| House Democrats ponder expanding impeachment probe after Sondland 'game changer' testimony Posted: 20 Nov 2019 05:54 PM PST  Gordon Sondland's explosive testimony Wednesday that "everyone was in the loop" on President Trump's efforts to secure an investigation of a political rival prompted rank-and-file Democrats to discuss whether it was time to expand their probe.
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| Utah woman fights charge after kids see her topless at home Posted: 20 Nov 2019 01:49 PM PST  A Utah woman is fighting criminal charges after her stepchildren saw her topless in her own home. Prosecutors counter that nudity is commonly understood to include women's breasts in American society and that courts have upheld laws based on morality. "It was in the privacy of my own home," she said after a court hearing Tuesday where a judge reserved decision on Buchanan's guilt or innocence.
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| A mother who claims Hunter Biden fathered her child went public with a DNA test because he stopped paying child support, lawyers say Posted: 21 Nov 2019 03:55 AM PST  A court filing in Arkansas on Tuesday stated that Hunter Biden had "with scientific certainty" fathered a child with Lunden Alexis Roberts.
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| Russia opens investigation into space center fraud after Putin rebuke Posted: 21 Nov 2019 12:27 AM PST  Russian investigators said on Thursday they had opened two criminal cases into the management of a company involved in building the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a space center in the country's Far East. The announcement came less than two weeks after President Vladimir Putin complained to government officials about corruption at the facility and called for further investigations. Construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome began in January 2011, part of a plan for Russia to reduce its dependency on the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, which Russia leases from the former Soviet Republic for space operations.
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| Dozens of dogs tested in French search for woman's forest killers Posted: 20 Nov 2019 04:45 PM PST  French police investigating the death of a pregnant woman mauled to death by dogs while walking in the woods have carried out DNA tests on 67 dogs to try identify those that attacked her, investigators said Thursday. Elisa Pilarski, 29, was found dead on Saturday in Retz forest about 90 kilometres (55 miles) northeast of Paris. A hunt with hounds was underway at the time in the forest where she was walking her own dog.
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| Why Did Russia Launch 8 Submarines All at Once? Posted: 20 Nov 2019 04:00 PM PST  A major war game.
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| Delisting Chinese Firms From U.S. Is a ‘Terrible Idea,’ Hank Paulson Says Posted: 21 Nov 2019 12:59 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson said calls to oust Chinese companies from American stock indexes was contrary to the foundations of capitalism, as he warned against the dangers of decoupling the world's two largest economies.Paulson, who's now chairman of the Paulson Institute, told Bloomberg's New Economy Forum in Beijing that moves to reduce ties between the U.S. and China would weaken American leadership and New York's leading role in finance. He said less cooperation between Washington and Beijing would also make it more difficult to tackle another financial crisis like the one he was forced to manage as treasury secretary in 2008."When the next crisis comes -- and a crisis will come, because financial crises are inevitable -- we will regret it if we lack mechanisms for the world's first and second-largest economies to coordinate," Paulson told the forum on Thursday, according to a prepared version of his remarks.Paulson's speech followed on from his warning at the same forum last year that an "economic iron curtain" was descending between the U.S. and Chinese economies. Since then, the relations between the two sides have grown even more strained by trade disputes, security spats and disagreement over human rights.The Trump administration has been pressuring allies to stop using Chinese technology. U.S. officials are also discussing ways to limit American investors' portfolio flows into China, Bloomberg News reported in September, citing people familiar with the internal deliberations.The U.S. Treasury said that there was no plan "at this time" to block Chinese companies from listing on U.S. stock exchanges."Decoupling China from U.S. markets by delisting Chinese firms from US exchanges is a terrible idea," Paulson said. "So is forcing Chinese equities out of the MSCI indexes. It is simply contrary to the foundations of successful capitalism for politicians and bureaucrats to instruct private American players how to deploy private capital for private ends."The New Economy Forum is being organized by Bloomberg Media Group, a division of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.\--With assistance from Karen Leigh.To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Peter Martin in Beijing at pmartin138@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, James MaygerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| 'Don't let them in': Arrests made as hundreds protest Ann Coulter speech at UC Berkeley Posted: 21 Nov 2019 03:34 AM PST  Coulter was invited to the California university by the Berkeley College Republicans for a speech about immigration called 'Adios, America.'
