| GLAAD head: Trump's call for tolerance is 'downright laughable' Posted: 22 Aug 2017 09:11 AM PDT  Sarah Kate Ellis, CEO of GLAAD, said it is "downright laughable" for President Trump to call for a "love of all people" given his administration's policies.
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| Some anchors throw shade at eclipse Posted: 22 Aug 2017 08:14 AM PDT  Monday's total solar eclipse captivated the nation and dominated news coverage, but not every anchor was as delighted, or even interested, as their audience.
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| US Treasury chief's wife apologizes over Instagram post Posted: 22 Aug 2017 02:51 PM PDT  The wife of US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin apologized on Tuesday after she posted an Instagram photo and comments that were slammed as tone deaf and elitist. Louise Linton, 36, who is also a Scottish actress, posted a photo to the social network on Monday night that showed her descending with Mnuchin from an official US government plane. The husband and wife had just returned from a trip to Kentucky, where Mnuchin addressed the Louisville Chamber of Commerce and visited the US Bullion Depository at Fort Knox.
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| Pakistan rejects role of 'scapegoat for U.S. failures' in Afghanistan Posted: 23 Aug 2017 07:23 AM PDT  By Syed Raza Hassan KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan has rejected U.S. criticism of its efforts to fight terrorism, saying it should not be made a scapegoat for the failure of the U.S. military to win the war in Afghanistan. U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his policy for Afghanistan on Monday, stepping up the military campaign against Taliban insurgents and singling out Pakistan for harboring them. U.S. officials later warned that aid to Pakistan might be cut and Washington might downgrade nuclear-armed Pakistan's status as a major non-NATO ally, in order to pressure it to do more to help bring about an end to America's longest-running war.
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| 'Three dead, dozens injured' as Typhoon Hato barrels through Hong Kong, Macao and China Posted: 23 Aug 2017 02:10 AM PDT  Dozens of people were injured and at least three dead after a powerful typhoon barrelled into Hong Kong and the nearby city of Macao before hitting China on Wednesday, reports said. Thousands were evacuated from their homes in southern China as Typhoon Hato - the worst storm in the region for five years - slammed into the mainland after flooding streets and uprooting trees in Hong Kong. The maximum category 10 storm had forced Hong Kong's stock market to close and caused at least 400 flights at the city's airport to be cancelled. A man walks out on a low-lying wharf while large waves caused by Typhoon Hato break along the waterfront in Hong Kong's Lamma Island Credit: AFP Only one service - a KLM flight from Amsterdam – landed on Wednesday morning when the storm's force was at its height, according to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) newspaper. Packing winds of up to 155 kmh (95 mph), the typhoon shattered windows on the city's skyscrapers, flooded low-lying areas and blew over public bins across the financial hub. The No. 10 signal has only been hoisted 14 other times since 1946, or one for every 72 storms, according to the Hong Kong Observatory. The last time it went up was for Typhoon Vicente in 2012. Hato also brought large-scale power cuts to the gambling hub of Macao, where hotels were turning away customers because of power issues, the SCMP said. A taxi drives on a flooded street as typhoon Hato passes Hong Kong, Credit: EPA Reports in the former Portuguese colony said three people had been killed, while Reuters said 34 were injured in Hong Kong. The centre of the storm skirted around Hong Kong, but was close enough to be considered a direct hit under the city's storm warning system. However, it made landfall at midday (05.00am GMT) at Zhuhai, in China's Guangdong province, Xinhua said. A Chinese sanitation worker rides a bicycle against the strong wind caused by Typhoon Hato on a road along the seacoast in Zhuhai in China's southern Guangdong province Credit: AFP The Chinese state news agency also said that "thousands of people were evacuated" as the storm approached, and that 400 fishermen were told to return to harbour. "Guangdong's flood relief agency said Hato could cause severe damage because it is growing stronger as it nears shore," the news agency said. "The typhoon also comes at a time when the Guangdong coast was busy with tourists and fish farm workers."
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| The stray dogs of Chernobyl Posted: 22 Aug 2017 09:28 AM PDT ![The stray dogs of Chernobyl]( "The stray dogs of Chernobyl") An estimated 900 stray dogs live in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, many of them likely the descendants of dogs left behind following the mass evacuation of residents in the aftermath of the 1986 nuclear disaster. Volunteers, including veterinarians and radiation experts from around the world, are participating in an initiative called the Dogs of Chernobyl, launched by the nonprofit Clean Futures Fund. Participants capture the dogs, study their radiation exposure, vaccinate them against parasites and diseases including rabies, tag the dogs and release them again into the exclusion zone.
