| Yuge? Bernie Sanders outraised by newcomer Pete Buttigieg. But Donald Trump crushes both of them. Posted: 02 Jul 2019 10:37 AM PDT  Pete Buttigieg edged out Sen. Bernie Sanders in the money race, underscoring the potential for new voices in the crowded 2020 Democratic field.
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| Eight arrested over cyberattacks against Hong Kong police Posted: 03 Jul 2019 04:01 AM PDT  Hong Kong police said Wednesday they have arrested eight people for stealing and disclosing personal information of officers online, as the city grapples with the aftermath of unprecedented anti-government protests that saw its parliament ransacked. The semi-autonomous city has been plunged into crisis by massive demonstrations since last month against its Beijing-backed government, sparked by a law that would have allowed extraditions to the mainland. The anger spilled over on Monday as groups of mostly young, hardline protesters stormed Hong Kong's Legislative Council, spraying graffiti on the walls of its main chamber and defacing the city's seal before police regained control of the building.
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| U.S. Vice President Pence abruptly cancels trip to New Hampshire Posted: 02 Jul 2019 03:13 PM PDT  U.S. Vice President Mike Pence abruptly canceled a planned trip to New Hampshire on Tuesday after being called back to the White House for an unspecified reason, White House officials said. "The vice president was called back to the White House but there's no cause for alarm and we'll reschedule the trip soon," Short said. Short said Pence's plane never actually left Washington.
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| Migrant children's drawings depict 'horrific' conditions in cages Posted: 03 Jul 2019 02:16 PM PDT  Pediatricians shared pictures drawn by migrant children after being released from US custodyA drawing by children recently released depicting their time spent in US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody. Photograph: Handout ./ReutersDisturbing drawings by children recently held in migrant detention centers showing sad figures in cages have been released by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which last week warned of longterm trauma faced by immigrant children separated from parents or guardians under the Trump administration's border policies.The pictures were drawn last week by unaccompanied 10 and 11-year-old migrant children after being released from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody. They were obtained by NBC News which said they were provided to the AAP by a social worker in Texas."The fact that the drawings are so realistic and horrific gives us a view into what these children have experienced," Dr Colleen Kraft, former president of the AAP, told CNN. "When a child draws this, it's telling us that child felt like he or she was in jail."In its policy statement released last week, the academy warned that the welfare of immigrant children seeking safe haven in the United States, whether arriving unaccompanied or in family units, is of "great concern to pediatricians and other advocates for children".The academy warned that Department of Homeland Security facilities used to accommodate unaccompanied children "do not meet the basic standards for the care of children in residential settings".> According to @AmerAcadPeds ...this is a drawing by a migrant child after being released from @CBP custody. It was provided by a social worker in Texas. pic.twitter.com/KNm6bpBOYM> > — Gabe Gutierrez (@gabegutierrez) July 3, 2019The warnings come as multiple reports found that immigrant children are being held in poor conditions after being separated from their guardians. A report in ProPublica released on Monday also revealed the existence of a secret Facebook group, in which CBP officers seemed to mock the plight of migrant children.In one example, group members joked about a 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant who died in May while in custody at a border patrol station in Weslaco, Texas.Following a visit to a migrant detention center in Texas this week, New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez described the conditions she and other lawmakers found as "horrifying".On Tuesday, the department of homeland security's office of inspector general released a report detailing severe overcrowding and escalating tensions between detainees and border patrol agents at five facilities in the Rio Grande Valley.The report said children were denied showers, clean clothing and hot meals. Several adults hadn't had a shower for as long as a month.The latest warnings about the long-term psychological damage facing migrant children separated from family members come as a government spokesman said Wednesday that the administration is evaluating vacant properties near five US cities as potential permanent sites to hold unaccompanied migrant children.Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Mark Weber said Wednesday that property is being assessed in and around Atlanta, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, Texas.Public contracts for the facilities state properties must be able to accommodate up to 500 children. Buildings must have up to 100,800 square feet (9,400 sq meters) of space and the properties must include about 2 acres (0.8 hectares) for outdoor recreation.Plans for the Atlanta facility calls for 125 bedrooms, with each of them housing up to four children. The HHS spokesman said the search for permanent facilities is being pursued to reduce the possible need for temporary shelters in the future.The Associated Press contributed to the report
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| Silver Frost 1966 Ford Mustang Fastback Will Send Chills Down Your Back Posted: 02 Jul 2019 01:32 PM PDT  Better act fast on this Fastback deal. Vintage Car Collector is pleased to announce this stunning 1966 Ford Mustang Fastback for sale. It will set you back about $44,000, but it's worth it for such a rare and sought-after classic that will only go up in value from here. This silver-on-black '66 Mustang Fastback has under 50,000 miles on the dash and its whole life ahead of it. You will get many smiles to the gallon for years to come, as well as heads turning no matter where you take it.Generally speaking, silver is (arguably) not the most attractive color nor the most popular. Many times, silver cars seem to fade from the spotlight behind all the murdered-out black cars and bright neon/metallic hues. However, this Mustang in Ford's Silver Frost hue with black stripes is breathtakingly beautiful and a spotlight stealer. It shines are every angle, highlighting its impeccable metal body and pristine paint job. This car is, without a doubt, in excellent condition and was very well taken care of by the previous owner(s).The black interior features chrome accents on the dash, doors, and steering wheel. The cabin appears to be in great condition as well, without any unusual wear. The seats and carpet are clean and devoid of any tears or slits.According to the VIN number (6F09C2), this 1966 Ford Mustang Fastback was assembled at the Dearborn, Michigan manufacturing plant. It is powered by a 289 cubic-inch V8 engine with 9.3:1 compression and a two-barrel carburetor setup that produces 200 horsepower.All in all, it's not hard to see why the 1966 Ford Mustang is one of the most popular years to date. 1966 also marked the year in which Ford Motor Company celebrated the production of its one-millionth Mustang, a white convertible. Don't miss your chance to own an iconic piece of American automotive history and a legendary muscle car all the same. Call today! Read more... This Dark Ivy Green 1970 Ford Mustang Fastback Arouses Envy 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback Restoration Is A Work Of Art
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| Indian dam overflows after heavy monsoon rains, 12 dead Posted: 03 Jul 2019 07:50 AM PDT  A dam overflowed and flooded half a dozen villages in western India after heavy monsoon rains, leaving at least 12 people dead and 11 others missing, officials said Wednesday. The Tiware dam breached late Tuesday during incessant rains and swept away nearly a dozen homes, said Datta Bhadakawad, a civil administrator in Maharashtra state's Ratnagiri district. Heavy monsoon rains in Maharashtra have led to at least 34 deaths since Monday night from collapsed walls, drownings and other causes.
