| Brother of Afghan Taliban leader killed in Pakistan mosque blast Posted: 16 Aug 2019 04:22 AM PDT  QUETTA, Pakistan/KABUL (Reuters) - The brother of the leader of the Afghan Taliban was among at least four people killed in a bomb blast at a mosque in Pakistan on Friday, two Taliban sources told Reuters, an attack that could affect efforts to end the Afghan war. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast which took place as the Taliban and the United States are in the final stages of talks on an agreement that would see America withdraw its troops from neighboring Afghanistan. The imam of the mosque, 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the southwestern city of Quetta, was among those killed, police said.
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| 3-year-old girl alone on Texas boat said ‘daddy went swimming;’ man’s body found Posted: 16 Aug 2019 11:55 AM PDT  Texas authorities found a man's body after searching for a missing father whose little girl was found sleeping alone in a boat on Lake Granbury on Friday.
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| Mexico does not want El Paso shooter executed Posted: 16 Aug 2019 01:24 PM PDT  President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Friday that Mexico does not want the El Paso shooter who killed 22 people, including eight Mexicans, to be executed, and may seek to extradite him from the United States. The confessed shooter in the mass killing in the Texas border city, 21-year-old Patrick Crusius, potentially faces the death penalty in the US. Lopez Obrador, an anti-establishment leftist, said that while Mexico condemns Crusius's "reprehensible, abominable" crimes, it does not want to see him put to death.
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| Woman survives plunging a mile after parachute fails to open Posted: 16 Aug 2019 04:49 AM PDT  A woman cheated death when she fell nearly a mile to the ground after her parachute and emergency back-up apparently both failed to open.Witnesses who saw her plunge nearly 5000ft to the ground said it was a miracle she wasn't killed.She hit a clump of trees, breaking her fall, and escaped with only fractured bones, including broken vertebrae.Police Quebec in Canada are investigating whether there was any criminal negligence.After jumping from the plane at a skydiving centre in Trois-Rivieres, the woman escaped with her life by hitting a wooded area.Denis Demers, who saw her fall, told Radio-Canada: "It's a miracle. I don't know how a person can survive a fall from an airplane like that."He said it appeared that neither the main parachute nor the emergency back-up had opened.Police told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that the 30-year-old parachutist, who has not yet been identified, was an experienced skydiver.She was admitted to hospital but her life was not in danger, they said.Another witness, Oceane Duplessis, said she was getting ready to get on another plane when she saw the woman."We watched all the way to the end. We kept hoping something would happen," she said. "We were very worried. Very."According to Scienceabc.com, a person without a parachute will fall at a typical speed of 120mph – or 60 metres (196ft) a second.The skydive company, which is reported to be investigating, has been contacted for comment.
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| Portland’s Feared Far-Right Rally Hit by Multiple Setbacks Posted: 16 Aug 2019 11:03 AM PDT  REUTERSThe outlook of a Saturday far-right rally in Portland, Oregon is uncertain after some of its key organizers dropped out or faced arrest.The rally, organized by the far-right ultranationalist group the Proud Boys, is billed as a "protest" against anti-fascists, commonly known as "antifa." The Proud Boys and other proto-fascist groups have previously brawled with anti-fascists in Portland, notably during a series of bloody rallies last summer. With members of the far right announcing their intention to travel from out of state to commit violence, Saturday's rally has loomed as a potential powder keg. But after a series of arrests and warnings, some of the best-known agitators might not be attending.The rally's biggest promoter, Proud Boy and former Infowars reporter Joe Biggs, advertised the event with explicit calls to violence. In the run-up to the event, Biggs has posed in shirts with slogans like "death to antifa" and "training to throw communists out of helicopters." (The latter, a reference to Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet's execution of political opponents, is a popular reference on the paramilitary right.)Portland Braces for Another Round of Proud Boys, Antifa FightsIn repeated social media posts promoting the rally, Biggs called for blood. "Get a gun. Bu[y] ammo. Get your gun license. Get training. Practice as much as you can and be ready because the left isn't playing anymore and neither should we," he wrote in one of many similarly violent posts, among which was a picture of a person being suffocated with a plastic bag with the caption "death to antifa." He repeated the sentiments in a video while holding a pro-Trump baseball bat.But in a Facebook post last week, Biggs announced that the FBI had visited him in his Florida home after a pair of mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton. "I wanna say again to all attending rally in Portland," Biggs wrote, apparently in reaction to the visit. "Tone down rhetoric."Biggs has not withdrawn from the rally, but began vanishing from social media platforms this week, extremism researcher JJ McNabb noted.Other, more local far-right brawlers also encountered law enforcement ahead of the rally. Portland police reportedly arrested six affiliates of extremist groups this week, over their alleged involvement in a May attack on a left-leaning