| The Latest: European powers concerned about Iran nuke deal Posted: 02 Jul 2019 10:27 AM PDT  European powers that have been trying to preserve the nuclear deal with Iran are underlining their concern at Tehran exceeding its stockpile limit for low-enriched uranium and their demand that it comply in full with the accord.
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| AOC paints grim picture of U.S. migrant detention centers: 'People drinking out of toilets' Posted: 01 Jul 2019 10:17 AM PDT  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sharply criticized conditions at Customs and Border Protection detention camps, saying migrants were subject to "systemic cruelty" that treated them "like animals."
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| Hong Kong on Edge After Historic Night of Vandalism and Tear Gas Posted: 02 Jul 2019 02:43 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong began picking up after historic protests left the legislature ransacked, the streets littered with spent tear gas canisters and the city's Beijing-backed leader promising to push back against further unrest.Authorities announced that the central government complex in Admiralty would reopen Wednesday, but the legislative building will require a lengthier cleanup after demonstrators pulled down portraits, spray-painted slogans and draped a Union Jack-emblazoned colonial flag across the body president's desk. Chief Executive Carrie Lam condemned the "extreme use of violence and vandalism" and defended the police's decision to leave the Legislative Council to a small, but destructive group of protesters.Most of the violence ended early Tuesday after the last crowds of mask- and helmet-wearing demonstrators fled the area to escape hundreds of riot police firing tear gas. The defacement of the only democratically elected legislature under Beijing control came on the anniversary of the former British colony's return to Chinese rule.Lam's government sparked the political crisis by pushing legislation that would allow extraditions to China, a move that alarmed locals and multinational companies. The clashes have embarrassed the government in Beijing, which continues to back her."The government's handling of the extradition bill issue has reinvigorated what was an ailing pro-democracy movement," said Steve Vickers, former head of the Royal Hong Kong Police's Criminal Intelligence Bureau and chief executive officer of risk consultant Steve Vickers & Associates. "A government crackdown and large-scale arrests of the extreme elements is likely and may result in further, but smaller demonstrations."The Hang Seng Index rose 1.2% as the city's market reopened after a holiday, catching up with a global rally on trade talk optimism. The Hong Kong dollar briefly traded in the stronger half of its band against the greenback for the first time since September, rising as much as 0.19% to 7.7987.The Chinese government on Tuesday denounced protesters who stormed the legislature as "extremists" and said it supported Hong Kong in punishing anyone responsible for the damage, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing a spokesman from the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council. State media rebuked the vandalism, using the chaos to bolster China's views about the dangers of democracy.Lam, who has seen her popularity plunge to record lows amid weeks of unprecedented protests, seized on the destruction to call for a return to order. She drew a contrast with a largely peaceful protest march Monday that attracted one of the largest crowds ever -- between 190,000 and 550,000 people -- with the occupation of the legislature."This is something that we should seriously condemn because nothing is more important than the rule of law in Hong Kong," she said. "I hope community at large will agree with us that, with these violent acts that we have seen, it is right for us to condemn it and hope society will return to normal as soon as possible."Lam's response to the unrest was criticized as dismissive by opposition lawmakers, who demanded a meeting with the chief executive. Eddie Chu, a member of the Legislative Council, said Lam hadn't said what her administration would do to address the underlying political problems."Ninety-nine percent is about the condemnation of the protesters, but very little time was left for how the government is going to resolve this crisis," he told Bloomberg Television outside the legislature Tuesday. "In the coming weeks, we will see a very large hit back from the Beijing side and it turn into a security issue."Hong Kong Police Commissioner Stephen Lo said Tuesday that police retreated out of fear for the safety of bystanders and themselves after protesters backed them into the building, tampered with the electrical boxes and threw "toxic powder" at officers. As of 4 p.m., there was no indication from police that any protesters had been arrested.Legislative Council President Andrew Leung said the remaining two meetings of the legislature before its summer recess in July had been called off after extensive damage, effectively canceling the remainder of this year's session."The police are now gathering evidence in the complex," he said. "The repair and the rebuilding of the LegCo complex is expected to take a long time."At her early morning news conference, Lam denied that her government hasn't responded to the people's demands, pointing to a mid-June announcement that the extradition bill would be suspended. But some protesters have vowed to fight until she withdraws the bill completely and resigns.Opposition lawmaker Claudia Mo said pan-democratic politicians didn't approve of the ransacking, but that Lam had twisted the events to cast the protesters in a bad light."Of course, we do not endorse vandalism, we don't condone violence, but we hope everyone, not just in Hong Kong but in the whole wide world will try to understand the Hong Kong youngsters, the desperation exhibited behind the so-called violent act," she told reporters. "Carrie Lam is trying to turn the table and trying to shift public opinion, focusing on our youngsters."(Updates with reopening of government offices in second paragraph.)