| Trump Supports Labeling Antifa A ‘Major Organization Of Terror’ Posted: 27 Jul 2019 01:08 PM PDT  President Donald Trump lent support to labeling Antifa a terrorist organization Saturday, calling the group a collection of "gutless Radical Left Wack Jobs.""Consideration is being given to declaring ANTIFA, the gutless Radical Left Wack Jobs who go around hitting (only non-fighters) people over the heads with baseball bats, a major Organization of Terror (along with MS-13 & others)," Trump wrote. "Would make it easier for police to do their job!"It is unclear what prompted Trump's remarks, but he appeared to refer to a resolution proposed earlier this month by Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy to label Antifa a terrorist group."Antifa is a terrorist organization composed of hateful, intolerant radicals who pursue their extreme agenda through aggressive violence," Cruz said when announcing the resolution July 19.Cruz and Cassidy were responding to the Antifa attack on journalist Andy Ngo at a protest in Portland June 29. Ngo, an editor for Quillette who has tracked the Antifa movement, had his camera equipment stolen and was bloodied and bruised in the attack, which was caught on film. Ngo also said he suffered a head injury.Cruz was assailed by members of the Washington, D.C., chapter of Antifa at a restaurant last September. After chasing him and his wife out of the restaurant, the group's Twitter account sent the Republican a message warning that he was "not safe."
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| Two dogs escape animal shelter and kill 29 cats in Alabama Posted: 27 Jul 2019 04:11 AM PDT  Two pitbull dogs broke free from their cages at an Alabama animal shelter and mauled 29 cats to death. Workers at the Dothan Animal Shelter found the dead cats on Thursday morning, local media reported.Shelter director Bill Banks told television outlet WTVY that it appeared the two dogs had forced their way out of their cages and pushed against the fence of the cat area to get inside. City mayor Mark Saliba told CNN the incident would be investigated."Unfortunately, tragic events sometimes fuel us to push things forward a little bit faster," he said. "I'm thinking this will do just that.""We are all saddened and surprised by the event that took place," Mr Saliba said. "The safety of our animals is the top priority at the shelter."Officials told local media the dogs were subsequently captured, but did not say whether the dogs would be killed.Members of the public have taken to social media to express their anger at what happened, with many calling for an investigation into the shelter.
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| UPDATE 1-Eight killed in quake, aftershocks in Philippines, 60 injured - agency Posted: 26 Jul 2019 07:56 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Eight killed in quake, aftershocks in Philippines, 60 injured - agency]( "UPDATE 1-Eight killed in quake, aftershocks in Philippines, 60 injured - agency") An earthquake and aftershocks struck islands off the north of the Philippines on Saturday killing eight people and injuring 60, disaster officials said. An initial quake of magnitude 5.4 that struck the Batanes islands was followed shortly by an aftershock of magnitude 5.9, according to Philippine government data. Another big aftershock struck a little later.
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| View Photos of the 2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro Posted: 26 Jul 2019 11:51 AM PDT |
| Tennessee inmate declines to choose execution method Posted: 26 Jul 2019 10:45 AM PDT ![Tennessee inmate declines to choose execution method]( "Tennessee inmate declines to choose execution method") A Tennessee death row inmate has declined to choose the method of his execution scheduled for mid-August, a non-decision that would result in his death by lethal injection. Tennessee Department of Correction spokeswoman Neysa Taylor confirmed in an email Friday that Stephen West declined to pick his method of execution when given the opportunity. Four inmates have been executed in Tennessee since August 2018.
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| Boko Haram kills 23 mourners after Nigeria funeral Posted: 27 Jul 2019 01:28 PM PDT  Boko Haram gunmen on Saturday killed 23 mourners in Borno state in Nigeria's restive northeast after they attended a funeral, local militia and residents said. At around 1030 GMT, the attackers on three motorbikes opened fire on a group of men as they walked back from a funeral in Nganzai district near the state capital Maiduguri, local militia leader Bunu Bukar Mustapha said.
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| Never-released photos of James Dean's fatal crash up for auction Posted: 25 Jul 2019 11:05 PM PDT  RR auction says there are about 30 photos and they expect them to bring in $20,000.
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| Looking for a boost, Beto O'Rourke to try new strategy in second debates Posted: 26 Jul 2019 02:36 PM PDT  Beto O'Rourke will try to make up for what some critics saw as an uneven performance in the first round of debates.
