| Donald Trump reacts to Mueller report: 'It’s called no collusion, no obstruction' Posted: 18 Apr 2019 09:54 AM PDT  Attorney General William Barr released redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller's 400-page report to Congress and the public on Thursday.
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| After Notre Dame, support for torched black churches swells Posted: 17 Apr 2019 04:20 PM PDT  NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The crowdfunding campaign to raise money for three African American churches gutted by arson in Louisiana began a week ago, but donations surged after flames engulfed the roof of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris and the outcry provoked a conversation about the disparate reactions to the tragedies.
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| Verizon just made it more expensive to activate or upgrade a phone in-store Posted: 17 Apr 2019 07:58 AM PDT  Verizon appears to be incentivizing consumers to make purchases online rather than at one of its brick-and-mortar retail stores, as CNET reports that the mobile carrier is lowering activation and upgrade fees on its site and in its My Verizon app from $30 to $20 starting this Thursday. Alternatively, if you prefer a "full-service experience" at a Verizon store, you'll now have to pay $40 to activate a line or upgrade to a new device.CNET's report doesn't include many details about this new policy, and as The Verge points out, Verizon's fees often go up or down depending on a variety of factors, such as if you're on a prepaid or monthly plan, or if you're activating a new line or just upgrading to a new phone. Unless Verizon sends out a news release ahead of this purported price change, we'll have to wait until later this week to see how it will be implemented.Provided that you are willing to go through with the process of activating a line or upgrading to a new device on the Verizon website or on the My Verizon app, the price is actually lower at Verizon than at its competitors. AT&T charges $25 to bring a new phone over to its network (or $45 for a two-year plan, which only applies to certain phones), Sprint charges $30, and T-Mobile claims that it doesn't have an activation fee at all, but will still make you pay $25 for a SIM starter kit (which you will need to activate your phone on their network).So, while charging an addition $10 for a "full-service experience" at a brick-and-mortar store might be ludicrous, the price cut of the activation and upgrade fee for online customers is a welcome one.
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| Trump security adviser unveils new U.S. sanctions to pressure Cuba, Venezuela Posted: 17 Apr 2019 01:13 PM PDT  President Trump's security adviser announces new sanctions on the countries as the White House aims to cut off support for Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
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| Health Stocks Crumble as Fears of ‘Medicare for All’ Snowball Posted: 17 Apr 2019 11:32 AM PDT  The slide began in earnest on Tuesday when UnitedHealth Group Inc. -- treated by investors as a bellwether for the insurance sector -- waded into the debate over "Medicare for All," which would expand government-administered coverage to most of the population and rewrite the businesses of U.S. health insurers, hospitals and doctors. The Tuesday losses capped the worst five-day stretch since 2011 for health insurers, despite UnitedHealth reporting earnings that beat analysts' estimates and raising its 2019 forecast. The slide in hospital and insurance stocks continued Wednesday, wiping out billions of dollars more in market value from some of the biggest health companies in the U.S. UnitedHealth fell 3.2 percent at 2:20 p.m. in New York.
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| Ocasio-Cortez backs boycott of New York Post over cover attacking Ilhan Omar Posted: 16 Apr 2019 02:48 PM PDT  The freshman Democrat voices her support for a boycott of one of her hometown newspapers.
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| A Columbine obsession turns deadly Posted: 17 Apr 2019 04:07 PM PDT  Sol Pais, Beyonce, opioids and more of Wednesday's top news.
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| New York Auto Show: Kia debuts ‘hot' and ‘spicy' fully-electric concept Posted: 18 Apr 2019 04:59 AM PDT  On Wednesday at the New York International Auto Show, Kia unveiled the HabaNiro, aka "The Everything Car."
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| Pete Buttigieg: Outrage over anti-gay protestors dressed as 2020 candidate 'whipping Jesus on a cross' Posted: 17 Apr 2019 09:55 AM PDT  Pete Buttigieg has been confronted by anti-gay hecklers along the campaign trail this week, with demonstrations taking a bizarre turn at an Iowa rally. A notorious anti-abortion activist dressed as the Indiana mayor began whipping a man wearing a costume of Jesus Christ near a Marshalltown campaign stop Wednesday morning, a day after that same protestor attempted to interrupt another event held by Mr Buttigieg.That man, Randall Terry, can be seen in a video captured by freelance Getty Images video producer Marcus DiPaola donning a "Mayor Pete" sign around his neck as he whips the other demonstrator, who is holding a cross on his back. A third protestor dressed as the devil can be heard shouting on a loudspeaker, "Yes, more blood, Peter!" and "Every vote is a lash on the back of Christ." Mr Buttigieg has remained notably calm throughout each of the heckling attempts, receiving attention for his thoughtful responses to the issue of his sexuality and how it plays into voters opinions of him. His audiences have also typically kicked in with support, drowning out the noise with chants and cheers.When Mr Terry began shouting at the mayor's Des Moines rally Tuesday night, Mr Buttigieg responded, "The good news is, the condition of my soul is in the hands of God.""But the Iowa caucuses are up to you," he added, pointing to the crowd. The mayor also harkened back to his own religious views during a separate heckling event at another Tuesday rally.As a heckler shouted claims about Mr Buttigieg supporting "the murder of unborn babies," the 2020 candidate joked that "coffee after church gets a little rowdy sometimes." "That gentleman believes that what he is doing is in line with the will of the creator," Mr Buttigieg said, as the man was escorted out of the room by security. "I view it differently. We ought to be able to view it differently."Mr Terry is a controversial figure, described as an "attention seeker" who travels cross country to participate in spectacles like the Wednesday morning demonstration. The anti-abortion group he previously founded, called Operation Rescue, reportedly cut all ties with him nearly 18 years ago and considers him too radical to have any sort of relationship.
