| Trump says Kellyanne 'must have done some bad things' to George Conway Posted: 22 Nov 2019 07:00 AM PST  Kellyanne Conway, special counselor to President Trump, is known to berate journalists who speculate about her marriage to George Conway, a prominent Trump critic. In an interview with "Fox & Friends" on Friday, the president did just that.
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| A man in India dressed up as a pilot and used his disguise to skip lines and get free upgrades, police say Posted: 22 Nov 2019 04:40 PM PST  The police detained Rajan Mahbubani as he tried to board an AirAsia plane flying from Delhi to Kolkata. They say he impersonated a Lufthansa pilot.
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| Alabama cop who chased, beat and shot black man after stop-and-frisk guilty of manslaughter Posted: 22 Nov 2019 01:01 PM PST  Prosecutors argued Aaron C. Smith escalated a consensual stop to deadly force, killing Greg Gunn feet away from the home he lived in with his mother.
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| Putin hands awards to widows of men killed in mysterious military test Posted: 22 Nov 2019 03:13 AM PST  Russian President Vladimir Putin has handed top state awards to the widows of five scientists killed in an accident while testing what he called an advanced weapons system without equal in the world. The five men died on Aug. 8 in what their employer, state nuclear agency Rosatom, said was an accident during a rocket test on a sea platform off northern Russia, an incident which caused radiation levels in the surrounding area to briefly spike. Thomas DiNanno, a senior U.S. State Department official, said last month that Washington had determined that the explosion was the result of a nuclear reaction which occurred during the recovery of a Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile after a failed test.
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| Otto Warmbier’s Parents Will Work to Have North Korean Assets Seized Posted: 22 Nov 2019 05:48 AM PST  The parents of former U.S. hostage Otto Warmbier, who died in 2017 after being released from North Korea in a coma, have announced they will attempt to seize North Korean business assets around the world to punish the country's government over its human-rights abuses.Otto Warmbier was convicted in a North Korean court after he tried to steal a propaganda poster from his hotel. He was released to the U.S. in a vegetative state a year later.Otto's parents have alleged he was tortured. North Korea has denied the allegations, asserting it was the "biggest victim" in Otto's death and, without evidence, attributing Warmbier's death to botulism."My mission would be to hold North Korea responsible, to recover and discover their assets around the world," Fred Warmbier said at a Friday press conference in Seoul, South Korea, according to the Associated Press. Fred and his wife Cindy had been invited to speak at a forum for a group representing South Korean families whose members were abducted by North Korea over the course of the 1950-53 Korean War."We feel that if you force North Korea to engage the world in a legal standpoint, then they will have to ultimately have a dialogue," he continued. "They are not going to come and have a dialogue with us any other way."The Warmbiers plan to pressure European governments to close hostels run by North Korea. They are already pursuing legal action against a hostel on the grounds of North Korea's embassy in Berlin."We cannot give up, we can't give them a pass. We have to fight with all of our power," Cindy Warmbier said at the conference.President Trump has repeatedly sought to negotiate the removal of nuclear weapons from North Korea, and became the first American president to meet with a North Korean leader during negotiations. Those negotiations are currently stalled.
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| Border Wall GoFundMe Declares War on Butterfly ‘Freaks’ and Local Priest Posted: 23 Nov 2019 02:04 AM PST  Photo Illustration by Sarah Rogers/The Daily Beast / Photos GettyThe trash-talking Air Force veteran who shot to fame on the right last year after raising more than $20 million on GoFundMe for a privately funded border wall says he is on a mission to "save" Texas from "illegals"—but some nefarious butterfly aficionados keep getting in his way. Triple-amputee veteran Brian Kolfage, whose group We Build the Wall got a shiny endorsement from the Department of Homeland Security this week, built a portion of the private wall in New Mexico before moving on to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, which he has claimed is "under siege by cartels, criminals and illegal aliens." But it seems Kolfage has reserved his ire not for the cartels or even undocumented immigrants, but the National Butterfly Center, a 100-acre butterfly sanctuary near Mission, Texas, where he claims "butterfly freaks" are standing in the way of his wall. The feud centers on whether the wall Kolfage is trying to build nearby will affect the flow of the Rio Grande. Kolfage's group, We Build the Wall, appears to have started clearing vegetation on the land last week. National Butterfly Center Seeks Restraining Order to Stop Trump's WallBob Crane, a spokesman for the North American Butterfly Association, which operates the center, said his group is worried any wall on the banks of the Rio Grande would exacerbate flooding. A part of the sanctuary flooded during a 2010 tropical storm, according to Crane, and some of the land washed away."NABA's primary concern is that the structure they intend to build will change the course of the Rio Grande when next it floods and that this will result in significantly greater flood impact at the NBC," Crane wrote in an email to The Daily Beast.Kolfage and We Build the Wall declined to comment. But Kolfage has taunted and smeared his butterfly-loving foes on Twitter, denouncing them as "freaks," claiming the sanctuary is a "sham," and accusing them