Portland bar where they allegedly beat a woman unconscious and broke her vertebrae. Among those arrested Thursday was Joey Gibson, the leader of the far-right group Patriot Prayer. Gibson has previously stoked violence ahead of other rallies.Two Proud Boys who frequently fight in Portland were charged in spring with felony assault stemming from other fights.One large far-right group, the Oathkeepers, announced this week that they would skip the event altogether. Oathkeepers urged others on the right to drop out, citing Biggs' violent rhetoric. "Frankly, given the prior statements of Joe Biggs that will be used against all attendees of his rally, it would be best for the patriot/conservative cause if this August 17 rally were simply canceled," the group's president wrote in a statement on their website.Portland officials have urged the far-right and counter-protesters to avoid the rally, issuing a warning that the city would not welcome anyone "using the guise of free speech to commit acts of violence.""You want to be hateful, stay home," Portland City Council member Jo Ann Hardesty said Wednesday. "Do not get on a plane, on a bus and come to Portland. We don't want you here. We never wanted you here. If you come, we will expose you to the light of day."The city has faced heavy criticism over its handling of previous protests, where police instituted a heavy crackdown, notably leaving one leftist with a serious head injury. Anti-fascists also accused the city's police of playing favorites with the right, after it was revealed that a lieutenant kept in close communication with Gibson during previous rallies. The far right, for their part, accuse the city of giving anti-fascists preferential treatment. During a late June clash, masked assailants punched right-wing videographer Andy Ngo, an incident frequently cited in advertisements for Saturday's rally.This week, anti-fascists gave the far right another reason not to show up: the leftist protest group Popular Mobilization (PopMob) announced that, for each attendee of the fascist rally, they would donate money to pro-immigrant causes."Every one of the fascists that shows up is raising money for a cause that they hate," PopMob spokesperson Jesse Goldman told HuffPost.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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| Lawsuit challenges California's assault weapons ban Posted: 15 Aug 2019 07:38 PM PDT  A gun-rights group sued Thursday to block California from enforcing its assault weapons ban, contending it violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms. The lawsuit was the latest among gun advocacy and lobbying groups to challenge California's firearms laws, which are among the strictest in the country, and comes after a recent series of deadly mass shootings nationwide involving military-style rifles. The lawsuit was filed in the same San Diego federal court district where a judge in April tossed out a nearly two-decade-old California ban on sales and purchases of ammunition magazines holding more than 10 bullets.
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| A couple in Australia and their pet dog were attacked by a giant carnivorous lizard Posted: 16 Aug 2019 07:45 AM PDT  A 72-year-old man was seriously injured after attempting to break up a fight between his pet dog and a giant Goanna lizard.
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| Ford Celebrates 25th Annual Woodward Dream Cruise With Mustang Alley Posted: 16 Aug 2019 08:19 AM PDT  America's largest annual celebration of automotive culture is currently underway.If you're anywhere close to the vicinity of Detroit on the third Saturday in August (tomorrow, August 17, 2019), you'll get the chance to experience the Woodward Dream Cruise. This is the largest single-day gathering of gearheads in the world, according to event organizers. Classics, hot rods, muscle cars, custom builds, and more invade Woodward Avenue for a day of cruising and hanging out. In addition to a large number of cars that will be present, roughly 1.5 million spectators will join in on the fun.This year, Ford will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Woodward Dream Cruise with Mustang Alley, in addition to a wide range of special activities. On Thursday, August 15, Ford hosted the "Playing to Win Breakfast – How Ford Icons Continues to Be a Competitive Strength" and the "Track Talk – How Ford Racing Benefits the Rest of the Company Plus Reveal of a New NASCAR Mustang." There were also live engine builds and discussions on the durability testing behind the 2020 Mustang Shelby GT500.Today, Ford and JDRF announced a custom 2020 Mustang Shelby in a one-of-one paint color that will be raffled off as part of JDRF's annual push to raise funds for Type 1 diabetes research. The build is deemed the "Venom Mustang." There will also be a Power Lunch today with Ford performance team members, including Carl Widmann, Ford Performance chief engineer, and Tom Barnes, Mustang engineering manager. Last, but not least, watch as the Ford Performance lineup of vehicles takes Woodward in a V formation known as the "Flying V."If you haven't been able to make the last two days of events, do not fret; tomorrow is the biggest day of this occasion. Be sure to come out on Saturday, August 17 to join the "Mustang Alley – 21 Years of a Mile of Mustangs." Ford expects as many as 1,000 Mustangs lined up for nearly a mile (9 Mile and Woodward Avenue, all day). Also held tomorrow is the "Woodward Watching – Hang Out and Get to Know Top Ford Executives." Join some of Ford's top-ranking executives to talk cars (Ford Media Clubhouse, all day).Additional Activities and Opportunities at the Ford Media Clubhouse:(1) Ford designers live sketches their favorite automotive concepts and ideas (Thursday through Saturday with sessions starting each