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| Photo of mother begging Mexican guard becomes symbol of migrants' struggle Posted: 26 Jul 2019 10:15 AM PDT  Viral images show Ledy Pérez sobbing as she pleads with an armed guard to let her and her son aged six cross the US-Mexico borderGuatemalan migrant Ledy Pérez embraces her son, Anthony, while praying to ask a member of the Mexican national guard to let them cross into the US, as seen from Ciudad Juárez. Photograph: José Luis González/ReutersLedy Pérez grasped her six-year-old son and sobbed as she begged a Mexican guard to let her bring him across the US-Mexico border and to, hopefully, a better future than the one she faced at home in Guatemala.The image of Pérez embracing her son, Anthony Díaz, as he stares at guards clad in desert fatigues and armed with assault rifles has made headlines in Mexico and gone viral in the US.Through sobs, Pérez repeatedly asks the officers let her pass in a video posted by Mexico's El Universal newspaper. "Don't let them send me back," she says. "I just want to give my son a better life."Ledy Pérez reacts while holding hands with her son, Anthony, while asking to members of the Mexican national guard to let them cross into the US. Photograph: José Luis González/ReutersFamilies arrived at the US border from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador at record rates in the spring, fleeing a toxic mix of violence, poverty, food insecurity, climate change and corruption.Under pressure from the US to stem the flow, Mexico's president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, directed nearly a third of the country's militarized national guard police force to patrol the border. He insists the rights of migrants must be upheld, but the image of Pérez's plight garnered criticism in Mexico.On Tuesday, former Mexican president Felipe Calderón retweeted the photo and wrote: "What a pity! The Mexico government should not have accepted this"The national guard deployment, along with the hot summer weather, saw the number of people apprehended at the border fall in June though the factors driving people out of the region, known as the Northern Triangle, have not been resolved.Pérez embraces her son while facing Mexico's national guard. There was no overt aggression in the nine-minute encounter in Ciudad Juárez, the photographer, José Luis González, told Reuters. Photograph: José Luis González/ReutersThe Reuters photographer José Luis González captured the powerful images and said the soldier centered in the photo did not provide his name, but said he was only following orders. There was no overt aggression in the nine-minute encounter in Ciudad Juárez, González told Reuters.Pérez was undaunted by the soldiers' steely response and lunged for the border with her son when the soldier looked away, Gonález said. Sprinting across the riverbank, the pair made it out of the national guard's jurisdiction into US territory, where they were taken into custody by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).From there, they could be brought to a US detention facility, freed until their immigration case is heard by a judge or returned to Mexico while their asylum claim is processed.Pérez embraces her son as she pleads with Mexican armed police. Photograph: José Luis González/ReutersThe crossing Pérez and Anthony eventually made is often characterized as an "illegal" entry, despite the Trump administration making legal crossings for asylum seekers nearly impossible. The difficulty of requesting asylum has driven people to attempt entry at other parts of the border, often with the intent of being apprehended by US border patrol.Under an informal policy known as "metering", asylum seekers must wait months before they are allowed to approach US officials and request asylum. Nearly 20,000 people who have managed to request asylum from a US official have since been returned to Mexico to wait for their case to be processed as part of the Trump administration's opaque Remain in Mexico policy. The returned migrants have told journalists, advocates and courts that they were extorted, assaulted and raped in Mexico.Pérez and Anthony sprinted across the riverbank, made it out of national guard jurisdiction and into US territory, where they were taken into custody by US Customs and Border Protection. Photograph: José Luis González/ReutersIt is unclear what comes next for Pérez and her son, but the photographer said her face in the photos was "a small reflection of all migrants' suffering".González said: "A lot of people judge migrants, ask why don't they stay in their country, why do they come here or why are they crossing into the United States … Every migrant has a story."
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| US Navy Seals platoon sent home from Iraq for drinking alcohol as sexual assault allegations investigated Posted: 26 Jul 2019 04:04 AM PDT  The commander of a US Special Operations task force in Iraq has sent home a platoon of Navy SEALs for drinking while deployed after an alleged sexual assault by one of them, US defence officials said, the latest discipline incident that has emerged for an elite force relied upon heavily by the Pentagon.US Special Operations Command said in a statement on Wednesday night that the platoon was forced out early to San Diego by the commander of the task force, Major General Eric Hill, "due to a perceived deterioration of good order and discipline within the team during non-operational periods" of their deployment."The Commander lost confidence in the team's ability to accomplish the mission," the statement said. "Commanders have worked to mitigate the operational impact as this SEAL platoon follows a deliberate redeployment."The statement did not say what led to the decision, but a defence official with knowledge of the situation said that a female service member working with their platoon reported being sexually assaulted by one of the SEALs during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, said the report triggered scrutiny of the platoon, including drinking while deployed.The SEALs declined to cooperate with investigators, prompting Maj Gen Hill to send them home for