| Macron and Le Pen in battle for EU's soul Posted: 26 May 2019 01:32 AM PDT  The fight between President Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen in Sunday's European election in France mirrors a larger battle across the continent between competing visions of bloc's future. Macron, France's youngest ever president, and Le Pen have a lot riding on the results of the polls which both have pitched as a re-run of their duel for the presidency two years ago. The last opinion surveys appeared to show the far-right National Rally (RN) with a slight edge over Macron's centrist alliance, including his Republic on the Move (LREM) party.
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| Police hunt suspect after explosion in French city of Lyon Posted: 25 May 2019 08:06 AM PDT  LYON, France (AP) — French police on Saturday hunted a suspect believed to have deposited a paper bag containing a device that exploded Friday, wounding 13 people on a busy pedestrian street in the city of Lyon.
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| Subpoenas for Trump financial records on hold pending appeal -court filing Posted: 25 May 2019 02:36 PM PDT ![Subpoenas for Trump financial records on hold pending appeal -court filing]( "Subpoenas for Trump financial records on hold pending appeal -court filing") Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp will not have to immediately hand over the financial records of U.S. President Donald Trump, three of his children and the Trump Organization, according to a court filing on Saturday. The filing in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York followed an appeal submitted on Friday by Trump and his affiliates against an existing order from a federal judge allowing the banks to hand over financial records to Democratic lawmakers. Amid an ongoing legal battle between the Republican president and Democrats in Congress, the agreement to hold off for now on enforcing the subpoenas for Trump's financial records was a rare accord between Trump's attorneys, the banks and the House Intelligence and the Financial Services Committees.
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| British, Irish climbers become Everest victims Posted: 25 May 2019 04:44 AM PDT  The deaths of an Irish and a British climber on Mount Everest took the toll from a deadly season on the world's highest peak to 10, expedition organisers said Saturday. British climber Robin Fisher, 44, reached the summit Saturday morning but collapsed when he had got just 150 metres back down the slope. "Our guides tried to help but he died soon after," Murari Sharma of Everest Parivar Expedition told AFP.
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| Eating Way Too Much Rice Almost Doomed Japan's Imperial Navy Posted: 25 May 2019 09:30 PM PDT  After the war, the Emergency Beriberi Investigative Committee investigated the disease's devastation of Japanese ranks. Worried about the composition of the committee and fully aware of Takaki's success, the emperor stepped in. "The army's beriberi problem can be effectively prevented if the army provides a staple of barley and rice," the emperor stated.In August 1882 in Incheon Bay near Seoul, four Japanese warships were locked in a tense stand-off with two Chinese warships that had brought troops to quell a revolt on the Korean peninsula.On paper, the Japanese flotilla outnumbered the Chinese, but the hulls of the Japanese ships hid a deadly secret. Less than half of their crews could man their stations.The Korean peninsula erupted into conflict on July 23. A soldiers' protest against ill treatment, unpaid wages and poor provisions turned into widespread mutiny. Ousted from power, the former regent of the king set the mutineers upon the government—and against the Japanese advisers working to modernize the Korean army.
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| UPDATE 3-Kurdish MPs, prisoners end hunger strike in Turkey Posted: 26 May 2019 01:55 AM PDT ![UPDATE 3-Kurdish MPs, prisoners end hunger strike in Turkey]( "UPDATE 3-Kurdish MPs, prisoners end hunger strike in Turkey") Several Kurdish lawmakers and thousands of prison inmates in Turkey have ended their hunger strike, heeding a call from jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan, MPs said on Sunday, 200 days after the protest was launched. The decision removed a source of tension in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey after Ankara let Ocalan meet his lawyers this month for the first time since 2011, triggering speculation about possible fresh efforts to end conflict in the region.
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| First American Financial Data Leak Exposed Millions of Mortgage-Related Files Posted: 24 May 2019 07:31 PM PDT  The leak of hundreds of millions of records by real estate title insurance company First American Financial could put the most private personal information of many American consumers at risk. The...
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| 'No Food, No Drink, No Watermelon' Boston Schoolteacher Claims Her Students Were Racially Profiled at Museum Posted: 25 May 2019 12:32 PM PDT  A Boston schoolteacher alleges that her 7th grade students were racially profiled during a visit to the Museum of Fine Arts.
