| Trump lawyers contradict one another as they conclude first phase of impeachment trial Posted: 28 Jan 2020 03:45 PM PST  The president's top White House lawyer has repeatedly told the Senate Trump did nothing wrong in withholding aid to Ukraine, even as other lawyers on his defense team directly contradicted that assertion over the last two days.
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| Lawyers ask parole board to spare condemned man's life Posted: 27 Jan 2020 10:51 AM PST  Donnie Cleveland Lance, 66, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Wednesday. The board on Monday declassified a clemency application filed by Lance's lawyers. Stephanie Lance Cape and Jessie Lance, the now-adult children of Donnie and Joy Lance, have submitted a letter to the parole board and plan to ask for mercy at Tuesday's hearing.
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| Historians unveil rare photos of Sobibor death camp Posted: 28 Jan 2020 09:43 AM PST  Hundreds of newly discovered photographs, including some taken at the Sobibor death camp, represent a "quantum leap" in research into Nazi crimes against humanity, historians at the Berlin museum Topography of Terror said Tuesday. Historians said the "exceptional collection" provided unprecedented insights into the Sobibor camp in German Nazi-occupied Poland, about which little is known even 75 years after the end of World War II. The trove, consisting of 361 black-and-white photos and several written documents, also includes photos believed to show convicted Nazi guard John Demjanjuk, who denied ever being at Sobibor.
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| McConnell Tells Caucus They Lack the Votes to Block Impeachment Witnesses Posted: 28 Jan 2020 03:23 PM PST  Senator Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) on Tuesday said he doesn't have the votes to block a resolution to allow witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial, according to multiple reports.McConnell made the admission in talks with Senate Republicans after President Trump's defense team concluded its arguments.If the Senate votes to summon witnesses, Democrats will likely attempt to call on former White House national security adviser John Bolton to give testimony in the trial. On Sunday the New York Times reported that Bolton wrote in the manuscript of his upcoming book that Trump had conditioned aid to Ukraine on that country's commitment to conduct investigations into Joe and Hunter Biden.Republicans may react to a subpoena of Bolton by summoning Hunter Biden and the government whistleblower, whose complaint sparked the impeachment inquiry, to testify."Those are the ones that I want to call," Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said on Monday of Hunter Biden and the whistleblower, despite having told reporters on Friday that he would vote against summoning Hunter Biden. "If we add to the record, we are going to do it completely."Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) concurred during an interview on Fox & Friends."My view is this — if the Senate decides to call witnesses later this week . . . we need to hear from Hunter Biden, he is right at the center of this," Hawley said. "What was he doing in Ukraine? What was he doing with Burisma?"Hawley also wrote on Twitter, "if the Senate is going to call witnesses, then I will ask to hear from Adam Schiff, Hunter Biden, Joe Biden & the whistleblower, at a minimum."
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| Joe Scarborough Trashes Trump’s Defense Team: ‘Confederacy of Dunces!’ Posted: 28 Jan 2020 08:24 AM PST  MSNBC host Joe Scarborough kicked off Tuesday's edition of Morning Joe by going off on a lengthy and raucous rant against President Donald Trump's impeachment defense team, branding the whole group as a "Confederacy of Dunces."After Monday's arguments by the president's legal squad featured a slew of Fox News regulars essentially rehashing their Hannity segments, Scarborough spent the first few minutes of MSNBC's signature morning program blasting the most standout moments."Well, I mean—you had Confederacy of Dunces defending him in impeachment," Scarborough declared, referencing the famous irreverent novel by John Kennedy Toole. "Their arguments were absolutely stunning."Taking aim at Jane Raskin's insistence that Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani was only a "minor player" regarding Ukraine, the MSNBC star pointed out that Giuliani's name was mentioned multiple times by Trump himself in his infamous July 25 call with the Ukrainian president."Where do we begin with Ken Starr?" Scarborough then exclaimed. "If irony weren't already dead and buried years ago, it was Ken Starr yesterday talking about how abuse of power is not sufficient to impeach a president. You need a crime.""He literally dragged the corpse of irony out of the grave," the former Republican congressman continued as the rest of the panel laughed. "He meticulously tied the corpse's neck bone to the back of a tractor, and he ran that tractor throughout the graveyard of stupidity and ran over every headstone before once again kicking dirt on the corpse of irony, again!""Wow," co-host Willie Geist responded."And then putting its bones back in the grave, one by one by one!" Scarborough added.Scarborough, meanwhile, continued to roundly mock Starr, who was the independent counsel during President Bill Clinton's impeachment, sarcastically observing that Starr was "so sad and mournful" over the "age of impeachment" we are now in."You are a flashing billboard, a gaudily-printed, like, sandwich board sign going down Times Square saying, 'We're all dunces. We're all hypocrites. We are all making fools of ourselves,'" he shouted.The former Florida lawmaker would then devote a couple more minutes to former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, whose argument was centered on Hunter Biden and Burisma. Claiming that Bondi apparently thinks all Trump supporters and conservatives are "stupid," Scarborough ended his tirade by comparing himself to James Brown.Yes, sigh, that happened.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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| Kobe Bryant helicopter video emerges showing ill-fated flight minutes before crash Posted: 28 Jan 2020 11:25 AM PST  A video that appears to show Kobe Bryant's helicopter circling over California roughly 15 minutes before the fatal crash has been posted online, illustrating the foggy conditions faced by the chopper on its last flight.In the video, which was posted by a user on Twitter who said they live in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale — where Bryant's flight circled for roughly 10 minutes on Sunday awaiting instruction, according to flight records — the helicopter can be seen moving slowly in the sky above, obscured by the early morning fog.
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| A robot named Little Peanut is delivering food to people in quarantine amid the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak Posted: 28 Jan 2020 09:05 PM PST  "Hello everyone. Cute Little Peanut is serving food to you now," the robot said, according to a translation. "Enjoy your meal."
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| Israel's Air Force Has a New Air-Launched "Rampage" Ballistic Missile Posted: 28 Jan 2020 09:00 AM PST  And it was just used for the first time.
