| Rockets fired from Syria at Israeli-occupied Golan Heights -military Posted: 01 Jun 2019 12:25 PM PDT ![Rockets fired from Syria at Israeli-occupied Golan Heights -military]( "Rockets fired from Syria at Israeli-occupied Golan Heights -military") Two rockets were fired on Saturday from Syria towards the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights causing no casualties, the Israeli military said. A military spokeswoman said that the details were still being looked into and that it remained unclear who had fired the rockets and where they had landed. Israel says that arch-foe Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, both of whom are fighting on the side of President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian war, are trying to turn Syria into a new front against Israelis.
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| Rudy Giuliani Steps Up Biden Attacks With New Ukraine Conspiracy Theory Posted: 30 May 2019 09:15 PM PDT  Weeks after Ukraine's prosecutor general shot down Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani's claims that there was some nefarious plot by former Vice President Joe Biden just waiting to be uncovered in the country, Giuliani upped the ante on Thursday night and straight-up accused Biden of bribing the Ukrainian president to make an investigation into his son go away.Coincidentally (or predictably?), the claim came amid mounting calls for impeachment after Special Counsel Robert Mueller broke two years of silence earlier this week to say he could not clear President Trump of a crime, despite the president and his allies' declarations to the contrary. Appearing on Fox News' Hannity to ostensibly talk about that recent statement, the former New York City mayor quickly pivoted to 2020 contender Biden. Complaining that the press isn't covering all of Biden's supposed scandals, Giuliani ranted about a series of suspicious money flows, none of which he provided any actual details on. "How bout the $5 million from one of the most crooked people in the Ukraine? While Joe is doling out the money to the Ukraine? And then Joe bribes the president of the Ukraine," he said. "He says, 'You have six hours, fire the prosecutor that's investigating his son, or I'm leaving with America's money,'" host Sean Hannity said, helpfully setting Giuliani up to continue with his baseless accusations."The money that would have the country go under," Giuliani exclaimed. "Remember, it was not just 1.2 billion. They were going to default without that 1.2 billion. They were desperate!" It was not immediately clear what funds Giuliani was referring to. The European Union extended a $1.2 billion loan to Ukraine early last year, and before that, in 2014, Congress approved a $1 billion loan package to Ukraine. The U.S. Treasury also backed $2 billion in loan guarantees in 2015. Giuliani went on to allege that former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was "extorted" by Biden, claiming Biden held the loan guarantees unless the president fired a top prosecutor who was investigating a company Biden's son worked for. Poroshenko, Giuliani said, was even the "godfather to the guy's kids.""That's the crime, Joe. Extorted!" Giuliani shouted. "And by the way, when he took the money for the Ukraine, we call that, under all laws, bribery!"While Giuliani has spent much of the past month persistently claiming that then-Vice President Biden abused his power to force Ukraine to drop a probe involving his son—even announcing and then quickly canceling a trip to Kiev to convince the nation's president-elect to keep the pressure on the Bidens—this appears to be the first time he explicitly accused Biden of bribing a world leader. And despite the current Ukrainian prosecutor pouring cold water on Giuliani's suspicions, the Trump campaign hatchet man still appeared baffled and outraged that his conspiracy theory is not gaining more traction. "And the dishonest press will not cover it," he said. "That's why when the president says they are dishonest, when he says they are corrupt, and even when he says they are the enemy of the people, they are proving it."While the Ukrainian government appears to have no interest in Giuliani's gambits, he has continued to push forward. Recently, he met with a former Ukrainian diplomat in an effort to prove that Ukrainian officials worked with Democrats in order to undermine former Trump campaign official Paul Manafort.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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| Border Patrol: Group of 1,036 migrants is largest ever found Posted: 31 May 2019 01:23 AM PDT  EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A group of 1,036 migrants that crossed the border illegally El Paso, Texas, is the largest the Border Patrol has ever encountered, the agency said Thursday.
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| Barr: Counter-intelligence Probe of Trump Campaign Crossed ‘Serious Red Line’ Posted: 31 May 2019 08:15 AM PDT  Attorney General William Barr said Friday that the FBI's counterintelligence investigation of the Trump campaign "crossed" a "serious red line" and should be "carefully looked at.""The use of foreign intelligence capabilities and counterintelligence capabilities against an American political campaign to me is unprecedented and it's a serious red line that's been crossed," Barr said in an interview with CBS.The attorney general is currently investigating the origins of the probe to determine whether the U.S. intelligence community's surveillance of the Trump campaign was warranted. He has expressed skepticism about the explanations for some of the investigative actions taken.During testimony to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee last month, Barr stated that "spying did occur" on the Trump campaign, angering Democratic lawmakers."I guess it's become a dirty word somehow," Barr told CBS. "I think there is nothing wrong with spying. The question is always whether it is authorized by law.""There were counterintelligence activities undertaken against the Trump campaign, And I'm not saying there was not a basis for it, that it was legitimate, but I want to see what that basis was and make sure it was legitimate," he added.The New York Times reported that the FBI sent an undercover agent posing as a research assistant to ask former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos whether the campaign was working with Russia. Papadopoulos was told by a Maltese professor in early 2016 that Russia had damaging information on Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton, but said he told the undercover agent he had "nothing to do with Russia.""Republics have fallen because of Praetorian Guard mentality where government officials get very arrogant, they identify the national interest with their own political preferences, and they feel that anyone who has a different opinion, you know, is somehow an enemy of the state," Barr remarked. "That can easily translate into essentially supervening the will of the majority and getting your own way as a government official."FBI director Chris Wray said earlier this month that he had seen no evidence that the FBI illegally spied on the Trump campaign.
