| The Latest: Source: US prepared Iran attack, then withdrew Posted: 20 Jun 2019 09:07 PM PDT  A U.S. official says the military made preparations Thursday night for limited strikes on Iran in retaliation for the downing of a U.S. surveillance drone, but approval was abruptly withdrawn before the attacks were launched. The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump had approved the strikes, but then called them off. The newspaper cited anonymous senior administration officials.
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| Prosecutors won't drop charges against Navy SEAL despite medic's stunning admission Posted: 21 Jun 2019 12:29 PM PDT  Prosecutors said on Friday they will not drop premeditated murder charges against a Navy SEAL charged with stabbing to death a teenaged Islamic State militant in Iraq in 2017 after another SEAL told a court martial he killed the prisoner. Navy SEAL medic Corey Scott told the court on Thursday the fighter was breathing through a tube when Navy SEAL Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher stabbed him in the neck.
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| A 12-foot alligator was found on a Florida highway: 'He wasn't happy' Posted: 20 Jun 2019 07:47 AM PDT  The 463-pound alligator was suffering from injuries after being hit in the head by a semi-truck on Interstate 10. It was later euthanized.
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| Strait of Hormuz: key waterway under pressure Posted: 21 Jun 2019 06:10 AM PDT  The Strait of Hormuz, located in the area where Iran shot down a US military drone, is a strategically important waterway for the world's oil transits, which lies at the heart of regional tensions. Iran warned on Friday it would "decisively defend its territory" against eventual US retaliation, while the airlines KLM, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas and Singapore Airlines said they were suspending flights over the strait. The Strait of Hormuz links the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and is situated between Iran and Oman.
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| Joe Biden Keeps Stumbling. The Democratic Pile-On Is Just Getting Started. Posted: 21 Jun 2019 03:00 PM PDT  Former Vice President Joe Biden faces a tough few days as he heads into the first Democratic primary debates.
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| Hannity and Manafort’s Gushing Text Messages Revealed: ‘We Are All on the Same Team’ Posted: 21 Jun 2019 03:22 PM PDT  Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photo GettyThroughout Special Counsel Robert Mueller's prosecution of Paul Manafort, he found a willing and enthusiastic ally and confidante: Fox News host and presidential pal Sean Hannity. On Friday, a D.C. federal judge released dozens of pages of private text messages between the former Trump campaign chairman and Hannity, who at one point offered "anything I can do to help."The messages show Hannity apparently reached out shortly after the FBI raided Manafort's Alexandria, Virginia apartment in August 2017. Hannity checked in on Manafort throughout the course of the special counsel's investigation and prosecution of him, asking if he was OK. Like many other higher-ups in Trump's orbit, Manafort maintained a friendly relationship with Hannity during the 2016 election and kept in touch after he left the Trump campaign in August 2016. The special counsel's office charged Manafort with tax and bank fraud counts in Virginia and tried him in a separate case in Washington, D.C. for acting as an unregistered foreign agent, money laundering and obstruction of justice. Trump to Hannity: You're 'Not Really' a Patriot, You Just Want 'Great Ratings'Hannity spent large portions of his texts with Manafort discussing (and rehashing) episodes of his own television show. He complained about never-Trumpers, Hillary Clinton, and the special counsel's investigation. Hannity also repeatedly invited Manafort on TV, saying it would give to defend himself against Mueller's prosecutors. Hannity told Manafort to connect him with his lawyer to get information on important developments. Manafort repeatedly declined, citing a court gag order restricting him from publicly discussing his case. But the text messages were perhaps the most blatant behind-the-scenes look at how cozy the host was with Manafort, the subject of hours of news coverage on Fox and Hannity's show in particular.Hannity in one instance declared he was "NOT a fair weather friend," and told Manafort how unfairly he believed he was being treated. "We are all on the same team," he said. Manafort also had plenty of compliments for Hannity, saying he was on "fire," "great" on radio, and declared that "in a fair world, you would get a Pulitzer prize for your incredible reporting." He said he loved Hannity's interview with former Trump adviser Roger Stone, and in one instance, Manafort said he watched the show with his three month old grandson, who was apparently mesmerized."I swear to God. He was totally focused. Your audience is growing demographically," he said."You help me keep my hope and sanity," Manafort said on another occasion. And throughout the investigation and trial, Hannity repeatedly publicly called for the charges against Manafort to be dropped. Hannity even hinted at insider knowledge of attempts to retaliate against those involved in the Russia investigation. When Manafort said he hoped that then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions would appoint a new special counsel to investigate the Russia inquiry, Hannity texted "He has to [do] it [or else] he is gone. Talked to a friend." While it's unclear who Hannity was talking about, he often speaks to Trump.After the text messages were revealed on Friday, Hannity appeared to shrug them off, writing on Twitter that his views on the Russia investigation and Manafort "were made clear every day to anyone who listens to my radio show or watches my TV show." Manafort is currently serving a 7.5-year prison sentence after he was found guilty of financial crimes by a Virginia jury and plead plead guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice and defraud the United States in a separate D.C. case.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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| Choose your future Greenland, Earthlings Posted: 21 Jun 2019 03:00 AM PDT  Like Beyonce, Greenland is constantly making news. And for good reason. The Arctic landmass holds an ice sheet that's two and a half times the size of sprawling Texas -- and it's melting at rates that are unprecedented in at least centuries, if not thousands of years. "I can tell you the retreat is eye-popping," said Twila Moon, an Arctic researcher at the National Snow and Ice Data Center who has traveled along the vastly diminished ice. For humanity, the particularly salient question now is how quickly these massive stores of ice will melt into the sea.Greenland's future, of course, depends on the most uncertain, chaotic, and emotionally volatile portion of the climate science equation: humans, specifically how much heat-trapping carbon we decide to pump into the atmosphere. "The biggest uncertainty in climate science is human behavior," NASA scientist Kate Marvel told Mashable after the Trump administration recently said they will no longer consider many climate projections beyond 20 years from now. But regardless of the federal government's self-imposed limitations, new research, published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, lays out three clear, potential futures for Greenland: 1. Really bad: A future wherein carbon emissions continue rising as they are now, called the "business as usual" scenario (known as RCP 8.5).2. Pretty bad: A future wherein emissions moderately rise until around 2050, and then drop substantially -- but not completely -- by century's end (known as RCP 4.5).3. Not as bad: A