| 'The fire was just nuts': At least 5 children dead in Erie blaze, authorities say Posted: 12 Aug 2019 06:35 AM PDT  At least five children died in a Pennsylvania house fire that blew flames out of every first-floor window early Sunday morning, authorities said.
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| Iran's Zarif blasts US arms sales to Gulf Posted: 12 Aug 2019 06:51 AM PDT  Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the United States on Monday of transforming the Gulf into a "tinderbox" with its arms sales to regional allies. Some of the countries in the region with less than a third of our population spend $87 billion on military procurement," Zarif told Qatar's Al Jazeera broadcaster during a visit to the Gulf state. Washington is pursuing a "maximum pressure" campaign designed to force Iran to limit its nuclear and military activities.
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| UPDATE 6-Norway mosque shooting suspect appears in court with wounded face Posted: 12 Aug 2019 12:26 AM PDT ![UPDATE 6-Norway mosque shooting suspect appears in court with wounded face]( "UPDATE 6-Norway mosque shooting suspect appears in court with wounded face") The man suspected of shooting at people inside a Norwegian mosque on Saturday, and of killing his Chinese-born stepsister, appeared in court on Monday with black eyes and wounds on his face and neck. A judge gave police permission to hold 21-year-old Philip Manshaus in custody for an initial four weeks while he is investigated on suspicion of murder and breach of anti-terrorism law, the court's ruling later showed. Witnesses said Manshaus entered the al-Noor Islamic Centre with several guns, but was overpowered by a 65-year-old member of the mosque, who managed to wrestle away his weapons in the fight that followed.
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| Deadly explosion at Russian test site involved nuclear power source, reports say Posted: 12 Aug 2019 09:17 AM PDT  An explosion at a Russian base that killed at least five people last week involved a small nuclear reactor, state nuclear officials said.
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| Biden's 'gaffe machine' revs up in Iowa Posted: 12 Aug 2019 07:48 AM PDT  Months before launching his 2020 presidential campaign, Joe Biden acknowledged that he is a "gaffe machine," prone to misstatements and unforced errors that could undercut his electability. Such blunders were on display this weekend.
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| Elizabeth Warren Unveils New Plan to Reduce U.S. Gun Deaths by 80% Posted: 11 Aug 2019 12:31 PM PDT  Some of her plan's details, like the elimination of the Senate filibuster, might have difficulty finding legislator support
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| Seven dead in DR Congo lake boat capsize Posted: 12 Aug 2019 06:30 AM PDT  Seven people drowned after a transport boat sank after hitting rocks on a lake in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo over the weekend, local authorities said on Monday. Lake and river transport is widely used in the DRC as the highway system is poor, but accidents are common, often caused by overloading and the unsafe state of vessels. The "total number of deaths is seven," the local minister of transport and communication in South Kivu province, Claude Swedy Basila said in a statement.
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| Marianne Williamson Offers Priestly Wisdom for a Nation Adrift — Seriously Posted: 12 Aug 2019 03:30 AM PDT  'In 1776, our founders brought forth on this planet an extraordinary new possibility. It was the idea that people, no matter who they were, would simply have the possibility of thriving. We have not ever totally actualized this ideal. But at the times when we have done best, we have tried. And when forces have opposed them, generations of Americans have risen up and pushed back against those forces."These were the opening words of Democratic candidate Marianne Williamson at the most recent Democratic debate: a parody of Lincoln's famed Gettysburg Address, presented in Williamson's trademark New Age rhetoric -- an eclectic combination, to say the least.If you are curious about the biography of the age-defying priestess-turned-politician who has shone on the Democratic stage, you're not alone. During the debate, Marianne Williamson was the most Googled candidate on the stage. With multiple New York Times best-sellers, 3 million Twitter followers, and loads of media coverage by the likes of David Brooks and Ross Douthat, the Oprah-approved spiritual guru has become something of a national icon.Although Williamson may be famed for her wacky sound bites and psychedelic wine-mom aura, her rise indicates a larger truth. At the Democratic debates, Williamson demonstrated her prowess behind a microphone, as she used the national platform with greater perception than many of her opponents. She has proven herself a candidate who understands what the country needs to hear: Americans don't need another policy proposal -- Americans need a restoration of faith in the integrity of their nation.Williamson's role in the race is something like that of a progressive counterpart to Jordan Peterson, reminding her audience that Medicare for All or free college won't cure the deep-seated ills of despair and aimlessness affecting the nation. For Williamson, a nation in existential crisis needs teleological guidance. According to her campaign's website, Williamson believes that> there is a groundswell of people in America who are seeking higher wisdom. We are rich and poor, progressive and conservative, young and old. And what we share at this moment is deep concern -- concern about the direction in which our country is headed, the assaults on our democratic foundations, and the erosion of our human values.The mission of her campaign is to search for this higher wisdom, "to create a new political possibility in America -- where citizens awaken, our hearts and minds are uplifted, and our democracy once more becomes a thing about which we can all feel proud."This diagnosis is right -- a growing number of Americans are feeling the pains of spiritual hunger and are searching to be fed. Through her words and deeds, Williamson has demonstrated that spirituality is relevant to everything, especially politics. In her resounding closing speech from the first round of Democratic debates in June, she pulled language from the New Testament in her challenge to Trump: "You have harnessed fear for political purposes and only love can cast that out. So I, sir, I have a feeling you know what you're doing. I'm going to harness love for political purposes. I will meet you on that field and, sir, love will win." Her words mirrored language from the First Epistle of John: "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love" (1 John 4:18). Although blurred under the fog of her New Age aura, Williamson's message carries a ring of timeless truth and is a forceful contender amid limp Democratic rhetoric.Williamson's unique oratorical style is a product of her eclectic biography. While she is best known as a Los Angeles–based author, lecturer, and all-around sage, Williamson has also pastored a congregation. From 1997 to 2002, she left her sunny life in California to serve as a senior minister at the Christian Church of Today(the name changed to "Renaissance Unity" under her leadership) in Detroit. The mission of Williamson's former church, or rather "center for spiritual learning," seems to be her political mission as well: to affirm an "environment that fosters positive self-actualization, personal responsibility, with unconditional love and acceptance." For Williamson, theology is inseparable from political philosophy.Her theology is unconventional, to say the least. She never went to seminary, and she is not attached to any single religion. Her theological training, however, can be traced to the foundational New Age text A Course in Miracles -- a book Williamson credits with giving her life meaning and direction. It was upon reading A Course during her vagrant years in New York -- after having dropped out of Pomona College to pursue a career as a cabaret singer -- that Williamson was converted to its theology of love.An esoteric compilation of metaphysical, spiritual, and psychological assertions, all mined from the world's major religions, A Course in Miracles is a curious creation. It was written by a Columbia psychologist, Helen Schucman, who claimed she was merely the scribe of Jesus, writing down what "the Voice" of Christ was telling her.According to the preface of A Course in Miracles, the text can be summed up very simply this way:> Nothing real can be threatened. > Nothing unreal exists. > Herein lies the peace of God.This central claim of the Course (which looks conspicuously like chapter 2 verse 16 of the Bhagavad Gita) reveals the mission of the text: to alter the readers' understanding of reality, peeling away their perceptions and projections that obstruct a life of peace and love.Taking insights from Judeo-Christian Gnosticism and a strain of Platonic idealism, the Course asserts that the material world is ultimately inconsequential. According to the Course, "the world we see merely reflects our own internal frame of reference -- the dominant ideas, wishes and emotions in our minds." We are called to liberate ourselves from our own subjectivity -- a powerful idea in a culture where our own internal frame of reference is prized above all else.While these tenets of the Course aren't exactly novel, they offer a sense of grounding and freedom unavailable in the secular mainstream. When Williamson encountered this paradigm of reality in her formative years, she was converted. The New Age tome prompted Williamson to write her first book, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles" (1992). In its pages, Williamson summarizes her gospel: "Love is the essential existential fact. It is our ultimate reality and our purpose on earth. To be consciously aware of it, to experience love in us and others, it is the meaning of life."* * *Whether behind the pulpit or on the debate stage, Williamson has made it her mission to share the good news with others. Her preoccupation with the spiritual has granted her access to a resource that none of the other candidates have. Despite all her New Age regalia, Williamson knows how to sound like a philosopher, or maybe a mystic, every now and then. "We should be the party that talks not just about symptoms, but also about causes," she asserted while discussing health care at the debate.Williamson's draw is her uncanny ability to drive straight to the spiritual heart of the issues at hand. She not only lays out the expected progressive ideology but goes further, housing it in a metaphysical context. While the Left of recent years has claimed a position of moral authority on the political issues of the day, Williamson actually provides something of an underlying framework for this demand. As her campaign's tagline, "Turning Love into a Political Force," exhibits, Williamson seeks to redefine why we have government in the first place. Her campaign has demanded "a politics that goes much deeper, . . . a politics that speaks to the heart."Williamson sees politics as a platform to heal the psyches of the American people. For her, politics isn't about policy, it's about an ongoing battle between wisdom and fear. In last week's debate, she outlined what she believes to be the fundamental purpose of the government, as aligned with her theology of love. According to Williamson, the government ought to act as a magnanimous provider.> This is not just about a plan to to do it. It's about a philosophy of governing. And I've heard some people here tonight, I almost wonder why you're Democrats. You seem to think there's something wrong about using . . . the instruments of government to help people. That is what government should do. It should -- all policies should help people thrive. That is how we will have peace, . . . and that is how we will have prosperity.While I am skeptical of the government's ability to create the conditions of spiritual thriving, Williamson understands that the American people are starving for peace in a time of polarization, for direction in a time of deconstruction, and for assurance in a time of unforeseen global change. Although true peace will never be fostered by the White House, the content of our civic discourse plays a role in guiding the soul of our nation — a soul currently in great need of it. The nation is undergoing a crisis of culture -- that ineffable collection of shared customs, social institutions, and beliefs -- that is seeping into the political realm.This era of Trumpian polarization is a result of an ongoing cultural cataclysm, not the cause of it. With our once-unthreatened understanding of selfhood, family, and civic purpose now being scrutinized under the microscope of the mob, our culture is in a moment of ecdysis. Americans have forgotten how to strive for lasting truth, and a gnawing despair has filled the void. There is no need to search for the latest statistics on rates of depression in the U.S. to know that we are experiencing an epidemic of discontent. Williamson's theological politics of love and atonement begin to address this quiet desperation, as she declared in her closing statements at last week's debate:> You keep talking about how we're going to fight Donald Trump. You can't fight dog whistles. You have to override them. And the only way you can override them is with new voices, voices of energy that only come from the fact that America has been willing to live up to our own mistakes, atone for our mistakes, make amends for our own mistakes, love each other, love our democracy, love future generations, something emotional and psychological that will not be -- be emerging from anything on this stage. It will emerge from something I'm the one who's qualified to bring forth.The response to Williamson's theological politics shows that our current moment of vitriol and mob passions in fact runs deeper than the political. Williamson is absolutely right that, to get ourselves out of this mess and fill the value vacuum that is draining the American spirit, we have to love each other, our democracy, and future generations. As reductive as it may seem, finding our way back to charity is as good a place as any to start. Williamson understands that we have to re-anchor our politics in the soul of each person rather than in the sparring of nameless groups and faceless systems. Although she is obviously a wacky candidate, Williamson's aim of solving political problems with energy, atonement, and love is not as far out as it may seem.
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| Family sues nursing home over video of aides taunting woman, 91, with dementia; aides charged and fired Posted: 11 Aug 2019 10:38 AM PDT  Two nursing home aides in north suburban Glenview have been fired and charged after a Snapchat video showed them taunting a 91-year-old woman with dementia. Her family is now taking legal action.
