| Full Clapper: 'My Dashboard Warning Light Was Clearly On' Over Trump Campaign's Russia Communications Posted: 27 May 2017 11:48 PM PDT  Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper tells Chuck Todd that he was "very concerned about the nature" of approaches between the Trump campaign and Russian agents during the 2016 elections
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| Portland stabbing victims hailed as heroes Posted: 28 May 2017 12:39 PM PDT  Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said Saturday, "Their actions were brave and selfless and should serve as an example and inspiration to us all. They are heroes."
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| Full Kelly Interview: ‘Every Single Day’ Terrorists Are Plotting Against U.S. Posted: 27 May 2017 10:48 PM PDT  Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly joins Meet the Press to talk about reports that White House Adviser Jared Kushner tried to set up a secret Russia backchannel, and why he believes intelligence leaks are "darn close to treason."
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| US will step up air strikes to 'annihilate' Isis and citizen casualties are inevitable, warns Defence Secretary Posted: 29 May 2017 05:43 AM PDT  Pentagon chief James Mattis has said that the US is "accelerating the tempo" of the fight against Isis, and that civilian deaths should be anticipated as a "fact of life". While US forces operating in Syria and Iraq do "do everything humanly possible" to prevent the loss of innocent life, "Civilian casualties are a fact of life in this sort of situation," General Mattis told CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday. The interview comes after new figures from war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights found that the last four-week period was the deadliest for Syrian civilians on record since the US-led coalition bombing campaign began in 2014.
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| Experts say blue whale washed up on Bolinas beach likely hit by ship Posted: 27 May 2017 06:14 PM PDT  People are flocking to a beach in Bolinas Saturday after an 80-foot-long blue whale washed ashore that mammal experts say was likely struck by a ship.
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| Man arrested after sheriff's deputy, 7 others shot in Mississippi Posted: 28 May 2017 04:06 PM PDT  A Mississippi man went on a shooting spree overnight, killing a sheriff's deputy and seven other people in three separate locations in rural Lincoln County before the suspect was taken into custody by police, authorities said on Sunday. Willie Corey Godbolt, 35, was arrested and was being treated in a hospital for a gunshot wound, according to Warren Strain, a spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. The sheriff's deputy, identified as William Durr, was fatally shot after responding to an emergency call regarding a domestic dispute late on Saturday night at a house in Bogue Chitto, a small community about 69 miles south of Jackson, the state capital.
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| 3-Week-Old Dies in Dog Attack After Being Left Alone With Family's Three Pit Bulls Posted: 28 May 2017 08:14 AM PDT  The mother said she left her alone for five minutes with.
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| Australia's most notorious drug smuggler returns from Bali Posted: 28 May 2017 01:30 AM PDT  SYDNEY (AP) — Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Corby, whose trial and imprisonment on Indonesia's tourist island of Bali mesmerized her country for more than a decade, returned home Sunday.
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| Anti-jihadist Ramadan advert goes viral Posted: 28 May 2017 08:24 AM PDT ![Anti-jihadist Ramadan advert goes viral]( "Anti-jihadist Ramadan advert goes viral") A video advertisement that depicts a would-be suicide bomber confronted by the faithful has gone viral two days into the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. During that time, believers abstain from eating, drinking -- even of water -- smoking and sexual relations between sunrise and sunset.
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| 52 Years After His Death, Vietnam Veteran Finally Honored Posted: 28 May 2017 08:52 AM PDT  Navy pilot Lt. Commander Frederick Crosby — classified as "killed in action" for more than 50 years — finally was given a full military funeral Sunday in San Diego after his remains returned.
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| Israeli TV: ‘Trump shouted "You tricked me" at Abbas during meeting’ Posted: 29 May 2017 08:05 AM PDT  An Israeli television channel has claimed that US President Donald Trump shouted at Palestinian Authority (PA) Leader Mahmoud Abbas in talks held during Mr Trump's visit to the West Bank last week. "You tricked me in [Washington] DC! You talked there about your commitment to peace, but the Israelis showed me your involvement in incitement [against Israel]," Mr Trump is alleged to have shouted at the Palestinian leader, an outburst that was followed by several minutes of shocked silence, said Israel's Channel 2, citing an unnamed American official. "Meeting you in the White House earlier this month given us hope… and optimism of the possibility to make the long-standing dream of lasting peace come true," Mr Abbas said, emphasising the Palestinian leadership's desire for a two-state solution.
