| 'Would you like some nice ISIS fighters?' Trump trolls Macron at NATO summit Posted: 03 Dec 2019 08:22 AM PST  In a testy exchange on the sidelines of the NATO summit in London Tuesday, President Trump clashed with French President Emmanuel Macron over what to do with 2,000 foreign Islamic State fighters being held in Syria.
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| House Democrats to vote on restoration of Voting Rights Act this month Posted: 03 Dec 2019 11:07 AM PST  House Democrats will vote this month on a bill intended to lay the foundation for a restoration of the full Voting Rights Act, a significant step in a years-long effort to respond to a 2013 Supreme Court decision that significantly weakened the law.
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| US forces kill jihadist leader in Syria with precision 'ninja' missile that chops up targets with blades Posted: 04 Dec 2019 06:16 AM PST  US forces are thought to have killed a senior jihadist leader in northern Syria using a rarely deployed "Ninja" missile which attacks targets with precision sword-like blades. The Hellfire missile, or AGM-114R9X, which has a set of six folding blades instead of a warhead for minimum collateral damage, is believed to have been used to take out a commander in the al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) in the province of Idlib. The leader, named locally by his nom-de-guerre Abu Ahmad al-Muhajir, was reported to have been killed on Tuesday night when the car he was travelling in was hit by missiles in the town of Atmeh near the Turkish border, 10 miles from the US raid that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi last month. He was said to be a high-profile foreign trainer of an elite force within HTS, known as "The Red Bands". Another, unidentified fighter who had been in car was also killed. This fragment is reported to have been found at the site of what may have been an RX9 (Hellfire with frikken swords) strike. If you looks closely, you can see what appear to be hinges, as well as being and twisted projections from those hinges. H/T @obretix, who found this. pic.twitter.com/db7ZOE6S1x— Nick Waters (@N_Waters89) December 4, 2019 Images of the scene shared on social media show a hole in the driver's seat of the Mutsubishi Delica, which is otherwise largely intact. Inside the car, flesh and blood can be seen and a number of large identical cut marks. Experts point to the windows, which have not been blown out, as evidence the "Ninja" or so-called "flying Ginsu" was used. The missile has only been deployed on a handful of occasions in the eight-year conflict in Syria, with at least one other reported use in the killing of Abu Khayr al-Masri, the deputy leader of al-Qaeda, in February 2017. The Hellfire AGM-114R9X "ninja" missile substitutes the explosive warhead found on standard missiles for a set of six folding sword-like blades, designed to smash through buildings and vehicles with minimal civilian casualties. Masri was killed while driving a car in al-Mastouma, 30 miles south of Atmeh, in Idlib. US unmanned aircraft, such as MQ-9 Reapers, can carry Hellfire missiles and are known to carry out targeted strikes. The missile has various pros and cons; while its precision helps to minimise the risk of civilian casualties, it relies on detailed intelligence that requires a lot of human resources. Nick Waters, a former infantry officer and investigator at Bellingcat who analysed pictures from the scene, said he could clearly see four cuts in the roof, one in the windscreen and one through the door: "you've got six: the same number of blades an R9X has," he said. Al-Qaeda deputy Abu Khayr al-Masri's car was targeted by a Hellfire missile. Pictures from the scene in 2017 show minimal damage to the rest of the car - a trademark of the AGM-114R9X, Credit: Twitter "This strike is very distinctive and although the coalition have denied carrying it out, it is possible that other US agencies not under the control of the coalition, such as the CIA, may have carried out this strike unilaterally," he told the Telegraph. The US-led coalition said it did not carry out the strike. The Telegraph approached US Central Command (CENTCOM) for comment. The US has focused on targeting Isil leaders in northern Syria and has largely avoided HTS in Idlib in the northwest. The Islamist group rules control most of the province, pushing out more moderate groups who had previously been dominant. It would be the first US strike on an HTS leader since 2017. The skies above Idlib are crowded as the Syrian government and its Russian allies carry out an offensive to regain the last-remaining rebel stronghold in the country.
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| US congressman to plead guilty to corruption charge Posted: 02 Dec 2019 04:05 PM PST  A US congressman accused of misusing campaign funds to pay for lavish vacations, extramarital affairs and airline fees for a pet rabbit said Monday he plans to plead guilty in order to spare his children the embarrassment of a trial. "I think it's important not to have a public trial for three reasons, and those three reasons are my kids," Duncan Hunter, a Republican, told KUSI.
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| Pope accepts resignation of U.S. bishop accused of abuse cover-up Posted: 04 Dec 2019 03:34 AM PST ![Pope accepts resignation of U.S. bishop accused of abuse cover-up]( "Pope accepts resignation of U.S. bishop accused of abuse cover-up") Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Richard J. Malone of Buffalo, New York, who has been at the centre of a sex abuse crisis in his diocese, the Vatican said on Wednesday. The Vatican said Francis had appointed the bishop of Albany, Edward B. Scharfenberger, to administer the Buffalo diocese until a new bishop can be appointed.
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| Argentine ex-leader angrily denounces graft charges at trial Posted: 02 Dec 2019 12:38 PM PST  Former Argentine President Cristina Fernández made an unusual detour Monday on her way back to power as vice president, appearing in court to defend herself against corruption charges stemming from her time in office. The former leader, who becomes vice president in eight days, is charged with heading a criminal association that defrauded the government by illegally granting public works projects in the southern province on Santa Cruz during her 2007-2015 presidency. Fernández angrily denounced the accusations as political persecution and blamed the outgoing administration of President Mauricio Macri.
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| Why Iran's 'Stealth' Qaher 313 Is Nothing to Fear Posted: 03 Dec 2019 09:15 PM PST  A sad excuse for a plane.
