| House Speaker Pelosi urges Trump family 'intervention' with U.S. president Posted: 23 May 2019 02:06 PM PDT  Trump fired back, questioning Pelosi's mental state by saying she has "lost it" while calling himself an "extremely stable genius." As the acrid fight intensified between the Republican president and the Democrats who control the House amid talk of impeaching Trump, work on a two-year federal budget deal has ground to a near standstill as the task of basic governing in Washington has become increasingly complicated. Trump, who is seeking re-election in 2020, and Democratic leaders for a second straight day lobbed accusations and insults at each other after the collapse of an infrastructure deal that could have pumped $2 trillion into the U.S. economy, if lawmakers and the president had found a way to pay for it. Trump took aim at Pelosi.
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| Lawyer Avenatti accused of embezzling from client Stormy Daniels Posted: 22 May 2019 03:52 PM PDT  Things are looking stormier for Michael Avenatti, who was charged Wednesday with embezzling funds from porn star Stormy Daniels, the very client who made him famous when he represented her in her legal battle with US President Donald Trump. In a 16-page indictment Manhattan federal prosecutors accused infamous lawyer Avenatti of falsifying documents in order to directly pay himself about $300,000, originally intended for Daniels as part of an advance payment from her editor for her memoir. Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was not explicitly named in the indictment, which only refers to "Victim No. 1," but multiple media outlets confirmed she was the client in question.
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| Lawmaker's censure sought after comments about Trump Jr. Posted: 23 May 2019 07:31 AM PDT  MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers abruptly adjourned after one lawmaker called for the censure of another over comments that included calling the president's son "evidently retarded."
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| Oregon State Student Dies After Falling 100 Feet While Taking Photos at Scenic Lookout Posted: 23 May 2019 06:13 AM PDT  A junior student at Oregon State University died on Sunday May 19 after falling 100 feet from a scenic viewpoint on the Oregon coast.
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| Stealth History: The F-35C Is Now Ready For War If the U.S. Navy Needs It Posted: 23 May 2019 12:55 AM PDT  By 2025, the Navy's aircraft carrier-based air wings will consist of a mix of F-35C, F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers electronic attack aircraft, E-2D Hawkeye battle management and control aircraft, MH-60R/S helicopters and Carrier Onboard Delivery logistics aircraft such as the Navy Osprey tiltrotor aircraft variant.As the F-35C becomes officially deemed "operational" and "ready for war," the Navy is adding weapons, sensors and software to the aircraft to expand its attack envelope --- and may even increase the F-35s ability to carry up to 6 air-to-air weapons in its internal weapons bay.Such a configuration, which would increase the stealth fighter's internal weapons load by two missiles, has been designed and implemented by F-35-maker Lockheed Martin -- as an offering for the Air Force and Navy to consider."Lockheed Martin has matured design concepts to integrate 6 air-to-air missiles within the internal weapons bays of the F-35A and F-35C variants," Lockheed Martin spokesman Michael Friedman told Warrior in a written statement.While making a point to emphasize that any decision to increase the weapons capacity of the F-35 would of course need to come from the military services themselves, Lockheed engineers say the new "internally carried" firepower would massive increase attack options -- all while preserving the stealth configuration of the aircraft.
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| Group seeks $100M for woman killed by US border agent Posted: 23 May 2019 05:05 PM PDT  HOUSTON (AP) — Advocates demanded $100 million in damages Thursday on behalf of the family of a 20-year-old Guatemalan woman who was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent last year.
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| Facebook accused of leaving 'broken children' in wake of its commercial aims, abuse inquiry hears Posted: 24 May 2019 09:26 AM PDT  Facebook has been accused of leaving 'broken children' as collateral damage in the wake of their commercial aims, the child sex abuse inquiry has heard. Barrister William Chapman, representing the victims of abuse at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), said social media companies were not preventing paedophiles reaching children as it was "contrary to their business model" and that their apps needed to be "fundamentally redesigned". Police also warned that tech firms were going ahead with plans to encrypt more features "in the certain knowledge" it would lead to more children being abused. The warnings came as the inquiry's hearing into online child abuse drew to a close yesterday. Over the last fortnight IICSA has heard evidence from Facebook, Apple, Microsoft and Google about their efforts to combat child abuse online. Giving his closing statement, Mr Chapman singled out Facebook as the "unacceptable face of social media", citing that over half of reported grooming offences in 2017 and 2018 related to the company or its Instagram and WhatsApp apps. William Chapman giving his closing address to the inquiry He said that social networks scanned for evidence of abuse after it happened and that they now needed to change their business model to stop abusers easily contacting children. Mr Chapman said: "What they will not do, because it is contrary to their business model, is to restrict the opportunities for abuse before it takes place." He added: "They leave behind broken children like so much collateral damage. "Money, they say, is no object but none you heard from has a dedicated budget to tackling this problem." Among the recommendations being made to the inquiry on behalf of victims are for tech companies pay compensation to those abused via their services and that a new criminal offence be made of posing online as a child online without a reasonable excuse. Mr Chapman also accused tech companies of not giving the inquiry a "straight answer" about the scale of abuse on their sites and selectively releasing figures without context. Earlier in the hearing Microsoft failed to provide figures for how many children had been groomed on its live chat services Xbox Live and Skype and Facebook was similarly unable to say how many registered sex offenders had been caught using its services. "It is not acceptable to hide the extent of the problem on your platform in a black box out of which you prick pinholes for others to see only hints of the full horror within," said Mr Chapman. Later in the hearing, Debra Powell QC, speaking for the National Police Chiefs Council, warned that tech giants' plans to make ever more services encrypted would lead to more children being abused. Last month Facebook announced plans to add end-to-end encryption to its 1.3 billion-user Messenger service, meaning not even it will be able to see the content of messages. Ms Powell said: "Currently many technology companies are building in and offering to their users ever greater privacy protections, including end-to-end encryption, in the certain knowledge that this will make the detection and prevention of child sexual abuse and exploitation more difficult. "The inevitable result must be that more children will be abused and exploited and that their ordeals will go on for longer before the perpetrators can be caught, if they are caught at all."
