| Barr contradicts his own inspector general: Trump campaign 'was clearly spied upon' Posted: 10 Dec 2019 11:44 AM PST  Attorney General William Barr sharply contradicted the findings of a report by the inspector general on the origins of the Mueller report on the Trump campaign's ties to Russia.
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| Ex-Mexico security chief long haunted by corruption claims Posted: 10 Dec 2019 09:02 PM PST  Mexico's former security chief was dogged by so many allegations of corruption and wrongdoing for so long that some said it was only a matter of time before he would be arrested. What amazed some was that it took so long, and that Genaro García Luna's arrest this week came on U.S. soil rather than in Mexico. García Luna, 51, who left the security post nearly a decade ago, was charged in federal court in New York with three counts of trafficking cocaine and one count of making false statements.
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| Why Can't Russia Replace Its Old Submarines Fast Enough? Posted: 10 Dec 2019 05:00 PM PST  The Yasen class is in trouble.
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| Greenland's ice is melting 7 times faster than it did in the early 90s — suggesting scientists' worst-case predictions may come true Posted: 10 Dec 2019 09:09 AM PST  As our planet and its oceans warm, the polar ice sheets are melting at accelerated rates. Greenland's average yearly ice loss is 262 billion tons.
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| UPDATE 1-Iran foreign ministry issues travel advisory for citizens not to visit America Posted: 10 Dec 2019 11:24 AM PST ![UPDATE 1-Iran foreign ministry issues travel advisory for citizens not to visit America]( "UPDATE 1-Iran foreign ministry issues travel advisory for citizens not to visit America") Iran warned its citizens, particularly scientists, on Tuesday not to visit America, saying Iranians there were subjected to arbitrary and lengthy detention in inhuman conditions. "Iranian citizens, particularly elites and scientists, are requested to seriously avoid traveling to America, even to take part in scientific conferences and even having an invitation," a travel advisory on the foreign ministry website said. It cited, "America's cruel and one-sided laws toward Iranians, especially Iranian elites, and arbitrary and lengthy detention in completely inhuman conditions" as reasons for the travel advisory.
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| Corpus Christi Naval Air Station lockdown lifted; armed suspect in custody Posted: 11 Dec 2019 08:47 AM PST  Corpus Christi officials issued a lockdown after an armed suspect was reported to be on the base Wednesday morning.
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| Man accused of slapping reporter says he got "caught up in the moment" Posted: 11 Dec 2019 02:46 AM PST  Alex Bozarjian has accused Tommy Callaway of slapping her bottom during a live news report.
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| Delhi rapist-murderer cites pollution in death row appeal Posted: 10 Dec 2019 07:12 AM PST  Akshay Kumar Singh was one of a group of men who gang-raped a 23-year-old woman on a bus in India's capital late at night in December seven years ago. Filed through his lawyer, the now 31-year-old said in his review petition to the Supreme Court that the air quality in New Delhi was like a "gas chamber" and its water "full of poison".
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| Republicans blamed Democrats for USMCA delays. Mitch McConnell promptly delayed it further. Posted: 10 Dec 2019 01:46 PM PST ![Republicans blamed Democrats for USMCA delays. Mitch McConnell promptly delayed it further.]( "Republicans blamed Democrats for USMCA delays. Mitch McConnell promptly delayed it further.") Yes, the USMCA is facing further delays. No, Democrats aren't the chief cause.After House Democrats announced Tuesday they'd crafted a deal on a U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement they and the White House could both agree on, House Republicans started pushing for an immediate vote on the trade deal. But it was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) who's stopping their wishes, saying Tuesday the Senate wouldn't see the trade deal until at least next year.Republicans followed Democrats' Tuesday USMCA press conference with one of their own, with the top Republican on the Ways and Means committee Rep. Kevin Brady (Texas) calling out "much delay by Democrats" before the trade deal got here. Then the calls for scratching out further stalling began pouring in. Brady tweeted that Congress "must pass USMCA without delay," as did Rep. George Holding (R-N.C.) and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.).But it seems McConnell wasn't listening. Even though Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) said the Senate will only have 30 days to vote on the USMCA once the House passes it, McConnell said the body wouldn't consider the USMCA before its holiday recess. That leaves it for next year and, considering the Senate has already wiped out its January calendar as it buckles down for an impeachment trial, pushes the USMCA to a rule-breaking February arrival date.More stories from theweek.com Trump's pathological obsession with being laughed at The most important day of the impeachment inquiry Jerry Falwell Jr.'s false gospel of memes
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| 15 Million Iranian Bank Accounts Hacked During Protests Posted: 10 Dec 2019 02:13 PM PST  Following massive anti-government protests in Iran in November, during which demonstrators set fire to banks across the country, the details of 15 million Iranian debit cards were published online, exposing the account information of almost one-fifth of Iran's population."This is the largest financial scam in Iran's history," conservative Iranian outlet Aftab News reported. "Millions of Iranians are worried to find their names among the list of hacked accounts."The affected banks had been sanctioned by the U.S. in 2018 over allegations they transferred money for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in violation of international law. The elite security force was labelled a terrorist organization by the U.S. in April.Iranian information and telecommunications minister Mohammad Jahromi denied the breach was the result of a hack. However, cyber experts told the New York Times the attack was likely carried out by a state or state-sponsored organization.The attack revealed a "high technological capability, which is usually at the hand of state intelligence services," said Boaz Dolev, chief executive officer of cybersecurity company ClearSky.The protests, initially set off by increases in the price of fuel, were the "the worst political crisis the regime has faced in its 40 years," according to State Department Iran Envoy Brian Hook. Hook also said the regime may have killed up to 1,000 people in response to the protests, although he did not cite evidence for the figure.Human rights groups have estimated the total number of dead at between 180 to 450. Efforts to verify the number of dead were hampered by the regime's near-total internet blackout imposed during the protests.In one incident reported by the Times, members of the IRGC massacred up to 100 protesters in a marsh in the southern city of Mahshahr.
