| Iran not seeking war with US, sending warning: analysts Posted: 14 Jun 2019 07:28 AM PDT  Amid an intensifying war of words following dual tanker attacks in the Gulf, Iran is not seeking open conflict with the United States but is sending a warning to Washington, analysts say. Tensions around the Gulf shipping channel, vital to the transportation of crude, soared after two tankers came under attack early Thursday, with the US quickly blaming Iran for the incidents. "(Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps are rational actors -- despite how some portray them -- and they will not want, unduly, to invite Iran's annihilation," said Middle East analyst and author Neil Partrick.
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| The Latest: Dozens gather peacefully after Memphis shooting Posted: 13 Jun 2019 06:44 PM PDT  Friends and relatives of a black man who was killed by a federal fugitive task force in Tennessee have peacefully gathered near the site of the shooting. A few dozen people gathered Thursday evening near the Memphis house where 20-year-old Brandon Webber was killed Wednesday. Protesters on Wednesday night had reacted to the shooting by throwing rocks and bricks, injuring 36 law enforcement officers.
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| 'Of Course I Could.' Anita Hill Says She Could Potentially Vote for Joe Biden Posted: 13 Jun 2019 03:57 PM PDT  Hill also said she does not equate Biden's actions to those of President Trump
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| Israel strikes Hamas in Gaza, calling attack response to rocket fire Posted: 12 Jun 2019 11:53 PM PDT ![Israel strikes Hamas in Gaza, calling attack response to rocket fire]( "Israel strikes Hamas in Gaza, calling attack response to rocket fire") Israeli aircraft attacked a Hamas target in Gaza on Thursday after a Palestinian rocket strike, the Israeli military said, in the first serious cross-border flare-up since a surge in fighting last month. The latest hostilities followed Israel's closure of offshore waters to Gaza fisherman on Wednesday in what it said was a response to incendiary balloons launched across the frontier that caused fires in fields in southern Israel this week.
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| I'm Not Sure We Need a Ford Ranger Raptor Posted: 13 Jun 2019 09:00 AM PDT  The standard Ranger is probably more than you ever need off-road.
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| Maine legalizes medically assisted suicide Posted: 12 Jun 2019 03:35 PM PDT  Maine becomes the 8th state to legalize assisted suicide.
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| Jamie Dimon Draws a Bernie Sanders Taunt by Knocking Socialism Posted: 12 Jun 2019 11:30 AM PDT  Dimon, speaking at a Business Roundtable event on Wednesday, said giving the government control of companies allows them to be used for political purposes, leading to deterioration. "I didn't hear Jamie Dimon criticizing socialism when Wall Street begged for the largest federal bailout in American history—some $700 billion from the Treasury and even more from the Fed," he wrote on Twitter.
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| Muslim activist: ‘I am so fired up’ when Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are attacked Posted: 14 Jun 2019 03:30 AM PDT  "It's been exhausting," Sarsour said. "I've had physical issues, health issues. I've had to take breaks at moments. And it's very scary." And I'm not the one that's gonna solve the injustice."
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| Uganda-DRC border point on high alert over Ebola outbreak Posted: 13 Jun 2019 08:36 AM PDT  At the bustling Mpondwe border post, a woman crossing from the Democratic Republic of Congo into Uganda is whisked away to an isolation unit after a thermal scanner picks up her high temperature. Health workers keep Mulefu Kyakimwa, a 32-year-old vegetable oil trader, under observation but later discharge her, once Ebola has been ruled out as the cause of her fever. The border post is on high alert after a family with suspected Ebola escaped isolation on the Congolese side and entered Uganda, where two of them died this week.
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| Former Stanford sailing coach avoids prison in first sentence of college admissions scandal Posted: 13 Jun 2019 06:22 AM PDT  John Vandemoer is the first of the 22 defendants who pleaded guilty in the nation's sweeping college admissions scandal to be sentenced.
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| Trump Jr. glad Senate testimony 'is finally over' Posted: 12 Jun 2019 01:54 PM PDT  Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, spoke to the Senate intelligence committee for around three hours Wednesday, following up on a 2017 interview with the same panel as part of its two-year-long Russia investigation. Senators wanted to discuss the answers Trump Jr. gave in that 2017 interview, as well as the answers he gave to the Senate Judiciary Committee in a separate interview behind closed doors that year. The president's former lawyer Michael Cohen told a House committee in February that before the presidential election he had briefed Trump Jr. approximately 10 times about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.
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| UPDATE 1-China launches inquiry into FedEx parcel delivery errors - Xinhua Posted: 14 Jun 2019 03:55 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-China launches inquiry into FedEx parcel delivery errors - Xinhua]( "UPDATE 1-China launches inquiry into FedEx parcel delivery errors - Xinhua") Chinese authorities have launched an investigation into FedEx Corp over parcels delivered to the wrong addresses, China's official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. FedEx did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Xinhua previously reported that China would investigate whether FedEx damaged the legal rights and interests of its clients after Huawei Technologies Co Ltd said this month the U.S. company diverted parcels destined for the Chinese firm's addresses in Asia to the United States.
