| Inmates behind Brazil deadly prison riot transferred: official Posted: 30 Jul 2019 11:54 AM PDT  Forty-six inmates involved in one of Brazil's deadliest prison riots were being transferred to other jails Tuesday, an official said. At least 57 people were killed on Monday when fighting broke out between rival drug gang factions in the Altamira Regional Recovery Centre in the northern state of Para. Sixteen were decapitated in the hours-long battle, but most died in a fire that engulfed part of the overcrowded facility that used converted shipping containers to house some of the inmates.
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| 'Very biased': Tulsi Gabbard campaign criticizes CNN ahead of Wednesday's debate Posted: 31 Jul 2019 04:55 PM PDT  "If tonight's debate on CNN is as biased/unfair as last night, the DNC needs to reconsider CNN hosting future debates," Tulsi Gabbard's campaign tweeted.
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| 3-year-old Chinese boy falls from six stories, gets saved by blanket-wielding crowd below Posted: 31 Jul 2019 11:33 AM PDT  A three-year-old boy who fell from the sixth floor of a building on Monday wassaved after a crowd of bystanders used a blanket to catch him, China's CCTVreported
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| Tim Ryan: Democrats will 'lose 48 states' on a 'Medicare for All' platform Posted: 31 Jul 2019 08:20 AM PDT  Ryan called the "Medicare for All" proposals a "potential disaster" for the party.
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| Deadly Heatwave Kills 11 and Hospitalizes Thousands in Japan Posted: 31 Jul 2019 02:46 AM PDT  Nearly 6,000 people have been hospitalized with heat-related conditions
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| Iranian women defy prison threats by sending veil videos - activist Posted: 31 Jul 2019 10:05 AM PDT ![Iranian women defy prison threats by sending veil videos - activist]( "Iranian women defy prison threats by sending veil videos - activist") Iranian women are sharing videos of themselves flouting laws forcing them to wear headscarves in public, despite a ruling they could face up to ten years in jail for doing so, a prominent activist said on Wednesday. Masih Alinejad, a U.S.-based Iranian journalist, started a social media campaign in 2014 encouraging women in Iran to share self-portraits without the Islamic veil, which she then shares on her Facebook page, "My Stealthy Freedom". "Today I have received lots of videos from inside Iran.
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| See Photos of the New Pagani Huayra BC Roadster Posted: 31 Jul 2019 06:00 AM PDT |
| Top law enforcement official in Texas accused of rape, fired Posted: 31 Jul 2019 01:41 PM PDT  One of Texas' top law enforcement officials has been charged with sexual assault after a woman said he raped her after taking her into the woods during a party at his house. John Jones, a former Navy SEAL, was chief of intelligence and counterterrorism for the Texas Department of Public Safety until his arrest and firing on Tuesday. Jones caught the attention of President Donald Trump earlier this year when participating in a border security meeting with the president.
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| Russian Instagram influencer, medical school graduate Ekaterina Karaglanova found dead in apparent murder Posted: 30 Jul 2019 07:38 AM PDT  Authorities are investigating after Ekaterina Karaglanova was found dead in a suitcase Friday in the hallway of her Moscow apartment building.
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| New York Extends Gun Background Checks, Bans Bump Stocks Posted: 30 Jul 2019 07:52 AM PDT  New York gun buyers may wait up to 30 days for background checks under a new law signed Monday by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo.Cuomo signed legislation to extend the background check waiting period from three days to as much as 30 for gun buyers who are not immediately approved, as well as a ban on bump stocks, the governor's office announced."By signing these measures into law we are strengthening our nation-leading gun laws — banning devices whose sole purpose is to create the most bloodshed in the shortest timeframe and providing law enforcement the tools they need to stop firearms from falling into dangerous hands." Cuomo said in a statement.The legislation passed both houses in January, according to the New York Post.New York gun dealers are required to perform National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) background checks on potential gun buyers, resulting in notifications to "proceed," "denied," or "delayed."The review typically took three days before the dealer could move forward or refuse the sale, a judgment they could make even if the background check came back "delayed."
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| Marianne Williamson explains the need for slavery reparations: 'A debt that is owed' Posted: 30 Jul 2019 07:36 PM PDT  The self-help author helped herself Tuesday with a stirring answer on the question of slavery reparations.