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| Bodies in submerged Missouri vehicle bring storm toll to 9 Posted: 24 May 2019 08:27 PM PDT  OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The bodies of a man and a woman were discovered Friday in a submerged vehicle near the Mississippi River in Missouri, bringing the death toll to nine from storms that have ravaged the central U.S. this week and threaten major flooding through the holiday weekend.
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| Trump, Pelosi trade barbs as impeachment talk stirs anger Posted: 25 May 2019 01:50 PM PDT  Democratic congressional leader Nancy Pelosi says Donald Trump is angry that her party is not rushing to impeach him, as the relationship between the rivals reaches new lows. Trump responded by branding Pelosi "crazy Nancy," in what appeared to be the first time he has ascribed a pejorative nickname to the woman who is his congressional nemesis.
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| Rouhani says Iran could hold referendum on nuclear programme as tensions with US rise Posted: 26 May 2019 09:04 AM PDT  Iran's president Hassan Rouhani has suggested that the Islamic Republic could hold a public referendum on its nuclear programme, in the wake of rising tensions in the Persian Gulf. "Article 59 of the Constitution (referendum) is a deadlock breaker ... and could be a problem-solver at any junction," the semi-official news agency ILNA quoted Rouhani as saying late on Saturday. The statement followed Mr Rouhani's public dressing-down by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for his handling of the country's fast-unravelling nuclear deal. In recent weeks, Mr Rouhani responded to a new round of crippling US economic sanctions against Tehran by threatening to walk away from terms of the 2015 agreement, which the US withdrew from last year. This approach appears to have pushed the country uncomfortably close to military confrontation with the US. Since US President Donald Trump withdrew, his government has dialled up pressure on Iran by blocking global oil exports and stoking long-simmering tensions in the region. Citing an unnamed threat against American troops in the Middle East, the US sent warships and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf earlier this month, further escalating the potential for conflict. Tehran has described the US buildup of troops and material as psychological warfare and a political game. While many in Iran's leadership have insisted they do not want a war with the US, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's public chastising of the Islamic Republic's president reflects his more hawkish position. Ayatollah Khamenei has long maintained the view that Iranian negotiators surrendered too much in the deal. Last summer, he said they had "trespassed the red lines that had been set" and that the country owed the little it had thanks to his advice to Mr Rouhani. Without this guidance, the ayatollah said, "we would have given up more." Mr Rouhani's move to put a referendum on the table could help him settle this internal dispute without losing face and provide political cover for whichever path voters backed. The Iranian public has been broadly supportive of the nuclear deal and its attendant possibilities for economic growth. The country's middle classes in particular have been exhausted by years of sanctions and currency depreciation. But there is also an alternate view that sees a referendum as a device to offer Iranian leadership a pathway back to enrichment. Iran has held three referendums since its 1979 Islamic revolution, the first to approve the set-up of an Islamic Republic and the second to approve and amend the constitution. Mr Rouhani said he proposed a third, on the nuclear issue, to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei back in 2004 while negotiating the nuclear deal.
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| Houthi leader says drone attacks a response to spurned Yemen peace moves Posted: 26 May 2019 11:59 AM PDT  Mohammed Ali al-Houthi dismissed Saudi accusations that the attacks had been carried out on the orders on Iran - at a time of growing tension between Tehran and Riyadh alongside its Western and regional allies. Saudi Arabia, leading a Western-backed Sunni Muslim coalition, intervened in neighboring Yemen in 2015 after the Houthis ousted the government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi from power in the capital Sanaa. The Houthis have stepped up attacks on the kingdom in the past two weeks - including a drone strike on two oil pumping stations near Riyadh - in a resurgence of tactics that had largely subsided since late last year amid U.N.-led peace efforts.
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| Women gaining ground in the European Parliament Posted: 24 May 2019 09:39 PM PDT  The number of women members of the European Parliament has doubled since direct elections were first held in 1979, but they still remain the minority, particularly in the top jobs. This is on average higher than in the national parliaments of the European Union's 28 member states where female representation in 2018 was on the whole just under 28 percent, according to the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS). On a worldwide scale, women hold an average of 24 percent of parliamentary seats, according to the global Inter-Parliamentary Union of national parliaments.