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| Mueller report PDF download link: How to get explosive Trump document – and why it could be one of the most read files ever Posted: 18 Apr 2019 05:05 AM PDT  The full text of the Mueller report has been released – and could trigger one of the biggest rushes to download a document ever seen.The 400-page document can be found here and reveals the key findings of a two-year investigation into Donald Trump by Robert Mueller, rocking Washington as soon as it was released.The report was first discussed in a press conference by Trump's attorney general William Barr. It was then be delivered to Congress on CDs, in keeping with the organisation's slightly archaic way of delivering documents.But when it came to the public, it arrive in the form of a PDF, uploaded to the Justice Department website in the first instance.The rush of internet traffic to the site is expected to be significant. Though the US government should have made preparations for such high interest, it is nonetheless possible that the website might not work quickly or at all when it first drops.But it will almost certainly be passed around other websites and hosting services as soon as it is made available, meaning that it should be accessible in some form.Barnes & Noble is offering the full report as an ebook, free to download for owners of its Nook ereader. "This is a PDF/direct replica of historic The Mueller Report as released by the U.S. Department of Justice, Barr redactions and all, and it is essential reading for all Americans on both sides of the aisle," the overview on its website reads.The retailer said people can pre-order it now from the website and suggested it will arrive as soon as it is released.The report will be widely distributed after it is released, meaning that it will probably be made available for other ereaders, too. Anyone giving away the report should be doing so for free, so while it is likely that links and versions of the PDF will be sold online, such listings are best avoided.When the Starr Report, the final findings of an investigation into Bill Clinton, were published in 1998, they swiftly became one of the most popular documents of all time.Some 12 per cent of all Americans – 20 million people – headed to the internet to look at the document, according to polling reported by CNN at the time. "It's probably the single highest number of people who have ever used the computer to access a single document," David Webber of the Frank Lutz polling company said then.That time around, the file was made available over seven different US government websites, in an attempt to spread the load. Though those websites and the news organisations that covered the release were swamped by the traffic, the internet nonetheless continued to work, reports at the time said.
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| Police Release Surveillance Video from Illinois Workplace Shooting That Killed Five Posted: 17 Apr 2019 05:11 PM PDT  Police released surveillance video of a shooting that left five people dead and six others wounded in February at an Aurora industrial complex.
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| After Notre Dame fire, GoFundMe raised more than $1 million for burned black churches Posted: 17 Apr 2019 01:27 PM PDT  Prominent figures urged people not to forget to donate to the St. Landry Parish churches as money poured in for Notre Dame.
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| As police wait to arrest him, ex-Peru president kills self Posted: 17 Apr 2019 08:56 PM PDT  LIMA, Peru (AP) — Former President Alan Garcia mortally wounded himself with a gunshot to his head Wednesday as officers waited to arrest him in a big graft probe that has put Peru's most prominent politicians behind bars and provoked a reckoning over corruption.
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| Iran's Rouhani calls on Mideast states to 'drive back Zionism' Posted: 18 Apr 2019 02:09 AM PDT  Iran's President Hassan Rouhani called on Middle East states on Thursday to "drive back Zionism", in an Army Day tirade against the Islamic republic's archfoe Israel. Speaking flanked by top generals before troops began their annual march-past, Rouhani also sought to reassure the region that the weaponry on display was for defensive purposes and not a threat.
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| Photos of the Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio NRING Special Editions Posted: 17 Apr 2019 01:00 PM PDT |
| North Korea sends hit squads after defectors from its secret police Posted: 16 Apr 2019 08:33 PM PDT  North Korea has dispatched teams to neighbouring China to track down and kill, if necessary, as many as seven members of the Ministry of State Security who have fled in a snowballing series of defections, according to dissident media. The crisis in the ranks of North Korea's secret police agency can be traced back to immediately after the failure of the Hanoi summit between Kim Jong-un, the North Korean dictator, and US President Donald Trump in late February, reported the Daily NK, citing reports from its network of undercover "citizen reporters" in North Korea and China. In early March, three MSS officials based in the Chinese city of Shenyang concluded that the secret bank accounts that they were using under fake Chinese names had been compromised and they were under surveillance. The three men emptied the accounts of "significant amounts of money" that they were reportedly charged with using to procure technology and other items that are banned under United Nations sanctions and disappeared. A number of other agents of the MSS - widely considered the most brutal unit in the North and responsible for ensuring that defectors are caught and punished, as well as operating the regime's network of concentration camps - have also since disappeared in China, according to officials of South Korea's intelligence agencies. North Korea stepped up its search for the men in mid-March after a senior MSS official based in Pyongyang fled with his family through the Chinese border city of Dandong. The official apparently had little choice but to escape out of concern that he would be held responsible for the defections of his subordinates in China. The MSS has put together a team from its headquarters in Pyongyang and dispatched it to Liaoning Province, along with agents from the Reconnaissance General Bureau and operatives already in China. "The Reconnaissance General Bureau agents were ordered 'not to return' until the defectors are caught and the agents should 'kill them if they can't be caught' ", the media outlet quoted one of its sources in Pyongyang as saying. The disappearance of officials widely considered to be the trusted elite in North Korean society, along with the defection of a number of diplomats in recent months, hints at growing disaffection with those charged with propping up Mr Kim's regime.