future wherein humanity rapidly and immediately slashes carbon emissions today, bringing emissions to zero well before 2100 (known as RCP 2.5). * This last ambitious future, in line with the historic Paris climate agreement, is now nearly impossible to achieve. As you might suspect, the new research -- enhanced by NASA's recent aircraft observations of Greenland -- found that the melting land mass (in a rapidly melting Arctic realm) is expected to incur profound ice losses this century and beyond, should carbon emissions continue to saturate the skies (options 1 and 2). For reference, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are currently increasing at rates that are unprecedented in both the historic and geologic record. Yet, humanity has an immediate say in the matter."We can actually choose how it's going to look," said Andy Aschwanden, the study's lead author and researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Geophysical Institute. "The next couple decades are quite important to the future.""It's going to be worse if we burn more fossil fuels," added NASA's Josh Willis, an oceanographer who leads the science agency's Oceans Melting Greenland mission. "This has been clear for decades," said Willis, who had no role in the research. "The more CO2 you put into the atmosphere, the more you change the climate." The choiceIf emissions continue as they are, by century's end Greenland alone will lose enough ice to boost sea levels by between 5.5 and 13 inches, the research found. But matters get substantially worse as the centuries progress, adding as much as 12.5 feet by 2300. Eventually, all the ice would disappear. "We found that the Greenland ice sheet could melt within 1,000 years if we keep adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere," said Aschwanden. That would raise sea levels by some 23 feet.> Drastically reducing emissions could limit ice loss to under a quarter of the ice sheet. That scenario would produce up to 6 feet of sea level rise by 3000. pic.twitter.com/c7PM4itnis> > -- NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) June 19, 2019Even if unprecedented steps are taken to curb Earth's warming this century (option 3), Greenland will still experience some melting (adding between 2 and 7 inches of sea level rise this century). That's because there's already substantial warming baked into the absorbent oceans, and the elevated carbon levels already saturating the skies will take hundreds to thousands of years to naturally get soaked into the seas."A lot of ice loss has already been baked into the system because of human actions in the past," said Moon. But that's still a future humanity can adapt to, more so than runaway glacial melting, anyway. "All the effects are worse if we do nothing," noted Willis. "And they're all better if we avoid burning so much fossil fuel."This study's projections were enhanced by new observational data from NASA's IceBridge missions, which involves swooping over the Greenland ice sheet to capture detailed measurements of the ice. The airborne NASA mission proved particularly valuable in measuring the conditions of Greenland's exit glaciers -- the rivers of ice that pour into the ocean -- said Aschwanden. With this new information, the research team could simulate how much ice was likely to drain into the sea as glaciers experience an accelerating rise in air temperatures. "This is really nice work," said Moon, noting that the new incorporation of ice loss around Greenland's edges produced a quality, advanced simulation.> From Tuesday's IceBridge flight, a close-up of a supraglacial lake above Eqip Sermia, with a thin skin of refrozen ice floating on top pic.twitter.com/YGW9kTxPSA> > -- NASA ICE (@NASA_ICE) May 15, 2019For all the grim observations from this study, it's crucial to note that things could actually be significantly worse. Yes, worse. That's because these projections may underestimate the powerful influence the warming oceans have on glaciers."The oceans have the potential to make this more extreme," said NASA's Willis. "There's still room for [the projections] to get worse."Arctic waters meet Greenland's colossal exit glaciers, some which are walls of submarine ice around 2,600 feet tall. And recent research, performed by NASA, found these glaciers are extremely sensitive to ocean temperatures. The ocean has the power to accelerate melt, or even stoke the glaciers to start growing again during cooler shifts in ocean circulation.SEE ALSO: The Green New Deal: Historians weigh in on the immense scale required to pull it offAs airborne scientists, on-the-ground ice-gathering researchers, and satellites scouring from space continue to probe the region, Greenland's future will grow increasingly clear. "The work is ongoing," said Willis.But the bigger picture is already evident. There are distinct futures ahead for Greenland. Which one will our descendants experience, even beyond this century?"Two-hundred or 300 years really aren't many human generations," noted Moon. "It will be here in a blink of an eye."* * *P.S. A succinct note to those contending, incredibly, that Greenland is not experiencing drastic melt: One big glacier (Jakobshavn) recently stopped shrinking, but that doesn't mean the entire landmass is miraculously on an epic rebound. "Just because Jakobshavn stopped growing does not mean there's no global warming and we're not changing the planet -- we are radically changing the planet," explained NASA oceanographer Josh Willis, who annually flies over Greenland. WATCH: Ever wonder how the universe might end?
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| View Photos of our New Long-Term 2019 Honda Civic Type R Posted: 20 Jun 2019 12:00 PM PDT |
| North Korea's Kim meets China's Xi, says awaiting US actions Posted: 20 Jun 2019 12:06 PM PDT  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, meeting in Pyongyang with Chinese President Xi Jinping, said Thursday that his country is waiting for a desired response in stalled nuclear talks with the United States. "North Korea would like to remain patient, but it hopes the relevant party will meet halfway with North Korea to explore resolution plans that accommodate each other's reasonable concerns," he said, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. Xi's trip to North Korea, the first by a Chinese president in 14 years, raises the possibility that China could help break a monthslong impasse in talks between the U.S. and North Korea over the North's nuclear weapons.
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| California governor proposes a $21 billion wildfire fund Posted: 21 Jun 2019 12:31 PM PDT  California Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed helping utilities create a fund of up to $21 billion to compensate future victims of wildfires sparked by the companies' equipment or employees, an aide said on Friday. The proposal by the Democratic governor follows the bankruptcy filing earlier this year of San Francisco-based utility PG&E Corp, which anticipates $30 billion in liabilities from wildfires that have been blamed on its equipment, including the state's deadliest blaze which killed more than 80 people last year. The state's other two large utilities, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric, have seen their credit ratings downgraded over wildfire concerns.
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| Surveillance drone may have tracked Japanese tanker: experts Posted: 21 Jun 2019 06:32 AM PDT  A "flying object" which flew over a Japanese tanker before it was rocked by a blast in strategic Gulf waters last week could have been a reconnaissance drone, experts have told AFP. The owner of the Kokuka Courageous said the tanker's Japanese and Filipino crew saw a "flying object", just before a blast that caused a fire on board the vessel, sparking a crisis between Washington and Iran. "The crew members are saying that they were hit by a flying object.