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| This $8.99 iPhone case is perfect for people who hate iPhone cases Posted: 25 May 2019 07:33 AM PDT ![This $8.99 iPhone case is perfect for people who hate iPhone cases]( "This $8.99 iPhone case is perfect for people who hate iPhone cases") Some people are happy to spend hundreds or even more than $1,000 on an iPhone and then roll the dice by not protecting it with a case. We can totally understand not wanting to ruin Apple's design with a big, bulky case, but you can still protect your phone from scratches. Check out the TOZO Ultra-Thin Hard Cover for iPhone, which is only $8.99 on Amazon. It's paper thin so it won't really help with drops, but it'll do a great job of stopping scratches and swirls that would otherwise be inevitable.Here's more info from the product page: * Thin Like Naked- 0.35mm World Thinest protect Hard case. Maximum keep your iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or iPhone XS Max slim and provide scratch protection. * Concise Designed- Semi Transparent, Simple, Elegant * MATTE FACE - with matte optical texture, anti-glare(reduced reflection),reducing fingerprints or grease buildup. * CAMERA RAISED - Camera hole ring raised protective layer, provide cell phone camera detail protection. * PERFECT FIT - Specially designed for iPhone (2018 models), has precise cutouts for speakers, charging ports and buttons.
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| Huawei founder says he would oppose Chinese retaliation against Apple: Bloomberg Posted: 26 May 2019 04:52 PM PDT  Huawei Technologies' founder and Chief Executive Ren Zhengfei told Bloomberg https://bloom.bg/2HT7DUY that retaliation by Beijing against Apple Inc was unlikely and that he would oppose any such move from China against the iPhone maker. When asked about calls from some in China to retaliate against Apple, Ren said that he would "protest" against any such step if it were to be taken by Beijing.
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| Jayme Closs kidnapping: Jake Patterson jailed for life for killing girl’s parents and keeping her prisoner Posted: 25 May 2019 05:46 AM PDT  The kidnapper of 13 year-old Jayme Closs has been jailed for life after she told the judge she wanted him "locked up forever" for murdering her parents and keeping her prisoner for 88 days.Jake Patterson, 21, targeted the teenager after spotting her getting on a school bus in a rural area of Wisconsin while he was driving to work at a cheese factory.After two aborted attempts to kidnap her, he dressed up in black clothing, armed himself with his father's shotgun and drove to her home in Barron in the early hours of 15 October.Her shot her father James Closs through a window in the front door, blasted the lock and entered the house. After finding the bathroom locked he broke down the door and discovered Jayme and her mother clinging to each other in the bathtub.Patterson tied Jayme up with tape and shot Denise Closs in the head as she sat next to her daughter. He then dragged Jayme through her father's blood and put her in the truck of his car before driving to his remote cabin about 60 miles away in Gordon, Douglas County.Patterson kept her captive under a bed and hit her with a curtain rod, Wright said. "He kept her in constant fear, threatening her, telling her things would get worse," said district attorney Brian Wright.Jayme's disappearance mystified authorities until she finally escaped on 10 January while Patterson was away. She flagged down a neighbour and Patterson was arrested by police minutes later as he returned to the cabin. The killer pleaded guilty last month to two counts of intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping.Jayme did not appear at the sentencing but her statement was read out in court by a family attorney."He thought that he could own me but he was wrong. I was smarter," the statement said. "I was brave and he was not. ... He thought he could make me like him, but he was wrong."For 88 days he tried to steal me and he didn't care who he hurt or who he killed to do that. He should be locked up forever." Judge James Babler called Patterson the "embodiment of evil" before sentencing him to consecutive life sentences without the possibility of release on the homicide charges. He also ordered Patterson to serve 25 years in prison and 15 years of extended supervision on the kidnapping count. "There's no doubt in my mind you're one of the most dangerous men to ever walk on this planet," Babler said. Offered a chance to speak, Patterson offered an apology: "I would die," he said. "I would do absolutely anything ... to bring them back. I don't care about me. I'm just so sorry. That's all." In statements written while in prison, the killer said he had succumbed to fantasies about keeping a young girl and torturing and controlling her.He started looking for an opportunity to kidnap someone, even deciding he might want to take multiple girls and kill multiple families.After seeing Jayme, he decided then that "she was the girl he was going to take." Patterson's attorneys, Richard Jones and Charles Glynn, told the judge that Patterson was isolated and that he overreacted to loneliness. The killer was also ordered to register as a sex offender.Jayme's aunt, Jennifer Smith, said after the sentencing that this was an important step in helping Jayme to move forward.She said the family believes the outcome will give Jayme some "much needed peace of mind".Additional reporting by Associated Press
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| US sanctions on Iran felt in Iraqi Shiite tourist districts Posted: 26 May 2019 02:53 AM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — For years, Karar Hussein has sold sweets in his shop near the entrance to one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines, accepting whatever currency was offered to him by his clients, many of them religious tourists from neighboring Iran. But lately, when Iranian pilgrims ask about prices, he tells them he can only sell if they pay in Iraqi currency. They often walk out, disappointed.