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| Trump's misconduct a textbook case of impeachable offenses, experts say in hearing Posted: 04 Dec 2019 08:39 AM PST  Republicans' witness offered opposing view, saying that the impeachment process was being rushed * Help us cover the critical issues of 2020. Consider making a contributionImpeachment experts testified before the House judiciary committee on Wednesday that Donald Trump's misconduct offered a textbook case of impeachable offenses as prescribed by the constitution and applied over the course of US history. "If what we're talking about is not impeachable, then nothing is impeachable," said witness Michael Gerhardt, a University of North Carolina law professor.Four constitutional scholars, including three called by Democrats and one called by Republicans, became the first witnesses to testify in a second round of public impeachment hearings beginning Wednesday and expected to last until late next week.The hearings are the last stop before the proceedings could move to the House floor for a vote to impeach, or not to impeach, Trump, which could take place before a holiday break beginning on 20 December.Committee chairman Jerrold Nadler said that Trump was the first president to engage in conduct that met all three constitutional criteria for impeachment: "Treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.""Never before has a president engaged in a course of conduct that included all the acts that most concerned the framers," Nadler said.Nadler was echoed by witnesses including Gerhardt."If Congress fails to impeach here, then the impeachment process has lost all meaning, and, along with that, our Constitution's carefully crafted safeguards against the establishment of a king on American soil," Gerhardt said. The witness called by Republicans, George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, offered an opposing view, saying that the impeachment process was being rushed."We are all mad and where has it taken us?" Turley said. "Will a slipshod impeachment make us less mad or will it only give an invitation for the madness to follow in every future administration?"As the new high-stakes phase of the impeachment inquiry began, Republicans resorted to procedural objections and high-temperature harangues in an effort to protect Trump.The Republican side lodged a series of rapid-fire interruptions and parliamentary inquiries as the hearing began, interrupting the first witnesses and leading Nadler to resort repeatedly to his gavel.The Georgia congressman Doug Collins, the top Republican on the committee, accused Democrats of moving to impeach Trump "because you just don't like the guy"."The American people is [sic] really gonna look at this and say, 'Huh? What are we doing?'" Collins said.Democrats accuse Trump of misusing the powers of his office for personal gain by pressuring Ukraine to manufacture negative headlines about Joe Biden, Trump's political rival. Trump also stands accused of obstructing a congressional investigation by ordering subordinates not to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry. The charges are laid out in a 300-page report referred to the judiciary committee late on Tuesday by Adam Schiff's intelligence committee, which has led the process to this point.The judiciary committee has historically been the place where articles of impeachment originate. Wednesday's hearing is the only one scheduled before the committee so far, with more expected. Democrats expect the committee to wrap its work within two weeks, though there is no set calendar.Republicans led by Collins tried to upend the hearings Wednesday by objecting on procedural grounds and foregrounding Trump's fiercest defenders, including Representatives Jim Jordan of Ohio and John Ratcliffe of Texas.Also sitting on the judiciary committee is Matt Gaetz of Florida, who made a splash last month when he led a group of Republican lawmakers into the secure basement facility where the impeachment inquiry was proceeding. The Republicans complained of exclusion, despite the participation in the inquiry by dozens of elected Republicans.Testimony Wednesday proceeded under rules familiar from the previous public hearings, with 45-minute chunks of questioning time at the top for the committee leaders and staff, followed by five-minute blocks for each member.Norm Eisen, a former chief White House ethics lawyer, acted as chief questioner for the Democrats.The day's panel included three witnesses called by Democrats – the Harvard law professor Noah Feldman, the Stanford law professor Pamela Karlan, and Gerhardt – and one called by Republicans, Turley."This is not just about our national interests to protect elections or make sure Ukraine stays strong and fights the Russians so we don't have to fight them here, but it's in our national interest to promote democracy worldwide," Karlan said."If we look hypocritical about this, if we look like we're asking foreign countries to investigate our political opponents, asking other countries to interfere in our elections, then we're not doing our job of promoting our national interest and being that shining city on a hill."In an interview with the Guardian last month, Gerhardt said that in spite of Republican complaints that Trump had not been given sufficient opportunity to defend himself in the impeachment proceedings, the House process had been "extremely fair"."I think that because the constitution says the House has the sole power to impeach, there's no role for the president to dictate how he should be involved, who should bring a lawyer and things like that – it's left to the discretion of the House, and the House I believe in this situation has been extremely fair," Gerhardt said.The White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, informed Nadler earlier this week Trump and his lawyers would not participate in Wednesday's hearing.
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| Pete Buttigieg and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez got into a nasty fight over free public college. It's part of a larger battle between progressive and centrist Democrats. Posted: 03 Dec 2019 01:24 PM PST  Buttigieg recently introduced his college affordability plan and took a swipe at his 2020 competitors who want public college to be tuition-free.
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| American lawyers who have had abortions file Supreme Court brief Posted: 03 Dec 2019 02:25 PM PST  More than 360 American women who have had abortions and work in the legal profession, including several high-profile attorneys, have filed a brief with the Supreme Court ahead of a closely watched abortion case.
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| French lawmakers tackle anti-Semitism as Jewish graves desecrated Posted: 04 Dec 2019 03:23 AM PST ![French lawmakers tackle anti-Semitism as Jewish graves desecrated]( "French lawmakers tackle anti-Semitism as Jewish graves desecrated") Scores of Jewish graves were found desecrated in a cemetery in eastern France, police said, hours before lawmakers adopted a resolution equating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. Some 107 graves were defaced with anti-Semitic inscriptions in the city of Westhoffen, while graffiti against Jews was also found in nearby Schafhouse-sur-Zorn on Tuesday. France has Europe's biggest Jewish community - around 550,000 - and anti-Semitic attacks are common, with more than 500 alone in 2018.
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| US Marine charged with illegally flying guns into Haiti Posted: 03 Dec 2019 09:29 AM PST  A U.S. Marine caught smuggling guns into Haiti told investigators he wanted to help the country's military learn marksmanship and defeat "thugs" causing instability there, according to a criminal complaint. The criminal complaint filed last week in a North Carolina federal court charges Marine Sgt. Jacques Yves Duroseau with smuggling firearms. Prosecutors say Duroseau flew from North Carolina to Haiti with baggage including eight firearms — at least five of which he bought himself — but lacked needed authorization to take them abroad.
