| GOP impeachment vote will be 'funeral of the modern Republican Party,' says former DNC head Posted: 18 Dec 2019 12:52 PM PST  The starkly partisan nature of the vote has forced Democrats to explain why no Republicans are expected to vote in favor of impeachment. The former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee says Republicans have "chosen power over principle."
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| Barr: ‘Simply Not True’ Comey was Hands-Off During Crossfire Hurricane Investigation Posted: 19 Dec 2019 11:01 AM PST  William Barr pushed back Wednesday on James Comey's assertion that he had no knowledge of the "particulars" of the FBI's infamous Crossfire Hurricane probe, in which the bureau was found to have made 17 "significant errors" in pursuing FISA warrants to surveil members of the 2016 Trump campaign.During an interview Sunday with Fox News' Chris Wallace, Comey attributed the FBI's errors in the FISA process detailed by DOJ inspector general Michael Horowitz's report to "sloppiness," and said that he "didn't know the particulars of the investigation" as director."As a director sitting on top of an organization with 38,000 people, you can't run an investigation that's seven layers below you," he said. "You have to leave it to the career professionals to do . . . If a director tries to run an investigation, it can get mucked up in other kinds of ways given his or her responsibilities and the impossibility of reaching the work being done at the lower levels."But speaking Wednesday with Fox News' Martha McCallum, Barr disagreed with Comey's characterizations, especially the former FBI director's claim that he was "seven layers" above the investigation."One of the problems with what happened was precisely that they pulled the investigation up to the executive floors, and it was run and birddogged by a very small group of very high-level officials," Barr said. "The idea that this was seven layers below him is simply not true."In his interview with Wallace, Comey also claimed the attorney general had made "an irresponsible statement" when he said last week that the errors laid out in the IG report allow "the possibility that there was bad faith."Barr "does not have a factual basis as the Attorney General of the United States to be speculating that agents acted in bad faith," Comey said. In an op-ed published December 9, he stated "Attorney General William P. Barr owes . . . the American people, an acknowledgment of the truth."In the Wednesday interview, Barr said it is "nonsense" that he is "somehow attacking the FBI" for wanting to investigate the origins of the bureau's probe into the 2016 Trump campaign."We're criticizing and concerned about misconduct by a few actors at the top of the FBI, and they should be criticized if they engaged in serious misconduct," Barr said.The attorney general also confirmed that U.S. Attorney John Durham, who was tapped by Barr to lead an investigation into the original probe, was broadening his scope to look at other intelligence agencies."He's not just looking at the FBI, he's looking at other agencies, and departments, and also private actors, so it's a much broader investigation," Barr said. "Also, it's not just looking at the FISA aspect of it, he is looking at all the conduct both before & after the election"Following the release of Horowitz's report, Durham caused waves by saying his team did "not agree" that the FBI had an "authorized purpose" for opening its investigation.
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| Vegan couple who fed children only raw fruit and veg charged with murder after baby dies from starvation Posted: 20 Dec 2019 06:08 AM PST  A vegan couple who fed their children only raw fruits and vegetables have been charged with murder after their son allegedly died of starvation.The Florida couple, Ryan Patrick O'Leary, 30, and Sheila O'Leary, 35, told police they only fed their children on a diet of raw fruit and vegetables. On Wednesday, a Lee County Grand Jury indicted the couple.
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| Mysterious Bags of Cash Trigger Major Hong Kong Protest Arrests Posted: 19 Dec 2019 10:17 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Glancing at bags of cash stuffed to the brim earlier this month, Gary Fan simply wanted someone to remove them from an office in Hong Kong used by his political party.The former pro-democracy lawmaker had collected HK$2.7 million ($345,000) during an anti-government protest the day before, and was waiting for someone to pick it up from a mysterious group known as Spark Alliance that helps bail protesters out of jail. The next day, a person whom he knew and trusted came to collect the cash, even though Fan says he doesn't know who exactly is behind the group or where the money ends up."We just work by an honor system now, trusting them with a good cause," Fan said in a Dec. 11 interview, adding that Spark Alliance has "earned credibility with real work" like getting legal assistance for protesters. Still, he said, "I absolutely agree there should be more disclosure, transparency and accountability when you take money from the public."On Thursday evening, police announced the arrests of four people connected with Spark Alliance for suspected money laundering, the first cases brought over financing the demonstrations after six months of protests against China's tightening grip over Hong Kong. Authorities froze HK$70 million of bank deposits and personal insurance products linked to the fund, while also seizing HK$130,000 in cash."The police attempted, through false statements, to distort the work of Spark Alliance as money laundering for malicious uses," the group said in a statement on Facebook. "Spark Alliance condemns this kind of defamatory action."The crackdown deals a major blow to demonstrators as they face ever-mounting legal bills, with more than 6,000 people arrested since June. Spark Alliance, one of the largest crowd-funding campaigns supporting the protests, plays a crucial behind-the-scenes role -- often sending anonymous representatives to bail protesters out of jail in the middle of the night.The latest arrests risk deterring Hong Kong's professional class from giving more cash, potentially curbing a substantial source of funds that have helped sustain the protests longer than anyone had expected. They also show the limits of the leaderless movement's ability to manage tens of millions of dollars with little oversight outside of a formal financial system.Funds bankrolling the protests have collectively raised at least HK$254 million ($33 million) since June, with 70% coming from just two groups, Spark Alliance and the 612 Humanitarian Fund, according to a tally based on disclosures from the groups and an analysis of publicly available documents. That figure doesn't reflect all the money raised related to the protests, only the funds Bloomberg News could verify.The $33 million alone amounts to a third of the money the city has spent in overtime pay to 11,000 police officers since June, and would be able to purchase some 300,000 gas masks. But the largest costs faced by protesters are legal fees that may stretch out for years.Nearly 1,000 people have been charged for offenses like rioting, which carries a jail sentence of as much as a decade, according to police. The 612 Fund says it can cost up to HK$1.8 million per person for a 60-day legal defense, and many trials last far longer. Some proceedings related to Hong Kong's 2014 Occupy protests are still ongoing.Among dozens