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| Bernie Sanders Surges to Lead in California, Propelled by Liberals Posted: 28 Jan 2020 05:33 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Bernie Sanders has not only taken the lead in several recent surveys of voters in Iowa, which holds the first in the nation caucuses on Monday, but he has also pushed to the head of the Democratic field in delegate-rich California.The Vermont senator, who has had strong support from Latinos and young voters, has been propelled into the top spot by voters who self-identify as "very liberal," according to the latest UC Berkeley Institute for Governmental Studies poll, conducted for the Los Angeles Times.Sanders has support from 26% of voters likely to cast ballots in the state's March 3 Democratic primary, drawing support from liberals largely at the expense of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. Warren is now backed by 20% of likely voters, which is down from earlier surveys showing she had 22% in November and 29% in September in the state.The rest of California's likely primary voters remain divided among several candidates, which has left the party's front-runner nationally, Vice President Joe Biden, with only 15% in the most populous state.That cut-off is important in California because, under the state Democratic Party rules, delegates are awarded only to those candidates with at least 15% of the vote statewide or in individual congressional districts. The remaining candidates in the poll are all below that, with former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 7%, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg at 6%, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota at 5%, businessman Andrew Yang at 4% and billionaire Tom Steyer at 2%.Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.The UC Berkeley IGS poll was conducted online in English and Spanish from Jan. 15-21. The estimated margin of error for likely Democratic voters is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.This post is part of Campaign Update, our live coverage from the 2020 campaign trail.To contact the author of this story: Elizabeth Wasserman in Washington at ewasserman2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.netFor 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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| Harvard professor charged with hiding China ties, payments Posted: 28 Jan 2020 01:47 PM PST  A Harvard University professor was charged Tuesday with lying about his ties to a Chinese-run recruitment program and concealing payments he received from the Chinese government for research. Charles Lieber, chair of the department of chemistry and chemical biology, is accused of hiding his involvement in China's Thousand Talents Plan, a program designed to lure people with knowledge of foreign technology and intellectual property to China. Lieber was arrested early Tuesday at his office at the Ivy League university, officials said.
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| McConnell: Republicans don't have the votes to block witnesses in impeachment trial, reports say Posted: 28 Jan 2020 04:46 PM PST  Mitch McConnell told Republicans that the GOP does not have the votes to block additional witnesses, according to multiple media reports.
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| Dems’ Impeachment Guru Flirted With #Resistance Conspiracies — and Went to War With Alan Dershowitz Posted: 28 Jan 2020 08:24 AM PST  He's the Harvard law professor advising Democrats on their impeachment playbook. There's just one problem: His adventures in the extremely online world of the anti-Trump "Resistance" took him a little off the deep end for a while. Laurence Tribe has spent decades as a respected constitutional law scholar, but the Trump era saw him buddy up for a bit with the fringiest of fringey Resistance conspiracists online in amplifying far-fetched theories about how President Donald Trump and his crew might finally meet justice, some of which Tribe now regrets partaking in. And in another sign of the divisiveness of the Trump era, Tribe and his more MAGA-friendly Harvard Law colleague Alan Dershowitz—who is defending the president in his impeachment trial—have descended into a bitter feud, with Dershowitz accusing Tribe of harboring a "vendetta" against him for supporting Trump throughout his various legal woes. Tribe has been pushing for Trump's impeachment and removal from office from the day former FBI Director James Comey was sacked. Since then, he's urged House Democrats to take the impeachment plunge and, when they finally got there, counseled top lawmakers on how to handle it, even huddling with them personally ahead of key hearings.In a very Washington coincidence, Tribe counts both Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)—the lead prosecutor of Democrats' case against Trump—and Chief Justice John Roberts, the referee in Trump's trial—as former law school pupils. Tribe did not make himself available for an interview but answered emailed questions from The Daily Beast. He declined to go into details about the advice he is giving to Democrats as they lay out to the Senate and the public their case to impeach Trump—but he noted it was "accurate" that his ideas on impeachment have proven influential within the Democratic caucus. Dershowitz Can't Give a Straight Answer on Impeachment RoleIndeed, it was Tribe who first described the plan that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) turned to in hopes of getting an upper hand over Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). In a Washington Post op-ed published two days before the House passed articles of impeachment, Tribe argued that Pelosi had no obligation to immediately send the articles to the Senate so it could begin the trial, because McConnell's closeness with Trump ensured it would be unfair. "Under the current circumstances," Tribe wrote, "such a proceeding would fail to render a meaningful verdict of acquittal." Pelosi ultimately heeded his advice and held the articles of impeachment for 28 days, a move that altered the course of the impeachment process. Hill Democrats say Tribe has been an engaged, if sober, presence in the impeachment process. When he met with House Judiciary Committee Democrats to help prepare them for their impeachment hearings in December, his presentation was "very dry," according to a Democratic source. Online, however, Tribe has been much more colorful. His takes, backed by the weight of his half-century of legal scholarship, sometimes meaningfully push the envelope, as Pelosi's hold-the-articles gambit showed. Other times, they have strayed a bit too far into the fever swamps. MAN OF STEELEIn December 2017, Tribe approvingly shared a prediction from another Resistance Twitter star, Brian Krassenstein, who tweeted that he had "no doubt in my mind that before all is said and done Devin Nunes will be headed to prison.""I'm willing to bet @krassenstein is right," tweeted Tribe. "Nunes is headed to federal prison." Since then, Nunes has not come close to federal prison. Krassenstein, however, has been banned from Twitter and had his Florida home raided by the FBI. Nor is Krassenstein the only Resistance figure Tribe's aligned with. In the past, Tribe has approvingly shared the views of Louise Mensch, the British pundit whose fantastical commentary on Robert Mueller's Russia investigation made her an online favorite.Mensch is notorious