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| The Downfall of Theresa May, the Prime Minister Broken by Brexit Posted: 25 May 2019 09:06 AM PDT  The couple went through to the prime minister's private study together for a few moments alone. After three years battling the impossible contradictions of Brexit, she was resigning as U.K. prime minister, defeated at last. In truth, they had known a day earlier that there was no hope left, and the prime minister famous for her stubborn resilience would have to resign.
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| Qatar says invited to emergency Arab summits in Mecca by Saudi King Posted: 26 May 2019 02:25 PM PDT  Qatar has been invited by Saudi Arabia to attend two emergency Arab summits being convened in the Saudi city of Mecca on May 30, Qatar's foreign ministry said on Sunday, after previously saying it had not been. Last week Qatar said it had not been invited to the two summits Saudi is planning in Islam's holiest site to discuss the implications of drone strikes on oil installations in the kingdom and attacks on four vessels, including two Saudi oil tankers, off the UAE coast earlier this month.
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| Iran state TV fires managers over 'insult' to Sunnis Posted: 26 May 2019 08:04 AM PDT  Iranian state TV has fired two channel managers over a live programme deemed insulting to Sunni Muslims, it said in a statement Sunday. The sackings at Channel 5 came after a broadcast on May 20 celebrating the birthday of the second imam in Shiite Islam, Hassan ibn Ali. During the programme, religious chanter and story-teller Ahmad Qadami recited a eulogy that "insulted the sanctities of Sunni Muslims", according to official news agency IRNA.
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| European elections 2019 results: Brexit Party expected to win most UK seats Posted: 26 May 2019 11:35 AM PDT  Nigel Farage's Brexit Party is tipped to win the most UK seats in the European Parliament elections, with establishment parties forecast to lose their majority across the European Union. Official exit polls are revealing a tough night for establishment parties across the continent, while voter turnout is at 51 per cent according to the EU Parliament - its highest since 1994. In France, Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party will take top spot, with 23.2 per cent of the vote against Macron's centrist grouping on 21.9 per cent according to polls. In Germany, Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union and the centre-left Social Democratic Union could be on course for their worst result at European elections. The CDU are polling just 28 per cent of the vote, down from 38 per cent in 2014 - a result which would be a significant blow to Mrs Merkel. It looks to be an even worse night for the SPD who are polling at just 15.5 per cent, and who could leapfrogged into second place by the Green Party on 22 per cent. Votes are being counted across 28 EU countries with polls closing at 10pm, and official provisional results for the UK are expected shortly after. European election: EU results By the early hours of Monday, we should have results from the majority of UK regions, allowing us to see just how seismic a political shift has taken place. Pre-election polls indicated that the two large establishment blocs in the European Parliament, which comprise a host of allied parties from each country, would lose seats under a tide of both populist and liberal support. While the centre-Right European Peoples' Party (EPP) and centre-Left Socialists & Democrats (S&D;) are likely to remain the largest parliamentary groups, forecasts indicated they would collectively lose dozens of seats. UK polls show the Brexit Party winning the most seats In the UK, Nigel Farage's Brexit Party is