| Sen. Mitt Romney Calls Trump's Decision to Commute Roger Stone's Sentence 'Historic Corruption' Posted: 11 Jul 2020 07:10 AM PDT  'An American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very President'
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| Want to know why we need the police? The battle in Seattle is the reason | Opinion Posted: 10 Jul 2020 12:46 PM PDT  Let's get rid of cops, defund them, at least make them less active, deplete their ranks and agree they suffer from systemic racism bred into their modes of behavior, always acting as if to be Black is to be guilty.
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| New Flynn Notes: ‘FBI Leadership’ Decided Not to Provide Russian Call Transcripts to Flynn in Interview Posted: 10 Jul 2020 03:30 PM PDT  Newly released documents in the Michael Flynn case include a January 2017 DOJ draft memo that states "FBI leadership" decided against showing Flynn transcripts of his calls with the Russian ambassador in the White House interview that led to his guilty plea.The DOJ document, dated January 30, 2017 — along with a batch of handwritten notes from DOJ and FBI officials describing Flynn's White House interview with former FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI agent Joseph Pientka on January 24, 2017 — shed further light on the FBI's spontaneous interview with Flynn, who had just begun his role as national-security adviser for President Trump."FBI advised that based on this interview, they did not believe General Flynn was acting as an age of Russia," the DOJ draft document, which is heavily redacted, states. "FBI also advised that although they recognized the statements were inconsistent with the FISA collection, they believed that Flynn believed what he was telling them. FBI did not confront Flynn with the communications during the interview."The document explains that while the Bureau "prompted Flynn with language used during the call," Flynn was not shown his actual words because of a decision "made by FBI leadership not to confront Flynn with the actual tech cuts."The mentioning of "tech cuts" about the interview's subject matter — Flynn's December 2016 conversations with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak — adds further context to the questions over how Flynn's calls were monitored in the first place. "Tech cuts" are commonly referred to as internal FBI documents that contain and describe FISA intelligence, suggesting that the FBI picked up Flynn's calls through FISA surveillance. DOJ inspector general Michael Horowitz has said his office found no evidence of a FISA application on Flynn, raising the possibility that Flynn's calls with Kislyak were picked up through FISA surveillance of the Russians.In texts between Strzok and then-DOJ lawyer Lisa Page, with whom he was having an affair, Strzok references the cuts that the Bureau had obtained of Flynn's calls, saying that then-FBI Assistant Director Bill Priestap was concerned with "sharing" information on Flynn — dubbed Crossfire Razor, or "CR" for short — with the Obama White House."He, like us, is concerned with over sharing," Strzok texted Page on January 3, 2017, according to a transcript obtained by John Solomon. "Doesn't want Clapper giving CR cuts to WH. All political, just shows our hand and potentially makes enemies."In April, unsealed documents from the Flynn investigation showed that Flynn was investigated in a case predicated by the FBI's "Crossfire Hurricane" probe of the 2016 Trump campaign, but the Bureau moved to close the investigation on January 4, 2017, after an "absence of any derogatory information" about Flynn's Russian contacts. Strzok then intervened to keep the case open, explaining that "7th floor involved" — referencing the floor in Bureau headquarters that houses senior FBI leadership.Transcripts of Flynn's calls with Kislyak were released in May, showing that Flynn never mentioned "sanctions" and asked Russia not to "escalate" after the Obama administration sanctioned the Kremlin for election interference.Flynn released the documents in a Friday court filing after they were handed over to his defense team by the Justice Department this week. Flynn is currently locked in a battle with U.S. District Court judge Emmet Sullivan, who has so far refused to drop Flynn's guilty plea despite the DOJ's move to withdraw its case, citing previously undisclosed exculpatory information."In short, there was no crime for many reasons," Flynn's lawyer Sidney Powell wrote of the new information. "These documents were known to exist at the highest levels of the Justice Department and by Special Counsel, yet they were hidden from the defense for three years."On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered Powell and the DOJ to respond within 10 days to Judge Sullivan's Thursday "en banc" petition for Flynn's case to be heard by the full appeals court. A panel for the D.C. Circuit has already ruled that Sullivan must dismiss the case.
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| UN fails to find consensus after Russia, China veto on Syrian aid Posted: 10 Jul 2020 07:46 PM PDT  The UN Security Council failed to find a consensus on prolonging cross-border humanitarian aid to Syria on Friday after Russia and China vetoed an extension and members rejected a counter proposal by Moscow. Without an agreement, authorization for the transport of aid to war-torn Syria, which has existed since 2014, expired Friday night.
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| WHO experts to visit China to plan COVID-19 investigation Posted: 09 Jul 2020 10:38 PM PDT  Two World Health Organization experts were heading to the Chinese capital on Friday to lay the groundwork for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. An animal health expert and an epidemiologist will meet Chinese counterparts in Beijing to work out logistics, places to visit and the participants for a WHO-led international mission, the U.N. organization said. A major issue will be to "look at whether or not it jumped from species to human, and what species it jumped from," WHO spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris said at a briefing in Geneva.
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| Florida's COVID-19 data is unreliable, confusing and hazardous to our health Posted: 11 Jul 2020 05:11 AM PDT  Florida was once hailed as the gold standard in COVID-19 data transparency and accessibility. Now its system is seen as corrupt and inaccessible.
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| A revival of ultrafast supersonic passenger jet travel is inching closer to reality – take a look at the prototype debuting in October Posted: 11 Jul 2020 05:18 AM PDT  Boom Supersonic's XB-1 will take to the skies in 2021 to clear a path for the Overture, a supersonic jet that will continue the legacy left by the Concorde.
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| Nile Dam row: Egypt and Ethiopia generate heat but no power Posted: 10 Jul 2020 02:02 AM PDT  Egypt sees the dam as an existential threat, while Ethiopia sees it as an existential necessity.
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| Christian groups say Trump has closed the door on persecuted Christian refugees Posted: 10 Jul 2020 04:03 PM PDT  "Christians need to speak out on this issue," said David Curry, CEO of Open Doors USA.
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| Outdoor Dinging Decor That's Sure to Bring Joy to Any Table Posted: 10 Jul 2020 05:00 AM PDT |
| Russian accused of harassing Black family in Oregon was ordered deported 10 years ago Posted: 10 Jul 2020 02:07 PM PDT  The man was ordered deported in June 2010.
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| We Must Invest in Teachers to Prevent COVID-19 from Exacerbating the Racial Educational Divide Posted: 10 Jul 2020 09:30 AM PDT  As we prepare for the return of some schools in the fall, it's clear that more federal support for education is needed.
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| