| Pentagon to transfer $1.5 billion to border wall from Afghan forces, other areas Posted: 10 May 2019 01:01 PM PDT  By Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has approved the transfer of $1.5 billion to build more than 80 miles (130 km)of barriers on the border with Mexico, U.S. officials said on Friday, including taking about $600 million from an account meant for Afghan security forces. The latest move was opposed by congressional Democrats, who also criticized a March transfer of $1 billion in military money to fund Republican President Donald Trump's wall. ...
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| Why I left the Colorado school shooting vigil: Students want change but first let us mourn Posted: 11 May 2019 07:22 AM PDT  Watching politicians and activists use our classmate's death and our pain to promote their agendas was disrespectful and inappropriate.
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| Judge refuses to block subpoenas sent over teacher sickouts Posted: 09 May 2019 04:42 PM PDT  FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin's administration can push ahead with subpoenas sent to school districts as part of an investigation into teacher sickouts, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
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| STEM School was urged to investigate concerns over 'a repeat of Columbine' months before shooting Posted: 09 May 2019 11:53 AM PDT  A woman claiming to be a parent of a STEM School student warned school district administrators in December about her fears of a 'a repeat of Columbine.'
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| McConnell capitalizes on attack with 'Cocaine Mitch' shirts Posted: 09 May 2019 02:46 PM PDT  FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is capitalizing on a fellow Republican's attack by selling "Cocaine Mitch" shirts on his campaign's website.
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| Trump calls for prosecuting John Kerry for talking to Iran Posted: 09 May 2019 11:48 AM PDT  He's talking to Iran and...has many meetings and many phone calls and he's telling them what to do.
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| UPDATE 1-French prosecutor opens investigation over suspected Monsanto file Posted: 10 May 2019 03:12 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-French prosecutor opens investigation over suspected Monsanto file]( "UPDATE 1-French prosecutor opens investigation over suspected Monsanto file") The French prosecutor on Friday said it had opened a preliminary investigation into a suspected file assembled by Bayer's seed maker Monsanto to influence various personalities in France. The probe was opened after a complaint was filed by daily newspaper Le Monde. According to Le Monde and other French media, Monsanto built up a file of some 200 names that includes journalists and law makers in the hope of influencing their positions on pesticides.
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| Behold this ancient crowd of galaxies in deep, deep space Posted: 11 May 2019 09:32 AM PDT  The aging Hubble Space Telescope looks back into deep time, billions of years ago, before our sun was even born. At the very limits of Hubble's viewing abilities lies a cluster of spiraling, disk-shaped galaxies, collectively called SPT0615. NASA posted an image of these ancient structures, one of which was born over 13 billion years ago, relatively soon after the Big Bang likely created the universe. Light left these faraway galaxies long ago, but Hubble can sleuth out this ancient luminosity. "The light from distant objects travels to us from so far away that it takes an immensely long time to reach us, meaning that it carries information from the past — information about the time at which it was emitted," NASA wrote. Galaxy cluster SPT0615. Image: ESA / Hubble NASA / I. Karachentsev et al., F. High et al. Viewing these galaxy clusters is an eerie look at events that transpired long ago. But it's something the space agency's astronomers do every day. SEE ALSO: What's actually going on in that cryptic black hole photo? "Just as ancient paintings can tell us about the period of history in which they were painted, so too can ancient galaxies tell us about the era of the universe in which they existed," NASA wrote. A closer look at galaxy SPT0615-JD, one of the most distant galaxies ever imaged. Image: NASA / ESA / B. Salmon (STScI) WATCH: Meet Katie Bouman, one of the scientists who helped capture the first black hole image
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| Shocker! The GoFundMe Campaign to Build the Wall Is a Bust Posted: 10 May 2019 02:09 AM PDT  Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/GettyThis story originally appeared in Right Richter, a newsletter by Will Sommer. Subscribe now to see what's happening in right-wing media from the safety of your inbox.Back in December, Washington state Trump supporter Joshua Greene donated a small amount of money to the crowdfunding effort to build a wall along the southern U.S. border. He wasn't alone. The GoFundMe page to build the wall, to which he'd donated, was a sensation on the right in late 2018 and raised more than $20 million. Organized by triple-amputee veteran Brian Kolfage, the campaign eventually morphed into a nonprofit called We Build the Wall, which promised to build portions of the wall on private land using the money it raised. Months later, there's no evidence that any construction has started, despite claims from Kolfage and his allies that construction would start in April. And now Greene is wondering what ever happened to that wall he was promised his dollars would fund? "The lack of updates is very concerning," Greene wrote in an email to Right Richter. He's not the only GoFundMe donor curious about what happened to the wall money. Since We Build the Wall blew their April deadline, Twitter replies to Kolfage and the group's Facebook page have filled up with angry donors. Greene started tweeting his displeasure, too. We Build the Wall has frequently presented itself as poised to start building portions of the