| ‘World’s most dangerous bird’ kills owner after attacking him when he fell over at Florida home Posted: 14 Apr 2019 01:38 AM PDT  A 75-year-old man has been killed by the large flightless bird he owned after he fell on his property in Florida.Police found the man badly wounded by a cassowary when they were called to his property, where the victim kept exotic animals, on Friday.Cassowaries are known as the "world's most dangerous bird", according to San Diego Zoo.Alachua County Sheriff Department said the man was probably injured by the bird's 4-inch, dagger-like claws.Police are investigating the incident but say initial information suggests it was a "tragic accident".The victim, named as Marvin Hajos, was taken to hospital by paramedics, where he later died from his injuries.He was reportedly breeding the birds, which are native to Australia and New Guinea."It looks like it was accidental," deputy chief Jeff Taylor told the Gainesville Sun newspaper."My understanding is that the gentleman was in the vicinity of the bird and at some point fell. When he fell, he was attacked."Police added that the cassowary involved in the attack "remains secured on private property at this time."A woman who identified herself as the victim's partner told the Gainesville Sun that he had died "doing what he loved" but chose not to make any further statement.Cassowaries are similar to emus and are among the largest bird species in the world, weighing up to 60kg and reaching up to 6ft in height.San Diego Zoo said cassowaries "can slice open any predator or potential threat with a single swift kick", due to their long claws.The birds are not traditionally raised in the US but are sought after by collectors.The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission lists the cassowary as Class II wildlife which can "pose a danger to people" and require a permit for ownership.Agencies contributed to this report
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| Democrats set new deadline for release of Trump tax returns Posted: 13 Apr 2019 09:06 AM PDT  House committee chair has authority to demand releaseWhite House has said tax information will not be shared Donald Trump has refused to release his tax returns. Photograph: Carlos Barría/Reuters Donald Trump's tax returns must be handed to House Democrats by 23 April, a leading committee chair said on Saturday. Democrats initially set a 10 April deadline for the returns but this week treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said he needed more time to assess issues raised by the request. On Saturday the chairman of the House ways and means committee, Richard Neal of Massachusetts, wrote to Internal Revenue Service commissioner Charles Rettig to say a failure to comply with the new deadline would be "interpreted as a denial of my request". Constitutionally, Neal has the power to demand the IRS release tax returns for any US individual. He has asked for six years of the president's personal and business returns. In his letter, he wrote that his power to make the demand "is unambiguous and raises no complicated legal issues". Trump was at his golf course in Virginia on Saturday but the White House has already said it will refuse to release such information for a president who as a candidate broke with convention but not law by refusing to make his tax returns public. Last week, acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told Fox News Sunday Democrats would "never" see Trump's tax returns. Claiming the request was purely political, Mulvaney added: "That is not going to happen and they know it." Trump's personal attorney, William Consovoy, has called the request a "gross abuse of power". Mnuchin used similar language in a letter to Neal this week. In his letter to Rettig, a Trump appointee, Neal said concerns expressed by the administration "lack merit" and added: "Judicial precedent commands that none of the concerns raised can legitimately be used to deny the committee's request. "It is not the proper function of the IRS, treasury or justice [departments] to question or second guess the motivations of the committee or its reasonable determinations regarding its need for the requested tax returns and return information." Legal experts expect a final denial by the Trump administration to lead to a subpoena from House Democrats and a fight in the courts. Trump has repeatedly claimed to be unable to release his tax returns because he is under audit. Experts have repeatedly pointed out that being under audit does not preclude the release of such information. The president's tax returns have duly become a Holy Grail for his opponents and a source of constant speculation, not least during the Mueller investigation into links between the Trump campaign and Russia. Trump on tax, in September 2016. In September 2016, in his first presidential debate against Hillary Clinton, Trump said not paying federal taxes "makes me smart". In October that year, shortly before the election, the New York Times reported that Trump may not have paid federal income tax in 18 years. In March 2017, the MSNBC host Rachel Maddow obtained and made public a portion of Trump's tax return for 2005, which showed he had paid $35m in federal taxes that year. It was thought Trump himself might have been behind the leak. In October 2018, the New York Times released a major investigative report which said the Trump family engaged in "dubious tax schemes during the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud". A lawyer for Trump said the Times report contained "allegations of fraud and tax evasion [that] are 100% false, and highly defamatory" and said "there was no fraud or tax evasion by anyone". An official inquiry followed. In November 2018, shortly after Democrats took back the House, putting them in position to demand the relevant information, Trump said at a press conference his tax returns were too complicated for the public to understand.