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| Can Someone Please Vote CNN Off the Stage? Posted: 30 Jul 2019 09:49 PM PDT  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Ten of the Democrats debated on Tuesday night. But the debate was dominated by Jake Tapper, Dana Bash and Don Lemon – CNN's moderators. Norm Ornstein got it right:It's not just that the time allocations were harsh. (The candidates were constantly being cut off, sometimes after being given all of 15 seconds to make their points.) And not just that the time allocation seemed somewhat arbitrary. No, it was the questioning that really fell short – very, very short. The CNN moderators, again and again, employed the very worst types of questions. One style that Tapper used repeatedly early on was interrupting to insist that the candidates stick to a portion of a topic that he found interesting (such as whether their health care plans would involve increases in taxes for the middle class) rather than what they wanted to talk about. The night also featured too many gotcha questions, in which a candidate is challenged about something they said.(1) But even worse was a constant theme of asking one candidate to fight with another. Candidate X, what do you think of Candidate Y's plan? Those questions have superficial appeal because they appear to get to what separates the candidates. And they promise fireworks, with candidates forced to argue. But in reality, invitation-to-fight questions tend to emphasize the differences that the moderators select, which may or may not be substantively important ones. It leads the debate to focus on areas of internal candidate differences, leaving policy areas where they agree irrelevant – even if those areas are important, and contain real disputes with the other party. So for example late in the debate we had an extended exchange on nuclear no-first-use. Is that an important policy? Sure. Is it the most important thing to talk about in national security and foreign policy right now? I don't think many experts would say so. It also created a frame of moderates squaring off against Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren that worked well for the candidates running as self-professed moderates, especially John Delaney, and much less well for the candidates who straddle that divide (and, one might argue, therefore are best positioned to unify the party): Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and Beto O'Rourke. Buttigieg and perhaps to a lesser extent Klobuchar got in a few good lines anyway, but the debate was stacked against them by the way the moderators thought about the candidates.What's more to the point is that the framing wasn't very good for the party as a whole. It pushed both the moderates and the more progressive candidates away from the center of the party, because they were all cast that way. All of that raises the question of how much longer parties will go along with it.Once upon a time, in the 1970s and 1980s especially, presidential nomination debates were fully decentralized: Some organization (usually from the news media, including local news media, but sometimes other groups) would invite candidates to debate, and if enough of them accepted, the debate was on. They weren't necessarily televised nationally, and the sponsor would decide who to invite, what rules to use, and everything else – with the main constraint only whether candidates were willing to show up for whatever conditions were set. We still have plenty of group forums or town halls or whatever that work that way.Over the last four or five cycles, however, the parties have been taking over. This year the Democratic Party has decided a lot of the whens, wheres, hows and whos. After Tuesday night's event, I have to believe that there are plenty of people at the Democratic National Committee – and plenty of candidates and their staff – who are fed up with debates that put the TV stars first. I wouldn't be surprised, especially if things go badly over the rest of the cycle, if both parties start thinking seriously about running their own shows in 2024. Now, there would be plenty of pitfalls, just as there have been when the parties took over the scheduling and the invitations. It's certainly possible the parties, if they did take over the debates, might come to regret it. But could they? Yup. Sure, the networks want to promote their own talent by having them moderate, but the events would still be excellent for them even without that, and the parties could still arrange some sort of limited MC role for network anchors. And while party-sponsored debates would presumably stick to topics that the party wants to talk about, I'm not sure – especially after watching what CNN just did – that voters would be worse off. So I don't know who won tonight's debate, but I'm pretty sure that CNN, and perhaps in the future the media in general, were the losers.(1) Gotcha questions may have their place in interviews, although even there they tend to substitute for substance, but they're almost always a mistake in debates, where the candidates have each other to keep them honest.To contact the author of this story: Jonathan Bernstein at jbernstein62@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Philip Gray at philipgray@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy. He taught political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio and DePauw University and wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Guatemalan villagers recognize viral photo of mother pleading at U.S. border Posted: 30 Jul 2019 01:13 PM PDT  Lolinda Amaya cried last week when she saw a viral photograph of a Guatemalan mother imploring Mexico's National Guard to let her enter the United States. It was her niece, Ledy Perez, who had borrowed money weeks earlier and fled her village under cover of night, seeking a better life for her only child. The widely shared photo https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/guatemalan-mother-begs-soldier-to-let-her-enter-us showed her crouched meters away from Mexico's border with the United States, clinging to her young son Anthony Diaz as she looked up at an armed member of the newly formed Mexican military police force.