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| US releases footage 'showing Iran removing unexploded mine' from stricken oil tanker Posted: 13 Jun 2019 10:52 PM PDT  The US military released a video on Friday that it says shows Iran's Revolutionary Guard removing an unexploded mine from one of the oil tankers targeted near the Strait of Hormuz. It suggested the Iran had sought to remove evidence of its involvement from the scene. US Central Command also released photographs showing the apparent mine, which attaches to the side of a ship magnetically. Release of the classified black-and-white images showed US determination to convince the international community that Iran was responsible for Thursday's attacks on the Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous, and the Norwegian-owned Front Altair. However, the Japanese operator of Kokuka Courageous said the crew saw "flying objects" just before the attack, suggesting the tanker was damaged by something other than mines. Yutaka Katada, the company president, said reports of a mine attack were "false". Both vessels suffered explosions, forcing crews to abandon ship and leave them adrift in waters between Gulf Arab states and Iran. All crew members were safely evacuated. Navy Captain Bill Urban, a Central Command spokesman, said the Revolutionary Guard vessel was observed at 4.10pm local time approaching the Kokuka Courageous. He said: "It was observed and recorded removing the unexploded limpet mine from the Kokuka Courageous." He added: "The United States has no interest in engaging in a new conflict in the Middle East. However, we will defend our interests." Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, said: "Taken as a whole these unprovoked attacks present a clear threat to international peace and security, a blatant assault on the freedom of navigation and an unacceptable campaign of escalating tension by Iran". Mr Pompeo said American assessment of Iran's responsibility was based on intelligence sources, the weapons used and the level of expertise, saying "no proxy group operating in the area has the resources and proficiency to act with such a high degree of sophistication". In a statement the Iranian mission to the United Nations said Tehran "categorically rejects the US unfounded claim with regard to 13 June oil tanker incidents and condemns it in the strongest possible terms." It accused the United States and its allies, including Saudi Arabia, of "warmongering." Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, said the UK believed the US assessment that Iran was responsible but repeated his warning there was a serious danger of the US and Iran stumbling into an unwanted war. "We have no reason not to believe the American assessment and our instinct is to believe it because they are our closest ally," Mr Hunt told the Today programme. "We are very worried about the situation in Iran because at the moment both sides in this dispute think the other side doesn't want war and the risk you have is that then they doing something provocative that leads to catastrophic consequences that weren't intended." The explosions, which left one of the oil tankers burning outside the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway, marked the most serious incident since the White House warned in early May that Iran was plotting attacks in the region. The incident came one month after Iranian forces allegedly used naval mines to blow holes in two oil tankers and two smaller ships off the Emirati port of Fujairah. The US publicly said Iran was behind that attack, while Tehran denied responsibility. Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, said "suspicious doesn't begin to describe" the incident in Gulf of Oman. He previously suggested without evidence that Israel was staging the attacks to undermine Iran. Responding to Mr Zarif's comments, Mr Pompeo said: " Foreign Minister Zarif may think this is funny but no one else in the world does." The explosions at sea came hours before Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister, met with Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, on a diplomatic mission intended to try to ease tensions between Iran and the US. But the Japanese leader's efforts appeared to bear little fruit. Ayatollah Khamenei refused to hear any messages from Donald Trump delivered by Mr Abe, the Iranian government said. The ayatollah also said Iran was not seeking nuclear weapons but "America could not do anything" to stop Tehran if it did decide to pursue a nuclear course. Mr Trump on Thursday ruled out the possibility of making a deal with Iran, saying: "While I very much appreciate PM Abe going to Iran to meet with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, I personally feel that it is too soon to even think about making a deal. They are not ready, and neither are we!" Both tankers were carrying "Japanese-related" cargo, according to Japan's government. It was not clear if that was a coincidence or if the targeting of the ships was done deliberately to coincide with Mr Abe's visit to Tehran. While Iran's civilian government denies responsibility for any of the attacks, it is possible that the Revolutionary Guard, who answer directly to the supreme leader, are carrying out operations without the government's knowledge or consent. Iran tries to keep tensions between the two sides concealed but they spilled into the open early this year when Mr Zarif threatened to resign after he was left out of a key meeting while a senior Revolutionary Guard commander was invited. Markets Hub I Brent Spot The attacks capped six weeks of building tensions between Iran and the US during which time Mr Trump has ordered an aircraft carrier, a bomber taskforce and 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East. Both the US and Iran say they are not looking for war but Britain and other countries have warned of the danger that the two sides could stumble into an unintended conflict. Antonio Gutteres, the UN secretary general, condemned the attack and warned that the world cannot afford "a major confrontation in the Gulf region". Any fighting near the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway which transports 20 per cent of the world's oil, would likely cause serious damage to global energy supplies. Analysts said that Iran appeared to be lashing out in order to send a message in response to crippling US sanctions imposed by Mr Trump after he withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear deal. "I think Iran is showing that it has teeth," said Charles Hollis, a former British diplomat in Tehran who is now managing director of the Falanx Assynt consultancy. "It's a way of showing that if they are backed into a corner they are not without means of causing grief." Iran has warned that it will begin enriching high-grade uranium, the kind that could be used for a nuclear weapon, in July unless Europe finds a way to get around US sanctions and prop up the Iranian oil and banking sectors.
