| Trump disputes North Korea: Joe Biden 'somewhat better' than a 'rabid dog' Posted: 17 Nov 2019 07:44 AM PST  President Trump came to the defense of his potential 2020 rival Joe Biden on Sunday, disputing a characterization of the former vice president as a "rabid dog" who "must be beaten to death with a stick."
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| PHOTOS: Deadly shooting at California football party Posted: 18 Nov 2019 05:09 AM PST  Four people were killed and six more wounded when "unknown suspects" sneaked into a backyard filled with people at a party in central California and fired into the crowd, police said.
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| The Problem with Hypersonic Missiles: "None of this stuff works yet." Posted: 17 Nov 2019 11:26 PM PST  Don't get too excited about hypersonic weapons, one prominent U.S. defense journalist advised. According to him, we still don't know for sure whether the Mach-5-plus munitions actually work.
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| Ukraine ex-president named witness in power abuse probe Posted: 18 Nov 2019 09:33 AM PST  Ukraine's former president Petro Poroshenko has been designated a witness in a criminal investigation related to the nomination of judges, the state investigation bureau said on Monday. Poroshenko has been embroiled in a number of investigations since leaving office in May. "His status is that of a witness," a spokeswoman for the state investigation bureau, which handles high-profile cases, told AFP.
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| Spanish court says wanted Venezuelan spy still missing Posted: 18 Nov 2019 07:15 AM PST  A Spanish National Court official confirmed Monday that a former Venezuelan spymaster accused of attempting to "flood" the United States with drugs remains missing since an order for his arrest pending extradition was issued this month. The official said the order for Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal's arrest in Madrid was issued Nov. 8, after the court reversed an earlier ruling that rejected the U.S. extradition request for allegedly being politically motivated. Carvajal was for over a decade the eyes and ears in the military of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
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| Nuclear missile bunker: yours for less than $400k Posted: 16 Nov 2019 10:03 AM PST  Decommissioned nuclear silo accessed 40ft staircase leading underground was once home to US's largest intercontinental ballistic missile ever deployedAll this can be yours for $395,000. Photograph: Casey James with Luxe Realty PhotographyOne local newspaper described the sales listing, with calculated understatement, as a "mid-century fixer-upper": an underground bunker built to withstand a nuclear attack, and to house the fire power to retaliate.The decommissioned nuclear silo in southern Arizona was once home to the Titan II, the largest intercontinental ballistic missile deployed by the US Air Force.The inside of the decommissioned Titan nuclear missile silo in southern Arizona. Photograph: Casey James with Luxe Realty PhotographyThe silo's owner, Rick Ellis, told the Arizona Daily Star newspaper that he was selling the property because he's "bored".Ellis said he originally bought the silo to turn into a commercial data storage center because it is shielded from electromagnetic pulses that can scramble electronics, but his plans were waylaid by the economic recession. So far, he said he has rejected serious offers from a buyer who wanted to turn it into a greenhouse for medical marijuana and another who planned to use it as a porn studio.The threshold to tour the property is much higher than for a typical open house. Interested buyers must prove they have the money to cover the $395,000 cost and sign a liability waiver before descending a 40ft staircase into the bunker to tour the property.An aerial view of the nuclear missile silo. Photograph: Casey James with Luxe Realty Photography"Private yet not too remote," says the listing for the property, which includes more than 12 acres of desert.There are 18 decommissioned nuclear silos which surround Tucson and were operational from June 1963 into the 1980s. They were on alert to launch, or respond, to nuclear attacks with the Titan II missiles, which carried warheads with nine megatons of explosive power – the equivalent to a yield 600 times that of "Little Boy", the bomb dropped over Hiroshima.When the bunkers were decommissioned, the government demolished them, filled them with rubble and sealed the entrances with concrete.Another view of the nuclear missile silo. Photograph: Casey James with Luxe Realty PhotographyEllis took on a major excavation after purchasing the property, which still includes some original equipment such as floor-to-ceiling springs which isolated each level of the basement from seismic shocks and signs revealing the bunker's designated smoking area.Premier Media Group created a 3D tour of the bunker which showcases pools of stagnant water and the 6,000lb blast door which can be closed with one hand.For those who can't provide the paperwork necessary to tour the property, realtors Grant Hampton and Kori Ward recommend a visit to the nearby Titan Missile Museum in Sahuarita, Arizona, which is inside a decommissioned silo.