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| Thousands protest against Moscow housing resettlement, but numbers fall Posted: 28 May 2017 08:17 AM PDT  Thousands of Muscovites protested in the south-west of the Russian capital on Sunday against government plans to resettle millions of citizens from shoddy Soviet-era apartment blocks, but numbers had fallen compared to earlier rallies. A Reuters witness said around 5,000 people attended the latest rally, compared to organizers' estimates of 60,000 at a protest on May 14. Moscow residents are also concerned about the location and quality of the planned new accommodation, a lack of services and infrastructure and about threats the redevelopment may pose to the historic face of the Russian capital.
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| NBC News Exclusive: a Look at Taiwan’s Military Drills As China Looms Posted: 28 May 2017 08:40 AM PDT  NBC News gained rare access to Taiwanese military exercises, including testing of American-made firepower — all against the threat of a Chinese invasion.
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| Eight People, Including Sheriff’s Deputy, Dead in Mississippi Shooting Posted: 28 May 2017 08:34 AM PDT  The victims were discovered in three separate locations in rural Lincoln County overnight, according to Mississippi Bureau of Investigation spokesman Warren Strain.
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| Memorial Day observed across the U.S. Posted: 29 May 2017 08:27 AM PDT ![Memorial Day observed across the U.S.]( "Memorial Day observed across the U.S.") President Trump lays a wreath at Arlington and more Memorial Day observances from across the U.S.
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| Relative 'devastated' after shooting kills 8 in Mississippi Posted: 29 May 2017 09:19 AM PDT  BROOKHAVEN, Miss. (AP) — Head in hands, his voice strained, Vincent Mitchell sat outside his little yellow home and tried to make sense of how a family dispute led to a rampage that killed eight people, including the deputy who tried to keep them safe.
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| Young Boy Thrown Off Slide At Dublin's New Water Park Posted: 28 May 2017 03:48 AM PDT  The water slide that was responsible for the accident, the Emerald Plunge, was shut down and is being reevaluated for possible construction flaws.
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| Civilian deaths a 'fact of life' in war on IS, Pentagon head says Posted: 28 May 2017 10:00 AM PDT  Civilian casualties are inevitable in the war against the Islamic State group but the United states is doing "everything humanly possible" to avoid them, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in an interview aired Sunday. A US-led international coalition has been carrying out air strikes against the IS group in Iraq and Syria since 2014, and nongovernmental organizations say the attacks are claiming ever more civilian lives. Some NGOs have blamed the rising civilian death toll on a push by President Donald Trump's administration to accelerate the pace of combat in an effort to "annihilate" the jihadists.
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| Orangutan climbs out of enclosure while rescuing her baby Posted: 28 May 2017 08:20 PM PDT  We know that orangutans are great climbers — in fact, it seems like they could just hop out of their enclosure, if they wanted to. It turns out that Sekara, an orangutan at the Perth Zoo, did just that when her 5-year-old baby Sungai lost grip on some equipment and fell into a garden bed on Sunday, according to WA Today. SEE ALSO: Rejected penguin has found new outlook on life with cutout of anime character Visitors were evacuated from the area for safety, but zoo staff were quick to respond to the incident. "She seemed really calm, just confused on where to go next. Everyone around was really calm and giving her space as well. The whole incident was probably only 30-40 seconds before staff arrived," Jess McConnell, a witness, told the news outlet. Perth Zoo spokesperson Danielle Henry told the news outlet that the incident was "over within 15 minutes," and Sekara remained calm and returned to keepers afterward. "Sekara is an excellent mum and a bit of a helicopter parent, and the only way to get to him was to pop onto the visitor board. She retrieved him and returned to the enclosure on her own," Henry said. "Keepers were calling to her, and she has a very good relationship with them." The zoo will also conduct a review of the incident. It's not the first time an orangutan has escaped the zoo's enclosure. A couple of years ago, a 5-year-old orangutan named Teliti somehow got out and had a wander along a boardwalk. Orangutang out at Perth zoo! Came down to play with my son. Evacuated into nocturnal house. @PerthZoo @6PRbreakfast @7NewsPerth #escapes pic.twitter.com/KwOVwAsAH7 — Amanda Oliver (@oliveramanda6) May 28, 2017 WATCH: William Shatner separates science from fiction as our resident horse expert
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| Portland attack: Police probe 'hate speech rant' of double murder suspect Posted: 27 May 2017 03:35 PM PDT  Police say they will examine what appears to be the extremist ideology of an Oregon man suspected of fatally stabbing two men who tried to intervene when the suspect yelled racial slurs at two young women who appeared to be Muslim on a Portland light-rail train. Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, was being held Saturday in the Multnomah County Jail on suspicion of aggravated murder, attempted murder, intimidation and being a felon in possession of a weapon. A phone at his home in Portland rang unanswered early Saturday.
