| FBI raids Jeffery Epstein’s ‘paedophile’ island as Justice Department announces staff shakeup at prison where he died Posted: 13 Aug 2019 12:25 PM PDT  The FBI has conducted a raid on accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's private island, according to reports, as two guards assigned to watch the disgraced financier before his apparent suicide in prison were put on administrative leave. Federal officials were seen spreading across the island of Little St James by US vessels and on golf carts, just two days after the disgraced financier died of an apparent suicide in a New York prison. Epstein was facing new sex trafficking and conspiracy charges over allegations he operated an international child sex trafficking ring. The 66-year-old was set to stand trial next year and was facing 45 years in jail if convicted.Kelly Quinn, who was operating a sailing charter near Epstein's private island at the time of the raid, told NBC News: "We were just trying to look at pretty fish and swim with turtles and here we are in the middle of an FBI raid.""This has been something on our radar for years," she added. "We're all really curious why it's happening now."The property, which sits between the larger St Thomas and St John islands, has been dubbed "paedophile island". Epstein had been accused of trafficking girls who were as young as 12 to his sprawling facilities on the island.A drone flying over Epstein's residence managed to record the FBI raid. The recording, which was posted to YouTube, shows agents inside a room seemingly going through belongings. The agents later notice the drone and begin shielding their operations with cardboard boxes placed along the windows. News of the FBI raid came as the US Justice Department announced that the warden for the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York – where Epstein was being held when he died – had been temporarily reassigned. At least two guards who were on duty at the time of Epstein's death on Saturday have also been placed on leave, the department said in a statement. The correctional facilities showed "serious irregularities" at the time of Epstein's death, attorney general William Barr said, adding that the Justice Department and FBI were continuing with their investigations into the death of the disgraced financier.Donald Trump told reporters he wanted a "full investigation" into Epstein's death. "That's what I absolutely am demanding," he said. "That's what our attorney general, our great attorney general, is doing. He's doing a full investigation."
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| Officials blame 'political rhetoric and misinformation' after shots fired at San Antonio ICE office Posted: 14 Aug 2019 12:32 PM PDT  An ICE spokesman said that "political rhetoric and misinformation" from politicians, media outlets, and activists were to blame for the shooting.
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| Russians hail 'hero' pilot after Moscow emergency landing Posted: 15 Aug 2019 07:25 AM PDT  A Russian pilot was hailed as a hero Thursday for safely landing an Airbus carrying more than 230 people in a Moscow corn field after a bird strike. The Ural Airlines A321 flying to Crimea hit a flock of seagulls shortly after take-off from Moscow's Zhukovsky airport early Thursday, the Rosaviatsia air transport agency said in a statement. Birds were sucked into the engines and the crew decided to immediately land, bringing the plane down in the corn field about a kilometre from the runway, with the engines off and the landing gear retracted.
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| U.S. scientist to file whistleblower complaint after agency halts his climate work Posted: 14 Aug 2019 02:33 PM PDT  A climate scientist for the Trump administration's health protection agency who was ordered to drop work on climate issues will file a whistleblower complaint this week with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, his lawyers said on Wednesday. George Luber, who ran the climate and health program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is an expert on the health impacts of climate change including risks to hospitals and public health infrastructure and of diseases borne by mosquitoes and ticks as they increasingly move into northern regions as temperatures rise. Luber has been a contributor to U.S. government reports including the National Climate Assessment, which last year warned that climate change could cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars.
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| Trump Panics, Rushes Into Xi’s Arms Posted: 14 Aug 2019 08:38 PM PDT  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- It only took a small taste of what a U.S. recession might be like for President Donald Trump to suggest that he wants a trade deal with China after all.The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 800 points in its worst rout of the year after the gap between the two-year and 10-year Treasury yields turned negative for the first time since 2007. An inverted yield curve has preceded the last seven recessions in the U.S.Ever sensitive to stock movements, the president tried to calm the markets after the close. Abandoning his hawkish trade rhetoric, Trump extended an olive branch to Chinese President Xi Jinping in a series of tweets, calling him a "great leader" and a "good man." He ended his posts with "Personal meeting?," without specifying whether he was proposing a summit.The question is how Xi will respond to Trump's overture. Who's more desperate for a trade deal right now? Consider where China and the U.S. are in their respective business cycles. Since the trade war started, American consumers have sat tight and enjoyed their prosperity – just as Trump has boasted. China's economy, by contrast, has been having a much tougher time. In the past year and a half, Beijing has had to deal with all sorts of credit issues that could escalate into a wider economic crisis.Examples abound. Last year, regulators changed margin-financing rules as the stock market suffered one of the world's worst routs. The declines stemmed partly from listed companies pledging shares as collateral to secure short-term bank financing. This spring, the People's Bank of China undertook the first commercial bank seizure in two decades and was forced to calm ensuing jitters in the interbank market. Meanwhile, Beijing has had to deal with periodic peer-to-peer lending crises and bond defaults by state-affiliated entities. That might sound bad, but it helps China now. If a fireman has to put out fires every day for a year, he gets more proficient. That's where Beijing is now.The same can't be said of the U.S.. The slide in its sovereign long-term bond yields – a measure of investor confidence – has been fast and furious. Just two weeks ago, when Federal Reverse Chairman Jerome Powell described the U.S. rate cut as a " mid-cycle adjustment," the gap between the 2-year and 10-year