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| Joe Biden refuses to apologise amid Democrat anger at remarks on segregationist senators Posted: 19 Jun 2019 07:28 PM PDT  Joe Biden, the former US vice president, said on Wednesday he had nothing to apologise for after coming under fire for remarks about his time working civilly with segregationists serving in the Senate in the 1970s. The Democratic frontrunner came under sharp criticism from some of his presidential rivals, with US Senator Cory Booker calling on him to apologise. "Frankly, I'm disappointed that he hasn't issued an immediate apology for the pain his words are dredging up for many Americans. He should," Mr Booker, who is black, said in a statement. The criticism exposed bubbling racial and generational tensions within the Democratic field that is the most diverse in history. Mr Biden, 76, is leading in early opinion polls in the crowded Democratic contest to take on Republican President Donald Trump in the November 2020 election. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday evening, Mr Biden was asked about Mr Booker's demand that he apologise. "Apologise for what? Cory should apologise. He knows better. Not a racist bone in my body. I've been involved in civil rights my whole career," Mr Biden said. BREAKING: @JoeBiden responds to Dem rival criticism on comments re: "some civility" w/segregationist senators: "Apologize for what? @CoryBooker should apologize" @CBSNews (w/@JuliaCherner) pic.twitter.com/zFaEXpSNXM— Bo Erickson (@BoKnowsNews) June 19, 2019 At a fundraiser in Potomac, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, Mr Biden cited civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as a personal "hero" and an inspiration for his political career. Mr Biden's campaign said he was not endorsing the positions of the segregationists he named but using them as an example of someone with whom he disagreed. "And I think anyone who served with Joe Biden, you know, whether it was in the Senate or whether they worked with him during his eight years as Barack Obama's vice president, knows that this is a man who is committed to equality and civil rights in this country," Anita Dunn, a senior Biden aide, told MSNBC. At issue are Mr Biden's remarks at a New York fundraiser for his presidential campaign on Tuesday night. Mr Biden said US leaders had lost the ability to work together. He pointed to two segregationists from the South who were serving in the Senate when he was first elected - Democratic Senators James Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia. Eastland described black people as inferior and fought against efforts to desegregate the South. When Biden joined the U.S. Senate in 1973, he and fellow Democrat Eastland served on the same committee. "At least there was some civility. We got things done. We didn't agree on much of anything. We got things done. We got it finished," Mr Biden said. "But today, you look at the other side and you're the enemy. Not the opposition, the enemy. We don't talk to each other anymore." It's past time for apologies or evolution from @JoeBiden. He repeatedly demonstrates that he is out of step with the values of the modern Democratic Party. (2/2)— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) June 19, 2019 New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination, criticised Biden's remarks. "It's past time for apologies or evolution from @JoeBiden," de Blasio wrote on Twitter. "He repeatedly demonstrates that he is out of step with the values of the modern Democratic Party." De Blasio called out Biden for invoking Eastland, posting a photo of himself on Twitter with his wife, who is black, and his two multiracial children. "It's 2019 & @JoeBiden is longing for the good old days of 'civility' typified by James Eastland. Eastland thought my multiracial family should be illegal & that whites were entitled to 'the pursuit of dead n*ggers,'" Mr de Blasio wrote on Twitter. Mr Booker also criticised Mr Biden for his use of the word "boy" - a term that was frequently used by racists to demean black men. While describing Eastland, Mr Biden said: "He never called me boy, he always called me son." Mr Booker said it was inappropriate to "joke about calling black men boys." "Vice President Biden's relationships with proud segregationists are not the model for how we make America a safer and more inclusive place for black people, and for everyone," Mr Booker said. Another Democratic candidate, former congressman John Delaney, offered a more restrained criticism. "Evoking an avowed segregationist is not the best way to make the point that we need to work together and is insensitive. We need to learn from history, but we also need to be aggressive in dismantling structural racism that exists today," Delaney said in a statement.
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| Roy Moore announces new Senate campaign Posted: 20 Jun 2019 12:57 PM PDT  Roy Moore's announcement that he would once again run for the U.S. Senate in Alabama sent a shudder through the Republican Party and raised a question: Could the GOP have avoided this scenario by uniting early around a credible consensus candidate?
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| Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez refusing to apologize for comparing migrant detention centers to concentration camps Posted: 20 Jun 2019 03:23 AM PDT  AOC comments spark outrage for both Republicans and Democrats; Aishah Hasnie reports.
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| Fox’s Chris Wallace: ‘Does the President Have the Stomach’ to Attack Iran? Posted: 21 Jun 2019 09:25 AM PDT  Fox News anchor Chris Wallace questioned President Trump's resolve on Friday morning, wondering aloud if the president has "the stomach" to get involved in a confrontation with Iran after Trump acknowledged he abruptly called off a military strike.After The New York Times reported on Thursday night that the president made a last-minute change to scuttle air strikes against Iran in response to Iran shooting down an unmanned American drone, Trump confirmed the reports via a series of tweets on Friday morning."We were cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different sights when I asked, how many will die," the president wrote. "150 people, sir, was the answer from a General. 10 minutes before the strike I stopped it, not proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone."Trump: We Were 'Cocked & Loaded' Before I Scuttled Iran StrikeAppearing on Fox News' America's Newsroom, Wallace said that Trump's claim that he called off the strikes in order to avert civilian casualties "raises as many questions as it answers."Noting that there was a National Security Council meeting on Thursday in which the collateral damage of any potential action was discussed, Wallace questioned the accuracy of Trump asking about casualty count 10 minutes before the strike. He went on to say Trump is obviously conflicted between talking "very tough" and not wanting to get involved in "endless wars.""And a war with Iran would be a very ugly and prolonged conflict," the Fox News Sunday anchor added. "So it does raise the question, does the president have the stomach to launch this kind of attack and get more deeply involved, perhaps, in a confrontation with Iran?"Anchor Sandra Smith brought up Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) saying we need to "inflict severe pain" on Iran, asking Wallace how he thought America would respond or proceed next.Wallace, meanwhile, said that while there is a "cost to action" there is also a "cost to inaction" if the president threatens to do something and not go forward, specifically referencing former President Obama's "red line" threat in 2012 to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over the use of chemical weapons."What the president is going to do now, who knows," Wallace declared. "There is certainly a possibility that he will go ahead and order another strike when he's assured that there will not be as many casualties on the ground but on the other hand, it sure does seem like he doesn't have much of an appetite for a strike."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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| U.S. cannot unilaterally remove Turkey from F-35 program: Turkish defense official Posted: 21 Jun 2019 01:15 AM PDT  The United States cannot unilaterally remove Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program as the partnership agreement does not allow it, Turkey's head of Defense Industries Directorate said on Friday. "No single country can say they don't want you and then remove you from the program," Ismail Demir told reporters. Ankara and Washington have been at loggerheads for months over Turkey's planned purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense system.
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| Spain's top court convicts 5 men in gang rape case Posted: 21 Jun 2019 12:13 PM PDT  Spain's Supreme Court on Friday overruled two lower courts and sentenced five men to 15 years in prison for raping an 18-year-old woman. The case had triggered an outcry because the lower courts last year convicted the men of the lesser crime of sexual abuse and handed down nine-year sentences. Women's rights advocates had expressed anger about what they saw as the lower court's leniency and the confirmation of that sentence by a second court.
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| Car and Driver Contributor Davey G. Johnson Found in Northern California Posted: 21 Jun 2019 05:49 AM PDT  C/D contributor David Gordon Johnson's body has been found after he went missing on a motorcycle trip through Calaveras County on June 5. We have updated this story with the latest information.
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| China's Economic Expansion is a Shot Across the Bow at Russia Posted: 20 Jun 2019 06:44 AM PDT  In Ancient Rome, the arrival of a conquering general from the front meant either a rapid change of political scenery or as much pomp and circumstance as could be drawn from its seven hills. With the lengths to which the Italian government went through to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping last March to inaugurate Italy's joining of China's Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, Romans may very well have asked themselves if both outcomes were taking place simultaneously. Outside of Italy, however, enthusiasm for the visit was more restrained. Even some of Italy's closest European Union partners saw Italy as a modern-day Trojan Horse, betraying trans-Atlantic ideals for Chinese patronage.Whatever their views on the visit, both Western press and policy circles overwhelmingly focused on what the trip meant for the EU rather than assessing Beijing's motives. The Chinese angle went beyond co-opting a G7 member into its belt and road initiative. Beijing's first successful foray into securing an EU investor partner for its BRI is not just an economic victory for Beijing, but a powerful warning shot to the Kremlin that China will not allow Russia to envelop parts of Europe spinning off the illiberal axis all on its own.