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| The fired Chicago police superintendent says he made a 'poor decision' on the night he was found asleep at a stop sign with his SUV running Posted: 04 Dec 2019 07:27 AM PST  Former Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson said he "did not intentionally mislead or deceive the Mayor or the people of Chicago."
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| The List: These 5 Mighty Submarines Are the Best to Ever Submerge Posted: 03 Dec 2019 01:00 PM PST  Submarines are the backbone of strategic defense.
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| Impeachment Investigators Got Rudy Giuliani's Phone Records—And They’re Quite Revealing Posted: 03 Dec 2019 02:34 PM PST  Rudy Giuliani and one of his indicted Ukrainian associates exchanged a flurry of phone calls with Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), the top Republican on Congress' impeachment investigation panel, amid a Giuliani-led effort to dig up dirt on President Donald Trump's political opponents in Ukraine.The House Intelligence Committee obtained phone records from AT&T; showing extensive communications in early April involving Nunes, Giuliani, Lev Parnas, and The Hill columnist John Solomon, according to records released in the committee's formal report on its investigation underlying impeachment charges against President Donald Trump.The records shed new light on the relationship between Nunes, one of the impeachment inquiries most vehement critics, and the individuals at the center of what committee Democrats describe as an illicit campaign to weaponize U.S. foreign policy to Trump's political advantage.The records in the committee's 300-page report show three phone calls between Nunes and Giuliani on April 10 of this year, and at least two with Parnas two days later. Derek Harvey, a member of Nunes' staff, also had a phone call with Giuliani the following month.Giuliani Cronies Planned 'Fraud Guarantee' Infomercials Starring RudyThe Nunes calls came on the tail end of a long series of communications between Parnas and Solomon, who on April 1 had published a column relaying the same conspiracy theories at the center of Giuliani's Trump-endorsed inquisition in Ukraine: that high-ranking officials in Kyiv had sought to scuttle Trump's 2016 presidential candidacy, and that former Vice President Joe Biden had corruptly attempted to insulate a company that employed his son from prosecution. Parnas and Solomon exchanged more than a dozen phone calls in the subsequent two weeks, during which Solomon reiterated the allegations about Biden and Ukraine in another column that Giuliani relayed in an interview on Fox News.Giuliani, meanwhile, was in frequent communication with the White House. Throughout April, he placed numerous calls to unidentified individuals in the Office of Management and Budget, the office led by acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. The report also notes a number of Giuliani calls later in the year with an individual at an unidentified number—appearing only as "-1" in phone records—amid a series of phone calls and text messages with numbers associated with the White House.The committee's report describes those individuals as part of a "smear campaign" coordinated with "one or more individuals at the White House."Giuliani did not respond to a text message for comment. Much of the report is based on interviews with key witnesses whose testimonies have been largely dissected. But the committee's possession of phone records from Parnas and Giuliani adds compelling physical evidence to an investigation that Republican critics have derided as reliant on "hearsay."Nunes in particular has sought to undermine the investigation by alleging that Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the Intelligence Committee chairman, had coordinated or otherwise communicated with an intelligence community whistleblower who initially raised concerns about Trump's apparent efforts to pressure Ukraine into investigating his political foes. But the phone records contained in the committee's report show that Nunes himself had engaged in his own behind-the-scenes communications with the very people at issue in the whistleblower complaint. Nunes never revealed those communications during the weeks of committee testimony. The congressman has discussed the possibility of suing news outlets, including The Daily Beast, for reporting on his private handling of matters related to Trump's actions in Ukraine. "It is deeply concerning that at a time when the president of the United States was using the power of his office to dig up dirt on a political rival, that there may be evidence that there were members of Congress complicit in that activity," Schiff said on Tuesday of Nunes' communications with Parnas and Giuliani.Phone records released on Tuesday also show contacts in early April between Giuliani, Parnas, and Victoria Toensing, a lawyer who briefly served as Trump's personal attorney in 2018. Days after her contacts with Giuliani and Parnas, Toensing signed a retainer agreement to represent two former Ukrainian prosecutors who had briefed Giuliani on allegations against the Bidens.One of those prosecutors, Yuriy Lutsenko, had also told Solomon that Marie Yovanovitch—then the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine—had actively undermined Trump in her post in the country and sought to insulate politically favored groups and companies from prosecution. Lutsenko has since retracted that claim.Nonetheless, just weeks after the series of phone calls identified in the Intelligence Committee's report, Yovanovitch was recalled from her post. In testimony last month, she attributed her removal to a malicious smear campaign orchestrated by Giuliani, his associates, and vindictive Ukrainian officials.