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| This Country Has a Choice to Make: F-35s, F/A-18 Super Hornets or a European Fighter Posted: 14 Apr 2019 10:57 AM PDT  The Swiss air force is beginning to test foreign warplane designs as part of a lengthy and much-delayed, $8-billion effort finally to replace the air arm's old Northrop Grumman F-5E/F Tiger fighters.On April 12, 2019, two Eurofighter Typhoons -- an FGR4 single-seat, multi-role variant and a T3 two-seat trainer, both operated by British Aerospace -- reportedly flew missions from Payerne."A Swiss evaluator was noted flying in the two-seater," Scramble magazine reported.Switzerland is testing five different aircraft. Beside the Typhoon, the candidates including Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Dassault's Rafale, Lockheed Martin's F-35A Lightning II and Saab's JAS-39E/F Gripen."Between April and July 2019, the five candidates will be in Switzerland for aerial and ground tests for a period of two weeks each, with public viewing opportunities," according to Scramble.> These tests will complete the same program with the objective to check the capacities of the aircraft and the data of the offers submitted by the different manufacturers. Each candidate will perform eight missions with specific tasks.
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| UN says 120 killed since fighting broke out in Libya Posted: 14 Apr 2019 06:41 AM PDT  CAIRO (AP) — More than 120 people have been killed since a Libyan military commander launched an assault on the capital 10 days ago, igniting clashes with rival militias, the U.N. health agency said Sunday.
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| MPs urge UK to cooperate with Sweden in Assange case Posted: 13 Apr 2019 03:14 AM PDT  More than 70 British lawmakers have urged their government to prioritise any extradition bid Sweden might make for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is also wanted in the United States. Assange was arrested on Thursday at Ecuador's London embassy on allegations of skipping bail, and on a US extradition warrant related to a huge leak of official documents. In the letter, the MPs and peers urge British Home Secretary Sajid Javid to "give every assistance to Sweden should they want to revive and pursue the investigation".
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| View Photos of the I.D. Roomzz Electric SUV Concept Posted: 14 Apr 2019 04:15 AM PDT |
| American Airlines extends Boeing 737 MAX cancellations through Aug. 19 Posted: 14 Apr 2019 07:00 AM PDT ![American Airlines extends Boeing 737 MAX cancellations through Aug. 19]( "American Airlines extends Boeing 737 MAX cancellations through Aug. 19") American Airlines Group Inc said on Sunday it is extending Boeing Co 737 MAX cancellations through Aug. 19, leading to about 115 daily canceled flights, or 1.5 percent of its daily summer flying schedule. Boeing's 737 MAX aircraft was grounded worldwide in March following a fatal crash on Ethiopian Airlines that killed all 157 aboard, just five months after a similar crash on Lion Air that killed all 189 passengers and crew. American Airlines owns 24 MAX jets and is awaiting delivery of 16 more this year.
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| 'Radicalized' couple behind viral AOC ad launches pro-socialism, Netflix-like service Posted: 14 Apr 2019 12:44 PM PDT  Two filmmakers who gained national attention for making a campaign video for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are launching a pro-socialism media company.
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| An F-35 Will Never be Alone: Russia Seems to Warn America's Stealth Fighter Posted: 14 Apr 2019 08:00 AM PDT  This is perhaps the most aggressive illustration of a new Russian rhetorical approach. In a move that would raise eyebrows even by Cold War standards of political saber-rattling, the Russian Embassy in Washington seemed to threaten America's F-35 fighter with Vietnam-era propaganda footage.(This first appeared earlier in the year.)Last month, the official handle of the Russian Embassy in the US tweeted the following update:> 'If a Russia... ever was to see an F-35 inside its airspace', we would love to send Chief of Staff of the @usairforce Gen. David L. Goldfein 'message with two words' — 'remember Vietnam' > 'An F-35 will never be alone'As observed by Foxtrot Alpha, the tweet is a direct reference to a recent Brookings Institution lecture given by Air Force chief of staff Gen. David Goldfein. During his talk, General Goldfein gave this assessment of the F-35's capabilities:"If a China or a Russia or another adversary on the globe ever were to see an F-35 inside their airspace," Goldfein said. "I would love to send them all messages with two words — 'we're here. "It's not 'I'm here,'" he said. "An F-35 will never be alone."