wall on private land. In February, former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach—who is a member of We Build the Wall's board of directors—claimed that the group was "getting ready to break ground, probably in April." Kolfage himself went further, saying in a radio interview in March that "we're going to start breaking ground next month." The group had even promised to invite donors to a groundbreaking ceremony.More than a week into May, though, We Build the Wall hasn't shown any proof that any ground has been broken, and donors say they weren't invited to any promised groundbreaking ceremony. Donors to the group have begun taking out their frustrations on the organization's Facebook page, which often hypes the threat of immigrants crossing the border illegally. "Show me video of wall being built and I'll pony up my next donation," reads one angry Facebook comment. "Where is the rest of the money going?" reads another. Making donors more nervous is that Kolfage has a history of participating in questionable endeavors. He was a prolific operator of hoax pages on Facebook, and money he raised in the past to help veterans' programs in hospitals never actually went to those hospitals. Complicating the effort further is that it's not that easy to find private land right on the border where a wall can be built. Kolfage and We Build the Wall's board of directors have spent plenty of time in Arizona, ostensibly scouting private land to build the wall. But The Phoenix New Times reported in March that the "vast majority" of land on the border in the state is owned by the federal government. Meanwhile, many of the people who actually own land on the border told the New Times that they hadn't been contacted by We Build the Wall. We Build the Wall didn't respond to requests for comment. In a Facebook comment this week, the group claimed, once again, that it was very close to building the wall. Conveniently, though, We Build the Wall claimed the information about the private wall's location had to be "secure" in order to confound liberal foes. Want this in your inbox? Subscribe to Right Richter here. "VERY soon we can release the details but have to keep that information secure for the time being as to prevent giving our detractors a heads up to derail our progress," the statement reads. "Soon, everyone will have the update they've been waiting for which we can't wait to share. This updated delay is just the unfortunate process of building a controversial barrier some people don't want to happen."Kolfage has made similar statements in the past, claiming in a March radio interview that he can't say where the wall will be built because Trump critics like the American Civil Liberties Union would try to stop it. "I wish I could name where it's at, but we can't name it because of the ACLU, these other liberal groups that want to sue us and impede our progress," Kolfage said. "But it's actually happening." As for Greene, he's fed up with the lack of information about the campaign he financially supported."I knew Brian had some previous shady GoFundMe campaigns," Greene emailed. "I felt more confident when he brought on other big names to work with him, I haven't seen a tweet from ANY of them."Read more at The Daily Beast.
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| William Barr vs. Eric Holder: A Tale of Two Attorneys General Posted: 10 May 2019 01:18 PM PDT  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has declared it a "constitutional crisis" that Attorney General William Barr refuses to divulge the small parts of the Mueller report that contain grand-jury material. By a straight party-line vote, the House Judiciary Committee voted to hold Barr in contempt of Congress.What did Pelosi think when Barr's predecessor, Eric Holder, refused to divulge documents to a congressional committee and was held in contempt? "Ridiculous!" she said. What did Holder and Obama say? That the House subpoena was a violation of "separation of powers."To partisans, the difference between the cases is obvious. Barr is defending Trump; Holder was Obama's self-proclaimed "wing man." That is enough for many journalists and most politicians. The rest of us might want to know: What is the legal or constitutional difference between Holder's refusal to provide documents and Barr's?Here is the background of the Holder contempt. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), a unit of Holder's Department of Justice (DOJ), conducted an operation called "Fast & Furious," intended to track illegal gun sales. In fact it put hundreds of weapons in the hands of Mexican criminal gangs, leading to the death of an American officer. On February 2, 2011, after news of the operation emerged, Holder's assistant attorney general sent a letter to Congress declaring that the Obama administration had no knowledge of the operation. This letter was false, as Holder later admitted.A congressional committee wanted to know why it had been misled. BATFE employees leaked to Congress that the department was still suppressing the truth about the operation and retaliating against whistleblowers. The committee wanted to dig into that. It demanded DOJ documents "relating to actions the Department took to silence or retaliate against Fast and Furious whistleblowers," so that it could determine "what the Department knew about Fast and Furious, including when and how it discovered its February 4 letter was false, and the Department's efforts to conceal that information from Congress and the public."The committee's first request for documents came early in March of 2011. The department did not comply with the request. On March 31, the committee issued its first subpoena. Again the department failed to comply. Over the next six months, the committee held a series of hearings, and Holder eventually admitted that the Fast & Furious operation had been "fundamentally flawed" and that DOJ's February 4 letter denying administration knowledge was "inaccurate." DOJ released thousands of pages of documents, but refused to give Congress all the documents it was asking for.On October 12, 2011, DOJ informed Congress that it would not divulge