| Canadian police divers search river for missing teen murder suspects Posted: 04 Aug 2019 02:23 PM PDT  Canadian police divers are searching a river for two missing teenagers suspected of a double murder, after finding an abandoned boat on its shores.The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has been chasing Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, for weeks since the pair were connected to two separate killings in British Columbia earlier this month.Authorities announced on 31 July that they were scaling back the search, which had taken officers to the remote town of Gillam in northern Manitoba.On Friday RCMP officers, travelling in a helicopter, spotted a damaged aluminium boat on the shores of the Nelson River, near Gillam.RCMP divers have now travelled to the town to search a section of the river.Their hunt began on Sunday."RCMP Underwater Recovery Team (URT) will conduct a thorough underwater search of significant areas of interest today," the force said on Twitter.The teenagers have been tracked in a series of stolen cars as they have travelled thousands of miles across Canada, from its Pacific coast in the west all to the way east to rural Manitoba.RCMP units believe the pair have been cornered in this region of rural Manitoba.The manhunt began on 12 July when Mr McLeod and Mr Schmegelsky, childhood friends, left their home in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island and travelled 1,500 miles north to Whitehorse, in the Yukon, claiming that they were looking for work.But on 15 July police discovered the bodies of a young couple near Liard Hot Springs, back in British Columbia. The RCMP has said the teenagers are suspects in the case and are wanted for questioning.A few days later a burnt-out truck driven by the pair was discovered, along with the body of Leonard Dyck. Mr McLeod and Mr Schmegelsky have been charged with his murder and chased across Canada by the RCMP ever since.The father of Mr Schmegelsky has told reporters he believes his son is on a "suicide mission" and expects him to eventually die in a confrontation with the police."A normal child doesn't travel across the country killing people," he said. "A child in some very serious pain does."
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| Double shootings heighten fears of 'white terrorism' in US Posted: 04 Aug 2019 03:08 PM PDT  Armed with assault rifles and clad in combat gear, two white men methodically gunned down nearly 30 people over the weekend, underscoring fears that "white terrorism" is now the main threat in the United States. Amid rising grief and a clamor for action after the shootings in Texas and Ohio, and earlier in several other cities, politicians of both parties called for the federal government to take that threat more seriously, with some Democrats accusing President Donald Trump of dangerously fanning racial tensions. "It is very clear that the loss of American life in Charleston, in San Diego, in Pittsburgh and by all appearances now in El Paso, too, is symptomatic of the effects of white nationalist terrorism," Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg said Sunday, naming the scenes of mass shootings that targeted blacks, Jews and, apparently, Hispanics.
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| The 'cesspool of hate' message board 8chan was taken offline after being linked to 3 mass shootings this year Posted: 05 Aug 2019 09:15 AM PDT  Cloudflare, the security firm that protected 8chan from cyberattacks, terminated support for 8chan, but 8chan is back online after changing firms.
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| Cadillac CT6-V Shows Off New Blackwing V-8 Posted: 05 Aug 2019 06:00 AM PDT |
| Ohio shooting suspect had been suspended from school for making a 'rape list' of girls he wanted to attack Posted: 05 Aug 2019 09:11 AM PDT  The Ohio gunman who killed nine people on Sunday had previously been suspended from school over a "hit list" of classmates and a "rape list" of girls he wanted to sexually assault. Connor Betts, 24, opened fire outside a crowded bar in the early hours of Sunday, injuring dozens and leaving his own sister among the fatalities, before police on patrol in the area shot him dead. It has now emerged that the gunman had a history of violence, leading to questions over how he was able to purchase the fire arms used in the shooting spree. According to high school classmates, Betts was suspended during their junior year at suburban Bellbrook High School after a hit list of those he wanted to kill was found scrawled in a school bathroom. That followed an earlier suspension after Betts came to school with a list of female students he wanted to sexually assault, according to the two classmates, a man and a woman who are both now 24 and did not wish to be identified. "There was a kill list and a rape list, and my name was on the rape list," the female classmate told the Associated Press. Mourners leave flowers and candles at the entrance of Ned Peppers bar in the Oregon District following a memorial service Credit: Scott Olson/Getty A former cheerleader, the woman said she didn't really know Betts and was surprised when a police officer called her cellphone during her freshman year to tell her that her name was included on a list of potential targets. "The officer said he wouldn't be at school for a while," she said. "But after some time passed he was back, walking the halls. They didn't give us any warning that he was returning to school." The school district has not commented on those accounts, only confirming that Betts attended schools in the district. A former principal, Chris Baker, who retired this summer, told the Dayton Daily News "would not dispute that information" but refused to give any further information. However police said there was nothing in the 24-year-old's background that would have prevented him from purchasing the .223-caliber rifle with extended ammunition magazines that he used in Sunday's attack. The discovery of the hit list early in 2012 sparked a police investigation, according to local media reports, but it is not clear whether it led to any further action. Betts had no apparent criminal record as an adult, though if he had been charged as a juvenile that would typically be sealed under state law. "There's nothing in this individual's record that would have precluded him from getting these weapons," Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl said on Sunday. The rifle Betts used in the shooting spree was fitted with an extended drum magazine that could hold 100 rounds. The gun was bought legally online from a dealer in Texas and shipped to a local firearms dealer, police said. Betts' sister Megan Betts, 22, was one of the first to be killed. Police said the siblings had arrived in the same vehicle with a third person earlier in the evening, but separated before the rampage. Of the 27 people injured, four remained in serious condition and one person in a critical condition. While Betts, who was 17 at the time, was not named publicly as the author of the list at the time, the former classmates said it was common knowledge within the school he was the culprit. Drew Gainey was among those who went on social media Sunday to say red flags were raised about Betts' behaviour years ago. "There was an incident in high school with this shooter that should have prevented him from ever getting his hands on a weapon. This was a tragedy that was 100% avoidable," he wrote on in a post on Sunday. Brad Howard, who said he was friends with Betts from preschool right until their high school graduation, offered a different assessment. "Connor Betts that I knew was a nice kid. The Connor Betts that I talked to, I always got along with well," he said. Mike Kern, a customer at the gas station where Betts used to work in Bellbrook, said "he was the nicest kid you could imagine". "I never heard him talk about violence, say a racist word, or anything like that," he added. Mr Kern said they sometimes played trivia at a bar near the gas station, and Mr Betts often knew the answers on questions about current events and pop culture. "He was real smart," he said. "He knew all the answers."
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| Malaysian police looking for missing 15-year-old London girl Posted: 05 Aug 2019 06:47 AM PDT  Police in Malaysia said Monday they are investigating the disappearance of a 15-year-old London girl, but there were no initial indications of foul play. The family of Nora Quoirin says her father discovered her missing from her bedroom Sunday morning at a resort hotel in a nature reserve 63 kilometers (39 miles) south of Kuala Lumpur, with the window left open. The Lucie Blackman Trust, a British charity supporting people during a crisis overseas, quoted the girl's aunt as saying the family considers her disappearance a criminal matter.