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| FBI seeks interview with CIA whistleblower Posted: 20 Nov 2019 04:16 AM PST  The FBI recently sought to question the CIA whistleblower who filed a complaint over President Trump's July 25 Ukraine call — a move that came after a vigorous internal debate within the bureau over how to respond to some of the issues raised by the complaint's allegations and whether they needed to be more thoroughly investigated, according to sources familiar with the matter.
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| GLAAD Commends Chick-fil-A for Dropping Donations to Christian Groups But Demands Franchise Change ‘Anti-LGBTQ’ Brand Posted: 19 Nov 2019 02:05 PM PST  On Monday, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation commended Chick-fil-A for its decision to halt donations to several Christian charities but demanded the fast-food chain do more to change its "anti-LGBTQ" brand.GLAAD said it "greet[s] today's announcement with cautious optimism" but warned that the Georgia-based company still has work to do to fix its tarnished image with the LGBTQ community."In addition to refraining from financially supporting anti-LGBTQ organizations, Chick-fil-A still lacks policies to ensure safe workplaces for LGBTQ employees and should unequivocally speak out against the anti-LGBTQ reputation that their brand represents," GLAAD director of campaigns Drew Anderson said in a statement to CNN.Chick-fil-A announced Monday that as the company expands it will no longer donate to the Salvation Army, the Paul Anderson Youth Home, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which opposes same-sex marriage. The company's charity, the Chick-fil-A Foundation, has donated millions of dollars to the two organizations."We made multi-year commitments to both organizations and we fulfilled those obligations in 2018," the company said, adding that from now on it will focus its charitable work "education, homelessness and hunger.""There's no question we know that, as we go into new markets, we need to be clear about who we are," said Tim Tassopoulos, Chick-fil-A's president and Chief Operating Officer. "There are lots of articles and newscasts about Chick-fil-A, and we thought we needed to be clear about our message."Tassopoulos added that he believes the decision to pull donations will be "helpful" and is "just the right thing to do."CEO Dan Cathy said in 2012 that Chick-fil-A backs "the biblical definition of the family unit."Chick-fil-A has frequently found itself on the receiving end of criticism from LGBT rights advocates, with some groups boycotting the franchise as it expanded.Conversely, however, Chick-fil-A's move was excoriated by conservatives who accused the company of caving to progressive pressure at the expense of its charity work."Congrats to the wokescolds who finally bullied Chick-Fil-A into stopping donations to the Salvation Army and their 'bigoted' history of helping the poor and helpless," Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R., Texas) wrote in a tweet Tuesday. "Real big accomplishment for the progressives. Hope you're happy."
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| A new White House adviser just flubbed Gordon Sondland's title. Here's why that's noteworthy. Posted: 20 Nov 2019 06:19 AM PST ![A new White House adviser just flubbed Gordon Sondland's title. Here's why that's noteworthy.]( "A new White House adviser just flubbed Gordon Sondland's title. Here's why that's noteworthy.") Well, that wasn't the start to the day the White House was hoping for.Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was temporarily brought onto the White House team to deliver "proactive impeachment messaging and other special projects as they arise," per an administration official, stumbled when it came to that very messaging during a CBS interview Wednesday before a major public impeachment hearing.U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland is testifying before Congress, but when Bondi was asked about him she flubbed his title, referring to him as the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine.> Hired to bolster White House communications on impeachment, Pam Bondi goes on TV and repeatedly calls the US ambassador to the EU the US ambassador to Ukraine. (This distinction is pretty important here.) https://t.co/xuCUgfPsiH> > -- Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 20, 2019It's understandable to a point -- there sure are a lot of different titles floating around in the impeachment inquiry, and most of them are related to Ukraine in some way. But, as the kids like to say, Bondi had one job. As Politico's Eugene Daniels noted, the distinction between the two positions "is why people are wondering why he was so involved in dealings with Ukraine." Watch the full clip below. > .@TonyDokoupil asks @PamBondi if President Trump knows EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland well and if they've been in frequent contact. > > "Well, we're going to hear what Gordon Sondland has to say today." https://t.co/ZxdYu56AE9 pic.twitter.com/Gy83IxhL9L> > -- CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) November 20, 2019More stories from theweek.com Ken Starr on the Sondland testimony: 'It's over' Women are the majority on the debate stage — for the 1st time in history Democrat Deval Patrick had to cancel one of his first campaign events — because no one showed up