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| Swan kills dog swimming in pond as horrified pet owner helplessly watches from shore Posted: 02 Jul 2019 07:47 AM PDT  A swan viciously mauled a swimming dog as the pet's owner helplessly looked onfrom the shore Saturday in an attack that ultimately proved fatal
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| 'Baby Trump' blimp appears grounded for July 4 protest during president's DC celebration Posted: 02 Jul 2019 08:59 AM PDT  The "Baby Trump" blimp is grounded for 4th of July in D.C. According to the group planning to fly the blimp, they aren't allowed to fill it with helium.
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| W. House hopeful Biden's son held at gunpoint during crack buy: report Posted: 01 Jul 2019 06:43 PM PDT  Hunter Biden, the son of former US vice president Joe Biden, admitted to being held at gunpoint while trying to buy crack cocaine, according to an article published Monday in The New Yorker. Joe Biden, the current frontrunner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, has repeatedly faced family tragedy during his decades in public office. After approaching a homeless man in downtown Los Angeles in 2016, "Hunter said that the man took him to a nearby homeless encampment, where, in a narrow passageway between tents, someone put a gun to his head before realizing that he was a buyer," the article says.
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| Social Media Influencers Have to Pay Double at This Soft Serve Truck Because the Ice Cream Man Has Reached His Melting Point Posted: 03 Jul 2019 08:13 AM PDT  Joe Nicchi is going viral for taking a stand against influencers asking for freebies.
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| Mexican police revolt against plans to join National Guard Posted: 03 Jul 2019 04:10 PM PDT  Hundreds of federal police blocked highways in and around the Mexican capital Wednesday in open revolt against plans to absorb the officers into the newly formed National Guard, a move that the police fear could upend their jobs. The protests came as the government officially began deploying the National Guard to try to seal the country's porous southern border and control immigration and crime. The demonstrations threatened to complicate the formation of the new force, which President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has bet Mexico's future security on.
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| Lee Iacocca, Chrysler's Onetime Savior, Has Died at Age 94 Posted: 02 Jul 2019 07:19 PM PDT  Whether it was a Mustang or a K-car, Lido Anthony Iacocca could, and did, sell it to America.
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| Timeline: 'Sewing Circle' to murder case against Navy SEAL Posted: 02 Jul 2019 10:13 PM PDT  The case against Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, a sniper and medic accused of stabbing to death a wounded Islamic State fighter, caused fissures in the normally cohesive and secretive community of Navy SEALS, some of the world's best trained troops who often are called on for the most difficult assignments in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places. Other SEALS were responsible for providing incriminating information that led to a formal investigation that produced murder and other charges against Gallagher. Just before the trial began, President Donald Trump considered a pardon for Gallagher but demurred as critics said it would undermine the military justice system.
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| Thousands of Norwegian Cruise Line passengers stranded in Barcelona after technical issue Posted: 03 Jul 2019 04:43 PM PDT ![Thousands of Norwegian Cruise Line passengers stranded in Barcelona after technical issue]( "Thousands of Norwegian Cruise Line passengers stranded in Barcelona after technical issue") Norwegian Cruise Line is apologizing to customers for canceling a cruise in Spain, days before it was supposed to end in Italy.
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| UPDATE 1-Pentagon says China missile test in South China Sea 'disturbing' Posted: 02 Jul 2019 05:44 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Pentagon says China missile test in South China Sea 'disturbing']( "UPDATE 1-Pentagon says China missile test in South China Sea 'disturbing'") The Pentagon said on Tuesday a recent Chinese missile launch in the disputed South China Sea was "disturbing" and contrary to Chinese pledges that it would not militarize the disputed waterway. The South China Sea is one of a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-China relationship, which include a trade war, U.S. sanctions and Taiwan. China and the United States have repeatedly traded barbs in the past over what Washington says is Beijing's militarization of the South China Sea by building military installations on artificial islands and reefs.
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| Venezuelan deputy faces trial for drone 'hit' attempt on Maduro Posted: 01 Jul 2019 11:48 PM PDT  A Venezuelan politician accused of an attempt to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro using explosing drones will face trial after a court on Monday accepted charges against him, his lawyer said. Opposition lawmaker Juan Requesens faces 30 years in prison if found guilty of the brazen attempt to kill Maduro as he attended a military parade in downtown Caracas on August 4, 2018. Two drones packed with explosives flew towards President Maduro, causing panic among soldiers and civilians when they detonated during his speech.