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| Stratolaunch takes off: World's largest plane - with 117-metre wingspan - completes first flight Posted: 13 Apr 2019 07:29 PM PDT  The world's largest airplane - a behemoth boasting six engines, two fuselages and a wingspan broader than a football pitch - made its first test flight on Saturday in California. Taking to the skies over the Mojave Desert in California on Saturday, it was the first flight for the carbon-composite plane built by Stratolaunch Systems, started by late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, as the company enters the lucrative private space market. Designed to send humans into space at a fraction of the cost of rockets, the white airplane called Roc took off shortly before 7 a.m. Pacific time (3pm UK time) and stayed in the air for more than two hours before landing safely back at the Mojave Air and Space Port, where a crowd of hundreds of people cheered. "What a fantastic first flight," Stratolaunch Chief Executive Officer Jean Floyd said. "Today's flight furthers our mission to provide a flexible alternative to ground launched systems, Mr Floyd said. Thrilled to share that today the Stratolaunch aircraft flew for the first time! ✈ Check out the video here ⬇ StratoFirstFlighthttps://t.co/rluHdNRtJ4— Stratolaunch (@Stratolaunch) April 14, 2019 "We are incredibly proud of the Stratolaunch team, today's flight crew, our partners at Northrup Grumman's Scaled Composites and the Mojave Air and Space Port." The plane is designed to drop rockets and other space vehicles weighing up to 500,000 pounds at an altitude of 35,000 feet and has been billed by the company as making satellite deployment as "easy as booking an airline flight." Saturday's flight, which saw the plane reach a maximum speed of 189 miles per hour and altitudes of 17,000 feet, was meant to test its performance and handling qualities, according to Stratolaunch. Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975, announced in 2011 that he had formed the privately funded Stratolaunch. The Stratolaunch aircraft has two fuselages and is powered by six Boeing 747 engines Credit: AFP The company seeks to cash in on higher demand in coming years for vessels that can put satellites in orbit, competing in the United States with other space entrepreneurs such as Elon Musk's SpaceX and United Launch Alliance - a partnership between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Stratolaunch has said that it intends to launch its first rockets from the Roc in 2020 at the earliest. Allen died in October 2018 while suffering from non-Hodgkins' lymphoma, just months after the plane's development was unveiled. "We all know Paul would have been proud to witness today's historic achievement," said Jody Allen, Chair of Vulcan Inc and Trustee of the Paul G. Allen Trust. "The aircraft is a remarkable engineering achievement and we congratulate everyone involved."
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| Ilhan Omar hits back after Trump triggers deluge of abuse: 'I did not run for Congress to be silent' Posted: 14 Apr 2019 06:10 AM PDT  Ilhan Omar hit back at Donald Trump after he shared a video criticising her comments about the 9/11 terror attacks. "I did not run for Congress to be silent," the Democrat representative for Minnesota tweeted, before vowing "to fight and to defend our democracy."Ms Omar, who was one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, added: "No one person – no matter how corrupt, inept, or vicious – can threaten my unwavering love for America."I stand undeterred to continue fighting for equal opportunity in our pursuit of happiness for all Americans."The congresswoman has faced increasing attacks since the US president shared footage showig Ms Omar referring to 9/11 as "some people did something", adding the caption "We will never forget!". Republicans have accused her of downplaying the terror attacks, and Mr Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr have both either retweeted or liked comments describing Ms Omar as a "sick monster" and "not American".In her response, Ms Omar wrote: "This country was founded on the ideas of justice, of liberty, of the pursuit of happiness. But these core beliefs are under threat. Each and every day."We are under threat by an administration that would rather cage children than pass comprehensive immigration reform."An administration that would rather give billionaires tax breaks than provide a little cushion for working people. An administration that would rather attack fellow Americans who are transgender and wear our country's uniform than fight for equality and opportunity for all."I did not run for Congress to be silent. I did not run for Congress to sit on the sidelines. I ran because I believed it was time to restore moral clarity and courage to Congress. To fight and to defend our democracy."Thank you for standing with me – against an administration that ran on banning Muslims from this country – to fight for the America we all deserve."Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Bernie Sanders and congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were among the Democrats to declare their support for Ms Omar."The President is inciting violence against a sitting Congresswoman—and an entire group of Americans based on their religion. It's disgusting. It's shameful. And any elected leader who refuses to condemn it shares responsibility for it," said Ms Warren.Beto O'Rourke said: "The president's actions are an incitement to violence against Rep Omar and Muslim Americans across the country. There is a cost and consequence to this rhetoric. Members of both parties must stand together and condemn the president's dangerous actions."It comes days after a man was arrested for phoning up Ms Omar's office and threatening to "put a bullet in her skull".Ms Omar has previously been accused of antisemitism over comments she made about the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
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| Red Cross appeals for three staff missing in Syria since 2013 Posted: 14 Apr 2019 02:30 PM PDT ![Red Cross appeals for three staff missing in Syria since 2013]( "Red Cross appeals for three staff missing in Syria since 2013") The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) appealed on Sunday for information on the whereabouts of three employees abducted in Syria more than five years ago and last known to have been held by Islamic State. Breaking its silence on the case, the independent aid agency identified the three as Louisa Akavi, a nurse from New Zealand, and Syrian drivers Alaa Rajab and Nabil Bakdounes. U.S.-backed forces proclaimed the capture of Islamic State's last territory in Syria last month, eliminating its rule over a caliphate which it had proclaimed in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