of ignoring human trafficking. Kolfage has even sent tweets implying that the butterfly sanctuary's operators are somehow engaged in the international butterfly smuggling trade. "It's a big business!" Kolfage tweeted on Nov. 16, linking to an unrelated story about a butterfly smuggler.Kolfage has also taunted the sanctuary with a rendering of the proposed wall that features abundant butterflies surrounding what he calls the "water-butterfly-wall." The butterfly sanctuary's Facebook page has since been "flooded with harassing messages," according to Crane. While Kolfage plans to build his 3.5-mile wall on federal land, opposition from the butterfly center and other critics could hinder his attempts to get construction permits. Because the construction involves the Rio Grande, the wall will likely need approval from the International Boundary Water Commission, which negotiates border water issues with Mexico. Last week, the IBWC sent a letter to Kolfage's contractor, Fisher Industries, and We Build the Wall board member and former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach asking them to hold off on construction until they complete an elaborate study of water issues surrounding the wall. Among other things, the IBWC wants to know whether the wall "will impact the floods flows and river flows." For now, the ground-clearing can continue, as long as it doesn't involve actual construction."Vegetation in and of itself is not covered by the treaty," IBWC spokeswoman Sally Spener told The Daily Beast. This isn't the first time the butterfly sanctuary has clashed with efforts to build a border wall. Earlier this year, the butterfly refuge's operators fought to be exempted from any plans for a federally funded border wall. Trump signed legislation in February that would exempt the refuge, and there are currently no plans to build a government border wall on the refuge's land.Mariana Trevino-Wright, the butterfly sanctuary's executive director, has been a vocal opponent of Kolfage's plans to build on the river. As Kolfage's crews started to clear plants on the banks last week, Trevino-Wright began trying to draw attention to the work."A map of the National Butterfly Center (L bottom) next to a sticker reading \"No to the Wall,\" on January 15, 2019 in Mission, Texas."Suzanne Cordeiro/Getty"They are secretly and quietly and illegally building this border wall on the banks of the Rio Grande here," Trevino-Wright told Border Report, a website that covers border news. Still, Kolfage's efforts have won supporters in the Trump administration. This week, a Border Patrol official praised the New Mexico barrier constructed by Kolfage's group, saying she would "welcome" any border wall, including privately owned ones.Kolfage has also attacked another unlikely foe, a local Catholic priest. Father Ray Snipes runs a church near the proposed wall, and has opposed earlier wall efforts he said would block access to a historic chapel. Last week, Snipes took Trevino-Wright out on his boat to get a better look at We Build the Wall's work. Kolfage slammed the priest on Facebook, accusing him of "promoting human trafficking and abuse of women and children" and "driving around in expensive boats." As Snipes told BuzzFeed, however, he had inherited the boat from another priest after the priest died. Still, Kolfage has kept up his criticism of both Snipes and the butterfly sanctuary, claiming that the refuge features a "rampant sex trade." "HUMAN lives are more important than a butterfly," Kolfage tweeted on Nov. 19. Crane pushed back on Kolfage's claims."Mr. Kolfage's statements are a pack of lies, similar to what he says about anyone opposing these activities, and simply illustrate the type of person that is," Crane said in an email. 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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| Judge orders father of supermodels Bella and Gigi Hadid to pull down $100 million Bel Air mega-mansion Posted: 23 Nov 2019 09:15 AM PST  The property tycoon father of supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid has been ordered by a judge to demolish his half-built $100 million Bel Air mega-mansion, which has been dubbed the "Starship Enterprise". Mohamed Hadid has been involved in a long legal battle over the palatial 30,000 sq ft residence after neighbours complained about its size. A judge in Los Angeles Superior Court decided it was a "clear and present danger" to other properties in the area. The ruling came after a structural engineer said supporting piles were not driven far enough into the ground underneath the hillside property. The judge said: "If this house came down the hill it would take a portion of the neighbourhood with it." Following the ruling Mr Hadid told TMZ the house "has not moved a millimetre! It has never been an imminent danger to the neighbours." The property developer is the father of supermodel Bella Hadid and her sister Gigi Credit: E-PRESS / BACKGRID UK He also said many city inspectors had monitored the construction process since it began in 2012, and concerns were not raised until years later. The court heard demolition would take six months and cost several million dollars. It was the latest development in a long saga over the project, which was to include an IMAX cinema. Mr Hadid, a property developer, hoped to ultimately sell the mansion for nine figures. In 2017 he told Town & Country Magazine: "Demolish this house? Never! This house will last forever. Bel Air will fall before this house will." The same year, he was sentenced to three years probation and 200 hours of community service after pleading no contest to three charges of violating building regulations. Several neighbours sued Mr Hadid claiming they lived in "constant fear" of the hillside collapsing, and that their "privacy and serenity was invaded by the illegal and unsightly structure looming above them." Mr Hadid responded that he was the victim of "witch hunt" and the neighbours' claims were "total nonsense."