bond yields was still 21 basis points. On Thursday morning in Asia, the 30-year yield, which more reflects traders' view of the overall health of the economy rather than the depth of the current easing cycle, fell to a record low below 2%. To be sure, China's economy is slowing: Industrial output growth is at its weakest since 2002. But digging deep into the data, the picture that emerges is of a government that's measured and confident. For instance, some of the weakness in the July data reflected moves to rein in shadow financing and restart property deleveraging. If Beijing wants better-looking industrial output numbers, it just needs to reopen the liquidity taps – as we saw in the first quarter.On Thursday, the PBOC was showing no signs of panic. The central bank rolled over 383 billion yuan ($54 billion) of medium-term facility loans with interest rates unchanged. While the world's largest central banks are racing toward zero rates, the PBOC has been sitting on the sidelines, saving its firepower for later.China's system has its advantages when it comes to economic management, as I've written. The ability of ministries to co-ordinate their policy responses means China can practice the ultimate in modern monetary theory, which is probably what the U.S. needs right now to restore its yield curve.So while Trump may think his olive branch is a big deal, the message to Washington is: Don't think you've got China on the ropes. Xi was panicking a year ago; he can afford to wait now. To contact the author of this story: Shuli Ren at sren38@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Matthew Brooker at mbrooker1@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Shuli Ren is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian markets. She previously wrote on markets for Barron's, following a career as an investment banker, and is a CFA charterholder.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Super-Quick Dinners That Are So Much Better Than Takeout Posted: 14 Aug 2019 02:27 PM PDT |
| I've treated suicidal prisoners — Jeffrey Epstein's death is a medical, security disgrace Posted: 15 Aug 2019 04:00 AM PDT  No matter what happened in Jeffrey Epstein's cell, medial personnel and prison authorities clearly failed in their duty to monitor and treat him.
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| Shooter's friend who bought body armor to remain in jail Posted: 14 Aug 2019 01:55 PM PDT  Authorities said there's no indication Ethan Kollie knew his friend was planning a mass shooting, but they did accuse him of lying on a federal firearms form while buying a pistol not used in the shooting. A U.S. magistrate judge on Wednesday continued a detention hearing for Kollie until Thursday after all sides could not agree on conditions for his release. "The allegations in the criminal complaint are very, very serious," said Magistrate Judge Michael J. Newman, who also voiced concerns about drug use and a possible mental health issue he wouldn't elaborate on.
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| Police officer kills himself, the 9th NYPD death by suicide this year Posted: 15 Aug 2019 08:45 AM PDT  An off-duty veteran New York city police officer killed himself, becoming the ninth police officer to die by suicide this year, authorities said.
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| Five killed as Pakistan and India trade fire amid Kashmir tension Posted: 15 Aug 2019 04:12 AM PDT  Three Pakistani troops and two civilians were killed during a clash with India over the disputed frontier in Kashmir, as Imran Khan warned of the ethnic cleansing of Muslims after Delhi revoked the region's autonomy. Pakistan's military said India had opened fire over the fortified line of control killing three soldiers, before a counter attack had killed five Indian troops. India denied any of its soldiers had died and accused Pakistan of breaking a ceasefire. The fighting came as Pakistan held a symbolic "black day" of protest to coincide with India's Independence Day. Mr Khan, the prime minister of Pakistan, warned there would be "radicalisation and cycles of violence" across the Muslim world if the international community ignored abuses inside Indian-administered Kashmir. Pakistan claims ownership of the disputed territory and has reacted with fury to last week's decision to revoke Indian-administered Kashmir's special status. In efforts to divert attention from precarious situation in IOJ&K;,Indian Army increases firing along LOC. 3 Pakistani soldiers embraced shahadat. Pakistan Army responded effectively. 5 Indian soldiers killed, many injured, bunkers damaged. Intermittent exchange of fire continues. pic.twitter.com/wx1RoYdiKE— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) August 15, 2019 Thursday saw newspapers print editions with black borders and politicians, including Mr Khan, replaced their social media pictures with black squares. Mr Khan accused the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, of forcing Muslims out of the state of Gujarat when he was chief minister in 2002. Likening the situation in Kashmir to the massacre of Bosniaks during the Bosnian War, Mr Khan said: "Will the world silently witness another Srebrenica-type massacre and ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Indian-occupied Kashmir? I want to warn the international community if it allows this to happen, it will have severe repercussions & reactions in the Muslim world setting off radicalisation and cycles of violence." A man waves a Pakistan-administered Kashmir flag as he takes part in Independence Day celebrations in Karachi on August 14, 2019, Credit: AFP Pakistan says India's abolition of Kashmir's self-rule move was illegal and has started a diplomatic push to try to persuade the United Nations to intervene. Yet the country's foreign minister has also admitted India's trading power and Pakistan's isolation leave Islamabad with little leverage. Despite India imposing a strict military crackdown in what is India's only Muslim-majority state, Pakistan's allies in the Gulf have remained quiet. Mr Modi told an Independence Day gathering that Kashmir's special constitutional status had encouraged corruption and nepotism, while creating injustice for women, children and minority communities. "Today every Indian can proudly say 'One Nation, One Constitution'," he said from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi. Mr Modi also used his speech to warn of an unchecked population boom in the world's second largest nation. He said: "It is time to accept the challenges up front... population explosion. It will bring a lot of challenges for the future generations of this country." "We have to think if we can do justice to the aspirations of our children. There is a need to have greater discussion and awareness on population explosion." The prime minister hailed an "informed section" of Indians who were already having smaller families as "playing a big role in doing good for the country".
