| Giuliani's televised rage worries some Trump allies, but not the president Posted: 03 Oct 2019 02:13 PM PDT  Rudy Giuliani's appearances have left some of Trump's allies concerned the former New York mayor is doing more harm than good, but according to those close to the president, Trump still trusts Giuliani and is unlikely to rein him in.
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| Botham Jean's father: I forgive Amber Guyger but I wanted stiffer sentence Posted: 03 Oct 2019 03:05 PM PDT  * Bertrum Jean: 'I don't want to see her rot in prison' * Botham's brother Brandt hugged Guyger in emotional scenesBertrum Jean, the father of Botham Jean, said on Thursday he wished his son's killer had received a stiffer sentence. But he also said he agreed with his surviving son Brandt, who amid extraordinary scenes in court in Dallas on Wednesday offered forgiveness to former police officer Amber Guyger."I felt the same way as Brandt," Bertrum Jean told CNN. "I wish I could've extended that same courtesy … I don't want to see her rot in hell. I don't want to see her rot in prison."Guyger shot Botham Jean dead last September, after entering his apartment thinking, she said, it was hers on a lower floor and he was a dangerous intruder. The 26-year-old accountant was sitting on his couch, eating ice cream.Guyger, 31, was fired by Dallas police. Convicted of murder, she received a 10-year sentence. The maximum sentence available was 99 years. Prosecutors had asked for 28 years, based on the age Jean would have attained had he been alive today.At the sentencing hearing on Wednesday, Brandt Jean, 18, told Guyger: "I forgive you … I don't even want you to go to jail. I want the best for you. Because I know that's exactly Botham would want you to do."He then asked permission to embrace Guyger, and did so. Film of the moment went viral. The judge in the case, Tammy Kemp, embraced Guyger and also gave her a Bible.Asked on CNN what allowed him and his son to be so forgiving, Bertrum Jean said: "That's what Christ would want us to do. If you will not forgive, neither will your Father forgive you."I don't want to see her rot in hell. I don't want to see her rot in prison. I hope this will help her to change and recognize the damage, the hurt that our family's going through."So I wish her well and I will pray for her family and pray for her as well."Asked about the sentencing, he said: "We expected a conviction, and I felt the sentence may not have been sufficient based on the crime. I think it could've been a little more. But the jury has spoken."Benjamin Crump, an attorney for the Jean family, said he had not seen anything similar in a courtroom."This was an extraordinary moment from an extraordinary family," he said. "They are a very godly family and what Mr Bertrum and Brandt were talking about was her internal grace, even though Alison, the mother, has expressed that there must be worldly consequences."Crump said the case was historic, as it was believed to be the first time a white female police officer has been convicted of murder for killing a black man.Further controversy was sparked, however, when it emerged that the judge, Tammy Kemps, also embraced Guyger after the jury had left, and gave her a copy of the Bible, recommending a verse.On Thursday, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a secular Wisconsin-based advocacy group that challenges religious displays in government, accused her of proselytizing from the bench. The group filed a complaint with a Texas state agency that investigates judicial misconduct.> Walked into the Jamaican spot yesterday and stood in line behind to black cops. One of them says "She shoulda got 20 years, 10 is too light." Other says "You ever see a judge hug one of us after being convicted of murder?" > > I was *shocked* to hear NYPD, even black ones say that.> > — jelani cobb (@jelani9) October 4, 2019The two scenes prompted wide reaction from across the political spectrum. Texas Senator Ted Cruz described the act as one of "a beautiful, powerful example of Christian love and forgiveness".But others saw the hugs in terms of the power dynamics of racism in the United States, and noted the lack of focus on statements from the victim's mother, which called for new police training."Forgiveness is palatable because it lacks institutional power – the might to forgo it and force a reckoning for those who've done wrong," wrote Zak Cheney-Rice in New York Magazine. "As Americans, we've rarely had the luxury of seeing what grace looks like when it is practiced by powerful people, instead of scorned and only celebrated when it facilitates their absolution."Dallas county district attorney John Creuzot said he had expected a longer sentence but he respected the jury's decision.Bertrum Jean told CNN that Botham had been "a gentle giant, because of his size. But he was so soft. He just embraced everyone."The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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| Kremlin hails special relationship with China amid missile system cooperation Posted: 04 Oct 2019 08:12 AM PDT  The Kremlin said on Friday that Moscow's move to help Beijing build an early warning system to detect missile attacks showed the two countries had a special relationship. President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia was helping China build an early warning system to spot intercontinental ballistic missile launches, something only Russia and the United States possess at the moment.
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| Southwest flight attendant's post disses passenger in Trump T-shirt: '#dumpTrump #eeew' Posted: 03 Oct 2019 05:32 PM PDT  A Southwest flight attendant said he didn't give a passenger in a "Trump 45'' T-shirt his best service. The airline is investigating.
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| Gandhi’s ashes stolen and photo vandalized after 150th birthday celebrations, reports say Posted: 03 Oct 2019 01:19 PM PDT  An urn containing some of Mahatma Gandhi's ashes was reportedly stolen from a government building in India, according to the Wire, an Indian news site.