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| This Decision Could Be Bigger Than Impeachment Posted: 16 Nov 2019 04:51 PM PST  Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily BeastOverlooked as the nation was riveted by the opening days of the televised impeachment proceedings was an appeals court decision that started a clock ticking for the Supreme Court to finally pick a side in what Attorney General Bill Barr has called a "scorched earth, no-holds-barred war" between Congress and a president who has categorically refused to cooperate with its investigations into his misconduct.Unless the Supreme Court acts, Trump's taxes—which he has fought furiously to keep hidden since beginning his campaign for the presidency— will be turned over to Congress as soon as Wednesday.Thus, the nation will soon begin to learn whether the Supreme Court's conservative majority is, as Trump himself hopes, composed of "Trump judges" willing to side with the president in cases where lower courts have shrugged aside the president's weak arguments for stonewalling investigations into his misconduct.SCOTUS' Choice: Trump or the Rule of LawOn Wednesday, the full District of Columbia Court of Appeals refused to rehear an Oct. 11, 2019, decision ordering Trump's longtime accounting firm, Mazars, to turn over his tax returns and other financial records to the House Oversight Committee. On Friday, Trump made an emergency stay application to Chief Justice Roberts, which he is likely to refer to the full Supreme Court. Therefore, unless five justices vote Trump's way, the tax returns that Trump has hidden for years could be handed over to the Democratic-controlled House in a matter of days.Meantime, on Thursday, Trump filed a cert petition asking the Supreme Court to review the decision of a New York federal appeals court requiring Mazars to provide the same financial records to a Manhattan grand jury, although that proceeding will be stayed by agreement of the parties while the case remains pending before the court.Neither of these cases is expressly about Congress' pending impeachment inquiry. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court's response to Trump's petitions could well signal if the court is willing to provide support and legitimacy for Trump's sweeping declaration, yet to find acceptance in the lower courts, that the inquiry is "constitutionally illegitimate." Indeed, the two cases are reaching the court at a linchpin moment. Trump continues to withhold the testimony of his closest aides from Congress even as he asserts that the evidence of other witnesses should be ignored as "hearsay." If the Supreme Court fails to support Trump's categorical stonewalling, his claim that the impeachment inquiry is illegitimate, and with it his rationale for withholding witnesses and evidence, could lose much of its already weakening political, as well as legal, force.The battle lines have been drawn sharply, both by recent Trump judicial appointees, as well as by Trump's chief law enforcement officer, and assiduous protector, William Barr. Only three members of the D.C. Circuit dissented from the full appellate court's refusal to rehear the Mazars decision. Two of them were Trump's own appointees: Neomi Rao and Gregory Katsas. Katsas, a former Trump administration official, absurdly asserted that Congress' subpoena for Trump's wholly personal business records (many of which predate Trump's presidency) presents a greater "threat to presidential autonomy and independence" than the subpoena for White House tapes the Supreme Court upheld in United States v. Nixon. Just how obtaining presidential tax returns could threaten the autonomy of the president went unexplained.In an extraordinary speech on Friday to the conservative Federalist Society, Barr offered a further explanation of what the president believes is at stake. The attorney general declared that the Democratic Party is now part and parcel of a "Resistance" force, engaged in a "war to cripple, by any means necessary, a duly elected government." According to Barr, the "Resistance" force that now controls the House (that is, duly elected representatives) is rallying "around an explicit strategy of using every tool and maneuver available to sabotage the functioning of [Trump's] administration." Barr's message is clear: Because Trump is the putative victim of an "incendiary" "insurgency" that has declared war on his presidency, the president must be afforded wide latitude in his efforts to resist the "Resistance"—including by outright defying Congress.Neither of the cases now before the Supreme Court are squarely about the House impeachment investigation. The House issued its subpoena to Mazars before commencing the inquiry, and the lower court decisions addressed the power of Congress to obtain presidential records in connection with normal "legislative" oversight, not impeachment. Did Kavanaugh's Replacement, Neomi Rao, Show the Supreme Court a Path to Justify Trump's Defiance of Congress?Yet Judge Rao (also a former Trump administration official), who dissented from the initial D.C. Circuit panel decision, has made it extremely clear that the president's battle against impeachment was at the forefront of her mind. Rao endorsed Trump's wholly baseless claim that he has "due process" rights in connection with the House impeachment investigation. Rao's "due process" rationale gives rise to an implication that courts could well back Trump's efforts to stonewall what the White House has declared to be a "constitutionally illegitimate" impeachment inquiry by refusing to enforce impeachment subpoenas on the ground that Trump's "rights" have been violated. In their Supreme Court stay petition, Trump's lawyers echoed Rao's logic, warning that, "[g]iven the temptation to dig up dirt on political rivals, intrusive subpoenas into the personal lives of Presidents" could "become our new normal in times of divided government." It is particularly audacious for Trump—who faces impeachment for trying to extort a foreign country into manufacturing dirt on a political rival—to be warning the Supreme Court about the supposed dangers of Congress using formal, legal tools to obtain evidence regarding potential presidential misconduct. But to Trump's partisans, such congressional intrusions simply cannot be tolerated, given that Congress is, in effect, a battlefield adversary.In his Federalist Society speech, Barr complained about an "encroaching judiciary" that he claimed has improperly taken it upon itself to resolve "turf disputes between the political branches." But, as the current litigation before the Supreme Court demonstrates, Trump has no problem asking the federal courts to step in to wholly insulate him from congressional oversight, or from the prying eyes of state law enforcement agencies. In fact, Trump's clear hope is that he can enlist the Supreme Court as his ally in a battle with the "insurgency," as his attorney general now calls a duly elected house of Congress controlled by a different political party.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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| TikTok is reportedly considering a rebrand in the US to shed its Chinese roots Posted: 18 Nov 2019 04:31 AM PST  ByteDance, the company which owns short-form video app TikTok, has recently come under fire due to the fact that it is headquartered in China.
