| Fears in US of bad peace deal with the Taliban Posted: 17 Aug 2019 06:21 PM PDT  An Afghanistan peace agreement that the US seems close to reaching with the Taliban has prompted worries that President Donald Trump's desire to quickly withdraw US troops could further plunge the country into civil war. Trump said Friday he was pleased with talks on ending the war, 18 years after the September 11, attacks that prompted the US invasion of Afghanistan in the first place. In recent days several US officials have suggested that an accord could be imminent in discussions with the Taliban in Qatar.
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| John Hickenlooper is out of the 2020 presidential race. That's good news for these 3 Democratic candidates Posted: 18 Aug 2019 07:31 AM PDT  Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper's exit from presidential race means other candidates have an opportunity to win over his supporters.
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| New Orleans: Pilot told tower of problems before plane crash Posted: 17 Aug 2019 04:27 PM PDT  The pilot of a small plane in a deadly crash near New Orleans' Lakefront Airport radioed the control tower shortly after takeoff about unspecified problems and sought clearance to return, federal investigators said Saturday. The pilot and an award-winning television journalist aboard were both killed in the crash Friday afternoon. The National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement that the pilot contacted the tower just before the Aerotek Pitts S-2B went down in a field not far from the airport.
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| 7 shot after random Snapchat invites to ‘instant house party,’ Texas cops say Posted: 18 Aug 2019 11:32 AM PDT  An "instant party" in Texas ended with a car chase and several people shot, police say.
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| Grace 1 tanker raises Iranian flag, changes name to 'Adrian Darya-1' Posted: 18 Aug 2019 04:04 AM PDT  An Iranian tanker caught in a stand-off between Tehran and the West has raised an Iranian flag and has had a new name painted on its side, Reuters images of the stationary vessel filmed off Gibraltar showed on Sunday. British Royal Marines seized the vessel in Gibraltar in July on suspicion that it was carrying oil to Syria, a close ally of Iran, in violation of European Union sanctions. Video footage and photographs showed the tanker flying the red, green and white flag of Iran and bearing the new name of 'Adrian Darya-1' painted in white on its hull.
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| Roller coaster malfunction causes cars to collide; multiple kids taken to hospital Posted: 17 Aug 2019 08:08 AM PDT  Five people were taken to the hospital Friday night after malfunctioning roller coaster failed to stop in Ocean City, Maryland.
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| Man charged after New York scare over rice cookers Posted: 17 Aug 2019 10:03 PM PDT  A young homeless man has been charged with placing false bombs, police said Saturday, after three empty rice cookers caused major commuter disruption in New York. Larry K. Griffin II, 26, was arrested by the New York Police Department and charged with three counts of placing a false bomb, according to a statement released Saturday. Parts of the city were alerted for two hours Friday morning as three suspicious objects were found: two near the World Trade Centre in the Fulton Street subway station, and one in the Chelsea district further north.
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| Days away from moving for a dream job, Miami doctor is killed in fall from cliff on vacation Posted: 18 Aug 2019 03:56 PM PDT  Daniel Sirovich was a native of Kearny, NJ, who loved traveling and was interested in sports and international medicine.
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| Buttigieg: opposition to gay marriage will 'wash away' among black Americans Posted: 18 Aug 2019 07:52 AM PDT  Democratic 2020 presidential hopeful says change will occur when voters see his policies will work in their interests2020 Democratic presidential hopeful, South Bend, Indiana Mayor, Pete Buttigieg speaks during a campaign event at the Smokey Row coffee shop in Oskaloosa, Iowa on 15 August. Photograph: Alex Edelman/AFP/Getty ImagesOpposition to gay marriage among African Americans will "start to wash away", Pete Buttigieg said on Sunday, when such voters "struggling to get on to right side of history" see he will work in their interests.The mayor of South Bend, Indiana, spoke to CNN's State of the Union from Georgetown, South Carolina, a crucial early voting state which this weekend played host to a number of candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination.Buttigieg, 37, is in the top five in most polls but has not built on an initial surge. A national Fox News poll released this week gave former vice-president Joe Biden a familiar healthy lead among African American Democratic primary voters, over three senators: Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Kamala Harris of California and Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts.Polling also shows that less than half black Protestant Christians, a key voting bloc, support same-sex marriage. Buttigieg has also faced controversy arising from an officer-involved shooting of an African American man in South Bend in June but on CNN the candidate, who is married, was asked if being gay was part of what was holding him back with at least some black voters."I think most black voters like most voters in general want to know what the candidates are actually going to do to improve their lives," he said. "And when I talk to black voters in particular there's a sense of having been taken for granted in politics in the sense that candidates haven't always been speaking to them in terms of gaining their trust."Mentioning policy proposals, Buttigieg cited his Douglass plan, named for the great 19th-century anti-slavery campaigner Frederick Douglass, that attempts to tackle "institutional racism that works on health".He continued: "I think that a lot of these other factors start to wash away once voters understand what it's going to mean for them that you versus the others are running for office. But we've got six months to make sure we get that message out … and that's how I plan to earn support among black voters whether it's here or across the country."Buttigieg has been fiercely critical of Vice-President Mike Pence, like him from Indiana but an evangelical Christian and social conservative with an anti-LGBTQ record in office. On CNN, the mayor was asked if such criticism could also apply to African American primary voters who oppose gay marriage."Well," he said, "I think back to my experience in Indiana when I was running for re-election after I came out in a community that's generally Democratic but also quite socially conservative. And I just laid out the case on the kind of job that I was doing."And what I found was that a lot of people were able to move past old prejudices and move into the future. This is not an easy conversation for a lot of people who have frankly been brung up in a certain way and are struggling to get on to the right side of history."But I also believe that this conversation is picking up speed, that it's a healthy conversation and that where it leads is an understanding that all marginalized people need to stand together at a time when so many Americans in so many different ways, especially under this presidency, are coming under attack."Buttigieg was also asked if he thought a vote for Donald Trump, who he has said is a white nationalist, would be a racist act."At best it means looking the other way," he said.
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| Sudan's former dictator Omar al-Bashir due in court for corruption trial Posted: 18 Aug 2019 09:28 AM PDT  Omar al-Bashir, the ousted former president of Sudan, is expected to stand in court on Monday for the first stage of a corruption trial which could see him jailed for many years. Bashir took power in a 1989 coup but was deposed in April after mass protests and security forces deciding to withdraw support for his brutal regime, which was behind an alleged genocidal campaign in the Darfur region. The 75-year-old former dictator is in prison awaiting the trail, where he faces allegations of possessing foreign currency, corruption and receiving gifts illegally. Human rights groups and relatives of Bashir's victims also want to see him stand trial at the International Criminal Court in the Hague for his role in the genocide of around 300,000 people in Darfur. "While this trial is a positive step towards accountability for some of his alleged crimes, he remains wanted for heinous crimes committed against the Sudanese people," said Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International's East Africa director. It comes as Sudan prepares to celebrate a historic deal between generals and protest leaders for a transition to civilian rule, which many hope will bring increased freedom and prosperity. During a ceremony to be held at a hall by the Nile in the capital Khartoum, members of the Transitional Military Council and protest leaders are expected to sign documents defining a 39-month transition. But the road to democracy remains fraught with obstacles, even if the mood was celebratory as foreign dignitaries as well as thousands of citizens from all over Sudan converged for the occasion. The deal reached on August 4 - the Constitutional Declaration - brought an end to nearly eight months of upheaval that led to the ousting of Bashir.
