| El Paso shooting: Mexico government calls for US gun law reform over 'act of terrorism' in Texas Posted: 05 Aug 2019 05:06 AM PDT  The Mexican government has dubbed the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, over the weekend an "act of terrorism" against Mexicans, while the president of that nation expressed hope that the US will act swiftly to change its gun laws.The shooting, on Saturday, has left at least 22 people dead, after a gunman opened fire in a Walmart just miles from the US-Mexico border."There could be a change to their laws because it is stunning what is happening, unfortunate, and very powerful," Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the Mexican president, said on Monday. "I don't rule out that they could change their constitution and laws. These are new times; you have to always be adjusting the legal framework to the new reality."The shooting on Saturday has shocked many in the US and Mexico, and has sparked an international conversation around white supremacy and racism in the US after reports indicated the white gunman wrote an anti-immigrant screed online before the attack.Foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard called on the US to establish a "clear and convincing position against hate crimes' following the shooting that he called an "act of terrorism" against Mexicans."Mexico is outraged," Mr Ebrard said, noting that at least seven Mexican citizens are among the dead.More follows…
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| Double shootings heighten fears of 'white terrorism' in US Posted: 04 Aug 2019 03:08 PM PDT  Armed with assault rifles and clad in combat gear, two white men methodically gunned down nearly 30 people over the weekend, underscoring fears that "white terrorism" is now the main threat in the United States. Amid rising grief and a clamor for action after the shootings in Texas and Ohio, and earlier in several other cities, politicians of both parties called for the federal government to take that threat more seriously, with some Democrats accusing President Donald Trump of dangerously fanning racial tensions. "It is very clear that the loss of American life in Charleston, in San Diego, in Pittsburgh and by all appearances now in El Paso, too, is symptomatic of the effects of white nationalist terrorism," Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg said Sunday, naming the scenes of mass shootings that targeted blacks, Jews and, apparently, Hispanics.
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| Chicago suffers bloody weekend as gun violence leaves seven dead Posted: 05 Aug 2019 02:45 PM PDT  Mass shootings command widespread media coverage, but lost in the national conversations about guns are everyday killings A memorial where 26-year-old Chantell Grant and 35-year-old Andrea Stoudemire were shot and killed on 28 July in the South Side of Chicago. Photograph: Kamil Krzaczyński/AFP/Getty ImagesAs deadly mass shootings devastated communities in Texas and Ohio and reignited calls for lawmakers to act on gun reform, Chicago experienced yet another bloody weekend – suffering the kind of violence that has come to be treated by the nation as almost routine in this city.Seven people were killed and 46 wounded here, including in two multiple shootings on the west side. The first of the shootings, in the Douglas Park neighborhood early on Sunday, left seven wounded; the second, in Lawndale hours later, wounded another seven and killed one."As a city, we have to stand up and do a hell of a lot more than we've done in a very long time," Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in an address on the violence over the weekend."There are no adequate words at this point," she said of the violence.Often lost in national conversations about guns are shootings occurring every day in places like Chicago, which has continued to see high levels of violence, mostly affecting its predominantly black and brown south and west sides."In Chicago, it's just another weekend," Father Michael Pfleger, a south side pastor and anti-violence activist, said of the national response to the city's deadly violence. "It gets forgotten and pushed to the side."Where mass shootings tend to command widespread media coverage, Pfleger said, violence in Chicago tends not to make national headlines. In part, he believes it's become an "old story" after years of the city suffering from a devastatingly high murder rate. But it also has to do with the fact that those being affected by the city's scourge of violence are mostly black and brown Chicagoans, he said."Black and brown life being taken by gun violence is not something America has been concerned about for a long time," the St Sabina pastor said."It needs to get the same attention," Pfleger continued. "We have 47 people shot and seven killed. If that happened over in Iraq, that's all anyone would be talking about."To erase everyday violence from the national conversation about gun control is to lose sight of the scope of the problem, according to Kris Brown, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence."We do that at our own peril," Brown told the Guardian. "It's not routine for the people who live in these communities, and it doesn't have to be accepted as normal."As studies have shown, mass shootings like those in Texas and Ohio represent just a fraction of gun deaths in America. Suicides and other homicides account for the majority of firearm-related deaths. "We need to look at gun violence as the public health epidemic it is," Brown said. "We have to change the cultural narrative around guns."Doing so can be challenging, though, given the unwillingness by Republicans to act on commonsense gun reforms."The shootings that occurred this past weekend in Chicago are certainly not taken for granted by the neighborhoods and families that experience them all too often," Rob Nash, chair of the board of directors for the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, said in an email interview. "The only people who have accepted gun violence as being routine are public policymakers who refuse to take action to stop it."Brown said the Brady campaign was continuing to work on changing the national narrative about guns, and Pfleger is organizing a national demonstration in Washington DC, in September in an effort to pressure lawmakers into action. "They're not gonna just do it," Pfleger said of gun reform. "They have to be pushed."
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| Mass Shooting Kills 20 at El Paso Walmart: Gunman ‘Started Shooting Everyone, Aisle by Aisle,’ Witness Says Posted: 04 Aug 2019 07:33 PM PDT  Justin Hamel/The Daily BeastEL PASO—A lone gunman killed at least 20 people inside a crowded Walmart on Saturday morning, according to eyewitnesses and officials. "A day that would've been a normal day for someone to leisurely go shopping, turned into one of the most deadly days in the history of Texas. Lives were taken who should still be with us today. Twenty innocent people from El Paso have lost their lives, and more than two dozen more are injured," Texas Governor Greg Abbott said at an evening press conference. At least 22 people were transported to area hospitals, including a 4-month-old girl. At least nine people were in critical condition at Del Sol Medical Center, where three of them were said to be in "life-threatening" condition. The victims there ranged in age from 35 to 82, but no further details were immediately available. Gilroy Mass Shooting Victim Stephen Romero Is at Least the Sixth Young Child Killed by Guns This MonthPolice have not yet identified those killed, seven Mexican nationals were reportedly among the dead. Police said one person is in custody and they have ruled out multiple shooters. The suspect has been identified as 21-year-old Patrick Crusius of Allen, Texas, according to a senior law-enforcement source. Authorities are investigating a purported manifesto posted online shortly before the attack.Justin Hamel/The Daily Beast"Right now we have a manifesto from this individual, that indicates to some degree, it has a nexus to potential hate crime," El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said at a press conference. Allen said authorities were still working to "validate" that the manifesto was penned by the alleged gunman. "We will seek the death penalty," El Paso Country District Attorney Jaime Esparza said at a press conference Sunday morning. John Bash, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, said his office was "seriously considering" hate crime and federal firearms charges": "We are treating it as a domestic terrorism case, and we're gonna do what we do to terrorists in this country, which is deliver swift and certain justice.""Technically," said El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen, Crusius "was in the realm of the law" until the moment he opened fire, since Texas is an open-carry state. More than a thousand people were inside the Walmart near the Cielo Vista Mall when the shooting started around 11 a.m. A woman named Karina, who declined to give her last name, said she was driving in the parking lot with her 7-year-old daughter when she saw a white man in his twenties in front of the store's main entrance, dressed in all black and carrying a long rifle. Karina said she heard what sounded like "balloons popping" and saw the gunman shoot another man at "point-blank" range.Then the gunman entered the store, as captured by surveillance footage.Miguel Rodriguez said he was shopping for a toy for his 7-year-old son when he heard gunshots and ducked to the ground. He said a person "started shooting everyone, aisle by aisle, with rage." Justin Hamel/The Daily BeastBritney, a 19-year-old who declined to give her last name, said she was with her 16-year-old brother and her mother in the store's underwear aisle when she heard shooting. The family dropped to the ground. Then Britney said she grabbed her mother and brother's hands and they ran out of the store. Dozens of people from inside the mall who were evacuated lined a nearby street. A man carrying a Bible went from group to group, asking people to pray with him. Justin Hamel/The Daily BeastHours after the shooting on Saturday night, as authorities continued the grim task of sifting through the scene of the carnage, many El Paso residents chose to come together at a vigil just a couple miles from the attack. "I didn't have to lose someone to hurt," Ashley, one of the residents at the vigil at the St Pius X Church, told The Daily Beast. She said El Paso, which ordinary feels so safe, felt like chaos today. Another attendee, Victor Lopez, said he'd been at Walmart with his family on Saturday morning but left before the gunfire erupted. He decided to attend the vigil, he said, to honor the 20 people who weren't so lucky. Other residents said some people affected by the attack in the predominantly Hispanic city were afraid to go to hospitals or the reunification center designated by authorities for fear that their immigration status would come under scrutiny. The El Paso shooting is the latest in a series of deadly attacks on public places. On Monday, a disgruntled employee killed two people in a Walmart store in Mississippi. Last Sunday, a gunman killed three people and injured 15 at the Gilroy Garlic Festival near San Jose, California. In May, a gunman killed 12 people at a municipal building in Virginia Beach. The month before, on the last day of Passover in April, a vocal anti-Semite allegedly attacked a synagogue in Poway, California, killing one person. Gilroy Garlic Festival Shooter Posted About Far-Right Book Moments Before ShootingRead more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| A United Airlines flight from Scotland to New York was canceled after 2 pilots were arrested on suspicion of drinking before they were meant to fly Posted: 05 Aug 2019 05:01 AM PDT  Scottish police arrested the pilots on suspicion of "carrying out pilot functions or activity while exceeding the prescribed limit of alcohol."