both that and the alcohol use, the official said. The reported assault was first reported on Thursday by the New York Times.A second person, a senior US Navy official, said on Thursday that he was aware of alleged sexual misconduct being a part of the case, but was not sure if an assault had been reported.The officials said that the SEALs involved violated General Order No. 1, which bans alcohol use while deployed.The SEALs were members of SEAL Team 7, which has headquarters in San Diego when not deployed, one of the defence officials said.The defence official familiar with the sexual assault report said that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is overseeing the sexual assault case, while other military officials investigate administratively the culture and actions in the unit.Commander Tamara Lawrence, a spokeswoman for Naval Special Warfare Command, said in a statement on Wednesday night that her unit is "actively reinforcing" with the entire force "basic leadership, readiness, responsibility and ethical principles that must form the foundation of special operations"."Leaders at all levels must lead in a way that sustains and sharpens that foundation," she said. "Discipline is a competitive advantage, and enforcing those standards is critical to our success on the battlefield."The disclosure by the military comes two days after the independent Navy Times reported that six members of SEAL Team 10 in Virginia Beach tested positive last year for cocaine use.Some of them had masked their use of it in previous tests, some of the SEALs told investigators, Navy Times reported.The Iraq incident also comes after Navy SEALs were implicated in the death of Army Staff Sergeant Logan Melgar, a Special Forces soldier who was strangled in Mali in June 2017.Two members of SEAL Team 6 – Chief Special Warfare Operator Adam Matthews and Chief Special Warfare Operator Anthony DeDolph – and two Marine Raiders were charged with murder.Mr Matthews and one of the Marines, Staff Sergeant Kevin Maxwell, have pleaded guilty to lesser charges, and testified that Mr Melgar was accidentally killed in what the military has called a hazing incident involving alcohol.Another SEAL, Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward Gallagher, recently faced court-martial on war-crimes charges that included murder.He was acquitted of the most serious charges but was convicted of posing for an unlawful photo with the remains of an Isis fighter.The government's case against him fell apart after another SEAL who was offered immunity from prosecution to testify said under oath that he, not Mr Gallagher, had been the one who killed a wounded Isis fighter.Washington Post
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| Libya Hit Haftar Forward Airbase After Receiving Turkish Drones Posted: 26 Jul 2019 08:18 AM PDT ![Libya Hit Haftar Forward Airbase After Receiving Turkish Drones]( "Libya Hit Haftar Forward Airbase After Receiving Turkish Drones") (Bloomberg) -- Libya's internationally-recognized government said it conducted airstrikes for the first time against the main forward airbase for eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar, destroying a hangar containing drones and a Russian-made military transport plane.The strike on the airbase in Jufra, Haftar's central Libyan staging ground for a three-month offensive on Tripoli, came days after the strongman's forces announced a renewed attempt to seize the capital in a battle that has stalled at the city's outskirts and drawn in increasing foreign intervention.The Tripoli-based Government of National Accord was not known to have aircraft capable of conducting precision nighttime strikes. It has improved its capabilities with the receipt of armed Turkish Bayraktar drones in recent weeks, according to three senior GNA officials, who asked not to be named because the weapons supplies aren't public. Libya has been under a United Nations arms embargo since 2011.Bayraktar, the drone company, is owned by the family of a son-in-law of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Officials at the company declined to comment when reached by Bloomberg. Facing opposition criticism in parliament for alleged arms shipments to Libya, Emrullah Isler, Erdogan's envoy to the country, said earlier this month that Turkey supports the legitimate, UN-backed government in Tripoli, without elaborating.On the other side of the battle, Haftar's forces have been supported by U.A.E-owned and Chinese-made Wing Loong drones, according to two Western diplomats.The strike on the Jufra airbase destroyed "a hangar containing drones and an Ilyushin 76 transport plane used to supply the armed groups," the GNA military statement said, referring to Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army.Libya splintered in the aftermath of the NATO-backed overthrow of dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi in 2011. Haftar's eastern-based forces swept through the south earlier this year before setting their sights on the capital.To contact the reporter on this story: Samer Khalil Al-Atrush in Cairo at skhalilalatr@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Benjamin Harvey at bharvey11@bloomberg.net, Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Hong Kong protesters rally at airport to 'educate' visitors Posted: 26 Jul 2019 12:41 AM PDT  Hundreds of Hong Kong protesters, including flight attendants, held a rally in the airport's arrival hall on Friday in a bid to "educate" visitors about the unprecedented demonstrations currently roiling the international finance hub. The rally is the latest bid to keep pressure on Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leaders after seven weeks of largely peaceful mass demonstrations followed by violent clashes, an unprecedented challenge to Beijing's authority since the city's 1997 handover.
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| Emily McGuire thought her husband ordered a box from Amazon for her birthday. Then she took a closer look Posted: 25 Jul 2019 07:49 PM PDT  Emily McGuire's husband surprised her with a birthday cake decorated like an Amazon package, much to the delight of avid shoppers on Facebook.