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| Rep. Justin Amash turned on Trump. Will his Michigan district follow him — or turn on him? Posted: 17 Nov 2019 03:00 AM PST  If you want to understand how impeachment is being seen by actual Americans, there may be no better place to go than Grand Rapids, Mich. In part that's because the area around Grand Rapids, comprising Michigan's Third Congressional District, is one of only about two dozen districts in the nation to vote for Barack Obama and for Donald Trump.
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| Three family murder-suicides within ten days shock Turkey as the country faces record unemployment Posted: 17 Nov 2019 09:31 AM PST  The deaths of three separate families within ten days have shocked Turkey as the country struggles with mass unemployment and a financial crisis. On Friday, authorities confirmed that a family of three had been found dead in their home in the central Istanbul district of Bakırköy, poisoned by cyanide. Police had entered the house after neighbours complained of a chemical smell. Bülent Kerimoğlu, the local mayor, said that the father, a jeweller, had financial troubles, and had poisoned himself, his wife, and his six-year-old child. It follows two similar stories involving cyanide. Earlier in the month, police discovered the bodies of a family of four, including a nine year-old daughter and a five year-old son, in their home in the southern city of Antalya. According to reports in local media the father, Selim Şimşek, left a note explaining he had been unemployed for nine months, adding: "I apologise to everyone, but there is nothing I can to any more. We are ending our lives." On Nov 5, four siblings aged between 38 and 50 killed themselves in their shared flat in Fatih, a conservative district in Istanbul, after leaving a note taped on their door reading: "Beware of cyanide. Call the police, do not enter." Turkish lira crisis sends shock waves on markets as defiant Erdogan prepares for more 'economic attacks' They were reportedly unable to pay their debts. Turkish media has discussed the incidents at length even though conversations about suicide are usually taboo in the predominantly Muslim county. The opposition Republican People's Party has said the suicides are the human cost of the country's slow recovery from its economic crisis last year, during which the lira plunged 30 per cent in value. Fuat Oktay, Turkey's vice president, said there was not enough evidence to link the suicides to unemployment, and pro-government media warned about the risk of news reports fuelling copycat incidents. Unemployment is still near record levels, and according to official statistics published last week, the rate rose to 14 per cent for August, or 4.5 million Turks, with youth unemployment at 27 per cent. Şeyfettin Gürsel, the head of Bahçeşehir University's Centre for Economic and Social Research Centre, describes the current rate of unemployment as "a real threat to the stability of Turkish society." This is the first time Turkey has faced such a sustained period of high unemployment.
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| Russia offers job to Maria Butina, woman convicted by U.S. of being an agent Posted: 18 Nov 2019 09:24 AM PST  In her first public appearance since being deported by U.S. authorities who had jailed her for being a Russian agent, Maria Butina was on Monday offered a job by Moscow to defend Russians imprisoned abroad. During an event for the media, Russia's human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, offered Butina, 31, a job working for her commission. Butina, who flew back to Russia on Oct. 26 after being deported, did not say whether she would accept the offer made at what she called her first public appearance since she was mobbed by wellwishers in front of the media at the airport on her arrival home.
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| Vatican: top anti-money laundering official leaves post Posted: 18 Nov 2019 07:44 AM PST  The Vatican's top financial investigator charged with investigating money laundering and other such crimes has left his post after the non-renewal of his contract, the Holy See said on Monday. Rene Bruelhart, a Swiss lawyer, had worked for the Vatican's financial watchdog, the Financial Information Authority (FIA), since 2012. "Thanking him for his service in recent years (the Holy Father) has appointed his successor," the Vatican said in a statement, saying that Bruelhart's mandate had expired.
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| 5 family members, including 3 children, dead in murder-suicide in San Diego, police say Posted: 16 Nov 2019 03:06 PM PST ![5 family members, including 3 children, dead in murder-suicide in San Diego, police say]( "5 family members, including 3 children, dead in murder-suicide in San Diego, police say") Five family members have died and a boy was injured after a man shot his family and then turned the gun on himself in San Diego, police say.
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| US draws fewer new foreign students for 3rd straight year Posted: 17 Nov 2019 09:07 PM PST  The number of foreign students coming to U.S. colleges and universities continued to fall last year, according to a new report, but the Trump administration says the drop should be blamed on high tuition costs and not students' concerns over the nation's political atmosphere. An annual report from the Institute of International Education found that the number of newly enrolled international students dipped by 1% in fall 2018 compared to the year before. The downturn is a worry for universities that have come to rely on tuition from foreign students, who are typically charged higher rates.
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| Elephant dies in captivity after killing villagers Posted: 17 Nov 2019 10:33 AM PST  An elephant named after Osama bin Laden, the late al-Qaida leader, has died in captivity after he was captured following a massive hunt in northeastern India, officials said Sunday.
