| Comey says he is ‘mildly nauseous’ over possibility his October letter led to Clinton loss Posted: 03 May 2017 08:53 AM PDT  The FBI director gave an impassioned defense of his decision to reopen the investigation into Clinton's use of a private server 11 days before the election.
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| Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are engaged, NBC confirms Posted: 04 May 2017 04:57 AM PDT  The "Morning Joe" co-hosts' long-rumored romance is now official.
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| No charges over black man's police shooting in Louisiana Posted: 03 May 2017 02:48 PM PDT  Louisiana police will not face federal charges over the shooting of a 37-year-old African American man whose death sparked widespread protests, the US Justice Department said Wednesday, in a decision slammed by rights groups as a message of impunity. Alton Sterling's videotaped shooting in Baton Rouge was one of a series of police killing of black men that triggered nationwide protests spearheaded by the "Black Lives Matter" movement. Sterling was shot to death July 5, 2016 in a scuffle with two officers, Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake, outside a convenience store where he had been selling CDs.
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| 3 Killed, Several Injured As Vehicle Plows Into Crowd at Car Auction Posted: 03 May 2017 08:34 AM PDT  Three people were killed and several others sustained life-threatening injuries after a vehicle plowed into a crowd and crashed through a wall at an auto auction in Massachusetts on Wednesday morning.
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| Marine Veteran and Girlfriend Who Went Missing In Belize Were Strangled, Autopsy Finds Posted: 03 May 2017 06:07 AM PDT  The Marine veteran and his Canadian girlfriend were missing for a week before their bodies were discovered Monday.
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| Nigeria's Buhari misses cabinet meeting for third time to rest Posted: 03 May 2017 08:04 AM PDT ![Nigeria's Buhari misses cabinet meeting for third time to rest]( "Nigeria's Buhari misses cabinet meeting for third time to rest") By Felix Onuah ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari missed his third straight weekly cabinet meeting on Wednesday because he needed to rest, officials said, fuelling concerns about the state of his health. A Reuters reporter witnessed the start of the session and Buhari's failure to arrive for the meeting, which was chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Information Minister Lai Mohammed said the president had been in the office on Tuesday.
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| US animal sanctuary kills all its animals including three tigers and three lions Posted: 04 May 2017 04:12 AM PDT  The owners of an American animal sanctuary have come under fire for killing all 11 of its exotic animals, despite other rescue centres offering to rehome the three tigers, three lions and five bears. The Lion's Gate Sanctuary in Colorado said it was forced to euthanise its animals last month after it was denied permission to relocate away from a site that had repeatedly flooded. Co-owners doctor Joan Laub and Peter Winney said in a statement they planned to build a new facility on 45 acres of empty land they owned, but were denied permission by commissioners who bowed to pressure from local residents in an "unfair" hearing.
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| Cassini Completes First Successful Dive Between Saturn and Its Rings Posted: 04 May 2017 04:32 AM PDT  NASA's Cassini spacecraft sent back fascinating images of Saturn's atmosphere during its first dive between Saturn and its rings. It will complete its second dive this week.
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| Philippine environment chief dumped as miners triumph Posted: 03 May 2017 03:26 AM PDT  Philippine Environment Secretary Regina Lopez was sacked on Wednesday when lawmakers rejected her appointment, in a big victory for the mining industry which she had accused of corruption and abuse. Lopez sent shockwaves through the industry during her 10 months as environment chief, seeking to shut down roughly two-thirds of the nation's existing mines and banning any new open-pit operations. With the Philippines being the world's biggest supplier of nickel ore and a major source of copper, Lopez's campaign had impacted global prices.
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| Authorities haven't found 'even a dollar' of El Chapo's $1bn drug fortune Posted: 03 May 2017 11:36 AM PDT  El Chapo faces a string of charges in a New York court and prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of more than $14bn in illicit earnings made by his cartel. Over nearly 30 years at the head of one of the most powerful crime organisations in the world, the jailed drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán is reputed to have built up a fortune worth at least $1bn.
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| Miraculously, no one was injured in this explosive plane crash caught on video Posted: 04 May 2017 11:11 AM PDT 
What appeared to be a catastrophic, potentially deadly accident turned out to be far less serious than the footage would have you believe. Earlier this week, a driver by the name of Guanting Li (Simon Li on YouTube) captured a dash cam video of a small plane crashing and exploding near a busy intersection in Mukilteo, Washington, clipping power lines and hitting cars on its way down.