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| U.S. Navy skydiver killed in parachuting accident in New York Harbor Posted: 28 May 2017 02:28 PM PDT  The parachutist was pulled from the waters of Morris Canal near the mouth of the Hudson River moments after the accident, witnessed by thousands of spectators watching the show from Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey. The skydiver, a member of the Navy SEALs commando unit that operates under the Naval Special Warfare Command, was pronounced dead at the Jersey City Medical Center, Rear Admiral Jack Scorby told a news conference outside the hospital.
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| Mother Arrested After Allegedly Locking Kids Inside Trunk to Shop at Walmart Posted: 29 May 2017 07:46 AM PDT  She is being held on suspicion of child abuse.
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| Trump makes G-7 deal on trade, takes rain check on climate Posted: 27 May 2017 06:22 PM PDT  TAORMINA, Sicily (AP) — Seven wealthy democracies ended their summit Saturday in Italy without unanimous agreement on climate change, as the Trump administration plans to take more time to say whether the U.S. is going to remain in the Paris accord on limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
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| Meet the Three Brothers Who Just Graduated West Point Together Posted: 28 May 2017 08:57 AM PDT  The Ogrydcziak brothers graduated in the same class on Saturday, the first time that has happened at the famed military academy in more than 30 years.
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| Merkel warns US, Britain no longer reliable partners Posted: 28 May 2017 07:30 AM PDT  Europe "must take its fate into its own hands" faced with a western alliance divided by Brexit and Donald Trump's presidency, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday. While Germany and Europe would strive to remain on good terms with America and Britain, "we have to fight for our own destiny", Merkel went on. Special emphasis was needed on warm relations between Berlin and newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron, she said.
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| 19 Memorial Day Sales To Save In-Store and Online Posted: 28 May 2017 02:34 PM PDT  Brands and retailers are rewarding shoppers both online and in stores with massive savings Monday.
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| Islamist militants kill 19 in south Philippines: army Posted: 27 May 2017 09:32 PM PDT  Islamist militants locked in street-to-street battles with security forces in a southern Philippine city have killed 19 civilians, the military said Sunday, bringing the official death toll from nearly a week of fighting to at least 85. The violence prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial law on Tuesday across the southern third of the Philippines to quell what he said was a fast-growing threat of militants linked to the Islamic State (IS) group.
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| Somali Islamist insurgents stone man to death for adultery Posted: 28 May 2017 12:09 PM PDT ![Somali Islamist insurgents stone man to death for adultery]( "Somali Islamist insurgents stone man to death for adultery") By Feisal Omar MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali Islamist insurgents stoned a man to death on Sunday as punishment for alleged adultery, they said, a reminder that the militia is still strong enough to carry out public executions despite losing its grip on most towns and cities. Hundreds of witnesses watched the death of 44-year-old Dayow Mohamed Hassan in Ramo Adey village in the south-central Bay region, the regional governor representing the al Qaeda-linked insurgency said. Moalim Geedow told Reuters that Hassan was buried neck-deep in a hole then pelted with stones.
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| Two men stabbed to death on Oregon train trying to stop anti-Muslim rant Posted: 29 May 2017 07:26 AM PDT  Police identified the assailant, who was arrested soon after the Friday afternoon attack, as Jeremy Joseph Christian of Portland, a 35-year-old convicted felon. The attack unfolded hours before the start of Ramadan, Islam's holy month, when most of the world's 1.6 billion Muslims observe a daily religious fast.
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| Young activist, ex-military man latest killed in Venezuela Posted: 28 May 2017 12:54 PM PDT ![Young activist, ex-military man latest killed in Venezuela]( "Young activist, ex-military man latest killed in Venezuela") CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A 20-year-old man from the opposition Popular Will Party on Sunday became the most recent person to die in a wave of anti-government protests held almost daily since the end of March, Venezuelan authorities said. A former military man died in a separate incident on Saturday when he was attacked by a group of people in another part of the country in a continuing wave of violence sparked by ongoing protests.
