| ‘The View’s’ Meghan McCain Explodes at Sunny Hostin for Defending Julian Assange Posted: 11 Apr 2019 09:09 AM PDT  The arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange hit The View's Meghan McCain hard on Thursday morning. "The politics of this have always been completely hypocritical on both sides," McCain said, noting that President Obama's attorney general Eric Holder declined to prosecute Assange on the basis that WikiLeaks is essentially a "journalistic" organization. "This is something that a lot of people who have put national security first, and I put myself in that category, have been warning about and warning about and warning about," she continued, "and the only time the Democrats started caring is when it started affecting them politically and when Hillary Clinton's emails were released." Asked what will happen to Assange, McCain replied, "I hope he rots in hell!"Her co-host Sunny Hostin had a markedly different take on the matter, saying that if people "have a problem" with Assange and the secrets he published, then they must also have a problem with the the release of the Pentagon Papers and the Panama Papers, both of which she believes "protected our democracy." She disputed the notion that Obama and Holder "punted" on Assange but rather that they decided the Constitution protected Assange "because our Constitution does protect Julian Assange." "I'm sorry, I've got to push back hard on this," McCain interrupted, to which Hostin said, "Excuse me, you can push back after I'm finished speaking." Once Hostin had concluded her point about how the First Amendment should protect Assange's right to disseminate even stolen material, McCain shot back, "I think what you said was just straight propaganda. They're not First Amendment—he was a cyber terrorist from day one!" "There's a difference, Sunny, in being a whistleblower and being a straight-up hacker," Abby Huntsman said, backing up McCain. "What we found out with Assange is he conspired with Russia to meddle in our 2016 elections. If that's not him committing a crime, I don't know what is." Ultimately, as she did earlier in the week, moderator Whoopi Goldberg had to break up the fight and throw to commercial. "Whatever it is, we got to go," she said. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here
|
| The Latest: Gantz's party concedes defeat in Israel election Posted: 10 Apr 2019 10:12 AM PDT  JERUSALEM (AP) — The Latest on the outcome of Israeli elections (all times local):
|
| Ocasio-Cortez condemns college Republicans' email calling her a domestic terrorist Posted: 10 Apr 2019 06:15 PM PDT  New York congresswoman says 'uncalled for' rhetoric puts her and colleagues in dangerAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez said comments like those in the email routinely led to a 'spike in death threats'. Photograph: Carlos Barría/ReutersA fundraising email sent by a college Republican group branding the US representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a "domestic terrorist" drew a sharp rebuke from the congresswoman, who warned that similar rhetorical attacks had in the past resulted in a spike in death threats against her.An email sent on Tuesday by Tom Ferrall, chairman of the Ohio Federation of College Republicans, bore the subject line "AOC is a domestic terrorist" and asked recipients to donate to his group. Dave Levinthal, an editor at the Center for Public Integrity, on Wednesday afternoon shared a screenshot of the email on Twitter."My fellow students often tell me that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a 'role model' and that America should be more like socialist Europe," the email, which appeared not to use the word "terrorist" elsewhere, read in part. It told recipients: "We need your help to stop the brainwashing!"The email fit the template for fundraising emails by similar groups."This puts me in danger every time," tweeted Ocasio-Cortez, the 29-year-old freshman congresswoman whose outspoken progressive views, youth, nimble social media presence and all-around star power yet perhaps do not explain the extent to which she has become a bugbear for the right."Almost every time this uncalled for rhetoric gets blasted by conserv. grps," she tweeted, "we get a spike in death threats to refer to Capitol Police."> This puts me in danger every time. > > Almost every time this uncalled for rhetoric gets blasted by conserv. grps, we get a spike in death threats to refer to Capitol Police. > > Multiple ppl have been arrested trying to harm me, Ilhan, & others.@GOP, what's it going to take to stop? https://t.co/vpous77RbT> > — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 10, 2019After Ocasio-Cortez tweeted about it, the Ohio Federation of College Republicans distanced itself from the email, calling it "unauthorized" without explaining what that meant. "We apologize to Congresswoman Ocascio-Cortez [sic] for the use of unacceptable language in this email, and we do not approve of the message conveyed," the group said.Ferrall, whose name was on the email's signature line, told the Guardian in an email that his group would have no comment beyond the statement. Capitol Police told the Guardian in a statement it could not discuss how it carries out is protective responsibilities for Congress.Ocasio-Cortez's congressional district in Queens, New York, is 400 miles from the Ohio border. The bellwether state voted for Donald Trump by eight points over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.