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| Republican rescinds Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's invite to meet coal miners after it completely backfires Posted: 17 Apr 2019 01:28 PM PDT  A Republican lawmaker's invitation for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to meet with coal miners in his home state of Kentucky backfired completely after the progressive Washington newcomer accepted without hesitation. Ms Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest woman ever elected to serve in the US House of Representatives, has served as a lightning rod across party lines for her Green New Deal resolution, which seeks to provide a comprehensive response to the global threat of climate change. Andy Barr, the Kentucky Republican who initially invited the 29-year-old congresswoman to his state, said at the time that local coal miners would tell her "what the Green New Deal would mean for their families, their paychecks," while suggesting the resolution could destroy their industry. To his apparent surprise, the first-term Democrat from New York immediately accepted his invitation, saying she would be "happy" to meet the coal miners and noted her resolution provides pension payments for those who have worked in the mining industry. "We want a just transition to make sure we are investing in jobs across those swaths of the country," she said in her response to Mr Barr's invitation. Suddenly, that invite appears to include some caveats. In order to accompany her on a trip to meet with local coal miners, Mr Barr demanded an apology from Ms Ocasio-Cortez towards Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican she has criticised for sharing a false tweet that claimed Ilhan Omar denied the attacks on September 11, 2001 were an act of terror. Ms Ocasio-Cortez has defended the Minnesota Democrat after conservatives and Donald Trump spread false and misleading information about her. On Wednesday, it did not appear she was about to back down from that position."Luckily, we still have open borders with Kentucky," Corbin Trent, a spokesperson for Ms Ocasio-Cortez, told The Courier-Journal. "We don't need Congressman Barr to meet with coal miners and have a town hall," he added, "though we'd love his participation if we do." > GOP's getting scared that up close, their constituents will realize I'm fighting harder for their healthcare than their own Reps �� https://t.co/TVSafpJWEd> > — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) > > April 16, 2019As GQ Magazine reported Wednesday, Kentucky Republicans are now publicly voicing their opposition to Ms Ocasio-Cortez headed to the Bluegrass State. "I think we need to be very prepared when we debate her on issues that we're having a hard time with," James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, told local news outlets, warning "Republicans are making a mistake picking on her." Responding to his comments on Twitter, the lawmaker wrote, "GOP's getting scared that up close, their constituents will realize I'm fighting harder for their healthcare than their own Reps."
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| Former Congressman Keith Ellison: Trump’s Attacks on Ilhan Omar Are ‘Violent Incitement’ Posted: 17 Apr 2019 03:17 PM PDT  Win McNameeFormer congressman Keith Ellison has a theory for why President Donald Trump is working to make Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) public enemy number one."She, simply by her existence, is a person who he doesn't believe belongs," Ellison said in an exclusive interview with The Daily Beast. "She's a Muslim, she's a woman, she wears a hijab, she's black, before she ever opens her mouth she's offensive to him."Omar has been a constant lightning rod for controversy since arriving in Washington, where her comments about the Israel lobby have drawn intense criticism from her Democratic and Republican colleagues alike. After conservatives seized on a snippet of a speech in which Omar appeared to downplay the September 11th attacks, the president took his criticism of her to a new level, tweeting to his millions of followers last weekend a video of the congresswoman's remarks, superimposed with images of the Twin Towers burning.Ellison, now the attorney general of Minnesota, has an idea of what the freshman lawmaker who holds his old seat is going through. He arrived in Congress in 2007 as the first Muslim to ever serve in that body, and faced suspicion and allegations of disloyalty from his colleagues from the moment he was sworn in on a copy of the Quran. Twelve years later, there are three Muslim members of Congress, and more Muslim-American officeholders around the country than ever.But the environment that Omar faces, said Ellison, is probably the most hostile one ever for a Muslim elected official – which is saying quite a bit, considering that Ellison faced death threats of his own and casual suggestions from his colleagues, like former Rep. Michele Bachmann and Rep. Steve King, that he was aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood and failed to sufficiently renounce Sharia law.Since Trump tweeted the video of Omar, death threats on her have increased exponentially, her office has told media. Speaker Nancy Pelosi is moving to increase the congresswoman's security detail, as Trump insists he was right to go after the congresswoman and claims she has "a way about her" that is "very, very bad for our country."Asked if he worried for Omar's safety, Ellison sighed. "Sure I do. There's crazy people out there," he said. "We live in a very dangerous political environment and she's in the danger zone as much as anyone. I pray for her and I urge people to calm the rhetoric down."Ellison also urged Twitter to do more to censure Trump's video. "That is incitement, that's violent incitement," he said of the video. "There's no two ways about it.""Everyone knows what happened to Gabby Giffords," he went on, referencing the former Arizona congresswoman who was shot in the head during a constituent event in 2011. "It makes it difficult for you to engage the public because you don't know where the hostility is coming from, and it is unnatural to be the target of that much unwarranted hatred. It's strange, it's weird. She's bearing a burden."Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), the number two Republican in the House, Ellison noted, was also shot at a baseball practice in 2017. To congressional Republicans who have spent months going after Omar and forcing all Democrats to answer for her, Ellison also had some choice words. "It's wildly irresponsible," he said. "I don't know if they don't realize they're risking her safety or they just don't care… 'Just don't care' is a real option, because they have every reason to suspect their rhetoric could lead to some very negative, foreseeable consequence. They should know it."Ellison predicted things would get worse before they get better, and tied Trump's rhetoric on Omar to his 2020 reelection strategy. "I keep thinking there's gotta be a floor with him but there absolutely simply is no floor, there's no low depth he won't go to," he said. "It's clear to me he is trying to whip up nativism, tribalism, bigotry of all kinds, and turn the country against itself for his own benefit."He cautioned Omar against getting pulled into these spats, advising that she focus instead on why she came to D.C. in the first place.Omar, said Ellison, "should pivot back to those issues that made her want to be a member of Congress, and just stay on them. She wanted to do something about student debt, jobs and the economy, the environment… Get back to that, and don't let them pull you off. Use the heightened profile to raise the issues you're passionate about."Read more at The Daily Beast.
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| UPDATED: France launches global contest to design new Notre-Dame spire Posted: 17 Apr 2019 08:40 AM PDT  France on Wednesday announced it would invite architects from around the world to submit designs for replacing the spire of Notre-Dame cathedral after a devastating blaze, as the government braced for a mammoth restoration challenge. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the contest would decide whether the monument should have a new spire at all and if so, whether it should be identical to the fallen 19th-century model or be a wholly new design. The world looked on in horror Monday as flames engulfed the 850-year-old gothic masterpiece seen as encapsulating the soul of Paris and the spire came crashing down.