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| View Photos of Engines of Pebble Beach Posted: 18 Aug 2019 03:20 PM PDT |
| Yuba City man dies in apparent suicide in standoff after police answer assault call Posted: 18 Aug 2019 12:55 PM PDT  A 29-year-old man died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in his Yuba City apartment during a standoff with police on Friday, according to a Yuba City police press release.
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| Russia says no plans to install new missiles unless U.S. deploys them Posted: 18 Aug 2019 01:44 AM PDT ![Russia says no plans to install new missiles unless U.S. deploys them]( "Russia says no plans to install new missiles unless U.S. deploys them") Russia will not deploy new missiles as long as the United States shows similar restraint in Europe and Asia, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said on Sunday, after Washington's withdrawal from a Soviet-era arms pact. The United States formally left the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty with Russia earlier this month after accusing Moscow of violating the treaty and deploying one banned type of missile, allegations the Kremlin denies. Russia has also pulled out of the deal, but Shoigu said it had no plans to deploy new missiles.
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| Toll from Tanzania fuel truck blast rises to 95: hospital Posted: 18 Aug 2019 09:10 AM PDT  The death toll from a fuel truck explosion in Tanzania has climbed to 95, a hospital spokesman said Sunday. A massive fireball engulfed a crowd thronging to collect petrol from an overturned tanker last Saturday near the town of Morogoro, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) west of Dar es Salaam, the financial capital. It was a man who succumbed to his injuries," said Aminiel Aligaesha, a spokesman for the National Hospital in Dar es Salaam.
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| Elizabeth Warren releases plan aimed at uplifting Native Americans as Trump says he'll revive nickname Posted: 16 Aug 2019 07:00 PM PDT  The plan comes ahead of next week's Native American Presidential Forum in Sioux City, Iowa, hosted by Four Directions, an organization that fights for Native voting rights.
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| Sen. Graham: The dream of every leftist is to have a liberal court enacting laws from the bench Posted: 18 Aug 2019 07:55 AM PDT  South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham says expanding the court is code for liberals packing the court.
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| Mormons ban vaping, green tea and any drinks ending in 'ccino' Posted: 17 Aug 2019 04:55 AM PDT  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wants to make clear that vaping, green tea and fancy coffee drinks are off limits under the religion's dietary code, which is meant to keep members from consuming unhealthy substances.Mormon leaders pointed to an article in its youth magazine New Era which reminded readers that the Word of Wisdom prohibits "hot drinks", understood to mean tea and coffee, and harmful or habit-forming substances.E-cigarettes are highly addictive, "iced tea is still tea" and any drink ending in "-ccino" probably has coffee and breaks the rules, the church wrote.Recreational marijuana is also banned but medical marijuana and opioids are fine when used as prescribed by a doctor.The Christian sect - widely known as the Mormon church \- had previously said it approved of medical marijuana in certain circumstances, but last year it opposed a medical marijuana bill in Utah that it said went too far.Experts and church members said the clarifications raised as many questions as they answered.For example, there is still confusion over why is iced tea off limits if it's cold, what the church's stance on coffee-flavoured desserts is and whether drinks with green-tea extract are allowed. Lauren Lethbridge is a student newspaper editor at Brigham Young University, which is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For her, following the Word of Wisdom is about obedience to the church.She said several of her friends drink juices with green-tea extract. Many of them feel fine about the extract but one friend vowed to throw out her drinks immediately."I think people are still concerned and a little stressed about 'does this qualify?' or 'is this bad?' " said Ms Lethbridge. "But I think less people are having it be a major concern for them."The Word of Wisdom is a section of the Doctrine and Covenants, one of the church's four volumes of scripture. Mormons believe God revealed the foods and substances that are good and bad for people to consume in 1833. Liquor, tobacco, tea and coffee were prohibited.Heber Grant, a church president, decided in the 20th century to drill down on the rules and to make adherence a prerequisite for entering a Mormon temple, said Gregory Prince, a historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Beer and wine were initially acceptable, while liquor was not. Eventually all alcohol became off limits.Church members in recent years have debated whether soda, which typically has caffeine, is prohibited.After prominent church member and then-Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney attracted attention in 2012 for drinking Diet Coke on the campaign trail, the church clarified that it has no rule against caffeine itself.Mormon has dance off with Michael Jackson impersonator - London LivThe church tends to issue clarifications when it gets a lot of questions about the same substance or when it realises members in different locations are not on the same page, Mr Prince said.He said church members also vary in how closely they follow the Word of Wisdom, which he called "a living document".Adhering to the dietary rules signals to others that someone is a church member, Mr Prince said. He said the practice is similar to how Jews might keep kosher as a way of demonstrating their faith."That this is how we self-identify within our tribe," he said. "This is your outward living of your inward religion."Jana Riess, author of The Next Mormons, said there is a generational gap: older Mormons are more likely to be dogmatic about the Word of Wisdom.Independent Minds Events: get involved in the news aA study Ms Riess conducted found 40 per cent of millennial or Generation X church members said they had consumed caffeinated coffee in the past six months. Thirty-eight percent of members with permission to enter the temples said they had consumed at least one of the forbidden substances.Despite the continuous debate about interpretation, Ms Riess said the Word of Wisdom is not supposed to be a list of commandments with defined borders. She cited a quote from church founder Joseph Smith that she said was meant to guide members' dietary choices: "I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves.""People really want to know what the rules are, where the boundaries are, how far is too far," Ms Riess said. "I feel sorry for the leaders of the church in trying to respond to this because I think that they would much rather have members understand that they have good principles and can govern themselves."The Washington Post
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| Iranian tanker sought by US heads to unknown destination Posted: 18 Aug 2019 05:22 PM PDT  An Iranian supertanker hauling $130 million worth of light crude oil that the U.S. suspects to be tied to a sanctioned organization lifted its anchor and begun moving away from Gibraltar late on Sunday. The trail left by GPS data on Marinetraffic.com, a vessel tracking service, showed the Iran-flagged Adrian Darya 1, previously known as Grace 1, moving shortly before midnight. Iran's ambassador to Britain, Hamid Baeidinejad, confirmed in a post on Twitter that the oil tanker was headed to international waters.
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| Journalist identified as one of the victims killed in plane crash in New Orleans Posted: 17 Aug 2019 04:48 PM PDT  Reporter Nancy Parker was shooting a story in a stunt plane when it crashed before landing in New Orleans.