of groups, Spark Alliance is one of the most secretive: Even some donors and lawyers who assist the group say they don't know who runs it, while the bank account listed on its website belongs to a firm that owns a pest control company. A person who picked up Spark Alliance's hotline last week said the number was only for protester requests. The group didn't respond to requests for comment via Facebook, Whatsapp or Telegram.'We Need Protection'"Spark is probably less transparent but people tend to believe them," said Jason, a protester in his 30s who asked to be identified by his English name. He said he memorized the group's phone number and called the group after he was arrested in August. Seven hours later, two lawyers helped arrange HK$4,000 in bail money."Everyone knows the cost to fight for this movement and not everyone can afford lawyer fees," he said. "We need protection."Over the past few months he's raised half a million dollars for Spark Alliance and other charities through the sale of Hong Kong-themed figurines, including a miniature Carrie Lam and a masked protester. Asked on Thursday night if he would still give the money to Spark Alliance, Jason said he wanted more information on the arrests.Even before the police action on Thursday, many of the bankers, accountants and other Hong Kong professionals who give money in lieu of battling authorities in the streets were concerned about retribution for supporting the protests. While lawyers say it would be difficult to prove a donor violated any laws, people fear that reporting mechanisms in place to deter terrorist financing and anti-money laundering could still end up flagging contributions to authorities.HSBC Holdings Plc last month said it shut down Spark Alliance's bank account after it "spotted activity differing from the stated purpose of the company account."HSBC decided to close the account, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified. Freezing it would entail locking up millions in funds raised to support the protesters. After closing the account, the bank returned more than HK$50 million in checks to people affiliated with Spark Alliance, one of the people said. It's unclear whether the group has found another bank since the checks haven't been cashed and the account owner hasn't provided relevant information, they said.Why Hong Kong Is Still Protesting and Where It May Go: QuickTake"HSBC never takes the decision to suspend or close any account lightly," spokeswoman Maggie Cheung said, while declining to comment on specific details. On Friday, the bank said its decision to close the account was unrelated to the "current Hong Kong situation," without elaborating.Spark Alliance's Facebook page lists the account holder as Prime Management Service Ltd. According to Hong Kong's companies registry, the only business in active operation with that name is wholly owned by company director Tony Wong, who also runs a pest control company, according to LinkedIn. Reached on Dec. 11 through a mobile phone number listed in the registry, Wong said he "did not know these things" and hung up when asked why Prime Management Service lent the use of its bank account to Spark Alliance.Spark Alliance said on Nov. 18 it would cease accepting money via bank transfers after HSBC closed its account. Instead, it said it would sell gift cards through its website. Since then, a stream of supporters have posted photos of their gift card receipts on Facebook. Transactions are processed by Paypal and Stripe, but it's unclear where the funds go from there. On Friday, its website appeared to be stripped of all previous information and a donation function.'Encourage Teenagers'Earlier this month, the Hong Kong government referred requests for comment to the police, which had declined to comment. On Thursday, police said Spark Alliance claimed to help arrested protesters but instead bought personal insurance products."We do not exclude the possibility that the fund is used as a reward to encourage teenagers to come out and join in the civil unrest," Acting Senior Superintendent Chan Wai-kei told reporters. Police didn't disclose the names of those arrested.The shadowy nature of financing for the protests has helped China's government and state-run media outlets push a narrative that the demonstrations are being financed by the U.S. and other foreign powers. Beijing threatened sanctions this month against U.S.-based groups like the National Endowment for Democracy, which donated $686,000 to Hong Kong nonprofits in 2019. The group called China's accusations "categorically false."On the ground in Hong Kong, fundraising tactics have been hotly debated among protesters as legal costs increase. Some have criticized Spark Alliance for a lack of transparency and others have denounced the 612 Humanitarian Fund -- the other main financing arm of the protests -- for hoarding cash.Named after the date in June when demonstrations escalated, the 612 fund appears to be the polar opposite of Spark Alliance. It discloses audited financial statements online and requires protesters to give real names for legal aid. The fund has 19 employees and trustees include well-known local figures like singer Denise Ho, Cardinal Joseph Zen, and barrister Margaret Ng.The vastly different management styles of Spark Alliance and 612 fund mirror divergent tactics in the wider protest movement, which has sought to avoid the splintering factions that have hurt previous democracy crusades in Hong Kong. One side caters to front-line protesters who use anonymity and violence to pressure authorities, while the other supports the pro-democracy movement's goals within traditional legal bounds.The 612 fund has been chided in online forums for deploying only 24% of the money it raised while asking protesters to first apply for legal aid from the city. Other critics see the 612 fund as part of an older political establishment in Hong Kong that has failed the younger generation of democracy advocates, and they believe Spark Alliance is closer to protesters in the trenches."The younger generation doesn't trust in any institutions, not even those that advocate for democracy," said Patrick Poon, a researcher at Amnesty International in Hong Kong. "It's an irrational decision to trust in a group believed to be closer to the people on the ground even if they don't know who is behind the fund."Ng, a 612 fund trustee, said the group is supported by "members of the public that are incensed by what is being done by police and government.""The movement is ongoing and we are using the funds for the stated purpose of humanitarian aid," she said. "We don't have any obligation to spend all the money immediately."For protesters like Ventus Lau, a 26-year-old activist who has been arrested twice during the protests, the debate over financing risks undercutting the wider aims of the movement. Many demonstrators head to the front lines due to the confidence that others will help them financially if they are arrested, he said."It has been our core value that there is no division in this movement," he said. "Not only Spark, whenever there is any criticism, we feel we should not be criticizing anyone else -- at least until final victory."Lau was first arrested in August for unlawful assembly at a demonstration he helped organize that later turned violent. He was detained for 46 hours before a 612 fund representative showed up with HK$5,000 ($640) in bail money. A couple of weeks later, he was arrested again for his suspected role in the July 1 storming of Hong Kong's Legislative