any more documents. The committee issued a second subpoena. Attorney General Holder refused to comply. During a committee hearing, Chairman Darrell Issa revealed that the attorney general had "refused to cooperate, offering to provide subpoenaed documents only if the committee agrees in advance to close the investigation." He commented that "no investigator would ever agree to that."According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, "as negotiations between the Attorney General and Chairman Issa continued, the Chairman reportedly narrowed the scope of the documents that would need to be produced in order to avoid a contempt vote," but "the Attorney General maintained that he could not provide the Committee with the requested documents."Nancy Pelosi and Jerrold Nadler did not declare this a constitutional crisis. They backed Holder.On June 19, 2012, President Obama invoked executive privilege, and on the same day, the House committee voted to hold Attorney General Holder in contempt of Congress. The committee vote was 23–17. The full House voted Holder in contempt by a lopsided vote of 255–67, with 17 Democrats voting for the contempt and many more staying home to avoid having to cast a vote.How does this compare with the Barr contempt? Under regulations written by the Clinton administration, the special prosecutor is instructed to submit a "confidential" report to the attorney general at the end of an investigation. It is entirely the prerogative of the attorney general to decide whether to release any of the report to the public or to Congress. In his discretion, Attorney General Barr decided to release the Mueller report in its entirety, but for two categories of redactions, which were made in conjunction with the Mueller team.One set of redactions protected innocent third parties, "peripheral to the investigation," whose privacy would be compromised. Barr offered to let members of Congress see a version of the report without these redactions. Five Republicans have accepted the offer, but no Democrats.The second set of redactions, amounting to an estimated 1.5 percent of the report, applied to grand-jury materials.Under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e) -- passed by Congress -- it is illegal to release grand-jury materials except for a specified list of purposes, and congressional investigations do not appear on this list. In the past, some courts issued orders permitting the revelation of grand-jury materials in broader circumstances under their general "supervisory powers." The District of Columbia Circuit, whose precedent governs this matter, recently rejected this position. In McKeever v. Barr (April 5, 2019), the court held that grand-jury material must be kept secret except for the specific reasons listed in the rule. Perhaps that decision is incorrect, but unless and until it is overturned or Congress amends the law, it would be illegal for Barr to comply with Nadler's demands.In the Fast & Furious matter, the Republicans engaged in 15 months of negotiations between the House Committee's first subpoena on March 30, 2011, and its finding of contempt against Holder on June 19, 2012, repeatedly narrowing its requests in hopes of getting cooperation. The Democrats subpoenaed the unredacted Mueller report on April 19 and voted to hold Barr in contempt three weeks later, on May 8. The vote was entirely on party lines, with every Republican voting against. Even Chairman Nadler seems to recognize that Barr would need to get a court order before he could reveal the grand-jury material, but he held Barr in contempt anyway.Attorney General Barr has stated a single, narrow reason for refusing to give Congress an unredacted version of Mueller's Report: the legal prohibition against revealing grand-jury materials. Obama and Holder asserted a far more sweeping privilege:> The compelled production to Congress of these internal Executive Branch documents generated in the course of the deliberative process concerning the Department's response to congressional oversight and related media inquiries . . . would inhibit the candor of such Executive Branch deliberations in the future and significantly impair the Executive Branch's ability to respond independently and effectively to congressional oversight. Such compelled disclosure would be inconsistent with the separation of powers established in the Constitution and would potentially create an imbalance in the relationship between these co-equal branches of the Government.Let us parse these claims. First, "such compelled disclosure would be inconsistent with the separation of powers established in the Constitution and would potentially create an imbalance in the relation between these co-equal branches of the Government." In other words, the idea that the executive branch is constitutionally compelled to comply with all subpoenas issued by congressional committees is contrary to the separation of powers. Contradiction? In 2012, when Holder was resisting a congressional subpoena, the separation of powers precluded compelling production of the subpoenaed documents. Today, resistance — even with a specific legal basis — is a "constitutional crisis."Second, the Obama executive-privilege letter stated that compelled disclosure of internal executive-branch documents about the deliberative process "would inhibit the candor of such Executive Branch deliberations in the future." The Fast & Furious documents involved low-level Department of Justice "deliberations" about how to deceive Congress and retaliate against whistle-blowers. No law protected the Fast & Furious documents. The DOJ employees engaging in those discussions had no legal expectation of confidentiality (unless everything said by executive-branch employees is automatically exempt from congressional scrutiny). If the revelation of those discussions "would inhibit the candor" of executive-branch deliberations, what about revealing the content of discussions between the president of the United States and his White House counsel? (Trump waived his attorney-client privilege for purposes of the Mueller investigation, but not for all purposes.)Do we really want