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| Many Democrats and liberals are cheering Assange's arrest. That's foolish Posted: 14 Apr 2019 10:47 AM PDT  Some have argued that Assange isn't under attack for 'journalism,' but for 'activism.' That's a troubling logic to fall for 'This prosecution is about silencing dissent rather than enforcing the law.' Photograph: Victoria Jones/PAThe attempted extradition and prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange by the United States should be an obvious outrage. It's a very clear effort by the US government to punish those who expose embarrassing secrets about its actions, and it could set a precedent that would threaten journalists everywhere. And yet many of those who should be championing Assange's cause and condemning the prosecution are doing exactly the opposite. Plenty of liberals and mainstream journalists are inexplicably cheering for Assange to be punished.There has been plenty of over-the-top gloating about Assange's arrest. In the Atlantic, Michael Weiss said Assange "got what he deserved". Some Democratic politicians have been salivating at the possibility of prosecuting him. Hillary Clinton said that Assange needs to "answer for what he has done". Charles Schumer said he hoped Assange "will soon be held to account for his meddling in our elections on behalf of Putin and the Russian government". Dianne Feinstein has been calling for Assange to be brought here and prosecuted since 2010. West Virginia Democratic senator Joe Manchin went even further, with the truly disturbing comment that "now [Assange is] our property and we can get the facts and truth from him". Nor did Bernie Sanders speak up to defend Assange, opting for the same shameful silence he has taken on the imprisonment of whistleblower Chelsea Manning. The other 2020 candidates, with the exception of Mike Gravel and Tulsi Gabbard, have also stayed quiet.There's a lot to be disturbed by here. First, it's not clear that people like Schumer even care about the question of whether Assange broke any laws. Assange has been charged over allegedly helping Chelsea Manning to crack a Department of Defense password in 2010. The indictment has nothing to do with Putin or the 2016 election. Yet Democrats are thrilled enough to have a longtime villain in the clasps of the United States government that the actual charges, and their implications for free speech, are irrelevant.Those free speech questions are serious, and nobody inclined to celebrate Assange's arrest should wave them away. The documents WikiLeaks published, obtained by Chelsea Manning, revealed evidence of serious criminal wrongdoing by the United States armed forces. They shined a crucial light on some of our government's ugliest actions abroad. Because the US government does not like to have its secrets exposed, and needs to send a message to anyone who undermines its authority, it needs to prove that its security state has global reach and that even people outside the US will be seized.This prosecution is about silencing dissent rather than enforcing the law. The accusation against Assange is that nearly 10 years ago he tried unsuccessfully to assist in breaking a government password. How often does doing this result in a years-long federal investigation and an extradition request? Or US senators declaring a foreign national the "property" of this country? The Obama administration fished for years to find a charge that would stick to Assange, but ultimately couldn't find a way of going after him that wouldn't also criminalize ordinary acts of journalism. Donald Trump's government is less scrupulous.Some have argued that Assange isn't under attack for "journalism", but for "activism". Frida Ghitis of CNN wrote that Assange "is not a journalist and therefore not entitled to the protections that the law – and democracy – demand for legitimate journalists". This is a dangerous position. Generally, the law doesn't actually distinguish between "journalists" and "non-journalists", giving everyone the same protections. This is for good reason: if such a distinction becomes legally relevant, it means the government is empowered to decide who the True Journalists are.Those of us who work for independent media outlets – I edit a small-circulation political magazine – will always operate under the threat of being deemed "illegitimate" and having our rights taken away. Even if you think Assange is "not a journalist", the precedent his case sets has ramifications for journalists everywhere. And I do mean everywhere: remember, Assange is Australian, so don't be surprised when the US tries to seize any journalist around the world who can be alleged to have violated one of its laws.In defending Assange on this issue, some may be tempted to say "Of course I don't like the guy, but…" I'm not going to say that, because it should be obvious that one's opinion of Assange is completely irrelevant to the issue. Michael Weiss said nobody should fall for Assange's "phony pleas for sympathy, his megalomania, and his promiscuity with the facts". The Washington Post's editorial board said he is "he is long overdue for personal accountability". True or not, these are not the issue.You don't need to know what Weiss, the Post, or I think of Assange's morals. What you need to know is that anyone who doesn't stick up for him against this prosecution is both unprincipled and foolish. Unprincipled, because they don't care about protecting the liberties that are essential to exposing government crimes, and foolish because authoritarianism doesn't come all at once. It creeps slowly, normalizing itself bit by bit, until you don't realize that it's too late. First they came for Assange, and if you say nothing, they're coming for you next. * Nathan Robinson is the editor of Current Affairs
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| Millennial 'Mayor Pete' Buttigieg Joins 2020 Democratic Race Posted: 14 Apr 2019 03:30 PM PDT  Millennial 'Mayor Pete' Buttigieg Joins 2020 Democratic Race
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| 'Justice for Palestine' protesters interrupt Cory Booker's campaign kickoff speech Posted: 13 Apr 2019 01:02 PM PDT  NEWARK, N.J. — Cory Booker delivered a message of "love" and unity at his campaign's "hometown kickoff" on Saturday, but the New Jersey senator's speech was interrupted by pro-Palestinian activists shouting "Justice for Palestine."
