| 'We could be blind': Syria pullout may result in loss of intelligence from the Kurds Posted: 04 Nov 2019 08:40 AM PST  A U.S. withdrawal from Syria will strain the links that the U.S. intelligence community has painstakingly built with both Iraqi and Syrian Kurdish forces, according to current and former government officials with long experience in the Middle East.
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| Buttigieg predicts a 'two-way' race against Warren as both compete to sound more like Obama Posted: 04 Nov 2019 08:34 AM PST  Pete Buttigieg made waves with a suggestion — which he later partially retracted — that the 2020 Democratic primary contest is "getting to be a two-way" race between him and Elizabeth Warren. But opponents said Buttigieg's remarks were presumptuous.
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| Children told to ‘build the wall’ at White House Halloween party Posted: 04 Nov 2019 07:55 AM PST  A Halloween party on Oct. 25 at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building featured candy, paper airplanes, and a station where children were encouraged to help "Build the Wall"} with their own personalized bricks.
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| A metal bar fell off a big rig and sliced through a car traveling on a California freeway Posted: 04 Nov 2019 06:56 AM PST  The California Highway Patrol says a metal bar impaled a person through the leg after it fell off a big rig on the freeway.
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| One Person Has Died and Eight Are Hospitalized Due to Salmonella Linked to Ground Beef Posted: 02 Nov 2019 12:43 PM PDT  As of Friday, there have been ten reported cases of Salmonella Dublin linked to ground beef
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| US white supremacist arrested hours before far-right conference in Norway Posted: 03 Nov 2019 02:58 PM PST  An American white supremacist was arrested hours before he was due to speak at an international far-right conference in Norway.Greg Johnson was detained under immigration law on the basis that he posed a threat to national interests, according to the police security agency PST.
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| Five wounded as knife attack caps day of Hong Kong political chaos Posted: 03 Nov 2019 07:48 AM PST  A man went on a knife rampage in Hong Kong late Sunday leaving at least five people wounded, including a local pro-democracy politician who had his ear bitten off, capping another chaotic day of political unrest in the city. The violence was less sustained than Saturday when police and protesters fought hours of cat and mouse battles after thousands took the streets for an unsanctioned march. Live footage showed Andrew Chiu, a local pro-democracy councillor, having his ear bitten off after trying to subdue the attacker, while a second man was seen unconscious in a growing pool of blood as bystanders desperately tried to stem wounds to his back.
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| Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez apologizes for blocking a critic on Twitter and settles a lawsuit charging that she violated the First Amendment Posted: 04 Nov 2019 07:25 AM PST  Former Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind accused AOC of violating the First Amendment by blocking him on Twitter.
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| Malaysia says country shielding 1MDB fugitive Jho Low refuses to cooperate Posted: 04 Nov 2019 03:51 AM PST ![Malaysia says country shielding 1MDB fugitive Jho Low refuses to cooperate]( "Malaysia says country shielding 1MDB fugitive Jho Low refuses to cooperate") Malaysian fugitive Low Taek Jho, wanted over a multibillion dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB, is living in a country that has refused to cooperate on efforts to retrieve him, Malaysia's police chief said on Monday, according to the state news agency. Low, also known as Jho Low, has been charged in Malaysia and the United States over the alleged theft of $4.5 billion from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), set up by former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
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| 2 bodies found at Texas beach are New Hampshire couple Posted: 02 Nov 2019 12:32 PM PDT ![2 bodies found at Texas beach are New Hampshire couple]( "2 bodies found at Texas beach are New Hampshire couple") The two bodies found buried at a South Texas beach have been identified as a missing New Hampshire couple, investigators announced Friday. The deaths of James Butler, 48, and Michelle Butler, 46, are being investigated as homicides, the Kleberg County Sheriff's Office in Texas said in a release. A deputy on Sunday located a woman's remains in a shallow grave on Padre Island, near Corpus Christi, the sheriff's office said.
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| Trump to California’s Governor: Get ‘Act Together’ on Fires Posted: 03 Nov 2019 01:23 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump on Sunday blasted California Governor Gavin Newsom in a series of Twitter posts for his handling of the devastating wildfires that continue to blaze across the state.Trump said Newsom, a Democrat, has "done a terrible job of forest management." In a second tweet, the president told Newsom California will no longer receive federal money for help, adding, "Get your act together Governor." Federal agencies own and manage 57% of the state's forests.In a final post, Trump said California desperately needs water and called for opening up "the ridiculously closed water lanes coming down from the North. Don't pour it out into the Pacific Ocean."Later, returning to the White House from a trip to New York, the president told reporters that Newsom "is like a child."Newsom responded to Trump's tweets with his own, saying "You don't believe in climate change. You are excused from this conversation.""We're successfully waging war against thousands of fires started across the state in the last few weeks due to extreme weather created by climate change while Trump is conducting a full on assault against the antidotes," Newsom said in a emailed statement later Sunday.The president has tweeted on the subject several times, including in August 2018 that "bad environmental laws" and water diversion were behind the state's wildfires. At that point Jerry Brown was California's governor.In January, days after Newsom's inauguration, Trump said he'd ordered that the federal government send no more money to California.House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, who joined Trump during a trip to New York on Saturday that included attending a mixed martial arts fight at Madison Square Garden, has said he'll continue to try to ensure disaster-related funding for his state.Of about 33 million acres of forest in California, U.S. agencies including the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service own and manage 19 million acres, according to the University of California.(Updates with response from Newsom in sixth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs.To contact the reporter on this story: Hailey Waller in New York at hwaller@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: James Ludden at jludden@bloomberg.net, Mark Niquette, Ros KrasnyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Pregnant Florida Woman Kills Home Intruder with AR-15 Posted: 04 Nov 2019 06:13 AM PST  A pregnant woman is being celebrated as a hero for using an AR-15 rifle to save the lives of her husband and 11-year-old daughter after two men broke into the family's home Wednesday night.Two masked intruders broke into the Lithia, Florida home close to 9pm on Wednesday. One of the men grabbed the couple's 11-year-old daughter while both men violently attacked her father, Jeremy King. One of the men pistol-whipped him, and the other kicked him in the head several times, King said."As soon as they had got the back door opened, they had a pistol on me and was grabbing my 11-year-old daughter," King told Bay News 9.His wife, who is more than eight-months pregnant, peeked out of the back bedroom during the incident, at which point King said one of the intruders shot at her. She then retrieved the AR-15 and shot at the intruder, clipping him, according to King."He made it from my back door to roughly 200 feet out in the front ditch before the AR did its thing," King said.Authorities found the body of a man in a ditch nearby the house. King meanwhile said he has a fractured eye socket, fractured sinus cavity, a concussion, 20 stitches and three staples in his head."Them guys came in with two normal pistols and my AR stopped it," King said, adding that his wife had "evened the playing field and kept them from killing me."The AR-15 rifle was in the home legally, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
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| #DeclassifiedDog: Twitter shares their 'declassified' dog pics after Trump tweet Posted: 03 Nov 2019 09:14 PM PST  Since Trump's tweet, Twitter users have taken the opportunity to share photos and videos of dogs using DeclassifiedDog and Declassified.