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| Could Israel's Missile Defenses Withstand a Swarm or Missile Attack from Iran? Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:41 AM PDT  Who wins in a showdown? Here is all we can tell you about Israel's missile defenses.
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| Duterte Wants Stronger Defense Ties With Russia, Criticizes U.S. Posted: 04 Oct 2019 12:14 AM PDT ![Duterte Wants Stronger Defense Ties With Russia, Criticizes U.S.]( "Duterte Wants Stronger Defense Ties With Russia, Criticizes U.S.") (Bloomberg) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte used his second visit to Russia as an opportunity to again criticize the U.S. for being critical of his war on drugs, as he sought greater defense ties with Moscow.In a speech at an event organized by a Russian think tank in Sochi, Duterte took a swipe at "so-called friends" of the Philippines who "act like they know the answers to our problems.""They create rules and norms for almost everyone, and some refuse to be bound by the same," he said, according to a transcript of his speech. "They weaponize human rights oblivious to its damaging consequences."During the open forum, Duterte said the U.S. has "criticized heavily" his war on drugs that has killed thousands, and stopped the sale of weapons due to human rights concerns. He however also said that he has nothing against the U.S., which he described as "a close friend" and "our only treaty ally."In his bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday, Duterte said he has a "long-term commitment to elevate" defense relations with Russia. Putin, for his part, said Russia wants greater trade and economic ties with the Philippines.To contact the reporter on this story: Andreo Calonzo in Manila at acalonzo1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Cecilia Yap at cyap19@bloomberg.net, Colin KeatingeFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Uh oh: Trump’s attorney general asks Facebook for ‘backdoor’ messaging access Posted: 03 Oct 2019 02:35 PM PDT  US Attorney General Bill Barr is scheduled to make some remarks at a Justice Department event Friday focused on how tech companies promoting encryption has hampered government access to information.That's according to a New York Times preview of the event, which will come in tandem with a chilling demand from Barr: In a letter from President Trump's AG to Facebook dated October 4, Barr asks the social networking giant to immediately halt its plan to expand end-to-end encryption across the company's messaging services like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.If this sounds like the Apple vs. FBI fight all over again, that's because that's basically what this is -- just on a much larger and scarier scale. That previous battle involved the FBI trying to gain access to a single locked iPhone (the one belonging to one of the San Bernadino terrorists. This time around, the government apparently wants so-called backdoor access that would allow it to peek into essentially any Facebook message until the end of time."Companies should not deliberately design their systems to preclude any form of access to content, even for preventing or investigating the most serious crimes," reads Barr's letter, which was also signed by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel, acting US Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, and Australian Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton. Outlets including both the NYT and Buzzfeed obtained the letter early.This turn of events comes, it should be noted, in tandem with the next major paradigm shift happening at Facebook. Earlier this year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a shift of emphasis away from the public square aspect of the social network (which was on the decline anyway) to groups and private sharing -- including, regarding the latter, a stitching together of the infrastructure behind Facebook's messaging apps like Messenger and WhatsApp. And, also, supporting end-to-end encryption between them."We believe people have the right to have a private conversation online, wherever they are in the world," reads a statement from Facebook in opposition to Barr's letter. "...We strongly oppose government attempts to build backdoors because they would undermine the privacy and security of people everywhere."This will be a massively important fight to watch, one with global implications. What a strange moment in time this is, where events are threatening to cast Zuckerberg as the privacy champion he never set out to be.
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| Schiff takes charge of impeachment, issues stern warnings to Trump and Pompeo Posted: 02 Oct 2019 11:11 AM PDT  House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff charged President Trump with "incitement of violence" in his combative response to the whistleblower complaint.
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| School leaves 'bullied' child outside in cold with no coat and then reports him missing Posted: 03 Oct 2019 11:06 AM PDT  A woman is suing school bosses in Chicago after her nine-year-old son was left outside in the cold without a coat.Yvonne Pinkston said her son, then a fourth grader at Fiske Elementary School in Englewood, Illinois, was deliberately locked outside of his school in near-freezing temperatures after he complained about being bullied by both students and staff.
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| Tech exec's body found in BMW after abduction in Santa Cruz, officials say Posted: 02 Oct 2019 03:48 PM PDT  Police say Tushar Atre was kidnapped from his California home around 3am and officers located vehicle that afternoonAuthorities say Tushar Atre, the 50-year-old owner of a digital marketing company, was abducted on Tuesday from his home in Santa Cruz. Photograph: APThe 50-year-old owner of a California marketing company was abducted from his oceanfront home in Santa Cruz and later found dead near his white BMW, authorities say.The Santa Cruz county sheriff's office has released few details on the case. But on Tuesday, it reported it had received a 911 call early in the morning from the home of Tushar Atre, the owner of the digital marketing company Atre Net Inc.Atre had been kidnapped from his home around 3am "during a crime", the office said, and he was last seen getting into a white BMW SUV.Deputies located the car on Tuesday afternoon in the Santa Cruz Mountains and found a body in the same location."We have some unfortunate news, we have found the car associated with this case along with a deceased person," the office said in a Facebook statement on Tuesday afternoon.On Wednesday afternoon, the office confirmed the body found was identified as Atre. "We have reason to believe the motive was robbery," a sheriff's office statement on Facebook said.Police are looking for at least two people in connection with the case, the local station KTVU reported on Tuesday.