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| Pelosi slams Trump administration for delaying Harriet Tubman on $20 bill: 'An insult to the hopes of millions' Posted: 20 Jun 2019 10:47 AM PDT  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called out the Trump administration's decision to delay putting former slave and abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, calling it "an insult to the hopes of millions."
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| Tucker Carlson Slams Republicans for Ignoring Voters in Favor of Koch Brothers’ Priorities Posted: 20 Jun 2019 05:19 AM PDT  Fox News host Tucker Carlson lashed out at Republican lawmakers on his television show on Wednesday night, claiming that they've ignored the priorities of their voters in order to appeal to the influential Koch brothers' preference for free-market economic policy.Carlson, who has leveraged his primetime perch to disrupt the GOP's Reagan-era free-market economic consensus, claimed that the Koch political network wields its substantial wealth to guide Republican politicians away from restrictionist immigration policy and trade protectionism — which Carlson claims voters prefer, as evidenced by their support for President Trump — and toward a more libertarian worldview."They have a sincere desire to change the world," Carlson said of the billionaires Charles and David Koch, during a Wednesday night monologue on "Tucker Carlson Tonight.""So for years, the brothers have been the single most important funders of Republican politics in Washington," the host added.Conservatives, Carlson argued, are naturally inclined to view the Kochs favorably, because the wealthy brothers are constantly maligned by the mainstream press, as well as liberal activists and politicians. But that calculation is misguided in the case of the Kochs, according to Carlson."But in the case of the Kochs, conservatives might want to pause and rethink the relationship," he said. "As it turns out, the Kochs don't have much in common with conservatives. They are in fact totally opposed to most conservative policy goals. The Kochs are libertarian ideologues. They are passionate and inflexible about what they believe.""The overwhelming majority of Republicans want a secure border and less immigration," he continued. "That's why they voted for Donald Trump. Two-and-a-half years later though, the border is more porous than ever. A tide of humanity is flooding in illegally. Republicans in Congress have done almost nothing to help with the situation. Why? You can thank the Kochs for that."The disparity between the preferences of Republican voters and those of the Koch brothers doesn't end at immigration, Carlson argued: Sentencing reform for drug dealers, cuts to entitlement programs, and corporate tax cuts all rank high on the Koch brothers' priority list, while undermining Republican lawmakers' credibility with their base.Carlson also suggested that the Koch brothers' libertarian orthodoxy makes them overly deferential to big-tech firms that he claims pose a significant threat to ordinary Americans."Big tech has become a far greater threat to your freedom than government is," he said at the end of the segment. "The Kochs don't care. Nothing Google does violates libertarian orthodoxy. More to the point, the Kochs don't care about Republican voters or what happens to them. Okay, that's fine. No law requiring them to care, but then why are they running the Republican Party? That's a question Republicans should start asking themselves."
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| Iran shoots down US drone as tensions soar Posted: 20 Jun 2019 06:19 AM PDT  Iran shot down a US spy drone Thursday near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, with the two sides at odds whether it was in Iranian or international airspace, in the latest incident stoking tensions between the arch-foes. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the "US-made Global Hawk surveillance drone" was hit with a missile "after violating Iranian air space" over the waters of Hormozgan province. The Pentagon confirmed a US surveillance drone was shot down by Iranian forces, but it insisted the unmanned aircraft was in international airspace.
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| How the trade war with China could ruin your Fourth of July Posted: 20 Jun 2019 09:30 AM PDT  President Donald Trump's trade war with China may raise fireworks prices, hitting Fourth of July displays, jobs and businesses next Independence Day.
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| The Latest: Witness says he saw Navy SEAL stab prisoner Posted: 19 Jun 2019 08:31 PM PDT  A Navy SEAL has testified that he saw a comrade stab a wounded and captive Islamic State fighter in Iraq in 2017. Then-Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Craig Miller, who has since been promoted to chief, testified Wednesday that Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher plunged his knife twice into the neck of the teenage prisoner after providing medical care. Miller denied that accusation during Gallagher's court-martial.
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| This wireless charger has a smart feature every model should have, and it’s on sale for $9 Posted: 20 Jun 2019 08:59 AM PDT ![This wireless charger has a smart feature every model should have, and it's on sale for $9]( "This wireless charger has a smart feature every model should have, and it's on sale for $9") I've been using RAVPower wireless chargers for a while, and I love them... on my desk. On the table next to my bed, however, there's one thing about my RAVPower charger that I hate: the little LED indicator keeps fading on and off all night long to indicate that my phone is charging. It's super annoying, but I've just been too lazy to replace it -- until now. Amazon is running a great sale on the BEZALEL Slim Wireless Charging Pad that drops the price to just $8.99. It has a nice sleek design, but the real selling point for me was the fact that the charging indicator shuts off after a few seconds so you can sleep in peace!Here are the bullet points from the product page: * 【Small footprint & Superior Safety】 BEZALEL Qi5 slim wireless charging pad - ultra slim, small footprint and full CE, FCC, and RoHS certification. * 【Full Qi Compatibility】 Compatible with all Qi-certified devices, including iPhone XS/XR/XS Max, iPhone X/8/8 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Note 8/5, Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+/S8/S8+/S7/S7 edge/S6/S6 edge/S6 edge+/S6 active, LG G6/G7/V30/V30S/V35/V40 (US version), Sony Xperia XZ2, XZ3 (not for XZ2 compact), Google Pixel 3/3 XL. ★ CAUTION: Phone case cannot have any ring attachment, credit card, metal or magnetic sticker. This might cause overheating and affect the wireless charging process. * 【Sleep Friendly】 The LED indicator will glow few seconds to confirm charging is underway and the LED will stop glowing as it enters sleep mode. * 【Elegantly Simple Solution】 Simply connect it to a power source and place your Qi-enabled device in the center of the pad to start charging. * 【Satisfaction Guaranteed】 12-month warranty. Friendly customer service. Contact us via live chat or contact form on Bezalel website.
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| The U.S. Navy’s Next Big Warship Could Look Just Like This Posted: 19 Jun 2019 11:00 PM PDT  The U.S. Navy's next big warship could look a lot like its current DDG-1000 Zumwalt class of stealthy destroyers, Rear Adm. William Galinis, the Navy's program executive officer for ships, said at a June 19, 2019 symposium.By contrast, the new ship probably won't look like the DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class, currently the mainstay of the 290-ship U.S. fleet, Galinis said. The Navy is still studying how many of the new large surface combatants it should try to acquire in coming decades.Ben Werner reported Galinis's comments at the news website of the U.S. Naval Institute."The signature aspect of it, what does that do to the shaping of deckhouse hull form," Galinis mused. "I will tell you, not to predispose anything, but I think in the end, you know, it's probably going to look a lot more like a DDG-1000 than a DDG-51 if I had to say so. But there's still a lot of work to kind of go do in that area."The Burke class is conventional in layout. The $2-billion vessels are heavily armed with as many as 96 missile cells apiece. The Navy is pleased with the condition of its 66 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and plans to keep all of them in service for 45 years, decommissioning the oldest vessel no earlier than 2036.Another 22 of the 9,000-ton Burkes are under construction or funded, including the first examples of the Flight III version, which adds a powerful new radar.