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| Cellmate uses toilet to drown convicted Florida pedophile Posted: 05 Aug 2019 10:41 AM PDT  Paul Dixon has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of David Oseas Ramirez. The death allegedly occurred after the cellmates got into an argument.
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| Kamala Harris Has 1 Big Weakness That Won't Be Easy to Dismiss Posted: 05 Aug 2019 02:59 AM PDT  During Wednesday night's Democratic presidential debate, Tulsi Gabbard tore into Kamala Harris for her track record as a prosecutor in San Francisco and later as California's Attorney General. The attack was sharp and effective, earning Gabbard an outsize share of the post-debate commentary. Its thrust was entirely fair, too, as any number of articles have demonstrated, including Lara Bazelon's recent takedown in The New York Times titled Kamala Haris Was Not a Progressive Prosecutor.The real significance of Gabbard's critique, however, lies not in the proposition that Harris was a particularly unprofessional or malign prosecutor, but rather in the fact that she seems to have been a rather ordinary prosecutor who simply did her job the way most prosecutors do. And if that makes a former-prosecutor-turned-presidential-candidate look like a monster, then perhaps that says more about prosecutors in general than it does about Kamala Harris in particular.Gabbard's gut-punch underscores the difficult position that modern prosecutors find themselves in as the key players in a substantially immoral and increasingly indefensible criminal justice system. A near-universal blind spot of career prosecutors like Harris is their failure to appreciate the fact that law and morality can—and in our system frequently do—diverge.
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| Cadillac CT6-V Shows Off New Blackwing V-8 Posted: 05 Aug 2019 06:00 AM PDT |
| Police Fire Tear Gas to Protect China Office: Hong Kong Update Posted: 04 Aug 2019 05:41 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong police once again used tear gas against protesters trying to attack China's main representation office, capping a weekend of violent demonstrations across the city that mark the ninth week of civil unrest in the Asian financial capital.Riot police used gas to deter hundreds of black-clad protesters, many wearing hard hats, goggles and gas masks, from approaching the China liaison office in Sai Wan on Sunday. Protesters then migrated to Causeway Bay, a bustling shopping and dining area, and set up barricades that were blocking one of the busiest roadways in the city.Earlier marchers massed in Tseung Kwan O, in the city's New Territories, and surrounded the district police station, pelting it with projectiles and breaking windows.On Saturday, thousands converged in Kowloon, where police used tear gas to try to disperse crowds and re-open blocked roads. Police stations came under attack there as demonstrators hurled projectiles at them and set fires.The violence, including arson and blockading major roads, "crosses the line" of peaceful and rational protests and cannot be tolerated, the Hong Kong government said in a statement Sunday. The city is reaching a "very dangerous" point, the statement said. The government also urged people not to join a planned general strike on Monday, saying it would hurt the economy and increase the risk of a recession.China's official Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary on Sunday that China's central government would not sit back and let the situation continue.The protest movement that began as weekend marches has shifted form and become a part of daily life, with disquiet growing in the Asian financial hub. Dozens of people appeared in court last week on a colonial-era rioting charge that carries a 10-year prison term -- signaling the city's Beijing-backed government is heeding calls for a stronger response, bolstered by support from Chinese authorities.Demonstrations began nearly nine weeks ago over opposition to legislation easing extraditions to China, and demands have since widened to include Chief Executive Carrie Lam's resignation, the release of people detained at previous protests and an inquiry into the police's use of force.Sunday marches kick off (6 p.m.)Two marches kicked off on Sunday afternoon, one on the western side of Hong Kong island and the other in the New Territories district of Tseung Kwan O.The New Territories attracted thousands who moved directly to the local police station. Some protesters hurled projectiles at the building, breaking windows and drawing a warning from police that the crowd would be dispersed. Police issued a statement advising the public to leave the area immediately.The island march started at the expat-friendly residential neighborhood of Kennedy Town and was scheduled to end at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park in Sai Ying Pun.One of the protesters in Kennedy Town, 61-year-old church secretary Danny Yuen, said he was worried that the clashes could lead to serious injuries or death, which would "affect society's stability.""I don't like to see the violence, I'd like to see a peaceful way to engage with the government, but the government is forcing this way onto people," he said. "If the government would retract the bill, it would reduce tensions."China won't sit back (11 a.m.)Police said in a statement Sunday that at least 20 vehicles were damaged and officers' safety was put at risk when protesters hurled bricks and other objects into the station with "large catapults." When police dispersed the crowd some protesters hurled petrol bombs and other objects at officers, who fired tear gas to try to quell the violence, police said.At least 20 people were arrested for offenses including unlawful assembly and assault, according to the statement.Xinhua said in a commentary that the central government would not sit back and let the situation continue, while reiterating that it's sticking to the one country, two systems regime. The news agency warned "evil forces which are trying to challenge the central government's authority, to destroy the one country, two systems bottom line" that they will be judged by history.The report accused protesters of throwing a Chinese national flag into the sea in an act that is an insult to all Chinese nationals including Hong Kong residents.Two marches are planned for Sunday afternoon, one in the western side of Hong Kong island, ending in the area near China's liaison office; the other in the New Territories neighborhood of Tseung Kwan O.Government Condemns Acts of Protesters (2:16 a.m.)The Hong Kong government in a statement expressed regret over what it termed protesters' "violent" and "radical" actions, including barricading major roads in the Yau Tsim Mong district and the entrance to the Cross Harbor Tunnel. It said the actions went beyond what a "civilized society" considers freedom of expression. "We express regret over such behaviors which are illegal and disregard the public order and the needs of other members of the public." Acts that defaced the national flag were also condemned.Wong Tai Sin residents tear-gassed (Sunday, 12:05 a.m.)Police fired tear gas in Wong Tai Sin, a residential area with mostly public housing named for the nearby temple of the same name. Many were apparently local residents without gas masks or hard hats. They were angry at riot police who made arrests earlier on, including of at least one elderly person. Many remained on the streets as confrontations continued. Hundreds of protesters returned and encircled a police station in the Prince Edward neighborhood.Police use tear gas in Mong Kok (Saturday, 10:38 p.m.)Police fired tear gas in the densely populated neighborhood of Mong Kok for the first time since the start of the protests seven weeks ago. Lines of riot police faced off against demonstrators who had blocked Nathan Road, a main commercial thoroughfare. Police made progress in clearing many of the demonstrators, though some appeared to have entered into other neighborhoods with a thinner police presence.A large number of protesters remained in neighboring Tsim Sha Tsui, even after police fired several rounds of tear gas there to try dispel the demonstrators.Tear gas fired in Tsim Sha Tsui (Saturday 9:15 p.m.)Police fired tear gas to dispel protesters who had surrounded a police station in the Tsim Sha Tsui area, a shopping district that attracts many Chinese tourists. Protesters had set a fire near the station and hurled bricks at the outpost. Demonstrators had also blocked Nathan Road, the main thoroughfare in Kowloon, from Tsim Sha Tsui to Mong Kok. Riot police were also out in number trying to clear protesters from the Mong Kok district.Cross-Harbour Tunnel barricaded (Saturday 7 p.m.)Marchers from a rally in Mong Kok broke up into groups with some heading toward the shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui, where they took over the waterfront Canton Road. Some protesters set up barricades blocking the entrance to the Cross Harbor Tunnel, a busy route for vehicles, TV footage showed. Authorities cleared the barricades but traffic was backed up in a huge jam on the Hong Kong Island side of the tunnel.Organizers said 120,000 people attended the anti-government march, while police estimated that 4,200 were on the originally agreed route for the rally.One city, two rallies (Saturday 3 p.m.)Anti-government protesters gathered in a park in the Kowloon area for a 1.5 kilometer (about 1 mile) march to the Mong Kong district on a route approved by police. The park was overflowing with thousands of demonstrators spilling into the streets as police kept a low profile.In Causeway Bay, across the harbor on the Hong Kong Island side, thousands protesters congregated in Victoria Park in support of the police. Organizers said 90,000 people took part, while the media reported police as saying 26,000 attended.One of the demonstrators, who would only give her name as Ms Fung, accused the media of supporting protesters."If the news is beneficial to the people clad in black, they report it," she said. The protesters don't realize the harm they're inflicting on the economy, she said. "The police are very good compared to other countries."Lam Attends Event (Friday 8:50 p.m.)Hong Kong's embattled leader attended a cocktail reception celebrating the upcoming 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China at the Hong Kong Cultural Center. Some 20 black-clad protesters waited for her, Radio Television Hong Kong reported. Afterward, she didn't answer questions from protesters and media about the civil servants' rally as she was escorted away by bodyguards. People called out to her: "Have you ever responded to us?" "You are ignoring public opinion." "Do you agree you are hiding?"'To Voice My Opinion' (8:15 p.m.)"I am worried about the future of Hong Kong. We are being China-fied after all, despite the promise of 'one country, two systems.' I will keep coming out because I am so worried," said Ms Fung, a 60-year-old retired civil servant who worked as a clerk in the police commissioner's office for more than 20 years and declined to give her first name. "I want to come out and show that it's not just the young people and the people who are protesting that are against Carrie Lam, the extradition bill, and the police violence."Earlier in the evening, organizers played a video on a jumbo screen that summarized weeks of protests. When it came to July 21 attacks on marchers by unidentified white-shirted men at a train station in the suburb of Yuen Long, some people wept.My department "serves Hong Kong people," said Alan Cheung, 28, who works for the city's fire