| China, Iran foreign ministers meet amid Middle East tensions Posted: 17 May 2019 07:56 PM PDT  BEIJING (AP) — Iran's foreign minister praised his country's relations with China during talks with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing amid heightened tensions and efforts by Tehran to keep its world markets open following the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.
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| Wild video shows the moment an F-16 fighter jet crashed into a California warehouse Posted: 18 May 2019 11:22 AM PDT  In a wild story that was captured on video, an F-16 fighter jet crashed into a warehouse in Riverside, California shortly after takeoff yesterday afternoon. The pilot managed to safely eject from the plane before the crash and is said to have suffered no injuries, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.A full-on investigation into the cause of the crash will certainly yield more details, but early reports suggest that a hydraulics failure was the reason behind the malfunction and subsequent crash.Video of the impact was captured by a nearby car's dashboard cam.> Ty Stanonis was on the freeway when the crash occurred ahead of him, he told FOX11. His vehicle's dashboard camera recorded the moment the jet crashed, showing the plane dropping into the building.> > "Everybody was slowing down, just trying to figure out what just happened," Stanonis said.> > The pilot's parachute deployed after he ejected, and he landed in a field inside the base. Stanonis said the pilot was still for a few moments but finally rose to his feet.The moment of impact can be seen in the first few seconds of the video below.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j4dzuttA1wFootage captured from within the warehouse can be seen below. It's worth noting that the video contains explicit language.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ho35RgfUfIMiraculously, no one in the warehouse was seriously injured as a result of the crash, though a few individuals were taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation for minor injuries.Further, the F-16 was said to be carrying live ammunition which thankfully -- and remarkably -- did not go off. All in all, what could have been an all-out disaster resulted in no deaths or serious injuries
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| Boeing acknowledges flaw in 737 MAX simulator software Posted: 18 May 2019 05:22 PM PDT  Boeing acknowledged Saturday it had to correct flaws in its 737 MAX flight simulator software used to train pilots, after two deadly crashes involving the aircraft that killed 346 people. "Boeing has made corrections to the 737 MAX simulator software and has provided additional information to device operators to ensure that the simulator experience is representative across different flight conditions," it said in a statement. Its statement marked the first time Boeing acknowledged there was a design flaw in software linked to the 737 MAX, whose MCAS anti-stall software has been blamed in large part for the Ethiopian Airlines tragedy.
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| Rebels say Syrian army fails to retake Latakia mountain Posted: 19 May 2019 09:16 AM PDT ![Rebels say Syrian army fails to retake Latakia mountain]( "Rebels say Syrian army fails to retake Latakia mountain") Syrian rebels held onto a commanding position in a mountain range in the coastal province of Latakia, the ancestral home of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, after government forces were forced to withdraw. The coastal province of Latakia is home to the Assad family's Alawite minority.
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| Record number of migrants puts 'severe pressure' on Border Patrol facilities, local shelters Posted: 17 May 2019 03:12 PM PDT  "The whole system is under severe pressure," said David Kim, assistant chief patrol agent for the Border Patrol's El Centro sector in California.
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| NYC's Bill De Blasio Trades Criticism at Home for Curiosity in Iowa Posted: 17 May 2019 12:09 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- New York Mayor Bill de Blasio stepped away from the criticism in his hometown to engage curiosity in Iowa, making his first stop as a presidential candidate in the middle of farm country to demonstrate his interest in agricultural issues and take shots at President Donald Trump.
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| Exclusive - U.S. may scale back Huawei trade restrictions to help existing customers Posted: 17 May 2019 10:20 PM PDT ![Exclusive - U.S. may scale back Huawei trade restrictions to help existing customers]( "Exclusive - U.S. may scale back Huawei trade restrictions to help existing customers") The Commerce Department, which had effectively halted Huawei's ability to buy American-made parts and components, is considering issuing a temporary general license to "prevent the interruption of existing network operations and equipment," a spokeswoman said. Potential beneficiaries of the license could, for example, include internet access and mobile phone service providers in thinly populated places such as Wyoming and eastern Oregon that purchased network equipment from Huawei in recent years. In effect, the Commerce Department would allow Huawei to purchase U.S. goods so it can help existing customers maintain the reliability of networks and equipment, but the Chinese firm still would not be allowed to buy American parts and components to manufacture new products.
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| Vineyard Vines arrives at Target on Saturday. How to shop the limited-edition collaboration Posted: 18 May 2019 09:44 AM PDT  Set your alarm clock if you're interested in shopping Target's latest designer collaboration, Vineyard Vines. The new collection goes on sale May 18.
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| Alabama abortion law raised hope for execution reprieve Posted: 17 May 2019 10:57 AM PDT  ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — A lawyer for a condemned inmate said he hoped Gov. Kay Ivey might a grant clemency request and block the execution after she talked about her belief that "life is precious" in signing a bill to virtually outlaw abortion in Alabama.