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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| Cory Booker Bets $100 Billion on Historically Black Colleges and Universities Posted: 03 Dec 2019 12:03 PM PST  Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey on Tuesday proposed investing $100 billion in historically black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions, a broad proposal in a Democratic field that has offered varying plans to prop up this long-standing yet struggling arm of the educational system.Many HBCUs, as historically black colleges and universities are commonly known, have faced widespread financial woes recently, with some schools losing accreditation and facing plummeting enrollment.Booker's proposal comes at a precarious time for his presidential campaign: Despite crossing the 200,000 individual-donor threshold last month, he is still short four qualifying polls for the December debate and is in real danger of being left off the stage.While many candidates, including Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts; former Vice President Joe Biden; and Mayor Pete Buttigieg, of South Bend, Indiana, have already rolled out proposals to invest billions into HBCUs, an anchor of Booker's proposal is dedicating at least $40 billion to those institutions for climate change research.Booker's plan also calls for an additional $30 billion in grants to expand and improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics -- known as STEM education -- at HBCUs and minority-serving institutions, and another $30 billion in grants to upgrade facilities and infrastructure at the schools."HBCUs make our country stronger and more reflective of the diversity that makes us so great," Booker said in a statement announcing the proposal. "I am here today because of the power of these institutions to uplift and bring about opportunity to black Americans."More than 70% of students at HBCUs and minority-serving institutions rely on Pell Grants, according to Marybeth Gasman, an education professor at Rutgers University. The Booker campaign aims to expand access to college by doubling the value of Pell Grants to $12,400 from $6,200 and require that 10% of Second Chance Pell Grant programs are given to HBCUs and minority-serving institutions."It's the most aggressive plan," Gasman said. "Of course it's coming out after the others, so I think that's a smart and bold move on his part."Indeed, discussion about the many ways the Democratic candidates have proposed to bolster HBCUs has become a central topic in the Democratic presidential primary.Warren committed to investing a minimum of $50 billion into HBCUs, paid for by her wealth tax proposal, within her overarching plan to make public college free and to cancel most student loan debt. She said she would seek to increase the budget with her secretary of education to ensure equity in spending per student compared with other colleges in a given area.Sanders, who also proposed universal free public college and canceling all student loan debt, pledged to make similar investments in HBCUs with a focus on educating teachers and those in the medical field. In addition, Sanders also proposed canceling the $1.6 billion in existing loan debt HBCUs face through the current Capital Financing Program.Last month, Buttigieg wrote an op-ed in The Baltimore Sun, also promising to invest $50 billion in HBCUs.Biden proposed more than $70 billion in investments for HBCUs, with dedicated funds to specific needs, such as $10 billion to create at least 200 new research incubators; $20 billion in high-tech labs, facilities and digital infrastructure; and another $18 billion in grants to help with tuition at four-year colleges, equivalent to up to two years of tuition per low-income and middle-class students.Some experts, while lauding the financial scope of Booker's plan, questioned whether focusing so much of the funding on STEM programs and climate change studies was the best solution for many of the HBCUs around the country."There are maybe 10 to 20 HBCUs facing being shuttered that don't have those fields," said Jerry Crawford II, a professor of journalism and a director of the multicultural scholars program at the University of Kansas.Of course, underpinning all of these proposals is the difficulty in paying for them. Booker's campaign said he would request $100 billion over 10 years from Congress in his first budget and has identified other sources of new revenue in previous policy proposals, such as undoing President Donald Trump's tax cuts and restoring the estate tax to 2009 levels."If Sen. Booker could pull off this kind of investment in HBCUs," said Gasman, "it would be historic."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| 18 Clever-Approved Coat Racks You Don’t Need to Hide Posted: 03 Dec 2019 11:44 AM PST |
| You just lived through the warmest decade on record – and it's only going to get hotter Posted: 03 Dec 2019 09:45 AM PST  And 2019 is on course to be the second- or third-warmest year on record, with 2016 still holding the all-time temperature record.
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| Kim Jong Un rides again as North Korea warns U.S. against using military force Posted: 03 Dec 2019 09:17 PM PST  North Korea said it would take "prompt corresponding actions" if the United States resorts to military force, state media reported on Wednesday, as tensions rise ahead of Pyongyang's year-end deadline for stalled denuclearization talks. The statement came just hours after North Korea announced it would convene a rare gathering of top ruling-party officials later this month, and state media showed photos of leader Kim Jong Un taking a second symbolic horse ride on the country's sacred Mt. Paektu. U.S. President Donald Trump, in Britain for a NATO summit, said on Tuesday that Washington could use military force against North Korea "if we have to", though he added he still hoped for talks.
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| Zimbabwe’s Mugabe left behind $10 million, some houses Posted: 03 Dec 2019 01:24 AM PST  The wealth of Zimbabwe's former longtime president Robert Mugabe was long a mystery. Some in Zimbabwe view that estate as far too modest for Mugabe, who ruled for 37 years and was accused by critics of accumulating vast riches and presiding over grand corruption. The report by the state-run Herald newspaper on Tuesday does not mention any overseas assets, though it is thought that Mugabe had properties in neighboring South Africa and in Asia.
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| Unvaccinated to show red flags as Samoa battles measles epidemic Posted: 03 Dec 2019 10:33 PM PST  Authorities in Samoa asked unvaccinated families to display a red flag outside their homes on Wednesday to help a mass immunisation drive aimed at halting a measles epidemic that has killed dozens of children. The tiny Pacific nation of 200,000 will grind to a halt on Thursday and Friday as non-essential government services close so public servants can help the vaccination campaign. Over the two-day period, teams will go door-to-door administering vaccines in a desperate bid to raise the low immunity levels in Samoa that have fuelled the epidemic.
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| How Surviving a Hurricane Turned Into Surviving Discrimination Posted: 03 Dec 2019 11:49 PM PST  Haitian migrants face deportation and stigma in hurricane-ravaged Bahamas.