services department and came to the protest in a black shirt. "What happened in Yuen Long station and the police, what they do, is injustice.""I come to this protest to voice my opinion," Cheung said.Civil Servant Rally (7:30 p.m.)Thousands of people poured into centrally located Chater Garden after work for a planned civil servants' protest, some of them chanting the popular Chinese saying "add oil," a refrain of this movement that means to add fuel. The crowds flooded onto adjoining Chater Road as black-shirted demonstrators continued to join the gathering.Anticipating the rally, the government on Thursday night released a statement saying its civil servants must uphold their "political neutrality."Protesters' Next PlansA general strike and seven accompanying rallies called for Monday across the city are gaining traction in protester forums. They call for peaceful "non co-operation actions" at three busy metro stations at 7:30 a.m., as rush hour kicks off: Lai King, Diamond Hill and Fortress Hill. The strike begins hours later, at 1 p.m., with gatherings in Tuen Mun, Tseun Wan, Tai Po, Sha Tin, Mong Kok, Wong Tai Sin and Admiralty, which houses government offices and has been ground zero for weeks of mass marches.About 450 employees from both Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and Hong Kong Airlines Ltd. said they will take part in Monday's strike, Apple Daily reported Saturday, citing unidentified people.More than 300 Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon employees, including pilots, flight attendants and support staff, and about 150 from Hong Kong Airlines have expressed support for the civil action, the paper said. The employees who want to take part may take leave or call in sick, Apple Daily reported.(Updates with tear gas being fired near China liaison office.)\--With assistance from Sheryl Tian Tong Lee, Kari Lindberg, Alfred Liu, Anjali Cordeiro and Natalie Lung.To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Karen Leigh in Hong Kong at kleigh4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Brian Wingfield, James AmottFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| US warned Sweden of 'negative consequences' if A$AP Rocky were not released from jail for trial Posted: 04 Aug 2019 03:01 AM PDT  A U.S. presidential envoy warned of "potentially negative consequences" to U.S.-Swedish relations if rapper A$AP Rocky were not released from prison, according to reports.
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| Outrage in Gambia over claims ex-president ordered killings Posted: 05 Aug 2019 03:54 AM PDT  Baba Hydara was in his car, listening to the radio, when he heard a former hitman of ex-president Yahya Jammeh coldly describe how his dad was murdered. Baba's father, Deyda Hydara, co-founder of The Point newspaper and AFP's correspondent in The Gambia for 30 years, was revered among journalists in this small west African country. Baba Hydara, 42, has fought for years for his father's murderers and those who ordered them to be brought to book.
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| Canadian police divers search river for missing teen murder suspects Posted: 04 Aug 2019 02:23 PM PDT  Canadian police divers are searching a river for two missing teenagers suspected of a double murder, after finding an abandoned boat on its shores.The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has been chasing Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, for weeks since the pair were connected to two separate killings in British Columbia earlier this month.Authorities announced on 31 July that they were scaling back the search, which had taken officers to the remote town of Gillam in northern Manitoba.On Friday RCMP officers, travelling in a helicopter, spotted a damaged aluminium boat on the shores of the Nelson River, near Gillam.RCMP divers have now travelled to the town to search a section of the river.Their hunt began on Sunday."RCMP Underwater Recovery Team (URT) will conduct a thorough underwater search of significant areas of interest today," the force said on Twitter.The teenagers have been tracked in a series of stolen cars as they have travelled thousands of miles across Canada, from its Pacific coast in the west all to the way east to rural Manitoba.RCMP units believe the pair have been cornered in this region of rural Manitoba.The manhunt began on 12 July when Mr McLeod and Mr Schmegelsky, childhood friends, left their home in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island and travelled 1,500 miles north to Whitehorse, in the Yukon, claiming that they were looking for work.But on 15 July police discovered the bodies of a young couple near Liard Hot Springs, back in British Columbia. The RCMP has said the teenagers are suspects in the case and are wanted for questioning.A few days later a burnt-out truck driven by the pair was discovered, along with the body of Leonard Dyck. Mr McLeod and Mr Schmegelsky have been charged with his murder and chased across Canada by the RCMP ever since.The father of Mr Schmegelsky has told reporters he believes his son is on a "suicide mission" and expects him to eventually die in a confrontation with the police."A normal child doesn't travel across the country killing people," he said. "A child in some very serious pain does."
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| There have been 255 mass shootings in the US so far in 2019 — here's the full list Posted: 05 Aug 2019 10:52 AM PDT  As of August 5, 2019, there have been more mass shootings in the US than there are days. At least 275 people have died in mass shootings this year.
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| Malaysian police looking for missing 15-year-old London girl Posted: 05 Aug 2019 06:47 AM PDT  Police in Malaysia said Monday they are investigating the disappearance of a 15-year-old London girl, but there were no initial indications of foul play. The family of Nora Quoirin says her father discovered her missing from her bedroom Sunday morning at a resort hotel in a nature reserve 63 kilometers (39 miles) south of Kuala Lumpur, with the window left open. The Lucie Blackman Trust, a British charity supporting people during a crisis overseas, quoted the girl's aunt as saying the family considers her disappearance a criminal matter.
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| Classmate Says Dayton Shooter Targeted Her in High School: ‘We Predicted He Would Do This’ Posted: 05 Aug 2019 12:17 PM PDT  via TwitterJessica Masseth was months into her sophomore year at Bellbrook High School in Ohio when she started getting disturbing text messages from a freshman named Connor Betts. Betts texted that Masseth was on his "rape list," describing in detail "what he wanted to do" to her, she said—even sending her the list of all of his proposed victims to prove she wasn't the only one. Finally, Masseth said she had enough and went to police. "I was not surprised at all when I heard his name on the news yesterday," she said. "We predicted he would do this 10 years ago." Early Sunday morning, authorities said Betts, 24, opened fire on a crowded Dayton street lined with bars and restaurants. Wearing body armor and carrying an assault-style rifle outfitted with a magazine carrying a hundred rounds, he killed nine people, including his sister, and injured 26 others. Police killed him before he murdered more.Dayton Shooter Murdered Sister in Attack, Officials SayPolice said they do not have a motive for Betts' deadly rampage, but Masseth and other classmates said he expressed violent attitudes going back a decade.Word spread quickly in 2010 about the lists of 15 classmates he wanted to "rape or kill" in a notebook he carried around, Masseth said. "He had a kill list that was mostly guys and then a rape list that was mostly girls," Masseth said, adding that he also texted her the list to prove she was on it. "The lists basically had any girl who turned him down, any girl who thought they were above him, and any guy that was competition or was seen as a threat."Masseth, who said she was "not one of the popular girls," was shocked when she started to get Betts' texts naming her as one of the girls on his "rape list." The texts, she said, made it seem like Betts had a "God complex mixed with 'Iwantattention.'"Masseth said she doesn't even remember having a full conversation with him."In the texts, and on the lists, he talked about destruction and dismemberment. I mean how did the police not know he was going to do something like what he did this weekend?" she said. "Everyone knew he was not right."After "countless texts" and growing concern in school about the lists, Masseth said she finally told her mother, who encouraged her to contact the authorities. Another former classmate, who spoke to The Daily Beast but asked not to be named, said she learned she was on the list when she was questioned by police in the principal's office one morning."There was chatter at school that a kid was taken off the bus by the police but we weren't really sure who it was," she said. "But then police started asking me questions about Connor Betts and whether there was any reason he would want to hurt me."The former student said the list was conveyed to her as a "kill, dismember, and rape list.""My best friend and I on that list," she said. "But a good amount of girls on the list were girls that didn't want to date him. I personally never perceived our relationship as that close."Police officers pulled Betts off a school bus as they headed to school, a former classmate told The Washington Post. Masseth said police questioned Betts about the hit lists and he was suspended from school. The following year he returned to school, she said. When she graduated in 2012, Betts was still "not right." "He basically got a slap on the wrist," she said. "If he was only held accountable, this shooting would have never happened because he wouldn't have been able to buy any firearms. There are levels of failure here."Police declined to comment on the purported lists, citing the "ongoing investigation" into Betts' mass murder. Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl said Sunday that Betts had no criminal record as an adult. Police said Betts arrived in Dayton's downtown entertainment district Saturday night in his father's car with with his younger sister, Megan, and a male acquaintance. Betts fatally shot his sister and wounded the acquaintance, who survived, police said. The acquaintance is not suspected to have played a role in the attack, officials say.Sometime around then, Betts crept through an alley before opening fire near a tattoo parlor before moving across the street toward a crowded line waiting to enter a bar. Just then, several police officers wielding pistols, a rifle, and a shotgun unloaded on Betts—and stopped him a split second before he stepped through the bar's open doors.Police said they are still investigating why Betts killed his sister and eight other people. Masseth said it is "still frightening" to learn he could have made good on his threat against her. "Everyone in high school knew what he was capable of, but there was a gap in getting Connor help because people just decided they didn't care," she said. "If people just cared a little more, none of this would have happened."The Mother Who Lost a Daughter to Her Son, the Mass MurdererRead more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Ex-Republican on Dayton, El Paso shooting tragedies: Guns should be much harder to get Posted: 04 Aug 2019 09:49 AM PDT  It's time to put safety over the false idea that regulating guns compromises the Second Amendment. Defending easy access misreads the Constitution.