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| Three Palestinians shot dead by Israeli helicopter Posted: 18 Aug 2019 08:51 AM PDT  Three Palestinians were shot and killed by an Israeli helicopter and tank on the northern Gaza border fence in a marked escalation of violence along the tense stretch. Israel opened fire on what it described as "armed suspects" several hours after Palestinian militants in Gaza fired three Qassam rockets at Israel late Saturday. On Sunday morning Hamas' health ministry reported three men dead and a fourth injured following the incident just north of Beit Lahia. Hamas said in a statement that the deaths of Mahmoud al-Walayda, 24, Mohammed Abu Namus, 27, and Mohammed Samir al-Taramsi, 26, were "another crime by the Israeli occupation to be added to its grim toll against the Palestinian people's rights, land and holy sites." No casualties were reported following Saturday's rocket attack on the southern Israeli town of Sderot. Israel's military said two rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defence system, but did not comment on the third. Saturday was the second consecutive night that residents of southern Israel heard the wail of rocket sirens, after a rocket fired on Friday was intercepted. Israel responded to Friday's rocket by carrying out strikes on what it said were two of Hamas' "underground targets" in the northern and central Strip. Tensions along the Gaza border fence, particularly in the north, have been roiling since March 2018, when weekly demonstrations began taking place just inside the border fence, often followed by bloody clashes. Since then, Gaza-related violence has seen seven Israelis and at least 305 Palestinians killed, and both Hamas and Israel's centre and right accuse the other of deliberately escalating the situation. But the recent escalation, which began on 1 August when a Palestinian was shot by Israeli forces during a firefight as he tried to breach the border, has threatened to set the tinderbox alight. Hamas recently warned that "the rage and stress that the Palestinian people live in is going to blow up in Israel's face if the blockade over the Gaza Strip is not removed." But the loosening of any of the restrictions shaping Gazans' lives looks unlikely with the escalated security situation and with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long leaned to the right for support, facing a make-or-break election in mid-September.
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| This Teenager Escaped Repression in West Africa. ICE Claimed He Was an Adult, and Jailed Him Anyway. Posted: 18 Aug 2019 02:03 AM PDT  Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/GettyThis story also appears at Documented, a non-profit news site devoted solely to covering New York City's immigrants and the policies that affect their lives. Subscribe to their newsletter here. From the moment Mahmoud* was detained at the border, he told federal authorities he was 17 years old. He told them at the Border Patrol station. He told them at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement adult detention facility where he was held in Port Isabel, Texas. "They asked me for documents that prove I'm 17 years old and I provided all those documents," he told Judge Frank Pimentel in the Port Isabel, Texas immigration court. "I'm assuming the government must have some basis for concluding that he is older than that," Pimentel responded. The attorney for Immigration and Customs Enforcement told the judge the birth year they had would make Mahmoud 25 years old. "I'm sure [ICE deportation officers] would have looked into that already," the ICE attorney said. ICE spent the next four months fighting to keep him in adult detention. Two years later, Mahmoud can hardly speak about the experience. "It was hard for me in there," he said. In detention, he could barely sleep and often woke up crying. "He wasn't able to be his young self in detention," said Carina Patritti, an attorney at the Legal Aid Society who has represented Mahmoud. "He had to grow up quickly."Mahmoud says he gave ICE and CBP agents a copy of his birth certificate immediately after he was detained at the border. He fled his home country in West Africa at age 17 after the government targeted him due to his political participation. He quickly gathered some documents and clothing and flew to Brazil. From there, he traveled up to the US-Mexico border and crossed with a group of men from his country. Border Patrol agents found the group and arrested them. In the station, the agents put Mahmoud in a room with a French-speaking translator on speakerphone, he said. The agents asked Mahmoud about his age. He presented them with a copy of his birth certificate and a few other documents and spent the night at the station."They continued to ask me. I told them again, I am 17," he said in an interview. Eventually they hurried him into a van and drove him to the Port Isabel Detention Center, a detention facility for adults. Mahmoud says he told ICE and CBP agents repeatedly that he was 17 years old throughout his detention. Under the Flores settlement, a lawsuit from 1997, the U.S. government is only allowed to detain people under the age of 18 for 20 days, and only in facilities with higher standards of care than adult immigration detention centers. Mahmoud was held for about four months in a privately run facility for adults. Asylum seekers often flee in haste, grabbing what documents or valuables they can find before pushing towards the U.S.. Federal agents scrutinize their documents to spot fakes and catch people trying to game the system. Various branches of the Department of Homeland Security have entire units dedicated to detecting fraudulent documents. This scrutiny is partially due to the fact that minors are allotted more chances to file for asylum and have more freedoms in captivity. "Since 1997, there have been numerous developments affecting DHS's and ORR's age determinations, but there remains no real procedure by which conflicting evidence regarding age may be weighed by a neutral and detached decision maker," said Carlos Holguín, general counsel at the Center for Human Rights & Constitutional Law, the civil-rights legal organization that brought the Flores case to court. Federal policy dictates that if a "reasonable person" would conclude that an immigrant detained by ICE is an adult, despite their claims to be a minor, then the government will "treat the person as an adult for all purposes."ICE didn't respond to a request for comment. In a court hearing, Mahmoud said that while traveling with a group of migrants through Panama, they had been stopped by border agents. "They were taking all the minors, keeping them and asking them questions," he told Judge Pimentel, so he'd said that he was 25. "All right, well again, I don't know anything about that. What we have to do now is to schedule your case for a hearing," Pimentel responded. In a later hearing, the judge pushed back against ICE's claims about Mahmoud's age. "I respect the fact that [ICE agents are] making immediate type decisions and don't always have the information at hand at the time. But the court is not going to base its determination of the respondents age on how the respondent looks to the court," Pimentel said. He asked the ICE attorney to produce evidence to support their claim that Mahmoud was older than he said he was. The ICE attorney said that they reached out to the government of his home country—which Mahmoud was fleeing—to verify his birth certificate was genuine. They hadn't received a response yet, but the Department of Homeland Security's position on his age remained that Mahmoud "is not a juvenile and we would like to proceed as such," the attorney said. Judge Pimentel asked the ICE attorney for more evidence to support their claim about his age and postponed the hearing for about two weeks. Mahmoud was silent during the exchange.The judge later added, "At some point, if I don't get any answer, then we'll be here until the summertime when at your claim, you turn 18, and then it won't be an issue anymore." Denise Slavin, a retired immigration judge, explained that immigration judges—who are employees of the Department of Justice, rather than part of the independent judicial branch of the government—don't have jurisdiction over where detainees are held. "They can tell them what court their case will be in but not where they're held," she said.After the hearing, ICE agents took Mahmoud to get a dental examination to prove his age. The exam showed he was likely 16 to 22 years old, according to the court recordings. ICE released him to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which oversees unaccompanied minors, about four months after he entered the Texas facility. Mahmoud was transferred to a facility in Chicago where he was finally able to call his father. There, he saw a counselor three times per week and was able to go outside. "I had no one in detention," he said. Mahmoud was released from ORR custody and was allowed to move in with his cousin in the Bronx. His case was transferred to the New York City immigration court, where he was able to find a lawyer, and together they're fighting for his asylum claim. He is enrolled at a high school in the Bronx for 10th grade and wants to go to college to become an accountant. "The only thing that makes me happy is to think about my opportunity to study here," he said. "No one can stop me to study here, not like in my country."Sometimes thoughts of his journey and imprisonment creep back into his mind. But he doesn't talk about his experiences with any of his friends or at home; he just tries to forget. *This story uses a pseudonym to protect the subject's identity. 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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| Kuwait says emir recovered from 'setback' Posted: 18 Aug 2019 11:06 AM PDT  Kuwaiti state media on Sunday reported Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah had "recovered", shortly after Iran's foreign minister indicated that the 90-year-old was unwell. The emir "has recovered from a setback and is in good health now", Kuwait's official news agency KUNA said, citing a palace statement, without specifying the nature of the "setback". Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had earlier on Sunday wished Sheikh Sabah a "speedy recovery" after talking with the Gulf state's officials.
