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Bomb threats followed Trump's false claims about Springfield. Some Haitians may leave
The sun rises over the city of Springfield, Ohio, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
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Jessie Wardarski/AP/AP
Many in Springfield, Ohio have felt uneasy for the past week.
A string of bomb threats shut down city and school buildings. Public events have been canceled. And state troopers have been sent in to guard students going to school.
These developments follow former President Donald Trump repeating debunked claims on national TV about Haitian migrants eating pets. Local city and police officials have said there’s no evidence of this happening.
The false claims were originally circulated online by far-right activists, neo-Nazis and some local Republicans, though local police said they were baseless, NPR reported earlier this month. Eventually they were shared on social media by Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, and then repeated by the former president on the debate stage.
Members of the Haitian community, many of whom have arrived over the past four years, are concerned about their safety, Viles Dorsainvil, who lives there and leads the Haitian Community Help and Support Center, told Morning Edition.
“We are asking ourselves whether to stay here or go somewhere else,” Dorsainvil said.
Dorsainvil has lived in Springfield for four years. The nonprofit he leads, established less than a year ago, helps Haitian newcomers find housing and jobs. It also helps them with language services and getting public assistance, which some are eligible to receive under the Temporary Protected Status they hold.
This status shields them from deportation and grants them legal permission to work based on the unstable conditions in their home country.

How fear has permeated the Haitian community
Trump’s comments during his debate with Vice President Harris sent a shockwave among the estimated 15,000 to 20,000 migrants who now call Springfield home.
Members of the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, from left, Lindsay Aime, James Fleurijean, Viles Dorsainvil, and Rose-Thamar Joseph, stand for worship at Central Christian Church, on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
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Families are afraid to go out or send their kids to school or go to church, Dorsainvil said. He added that some are afraid to call cars through rideshare apps because they don’t know who will pick them up or their intentions.
And some are considering giving up major financial investments they’ve made.
“There are some homeowners who want to sell back their homes just to leave,” Dorsainvil said. “I was asking them to give themselves some time to see if we can navigate this together by the fact [that] we have the solidarity of the city officials and the police department and the local leaders and the church leaders.”
Bomb threats and event cancellations have kept local leaders busy
At least 33 bomb threats were made to various buildings in the city between last Thursday and Monday, Gov. Mike DeWine said at a press conference this week, all of which were false.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) speaks at a press conference at Springfield City Hall alongside Ohio State Highway Patrol Colonel Charles Jones, left, Director of the Department of Public Safety Andy Wilson, second from right, and Springfield City School Superintendent Robert Hill, right, in Springfield, Ohio, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)
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The threats began the morning of Sept. 12, forcing Springfield City Hall and several other buildings to be evacuated and closed, NPR member station WYSO reports.
Earlier this week, Springfield canceled its Downtown CultureFest, an event centered around celebrating the area’s diversity, that was scheduled for late September due to safety concerns. Wittenberg University also canceled all sporting events through this coming weekend and classes went fully remote.
On Tuesday, DeWine dispatched state troopers and bomb sniffing dogs to be stationed at schools and urged concerned parents to send their children to class after attendance dipped.
Governor worries city’s housing, medical needs are being overlooked
DeWine, a Republican, pushed back against Trump’s claims in a Sept. 12 interview with Morning Edition, saying that “there’s a lot of crazy stuff up on the internet.”
DeWine said the focus should be on how the city is struggling to adapt to such rapid population growth after years of decline. The city of about 60,000 people has swelled with the thousands of Haitian arrivals, some of whom were encouraged by family and area employers to move to the area.
The new arrivals have helped fill jobs due to a labor shortage.
But it’s gotten harder for people in the town to get primary health care and find housing due to rising rents, DeWine said.
He added that many longtime residents are concerned about newcomers’ ability to drive safely. Last August, a Haitian migrant driving without a valid license crashed with a school bus, resulting in the death of 11-year-old Aiden Clark.
The driver was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Clark’s parents have explicitly asked Trump, Vance and other politicians to stop invoking their son’s name during political appearances.
Anecdotally, migrant drivers are experiencing a higher rate of crashes, according to an FAQ put out by the city of Springfield. In response, the city has launched driver training courses for the newcomers who are inexperienced drivers.
The head of the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles said migrant drivers go through the same process all Ohio residents do to get licenses, the Statehouse News Bureau of Ohio reported earlier this month.
Last week, before the presidential debate, DeWine announced new public safety and health support for the city, including dispatching Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers to the city and directing $2.5 million to expand healthcare access in the area and other supportive services.
“We just have to work our way through this problem. We would like some help from the federal government,” DeWine said.
Vance defended sharing the false rumors that put Springfield in the national spotlight during an interview with CNN Sunday.
“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,” Vance said. On Wednesday, he said that Haitian migrants with TPS were granted that status unlawfully and that it would change under a second Trump administration.