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| 2 Men Charged After Allegedly Forcing An Alligator to Drink Beer And Then Posting Snapchat Videos of It Posted: 27 May 2017 02:21 PM PDT  They then watch the animal swim away.
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| Jared Kushner's charmed life is about to come to a screeching halt | Walter Shapiro Posted: 29 May 2017 06:20 AM PDT  Perhaps Jared Kushner really believed that his New York real-estate skills set him up to bring peace to the Middle East, solve the opioid crisis, run a government SWAT team of business experts and protect his father-in-law from disloyal White House advisers. Or maybe Kushner just calculated that all the hype surrounding his White House role was a not-to-be-missed family branding opportunity. After all, the Washington Post recently watched as his sister, Nicole Kushner Meyer, hawked American visas in Beijing to would-be Chinese investors in a troubled Kushner New Jersey real-estate development.
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| Memorial Day NYC Events 2017 Posted: 28 May 2017 04:47 AM PDT  On this day, people across the nation pay tribute to service members with wreath layings, parades, speeches and candlelight vigils.
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| Philippines peace talks with communist rebels break down Posted: 27 May 2017 10:12 AM PDT  Peace talks between the Philippine government and communist insurgents broke down on Saturday after a dispute over the rebels' ordering their fighters to step up attacks. The two sides had just opened formal talks when chief government negotiator Jesus Dureza objected to the communists' telling guerillas to intensify attacks in response to President Rodrigo Duterte's declaration of martial law in parts of the country. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law over the southern third of the country on Tuesday to quell fighting with pro-Islamic State militants in a southern city.
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| Rolling Thunder, French Open, Manchester tribute and more — it happened today: May 28 in pictures Posted: 28 May 2017 01:31 PM PDT ![Rolling Thunder, French Open, Manchester tribute and more — it happened today: May 28 in pictures]( "Rolling Thunder, French Open, Manchester tribute and more — it happened today: May 28 in pictures") Motorcyclists pass Marine Staff Sgt. Tim Chambers, Ret., and Christian Jacobs, 6, of Hertford, N.C., as they salute in Washington; fans watch the qualification round match between Luxemburg's Gilles Muller and Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez during the French Open in Paris; and marathon runners pay respects at flower tributes in St Ann's square in Manchester, England. These are some of the photos of the day.
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| China takes steps to prevent civil servants from using posts for personal gain Posted: 27 May 2017 11:44 PM PDT ![China takes steps to prevent civil servants from using posts for personal gain]( "China takes steps to prevent civil servants from using posts for personal gain") Chinese civil servants will face new restrictions when changing jobs as authorities move to prevent them from using official posts to make personal profit, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. Lower-level civil servants should also follow the rules, but with a limit of two years, according to Xinhua. As of the end of 2015, China had 7.17 million civil servants, according to Xinhua.
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| This mini spy cam is small enough to hide almost anywhere Posted: 28 May 2017 07:30 AM PDT 
First things first: we are NOT suggesting that anyone use the Conbrov Mini Spy Camera illegally by hiding it anywhere that isn't your own property or by recording anything you should not be recording. That said, if you're looking for a tiny spy cam to hide in your own home, this is the one. Wondering which one of your kids keeps stealing those cookies? Busted. Wondering which one of your dogs keeps pooping in the kitchen? Sorry, Rover, your days of roaming free when no one is home are done. They are plenty of other LEGAL uses for this spy cam as well, so definitely check it out. Here are some key details from the product page: - World's Unique Smallest True Night Vision Mini Video Camera: with a night visual range up to 15 to 25 feet,the camera has 5pcs black LED around the lens which are invisible and conceal(LED not light up in use),it's ideal for personal or body security use
- Stunning HD Video Quality:1280 x 720P Max 30 fps with built in rechargeable battery to manually record a day time recording up to 150 minutes and night visual recording up to 100 minutes.Or up to more than 20 hours to attach a 10000mah external power bank(power bank not include).
- Manually & Voice Activated:multiple functions including manually video recording, voice or sound activated detection recording which can standby 5 days, the camera doesn't have motion detection mode.