\--With assistance from Fion Li, Bill Faries, Larry Liebert, Dominic Lau, Jon Herskovitz, Qi Ding and Will Davies.To contact the reporters on this story: Natalie Lung in Hong Kong at flung6@bloomberg.net;David Tweed in Hong Kong at dtweed@bloomberg.net;Kari Lindberg in Hong Kong at klindberg13@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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| ‘Fox & Friends’ Host: Overcrowded Detention Camps Just Like House Party With Too Many People Posted: 02 Jul 2019 08:19 AM PDT  Reacting to reports that detained migrants are being held in cells with no running water, Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade on Tuesday likened the overcrowded border detention camps to house parties with too many guests.After a delegation of Democratic lawmakers said Monday that they witnessed atrocious conditions at the facilities and guards were telling migrants locked in cramped cells to drink toilet water, the Fox & Friends crew noted that Customs and Border Patrol was "pushing back hard," claiming those accounts weren't accurate.Kilmeade, meanwhile, launched into a rant in which he vociferously defended CBP's handling of the growing crisis."Picture yourself, you have a house, family of five," Kilmeade said. "You have a party, you have 30 people over. Maybe you have a big party and you have 100 people over and you have two-and-a-half baths."Fox's Brian Kilmeade on Concerns About Detention Camp Conditions: 'Never Going to Have a Hyatt'He kept on going."In the beginning, it would be OK with 30," the pro-Trump Fox News star declared. "Then after 100 people, it would be a little bit taxed, maybe you got to get an outdoor facility. Can you picture 5,000?"Kilmeade went on for a bit longer, justifying the conditions asylum-seeking migrants have endured by saying it isn't Border Patrol's idea to "have a wide-open border" or "bad asylum rules."Guest co-host Griff Jenkins agreed with his colleague, adding that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-NY) "comparison to the concentration camp, her previous criticism, isn't fair because all the people that are in our custody came on their own accord."Following the segment, Ocasio-Cortez fired back on Twitter, taking direct aim at Kilmeade's comparison, asking him when he last went to a party where he "drank out of a toilet" or was "locked in a cage under armed guard."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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| View Photos of the 2020 Audi S8 Posted: 01 Jul 2019 09:01 PM PDT |
| US officials inaugurated 'fake' archaeology project: senior Palestinian Posted: 01 Jul 2019 08:44 AM PDT  A senior Palestinian official Monday condemned the participation of US envoys in an event linked to Israeli settlers and scoffed at their account that it was for a new archaeology project. US ambassador to Israel David Friedman and White House adviser Jason Greenblatt were among US officials attending the event organised by the City of David Foundation on Sunday night in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem. Palestinians and anti-occupation activists see it as another attempt by Israel to cement its control over predominantly Palestinian east Jerusalem.
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| Man who claimed to have protected students during school shooting revealed to be a hoax Posted: 02 Jul 2019 11:08 AM PDT  A man who gained media attention after claiming he saved students from a mass shooting while working as a substitute teacher never worked at the school, officials say.David Briscoe had spoken to numerous news organisations in the wake of the May 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting in Texas, which left 10 people dead and thirteen others wounded.He recounted stories of barricading children from an English class into their room, telling them to find cover and muffle their screams to avoid detection.However, an investigation by the Texas Tribune has revealed his supposed heroics are likely a fiction.Local police told the news website the shooting had been confined to art classrooms and there were no English classes being held in the vicinity. Meanwhile, school district officials said they had no record of his employment and are confident no one of the name David Briscoe was on campus at the time of the attack."We are extremely disappointed that an individual that has never been a part of our school community would represent themselves as a survivor of the mass violence tragedy that our community endured," said Leigh Wall, the superintendent of Santa Fe Independent School District said."This situation illustrates how easily misinformation can be created and circulated, especially when the amount of detailed information available is limited due to the still ongoing investigation."In the wake of the shooting, Mr Briscoe appears to have contacted several media outlets to claim he was involved in the tragedy.The Wall Street Journal, CNN and Time went on to use his account of events in their coverage. All have since removed his comments from their stories and published corrections."It was simultaneous," Mr Briscoe had told CNN. "I barricaded the door with desks and tables and shut the lights."Honestly, it felt like hours before we got out of the school, but one of my students said it was 30 to 45 minutes."His story went into grisly detail, including claims he heard the sound of what he supposed was a child getting shot, followed by "groaning".He went on to contact the Tribune in April this year, asking reporter Alexandra Samuels if she would consider a follow-up story relating to a string of recent suicides by mass shooting survivors.In a subsequent phone call, Mr Briscoe reportedly told Ms Samuels he had given up teaching and moved out of Texas as a result of the trauma he suffered.He claimed he had given a speech on his experience at a high school in Orlando, Florida, an event the principal of the school said never took place.Later asked if he could help fact-check some of his claims, Mr Biscoe claimed one of his employees had been impersonating him during the interview and on social media, denying he had given an interview. The Twitter account he used to first contact the Tribune has since been deactivated.Dimitrios Pagourtzis, at the time a 17-year-old Santa Fe High School student, has been charged with 10 counts of murder in connection to the shootings. He is currently awaiting trial.
