| FBI agents are reluctant to pursue white nationalist extremists because they don't want to target Trump's base, former counterterrorism official says Posted: 05 Aug 2019 03:35 AM PDT  One former FBI agent told The Washington Post that he thought political controversies had muted the response to violence by white nationalists.
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| At least 20 dead. Suspected gunman could face death penalty. What we know about the El Paso shooting Posted: 05 Aug 2019 10:27 AM PDT  At least 20 people were killed after a suspected gunman went on a rampage Saturday at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. Here's what we know so far.
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| Chicago suffers bloody weekend as gun violence leaves seven dead Posted: 05 Aug 2019 02:45 PM PDT  Mass shootings command widespread media coverage, but lost in the national conversations about guns are everyday killings A memorial where 26-year-old Chantell Grant and 35-year-old Andrea Stoudemire were shot and killed on 28 July in the South Side of Chicago. Photograph: Kamil Krzaczyński/AFP/Getty ImagesAs deadly mass shootings devastated communities in Texas and Ohio and reignited calls for lawmakers to act on gun reform, Chicago experienced yet another bloody weekend – suffering the kind of violence that has come to be treated by the nation as almost routine in this city.Seven people were killed and 46 wounded here, including in two multiple shootings on the west side. The first of the shootings, in the Douglas Park neighborhood early on Sunday, left seven wounded; the second, in Lawndale hours later, wounded another seven and killed one."As a city, we have to stand up and do a hell of a lot more than we've done in a very long time," Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in an address on the violence over the weekend."There are no adequate words at this point," she said of the violence.Often lost in national conversations about guns are shootings occurring every day in places like Chicago, which has continued to see high levels of violence, mostly affecting its predominantly black and brown south and west sides."In Chicago, it's just another weekend," Father Michael Pfleger, a south side pastor and anti-violence activist, said of the national response to the city's deadly violence. "It gets forgotten and pushed to the side."Where mass shootings tend to command widespread media coverage, Pfleger said, violence in Chicago tends not to make national headlines. In part, he believes it's become an "old story" after years of the city suffering from a devastatingly high murder rate. But it also has to do with the fact that those being affected by the city's scourge of violence are mostly black and brown Chicagoans, he said."Black and brown life being taken by gun violence is not something America has been concerned about for a long time," the St Sabina pastor said."It needs to get the same attention," Pfleger continued. "We have 47 people shot and seven killed. If that happened over in Iraq, that's all anyone would be talking about."To erase everyday violence from the national conversation about gun control is to lose sight of the scope of the problem, according to Kris Brown, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence."We do that at our own peril," Brown told the Guardian. "It's not routine for the people who live in these communities, and it doesn't have to be accepted as normal."As studies have shown, mass shootings like those in Texas and Ohio represent just a fraction of gun deaths in America. Suicides and other homicides account for the majority of firearm-related deaths. "We need to look at gun violence as the public health epidemic it is," Brown said. "We have to change the cultural narrative around guns."Doing so can be challenging, though, given the unwillingness by Republicans to act on commonsense gun reforms."The shootings that occurred this past weekend in Chicago are certainly not taken for granted by the neighborhoods and families that experience them all too often," Rob Nash, chair of the board of directors for the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, said in an email interview. "The only people who have accepted gun violence as being routine are public policymakers who refuse to take action to stop it."Brown said the Brady campaign was continuing to work on changing the national narrative about guns, and Pfleger is organizing a national demonstration in Washington DC, in September in an effort to pressure lawmakers into action. "They're not gonna just do it," Pfleger said of gun reform. "They have to be pushed."
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| So Much for Suez: What Britain's Tanker Crisis with Iran in the Gulf Really Means Posted: 04 Aug 2019 03:01 PM PDT  Last week's seizure of a British tanker in the Persian Gulf is nothing short of shocking.The Swedish-owned and British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero was intercepted en route to Saudi Arabia when it was attacked. The daring raid as captured, if not choreographed, by Iranian state television saw soldiers of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps rappel from helicopters to the deck, with fast attack ships running circles around the vessel.Yet the most interesting detail is that the British frigate HMS Montrose was in the Gulf, arriving "ten minutes too late" to prevent the attack. Moreover, the crew of the Montrose contacted the Iranians, warning them to stand down, words that were completely ignored by Iranian forces.So much for a robust deployment East of Suez.An Unprepared PowerIt appears that, in the short term, this crisis is the result of a convergence of factors spurred on by the unsolved national predicament that is Brexit.Functionally, Britain was leaderless as Iranian forces boarded the vessel. Prime Minister Theresa May was a lame-duck, unable to act as the Conservative Party elected a successor. Tuesday, they chose Boris Johnson as the next prime minister, but his first priority is Brexit, not Iran.