day at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. EDT)(2) Media-only driving opportunities in 2019 Mustang Bullitt, 2019 Mustang GT, 2019 Mustang Shelby GT350, F-150 Police Responder, right-hand drive Mustang GT, and a vintage Mustang(3) Video and photo opportunities with static display vehicles including current and heritage Ford GTs, 2020 Mustang Shelby GT500s, 2019 Mustang Shelby GT350R, Ford F-150 Raptor, 10 millionth Mustang in Wimbledon White, Mustang NASCARs and more(4) Scissor lift for media to grab bird's-eye view and capture Woodward Dream Cruise videos and images(5) Ford Mustang remote control racing on a custom-built miniature all-seasons trackFord Consumer Display Locations (Saturday only, Aug. 17)Mustang Alley: 9 Mile between Woodward Avenue and Bermuda Street, FerndaleFord family fun zone: Pioneer Park, 4232 Parkway Drive, Royal OakFull Ford Performance lineup display: Duggan's Irish Pub, 31501 Woodward Ave., Royal OakFord trucks display: CVS, 30900 Woodward Ave., Royal OakBronco Club parking: Memorial Park, 23925 Woodward Ave., Pleasant RidgeFord Fund's Driving Skills for Life display: Westborn Market, 27659 Woodward Ave., BerkleySource: Ford Media Read More: * Motorious Digital Car Show At Woodward Dream Cruise * 1995 Chevrolet Impala SS Takes Emotional Cruise To Woodward
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| Police officer kills himself, the 9th NYPD death by suicide this year Posted: 15 Aug 2019 11:28 AM PDT  An off-duty veteran New York city police officer killed himself, becoming the ninth police officer to die by suicide this year, authorities said.
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| India vows to ease Kashmir clampdown as clashes with Pakistan continue Posted: 16 Aug 2019 06:11 AM PDT  India and Pakistan continued to fire across their disputed frontier in Kashmir, as Delhi said it would soon relax a security crackdown and communications blackout in the region. Pakistan said one of its soldiers had been killed, bringing the death toll to six in less than 24 hours. The United Nations Security Council is due to hold rare discussions on the situation in Kashmir later on Friday, after India abolished its special status and enforced the strictest clampdown in the troubled region in years. Telephone and internet links were cut and public assembly banned earlier this months, just before Delhi removed autonomy for the Muslim-majority territory. Hundreds of political leaders and activists remain under detention. As India's Supreme Court heard a petition from a newspaper editor seeking to restore communication links so journalists can work, government lawyer Tushar Mehta said forces planned to lift the curbs over the "next few days," Reuters reported. Indian channel NDTV, citing unnamed sources, said schools will likely open on Monday. Strict curfews remained in place on Friday to prevent protest after prayers. Another brave son of soil laid his life in the line of duty. Sepoy Muhammad Sheeraz embraced shahadat due to Indian firing in Buttal Sector along LOC. pic.twitter.com/BAozVnsuGY— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) August 16, 2019 Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, has said the abolition of Kashmir's self rule was necessary to speed up its development and ensure its full integration into India. India and Pakistan have clashed over the territory since Independence in 1947, with their two militaries facing off over a heavily militarised line of control dividing the region in two. The information wing of Pakistan's military said on Friday "another brave son of soil lost his life in the line of duty" in Buttal town in an exchange of fire. Pakistan had earlier said three soldiers and two civilians died on Thursday. Islamabad has lobbied the international community to act after Delhi's revocation of Kashmir's status. The UN meeting will be held behind closed doors and stops short of the full emergency meeting Pakistan had hoped for.
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| Planet 10 times Earth's mass may have smacked Jupiter long ago Posted: 15 Aug 2019 12:10 PM PDT  Jupiter, the solar system's largest planet, may have been smacked head-on by an embryonic planet 10 times Earth's mass not long after being formed, a monumental crash with apparent lasting effects on the Jovian core, scientists said on Thursday. The violent collision, hypothesized by astronomers to explain data collected by NASA's Juno spacecraft, may have occurred just several million years after the birth of the sun roughly 4.5 billion years ago following the dispersal of the primordial disk of dust and gas that gave rise to solar system. "We believe that impacts, and in particular giant impacts, might have been rather common during the infancy of the solar system.
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| Tom Homan shares exclusive video of attack on Washington ICE detention center Posted: 15 Aug 2019 04:19 AM PDT  Former acting ICE director and Fox News contributor Tom Homan releases new video of fires set outside a ICE facility in Tacoma, Washington to show how the left's 'hateful rhetoric' is threatening American lives.
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| Parents claim body of Franco-Irish teen found dead in Malaysia Posted: 16 Aug 2019 06:10 AM PDT  The grief-stricken parents of a Franco-Irish teen found dead in Malaysia after she disappeared from a rainforest resort claimed her body Friday, police said, following an autopsy that showed no signs of foul play. Mohamad Mat Yusop, the police chief of Negeri Sembilan state where Nora Quoirin died, told AFP her remains would be repatriated to London where she had lived with her family. Claiming the body is the first step in the process to send the remains back for burial or cremation, the police chief explained.