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| Mitch McConnell Falls Outside His Home, Fractures Shoulder Posted: 04 Aug 2019 03:09 PM PDT  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell fell outside his home and fractured his shoulder in Louisville, Kentucky, Sunday."This morning, Leader McConnell tripped at home on his outside patio and suffered a fractured shoulder. He has been treated, released, and is working from home in Louisville," McConnell spokesman David Popp said in a statement according to The Washington Post.McConnell, 77, was briefly hospitalized after the fall. The Republican traveled to Kentucky on Friday to spend the roughly five-week recess in his home state. He was spotted Saturday at the annual Fancy Farm picnic, a political rally that features speakers from both parties, reported WLKY.The senator is seeking his seventh term in the Senate and faces a challenge from Democrat Amy McGrath, a former Kentucky congressional candidate and Marine fighter pilot.McConnell's fall comes as his critics point fingers at the powerful politician following two mass shootings in Texas and Ohio over the weekend. CNN anchor Brian Stelter used Twitter to point out six instances where McConnell offered prayers for those affected by mass shootings.
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| More than 175 killed worldwide in last eight years in white nationalist-linked attacks Posted: 04 Aug 2019 12:58 PM PDT  At least 16 high-profile attacks have been motivated by white nationalist conspiracy theoriesProtesters against gun violence dressed in white march in Times Square in response to recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, on Sunday in New York City. Photograph: Go Nakamura/Getty ImagesIn the past eight years, more than 175 people around the world have been killed in at least 16 high-profile attacks motivated, or apparently motivated, by white nationalist conspiracy theories, including the far-right racist belief that nonwhite immigrants and refugees are "invaders" who pose an existential threat to the white race.The targets of deadly attacks have included Muslim worshippers at mosques in Canada, Britain and New Zealand; black Americans in church, including during Bible study at a historic black church in South Carolina; Jewish Americans in synagogues across the United States; and leftwing politicians and activists in the US, UK, Greece and Norway.Now, law enforcement officials in the United States are investigating two more mass shootings with potential links to white nationalist radicalization.An attack on Saturday at a Walmart superstore in El Paso, Texas, a majority-Hispanic city, which left 22 people dead and more than two dozen wounded, and a shooting the previous weekend at a garlic festival in Gilroy, California, packed with families with young children, which left three people dead and 15 wounded.Many of the white male perpetrators or suspects in these attacks have explicitly described immigrants and refugees as "invaders" or an "invasion" online, and have cited previous white nationalist killers as the inspiration for their attacks.Several of these deadly attacks have also been closely linked to mainstream political debates over refugees and immigration. Here are the prominent cases prior to this August 2019 shooting: April 20191 killed in mass shooting targeting a synagogue in Poway, California, US.The alleged shooter, 19, from California, opened fire in a synagogue during Passover services, killing a 60-year-old woman and injuring three others. An "open letter" posted on the 8chan extremist message board before the attack included white nationalist conspiracy rhetoric and said the shooter was inspired by the gunman who had opened fire on Muslims at two mosques in New Zealand the month before. March 201951 killed in mass shootings targeting two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.The alleged shooter, a 28-year-old white man from Australia, posted on 8chan before the attack, and then live-streamed himself shooting unarmed people in and around two Christchurch mosques. The manifesto posted before the shooting paid tribute to previous white nationalist attacks, including Anders Breivik's 2011 bomb and shooting attack in Norway, as well as historic acts of violence against Muslims. October 201811 killed in a mass shooting targeting the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US.The alleged shooter, a 46-year-old white man, reportedly shouted "All Jews must die!" during the attack. After he was taken into custody, he told a law enforcement official that he believed Jews "were committing a genocide to his people", a central white nationalist conspiracy theory. The gunman, who is awaiting trial and has pleaded not guilty, apparently had an active profile on an extremist social media site, where he accused Jewish people of trying to bring "evil" Muslims into the US, and wrote that a refugee aid organisation "likes to bring invaders in that kill our people". October 2018Man attempted to enter black church before allegedly killing two black people in a supermarket in Kentucky, US.A witness said that during the attack, the alleged shooter said: "Whites don't kill whites." His two victims, Maurice Stallard, 69, and Vickie Lee Jones, 67, were both black. Shortly before the shooting he had attempted to enter a nearby, predominantly black church, which was locked. The suspect was charged with hate crimes. August 2017Heather Heyer was killed and dozens injured after a car ploughed into anti-Nazi protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, US.After authorities shut down a violent white supremacist and neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, one of the men who had been photographed with a white supremacist group drove his car into a crowded street full of counter-protesters. Heather Heyer, 32, who was there protesting the far-right supporters, was killed. Dozens more were injured, many seriously. The killer had been obsessed with Hitler as a teenager, according to a former teacher. He was sentenced to life in prison. June 2017A man called Makram Ali was killed and 12 people injured after a van ploughed into worshippers outside a mosque in Finsbury Park, United Kingdom.The killer, who has been jailed for life, shouted: "I want to kill all Muslims – I did my bit," after the van attack, according to witnesses. He had been radicalised online and over Twitter, a judge concluded, and avidly consumed anti-Muslim propaganda from prominent rightwing figures. May 2017Two men stabbed to death after intervening in an anti-Muslim rant, Portland, Oregon, US.Two men were killed and one injured after they tried to intervene to protect young women on a public train who were being targeted with an anti-Muslim tirade. Their alleged killer shouted "Free speech or die" later in a courtroom, and "Death to Antifa! You call it terrorism, I call it patriotism!" The suspect is awaiting trial. March 2017Timothy Caughman stalked and killed by a white supremacist with a sword, New York, US.The alleged killer later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life behind bars.Caughman, a 66-year-old "can and bottle recycler", had lively social media accounts full of photographs with celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey. His killer, an American military veteran, said he targeted a random black man on the street in New York City as a "practice run" for a bigger attack. January 2017Six people killed during evening prayers at a mosque in Quebec City, Canada.One of the victims, Azzeddine Soufiane, was killed as he attempted to tackle the gunman. Nineteen people were also injured in the shooting, which the convicted gunman said was prompted by Justin Trudeau's tweet that refugees were welcome in Canada, and that "diversity is strength". Those comments from the Canadian prime minster followed US president Donald Trump's travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority countries. The shooter, who said he feared refugees would kill his family, had previously been known as an aggressive online troll . June 2016Labour MP Jo Cox shot and stabbed to death, UK.Cox was a supporter of Britain staying in the European Union. She was attacked a week before the EU referendum vote in 2016. The man convicted of killing her was a white supremacist obsessed with the Nazis and apartheid-era South Africa. He shouted: "This is for Britain," "Keep Britain independent" and "Britain first" as he killed her. October 2015Three killed in attack on school in Trollhättan, Sweden.The attacker targeted a local high school with a high percentage of immigrant students. Police said students and teacherswith darker skinwere targeted. Three died, including 15-year-old Ahmed Hassan, who was born in Somalia and had recently moved to Sweden. June 2015Nine people killed during Bible study at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, US.The nine victims included elderly longtime church members at the Mother Emanuel AME church, and Clementa Pinckney, a state senator. The shooter, a self-avowed white supremacist, said he wanted to start a race war, and that he was concerned about "black-on-white crime". He has been convicted of murder and hate crimes. April 2014Three killed at Jewish centre and retirement home in Overland Park, Kansas, US.A former Ku Klux Klan leader shot and killed three people, one of them just 14 years old. He was later convicted of murder. He said he believed Jews were destroying the white race, and that diversity was a kind of genocide. None of his victims were Jewish, but he said he considered two of them to be accomplices to Jewish people. September 2013Rapper and anti-fascist activist Pavlos Fyssas stabbed to death in Piraeus, Greece.A senior member of Greece's neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party was imprisoned after confessing to the killing. August 2012Six worshippers killed in a shooting targeting a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.The dead included the temple president, Satwant Singh Kaleka. The shooter, a "frustrated neo-Nazi" who had played in white power bands, was a regular on racist websites, and died in the attack. He had previously talked to one colleague in the US military about a "racial holy war that was coming" and told another he was a "race traitor" for dating a Latina woman. July 201177 people killed in attacks on Utøya island and in Oslo, Norway.A bomb attack, followed by a shooting that targeted the island summer youth camp of Norway's Labor party. The shooter, who was convicted and is in prison, wanted to prevent an "invasion of Muslims" and deliberately targeted politically active young people who he saw as "cultural Marxists" and proponents of multiculturalism. More than half of the dead were teenagers.
