| US extracted spy from Putin's Kremlin: reports Posted: 10 Sep 2019 04:16 AM PDT  US agents extracted a high-level mole in the Russian government who had confirmed Vladimir Putin's direct role in interfering in the 2016 presidential election, American media reported. The individual had been providing information to US intelligence for decades, had access to Putin and had sent pictures of high-level documents on the Russian leader's desk, CNN said. CNN, citing an unnamed person it said was involved in discussions on the asset, said the 2017 extraction was over concerns that President Donald Trump and his cabinet could expose the agent after repeated mishandling of classified intelligence.
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| Emails Show McCabe Scrambling to Handle Stories About Hillary Probe Posted: 09 Sep 2019 07:33 AM PDT  Alex Wong/GettyFor months, a huge question has hovered over Washington's legal community: Would the Justice Department charge former acting FBI director Andrew McCabe with a crime? In the wake of a New York Times report that his lawyers met with the deputy attorney general about the DOJ's investigation of McCabe, many suspect charges could be coming. And the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office has scrutinized allegations that McCabe was not candid with FBI investigators about his role in a news story concerning the FBI's probe into the Clinton Foundation. Now, emails reviewed by The Daily Beast cast additional light on the circumstances that preceded McCabe's firing from the FBI. They show that one FBI official felt the need to clarify to then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that the FBI's internal investigation into McCabe's behavior wasn't being slow-walked. And they show that former director of national intelligence James Clapper urged FBI Director Chris Wray to shield McCabe from being fired. They also show that in the weeks before the 2016 presidential election, McCabe shared more information about his media contacts with then-FBI Director James Comey than was previously known. McCabe has sued the Justice Department over his firing. The issues these emails shed light on—whether he deserved to be fired and whether the FBI handled the decision correctly—are sure to be front and center if the lawsuit goes to trial. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a government watchdog group, obtained the emails through FOIA litigation and shared them with The Daily Beast. They are also available in the FBI's FOIA vault. CREW's litigation is ongoing. Some of the emails in the tranche cast light on the FBI's scramble to deal with media coverage in the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign. On Oct. 21, 2016, McCabe sent Comey an email with the subject line "Updates." Copied on the email were James Rybicki, who was then Comey's chief of staff, and David Bowdich, who was then associate deputy director of the FBI. McCabe opened with an update on a cyberattack. He then turned to the subject of media. "In the more bad news category, Mike K informed me that Devlin Barrett at WSJ is putting together an article claiming I had a conflict of interest on MYR as a result of Jill's campaign connections to Gov. McCaulife [sic]," McCabe wrote, referring to then-Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe. "I will work with mike to provide some basic facts to push back. And, as always, will keep you advised. I am incredibly sorry for adding to the drama on this." "Mike K" referred to Mike Kortan, then the FBI's public affairs chief. "MYR" referred to Midyear, the FBI's nickname for its investigation of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server when she was secretary of state. "Outstanding," Comey replied to McCabe. "Don't sweat it."Two days later, McCabe updated Comey and Rybicki on his participation in the then-forthcoming Wall Street Journal story. "Not too much in the update," he wrote. "The only additional notable news is that Mike K and I spent a good part of the day trying to shape the WSJ story on my alleged conflict," he wrote. "Looks like they may try to release it on line tonight. The reporter also called Jill for a comment, so we are working that as well."The Justice Department Inspector General did not mention the emails in his damning report on McCabe, which focused on his role in a second Wall Street Journal story. The report alleged that McCabe lacked candor when he told FBI investigators about how the Journal obtained information about the Bureau's internal deliberations for that second story. One issue has been whether McCabe told Comey about his participation in that story; McCabe has said he did, but Comey has said he has no recollection of McCabe making the disclosure to him. McCabe's lawyers, meanwhile, argue that the Inspector General's report is seriously flawed. Scrutiny of McCabe's work at the FBI grew over the following two years, with congressional Republicans and the president calling for McCabe to be fired and punished. But McCabe also had defenders. Clapper—who has also become a target of the president—sent a handwritten letter to FBI Director Chris Wray on Feb. 25, 2018, praising McCabe and calling for Wray to intercede on his behalf. That letter is in the tranche of documents CREW obtained. In it, Clapper called the criticism of McCabe "completely unjustified and profoundly unfair." "We often appeared as witnesses together at Congressional hearings, where, as you also know, 'bonds' with fellow witnesses can quickly form," he wrote. "I came to know and rely on Andy as steady, straightforward, candid, forthright, and honest." He also praised McCabe for his "sharp intellect, insightful wisdom, unwavering commitment to the mission, self-effacing humility, staunch devotion to the men and women of the Bureau, and, importantly, his impeccable integrity." "I would hope you will consider my observations, which I know are shared uniformly by virtually everyone who knows Andy, and will use your influential voice to insure he is able to complete his career and retire after his 21 years of distinguished service to the Bureau and this nation," Clapper concluded. Clapper's letter came as the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) was scrutinizing McCabe. The Inspector General had referred his case to OPR so they could make a recommendation to the Attorney General on how to handle it. In an email sent on March 5, 2018, Candice Will—then the head of the OPR office—updated Bowdich on her team's review of the McCabe investigation. That note includes a line that seems to hint at outside pressure to speed it up."I sent the DAG [Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein] a short email advising that FBI OPR had received the referral from the OIG, we are actively working it, we anticipate providing a proposed action to the subject this week, we will make the file available to the subject—all in accordance with standard procedures—for him to prepare a written response," she wrote. "In doing so, I let the Dept know that we are doing what should be done, not slow walking—we are following established procedures."Bowdich responded by noting that the Bureau would face criticism regardless of how it handled the decision on McCabe. "Thanks Candice, as you know we will be second guessed by some every step of the way however this ends up," he wrote. "As long as we follow the regular process we are where we should be on this issue."It is unclear why Will felt the need to clarify to Rosenstein that her office was "not slow walking" the McCabe review. An FBI spokesperson declined to comment for this story, as did a spokesperson for McCabe. On March 19, 2018, just hours before McCabe would have been eligible to retire and receive his pension, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced his firing. The move horrified his allies, but cheered critics of the Russia probe. And Trump's personal lawyer at the time, John Dowd, praised the move and said Mueller's investigation should be shut down next. The timing of McCabe's firing—and the question of whether Trump's allies pushed for it to be expedited—has become a major point of contention. The emails suggest there may be more to all these pieces of the McCabe story than currently known—and that civil litigation or a criminal trial could generate much more information. 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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| NRA Sues San Francisco over ‘Domestic Terrorist Organization’ Label Posted: 10 Sep 2019 05:19 AM PDT  The National Rifle Association filed suit Monday against the city of San Francisco in response to city's board of supervisors labeling the gun-rights group a "domestic terrorist organization."The suit — filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against the city and county of San Francisco, as well as the board of supervisors — claims the city violated the gun lobby's first amendment rights by seeking to prevent any individuals or entities associated with it from doing business in San Francisco."This lawsuit comes with a message to those who attack the NRA: we will never stop fighting for our law-abiding members and their constitutional freedoms," NRA CEO and executive vice president Wayne LaPierre said in a statement shared with the Washington Post.The board of supervisors passed a resolution last week in response to the country's "epidemic of gun violence," that accuses the NRA of using "its considerable wealth and organization strength to promote gun ownership and incite gun owners to acts of violence."The resolution also declares the board's desire to "limit those entities who do business with the City and County of San Francisco from doing business with this domestic terrorist organization."It was drafted in the immediate aftermath of the mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in July in which a lone gunman killed three festival-goers and injured 17 others. Three mass shootings — in El Paso, Texas; Dayton, Ohio; and, most recently, Odessa and Midland, Texas — have occurred since then.The San Francisco city attorney's office responded to the NRA's suit by suggesting the group focus its resources on preventing gun violence rather than retaliating against the city."The American people would be better served if the NRA stopped trying to get weapons of war into our communities and instead actually did something about gun safety," John Coté, a spokesman for the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, told the Associated Press. "Common-sense safety measures like universal background checks, an assault weapons ban, and restricting high-capacity magazines would be a good start."