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| View Aston Martin DBS GT Zagato Photos Posted: 04 Oct 2019 09:05 AM PDT |
| UPDATE 1-Sri Lankan court dismisses challenge to presidential candidate Rajapaksa's citizenship Posted: 04 Oct 2019 07:17 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Sri Lankan court dismisses challenge to presidential candidate Rajapaksa's citizenship]( "UPDATE 1-Sri Lankan court dismisses challenge to presidential candidate Rajapaksa's citizenship") A Sri Lankan court on Friday dismissed a legal challenge to presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa's Sri Lankan citizenship, removing a major barrier he faced in contesting the Nov. 16 poll. The three-judge panel of the Appeal Court unanimously dismissed the case that challenged the validity of Rajapaksa's Sri Lankan citizenship, which he obtained in 2005. Rajapaksa is widely seen as the election frontrunner because of his popularity among majority Sinhala Buddhists for his role in ending a 26-year civil war in 2009, ushering in a decade of relative peace until Easter Day bombings that killed 250 people.
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| Florida man shot and killed son-in-law in case of mistaken identity, sheriff says Posted: 03 Oct 2019 04:34 PM PDT  A Florida man will not face charges after authorities said he shot and killed his son-in-law who had flown from Norway as a birthday surprise.
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| See This Jet? This Was America's First Fighter Jet (It Battled North Korea) Posted: 03 Oct 2019 10:12 PM PDT  A near disaster.
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| Sweden’s Anti-Immigrant Party Draws Even With Social Democrats in Poll for First Time Posted: 04 Oct 2019 12:39 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Support for the nationalist Sweden Democrats and the Social Democrats is almost equal for the first time in an Expressen/Demoskop poll, adding to Prime Minister Stefan Lofven's burden as he steers his minority government.His Social Democrats, the largest political party in Sweden for most of the past century, have lost voters to anti-immigration party Sweden Democrats, the survey showed."The result stands out," Demoskop spokesman Peter Santesson told Expressen. "The loss of voters to the Sweden Democrats is the main reason for the decline in support for the Social Democrats".Recent shootings and gang violence may be the reason for the rising concern and frustration among voters, Social Democrats spokeswoman Lena Radstrom Baastad told Expressen.Support for the Social Democrats declined by 0.9 percentage point from a month earlier to 23.1%, while the Sweden Democrats gained 1.5 percentage point to 22.9%. The other parties saw marginal changes.To contact the reporter on this story: Veronica Ek in Stockholm at vek@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Edith Moy at echan10@bloomberg.net, Jonas BergmanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Michael Avenatti Takes Stormy Daniels to Court for Millions in Legal Backpay Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:12 PM PDT  Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily BeastEmbattled lawyer Michael Avenatti is taking legal action against his ex-client Stormy Daniels for $2 million in legal fees from their infamous "hush agreement" lawsuit against President Donald Trump. Avenatti, who currently faces federal criminal charges set for trial next month, filed an attorney's lien on Thursday. It alleges that despite "repeated demands that Ms. Daniels fulfill her contractual obligations and pay for the millions in legal fees and costs she has enjoyed for her benefit over the last approximate 19 months, including in this case, she has refused."Avenatti, 48, claims the porn star refuses to pay up because she is a "celebrity," and is therefore "entitled to free legal services and costs" and to "manufacture and fabricate facts designed to impugn the reputation of her counsel and falsely accuse him of a multitude of acts.""But the law does not work that way Ms. Daniels wishes," reads the court filing, filed in the United States District Court in the Southern District of Ohio."I look forward to the facts and the truth about what really happened coming to light," Avenatti told The Daily Beast when reached for comment. His lawyer, Tom Warren, added: "Mr. Avenatti did an enormous amount of high quality legal work for Ms. Daniels under intense pressure and scrutiny. He made significant personal sacrifices for her benefit. He deserves to be paid by her, not criticized."Daniels and her lawyer did not respond to The Daily Beast's request for comment. The porn actress and Avenatti became household names in January 2018 after filing a lawsuit to nullify a "hush agreement" Daniels made with then-candidate Trump and his former fixer Michael Cohen just before the election. Since then, the two had a very public falling out back in May, and Avenatti has been hounded by legal troubles and currently faces federal charges in two states. In California, prosecutors alleged he stole $300,000 from Daniels and spent it on flights, hotels, restaurant deliveries, and to bankroll his law firm. And a New York grand jury indicted him in March for allegedly trying to extort Nike for $25 million.Avenatti's court filing this week alleges the initial February 2018 retainer agreement he made with Daniels was for "$100 up-front payment," prompting his firm to spend "thousands of attorney and staff hours, and a significant out-of-pocket-expenses." During his retention, Avenatti said he bailed Daniels out of jail "following her arrest in Columbus Ohio in July 2018" after a strip-club brawl and led the "successful efforts" to have the charges dropped."Despite the significance of his work, Ms. Daniels