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| Chelsea Manning Has Epic Response To Tweeter Who Wants Her 'Shot For Treason' Posted: 22 Aug 2017 08:15 AM PDT  Former Army intelligence analyst and transgender activist Chelsea Manning responded in the best way Monday night to a violent message she received on Twitter.
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| Trump Attacked McConnell on Russia Probe: NYT Posted: 22 Aug 2017 11:00 AM PDT  Rachel Maddow shares a new report from the New York Times about the strained relationship between Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell and notes that the intensifying Trump Russia investigation may be wearing on Trump.
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| Doctors Bombarded by Calls From Those Who Believe They Suffered Eye Damage During Eclipse Posted: 22 Aug 2017 03:06 PM PDT  While most sky watchers have nothing to worry about, a few people may have suffered serious eye damage.
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| Biological Mother Charged With Murdering Adopted Teen Posted: 22 Aug 2017 02:16 PM PDT  The adopted teen had recently come to live with her
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| Louise Linton, wife of Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, apologizes for nasty Instagram spat Posted: 22 Aug 2017 12:08 PM PDT  Louise Linton, the 36-year-old Scottish actress newly wedded to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, sparked a national kerfuffle Monday when she got into a spat with one of her Instagram followers.
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| ExxonMobil: Oil and gas giant ‘misled’ the public about climate change, say Harvard experts Posted: 23 Aug 2017 05:53 AM PDT  Fossil fuel giant ExxonMobil "misled the public" about the risks posed by climate change, an analysis of its public and private announcements on the subject by two Harvard University academics has concluded. While the company's scientists and senior executive largely accepted the scientific consensus that global warming is real and poses significant risks, it spent thousands of dollars on regular advertorials in The New York Times (NYT) and other newspapers, in which it sought to cast doubt on the science. In some cases, the firm, led by the current US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, from 2006 to 2016, even contradicted itself.
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| U.S. Navy relieves Seventh Fleet commander in wake of collisions in Asia Posted: 23 Aug 2017 02:57 AM PDT  WASHINGTON/TOKYO (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy on Wednesday said it had removed Seventh Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin after a series of collisions involving its warships in Asia as the search goes on for 10 sailors missing since the latest mishap. Aucoin's removal comes after a pre-dawn collision between a guided-missile destroyer and a merchant vessel east of Singapore and Malaysia on Monday, the fourth major incident in the U.S. Pacific Fleet this year. "Admiral Scott Swift, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, today relieved the commander of Seventh Fleet, Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command," the U.S. Navy said in a press release.
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| US Embassy in Russia stops issuing tourist visas for 8 days Posted: 21 Aug 2017 11:47 AM PDT  MOSCOW (AP) — In a step that could affect hundreds of thousands of Russian tourists, the U.S. Embassy in Russia said Monday it would suspend issuing nonimmigrant visas for eight days from Wednesday in response to the Russian decision to cap embassy staff.
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| France's Charlie Hebdo publishes provocative Islam cartoon Posted: 23 Aug 2017 07:44 AM PDT  French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo published a provocative front-page cartoon about Islam and the recent terror attacks in Spain on Wednesday, sparking fears that it could encourage Islamophobia. Critics of Charlie Hebdo saw its front-page cartoon as tarring an entire religion, practised by around 1.5 billion people worldwide, by implying it is inherently violent. As the cartoon became one of the top trending topics on Twitter in France -- with more than 15,000 tweets praising or criticising it -- prominent Socialist MP and former minister Stephane Le Foll called it "extremely dangerous".
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| 2019 Jeep Wrangler Pickup: Everything We Know Posted: 22 Aug 2017 06:52 AM PDT  We can't wait for this truck.
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| Breitbart News Wants Trump To Know His Base Is Not Happy About Afghanistan Posted: 22 Aug 2017 07:46 AM PDT  Breitbart News had a clear message for President Donald Trump following his speech on the war in Afghanistan Monday night: His voter base is not happy.
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| President's spiritual adviser: When you oppose Trump, you are 'fighting against the hand of God' Posted: 23 Aug 2017 08:32 AM PDT  Paula White, a televangelist and spiritual adviser to Donald Trump, appeared on television Tuesday to defend the president amid recent controversy using an unlikely Biblical comparison.
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| Barcelona Attack Suspect: I Thought I Was Renting Vans for a House Move Posted: 22 Aug 2017 11:41 AM PDT  Suspect Driss Oukabir denied being part of the attackers' cell
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| 2018 BMW M5: 600 Horsepower, All-Wheel Drive, and 189 MPH! Posted: 21 Aug 2017 10:10 AM PDT  Bavaria's supersedan is on track.