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| New Mexicans Saw Young Girls With Epstein as He Shopped for His ‘Baby Ranch’ Posted: 06 Aug 2019 02:10 AM PDT  Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Photos Getty/ReutersR. Kelly arrived under escort of U.S. Marshals on Friday at the same small New Jersey airport where Jeffrey Epstein was arrested last month.The singer and the money manager are charged in separate cases with having sex with multiple minors. Both have long been seen in the company of underage girls. And both cases raise the question of why so many people said nothing over the years. Saying something when you see something—the post-9/11 adage about terrorism—should also apply to the sexual abuse of underage girls.Of course, not everybody could be expected to have understood the significance of what they were seeing before Epstein's proclivities became widely known. That included realtor Pat French of Santa Fe, New Mexico.Back in September of 1992, French was on the way to take her tween-turning-teen daughter and a friend to see the first woman to lead the Cherokee tribe, when she stopped at a luxury hotel to drop off some papers to a mega-rich New Yorker who was shopping for a ranch. Send The Daily Beast a TipWhen she rang the doorbell to the suite at the Rancho Encantado that September day in 1992, Jeffrey Epstein was not who answered."There were all these girls," French told The Daily Beast this week. "A little bit older than my daughter. Not much."French made what seemed at the time to be a completely reasonable assumption. "I thought, 'Oh, these must be his daughters and friends he took along on the trip,'" French recalled. She did not know at the time that Epstein had no children.The girls took the papers, which described properties that French thought might interest Epstein. He had told her he was seeking isolation."He wanted really far away from people," French recalled.French proceeded on with her daughter and friends to see Cherokee Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller receive an an award from the International Women's Forum. Mankiller—now deceased, from cancer in 2010—was a leading champion of women's rights as well as Native American rights and human rights in general. Mankiller was taking particular steps to combat the sexual abuse of children in her tribe. French never imagined that the girls she saw back at the plush Rancho Encantado were victims of evil such as Mankiller battled."I had no idea about this man," French later told The Daily Beast.French had no further dealings with Epstein. He chose to buy a ranch through another realtor, Rhonda King, who was also then a representative to the New Mexico state legislature. The purchase of the 10,000-acre Zorro Ranch came with an additional, instant political connection, as Epstein bought it from the realtor's uncle, former Gov. Bruce King. Epstein proceeded to build a 26,700 square foot hacienda-style hilltop mansion, the largest private home in Santa Fe County, perhaps the state. The former governor's brother, New Mexico State treasurer David King, was quoted saying of Epstein, "He's building what you want as a heavenly ranch."Epstein was reported to have bought $600 bedsheets. He was said to have his bread flown in from New York."They do have money," a local builder remarked.But money was still money for Epstein. He sued Santa Fe County in 2000, alleging that he was being overcharged on property taxes because the ranch was worth only $30 million, not the $33 million it had been officially appraised. He demanded a refund of $20,000 he had already paid. The suit was settled for an undisclosed amount. Visitors to the mansion included the leading candidate for governor in 2002, Bill Richardson, who was later quick to say that he was accompanied by his wife. Epstein contributed $50,000 to Richardson's campaign. Epstein kicked in another $50,000 towards Richardson's successful run for reelection in 2006.Gary King, the former governor's son, was running for state attorney general that year and Epstein donated $15,000 to his primary campaign. Epstein also donated $10,000 toward Jim Bacca's campaign to become head of the land commission and $2,000 toward Santa Fe County Sheriff Jim Solano's bid for reelection.In the meantime, Epstein was apparently flying in underage girls as well as fresh bread, usually through Santa Fe when he was using his Gulfstream, or the larger Albuquerque airport when using his Boeing 727. One of his accusers would say that she was raped at the ranch when she was 15.No doubt people at the airports and ranch workers and folks in town saw the girls. But nobody seems to have contacted the authorities even after the news broke in July 2006 that Epstein was being charged in Florida with having sex with underage girls. The following year, Epstein was allowed to plead guilty to just one count of engaging a minor in prostitution. This unconscionable deal allowed him to serve just 13 months of nights and weekends in a private section of the Palm Beach County Jail. A resident of Santa Fe recalled to The Daily Beast that when she went into a local newsstand, the proprietor remarked, "Oh, he always used to come into town with all these girls."Epstein Had His Own Lodge at Interlochen's Prestigious Arts Camp for KidsUpon his release in 2009, Epstein was required by the plea deal to to register as a sex offender. Federal law required him also to register in any other jurisdiction where he maintained a residence, including what his lawyers termed his "vacation home" outside Santa Fe.On July 23, 2010, Epstein received a notice from the New Mexico Department of Public Safety (NMDPS) stating it had been notified by its Florida counterpart that Epstein was a registered sex offender."A convicted sex offender who resides in New Mexico shall register with the county sheriff no later than ten (10) days after establishing residence in this state," the notice said.On August 17, Epstein registered in person with Detective Deborah Anaya at the Santa Fe County Sheriff's office. Anaya afterwards paid a standard visit to the offender's home. What wasn't standard were the offender's conveyances, which she listed as two private jets and two helicopters, along with a fleet of land vehicles.Two days later, on August 19, Epstein received a second notice from NMDPS, which said, "You are not required to register with the state of New Mexico." A NMDPS spokesman later told The Daily Beast, "While in New Mexico we expressly disapprove of such conduct as specific to this case, the determination made when someone must register in New Mexico is a fact-based inquiry. The state conducted a 'translation' on August 11, 2010, regarding Mr. Epstein's 2008 conviction for procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution in the state of Florida, i.e., a comparison of the out-of-state elements of the Florida conviction were compared against New Mexico law. It was determined at that time that because the victim was not under the age of 16, Mr. Epstein does not have a registration requirement in New Mexico."The spokesman did not respond to a query as to how this squared with federal law, which would seem to say that the conviction in Florida required him to register in New Mexico even if the victim was not under 16. The Florida definition of a minor was the operative one in whatever state when it came to registering. The standard letterhead in both NMDPS notices was identical, but in retrospect the words "Bill Richardson, Governor" seem to jump out a little more in the second one. Richardson—a former Energy Secretary in the Clinton administration—was in the final months of his second and final term as New Mexico's governor, but Gary King remained the state attorney general until 2015. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2014 and may have imagined nobody would be any the wiser when he accepted $35,000 donated by five shell companies that Epstein had established. The companies—three of which were apparently named after streets in the gated Brooklyn enclave where Epstein was raised—are based in the Virgin Islands. That is where Epstein has two private islands and where numerous people also saw him in the company of apparently underage girls and where he also made numerous political contributions, and even hired a former governor's wife as his office manager.Epstein almost certainly would still be flying girls to New Mexico and the Virgin Islands, along with his residences in Palm Beach and New York and likely Paris had he not been indicted by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office for sex trafficking. He was arrested when he stepped off his Gulfstream at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Epstein seems to have been abusing girls in New Mexico for at least 27 years. If he was traveling with underage girls after his widely reported conviction, no one should have imagined that he was doing so for any purpose other than should have been immediately reported to the authorities. So many people saw something and said nothing.Epstein apparently imagined people would keep saying nothing and he would remain at liberty. He has long leased grazing rights for 1,244 acres adjoining his Zorro Ranch and he renewed the lease in 2016 so it runs to 2021. He was reported in 2011 to have 39 Angus-cross cows and two bulls. The bulls are apparently for breeding.Epstein seems to have been obsessed with breeding. As The New York Times reported, he talked about using his seed to impregnate a herd of women, whom he seems to have regarded as just cattle at whatever age. He was said to have suggested to scientists that the human race would be improved by having what might in ranch terms be called an Epstein-cross.We can all hope that his line dies in prison along with him. Until then, look for Epstein to seek to curry favor with other inmates at the Metropolitan Correctional Center by putting money in their commissary accounts the same way he used to contribute to politicians in New Mexico and the Virgin Islands.Out in New Mexico, one of Epstein's more remote neighbors was spared ever encountering him. But the artist Sina Brush did receive an unbidden letter from him not long after he built his mansion. He informed her that he was paying her $25,000 for her refuge of 40 years. The letter did not even ask she was interested in selling. She sent back a polite "no thank you" note despite his rudeness. The modest parcel where Brush lives and works with an aging mare named Billie—"after the kid"—is one place that Epstein could not have bought with all his money. There, Brush enjoys a realm whose magical light and timeless peace have inspired many other artists, including not only Georgia O'Keeffe, but also Gerald Cassidy, Forrest Moses, Woody Gwyn and Fritz Scholde. Here is isolation that can also lead to what is the very best in us."I'm not going anywhere," she told The Daily Beast. "I need this kind of tranquility and beauty."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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| India's Ladakh Buddhist enclave jubilant at new status but China angered Posted: 06 Aug 2019 08:07 AM PDT ![India's Ladakh Buddhist enclave jubilant at new status but China angered]( "India's Ladakh Buddhist enclave jubilant at new status but China angered") The Buddhist enclave of Ladakh cheered India's move to hive it off from Jammu and Kashmir state, a change that could spur tourism and help New Delhi counter China's influence in the contested western Himalayas. Beijing, though, criticised the announcement, made on Monday by the Indian government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of a wider policy shift that also ended Jammu and Kashmir's right to set its own laws.
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| A United Airlines flight from Scotland to New York was canceled after 2 pilots were arrested on suspicion of drinking before they were meant to fly Posted: 05 Aug 2019 05:01 AM PDT  Scottish police arrested the pilots on suspicion of "carrying out pilot functions or activity while exceeding the prescribed limit of alcohol."
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| Ex-girlfriend of Dayton shooter says she saw red flags and a dark side while they dated Posted: 06 Aug 2019 08:08 AM PDT  A former girlfriend of the man who went on a shooting rampage in Dayton, Ohio, said a number of red flags led her to break up with the 24-year-old.
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| The Latest: Apparent Twitter feed shows shooter was leftist Posted: 05 Aug 2019 06:08 PM PDT  A Twitter account appearing to be from the gunman who killed nine people in Dayton, Ohio, showed tweets labeling himself a "leftist," bemoaning the election of President Donald Trump, supporting Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and encouraging people to cut fences of immigrant detention centers. While investigators try to determine a motive for Sunday's attack by 24-year-old Connor Betts, his apparent account offers a window into his politics. The Associated Press archived some of the feed but it was taken down by Twitter late Sunday amid speculation it belonged to Betts.
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| Barack Obama shares heartfelt response to mass shootings, calls for stricter gun laws Posted: 05 Aug 2019 01:03 PM PDT  Barack Obama has finally released a statement on the deadly mass shootings that took place over the weekend in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.The former president shared a heartfelt four-paragraph message on Twitter Monday afternoon, explaining that he and Michelle "grieve with all the families in El Paso and Dayton who endured these latest mass shootings.""Even if details are still emerging," Obama wrote, "there are a few things we already know to be true."> pic.twitter.com/nNOVtQ50O4> > -- Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 5, 2019SEE ALSO: 2020 candidates directly call out Trump in the wake of two mass shootingsObama went on to state that "no other nation on Earth comes close to experiencing the frequency of mass shootings that we see in the United States." He argued that as a developed nation, America needs to stop accepting the excuse that "gun laws won't stop all murders." Even if stricter gun laws can prevent some deaths or some families from grieving, he says, they're worth it. "The evidence shows that they can stop some killings. They can save some families from heartbreak. We are not helpless here. And until all of us stand up and insist on holding public officials accountable for changing our gun laws, these tragedies will keep happening," he said.Obama then touched on the motivations behind the shootings, and said that while they "may not be fully known, there are indications that the El Paso shooting follows a dangerous trend: troubled individuals who embrace racist ideologies and see themselves obligated to act violently to preserve white supremacy."The former president called out "white nationalist websites" for radicalizing these ideologies, and called on law enforcement agencies and internet platforms to work harder to minimize the influence of hate groups. Earlier today Donald Trump made a public statement about the shootings, and before he misidentified the Ohio city in which the second shooting took place, he also touched on the influence the internet has on these deadly shootings.Trump said he is "directing the Department of Justice to work in partnership with local state and federal agencies, as well as social media companies, to develop tools that can detect mass shooters before they strike." Trump's suggestion has been criticized, mostly because asking internet companies to identify shooters before they stage an attack seems nearly impossible. However, Obama's call to reduce the influence of hate groups online seems far more manageable. Obama continued his statement by calling on the American people to reject hate and embrace diversity."We should soundly reject language coming out of the mouths of any leader that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalized racist sentiments; leaders who demonize those who don't look like us, or suggest that other people, including immigrants, threaten our way of life, or refer to other people as sub-human, or imply that America belongs to just one certain type of people," he wrote. Obama did not name anyone specifically by name. "We should soundly reject language coming out of the mouths of any leader that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalized racist sentiments; leaders who demonize those who don't look like us, or suggest that other people, including immigrants, threaten our way of life, or refer to other people as sub-human, or imply that America belongs to just one certain type of people," he wrote. Obama did not name anyo specifically by name. "It has no place in our politics and our public life. And it's time for the overwhelming majority of Americans of goodwill, of every race and faith and political party, to say as much -- clearly and unequivocally."Obama replied to his statement by sharing an article from Vox on gun reform, and reiterating that, "Until all of us stand up and insist on holding public officials accountable for changing our gun laws, these tragedies will keep happening." WATCH: Obama advises men to avoid toxic masculine behavior
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| Mexico: Texas shooting 'act of terrorism' against Mexicans Posted: 05 Aug 2019 04:56 PM PDT  Mexico's government said it considers a shooting at a crowded department store in El Paso, Texas that left eight of its citizens dead an "act of terrorism" against Mexicans and hopes it will lead to changes in U.S. gun laws. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard met Monday afternoon with local authorities in El Paso and said Mexico will participate in the investigations and trial there, as well as take legal action against those who sold the gun to the shooter. "An investigation will be opened for terrorism, because that's what it was," Ebrard said at a press conference.
