President Trump's comparison of the House Democrats’ ongoing impeachment inquiry to “a lynching” was promptly condemned by many critics. But three prominent GOP senators came to his defense.

In a $10m lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, she says the officer threatened her with deportationA Honduran woman has sued the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency over sexual assault she says occurred over a period of seven years. Photograph: Bryan Cox/Associated PressA Honduran woman living in Connecticut has accused a US immigration agent of sexually assaulting her over a period of seven years under the threat of deportation, according to a federal lawsuit. The woman, identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe, sued the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), and the former Ice agent Wilfredo Rodriguez on Saturday, seeking $10m in damages.“My only comment is that my client had a choice: cooperate with Ice or be deported with her family,” said George Kramer, the woman’s lawyer. “She remains in a very fragile psychological state. She is not only seeking compensation for the physical and emotional damage she suffered but to change the way those who are cooperating with Ice are treated by those in a position of power and who often wield total control over the ability to remain in the United States.”An Ice spokesman told the Associated Press he couldn’t comment on litigation but confirmed Rodriguez no longer works for the agency. Homeland security didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.It was not immediately clear whether Rodriguez had a lawyer to speak for him, and a phone listing for him could not immediately be found, according to the AP.Tom Carson, a spokesman for the US attorney’s office in Connecticut, told the AP he could not comment on whether there has been or will be a criminal investigation.The woman first met the Ice agent in 2006 after her brother was arrested for entering the US illegally, according to the lawsuit.Rodriguez found out she was also living in the country illegally and said that to avoid deportation she would have to become an informant by helping Ice locate criminals. According to the lawsuit she did so, but, in 2007, Rodriguez sexually assaulted her in a motel.He called himself the “wolf” and said he was the reason she and her family weren’t deported, she says in the lawsuit.The woman alleges that the assaults continued and resulted in three pregnancies, each followed by abortions, one of which Rodriguez paid for. Later, he told her that he was leaving the agency but that if she told anyone what happened, “she and her family would pay”, according to the lawsuit.The woman finally told her story last year when her father, living in the US and fearing deportation because of her friendliness with Ice, applied for asylum. She opened up to an agent who approached her about her father’s application, the lawsuit says.The agent, she says, suggested she consult an attorney.

A pet cafe in China where dogs are dyed black and white to look like panda cubs has triggered a heated online debate over the treatment of animals. The Cute Pet Games cafe opened last month in Chengdu, capital of southwest Sichuan province which is home to China's famous giant pandas, and features six panda-like Chow Chow dogs, according to a video posted by Hongxing News on Tuesday. The cafe owner, only identified by his last name Huang, told Hongxing News that he had started offering pet dyeing services after the panda dogs became an instant hit with clients.

Air France flight 136 to Chicago from Paris landed at Ireland's Shannon Airport, where the police scanned a cellphone found on board.

University of Connecticut students Jarred Karal and Ryan Mucaj were arrested by campus police Monday night and charged with violating a Connecticut hate crime statute for using a racial slur in an incident captured on video.One night earlier this month, Karal and Mucaj — both described by police as white — walked with another individual through the parking lot of a student apartment complex playing “a game in which they yelled vulgar words,” according to the incident report. Police allege that the two switched to saying “n*****” when they reached the parking lot, which was loud enough for two people inside to hear.The two were charged under a Connecticut State law that criminalizes ridiculing “any person or class of people on account of creed, religion, color, denomination, nationality, or race.” The misdemeanor is punishable by up to 30 days in jail, a fine of $50, or both. The third individual was not charged for saying the slur.It is unclear whether the statute violates First Amendment grounds. “It is supportive of our core values to pursue accountability, through due process, for an egregious assault on our community that has caused considerable harm,” UConn President Thomas C. Katsouleas said in a statement late Monday.Karal and Mucaj were released after promising to return for a scheduled court date on October 30.After the video went viral online, Campus blowback was swift. The administration, which learned of the incident October 11, faced severe criticism from students and activists. On Monday, the university’s NAACP chapter published a letter to the editor in the campus newspaper lambasting the university’s administration.“If the university does not adequately address and handle these occurrences of racism appropriately, it will create a culture in which racism is tolerated and normalized,” the NAACP letter reads. “We demand for your full assurance that you will take appropriate measures to hold the students involved in these heinous acts of racism accountable.”On Monday afternoon, hundreds of students chanted “it’s more than just a word” during an on-campus march and rally. During the march, Katsouleas voiced support for the students and extended an invitation to discuss the incident during his open office hours scheduled for Friday morning.UConn’s president also announced a nationwide search for a chief diversity officer in a letter to students on Friday. But students and professors criticized the president for his slow and inadequate response.“No stance is a stance,” Conn senior Areon Mangan told the Chronicle. “Not saying anything says a lot.”In its letter to the campus newspaper, the NAACP released a list of eight demands, including new student guidelines and punishments for instances of racism, a new first-year course on diversity training, and increased hiring of black administration, faculty, staff, and police officers.Democratic State Senators Mae Flexer and Gregory Haddad, both UConn alums, voiced their support for students during the Monday rally.“White people can’t just say they care about this with words,”Flexer said. “You can’t just say you’re an ally. You need to be a co-conspirator.”“I’m here because I want to lift your voices up,” Haddad added.