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| South Africa’s Malema Presents Himself to Police Over Gun Probe Posted: 10 Sep 2019 04:48 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- South African opposition leader Julius Malema presented himself to the police's special investigative unit over allegations that he illegally fired a weapon.Malema arrived at the offices of the so-called Hawks in the capital, Pretoria, on Tuesday. His party, the Economic Freedom Fighters, said Monday the unit would issue a warning statement to Malema. The 38-year-old was filmed allegedly shooting a rifle into the air during the party's five-year anniversary celebrations in the southern town of East London last year.Malema told reporters the Hawks informed him further investigations are being conducted on the incident after a prosecutor refused to move on the evidence presented before him. Known for his abrasive politics, Malema heads the country's third-biggest opposition party and often portrays himself as a defender of the poor."Someone, somewhere is sitting and making stupid decisions and not applying the law," he said. "What is happening here is that they are using us as a diversion."His appearance before the Hawks came a day after the Daily Maverick, a Johannesburg-based news website, alleged that Malema was a beneficiary of funds embezzled from failed VBS Mutual Bank and used the money to finance his political aspirations and lavish lifestyle, including the purchase of Gucci apparel and other luxury items.EFF spokesman Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said he couldn't immediately comment when contacted on Tuesday. The party has previously said there's no proof its officials did anything wrong."The allegations on VBS are a fabrication and unfounded," Malema said. "Louis Vuitton and Gucci, I have worn it before. I don't buy it with VBS money."He said he won't take any action against the Daily Maverick.Read more on EFF and VBS Mutual BankMalema established the EFF in July 2013 after he was expelled from the ruling African National Congress. His party won 11% of the national vote in May 8 elections.(Updates with Malema's comments starting in fourth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Amogelang Mbatha.To contact the reporter on this story: Nkululeko Ncana in Johannesburg at nncana@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Rene Vollgraaff, Pauline BaxFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Satellite images show US-pursued Iran tanker still off Syria Posted: 10 Sep 2019 08:33 AM PDT  New satellite photos obtained Tuesday show an Iranian oil tanker pursued by the U.S. remains off the coast of Syria. The images from Planet Labs obtained by The Associated Press have the Adrian Darya-1 still near the port city of Tartus. The Adrian Darya 1, formerly known as the Grace 1, was carrying 2.1 million barrels of Iranian crude oil worth some $130 million.
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| View Photos of the Hyundai 45 Concept Posted: 10 Sep 2019 12:00 AM PDT |
| Mugabe polarizes Zimbabwe in death as well as in life Posted: 10 Sep 2019 06:06 AM PDT  Zimbabwe's founder Robert Mugabe is proving as polarizing in death as he was in life, with a fight over where he will be buried threatening to embarrass his successor and deepen divisions in the ruling ZANU-PF party. President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government wants Mugabe, who led Zimbabwe from independence in 1980 until the November 2017 coup that ousted him, buried at a national monument to heroes of the liberation war against the white minority Rhodesian regime. Mnangagwa has taken the threat to snub a burial at National Heroes Acre sufficiently seriously that he has dispatched a delegation to Singapore, where Mugabe died in a hospital on Friday, to negotiate with the family, government sources said.
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| Lebanon Shiites mark Ashura in show of anti-Israel defiance Posted: 10 Sep 2019 06:24 AM PDT  Anti-Israeli chants rang through the streets of a Hezbollah bastion in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday as thousands of black-clad Shiites commemorated the seventh-century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson. "We have taught Israel that our people are not weak," the men cried, beating their chests in unison, during an Ashura commemoration marking the killing of Imam Hussein in battle by Caliph Yazid's forces. This year's ceremony comes shortly after a series of confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel, including an exchange of cross-border fire at the start of the month.
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| A couple accidentally got $120,000 from the bank. Then they were arrested for spending it Posted: 10 Sep 2019 04:29 AM PDT  The couple from Montoursville, Pennsylvania, allegedly purchased a car, paid their bills and handed the money out to friends, police said.
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| Trump denies knowledge of Air Force resort stays: 'Nothing to do with me' Posted: 09 Sep 2019 08:59 AM PDT  President Trump on Monday denied any knowledge of military and government personnel using (and paying for) overnight stays at his Turnberry resort in Scotland.
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| Brazilian official who protects Amazon indigenous tribes shot dead Posted: 09 Sep 2019 11:14 AM PDT  A Brazilian government official who spent more than a decade working to protect indigenous people in the Amazon from loggers, miners and other threats to their way of life has been killed. Maxciel Pereira dos Santos was shot twice in the head in front of his family in an apparent execution, according to a union that represents such workers. Mr Santos had spent more than 12 years working for Funai, the National Indian Foundation, which is a Brazilian government body that defends the interests of indigenous people. He was reportedly shot while riding a motorbike down a main street of Tabatinga, located deep in the Amazon rainforest on Brazil's border with Colombia and Peru. Officials at INA, a union that represents Funai workers, claimed Mr Santos was killed in retaliation for work at the Vale do Javari reservation, which has the world's highest concentration of uncontacted indigenous tribes. An aerial view shows smoke rising over a deforested plot of the Amazon jungle in Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil, in this August 24, 2019 Credit: UESLEI MARCELINO/REUTERS Police are investigating but have not yet determined a motivation for the crime, according to the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo. The killing comes amid international outrage at the destruction of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. More than 80,000 fires were recorded between January and August this year, double last year's number. Jair Bolsonaro, the Brazilian president, has faced criticism from the international community for failing to do enough to protect the Amazon. According to Reuters analysis the budget for the government body which protects the rainforest has shrunk by 25 per cent since Mr Bolsonaro took office on January 1. Funai has three bases in the Vale do Javari to protect an area the size of Austria with some 6,000 residents from eight tribes, and some 16 uncontacted tribes. INA officials called on authorities to demonstrate Brazil "no longer condones violence against those who engage, under the rule of law, in the protection and promotion of indigenous rights".