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| Kamala Harris Thinks That Busing in 2019 Would Be a Good Idea — Seriously Posted: 03 Jul 2019 07:03 AM PDT  Busing? We're really going to talk about busing? In 2019? What else does Kamala Harris have in mind? Mood-ring subsidies? A federal bureau of pet rocks? Is she going to create a strategic reserve of polyester bell-bottoms?It was reasonable, even amusing, for Senator Harris to bring up busing during the Democratic-party debate last Thursday. She needed a blunt instrument with which to wallop Joe Biden upside the head, preferably while inserting herself into the narrative as the woebegone victim of his benighted policies. Harris knows Biden has been winning big among black voters and has a huge lead over her in South Carolina. The best way to bring him down is to paint him as a racist. She started with a class piece of apophasis: "I do not believe you are racist," she told Biden, before explaining why everyone else should believe that he was. Biden's recently expressed fond feelings about the racist (Democratic) senators he used to have lunch with? Deeply troubling. Segue to the suffering she had personally endured at the hands of Mean Joe B. when, by opposing busing in the 1970s, he ruthlessly sought to block her from the education she needed as an adorable six-year-old in pigtails. As one Twitter wag noted, by the time this beautifully performed little monologue had ended, Senator Harris looked like she might have to prosecute herself for murdering Biden.The tactic was entirely understandable. Textbook, even. What was amazing was that, after the debate, Harris swiveled from using busing as a means of assailing Biden's character and judgment to praising busing itself as a wonderful proposal for 2019 America."I support busing," she said a few days later. "Listen, the schools of America are as segregated, if not more segregated, today than when I was in elementary schools. Where states fail to do their duty to ensure equality of all people, and in particular where states create or pass legislation that created inequality, there's no question that the federal government has a role and a responsibility to step up."Hear that, parents of America? President Kamala Harris would use federal power to yank your children out of their schools and hustle them to some other zone because she, Kamala Harris, is disappointed in the racial mix you have created in America's classrooms. Forget how much you may have spent to buy a house in a particular neighborhood because it brought access to a particular school system. Forget how much you've paid in property taxes to fund those schools. Kamala Harris thinks your kids belong in some other school, maybe one far away and maybe offering a far less valuable education. Details to be worked out later. Trust her.Harris would have done less damage to her presidential prospects if she suggested that everyone who owns an SUV should be forced to swap it for a 1976 Ford Pinto. At least if she had done that she wouldn't be suggesting you're racist for preferring the status quo. In the necropolis of dead progressive ideas, forced busing of schoolchildren to other districts in order to satisfy the whims of social planners seemed among the unlikeliest to rise from its tomb at this moment. It's not like Democrats needed to conjure its spirit. It was such a disaster the last time it was tried that even the Left gave up on it. Yet, like socialism, busing is a zombie idea that is up and on the rampage.Busing is such an antique notion that pollsters don't even bother to ask about it anymore. A 1973 Gallup poll showed only 5 percent of Americans agreeing that busing was the best way to integrate schools. A 1999 Gallup poll found 82 percent opposition to busing. Black Americans saw some pluses and some minuses; a small plurality opposed it in 1999. Among white Americans, the hostility was virtually unanimous. Unfortunately for the Democratic party, electoral success in 2020 depends heavily on not scaring white suburban voters such as those who backed it in 2018. Harris has now twice been caught live on national television telling voters she wanted to abolish their private health insurance, each time insisting afterward that she got her words wrong or misheard the question. Now, to busing, she is delivering paeans that can't be explained away as the product of confusion under the hot TV lights.Democrats do best when they stick to promising voters free stuff and keep quiet about the social engineering. Yet the social engineering is the more important goal. The free stuff is just the means to the end of remaking society along progressive lines, about healing our poor diseased souls. This is why Rahm Emanuel let slip that we should never let a crisis go to waste. It's what Barack Obama meant when he said his imminent election was about "fundamentally transforming" the United States.Do Americans want their kids ripped out of their own school districts? Nope, no more than they want to be ripped away from private health insurers. Should Harris make it to a national ticket, she will of course drop her insane bid to be the Doctor Frankenstein of busing while the Democratic party's media arm — a.k.a. most of the media — will do everything it can to cover for her. Forget what she said, the media will tell the voters. I have a feeling someone will remind them.
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| One of Iran's Last F-14A Tomcats Just Crashed Posted: 02 Jul 2019 08:00 AM PDT  It is said that the IRIAF only have some twelve to fourteen operational F-14A and F-14AMs left.The picture in this post features the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) F-14A Tomcat that crashed yesterday .According to Scramble Facebook News Magazine, it is now (still unconfirmed) reported that the aircraft involved is F-14A 3-6003. According to the picture of the fatal Tomcat, the airframe is completely destroyed.As we have reported yesterday, one of the few remaining IRIAF F-14A Tomcat fighter jets was involved in a crash at home base Esfahãn-Shahid Beheshti International Airport (Iran).The IRIAF F-14A from the 8th Tactical Air Base crashed while it was landing. The aircraft reported an emergency to air traffic control during its training flight, subsequently the fighter was approved to make a quick landing at Esfahãn, but the aircraft was not able to hold position and skidded of the runway. Both pilot and Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) were forced to eject. They parachuted safely to mother earth.
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| Major NRA donor to lead rebellion gunning for ‘radioactive’ leader Wayne LaPierre Posted: 03 Jul 2019 04:03 AM PDT  Even as the National Rifle Association (NRA) has been consumed by relentless and increasingly public infighting, Wayne LaPierre has maintained a firm grip on its leadership.Now one of the gun group's major benefactors says he is preparing to lead an insurgency among wealthy contributors to oust Mr LaPierre as chief executive, along with his senior leadership team.Such a rebellion would represent a troublesome new threat to Mr LaPierre, as his organisation's finances and vaunted political machine are being strained amid a host of legal battles, most notably the New York attorney general's investigation into its tax-exempt status.David Dell'Aquila, the restive donor, said the NRA's internal warfare "has become a daily soap opera, and it's decaying and destroying the NRA from within, and it needs to stop".He added, "Even if these allegations regarding Mr LaPierre and his leadership are false, he has become radioactive and must step down."Until that happens, Mr Dell'Aquila, a retired technology consultant who has given roughly $100,000 (£80,000) to the NRA in cash and gifts, said he would suspend donations — including his pledge of the bulk of an estate worth several million dollars.He said he was among a network of wealthy NRA donors who would cumulatively withhold more than $134 million (£106 million) in pledges, much of it earmarked years in advance through estate planning, and would soon give the gun group's board a list of demands