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| Only passenger on a Delta flight has the time of his life with the crew Posted: 13 Aug 2019 03:03 PM PDT  Have you ever wished you could have a whole plane to yourself? Same.One lucky man, Vincent Peone, recently found himself in that rare position, and as you may imagine it did not suck.Upon learning he was the only passenger on a Delta flight, Peone -- who also happens to be a director -- recorded his unique experience and spliced together clips to make a hilarious video."Last week @Delta gave me my own private jet...kind of," Peone tweeted alongside the footage.SEE ALSO: Passenger and tarmac worker play rock-paper-scissors through plane windowIn the video you'll see Peone getting special treatment from Delta employees before he even boards the plane."Good evening ladies and gentleman, we're about to board our flight to Salt Lake City from Gate 5, would the only passenger on this flight kindly board at this time," an airport employee announces, to which Peone says, "That's me," and grabs his bag."I'm going to record this," Peone says to an employee as they walk across the tarmac to the plane. He then asks her if she's ever seen anyone fly alone on a plane before, and, crushing his history-making dreams, she says, "Yes they have. Sorry." Peone also recorded crew members "adding weight" to the plane "because there are no people" and himself enjoying a drink while the flight attendant welcomed him and only him over the speakers."Good evening Vincent, and welcome aboard. We look forward to taking care of you today. If you need any assistance getting settled we're delighted to serve you. To ensure an on-time departure please remain in your seat," she said.After Peone's plane landed, he stopped by the cockpit to meet and personally thank his pilots for his private flight, and proceeded to pose for a photograph outside the plane.In an interview with the Washington Post, Peone said he believes the unique circumstance was the result of the flight being rescheduled. He also confirmed that he was allowed to pick his own seat, which is a real dream."I sat window and aisle. I was tempted to try to set a record to sit in every single seat for like, two minutes on the flight, so that I could actually sit everywhere. But I didn't feel that ambitious," he explained.Though Delta hasn't officially reached out to its star passenger, the airline's Twitter account did reply to the video.> Hi Vincent! That looks like an awesome experience! Thank you for the shoutout, and we truly appreciate you for choosing Delta! Take care. ✈️ AJM> > -- Delta (@Delta) August 12, 2019It's always nice to hear about positive travel experiences every once in a while, and this one was truly impressive. WATCH: This 'hybrid drone' can hover like a helicopter and fly like a plane -- Future Blink
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| Huawei technicians have been helping governments in Uganda and Zambia spy on their political opponents, a new report says Posted: 14 Aug 2019 10:55 AM PDT  The Ugandan and Zambian governments reportedly enlisted help from Huawei employees to spy on their political opponents.
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| Behind Nate Silver’s war with The New York Times Posted: 15 Aug 2019 02:05 AM PDT ![Behind Nate Silver's war with The New York Times]( "Behind Nate Silver's war with The New York Times") The paper's onetime data guru can't stop kicking his ex-employer for its 2020 polling analysis and supposed capitulation to Trump.
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| 4chan post about Epstein's death before news was public didn't come from FDNY, officials say Posted: 13 Aug 2019 04:01 PM PDT  The FDNY said a 4chan post which claimed Jeffrey Epstein died well before it was first reported in the media did not come from the department.
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| 7-year-old walking dog is dragged into stranger’s car — but she escapes, Texas cops say Posted: 15 Aug 2019 07:09 AM PDT  A man has been arrested and a young girl is safe thanks to her quick thinking, police say.
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| Federal appeals court grants Texas inmate stay of execution Posted: 14 Aug 2019 07:32 PM PDT  A federal appeals court granted a stay of execution Wednesday to a Texas inmate just one day before he was scheduled to die for the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old woman during a carjacking in Houston. In an 18-page opinion filed Thursday, a three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that under recent case law and intellectual disability standards, Dexter Johnson is sufficiently impaired intellectually to disqualify him for Thursday's execution. The Supreme Court in 2002 barred execution of mentally disabled people but has given states some discretion to decide how to determine intellectual disability.