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| Murder, 'gay-hunters' strike terror in Russia's LGBT community Posted: 05 Aug 2019 07:37 PM PDT  When LGBT activist Yelena Grigoryeva found her name on a hit list of a "gay-hunting" group, she did not appear to take the threat seriously. The group called itself "Pila", meaning "saw", after the series of Hollywood horror films of the same name, in which a serial killer plays games with his victims. Pila promised "very dangerous and cruel little gifts" to a number of Russia's gay activists.
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| Sharks bite three people on the same beach in separate attacks within 24 hours Posted: 06 Aug 2019 03:42 AM PDT  Three people have been bitten by sharks on the same beach in just 24 hours, with two attacks occurring within 30 minutes of each other.Multiple separate attacks were recorded over the weekend at New Smyrna Beach in Florida, an area which has been called the "shark attack capital of the world".A 20-year-old surfer, Emily Comfort, was bitten on her left hand and wrist on Saturday, according to Volusia County Beach Safety, and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.Approximately half an hour later, a 21-year-old surfer named Riley Petrovich was treated for a shark bite on his right foot.He refused transport to a hospital, according to officials.On Sunday, beach officials reported that 51-year-old Peter Bourbeau was bitten by what he described as a 4ft shark while standing in knee-deep water.Mr Bourbeau said he kicked the shark and it swam away.It is not known whether any of the attacks were committed by the same predator.Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Programme for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History, told CNN that sharks are often drawn to New Smyrna Beach by bait fish which gather nearby."If you like to surf and you surf in this particular spot, the chances are high that you have been within 10ft of a shark," he said."The surfers all know this. They routinely report seeing sharks in the area. While it may be news to the non-surfing community, it is widely-known to scientists and surfers."Shark sightings are relatively common in Volusia County, where there has been 303 unprovoked attacks recorded since 1882, according to research by the Florida Museum of Natural History.That number is the highest for a county in the US.There have been 1,441 confirmed unprovoked shark attacks in the US since 1837 with the majority occurring in Florida (828 attacks), according to the museum.In 2018, the museum reported 16 unprovoked shark attacks in the state, accounting for half of all such attacks in the US last year.
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| O.C. murder fugitive who allegedly murdered wife in 2012 captured in Mexico, authorities say Posted: 05 Aug 2019 12:33 PM PDT  A Southern California multimillionaire who went on the run after he was charged in the 2012 death of his wife was captured in Mexico, according to the Newport Beach Police Department.
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| UPDATE 1-China warns of countermeasures if U.S. puts missiles on its 'doorstep' Posted: 05 Aug 2019 08:47 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-China warns of countermeasures if U.S. puts missiles on its 'doorstep']( "UPDATE 1-China warns of countermeasures if U.S. puts missiles on its 'doorstep'") China threatened countermeasures on Tuesday if the United States deploys intermediate-range, ground-based missiles in Asia and warned U.S. allies of repercussions if they allow such weapons on their territory. U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Saturday he was in favour of placing ground-launched, intermediate-range missiles in the region soon, possibly within months. Washington formally pulled out last week from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a 1987 pact with the former Soviet Union that banned ground-launched nuclear and conventional ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500-5,000 km (310 to 3,400 miles).
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| Nuon Chea, architect of bloody Khmer Rouge policy, dead at 93 in Cambodia Posted: 05 Aug 2019 04:14 PM PDT  An estimated 1.2 to 2.8 million Cambodians died from starvation, disease and execution during the Khmer Rouge rule from 1975 to 1979. Chea said he had "no regrets" over the deaths.
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| 'Headline was flawed': New York Times changed headline about Trump speech after backlash Posted: 06 Aug 2019 09:51 AM PDT  A few Democratic presidential candidates took to Twitter on Monday night to criticize the New York Times' Tuesday front page headline.
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| Walmart worker's son threatened to 'shoot up' a Florida Walmart store and said he was inspired by recent deadly shootings (WMT) Posted: 05 Aug 2019 06:44 AM PDT  Wayne Padgett told the police he was "intrigued" by recent shootings and specifically cited the shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday.
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| Iran unveils three new precision-guided missiles Posted: 06 Aug 2019 02:14 AM PDT  Iran unveiled three precision-guided missiles on Tuesday, with the defence minister saying they show the country is ready to defend itself in the face of US "viciousness and conspiracies". The new line-up of air-to-air missiles dubbed the "Yasin", "Balaban" and a new series of the "Ghaem" were developed jointly by the ministry and Sa Iran, also known as Iran Electronics Industries. Defence Minister Brigadier-General Amir Hatami hailed their launch as "another significant achievement of power and dignity for the Islamic Republic of Iran".