Council building.Lau said his lawyer plans to apply to the 612 fund to pay for his defense, which could span years and cost hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong dollars. The funds raised so far have helped protesters but won't be enough to cover all of their legal expenses, he said."We take a lot of risks when we go to protests and some people can't take that risk, so they donate money," Lau said. "When they watch the news they feel guilty or powerless and feel a heavy duty to do something, so they will trust anyone."The biggest funds sprung into action when the anti-extradition bill protests erupted in June and police started arresting demonstrators en masse. Alongside them grew a separate network, largely online, to pay for things like helmets, masks, food vouchers and other front-line supplies. It's trickier to tally those donations since they're arranged through messaging apps or dropped off at demonstrations. These items don't cost much --a petrol bomb costs about $10 -- but are often discarded to avoid arrest.For many young demonstrators, the funds are an essential lifeline. Peter To, a 22-year-old front-line protester, said he lost his job after joining too many work strikes and now has no income."If I didn't have this help, I'd be in real trouble and wouldn't have money to eat," he said.The methods for supporting protesters have become increasingly sophisticated, with message apps like Telegram supporting case management systems. Earlier this month, a poster who said she was 16 years old asked for HK$1,500 from a group with 4,000 subscribers called "Want Rice, I Pay," saying her parents wouldn't support her after she was caught sneaking off to demonstrations. Hours after the group's administrator issued her case no. 73, she was matched with a donor.A 19-year-old student surnamed Ling, who regularly goes to the front lines, described the crucial role played by what she refers to as an online "parent" who pays for safe houses to sleep in after protests. "Police will follow protesters back home and arrest them," she said.Donors say the need for more financial support is only going to grow larger, especially for the hundreds of protesters who face mounting legal costs. Ms. Leung, a banker in her 30s who donates $600 a month to groups including 612 and Spark Alliance, said the lack of transparency around some funds didn't bother her."It's not a lot of money and I'm happy as long as I can help people in need," she said, requesting that she only be identified by her surname for fear of reprisals. "The movement wouldn't have lasted this long if people didn't give support."Fan, the former pro-democracy lawmaker, collected bags of cash for Spark Alliance at a rally with government approval convened by Civil Human Rights Front, which has held six major marches since June. Vice-convener Eric Lai said each one costs more than HK$250,000 to put on, excluding insurance fees, with excess money directed to the 612 Fund.After the arrests connected to Spark on Thursday night, Fan directed his ire at the authorities."I am more concerned of how the police and government to suppress the movement more than how Spark Alliance handled the funds," he said. "I am worried those in need for legal aid and in jail would lose one major form of help."(Updates with HSBC statement.)\--With assistance from Shawna Kwan, Blake Schmidt, Josie Wong, Aaron Mc Nicholas, Natalie Lung and Justin Chin.To contact the reporters on this story: Shelly Banjo in Hong Kong at sbanjo@bloomberg.net;Alfred Liu in Hong Kong at aliu226@bloomberg.net;Kiuyan Wong in Hong Kong at kwong739@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Ten Kate at dtenkate@bloomberg.net, Jonas BergmanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Everyone ganged up on Pete Buttigieg at the Democratic debate, and these numbers show why that was basically guaranteed Posted: 19 Dec 2019 08:28 PM PST  We're getting closer and closer to votes. At this point, Buttigieg, considered a top-tier candidate, is vulnerable.
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| 'Spouting Russian propaganda': Nadler calls out Gohmert Posted: 18 Dec 2019 02:20 PM PST  Chairman Nadler accused Rep. Louie Gohmert of "spouting Russian propaganda on the floor of the House" ahead of the impeachment vote on Wednesday.
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| Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC Models Are Recalled Due to Brake Concerns Posted: 19 Dec 2019 08:58 AM PST  General Motors is recalling certain 2019 Cadillac CT6 sedans and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 pickup trucks because of an increased crash risk from a software error that could dis...
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| White House: Trump was 'just riffing' about late Rep. John Dingell 'looking up' from hell Posted: 19 Dec 2019 07:37 AM PST  Press secretary Stephanie Grisham said President Trump was "just riffing" when he suggested at a Michigan rally that Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell's late husband, Rep. John Dingell, was "looking up" from hell when she voted to impeach the president.
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| U.N. Peacekeepers Fathered Hundreds of Children in Haiti with Girls as Young as Eleven: Report Posted: 19 Dec 2019 07:08 AM PST  United Nations peacekeeping forces fathered hundreds of children with girls as young as eleven years old while deployed in Haiti, according to an academic study published by The Conversation on Wednesday.The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) was instituted in 2004 to aid the island nation, one of the poorest in the world, in addressing political instability and organized crime. The mission continued through 2017, remaining in the country after a series of natural disasters including a 2010 earthquake and Hurricaine Matthew in 2016.The UN has admitted that MINUSTAH peacekeepers introduced cholera into Haiti, causing the infection of 800,000 Haitians, 10,000 of whom died as a result. The organization has also previously admitted that over 100 Sri Lankan peacekeepers were involved in a sex ring between 2004 and 2007, most of whom were returned to Sri Lanka without punishment."I see a series of females 12 and 13 years old here. MINUSTAH impregnated and left them in misery with babies in their hands," a woman from Cité Soleil told researchers for the Wednesday report. "The person has already had to manage a stressful, miserable life."A male resident of Cité Soleil said, "All day, I heard women who are complaining about the sexual violence that MINUSTAH did to them. And they had given them AIDS through sexual violence. There are also some of them who are pregnant."However, researchers found that a more common problem was the transactional nature of sexual encounters with peacekeepers."They come, they sleep with the women, they take their pleasures with them, they leave children in their hands, give them 500 gourdes," another man from Cité Soleil said. A Port Salu resident said "They had sex with the girls not even for money, it's just for food, for one meal."The authors of the report issued recommendations for the UN to train its peacekeepers in "cultural awareness" and to punish peacekeepers found to have committed sexual offenses instead of simply sending them back to their home country. There is a long history of complaints of sexual offenses against UN peacekeepers, including in Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bosnia, and the Central African Republic.