for reform.That figure could not be verified, however, and Mr Dell'Aquila declined to provide a list of the other donors, who he said were not ready to go public.But a second prominent donor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is a senior firearms industry executive, said he was also suspending a plan to give more than $2 million (£1.6 million) from his estate, as well as halting other donations, and was backing Mr Dell'Aquila's effort."The donors are rebelling," the executive said, adding that he believed that the leadership turmoil was "helping to destroy, temporarily, the strength of the NRA as one of the strongest lobbying groups".The extent of any rebellion is difficult to discern, and the NRA insisted it still had the firm backing of its donor base.Mr LaPierre has also retained the support of the NRA's 76-member board, with fewer than a handful of public defections, and it would take a three-fourths vote by the board and one of its committees to oust him.But there have been signs of wavering grassroots support, including a recent announcement by Greg Kinman, a gun enthusiast with more than 4 million followers on YouTube, that he was cutting ties with the NRA.The turmoil of recent months has already stoked fear among some Republicans that the NRA's political potency could be blunted heading into the 2020 elections.In a tweet early on Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump assailed the investigation by the New York attorney general, Letitia James, saying the NRA was "a victim of harassment by the AG".Carolyn Meadows, the NRA's president, said in a statement that "we are disappointed whenever donors choose to suspend their support of the NRA, but we hope to win them back."She added: "People may resist change, but they embrace progress. We're experiencing that right now at the NRA. There's an energy within the NRA. that is hard to describe — and we continue to earn the support of millions of loyal members."The support of donors and the enthusiasm among NRA members will be a crucial test for Mr LaPierre, who has led the organisation for more than two decades.Last month, Mr LaPierre ousted his second-in-command, Christopher W Cox, who led the gun group's lobbying arm; in April, the NRA's president, Oliver North, abruptly stepped down.Both men have been implicated by the NRA in a plot to force Mr LaPierre out, though Mr Cox has denied the allegations. Mr North has said the NRA needs to review its financial practices; NRA officials have said the split with Mr North was largely a dispute over money.Both Mr Dell'Aquila and the second donor want Mr Cox to return to the NRA and become its chief executive."He brings continuity and stability," Mr Dell'Aquila said, adding that Mr Cox had emerged from the recent wave of scandals with cleaner hands than Mr LaPierre. "We can get consensus with Chris replacing Wayne."Mr Dell'Aquila said he had not spoken to Mr Cox about the matter and had not seen him since a fundraiser last year.The NRA is moving on from Mr Cox and is expected to announce on Tuesday that Jason Ouimet, a deputy at its lobbying arm, will assume Mr Cox's former post, according to a person with knowledge of the appointment.The NRA has been burdened by high structural costs and escalating legal bills as it copes with the New York investigation and a bitter legal fight with its former advertising firm, Ackerman McQueen.The NRA's member dues fell in 2017 to their lowest level in a half-decade, as concerns about gun control ebbed after Trump's election, but they rebounded last year, increasing by a third, to $170 million (£135 million), while contributions grew by 24 percent to $165 million (£130 million).Even so, the NRA's net assets fell sharply last year, and the organisation was forced to freeze its pension fund.It also took more than $30 million (£23.8 million) out of its charitable foundation in 2017; it recently increased a line of credit, backed by the deed to its headquarters, to $28 million (£22 million); and it borrowed against life insurance policies taken out on top executives.In a series of interviews and emails, Mr Dell'Aquila cited numerous concerns.He was troubled that a former NRA president, David Keene, had been caught up in an investigation over his ties to Maria Butina, the Russian who pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as a foreign agent.He was disturbed after The New York Times reported this year that Tyler Schropp, a senior NRA executive, had an interest in an outside company that had received $18 million (£14 million) from the NRA.He was also dismayed by a recent New Yorker story tying the NRA's former longtime chief financial officer to allegations of embezzlement at a previous job."I don't know if these stories are true or not true," he said. "My No. 1 concern, frankly only concern, is that our Second Amendment rights are preserved and the optics of negativity that are directly harming the NRA institution ceases."Mr Dell'Aquila said he had approached high-ranking NRA officials to express his dissatisfaction as recently as April, when the NRA held its annual convention in Indianapolis, but was not satisfied by their responses.And he said the board had recently been removing critics of LaPierre from key oversight committees."I decided the best way to be effective is to start a grassroots effort to demand from the NRA leadership accountability as well as transparency," he said.His demands include the resignation of Mr LaPierre and his senior leadership in time to put in a new team for the 2020 elections.In addition to Mr Cox's return, he wants Allen West, an NRA board member and former Tea Party congressman opposed to Mr LaPierre, installed as the group's president.He would also shrink the board to 30 members from 76; stop paying consulting fees to board members; dismiss the NRA's accounting firm, RSM; remove past presidents from the board; and cut costs by holding meetings in central locations.He lamented that an upcoming board meeting was to be held in Alaska: "What are the optics of that?" he said. "It's negative. It's self-inflicted."He adding that the NRA could find board members who "would do this for free, and it keeps us clean in the liberal papers".Mr Dell'Aquila said he had come to his decision reluctantly and had always been treated graciously by Mr LaPierre and his wife, Susan."I'm not pro-Mr LaPierre, and I'm not anti-Mr LaPierre, I'm just simply being objective and trying to save a historic institution from itself," he said."Right or wrong, the buck stops with Mr LaPierre, because this occurred underneath his leadership, and he's ultimately accountable."New York Times
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| US auto industry legend Lee Iacocca dies age 94 Posted: 03 Jul 2019 01:21 AM PDT  Automobile industry legend Lee Iaococca, who is credited with creating the iconic Ford Mustang and saving Chrysler from bankruptcy, died Tuesday at the age of 94, US media reported. Iacocca died at his home in Bel-Air, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, from complications of Parkinson's disease, his family told local media. Chrysler said in a statement that the company "is saddened" by news of Iacocca's death.
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| Vegas police fire officer who hesitated during mass shooting Posted: 03 Jul 2019 01:47 PM PDT  A veteran Las Vegas police officer who froze in the hallway of a casino-hotel as a gunman carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history has been fired from the force, police said. Officer Cordell Hendrex was fired from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on March 20, police spokesman Officer Larry Hadfield said late Tuesday. Police union president Steve Grammas said Hendrex was fired because of his actions during the Oct. 1, 2017, mass shooting that left 58 people dead and hundreds more injured.
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| Is the Betsy Ross flag a symbol for hate groups? Depends on who you ask Posted: 03 Jul 2019 04:13 AM PDT  The Betsy Ross flag has emerged as a flash point after Nike decided not to release shoes featuring the flag. Here's the history behind it.