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| The Arctic town at the centre of a Norway-Russia 'spy war' Posted: 11 Aug 2019 10:44 AM PDT  When Frode Berg was a guard on the border near Kirkenes, Norway, in the 1990s and 2000s, relations with neighbouring Russia were so good that he would do joint patrols and go fishing with his colleagues from across the line. They drank vodka toasts after holding an annual cross-border ski race. But in recent years this town of 3,500 on Norway's Arctic coast has found itself caught up in a geopolitical chess game between Nato and Russia. Mr Berg became the first pawn to be captured when he was arrested in Moscow and sentenced in April to 14 years in prison for espionage. Located about 130 miles from Murmansk and the headquarters of Russia's northern fleet, sleepy Kirkenes has become the epicentre of a spy war with Russia—and Norwegians who have worked to develop cross-border trade and cultural exchanges are paying the price. One of them is even suing Norwegian intelligence over lost Russian business. "If Norway has one real challenge regarding foreign policy, it's here," said Kirkenes mayor Rune Rafaelson, a long-time friend of Mr Berg's who attended navy day celebrations in Murmansk last month. "It's not membership of the EU or making peace in Middle East. Here is the only real challenge, because we have an interesting and complex neighbour called Russia." The anti-submarine frigate HNoMS Otto Sverdrup sails through a bay near Kirkenes Credit: Alec Luhn/For The Telegraph Kirkenes traditionally prided itself on having warmer relations with this neighbour, even during the Cold War, when this was Nato's lone point of contact with the USSR. After the Soviet collapse, Russian ships began unloading fish, crabs and oil products in Kirkenes, and many local men married Russian women. Since the two countries offered visa-free travel to residents of border areas in 2012, tens of thousands of Russians have been coming to shop in Kirkenes each year. But Moscow's military modernisation campaign, increasingly assertive foreign policy and annexation of Crimea changed the bigger context. When foreign minister Sergei Lavrov visited Kirkenes for the 70th anniversary of its liberation from the Nazis by the Red Army in 2014, he scolded Norway for joining Western sanctions against Russia. Duelling military manoeuvres and signals intelligence operations have become matters of course. This spring, Russia repeatedly tested missiles off the Norwegian coast, and Norway and Finland also accused it of jamming GPS signals during Nato bomber exercises, putting civilian aircraft at risk. Meanwhile, a Beluga discovered in Hammerfest wearing a "Petersburg" camera harness was dubbed the "Russian spy whale" over espionage suspicions. The Beluga "spy whale" was discovered by fishermen near Hammerfest, to the west of Kirkenes Credit: Jorgen Ree Wiig/AFP In July, a secret nuclear-powered Russian submersible that can reportedly eavesdrop on underwater cables caught fire during an operation somewhere near Murmansk, killing 14 sailors. For its part, Norway hosted the major Trident Juncture Nato war games in 2018 and has welcomed Western troops, including 1,000 Royal Marines who will train there each year. The United States paid to upgrade the Vardø radar station near Kirkenes and begin joint intelligence collection. Many believe that Washington also began pressuring Oslo to deliver more information on Russia's northern fleet. Kirkenes, where many residents have worked across the border, has long been a fruitful recruiting ground. "If you have been active in Russia you are approached, especially if you are a leader because then you're in position to meet people at a higher level," said Rune Rautio, an employee of the Kirkenes business garden who used to travel to Russia every other week and has been occasionally questioned by Norwegian intelligence for years. One of the recruits was Mr Berg, who began bringing envelopes of cash to an informant in Russia in 2015 despite having misgivings. In autumn 2017, intelligence officers approached him to do one last errand. Journalist Trine Hamran, a friend in whom he had confided, counselled him not to do it, but the secret services played upon his patriotism, asking him if he didn't want to be a "good Norwegian," she said. "He said it was not dangerous, just one last thing," Ms Hamran told the Telegraph. "And then he goes to Moscow and we don't hear from him again." A Russian guard tower stands across the river from a Norwegian border marker near Kirkenes Credit: Alec Luhn/For The Telegraph The Russian informant was actually a double agent. FSB operatives arrested Mr Berg as he stepped out of the Metropole hotel with an envelope of 3,000 euros. "After a couple of days we where informed that he was alive," said his wife Anita, who believed he was going to Moscow to meet friends and buy Christmas gifts. "It was such a relief. But then we where shocked to learn that he had been arrested, suspected of espionage." She accused Norwegian military intelligence of recklessly manipulating her husband, who was so guileless he posted a Moscow snapshot to Facebook hours before his arrest, and "sabotaging years of positive collaboration" between Kirkenes and Russia. The agency declined to comment. Mr Berg was not the first to fall victim to the spy services' alleged blundering. In 2015, Atle Berge, the founder of a cross-border oil services company called Ølen Betong, refused to cooperate when approached by Norwegian intelligence looking for information on Russia. FSB agents nonetheless grabbed him on the street in Murmansk shortly thereafter and interrogated him for more than six hours, asking him what his ties to the service were and threatening to inject him with an unknown drug. He was then expelled from the country and lost a contract with a major Russian firm, he said. One of his employees was also interrogated and expelled, only in his case Russian agents also brandished a gun. "Help Frode home!" reads a sign hanging next to the Kirkenes library Credit: Alec Luhn/For The Telegraph Now Mr Berge is suing his government for £12 million, arguing that the repeated approaches by the same Norwegian intelligence agent convinced the FSB that he and his employee were spies. "The Norwegians had behaved very unprofessionally and stupidly," he said. "It seems they have been under pressure from someone and urgently had to find out something," The case also revealed how many eyes Russia has in Kirkenes. During his interrogation, Mr Berge's employee was shown a photograph of the Norwegian agent at his door. Meanwhile, Norway's counter-intelligence service has a list of Russians who are followed whenever they come to Kirkenes, Mr Rautio said. The town is so small that most people know the agent who Mr Berg said had liaised with him. When confronted at his home by the Telegraph, the man first lied that he was a neighbour, then declined to comment. Yet locals are surprisingly blasé about the presence of spies here and largely blame Norwegian intelligence for undermining the warm ties that people like Mr Berg worked to promote. A monument to the liberation of Kirkenes from the German troops by the Red Army in 1944 Credit: Alec Luhn/For The Telegraph Thomas Nilsen, editor of the Kirkenes-based Barents Observer news site, said many residents suffer a "Stockholm syndrome" of sympathy to their larger neighbour. His site, which publishes in Russian and English, has been blocked in Russia, and he was banned from the country as an alleged security threat in 2017. "We have been living for so many years with positive development across the border, then things turn around, and people understand this is bad, but they take the position of Moscow, not Europe," he said. It's also a question of the £140 million Russia contributes to the local economy each year. "Fifty metres from here is the Russian general consulate. There's too many people working there, but how should we develop the economy and municipality?" Mr Rafaelson said in his office. "I do my job I'm elected for, which is too promote a good neighbour policy." Norway and Russia are now discussing a prisoner exchange to bring home Mr Berg, who is suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure, his lawyers said. Yet while Russian diplomats have been expelled from Oslo on espionage suspicions, Norway has no similar prisoners. Instead, they're hoping for a "triangle deal" involving an ally, perhaps the United States. A Norwegian post overlooks the Russian border Credit: Alec Luhn/For The Telegraph When PM Erna Solberg spoke with Vladimir Putin at an Arctic forum in April, days before the Norwegian was convicted, the president said Russia "will take a look at what we can do with this depending on the court's decision". "I think most people in this case understand Russia is doing what any other country would do," Mr Rautio said. "Frode confessed, so people are more waiting now for the Norwegian government to get to the table and make a deal with Russia to get him out so he won't have spend the rest of life in labour camp."