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| Nigeria President Says Election Rival Was Not a Citizen Posted: 14 Apr 2019 01:50 AM PDT ![Nigeria President Says Election Rival Was Not a Citizen]( "Nigeria President Says Election Rival Was Not a Citizen") The allegation against Atiku Abubakar, the opposition candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, was made in a petition filed by Buhari's All Progressives Congress to the panel in Abuja, according to a spokesman of that party. Abubakar's party filed a petition at the Presidential Elections Tribunal last month to nullify Buhari's victory on allegations that voting was rigged in favor of the incumbent. Buhari, 76, was declared the winner for his second term, with 56 percent of the vote, while Abubakar garnered 41 percent.
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| La. church fires: Documents claim suspect bought gas can before crimes Posted: 14 Apr 2019 10:50 AM PDT  Authorities used surveillance video, debit card purchases and cell phone data to tie Holden Matthews to three church fires, according to court records.
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| From the C/D Archives: How Has the Volkswagen Jetta GLI Changed from 1988 to 2019? Posted: 13 Apr 2019 11:30 AM PDT  It's remarkable how similar our 1988 model test is to the one we published last week.
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| North Korea's Kim Jong Un gives U.S. to year-end to become more flexible Posted: 13 Apr 2019 06:06 AM PDT  Kim said he will wait "till the end of this year" for the United States to decide to be more flexible, according to KCNA. "It is essential for the U.S. to quit its current calculation method and approach us with a new one," Kim said in a speech to the Supreme People's Assembly on Friday, KCNA said. Trump and Kim have met twice, in Hanoi in February and Singapore in June, building goodwill but failing to agree on a deal to lift sanctions in exchange for North Korea abandoning its nuclear and missile programs.
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| The Latest: Martin Truex Jr. wins at Richmond Raceway Posted: 13 Apr 2019 07:55 PM PDT  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Latest on the NASCAR Cup race Saturday night at Richmond Raceway (all times local):
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| The breakout star of Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 campaign? His husband Chasten Posted: 12 Apr 2019 10:00 PM PDT  Chasten Buttigieg has gained a sizable following – and boosted his husband's campaign – with his candid social media posts about life on the trailPete Buttigieg watches as his husband, Chasten, plays with their dog Buddy at their home in South Bend, Indiana. Photograph: Joshua Lott/The Washington Post/Getty ImagesAlthough he is yet to formally enter the 2020 presidential race, Pete Buttigieg has wowed crowds at town halls, raised more money than better-known rivals and placed near the top of Iowa polls.It has been a remarkable three months for the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, a rise that might only be matched by that of his husband, Chasten Buttigieg.The pair have crossed the country together and Chasten's documentation of life on the campaign trail has made him a breakout star in his own right – and a boost to his husband's campaign.The 29-year-old's funny and candid posts on Twitter and Instagram have won him more than 240,000 followers as he offers up a more carefree side to his husband's earnest persona. Having taken a sabbatical from teaching to focus on the campaign, he has been a hit offline too, winning rave reviews earlier this month for a speech at a Human Rights Campaign gala.Pete seems well aware of his husband's popularity. At a recent rally in New Hampshire, one of the loudest cheers came when he mentioned Chasten. But Chasten's role is not just that of a supportive husband, blithely tweeting policy proposals and fundraising links. He is popular because he posts the sort of things anyone might post.Photos of the couple's dogs, for example, go down particularly well. They have two: Truman, a labrador-beagle mix, and Buddy, a puggle who only has one eye.Chasten's excitement at his husband's success has also found an audience. He eagerly tweets out positive articles and praise but his position outside the campaign also means he can address things his husband, who would be the first openly gay president, might ignore.> Reporter: will your husband play a role in your campaign? > Peter: yeah, I think he's behind you pic.twitter.com/D5BBoR13gX> > — Chasten Buttigieg (@Chas10Buttigieg) March 29, 2019After a handful of articles appeared online asking if Pete Buttigieg was good or bad for the gay community – the Outline ran the headline "Why Pete Buttigieg is bad for gays" – Chasten was happy to wade in."I definitely thought the 'he's not skinny enough' comments would come first," he wrote in a post which drew a supportive response from Adam Rippon, the first openly gay American to win a medal at the Winter Olympics.Pete's rapid rise from small-city mayor to a serious contender to be the next president probably seems a rapid change for the couple, who had their first date – an evening of drinking beer and eating scotch eggs – in September 2015."Once I saw he was down for the Scotch egg, I knew it had a shot," Pete recalled to the New York Times in a splashy feature about their wedding in June 2018. The ceremony included a reading from the supreme court ruling that legalised same-sex marriage, according to the Times, before the pair were driven away in a "cherry red 1961 Studebaker Lark VIII".Chasten's parents were there but he has talked about the difficulty of coming out to them as an 18-year-old – he ended up moving out of the family home and sleeping in his car and on friends' couches. He regularly posts motivational messages for people who might find themselves in a similar situation."For many of us, coming out was, and is, an extremely painful process," he wrote earlier this month. "Perhaps, like me, you medicated, prayed and begged. Sharing our stories matter. Let's bust the stigma together."> Your time in the closet and your journey to coming out belong to you. You are not required to open healed wounds or write lengthy threads in order to explain your worth to others who aren't willing to see it themselves. You matter first.> > — Chasten Buttigieg (@Chas10Buttigieg) April 2, 2019Chasten reflected on his newfound fame in his speech to the Human Rights Campaign, telling the crowd: "I now live in a world where people take photos of me in the deodorant aisle at the grocery store."He had a serious message too, mentioning how "the grace of one supreme court vote" enabled him and Pete to marry. He closed his speech by stressing the need for an Equality Act, then added in a plug for his husband."We need someone in the White House who will sign the Equality Act into law," he said. "And luckily, I know a guy."
