| Justice Dept. memos back defiance of impeachment subpoenas Posted: 20 Jan 2020 01:55 PM PST  The White House on Monday released Justice Department legal opinions meant to bolster its case for defying subpoenas from Congress in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. One opinion, dated Sunday, says Trump administration officials were free to disregard subpoenas sent last fall before the House of Representatives had formally authorized an impeachment inquiry.
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| Police: Mom accused of killing her 3 kids said she smothered them while singing Posted: 21 Jan 2020 08:52 PM PST  A probable cause document doesn't provide a possible motive for the brutal killings that Rachel Henry is charged with.
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| The US plans to force passengers to change routes, and potentially redirect entire flights, to make sure they get screened for the Wuhan virus Posted: 22 Jan 2020 07:09 AM PST  US officials described an ambitious 'funnel' system to make sure every passenger from Wuhan, China, to the US gets screened — no matter their route.
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| ‘Sorry for Lying to You for 13 Years’: Iranian State TV Host Turns on Regime after Ukrainian Jet Downing Posted: 20 Jan 2020 12:14 PM PST  A number of Iranian TV hosts and other public personalities have denounced the regime in the wake of Iran's missile strike on a Ukrainian passenger jet that killed 176 people after the military mistook the jet for an enemy target."Apologies for lying to you for 13 years," state TV host of "Good Morning Iran" Gelareh Jabbari posted on Instagram last Monday. "It was very hard for me to believe our people have been killed, forgive me for believing this late."The post, which was seen by NBC News, has since been deleted.Taraneh Alidoosti, one of Iran's most popular actors and a star of the Oscar-winning 2016 movie The Salesman, also criticized the regime in a post to her 5.8 million Instagram followers."We are not citizens, we are captives, millions of captives," Alidoosti wrote. That post has also been deleted."The Islamic Republic is facing the worst legitimacy crisis in its 40-year history, and the pressures are mounting from every angle," Afshin Shahi, associate professor of Middle East politics at Bradford University, England, told NBC. "The gap between the state and society has widened to an extreme extent."Iran admitted to accidentally shooting down the plane after several days of official denials. U.S., Canadian and European intelligence had already indicated the plane was shot down in a missile strike.Several hours earlier, Iran launched 15 ballistic missiles at U.S. positions in Iraq, in retaliation for the U.S. killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. The Iranian military later said the strikes were not intended to kill U.S. troops.However, the Pentagon later acknowledged that 11 Americans were injured in the strikes, and were being treated for concussive symptoms.
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| U.S. drinking water widely contaminated with 'forever chemicals': environment watchdog Posted: 21 Jan 2020 09:02 PM PST  The contamination of U.S. drinking water with man-made "forever chemicals" is far worse than previously estimated with some of the highest levels found in Miami, Philadelphia and New Orleans, said a report on Wednesday by an environmental watchdog group. The chemicals, resistant to breaking down in the environment, are known as perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The findings https://www.ewg.org/research/national-pfas-testing by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) show the group's previous estimate in 2018, based on unpublished U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data, that 110 million Americans may be contaminated with PFAS, could be far too low.
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| 2 inmates were killed Monday night at an understaffed Mississippi prison Posted: 21 Jan 2020 10:32 AM PST  Two inmates were killed Monday night at an understaffed Mississippi prison that has been shaken by other deadly violence in recent weeks. The state Department of Corrections confirmed the deaths Tuesday but did not immediately release the names of the latest inmates killed at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. The department said it is investigating the deaths.
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| Are North Korea's Vaunted Submarines Actually Any Good? Posted: 22 Jan 2020 01:20 AM PST  Let's take a look.
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| The influencer who faked a broken ankle to get a free business-class upgrade says he'd do it again Posted: 21 Jan 2020 03:50 AM PST  Jamie Zhu told Insider that the moon boot he bought for the stunt "will now be put to good use on my next flights."
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| China Tries to Ease Concern U.S. Trade Deal Hurts Other Nations Posted: 21 Jan 2020 07:53 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng told the World Economic Forum that the country's trade deal with the U.S. won't hurt rival exporting nations as complaints mount from governments that were left out of the agreement.In the most high-profile remarks on the country's economic policy since the accord was signed last week, Han said that its commitment to buy more from the U.S. is in line with its World Trade Organization obligations and won't squeeze out other imports. Han also pledged to lower barriers for foreign investors as he set out the case for China's engagement with the global economy."China will open its door wider," Han told an audience in Davos, Switzerland. "Though facing some protectionism from some countries, the determination to open up will not waver."The speech comes less than a week after Chinese President Xi Jinping sealed a "phase one" deal intended to de-escalate a trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump. The accord saw China commit to crack down on the theft of American technology and corporate secrets by its companies and state entities, while outlining a $200 billion spending spree to try to close its trade imbalance with the U.S."The phase-one trade deal is good for U.S., China and the world," Han said. "China's increasing purchases of U.S. goods are in accordance with WTO guidelines and will not impact its imports from other countries."Han made the comments just as Trump gave his own speech in Davos, in which the U.S. president claimed credit for overseeing an economy enjoying its longest expansion yet, with an unemployment rate that fell to a five-decade low after tax cuts, deregulation and improved trade deals. He also spoke of his close relationship with Xi."He's for China and I'm for the U.S., but other than that, we love each other," he said.Under the agreement, China will boost purchases of U.S. manufactured goods, agricultural products, energy and services over the next two years. Critics say such pre-determined demand can have adverse consequences elsewhere.'Managed Trade'"The real problem with managed trade is that it may divert, rather than expand, international commerce," Chad Bown, a senior fellow and trade expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, said in a report released Tuesday. "For example, China could purchase more American soybeans by cutting back on imports of oilseeds from Brazil."Germany's Kiel Institute for the World Economy said China's pledge to boost American imports could end up costing the European Union about $11 billion next year. "If trade costs and hence relative prices do not change, Chinese imports from the U.S. must come at the expense of third countries," the institute said in a study published this week.Last week, EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan said his team will scrutinize whether China's pledge is allowed under the WTO."We haven't analyzed the document in detail, but we will and if there's a WTO-compliance issue of course we will take the case," Hogan told a conference on Thursday in Washington.Separately, Australia is pushing China for the same dairy concessions that the U.S. received, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. As part of phase one of the deal, the U.S. secured regulatory breaks on dairy products shipped to China, barriers that have hampered Australian exporters, the newspaper reported last week.To contact the reporters on this story: Dandan Li in Beijing at dli395@bloomberg.net;Crystal Chui in Zurich at tchui4@bloomberg.net;Bryce Baschuk in Geneva at bbaschuk2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Ben Sills, Brendan MurrayFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| McConnell Impeach Plan: Run Like Hell, Pray for No Surprises Posted: 21 Jan 2020 01:52 AM PST  The vision that Senate Republican leaders have for the impeachment trial of President Trump, which is set to begin on Tuesday, is simple: a sprint that briskly checks the required procedural boxes before arriving, business-like, at the end result—an acquittal of the president. The vision that Trump himself has for the impeachment trial of President Trump, however, may be different. He has approached the trial that will decide the fate of his presidency as a scorched-earth battle to vindicate himself and a zero-sum loyalty test for congressional Republicans. His trial team, announced last week, reflects that combative mindset. Between Kenneth Starr—the architect of President Clinton's impeachment 20 years ago—and