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| Why is Elizabeth Warren falling in the polls? Blame Medicare-for-all. Posted: 04 Dec 2019 02:55 AM PST ![Why is Elizabeth Warren falling in the polls? Blame Medicare-for-all.]( "Why is Elizabeth Warren falling in the polls? Blame Medicare-for-all.") Before Elizabeth Warren had "a plan for that," the GOP had its own man with a plan. A decade ago, Paul Ryan championed a "roadmap" to curb the national debt and rein in entitlement spending through free-market reforms of the big programs that benefit the elderly. Republicans seemed to buy in: Despite Democrats labeling his "Path to Prosperity" plan a cruel austerity program that would hurt seniors, Ryan rode this ambitious budget blueprint to two committee chairmanships, a vice presidential nomination and the House speakership.But the triumph of the Ryan plan did not last long. The former speaker is out of Congress and Republicans no longer control the House. The Republican president of the United States, Donald Trump, pointedly rejected Ryan's proposals to retool Social Security and Medicare. Entitlement reform is once again the third rail of American politics; Democrats want to expand rather than cut these programs to cover still more people.History may be about to repeat itself in the form of Warren, the senator from Massachusetts vying for the 2020 Democratic nomination with her promise of "Medicare-for-all" and a move away from most private health insurance. Warren rocketed to near-frontrunner status only to fall in recent polls. There are many factors driving her decline, but it undeniably coincides with the increasing unpopularity of replacing existing health-care arrangements with an expanded Medicare (as opposed to letting people choose to buy into a public option).As Warren soared, Democrats who haggled with her over the price tag of "Medicare-for-all" and the feasibility of her progressive policy agenda -- with the significant exception of former Vice President Joe Biden -- appeared doomed to also-ran status. Former Maryland Rep. John Delaney lost his eligibility for the debate stage as Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar struggled to hang on. But by the end of November, Warren toppled by 14 points to a virtual tie for third place in Quinnipiac's national poll with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders as Biden reclaimed the lead, with South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg -- newly re-tacking to the center -- rounding into second. Warren has also tumbled to third place in the RealClearPolitics polling averages for Iowa and New Hampshire while trailing Biden in both Nevada and South Carolina.At the same time, according to Quinnipiac, only 36 percent of voters deem Warren's version of Medicare-for-all a "good idea," and 52 percent think it is a "bad idea." As recently as August 2017, the split was 51-38 in Warren's favor.Indeed, the same problem that plagued Ryan's big ideas seem to be plaguing Warren's: People don't like it when their existing entitlements are disrupted. This is especially true of health care, whether it is interrupted by more government (think ObamaCare) or by attempts to reduce government (think Trump-era efforts to repeal ObamaCare). As Ryan's downfall shows, no matter how gradual the proposed phase-in of new such policies, voters simply are not convinced they won't get stung, and Warren is grappling with this reality now.Now, just as establishment Republicans began to entertain second thoughts about following Ryan's roadmap, the public's turn on Medicare-for-all has spooked other Democratic contenders. The candidates who have jumped in late, such as former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, are skeptics of this leftward economic shift. The party knows it can run to the left of Bill Clinton and win nationally -- Barack Obama did it twice. Democrats are now grappling with whether they can run to the left of Obama and do the same. Polling might suggest they cannot: Quinnipiac found that only 14 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters think Obama was not liberal enough, while 80 percent found the 44th president "just right."One of Warren's problems is that she has been unwilling to acknowledge the middle-class tax increases her plans will certainly entail, refusing to give her opponents the televised "gotcha moment" as she remains steadfast the insurance cost savings will offset this burden. Yes, Warren is right that Americans are unsatisfied with the costs of the current health-care system. And Ryan was correct that the math of our existing entitlement programs doesn't add up. But whether your solution is a greater federal role or better functioning markets, the transition is politically challenging, no matter how good your plan.Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.More stories from theweek.com The most important day of the impeachment inquiry Trump's 'bribery' has been 'worse than the misconduct of any prior president,' impeachment witness will testify Watch NATO leaders, British princess, apparently mock Trump, politely, at palace reception
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| How Social Security and Medicare Work Together Posted: 04 Dec 2019 08:01 AM PST ![How Social Security and Medicare Work Together]( "How Social Security and Medicare Work Together") Social Security and Medicare are social safety programs that Americans pay into during their working years through taxes. Social Security provides financial support, and Medicare is a health insurance program that helps cover doctor visits, hospital stays and other medical treatments. While the programs are separate, Social Security and Medicare are intertwined in several ways.
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| Long focused on Russia, NATO widens gaze toward China Posted: 04 Dec 2019 04:08 AM PST ![Long focused on Russia, NATO widens gaze toward China]( "Long focused on Russia, NATO widens gaze toward China") Seventy years since its Cold War-era founding as a transatlantic alliance focused on Moscow, NATO is expanding its gaze toward the increasingly muscular challenge posed by China. The United States is leading the charge for a greater focus on China and is confident in a receptive audience in much of Europe, where concerns are mounting about Beijing's growing economic leverage, in particular. U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, in an interview with Reuters, said there was an increasing understanding in Europe about the challenges posed by China's rapidly expanding military might, which includes everything from hypersonic weaponry to aircraft carriers.
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| France vows strong retaliation after U.S. threatens sanctions Posted: 03 Dec 2019 04:11 AM PST  France has warned the U.S. of strong European Union retaliation if it imposes tariffs on key French products ranging from sparkling wine to cheese to handbags, in an intensifying row over taxing digital giants that risks spiraling into a new trade war.
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| Harvard grad student workers go on strike, seeking $25 an hour minimum wage, other demands Posted: 03 Dec 2019 03:23 PM PST  Harvard graduate student workers went on strike Tuesday, becoming the first Harvard academic employees to launch a work stoppage in decades.