|
| South Korea court strikes down abortion law in landmark ruling Posted: 11 Apr 2019 02:48 AM PDT  "The law criminalizing a woman who undergoes abortion of her own will goes beyond the minimum needed to achieve the legislative purpose and limits the right of self-determination of the woman," it said in its ruling. "I believe this ruling frees women from shackles," said Kim Su-jung, a lawyer representing the plaintiff, a doctor charged with conducting 69 illegal abortions. The ruling reflects a trend towards decriminalizing abortion, as cases of criminal punishment have fallen in recent years.
|
| Former Vikings minority owner Irwin Jacobs, wife found dead in murder-suicide Posted: 11 Apr 2019 08:02 AM PDT  Former Minnesota Vikings part-owner Irwin Jacobs and his wife Alexandra werefound dead on Wednesday in what police called an apparent murder-suicide,according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune
|
| Photos of the Dodge Challenger and Charger Stars and Stripes Editions Posted: 11 Apr 2019 09:07 AM PDT |
| Buttigieg suggests Pence offered him empty praise when he came out Posted: 10 Apr 2019 07:12 AM PDT  "People will often be polite to you in person, while advancing policies that harm you and your family," the South Bend, Ind., mayor tweeted.
|
| US government 'spied' on Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign, attorney general says Posted: 10 Apr 2019 11:14 AM PDT  Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign was spied on by the US government, the country's attorney general said on Wednesday, as he vowed to investigate whether rules were broken in the process. William Barr, who took up the job in February, said he would look at how the FBI and US intelligence agencies set up the Trump-Russia probe before the 2016 presidential election. "Spying did occur", Mr Barr said during a hearing on Capitol Hill, noting at another point that "spying on a political campaign is a big deal". He appeared to draw parallels with government spying on the anti-Vietnam War movement in the 1960s, while insisting he did not know if any wronging had occurred. The comments follow intense pressure from Mr Trump to investigate the Russia probe's origins after special counsel Robert Mueller's report found no conspiracy between his campaign and the Kremlin. Donald Trump, the US president, has claimed 'complete exoneration' from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation Credit: Al Drago/Bloomberg It was unclear what "spying" Mr Barr was referring to, but Mr Trump's allies have pointed to a string of actions taken by intelligence and justice officials before the 2016 election as they claim the "deep state" was unfairly targeting the Trump campaign. One was the wiretap on Carter Page, the former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, that was applied for and approved before the 2016 election. Republicans have questioned how open US officials were with the court when seeking the wiretap. Another is the handling of a string of allegations made in a series of memos by Christopher Steele, the former British MI6 agent, about the Trump campaign's links to Russia. The FBI got hold of his so-called 'dossier' before the election. A third involved Stefan Halper, the Cambridge University academic and former Republican adviser. US media has reported that he approached Trump campaign officials on behalf of the FBI to sound them out over Russia before the election – though that has not been confirmed by the US government. Carter Page, the former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser who was wiretapped before the 2016 US election Credit: AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin During a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Mr Barr was asked if he thought spying occurred on the Trump campaign from the US government. "I think spying did occur. Yes, I think spying did occur," Mr Barr said. He went on: "The question is whether it was adequately predicated. And I'm not suggesting it wasn't adequately predicated but I would need to explore that." Mr Barr referenced rules that curb the government's ability to spy on political campaigns, saying: "I'm not suggesting that those rules were violated but I think it's important to look at that." He said that he would look into whether the FBI and US intelligence agencies acted appropriately. "I feel I have an obligation to make sure that government power is not abused," Mr Barr said. The comments reflect how quickly attention in Washington has flipped from Trump-Russia links to whether the Russia election meddling probe itself acted inappropriately. For months Trump acolytes have been framing Mr Mueller's investigation as a witch hunt and the Russia probe as a "deep state" stitch-up from officials who opposed his presidency. Supporters of the probe insist that US officials were acting appropriately and in the public interest by investigating claims over the Trump campaign's engagements with Russian-linked figures. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat congressman on the House Intelligence Committee, criticised Mr Barr for his use of the term "spying" to characterise how the FBI and justice officials had acted. "The casual suggestion by the nation's top law enforcement officer of 'spying' may please Donald Trump, who rails against a 'deep state coup,' but it strikes another destructive blow to our democratic institutions," Mr Schiff tweeted. "The hardworking men and women at the DOJ and FBI deserve better."