to say that in the future, contrary to the regulations, special-prosecutor reports are not confidential, and that any information imparted to the special prosecutor in confidence will automatically be disclosed to the public through a congressional proceeding? I can think of few things that would make special-prosecutor investigations less effective in the future. Trump's lawyers waived privileges precisely to get the Mueller investigation over more quickly, so that the American public would know that there was no collusion between his campaign and the Russians. Future presidents would be well advised not to waive any privileges, lest embarrassing facts on charges not brought be exposed.If President Obama was justified in invoking executive privilege to protect the confidentiality of documents and conversations that are unprotected by any law, how can Obama's admirers be so insistent that Barr is wrong to invoke executive privilege to protect grand-jury materials, which are among the most highly protected and confidential of all categories of information in our system?One final difference. Instead of making overheated claims of constitutional crisis, threatening the attorney general with impeachment, and even suggesting sending the congressional marshals to arrest Barr and lock him up in the Capitol basement (was Pelosi just joking about that?), the Republicans in 2012 calmly went to court to seek a peaceful resolution of the dispute. Unfortunately, Holder ran out the clock in district court, the Obama administration came to an end without ever complying with the subpoenas, and the American public never got an answer.Two attorneys general. Two entirely different sets of rules.
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| Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams says she is considering White House run Posted: 09 May 2019 04:45 PM PDT  Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams, a rising party star who narrowly fell short of becoming the first female African- American governor last year, said on Thursday she is still considering running for president.
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| Federal judge keeps UAW lawsuit over plant closings in Ohio Posted: 10 May 2019 12:26 PM PDT ![Federal judge keeps UAW lawsuit over plant closings in Ohio]( "Federal judge keeps UAW lawsuit over plant closings in Ohio") A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit filed by the United Auto Workers against General Motors over the closing of three plants should be heard in Ohio. The Warren Tribune Chronicle reports U.S. District ...
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| 70 countries urge North Korea to scrap nuclear, ballistic weapons Posted: 10 May 2019 05:50 PM PDT  Seventy countries urged North Korea on Friday to scrap its nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and related programs, decrying the "undiminished threat" posed to world peace. Signatories included the United States and South Korea, as well as nations in Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe. Russia and China, supporters of Pyongyang, did not sign the document drafted by France.
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| The Latest: Committee chair slammed over Trump Jr. subpoena Posted: 09 May 2019 09:02 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Senate intelligence committee's subpoena of Donald Trump Jr. (all times local):
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| The Range Rover Astronaut Edition Is Only for Virgin Galactic's Commercial Astronauts Posted: 09 May 2019 11:43 AM PDT  If you're one of the 700 people that dropped $250,000 on a ticket, you can buy this SUV.
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| Principal of Parkland, Florida school where 17 were slain announces he will resign Posted: 11 May 2019 07:21 AM PDT  The principal of a Florida school where 17 people were fatally shot last year is resigning.
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| T-Mobile is the exclusive carrier of the OnePlus 7 Pro in the US Posted: 09 May 2019 12:34 PM PDT  Now that the Pixel 3a announcement has come and gone, OnePlus is next up to the plate with a phone reveal. But before the Chinese company takes the stage next week in New York City to formally unveil the OnePlus 7 series, T-Mobile has jumped the gun with an announcement of its own. According to a press release on Thursday, the OnePlus 7 Pro will be exclusive to T-Mobile in the United States. Launch events will be held in NYC on May 14th, with general availability set to follow at T-Mobile stores and on T-Mobile's website on May 17th.T-Mobile's launch events will begin on May 14th at the T-Mobile Signature Store in Times Square, beginning right after the OnePlus reveal event at Pier 94. On May 15th, OnePlus 7 Pro sales will open at all the Signature Stores in Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, San Francisco and Santa Monica. The first 200 customers at all of these launch events will receive a OnePlus gift with purchase, as well as drinks, snacks, and limited-edition swag.Here's the full schedule for T-Mobile's OnePlus 7 Pro launch events next week in cities all across the US:> May 14th from 2pm-10pm ET> > * NYC T-Mobile Signature Store: 1535 Broadway St. Ste 161A New York, NY, 10036> > > May 15th, starting at 2pm local time> > * Chicago T-Mobile Signature Store: 700 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL, 60611> * Las Vegas T-Mobile Signature Store: 3791 S Las Vegas Blvd S. Ste 1300, Las Vegas, NV 89109> * Miami T-Mobile Signature Store: 738 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, FL 33139> * San Francisco T-Mobile Signature Store: 1 Stockton St. San Francisco, CA 94108> * Santa Monica T-Mobile Signature Store: 1410 3rd St Promenade. Santa Monica, CA 90401> > > May 17th> > * OnePlus 7 Pro is available to pick up at any T-Mobile store and on T-Mobile.com> OnePlus will reveal the full details and pricing of its OnePlus 7 lineup at 11 a.m. ET on May 14th. You can head to this link on OnePlus's website to follow along live, and we'll have all the information here as well.