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| Trump’s $28 Billion Trade War Bailout Is Overpaying Farmers Posted: 04 Dec 2019 08:57 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. President Donald Trump's $28 billion farm bailout may be paying many growers more than the trade war with China has cost them.The U.S. Department of Agriculture's calculations overshot the impact of the trade conflict on American soybean prices, according to six academic studies, a conclusion that is likely to add to criticism that the bailout has generated distortions and inequalities in the farm economy."It's clear that the payment rates overstated the damage suffered by soybean growers," said Joseph Glauber, the USDA's former chief economist who published a review of the research in late November. "Based on what the studies show, the damages were about half that."The academic research has focused on soybeans in part because the crop has been the most visible target of Chinese retaliation and overall received the most trade aid. But the method the department used to calculate trade losses also likely overstates the conflict's financial impact on most other farm products, though for a few commodities it may understate the true impact, Glauber, now a senior fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute, said in an interview.The divergence doesn't necessarily mean a bonanza for American farmers, who are being financially squeezed on other fronts, including a global commodity glut that is depressing prices and a year of wild weather that is damaging crop yields. Also, the trade conflict risks long-term loss of market share for U.S. producers as overseas customers build relationships with replacement suppliers. Neither the academic nor the USDA estimates take potential future market losses into account."You're ruining a huge export market," said Yuqing Zheng, an agricultural economist at the University of Kentucky. "Longer term, we don't know for sure what the impact will be. Even if there is no future tariff, China might import less from the United States."Still, a team led by Zheng estimated the trade conflict depressed U.S. soybean prices by only 36 cents per bushel in its first year, a period in which the bailout program paid soybean growers more than four times that: $1.65 per bushel.The scale of the farm rescue package has now swelled to more than twice the ultimate $12 billion cost of the controversial auto industry bailouts under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. And it's increasingly come under under fire.Senate Democrats issued a report in November arguing the trade aid program favors large producers over smaller ones. An advocacy group, the Environmental Working Group, released a study that asserted big farms so far have been the main beneficiaries of the billions of dollars in aid payments.The USDA forecast last week net farm income will rise more than 10% this year to $92.5 billion, with additional government aid accounting for all of the increase in profits. Almost 40% of projected U.S. farm profits this year will come from trade aid, disaster assistance, federal subsidies and insurance payments. With the extra aid, farmers will have their highest profits in six years, though still well below the $124 billion they netted in 2013, according to the department.A Purdue University-CME Group survey of farmers' agricultural sentiment climbed for a second month in November to match its highest level since the survey's inception in 2015. Midwest SupportersThe trade aid, particularly for soybeans, largely goes to the president's political supporters. Polls show Trump has maintained overwhelming backing from farmers. In the 2016 election, Trump won eight of the 10 states with the largest soybean acreage, all of them in the Midwest. Glauber estimates more than half of the direct payments under the USDA's market facilitation program cover soybeans.The apparent over-payment stems from the method the USDA used to compute trade damages for the rescue package. The department forecast the overall price impact of punitive tariffs China and other nations imposed on U.S. farm products without considering sales farmers would gain as the world market reorganized in response. But as China bought more soybeans from Brazil, instead of the U.S., other buyers stepped in to purchase more soybeans from the U.S., replacing product they had previously bought from Brazil."A broader analysis like some of these show the beans go elsewhere," Glauber said. "They don't just go into storage. Some of them go to Europe. Some of them go to other uses. We ended up crushing a lot more soybeans in 2018 than expected. We exported more vegetable oil, more protein meal. All of that mitigates the price impact."Pat Westhoff, director of the University of Missouri's Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, led a team that estimated tariffs from China and other nations involved in trade disputes caused the price of U.S. soybeans to drop by 78 cents per bushel.The USDA projections "do not consider the impact of exports to other markets," Westhoff said. "They consider only the negatives and not the positives."New MarketsMichael Adjemian, an economist at the University of Georgia, came up with a lower impact: 52 cents a bushel. He based his model on the export price for soybeans in New Orleans."New markets emerged," Adjemian said. "We sold more to the rest of the world, though not enough to make up all of the difference."Robert Johansson, the USDA's chief economist, said the department decided to base trade aid on a projection of "gross" trade losses rather "net" losses primarily for consistent treatment of producers of diverse farm products affected. It's harder to isolate net trade impact for specialty crops such as pecans or almonds than for major commodities such as soybeans, he said."We need to be pretty sure whatever method we use is consistent across all commodities," Johansson said. "You can imagine what the reaction would be if we said we'll use this model for soybeans and that model for sorghum and another one for cotton."USDA officials also concluded after consulting with U.S. trade negotiators that there was an advantage to using the gross damages method because it is the basis the country uses for arguing cases before the World Trade Organization, which handles international trade disputes, Johansson said.Transportation FactorIndividual producers also may face greater losses than the overall net price impact of the trade war depending on their location because there may be higher transportation costs for moving their goods to a different market or other adjustment costs, he added.In some cases, though, the method the USDA uses to compute trade aid may understate losses to farmers. Westhoff cited corn growers. The gross trade losses cover only the direct impact of the tariff dispute. Corn growers have primarily been hurt by indirect effects as farmers who might otherwise grow soybeans produce corn instead, bringing down corn prices, he said.The USDA has made a higher trade damage estimate for soybeans in this year's aid program, at $2.05 per bushel, which Westhoff said also exceeds his group's estimate for the impact in the period.This year's payment is higher because the USDA decided to calculate the damage based on export sales over the past 10 years; last year's payment was based on a comparison with the prior year.Wendy Brannen, a spokeswoman for the American Soybean Association, declined to comment.(Updates with sentiment survey in 11th paragraph. A previous version of the story corrected the spelling of Johansson.)To contact the reporter on this story: Mike Dorning in Washington at mdorning@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Millie Munshi, Steven FrankFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| George Nader Used Straw Donor for Over $3M in Illegal Campaign Contributions in 2016: Feds Posted: 03 Dec 2019 06:15 PM PST  George Nader, a Lebanese-American businessman and a witness in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into 2016 Russian interference, has been indicted for allegedly conspiring to pour more than $3 million in illegal campaign contributions into the 2016 presidential election. According to the Justice Department, Andy Khawaja—the CEO of a California-based credit card processing company—conspired with Nader to conceal the source of over $3.5 million in contributions made to the political committees linked to a 2016 presidential candidate. The Justice Department did not specify which presidential candidate or committees received the donations. While the donations were made under the names of Khawaja, his wife, and his business, the contributions were allegedly funded by Nader.As Khawaja and Nader arranged these payments, Nader is accused of reporting to an official of a foreign government on his efforts to gain influence with the unnamed candidate and other political figures with the donations.The Associated Press reported that Khawaja gave over $4 million to Clinton's campaign and to other Democrats, but he pivoted to throwing money at President Trump after he won the 2016 election, donating $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee—which got him an Oval Office picture with Trump. Nader, who is currently in prison on child porn charges, forged ties with the Trump campaign in 2016 and was known to act as an intermediary in setting up meetings between members of Trump's campaign and foreign officials. Federal prosecutors say Khawaja also conspired with six other men to hide his own excessive contributions to a number of political committees. Khawaja allegedly attempted to hide over $1.8 million in contributions between March 2016 through 2018 with those six men, identified by the Justice Department as Roy Boulos, Rudy Dekermenjian, Mohammad Diab, Rani El-Saadi, Stevan Hill and Thayne Whipple.The Justice Department alleges that these donations enabled Khawaja to host a private fundraiser for a 2016 presidential candidate and a fundraising dinner for one elected official in 2018. Neither the candidate nor the official were named by federal prosecutors. Khawaja is currently a commissioner for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. According to the website, he was appointed to the commission by Sen. Chuck Shumer (D-NY). His company, Allied Wallet, had previously come under scrutiny over accusations it helped shady businesses get past banking systems through the use of "sham websites and dummy companies."Khawaja was charged with 35 counts in the 53-count Nov. 7 indictment, including counts of conspiracy, making conduit contributions, making false statements, and obstruction of a grand jury investigation. Nader was also charged with conspiring to make conduit contributions. He was questioned extensively as part of Mueller's investigation due to his connections and efforts to sway the Trump White House. He was later arrested and charged with sex trafficking.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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| GPS tracker inside a money bag leads police to a bank robbery suspect Posted: 03 Dec 2019 07:27 AM PST  The FBI says a GPS tracker inside a money bag led them to a bank robbery suspect in South Florida.