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| 20 of the Most Beautiful Bridges in the World Posted: 21 Nov 2019 05:00 AM PST |
| Russia 'ruined' Ukrainian naval vessels before handing them back, says Ukrainian navy Posted: 21 Nov 2019 07:41 AM PST  Three Ukrainian navy boats seized by Russia a year ago were vandalised before being handed back to Ukraine, the country's navy said. The fast gunboats Nikopol and Berdyansk and the tugboat Tany Kapu were welcomed by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and onlookers waving national flags arrived in Ochakiv, a Ukrainian naval port on the Black Sea on Wednesday evening. But Ukraine's navy said the vessels had been stripped bare and left so badly damaged that they had to be towed home by tug. "The Russians ruined them," said Admiral Ihor Voronchenko, the head of the Ukrainian Navy. "They even took the ceiling lights, plug sockets, and lavatories," he said. Mr Zelenskiy, who reviewed the vessels as they returned on Thursday morning, said: "I am very happy that our navy vessels are back where they belong. As promised, we have brought back our sailors and our ships. "Some of the equipment is missing, as well as some weapons. There will be an investigation. We will see all of the details." Russia blocked the Kerch strait with a tanker and deployed fighter jets to stop the three vessels entering the Azov Sea last year Credit: Pavel Rebrov/Reuters Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), which oversees the border service that seized the vessels, denied tampering with the ships and said they had been "handed over to the Ukrainian side in normal condition." The three vessels were boarded by Russian forces after they tried to pass through the Strait of Kerch in November last year. Russia says they illegally violated the Russian border, then impounded the vessels and jailed 24 crew members pending trial. Ukraine described the move as an act of war and a flagrant breach of the treaty that gives the countries joint sovereignty of the only channel between the Black and Azov seas. Mr Zelenskiy said the return of the boats as the latest in a series of small steps "towards peace" ahead of a key summit with Vladimir Putin next month. Mr Zelenskiy inspects the artillery boat Nikopol Credit: Arkhip Vereshchagin/TASS The two presidents will meet in person for the first time in Paris on December 9, at talks brokered by France and Germany that are designed to end the conflict in east Ukraine, which has killed 13,000 people since 2014. In September the ships' crews were released in a prisoner swap that also saw Russia free Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker and activist who had been held on trumped-up charges since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. The sides have also agreed to pull back troops from key points on the line of contact in eastern Ukraine. The narrow sea way between Crimea and Russia's Taman peninsula is the only passage for ships sailing to and from Ukraine's industrial port of Mariupol, to which the flotilla was bound when it was seized. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and opened a bridge across the strait in 2017 in defiance of Ukrainian objections. Mariupol is a few miles from the frontline where Ukrainian and Russian-directed separatist forces have been fighting a static war for five years.
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| American Airlines admits a midair accident that knocked out 2 flight crew was not caused by spilled soap Posted: 20 Nov 2019 11:19 AM PST  American Airlines admitted Tuesday the powerful fumes that knocked two flight attendants unconscious and forced a flight to make an emergency landing were not caused by spilled soap, as the airline had previously claimed.
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| US aircraft carrier transits Strait of Hormuz Posted: 19 Nov 2019 01:43 PM PST  The US aircraft carrier strike group Abraham Lincoln sailed through the key Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday to show Washington's "commitment" to freedom of navigation, the Pentagon said, amid tensions with Tehran. The group's move through the strategic waterway separating Iran and the United Arab Emirates towards the Gulf was scheduled, and unfolded without incident, the US Navy said in a statement. It was the first time a US aircraft carrier group went through the strait since Iran downed a US drone in June in the same area.