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| Everything You Wanted to Know About the New Sniper Rifles the Military Is Getting Posted: 27 Jul 2019 07:00 AM PDT  While a handful of lucky Marines with 1st Marine Expeditionary Force units are already rocking the Mk 13 Mod 7 (the Corps' first new sniper system since the adoption of the M40 during the Vietnam War) in their kits, there are plans to field the rifle to II MEF and II MEF units through 2019 — and Marines already love it. With the fiscal year 2019 defense budget put to bed without a bloody fight among lawmakers for the first time in recent memory, there are plenty of goodies for rank-and-file U.S. service members tucked into the massive appropriation measure — and not just their largest pay raise in more than a decade.Here's a brief overview of all the new gear headed into the waiting hands of soldiers and Marines downrange in 2019.An M4 replacement — for Marines, at leastWhile the Army continues to hash out the details of its next-generation rifle, the Marine Corps in April announced plans to snag up to 15,000 M27 infantry Automatic Rifles produced by Heckler & Koch as a replacement for the M4 carbine, with additional plans to actually field the new rifles to active and reserve infantry platoons at the beginning of 2019. Given some of the problems that cropped up during testing of the platform, time will tell if the Army's decision to stick with its homegrown rifle was the right one.(This first appeared in December 2018.)New sniper systems for Marines
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| Ex-Host Krystal Ball: MSNBC’s Russia ‘Conspiracies’ Have Done ‘Immeasurable Harm’ to the Left Posted: 26 Jul 2019 09:46 AM PDT  A former longtime MSNBC anchor lashed out this week at her former employer over its coverage of the Russia investigation.In a Thursday segment on The Hill's online streaming service, Krystal Ball, the former host of MSNBC's now-cancelled midday show The Cycle, admonished the network for its incessant coverage of the Russia investigation. "MSNBC built segment after segment, show after show on building anticipation for a big reveal when we would learn the true depths of Trump's fealty and direct conspiracy with Putin," she said.She later argued that the network's left-leaning anchors and personalities have wasted their time making Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe the primary focus of MSNBC coverage over the past several years—in effect diverting attention away from policy issues like health care and wages. As Ball spoke, an over-the-shoulder graphic blared "Immeasurable Harm.""Consider this whole setup has done more damage to the Democrats chances at winning the White House than anything that Trump could ever have dreamed up," Ball declared."Trump really is the crook that we said all along," she continued, "but by trying to make this spectacular case, we set the bar unimaginably high and made Trump's actual corruption, broken promises, and casual cruelty seem ordinary by comparison."Elsewhere in the six-minute monologue, Ball accused MSNBC of cynically following the Russia story in pursuit of ratings, making journalistic compromises along the way.She directly criticized hosts like Rachel Maddow ("You've got some explaining to do," Ball said to her) and on-air analysts like Mimi Rocah (a Daily Beast contributor) for leading viewers to believe that there was a strong possibility that Trump and his family would be indicted. Ball also suggested that the "fevered speculation" of guests like New York columnist Jonathan Chait and former British MP Louise Mensch would have been more at home on conspiracy network Infowars."Russia conspiracy was great for ratings among the key demographic of empty nesters on the coasts with too much time on their hands," said Ball, who now hosts an inside-baseball streaming political talk show for The Hill.This is not the first time Ball has knocked her former employer.During a segment on her program last year, Ball criticized the cancellation of former host Ed Schultz's show following his death."I find it really ironic that they took this incredibly pro-working-class voice off the air right before the Trump era when obviously you had a lot of working class voters who didn't feel like they had a home in the Democratic party any more," she said.MSNBC declined to comment. 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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| A look at the 5 federal death row inmates facing execution Posted: 26 Jul 2019 02:35 AM PDT  The Justice Department announced Thursday that it will resume executing death row prisoners for the first time in nearly two decades. At the direction of Attorney General William Barr, the federal Bureau of Prisons has scheduled the executions of five inmates being held on death row at USP Terre Haute, a high-security penitentiary in Indiana. Danny Lee, of Yukon, Oklahoma, was convicted in the 1996 deaths of an Arkansas family as part of a plot to set up a whites-only nation in the Pacific Northwest.
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| UPDATE 1-After Trump threat, Guatemala signs immigration asylum deal Posted: 26 Jul 2019 01:15 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-After Trump threat, Guatemala signs immigration asylum deal]( "UPDATE 1-After Trump threat, Guatemala signs immigration asylum deal") The United States and Guatemala signed a so-called safe third country immigration asylum agreement on Friday just days after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on the Central American country if it did not agree to the deal. Speaking to reporters at the White House during a signing ceremony, Trump said the agreement would allow easier access to farmer workers for U.S. farms and ranches. Guatemala's President Jimmy Morales was due to sign a deal with Trump last week that would have made the country act as an asylum buffer zone to reduce immigration to the United States.
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| Turkey determined to destroy 'terror corridor' in Syria Posted: 26 Jul 2019 11:25 AM PDT  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday his country is determined to destroy what he called a "terror corridor" in northern Syria — regardless of whether or not Turkey and the United States agree on the establishment of a so-called "safe zone" there. U.S. and Turkish officials have been holding talks on creating a safe zone east of the Euphrates River to address Turkey's security concerns stemming from the presence of Syrian Kurdish fighters in the region. Turkey views the Kurdish fighters — who have battled the Islamic State group alongside U.S. forces — as terrorists, allied with a Kurdish insurgency within Turkey.