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| UK warship commander says Iran trying 'to test' Britain in Gulf Posted: 31 Jul 2019 02:13 AM PDT  The commander of a British warship accompanying UK-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions with Iran said Wednesday that Tehran appeared to be testing the Royal Navy's resolve. William King, commander of HMS Montrose, said during 27 days patrolling the flashpoint entrance to the Gulf he had had 85 "interactions with Iranian forces", which had often led to "an exchange of warnings" over radio. Montrose, on a three-year deployment in the region since April based at a British naval hub opened in Bahrain last year, began the escorts through the world's busiest oil shipping lane earlier this month.
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| Follow the law, get pulled over: Why a police plan to 'ticket' drivers backfired in Arizona Posted: 30 Jul 2019 03:15 AM PDT  Tempe Police Department started a "Positive Ticketing Campaign" initiative to hand out Circle K drink coupons for following traffic laws.
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| Fox News Proves Pete Buttigieg Right That All Democrats Will Be Called Socialists Posted: 31 Jul 2019 09:14 AM PDT  REUTERSDuring Tuesday night's Democratic presidential primary debate, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg declared that it is time for Democrats to "stop worrying about what the Republicans will say" because no matter what agenda they embrace, "they're going to say we're a bunch of crazy socialists."Following the debate, a number of conservatives and Republicans on Fox airwaves have already gone out of their way to prove the mayor right.Discussing the debate Tuesday evening on The Ingraham Angle, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani suggested that former Vice President Joe Biden—who is participating in Wednesday's debate— may have gotten a boost from the debate before, of course, painting the Democratic field as socialist."I think Biden probably gains tonight if he can have a decent performance tomorrow night," he told host Laura Ingraham. "He is the one that naturally people would think of as a moderate, but Biden has been running to pretend that he can out-socialist all of them."The following hour, Fox News anchor Shannon Bream welcomed Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel to weigh in on the debate. It didn't take long for the RNC head to invoke socialism."What you saw from the Democrats tonight is the total socialist plan, takeover of all of our health care with this proposal from Medicare for All," she groused. "They didn't know how to pay for it. They were dishonest about the fact that it was would raise taxes on every single American."The following morning, meanwhile, Fox Business Network anchor Stuart Varney kicked things off on Varney and Co. by mockingly brushing off the notion that there were any centrist candidates on the stage the night before."Now, the political story of the day, very obviously, the debates," he declared. "The socialists, Sens. Warren and Sanders, emerged as the clear front-runners, at least for last night. So-called moderates, Klobuchar, Mayor Pete, Delaney, Bullock and Ryan, had very little impact. Beto all but disappeared. Last night, socialism rules!"Later on in the program, Fox News contributor Doug Schoen agreed with Varney that the party is "moving hard left and socialists rule the day," adding that self-described Democrats like himself traditionally "don't share socialist principles" and he can't support Sanders, Warren or "their ilk."The most glaring example, however, was a Wednesday morning interview with Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) during Fox News' America's Newsroom.Speaking with anchor Bill Hemmer, Kennedy fully rejected any notion that Tuesday's debate was between progressives and moderates before fully proving Buttigieg's prophecy correct."I would remind you that the lesser of two socialists is still a socialist," the Republican senator exclaimed. "And what I heard last night even from the so-called less liberal candidates—I'm not impugning their integrity—even from the less liberal candidates, I heard a job-killing, soul-crushing socialist agenda."He added: "The only thing missing was the Cuban national anthem."Hemmer, meanwhile, ended the brief segment by joking with the Republican lawmaker: "I don't know how it played in Havana," he said with a smile. "But I appreciate you coming back today."There was one die-hard Fox News viewer who was thrilled over Kennedy's on-air remarks, making sure to amplify them immediately."'The lesser of two Socialists is still a Socialist!' Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana," President Trump tweeted minutes after Kennedy's appearance.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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| 10-year-old girl's quick action saved 3-year-old during Gilroy Garlic Festival mass shooting Posted: 31 Jul 2019 10:11 AM PDT  A 10-year-old girl is being hailed a hero for her quick thinking that may havesaved a toddler from the gunman who opened fire at the annual Gilroy GarlicFestival in California on Sunday
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| The Arctic’s On Fire (You Can Even See It From Space). It Will Get Worse. Posted: 30 Jul 2019 03:05 AM PDT  Europe's historic heat wave is heading north this weekend, to the relief of the continent, but its path will send it right towards the Arctic — where it could speed up the melting of sea ice and coincide with devastating wildfires.Unprecedented wildfires are currently raging across the Arctic Circle, with some the size of 100,000 football fields — so big they can be seen from space. Arctic sea ice is moreover already running at a record low this year; scientists worry a heat wave will only further exacerbate the area's problems.One week after the United States saw record-shattering high temperatures, the same fate befell Europe. On Thursday, Paris saw temperatures of 108.7 degrees Fahrenheit (42.6 degrees Celsius), a record high, with Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands also facing their own record days. The sweltering weather is the result of a heat dome that has allowed hot air to come north from the Sahara Desert, all while blocking cooler air from reaching people.July is typically a warm month in much of the northern hemisphere, but climate scientists have connected the uptick in dangerously hot temperatures to global warming, with future years set to be much worse.Scorching temperatures can be deadly for children, the elderly, and people with disabilities, in addition to anyone without access to cooling systems. In Europe, where air-conditioning is less common than the United States, many residents faced grueling heat without an easy mechanism for cooling off. London, for example, does not have air conditioning in its crowded subway system.