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| Mitch McConnell Falls Outside His Home, Fractures Shoulder Posted: 04 Aug 2019 03:09 PM PDT  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell fell outside his home and fractured his shoulder in Louisville, Kentucky, Sunday."This morning, Leader McConnell tripped at home on his outside patio and suffered a fractured shoulder. He has been treated, released, and is working from home in Louisville," McConnell spokesman David Popp said in a statement according to The Washington Post.McConnell, 77, was briefly hospitalized after the fall. The Republican traveled to Kentucky on Friday to spend the roughly five-week recess in his home state. He was spotted Saturday at the annual Fancy Farm picnic, a political rally that features speakers from both parties, reported WLKY.The senator is seeking his seventh term in the Senate and faces a challenge from Democrat Amy McGrath, a former Kentucky congressional candidate and Marine fighter pilot.McConnell's fall comes as his critics point fingers at the powerful politician following two mass shootings in Texas and Ohio over the weekend. CNN anchor Brian Stelter used Twitter to point out six instances where McConnell offered prayers for those affected by mass shootings.
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| 'I want to say thank you': Woman injured during El Paso shooting says stranger dragged her by feet to safety Posted: 04 Aug 2019 05:30 PM PDT  'I want to say thank you for saving my life': Maria says she was toward the front of the store paying for her groceries when shots rang out.
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| New Pentagon program aims to capture serial sex offenders with victims' confidential help Posted: 05 Aug 2019 09:41 AM PDT  The Pentagon is seeking to catch serial sex offenders with a new program that matches victim's descriptions of perpetrators.
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| El Paso shooting: Mexicans among 20 dead as police investigate massacre as race hate crime Posted: 04 Aug 2019 03:37 AM PDT  Three Mexicans have been confirmed among the 20 dead following the El Paso Walmart shooting, with authorities now saying they are actively investigating Saturday's massacre as a race hate crime.Mexico's president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced his compatriots had been killed in a social media post which offered "condolences to the families of the victims, both American and Mexican".The revelation came as the horror endured – and heroism shown – by victims in their final moments inside the Texas border city supermarket started to emerge.One mother, aged just 25, was reportedly killed while shielding her two-month-old son as suspected gunman Patrick Crusius, 21, opened fire in the aisles.Jordan Anchondo's baby suffered broken bones – but lived – after she fell on him in an apparent bid to protect him from further bullets as she herself lay dying. She was shopping for school supplies for her other children at the time."When she got shot she was holding him and she fell on him, so that's why he broke some of his bones," Ms Anchondo's sister Leta Jamrowski told the Associated Press news agency. "He pretty much lived because she gave her life."In another act of bravery, an off-duty military officer caught up in the incident has told how he carried children out from the supermarket as the shooting began.Glen Oakley told MSNBC: "I see a whole bunch of kids running around without their parents, I got my bag in my hand I'm trying to pick up as many as I can and run out"They're so anxious, they're dropping out of my hand."Of the 20 people killed, they are reported to range in age from a two-year-old toddler to an 82-year-old.Crusius himself was arrested after surrendering to police, who arrived at the supermarket – a popular Saturday afternoon destination for cross-border shoppers – within six minutes.Greg Allen, El Paso police chief, said authorities were now working to confirm whether a racist, anti-immigrant manifesto posted online shortly beforehand was written by the suspect, who is said to have driven more than 1,000km from his home in Dallas to commit the atrocity.The four-page document includes passages decrying the "Hispanic invasion" of the US, while the author also makes clear he intends to kill during an upcoming attack.The first sentence expresses support for Christchurch mosque shooter who killed 51 people in New Zealand in March."Right now we have a manifesto from this individual that indicates to some degree, it has a nexus to potential hate crime," Chief Allen said.At least two Democrat presidential candidates – Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, and former congressman Beto O'Rourke – drew connections between the massacre and an apparent resurgence in white nationalism in the US."America is under attack from homegrown white nationalist terrorism," Mr Buttigieg said.Mr O'Rourke, an El Paso native, went even harder during a press conference. When asked by a reporter if Donald Trump was to blame for a rise in white nationalism, he replied simply: "Yes."He added: "We've had a rise in hate crimes every single one of the last three years, during an administration where you have a president who's called Mexicans rapists and criminals. Though Mexican immigrants commit crimes at a far lower rate than those born here in the country, he has tried to make us afraid of them, to some real effect and consequence."On Twitter, the US president himself called the shooting "an act of cowardice", adding: "There are no reasons or excuses that will ever justify killing innocent people."
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| Death toll from Philippines boat accidents rise to 25 Posted: 03 Aug 2019 11:59 PM PDT  The death toll from three boats sinking surged to 25 as rescuers retrieved more bodies from the sea off the central Philippines, officials said Sunday.
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| Trump misidentifies Ohio city where deadly mass shooting took place Posted: 05 Aug 2019 08:08 AM PDT  President Trump finally made a public statement on the deadly mass shootings that took place in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, over the weekend, but in his speech he misidentified one of the cities.On Monday morning, Trump condemned the attacks from the White House and claimed that the factors such as the internet, exposure to violent video games, and mental illness are to blame for mass shootings. But when he ended his speech, he said, "May god bless the memory of those who perished in Toledo. May god protect them." Except the mass shooting didn't take place in Toledo, Ohio. It took place in Dayton, nearly 150 miles away. > Trump, struggling with a bad case of what appears to be dry mouth, falsely claimed the Ohio mass shooting took place in Toledo. (It happened in Dayton.) pic.twitter.com/dzOcsIV5ox> > -- Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 5, 2019SEE ALSO: 2020 candidates directly call out Trump in the wake of two mass shootingsThere's a chance that Trump simply got his Ohio cities confused, or that one of his staffers accidentally wrote "Toledo" instead of "Dayton" in the statement, which Trump read off of a teleprompter. But the absolute least the president could do in the face of these tragedies is make sure he reports the facts correctly and attributes the victims to their rightful cities.> It is strange watching this speech being analyzed as a serious text when the president got the name of the city wrong at the end. Presumably someone on his staff wrote Toledo instead of Dayton, and no one caught it, not even the president.> > -- Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) August 5, 2019> Hey if you're in Dayton, just a swift reminder that the president of the United States was golfing when your city had a mass shooting and just referred to the city you live in as Toledo. Just tuck that in your pocket for when it comes time to vote again.> > -- Akilah Hughes (@AkilahObviously) August 5, 2019> Trump starts his statement by saying we'll never forget the victims in El Paso and Dayton, and ends five minutes later talking about Toledo. > > He already forgot. In five minutes.> > -- Kaili Joy Gray (@KailiJoy) August 5, 2019> It was Dayton, not Toledo, Trump. > > Also it's white supremacy, misogyny & access to guns, not video games. > > It's white supremacy, misogyny & access to guns, not mental illness. > > It's white supremacy, misogyny & access to guns, not lone wolves.> > -- Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (@TheRaDR) August 5, 2019When a mass shooting occurs and you're addressing a nation, edit the speech. Multiple times. Messing up something as simple as the most basic fact about this mass shooting -- its location -- is simply not acceptable.The shooting in El Paso on Saturday killed 22 people and wounded 27 more. In Dayton, 9 people were killed in the shooting on Sunday, and another 27 people were wounded. UPDATE: Aug. 5, 2019, 1:24 p.m. EDT We updated the death toll in the El Paso shooting to 22 people, according to authorities. WATCH: 'We're being used': Rapper Vic Mensa pleads for gun control legislation.