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| The Latest: Portugal confirms 29 Germans killed on Madeira Posted: 18 Apr 2019 05:10 AM PDT  LISBON, Portugal (AP) — The Latest on the deadly bus crash on Portuguese island of Madeira (all times local):
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| EU, Canada warn of reprisals as US targets foreign interests in Cuba Posted: 17 Apr 2019 09:59 AM PDT  The European Union and Canada warned Wednesday of reprisals after the United States for the first time allowed lawsuits against foreign companies operating in Cuba, including EU and Canadian firms. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Washington will on May 2 end routine wavers to the 1996 Helms-Burton act and allow for lawsuits over property seized by Cuba. "The EU and Canada consider the extraterritorial application of unilateral Cuba-related measures contrary to international law," they said in a joint statement from Brussels.
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| Democrats condemn attorney general's plan for rollout of Mueller report Posted: 17 Apr 2019 05:55 PM PDT  Attorney general has sought to 'put his own spin' on special counsel's report, say lawmakers before report's release * Mueller report released – live updates * Support the Guardian's independent journalism and make a contributionJerry Nadler, chairman of the House judiciary committee, at the press conference. Photograph: Frank Franklin II/APOn the eve of the long-anticipated release of the report by special counsel Robert Mueller on Russian tampering in the 2016 election and alleged Trump campaign involvement, Democrats accused the attorney general, William Barr, of trying to "cherry-pick" and "put his own spin" on the conclusions of the investigation.Representative Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the House judiciary committee, appeared with colleagues at a press conference in New York City late Wednesday to protest against Barr's plan for rolling out a redacted version of the Mueller report.Barr is scheduled to hold a 9.30am press conference on Thursday. Nadler tweeted on Wednesday that the justice department informed him that Congress would receive the report around 11am or noon, after which it would be posted online.That plan amounted to an effort by Barr to put up a smokescreen to obscure the true findings of the report, Nadler charged."Now it appears that the attorney general intends to once again put his own spin on the investigative work completed by the special counsel and his team," Nadler said."The fact that the attorney general is not releasing even the redacted report to Congress until after his press conference will again result in the report being presented in his own words, rather than in the words of special counsel Robert Mueller."The central concern here is that Attorney General Barr is not allowing the facts of the Mueller report to speak for themselves, but is instead trying to bake in the narrative about the report to the benefit of the White House."Nadler said he would subpoena the full report "in very short order" and said he assumed it would be useful to call Mueller and members of his team to testify before Congress.The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, argued Americans deserved to see the truth, "not a sanitized version of the Mueller Report approved by the Trump Admin"."AG Barr has thrown out his credibility", she added.> AG Barr has thrown out his credibility & the DOJ's independence with his single-minded effort to protect @realDonaldTrump above all else. The American people deserve the truth, not a sanitized version of the Mueller Report approved by the Trump Admin. https://t.co/fgXwiLuQfr> > — Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) April 17, 2019Democratic House committee leaders followed by asking Barr to cancel his scheduled morning address. "This press conference, which apparently will not include Special Counsel Mueller, is unnecessary and inappropriate, and appears designed to shape public perceptions of the report before anyone can read it", they wrote."[Barr] should let the full report speak for itself. The attorney general should cancel the press conference and provide the full report to Congress, as we have requested", they added.The justice department also plans to provide a "limited number" of members of Congress and their staff access to a copy of the Mueller report with fewer redactions than the public version, according to a court filing Wednesday.The nearly 400-page report is expected to reveal what Mueller uncovered about ties between the Trump campaign and Russia that fell short of criminal conduct. It will also lay out the special counsel's conclusions about formative episodes in Trump's presidency, including his firing of the FBI director James Comey and his efforts to undermine the Russia investigation publicly and privately.The report is not expected to place the president in legal jeopardy, as Barr made his own decision that Trump should not be prosecuted for obstruction. But it is likely to contain unflattering details about the president's efforts to control the Russia investigation that will cloud his ability to credibly claim total exoneration.And it may paint the Trump campaign as eager to exploit Russian aid and emails stolen from Democrats and Hillary Clinton's campaign even if no Americans crossed the line into criminal activity.The report's release will be a test of Barr's credibility as the public and Congress judge whether he is using his post to shield the president who appointed him.Trump announced Barr's press conference during a radio interview Wednesday before the justice department did. Trump also said he might take questions about the report after its release.Barr will also face scrutiny over how much of the report he blacks out and whether Mueller's document lines up with a letter the attorney general released last month. The letter said Mueller did not find a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russian government but he found evidence on "both sides" of the question of whether the president obstructed justice.Barr has said he is withholding grand jury and classified information as well as portions relating to continuing investigations and the privacy or reputation of uncharged "peripheral" people. But how liberally he interprets those categories is yet to be seen.
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| 20-year-old college student falls 100 feet off cliff to her death Posted: 17 Apr 2019 07:21 AM PDT  A 20-year-old college student plummeted 100 feet to her death off a cliffduring a school trip last weekend
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| UPDATE 6-Qualcomm shares soar on surprise settlement with Apple of long legal dispute Posted: 16 Apr 2019 12:11 PM PDT ![UPDATE 6-Qualcomm shares soar on surprise settlement with Apple of long legal dispute]( "UPDATE 6-Qualcomm shares soar on surprise settlement with Apple of long legal dispute") Qualcomm Inc on Tuesday won a major victory with a surprise settlement of its wide-ranging legal dispute with Apple Inc that includes a supply agreement paving the way for the iPhone to once again use Qualcomm modem chips. The settlement also incorporates a six-year patent license and a payment from Apple to Qualcomm, but the companies did not disclose the amount. Because Qualcomm is already shipping 5G chips while Apple supplier Intel Corp is still developing them, the deal gives Apple an opportunity to catch the iPhone up to Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and other manufacturers whose phones already work on the faster networks.