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| Ex-Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin defends pardon of convicted child rapist Posted: 19 Dec 2019 07:59 PM PST  Former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin defended his controversial last-minute pardon of a man convicted of raping a 9-year-old.
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| Philippine massacre masterminds jailed for life over 57 murders Posted: 18 Dec 2019 07:34 PM PST  A Philippine court found the bosses of an influential political clan guilty on Thursday of masterminding a 2009 massacre of 57 people, a ruling cheered as a partial victory for justice and a challenge to the country's notorious culture of impunity. Eight members of the powerful Ampatuan family were among 28 people sentenced to life imprisonment over their roles in a ambush on an election motorcade in Maguindanao province, and the gunning-down of all who witnessed it. Among the victims of the "Maguindanao Massacre" were 32 journalists in what was one of the world's single biggest attacks on media.
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| CNN coverage of Democratic debate 'goes to black' in Beijing when Hong Kong and Xinjiang were discussed Posted: 19 Dec 2019 08:23 PM PST  China is known for its strict censorship and crackdown on media that references its human rights abuses.
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| Russia Says Shooter at Moscow Spy Headquarters Was Lone Wolf Posted: 20 Dec 2019 07:54 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Russian investigators said a single man was responsible for a Thursday evening attack on the Federal Security Service's headquarters in central Moscow that killed two of the agency's employees.One of the victims lost his life at the scene and the second died in the hospital from wounds he received in the attack, Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement Friday. Five others, including one civilian, were wounded and the shooter was killed, it said.The committee identified the attacker as 39-year-old Evgeny Manyurov, a Moscow region resident. Initial reports said as many as three men were involved in the attack, and videos posted on social media showed officers conducting random searches of people in the area following the shooting."It seems that this man wasn't interested in politics," Alexei Makarkin, deputy head of the Moscow-based Center for Political Technologies, said. "This is unlikely to lead to the tightening of the screws" unless people start praising him in social media, he said.The brazen attack in a heavily-policed area filled with government agencies and restaurants about a half mile from the Kremlin came around the same time President Vladimir Putin was attending a concert nearby in honor of the Russian security services.At that event, Putin praised the security services, saying they had prevented 54 terrorist crimes, including 33 attacks, since the beginning of the year.The FSB, as the security service is known, was last targeted in October 2018, when a 17-year-old anarchist injured 3 officers when he blew himself up during an attack on the intelligence service's Arkhangelsk office, leading to a nationwide crackdown of people critical of the agency.(Updates death toll in first paragraph)\--With assistance from Ilya Arkhipov.To contact the reporters on this story: Jake Rudnitsky in Moscow at jrudnitsky@bloomberg.net;Stepan Kravchenko in Moscow at skravchenko@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Torrey Clark at tclark8@bloomberg.net, Tony HalpinFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| NZealand to close gun buyback sparked by mosque shootings Posted: 19 Dec 2019 06:16 PM PST  A key element of the ban was a buyback scheme accompanied by an amnesty, giving gun owners a payment and a guarantee of "no questions asked" when they handed in weapons deemed illegal under new laws. "There will be no extension -– anyone prosecuted may lose their firearms licence and could face a penalty of up to five years imprisonment," police said. Gun control advocates say the scheme has succeeded despite opposition from some firearms owners, who they accuse of adopting hardline tactics similar to the US National Rifle Association (NRA).
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| 12 Deals We Love From REI’s Last-Minute Holiday Sale Posted: 18 Dec 2019 01:52 PM PST |
| The Air Force's Global Strike Command Is Preparing For A Delivery Of New Nuclear Weapons Posted: 19 Dec 2019 06:30 AM PST  Nuclear modernization has arrived.
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| How newspapers around the country covered Trump's impeachment Posted: 19 Dec 2019 10:04 AM PST  The impeachment of President Trump was an above-the-fold story on the front pages of virtually every newspaper in the United States on Thursday.
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| Postal worker accused of selling crack out of mail truck on delivery routes Posted: 19 Dec 2019 07:16 AM PST  Darcy Spangler, 52, appeared in Ashtabula Municipal Court in Ashtabula, Ohio, on Wednesday on charges of trafficking in drugs, court records show.
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| U.S. deports Mexicans far from border, may send others to Guatemala Posted: 19 Dec 2019 08:59 AM PST  WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The United States began flying Mexican deportees deep into Mexico on Thursday, and senior U.S. and Guatemalan officials said Mexicans seeking U.S. refuge might be sent to the Central American nation, in a renewed effort to slash border crossings. One immigration shelter in the city said it had been informed of a likely influx of deportees.
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| Twitter just suspended over 88,000 accounts tied to a Saudi disinformation campaign Posted: 20 Dec 2019 07:08 AM PST  It was one of the largest single crackdowns on state-backed accounts in Twitter's history.