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| India scraps special status for Kashmir in step Pakistan calls illegal Posted: 04 Aug 2019 10:30 PM PDT  NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR (Reuters) - India on Monday revoked the special status of Kashmir, the Himalayan region that has long been a flashpoint in ties with neighboring Pakistan, moving to grasp its only Muslim-majority region more tightly. In the most far-reaching political move in one of the world's most militarized regions in nearly seven decades, India said it would scrap a constitutional provision that allows the state of Jammu and Kashmir to make its own laws. "The entire constitution will be applicable to Jammu and Kashmir," Interior Minister Amit Shah told parliament, as opposition lawmakers voiced loud protests against the repeal.
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| If terrorists attacked Dayton, El Paso and Gilroy, would America do nothing? Posted: 05 Aug 2019 10:41 AM PDT  America harbors no greater culture of violence, mental illness or racial animosity than other nations; it just has more guns: Our view
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| Ford shows most powerful street-legal Mustang with 760 hp Posted: 05 Aug 2019 05:24 AM PDT  The most powerful street-legal Ford Mustang ever built will go on sale this fall. A 5.2-liter supercharged V8 will crank out 760 horsepower in the 2020 Shelby GT500. It also has a seven-speed automatic transmission that Ford promises will shift smoothly on commutes and quickly on the track.
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| How Israel and Iran Teamed up to Crush Iraq's Nuclear Bomb Program Posted: 03 Aug 2019 05:00 PM PDT  Now, the famous Israeli Operation Opera that destroyed the Osirak reactor was still nine months away. At dawn on September 30, 1980 four American-made F-4E Phantom jets screamed low over central Iraq, each laden with air-to-air missiles and three thousand pounds of bombs. Prior to entering Iraqi airspace they had rendezvoused for aerial refueling with a Boeing 707 tanker escorted by two more advanced F-14 Tomcat fighters—the type immortalized six years later in the film Top Gun. And to complete the eighties action-movie vibe, they were embarked on a mission codenamed 'Operation Scorched Sword.'The skimming Phantoms climbed briefly to higher altitude so as to appear on Iraqi radars, before ducking back down to hit the deck. But while two decoy Phantoms maintained their trajectory towards Baghdad, the other two veered southwards towards the real target: Iraq's Osirak light-water nuclear reactor.(This first appeared in July 2019.)
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| Ebrard Calls Shootings ‘Terrorism’ Against Mexicans in U.S. Posted: 04 Aug 2019 06:28 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, which left seven Mexicans dead, is being considered an act of terrorism against the country's community in the U.S., Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said.The country's consulate is working with the victim's families, Ebrard said at a press conference on Sunday. Mexico will take legal action against whoever was responsible for selling the weapon and will follow the investigation closely, he said."This will mark the first time that Mexico condemns an act of the kind as terrorism," Ebrard said.Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he instructed Ebrard to explore legal measures to protect Mexican nationals in the U.S. after the shootings."I asked Marcelo Ebrard that in spite of the pain, we act responsibly," Lopez Obrador said in comments at an event Sunday posted on Twitter. The country's "indignation" will be translated into effective and expedited legal action that will demand conditions to protect Mexicans, Ebrard said in a video posted on Twitter.Ebrard said the country's attorney general is considering litigation and might look to extradite the shooter."For Mexico, this individual a terrorist," he said. Mexico will also send a diplomatic note to the U.S. to ask in a "respectful but firm" manner that the government make a clear statement against hate crimes.Police on Saturday arrested a 21-year-old Texas man suspected of opening fire with an assault rifle at a Walmart store a few miles from the Mexican border, killing at least 20 people. Authorities are investigating a possible link to an anti-immigrant document, with anger directed against immigrants and specifically against Mexicans.Less than 24 hours after the El Paso shooting, a gunman in body armor killed at lest nine people and injured dozens of others in Dayton, Ohio. Ebrard said no Mexicans were hurt or killed there.Mexico's ambassador to the U.S., Martha Barcena, was among the many who condemned the attack. "The intentionality of the attack against the Latino and Mexican community in El Paso is frightening," she tweeted Sunday. "Xenophobe and racist discourse has to stop. No to violence. No to hatred."The U.S. Justice Department is treating the case as domestic terrorism, spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said on Twitter. A conviction could entail the death penalty.(Updates with the number of Mexicans killed and details from the press conference.)To contact the reporter on this story: Andrea Navarro in Mexico City at anavarro30@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, Mark Niquette, Ros KrasnyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Gun control won't prevent deadly shootings: Brazil's Bolsonaro Posted: 04 Aug 2019 04:59 PM PDT  Brasília (AFP) - President Jair Bolsonaro argued Sunday for his signature policy of relaxing gun control measures, saying they will not stop mass shootings such as those that left 29 dead in the US over the weekend. "Disarming people isn't going to keep that from happening," Bolsonaro said. The United States was in mourning Sunday for victims of two mass shootings that killed 29 people in less than 24 hours.
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| UPDATE 1-Yemeni Houthis launch drone attacks on Saudi aiports, airbase Posted: 05 Aug 2019 03:40 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Yemeni Houthis launch drone attacks on Saudi aiports, airbase]( "UPDATE 1-Yemeni Houthis launch drone attacks on Saudi aiports, airbase") Yemeni Houthi forces launched drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's King Khalid airbase and Abha and Najran airports, the Houthis' military spokesman said on Monday. A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen said later that Houthi drones had been intercepted and downed heading in the direction of civilian airports.