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| ICE confirms plans to arrest more than 2,040 undocumented family members in deportation raids beginning Sunday Posted: 21 Jun 2019 02:56 PM PDT  Immigration and Customs Enforcement top official told ABC News on Friday that the agency plans to arrest more than 2,040 undocumented family members, adding that "there has to be consequences" to entering the United States illegally.
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| China's Xi Jinping arrives in North Korea on historic visit Posted: 19 Jun 2019 10:04 PM PDT  Tens of thousands of North Koreans lines the streets of central Pyongyang on Thursday and cheered as Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, arrived for a two-day state visit with Kim Jong-un to reinforce their uneasy alliance in the face of two leaders' increasing tension with the United States. A smiling Kim greeted the crowds as he drove past Chinese flags with Mr Xi in an open-top Mercedes on their way to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, a complex that serves as the mausoleum for North Korea's founder, Kim Il Sung. Mr Xi was afforded the honour of being the first foreign leader to have "received a tribute" at the palace, "which fully reflects the enthusiasm and respect of the host," reported the NK News website, citing Chinese state media. In this image taken from a video footage run by China's CCTV, Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, shake hands before their meeting in Pyongyang Credit: CCTV via AP Images of the pomp and grand ceremony would likely have bolstered Mr Xi, who has been embarrassed by mass pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in recent weeks, and who must face Donald Trump, the US president, at the G20 summit in Japan next week in the midst of a bitter trade dispute. Mr Xi is first Chinese president to visit North Korea in 14 years, and the visit gives Kim a much-needed boost as he strives to restore his image as an international statesman after his failure to secure a deal to relieve punishing international sanctions during a summit with Mr Trump in Hanoi in February. Xi and Kim met in the North's capital on Thursday, their fifth meeting in 15 months Credit: CCTV via AP In meeting with Mr Xi, Kim wants to show Mr Trump that he has China's support on nuclear negotiations even as talks have come to a halt with Washington and the next US presidential election looms. Analysts say the trip is equally a chance for China to showcase its influence in the region. "Comrade Xi Jinping is visiting... in the face of crucial and grave tasks due to complex international relations, which clearly shows the Chinese party and the government place high significance on the friendship," the North's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said on Thursday. The North Korean media revealed little about the substance of their discussions, although it is expected that Pyongyang will seek Beijing's help in securing sanctions relief and may discuss future investment through China's global development "Belt and Road" initiative. China is historically North Korea's largest trading partner. Mr Xi, whose entourage includes the head of China's state economic planner, may offer fresh support measures for its floundering, sanctions-bound economy. Inside North Korea: Everyday life in the secretive state, in pictures However, President Xi's visit, accompanied by Peng Liyuan, will remain largely symbolic and is unlikely to produce any major announcements or agreements. After he arrived at the airport, the two leaders reviewed a military guard procession and a 21-gun salute. The Chinese president was due to attend a welcoming banquet on Thursday evening and to be entertained by a mass gymnastic performance. He was also expected during his visit to pay tribute at the Friendship Tower, which commemorates Chinese troops who fought together with North Koreans during the 1950-53 Korean War. The conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty, leaving the North technically still at war with South Korea. The timing of Xi's visit to North Korea was no accident, said Li Zhonglin, a North Korea expert at China's Yanbian University, told Reuters. China could be hoping to play a role in coaxing the North and the United States to resume denuclearisation talks after this year's failed Kim-Trump summit in Hanoi, he added.
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| Tel Aviv Journal Posted: 20 Jun 2019 03:30 AM PDT  When we land in Tel Aviv from Bucharest, some people on the plane -- women! -- are very, very rude: pushing, shoving, and yelling. I'm about to put my dukes up and the F-word hangs on my lips -- and then I remember: "Ah, right: They're Israelis. They're supposed to be this way."And the same women who are trying to run you over to get to the overhead bins they want would probably cook you a meal and tuck you in at night.And take up arms to defend you.Culture, culture …• Inside the airport, there is a sign -- a tourism poster: Follow Your Sunshine, Visit Florida. Huh. Yet there's plenty of sunshine here, isn't there? Regardless, I should not overthink a tourism poster …• The immigration official looks at my passport very, very skeptically. There is a sour look on his face. "What do you do?" he asks. I say that I'm a journalist. If possible, his expression gets more sour. "Do you have a journalist's ID card?" he asks. No. I'm not from a Communist country."Where do you work?" he asks. "National Review magazine in New York," I answer. "What kind of magazine is that?" he asks. I say that it's a magazine of politics and culture.With an air of both annoyance and boredom, he turns to his smartphone and fiddles with it for a while. Suddenly, his face is wreathed in smiles. He grins at me almost goofily, like a girl. I have never seen such a sudden change of countenance. He immediately hands me back my passport and sends me on my way.Did he Google me? Had he received a billet doux from his girlfriend? I don't know …• Israeli cabbies are legendary -- legendary for trying to rip you off. There is a reason for the legend; it is grounded in fact -- and really too bad. Because a cabbie is often a person's introduction to Israel. What a first impression, you know?This is a matter of national honor …• All the clichés about Tel Aviv are true: young, vibrant, hip, sensual. I am reminded of Miami. The beachtown sensuousness of Miami and the hipster vibe of Brooklyn (certain neighborhoods of).It is humid as hell, by the way. The temperature is not high -- only about 80 -- but the humidity is very high.Is it worth mentioning that the girls and women are beautiful, and often exotically so? That's a little like mentioning that the bread in France is good, I know. But it's still true.Of course, the climate and the general beachtownness helps. Sundresses and all that.A middle-aged Israeli man tells me, "The nation got seriously prettier once the Russians started coming."As the U.S. is a nation of immigrants, so is Israel. It is a Jewish state, yes -- but a nation of immigrants at the same time. There are so many skin tones, so many hair types. Years ago, I had a visit here, and a colleague -- a young Jewish American -- said, "My Jewdar is all screwed up here."It ain't Scarsdale.• I am happy to see young mothers (and fathers, I guess) -- young people with children. Sign of hope, some people think. Sign of a willingness to press onward.Once, I asked Charles Krauthammer whether he thought Israel would survive. He said, "It depends on two things: the willingness of Israelis themselves to survive and the support of the United States."• Given the general looseness of Tel Aviv, I'm surprised to see pedestrians waiting for the light to change at intersections -- even when there are no cars coming. Where are we, Salzburg? My Ann Arbor feet want to get moving …• At a restaurant, a waitress approaches a table and talks to the couple seated at it. She says, "Are you from South Africa?" Yes, they are. "I'm from South Africa," she says. Then they talk about places, etc., they know in common.This is very Israel.• Needless to say, one should go to various restaurants and order various dishes. Personally, I can't stop returning to one restaurant, for one dish: spicy ground lamb on Yemeni bread (with a fresh salad, of course).• Here is a Vietnamese joint -- and I got a kick out of the sign, somehow:• A jaunt to Jerusalem with friends, to see the Sharanskys -- Natan and Avital. To read a little about it, go here. I did an article.(After this article appeared, more than one person said, "He [Sharansky] is the greatest Jew alive." And one of the greatest people, no question.)