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| China police exercises across from Hong Kong seen as threat Posted: 16 Aug 2019 08:26 AM PDT  Members of China's paramilitary People's Armed Police marched and practiced crowd control tactics at a sports complex in Shenzhen across from Hong Kong on Friday, in what some interpreted as a threat against pro-democracy protesters in the semiautonomous territory. A stadium security guard said "it wasn't clear" when the paramilitary police would leave the grounds.
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| Air Purifiers That Will Actually Help You Breathe Better Posted: 16 Aug 2019 08:43 AM PDT |
| Epstein death: Broken neck bones in autopsy raise questions about apparent suicide of accused sex trafficker Posted: 15 Aug 2019 02:06 AM PDT  Jeffrey Epstein had suffered broken bones in his neck of a kind more commonly seen in deaths by strangulation than suicides, according to reports.The disgraced 66-year-old financier was found hanging in his cell at a federal prison in New York on Saturday while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.His death was described as an "apparent suicide" by attorney general William Barr, who criticised "serious irregularities" at the jail.Authorities have not yet released details of the autopsy, but The Washington Post claimed on Thursday that it discovered "multiple breaks in his neck bones", including the hyoid bone.While the injury to the hyoid can occur in suicides by hanging, particularly in older people, it raises further questions about the circumstances of the multi-millionaire's death."If, hypothetically, the hyoid bone is broken, that would generally raise questions about strangulation, but it is not definitive and does not exclude suicidal hanging," Jonathan Arden, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, told the Post.The case has already attracted several conspiracy theories, including one promoted by president Donald Trump on Twitter.It has also caused outrage among Epstein's victims and their representatives, who had hoped that Epstein's trial next year would produce the justice they thought he had long evaded.The office of New York City's chief medical examiner Barbara Sampson, which has not commented on the findings of the autopsy, is said to be seeking further information about Epstein's condition in the hours before his death.Epstein had previously been placed on suicide watch after being found unconscious on the floor of his cell with marks on his neck last month.However he was not under that regime at the time of his death and guards had not checked on him for up to three hours before he was found hanging at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in lower Manhattan.Epstein, who once counted Mr Trump and former president Bill Clinton as friends, died a day after new legal documents, unsealed by a court, provided more details about the young girls he was said to have abused over several decades.Several investigations are being carried out into the circumstances, including a "psychological reconstruction" and an "after action" review by the prison, as well as probes by the FBI and US Department of Justice's inspector general.
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| 1981 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Pro Touring Boasts Show Quality Posted: 16 Aug 2019 06:06 AM PDT  It's custom-built with low mileage and ready to win some trophies. Volo Auto Museum is excited to announce this incredibly stunning 1981 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Pro Touring for your consideration. With only 270 miles clocked since its custom pro-touring build and $95,000 invested, this is a great value. The car is currently up for sale at a price of $42,995, and you can make an offer right here. An extensive amount of work, heart, and soul was put into this car with precise attention to detail. Every single part of the Z28 was removed from the vehicle during the pro-touring build. Even at first glance, you know that this is a show car. But it doesn't just boast a mean face, this car handles great and is satisfyingly fast.The exterior has custom body features that will really help it stand out among the sea of muscle cars at any car show. It has a reverse scoop molded into the hood and fender vents, as well as a dovetail out back molted onto the quarters and trunk. Other minor touches include filled-in marker lights, a custom gas filler door, filled seams, and custom door handles. The Carbon Flash Black metallic paint (a Corvette color) is lustrous and goes well with the wide non-metallic black stripe on the center of the hood and trunk. This beauty sits on 18-inch Rev wheels wrapped in Michelin Super Sport performance tires, with wider rubber at the rear.The interior on this '81 Camaro Z28 has been completely restored from the carpet to the headliner. The instrument panel looks like carbon fiber with great-looking digital gauges. It also has a leather-wrapped steering wheel on a tilt column. Additional cabin features include new Vintage Air Heat electric controls, a new modern stereo with molded-in kick panel speakers and 6x9s in the back, and a digital screen for the fuel injection.This 1981 Camaro Z28 Pro Touring is powered by a desirable, all-aluminum, performance-built LS 5.3-liter V8 engine that puts out 420 horsepower. It also has a NOS system for another instant 150 horsepower! What's more, this Z28 is equipped with a High Ram polished aluminum Holley intake, Holley EFI electronic fuel injection, Accel coils, stainless headers, and custom polished aluminum air induction tubes. It has 65-pound injectors and a 43-pound fuel pump. A Griffin radiator with dual electric fans and a custom shroud keep this bad boy cool. Pop the hood at a car show and wait for all the oohs and ahhs you'll get. The engine bay is pristine and is sure to outshine its competition. Read More: * Freshly Restored 1968 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS Pro Touring * Burn Rubber For Days In This 1965 Ford Mustang Pro Touring
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| Scaramucci on Trump: 'Very clear that it’s impossible for him to win' Posted: 16 Aug 2019 03:47 PM PDT ![Scaramucci on Trump: 'Very clear that it's impossible for him to win']( "Scaramucci on Trump: 'Very clear that it's impossible for him to win'") In a no-holds-barred interview with Vanity Fair, Anthony "The Mooch" Scaramucci said Trump will likely drop out of the presidential race by March 2020.
