| Twitter Users School Brett Kavanaugh On Real Meanings Of 'Boof' And 'Devil's Triangle' Posted: 27 Sep 2018 03:55 PM PDT  Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh probably didn't expect his testimony
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| Trump says leaders at U.N. were laughing 'with me,' not 'at me' Posted: 26 Sep 2018 04:23 PM PDT  Audible laughter broke out among the assembled diplomats when Trump used the occasion to boast about his achievements as president.
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| Woman lived with mother's decomposing body for months 'to see the stages of death' Posted: 27 Sep 2018 10:35 AM PDT  A North Carolina woman was arrested after police discovered she had been
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| Tennessee assistant principal fired after saying girls 'pretty much ruin everything' in school announcement Posted: 27 Sep 2018 06:25 AM PDT  A Tennessee high school administrator has been placed on leave after saying that girls "pretty much ruin everything" in a dress code video.
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| The Latest: Workers discovered cracked beam near ceiling Posted: 25 Sep 2018 06:12 PM PDT  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Latest on the closure of San Francisco's new transit center (all times local):
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| Bin Laden business grew from humble beginnings Posted: 27 Sep 2018 03:19 AM PDT  JEDDAH/RIYADH (Reuters) - In Saudi Arabia, the Bin Ladens are known as the Kennedys of Jeddah for their wealth and tragedies. Younger son Osama plotted the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Mohammed arrived in Saudi Arabia from Yemen during the 1920s as an impoverished teenager, blind in one eye.
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| Kavanaugh hearing opens with Ford’s account of alleged assault Posted: 27 Sep 2018 08:20 AM PDT  Fighting back tears, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault.
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| Florida Man Tries To Flee In Pickup, But It's Hooked To Repo Man's Tow Truck Posted: 27 Sep 2018 09:49 AM PDT  A Florida man took extraordinary steps to prevent his pickup from being
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| Top US diplomat to return to N. Korea as Trump hails Kim Posted: 26 Sep 2018 03:52 PM PDT  US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday agreed to return to North Korea next month to push forward denuclearization talks as President Donald Trump predicted breakthroughs soon. Pompeo met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly with his North Korean counterpart, Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, to discuss plans for his fourth trip to the longtime US arch-enemy. Pompeo accepted an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to return to Pyongyang in October to move ahead on efforts for "the final, fully verified denuclearization of the DPRK," the State Department said, referring to the North by its official name of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
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| The Latest: Texas executes man for killing ex-roommate Posted: 26 Sep 2018 04:45 PM PDT  HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — The Latest on the execution of a Texas inmate in the death of his former roommate (all times local):
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| Police chief 'heartbroken' after body discovered in creek Posted: 27 Sep 2018 02:33 PM PDT  The chief of a North Carolina police department said he was "heartbroken" over the discovery of the body of a missing 6-year-old boy.
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| Ricky Wheeler: Missing Disabled Teen Found Alive After Bloodhound Picks Up His Scent Posted: 27 Sep 2018 08:02 AM PDT  K-9 Putnam was rewarded for his good work with a steak dinner.