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| French leader seeks China deals, also set to raise 'taboo' issues Posted: 04 Nov 2019 09:15 AM PST  French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in China on Monday to drum up new business deals, but under warning from his hosts to keep off thorny issues such as the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. Macron began his second official trip to China in the financial hub of Shanghai, where he will attend an international import fair against the backdrop of the trade war between Washington and Beijing. Speaking to French and German businesspeople attending the trade expo, Macron said Europeans must work together to compete economically with China.
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| Central European governments accused of abusing European agriculture subsidies Posted: 03 Nov 2019 10:56 AM PST  Central European governments have been systematically abusing the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy to enrich family members and political allies, an investigation claims. The New York Times survey of subsidies in nine European countries found that millions of euros in agricultural subsidies had been directed to a handful of companies, often linked to national leaders. It alleged that the CAP had even underwritten "mafia-style land grabs" in Slovakia and Bulgaria. Prominent beneficiaries reportedly include Andrej Babis, the billionaire prime minister of the Czech republic, who the paper says is linked to a company that received at least $42 million (£32 million) in subsidies last year. Lukáš Wagenknecht, a senator from the opposition Pirate Party, last week filed a complaint against the European Council saying it should not allow Mr Babis to take part in the bloc's budget discussions because his Agrofert conglomerate receives tens of millions of Euros in subsidies annually. Mr Babis no longer owns the company and has denied a conflict of interests, but organisations including Transparency International claim that he remains its end beneficiary. Andrej Babis, the Czech prime minister, denies a conflict of interest Credit: Martin Divisek/Bloomberg The paper also accused Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, of abusing the EU's subsidies to fund a system of patronage linked to land leases. It cited Mr Orban's sale of 12 state farms to close associates when he was prime minister between 1998 and 2002, which became eligible for large subsidies when Hungary joined the EU in 2004. In 2015, five years after he returned to power, Mr Orban's government began to sell and auction leases to hundreds of thousands of hectares at cut price rates, arranging for most of them go to businessmen with close connections of Fidesz. The paper implies that this created a system of "modern feudalism" in which small farmers were left beholden to barons who received land eligible for European subsidies based on their loyalty to Mr Orban. Individuals who are reported to have built up considerable landholdings include Mr Orbans family and close business and political allies. The European Union supported farmers with 58.82 billion Euros (£50.8 billion) in 2018. Subsidies are meant to support food production, rural community development, and environmentally friendly farming. The subsidies it provides are often crucial to the survival of small farmers across the bloc. Ivan Haralampiev, the Bulgarian farmer whose cow Penka was at the centre of an outcry over EU agricultural regulations in 2018, told the Telegraph that he had bought cattle only because the subsidies they qualified for made it possible to live. The Telegraph sought comment from Mr Orban's office. A spokesman for the Hungarian government said: "The procedures in Hungary for administering EU agricultural subsidies fully satisfy EU rules and regulations for the management of these funds. Hungary is also fully compliant in the sale of state land, which is regulated by law. Furthermore, it should be noted, that concerning a plot of land larger than 1,000 hectares, subsidies for or sale of that plot must follow strict rules. The NYT's questions and sources clearly reflect a biased preconception about the topic."
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| The World's Most Powerful Navies Of 2030 Won't Look Like Those Of Today Posted: 03 Nov 2019 10:00 AM PST  Who will hold the number 1 spot?
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| Indian Muslims anxious as court prepares to rule on destroyed mosque Posted: 03 Nov 2019 11:41 PM PST  In the Indian town of Ayodhya, minority Muslims are feeling under siege as they await a Supreme Court ruling on a centuries-old religious dispute that has cast a shadow over their relations with the majority Hindu community. After a tangle of legal cases, the Supreme Court in August decided to hear arguments every day in an effort to resolve the dispute over what should be built on the ruins of the 16th-century Babri Masjid, destroyed by a Hindu mob in 1992. The uproar over the mosque triggered some of India's deadliest riots, in which nearly 2,000 people, most of them Muslim, were killed.
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| Police station banned from displaying 'thin blue line' flag Posted: 04 Nov 2019 03:08 AM PST  A Maryland County executive has banned a local police station from displaying the pro-law enforcement flag.