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| Hackers unleashed 40 million cyberattacks on Ecuador after Julian Assange’s arrest Posted: 16 Apr 2019 05:08 PM PDT  Julian Assange's arrest at the end of last week by British officials who finally snatched him at the London embassy in Ecuador where he'd been living for years did not, in turns out, put the matter to rest for Ecuadorian officials.Patricio Real, the county's deputy minister for information and communication technologies, told Agence France Presse in an interview that Assange's controversial arrest prompted a massive wave of cyberattacks against the country. They added up to a whopping 40 million attacks and "principally come from the United States, Brazil, Holland, Germany, Romania, France, Austria and the United Kingdom," as well as from South America.Javier Jara, Ecuador's undersecretary of the electronic government department of the telecommunications ministry, added a little more context, telling the news service the attacks were "volumetric" and seemingly focused on overwhelming servers with traffic to render them useless. Those attacks hit the country's foreign ministry, central bank, office of the president, internal revenue service and a number of ministries and universities particularly hard.For the moment, Assange is being housed at London's Belmarsh Prison. The US has requested his extradition to the country to answer for a single charge of hacking a government computer, while Assange supporters fear it could be only a pretext to get him stateside where his legal woes would then quickly mount.On Monday, a federal judge in Virginia unsealed previously secret government documents that are part of the US' case against the Wikileaks founder, with the documents shedding new light on the government's allegations against him.Per a report from The Hill, the original affidavit and criminal complaint against Assange were made public in Virginia federal court for the first time since their filing in 2017. Among other things, those documents include chat logs between Assange and former US intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.US authorities contend that Assange worked with Manning to crack a password that would provide access to a classified Defense Department network where secret information could then be obtained by the hackers.
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| Brit Hume: Democrats are beginning to admit that there's a crisis on the border Posted: 17 Apr 2019 12:08 PM PDT  Are Democrats dividing on immigration and border security issues? Analysis from Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume.
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| The Best Portable Hammocks You Can Take Anywhere Posted: 17 Apr 2019 09:11 AM PDT |
| Why closing the U.S.-Mexico border would be 'catastrophic' for this Texas city Posted: 17 Apr 2019 10:38 AM PDT  Trump's threat to seal the border has sent jolts of alarm across the U.S.-Mexico border, but few places feel it more acutely than Laredo, Texas.
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| Rich vs poor: Donations row shatters French unity over Notre-Dame Posted: 18 Apr 2019 04:41 AM PDT  France's culture minister pleaded Thursday for an end to the controversy over the 850 million euros (950 million dollars) pledged to restore Notre-Dame cathedral, which critics have suggested would be better spent on the poor. Some of France's biggest companies and billionaires, including luxury goods tycoons Francois-Henri Pinault and Bernard Arnault, have pledged amounts of 100 million euros or more to rebuild the landmark after it was gutted by fire on Monday evening. The vast sums have drawn fire in a country where wealth inequality and the plight of the low-income households have been highlighted during five months of demonstrations by "yellow vest" protesters.
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| Pete Buttigieg’s Abortion Extremism Hurts His Religious Appeal Posted: 16 Apr 2019 11:53 AM PDT  With every passing day, it seems we see yet another piece about South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg's progressive Christianity. His faith is going to shake the race. He's going to challenge the GOP monopoly on "God talk." Here, for example, is the opening paragraph of an NBC News analysis posted yesterday afternoon:> Religious conservatives who have long been a reliable voting bloc for Republicans are grappling with a new challenge in Pete Buttigieg: how to respond to a Democratic presidential candidate who is leaning into the discussion about faith and its role in political life.I'll agree that there are religious conservatives who are "grappling" with a challenge from Buttigieg, but that challenge is theological and cultural, not political. Buttigieg's religious arguments have triggered important online debates about the differences between mainline and Evangelical Christianity, about when religious teachings should influence public policy, and about how to interpret the history of the gay-marriage debate.But religious conservatives are not grappling with the key political question — whether any meaningful number of Evangelicals or conservative Catholics would cross the aisle to cast a ballot for Mayor Pete. The reason is simple. Buttigieg is a pro-choice extremist, and no pro-choice extremist will ever meaningfully compete for the conservative Christian vote.In fact, in at least one key way, Buttigieg's record on abortion is even worse than that of his Democratic peers. He is of course in lockstep agreement with them on support for late-term abortion, and he made that clear last month on Morning Joe:> .@PeteButtigieg explains his support for late-term abortion bills in New York and Virginia: > > "When we're talking about some of those situations covered by that law … the involvement of a male government official like me is not helpful." pic.twitter.com/6lQrLLhwhW> > -- Matthew Schmitz (@matthewschmitz) March 31, 2019But he's done what many of them have not — he's actually blocked a crisis-pregnancy center from opening at its chosen location. He not only supports abortion rights, he's taken action against law-abiding Americans who merely wanted to make the case for life.Last April, Buttigieg vetoed a rezoning plan that would have permitted a crisis-pregnancy center to open next door to a proposed abortion clinic. In his statement justifying the veto, Buttigieg said, "I don't think it would be responsible to situate two groups, literally right next to each other, in a neighborhood, that have diametrically opposed views on the most divisive social issue of our time."And so, given the conflict, he chose to privilege the abortion clinic's location over the pregnancy center. Thankfully, the center found a new location across the street from the proposed clinic — a location that didn't require a rezoning vote. But that does not excuse or justify Buttigieg's veto. He favored abortion rights over pro-life speech, and he likely violated the Constitution in doing so.While Buttigieg, to his credit, did not demonize his opponents in the South Bend dispute ( "Many people that I respect and admire and appreciate have very passionate and very opposite views on what is the right thing to do," he said of the dispute), actions speak louder than words. And this action echoes a dangerous Democratic trend in pro-choice governance: the attack against pro-life pregnancy clinics.Across the United States, progressive legislatures have passed laws aimed at crisis-pregnancy centers, including a California law the Supreme Court struck down just last summer. Buttigieg hasn't gone as far as California, which actually required pro-life pregnancy centers to promote state-funded free and low-cost abortions. But he had an opportunity to fully respect the constitutional rights of his pro-life opponents, and he chose not to do so.Many young Evangelicals, including young Evangelical activists, are divided over matters such as same-sex marriage. Some believe Obergefell v. Hodges was wrongly decided, others support legal recognition of same-sex marriage so long as the state doesn't interfere with the church's ability to define marriage according to the historic doctrines of the Christian faith. Others support same-sex marriage constitutionally and theologically.These same young Christians are often appalled that their older brothers and sisters in the faith have so easily overlooked Donald Trump's multitude of sins. But they will not support politicians who support legal protections for late-term abortions. They won't. The will not support politicians who don't go beyond "respecting" pro-life Americans to also protecting their rights to free speech with the same vigor that they protect the First Amendment rights of pro-choice Americans.In the summer of 2016, I had hours of conversations with anguished Evangelical activists. They did not like Donald Trump. They could not believe the hypocrisy of some pastors defending a man whom they'd condemn if he had a "D" by his name. But they also could not believe that the Democrats wouldn't compromise at all on abortion, not even in the third trimester. More than one person told me of this issue, "If only they'd moderate a little, I'd consider crossing the aisle. But they won't, so I can't."Those words will still be true in 2020, and while Buttigieg's lack of overt hostility to pro-life citizens is welcome — and conversations about America's competing Christian world views are interesting — he has zero appeal to religious conservatives so long as he holds to the Democratic party line on the right of a woman to hire a doctor to kill a viable, living unborn baby. There is nothing to "grapple" with. There is no "challenge." There are lines that Christian conservatives must not — and will not — cross.