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| Minneapolis Police Admit to Discovering 1,500 Untested Rape Kits, Spanning Over 30 Years, Found in Storage Posted: 17 Nov 2019 09:09 AM PST  "We had failure in terms of the auditing process of those kits"
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| Pelosi: Trump's 'insecurity as an impostor' drives his Twitter attacks Posted: 17 Nov 2019 08:47 AM PST  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi strongly criticized President Trump's "totally wrong and inappropriate" Twitter attack on a long-serving U.S. diplomat during last week's impeachment testimony.
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| Bangladesh organises onion airlift as prices hit record high Posted: 18 Nov 2019 05:30 AM PST  South Asia's onion crisis has widened, with Bangladesh airlifting supplies of the vegetable and the prime minister claiming prices are so high she has stopped eating them. The spike in Bangladesh has put a staple ingredient for much South Asian food out of reach of the country's poor and follows a similar price hike in India. Prices in Bangladesh rocketed after India banned exports to conserve its own stocks after they were hit first by drought and then by heavy monsoon rains. As prices reached record levels, Bangladesh's largest opposition party blamed the government for the hike and on Monday called for nationwide protests. The humble bulb is so important to daily cooking in South Asia that shortages have a history of political fallout and a reputation for even toppling governments. One kilo of the vegetable in Bangladesh usually costs 30 taka (27p) but soared to up to 260 taka (£2.37) after India's export ban was imposed. Hours-long queues have formed to purchase the staple of South Asian cuisine Credit: AFP India has seen its own spike in prices after a sharp fall in production and the issue has become a political headache for Delhi. India has already released its national buffer stocks and imposed measures to stop onion hoarding. Hasan Jahid Tusher, deputy press secretary for Bangladesh's prime minister Sheikh Hasina, told AFP onions were being imported by air freight, and that "prime minister said she has stopped using onion in dishes". None of the dishes at the PM's residence in Dhaka on Saturday contained onions, he added. Media in Bangladesh reported onion consignments arrived at a major port in Chittagong city on Sunday after the government imported stocks from Myanmar, Turkey, China and Egypt. The increasing prices have pushed onions off restaurant and domestic menus, with Bangladeshis having to adjust their cooking and tastebuds. "Onion has become an essential part of the taste buds of the people of this region, including Bangladesh," a restaurateur called Shafiqul Islam told bdnews24. "A food can be eatable, but not much delicious without onion. Onion is a must for fish and meat recipes, biriyani and many other dishes." The state run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) has attracted long queues waiting for subsidised onions. "Even if I have to stand another two hours, I will do that. I can save some 250 taka by buying one kilo of TCB onion. I am standing here because I have to save money," said Ratan, an English teacher. "I am 41 years old. I have never seen onion prices ever crossing beyond 120 taka." Drought badly hit India's first onion harvest in the spring, while unusually heavy monsoon rains hit the second harvest. The fluctuating price of onions is widely used as an everyday measure of inflation and a sudden inability for the poor to buy them can quickly focus concern over wider economic problems. Indira Ghandi came to power in 1980 citing soaring onion prices as a metaphor for economic failures of the government. The issue dominated state elections in 1998 and again became a political crisis in 2010. India last week said it was importing 100,000 tons of onions in a bid to curb rising prices. Pakistan has meanwhile seen its own vegetable inflation, with a spike in tomato prices. A government finance adviser came in for widespread mockery after he insisted tomatoes were to be found for 17 rupees (8p) per kg. The price is more than 10 times that.
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| China's H-20 and JH-XX Stealth Bombers: Beijing's Very Own Deadly B-2 Bombers? Posted: 18 Nov 2019 01:49 AM PST  What role will they have? Should America be worried?
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| Leading Muslim groups to challenge India holy site court ruling Posted: 17 Nov 2019 09:25 AM PST  Two leading Muslim groups said Sunday they will file petitions in India's top court challenging its decision to award Hindus control of a bitterly disputed holy site that has sparked deadly inter-religious violence. The Supreme Court ruled on November 9 that the holy site in Ayodhya, where Hindu mobs destroyed a 460-year-old mosque in 1992, must be managed by a trust to oversee the construction of a Hindu temple. A separate piece of land in Ayodhya would be given over to a Muslim group to build a "prominent" new mosque.
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| Massachusetts man arrested after son, 5, allegedly takes heroin to school and brags it makes him feel like Spider-Man Posted: 17 Nov 2019 05:42 PM PST  A father is facing drug possession charges after his son, 5, allegedly took heroin to school and said tasting it made him feel like Spider-Man.
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| AP Explains: Iran gas price protests quickly turn violent Posted: 18 Nov 2019 02:52 AM PST  Protests over gasoline prices have swept across some 100 cities and towns in Iran, turning violent faster than widespread economic protests in 2017 and rallies over the country's disputed 2009 presidential election. Prior to that, online videos purported to show people abandoning their cars on major highways and marching on city centers. Demonstrations devolved into violence as rioters set fire to gas stations, attacked banks and robbed stores.
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| Officer in Louisiana won't face charges in 94 mph fatal crash Posted: 17 Nov 2019 08:53 AM PST  A Louisiana police officer who crashed a speeding car while off duty in 2017 will face no criminal charges in the death of a child.