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| Consumer Reports' Guide to Spring Cleaning Posted: 13 Apr 2019 03:00 AM PDT  After feeling cooped up all winter, it's refreshing to finally throw open the windows and spend time outdoors without a snow shovel in your hands. But along with the benefits of extra sunlight co...
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| Game of Thrones Meets International Relations: A Match Made In Heaven? Posted: 13 Apr 2019 12:57 PM PDT  George R. R. Martin, author of the acclaimed A Song of Ice and Fire book series which has been brilliantly adapted for television as HBO's Game of Thrones, is fond of invoking a quote by William Faulkner that, "The only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself." While both Thrones and its literary inspiration have done a masterful job portraying such conflict, fans of the series have been equally if not more transfixed by the external conflicts erupting around Martin's characters. Game of Thrones' depiction of a sprawling and intricate multiparty struggle for political and military control of the continent of Westeros has produced a depiction of war, diplomacy, and political intrigue that is as compelling as it is brutal.While Thrones' violence, sex, witty banter, and ice zombies have proven more than sufficient to capture the imagination of the casual television viewer, it is the show's rich portrayal of complex political questions that has helped attract many students and practitioners of foreign policy to the series. Despite its fictional medieval setting, Game of Thrones has provided an excellent lens through which to examine theoretical debates and global problems facing contemporary international relations scholars. With Thrones about to begin its eighth and final season this Sunday, it seems fitting to look back and appreciate the series' deft handling of the very debates that regularly play out in the pages of publications like the National Interest.
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| Roger Stone Attacks Mueller Indictment, Seeks to See Report Posted: 13 Apr 2019 10:48 AM PDT  A longtime Republican political operative and dirty trickster, Stone was indicted in late January on charges he lied to Congress about communications with WikiLeaks, obstructed lawmakers' investigation and tampered with witnesses. In a suite of six sometimes overlapping filings, Stone's lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington to throw out the case against him, arguing that Mueller's investigation was improperly funded, that the special counsel himself was improperly appointed and that the lawmakers to whom Stone allegedly lied never asked Mueller to investigate that possibility.
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| Mall of America incident: Man charged after child possibly pushed from 3rd floor Posted: 13 Apr 2019 07:49 AM PDT  A man has been charged after police allege he critically injured a child at the Mall of America on Friday.
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| Is Charlotte Russe already making a comeback? New company hints it will re-open 100 stores Posted: 13 Apr 2019 03:44 PM PDT  Less than two weeks after hundreds of Charlotte Russe stores closed, the retailer's website and social media accounts are promoting a comeback.
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| Senator Kamala Harris releases 15 years of tax returns Posted: 14 Apr 2019 05:55 AM PDT  Democratic U.S. Senator Kamala Harris released 15 years of tax returns through 2018, the most complete look to date at a presidential candidate's finances
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| Martin Truex Jr. holds off Joey Logano to win at Richmond Posted: 13 Apr 2019 09:08 PM PDT  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Martin Truex Jr. had about 40 laps to go and Clint Bowyer closing fast.
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| Daimler faces probe over 'new cheating software' Posted: 14 Apr 2019 09:10 AM PDT  Daimler confirmed Sunday it was facing a regulatory probe after a report said German authorities have uncovered a previously unknown type of pollution trickery software allegedly installed by the car giant in some of its vehicles. The Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) has initiated a formal hearing procedure, Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported. "We fully cooperate with the Federal Motor Transport Authority and are reviewing the facts," said Daimler in a statement.