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| 15 Automakers That Can Perfectly Fill Your Two-Car Garage Posted: 13 Jun 2019 06:00 AM PDT |
| Jupiter’s Europa is seriously salty Posted: 13 Jun 2019 08:07 PM PDT  Of all the places in our solar system (besides Earth, of course), Jupiter's moon Europa might have the best chance of hosting life. Scientists studying the planet are intrigued by its massive ocean of liquid water hiding beneath a thick icy shell, and it's possible that life is lurking there, too.Now, a new research paper reveals that the colossal ocean isn't just liquid water, it's salty liquid water, making it potentially even more like Earth's oceans than we originally thought. The study was published in the journal Science Advances."The potential habitability of Europa's subsurface ocean depends on its chemical composition, which may be reflected in that of Europa's geologically young surface," the researchers write.But actually visiting Europa to see what its oceans are made of isn't really in the cards at the moment, so scientists have done the next best thing. Using the powerful spectrograph instrument on the Hubble, researchers are able to sniff out the makeup of nearby worlds, and in the case of Europa it's very, very salty.If the planets are indeed as salty as they appear, it could be a sign that the waters there are suitable for life. Whether or not any life forms have ever taken root there, however, is a far more challenging question to answer.Researchers have considered the possibility of sending some kind of robotic probe to the planet's surface. Its incredibly thick sheet of ice would need to be penetrated in order to sample the liquid water below. Such a mission would be costly, however, and while there's plenty of interest among scientist searching for life outside of Earth, NASA and other groups are largely focused on trips to the Moon and Mars in the immediate future.
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| The (Last) Vacation of a Lifetime: Why Are So Many Tourists Dying at Dominican Republic Resorts? Posted: 13 Jun 2019 02:14 AM PDT  GettyAbout 2,000 miles away from the Dominican Republic, in a little town in New Mexico, one of the world's authorities on criminal poisoning is following the mysterious deaths and illnesses of Americans on that Caribbean island—and he, like others, is alarmed.Six apparently healthy, middle-aged tourists from the United States have abruptly dropped dead in hotel rooms on their dream vacations in the D.R. since June 2018. Others have fallen seriously ill—all from what could be deadly pesticides.More people are coming forward to say their loved ones died in the D.R. under strange circumstances in the past year, including real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran, who said on Wednesday her otherwise healthy brother passed away at a resort there in April, supposedly of a heart attack. Confusing the issue are a recent series of apparently random acts of violence in the D.R. that aren't connected to the hotel room deaths.The Lost Girls, the Bones, and the Man in the Panama MorgueMexico, Jamaica and the Seychelles have made headlines in recent years after tourists said they were assaulted and/or robbed, often after being drugged with tainted alcohol. But the Dominican Republic, almost overnight, has gone them one better with chilling accounts that could be out of a Stephen King novel or an Agatha Christie mystery. "I've been watching these incidences and they're very odd," says John Trestrail, a forensic and clinical toxicologist who headed a major hospital poison center for 32 years, was an FBI consultant, and now runs the Center for the Study of Criminal Poisoning in Los Lunos, New Mexico. Among the many cases about which he has been consulted in the past: the poisoning of Kim Jong Un's half-brother at the Kuala Lumpur airport in 2017.Speaking of the Dominican Republic incidents, Trestrail told The Daily Beast, "The tough part is trying to figure it out from so far away. What's most troubling are the people who die together at the same time from the same symptoms. You first think carbon monoxide poisoning, but this doesn't fit that. I keep hearing that the victims' lungs were filled with fluids. So I think, OK, how about organophosphate pesticides?Organophosphates and phosphine from aluminum phosphide are lethal chemicals used for, among other things, hotel room fumigation. They're not always regulated in developing countries and accidental poisonings involving humans are thought to be a serious, although underreported problem, especially on the Indian subcontinent. They've been mentioned only rarely in connection with suspicious deaths of tourists and others around the world in recent years, but it is troubling that there is little transparency, awareness or accountability about their use. The U.S. has controlled pesticides more stringently than many other countries for decades. But last spring Dow Chemical, which contributed $1 million to President Donald Trump's inauguration festivities, asked the government to dismiss a study indicating that three organophosphates used in the U.S. were harmful to every endangered species studied. Obama-era regulators were poised to issue new limits on how organophosphate pesticides could be used. But that's on hold now that Trump has asked for a two-year delay to review the study and determine whether to set new limits or not.Organophosphates were first developed before World War II and later developed by the Nazis for use as possible chemical weapons. They come in a variety of insecticides, herbicides, nerve agents (like VX) and flame retardants. Weevil-Cide, which contains aluminum phosphide, was believed the cause of an apparent accidental poisoning that left four children dead in Amarillo, Texas, in 2017.Initial autopsy reports from the Dominican Republic showed some of the victims died of pulmonary edema and respiratory failure, which apparently rules out carbon monoxide poisoning or the presence of methanol in any alcohol they drank—but could indicate these pesticides.A 2014 film made in Saudi Arabia in cooperation with the country's International Medical Center called simply Phosphine, with English subtitles, has racked up more than 5 million views on YouTube. The producers wanted to make the Saudi public aware that the pesticide is often distributed illegally and in places where you would not expect it.A 2014 investigation by Canadian journalists found that there were at least a dozen suspicious deaths of tourists in Thailand hotels between 2009 and 2013 and the majority, if not all of them, were caused by aluminum phosphide, an insecticide that can kill you within a couple of hours if you're in a room that was recently fumigated or next to one. "Using organophosphates or phosphine to kill bedbugs, like some commercial exterminators do, is like using a Sherman tank to kill an ant," says Cynthia Aaron, medical director of the Michigan Regional Poison Control Center at Children's Hospital of Michigan and a former longtime colleague of Trestrail. "The hotels deny, deny, deny. Maybe they know what's really going on, maybe they don't. Remember your autopsy is only as good as what you're looking