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| Fox Poll: Voters give Barr negative ratings for his handling of the Mueller report Posted: 17 May 2019 02:25 PM PDT  The latest Fox News Poll finds voters give Barr negative ratings for his handling of the Mueller report (35 approve, 44 disapprove), and by a 12-point margin more think he is "covering up" for the president than being transparent with the American people (45-33 percent).
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| Democrat 2020 hopefuls eye coveted Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsement Posted: 18 May 2019 06:46 AM PDT  She is the great young hope of America's Left-wing, an articulate and impassioned progressive whose policies have gained traction and Twitter feed is followed by four million. Now Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 29-year-old first-time congressman from New York, is seeing her newfound political clout manifest in a new way – a race for her endorsement. With two dozen Democrats seeking their party's presidential nomination, the support of Ms Ocasio-Cortez is being seen as a way to win over the young, energised voters who will help shape the race. Chief among the contenders are Bernie Sanders, the independent 77-year-old senator from Vermont, and Elizabeth Warren, the former academic now representing Massachusetts in the Senate. Both have made tacit acknowledgement of Ms Ocasio-Cortez's influence in public in recent weeks – whether for policy reasons, or for political gain, or both. Earlier this month, Mr Sanders appeared alongside Ms Ocasio-Cortez at an office table where they discussed the importance of reducing credit card interest rates. At the end of the 25-minute video, shared on social media and viewed by more than half a million people, the pair patted each other on the back warmly and smiled. Last month, Mr Warren wrote a 180-word ode to Ms Ocasio-Cortez for Time Magazine when the latter was named in its top 100 most influential people. "A year ago, she was taking orders across a bar. Today, millions are taking cues from her," Ms Warren wrote of the congresswoman's remarkable political rise. "And she's just getting started." Those two are not the only Democratic hopefuls vying for an endorsement, it appears. Politico reported that both senator Kirsten Gillibrand and former housing and urban development secretary Julian Castro have made "overtures". There is no reason a person should pay more than 15% interest in the United States. It's common sense - in fact, we had these Usury laws until the 70s. It's a debt trap for working people + it has to end.https://t.co/sO0p5NF7WR— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) May 9, 2019 The enthusiasm is understandable. The Democratic Party's progressive base appears fired up for change and many candidates hoping to win the right to take on Donald Trump are leaning its way. Government-funded health care for all, a $15 minimum wage and bold action on climate change have been widely adopted by the field ahead of the first debate in June and the first primary vote next February. Ms Ocasio-Cortez, who last year shocked the political establishment by ousting a 10-term Democrat in her own party to take his seat, has become the progressive movement's most recognisable star. That was underscored this week as Joe Biden, the former US vice president who is polling top and running on a centrist ticket, was forced to defend his climate change stance after Ms Ocasio-Cortez dismissed it as "middle of the road". Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic senator for Massachusetts, has developed a reputation for standing up to Wall Street Credit: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall Mr Sanders is best placed to win the endorsement race. Ms Ocasio-Cortez worked on his 2016 presidential campaign, identifies like him as a democratic socialist and shares many of the same policy beliefs. Ms Warren has also laid out a left-wing platform taking on Wall Street and redistributing wealth but makes clear she remains a believer in capitalism. Asked recently about an endorsement by a CNN reporter, Ms Ocasio-Cortez said: "What I would like to see in a presidential candidate is one that has a coherent worldview and logic from which all these policy proposals are coming forward. "I think senator Sanders has that. I also think senator Warren has that." And, the questioner followed up, would she consider endorsing Mr Biden? Ms Ocasio-Cortez turned and walked away without a definitive answer.
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| Glock 31 Gun: All You Need To Know About this Powerful Pistol Posted: 18 May 2019 04:30 AM PDT  In the early 1990s, a handful of calibers emerged to challenge the nine-millimeter as the dominant semi-automatic handgun round. One of these, the .357 Sig, is the caliber of choice for the Glock 31 pistol. The Glock 31 is the company's offering for those into high velocity or long distance handgun shooting. The G31 also comes with a large magazine capacity, making it an excellent self-defense or duty sidearm.The now infamous 1986 FBI Miami shootout was a watershed moment in the history of law enforcement. Eight FBI agents armed with pistols and shotguns engaged two bank robbers armed with superior weapons. Over the course of the gun battle, which saw the federal agents pinned down by suppressive fire from a Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic rifle, two agents were killed and another five wounded. The two bank robbers were hit multiple times by incoming fire but were both able to continue shooting, contributing to the very high law enforcement casualty rate.In the aftermath of the shootout, the FBI and other government agencies began the search for a new, more powerful handgun round. Nine-millimeter and .38 Special proved ineffective at stopping the robbers, while .357 Magnum was a revolver cartridge that limited the user's carrying capacity to six rounds at a time. Law enforcement wanted a powerful round that could be carried in large quantities.