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| Five years after Boko Haram kidnap, 112 Chibok girls still missing Posted: 13 Apr 2019 06:50 PM PDT  Aisha Musa Maina digs through an old bag looking for memories of her daughter Hauwa, one of the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped five years ago by Boko Haram jihadists in northeastern Nigeria. The kidnap had caused the family such suffering and sadness it feels as if they were all abducted, Hauwa's mother told AFP. On April 14, 2014, gunmen stormed the Chibok girls' boarding school, kidnapping 276 pupils aged 12-17, 57 of whom managed to escape by jumping from the trucks.
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| New ruling Sudan military council promises civilian Cabinet Posted: 14 Apr 2019 02:14 PM PDT  Sudan's new ruling military council announced Sunday that it will name a civilian prime minister and Cabinet but not a president to help govern the country following the coup that removed longtime leader Omar al-Bashir. An army spokesman, Lt. Gen. Shamseldin Kibashi, also said in televised remarks that the military had begun to overhaul security organizations and would not break up demonstrations that have continued outside the military headquarters since Thursday's coup. The announcement was unlikely to satisfy protesters, who have demanded full civilian rule.
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| Trump Slams Fed Again, Says Stocks Should Be 5,000-10,000 Higher Posted: 14 Apr 2019 08:10 AM PDT  "If the Fed had done its job properly, which it has not, the Stock Market would have been up 5000 to 10,000 additional points," the president tweeted on Sunday. The president delivered his latest assault on the Fed as his motorcade pulled into Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, for a Sunday outing.
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| UPDATE 1-Multiple people shot outside nightclub in Australia Posted: 13 Apr 2019 04:48 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Multiple people shot outside nightclub in Australia]( "UPDATE 1-Multiple people shot outside nightclub in Australia") Multiple people have been shot outside a nightclub in the Australian city of Melbourne, police said on Sunday. Two men were in hospital in critical condition, police said, while two other men had non-life-threatening injuries. A police spokeswoman said by telephone that there was no suggestion the attack was terror-related at this stage.
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| April freebies: Your monthly guide to food specials, meal deals and more Posted: 14 Apr 2019 04:00 AM PDT  April brings big freebie and deal days including National Burrito Day, National Beer Day, Tax Day and National Pretzel Day.
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| Severe damage in the aftermath of a possible tornado Posted: 13 Apr 2019 01:27 PM PDT  A possible tornado in Franklin, Texas left a trail of destruction through this neighborhood.
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| Appeals for restraint as Ukraine's presidential race turns nasty Posted: 13 Apr 2019 07:11 AM PDT  Ukraine's interior ministry on Saturday called on a comedian tipped to become the country's next president and his incumbent rival not to exacerbate tensions ahead of a run-off in a high-stakes election. Nerves are starting to fray as polls show the comic and actor Volodymyr Zelensky easily defeating President Petro Poroshenko for the leadership of a country seen as the biggest frontier between Europe and Russia. "We are approaching the final phase of the election campaign and the atmosphere in society is tense," Ukraine's deputy interior minister Sergiy Yarovyi said in a statement.
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| Self-Driving Light Trucks Will Be Allowed on California Roads Posted: 13 Apr 2019 08:00 AM PDT  With no delivery fees.
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| China's JD.com boss criticises 'slackers' as company makes cuts Posted: 13 Apr 2019 01:47 AM PDT  Liu, who started the company that would become JD.com in 1998, in the note spoke about how in the firm's earliest days he would set his alarm clock to wake him up every two hours to ensure he could offer his customers 24-hour service - a step he said was crucial to JD's success. "JD in the last four, five years has not made any eliminations, so the number of staff has expanded rapidly, the number of people giving orders has grown and grown, while the those who are working have fallen," Liu wrote. The term he used, which is commonly translated in China as "slackers" can be directly translated as people who drift along aimlessly or waste time.
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| 10 deals you don’t want to miss on Sunday: $1 LED light bulbs, $10 wireless charger, Fire TV sale, more Posted: 14 Apr 2019 05:03 AM PDT ![10 deals you don't want to miss on Sunday: $1 LED light bulbs, $10 wireless charger, Fire TV sale, more]( "10 deals you don't want to miss on Sunday: $1 LED light bulbs, $10 wireless charger, Fire TV sale, more") Welcome to another special weekend edition of our daily deals roundups, where we dig through hundreds and hundreds of sales to find you the best of the bunch. Highlights from today's list include a killer sale that gets you Sylvania soft white LED light bulbs for just $1 each when you buy a 24 pack, a fast wireless charging pad in four different colors for just $9.99, the best-selling Bluetooth earbuds on Amazon for $16.99, $10 off the Fire TV Stick 4K and the Fire TV Stick, brand new current-generation Apple iPad tablets starting at just $250 instead of $330, a Bose TV sound bar for only $199, and more. Check out all of Sunday's top deals below.