Alan Dershowitz, the celebrity attorney and former Clinton backer turned Trump defender, what is effectively a Fox News panel will be guiding Trump's defense in a trial before 100 U.S. senators and the chief justice of the Supreme Court.The tension between a group of Republican lawmakers who publicly make clear they want no "circus" and a president with a penchant for creating them will be just one factor that will make Trump's impeachment trial unlike the other two trials in U.S. history—or any other event in U.S. history, for that matter. Another unique factor: the steady flow of fresh facts and revelations directly related to the charges laid out in articles of impeachment. Last Thursday, as senators were sworn in as jurors, they were struggling to keep up with incendiary, breaking allegations about Trumpworld's conduct on Ukraine from Lev Parnas, an associate of Trump's personal lawyer and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. On top of that, a federal government watchdog had just found that the White House violated the law in withholding appropriated funds from Ukraine. Taken together, it all seems a recipe for mayhem—a sign that anything could happen as the trial unfolds over the next several weeks. But underneath all the drama, the fundamental political reality has remained static since the beginning: When it's over and the votes are tallied, Trump will almost certainly not be removed from office. A flat "no" was Sen. Ted Cruz's answer when asked last Thursday if anything at all had changed over the last few months about whether or not Trump's conduct on Ukraine justifies his removal from office."We will respect due process, both sides will be allowed to present their case," said the Texas Republican, a reliable Senate ally of the president. "And then we will decide the matter pursuant to the law and the Constitution, and I am confident at the end of this proceeding the result will be an acquittal. "Most Democrats know that the prospect of 20 GOP senators joining with all Democratic senators to ensure Trump's removal is, as it stands, not remotely likely. Publicly, though, Democrats are holding out hope that the ultimate bank shot—getting just four Republicans to side with them on a vote to call additional witnesses like former National Security Adviser John Bolton, who might offer new and damning evidence of Trump's misconduct—could alter the cold political reality they're facing."In a trial, you never know what will happen if you have witnesses and documents," Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) told The Daily Beast. "It can change the dynamic of the trial. As to whether it'll change the ultimate outcome, that's for senators to decide after hearing all the witnesses."On Monday night, McConnell unveiled his proposed rules to govern the trial. They reflect a desire to storm through the proceeding; this week, the House Democratic prosecutors and the president's defense team will each get a 24 hour block of time for presenting their argument—but two days in which to do it. After that, senators will get several hours to pose questions to each side's representatives.After that point, per the proposed rules, senators will vote on whether or not to consider additional witnesses and evidence. If a fourth Republican does not vote yes on that, it's possible Trump's acquittal could come less than two weeks before the formal opening of the trial. The Senate Democratic leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, slammed the rules package on Monday night, saying it was proof that Senate Republicans were complicit in a "cover up." He and other Democrats noted that the rules do not admit the evidence collected by the House's impeachment inquiry at the outset, instead punting that question to a vote later on. "Any senator that votes for the McConnell resolution will be voting to hide information and evidence from the American people," said Schumer. Previously, the Democratic leader had aggressively pushed McConnell to vote on additional witnesses from the get-go, and he said that he will use the limited procedural power he has to force those votes anyway on Tuesday. The provision allowing for a vote on whether or not to call new witnesses is the result of a pressure campaign initiated by a small group of centrist, Trump-critical and/or retiring GOP senators, who pushed McConnell to craft the rules to guarantee a vote on calling additional witnesses when trial arguments conclude. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah, for example, have openly advocated for that vote, and both have said they are leaning toward casting it in favor of new witnesses.Other Republicans, meanwhile, are trying to turn Democrats' witness calls against them by claiming the GOP should get to call figures like Hunter Biden, who is not relevant to the articles of impeachment but is useful for suggesting the vice president and his son were connected to corrupt activity in Ukraine. Cruz, for example, has floated a witness "reciprocity" idea in which Biden would be called by the White House if senators voted to call someone like Bolton. On that subject, most Senate Republicans' desire for a smooth, minimally dramatic affair could clash with Trumpworld's appetite for total war. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, for instance, has threatened to force multiple votes to call Biden if Democrats continue to push for their own witnesses. Many, however, are wary of creating a "circus-like" atmosphere—something that top Republicans like Sen. John Cornyn of Texas have explicitly warned against. Also possible to derail a quick, ho-hum trial is a continued drip of new information—possible or even likely even if no new witnesses are called—about Trump's Ukraine push. The factual record on the saga that sparked Trump's impeachment is still growing as each side's advocates begin exploring the timeline inside and out over the course of many hours of oral arguments. That is another point of stark difference between Clinton's trial—in which there was a similar push for new witnesses but no similar, steady drumbeat of new information—and Trump's.In particular, the disclosure of evidence from Parnas, who was at the center of the Ukraine pressure campaign, suggests that the highest echelons of the administration knew and approved of the effort and its aim to subject Biden to political pain. Amid it all, some of the jurors admitted a struggle to keep up. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) tweeted on Thursday "how surreal it is" to start the trial "on a day when major news continues to break." And nearly all Democrats pointed to the disclosures as more reason to include additional witnesses during the trial.Many Senate Republicans, meanwhile, have settled on a strategy of slamming new evidence—like that revealed by Parnas' disclosures—as illegitimate because it was not collected in the course of the House's impeachment inquiry. Gathering of new evidence, said Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), is outside the scope of the trial."This is not a fact finding search to go see if we can find something to be able to prove him innocent or guilty," said Lankford. If the ultimate judgment of the trial may not be in doubt, the way it will be rendered carries significant implications for which party controls the Senate after the 2020 election. Questions of process, like calling witnesses, are likely to fuel attack ads against vulnerable senators on both sides for months and months. "I think a lot of this is more a focus on putting the incumbent Republicans who are on the ballot in 2020—making sure that they have some hard votes to cast that can be used against them in the campaign," said Cornyn of Democrats' efforts. "Because we know how the story ends, especially with the 67-vote threshold."And that final vote Cornyn is referencing—to acquit or convict—may define the political fates of a set of vulnerable senators on both sides up for reelection in November. Less certain is how it will define the fate of the person at the center of it all. Already, however, one truth is clear: the trial will not go away as quickly as Trump wants it to, and it will be taken more seriously than he wants it to. On the other hand, McConnell's control has its limits. The president's Twitter feed, for example, falls far outside his jurisdiction—and can, as it has before, scramble the Senate GOP's careful plans at any moment. The day after the trial formally began with all 100 senators' solemn oaths—which was sobering enough to members on both sides that many declined to speak on their way out of the Capitol—the president approvingly tweeted a comment from Fox News' Laura Ingraham, who said, "entertaining this Impeachment is a joke. This whole thing should be dismissed."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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| Barr appoints members of presidential law enforcement panel Posted: 22 Jan 2020 09:41 AM PST  Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday named 18 law enforcement officials to a presidential commission that aims to study ways to reduce crime and increase respect for the law. The last presidential law enforcement commission was established in 1965, and one of its recommendations led to the creation of the national emergency number 911. The new commission's members include senior federal law enforcement officials, including the FBI's deputy director and the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors and rank-and-file officers from around the country.