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| Argentina Faces Fresh Turmoil From Resignation, Debt Downgrades Posted: 18 Aug 2019 09:12 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Life just got a whole lot tougher for Argentina's Mauricio Macri a week after his shock primary-election defeat sent markets into a tailspin.The embattled president is suddenly grappling with the resignation of his economy minister and a double downgrade to the nation's debt. Meanwhile, his opponent Alberto Fernandez, now favorite to win the presidency on Oct. 27, is calling on Macri to renegotiate the terms of a record $56 billion credit line with the International Monetary Fund.The slew of negative headlines may unleash a fresh bout of market turmoil after a brief respite at the end of last week. Argentina's global bonds will be the first to react, while the nation's currency and stock markets remain closed on Monday due to a local holiday."This will inject more uncertainty," said Nader Naeimi, the head of dynamic markets at AMP Capital Investors Ltd. in Sydney. "It puts a huge question mark over the creditworthiness of the country and is likely to further pressure the peso and Argentine bonds. We are staying out."Economy Minister Nicolas Dujovne, who led bailout negotiations between Argentina and the IMF last year, stepped down on Saturday, saying in a letter to Macri that the country needs "significant renewal in the economic area." Hernan Lacunza, economic minister for the province of Buenos Aires, will replace him.Dujovne's resignation came a day after Argentina's credit profile was cut deeper into junk territory by Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings. Both cited the possibility of a sovereign debt default.IMF and DefaultThe IMF bailout had been instrumental in Macri's strategy to stabilize the peso and ensure the country's solvency. Yet, in an interview with La Nacion published Sunday, Fernandez said the deal needs to be reviewed because Argentina isn't meeting the targets it agreed upon. He added that it's "impossible" to repay the IMF on time, and that the only solution is to reschedule payments, according to the newspaper.In a separate interview with Clarin, Fernandez had a mixed message about the possibility of default. While saying the sensible thing is for Argentina to keep paying its obligations, he added that the country already finds itself in default conditions, as signaled by bond prices.Argentines Reflect on Last Week's Election Results, Market ShockThe implied chance that Argentina will miss a debt payment, as measured by credit default swaps, soared last week. The Merval stock index lost 45% in dollar terms in the five days through Friday, bond prices tumbled about 30% and the peso weakened 18%."While Argentina has been trading at distressed price levels already, we expect further downside on this news as it highlights an increased likelihood of a credit event," Citigroup Inc. strategists including Dirk Willer wrote in a report.(Updates with Fernandez comments from seventh paragraph.)\--With assistance from Dana El Baltaji, Abeer Abu Omar and Jorgelina do Rosario.To contact the reporters on this story: Justin Carrigan in Dubai at jcarrigan@bloomberg.net;Walter Brandimarte in Brasilia at wbrandimarte@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Justin Carrigan at jcarrigan@bloomberg.net, Dana El Baltaji, Ros KrasnyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Migrant children have been molested in federal care, according to families, and the government could end up paying $200 million for it Posted: 17 Aug 2019 09:38 AM PDT  Migrant families are suing the government for millions of dollars after their children were allegedly hurt or molested while in federal care.
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| Trump administration says transgender workers aren't protected by civil rights, Supreme Court filing reveals Posted: 17 Aug 2019 07:22 AM PDT  Donald Trump's administration has told the Supreme Court that transgender workers are not protected by federal civil rights law and can be fired because of their gender.The US government is arguing workers should only be protected from discrimination based on their "biological sex", court filings have revealed.A Supreme Court ruling in favour of the administration's position would set a legal precedent, marking a major setback for LGBTQ rights since the Obama administration.The court filing relates to an upcoming court case involving transgender funeral home worker Aimee Stephens, who was fired from her job after telling her employer about her transition."In 1964, the ordinary public meaning of 'sex' was biological sex. It did not encompass transgender status," the document filed on Friday reads.The 1964 Civil Rights Act states employers cannot discriminate based on sex, race, colour, religion, and national origin. "Title VII [of the act] does not prohibit discrimination against transgender persons based on their transgender status," the filing argues. "It simply does not speak to discrimination because of an individual's gender identity or a disconnect between an individual's gender identity and the individual's sex."Under Barack Obama, the Justice Department decreed that Title VII did protect transgender workers. This meant Court of Appeals judges sided with Stephens in 2018.But former attorney general Jeff Sessions reversed the government's stance after Mr Trump took office in 2017.The Trump administration has since banned transgender people from joining the US military, reversing an Obama-era policy that allowed them to openly serve.The ban, which puts 14,700 jobs at risk, was formally upheld by the Supreme Court earlier this year.Mr Trump has previously claimed to be "perhaps the most pro-LGBT presidential nominee in the history of the Republican Party".The Supreme Court will hear Stephens's case on 8 October. It is one of three cases concerning LGBTQ workers rights expected to come before the court in the autumn.
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| Thailand's lost baby dugong dies from shock, eating plastic Posted: 17 Aug 2019 03:59 AM PDT  An 8-month-old dugong nurtured by marine experts after it was found lost near a beach in southern Thailand has died of what biologists believe was a combination of shock and ingesting plastic waste, officials said Saturday. The female dugong — a large ocean mammal — was named "Marium" and became a hit in Thailand after images of biologists embracing and feeding her with milk and seagrass spread across social media. Veterinarians and volunteers had set out in canoes to feed Marium up to 15 times a day while also giving her health checks.
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| 7 Skyscrapers Leading the Way to a Green Future Posted: 17 Aug 2019 01:18 PM PDT |
| Sanders' criminal justice plan aims to cut prison population Posted: 18 Aug 2019 12:40 PM PDT  Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is proposing a criminal justice overhaul that aims to cut the nation's prison population in half, end mandatory minimum sentencing, ban private prisons and legalize marijuana. "We have a system that imprisons and destroys the lives of millions of people," Sanders told The Associated Press before the planned released of his proposal Sunday. Sanders was promoting the plan during a weekend of campaigning in South Carolina, where the majority of the Democratic electorate is African American.
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| Drug dealer spared jail after telling judge his baldness had ruined his life Posted: 18 Aug 2019 01:20 PM PDT  A judge spared a drug dealer from jail after hearing his alopecia had led to a life of ridicule and that selling drugs was a way of making friends. Cameron Bridges started selling drugs after being frozen out by his peers for much of his school life and to support his £150 a day cocaine habit. Bridges, of Polperro, Cornwall, admitted possession of cocaine, ketamine and cannabis with intent to supply, as well as possession charges and assaulting an emergency worker. Truro Crown Court heard the 20 year old's life spiralled out of control until his arrest in May when he sought help and is now drug free. Chris Andrews, defending, said:"At school he suffered five years of ridicule and bullying and sat out PE while other children laughed at him. "It will come as no surprise that at 12 he started smoking cannabis and at 15 he started using cocaine behind his parents' backs. Drugs gave him something he's never had before, a circle of friends and all of a sudden a social group. Suddenly people rang him and he was in demand." Judge Simon Carr jailed him for two years, suspended for two years, and ordered him on a six month drug rehab order, a curfew and 150 hours of unpaid work.
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| Suspected online dope-dealer back in Israel after extradition Posted: 18 Aug 2019 06:29 AM PDT  A man accused of operating a large drug-dealing ring on a popular messaging app appeared in an Israeli court Sunday after his extradition from Ukraine, where he had previously sought to escape. Amos Dov Silver, an Israeli-American, was taken to court in Rishon Lezion near Tel Aviv after his arrival from Ukraine, police said. Authorities in Ukraine said Saturday they had captured Silver a day after he escaped from the airport while he was being extradited.