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| Trump dismisses Baltimore backlash: 'I am the least racist person anywhere in the world' Posted: 30 Jul 2019 08:23 AM PDT  President Trump on Tuesday tried to defend his most recent attack on a lawmaker of color, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and Baltimore, claiming the city's African-American residents "really appreciate what I'm doing."
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| Canada police shift manhunt for teen slaying suspects Posted: 30 Jul 2019 04:18 PM PDT  Canadian police said Tuesday they have pulled out of a remote northern town after an intensive search turned up no sign of two fugitive teenagers suspected of killing three people — a college professor, a North Carolina woman and her Australian boyfriend. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police used dogs and drones, helicopters, boats and even a military Hercules aircraft to scour the area around York Landing, Manitoba, but were unable to confirm a possible sighting of the two men reported by members of a neighborhood watch group. Nineteen-year-old McLeod and 18-year-old Schmegelsky have been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Leonard Dyck, a University of British Columbia professor whose body was found last week in British Columbia.
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| 'Please stay with me,' kidnapped Romanian girl begged police Posted: 31 Jul 2019 01:41 PM PDT !['Please stay with me,' kidnapped Romanian girl begged police]( "'Please stay with me,' kidnapped Romanian girl begged police") The family of a 15-year-old Romanian girl kidnapped earlier this month and now presumed dead has released recordings of her desperate calls for help to authorities whose handling of the case has caused public outrage and dismissals of officials. A mechanic from Caracal in south Romania has confessed to killing Alexandra Macesanu, who went missing on July 24, and another 18-year-old girl last seen in April. With authorities taking 19 hours to locate Macesanu after she made three calls to the emergency number 112, the case has sparked street protests, the interior minister's resignation, and the firing of some local officials.
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| Rand Paul offers to send Ilhan Omar to Somalia so she will 'appreciate America more' Posted: 30 Jul 2019 12:54 PM PDT  Republican Sen. Rand Paul said he would offer to buy Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar a ticket to Somalia so she would "appreciate America more."
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| Dubai ruler's wife seeks UK forced marriage protection order for children Posted: 30 Jul 2019 10:45 AM PDT  The estranged wife of the ruler of Dubai has applied for a UK forced marriage protection order relating to their children, a London court heard Tuesday. Princess Haya, 45, a wife of 70-year-old United Arab Emirates Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, has applied for the order, as well as for wardship of their children, and a non-molestation order relating to herself, the High Court heard.
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| Who won the Democrats' debate? Our panelists' verdict Posted: 30 Jul 2019 11:12 PM PDT  A combative Democratic debate saw clashes on healthcare policy and the Green New Deal. Our experts weigh in Geoffrey Kabaservice: 'Centrists lacked a strong fighter in the ring'All of the Democratic participants in last night's debate harshly criticized the American economic system that rewards the most advantaged and further marginalizes the disadvantaged – but this winner-take-all system is also at work in the Democratic primaries. Even though nearly all the candidates delivered energetic, policy-dense, and largely gaffe-free performances, the end result is that the most prominent figures on the stage – Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders – will remain in the top echelon of candidates, while most of the rest are finished.Though the debate did nothing to change the candidates' relative positioning, it did surface the differences between the Democratic party's progressive wing (led by Sanders and Warren) and its moderate wing (here represented by most of the other candidates), which are significant and have real bearing on whether the Democrats will end up moving too far to the left to be able to defeat Trump in 2020.If John Delaney and Tim Ryan had been substantial candidates, their criticisms of the progressives' positions on issues like decriminalization of border crossings, healthcare for undocumented immigrants, abolition of private insurance under Medicare for All, imposition of a wealth tax, the Green New Deal and opposition to free trade might have put Sanders and Warren on the defensive. But since they are in fact back-bench representatives whose candidacies may have gasped their last