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| Protesters stay holed up on Hong Kong campus, surrounded by riot police Posted: 20 Nov 2019 08:24 PM PST ![Protesters stay holed up on Hong Kong campus, surrounded by riot police]( "Protesters stay holed up on Hong Kong campus, surrounded by riot police") Fewer than 100 protesters remained holed up in a Hong Kong university on Thursday as riot police encircled the campus, with some activists still desperately searching for ways to escape while others hid. Some protesters told Reuters they where holding out not for a showdown with police, but because they were innocent and looking for an escape route. Many protesters have abandoned their belongings, including gas masks and umbrellas.
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| This Could Be the Royal Navy’s Next Destroyer Posted: 21 Nov 2019 12:00 AM PST  The Royal Navy may already have identified a possible replacement for its Type 45 destroyers. A version of the new Type 26 frigate, which should enter service with the U.K. fleet in the mid-2020s, ultimately could replace the air-defense-optimized Type 45s beginning in the 2030s.
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| Dem lawmaker says it's his 'mission' to have Trump removed from office Posted: 19 Nov 2019 04:12 PM PST  "It's about what he's doing to our country and how he is corrupting our society," said Rep. Al Green.
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| Nearly ¾ of transgender people slain since 2017 killed with guns Posted: 20 Nov 2019 10:19 PM PST  "Transgender violence is a gun violence issue," says Everytown for Gun Safety researcher
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| Bei Bei, an American-born panda, leaves Washington for China Posted: 19 Nov 2019 10:36 AM PST  A specially equipped Boeing 777 jet took off from Dulles International Airport on Tuesday carrying a true Washington celebrity: Bei Bei, a 4-year-old giant panda. Visitors to Washington's National Zoo have watched him grow up since Day One. Under terms of the zoo's agreement with the Chinese government, any panda born here must be sent to China when they reach age 4.
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| Woman wounded in Las Vegas mass shooting dies after two years of treatment Posted: 19 Nov 2019 12:33 PM PST  A woman who spent two years in a nursing facility recovering from spinal injuries she suffered in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history has died.Kimberly Gervais could become the 59th fatality in the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, depending upon the coroner's verdict.
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| DNC Drops Lackluster Fundraising Numbers During Dem Debate Posted: 21 Nov 2019 05:48 AM PST  The Democratic National Committee released its fundraising numbers during the presidential primary debate on Wednesday night, revealing that the committee lags far behind Republicans in funding for the 2020 elections.The DNC has $8.7 million in cash on hand, but it is $7 million in debt, according to its October Federal Election Commission filing. The Republican National Committee, meanwhile, had raised $156 million and had $61.4 million cash on hand as of the end of October.However, it was noted that the DNC is competing for donations with a wide field of presidential candidates, ten of which participated in Wednesday night's primary debate. At this point in 2011, when former president Barack Obama stood for reelection, the DNC had raised roughly $150 million.Bernie Sanders revealed he had personally raised $25.3 million over the past three months, leading Democratic presidential candidates in fundraising. Pete Buttigieg raised $19.1 million over the same period, followed by Kamala Harris with $11.6 million. Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren haven't yet released their fundraising numbers.The RNC has used the Democrats' impeachment inquiry against President Trump to great effect in its fundraising efforts, receiving record-breaking levels of donations in October and September with its "Stop the Madness" campaign."While Democrats are focused on their sham impeachment charade, Republicans had another record-breaking fundraising month in October — the best off-cycle October in our party's history," RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told the Washington Examiner. "In 2020, voters will choose results over the Democrats' polarizing political rhetoric, and the RNC is in the strongest position possible to reelect President Trump and Republicans up-and-down the ballot."The RNC has been using some of its funds to help House Republicans seeking to topple Democrats in vulnerable districts.
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| Schiff gives fiery closing on Day 3 of public hearings Posted: 19 Nov 2019 05:56 PM PST  After nearly 12 hours of testimony, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff concluded Day 3 of public impeachment inquiry hearings with impassioned remarks.