for, among other things, declaring that her "sources say the death penalty, for espionage, being considered for @StevenKBannon." In March 2017, Tribe tweeted a link to an interview Mensch did with the BBC in which, among other things, she reiterated her belief that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the murder of Andrew Breitbart, the founder of Breitbart. (He did not.)Tribe told The Daily Beast that his views of Mensch have since changed. Asked if he regretted amplifying her views, he said, "Of course I do." The professor has also revisited another favorite topic: the Steele dossier. In late 2017, Tribe tweeted a challenge: Had anything in the 35-page memo compiled by a British spy during the 2016 campaign—which made explosive claims about Russian collusion with Trump—been off-base?Since then, some of the dossier's key claims—including a colorful anecdote involving Trump, prostitutes, and bodily fluids in a Moscow hotel room—remain unsubstantiated. Others, like the claim that Trump fixer Michael Cohen met with Russian officials during the 2016 campaign, have been proven false. In January 2019, before Mueller dealt the final death blow to the Prague theory, Tribe was still referencing it on Twitter. He told The Daily Beast on Monday that he doubts the meeting occurred. "I may well have missed," said Tribe, "some aspects of what the Steele dossier contained." But Tribe has stuck to his guns on the question of Nunes. When the former GOP chairman of the House Intelligence Committee was under scrutiny at the time for possible coordination with the White House on the panel's investigation into the Trump campaign's ties with Russia, Tribe didn't just think Nunes was wrong but possibly breaking the law. Tribe told The Daily Beast last week that he continues to believe Nunes, who has since come under scrutiny for his contacts with figures involved in the Ukraine probe, "has significant criminal exposure and that a principled Justice Department would prosecute him." In a statement to The Daily Beast, a spokesperson for Nunes did not comment on Tribe's claims but said "it'd be hard to find anybody who would take Laurence Tribe or The Daily Beast seriously." ENTER THE DERSHAnother wrinkle to Tribe's impeachment role is his escalating feud with Dershowitz. The two celebrity legal experts, once friendly colleagues at Harvard Law, find themselves on opposite sides of the Trump impeachment and drifting further apart by the day. On Monday, when Dershowitz testified in defense of Trump in the Senate impeachment trial, he name-checked Tribe two times as an example of someone who was inconsistent on legal questions of impeachment. Tribe, meanwhile, live-tweeted takedowns of Dershowitz's arguments. In an interview with The Daily Beast last week, Dershowitz—who has occasionally responded to Tribe, but with far less frequency—said he doesn't pay much attention to Twitter but claimed that his former colleague has a "personal vendetta" against him. "He's a partisan," said Dershowitz. "I think he was assigned a job by the anti-Trump people to try to destroy me and he's accepted that assignment, which I think is pretty immoral." He also claimed that Tribe would be silent if Hillary Clinton faced similar charges had she become president. Tribe told The Daily Beast the notions that his partisan feelings inform his legal judgment—or that he has it out for Dershowitz—were ridiculous."Why would I have a 'vendetta' against Alan?" Tribe asked in an email. "We were colleagues and friends for years, and although we've disagreed at times I used to come to his defense with some frequency. I've become a vocal critic of Alan's increasingly unhinged arguments in defense of President Trump's conduct only because those arguments have seemed to me increasingly bizarre and increasingly dangerous."Team Trump Settles on Its Impeachment Defense: A Healthy Dose of Lib Triggering"The one and only compass Alan Dershowitz follows these days," leveled Tribe, "is the one that will bring him maximum media attention."Tribe has also kept a close eye on two of the trial's most central players, Schiff and Roberts.The California congressman, who graduated from Harvard Law School in 1985 and was a research assistant for Tribe while there, is among the many students—including Barack Obama—whom Tribe has mentored. Schiff, said Tribe, "remains among the brightest and most promising students I have taught in a half-century career at Harvard Law School… His handling of the Intelligence Committee's work, and his performance as a House Impeachment manager, have been breathtakingly effective."Schiff, for his part, had nothing but good things to say about Tribe in a statement provided to The Daily Beast. "Larry is a dear friend, former professor, and trusted mentor," said Schiff. "He's been a great source of knowledge on the law and Constitution for all of us throughout this process, and we're lucky to have the best constitutional law scholar in the nation advising us." HE'S GOT THE POWERWhile Tribe's praise for Schiff has been effusive and encouraging, his praise of Roberts, whom he has called "fair-minded and brilliant," has sounded a more aspirational note. According to the Constitution, the chief justice presides over a Senate trial, but tradition has dictated that the role is more ceremonial and procedural than substantial.Among some observers, however, there is hope that Roberts could play a significant role in resolving key questions about the trial. In the event of a tied vote, Roberts could cast a decisive role for or against new evidence. He could also quickly resolve any legal challenge from the White House regarding the legality of a subpoena for officials like John Bolton or Mick Mulvaney.Tribe predicted to MSNBC's Laurence O'Donnell that Roberts could rule in favor of new witnesses and documents if the situation arises. "If he is asked to issue a subpoena, I think he will use his power to do it," Tribe said.It's one of many predictions Tribe has made over the course of nearly three years of excited Trump-era tweeting and opining. Notably, he has yet to predict Trump's conviction or acquittal—but has suggested there will be chaos no matter what."Even if an unremoved Trump is defeated this Nov 4 so overwhelmingly that he doesn't even try to hang onto power beyond next January 20," tweeted Tribe, "imagine the havoc this vengeful man could wreak in the intervening 77 days, pardoning his loyal henchmen and attacking political adversaries."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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| Venezuelan police capture fugitive Colombian senator who fled via dentist's office Posted: 28 Jan 2020 08:32 AM PST ![Venezuelan police capture fugitive Colombian senator who fled via dentist's office]( "Venezuelan police capture fugitive Colombian senator who fled via dentist's office") Venezuelan special police detained a fugitive Colombian former senator who had illegally crossed the border, the force's chief said, four months after she escaped custody by climbing out of her dentist's office in Bogota. Aida Merlano, a former Conservative senator who was imprisoned last year for vote buying, made her theatrical escape in October, lowering herself with a rope and fleeing on the back of a delivery motorcycle. Jose Dominguez, head of Venezuela's FAES Special Action Force, wrote on his Instagram account late on Monday that officers detained her in the city of Maracaibo, capital of western Zulia state by the Colombian border.