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| Poor boy Modi becomes India's nationalist powerhouse Posted: 18 May 2019 10:56 PM PDT  Stern, sharp and shrewd, Narendra Modi fought his way off the streets to become one of India's most popular and polarising prime ministers. There is no middle ground between admirers and adversaries of the man -- now running for a second term -- who helped his father run a railway station tea stall before launching his career in nationalist politics. The 68-year-old makes much of his humble roots while unashamedly portraying himself as the tough guy protecting India's national security and Hindu values, pressing its claims to be the world's rising power.
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| UPDATE 1-Argentina grants offshore oil, gas exploration permits in Malvinas West basin Posted: 17 May 2019 08:06 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Argentina grants offshore oil, gas exploration permits in Malvinas West basin]( "UPDATE 1-Argentina grants offshore oil, gas exploration permits in Malvinas West basin") Argentina awarded permits for hydrocarbon exploration in 18 areas off its southern coast to companies including Exxon Mobil Corp, Total SA , YPF SA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the government said on Friday. The winning companies offered bids totaling $724 million, the government said in official statements, and won the rights to explore for up to 13 years in areas of the South Atlantic, some near the Malvinas Islands under the control of the British government but whose sovereignty is claimed by Argentina. The other companies that will make up exploration consortia in Argentina's Malvinas West basin include BP, Qatar Petroleum, Tullow Oil, Pluspetrol , Wintershall, Equinor, Eni , Mitsui &Co Ltd and Tecpetrol SA.
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| Mitt Romney won't back Justin Amash in call for Trump impeachment Posted: 19 May 2019 08:31 AM PDT  President attacks first Republican to call for impeachmentNo holds Barred: Trump pushes for imperial presidency President-elect Donald Trump and Mitt Romney dine in New York in November 2016. Photograph: Drew Angerer/Getty Images As Donald Trump opened fire on Justin Amash, the Michigan representative who became the first Republican in Congress to call for his impeachment, Mitt Romney declined to join the fight. The former presidential nominee and Republican senator from Utah accused Donald Trump of lacking humility, honesty and integrity – but stopped short of calling for his impeachment and removal from power. Romney was scathing about the picture of the president that emerges from the Mueller report into Russian interference in the 2016 election, the redacted version of which he said he had spent two days reading in full. He said on Sunday its findings were "troubling, unfortunate and distressing". But he said he did not think it was time for Congress to call for impeachment. "I don't think there is the full element which you need to prove the obstruction of justice case," he told CNN's State of the Union. I don't think there is the full element which you need to prove the obstruction of justice case Mitt Romney Mueller did not find that Trump or his aides conspired with Russia but he did lay out 11 instances of possible obstruction of justice by Trump or his campaign and indicated Congress should decide how to proceed. Controversially, attorney general William Barr said in his own summary of the then unseen Mueller report that Trump had not obstructed justice. Romney's sharp but qualified criticism of Trump came a day after Amash became the first Republican to break ranks and call for impeachment. In a stream of tweets, Amash said the Mueller report showed "President Trump engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meet the threshold for impeachment". Amash and Romney are significant figures within their party, as they stand virtually alone in having the temerity to challenge Trump in public. But the fact that Romney would not join Amash on impeachment is an indication of the impenetrable wall of opposition the party is likely to erect should Democrats initiate proceedings. Just why became clear later on Sunday, when Trump aimed his Twitter account at Amash. Saying he was "never a fan", he called Amash "a total lightweight who opposes me and some of our great Republican ideas and policies just for the sake of getting his name out there through controversy". Trump also accused Amash of not having read the Mueller report – the congressman made much of saying he had in fact read all 448 pages – and, while repeating familiar complaints about Mueller, wrote: "Justin is a loser who sadly plays right into our opponents [sic] hands!" In fact, Amash's sole call for impeachment on the Republican side may not do much to move the political dial. Democrats are edging closer to launching proceedings, but not for the reasons the congressman outlined. Adam Schiff, the Democratic chair of the House intelligence committee, told CBS's Face the Nation there were no signs of the Republican-controlled Senate moving towards impeachment. Nonetheless, Democrats were becoming more minded to take it on, he said, as a tool to increase pressure on the Trump administration to hand over key documents, including the unredacted Mueller report, that it is refusing to submit to congressional oversight. "What may be pushing towards impeachment has less to do with Justin Amash and more to do with the administration engaging in a maximum obsctructionism campaign against Congress," Schiff said. Adam Schiff, centre, seen at a Senate hearing this week. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP Romney, who ran unsuccessfully against Barack Obama in 2012, said impeachment was not just a legal matter. It must also, he said, "consider the practicality of politics, and the American people are just not there". He added: "The Senate is not there either." Democratic leadership has also considered public opinion, and what impeachment might do to motivate Trump's base, when weighing up whether to make the move. Despite his reluctance to go all the way into impeachment, Romney has showed himself willing to take on Trump. In April he issued a statement saying: "I am sickened at the extent and pervasiveness of dishonesty and misdirection by individuals in the highest office of the land, including the president." He told CNN the Mueller report distressed him. "The number of times there were items of dishonesty, misleading the American public and media – those are not things you would want to see from the highest office in the land." He said that in terms of three crucial features of a president – humility, honesty and integrity – Trump has "distanced himself from some of the best qualities of the human character". Such was his disgust with Trump as a presidential candidate in 2016, Romney wrote in his wife Ann on to the presidential election ballot, thereby voting for her instead. He told CNN he had not yet decided if he would do the same next year.