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| #UnwantedIvanka edits first daughter into historic events, photos after G-20 conversations Posted: 01 Jul 2019 01:31 PM PDT  President Donald Trump's daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump faced sharp criticism from some for her role the G-20 summit last week in Osaka, Japan.
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| Australian man dies 10 days after eating gecko at party Posted: 02 Jul 2019 10:00 AM PDT  An Australian family is still grieving over the unexpected loss of their father, who fell gravely ill after allegedly eating a gecko on a dare.
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| Girl recalls poor care in Texas border station Posted: 02 Jul 2019 08:10 AM PDT  For almost two weeks, a 12-year-old migrant girl said she and her 6-year-old sister were held inside a Border Patrol station in Texas where they slept on the floor and some children were locked away when they cried for their parents. El Paso, Texas, attorney Taylor Levy, who worked with the girl's family, said she and her sister were separated from their aunt when they arrived in the U.S. on May 23. The children, from Central America, were put in the Border Patrol station in Clint, Texas, Levy said.
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| The Story of an Air Force Defector to Iran Posted: 01 Jul 2019 05:11 AM PDT  Witt was a member of the aircrew of an RC-135 Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft forward deployed from RAF Mildenhall in Great Britain.Former Tech. Sgt. Monica Elfriede Witt, a former U.S. Air Force counterintelligence specialist who had defected to Iran and who was charged with espionage on Feb. 13, 2019, served as an airborne crypto linguist on board a RC-135 during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Military Times revealed.She earned the Air Medal as a result. The citation says she had "distinguished herself by meritorious achievement while participating in sustained aerial flight from March 29 to April 18."In March 2003, then-Staff Sgt. Witt was serving as an airborne crypto linguist with the 95th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, 398th Air Expeditionary Group, out of Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, Crete.The U.S. invaded Iraq on March 20, followed by three weeks of major combat operations.
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| Democrats, Beware of Andrew Yang’s Insane Vision for America Posted: 02 Jul 2019 01:39 AM PDT  Photo illustration by Sarah Rogers/The Daily Beast/Photos GettyAfter a surprising surge to make his way to the debate stage, Andrew Yang didn't make much of an impression there in just three minutes of speaking time as leading Democrats with a lot in common tried to make the most of their distinctions. But Yang was only there at all because he raised money and registered in the polls by packing the policies of elite technocrats in a coating of Clintonesque pain-feeling paternalism. He's already made the list for the next Democratic debate, and his rise is an early warning about how, no matter how bad our politics may see right now, they could be far worse if parties and voters don't police themselves and defend their values.Andrew Yang, Upstart Democratic Presidential Candidate, Comes Out Against CircumcisionYang cut his teeth in test prep, an industry that sorts students based on abilities for a nifty profit. That sorting, of course, privileges the wealthy who have more access to the resources the prep industry offers. He became a millionaire when he sold his company, Manhattan Prep, to Kaplan, the test prep industry leader, and founded Venture for America, "to create economic opportunity in American cities by mobilizing the next generation of entrepreneurs and equipping them with the skills and resources they need to create jobs"—that is, to hack the rust belt with venture funding. Now, Yang is running for president to fulfill the tech oligarchs' dream of a universal basic income intended to pacify the poor as a substitute for actually dealing with income inequality. It is politics as philanthropy, that smacks of a 19th-century noblesse oblige.This is a brand of politics intended to neuter a muscular liberalism based on moral guidelines and defined as an attempt to civilize the economy and empower people. It is an approach not only opposed to the democratic socialism of Bernie Sanders, but to the core philosophies of the Democratic Party. Yang's prescription stands against the notion that the state, through policies and legislation, needs to play a more muscular role in social and economic life. Instead, he is providing a Silicon Valley venture capitalist's vision, one that acknowledges inequality and injustice, but then seeks to treat only its symptoms rather than its cause: Just give money to the poor, and let them figure it out. Perhaps unsurprisingly, his approach—shorn of emotion, passion or sensitivity—has drawn never Trumpers, libertarians and members of the alt-right to his "Yang Gang." His campaign picked up momentum from appearances with Tucker Carlson on Fox and Joe Rogan on his podcast, as he's called for—along with a $12,000 a year "Freedom Dividend" for every adult American—a massive reduction of the federal workforce, a 10-percent slice of the military budget for a "Legion of Builders and Destroyers" that would be able to overrule state and local governments to get new stuff built, and, of course an outside consultant who'd supposedly make all of this work. If this sounds crazy that's because it is crazy. It's the "disruption" tech companies keep peddling and that consumers keep ending up with buyer's remorse about, but for our entire nation. Yang's politics masquerades as a new form of liberalism but they are something entirely different, as he aims to gut the federal government while handing unfettered power to tech executives and real estate developers, with a measly $1,000 a month for the rest of us as this happens.Democrats, and the Democratic Party, need to make themselves clear: This is not the future that liberals want. 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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| Beijing issues ominous warning after 'atrocities,' but Hong Kong protesters undeterred Posted: 02 Jul 2019 02:34 PM PDT  Protests rocking Hong Kong were condemned by China's mainland government as a challenge to Beijing's authority, but activists were undeterred.