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| Iran says U.S. move on north Syria safe zone is "provocative" Posted: 18 Aug 2019 07:20 AM PDT ![Iran says U.S. move on north Syria safe zone is "provocative"]( "Iran says U.S. move on north Syria safe zone is \"provocative\"") A U.S. agreement to set up a safe zone in northern Syria, a close ally of Iran, is "provocative and worrisome", the Iranian foreign ministry was reported to have said by the semi-official Fars news agency. The United States and Turkey last week agreed to set up a joint operations center for a proposed zone along Syria's northeast border.
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| Cathay Remains Under Scrutiny After CEO Takes Fall for Protests Posted: 18 Aug 2019 02:00 PM PDT ![Cathay Remains Under Scrutiny After CEO Takes Fall for Protests]( "Cathay Remains Under Scrutiny After CEO Takes Fall for Protests") (Bloomberg) -- Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. is counting on the resignation of its British chief executive officer, Rupert Hogg, to move beyond the tumult that saw its employees' participation in the Hong Kong protests draw the ire of Beijing. But will it be enough?Incoming CEO Augustus Tang has the delicate task of continuing to placate China, an increasingly important market for the 72-year-old airline, while also minimizing the fallout from staff, customers and investors as the unrest in its home base continues to seethe.Whether Tang -- a long-time lieutenant with Cathay's biggest investor, Swire Group -- succeeds or falters, Cathay's story is having repercussions beyond the carrier itself. It's become a cautionary tale of modern-day China, with the country increasingly willing to call out companies that want access to its lucrative consumer market, but don't toe the party line."This is the most appalling kowtow to Peking," David Webb, a Hong Kong activist investor, wrote on his blog just hours after Chinese state broadcaster, CCTV, broke the news of Hogg's departure on Friday. "Every substantial employer in Hong Kong, in both the public and private sectors, has employees who have participated in marches that have frequently gone beyond their approved spatial or time limits. Should all the CEOs resign?"Too LittleAfter China's aviation watchdog slapped a string of demands on Cathay Aug. 9, the company appeared to swing into action, with Swire chairman, Merlin Swire, flying into Beijing to meet with the authority three days later. But even with Hogg taking the fall, it's unclear whether China, which along with Hong Kong accounts for about half of Cathay's revenue, will be satisfied.The Global Times, a newspaper published by China's Communist Party, said Hogg's departure may not be enough to atone for Cathay's "lukewarm attitude" to dealing with its "radical" employees. Pilots and flight attendants from the airline took part in strikes and demonstrations related to the protest, which has morphed from opposing an extradition bill into a mass repudiation of China's hold over the territory it took back in 1997."Cathay Pacific's latest gesture was viewed by many as too little to restore its scarred reputation and the loss of customers," the Global Times said after Hogg's departure. Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Paul Loo resigned alongside the CEO.First StepZhao Dongchen, an analyst at state-run Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. who fueled Cathay's plunge last week to a 10-year low by blasting its "poor" handling of the crisis, applauded the top-level changes given the company was "severely lacking in crisis management competency."But he also offered some caveats."I am not sure that replacing two top personnel will be enough to meaningfully enhance Cathay's management," Zhao said in an email responding to questions from Bloomberg. "More likely, this marks a first step."Zhao also criticized Cathay for what he described as a "hasty" decision to fire two pilots in connection with the protests, saying the move raised questions about procedural justice.Meanwhile, Cathay's flight attendants' union lamented the departure of Hogg and Loo.Their workplace "is now and shall continue to be greatly influenced by many unforeseeable elements," according to a Facebook post on Sunday. Members are being asked not to discuss political topics while flying and be careful on social media and outside of work hours discussing issues which could "cause significant effect on everyone of us now."Sets PrecedentThe Civil Aviation Administration of China, or CAAC, barred staff who took part in or supported Hong Kong's protests from flying to the mainland and demanded Cathay provide a plan for improving flight safety and security. On Thursday, it said Cathay had complied with its demands."This will pacify CAAC for now, but it may not be the end," said Shukor Yusof, founder of aviation consultant Endau Analytics. "Once you cave in, it sets a precedence. It could embolden CAAC to seek harsher measures."Cathay's entanglement with the anti-Beijing protests stood out because of its stature and connection to Hong Kong, but it wasn't alone.Within days of Cathay being castigated by CAAC and boycotted by state-backed firms, luxury brands Versace, Coach, and Givenchy were forced to apologize for selling T-shirts that implied Hong Kong wasn't part of China. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC was accused on Chinese social media -- where nationalistic posters are increasingly pushing the country's causes -- of not condemning the demonstrations enough after a company-linked online post appeared to support the protests. The firm said it was a fraud.Symbolic TargetIn a message to employees obtained by Bloomberg, Hogg said a change in leadership was required so that Cathay could move forward. "There is no doubts that our reputation and brand are under immense pressure and this pressure has been building for some weeks -- particularly in the all-important market of mainland China," he wrote.For many, Cathay is an emblem of the years Hong Kong was governed by Britain, making it a target loaded with symbolism. The airline is almost half-owned by the two-century-old conglomerate headed by the U.K.'s Swire family, but now counts state-run Air China Ltd. as its second-largest shareholder.Joshua Wong, the student activist who shot to fame during Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement protests five years ago, tweeted that Hogg's resignation showed how China was tightening its grip over the city and its people.Pilots QuietMost of Cathay's 32,800 workers are based in Hong Kong and its hub is the airport that had become a key site for the protesters. Last week's airport shutdown as demonstrators occupied key buildings added to Cathay's woes, with hundreds of flights scuppered.While the flight attendants' union acknowledged Cathay's need to comply with CAAC's demands so they can keep flying there, other workers' groups, including the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association have so far kept quiet.The company's actions -- which included voicing its support for Hong Kong's embattled leader, Carrie Lam, and the police, which have clashed violently with protesters -- risk triggering a backlash from staff and its home market, but that may pale in comparison to the alternative of prolonging Beijing's anger."The message China wanted to send was that they have the power and the will to do what they want to do," said Endau's Yusof. "Cathay is caught between a devil and the deep blue sea -- it's the beginning of the end.""Like many others in Hong Kong, the future of the airline is in China," he said.To contact the reporters on this story: Kyunghee Park in Singapore at kpark3@bloomberg.net;Evelyn Yu in Shanghai at yyu263@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at ycho2@bloomberg.net, Emma O'BrienFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Dick Cheney to appear at Trump 2020 fundraiser as Republican establishment bows to president Posted: 18 Aug 2019 10:11 AM PDT  Former vice president Dick Cheney will appear at a fundraiser for Donald Trump's 2020 campaign, according to an invitation for the event, in a sign that the Republican establishment will publicly back his re-election bid.Mr Trump won the Republican nomination in 2016 as an outsider and has often clashed with senior figures in the party, such as Mitt Romney and the late John McCain.However, an invitation to a luncheon fundraiser in Jackson, Wyoming, shows Mr Cheney will appear alongside Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, according to The Washington Post.He will attend the event with his daughter Liz Cheney, who is a Republican congresswoman for Wyoming, for the fundraising group "Trump Victory".Mr Cheney, who was George W Bush's vice president, previously said Mr Trump's 2015 call for a "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States," went "against everything [America] stands for and believes in".Earlier this year, Mr Cheney also clashed with Mike Pence, the current vice president, over the administration's foreign policy, criticising Mr Trump's hard-line approach towards US allies in Nato.The invitation reportedly does not list the official titles of Mr Mulvaney, Ms Trump or Mr Kushner and insists that "their participation in the event is not a solicitation of funds".Officials for the Trump campaign confirmed the event but would not say how much tickets would cost.Trump Victory has been known to charge up to six-figure amounts for tickets to its events."Representative Cheney is honoured to be co-hosting this event and working hard to support President Trump's re-election," a spokesperson for Ms Cheney said in a statement. "The president's policies are benefiting Wyoming and the nation."The structure of the Trump Victory committee, which raises funds for both the Trump 2020 campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC), has shown how the president has been accepted into the Republican Party's mainstream.By merging his re-election campaign with the national party, Mr Trump has become less vulnerable to an Republican opponent challenging him in the 2020 primary.However, linking the RNC to Mr Trump's divisive presidency may be risky in the long-term for the Republican Party.In recent weeks, billionaire Stephen Ross has faced calls for a boycott of his Equinox luxury fitness company over his plans to hold a fundraiser for Mr Trump in the Hamptons.Additional reporting by agencies
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| Alaska wildfires sparked by high winds force mandatory evacuations Posted: 18 Aug 2019 12:20 PM PDT  Pilot cars began shepherding motorists through a previously-closed stretch of Alaska's George Parks Highway for several hours Saturday after high winds and dry weather sparked six blazes.