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| French inventor Franky Zapata has successfully crossed the English Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard Posted: 04 Aug 2019 12:35 AM PDT  An inventor nicknamed the "flying Frenchman" on Sunday became the first person to cross the Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard barely larger than a tea-tray. "This feels magnificent," said a triumphant Franky Zapata after he touched down in St Margaret's Bay in Kent, just 23 minutes after taking off from Sangatte beach in Calais to cheers and shouts of "Go Franky, go". He flew across the 22-mile Channel at an average speed of 87 mph, about 50 to 65 feet above the water, on his self-designed hoverboard, powered by five turbojets. It was fuelled by a backpack containing enough kerosene to keep him airborne for about 10 minutes. He stopped to swap backpacks on a boat in mid-Channel, which took no more than two minutes. The 40-year-old's first attempt had ended in failure when he tumbled into the sea while trying to refuel last month. This time, the refuelling boat was bigger and the landing area was larger. Frenchman who has spent years developing a jet-powered hoverboard will again try to zoom across the English Channel on August 4 Credit: AFP/Getty Images The French maritime authorities granted permission to keep the boat in French waters, which they had refused to do last time, citing safety concerns. Mr Zapata had blamed that decision for his initial failure. This time he was escorted by three helicopters while French navy ships kept an eye out in case of mishaps on one of the world's busiest shipping routes. "There were no problems," he said after reaching the picturesque bay where dozens of supporters and journalists were waiting. "Thanks so much to my team, and my wife," said the former jet ski champion and army reservist from Marseille. "For the last five or six kilometres I just really enjoyed it. Whether this is a historic event or not, I'm not the one to decide that, time will tell. We made a machine three years ago… and now we've crossed the Channel." Breaking into tears of joy, he added: "It's crazy." Franky Zapata stands on his jet-powered "flyboard" next to helicopters as he arrives at St. Margaret's Bay in Dover, on August 4, 2019 Credit: AFP His team had been racing to repair his "Flyboard" after it was damaged when he crashed 10 days ago. Before his successful crossing, Mr Zapata said he feared that the hoverboard might develop "a little problem" as there had been no time to put it through prolonged tests, which he would normally have done before "a big event". The weather was perfect, with a calm sea, hardly any wind and temperatures just above 25 degrees C. Mr Zapata hopes his device will eventually be used as a revolutionary piece of military equipment. "We created a new way of flying," he said. "We don't use wings. You are like a bird. It is your body that's flying. It is a boyhood dream. We want to follow a little bit in the footsteps of the pioneers of aviation."
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| A hero grandmother persuaded her 19-year-old grandson to check into a hospital when she learned he was planning a mass shooting Posted: 05 Aug 2019 10:12 AM PDT  The US Attorney's Office of the Northern District of Texas announced on Friday that William Patrick Williams, from Lubbock, Texas, had been arrested.
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| Explosion at Russian ammunition dump injures at least 4 Posted: 05 Aug 2019 07:55 AM PDT  Explosions at a Russian military storage site in Siberia set off fires, injured at least four people and prompted widespread evacuations of residents in the surrounding area Monday, authorities said. Emergency personnel were evacuating residents within 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) of the blast site in Siberia's Krasnoyarsk region, "to ensure the security of the population of the settlements located near the depots," local authorities said. The state-run TASS news agency quoted an anonymous source saying the ammunition dump held up to 40,000 artillery shells for tank guns.
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| In 1981, a British Submarine Crashed into a Nuclear Russian Sub Posted: 04 Aug 2019 12:30 AM PDT  Immediately ordering the boat to periscope depth, the Delta III's sonar team detect propeller noise on a bearing 127 degrees. The contact was judged to be a submarine.On May 23, 1981 the Soviet submarine K-211 Petropavlovsk cruised quietly at nine knots, one hundred and fifty feet below the surface of the Arctic Barents Sea. The huge 155-meter-long Delta III (or Kalmar)-class submarine was distinguished by the large boxy compartment on its spine which accommodated the towering launch tubes for sixteen R-29R ballistic missiles, each carrying three independent nuclear warheads. K-211's mission was hair-raisingly straightforward: to cruise undetected for weeks or months at a time, awaiting only the signal that a nuclear war had broken out to unleash its apocalyptic payload from underwater on Western cities and military bases up to four thousand miles away.British and American nuclear-power attack submarines (SSNs), or "hunter-killers," were routinely dispatched to detect Soviet ballistic missiles subs (SSBNs) leaving from base to discreetly stalk them. The quieter SSNs also awaited only a signal of war, an event in which they would attempt to torpedo the Soviet subs before they could unleash their city-destroying weapons.(This first appeared in July 2019.)
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| Egypt Says Islamist Militants Behind Cairo Blast That Killed 20 Posted: 05 Aug 2019 08:33 AM PDT ![Egypt Says Islamist Militants Behind Cairo Blast That Killed 20]( "Egypt Says Islamist Militants Behind Cairo Blast That Killed 20") (Bloomberg) -- Egypt's government said Islamist militants were behind a blast that killed at least 20 people in central Cairo, one of the deadliest acts of violence by extremists in the North African nation's capital in years.Militants were transporting an explosives-laden vehicle for an attack when it detonated outside the National Cancer Institute late on Sunday, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Forty-seven other people were wounded in the blast, which was initially said to be caused by a car accident.Video footage of the aftermath showed patients lying on the street outside the partially evacuated hospital as a fire raged in the background and smoke billowed near the Nile River.President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi described the event as a "cowardly terrorist incident," and said the Egyptian state was committed to "confront and uproot brutal terrorism." The Interior Ministry identified the perpetrators as the Hasm movement, a group that's carried out previous attacks and is linked to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.The carnage was a stark sign of the challenge still confronting Sisi's government as it wages a years-long campaign against militant groups, including those affiliated with Islamic State. While much of the violence has been in North Sinai, extremists have struck far beyond the peninsula, targeting local Christians as well as tourists.The last significant assault in greater Cairo was in May, when a roadside bombing targeting a tour bus near the Giza pyramids wounded at least 16 people. It came as authorities touted a revival of tourism, a key foreign-exchange generator that struggled in the aftermath of the 2011 uprising that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak.In the worst single attack on tourists, an Islamic State affiliate in late 2015 claimed responsibility for downing a Russian charter flight leaving the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh in South Sinai. All 224 people on board were killed.El-Sisi ousted a Brotherhood-backed president in 2013 amid a popular uprising when he was army commander. Elected head of state the following year, he has carried out a wide-ranging crackdown that's jailed tens of thousands of Islamists.(Updates with description of scene in third paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Ahmed Khalil El-Sayed in Cairo at akhalilelsay@bloomberg.net;Salma El Wardany in Cairo at selwardany@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Michael Gunn, Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Nuon Chea: the Khmer Rouge's unrepentant revolutionary Posted: 04 Aug 2019 06:44 AM PDT  Khmer Rouge "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, who died Sunday aged 93, was considered the chief ideologue of the murderous Cambodian regime and a key architect of its killing machine. Once leader Pol Pot's most trusted deputy, he was arrested in September 2007 on charges of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity that occurred during the brutal Khmer Rouge reign from 1975 to 1979. The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia sentenced him to life in prison last year after he was found guilty of genocide against the ethnic Vietnamese and Cham Muslim minority groups.