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| UPDATE 1-Viral clip of Russian policeman punching female protester stirs anger Posted: 12 Aug 2019 08:47 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Viral clip of Russian policeman punching female protester stirs anger]( "UPDATE 1-Viral clip of Russian policeman punching female protester stirs anger") Video footage of a Russian police officer punching a young woman in the stomach has stirred anger among many Russians who believe the authorities have used excessive force to disperse weeks of political demonstrations in Moscow. The clip, filmed on Saturday and later circulated online by Russian celebrities with millions of followers, shows the moment two helmeted riot policemen drag the woman, Daria Sosnovskaya, to a waiting police bus. Sosnovskaya, 26, is seen struggling to break free and trying to trip up one of the police officers who responds by punching her in the stomach, prompting one of the reporters filming the incident to sarcastically call the policeman "a hero".
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| Recent developments surrounding the South China Sea Posted: 11 Aug 2019 09:53 PM PDT  A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons. EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a weekly look at developments in the South China Sea, the location of several territorial conflicts in the region. Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has asked Beijing to explain the activities of Chinese research vessels and warships in what the Philippines claims as its waters.
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| A Minnesota father told police he dropped his 5-month-old boy on his head for being 'fussy.' The baby died Posted: 11 Aug 2019 02:54 PM PDT ![A Minnesota father told police he dropped his 5-month-old boy on his head for being 'fussy.' The baby died]( "A Minnesota father told police he dropped his 5-month-old boy on his head for being 'fussy.' The baby died") Matthew Hoisser, 35, complained that his son was "difficult" and "fussy," according to court documents. He dropped the baby on his head, killing him.
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| Texas Republicans brace for 2020 drubbing Posted: 12 Aug 2019 02:03 AM PDT  "Republicans need to be very concerned," says a GOP member of the state's congressional delegation of next year's elections.
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| Jeffrey Epstein's death may cheat his victims out of millions in restitution Posted: 12 Aug 2019 08:56 AM PDT  The apparent suicide of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein at the weekend may have denied his victims millions of dollars in compensationEpstein, 66, was facing new sex trafficking and conspiracy charges that, if he was convicted, could have resulted in a 45-year prison sentence and the criminal forfeiture of his $77m (£63.7m) mansion in New York City, along with other possible assets.Those assets could have been used to provide his alleged victims with a special fund through the Justice Department; a standard consideration and procedure for cases involving victims, particularly when one reaches the prominence and magnitude of the Epstein scandal. There may still be hope for the dozen or so women who have come forward of securing some level of accountability from his estate, according to officials - although success is by no means certain. A federal judge can still order Epstein's properties and other assets confiscated within a civil forfeiture case. But prosecutors must successfully argue those assets were involved in his crimes."It's going to be complicated," Jeff Marcus, a former federal prosecutor, told the Miami Herald. Previous high-profile civil forfeiture cases have resulted in financial restitution for victims, including the 2007 case involving Enron Coporation CEO Kenneth Lay — who died of a heart attack during the case. But those cases come with their own challenges, former prosecutor Joe DeMaria told the publication. "It took seven years for that civil forfeiture case to be settled and the government recovered less than 25 percent of what it sought," he said.The Miami Herald reported prosecutors would be required to link Epstein's properties to criminal activity using a lower standard than that used in criminal cases. Epstein would not be found guilty if his assets were found to be implicated in a crime during the civil case, however. > Predator Jeffrey Epstein killed himself. On behalf of the victims I represent, we would have preferred he lived to face justice. > Our civil cases can still proceed against his estate. Victims deserve to be made whole for the lifelong damage he caused. We're just getting started.> > — Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) > > August 10, 2019Lisa Bloom, an attorney representing several of Epstein's alleged victims, wrote in a tweet on Saturday that "victims deserve to be made whole for the lifelong damage he caused"."On behalf of the victims I represent, we would have preferred he lived to face justice," she said, describing Epstein as a "predator". "We're just getting started," she added.The FBI and Justice Department have both launched investigations into Epstein's death in federal custody.The complete results of his autopsy were still pending as of Monday morning. The New York Medical Examiner's office did not respond to requests for comment.
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| Gabon court sets date for Bongo health case Posted: 12 Aug 2019 10:31 AM PDT  A Gabon court will shortly hear a petition for President Ali Bongo Ondimba to undergo medical tests to prove his fitness to govern after suffering a stroke last year, lawyers said Monday. The case will be heard by the Court of Appeal in Libreville starting August 26, attorneys for both sides said. Speculation about Bongo's ability to rule the small oil-rich country has surged since he fell ill while in Saudi Arabia last October.
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| CORRECTED-Russians killed in rocket blast put forward for awards Posted: 11 Aug 2019 12:15 PM PDT ![CORRECTED-Russians killed in rocket blast put forward for awards]( "CORRECTED-Russians killed in rocket blast put forward for awards") Russia will consider bestowing posthumous awards on five nuclear experts and "national heroes" who died in a mysterious explosion at sea during a rocket engine test, authorities said on Sunday. Officials have been drip-feeding information about the blast on a platform in the White Sea off northern Russia that caused a radiation spike in a nearby city. U.S.-based nuclear experts said they suspected the explosion occurred during the testing of a nuclear-powered cruise missile vaunted by President Vladimir Putin last year.