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| Trump to Tucker Carlson on Fox News: Homelessness Is a ‘Phenomenon That Started Two Years Ago’ Posted: 02 Jul 2019 12:01 AM PDT  Fox NewsDuring his interview with President Trump that aired on Monday night on Fox News, Tucker Carlson got the president to weigh in on a topic that he and other Fox News hosts have devoted copious amounts of airtime to lately—homelessness in largely Democratic-run cities and states.And, according to Trump, the homeless problem is a rather recent phenomenon.Noting that they were in Japan during the president's visit to the G-20 summit, Carlson contrasted the cleanliness of their metro areas to large American cities, adding that "there is no graffiti" or people "going to the bathroom on the streets" in Japan.After the president mildly protested that only "some of our cities" are like that, the Fox News star said that New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles all "have a major problem with filth.""Why is that?" Carlson wondered aloud."It's a phenomenon that started two years ago," Trump declared. "It's disgraceful. I'm going to maybe—I am looking at it very seriously."After seemingly claiming homelessness in America only arose over the past 24 months, the president went on to suggest that police officers are getting sick simply by walking near homeless people—likely referencing reports that some Los Angeles police officers have shown signs of typhoid fever. The officers all work in a precinct that was recently fined for unsanitary working conditions."You can't have what's happening—where police officers are getting sick just by walking the beat," he exclaimed. "I mean, they're getting actually very sick, where people are getting sick, where the people living there are living in hell, too."While stating that mental illness is part of the reason for homelessness, Trump went on to blame the "liberal establishment" for exacerbating the problem before claiming he "ended it very quickly" in Washington, D.C., when he became president. Homelessness has been falling in D.C. steadily for the past three years.Trump, meanwhile, groused about the situation in San Francisco, pointing out that he owns property there and that there were areas "that you used to think as very special" but have now become "terrible.""So we're looking at it very seriously," Trump added. "We may intercede. We may do something to get that whole thing cleaned up. It's inappropriate."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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| Church steps in to host LGBT+ prom after library cancels in face of backlash Posted: 02 Jul 2019 03:26 AM PDT  When the Storybook Pride Prom for Jacksonville, Florida's LGBT\+ teens was cancelled after online conservative backlash, a local church made sure the story had a happy ending.The Willowbranch Library in Jacksonville originally organised the event, where 14 to 18-year-olds were invited to come in costume as their favourite book character, with a dress code of "casual, formal, or in drag – whatever makes you feel great. Be you!"Over 100 teens planned to attend.But when the event caught the attention of a conservative blogger, who encouraged her nearly 700,000 Facebook followers to call the library to complain, the Jacksonville Public Library cancelled the event on 24 June due to fears for the teens' safety – to the outrage of many local parents and community members.Ultimately, the kids got their dance. The Buckman Bridge Unitarian Universalist Church in Jacksonville stepped in and held the prom on Friday, the same night as the original event at the neighbourhood's library."It was the right thing to do," Grace Repass, the church's past president, said in a statement to The Washington Post."The LGBTQIA+ youth in our community deserve to have their prom and we wanted to support them."Ms Repass said the decision to host the prom was swift and unanimously supported by the church's board, and that the event featured "Happy teens, grateful parents, and a lot of community support"."We see our church as a safe place for people who are figuring out who they are," she said."Our Unitarian Universalist values call us to respect the inherent worth and dignity of every person. So, it's a matter of integrity-to act in alignment with who we say we are."About 50 volunteers, LGBT+ veterans, private security, and the Jacksonville sheriff's office were on hand to protect the kids, News4Jax reported.Willowbranch Library originally announced the prom on Facebook on 4 June.But on 21 June, blogger Elizabeth Johnson, who goes by "Activist Mommy", encouraged her followers to "express your disgust that this perversion is taking place in a taxpayer funded library!" and listed the branch's phone number.Ms Johnson's Facebook page frequently criticises drag queens and LGBT+ people, and she has encouraged her followers to call libraries that host storytime events where drag performers read to children. She could not immediately be reached for comment.That call to action was echoed by a Florida group called Biblical Concepts Ministries, whose stated mission is "educating, motivating, and activating the body of Christ in civil and community service and public policy in order to defend our religious freedoms."The group blasted out an "emergency alert" email to pastors and supporters urging them to contact the mayor and city council to complain about the "inappropriate insanity".The group's founder, Raymond Johnson, told News4Jax that "we're absolutely opposed to anything like this".The Biblical Concepts Ministries declared victory on Facebook over the cancellation on 24 June, calling it a "Perverted Drag Queen Prom for Children".In a Facebook statement on the cancellation, the Jacksonville Public Library said that it "promotes inclusivity and acceptance of all people, regardless of sexual orientation", but that after hearing of physical threats to the young participants, it decided to cancel.That decision prompted protests of its own from patrons upset that the library had capitulated to pressure from anti-LGBT+ activists. Some parents even suggested that the library director, Tim Rogers, resign.Chris Boivin, spokesman for Jacksonville Public Libraries, told The Washington Post via email that Mr Rogers "now understands how the cancellation impacted the teens who were planning to attend as well as the greater LGBTQ community. This has been a humbling and learning experience."But Mr Boivin stood by the decision to cancel the event."As a small, non-activist organisation, we had never dealt with this kind of thing before," he wrote."With one week to go before holding a brand-new event for teens, we felt out of our element and unprepared to ensure the kids' safety and sense of security."We had the teens' well-being and safety in mind when we cancelled, and nothing else. We did not realise how the cancellation would impact the LGBTQ community, and for that, we are very sorry."BeBe Deluxe, a drag queen who was scheduled to appear at the prom, wrote on Instagram after the cancellation that such events were important because, "trans kids need to see themselves represented in healthy trans adults"."Gay kids need to see happy gay adults. Straight kids need to learn to help make the world better for everybody."One parent critical of Mr Rogers, Michelle Leipuner, said that he had "caved" to online pressure and that the children had not been in danger.Ms Leipuner said she called the library and the mayor's office to complain and participated in a protest against Mr Rogers last week.Ms Leipuner's 14-year-old son is gay, and she has a 17-year-old daughter who is transgender, she told The Washington Post, and the cancellation felt intensely personal to her.She had been excited for her son to attend the prom, because it presented an "opportunity for him to go and meet people like him, different from him". She called its cancellation a "slap in the face".She praised the Buckman Bridge Unitarian Universalist Church's last-minute intervention, as it gave her son the opportunity to celebrate pride with his fellow LGBTQ teens."He was the belle of the ball," she said. "He had a gorgeous gold dress on. He was beautiful."Washington Post
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| Can China Track and Shoot Down the F-22? Posted: 01 Jul 2019 07:00 PM PDT  The laws of physics essentially dictate that a tactical fighter-sized stealth aircraft must be optimized to defeat higher-frequency bands such the C, X, Ku and the top part of the S bands. State-run Chinese media is claiming that the People's Liberation Army has been able to track the U.S. Air Force's Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor stealth fighters over the East China Sea. While the Chinese report might be easily dismissed as propaganda—it is not beyond the realm of possibility. In fact—it's very possible that China can track the Raptor. Stealth is not a cloak of invisibility, after all. Stealth technology simply delays detection and tracking.(This first appeared in 2016.)First off, if a Raptor is carrying external fuel tanks—as it often does during "ferry missions"—it is not in a stealth configuration. Moreover, the aircraft is often fitted with a Luneburg lens device on its ventral side during peacetime operations that enhances its cross section on radar.That being said, even combat-configured F-22s are not invisible to enemy radar, contrary to popular belief. Neither is any other tactical fighter-sized stealth aircraft with empennage surfaces such as tailfins—the F-35, PAK-FA, J-20 or J-31. That's just basic physics.
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| Pence's abrupt travel cancellation sparks speculation Posted: 02 Jul 2019 10:29 AM PDT  Pence was previously scheduled to travel to Manchester, N.H.
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| Iran's Guards kill two militants in northwestern region - Fars Posted: 02 Jul 2019 09:27 AM PDT ![Iran's Guards kill two militants in northwestern region - Fars]( "Iran's Guards kill two militants in northwestern region - Fars") Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards killed two members of an "anti-revolutionary terrorist" group in a security operation in the northwest of the country, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Tuesday. Fars did not identify the group but clashes are common in the area with Iranian Kurdish militant groups based in Iraq and the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), which has links to Turkey's militant Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).
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| Plane crash in Texas kills 10 people: officials Posted: 30 Jun 2019 08:39 PM PDT  A small twin-engine passenger plane crashed in Texas in the United States on Sunday, killing 10 people, officials said. "The Dallas County Medical Examiner has confirmed 10 fatalities and no survivors," a spokeswoman for the town of Addison told AFP. The plane was heading for St. Petersburg, Florida and was carrying two flight crew and eight passengers, Vice Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Bruce Landsberg said.
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| View Photos of the 2020 BMW X6 Posted: 02 Jul 2019 03:01 PM PDT |
| A Canadian political cartoonist's drawing of Donald Trump went viral. Two days later, he was fired Posted: 01 Jul 2019 08:34 AM PDT  A Canadian political cartoonist said he was let go from his freelance contract two days after his cartoon featuring President Donald Trump went viral.
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| The Latest: Boy drowns after mom tried to drown him in 2008 Posted: 01 Jul 2019 04:18 PM PDT  More than a decade after a woman was prosecuted in Montana for trying to drown her baby son in a river, she's accused of killing the now 12-year-old by drowning him in an irrigation ditch in California. Officials in Tulare County, California, said Monday that an autopsy found Jackson Telnas died Saturday of drowning. Deputies responded to a 911 call reporting Sherri Telnas was acting strangely and had taken her sons to a cornfield across from their rural home in central California.