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| View Photos of the First Hot Wheels Toy Based on a Fan's Custom Car Posted: 18 May 2019 08:01 AM PDT |
| Death row inmate dies 1 day after fellow inmate's execution Posted: 17 May 2019 01:54 PM PDT  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee death row inmate died in prison on Friday, less than three months before his scheduled execution and less than a day after a fellow inmate was executed .
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| Here Is Russia's Plan to Build a Fleet of Su-57 Stealth Fighters Posted: 18 May 2019 02:45 AM PDT  The Su-57 is coming—76 of them over the next decade, to be exact.Russian President Vladimir Putin announced at a Kremlin meeting that the Russian Defense Ministry plans to procure 76 Su-57 fifth-generation fighters by 2028, himself acknowledging that these new quantities dwarf previous Russian defense ministry estimates: "The 2028 arms program stipulated the purchase of 16 such jets… In the nearest future we will sign a package contract to supply 76 such jets equipped with modern weapons of destruction and provided with the necessary land infrastructure."The announcement defies the western defense analysis consensus, which concluded that the Su-57 will not enter production until the late 2020's. Even then, it was alleged that Russia lacks the industrial output to churn out Su-57 fighters in militarily meaningful numbers.If the Kremlin's new forecast proves to be accurate, what accounts for this drastic output increase?
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| OPEC+ Has More Work to Do Because Inventories Are Rising, Minister Says Posted: 18 May 2019 03:40 PM PDT  "The job is not complete," Al Mazrouei told reporters in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah. Saudi Arabia, Russia and other oil producers in a global coalition are meeting in Jeddah this weekend to consider whether they'll need to continue keeping supplies restrained during the second half of the year.
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| Modi’s jobs deficit: J&J’s largest India plant idle three years after completion Posted: 19 May 2019 01:20 AM PDT  It was to eventually employ at least 1,500 people and help bring development to a rural area near Hyderabad in southern India. Two sources familiar with J&J's operations in India and one state government official told Reuters production at the plant, at Penjerla in Telangana state, never began because of a slowing in the growth in demand for the products. One of them said that demand didn't rise as expected because of two shock policy moves by Prime Minister Narendra Modi: a late 2016 ban on then circulating high-value currency notes, and the nationwide introduction of a goods and services tax (GST) in 2017.
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| Voters in Switzerland approve stronger gun control laws by nearly two-thirds despite resistance Posted: 19 May 2019 07:32 AM PDT  Switzerland's public broadcaster said more than 63% of voters nationwide agreed to align with European Union firearms rules adopted two years ago.
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| Joe Biden Calls for Unity at Presidential Campaign Rally in Pennsylvania Posted: 18 May 2019 12:03 PM PDT  Some liberals don't like Biden's centrist approach and focus on unity
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| Scouted: Tevas Sandals Will Survive Anything You Put Them Through And Look Good Doing It Posted: 18 May 2019 07:00 AM PDT  In two weeks, I'm traveling to Africa for the first time. When I step off that plane I'll be stepping onto my third continent in roughly a year. When I step off that plane, I'll be stepping out wearing my trusty Tevas. Africa will be their third continent in a year, too. I paired my Tevas with a silk jumpsuit while wedding dress shopping in L.A. I wore my Tevas on assignment in the Florida Everglades, crouched down in the hull of a swamp boat, hoping an alligator wouldn't chomp on my exposed toes. I protected said toes' modesty by wearing socks with my Tevas in Oman's Grand Mosque. I was wearing my Tevas a few nights ago when, slightly drunk on mezcal in Mexico, I fell into an open sewer.The fact that my Tevas seemed like the appropriate footwear for all of these scenarios is what makes them the perfect travel companion, and it's this low-key adaptability that makes me so obsessed with the brand. Now listen, I was (as perhaps you are now) skeptical at first. The last time I owned Tevas I was still wearing polar-fleece half-zip pullovers and eating raisins in the backseat of a neighbor's Volkswagen as they carpooled me to mandatory recreational sports practice. Developed in the 80s by a geophysicist/whitewater rafting guide, the brand (whose name translates to "nature" in Hebrew) has always represented a certain crunchy outdoorsiness that angsty kids who grew into East Coast city-goths like me shun out of habit. Tevas were for kids whose parents took them hiking and taught them the proper pronunciation of the word "nature" in Hebrew (it's Teh-vuh, not Tee-vuh.) But times, and I, have changed. Last year my travel schedule created the need for something I could only describe as a "performance sandal." After scoping the orthopedic curves and elastic straps of brands like Keen and Merrell, I was desperate for something that was simultaneously utilitarian and cute. In walked Teva. Women's Original Universal Sandal, $50 from TevaAs a brand, they know their reputation, but rather than ignore it by earnestly marketing to outdoor enthusiasts, they seem to be cheekily owning their identity. Like Timberlands, or other labels that have successfully made the jump