after the debate ended, their critiques merely provided an opportunity for the progressives to grandstand about how Democrats need to show moral courage and not imitate Republicans.All in all, however, this event felt like an undercard to the following evening's much-anticipated rematch between Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Democrats may remember it as a missed opportunity to get at the real issues dividing the party, which might have been discussed in a more illuminating way if there had been fewer candidates on stage. * Geoffrey Kabaservice is the director of political studies at the Niskanen Center in Washington DC as well as the author of Rule and Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party Theodore R Johnson: 'It took two hours to mention black people'In a city that is more than 80% black, it took nearly two hours for the Democratic presidential candidates on stage in Detroit last night to mention black people and the specific challenges they face. This was especially surprising considering black voters will comprise a quarter of the primary electorate and the fact that whoever wins the black vote also wins the nomination. And once the topic of black America finally came up, the candidates rushed to discuss their respective policy proposals that they hoped would signal their seriousness about racial equality, from the funding of black colleges to the study of reparations.But black voters know that campaign promises rarely materialize once a candidate becomes president, so one's reputation, trustworthiness and passion tend to be what wins black support. On this score, the candidates were who we thought they were. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren were the only two on stage who entered the evening with observable black support in their coalition, and it will remain that way after tonight. Though Marianne Williamson managed a few applause lines on race, Joe Biden's comfortable lead with black voters – and, thus, the inside track to the nomination – is quite safe. * Theodore R Johnson is a senior fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice Malaika Jabali: 'Bernie Sanders shone on healthcare'With 45 minutes of Tuesday's Democratic debate dedicated to healthcare, it gave Senator Bernie Sanders ample time to distinguish himself from the candidate pool. Sanders offered his expected talking points on the failures of the current system and policy solutions, but he also called out CNN's own advertising dollars from healthcare companies and the moderators for parroting conservative talking points.He broke from his relatively congenial approach in the first debate with pointed digs at John Delaney – who may be the most diametrically opposed candidate to the senator politically – epitomizing the break between tepid Democratic politics of old and popular policies on the left. Sanders clarified that healthcare is not a "business" when Delaney attempted to flaunt his corporate savvy, and he noted that healthcare was not something to profit from, as Delaney has in his career.Despite questioning that appeared more like an interrogation, Sanders handled these opening minutes expertly and he stayed focused throughout, keeping his eyes on the need for structural change to improve the livelihood of the working class. * Malaika Jabali is a public policy attorney, writer and activist whose writing has appeared in Essence, Jacobin, the Intercept, Glamour and elsewhere Lloyd Green: 'Will Elizabeth Warren derail Sanders?'Elizabeth Warren won Tuesday's debate but it was far from a knockout. John Delaney, a former three-term Maryland congressman and businessman, stood toe-to-toe with Warren and Bernie Sanders during the two-plus-hour contest and exited unbowed.Delaney hammered away at Medicare for All, which would outlaw private health insurance and raise taxes on the middle class. He became another reminder that the Democratic party is populated by moderates too – as if Joe Biden's frontrunner status weren't enough.It was only after Delaney had dinged the evening's presumptive co-stars that Warren pushed back: "I don't understand why anybody goes to all the trouble of running for president … to talk about what we really can't do and shouldn't fight for." She also made a case for electability.Warren's performance won't propel her to the lead. More likely, it will boost her chances of derailing Sanders and emerging as the last progressive standing. * Lloyd Green was opposition research counsel to George HW Bush's 1988 campaign and served in the Department of Justice from 1990 to 1992
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| A 33-year-old woman who used to work for Amazon is the suspect in the massive Capital One hack — meet Paige Thompson Posted: 30 Jul 2019 11:54 AM PDT  Thompson is accused of stealing data from millions of Capital One customers, including Social Security numbers and linked bank accounts.