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| Police in Hampton, Va., arrest mom of missing toddler; child believed dead Posted: 02 Jul 2019 08:36 AM PDT  Police have arrested the mother of a missing 2-year-old in Hampton, Va., and charged her with three county of felony child neglect, police said.
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| As U.S. Forces Gather Near Iran (Think F-22s and F-35s), Russia Jams Their GPS Posted: 01 Jul 2019 11:53 AM PDT  Russian forces have been jamming GPS systems in the Middle East. The electronic-warfare campaign could affect U.S. forces gathering in the region in advance of potential strikes on Iran."Since last spring, pilots flying through the Middle East, specifically around Syria, have noted that their GPS systems have displayed the wrong location or stopped working entirely," The Times of Israel reported in late June 2019.> The signal that has been disrupting satellite navigation for planes flying through Israeli airspace in recent weeks originates inside a Russian air base inside Syria, according to data collected by a U.S.-based researcher.> > This interference to the Global Positioning System reception does not appear to be specifically directed at Israel, but rather the Jewish state is likely collateral damage in an effort by Moscow both to protect its troops from drone attacks and to assert its dominance in the field of electronic warfare, Todd Humphreys, a professor at the University of Texas, told The Times of Israel.Israeli sources "are increasingly convinced" that three weeks of GPS disruptions for civilian flights are a side effect of Russian jamming and spoofing in Syria, Breaking Defense reported. "Moscow is trying to interfere with both Western airplanes — including cutting-edge stealthy F-22s and F-35s — and improvised terrorist drones."
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| Senator Warren asks former FDA chief Gottlieb to resign from Pfizer board Posted: 02 Jul 2019 11:15 AM PDT ![Senator Warren asks former FDA chief Gottlieb to resign from Pfizer board]( "Senator Warren asks former FDA chief Gottlieb to resign from Pfizer board") U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren urged former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to immediately step down from Pfizer Inc's board, three months after his departure from the health regulator. Gottlieb, who won bipartisan support for his efforts to curb use of flavored e-cigarettes by youths, stepped down from the FDA in April, a role he had held since May 2017.
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| Secret Service agent who served president dies in tragic accident Posted: 02 Jul 2019 10:14 AM PDT  Special Agent Stephanie Hancock died Saturday after her body was recovered around 9:30 pm, approximately six hours after she was last seen when her kayak capsized in a Maryland river. The veteran U.S. Secret Service agent, who had last served on a Presidential Protective Detail, was with her boyfriend at the time of the accident and, according to officials, he attempted to rescue her to no avail.
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| 'Dangerous overcrowding' decried at Texas migrant detention centers Posted: 02 Jul 2019 04:06 PM PDT  The report by the agency watchdog came a day after a group of Democratic lawmakers toured detention centers for undocumented immigrants in the state bordering Mexico and denounced "horrifying" conditions there. "We encourage the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to take immediate steps to alleviate dangerous overcrowding and prolonged detention of children and adults in the Rio Grande Valley," acting DHS Inspector General Jennifer Costello said in a memorandum to acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan. The report included images taken at several Texas sites, showing dozens of migrants including young children packed shoulder to shoulder into cage-like holding areas or cells.
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| US duty free magnates fund controversial Israeli settlements Posted: 01 Jul 2019 12:49 PM PDT  When travelers shop at dozens of duty free stores at airports worldwide, they may be paying for more than a bottle of vodka or a box of chocolates. The Falic family of Florida, owners of the ubiquitous chain of Duty Free Americas shops, funds a generous and sometimes controversial philanthropic empire in Israel that runs through the corridors of power and stretches deep into the occupied West Bank. An Associated Press investigation shows that the family has donated at least $5.6 million to settler groups in the West Bank and east Jerusalem over the past decade, funding synagogues, schools and social services along with far-right causes considered extreme even in Israel.
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| A win for public safety or a government ploy? California set to require background check for ammo sales Posted: 01 Jul 2019 04:41 AM PDT  Already, California has some of the toughest gun laws in the United States. There's another hurdle for gun owners coming on July 1.
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| Trump lashes out at New York's attorney general and defends his shuttered family foundation Posted: 01 Jul 2019 11:42 AM PDT  President Trump lashed out at New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday, saying he uses the state attorney general "as a bludgeoning tool for his own purposes."