• Bad news, and common news: There has been a stabbing this morning. More than one stabbing, by one terrorist, a young Palestinian. He carried out his attacks at the Damascus Gate, which is a main entrance to the Old City (Jerusalem).Let me quote from a news report, published later on:> An Israeli man who sustained life-threatening stab wounds … was released from a Jerusalem hospital on Wednesday, vowing to reporters, "We will not be afraid."> > Gavriel Lavi, 47, said he struggled to remember the details of the stabbing attack … but believed he had been saved from death by prayers and charity given by fellow students at his yeshiva, or Jewish religious seminary.• I attend a wedding, outside Tel Aviv. It's a lovely evening, but not un-humid. Many of the men are in jackets and ties; many of them are not. One in the latter category tells me, "You can tell who was born here and who wasn't. We sabras don't wear jackets and ties to weddings."Happily, I shed my jacket, though keep the tie in place.• Have I mentioned that the wedding is outdoors? Let me offer a quick shot of the scene:• The father of the bride gives a warm, elegant toast. He is from Iraq. (What a story the Iraqi Jews have.) In his toast, he quotes a Turkish saying, and a Persian one. He is a worldly man, a worldly Middle Easterner -- cosmopolitan, you might say. This is a bad word in some quarters, but not to me, it isn't. The father of the bride is an Israeli patriot. He has also had a broad, rich experience of life.So, sue 'im …• It's not like me to shoot food porn, but get a load of this spaghetti:Where's the beef? (Remember that slogan? It made its way into the 1984 presidential campaign.)Put it on simmer, baby:I could go on …• At my table, there is a man named Moishe. "Oh, like 'Moses,'" I say. "No," he replies. "'Moses' is like 'Moishe.'"That is one of the greatest replies I have ever heard …• In Tel Aviv, Ben-Gurion Boulevard is a major thoroughfare. Well, it should be. So is Begin Road. Ditto. ("Begin" as in "Menachem," by the way, not as in "commence.") I also see Levi Eshkol Street. Do you know about him? The third prime minister of Israel, serving from 1963 until his death in 1969.(By the way, if you have any interest in Israeli politics at all, you will love -- devour -- Yehuda Avner's memoirs, The Prime Ministers. The book is like candy.)There is also Rabin Square -- where Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was murdered in 1995. The square used to be called "Kings of Israel Square." (Some people still call it that.)• Ah, the beach, the Med -- which makes me think of another late prime minister, Shimon Peres. He met with a group of us journalists in 2005. The location was Davos. Let me fish out, and quote from, my journal:> The Labor head speaks first about the need for the economic betterment of the PA [Palestinian Authority]: Europeans, and others, should invest there. In Gaza, for example, unemployment is over 45 percent. Someone asks, "What kinds of business would you like to see in the PA?" He answers -- I like this phrase -- "Everything that life calls for." He then elaborates: "high tech, low tech, no tech." He points out that Gaza, someday, should be ripe for tourism: It has "43 kilometers of the most beautiful beaches in the Mediterranean." He wonders whether (abandoned) settlements can be converted to resorts.Yeah, well …• Tel Aviv's waterfront is very, very friendly to people who want to walk. You can walk alongside the beach forever (though the surfaces change, not unpleasantly).Care for a quick shot?• One of the sequence of beaches here is (officially) "dog-friendly" -- meaning that Fido can frolic unleashed, as his owners look on, grinning.• Speaking of animals: I see five horses -- beautiful thoroughbreds (I believe) -- being walked by handlers on grassy areas (not knolls) just beyond a beach. Where are we, Kentucky?• On the beach, a mother in a bikini throws a football to her two young receiver sons. She has a good arm. A native Israeli, too (as her Hebrew indicates). I'm impressed. I wonder if the boys appreciate that this is not entirely normal.• Want to get some reading done?And the other side:• You can hear cries of muezzins all over the world, including here in Tel Aviv. One rises from the Great Mahmoudiya Mosque, near the beach …• Speaking of religion: I see some Jehovah's Witnesses, and their booth. I'm reminded that these people are banned and persecuted in Putin's Russia, which burns me.• Amid the buildings in Tel Aviv, the Trade Tower gleams, which makes me think, contentedly, "Up from the socialist past?"• Have another beach scene:And spot the cat? On the rocks, at about 5 o'clock?• I appreciate a blunt sign. Hard to get blunter than "Danger of Death!"• In my experience -- limited, to be sure -- Israelis are not great standers in line …• You know where they learn to stand in line? The Zarkor School. It is my favorite school in Israel, and possibly in the world. It has just three grades, so far: pre-school, kindergarten, and first grade. I bet it will grow. Zarkor was founded by my friend Michael Friedman, and it is a pioneering effort. Learn about it here.Michael -- who is a phenomenal story all by himself -- is married to another phenom, Rachel Zabarkes Friedman, a scholar who has three degrees from Harvard, but the pinnacle of whose life, surely, was her internship at National Review …(When I interviewed her, on the phone, I sat up a little straighter, because she was so authoritative, interesting, and compelling. She was just in college, mind you.)• You are familiar with the pop song "Saturday in the Park": "People dancing, people laughing, a man selling ice cream, singing Italian songs." Well, Saturday, it seems to me, is a deader, or emptier, or quieter day in Tel Aviv -- yes, even in Tel Aviv, to say nothing of Jerusalem and elsewhere. (Tel Aviv is regarded as a secular city.) Friday is probably more like "Saturday in the Park."• See the British embassy, here in Tel Aviv?It reminds me that ours is now in Jerusalem. I wrote about this issue for years and years: from the point of view of U.S. foreign policy; from the point of view of the Arab–Israeli conflict; and from the point of view of U.S. politics. I should not repeat myself, as I'm trying to breeze through a journal. Maybe I could provide a link.Hmmm -- here's a dollop.• I meet a woman who has a daughter in the third grade. She sings in a chorus (the daughter). One of the songs they sing is a patriotic one, saying that, surely, some of the little boys in their midst will grow up to die in Israeli wars.This is not a country bereft of realism, you might say (putting it mildly).• It is also not a country bereft of stress. The difficulty of life in Israel is famous, or infamous. I meet a man who is hoping to emigrate to Canada. He is native-born (in Israel, I mean). After his military service, he went to Japan, where he worked for seven years. It is not uncommon for Israelis to do this kind of thing, he says. He loved Japan: its orderliness, its peacefulness. When he returned to Israel, he found the stress -- the noise, the pressure, the tumult -- almost unbearable.Look, this is just one testimony, one story, one guy. But no Israeli would be surprised to hear him.• I have not said anything about Prime Minister Netanyahu -- and there is a lot of talk about him, among the people I meet. There was an election in April; there will be another in September. I'm just breezin' along here, coming to a close. But let me say: Netanyahu is an interesting, impressive, and historic figure, with legions of admirers (including me). But even some of them say, or fear, that he has stayed too long.This is an age-old problem. Leaders begin to equate their personal interests or desires with the national interest, you know? L'état, c'est eux.Anyway, a big, big subject. (I used to call Netanyahu "the Leader of the West." I also applied the phrase to Stephen Harper, the prime minister of Canada.)• You want to see a funny sign? I don't have a picture, but I can quote it for you: Please Avoid Unpleasantness Involved in Towing Vehicles.Amen.• An Israeli tells me that shalom is used for goodbye in only one, special instance: when you are going away for a long, long time. Then it's an adieu (rather than au revoir); an addio (rather than arrivederci).• It still amazes me, after all these years, that people -- modern people -- call their dad "Abba," just as in the Bible …• One last shot of funkilicious Tel Aviv?• When I get back to New York, an airport official is jawing at a man who is hawking a car service, and he responds, "I know my rights!"Ah, America. See you, dear ones, and thanks for going to Israel with me.One more thing, maybe. Four years ago, I wrote an essay called "Hung Up on Israel": here. It answered the question, "Why do you care about Israel so much?" At least, it answered it as well as I can.Thanks again, and see you.