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| Greyhound riders are being asked for immigration papers at South Florida bus terminals Posted: 16 Aug 2019 03:00 AM PDT  Federal immigration agents are beefing up their efforts to apprehend undocumented immigrants in South Florida as part of a nationwide effort to "keep communities safe."
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| Mexico to deport U.S. citizen suspected of supporting 'violent jihad' Posted: 16 Aug 2019 12:20 PM PDT ![Mexico to deport U.S. citizen suspected of supporting 'violent jihad']( "Mexico to deport U.S. citizen suspected of supporting 'violent jihad'") Mexican authorities arrested a U.S. citizen suspected of supporting militant Islamists in an example of Mexico's security cooperation with the United States even as the two neighbors grapple with sharp disagreements over trade and migration. The unidentified American man sought by Interpol was under investigation for supporting terrorist groups and will be deported to the United States later on Friday, the Mexico's attorney general's office said in a statement. The man was detained at a migrants office near Mexico's border with Guatemala in the town of Huehuetan with the help of officials from Mexico's National Migration Institute.
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| Fox News Anchor Pushes Back After Guest Rants About Immigrant ‘Invasion’ at Border Posted: 15 Aug 2019 09:39 AM PDT  Less than two weeks after the El Paso mass shooting in which the accused shooter targeted Mexicans after complaining of a "Hispanic invasion" of America, Fox News anchor Sandra Smith confronted a guest on Thursday for using similar rhetoric, telling him "people will take issue with you for calling it that."Appearing on Fox News' America's Newsroom, National Border Patrol Council vice president Art Del Cueto directly blamed critics of ICE and Border Patrol for recent attacks on ICE facilities."It's disgusting to see something like that," he said in reaction to video of last month's incident at a Washington facility. "And I think it's been triggered by way too many individuals that have had a platform to speak against the men and women that are trying to defend our nation's borders, the law enforcement communities. That is where it comes from."Del Cueto, however, took issue with studies showing how conservatives' anti-immigration rhetoric echoed that of the shooter, claiming he and Fox News were just "talking about actual facts.""And the facts that we spoke about are simple," the frequent Fox News guest declared. "When you have individuals in large quantities that enter another country by force or illegally, waving the flag of another country, that is an invasion. I stand by those words.""Hold on now," Smith quickly interjected. "Obviously, we have to push back on comments like that. People will take issue with you calling it that. It is obviously a sensitive issue right now."The Fox anchor went on to steer the conversation back towards the recent incidents at ICE buildings and what steps should be taken moving forward.Smith's pushback against Del Cueto comes just a day after Fox Nation host Todd Starnes not only doubled down on saying migrants are invading the United States but also likened immigrants to Nazis.In the immediate aftermath of the El Paso shooting, meanwhile, Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade defended the network's repeated use of the term "invasion" to describe immigration, claiming it was not "anti-Hispanic" but was instead a "fact."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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| Dozens of US teens hospitalized with lung disease after vaping Posted: 15 Aug 2019 01:43 PM PDT  US health officials are investigating the cases of dozens of people, mainly teens, who were hospitalized with severe lung injuries in recent weeks after vaping, though the precise cause of their illnesses remains a mystery. Health departments in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin have issued statements describing cases involving patients who exhibited coughs, shortness of breath, dizziness and fatigue, symptoms that led them to hospitals where they had to be intubated. Officials in the three states, which have reported at least 30 confirmed cases and 22 under investigation, said it was too early to say whether the illnesses were connected, but were working with each other and the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention to investigate further.
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| Tennessee inmate executed in electric chair for killings Posted: 16 Aug 2019 06:39 AM PDT  Tennessee executed its third inmate in the electric chair since November, killing a man Thursday who maintained that he didn't stab a mother and her 15-year-old daughter to death in 1986. State officials pronounced 56-year-old Stephen West dead at 7:27 p.m. at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. This week, West decided he preferred to die in the electric chair after previously voicing no preference, which would have defaulted him to lethal injection.
