Trump agrees to interview with Atlantic editor Goldberg amid Signal scandal

President Donald Trump agreed to sit for an interview with journalist Jeffrey Goldberg on Thursday despite his famous feud with the Atlantic editor who broke the story about top officials’ use of Signal chat to discuss U.S. attacks on the Houthis.

Conceding it’s a surprising choice to meet Goldberg, Trump said he wants to gauge whether the journalist will write a fair piece after what he called a string of unfair stories.

“I am doing this interview out of curiosity, and as a competition with myself, just to see if it’s possible for The Atlantic to be “truthful.” Are they capable of writing a fair story on ‘Trump’?” he wrote on his social media site.

Trump said Goldberg will interview him at the White House along with fellow Atlantic scribes Michael Scherer and Ashley Parker, whom he has also derided for critical coverage in the past.

—New York Daily News

Ex-Las Vegas councilwoman pardoned by Trump after federal fraud conviction

LAS VEGAS — President Donald Trump has granted “a full and unconditional pardon” to Michele Fiore, the former Las Vegas councilwoman found guilty of defrauding donors who believed they were giving money for a statue to honor a fallen Las Vegas police officer.

Fiore was found guilty of conspiracy and wire fraud charges by a federal jury in October. Federal prosecutors accused Fiore of raising tens of thousands of dollars through a charity and political action committee for a statue honoring Metropolitan Police Department officer Alyn Beck, who was shot and killed with his partner in 2014.

Prosecutors said Fiore spent the donations on rent, plastic surgery and payments on her daughter’s wedding. On Thursday, Fiore’s defense attorneys filed a motion to vacate her May 14 sentencing, and included a copy of Wednesday’s order from Trump, pardoning Fiore.

“Today, I stand before you — not just as a free woman, but as a vindicated soul whose prayers were heard, whose faith held firm, and whose truth could not be buried by injustice,” she said in a text message statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Thursday.

—Las Vegas Review-Journal

California serial cat killer suspect arrested, potentially linked to a dozen-plus slayings, authorities say

LOS ANGELES — An Orange County man who police believe killed more than a dozen neighborhood cats after luring them to his property was arrested Wednesday, according to authorities. Over several weeks, the Santa Ana Police Department has received multiple reports of suspected animal abuse and missing cats.

Alejandro Oliveros Acosta, 45, of Santa Ana was arrested Wednesday and booked at the Santa Ana City Jail on felony charges related to animal cruelty, authorities said.

Yessenia Aspeitia, a media relations coordinator for the Santa Ana Police Department, said officials couldn't provide the exact number of cats the suspect is believed to have harmed, but it is over a dozen.

Authorities allege Acosta was positively identified by several victims and witnesses as the man who lured their cats away from their homes.

—Los Angeles Times

Istanbul shaken by some 300 aftershocks as many flee after 6.2 quake

ISTANBUL — A series of earthquakes continued to rattle Istanbul on Thursday, with Turkey's disaster agency AFAD reporting some 300 aftershocks, one of them measuring a magnitude of 4.6.

Since the major tremor on Wednesday, which had a magnitude of 6.2, AFAD has recorded hundreds of further quakes, all along the tectonic faults in the Sea of Marmara.

Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu said on X that 236 people were injured, including 173 in Istanbul. Fifteen had to be treated in hospital, while some were hurt jumping from buildings in panic. The Istanbul governor's office said there were no reports of collapsed structures. Urban Development Minister Murat Kurum reported that 12 buildings were evacuated as a precaution.

Seismologists and geologists cited in Turkish media largely agree that a major earthquake is still expected. While the timing remains uncertain, experts predict it could reach a magnitude of 7.4, with some even estimating a potential magnitude of 7.7.

—dpa