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| Half of US voters believe Trump is racist after ‘go back’ comments, poll finds Posted: 31 Jul 2019 02:21 AM PDT  Around half of American voters believe Donald Trump is racist despite the US president saying he is the "least racist person in the world", according to a new poll. The survey was conducted by Quinnipiac University several days after Mr Trump said a group of four congresswomen of colour should "go back" to the countries they came from, even though all four are US citizens. The survey period, from 25-28 July, also included the day that Mr Trump launched a new attack on black congressman Elijah Cummings.He called Mr Cummings "a brutal bully" and described his Baltimore district as a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess". The poll results come as Democrats seeking the party's nomination for president enter a second round of debates. Nearly all of the 2020 candidates have roundly condemned Mr Trump's remarks as racist and divisive.The poll found that 51 per cent of voters think Mr Trump is racist while 45 per cent do not.When separated by party, 86 per cent of Democratic voters classified Mr Trump as racist while 91 per cent of Republicans said he was not.About 88 per cent of those who said Mr Trump was racist disapprove of the job he is doing as president, while 94 per cent of those who said he was not racist approve of his performance.Other polls conducted by USA Today/Ipsos, The Economist/YouGov and Fox News in July have shown that between half and two-thirds of Americans believe that telling someone to "go back" is a racist statement and that Mr Trump's tweets "cross the line".The US president also attacked civil rights leader Reverand Al Sharpton earlier this week. The president denounced Mr Sharpton on Twitter as "a con man" who "Hates Whites & Cops" and doubled down on his attacks against Mr Cummings.Mr Trump also claimed he is the "least racist person in the world" following his comments attacking politicians of colour and civil rights figures.The Quinnipac poll found that 41 per cent of survey respondents believe Mr Trump's immigration policies are motivated by "racist beliefs", compared with 49 per cent who ascribed them to "a sincere interest in controlling our borders". New York Times
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| Why the U.S. Marines Might Totally Hate Their New Sniper Rifle Posted: 30 Jul 2019 12:33 AM PDT  "The M110A1 was never intended to replace the M40A6, but to replace the M110," Hamby told Task & Purpose. "The bolt action M40A6 has a different purpose from the semi-automatic M110A1, which is used for rapid engagement … The M40A6 remains a program of record for the Marine Corps."The Marine Corps is throwing down cash to test-drive the same compact sniper rifle the Army has pursued in recent months. But while its 7.62mm rounds pack the punch required by scout snipers facing increasingly protected enemies downrange, its effective range falls well short of the sniper systems used by both foreign militaries and militants — a limitation that makes it unclear just what the Corps could do with this new weapon.(This first appeared last year.)The Army's proposed fiscal 2019 budget includes $46.2 million to field 5,180 M110A1 Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System (CSASS) rifles for infantry, scout, and engineer squads, with the goal of eventually buying as many as 8,711 of the lightweight 7.62mm arms. PEO Soldier told Task & Purpose in January 2018 that the Marine Corps also was "committed" to adopting the CSASS.And lo and behold: The Marine Corps' $40.8 billion proposed fiscal 2019 budget includes just under $1 million for the service to procure just 116 CSASS rifles. The Marines' line item says the CSASS, based on the Heckler & Koch G28E sniper rifle with a baffle-less OSS suppressor, could replace the venerable M110 with "enhanced shooter ergonomics and increased operational availability time" and "improve the sniper's ability to rapidly engage multiple, moving targets."
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| Three tourists found dead in frigid waters of Alaskan lake Posted: 30 Jul 2019 10:27 PM PDT ![Three tourists found dead in frigid waters of Alaskan lake]( "Three tourists found dead in frigid waters of Alaskan lake") Three tourists were found dead on Tuesday in a boating accident in the glacial waters of an Alaskan lake, famous for its spectacular views, police said. The victims, all in their 60s, appeared to have been paddling a single inflatable boat on Valdez Glacier Lake, about 120 miles east of Anchorage, police in Valdez said. The lake is known for its spectacular views of the surrounding mountains, and chunks of ice that have broken off from the Valdez Glacier float on its surface, according to tour guides.
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| Mom of slain Navajo girl urges tribes to use Amber Alerts Posted: 30 Jul 2019 05:30 PM PDT  The mother of a Navajo girl who was kidnapped and killed in 2016 urged tribal officials and children's advocates Tuesday to take advantage of tools and funding under a law that expands access to the nation's Amber Alert system. Pamela Foster spoke during a training at Isleta Pueblo, south of Albuquerque, for tribes seeking to implement the alert system. Despite a 2007 pilot project, it was not in place on the Navajo Nation when her daughter Ashlynne Mike was abducted near Shiprock, a town in northeast New Mexico.
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| George W. Bush paintings to go on display at Kennedy Center Posted: 31 Jul 2019 12:53 PM PDT  Paintings of wounded US military veterans by former president George W. Bush are to go on display this year at a Kennedy Center gallery, the Washington-based national cultural center said Wednesday. "The Kennedy Center is proud to share these works -- painted by a living president -- that honor the men and women who defend our freedom," its president Deborah Rutter said in a statement.