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| Beshear faces suit from ousted state school board members Posted: 11 Dec 2019 05:29 AM PST  For nearly four years as Kentucky attorney general, Andy Beshear filed a series of lawsuits accusing then-Gov. Matt Bevin of abusing his executive powers. Now Beshear is being sued by the people he ousted from the state school board on his first day as governor. The new Democratic governor wielded his executive authority Tuesday to reorganize the Kentucky Board of Education with 11 new members, fulfilling a campaign promise he made to teachers.
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| What’s Worse Than World Leaders Laughing at the U.S.? Posted: 10 Dec 2019 10:00 PM PST ![What's Worse Than World Leaders Laughing at the U.S.?]( "What's Worse Than World Leaders Laughing at the U.S.?") (Bloomberg Opinion) -- That viral video of the leaders of Canada, France and the U.K. laughing about their U.S. counterpart at last week's NATO summit was vivid yet anecdotal evidence of what the rest of the world thinks of President Donald Trump. Now comes some hard data showing America's declining global reputation.Not only is the perception of the U.S. as a top ally fading, according to a new survey of 18 countries from the Pew Research Center, but more people see the U.S. as "posing the greatest threat" to them in the future. Even America's closest neighbors are losing faith in their U.S. alliance.In Canada, the percentage of those who see the U.S. as its top ally has fallen from 54% in 2007 to 46% in 2019; over the same period, the percentage of those who see the U.S. as the top threat has risen from 16% to 20%. (Keep in mind that the 2007 reading, near the end of George W. Bush's calamitous presidency, already represented one of the lowest rates of global confidence and approval.) In Mexico, the percentage of those who see the U.S. as Mexico's top ally fell from 35% to 27%; the percentage who see the U.S. as the top threat has risen from 35% to a poll-topping 56%.The results also suggest that the U.S. is losing ground in perhaps its most important diplomatic challenge: the contest for influence and power with a rising China.The Trump administration has paid lip service to the idea of growing great power competition, and to the need to offer an alternative to China in Africa and Latin America. Yet as the survey notes, "Across many of the Latin American as well as Middle East and North African countries surveyed, more name the U.S. as a top threat than say the same of China." Equally disturbing is that in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa — democracies that are also sub-Saharan Africa's three biggest economies — the share of respondents who regard China as their country's most reliable ally is about as high as those who choose the U.S. In emerging markets more broadly, "China's economic influence is seen in similar or even slightly more positive terms" than that of the U.S.It's possible, of course, to justify these findings by saying it's better to be feared than loved. You might even argue that the growing U.S. isolation in the United Nations is a sign of America's commitment to its principles. (In 2018, the U.S. voted against a higher proportion of General Assembly resolutions than any other nation; its global average voting coincidence was 31%, below the 10-year average of 36%.)That's certainly how Trump sees it. As he has repeatedly said, "We're respected like we haven't been respected in a long time." Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has doggedly defended his boss's in-your-face approach to foreign policy, declaring that "putting America First means proudly associating with nations that share our principles and are willing to defend them."That raises at least two questions: Who are these nations, and what are these principles?In a speech titled, "Trump Administration Diplomacy: The Untold Story," one example Pompeo offered was getting other nations to join the U.S. in a statement rejecting a right to abortion. Consider the other signatories: Bahrain, Belarus, Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Guatemala, Haiti, Hungary, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.Of these countries, Freedom House ranks only three as "free," while four are "partly free." The other 11 are "not free," including three (Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Libya) that have the worst aggregate scores for political rights and civil liberties. If this is what the U.S. sees as "the trajectory for nations all across the world," as Pompeo put it, then maybe those world leaders were laughing last week because the end state Trump has in mind is too horrible to contemplate.To contact the author of this story: James Gibney at jgibney5@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Newman at mnewman43@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.James Gibney writes editorials on international affairs for Bloomberg Opinion. Previously an editor at the Atlantic, the New York Times, Smithsonian, Foreign Policy and the New Republic, he was also in the U.S. Foreign Service from 1989 to 1997 in India, Japan and Washington.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| How did South Bend actually do under Mayor Pete Buttigieg? We pulled the numbers to find out. Posted: 10 Dec 2019 07:38 AM PST  Buttigieg was a two-term mayor of a small city. It rebounded from a severely high unemployment rate but vacant houses are a problem.
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| Amazon lawsuit blames Trump for loss of Pentagon cloud contract to Microsoft Posted: 09 Dec 2019 10:42 AM PST  Amazon on Monday accused President Trump of exerting "improper pressure" and bias that led the Department of Defense to award a lucrative $10 billion cloud contract to rival Microsoft.
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| The Best War Movies on Netflix Posted: 10 Dec 2019 11:00 AM PST |
| Deadliest Weapon After a Nuclear Bomb: Meet Russia's TOS-1 MLRS 'Buratino' Posted: 10 Dec 2019 04:56 AM PST  This thing does some real damage.
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| UPDATE 4-New Jersey gun battle leaves six dead, including cop and both suspects Posted: 10 Dec 2019 02:21 PM PST ![UPDATE 4-New Jersey gun battle leaves six dead, including cop and both suspects]( "UPDATE 4-New Jersey gun battle leaves six dead, including cop and both suspects") Police waged an hours-long gunfight with two men armed with high-powered rifles on Tuesday in and around a New Jersey cemetery and kosher market, leaving six people dead, including one officer and both suspects, authorities said. The violence began after noon in the heart of Jersey City, the state's second-largest municipality directly across the Hudson River from Lower Manhattan, prompting a lockdown of all Jersey City schools as law enforcement swarmed the area. Police arriving on the scene immediately came under "high-powered rifle fire," Jersey City Police Chief Michael Kelly told reporters.
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| 'Whose side are you on?': Houston police chief tears into GOP senators over gun laws after officer killed Posted: 10 Dec 2019 11:42 AM PST  "You're either here for women and children and our daughters and our sisters and our aunts, or you're here for the NRA," Acevedo said.