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| Trump on blight of homelessness in U.S. cities: 'It's disgraceful' Posted: 02 Jul 2019 08:25 AM PDT  The president says he is "seriously" considering tackling the blight of homelessness — an issue he curiously believes began shortly after he after he became president.
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| Woman dies in house explosion in North Carolina Posted: 03 Jul 2019 10:22 AM PDT  A woman was found dead in the remains of a home leveled by a fire and explosion in Charlotte, North Carolina. (July 3)
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| Man pours water on Baidu CEO at AI conference Posted: 02 Jul 2019 11:06 PM PDT  A man burst on to a stage and poured water over the head of Baidu CEO Robin Li as the founder of China's dominant search engine spoke at a company-sponsored event on Artificial Intelligence on Wednesday. Highly visible public acts of defiance are relatively rare in China's big cities where security measures can be tight and celebrities like Li generally travel with a pack of security. Baidu has faced enormous criticism in China in recent years after a medical advertising scandal and discontent with changes to its search result listings that favour its own content.
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| It’s Not Just Warren. The Next Democratic President Is Coming for Your Monopoly Posted: 03 Jul 2019 01:00 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Elizabeth Warren slammed Washington for failing to challenge giant corporations. Bernie Sanders assailed the power of Wall Street and the pharmaceutical industry. Cory Booker vowed to appoint more judges and antitrust enforcers and even Joe Biden is preparing a trust-busting plan.Democratic presidential hopefuls are coming out in force against the rapid pace of corporate consolidation, a message to 2020 voters that gained volume during their first debates in Miami last week. They're expanding their pledges to take on big tech, including Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc., to other industries.Attacking big corporations is both a political message and a policy prescription. It's one way Democrats think they can address the concerns of voters who have fallen behind, even as the U.S. economy continues to expand. As Democrats gear up to try to take back the White House in 2020, they hope the anti-corporate tone taps into the populist passion that propelled Donald Trump in 2016."Whoever is elected on the Democratic side would be more aggressive on antitrust than we have seen in decades," said Jason Furman, a former chairman of President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers who chairs a U.K. initiative on digital competition.So far, voters views are mixed, but it's a message that could take hold as frustration grows with large companies and concerns, including how personal data are being used.With that in mind, some of the party's top candidates are warning of a new robber-baron era, recalling the powerful oil and steel behemoths of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that the first American antitrust laws were designed to tame. Their campaigns often cite studies showing that consolidation may be responsible for higher wealth inequality, slower productivity growth, fewer startups and stagnant wages.The candidates are putting together plans to target a wide range of industries including agribusiness, telecom and health care. Booker, for example, has offered legislation that places an indefinite moratorium on acquisitions in the food and agriculture sector and Amy Klobuchar sponsored an antitrust overhaul that would require merging companies to prove their consolidation wouldn't harm competition.The proposals mark a shift from previous administrations that had a lighter regulatory touch, allowing consolidation in almost every sector of the U.S. economy.Superstar CompaniesMore than three-quarters of U.S. industries over the last two decades have seen an increase in concentration, studies show. Markups -- how much a company charges for a product above its own costs -- have soared, another sign of rising market power. These findings are consistent with research showing a smaller number of firms across the U.S. economy capturing a greater share of sales, giving rise to so-called superstar companies.Democrats already started questioning this trend after winning the House majority last year. Representative David Cicilline of Rhode Island, the antitrust subcommittee chairman, is investigating concentration in the tech industry. The U.S., he has said, is in the midst of a "monopoly moment" that stifles competition. One of Cicilline's questions is why there hasn't been a "serious antitrust investigation" in 20 years.For more: House Panel Kicks Off Antitrust Probe With Focus on News MediaAt the same time, the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission have carved up oversight of four tech giants, with the Justice Department taking responsibility for Alphabet's Google and Apple Inc., while the FTC is investigating Facebook and Amazon.com Inc.These inquiries could gather steam under a Democratic president, who sets the tone for antitrust enforcement through appointees to the Justice Department and the FTC.A Democratic White House would also likely deploy broader agency regulatory authority to check the power of dominant companies in many industries. That includes the Transportation Department on airlines, the Department of Health and Human Services on insurance and pharmaceutical companies, the Federal Communications Commission on telecom providers, and the Agriculture Department on agribusiness giants, according to Gene Kimmelman, chief counsel for competition policy in the Obama Justice Department, now chairman of Public Knowledge, an advocacy group.For example, the Agriculture Department's Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration could restore a regulation the Reagan administration removed barring meat packers from having an interest in feed lots, reducing the packers' leverage in purchasing livestock, said J. Dudley Butler, an Obama-era administrator of the agency. More aggressive investigation and prosecution of unfair practices and preferential treatment also would have an impact, he said.When it comes to deals still seeking approval, Furman said, T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp. "probably wouldn't be able to" merge without a legal challenge from the federal government under a new Democratic administration, though the deal will likely be decided before the election.For More: U.S. Wants T-Mobile to Create New Rival Before Clearing MegadealEven so, a Democrat in the White House would face legal constraints delivering on the wholesale breakup of industries that Warren and Sanders seek. It would be difficult to pass new antitrust laws while Republicans can filibuster legislation in the Senate, and the swelling ranks of conservative judges Trump has been appointing mostly aren't supportive of more aggressive interpretation of antitrust law, said Diana Moss, president of the American Antitrust Institute."The probability is low under the current system that you would get the breakups envisioned by some of the candidates," Moss said. AT&T was the last major U.S. company broken up on antitrust grounds more than three decades ago.Democratic 'Convergence'Even Biden, who established a business-friendly reputation in the Senate, has opened the door to tougher antitrust enforcement. Biden praised the "very strong case" made by more progressive 2020 candidates to crack down on tech companies, while saying it's "premature" to make a final judgment on breaking them up."I don't think we spend nearly enough time focusing on antitrust measures," he told the