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| Booker and Harris warn Dems: Electability doesn't just mean appealing to white voters Posted: 21 Nov 2019 01:18 PM PST  Electability is the biggest buzzword of the 2020 cycle. It's what Democrats say they prize above all else: a nominee who can defeat Donald Trump. But it's also a code word. It tends to mask a racialized assumption about which Americans a candidate needs to win over in order to qualify as "electable": that is, white voters who don't live in big coastal cities.
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| Daughter's 911 call for pizza was actually a domestic violence report. The dispatcher knew Posted: 22 Nov 2019 12:51 PM PST  An Ohio dispatcher detected that a woman calling 911 ordering a pizza was in need of police help.
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| Internet outage forces Iranians to resort to old ways Posted: 23 Nov 2019 03:48 AM PST  The internet restrictions, for their part, apparently aimed to temper shows of dissent and anger over the move and stop footage of the unrest from being shared. Brigadier General Salar Abnoosh, a deputy head of the Basij volunteer militia, said Friday that the internet outage had helped to "disrupt the complicated" plans by Iran's enemies. On Saturday -- day seven of the internet restrictions and the start of the working week in Iran -- people in Tehran were trying to overcome problems brought on by the outage.
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| Would President Trump Ever Bring Back the Battleships? Posted: 21 Nov 2019 08:30 PM PST  The U.S. Navy will never again be a dreadnought fleet of big-gun battleships. But it is time to reexamine the role of armor in naval architecture. Even the most forward-leaning offensive operation needs a few tough linesmen who can take a beating and stay in the game. A future battleship would give the Navy— and by extension the president—warfighting options other than the total annihilation of the enemy.
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| Cuba acknowledges "vestiges" of racism, launches program to fight it Posted: 22 Nov 2019 04:26 PM PST ![Cuba acknowledges "vestiges" of racism, launches program to fight it]( "Cuba acknowledges \"vestiges\" of racism, launches program to fight it") Cuba's government has launched a program to combat racism, acknowledging that a problem that Fidel Castro tried to eliminate after the 1959 leftist revolution remains unresolved. The program aims to identify steps to fight discrimination, broaden education on Cuba's African legacy and start a public debate on racial issues, Culture Vice Minister Fernando Rojas told a cabinet meeting, according to state-run media on Friday. "Everyone recognizes our revolution has been the social and political process that has possibly done most to eliminate racial discrimination," state-run media quoted President Miguel Diaz-Canel as saying.
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| Medicare for All's thorniest issue is how much to pay doctors and hospitals. Any new system could become a convoluted mess if it goes wrong. Posted: 23 Nov 2019 06:45 AM PST  Warren faces challenges in her plan to set payment rates for doctors and hospitals in line with Medicare without creating more losers than winners.
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| German soldier who posed as Syrian refugee to face new terror trial Posted: 23 Nov 2019 07:43 AM PST  A German soldier who lived a double life posing as a Syrian refugee is to face a new trial on charges of planning a far-Right terror attack. Lieutenant Franco Albrecht spent more than a year posing as a Christian refugee from Syria, and was given a place in a German government refugee shelter. Prosecutors allege he was planning to assassinate high-profile figures in a false flag terror attack and pin the blame on the fictitious Syrian. The original terror charges against Lt Albrecht were dismissed for lack of evidence in a court hearing last year, but Germany's highest criminal court this week upheld a prosecution appeal and ordered a new trial. Lt Albrecht's arrest in 2017 stunned Germany and made headlines around the world. As a high-flying cadet officer, he trained at France's prestigious St Cyr Military academy under an exchange programme and was entertained as a guest of the British army at Sandhurst. Lt Albrecht's defence lawyers say he masqueraded as a refugee in order to expose the shortcomings of the German asylum system and its failure properly to identify those entering the country. They deny that he was planning a terror attack Lt Albrecht was a guest at Sandhurst while he was training as part of an exchange programme at France's prestigious St Cyr military academy Credit: Private Germany's federal court of justice ruled this week that there is sufficient evidence to support the charge Lt Albrecht was planning to assassinate public figures and ordered that he must face it in court. But it ruled there was no evidence to support the charge that he was planning to pin the blame for an attack on Syrian refugees. Prosecutors allege that Lt Albrecht procured firearms and ammunition and prepared a list of possible assassinations targets including Heiko Maas, the foreign minister, former President Joachim Gauck and Anetta Kahane, a prominent human rights activist. They allege he scoped out a car park near the activist's office as a possible assassination site. Lawyers for Lt Albrecht deny the allegations and say he obtained weapons as a member of the "prepper" scene. They say the alleged "death list" is a list of people the soldier wished to contact to discuss the political situation, and that he only visited the car park in an attempt to meet Ms Kahane. Lawyers for the soldier have not commented on this week's decision by the appeals court. Lt Albrecht has been suspended from duty but remains an officer in the German army until the case is resolved. A date for a new trial has not yet been set.