|
| A timeline of key events in rule of Sudan's al-Bashir Posted: 11 Apr 2019 06:23 AM PDT  CAIRO (AP) — After 30 years in power, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was arrested and deposed by the military on Thursday, following nearly four months of protests against his rule. The army has also taken over the country for the next two years and imposed a three-month state of emergency, plunging the nation into new uncertainty.
|
| European Union delays Brexit until Oct. 31, saving Britain from messy EU exit this week Posted: 11 Apr 2019 03:32 AM PDT  The extension to Oct. 31 is intended to give British Prime Minister Theresa May more time to get her Brexit deal through Parliament.
|
| American Airlines flight returns to JFK Airport after clipping wing Posted: 11 Apr 2019 02:15 PM PDT  The FAA says American Airlines flight 300 that was bound from New York to Los Angeles landed safely back at JFK at 9:15 p.m. Wednesday.
|
| Woman on 'most wanted list' who taunted police on Facebook arrested after accidentally revealing location Posted: 11 Apr 2019 07:41 AM PDT  Police arrested a woman after she revealed her location on Facebook while seemingly taunting authorities online. Chloe Jones was arrested in Virginia and extradited to Pennsylvania after she posted a comment on a post featuring a âmost wantedâ list with her name on it. The list, posted by the Greene County Sheriffâs Office, said she had failed to make court appearances last month over assault charges. âDo you do pick up or delivery??â she wrote on the departmentâs Facebook post, adding several laughing emojis. Ms Jones began responding to comments from other users, at one point revealing that she was allegedly at the Ruby Memorial Hospital. That discovery led officers to reportedly arresting Ms Jones before transporting the woman back to Greene County. The sheriffâs office was then sure to get the last laugh on social media. The Greene County Sheriffâs Office confirmed her arrest in an updated post, writing, âMs. Chloe Jones and her witty comments are taking a hiatus from our Facebook comments section due to the jail not having internet for her to use.ââThank you to the citizens of Greene County, Monongalia County and many others for your tips that lead to her arrest,â the post read. It remains unclear whether officers located Ms Jones at the Ruby Memorial Hospital.The Greene County Sheriffâs Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
|
| Bernie Sanders's Bold Health Plan Puts Democrats in a Bind Posted: 10 Apr 2019 11:52 AM PDT  Sanders, an early front-runner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, had initially called for phasing out America's employer-based insurance system in favor of universal government coverage that's free for patients (that is, outside of the higher taxes they'd pay to finance it).