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| Last Impeachment Hearing Ends With a Meh Posted: 09 Dec 2019 07:27 PM PST  The House Judiciary Committee's impeachment hearing on Monday was supposed to be something like each side's closing argument in the House's impeachment inquiry. Instead the meeting, which was likely the last time the House will call witnesses to discuss evidence President Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate his political rivals, was ultimately a forgettable capstone to a process marked by major revelations, dramatic testimony and partisan fireworks. The only witnesses on Monday were two staff attorneys, one from each party, each charged with taking the witness stand to present their side's point of view. With nothing new to say, lawmakers took turns either asking questions they knew the answers to, or berating the attorneys—a process that took nearly 10 hours. 'Toxic' Mueller Impeachment Article Threatens to Split DemsNow, with all their evidence already compiled into a lengthy report, Democrats are poised to move straight into the final part of the process: drawing up, considering, and voting on articles of impeachment—all possibly by the end of this week. Reports from The Washington Post and the Associated Press Monday evening indicated that there would be two articles of impeachment focusing on abuse of power and obstruction of congressional investigation. While the impeachment hearing dragged from Monday morning into the afternoon, other activity on the Hill and beyond began to pull attention elsewhere. House Democrats—wary of GOP criticisms that they are consumed with impeachment—scheduled a vote for later in the week on their centerpiece prescription drug bill, and grew closer than ever to a deal with President Trump on a new U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement.To some Democrats, the backburner is fine, for now. The goal of Judiciary's proceedings, they say, is taking advantage of impeachment's media coverage to lay out the evidence competently and without any major unforced errors—and not necessarily with a surplus of razzle-dazzle. Members of the committee framed Monday's hearing as important due diligence in a solemn process. A member of the Judiciary panel, Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA), told The Daily Beast that Monday's hearing was "a presentation of evidence and a closing argument to knit the gravity of those things together.""The point," said Dean, "is upholding our constitutional oath and holding the president accountable to his… We had to make this presentation of the uncontroverted facts to the American people, and we have to now do our job."Unlike in past impeachments, the lead investigators in the Ukraine matter weren't special prosecutors but lawmakers, led by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA). Schiff himself did not testify to present his committee's 300-page report, despite GOP demands for him to defend what they've dubbed the "Schiff Report." The witnesses were instead Daniel Goldman, Schiff's committee counsel, and Steve Castor, counsel for the Oversight Committee GOP, both of whom played leading roles in the open hearings helmed by Schiff. Also testifying was Barry Berke, a Judiciary counsel who delivered Democrats' opening statement.The unusual sight of staff testifying—and then also asking questions after testimony—proved to be a partisan lightning rod throughout the day, and seemed to push lawmakers to take the gloves off to pursue sharper, blunter lines of questioning. Nadler made use of his gavel loudly and often, and he largely succeeded in reeling the hearing back from the brink when frequent interruptions from the GOP edged it off the rails.Several GOP lawmakers minced no words for Goldman, a former prosecutor and MSNBC analyst whom Schiff brought to Washington earlier this year to lead investigations. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) went full attack dog, questioning Goldman over his past donations to Democratic political candidates.Gaetz also needled Goldman over an old tweet—which Republicans displayed as a poster for full effect—in which Goldman said the so-called Steele Dossier was totally accurate. "Do you regret this tweet?" Gaetz asked repeatedly, but Goldman didn't take the bait, staring at Gaetz dead-eyed as the Florida congressman took over both sides of the conversation he had begun. For most of the proceedings, Democrats kept their heads down and plugged away at the evidence in Schiff's 300-page report, while Republicans poked holes in the process and slammed Democrats for tearing the country apart. Knowing the process was nearing its conclusion in the House, the GOP complained that Nadler would not schedule a hearing where they could hear from witnesses—already requested and rejected by Schiff—such as Hunter Biden. "This will be the last hearing, because there's no desire to hear anything from both sides," Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), the top Republican on the Judiciary panel, said at the end of the day's hearing. "That is the farce called the Judiciary Committee impeachment scam."Other Republicans seemed to have already placed their hopes on the Senate. "We can only pray," said Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA), "that the Senate adheres to the judicial principles of our founders."Republicans weren't the only ones looking ahead. During and after Monday's procedural speed bump, Democrats frequently alluded to the "duty" they have remaining—drawing up articles of impeachment. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), a Judiciary member, argued Monday's hearing was "necessary both from a process perspective but also from the perspective of, this is the first time we've laid out the full case.""As people talk about what happened and what the what the remedy is," she said, "I think you will hear some of these things again."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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| Chicago police halt controversial merit promotion system Posted: 11 Dec 2019 08:10 AM PST ![Chicago police halt controversial merit promotion system]( "Chicago police halt controversial merit promotion system") Chicago's interim police superintendent is discontinuing a so-called merit promotion system that rank-and-file cops have long complained rewards officers for who they know and not what skills they have to do the job. In a letter to the 13,400-member department obtained by the Chicago Tribune, Interim Superintendent Charlie Beck said Tuesday he's heard that many officers have been "dissatisfied and discouraged" by the process that allows promotions to the ranks of detective, sergeant and lieutenant regardless of exam scores. Beck wrote that he made the decision after consulting with Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Fraternal Order of Police President Kevin Graham.