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| Pompeo Tells Germany to Tackle China or Lose Data Sharing Posted: 31 May 2019 05:25 AM PDT  Speaking in Berlin Friday, Pompeo urged Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to "lead in taking action against Chinese corruption, espionage and unfair trade practices" and said the U.S. may have to change its "behavior" regarding intelligence sharing. China is a "national security risk" to western democracies and the challenge is far wider than the threat posed by the use in communications networks of equipment made by Huawei Technologies Co., Pompeo said at a news conference after talks with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. "We want to make sure the information doesn't end up in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, it's pretty straightforward," Pompeo said.
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| Danube currents keep rescuers from wreck after deadly river crash Posted: 30 May 2019 11:00 PM PDT  Roiling flood waters in the Danube made it impossible for rescuers to reach the wreck of a river boat on Friday, two days after it sank in the Hungarian capital with 28 people feared dead, nearly all of them South Korean tourists. Seven South Koreans were confirmed killed and seven rescued when their pleasure boat struck a cruise liner in heavy rain on Wednesday night. Another 21 people are still missing, 19 of them South Korean tourists, and officials say there is little hope any will be found alive.
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| Climber shares first-hand experience scaling Everest this season Posted: 31 May 2019 10:43 AM PDT  Alex Pancoe, an experienced climber who scaled Mount Everest this year, discusses recent deaths on the mountain and the importance of being extremely skilled before attempting such a feat.
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| Hezbollah chief warns any war against Iran would engulf region Posted: 31 May 2019 03:05 PM PDT  The head of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah warned on Friday that if there was a war against Iran the whole Middle East region would "erupt", amid escalating US-Iranian tensions. US President Donald "Trump, his administration, and his intelligence know well that any war on Iran will not remain confined to Iran's borders", Hassan Nasrallah said. "Any war on Iran will mean the whole region will erupt," said the head of the Iran-backed movement in a televised speech, explaining that such a war was therefore unlikely.
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| Jimmy Kimmel Grills Nancy Pelosi on Trump Impeachment: ‘Why Not?’ Posted: 31 May 2019 02:51 AM PDT  ABC"How's it going in Washington? Anything interesting happening?" cracked Jimmy Kimmel. "I'm really happy to be here," Nancy Pelosi replied with a wink and a smile. The Democratic Speaker of the House joined the comedian on his late-night program Thursday night just one day after Robert Mueller delivered an impromptu press conference where he asserted, "If we had had confidence the president clearly did not commit a crime we would have said so"—once again punting to Congress. After asserting her Golden State Warriors' fandom, and the fact that she has a signed Draymond Green jersey that she won at auction ("because every team needs somebody like that"), the House Speaker got into the whole Mueller mess, with Kimmel questioning why Pelosi hasn't pushed for Trump to be impeached like many of her Democratic colleagues, including presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren. "We've been on that path for a while, and when we do get to where we're going, we're going to be ready," said Pelosi. "You have to remember, we've only had the [congressional] majority…since this year, and the first month government was shutdown." "We have to be ready," she added. "Our Founders, in the darkest days of the Revolution, they said, 'The times have found us.' Well, I think right now the times have found us. We have a defiance of the Constitution of the United States, and so when we go down this path, we have to be ready, and it has to be clear to the American people, and we have to hope that it'll be clear to the Republicans in the United States Senate." When Kimmel joked that we've "been on this path" since the '70s, Pelosi held her ground. "We're on a path to getting information. The public deserves to know the truth—the facts—and so, when you go down a path like impeachment, which is very divisive—it could divide the country—let me put it this way: we understand our oaths of office, to defend the Constitution of the United States. Apparently, the president does not understand his oath of office. He doesn't honor the oath to protect and defend. We know our responsibility, but again, because it is divisive, we have to try to bring people together." Jimmy Kimmel Doesn't Want to 'Appeal' to Trump Fans: 'I Don't Think That World Exists Anymore'"I probably have a better idea as to what the president has to be held accountable for than anyone," Pelosi asserted. "The only person who knows better than I do…is the president of the United States. He knows. He knows what his violations have been." After some more back-and-forth, Pelosi laid out why she believes that Trump wants the Democratically-controlled House of Representatives to file articles of impeachment: so that it'll be shot down by the Republican-controlled Senate. "[Here's] why I think the president wants us to impeach him," Pelosi explained. "He knows it's not a good idea to be impeached, but the silver lining for him is, then he believes that he would be exonerated by the United States Senate, and there's a school of thought that says, if the Senate acquits you, why bring up charges against him in the private sector when he's no longer president? So when we go through with our case, it's got to be ironclad."Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet 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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| Warren grilled on Native American ancestry claims: 'You're kind of like the original Rachel Dolezal' Posted: 31 May 2019 08:41 AM PDT  Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is asked to explain how she learned about her Native American ancestry.