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| Donald Trump vowed to raise pressure on Iran and cripple its economy. Did it backfire? Posted: 21 Jun 2019 11:12 AM PDT  Critics of Donald Trump's Iran strategy say it has created the current crisis but the administration says Tehran will be forced to negotiate.
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| UPDATE 6-Missouri orders lone abortion clinic to close; judge keeps it open for now Posted: 21 Jun 2019 08:18 AM PDT ![UPDATE 6-Missouri orders lone abortion clinic to close; judge keeps it open for now]( "UPDATE 6-Missouri orders lone abortion clinic to close; judge keeps it open for now") Missouri health officials on Friday refused to renew the license of the state's only abortion clinic, but the facility will remain open for now as a judge left in place an injunction blocking its closure. At a brief state circuit court hearing on Friday, Judge Michael Stelzer said it might be days before the court would come to a decision on whether the state could shut its only abortion clinic, which is operated by women's healthcare and abortion provider Planned Parenthood. If the clinic were to close, Missouri would become the only U.S. state without a legal abortion clinic.
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| Plot that wounded Ortiz unraveled because of many mistakes Posted: 20 Jun 2019 10:15 PM PDT  Alberto Rodríguez Mota had one job: taking a photo of the man that his crew of hired killers was supposed to fatally shoot at an outdoor cafe, according to Dominican authorities. In the photo sent to the hit man, he looked like a dark, blurry figure in white pants, the Dominican police chief and attorney-general said. Hours later, on the evening of June 9, the hitman approached a hulking figure in a dark top and white pants and fired a single shot into his back.
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| Samsung reportedly seeking compensation because Apple isn’t selling enough iPhones Posted: 21 Jun 2019 08:16 AM PDT  While Samsung keeps comparing its flagship phones to the latest iPhones that Apple makes in the hopes of convincing customers that Galaxy phones are a better option, Samsung is also a huge fan of the iPhone. That's because Samsung is a supplier of iPhone parts, and these Apple deals can be very lucrative. The best example concerns the iPhone's OLED screen, which is very expensive. Samsung Display happens to be the supplier of most iPhone OLED panels, as Samsung makes the best OLED screens for smartphones. But it turns out that Samsung isn't happy with iPhone sales, and wants Apple to pay a hefty penalty for all the iPhone screens that it failed to purchase as a result of the slower than expected iPhone sales.A report from ETNews says that Samsung Display seeks compensation amounting to hundreds of billions of won, which converts to hundreds of millions of dollars. Apple had reportedly agreed to acquire a certain quality of panels from Samsung Display but then failed to meet these numbers. Samsung Display and Apple have been negotiating the matter but have yet to agree on terms.Samsung invested in an A3 display facility that would cater only to Apple, a 6th-generation flexible OLED plant that can produce about 100 million OLED iPhone screens each year. But it's unclear what the minimum supply Apple agreed to buy might've been.Production at the A3 plant fell to under 50% of capacity as demand for iPhone sales remained sluggish, the report notes. Sales for the iPhone XS generation that followed 2017's iPhone X wasn't spectacular either, and Apple was often rumored to have cut OLED panel orders as a result. Samsung Display's operating profit dropped to 2.62 trillion won last year, about half of the 5.7 trillion the company reported in 2017, a figure that perfectly reflects the smartphone sales slump. Galaxy sales have been slower than expected as well, and these devices also pack OLED screens from Samsung Display.Meeting quotas isn't the only problem between the two parties, ETNews says. Apparently, Samsung Display has experienced some manufacturing issues with some of the OLED panels it supplied to Apple, and it may have been charged a "small penalty."ETNews also notes that failing to meet quotas might be a problem for Apple's deals with other panel suppliers, although screen makers rarely seek reimbursements. Instead, Apple may ink additional display deals with those manufacturers that cover other products.Interestingly, the report notes that Apple has offered such options to Samsung Display for OLED panels that would fit tablets and notebooks. So far, but none of the existing iPads or MacBooks feature OLED screens. Earlier rumors have said that Apple is considering OLED panels for other devices, MacBooks included.
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| Chevy Claims Its New Silverado 3500 Accelerates Quicker Than the Ram 3500—and Ram Fires Back Posted: 21 Jun 2019 12:00 PM PDT  Chevy may be down 90 lb-ft of torque from the 1000 lb-ft Ram 3500, but they still claim they can outrun the Ram, trailering or not, so the truck wars go on.
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| Biden not apologizing for remarks on segregationist senators Posted: 19 Jun 2019 06:25 PM PDT  Joe Biden refused calls to apologize Wednesday for saying that the Senate "got things done" with "civility" even when the body included segregationists. The former vice president was particularly defiant in rejecting criticism from Sen. Cory Booker, one of two major black candidates seeking the Democratic nomination. The New Jersey Democrat had called on Biden to apologize for his comments.