has yet to directly pay a single dollar to Mr. Avenatti or Avenatti & Associates, APC for their legal services beyond the $100.00 she initially paid back in 2018," the lien states. "Ms. Daniels is required to pay her lawyers." Avenatti has previously told The Daily Beast that "any and all other monies raised via a legal fund would go toward my legal fees and costs." Daniels and Avenatti alleged in her lawsuit, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, that Cohen paid her $130,000 during the 2016 campaign to stay quiet about an affair she had with then-reality TV star Trump a decade before he ran for office (the president admits to the payoff but denies the sexual tryst). The payoff allegations ultimately led to a federal investigation charging Cohen with eight campaign-finance violations. He pleaded guilty in August, admitting he made illegal payments at Trump's direction, and was sentenced to three years behind bars.But, in May, a little over a year after that lawsuit was filed, Daniels and Avenatti announced their split in a pair of tweets."I have retained Clark Brewster as my personal lawyer and have asked him and his firm to review all legal matters involving me," Daniels wrote. "Upon completion of Mr. Brewster's review and further consultation with me, I anticipate Mr. Brewster will serve as my primary counsel on all legal issues." Less than 15 minutes later, Avenatti responded with his own statement claiming he terminated his relationship with Daniels in February but would not disclose the reasons due to "attorney-client privilege."In his new legal action, Avenatti says he decided to cut ties after "Daniels became increasingly difficult, uncooperative, erratic, and unpredictable, and began falsely accusing people closely aligned with her (but not Mr. Avenatti) of theft without any legitimate basis.""Ms. Daniels' false accusations in some instances were targeted at friends of 20 years and her private security detail," the filing alleges. The letter states the firm also decided to sever ties after "prior false accusations (which you chose to make public before communicating them to me—I found out from a reporter)" and Daniels' "general lack of appreciation for our work and the thousands of hours we have devoted to you, which we have largely done for free at great expense to me and my firm."Avenatti concluded in the letter that the firm did not intend to make "any public announcement relation to our decision to no longer represent" Daniels and thanked her for the opportunity to serve as her counsel.Michael Avenatti Indicted on 36 Counts by Federal Grand JuryStormy Daniels' 'Gay Dads' Back Lawyer Michael Avenatti in Latest DramaStormy Daniels Files Defamation Lawsuit Against TrumpThis story has been updated to reflect the correct date of the lawsuit's filing.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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| Canadian police illegally shared info on Huawei exec: lawyers Posted: 03 Oct 2019 11:34 PM PDT  Canadian police illegally shared details of Meng Wanzhou's phone with US authorities, lawyers said Thursday, in a bid to have an extradition case against the top Huawei executive thrown out. The United States wants to put Meng on trial for fraud for allegedly violating Iran sanctions and lying about it to US banks -- accusations her lawyers dispute. Meng's lawyers alleged that Canadian border agents and police conducted a "covert criminal investigation" of the Huawei executive on behalf of the American Federal Bureau of Investigations.
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| Ecuador president declares state of emergency over strike Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:18 PM PDT  Ecuador's president declared a state of emergency Thursday to confront rowdy street protests and a nationwide transport strike over his decision to end government fuel subsidies and relax labor protections. Public transport in major cities and between provinces was virtually shut down, forcing many people to walk long distances to get to work. In Quito, university students tried to march to the government headquarters in the historic part of the city.
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| New York sues big U.S. student loan servicer for abusing borrowers Posted: 03 Oct 2019 11:30 AM PDT ![New York sues big U.S. student loan servicer for abusing borrowers]( "New York sues big U.S. student loan servicer for abusing borrowers") New York state on Thursday sued one of the largest federal student loan servicers, whose practices the U.S. government singled out for criticism earlier this year, saying it abusively treated borrowers working in lower-paying public service jobs. The lawsuit by state Attorney General Letitia James adds to a growing list of complaints by borrowers and regulators against the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, which operates as FedLoan and American Education Services. James said FedLoan has "failed miserably" as the sole servicer since 2012 for the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which excuses borrowers who work in public service for 10 years from repaying their loans, provided they make some qualifying payments.
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| An 18-year-old protester who was shot in the chest at point-blank range by Hong Kong police will be charged with assault Posted: 02 Oct 2019 11:43 PM PDT  The man was shot during clashes with police in Tsuen Wan on Tuesday, marking the first time that live fire was used since protests began in June.
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| North Korea: Helping Iran's Submarine Force Threaten The U.S. Navy? Posted: 04 Oct 2019 06:07 AM PDT  Iran patrols the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf.