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| To Save a Bad Gun Law, Democratic Senators Threaten the Supreme Court Posted: 15 Aug 2019 03:30 AM PDT  I just finished reading of the most astonishing legal briefs I've ever read. It is easily the most malicious Supreme Court brief I've ever seen. And it comes not from an angry or unhinged private citizen, but from five Democratic members of the United States Senate. Without any foundation, they directly attack the integrity of the five Republican appointees and conclude with a threat to take political action against the Court if it doesn't rule the way they demand.The brief is so outside legal norms that, had I drafted it as a member of the Supreme Court bar, I'd be concerned about facing legal sanction for recklessly impugning the integrity of the Court.Here's the background. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Mazie Hirono, Richard Blumenthal, Richard Durbin, and Kirsten Gillibrand filed their short brief in a case called New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. the City of New York, the first Second Amendment case the Supreme Court has taken in nearly a decade.If that sounds momentous, don't be so sure. At issue is an extremely bizarre New York City law that banned the transport of a locked, unloaded licensed handgun outside the home unless the gun owner is traveling to one of only seven shooting ranges in the city. While the odds were remote that the Court would issue a sweeping Second Amendment ruling in a case involving a truly niche New York City law, it seemed likely that SCOTUS would strike down a regulation so strict that it prevented a person from taking his gun to a second home or even on a vacation to a jurisdiction that permitted him to arm himself.And so -- after fighting for its regulation through years of lower-court litigation -- the city and state of New York changed their laws, slightly loosening the transport restrictions to allow a person to take their gun to a second home, a gun range, or a shooting competition outside the city. New York then filed a motion arguing that its legal changes rendered the petitioners' claims moot. The New York Rifle and Pistol Association disagreed, arguing that even considering the city's "miserly" changes, the city rules still violated the Second Amendment.The ostensible purpose of the Democratic senators' brief is to support the city's claims that the case is moot and should be dismissed. Fair enough. Senators have the same rights as any other citizen to have their voice heard in the nation's highest court, and mootness arguments are common when defendants change rules to evade judicial review.The true intent of the brief, however, is to cast aspersions on the integrity of the Court itself. The senators ask the Court to dismiss the case to "stem the growing public belief that its decisions are 'motivated mainly by politics.'" It then details how much money the NRA spent to support the confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh (there's no mention of the amount of money progressive groups have spent to support the confirmation of progressive judges), questions the sources of money funding amicus briefs opposing New York's law, and then claims that if there were transparency, the petitioners' "amicus army would likely be revealed as more akin to marionettes controlled by a puppetmaster than to a groundswell of support rallying to a cause."It gets worse. Read this remarkable paragraph:> From October Term 2005 through October Term 2017, this Court issued 78 5–4 (or 5–3) opinions in which justices appointed by Republican presidents provided all five votes in the majority. In 73 of these 5–4 decisions, the cases concerned interests important to the big funders, corporate influencers, and political base of the Republican Party. And in each of these 73 cases, those partisan interests prevailed.Note that there is no concern expressed with lockstep voting by progressives. There is no acknowledgment that different justices have competing judicial philosophies. Nor is there any recognition that in hundreds of cases the philosophical divides are not so apparent, and that Democratic- and Republican-appointed justices vote together with striking frequency.But the senators aren't done. Not by a long shot:> With bare partisan majorities, the Court has influenced sensitive areas like voting rights, partisan gerrymandering, dark money, union power, regulation of pollution, corporate liability, and access to federal court, particularly regarding civil rights and discrimination in the workplace. Every single time, the corporate and Republican political interests prevailed. The pattern of outcomes is striking; and so is the frequency with which these 5–4 majorities disregarded "conservative" judicial principles like judicial restraint, originalism, stare decisis, and even federalism.The implication is plain. The conservative justices are doing the bidding of their "corporate and Republican" masters. Their principles are malleable; only the results matter, and the results are dictated by the men and women who supported their confirmation and fund the litigation before the Court. "This backdrop," the senators argue, "no doubt encourages petitioners' brazen confidence that this Court will be a partner in their 'project.'"I've got a question for the senators. When progressive activist groups organize to support the confirmation of Democratic judicial nominees, are their efforts inherently suspect, and the justices they help confirm inherently tainted?The brief ends with this ominous warning:> The Supreme Court is not well. And the people know it. Perhaps the Court can heal itself before the public demands it be "restructured in order to reduce the influence of politics." Particularly on the urgent issue of gun control, a nation desperately needs it to heal.Translation: Nice nine-person Supreme Court you have there. It would be a shame if anything happened to it.It's hard to describe to non-lawyers how truly extraordinary this filing is. You can spend a lifetime reading Supreme Court briefs, and while you'll certainly find passionate argument, the number of threats against the Court -- much less threats buttressed by transparently obvious allegations of judicial corruption -- will be extraordinarily rare. But don't tell that to five powerful members of the world's greatest deliberative body. They'll resort to character assassination to save a progressive city from the constitutional reckoning it so richly deserves.