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| Hundreds of Chinese held in Philippine online gaming crackdown Posted: 20 Dec 2019 03:32 AM PST  The Philippines said Friday it has detained hundreds of Chinese workers in a continuing crackdown against unlicensed online gaming businesses catering to mainland customers. A total of 342 Chinese without working visas were arrested on Thursday in a raid of a Manila-based POGO outfit operating without a permit from the gaming regulator, according to the immigration service. "We had reason to suspect that the company is a front for illegal cyber activities and investment scams," Fortunato Manahan, intelligence chief of the immigration service, said in a statement.
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| Pelosi says her gavel means Trump's 'impeached forever' Posted: 20 Dec 2019 08:45 AM PST  The past week alone, the Democratic leader delivered a $1.4 trillion government funding package to stop a shutdown, pushed through the bipartisan U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement and passed her party's plan to lower prescription drug costs. In between, she led a congressional delegation to Europe for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.
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| Sarah Huckabee Sanders mocked Joe Biden during the Democratic debate after he mentioned comforting a child with a stutter Posted: 19 Dec 2019 08:52 PM PST  Sanders later apologized, claiming she didn't realize Biden had a stutter. "I apologize and should have made my point respectfully," she tweeted.
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| Why The Navy Never Wants To Fight Russia's Akula-Class Attack Submarines Posted: 19 Dec 2019 06:00 AM PST  The Akula's strong acoustic stealth characteristics will continue to make it a formidable challenge for antisubmarine warfare specialists.
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| Two city employees killed in shooting at North Carolina municipal building Posted: 20 Dec 2019 08:31 AM PST ![Two city employees killed in shooting at North Carolina municipal building]( "Two city employees killed in shooting at North Carolina municipal building") Winston-Salem city manager Lee Garrity said in an email that authorities would disclose further information about the shooting at a news conference at 2 p.m. EST. A city employee told WXII 12 News that the shooting occurred at about 6:45 a.m. and stemmed from an argument between two other workers.
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| Can the US Navy make lemonade out of LCS lemons? Posted: 20 Dec 2019 06:31 AM PST  As more littoral combat ships join the fleet, questions linger about how the vessel type will fit into a fight with China.
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| Gohmert Melts Down on House Floor After Nadler Accuses Him of Spouting ‘Russian Propaganda’ Posted: 18 Dec 2019 01:45 PM PST  The U.S. House's impeachment debate took a dramatic turn on Wednesday afternoon when Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) stormed back to the dais to shout at Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) after he accused the Texas lawmaker of peddling "Russian propaganda."During his floor speech, Gohmert—a fervent defender of the president—groused that the impeachment of President Donald Trump was really an effort by Democrats to "stop the investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and Ukraine into the corruption of Ukraine interference in the U.S. election in 2016.""This is a travesty, We're in big trouble" Gohmert huffed, adding: "Now it's lowered even further, the bar. [Impeachment] will be used for political battles and this country's end is now in sight. I hope I don't live to see it. This is an outrage."After Gohmert wrapped up his speech, Nadler took a moment to chastise the Texas lawmaker before yielding his time to a Democratic congressman."I'm deeply concerned that any member of the house would spout Russian propaganda on the floor of the House," the judiciary chair sternly said, prompting Gohmert to run back to the podium.Pointing his finger at Nadler, the Texas congressman yelled and demanded that the chairman's words be stricken from the record. Nadler, for his part, appeared to not react to or indulge Gohmert's angry outburst.Last month, it was reported that the intelligence community had briefed senators and their aides that Russia has engaged in a lengthy campaign to frame Ukraine for Russia's 2016 election interference and hacking. The briefing basically aligned with Dr. Fiona Hill's impeachment testimony in which she criticized Republicans for pushing a "fictional narrative" about Ukrainian meddling.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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| High-Speed Rail Is Going Nowhere Fast in the U.S. Posted: 20 Dec 2019 05:00 AM PST ![High-Speed Rail Is Going Nowhere Fast in the U.S.]( "High-Speed Rail Is Going Nowhere Fast in the U.S.") (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Some leaders in the U.S. are intent on reviving the old dream of high-speed rail. Senator Bernie Sanders is proposing $607 billion for a new high-speed train network as part of his Green New Deal. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez included it in her own plan earlier this year. On Twitter, Sanders's political allies sing the praises of high-speed rail systems such as China's.High-speed rail puts an optimistic, futuristic face on an economic agenda that might otherwise seem mainly about sacrifice and belt-tightening. It's high-tech, beautiful and iconic. It would be a substitute for regional air travel and road trips, and reduce carbon emissions. And it's an area where the U.S. genuinely lags other countries. Anyone who has experienced the speed and convenience of traveling from city to city by bullet train in Japan or France will understand the appeal.But although this is a good long-term goal, any actual plan for building bullet trains must reckon with why high-speed rail has consistently failed in the U.S. The Obama administration also was a fan of the idea, and requested more than $50 billion for high-speed rail projects. Much less ended up being approved, and even less was spent, thanks to state-level and congressional opposition; most of it went to upgrading existing commuter rail lines.The one major high-speed rail project was in California, with plans for a train between Los Angeles and San Francisco. But costs ballooned; originally, the project was slated to cost about $40 billion, but the estimate has now at least doubled. The date for the end of the first phase of construction has been delayed from 2029 to 2033. Governor Gavin Newsom has indicated that the project will be scaled back.California's bullet train has thus fallen victim to the same problem that plagues most U.S. transit and infrastructure projects — inflated costs. Unless the source of those costs can be identified and dealt with, states are likely to balk at the prospect of committing to big-ticket projects that they know will likely go way over budget.Reducing those costs is even more crucial because even under the best of conditions high-speed rail typically struggles to support itself. Japan's famous Shinkansen system lost so much money in the 1970s and 1980s that it was broken up, privatized and subjected to ruthless cost-cutting measures. Most of China's high-speed rail lines also operate in the red, as do many in Europe.Now, that doesn't mean high-speed rail isn't worth it. Transit systems don't have to fully pay for themselves in order to benefit society because they have spillover effects that power regional economic growth. Highways, trains and buses facilitate networks of economic interactions whose value can't be captured by tolls and user fees.But the spillovers from high-speed rail are likely to be smaller than for other infrastructure projects. Unlike roads, bullet trains don't carry freight, only people (the U.S. already has an excellent freight rail network). They could generate some increased tourism, but not much, because most people can already take road trips for a similar price. Research from China suggests that one important kind of economic activity bullet trains will stimulate is interaction among high-skilled workers, such as business executives, researchers and so on. That's more than nothing, but it isn't the kind of boost that highways and freight trains deliver. It also means that the biggest beneficiaries of high-speed rail would be corporations and high earners. And in the U.S., which already has well-established regional air travel and freeways, the increased benefit from more business trips will likely be smaller than in a developing country such as China.Other factors specific to the U.S. make high-speed rail less attractive than in Europe or Asia. Sprawling U.S. cities tend to be built around cars and roads, meaning that many high-speed rail passengers who arrive at their destination would have to either rent a car or use expensive ride-hailing services. That increases the incentive to just drive all the way. It also means that trains linking city centers would generate less economic activity in the U.S. than in more densely populated countries. In addition, the U.S. is likely to be more concerned about terrorism than other countries, because bullet trains are an obvious high-profile target. Security would add to the cost of rail systems.So although high-speed rail is a good long-term project for carbon-emissions reduction, the U.S. would probably get more bang for the buck by focusing on local trains — fast commuter rail linking suburbs to city centers, subways and light rail to let people get around cities without cars and buses that utilize the existing road systems. These projects aren't as grand and beautiful as bullet trains, but they would do more for economic activity and livability — and they would be a lot more cost-effective.To contact the author of this story: Noah Smith at nsmith150@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: James Greiff at jgreiff@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Noah Smith is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He was an assistant professor of finance at Stony Brook University, and he blogs at Noahpinion.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Grandfather offered plea deal in girl's cruise ship death Posted: 18 Dec 2019 06:40 PM PST  Puerto Rican defense attorney Jose Perez said Anello doesn't want to plead guilty and would rather clear his name at trial.
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| Pakistan ex-leader Musharraf slams 'vendetta' after death sentence Posted: 19 Dec 2019 06:41 AM PST  Exiled former Pakistan military leader Pervez Musharraf has dismissed the unprecedented treason conviction and death sentence handed to him earlier this week as the result of a "personal vendetta". Musharraf's criticism of the verdict came as the release of the court's detailed verdict sparked controversy, with one judge calling for the former general's "corpse" to be publicly hanged if he died before being apprehended. The decision, announced on Tuesday by a special court, marked the first time a former leader of the armed forces has been convicted of treason and sentenced to death in Pakistan, where the military wields enormous power and has ruled the country for roughly half its history.
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| 9 Stylish Bar Carts to Keep the Party Moving and Grooving Posted: 20 Dec 2019 05:00 AM PST |
| Here's how the Trump family spends their billions, from a $15 million beachfront estate in St. Martin to a $32 million fleet of private helicopters and airplanes Posted: 19 Dec 2019 07:57 AM PST  President Donald Trump has a net worth of $3.1 billion. Considering the net worths of his adult children, the Trump family fortune exceeds $4 billion.
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| Fake Fighter News: The Failure of Iran's "New" Saeqeh Jet Fighter Posted: 20 Dec 2019 03:22 AM PST  Don't trust the Iranian propaganda.
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| Trudeau: U.S. should not finalize China trade deal unless detained Canadians are released Posted: 19 Dec 2019 03:18 PM PST  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that the U.S. government should not finalize a trade deal with China unless the pact also secures the release of two Canadians detained by Beijing.
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| NJ enacts law letting immigrants without docs to get license Posted: 19 Dec 2019 10:35 AM PST ![NJ enacts law letting immigrants without docs to get license]( "NJ enacts law letting immigrants without docs to get license") A bill that will let immigrants who cannot prove they're in the country legally get a driver's license was signed Thursday by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. Murphy, a Democrat, signed the measure in Elizabeth, making New Jersey the 14th state, along with the District of Columbia, to permit immigrants without legal status to obtain a driver's licenses. "Expanding access to driver's licenses is critical for the safety of New Jerseyans and a step toward building a stronger and fairer New Jersey for all," Murphy said.
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| The US Air Force’s UH-1N Huey replacement helicopter has a new name Posted: 19 Dec 2019 12:01 PM PST  The first helicopter was delivered to the Air Force on Dec. 19.
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| Iowa man sentenced to 16 years for setting LGBTQ flag on fire Posted: 19 Dec 2019 04:40 PM PST  Police said Adolfo Martinez stole a pride banner hanging at Ames United Church of Christ and burned it outside the Dangerous Curves Gentleman's Club.