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| Epstein case: judge agrees to keep documents on 2008 plea deal secret Posted: 27 Jul 2019 11:22 AM PDT  Court grants prosecutors' request amid concern that releasing materials could hinder investigation of financier's associatesJeffrey Epstein, left, looks on during a bail hearing, in a 15 July court sketch. Photograph: Jane Rosenberg/ReutersA judge in New York has granted a request from prosecutors to keep secret documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein's controversial 2008 sexual abuse plea deal, on the grounds that the materials could hamper their investigation of others in the financier's milieu.The documents, which will be shared with Epstein's attorneys, are believed to concern not only the deal itself, which allowed Epstein to plead guilty to low-level state solicitation charges, but also a clause that granted immunity to any and all potential co-conspirators and named four women suspected of facilitating or participating in alleged crimes against minors.The documents may also shed light on the 2008 deal, which was kept secret from accusers for nearly a year in what some claim was a violation of the Crime Victims' Rights Act. Controversy over the deal forced the resignation earlier this month of the US labor secretary, Alex Acosta, who was US attorney in Miami at the time.In a court filing, prosecutors with the southern district of New York argued that the materials could "affect the privacy and confidentiality of individuals … [and that] would impede, if prematurely disclosed, the government's ongoing investigation of uncharged individuals".The order is only one of several signals that prosecutors plan to widen their investigation into what they allege was a years-long scheme to recruit and sexually abuse dozens of girls.Epstein, denied bail and remaining in custody pending trial, has pleaded not guilty to federal sex-trafficking charges. He is on suicide watch in a Manhattan detention facility, after being found unconscious with marks on his neck.On Friday, it was revealed that pilots of Epstein's private jets, including a Boeing 727 that carried high-profile friends to and from his home in the Virgin Islands, have been served with subpoenas.According to court filings, the pilots were responsible for keeping flight logs of passengers on the jets. Their testimony could be used by prosecutors to corroborate accusers' accounts and provide details of Epstein associates.Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew, who was named in a civil suit brought by Epstein accuser Victoria Giuffre in 2003, are regularly named among associates of Epstein.Clinton has denied flying with the financier as many as 26 times, as has been reported, although he did say he took "a total of four trips" with him in 2002 and 2003.In a statement, the former president said he "knows nothing about the terrible crimes Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida some years ago, or those with which he has been recently charged in New York".Buckingham Palace has repeatedly denied the accusations against Prince Andrew.In 2015, Giuffre brought a defamation suit against Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of the late press baron Robert Maxwell, for publicly calling Giuffre a liar after she claimed Maxwell participated with Epstein in sexually abusing her for two years starting in 2000, when she was 16 years old.This month, Maxwell, who has long denied allegations that she played a central role in the procuring of young women, told a three-judge panel in New York a media "feeding frenzy" justified keeping documents from the defamation suit secret.But Josh Schiller, one of Giuffre's lawyers, argued: "There is an overwhelming public interest both in getting access to these documents as well as the indictment of Mr Epstein and his prosecution."The judicial panel agreed. As soon as next week, 2,000 pages of documents relating to that case, which was settled in 2017, will be made public.In its ruling, the panel said the documents included descriptions of alleged abuse by Epstein and other individuals "including numerous prominent American politicians, powerful business executives, foreign presidents, a well-known prime minister, and other world leaders".In April, Giuffre filed a defamation suit against the Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, Epstein's longtime lawyer and friend, after he denied her claim that he abused her.The shockwaves from Epstein's arrest on 6 July could travel further still. Central to the mystery of his operations is how he acquired his wealth, which was listed at his bail hearing as more than $550m.Last week, Deutsche Bank confirmed that Epstein moved millions of dollars through dozens of private accounts. Executives said they had believed they had severed the relationship with Epstein but had discovered accounts still controlled by him as recently as June."Deutsche Bank is closely examining any business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, and we are absolutely committed to cooperating with all relevant authorities," a spokesman said.Authorities in Florida, meanwhile, have launched an investigation into whether Epstein was properly monitored during the 13-month sentence for soliciting prostitution from underage girls that was the product of the controversial 2008 deal.
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| Son of Iraq's late Yazidi prince takes over as leader Posted: 26 Jul 2019 05:31 PM PDT  Baghdad (AFP) - Hazem Tahsin Bek on Saturday succeeded his late father as prince of the Yazidi religious minority that was brutalised by the Islamic State group in northern Iraq.
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| 'Mind-blowing': Stranded for 4 days, 73-year-old man and his two dogs survive in remote Oregon desert Posted: 26 Jul 2019 07:29 AM PDT  In a stunning tale of survival, Oregon police say Gregory Randolph, 73, and his dogs miraculously survived after being stranded in an Oregon desert.