Associated Press in May. "And the truth of the matter is I think it's something we should take a really hard look at."The former vice president believes the American economy suffers from declining competition and supports more aggressive federal antitrust enforcement, according to a Biden campaign official, who declined to provide further details. Biden plans to give a fuller explanation of his antitrust plan later in the campaign, the official said.Pete Buttigieg, whose presidential campaign has attracted fundraising support from Wall Street and other industries, also has sounded the theme. "The FTC needs to be empowered to prevent, and in come cases reverse, the mergers of some of these companies, not just in tech, but across the American economy," he told the New York Times.Klobuchar promised she would use her first 100 days as president to create stricter standards for reviewing mergers and begin an "aggressive retrospective review" of previous mergers. She also pledged to instruct HHS to issue regulations to stop anti-competitive practices in the pharmaceutical industry, including collusion to delay lower-priced generic drugs."This is an area where there is for the most part convergence among the Democrats," Furman said. "I don't think there's anyone on the stage, or at least the big stage, defending a lax attitude on antitrust."More ConcernWhile Warren and Sanders are the most vocal presidential candidates on combating corporate power, antitrust enforcement has been a rising Democratic priority for several years.The Obama administration began by promising to bring monopolization cases against corporate giants but only brought one: a case against a hospital in Wichita Falls, Texas.Still, it blocked some major mergers. In 2011 the Justice Department sued to stop AT&T Inc.'s proposed takeover of T-Mobile, causing the companies to abandon the deal. But critics argue the administration was too passive in the face of the growing power of tech giants.By Obama's final year, the administration was showing more concern. The Council of Economic Advisers warned in a 2016 report that competition was declining across the economy, and the president issued an executive order instructing agencies throughout the government to use their regulatory powers to combat anti-competitive conduct.That would just be the beginning if Democrats retake the White House.\--With assistance from David McLaughlin.To contact the reporter on this story: Mike Dorning in Washington at mdorning@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Sara Forden, John HarneyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Mackenzie Lueck: Amazon Pulls Novel by Murder Suspect Ayoola Ajayi Posted: 02 Jul 2019 08:53 AM PDT  Photo Illustration by Lyne Lucien/The Daily Beast/Getty/FacebookThe suspect in the gruesome slaying of Utah college student Mackenzie Lueck self-published a novel about a teenager who witnessed his friend and his neighbor burn to death, and began advertising the story one year before Lueck was killed.Now Ayoola Ajayi's book, titled Forge Identity, has been pulled from Amazon's website as Lueck's friends and family mourn her death, and more details of the accused murderer's troubled history—including allegations of rape and domestic abuse—come to light.Lueck disappeared June 17 after returning from a trip to California to attend her grandmother's funeral. According to police, the 23-year-old kinesiology major at the University of Utah, who went by the nickname "Kenzie," texted her parents around 1 a.m. after her plane had landed. Then she took a Lyft to Hatch Park in North Salt Lake.It was there that police say Lueck met Ajayi, a 31-year-old IT specialist who was arrested last Friday on charges of aggravated murder, aggravated kidnapping, desecration of a body, and obstruction of justice. Ajayi was the last person Lueck contacted before she vanished, and both their phones both pinged to the park within a minute of each other, according to phone records. Lueck's cellphone went dark around 3 a.m.On Friday, Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown told reporters Ajayi admitted in an interview to texting Lueck on June 16 around 6 p.m., but denied speaking with her after that. Ajayi also claimed he didn't know what Lueck looked like and that he didn't see photos or an online profile of her. But Brown said Ajayi did have images of Lueck.Mackenzie Lueck.Police HandoutWhile police executed a search warrant on Ajayi's property, neighbors told cops that they noticed the suspect burning something in his backyard on June 17 and 18. Brown said investigators discovered a "fresh dig area" along with Lueck's charred belongings and "female human tissue" which was linked to Lueck through DNA testing.Authorities haven't disclosed a motive for Lueck's murder, how she died, or how she might have met the alleged murderer. According to KUTV, a CBS affiliate in Salt Lake City, both Lueck and Ajayi had profiles on "sugar baby" websites, where younger women can meet older men. On Monday, Lueck's friends told Fox News they believed the alleged killer was "hunting for women" and demanded that social media users stop blaming the victim. "No person regardless of their gender or dating life deserves to die," said one friend of Lueck's, Ashley Fine. "Mackenzie is not responsible for the death and murder of Mackenzie. There's only one person responsible for that, and we're here to hold him responsible and we're going to keep holding him responsible."Man Charged With Murder in Disappearance of Mackenzie LueckAs The Daily Beast reported, the website Barstool Sports fired one of its writers over the weekend for publishing a blog post mocking Lueck's disappearance, her Instagram account, and her alleged activity on "sugar daddy dating websites."Police believe Ajayi burned Lueck's body. Ajayi's novel, published in August 2018, also refers to the burning deaths of victims—with the cover claiming to be "Inspired From True Events.""Ezekiel was almost 15 when he witnessed a gruesome murder. An angry mob burned his neighbor alive in the street and the man died at his feet. Sadly, it was not the last time he witnessed such horror," stated a description of the book on Amazon's website."With his well respected father as guide and mentor, Ezekiel saw this death, then a death much closer to home when a loved one was killed in the same brutal, terrifying way 50 feet from him, and he could do nothing to stop it," the novel's summary continues. "Staggering to recover from these severe traumas, he finds relief and joy in meeting his first love, becomes embroiled in grand theft, and experiences heartbreaking betrayal. Ezekiel must decide if he will join the ranks of a criminal mastermind, or fight to escape the tyranny that has surrounded his young life. Or even beat them at their own game. When trust is lost, can he even trust himself?"In his author bio, Ajayi says he was "born and raised in Africa" and "has been a salesman, an entrepreneur, and a writer" who "survived a tyrannical dictatorship, escaped a real life crime, traveled internationally, excelled professionally in several industries, and is currently curating a multi-platform advertising campaign for his debut novel."Amazon did not return messages about the book.Sgt. Brandon Shearer of the Salt Lake City Police Department told The Daily Beast that detectives would look over Ajayi's book, along with several hundred tips that authorities have received in the case. Starting last June, Ajayi was plugging his debut novel with a Facebook page, which commenters have targeted since his arrest. "This isn't a novel, this is a true crime fantasy of a REAL LIFE monster," someone wrote.Meanwhile, Ajayi's estranged wife told the Daily Mail she went into hiding because she was terrified of her husband, who she claimed attempted