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| Dayton, El Paso, Gilroy and beyond: You're right to be afraid. Mass shootings are more numerous and deadly Posted: 04 Aug 2019 12:10 PM PDT  A survey found 41% of Americans fear random mass shootings. FBI data shows a rise in shootings – and victims – so that's not an unreasonable fear.
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| Trump Directly Condemns White Supremacy After El Paso Mass Shooting Posted: 05 Aug 2019 07:20 AM PDT  White HouseDonald Trump has directly condemned white supremacy and bigotry in the wake of a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, allegedly carried out by a suspect who published a racist, anti-immigrant screed.The president was speaking after a weekend of bloodshed in America. The El Paso shooting left 21 people dead and 25 injured. Less than 24 hours later, another shooter attacked Dayton, Ohio, killing nine and injuring at least 27 others for reasons that have yet to be confirmed."The shooter in El Paso posted a manifesto online consumed by racist hate," the president said in remarks from the White House on Monday morning. "In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy. These sinister ideologies must be defeated."In his speech, Trump said his administration would focus on ending the supposed glorification of violence in society, introducing stronger background checks for gun owners with mental-health issues, and said those behind mass shootings would face the death penalty.From El Paso to Christchurch, a Racist Lie Is Fueling Terrorist AttacksThe president said he would "shine light on the dark recesses of the internet" to stop mass murderers before they begin and criticized "gruesome video games." He also pledged to change mental-health laws to "better identify mentally disturbed individuals" and floated the radical solution of subjecting them to "involuntary confinement" if they're a seen as a risk."Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun," he said.Trump said that he wants those who commit "hate crimes and mass murders" to face the death penalty, which he said he wanted to be "delivered quickly, decisively, and without years of needless delay." On gun control, Trump said he wants to make sure that people who pose a "grave risk to public safety" don't have access to firearms, and that if they do obtain them they can be taken away from them "through rapid due process." Earlier in the day on Twitter, the president urged Congress to pass new background-check laws, but suggested that he wanted them to be tied to immigration reform.Accused El Paso Walmart Shooter Apparently Posted Racist Manifesto Before Attack"It is not up to mentally ill monsters, it is up to us," said the president. "If we are able to pass great legislation after all of these years, we will ensure that those who were attacked will not have died in vain."Trump also slipped up toward the end of his speech, referring to the Ohio shooting as having happened in Toledo rather than Dayton.The president's statements on mental health and his apparent lack of commitment to gun control were immediately criticized by Democrats. Sen. Cory Booker said: "White supremacy is not a mental illness, and guns are a tool that white supremacists use to fulfill their hate."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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| View Photos of the New 2020 Nissan Versa Posted: 05 Aug 2019 10:04 AM PDT |
| Cloudflare terminates 8chan as customer on 'hate-filled' content: CEO Posted: 04 Aug 2019 08:28 PM PDT  The gunman is believed to have posted a four-page statement on 8chan, and called the Walmart attack "a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas". Police in the Philippines, where 8chan is hosted, told Reuters they were investigating the messaging board but were unable to give details, such as when the inquiry began and what prompted it. The suspect was officially identified as a 21-year-old white male from Allen, Texas, a Dallas suburb about 650 miles (1,046 km) east of El Paso, which lies along the Rio Grande, across the U.S.-Mexico border from Ciudad Juarez.
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| Wife of Syria's Assad says she is free of cancer Posted: 04 Aug 2019 10:17 AM PDT  The wife of Syria's president said she is "completely" free of breast cancer a year after her diagnosis, in an interview with state TV. The half-hour interview, aired late Saturday, was Asma Assad's first since she was diagnosed — a rare declaration in the Arab world, where prominent figures often conceal their ailments. It was also designed to portray a modern attitude in a region where cancer remains a taboo, and many view it as an affliction.
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| Suspect sought after woman stabbed in stomach at Brooklyn subway station Posted: 04 Aug 2019 08:33 AM PDT  Police released video of the suspect wanted in connection with a stabbing on a subway platform in Brooklyn.
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| Nigerian Shiite leader granted bail for medical care abroad Posted: 05 Aug 2019 04:11 AM PDT  A Nigerian court on Monday granted bail to a detained Shiite leader, whose case has sparked bloody protests, so that he can fly to India for medical care, his lawyer said. Ibrahim Zakzaky, the founder of the outlawed pro-Iranian Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), has been in detention along with his wife Zeenah Ibrahim since their arrest in December 2015. "The judge has ordered that Zakzaky be flown to India for proper medical attention," Femi Falana told AFP.
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| You Probably Forgot All about These Great Performing '90s Cars Posted: 04 Aug 2019 01:00 PM PDT |
| Trump tweets as gun violence and white nationalist terrorism stalk America Posted: 04 Aug 2019 10:45 AM PDT  Domestic terrorism now results in more deaths than the foreign kind but the president shows no sign of toning down his rhetoricDonald Trump takes part in a listening session on 21 February 2018 on gun violence with teachers and students after the mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty ImagesTwo menaces have stalked America throughout its history. One is gun violence. The other is white supremacy. In El Paso, Texas, on Saturday they collided.A 21-year-old gunman with a hatred of Hispanic immigrants killed 20 people in a shopping mall in the eighth deadliest mass shooting in American history. The suspect is believed to have posted online an anti-immigrant screed that praised the killing of 51 people in Christchurch mosques in New Zealand in March.Less than 13 hours later, nine people were killed in Dayton, Ohio, in a second mass shooting.The chilling reality of domestic terrorism – which now results in far more deaths than foreign terrorism – was acknowledged by political analysts, Democratic candidates for president and George P Bush, nephew of former president George W Bush.But there was no televised appearance from President Donald Trump, who attempted to wash his hands of the hate crime in a few tweets. His acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, toured TV studios on Sunday expressing righteous indignation. "I blame the people who pull the trigger," Mulvaney told NBC's Meet the Press with Chuck Todd. "Goodness gracious, is someone really blaming the president? People are sick, until we address why people think this way."There is a need for caution when drawing a direct line between politicians and heinous acts: the Columbine high school massacre happened under President Bill Clinton, the Orlando nightclub shooting under Barack Obama. But the lone gunman theory is often a way of refusing to grapple with underlying motives. For those who live with violence and its consequences in their communities every day, context matters.Trump has spent the past month stoking racial resentments, tweeting that four US congresswomen of colour should "go back" to their countries, holding a rally where the crowd chanted "send her back!" and deriding the majority African American district that contains part of Baltimore as "a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess".Inflammatory words matter in a country that has more guns than people. Tragically, shootings have become as American as apple pie. Dayton was the 22nd mass killing in America this year, according to an AP/USA Today/Northeastern University mass murder database, which tracks all attacks involving four or more people killed. America has by far the highest gun ownership rate in the world.Time and again Congress refuses to act. Not even the shooting that killed 20 students and six teachers at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012 led to meaningful reforms, even though a sympathetic president, Barack Obama, was in the White House.Then came Trump. The National Rifle Association (NRA) was a key part of his coalition, spending $30m to help him beat Hillary Clinton. He has resisted basic measures such as signing background checks for gun sales into law. A promise to defend the second amendment, the right to bear arms, always rouses one of the