According to local news station KIRO 7, plane fuel and fire poured down on to unsuspecting motorists from the skies before the plane took out the traffic lights on Mukilteo Speedway, hit at least five cars and skidded to a halt on Harbour Pointe Boulevard. At that point, it erupted into flames: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXxdUMbQmMM Incredibly, both the pilot and the single passenger in the Piper PA32 single-engine aircraft crawled out of the wreckage unscathed. In fact, no injuries have been reported from the crash at all. The pilot told KIRO 7 that he started to lose power and couldn't restart the engine shortly after taking off. Seeing that Harbour Pointe Boulevard was clear of traffic, he turned the plane in that direction, trying to cause as little damage as possible. As quickly as the plane had taken off from nearby Paine Field, it was smoking, mangled mess on a busy thoroughfare a few miles away. While there were no injuries, traffic was blocked in both directions until the wreckage could be cleared and 9,000 resident of Snohomish County lost power. Considering how enormously destructive this could have been, backed up traffic and temporary loss of power sound like small prices to pay.
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| Wildlife-rich lagoon heavily polluted, threatened by building boom Posted: 04 May 2017 07:58 AM PDT ![Wildlife-rich lagoon heavily polluted, threatened by building boom]( "Wildlife-rich lagoon heavily polluted, threatened by building boom") Florida's Indian River Lagoon is plagued by oxygen-robbing algae and a surface dotted with thousands of dead fish, manatees, birds and other creatures.
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| US tests nuclear-capable missile with the range to strike North Korea Posted: 03 May 2017 04:36 AM PDT  The US has test-fired a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile from a site in California, the second such launch in a week, amid rising tensions with North Korea. The unarmed Minuteman 3 missile has a range of around 8,000 miles, putting it within striking distance of Pyongyang. It blasted off just after midnight from Vandenberg Air Force Base, 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles, and delivered a single projectile to a target approximately 4,200 miles away at Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, US Air Force Global Strike Command said.
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| Egyptian woman leaves Indian hospital more than 300 kg lighter Posted: 04 May 2017 04:54 AM PDT  An Egyptian woman widely believed to have been the world's heaviest woman left an Indian hospital on Thursday more than 300 kg lighter for further treatment in Abu Dhabi. Eman Ahmed, who weighed more than half a metric ton (1,100 lb) when she was operated on in March, has not walked for 25 years. A series of operations in Mumbai brought her weight down to below 200 kg (440 lb), her doctor, Muffazal Lakdawala, wrote in a blog post.
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| Obama unveils presidential library designs Posted: 03 May 2017 04:11 PM PDT  Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled the vision for his presidential library in Chicago, a modern, $500 million project he hopes will be a training ground for future leaders housed in the city that launched his career. The site is slated to be upwards of 225,000 square feet in size and house a library, museum and forum -- as well as classrooms, meeting spaces, a community garden and a recreational area. The goal was to "create an institution that will train the next generation of leadership," Obama told a packed audience.
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| Police: 2 dead in suspected murder-suicide at Texas college Posted: 03 May 2017 08:40 PM PDT  IRVING, Texas (AP) — Two people died Wednesday in an apparent murder-suicide at a Texas community college, prompting an active-shooter alert that instructed students and employees to barricade themselves in rooms. It was the second deadly attack on a Texas campus this week.
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| Wall Street: Don't Listen to Donald Trump! Posted: 03 May 2017 12:40 PM PDT  Early in Donald Trump's presidency, the stock markets would react to even a single tweet. Already, Wall Street is warning it doesn't take Trump literally anymore and is dismissing what he says and tweets.
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| FBI Director James Comey says Russia is 'greatest threat of any nation on Earth' Posted: 03 May 2017 08:32 AM PDT  Mr Comey made the comments during a Senate hearing in which he discussed the ongoing investigation into Russian influence on the 2016 US election. The top FBI official told senators that Russians have been meddling in American politics and that they have continued to do so recently. "One of the biggest lessons learned is that Russia will do this again.
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| Dust storm blows across north China, flights cancelled Posted: 03 May 2017 10:19 PM PDT  A major dust storm engulfed northern China and Beijing on Thursday, prompting authorities to cancel dozens of flights and urge children and the elderly to stay indoors. At least 48 flights were cancelled, including six international routes in Asia and Russia, according to the Beijing Capital Airport's website. The storms regularly occur in spring, when winds from China's northwest blow loose, dry soil and sand into the city from the Gobi desert, coating urban areas with a layer of yellow grime.
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| Hero Sports Bar Customer Fatally Shoots Gunman Who'd Just Killed Employee: Cops Posted: 04 May 2017 06:23 AM PDT  The shocking scene unfolded in Texas.