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| Don't believe that viral tweet about the backless seats on the EasyJet flight Posted: 06 Aug 2019 04:34 AM PDT  Buckle up, folks, you're in for a wild ride. A tweet claiming that EasyJet had introduced "backless seats" in its flights went viral on Tuesday, garnering 3.9K retweets and 5K likes and propelling the airline's name to the top of Twitter trending. So, has EasyJet really allowed backless seats on its flight? According to their spokesperson, the answer to that question is a categorical no. "How can this be allowed," asked original poster, Matthew Harris, who is, per his Twitter bio, the president and CEO of smart trade show event company Konduko. > easyjet beats @Ryanair to have backless seats. @IATA @EASA this is flight 2021 Luton to Geneva. How can this be allowed. @GeneveAeroport @easyJet_press @easyJet pic.twitter.com/EthMoWRR8P> > -- Matthew Harris (@mattiasharris) August 6, 2019Scroll through the replies to the original tweet and you'll spot a flurry of replies from EasyJet -- the first of which asks Harris to remove the photograph in the tweet. You'll also spot an onslaught of comments from members of the public who were quick to criticise EasyJet for this, before the tide of criticism shifted as the story developed. > Hi Matthew, thanks for bringing this to our attention, before we can investigate this could I ask you to remove the photograph & then DM us more info regarding this, so we can best assist you. Ross https://t.co/Qq2zhBAizh> > -- easyJet (@easyJet) August 6, 2019Harris refused to delete the photo and then tweeted a photo of the flightpath, stating: "This is a real photo of a plane currently descending to Geneva." > Absolutely not. This is a real photo of a plane currently decending to Geneva pic.twitter.com/BULiB4H3jt> > -- Matthew Harris (@mattiasharris) August 6, 2019EasyJet explained in a press statement that the woman pictured in Harris' first photo was not permitted to sit in the "backless" seat, which was actually just a broken seat awaiting repair. "No passengers were permitted to sit in these seats as they were inoperative awaiting repair," reads the statement."Safety is our highest priority and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all safety guidelines."SEE ALSO: How to sleep on a planeMashable has reached out for additional information.> I have the following update: No passengers were permitted to sit in these seats as they were inoperative awaiting repair. Safety is our highest priority and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all safety guidelines. - Dan> > -- easyJet (@easyJet) August 6, 2019Harris posted a follow-up tweet, stating that his partner took the photo. "One has to wonder how safe the rest of the plane was," he wrote. He added that the woman moved to a spare seat once everyone had boarded the plane. > One has to wonder how safe the rest of the plane was. This was her seat. The lady was moved to a spare seat once the flight was fully boarded. Not sure what would have happened if the flight was full. > > My partner took the photo. > > -- end --> > -- Matthew Harris (@mattiasharris) August 6, 2019Harris he did not respond immediately respond to Mashable's request for comment. WATCH: This 'hybrid drone' can hover like a helicopter and fly like a plane -- Future Blink
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| Mexican man who shielded wife in Texas mass shooting dies Posted: 05 Aug 2019 01:48 PM PDT  A Mexican man who threw himself in front of his wife to shield her from bullets in a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, died on Monday, officials and his family said, raising the toll of Mexican nationals killed in one of two weekend mass shootings in the United States to eight. Juan de Dios Velazquez, 77, had moved to El Paso with his wife Estela Nicolasa, 65, from Ciudad Juarez, just across the border in Mexico, six months before they were caught in Saturday's mass shooting at a Walmart store. "He couldn't fight anymore, his heart started to fail," said Idaly Velazquez, a niece who confirmed his passing to Reuters.
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| Republican strategist to his party: Consider some gun laws and condemn white nationalism Posted: 06 Aug 2019 07:45 AM PDT  Congress probably can't stop mass shootings, but some gun laws make sense and would show Americans both parties take this problem seriously.
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| After Mass Shootings, Trump Veers Quickly From Horror to Score Settling Posted: 05 Aug 2019 01:09 PM PDT  Bloomberg/GettyIn Dayton, in El Paso, in Parkland and in Pittsburgh, Donald Trump always reacts the same way. First, behind closed doors, with horror and compassion, followed almost immediately by grievance and scorn.It's the latter feelings that dictate the moments and days directly following, demolishing any chance for constructive dialogue or major reform.For this president, it's the same script every time, read haltingly from a teleprompter, just with differing numbers of dead.According to interviews with nine people—former and current administration officials, campaign veterans, political operatives, conservative media figures, and friends of the president and Trump family—who have spoken to Trump in the wake of mass shootings, the president follows a predictable pattern:In private, he'll display a palpable anguish and outrage at the body count that, his aides concede, doesn't typically come through in public. However, as he quickly consumes more and more media coverage of certain pundits, journalists, and liberals blaming him for the slaughters (particularly in cases of racist and white supremacist violence), his flashes of compassion are immediately supplanted by desires for going on the offense and reprisal. And there's certainly never any room for even a semblance of self-reflection.This routine is all but guaranteed this time around, given that 2020 Democratic contenders are already lining up to assign, at-minimum, partial responsibility to Trump, pointing out that the accused El Paso shooter's online essay mirrors the president's rhetoric on an "invasion" of the United States."I've seen him go from Point A to Point B in minutes," said a former senior Trump administration official. "Usually what does it is something on TV like a [Democratic] politician or commentator saying he's the one to blame that sets him off." The ex-official noted one example of this was how the president reacted to advisers and associates in the aftermath of the Tree of Life synagogue mass murder late last year. The alleged perpetrator had claimed that Jews were importing Central American migrant caravans and immigrant "invaders" into the United States. Trump and the Republican Party had made demagoguing the caravans and the migrant "invasion" a cornerstone of their 2018 midterm elections strategy and messaging.Privately like in public, Trump, of course, admitted no conceivable connection between his words and the motivations of the shooter. "They'll blame me for everything, it's disgraceful," the former official recalled the president saying in late October of last year, referring to figures in the media and the Democratic Party."President Trump is greatly moved when these tragic events happen. I have witnessed his reactions both in person and in phone conversations with him in the aftermath of mass shootings," Eric Bolling, a BlazeTV host and a close friend of Trump's, told The Daily Beast on Sunday. He added that the Parkland school massacre was one of those shootings. "He reacts with the same disgust and dismay as the rest of us do when we hear the reports come in. He has compassion and concern for the victims, families, and communities affected. But those emotions tend to get overshadowed as the comments from the left blaming him for the shootings roll in."This