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| Literature Nobel winner Handke defends support of Serbs Posted: 20 Nov 2019 08:16 AM PST  Austrian Nobel literature prize winner Peter Handke on Wednesday defended his vocal support for Serbs in the 1990s wars in the former Yugoslavia, but said he "never bowed down" before Slobodan Milosevic. The Swedish academy's pick last month triggered outrage in the Balkans and beyond because of Handke's admiration for the late Serbian strongman. As well as for his literary works, Handke was widely criticised for speaking at the 2006 funeral of Milosevic, who died awaiting trial for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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| Arizona border activist found not guilty of hiding migrants Posted: 20 Nov 2019 02:54 PM PST  An Arizona jury on Wednesday found a human rights activist not guilty of harboring two migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, after the U.S. government prosecuted him for giving them food, water and shelter in the desert. The Tucson jury took just over two hours to decide that Scott Warren, 37, a geography professor, provided the men with legal humanitarian aid in January 2018 and did not deliberately conceal them from U.S. Border Patrol. A previous jury was unable to decide whether he broke the law by letting the men stay in a building near Ajo, Arizona, to recover from a two-day trek.
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| This Means War: Yes, Russia's Su-35 Can Take on the F-15 or F-16 Posted: 20 Nov 2019 09:30 PM PST  What would happen?
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| In a Freudian slip, Nunes accidentally referred to Volker and Morrison as 'your witnesses' to Democrats, a telling sign of how badly this impeachment hearing is going for the GOP Posted: 19 Nov 2019 05:37 PM PST  Vindman and Williams directly listened in on the phone call at the center of the inquiry. Volker and Morrison witnessed Trump's shadow Ukraine policy.
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| Climate activist’s remarks downplaying Holocaust spark anger Posted: 20 Nov 2019 01:22 PM PST  A prominent British climate change activist sparked anger Wednesday after appearing to downplay the Holocaust in an interview with a German newspaper. Roger Hallam, who co-founded the activist group Extinction Rebellion, told the German newspaper Die Zeit that the Nazis' murder of 6 million Jews was merely one of many genocides.
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| Singapore ‘Repatriates’ Hongkonger Who Held Political Meeting Posted: 20 Nov 2019 07:14 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- A Hong Kong resident living in Singapore has been "repatriated" home after organizing an illegal gathering of mostly ethnic Chinese last month to talk about the ongoing protests, according to local media reports.Restaurant owner Alex Yeung, along with a 55-year-old former Hong Kong resident, were issued a "stern warning" over what was said to be a gathering of about 10 people sharing their views of the escalating protests, which is an offense under the Public Order Act. Yeung, who has a Youtube channel of largely pro-Beijing content was further instructed he would not be allowed to enter Singapore again without permission from the authorities."Singapore has always been clear that foreigners should not advocate their political causes in Singapore, through public assemblies, and other prohibited means," the Singapore Police Force told Channel News Asia late on Wednesday.Speaking from Singapore's Changi Airport on Thursday morning ahead of his flight, Yeung said he was now free to go where he pleased and thanked Singapore for upholding the rule of law.Illegal Gatherings"The Singapore Police Force has made no indictment against me. I am warned to refrain from any criminal conduct in the future under their discretion," he said in a video posted to YouTube. "Singapore is a very civilized country with very good security."In 2017, Singapore revoked the permanent residency of prominent academic and China expert Huang Jing after he allegedly used his position to covertly advance the agenda of an unnamed foreign country at Singapore's expense.Hong Kong has been gripped for days by the standoff at the city's Polytechnic University, where hard-core protesters remain surrounded by police. The unrest began in June with largely peaceful marches against legislation allowing extraditions to mainland China and have since mushroomed into a broader push for demands including an independent probe into police violence and the ability to nominate and elect city leaders.Speaking to reporters on Monday, Singapore's Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing warned a similar situation could "easily happen" in his country if the government is complacent. Under restrictive laws, cause-related gatherings are illegal without a police permit and participants are subject to fines without it.\--With assistance from Chester Yung.To contact the reporter on this story: Philip J. Heijmans in Singapore at pheijmans1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Muneeza NaqviFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| China summons U.S. diplomat, vows to retaliate if Trump signs Hong Kong democracy act into law Posted: 20 Nov 2019 06:53 AM PST  This story is being published by POLITICO as part of a content partnership with the South China Morning Post. China summoned a senior United States diplomat on Wednesday as it warned it would retaliate if U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act into law. In a statement after the bill was passed by the U.S. Senate, the Chinese foreign ministry said Foreign Vice-Minister Ma Zhaoxu had summoned William Klein, the U.S. embassy's minister counselor for political affairs.