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| Ramaphosa Gets Interdict in South African Campaign Funding Probe Posted: 12 Aug 2019 03:15 AM PDT ![Ramaphosa Gets Interdict in South African Campaign Funding Probe]( "Ramaphosa Gets Interdict in South African Campaign Funding Probe") (Bloomberg) -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa secured another victory in his protracted battle with the nation's graft ombudsman when the High Court granted him an interdict suspending her directive to parliament to censure him for failing to declare a campaign donation.Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane said Ramaphosa misled lawmakers about a donation to his successful 2017 campaign to win control of the ruling party and instructed them to take action against him for violating the constitution and the executive ethics code. The president has challenged the finding in court, saying he didn't know about the 500,000-rand ($32,450) payment, inadvertently failed to disclose it and rectified his mistake as soon as possible.Mkhwebane didn't oppose Ramaphosa's application for the disciplinary action to be put on hold until the conclusion of review, a date for which has yet to be set. Ramaphosa last week also won a court interdict against the Public Protector's directive that he discipline his Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan for irregularly granting a tax agency official early retirement when he was finance minister in 2010 until those findings are reviewed.The Constitutional Court has found that Mkhwebane committed perjury and acted in bad faith during an investigation she conducted into a central bank bailout of a troubled lender, and civil-rights groups have accused her of siding with Ramaphosa's opponents in a power struggle in the ruling party. She denies wrongdoing and accuses her critics of trying to derail her investigations.On May 10, Ramaphosa said his lawyers had asked the courts to determine whether the Public Protector had illegally tapped confidential banking information from contributors to his campaign and recipients of the money, and that he wants the records sealed pending a determination. "The selective circulation of this banking information is clearly intended to cast aspersions on the president," Ramaphosa's office said in a statement. "Neither the president nor the campaign has done anything wrong, ethically or legally."Johannesburg's Sunday Independent newspaper said it had accessed Ramaphosa records, including emails and financial statements, and identified several donors to his campaign, including several wealthy business leaders. It also named a number of the beneficiaries of the funds, including senior politicians, managers, strategists and a labor union group.(Updates with Ramaphosa's previous clashes with graft ombudsman starting in third parargaph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Mike Cohen in Cape Town at mcohen21@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Alastair Reed, Karl MaierFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| 9-year-old Georgia girl hospitalized after trying to save dad who drowned in pool Posted: 12 Aug 2019 09:15 AM PDT  A 9-year-old girl who tried to save her father from drowning in a pool overthe weekend was hospitalized in critical condition, according to the AtlantaJournal-Constitution
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| Police arrest white supremacist for threatening Walmart attack Posted: 11 Aug 2019 12:42 PM PDT  A white supremacist has been arrested after he posted a message on Facebook threatening a shooting at a Walmart in Florida, police have said.Richard Clayton, 26, was arrested after making an online threat on Friday, according to police, just days after a gunman stormed a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 people. That suspect, Patrick Crusius, reportedly posted an anti-immigrant screed on the online messaging forum 8chan shortly before the mass shooting. Mr Clayton reportedly wrote on Facebook: "3 more days of probation left then I get my AR-15 back.""Don't go to Walmart next week," the post continued.He was charged with making written threats to kill or do bodily harm, according to Florida officials, who told the Associated Press he was held on $15,000 (£12,461) bond at the Orange County Jail. The Florida Department of Law enforcement said in a statement: "Law enforcement has zero tolerance for threats being made and will utilise the full force of the Joint Terrorism Task Force to ensure the public's safety." The country has been on high alert amid a wave of deadly mass shootings and an apparent rise in domestic terror incidents which FBI Director Christopher Wray attributed to violent white supremacy during a public Senate hearing this summer. A day before Mr Clayton's arrest, a man was charged with "making a terrorist threat in the first degree" after walking into a Missouri Walmart earlier in the week donning full body armour while carrying multiple firearms and over 100 rounds of ammunition. The suspect, 23-year-old Conor Climo from Las Vegas, reportedly possessed bomb-making materials and shared white supremacist and neo-Nazi sentiments with an undercover FBI agent.Another Florida resident was charged with threatening an attack just one day after the Walmart shooting, calling one of the chain stores in the town of Gibsonton and reportedly threatening to "shoot up the store". There have also been a series of false alarms in recent weeks where crowds have mistaken loud noises for mass shootings, including in Times Square, New York.
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| DHS chief regrets 'unfortunate' timing of ICE raid of food processing plants in Mississippi Posted: 11 Aug 2019 01:53 PM PDT  The sweep took place less than a week after a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, that targeted Hispanics.
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| Goldman Sachs economists say fears rise that U.S.-China trade war leading to recession Posted: 11 Aug 2019 12:53 PM PDT  "We expect tariffs targeting the remaining $300bn of US imports from China to go into effect," the bank said in a note sent to clients. U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Aug. 1 that he would impose a 10% tariff on a final $300 billion worth of Chinese imports on Sept. 1, prompting China to halt purchases of U.S. agricultural products. China denies that it has manipulated the yuan for competitive gain.
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| Harris Takes Pragmatic Stance to Stand Out in Democratic Field Posted: 11 Aug 2019 03:23 PM PDT ![Harris Takes Pragmatic Stance to Stand Out in Democratic Field]( "Harris Takes Pragmatic Stance to Stand Out in Democratic Field") (Bloomberg) -- Kamala Harris portrayed herself as a pragmatist rather than an ideological politician as she seeks to differentiate herself among the top tier of candidates in the crowded 2020 Democratic primary."My motivation is truly about how can I fix the problems that wake people up in the middle of the night," she told Bloomberg News Sunday aboard her bus on a five-day trip across Iowa. "Wherever that fits on someone's ideological spectrum, have at it."In explaining her approach, Harris said issues that matter most to voters don't fall along ideological lines."When it comes to the basic things that do wake people up in the middle of the night, where would you put on the spectrum of ideology that everyone should have health care?" Harris said. "Where would you put on the spectrum that every child should have a decent education?"She added: "I think it's just a nice subject for a graduate school class, but it's not how people are living life."Harris, 54, has been unable to whittle away support from front-runner Joe Biden or top Elizabeth Warren after seizing the spotlight at the first debate in July with a harsh critique of the former vice president's opposition to busing in the 1970s. A Quinnipiac poll last week showed Biden leading nationally at 32%, with Harris in fourth place at 7%. Among African-American voters, Harris, who is black, fares worse: Biden 47%, Harris only 1%Earn Support"I was not a national figure before this race," Harris said. "There are people who were national figures. There were people who ran for president before at least once, if not a couple of times, and so it is perfectly logical to me that I have to earn people's recognition and support."Harris declined an opportunity to discuss Biden's two most recent gaffes -- saying "poor kids" are just as smart as "white kids" and confusing the 2012 Sandy Hook and 2018 Parkland school shootings."I just think that I can't speculate about where he was coming from when he said it," he said.But she was harshly critical of President Donald Trump's trade policies and its effects on Americans as she prepared to visit a farm in Laconia, Iowa."I'll tell you what trade should not be and it's what Trump has done," she said. "He made a bunch of promises to everyone from farm workers to auto workers that he broke, he betrayed all these people. He took unilateral action, meaning he worked with no one, to implement his so-called trade policy by tweet and it has resulted in Iowa farmers now looking at bankruptcy."Harris said her administration would take a collaborative approach to trade."I think we have to have a trade policy that is about protecting the American worker and all that we want in terms of wages and benefits and workplace safety," she said.To contact the reporter on this story: Tyler Pager in Washington at tpager1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Steve GeimannFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| A Massachusetts man is the first person this year to be diagnosed with EEE, a rare mosquito-borne virus that can cause personality changes, paralysis, and death Posted: 12 Aug 2019 08:15 AM PDT  Eastern equine encephalitis has also been found in mosquitos in Florida, Delaware, and New York. It has no cure.