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| Israel approves hundreds of Palestinian homes in West Bank amid reports of US peace plan rollout Posted: 31 Jul 2019 10:02 AM PDT  Israel has made an unusual move to approve hundreds of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank amid reports the US is preparing to roll out its long-awaited peace plan. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, granted permits for 700 Palestinian houses but tried to appease his Right-wing base by also approving 6,000 housing units for Jewish settlers. Israel rarely grants building permits to Palestinians and the move was seen as a potential concession to the White House, which is trying to convince Palestinians and Arab states to back its peace initiative. Jared Kushner, Mr Trump's son-in-law and top aide on Israeli-Palestinian issues, is expected in Jerusalem this week to discuss the plan with Mr Netanyahu. The plan remains secret but Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Mr Trump intends to unveil it at a summit with Arab leaders at Camp David in the coming weeks. A White House official denied that planning for a summit was underway and said Mr Kushner's team would report back after their trip to Israeli and Arab states before deciding their next move. "No summit has currently been planned," the official said. The US unveiled the less controversial economic side of the plan at a conference in Bahrain in June but has not given a timeline for releasing the political side of the plan. Mr Trump enjoys the pageantry of high-profile international meetings and Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, has often been the site of peace talks between Israel and its neighbours. Expectations for Mr Trump's peace effort are low. The Palestinians have preemptively rejected the plan, arguing that Mr Trump is heavily biased towards Israel and is not an honest broker. David Friedman, the US ambassador to Israel, signaled that the White House opposed the idea of an independent Palestinian state, which has long been a demand of both Palestinians and America's Arab allies. Mr Friedman instead endorsed Mr Netanyahu's position that the Palestinians can be granted autonomy but not a state of their own. "We believe in Palestinian autonomy," he told CNN. "We believe that autonomy should be extended up until the point where it interferes with Israeli security."
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| The 14 Russian sailors who died aboard a top secret spy submarine could have probably made it out Posted: 31 Jul 2019 07:02 AM PDT  Rather than evacuate, the crew shut the hatch and fought the fire with everything they had it. An explosion is believed to have killed the crew.
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| Gensler's Temporary Structure for Notre-Dame Has Just Been Unveiled Posted: 30 Jul 2019 03:13 PM PDT  The Pavillon Notre-Dame, which could be situated next to the historic church, allows visitors a temporary place for worship and reflection
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| Antioch father, son charged with sexual abuse of multiple foster children for years Posted: 30 Jul 2019 09:31 AM PDT  Antioch police have arrested a father and son on charges of sexually abusing multiple children under their care for six years.
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| 500 Beers of Summer Posted: 30 Jul 2019 09:00 AM PDT |
| Sanders shrugs off suggestion he's too extreme to beat Trump Posted: 30 Jul 2019 07:15 PM PDT  During Tuesday night's Democratic debate, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said Sen. Bernie Sanders is too extreme to defeat President Trump.
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| When Kamala Harris faced political heat, Delaware's Beau Biden had her back Posted: 31 Jul 2019 05:09 AM PDT  Up until Beau Biden's death in 2015, Kamala Harris had a friendship with the Delaware politician — and by extension his father Joe Biden.
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| Singapore says drug smuggling worsens, even as hangings rise Posted: 31 Jul 2019 03:37 AM PDT ![Singapore says drug smuggling worsens, even as hangings rise]( "Singapore says drug smuggling worsens, even as hangings rise") Drug trafficking into Singapore, which has some of the world's toughest drugs laws, has risen recently, the law minister said on Wednesday, and he defended capital punishment for serious drug crime as reflecting public support. Rights group Lawyers for Liberty warned of an "execution binge" after it said a number of prisoners on death row in Singapore had their requests for presidential pardons rejected this month. "We have seen an increase in the number of people coming in from countries trying to traffic," Minister of Law K Shanmugam told Reuters.
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| Fly buzzes Duterte as he attacks Philippine priests Posted: 30 Jul 2019 06:55 AM PDT  A fly that interrupted his speech was working under the orders of priests, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte joked Tuesday, as he launched a new verbal attack on the country's influential Catholic church. The fly buzzed around Duterte as he spoke at a school in Manila, landing on his forehead and cheek and causing him to flap his arms in a futile bid to swat away the pesky insect. "I've had a fight with priests for a long time," the 74-year-old strongman said without missing a beat.