from utility to streetwear, Teva isn't forsaking their core product; they are just having a little fun with it. Not only does their website have a section about how to pair their products with socks, you can even choose the height of the platform. Platforms might not be the best choice for long-endurance activities, but the brand's recent bright collab with Outdoor Voices signals that they aren't straying too far from their roots -- only updating it for a new type of colorway-conscious, Instagram-styled consumer. My Instagram DM's have been a battleground of opinions from friends and followers. . This divisiveness isn't all that surprising considering that Tevas are manufactured by the same parent company who own UGGs. Both brands flaunt a pragmatic anti-style that breeds intense loyalty. By designing shoes that apparently never even take into account sex-appeal, they're allowing women to subvert the tired old "fashion over function" trope. By insisting that function is fashion, fans can winkingly claim their comfort while feeling like provocateurs. At least, this is the narrative that runs through my head when I strap my amazingly adjustable Tevas on my much-abused feet and walk into a fancy restaurant. Their minimalist sensibility blended with unsentimental design, contribute to the effortless road-savvy, cool-girl travel aesthetic so many woman (including myself) try to project. Besides, as anyone who grew up in the 90s can attest, a strappy sandal pairs well with everything, even when drenched in Mexican sewer water. 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.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Nearly 180 former Ohio State University students claim sexual abuse by doctor Posted: 17 May 2019 07:31 PM PDT  Dr. Richard Strauss was accused of abusing at least 177 male students when he worked as a physician for the university's athletic department and the student health center from 1978 to 1998, the report said, detailing the findings of a year-long independent investigation. Staff members knew of the abuse as early as 1979, but complaints were never elevated to administrators and senior officials of the athletics or student health departments until 1996. At that time, the school suspended and ultimately removed Strauss after a "very limited investigation" into a student's claim that the doctor fondled him during an exam, the report said.
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| Let Me Tell You About the Worst Submarine of All Time Posted: 18 May 2019 01:20 AM PDT  For the Worst Submarine of All Time, I go further and nominate an entire silent service: the undersea arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN).There are many candidates for this dubious honor. After all, submarining has been around for well over a century now. Many ships render honorable but unexceptional service. Standouts emerge, generally in times of strife, as do "floating coffins" and plain old hard-luck ships.And there are some that subtract value from the nation's effort to reach its strategic and political aims. This is the unpardonable sin.The idea of ships that could submerge has been around since antiquity. Combat submersibles date to the Turtle, a hand-propelled contraption built to smite Royal Navy ships from beneath during the War of American Independence. But subs really became a going concern during the fin de siècle age, when propulsion technologies such as batteries, electric motors, and internal-combustion engines came to maturity around the same time.Combining these technologies yielded the diesel-electric propulsion plant, a hybrid affair that enabled subs to run silent, run deep on quiet electric motors when submerged and run on diesels and recharge batteries while cruising the surface. At the direction of First Sea Lord Jacky Fisher, the Royal Navy ordered five rudimentary boats designed by John Phillip Holland in 1900, and the age of modern undersea warfare was on.
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| Wynn and MGM in talks about sale of Encore Boston casino Posted: 17 May 2019 02:49 PM PDT  Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts International said in a joint statement they've engaged in conversations about the potential sale of Encore Boston Harbor. This comes as Wynn is about to open the $2.6 billion Everett, Massachusetts, casino. The companies say the talks won't delay the Everett opening scheduled for next month.
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| Comey tears into Bar for 'slimming his own department' Posted: 17 May 2019 08:18 PM PDT  Reaction to Comey's remarks from former independent counsel Sol Wisenberg and national security attorney Bradley Moss.
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| US approves missile sales to S.Korea, Japan Posted: 17 May 2019 01:58 PM PDT  The United States said Friday it had approved more than $600 million in sales of air defense missiles to South Korea and Japan as tensions return with North Korea. The State Department said it had approved 94 SM-2 missiles used by ships against air threats, along with 12 guidance systems for a total cost of $313.9 million. It separately gave the green light to sell 160 anti-air AMRAAM missiles and related guidance equipment to Japan for $317 million.
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| Biden rejects Democrats' anger in call for national unity Posted: 19 May 2019 03:12 AM PDT  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — His party may be enraged by Donald Trump's presidency, but Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden insisted Saturday that Democrats will not defeat the Republican president if they pick an angry nominee.