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| Photos of the 2020 Lotus Evora GT Posted: 26 Jul 2019 07:55 AM PDT |
| Trump administration plan for Bears Ears slammed as 'recklessly' weakening protections Posted: 26 Jul 2019 12:05 PM PDT  The Bureau of Land Management posted to the federal register the management plan for the Utah monument, which was created by former Democratic President Barack Obama in 2016 to protect Native American cultural and archaeological sites but reduced in size by 85% by Republican President Donald Trump in 2017 to open up the land to resource extraction, grazing, logging and vehicle use. While U.S. national parks can be created only by an act of Congress, national monuments can be designated unilaterally by presidents and a century-old federal law meant to protect sacred sites, artifacts and historical objects.
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| Ultimate Showdown: America's F-15C Eagle vs Russia's Su-57 Posted: 26 Jul 2019 10:00 AM PDT  The Su-57—especially once it receives its new second stage engines—will be a handful for any fourth generation fighter given its combination of speed, maneuverability, stealth and electronic warfare capability. However, the U.S. Air Force does have a plan to defeat enemy stealth aircraft and a counter is already in the works.The venerable Boeing F-15C Eagle has long been hailed as the world's greatest air superiority fighter given its lopsided combat record of 104 kills to zero losses, however, the aging jet is likely near the end of its operational life. Nonetheless, it remains a potent fighter even as it likely heads toward retirement.(This first appeared last year.)The U.S. Air Force is deferring planned upgrades to the Eagle—such as the addition of new electronic warfare systems—until it decides if it wants to keep the increasingly aged airframe. Indeed, as the Air Force has discovered, the F-15C will need an extensive airframe overhaul and structural modifications to remain in service past the mid-2020s. In all likelihood, given that the Congress has refused to allow the service to retire the A-10 Warthog, the Air Force will have little choice but to divest itself of the F-15C to free up funding for more pressing projects. The F-15E Strike Eagle interdictor aircraft, though, will remain in service indefinitely.Recommended: The World's Most Secretive Nuclear Weapons Program.Recommended: The Fatal Flaw That Could Take Down an F-22 or F-35.
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| SC murder suspect planned escape with fire, attack on guards Posted: 26 Jul 2019 10:02 AM PDT  An inmate awaiting trial on a murder charge planned an escape from a county jail in South Carolina by having fellow prisoners set fire to a mattress and attack guards trying to help them escape the smoke while he scaled a barbed wire topped fence, authorities said. The sheriff said he poured as many deputies and other officers into the search as he could because Stinnette was so dangerous. Stinnette killed a man during an argument in 2018, buried his body and dug it up twice because he feared someone was talking to police before finally dumping the remains in Lake Marion, Dennis said.
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| Man accidentally shot dead by own passenger in ‘failed drive-by attempt’ Posted: 27 Jul 2019 01:06 PM PDT  A man has died after being accidentally shot by his own passenger as he attempted to fire out of a car window, police say.Matthew Gibson, 26, was pronounced dead on 22 July after being shot in the head during the incident which prosecutors portrayed as a drive-by shooting gone bad in Park Manor, Chicago.Video footage from 21 July showed Gibson pulling alongside a white SUV that was waiting to make a left turn at around 5:40am, according to reports from the Chicago Sun-Times.As the car slowed his passenger, Jake Lee, opened fire on the vehicle with a .40-caliber handgun.However Lee, 27, accidentally shot his driver in the head during the incident. Despite his injuries Gibson was able to drive two miles from the scene.A 22-year-old man was also wounded during the shooting. Prosecutors for Cook County added that there did not appear to be any sign of shots being fired from the white SUV.Gibson was found to be brain dead on Monday, and was kept alive only to have his organs harvested. His death was ruled as a homicide.His death was the 271st recorded homicide in Chicago this year, a figure that has risen to 277 since the incident. Of those deaths, 243 were killed in shootings.Lee, from the city's Englewood area, now faces a charge of aggravated battery with a firearm, and is expected to face a count of murder.He was placed on parole in April 2017 after having served an eight-year sentence for aggravated battery with a handgun, a period that was set to end in 2020.Lee was denied bail at a hearing on 23 July.
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| Iran ships stranded in Brazil are set to depart: officials Posted: 27 Jul 2019 03:48 PM PDT  Two Iranian ships stranded off the coast of Brazil for weeks were setting sail Saturday, officials said, after a court ordered state oil giant Petrobras to fuel up the vessels. The bulk carriers had been stuck at Paranagua port in the southern state of Parana since early last month after Petrobras refused to provide fuel for fear of breaching US sanctions on Iran. The ships dragged Brazil into a global standoff which has seen rising tensions and fears of a military clash involving Tehran and Washington, which imposed a raft of punitive measures on Iran and companies with ties to the Islamic republic.