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| Stand Out Form The Crowd With This Restomod Chevrolet Aerosedan Posted: 10 May 2019 12:08 PM PDT  Classic cars are intriguing things to look at, but often at big shows you'll find several versions of the same model — not ideal if your aim is to stand out from the crowd. Restomod cars are more popular than ever, giving enthusiasts the opportunity to own something totally bespoke. Currently for sale with Lost and Found Classic Car Co, the resto-mod machine in question is based on Chevy's Fleetline Aerosadan.
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| Grandmother, teen parents of abandoned newborn found in Humboldt Park alley charged, police say Posted: 10 May 2019 09:55 AM PDT  The teen mother and father of a newborn baby that was found abandoned in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood have been charged with attempted murder.
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| Trump Says It’d Be ‘Appropriate’ to Speak to Barr About Biden Posted: 10 May 2019 08:31 PM PDT  "Certainly it is a very big issue and we'll see what happens," the president said in an interview with Politico that was published on Friday night. According to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, Trump, met with then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the Oval Office in October 2017 and "asked him to 'take [a] look' at investigating" Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rival in 2016. Some of Trump's allies, including Rudy Giuliani, have suggested that Biden, when he was vice president, intervened in Ukrainian politics on behalf of his son Hunter Biden.
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| Colombia will not allow Venezuela border to be rebel sanctuary: Duque Posted: 10 May 2019 01:24 PM PDT  Colombia will not allow its border with Venezuela to become a sanctuary for the leftist ELN rebel group, President Ivan Duque said on Friday, after local media published documents said to show Venezuela has given weapons to the group. Local media Red+ Noticias, which published the documents late on Thursday, said they are signed by Venezuelan military leaders and reference orders from President Nicolas Maduro that the armed forces treat the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels as their allies and avoid targeting them.
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| Global stock markets fall as trade tensions fester Posted: 09 May 2019 02:34 PM PDT  World stock markets fell again on Thursday as Washington and Beijing worked to avert the collapse of negotiations to end their trade war.
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| This Self-Taught Designer’s Style Became a Benchmark for Art Deco Sophistication Posted: 09 May 2019 01:25 PM PDT |
| With the 2019 Hyundai Kona Iron Man Edition, MCU Means Marvel Car Universe Posted: 10 May 2019 01:22 PM PDT  It's so detailed, even Tony Stark's signature is engraved on the center console, and we love it three thousand.
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| Hurry: AirPods 2 are on sale for less than the first-gen model Posted: 10 May 2019 07:01 AM PDT ![Hurry: AirPods 2 are on sale for less than the first-gen model]( "Hurry: AirPods 2 are on sale for less than the first-gen model") Apple's first-generation AirPods were so popular that they rarely went on sale at a discount. And every when they did, it was usually only a few bucks. Now, the new AirPods 2 true wireless earbuds have only been available for a few weeks and we've already got a sale that slashes the price to less than you'll pay for any lingering first-generation models out there. Hurry up and you can get a pair of second-generation AirPods on Amazon for just $139.99. They're marked as temporarily out of stock, but some of our readers who bought them out of stock a few weeks ago have already received their orders so it shouldn't be too long!Here's what you need to know from the product page: * Automatically on, automatically connected * Easy setup for all your Apple devices * Quick access to Siri by saying "Hey Siri" * Double-tap to play or skip forward * New Apple H1 headphone chip delivers faster wireless connection to your devices * Charges quickly in the case * Case can be charged using the Lightning connector * Rich, high-quality audio and voice * Seamless switching between devices * Listen and talk all day with multiple charges from the Charging Case
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| After Southwest Airlines family boarding policy change, here are policies on other airlines Posted: 10 May 2019 11:57 AM PDT ![After Southwest Airlines family boarding policy change, here are policies on other airlines]( "After Southwest Airlines family boarding policy change, here are policies on other airlines") Southwest updated its family boarding policy after a same-sex couple said they faced discrimination by a boarding agent two years ago.