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| Hollywood backlash over Georgia abortion law grows Posted: 30 May 2019 11:00 PM PDT  Big business stays silent over controversy – in contrast to entertainment giantsAbortion rights advocates rally in front of the Georgia state capitol in Atlanta. Photograph: Tami Chappell/AFP/Getty ImagesGeorgia is home to some of the world's biggest businesses but those corporations are so far avoiding becoming involved in the growing controversy over the state's new abortion law, in contrast to the growing number of entertainment giants threatening to pull out. Earlier this week, Disney and Netflix said they are considering ending production in the state if it implements a bill that bans abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy – a point when many women will not know they are pregnant.The entertainment giants have sparked a Hollywood backlash against the law, with companies including WarnerMedia, which owns the Game of Thrones maker, HBO, and the Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter film studio, Warner Bros, also threatening to stop making productions in Georgia.WarnerMedia has said it would "reconsider" Georgia as a location for any new productions, putting it in a politically difficult position as all eight series of the global phenomenon Game of Thrones were filmed in Northern Ireland, which has even more restrictive laws on abortion and reproductive rights than Georgia."We operate and produce work in many states and within several countries at any given time and while that doesn't mean we agree with every position taken by a state or a country and their leaders, we do respect due process," the company said in a statement."We will watch the situation closely and if the new law holds we will reconsider Georgia as the home to any new productions. As is always the case, we will work closely with our production partners and talent to determine how and where to shoot any given project."Sophie Turner, who played Sansa Stark in the series, told Sky News she had signed a public pledge to no longer work in US states with strict abortion laws. When it was pointed out she had filmed eight series of Game of Thrones in Northern Ireland, she said "luckily we're moving on". The state has built a reputation as being one of the most business-friendly in the south and its largest employers include Coca-Cola, Delta, Home Depot, UPS and a host of other blue-chip companies. However, so far none are prepared to follow the media and entertainment giants."We think it's a very personal issue to the individual, so we don't see it as our place to weigh in on this," a spokeswoman for Home Depot said."The question of abortion is deeply personal and there are many strongly held beliefs. We believe each employee has the right to express their own views and for this reason the company does not make a policy statement for, or against, the bill," a UPS spokesman said."UPS aligns its policies with the law. We encourage our employees to be involved in the political process so that their interests and beliefs are reflected in the laws enacted by their elected representatives."Delta and Coca-Cola did not respond to requests for comment. The Georgia Chamber of Commerce also declined to comment on the bill, which is being challenged and is likely to end up before the supreme court.While global corporates remain silent on the matter, the opposition from Hollywood has continued to swell.NBC Universal, owner of the Jurassic World and Fast and Furious maker Universal Studios, said that if the law were to come into effect it would "strongly impact our decision-making on where we produce out content in the future".Viacom – which owns Channel 5 in the UK and Paramount, the Hollywood studio behind franchises including Mission: Impossible and Transformers – said that if the law were to be introduced "we will assess whether we will continue to produce projects" in the state.AMC Networks, which is currently shooting the 10th season of The Walking Dead in Georgia, said: "If this highly restrictive legislation goes in to effect, we will re-evaluate our activity in Georgia." The muted business reaction in Georgia stands in marked contrast to the outpouring of corporate criticism that followed North Carolina's so-called "bathroom bill". That bill would have required transgender people to use restrooms in many public buildings that corresponded to their sex at birth.Companies including Apple, Coca-Cola and PayPal attacked the bill and threatened not to create new jobs in the state. Hugh McColl, retired chief executive of Bank of America, one of the state's largest employers, called the bill "inappropriate, unnecessary legislation that will hurt North Carolina".The legislation, which was partially repealed, cost the state $3.76bn in lost business, according to Associated Press.
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| UPDATE 2-China to probe FedEx after Huawei says parcels diverted Posted: 01 Jun 2019 07:35 AM PDT ![UPDATE 2-China to probe FedEx after Huawei says parcels diverted]( "UPDATE 2-China to probe FedEx after Huawei says parcels diverted") China will investigate whether FedEx Corp
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| I was let go as substitute teacher because I corrected my students' grammar Posted: 01 Jun 2019 04:00 AM PDT ![I was let go as substitute teacher because I corrected my students' grammar]( "I was let go as substitute teacher because I corrected my students' grammar") What students apparently objected to was me handing back their papers, hectoring them about language errors.
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| Some of the most recent deadly US mass shootings Posted: 31 May 2019 07:01 PM PDT  A longtime city worker opened fire Friday in a building that houses Virginia Beach government offices, killing 12 people and wounding six others.
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| Syria NGOs say Idlib attacks triggering mass displacement Posted: 31 May 2019 08:47 AM PDT  Syrian NGOs decried on Friday the inaction of the international community to mounting violence in the last jihadist stronghold of Idlib, saying it had triggered the biggest wave of displaced people since the war began. As well as killing dozens of civilians, the recent bombardments by Syrian and Russian forces in northwest Syria have pushed 300,000 people towards Turkey's border, the NGOs said at a press conference in Istanbul. "This is the single largest mass displacement in Syria since the beginning of the crisis" in 2011, they said in a statement.
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| Summit fever: Everest's budget climbing boom puts Indians most at risk Posted: 30 May 2019 11:58 PM PDT ![Summit fever: Everest's budget climbing boom puts Indians most at risk]( "Summit fever: Everest's budget climbing boom puts Indians most at risk") KOLKATA/KATHMANDU, May 31 (Reuters) - Earlier this month Dipankar Ghosh, a 52-year-old Indian photographer, scaled the world's fifth-highest peak, the snow-capped Mount Makalu. After being separated from the rest of his team in bad weather, he collapsed and died along with Narayan Singh, an officer in the Indian army, according to his tour operator. "Dipankar personified mountains," said his brother, Goutam, sitting by the coffin after it returned to the family's home in Kolkata, the state capital of India's West Bengal, on Wednesday.
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| Meet the Man Who Brought Israel's Netanyahu to His Knees Posted: 30 May 2019 10:00 PM PDT  Now Avigdor Liberman, the blunt-talking former bouncer who engineered Benjamin Netanyahu's first electoral victory in 1996, has brought the prime minister to his knees. The former defense and foreign minister rejected any compromise on his proposed bill to draft more ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into the military, blocking Netanyahu's efforts to form his fifth government. Liberman, who grew up in Moldova and still speaks with a heavy Russian accent, said his Yisrael Beitenu party "won't be partners in a government run according to Jewish religious law." He dismissed Netanyahu's claims that he is to blame for the political turmoil.