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| Supreme leader: Iran has outflanked US since 1979 revolution Posted: 03 Nov 2019 06:22 AM PST  Iran's supreme leader said Sunday that his country has outmaneuvered the United States in the four decades since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran has "trapped the other party in the corner of the ring in many cases," adding that U.S. aggression toward Iran has only grown "wilder and more flagrant" over the years. Khamenei was quoted on his official website in a speech to thousands of students, a day before the 40th anniversary of the U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran.
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| California fires, rising seas: Millions of climate refugees will dwarf Dust Bowl by 2100 Posted: 04 Nov 2019 07:38 AM PST  An environmental crisis in the early 1900s created 'Dust Bowl refugees.' Today's climate crisis is much bigger and will last for decades, not years.
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| Fox News guest sneaks in Epstein conspiracy theory during unrelated interview about military dogs Posted: 04 Nov 2019 01:35 AM PST  A former US Navy SEAL appeared to surprise a Fox News host by suddenly voicing a conspiracy theory about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a segment about military dogs.Mike Ritland was invited on Jesse Watters' show to discuss the dog who helped US troops in a raid to kill Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi last week.
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| China is reportedly sending men to sleep in the same beds as Uighur Muslim women while their husbands are in prison camps Posted: 04 Nov 2019 06:03 AM PST  China is waging a hardline campaign against the Uighur ethnic minority, which has seen more than 1 million people detained in prison camps.
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| Congolese anti-Ebola fighter killed as new vaccine arrives Posted: 03 Nov 2019 09:33 AM PST  A radio host who helped spread the word in the fight against Ebola has been stabbed to death at his home in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo, the army said Sunday. The motive for the murder in the town of Lwemba in the troubled Ituri region was unknown, but it came as health authorities were set to introduce a new vaccine against the disease in unaffected areas. The attackers killed 35-year-old Papy Mumbere Mahamba and wounded his wife before burning down their home late Saturday, General Robert Yav, the commander of Congolese army forces in the Ituri town of Mambasa, told AFP.
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| Enemies Beware: America Is Upgrading Its Mighty Air Force Bombers Posted: 02 Nov 2019 08:00 PM PDT  The B-52, B-1, and B-2 are joining the future.
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| UPDATE 2-Police find 41 migrants alive in truck in northern Greece Posted: 04 Nov 2019 05:12 AM PST  Greek police found 41 migrants, mostly Afghans, hiding in a refrigerated truck at a motorway in northern Greece on Monday, officials said. The discovery came 10 days after 39 bodies, all believed to be Vietnamese migrants, were discovered in the back of a refrigerated truck near London. The refrigeration system in the truck where the migrants were found in northern Greece had not been turned on, and none of the migrants was injured, though some asked for medical assistance, a Greek police official said.
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| Boat trapped for 101 years near edge of Niagara Falls moves after Halloween night storm Posted: 02 Nov 2019 05:58 PM PDT ![Boat trapped for 101 years near edge of Niagara Falls moves after Halloween night storm]( "Boat trapped for 101 years near edge of Niagara Falls moves after Halloween night storm") Overnight severe weather and heavy currents resulted in the iron scow, which had been trapped for 101 years, moving significantly downriver.
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| Attacker bites politician's ear, others slashed in Hong Kong Posted: 03 Nov 2019 06:29 PM PST  A knife-wielding man slashed several people and bit off part of the ear of a pro-democracy politician in Hong Kong on Sunday, as riot police stormed several malls to thwart protesters who have been demanding government reforms for nearly five months. Local media said the attacker told his victims that Hong Kong belongs to China. The attack came late Sunday, a day in which protesters had been urged online to gather at seven locations, including malls, to sustain a push for political reform.
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| Vietnam arrests 8 more in Britain trucks deaths Posted: 04 Nov 2019 02:39 AM PST  Police in Vietnam have arrested eight more suspects in connection with the deaths of 39 Vietnamese nationals found dead inside a refrigerated truck container in southeastern England. British police said Friday that all 39 victims were Vietnamese nationals. British police have charged 25-year-old Maurice Robinson, from Northern Ireland, with 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiracy to traffic people.
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| Spy Wife Anne Sacoolas in Secret Talks Over Death of Teen Harry Dunn Posted: 04 Nov 2019 07:33 AM PST  Kirsty O'Connor/PA/APThe American spy wife Anne Sacoolas, who President Donald Trump tried to force on the grieving parents of the British teenager she accidentally killed in August, may face justice in Britain after all. The first time many Americans heard of the case that has gripped the U.K. since last summer was last month when Trump hid Sacoolas in a back room in the White House while he received Dunn's parents and plotted a reality-TV-style moment for the cameras.Grieving Parents 'Ambushed' by Trump, Who Had Teen's Killer Waiting at White HouseSacoolas had left the U.K. in early September under diplomatic immunity against the wishes of the British Foreign Office and had not been seen since. Trump summoned Dunn's parents to Washington, D.C. while they were on a media tour in the U.S. to try to pressure her into returning to Britain to face justice. Dunn's parents had said they would only meet Sacoolas on British soil under their terms–and with counselors and lawyers in the room. When Trump said the woman who killed their son was ready to meet them, Dunn's parents refused, saying they felt "ambushed" by Trump's "henchmen" led by National Security Adviser Robert C. O'Brien who they said "snarled" at them telling them Sacoolas "would never return" to the U.K.The Dunns have kept up the pressure through constant media appearances, and it looks like it might be working. Lawyers for Anne Sacoolas, 42, have been in secret talks with British officials after officers investigating the vehicular homicide of 19-year-old Harry Dunn traveled to the U.S. last week to interview her about the incident. The still "informal" talks, first reported by The Guardian, and confirmed by The Daily Beast, are said to entail negotiations about a plea deal that would keep Sacoolas, a mother of three, from serving prison time if convicted in Dunn's wrongful death. Sacoolas admits to driving down the wrong side of the road after pulling out of the RAF Croughton intelligence base where her husband was stationed in late August when she ploughed into 19-year-old Dunn on his Kawasaki motorcycle. Dunn's parents have not been officially informed or included in the talks. "The family are aware of this report but have heard nothing formal from the police or Crown Prosecution Services," Radd Seiger, a spokesman for the Dunn family, told The Daily Beast. "Until Mrs. Sacoolas returns to the U.K. and submits herself to the legal process the campaign for justice for Harry continues."Pressure from the highest levels of the U.K. government has mounted on the United States to send Sacoolas back to Britain. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson brought up the matter personally with Trump and the government's extradition experts have hinted to several British media outlets that they would be willing to hold up the extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, currently in a British jail, if Sacoolas does not face justice on British soil. The Dunn family hopes that is not the case. "We don't know anything about the Assange matter but in our view they are entirely separate and unrelated matters so should have no bearing on our case," Seiger told The Daily Beast. Last week, Trump told Nigel Farage on the Leading Britain's Conversation radio program that he would "study the facts of the case" but stopped short of making any promise to send Sacoolas back. "I'd have to see what the final facts are," Trump told Farage. "And then I'll take a look at the final facts."Dunn survived a few hours after the accident, but later died of his injuries. Sacoolas initially cooperated with police, taking a breathalyzer test and answering initial investigative questions before she invoked diplomatic immunity and fled to the U.S., reportedly on an American Air Force jet. Her lawyers say she comforted Dunn as he lay in the ditch and waited near him until the ambulance came, even as one of her own young children who witnessed the accident waited in her SUV.The Dunn family was not told that Sacoolas left the country for more than a week after she was gone. Lawyers for the Dunn family have argued that Sacoolas did not qualify for diplomatic immunity and, now that she is back stateside, is certainly no longer under such protection and therefore open to extradition. "We don't think she has ever had diplomatic immunity and there is no bar to extradition," the Dunn's lawyer Mark Stephens told reporters last week. "It's the morally right thing and legally right thing to extradite her."The Dunn family, including Harry's twin brother Niall, have engaged in an emotional media campaign and legal battle to try to put pressure on the U.S. government to send Sacoolas back. "When we were told Anne Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity it was a punch in the face," Niall Dunn told Sky News. "'Tough, she's not coming back, end of story. Go away and cry at home.' That's what it really did feel like...I'm angry at the higher-ups of the world who just don't seem to care at all about what's happening."Dunn's family is suing the British foreign secretary and have asked for a parliamentary review into why the government kept information about Sacoolas' departure from them. They have also called for a review of diplomatic immunity procedures and practices, insisting that Sacoolas' alleged crime did not qualify for immunity. The Foreign Office has denied any wrongdoing. "We have done everything we can properly do clear a path so that justice can be done for Harry's family," they said in a statement. "As the foreign secretary set out in parliament, the individual involved had diplomatic immunity whilst in the country under the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations. We will respond to any legal action in due course." The Dunn camp is also suing the Trump administration and Sacoolas for damages. "We are bringing claims against both Mrs. Sacoolas in the U.S. for civil damages as well as the Trump administration for their lawless misconduct and attempt to cover that up," the Dunn family spokesperson said in a statement to The Daily Beast regarding the lawsuits. "No one is above the law and the family are determined to ensure that this never happens to another family again. It will be Harry's memorial. His legacy."The family continues to insist that they do not want to see Sacoolas in prison. Still, they say they cannot move forward until the person responsible for killing their son and brother has faced justice back in the U.K. "It would be a way for everybody to get closure," Stephens said. "The family want to get closure but in everything they do they are being frustrated." Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| PG&E CEO Causes Outrage After Saying Struggling California Residents’ Houses Are ‘Still There’ Because of Blackouts Posted: 03 Nov 2019 12:25 PM PST  California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been vocal in his criticism of PG&E
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| FBI Investigating Theft of U.S. Biomedical Research by Scientists Linked to China Posted: 04 Nov 2019 05:17 AM PST  The FBI in conjunction with the National Institute of Health is investigating the theft of U.S. biomedical research by scientists with links to China, according to the New York Times.71 institutions, including some of the top medical research facilities in the U.S., are looking into 180 individual cases of possible intellectual property theft. Almost all of the individuals under investigation are of Chinese descent, some of them naturalized American citizens.So far, 24 of those cases have been referred to the NIH inspector general with evidence of criminal activity."It seems to be hitting every discipline in biomedical research," said Dr. Michael Lauer, deputy director for extramural research at the N.I.H.Some of those under investigation have obtained Chinese patents for work owned by U.S. institutions and funded by the U.S. government, while others are suspected of duplicating U.S. research in secret laboratories in China. Redacted emails provided to the Times showed researchers apparently ferrying research items to China from the U.S."I should be able to bring the whole sets of primers to you (if I can figure out how to get a dozen tubes of frozen DNA onto an airplane)," read one email, referring to medical testing materials.In January of this year, the U.S. Justice Department charged Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei with intellectual property theft and fraud.Huawei poses a "dual threat to both our economic and national security, and the magnitude of these charges makes clear just how seriously the FBI takes this threat," FBI Director Christopher Wray said at a press conference announcing the charges.
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| Iran's Khamenei rules out talks with US Posted: 03 Nov 2019 03:00 AM PST  Iran's supreme leader on Sunday again ruled out negotiations with Washington, a day before the 40th anniversary of the hostage crisis at the US embassy in Tehran. "Those who see negotiations with the US as the solution to every problem are certainly mistaken," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said during a speech to mark the anniversary, according to his official website. On November 4, 1979, less than nine months after the toppling of Iran's American-backed shah, students overran the embassy complex to demand the United States hand over the ousted ruler after he was admitted to a US hospital.