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| Meet the Republican who wants to cancel college debt Posted: 18 Nov 2019 08:17 AM PST  A. Wayne Johnson wants to be appointed the next U.S. senator from Georgia, after spending two years in the Department of Education, where he worked on higher education financing. That experience left him so rattled that he now wants to forgive college loans altogether.
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| When it Comes to Climate-Change Adaptation, As Goes California, So Goes…the World Posted: 18 Nov 2019 05:00 AM PST  How California deals with climate change adaptation will help determine, for better or worse, how the rest of the world deals with it.
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| U.S. has world's highest rate of children in detention -U.N. study Posted: 18 Nov 2019 05:45 AM PST ![U.S. has world's highest rate of children in detention -U.N. study]( "U.S. has world's highest rate of children in detention -U.N. study") The United States has the world's highest rate of children in detention, including more than 100,000 in immigration-related custody that violates international law, the author of a United Nations study said on Monday. Worldwide more than 7 million people under age 18 are held in jails and police custody, including 330,000 in immigration detention centres, independent expert Manfred Nowak said.
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| How To Turn China's A2/AD Strategy Back on Them Posted: 17 Nov 2019 04:00 PM PST  Threatening severe repercussions for China's access-denial strategy would dampen Chinese aggression.
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| US businesswoman says 'heartbroken' by Britain's Johnson Posted: 17 Nov 2019 06:21 AM PST  A US businesswoman at the centre of controversy over whether Boris Johnson showed her inappropriate favouritism amid an alleged affair said Sunday she had been left "heartbroken" and "humiliated" by the British prime minister. Jennifer Arcuri, who is accused of getting privileged access to foreign trade jaunts and grants when Johnson was previously London mayor, told Britain's ITV he was treating her like "some fleeting one-night stand". The technology entrepreneur said the British premier, now campaigning for re-election, had rebuffed her requests "for advice" after the scandal erupted in September and "hung up" on her.
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| Jodie Chesney's killer jailed for life as judge laments criminals 'carving up areas' of London Posted: 18 Nov 2019 08:07 AM PST  Two drug dealing teenagers have been jailed for life for the "callous and casual" murder of girl scout Jodie Chesney, who was stabbed to death in an east London park. County lines dealer Svenson Ong-a-Kwie, 19, and his 17-year-old apprentice, Arron Isaacs had been looking to take revenge on rivals when they killed Jodie by mistake, the Old Bailey heard. The popular 17-year-old student had been relaxing with friends in Amy's Park in Harold Hill, east London, on the evening of March 1 when two shadowy figures emerged from the dark and one knifed her in the back. She screamed and collapsed in the arms of her boyfriend, Eddie Coyle, 18, as her attackers made off in a fellow drug dealer's car. Days later, they were arrested together as they fled from the rear of a house connected with the youth. The defendants denied Jodie's murder, each blaming the other for inflicting the fatal wound. But prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC told jurors that both were responsible for the killing, amid incidents of "casual violence" in the drug-dealing world. The jury deliberated for less than six hours to find them guilty last week of Jodie's murder. Jodie Chesney Judge Wendy Joseph QC handed Ong-a-Kwie a life sentence with a minimum of 26 years. She sentenced Isaacs to be detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure for at least 18 years. She said that Jodie's death led to a "world of anguish" for her family, which came amid "tit for tat" incidents. Jodie was the victim of "callous, casual and irresponsible violence" which had shocked the community "to the core", she said. On the evidence, she found Ong-a-Kwie was the stabber and the 17-year-old his "enthusiastic supporter". Isaacs was initially shielded by anonymity, but now he can be named after the judge lifted reporting restrictions. In doing so, she said: "What is important is that a blameless girl is dead at the hands of those engaged in and those that associate with drug dealing on the streets which Jodie and other blameless young people must live. "This death has brought great unease in the community. Those suffering, which spreads much further than Jodie's friends and family, need and have a right to known and understand how this has come about." The judge lamented the impact of criminals that had "carved up areas of the capital of this country". She added: "The dangers this brings to decent law-abiding members of the public is graphically spelled out in this case." The court heard moving tributes to Jodie and the "ripple effect" her murder had among friends, family and the wider community. Mr Coyle has been left with post-traumatic stress from witnessing her murder. Svenson Ong-a-Kwie was a county lines drug dealer Credit: PA He said: "Jodie was funny, silly, she always made fun of me and she had a bright future ahead of her. She was full of energy and was always out doing something. We had been going out for three months. "I've never lost anyone before and for the first funeral I've gone to to be my own girlfriend's is incredibly hard. I loved her." Jodie's father, Peter Chesney, who gave up a job in the City, said: "I have lost the most precious human being I will ever know. I have no idea how I'm going to continue my life or come to terms with the loss." Her sister, Lucy, said: "Jodie will be greatly missed and the people who caused such tragedy to a whole family should hang their head in shame. You have ripped away a bright future that was destined to make a change to many lives." The court heard that Ong-a-Kwie had convictions for possessing and supplying drugs. He admitted being in breach of a six-week suspended sentence for handling stolen jewellery dating back to October last year. Isaacs had previous convictions for possessing a screwdriver, actual bodily harm, possession of cannabis as well as aggravated vehicle-taking.