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| Serial con artist arrested after scamming woman he met on Match.com out of $85,000 Posted: 22 May 2019 11:20 AM PDT  A serial con artist was arrested Wednesday after allegedly scamming a Georgiawoman he met on Match
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| McAleenan: We need to address issue of families crossing the border Posted: 23 May 2019 07:28 PM PDT  Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan discusses the ongoing immigration crisis at the border on 'The Ingraham Angle.'
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| Trump's private notes on impeachment and Democrat 'achomlishments' caught on camera Posted: 23 May 2019 02:52 AM PDT  Donald Trump's private notes on how to respond to the escalating threat of impeachment proceedings have been revealed in a photo taken moments before he addressed reporters outside the White House. The image, taken by Washington Post photographer Jabin Botsford, shows a list of talking points scrawled in felt tip pen on a sheet of A4 paper. The president apparently used the notes as an aid during a hastily arranged press conference in the Rose Garden on Wednesday afternoon in which he railed against the Mueller report and the possibility of impeachment. "They want to impeach me over acts that they did," the document reads, in reference to Democrats who Mr Trump has repeatedly and falsely claimed colluded with Russia. It continues: "Dems have no achomlishments (sic) I'm going to keep working for the American people." Elsewhere Mr Trump quotes House speaker Nancy Pelosi's claim earlier in the day during a discussion with colleagues that the president had "engaged in a cover-up". The press conference, which amounted to 10-minute diatribe by Mr Trump, came moments after the president stormed out of a bipartisan White House infrastructure meeting with Ms Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.. Mr Trump said he told the Democratic leadership he would no longer work with the party until all investigations against him had been closed. > Trump notes captured by @jabinbotsford: > "They want to impeach me over acts that they did" > "Dems have no achomlishments [sic]"https://t.co/WUGczy4y2c pic.twitter.com/ealXzJEFJM> > — Dan Eggen (@DanEggenWPost) > > May 22, 2019Mr Trump reportedly said in the five-minute meeting he would like to work on infrastructure but would not negotiate with them until the probes had reached their conclusions — before walking out of the room.Ms Pelosi and Mr Schumer held a competing press conference of their own on Wednesday, with the latter telling reporters, "What happened in the White House would make your jaw drop". The Washington Post reported that ahead of the infrastructure meeting Mr Trump and his aides hatched a plan to deliberately sabotage it. White House sources told the newspaper press secretary Sarah Sanders alerted staff minutes before the 11am start time to prepare the Rose Garden for a news conference at 11.20am. Mr Trump then left the Democrats waiting at a conference table for around 15 minutes before "he walks in, goes to the head of the table, not even his assigned seat, doesn't sit, doesn't shake anyone's hand. Stands there and begins a lecture," an aide said. Moments later he was outside delivering his message to the assembled media.
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| Modi vows 'inclusive' India after landslide election win Posted: 23 May 2019 07:11 AM PDT  Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed an "inclusive" future for all Indians on Thursday after a landslide election victory that crushed the Gandhi dynasty's comeback hopes once again. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again!," Modi tweeted as delirious supporters of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) celebrated nationwide.
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| Two Words That Even an F-22 Doesn't Have the Power to Defeat Posted: 22 May 2019 12:48 PM PDT  The small Raptor force is expensive to operate ($58,000 per flight hour, three times the cost of an F-16), but the fifth-generation stealth aircraft remain the U.S. military's preferred weapon for countering the latest 4.5-generation jets like the Russian Su-35 or China's J-20 stealth fighter and J-11D.The F-22 Raptor may be the most elusive fighter ever built. It has a radar-cross section the size of a marble, and if it gets into trouble, it can rocket away traveling up to two-and-a-half times the speed of sound—so fast that the friction from the air would melt its radar-absorbent coatings right off its airframe. But this October, the Air Force discovered that a Raptor with its wings clipped can't evade the force of nature.(This first appeared late last year.)Tyndall Air Force Base, located on a coastal peninsula across from Panama City, Florida, is a sprawling twenty-nine thousand-acre complex which at the beginning of October housed fifty-five F-22 Raptors of the 325th Fighter Wing—nearly a third of all F-22s built, making it the primary center for Raptor pilot training. It also houses QF-16 jet fighter drones used for Full-Scale Aerial Target tests, T-38 supersonic jet trainers and Mitsubishi Mu-2 twin-engine utility planes used to train AWACS crews in airborne-early warning skills.