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| Johnson’s Brexit Plan Could Be Scuppered by This Political Zombie Posted: 03 Oct 2019 09:00 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Follow @Brexit and sign up to our Brexit Bulletin. The "Stormont lock" is fast becoming one of the biggest threats to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's increasingly hard-to-grasp Brexit deal.The British proposal would give the unionist side of Northern Ireland's sectarian divide an effective veto over whether to stay in Europe's single market for goods. It's proved unacceptable to the government south of the border. Here is why the idea is so controversial.1\. What is Stormont?It is Northern Ireland's power-sharing assembly, effectively a devolved parliament for the region. Created after the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 ended decades of sectarian violence known as the Troubles, it returned political decision-making to Belfast for the first time since the British imposed direct rule in 1972. Unlike its unionist-dominated predecessor, the assembly requires the consent of both the mostly Protestant parties which want Northern Ireland to remain part of the U.K. and mainly Catholic parties which want the region to become part of the Irish Republic to meet. But it has been suspended since 2017 after the nationalist Sinn Fein grouping, the second-biggest after the Democratic Unionist Party, pulled its support amid a row tied to a renewable energy scandal. Despite intermittent talks since, the assembly is still some way from returning.2\. Why does it matter for Brexit?Under Johnson's latest proposals, Northern Ireland would keep the same rules as the European Union for all goods after Brexit. In theory, this would help to prevent the return of border infrastructure on the frontier with the Republic of Ireland, one of the EU's key requirements of any Brexit deal. However, this so-called rule alignment would depend on the consent of Northern Ireland's assembly and executive: They would have to back it before the end of 2020, and every four years after that.3\. Why does this worry Ireland?Under its current rules, just a third of the assembly's 90 members can block a measure they don't like using a tool known as a petition of concern. This amounts to an "open veto to be played like a joker at any time," according to Mark Durkan, a former member of the assembly. The fear in Dublin is that the DUP could use this mechanism to block a vote on rule alignment with the EU. In the most recent election, in 2017, the DUP took 28 seats -- but with the help of other unionists it could get the 30 votes required.4\. What would happen if the DUP exercised that veto?It could put the integrity of the EU's single market in jeopardy. Northern Ireland could end up with standards for products like food that differ from those in the south, something that would almost certainly lead the EU to introduce checks at or close to the border to ensure sub-standard goods don't make their way into the bloc via the Irish frontier.5\. But what happens if Stormont doesn't form in time?It's not yet clear. Indeed, giving Stormont a veto could actually hinder efforts to restart the assembly because other parties won't want to hand the DUP a veto, Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney warned on Thursday. And to drive his point home, Coveney said Ireland couldn't possibly accept a situation where a minority could frustrate the majority's wishes in the region.So the U.K. looks to be on a collision course with Ireland and the EU on the issue. The problem for Johnson is that he needs the support of the DUP's Members of Parliament to get his deal through Westminster. Either Brussels or the DUP will have to give -- and neither shows any sign of doing so.To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Flanagan in Dublin at pflanagan23@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ambereen Choudhury at achoudhury@bloomberg.net, Edward Evans, Flavia Krause-JacksonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| After terrifying ICE raid, Mississippi is still fighting back Posted: 03 Oct 2019 04:12 PM PDT  Families are still separated, and lawyers are still pushing back against slanted justice system
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| Rudy Giuliani’s televised rage worries some Trump allies, but not the president Posted: 03 Oct 2019 03:42 PM PDT  President Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, in recent weeks has engaged in a near nightly ritual of going on television to defend the White House against the Ukraine scandal and ensuing impeachment inquiry. These appearances have left some of Trump's allies concerned the former New York mayor is doing more harm than good, but according to those close to the president, Trump still trusts Giuliani and is unlikely to rein him in.
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| Giuliani Says Some of the Documents State Dept IG Handed to Congress Came From Him Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:39 AM PDT  Shannon Stapleton/ReutersAfter State Department Inspector General Steve Linnick briefed Congress on Wednesday and handed over materials that some Democrats said amounted to a packet of "propaganda" apparently designed to smear former Vice President Joe Biden, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani proudly told CNN that some of these documents originated with him."What Giuliani told me is that he somehow routed this information—this is at the end of March, earlier this year—he says he routed that to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo," reporter Michael Warren said on CNN Wednesday night. "He did say that he received a call a couple of days later from Pompeo who said that he had gotten these documents and that he would refer it for investigation.""Giuliani telling me he was frustrated he never heard anything back from the State Department thereafter," Warren added.The chairs of the House Intelligence, House Foreign Affairs and Oversight committees released a joint statement hours earlier expressing concerns about the "urgent" briefing that they had been summoned to by the State Department. The documents given to lawmakers at that briefing "raise troubling questions