expected to gain the most seats, ahead of the two major parties. This would mark a repeat of his success with Ukip in the 2014 European election. Labour and the Conservatives were both polling at less than 20 per cent in the run-up to the vote, with some experts predicting that Theresa May's Tories could fall to their lowest vote share in a national election since they formed in 1834. The Lib Dems, Greens and Change UK - all backers of a second referendum - collectively had support of 30 per cent of the public in pre-election polls on election day, against no-dealers Ukip and the Brexit Party's collective 36 per cent. EU parliamentary elections tracker, four-poll rolling average Polling shows that revoking Article 50 and a no-deal Brexit - the two extremes of the Europe debate - are currently the most popular outcomes among the public, and parties were fighting to claim this political ground ahead of the vote. The lack of a Remain alliance - with the Lib Dems, Greens and Change UK all competing and splitting the pro-European vote - makes their job of converting votes into seats even harder. An analysis of regional polling data showed that the Greens, Lib Dems and Change UK would stand to win an additional 10 MEPs at the EU elections if they stood as a single anti-Brexit entity, giving them a total of 18 seats. In 2014, Nigel Farage's Ukip topped the polls, securing 27.5 per cent of the national vote and 24 MEPs. Most of these MEPs have now defected to other parties now, including the Brexit Party. EU Parliament elections 2014: UK results Europe-wide establishment parties expected to lose their majority At a continent level, the European Union's established centre-Left and centre-Right blocs were forecast to lose their combined majority in the elections. The pre-election polls indicated that the two large pan-European blocs, the EPP and the S&D;, will lose seats under a tide of both populist and liberal support. European Election seat forecast The loss of their combined majority is likely due to the rise of the liberal Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and eurosceptic Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF). The latter of these blocs, the populist-Right ENF, is poised to morph into a new group called European Alliance of People and Nations after the election, under Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini. Political groups of the European Parliament The ALDE and ENF made the largest gains in the election, leading experts to warn that the new Parliament could be more fractious with majorities harder to come by.
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| Nepal's record-setting Everest guide returns hero Posted: 25 May 2019 06:16 PM PDT  KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Family, friends and supporters welcomed a veteran Sherpa guide upon his return to Nepal's capital on Saturday, days after his 24th climb of Mount Everest extended his record.
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| UPDATE 2-Teva Pharm to pay Oklahoma $85 mln to settle opioid claims Posted: 26 May 2019 09:29 AM PDT ![UPDATE 2-Teva Pharm to pay Oklahoma $85 mln to settle opioid claims]( "UPDATE 2-Teva Pharm to pay Oklahoma $85 mln to settle opioid claims") BOSTON/JERUSALEM, May 26 (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd said on Sunday it had agreed to pay an $85 million settlement with the state of Oklahoma days before the company was set to face trial over allegations that it and other drugmakers helped fuel the U.S. opioid epidemic. Teva, the world's largest generic drugmaker, said the settlement "does not establish any wrongdoing on the part of the company" and denied contributing to opioid abuse in Oklahoma. Claims against Teva focused on the branded opioid products Actiq and Fentora as well as generic painkillers it produced.