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| FBI's haunting warning about 'lone offenders' paints a grim picture Posted: 05 Aug 2019 08:20 AM PDT  Series of deadly shootings highlight a simmering threat within the USA, a risk nearly on par with the international terror threat
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| Tumbling yuan, a new twist in US-China trade war Posted: 05 Aug 2019 08:55 AM PDT  The yuan plummeted Monday to an eleven-year low versus the dollar, adding fuel to the China-US trade war. - What determines the yuan's level? Ordinarily, the yuan's exchange rate is determined by the currency's supply and demand, a result of factors including China's trade balance and the country's interest and inflation rates.
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| Russia says it would respond to U.S. missile deployments in Asia Posted: 05 Aug 2019 04:13 AM PDT  Russia said on Monday it would take measures to defend itself if the United States stationed missiles in Asia following the collapse of a landmark arms control treaty and that it expected Japan to deploy a new U.S. missile launch system. U.S. Defence Secretary Mark Esper said on Saturday that he was in favour of placing ground-launched, intermediate-range missiles in Asia relatively soon.
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| Poll shows Germany still divided 30 years after fall of Berlin Wall Posted: 04 Aug 2019 07:35 AM PDT  Almost 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a new poll has exposed the enduring political divisions in Germany. The nationalist Alternative for Germany party (AfD) has surged to first place in the former communist east, with 23 per cent support. But it has failed to make a similar breakthrough in the former west, where it is in fourth place with just 12 per cent. The figures for the Green Party, which is in second place in the national polls, are almost a mirror image of the AfD's. In the former west, the Greens have 25 per cent support, but in the east it is they who are mired in fourth place with just 13 per cent. Just three months ahead of national celebrations to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Wall, the findings of the poll for Bild am Sonntag newspaper have laid bare the deep divide that persists across the old Cold War border. The AfD looks set to dominate the headlines in the run-up to November's anniversary, with the polls suggesting it could come first in regional elections in three eastern states this autumn. The party's anti-migrant platform has proved highly effective in the former communist east, where the city of Chemnitz saw violent protests last year. But the east accounts for less than a fifth of Germany's population, and the party has failed to make the sort of inroads in the west it would need to challenge for power. Current polls suggest the AfD could come first in three regional elections in eastern Germany this autumn Credit: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg The poll's findings suggest Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) are the only party that can claim nationwide support. They are first in the west with 27 per cent, and second in the east with 22 per cent — a single point behind the AfD. Support for Germany's other traditional main party has collapsed: the centre-Left Social Democrats (SPD) are third in the west on 13 per cent and a dismal fifth in the east with just 11 per cent. While the AfD is unlikely to win a majority in any of this autumn's regional elections, and will probably be kept out of power by a coalition of rival parties, coming first would be a shot across the bows of Mrs Merkel's government. The latest poll findings come as a new academic study claimed to show how the AfD distorts public perception of migrant crime figures. Researchers at Hamburg and Leipzig universities found AfD press statements blamed migrants for crimes in 95 per cent of cases last year, while police figures show they were only responsible for 35 per cent. "It's surprising how consistently this happens," Prof Thomas Hestermann and Prof Elisa Hoven, the study's authors, said.
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| Probe: No bias by TSA supervisor, but profiling concerns Posted: 05 Aug 2019 01:15 PM PDT  Investigators were unable to corroborate specific allegations that a Transportation Security Administration supervisor instructed air marshals to racially discriminate against passengers at Florida's busiest airport. The Office of Inspector General launched the investigation a year ago at the request of U.S. lawmakers after three air marshals went public with the discrimination allegations about the supervisor.
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| Utah State Student Killed Herself After Eight Months of Racist Attacks—and the School Did Nothing, Suit Claims Posted: 05 Aug 2019 10:24 AM PDT  Courtesy Anderson and Karrenberg Law Firm"Every day I dread going to class now because I sit three feet from my white bully," a Malaysian student at Utah State University texted her friend months before she killed herself, according to a federal lawsuit filed last week on her family's behalf.After eight months of racist bullying by classmates, 24-year-old Ph.D. candidate Jerusha Sanjeevi ended her life in April 2017, the 91-page complaint states. Sanjeevi was of Chinese and Indian heritage but was born and raised in Malaysia.The lawsuit, filed by Sanjeevi's boyfriend, Matthew Bick, names as defendants Utah State University, the head of the psychology department, some of the students who were in her cohort, and professors. The complaint alleges negligence, wrongful death, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. It contends that the university's lack of action—even after Sanjeevi complained about the alleged bullying to professors and a department chairperson—violated her civil rights. The Herald Journal first reported on the lawsuit Friday.Sanjeevi graduated from Minnesota State University with a Master's degree in clinical psychology and then enrolled in Utah State's psychology Ph.D. program in fall 2016. Eighty-three percent of students at the school are white, the lawsuit claims. The department "knowingly allowed one of its students to be verbally abused, intimidated and subjected to cultural and racist discrimination by favored students over the course of eight months, when she was rendered so emotionally devastated and hopeless that she committed suicide," the lawsuit claims.Other students in her cohort spread rumors about Sanjeevi, made fun of her "weird" Asian name, told her she smelled like Indian food, and derided her darker skin color as making her less deserving of a research position, according to the lawsuit.One of the students repeatedly made derisive comments about Asians, including that "Asian researcher names are so weird" and "Asians only want to please their parents," the complaint alleges. Members of the cohort told Sanjeevi's attorneys that this other student "was tormenting [Sanjeevi] daily."During an email conversation between professors excerpted in the lawsuit—about the tension between Sanjeevi and one of her alleged bullies—one wrote: "This is getting messy and ugly.""I'm going to leave my lab because I can't take it anymore," Sanjeevi told a friend, according to the lawsuit. "She knew that I've been struggling with the fear of getting deported since the election. She knew that I have no power here as a foreign student. And she did this to me on top of all of that. I don't understand how a person can be so cruel."In an essay assignment, Sanjeevi wrote that "[e]ncountering racism even in graduate school in psychology reinforced a powerful lesson that I learned my entire life: that I can put a nice suit on, but I can never take my skin off."By December, Sanjeevi had a meeting with the head of the department to report that she felt bullied and was "afraid" of at least one member of her cohort. But the department head labeled the issue as "a conflict between students" and declined to investigate the multiple reports of bullying and racism by specific students, even after Sanjeevi's death, according to the lawsuit.Eventually, other students began describing Sanjeevi as "despondent," "withdrawn," and "defeated and tired," the complaint states. Over those eight months, Sanjeevi reported the alleged bullying to at least five faculty members, in addition to a member of the school's counseling center, a representative of the student conduct office, and another individual at the affirmative action department, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.Just days before she killed herself, Sanjeevi told a friend that she was overwhelmed by the department's apparent apathy, the complaint states."I just don't understand why I matter so little to them," she said. "I haven't been feeling like living and this just confirms that I don't want this life anymore."On April 22, 2017, she died of acute carbon monoxide poisoning. Her body was found two days later."When something like this happens, people ask why," Sanjeevi wrote in a note before her death. "So I'm about to tell you why, and spare you the wondering.""I have lived with depression for over half my life, and somehow survived each episode. But each wave of sadness grew darker and longer," she wrote. "I looked and looked for a lifeline. Until I realized that I didn't deserve one. Because [the Department] succeeded at teaching me what poverty, violence, rape, and hunger somehow never did… When you dismissed the bullying report, you provided a final confirmation that I did, in fact, not matter.""The innocence of blonde hair and blue eyes could deny, with toxic ease, the 'crazy' ramblings of this dirty brown skin," Sanjeevi continued. "Watching the department not only choose to not enact consequences, but to give an award to the sick person who bullied me, was the last nail in my coffin. My heart was broken."Amanda DeRito, a spokeswoman for the university, told The Daily Beast on Monday that Sanjeevi's suicide was "a tragic event that had a huge impact on the psychology department and on our entire university" and said the university "strongly" disputes the allegations in the complaint."We believe Utah State took all appropriate action to address interpersonal issues between students in the department," DeRito said, declining to comment further on the details of the case, citing the pending litigation.The complaint seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages for Sanjeevi's family in Malaysia."Please be kinder in the future," Sanjeevi wrote in her suicide note. "Please send my ashes to my parents."If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.Death-Obsessed Missouri Frat Brother's 'Advice' Pushed Five People to Kill Themselves, Lawsuit ClaimsNYPD Officer Dies of Suicide, the Third Self-Inflicted Death in Less Than Two WeeksRead 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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| Hidden camera catches husband trying to poison his wife's coffee Posted: 05 Aug 2019 10:36 AM PDT  What she caught on film made her fall to her knees and sob
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| Chicago shootings leave 40 shot, 3 fatally; Mt. Sinai Hospital closes emergency room Posted: 04 Aug 2019 01:01 PM PDT  A West Side hospital is not accepting any more patients to its emergency room after a violent weekend in which 40 people were shot, three fatally, across the city.