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| Kim Jong Un’s Reported Purges Spell Disaster for Trump Posted: 31 May 2019 06:06 PM PDT  Mikhail Svetlov/GettySo far, the most important conclusion we can draw from reports North Korea's senior nuclear negotiator and four foreign ministry officials were executed in March is this: Kim Jong Un is not the reliable, trustworthy negotiator President Trump has made him out to be.According to the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, a senior aide to leader Kim Jong Un was "sent to a labor and reeducation camp," and two lower-level officials were imprisoned.The detention of aide Kim Yong Chol, who led Pyonyang's outreach to Washington for two Trump-Kim summits, had been known for more than a month, but many are questioning whether Kim Hyok Chol, the nuclear negotiator, was in fact put to death by a firing squad at an airport in the North. Whatever the accuracy of the Chosun Ilbo reporting—Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday said he was looking into the matter—there is evidence of severe turmoil in Pyongyang political circles, and it appears Kim Jong Un's grip on power has been weakening in recent months.This increasingly evident turmoil undercuts the notion, advanced by Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, that Kim can negotiate in good faith on a range of issues from denuclearization to inter-Korean reconciliation.The Chosun Ilbo article is based on a single "source" who was not identified in any way, and this has led many to suggest the stunning news is not accurate. Previous South Korean reports of executions in the North, including a 2013 Chosun Ilbo report, have in fact proven to be untrue. Moreover, the Friday article carried by the conservative-leaning paper may have been intended to embarrass the South's "progressive" president, Moon.Reuters, referring to the five individuals, cites an unidentified "diplomatic source" saying, in the words of the news organization, that "there was no evidence they were executed.""Seems like fake news to me," a "White House official" was quoted as telling Harry Kazianis of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for the National Interest about the execution report.Although there should be skepticism, the story is nonetheless plausible given the rhetoric used by Rodong Sinmun, the official paper of the North's Workers' Party, in a commentary on Thursday warning about "anti-party" and "anti-revolutionary" elements, harsh language typically reserved for enemies of the regime.The Chosun Ilbo reported that these words last appeared in 2013, at the time of the execution of Jang Song Thaek, the power-broker married to Kim Jong Un's aunt.Yet skepticism over one news story misses a larger point about the Pyongyang regime. Kim Hyok Chol has disappeared from sight as has, more significantly, Kim Yong Chol, described as Kim Jong Un's "right-hand man." Kim Yong Chol hand-delivered a letter from Kim to Trump in the Oval Office during a two-hour meeting just days before the June summit in Singapore, and Trump then called him "the second most powerful man in North Korea."The disappearances of senior figures fly in the face of claims that the North Korean system is now sturdy. There have been indications that the historic first summit between Trump and Kim last June raised expectations among both the North Korean elite and common folk that positive change was coming to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.Will Trump Pull U.S. Out of South Korea for Kim Jong Un?Trump's four-minute video about the North's bright future, showed to Kim in Singapore, may have had more effect than observers once suggested. By now it's clear that rich and poor North Koreans were sorely disappointed by the breakdown in talks with Trump.The Chosun Ilbo reported Friday—and this feels credible—that Kim Jong Un ordered the purges "to contain internal unrest and mounting public dissatisfaction over the failed summit."Even in advance of Hanoi, there were hints of anti-Kim feeling. On February 22, a few days before that meeting, activists intruded on the North's embassy in Madrid, and there are suspicions that the raiders, members of activist group Free Joseon, had inside help, perhaps officials in Pyongyang. If the group had secret supporters, anti-regime elements are stronger than many believe. Kim Hyok Chol served as ambassador to Spain before becoming nuclear negotiator, by the way.Kim Jong Un executed perhaps as many as 180 senior officials—and maybe 500 juniors—as he consolidated power after the surprise death of his father and predecessor, Kim Jong Il, in December 2011. Some, therefore, may argue that the killing of only five diplomats at this point cannot be a destabilizing factor.Trump Doubles Down on Indulgent—and Failing—North Korea PolicyYet purges and killings at the beginning of a Kim ruler's reign are expected, as he throws out old figures and replaces them with ones considered loyal. These executions, at a time of rising expectations and after a period of supposed political consolidation, therefore look different.Purges—and especially killings—create enemies. Among other things, they can motivate regime figures to act. David Maxwell, who served five tours of duty with the U.S. Army in Korea and is now with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, noted Friday morning that U.S. Forces Korea was always concerned about a "Mr. X scenario": some insider assassinating a Kim leader because he felt threatened by purges and believed he could be "next on the list."Kim Hyok Chol was charged with "spying for the United States for poorly reporting on the negotiations without properly grasping U.S. intentions." Kim rulers are notorious for killing others to divert blame for their own mistakes, but Kim Jong Un has in recent years refrained from mass bloodletting. Now, whether the five poor officials are dead or merely languishing in detention, Kim has started a potentially dangerous dynamic, and that is a sure sign he felt particularly insecure.And when Kim leaders feel insecure, nothing good ever happens.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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| Mastermind's accountant agrees to plead guilty in college admissions scandal Posted: 31 May 2019 04:34 PM PDT  The bookkeeper for Rick Singer, the ringleader of the college admissions bribery scandal, has agreed to plead guilty to charges and cooperate.
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| UPDATE 1-Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Wilders says Twitter blocks his account Posted: 31 May 2019 03:52 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Wilders says Twitter blocks his account]( "UPDATE 1-Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Wilders says Twitter blocks his account") Dutch far-right politician and anti-Islam campaigner Geert Wilders said on Friday that Twitter had temporarily blocked his account following remarks he made about a political rival. Wilders, who cannot easily appear in public due to threats against him by Islamists, relies heavily on Twitter to communicate with his supporters. "Twitter often tolerates death threats against me, but not a factual tweet by me about a colleague.