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| EXCLUSIVE-India orders anti-trust probe of Google for alleged Android abuse-sources Posted: 10 May 2019 05:14 AM PDT ![EXCLUSIVE-India orders anti-trust probe of Google for alleged Android abuse-sources]( "EXCLUSIVE-India orders anti-trust probe of Google for alleged Android abuse-sources") India's antitrust watchdog has ordered an investigation into Alphabet Inc's unit Google for allegedly abusing the dominant position of its popular Android mobile operating system to block rivals, two sources aware of the matter told Reuters. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) last year started looking into the complaint, which is similar to one Google faced in Europe that resulted in a 4.34 billion euro ($5 billion) fine on the company, Reuters reported in February.
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| After Trump invite, Iran commander says: No talks with US Posted: 10 May 2019 05:49 AM PDT  TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A top commander in Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard said Friday that Tehran will not talk with the United States, an Iranian news agency reported — a day after President Donald Trump said he'd like Iranian leaders to "call me."
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| Maduro Hunts Guaido's Allies, Exacting Revenge for Uprising Posted: 10 May 2019 10:23 AM PDT  Top allies of Juan Guaido, the head of the powerless legislature who says he is the nation's rightful president, are circulating among safe houses, holing up in embassies and preparing for life on the run since the detention this week of National Assembly Vice President Edgar Zambrano by the Sebin secret police. "We're living in brutal persecution," Freddy Superlano, a lawmaker who supports Guaido, said from a location he wouldn't disclose. In recent years, the ruling socialists have been quick to jail elected officials, and Venezuela's high court this week called for the prosecution of 10 lawmakers.
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| Ingraham: If Dems take the White House Posted: 09 May 2019 07:59 PM PDT  Joe Biden announces plan to provide health care to illegal immigrants.
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| Delicious Spring Soups That Make Meal Prep a Breeze Posted: 09 May 2019 01:27 PM PDT |
| Facebook sues South Korea data analytics firm Posted: 10 May 2019 09:22 PM PDT  Facebook is suing South Korean data analytics firm Rankwave to make sure it isn't breaking the leading social network's rules, the US company said Friday. A lawsuit was filed against Rankwave in a California State court in Silicon Valley to enforce terms the company agreed to in order to operate apps on the social network, according to director of platform and litigation, Jessica Romero. Facebook was investigating Rankwave data practices relating to advertising and marketing and the South Korean company didn't co-operate with efforts to confirm it was complying with policies for all developers synching to the platform, Romero said in an online post.
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| You Sunk My Carrier: How the Navy Could Sink China's New Aircraft Carriers Posted: 10 May 2019 07:00 PM PDT  That carrier-killer imagery resonates with Western audiences comes as little surprise. It implies that Chinese rocketeers can send the pride of the U.S. Navy to the bottom from a distance, and sink U.S. efforts to succor Asian allies in the process. Ah, yes, the "carrier-killer." China is forever touting the array of guided missiles its weaponeers have devised to pummel U.S. Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (CVNs). Most prominent among them are its DF-21D and DF-26 antiship ballistic missiles (ASBMs), which the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has made a mainstay of China's anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) defenses.(This first appeared several years ago. It is being republished due to reader interest.)Beijing has made believers of important audiences, including the scribes who toil away at the Pentagon producing estimates of Chinese martial might. Indeed, the most recent annual report on Chinese military power states matter-of-factly that the PLA can now use DF-21Ds to "attack ships, including aircraft carriers," more than nine hundred statute miles from China's shorelines.
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| Bloomberg: Three new iPhone 11 models coming with reverse charging, big camera upgrades Posted: 10 May 2019 12:26 PM PDT  We're still several months out from the unveiling of Apple's next smartphones, but Bloomberg is out today with a new report detailing the three iPhone models the Cupertino company apparently has in store for later this year. According to Bloomberg, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has already begun production of the A13 processor that will power the 2019 iPhone models.The report goes on to note that all three iPhone models released this year will come equipped with the A13 chip, with faster speeds and better battery life. But the reporters also provided some additional details about the new phones, confirming many of the rumors and reports that have been floating around the internet.First and foremost, the three 2019 iPhone models -- successors to the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR -- are said to look similar to the current models. They will also each gain an additional camera -- three on the back of the iPhone XS and XS Max sequels, and two on the rear of the iPhone XR follow-up.The report adds that the third camera on the XS and XS Max sequels will have an ultra wide-angle lens for "larger and more detailed photos." It will also allow for increased zoom, and Apple is reportedly working on an auto-correction feature for its camera app as well to add people back into photos when they've been cut out.Gurman and Wu also claim that Apple is working on a feature that will allow iPhone users to charge AirPods and other devices on the back of the new models (reverse wireless charging). This is a feature that Samsung introduced on its Galaxy S10 series of handsets, so it was only a matter of time before Apple caught up.Finally, Bloomberg reports that the upcoming XS and XS Max successors will be "about half a millimeter thicker" than their predecessors, and confirms that the camera array will be contained in a small square in the top left.