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| A 6-year-old boy was thrown from the 10th floor of London's Tate Modern Posted: 05 Aug 2019 12:29 PM PDT  A teen was arrested and charged with attempted murder after allegedly throwing a boy from the 10th floor of London's Tate Modern gallery.
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| El Paso shooting: Trump administration cut programmes to fight far-right extremism and white supremacy in US Posted: 05 Aug 2019 03:40 PM PDT  Donald Trump's administration had previously taken steps to cut programmes aimed at identifying and fighting far-right extremism or white nationalism, an apparent motive that inspired the shooter who opened fire in El Paso, Texas, over the weekend.In the aftermath of that shooting on Saturday that left 22 dead, a debate surrounding domestic extremism has bubbled to the top of American discourse, with many denouncing Mr Trump's rhetoric as a racist dog whistle encouraging white nationalists and supremacistsAnd, even as the president on Monday denounced white supremacy and hatred, residents of El Paso and terrorism experts have questioned the administration's 2017 decision to cut funding for the Obama-era Countering Violent Extremism Programme, which allocated $10 million to fight the kinds of domestic extremism seen this past weekend, and other measures."I think, clearly, the events of this last weekend, and the events of the last several years have shown that writ-large not enough is being done to counter violent extremists and right-wing violent extremists," Colin Clarke, a senior researcher and terrorism expert with the Soufan Centre, told The Independent."Even if you step away from the data, anecdotally, this is a pretty steady drumbeat since Charlottesville," he continued, referring to the demonstrations in Virginia in 2017 in which a white supremacist killed a young woman.In addition to ending that 2016 programme, the Trump administration halted more than $1.3 million in grants to organisations dedicated to fighting online extremism, and to helping neo-Nazis hoping to reform.Those actions came as America experienced a spike in the number of far-right extremist attacks, from two incidents in 2007, to 31 in 2017. And, just last month, FBI director Cristopher Wray testified that white supremacism made up the majority of domestic terrorism cases his agency faces."I will say that a majority of the domestic terrorism cases that we've investigated are motived by some version of what you might call white supremacist violence, but it does include other things as well," Mr Wray said during testimony before the Senate judiciary committee.It's an issue that has been on the minds of those in El Paso as the city begins to heal after the Saturday shooting, with residents of the Texas city urging Mr Trump to reinstate the Obama-era measures that could potentially combat the kinds of extremism that has landed the city in the middle of that latest American tragedy.That includes Evelyn Shelton, a student of forensic science at the University of Texas at El Paso, who was with a friend on Monday looking at the wall of flowers and crosses that have been placed overlooking the Walmart shopping centre where the shooing took place."It's really upsetting that he wanted to talk about immigration. Immigration is not the problem here," Ms Shelton said of Mr Trump's response to the shootingAsked about the anti-domestic terror schemes, she said: "If we have groups that have hatred towards certain groups they should be monitored."Her friend, Yerian Antonetty, 19, who is studying psychology, said she had seen the president's tweets. "People are grieving, and he should not be trying to benefit from it," she said.Of the Obama-era schemes, she said: "It's something that should be funded. A lot of these people are violent, and there are certain [people] they don't want around."Another mourner, Ursula Breckinbridge, 77, said she agreed with the president that mental health was an issue, but that fighting extremism appears to be a real issue facing America."He had to be mentally ill," she said of Saturday's shooter. "You can't be shooting at people like that if you were in a normal state."Asked about whether the president should be targeting white extremists, she said: "I don't want to speak badly of the president but, yes, it's something he should do."She added: "I am sure the president will do something. He has to do something."
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| Libya airliner narrowly avoids airport bombing Posted: 05 Aug 2019 03:53 AM PDT  A Libyan airliner has narrowly escaped being hit by incoming fire as it landed at war-torn capital Tripoli's sole functioning airport, aviation officials said. "The crew on the flight from Benghazi, which was carrying 124 passengers, avoided being hit by bombing on Mitiga International Airport" on Sunday evening, the airport's management wrote on Facebook. The incident forced the airport to close to air traffic and re-route flights to Misrata, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) further east, until late Sunday night.
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| View Photos of the New 2020 Nissan Versa Posted: 05 Aug 2019 10:04 AM PDT |
| UN report: North Korea cyber experts raised up to $2 billion Posted: 05 Aug 2019 04:27 PM PDT  The experts said in a new report to the Security Council that North Korea is using cyberspace "to launch increasingly sophisticated attacks to steal funds from financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges to generate income" in violation of sanctions. Cryptocurrency exchanges deal in virtual money like bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple which use a technology called blockchain.
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| Ugandan presidential hopeful says ally dead after abduction, torture Posted: 05 Aug 2019 12:37 PM PDT ![Ugandan presidential hopeful says ally dead after abduction, torture]( "Ugandan presidential hopeful says ally dead after abduction, torture") A Ugandan musician-turned-legislator who is seeking to challenge veteran President Yoweri Museveni said on Monday a supporter and fellow singer had died after being abducted and tortured, in what police are treating as a homicide. Since joining politics two years ago Robert Kyagulanyi has rattled authorities in the East African country with his growing popularity and biting criticism of Museveni, who has ruled since taking power in a 1986 coup. In a statement, Kyagulanyi said that Michael Kalinda, a fellow musician who also works in his recording studios, died Sunday night after he was abducted by unidentified people.
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| Is Manila Worth American Lives? Posted: 04 Aug 2019 03:00 PM PDT  Washington policymakers treat allies like Facebook friends, the more the merrier. Montenegro or the United Kingdom, allies are viewed as much the same. Administrations routinely ink another "mutual" defense treaty and pretend the result is a real military alliance, designed to make America more secure.In fact, most U.S. "allies" are nothing of the sort. During the Cold War Washington's principal objective was to prevent weak, war-torn, and/or failed states from falling under the control of the Soviet Union, and later China and North Korea. Although General and then President Dwight Eisenhower warned against turning the Europeans into security dependents, successive administrations ignored his advice. The U.S. inevitably took the lead and didn't worry much about what its nominal allies did. They lagged behind the United States, failed to fulfill their commitments, and not too subtly took a very cheap if not quite free ride at Washington's expense. U.S. officials whined on cue about the unfairness, but otherwise did nothing.The allies eventually recovered economically, with Japan, Germany, the UK, France, and South Korea becoming important international players. Nevertheless, Washington continues to be overwhelmingly responsible for national and regional as well as global security. The presumption is that its alliances are essentially costless. All Washington needs to do to deter impudent adversaries is make an occasional threat or issue a pertinent demand. There's really no need for allies to even possess weapons.