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| 6th Generation Fighters: The Next Stealth Fighters That Could Be Everything Posted: 02 Nov 2019 05:00 PM PDT  Time to trade in that F-35?
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| Thousands of Romanians protest against illegal logging, attacks on forest workers Posted: 03 Nov 2019 12:44 PM PST  Thousands of Romanians marched in the capital Bucharest and other cities on Sunday in protest against widespread illegal logging, which is believed to be behind the deaths of two forest workers in the past two months. The protests, organized by Greenpeace Romania and other environmental groups, demanded thorough criminal investigations into the deaths and attacks against forest workers, as well as immediate upgrades to the country's automated logging tracking system and tighter legislation. The Silva trade union federation says six foresters have been killed in recent years while another 650 forest workers were beaten, attacked with axes or knives or even shot at after catching illegal loggers in the act.
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| We Finally Know What Happened When Voyager 2 Reached Interstellar Space Posted: 04 Nov 2019 08:41 AM PST  A few big takeaways from the craft's incredible journey.
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| Knifeman stabs four in Hong Kong as mall clashes between protesters and police end in bloodshed Posted: 03 Nov 2019 05:14 AM PST  At least four people were injured by a blade-wielding man who rampaged through a mall in Hong Kong as riot police stormed shopping centres in a move to block protesters from staging rallies. The bloody attack took place amid a day of chaos in Hong Kong that also saw an elected local councillor have part of his left ear bitten off. Pro-democracy activists called a spate of flashmobs in shopping centers on Sunday in a bid to keep up the momentum of the protest movement that has swept the city with violent clashes for five months. The actions came after a day of running battles on Saturday, and riot police stormed several malls early the day in an attempt to stop the rallies from taking place. Officers stationed at planned protest sites blocked certain areas, dispersed crowds and made arrests. Nonetheless, protesters succeeded in worming their way into malls in several neighbourhoods, forming a human chain, chanting slogans, and blocking entrances to prevent police officers from entering. Riot police arrive to a shopping mall to disperse protesters during a rally against police brutality in Hong Kong Credit: JEROME FAVRE/EPA-EFE/REX Although the protests were less violent than the previous day's, they ended in bloodshed when a man charged into a crowd that had gathered at the Cityplaza mall in the middle class neighbourhood of Tai Koo Shing. Survivors were seen lying in pools of blood and surrounded by people holding down tissues and gauze on their wounds in an effort to staunch the bleeding. Footage circulating online showed that the attacker, thought to be wielding a knife, had been subdued by angry onlookers. He was said to have argued with others over political issues before the incident. Andrew Chiu, a pro-democracy councillor, lost part of his ear at the same mall. It was not immediately clear if the person who bit off his ear was the same person who carried out the knife attack. Police said in a statement that they stormed into the shopping centres after activists started vandalising interiors and smashing windows. View of a blood-splattered floor after an alleged pro-Chinese supporter attacked a pro-democracy protester Credit: JEROME FAVRE/EPA-EFE/REX They said were still confirming the total number of people injured as of late Sunday evening. Police arrested at least 200 people the previous night when another set of protests disrupted the city. The weekend's clashes were the latest bout of violence in Hong Kong's worst political crisis since the former British colony was returned to China in 1997. Protests kicked off early June against an extradition bill that would have sent suspects to face trial in mainland China, where Communist Party influence in the court system results in a 99.9 per cent conviction rate. City leaders finally withdrew the plan last month, but activists have continued to demonstrate against what they describe as police brutality and overall frustration at a government they feel has refused to listen to them. The protesters' demands have expanded to include the resignation of Carrie Lam, the city's chief executive, establishment of an independent inquiry into police handling of the demonstrations, amnesty for arrested protesters, and direct leadership elections. A woman is detained by riot police at a shopping mall in Tai Po in Hong Kong, Credit: KIM KYUNG-HOON/ REUTERS Ms Lam was on an official visit to mainland China on Sunday, where she is scheduled to meet this week with top Communist Party leaders. Five months of demonstrations have dramatically disrupted day-to-day life in Hong Kong, with activists growing increasingly radical and police escalating their tactics in response. City residents have struggled to keep up their daily routines as neighbourhoods are unexpectedly rocked by violent clashes between protesters and police. The tense political environment has divided many in the international financial hub, with heated debates taking place everywhere from street corners to cafes. And while Ms Lam has refused to make further concessions, the clashes have grown increasingly violent. Police have deployed record amounts of tear gas, rubber bullets and sponge grenades, while a more radical faction of protesters now routinely throw petrol bombs and bricks and set fire to street barricades to deter police. Resentment at Hong Kong's police force – once dubbed "Asia's Finest" – is hardening as activists denounce what they say is disproportionate force. At least three candidates running in local elections were arrested by police over the weekend, including Richard Chan, 48, who was pepper sprayed at close range twice by officers. Protesters have also begun targeting symbols of mainland China, including the Chinese flag, major state-owned Chinese banks, and businesses thought to be pro-Beijing, to show their frustration that freedoms long enjoyed in the former British colony were fast eroding under Beijing's Communist rule. On Saturday, protesters targeted the offices of Chinese state media agency Xinhua for the first time. Xinhua said in a statement that it strongly condemned the "barbaric acts of mobs" who vandalised and set fire to its lobby.
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| The Latest: South Dakota court rejects Rhines appeal Posted: 04 Nov 2019 08:20 AM PST  The South Dakota Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by a man scheduled to die by lethal injection Monday in the slaying of a former co-worker. Charles Russell Rhines argued that the state's choice of drug to be used in his lethal injection does not meet the requirement of being "ultra-short-acting" that was in effect at the time of his conviction. A circuit judge last week rejected his argument, writing that the pentobarbital South Dakota will use works as fast or faster as other drugs cited by Rhines when used in lethal doses.