week, the president didn't deviate from the formula. On Sunday, he kept mostly quiet and offline as he wrapped his weekend away at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, telling reporters as he headed back to Washington, DC, that "hate has no place in our country," and that he'd have more to say the next day.On Monday morning, Trump tweeted that "perhaps" the "strong background checks" should be tied to immigration legislation, an idea that would effectively kill any chance at a bill involving expanded background checks for gun purchases. He then posted to Twitter that "The Media has a big responsibility to life and safety in our Country," blaming the "Fake News" for contributing "greatly to the anger and rage that has built up over many years. News coverage has got to start being fair, balanced and unbiased, or these terrible problems will only get worse!" (He said something similar shortly after the Tree of Life attack.)He then retweeted a nearly year-old post from a fan account that reads, "Strong people stand up for themselves—but stronger people stand up for others. Thank you President @realDonaldTrump for standing up for America."For his speech at the White House later that Monday morning, Trump stuck to the teleprompter, and practically slept-walked through a series of talking points and ostensibly denounced "racist hate." Trump was so robotic he called for prayers for the wrong Ohio city—Toledo instead of Dayton—without skipping a beat.During the prepared remarks, he proposed some dangerous, supposed fixes to the problem, including involuntarily locking up mentally ill people. And he made sure to criticize "dark recesses of the internet" and "gruesome video games," as he and his White House team hamfistedly did after Parkland."Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun," Trump said.After he stepped away from the mic, White House aides waited for the president to inevitably exacerbate the situation, by Twitter and other means. To those who have worked for him over the years, this is standard operating procedure in Trumpworld. In fact, Trump ran this playbook starting the day right after he announced his presidential run at Trump Tower.In June 2015, shortly after news first broke of a white supremacist attack on a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, Trump gathered his top campaign officials to figure out what to do. Trump and his advisers agreed they needed to cancel an upcoming South Carolina event out of respect for the fallen and their loved ones. He had his staff draft official statements of condolence and condemnation. In these initial moments when it wasn't clear who'd been murdered, the then- future president appeared consumed and visibly perturbed by the violence, repeatedly asking those around him, "Women, kids, in a church?" according to Sam Nunberg, a former political adviser to Trump.It took roughly two days for Trump to go back to being Trump.The day after the shooting, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton appeared to link Trump's campaign-launch remarks about Mexican rapists to rhetoric that helps inspire racist violence. Trump was furious, and shot a video in which he responded, "Wow, it's pretty pathetic that Hillary Clinton just blamed me for the horrendous attack that took place in South Carolina," adding, "this is why politicians are just no good. Our country's in trouble."Nunberg recounted that when he presented the Republican presidential candidate with a draft statement pushing back on Clinton's comments, Trump quickly reviewed it, then ordered Nunberg to add a new line specifically calling out Clinton's "email server," for an extra dash of cattiness.As he got farther and farther into his presidency, Trump only got worse. Following the Parkland massacre, the president called one of the survivors Samantha Fuentes, who had been shot in both her legs, while she was still in the hospital."He said he heard that I was a big fan of his, and then he said, 'I'm a big fan of yours too.' I'm pretty sure he made that up," she told The New York Times early last year. "Talking to the president, I've never been so unimpressed by a person in my life. He didn't make me feel better in the slightest."Fuentes added that Trump called the perpetrator a "sick puppy," and that the president said, "'Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy,' like, seven times" during their phone call. 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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| Cellmate uses toilet to drown convicted Florida pedophile Posted: 05 Aug 2019 10:41 AM PDT  Paul Dixon has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of David Oseas Ramirez. The death allegedly occurred after the cellmates got into an argument.
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| China stabilizes currency but tensions with US remain high Posted: 06 Aug 2019 08:12 AM PDT  China stabilized its currency Tuesday, suggesting it might hold off from aggressively letting the yuan weaken as a way to respond to U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. A weaker yuan can help neutralize U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods by making them more price-competitive on international markets. The Trump administration responded Monday by officially declaring that China improperly manipulates the yuan's value.
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| A Texas man planned a mass shooting. His grandmother stopped him and 'saved lives,' officials say Posted: 05 Aug 2019 01:47 PM PDT  A 19-year-old allegedly told his grandma he bought an AK-47 and planned to "shoot up" a local hotel. She convinced him to go to a hospital instead.
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| Boy thrown from London's Tate Modern is French tourist visiting UK Posted: 05 Aug 2019 10:13 AM PDT  A six-year-old boy thrown from a tenth-floor viewing platform at London's Tate Modern gallery is a French national who was visiting the British capital with his family, police said Monday. The boy is no longer in a life-threatening condition, according to London's Metropolitan Police, who appealed for further witnesses to the Sunday afternoon incident to come forward. "This is being treated as an isolated event with no distinct or apparent motive," senior investigating officer DCI John Massey said in a statement, adding there was no known link between the victim and the teen arrested.
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| Hidden camera catches husband trying to poison his wife's coffee Posted: 05 Aug 2019 10:36 AM PDT  What she caught on film made her fall to her knees and sob
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| Dayton shooting: Gunman killed his sister, but was the ‘sororicide' intentional? Posted: 05 Aug 2019 05:25 PM PDT  The murder of a sister is sororicide. Officials says it's too early to tell whether Megan Betts was a target of Sunday's mass shooting in Dayton.
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| REFILE-Drought reveals lost temple in Thailand submerged by dam Posted: 05 Aug 2019 05:30 PM PDT ![REFILE-Drought reveals lost temple in Thailand submerged by dam]( "REFILE-Drought reveals lost temple in Thailand submerged by dam") Thousands are flocking to see a Buddhist temple in central Thailand exposed after drought drove water levels to record lows in a dam reservoir where it had been submerged. As the reservoir reaches less than 3% of capacity, the remains of Wat Nong Bua Yai, a modern temple submerged during construction of the dam 20 years ago, have became visible in the middle of dry ground. Some Buddhist monks were among the hundreds of people who walked through broken temple structures on cracked earth littered with dead fish last week to pay respects to a headless 4-metre (13-feet) -tall Buddha statue, adorning it with flowers.