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| Missouri: destructive tornado leaves three people dead and severe damage Posted: 23 May 2019 05:07 AM PDT  Series of devastating storms led to multiple tornadoes, leaving people injured and trapped in homes as torrid weather pummels parts of midwest A large and violent tornado has left at least three people dead in Missouri as torrid weather continues to pummel parts of America's midwest. A series of devastating storms hit the area on Wednesday night leading to multiple tornadoes. The region has already endured days of torrential rain and flooding. The National Weather Service confirmed that the deadly tornado moved over Missouri's capital, Jefferson City, shortly before midnight. "Across the state, Missouri's first responders once again responded quickly and with strong coordination as much of the state dealt with extremely dangerous conditions that left people injured, trapped in homes, and tragically led to the death of three people," Governor Mike Parson said. Authorities said the three were killed in the Golden City area of Barton county, near Missouri's south-west corner, as the severe weather moved in from Oklahoma, where rescuers struggled to pull people from high water. Kenneth Harris, 86, and his 83-year-old wife, Opal, were found dead about 200 yards from their home, and Betty Berg, 56, was killed and her husband, Mark, seriously injured when their mobile home was destroyed, authorities said. The tornado hit during a week that has seen several days of tornadoes and torrential rains in parts of the southern plains and midwest. No deaths were reported in the capital, but city police officials said about 20 people were rescued by emergency personnel as the tornado caused damage to multiple buildings. Emergency workers reported about two dozen injuries, Williams said, and around 100 people went to shelters. Hospitals reported treating injuries such as cuts and bruises. The weather service reported that a "confirmed, large and destructive tornado" was observed over Jefferson City at 11.43pm local time on Wednesday, moving north-east at 40mph . The capital city has a population of about 40,000 and is located about 130 miles west of St Louis. "It's a chaotic situation right now," said Lt David Williams of Jefferson City police. A car is trapped under the fallen metal roof of the Break Time gas station and convenience store in Jefferson City, Missouri. Photograph: David A Lieb/AP The tornado was described as a "wedge", meaning it was wider than it was tall. According to reports it moved at 40mph at some points, and dispersed debris 13,000ft into the air, including overturning vehicles. The weather service said it had received 22 reports of tornadoes by late Wednesday; some could be duplicate reporting of the same twister. One tornado skirted just a few miles north of Joplin, Missouri, on the eighth anniversary of a catastrophic tornado that killed 161 people in the city. The tornado caused some damage in the town of Carl Junction, about four miles north of the Joplin airport, where several injuries were reported. Storms and torrential rains have ravaged the midwest, from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. Authorities urged residents of several small towns in Oklahoma and Kansas to leave their homes as rivers and streams rose. Deaths from this week's storms include a 74-year-old woman found early on Wednesday morning in Iowa. Officials there say she was killed by a possible tornado that damaged a farmstead in Adair county. Missouri authorities said heavy rain was a contributing factor in the deaths of two people in a traffic accident on Tuesday near Springfield. A fourth weather-related death may have occurred in Oklahoma, where the highway patrol said a woman apparently drowned after driving around a barricade on Tuesday near Perkins, about 45 miles north-east of Oklahoma City. The unidentified woman's body was sent to the state medical examiner's office to confirm the cause of death. Keli Cain, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma department of emergency management, said she was not yet listed as what would be the state's first storm-related death. Catastrophic flooding in the area even swept some homes into a river. The Associated Press contributed reporting
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| May to Announce Departure Date Friday, FT Says: Brexit Update Posted: 23 May 2019 12:48 PM PDT  Key Developments:May will inform her advisers Friday morning of the day she plans to stand down, the FT reportedMay's Brexit legislation isn't listed for debate in the first week of June as promised, but the government says it still hopes to put it to Parliament that weekEU elections are under way. The prime minister will meet with her advisers at 10 a.m. to reveal her decision and will also meet Graham Brady, chairman of the rank and file 1922 Committee, it said. May appeared determined to re-write her Withdrawal Agreement Bill to make it palatable to her party when she met with Home Secretary Sajid Javid, according to a person familiar with the discussion.
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| 14 Garage Organization Ideas That'll Give You Back Your Parking Spot Posted: 23 May 2019 07:00 AM PDT |
| Simulator training remains 'possible option' for Boeing 737 MAX pilots in Canada Posted: 23 May 2019 08:15 PM PDT  Simulator training remains a "possible option" for Canadian Boeing 737 MAX pilots, but it's too early to say whether it would be mandatory, a Transport Canada official said on Thursday night, further distancing the regulator from previous remarks by the country's transport minister. "It would be premature not seeing what Boeing has fully proposed yet to determine if simulator training will in fact be included," said Nicholas Robinson, the regulator's director general, civil aviation, told reporters on a conference call following a meeting of global regulators in Texas. Canada's Transport Minister Marc Garneau called in April for pilots to received simulator training for Boeing's software fix.