|
| Trump Labels Mueller Probe an ‘Attempted Coup’ Posted: 10 Apr 2019 07:49 AM PDT  President Trump on Wednesday continued his public campaign to impugn the credibility of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's findings, which are expected to be released in redacted form in the coming days."It was an illegal investigation. It was started illegally. Everything about it was crooked," Trump told reporters outside the White House before departing to Texas. "This was an attempted coup. This was an attempted takedown of a president, and we beat them."Trump's comments came just one day after Attorney General William Barr told a House panel that he would release a redacted version of Mueller's 300-page report to Congress within the week and subsequently make a more heavily redacted version public.Lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee questioned Barr on Tuesday about the summary of Mueller's report that he made public last month. In the four-page summary, Barr wrote that Mueller did not find evidence of a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russian officials to disrupt the 2016 election. The summary further explained that Mueller did not make a determination as to whether Trump obstructed justice in firing FBI director James Comey, but that after reviewing the report, Barr had determined there wasn't sufficient evidence to bring obstruction of justice charges.Bloomberg reported Wednesday that Barr has formed a team within the Department of Justice to investigate whether the FBI's counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign was tainted by partisan bias, as congressional Republicans have long argued.That probe comes atop an existing DOJ inspector general's investigation into possible FISA court abuses by FBI officials who used the Steele dossier to obtain a warrant to surveil Carter Page. Barr told lawmakers Tuesday that the IG's investigation should conclude as early as May or June.
|
| View Photos of the 2020 Audi S7 Posted: 11 Apr 2019 07:53 AM PDT |
| American Airlines flight attendant 'mortified' after spilling drinks on the airline's CEO Posted: 10 Apr 2019 09:51 AM PDT ![American Airlines flight attendant 'mortified' after spilling drinks on the airline's CEO]( "American Airlines flight attendant 'mortified' after spilling drinks on the airline's CEO") An American Airlines flight attendant accidentally spilled drinks on a passenger − and that passenger turned out to be American CEO Doug Parker.
|
| Woman crashes car after seeing a spider, New York police say Posted: 10 Apr 2019 10:43 PM PDT ![Woman crashes car after seeing a spider, New York police say]( "Woman crashes car after seeing a spider, New York police say") Cairo, New York Police say a woman suffered an injury in the crash. Police believe the incident occurred after she saw a spider in the drivers' area.
|
| Need a new Wi-Fi router for your apartment? This one’s only $19.99 Posted: 10 Apr 2019 10:10 AM PDT  If you live in a massive house, investing a few hundred dollars in a high-end home Wi-Fi system is a must. But if you live in an apartment, mesh systems are definitely a waste of money. You can enjoy great coverage and fast Wi-Fi speeds at the fraction of the cost of a mesh solution. In fact, the TP-Link TL-WR841N Wireless Router is on sale right now on Amazon for only $19.99!Here's more info from the product page: * Wireless N speed up to 300Mbps ideal applications for video streaming, online gaming VoIP, web browsing and multi-tasking * Two 5dBi antennas greatly increase the wireless robustness and stability. Easy Setup Assistant provides quick & hassle free installation * System requirements is internet explorer 11, firefox 12.0, chrome 20.0, safari 4.0 or other, java enabled browser or cable or dsl modem. Signal rate for 11n up to 300 mbps dynamic, 11g up to 54 mbps dynamic and 11b up to 1 mbps dynamic * Features parental control function managing the internet access of children or employee's computer * IP based bandwidth control allows administrators to determine how much bandwidth is allotted to each PC and internet devices * Fast ethernet ports(10/100 Mbps) allow you to directly connect your wired devices * Backward compatible with 802.11b/g products. TP-LINK Live 24/7 Technical Support * This product is ONLY a router.
|
| Yahoo to pay $117.5M in latest settlement of massive breach Posted: 10 Apr 2019 02:36 PM PDT  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Nearly 200 million people who had sensitive information snatched from their Yahoo accounts will receive two years of free credit-monitoring services and other potential restitution in a legal settlement valued at $117.5 million.
|
| Scientist superstar Katie Bouman designed algorithm for black hole image Posted: 11 Apr 2019 10:38 AM PDT  Anonymous to the public just days ago, a US computer scientist named Katie Bouman has become an overnight sensation due to her role in developing a computer algorithm that allowed researchers to take the world's first image of a black hole. "I'm so excited that we finally get to share what we have been working on for the past year!" the 29 year-old Bouman, a postdoctoral researcher at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, gushed on her Facebook account Wednesday after the image was published. The term "black hole" refers to a point in space where matter is so compressed that it creates a gravity field from which even light cannot escape.