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| Philippine police say will arrest anyone flouting vaping ban Posted: 20 Nov 2019 05:20 PM PST  Philippine police were ordered Wednesday to arrest anyone caught vaping in public, just hours after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced he would ban e-cigarettes. The abrupt prohibition, revealed by Duterte late Tuesday adds to a growing global backlash against a product once promoted as less harmful than tobacco smoking. Duterte, a former smoker, called the devices "toxic" and said vaping introduced "chemicals" into the user's body.
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| Pentagon denies U.S. is considering pulling troops from South Korea Posted: 20 Nov 2019 11:42 PM PST  The Pentagon on Thursday denied a South Korean news report saying that the United States was considering a significant cut to its troop numbers in South Korea if Seoul does not contribute more to the costs of the deployment. "There is absolutely no truth to the Chosun Ilbo report that the U.S. Department of Defense is currently considering removing any troops from the Korean Peninsula," Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement, referring to Secretary Mark Esper, who earlier on Thursday had said he was unaware of any such planning.
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| Sondland throws Giuliani under a caravan of buses Posted: 20 Nov 2019 07:37 AM PST  Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union — who has been widely seen as the impeachment inquiry's most consequential witness — put Rudy Giuliani at the center of the effort to pressure the leader of Ukraine to carry out President Trump's political agenda.
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| Vietnam to Extend Retirement Age by 2 Years for Men, 5 Years for Women Posted: 20 Nov 2019 09:41 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Explore what's moving the global economy in the new season of the Stephanomics podcast. Subscribe via Apple Podcast, Spotify or Pocket Cast.Vietnam will gradually extend the retirement age for men by two years and for women by five years over the next decade as part of the government's amendment to its Labor Code.Men can work until 62 by 2028 and women until 60 by 2035 from the current retirement age of 60 for males and 55 for females, the government said on its website.Under the amendments approved by the National Assembly on Wednesday, the retirement age will increase by 3 months annually for men and by 4 months each year for women starting 2021. The changes were made as Vietnam's population is maturing at a faster pace than some of its peers.The nation's elderly citizens are expected to double to 14% of the population in about 17 years and the country could become an aged society in 2035, according to a statement of the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the World Bank in August. It took Singapore 22 years and Thailand 20 years to reach the threshold for a country's population to be considered aged.The number of people joining Vietnam's work force has dropped by more than half to about 400,000 each year from an average of 1 million in the past, local newspaper Tuoi Tre reported citing Bui Sy Loi from the committee on social affairs of the National Assembly.\--With assistance from Thuy Ong.To contact the reporter on this story: Mai Ngoc Chau in Ho Chi Minh City at cmai9@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Clarissa Batino at cbatino@bloomberg.net, Ruth PollardFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Activists: Iran conservationists get prison time amid unrest Posted: 20 Nov 2019 09:20 PM PST  Six conservationists working to save the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah have been sentenced to prison on internationally criticized espionage charges in Iran, activists said Thursday, even as protests and unrest continue in parts of the country amid a government-imposed internet shutdown. The case against members of the nonprofit Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation show how spying charges and convictions can be levied against dual nationals and those with Western ties in Iran in closed-door trials before its Revolutionary Court. News of the cases comes after demonstrations against government-set gasoline prices rising turned violent in Iran, killing at least 106 people, according to Amnesty International.