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| Brags to Riches: Treasury Secretary's Wife Blasted After Posting Tagging Designer Duds on Instagram Posted: 22 Aug 2017 02:22 PM PDT  Louise Linton hit back at an Instagram user who chided her after she tagged her designer wardrobe.
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| Missouri governor halts execution to examine questions over DNA Posted: 22 Aug 2017 04:06 PM PDT  By Chris Kenning CHICAGO (Reuters) - Missouri Governor Eric Greitens halted the execution of a man scheduled to be put to death on Tuesday for killing a woman during a burglary after his attorneys argued that recent DNA evidence showed he is innocent. Greitens issued the stay of execution for Marcellus Williams, 48, just over four hours before he was scheduled to die by lethal injection in a Bonne Terre state prison for the stabbing death of former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Felicia Gayle during an August 1998 robbery at her home. Greitens said in a statement he would appoint a Board of Inquiry to examine the new DNA evidence and recommend whether he should commute Williams' death sentence.
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| Summer hike turns tragic when parents tumble off cliff Posted: 21 Aug 2017 03:49 PM PDT ![Summer hike turns tragic when parents tumble off cliff]( "Summer hike turns tragic when parents tumble off cliff") When William and Amanda Green took their two boys on a weekend outing, they headed for the Zoar Valley Gorge, a rugged area not far from their Buffalo, New York, home that includes waterfalls, forests and cliffs that plunge as much as 40 stories.
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| Remains of US sailors found on warship that collided off Singapore Posted: 22 Aug 2017 07:19 AM PDT  Divers have found the remains of some of the 10 sailors who went missing when a US destroyer collided with a tanker off Singapore, the navy said Tuesday, the latest deadly accident involving an American warship. The US Navy has announced a fleet-wide global investigation after the incident Monday involving the USS John S. McCain and the merchant vessel, which left a gaping gash in the destroyer's hull.
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| When is the next total solar eclipse? 2024 'will be even better' Posted: 21 Aug 2017 05:44 PM PDT  The 'Great American Eclipse' captivated millions around the world - it was the most-observed and most-photographed eclipse in history. However, if you misssed it, do not despair: the next eclipse takes place on July 2, 2019 - crossing Chile and Argentina. Great American eclipse, in pictures And Americans won't have to wait long for the next US eclipse - an event that many scientists believe will be even more impressive than Monday's natural wonder. Britons will have to wait somewhat longer. Great American eclipse, in pictures Chile and Argentina are next An eclipse on July 2, 2019 will span a huge arc across the southern Pacific, before crossing South America. The moon is expected to block out the sun for up to 4 minutes and 33 seconds over Chile and Argentina - far longer than Monday's 'Great American Eclipse', which lasted a little more than two minutes in the path of totality. Chile and Argentina also have the good fortune of being under the path of a total eclipse the following year, in 2020. The Second Great American Eclipse Americans will have to wait less than seven years for the next total solar eclipse - an event that scientists predict will top the August 21 2017 event. The path of the total eclipse will travel through Mexico, Texas and up across the highly-populated north-east of the US. The April 8, 2024 eclipse will pass over cities such as Austin, Dallas, Cleveland, New York, and Montreal. It will hit Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, which also witnessed the total eclipse on Monday. The university has branded itself "The Eclipse Crossroads of America". The last total eclipse in the US was 38 years ago. How about the UK? It's a long time before there'll be another total solar eclipse in the UK - 73 years to be precise. There have been just eight total eclipses in Britain across the past five centuries. 1999 was the last one, which was visible in Devon and Cornwall. There won't be another until September 23, 2090. Other notable forthcoming eclipses 2021: Antarctica 2026: the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, Spain 2027: Morocco, Spain, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia 2028: Australia, New Zealand 2030: Botswana, South Africa, Australia To keep updated, Nasa keeps a record of every solar eclipse that will take place over the next 1,000 years.
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| Jake Tapper Schools Paul Ryan On How To Respond To Nazis And Bigots Posted: 21 Aug 2017 09:40 PM PDT  CNN's Jake Tapper showed House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) how to unequivocally denounce the white supremacists and neo-Nazis who incited deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month.