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| Mom gets a laugh from charge she's carrying a doll to steal yogurt: 'My baby is 100% real' Posted: 17 Nov 2019 03:58 PM PST  A New Jersey woman's infant is so cute, an Aldi patron believed the baby was a ploy to steal yogurt. It gave lactose-intolerant mom a laugh.
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| Trump takes his ‘scam’ message to the heartland Posted: 18 Nov 2019 02:00 AM PST  The outcome of the impeachment investigation in Washington is all but certain. White House officials in recent weeks have participated in nearly 700 television and radio interviews, many in communities big and small across the U.S., according to a White House official familiar with the effort. The Republican National Committee alone has spent $2 million on its "Stop the Madness" campaign, targeting vulnerable House Democrats through ads and events in local districts.
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| Motorola's iconic Razr flip phone was one of my favorite cellphones ever— but I wouldn't buy the new one Posted: 17 Nov 2019 05:45 AM PST  Motorola's Razr foldable phone is an exciting throwback, but its high price and somewhat lacking specs can make it a tough sell.
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| Russia hands back captured naval ships to Ukraine before summit Posted: 18 Nov 2019 02:29 AM PST  MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) - Russia on Monday handed back three naval ships it captured last year to Ukraine, something Kiev wanted to happen before a four-way peace summit on eastern Ukraine next month in Paris. The handover, confirmed by the two countries' foreign ministries, occurred in the Black Sea off the coast of Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Russia seized the ships in the same area in November last year after opening fire on them and wounding several sailors.
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| It's Time for a Massive U.S. Navy Base in Australia Posted: 17 Nov 2019 12:30 AM PST  Today the time has come to expand and deepen the transpacific relationship beyond periodic U.S. Marine deployments and air-force exercises.
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| 70 percent of Americans say Trump's actions tied to Ukraine were wrong, ABC News poll finds Posted: 18 Nov 2019 07:40 AM PST  An overwhelming majority of Americans think President Trump's actions at the center of the impeachment inquiry were wrong, according to an ABC News/Ipsos poll.
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| Myanmar artists given second jail term for insulting military Posted: 18 Nov 2019 03:14 AM PST  A group of Myanmar satirists on Monday racked up a second prison sentence for a performance that criticised the military, a decision the artists said showed the judges were "puppets" of the military. The group of seven, known as the Peacock Generation, were arrested after performing "Thangyat", a Myanmar art similar to slam poetry, in April. Wearing military uniforms, they mocked the army through their fusion of poetry, comedy and music.
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| Lebanon’s Protests Divide Hezbollah. Will It Strike Back? Posted: 18 Nov 2019 01:53 AM PST  Marwan Naamani/APBEIRUT—He has fought Israel since the 1990s and killed many fighters in Syria's civil war, but the increasing difficulty of working-class life in Lebanon and a popular revolt against the country's leaders has forced Abu Hussein to reevaluate his decades-long service to Hezbollah. The group whose name translates as "the Party of God" has been branded a terrorist organization by the United States since the 1980s. Backed by Iran, it is more powerful than Lebanon's military and holds a political veto on state policies. The Trump White House has made Hezbollah a prime target in its "Maximum Pressure" campaign against Iran, which seeks to squeeze the Islamic Republic economically until it signs a new, Trump-approved deal covering not only nukes, but ending Iran's support for militias like Hezbollah. Sanctions have targeted the party's members in Lebanon's parliament and a Lebanese bank accused of involvement managing Hezbollah accounts. Lebanon's Wild 'WhatsApp' Revolution Challenges Hezbollah and the Old ElitesBut the U.S. efforts have only added pressure to Lebanon's economic crisis. And Iran has many ways to fight back."Iran sees Lebanon as an important arena in the duel with Washington and will not sacrifice its prize horse Hezbollah no matter the cost," says Raghida Dergham, founder of the Beirut Institute, an independent think tank. The cost to the country of an effort to crush the uprising could be enormous, and some Hezbollah fighters want no part of it.* * *ABU HUSSEIN* * *I have met Abu Hussein several times over the last four years, but this conversation in the southern suburbs of Beirut is like none we've had before. Regardless of how grim the fighting had been in Syria, when he came back home Abu Hussein was always unwaveringly loyal and ideologically committed to the party. (He uses a pseudonym here because Hezbollah fighters are barred from speaking to Western media.) Now he is frustrated with Hezbollah's response to the widespread discontent in the streets by masses of people fed up with corruption, austerity and the high cost of living. After years fighting abroad as the commander of a rapid response unit that numbered as many as 200 fighters, it is domestic rather than regional issues that pushed him to abandon the movement.Hezbollah first built its strength and reputation fighting the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon. "Am I a member of Hezbollah against the Israelis? Yes I am," says the weathered officer. "Am I member of Hezbollah when it's against the people in the streets? No!" Two months ago, as Israel and Lebanon stood on the brink of war after an exchange of cross-border fire, Abu Hussein was part of redeployment from Syria, leading patrols and reconnaissance missions on Lebanon's southern border with Israel. But then, last month, working- and middle-class people from across Lebanon took to the streets condemning a ruling political class still lingering since the 1975-1990 civil war and enriching itself as the country's economy collapsed. Rather than the traditional hurling of blame across the sectarian divide of Lebanon's confessional