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| What's next for Tesla? More stores, more repair centers, and the Model Y crossover Posted: 04 May 2017 08:29 AM PDT  Plenty of insults have been hurled at Elon Musk. Tesla's CEO has been accused of being self-aggrandizing, thin-skinned, and, given the number of projects he seems ready to tackle, a dilettante. Tesla fans and foes can debate those labels as much they like, but one thing they can't accuse Musk of being is dumb. His smarts, his understanding of consumers, his ability to spot trends, and his charisma have not only earned him legions of rabid followers, they've also helped him position Tesla as a leader in the electric, artificial intelligence-driven revolution. ALSO SEE: Start-up builds an app to figure out how much that new engine noise is going to cost you All that was on display this week as Tesla issued its first-quarter update and Musk held an earnings call with investors. The CEO and his team are clearly working to broaden the automaker's offerings in the near future, making it easier and more attractive for new consumers to buy into the brand. So, what's down the road? Here are a few of Tesla's big plans: More showrooms and service centers: Tesla says that in 2017, it plans to open "nearly 100 retail, delivery and service locations globally". While some of those facilities will be located in the U.S., many will be in new markets like Dubai and South Korea, which saw ribbon-cuttings for their first two outlets during the first quarter of the year. According to Tesla, this expansion will grow the number of company outposts by 30%. Big production goals for the Model 3: Tesla's wider global footprint will come in handy as the company prepares to launch its more affordable Model 3 later this year. The company's first-quarter update confirmed facts that were disseminated back in February--namely, that when production begins, Tesla hopes to turn out 5,000 of the vehicles every week. At some point in 2018, that number will rise to 10,000. Given that Tesla had more than 370,000 reservations for the Model 3 (as of last year, anyway), it could take he company most of 2018 just to deliver pre-orders. Tesla's first body repair shops: Tesla has long had service centers for owners who need smaller repairs or maintenance. For body work, though, Tesla has contracted with third parties to get the job done. Tesla plans to continue expanding its list of licensed of body work providers, but the company also intends to open its first Tesla-owned body shops before the end of 2017. That should be welcome news to longtime Tesla owners whose Roadsters and Model S sedans have begun to accumulate their share of dings, dents, and scratches. Spotting problems before they start: Tesla vehicles are connected to a network, which allows them to receive software updates and also allows the automaker to run remote diagnostics on vehicles. That's helped Tesla identify problems with individual cars before they become big headaches--even before owners notice that anything's gone wrong. Tesla says that that's helped the company cut service times by 35 percent, and it plans to use remote diagnostics to improve that number further. More Tesla mobile repair units: Because Tesla has built a new kind of car, it's had to build a new kind of service model--one that includes mobile repair units. (Which, to be fair, is probably better than asking owners to schlep all the way to a company-owned service center or to take their cars to a neighborhood garage that may have little-to-no experience working with Tesla vehicles.) Tesla already has a large fleet of service trucks, and it plans to add 100 more before June 30. More charging stations: As we all know by now, one of the biggest hurdles standing between car shoppers and electric vehicles is range anxiety. Tesla is addressing that concern by boosting battery capacity and also by growing its charging network. The company says that "In 2017, we expect to at least double the number of Superchargers and Destination Charging connectors globally to more than 10,000 and 15,000, respectively." The Model Y crossover: Speaking to investors this week, Musk said that the new Model Y crossover is expected to debut in 2020, though it could be as early as 2019. What's the holdup? Though the crossover had been slated to share a platform with the Model 3, on the call Musk confirmed that the Model Y will, in fact, be built on a completely new platform. That's largely so that the Y can ditch the 12-volt battery architecture that underpins current Tesla vehicles, which could streamline production and dial down costs. Of course, all this information was delivered by Tesla, meaning that the company has had the opportunity to put the best possible spin on it. As such, there's plenty of room for doubt about the company's claims--for example, deliveries of new Tesla vehicles have always been chronically late, so Tesla's ambitious production numbers for the Model 3 can be viewed with a heavy dose of skepticism. What this information does provide, though, is an overview of Tesla's self-imposed goals. Will the company meet them? Stay tuned. You can download a PDF of Tesla's first-quarter update here.
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| Iranians must give Rouhani second term to make good on nuclear deal: vice president Posted: 03 May 2017 07:17 AM PDT  By Alissa de Carbonnel TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's president must get a second term to secure the economic benefits that he promised would result from a diplomatic thaw with the West, Vice President Masoumeh Ebtekar said ahead of a May 19 election. Hassan Rouhani's hardline challengers for the presidency, some of whom are close to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, say he traded away too much in a 2015 deal with world powers that limited Iran's nuclear work but failed to deliver sufficient rewards. In a rare interview with a trio of foreign reporters at an EU-Iran business forum on Sunday, Ebtekar, one of Iran's 12 vice presidents, said voters should not give up on Rouhani.