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| Trump 'increased troops in Afghanistan after being shown a picture of women in miniskirts' Posted: 22 Aug 2017 11:49 AM PDT  For a number of decades, Afghanistan was not a nation under threat from Isis or the Taliban, but a place of stability, tolerance and even moderation. This week, after Donald Trump admitted to having changed his mind on sending troops to Afghanistan and committed to dispatching extra forces - the additional troops will probably total around 4,000 - it was reported one of the ways his advisors persuaded him to engage was to show him a photograph of women wearing such skirts. To convince Trump that Afghanistan was not lost cause, McMaster showed him 1972 photo of Afghan women in miniskirts.
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| The death of a 17-year-old boy has put a face on the drug war in the Philippines Posted: 22 Aug 2017 03:36 AM PDT  Kian Delos Santos, a 17-year-old high school student, was shot to death by police officers last week. He is just one of thousands that have fallen victim to the Philippines' president Rodrigo Duterte's harsh crackdown on drugs. Yet his death has sparked a new wave of outrage across the country, with many finally speaking out and calling for an end to the killings. SEE ALSO: Philippine president compares himself to Hitler in his latest offensive comment According to police officials, Delos Santos was in his hometown of Caloocan city last Tuesday, when he pulled out a gun and opened fire when he saw officers approaching as part of an anti-drug raid. The policemen shot back, fatally. But security footage later emerged, showing the boy being dragged away by two officers to a place where his body was later found. Eyewitnesses say that he was framed, and was handed a gun and ordered to run by police officers. According to reports, rogue Philippine police have in the past been accused of framing, extorting and murdering people under the cover of the recent anti-drug campaign. Delos Santos' family says he was "mercilessly shot" by police while pleading for his life. Saldy Delos Santos, father of the 17 year-old student Kian Loyd stands next to the coffin of his sonImage: AFP/Getty ImagesDelos Santos was described as being a hardworking and studious boy who had no involvement in drugs. He wanted to be a policeman when he grew up. His death has led to the suspension of the police chief in Caloocan city, and an ongoing investigation into the incident by the Department of Justice. Although the case is pending, the public outrage has hit a boiling point. Church leaders have criticised the government's campaign, and began ringing church bells for 15 minutes every night for three months to raise alarm over the killings. Public protests have also taken place, with protesters marching to the site where he was gunned down. Last night at the rally. #JusticeForKian pic.twitter.com/TMcOwVgD9e — Ralf Lagleva (@ralfml) August 22, 2017 Online, people were equally enraged, and the hashtag #JusticeForKian has begun trending in the Philippines: At 17, I cried for failing a quiz.At 17, Kian Delos Santos cried for his life.#JusticeForKian — Ken O. Montejo (@kenmontejo) August 19, 2017 Kian can be anything he wants to be, a doctor or an engineer. But Duterte reduced him to a mere statistic. #JusticeForKian pic.twitter.com/01BVS1Zi72 — don r.b. (@donthebasher) August 18, 2017 Kian Delos Santos, a boy who dreamt of becoming a policeman killed by one #JusticeForKian pic.twitter.com/8E756MeTlt — Deb Javier (@debjavs) August 18, 2017 If you are not outraged, you are not paying attention.#StopTheKillings #JusticeForKian pic.twitter.com/7EGEcAQMVG — Vhiyn Beato (@vhiynbeato) August 18, 2017 How do you even sleep at night knowing you killed an innocent lad? Shame. #JusticeForKian — Kim Sayson (@kimalmajeda) August 18, 2017 Back on the streets, for democracy, for freedom, for Kian. Ituloy ang laban! #JusticeForKian pic.twitter.com/59lNiCSmqR — PJ Foronda-Tanglao (@forondatanglao) August 22, 2017 What is the 'war on drugs' in the Philippines that everyone's talking about? As of the beginning of 2017, more than 7,000 people have been killed since President Duterte launched his 'war' on drugs last year, according to Human rights group Amnesty International. The controversial campaign was aimed at wiping out the drug trade in the Philippines, but has resulted in a huge number of deaths. Amnesty have also accused Philippine police of planning extrajudicial killings. According to the group, officers have planted evidence and falsified reports, receiving "financial incentives" for the killings and a payment for each death. Some 32 people were killed last Tuesday alone in drug raids, believed to be the highest death toll in a day under the campaign. President Duterte praised the crackdown, saying that if the country "could kill another 32 every day, then maybe we can reduce what ails this country." He has previously said that he was "happy to slaughter" drug users and dismissed the death of children as "collateral damage." On Delos Santos' death, he said he was in support of the investigation, adding that he saw the CCTV footage of the incident. "Should the investigation point to liabilities...there will be a prosecution and they have to go to jail if convicted," he said. WATCH: This jacket uses solar power to give off a Kryptonite-like glow in the dark
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| More Than 2 Dozen Puppies Found in a Hot Van: 'They Were Literally on Top of Each Other' Posted: 22 Aug 2017 10:59 AM PDT  The puppies were severely dehydrated after their ordeal.