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| UPDATE 1-Hungary to block Ukraine's NATO membership over language law Posted: 04 Dec 2019 07:50 AM PST ![UPDATE 1-Hungary to block Ukraine's NATO membership over language law]( "UPDATE 1-Hungary to block Ukraine's NATO membership over language law") Hungary's foreign minister on Wednesday said Budapest would block Ukraine's membership in NATO until Kiev restored the rights that ethnic Hungarians had before a language law curbed minorities' access to education in their mother tongues. Hungary has clashed with Ukraine over what it says are curbs on the rights of roughly 150,000 ethnic Hungarians to use their native tongue, especially in education, after Ukraine passed a law in 2017 restricting the use of minority languages. "We ask for no extra rights to Hungarians in Transcarpathia, only those rights they had before," Szijjarto told state news agency MTI at the NATO summit in London.
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| Gaza fields, ravaged by Israeli herbicides, bloom again Posted: 03 Dec 2019 06:03 PM PST  For four years, he said, Israeli planes regularly sprayed herbicides along the border which scorched his crops, and he fears it could resume at any time. Israel says it sprays only on its side of the border, to clear a buffer zone of hiding places for potential Palestinian attackers. Israel and the Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas, which controls the strip, have fought three wars since 2008, with regular cross-border clashes since the last round in 2014.
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| Florida Republican condemned for suggesting Ilhan Omar be executed for treason Posted: 04 Dec 2019 06:17 AM PST  George Buck, who is running for Congress, is the second Republican to reference the hanging of the congresswomanA Florida Republican with national party ties has been condemned after becoming the latest political opponent of the Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar to suggest that the Minnesota representative be put to death.A fundraising letter sent by George Buck, a Republican running for Congress, suggests that Omar, a Democrat, be executed for treason. "We should hang these traitors where they stand," the email reads.According to the Tampa Bay Times, Buck initially blamed the email on an errant staff member before seemingly backtracking and sending the newspaper a statement that referenced the death penalty for treason."Anyone who commits treason against the United States should be tried to the full extent of the law," said Buck, who is a member of the Young Guns program run by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).On Wednesday the NRCC and Kevin McCarthy, Republican House minority leader, removed Buck from the program in the wake of his comments.Buck is the second Republican to reference the hanging of Omar, a Somali-born Muslim, in the past week. A campaign account for Danielle Stella, a pro-Trump Republican candidate for Congress, was banned from Twitter after suggesting Omar be hanged, along with a depiction of a stick figure hanging from the gallows.Both Buck and Stella have based their accusations of treason on an unverified report that Omar is an asset of Qatar who has passed sensitive information on to Iran. There has been no evidence put forward to support this theory and has not been backed by any US government assessment.Omar is a frequent critic of Donald Trump, as well as the human rights records of both Israel and Saudi Arabia. Trump has repeatedly accused his critics of being guilty of treason and said Omar and other political opponents in Congress who are women of colour should be "sent back" to the "crime infested places from which they came" despite their either being born in the US or gaining citizenship and now holding national office."The fact that those who make these violent threats very publicly without hesitation reaffirms how much white supremacy has spread within the @NRCC," tweeted Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat and Omar ally who has also been targeted by Trump. "They are raising money on a call to hang a Black Muslim member of Congress and too many are silent."> The fact that those who make these violent threats very publicly without hesitation reaffirms just how much white supremacy has spread within the @NRCC. They are raising money on a call to hang a Black Muslim member of Congress and too many are silent. @IlhanMN https://t.co/VR92QvWh2z> > — Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) December 4, 2019Steve Scalise, the House Republican whip, also criticised Buck. "There's no place for inciting violence in politics," Scalise said in a statement. "Instead of doubling down on these disgraceful comments, the candidate ought to apologize unequivocally and denounce these unacceptable statements."Buck is one of several Republicans vying to take Florida's 13th congressional district, which is centered on the city of St Petersburg. The incumbent in Charlie Crist, a Democrat and former Florida governor.
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| Judge to hear bid to end John Dillinger exhumation lawsuit Posted: 04 Dec 2019 03:06 AM PST  A judge will hear an Indianapolis cemetery's bid Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a relative of 1930s gangster John Dillinger who wants to exhume Dillinger's gravesite to determine if the notorious criminal is actually buried there. A Marion County judge scheduled a hearing to consider Crown Hill Cemetery's motion to dismiss the lawsuit Michael Thompson filed in August against the cemetery. Thompson, who is Dillinger's nephew, is seeking a court order allowing him to proceed with the exhumation.
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| Widow who offered $25,000 reward in husband's 2006 death arrested in connection with murder Posted: 03 Dec 2019 10:21 AM PST  Marathon County authorities said they arrested Cindy Shulz-Juedes of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, on Nov. 27 in connection with her husband's death.