|
| More U.S. states push ahead with near-bans on abortion for Supreme Court challenge Posted: 11 Apr 2019 05:09 AM PDT  North Dakota Republican Governor Doug Burgum signed legislation on Wednesday making it a crime for doctors to perform a second-trimester abortion using instruments like forceps and clamps to remove the fetus from the womb. The move came the same day that Ohio's Republican-controlled legislature passed one of the nation's most restrictive abortion bans - outlawing the procedure if a doctor can detect a heartbeat. Georgia's Republican-controlled legislature in March also passed a ban on abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can often occur before a woman even realizes she is pregnant.
|
| Black church fires: Suspect arrested after 'suspicious' blazes at historic churches Posted: 11 Apr 2019 12:09 PM PDT  The suspect is the white son of a sheriff's deputy whose father helped arrange for his son's arrest, authorities said.
|
| Barr Forms Team to Review FBI's Actions in Trump Probe Posted: 10 Apr 2019 07:00 AM PDT  This indicates that Barr is looking into allegations that Republican lawmakers have been pursuing for more than a year -- that the investigation into President Donald Trump and possible collusion with Russia was tainted at the start by anti-Trump bias in the FBI and Justice Department. "I am reviewing the conduct of the investigation and trying to get my arms around all the aspects of the counterintelligence investigation that was conducted during the summer of 2016," Barr told a House panel on Tuesday.
|
| U.S. attorney general's 'spying' remarks anger Democrats Posted: 10 Apr 2019 06:17 PM PDT ![U.S. attorney general's 'spying' remarks anger Democrats]( "U.S. attorney general's 'spying' remarks anger Democrats") Barr, who was appointed by Trump, is already facing criticism by congressional Democrats for how he has handled the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on the probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election, and his comments about surveillance brought more derision from Democratic senators. Barr told senators at a hearing on Wednesday that he felt the need to further probe how U.S. intelligence agencies conducted themselves in the Russia investigation because "spying on a political campaign is a big deal." "So you're not suggesting, though, that spying occurred?" asked Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the Senate appropriations subcommittee.
|
| A New Subaru Outback Is Coming Next Week and Here's What to Expect Posted: 10 Apr 2019 06:40 AM PDT  Now that the new Legacy is here, we can guess what the next-gen ruggedized wagon will be like.
|
| Reports: Alaska Airlines flight forced to land early after 'belligerent' passenger lights cigarette Posted: 11 Apr 2019 06:24 AM PDT  An Alaska Airlines flight was forced to land early on Wednesday after a "belligerent" passenger lit a cigarette, according to reports.
|
| NASA’s Curiosity rover just drilled a new hole on Mars Posted: 10 Apr 2019 05:07 PM PDT  The year 2019 started off on a bittersweet note for NASA with the unfortunate demise of the incredibly trusty Opportunity rover on Mars. It was a sad day for the scientific community as a whole, but it wasn't the only rover cruising around on the Red Planet, and NASA's Curiosity rover has continued its stellar work even as it (probably) mourns the loss of its comrade.Now, continuing on its quest to learn more about the Martian landscape, Curiosity has successfully drilled another hole in a new location, securing a sample that the robot will soon analyze.In a new blog post, NASA's Curiosity team reveals the successful drilling attempt at a target that's been nicknamed "Aberlady." The rock is one of many that Curiosity has sampled since it landed on Mars way back in 2012, but the data it provides is no less important."We'll kick off the Sol 2372 plan with a short science block to analyze 2 targets with ChemCam: the inside of the drill hole (Aberlady) and a nearby bedrock target 'Mayar.' We'll also use Navcam to conduct a dust devil observation," the Curiosity team writes. "The next step in our drill campaign is to determine if we collected powdered rock sample and whether it is behaving as expected."This might seem like a normal day for Curiosity, and in many ways it is, but the fact that Curiosity is successfully drilling anything at this point is a testament to NASA ingenuity. You see, Curiosity isn't drilling things in the way that it was originally designed, and after an unexpected failure back in late 2017 NASA engineers were forced to come up with a new way for the rover to use its drill.Originally, Curiosity was designed to brace its drilling instrument against a surface using stabilizing arms before extending the drill bit. Unfortunately, the mechanism that actually extended the drill bit failed and NASA had to invent a new method. After testing various techniques, NASA ultimately commanded Curiosity to physically push the drill bit into its targets with its robotic arm, foregoing the use of the stabilizing posts.As you can see by the hole in the photo above, the new method has proved useful, and Curiosity has been able to continue its work despite the unfortunate failure.