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| Can school choice exclude religious schools? High court weighs in. Posted: 21 Jan 2020 07:20 AM PST ![Can school choice exclude religious schools? High court weighs in.]( "Can school choice exclude religious schools? High court weighs in.") The Supreme Court will hear a case Wednesday in which families say a scholarship was shut down because religious schools were among the options.
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| REI’s January Sale Offers 50% off Cold-Weather Outdoor Gear Posted: 22 Jan 2020 07:26 AM PST |
| No more turkeys or possums as U.S. seeks to redefine "service animals" flying with their owners Posted: 22 Jan 2020 06:55 AM PST ![No more turkeys or possums as U.S. seeks to redefine "service animals" flying with their owners]( "No more turkeys or possums as U.S. seeks to redefine \"service animals\" flying with their owners") The U.S. Transportation Department on Wednesday proposed new rules aimed at preventing passengers from falsely claiming their pets are service animals aboard U.S. airline flights. In the biggest change, the department suggests no longer considering an emotional support animal to be a service animal. Federal law allows passengers with disabilities to travel with service animals.
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| Russia admits its deadly Zircon hypersonic missile is suffering from 'childhood diseases' Posted: 21 Jan 2020 02:11 PM PST  The weapon which is expected to eventually arm the country's newer frigates is apparently experiencing developmental challenges.
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| Authorities say Oklahoma man was eaten by mountain lions in Arizona Posted: 21 Jan 2020 06:47 PM PST  Steven Brashear, 66, was reported missing in December. Three mountain lions were euthanized after being found eating his body.
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| How Was the Secret Air War Between the U.S. Navy and Soviet Fighters Over Siberia Kept Secret for Forty Years? Posted: 21 Jan 2020 10:00 PM PST  Blame North Korea.
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| Menendez and Graham Partner Up to Craft a New Iran Deal Posted: 22 Jan 2020 02:15 AM PST  Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have teamed up to work on drafting potential contours for negotiations with Tehran over the country's nuclear programming and a roadmap for a new deal, according to Graham and two other congressional aides familiar with the matter."I've been working with Senator Menendez on this for some time," Graham told The Daily Beast in an interview last week. "We need a new way forward. And I've been trying to think of alternatives."Graham told The Daily Beast in an interview in August that he was working with senior Trump administration officials on an alternative to the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal. Part of that effort included fielding ideas from outside actors, including foreign officials. Since then, Graham has met with Menendez—although only a few times—on how to kickstart a bipartisan congressional effort to reform the administration's Iran policy.According to sources individuals familiar with the Graham-Menendez partnership, the two senators have largely talked about constructing an actionable plan to present to other lawmakers and to the White House. But the two sides have yet to agree on exactly how to get the ball rolling, according to those sources. One individual said Menendez wanted to work with Graham because the South Carolina lawmaker had gained the president's ear on Iran over the last year.Although the duo has spoken about teaming up for some time, sources say the lawmakers are focused now more than ever on crafting a new deal following the killing of Iran's top military leader, Qassem Soleimani. Following the strike, Democrats in the Senate, including Menendez, called out senior officials in the Trump administration for not offering proper intelligence briefings to Congress on what led to the strike. Menendez told MSNBC earlier this month that the administration suggested in briefings there was an imminent threat to American interests but that there was "no clear definition of what they consider imminent."The senator also called on the administration to declassify the official notification provided to Congress about the Soleimani strike.Graham, on the other hand, applauded President Trump and told The Daily Beast that the administration should continue to keep the military option on the table if Iran were to continue to threaten American interests in the Middle East. Graham suggested the U.S. strike Iranian oil assets in the country, pointing to refineries in particular. Menendez, on the other hand, has urged the administration to up its diplomatic outreach following the strike rather than continue to rely on its military might.Despite their division on Trump's decision to strike Soleimani, both lawmakers opposed the Obama administration's 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran."I have looked into my own soul, and my devotion to principle may once again lead me to an unpopular course, but if Iran is to acquire a nuclear bomb, it will not have my name on it," Menendez said in a 2015 speech. "It is for these reasons that I will vote to disapprove the agreement and, if called upon, would vote to override a veto."At the time of the deal's proposal in 2015, Menendez advocated that the Obama administration continue to levy sanctions on Iran in order to change Tehran's behavior and keep it from eventually obtaining a nuclear weapon. Although Graham's and Menendez's public statements on Iran have varied, both lawmakers seem to agree on one point: The Trump administration's strategy isn't working.Since Trump took office, Menendez has criticized the Trump administration's Iran strategy as only emboldening Tehran. And while Graham tends to support Trump publicly, the South Carolina lawmaker has been openly critical of how the White House responds to Iran's malign activities in the region.In a recent interview with The Daily Beast, Graham said the Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign—meant to cripple Iran's economy with sanctions—was working but needed to be harsher and combined with military deterrence. Team Trump Thought It Could Contain Iran With 'Maximum Pressure.' The Attacks Got Worse.Before the Soleimani strike, Iran policy experts, some of whom worked with the Obama administration, said Tehran would not engage in talks about a revised nuclear deal unless the U.S. rolled back at least some of its sanctions on the country. Now those experts say Tehran, having rolled back its commitments under the former deal, is not likely to engage in any meaningful conversation with the U.S. on nuclear power, at least in the short term.Meanwhile, two officials in the Treasury Department say their unit is continuously drawing up additional sanctions for Iran on the chance Trump wants to hit the country with additional punishments in the near future.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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| Schiff may have mischaracterized Parnas evidence, documents show Posted: 21 Jan 2020 04:46 PM PST  Unredacted material shows he may have referred to the wrong "Mr. Z."