for, particularly in toxicology."Dominican police, politicians and hotel operators are taking a stance familiar to those who have fallen victim to crimes in resorts in developing countries around the world. The cops and hotels say they are investigating the deaths and have asked the FBI for additional toxicological analysis. But they're also downplaying the incidents and in some cases blaming the media for sensationalizing what they say are just an unfortunate series of coincidences.Dominican Tourism Minister Francisco Javier García said at a news conference last week that 30 million people have visited the Dominican Republic and these deaths are "regrettable" but "isolated incidents." "The hotels and everyone involved seems to be backpedaling something fierce," says Trestrail. "This is just going to backfire, on everyone. If they want to preserve their image, they need to step up immediately and get to the bottom of this. Guests have a right to know. If nothing else, guests have the right to ask if their rooms have been fumigated recently and get a truthful answer."Miranda Schaup-Warner, 41, from Pennsylvania, fell ill and died two hours after checking into the Grand Bahia Principe luxury resort on the Dominican Republic's south coast with her husband on May 25. A Maryland couple, Cynthia Ann Day, 49 and Nathaniel Edward Holmes, 63, were found dead in their hotel room in an adjacent hotel five days later. After the initial autopsies that showed fluid in the lungs and respiratory failure, Dominican police later said Schaup-Warner died of a heart attack. The cause of death for Day and Holmes, pending further toxicological investigation, remains pulmonary edema and respiratory failure.The death of Day and Holmes together is reminiscent of the widely-publicized deaths of the otherwise healthy, thirtysomething Korkki sisters, both bankers from the Midwest who were found unresponsive in their beds at the Maia Luxury Resort and Spa in the Seychelles in September 2016. The initial cause of death for both was said to be acute pulmonary edema. Seychelles officials later said they determined that the women died of acute pulmonary and cerebral edema from a drug combination of codeine, morphine, and alcohol, but controversy has always surrounded the case.Last week, after hearing about the cases in the Dominican Republic, a Colorado couple said they experienced such terrifying and debilitating symptoms—drooling, sweating, eyes watering, when they stayed at the same resort in June 2018 that they booked an immediate flight home.Kaylynn Krull said she suffered from cramping so bad that "it felt like a chainsaw going through my gut." A doctor examined her and her boyfriend, Tom Schwander, and diagnosed them with organophosphate poisoning. The couple sued the resort for $1 million when they said it refused to tell them what kind of chemicals might have been used in their room or even offer them a refund.Pesticide poisoning is the the most rational theory for some of the recent deaths and illnesses. But it doesn't account for the recent case of a Brooklyn woman who said she took a can of 7-Up from the minibar after her arrival at the Bahia Principe in October 2018 and drank something resembling bleach that made her spew blood."I was cautious when I took a gulp of it," said Montes. "I immediately felt it burn me, burn my mouth, burn my tongue. My mouth was on fire," she told CBS New York. "When I spit it out in bathroom sink it was blood. I was just irrigating my mouth."Nor do pesticides necessarily explain the death of 67-year-old Robert Wallace in April whose niece said he got sick right after drinking a bottle of scotch from the minibar at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in the D.R. and died three days later.The family of Yvette Monique Sport, 51, of Glenside, Pennsylvania, says Sport died suddenly at the Bahia Principe in June 2018 after just arriving at the hotel. She took a drink from the minibar inside her hotel room, went to sleep and never woke up, her sister Felecia Nieves told the media. Her death was listed as a heart attack. "She was 51 years of age, relatively healthy, no reason for her to go on vacation and die so suddenly," Nieves said after hearing about the recent deaths. Nieves said the family asked for a toxicology report a year ago but still has received nothing. "It makes me question at this point is this cause of death even true," Nieves said. Dawn McCoy is also questioning the death of her husband, David Harrison, in July 2018 at a Dominican resort. McCoy said her husband complained of not feeling well and woke up one morning with difficulty breathing and died shortly thereafter. Dominican officials gave his cause of death as pulmonary edema and referenced a heart attack as well."When it came up that they died from the same exact thing as my husband I thought 'No, no, there's no way two people could die of the same exact thing,'" McCoy told Fox News in Philadelphia.Starbucks Accused of Exposing Customers to Poisonous PesticideMore confusingly, there have been recent incidents of seemingly random and apparently unrelated violence on the D.R. that don't seem to have anything to do with tainted cocktails or pesticides.Former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, who now lives in Boston, was shot in the back Sunday at a bar in his native Santo Domingo. A Delaware woman said she was severely beaten by an attacker wearing a hotel uniform who dragged her down to the basement of a Punta Cana resort and left her for dead in January.A New York couple who went missing after they left in their rental car on March 27 to drive from their hotel to catch an early morning flight back to the U.S. later were said by police to have died in a very shady-sounding car crash. The car somehow wound up in the Caribbean and was just recently recovered.The body of Portia Ravenelle, 51, was found near the alleged crash scene without identification and she died in a local hospital April 4 without regaining consciousness. The body of her boyfriend, Orlando Moore, 41, washed ashore on March 31, 13 miles from the alleged crash site. No witnesses have come forth to explain how the car crashed into the sea and yet Ravenelle was found badly injured on the roadside.One thing is certain: Whatever has caused the many tourist deaths in the D.R. over the last year, whether the victims have been fumigated, liquidated, or died coincidentally of natural causes, the accumulation of mortal incidents is poisoning the Dominican Republic's reputation.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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| Back surgery sidelines Howard Schultz’s exploratory campaign Posted: 12 Jun 2019 01:44 PM PDT  Schultz said he underwent three surgeries after experiencing acute pain in Arizona.
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| Snowy photo of fishing village in Greenland wins National Geographic travel photo contest Posted: 13 Jun 2019 05:31 AM PDT  A photo capturing a snow-covered, fishing village in Greenland at dusk and a small family spotlighted by overhead streetlights has been named the grand prize winner of National Geographic's 2019 Travel Photo Contest. "It felt so harmonious.