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| Russian fighter jets, bombers intercepted off Alaskan coast Posted: 04 May 2017 06:21 AM PDT  American F-22s escorted Russian planes back to international airspace
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| Trump Healthcare Bill Could Be A Disaster, GOP Consultant Says Posted: 04 May 2017 12:25 AM PDT  The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a Republican healthcare bill Thursday to repeal and replace key parts of Obamacare.
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| President Trump Makes Major Changes To School Lunches Posted: 03 May 2017 01:14 PM PDT  The USDA wants to make lunches "appealing" again.
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| FBI Director Comey pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill, and more: May 3 in photos Posted: 03 May 2017 11:55 AM PDT ![FBI Director Comey pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill, and more: May 3 in photos]( "FBI Director Comey pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill, and more: May 3 in photos") FBI Director James Comey pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Russian interference in the 2016 election; French soldiers patrol near the Eiffel Tower as part of the "Sentinelle" security plan in Paris; President Trump shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as they deliver a statement at the White House. These are some of the photos of the day. (AP/EPA/Getty/Reuters/Zuma)
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| Lone Unadopted Dog at Shelter Becomes the Most Popular Pup in Town as Applications Pour In Posted: 03 May 2017 09:31 AM PDT  The shelter had to close off applications for Eastwood, the 1-year-old Labrador, after 80 families applied to adopt the pup.
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| Venezuela death toll rises as foes protest Maduro's power shakeup Posted: 03 May 2017 04:18 PM PDT  By Andrew Cawthorne and Alexandra Ulmer CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan security forces battled protesters who lit fires and hurled stones on Wednesday in rage at President Nicolas Maduro's decree to create an alternative congress, with another fatality taking the death toll to 34 during a month of unrest. In a familiar pattern in protests against the socialist government, thousands of opposition supporters rallied peacefully at first before being blocked, sparking fights around the city between masked youths and soldiers. One 17-year-old protester died in the melee from an object that hit him in the neck, said Gerardo Blyde, a district mayor for the opposition.
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| Police officer rescues child with autism from pond Posted: 02 May 2017 08:27 PM PDT  The child was examined at a hospital and reunited with his parents.
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| Man's gluten-free meal on his 9-hour flight leaves a lot to be desired Posted: 03 May 2017 09:17 AM PDT  The airlines are at it again, folks. The gluten-free breakfast option for a nine-hour flight on All Nippon Airways is apparently an exquisite single banana served with packets of salt and pepper and I am getting hungry just thinking about it! Man who ordered gluten-free meal on flight is given a single banana – and cutlery to eat it with https://t.co/GYC3cKBqPD pic.twitter.com/QbpSXxPMiA — The Telegraph (@Telegraph) May 3, 2017 SEE ALSO: Airline crew casually help woman deliver a baby 42,000 feet in the air London resident Martin Pavelka was on a flight from Tokyo to Sydney when he received this gourmet breakfast in plain view of seething jealous passengers who all had to settle for huge meals of eggs, sausage, mushrooms, bread, and yogurt. "When the stewardess came to me, she said 'we've got a special meal for you' and I got the banana," Mr. Pavelka said to the Standard. "This was a nine-hour flight. Although definitely gluten free, the banana did not keep me full for very long. At the price I paid, you would expect something more than that." The banana was also served with a knife and fork, which is apparently how one eats a banana. "As a coeliac, I always order gluten-free meal on my flights. Sometimes they are bland, sometimes they are actually much better than the ordinary meal service," he told the Standard. "On this flight, I was left literally speechless." So if you're gluten-free and flying All Nippon Airways, remember to pack your own meal. UPDATE: May 3, 2017, 4:38 p.m. EDT ANA provided the following statement to Mashable: BONUS: Simply Delicious Shower Thoughts with Cookie Monster
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| Members of Congress 'holding secret conversations about removing Donald Trump from office' Posted: 04 May 2017 03:46 AM PDT  Members of the US Congress are holding "private conversations" about whether Donald Trump should be removed from office, reports suggest. The New Yorker this week published a lengthy analysis of the two ways the Republican could be removed from office: either through impeachment by Congress or via the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution, which allows for a president to be removed if he is considered to be mentally unfit. Evan Osnos, the author of the article, said he had been told that members of Congress were already holding conversations on the issue.
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| Guess Who Just Beat Whole Foods For America's Favorite Grocery Store? Posted: 04 May 2017 10:53 AM PDT  We didn't see this one coming.