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| Trump and Kim Jong-un 'agree' Biden has a 'low IQ', White House says Posted: 26 May 2019 07:42 AM PDT  Sarah Sanders told Meet the Press the president's point of view was not guided by the North Korean leader Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, Vietnam, on 28 February. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un "agree in their assessment" that former vice-president and 2020 Democratic candidate Joe Biden has a "low IQ", White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said. Speaking from Tokyo, where the president is on a state visit, Sanders told NBC's Meet the Press Trump's point of view was not guided by the North Korean dictator, whose state media this week attacked Biden as a "fool of low IQ". In a tweet on Saturday night, Trump called the former vice-president a "low IQ individual". He first misspelled Biden's name as "Bidan". "The president doesn't need somebody else to give him an assessment of Joe Biden," Sanders said. "He's given his own assessment a number of times. I think you've seen it. I'm sure you've covered it on your programme. The president watched him and his administration with President Obama fail for eight years." Sanders also rejected the contention that Americans should be "concerned that the president of United States is essentially siding with a murderous authoritarian dictator over a former vice-president in the United States". "The president's not siding with that," she said. "But I think they agree in their assessment of former vice-president Joe Biden." Trump caused familiar diplomatic consternation with his tweet, in which he also brushed off recent North Korean missile launches that were condemned by the UN and his own national security adviser, John Bolton. Bolton on Saturday told reporters he had "no doubt" the tests violated UN resolutions. A number of disagreements between Bolton and Trump have come to light, including over Venezuela and Iran. Bolton's comments on North Korea were nonetheless the first time a senior administration official has confirmed that the short-range ballistic missiles are in contravention of UN resolutions. One flew nearly 300 miles, making it a direct threat to South Korea, a US ally, if not to Japan. In the midst of Trump's visit to Tokyo, the president appeared to place confidence in his relationship with Kim ahead of US intelligence assessments. "North Korea fired off some small weapons," Trump tweeted, "which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me [and] also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual [and] worse. Perhaps that's sending me a signal?" A Biden campaign aide responded: "I would say the tweet speaks for itself, but it's so unhinged and erratic that I'm not sure anyone could even say that with a straight face." Trump has expressed belief that Kim may be sending him secret messages comes as the administration continues to defend the results of two high-profile summits aimed at convincing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. Asked if the missile tests were "bothering" Trump, Sanders said: "The president's focus in all of this process is on continuing the very good relationship that he has with Chairman Kim. And he feels good that the chairman will stay firm with the commitment that he made to the president and move towards denuclearization." Sanders continued: "The president still feels comfortable and confident in the relationship that he has with Chairman Kim and that he's going to stay true to the commitment that he made to the president." Sanders said it was "not true to say nothing's come of" the summits, which were held in Singapore in June 2018 and Hanoi in February this year. "There have been steps," she said, adding: "For a significant period of time there was no missile testing. We got hostages back home to the United States and remains of American war heroes. I don't know how you can say that that's nothing."
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| Bud Light's message about Miller Lite and Coors Light now has limits Posted: 26 May 2019 02:28 PM PDT ![Bud Light's message about Miller Lite and Coors Light now has limits]( "Bud Light's message about Miller Lite and Coors Light now has limits") The company behind Bud Light will not be able to use two TV ads and two billboards regarding its light beer rivals.
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| Get the Charming Look of the Kentucky Getaway Posted: 26 May 2019 05:00 AM PDT |
| Brexit Wreaks Havoc on Main U.K. Parties in European Elections Posted: 26 May 2019 04:45 PM PDT  With two thirds of vote counts complete, Nigel Farage's Brexit Party, which wants the U.K. to leave the EU without a deal, was in first place, with 32% of the vote. Labour, which is split about what to do, was third on 14%.
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| RPT-Hong Kong protestors demand China be held to account for 1989 Tiananmen crackdown Posted: 26 May 2019 05:08 AM PDT ![RPT-Hong Kong protestors demand China be held to account for 1989 Tiananmen crackdown]( "RPT-Hong Kong protestors demand China be held to account for 1989 Tiananmen crackdown") Thousands of protesters marched through central Hong Kong on Sunday as part of annual demonstrations demanding that China be held accountable for its democracy crackdown in and around Tiananmen Square three decades ago. Human rights groups and witnesses say that hundreds, perhaps thousands, died in the bloodshed as Chinese tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square and soldiers fired on student-led democracy protesters, beginning on the night of June 3, 1989. The Tiananmen crackdown is a taboo subject in China and authorities have refused to accept full accountability or release the death toll.