biggest cheers at his campaign ralles. Trump wildly exaggerates Democrats' plans for gun control.In addition, Trump has fomented a toxic discourse around immigration and race. He questioned Obama's birthplace, launched his election campaign with talk of Mexican "criminals" and "rapists" and drew moral equivalence between white supremacists and anti-fascist protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia. He has used the word "invasion" numerous times when tweeting about the US-Mexico border; the gunman in El Paso, in a "manifesto" being linked to him, complained of a "Hispanic invasion of Texas".White nationalist terrorism is now a real danger, yet it receives a fraction of the attention of Islamist extremism. The FBI director, Christopher Wray, testified last month that the bureau has recorded about 100 arrests of domestic terrorism suspects in the past nine months; many were linked to white supremacist violence. Trump's critics say he is fanning the flames of bigotry.Presidential candidate Cory Booker told CNN's State of the Union: "I want to say with more moral clarity that Donald Trump is responsible for this. He is responsible because he is stoking fears and hatred and bigotry. He is responsible because he is failing to condemn white supremacy, and seeing it as it is.Trump believes the rhetoric worked for him in 2016, not with a majority of Americans (he lost the popular vote), but with the white-majority states that were crucial to his victory in the electoral college. The past month – where has doubled down on race baiting and launched unprecedented racist attacks on Democrat politicians of color – strongly implies he will try the same approach in 2020 but perhaps go even further. The election looks set to be the most explosive in living memory.But, gun control activists say, this is no time for despair or surrender. The NRA is currently in a state of disarray, plagued by internal feuding and financial strife. House Republicans suffered a hammering in last year's midterm elections, driven by an anti-Trump backlash. Voters can make a difference in 2020, not only in the White House but, crucially, in the Senate. As Nelson Mandela once observed, it always seems impossible until it is done.
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| A Brazilian gang leader dressed up as his 19-year-old daughter to escape from prison. It didn't work Posted: 04 Aug 2019 07:19 PM PDT  Clauvino de Silva attempted to escape prison by dressing up as his 19-year-old daughter and leaving her in his cell.
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| Turkey to launch offensive in Kurdish-controlled area in northern Syria: Erdogan Posted: 04 Aug 2019 07:58 AM PDT  Turkey will carry out a military operation in a Kurdish-controlled area east of the Euphrates in northern Syria, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, its third offensive to dislodge Kurdish militia fighters close to its border. Turkey had in the past warned of carrying out military operations east of the river, but put them on hold after agreeing with the United States to create a safe zone inside Syria's northeastern border with Turkey that would be cleared of the Kurdish YPG militia.
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| Will Israel’s New Missile Defense System Stop Iran if a War Begins? Posted: 03 Aug 2019 11:31 AM PDT  Israel's new Arrow 3 anti-missile system has just passed a major milestone.Not in Israel, but 6,000 miles away in Kodiak, Alaska. The Arrow 3 test on July 28 comes just days after Israel's arch-enemy Iran itself tested a new ballistic missile."Flight Test Arrow-01 demonstrated the Israeli Arrow Weapon System's ability to conduct a high altitude hit-to-kill engagement," said the U.S. Missile Defense Agency announcement. "Interceptor tests were conducted that successfully destroyed target missiles.""The Arrow-3 Interceptor successfully demonstrated an engagement capability against the exo-atmospheric target during the test. Although not part of the Israeli architecture, a U.S. AN-TPY2 radar participated in the test. Preliminary analysis indicates that test objectives were successfully achieved.""The performance was perfect," announced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Every hit a bull's eye."The Arrow 3 is a joint Israel-U.S. weapon designed to destroy ballistic missiles in outer space, before they have a chance to drop their warheads into the atmosphere. The project is managed by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and the Israeli Missile Defense Organization, with development by Israel Aerospace Industries and Boeing.The Arrow 3, an improved version of the earlier Arrow 2, is a two-stage hypersonic interceptor with an estimated range of 1,500 miles downrange and 62 miles high. It is armed with a kinetic warhead that destroys missiles through sheer high-speed impact.
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| Dayton Shooter Murdered Sister in Attack, Officials Say Posted: 04 Aug 2019 08:36 AM PDT  Bryan Woolston/ReutersThe gunman who attacked a bar in Dayton, Ohio, on Sunday morning killed his sister in the massacre, officials said.Connor Betts, 24, of Ohio was identified as the deceased gunman by authorities during a Sunday afternoon press conference. Betts killed his sister, 22-year-old Megan, and eight other people, officials added. At least 26 other people were injured.Betts drove to the site of the shooting with his sister and an unidentified male companion, according to Police Chief Richard Biehl. Betts killed his sister and wounded the companion, who is now reportedly cooperating with police. According to two law-enforcement sources who spoke to CNN, authorities do not believe the companion knew about the attack in advance.Betts opened fire outside of a bar called Ned Peppers in the city's Oregon District, a downtown hub filled with bars, clubs, restaurants, and galleries. Authorities said police officers responded within one minute of the gunfire erupting and killed Betts as he attempted to enter the bar with a rifle, body armor, and a high-capacity magazine.The Mother Who Lost a Daughter to Her Son, the Mass Murderer"We will never know how many lives were saved," Gov. Mike DeWine said at a Sunday afternoon press conference. "The police department and the mayor gave me, my wife and I, the tour. The assailant was obviously very, very close to being able to kill dozens and dozens more people."Police searched Betts' home, where he reportedly lived with his sister. Authorities did not offer a motive for the shooting. However, high-school classmates of the gunman told the Associated Press that he had a history of violent ideation and was suspended in 2012 for compiling a "hit list" of those he wanted to kill and a "rape list" of females he wanted to sexually assault. Two former classmates at Bellbrook High School, a man and a woman who the AP granted anonymity out of their fear of harassment, said Betts was twice suspended for the threats. The woman said she had been contacted by the police at the time, as her name was on the "rape list." Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Schools officials declined to comment to the AP about the accounts, but confirmed that Betts attended schools in the district. The school's principal, Chris Baker, said he "would not dispute that information" when the Dayton Daily News asked him Sunday about the hit-list suspension.Bellbrook Police Chief Doug Doherty told reporters on Sunday that he has spoken to Betts' parents, describing them as "victims." "I've been in contact with the parents—victims—they're just asking for continued privacy and patience as they move forward with this horrific event," Doherty said. When asked how they are handling the situation, Doherty said they are "aware of everything that's happened... they are victims, and we're treating them as such." Initial reports by The Dayton Daily News indicate that Betts did not have a criminal record except for minor traffic violations. An initial sweep of his known social-media profiles show no obvious link to any extremist ideology. Betts' Facebook profile had been taken offline Sunday morning. The background check did also not show that Betts had a concealed-weapon license. According to what appears to be his LinkedIn page, he was a psychology student at Sinclair Community College who'd held jobs at a local gas station and a Chipotle. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| US Northwest towns 'woefully unprepared' as fire risk grows Posted: 04 Aug 2019 08:19 PM PDT  Nestled in the foothills of Washington's Cascade Mountains, the bustling Seattle suburb of Issaquah seems an unlikely candidate for anxiety over wildfires. The region, famous for its rainfall, has long escaped major burns even as global warming has driven an increase in the size and number of wildfires elsewhere in the American West. In Issaquah and towns like it across the region, that takes a shape familiar from recent destructive California wildfires: heavy vegetation that spills into backyards, often pressing against houses in neighborhoods built along mountains, with strong seasonal winds and few roads leading out.