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| Why the Glock 42 Is One Tough (But Small) Gun Posted: 30 Jun 2019 06:00 PM PDT  In the right hands, the Glock 42 pistol could conceivably become as deadly as its larger caliber brethren. The smallest Glock, it is also suitable for whom concealability is a major purchase factor. While not for everyone, the combination of Glock's pistol platform and John Browning's small automatic caliber is still a compelling choice for users who combine both skill and discretion.A combination of the successful Glock pistol design and a caliber invented by armsman John Moses Browning, the Glock 42 is certainly worth taking a look at.The pistol combines the Austrian gun manufacturer's gun operating system with the .380 ACP pistol cartridge. The result is both a pistol for concealed carriers who desire a low recoil pistol and the smallest pistol in Glock's lineup.(This first appeared in early June.)Austrian gun manufacturer Glock has taken a tree-like approach to its pistol lineup, with the original Glock 17 9-millimeter pistol the trunk each major caliber it forays into a branch. The company will typically introduce the full-sized Glock in a new caliber, then quickly follow with compact, sub-compact, and competition-sized pistols to round out the caliber offering.Unlike other branches, like the .45 ACP and the .40 Smith & Wesson, the .380 ACP branch of the Glock tree is the smallest of them all, consisting of a single pistol: the Glock 42. The smallest and least powerful of all calibers the company has endorsed, the nature of the .380 ACP round makes it only suitable for a modern subcompact design.
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| Special Report: How Poland became a front in the cold war between U.S. and China Posted: 02 Jul 2019 04:10 AM PDT  Washington and Warsaw are now allies - nor Russia, Poland's Soviet-era master. It was China. The businessman was Chinese, a salesman for the world's largest maker of telecom networking gear, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. And the alleged Polish traitor, detained the same day, wasn't a soldier but a senior cybersecurity specialist.
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| World watches China's reaction to Hong Kong protests as fears of military involvement grow Posted: 01 Jul 2019 11:04 AM PDT  The storming of Hong Kong's legislative building on Monday was a severe escalation of recent demonstrations, which will give Beijing reason to consider using stronger force – perhaps even calling on the military in a move that would be reminiscent of the bloody crackdown in Tiananmen Square three decades ago. Over the last few weeks, Hong Kong police have fired tear gas, rubber bullets and bean bag rounds on protesters who have been asking city leaders to withdraw an extradition bill that would send suspects to face trial in mainland China where the Communist Party controls the courts. Those crowd-control measures, against protests that had largely been peaceful, quickly turned the public against the police, but left mainland China out of the fray. But now that demonstrators have successfully stormed government buildings, Beijing could have found itself justification for greater physical force to disperse demonstrators. Hong Kong police have clearly been well prepared - armed with riot shields, batons and protective vests - in comparison to the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement in 2014, the last time protesters took the streets. And Beijing is likely to give Hong Kong authorities one more chance to get a grip on the situation. Hong Kong protests: riot police baton charge and fire tear gas to clear demonstrations at parliament, in pictures "The Hong Kong police is still one of the most effective and efficient police forces in the world and it is perfectly capable of dealing with the situation," said Steve Tsang, director of the University of London's SOAS China Institute. Bringing in the Chinese military would be a "last resort." Beijing may also have been deterred from taking a stronger line so far to avoid awkward questions from the press when President Xi Jinping met US president Donald Trump at the G20 in Japan over the weekend. With that out the way, Beijing is freer to take a hard line. "Xi's meeting with Trump was an enormous deterrence against allowing things to get really ugly in Hong Kong, and with that having now been removed, the risk of Beijing allowing more drastic actions taken is significantly higher," said Mr Tsang. The resignation of Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam – who proposed the extradition bill that kicked the protests off – would be one way to close this chapter and move on, fulfilling one of the protesters' main demands. But it would have to be done without appearing to have the backing of Beijing, or risk making Mr Xi appear weak, having caved into protester demands. Authorities could also consider slapping rioting charges against protesters, which carry a jail sentence of up to ten years. But that carries risks for Beijing. Protesters out in the streets now could easily be in and out of prison for the next several years, and may bring more support to their cause. Joshua Wong, who was imprisoned for his role in the 2014 student protests, remained a key figure even behind bars and galvanised supporters in the latest unrest after his recent release. From a propaganda standpoint, China will likely continue with the same line it's used for weeks – blaming unrest in Hong Kong on foreign interference and deflect responsibility. Beijing will not publicly entertain the idea that perhaps the frustrations are in response to Communist Party policies that haven't sat well in Hong Kong. A state media editorial on Monday said that unrest is being spurred by "those who are using these grievances and disturbances as a means to serve their own agendas and put pressure on China."
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| Officer accused of raping 16-year-old homeless girl in city's outreach program Posted: 01 Jul 2019 02:50 AM PDT  The teen says the officer told her she had warrants, but said he would not arrest her in exchange for sexual favors.
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| 15+ All-American Jell-O Shots For Your Fourth Of July Party Posted: 01 Jul 2019 10:21 AM PDT |
| Hungary passes controversial science sector reform bill Posted: 02 Jul 2019 03:57 AM PDT  The Hungarian parliament passed a bill Tuesday enabling the takeover of research institutes by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government, which is accused by critics of seeking to control key institutions and sectors. The bill, approved by 131 of lawmakers in the 199-seat assembly, gives Orban's nationalist, anti-migration government control of a vast network of research institutes currently run by the two-century old Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA). Orban's critics say that since coming to power in 2010 he has tightened his control over most key institutions in Hungary, including public media, the judiciary and the education sector.
