No threat detected after โwhite powder letterโ at FBI Jacksonville office undergoes testing
The Jacksonville Sheriffโs Office and Jacksonville Fire Rescue and Department were called Friday to the FBI Jacksonville Field Office on the Southside โto assist in processing a white powder letter,โ according to the FBI. Testing was done, and preliminary results showed that โno biological threat was detected,โ the federal agency said.
Trump Homeland Security chief abruptly quits at tense time
FILE - In this Sept. 23, 2020, file photo, acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf testifies before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee during his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Shawn Thew/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON โ President Donald Trumpโs acting head of the Department of Homeland Security abruptly resigned Monday, leaving the post ahead of schedule as the nation faces a heightened terrorism threat from extremists seeking to reverse the election. The announcement by acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf was perplexing. Peter Gaynor, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will serve as acting head of the Department of Homeland Security until the Biden administration takes over. Trump appointed Wolf acting secretary in November 2019, following the resignation of Kevin McAleenan, the acting secretary who took over following the resignation of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.
US home construction surges 22.6%, third straight increase
WASHINGTON Construction of new U.S. homes surged 22.6% last month as homebuilders bounced back from a lull induced by the coronavirus pandemic. Housing starts have now risen three straight months after plunging in March and April as the virus outbreak paralyzed the American economy. Last month's pace of construction was 23.4% above July 2019's. Construction of single-family homes was up 8.2% from June. Housing construction overall jumped 35.3% in the Northeast, 5.8% in the Midwest, 33.2% in the South and 5.8% in the West.