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| Iran's Air Force Just Lost a Fighter Jet: U.S. Made F-4 Phantom Just Went Down Posted: 05 Aug 2019 12:22 AM PDT  On Aug. 4, 2019, around 12:30 hrs local time, the F-4E Phantom II inventory of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) became a little smaller after a 61st TFS F-4E crashed near Tangestan beach, north-west of home base 6th Tactical Air Base Bushehr (Iran).Luckily both crew members managed to eject in time and parachuted safely to mother Earth.Their unfortunate Phantom crashed into the Persian Gulf. Regular patrol flights of F-4Es are common in the region, but this crash comes amid tensions in the Gulf region between the US and Iran.Earlier, on Aug. 4, Iran announced it had captured a foreign oil tanker, which, according to their statement, was smuggling fuel to an unnamed Arab state in the region. Possibly, the F-4E was involved in a top cover mission when things went wrong. A spokesman of the IRIAF said the crew of the crashed F-4E reported technical issues before they ejected.
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| Chris Hayes: Trump’s Racist Rhetoric Would Be ‘Existential Threat’ Even if There Wasn’t a ‘Body Count’ Posted: 05 Aug 2019 07:47 PM PDT  MSNBCFollowing the El Paso shooting in which a white nationalist murdered 22 people on Saturday, MSNBC host Chris Hayes opened his program Monday evening by tearing into President Trump's racist and xenophobic rhetoric, claiming the president is drawing from "dark sorcery of racial hatred" that is threatening the country."Even if there were no blood, it would still be vile," the All In host declared. "If there were no body count, no deaths to mourn, no grieving families, no young parents ripped apart by bullets while shielding their babies, even if none of that happened, it would still be an existential threat to the America we can and should be."After pointing out "MAGA Bomber" Cesar Sayoc was sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison, Hayes went on to show earlier clips of Trump calling asylum-seeking migrants an "invasion" and laughing while a rallygoer called for immigrants to be shot."The rallies would still be ghastly and chilling enterprises where crowds are incited and encouraged to give into their worst impulses," the liberal MSNBC host said. "Where they desecrate our national character by yelling 'Shoot Them!' while cheered on by the head of state."Adding that even if no blood had been shed "in pursuit of it," Hayes pointed out just what the "it" was that he was speaking of."Well, to quote a phrase, 'You know it and I know it,'" he stated. "It's the well of evil from which our president draws and has drawn from the first day when he said Mexico was sending rapists to the U.S., presumably with the explicit intent to defile America's women—the dark sorcery of racial hatred that conjures invasions and infestations out of desperate fellow human beings seeking refuge."Further highlighting the president's "both sides" reaction to the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Hayes connected Trump's nods to racism to a rising "body count" and "list of names waiting now to be carved into headstones."Noting that political violence is a "distinctly destabilizing threat to the fabric of a peaceful democratic society," Hayes observed that there've been recent "leftist bouts of terror," specifically the congressional baseball shooting. The progressive stalwart, however, said it required "willful obtuseness" to ignore the recent pattern of right-wing violence.Asserting the El Paso murderer's manifesto contained talking points that would sound "more or less unremarkable out of the mouths of the president's closest advisers or the president himself," Hayes concluded his emotional monologue by saying Trump "knows what he's doing.""We welcome the stranger," he said. "We pursue justice. We act as equals in the collective enterprise of democracy. The president and his party stand on the wrong side of that question right now. They have long since disqualified themselves from the support of decent people by doing so."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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| Switzerland has a stunningly high rate of gun ownership — here's why it doesn't have mass shootings Posted: 05 Aug 2019 08:03 AM PDT  Here's what the US can learn from Switzerland, which has nearly eliminated mass shootings while maintaining a high rate of gun ownership.
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| The Latest: China concerned with rising tension over Kashmir Posted: 06 Aug 2019 07:52 AM PDT  China says it is "seriously concerned" about the developing situation in Kashmir, which Indian lawmakers have voted to split into two central government-controlled territories. Hua's comments were issued on China's foreign ministry website. India's lower house of Parliament ratified a bill presented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist-led government to revoke a longstanding constitutional provision that made Kashmir exempt from some Indian laws and gave its residents hereditary rights to land, educational scholarships and public sector jobs within the region.
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| The Latest: Lawyer assigned to man charged in El Paso attack Posted: 06 Aug 2019 08:52 AM PDT  The man suspected of killing 22 people and wounding many others at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, has been assigned a public defender. Court records show that San Antonio lawyer Mark Stevens was appointed Monday to represent Patrick Crusius, who is charged with capital murder in El Paso County.
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| EU criticises 'militarisation' of South China Sea Posted: 05 Aug 2019 02:29 AM PDT  The "militarisation" of the South China Sea is threatening peace in the contested waterway, the EU's top diplomat said Monday in Hanoi, echoing warnings from the US as pressure mounts against Beijing's ambitions in the region. China has been accused of deploying warships, arming outposts and ramming fishing vessels in the resource-rich sea, sparking ire from other claimants. On Monday, the European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the bloc was concerned over "increasing tension" in the area.
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| Community raises more than $50,000 to keep man with special needs as neighbor Posted: 05 Aug 2019 05:46 PM PDT  Lamar Harris has lost all the relatives who once cared for him. But his Gloucester Township neighbors showed him he still has plenty of family.