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| The Secret History of Washing Machines Posted: 26 Jul 2019 06:47 AM PDT |
| Gun rights advocates sue over California's 'absurd' law requiring background checks for ammo sales Posted: 25 Jul 2019 08:14 PM PDT  The lawsuit is in response to a recent California law requiring background checks ahead of all ammunition purchases.
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| Polish rights campaigners gather in Warsaw to condemn homophobic violence Posted: 27 Jul 2019 07:02 AM PDT |
| 2020 Vision: Trump blasts Fox News over poll showing him losing to Biden Posted: 26 Jul 2019 10:25 AM PDT  A month after he was attacked by Sen. Kamala Harris over his record on race at the first Democratic presidential debate, the former vice president appears to have steadied himself.
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| Stealth Rules: Israel's F-35I Adir Is the First to Attack an Enemy Posted: 26 Jul 2019 12:43 PM PDT  Israel said its recent air strikes inside Syria targeted Iranian military infrastructure, in response to rocket fire aimed at Israeli military positions in the occupied Golan Heights.The F-35 stealth fighter has seen its first ever combat action, flying in an operation for the Israeli Air Force (IAF).On May 22, 2018 in fact Maj Gen Amikam Norkin, IAF chief, told heads of 20 foreign air forces meeting in Israel at the International Air Force Commander Conference that "The 'Adir' (F-35I) aircraft are already operational and flying combat missions. In fact, we have performed the first operational F-35 strike in the world. We attacked twice in the Middle East using the F-35 (and) we are the first in the world to do so. The Israeli Air Force is a pioneer and a world leader in operating air power." He did not specify the targets.(This article by Dario Leone originally appeared on The Aviation Geek Club in 2018.)"Israel launched world's first air strike using F-35 stealth fighters," IAF chief says"You know that we just won the Eurovision with the song 'Toy.' Well, the F-35 is not a toy," he said.According BBC, Israel's claim to have used it in an operational strike even before the Americans may be designed as a further show of military strength, since it is believed that elite Iranian forces are trying to entrench themselves in Syria to threaten Israel.
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| Economist: New Trump farm aid may be distributed more fairly Posted: 26 Jul 2019 02:52 PM PDT ![Economist: New Trump farm aid may be distributed more fairly]( "Economist: New Trump farm aid may be distributed more fairly") The Trump administration's decision to base new handouts to farmers hit by the trade war with China on how many acres they've planted might be a fairer way to distribute the cash than the previous system of payments per bushel heavily skewed toward soybean growers, an agricultural economist said Friday. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced Thursday that the administration will pay another $16 billion more in aid to farmers affected by the president's trade war with China.
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| Mob of teens surrounds police station, tries to break out their drunken friend Posted: 26 Jul 2019 08:53 AM PDT  The incident occurred Thursday night in the town of Starnberg after a boy was denied entry to a high school graduation party.
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| US sanctions Venezuela emergency food 'corruption network' Posted: 25 Jul 2019 08:22 PM PDT  The US Treasury Department on Thursday announced sanctions against three of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's stepsons, a Colombian businessman and six others for running a "corruption network" that profited from emergency food imports. The US has in recent months escalated sanctions against Venezuela, which is struggling with a political and economic crisis that the United Nations says has left a quarter of its 30 million people in need of humanitarian aid. The new restrictions target Maduro's stepsons Walter Jacob Gavidia Flores, Yosser Daniel Gavidia and Yoswal Alexander Gavidia Flores, whom the US says collaborated with Colombian businessman Alex Nain Saab Moran and his business partner Alvaro Pulido to profit off importing emergency food into the country as it struggled with rising malnutrition.
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| School will accept donations to cover student lunch debt after threatening child with foster care Posted: 26 Jul 2019 02:17 PM PDT  A school district in Pennsylvania will accept a donation to cover debts owed to pay for students' school lunches, instead of sending parents in debt to court.Wyoming Valley West School District sparked outrage when it threatened parents who did not send their children to school with either food or money for a provided lunch with a summons to a so-called dependency court. "This is a failure to provide your child with proper nutrition and you can be sent to dependency court for neglecting your child's right to food," a letter from the school read. "If you are taken to Dependency court, the result may be your child being removed from your home and placed in foster care."At least five donors offered to pay the students' debt, according to county officials. Todd Carmichael, the Philadelphia-based CEO of the coffee company La Colombe, offered to clear the district's district's entire delinquent meal tab, which came in at around $22,000.The school district apparently ignored these offers. But in a statement released on Wednesday, the president of the school district's board, Joseph Mazur, relented."The Wyoming Valley West School District Board of Directors sincerely apologises for the tone of the letter that was sent regarding lunch debt," the letter read. "It wasn't the intention of the district to harm or inconvenience any of the families of our school district. "We want to thank everyone for their concern and generous donation offers to help pay for the unpaid lunch bills," it continued, saying that the school would accept the offers after all. The fiasco garnered attention from a number of high profile figures, including Bernie Sanders, who is running for president. In a tweet sent earlier this week, the Vermont senator criticised the school's letter, writing that school lunch debts "should not exist in the wealthiest country in the history of the world".