- Small Size with 3 Brackets:Easy to carry,suits most places and supports micro sd card up to 32gb(not included) .It requires a micro SD card in order to work. And loop recording is defaulted to overwrite the oldest file with the newest.
- Record Video with Correct Date and Time Watermark:connect computer to fix the time to ensure the right record time.Note:Please use the "5V 1A" charger to charge.
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| Sri Lanka faces more landslide risks as death toll rises to 151 Posted: 28 May 2017 01:04 PM PDT  By Dinuka Liyanawatte AGALAWATTE, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Landslides and floods in Sri Lanka have killed at least 151 people and the country faces the risk of more mudslides as torrential rains continue, officials said on Sunday. The state-run National Building Research Organization warned people in seven out of the country's 25 districts to evacuate from unstable slopes if rains continue for the next 24 hours. The Department of Meteorology said there could be heavy rain falls of above 100 millimeters in central Sri Lanka within the next 36 hours.
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| Japan public split on idea to cite military in constitution Posted: 29 May 2017 03:56 AM PDT  TOKYO (AP) — Poll results released Monday show that about half of Japan's population supports a constitutional revision that would clarify the legality of the country's military, a new approach Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is proposing as his party struggles to gain public support for a change.
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| Mother charged with involuntary manslaughter after accidentally smothering son as she slept Posted: 27 May 2017 03:04 PM PDT  A mother has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after she allegedly smothered her child while they slept next to each other. Arissa Ward, 23, called police in Middleton, Pennsylvania, on 30 December last year after finding her infant son unresponsive on the couch next to her where they had been sleeping. The coroner also found traces of marijuana in the child's system as Ms Ward had been breastfeeding.
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| Why 'Handmaid's Tale' costumes are the most powerful meme of the resistance yet Posted: 28 May 2017 06:00 AM PDT  Earlier this week, 18 women dressed up in red cloaks and white bonnets, stood in pairs in the rotunda of the Texas state capitol, and began chanting, "Shame!" in unison. They didn't stop shouting for eight minutes. They call themselves the Texas handmaids. You probably first saw them back in March, when images of their original protest in Austin went viral. That's when they sat silently in the Texas senate gallery, watching as lawmakers debated bills that would make it harder for women to get an abortion. SEE ALSO: Ivanka Trump is not your friend and she's not coming to save you What you may not know is that their demonstrations, inspired by Margaret Atwood's classic dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale and Hulu's vivid TV adaptation, are slowly spreading across the country. Women are holding sewing parties to turn yards of blood-red fabric into capes. They're swapping ideas on private Facebook pages about how to stage protests. They're even planning a coordinated demonstration where dozens of handmaids simultaneously show up at state capitols or in other public places in cities across the country. #fightbackTX #sb8 pic.twitter.com/SnA8ndmHge — Shift. (@shift_stigma) May 23, 2017 If the visually striking meme takes off, it could become one of the most effective acts of protest from the resistance. The sight of even a dozen women wearing the handmaid costume, while staying silent and keeping their heads down, offers a stark contrast to a group of mostly white men deliberating over what happens to their bodies. The imagery is practically made for the digital era. The point, activists say, is to send a powerful message: We're closer to a government that strips women of their bodily autonomy than you might think. Shame on the #txlege for continuing to pass unconstitutional, dangerous abortion restrictions #fightbacktx pic.twitter.com/h7Xw05w5mV — NARAL Pro-Choice TX (@naraltx) May 23, 2017 "The easiest way we try to explain it is that the handmaids represent a future where women are nothing more than their reproductive capacity," says Heather Busby, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Texas. "Unfortunately, with the laws that are being passed, that future is not so unrealistic and not so distant." The idea to enlist Texas women as handmaids started with Busby a few months ago. She happened to see women dressed as the title character from The Handmaid's Tale at South by Southwest. That was a marketing stunt by Hulu, the streaming entertainment provider that brought Atwood's novel to the small screen. But Busby then joked on Facebook about how someone should send the handmaids down to the capitol, where lawmakers had been busy introducing bills that would curtail abortion rights. Soon NARAL Pro-Choice Texas ordered white bonnets from Amazon Prime and a volunteer rented red capes. A small group of volunteers quickly drew up a plan. They liked the element of surprise in showing up at the capitol in costume — and wanted to let legislators know that women were watching. After that yielded local and