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| John Durham’s Investigators ‘Do Not Agree’ with DOJ IG’s Findings on Origin of Russia Probe Posted: 09 Dec 2019 11:52 AM PST  U.S. Attorney John Durham issued a rare statement in the wake of the release of DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz's Monday report, stating that his office does "not agree with" the report's conclusions regarding the origins of the FBI's 2016 Russia probe."I have the utmost respect for the mission of the Office of Inspector General and the comprehensive work that went into the report prepared by Mr. Horowitz and his staff," Durham's statement reads. "However, our investigation is not limited to developing information from within component parts of the Justice Department.""Our investigation has included developing information from other persons and entities, both in the U.S. and outside of the U.S. Based on the evidence collected to date, and while our investigation is ongoing, last month we advised the Inspector General that we do not agree with some of the report's conclusions as to predication and how the FBI case was opened," Durham's statement concludes.Horwitz's report, released Monday, ascertained that the FBI had an "authorized purpose" for opening its investigation – contradicting President Trump and his allies, who routinely cast the entire investigation as a partisan "witch hunt" – but also found "significant inaccuracies and omissions" in the FBI's FISA application to surveil Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.Durham's statement, however, challenges the report's assertion that the FBI was acting properly in opening its investigation because it received information from a "Friendly Foreign Government" (FFG) that former Trump campaign foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos received dirt on Hillary Clinton from Russia."Given the low threshold for predication in the AG Guidelines and the DIOG, we concluded that the FFG information, provided by a government the United States Intelligence Community (USIC) deems trustworthy, and describing a first-hand account from an FFG employee of a conversation with Papadopoulos, was sufficient to predicate the investigation," the report states. "This information provided the FBI with an articulable factual basis that, if true, reasonably indicated activity constituting either a federal crime or a threat to national security, or both, may have occurred or may be occurring."It's unclear which government the report is referencing, but in May 2016 former Australian diplomat Alexander Downer sent a memo to the FBI in which he relayed Papadopoulos's claim that Russian intelligence planned to release damaging information about Hillary Clinton ahead of the election, a claim that Papadopoulos heard from Maltese academic and alleged Russian asset Joseph Mifsud, who had met previously with Papadopoulos.Papadopoulos was found guilty of lying to Robert Mueller's investigators about contacts he had with Mifsud, although Downer said that his memo did not indicate that Papadopoulos or anyone else on the Trump campaign had coordinated with Russia to obtain the information."There was no suggestion — [neither] from Papadopoulos nor in the record of the meeting that we sent back to Canberra — there was no suggestion that there was collusion between Donald Trump or Donald Trump's campaign and the Russians," Downer said.Papadopoulos has publicly speculated that Downer was working with Joseph Mifsud — a Maltese academic who reached out to him claiming to have access to damaging information about Clinton — to entrap him and damage the Trump campaign.Durham, the Connecticut U.S. attorney appointed by attorney general William P. Barr to lead a DOJ probe into the origins of the Russia investigation, spoke to Downer last month as part of the probe, which has been upgraded to a criminal inquiry.In October, Barr defended Durham and the probe after criticism from Democratic lawmakers."He's a 35-year veteran of the department, great reputation for non-partisanship. He was selected by two Democratic attorney generals to do sensitive investigations for them," Barr said of Durham, the U.S. Attorney for Connecticut. "He's a by-the-book kind of guy. He's thorough and fair, and I'm confident he's going to get to the bottom of things."
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| Boeing removed a feature that protects its 787 planes during lightning strikes as a cost-cutting measure, even after FAA experts objected Posted: 11 Dec 2019 04:13 AM PST  The FAA administrator will be questioned by Congress today over its certification of the change to the 787 Dreamliner as well as the 737 Max.
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| Chinese ambassador 'threatens to withdraw trade deal with Faroe Islands' in Huawei 5G row Posted: 11 Dec 2019 04:24 AM PST  China's ambassador to Denmark threatened to scupper a trade deal with the Faroe Islands if Huawei was not given a 5G contract in the region, according to Danish newspaper Berlingske. The alleged threat by ambassador Feng Tie, made to Faroe Islands politicians including leader Bárður Nielsen, heightened concerns about the Chinese communications firm's links with the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as it seeks European expansion. The US, having sanctioned Huawei due to concerns about espionage and security, is attempting to convince allies to follow suit. The Faroe Islands, which have a population of around 50,000, is a self-governing autonomous region of Denmark. On 11 November Mr Feng allegedly told Faroe Islands government figures that China would not enter a free trade deal with them unless Huawei was given a 5G contract by Føroya Tele, a Faroe Islands telecoms operator. The threat was reported after Faroe Islands politicians were recorded by the Kringvarp Føroya TV station on 15 November, discussing the ambassador's warning. Mr Nielsen reportedly said that his government would not interfere in the awarding of the contract. A Faroe Islands judge granted an injunction against Kringvarp Føroya reporting the ambassador's alleged threat, saying it could compromise relations between the Danish Commonwealth and Beijing, before Berlingke revealed it. Huawei, which plans to roll out 5G in 2020, said it had no knowledge of the alleged meetings. Faroe Islands government spokespeople did not respond to calls and messages requesting comment. The Chinese communications giant is embroiled in controversy about its alleged closeness to the CCP, treatment of employees, data privacy and alleged sanction breaching. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has suggested that he is likely to ban Huawei from Britain's 5G network. Luke Patey, senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, told The Telegraph: "China is now brandishing economic sticks of its own for when European countries do not take on Huawei for 5G networks. This was a peek into what is likely a broad effort on China's part to pressure and persuade European officials to its side. It's time for European leaders to call Beijing out on its interference." On Wednesday China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying called Berlingke's report "false and ill-intentioned". She said of the alleged meeting: "Is there any difference and meaning on whether they mentioned Huawei or not? If US officials can slander China's Huawei all over the world, can't a Chinese ambassador mention the name of a Chinese company when talking about cooperation with local officials?" Tom Jensen, Berlingske's editor-in-chief, said: "We stand by the story and we have proper documentation for what we write."
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| Climate activist Greta Thunberg is Time' 2019 person of the year Posted: 11 Dec 2019 05:26 AM PST  Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager who became the voice of conscience for a generation facing the climate change emergency, was announced Wednesday as Time magazine's 2019 Person of the Year. The 16-year-old first hit the headlines for her solo strike against global warming outside Sweden's parliament last year. The magazine interviewed Thunberg aboard the sailboat that took her from the United States to Europe after a hectic 11-week North American trip to several US cities and Canada.
