Hours-long police standoff in Philadelphia ends; Condition of Epstein's body revealed

Officers gather for crowd control near a massive police presence set up outside a house as they investigate a shooting in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

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Suspect in custody after hours-long ordeal that left six Philadelphia police officers wounded
The suspect linked to Wednesday's hours-long standoff in Philadelphia was in custody after surrendering to authorities just after midnight Thursday, exiting a residence with his hands in the air and with a police light shining on him, surrounded by a cloud of tear gas. The standoff, authorities said, started when two officers with the Narcotics Strike Force were serving a warrant at the multifamily home -- in what may have been a drug-related offense -- when things "went awry almost immediately," and the shooter opened fire at the home. The two officers were barricaded in separate rooms with several hostages. The shootout stretched on for hours as six officers were shot -- and two officers and three hostages were later freed, apparently unhurt.

Police dispatch audio reveals the tense moments during the standoff. The suspect was identified by unnamed police sources as Maurice Hill, 36, of Philadelphia. Hill has a long record of gun-related convictions and of attempting to evade arrest, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. All six officers were in stable condition and treated for non-life-threatening injuries before doctors released them, Philadelphia police Sgt. Eric Gripp said. Meanwhile, 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., faced criticism for politicizing the ordeal during an appearance on CNN.

Epstein autopsy reveals several broken bones in neck: report
An autopsy on the body of Jeffrey Epstein revealed the convicted sex offender had several broken bones in his neck, including the hyoid bone, according to a report. The hyoid bone, which is near the Adam’s apple, can be broken in a suicide by hanging -- especially in older people -- but is more common in strangulation murders, The Washington Post reported. Epstein, 66, was found hanging in his cell in an “apparent suicide” at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on Saturday where he was being held on sex trafficking charges. He was placed on suicide watch in July but was removed from it by the end of the month.

Trump suggests 'personal meeting' with Chinese president amid Hong Kong unrest
President Trump in a tweet Wednesday evening suggested a “personal meeting” with Chinese President Xi Jinping amid tensions in Hong Kong and fears that an escalating trade war could trigger a global recession. “I have ZERO doubt that if President Xi wants to quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem, he can do it,” Trump tweeted. Personal meeting?”

President Donald Trump, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Saturday, June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The president’s tweet came after weeks of sometimes violent clashes between pro-democracy protesters and police in Hong Kong that started over a now-defunct extradition bill that would allow defendants to be tried in mainland China. The unrest included massive protests at Hong Kong's airport that resulted in more than 100 flight cancellations. One possibility for a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Xi could be in advance of the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York City, which is scheduled to begin Sept. 17.

Wall Street braces for another wild day after Dow's 800-point plunge
Asian stock markets followed Wall Street lower on Thursday after stocks and oil prices plummeted Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial tumbling 800 points -- the fourth-largest daily point drop on record and the worst this year -- amid increasing global recession fears. Market benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong all retreated. Feeding fears of a global recession was a report that Chinese industrial production was climbing at its weakest rate in 17 years and Germany’s economy -- Europe’s strongest -- was actually shrinking. Wednesday's stock plunge erased the previous day's gains from a rally that began after President Trump delayed tariffs on about $160 billion in Chinese goods due to take effect on Sept. 1. Click here to see how Fox Business anchors explain what's next after Dow's 800-point drop.

WESTMINSTER, CO - OCTOBER 14: Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO). (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) (2014 Getty Images)

Beto to resume campaign with 'major' speech; Hickenlooper 2020 run reportedly ending
Beto O'Rourke reportedly will formally rejoin the presidential race Thursday, resuming a campaign that has been suspended for nearly two weeks. He promises to make a "major address to the nation" from his hometown of El Paso, Texas, where a mass shooting on Aug. 3 left 22 people dead. Meanwhile, John Hickenlooper, a former governor of Colorado, will end his 2020 campaign Thursday, according to reports. Hickenlooper is not expected to announce a decision Thursday on whether he will run for Senate in Colorado, an option he has been discussing with advisers, the Associated Press reports.

FBI 'indifferent' to possible China hack of Hillary Clinton's server, as State Department fought to protect her, interviews suggest
Interviews with intelligence community officials have revealed that senior FBI leaders "seemed indifferent to evidence of a possible intrusion by a foreign adversary" into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s non-government email server, and that State Department officials allegedly sought to "downgrade classified material found on the server," according to Senate investigators still probing the matter.

The information was contained in a letter and interview transcripts sent Monday by the majority staff on the Senate Finance and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committees to senior Senate Republicans, including Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. The letter also noted that “neither the committees nor the FBI were able to confirm whether an intrusion into the server occurred."

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#TheFlashback: CLICK HERE to find out what happened on "This Day in History."

SOME PARTING WORDS

Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent, wonders how an MSNBC analyst who compared Trump supporters to a "terrorist organization" is still allowed to be on television.

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Fox News First is compiled by Fox News' Bryan Robinson. Thank you for joining us! Enjoy your day! We'll see you in your inbox first thing Friday morning.

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