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| Poll finds wide support for Mueller and McGahn to testify in Congress Posted: 22 May 2019 02:22 PM PDT  Despite the president's claim that "you can't investigate and legislate simultaneously," most Americans want Congress to continue asking questions.
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| Narendra Modi wins landslide victory in Indian election Posted: 23 May 2019 06:19 AM PDT  Narendra Modi swept back into power on Thursday as his Hindu nationalist party made unexpected gains in a landslide victory. After a mammoth six-week election in which over 600 million people voted, all the results were tallied on Thursday and within hours the TV networks predicted a win for Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Official data from the Election Commission showed Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party ahead in 300 of the 542 seats up for grabs, up from the 282 it won in 2014 and more than the 272 seats needed for a majority in the lower house of parliament. That would give his party the first back-to-back majority for a single party since 1984. "Together we grow," Mr Modi said on Twitter. "Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again!" Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at BJP headquarters to attend a ceremony to thank the Union Council of Ministers for their contribution in India's general election, in New Delhi Credit: AFP The win by Modi and the BJP has surprised even the most hardened political analysts, with the consensus being that they would be returned to power but with a reduced majority. His re-election reinforces a global trend of right-wing populists sweeping to victory, from the United States to Brazil and Italy, often after adopting harsh positions on protectionism, immigration and defence. The result reinforces Mr Modi's immense popularity and vindicated what at times was a belligerent campaign by several parties, with the focus heavily on the economy, national security, and from the BJP's perspective, an affirmation of its underlying ideology of Hindu nationalism. Nalin Kohli, a senior BJP official, claimed his party had picked up votes from Muslims, especially Muslim women. "We are the party of power, we are the flavour of the season. It is the aspirations of 1 billion-plus people that have elected us." The main opposition Congress party was heading for a better performance than its nadir in 2014, but early results suggested it would get at least 52 seats. With its partners it makes up the United Progressive Alliance, which was predicted to hit the 110 mark. With some of the BJP's critics accusing it of making India a more divisive country, particularly for Muslims and other minorities, many are asking what happens next for India. सबका साथ + सबका विकास + सबका विश्वास = विजयी भारत Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! VijayiBharat— Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 Professor Santosh Kumar Rai, of Delhi University, said: "Certainly a second term means an ideological victory, even if it is more a personality cult. With a [BJP] majority, a rightist agenda with all the institutions of the state under its control, the party will be more likely to convert India into a majoritarian state. "Law, education and culture will be the major areas expecting paradigm shift. Foreign and Finance policies will continue as they are going on now." The election has been the biggest democratic exercise in history with an electorate of 900million, more than 1 million polling booths, seen phases of polling, seven national parties and dozens more regional parties vying for seats in the New Delhi parliament. Commentators have said Mr Modi put himself at the centre of a more presidential style of campaign, often making himself and his party interchangeable. At a packed victory rally at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, Mr Modi said: "This victory will be an inspiration for generations in the country. Crores [tens of millions] of Indians have blessed us, my gratitude to the people. "This is the highest voter turnout since Independence, even in adverse weather conditions. I congratulate the Election Commission for conducting smooth elections in such a big democracy. "I have been saying that no party or candidate is fighting the polls but the people of India are. If anybody has won, it is the people of India. This is the biggest event in any democracy in the world." Referring to his rivals in the Congress Party, he said: "They used a fake tag of Secularism that they thought would wash all sins; today these people have been completely unmasked. Today, India has only two castes - those who are poor and those who want to eradicate poverty. "This is not Modi's victory. This is victory of honest people's hope, this is a victory of youths who have walked on the path of 21st century with dreams."
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| Mobile chip titan Qualcomm faces setback with US antitrust ruling Posted: 22 May 2019 01:46 PM PDT  Smartphone chip giant Qualcomm suffered a fresh blow in its antitrust battle as a US federal judge ruled that it "strangled competition" for years at the expense of consumers and device makers. Qualcomm shares sank some 10.8 percent Wednesday to close at a one-month low after the ruling that the company violated antitrust law, in a case with major implications for the smartphone market. US District Judge Lucy Koh ordered Qualcomm to change its pricing and sales practices, after finding it "engaged in anticompetitive conduct" toward customers like device makers Huawei of China, South Korea's Samsung and Japan's Sony.