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| India warns China to stay out of Kashmir dispute as crisis intensifies Posted: 12 Aug 2019 03:15 AM PDT  India has issued a warning to China to stay out of the dispute over Kashmir's status, after Pakistan said it would take the issue to the United Nations Security Council with the support of Beijing. The remarks by the Indian foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, came after his Pakistani counterpart visited China in a bid to seek allies for a UN resolution against New Delhi for revoking Kashmir's autonomy. Mr Jaishankar flew to Beijing himself to meet China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, saying at the talks that "the two nations should ensure that it was important that differences between us, if any, should not become disputes". China's foreign ministry said in a statement later that it had taken a "principled" stand on "unilateral" actions by India, and had urged New Delhi to play a constructive role in regional peace and stability. But India's Ministry of External Affairs bluntly said decisions on Kashmir were "an internal matter concerning the territory of India". "India does not comment on the internal affairs of other countries and similarly expects other countries to do likewise," the ministry added. Kashmir China has described India's revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status, in place since Partition in 1947, as "unacceptable" and a threat to its territorial sovereignty. As well as the dispute between India and Pakistan, China also claims a strip of Kashmir, Aksai Chin. Following Friday's meeting between Mr Wang and the Pakistani foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the Chinese diplomat expressed grave concern about the situation in Kashmir, the cause of two wars between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan. Mr Wang had assured Mr Qureshi that Beijing would continue to support Pakistan to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, his ministry said in a statement. Kashmir itself on Monday remained under a communications blackout and a police curfew, with information still difficult to come by or verify. The Indian government said it was easing restrictions yesterday, and that the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha had been observed largely peacefully. It also condemned as "irresponsible" a series of tweets by Pakistani officials, including Prime Minister Imran Khan, which likened the Indian government to "Nazis" and "fascists". The row spilled over into a Los Angeles beauty event, where former Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra was accused of "encouraging nuclear war" over an Instagram caption in which she wrote "Jai Hind", meaning "victory to India" and included the hashtag IndianArmedForces. Referring to the post from February, an audience member at a beauty panel told Chopra: "You are a Unicef ambassador for peace and you're encouraging nuclear war against Pakistan. There's no winner in this." Chopra said: "War is not something that I'm really fond of, but I am patriotic." The woman, who named herself on Twitter as Ayesha Malik, was handed the microphone during the Q&A; portion of a BeautyCon panel featuring Chopra. The exchange was caught on camera. Ms Malik said: "It was kind of hard hearing you talk about humanity, because as your neighbour, a Pakistani, I know you're a bit of a hypocrite." The actress, a Unicef ambassador, was accused of fuelling tensions with a tweet backing Indian armed forces and exclaiming "Jai Hind" (Victory to India) Credit: John Sciulli/Getty Ms Malik added: "As a Pakistani, millions of people like me have supported you in your business of Bollywood." Staff then grabbed the microphone away. Chopra, who is married to US pop star Nick Jonas, replied: "I hear you. Whenever you're done venting. Got it? Done? Okay, cool." The 37-year-old said "war is not something that I'm really fond of, but I am patriotic", adding "but I think that all of us have a sort of middle ground that we all have to walk". She added: "The way you came at me right now, girl, don't yell. We're all here for love. Don't yell. Don't embarrass yourself."
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| From Bill Clinton to Julius Caesar, here are 12 world leaders who were left-handed Posted: 12 Aug 2019 05:06 AM PDT  August 13 is International Left Handers Day. Though left-handers make up just 10% of the world, many of them have very important jobs.
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| Ohio governor proposes 'personal protection order' following Dayton shooting Posted: 11 Aug 2019 12:12 PM PDT  Republican Gov. Mike DeWine says the proposed law would not allow someone's gun to be taken without a judge's determination.
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| Epstein's guards worked extreme OT shifts morning of death Posted: 11 Aug 2019 08:37 PM PDT  Guards on Jeffrey Epstein's unit were working extreme overtime shifts to make up for staffing shortages the morning of his apparent suicide, a person familiar with the jail's operations told The Associated Press. The person said that the Metropolitan Correctional Center's Special Housing Unit was staffed with one guard working a fifth straight day of overtime and another who was working mandatory overtime. Epstein's abrupt death cuts short a criminal prosecution that could have pulled back the curtain on the inner workings of a high-flying financier with connections to celebrities and presidents, though prosecutors have vowed to continue investigating.
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| 'Exemplary parents': 2 gay penguins have adopted an abandoned egg in Berlin Zoo Posted: 12 Aug 2019 11:24 AM PDT  Skipper and Ping, the two male emperor penguins, have taken in an abandoned egg. Zookeepers say they've been "acting like exemplary parents."
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| Conservative Giammattei elected Guatemala president Posted: 12 Aug 2019 06:13 AM PDT  Conservative Alejandro Giammattei has been elected president in Guatemala, sweeping to victory on promises to stem mass migrations to the United States by combating poverty, corruption and violence in the Central American country. Giammattei defeated former first lady Sandra Torres in a run-off Sunday, garnering more than 58 percent of the vote. Torres, a social democrat, won 42 percent.
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| UPDATE 1-U.S. transportation chief asks new FAA head to review agency in wake of 737 MAX crashes Posted: 12 Aug 2019 10:43 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-U.S. transportation chief asks new FAA head to review agency in wake of 737 MAX crashes]( "UPDATE 1-U.S. transportation chief asks new FAA head to review agency in wake of 737 MAX crashes") U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said on Monday she has asked the new head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to assess the agency's performance in the wake of two fatal crashes of Boeing Co's 737 MAX planes since October. Dickson reiterated the position of his predecessor, Dan Elwell, who has been the acting FAA chief since January 2018, that the Boeing 737 MAX "will not fly in commercial service until I am completely satisfied that it is safe to do so.