political system, this time Christians, Druze, Shia and Sunni Muslims condemned the failures of their own leaders, and for Abu Hussein, something changed. Now he says he refuses to go back to Syria, has not gone on patrol in the south since the protests started, and won't be mobilized in Beirut. "The protesters' demands are 100 percent legitimate and they have no other choice to get their demands met," he says of a movement that calls for an end to the sectarian system that Hezbollah relies on to leverage power. He contends that a growing number of his comrades in arms support the demonstrations and roadblocks where people chant "all of them means all of them."It's a rebuke to all of the country's political leaders: Sunni Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Maronite Christian President Michel Aoun, Shia Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, the powerful Druze leader Walid Joumblatt—and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah."Hezbollah made a major mistake; they thought they were too big for Lebanon," says Abu Hussein of a movement focused on expanding regional military influence while its Shia working class base endured some of the worst of the country's economic pain. "They never thought people would rebel against them with this force and now they feel the heat."For Hezbollah, a movement inspired by the Iranian revolution and loyal to the Islamic Republic, this loss of confidence is a problem its military successes can't solve. In southern cities like Nabatieh and in Bekaa valley towns where Hezbollah competes with Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri's Amal movement for Shia support, demonstrators have cursed both Berri and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Young people from the low-income Shia-majority Beirut suburb of Dahieh have joined the protests in the capital center around Martyrs' Square. "There were the kids of Hezbollah MPs telling their fathers that the people's demands should be heard," says the commander, emphatically describing the mood among Hezbollah's core constituents. He is careful to keep Nasrallah above reproach, blaming those around him and his tenuous ally, Berri, who went from warlord to parliamentary speaker in 1992 and has held the position ever since.But Abu Hussein does not mince words about Nasrallah's response to the uprising. In a televised addresses broadcast across the country on Oct. 25, Nasrallah tried at first to dismiss the protests as a hostile foreign plot while claiming he would not accept the government or president's resignation. Three days after the government collapsed, on Nov. 1, he went on air again, this time to begrudgingly accept the reality of the Hariri led cabinet resignation. He tried to distance himself from his previous comments about the protests being a Western and Israeli plot and called for dialogue. Unable to to appear in public because of the threat of Israeli assassination, the long serving secretary general always makes his televised addresses from an undisclosed location."Hezbollah can say what it wants," the commander tells me, annoyed by the allegations of foreign interference. He says he knows many people who have been joining the protests and that the demonstrators are changing people's minds. "Every time they reach a point they feel they are in trouble with their own people, they blame someone else," he adds. "They are in trouble and don't know what to do."* * *PARADIGM SHIFT* * *The clanging of pots and pans echoing nightly off apartment buildings across Beirut has become the latest sound of discontent ringing out here, a month into the country's popular revolt. Lebanon's economic crisis continues to deepen, with banks restricting withdrawals and transfers abroad while the gap between the official and street-traded exchange rate of the Lebanese lira, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar, grows wider. As protests and political stagnation add to the economic crisis, faith in the established parties continues to dissipate, even among core supporters.This erosion is not unique to Hezbollah but rather seems to be happening across the establishment's political divide, threatening the future of all parties, whether allied to Iran and Syria or the West and the Gulf. It is discontent with a system of proxy politics that exploits sectarian divides while ignoring the basic needs of people that is threatening to upend politics and power in Lebanon. The Master Terrorist Behind America's Blood Feud With Iran"There is a paradigm shift in the way people are thinking. People have been able to move away from the traditional parties that they have been attached to and there is a general dislike of party partisanship," says Ahmad Mousalli, a political science professor and specialist in Islamic movements at the American University of Beirut. "Most of the people on the ground these days have not been through the civil war in Lebanon, but they have known nothing but these corrupt cronies," he continues.At the same time, the parties have continued to fight over which of their traditional blocks will dominate in the new government, each claiming to carry the street's anti-corruption, economic reformist goals and demands for a secular civil democracy. "They are trying to ride the wave in one way or another," says Mousalli before adding, "I don't think the population at large want this anymore." Mousalli notes that this trend has impacted Hezbollah, but argues that the intense ideological conviction of its members, especially its fighters, puts it in better shape than other established parties in a political system where loyalty is usually based on patronage. While Abu Hussein says he is among an increasing number of fighters leaving the organization, Abu Abdullah, who also declines to use his name because of Hezbollah's restrictions on its fighters talking to the media, is unwavering in his support. He fought Israel in 2006, then bolstered the Assad regime in Syria's civil war, and now he trains fighters. Describing Hezbollah units across the country as on "full alert," he says they are looking out for American or Israeli acts of destabilization through the protests. Abu Abdullah also knows people from Dahieh going to the protests and hears about discontent with Hezbollah along with the rest of the political class, but he has listened to Nasrallah's accusations and is convinced