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| Man deported six times charged with murder in California bludgeonings Posted: 26 Sep 2018 06:15 PM PDT  A man who police said fled to California from Texas after being questioned in the disappearance of two relatives was charged on Wednesday in Los Angeles with bludgeoning eight men, three fatally, in a string of attacks aimed mostly at homeless victims. Ramon Alberto Escobar, 47, an El Salvador native and convicted burglar who has been repeatedly deported from the United States, was arrested on Monday after he allegedly clubbed a sleeping man in the head with bolt-cutters in the ocean-front city of Santa Monica, authorities said. Seven other men were similarly attacked in Santa Monica and Los Angeles earlier this month, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
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| Julie Swetnick Accuses Brett Kavanaugh Of Sexual Misconduct, Alleges He Was Present During 'Gang Rape' Posted: 26 Sep 2018 07:59 AM PDT  Michael Avenatti said Wednesday that Julie Swetnick is his client accusing
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| Skripal 'hitman' unmasked as GRU colonel awarded Russia's highest military honour by Vladimir Putin Posted: 27 Sep 2018 02:11 AM PDT  One of the trained assassins wanted for poisoning Sergei Skripal is a decorated colonel in Russian military intelligence given the country's highest award by Vladimir Putin. The real identity of one of the wanted men in the nerve agent attack - named by counter-terrorism police as Ruslan Boshirov - can be disclosed as Colonel Anatoliy Vladimirovich Chepiga. The 39-year-old, who has served in wars in Chechnya and Ukraine, was made a Hero of the Russian Federation by decree of the President in 2014 in a ceremony shrouded in secrecy. The disclosure, uncovered by investigative journalist organisation Bellingcat in conjunction with The Telegraph, exposes as lies Mr Putin's claims that the Skripals' would-be killers were innocent "civilians". A spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed the claims, saying they are part of an "information campaign". Chepiga, posing as Boshirov, and a second man identified as Alexander Petrov, have insisted they were on holiday in Salisbury and had no connection with the attack, using weapons-grade Novichok nerve agent. Video: Salisbury poison suspects claim they were tourists The true identity of his accomplice Alexander Petrov remains unclear, but The Telegraph has established that he was travelling under his real first name and had only changed his surname to an alias. Counter-terrorism police and the security services are understood to know his real name. A former senior Russian military officer said Col Chepiga's high rank and experience strongly suggested that "the job was ordered at the highest level". The source claimed an attempted assassination of less importance would have been carried out by a lower ranking officer. A Tory minister said: "This is further embarrassment for Putin and Russia. This is the latest in a series of cock-ups by the GRU. It will have the opposite effect he will have wanted. It shows an inept capability that has been exposed. "There is no doubt that the Salisbury poisoning was part of a wider plan of Putin reaffirming Russia as a superpower and letting people know what Russia is capable of. This was a message to the West and his own people - cross me and there are consequences. He has learned that he simply won't get away with it." Boris Johnson, the former Foreign Secretary, said: "Utterly predictable news that GRU behind Skripal atrocity. What have you got to say, Putin? And I hope we hear real condemnation from Corbyn." Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga - aka Ruslan Boshirov - is believed to be pictured back row, far right with a group of fellow military graduates in Chechnya The revelations come as Theresa May told the UN's security council that Russia should not "be in any doubt" that if it did not "rejoin the international consensus against the use of chemical weapons" then the UK and its allies would be forced to take action. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed the new claims, highlighting how they had been published as Mrs May appeared at the UN. She wrote on Facebook: "There is no evidence, so they continue the information campaign, the main task of which is to divert attention from the main question: 'What happened in Salisbury?' "The question is: when will there be any evidence of the involvement of anyone, as London tells us, of poisoning in Salisbury?" European arrest warrants and Interpol red notices have been issued for the pair, who are accused of the murder of Dawn Sturgess, a local woman inadvertently poisoned by a discarded Novichok bottle, and the attempted murder of Col Skripal, 67, and his daughter Yulia, 33. Both men - under the aliases Boshirov and Petrov - have been charged with the poisoning of the Skripals by the Crown Prosecution Service. Video: Novichok suspects named by British authorities After Scotland Yard released its evidence - including CCTV showing the men close to Col Skripal's home on the day he was poisoned - the pair appeared on Russia TV, on the order of Mr Putin, to claim that they worked in the fitness industry and their sole reason for visiting the UK was to see the historic sites of "wonderful" Salisbury. Theresa May had publicly accused them of being members of the GRU. It can now be revealed that Col Chepiga has been fighting in an elite special forces unit - Spetsnaz - under the command of the GRU for 17 