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| Nude portrait of Emiliano Zapata in high heels sparks fury in Mexico Posted: 11 Dec 2019 01:00 AM PST  Campesinos storm museum to call for removal of image featuring revolutionary hero posing in pink sombreroA new portrait of Emiliano Zapata has caused a firestorm of outrage for its portrayal of the Mexican revolutionary hero striking a seductive pose – clad only in a pink sombrero and high heels.Furious campesinos stormed one of the country's most renowned art museums on Thursday to demand the removal of the painting, part of a new exhibition titled Zapata after Zapata that seeks to present alternative views of the Mexican revolution. "This isn't freedom of expression, it is debauchery! It's degrading. They can't exhibit our history that way," fumed Antonio Medrano, a spokesman for the protesters. "They can't permit this kind of mockery."The small painting by Fabián Cháirez depicts a naked Zapata, astride a white horse. His willowy frame is bound by a ribbon striped with the Mexican tricolor of red, white and green, while his lips pout under his distinctive curved moustache.Press pictures of the painting provoked strong reactions in Mexico, where Zapata has maintained an unambiguously heroic reputation since the revolution of 1910 – when he called for "reform, freedom, justice and law".Some of Zapata's heirs – with matching droopy moustaches – vowed to take legal action against the exhibition."We are not going to allow this," said Jorge Zapata Gonzalez. "For us as relatives, this denigrates the figure of our general – depicting him as gay."Apocryphal tales of a gay romances involving Zapata have been published in recent decades, but historians say there is little evidence to support the stories.Mexican politicians of all stripes have long tried to claim Zapata as their own – including the some of his supposed revolutionary allies, who later betrayed and killed him.President Andrés Manuel López Obrador declared 2019 – the centennial of his death – as the "year of Zapata", emblazoning the revolutionary leader's familiar image of a bushy mustache, sombrero and bandolier on government letterhead and promotional materials."He's the least controversial revolutionary strongman and the most 'leftwing' in the modern sense,'" said Harim B Gutiérrez, history professor at the Autonomous Metropolitan University.But Zapata's image is also the most malleable, and it has been appropriated by a host of social causes which may not have much to do with his original struggle to secure a better deal for landless peasants."Every 20 years or so something pops up" involving Zapata's image, said Luis Vargas Santiago, the curator of the current exhibition at the Palacio de Bellas Artes.Most recently, that "something" has been gender and sexuality. The current exhibition comes at time when Mexico's LBGTQ communities have become more prominent and women have been more outspoken against the country's endemic machismo, sexual harassment, and femicides.In recent weeks, women protesting in Mexico City against sexual violence have been criticised for spraying graffiti on monuments and centuries-old buildings.Vargas Santiago said the use of Zapata to advance social agendas followed a similar logic."It's not like Zapata's image is a fixed symbol which cannot be challenged," he said. "Just like monuments are questioned, Zapata is also an image that can be subverted."Vargas Santiago said some of Zapata's descendants had expressed support for the exhibition.The family itself has also split over the use of Zapata's image – with some descendants applying for a trademark to sell Zapata-branded merchandise such as T-shirts and tequila.The core question, according to Vargas-Santiago, is: "Who does Zapata belong to? Does he belong to his family members? Does he belong to the government? Or does he belong to everyone? Our response is: he belongs to everyone who identifies with his legacy."
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| Austria's Handke receives Nobel Literature Prize amid protests, criticism Posted: 10 Dec 2019 09:14 AM PST  Demonstrators braved freezing temperatures on Tuesday to protest against the awarding of the 2019 Nobel Prize for Literature to Austrian writer Peter Handke because of his support for the late Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic. Handke and the Nobel laureates in chemistry, medicine, physics and economics received their prizes from the Swedish king in a lavish ceremony at Stockholm Concert Hall on Tuesday evening. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded separately earlier on Tuesday in Oslo to Ethiopia's prime minister.
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| 1 Officer and 3 Civilians Killed in ‘Targeted Attack’ on Jersey City Kosher Deli Posted: 10 Dec 2019 11:11 AM PST  'Today is a horrific day'
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| Why a War with North Korea Is Still the Least Bad Option Posted: 09 Dec 2019 11:46 PM PST  Should North Korea conduct a long-range nuclear test, it is in this backdrop that war on the peninsula becomes thinkable. This is because a future in which North Korea expands its long-range nuclear arsenal to the point of invulnerability, no matter the provocation, is one that the United States simply cannot live with.
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| Immigrant advocates sue US over yanked detention hotline Posted: 10 Dec 2019 08:17 AM PST  The nonprofit group Freedom for Immigrants, which has run the hotline since 2013 with a free phone line provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, sued in federal court in Los Angeles. The lawsuit alleged that the administration yanked the hotline in August after it was featured on the Netflix show, which drew attention to the group's criticism of detention conditions for immigrants.
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| Russia’s Top Diplomat: We’re Ready to Publish Our Correspondence With U.S. on Election Meddling Allegations Posted: 10 Dec 2019 05:14 PM PST  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed concerns about Russian interference in U.S. elections and waged a bizarre personal attack on an American prisoner being held in Moscow after meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President Trump on Tuesday. The disagreements between Russia's top diplomat and his American counterpart were on full display as soon as Pompeo said at a joint press conference that he'd put his foot down with Moscow and made clear the Trump administration would not put up with election meddling. "I was clear—it's unacceptable," he said. Lavrov replied that Russia had not seen any proof of election meddling, and when a reporter suggested he could simply "read the Mueller report," he said there was "no proof of any collusion" in the report. According to a transcript published by Russia's Foreign Ministry, he also cryptically said the Kremlin was "ready to publicize the correspondence between us and the American administration regarding allegations of interference.""We will be ready, as soon as Washington confirms its consent, to publicize these documents that are important to the public," he was quoted as saying. Reuters separately quoted him as saying: "We suggested to our colleagues that in order to dispel all suspicions that are baseless: Let us publish this close channel of correspondence starting from October 2016 until November 2017 so it would all become very clear to many people." It was not immediately clear what correspondence he was referring to. Lavrov's high-level meetings at the White House with both Pompeo and Trump sparked some criticism from those who questioned why Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not invited instead, given that the U.S. is an ally to Ukraine in its long-running conflict with Russia. The meetings also transpired shortly after House Democrats unveiled two articles of impeachment against Trump over his pressure campaign on Ukraine to dig up dirt on his political rivals.Trump, meanwhile, made no mention of Ukraine in a tweet summing up his "very good meeting" with Lavrov, a meeting that came just a day after peace talks in Paris between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with the leaders of France and Germany. Trump said he had also discussed "election meddling" with Lavrov, but gave no further details. Pompeo said he'd also brought up with his Russian counterpart the issue of Paul Whelan, an American and former U.S. Marine being held in Moscow on espionage charges ever since his arrest in late 2018, just a few months after accused Russian agent Maria Butina was arrested in the U.S. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow has repeatedly raised concerns over what it described as a lack of evidence in the case, and Whelan has said through his lawyer that he was set up by a member of Russia's intelligence service. Lavrov, after noting that the investigation into Whelan was already completed and the indictment filed, launched a personal attack on the 49-year-old American, claiming his lawyers should "advise him how to behave." Accusing Whelan of "acting defiantly" behind bars, Lavrov claimed he is aggressive toward prison guards and "threatens to bore into their heads with a drill," according to a transcript of his comments released by Russia's Foreign Ministry. Shortly after Lavrov's allegation, which a lawyer for Whelan reportedly denied, Russia's Foreign Ministry doubled down and released a photo on Facebook it said was of a drill similar to the kind Whelan has supposedly threatened to use on prison guards, one apparently used by investigators to bind stacks of documents together.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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| San Francisco is so expensive, Oracle is moving its annual mega-conference to Las Vegas instead Posted: 10 Dec 2019 11:35 AM PST  Oracle will move its OpenWorld conference to Caesars Forum in Las Vegas because of high hotel rates in San Francisco and "poor street conditions."