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| It's not 'Game of Thrones'-related, but Starbucks has a deal Thursday Posted: 09 May 2019 03:39 PM PDT ![It's not 'Game of Thrones'-related, but Starbucks has a deal Thursday]( "It's not 'Game of Thrones'-related, but Starbucks has a deal Thursday") This Starbucks deal has nothing to do with Game of Thrones.
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| UPDATE 4-'We are the rightful owners' of Anadarko, Occidental CEO tells shareholders Posted: 10 May 2019 09:00 AM PDT ![UPDATE 4-'We are the rightful owners' of Anadarko, Occidental CEO tells shareholders]( "UPDATE 4-'We are the rightful owners' of Anadarko, Occidental CEO tells shareholders") Occidental Petroleum Chief Executive Vicki Hollub on Friday touted her $38 billion deal for Anadarko Petroleum Corp and defended the pricey terms she negotiated in a 90-minute session with billionaire investor Warren Buffett to secure the deal without seeking shareholder approval. Hollub, 59, beat out larger rival Chevron Corp with a long-shot bid that some Occidental investors called risky because it saddles Occidental with $46 billion in new debt. By deftly lining up allies and cash, she put together a strategy that on Thursday prompted Chevron to withdraw.
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| The Senate Intelligence Committee Is Right to Subpoena Donald Trump Jr. Posted: 10 May 2019 10:27 AM PDT  We are now officially in the midst of yet another Republican civil skirmish. Two days ago, Axios broke the news that the GOP-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee had "subpoenaed Donald Trump Jr. to answer questions about his previous testimony before Senate investigators." At issue, we later learned, is an apparent discrepancy between Trump Jr.'s previous testimony and the testimony of President Trump's former lawyer and "fixer," Michael Cohen.Reportedly, the committee subpoenaed Donald Jr. several weeks ago, before Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell declared "case closed" on the question of whether there had been a "conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign." So shouldn't Richard Burr, the Republican chairman of the intelligence committee, drop the subpoena? Hasn't Special Counsel Robert Mueller already covered this ground? Is Burr now just a "RINO" who is "doing the bidding of vindictive Democrats"? Is he, as Rand Paul claims, defying McConnell's "case closed" edict?Not at all. Burr should be left alone to do his job. Despite Mueller's report, Congress still has a vital role to play, and the president's allies should not be permitted to neuter the superior branch of government.Let's make this as simple as possible. First, the special counsel's report does not render the Senate Intelligence Committee's work either moot or irrelevant. The special counsel and the committee have different missions. As Marco Rubio explained yesterday, "Mueller [was] a criminal-justice investigation. Ours is an intelligence investigation about the Russia threat and about the way our agencies performed."While Rubio understates the counterintelligence elements of the Mueller investigation, the differences between it and the Intelligence Committee's investigation are still obvious and important. Mueller, for example, did not focus on the full extent of the broader Russian threat beyond the campaign or on evaluating the performance of our own intelligence agencies in confronting that threat. The scope of the special-counsel investigation and the focus of the Senate Intelligence Committee investigation overlap, but they are not identical – not by a long shot.It's a matter of sheer logic and common sense that a broader examination of Russian activity and intentions will include an examination of Russian ties or contacts with American citizens even if those ties or contacts aren't criminal.Moreover, it's just naïve and strange to believe that in the absence of criminal conspiracies there is no need for further inquiry. While there is no meaningful evidence that Russia's disruption operation swayed the outcome of the 2016 election, in other respects it was remarkably successful at sowing discord, confusion, and division in the American body politic. It's vital to understand exactly what Russia did, how Americans (including American governmental institutions) responded, and whether we're vulnerable to future disruptions.Second, it's standard (and necessary) for a congressional committee to seek additional testimony in the event of conflicting accounts. If two witnesses contradict each other, it would be investigative malpractice not to probe further. And when probing further, there is no substitute for live testimony. The ability to ask probing follow-up questions is invaluable to the quest for truth. Canned, lawyer-crafted written responses are a poor substitute for a closely examined personal account.Writing at Commentary, Noah Rothman has carefully noted three areas of potential interest for the Intelligence Committee: 1) Was Trump Jr. fully forthcoming with the committee about the nature and purpose of the infamous June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya?; 2) Does the committee have complete information about Trump Jr.'s contacts with Wikileaks?; and, most notably, 3) How much did he know about (or participate in) efforts to build a Trump Tower Moscow?Third, the Senate Intelligence Committee is fulfilling its constitutional role. I completely understand the widespread GOP frustration that the special counsel's investigation represented the executive branch investigating itself. Especially as it relates to possible obstruction of justice, this state of affairs creates confusing and complex legal distortions. (For example, can a president truly unlawfully obstruct justice by firing an employee he has a right to fire or by modifying an investigation he has a right to modify?)But these objections and concerns simply don't apply to the Senate Intelligence Committee, and the executive's decision to investigate itself through the special-counsel appointment is irrelevant to the Senate's constitutional authority and the Intelligence Committee's oversight obligations.The Intelligence Committee's investigation predates the Mueller investigation. It has a different (and broader) scope than the Mueller investigation. And it operates in a separate — and superior — branch of government. Moreover, Burr's conduct throughout the committee's investigation has been exemplary, and the committee's work has been professional and bipartisan.Chairman Burr is not running a "witch hunt," and out of basic respect for the law, for the Senate, and for the constitutional structure of our government, Trump Jr. should comply with the Intelligence Committee's subpoena. The Committee doesn't just have a right to seek the truth from him, it has an obligation to do so. Burr's GOP critics should stand down. He is doing exactly what he is supposed to do.