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| Mexican president says predecessor not under investigation in graft case Posted: 14 Aug 2019 06:56 AM PDT  Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday that his predecessor, Enrique Pena Nieto, is not under investigation in a probe into suspected corruption that has ensnared one of Pena Nieto's former cabinet ministers. On Tuesday, a judge ordered that former Social Development Minister Rosario Robles be detained pending a trial over missing public funds. Lopez Obrador said judges would decide whether more people were implicated.
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| After His Wife's Death in Walmart Mass Shooting, El Paso Man With No Other Immediate Family Invites Public to Her Funeral Posted: 14 Aug 2019 11:53 AM PDT  A man whose wife of 22 years was killed in the El Paso, Texas shooting is inviting the public to her funeral services because he has no other family in the area, a funeral home said Tuesday
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| China's Tencent sorry for saying typhoon killed 'nearly everyone' Posted: 14 Aug 2019 10:49 PM PDT  Chinese internet giant Tencent has been forced to apologise after its video team reported that a typhoon had wiped out the entire population of a province in east China that is home to nearly 100 million people. Typhoon Lekima hit the Chinese provinces of Zhejiang, Shandong and Anhui over the weekend, forcing more than two million residents to flee. China's official news agency Xinhua said late Tuesday that at least 49 people were killed with dozens still missing.
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| With Brexit looming, the future of Ireland is at stake Posted: 15 Aug 2019 05:38 AM PDT  It would be one of the great ironies of history if the U.K. departure from the EU actually led to the end of its occupation of Northern Ireland.
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| Satellite photos: Chinese armored vehicles near Hong Kong Posted: 14 Aug 2019 10:38 AM PDT  Satellite photos show what appear to be armored personnel carriers and other vehicles belonging to the China's paramilitary People's Armed Police parked in a sports complex in the city of Shenzhen, in what some have interpreted as a threat from Beijing to use increased force against pro-democracy protesters across the border in Hong Kong. The pictures collected on Monday by Maxar's WorldView show 500 or more vehicles sitting on and around the soccer stadium at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center just across the harbor from the Asian financial hub that has been rocked by more than two months of near-daily street demonstrations.
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| The black hole at the center of our galaxy just lit up twice as bright as ever. Who knows why Posted: 14 Aug 2019 12:09 PM PDT  Astronomers observing the black hole at the center of our galaxy watched it light up with "unprecedented brightness." And they aren't sure why.
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| Sheriff: Deputy was on duty when he tried to have sex with minor in predator sting Posted: 13 Aug 2019 12:03 PM PDT  The deputy showed up in his patrol car, but it wasn't a teenage girl waiting, Sheriff Leon Lott said.
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| Marine Corps F-35s practice 'shock and awe' strikes in the Pacific with back-to-back bombing runs Posted: 14 Aug 2019 07:41 AM PDT  A Marine Corps officer who observed the training in the Pacific said that the Marines can now "rain destruction like never before."
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| Netanyahu bars Democrat congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from entering Israel Posted: 15 Aug 2019 08:23 AM PDT  Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to bar two Muslim-American Democrat congresswomen from entering Israel after Donald Trump said it would show "great weakness" to allow them in. The move will inflame tensions between the Israeli prime minister and the Democratic Party but will delight Mr Trump, who has repeatedly targeted both women with racial attacks. It may also set a precedent that could see Jeremy Corbyn barred from visiting Israel or the Palestinian territories because he supports boycotting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, the first Muslim women in Congress, were due to arrive this weekend for a tour of Jerusalem and several West Bank Palestinian cities. Both women have expressed support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement, which encourages boycotts of Israel in protest of its treatment of the Palestinians. Israeli law allows the government to ban BDS supporters from entering the country but Israel's ambassador in Washington said previously that Ms Omar and Ms Tlaib would be allowed in "out of respect for the US Congress". However, in recent days Mr Trump made clear that he wanted the women to be barred. "It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep.Tlaib to visit," he said on Twitter. "They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds." It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep.Tlaib to visit. They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds. Minnesota and Michigan will have a hard time putting them back in office. They are a disgrace!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 15, 2019 Tzipi Hotovely, Israel's deputy foreign minister confirmed on Thursday afternoon they would not be allowed to enter. "We won't allow those who deny our right to exist in this world to enter Israel. In principle this is a very justified decision," she said. Miftah, a Palestinian group helping to organise the trip, said Israel was trying to "impose a blackout on reality in occupied Palestine and prevent Congresswomen Tlaib and Omar from having direct contact with Palestinian people". "This ban is a clear case of discrimination and hostility based on political views and ethnic background, deserving of moral indignation and unequivocal condemnation in Palestine and the United States," the group said. Ms Omar and Ms Tlaib were among a wave of Left-wing Democrats elected in the 2018 midterm elections. They are members of "the Squad", a group of four progressive Democrat congresswomen which includes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Ms Tlaib is of Palestinian origin and both women are strong supporters of Palestinian rights. However, both have also been accused of veering into anti-Semitism while criticising Israel. Donald Trump has repeatedly launched racial attacks against Ms Omar Credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images Ms Omar suggested that pro-Israel groups were buying up American politicians to get them to support the Jewish state. Ms Tlaib said Palestinians had provided a "safe haven" for Jews after the Holocaust, when Palestinians in fact fiercely resisted Jewish immigration to the region. Mr Trump has taken aim at both women in a series of tweets, suggesting that they "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came". Both women are US citizens and Ms Tlaib was born in Michigan. Mr Trump's supporters chanted "send her back" about Ms Omar at a recent rally, a chorus that the president later distanced himself from. Mr Netanyahu's decision was immediately condemned by Democrat presidential candidates. "This would be a shameful, unprecedented move," said Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat senator who is among the leading candidates for president. Israel doesn't advance its case as a tolerant democracy or unwavering US ally by barring elected members of Congress from visiting because of their political views. This would be a shameful, unprecedented move. I urge Israel's government to allow @IlhanMN and @RashidaTlaib entry.— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) August 15, 2019 Democrats have become openly critical of the Right-wing Israeli leader in recent years and several Democrat presidential candidates have accused him of racism. Many Democrats have not forgiven Mr Netanyahu for a 2015 speech he gave in Washington lambasting Barack Obama's nuclear agreement with Iran. The speech was seen by Democrats as disrespectful of Mr Obama. Thursday's decision has potential implications for any future visits to Israel by Mr Corbyn, who has called for boycotts of Israeli settlements and for a halt to arms sales to the Jewish state. Israeli officials had previously said that an exception would be made for Mr Corbyn out of respect for the British-Israeli partnership. However, if Israel is prepared to risk a confrontation with the Democratic Party it seems they could also bar the Labour leader. Mr Netanyahu's decision was criticised by some Israeli liberals. "A country with a smart foreign policy would invite members of congress who do not like its positions and make sure that the visit exposes the complexity of the conflict," said Stav Shaffir, an opposition MP. "The cowardly Netanyahu slams the door and gives a gift to BDS, who gives back to Bibi gift: fear and disconnection."
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| View Photos of the 2020 Volkswagen T-Roc Cabriolet Posted: 14 Aug 2019 10:02 AM PDT |
| A man with no family lost his wife in the El Paso shooting. So he invited the public to her funeral Posted: 14 Aug 2019 01:22 PM PDT  Margie Reckard, 63, was one of the victims of a mass shooting by a 21-year-old who targeted customers and employees who were Hispanic.
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| Unexploded WWII bomb found in Kremlin Posted: 15 Aug 2019 07:53 AM PDT  An unexploded World War II bomb was found in the grounds of the Kremlin in Moscow during construction works on Thursday, Russian news agencies reported. "As you know, between 1941 and 1942 the Kremlin was bombed," Sergei Khlebnikov, the commandant of the Kremlin, told the Ria Novosti agency. The bomb was taken out of the Kremlin complex and will be liquidated, he said.
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| What a Deadly Nuclear Explosion In Russia Tells Us About the World's New Arms Race Posted: 14 Aug 2019 10:41 AM PDT  "Accidents happen," said Vladimir Putin. But this wasn't simply a case of rotten luck
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| Widows sue over troopers' deaths in helicopter crash Posted: 14 Aug 2019 10:43 AM PDT  The widows of two Virginia state troopers killed in a helicopter crash the day of a violent white nationalist rally have sued the state and others over their husbands' deaths, alleging the aircraft was not properly maintained or repaired. Amanda Bates and Karen Cullen filed wrongful death lawsuits Monday. H. Jay Cullen and Berke M.M. Bates were aboard the Bell 407 single-engine helicopter on Aug. 12, 2017, to provide video surveillance of public demonstrations in Charlottesville.
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| Fox Host Compares Migrants to Nazis: ‘We’ve Been Invaded by a Horde’ Posted: 14 Aug 2019 10:31 AM PDT  Fox Nation/ScreenshotLess than two weeks after 22 people were killed in El Paso by an accused shooter who told officials he targeted Mexicans and apparently posted a racist manifesto complaining about a "Hispanic invasion," Fox Nation host Todd Starnes likened migrants to Nazis while claiming America has been invaded by a "rampaging horde of illegal aliens."During Wednesday's broadcast of Fox Nation's Starnes Country, first spotted by Media Matters, the conservative pundit groused that The New York Times had recently observed that the El Paso suspect had echoed the same incendiary rhetoric as right-wing media, including Fox News. He then went on to proudly note that he's been spewing the "invasion" commentary for years."I do believe that we have been invaded by a horde," Starnes exclaimed. "A rampaging horde of illegal aliens. This has been a slow-moving invasion."Claiming that this is a "fair description" of what's been going on in this country, the right-wing commentator asserted that a large number of undocumented immigrants are violent criminals, despite studies showing immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than native-born Americans.This prompted Starnes to make a historical comparison of other "invasions," leading him to make his Third Reich analogy."When you go back in time and when you look at what an invasion is," he declared. "Whether it is the Nazis invading France and Western Europe. I mean, whether the Muslims were invading a country back in the early years. It was an invasion."Fox News has come under fire recently for its inflammatory rhetoric surrounding race and immigration in the wake of the El Paso shooting. Prime-time star Tucker Carlson, who suddenly announced last week he was going on vacation, sparked intense backlash when he said white supremacy is a "hoax" three days after the shooting.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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| Tennessee to execute man convicted of killing teenage girl, her mother in 1986 Posted: 15 Aug 2019 04:02 AM PDT ![Tennessee to execute man convicted of killing teenage girl, her mother in 1986]( "Tennessee to execute man convicted of killing teenage girl, her mother in 1986") Stephen Michael West, 56, is scheduled to be put to death by electric chair at 7 p.m. (2300 GMT) at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. West would become the second inmate in Tennessee and the 11th in the United States to be executed in 2019, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The last inmate to be executed by electric chair was David Miller, 61, in Tennessee in December.