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| Suspect says imam planned to blow himself up in Barcelona Posted: 22 Aug 2017 06:31 PM PDT  MADRID (AP) — An extremist cell was preparing bombs for an imam who planned to blow himself up at a Barcelona monument, a key suspect in the attacks that killed 15 people in northeastern Spain told a judge Tuesday, according to a judicial official.
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| Fleeing Maduro critic says life in danger Posted: 23 Aug 2017 08:27 AM PDT  Brasília (AFP) - Venezuela's fugitive former top prosecutor resurfaced in Brazil on Wednesday claiming to possess "a lot" of proof of President Nicolas Maduro's corruption and to warn that her life remains in danger. Days after a dramatic escape from chaotic Venezuela, Luisa Ortega, 59, turned up the heat on Maduro, who in turn asked Interpol to put out a "red notice" arrest warrant for his critic. Ortega -- speaking at a crime-fighting conference in the Brazilian capital with representatives from the Latin American regional trading alliance Mercosur -- said Maduro enriched himself in a massive corruption scheme uncovered at Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht.
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| Cambodia PM orders English-language newspaper to pay taxes or close Posted: 22 Aug 2017 04:50 AM PDT  Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen denounced the media, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the United States on Tuesday, amid growing government impatience with criticism ahead of a general election next year. Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia for more than three decades and has shown no signs of any willingness to relinquish power. Hun Sen directed much of his anger at the English-language Cambodia Daily newspaper, saying it had to pay taxes accrued over the past 10 years by Sept. 4 or face closure.
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| 22 million Americans support neo-Nazis, new poll indicates Posted: 22 Aug 2017 08:53 AM PDT  Nine per cent of Americans say holding neo-Nazi or white supremacist views is acceptable, according to a new poll. The Washington Post ABC poll was carried out in the wake of the deadly racially-charged violence which erupted at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville earlier this month. According to the survey, 83 per cent of Americans think holding neo-Nazi views is unacceptable.
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| The ISS delivers a view of the solar eclipse you just have to see Posted: 22 Aug 2017 10:53 AM PDT  Now that all the eclipse hype has died down you probably think it's time to move on with your boring old non-eclipse life and get back to business. Nope! Now that the celestial event has wrapped up we get to gawk at all the awesome photos taken from all over North America, and even some particularly fantastic shots from the International Space Station. Obviously, viewing the eclipse from space is tricky business. When you're on the ground, all you have to do is look skyward and, assuming you're within an area that the moon's shadow will hit, you'll see what all the fuss is about. For astronauts aboard the ISS, location is equally important, and while the space station's position wasn't ideal for eclipse viewing, the crew still managed to snap some great photos.  That big dark spot is (obviously) the shadow of the moon moving across Earth, blocking out the sun for anyone in its path. The extremely dark center is the spot of totality, where the eclipse is best viewed, while the lighter shadows are experiencing a partial eclipse. It's a great shot, but it actually pales in comparison to the photo captured way back in 1999 from Russia's Mir space station during an eclipse:  The Mir happened to be in the perfect position to capture this glorious shot of the "bruised" Earth, and while the ISS wasn't able to snag quite as nice of a photo, it's still a really cool shot anyway. The next total solar eclipse is slated to occur on July 2nd, 2019. Its path will take it across a huge chunk of the Pacific Ocean as well as a slice of South America, so the ISS will have another opportunity to capture eclipse gold very shortly.
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| Man Who Shot Judge Is Father Of Steubenville Football Player Convicted In 2012 Rape Case Posted: 21 Aug 2017 04:02 PM PDT  Law officers in Steubenville, Ohio, shot and killed Nathaniel "Nate" Richmond on Monday after he ambushed and opened fire on a judge outside the Jefferson County courthouse, seriously injuring him and wounding a bystander.