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| Indonesia detains American journalist over visa regulations Posted: 22 Jan 2020 05:13 AM PST ![Indonesia detains American journalist over visa regulations]( "Indonesia detains American journalist over visa regulations") An American journalist is facing up to five years in an Indonesian jail and a fine on charges of violating immigration regulations, a lawyer and officials said Wednesday. Philip Jacobson of California was detained Tuesday in Palangkaraya city on Borneo island. The government has promised to ease visa restrictions for international media since President Joko Widodo took office in 2014.
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| The U.S.'s Next Aircraft Carrier Named After Doris Miller, Hero of Pearl Harbor Posted: 21 Jan 2020 01:29 PM PST  Miller heroically fought back against the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor.
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| Macron berates Israeli security men in tussle at Jerusalem church Posted: 22 Jan 2020 08:06 AM PST  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - "Go outside," French President Emmanuel Macron demanded in English in a melee with Israeli security men on Wednesday, demanding they leave a Jerusalem basilica that he visited before a Holocaust memorial conference. The French tricolor has flown over the Church of St. Anne in Jerusalem's walled Old City since it was gifted by the Ottomans to French Emperor Napoleon III in 1856. France views it as a provocation when Israeli police enter the church's sandstone complex, in a part of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.
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| 30 Doormats That Will Wow Visitors Posted: 21 Jan 2020 08:30 AM PST |
| Arkansas Judge Orders Hunter Biden to Appear before Court in Paternity Case Posted: 22 Jan 2020 07:53 AM PST  An Arkansas judge presiding over Hunter Biden's paternity case has ordered the son of former Vice President Joe Biden to appear before the court on January 29 to explain the state of his finances, after missing a deadline to hand over five years of records.Biden "continues to act as though he has no respect for this court, its orders, the legal process in this state, or the needs of his child for support," wrote Clinton Lancaster, the lawyer for Lunden Alexis Roberts, the mother of Biden's 16-month-old child. Judge Holly Meyer signed an "Order to Appear and Show Cause," which was filed in court on Tuesday.Lancaster explained that Biden had failed to reveal addresses, phone numbers, all sources of income, ownership stakes in companies, property deeds, and tax returns. The original "Motion for Contempt and for Order to Show Cause" was filed on December 23, with Lancaster arguing that Biden had already missed deadlines on December 12 and December 19.Biden's lawyer Brent Langdon has argued in response that "to the extent possible [Biden] has complied with the court's orders" and asked for the motion to be dismissed.Lancaster also told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette that the case had nothing to do with impeachment. Roberts has been seeking $11,000 from Biden to defray cost of her paternity case, after DNA results proved he had fathered her child."I don't believe we have any stake in the impeachment proceedings. We don't have any stake in it whatsoever. We need his income so we can determine child support," he said.Earlier this month, Judge Don McSpadden recused himself without explanation after ordering Biden to hand over all income records over the past five years, in the interest of "Baby Doe." McSpadden also stipulated that Biden's financial information would remain under seal.
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| The brazen (and careless) Russian assassination team behind the Salisbury poisonings has been spotted in Europe, again Posted: 22 Jan 2020 07:34 AM PST  They keep failing to kill their targets. And they leave lots of evidence behind them.
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| Jess Phillips Quits Race to Replace Corbyn as U.K. Labour Leader Posted: 21 Jan 2020 08:29 AM PST ![Jess Phillips Quits Race to Replace Corbyn as U.K. Labour Leader]( "Jess Phillips Quits Race to Replace Corbyn as U.K. Labour Leader") (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.Jess Phillips quit the race to replace Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the U.K. Labour Party, saying she was unable to unite the divided movement.Phillips failed to win the necessary backing from trade unions and local parties to get on the final ballot. There are now four candidates left in the contest to succeed Corbyn, who last month led the party to its worst election defeat since the 1930s.Life After Corbyn? The Politicians Vying to Become Labour Leader"The Labour Party will need to select a candidate that can unite all parts of our movement -- the union movement, the members and elected representatives," Phillips said in a video on YouTube Tuesday. "I have to be honest that at this time, that person isn't me."The new leader will have the task of reviving the U.K.'s main opposition party. Under Corbyn, the party became bitterly divided over his socialist policies, accusations of antisemitism, and an ambiguous policy on Brexit.Corbyn CriticPhillips, 38, was a vocal critic of Corbyn, making her a divisive candidate unpopular with his supporters, who saw her as undermining his efforts. She didn't say which of the four remaining candidates she would support.The backbench member of Parliament had already said her campaign was not going well, and on Monday she failed to gain the support of retail trade union Usdaw, which instead backed front-runner Keir Starmer. As Labour's fourth-largest affiliate, Usdaw would have helped get Phillips over the line, but instead assured Starmer of a place in the final ballot.Under the complex rules of the contest, candidates need to secure the backing of either 33 constituency Labour parties, or three affiliates, two of which must be unions and make up at least 5% of affiliated membership.Starmer's main rival, Rebecca Long-Bailey, hopes to win the support of Unite or the Communication Workers Union. On Wednesday, the GMB union backed Lisa Nandy, calling her "a breath of fresh air in the debate over Labour's future."Four RemainThe fourth candidate remaining is Emily Thornberry. Labour's foreign affairs spokeswoman just scraped through the first phase of the contest, which required candidates to secure the backing of 22 MPs and Members of the European Parliament.Writing in the Guardian newspaper on Monday, Phillips said her first hustings had been "awful" and it was highly unlikely anyone except Starmer or Long-Bailey would win the race."I was awful because I was trying to hit a million different lines and messages in 40 seconds," she wrote. "Some were my lines, some were other people's and it fell flat."