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| Typhoon Lekima death toll rises to 44 in eastern China Posted: 11 Aug 2019 10:16 PM PDT  A monster storm that smashed its way up the eastern China coast and forced more than a million residents to flee has killed 44 people, state media said Monday. Footage on state broadcaster CCTV showed fields and streets flooded by muddy water, submerged vehicles, scattered debris and trees blown over as strong winds and rain from Typhoon Lekima pounded cities along the seaboard. At least 16 people were still missing as the storm moved further up the coast near Beijing.
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| U.S.-Taliban talks end without deal, both sides to consult Posted: 11 Aug 2019 08:21 PM PDT ![U.S.-Taliban talks end without deal, both sides to consult]( "U.S.-Taliban talks end without deal, both sides to consult") Talks on a pact that would allow the United States to end its longest war and withdraw troops from Afghanistan ended on Monday without agreement and both sides saying they would consult their leaders on the next steps. Held in Qatar since late last year, the talks have brought hopes for a deal allowing U.S. troops to leave in exchange for a Taliban promise that Afghanistan will not be used by Islamist militants as a base from which to plot attacks abroad. The eighth round of talks, which began on Aug. 3 and focused on technical details, ended in the early hours, according to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
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| 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Super Cobra Jet Has Modern Performance Posted: 12 Aug 2019 09:03 AM PDT  It has the looks to kill and the engine to back it up!In order to revamp the image of the Mustang, Ford gave it a complete restyling for 1969, and the top dog of this newly revamped model was the 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Super Cobra Jet. The Mach 1's livery worked in perfect conjunction with the new lines and longer body that was introduced in 1969. This particular example is one that got the magical 428 cubic-inch engine upgrade, over the stranded 351cid V8, and also gets the goods that come along with the top tier Super Cobra Jet trim. The 428 Super Cobra Jet version was offered as a Drag-Pack option. It utilized a shaker hood scoop, temperature decreasing engine oil cooler, modified crankshaft, and stronger connecting rods for high-end revving. The powerful engine was backed by a four-speed manual transmission that fed into a limited-slip rearend. More to Read...First Battle Of The Builders Champ 1969 CamaroNow's Your Chance To Own A 2019 Petty's Garage Warrior MustangThis setup was underrated by Ford with an estimated horsepower rating of 335-horsepower, but independent dyno tests have debunked many of the manufacturer's horsepower ratings during this time - the automakers practiced underrating for various reasons, including insurance rates for their customers, and emissions practices.It is rated as having 440 lbs/ft of torque, which means the horsepower rating is more likely in the 400s as well. To back this up, the car was capable of sprinting to sixty miles per hour in just 5.7-seconds, and was capable of covering a quarter-mile in just 13.9-seconds at 103 miles per hour - those are modern performance figures! This example from Unique Specialty & Classic Cars is confirmed by the VIN (9F02R127133) to be a true Super Cobra Jet Mach 1. It underwent a frame-ff, rotisserie restoration back in the early 2000s, and no detail was overlooked. The Mach 1 was restored back to the condition it left the assembly line in originally, and will make a great driver's car, or addition to your show car collection.
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| Brick thrown through windshield of Illinois State Police car in Morgan Park Posted: 12 Aug 2019 08:34 AM PDT  A brick crashed through the rear windshield of an Illinois State Police squad car Monday morning in the Morgan Park neighborhood, Chicago police said.
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| Black man's family wants review of Colorado police shooting Posted: 12 Aug 2019 09:46 AM PDT ![Black man's family wants review of Colorado police shooting]( "Black man's family wants review of Colorado police shooting") Attorneys for the family of a young black man who was fatally shot by Colorado police called Monday for an independent special prosecutor to investigate his death. Surveillance video obtained last week by The Gazette showed 19-year-old De'Von Bailey running from two officers before falling to the ground. Colorado Springs police have said an officer shot Bailey on Aug. 3 after he reached for a gun but they have not elaborated, citing a pending sheriff's office investigation and subsequent review by the district attorney.
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| Democrats stump for election security, blast McConnell at hacker conference Posted: 12 Aug 2019 05:17 AM PDT  Election security experts overwhelmingly say these provisions are vital for protecting the democratic process.
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| BMW to convert personal garages into inductive EV charging stations Posted: 12 Aug 2019 07:45 AM PDT  On Friday, BMW announced that it will extend its Induction Charging Pilot Program to the US, bringing 100% cableless electric vehicle charging to select owners on the West Coast. Last year, BMW launched the Induction Charging Pilot Program in Germany, a program that converts volunteers' garages into inductive charging stations for the BMW 530e iPerformance. All costs related to the installation, maintenance, and removal of the pad will be covered by BMW.