Dorsainvil said he understands why locals and others are concerned about how the city will accommodate both newcomers and longtime residents and hopes to work toward solutions. But after the fear felt the past week, he just wants those spreading the debunked claims to stop.
“Stop dividing the country that all of us love,” Dorsainvil said. “We can do better. We can keep moving forward together with words of unity and encouragement.”
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Reigning champion Argentina escapes with remarkable World Cup victory over Egypt
Lionel Messi #10 of Argentina celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during their World Cup match against Egypt in Atlanta on Tuesday.
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They looked beaten. And out. Argentina, the defending World Cup champion and No. 1-ranked team, was down 2-0 late against Egypt.

Then, in a span of 13 remarkable minutes, Argentina scored not once, not twice, but three times, capping a comeback for the ages and leaving Egypt stunned and shellshocked.
For much of the game in Atlanta, Egypt was in control, hobbling Argentina early. The Egyptian attack began almost immediately with a stunning header goal delivered by Yasser Ibrahim in the 15th minute. After that, Egypt’s defense closed ranks, making it practically impossible for Argentina to equalize.
It was downhill from there for the Argentines: team captain Lionel Messi failed to convert a penalty kick, and in the 67th minute, Egypt got a second goal from Mostafa Ziko (after an earlier Egyptian goal had been disallowed after a video review). It looked like Argentina was finished. On the brink of elimination.
But no one told the Argentine players that.
In the 79th minute, Lionel Messi began doing his thing. He fired a cross near the Egyptian goal, and Cristian Romero headed it in. Messi was not done. Four minutes later, he powered a shot past the Egyptian keeper. It was his eighth goal of this tournament, the most of any player. The score was 2-2.
Then, in stoppage time, yet another Argentina header and another goal, this time from Enzo Fernandez.
“This is the World Cup for you,” said Messi after the game. “It wasn’t easy to come back from two goals down. But as I always say, this group never gives up. We always try to fight until the end.”
French referee François Letexier speaks with Egypt forward Mohamed Salah during the World Cup Round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt in Atlanta.
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Afterward, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan complained about the French referee and the officiating. “I am not convinced. I am not convinced with this outcome. I’m not convinced with the way things unfolded during this match,” said Hassan in a post-match news conference. “We have been treated unfairly today. We have suffered injustice.”
“We would have deserved to earn this win, but we are leaving with honor, with pride, regardless of this defeat,” said Hossan.
African soccer teams have been the stars of this World Cup. Morocco has yet to lose a game. Cape Verde qualified for the first time in its history and stymied Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. Argentina barely beat them in a nail-biter of a match.
For Egypt, getting this far in the tournament is historic in itself: it’s the first time the team has made it this far. For Argentina, it was a terrifying yet relieving victory: several players, including Messi himself, cried after the game.
Next, they move to the quarterfinals and will play the winner of today’s Switzerland-Colombia match.
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Top Senate Democrats push Trump-affiliated companies for answers about IRS settlement
Top Senate Democrats are pushing for answers on whether a provision in a controversial settlement agreement between President Trump and his own administration applies to companies co-founded by or affiliated with the Trump family.
As part of a deal struck in May by the Justice Department to resolve a lawsuit brought by Mr. Trump, the Internal Revenue Service is permanently barred from pursuing claims against Mr. Trump, his oldest sons Don Jr. and Eric, and the Trump Organization based on prior tax returns.
In a one-page document signed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and dated May 19, the Justice Department said the defendants in the president’s lawsuit — the IRS and the Treasury Department — are “FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED” from “prosecuting or pursuing, any and all claims” arising from tax returns filed before the settlement took effect. Blanche also wrote that the settlement applies to “parties including trusts, parent, sister, or related companies, affiliates, and subsidiaries.”
Now, Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, and Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee Ron Wyden of Oregon are pushing 11 businesses and organizations with ties to the Trump family to get answers for the “significant questions” the settlement raises relating to the tax audit provision, and whether the companies are included in the deal.
“Under the guise of a so-called legal settlement, the Trump administration has attempted to decree that the President, his family, and their entire business empire — potentially including entities with even the vaguest ‘affiliation’ to the family — are to face zero consequences if they have committed a range of financial crimes or misdeeds — regardless of the severity of the violation,” the senators wrote in letters transmitted to the companies Monday night.
The letters were sent to mining company Kaz Resources, defense firm Powerus, cryptocurrency companies World Liberty Financial and American Bitcoin, robotics startup Foundation Future Industries, investment firm 1789 Capital, private aviation company Tag Air, and prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi.
All of the companies either were founded by Mr. Trump and his two adult sons, or list members of the Trump family as advisers, board members, or partial owners. Donald Trump Jr. sits on Polymarket’s advisory board and 1789 Capital, where he’s a partner, has invested in Polymarket. Days before Mr. Trump took office for his second term, Kalshi also announced Trump Jr. would be a strategic adviser.
The Democrats, who are in the minority, lack subpoena power, so Mr. Trump, his children and his companies can’t be forced to answer the questions posed by the senators.
According to recent financial disclosures, the president earned more than a billion dollars from cryptocurrency ventures alone last year, including from his meme coin business and World Liberty Financial, his family’s cryptocurrency firm.
Separately, the senators also asked the Trump Organization in a separate letter if it believes it has “immunity from all audits, civil penalties or federal prosecution” for any crimes that could have occurred before the settlement.
Trump Media and Technology Group, which is majority owned by a trust that lists Mr. Trump as the sole beneficiary and operates the Truth Social platform he uses daily, also received a letter from the Democratic senators.
“The public deserves transparency about the scope of this get-out-of-jail free card for Trump-aligned businesses, and about whether you intend to rely on this settlement as a free pass for any possible violations of the law,” the senators continued in their letter, which also seeks any communications that executives at the companies have had with the Justice Department and White House leading up to or after the settlement was signed.
The settlement was announced months after Mr. Trump and two of his sons and the Trump Organization accused the IRS and Treasury Department of unlawfully allowing a government contractor to leak tax returns to media outlets in 2020.
In a statement, a Justice Department spokesperson said “the IRS routinely provides releases as part of resolving taxpayer reviews and audits. This settlement follows that same standard practice.”
The spokesperson did not provide specific information about which companies are covered by the audit provision, or whether the Trump Organization and Trump family are the only entities covered by that addendum.
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The U.S. men’s run at the World Cup ends with a 4-1 Round of 16 loss to Belgium
Charles De Ketelaere #17 of Belgium celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the World Cup Round of 16 match against the United States on Monday in Seattle.
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SEATTLE — This time was supposed to be different.
The U.S. men’s national team came into this FIFA World Cup with a lineup full of players with key roles in Europe’s top leagues. They had the name-brand coach — Mauricio Pochettino, of Tottenham, PSG and Chelsea fame. And they had homefield advantage, with every game on U.S. soil for the first time in three decades.