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| Virginia Beach worker charged; won't return to crime scene Posted: 02 Jul 2019 07:30 AM PDT  A survivor of the mass shooting in Virginia Beach who doesn't want to return to his workplace has been arrested on a "disturbing the peace" charge. Jonathan McIvor is accused of raising his voice and showing hostility when his supervisors asked why he won't return to work in the building where a city employee killed 12 people. The Virginian-Pilot reports that chief technology officer Darrell Riddick and acting operations manager Jamie Weaver filed the complaint.
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| Someone sent 'Straight Pride' parade organizers glitter. They called police for 'suspicious packages' Posted: 02 Jul 2019 08:19 AM PDT  Organizers of the "Straight Pride" parade planned in Boston this summer say they were sent "suspicious packages" full of glitter.
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| Jewish protesters block entrance to Trump administration's 'concentration camps' for migrants Posted: 01 Jul 2019 01:27 AM PDT  Over 30 Jewish protesters were arrested outside a US detention centre holding undocumented migrants which they likened to a "concentration camp".Those arrested were among hundreds of protesters, mostly young people, who gathered outside the Elizabeth Detention Centre in New Jersey on Sunday to demand the government "close the camps".The protesters held signs reading "Never again means close the camps" and chanted: "Hey hey, ho ho, racist ICE has got to go," as they blocked the road leading to the centre. It comes after Donald Trump promised to begin deporting "millions" of people living in the US illegally. Writing on Twitter last week, he said the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would begin removals this week.Mr Trump campaigned heavily on immigration during his 2016 presidential bid, and is expected to use similar tactics to fire up support among his base ahead of next year's election.Never Again Action, the group that organised the protest, wrote on Facebook: "As Jews, neither our history nor our values will allow us to sit idly by while our neighbours are separated from their families and locked in camps."And we know that. We must come together as Jews to fight back against ICE and CPB as they commit these atrocities. We can't wait a moment longer. NeverAgainIsNow."Tae Phoenix, one of those who took part in the protest, said: "I'm a Jewish Latina. The military camps where my people are being held today are concentration camps; just like the camps my people were held in 75 years ago were concentration camps."That's why I'm here. That's why we're here."The Elizabeth Police Department told Newsweek that over 30 people were arrested during the group's protest outside the detention centre.Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted in support of the protest."Direct actions of profound solidarity, just like these, hold enormous power to change our country," she wrote.> Also deserving of our attention and support: 36 young Jewish activists were arrested today for nonviolent direct action against migrant conditions in Elizabeth, NJ. > > You can learn more about their advocacy and support their bail fund here ⬇️ https://t.co/oyoOJZdwh8> > — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) > > July 1, 2019The name of the group who organised the protest comes from the slogan "Never again", which has historically been used to commemorate the Holocaust.Further actions are being planned in cities across the US, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago. Some Jewish groups have compared ICE's treatment of undocumented immigrants to abuses under the Nazis and other totalitarian regimes. Others have argued that comparisons of ICE to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust are inappropriate.In recent weeks, reports have surfaced of migrants being held in cages of chain-link fencing, sleeping on concrete and covered with blankets made of aluminium foil, at migrant detention centres at the US-Mexico border. On Monday, hundreds of migrant children were transferred out of a filthy Border Patrol station in Texas where they had been detained for weeks without access to soap, clean clothes or adequate food.
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| This Iranian Commander Kept Secret That Israeli F-35 Stealth Fighters Had Violated Iran Airspace Posted: 01 Jul 2019 04:30 AM PDT  Israel has praised the Lockheed Martin F-35 as a "game-changer".Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) commander Brigadier General Farzad Ismaili, who had been in office since 2010, has been fired by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after he kept secret that Israeli Air Force (IAF) F-35 stealth fighters had violated Iran's airspace, the Kuwaiti daily Al Jarida reported on Saturday.The newspaper emphasized that it was the original media source that exposed the Israeli raids, which had taken place in March 2018. Al Jarida cited senior Iranian military who said that only following its March report did the intelligence services of the Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian intelligence ministry begin to investigate the case, under Khamenei's direct orders.According to the newspaper's investigation, "the IAF F-35 "Adir" planes penetrated Iran's airspace, circled high above Tehran, Karajrak, Isfahan, Shiraz and Bandar Abbas – and photographed Iran's air defense system."
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| NASA tests abort system on astronaut capsule built for moon missions Posted: 02 Jul 2019 06:25 AM PDT  "It looked like a complete mission success to me," said Blake Watters, a launch-abort-system propulsion engineer at Lockheed Martin Corp , Orion's manufacturer. Using Orion and NASA's Space Launch System, which is being built for a debut flight in late 2020, the U.S. space agency is aiming to return humans to the moon by 2024 in an accelerated timeline set in March by the Trump administration.
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