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| Fishermen overwhelm Mexico's Gulf of California to capture endangered totoaba fish, elusive porpoises Posted: 11 Dec 2019 06:35 AM PST  A conservation group trying to protect the world's most endangered marine mammal said Monday that hundreds of fishermen massed in dozens of boats to fish illegally in Mexico's Gulf of California.
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| The Aging B-1 Bomber Can No Longer Fly Like It Used To Posted: 11 Dec 2019 08:13 AM PST  The 80s-era bomber may need to cut low-altitude flying due to old age.
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| US immigration officials bar doctors from giving flu shots to detained kids Posted: 10 Dec 2019 02:32 PM PST  Doctors warn of more deaths after being turned away from a Customs and Border Protection facility in San DiegoUS immigration authorities blocked doctors from giving flu vaccines to detained migrant children this week, a move that physicians say will lead to more deaths behind bars.Customs and Border Protection (CBP) refused to grant a group of doctors access to provide vaccines in San Diego on Monday despite at least three recent flu deaths of children in US immigration custody, aged two, six and 16, and growing concerns about health hazards and unsafe conditions for asylum seekers in detention.Licensed physicians arrived at the Chula Vista border patrol station in San Ysidro prepared to operate a free flu clinic for the detained migrants, but CBP would not let them inside, claiming it was not "feasible" to provide the medical care."More people will die without the vaccine," said Dr Hannah Janeway, an emergency medicine physician turned away by CBP. "There's no doubt. They are being locked in cages in cold weather together, without any vaccination, in a year that is supposed to bring a horrible flu epidemic."Janeway, a Los Angeles-based doctor who also works with asylum seekers in Tijuana, said CBP had a moral obligation to provide vaccines: "Our government, who is creating these conditions and allowing them to persist, is basically saying some people's lives are worth more than others, and it's OK for children to die."For more than a month, a group of physicians has been urging the US to vaccinate migrants in custody, and in November they formally offered to set up a free pilot clinic. CBP, however, has rejected the proposal by arguing that there are logistical challenges and that because CBP operates short-term detention, a flu clinic is not feasible.A CBP spokesman, Matthew Dyman, said in an email on Tuesday that individuals in the agency's custody "should generally not be held for longer than 72 hours", adding: "Every effort is made to hold detainees for the minimum amount of time required."Dyman said CBP did not administer vaccines but was "part of a larger system that has these processes in place", noting that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), which operates long-term detention, has "comprehensive medical support services".Government records, however, have shown that children and adults have been held in CBP custody in crowded conditions for longer than 72 hours, and lawyers representing migrants in the region have reported clients being held for weeks with little explanation.> You're saying death is acceptable to you, and that you don't value human life> > Danielle Deines, neonatologistAsked about vaccines on Monday, CBP's commissioner, Mark Morgan, told reporters he was "not a medical expert" but that CBP was "taking a hard look" at the issue to determine "what makes the most sense".A Department of Homeland security spokesperson criticized the doctors in a tweet on Tuesday, saying: "Of course Border Patrol isn't going to let a random group of radical political activists show up and start injecting people with drugs."Doctors argued that regardless of the length of detention, CBP should be providing life-saving services, noting that it would be efficient and free for the group of volunteers to administer vaccines."We see this as medical negligence on the part of the US government," said Dr Bonnie Arzuaga, co-founder of Doctors for Camp Closure, one of the groups offering services. "People are being held in close confinement and usually are under a lot of physical and emotional stress … and may be malnourished and may not have access to hygiene supplies. That puts them at risk."Arzuaga said the group of roughly 60 doctors and advocates were ready with 120 doses of the vaccine on Monday and prepared to operate an urgent mobile clinic. She estimated it could have taken as little as 30 minutes to complete the entire process."All they really needed to do was open the gate," she said. "To be on the other side of the fence with all the resources we had available to us and to not be able to share those resources with the people who needed it most felt frustrating and disappointing."On Tuesday, the groups visited the San Diego border patrol headquarters to demand a meeting with officials. Some demonstrators blocked an entrance to the facility and lay on the ground, with six people ultimately arrested. Four of the people detained were doctors, according to organizers, and they were cited for "failure to comply with the lawful directions of a federal police officer" before being released.Danielle Deines, a neonatologist working with the group, said she was able to speak with several local CBP officials on Monday who continued to express resistance."They are having difficulty prioritizing something like this, because they have so far dehumanized people," she said, adding that one CBP official said something along the lines of: "'It's not like we can offer the flu vaccine to every Central American who comes knocking on our door.'""My question is, why not?" she said. "If you want to hold people in detention, you can provide people the basic flu vaccine … You're saying death is acceptable to you, and that you don't value human life."A number of Trump administration anti-immigration policies have created what lawyers say is a humanitarian crisis at the border, and migrants in detention have reported difficulties taking care of basic hygiene and medical needs. At least six migrant youths have died in immigration custody or shortly after their release."As medical professionals, we deem this an emergency," said Deines, who is based in Virginia. "It is our duty to help them and stand up for them."
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| Turkey says will retaliate against any sanctions ahead of U.S. vote Posted: 10 Dec 2019 11:50 PM PST  Turkey said on Wednesday it would retaliate against any U.S. sanctions over its purchase of Russian defense systems, adding that with Britain it had agreed to speed up a joint fighter jet program to meet Turkish defense needs. U.S. lawmakers will vote - and likely pass - a defense bill later on Wednesday that calls for sanctions against Turkey over Ankara's decision to procure the S-400 defenses. Turkey and the United States, NATO allies, have been at odds over the purchase.