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| Barcelona attack suspect Younes Abouyaaqoub shot dead wearing suicide belt by Spanish police Posted: 21 Aug 2017 11:25 AM PDT  The terrorist who went on the run after killing 14 people in Barcelona has been shot dead while wearing a fake suicide belt. Younes Abouyaaqoub was shot on Monday by armed police in the town of Sant Sadurni d'Anoia in the district of Subirats, around 30 miles west of Barcelona, bringing to an end a five-day international manhunt. The 22-year-old Moroccan reportedly shouted "Allahu akbar" as he was challenged by officers, leading to fears that he was about to launch a bomb attack. Police used a remote-controlled robot to check his body for explosives, but later confirmed that the suicide belt he was wearing was fake. Police: Suspect in Barcelona van attack shot dead 00:48 Abouyaaqoub was the last remaining member of the jihadist cell responsible for last week's twin terrorist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils. Police now believe he was at the wheel of the van when it ploughed into crowds on Las Ramblas on Thursday afternoon, killing 13 people including Julian Cadman, a seven-year-old British boy. He then fled on foot, walking around Barcelona for 90 minutes before hijacking a car and killing its owner, 34-year-old aid worker Pablo Perez, in order to make his getaway. CCTV images emerged on Monday, appearing to show Abouyaaqoub starting to make his escape on foot through Barcelona's La Boqueria market after the attack. He then rammed the Ford Focus through a police checkpoint before abandoning the vehicle and fleeing on foot. Site where Moroccan suspect Younes Abouyaaqoub was shot Credit: LUIS GENE/AFP/Getty Images Hours later, five of his associates launched a second attack in the coastal resort of Cambrils, in which a woman was stabbed to death and a police officer badly injured. All five terrorists were shot dead by police at the scene. There had been fears that Abouyaaqoub had fled across the border into France and might be preparing another terrorist outrage. But the Catalan police force was alerted shortly before 4.30pm local time, when a resident of Subirats spotted a man acting suspiciously in the street. She shouted to ask him what he was doing, causing him to run off towards a vineyard, where he was quickly challenged by armed officers. Roget Queral, an 18-year-old resident of Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, said he believed he had seen Abouyaaqoub in the area before last week's attacks, leading to suggestions that he may have had a hideout in the town. Armed police officers stand guard near Subirats, Spain Credit: AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti Police were last night continuing to piece together the movements of the cell, which was based in the town of Ripoll, around 60 miles north of Barcelona in the foothills of the Pyerenees. It is now believed 40-year-old Abdelbaki Es Satty, the local imam, was responsible for radicalising the 12-strong Moroccan group. A former hashish smuggler, it is thought he became a jihadist after meeting one of the ringleaders of the Madrid train bombings while serving a four-year prison sentence in Valencia. After his release, he moved to Ripoll and began working at the local mosque as an imam. Barcelona attack map - 2108 The Spanish authorities have said they are almost certain Es Satty was one of two men who died in an explosion at a suspected bomb factory in the town of Alcanar last Tuesday. A man who survived the blast has been placed under arrest, and four other suspects, who were arrested in the wake of the attacks, also remain in custody. 7:11PM The tip-offs that led to his capture The chief of the Catalan police force, Major Josep Lluis Trapero, has explained that two different reports were received placing Abouyaacoub in the Subirats area, where he was eventually shot down. One was from two local police officers, who believed they saw a man looking like the suspect from their patrol car. At around the same time, a local woman called in saying she had "no doubt" that she had seen Abouyaacoub, who, she added, had been acting suspiciously near her home before running away into a vineyard. She said that her suspicion was confirmed by the fact that he was wearing a long-sleeved top on such a hot afternoon. Major Trapero described how police officers had approached Abouyaacoub in the vineyard he was crossing. He said that on being asked to stop and identify himself, the terrorist had lifted his shirt to show what appeared to be an explosive belt. Abouyaacoub then said "Allahu Akbar" before the officers shot him down. 6:49PM Peaceful location rocked by terror The mayoress of Sant Sadurni, Maria Rosell i Medall, said the situation was now under control, but that police were investigating every call they had received from residents to establish what had brought Abouyaaqoub to the area and whether he might have any local help. She said Sant Sadurni had always been "a safe and peaceful place" and that there had never been any indication to suggest any terrorist activity in the area. Police had been patrolling the area since the attacks, she said, and swung into action when they received the resident's call on Monday afternoon. 6:48PM Catalan President addresses reporters Catalan President Carles Puigdemont announced in a press conference that just before 5pm this afternoon the Catalan police had "shot down Younes Abouyaacoub, the perpetrator of the van attack in Barcelona last Thursday who had caused the death of 14 people". Mr Puigdemont said he had informed Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy personally of today's developments. He also expressed his "profound gratitude" to the Catalan police for their effective action, as well as that of all Catalan security forces. 