about apparent efforts inside and outside the Trump Administration to target specific officials," the statement said, including former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and Biden's son Hunter."The documents provided by the Inspector General included a package of disinformation, debunked conspiracy theories, and baseless allegations in an envelope marked 'White House' and containing folders labeled 'Trump Hotel,'" the statement read. "These documents also reinforce concern that the President and his allies sought to use the machinery of the State Department to further the President's personal political interests."The committee chairmen further noted that the IG "stated that his office interviewed Secretary Pompeo's Counselor, Thomas Ulrich Brechbuhl, who informed the Inspector General that Secretary Pompeo told him the packet 'came over,' and that Brechbuhl presumed it was from the White House."Giuliani later appeared on Fox News' Hannity, where he boasted about the Ukrainian documents he had fed to the State Department in the spring. "And the committees, I guess, they were sitting there figuring out how they can do impeachment based on nothing and what they got shoved down their throats, it's a complete, total absolutely terrific prosecutorial outline of why Joe Biden is so guilty," Giuliani exclaimed to Trump-boosting host Sean Hannity. "It's a joke for me to describe it to you."Giuliani also credited conservative columnist John Solomon—who apparently shared his Ukraine stories with Giuliani's allies before publication—with helping to get his Ukraine-Biden narrative to the forefront."Ultimately it was John Solomon, who should get a Pulitzer Prize, by the way, put them all on tape, so it's all memorialized on videotape," he declared, referencing Solomon's interviews with Ukrainian figures. "This is as solid as it can get."Earlier this week, Congress subpoenaed Giuliani for records relating to the Ukraine controversy that blew up following a whistleblower's complaint about the infamous July 25 call in which President Trump pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate the Bidens. The president's attorney has since hired a lawyer to represent him during the congressional investigation.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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| Paris Knife Attacker Converted to Islam 18 Months Before Attack: Report Posted: 03 Oct 2019 11:14 AM PDT  The French police employee who killed four of his colleagues at the Paris police headquarters on Thursday was a recent convert to Islam, according to French television BFM TV.The 45-year-old attacker killed three police officers and an administrative worker, three men and one woman, before being shot and killed by police. Officials so far have not publicly released a motive, and are trying to discover if there was a terrorism link. The man's wife has been taken in custody.Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took to Twitter to offer her condolences to the victim's families."During the Paris Council, we will pay tribute to the victims and will salute the unfailing commitment of police forces serving the security of Parisians. We know what we owe them," she wrote.The attack comes on the heels of a period of unrest within French police, who staged a massive protest on Wednesday as thousands marched and demanded better working conditions. Police have also seen an uptick in suicides this year, coming on the heels of months of unpaid overtime and anti-police press surrounding the "Yellow Vest" protests.The attack marks the fourth public Islamic stabbing incident in France since October 2017.In March, an inmate stabbed two prison guards while reportedly shouting "Allahu Akbar." The attack was labelled a "terrorist incident" by the French Interior Minister.In September, British church leaders called for the government to "take urgent measures to promote the sale of safe kitchen knife designs and restrict those designs which have been used in so many acts of violence."
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| More benefits planned for some Oklahoma death row inmates Posted: 03 Oct 2019 08:58 AM PDT  OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Some of the 44 death row inmates housed at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester will soon be moved from the prisons maximum-security H-Unit to another unit to give them more benefits and access to the outdoors, the states new prisons boss said. In a letter released by the agency on Thursday, the Department of Corrections Interim Executive Director Scott Crow told officials with the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma that the agency plans to move qualifying inmates to its less restrictive A-Unit by the end of October. The ACLU had threatened legal action over what it says are potential constitutional violations of the rights of death row inmates, mostly by confining them to their cells for 23 hours per day.
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| Denver policeman fired for saying he was raped by woman he impregnated Posted: 03 Oct 2019 06:18 PM PDT ![Denver policeman fired for saying he was raped by woman he impregnated]( "Denver policeman fired for saying he was raped by woman he impregnated") A Denver policeman has been fired for falsely claiming that he was raped by a woman he impregnated in what authorities said was an effort by the officer to avoid paying child support, a disciplinary letter released on Thursday showed. Samuel Sheppard, a six-year veteran of the force, was dismissed for fabricating a sexual assault by the unnamed woman, and lying to internal affairs investigators about the nature of the couple's relationship, according to an order signed by Denver's Deputy Director of Public Safety, Mary Dulacki. "The evidence presented is that Officer Sheppard made an unfounded sexual assault claim against the complainant seemingly to avoid or limit his financial obligations," Dulacki wrote.
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| View Photos of the 2020 Subaru Impreza Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:02 PM PDT |
| An Eye-Popping $1.5 Trillion: Is the F-35 Stealth Fighter Worth It? Posted: 04 Oct 2019 12:35 AM PDT  Not so simple.