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| 'I'm sorry, bro': Accused robber begs with armed guard and gets shot Posted: 14 Aug 2019 09:07 PM PDT  A video captures the moment the suspect stumbles on the ground and begs with the armed security guard.
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| Armed forces in Kashmir are detaining children and molesting women and girls amid a state-wide blackout, report claims Posted: 15 Aug 2019 04:12 AM PDT  The report, published Wednesday, was compiled from conversations with hundreds of Kashmiris after India cancelled their political autonomy.
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| Kids go missing for hours as bus driver takes ‘wrong turns,’ Kansas City parents say Posted: 14 Aug 2019 10:09 AM PDT  A Kansas City school bus was hours late dropping off children on the first day of school, leaving parents to wonder, "Are my kids OK?"
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| Ohio lawmaker proposes using seized fentanyl in executions Posted: 14 Aug 2019 04:54 PM PDT  An Ohio lawmaker says he has the solution to the state's problem securing execution drugs: use fentanyl seized by police instead.
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| Malawi court sentences three to death over albino killing Posted: 14 Aug 2019 06:59 AM PDT  A Malawi court has convicted and sentenced two men and a woman to death for killing a person with albinism, a judiciary official said on Wednesday. Malawi has since late 2014 seen a surge in attacks on people with albinism, whose body parts are often used in witchcraft rituals to bring wealth and luck. The court found Douglas Mwale, Fontino Folosani and Sophie Jere guilty of murdering Priscott Pepuzani in 2015 using a metal bar and a hoe handle.
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| Montel Williams: Trump has gone off a narcissistic cliff. Does anything matter anymore? Posted: 14 Aug 2019 10:47 AM PDT  We are likely stuck with an incompetent, emotionally unstable president through 2020. Please treat voting like our country's future depends on it.
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| Foxconn leaders, Wisconsin officials meet; details unclear Posted: 14 Aug 2019 03:00 PM PDT ![Foxconn leaders, Wisconsin officials meet; details unclear]( "Foxconn leaders, Wisconsin officials meet; details unclear") Foxconn Technology Group executives met Wednesday with Wisconsin's governor, legislative leaders and others but no one is saying much about what they discussed. Buoyed by the company's promise that the facility would employ up to 13,000 people, then-Gov. Scott Walker and fellow Republicans who controlled the Legislature approved the largest incentives for a foreign company in U.S. history — a package that could provide Taiwan-based Foxconn with about $4 billion in state and local tax credits over 15 years. Foxconn has since said it will build a smaller plant in Mount Pleasant than originally planned, prompting current Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, to question whether the incentives need to be renegotiated.
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| British mother dies after being set alight in bed in Barbados Posted: 14 Aug 2019 09:08 PM PDT  The family of a British mother who died after being doused with a flammable substance and set alight as she lay in bed in Barbados say they are "shocked and devastated" by her death. Luton-born Natalie Crichlow, 44, was visiting family in the West Indies when she was attacked by an unknown intruder in a bedroom. The mother-of-three, who had survived cancer twice and had two strokes in the past decade, was on a trip to help look after her disabled brother when she was attacked at his home in Christ Church on July 28. Ms Crichlow suffered 75% burns to her body but died in hospital on August 6, the family say. Her niece Ashley Best told PA: "The intruder broke in the house, then strangled her and then set her alight. "I do not understand why it happened and we are all in a state of shock. "She went into hospital and died of her injuries. Natalie Crichlow was visiting family Credit: PA "For someone who had battled through so much to just be taken in this way and lose their life is just beyond understanding." "It is all just a shame. "She said she wanted to live life to the fullest because her life had nearly been taken from her." No arrests have been made, a spokesman for the Royal Barbados Police Force said. Ms Crichlow, of Colingdale, north London, has three children, aged 10, 20 and 26 years old, who are "devastated" and want to get her back home to Britain for burial. Ms Crichlow, who was also known by the names of Natalee and Karma, had worked in various jobs including as door staff and as a makeup artist. She had been proudly living as an openly-gay woman for a number of years. Natalie Crichlow had survived cancer twice and had had two strokes in past decade Credit: PA Stabroek News in Barbados reported that police are on the hunt for a man who "barged into a house, choked a woman, doused her with a flammable substance and then set the house on fire". Ms Best said: "Justice needs to be served and our justice is to try and bring her home to rest." Family friend Mitra Wikes remembered Ms Crichlow as "a true survivor and warrior who endured so much in life but always kept going and had a true passion for living life to the max no matter what she had gone through". She added: "This is why it's so heartbreaking that her life was taken in such a cruel way. "After the death of her dear mother and uncle days apart earlier this year, she travelled to Barbados to deal with the funeral arrangements. "As her disabled brother was left alone as a result of the loss of her mother, Natalie regularly visited Barbados to look after him. "It was during one visit when she was resting in his home (he was at a nearby care facility at the time) when an intruder entered the house, strangled her and doused her and the house in petrol before setting everything alight." A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to try and raise the money needed to bring her body back to Britain. A Foreign Office spokesman said: "Our staff are supporting the family of a British woman following her death in Barbados, and are in contact with the Barbados police force."