\--With assistance from Thomas Penny.To contact the reporter on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Alex Morales, Stuart BiggsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Glenn Greenwald Speaks: Bolsonaro Is Trying to Silence Me Posted: 21 Jan 2020 08:37 AM PST  Famed journalist Glenn Greenwald on Tuesday reacted to the news that the Brazilian government has charged him with "cybercrimes" by railing against President Jair Bolsonaro's regime and its attempts to silence the press.The New York Times reported on Tuesday morning that Brazilian prosecutors alleged that Greenwald was part of a "criminal organization" that hacked into the cellphones of public officials and prosecutors. In multiple stories for The Intercept, which he co-founded, Greenwald published some of those leaked embarrassing messages and, per a criminal complaint, damaged the reputation of an anti-corruption task force."The Bolsonaro government and the movement that supports it has made repeatedly clear that it does not believe in basic press freedoms—from Bolsonaro's threats against Folha to his attacks on journalists that have incited violence to Sergio Moro's threats from the start to classify us as 'allies of the hackers' for revealing his corruption," Greenwald said in a statement to The Daily Beast."Less than two months ago, the Federal Police, examining all the same evidence cited by the Public Ministry, stated explicitly that not only have I never committed any crime but that I exercised extreme caution as a journalist never even to get close to any participation," he continued. "Even the Federal Police under Minister Moro's command said what is clear to any rational person: I did nothing more than do my job as a journalist—ethically and within the law.""This denunciation—brought by the same prosecutor who just tried and failed to criminally prosecute the head of the Brazilian Bar Association for criticizing Minister Moro—is an obvious attempt to attack a free press in retaliation for the revelations we reported about Minister Moro and the Bolsonaro government," Greenwald asserted. "It is also an attack on the Brazilian Supreme Court, which ruled in July that I am entitled to have my press freedom protected in response to other retaliatory attacks from Judge Moro, and even an attack on the findings of the Federal Police, which concluded explicitly after a comprehensive investigation that I committed no crimes and solely acted as a journalist."We will not be intimidated by these tyrannical attempts to silence journalists. I am working right now on new reporting and will continue to do so. Many courageous Brazilians sacrificed their liberty and even life for Brazilian democracy and against repression, and I feel an obligation to continue their noble work."Greenwald and his husband, David Miranda, have been tangling with the Jair Bolsonaro regime ever since the right-wing populist became president of Brazil—through a questionable election—in January 2019.Aside from repeated death threats from Bolsonaro's supporters, echoing their leader's virulent homophobia, the president himself has threatened Greenwald with imprisonment while other government officials have threatened investigations of their personal finances and to take their two adopted children from them.During a radio appearance in November, Greenwald got into a fistfight, live on the air, with a far-right journalist and Bolsonaro supporter who had urged Brazil's juvenile court to investigate Greenwald's family. After Greenwald repeatedly called Augusto Nunes a "coward," Nunes slapped him and Greenwald responded in kind as others in the studio held the two combatants back."We are the antithesis of Bolsonaro," Miranda told The New York Times in July, a few weeks after The Intercept Brasil, which Greenwald edits, published explosive text messages between government officials that provoked a firestorm in Brazilian politics and cast doubt on the legitimacy on Bolsonaro's election. "We're everything they hate."The messages implicated Brazilian prosecutors and judges in a plot to arrest and jail Bolsonaro's opponent, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, on bogus charges and prevent him from running for a third term in the 2018 election.An investigation conducted by the Brazilian federal police identified the hacker who accessed the text messages and cleared Greenwald of wrongdoing, while The Intercept Brasil and Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes pointed out that publishing the messages was protected under the freedom of the press provisions of the 1988 Brazilian constitution.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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| Sorry, America: Iran Played Donald Trump For A Fool In Iraq Posted: 21 Jan 2020 11:20 AM PST  If America leaves, Iran stands to gain.
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| Indonesia says 5 citizens kidnapped by Philippine militants Posted: 20 Jan 2020 09:31 PM PST  Indonesian authorities said Tuesday that five of the country's citizens have been kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Philippines.
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| On the menu at China virus market: rats and live wolf pups Posted: 22 Jan 2020 03:16 AM PST  The food market where China's deadly virus surfaced was a smorgasbord of exotic wildlife ranging from wolf pups to species linked to previous pandemics such as civets, according to vendor information and a Chinese media report. The Huanan Seafood Market in the central city of Wuhan came under greater scrutiny on Wednesday as Chinese officials said that the virus which has so far killed nine people and infected hundreds may have originated in a wild animal sold at the food emporium. Past deadly epidemics have been blamed on wild animals -- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was linked to Chinese consumption of civet meat -- setting Chinese authorities up for potential embarrassment if lax supervision of wildlife trafficking is found at fault in the latest outbreak.
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| Tripoli airport closes again after rocket fire Posted: 22 Jan 2020 04:41 AM PST ![Tripoli airport closes again after rocket fire]( "Tripoli airport closes again after rocket fire") The only functioning airport in Libya's capital Tripoli closed on Wednesday after rockets were fired toward it, the airport said in a statement. A plane coming from Tunis trying to land at Tripoli's Mitiga airport had been diverted to Misrata, a city about 200km (125 miles) east of Tripoli, the airport said on its website. Mitiga had only reopened on Jan. 14 after months of closure following repeated air strikes, part of a nine-month campaign by eastern forces commanded by Khalifa Haftar to seize Tripoli from the internationally recognized government.
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| Feds: White supremacists hoped rally would start civil war Posted: 21 Jan 2020 02:42 PM PST  A hidden camera captured members of a white supremacist group expressing hope that violence at a gun rights rally in Virginia this week could start a civil war, federal prosecutors said in a court filing Tuesday.
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| Panamanian village sleepless with fear after ritual killings Posted: 21 Jan 2020 11:42 AM PST  Altos del Terrón (Panamá) (AFP) - A week after six children and a pregnant woman were sacrificed in a brutal religious ritual, the inhabitants of a remote village in northwestern Panama fear they might be next. Blanco lives in Altos del Terron, an isolated indigenous community where the victims of the ritualistic killings were found last week in a mass grave. Police raided the church on January 15, arresting 10 people and rescuing 15 captives, including children, they believe were being prepared for sacrifice.
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| This 26-year-old former truck driver is running for Congress, and he's betting big that TikTok will help get him elected Posted: 22 Jan 2020 06:57 AM PST  Joshua Collins is ditching traditional ads to raise money and find volunteers through TikTok, which other politicians have been slow to adopt.
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| 26 Coffee Makers for Every Type of Coffee Drinker Posted: 22 Jan 2020 08:57 AM PST |
| House Democrats will start impeachment trial arguments by laying out Trump conduct – live updates Posted: 22 Jan 2020 10:07 AM PST  House impeachment managers, led by Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., have 24 hours, over three days, to argue their case against Trump.