years and working undercover for at least nine years. He has been given more than 20 awards and a Hero of the Russian Federation medal, though, unlike most of the other recipients, there is little public information available about Col Chepiga. The medals are normally awarded by the president personally, and are only given to a handful of people each year. A Russian passport application in the name of Anatoliy Chepiga in 2003 The website of the Far-Eastern Military Command Academy, where Col Chepiga studied, lists all of their alumni who have received the award with a detailed description of the acts that resulted in the recognition. In his case it simply says: "Anatoly Vladimirovich Chepiga was awarded the honourary title of Hero of the Russian Federation by order of the president of the Russian Federation." His name also appears on a monument in honour of the alumni of the Far-Eastern Military Command who have received their Hero medal at its base on the border with China. The secretive nature of Col Chepiga's award, combined with the timing in 2014, suggests that it was for actions in Ukraine. The name Anatoliy Chepiga - aka Ruslan Boshirov - is bottom right under a 'gold star honour list' on an honours wall at the Far Eastern Military Command School In 2014 Russia was not engaged in fighting in either Chechnya or Syria and his unit - number 74854 of the 14th Separate Brigade of Special Forces (Spetsnaz) - was pictured on the eastern border of Ukraine that year. Involvement in Ukraine would explain the secrecy around his award, which is also noted by a veterans' group. The group writes on its website: "You can become a hero even in our seemingly peaceful times." "Anatoliy Vladimirovich Chepiga, a native of the village of Nikolayevka and 2001 graduate of the Far-Eastern Military Command Academy, was deployed to Chechnya three times and has more than 20 awards and medals. "In December 2014, Colonel Chepiga was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation for carrying out a peacekeeping mission." From Nikolaevka to Salisbury – The journey of Anatoliy Chepiga from schoolboy to trained assassin Col Chepiga was born in a small village with 300 residents near the border with China in 1979. At the age of 18, he enrolled in the Far-Eastern Military Command Academy in Blageoveschensk, less than an hour from his home. The academy is an elite training ground for marine commandos and officers in the Spetsnaz. At the time Col Chepiga was a student, it was known for training officers involved in overseas clandestine operations. He graduated in 2001 and joined his unit. He served with it in Chechnya where he was deployed three times. Salisbury attack step-by-step timeline puff Bellingcat and the Insider Russia have uncovered a file from 2003 in which Col Chepiga applies for a passport in his real name that lists his address as the military unit in Khabarovsk. The soldier, who is married with a teenage son, then moved to Moscow, where he can next be traced in 2012. Experts believe that because of his rank as colonel, the same as Col Skripal, and the nature of his work he may have studied at the Military Diplomatic Academy, also known as the "GRU Conservatory", following his move to Moscow. Passport records show that he was given the alias Ruslan Boshirov in 2009 at the latest.
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| Trump and CNN's Jim Acosta have heated exchange over women reporters asking questions Posted: 26 Sep 2018 02:55 PM PDT  President Donald Trump held a rare solo press conference on Wednesday afternoon, and it went about as you'd expect. Trump went head-to-head with CNN's Jim Acosta early on. Before even asking his question, Acosta asked if Trump would call on a female reporter next. "If you don't mind, after I'm finished ... if one of our female colleagues could go that would be great," Acosta said. At that point in the conference, Trump had only called on male reporters for questions. "What does he mean by that? Explain," Trump demanded. Trump then cuts off Acosta, "What does it mean, no, what does it mean?" "I think it would be great if a female reporter could ask you a question about this issue," Acosta says in reference to the allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. "I wouldn't mind it at all. Wouldn't make any difference to me," Trump said. Acosta then addressed the elephant in the room, asking Trump why he always sides with the accused instead of the accuser. "Is that because of the many allegations that you've had against you over the years," Acosta asked. Trump responded with a nonsensical string of sentence fragments, saying that women can also be accused of sexual assault, and he "didn't think" victims of sexual assault are reluctant to come forward. The whole back and forth was incredibly awkward. Trump did call on a woman after Acosta, Hallie Jackson from NBC. Trump then proceeded to mock her for asking too many questions. The conference comes a day ahead of a testimony from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding her allegations that Kanavaugh sexually abused her decades ago. Dr. Ford is now one of three women that have accused Kanavaugh of misconduct. WATCH: Musk under investigation, Trump's Chinese tariffs, Facebook's fake-news victory: The week in tech news
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| Bill Cosby settles into life as inmate No. NN7687 after getting 3-10 years Posted: 26 Sep 2018 12:54 PM PDT  He's been known on TV as Dr. Cliff Huxtable in "The Cosby Show," but on Wednesday morning Bill Cosby started his first full day as inmate No. NN7687.