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| Delicious Spring Soups That Make Meal Prep a Breeze Posted: 13 Jun 2019 01:47 PM PDT |
| Relatives ask jury to spare life of father who killed 5 kids Posted: 12 Jun 2019 11:04 AM PDT  One more group of family members asked a jury Wednesday to spare the life of a South Carolina father convicted of murdering his five children, saying they have been through enough pain already. The same jury that convicted Timothy Jones Jr. of killing his five children in their Lexington home in August 2014 is set to begin deliberating his fate Thursday morning.
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| Sarah Sanders leaving as White House press secretary, Trump hints she may run for Arkansas governor Posted: 13 Jun 2019 03:20 PM PDT  Sanders, the woman who defended Trump through some of the most contentious chapters of his presidency, is leaving her post as the White House press secretary.
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| U.S. Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill Supporting Democracy in Hong Kong in the Wake of Violent Unrest Posted: 13 Jun 2019 08:19 PM PDT  The legislation would require an annual assessment of the city's autonomy
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| India Is Going to the Moon in July Posted: 13 Jun 2019 10:59 AM PDT  The country has ambitious plans for the next decade in space. They all start with Chandrayaan-2.
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| Mexico: Amlo says sale of presidential plane will fund migrant crackdown Posted: 12 Jun 2019 11:32 AM PDT  Funds from sale of Andrés Manuel López Obrador's jet will be put toward the deployment of the newly formed national guard The presidential plane, pictured in Colombia in June 2017. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Andrés Manuel López Obrador has promised to fund a crackdown on migrants to Mexico from Central America with proceeds from the sale of his office's aircraft, a 787 Dreamliner which has been on offer since shortly after the Mexican president took office in December. Funds from the sale would be put toward the deployment of the newly formed national guard which has the power to detain migrants without correct papers, López Obrador said on Wednesday. Under the deal struck on Friday, Mexico agreed to enforce the new measures to stop migrants crossing its territory in order to head off Donald Trump's threat of imposing import tariffs of 5% on Mexican goods. Mexico promised to send 6,000 members of the militarized national guard to seal its porous southern border with Guatemala – a major route for migrants fleeing violence, poverty and climate change. López Obrador, also known as Amlo, insisted that the agreement had averted an economic and financial crisis and was "a good deal for our country". "About how much this plan is going to cost, let me say, we have the budget," Amlo said at a daily news conference. "It would come out of what we're going to receive from the sale of the luxurious presidential plane." Amlo said the starting price for the plane would be $150m. He expected the sale to close this week. On Tuesday, the foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, said the immigration deal would be revisited in 45 days and a regional deal with countries in Central and South America would be sought if the migrant flows failed to slow. But critics pointed out that the new national guard was initially presented as a force to fight organized crime and rein in Mexico's soaring murder rate. "Now they're using this national guard not only to pacify the country, but for the detention of migrants," said Alberto Xicoténcatl, director of the migrant shelter in the city of Saltillo. "It strikes us as a hypocritical discourse." Making good on his promise to rule with frugality and restraint, López Obrador regularly travels on commercial flights rather than the presidential plane, for which he said Mexico had paid up to 8bn pesos ($392m). On Tuesday, El Universal newspaper reported that during the first three years of the preceding administration, 746 bottles of alcohol were consumed on the aircraft – including 35 bottles of booze which were opened on a short flight from Mexico City to Acapulco. In contrast to his predecessor Enrique Peña Nieto, López Obrador has shown little interest in foreign travel, arguing there are too many problems at home. He has not left the country since taking office and has said he will skip the upcoming G20 conference in Japan. "Mexicans associate presidential travel with waste," said Rodolfo Soriano-Núñez, a sociologist in Mexico City.
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| Target expands same-day delivery to basically everyone in order to combat Amazon Posted: 13 Jun 2019 03:04 PM PDT  Time was, Amazon led the way in pushing the e-commerce industry towards a consumer expectation that delivery should be free. Then came the push for a two-day delivery option, and now that Amazon is starting to move into an expansion of same-day delivery, its biggest retail competitors -- like Walmart and Target -- are following suit.Target on Thursday announced an expansion of its same-day delivery service that now covers just about everyone in the US. As part of today's announcement, Target is bringing the option to customers in 47 states, all of whom will be able to log on to Target.com and place orders for any of 65,000 eligible products that can show up to the customer's door same-day -- in some cases, in as soon as one hour.The orders are fulfilled by a delivery startup called Shipt that Target bought two years ago, and there's a flat fee of $9.99. When you're on the Target site looking for items to buy, products that are eligible for same-day delivery are clearly marked, and the other good news is that if you decide to pay $99 to become a Shipt member, you'll get free delivery on orders of $35 or more."With same-day delivery now available directly within the Target.com experience, we've made it even easier for our guests to shop at Target -- while still getting the great value, curated product assortment and helpful guest service they've come to expect," said Dawn Block, Target senior vice president, digital.Among other points to note, there are some additional perks to be aware of. When Target customers use their REDcard to pay, for example, that will give them an extra 5% off their purchase. They can also take advantage of weekly ad promos -- like buy three items, get a $5 Target GiftCard.If you want to try out Shipt's delivery service, Target is touting a free four-week trial. You can also pay a $9.99 delivery fee for each order on Target.com, which Target says effectively gives guests the benefits of same-day delivery without having to commit to an annual membership.