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| Belarus imports oil from Norway after Russia halts supplies Posted: 21 Jan 2020 04:27 AM PST  Belarus started importing oil from Norway on Tuesday after Russia, its main oil provider, suspended supplies earlier this month amid stalled talks on further strengthening economic ties between two countries. Belarusian state-run oil company Belneftekhim said its subsidiary bought 80,000 tones of crude oil from Norway, which is expected to be delivered to the country's refineries via rail in the next few days. Importing oil from alternative sources is more expensive for Belarus than cheap Russian supplies.
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| Confused, Iran Scrambles to Figure Out Trump Posted: 22 Jan 2020 03:30 AM PST  In the wake of the U.S. killing of General Qasem Soleimani of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran is scrambling to figure out how to respond to President Trump. Throughout 2019, Iran ratcheted up threats and tensions, targeting oil tankers in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia, and U.S. troops in Iraq via proxies, testing Washington's response. The decision to kill Soleimani, who arrived at Baghdad International Airport without any apparent suspicion of his impending death, threw down a gauntlet to Tehran that left the Ayatollah and the IRGC grasping for response options. This is a lesson to be learned from the recent Iran tensions: The U.S. can strike back at Iran and its allies without a major war resulting, so long as Iran is surprised or confused by the U.S. response.Iran, in response, fired ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in Iraq because it didn't know what else to do. Ballistic missiles enabled Iran to strike without risking its own casualties and to showcase a technology that it has and that the U.S. lacked defenses against in Iraq. But the strike was limited in scope, and Iran hoped that at worst the U.S. would respond with cruise missiles or some similar kind of missile strike. How do we know this? Iran didn't put its whole country on a war footing when it fired the missiles. It did down a civilian Ukrainian Airlines flight by mistake, showing that it expected some kind of aerial retaliation.Iran tries to project an image of itself as massively powerful and cunning, sending its constantly smiling foreign minister, Javad Zarif, abroad to demonstrate its ability to open doors from Europe to Asia. Closer to home, Iran pushes relations with Turkey, Qatar, India, Oman, and other countries. Iran boasts of massive revenge for its losses. All last year, Iranian media featured articles about its military technological achievements, such as new drones, missiles, and warships. But behind the facade of strength and boasting, Iran prefers long-term incremental achievements and influence entrenchment in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon.Take the Iranian proxy attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq throughout 2019 as an example. Iran can read U.S. media and official statements to gauge U.S. response. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew to Iraq in May to warn of possible Iranian escalation. From that moment Iran did escalate, attacking oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman and downing a U.S. drone in June. In Iraq, rockets were fired at bases where U.S. forces are located. Pompeo warned in December that "Iran's proxies have recently conducted several attacks" in Iraq and that the U.S. would respond directly if Iran harmed U.S. personnel. David Schenker, State Department assistant secretary for Near Eastern affairs, said that Iranian-backed militias in Iraq were shelling Iraqi bases where U.S. forces are located.Iran didn't expect the U.S. to carry through with a powerful response because it could read U.S. responses to the June drone downing and knew that Trump had refrained from a strike on Iran. Whether by mistake or intention, a rocket attack by Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah in late December killed a U.S. contractor near Kirkuk. Five Kataib Hezbollah sites were hit with U.S. airstrikes in response, and dozens were killed. Iran predicted that a show of force at the U.S. embassy would embarrass Washington and show the U.S. who is boss in Iraq. On Twitter on December 31, Pompeo singled out Kataib Hezbollah leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Iran, and other Iraqi proxies of Iran as responsible for the attack on the U.S. embassy. Tehran's leaders could have read that tweet as the threat that it was. Instead, Muhandis met Soleimani at the airport in Baghdad two days later, without fear that he was being followed by a U.S. drone that would soon turn his SUV into a smoldering wreck.The decision to go off script and strike directly at Soleimani and Muhandis has been termed "regime disruption," a purposeful attempt to confuse Tehran by doing something unprecedented. Iran's initial reaction was muted despite is boasts of "hard revenge," because it doesn't know what to do. It wants to keep an open account with the U.S., as a threat to do more. But Tehran's usual attempt to control the tempo of conflict in the Middle East has been blunted.Lesson learned: Iran does best when it gets to set the narrative through its good-cop/bad-cop strategy of military bluster and political sweet talk, played by Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and Iran's proxies in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon. But what does Iran do when it faces complex challenges? In Syria, Israel has carried out more than 1,000 airstrikes on Iranian targets, and Iran has responded with desultory rocket fire. The attacks appear to have reached a point where Iran expects them and shrugs them off, because, as with Soleimani, it doesn't know how to respond to Israel. It has provided Hezbollah with a massive arsenal of rockets and wants to equip them with precision guidance, but Tehran must know that you get to use this massive arsenal only once before you provoke a war with Israel. That means that Hezbollah has one shot and that Iran must preserve that threat for a rainy day.Where Iran succeeds in its incrementalism is in the Gulf and in dealings with Europe over the Iran deal. Iran has walked away from key aspects of the deal over the past year, giving Europe 60-day warnings. Iran did the same in the Gulf, judging that Saudi Arabia would not respond to a drone and cruise-missile attack in September against its Abaiq refinery. Typically, when 25 drones and nine cruise missiles strike a massive refinery, the country would go to war in response. But Iran knows that Saudi Arabia can't afford a real war that would destabilize the Gulf and oil exports. Riyadh and its wealthy Gulf neighbors have more to lose than Iran does in such a scenario.Iran expects its adversaries to follow a script, and it has a ready-made tit-for-tat response. The U.S. left the Iran deal and struck Soleimani and Muhandis, surprising Tehran. Killing another IRGC commander would have diminishing returns, just as sanctions seem to no longer surprise Tehran. This is a challenge for American strategists: Devise a strategy whose core is to do the opposite of what the enemy expects. A combination of Seinfeld's George and Sun Tzu's Art of War. The more Iran has to focus on what the U.S. might do next, the less Iran can plan on how to attack the U.S. and its allies, including Israel.
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| China says virus cases rise to 440, with 9 deaths Posted: 21 Jan 2020 06:31 PM PST  China's National Health Commission said on Wednesday 440 people in 13 Chinese provinces were confirmed to be infected with a new coronavirus as of Tuesday, with nine deaths, and that there was evidence of respiratory transmission from patient to patient.
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| The Air Force's New B-21 Stealth Bomber Will Be a High-Tech Doomsday Machine Posted: 21 Jan 2020 05:31 AM PST  Armed with nukes too.