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| Trump in Fox News rant says he still is looking for nonexistent DNC server Posted: 22 Nov 2019 07:36 AM PST  President Trump elaborated on one of his favorite theories, involving a missing Democratic National Committee server, during a Friday morning phone-in Fox News interview that was rambling and conspiratorial even to the taste of his friendly interviewers on "Fox & Friends."
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| Mexico arrests judge linked by US to notorious cartel Posted: 22 Nov 2019 03:28 PM PST ![Mexico arrests judge linked by US to notorious cartel]( "Mexico arrests judge linked by US to notorious cartel") A Mexico judge whom the U.S. Treasury Department accuses of ties to Jalisco New Generation, one of the country's bloodiest drug cartels, was arrested in the city of Guadalajara on Friday, judicial authorities said. Earlier that month the U.S. Treasury Department designated and sanctioned Avelar Gutiérrez under the Kingpin Act "because of his actions on behalf" of Jalisco New Generation and an allied group known as Los Cuinis.
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| Arrest made at Syracuse, chancellor bows to student demands as racist hate incidents continue Posted: 21 Nov 2019 10:54 AM PST  Syracuse Chancellor Ken Syverud agreed to the demands of students protesting a two-week run of almost daily racist or anti-Semitic incidents.
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| Iran says 'world war' against it foiled; blames U.S., Saudi Arabia and Israel Posted: 22 Nov 2019 12:24 PM PST  Iran's Basij militia said unrest sparked by fuel price hikes amounted to a "world war" against Tehran that was thwarted, and blamed the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
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| Why All of America's Enemies Should Still Fear the B-1 Bomber Posted: 21 Nov 2019 10:00 PM PST  A new age, a new role.
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| After Venezuelan opposition call for mass rallies, street protests underwhelm Posted: 22 Nov 2019 09:44 AM PST  Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido's call for massive street protests against President Nicolas Maduro has so far yielded only modest demonstrations, casting doubt on a plan to revive stalling efforts to force a change in government. Last Saturday Guaido called on supporters to stage permanent street rallies against Maduro, who has clung to power despite an economic collapse and U.S. sanctions that have hobbled the OPEC member's oil exports. There has been a low turnout at demonstrations and some protesters acknowledged being exhausted by dysfunctional public transportation, lack of power and water and crippling hyperinflation.
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| Air Tanzania Plane Seized in Canada Over Dispute From 1980s Posted: 23 Nov 2019 03:07 AM PST ![Air Tanzania Plane Seized in Canada Over Dispute From 1980s]( "Air Tanzania Plane Seized in Canada Over Dispute From 1980s") (Bloomberg) -- One of Air Tanzania's new Bombardier aircraft has been impounded in Canada amid a land-compensation dispute dating back to the 1980s, according to the East African nation's government.The decision by Canadian authorities to impound the Bombardier Q400 plane isn't directly linked to Tanzania's national carrier and is related to a dispute between the East African nation and a South African farmer who's seeking compensation for land he says was taken off him 40 years ago, Foreign Affairs Minister Palamagamba Kabudi said. The seizure is the second time an Air Tanzania aircraft has been impounded over the issue."The person responsible for this is the same person who forced our plane to be seized in South Africa," the minister said on the country's national broadcaster on Saturday. "We went to court and won the case."The Tanzanian government successfully appealed the case in South Africa and the plane was released.To contact the reporter on this story: Ken Karuri in Dar es Salaam at kkaruri@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Gordon Bell at gbell16@bloomberg.net, Alastair Reed, Stanley JamesFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| I love Pete Buttigieg, but sheesh, Mayor Pete is not ready to be president Posted: 22 Nov 2019 12:15 AM PST  Democrats attacked Donald Trump for his lack of government experience. We were right, and now we can't abandon our standards to elect Mayor Pete.
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| Former Boston College student charged over boyfriend's suicide pleads not guilty Posted: 22 Nov 2019 07:23 AM PST  A former Boston College student pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges of involuntary manslaughter stemming from what prosecutors said was her role in encouraging her boyfriend to commit suicide. A lawyer for Inyoung You, 21, entered the plea on her behalf during a hearing in Suffolk County Superior Court after she returned from South Korea to face charges brought last month over the May 20 suicide of her college boyfriend, who leaped to his death from a parking garage hours before his graduation. "These text messages demonstrate the power dynamic of the relationship," Assistant District Attorney Caitlin Grasso said in court.
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| AR-15 rifle, target list, school map seized in Los Angeles student threat, cops say Posted: 22 Nov 2019 11:25 AM PST  A Los Angeles County school shooting threat was foiled after deputies seized a student's AR-15 rifle, target list and more, Southern California authorities said on Friday.