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| Komodo dragon attacks tourist in Indonesia Posted: 04 May 2017 03:36 AM PDT  A komodo dragon, one of the world's largest lizards, attacked a tourist in Indonesia who was trying to photograph the giant creatures feasting on a goat, police said Thursday. Singaporean Loh Lee Aik, 67, was rushed to hospital with leg injuries after being pounced on by the venomous creature. Sudiyono, the head of the Komodo National Park -- islands in central Indonesia that form a protected habitat for the lizards -- said it was the first attack by one of the creatures on a foreign tourist since 1974, when a visitor from abroad was killed.
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| Former warlord Hekmatyar calls for peace with Afghan Taliban Posted: 04 May 2017 07:18 AM PDT  By Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - Former Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar returned to Kabul on Thursday after two decades in hiding, calling for peace with Taliban insurgents and criticizing the Western-backed government, which he said was not working. Hekmatyar's comments in a ceremony at the presidential palace highlighted the complications likely to face President Ashraf Ghani, who signed a peace deal with Hekmatyar last year that brought his Hizb-i-Islami party into the government fold. Calling his former allies in the Afghan Taliban "brothers", Hekmatyar, a charismatic speaker whose address was frequently interrupted by shouts of acclamation, portrayed himself as a mediator able to bring peace.
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| Lawyer: Foster dad cleared in sex abuse case had home looted Posted: 04 May 2017 08:27 AM PDT  MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — A former foster father acquitted of charges he sexually abused six boys returned home after 16 months in jail to find his boarded-up house looted of nearly everything he owned and is now thinking of selling his story to make ends meet, according to his lawyer.
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| C919 jet set for maiden flight, in test of China's aviation ambitions Posted: 04 May 2017 04:13 PM PDT  China's home-grown C919 passenger jet is set to take to the skies on its long-delayed maiden flight on Friday, a major step for Beijing as it looks to boost its profile in the global aviation market. The narrow-body aircraft, which will compete with Boeing's 737 and the Airbus A320, is a key symbol of China's ambitions to muscle into a global jet market estimated to be worth $2 trillion over the next 20 years. The jet will take to the skies at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport on China's affluent east coast, at a ceremony expected to be broadcast live on state TV.
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| Tim Cook will spend 0.39% of Apple’s cash to keep Donald Trump happy Posted: 03 May 2017 04:24 PM PDT 
In a CNBC interview this evening, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple will start a $1 billion fund to "promote advanced manufacturing jobs in the United States." President Trump has repeatedly called out American companies that do a majority of their manufacturing overseas, including Apple. Previously, Apple has hinted that it might explore the possibility of building iPhones in the US. Trump has explored the possibility of a border adjustment tax, which would heavily penalize companies that manufacture overseas, but no concrete plans have been put forward.
In the interview with CNBC, Cook didn't explicitly talk about Trump's policies or indicate that they were the impetus for Apple's announcement. Cook seemed to promote Apple's new fund as part of the company's broader corporate social responsibility, saying "A lot of people ask me, 'Do you think it's a company's job to create jobs?' and my response is [that] a company should have values because a company is a collection of people. And people should have values, so by extension, a company should. And one of the things you do is give back." Details of the fund have not been specified, but Cook did say that Apple has already "talked to a company that we're going to invest in." That first investment is expected to be made in May. A $1 billion investment is a relative drop in the pond for Apple, which yesterday revealed that its cash holdings, mostly offshore, now total more than $250 billion. Cook did not specify if the investment fund will come from Apple's cash stock, or debt financing, which it commonly uses for dividends and share buyback programs.
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| Woman prosecuted for laughing at Jeff Sessions Posted: 03 May 2017 07:25 AM PDT  A woman is facing disorderly conduct charges for laughing during the confirmation hearing for Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Desiree Fairooz laughed after Senator Richard Shelby, a fellow Alabama Republican, introduced Mr Sessions saying his history of "treating all Americans equally under the law is clear and well documented." Ms Fairooz was charged alongside two men — who donned white Ku Klux Klan outfits in protest — with disorderly conduct and demonstrating within a Capitol building. "I felt it was my responsibility as a citizen to dissent at the confirmation hearing of Senator Jeff Sessions, a man who professes anti-immigrant, anti-LGBT policies, who has voted against several civil rights measures and who jokes about the white supremacist terrorist group the Ku Klux Klan," Ms Fairooz said in a statement released by the pro-women advocacy group Code Pink, which is supporting her.
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| Google Docs Phishing Scam: Email Attack Hijacks User Accounts By Posing As Google Docs Posted: 03 May 2017 02:14 PM PDT  If you get an email asking you to open a Google Doc Wednesday, you might want to pause for a minute. An email phishing scam is quickly spreading to many Gmail users.
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