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| Impeachment inquiry: House releases hundreds of pages of testimony from Yovanovitch, McKinley Posted: 04 Nov 2019 09:37 AM PST  The House released hundreds of pages of testimony from former Ukraine ambassador Marie Yovanovitch and former State Department aide Michael McKinley.
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| Bloody Tijuana: a week in the life of Mexico's murderous border city Posted: 04 Nov 2019 01:00 AM PST  In a country with nearly 100 murders a day President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has vowed to tackle the social roots of crime but change is slow to come * Mexico in the drug war: 'A cemetery of bodies with no story, and stories with no body' * This article contains images some readers may find distressingPolice and emergency workers descend on a petrol station in Tijuana last month after a drive-by shooting left four men injured, one critically. Photograph: Emilio Espejel/The GuardianBrianna Rojas seemed her usual breezy self as she set off for work."I'll see you later!" friends remember the 20-year-old calling out as she headed to her insurance company's bright yellow offices on Tijuana's Calle del Carmen.But by lunchtime Rojas was dead – shot in the head at close range by an unknown assassin whose attack pushed the number of homicides here to almost 1,800 so far this year, and nearly 26,000 nationwide.series linkerWhen first responders arrived they encountered a fearful scene: the victim slumped backwards in a black swivel chair, her arms flopping downwards towards a pool of blood as if she had been caught completely by surprise."She was a decent girl, a good-looking girl – she was always smiling," said her longtime boyfriend's father as shellshocked relatives gathered outside and crime scene officers prepared to transport Rojas's body to the city's overburdened morgue."It's devastating what is happening here," said the man, who asked not to be named. "It is out of control."A white forensic science van waits to remove the body of Brianna Rojas from her Tijuana workplace after she was murdered there on 8 October 2019. Photograph: Emilio Espejel/The Guardian Pacifying MexicoWhen Andrés Manuel López Obrador became Mexico's president last December he vowed to "pacify" one of Latin America's most violent nations by waging war on the social roots of crime.But nearly a year later there is scant sign of progress, as the country reels from a series of humiliating high-profile attacks and murder statistics surge to levels not seen even during the darkest days of Felipe Calderón's 2006-2012 "war on drugs".Calderón sends in the armyMexico's "war on drugs" began in late 2006 when the president at the time, Felipe Calderón, ordered thousands of troops onto the streets in response to an explosion of horrific violence in his native state of Michoacán.Calderón hoped to smash the drug cartels with his heavily militarized onslaught but the approach was counter-productive and exacted a catastrophic human toll. As Mexico's military went on the offensive, the body count sky-rocketed to new heights and tens of thousands were forced from their homes, disappeared or killed.Kingpin strategySimultaneously Calderón also began pursuing the so-called "kingpin strategy" by which authorities sought to decapitate the cartels by targeting their leaders.That policy resulted in some high-profile scalps – notably Arturo Beltrán Leyva who was gunned down by Mexican marines in 2009 – but also did little to bring peace. In fact, many believe such tactics served only to pulverize the world of organized crime, creating even more violence as new, less predictable factions squabbled for their piece of the pie.Under Calderón's successor, Enrique Peña Nieto, the government's rhetoric on crime softened as Mexico sought to shed its reputation as the headquarters of some the world's most murderous mafia groups.But Calderón's policies largely survived, with authorities targeting prominent cartel leaders such as Sinaloa's Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.When "El Chapo" was arrested in early 2016, Mexico's president bragged: "Mission accomplished". But the violence went on. By the time Peña Nieto left office in 2018, Mexico had suffered another record year of murders, with nearly 36,000 people slain."Hugs not bullets"The leftwing populist Andrés Manuel López Obrador took power in December, promising a dramatic change in tactics. López Obrador, or Amlo as most call him, vowed to attack the social roots of crime, offering vocational training to more than 2.3 million disadvantaged young people at risk of being ensnared by the cartels. "It will be virtually impossible to achieve peace without justice and [social] welfare," Amlo said, promising to slash the murder rate from an average of 89 killings per day with his "hugs not bullets" doctrine.Amlo also pledged to chair daily 6am security meetings and create a 60,000 strong "National Guard". But those measures have yet to pay off, with the new security force used mostly to hunt Central American migrants.Mexico now suffers an average of about 96 murders per day, with nearly 29,000 people killed since Amlo took office.Last month Mexico's security chief, Alfonso Durazo, claimed the crisis was reaching "inflection point" – only for his upbeat message to be imploded by a week of mayhem which saw cartel gunmen slay 13 police officers and then paralyze a major city in order to free the son of Mexico's most famous drug lord, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.In the first nine months of this year, Mexico suffered an average of close to 100 murders a day.Tijuana has seen a methamphetamine-fuelled murder epidemic which produced a record 2,518 murders in 2018 and looks set to cause even more this year."The state has lost control," said Victor Clark, a security expert and activist based in the city.A man carrying a Mexican flag walks through downtown Tijuana to celebrate the country's recent independence day. Photograph: Emilio Espejel/The Guardian 'Killings that matter to no one'To explore the violence blighting Latin America's number two economy the Guardian spent seven days reporting from Tijuana – one of the world's most deadly cities – between 4 and 11 October.The Guardian's week had an unusually peacefully start, with not a single murder recorded in the first 24 hours, according to the newly elected mayor, Arturo González Cruz.González, a López Obrador ally, claimed that had not happened in several years and voiced frustration the media had ignored the achievement.But by day two the slaughter had resumed. At 6am a man's body was found dumped in the eastern neighbourhood of Emperadores. At 11.35am a decomposing pair of legs were spotted on wasteland in the city's south. And at 2.45pm an unidentified killer barged into a home on Calle Tamaulipas, pulled out a gun and brought an unidentified male's life to an end.."Municipal police officers mounted an operation to track down the person thought responsible for the attack," one local tabloid reported – though in a country where more