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| Woman thought she had kidney stones, gave birth to triplets Posted: 17 Aug 2019 06:06 PM PDT  A South Dakota woman who recently gave birth to triplets says she didn't find out about her pregnancy until she went to the hospital with what she thought were kidney stones.
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| Patterson Fire is fully contained, while Cottage Fire is nearly so Posted: 17 Aug 2019 01:56 PM PDT  Firefighters in California have mostly contained two of the wildfires threatening parts of Northern California this week, according to Cal Fire.
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| 4 Louisiana men to plead guilty in Mississippi bribe scheme Posted: 18 Aug 2019 02:36 PM PDT ![4 Louisiana men to plead guilty in Mississippi bribe scheme]( "4 Louisiana men to plead guilty in Mississippi bribe scheme") Four Louisiana men say they'll plead guilty to charges that they tried to bribe a Mississippi sheriff with $2,000 in casino chips, seeking lucrative jail contracts. Michael LeBlanc Sr. of Baton Rouge, Michael LeBlanc Jr. of Prairieville, Tawasky Ventroy of Opelousas and Jacque Jones of LaPlace have filed notices this month in federal court in Jackson saying they will change their previous not guilty pleas. All are accused of scheming to win contracts to sell inmates phone service and commissary goods at a jail in Mississippi's Kemper County.
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| The car was moving when the woman fell onto I-95. Police want to know how it happened Posted: 17 Aug 2019 11:49 AM PDT  After a night out at a popular Brickell bar, a woman fell out of a moving car on Interstate 95 near Little Haiti early Saturday, police say.
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| Airport bombed by Libya's Haftar not military: UN Posted: 18 Aug 2019 06:00 AM PDT  The United Nations mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has dismissed claims by strongman Khalifa Haftar that a government-controlled airport bombed by his forces in recent days housed military infrastructure. On Thursday and Friday Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) launched air strikes on Zuwara airport in western Libya, targeting what it said was a hangar "which houses Turkish drones and their ammunition". UNSMIL said it dispatched a delegation to Zuwara to investigate the LNA allegations.
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| Heavy downpours wreak havoc in Istanbul, flooding historic Grand Bazaar Posted: 17 Aug 2019 07:42 AM PDT  Strong rains in Istanbul on Saturday flooded several neighbourhoods, as well as the Grand Bazaar, while officials said one person was found dead in the city. Rain started early in the day in parts of Istanbul and picked up pace around noon. Footage from parts of the Grand Bazaar showed shopkeepers, ankle-deep in water, clearing the water out of their stores and the halls.
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| The Gay Metropolis review: if we can survive Aids, we can survive Trump Posted: 17 Aug 2019 10:00 PM PDT  Charles Kaiser's update of his seminal history is suffused with belief in civil rights, progress and essential human decencyActivists at the Queer Liberation March in Greenwich Village during the 2019 World Pride NYC and Stonewall 50th LGBTQ Pride day in New York. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/ReutersWhen Charles Kaiser's pioneering account of American gay history was first published, in 1997, the future for LGBT people (the Q hadn't quite arrived) remained deeply uncertain.The liberation narrative that arose out of the events of Stonewall in 1969 had been tragically halted by the HIV/Aids epidemic in the 1980s. Whatever social and institutional acceptance might have been won in the heady days of the 70s was swiftly challenged, even reversed. The project of gay lib, indebted to America's other civil rights movements, was on shaky ground. Yet one of the pleasures in reading Kaiser – a Guardian contributor – is that he, like other liberal progressives of his generation, is an optimist. He continued to see promise in tomorrow.The new edition, revised and expanded, continues the story to around 2016 and, as before, Kaiser remains hopeful for the future. "I am alive," he writes, "at the best time to be gay since Aristotle."The Gay MetropolisI finished reading the revised edition, as I did the first, with real encouragement. That is no mean feat since in 1997 we were still living under the shadow of Aids and in 2019 we are living through the dark realities of the Trump administration. For Kaiser, progress often gets impeded but it wins out in the end. That is largely due to the strident and indefatigable efforts of people who insist on social change in the face of staggering odds. These people, often young, are the heroes of Kaiser's story, documented lovingly throughout his sweeping account.The concluding pages of the chapter on the 1990s show the ways Kaiser keeps faith with a progressive narrative of America's best self. Firstly, in 1995 and 1996, the arrival of antiretroviral drugs or "combination therapy" dramatically slowed the progress of HIV and suggested that a "cure" would eventually be found. We might one day awake from the nightmare of Aids, it suddenly seemed.Secondly, in the landmark 1996 case Romer v Evans, the supreme court overturned Colorado's attempt to forbid the protection of gay people from discrimination. These two events suggested that a corner might have been turned, leading away from the darkest moments of Reagan's deeply discriminatory 1980s.I doubt even a great optimist like Kaiser could have imagined the extraordinary changes around gender and sexuality that have taken place since.> I doubt even a great optimist like Kaiser could have imagined the extraordinary changes that have taken place"At the end of the second decade of the 21st century, gay progress continued with a dazzling velocity," he writes, and "politics and culture created an alchemy whose effect were nearly as powerful as the fusion of the 1960s." (I suspect nothing will ever top the 60s for Kaiser, who came of age in that decade, and that's fair enough.)In the past couple of decades, civil partnerships and marriage between same-sex couples have helped bend the norms of straight, civic society. Popular culture seems to get gayer all the time, from the triumph of Will and Grace to Moonlight, and representation in the mainstream is nothing like the lack it once was. In 2019, we have a plausible, openly gay candidate for president.Perhaps ironically, we are now at a point when the triumph of identity politics has even led to a dismantling of the idea of "identity" itself. A generation of "queer" youth don't feel the same need to label themselves or organize politically around "gay" or "lesbian". Indeed, you could argue that the most pressing and urgent debates around gender and sexuality are connected not to gay and lesbian rights but to trans rights and the complicated, challenging questions that arise from trans politics.When I read Kaiser's book first time round, I was struck by its erudition, elegance and pacey narrative. The overlapping discussions of well-known and less well-known players in the history of gay liberation are skillfully integrated into broader changes in post-war America. The book was among the first accounts that sought to provide an extended history of gay life (admittedly mostly male) before and after Stonewall. And while the focus is mostly New York, the "gay metropolis" of the title, the book offered much more than a local history.Barack Obama hosts a Pride Month reception at the White House in June 2012. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesThese features continue to impress and the book has not only survived but remains one of the key popular studies of American social history. Fundamentally, Kaiser's story is one of ever-forward marching, in which the majority of the country is comprised of people he calls "decent Americans", people he respects who end up doing the right thing.The "gay metropolis" is now less literal and more figurative, now encompassing "cities, towns and villages across the world, where every iteration of sexual outsider and gender original has found the courage and dignity to be free." The "gay metropolis" is not so much a specific place as a state of mind and being, something like a global metropolis of progressive possibility.Kaiser ends the expanded version with the Obamas, contemporary America's most potent symbols of progressive hope. But they are no longer in power and their message of hope has been replaced by fear, exclusion, hatred and ignorance. Unfortunately, Kaiser doesn't really take on Trump and the shift from a forward-moving to a backward-looking political reality. That's a shame because he is such a sharp political observer.I expect he might see Trump as a striking aberration in the American story of progress. If gay people can survive Aids, then they can survive Trump, the hopeful logic might run.More to the point, Kaiser invests a great deal of faith in America's youth, out of whom new movements for change necessarily grow. It may be in our "queer" youth, rather than our "gay" youth, that the route out of Trump's deep morass can be found. * Mark Turner is professor of English at King's College London, where he teaches and writes about queer culture