|
| Dalai Lama hospitalized with chest infection, feeling better Posted: 09 Apr 2019 09:57 PM PDT  NEW DELHI (AP) — The Dalai Lama has been hospitalized in the Indian capital with a chest infection and is feeling better, his spokesman said Wednesday.
|
| Worst day of fighting as rebel army advances on Tripoli Posted: 10 Apr 2019 11:31 AM PDT  Fighting in Tripoli intensified drastically on Wednesday as rival armies brought tanks and multiple rocket-launch systems to bear in the deadly struggle for control of the Libyan capital. The escalation came as Fayez al-Sarraj, the prime minister of the internationally recognised Government of National Accord, issued an address to the nation urging Libyans to defend the capital city from renegade general Khalifa Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army. In an address distributed on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Serraj accused Gen Haftar of sabotaging months of painstaking peace negotiations and said he would resist the general's "coup d'etat" with "firmness and strength". "We have extended our hand of peace, yet forces of Haftar have declared war on our cities and capital," Mr Serraj said. "Accordingly we have issued our instructions and announced the state of general mobilisation for all Libyan armed forces and security services." In an apparent swipe at Gen Haftar's multiple foreign backers, he added: "A final word for the countries that support the conflict between Libyans: fear Allah, stop interfering in our affairs and lift your hands off my country." A Libyan fighter loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) mans a turret mounted on the back of a pickup truck Credit: AFP Gen Haftar, who backs a rival administration based in the east of the country, announced an assault on Tripoli, the seat of the internationally recognised government headed by Mr Serraj, on April 4. The move sparked several days of skirmishes on the southern outskirts of the city and saw both sides launch sporadic airstrikes. The United Nations estimates 4,500 people have been displaced and dozens of people killed since. But local residents said the pitch of the fighting escalated dramatically on Wednesday. "Sporadic loud tank gunfire can be heard very clearly in all of Tripoli. My body is still in one piece but my mind is shattered," said one local resident. "Today it is louder and more violent. Its the fiercest in the last six days." Fighting was concentrated about seven miles to the south and southeast of the city centre, on the LNA's main axis of advance. There were particularity heavy clashes around Ain Zara, seven miles southeast of the city centre, where pro-GNA militiamen from the city of Misrata were reported to be using Grad multiple rocket launchers and tank-fired missiles to drive back LNA forces. A burning vehicle on the path taken by Haftar's army towards Tripoli Credit: AFP The LNA said they had recaptured the disused international airport, which they had earlier lost to government forces, and captured two important barracks, one 30 miles to the south. The reports could not immediately be verified. The United Nations Security Council was due to meet for a closed door emergency session to discuss the crisis on Wednesday evening. Gen Haftar has received material, military, and financial backing over several years from a range of governments including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, France, and Russia, all of which see him as a potential strongman leader with the will to crush dangerous militant Islamist groups. Critics say they have either willfully ignored or deliberately played down Gen Haftar's ambitions to become the undisputed leader of the country in the mold of Muammar Gaddafi. The United Nations Security Council was due to meet for a closed-door talks on the crisis on Wednesday evening. Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary general, said the alliance was "deeply concerned" about the violence and called on all sides to cease fighting.
|
| Mark Riddell, the test-taker whiz in cheating case, expected to plead guilty in court Friday Posted: 11 Apr 2019 01:20 PM PDT  Mark Riddell, the man accused of taking tests for students in an elaborate college admissions scheme, is scheduled to appear Friday in federal court.