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| Samsung’s next foldable smartphone may avoid the pitfalls of the Galaxy Fold Posted: 23 May 2019 01:50 PM PDT  The age of the foldable smartphone stumbled right out of the gate as multiple Galaxy Fold review units suffered from serious malfunctions before the device could even make it to market. As a result, Samsung was forced to delay the launch of its first foldable smartphone (which still doesn't have a release date).With that in mind, it's worth noting the Galaxy Fold won't be Samsung's last foldable phone, and this week, Patently Mobile dug up a recent Samsung patent for a device with similar ambitions, but a completely different design. Rather than have the main screen fold in on itself and slap a tiny screen on the outer shell, the device described in the patent would feature a "fold-out" form factor, with the main display on the outside.The patent says the fold-out phone will have a flexible display spread across two cases which are joined by a hinge with a sliding mechanism. When the phone folds outward, the slide cover slides along a rail groove, which allows the phone to fold out evenly. Samsung has also including a locking unit to keep the unfolded device firm.In the first image from Patently Mobile, you can see what the device would look like fully unfolded:In the second image, you can see what the phone looks like when it is completely folded in half, as well as when it is in the process of being unfolded. This is clearly a totally different concept than the Galaxy Fold:As exciting as new form factors can be, the Galaxy Fold has shown the potential pitfalls of releasing an exciting new device before it's ready for primetime. Hopefully, Samsung has learned its lesson, so when or if this fold-out foldable smartphone ever hits the market, it will be sturdy enough to last.
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| How Abortion Became a Top Issue in the 2020 Democratic Primary Posted: 23 May 2019 12:51 PM PDT  Abortion is also shaping up to be a clear campaign issue in the Democratic primary, even though the candidates largely agree.
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| Toyota Yaris Recalled Because Airbags Might Not Deploy in a Crash Posted: 22 May 2019 12:43 PM PDT  Toyota is recalling 43,221 of its 2015 to 2017 Yaris hatchbacks because faulty wiring might prevent side and curtain airbags from deploying in a crash, according to the National Highway Traffic S...
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| Chip designer ARM halts work with Huawei after U.S. ban Posted: 22 May 2019 01:38 PM PDT  Huawei, in common with Apple Inc and chipmakers such as Qualcomm, uses ARM blueprints to design the processors that power its smartphones. "ARM is complying with the latest restrictions set forth by the U.S. government and is having ongoing conversations with the appropriate U.S. government agencies to ensure we remain compliant," an ARM spokesman said in a statement. "ARM values its relationship with our longtime partner HiSilicon (Huawei's chip arm) and we are hopeful for a swift resolution on this matter." Huawei said it valued its close relationships with its partners, but it recognized the pressure some of them are under "as a result of politically motivated decisions".
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| The Latest: Runaway barges cause 'minimal' damage to dam Posted: 23 May 2019 06:03 PM PDT  JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on severe weather moving across the central United States (all times local):
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| Trump Justice Department Crosses New Line, Charges Assange With Publishing U.S. Secrets Posted: 23 May 2019 03:34 PM PDT  Daniel Leal-Olivas/GettyIn a stunning escalation of the Trump administration's war on the press, the Justice Department has indicted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for revealing government secrets under the Espionage Act. It's the first time a publisher has been charged under the World War I-era law.The indictment charges Assange with 16 counts of receiving or disclosing material leaked by then-Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2009 and 2010. The charges invoke broad provisions of the Espionage Act that make it a crime to disclose or retain any defense information knowing it "could be used to injure" the U.S. The act has no exception for reporters or publishers, but prior administrations have balked at invoking the law against journalists for fear of colliding with the First Amendment. The Justice Department immediately sought to draw a distinction between Assange and the press in a briefing for reporters announcing the new indictment."The department takes seriously the role of journalists in our democracy and we thank you for it," said John Demers, head of the department's National Security Division. "It has not and never has been the department's policy to target them for reporting. But Julian Assange is no journalist." Demers cited WikiLeaks' publication of the names of U.S. government sources, saying it endangered people in China, Iran, and Syria.WikiLeaks on Twitter called the prosecution "the end of national security journalism and the First Amendment."Assange is currently serving an 11-month sentence in the U.K. for jumping bail in a Swedish rape investigation, while the U.S. pushes its request to extradite him to the United States on computer hacking charges revealed in April. He was kicked out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London that month after taking refuge there from authorities for seven years. The leaked documents comprised 250,000 State Department cables, 90,000 Army field reports from Afghanistan and 400,000 from Iraq, and 800 detainee assessment briefs from Guantanamo Bay. Assange released most of that material without redaction, and the new indictment claims that the U.S. sources identified in the leaks were put in harm's way as a result. "By publishing these documents without redacting the human sources' names or other identifying information, Assange created a grave and imminent risk that the innocent people he named would suffer serious physical harm and/or arbitrary detention," the indictment alleges. He is also charged with two counts of conspiracy for allegedly working with Manning to violate the Espionage Act and the anti-hacking Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The FBI and federal prosecutors in Alexandria, Virginia, first began investigating Assange in 2010 and amassed a wealth of internal WikiLeaks chats and documents from informants and subpoenas. But the Obama administration was reluctant to indict Assange. A former senior Justice Department official told The Daily Beast last month that the Trump administration saw Assange's case as a way to pursue its war on leaks. "There was renewed interest under the new administration to revisit issues