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| Could Taiwan Halt an Invasion by China? Posted: 01 Jun 2019 01:49 AM PDT  The Taiwan question has long been in a thorn in the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) side. In the decades following the Shanghai communiqué, the CCP's core strategic approach to Taiwan was to bide their time while building up national strength. As Deng Xiaoping famously proclaimed, the People's Republic of China (PRC) can wait 100 years to reunify with Taiwan (also known as Republic of China, or ROC) if necessary.Today's CCP appears to be operating within a much shorter time frame, however. With China's rise to great power status, Beijing wields unprecedented economic leverage over Taiwan and is increasingly comfortable with flexing its military muscle overseas. XI Jingping is "losing patience" with the defiant island off his southeastern coast, which continues to rebuff Chinese reunification schemes premised on what Xi calls a "one country, two systems" approach.
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| Waive your yearly Amex fee and snag 80,000 bonus Delta miles with this limited-time offer Posted: 31 May 2019 08:35 PM PDT  One of the great things about Delta's co-branded rewards cards is that they can offer something all at once that a semi-frequent flyer might be hard-pressed to accumulate otherwise. We're talking, of course, about frequent-flyer miles -- or, in the case of the limited-time offer Delta just kicked off for its main cards, the sizable welcome bonuses that in a couple of instances can be as high as 80,000 bonus miles.Through July 2, the six Delta co-branded cards that are issued by American Express which we talk about below offer an impressive range of bonus miles when certain spending requirements are met. The cards include both personal and business Delta Amex cards, and for anyone who's been watching the increasingly frequent award sales Delta unveils but doesn't have enough SkyMiles in your account -- read on, because according to The Points Guy these are among the highest welcome bonus offers seen on the Delta cards. Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express and Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American ExpressOn the entry-level side of the spectrum, the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express is offering 60,000 miles if you're a new cardholder who spends $2,000 in the first three months. Make a Delta purchase within that time, and you'll also score a $50 statement credit. The Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express, meanwhile, has a sweeter offer -- 70,000 miles after you spend $4,000 in the first three months, plus that same $50 statement credit after making a Delta purchase in the first three months.Both cards waive the $95 annual fee during the first year, in addition to offering cardholders a first bag checked free on Delta flights, as well as priority boarding and 20% off of inflight purchases on Delta.The bonus miles look all the more impressive when you consider the valuation from The Points Guy of $720 for 60,000 SkyMiles and $840 for 70,000. Meaning, the bonus -- when viewed in the context of some of Delta's recent award sales -- could be enough for several round-trip domestic airfares. Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express and Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American ExpressOne step up annual fee- and benefits-wise, the Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express has sweetened its welcome offer to 75,000 bonus miles and 5,000 Medallion Qualification Miles, or MQMs, for new cardholders who spend at least $3,000 in the first three months of card ownership. Make a Delta purchase within the first three months, and there will also be a $100 statement credit. The Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express, meanwhile, is offering 80,000 bonus miles and 5,000 MQMs after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months, plus a $100 statement credit after making a Delta purchase in the first 3 months.Both versions of the Platinum Delta Amex come with a $195 annual fee that, unfortunately, can't be waived in year one. To take some of the sting out of that fact, the cards at least offer additional benefits like an annual companion certificate that can be used for travel in the main cabin. Owning a Platinum Delta Amex also helps you rack up MQMs toward Delta elite status, with 5,000 MQMs you earn from the welcome bonus as well as 10,000 MQMs and 10,000 redeemable miles once you spend $25,000 with the card in a calendar year. Additionally, you'll pick up another 10,000 MQMs and 10,000 redeemable miles after you spend $50,000 in a calendar year. Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express and Delta Reserve® for Business Credit CardThe top-of-the-line personal credit card in this lineup is the Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express. Like the Platinum Delta Amex, it comes with the possibility of earning 75,000 SkyMiles and 5,000 MQMs as long as you meet the spending requirement of $5,000 in the first three months. The Delta Reserve® for Business Credit Card from American Express, meanwhile, is offering 80,000 bonus miles and 5,000 MQMs after you spend $6,000 in the first 3 months.Both cards come with a $450 annual fee, but with that price you get the most benefits. Things like complimentary Delta Sky Club access when you're flying Delta, and the ability to have up to two guests accompany you at a discounted rate of only $29 per person. The Delta Reserve also offers you the ability to earn MQMs toward Delta elite status by meeting spending thresholds. Spend $30,000 with the card during a calendar year, and you'll earn 15,000 MQMs as well as 15,000 redeemable miles. Spend $60,000 in a calendar year, and you can tack on another 15,000 in both of those categories. The verdictWhile it's true that the valuation from The Points Guy puts Delta SkyMiles on the lower end of the scale when ranking the offerings from major US airlines, things are in fact changing. Delta has, for example, started to offer more frequent award sales, with more destinations and cabins available at discounted prices.This also isn't the first time Delta Amex credit cards have offered elevated welcome bonuses, but this time around the offer is definitely looking more attractive than ever.
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| Younger voters continued to outstrip turnout by boomers and seniors in 2018 Posted: 31 May 2019 09:55 AM PDT  Young voters turned out to vote for the 2018 midterm elections at record-breaking numbers.
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| Trump digs in on Mexican import tariffs despite uproar Posted: 01 Jun 2019 08:44 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite pushback from U.S. business, Mexico and Capitol Hill, President Donald Trump is doubling down on his threat to slap a 5% tariff on Mexican imports unless America's southern neighbor cracks down on Central American migrants trying to cross the U.S. border.
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| Riyadh rallies allies against Tehran at Mecca summits Posted: 31 May 2019 03:22 AM PDT  Gulf and Arab allies rallied around Saudi Arabia Friday as it ratcheted up tensions with regional rival Iran after a series of attacks, drawing accusations from Tehran of "sowing division". Tehran, which has strongly denied involvement in any of the attacks, expressed disappointment that Riyadh plans to level the same "baseless accusations" at a summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) early on Saturday.