|
| Trump Nominee Stephen Moore Says He’ll Challenge Fed’s ‘Growth Phobiacs’ Posted: 11 Apr 2019 06:07 AM PDT  "I'm going to come with the idea -- challenge one fundamental idea that I think is endemic at the Fed, which I think is completely wrong, which is that growth causes inflation. Growth does not cause inflation," he said in an interview on Bloomberg Television on Thursday.
|
| Big turnout for India's giant election, where Modi has an edge Posted: 11 Apr 2019 10:23 AM PDT  People trekked, rode bicycles and drove tractors to polling stations in the world's biggest democratic exercise, with nearly 900 million eligible to vote during seven phases of balloting spread over 39 days. "I've never missed my vote in my life," said Anima Saikia, a 61-year-old woman in the northeastern state of Assam, who was among early voters in the first phase. The game is in our hands right now." Boosted by a surge in nationalist fervor after February's antagonism with Pakistan, Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held the advantage going into the election, opinion polls showed.
|
| Free IRS software for filing taxes to be banned by US Congress in win for TurboTax Posted: 10 Apr 2019 12:17 PM PDT  Congress is poised to pass a bill that would hand a major policy victory to the for-profit tax preparation industry, just in time for Tax Day in America.The bill, titled the Taxpayers First Act, is a wide-ranging bill that includes a provision that would ban the US government from developing a free electronic tax filing system, and is supported by companies like Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, and H&R Block.Those companies have lobbied Congress for years now to block the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from developing a free system to help taxpayers file online and would compete with their product, sinking a combined $6.6m into efforts related to the bill just last year.The passage of the provision would safeguard the profits of the private tax preparation corporation, which experts say run a system that makes filing taxes more difficult than it needs to be."This could be a disaster. It could be the final nail in the coffin of the idea of the IRS ever being able to create its own program," Mandi Matlock, a tax lawyer with the National Consumer Law Centre, told ProPublica.The legislation received a major boost last week after the House Ways and Means Committee voted to advance the legislation.It has bipartisan support in that committee, where it is co-sponsored by Democratic Representative John Lewis and Republican Representative Mike Kelly.Some 70 per cent of Americans qualify to use free tax-preparer programmes run by the companies in question, but just 3 per cent of eligible taxpayers use the service, according to the Free File Alliance, a private industry group.The new bill is expected to preserve those circumstances, which critics say allows the companies to purposefully under market their free services.
|
| The real deal: astronomers deliver first photo of black hole Posted: 10 Apr 2019 06:30 AM PDT  Astronomers on Wednesday unveiled the first photo of a black hole, one of the star-devouring monsters scattered throughout the Universe and obscured by impenetrable shields of gravity. Scientists have been puzzling over invisible "dark stars" since the 18th century, but never has one been spied by a telescope, much less photographed. The supermassive black hole now immortalised by a far-flung network of radio telescopes is 50 million lightyears away in a galaxy known as M87.
|
| Lyft shares hit new low as Uber IPO chatter revs up Posted: 10 Apr 2019 02:54 PM PDT  Shares of recently listed Lyft Inc fell to a fresh low and closed the day down almost 11 percent on Wednesday on news that rival Uber Technologies Inc was close to filing its own initial public offering. In ride-hailing company Lyft's ninth day of trading its shares clocked their lowest closing price since going public on March 29. Reuters reported late Tuesday that rival Uber would seek to sell around $10 billion worth of stock in an IPO, and file the offering with regulators as soon as Thursday.
|
| Denver travel mess: 750 flight cancellations and counting Posted: 10 Apr 2019 05:17 PM PDT  Southwest and United airlines have big operations in Denver and have each canceled 200 flights into and out of Denver International Airport.
|
| Sanders relaunches 'Medicare for All' with Dems divided Posted: 10 Apr 2019 01:35 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Bernie Sanders launched a revamped "Medicare for All" plan on Wednesday, highlighting a divide among Democrats over one of their bedrock 2020 campaign issues — the future of health care in America.