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| Walmart, Victoria’s Secret, SoulCycle Can’t Avoid Political Outrage Posted: 12 Aug 2019 07:43 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Business leaders hoping late summer would offer a break from mounting political and social pressures have had a rude awakening.Two lethal shootings and a third attempt at Walmart stores put the retailer back into the spotlight on gun rights. Exercise companies SoulCycle and Equinox worked to fend off a boycott triggered by investor Steve Ross' support for President Donald Trump. Les Wexner, CEO of Victoria's Secret parent company L Brands Inc., tried again to distance the company from alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, as well as models' complaints of harassment.Since 2017, when business leaders were pressured to step down from President Donald Trump's advisory council, companies have found it increasingly hard to separate business from politics. Calls for action have become a quagmire for executives, and there's no clear consensus on how to respond."The more people look to businesses to make a political statement, the more dangerous it is for businesses not to make a political statement," said Kabrina Chang, who teaches business ethics at Boston University's Questrom School of Business. "The problem with that is that they are going to get killed for the political statement. For better or worse, society is looking to business more than ever."Two people died in a shooting at a Walmart in Mississippi on July 30. More than 40 were shot in an unrelated attack Aug. 3 at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas. An additional shooting may have been thwarted Thursday when a gunman wearing body armor was stopped by an armed private citizen outside a Walmart in Springfield, Missouri.As one of the country's biggest firearms retailers, Walmart is a frequent target of anti-violence activists. In 2015, the company stopped selling military-style weapons, citing sluggish demand. Last year the company said it would increase the age to purchase firearms and ammunition to 21 years old.Walmart ResponseEarlier this week, the New York Times published an open letter calling on Walmart Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon and other business leaders to use their companies' market power to influence the way guns are bought, sold and tracked in the U.S.In a letter to employees posted on the company's website on Aug. 7, McMillon said Walmart would consider the "broader national discussion around gun violence" and "act in a way that reflects the best values and ideals of our company." Two days later, the retailer said it would remove violent imagery from its stores.Walmart did not respond to a request seeking additional comment.Employers are just as likely to face pressure from their own employees. A Walmart employee was locked out of corporate email and chat services last week after he tried to organize a protest over gun sales. Twitter, Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s YouTube and Google have all bowed to pressure from their employees or customers to block or limit content or contracts that are considered offensive. Wayfair Inc. employees walked out to protest sales to contractors furnishing border camps for asylum seekers.In the current climate, companies can't play access-driven, politics as usual, said Rashad Robinson, executive director of civil rights organization Color of Change. "Companies are talking a position when they decide to sell guns in the first place, or when they decide that their CEO is going to make certain political donations," he said. "It's not that they've got to make a choice about whether to not do something. They also have to examine what the status quo was in the first place."Wait It Out?It's not always clear what if anything a company should do. Sometimes, the best option is to try to wait it out, Boston University's Chang said. Most controversies are short-lived, and there's no way to please everyone. Companies face the risk of angering groups like Robinson's on the left or a boycott call from organizations like 2nd Vote on the other side. Over the weekend, 2nd Vote re-iterated calls for companies to get stay out of politics and focus on selling products.Stanford research shows that whatever they do, companies should proceed with caution, because people are more likely to stop buying over positions they disagree with than company positions they support.Hundreds of companies have signed pledges to support LGBT rights, but few have spoken out against newly restrictive abortion laws. Nike Inc. built a campaign around its support of Colin Kaepernick and, recently, pulled shoes emblazoned with a historical version of the American flag that's often also used by racist groups. Hobby Lobby and Chick-Fil-A have stuck by controversial positions on gay marriage. Target Corp. augmented its policy to allow customers to use restrooms based on their gender preference by agreeing to add single-occupant bathrooms to stores without them.Hobby Lobby and Chick-Fil-A did not respond to requests for comment on their current positions. Target did not have an immediate comment on the status of the bathroom policy."Businesses are in a really precarious situation," said Chang. "If Walmart stopped selling guns, it might make us feel better. But would it really be long-term change for the better for society?"To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Green in Southfield, Michigan at jgreen16@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Janet Paskin at jpaskin@bloomberg.net;Anne Riley Moffat at ariley17@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Searching for lost lives: S.Africa's unidentified corpses Posted: 11 Aug 2019 07:25 PM PDT  At Olifantsvlei cemetery on the outskirts of southern Johannesburg, undertakers clad in white plastic overalls, boots and face masks take on a grim task: mass pauper burials. The routine is a sombre reminder of South Africa's perennial failure to identify many corpses. At the busiest mortuaries in Johannesburg, one in every 10 bodies is unidentified.
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| Indian authorities lock down Kashmir's major city on Eid holiday Posted: 12 Aug 2019 04:06 AM PDT  Indian security forces kept disputed Kashmir's biggest city of Srinagar largely locked down on Monday, the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, to prevent any major protests against a decision that scrapped the Himalayan region's special rights. Frustration is growing in Muslim-majority Kashmir, which is also claimed by Pakistan, over India's move last week to curtail autonomy for the state of Jammu and Kashmir, including a bar on non-residents buying property. "We want freedom, we are neither a part of India, nor Pakistan," said Asifa, an 18-year-old woman who was among those protesting after prayers at the shrine of Jinab Sahib in Soura.
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| Freshly Restored 1968 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS Pro Touring Posted: 12 Aug 2019 09:59 AM PDT  Low miles with modern performance and luxury upgrades. Flemings Ultimate Garage is pleased to announce this 1968 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS Pro Touring model up for sale. For the 1968 model year, Chevrolet could leave well enough alone with the Camaro; it was an instant hit and racking up strong sales numbers and track figures against the Mustang. After all, the saying does go "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." The changes from 1967 to 1968 were subtle, but thoughtful nonetheless. The vent windows that framed the A-pillars were eliminated, so GM installed air vents below the dash called "Astro-Ventilation" to get proper airflow to the driver. The model you see here is an excellent example from '68 and will make a stunning addition to your garage. The Camaro is timeless, and this recently restored coupe is nothing short of a masterpiece.This '68 Camaro RS/SS is dressed in Cortez Silver paint with a mirror finish and black Super Sport nose stripes. The car is in show-quality, having been waxed and detailed to perfection. The interior features custom fourth-generation Camaro Houndstooth black 10-way power seats. Other cabin goodies include a custom aluminum trim floor console, optional Cool-it floor and door sound deadening, a new Vintage Air a/c system, CPP fast-ratio power steering, and upgraded Pioneer digital sound system with AM/FM/USB/AUX with Pioneer 6x9 speakers. The dash also features new vintage 3-in-1 full custom gauges, including a 140 speedometer and an 8K rpm tachometer.Powering this bad boy is a brand-new GM Performance Parts hi-performance fuel-injected aluminum LS3 V8 engine making over 500 horsepower! It's mated to a rebuilt Tremec T-56 six-speed manual transmission with a modern hydraulic clutch and an LS7 pressure plate. This Camaro has its original 12-bolt rear differential with an Eaton Posi rebuild with Moser axles and 3.73 gears.The car rides on 18x8 and 18x9 Bonspeed Puresport two-piece forged alloy wheels wrapped in Nitto hi-speed radials. It's lowered on Hotchkis springs with brand-new Bilstein shocks, and optional Hotchkis sway bars and tubular control arms. All of the power is stopped via Wilwood four-wheel power disc brakes with 14-inch six-piston calipers up front and 13-inch four-piston calipers at the rear. It sounds incredible too, thanks to the polished stainless dual exhaust with Magnaflow mufflers, X-pipe, and long-tube headers.This Camaro was freshly restored not too long ago and looks the part. Since the resto, it's only clocked 2,290 miles! This baby is now ready for a new owner to continue its story. The current asking price as of this writing is $89,900, and you can make an offer right here. Read More: * Built To Thrill: 800-Horsepower 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS * Gorgeous Hugger Orange 1972 Chevrolet Camaro Restomod For Sale
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