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| Cold Brew’s Insidious Hegemony Posted: 18 May 2019 02:00 AM PDT  Soon, many parts of the United States will be unbearably hot. Texans and Arizonans will be able to bake cookies on their car dashboards; the garbage on the streets of New York will be especially pungent; Washington will not only figuratively be a swamp. And all across America, coffee consumers will turn their backs on traditional coffee in favor of a more "refreshing" vehicle for caffeine: cold brew.As conservatives, we are inherently skeptical of any change of language norms that seeks to warp the objective meaning of words, and so we defend terms such as "man and woman," "traditional marriage," and now, we must defend "coffee." "Coffee" is defined as a hot beverage made by steeping coffee in boiling water. Cold brew is made by soaking beans overnight, and the drink relies on time instead of heat to extract the flavor. The major disqualifying factor is that it's cold.Starbucks's imperial command over coffee is greatly responsible for this Orwellian redefinition. Its ubiquitous mermaid logo may read "Starbucks Coffee," but the corporate café caliphate makes most of its profit from drinks sugary enough to induce a diabetic coma in a small mammal. Even more sinister is that Starbucks expanded into Milan in 2018, irreverently flexing its muscle at coffee purists who turn up their noses while its ostentatious drinks conquer the international beverage forum, marginalizing and undermining traditional coffee.Smaller coffee shops have followed in Starbucks's footsteps. Today, "Let's go out for coffee!" seems like an innocent request from a coworker or friend, and it should suggest that the order will include a cup of boiled water that was brewed with coffee beans — whether it's a single shot of espresso or a cup of café americano, made with a French press or Moka Express. But too often, they mean something else. In the summer, they mean cold brew.One New York City coffee-store owner told the New York Times in 2017 that in the summer, 65 percent of the "coffee" he sells is iced — every other part of the year, 75 percent of the "coffee" sold is hot. Iced coffee itself is a cousin of cold brew, but with nearly all of hot coffee's features except the most significant one: heat. It's brewed the same way, and then cooled. But demand for cold brew specifically is increasing, unsurprisingly, among my generation: Millennials. A habit of subversive behavior among Millennials has driven us to attack all of our civilization's most sacred institutions, including coffee — the backbone of American productivity.As cold brew's popularity metastasizes, usurping coffee for several months of the year, will we forget our proud national heritage? Cold brew requires patience and planning: One must make a prediction of business the next day in order to estimate how much to make the night before. This is a clear break from our proud tradition of urgency. While the harvesting and roasting of good coffee beans surely requires patience, has prepared coffee ever been associated with anything other than the quick satiation of a morning addiction, or the rush to meet a deadline? Like bread, coffee is a staple for good reason: One needs only five minutes, a heat source, a filtration method, and the beans. It's dependable and democratic.Coffee has even provoked constitutional debate. Would we have considered tort reform within the framework of the Seventh Amendment had it not been for 1994's infamous hot-coffee lawsuit, Liebeck v. McDonald's?To those who will, during the summer months, abandon the beverage that gives many of us our will to live in the mornings, I ask just one concession to coffee purists: Drink your cold brew, but please, don't call it "coffee."
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| Michael Bennet Understands Exactly What's Gone Wrong in America Posted: 17 May 2019 07:54 PM PDT  Zach Gibson/GettyAs frightening as this historical moment is in so many ways, it's hopeful in one respect. We may finally be at a point when a majority of people are ready to ditch supply-side economics. The economy is doing very well right now, so it seems in one sense a counterintuitive argument. But Americans are increasingly recognizing that even this good economy is mostly good for the top 10 percent, especially the top 1 and .1 percent; and that if you live in one of these 50 counties or hundreds of others like them where the unemployment rates are more than twice the national average and the poverty rates are above 25 percent, the economy doesn't feel that great at all.There's a story for the Democrats to tell here. A story of a country where prosperity was once broadly shared, because politicians of both parties in those days agreed that investments in ourselves and our future were good, and that there was an inextricable link between democracy and broadly shared prosperity. I wrote about this link recently in the Times, and they tell me it did gangbusters traffic, not because it was Shakespeare but because it's a subject people care about devoutly and want to hear public figures address.Enter Colorado Senator Michael Bennet. One morning a while back I'd dropped the kid off at school and I tuned in to Morning Joe. I heard a voice saying: "Trump is not the cause of our problems. The cause of our problems is 40 years of economic immobility for 90 percent of the American people. Stagnant wages over that period of time. Periods when we had economic growth, but for most Americans, those were periods of recession. We have to fix that. It's going to take us a generation to do it."Oh my God. Naturally I thought this person was brilliant, because he was talking exactly the way I write. As the segment ended I heard them say thank you, senator, but they didn't say a name. I emailed a guy I know who works on the show and asked. Yep, he wrote, that was Michael Bennet.Shortly thereafter, Bennet, a former schools superintendent, got a prostate cancer diagnosis. Today he declares himself "miraculously cured," and makes