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| Are China's 'Unsinkable Aircraft Carriers' in the South China Sea In Trouble? Posted: 03 Dec 2019 09:30 PM PST  "Rumors suggest the new islands' concrete is crumbling and their foundations turning to sponge in a hostile climate. And that is before considering what a direct hit from a super-typhoon might do."
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| Trump border wall $400 million contract handed to company owned by Republican donor who promoted firm on Fox News Posted: 03 Dec 2019 01:36 AM PST  A construction company owned by a Republican donor has been given a $400m (£308.5m) contract to build sections of Donald Trump's border wall.The Department of Defence has announced Fisher Sand and Gravel Co, from North Dakota, will build new barriers in Arizona following reports that Mr Trump repeatedly pushed for the company to be given the contract, despite concerns from engineering officials.
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| Iraq Is Facing a Familiar Problem Posted: 03 Dec 2019 09:00 PM PST ![Iraq Is Facing a Familiar Problem]( "Iraq Is Facing a Familiar Problem") (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has been here before. Fifteen years ago, after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq had toppled the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, the country's senior-most cleric helped guide his people toward a system of representative government. Now, having himself helped to topple the latest iteration of that government, Sistani knows his flock is again looking to him for political guidance.He does not relish the responsibility. Sistani, 89, represents the so-called "quietist" school of Shiite Islam, which takes the view that senior clerics must not dabble in politics. For much of his adult life, he has argued against the notion of "vilayat-e-faqih," or rule by the Islamic jurist, promoted by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and practiced in Iran since the 1979 revolution.But the dire political circumstances in Baghdad may require Sistani to take on a more active role than he'd like. Sistani has said Iraq needs fresh elections and wholesale constitutional reforms, but has been careful to avoid suggesting specific changes. That, in his view, is the business of the country's political class.But there's the rub. Iraq's politicians have demonstrated little interest in change, and Sistani himself bears some responsibility for the dysfunction that has come to characterize the country's parliament. Every government since the fall of Saddam has had his blessing; every prime minister has sought and received his approval. Indeed, the latest premier, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a man with no party or constituency of his own, could not have got the job without Sistani's benediction. Although Iraqis might reasonably begrudge Sistani for the incompetence and venality of their political elite, they seem inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt, not least because of his personal probity and the prestige of his office, which is arguably the highest in Shiite Islam. But the protesters who have kept up pressure on the government for weeks on end — braving bullets, teargas and truncheons — may lose their patience with Sistani if he remains in his comfort zone, on the sidelines. Indeed, it may take all of the Grand Ayatollah's clout to offset the Iranian influence on Iraqi politics. Tehran has already dispatched its formidable enforcer, Major General Qassem Soleimani, to participate in the negotiations over Abdul-Mahdi's departure. It will likely take more than Sistani's personal prestige to keep Soleimani at bay. In the rough-and-tumble world of Baghdad politics, where parties routinely use militias for leverage, Iran can call on a wide array of armed groups. Tehran's politician of choice is Hadi al-Amiri, who commands the Badr Organization, which is both a paramilitary and a political party. Amiri's only rival for political power is the cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has positioned himself as an Iraqi nationalist. Both men are Shiites, but Sadr's nationalist credentials give him some traction with the Sunni minority, which is distrustful of Amiri's Iranian ties. Sadr's militia is the Mahdi Army, which makes up in numbers what it lacks in firepower and discipline. In political terms, Sadr and Amiri cancel each other out. Sistani has previously avoided endorsing either of them, preferring Abdul-Mahdi as a compromise. It was a disastrous choice: Abdul-Mahdi had neither the political nous to manage a fractious parliament nor the administrative skills to run the country.Even if parliament heeds Sistani's call for constitutional reforms, Iraq will need an interim leader. And so, again, the Grand Ayatollah faces the choice of Sadr and Amiri. Backing the leader of the Badr Organization would amount to putting Iraq firmly under Iranian control, betraying the aspirations of the protesters. Although of Iranian descent himself, Sistani has in word and deed been loyal to Iraq.But taking sides with Sadr will not sit well with Sistani, either. The younger man is unpredictable and given to violent outbursts; he has articulated no coherent vision for what Iraq ought to be, much less a plan to fix its economic and political problems. There is no reason to believe he — or anyone from his party — will make a good administrator, especially at a time of national upheaval. Sistani's preference will be to wait for another compromise candidate to emerge. But that cop-out may no longer be available: The protesters are in no mood for a long, drawn-out political process. And it may well be that there are no untainted politicians left in Baghdad.To contact the author of this story: Bobby Ghosh at aghosh73@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Timothy Lavin at tlavin1@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Bobby Ghosh is a columnist and member of the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board. He writes on foreign affairs, with a special focus on the Middle East and the wider Islamic world.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Nine dead in South Dakota plane crash Posted: 02 Dec 2019 08:35 PM PST  The plane was carrying a family returning from a weekend hunting trip.
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| Huawei urging suppliers to break the law by moving offshore - U.S. Commerce chief Posted: 03 Dec 2019 02:05 PM PST ![Huawei urging suppliers to break the law by moving offshore - U.S. Commerce chief]( "Huawei urging suppliers to break the law by moving offshore - U.S. Commerce chief") China's telecoms giant Huawei has been encouraging its suppliers to violate U.S. law by telling them to move operations offshore in a bid to avoid U.S. sanctions, Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross told Reuters on Tuesday. In May, the U.S. government placed Huawei Technologies Co Ltd on a trade blacklist known as the entity list, over national security concerns, forcing some suppliers to apply for special licenses to sell equipment to the company. On Tuesday, Ross said in an interview that those frustrations extended to a push from Huawei to move its supply chain overseas.
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| Saudi king invites Qatar emir to Riyadh summit: Doha Posted: 03 Dec 2019 09:07 AM PST  Doha (AFP) - Saudi King Salman has invited Qatar's emir to a meeting next week of the Gulf regional bloc in Riyadh, Qatari state media said Tuesday without specifying if Doha had accepted.
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