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| Foxconn’s Gou Takes Step Toward Possible Taiwan Presidency Bid Posted: 10 Sep 2019 02:57 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Aides to Foxconn founder Terry Gou visited Taiwan's top election agency about the paperwork needed to wage an independent campaign for president, in the latest sign the billionaire is inching toward a run.Gou spokeswoman Evelyn Tsai told reporters during a visit Tuesday to the Central Election Commission in Taipei that she was inquiring about petition procedures. While she said Gou has yet to make up his mind, independent candidates must apply for petitions by Sept. 17 for a chance to compete in the January election."The campaign office is doing preparation, with final decision to be made by Gou," Tsai said. She was accompanied by a top political consultant to Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, who was expected to back any Gou run.Speculation that Gou might mount an independent bid to unseat incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen has swirled since he lost a primary to run the opposition Kuomintang line to Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu. A three-way race would inject new uncertainty into what was shaping up to be a showdown between contrasting visions of ties with China.The polls show that a three-way election could be tight. The latest weekly tracking survey released Tuesday by the Apple Daily newspaper showed Tsai leading with 33.7%, compared with 28.9% for Han and 25.6% for Gou.Gou, who in June quit as chairman of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Foxconn's main listed arm, built the company from a maker of television knobs into a global powerhouse that is now Apple's biggest supplier and China's largest private employer. Gou also has ties to President Donald Trump, meeting the U.S. leader at the White House in May.\--With assistance from Adela Lin and Debby Wu.To contact the reporters on this story: Miaojung Lin in Taipei at mlin179@bloomberg.net;Samson Ellis in Taipei at sellis29@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Edwin ChanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Archbishop of Canterbury apologizes for massacre in India Posted: 10 Sep 2019 08:02 AM PDT  The archbishop of Canterbury said Tuesday he regrets a massacre by British colonial forces of hundreds of Indians participating in a peaceful demonstration for independence 100 years ago. Archbishop Justin Welby spoke at a memorial for victims of the attack in northwest India. The massacre took place at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on April 13, 1919, when the British Indian Army opened fire at a crowd demonstrating for independence, killing more than 300 and injuring 1,200.
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| Eyewitness This: 6 in 10 fearful of mass shooting; majority support expanded background checks, poll finds Posted: 09 Sep 2019 08:42 AM PDT  An ABC News/Washington Post poll shows what Americans think about gun laws, and their fears of mass shootings in their communities.
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| The next target in the climate-change debate: your gas stove Posted: 09 Sep 2019 05:31 AM PDT  WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Dozens of cities in liberal-leaning states such as California, Washington, and Massachusetts are studying proposals to ban or limit the use of natural gas in commercial and residential buildings. The movement opens a new front in the fight against climate change that could affect everything from heating systems in skyscrapers to stoves in suburban homes. Berkeley, California, in July became the first U.S. city to pass an ordinance banning gas systems in new buildings, and it may soon be followed by many others, according to interviews with local officials, activists and industry groups.
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| Gun Sales Jump 15.5 Percent in August as Dems Renew Push for Regulations Posted: 10 Sep 2019 09:41 AM PDT  Background checks for gun sales, concealed carry permits, and security spiked in August as congressional Democrats renewed their push for expanded gun control in the wake of several mass shootings.The National Instant Criminal Background Check System recorded a 15.5 percent uptick in background checks last month, the highest number ever recorded for August, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation.The jump in gun sales appears to be spurred by a desire to secure self-protection amid an epidemic of mass shootings in the U.S. and before Congress potentially approves stricter gun control measures such as an assault weapons ban, universal background checks, and limits on ammunition.The NSSF also pointed out that some states saw a particularly steep jump in background checks last month, Alabama's NSSF-adjusted number spiking over 100 percent over August of last year, and Minnesota's number increasing 68.9 percent.Gun sales also spiked in August of last year, just before the midterm congressional elections, and even more starkly in August, 2016, before the presidential election.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned Monday that there will be "hell to pay" if the Republican-controlled Senate fails to pass a universal background check bill, which would require checks for private gun sales, including purchases made over the internet and at gun shows. The bill has already passed the House."We are not taking no for an answer. We are not going away," she said."It is totally up to them, and it is on their shoulders. They can't escape that responsibility," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer added.Renewed enthusiasm for gun control measures comes after two back-to-back shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio killed 32 and left the nation shaken last month.
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| Netanyahu accuses Iran of destroying secret 'nuclear site' Posted: 09 Sep 2019 11:59 AM PDT  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday accused Iran of having a previously undisclosed site aimed at developing nuclear weapons that it destroyed. Iran destroyed the site located near the city of Abadeh, south of Isfahan, sometime between late June and late July after realising that Israel had detected it, Netanyahu alleged. In an address on live television, with photos of the alleged site on a screen behind him, Netanyahu referred to an intelligence trove he had previously announced last year.
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| 2020 Democrats embrace mandatory buybacks of assault weapons Posted: 09 Sep 2019 11:07 AM PDT  As mass shootings pile up, several Democratic presidential candidates are embracing mandated buybacks of assault weapons, a proposal that sharpens the political divide on guns and raises the stakes for the 2020 election.
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| Chinese State-Run Paper Singles Out Navarro for Trade ‘Lies’ Posted: 09 Sep 2019 07:38 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. The Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper took aim at one of Washington's most prominent China hawks, calling recent comments by Peter Navarro unconstructive "lies" that hinder the progress of trade talks.Navarro, an adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, repeated accusations he's previously termed China's "seven deadly sins" during a Sunday interview with Yahoo Finance -- including alleged cyberattacks, forced technology transfers and currency manipulation. He also said China is taking on the "full burden" of U.S. tariffs on its products."All these preposterous comments are not constructive at all, and go against the larger direction of the two sides taking real action to create favorable conditions for the negotiations," Beijing's state-run People's Daily wrote in a commentary Tuesday. Navarro intended to "throw cold water on international markets," it said.Those "irresponsible" comments should stop, and the U.S. should show "sincerity" and "action" to create condition for the negotiations, the paper said.China and the U.S. will hold face-to-face trade negotiations in Washington in the coming weeks, after a deterioration in relations last month left global investors reeling amid increasing evidence the conflict is harming both nations. The U.S. Agriculture Department's undersecretary for trade, Ted McKinney, also used provocative language on Monday, calling Chinese President Xi Jinping a "communist zealot.""It is important for both China and the United States to grasp the opportunity of stabilizing bilateral trade and economic ties," the People's Daily commentary said, adding that the two countries should work together in the direction set by their leaders.To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Miao Han in Beijing at mhan22@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeffrey Black at jblack25@bloomberg.net, Sharon Chen, Karen LeighFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Trial to begin in 9-year-old's killing that shocked Chicago Posted: 08 Sep 2019 11:02 AM PDT  It stands as one of Chicago's most horrific crimes, in large part because of small details that are impossible to shake: The promise of a juice box that lured the 9-year-old boy off a playground and into an alley, and the basketball he dropped when he was shot and killed there. Jury selection will begin Friday in the murder trial of two of three men charged with carrying out the November 2015 attack on Tyshawn Lee, a smart fourth-grader who prosecutors say was killed by gang members to send a message to his father, a purported member of a rival gang. Dwright Boone-Doty, who will represent himself, and Corey Morgan will be tried together but before separate juries, each of which will only consider the evidence as it pertains to one of the defendants.
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| Mysterious vaping-related lung illnesses are spreading across the US. Doctors say these are the symptoms to watch out for. Posted: 10 Sep 2019 06:00 AM PDT  Vapes have been linked to hundreds of lung diseases and several deaths. If you've vaped, seek medical help if you experience these symptoms.
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| Shoot them? Hang them? - Filipino heavyweights hanker for death penalty return Posted: 09 Sep 2019 02:21 AM PDT  If he gets his way, Filipino senator and boxing champion Manny Pacquiao would have drug criminals executed by firing squad. It comes at the behest of President Rodrigo Duterte, the popular, self-styled "punisher", notorious for his crackdowns on crime, and a war on drugs that has killed thousands of mostly poor, urban Filipinos. Pacquiao, a staunch Duterte loyalist and the only boxer to win world titles in eight divisions, believes executions are the best deterrent for big drug syndicates.
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| California and Alabama are the only two states that aren't participating in the giant antitrust investigation of Google, and neither is really saying why (GOOGL, FB) Posted: 09 Sep 2019 01:10 PM PDT  Every other US state, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, is taking part in the inquiry.