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| Scouted: These Portable Bluetooth Speakers Have a 4.9-Star Average Rating — and Are On Sale Right Now Posted: 25 May 2019 12:00 AM PDT  The folks at one of Scouted readers' favorite electronics brands Anker has repackaged their extremely highly rated Bluetooth speakers into a perfect Father's Day gift — and marked down the price by 23%. The Soundcore Flare portable speakers, which play multi-directional sound and sync to each other for custom style surround sound, are $50 right now (that's the lowest price they've ever been) and come with a limited edition travel case. The enhanced bass, all-around 360-degree sound, and LEDs that phase, pulse, and shine in sync with your music, got reviewers to rate the Flares 4.9 stars, on average — a rare occurrence to be that well-liked. Use code ILOVEFATHER to trigger the discount at checkout and give your dad a pair of portable speakers that are easy to use, modern, and which will supplant a lack of entertainment at any family get together or party for many years to come.Scouted is internet shopping with a pulse. Follow us on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter for even more recommendations and exclusive content. Please note that if you buy something featured in one of our posts, The Daily Beast may collect a share of sales.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| MacBook Pro teardown dives into Apple’s efforts to improve its keyboard design Posted: 24 May 2019 06:34 PM PDT  After years of controversy and deserved criticism, Apple earlier this week introduced a refreshed MacBook Pro with a slightly tweaked design that, we can only hope, will address longstanding complaints about the butterfly-switch keyboard originally introduced in 2016.At this point, it's been well-documented that the MacBook Pro keyboard is prone to failure if even the slightest piece of dust wedges itself underneath the keys. As recently as last month, Apple acknowledged that some users were still experiencing problems with their "third-generation butterfly keyboard." And while not a widespread issue by any means, it's simply unacceptable for this type of issue to arise on a notebook as pricey as a MacBook Pro.With the latest iteration of the MacBook Pro, Apple can hopefully put all keyboard-related criticisms in the rearview mirror. As Apple explained to a handful of publications this week, the new MacBook Pro keyboard employs "new materials" designed to lower the incidence of keys not performing or registering twice after a single press.In light of that, iFixit recently did what it does best: it tore apart a brand new MacBook Pro to better understand the steps Apple is taking to improve overall keyboard performance and reliability. The iFixit folks did uncover a new transparent material on the keyboard switch made out of nylon, though they weren't entirely sure what "problem Apple's engineers tried to solve using this updated material."The full teardown -- which touches on a number of other slight design changes -- can be viewed over here and is well worth checking out for anyone with an interest in how Apple's notebooks are put together and how everything looks when torn apart.Keyboard tweaks aside, Apple's new MacBook Pro refresh features 13 and 15-inch models and boast 8th and 9th-gen Intel Core processors."MacBook Pro now delivers two times faster performance than a quad-core MacBook Pro and 40 percent more performance than a 6-core MacBook Pro, making it the fastest Mac notebook ever," Apple's press release reads in part.As is to be expected, the new MacBook Pro models don't come cheap, with the entry-level models starting at $1,799 and $2,399, respectively.
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| Judge blocks Trump from building sections of border wall Posted: 25 May 2019 01:10 AM PDT  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump from building key sections of his border wall with money secured under his declaration of a national emergency, delivering what may prove a temporary setback on one of his highest priorities.
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| UPDATE 2-Fiat Chrysler in tie-up talks with Renault - sources Posted: 25 May 2019 12:13 PM PDT ![UPDATE 2-Fiat Chrysler in tie-up talks with Renault - sources]( "UPDATE 2-Fiat Chrysler in tie-up talks with Renault - sources") MILAN/PARIS, May 25 (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler and Renault are in talks on a comprehensive global tie-up that could address some of the main weaknesses of both carmakers, two sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters on Saturday. The talks are at an advanced stage, the sources said. The Financial Times https://on.ft.com/2HRDghE earlier reported that FCA and Renault were discussing a deal to forge "extensive ties" to tackle structural challenges facing the global auto industry.
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| Be All You Can Be: All of the Reasons People Join the U.S. Army Posted: 25 May 2019 02:47 PM PDT  All the reasons why. Americans join the Army for plenty of reasons: for country, family, and honor. According to a new study of enlisted soldiers, however, a core motivation is relatively simple: for money.A RAND Corporation exhaustive survey of 81 soldiers between E-1 and E-4 suggests that the choice to enlist is influenced by two overlapping factors: institutional ones like family and duty, and occupational ones like professional development and job stability.(This article by James Clark originally appeared at Task & Purpose. Follow Task & Purpose on Twitter. This article first appeared in 2018.)But while 37% of soldiers identified cited both institutional and occupational reasons for joining the Army, a full 46% said they enlisted due to purely occupational reasons; only 9% said they joined for entirely institutional ones. (Interestingly, those who did cite service as a calling were mostly medics.)