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| Once a glorified ATM for Democrats, California becomes major player in election race Posted: 19 Dec 2019 03:00 AM PST  California has moved its primary up by three months to Super Tuesday – and its trove of delegates is extremely attractive to Democratic contendersCalifornia is America's richest and most populous state and a political heavyweight by any measure. But for more than 30 years – ever since its adopted son Ronald Reagan rode off from the Oval Office into a golden Pacific sunset – it has yearned for relevance in presidential elections and largely failed to find it.That is, until now.In a highly fluid 2020 race for the Democratic party nomination, candidates participating in Thursday's debate in Los Angeles have packed their schedules with campaign appearances all over the Golden State in the days before and after. They are opening California field offices at a frenetic pace, falling over each other to hire the state's most talented campaign staffers, and laying the groundwork for big, expensive advertising buys in the final weeks before the state's 3 March primary.All of this is highly unusual in a state that most candidates, Republican and Democrat alike, tend to treat like a glorified ATM – a place to woo donors and raise money to be spent elsewhere. An unassailably blue state with a primary late in the election cycle is not worth the cost of its unusually expensive media markets, the rationale once went.This year, though, California has moved its primary up by three months to Super Tuesday. And its trove of delegates is especially attractive as the three Democratic frontrunners – Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren – are within spitting distance of each other and a fourth, Pete Buttigieg, is likely to enjoy considerable momentum coming out of the earlier contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.Add to that the large number of state endorsements up for grabs now that the California Senator Kamala Harris has left the race, and the wrench thrown into everyone's calculations by the late entry of Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York who is spending lavishly on advertising and consultants, and it becomes apparent that California has flipped from a state everyone can safely ignore to one nobody can afford to bypass."There's a tremendous amount at stake," Buttigieg spokeswoman Tessa Whittlesey told the Guardian.California campaigning is not for the faint-hearted. Candidates win delegates if they snag at least 15% of the statewide vote, and 15% of the vote in any one of the state's 53 congressional districts. In other words, they don't just have to campaign – they have to campaign everywhere.> As the field thins, California is only going to become more important> > Raphael Sonenshein"It's helpful to think of California as a country more than a state," said Raphael Sonenshein, a political analyst who last month hosted a Democratic candidates' forum at Cal State Los Angeles, where he runs a public affairs institute. "We have regions as complex as a small country's, and a lot of delegates. As the field thins, California is only going to become more important."The early advantage probably goes to Sanders, who was narrowly ahead in a recent statewide poll and has had a staffed operation in California since June. He had 10 offices up and down the state at last count – far more than anyone else – and expects to have 15 by the turn of the year. Bernie 2020 volunteers have opened up their own storefront operations in working-class and hipster neighborhoods alike.Sanders started this week in the desert communities around Palm Springs, attracting noisy crowds and the endorsement of the entire council in the small city of Coachella. He will end it on the Mexican border south of San Diego. He lost the 2016 California primary to Hillary Clinton, but by a margin narrow enough that Clinton felt compelled to hire 40 staffers in the last two months for what was not ultimately the pivotal race.Closest to Sanders in energy and activity is Buttigieg, who has visited California dozens of times and has made a point of appearing in rural and inland areas, not just the state's fundraising meccas, LA and San Francisco. His state director, Cecilia Cabello, is a California insider with experience of both big city and presidential politics. As his campaign staffs up, he's establishing volunteer networks in every congressional district.Buttigieg and Sanders both appear to have understood that much in the race may turn on their ability to refresh parts of the state that the other candidates, running on TV ads and name recognition alone, fail to reach.The Sanders spokeswoman Anna Bahr said the campaign's staff offices were designed to target Latinos, in particular, and working-class communities in general. Two of the newer offices are in California's agricultural Central Valley, and the campaign is also focusing on the sprawl of inland suburbs stretching 60 or 70 miles east of Los Angeles.Buttigieg, meanwhile, has been active in the Central Valley for a while. He held a low-dollar fundraiser in Sacramento, the state capital, last June that attracted 2,500 people. And this week he will take the fight directly to Sanders as he talks about Latino issues and the environment in two contrasting LA suburbs.There is a chance that none of this activity will make much difference come election day. When California moved its primary up to March, legislators entertained the notion that they would now be fifth in line after Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. But Texas, another huge state, quickly followed suit, and so did Virginia, Colorado and 10 other states, all of whom will be competing for candidate time and campaign cash on an unusually "super" Super Tuesday.That might explain why Warren and Biden, who can count on a strong following in California whether they campaign here or not, have kept their powder relatively dry to this point. An argument can still be made that since the delegates will be split in California anyway, it is not a state that represents good return on investment.Another big unknown is Bloomberg. There is little evidence, yet, that he commands much in the way of public support, in California or anywhere else, but he has stunned some of the other campaigns by scooping up political consultants and managers they had been vying to hire and earning endorsements from mayors he knows through his extensive work with cities on the environment and other issues. On a recent swing through California, he appeared with former governor (and three-time presidential candidate) Jerry Brown – a coup for any candidate that he pulled off with little apparent effort.The pressure is evident in the sniping that has begun among the candidates on the campaign trail. On Monday night, Sanders sought to contrast his refusal to take money from big donors with the fundraising dinner that Buttigieg was attending that night. The Buttigieg camp countered that they too had raised a lot of money from small donors paying as little as $25 to attend events like the Sacramento dinner.Sanders, in turn, has been accused of spreading himself wide but thinly in California. Critics say the noise generated by his appearances is not always matched by staff efforts to form relationships with new groups of voters and work to turn them out on election day. Spokesperson Bahr swiftly dismissed this. "You can't accuse of us of being shallow when we've invested more than anyone else in this state," she said. * This article was amended on 19 December 2019 to reflect that Cecilia Cabello is not the only native Californian state director in the race.
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| In hostile Sahel, French troops battle an elusive foe Posted: 19 Dec 2019 10:51 PM PST  Burkina Faso-Mali border (Burkina Faso) (AFP) - As night fell over the Sahel, the French soldiers drew their armoured vehicles into a protective square, rather like the wagon-borne settlers of America's Old West. "We're setting up a tactical camp to be able to spend the night in safety," said Captain Jean-Baptiste, commanding the hundred or so soldiers in the temporary base.
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| The mystery of MH370 remains more than 5 years later — here are all the theories, dead ends, and unanswered questions from the most bizarre airline disaster of the century Posted: 20 Dec 2019 04:47 AM PST  Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared in 2014 with 239 people on board en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. Mystery has swirled since.