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| New Saudi minister jokes oil outlook could drive him to Prozac Posted: 09 Sep 2019 08:06 AM PDT  Saudi Arabia's Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman brought some humour to his debut as the kingdom's new oil minister Monday, joking that the industry outlook could drive him to take Prozac if he took it seriously. Speaking at an international energy forum in Abu Dhabi where he was the star of the show just a day after being appointed by his father King Salman, the new minister deflected concerns over the health of the energy sector. The International Energy Agency (IEA) last week lowered its growth forecast for oil demand for 2019 and 2020, blaming the ugly US-China trade dispute which has triggered fears of a global recession.
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| McConnell Said No to Money for Miners, Yes to Russian-Backed Plant Posted: 10 Sep 2019 01:25 AM PDT  Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/GettySenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell last month blocked a measure that would have used Treasury Department funds marked for Appalachian development to help pay for coal miners' health care and pensions in his home state of Kentucky. But just a few months earlier, McConnell successfully steered near-identical Treasury funds for Appalachia to bankroll a Kentucky aluminum plant connected to an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Democrats on Capitol Hill have raised concerns for months about McConnell's connection to the aluminum plant. It's one of several reasons why McConnell's political opponents have tried to stick him with the nickname "Moscow Mitch." But what's gone largely unnoticed as the sobriquet has become a social media trending topic is how McConnell worked to keep money out of coal miners' hands—even as he maneuvered to steer federal funds to the Russian-linked plant.The scrutiny started in January, when McConnell voted to lift sanctions on Rusal, a Russian aluminum company formerly headed by Putin ally Oleg Deripaska, despite several of his Republican colleagues defecting and voting no. Rusal's de-listing caused an uproar among Democrats on Capitol Hill who viewed the deal the Treasury Department put together with Rusal as too lenient. Dems Move to Block Trump From Lifting Sanctions on Russian Oligarch Oleg DeripaskaThen, in April, the focus turned to McConnell. Just days after the Treasury Department announced the official de-listing of Rusal, the company announced a $200 million investment in the Braidy Industries aluminum plant in the northeastern part of Kentucky. Democrats raised questions about how much McConnell knew about Rusal's investment plan before he voted for sanctions relief. Rusal is the only outside investor in the plant. In a statement to The Daily Beast, a Braidy Industries spokesperson said the company has never lobbied members of Congress on sanctions issues and began working with law firm Akin Gump in May 2019 for "general government relations representation." The spokesperson also said no employee or director of the company has ever spoken to McConnell about Rusal.But McConnell's connection to the Rusal-Braidy aluminum plant is deeper than previously understood. At the same time Rusal was lobbying the Trump administration to get off the U.S. sanctions list, McConnell was advocating for federal funds to be diverted to help with construction of the Braidy plant in Kentucky. Since 2016 the federal government has given states in Appalachia millions of dollars from the Treasury Department to help clean up and reform abandoned coal mining land, and to assist in economic and community development in those areas. McConnell and other Kentucky lawmakers, including Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY), have advocated that the state continue to receive that federal funding given the impact of coal companies' bankruptcies. Two companies, EastPark Industrial and Ashland Alliance, applied for $7 million from the pot of federal money from the Kentucky state government in November 2017 for general sewer and road repair on 204 acres of land.In October 2018, McConnell, Rogers, and Kentucky officials announced that EastPark and Ashland would get $4 million. Then, in March 2019, the applicants confirmed that the $4 million would not go to funding general repairs but would instead go prepping for construction on the aluminum plant."Ashland Alliance and EastPark will only be applying the $4 million to the Braidy Site preparation," wrote Ashland Alliance president Tim Gibbs in an email from March 2019 reviewed by The Daily Beast. "The $4 million in AML funds will enable Braidy to complete the $14 million total investment to stabilize the site for high precision manufacturing."It is not clear when talks between Braidy Industries and Rusal began, but two sources with direct knowledge of the $4 million payout said McConnell went to bat for the applicants during the internal review process and was instrumental in helping them secure the federal funding.As site cleanup for the aluminum plant began, McConnell blocked a bill sponsored by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) that would have doled out federal money to help fund miners' pensions. Every year the Treasury Department collects fees from coal companies based on how much coal they produce in their plants. Those fees are then doled out to the Department of the Interior in part for the purpose of cleaning up land that houses abandoned mines and for economic development and restoration of coal communities suffering from energy company bankruptcies. Manchin wanted to take the excess money from that fund and use it to secure coal miner pensions and health care plans. McConnell blocked the measure, claiming he wanted a more permanent fix to multiemployer pensions. "There are amendments that benefit Americans and West Virginians that are being blocked by one person: Mitch McConnell," Manchin said in a statement at the time. "He is the sole person that is blocking a vote on my amendment to… secure coal miners' health care and pensions, even though it has bipartisan support and would better the lives of every West Virginian, Kentuckian and American."Making matters even more contentious was the fact that the majority leader helped steer $4 million in very similar federal funding for the Braidy aluminum plant construction. The $4 million came out of a $90 million allocation from the Treasury Department to the Department of the Interior to help three Appalachian states cope with the impact of a declining coal industry. The Department of the Interior did not respond to a request for comment.In a statement, McConnell's office defended his decisions."Leader McConnell has long been and will continue to be a strong supporter of Kentucky coal miners and their families. He has met with numerous Kentucky miners about important issues including the challenges facing their pension plan," a spokesperson said. "Sen. McConnell is concerned about the challenges facing a number of multiemployer pension plans, including UMWA's pension, and he believes it is best addressed through a broader bipartisan and bicameral pension reform effort." But some coal miners in Kentucky are threatening to throw their support behind McConnell's main 2020 opponent, Amy McGrath, if the majority leader fails to pass legislation that would help secure their pensions. Thousands of miners in Kentucky rely on the monthly $600 check to pay the bills and to buy groceries for their families. "We're not ever going to quit until they give us what we've earned. We're not going to quit until we get it," said Dwayne Thompson, a 72-year-old former Peabody Energy coal miner from Kentucky. "I hope Senator McConnell gets that. If he supports us, we will support him."The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), the national mining union, has for years called on McConnell and other lawmakers to pass legislation that would help mitigate the fallout of the increasing number of energy company bankruptcies and the closure of hundreds of mines. In 1974, Congress passed a law that established minimum standards for pension plans in private industry. That same year UMWA negotiated its pension plan with coal mining companies. But with the demise of the coal industry, the fund is running out of money. It's expected to be insolvent by 2022.Behind closed doors, two sources with direct knowledge say, McConnell has privately promised miners a more permanent fix to the pension issue, but even national coal mining leaders are skeptical that the Senate majority leader and his colleagues in Congress will help in the short term."Coal miners understand something—when people tell us 'we're going to pass legislation'… we don't believe it," said Cecil Roberts, president of the UWMA, at a recent speech in Washington. "Anyone who understands how Congress works knows that that's a fight."Several miners who spoke to The Daily Beast said they felt McConnell had blocked the funding for pensions because some of the union members had decided to support his 2014 election opponent, Alison Lundergan Grimes. Others, though, were wary of going too far in their condemnation of the majority leader, saying that at the end of the day, McConnell was their best shot at ensuring they could continue providing for their families. (In 2017 McConnell helped push forward a bipartisan spending bill that included a permanent extension of health care benefits to thousands of coal miners.) On Friday two miners featured in an attack add by McGrath said they were not told their images would be used for a political campaign and demanded that McGrath stop airing them."We thank Mr. McConnell for what he did to help on our health care, but now he needs to finish the job and do something about our pensions," said Bob Cox, a 73-year-old former miner who serves as the president of a local UMWA chapter. "It's a day to day concern for a lot of the older people I live with. They're not well and they don't need the extra worry that it brings on. If anything goes wrong, we won't last as long as we thought we would."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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| We can't let the Founders' Electoral College, Senate trade-offs distort democracy forever Posted: 09 Sep 2019 10:41 AM PDT  Don't sentimentalize the framers' 1780s horse-trading. They saddled us with a system that is wrong for our times and nearly impossible to change.