national press coverage of the legislative agenda in Texas, activists around the country started reaching out to Busby for tips on how to start their own handmaids brigade. We have to get creative to make our voices heard, so the Handmaids made a trip back to the Capitol to protest anti-abortion laws. #txlege pic.twitter.com/MIagryJKpL — Shift. (@shift_stigma) May 9, 2017 You could argue that all of this is moot, that the United States is nowhere close to becoming the Republic of Gilead, The Handmaid's Tale's totalitarian, theocratic state that freezes women's bank accounts, forbids them to work, sends them to re-education camps, and forces many of them to bear children for leaders and their wives. The New York Times' conservative columnist Ross Douthat argued this week that liberals are seeing the wrong parallels. On the same day, Times op-ed contributor Mona Eltahawy wrote that the Republic of Gilead already exists in Saudi Arabia, where women can't drive and may be imprisoned for disobedience. For her part, Atwood has said that nothing in her novel hasn't already happened before in history. For the volunteers who are deep into the work of creating and wearing the costumes in public, it's not about whether they still have credit cards or the right to get a job. What they see is the federal and state governments largely in the hands of conservative, even authoritarian, men who've vowed to defund Planned Parenthood and roll back reproductive health rights like abortion and access to affordable birth control. At the same time, those men plan to funnel money to abstinence-only education and vouchers for "school choice," which includes religious schools. The fact that they're led by Donald Trump terrifies these women. "We have somebody in the White House who thinks it's OK to grab women and do whatever he wants, and I'm supposed to sit back and be cool with that?" says Emily Morgan, executive director of Action Together New Hampshire, an activist group that emerged in the wake of Trump's election. Earlier this month, Morgan contacted Busby for details on how to create handmaid costumes. But instead of bringing women into the New Hampshire legislative gallery during a debate or hearing, Morgan and her co-organizers asked them to appear at a press conference calling for the resignation of Rep. Robert Fisher, a Republican who The Daily Beast identified in April as the creator and former moderator of Reddit's popular men's rights "Red Pill" forum. The message board bills itself as a "discussion of sexual strategy in a culture increasingly lacking a positive identity for men," and Fisher regularly questioned whether rape is real, according to The Daily Beast. (Fisher resigned later in the day following the press conference.) A sexual assault survivor with handmaids demanding Rep. Robert Fisher's resignation, on May 17, 2017, in Concord, N.H.Image: Granite State Progress"Fisher and the Red Pill embody exactly what The Handmaid's Tale is a foreshadowing of or is a warning against," Morgan says. "Saying that we're not there — it's sort of degrading to what's actually happening to women." In the days before the press conference, volunteers made six costumes, but some of the women bowed out after learning the media would be in attendance. Morgan says they feared in-person and online harassment. Nevertheless, she thinks more women will step forward to participate in upcoming demonstrations, particularly since volunteers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire are sewing new cloaks so that activists in New England quickly have access to them for future protests. The time-intensive, costly aspect of buying the bonnets and making the cloaks is one challenge to growing the handmaid ranks. There's also the danger that different groups will splinter in an effort to launch the first nationwide demonstration. Morgan is moderating a private Facebook page to coordinate a national action. A similar page started by one of the Texas handmaids has close to 300 members. #HandmaidsTale in the House, wondering why hats are allowed on the floor today but not theirs #moleg #PraiseBe pic.twitter.com/7PhAMzTnaL — NARAL Missouri (@NARALMissouri) May 3, 2017 The handmaids' signature costumes are also a relatively obscure reference compared to pussyhats, the knit pink caps that have become a symbol of the resistance. But they're also memorable even if you don't know the origin. Ane Crabtree, the costume designer for the Hulu series, says the outfit's visual power is rooted in both the bright red color, which can signify blood, birth, and passion, and how the cloak conceals women who wear it. The combination tells the viewer what she needs to know about how the body underneath the costume is oppressed. "It's an easy form of expression to say that everything's been taken away and is being taken away, and it's a real thing," says Crabtree, who is encouraged and inspired by people making their own version of the costume. Deborah Marsh, a 65-year-old retiree who is one of the Texas handmaids, says people who get the reference often approach her on the street or in the capitol's rotunda to thank her profusely for the act of defiance. Some, however, have seen the symbolism and don't like it. Marsh says a few people on the street have had "outbursts" or called the women "pathetic." And the handmaids are sneaking peeks from their smart phones. #TXlege https://t.co/tG1lcX16uI — Joe