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| Prince Andrew departs from public life as he prepares to give evidence to Epstein investigation in US Posted: 20 Nov 2019 01:55 PM PST  The Duke of York is preparing to give formal evidence to a US criminal investigation into the disgraced paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, The Telegraph can disclose. In an unprecedented move, the Duke announced on Wednesday evening that he was stepping back from public life in the wake of a BBC interview over his friendship with Epstein that backfired in spectacular fashion. A well-placed royal source said on Wednesday night that the Queen had summoned the Duke to Buckingham Palace to effectively sack her second-born son – said to be her favourite child – from official duties, ordering him to stand aside. The Prince of Wales, who is on a tour of New Zealand, was consulted by telephone. City sponsors deserted the Duke's flagship projects while major charities were planning to ditch him as their patron. A planned visit to flood victims in South Yorkshire were abandoned in the aftermath of his "excruciating" Newsnight performance. Buckingham Palace is understood to be braced for US authorities to issue the Duke with a subpoena, requesting he gives testimony under oath over his friendship with Epstein. Sources have suggested the summons is "imminent". Prince Andrew, 59, accepted in a statement issued last night that his association with Epstein, a convicted sex offender who killed himself in August, "had become a major disruption to my family's work". He added he had asked the Queen for permission to give up his work and that she had consented. He also said for the first time that he would fully cooperate with US law enforcement agencies investigating co-conspirators who helped to traffic under-age girls for Epstein and others. The Duke's decision to quit came four days after he gave the 50-minute interview to the BBC's Emily Maitlis. He had hoped the interview would draw a line under his friendship with Epstein and the claims that he had sex three times with Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a 17-year-old who had been one of the billionaire's "sex slaves" in 2001. The Duke vehemently denies he had sex with Ms Giuffre and says he has no recollection of ever meeting her. Instead, his failure to show sympathy for Epstein's victims and his description of the paedophile's predatory sexual behaviour as a "manner unbecoming" provoked outrage and scorn. Prince Andrew smiling as he stands with his left arm around the waist of Virginia Roberts. It is alleged to have been taken in early 2001. Ghislaine Maxwell stands behind. Credit: AKGS In the Newsnight interview he had said only that "if push came to shove and the legal advice was to do so" would he be willing to give testimony under oath to US authorities. Buckingham Palace declined to comment on suggestions a subpoena was imminent. Within minutes of the statement being issued at 5.52pm yesterday, the Queen was undertaking her first public engagement since the scandal broke to give a prestigious award to Sir David Attenborough and the Blue Planet II team for their work in raising awareness of plastic pollution. Profile | Prince Andrew The future of Amanda Thirsk, the Duke's loyal private secretary who had set up the Newsnight interview, remained in doubt last night, although she was still working in his private office. Ms Thirsk was under pressure to resign and nevertheless may no longer have a role anyway, given the Duke is quitting his public duties. A Palace spokesman said: "We don't comment on individual members of staff." A well-placed royal source said it had been the Queen's decision to force her son to step back from public life. The source said: "The Duke was summoned from his home Royal Lodge Windsor to see the Queen personally at Buckingham Palace. Effectively he was told to bow out gracefully. They agreed he could release a statement saying it was his decision but it was the Queen who told him to do it." The decision coincided with the Queen's 72nd wedding anniversary yesterday. Prince Andrew smiling as he stands with his left arm around the waist of Virginia Roberts. It is alleged to have been taken in early 2001. Ghislaine Maxwell stands behind. Credit: Jae Donnelly His withdrawal from public life will mean almost 200 charities and organisations that have his backing will no longer receive his patronage "for the foreseeable future", say Palace sources. The sources refused to be drawn on how permanent his effective exile would last although he will continue to attend landmark events such as Trooping the Colour and Remembrance Sunday as "a member of the Royal family". Aides said that if the Duke's individual charities wished to replace him as patron during his absence "that would be a matter for them". Many are likely to seek alternative figureheads. The Duke of York, speaking for the first time about his links to Jeffrey Epstein in an interview with BBC Newsnight's Emily Maitlis. Credit: BBC /Mark Harrison The next big outing for the Duke comes in the spring when Princess Beatrice, his eldest daughter, is to marry. The Duke had become friends with Epstein in the late Nineties through his long-standing relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of the disgraced media tycoon Robert Maxwell. David Attenborough sits next to Britain's Queen Elizabeth during the annual Chatham House award in London on Wednesday Credit: Simon Dawson /Reuters He had previously been forced to resign as a UK trade envoy in 2011 after a photograph emerged of the Duke meeting Epstein in Central Park, New York, shortly after the billionaire had been freed from jail after serving an 18-month sentence for sex offences. The Queen and Prince Andrew in August Credit: Duncan McGlynn The announcement that he was stepping down from public life came after major sponsors of his flagship entrepreneurial schemes made clear they would no longer back the Duke's projects while he was at the helm. BT said that it could no longer sponsor iDEA, a scheme helping young people in the workplace. BT said before the Duke's statement: "In light of recent developments we are reviewing our relationship with the organisation and hope that we might be able to work further with them, in the event of a change in their patronage." Timeline - Prince Andrew's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein Barclays became the latest big company to express its concerns on Wednesday. In a statement, Barclays said: "Pitch@Palace as an organisation has made an undeniable impact on supporting entrepreneurs and creating new jobs which is why we are keen to support the programme. However, we are concerned about the current situation and are keeping our position under review." Christopher Wilson, a Royal biographer, said last night: "The resignation from public duties has not come before time. The damage he has done to the Royal family will take years to repair."