of what qualifies as the media and to look back at the Assange case," said Mary McCord, who was acting head of DOJ's National Security Division. Despite the barrage of leaks in the years following the Manning disclosures, there were signs as early as 2017 that the Justice Department was still focused on the leaks that first put WikiLeaks on the map. A witness at the grand jury proceedings that produced Thursday's indictment told The Daily Beast that prosecutors were specifically probing Assange's reluctance to redact his leaks for any reason."They showed me chat logs in which I was arguing vehemently with him about releasing documents that would leave people vulnerable and put people's lives at risk," said David House, a former WikiLeaks volunteer, in an interview last March. "That was the only thing they put in front of my face that made me think, 'This may be what they're going after him for.'"No U.S. sources are known to have come to harm as a result of the leaks, likely in part because of a massive remediation effort launched in the weeks before Assange published the material. The indictment takes pains to distinguish WikiLeaks from conventional journalism outfits in other ways as well, quoting Assange's own description of his site as an "intelligence agency of the people" and lingering on Assange's chats with Manning in which he encouraged and guided the soldier in the leaking. It also claims Manning deliberately sought out military secrets that were listed on a "most wanted leaks" section on WikiLeaks' website.None of this is strictly relevant to the Espionage Act. If the Justice Department included these details to make the Assange prosecution more palatable to journalists and free speech advocates, it's not working. "Any government use of the Espionage Act to criminalize the receipt and publication of classified information poses a dire threat to journalists," said Bruce Brown, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in a statement. "This is an extraordinary escalation of the Trump administration's attacks on journalism, and a direct assault on the First Amendment," said the ACLU's Ben Wizner. "It establishes a dangerous precedent that can be used to target all news organizations that hold the government accountable by publishing its secrets."How Assange Could Beat the U.S. and Stay Out of JailRead more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet 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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| Congress leader Rahul Gandhi loses his home seat in humiliating election defeat Posted: 23 May 2019 09:46 AM PDT  The Indian National Congress Party went from understated optimism to shellshocked defeat within the space of a few hours on Thursday as Narendra Modi and his party celebrated another landslide victory. For the Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, the performance by his party was nothing short of a humiliation, with several members of his own party demanding he step down and lay the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to rest for good. Mr Gandhi suffered the sting of losing the iconic seat of his family homestead in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, which he had held since 2004 and was controlled by his father before him. He won in his second constituency – candidates can run from two in India – but the symbolism of the defeat was one from which he may never recover. Modi vowed to build an 'inclusive' India after a first term marred by accusations of fomenting religious hatred Credit: AFP At a brief press conference as the results were still coming in, Mr Gandhi congratulated Mr Modi and said "the people are king and they have directed that the BJP and Modi have won this election". He added: "I don't want to get into what went wrong today, this is not the time for that. I fully respect the Indian people's decision." During the briefing he also conceded defeat in the Amethi election and congratulated his opponent Smriti Irani, of the BJP, who was more than 28,000 votes ahead at the time. Congress party officials did not return calls by The Telegraph but there were widespread reports in Indian media that the party had wildly miscalculated the margin of any potential loss with its internal polling, and now all that was left was to call for its talisman's head. "If they want to change anything, change the leadership," a Congress official in Rajasthan told Reuters, referring to Mr Gandhi and the party's high command. "You need to give young people a chance." However Mr Gandhi, 48, will probably not face an immediate leadership challenge as India's establishment party does some soul searching after an inglorious defeat. Some reports claimed Mr Gandhi had offered to resign. "According to sources, Sonia Gandhi and senior Congress leaders advised him to bring up the matter before the party forum," reported India Today TV. "The CWC (Congress Working Committee) will meet in a week in which the proposal will be discussed," it added. Ironically the youthful pretender had grown into his role as leader in the past 18 months after previously being seen as a reluctant heir to his political lineage which stretched back to India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. He campaigned vigorously and was not shy on calling out Mr Modi on the economy, national security, Hindu nationalism and women's rights. After a while the media started to take notice. However behind the scenes his inability to foster good relations with a host of regional party leaders that could have generated a tenable anti-Modi alliance may have damaged his chances. "The BJP fought these elections on the basis of social and religious divisive policies and the agenda was set by them on this basis," said Atul Kumar Anjaan, national secretary of the Communist Party of India, a potential ally. "But more significant is the fact that the unity of the opposition has been damaged by the Congress. The policies and decisions of Rahul Gandhi has weakened opposition unity, led to divisions and opened the doors for Modi's victory." Congress has ruled India for most of its history since independence from Britain in 1947, and boasts three prime ministers from the Nehru-Gandhi clan. But its weak performance in the last two elections seems to suggest it needs a drastic change of direction to take on someone with Mr Modi's political savvy.
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| China bemoans US 'bullying' of Huawei Posted: 22 May 2019 08:54 PM PDT  China's foreign minister has slammed US moves against telecom giant Huawei as "economic bullying", and warned that Beijing was ready to "fight to the very end" in its trade war with Washington. The trade spat between the world's top two economies escalated after President Donald Trump issued orders on grounds of national security last week that have prompted several foreign firms to distance themselves from Huawei.