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| Chinese villages are cutting themselves off from the world with makeshift brick walls to try to stop outsiders from giving them the Wuhan virus Posted: 28 Jan 2020 02:18 AM PST  The Wuhan coronavirus has killed 106 people, infected 4,500, and spread to more than a dozen countries, China's health commission said Tuesday.
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| Erdogan Warns Russia Risks Split With Turkey on Syria Attack Posted: 29 Jan 2020 04:31 AM PST ![Erdogan Warns Russia Risks Split With Turkey on Syria Attack]( "Erdogan Warns Russia Risks Split With Turkey on Syria Attack") (Bloomberg) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan voiced rare recent criticism of Russia for its conduct in Syria, saying his "patience is running out" over the ongoing bombing of opposition Islamist forces in Idlib province."As of now, Russia is loyal to neither Astana nor Sochi" agreements, Erdogan told reporters on his way back from a visit to African countries, according to Anadolu Agency.He was referring to accords struck by the two countries in recent years to curtail fighting in northern Syria. Russia and Turkey have stepped up their cooperation in the Syrian conflict while finding themselves on opposite sides of other Middle Eastern conflicts, such as the one in Libya."If we are loyal partners, Russia will make its position clear," Erdogan said. "Either it will have a different process with Syria, or it will have a different process with Turkey. There's no other way."The comments follow reports that Syrian government forces, backed by Russia, have taken control of Ma'arrat al-Nu'man, the biggest town in Idlib province. The strategically important area last changed hands in 2012, Anadolu reported on Wednesday.Russia responded to Erdogan's comments by saying it's committed to strictly implementing its obligations on Syria, the state-run Tass news service reported, citing the Foreign Ministry in Moscow.Millions of Syrians fleeing fighting in Syria over the years have headed for Turkey, and officials there have long warned of another major exodus as combat escalates in Idlib.(Updates with Russian Foreign Ministry in sixth paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Firat Kozok in Ankara at fkozok@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Onur Ant at oant@bloomberg.net, Mark Williams, Paul AbelskyFor 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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| Connecticut man accused of killing wife found unresponsive Posted: 29 Jan 2020 04:12 AM PST  Fotis Dulos attempted suicide earlier today by gassing himself in his garage, his attorney Norm Pattis told CBS News.
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| Stunning drone video shows devastation from helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, 8 others Posted: 29 Jan 2020 07:58 AM PST  Stunning NTSB drone footage shows a swath of catastrophic devastation from the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and eight others.
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| GOP strains to contain Bolton fallout in impeachment trial Posted: 28 Jan 2020 09:09 PM PST  President Donald Trump's impeachment trial is shifting to questions from senators, a pivotal juncture as Republicans lack the votes to block witnesses and face a potential setback in their hope of ending the trial with a quick acquittal. Despite Trump's defense team's plea for it to "end now," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell privately told senators he doesn't yet have the votes to brush back Democratic demands for witnesses now that revelations from John Bolton, the former national security adviser, have roiled the trial. Republican senators are trying to figure out a way to to deal with fallout from Bolton's forthcoming book, which provides a potential eyewitness account of Trump's actions at the heart of the impeachment charges.
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| 'Now they can chase their dreams': Bangladesh allows Rohingya children to study Posted: 29 Jan 2020 05:39 AM PST  Rohingya refugees reacted with surprise and joy on Wednesday to the news that Bangladesh would provide formal education to their children, two and a half years after they were forced to flee Myanmar. Human rights groups have long campaigned for the nearly half a million effectively stateless Rohingya children in Bangladesh's refugee camps to be allowed access to quality education, warning of the costs of a 'lost generation'.
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| Parnas Lawyer: Giuliani Delivered Graham Letter Calling for Sanctions on Ukrainian Officials Posted: 29 Jan 2020 01:25 AM PST  In late 2018, Rudy Giuliani said he delivered an unusual missive to Sen. Lindsey Graham, according to the lawyer of one of his ex-associates: a letter calling for sanctions on a host of Ukrainian government officials, including one widely viewed in the West as a brave reformer and another who helmed the company where Hunter Biden was a board member.Joseph Bondy, the attorney for Lev Parnas, an indicted Florida businessman involved in the U.S.-Ukraine saga, told The Daily Beast that Giuliani showed his client the letter and told him he delivered it to Sen. Graham (the letter misspelled the South Carolina Republican's first name as "Lingsey"). Bondy said Giuliani also showed Parnas a second, similar letter addressed to Sigal Mandelker, who at the time was a top official at the Treasury Department. The letters, which The Daily Beast reviewed, claim that an eclectic mix of Ukrainian political figures and businesspeople were part of an alleged "organized crime syndicate." The letters claim that the individuals were "actively involved in the siphoning of funds appropriated by the American government for aid to Ukraine." And they claim that the alleged crime syndicate used those funds to buy black-market military parts from a Russian company under U.S. sanctions. All the while, they say, Ukraine's then-prosecutor general (Giuliani ally Yuriy Lutsenko) couldn't fight the crime because then President Petro Poroshenko wouldn't let him take the case to court."It concerns me, as should any fellow American, that a taxpayer's money is rudely been stolen in Ukraine [sic]," reads the letter to Mandelker.The letter-writer introduces himself in the letter addressed to Mandelker as a Ukraine-born U.S. citizen named Michael Guralnik who graduated from the Soviet Military Academy and was "a 10-year veteran of the Soviet Army." The letter to Graham, meanwhile, also bears Guralnik's name but contains no introduction. It arrived a month before Giuliani tried to help former Ukrainian top