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| Kamala Harris apologizes for her response to slur after backlash from disability community Posted: 09 Sep 2019 02:30 PM PDT  After a supporter used an offensive term to talk about the president at her event, Kamala Harris laughed and said "Well said."
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| China’s Ambassador to South Africa Attacks Trump Over Trade Posted: 10 Sep 2019 09:04 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. Lin Songtian, China's ambassador to South Africa, took out a half-page advertisement in a key local newspaper to attack the stance of the U.S. and President Donald Trump on global trade.In a paid-for editorial in Business Day, South Africa's biggest financial newspaper, Lin said bullying by the U.S. will drive the world into a "severe recession" and accused Trump of capriciousness."The Chinese culture emphasizes that 'gentlemen keep their words.' Honoring the promises and commitments is the basic ethical code and requirement for state leaders and businessmen," he said in the advert titled 'Voice of China.' His comments were also published in the Star newspaper."The president of the U.S. runs his country according to his own will, dictates the world through Twitter and changes his position overnight," Lin said.The column, part of a drive by Beijing to have its ambassadors speak out globally, reflects the deteriorating relationship between the world's two biggest economies. The Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper on Tuesday accused Trump adviser Peter Navarro of lying. A day earlier, Ted McKinney, the U.S. Agriculture Department's top trade official, called Chinese President Xi Jinping a "communist zealot."The U.S. embassy in South Africa declined to comment.Tit-for-tat import tariffs imposed by the U.S. and China are roiling world markets and upending global trade patterns."The U.S. insisting on escalating the trade frictions with China will harm the common interests of all people around the world and no one can escape," Lin said. "The U.S. clings to the winner takes all law of the jungle."Actions by the U.S. are harming its own economy as China's technological companies will need to establish new supply chains and its agricultural goods importers are already finding other sources of crops such as soybeans, which are being acquired from Brazil, he said. Trump is damaging his reputation and that of his country, he added."Even God doesn't know what he will do tomorrow," Lin said. "Such a U.S. model of democracy has become the laughing stock of all people around the world."(Adds soybean buying in ninth paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Antony Sguazzin in Johannesburg at asguazzin@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: John McCorry at jmccorry@bloomberg.net, Pauline Bax, Gordon BellFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Appeals court orders resentencing for Rand Paul attacker Posted: 09 Sep 2019 04:07 PM PDT ![Appeals court orders resentencing for Rand Paul attacker]( "Appeals court orders resentencing for Rand Paul attacker") A federal appeals court on Monday vacated what it called a "well-below-guidelines" prison sentence for the man who tackled U.S. Sen. Rand Paul outside his Kentucky home, ordering a resentencing for the attack that broke the lawmaker's ribs. The three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it found "no compelling justification" for Rene Boucher's 30-day sentence. The Republican senator was tackled by Boucher in late 2017 when Paul's then-neighbor became angry over lawn maintenance at the senator's home.
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| Don’t Overhype the Link between Climate Change and Hurricanes Posted: 10 Sep 2019 03:30 AM PDT  In the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian's catastrophic impacts on the Bahamas, we have been reminded of the inevitability that some aspect of any damaging hurricane will be blamed on man-made climate change.We first saw this after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, with the publication of two papers linking an increase in the strongest hurricanes to increasing sea-surface temperatures. As co-author of one these papers, I was astonished to see the outsize media and public attention that they garnered. Katrina was the first time people realized that a small amount of warming could have substantial adverse impacts. Since then, each hurricane has been viewed as an opportunity by activists to emphasize the urgent need to reduce fossil-fuel emissions.Katrina also touched off an intense and publicly acrimonious debate among hurricane scientists about the quality of hurricane-intensity data and the effect of man-made climate change. "We anticipate that it may take another decade for observations to clarify the situation," I wrote of the controversy in 2006. Since then, research on the climate dynamics of hurricanes has grown in leaps and bounds. But there remains substantial scientific debate surrounding the issue of hurricanes and climate change.In 2013, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that:> Globally, there is low confidence in attribution of changes in tropical cyclone activity to human influence. This is due to insufficient observational evidence, lack of physical understanding of the links between anthropogenic drivers of climate and tropical cyclone activity, and the low level of agreement between studies as to the relative importance of [natural variability and man-made forcing].Last month, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Task Force, consisting of eleven international experts on hurricanes and climate change, published two assessment reports. Unlike the IPCC's, which focus on consensus statements, the WMO reports discussed disagreement among the authors, distinguishing the issues on which there was substantial agreement among the authors from those on which there was substantial disagreement owing in part to limited evidence.Any convincing claim that man-made climate change has altered hurricane activity requires identifying a change in hurricane characteristics that can't be explained by natural climate variability. The only conclusion on which there was high agreement among the WMO Task Team members was that there is low-to-medium confidence that the location of typhoons in the North Pacific has changed as a result of climate change. The team members disagreed as to whether any other observed alterations in hurricane activity could be said to have been discernibly influenced by man-made climate change.The WMO reports discussed a number of more speculative statements about the relationship between hurricane behavior and climate change, which could very well be false and overstate the influence of man-made climate change. There is some evidence suggesting contributions from man-made climate change to: an increase in the average intensity of the strongest hurricanes since the early 1980s; an increase in the proportion of hurricanes reaching Category 4 or 5 in recent decades; and the increased frequency of Hurricane Harvey–like extreme precipitation events in the Texas region. There is also evidence suggesting a decrease in how fast hurricanes move, but that has not been attributed to man-made climate change with any confidence. The WMO Report states that there is disagreement among the authors about whether these trends reflect the influence of man-made climate change.Why, then, is there so much hype about man-made climate change in the news media after every catastrophic hurricane? Rather than referencing these assessment reports, sensationalized news coverage of the issue tends to lean on activist climate scientists with little or no expertise in hurricanes, implying that their speculative perspective represents the "consensus."Insofar as there is any such "consensus," it is a weak one. Climate and hurricane scientists continue to have a range of perspectives on the impact of man-made climate change on hurricanes. The frequent disagreements among them help move the debate forward, adding to our collective scientific knowledge of the issues involved for everyone's benefit.My own perspective is described in a comprehensive Special Report on Hurricanes and Climate Change that was prepared for the clients of my company, Climate Forecast Applications Network (CFAN). My report is broadly consistent with the WMO's assessment reports, but maintains a greater focus on aspects of hurricanes that contribute to landfall impacts and on the role of natural climate variability in explaining the observed variability of hurricanes and their impacts.All measures of Atlantic hurricane activity have increased since 1970, although comparably high levels of activity occurred during the 1950s and 1960s, and higher levels of activity were seen in the first decades of the 20th century. Of the 13 strongest recorded hurricanes to hit the U.S. mainland, only three have occurred since 1970: Andrew (1992), Charley (2004), and Michael (2018). Four of these 13 hurricanes — including the strongest, the Labor Day hurricane that hit Florida in 1935 — occurred between 1926 and 1935, when sea-surface temperatures were substantially cooler than they've been in recent decades. Hence it is difficult to support an argument that man-made climate change, which has been significant only since 1970, is making hurricanes worse.Predictions of future hurricane activity are even more uncertain. Possible scenarios in which hurricanes could incrementally worsen over the course of the 21st century are described in the WMO Report. But they don't change the fundamental fact that hurricanes become catastrophes through a combination of large populations, land-use practices and coastal-ecosystem degradation.My recent testimony to the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee described ways that we can reduce vulnerability to hurricanes. Rapidly escalating hurricane damage in recent decades owes much to government policies that subsidize risk. The most politically important hurricane that you have probably never heard of is the Category 3 Hurricane Frederic, which struck Alabama and Mississippi in 1979. Its landfall occurred shortly after FEMA was established, and prompted almost $250 million in federal aid for recovery. In 1992, following Hurricane Andrew, Robert Sheets, the then-director of the National Hurricane Center, testified to Congress that the aid for Frederic's recovery had spurred development in the hurricane-prone regions of the Gulf Coast. Federal disaster policies provide humanitarian benefits, but also encourage the growth of regions vulnerable to hurricanes, which can make the damage from future storms worse. The political pressure on state insurance regulators that often holds down insurance premiums in risky coastal areas contributes to the problem, as well.It does no one any good to proceed on the assumption that reducing fossil-fuel emissions will mitigate damage from future hurricanes in a meaningful way. The hype that links today's hurricanes to man-made climate change is diverting our attention from implementing policies that can reduce our vulnerability to hurricanes, which by some measures were worse prior to 1970. These policies include fixing our federal disaster policies and state insurance policies, making better land-use decisions, improving building codes and coastal engineering, hardening infrastructure, and protecting coastal wetlands.Overselling the possible effect of man-made climate change on hurricane impacts not only risks eroding scientific credibility, but also distracts from addressing our vulnerability to the storms themselves.