than 90% of crimes go unpunished there was no indication they had succeeded.Outside Tijuana's general hospital a bullet-riddled people-carrier bore witness to the latest gunfight.What had happened? "An accident," a police investigator snapped, shooing reporters away as forensic science officers marked each of the entry holes with white cards marked A-K.The next evening 30-year-old Jesús Bernal staggered into an alley off Calle Belice, blood oozing from at least four separate gunshot wounds in his legs and wrists.Red Cross first responders treat 30-year-old Jesús Bernal after he was found with at least four separate gunshot wounds in his legs and wrists. Photograph: Emilio Espejel/The GuardianAs ambulance technicians strapped the blood-spattered man to a stretcher with silver duct tape, a police officer claimed he was a convicted burglar probably shot while trying to rob a local home."It's a punishment … a message," speculated one of the first responders.But like so much of the bloodletting, the case would go unreported by newspapers, unnoticed by society and unsolved by the police."These are killings that matter to no one," Clark said.Tijuana's new mayor, Arturo González Cruz, said the city's murder crisis would only be solved by rehabilitating the city's 'social fabric'. Photograph: Emilio Espejel/The Guardian 'An era of great psychological terror'It has been just over a decade since a savage turf war for control of drug smuggling routes into the United States made Tijuana one of the most ill-famed cities on Earth.There was an explosion of carnage in 2008 as El Chapo's Sinaloa cartel tried to muscle in on what had long been the domain of the locally based Tijuana mob.Corpses were hung from bridges and shootouts raged, even in the city's most glitzy corners. In one of the most disturbing episodes 12 corpses were abandoned with their tongues hacked out and placed nearby in a black plastic bag."You couldn't go out because you were scared of what might happen," recalled Dora Elena Cortés, a local journalist whose Agencia Fronteriza de Noticias chronicled the butchery. "It was an era of great psychological terror."Negative headlines sparked government action and by 2012 the number of annual murders had plunged. But Tijuana's murder rate is now soaring once again with the slaughter so routine that one local newspaper features a muertómetro (deathometer) to help readers keep track.Authorities and academics blame the new wave of violence on a largely hidden dispute for Tijuana's drug trade – particularly that of crystal meth – although Brianna Rojas's murder did not seem to fit that mould."These deaths aren't about the fight for control of the routes into the US. They're fighting over the local market," said Clark.That appeared to be what was at stake on the night of 8 October when dozens of heavily armed police descended on a petrol station after a drive-by shooting left four men injured, one critically.Illuminated in the the red and blue lights of emergency vehicles, a half-naked man lay in a pool of blood, shot through the thigh and fighting for his life.Police officers interrogate one of four men injured in a drive-by shooting at a Tijuana petrol station on 8 October. Photograph: Emilio Espejel/The GuardianAfter a 10-minute race to the hospital, he was carried in past police with white skulls stamped on to their black uniforms and rifles slung from their shoulders. Investigators barked questions at the man's three accomplices as they lay bleeding in the corridor.Mayor González admitted it was "unreal" to expect an immediate end to Tijuana's murder crisis but hoped the body count could be reduced and insisted the city's "economic dynamism" remained unaffected.During an interview at Tijuana's brutalist city hall he reiterated the president's doctrine that crime would only be stopped by rehabilitating Tijuana's "social fabric" and eradicating corruption."Corruption is the mother of all evils, because it affects everything," González said.Clark, the expert who has spent decades tracking Tijuana's security situation, was pessimistic such tactics alone would work. "So far nothing has changed – absolutely nothing," he said of López Obrador's first year in power."I don't doubt he has good intentions. But what they are doing isn't enough."For residents of Boulevard Fundadores, where Tijuana's public mortuary is located, change cannot come fast enough.An addict approaches a hillside shooting gallery in Tijuana to buy drugs just minutes after a man was shot in the head inside. Photograph: Emilio Espejel/The GuardianOn the afternoon of 9 October, as Brianna Rojas's mother came to recover her daughter's corpse, the cloying stench of decomposing bodies hung in the air. "It's horrible. Every single day we breathe death," fumed one local woman who has been campaigning to get the morgue moved.The woman reached for her smartphone to show a series of macabre images depicting conditions inside. One showed perhaps two dozen naked corpses sprawled on the floor, a putrid tangle of bloodied limbs. "At night it's like there are 60 dead dogs lying out here," the woman complained of the reek. "We can't open our windows."Forty-eight hours later – as the week reached a bloody peak - emergency workers from Mexico's Red Cross raced westwards to collect their latest cargo from a tumbledown community called Francisco Villa.A man was hauled semi-conscious from a hillside shooting gallery and hoisted into the ambulance, his arms bound with bandages to prevent him lashing out. "He got shot in the skull," one of the team said.Would he survive? "50-50," they replied.Additional reporting by Jordi Lebrija
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| Under Armour Falls Most Since July as U.S. Probes Accounting Posted: 04 Nov 2019 07:17 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Under Armour Inc. shares plunged after the company disclosed that federal officials have been probing its accounting practices for more than two years, bringing a fresh headache to investors just as the sports brand prepares for a CEO transition.The athleticwear company also lowered its full-year revenue forecast on Monday, but it raised some other projections after posting solid third-quarter results. The shares fell as much as 17%, the most since July 30, to $17.65 in New York trading.On Sunday, spurred by a report in the Wall Street Journal, the company said that it's cooperating with investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice and doesn't think it's done anything wrong."The company began responding in July 2017 to requests for documents and information relating primarily to its accounting practices and related disclosures, and the company firmly believes that its accounting practices and disclosures were appropriate," Under Armour said in the statement Sunday. Executives declined to comment further during Monday's earnings conference call.Investigators from the Justice Department and SEC were questioning people at the sports apparel maker's base in Baltimore as recently as last week, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The probe