prosecutor Viktor Shokin travel to the U.S. and meet with Graham, Bondy said. A few weeks before the date of the Guralnik letter, Giuliani sent Graham a letter of his own asking his staff to help three unnamed Ukrainians get visas so they could come to the U.S. and share information about the Bidens. The State Department did not give Shokin a visa. The letters say that the "only way" to "stop this syndicate" is to sanction the individuals involved. Both letters list 12 people, along with phone numbers for some of them. Included on the list are Mykola Zlochevskiy, the head of the scandal-plagued Ukrainian company where Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden was a board member; Valeriya Gontareva, the head of the National Bank of Ukraine from mid-2014 to mid-2017; and Kateryna Rozhkova, who was her deputy. Graham and Giuliani did not respond to repeated requests for comment, and it was not immediately clear if lawmakers ever even considered the sanctions. A spokesperson for Graham did not respond to a request for comment. Mandelker did not comment on the record for this report. When contacted, Guralnik hung up the phone and texted, "Do not call any more."The inclusion of Gontareva and Rozhkova's names is notable. In 2016, Gontareva oversaw the Ukrainian government's decision to seize control of a bank that belonged to oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky. Ukrainian officials alleged that Kolomoisky and his allies had misappropriated billions from the bank. Kolomoisky has pushed to regain control of the bank, even as the FBI has investigated him for financial crimes. And in the wake of her decision, Gontareva has faced death threats and danger. Her home was vandalized, and someone left a coffin with her likeness inside it outside the Central Bank offices, as The Washington Post reported. Years after the nationalization of the bank, the danger persists. In August 2019, she was hit by a car in London and hospitalized. The next month, her home in Ukraine was burned down, per the Kyiv Post. Gontareva's fight to reform Ukraine's financial sector won her devoted allies in the West, who saw her as one of Kyiv's few genuine reformers. Kolomoisky, meanwhile, is an intimidating figure to many in Ukraine, and some have alleged he has ordered contract killings. He also funded a private militia that fought Russian-backed separatists in Eastern Ukraine. His connection to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also long raised eyebrows; the TV show that boosted Zelensky's public profile aired on a TV channel that Kolomoisky owns, and one of Kolomoisky's former lawyers is now a senior aide to Zelensky (Giuliani and U.S. officials have raised concerns with Zelensky's team about that aide, Andriy Bohdan). Jordan Libowitz, a spokesperson for the government watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told The Daily Beast that the Guralnik letters mean Giuliani should answer more questions about his Ukraine work."While we can't obviously speak to the veracity of these claims, it does seem to look more and more like Rudy Giuliani is incredibly deeply involved with some seriously shady business in Ukraine and we need more information, not only on his activities, but his activities and those of his associates on behalf of or benefiting Donald Trump," he said. "As bad as these things look on their face, they're so much worse if you consider the involvement of the president of the United States. There is so little we know, but enough to know that we need to know a lot more." 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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| The Trump administration failed to convince the UK to ditch Huawei and its other allies aren't listening either Posted: 29 Jan 2020 02:57 AM PST  The UK defied Trump to permit Huawei limited access to its 5G network.
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| Useless: North Korea Has Thousands of Old and Outdated Tanks Posted: 28 Jan 2020 07:00 AM PST  What a joke.
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| GOP Senators Urge Barr to Declassify Footnotes in Russia-Probe IG Report: ‘The American People Have a Right to Know’ Posted: 29 Jan 2020 05:19 AM PST  Two Republican senators on Tuesday urged Attorney General William Barr to declassify four footnotes in the inspector general's report on the FBI's Russia investigation."We are concerned that certain sections of the public version of the report are misleading because they are contradicted by relevant and probative classified information redacted in four footnotes," Senators Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) and Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) wrote in a letter to Barr. "This classified information is significant not only because it contradicts key statements in a section of the report, but also because it provides insight essential for an accurate evaluation of the entire investigation.""The American people have a right to know what is contained within these four footnotes and, without that knowledge, they will not have a full picture as to what happened during the Crossfire Hurricane investigation," the senators continued.The IG report centered on the FBI's application for a FISA warrant to surveil former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. The report found numerous issues with agents' handling of the application, so much so that the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court issued a rare public rebuke of the FBI for withholding exculpatory information about Page from the court and for failing to verify the information contained in the infamous Steele dossier, which formed a "central and essential" part of the FISA application."The frequency with which representations made by FBI personnel turned out to be unsupported or contradicted by information in their possession, and with which they withheld information detrimental to their case, calls into question whether information contained in other FBI applications is reliable," the court wrote in December.The letter does not specify which four of the dozens of redacted footnotes in the report the senators are referring to. One prominent redacted footnote refers to Steele's relationship with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, which could have conceivably affected the analysis provided in his dossier. Another redacted footnote contains information about Steele's "primary sub-source."Grassley has served on numerous committees throughout his seven terms in the Senate, while Johnson is the current chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, which oversees the FBI and the Department of Justice probe into the bureau's Russia investigation.