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| Brazil’s Economy Minister Says He Can ‘Fix’ Petrobras Situation Posted: 13 Apr 2019 03:00 PM PDT  When asked about Bolsonaro's meddling in state-controlled Petrobras' pricing policy this week, Guedes said he'd get more information when he returns home from Washington, where he's been attending the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund. Petrobras shares plunged more than 8 percent on Friday after Bolsonaro called the energy producer's Chief Executive Officer Roberto Castello Branco and ordered him to cancel a planned increase in diesel prices.
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| US, Japan trade talks will include currency: Mnuchin Posted: 13 Apr 2019 01:30 PM PDT  With US-Japan trade talks set to begin Monday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday any agreement will include a requirement to refrain from manipulating currencies to gain an advantage in international trade. The US priority is that countries "don't in any way manipulate their currency for purposes of competitive advantages," Mnuchin told reporters on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is set to hold two days of talks with Japan's Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Monday and Tuesday.
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| Marine Who Served on Iwo Jima Recalls the Time a Japanese Soldier Asked for Some of His Hot Chocolate Posted: 13 Apr 2019 11:00 PM PDT  The Battle of Iwo Jima, which began Feb. 19, 1945, was one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history, as former Cpl. Don Graves knows firsthand and will never forget.He'll also never forget the time a Japanese soldier smelled hot chocolate being brewed near him and called out for him to bring him some. The moment, as he recounted in a video posted to the Marine Corps Facebook page Tuesday, was almost like the Christmas truce that wasn't.Sitting in a fox hole with two other Marines on the fifth week of the battle, he said, Graves decided to make himself some hot chocolate. "So my other two buddies, they said, 'make enough for three of us.'"So there he was, slicing up his chocolate ration with a Ka-Bar and chopping it into a powder. Then he cut off a piece of his Composition C2 demolition charge and used it to light a flame."Just a nice little fire going, and we sat there and we watched it," he said. "And then all of sudden I could smell hot chocolate."Of course, so could everyone else, including enemy soldiers.A few minutes later, he heard a Japanese voice calling out to him, "hey Marine, very good chocoletto. You bring chocoletto here.""If you want chocoletto, you come here and get it," he said back. "He says, 'oh no, you bring here,'" Graves said, laughing."There's humor in combat. Every man that's been in combat knows that sometimes funny things happen."
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| Pete Buttigieg formally enters 2020 race to take on Donald Trump pledging 'courage to reimagine our future' Posted: 14 Apr 2019 02:35 PM PDT  Pete Buttigieg has officially announced his candidacy for president of the United States, promising to bring the "courage to reimagine our future" from his job as mayor of South Bend into the White House.From a partially rebuilt autos factory in the Indiana town he has served as mayor for two terms, the 37-year-old Rhodes Scholar said its resurgence from one of America's top 10 "dying cities" into an attractive location for technology firms illustrates his qualification to take on Donald Trump in 2020."I ran for mayor in 2011 knowing nothing like Studebaker would ever come back, but that we would, our city would, if we had the courage to reimagine our future," Mr Buttigieg said, referencing the car company that once inhabited the building he stood in.The millennial mayor has mounted a surprisingly effective campaign in recent months that has taken him from being a relatively unknown figure in national politics, to one a serious contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.And, in a pool of candidates known for its historic diversity, the mayor who pronounces his name "Boot-Edge-Edge" provides his own set of intrigues: He would be America's first openly gay president, the nation's youngest, and, as a former Navy reservist, the first president to have served in any of the wars launched in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon.Since announcing his exploratory committee, the political progressive has run a campaign that has received a surprising amount of media and voter attention, with more than $7m in funds raised during the first quarter of this year alone.While he has steered away from putting forward detailed policy proposals like some of his rivals in the Democratic field — he maintains that he wants to run a campaign focusing on the story first — Mr Buttigieg has nevertheless focused on several progressive policies that indicate his values as a potential president.He has said that he wants to focus politics on millennials and younger Americans, and said that those voters are particularly impacted by the coming election because younger people are going to be at "the business end" of climate change.The candidate — who has made headlines for speaking Norwegian, and playing piano with singer Ben Folds — has also made waves for his discussion of his sexuality, religion, and how those have come into conflict with that of another famous Hoosier: vice president Mike Pence."Your quarrel is not with me — your quarrel, sir, is with my creator," Mr Buttigieg said last week, addressing "the Mike Pences of the world", who is known for pursuing anti-gay legislation while governor of Indiana.Mr Buttigieg must outpace at least two very well known brands in American politics to become the Democratic nominee, with Bernie Sanders already running and Joe Biden rumoured to be planning a run.That's in addition to the more than a dozen other candidates vying for the nomination, a group that includes the likes of politicians like Kamala Harris, Beto O'Rourke, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and others.But, Mr Buttigieg's success has not been isolated to media hits and fundraising: Just this past week, two separate polls indicated that he had surged to third place in New Hampshire and in Iowa, the first two states that will vote on the nominees next year.
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