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| Texas to execute man convicted of killing woman during 2010 burglary Posted: 10 Sep 2019 03:16 AM PDT ![Texas to execute man convicted of killing woman during 2010 burglary]( "Texas to execute man convicted of killing woman during 2010 burglary") Mark Soliz, 37, is scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. CDT(2300 GMT) at the state's death chamber in Huntsville. Soliz would be the 15th inmate in the United States and the sixth in Texas to be executed in 2019, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Texas has executed more prisoners than any other state since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.
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| Boris Johnson could soon be forced to resign as prime minister and make way for Jeremy Corbyn Posted: 09 Sep 2019 01:36 AM PDT  The UK prime minister is rapidly running out of options after opposition parties agreed to veto his request for an October general election.
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| Aussie veterans hand over details of Viet Cong dead Posted: 10 Sep 2019 01:58 AM PDT  Australian Vietnam War veterans on Tuesday handed over information to help their former enemies locate the bodies of some of the 200,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong soldiers still classed as missing in action. At a ceremony with Vietnamese officials, a small team of Australian veterans shared a database including map references showing where 3,800 Vietnamese are believed to be buried after fights with Australian and New Zealand forces. "Basically it was the right thing to do," said team leader Bob Hall, a Vietnam veteran and researcher at the University of New South Wales who led the project.
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| Trying to Get Your $125 From Equifax? Keep An Eye Out for This Important Email Posted: 09 Sep 2019 07:47 AM PDT  It's easy to miss
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| Were These 8 Women Murdered by a Serial Killer-Pimp—or the Cops? Posted: 09 Sep 2019 01:45 AM PDT  ShowtimeIn small towns like Jennings, Louisiana, everybody knows everybody. So when, over the course of four-and-a-half years (2005-2009), eight women were killed, their bodies dumped in canals or on the sides of roads, and it turned out that they all ran with the same crowd, it was hard to imagine that the crimes were unrelated. Certainly the police felt that way, since after considerable investigative work, Sheriff Ricky Edwards declared that the atrocities were the work of a single serial killer.Murder in the Bayou, however, isn't nearly as confident about that supposition. Directed by Matthew Galkin, produced by Joshua Levine, and based on Ethan Brown's 2016 book Murder in the Bayou: Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8?, Showtime's new five-part true-crime series (premiering Sept. 13) is a peek into the tangled bonds and socioeconomic divides of Jennings, located in Jefferson Davis Parish, where train tracks separate the north side "haves" from the south side "have-nots." It's from that latter region that the victims, who came to be known as the Jeff Davis 8, hailed, although that wasn't the only thing that bound them to one another. They all came from fractured homes. They were all crack addicts. They all apparently sold their bodies for money or drugs.And, crucially, they all knew Frankie Richard.The Satanic Sex Cult Leader Who Loved Animal Sacrifices, Orgies, and Murder'No One Saw a Thing': When a Small Midwest Town Banded Together to Kill the 'Town Bully'A local pimp, dope-pusher and former strip-club proprietor, Richard was a notorious lout who shared intimate ties with the deceased. Thus, few were surprised when he and daughter Hannah Richard—with whom he regularly smoked crack, like more than one Jennings dad did—were briefly arrested for the slaying of third victim Kristen Gary Lopez. To relatives of Lopez and the other slain women, Richard was an obvious suspect, especially given his predilection for violence; according to investigative journalist Brown, he even had a trio of "hands-on men" who did his dirty work for him. Regardless, as Murder in the Bayou lays out, the charges against Richard didn't stick, and he was quickly back on the street, free to continue his wayward ways. And in a newly recorded interview, the bushy-bearded, chain-smoking Richard proclaims his innocence, admitting that he enjoyed partying with the women but cared about them too much to have ever caused them harm.The bodies, meanwhile, kept piling up, and Sheriff Edwards continued to make little headway in a case that soon attracted national media attention. The problem, at least at first, was that most of the victims were found in states of such extreme decomposition that forensic evidence was all but absent, and the cause of death was hard to discern. Furthermore, though the women were all acquaintances, and some had feared for their safety shortly before their demise, no concrete reason for their murders could be deduced. As a result, Sheriff Edwards, and the local press, fell back on blaming their "high-risk lifestyles" for their fates—a tactic compounded by Edwards' initial decision to refer to the fiend as a "serial dumper," thereby implying that the wrong-side-of-the-tracks girls were disposable.The Jeff Davis 8's drugging-and-prostituting proclivities certainly put them in the crosshairs of lethal forces. Friends, family members and reporters Scott Lewis and Brown, however, contend that biases against Jennings' poorer residents both clouded public perception and undercut urgency to find the culprit(s). More damning still, Brown's look into the murders exposed a thicket of crisscrossing paths and allegiances between the victims, Richard, and law enforcement. Chief investigator Warren Gary, for example, purchased a truck from an incarcerated Richard associate that may have been used in Lopez's slaying, and then sold it for profit. Jailor Danny Barry, who knew many of the oft-incarcerated women thanks to his position, was known to pick up working girls, get them high, and then enjoy time with them in his home's plastic-encased sex dungeon (alongside his wife, no less). And parish warden Terrie Guillory had long-standing relationships with many of the victims, sometimes of a carnal nature, and may have known about first victim Loretta Chaisson's death before her body was found.Facts are few but hearsay is plentiful in Murder in the Bayou, which casts intense doubt on the official version of events, and suspicion on Richard and his cop pals, through voluminous eyewitness accounts and speculation. The effect is simultaneously intriguing and frustrating, since it makes one think that something deeply fishy was going on in Jennings, and yet leaves one wondering if all these ideas are just fanciful conspiracy theories designed to fill a vacuum created by a dearth of concrete answers. Like so many of its true-crime brethren, Galkin and Levine's series is spellbound by not only the unknown, but by the possibility that, because of the particular circumstances of these homicides, the truth may be fundamentally unknowable. ShowtimeMurder in the Bayou is guided by the question of whether the Jeff Davis 8 fell prey to one man or multiple, interrelated perpetrators (who may have simply been copycatting each other, since decomposition did a great job of destroying evidence). Equally as beguiling as that mystery is director Galkin's evocation of his rural Louisiana milieu. Though he employs the usual array of talking-head chats with principal players, Galkin embellishes his material with shadowy, off-center close-ups of hands and objects, panoramas of Jennings' dilapidated and well-to-do homes, and cinematographic plunges into backwater locales. Just as a few early shots featuring Christian wall ornamentation convey, silently, the community's religious foundations, the director's haunting, expressionistic flourishes amplify the series' atmosphere of unnerving menace, suggesting the corrosive underbelly of this superficially quiet enclave."There's no closure, no peace," says Evelyn Daniels, the grief-stricken mother of second victim Ernestine Daniels. As genre aficionados know, that lack of resolution isn't uncommon in stories such as this. Nonetheless, Murder in the Bayou comes across not as a retread but, instead, as another stark example of the elusiveness of justice in a world riddled with vice, immorality, inequality and incompetence. With striking aesthetics that augment its keen investigative storytelling, it's a defiant plea against indifference.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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| New York college student arrested in Russia over medical marijuana possession Posted: 09 Sep 2019 12:13 PM PDT ![New York college student arrested in Russia over medical marijuana possession]( "New York college student arrested in Russia over medical marijuana possession") Audrey Lorber, a student at Pace University, was stopped at the airport in St. Petersburg with 19.05 grams of medical marijuana.