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| The Mercedes-Maybach GLS Will Be the Most Expensive Car Built in America Posted: 10 May 2019 11:10 AM PDT  Mercedes has confirmed plans for an ultra-luxurious Maybach version of the third-gen GLS.
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| Scouted: Brooklinen Sheets, Weighted Sleep Masks, and More of What Scouted Readers Are Buying Posted: 11 May 2019 03:00 AM PDT  At Scouted, we're Internet shopping with a pulse, and part of that pulse is you, the collection of readers that continue to buy the things we recommend. We've decided to take a look at some of the top-selling products that Scouted readers are picking up and if other Scouted readers are snatching up these hot-ticket items, maybe it's time to invest in something, too. Here's a look at some of the recent best-sellers that Scouted readers really loved (and bought a lot of). Waterproof Kindle Paperwhite, $90 on AmazonWaterproof Kindle Paperwhite, $90 on Amazon: I have a Kindle that I love. Scouted editor Gideon Gideon has a Kindle that he loves. And many, many Scouted readers now have Kindles, as well. They're on sale right now for $90 and will give you a whole new way to experience literature. Don't forget about accessories like a case or a charging cord (which you can get in a bundle!) and upgrade to Kindle Unlimited so you never run out of new reading material.nodpod: Weighted Sleep Mask, $30 on Amazonnodpod: Weighted Sleep Mask, $30 on Amazon: We featured the nodpod after Scouted writer Rachel Krantz penned a love note to the weighted sleep mask. It can help block out light and ease you into sleep, while also helping you stay asleep. It can also be put in the fridge to help with headaches or just to give you a nice cooldown.Luxe Hardcore Sheet Bundle, $219 from BrooklinenLuxe Hardcore Sheet Bundle, $219 from Brooklinen: Brooklinen recently celebrated their 5th birthday and did so with a sitewide discount. Scouted readers took advantage of this and outfitted their bedrooms with luxurious sheets in all kinds of patterns. Side note: the best sheets I own are from Brooklinen and I am considering getting an additional set so I don't wistfully think of them while laying on my other non-Brooklinen sheets.Desktop Glass Dry-Erase Board, $29 from QuartetDesktop Glass Dry-Erase Board, $29 from Quartet: It's kind of crazy how much Scouted readers loved the Quartet desktop whiteboard, but then again, I love mine so much (and so does half my office). In the same vein as kicking your single-use plastic habit, help ween yourself off of jotting down notes that will only be thrown away in due time by using a reusable, erasable whiteboard that fits perfectly on any desk.Commuter Dress Shirt, $118 from RhoneCommuter Dress Shirt, $118 from Rhone: Rhone makes some incredibly durable, technical clothing that can be worn every day, and when they came out with their newest Commuter Shirt, Scouted readers gobbled them up. It has four-way stretch, moisture-wicking properties, and a natural wrinkle release so it'll be an everyday dress shirt that you'll actually enjoy wearing.EltaMD UV Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46, $33 on AmazonEltaMD UV Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46, $33 on Amazon: We took some time to give you a top-level look at what exactly to pay attention to when it comes to sunscreen (hint: look for "broad-spectrum" on the label). Scouted readers took this to heart and added a bunch of the Amazon best-selling Elta MD facial sunscreen to their routine. It's got broad-spectrum SPF 46, plus some skin care ingredients like niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, and lactic acid.Scouted is internet shopping with a pulse. Follow us on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter for even more recommendations and exclusive content. Please note that if you buy something featured in one of our posts, The Daily Beast may collect a share of sales.Read more at The Daily Beast.
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