is focused on whether Under Armour inflated sales from quarter to quarter, the newspaper said.The stock decline represents a buying opportunity as the accounting probe shouldn't affect investors, according to Stifel analyst Jim Duffy."While the accounting probe may continue to weigh, we see 2017 practices under a prior CFO as history (albeit unfortunate history) that doesn't impact potential value for shares" for the next year, Duffy said in a note. Former Chief Financial Officer Chip Molloy left the company in early 2017.The investigation comes at a difficult time for the company, which has been wrestling with increased competition at home and an underperforming share price. It rattled investors in July by warning that full-year revenue would decline in North America. The stock fell 23% since that statement through Friday's close in New York.Founder Kevin Plank, currently chief executive officer, turned the company from a football-focused startup into a global powerhouse that makes men's and women's apparel in dozens of categories -- and even spacesuits.New CEOBut sputtering growth prompted it to embark on a multiyear restructuring plan aimed at regaining its edge. A new CEO, tapped last month from within Under Armour's ranks, is meant to help get the company back on a growth trajectory. Patrik Frisk, Under Armour's president since 2017, will take the reins on Jan. 1.Plank, 47, is stepping aside after more than two decades in charge, though he'll remain on as executive chairman."We understand that critical to our success, and what will actually get us there, is our ability to focus on ourselves, block out the noise and keep marching forward," Plank said on the earnings call Monday.The SEC declined to comment, while the Justice Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.Under Armour went public in 2005 and experienced rapid growth, with sales increasing to $5 billion in 2017 from $1.1 billion in 2010. Recently, though, keeping that momentum going has been a struggle.Under Armour's best year-over-year revenue growth in the past three years came in the first quarter of 2016, when sales climbed 30%. It reported double-digit growth in each quarter of that year, slowing to single-digit rates thereafter. The first decline, a 4% drop from the year-earlier period, was in the third period of 2017.Revenue ForecastUnder Armour said its revenue would rise 2% for the year, down from the previous expectation of a 3% to 4% gain. But it said gross margin would expand and operating income would be at the high end of its previously forecast range.With Monday's third-quarter results, the company has now beaten earnings expectations in six straight quarters.Though revenue dropped 1% compared with the same period last year, the company's $1.43 billion in third-quarter sales slightly beat analysts' estimates. Under Armour's 4.1% drop in North American revenue also outpaced projections.That said, Under Armour's performance in its local market has consistently been a thorn in its side. Unlike Nike Inc. and Adidas AG, Under Armour does more than 70% of its business in North America. The company's domestic struggles have become a bellwether for investors trying to gauge the success of its transformation efforts.Under Armour attributed the lowered full-year revenue forecast to foreign-currency impact and less excess inventory to sell off-price.\--With assistance from Molly Kissler and Frank Connelly.To contact the reporters on this story: Eben Novy-Williams in New York at enovywilliam@bloomberg.net;James Ludden in New York at jludden@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, ;Matthew G. Miller at mmiller144@bloomberg.net, John J. Edwards IIIFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| 'Deepening repression' alongside Saudi reforms: HRW Posted: 03 Nov 2019 04:45 PM PST  Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pursued landmark reforms since coming to power, but his rise has been accompanied by "deepening repression and abusive practices", Human Rights Watch said Monday. Despite a perception that the outcry over the October 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi had left the Saudis chastened, critics of the kingdom are still being vigorously pursued with measures including arbitrary travel bans and harassment of their families, it said. "Detaining citizens for peaceful criticism of the government's policies or human rights advocacy is not a new phenomenon in Saudi Arabia," the New York-based group said in a report.
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| The Reason It Took so Long for the Air Force to Beat Nazi Germany's Planes Posted: 03 Nov 2019 12:00 PM PST  Two long years of learning modern war.
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| Crackdown on faith-based adoption centers to end Posted: 02 Nov 2019 04:49 PM PDT  A newly proposed regulation from the Trump administration will end the Obama-era policies restricting federal funds from flowing to some faith-based adoption organizations.
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| Apple pledges $2.5 bln to fight California housing crisis Posted: 04 Nov 2019 05:31 AM PST  Apple Inc on Monday said it would commit $2.5 billion to easing a housing shortage that has driven up prices across California, with most of the money dedicated to funds that will be run either with or by the state government. One billion dollars will go to a jointly run fund with state officials aimed at jumpstarting delayed or stalled affordable housing projects. In an interview with Reuters, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said the company felt a "profound responsibility" to improve California's housing crisis.
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| Trump administration eases Obama-era rule on coal pollution Posted: 04 Nov 2019 08:39 AM PST  The Trump administration moved Monday to relax Obama-era limits on coal plants discharging ash- and metal-contaminated waste into waterways, the latest in a series of administration breaks for the lagging U.S. coal industry and for utilities using coal-fired power plants. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Andrew Wheeler signed the proposal, which would ease parts of a 2015 Obama rule that was meant to limit power plant discharges of wastewater laden with toxic coal ash and heavy metals including arsenic, mercury and selenium.
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| Firefox aims to eradicate notification popups in early 2020 Posted: 04 Nov 2019 05:24 AM PST  In 2020, Firefox could become the first web browser to impose a default block on notfication popups that are increasingly common on a wide range of websites, reports ZDNet. The Mozilla Foundation, the developer of Firefox, is planning to block the display of notification popups that are increasingly present on today's websites. According to research conducted by Mozilla, an immense majority of users dismiss these notifications, which they perceive as an annoyance, comparable to intrusive advertising popups.
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