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| Virginia Beach gunman who killed 12 was disgruntled city engineer Posted: 01 Jun 2019 06:01 AM PDT  The gunman who killed 12 people at a Virginia Beach municipal building before dying in a shootout with police was identified on Saturday as a disgruntled city engineer and co-worker of most of the victims. All but one of the victims from Friday's mass shooting in the coastal resort community were employed by the city, officials said, while the other was a contractor seeking a permit. The gunman, DeWayne Craddock, had worked for the city's public utilities department for about 15 years, Virginia Beach Police Chief James Cervera said at a news conference.
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| Fox News Defends Laura Ingraham’s Promotion of Virulent Anti-Semite Paul Nehlen Posted: 31 May 2019 10:49 AM PDT  Bloomberg/GettyFox News on Friday afternoon issued a statement defending primetime star Laura Ingraham after she championed notorious white supremacist Paul Nehlen as a "prominent voice" on the right who had been "censored by social media," omitting his virulent anti-Semitism and racism. At the same time, one of the companies that advertises during Ingraham's broadcast has pulled its ads."It is obscene to suggest that Laura Ingraham was defending Paul Nehlen's despicable actions especially when some of the names on the graphic were pulled from an Associated Press report on best known political extremists banned from Facebook," the network said in a statement to The Daily Beast. "Anyone who watches Laura's show knows that she is a fierce protector of freedom of speech and the intent of the segment was to highlight the growing trend of unilateral censorship in America."During a discussion with far-right commentator Candace Owens—who once suggested Hitler's nationalism would have been 'OK' if he didn't go global—the Fox News primetime star complained that the left is trying to "silence conservative voices ahead of the 2020 election," pointing to criticism of doctored videos of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appearing drunk. This prompted Ingraham to air a graphic showing numerous right-wing figures who have been recently suspended or banned from social-media platforms.The image, featuring Nehlen—along with other fringe extremists such as Milo Yiannopoulos, Laura Loomer, and Alex Jones—led Ingraham to observe that the banned individuals are simply "the people who believe in border enforcement, people who believe in national sovereignty."Nehlen, however, is not just a conservative who merely believes in border security and nationalism. The former Republican congressional candidate, who challenged Paul Ryan in 2016 (and received support from Steve Bannon), has trafficked in overt anti-Semitism and racism for years, going so far as calling for a race war and pondering the "Jewish Question," a common paranoid refrain of neo-Nazis who believe Jews control society.Prior to being permanently suspended from Twitter in early 2018 for posting a racist photoshopped image of Meghan Markle as a dark-skinned early Briton, Nehlen posted an anti-Semitic list of dozens of verified Twitter users he claimed were attacking his "AmericaFirst" position because they were Jewish. He also posted images of journalists and editors alongside Jewish stars.Nehlen, who has appeared on former KKK leader David Duke's radio program and other white-nationalist broadcasts, was kicked off Twitter and even the alt-right alternative Gab (where he infamously posted photoshopped images of Jews' heads on pikes). Prior to being banned from Facebook earlier this month over his "dangerous" rhetoric, Nehlen used his page to post anti-Semitic memes and screenshots from white-supremacist website The Daily Stormer.While Fox News remained silent during the early part of the day on Friday, Ingraham did reference the controversy in a tweet. Following widespread criticism over her elevation of Nehlen on her highly rated program, the Fox opinion host condemned her critics for the crime of tweeting out screenshots highlighting Nehlen's racism and anti-Semitism."Retweeting screenshots of despicable old tweets by racists and/or anti-semites must make those racists & anti-semites very happy," she tweeted. "Unfortunately it does zero to elevate the debate in America. cc. @CNN."The reference to a rival cable channel appears to be a shot at CNN anchor Jake Tapper, who tweeted an image of Nehlen's anti-Markle tweet while tagging Fox News. "Just a reminder that Paul Nehlen is a racist and if you're defending him that's what you're defending. Cc @FoxNews," he wrote on Friday morning.Laura Ingraham Defends White Supremacist 'Censored on Social Media'Ingraham, meanwhile, has come under heavy scrutiny over her own remarks and the content of her program, resulting in a year-long advertiser boycott. The ad removals began in earnest last April after Ingraham publicly mocked Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg when his applications were rejected by several colleges, causing more than a dozen companies to drop her show. Ingraham has recently further inflamed controversy, claiming the "America that we know and love doesn't exist anymore" because of "massive demographic changes." A year after the Hogg ordeal, The Ingraham Angle still hasn't regained the advertiser load it lost.The few companies that do advertise during Ingraham's primetime hour have largely remained silent in the wake of her Nehlen comments. In a statement posted to its website, photo-finishing company Fracture said it will pull its advertisements from Ingraham's hour. "Last night one of our ads aired during an episode of The Ingraham Angle, in which she expressed alarming views that run entirely counter to the values that we hold as a company," wrote Fracture CEO Abhi Lokesh."Effective immediately, we are no longer advertising on The Ingraham Angle. We will also be taking this opportunity to thoughtfully update our media buying guidelines to ensure that our ad dollars are being spent in ways that align with our values," the company added. "We believe in freedom of speech, but we certainly don't have to support hate speech with our advertising dollars."Meanwhile, StarKist, a tuna brand, issued a non-committal statement about its advertising choices. "We do not endorse individual opinions," the company told The Daily Beast. "Our television ads appear on a number of cable networks as part of our national media buy."Other companies that advertised during Ingraham's Thursday evening broadcast include Bayer, Sandals Resorts, Bausch + Lomb, Booking.com, NetSuite, and car insurance provide The Zebra. None of those companies responded to requests for comment from The Daily Beast on whether they intend to continue advertising during her show.This article has been updated to reflect new statements from advertisers.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet 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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| Here Comes AOC: How She Is Changing U.S. Politics In Big Ways Posted: 31 May 2019 12:00 PM PDT  The youngest woman ever elected to the United States Congress, Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is a force to contend with. With clear and forthright language, she speaks the truth of people's reality – and one that is rooted in her own lived experience.With a megawatt smile and a wink to her demographic, she also has verve and style. Two days after she debated 10-term incumbent congressman Joe Crowley last June during the primaries, she tweeted her lipstick shade, which promptly sold out on the Stila and Sephora web sites.Social media powerhouseAOC, as she is popularly known, has more than three million followers on her Instagram account and four million follow her @AOC Twitter account, a 600 per cent increase from last June and more than 2.6 million gained in the past eight months. How does she do it?Unlike other politicians, she speaks the language of now, especially to her generation. She is down-to-earth and personable. In some of her video postings, she shares her life both in Congress and at home, as if you are getting caught up with a friend.