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| Teens arrested as Spain police smash global paedophile ring Posted: 10 Dec 2019 07:47 AM PST  Seventeen people, most of them teenage boys, have been arrested in Spain for sharing images of "extremely violent" child pornography on Whatsapp, police said Tuesday following a two-year investigation spanning three continents. The arrests came as part of a wide-ranging international probe led by Spain's national police, in which 33 people were detained in raids across 11 countries. As well as the 17 arrested in Spain, another nine were being held for investigation -- with a total of 14 teenage boys involved.
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| Justices seem to favor insurers' Obamacare claims for $12B Posted: 10 Dec 2019 09:18 AM PST  The Supreme Court appeared likely Tuesday to rule that insurance companies can collect $12 billion from the federal government to cover their losses in the early years of the health care law championed by President Barack Obama. Several justices indicated their agreement with arguments from the insurers that they are entitled to the money under a provision of the "Obamacare" health law that promised the companies a financial cushion for losses they might incur by selling coverage to people in the marketplaces created by the health care law. The program only lasted three years, but Congress inserted a provision in the Health and Human Services Department's spending bills from 2015 to 2017 to limit payments under the "risk corridors" program.
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| Pro-Trump Network OAN Tried to Get This Ukrainian Millionaire a Visa Before His Arrest Posted: 10 Dec 2019 06:30 PM PST  Before catching the eye of German law enforcement, former Ukrainian parliamentarian Oleksandr Onyshchenko drew attention from the conservative TV channel One America News. Last week, German authorities arrested the multi-millionaire because of a warrant from Ukrainian anti-corruption prosecutors. Before his arrest, though, the Trump-friendly media outlet tried to help him get a visa to travel to the U.S. The effort, which has not been previously reported, was part of a push by OAN to unearth information on Burisma Holdings, the energy company that retained Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President and current Trump rival Joe Biden. Onyshchenko has claimed to have dirt on the firm. Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, meanwhile, has boosted the channel's Burisma work. "I can confirm that One America News Network did attempt to secure a number of visas for former Ukrainian officials to travel to the United States, including Olekesandr Onyshchenko," network president Charles Herring told The Daily Beast in an email. "One America News Network made the request prior to Mr. Onyschchenko being detained. One America News investigative efforts have cost in excess of $100,000 to date."Herring added that the outlet is also "currently seeking visas" for several other former Ukrainian officials, but is no longer doing so for Onyshchenko. Herring declined to say which other ex-officials his outlet is trying to secure visas for. Efforts by media outlets to secure legal travel authorizations for their sources are in an ethical gray area, according to one expert. Especially when the source in question is accused of embezzlement. Onyshchenko's lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.Ukrainian anti-corruption prosecutors allege Onyshchenko ran a scheme to steal millions from Kyiv's state-owned natural gas company. The news of OAN's effort to help him get a visa comes on the heels of Rudy Giuliani's trip to Kyiv, where Trump's personal lawyer worked with a correspondent and crew member of OAN. On the trip, Giuliani and OAN's Chanel Rion met with Viktor Shokin and Yuri Lutsenko, two former Ukrainian prosecutors who have alleged misconduct by the Bidens. Their claims—that Obama administration officials pressured the Ukrainain government to ignore wrongdoing by Burisma in a bid to protect the Bidens—are at the heart of Giuliani's search for dirt. Giuliani has said he is working with OAN on this project, and the network's segments back that up. OAN's coverage of the impeachment scandal has raised eyebrows. The channel sent a camera crew to the apartment building where they believe the whistleblower who kicked off the Ukraine scandal lives, and to the home of the suspected whistleblower's parents. And Rion's documentary series on the Bidens and Burisma has taken an odd tone. In a promotional segment for one program, she said the sources would "testify under oath" for the show. Giuliani figures prominently throughout the programming. And on Tuesday evening, Rion tweeted effusive praise of Giuliani's communications director, Christianné Allen. "An incredibly talented patriot and a breath of fresh air here in the swamp. @Christianne_L_A — here's to the adventures ahead," Rion wrote, along with a picture of herself and Allen.Onyshchenko told conservative media site CD Media that he applied for a U.S. visa earlier this year. It wasn't his first overture to American officials; in 2016, Onyshchenko met with Justice Department officials to discuss corruption in Ukraine. People familiar with the events told The Daily Beast that Onyshchenko's outreach appeared to be part of an effort to secure a U.S. visa. In recent years, OAN has tried to outpace Fox News, Fox Business, and Sinclair as the most committed Trump ally in television. Beyond traveling with Giuliani on his latest European jaunt in hopes of scoring dirt on Trump's political enemies, the network has run countless hours of explicitly pro-MAGA programming and has even taken the step of naming the alleged whistleblower whose complaint triggered the impeachment inquiry—a step that Fox brass have repeatedly instructed their own staff not to take.And Trump has noticed. The president has tweeted praise of OAN's coverage while chastising Fox News for being insufficiently supportive of him. He also privately recommends the network to total strangers at Mar-a-Lago. Rudy Giuliani's Ukraine 'Investigation' Stars Some of Kyiv's Most Dubious CharactersThe network's efforts on Onyshchenko's behalf raise ethical questions, according to journalism professor Dan Kennedy of Northeastern University. "This sounds like it's in kind of a gray area," he told The Daily Beast."If they're just helping them come over to the U.S. for a short period of time to be interviewed and participate in a story, maybe that doesn't bother me that much. But if this is some sort of long-term arrangement where the Ukrainians would be able to stay in the U.S. a long time, this is something they've been wanting to do, and OAN is making it happen for them, that would probably be going too far.""I'm not really comfortable with any of this," he added, "but as long as it's for some short-term purpose—namely, for participating in a story—I'm not going to get all outraged about it, either."Giuliani's Ukraine project is central to Democrats' impeachment inquiry targeting Trump. In a July phone call, Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to help Giuliani with the effort. Meanwhile, the administration held up military aid and refused to schedule a White House visit for Zelensky. Giuliani communicated to Ukrainian officials that Zelensky needed to announce investigations Burisma and of alleged Ukrainian interference in the U.S. 2016 election if he wanted to visit the White House, according to European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland. Zelensky didn't announce the probes, and the White House has yet to set a date for his visit. 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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| Progressives slam Democrats for announcing their new trade deal with Trump an hour after they said they're bringing articles of impeachment Posted: 10 Dec 2019 09:17 AM PST  Behind closed doors, Pelosi insisted that Democrats had the upper hand in the trade deal and had outstrategized the GOP.