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| Southern Baptist leader bemoans abuse crisis, vows action Posted: 13 Jun 2019 06:17 AM PDT  Sharing a stage with tearful survivors of sex abuse, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention apologized Wednesday for the abuse crisis besetting his denomination and outlined an array of steps to address it. "We are broken-hearted and angry," said the Rev. J.D. Greear as the largest U.S. protestant denomination neared the end of its two-day national meeting. The Rev. Russell Moore, head of the SBC's public policy arm, said the abuse crisis is a result of satanic forces at work in the church.
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| Trump blames Iran for tanker attacks, stoking fears of confrontation Posted: 13 Jun 2019 09:38 PM PDT  DUBAI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump blamed Iran on Friday for attacks on two oil tankers at the entrance to the Gulf despite Tehran's denials, stoking fears of a confrontation in the vital oil shipping route. Iran has dismissed earlier U.S. charges that it was behind Thursday's attacks that crippled two tankers. Thursday's blasts followed similar attacks a month earlier on four tankers, which Washington also blamed on Tehran.
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| Flying Southwest or American this summer? Check reservations for new Max 8 cancellations Posted: 14 Jun 2019 05:52 AM PDT  The airlines have taken the grounded planes out of their schedule into early September. Affected travelers will be rebooked or offered refunds.
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| Hong Kong protesters scuffle with police, government offices shut Posted: 12 Jun 2019 10:50 AM PDT  Scuffles broke out between demonstrators and police in Hong Kong on Thursday as hundreds of people kept up a protest against a planned extradition law with mainland China, a day after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break up big crowds. Protests around the city's legislature on Wednesday forced the postponement of debate on the extradition bill, which many people in Hong Kong fear will undermine freedoms and confidence in the commercial hub. Hong Kong's China-backed Chief Executive Carrie Lam condemned the violence and urged a swift restoration of order but has vowed to press ahead with the legislation despite the reservations about it, including within the business community.
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| iRobot's Super Popular Roomba Vacuum is 40% Off Today Posted: 12 Jun 2019 12:42 PM PDT  But this deal is here today, gone tomorrow.
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| Tweets, lies and the Mueller report: Sarah Sanders' lowest moments Posted: 13 Jun 2019 04:39 PM PDT  Few aides have been as willing to step out in front of the world's media and defend Trump, no matter what he has said or done Sarah Sanders, who will leave her position as White House press secretary at the end of the month, will likely be remembered for her "contentious" or "adversarial" relationship with the press during her time in the role. Few Trump aides have been so willing to so often step out in front of the world's media and defend him, no matter what he had done or said. In a press conference to mark her departure, Sanders said she will continue to be "one of the most outspoken and loyal supporters of the president and his agenda". Here were some key moments from her time in the White House: On allegations of Trump's sexual misconduct When asked by Jacqueline Alemany of CBS News in 2017 if the then 16 women who had accused Trump of sexual assault or harassment were lying, Sanders held the administration line. "Last week, during a press conference in the Rose Garden, the president called these accusations 'fake news,'" Alemany said. "Is the official White House position that all of these women are lying?" "Yeah, we've been clear on that from the beginning, and the president's spoken on it," Sanders responded before moving on. The Mueller report details Sanders' lying Sanders was caught lying in the special counsel Robert Mueller's report. After Trump's firing of the FBI director James Comey, Sanders attempted to cast the decision in a positive light, saying she had heard from "countless members of the FBI" that they had no confidence in him. But speaking under oath to Mueller's team she admitted that the sentiment "was not founded on anything". However, when asked about it after the lie emerged in the Mueller report, she lied once again, saying it was a slip of the tongue, before going on to blame Democrats. Sanders says Trump has never encouraged violence against anyone When a member of the US Coast Guard was arrested for plotting what appeared to be acts of terrorism against Democrats and journalists earlier this year, Sanders was asked whether or not the president's consistent framing of the media as "the enemy of the people" had contributed to a dangerous environment. Sanders answered that the president hadn't "done anything but condemn violence against journalists or anyone else". The number of times Trump has called for violence, against protesters, alleged criminals and others, are numerous. Most notably, referencing Greg Gianforte's 2017 attack on a reporter, he said "any guy who can do a body slam, he is my type!" Defending Trump's sharing of videos from far-right British extremists "Whether it's a real video, the threat is real," Sanders said in November of 2017. "His goal is to promote strong border security and strong national security." She was responding to questions about Trump's sharing of several videos from the far-right group Britain First meant to cast Muslims as violent, the authenticity of which were in doubt. "I'm not talking about the nature of the video," she said. "The threat is real, what the president is talking about – the need for national security and military spending – those are very real things, there's nothing fake about that." Sanders is a press secretary who doesn't hold press briefings On the day of her announced departure, she had not held a press briefing – which were once regular occurrences – for 94 days.
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| What Ford and Volkswagen's Tie-Up on Trucks (and EVs) Means for the Ranger in America Posted: 13 Jun 2019 09:59 AM PDT  Ford and VW formalize an alliance to build pickups and vans, but don't expect the Amarok to make it to the U.S.