|
| Large dog in plane’s cockpit likely caused fatal crash, NTSB says Posted: 11 Apr 2019 08:49 AM PDT  The NTSB concluded that the cause of a June 2017 accident at Monticello Regional Airport in Iowa was the result of the pilot having a large dog as a passenger in the cockpit.
|
| Four questions on warcrimes, Sudan's Bashir and the ICC Posted: 11 Apr 2019 07:06 AM PDT  Experts said Thursday the toppling of Sudanese strongman Omar al-Bashir raised the possibility of him standing trial before the Hague-based International Criminal Court, where he faces genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity charges. Here are four key questions about Bashir and the ICC, the world's only independent tribunal set up in 2002 to try those suspected of the world's worst crimes. Why is Bashir wanted by the ICC?
|
| New York Is Trying to Release Trump's State Tax Returns. Here's Why That Might Not Work Posted: 10 Apr 2019 09:39 AM PDT  "It's just not as useful as I think people are hoping"
|
| Twitter CEO reveals secret to running two companies: daily meditation and eating just one meal a day Posted: 10 Apr 2019 09:04 AM PDT  Twitter's chief executive Jack Dorsey has revealed he takes daily ice baths and eats only one meal a day in an in-depth interview about his extreme fitness routine. Appearing on a fitness podcast, the billionaire said the "biggest impact" on his mental health has been meditation but said he also does weekend-long fasts to give him the focus and energy to run two companies. The 42-year-old has been meditating for 20 years and spends an hour each morning and evening on the spiritual practice, he told the Ben Greenfield fitness podcast. He has came under fire last year for attending a 10-day meditation retreat in Burma with Twitter users accusing him of ignoring the country's human rights abuses. He later said he needed to "learn more". Mr Dorsey, who co-founded the platform Twitter and mobile payments company Square, said his daily routine includes fasting for 22 hours a day and walking the five mile commute to his office. I did my meditation at Dhamma Mahimã in Pyin Oo Lwin. This is my room. Basic. During the 10 days: no devices, reading, writing, physical excercise, music, intoxicants, meat, talking, or even eye contact with others. It's free: everything is given to meditators by charity. pic.twitter.com/OhJqXKInD3— jack (@jack) December 9, 2018 The daily walk allows him to spend time thinking or listening to podcasts. "I might look a little bit more like I'm jogging than I'm walking... I try to get as much sunlight as possible and then I begin the day 9," he said. The tech chief said skipping breakfast and lunch frees up his day and makes him more productive. His dinner usually consists of meat or fish accompanied with a salad or green vegetables, followed by some fruit or dark chocolate. "During the day, I feel so much more focused... the time back from breakfast and lunch allowed me to focus more on what my day is," he said, adding that it allows him to sleep better. Mr Dorsey said he thought he was hallucinating when he first began fasting Credit: Reuters Mr Dorsey also said he uses a sauna and ice bath for "mental clarity" every evening. He sits in a barrel sauna set at 220F degrees (104C) for 15 minutes followed by three minutes in an ice bath set at 37F degrees (2C). Rather than easing up on himself on weekends, Mr Dorsey said he has trialled 48-hour fasts from Friday to Sunday evening during which he only drinks water. "The first time I did it, like day three, I felt like I was hallucinating. It was a weird state to be in. But as I did it the next two times, it just became so apparent to me how much of our days are centered around meals and how - the experience I had was when I was fasting for much longer, how time really slowed down," he said. Profile | Jack Dorsey Earlier this week it also emerged that Mr Dorsey was received a total salary of just $1.40 from Twitter last year, a nod to its former 140-character per tweet limit. "As a testament to his commitment to and belief in Twitter's long-term value creation potential, our CEO, Jack Dorsey, declined all compensation and benefits for 2015, 2016 and 2017, and in 2018 he declined all compensation and benefits other than a salary of $1.40," a section of the company's filing stated. However, Mr Dorsey owns 2.3 per cent of the company's stock. He also made an estimated $80 million (£61 million) after taxes from selling 1.7 million shares in his second company Square, according to Forbes.
|