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| Hong Kong protesters in court as US warns troops massing on China border Posted: 31 Jul 2019 04:17 AM PDT ![Hong Kong protesters in court as US warns troops massing on China border]( "Hong Kong protesters in court as US warns troops massing on China border") Hong Kong police hauled dozens of protesters through court yesterday to face draconian charges of rioting in a move likely to further stir violent unrest. Charges were read against 23 people on Wednesday, accusing them of setting up road blocks, breaking fences, damaging street signs, and attacking police officers with "lethal weapons," such as bricks. It was the first time authorities have formally accused protesters of rioting - a charge that carries a possible 10-year prison sentence - since mass demonstrations broke out early June, plunging Hong Kong into its worst political turmoil since the former British colony was returned to Beijing. The charges came amid reports that Chinese armed forces are mobilising on the border with Hong Kong. The White House is monitoring the military build up, sources told Bloomberg. Protesters defied the lashing wind and rain of an incoming typhoon to gather outside court where demonstrators appeared before the judge to be formally charged with rioting. The indicted included a teacher, a nurse, an airline pilot, a barber, a chef, an electrician, a construction worker and unemployed people, according to their charge sheets. A 16-year-old girl was also among the group. The eldest was 41. Braving the weather, protesters chanted: "Release the righteous... There are no rioters, only tyranny... reclaim Hong Kong, the revolution of our times." Violent clashes ending in injuries and arrests are occurring nearly every day now in the former British colony as protesters angry with the government continue to go head-to-head with the police. Hong Kong protests On Tuesday spontaneous violent protests broke out outside the police headquarters as the new rioting charges were announced for the first time. Clashes between police and demonstrators took an extraordinary turn when crowds were targeted with fireworks shot from a moving car. At least six people were injured in the drive-by captured on video and shared widely on social media. The attacks are likely to sow further confusion amid the escalating crisis in Hong Kong, after protesters were targeted last week by a mob linked to triad gangs. Hong Kong police on Wednesday arrested three men on criminal damage and common assault, and said they will "spare no effort in investigating all illegal and violent acts". The charges formally levelled at protesters are likely to further enrage demonstrators, who first demanded the formal withdrawal of an extradition bill that would send suspects to face trial in mainland China, where Communist Party control of the courts contributes to a 99.9 per-cent conviction rate. Protesters have since expanded their demands to include the resignation of Hong Kong's chief executive Carrie Lam, the convening of an independent commission to investigate police brutality against the protesters, and the release of those arrested – at least 170 people so far. Continuing unrest is fuelling concerns that China's central government in Beijing might deploy the military,which would be reminiscent of the 1989 bloody crackdown in Tiananmen Square. In comments to Bloomberg on Wednesday, an anonymous US government official said the White House is monitoring a congregation of Chinese forces along the border to Hong Kong, though the nature of the build-up isn't clear. China's ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Wednesday she wasn't aware of a situation on the border. The Chinese central government reiterated earlier this week that it supported Hong Kong's leader and police in cracking down to maintain order, and that Beijing would only send troops at the request of city officials. China has also accused Western nations of sowing discord in the city as a way to destabilise China. "If the turbulence continues, the whole of Hong Kong society will pay the cost," said Yang Guang, a spokesman for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs office, which reports to China's cabinet. The Hong Kong government estimates the PLA maintains a garrison of 8,000 to 10,000 troops in Hong Kong, along with a naval squadron and a helicopter regiment; more troops are stationed in neighbouring Shenzhen. Demonstrations are planned through to late August.
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| Army Soldiers Will Use Special M-2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle to Control Robots Posted: 30 Jul 2019 12:08 PM PDT  U.S. Army soldiers riding in a specially-modified M-2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle will control a platoon of ground robots during an upcoming exercise in Colorado.The planned 2020 test "moves beyond the basic 'robotic wingman' pursuits that have so far led how the mechanized community of the Army is getting at using semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles," Army Times reporter Todd South explained.Army officials intend for the month-long exercise at Fort Carson to gather data for the service's Ground Vehicle Systems Center. The soldiers in the exercise will operate the unmanned ground vehicles from inside upgraded Bradleys that the Army refers to as "Mission Enabler Technologies-Demonstrators."The upgrades include a remotely-operated turret for the vehicle's 25-millimeter gun, extra sensors for 360-degree awareness and new crew stations with touchscreens, according to an Army release.The Colorado war game will involve two of the special Bradley controlling a total of four UGVs, South reported.The U.S., British and Russian militaries, among others, quickly are moving to integrate armed robots into their ground forces.
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| Alabama sued in transgender driver's license case Posted: 30 Jul 2019 01:33 PM PDT  U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson held a hearing in the 2018 lawsuit filed by three transgender women seeking to change the gender of their state license. The American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the plaintiffs, said the requirement to show proof of sex-altering surgery is an unconstitutional violation of privacy and a person's ability to make their own medical decisions.
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