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| China Is Perfectly Prepared to Fight the Last Virus Posted: 28 Jan 2020 02:00 PM PST  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- China has a bigger and more sophisticated toolbox to combat any economic slowdown from the coronavirus than in 2003, when it battled the SARS pandemic. The challenge now is a worsening backdrop both domestically and abroad, and how both hamper the effectiveness of Beijing's response.It's hard to be precise about the damage given the situation is still unfolding. Bloomberg Economics is likely to downgrade its projection for China's first-quarter growth from its current forecast of 5.9%. When Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome raged in the second quarter of 2003, China's expansion cooled to 9.1% from 11.1% in the prior three months.Trouble is brewing beyond China's shores, too. With trade wars, heightened tension between Iran and the West and declining demographics, there were plenty of challenges before this outbreak. The International Monetary Fund is penciling in growth of 3.3% this year, after crawling along at 2.9% in 2019. Yet that pace has stalled from the 3.4% estimate just a few months ago. In 2003, the world economy expanded more than 4% and approached 6% in 2007.China has changed dramatically in the past 17 years. For starters, its economy is roughly eight times the size. But on a more granular level, key elements of monetary- and currency-policy frameworks have evolved. Most notably, the country has a more flexible exchange rate, to put it mildly. While the central bank still manages the contours of the yuan's moves, the currency was pegged at 8.3 to the dollar for a decade until July 2005. Moreover, the People's Bank of China now uses an array of rates to manage borrowing costs. In 2004, it was considered almost revolutionary when China raised interest rates, a measure that hadn't been deployed as a tool of economic management in nine years.These changes allow policy shifts to come more frequently. Faced with the trade war and a cooling domestic economy, the PBOC began 2020 with a statement of intent: The central bank cut the required reserve ratio for lenders by half a percentage point, the latest in a series of reductions. This signals that officials were aiming to shore up liquidity in the private sector well before the Wuhan outbreak. Damage from the coronavirus might conceivably tip the central bank's hand.Yet China's perilous corporate-debt burden could remain a constraint. Over the course of last year, worries that a benchmark interest-rate cut wouldn't reach the private sector kept the PBOC from acting, despite expectations it would do so. Whether easier monetary policy in China would trickle through the rest of the global economy remains an open question. Many multinational firms have already started to relocate their supply chains as a result of the trade war.When SARS broke out, China was still basking in the glow of its entry to the World Trade Organization in late 2001. Six years later, growth reached a peak of 15%. Executives and officials the world over marveled at the mainland economy and Beijing's decision-making prowess. Globalization was still very much in vogue and China became shorthand for a flattening world. Few dared offending Beijing, let alone consider imposing tariffs. (The idea of a trade war horrified President George W. Bush's administration.) American economic diplomacy amounted to the Treasury Department's gentle prodding that maybe China could, pretty please, end the yuan's hard peg to the greenback.Many of the people who went out of their way to praise China also urged it to rebalance its economy, to focus less on exports and investment and more on consumption. That shift has largely happened. But now China is more susceptible to changes in household sentiment — precisely the slice of the economy that a fresh outbreak will hit hardest. Since late last week, travel has been curtailed and Lunar New Year holiday activities were curbed in many parts of China.The good news is that Beijing can deploy more weapons to address this slowdown than in 2003. But given the scale of the changes since then, that may not matter much. Nor will this arsenal be particularly effective if the global economy, which China feeds and relies upon, remains a shadow of its former self.To contact the author of this story: Daniel Moss at dmoss@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Rachel Rosenthal at rrosenthal21@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Daniel Moss is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian economies. Previously he was executive editor of Bloomberg News for global economics, and has led teams in Asia, Europe and North America.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Woman indicted for capital murder in mom's abduction, death Posted: 28 Jan 2020 04:37 PM PST  A woman accused of kidnapping a Texas mother who was later found dead was indicted Tuesday on a capital murder charge. The indictment accused Magen Fieramusca, 34, of strangling Heidi Broussard with a leash and her hands on or about Dec. 12, the day Broussard and daughter Margot Carey were reported missing from their apartment in southern Austin. An arrest affidavit had previously alleged that Fieramusca hatched an elaborate scheme to present the victim's baby girl as her own.
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| Pakistan’s war on peace activists Posted: 28 Jan 2020 07:20 AM PST ![Pakistan's war on peace activists]( "Pakistan's war on peace activists") The arrest of the leader of a Pakistani movement trying to end military killings of civilians only shows the legitimacy of pro-democracy protests in many Muslim countries.
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| Biden won't commit to backing Sanders if he's the Democratic presidential nominee Posted: 28 Jan 2020 04:52 PM PST  Former Vice President Joe Biden stopped short Tuesday of saying he'd support Bernie Sanders if the progressive Vermont senator wins the Democratic presidential nomination.
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| Former U.S. diplomat thinks Trump's Middle East peace plan will 'deepen' Israel-Palestine conflict Posted: 28 Jan 2020 11:17 AM PST  President Trump unveiled his administration's Middle East peace plan alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, just hours after Netanyahu was indicted on corruption charges.The two leaders touted the two-state plan as a "win-win" for Israel and Palestine. Trump promised $50 billion in international aid to build up the Palestinian state, which would house its capital in East Jerusalem, leaving Israel in control of a unified Jerusalem. The White House included a perplexing-looking map of the proposed solution, complete with a tunnel connecting Gaza and the West Bank.> Trump's map. A Palestinian state on 75% of the West Bank more or less; Palestinians get "land swap" in the Negev and remote neighborhoods of East Jeruaslem; Tunnels and roads connect the whole thing. 15 settlements remain as enclaves, and so does the Israeli military. pic.twitter.com/e4xcwyGmrC> > — Amir Tibon (@amirtibon) January 28, 2020Many of the early reactions to the proposal were critical — analysts like Nicholas Burns, a Harvard professor and former U.S. diplomat, anticipate a rejection from the Palestinians and even an escalation of tensions between the two sides since it does little to curb Israeli settlements in the West Bank in the long run.> President Trump's Middle East plan is clearly good for Israel but not for the U.S. It forfeits any presence of fairness and consigns the Palestinians to live as stateless people on their own land. It will deepen, rather than resolve, this seven-decade conflict. https://t.co/57ysjbV6ww> > — Nicholas Burns (@RNicholasBurns) January 28, 2020Neighboring Jordan warned against the "annexation of Palestinian lands" in response to the plan, as well. But it does have at least one potential fan. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly said that after speaking with Trump earlier in the day, he thinks it could help pave the way forward.More stories from theweek.com It's 2020 and women are exhausted The 3 kinds of Republicans that Bolton's testimony would reveal The tragedy of Joe Biden
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| Dylann Roof appeals death sentence for massacre at South Carolina black church Posted: 29 Jan 2020 05:33 AM PST  "Roof's crime was tragic, but this Court can have no confidence in the jury's verdict," says his appeal, filed with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday. A jury found Roof guilty of 33 federal charges, including hate crimes resulting in death, for the shocking mass shooting at the landmark Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston in June 2015. Roof dismissed his defense attorneys just before trial and represented himself during jury selection.