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| Federal Judge Rules Covington Student’s $275M Libel Lawsuit against NBC May Proceed Posted: 22 Nov 2019 02:36 PM PST  Federal judge William Bertelsman on Thursday allowed Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann's $275 million libel lawsuit against NBCUniversal to move forward, rejecting the media company's attempt to have the suit dismissed in full even as he threw out parts of it.Sandmann, 16, sued NBC and other major news outlets in the aftermath of their coverage of a controversial interaction he and several of his classmates had with Native American activist Nathan Phillips near the Lincoln Memorial on January 18. Viral video of the incident showed Sandmann and Phillips standing face to face as Phillips loudly beat on a drum and Sandmann smirked from time to time. NBC asserted that Sandmann "blocked" Phillips and "did not allow him to retreat" during their interaction. Longer versions of the video showed that Phillips approached Sandmann, who stood mostly still during the incident.Sandmann and his classmates wore "Make America Great Again" caps and were attending the annual anti-abortion March for Life, while Phillips was participating in the Indigenous Peoples March.Phillips has claimed Sandmann "just blocked my way and wouldn't allow me to retreat."Sandmann's lawsuit against NBC will now continue to discovery, according to his, attorney, L. Lin Wood, who called it a "huge win" for his client."As predicted, today Judge Bertelsman entered an order allowing the Nicholas Sandmann case against NBCUniversal to proceed to discovery just as he had earlier ruled with respect to WaPo & CNN cases. Huge, huge win!" Wood wrote on Twitter.
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| China's Mysterious Stealth JH-XX Bomber: A Threat to the U.S. Military? Posted: 21 Nov 2019 11:51 PM PST  Here is everything we know about it.
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| 4 dead in Iraq capital as top cleric bluntly pushes reform Posted: 22 Nov 2019 07:59 AM PST  Four anti-government protesters were killed in clashes with security forces in Iraq's capital on Friday as the country's top Shiite cleric bluntly pushed politicians to enact electoral reforms. More than 340 people have died and thousands have been wounded since rallies against widespread graft and unemployment erupted in Baghdad and the mostly Shiite south last month. For weeks demonstrators have demanded that the government step down but leaders have resisted, instead proposing a raft of measures including recruitment drives and a revamp of Iraq's electoral system.
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| A transgender woman says she was forced to remove her makeup with hand sanitizer for a DMV photo Posted: 22 Nov 2019 10:36 AM PST  Jaydee Dolinar told Glamour that a DMV worker handed her hand sanitizer and said she wouldn't be granted a new photo ID unless she removed her makeup.
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| IRS Says Millionaires Can Keep Estate Tax Benefits After 2025 Posted: 22 Nov 2019 02:49 PM PST ![IRS Says Millionaires Can Keep Estate Tax Benefits After 2025]( "IRS Says Millionaires Can Keep Estate Tax Benefits After 2025") (Bloomberg) -- Taxpayers can benefit from higher thresholds for U.S. estate and gift taxes even if they don't die until after the tax overhaul expires in 2026, the Internal Revenue Service said.The 2017 Republican tax law approximately doubled the estate and gift tax exemption. That means individuals this year can pass on, tax-free, $11.4 million from their estate and gifts they gave before their death. Couples can pass on $22.8 million. The higher levels expire in 2026, but individuals who make large gifts while the exemption is higher and die after it goes back down won't see the estate tax benefit eroded, the IRS said in regulations announced Friday."As a result, individuals planning to make large gifts between 2018 and 2025 can do so without concern that they will lose the tax benefit of the higher exclusion level once it decreases after 2025," the agency said in a press release.The exemption increase was a priority for Republicans in the 2017 tax overhaul. It cut the number of individuals who would be subject to the 40% estate tax by about two-thirds. The exemption was $5.5 million before the law change.Democrats, however, are eyeing a reversal of those changes if they sweep the House, Senate and White House in 2020. Almost every Democratic presidential candidate has called for the estate tax to apply to a larger number of wealthy families.Senator Bernie Sanders has called for the estate tax to kick in on fortunes worth at least $3.5 million, and has proposed rates as high as 77%.To contact the reporter on this story: Laura Davison in Washington at ldavison4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo, Ros KrasnyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| As impeachment swirls, Trump nods toward Pompeo Senate run Posted: 22 Nov 2019 07:12 AM PST  President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to open the door for the top U.S. diplomat, Mike Pompeo, to leave his post to run for an open Senate seat in his home state of Kansas. Talk about a Senate run has picked up as Pompeo has come under criticism for not defending U.S. diplomats who have testified in the Trump impeachment inquiry, but it is still unclear whether he will run. Washington has been awash in speculation about Pompeo's possible departure amid growing strain in his relationship with Trump.
