller told them she made the ricin from castor bean plant seeds. She drove herself to a hospital on Monday to be evaluated. Police said no other residents reported symptoms of ricin poisoning.
4 Mother killed: A Kansas City, Mo., man has been charged with fatally stabbing his wife after the couple’s 7-year-old daughter told a school counselor that she had found a body, according to investigators. Benjamin Byers, 45, was charged Thursday with second-degree murder in the death of Melissa Byers. A police detective wrote in the probable cause statement that the girl talked to a counselor Wednesday, one day after finding “lots of blood” and glimpsing a body in the basement with a “stab on the back.”
5 Hurricane season: Florida Keys residents doused hurricane flags in rum and burned them to mark the end of the tumultuous 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. The ceremony Thursday night in Key West came after three major hurricanes — Harvey, Irma and Maria — pummeled parts of the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Irma’s impact varied in the Keys. Most Key Largo and Key West residents and businesses were either little affected or have recovered. In other parts of the island chain, recovery has been much slower.