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| Germany's Greens surge in EU vote as Merkel bloc's lead shrinks Posted: 26 May 2019 09:47 AM PDT  Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right bloc was leading in European elections in Germany, exit polls showed Sunday, but the score was shaping out to be a historic low, while the Greens recorded a surge. Merkel's Christian Democratic Party and allies Christian Social Union were set to garner around 28 percent, two separate polls by national broadcasters ARD and ZDF showed, sharply under their 35.3 percent in 2014. The far-right AfD was set to improve on their 2014 score of 7.1 percent, with both exit polls seeing it coming in at 10.5 percent.
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| India's Congress Party Seeks to Reorganize After Election Rout Posted: 25 May 2019 05:39 AM PDT ![India's Congress Party Seeks to Reorganize After Election Rout]( "India's Congress Party Seeks to Reorganize After Election Rout") The Congress Working Committee, the top decision-making body of the party, rejected Gandhi's resignation offer "unanimously" and requested him to undertake "a complete overhaul and detailed restructuring at every level of the party," its spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters in New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi clinched a second five-year term, with his Bharatiya Janata Party winning 303 of the 543 parliamentary seats to secure a single-party majority. The Congress won 52 seats, which was only a few more seats than it took in 2014.
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| U.S. troop move to Middle East dangerous for international peace: Iran's Zarif Posted: 25 May 2019 02:56 AM PDT  Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Saturday that the U.S. decision to deploy more troops to the Middle East in response to the perceived threat from Iran was "extremely dangerous" for peace. The United States said it was sending 1,500 troops to region in what it called an effort to bolster defenses against Tehran, and it accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards of direct responsibility for attacks on tankers this month. "The Americans have made such allegations to justify their hostile policies and to raise tensions in the Persian Gulf," Zarif told state news agency IRNA.
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| NASA captures an incredible photo of a creeper galaxy Posted: 25 May 2019 10:21 AM PDT  Most galaxies are traveling away from our galaxy, not closer to it. Still, there are exceptions. Take Messier 90, one of the few galaxies that appears to be traveling towards our own Milky Way galaxy. Recently, NASA's Hubble telescope caught an awe-inspiring photo of the galaxy. Here it is in full. Messier 90 is part of the Virgo cluster, a collection of about 1,200 galaxies Image: ESA/Hubble & NASA, W. Sargent et SEE ALSO: SpaceX just blasted a critical NASA instrument into space Because the universe is expanding, most galaxies are moving away from the Milky Way galaxy. Consequently, these galaxies appear to be on the red side of the spectrum, a phenomenon known as redshift. Messier 90, however, compresses the frequency of its light as it moves closer to us. That makes it fall closer to the blue side of the spectrum, a phenomenon known as blueshift. It's important to note that the Virgo cluster, of which Messier 90 is a part, is moving away from us. But Messier 90 is actually moving faster than other galaxies in the cluster, making it appear as if it's racing towards the Milky Way. The cluster's colossal mass accelerates some of these galaxies to very high velocities. Just look at how pretty it makes them. Messier 90 is a looker Image: NASA, ESA, STScI, and V. Rubin (Carnegie Institution of Washington), D. Maoz (Tel Aviv University/Wise Observatory) and D. Fisher (University of Maryland) I would totally take a selfie with this galaxy. WATCH: Marvel intends to introduce a gay character 'soon'
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| Air New Zealand orders eight Boeing long-haul jets Posted: 26 May 2019 03:16 PM PDT  Air New Zealand said Monday it had ordered eight Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner aircraft in what it described as a "multi-billion dollar investment". Air New Zealand said it had secured a "significant discount" on the $US2.7 billion list price of the eight new aircraft but would not be publicly releasing how much it was paying. Chief executive Christopher Luxon said the 787-10 was "perfect" for the airline's Pacific Rim focus.
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| 102-year-old woman facing eviction gets offer of help from Schwarzenegger Posted: 25 May 2019 12:49 PM PDT  A 102-year-old woman is being evicted from her Ladera Heights home of nearly 30 years - but friends like former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and local officials are vowing to help her.
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