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| Rhode Island Prison Officer Resigns After ICE Protesters Allege He Drove a Truck Into Them Posted: 15 Aug 2019 05:55 PM PDT  'It was a shocking escalation of violence,' says a witness
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| Germany expects No Deal and will not renegotiate, says leaked briefing Posted: 16 Aug 2019 04:17 AM PDT  Germany expects a No Deal Brexit and is not prepared to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement, according to leaked details of an internal briefing paper for Angela Merkel's government. The leaked paper is the first evidence that Germany may be preparing to let Britain walk away with No Deal rather than back down to Boris Johnson's demand to drop the Irish backstop. The paper was prepared by civil servants for the German finance minister, Olaf Scholz, ahead of face-to-face talks with the chancellor of the exchequer, Sajid Javid, in Berlin on Friday. In public, Mr Scholz has said Germany will do everything it can to secure a deal with the UK. But according to details leaked to the usually reliable Handelsblatt newspaper, the briefing paper calls for the European Union to stick to its previous line of refusing to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement. It warns that there is now a "high probability" of a No Deal Brexit on October 31, but says the EU must not "lose its nerve". Preparations by Germany and the rest of the EU-27 to manage the impact of No Deal are "largely complete", and the European Commission is not planning any further emergency measures, it says. Mr Javid is the first senior minister from the Johnson government to hold face-to-face talks with his German counterpart Credit: TOLGA AKMEN/AFP The paper says it is "currently unforeseeable that Prime Minister Johnson will change his tough negotiating position" and predicts that he may use next weekend's G7 summit in Biarritz for a "big moment" to announce success or failure in negotiations. "Against this background, it is important from the EU perspective to stick to the previous line" of refusing to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement, it says, adding that even if the EU were to agree to drop the Irish backstop, it is not clear that Mr Johnson would be able to win approval for a revised withdrawal agreement in parliament. The UK has made repeated attempts to split the EU side, and "the EU-27's unity in adhering to the negotiated exit agreement" has been "decisive", the paper says. Germany has already passed more than 50 laws and measures to deal with the impact of a No Deal Brexit, and the paper provides details of arrangements in the finance ministry's area of tax and banking. It cites a transitional agreement between the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and BaFin, the German financial regulator on cross-border financial services, and says German customes authorities are prepared for the increased workload expected under No Deal.
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| Wisconsin fugitive survives for 3 years in makeshift bunker Posted: 15 Aug 2019 10:23 AM PDT  A Wisconsin fugitive wanted on child sexual assault and child pornography charges hid for more than three years in a makeshift bunker powered by solar panels and a pedal generator before a hunter found him last week, police said.
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| Gibraltar defies U.S. intervention and releases Iran oil tanker Posted: 15 Aug 2019 11:07 AM PDT  The United States applied to seize an Iranian oil supertanker impounded in Gibraltar. The ship has been released.
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| Students caught in visa sting at fake university may sue U.S., court rules Posted: 15 Aug 2019 11:30 AM PDT ![Students caught in visa sting at fake university may sue U.S., court rules]( "Students caught in visa sting at fake university may sue U.S., court rules") A federal appeals court said foreign-born students may sue the U.S. government over claims it wrongfully canceled their visas, following a sting where it set up a fake university to entrap corrupt visa brokers. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia revived a proposed class action on behalf of more than 500 students who said they were deprived of due process when the government revoked their lawful immigration status after ensnaring them in the sting. Writing for a three-judge panel, Circuit Judge Theodore McKee also faulted the government's "flip-flop" over whether the students, including many from China and India, who thought they had "enrolled" at the fictitious University of Northern New Jersey were innocent victims, or participants in the fraud.
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| Kazakhstan court frees anti-Beijing activist Posted: 16 Aug 2019 04:24 PM PDT  A rights activist in Kazakhstan who faced seven years imprisonment over his outspoken opposition to neighbouring China was unexpectedly freed Friday as public and international pressure over his case mounted. Serikjan Bilash, whose activism in defence of Muslim and Turkic minorities in Xinjiang earned him global media attention, told AFP he struck a plea bargain with the court that allowed him freedom but will end his activism. "I had to end my activism against China.