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| The outbreaks of both the Wuhan coronavirus and SARS likely started in Chinese wet markets. Photos show what the markets look like. Posted: 29 Jan 2020 07:55 AM PST  The Wuhan coronavirus outbreak likely started in a Chinese wet market, where livestock and poultry are sold alongside animals like dogs and civets.
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| Evan Rachel Wood under fire over tweet calling Kobe Bryant a ‘rapist’ Posted: 28 Jan 2020 10:51 AM PST  Actor Evan Rachel Wood is facing backlash for calling Kobe Bryant a "rapist" shortly after it was reported he and his 13-year-old daughter had died in a helicopter crash.Bryant, 41, and his daughter Gianna were killed alongside seven other people when the helicopter they were travelling in crashed in Calabasas, California on Sunday.
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| The Leopard 2 Tank Has Some Big Flaws (As It Got Smashed In Syria) Posted: 28 Jan 2020 08:30 PM PST  Will they be fixed?
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| US Navy’s first Triton drones arrive in Guam Posted: 28 Jan 2020 01:25 PM PST  Two drones arrived in Guam and will serve as part of an early operational capability to develop a concept of operations for the high-altitude, long-endurance systems.
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| China wants Danish daily to apologize for virus cartoon Posted: 28 Jan 2020 06:10 AM PST ![China wants Danish daily to apologize for virus cartoon]( "China wants Danish daily to apologize for virus cartoon") China demanded Monday that a major Danish newspaper, which angered Muslims worldwide by publishing drawings of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005, apologizes for a cartoon on the new virus outbreak in China.
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| Giuliani Allies Spar Over Giving Evidence to House Democrats Posted: 28 Jan 2020 12:20 PM PST ![Giuliani Allies Spar Over Giving Evidence to House Democrats]( "Giuliani Allies Spar Over Giving Evidence to House Democrats") (Bloomberg) -- Two indicted associates of Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani are battling over whether more evidence from their New York criminal case should be turned over to congressional Democrats pursuing the president's impeachment, with federal prosecutors joining the fray.Lev Parnas has cultivated an unusually public role in recent weeks, granting national television interviews, giving evidence to Congress and offering to testify at the Senate trial of the president, who was impeached last month on charges including abuse of power. Parnas is doing all this while under indictment for breaking campaign finance law.It's the third time Parnas has sought judicial approval to provide evidence to House impeachment managers. The request was opposed by Parnas's co-defendants, who've kept a lower profile and who said the material could jeopardize their attorney-client privilege, as well as by federal prosecutors.The judge in the case has scheduled a hearing for Jan. 30.Parnas and co-defendant Igor Fruman were involved in the effort by Giuliani, Trump's private lawyer, to dig up political dirt in Ukraine on Joe Biden, one of the president's main political rivals in the coming election. Parnas and Fruman are charged with laundering foreign funds for U.S. political campaigns and masking the source of political contributions. Lawyers for Parnas had signaled his willingness to cooperate with the congressional impeachment inquiry since his arrest.Both pleaded not guilty.Read More: Giuliani Ally Got $1 Million From Ukraine Oligarch's LawyerIn a series of blistering filings on Tuesday, lawyers for the defendants traded accusations and objections. Todd Blanche, a lawyer for Fruman, called Parnas's approach "unacceptable." Parnas's lawyer, Joseph Bondy, shot back that Fruman was trying to avoid his congressional subpoena, "now with Mr. Giuliani aiding in his efforts," without further explanation. Bondy didn't return a call seeking comment on the accusation.It isn't clear exactly what sort of evidence Parnas wants to turn over now, but it is "essential to the committee's ability to corroborate the strength of Mr. Parnas's potential testimony," according to a filing by Bondy. It is described in court papers as material produced for prosecutors by Apple Inc. from Parnas's iCloud account, in response to the government's Oct. 21 subpoena.In their own filing, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said the material included reports created by the Federal Bureau of Investigation using data associated with the account.In a separate filing, Blanche said he believed the material jointly belonged to both defendants and therefore couldn't be turned over without Fruman's permission.The filings were submitted to the judge over the course of the last two weeks but made public by the court only on Tuesday.Earlier: Giuliani Ukraine Allies Arrested With One-Way Flight TicketsThe case is U.S. v. Parnas, 19-cr-725, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).(Updates with hearing)To contact the reporter on this story: Christian Berthelsen in New York at cberthelsen1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Peter Jeffrey, Joe SchneiderFor 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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| Biden-Tied Lobbyist Bought Island Property from Biden’s Brother, Gave Him Mortgage Loan Posted: 28 Jan 2020 06:28 AM PST  Financial records reviewed by Politico show that Joe Biden's brother James sold one of his three parcels of land in the U.S. Virgin Islands at a substantial profit to a well-connected lobbyist who then extended a mortgage to James on the remaining two parcels.In May 2005, James Biden purchased an acre of land on Water Island for $150,000. He then applied for and received an easement to divide the property into three plots, one of which he sold to lobbyist Scott Green — a decade-long Senate staffer for Joe Biden in the 1980s — for $150,000. James had initially purchased all three parcels for $150,000, meaning that he made his money back and was able to keep the majority of the one acre plot for himself.Green's lobbying firm, Lafayette Group — which features a photo of Green with Biden on its website and quotes Biden endorsing Green — earned two government contracts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency worth a total of $5.8 million on April 11, 2010.Three days later, Green extended a $133,300 mortgage to James Biden for his remaining Water Island property. Property records reviewed by Politico show that Green had "received full payment and full satisfaction" and released the mortgage in September 2013.Joe Biden and his family traveled to Water Island several times during his vice presidency, but did not stay on his brother's or Green's land, which remains undeveloped.Lafayette Group earned tens of millions of dollars in government contracts during the course of Biden's time as vice president. During his time in the Senate, Biden also advocated for a number of areas in which Green's lobbying intersected, including a broadband network for first responders and the non-profit Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program.
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| Donald Trump again hits Fox News – and Chris Wallace – this time over impeachment coverage Posted: 29 Jan 2020 08:56 AM PST  President Trump adds to his list of grievances against Fox News, this time over impeachment coverage. It was once his favorite source of information.