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| Iran President Hassan Rouhani Says He Does Not Want War With the U.S. Posted: 26 Sep 2018 04:22 PM PDT  Rouhani said that the U.S. decision to pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal in May was "a mistake"
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| 20 Teacher Gift Ideas That'll Brighten Their Holiday Season Posted: 27 Sep 2018 02:59 PM PDT |
| Man with long immigration record is charged with killings Posted: 26 Sep 2018 09:34 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man with a violent criminal history who was deported six times had no outstanding warrants when questioned last month about the disappearance of his aunt and so he was released, Houston police said Wednesday, when the man was charged in Los Angeles with the beating deaths of three men.
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| How To Convince Your Boss To Let You Watch The Kavanaugh Hearing Posted: 26 Sep 2018 04:59 PM PDT  Consider it must-see TV: Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is set to
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| U.S. flies bombers over South China Sea amid heightened tensions with Beijing Posted: 26 Sep 2018 12:49 PM PDT  Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesman, said that B-52 bombers transited over the South China Sea as part of "regularly scheduled operations designed to enhance our interoperability with our partners and allies in the region." Such flights are common, but usually upset Beijing. In June, China's foreign ministry said no military ship or aircraft could scare China away from its resolve to protect its territory after U.S. B-52 bombers flew near disputed islands in the South China Sea. The United States and China have frequently sparred about the militarization of the South China Sea, where China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines all have competing claims.
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| FBI agent: Man in burning death admits sex, denies timing Posted: 27 Sep 2018 04:09 PM PDT  BATESVILLE, Miss. (AP) — An FBI agent testified Thursday that the man on trial for burning a Mississippi woman to death told him the two had sex, but not on the day she died.
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| Dying Pennsylvania Vietnam Vet Sells Belongings to Pay for His Funeral Posted: 27 Sep 2018 11:50 AM PDT  Willie Davis, who is dying of cancer, has held yard sales to pay for his funeral.
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| Nigerian troops fight off Boko Haram attack Posted: 27 Sep 2018 02:41 AM PDT  Nigerian troops have repelled an attack on a military base by Boko Haram jihadists in the country's northeast, the army and security sources said on Thursday. The attack, in the town of Gashigar, in the Mobbar district of Borno state, is believed to have been carried out by a Boko Haram faction backed by the Islamic State group. It was the latest in a series of strikes against military bases that have raised questions about the group's strength, despite repeated official claims they were on the verge of defeat.
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| Naked Jehovah’s Witnesses who 'kidnapped their neighbours believed Armageddon was coming' Posted: 26 Sep 2018 07:24 AM PDT  Three people charged with kidnapping their neighbours while naked were Jehovah's Witnesses who were convinced the end of the world was imminent, it has emerged. According to court document obtained by the Canadian Press, two women and one man pleaded guilty to unlawful confinement after taking three people hostage in Leduc, Alberta. One of the women involved also admitted dangerous driving.
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| 1,600 Men Sign Full-Page NYT Ad In Support Of Christine Blasey Ford Posted: 26 Sep 2018 01:38 PM PDT  Twenty-seven years ago, 1,600 black women signed a full-page advertisement in
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| Laughter at Trump speech a sign of U.S. isolation: Iran guards chief Posted: 26 Sep 2018 10:30 AM PDT  Laughter during U.S. President Donald Trump's speech to the U.N. General Assembly was a sign of the United States' isolation, the head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Wednesday, Fars News reported. Some delegates at the General Assembly on Tuesday laughed and muttered when Trump, in a speech, praised the "extraordinary" achievements of his administration.
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| WWII remains buried 74 years after 'Bridge Too Far' battle Posted: 27 Sep 2018 02:26 PM PDT  SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — The remains of a U.S. Army paratrooper killed in World War II have been returned to his Pennsylvania hometown, 74 years after he died in the battle chronicled in the 1977 film "A Bridge Too Far."