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| Colorado man faces new charges for plotting to bomb synagogue Posted: 22 Nov 2019 02:21 PM PST  An avowed white supremacist being held without bond for plotting to bomb a Colorado synagogue this month has been indicted on additional charges of attempted arson and using explosives to commit a felony, federal prosecutors said on Friday. The two additional charges against Richard Holzer, 27, on top of an earlier count of attempting to obstruct religious services by force, could send him to prison for 50 years, U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn said in a statement. Holzer was arrested on Nov. 4 after an undercover sting by FBI agents, who said he plotted to bomb the Temple Emanuel synagogue in Pueblo, Colorado.
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| Haunting photos of the 'Forbidden City,' an abandoned military base that hasn't been used in 25 years Posted: 23 Nov 2019 05:51 AM PST  The "Forbidden City" was used as the Nazi command center during World War II and housed 40,000 Soviet soldiers during the Cold War.
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| This California town has the slowest Internet in the U.S. Posted: 22 Nov 2019 02:26 PM PST  Less than 100 miles from the country's tech hub in San Francisco, rural residents lag far behind on Internet access.
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| Pennsylvania Governor Vetoes Bill Banning Down-Syndrome Abortion Posted: 22 Nov 2019 10:02 AM PST  Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf on Thursday vetoed a bill that would have prohibited women from choosing abortion because of a Down-syndrome diagnosis."This legislation is a restriction on women and medical professionals and interferes with women's health care and the crucial decision-making between patients and their physicians," the Democratic governor said in a statement. "Physicians and their patients must be able to make choices about medical procedures based on best practices and standards of care."Abortion is legal in Pennsylvania during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy for any reason except the gender of the fetus. The bill, which passed the Republican-controlled legislature a day earlier, aimed to protect against abortions over a prenatal Down-syndrome diagnosis as well, although it included exceptions for rape, incest, and medical emergencies.Wold argued that the bill was unconstitutional and "not consistent with the fundamental rights" protected by the 14th Amendment, which guarantees the right to privacy."Further, I am not aware of a single disability-rights group that supports this bill," Wolf continued. "I support continuing the bipartisan work that's been done to help people with disabilities. I also believe there is much more Pennsylvania could do to help women and families facing complex pregnancies. However, this bill does not aid in either of these efforts."Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates also objected to the bill, saying it is unconstitutional and nearly impossible to enforce.According to the National Down Syndrome Society, one in 700 babies in the U.S., about 6,000 a year, is born with Down syndrome, a genetic condition caused by the presence of an extra chromosome and marked by developmental and physical growth delays.Wolf's decision jives with a federal-appeals court's October ruling that Ohio may not enforce a law barring doctors from performing abortions on mothers who want the procedure because of a fetal diagnosis of Down syndrome.The governor is a vocal abortion rights supporter and also rejected a measure in 2017 that would have banned elective abortions after 20 weeks, a week earlier than the youngest premature baby has survived. In August, Wolf's administration also announced plans to close two state centers for the intellectually and developmentally disabled, including some with Down syndrome. A previous closure of a similar facility in Pennsylvania resulted in the deaths of eleven of the 85 former residents.
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| Trump says Hong Kong would be ‘obliterated in 14 minutes’ without him Posted: 22 Nov 2019 09:04 AM PST  President Trump said Friday he had saved Hong Kong from being destroyed by persuading Chinese President Xi Jinping to hold off on sending in troops to crush the pro-democracy movement there.
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| World War III? In 1956, Russia Almost Fought Britain, France, and Israel With Nuclear Weapons Posted: 22 Nov 2019 05:16 AM PST  The Suez Canal Crisis was a dangerous gambit.
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| Hong Kong protests slacken ahead of closely watched poll Posted: 23 Nov 2019 03:22 AM PST  Hong Kong's protest movement called on Saturday for citizens not to disrupt district council elections in which pro-democracy parties hope to send a message to the city's Beijing-backed government. There have been no major rallies or violent clashes between police and protesters in the run-up to Sunday's district polls, a rare respite for a city roiled by nearly six months of political unrest. Amid concerns that violence could cause authorities to delay the polls, first-time voters have been advised online to avoid spoiling their ballots, while protest forums have urged an orderly ballot.
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| California school shooting shines light on murky 'ghost gun' world Posted: 22 Nov 2019 04:04 AM PST  AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - "Ghost guns" like the one a 16-year-old boy used to kill two classmates and injure three others at a California high school last week are self-assembled, virtually untraceable - and completely legal. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's department confirmed that the .45-caliber pistol that Nathaniel Berhow used in the shooting at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California, on his 16th birthday was made from a kit. Kits can be purchased online or at gun shows, as long as the frames are not fully functional.