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| Prosecutors: Teen killed after fake internet offer Posted: 20 Jun 2019 05:51 PM PDT  Authorities say Alaska teens hoping to cash in on a $9 million online offer brutally killed a woman on a popular trail outside Anchorage, shooting her in the back of the head and dumping her body in a river. (June 18)
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| 11 Cool Things We Learned Driving the Tomcar TX 4X4 Posted: 21 Jun 2019 08:24 AM PDT |
| China's Xi Tells North Korea's Kim World Wants More U.S. Talks Posted: 20 Jun 2019 11:37 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- China's Xi Jinping told Kim Jong Un that the world wanted him to make progress in nuclear talks with the U.S., underscoring Beijing's key role in negotiations ahead of his own summit with President Donald Trump.The Chinese president said during a landmark visit to Pyongyang on Thursday that he was willing to play a "positive and constructive role" toward achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the official Xinhua News Agency said. "The international community hopes that talks between the DPRK and the United States will move forward and bear fruit," Xi said, referring to North Korea's formal name.Kim responded that North Korea had "taken many active measures to avoid tensions and control the situation on the Korean Peninsula, but has not received positive responses from the party concerned," according to Xinhua. North Korea's own state media reports made no mention of the nuclear issue, saying only that the two leaders agreed to strengthen "strategic" communication" amid a "grave and complex" international situation."This sends a signal to the U.S. that China's influence on peninsula issues shall not be undervalued," said Wang Sheng, professor of international politics at Jilin University who specializes in Northeast Asian affairs. "The U.S. should take this into account, that it needs China's backing on improving its relations with North Korea and promoting denuclearization."Why the Trump-Kim Nuclear Show Needs a Third Act: QuickTakeThe talks came amid a flurry of pageantry in the North Korean capital, in which Kim rolled out the red carpet for the first visit by a Chinese president in 14 years. Besides showcasing ties that stretch back to the 1950-53 Korean War, Xi and and Kim were expected to use the visit to stake out common ground in their current struggles with Trump. Xi left Pyongyang en route to Beijing, Chinese state media reported about 3:15 p.m. Friday North Korea time. The trip came just a week ahead of Xi's planned meeting with Trump on the sidelines the Group of 20 summit in Japan, in what's shaping up to be a possible turning point in the trade war between the world's two largest economies. China's role as North Korea's vital trading partner and sole security backer gives Xi leverage in his talks with Trump.Stalled TalksU.S. efforts to eliminate North Korea's nuclear arsenal have made little progress since Trump and Kim agreed in their Singapore summit last year to "work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," without saying what that meant. In February, Trump rejected Kim's offer to close some nuclear facilities in exchange for the elimination of the most severe United Nations sanctions on North Korea.While Xi has stayed largely on the sidelines during talks between Trump and Kim, China's approval for UN sanctions has been vital to the U.S. pressure campaign. Xi also hosted Kim in Beijing before both of the North Korean leader's meetings with Trump.Preferred MediatorThae Yong Ho, a former North Korean ambassador to the U.K. who defected, told the Dong-a Ilbo newspaper on Thursday that the summit showed that Kim saw China rather than South Korea as his preferred mediating partner. "North Korea is drawing up a new plan for third summit with U.S.," Thae told the paper. "And the starting point of that is Xi's North Korea visit."Kim's position has changed little since warning the U.S. in April that he would wait only until the end of 2019 for the Trump administration to relax its demands -- raising the prospect for a renewal of tensions during a U.S. election year.In the meantime, Kim has demonstrated continued diplomatic support, including a first-ever meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in April, and resumed test launches of short-ranged ballistic missiles banned under UN sanctions.What You Need to Know About North Korea and Sanctions: QuickTakeKim's warm welcome for Xi demonstrated how much the sometimes fraught ties between the two neighbors have improved since Kim made his first visit to Beijing last year. The Chinese president and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were greeted by Kim at the airport and inspected an honor guard before driving past crowds holding banners that said friendship between the two countries "shall be eternal."Later Thursday, Xi attended a performance of North Korea's mass games, in which hundreds of performers engage in a display of mass choreography.Top OfficialsXi's entourage included top diplomats Yang Jiechi and Wang Yi, as well as He Lifeng, head of the National Development and Reform Commission. Kim was joined by top North Korean official Kim Yong Chol and his sister Kim Yo Jong, according the Chinese Communist Party's People's Daily newspaper.Xi said China would continue providing security assurances and development assistance "within its capacity," in a possible reference to the international sanctions limiting such exchanges. China was ready to help North Korea "address its legitimate security and development concerns, strengthen coordination with it and other relevant parties, and play a positive and constructive role in realizing denuclearization on the peninsula and enduring regional peace and stability," Xi said.The Global Times, a tabloid published by China's People's Daily newspaper, said in an editorial that it would be wrong to view Beijing's relationship with Pyongyang as an attempt at "playing cards" in the trade war."The traditional friendship between China and the DPRK concerns the long-term strategic interests of the two countries," the editorial said. "It is not designed to solve a specific problem."(Updates with Xi's departure in sixth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Gregory Turk, Chris Kay and Linly Lin.To contact the reporters on this story: Jihye Lee in Seoul at jlee2352@bloomberg.net;Dandan Li in Beijing at dli395@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Karen LeighFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| What to know about Iran's uranium enrichment program Posted: 21 Jun 2019 11:01 AM PDT  Iran has announced it was 10 days away from breaking their uranium stockpile limit. What does this mean for the Iran Deal?
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| Supreme Court Backs Immigrant Unaware of Legal Status in Gun-Possession Case Posted: 21 Jun 2019 11:47 AM PDT  The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that an illegal immigrant unaware that his legal status barred him from possessing a gun cannot be prosecuted for possession, in a decision that could affect thousands of previous cases.The Court's decision will force prosecutors to prove that a member of a group barred from having a firearm knows they are a member before they can be convicted of a crime. In cases where the individual's status is the "crucial element," the person must be aware of it, the Court said."Without knowledge of that status, the defendant may well lack the intent needed to make his behavior wrongful. His behavior may instead be an innocent mistake to which criminal sanctions normally do not attach," Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the seven-justice majority. "To convict a defendant, the government therefore must show that the defendant knew he possessed a firearm and also that he knew he had the relevant status when he possessed it."Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan joined Breyer in the majority, while Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented."Serious problems will also result from requiring proof that an alien actually knew—not should have known or even strongly suspected but actually knew—that his continued presence in the country was illegal," Alito wrote in his dissent.
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| Galaxy Note 10 tipped to pack a camera feature no other phone has Posted: 20 Jun 2019 07:10 AM PDT  The Galaxy Note 10 already has a rumored announcement date, and we're getting quite close to the launch of one of the most exciting phones of the second half of 2019. That also means more of its secrets will be spilled in the coming weeks, long before Samsung takes the stage in New York to introduce the handset. Just the other day we learned that the phone will feature a screen technology that only one other phone has, an LG phone that's nowhere near as popular as the Note 10 will be. That's a Sound on Display (SoD) screen the Note 10 will reportedly get, which turns the entire display into a speaker. As a result, there's no need for the regular earpiece at the top of the phone, so the bezels can be made even thinner. The display will not be the only unique trick the Note 10 will offer buyers though, as a new leak details an even more exciting feature that Samsung will introduce on the Galaxy Note 10.Ice Universe is a well-known Samsung insider in some circles, the circles that follow smartphone rumors closely. The leaker said on Twitter that Samsung China engineers revealed a detail about the Note 10 camera that should have probably been kept secret. Rather than equipping the phone's main camera with a dual-aperture lens as is the case with previous flagships, Samsung's new Note 10 phones will have a three-stage variable aperture: f1.5, f1.8, and f2.4.https://twitter.com/UniverseIce/status/1141608857220681728That's something that hasn't been done before and might give Samsung an edge over competitors.Older Galaxy flagships including the Galaxy S10 support f1.5 and f2.4 apertures, with the Note 10 supposedly getting a stop in between those, f1.8. As SamMobile explains, the new aperture could be useful to reduce overexposure in intermediate cases between low-light (f1.5) and bright (f2.4) conditions.A different report said earlier this week that the Note 10 might be getting another notable camera upgrade, front and rear Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors that would enable 3D face recognition, improve bokeh in portrait shots, and help with AR/VR apps.
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