sure to tell a visitor that the cost of his cure was $55,000, of which he had to pay only $1,800. "It made me realize just how insane it would be to get the same diagnosis without insurance," he said. "Or not to get the diagnosis at all because you didn't have a primary care doctor because you didn't have insurance."Now, Bennet—the brother as it happens of New York Times editorial page editor James Bennet, the only one-t Bennets I've ever heard of—is running for president. Is he likely to win? No. Woke lefties write him off as too moderate, because he is not for Medicare for All and because he says things about how he still thinks it's possible to find reasonable Republicans in the Senate to work with. But however you feel about his proposals, whether you're center or left, you must listen to his analysis of the problem, because he is exactly correct, and he's saying it better and more clearly than anyone else running.So I sat down with him last week in his Capitol building hideaway office (complete with foosball table!) between votes. Unlike most pols, who stay focused on the moment, his perspective is relentlessly historical. "Maybe," he mused, "we're finally at the end of the Reagan era. Maybe there are things we can do together as a country to improve the economic condition of all of us."This is why he's running, he tells me—to say these things: "I didn't think this was getting the articulation it deserves among the people who were running… I thought it was important to give voice to this and see what would happen."To that end, most of our interview was him showing me a PowerPoint presentation—"this'll be the first time I've walked anybody through his," he says—that he and his staff assembled to tell the story of the inequality and stagnation of the last 40 years for the vast majority of the population. Slide 1, Wages for most Americans have been flat for decades; Slide 2, The rich are getting richer; Slide 4, The building blocks of the middle class are out of reach; Slide 12, America is no longer leading the world in investment. He goes into much deeper detail in an upcoming book, The Land of Flickering Lights: Restoring America in an Age of Broken Politics. It's a campaign book, yes, but it's a smart and substantive one. As much as this sort of thing excites me, I'm unfortunately not confident it's going to get the hearing it deserves. He's not bombastic. He's no moralist. He did say one thing in particular during our chat that really caught my ear and may catch others': "Since 2001, we've spent $5 trillion on tax cuts, almost all of which has gone to the richest people in the country, and we've spent $5.6 trillion on wars in the Middle East. So that's $11 or $12 trillion we haven't spent addressing any of the issues we could have addressed." If his rhetoric were a pop song, that's the line that strikes me as the hook. That, plus the fact that he says he wants to take on Big Pharma, which I think is a great issue.So we'll see what happens. The one thing he said that I really disagreed with and challenged him on was that if he were president and the Democrats took control of the Senate, he would not ditch the filibuster. I said: So you'd pass nothing. He has no illusions about Mitch McConnell ("ruthless," "immune to give-and-take unless he's taking everything"), but he still thinks a few Republicans could be pressured or persuaded to vote with him. OK, good luck with that.But that's hypothetical. What's real is his analysis of the recent economic history of this country. As they said in a movie that came out back when the supply-side era started, nobody does it better.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Overstock CEO says he had to sell shares to supplement his pay Posted: 17 May 2019 11:17 AM PDT  By Noel Randewich and Aishwarya Venugopal (Reuters) - Overstock.com Inc Chief Executive Officer Patrick Byrne lashed out on Friday at investors who questioned his recent sale of shares, saying he had to supplement his $100,000 a year salary and vowing never to "give such an explanation again." His letter to shareholders http://investors.overstock.com/news-releases/news-release-details/overstockcom-ceo-patrick-byrne-issues-statement-recent-sale followed a 21% slump on Wednesday and Thursday in Overstock's stock price to the lowest since 2012 after he divulged https://www.sec. ...
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| Target is selling a giant unicorn float that will hold up to 6 people Posted: 18 May 2019 07:15 AM PDT  Ever wanted to lay out on the water at the beach in a giant unicorn float withfive of your friends? Sure you have! And this summer, it's happening
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| JetBlue switching to Pepsi from Coca-Cola Posted: 17 May 2019 01:01 PM PDT  JetBlue customers, be prepared for a major shake-up when you order a soda on your next flight.
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| Once again, Iraq caught up in tensions between US and Iran Posted: 18 May 2019 07:28 AM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — When U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sat down with Iraqi officials in Baghdad last week as tensions mounted between America and Iran, he delivered a nuanced message: If you're not going to stand with us, stand aside.
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| Austrian president calls for September poll in wake of scandal Posted: 19 May 2019 07:43 AM PDT  Austria's president on Sunday called for fresh elections in September after a corruption scandal embroiling the far-right brought down the coalition government in spectacular fashion. Just days before key EU elections, Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache was forced to resign in disgrace Saturday following explosive revelations from a hidden camera sting. Conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz -- whose 18-month coalition with Strache's far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) had been held up as a European model -- reacted by pulling the plug on their union.