that the protests are the result of foreign agitation. "The Israelis and Americans feel they can enter through these protests and we aren't going to let them," he says decisively.In 2008, Hezbollah fighters took over the streets in Beirut in a display of their military dominance and effective control of the country, but Abu Abdullah states univocally that Hezbollah has no intention of doing that at the moment. Mousalli concurs, saying that any military action against Lebanon's people would likely only create bigger problems for Hezbollah, exacerbating internal divisions and alienating its base. Still, Abu Abdullah contends Hezbollah will not allow the collapse of a sectarian system that it uses to secure its interests while avoiding the international isolation for Lebanon that would come from a party the U.S. has long labeled a terrorist organization officially running the country. It's a position he's willing to kill for and he says he's ready to do whatever his commanders deem necessary."If I get an order and a fatwa to shoot the people," he says, "then yes, I'll shoot my brother."For Abu Hussein, there is no order or religious decree that could make him turn on his people and he would sooner abandon his post than help Hezbollah use its might against its own. For Hezbollah, concerns that the number of Abu Husseins is growing in its ranks may be one reason its reaction, so far, has remained political.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. 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| Van with 52 migrants smashes through Spanish enclave border Posted: 18 Nov 2019 02:04 AM PST ![Van with 52 migrants smashes through Spanish enclave border]( "Van with 52 migrants smashes through Spanish enclave border") A van carrying 52 migrants and going at high speed smashed through a border barrier between Morocco and Spain to enter the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, officials said Monday. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry´s office in Ceuta said the vehicle broke through a metal gate on the Spanish side of the border around 3 a.m. (0300GMT). The official said the 52 migrants were all from sub-Saharan countries.
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| Nearly 80,000 DACA Recipients Have Prior Arrest Records, according to Government Data Posted: 18 Nov 2019 06:57 AM PST  Thousands of participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program had prior arrest records, according to statistics released by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Saturday.The DACA program, implemented in 2012 by the Obama administration via executive action, allowed illegal immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children to request a two-year deportation deferment. In 2017, The Trump administration moved to end the program, which has since ceased accepting new applicants but has been kept alive through various legal challenges.The report by USCIS shows that 79,398 approved DACA recipients, or about ten percent of total DACA recipients, had been arrested since arriving in the U.S. Several thousands of those arrested had committed theft, DUI, assault, battery, or more serious violent and/or sexual offenses.However, USCIS also noted in a statement that the number of arrests does not necessarily disqualify DACA applicants. Those with arrest records may not have been convicted, and charges may have been dropped against suspects."As DACA continues to be the subject of both public discourse and ongoing litigation, USCIS remains committed to ensuring transparency and that the American people are informed about those receiving DACA," commented USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli.On November 12, the Supreme Court heard arguments for and against termination of DACA. The conservative majority of justices seemed inclined to endorse the Trump administration's claim that maintaining the unconstitutional program exceeds the scope of presidential authority, although it is not yet clear when the court will rule on the matter.President Trump implied on Twitter the same day that many DACA recipients had criminal backgrounds."Many of the people in DACA, no longer very young, are far from 'angels.' Some are very tough, hardened criminals," Trump wrote. However, the President also said he would be open to a "deal" with Democrats to allow DACA recipients to stay in the U.S.
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| Best Sound Bar Deals for Black Friday 2019 Posted: 17 Nov 2019 03:00 AM PST  When you shop through retailer links on our site, we may earn affiliate commissions. 100% of the fees we collect are used to support our nonprofit mission. Learn more. If you want to add some son...
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| CORRECTED-Russia says India delaying signing helicopters deal -exec Posted: 16 Nov 2019 11:59 PM PST ![CORRECTED-Russia says India delaying signing helicopters deal -exec]( "CORRECTED-Russia says India delaying signing helicopters deal -exec") The head of Russian Helicopters said on Sunday that India was delaying the signing of a firm agreement for purchasing 200 helicopters despite providing all information. Chief Executive Andrey Boginsky also said it would benefit India if the planned order for over 100 rotorcraft for the Indian Navy could be combined with the 200 India is looking to buy for the Army. Russian Helicopters is owned by state-owned Russian conglomerate Rostec.
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| REFILE-China will not tolerate any Taiwan independence incidents -defence spokesman Posted: 17 Nov 2019 06:22 PM PST ![REFILE-China will not tolerate any Taiwan independence incidents -defence spokesman]( "REFILE-China will not tolerate any Taiwan independence incidents -defence spokesman") China will not tolerate any Taiwan independence incidents, a spokesman for its defence ministry said on Monday, urging the United States to deal appropriately with the issue. The spokesman, Wu Qian, made the comments at a news briefing following a meeting of Chinese and U.S. military officials on the sidelines of defence talks in the Thai capital of Bangkok. The defence ministry of self-ruled Taiwan said a Chinese carrier ship passed through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, tailed by U.S. and Japanese ships.
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