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| Christian group wrote legislation eerily similar to Ohio religious liberty bill Posted: 22 Nov 2019 03:30 AM PST  Critics suspect hand of Project Blitz in draft passed by Ohio house which they fear could let students' religious beliefs trump scienceThe draft law says a teacher 'shall not penalize or reward a student based on the religious content of a student's work' – language strikingly similar to Project Blitz's model legislation. Photograph: Justin Lane/EPAAn Ohio state bill which could allow students' religious beliefs to trump science-based facts is almost identical to model legislation backed by an evangelical, anti-gay Christian group.The Student Religious Liberties Act, which passed the Ohio house last week, instructs schools to neither "penalize or reward" students on the basis of their religious speech. It also stipulates schools must provide opportunities for religious expression "in the same manner and to the same extent" as secular speech. Critics argue the bill would provide protect students from bad grades based on religion.The bill's backers deny it is connected to the group, called Project Blitz but the bill has nearly identical language to the model legislation backed by Project Blitz in their 2018-19 "playbook".While student religious liberties bills existed before Project Blitz, its inclusion in a playbook by groups whose goal is to inject religion into law shows the priority they place on the matter. When contacted by the Guardian, Steven W Fitschen, president of the National Legal Foundation, said "We are, of course, delighted that legislators in Ohio drafted a bill so similar to our model bill since we believe its provisions are constitutional and beneficial to students of faith in Ohio, without impinging on anyone else's rights."By contrast, many mainstream civil rights groups have lined up against the bill.Project Blitz model legislation says: "A student may not be penalized or rewarded based on the religious content of his or her work." The Ohio Student Religious Liberties Act says teachers "shall not penalize or reward a student based on the religious content of a student's work.""This bill is under the guise of religious freedom for students, but it's really designed to encourage students to pray and proselytize in public schools," said Maggie Garrett, the vice-president of policy for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "It adds more confusion than clarity, and of course current law already protects the rights of students," she said.The law's predicted effects have divided critics and supporters. Opponents have said the bill will cause controversy-averse teachers and school administrators to hedge against correcting students who might cite religious beliefs in classwork.Backers argue school officials are intimidated by "well funded groups" who are "biased against Ohio students' religious freedom". The most likely impact, groups such as the Anti-Defamation League said, is potential lawsuits against school districts.Student religious liberty bills have spread across the US south and midwest for more than a decade with roots in a 1995 set of guidelines from the Clinton administration, according to a University of California, Davis law review article.In 2007, Texas reincarnated the guidelines in a form which "intentionally lacks" some of the caveats the Clinton administration included, such as a prohibition on having a "captive audience" in school, the article said."This bill has been around since before the Project Blitz campaign, but the bill is part of the Project Blitz playbook," said Garrett, the vice-president for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "We will be seeing more of these bills in the future, because we're certainly seeing an increase in other Project Blitz bills."In another example of their similarities, Project Blitz's model legislation reads, "A student may organize prayer groups, religious clubs, and other religious gatherings before, during, and after the school day in the same manner and to the same extent that a student is permitted to organize secular activities and groups."Ohio's bill said students could attend "religious gatherings, including but not limited to prayer groups, religious clubs, 'see you at the pole' gatherings, or other religious gatherings" and "may engage in religious expression before, during, and after school hours in the same manner and to the same extent that a student is permitted to engage in secular activities or expression before, during, and after school hours."Even though backers deny the bill has been designed to promote Christian values, others disagree. "It is negligent and reckless of our colleagues to push an agenda this way and act as if it is not based on this one religious tenet," said Emilia Strong Sykes, the Democratic Ohio house minority leader and a Christian. "It is anti-American," she said.Long-term Republican control of Ohio state politics through gerrymandering – a process of drawing district lines to benefit one party – has turned Ohio into a proving ground for conservative legislation. Including 2019, Republicans have held all three levers of Ohio state government for 21 of the last 27 years, according to Ballotpedia.Ohio was the first of several states to pass a six-week ban on abortion last summer. The same legislators introduced a bill to ban abortion outright last week, including new criminal penalties for "abortion murder". Courts stopped Ohio's six-week ban from going into effect. Abortion is legal in all 50 US states."My personal feeling, quite frankly, is this is disgraceful," said Paul Beck, an Ohio State University political science professor and an expert on gerrymandering, about the Student Religious Liberties Act. "One of the products of gerrymandering and Republican domination we have in the Ohio general assembly is these are not necessarily reasonable people making our laws," he said."Here you have legislation that is not only not needed, but will – at minimum – cause confusion," said Gary Daniels, chief lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio. The ACLU often sues on behalf of those who suffer religious discrimination, and opposes the bill.Project Blitz is organized by the Congressional Prayer Caucus, the National Legal Foundation and the WallBuilders ProFamily Legislators Conference. Other Blitz proposals include proclamations to establish, "Christian heritage week" and a "public policy resolution favoring sexual intercourse only between a married man and woman".The privately run Congressional Prayer Caucus works to "preserve America's Judeo-Christian heritage and promote prayer", according to its website. WallBuilders is led by a widely criticized revisionist historian who claims the US was founded on Christian ideals. The not-for-profit National Legal Foundation aims to "create and implement" public policy "to support and facilitate God's purpose for [America] … in such a way as to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ".When contacted by the Guardian, Steven W Fitschen, president of the National Legal Foundation, said "We are, of course, delighted that legislators in Ohio drafted a bill so similar to our model bill since we believe its provisions are constitutional and beneficial to students of faith in Ohio, without impinging on anyone else's rights."Representative Timothy Ginter, the bill's sponsor and a pastor, said he had "no knowledge" of Project Blitz. He declined further requests for an interview.The Guardian contacted 11 co-sponsors of the legislation. None responded. The Guardian also contacted the legislator who originally introduced the legislation in 2016, former representative Bill Hayes. He did not respond to a request for comment.In a statement, Ginter argued the bill is necessary, "Because of increased pressure on our schools from groups who are biased against Ohio students' religious freedoms, many school officials are confused, and frankly intimidated by the threat of litigation from these well-funded groups." He also denied the bill is meant to promote Christianity. "Nowhere in the language of the bill is a specific religion mentioned," Ginter said.The Republican-backed Ohio house passed the bill last week with a party-line vote. Only two Democrats voted in favor. The bill must be passed by the Republican-controlled Senate and the Republican governor, Mike DeWine, to become law. He did not respond to a Guardian request for comment.