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| New Mexico mayor gets death threats after halting crowdfunded border wall Posted: 31 May 2019 10:39 AM PDT  A New Mexico mayor on Thursday said he and his staff received multiple death threats after they briefly halted construction of a crowdfunded, private border wall by a group that then urged supporters to tell the city to "stop playing games" and alleged town officials were tied to drug cartels.
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| China vice minister says U.S. overestimates trade deficit Posted: 01 Jun 2019 08:11 PM PDT ![China vice minister says U.S. overestimates trade deficit]( "China vice minister says U.S. overestimates trade deficit") Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said on Sunday the United States overestimates the trade deficit between the two countries and China should not be blamed for job losses in the U.S. manufacturing sector. Wang told a news conference the U.S. goods and services deficit with China is actually closer to $150 billion and not the $410 billion quoted by U.S. officials. China's processing trade with the United States should not be included in trade deficit calculations, he added.
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| The Flaw in Trying to Paint Biden as Another Hillary Clinton Posted: 31 May 2019 03:30 AM PDT  Is Joe Biden Hillary Clinton — or George W. Bush?The first, most obvious and literal answer is, he's neither. He's Joe Biden, one of the most known and familiar personalities in American politics.Matt Continetti, editor of the Washington Free Beacon, recently asked: "Is Biden the new Hillary?""Trump plans to wage the same sort of campaign against Biden that he did against Hillary Clinton in 2016," Continetti wrote for National Review. "Back then, Trump defined Hillary as the candidate of entrenched interests who used a long career in politics for familial gain. He highlighted Clinton's support for the 1994 crime bill and for NAFTA and TPP, driving wedges between the former secretary of state and important Democratic constituencies. And he went after Hillary's foreign-policy credentials, painting her as an interventionist who had weakened America's standing in the world."Continetti is surely correct that this is Team Trump's game plan. Both D.C. scuttlebutt and public reporting suggest that they see Biden as the biggest threat to Trump's reelection prospects. That's certainly borne out in the polls, which show Biden leading Trump by 8 points (according to the RealClearPolitics average). Biden's lead in some crucial states is even more worrisome for Trump.A recent Quinnipiac poll had him ahead by double digits — 53 percent to 42 percent — in Pennsylvania. Biden has a 10.5 percentage-point lead in Michigan, 8 points in Wisconsin (though polling there is sparse), and 4 points in Ohio, and is tied in Florida, according to the RealClearPolitics average.Trump won the Electoral College by taking a handful of states out of the traditional Democratic column with razor-thin margins. It's insanely early, but the scary part for Trump is that Biden is not only wildly beating the other Democrats in the field, he's also outperforming Clinton at a comparable time in 2015.And this points to a possible flaw in the effort to turn Biden into another Hillary. Clinton ran as an experienced Washington hand, Continetti notes. But "after 16 months of Trump attacks, 77,000 voters in three states denied her the presidency," he adds. "The same could happen again to a nominee easily caricatured as the epitome of Beltway cluelessness. What looks like Joe Biden's greatest strength — electability born of experience — may also be a debilitating weakness."Maybe. But while Trump's attacks on Clinton were surely effective at times, Trump was aided enormously by the fact that Americans, particularly Republican and Republican-friendly ones, were skeptical or outright hostile to her already, thanks to decades of experience with, and criticism of, her. Trump didn't define Clinton as much as she did.Moreover, implicit to her campaign was the promise of both a third Obama term and a restoration of the Clinton dynasty. Trump did not need to work all that hard to convince voters exhausted or frustrated by the Obama years or disdainful of Clinton Inc. to vote against her.Biden occupies a different space, psychologically and politically. There's a lot of conventional wisdom in Washington that the early front-runner always loses. And that's true except when it isn't. In 2003, former Vermont governor Howard Dean dominated the polls. Then he lost Iowa, screamed, and eventually skulked away.But in 1999, George W. Bush dominated the polls and, except for a brief scare from Senator John McCain in the New Hampshire primary, essentially cruised to victory.A key part of Bush's early success, not just in polls but in fundraising, stemmed from the fact that he was promising a Bush restoration. Indeed, some of his early approval ratings were a direct result of nostalgia for his father, with whom he shared a name.Also, he was offering a referendum on the incumbent president and the scandals and partisanship that defined the end of his administration. He vowed to restore "honor and dignity to the Oval Office" and to be a "uniter not a divider."The very different context notwithstanding, this is pretty much Biden's campaign message. The ideological, activist, and Twitter-obsessed base of the Democratic party may not like Biden's pitch. But it sure looks like rank-and-file Democrats do, particularly African-American women who may see in Biden something of an Obama restoration.Of course, Biden can blow it, as he did the two previous times he ran for president. But counting on the past repeating itself is a good strategy only when you pick the right example from the past.© 2019 Tribune Content Agency LLC
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| Explosions rock Syria's northern city of Raqqa, killing 10 Posted: 01 Jun 2019 02:53 PM PDT ![Explosions rock Syria's northern city of Raqqa, killing 10]( "Explosions rock Syria's northern city of Raqqa, killing 10") BEIRUT (AP) — Two explosions killed 10 people in Raqqa Saturday in the latest attacks to hit the city in northern Syria, opposition activists reported.