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| Former state Sen. Brian Joyce found dead; was awaiting trial Posted: 27 Sep 2018 03:14 PM PDT  WESTPORT, Mass. (AP) — Former Massachusetts state Sen. Brian Joyce, who was awaiting trial on federal corruption charges, was found dead in his home Thursday, authorities said.
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| Ancient Egyptian 'Magic Spell' Deciphered Posted: 26 Sep 2018 12:51 PM PDT  "The most striking feature of [the papyrus] is its image," wrote Korshi Dosoo, a lecturer at the University of Strasbourg in France, who published the papyrus recently in the Journal of Coptic Studies. Dosoo estimates that it dates back around 1,300 years, to a time when Christianity was widely practiced in Egypt.
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| Arctic ice hit one of its lowest points on record, but there’s another grim statistic Posted: 26 Sep 2018 07:26 AM PDT  Sea ice in the Arctic has just about melted to its lowest point of 2018, and this reinforces a trend of dwindling ice atop the globe — where the climate is warming two to three times faster than the rest of the planet. As of last week, it's the sixth-lowest ice extent — known as the sea ice minimum — in nearly 40 years of satellite records, and with the summer's end it's likely to keep that ranking. This statistic alone might not carry the bite of 2012's extreme Arctic melt, in which the ice thawed to its lowest point ever recorded. Yet, a closer examination of what's transpired in the great north this year reveals the Arctic's ever-accelerating disappearance. "I don't want the story to be 'This was a ho-hum year'," Jeremy Mathis, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist who has led the agency's Arctic Research Program, said in an interview. "Even though the ice didn't break an all-time record, it was still well below the historical average." 2018 sea ice extent is well below the average.Image: national snow and ice data centerIn fact, each of the last 12 years have been the lowest 12 years on the satellite record, Walt Meier, a senior research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, said in an interview. "Twelve in a row," said Meier. "That clearly indicates a change." And there's more. SEE ALSO: The wilderness has returned to idyllic Cape Cod. That means great white sharks. Some of the thickest, oldest Arctic ice, which is anchored in a compacted mass off the frigid north Greenland shore, broke apart this year. "That was oldest, most stable ice in the Arctic," said Mathis. "That's the ice that we thought would hold on the longest." "It even stuck around when we saw all-time record-breaking melt in 2012," he added. The average thickness of this ice is around 5 meters, or 16 feet thick, but in parts it can reach 20 meters, or some 65 feet, said Meier. In the greater scope of the expansive Arctic, this break-up wasn't extremely large. But it wasn't exactly small, either. A large pond of melted water on Arctic sea iceImage: nasa"It's an area about the size of Indiana, so it's not trivial," he said. This break-up portends what may eventually transpire in the Arctic — a visible gauge of climate change — in the next four or so decades. "Something happened this year that is incredibly indicative of just how fast the Arctic is changing," said Mathis. "That could accelerate the timeline for what could be an ice-free Arctic Ocean during the summer months." "It definitely was a surprise," said Meier. Though, this may not be the first time such Greenland ice melting has happened, he explained; given the limited satellite records, there's no way to know for sure. In any case, it's still a sign of growing instability. "It's an indication that it [the ice] was thinner and weaker than it used to be," he said. Loss and variability of August #Arctic sea ice volume...+ Model (PIOMAS) info/validation: https://t.co/UDsruDEI5p + Additional graphics: https://t.co/bTAfMZhjL1 pic.twitter.com/2YNhTPXoym — Zack Labe (@ZLabe) September 22, 2018 When sea ice melts, it contributes to even more ice melting. In contrast to the dark ocean, bright ice reflects sunlight back into space. But as both the warming oceans and atmosphere melt the bright ice cover, the ocean is then able to absorb this energy, which in turn melts more ice, said Meier. It's a continuing, stubborn feedback loop. The change here, even in non-record breaking years, is stark. "We're definitely looking at a shift in the climate," said Meier. WATCH: A paralyzed man walks, with assistance, thanks to a new therapy that reactivates the spinal cord
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| Newer hormonal birth control linked to lower ovarian cancer risk: Study Posted: 27 Sep 2018 04:21 AM PDT  Hormonal contraception methods like a pill, patch, ring or injectable are very effective and popular as birth control, but they can have other health benefits, too.