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| 50 Great Gadget and Gear Gifts for the Holidays Posted: 22 Nov 2019 11:03 AM PST |
| How the leader of a notorious Chicago street gang evolved into an ISIS supporter Posted: 22 Nov 2019 05:05 PM PST  The gang leader thought he had provided $500 in cash to man fighting for ISIS in Syria. In reality, it was an undercover FBI agent.
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| GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn tweets conspiratorial smear against Lt. Col Vindman Posted: 22 Nov 2019 09:54 AM PST ![GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn tweets conspiratorial smear against Lt. Col Vindman]( "GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn tweets conspiratorial smear against Lt. Col Vindman") Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) has it out for a Purple Heart veteran.When Lt. Col Alexander Vindman testified in the impeachment hearing into President Trump on Tuesday, Trump and other Republicans questioned his military bonafides and seemed skeptical of the fact that he doesn't know who the Ukraine whistleblower is. And in a Friday tweet, Blackburn kept the attacks going, tweeting that "Vindictive Vindman is the 'whistleblower's' handler."> Vindictive Vindman is the "whistleblower's" handler.> > -- Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) November 22, 2019There's a lot wrong with this short tweet. First, it suggests Vindman has something against Trump, furthering the right-wing rhetoric that claims he's less American because he was born in the Soviet Union. And second, it falsely claims Vindman knows the identity of the whistleblower -- something that isn't true, but didn't stop Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) from trying to get Vindman to spill their identity on Tuesday. And third, it's an outright smear on a high-ranking military official who received heaps of praise for his service before, during, and after his hearing.More stories from theweek.com Outed CIA agent Valerie Plame is running for Congress, and her launch video looks like a spy movie trailer The story Republicans are really telling themselves about impeachment Devin Nunes met with Ukrainian prosecutor to push investigations, Giuliani associate claims
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| California Supreme Court Rejects Catholic Group’s Challenge to Rule Deeming Voluntary Abortions ‘Medically Necessary’ Posted: 21 Nov 2019 10:42 AM PST  California's Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a Catholic women's organization's challenge to state health regulators' designation of voluntary abortions as "medically necessary" procedures that must be covered by state health care service plans.The California Department of Managed Health Care in 2014 sent letters to seven health care service plans directing them not to limit or exclude coverage for abortions, including those abortions that are not required to save the life of the mother. The letters ordered the state-licensed health care service plans to eliminate any language in their agreements that "may discriminate against women by limiting or excluding coverage for termination of pregnancies."Since then, the Missionary Guadalupanas of the Holy Spirit have sought legal remedies to the rule, arguing that California flouted the Administrative Procedures Act by neglecting to give the rule a public hearing and comment period.A state appeals court in Sacramento in August upheld the state agency's designation of a pregnant woman's choice to have an abortion as "medically necessary." The missionaries did not appeal that ruling but did request that California's Supreme Court withdraw it as a published decision binding in trial courts throughout the state. The high court unanimously rejected that request.Planned Parenthood, however, was allowed to comment on the rule. The nation's largest abortion provider met with state health regulators and urged adoption of the rule barring employer health plans that exclude abortion, as shown in emails between the agency and Planned Parenthood that were used as evidence in the missionaries' lawsuit."California regulators appear to have deliberately ignored the deep moral and ethical objection to abortion held by so many in the state," said Andrew Rivas, executive director of the California Catholic Conference. "Debate is healthy and should never be suppressed in this manner or any issue in which so many citizens feel so passionate about."
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