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| Poll shows Germany still divided 30 years after fall of Berlin Wall Posted: 04 Aug 2019 07:35 AM PDT  Almost 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a new poll has exposed the enduring political divisions in Germany. The nationalist Alternative for Germany party (AfD) has surged to first place in the former communist east, with 23 per cent support. But it has failed to make a similar breakthrough in the former west, where it is in fourth place with just 12 per cent. The figures for the Green Party, which is in second place in the national polls, are almost a mirror image of the AfD's. In the former west, the Greens have 25 per cent support, but in the east it is they who are mired in fourth place with just 13 per cent. Just three months ahead of national celebrations to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Wall, the findings of the poll for Bild am Sonntag newspaper have laid bare the deep divide that persists across the old Cold War border. The AfD looks set to dominate the headlines in the run-up to November's anniversary, with the polls suggesting it could come first in regional elections in three eastern states this autumn. The party's anti-migrant platform has proved highly effective in the former communist east, where the city of Chemnitz saw violent protests last year. But the east accounts for less than a fifth of Germany's population, and the party has failed to make the sort of inroads in the west it would need to challenge for power. Current polls suggest the AfD could come first in three regional elections in eastern Germany this autumn Credit: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg The poll's findings suggest Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) are the only party that can claim nationwide support. They are first in the west with 27 per cent, and second in the east with 22 per cent — a single point behind the AfD. Support for Germany's other traditional main party has collapsed: the centre-Left Social Democrats (SPD) are third in the west on 13 per cent and a dismal fifth in the east with just 11 per cent. While the AfD is unlikely to win a majority in any of this autumn's regional elections, and will probably be kept out of power by a coalition of rival parties, coming first would be a shot across the bows of Mrs Merkel's government. The latest poll findings come as a new academic study claimed to show how the AfD distorts public perception of migrant crime figures. Researchers at Hamburg and Leipzig universities found AfD press statements blamed migrants for crimes in 95 per cent of cases last year, while police figures show they were only responsible for 35 per cent. "It's surprising how consistently this happens," Prof Thomas Hestermann and Prof Elisa Hoven, the study's authors, said.
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| Egypt displays restoration of Tutankhamun gilded coffin Posted: 04 Aug 2019 06:19 AM PDT  Egypt displayed on Sunday the gilded coffin of Tutankhamun, under restoration for the first time since the boy king's tomb was discovered in 1922. The restoration process began in mid-July after the three-tiered coffin was transferred to the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo from the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, southern Egypt. "We are showing you a unique historical artefact, not just for Egypt but for the world," Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Enany told a press conference at the new museum, which overlooks the famed Giza Pyramids.
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| Riot Police Break Up Causeway Bay Protest: Hong Kong Update Posted: 04 Aug 2019 06:38 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong riot police broke up protests blocking roads in Causeway Bay and fired tear gas in the popular shopping district, capping a weekend of violent demonstrations across the city that marked the ninth week of civil unrest in the Asian financial capital.Earlier Sunday, police used gas to deter hundreds of black-clad protesters, many wearing hard hats, goggles and gas masks, from approaching the China liaison office in Sai Wan.The protest movement that began as weekend marches has shifted form and become a part of daily life, with disquiet growing in the Asian financial hub. Dozens of people appeared in court last week on a colonial-era rioting charge that carries a 10-year prison term -- signaling the city's Beijing-backed government is heeding calls for a stronger response, bolstered by support from Chinese authorities.Demonstrations began nearly nine weeks ago over opposition to legislation easing extraditions to China, and demands have since widened to include Chief Executive Carrie Lam's resignation, the release of people detained at previous protests and an inquiry into the police's use of force.Causeway Bay protest dispersed (9:18 p.m.)Some protesters fled after police arrived to disperse them from a main thoroughfare. Earlier they also briefly blocked the entrance of the city's busiest cross-harbour tunnel again. Dozens of them quickly left behind the chaotic traffic, chanting "Monday, strike."Protesters damaged traffic lights on Hennessy Road, paralyzing traffic in the area, the government said in a statement. Police warned the protesters to stop the vandalism. The police also released a video on Facebook showing a dye they plan to spray to help them identify protesters. The dye, which police said is edible and harmless to humans, can be added to water jet packs or tear gas.Sunday marches kick off (6 p.m.)Two marches kicked off on Sunday afternoon, one on the western side of Hong Kong island and the other in the New Territories district of Tseung Kwan O.The New Territories attracted thousands who moved directly to the local police station. Some protesters hurled projectiles at the building, breaking windows and drawing a warning from police that the crowd would be dispersed. Police issued a statement advising the public to leave the area immediately.The island march started at the expat-friendly residential neighborhood of Kennedy Town and was scheduled to end at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park in Sai Ying Pun.One of the protesters in Kennedy Town, 61-year-old church secretary Danny Yuen, said he was worried that the clashes could lead to serious injuries or death, which would "affect society's stability.""I don't like to see the violence, I'd like to see a peaceful way to engage with the government, but the government is forcing this way onto people," he said. "If the government would retract the bill, it would reduce tensions."China won't sit back (11 a.m.)Police said in a statement Sunday that at least 20 vehicles were damaged and officers' safety was put at risk when protesters hurled bricks and other objects into the station with "large catapults." When police dispersed the crowd some protesters hurled petrol bombs and other objects at officers, who fired tear gas to try to quell the violence, police said.At least 20 people were arrested for offenses including unlawful assembly and assault, according to the statement.Xinhua said in a commentary that the central government would not sit back and let the situation continue, while reiterating that it's sticking to the one country, two systems regime. The news agency warned "evil forces which are trying to challenge the central government's authority, to destroy the one country, two systems bottom line" that they will be judged by history.The report accused protesters of throwing a Chinese national flag into the sea in an act that is an insult to all Chinese nationals including Hong Kong residents.Two marches are planned for Sunday afternoon, one in the western side of Hong Kong island, ending in the area near China's liaison office; the other in the New Territories neighborhood of Tseung