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| View Photos of the 1965 Ford GT40 Roadster Posted: 15 Aug 2019 02:20 PM PDT |
| Philly Mayor Peddles False Narrative for Gun Control After a Man with a Long Criminal History Shoots Six Police Officers Posted: 15 Aug 2019 02:14 PM PDT  All eyes were on North Philadelphia last night after a gunman fired on police serving a narcotics warrant. At around 4:30 p.m., the suspect barricaded himself in a North Philadelphia home and began a standoff that would last for almost eight hours. During the ordeal, six officers were shot and two were trapped inside the house. Thankfully, the injuries to the police officers were not life-threatening and the two officers trapped inside were evacuated by a SWAT team several hours before the suspect, Maurice Hill, surrendered.After visiting the wounded police officers in the hospital, the mayor of Philadelphia, Jim Kenney, spoke to reporters and called for gun control. "Our officers need help. They need help. They need help with gun control. They need help with keeping these weapons out of these people's hands," Kenney said. "This government, on the federal and state level, don't want to do anything about getting these guns off the street and getting them out of the hands of criminals.""It's aggravating. It's saddening," he said. "It's just something we need to do something about. And if the state and federal government doesn't want to stand up to the NRA and some other folks, then let us police ourselves," Kenney said."That argument is B.S. Any evidence that Hill is an NRA member?" Bill Johnson, executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations, told me. "Hill is a threat to everyone around him not because he may or may not be an NRA member but because he has embarked on a life of crime. That is what the problem is. It is not the NRA's advocacy. And the mayor knows that.""The lies about cops told by Warren, Harris, and DeBlasio lead to actions like these," Johnson said. "It's not the NRA."Indeed it is not. Maurice Hill has a long and extensive criminal history. Before last night, he had been arrested nearly a dozen times since turning 18 and convicted six times on charges that involved illegal possession of guns, drug dealing, and aggravated assault. He has been in and out of prison; the longest sentence handed him came in 2010, when a federal judge gave him a 55-month term. In 2008, he was convicted of escaping, fleeing from police, and resisting arrest. Along the way, he has beaten criminal charges on everything from kidnapping to attempted murder. Hill has also spent time in federal prison. In 2008, he pleaded guilty to federal firearms violations after he was caught with a Smith & Wesson .357 and later a Taurus PT .45 semiautomatic. His prior felony convictions should have barred him from owning those weapons. "There are plenty of laws. It's not a lack of gun laws," Johnson added. "Hill is not in the business of obeying laws.""That is just Kenney deflecting and pivoting to his DNC talking points," Gregg Richman, a candidate for common-pleas judge in the Philadelphia suburb of Montgomery County, told me. "It wasn't a gun-control issue that caused this. It was the failure of this administration along with the DA's policies of letting serious criminals back on the streets," Richman said. "This is not about guns but failure of the leaders to support law enforcement."Jeffrey Roorda, author of The War on Police, a former police officer and the business manager of the St. Louis Police Officers Association, agrees. "Violence, especially deadly assaults on police, are out of control in cities like Philadelphia and St. Louis where the voters have elected so-called reform-minded prosecutors," he told me. "The truth is that these prosecutors' sick brand of reform amounts to an amnesty program for deadly criminals who prey on communities of color and target cops for violence," Roorda says. "We need elected officials who will support cops and their efforts to remove dangerous criminals, like the Philadelphia shooter, from the streets before they go on shooting sprees."On Kenney's watch, Philadelphia has been plagued with gun violence. The homicide rate is the highest it has been in over a decade; in 2018, the rate increased 11 percent from the previous year. Kenney, and most other liberals advocating gun control, are ignoring the facts: The overwhelming majority of gun-related crimes are committed by people who own guns illegally. Crafting legislation that affects legal owners will have no impact on this.Kenney and other Democratic politicians such as Julián Castro, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, and Elizabeth Warren have all used this incident to push for additional gun-control laws. The press, meanwhile, has sought to cast the fight as just another "active shooter" in America. But the standoff in Philadelphia was no such thing. Americans watching cable news last night watched a career criminal resisting arrest and trying to murder police in the process. Our response to this event should reflect that fact. The mayor needs to look in the mirror.
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| From D-Day to Nazi defeat: Marking World War II milestones Posted: 15 Aug 2019 01:08 AM PDT  For Allied troops in Europe, D-Day was just the beginning of a long and bloody push toward victory over the Nazis. Ten weeks after commemorating the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France is paying tribute this week to Allied troops involved in another major, but often overlooked, military operation: landings on the Mediterranean coast.
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| Florida man uses front-end loader to dump dirt on car his girlfriend drove, cops say Posted: 16 Aug 2019 01:54 PM PDT  Beware boyfriends in front-end loaders.
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| Trump, Netanyahu relationship erodes core values of U.S.-Israeli bond: Today's talker Posted: 16 Aug 2019 11:46 AM PDT  Netanyahu barred Reps. Omar and Talib from entering Israel after Trump urged him. This was a mistake for Israel.
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| Exclusive: China-owned oil tanker changes name in apparent effort to evade U.S. sanctions Posted: 16 Aug 2019 12:25 AM PDT ![Exclusive: China-owned oil tanker changes name in apparent effort to evade U.S. sanctions]( "Exclusive: China-owned oil tanker changes name in apparent effort to evade U.S. sanctions") SINGAPORE/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - While in the Indian Ocean heading toward the Strait of Malacca, the very large crude carrier (VLCC) Pacific Bravo went dark on June 5, shutting off the transponder that signals its position and direction to other ships, ship-tracking data showed. A VLCC typically transports about 2 million barrels of oil, worth about $120 million at current prices. On July 18, the transponder of the VLCC Latin Venture was activated offshore Port Dickson, Malaysia, in the Strait of Malacca, about 1,500 km (940 miles) from where the Pacific Bravo had last been signaling its position.