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| The U.S. Shouldn’t Try to Save Iraq’s Prime Minister Posted: 04 Oct 2019 08:00 AM PDT ![The U.S. Shouldn't Try to Save Iraq's Prime Minister]( "The U.S. Shouldn't Try to Save Iraq's Prime Minister") (Bloomberg Opinion) -- The most charitable thing to be said for Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi's response to the protests wracking Iraq is that it was ill-advised. But perhaps this was to be expected, since one of his senior advisers has declared that "there is no real answer" to the country's problems.Mahdi, a lugubrious figure in the best of times, delivered an especially dismal performance in the most important speech of his career on Friday, after his security forces had killed several dozen Iraqi protesters. He offered no answers, only mealy-mouthed platitudes about listening to the people's demands — and then cautioned that there was "no magic solution."This is unlikely to satisfy the protesters, who are asking him to do his job, not conjure up any tricks. Iraqis are fed up with the corruption and ineptitude that characterize their government, with the political impasse that defines their Parliament, with the growing influence of Iran in all aspects of the state, and with Mahdi's inability to do anything… about anything.The prime minister's response to days of increasingly angry protests has been to unleash his security forces, impose curfews and try to block the internet — the classic tells of a leader who has lost control of the situation. His government has also shut down its border with Iran, just as millions of Iranians were about to make their annual pilgrimage to the Iraqi shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala.The crackdown on protesters cannot be sustained. Mahdi is a political weakling, and was only given his job because no party was able to form a governing coalition. If the violence continues, the parties that saw him as a useful compromise candidate will find him just as useful as a sacrificial lamb.This would raise alarm in Washington, where anxiety about Mahdi being replaced by a more pro-Iran figure is bipartisan. Iraq is central to the Trump administration's Middle East policy, a front-line state in the confrontation with the Islamic Republic. And Mahdi is seen as more malleable to American persuasion than most of the prominent figures in Parliament.The administration might therefore be tempted to intervene in the political morass that is Baghdad, to prop up the prime minister. That would be a grievous mistake.For one thing, Iraqis are just as opposed to American interference as to Iranian influence; in their chants, protesters condemn both in the same breath. For another, they are demonstrably more opposed than Washington to a prime minister who bows to Tehran. Many of the protests are taking place in the southern cities of Iraq, home to the country's Shiite majority — a group assumed by U.S. policymakers to be disposed to favor their coreligionists in Iran. But the southern cities were where the strongest anti-Iran protests took place in the summer of 2018, which effectively ended the re-election prospects of Mahdi's predecessor, Haider al-Abadi — another Shiite.Washington backed Abadi in the political horse-trading that followed the May 2018 election. It didn't succeed then, and is unlikely to do much better if it tries to save Mahdi.Instead, the Trump administration should recognize that Mahdi is patently the wrong man to be running Iraq. Rather than protect him, it should use its leverage with the prime minister to demand the very reforms the protesters are demanding — and make American military and financial aid conditional on progress in achieving them.And if Mahdi is forced out by Parliament, the U.S. should allow the politics in Baghdad to play out to the satisfaction of Iraqis. American interests have never been more closely aligned with theirs.To contact the author of this story: Bobby Ghosh at aghosh73@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: James Gibney at jgibney5@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Bobby Ghosh is a columnist and member of the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board. He writes on foreign affairs, with a special focus on the Middle East and the wider Islamic world.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Fox Host David Asman Fawns Over Trump for Attacking Wrong Paper for NYT’s Border Moat Story Posted: 02 Oct 2019 11:00 AM PDT  Minutes after President Donald Trump unleashed a lengthy and vicious attack against the wrong newspaper for reporting on his desire for snake-filled moats and the ability to shoot migrants at the border, Fox Business Network host David Asman gushed over the president's unhinged and false remarks.Serving Wednesday as the "One Lucky Guy" on Fox's daytime talk show Outnumbered, Asman immediately applauded Trump for railing against the media and Democrats while speaking to reporters at the White House."I think that there is a phrase he will hear a lot of from the president," Asman declared. "Who are you going to believe, you know that phrase, who are you going to believe? The fake media or me? Are you going to believe the Democrats, or are you going to believe me? Are you going to believe the rumor mill, the Beltway, or me in the transcripts?"Asman went on to say it is a good strategy for Trump to go after the Washington Post because they "have been caught several times with the news that did not turn out to be true." During his White House remarks, the president blasted the Post for first reporting that he pressed aides and officials to place a moat at the border "stocked with snakes and alligators" and that he told his staff to order soldiers to shoot migrants in the legs."That is the Trumpian way right now," the Fox Business host said.That story, however, first appeared in The New York Times, and is excerpted from an upcoming book by two of the paper's reporters."I think he feels he is winning," Asman noted later. He added: "The sense is that he feels like he is winning. He thinks he has a jump on the media, that he has a jump on the Democrats by releasing the information that he has to show discrepancies and so forth, that is just my sense here. We were talking about his speech at the U.N., which was very low-key, and then he gave a presser after that Wednesday, and he did seem to be down. I think that he has regained his energy somewhat."As for the president's claim that the report is "fake news," Fox News—along with several other outlets—confirmed key aspects of the Times story."A source who was in the room at the time confirmed the conversation about shooting migrants in the legs to Fox News late Tuesday," the network noted in its report.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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| Camp Shelby accident: What you need to know about the camp where 22 paratroopers were hurt Posted: 03 Oct 2019 11:12 AM PDT  Camp Shelby, where an accident occurred Wednesday, is unfamiliar to many. What is it? Where is it? What happens there? Find answers to your questions.
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| A South Korean man confessed to strangling 9 women in infamous serial killings 30 years ago Posted: 04 Oct 2019 03:59 AM PDT  Lee Chun-jae, 56, confessed to killing nine women in what's known as the Hwaseong murders, which had been unresolved until now.
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| Payouts for Vegas victims a 'cold, mathematical calculation' Posted: 04 Oct 2019 07:45 AM PDT  They may have been united by a love for country music, but the people gunned down two years ago at a Las Vegas concert will not be seen as equals when up to $800 million is paid out from a legal settlement. The administrator overseeing the process will have the icy task of calculating the value of a life based on how much victims earned, the gravity of survivors' wounds and the hazy concepts of pain, suffering and emotional distress. "It is a cold, mathematical calculation," said attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who has administered payouts for the nation's highest-profile tragedies.