Kwan O.Government Condemns Acts of Protesters (2:16 a.m.)The Hong Kong government in a statement expressed regret over what it termed protesters' "violent" and "radical" actions, including barricading major roads in the Yau Tsim Mong district and the entrance to the Cross Harbor Tunnel. It said the actions went beyond what a "civilized society" considers freedom of expression. "We express regret over such behaviors which are illegal and disregard the public order and the needs of other members of the public." Acts that defaced the national flag were also condemned.Wong Tai Sin residents tear-gassed (Sunday, 12:05 a.m.)Police fired tear gas in Wong Tai Sin, a residential area with mostly public housing named for the nearby temple of the same name. Many were apparently local residents without gas masks or hard hats. They were angry at riot police who made arrests earlier on, including of at least one elderly person. Many remained on the streets as confrontations continued. Hundreds of protesters returned and encircled a police station in the Prince Edward neighborhood.Police use tear gas in Mong Kok (Saturday, 10:38 p.m.)Police fired tear gas in the densely populated neighborhood of Mong Kok for the first time since the start of the protests seven weeks ago. Lines of riot police faced off against demonstrators who had blocked Nathan Road, a main commercial thoroughfare. Police made progress in clearing many of the demonstrators, though some appeared to have entered into other neighborhoods with a thinner police presence.A large number of protesters remained in neighboring Tsim Sha Tsui, even after police fired several rounds of tear gas there to try dispel the demonstrators.Tear gas fired in Tsim Sha Tsui (Saturday 9:15 p.m.)Police fired tear gas to dispel protesters who had surrounded a police station in the Tsim Sha Tsui area, a shopping district that attracts many Chinese tourists. Protesters had set a fire near the station and hurled bricks at the outpost. Demonstrators had also blocked Nathan Road, the main thoroughfare in Kowloon, from Tsim Sha Tsui to Mong Kok. Riot police were also out in number trying to clear protesters from the Mong Kok district.Cross-Harbour Tunnel barricaded (Saturday 7 p.m.)Marchers from a rally in Mong Kok broke up into groups with some heading toward the shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui, where they took over the waterfront Canton Road. Some protesters set up barricades blocking the entrance to the Cross Harbor Tunnel, a busy route for vehicles, TV footage showed. Authorities cleared the barricades but traffic was backed up in a huge jam on the Hong Kong Island side of the tunnel.Organizers said 120,000 people attended the anti-government march, while police estimated that 4,200 were on the originally agreed route for the rally.One city, two rallies (Saturday 3 p.m.)Anti-government protesters gathered in a park in the Kowloon area for a 1.5 kilometer (about 1 mile) march to the Mong Kong district on a route approved by police. The park was overflowing with thousands of demonstrators spilling into the streets as police kept a low profile.In Causeway Bay, across the harbor on the Hong Kong Island side, thousands protesters congregated in Victoria Park in support of the police. Organizers said 90,000 people took part, while the media reported police as saying 26,000 attended.One of the demonstrators, who would only give her name as Ms Fung, accused the media of supporting protesters."If the news is beneficial to the people clad in black, they report it," she said. The protesters don't realize the harm they're inflicting on the economy, she said. "The police are very good compared to other countries."Lam Attends Event (Friday 8:50 p.m.)Hong Kong's embattled leader attended a cocktail reception celebrating the upcoming 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China at the Hong Kong Cultural Center. Some 20 black-clad protesters waited for her, Radio Television Hong Kong reported. Afterward, she didn't answer questions from protesters and media about the civil servants' rally as she was escorted away by bodyguards. People called out to her: "Have you ever responded to us?" "You are ignoring public opinion." "Do you agree you are hiding?"'To Voice My Opinion' (8:15 p.m.)"I am worried about the future of Hong Kong. We are being China-fied after all, despite the promise of 'one country, two systems.' I will keep coming out because I am so worried," said Ms Fung, a 60-year-old retired civil servant who worked as a clerk in the police commissioner's office for more than 20 years and declined to give her first name. "I want to come out and show that it's not just the young people and the people who are protesting that are against Carrie Lam, the extradition bill, and the police violence."Earlier in the evening, organizers played a video on a jumbo screen that summarized weeks of protests. When it came to July 21 attacks on marchers by unidentified white-shirted men at a train station in the suburb of Yuen Long, some people wept.My department "serves Hong Kong people," said Alan Cheung, 28, who works for the city's fire services department and came to the protest in a black shirt. "What happened in Yuen Long station and the police, what they do, is injustice.""I come to this protest to voice my opinion," Cheung said.Civil Servant Rally (7:30 p.m.)Thousands of people poured into centrally located Chater Garden after work for a planned civil servants' protest, some of them chanting the popular Chinese saying "add oil," a refrain of this movement that means to add fuel. The crowds flooded onto adjoining Chater Road as black-shirted demonstrators continued to join the gathering.Anticipating the rally, the government on Thursday night released a statement saying its civil servants must uphold their "political neutrality."Protesters' Next PlansA general strike and seven accompanying rallies called for Monday across the city are gaining traction in protester forums. They call for peaceful "non co-operation actions" at three busy metro stations at 7:30 a.m., as rush hour kicks off: Lai King, Diamond Hill and Fortress Hill. The strike begins hours later, at 1 p.m., with gatherings in Tuen Mun, Tseun Wan, Tai Po, Sha Tin, Mong Kok, Wong Tai Sin and Admiralty, which houses government offices and has been ground zero for weeks of mass marches.About 450 employees from both Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and Hong Kong Airlines Ltd. said they will take part in Monday's strike, Apple Daily reported Saturday, citing unidentified people.More than 300 Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon employees, including pilots, flight attendants and support staff, and about 150 from Hong Kong Airlines have expressed support for the civil action, the paper said. The employees who want to take part may take leave or call in sick, Apple Daily reported.(Updates with cross-harbour tunnel briefly blocked.)\--With assistance from Sheryl Tian Tong Lee, Kari Lindberg, Alfred Liu, Anjali Cordeiro and Natalie Lung.To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Karen Leigh in Hong Kong at kleigh4@bloomberg.net;Fion Li in Hong Kong at fli59@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Stanley James, Sara MarleyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Trump Suggests 'Marrying' Background Checks With Immigration Reform After Weekend Bloodshed Across America Posted: 05 Aug 2019 05:21 AM PDT  Tying gun control to immigration would likely risk muddying two already contentious issues
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| Jenna Bush Hager welcomes third child: 'My dad was a little mad the name wasn't George' Posted: 05 Aug 2019 06:18 AM PDT  Jenna Bush Hager to "Today" colleagues: "Even though the news outside these walls isn't great, you see the joy in their eyes."
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