6:27PM Abouyaaqoub's final days of hiding At 4.50pm on Thursday August 17, Younes Abouyaaqoub started his murderous rampage by driving a white Fiat rental van onto the pedestrianised central portion of Barcelona's famous La Rambla, accessing the northern end of the avenue via Pelai street. After weaving left and right for 500 metres, killing 13 people and injuring scores more, the airbag in the van's driver seat activated itself, stopping the vehicle in its tracks. Abouyaaqoub got out of the van and, was apparently filmed on CCTV images walking calmly away through the city's emblematic La Boqueria food market wearing a blue and white polo shirt, dark trousers, trainers and a pair of sunglasses. According to Catalonia's police chief, Major Josep Lluis Trapero, the 22-year-old Moroccan man then "walked and ran" six kilometres across the city in a westerly direction amidst the din of emergency sirens as ambulances transported the dead and injured to hospitals and the police mounted what they dubbed "Operation Cage" aimed at preventing terrorist suspects from escaping the city centre. At around 6.30pm, an hour and a half after the slaughter on La Rambla, Abouyaaqoub then came across Pau Pérez, a 34-year-old aid worker who was in his car in Barcelona's University Zone, just off the city's major El Diagonal traffic artery. According to the police's version of events, Abouyaaqoub stabbed Pérez several times and took the wheel of his white Ford Focus, shoving his victim's body into the back of the vehicle. Abouyaaqoub then drove through a police checkpoint on at the western end of El Diagonal, breaking an officer's leg. Police fired shots but the car was not stopped. The Ford Focus was later found abandoned some two miles further west in the Sant Just Desvern area, on the outskirts of Barcelona, with Mr Pérez's dead body inside. The police initially thought that the incident was not connected to the van attack on La Rambla, having identified the owner of the car as an unlikely terrorist suspect. When the autopsy revealed that Mr Pérez had been stabbed and not hit by a police bullet, investigators began to search for a link to the attacks. As, over the weekend, investigators untangled the web of the terrorist cell that had formed among young men of Moroccan origins in the small Pyrenean town of Ripoll, Abouyaaqoub was increasingly considered chief suspect of the van attack. Nothing is yet known about what Abouyaaqoub did during that time, except for the fact that he managed to travel some 25 miles west from the place in which he ditched the Ford Focus, possibly across mountainous terrain to the area in which police caught up with him at around 4.30pm on Monday afternoon. La Vanguardia has reported that Abouyaaqoub was located by the police after a woman in the Subirats area called in after seeing a man who looked like the chief suspect in the Barcelona van attack outside her home. The woman reportedly shouted at him and asked him what he was doing there, causing the suspect to run away into a vineyard. According to other unconfirmed reports, the woman said that Abouyaqoub had been whistling, as if trying to communicate with someone he had arranged to meet amongst nearby buildings. 6:00PM Locals say they recognised Abouyaaqoub Roget Queral, an 18-year-old resident of Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, said he believed he had seen Younes Abouyaaqoub in the area before. He said that when the attacker's image appeared on the news, "I thought, goodness, I recognise him". Mr Queral said his father also believed he recognised him, as did a number of residents of the town. Mr Queral said he could not be certain it was the same man, but believed he had seen him in Sant Sadurni two or three months ago. Despite the rural location, a stranger would not necessarily attract attention as it is a much-visited tourist area, which produces the internationally famous Freixenet cava. There was heavy police activity in the area, with a 500m cordon established around the scene of the shooting. Helicopters hovered overhead as police guarded roads, the Mossos urging locals not to reveal the location of controls. 4:32PM Bomb robot deployed A robot to defuse the suspected explosives belt has been deployed to the scene of the shooting in Subirats. It is approaching the site and will assess it for officers. 17:23 TEDAX està utilitzant el robot per apropar-se i fer comprovacions / TEDAX està utilizando el robot para acercarse #Subirats— Mossos (@mossos) August 21, 2017 4:19PM Details emerge about shooting State broadcaster TVE report that the operation took place near a petrol station in a wooded area. Armed officers arrived on the scene after receiving a call from a member of the public. The regional Mossos d'Esquadra force tweeted at 4.39pm: "Police operation in progress in Subirats. Spread only official information." It added in another tweet shortly afterwards: "We received an alert about a suspicious person in Subirats and activated a police response which is continuing." 4:14PM Shooting confirmed Spanish police have confirmed that they shot dead a man. 17:05h La persona sospitosa de #Subirats porta adherit al cos el que sembla un cinturó d'explosius. L'individu ha estat abatut— Mossos (@mossos) August 21, 2017 3:55PM Police announce operation The Mossos d'Esquadra have announced an operation in the area but have not confirmed any other details. Spanish media claimed the police had received a tip off from a resident in Subirats and on attending the scene were fired upon. The man was wearing an explosive belt and cried "Allahu Akhbar," according to reports. There was no immediate word on whether the suspect was dead or alive. 16:39h Operatiu policial en marxa a Subirats. Difoneu només informació oficial— Mossos (@mossos) August 21, 2017 3:47PM Barcelona suspect caught by police Spanish police Mossos have stopped Younes Abouyaaqoub in Sant Sadurni, 60km from Barcelona, according to local media reports.