Pojman, Ph.D. (@joepojman) May 19, 2017 Joe Pojman, executive director of the anti-abortion rights nonprofit group Texas Alliance for Life, seemed to criticize the handmaids a few times, focusing on the fact that they've used smartphones while silently protesting in the gallery, a silly point that Marsh feels makes their case about men who are obsessed with policing women's behavior. What Marsh didn't expect was how confident she would feel while wearing the costume. "It's such a bold costume, it's making such a bold statement," she says. "And my body is inside that costume, so why wouldn't I feel bold? Why wouldn't I feel empowered?" The spirit of @MargaretAtwood is with us today and every day in the #txlege as they continue to take away reproductive rights. pic.twitter.com/fGEzy73LvE — Blake Rocap (@BlakeRocap) March 20, 2017 Among reproductive rights activists like Marsh, the Texas legislature is infamous for its anti-abortion legislation. In 2013, the state passed a law that effectively led to the closure of dozens of abortion clinics, which the Supreme Court found unconstitutional last year. The Republican-led legislature recently voted to ban the safest type of second-trimester abortion and require hospitals and abortion clinics to bury fetal remains, including those from miscarriages that happen at home. Texas has already moved to keep Planned Parenthood from state and federal funding. In other words, as Texas limits access to both abortion and reproductive health care like birth control, it's easy to imagine a future in which women have little practical control over how and when they have children. That vision shouldn't be limited to Texas either; other Republican-dominated states are pursuing a similar agenda with regard to limiting access to reproductive health care, as is the Trump administration. "I still have a credit card, I still have a nice car, but I can feel the future here," Marsh says. "If [people] aren't affected by it today, they are going to be affected by it in four yours. Texas is a little bit ahead of the game." Stephanie Martin, a mom from Round Rock, in central Texas, who recently dressed up as a handmaid for the first time, says she's realistic about who the message is going to reach. "Am I going to change someone's mind who is pro-life?" she asks. "I don't expect that. I'm aiming higher. I want to change the culture." It's still early to gauge exactly how that culture will respond beyond the videos and photos that have gone viral. But the parallel between the male aggression and control that characterizes Gilead feels particularly fresh in a week where a Republican congressional candidate body slammed a reporter for asking a question he didn't like, and the president appeared to shove aside a European leader to get a better position in a photo-op. Let's not forget the complicity of Ivanka Trump, who promotes herself as a champion of gender equality but says nothing critical about healthcare and budget proposals that are arguably hostile to women. Nor can we ignore the benign-looking malevolence of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who couldn't come up with a single instance of discrimination at publicly funded schools that would give her pause when asked about it at a congressional hearing. In Gilead, after all, the women who are not outrightly oppressed get the privilege of wielding what small power they have against the vulnerable and marginalized. Morgan admits that some people won't make connections between what's happening today and Atwood's fiction. Yet she urges skeptics to focus less on a dramatic, sweeping end to women's rights. What's more important, at this point, is the underlying implication of attitudes and laws that see no harm in making it more difficult or even impossible for women to determine their own fate. "These are steps on the same path," she says of the parallels between Gilead and Trump's America. "You have to start somewhere." WATCH: Pete Souza's perfectly timed Insta-shade only keeps getting better and better
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| Student Loan Debt In The US Is So High That Many Aren't Even Paying It Posted: 28 May 2017 07:30 AM PDT  More and more Americans are struggling to make their loan payments -- and it's a real problem.
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| President Trump returns from first foreign trip to new questions about Russia Posted: 28 May 2017 08:18 AM PDT  ABC News' Martha Raddatz reports on the new revelations that Jared Kushner asked a Russian envoy for back channel communications about Syria and other policy matters.
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| Libya jihadist group Ansar al-Sharia announces dissolution Posted: 27 May 2017 04:38 PM PDT  The Libyan jihadist group Ansar al-Sharia, which is linked to Al-Qaeda and deemed a terrorist organisation by the UN and United States, announced its "dissolution" in a communique published online on Saturday. Washington accuses the group of being behind the September 11, 2012 attack on the US consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi in which ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed. Ansar al-Sharia is one of the jihadist groups that sprung up in Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, in the chaos following the death of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.
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