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| Frenchman achieves 'dream' of first hoverboard Channel crossing Posted: 04 Aug 2019 01:49 AM PDT  A Frenchman who has spent years developing a jet-powered hoverboard zoomed across the English Channel on Sunday, fulfilling his quest just 10 days after failing in a first attempt when he fell into the water while trying to refuel. Franky Zapata set off on his "Flyboard" from Sangatte on the northern coast of France at 8:17 am (0617 GMT) for the 35-kilometre (22-mile) trip to St. Margaret's Bay in Dover, on England's south coast. "Everything went great! Even though it was still tricky," Zapata said after the flight, referring to a complex landing manoeuvre on a boat around three-quarters of the way across to pick up a fresh backpack full of kerosene.
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| At least 9 dead, 27 injured. Victims identified. What we know about the Dayton, Ohio shooting Posted: 05 Aug 2019 04:14 AM PDT  Nine people were killed and at least 27 were injured when a gunman opened fire in Dayton, Ohio. Here's what we know.
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| O.C. murder fugitive who allegedly murdered wife in 2012 captured in Mexico, authorities say Posted: 05 Aug 2019 12:33 PM PDT  A Southern California multimillionaire who went on the run after he was charged in the 2012 death of his wife was captured in Mexico, according to the Newport Beach Police Department.
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| Gun control won't prevent deadly shootings: Brazil's Bolsonaro Posted: 04 Aug 2019 04:59 PM PDT  Brasília (AFP) - President Jair Bolsonaro argued Sunday for his signature policy of relaxing gun control measures, saying they will not stop mass shootings such as those that left 29 dead in the US over the weekend. "Disarming people isn't going to keep that from happening," Bolsonaro said. The United States was in mourning Sunday for victims of two mass shootings that killed 29 people in less than 24 hours.
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| Trump tweets as gun violence and white nationalist terrorism stalk America Posted: 04 Aug 2019 10:45 AM PDT  Domestic terrorism now results in more deaths than the foreign kind but the president shows no sign of toning down his rhetoricDonald Trump takes part in a listening session on 21 February 2018 on gun violence with teachers and students after the mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty ImagesTwo menaces have stalked America throughout its history. One is gun violence. The other is white supremacy. In El Paso, Texas, on Saturday they collided.A 21-year-old gunman with a hatred of Hispanic immigrants killed 20 people in a shopping mall in the eighth deadliest mass shooting in American history. The suspect is believed to have posted online an anti-immigrant screed that praised the killing of 51 people in Christchurch mosques in New Zealand in March.Less than 13 hours later, nine people were killed in Dayton, Ohio, in a second mass shooting.The chilling reality of domestic terrorism – which now results in far more deaths than foreign terrorism – was acknowledged by political analysts, Democratic candidates for president and George P Bush, nephew of former president George W Bush.But there was no televised appearance from President Donald Trump, who attempted to wash his hands of the hate crime in a few tweets. His acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, toured TV studios on Sunday expressing righteous indignation. "I blame the people who pull the trigger," Mulvaney told NBC's Meet the Press with Chuck Todd. "Goodness gracious, is someone really blaming the president? People are sick, until we address why people think this way."There is a need for caution when drawing a direct line between politicians and heinous acts: the Columbine high school massacre happened under President Bill Clinton, the Orlando nightclub shooting under Barack Obama. But the lone gunman theory is often a way of refusing to grapple with underlying motives. For those who live with violence and its consequences in their communities every day, context matters.Trump has spent the past month stoking racial resentments, tweeting that four US congresswomen of colour should "go back" to their countries, holding a rally where the crowd chanted "send her back!" and deriding the majority African American district that contains part of Baltimore as "a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess".Inflammatory words matter in a country that has more guns than people. Tragically, shootings have become as American as apple pie. Dayton was the 22nd mass killing in America this year, according to an AP/USA Today/Northeastern University mass murder database, which tracks all attacks involving four or more people killed. America has by far the highest gun ownership rate in the world.Time and again Congress refuses to act. Not even the shooting that killed 20 students and six teachers at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012 led to meaningful reforms, even though a sympathetic president, Barack Obama, was in the White House.Then came Trump. The National Rifle Association (NRA) was a key part of his coalition, spending $30m to help him beat Hillary Clinton. He has resisted basic measures such as signing background checks for gun sales into law. A promise to defend the second amendment, the right to bear arms, always rouses one of the biggest cheers at his campaign ralles. Trump wildly exaggerates Democrats' plans for gun control.In addition, Trump has fomented a toxic discourse around immigration and race. He questioned Obama's birthplace, launched his election campaign with talk of Mexican "criminals" and "rapists" and drew moral equivalence between white supremacists and anti-fascist protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia. He has used the word "invasion" numerous times when tweeting about the US-Mexico border; the gunman in El Paso, in a "manifesto" being linked to him, complained of a "Hispanic invasion of Texas".White nationalist terrorism is now a real danger, yet it receives a fraction of the attention of Islamist extremism. The FBI director, Christopher Wray, testified last month that the bureau has recorded about 100 arrests of domestic terrorism suspects in the past nine months; many were linked to white supremacist violence. Trump's critics say he is fanning the flames of bigotry.Presidential candidate Cory Booker told CNN's State of the Union: "I want to say with more moral clarity that Donald Trump is responsible for this. He is responsible because he is stoking fears and hatred and bigotry. He is responsible because he is failing to condemn white supremacy, and seeing it as it is.Trump believes the rhetoric worked for him in 2016, not with a majority of Americans (he lost the popular vote), but with the white-majority states that were crucial to his victory in the electoral college. The past month – where has doubled down on race baiting and launched unprecedented racist attacks on Democrat politicians of color – strongly implies he will try the same approach in 2020 but perhaps go even further. The election looks set to be the most explosive in living memory.But, gun control activists say, this is no time for despair or surrender. The NRA is currently in a state of disarray, plagued by internal feuding and financial strife. House Republicans suffered a hammering in last year's midterm elections, driven by an anti-Trump backlash. Voters can make a difference in 2020, not only in the White House but, crucially, in the Senate. As Nelson Mandela once observed, it always seems impossible until it is done.
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| The Latest: HK police tear gas protesters in shopping area Posted: 04 Aug 2019 07:19 AM PDT  Riot police in Hong Kong have fired rounds of tear gas at protesters occupying a high-end shopping area. The tear gas Sunday evening beat back most of the crowd, but some protesters resisted by throwing the canisters back at officers and hurling eggs and other objects. Demonstrators debated whether they could feasibly defend the area or if they should migrate to another district, as they have been doing throughout the night.
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| UPDATE 1-Bolton warns China, Russia not to double down on support of Maduro Posted: 05 Aug 2019 01:50 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Bolton warns China, Russia not to double down on support of Maduro]( "UPDATE 1-Bolton warns China, Russia not to double down on support of Maduro") U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton on Monday warned China and Russia not to double down in support of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, saying Venezuela might not repay its debt to them after Maduro falls. Bolton said a democratically elected government in Venezuela may view the two countries as hostile powers for supporting what he called the "criminal regime" of Maduro for so long, and could opt not to pay them back billions of dollars in loans.