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| EU threatens to tax $20 billion of US goods over Boeing aid Posted: 17 Apr 2019 06:57 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has drawn up a list of $20 billion worth of U.S. products it could tax in an escalating feud over plane industry subsidies, the EU's executive commission said Wednesday.
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| The Royal Navy Wants Robotic Submarines (Here's Why That Matters) Posted: 17 Apr 2019 07:13 AM PDT  The U.K. Ministry of Defense in April 2019 launched a $3.3-million competition to begin developing a large, robotic submarine.The contest could lead to the acquisition of an operational autonomous sub for the Royal Navy -- and could help the British fleet partially to fill the undersea gap resulting from deep cuts to its sub force.The ministry asked industry by June 2019 to submit proposals for an extra-large unmanned underwater vehicle, or XLUUV."The Royal Navy says that contract will have two stages, a one-year long research, design and refit stage and a testing and trialing stage," U.K. Defense Journal explained. "In the latter stage it is expected that the system will be tested in representative environments for extended periods; the sea trials in stage two may be up to two years long."The government's request for proposals sketched three different operational scenarios for the possible, future robo-sub.In the covert intelligence-gathering role, the XLUUV "is tasked to gather covert intelligence of traffic transiting in a maritime operational area," according to the RFP.
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| Apple is still interested in self-driving cars as it explores ‘revolutionary’ LIDAR sensor design Posted: 17 Apr 2019 04:25 PM PDT  Apple's automotive initiative, unofficially dubbed Project Titan, appears to still be alive and kicking. According to a report from Reuters, Apple is currently looking into advanced lidar sensor technology that "would be smaller, cheaper and more easily mass produced than current technology."What's more, the report relays that Apple, in addition to exploring third-party solutions, also has a team of engineers working on developing an Apple-branded lidar sensor.While it remains to be seen if anything comes of Apple's exploration, the larger point here is that Apple still has grand ambitions in the automotive space. This may come as something of a surprise given the series of layoffs Apple's Project Titan has endured over the past few years.Just about three months ago, for instance, word surfaced that Apple cut upwards of 200 employees from the Project Titan team. Far more than a rumor, Apple at the time confirmed the cuts and issued the following statement to various media outlets:> We have an incredibly talented team working on autonomous systems and associated technologies at Apple. As the team focuses their work on several key areas for 2019, some groups are being moved to projects in other parts of the company, where they will support machine learning and other initiatives, across all of Apple.> > We continue to believe there is a huge opportunity with autonomous systems, that Apple has unique capabilities to contribute, and that this is the most ambitious machine learning project ever.At this point, it will be fascinating to see what, if anything, ever comes out of Project Titan. As far as we can tell, Apple has abandoned any desire to design and release a car from the ground-up and has instead opted to focus on self-driving car technologies.To this end, Tim Cook himself acknowledged this nearly two years ago when he told Bloomberg: "We're focusing on autonomous systems. It's a core technology that we view as very important. It's probably one of the most difficult A.I. projects actually to work on."