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| China removes former head of securities regulator from government post after corruption probe Posted: 04 Oct 2019 06:03 AM PDT ![China removes former head of securities regulator from government post after corruption probe]( "China removes former head of securities regulator from government post after corruption probe") SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The former head of China's top securities regulator, Liu Shiyu, has been removed from a government position following an investigation by the country's anti-corruption watchdog, the watchdog said on Friday. Liu "severely violated political discipline and political rules", received gifts and used his power and position to seek personal gains for others, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a statement. Liu will remain a member of the Chinese communist party, the watchdog said.
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| Supreme Court to hear dispute over encouraging illegal immigration Posted: 04 Oct 2019 08:39 AM PDT ![Supreme Court to hear dispute over encouraging illegal immigration]( "Supreme Court to hear dispute over encouraging illegal immigration") The Supreme Court will take up a dispute over a federal law that makes it a crime to encourage foreigners to enter or reside in the United States illegally, the court announced in an order today. The Trump administration called on the high court to take up the matter after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit invalidated part of the law in December. The appeals court found that the law violated the First Amendment because it criminalized constitutionally protected free speech.
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| Police ID woman suspected of sneaking into lion, giraffe exhibits at Bronx Zoo Posted: 04 Oct 2019 09:13 AM PDT  Police have identified the woman suspected of climbing into a lion's den at the Bronx Zoo last weekend.
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| The Army Wants Killer Electromagnetic Pulse Artillery Shells Posted: 02 Oct 2019 07:00 PM PDT  A sci-fi fantasy?
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| Hannity Takes Shot at Fox Colleagues: ‘We Have a Few Resistance People on the Channel’ Posted: 04 Oct 2019 03:56 AM PDT  It appears the Fox News civil war that recently spilled out onto the airwaves is still ongoing.During Thursday night's broadcast of his top-rated Fox News primetime program, Trump-boosting host Sean Hannity took a not-so-subtle shot at some of his Fox News colleagues, calling them out for being part of the "resistance" against President Trump.Hosting a panel discussion featuring regulars Dan Bongino and Geraldo Rivera, both Fox News personalities, Hannity complained that the media was only focused on foreign interference when it involved Trump. After Hannity claimed it was really the Democrats who were involved in interfering in the 2016 election, Rivera chimed in to discuss the Justice Department's inquiry into the origins of the Russia investigation. Saying he hopes it's true that the "stuff is going to hit the fan" when U.S. Attorney John Durham is finished "investigating the investigators," Rivera then wondered if Durham's report would only be covered by Fox News—and specifically Hannity's show."By the way, we are hardly a channel of agreement," Hannity shouted in response. "We have a few resistance people on the channel if we're gonna be honest, Geraldo!""I grant that," Rivera laughed while other voices off-camera chuckled."I mean total resistance, not half-resistance," Hannity added.Earlier in the day, Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano posted an op-ed to Fox News' website in which he argued Trump had committed an "impeachable offense" by pressuring the Ukrainian president to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and withholding military aid at the same time. This comes on the heels of other Fox News anchors pushing back on Trumpworld's Ukraine-Biden narrative.Rivera, meanwhile, went on to praise Hannity and his nightly regulars—including controversial columnist John Solomon, who now finds himself in the middle of the Ukraine mess that he apparently helped start."There are two truths here," the former daytime talk show host declared. "There is what we are uncovering with your team, Gregg Jarrett and John Solomon and Dan Bongino and all the rest and it's what everybody else and every other channel is talking about." It was recently revealed that Solomon, whose Trump-friendly reporting has enraged his colleagues, emailed a copy of one of his Ukraine stories—before it was published—to two pro-Trump lawyers digging up dirt on Biden and an ally of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani.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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| Hugs and smiles as Taliban meet Pakistan officials Posted: 03 Oct 2019 04:43 AM PDT  A group of senior Taliban were warmly welcomed by Pakistani officials as they arrived in Islamabad Thursday, where the foreign minister called for a resumption of talks with the US on the war in Afghanistan. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's co-founder who spent eight years in a Pakistani prison, was greeted with hugs and smiles by Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and spy chief Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, footage released by the ministry showed. Pakistan was one of only three countries to recognise the Taliban regime and its shadowy military establishment, particularly the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) which Hameed heads, and is widely believed to back the bloody insurgency in Afghanistan.
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| Jury finds Chicago gang member guilty in the murder of 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee Posted: 03 Oct 2019 07:22 PM PDT  A jury found gang member Drwight Boone-Doty guilty Thursday in the murder of Tyshawn Lee, a 9-year-old boy was shot and killed.
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| Ohio University suspends all fraternities over hazing claims Posted: 03 Oct 2019 02:22 PM PDT ![Ohio University suspends all fraternities over hazing claims]( "Ohio University suspends all fraternities over hazing claims") Ohio University on Thursday announced it was suspending all its fraternities following allegations of widespread hazing. Suspension of the 15 fraternities at the university was immediate and indefinite. It followed allegations within the past week of hazing at seven of the fraternities, as well as the expulsion in May of a fraternity following the alleged hazing of a freshman who died last year.
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| A Virginia teacher is suing his school district after he was fired for refusing to use a trans student's pronouns, arguing that doing so would have been 'telling a lie' Posted: 02 Oct 2019 04:02 PM PDT  A teacher alleged that the school tried to force him to "express an objective biological falsehood" by urging him to use the student's male pronouns.
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