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| Trump tariffs on Mexico threaten to undercut US economy: analysts Posted: 31 May 2019 07:53 AM PDT  President Donald Trump has trumpeted the robust US economy, but hitting all products from Mexico with 25 percent tariffs threatens to undercut growth and undermine key American industries, economists warn. Trump announced the tariffs on Thursday night, which would start at five percent on June 10 and rapidly increase to pressure the Mexican government to clamp down on the flow of migrants from Central America to the southern US border. "If maintained, the tariffs would reduce US GDP growth by at least 0.7 (percentage point) in 2020 and likely push Mexico into a recession," Gregory Daco of Oxford Economics said in a research note.
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| Volkswagen's Atlas Cross Sport Two-Row SUV Is Almost Here Posted: 31 May 2019 09:02 AM PDT  Spy photos show the mid-size SUV is close to production ready.
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| Wall St Week Ahead-Struggles of transport stocks transmit caution to market Posted: 31 May 2019 01:29 PM PDT ![Wall St Week Ahead-Struggles of transport stocks transmit caution to market]( "Wall St Week Ahead-Struggles of transport stocks transmit caution to market") Add this to worries about Wall Street: The index of planes, trains and trucking companies, considered an important stock barometer of the U.S. economy's health, is struggling. The Dow Jones Transportation Average swooned 10.2% in May, a far steeper decline than that of the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the S&P 500. For analysts who closely watch the transports, this could be a sign of deeper market stress.
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| iPhone Killer?: Is Samsung's Galaxy Fold Smartphone the Future? Posted: 01 Jun 2019 09:39 AM PDT  Imagine the day when you'll unroll or unfold your smartphone to answer it. If things go to plan, this day may be sooner than you think.And we're not just talking flip-phones here, but smartphones where the actual screens are flexible, not just the handset.Okay, so Samsung's plans to launch its Galaxy Fold phone might be on hold after a few early reviews reported cracks in the screen, but 2019 is said to be a year when many of the major mobile phone manufacturers aim to release their new foldable phones.The promise of technology as intelligent as our smartphones that can simply be folded up like a piece of paper sounds amazing. So what are the challenges in making flexible technology?How flexible?To answer this we need to understand what is meant by flexible.Do we need something that can be deformed without breaking (so it's okay if you sit on your phone, as it will only bend and not break)? Maybe we want to roll it up into a cylinder with the ease of rolling a piece of paper? Or even to fold it like the Galaxy Fold?These are very different scenarios, with each putting a greater performance requirement on the device and the materials within.
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| In a time when life seems to be going off the rails, remember modern life is extraordinary Posted: 01 Jun 2019 03:00 AM PDT  In 2019, the news can be depressing, but the small and ordinary miracles of the modern world should prompt us to pause and be grateful.
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| Missouri abortion clinic to stay open for now after court order Posted: 31 May 2019 04:06 AM PDT  Missouri's only abortion clinic will stay open at least a few more days after a judge on Friday granted a request by Planned Parenthood for a temporary restraining order, allowing the facility to keep operating until a hearing on Tuesday. Planned Parenthood sued Missouri this week after state health officials said the license for Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood in St. Louis was in jeopardy, meaning the clinic could have closed at midnight unless the judge granted the request for a temporary restraining order.
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| Bacon-Wrapped Pickles, Caprese Bites, and More Must-Try Appetizers Posted: 31 May 2019 08:45 AM PDT |
| Defense chief calls out China on tech theft, South China Sea Posted: 01 Jun 2019 06:54 AM PDT  SINGAPORE (AP) — U.S. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Saturday denounced China's efforts to steal technology from other nations and militarize man-made outposts in the South China Sea as a "toolkit of coercion," saying activities by Beijing the U.S. perceives as hostile must end.
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| Trump sends map to Netanyahu showing Golan Heights as part of Israel, after scrawling 'nice' Posted: 31 May 2019 03:05 PM PDT  Donald Trump sent an official State Department map to the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, showing the long-disputed Golan Heights as part of Israel.The US president sent his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner to deliver the map to Mr Netanyahu in Jerusalem.Mr Trump had drawn an arrow on the map pointing to the Golan Heights and scribbled a single word: "Nice.""This map had not been updated since the Six Day War," Mr Netanyahu said in an address to the nation, referring to the 1967 Middle East war, after which Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria and later annexed in 1981 it in a move which has not been internationally recognised. "Well, it has been updated, it just got an update ... That is to say, there are very important developments here." He pointed to Mr Trump's note and added: "Here is the signature of Trump, and he writes 'nice.' I say, 'very nice!"'Mr Netanyahu is mired in political chaos after he failed to assemble a governing coalition.During his bid for re-election, he repeatedly leveraged his relationship with Mr Trump and showed off political gifts from the White House to court voters.His campaign received a huge boost when the Trump administration upended decades of US policy and formally recognised Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights.Israel's parliament has voted to dissolve itself and call a second election just a month after the last polls.Mr Trump later claimed he made the snap decision after receiving a "quick history lesson" on the Middle East.Speaking in Las Vegas at the Republican Jewish Coalition, Mr Trump recounted a meeting with his top advisers on the Middle East: "I said: 'Fellows, do me a favour. Give me a little history, quick. Want to go fast. I got a lot of things I'm working on: China, North Korea. Give me a quickie,'" he said, according to Reuters.He said he then continued: "How do you like the idea of me recognising exactly what we're discussing?"The US president claimed David Friedman, the US ambassador to Israel and an arch supporter of Israeli policy, was shocked, "like a wonderful, beautiful baby", and asked if Mr Trump would actually do it.Mr Trump added: "I went – bing! – it was done. We make fast decisions. And we make good decisions."
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