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| Not Even ‘Thoughts and Prayers’ From NRA—Just Boasts About Its Legislative Wins Posted: 04 Aug 2019 09:10 AM PDT  At times like this, I pay a visit to the NRA's website. If you've never looked at it, do so. As you'd expect, it's a slick and professionally produced affair, nearly all of it devoted to boasting about the group's successes and legislative wins. There wasn't a word, Sunday morning, about the weekend's carnage in El Paso and Dayton. There was, however, one piece of content that the weekend's events turned into a macabre joke. The lead story, so to speak, on the home page was something called "A Statement by NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre."Yes, I was naïve enough to think that this was going to be about the weekend's shootings. It would be evasive and dishonest, of course, but at least it would acknowledge that these horrors had occurred.But when I clicked on it and started reading it, I saw that in fact it was a statement to members explaining why the NRA was going to stop producing live television for NRATV. This was not of course the NRA's fault, because nothing is ever the NRA's fault, according to the NRA. Instead, LaPierre pinned the problem on "our longtime advertising firm and website vendor," which had "failed to deliver upon many contractual obligations." Rest assured though that NRATV would continue to exist, airing exclusive video content. The world can't live without that.From time to time, I visit the web page of the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action (ILA). This is the dark heart of it, where they brag about how many politicians they own. I nosed around this page on Sunday morning, and lo and behold, the top item "Trending Now" was about a governor who'd just signed 10 "pro-Second Amendment" bills into law. The governor in question is Greg Abbott, of Texas, who Saturday bemoaned "one of the most deadly days in the history of Texas."Ten laws! One measure prohibits "no firearms" clauses in future residential leases, which is great, right, because it means that people who rent apartments can build up whatever caches of semi-automatic weapons they want. Another prevents school districts from prohibiting the presence of firearms in private cars on school property. This is great, too, because it allows teachers to come to school armed. Of course, it logically does the same for unstable people who want to shoot up a high school. But the price of liberty is high.And another strikes the words "churches, synagogues, or other places of worship" from an existing firearms law, "clarifying that these places have the same right enjoyed by nearly all other controllers of private property in the state to decide whether to allow License To Carry holders on their premises." Because packing heat in church is just what Jesus would want.(Sunday night, long after this essay was posted, the NRA got around to mentioning that "Our deepest sympathies are with the families and victims of these tragedies, as well as the entire communities of El Paso and Dayton." The statement from LaPierre, however, remained atop its website, with no mention on the homepage of the massacres.)No one is putting the blame for these shootings directly on the gun group or the politicians in its pocket. We are blaming them for the fact that ours is such a blood-splattered land, completely unlike anyplace else in the world. Other countries do sensible things. You'll recall that after that mass shooting in New Zealand in March, the country's parliament banned assault weapons six days later. Six days! New Zealand has not, incidentally, escaped the NRA's notice. The second trending item, under Governor Abbott's heroic efforts, was called "Never Enough: New Zealand pushes even more gun control."Yes, because sane countries do something. Here in the United States, these things happen, and we do nothing. We even watched 20 first graders get slaughtered by a crazy man in Connecticut, and we did nothing. More than 100 pieces of gun legislation have been introduced in Congress since around the time of that Sandy Hook massacre. Not one has passed. Most don't even get voted on. Then, every so often, Moscow Mitch decides it's time to go through the charade of giving a gun control bill a vote, and the Republicans all vote no.And now let's talk about Donald Trump. Where the NRA said nothing about the massacre in El Paso, Donald Trump Saturday at least did tweet to condemn the "hateful act." Fine. But remember that he had been in the very same El Paso back in February, where he riled people up and bragged about border patrol agents arresting undocumented immigrants who were guilty of "murders, murders, killings, murders" (at which point the crowd started chanting "build the wall!"). The El Paso shooter's apparent manifesto mentioned a "Hispanic invasion of Texas."More recently, Trump spoke to the NRA-ILA convention in Indianapolis in April. The right to bear arms "is under assault," he said. "But not while we're here." He then used the occasion to announce that he was pulling the United States out of the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty. You know that he revoked U.S. acceptance of the Paris climate accord and the Iran deal. But you probably didn't hear about this one. It regulates international trade in conventional weapons. It entered into force in 2014, and 101 nations have accepted it. Not the United States. The Senate, led by you know who, never ratified it. And it is opposed, of course, by the NRA.This is what the NRA does, day after day and week after week, largely out of public view. They buy politicians like Abbott ("A Rating" from the NRA) and state legislatures and even presidents. They dream up laws normal people wouldn't even conceive of—laws that make sure the horrors like those we have just witnessed in El Paso and Dayton happen and will continue to happen. Each new bloodbath should bring us closer to finally acting, but if anything the country is moving in the opposite direction. All in the name of freedom.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Doomed: How the Battle of Saipan Ended Japan's Imperial Dreams Posted: 04 Aug 2019 03:30 AM PDT  Saipan, about 85 square miles in size, is the southernmost island in the Marianas chain. Peering through his binoculars, Vice Adm. Chuichi Nagumo was in awe of the nearly 800 ships from Vice Adm. Raymond A. Spruance's 5th Fleet. Just three years before he had led the carrier force at the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that initiated hostilities between Japan and the United States. But this was no time to gloat over past victories. As he lowered his glasses, Nagumo realized that the Americans must be stopped here. If the invading forces captured Saipan, their Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers could easily reach Japan itself.Saipan, about 85 square miles in size, is the southernmost island in the Marianas chain. It was the next important step in the Allied planning to conquer Japan. One of Saipan's dominating features is Mount Tapotchau, over 1,500 feet high, situated near the center of the island. Also, a ridge runs from the southern end all the way to Mount Marpi at the extreme northern tip. To make things worse, steep cliffs dominate the region and a plateau is located in the southern area.(Originally Published May 29, 2019. This article originally appeared on the Warfare History Network.)"Saipan combined everything that the Americans had learned to hate about fighting the Japanese," wrote historian Brian Blodgett in his paper "The Invasion of Saipan." "The island was comprised of varied landmasses with swamps, sugarcane fields, jungle-covered mountains, and steep ravines."American forces had their work cut out for them.
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| For Ireland Plc, Pain of No-Deal Brexit Is Starting to Hit Home Posted: 03 Aug 2019 10:00 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Ireland's biggest companies are getting a taste of the pain that could come from the U.K. crashing out of the European Union without a deal.Amid the deepening impasse over how to deal with the Irish border, the country's ISEQ All-Share Index has been the worst performing benchmark in Europe, the Middle East and Africa since Boris Johnson became U.K. prime minister, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Johnson has declared the so-called backstop for the Irish border "undemocratic" and vowed to leave the EU with or without an agreement. The hard-line stance causes uncertainty over how commerce between Britain and the bloc will continue after the Oct. 31 deadline and raises the specter of checkpoints returning to the island.A hard Brexit would see the creation of a border between Ireland and the U.K.'s Northern Ireland "overnight," said Fiona Muldoon, chief executive of insurer FBD Holdings Plc, joining a growing chorus of companies from Ryanair Holdings Plc to Bank of Ireland Group Plc saying the uncertainty around Brexit is biting.Smurfit Kappa Group Plc said British demand is among the weakest in the packaging company's 35 markets and its U.K. spending is about 20% to 25% lower than it would otherwise have been because of the political uncertainty, suggesting no deal would be "disastrous" for the country and hit Ireland's trade with its neighbor."It's a really important issue for us that there is a deal," CEO Tony Smurfit said. "We hope that in the end the adults will take over and make sure a deal happens."Less LendingRyanair, Europe's biggest budget airline, recently revealed plans for one of the deepest rounds of job cuts in years, as Brexit amplifies concerns around low fares and the grounding of Boeing Co.'s 737 Max jetliner.A no-deal Brexit "could have a very damaging effect, particularly on our U.K. bases and on some of our Irish bases, which are heavily dependent on people traveling between Ireland and the U.K.," CEO Michael O'Leary told staff.The concerns over the fallout from a crash Brexit is prompting Irish businesses, especially smaller firms, to refrain from borrowing, according to Bank of Ireland CEO Francesca McDonagh."Brexit uncertainty is creating some reticence," McDonagh told analysts. "A year ago we would have assumed that Brexit would have been resolved."Pound FalloutJohnson's pledge that the U.K. will leave the EU on Oct. 31 "do or die" has prompted the pound to tumble to the lowest level since early 2017. The currency's slump is "a serious threat to many Irish exporters if not sufficiently recognized, managed and mitigated," said Simon McKeever, chief executive of the Irish Exporters Association.Amid all the gloom, some executives do see a potential silver lining. A no-deal Brexit could bolster demand for office space in Dublin "because I think you'll see financial companies, legal companies relocate," said Kevin Nowlan, chief executive of Hibernia REIT, one of the biggest landlords in Irish capital."The longer there is indecision from the U.K., the better for us," Nowlan said after the company's annual investor meeting. Still, he conceded downsides remain, with local companies holding off on taking space as the uncertainty lingers.'No Lifeboats'While the catalog of concerns hasn't yet translated into pressure on Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar to back down, there's an emerging acknowledgment of the risks, and business leaders are looking for more clarity on how the government plans to protect the economy."It's akin to the captain of a ship going to sea without any lifeboats for the passengers," said Joe Healy, president of the Irish Farmers Association. Varadkar's administration is "saying nothing about plans to protect Irish farmers, who are in the front line and the most exposed in Europe."\--With assistance from Richard Weiss.To contact the reporters on this story: Dara Doyle in Dublin at ddoyle1@bloomberg.net;Peter Flanagan in Dublin at pflanagan23@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Chris Reiter, Andrew BlackmanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| One day after El Paso shooting, Florida man threatens to 'shoot up' Walmart where his mother works Posted: 05 Aug 2019 04:54 PM PDT  Wayne Lee Padgett, 31, called a Walmart where his mother works and threatened to "shoot up" the store. He was arrested and charged with a felony.
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| EU criticises 'militarisation' of South China Sea Posted: 05 Aug 2019 02:29 AM PDT  The "militarisation" of the South China Sea is threatening peace in the contested waterway, the EU's top diplomat said Monday in Hanoi, echoing warnings from the US as pressure mounts against Beijing's ambitions in the region. China has been accused of deploying warships, arming outposts and ramming fishing vessels in the resource-rich sea, sparking ire from other claimants. On Monday, the European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the bloc was concerned over "increasing tension" in the area.
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| California tries to score points against Trump with unconstitutional tax returns law Posted: 05 Aug 2019 03:00 AM PDT  Even Jerry Brown agreed it was unwise to require presidential candidates like Trump to reveal tax returns. States shouldn't set their own conditions.
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