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| Save on a New Grill or Fire Pit on Sale at Wayfair Posted: 15 Aug 2019 04:36 AM PDT |
| Police rescued after six officers wounded in Philadelphia shootout Posted: 14 Aug 2019 03:02 PM PDT  The gunman remained barricaded inside the home, with police urging him to surrender and media reporting he was armed with a semi-automatic rifle similar to the popular AK-47 style and several handguns. Police moved in about five hours into the standoff that began after the gunman opened fire on officers as they served a drugs warrant inside the north Philadelphia home. SWAT officers used stealth to rescue the officers and three suspects inside the house without the gunman knowing they had entered the home, said Philadelphia Police Department Commissioner Richard Ross.
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| U.S. Blacklists China Nuclear Firms Accused of Aiding Military Posted: 14 Aug 2019 08:14 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. added four Chinese nuclear entities to a trade blacklist, accusing them of helping to acquire advanced U.S. technology for military use in China.China General Nuclear Power Group and its subsidiaries China General Nuclear Power Corp., or CGNPC, China Nuclear Power Technology Research Institute Co., and Suzhou Nuclear Power Research Institute Co. were added to the so-called Entity List, according to a Federal Register notice published Wednesday.The move comes after a crackdown on U.S. exports of civilian nuclear components and materials in recent years. In 2016 the Department of Justice accused China General Nuclear Power, the country's largest nuclear group, of an espionage plot dating back to the 1990s to steal US technology. The Pentagon has also warned over China's plans to introduce floating nuclear power plants on disputed islands and reefs in the South China Sea.In October last year the Trump administration also announced that it was imposing further restrictions on exports of nuclear-related U.S. technology to China to "prevent China's illegal diversion of U.S. civil nuclear technology for military or other unauthorized purposes."The move follows a similar block against telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co., as well as five Chinese tech companies involved in the country's super-computing efforts, that have aggravated the year-long trade war between China and the U.S. The sides are set to resume face-to-face talks in early September.The notice on Wednesday added 17 entities to a trade blacklist, including groups located in Armenia, Belgium, Canada, Georgia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Netherlands, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and the U.K. All of them are being put on the list for "acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States," it said.The blacklisting designation bars American companies from doing business with the entities unless they are given special U.S. government approval.'Diversion to Military'The Chinese nuclear firms "engaged in or enabled efforts to acquire advanced U.S. nuclear technology and material for diversion to military uses in China," according to the notice.A call to China's embassy in Washington outside regular business hours, as well as a fax to the foreign ministry in Beijing, went unanswered. An official for CGNPC in Beijing said that the company is aware of the news and the impact on its development would be "controllable."Nuclear EspionageThe Justice Department won a guilty plea in 2017 from an engineer charged with illegally helping China General Nuclear Power procure technology in the U.S., including for the design of so-called Small Modular Reactors, which can have military applications. In 2014, the U.S. accused five Chinese military officials with stealing trade secrets, including nuclear reactor technology from Westinghouse Electric Co.China General Nuclear is also a key partner in the U.K., working with France's Electricite de France SA to build the nearly 20 billion pound ($24 billion) Hinkley Point C project. In 2016, Prime Minister Theresa May delayed a final decision on the development amid speculation that it would give Beijing access to the nation's power system.\--With assistance from Feifei Shen.To contact the reporters on this story: Ramsey Al-Rikabi in Singapore at ralrikabi@bloomberg.net;Shawn Donnan in Washington at sdonnan@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Margaret Collins at mcollins45@bloomberg.net, Sarah McGregor, Jeffrey BlackFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Greenland's ice is melting at the rate scientists thought would be our worst-case scenario in 2070 Posted: 14 Aug 2019 12:25 PM PDT  Summer heat waves have caused Greenland's ice to melt at rates scientists didn't expect to see for another 50 years.
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