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| Jho Low Acted for Najib to Ensure His Checks Clear: 1MDB Update Posted: 06 Aug 2019 01:49 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The trial of former Malaysian leader Najib Razak sheds light on 1MDB's beginning while revealing his early links to fugitive financier Jho Low.A Kuala Lumpur court heard dozens of witness testimonies related to the 42 million ringgit ($10 million) found in Najib's personal accounts which allegedly came from SRC International Sdn., once a unit of the troubled state fund. Lawyers for Najib, who has pleaded not guilty, argued that he was misled by others. The current trial revolves around seven of the total 42 charges that Najib faces for his alleged role in 1MDB.Key DevelopmentsNajib's next trial remains set to begin Aug. 19 despite appeals by Attorney-General Tommy Thomas to delay it until after the current proceeding is completedAhmad Husni Hanadzlah, who served as second finance minister under Najib from 2009 to 2016, is the current witness on the standSeparately, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s 1MDB hearing was pushed back to Sept. 30 as the process of filing the charges was incompleteJho Low acted on Najib's behalf to ensure checks clear (Aug. 6)Former AmBank officer Joanna Yu detailed her communication with Low, who contacted her on behalf of Najib to make sure checks issued by the former premier wouldn't bounce. Yu said on the witness stand that Low made her ensure the accounts had enough funds to clear checks that Najib later issued, showing that Low acted to assist Najib and not as a rogue agent.Yu said it isn't possible for the funds to be used without Najib's knowledge, and said she has no suspicion that any of the checks were forged. Low, who remains at large, has denied any wrongdoing.Former Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, who served under Najib, then took the witness stand. He testified that Najib said the 2 billion ringgit loan from state pension fund Kumpulan Wang Persaraan Diperbadankan to SRC was to fund supply of coal from Indonesia for Malaysia's energy supply. Ahmad Husni was shown no documentation on the coal supply, and Najib prevented him from visiting Switzerland to check on SRC funds that were frozen at BSI Bank Ltd. He said he wasn't involved in the formation of 1MDB and was only told after the fact.As second finance minister, Ahmad Husni had rallied in support of Najib, who was then premier and also finance minister. He later stepped down from the cabinet and began questioning 1MDB transactions in parliament.Further ReadingWitness Says Najib's Note Shows He Knew Fund Source: 1MDB UpdateHow Malaysia's 1MDB Scandal Shook the Financial World: QuickTakeThe Long List of Charges Against Najib as 1MDB Trial Kicks OffTo contact the reporter on this story: Hadi Azmi in Kuala Lumpur at klnews@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Yudith Ho at yho35@bloomberg.net, Anisah ShukryFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| "Ready and willing" to do a Brexit deal, Britain tells EU Posted: 06 Aug 2019 02:50 AM PDT !["Ready and willing" to do a Brexit deal, Britain tells EU]( "\"Ready and willing\" to do a Brexit deal, Britain tells EU") Britain is "ready and willing" to do a deal to leave the European Union if Brussels renegotiates the agreement, a senior government source said on Tuesday, denying that a no-deal Brexit was Prime Minister Boris Johnson's central plan. Johnson, who took over as prime minister two weeks ago, has taken a hard line with the EU, demanding that it show willingness to change the deal it agreed with his predecessor before negotiations can restart to secure Britain's smooth departure from the bloc.
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| Suspect arrested in murders of man, nanny found dead at suburban New Jersey home Posted: 05 Aug 2019 01:28 PM PDT  Police have made an arrest in the killings of a man and a live-in nanny who worked with his family in New Jersey.
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| The 30 Best iPhone Apps to Download Now Posted: 05 Aug 2019 12:00 PM PDT |
| After Trump mistakes Toledo for Dayton, mayors of both cities take notice Posted: 05 Aug 2019 11:46 AM PDT  In his first formal comments on two mass shootings, the president mistakenly identified Sunday's killings in Ohio as having occurred in Toledo rather than Dayton. The mistake was not lost on the mayors of both cities.
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| Is Manila Worth American Lives? Posted: 04 Aug 2019 03:00 PM PDT  Washington policymakers treat allies like Facebook friends, the more the merrier. Montenegro or the United Kingdom, allies are viewed as much the same. Administrations routinely ink another "mutual" defense treaty and pretend the result is a real military alliance, designed to make America more secure.In fact, most U.S. "allies" are nothing of the sort. During the Cold War Washington's principal objective was to prevent weak, war-torn, and/or failed states from falling under the control of the Soviet Union, and later China and North Korea. Although General and then President Dwight Eisenhower warned against turning the Europeans into security dependents, successive administrations ignored his advice. The U.S. inevitably took the lead and didn't worry much about what its nominal allies did. They lagged behind the United States, failed to fulfill their commitments, and not too subtly took a very cheap if not quite free ride at Washington's expense. U.S. officials whined on cue about the unfairness, but otherwise did nothing.The allies eventually recovered economically, with Japan, Germany, the UK, France, and South Korea becoming important international players. Nevertheless, Washington continues to be overwhelmingly responsible for national and regional as well as global security. The presumption is that its alliances are essentially costless. All Washington needs to do to deter impudent adversaries is make an occasional threat or issue a pertinent demand. There's really no need for allies to even possess weapons.
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| Key figures in Manson case: Cult disciples, rich and famous Posted: 05 Aug 2019 09:09 PM PDT ![Key figures in Manson case: Cult disciples, rich and famous]( "Key figures in Manson case: Cult disciples, rich and famous") It was 50 years ago this week that Charles Manson dispatched a group of disaffected young followers on a two-night killing rampage that terrorized Los Angeles. Members of the so-called Manson "family" arrived at the Hollywood Hills home of Sharon Tate on Aug. 8, 1969, where they stabbed, beat and shot to death the young actress and her friends — celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring, coffee heiress Abigail Folger and aspiring screenwriter Wojciech Frykowski. As they made their way to the house, they encountered a teenager, Steven Parent, who had been visiting an acquaintance at the estate's guesthouse, and shot him to death.
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| Russia seeks to remove child from parents over opposition rally Posted: 06 Aug 2019 06:48 AM PDT  Russian prosecutors sought to strip a couple of parental rights on Tuesday after they brought their baby to a rally, as the authorities pressed ahead with a crackdown on the opposition. Over the past few weeks, thousands of Muscovites have taken part in protests over the exclusion of popular opposition politicians from Moscow's parliament elections in September. The authorities have retaliated with a crackdown, opening a probe into "mass unrest" and making nearly 2,400 arrests at two unauthorised rallies over the past two weeks.
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