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| This really is the beginning of the end for Merkel - but it will be a slow and painful departure for the 'Queen of Europe' Posted: 26 Sep 2018 04:36 AM PDT  Germans woke up on Wednesday to a new and uncertain political future. Angela Merkel, the woman who has dominated Europe for more than a decade is wounded, perhaps fatally, by a rebellion from where she least expected it — within her own Christian Democrat party (CDU). In the space of a few hours on Tuesday night, she saw her authority begin to slip away. The German press is already describing her as a "lame duck". Wednesday's headline in Bild, Germany's biggest-selling newspaper, said it all: "Can Merkel still be chancellor?" What happened? Mrs Merkel's MPs did not challenge her directly. German politics is not so brutal or so swift. Instead, they chose the annual election of the party's parliamentary group leader, a vote that is usually a formality, to rebel. The role, a sort of elected Chief Whip, has no direct equivalent in UK politics. A single protester holds a placard reading "Merkel must go" outside her CDU party headquarters Credit: AXEL SCHMIDT/ REUTERS Although theoretically chosen by backbenchers, the position is traditionally in the gift of an incumbent chancellor, whose nominee is waved through unopposed. Indeed, this year was the first time since 1973 that a challenger had dared to stand against a chancellor's candidate. But on Tuesday, Volker Kauder, the right-hand man who has served Mrs Merkel loyally in the post for 13 years, was unceremoniously dumped by her MPs in favour of the challenger, Ralph Brinkhaus. It was an unprecedented challenge to Mrs Merkel's authority, and a clear message from the party. "You've always had my back," she told MPs ahead of Wednesday's vote — only for them to stab her in it. One senior MP from her coalition partner described it as an "uprising against Merkel". Summer of crises The rebellion did not come out of nowhere. Mrs Merkel led the party to heavy losses in last year's election and then struggled to form a government, eventually cobbling together a coalition after the longest negotiations in postwar German history. At the start of 2018 her authority appeared restored as she promoted a new generation to the cabinet and installed the conference darling, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, as party chairman. But since then she has endured a bruising summer as the government lurched from crisis to crisis, seemingly paralysed by internal disputes. At the start of the summer she found herself locked in a damaging power struggle over migrant policy with Horst Seehofer, the interior minister and leader of her Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU). Inside Chemnitz: The forgotten German town where far-Right vigilantes have exposed simmering migration tensions Mr Seehofer threatened to resign and pull his party out of the coalition unless he got his way, which would have deprived Mrs Merkel of a parliamentary majority. She won that face-off, but at the cost of considerable damage to her once impregnable authority. The decisive moment was when her backbench MPs sided with her against Mr Seehofer — the same MPs who have now dealt her a telling blow. Mrs Merkel probably hoped she had put her troubles behind her when parliament returned to work after the summer. Instead she found herself mired in a new row over far-Right protests in Chemnitz. When Hans-Georg Maassen, the domestic intelligence chief, publicly contradicted Mrs Merkel over the riots, her main coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SPD), had had enough and demanded his dismissal. But Mr Seehofer, seemingly hell-bent on a policy of mutual destruction, dug his heels in again. Mrs Merkel, once the most powerful woman in the world, found herself unable to sack a rebellious intelligence head. A compromise to move Mr Maassen to a more senior role at the interior ministry provoked a public outcry, and Mrs Merkel had to make an embarrassing U-turn. Her once sure touch seemed to have deserted her, and her authority was ebbing away. What next for Mutti? The end is unlikely to come swiftly for Mrs Merkel. She has to stand for re-election as the CDU leader at the party conference in December, but there is no obvious challenger. And the party will be reluctant to force a contest for fear it may trigger new elections: there is no guarantee Mrs Merkel's current coalition partners would agree to serve under a new chancellor. Current polls suggest new elections now could be disastrous for the CDU. The nationalist Alternative for Germany party (AfD) stands to gain most, a prospect all the mainstream parties will be keen to avoid. But there have already been calls for Mrs Merkel to start paving the way for her successor at December's conference. "I expect the chancellor to tell us how she wants to manage the transition to a new chancellor candidate by 2020," Armin Schuster, a senior CDU MP said. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer - known as Mini-Merkel - is the chancellor's preferred successor Credit: TOBIAS SCHWARZ/ AFP The next challenge for Mrs Merkel will be key regional elections in Bavaria and Hesse next month. The CDU does not stand in Bavaria, and she will be hoping that predicted losses for the CSU in its home state will weaken her arch-rival Mr Seehofer, and perhaps even see him overthrown as party leader. But losses could also lead to renewed pressure on Mrs Merkel from her Bavarian sister party. Ahe also faces the prospect of damaging losses for her own party in Hesse, a conservative stronghold, at the hands of the AfD. That could strengthen calls within the party to abandon her centrist approach and return to a more conservative line. If the losses in Bavaria and Hesse are bad enough, or if her authority continues to ebb away, Mrs Merkel could surprise everyone and choose to bow out gracefully by not standing for re-election as party leader in December. If that happened, the frontrunners to succeed her would be Jens Spahn, the health minister and darling of the party's right wing, and Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer, the party chairman, who is more in Mrs Merkel's centrist mould. But most analysts expect Mrs Merkel to fight on, as her mentor Helmut Kohl did in the twilight of his career. What about Europe? On the European stage, Mrs Merkel's woes are likely to accelerate a handover of power that has already started. Once the undisputed "Queen of Europe", Mrs Merkel's influence has waned amid her struggles at home. France's Emmanuel Macron has already begun to displace her as Europe's leading voice, and is her obvious successor. A Merkel departure would leave the door open to Mr Macron becoming Europe's de facto leader Credit: YVES HERMAN/ Reuters In the wake of Donald Trump's election as US president, Barack Obama flew to Berlin for a final appearance alongside Mrs Merkel in what was seen as a symbolic handing over of the torch. But it is Mr Macron, not Mrs Merkel, who has been the European leader most prepared to take on Mr Trump on the world stage. Mr Macron has been frustrated by Mrs Merkel's reluctance to embrace his vision for the future of the European Union, and she is unlikely to offer him any more support as she fights for her own political survival. He — or his successor — will still have to deal with whoever eventually takes over from Mrs Merkel as leader of Europe's biggest economy. But with Mrs Merkel fighting fires on the home front, the path is clear for Mr Macron to succeed her as Europe's leading political figure.
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| Sexual Assault Experts: It Makes ‘No Sense’ For A Prosecutor To Question Christine Blasey Ford Posted: 26 Sep 2018 10:45 AM PDT  Sexual violence experts slammed Senate Republicans on Wednesday for enlisting
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| 'Slaves to debt': fashion models speak out about catwalk misery Posted: 27 Sep 2018 09:01 AM PDT  The London-based model, who is deeply in debt to her agencies in New York and Paris, only agreed to talk to AFP of the trap she and many of her colleagues have fallen into if her name was changed, fearing she might never get work again. Other models told AFP that they were often paid in clothes and handbags and that they were "almost never paid" for fashion magazine shoots. The model rights group Model Law, which was set up earlier this year in Paris, said debt is a bigger taboo than sexual harassment since the #MeToo movement lifted the lid on abuse.
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| Trump accuses China of meddling in 2018 midterm elections in UN security council speech Posted: 26 Sep 2018 09:44 AM PDT  Donald Trump has accused China of interfering in the upcoming US midterm elections, but left out any mention of Russia whose alleged election meddling is the subject of a probe by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The US leader was speaking at the UN Security Council meeting during the General Assembly in New York.
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| 30 Delicious Fall Soups to Make on a Chilly Day Posted: 27 Sep 2018 01:16 PM PDT |