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| Bernie’s Fox News Town Hall Was a Ratings Smash. More Dems May Follow Him There. Posted: 16 Apr 2019 11:56 AM PDT  Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) Monday evening Fox News town hall event was the most-watched town hall event of the 2020 campaign thus far, according to early Nielsen data. And at least four other Democratic candidates are open to participating in one of their own. According to early Nielsen data, more than 2.5 million viewers tuned in to hear Sanders, a self-described "democratic socialist," make his case on Fox News during the 6:30pm hour, prior to primetime. That total viewership bested CNN's Bernie Sanders town hall event from back in February; and it doubled MSNBC's during the same time period on Monday evening, and nearly tripled CNN's. The prior town hall ratings record for the 2020 cycle was a CNN-hosted event with Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), which drew 1.95 million total viewers. Additionally, per Nielsen, Fox's Sanders event brought in 489,000 viewers between the ages of 25 and 54—a key demographic for cable-news advertisers—trouncing CNN's 281,000 tally and MSNBC's 208,000.The event, which took place in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, saw the Vermont senator discuss a wide range of topics and occasionally spar with moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. The Democratic National Committee banned the network from hosting one of its sanctioned debates, citing a New Yorker report on the network's close ties to President Trump. But the success of Sanders' town hall event—both in terms of ratings and the headlines generated—comes as at least three other presidential campaigns consider being involved in a similar event.South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is in talks to participate in a Fox News town hall, a campaign aide told The Daily Beast, and he had been prior to the airing of Sanders' event. Meanwhile, the campaign for Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA)—the latest entry into the crowded Democratic contest—said "he's willing to do a Fox town hall, and we expect to start discussions with the network soon regarding a time and place." Discussions about doing so have not yet begun, according to the campaign but Swalwell had previously told The Daily Beast that he makes efforts to appear on the network. Julia Krieger, communications director for Rep. Tim Ryan's (D-OH) presidential campaign said that he is also "willing to do a town hall with Fox News," adding that "the campaign has reached out proactively to the network to express interest in this type of forum." She said that the network had also reached out to them.And Jennifer Fiore, a senior adviser to Julián Castro's campaign, told The Daily Beast that they are in conversations with the network as well."He's been a red state mayor and has always campaigned hard for every single vote on both sides of the aisle and will do the same thing in his campaign for president of the United States because everybody counts," she said. The network had previously said they hoped the DNC would reconsider its position on hosting a debate on Fox."We hope the DNC will reconsider its decision to bar Chris Wallace, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, all of whom embody the ultimate journalistic integrity and professionalism, from moderating a Democratic presidential debate," said Bill Sammon, Fox News' senior vice president and D.C. managing editor. "They're the best debate team in the business and they offer candidates an important opportunity to make their case to the largest TV news audience in America, which includes many persuadable voters."Update 6:25 P.M.: This story was updated to reflect an additional statement from Castro's campaign. —Andrew Kirell and Scott Bixby contributed reporting.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here
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| 'It's a report he did for me': Barr shoots down questions over handling of Mueller probe Posted: 18 Apr 2019 08:44 AM PDT  Attorney General William Barr ended his press conference about special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Thursday after a testy exchange with reporters who questioned him about the notion that he was trying to "protect" President Trump.
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| French artisans gear up to restore Notre-Dame Posted: 16 Apr 2019 05:01 PM PDT  Thanks to a small yet enduring corps of artisans specialised in traditional stone and woodwork techniques, France's ambitious goal of restoring the fire-ravaged Notre-Dame cathedral within five years may be within reach, experts say. There aren't that many projects but there aren't that many of us either," said Benoit Dulion, who heads a firm in the central Yonne department that restores timber roof frames. For decades the French state has spent heavily on the exacting upkeep of its cultural treasures, ensuring the preservation of artistic and architectural know-how dating back to the Middle Ages.
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| Macron Presides Over Rare Unity as Nation Grieves Notre Dame Posted: 16 Apr 2019 11:59 AM PDT  Macron urged haste Tuesday evening as he reiterated a vow to rebuild the 850-year-old Gothic monument, an issue that's united the French population across the political spectrum, with national parties suspending their European election campaigns and leaders from around the globe lending their support. "We will rebuild the Notre-Dame cathedral even more beautiful than it was," Macron said in a televised address to the nation.
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| Is This Bank Chasing Away Conservatives? Posted: 17 Apr 2019 03:30 AM PDT  I have been a Chase Bank customer for years. Who knows how much longer it'll be? Will the company's thought police come for me next? How about you? If you are a non-leftist who does business with the financial giant owned by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., you need to ask questions and get answers.On Tuesday, investigative journalist James O'Keefe and his Project Veritas team released a disturbing new video on the runaround that Chase officials gave Texas conservative entrepreneur Enrique Tarrio about his canceled account. Big business may very well be enabling America's very own version of the Chinese social-credit system in which political dissent is flagged, shunned, punished, and eradicated.First, some background:Tarrio is a young, peaceful, Afro-Cuban freethinker and chairman of the Proud Boys organization. In February 2019, the Texas Trump supporter received a letter from Chase Bank informing him that "after careful consideration," the financial institution could "no longer support" his banking account. The notice followed a hit piece against minorities who support the president by The Daily Beast, a reliable echo chamber for the discredited Southern Poverty Law Center smear machine.Tarrio was subsequently kicked off Chase's payment processor, which he used to sell patriotic and pro-Trump T-shirts. Next, he was deplatformed from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Airbnb, FirstData, Square, Stripe, and PayPal before losing his bank accounts. When I asked on Twitter in February why we can't have just one financial institution that doesn't cave to social-justice warriors, the official Chase Twitter account tweeted me back:"Hi Michelle, this article is inaccurate. We did not close his personal account. We do not close accounts based on political affiliation."I pointed out that Chase's letter clearly stated that the company had closed his account. "So if not for political reasons," I asked, "why, 'after careful consideration,' did you close his account?" The social-media manager of Chase's corporate Twitter account, previously so eager to spill the tea, replied: "For privacy reasons, we can't say more."Thanks to Project Veritas, we now know more. Undercover audio and video exposed how: * One Chase employee blamed "clerical" issues for Tarrio's account cancellation. * Another stated: "I see nothing that indicates any reason why the account should be closed. I don't see any outstanding transactions or anything ridiculous." * Another explained: "Chase is not involved with any like, you know, alt-right people or anything." Those with "no moral character" are people that "the bank usually doesn't get involved with in any business relationships, period." * Several repeated a company line in Tarrio's mysterious file: "Decision is not reversible."Others who received Chase shutdown notices so far in 2019: conservative Rebel Media contributor Martina Markota and U.S. Army combat vet and vocal Trump supporter Joe Biggs. Were Markota's and Biggs's removals "clerical" errors or unfounded, or were they based on an ideological litmus test disguised as a "moral character" assessment?More questions arise:How exactly is J.P. Morgan Chase's $500,000 donation last year to the SPLC left-wing operatives being put to use?Why did the company embrace a known defamation racket whose stated mission is to "destroy" its political enemies on the right?What comment does Chase have now that SPLC's top leaders have been purged amid internal accusations of intolerance and discrimination within the walls of the notorious Poverty Palace?Does Chase keep tabs on high-profile conservative customers' political speech on social-media platforms?Is Chase operating from the same playbook as Paypal, which is booting off conservatives in consultation with the SPLC? One of its most recent victims: Luke Rohlfing, a young reporter for BigLeaguePolitics.com, who had exposed how the payment processor was allowing Open Borders Inc. heavyweight Pueblo Sin Fronteras to raise money for illegal-immigrant caravans conspiring to break our immigration laws -- even though Paypal's own terms of service state clearly that users may not engage in any activities that "violate any law, statute, ordinance, or regulation."Tarrio warns of the speech-squelching pattern emerging across Silicon Valley and on Wall Street: "First we get silenced on social media, then Paypal, then I get debanked. It's a very dangerous trend."As for Chase Bank, I sent all my questions to chief communications officer Patricia Wexler, who challenged the authenticity of one of the employees recorded by Veritas (O'Keefe showed proof of the Chase New York media relations number dialed and had audio of the employee identifying himself as a Chase rep) and ignored the substance of the report.Evasion and denial are surefire ways to lose business. Is it Chase Bank or Chase Away Bank? Inquiring customers would like to know.© 2019 Creators.comEditor's Note: This article has been emended since its initial posting.