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| 7 Ways Bees Continue To Amaze Us Posted: 15 Aug 2019 11:24 AM PDT |
| Zimbabwe police beat protesters defying regime 'worse than Mugabe' Posted: 16 Aug 2019 12:08 PM PDT  Riot police in Zimbabwe on Friday fired teargas and beat demonstrators who defied a protest ban, as the opposition accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government of surpassing Robert Mugabe's regime in brutality. Scores of people gathered in a square in the capital Harare to demonstrate against the country's worsening economy, despite massive police deployment and a ban upheld by a court the same morning. Police cornered one group of protesters and beat them with batons, an AFP reporter saw.
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| Kid Who Casually Found a Woolly Mammoth Tooth on His Vacation Would Like to Get it Back Posted: 15 Aug 2019 08:53 AM PDT  It's quite the souvenir.
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| After Jeffrey Epstein's suicide, Ghislaine Maxwell may have taken his place as the 'kingpin' prosecutors are looking to take down. But experts say don't expect criminal charges anytime soon. Posted: 15 Aug 2019 08:27 PM PDT  "This is not a television show where you see a crime in the first minute and an arrest in the 10th," one former federal prosecutor said.
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| Fearful Argentines Pull Dollars From Banks After Election Shock Posted: 16 Aug 2019 07:32 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. Argentines have been withdrawing dollars from banks and keeping them at home since President Mauricio Macri's defeat in a key primary election sent the peso tumbling.Savers pulled more than $700 million from their dollar-denominated accounts on Monday and Tuesday alone, according to the most recent official data. That's equivalent to 2.3% of total dollar deposits in the financial system. It was also the largest two-day withdrawal in percentage terms in more than five years.Long used to currency crises, many Argentines are still traumatized by the so-called corralito -- economic measures to stop a 2001 bank run that effectively froze bank accounts and halted dollar withdrawals.Those dollars are considered part of the central bank's gross foreign reserves, and the withdrawals help explain why reserves dropped by $2.6 billion this week, to $63.7 billion.Argentine Central Bank Revamps Strategy to Defend PesoForeign reserves are also falling because policy makers are selling dollars to shore up the peso -- so far this week, $503 million were used in currency market interventions. Argentina on Friday is expected to use an additional $500 million from its reserves to pay maturing Treasury bills known as Letes.To contact the reporter on this story: Ignacio Olivera Doll in Buenos Aires at ioliveradoll@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Jaramillo at ajaramillo1@bloomberg.net, ;Daniel Cancel at dcancel@bloomberg.net, Walter BrandimarteFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| GPS monitoring violates some sex offenders’ rights, NC Supreme Court rules Posted: 16 Aug 2019 01:42 PM PDT  Sex offenders have rights, too, and in some cases the state has been violating those rights, the NC Supreme Court ruled on Friday.
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| A Wisconsin college student was arrested after tearing up a classmate's swastika sign Posted: 16 Aug 2019 11:52 AM PDT  University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee junior Grae Hosmanek was participating in an event organized by Students Supporting Israel when she was arrested.
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| Trump's New Hampshire struggle: Voters feeling 'Trumpgret' Posted: 15 Aug 2019 03:11 AM PDT  When Chad Johansen voted for Donald Trump in 2016, he hoped he was picking someone who could help small-business owners compete with bigger companies. The Republican president has done little to address health care issues for a small employer, he said, and the Manchester man remains on edge about how Trump's tariffs could affect his business, which employs fewer than 10 people. "The president's supposed to be the face of the United States of America," said Johansen, who voted for Democrat Barack Obama in 2012.
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| Vietnam demands Chinese ship leaves its exclusive economic zone Posted: 16 Aug 2019 07:09 AM PDT ![Vietnam demands Chinese ship leaves its exclusive economic zone]( "Vietnam demands Chinese ship leaves its exclusive economic zone") Vietnam has demanded that China remove an oil survey vessel and its escorts from the Southeast Asian country's exclusive economic zone, amid a month-long standoff in waters seen as a potential global flashpoint as the United States challenges Beijing's maritime claims. Reuters first reported on Tuesday that the Haiyang Dizhi 8, conducted by the China Geological Survey, had returned to the area escorted by at least two Chinese coast guard vessels. "Vietnam has made contact with China to protest its repeated violations and demanded that China withdraw the vessel group from Vietnamese waters," Vietnam's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said in a statement.
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| Tears and shouting as Australia dilutes Pacific climate warning Posted: 16 Aug 2019 12:20 AM PDT  A Pacific summit has descended into tears, recriminations and shouting between pro-coal Australia and low-lying island nations facing an existential threat from climate change. The annual Pacific Island Forum wrapped up in Tuvalu late Thursday with Australia and the group's 17 other members sharply at odds, potentially undermining Canberra's efforts to curb China's growing influence in the region. "There were serious arguments and even shouting, crying, people, leaders were shedding tears," Tuvalu Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga told Australia's national broadcaster ABC after the summit broke up with a communique with "watered down" language on global warming.
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| Delta tug operator at JFK Airport killed on the job Posted: 15 Aug 2019 10:15 AM PDT  Delta Air Lines is investigating after one of their employees was killed at JFK Airport on Wednesday.
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