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| A Pork Meme in China Shows Why Officials Worry About Soaring Prices Posted: 10 Sep 2019 01:40 AM PDT ![A Pork Meme in China Shows Why Officials Worry About Soaring Prices]( "A Pork Meme in China Shows Why Officials Worry About Soaring Prices") (Bloomberg) -- China's pork prices are soaring so quickly that an internet meme has emerged suggesting the newest way to show off wealth: a necklace made of pork belly.Inflation data released Tuesday showed that pork prices surged 46.7% from a year earlier in August, almost 20 percentage points higher than in the previous month, as African swine fever ravaged China's hog herd and diminished supplies.Aware that runaway prices could trigger public discontent, Chinese officials have taken a range of measures from releasing pork reserves during the upcoming Mid-Autumn festival to encouraging farmers to turn to "fine pig sperm" from Northern Europe to bolster breeding. Nanning, capital of the southern Guangxi province, this month turned to rationing and price controls to calm its pork market."The increase in hog prices has lead to other meat-price increases, and will increase vegetable prices after some time. The policy makers are worried that this will put pressure on the low income group who will be affected the most," said Iris Pang, an economist at ING bank NV. "The leadership don't want the pork prices to affect the headline CPI too much" and create the impression that inflation is high, she said.While pork is a staple in Chinese food, it plays a declining role in the basket of goods used to calculate the overall consumer price index, which was stable at 2.8% last month. China's statistics bureau does not publish the composition of the basket it uses to calculate CPI.While the country's top leaders have hardly commented on protests raging in Hong Kong, multiple high-ranking bureaucrats have addressed the pork crisis at home and assured citizens prices will be brought under control.The nation's top economic planner on Monday issued a plan to boost hog production. Vice Premier Hu Chunhua has called the situation "much grimmer than we have been informed," and told officials to take immediate steps to increase supplies. Ning Jizhe, head of the National Statistics Bureau said last week that China will increase the supply of agricultural products of pork, fruits and vegetables to stabilize overall prices.China has also approved imports from 25 plants in Brazil to boost supplies and urged banks to provide more funding support to hog farmers. The provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi have earmarked funds to subsidize pig warehouses.The government said after Tuesday's inflation data that it will hold a press conference at 4 p.m. on Wednesday on "stabilizing hog production and ensuring market supply." Speakers will include a deputy agriculture minister as well as officials from the National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Finance.The country needs to undertake "unconventional" measures to tackle soaring pig prices, China Academy of Social Sciences scholar Chen Ming wrote in a Beijing News commentary last week. His suggestions included distributing subsidy coupons to poorer citizens and encouraging the public to consume other meats or fish instead of pork.(Updates with press conference announcement in second-last paragraph.)\--With assistance from Dandan Li.To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Miao Han in Beijing at mhan22@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: John Liu at jliu42@bloomberg.net, Sharon Chen, Jiyeun LeeFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| NOAA scientist: agency likely broke science integrity rules Posted: 09 Sep 2019 11:24 AM PDT  The acting chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said his agency likely violated its scientific integrity rules last week when it publicly chastised a weather office that contradicted President Donald Trump's claim that Hurricane Dorian threatened Alabama. Two top NOAA civil servants not so quietly revolted against an unsigned agency press release issued late Friday rebuking the Birmingham weather office for saying Alabama was safe.
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| Rounds of rain, locally severe storms to threaten north-central US into Thursday Posted: 10 Sep 2019 03:15 AM PDT  The north-central United States will be subject to daily rounds of soaking rainfall and severe weather before drier air moves in at the end of the week."A storm system typical of fall will gradually take shape across the region through Thursday," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rathbun said. "This will bring everything from rain and chilly air on its northern and western side to warm, humid air and severe thunderstorms across the south."One round of stormy weather swept through on Monday, with wind damage reported in Iowa and a few tornadoes spotted in northeastern South Dakota.> Here's a look at one of the tornadoes from this evening, photos courtesy of Karen Johnson. These were taken near Lynn Lake Lodge, about 5 miles northwest of Bristol. Severe weather may still be possible over the next hour or 2 as storms move out of our area. pic.twitter.com/tnGJnr2VmU> > -- NWS Aberdeen (@NWSAberdeen) September 10, 2019Late Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday night, the risk area for severe thunderstorms will stretch from eastern Wyoming through central and southern South Dakota and into northern Nebraska. Rapid City and Pierre, South Dakota, and Scottsbluff and Valentine, Nebraska, lie within this zone."Some of the storms over the northern High Plains may produce very large, damaging hail," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.These storms may remain intense and locally damaging as they spread into Minnesota and Iowa early Wednesday morning. Another round of violent thunderstorms is expected to ignite across South Dakota and Nebraska late Wednesday, with locally heavy thunderstorms extending as far east as Wisconsin."As severe thunderstorms remain discrete initially on Tuesday and again on Wednesday, damaging winds and even a few tornadoes can occur," Rathbun said."Thereafter, damaging winds and flash flooding will become the primary threats as storms merge into a squall line," he added.Residents are reminded to seek shelter indoors at the first clap of thunder to avoid a potentially deadly lightning strike. To the north of the severe weather, AccuWeather meteorologists are concerned that enough rain will fall from Montana to the Dakotas and northern and central Minnesota to cause flooding issues into Thursday. At the very least, disruptions to travel are likely to occur.Motorists traveling on stretches of interstates 29, 35, 80, 90 and 94 over the next few days should remain vigilant of the threat for downpours that can drastically reduce visibility on the roadways and create a heightened risk of hydroplaning.Closures are possible on secondary roadways due to flooding.By Thursday, a push of cooler air will shut off the risk of severe weather across the northern Plains. However, steady rain will still dampen portions of the Dakotas. The violent weather will press eastward this day, with areas from Minnesota and Wisconsin to Kansas and Oklahoma, expected to be in the path of a damaging line of thunderstorms.Behind the rain and thunderstorms, gusty winds will whip in with the cooler air across the northern tier late this week."Gusts between 30-50 mph can make for dangerous crosswinds on north-south running highways," Rathbun said.