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| Some Bluetooth devices will stop working if you install the latest Windows 10 update Posted: 12 Jun 2019 03:04 PM PDT  If you're suddenly having trouble connecting any of your Bluetooth devices to your Windows PC this week, don't be alarmed -- this is by design. As Windows Latest observed on Wednesday, the latest security updates for a variety of Windows OS versions (including Windows 10) feature a patch for Bluetooth devices that Microsoft deems "unsecure." All versions of Windows 10 received this update, as did Windows 8.1.If you're currently using any outdated Bluetooth devices on a regular basis, you may experience issues pairing those devices with your Windows computer once the update is installed. Here's Microsoft's description of the issue:> You may experience issues pairing, connecting or using certain Bluetooth devices after installing security updates released June 11, 2019. These security updates address a security vulnerability by intentionally preventing connections from Windows to unsecure Bluetooth devices. Any device using well-known keys to encrypt connections may be affected, including certain security fobs.Microsoft's proposed solution for the issue "contact the manufacturer of your Bluetooth device to determine if a device update [exists]." If there are no updates for the device, you're out of luck for the time being, unless you just avoid the update altogether or roll back your Windows computer after the update is installed.The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) entry for the update seems to suggest that only some devices running Android 7.0 or later are affected by the pairing issue, but doesn't name any specific devices. You can check the Event Log (which Ghacks explains here) to see if your Bluetooth device is failing to pair because of the update. But whatever you do, don't avoid making your computer safer to use a Bluetooth device.
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| US industrial output rebounds in May Posted: 14 Jun 2019 06:25 AM PDT  US industrial output rebounded in May due to a jump in utilities and recovery in auto production but the trend this year remains sluggish, the Federal Reserve said Friday. With American manufacturing hurt by the ongoing trade wars and the slowdown in China and other trading partners, the uptick last month may be small comfort. The manufacturing sector especially is feeling the pain, with the 0.2 percent uptick in May failing to offset the 0.5 percent drop in April, with a decline of 1.5 percent in the first five months of the year.
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| 12 of America's Best Historic Homes to Visit Posted: 12 Jun 2019 02:29 PM PDT |
| Trump: Iran a 'nation of terror,' was behind tanker attacks Posted: 14 Jun 2019 08:13 AM PDT  Calling Iran "a nation of terror," President Donald Trump on Friday publicly accused the Persian Gulf country of responsibility for recent attacks on oil tankers near the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Trump said Iran's culpability was "exposed" by the United States. While Iran has denied being involved in the attacks, U.S. Central Command released footage it said shows Iran's Revolutionary Guard removing an unexploded limpet mine from the Japanese-owned tanker Kokuka Courageous.
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| Mueller's first remarks stuck to the facts, refocused attention on Russia, rekindled impeachment talk Posted: 12 Jun 2019 11:14 AM PDT  Robert Mueller made a public appearance Wednesday reminiscent of his long tenure at the FBI. This time he revived an impeachment debate.
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| Cuba travel ban: Disappointed passengers return after being rerouted mid-cruise Posted: 13 Jun 2019 11:42 AM PDT ![Cuba travel ban: Disappointed passengers return after being rerouted mid-cruise]( "Cuba travel ban: Disappointed passengers return after being rerouted mid-cruise") Thousands of cruise passengers originally headed to Cuba ended up in the Bahamas after a travel ban was announced earlier this week.
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| Planned Parenthood to host forum on abortion rights for 2020 Democrat candidates Posted: 12 Jun 2019 03:54 PM PDT  Planned Parenthood Action Fund will host a forum on reproductive rights for Democratic primary candidates in what is the first event focused solely on women's health for several presidential campaign cycles.The forum will take place in Columbia, South Carolina on 22 June, the weekend of the state Democratic Party's convention.Sixteen candidates have already agreed to participate, the New York Times reports, with more expected to join.Candidates will be questioned for 15 minutes each about their record and current positions on issues such as abortion rights, access to healthcare, and contraception.Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker have all agreed to join the forum, along with Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and former Vice President Joe Biden.Mr Biden recently received immediate backlash from within his own party for what are considered outdated views on the Hyde Amendment, which limits abortion access. He has also consistently made sexist remarks, particularly towards young girls, along the campaign trail, creating much conversation around whether or not his views towards women's equality are up to modern standards.Organisers said the forum, which will be live-streamed on Now This News, aims to energise Planned Parenthood's own supporters as much as it questions candidates directly."It's crystal clear that access to reproductive health care — including safe, legal abortion — is a top issue heading into 2020," said Kelley Robinson, the group's executive director, referring to the sweep of attempts to overturn Roe v Wade seen in conservative state legislatures."If the 13 million-plus Planned Parenthood supporters turn out to the polls and activate their networks," she said, "they can tip the 2020 election."