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| Missouri, latest US state to restrict abortion Posted: 17 May 2019 11:51 AM PDT  The Missouri House passed a bill on Friday banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, making it the latest US state to pass restrictions on ending a pregnancy. The bill, overwhelmingly approved by the Republican-led legislature and expected to be signed by the Midwestern state's Republican governor, would ban abortions from about eight weeks of pregnancy. Republican-led legislatures in several US states have recently passed bills restricting abortion access in a bid to eventually challenge the 1973 US Supreme Court ruling legalizing the practice.
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| AT&T says it was perfectly legal to sell user location data, but stopped anyway Posted: 17 May 2019 03:04 PM PDT  AT&T came under fire in the last year or so -- as did rival carriers Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile -- when press reports surfaced about the practice of carriers selling location data about its users. The Federal Communications Commission opened an investigation, and the carriers promised to drop the practice.Meanwhile, a new letter made public from AT&T actually defends the behavior it got called to the carpet on, saying the company stayed within legal bounds -- but that, fine, we went ahead and stopped the practice anyway.In the letter to FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, AT&T defends the practice of making customer location data available to aggregators in some scenarios that it says are perfectly legitimate. "There can be real, and potentially life-saving, benefits," the carrier writes, "when a towing company receives the location of a stranded motorist who does not know the nearest mile marker; or a son or daughter uses a medical alert device to locate an injured elderly parent; or a bank uses location information to thwart fraud and identify theft."Highlighting those emergency use cases is actually an important point. AT&T explains in the letter that it hasn't violated federal law because the data it's made available to third parties unbeknownst to the user is data that's known as A-GPS. That's a kind of data gathered for use in emergency situations as well as when GPS is needed, like when your Uber ride is trying to find you by your phone signal. That's different from a kind of data the FCC doesn't allow to be sold and data that's housed in what's known as the NEAD (which stands for National Emergency Address Database), which AT&T says is much more specific that A-GPS is.Thus, the AT&T letter continues, media reports "regarding the legal requirements associated with A-GPS,' are inaccurate and misplaced." The company also stresses that it ended the practice of selling user location data to aggregators and other third parties in March.A piece from The Verge on Friday, however, notes that while AT&T may be "technically correct" by saying it hasn't violated FCC rules, the sale of location data may still constitute a violation of Section 222 of the Communications Act of 1934.
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| Smiling DUI driver, sheds tears at sentencing Posted: 17 May 2019 04:04 PM PDT  The Florida woman who was all smiles for a mugshot after a DUI manslaughter arrest was all sobs when the judge handed down the sentencing. She received an 11 year prison sentence.
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| FOCUS-Direct lenders vie to resurrect cemetery owner StoneMor Posted: 17 May 2019 11:25 AM PDT ![FOCUS-Direct lenders vie to resurrect cemetery owner StoneMor]( "FOCUS-Direct lenders vie to resurrect cemetery owner StoneMor") The rising debt load at U.S. cemetery operator StoneMor Partners LP has helped bring it to death's door, but specialized lending funds are clamoring to refinance the company's borrowings, according to sources familiar with talks. In the wake of the financial crisis when interest rates sank to historic lows, StoneMor borrowed over $300 million to acquire cemeteries and funeral parlors. The strategy added the deathcare company to a generation of companies now saddled with debt that has limited growth prospects.
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| How Architect I.M. Pei Achieved Greatness By Forever Testing and Challenging Himself Posted: 17 May 2019 02:00 PM PDT  Famed architect I.M. Pei designed some of the greatest buildings across the globe in his more than half century career.
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| Genesis Intends to Build the Essentia Concept as an EV, and It May Be Powered by Hydrogen Posted: 19 May 2019 06:00 AM PDT  The premium brand doesn't want the concept from last year's show circuit to fade away.
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| BMW X1 Recalled Because It Doesn’t Meet Federal Safety Standards Posted: 17 May 2019 01:30 PM PDT  BMW is recalling 106,182 of its 2016 to 2019 X1 SUVs. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in the event of a crash where an occupant's head contacts the B-pillar, the ...
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| US: Iran military could misidentify airliners amid tension Posted: 18 May 2019 10:08 AM PDT  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Commercial airliners flying over the Persian Gulf risk being targeted by "miscalculation or misidentification" from the Iranian military amid heightened tensions between the Islamic Republic and the U.S., American diplomats warned Saturday, even as both Washington and Tehran say they don't seek war.
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| Syrian state media: projectiles fired from Israeli territory Posted: 18 May 2019 12:30 PM PDT ![Syrian state media: projectiles fired from Israeli territory]( "Syrian state media: projectiles fired from Israeli territory") Syrian air defenses targeted projectiles fired from the direction of Israel for the second night in a row, Syrian state media said on Saturday. The projectiles came from "occupied territory" into the airspace in southern Syria, state news agency SANA said, referring to territory held by Israel. Israel's military declined to comment on the report.
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