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| Criminal investigation opens into fire aboard California dive boat: source Posted: 09 Sep 2019 07:09 PM PDT  Federal authorities are conducting a criminal investigation into the fire on a California dive boat that killed 34 people in one of the state's worst maritime disasters, a law enforcement source said on Monday. "We are conducting a joint investigation. Agents from the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the U.S. Coast Guard and local sheriff's deputies served search warrants at the offices of the boat's owner and two other ships belonging to the company.
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| Tulsi Gabbard: The Rest of Democratic Primary Field Has Embraced ‘Open Borders’ Posted: 10 Sep 2019 09:08 AM PDT  Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D., Hawaii) derided her fellow Democratic presidential candidates during a recent interview for embracing permissive immigration policies, accusing them of support for "open borders."Asked if she believes "open borders" is a fair descriptor of the positions embraced by her Democratic primary opponents, Gabbard told YouTube host Dave Rubin that it was an accurate label and dismissed the oft-repeated Democratic rejoinder that conservatives use the phrase to tar their political adversaries."I don't support open borders. Without secure borders, we don't really have a country," she said. "And while some of the other Democratic candidates will say 'well, open borders that's a conservative argument and that's not really what's being advocated for' — if you look at the practical implications of some of the things they're advocating for, it is essentially open borders."Long-shot presidential contender Julian Castro, the former secretary of housing and urban development under President Obama, managed to pull the Democratic primary field leftward on immigration during the campaign's first debate, by asking those on stage to commit to decriminalizing illegal border crossings. All ten candidates on stage, with the notable exception of Beto O'Rourke, endorsed Castro's plan, as did eight out of the ten candidates who took the stage the following night.Gabbard — who failed to qualify for the third Democratic primary debate, scheduled for Tuesday night — has grown increasingly vocal in her opposition to the Democratic establishment.Appearing on Fox News's Tucker Carlson Tonight last month, Gabbard slammed the Democratic National Committee, charging that there is a lack of transparency in the process that determines who makes the debate stage."I think the bigger problem is that the whole process really lacks transparency," Gabbard said. "People deserve having that transparency because ultimately it's the people who will decide who our Democratic nominee will be."The Army veteran went on to suggest that the lack of transparency furthers the perception that a group of connected political elites effectively chooses the president by winnowing the field absent voter input."Really what they see is a small group of really powerful political elites, the establishment making decisions that serve their interests and maintaining that power while the rest of us are left outside. The American people are left behind," she said.
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| Air strikes kill 18 pro-Iran fighters in east Syria: monitor Posted: 09 Sep 2019 12:37 AM PDT  Air strikes hit positions of pro-Iranian forces and allied militias in eastern Syria overnight, killing 18 fighters, a war monitor said Monday. It was not clear who carried out the raids in the region of Albu Kamal near the border with Iraq, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Britain-based Observatory, which has a vast network of contacts across Syria, said "18 fighters were killed, but their nationalities have not yet been determined".
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| Family trapped atop waterfall send SOS message in plastic bottle and someone finds it Posted: 10 Sep 2019 01:02 AM PDT  It was a desperate act of hope by a father fearing he had brought his family into mortal peril.When Curtis Whitson found himself, his partner and his 13-year-old son trapped atop an isolated 40-foot waterfall in California, his only solution for possible escape was a plan he did not dare dream could really work.
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| This Convicted Killer Has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Will It Help Him Escape Execution? Posted: 10 Sep 2019 01:27 AM PDT  Fort Worth Star-Telegram/GettyA death-row inmate in Texas who murdered a grandmother during a robbery is hoping that his diagnosis of a birth defect caused by exposure to alcohol in the womb will spare him from execution Tuesday evening. Mark Soliz, 37, is set to be the 15th prisoner put to death this year unless he can convince the courts he is mentally disabled and exempt from capital punishment. His lawyers are citing a decision two weeks ago by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which stayed the execution of Dexter Johnson based on new standards for evaluating mental disability."They're almost identical," Soliz's lawyer, Seth Kretzer, said of the two cases."It's simply not right to execute the mentally disabled," Kretzer said, adding that he knows they may not prevail. "Hope is a very dangerous thing to have in prison. We've used every legal tool we can to fight this and now we just have to wait."Gary Ray Bowles, 'I-95' Serial Killer Who Preyed on Gay Men, Executed in FloridaUnder the old medical standards, Soliz's IQ of more than 70 meant he did not qualify as mentally disabled. But under new criteria, Soliz's lawyers say his diagnosis of fetal alcohol syndrome should qualify him as mentally disabled and ultimately save him from a lethal dose of pentobarbital. "Because Mr. Soliz suffers from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, he should be categorically exempted from the death penalty under the eighth amendment to the United States constitution," his lawyers argued in court documents."[Fetal alcohol syndrome] is the functional equivalent of the conditions already recognized as disqualifying exemptions to the death penalty such as intellectual disability."Soliz's mother was a prostitute who drank and huffed glue during her pregnancy. He scored 75 on his last IQ test, which falls within the 70-84 range considered borderline intellectual functioning, according to an evaluation paid for by his lawyers and reported in the Austin Chronicle. Greg Westfall, who represented Soliz during his 2012 trial, said that in a different jurisdiction, his client would have received a life sentence."Johnson County has a huge evangelical presence and a large amount of people who believe in the death penalty," he said, adding, "and there's racial overtones to the case. He's a Hispanic who killed a white grandmother."Soliz's deadly crime spree began in June 22, 2010, when he and co-defendant Jose Ramos stole several guns. The pair went on to steal from several stores and killed a man in one of the robberies, making a widow of his eight-months pregnant wife. (Ramos pleaded guilty and was given a life sentence for the slaying.)On June 29, 2010, Nancy Weatherly, a grandmother and engineer at an aerospace company in Godley, Texas, heard her doorbell ring around 10:30 a.m. and opened her front door to find Soliz pointing a Hi-Point 9 mm semiautomatic handgun in her face.Soliz brought her inside and began to search the house for valuables. When she asked him not to take her deceased mother's jewelry box, he told her she would join her mother shortly and shot her in the back of the head. John William King, Racist Who Dragged James Byrd Jr. to Death, Executed in TexasJohnson County Assistant District Attorney Martin Strahan told a local paper last week that Soliz deserved death. "He was a very dangerous person who would hurt other people if there was ever any chance he might be let loose, which is why we decided to go with the death penalty option," Strahan said. Fort Worth Detective Danny Paine called Soliz "the most dangerous person he had ever come in contact with during his law enforcement career."During the trial, Soliz scratched his gang name, "Kilo," into the defense table and managed to memorize the mailing address of a potential female member of the jury and wrote her a romantic letter that was intercepted according to the Celburne Times Review. 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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| Six MS-13 gang members suspected in brutal murder case in US illegally Posted: 09 Sep 2019 03:32 AM PDT  Police investigate gang-related murder; Todd Piro reports.
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| See Photos of the New 2020 Audi RS7 Sportback Posted: 09 Sep 2019 03:01 PM PDT |
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