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| Man pleads guilty to killing three Muslim students Posted: 12 Jun 2019 01:17 PM PDT  The North Carolina man charged with killing three Muslim university students has pleaded guilty four years after the slayings. (June 12)
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| This is our best look yet at Google’s unreleased Pixel 4 Posted: 13 Jun 2019 05:17 AM PDT  So, Google unveiled the Pixel 4 on Wednesday. Sort of. After someone posted renders of the unreleased Pixel 4 based on design files that were stolen from the factory where Google's new Pixel phones will be manufactured, Google decided to dispel some of the uncertainty by posting an image of the back of the new phone. You can see the official Pixel 4 image Google shared at the top of this post. It was a bizarre move on Google's part, to say the least. The company should know by now that only a tiny percentage of consumers follow smartphone leaks and rumors. Now that Google has officially confirmed that the upcoming Pixel 4 will have a massive camera upgrade, why would anyone buy a new Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL? After all, camera performance is one of the only reasons to buy a Pixel phone over more popular smartphones like a Samsung Galaxy phone or an iPhone. Perhaps Pixel 3 sales have been so slow lately that Google felt it wouldn't matter to let people know they shouldn't buy them anymore. Whatever the logic (or lack thereof), what's done is done and we now know exactly what the Pixel 4 will look like when it hits store shelves later this year. Well, we know exactly what the back of the Pixel 4 will look like, at least. The front of Google's upcoming new Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL is still something of a mystery. Early rumors said that the Pixel 4 would use a hole-punch display like the ones on Samsung's Galaxy S10 series phones, but the renders we saw that were based on actual Pixel 4 design files swiped off of a factory server didn't show any holes in the phone's display. In fact, they didn't show the display at all, likely because there was no reference to it in the factory files. Instead, all we see is an ear speaker near the top of the phone. The positioning of that ear speaker seems to indicate that there will still be a bezel above the Pixel 4's display, and it'll be a rather large one by today's standards. But you don't have to just picture it in your mind anymore, because graphic designer Jonas Daehnert has created a series of renders that likely give us our best look yet at what the Pixel 4 will really look like when it's released in the coming months. He posted the new renders in a series of two tweets: https://twitter.com/PhoneDesigner/status/1138815799869792256 https://twitter.com/PhoneDesigner/status/1138884887002472449 Here's a closer look at the new Pixel 4 renders: We know that the Pixel 4 isn't going to have a red power button like the one in Daehnert's renders since it has a plain old silver power button in the image Google posted. In fact, it pretty much just looks like a lower quality iPhone 11. Apple's upcoming new iPhone has a similar square camera bump, but the entire back is a single piece of glass, including the camera bump. Meanwhile, Google appears to have a big metal piece poking through the back plate on its Pixel 4 for the camera module. Also, we know Apple's flagship iPhones are made out of glass and stainless steel, while the Pixel 4 will likely be aluminum. In any case, the good news is even with its big bezels, this is still the most modern smartphone design Google has ever used on a Pixel phone. It's still an iPhone copycat, sure, but that's nothing new. Remember the first Pixel phone that was designed by HTC? It was literally just an iPhone 6 with a glass plate slapped on the back. Despite this bizarre early reveal, Google is still expected to release the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL smartphones sometime this fall.
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| Prices Are Out for the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD and 3500HD Pickups Posted: 13 Jun 2019 09:20 AM PDT  Configuring a pickup is a highly personal task, but here are the numbers to get you started.
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| Turkish artist goes viral with stark misery/comfort images Posted: 12 Jun 2019 08:05 PM PDT  A Starbucks cup merging with a crowd around a dried-up well, or a yacht spliced with a boat full of refugees: powerful collages by a Turkish artist have taken the internet by storm. With over half a million followers on Instagram and thousands more on Facebook and Twitter, 29-year-old Ugur Gallenkus has stirred a huge reaction by juxtaposing photos of misery in war-torn countries with the comforts of the West.
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| Make Father’s Day All About Eating & Drinking Posted: 13 Jun 2019 08:41 AM PDT  Photo Illustration by The Daily BeastGolf balls. Ties. Socks. There are more classic joke presents for Father's Day than actual traditional gift ideas. It's particularly crazy given that we've been celebrating the holiday every June for nearly 50 years. To make everybody's life easier, I suggest that Father's Day gifting should be exclusively about eating and drinking. To get this movement going, here are a few things that your Father will no doubt enjoy.* * *KITCHEN ORGANIZER* * *Upgrade your Father's kitchen with Le Creuset's Metallic Canister Collection ($42 to $62). Not only do the ceramic containers come in three different sizes (23 ounces, one-and-a-half quarts and two-and-a-half quarts) but also now in two eye-catching metallic glazes (Meringue and Coastal Blue). No matter the size, they have an airtight seal and are perfect for storing everything from grains to coffee beans.* * *ARM CANDY* * *From camping and fishing to boating, your Dad is going to want the new 18-liter Hydro Flask Soft Cooler Tote ($225). The brand guarantees that your food and drinks will stay cold for up to 48 hours and it can fit 34 cans of your Pop's favorite beer! And best of all the tote weighs less than three pounds empty.* * *INDULGE* * *It wouldn't be a celebration without some treats, so try new Neuhaus' Best Dad collection of 16 decadent Belegian chocolates ($39). Another tasty present is master chocolatier Jacques Torres' hand-rolled Cognac truffles or his oversized milk chocolate Big Daddy Bar ($29)—it weighs in at more than two pounds!* * *NIGHTCAP* * *My father-in-law likes to end his day with a glass of Grand Marnier and I imagine your Father might enjoy that ritual as well. Feeling generous? Give your Dad the Cuvée du Centenaire ($200), which is made with mostly XO Cognac and was created back in 1927 for the brand's 100th anniversary. The new Cuvée Louis Alexandre ($70) is a great alternative, which is made with VSOP Cognac and orange liqueur. * * *WINE LOVER* * *Build your Father's wine collection by signing him up for a Mayacamas membership. Twice a year, he'll get bottles of Chardonnay and Cabernet from the famous Napa winery. (Membership starts at $525, plus tax and shipping.) If that's a bit more than what you wanted to spend, you can also buy individual bottles of Mayacamas' latest vintages, the 2017 Chardonnay ($50) and the 2014 Cabernet ($125).* * *WHISKEY TOUR* * *If your Dad is a whiskey drinker, there are a number of new bottles from around the world that he'll want to try. Tyrconnell just introduced its latest 16-Year-Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey ($100), which has been matured in barrels that held both oloroso sherry and muscatel wine. Similarly, High West used former vermouth and syrah wine barrels to finish the new edition of its highly sought-after limited-edition Yippee Kay-Yay Rye Whiskey ($80). A new brand to look out for is the Australian Starward. (Yes, they make whiskey in Australia.) Its Single Malt Nova ($55) has been aged for two years in Australian red wine casks and, no doubt, your Father doesn't have this one in his home bar.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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