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| U.S. hopes to discuss 'entire strategic framework' with Iraq soon Posted: 29 Jan 2020 03:15 AM PST  The United States hopes to discuss the entire strategic framework of its relationship with Iraq soon, a U.S. envoy said on Tuesday, as the fate of a U.S. military mission there remains in doubt after a drone strike that killed an Iranian general. Iraq's parliament has voted to ask the United States to withdraw its 5,000-strong force after the Jan. 3 U.S. drone strike in Baghdad, which killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and the Iraqi leader of a powerful pro-Iran armed faction. Washington has paused some of the military activity of its troops in Iraq, which were invited back into the country in 2014 as part of a mission to fight the Islamic State militant group in both Iraq and Syria, after withdrawing three years earlier.
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| The US Air Force private jet that crashed in Afghanistan has been called 'as essential to mission success as bullets' Posted: 28 Jan 2020 11:16 AM PST  The US Air Force E-11A is a modified version of a popular Canadian private jet built by Bombardier used for long-range luxury travel.
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| Jamaica earthquake: Huge 7.7-magnitude tremor hits off island’s coast Posted: 28 Jan 2020 11:30 AM PST  Warnings of a "hazardous" tsunami were issued for parts of the Caribbean after a huge earthquake struck.The US Geological Survey said the 7.7-magnitude quake hit off the northwest coast of Jamaica, prompting the US Tsunami Warning Centre to issue an alert for Jamaica, Cuba and the Cayman Islands.
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| A YouTuber whose ex-boyfriend faked her death said she never wanted to be a part of the hoax Posted: 29 Jan 2020 04:20 AM PST  While ImJayStation is claiming Alexia Marano is trying to ruin his life with lies, Marano tells a story of him being controlling and abusive.
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| Mexico deports 2,300 Hondurans who crossed illegally in '2020 Caravan' Posted: 28 Jan 2020 09:37 AM PST  Mexican migration authorities said they have deported 2,300 Hondurans who illegally crossed over from Guatemala with a caravan heading to the United States.
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| Idaho Nurse Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Helping Cover Up Kelsey Berreth’s Murder Posted: 28 Jan 2020 12:01 PM PST  A former Idaho nurse was sentenced to three years in prison on Tuesday for helping Patrick Frazee cover up the murder of his fiancée last Thanksgiving.Krystal Lee, 33, was sentenced after pleading guilty in February to evidence tampering and testifying against Frazee, her on-again, off-again boyfriend, who was convicted of killing 29-year-old Kelsey Berreth."I know that saying sorry is not good enough," she told a packed Teller County courtroom on Tuesday, before receiving the maximum sentence. "And I don't even know what the right word would be to describe the remorse that I feel."Patrick Frazee Convicted of Murdering His Missing Fiancée With a Baseball Bat, Burning Her BodyFrazee, a 33-year-old cattle rancher, was convicted in November on all six charges against him for the slaying and disappearance of Berreth and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 156 years. Berreth, a flight instructor at Doss Aviation, was last seen at a Safeway grocery store near her Woodland Park, Colorado, home on Nov. 22, 2018. Prosecutors say later that day, Frazee fatally beat his would-be wife, with whom he shared a child, with a baseball bat before burning her body and the murder weapon at his family's ranch. The cattle rancher then enlisted the help of Lee, his secret girlfriend, to clean up the crime scene, Lee said.During her emotional two-day testimony, Lee described her troubled relationship with Frazee—which began as an affair several years ago while she was married and included a secret abortion. While the nurse has denied participating in Berreth's murder, she later admitted she witnessed him burn the evidence of his crime."She shouldn't have received the plea deal that she did," Berreth's parents, Darrell and Cheryl, wrote in a letter read aloud in court Tuesday, according to The Denver Post. "She was an active participant in the murder. The only thing she didn't do was swing the bat."'Calculating Manipulator' Patrick Frazee Murdered Kelsey Berreth With Help From Secret Girlfriend: ProsecutorsLee recounted that in 2018, Frazee asked her three times to kill Berreth on his behalf, claiming she was abusing their 1-year-old daughter and needed to be stopped. The nurse said while she initially agreed to help, she backed out before each murder attempt. "His little girl is being abused," Lee testified. "I understand if it was wrong. I didn't know what to do so I didn't make correct decisions."Prosecutors said when Lee failed to help Frazee murder Berreth, the "cold, calculating manipulator" took matters into his own hands. Afterward, Lee said Frazee told her, "I need your help, and I need your help now. You have a mess to clean up."Lee said during their frantic clean up of Berreth's apartment, Frazee told her to "get the candles wiped up, get the bathroom done, and wipe up the footprints," and threatened to kill her if she failed to do a sufficient job. Kelsey Berreth Murder Suspect's Secret Ex: He 'Told Me to Take Care of the Problem'"He asked me if I got it done. I told him the best that I could do. He said, 'You better hope you did, because your life depends on it,'" she said during the trial, according to The Gazette.After the Nov. 24 cleanup, she said the two went to Frazee's ranch, where the 33-year-old set Berreth's body on fire, along with several trash bags. To further trick authorities, Lee said she took Berreth's cellphone to Idaho—nearly 800 miles away from the missing mom's home in Woodland Park—for the signal to ping before burning 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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| Leaked report shows United Nations suffered hack Posted: 29 Jan 2020 05:42 AM PST  Sophisticated hackers infiltrated U.N. offices in Geneva and Vienna last year in an apparent espionage operation, and their identity and the extent of the data they obtained is not clear. An internal confidential document from the United Nations, leaked to The New Humanitarian and seen by the Associated Press, says dozens of servers were compromised including at the U.N. human rights office, which collects sensitive data and has often been a lightning rod of criticism from autocratic governments for exposing rights abuses. Asked about the report, one U.N. official told the AP that t he hack appeared "sophisticated" and that the extent of the damage remained unclear, especially in terms of personal, secret or compromising information that may have been stolen.
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