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| Biden Suggests He Would Only Serve One Term: Report Posted: 11 Dec 2019 06:26 AM PST  Former vice president Joe Biden has reportedly suggested that he would only serve one term if elected president but has stopped short of publicly pledging not to run again."If Biden is elected, he's going to be 82 years old in four years and he won't be running for reelection." a Biden campaign adviser told Politico, arguing that the former vice president could serve as a "good transition figure" to defeat Trump and usher in the "next generation of leaders.""He's going into this thinking, 'I want to find a running mate I can turn things over to after four years but if that's not possible or doesn't happen then I'll run for re-election.' But he's not going to publicly make a one term pledge," another senior Biden adviser said.Democrats have raised concerns about Biden's advancing age, noting that he will be 82 in four years. The more progressive wing of the party has also been cool towards Biden, saying he does not represent the new leftward direction of the party. However, critics of the notion of making a one-term pledge have said Biden would do himself a disservice and damage his presidential power by doing so.Biden responded "no" in April when asked whether he would serve only one term, but in recent months has hedged more on the issue."I feel good and all I can say is, watch me, you'll see," Biden told the Associated Press in October. "It doesn't mean I would run a second term. I'm not going to make that judgment at this moment."The former vice president continues to outpace his Democratic primary rivals, polling at 28 percent, more than 10 points ahead of Senator Bernie Sanders's 17 percent, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls on Wednesday.
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| Elizabeth Smart's dad describes kids' reaction to him coming out as gay Posted: 10 Dec 2019 11:01 PM PST  In our exclusive interview, Ed Smart reveals how difficult it was to come out as gay to his family and friends
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| Physicians wanting to give detained migrants flu shots turned away by immigration authorities Posted: 10 Dec 2019 08:10 PM PST ![Physicians wanting to give detained migrants flu shots turned away by immigration authorities]( "Physicians wanting to give detained migrants flu shots turned away by immigration authorities") Doctors who have been calling on the government to provide flu shots to detained migrant children were turned away from a Customs and Border Protection facility in San Diego, California, on Monday.The group of about 60 doctors and advocates told Customs and Border Protection they could set up a free flu shot clinic for migrants, with 120 doses of the vaccine at the ready. At least three children in immigration custody have died from the flu this year, including a 16-year-old from Guatemala, and the physicians first offered to set up the clinic last month.Customs and Border Protection said it is not "feasible" for the outside doctors to provide medical care to detained migrants, as the agency is not supposed to hold people for more than 72 hours and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which operates long-term detention facilities, offers its own medical services. Records show that many migrant children and adults have been held at Customs and Border Protection facilities for more than 72 hours, with some detained for several weeks.On Twitter, the Department of Homeland Security's press secretary called the doctors a "random group of radical political activists." The physicians don't consider wanting to keep people alive a radical act. "More people will die without the vaccine," Dr. Hannah Janeway told The Guardian. "There's no doubt. They are being locked in cages in cold weather together, without any vaccination, in a year that is supposed to bring a horrible flu epidemic."More stories from theweek.com Trump's pathological obsession with being laughed at The most important day of the impeachment inquiry Jerry Falwell Jr.'s false gospel of memes
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| 'She is speaking out to us': Māori leader says volcano eruption was a message Posted: 11 Dec 2019 03:53 AM PST  Pouroto Ngaropo, standing on an ancient settlement site overlooking the island of Whakaari, recites his ancestry back thousands of years, back to the volcano which erupted there on Monday. "Whakaari is my connection to the ocean, to the land, and to the environment around me ... we are one and she's our ancestor," said the 51-year old Māori spiritual leader whose genealogy is depicted in the tattoo art known as a 'tā moko' adorning his face. The volcano island off New Zealand's North Island holds deep spiritual significance for his iwi or tribe, Ngāti Awa, which also own the company that ran tours there before the eruption.
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| Russian court sentences 11 for Saint Petersburg bombing Posted: 10 Dec 2019 06:30 AM PST  A Russian court on Tuesday sentenced 11 people to terms including life in prison after finding them guilty of a deadly bomb attack on the Saint Petersburg metro in 2017. Abror Azimov, a 29-year-old from Kyrgyzstan, was sentenced by a military court in Russia's second biggest city to life in prison for organising and participating in a terrorist group. The bomb blast in April 2017 killed 15 people in the Saint Petersburg metro and wounded dozens more.
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| Cities are criminalizing homelessness by banning people from camping in public. That's the wrong approach, report says Posted: 10 Dec 2019 06:57 AM PST  More cities are criminally punishing homeless people for sleeping in public, a new report shows, amid an increase in Americans living on the streets.
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| Why the Marines Love Their LAV-25 "Destroyers" Posted: 10 Dec 2019 07:59 AM PST  A spunky and useful vehicle.
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| Experts quit police probe in blow to Hong Kong government Posted: 11 Dec 2019 01:33 AM PST  Foreign experts recruited to add legitimacy to Hong Kong's police watchdog quit Wednesday, saying the agency lacks teeth. The expert panel's decision to stand aside is likely to increase pressure on the territory's government for an independent probe of police behavior during six months of pro-democracy protests.
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| Here's who will be onstage for the December Democratic debate co-hosted by PBS NewsHour and Politico, and how to watch Posted: 10 Dec 2019 12:11 PM PST  Seven candidates have qualified for the next debate, which PBS NewsHour and Politico will co-host on December 19 in Los Angeles.
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| Army to fund rare earth mineral processing plant amid China spat: Report Posted: 11 Dec 2019 05:41 AM PST  The U.S. Army plans to fund construction of rare earths processing facilities, part of an urgent push by Washington to secure domestic supply of the minerals used to make military weapons and electronics, according to a government document seen by Reuters.
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