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| Homeless Oakland Moms Cut Deal to Buy House They Squatted In Posted: 21 Jan 2020 12:32 PM PST  A group of homeless mothers evicted and arrested after squatting in an empty Oakland residence have reached an agreement to buy the home in a radical conclusion to a struggle that shone a renewed spotlight on the Bay Area's dire housing shortage. The women, known collectively as Moms 4 Housing, occupied a house in West Oakland from November until Alameda County Sheriff's deputies removed them in a pre-dawn raid on January 14. Cops also arrested two of the women, along with two men on the scene. Around the same time as that eviction raid, hundreds of supporters gathered at the house to express solidarity with the mothers' rallying cry of "housing is a human right." On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Moms 4 Housing announced that the women—who were released from jail last week—reached an agreement to purchase the property from its owner with the help of a local nonprofit, Oakland Community Land Trust. "This is what happens when we organize, when people come together to build the beloved community. Today we honor Dr. King's radical legacy by taking Oakland back from banks and corporations," said Dominique Walker, one of the mothers who was living in the home.Eviction Squad Tosses Moms on Street in Ultra-Rich Bay AreaThe house, owned by the Southern California real estate company Wedgewood, had remained empty for two years, even as homelessness in Oakland rose by nearly half in the same time period. Members of Oakland's city council had urged the company to make a deal with the mothers to end the dispute. In a statement, the company said, "Wedgewood is thankful for the outpouring of support for our company throughout the illegal occupation of our Oakland property. We appreciate the local, state and national support for property owners as well as the public's support for non-violent discussion and action." Activists who worked with the mothers were quick to brandish the outcome as not just a win but a precedent they might repeat."The moms fought for all of Oakland," said Carroll Fife, director of the Oakland chapter of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment. "Now Wedgewood has pledged to work with the City of Oakland's Housing and Community Development Department and the Oakland Community Land Trust to negotiate a first right of refusal program for all Oakland properties they own and we will hold them to it." 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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| Huawei’s CEO Dismisses Looming Threat of a U.S. Escalation Posted: 21 Jan 2020 01:43 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up for Next China, a weekly email on where the nation stands now and where it's going next.Huawei Technologies Co. founder Ren Zhengfei shrugged off the threat the U.S. will impose even stricter sanctions against his company, saying he was confident China's largest tech company can survive further attacks from Washington.Tighter restrictions on the sale of American technology to the telecommunications giant -- something the White House is considering -- will not have very significant impact on Huawei, the billionaire chief executive said during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos."This year, the U.S. might further escalate its campaign against Huawei but I feel the impact on Huawei's business would not be very significant," he said in response to a question about U.S. curbs. "We're confident we can survive further attacks."Huawei has risen to global prominence as the No. 2 smartphone maker and a leader in the fifth-generation wireless technology that will underpin future advances from autonomous cars to robotics. It's also become a major target for the U.S. as China's technological prowess grew along with its ambitions, encapsulating growing tensions between the world's two largest economies.Read more: Trump's Blacklisting of Huawei Is Failing to Halt Its Growth (1)The Trump administration has pushed allies to ban Huawei equipment from their networks on worries about spying, and blacklisted Huawei along with a clutch of Chinese technology companies in fields from artificial intelligence to surveillance.Ren initially estimated the May 2019 blacklisting in particular could wipe $30 billion off annual revenue and threaten his company's very survival, though he tempered that outlook in the ensuing months. Huawei mobilized a massive effort to develop in-house alternatives to American software and circuitry, while U.S. suppliers like Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp. found ways to continue supplying Huawei vital components it needed to make its products."The U.S. should not be concerned about Huawei and our position in the world," Ren, looking at ease in a blazer and open shirt, told the panel.Read more: Huawei Engineers Go to 24-Hour Days to Beat Trump BlacklistTo contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Gao Yuan in Beijing at ygao199@bloomberg.net;Edwin Chan in Hong Kong at echan273@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net, Colum MurphyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| If Prince Harry and Meghan split their time between the UK and Canada, here's how raising Archie could change Posted: 21 Jan 2020 10:12 AM PST  In some ways, life for Archie and the couple may be better in Canada, since the country is more diverse.
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| Jeff Bezos rode around in an electric Amazon rickshaw to show off the company's new fleet in India Posted: 21 Jan 2020 04:25 AM PST  Jeff Bezos has been aggressively courting India, but his trip there has been overshadowed by protesters and an antitrust investigation.
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| Trump impeachment trial: Democrats' bids for new evidence dashed in marathon first day Posted: 21 Jan 2020 10:19 PM PST  * President's trial opens with arguments over proceedings * Democrats accuse Republicans of cover-up on Trump's behalf * Trump impeachment trial – live updatesDemocratic hopes that a moderate bloc of Senate Republicans would join their demand for witnesses and testimony at Donald Trump's impeachment trial were temporarily disappointed, if not dashed, as arguments on the first proper day of the trial extended past midnight into Wednesday morning.In seven consecutive votes split precisely along party lines, the Senate voted down Democratic proposals to subpoena testimony from four potential witnesses and documents from multiple government agencies. Four additional votes defeated proposals to ease the admission of documents and testimony and to relax related time restrictions."I know it's late, but it doesn't have to be late," Adam Schiff, the lead impeachment "manager", or prosecutor in the case, said as the proceedings entered their 12th hour."We don't control the schedule. There is a reason why we are still here at five minutes till midnight, and that's because they don't want the American people to see what's going on here."Democrats fruitlessly called for testimony and documents from the former national security adviser John Bolton; the acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney; Mulvaney's aide Robert Blair; the budget official Michael Duffey; the White House; the state department; the defense department; and the budget office relevant to an alleged scheme by Trump to twist the powers of the presidency to extract personal political favors from Ukraine.Each of the proposed subpoenas was defeated by a 53-47 vote. Only one procedural amendment garnered a single Republican vote, from Susan Collins of Maine. The 13-hour session came to an end just before 2am local time, with yet another straight party-line vote to approve guidelines for the trial unveiled by the majority leader, Mitch McConnell, just a day earlier.Democrats accused Republicans of failing to commit to a fair impeachment trial and of engaging in a "cover-up" of misconduct by the president."The president is engaged in this cover-up because he is guilty, and he knows it," said Representative Val Demings of Florida, one of the impeachment managers.A further opportunity for the senators to demand documents or witnesses was anticipated in the weeks ahead. But Schiff urged the senators to issue subpoenas before an allotted period for senators to question the legal teams."You should want to see these documents," said Schiff. "You should want to know what these private emails and text messages have to say."The American people want a fair trial," Schiff said. "But a