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| Huawei CEO offered Berlin no-spy deal to soften 5G concerns: Wirtschaftswoche Posted: 17 Apr 2019 05:30 AM PDT  China's Huawei offered Berlin a "no-spy agreement" to address security concerns over the Chinese company's involvement in building Germany's next-generation 5G mobile infrastructure, a German magazine said on Wednesday. "Last month, we talked to the German Interior Ministry and said that we were ready to sign a no-spy agreement with the German government and to promise that Huawei will not install any backdoors in the networks," Wirtschaftswoche quoted Huawei Chief Executive Ren Zhengfei as saying. Germany last month set tougher criteria for vendors supplying network equipment, stopping short of singling out Huawei for special treatment and instead saying the same rules should apply to all vendors.
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| View Kia HabaNiro Concept Photos Posted: 17 Apr 2019 10:00 AM PDT |
| Opioid crisis: US doctors accused of trading prescriptions for sex and cash in major scandal Posted: 18 Apr 2019 05:25 AM PDT  Scores of medical professionals across seven states were charged by federal prosecutors on Wednesday with schemes to illegally distribute millions of pain pills — in some cases exchanging opioid prescriptions for sex, in others for cash with an added "concierge fee", and in one case routinely prescribing opioids to friends on Facebook.Officials called the case the "single largest prescription opioid law enforcement operation in history".The indictments, unsealed in federal court in Cincinnati on Wednesday, accuse 60 people, including 31 doctors, seven pharmacists and eight nurses of involvement in the schemes, which included opioid prescriptions issued for gratuitous medical procedures like unnecessary tooth-pulling.In some cases doctors simply handed out signed blank prescription forms."These cases involve approximately 350,000 opioid prescriptions and more than 32 million pills — the equivalent of a dose of opioids for every man, woman and child across the states of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and West Virginia combined," Brian Benczkowski, an assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's criminal division, said at a news conference.Most of the charges were filed against people in those five states; one person was charged in Pennsylvania and one in Louisiana.Nationally, more than 70,000 deaths in 2017 were attributed to drug overdoses, with about one-quarter of them caused by prescription opioids.States wholly or partly in Appalachia recorded some of the highest rates of drug overdose deaths that year: West Virginia was first in the nation, Ohio second and Kentucky fifth."The opioid epidemic is the deadliest drug crisis in American history, and Appalachia has suffered the consequences more than perhaps any other region," Attorney General William Barr said in a statement.Prosecutors accused the medical professionals who were charged on Wednesday of conducting a wide range of schemes.Some involved small leagues of doctors and their office staffs, while in other cases, people acted alone, according to the indictments.Some doctors performed unneeded medical procedures to justify the pills they prescribed, prosecutors said, while others simply passed out prescriptions without going to the trouble of disguising their purpose.One of the doctors facing charges in Ohio had at one time prescribed more controlled substances than anyone else in the state, prosecutors said.A pharmacy in Dayton, Ohio, was accused of dispensing more than 1.75 million pills.And a doctor in Tennessee who called himself the "Rock Doc" was accused of prescribing hundreds of thousands of pills in exchange for sex.A doctor in Alabama, federal prosecutors said, "allegedly recruited prostitutes and other young women with whom he had sexual relationships" to become his patients, and allowed them to use illicit drugs at his home.In some cases, the quantity of drugs prescribed to the same patients at short intervals indicated that they could have been taking as many as 15 pills a day, prosecutors said.The charges announced Wednesday include unlawful distribution of controlled substances and conspiracy to obtain controlled substances by fraud.Prosecutors said that the charges could result in sentences of up to 50 years in prison.The indictments stem from four months of investigative work by the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Task Force, a group of prosecutors, federal agents and data analysts that was created in December 2018 to find patterns suggesting that doctors were prescribing inordinately high numbers of pain pills, and then follow up with traditional law enforcement techniques, including the use of informants and undercover investigators.Cases like this have been prosecuted before, including a Justice Department operation in June that resulted in charges against 162 defendants, including 76 doctors, for fraudulently prescribing and distributing opioids.Those cases were handled within the larger health fraud unit at the Justice Department.The Appalachian task force is different, Benczkowski said, because it is exclusively concerned with corrupt medical professionals, and is "doing it in a region of the country that is probably the hardest hit."The New York Times
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| Pilots Say American Airlines Plane Rolled on Its Own and Hit a Sign During Takeoff Posted: 18 Apr 2019 08:52 AM PDT  American Airlines pilots flying an Airbus A321 say it banked on its own during takeoff, causing a strike to the plane's left wing. The incident is now under investigation.
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| How Pete Buttigieg handled anti-gay protesters shouting about Sodom and Gomorrah at Iowa rally Posted: 18 Apr 2019 06:24 AM PDT  "The good news is, the condition of my soul is in the hands of God, but the Iowa caucuses are up to you," Buttigieg responded, pointing at the crowd.
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| What you won't see in the Mueller report Posted: 16 Apr 2019 03:47 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The special counsel's Trump-Russia report will be out on Thursday for all to see. But not all of it.
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