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| Andrew Yang on Trump: ‘We Have to Stop Being Obsessed with Impeachment’ Posted: 19 Dec 2019 06:02 PM PST  Andrew Yang distanced himself from fellow presidential candidates in opening remarks in the Democratic debate on Thursday night, criticizing Congress and media networks for "missing the reason why Donald Trump became our president in the first place."Asked first on the impeachment of President Trump, much of the debate stage was united in agreement. Former Vice President Joe Biden called impeachment a "constitutional necessity," while Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders called the president a "pathological liar."But Yang took a different route, after saying last month "when we're talking about impeaching Donald Trump, we're talking about Donald Trump and we are losing.""It's clear why Americans can't agree on impeachment, we're getting our news from different sources, and it's making it hard for us to even agree on basic facts," Yang said. "Congressional approval, last time I checked, was something like 17 percent, and Americans don't trust the media networks to tell them the truth."The tech entrepreneur known best for his trademark universal basic income proposal went on to describe his theory of why Trump was elected, arguing that the offshoring of manufacturing jobs flipped swing states in 2016."If you turn on cable network news today, you would think he's president because of some combination of Russia, racism, Facebook, Hillary Clinton, and emails all mixed together. But Americans around the country know different," Yang argued. " . . . The more we act like Donald Trump is the cause of all of our problems, we lose trust that we can actually see what is going on in our communities and solve those problems."Yang closed by taking a pragmatic approach to Trump's impeachment, saying "make no mistake, he'll be there at the ballot box for us to defeat.""What we have to do is we have to stop being obsessed over impeachment, which unfortunately strikes many Americans like a ballgame where you know what the score is going to be, and start actually digging in and solving the problems that got Donald Trump elected in the first place," Yang stated. "We have to take every opportunity to present a new, positive vision for the country, a new way forward, to help beat him in 2020.
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| New details emerge on fatal plane crash that occurred during snowstorm Posted: 18 Dec 2019 01:41 PM PST  An NTSB investigator examines the wreckage of a Pilatus PC-12 airplane at Chamberlain Municipal Airport in South Dakota. The aircraft crashed on Saturday, November 30, 2019, moments after taking off. The crash killed nine of the 12 people on board. (NTSB) The pilot and a passenger worked for three hours "to remove snow and ice from the airplane," according to a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) preliminary report, prior to a deadly plane crash late last month in South Dakota that claimed the lives of nine passengers and injured three others.The NTSB said a witness recalled having seen the efforts to clear the single-engine Pilatus PC-12 before the plane took off and then crashed within a mile of takeoff in Chamberlain, South Dakota, Nov. 30."If you have the proper equipment it shouldn't take three hours, especially for a plane that size," Ethan Klapper, a journalist and licensed aircraft dispatcher, told AccuWeather. "Sounds like something improper happened here. Also, they were clearing the snow while it was still snowing. So likely there was additional accumulation that was occurring during this, and they took off with still more snow that accumulated on the aircraft."Chamberlain, and much of South Dakota, was under a Winter Storm Warning from the National Weather Service at the time of the crash. Winds of 7 mph and moderate snow were reported at the time of the flight with overcast conditions and half-mile visibility, according to the report. Freezing rain and snow were observed at the Chamberlain Municipal Airport the previous afternoon and overnight.The plane arrived in Chamberlain Friday at about 9:30 a.m. CST, according to an earlier NTSB statement. The airplane remained parked on the airport ramp until the accident a day later."It seems a classic case of no deicing chemicals were sprayed or that there was some kind of buildup of new snow on the wings," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. "Or is it possible the air speed indicator was clogged with, or again became clogged with, snow and ice? Or, did they damage something on the plane while clearing it of snow and ice?" A photo of a Pilatus PC-12 in flight. (Pilatus Aircraft Ltd) Ice and snow need to be properly removed from a plane for the flight to be legal, and if that doesn't happen, the consequences can be dire. Variations in drag and lift could be substantial if a plane is not properly deiced, an aviation expert confirmed with AccuWeather.Three of the plane's warning systems - the stall warning, stick shaker and stick pusher \- activated within 15 seconds after liftoff, the NTSB report noted. The airplane immediately rolled about 10 degrees to the left after takeoff. The plane then reversed to five degrees to the right before it "ultimately entered a 64-degree left bank as the airplane reached its peak altitude of 460 feet above ground," according to the report.It's also possible the time taken to clear the plane's snow and ice affected pre-flight preparations. The pilot and passenger worked for three hours before being joined by the remaining passengers shortly before the flight, according to the NTSB report. The pilot requested clearance from Minneapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) at 12:24 p.m., saying he'd be ready in five minutes. At 12:27 p.m., he received clearance with a void time of 12:35 p.m. No radio communications were received from the pilot and radar contact was never established. At 12:40 p.m., Minneapolis ARTCC contacted the Chamberlain airport manager, who advised the plane had departed about 10 minutes earlier. An alert notice was then issued.Another factor that could have contributed to the crash was a possible load imbalance. The Pilatus PC-12 pilot's information manual notes the "maximum number of occupants is 9 passengers" plus 1-2 pilot(s). According to the NTSB report, there were 12 people on the plane.The data recorder captured cockpit sound, the report noted; the NTSB will convene a group of technical experts to produce a transcript. The preliminary report does not include analysis or a probable cause for the accident. Probable cause will be determined at the end of the investigation, which could take between 12-14 months to complete.According to Travis Garza, president of wellness company Kyani, the company's two founders, Jim Hansen and Kirk Hansen, were among the crash victims. The other seven passengers who died were their relatives; three passengers survived.There were 393 U.S. civil aviation deaths in 2018, an increase from 347 in 2017, according to the NTSB. Most aviation deaths in 2018 took place during general aviation operations - all civilian flying except scheduled passenger airline service - when 381 were killed, compared to 331 in 2017.
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