to tie her up with a phone cord, and chased her into the street with a knife and slashed her. "I kept telling him I don't want to be with you, I want a divorce. He wouldn't sign the papers. His friend from the Army kept calling me, saying they were going to kidnap me," the woman, 35-year-old Tenisha Jenkins Ajayi, told the tabloid.Tenisha said she and her former husband—known as "AJ" to friends and family—lived together in Dallas, Texas. Ajayi threatened to kill her, she told the Daily Mail, if she didn't relocate to Utah with him.Salt Lake City police take Ayoola A. Ajayi into custody in connection with missing University of Utah student MacKenzie Lueck in Salt Lake City on Friday, June 28, 2019. Kristin Murphy/The Deseret News via APOf Ajayi's novel, Tenisha said, "AJ told me about the book but I didn't know he had really written it, I hadn't seen him for years."According to the AP, Ajayi attended Utah State University on and off from 2009 to 2016, without picking a major or earning a degree. Ajayi also served in the Utah Army National Guard for six months but didn't complete his basic training. He was discharged in June 2015.Two months before Lueck died, Ajayi reportedly sought to build a sound-proof room with a fingerprint lock inside his home.One self-employed contractor named Brian Wolf told the Deseret News that he turned down Ajayi's job offer because he felt uncomfortable with the request. Wolf said that Ajayi wanted his secret room to have hooks installed high on the concrete walls. "As soon as he said he wanted the hooks above head height, I was like, 'Why do you need big hooks up there?'" Wolf told the Salt Lake City newspaper. "And he said it was to hang a wine rack. I said, 'Well, I can hang a wine rack and make it look a lot nicer than these big, gaudy hooks.'"Wolf, who shared his text messages with Ajayi with the Deseret News, said the suspect wanted the soundproof room in a "hollowed out area under the front porch." Ajayi allegedly told Wolf that money was no object and that "he wanted it done as soon as possible."This isn't the first time Ajayi was investigated by police.On Monday, the Salt Lake Tribune reported Ajayi was accused of raping a coworker at a financial company in November 2014. The woman told police the assault took place inside Ajayi's residence, but that she didn't want to file charges.The accuser was only filing a police report, according to the Tribune, "in case he did the same thing to someone else." She met authorities at Cache Valley Hospital after the encounter, which she said started off as consensual until she told him to stop."She kept saying to me that she felt that it was her fault, because she was not assertive enough," one police officer wrote in the report. "I explained that all she needed to do was to say no, and that should be enough."Nothing happened with the case, because the woman allegedly didn't want to cooperate. Ajayi wasn't interviewed by police, the Tribune reported.The University of Utah will hold a vigil for Lueck on Monday night. 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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| There Are 500,000 U.S. Citizens Living in Mexico Posted: 01 Jul 2019 06:30 PM PDT  For instance, we found that, in 2010, 53% of U.S. citizens under 18 living in Mexico did not have Mexican citizenship. Children who do not have Mexican documents cannot easily enroll in Mexican public schools. Furthermore, children who do not speak Spanish well will face problems learning in Mexican schools.While much of the current news has been focused on Central American migrants making their way through Mexico to the U.S., little attention has been paid to a different migration story: the number of American-born minors – all U.S. citizens – who left the U.S. to live in Mexico.In Mexico, about 900,000 residents were born abroad as of 2015. Some of these are Central American migrants, but the large majority was born in the U.S. and is under age 18.In fact, between 2000 and 2015, the population of American minors living in Mexico more than doubled. By 2015, nearly half a million minors born in the U.S. lived south of the border.Although there have always been U.S. citizens under 18 in Mexico, never before have so many left the U.S. to live and grow up in Mexico. Who are these children and adolescents? Where and with whom do they live in Mexico?
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| Delta crew detains passenger; plane returns to Puerto Rico Posted: 03 Jul 2019 07:21 AM PDT ![Delta crew detains passenger; plane returns to Puerto Rico]( "Delta crew detains passenger; plane returns to Puerto Rico") A Delta Air Lines crew detained a passenger who tried to enter the cockpit in an incident that forced a New York-bound plane to return to Puerto Rico on Wednesday, authorities said. Puerto Rico police said that 30-year-old Carlos Ramírez Rodríguez became aggressive and tried to enter the cockpit. Delta said the Boeing 737-900ER aircraft with more than 160 passengers and six crew members continued to New York and was expected to arrive two hours late.
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| Trump news: Congress files tax return lawsuit as president rages against Robert Mueller and insists military leaders 'thrilled' to take part in 4th of July tank display Posted: 02 Jul 2019 07:58 AM PDT  Donald Trump has hit out at Robert Mueller on Twitter and insisted the US military is "thrilled" to be taking part in his "Salute to America" celebration for the Fourth of July as the House Ways and Means Committee launches a lawsuit to acquire his tax returns.In an exclusive interview with Tucker Carlson of Fox News broadcast on Monday night, the president criticised homelessness in American cities, spoke of his optimism that his trade war with China would ultimately be won and benefit farmers and accused the social media giants of "possibly illegally" blocking him from gaining new followers before expressing his desire to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, which he called, "the Harvard of terrorists".A delegation of Democratic congressmen and women have meanwhile visited a number of migrant detention centres at the US-Mexico border in Texas, speaking out against the squalid conditions they found there and the behaviour of some Border Patrol agents overseeing the facilities.Images released Tuesday by US government inspectors who visited facilities in South Texas where migrant adults and children who crossed the nearby border with Mexico are processed and detained showed overcrowding and seemingly unsanitary conditions. As public outrage grows over the conditions in which thousands of people — some no more than a few months old — are being held by the US government, the report offered new cause for alarm. It quotes one senior government manager as calling the situation "a ticking time bomb.""Specifically, when detainees observed us, they banged on the cell windows, shouted, pressed notes to the window with their time in custody, and gestured to evidence of their time in custody," the report says. BuzzFeed first reported on a draft version of the report, which blurs most faces in the photos.An autopsy report also released Tuesday confirmed that a 2-year-old child who died in April had multiple intestinal and infectious respiratory diseases, including the flu. Wilmer Josué Ramírez Vásquez is one of five children to die after being detained by border agents since late last year. Two of the other four also had the flu.Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
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| The Honda e Urban EV Is a Small, Lightweight, and Torquey Recipe Destined for Fun Posted: 02 Jul 2019 11:50 AM PDT  The little electric commuter packs 148 horsepower and 221 lb-ft of torque.