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| TV presenter punched live on air during protest Posted: 18 Aug 2019 07:09 AM PDT  A journalist was knocked unconscious live on air after being punched in the face while covering a feminist protest.Video footage published by TV network ADM 40 shows reporter Juan Manuel Jimenez speaking to the camera as women yell at him during a march in Mexico City.Mr Jimenez can be seen standing in the middle of the crowd as women throw glitter at him and a woman holding a young girl's hand shouts into the reporter's microphone.As the reporter continues speaking to the camera, a man dressed in a white T-shirt and blue baseball cap walks up to him and punches him in the face before calmly walking away.Mr Jimenez can be seen lying on the ground seemingly unconscious as protesters chase after his attacker.At the beginning of the clip, shaky footage also shows another protester with their face covered who appears to grab the journalist and hit him in a separate incident.In other footage shared on social media, news presenter Melissa del Pozo de Milenio of the Milenio Televisión network also appears to be attacked by protesters.The journalist can be seen struggling with a woman dressed in black who has her face covered.The camera then focuses on two women who appear to be stabbing a sign.Demonstrators painted the word "rapists" on the wall of a nearby police station and phrases such as "they don't take care of us" and "rape state" on Mexico City's Angel of Independence monument. The feminist protests were triggered by allegations that two teenage girls were raped by a group of policemen.The demonstrations have become known as the "glitter protests" after marchers doused the city's police chief in pink glitter.Violence against women is a serious problem in Mexico. Human Rights Watch says Mexican laws "do not adequately protect women and girls against domestic and sexual violence".A 2019 report said provisions in Mexican law, including those that make the severity of punishments for sexual offenses contingent upon the supposed chastity of the victim, "contradict international standards".Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, the first woman elected to head the city's government, tweeted that the attorney general's office of the metropolis will investigate and bring charges against those who attacked journalists.
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| The Bogus Story That Launched a ‘Collusion’ Probe Posted: 17 Aug 2019 03:30 AM PDT  Editor's note: Andrew C. McCarthy's new book is Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency. This is the fourth in a series of excerpts; the first can be read here, the second here, and the third here.The George Papadopoulos Origin Story has never added up. It has been portrayed as the Big Bang, the Magic Moment that started the FBI's investigation of "collusion" -- a suspected election-theft conspiracy between Donald Trump's campaign and Vladimir Putin's regime. But if the young energy-sector analyst had actually emerged in early 2016 as the key to proving Trump–Russia espionage, you would think the FBI might have gotten around to interviewing him before January 27, 2017 — i.e., a week after President Trump had been inaugurated, and six months after the Bureau formally opened its "Crossfire Hurricane" probe.You would probably also think Papadopoulos, Suspect One in The Great Cyber Espionage Attack on Our Democracy, might have rated a tad more than the whopping 14-day jail sentence a federal judge eventually imposed on him. You might even suppose that he'd have been charged with some seditious felony involving clandestine operations against his own country, instead of . . . yes . . . fibbing to the FBI about the date of a meeting.That, however, does not scratch the surface. We are to believe that what led to the opening of the FBI's Trump–Russia investigation, and what therefore is the plinth of the collusion narrative, is a breakfast meeting at a London hotel on April 26, 2016, between Papadopoulos and Joseph Mifsud, a Maltese academic we are supposed to take for a clandestine Russian agent. We are to take Papadopoulos's word for it that Mifsud claimed Russia possessed "dirt" on Hillary Clinton in the form of "thousands" of "emails of Clinton." We are further to believe that "the professor" elaborated that, in order to help Donald Trump's candidacy, the Kremlin would release these "emails of Clinton" at a time chosen to do maximum damage to the Democratic nominee's campaign.The story is based on no credible evidence. If it were ever presented to a jury, it would be laughed out of court.The Papadopoulos "collusion" claims (without collusion charges) are alleged in the Mueller report, which essentially repeats the grandiose "Statement of the Offense" that the special counsel included with the comparatively minor false-statement charge to which Papadopoulos pled guilty. Carefully parsed, this narrative stops short of alleging that the Trump adviser actually collaborated with a Russian agent. Rather, it claims that Papadopoulos engaged in a lot of twaddle with Mifsud, who he had reason to suspect might be a Russian agent. The pair brainstormed endlessly about potential high-level Trump-campaign meetings with the Putin regime, including [insert heavy breathing here] between Trump and Putin themselves. Papadopoulos then exaggerated these meanderings in emails to Trump-campaign superiors he was hot to impress.It is virtually certain that Mifsud was not a Russian agent. Whether he was an asset for any intelligence service, we cannot say with certainty at this point. But we can say that he had close contacts of significance with British intelligence, and with other Western governments.As Lee Smith relates, Mifsud has also long been associated with Claire Smith, a prominent British diplomat who served for years on Britain's Joint Intelligence Committee, which answers directly to the prime minister. Ms. Smith was also a member of the United Kingdom's Security Vetting Appeals Panel, which reviews denials of security clearances to government employees. During her career in the British foreign service, Smith worked with Mifsud at three different academic institutions: the London Academy of Diplomacy (which trained diplomats and government officials, some of them sponsored by the U.K.'s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the British Council, or by their own governments), the University of Stirling, in Scotland, and Link Campus University in Rome, where Mifsud first met Papadopoulos. The campus is a well-known draw for diplomats and intelligence officials — the CIA holds conferences there, the FBI holds agent-training sessions there, and former U.S. intelligence officials teach there.In Rome on March 14, Papadopoulos met Joseph Mifsud. Twice Papadopoulos's age, the Maltese professor gravitated to his fellow Link University lecturers and professors, who, as Lee Smith notes, "include senior Western diplomats and intelligence officials from a number of NATO countries, especially Italy and the United Kingdom." Mifsud also taught at the University of Stirling and the London Academy of Diplomacy. That is to say, if