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| Mexicans sue Walmart over El Paso shooting Posted: 20 Nov 2019 02:13 PM PST  Mexico's government said Wednesday it has helped 10 Mexican citizens file lawsuits against Walmart over an August shooting at a store in El Paso, Texas, where a suspected white nationalist killed 22 people. "The objective of these suits, presented in El Paso county, is to hold the company responsible for not taking reasonable and necessary measures to protect its clients from the attack," the foreign ministry said in a statement. Eight Mexicans were killed and eight wounded in the August 3 attack in El Paso, a city on the US-Mexican border where 83 percent of the population is Latino.
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| Pentagon discovers $81 million of U.S. Navy gear during audit Posted: 20 Nov 2019 10:41 AM PST ![Pentagon discovers $81 million of U.S. Navy gear during audit]( "Pentagon discovers $81 million of U.S. Navy gear during audit") The Pentagon found $81 million of military equipment at a U.S. Navy facility that had not been inventoried, a top Pentagon official said on Wednesday as he described the Department of Defense second straight failed audit. The Pentagon says that it has made progress toward fixing accounting discrepancies, but that it will take years to eventually pass a full audit, Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist told a U.S. Senate panel.
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| Is China’s DF-17 Hypersonic Missile Really a Super-Weapon? Posted: 21 Nov 2019 12:30 AM PST  China's new DF-17 hypersonic missile could penetrate U.S. missile-defense and destroy ports and air-defense systems, a Hong Kong newspaper warned.
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| Former Trump adviser blasts 'false narrative' of Ukraine election interference Posted: 21 Nov 2019 05:54 AM PST  Fiona Hill, a former top national security adviser to President Trump, told Republicans in the House impeachment inquiry Thursday morning to stop advancing a "fictional narrative" that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 U.S. elections rather than Russia.
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| Rep. Ilhan Omar Asks Judge for 'Compassion' When Sentencing Man Who Threatened Her Life Posted: 19 Nov 2019 01:51 PM PST  'A lengthy prison sentence or a burdensome financial fine would not rehabilitate him,' Rep. Omar wrote
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| Indiana officer fired after telling black men he had the right 'to do anything I want' Posted: 20 Nov 2019 03:00 PM PST ![Indiana officer fired after telling black men he had the right 'to do anything I want']( "Indiana officer fired after telling black men he had the right 'to do anything I want'") The viral video, which has more than 450,000 views, shows the constable yelling "I got my rights to do anything I want to do! I'm a police officer!"
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| Amazon tried to remove a Seattle City Councilmember and lost. Here's how she describes taking on and defeating one of the world's biggest companies. (AMZN) Posted: 20 Nov 2019 08:11 AM PST  Amazon spent hundreds of thousands trying to defeat Seattle politician Kshama Sawant, who's openly critical of the tech giant, but she won reelection.
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| Schweizer: Clinton Foundation has raised only 10 percent of what it did in 2009 Posted: 20 Nov 2019 07:12 PM PST  Donations to Clinton Foundation plummet; Government Accountability Institute president Peter Schweizer reacts.
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