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| Automakers report dip in US sales through midyear Posted: 02 Jul 2019 09:20 AM PDT  US automakers reported a dip in sales for the first half of 2019 on Tuesday as higher vehicle costs offset generally solid economic conditions. General Motors, Fiat Chrysler and Toyota all experienced drops in sales through the year's midpoint, although Fiat Chrysler won a modest gain in sales in June. "June auto sales aren't hitting the same levels that they did last year but they aren't dropping off a cliff either," Jeremy Acevedo, Edmunds' manager of industry said last week, forecasting a 2.5 percent drop in overall industry sales through the end of June.
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| Police Find Body Believed to be Noah Tomlin, Missing Virginia Toddler Posted: 03 Jul 2019 01:18 PM PDT  Virginia Police say they believe the body of missing Noah Tomlin has been found. The 2-year-old had been missing since June 24.
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| Spy Photos of the 2021 Kia Sorento Posted: 02 Jul 2019 10:20 AM PDT |
| Democrat Buttigieg proposes expanded national service plan to unify country Posted: 03 Jul 2019 03:00 AM PDT ![Democrat Buttigieg proposes expanded national service plan to unify country]( "Democrat Buttigieg proposes expanded national service plan to unify country") Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is proposing a massive expansion of national service programs in a bid to help unify Americans and bring people from different backgrounds together. Buttigieg, 37, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and a military veteran, is due to unveil the plan during a speech on Wednesday in Iowa, where the Democratic nominating contest kicks off in February. "National service can help us to form connections between very different kinds of Americans, as was my experience in the military," Buttigieg, who deployed to Afghanistan in 2014 as part of the Navy Reserve, said in a news release ahead of the speech.
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| These Are the Best Portable Grills of Summer 2019 Posted: 02 Jul 2019 07:44 AM PDT  Tested and approved: Take these gas and charcoal grills anywhere-or use them in your own backyard.
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| Police reports shed light on rape probe at Phoenix facility Posted: 02 Jul 2019 04:21 PM PDT  Weeks before an employee of a long-term care facility in Phoenix was arrested in the rape of an incapacitated patient, some of his co-workers speculated that a member of the victim's family was responsible, with a company official even using a slur in suggesting that a relative could be the culprit, according to police reports. A company official, whose name was redacted from the reports, noted in the presence of an officer that the victim was a member of the San Carlos Apache tribe and said incest was common on the reservation, according to the records. Phoenix police declined a request from The Associated Press to identify the male employee who made the slur.
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| 10-foot-long great white shark surfaces off east coast, headed north Posted: 03 Jul 2019 10:08 AM PDT  A great white shark pays a visit to the waters off the east coast of the United States, including the Delmarva Peninsula in Maryland and Virginia.
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| Trump's Political Plan for the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict Posted: 02 Jul 2019 10:19 AM PDT  A few days after President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, unveiled the U.S. economic peace plan in Bahrain, Trump addressed the topic during a press conference at the end of the G20 summit in Japan. The president said that there would never be an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement if one is not negotiated during his presidency. He also opined that there is a "very good chance" his proposal for solving the decades-long conflict could succeed.The conference in Bahrain was almost uniformly ridiculed by Middle East experts. But with the passage of time the meeting may prove to have served a useful purpose. This is because the preparations for the conference provided two important lessons. And, at least one unrelated but important development in the aftermath of the meeting improves the odds, even if only slightly so, that if launched soon, Trump's political plan may at least get a hearing.The first lesson of Bahrain is that money alone cannot resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict no matter how lucrative the package offered. This point was made clear before, during, and after the conference—even by those most supportive of the effort, such as Bahrain's Foreign Minister, Khalid bin Ahmad Al Khalifa. Again and again, Arab participants referred to two-state frameworks, notably the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative as prerequisites to the successful application of economic incentives. That reference was important in case Trump's close circle still harbored hopes that the Palestinians could be bribed to accept a deal that ignores their national aspirations; this illusion has been finally put to rest in Bahrain.
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| US Air Force accidentally drops dummy bombs on Florida after hitting a bird Posted: 03 Jul 2019 01:46 AM PDT  Dummy bombs were accidentally dropped by a US Air Force attack plane during a training run over Florida after a mid-air bird strike.The A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft, a fearsome low-altitude jet capable of pinpoint destruction, "inadvertently released" the three 25lb mock munitions in the low-tech collision, a spokesperson said in a statement.It occurred after the jet, assigned to the 23rd Fighter Group, took off from Moody Air Force Base, in Lowndes County, Georgia on Monday afternoon. The drop happened 54 miles south, just over the border in Florida.The Air Force estimates that all three of the bombs – which are inert but do contain a small pyrotechnic charge – landed close to the Suwannee Springs area.Although no injuries or damage was reported, people were urged not to approach the device if they spotted it as the charge could be dangerous if mishandled.It is by no means birds have caused serious problems for the US military.Between 1985 and 2016, figures suggest such mid-air strikes have killed 36 American airmen and caused more than £630m in damage.
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| Erdogan says people live happily in Xinjiang: Chinese state media Posted: 02 Jul 2019 09:37 PM PDT  Chinese state media have said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told President Xi Jinping that ethnic minorities live happily in Xinjiang, in what would be a stark reversal of Ankara's past criticism of Beijing's crackdown in the region. Erdogan met Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday, four months after the Turkish foreign ministry called the treatment of mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking Uighurs "a great embarrassment for humanity". China has come under growing criticism over its security clampdown in the northwest region, where more than one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are believed to be held in a network of internment camps.
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