Mifsud had actually been a Russian agent, he was situated to be one of the most successful in history.Not likely.Mifsud was a shameless self-promoter (at least until Russiagate notoriety sent him underground). He traveled frequently, including to Russia, where he participated in academic conferences and claimed acquaintance with regime officials — though how well he actually knows anyone of significance is unclear. In sum, Mifsud is the aging academic version of Papadopoulos. Thierry Pastor, a French political analyst who (with a Swiss-German lawyer named Stephan Roh) co-wrote a book about l'affaire Papadopoulos, made this observation about Mifsud's brag that he knew Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov: "Yes, he met Lavrov. He met him once or twice in a large group. He knows Lavrov, but Lavrov doesn't know Joseph. [Mifsud's] contacts in Russia are with academics."Nevertheless, the Trump–Russia narrative holds that Mifsud actually is a well-placed Russian agent who became interested in Papadopoulos upon discovering that he was a key (yup . . .) Trump adviser. According to this story, Mifsud introduced the younger man to a woman presented as Vladimir Putin's niece. The professor also hooked Papadopoulos up with Ivan Timofeev, whom prosecutors pregnantly described as "the Russian MFA connection" (as in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Lavrov's office) when they eventually charged Papadopoulos with making false statements. Timofeev and Papadopoulos had fevered discussions about setting up a Putin–Trump meeting in Russia. Finally, at their April 26 breakfast in London, Mifsud let slip that Russia had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton in the form of "thousands" of "emails of Clinton" — which, the narrative holds, must have been a reference to the DNC emails that Russian intelligence hacked and WikiLeaks disseminated during the Democratic party's convention in July.The story is bogus through and through. There is no proof that Mifsud is a Russian agent — Mueller never alleged such a thing, either when Papadopoulos was charged or in the special counsel's final report, which concluded that there was no Trump–Russia conspiracy. The woman in question was not Putin's niece; she was eventually identified as Olga Polonskaya, the 32-year-old manager of a St. Petersburg wine company, who (the Mueller report suggests, based on a "Baby, thank you" email) may have been romantically involved with Mifsud. Timofeev is actually a young academic researcher who runs a Russian think tank, the Russian International Affairs Council. The RIAC has some sort of tie to the MFA, but no discernible connections to Russian intelligence. Like Mifsud, Timofeev is an academic; he was in an even less likely position to schedule a meeting for Putin than Papadopoulos was to do so for Trump. The hypothetical Putin–Trump summit was an inchoate idea that senior Trump officials shot down even as Papadopoulos and Timofeev were dreaming it up.What about those "emails of Clinton"? Other than the word of Papadopoulos, a convicted liar and palpably unreliable raconteur, there is no evidence — none — that Mifsud told him about emails. The professor never showed him any emails. And in his February 2017 FBI interview, Mifsud denied saying anything to Papadopoulos about Clinton-related emails in the possession of the Kremlin. Of course, Mifsud could be lying. But there is no evidence that he would have been in a position to know the inner workings of Russian intelligence operations.It is not enough to say that Mueller never charged Mifsud with lying to the FBI. In Mueller's report, when prosecutors have evidence that Mifsud gave inaccurate information, they say so. For example, they allege that Mifsud "falsely" recounted the last time he had seen Papadopoulos. But Mueller never alleges that Mifsud's denial of knowledge about Russia's possession of emails is false. And if we learned anything from Mueller's investigation, it is that he knows how to make a false-statements case.In any event, Mifsud's supposed comment about Clinton's emails obviously made little impression on Papadopoulos. The day after he met the professor, Papadopoulos sent two emails to high-ranking Trump-campaign officials about his meeting with Mifsud. In neither did he mention emails. Papadopoulos instead focused on the possibility — far-fetched, but apparently real to Papadopoulos — that Mifsud could help arrange a meeting between Trump and Putin. Prior to being interviewed by the FBI in January 2017, Papadopoulos never reported anything about Russia's having emails — neither to his Trump-campaign superiors, to whom he was constantly reporting on his conversations with Mifsud, nor to Alexander Downer, the Australian diplomat whose conversation with Papadopoulos was the proximate cause for the formal opening of the FBI probe.It was only when he was interviewed by the FBI in late January 2017, nine months after his conversation with Mifsud, that Papadopoulos is alleged to have claimed that Mifsud said the Russians had "thousands" of "emails of Clinton." There is no known recording of this FBI interview, so there is no way of knowing whether (a) Papadopoulos volunteered this claim that Mifsud mentioned emails or (b) the email claim was suggested to Papadopoulos by his interrogators' questions. We have no way of knowing if Papadopoulos is telling the truth (and therefore hid the possibility of damaging Clinton emails from his Trump-campaign superiors for no fathomable reason) or if he was telling the FBI agents what he thought they wanted to hear (which is what he often did when reporting to the Trump campaign).Is the Mifsud–Papadopoulos connection a case of Western intelligence agencies entrapping the Trump campaign by first using an "asset" (Mifsud) to plant a damning "Russia helping Trump" story with Papadopoulos, and later using another "asset" (Stefan Halper) to try to get Papadopoulos to repeat that story so that "collusion" could be proved?At this point, we don't know. Here is what we do know: The United States government has never charged Joseph Mifsud. It has never accused him of being an agent of Russia. It took no steps to arrest him despite opportunities to do so. In fact, the FBI interviewed Mifsud and, when he denied Papadopoulos's claim that he had told the young Trump adviser that Russia had Hillary emails, the Bureau let him go. Special Counsel Mueller never alleged that Mifsud's denial was a false statement.That's a pretty a curious way to treat the "Russian agent" who was the rationale for the incumbent administration's use of foreign counterintelligence powers to investigate the presidential campaign of its political opposition, no?
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| Massachusetts RMV suspends 869 more drivers two months after deadly N.H. motorcycle crash Posted: 18 Aug 2019 01:20 PM PDT  The Massachusetts RMV has now suspended more than 2,400 drivers for out-of-state violations that weren't processed. More are likely.
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| Sacramento files lawsuit to ban 7 men from business district Posted: 18 Aug 2019 10:40 AM PDT ![Sacramento files lawsuit to ban 7 men from business district]( "Sacramento files lawsuit to ban 7 men from business district") The city of Sacramento has filed an unusual lawsuit to ban seven men considered to be a "public nuisance" from a popular business corridor. The lawsuit alleges the men are "drug users, trespassers, thieves ... and violent criminals" who have illegal weapons and ammunition and have forced police to dedicate an "excessive amount" of resources to the Broadway corridor. City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood filed the suit Aug. 9 in Sacramento Superior Court, according to a copy posted online by The Sacramento Bee .
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| The man who stole a firetruck during the Camp Fire was just sentenced to probation Posted: 16 Aug 2019 07:37 PM PDT  Nine months after he was arrested in Butte County on charges of stealing a firetruck during the Camp Fire, Robert Christopher DePalma, 60, of Concow, was sentenced to three years of felony probation and ordered to pay $6,180 in victim restitution, officials said.
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