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| Indian navy rescues hundreds stranded on train in floods Posted: 26 Jul 2019 05:35 PM PDT  Indian navy helicopters and emergency service boats came to the rescue of more than 800 people stranded on a train in floods near Mumbai on Saturday. The Mahalaxmi Express left Mumbai late Friday for Kolhapur but travelled only 60 kilometres (37 miles) before it became stranded after a river burst its banks in torrential rain, covering the tracks. The train was stuck for about 12 hours in Thane district before authorities called in the Indian navy and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) who deployed helicopters, boats, and divers.
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| You Might Not Get $125 From Equifax After All Posted: 27 Jul 2019 01:28 PM PDT  You may receive a much smaller chunk of change
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| Russia warns British media after RT fined for coverage of poisoned spy Posted: 26 Jul 2019 02:33 AM PDT  LONDON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia on Friday warned British media operating on its territory that they should be ready for consequences after Britain's media regulator fined the state-financed RT television channel over its coverage of the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal. Relations between London and Moscow sank to a post-Cold War low over the 2018 poisoning of Skripal, a mole who betrayed hundreds of Russian agents to Britain's MI6 foreign spy service. Britain said Russian military intelligence poisoned Skripal and his daughter Yulia with a Soviet-developed nerve agent known as Novichok.
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| Paris Digs in on Digital Tax as Trump Floats Wine Tariffs Posted: 27 Jul 2019 07:57 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- France stuck to its plan to tax big multinational tech companies, defying U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion that he might impose tariffs on French wine."It's in all of our interest to move toward a just taxation worldwide for digital companies," French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in Paris. Wine tariffs and the digital tax are "completely different issues" and shouldn't be lumped together, he told reporters on Saturday.It's the latest face-off between the self-proclaimed "Tariff Man" in the White House and a major European Union economy. The French tax and Trump's response threaten to further strain trans-Atlantic ties as the U.S. and EU prepare to negotiate a limited trade agreement on industrial goods.Trump on Friday raised the possibility of "substantial" retaliation against France. "It might be on wine, it might be on something else," he later told reporters in Washington.The law signed by President Emmanuel Macron imposes a 3% tax on the revenue of technology giants such as Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc."We tax our companies, they don't tax our companies," Trump said.The tax, retroactive to January, affects companies with at least 750 million euros ($845 million) in global revenue and digital sales of 25 million euros in France. While most of the roughly 30 businesses affected are American, the list also includes Chinese, German, British and French companies."I've always liked American wines better than French wines, even though I don't drink wine," the president said Friday. He said he may impose the wine tariffs before a meeting of the Group of Seven meeting in late August.Trump has imposed or threatened to levy tariffs on several countries to force changes in their trade or immigration policies. Last month, he promised to do "something" about French wine that he said is allowed into the U.S. virtually tariff-free while France imposes duties on U.S. wine, calling the arrangement unfair.Wine is France's second-biggest export after aerospace equipment. The U.S. is the biggest market, accounting for about a quarter of France's 13.2 billion euros in wine exports last year.Trump has complained about France charging tariffs on U.S. wine in the past without taking action. He tweeted in November that it's too hard for American wine producers to sell in France but that the U.S. makes it "easy" to import French wines, which he said "must change."The U.S. charges a tariff of 5 cents per 750 milliliter bottle of imported still wine and 14 cents for sparkling wine, according to the Wine Institute, an advocacy group for California winemakers. European Union tariffs for imported wine range from 11 cents to 29 cents per bottle, according to the group.France hasn't backed off from its planned digital tax even after the U.S. suggested it may use trade tools against the levy.The U.S. has said it will examine whether the tax would hurt its tech firms, using the so-called 301 investigation, the same tool Trump deployed to impose tariffs on Chinese goods because of the country's alleged theft of intellectual property.France isn't alone among European nations in arguing that internet companies aren't paying their fair share into public coffers.Because they're often domiciled in other countries -- including low-tax jurisdictions such as Ireland or Bermuda -- and shift money seamlessly across borders, companies that sell online can easily avoid paying taxes in nations where they nevertheless make significant sales.France argues that the structure of the global economy has shifted to one based on data, rendering 20th-century tax systems archaic. According to 2018 figures from the European Commission, global tech companies pay a 9.5% average tax rate compared with 23.2% for traditional firms.While France is the first EU country to impose such a levy, it say it would prefer an EU-wide digital tax. Some other European countries are considering similar taxes.\--With assistance from Helene Fouquet, Hamza Ali, William Horobin and Aoife White.To contact the reporters on this story: Robert Williams in Paris at rwilliams323@bloomberg.net;Josh Wingrove in Washington at jwingrove4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Tony Czuczka, Sara MarleyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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