great many Americans don't believe that will happen. Let's prove them wrong."Trump's defense team struck a combative posture, expressing outrage at what they said was unfair treatment of the president and accusing the House of an attack on democracy."They're not here to steal one election, they're here to steal two elections," said Pat Cipollone, the White House counsel. "They won't tell you that. They don't have the guts to say it directly. But that's exactly what they're here to do."The trial was scheduled to continue with late-night sessions starting on Wednesday afternoon and running into the weekend. A long-shot two-thirds majority of senators present would be required to remove Trump from office.The supreme court's chief justice, John Roberts, gaveled the trial to order shortly after 1pm."The Senate will convene as a court of impeachment," Roberts said, proceeding to swear in one senator, James Inhofe of Oklahoma, who missed the group swearing-in last week.Over the next 12 hours, Roberts stepped out of a strictly procedural role only once, after the manager Jerry Nadler accused any senator who voted against hearing from Bolton of casting a "treacherous vote" and Cipollone demanded that Nadler apologize to Trump and his family.Admonishing both sides, Roberts noted that Senate rules and tradition required civil discourse. "I do think that those addressing the Senate should remember where they are," he said.The opposing legal teams, seated in a cramped arrangement at tables stacked with paper at the base of the Senate rostrum, struck an immediate contrast in style and substance.While Trump's team attacked the conduct of the impeachment process in the House and resuscitated a call for more information about the whistleblower whose complaint launched the process, the Democrats appealed to the 100 senators before them."They talk about how bad the House is – I don't agree with that at all," the minority leader, Chuck Schumer, told reporters during a break in the trial, referring to Trump's defense team. "They don't make a single argument why there shouldn't be witnesses or documents."As the hours wore on, certain rhythms and incongruities in the trial emerged. While the House managers used almost all of their allotted debate time, liberally deploying video clips drawn from public hearings last month, Trump's defense team used only a fraction of its time, repeating a blanket defense of the president's conduct and rarely referring to previous testimony in the case.To debate various proposed subpoenas, Schiff deployed one of the other seven managers to make a scripted case and then, after Trump's team had spoken, rose to deliver impromptu rebuttals.After the deputy White House counsel Patrick Philbin said the Democratic request for new witnesses amounted to an admission that they were unprepared for trial, Schiff pounced, calling on Trump's former national security adviser and current acting chief of staff to appear."We're ready," Schiff said. "The House calls John Bolton. The House calls Mick Mulvaney. Let's get this trial started, shall we."We are ready to present our case. We are ready to call witnesses. The question is, will you let us?"Pounding the lectern, Jay Sekulow, a personal lawyer for Trump and talk-radio host, blazed through a series of conservative talking points and conspiracy theories ranging in focus from the special counsel Robert Mueller to the former attorney general Eric Holder."This isn't a legal defense," tweeted Kate Brannen, editorial director of the Just Security website. "It's the equivalent of impeachment jazz hands."After Cipollone delivered a terse statement declaring: "The president has done absolutely nothing wrong," Schiff took the lectern to reprise his description of Trump's alleged misconduct and to underscore the gravity of the moment."You have all now sworn an oath," Schiff told the senators. "To do impartial justice. That oath binds you. That oath supersedes all else. Nothing matters now but the oath to do impartial justice. And that oath requires a fair trial."Trump is charged with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, in connection with his attempts to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals.In the hours before the trial began, Democrats escalated their criticism, lambasting what they called a "cover-up" and a "rigged process" designed to push key moments of the trial into the "dark of night".If Democrats are to secure additional witnesses, they will need at least four Republicans to back them. A handful of moderates, including Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah, have indicated that they could support an effort to call witnesses – but only on the timeline outlined in a proposal advanced by McConnell.With the trial under way, Democrats continued to press Republicans to refuse McConnell's terms and work with them to reach a bipartisan solution."No jury would be asked to operate on McConnell's absurdly compressed schedule," said Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker. "It is obvious that no senator who votes for it is intending to truly weigh the damning evidence of the president's attacks on our constitution."In their legal brief submitted to the Senate on Sunday, the House managers outlined their case, alleging Trump corruptly sought foreign interference in the 2020 election by pressuring Ukraine to launch investigations into his political opponents while withholding nearly $400m in military aid and dangling a coveted White House meeting with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
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| Britain's EU Journey: When De Gaulle said 'non' twice Posted: 21 Jan 2020 03:29 AM PST  Britain officially leaves the European Union on Jan. 31 after a debilitating political period that has bitterly divided the nation since the 2016 Brexit referendum. Difficult negotiations setting out the new relationship between Britain and its European neighbors will continue throughout 2020. This series of stories chronicles Britain's tortured relationship with Europe from the post-World War II years to the present.
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| AOC Compares Baltimore Riots to Peaceful Richmond Gun-Rights Demonstration Posted: 20 Jan 2020 02:03 PM PST  Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) on Monday contrasted the annual gun rights rally in Richmond, Va. with the riots after the death of Baltimore resident Freddie Gray and protests following the killing of Eric Garner by New York police."When we go out and march for the dignity…of the lives of people like Freddie Gray and Eric Garner, the whole place is surrounded by police in riot gear without a gun in sight [among protesters]," Ocasio-Cortez said at a Monday event. "And here are all of these people [in Richmond], flying Confederate flags with semiautomatic weapons, and there are almost no police officers at that protest."Following the death of Freddie Gray in the back of a police van in Baltimore in 2015, the city saw riots so extensive that Governor Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency, while national-guard units deployed to quell the violence. While the officers who arrested Gray were initially charged with murder, all charges were eventually dropped by the prosecution.During the Second Amendment rally in Richmond, Va. officers arrested one person for covering her face in public, which is banned under Virginia law. The individual was later released, and the rally continued without violence.On Thursday the New York Times reported that three suspected white nationalists had been arrested, with investigators alleging the three would try to ignite violence at the rally. Governor Ralph Northam, who has voiced support for more restrictive gun laws, declared a state of emergency in response to the threat.
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| French workers turn to sabotage as transport strike flags Posted: 21 Jan 2020 01:09 AM PST  French energy workers protesting against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform plans cut power to Paris' wholesale food market on Tuesday in the latest of a series of sabotage and wildcat actions as a weeks-long transport strike loses momentum. The deliberate sabotage of power supplies underlines the determination of left-wing unions after a wave of strikes and street protests since early December failed to force Macron to back down. The hard-left CGT union's energy branch said it was responsible for an early-morning power outage at Rungis, the world's largest wholesale fresh food market.
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