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| Mexican soldiers seize 140 pounds of fentanyl at US border Posted: 22 Aug 2017 07:24 AM PDT ![Mexican soldiers seize 140 pounds of fentanyl at US border]( "Mexican soldiers seize 140 pounds of fentanyl at US border") MEXICO CITY (AP) — Soldiers in northern Mexico say they have seized a surprisingly large stash of the powerful opioid fentanyl from a truck near the U.S. border.
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| Once You Have Snickerdoodle Cheesecake, There's No Going Back Posted: 22 Aug 2017 10:55 AM PDT  It will ruin all other cheesecakes for you.
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| U.S. asks if Iran military sites to be checked under nuclear deal Posted: 22 Aug 2017 04:01 PM PDT  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States wants to know if the United Nations atomic watchdog plans to inspect Iranian military sites to verify Tehran's compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said on Tuesday. Haley will meet with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officials in Vienna on Wednesday for what she described as a fact-finding mission, which is part of President Donald Trump's review of the deal Iran made with world powers to curb its nuclear program in return for the lifting of most sanctions.
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| This is what the solar eclipse looked like from space Posted: 21 Aug 2017 03:19 PM PDT  Thanks to the millions who witnessed and photographed the total solar eclipse on Monday, we're quite familiar with what the event looked like from the ground. But what did it look like from space? Thankfully, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is testing out its latest weather satellite, known as GOES-16, which launched in November of 2016. The agency put the satellite to use tracking the eclipse. SEE ALSO: Neil deGrasse Tyson on all things Great American Eclipse The agency released a series of images and animations on Monday featuring the moon's shadow as it creeped across the lower 48 states. This first image, taken by the satellite's Advanced Baseline Imager, picked up the moon's shadow coming ashore in the Pacific Northwest. Satellite image from GOES-16, showing the moon's shadow across the Northwest U.S.Image: NOAA.The NOAA, which operates weather satellites, forecasts severe weather, and protects marine species, among other duties, also released an image later in the day showing the shadow of the eclipse located across the East Coast. The imager that took this photo can take a snapshot of Earth every 15 minutes. Satellite image from GOES-16, showing the moon's shadow across the East.Image: noaa.Astronauts on the International Space Station also had a unique vantage point for the eclipse, which they shared via social media. Millions of people saw #Eclipse2017 but only six people saw the umbra, or the moon's shadow, over the United States from space today. pic.twitter.com/hMgMC5MgRh — Intl. Space Station (@Space_Station) August 21, 2017 Voila! The #Eclipse2017 shadow from @Space_Station, no words needed // Voilà! L'eclisse vista dalla Stazione Spaziale, non servono parole... pic.twitter.com/7kD5AYb5zj — Paolo Nespoli (@astro_paolo) August 21, 2017 You probably saw #SolarEclipse2017 from Earth...but what did it look like from space? Check out these @Space_Station views: pic.twitter.com/6uPdyRFbXs — NASA (@NASA) August 21, 2017 NASA also released a video showing the view that its DISCOVR satellite had from a million miles away. The Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) aboard that satellite captured 12 images of the moon's shadow crossing North America on Aug. 21. This view appears to speed up the eclipse's progression, but that's an artificial effect from how frequently this satellite snaps photos of the Earth, NASA said. NASA and NOAA will likely have newer, and even better platforms in the sky when the next total solar eclipse appears above the U.S. in 2024.
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| Catholic priest resigns after revealing he was a cross-burning member of the KKK Posted: 22 Aug 2017 08:02 AM PDT  William Aitcheson, a priest for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, announced his leave of absence in an editorial for the Arlington Catholic Herald. According to the Washington Post, Mr Aitcheson was a leader of the Robert E Lee Lodge of the Maryland Knights of the KKK in the 1970s. The group, which boasted about a dozen members, was allegedly planning to bomb the homes of black people and the offices of the NAACP in Prince George's, Maryland.
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| Why Black Women Are Protesting A Statue Of This Famed Gynecologist Posted: 21 Aug 2017 12:54 PM PDT  The history of reproductive health care in the U.S. is fraught with racism, as white women's reproductive health care access came at the cost of black and brown women's lives.
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