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| View Photos of the 2019 Opel Corsa-e Posted: 23 May 2019 12:59 PM PDT |
| Teen arrested in attack on off-duty firefighter defending elderly couple on Upper East Side Posted: 23 May 2019 10:57 AM PDT  The 17-year-old suspect told reporters that he was "defending his friend." He's charged with second-degree assault.
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| Ford presents home-delivery robot Posted: 23 May 2019 08:08 AM PDT  The American automaker Ford has unveiled "Digit," a two-legged, almost human-like robot capable of making home deliveries. Designed in collaboration with Agility Robotics, Digit can walk, go up and down stairs, and carry packages of up to 40 pounds (just over 18kg), like a human. Ford's technology, research and development department is full of surprises.
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| Turns Out This Game of Thrones Character Was Originally Supposed to Survive Season 8 Posted: 23 May 2019 11:47 AM PDT  His watch could have continued
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| New York state regulator investigating pension transfer deals -sources Posted: 23 May 2019 03:16 PM PDT ![New York state regulator investigating pension transfer deals -sources]( "New York state regulator investigating pension transfer deals -sources") At issue is whether brokers, who help put such deals together, solicited insurers who are not licensed in New York to take on the pension transfers, the people familiar with the matter said. The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), on Wednesday, issued subpoenas to units of Morgan Stanley , Aon PLC , Willis Towers Watson PLC and Mercer, a unit of Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc , seeking documents about their communications with insurer Athene Holding Inc about "pension risk transfer" transactions, the people said. New York's financial regulator has authority to fine entities that it regulates and revoke their licenses to do business in New York.
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| Man seen knocking down 88-year-old woman outside of Texas grocery store Posted: 24 May 2019 06:38 AM PDT  Surveillance video shows a man near a flower cart punching the 88-year-old woman, knocking her to the ground outside the store.
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| Photos of the 2020 Porsche Cayenne Coupe Posted: 23 May 2019 05:00 AM PDT |
| The 'AOC primary': Can Warren steal the prized endorsement away from Bernie? Posted: 23 May 2019 12:53 PM PDT  While the Democratic star says she'll support whoever wins her party's nomination, she's leaning toward two candidates.
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| North Korea calls Biden 'fool of low IQ' over Kim criticism Posted: 22 May 2019 06:12 PM PDT  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has labeled Joe Biden a "fool of low IQ" and an "imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being" after the U.S. presidential hopeful called North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a tyrant during a recent speech.
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| Modi plots course after landslide Indian election win Posted: 24 May 2019 06:36 AM PDT  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met allies and former mentors Friday to plot a course for his second term after a landslide victory left the once-mighty Gandhi dynasty reeling. A considerable to-do list includes addressing India's lacklustre economic growth and reducing unemployment, as well as fixing a stricken agriculture sector on which 70 percent of households depend. Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 303 seats, its best ever score, giving it an even bigger majority than five years ago and defying predictions of a dip, final results confirmed Friday.
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| CNN’s Alisyn Camerota Confronts Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Trump’s Tantrum Posted: 23 May 2019 08:54 AM PDT  It's been 73 days since Sarah Huckabee Sanders last held a "daily" White House press briefing. For the most part, she has chosen to bring the Trump administration's message to Fox News and Fox News only. But on Thursday morning she stepped out of her comfort zone and was quickly reminded what it feels like to be questioned by a real reporter. Sanders' interview with CNN's Alisyn Camerota on New Day started out all smiles as the two women exchanged pleasantries. But as soon as the host began to dig in on President Trump's ultimatum to Democrats in Congress that he will not work with them on infrastructure until they stop investigating him, things went south.Alisyn Camerota Loves Doing Journalism at CNN, After Doing the Opposite at Fox News"Congress say they can do two things at once, the Democrats is Congress say this isn't a problem," Camerota said. "So is the president saying that he cannot do infrastructure while he's being investigated?" "I think it's a complete lie that Democrats in Congress think they can do two things at once," Sanders replied. "So far we haven't seen them do anything. Nancy Pelosi has had the majority in the House for months and is yet to accomplish a single thing. They literally haven't gotten anything done since she took over." When Camerota pointed out that since January, the House has passed 248 bills and the Senate has passed 161, Sanders laughed it off as insignificant. "I just want to say, it's the president who is saying that he can't do infrastructure while he's being investigated," Camerota reiterated. "He is the one who walked out of the meeting. So just so that we're clear, he's saying that bridges are not going to be fixed until he's no longer investigated, is that what we hear from the White House?" Instead of answering that question, Sanders stammered a bit as she once again accused Democrats of being "incapable of doing anything other than investigating this president.""They spend all of their time attacking him and the fact that they would have a meeting an hour before they are set to arrive at the White House where Nancy Pelosi literally accuses the president of a crime and then wants to walk into his office and sit down as if nothing happened, that's just—that's lunacy," she continued. "That's not even in the realm of possibility. The president absolutely wants to get infrastructure done, he wants to secure our border, he wants to do things that help our veterans, he wants to improve our education system, he wants to do all of those things but Democrats have been unwilling to work with him."Fox News' Chris Wallace Shuts Down Sarah Huckabee Sanders' Claim About Terrorists Crossing BorderLater, after confirming that Trump's "merit-based" immigration plan will not prioritize DREAMers, Sanders returned to her attacks on Pelosi for suggesting the president may have committed a crime. "That would be like John telling you that he thought you were stealing from the network and then sitting down in the chair next to you and saying, but no big deal, let's just move forward," she said, referring to Camerota's co-host John Berman. "John would never accuse me of something like that," Camerota said with a smile. "I would hope not," Sanders added. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet 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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| This is what the Galaxy Note 10 might look like Posted: 23 May 2019 12:41 PM PDT  With May almost over, we're some two months away from the next major Android phone launch. The Galaxy Note 10 will likely drop in early August, and it'll come in as many as four versions, according to recent reports, including two differently sized 4G phones, and their respective 5G counterparts.The Galaxy Note 10 will not share the Galaxy S10's design, reports keep telling us, but it won't feature a perfect all-screen design either. We're still looking at an Infinity-O hole-punch screen design and a multi-lens camera on the back of the Note 10, but both the rear and selfie cameras will have different placements.One leak suggested that the Galaxy Note 10's selfie camera will be placed in the center at the top of the phone, while the camera module on the back will have a vertical orientation instead of horizontal, as is the case on the Galaxy S10 phones. As a result, PhoneArena created the following renders of a potential Galaxy Note 10:On the front, we have a curved Infinity-O display with a smaller camera hole at the top.On the back, meanwhile, the camera module has four distinct lenses, and it's positioned in the top-left corner. If Samsung is ditching the horizontal camera layout, then the cameras will have to go in one of the two corners. Most phone makers tend to place their cameras near the left corner, so the renders make sense, assuming these leaks are accurate.What's interesting to point out is that the Galaxy Note 10 will also feature a built-in stylus, whose housing is also on the left side, when looking at the phone's rear. In other words, Samsung has to factor in all these details when designing the new Note. The extra cameras and stylus take up a lot of space inside the phone and could affect battery size.There's also one other practical reason for slightly tweaking the phone's design, making it stand out from the crowd of Galaxy S, A, and Note models. Recycling the Galaxy S10 design for the Note 10 could hurt sales of the latter. The rumored tweaks above, meanwhile, would give the Note 10 its own personality.
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| Panasonic says has not stopped supplies to Huawei, still investigating Posted: 24 May 2019 02:37 AM PDT  Japan's Panasonic Corp said on Friday it has not stopped any shipments of components to Huawei Technologies, a day after it originally called for a halt of transactions in line with a U.S. export controls against the Chinese firm. "No transactions with Huawei have been suspended at the moment," a Panasonic representative told Reuters. "We are still making checks whether the ban applies to our products." The Osaka-based company said on Thursday it had "instructed employees to halt transactions with Huawei and its 68 affiliates subject to the U.S. ban." Its Chinese unit later released a separate statement that it continues to supply to Huawei, stressing that transactions not covered by the ban have been not affected.
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| Trip bundling is growing: Here are 6 places you can plan a trip from start to finish Posted: 23 May 2019 06:07 AM PDT  Trip bundling is becoming more popular as it saves time and often money.
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| The top 10 Memorial Day sales we are shopping this weekend Posted: 23 May 2019 08:31 AM PDT  This year, there is certainly no shortage of awesome Memorial Day sales
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| The 2020 Cadillac CT5-V Officially Debuts May 30 Posted: 23 May 2019 07:04 AM PDT  Could the 500-plus-hp Blackwing V-8 make its way under the hood of Cadillac's newest sports sedan?
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| GSK's shingles vaccine approved for use in China in adults aged 50 and above Posted: 23 May 2019 09:59 AM PDT  GlaxoSmithKline Plc said on Thursday its shingles vaccine had been approved for use in China in adults aged 50 and above. The company said the vaccine will be introduced in phases in China, starting in 2020, to ensure reliable supply to all countries, where it has been launched. Shingrix, which has already been approved for use in the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan and Australia, brought in 357 million pounds ($452.03 million) in the latest quarter.
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| "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh is released from prison Posted: 23 May 2019 06:57 PM PDT  John Walker Lindh, the Californian who took up arms for the Taliban and was captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2001, got out of prison Thursday after more than 17 years, released under tight restrictions that reflected government fears he still harbors radical views.
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| ‘India Wins,’ Modi Says as He Surges to Decisive Victory Posted: 23 May 2019 02:19 AM PDT  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has surged to a majority on his own in India's general election, with his Bharatiya Janata Party establishing a commanding lead in vote counting. "India wins yet again," Modi said in a tweet. BJP supporters have begun celebrating in the streets as the party extended its lead in more than 299 seats -- easily ahead of the 272 seats needed to form government and more than the 282 the party won in 2014.
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