For weeks, the hype seemed like it might be real: The team’s three wins over Paraguay, Australia and Bosnia-Herzegovina were the most ever by a U.S. men’s squad in a World Cup. A new generation of American fans filled stadiums by the tens of thousands and tuned in on TV by the tens of millions.
But in the end, the Americans’ exit was the same as it ever was: Eliminated yet again in the Round of 16 at the hands of a European team — this time, Belgium, by a score of 4-1.
From the moment they stepped onto the Seattle field, the U.S. was outclassed by their opponent, No. 9-ranked Belgium. Countless turnovers and defensive lapses were seized on by the Belgians, who needed only nine minutes to take a 1-0 lead.

Then, once the Americans equalized on a free kick by midfielder Malik Tillman, Belgium scored yet again in barely a minute of play. Belgian forward Charles De Ketelaere scored both his team’s first-half goals.
After halftime, came an embarrassing nail in the coffin that silenced the Seattle sellout crowd for good — a 57th minute roll-in by Hans Vanaken after a slip-up by goalkeeper Matt Freese outside of the penalty area left the goal unguarded. Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku added a stoppage-time goal to seal the final score at 4-1.
Malik Tillman #17 of the United States celebrates scoring his team’s only goal during their World Cup match against Belgium. In what was one of the few bright spots of the game, the U.S. pulled even with Belgium at 1-1. The tie lasted less than two minutes before Belgium scored again.
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“It stinks,” said U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams. “Tonight was not a good performance overall. It’s not what we look to achieve. There [were] a lot of things that we could have done better.”
The U.S. had entered Monday’s game under a cloud of controversy around their striker Folarin Balogun, who was shown a red card in last week’s Round of 32 match against Bosnia-Herzegovina. An automatic one-game suspension was set to sideline Balogun, the Americans’ leading scorer at the World Cup, for Monday’s game.
Then, the day before the game, a FIFA disciplinary panel took the highly unusual step of delaying Balogun’s suspension by a year to allow him to participate. Then, news broke that President Trump had personally called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to encourage him to review the red card.
The Royal Belgian Football Association said it would protest Balogun’s inclusion in the lineup. But even at full strength, the U.S. were never real contenders in Monday’s game.
U.S. defender and team captain Tim Ream said the controversy swirling around the team had no impact. “We were fully focused on us as a group and as a team and fully focused on the game and not really worrying about what was being said or debated in the outside world.”
Belgium will advance to the quarterfinals for the third time in the past four World Cups, where it will face Spain on Friday in Los Angeles.
Mauricio Pochettino, Head Coach of the United States, walks down the touchline during the Round of 16 World Cup match between the USA and Belgium in Seattle on Monday.
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