Authorities investigating racist texts sent to dozens of black Americans across the US
Dozens of black Americans have received text messages telling them they had been “selected” to pick cotton “at the nearest plantation”.
The messages invoking slavery were sent to university students from colleges including Ohio State University, Clemson University in South Carolina, the University of Southern California and Missouri State University, according to Sky’s US partner network NBC News.
But other black men, women and children were recipients of the messages in several other states including New York, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Tennessee.
The first messages were sent the morning after the US election, with some referencing president-elect Donald Trump.
The FBI said in a statement on Thursday that it is aware of the texts and has been in contact with the US Department of Justice. It also encouraged people who receive the messages to report them to local law enforcement.
The Federal Communications Commission also said it is investigating alongside federal and state law enforcement.
The attorney general’s office in Virginia condemned the messages on Wednesday and directed anyone who “believes themselves to be under threat” to contact law enforcement. Police departments and leaders in cities across the country have also addressed the situation.
It is unclear who is behind the mass messages, what motivated them, or how they obtained the phone numbers.
But some of the anonymous numbers appear to be tied to TextNow, a text messaging service that allows users to obtain untraceable “burner” phone numbers.
Pic: iStock
A TextNow spokesperson said in a statement that it is aware of the messages.
“As soon as we became aware, our trust and safety team acted quickly, shutting down the accounts involved within the hour,” the Canada-based company said.
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“TextNow is proud to be an inclusive service offering free mobile text and data to millions of Americans. We do not tolerate or condone the use of our service to send harassing or spam messages and will work with the authorities to prevent these individuals from doing so in the future.”
Major communications providers AT&T and Verizon both said it was an industry-wide problem.
Louisiana attorney general Liz Murrill said that whoever sent the messages used a VPN to obscure their origin.
Alyse McCall, a University of Alabama student, said she “started crying” after receiving one of the messages.
Alyse McCall
“This is truly disgusting and whoever is sending it out is vile. No one should ever think to send that message or receive that message. It made me sick to my stomach,” she said.
A University of Alabama spokesperson said the “disgusting” texts “have been reported to authorities”.
Meanwhile, Monet Miller, a publicist from Atlanta, said she “genuinely felt scared” after she was sent a message.
The text sent to her read: “Greetings Monet M, you have been selected to pick cutton [sic] at the nearest plantation.
“Be ready at 12pm SHARP with your belongings. Our Executive Slaves will come get you in a Brown Van, be prepared to be searched down once you’ve enter [sic] the plantation. You are in plantation group S.”
The racist message received by Monet. Pic: Monet Miller/NBC
Brian Hughes from the Trump campaign denounced the texts and said it is “absolute nonsense” to link the president-elect to the messages.
“If we can find the origin of these messages which promote this kind of ugliness in our name we will obviously take legal action to stop it,” Mr Hughes said in a statement.
“President Trump built a diverse and broad coalition of support, with voters of all races and backgrounds,” he added.
“The result was a landslide victory for his common sense mandate for change. This will result in a second term that is beneficial to every working man and woman in our nation.”
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The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) condemned the messages, adding that it believes the texts were a product of the president-elect’s rhetoric.
“The unfortunate reality of electing a president who, historically has embraced, and at times encouraged hate, is unfolding before our eyes,” the statement read.
NAACP president Derrick Johnson added: “These messages represent an alarming increase in vile and abhorrent rhetoric from racist groups across the country.”
The United States and European Union have agreed a trade deal, says Donald Trump.
The announcement was made as the US president met European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen at one of his golf resorts in Scotland.
Speaking after talks in Turnberry, Mr Trump said the EU deal was the “biggest deal ever made” and it will be “great for cars”.
The US will impose 15% tariffs on EU goods into America, after Mr Trump had threatened a 30% levy.
He said there will be an EU investment of $600bn in the US, the bloc will buy $750bn in US energy and will also purchase US military equipment.
Mr Trump had earlier said the main sticking point was “fairness”, citing barriers to US exports of cars and agriculture.
He went into the talks demanding fairer trade with the 27-member EU and threatening steep tariffs to achieve that, while insisting the US will not go below 15% import taxes.
For months, Mr Trump has threatened most of the world with large tariffs in the hope of shrinking major US trade deficits with many key trading partners, including the EU.
Ms von der Leyen said the agreement would include 15% tariffs across the board, saying it would help rebalance trade between the two large trading partners.
In case there was no deal and the US had imposed 30% tariffs from 1 August, the EU has prepared counter-tariffs on €93bn (£81bn) of US goods.
Ahead of their meeting on Sunday, Ms von der Leyen described Mr Trump as a “tough negotiator and dealmaker”.
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At least 11 people have been stabbed at a Walmart supermarket in Michigan, with six in a critical condition.
Officials say a suspect is in custody – and at this stage, it is believed the attack was a “random act” that involved a folding-style knife near the checkout area.
Sheriff Michael Shea told reporters: “Eleven is 11 too many, but thank God it wasn’t more.”
Pic: AP
The suspect, who is from Michigan, is not known to police – and was captured within three minutes thanks to “citizen involvement”.
The attack unfolded in Traverse City – and Tiffany DeFell, who was in the car park at the time, described scenes of chaos.
“It was really scary. Me and my sister were just freaking out,” she said. “This is something you see out of the movies.”
Beyond the six people in a critical condition, it is believed the remaining five were seriously hurt. All 11 are still being treated in hospital.
Pic: AP
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said: “Our thoughts are with the victims and the community reeling from this brutal act of violence.”
A Walmart spokesperson added that the retailer is working closely with law enforcement.
“Violence like this is unacceptable. Our thoughts are with those who were injured and we’re thankful for the swift action of first responders,” a statement said.
Pic: AP
At this stage, the ages of the victims is unclear – but it is not thought any of the victims were Walmart employees.
Traverse City is about 255 miles northwest of Detroit.
A US passenger plane made a dramatic plunge minutes after take-off to dodge another aircraft – injuring two cabin crew and causing passengers to shoot out of their seats.
The Southwest flight had just taken off from Burbank in California when the pilot received an alert about a nearby plane.
Data from FlightAware shows the aircraft dropped by 91m (300ft) in just 36 seconds. Those on board said they felt panicked, and some feared the plane was about to crash.
Comedian Jimmy Dore posted on X: “Pilot had to dive aggressively to avoid mid-air collision … myself and plenty of people flew out of their seats and bumped heads on ceiling, a flight attendant needed medical attention.”
Stef Zambrano saw a woman who wasn’t wearing her seatbelt thrown out of her seat, who then said: “I want to get off this plane. I want to be on the ground.”
Another passenger, Steve Ulasewicz, told NBC Los Angeles that it felt like the plane was in freefall for 10 seconds.
“People were screaming. You know, it was pandemonium. People thought the plane was going down,” he added.
The aircraft was able to continue to its destination of Las Vegas, where it safely landed without any further incident.
It is believed the Boeing 737 was in the same vicinity as a Hawker Hunter Mk. 58, a British fighter jet.
Southwest is now working with the Federal Aviation Administration “to further understand the circumstances” of the event.
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This is the second time in a week that a passenger plane has had to make abrupt flight manoeuvres to avoid a potential mid-air collision.
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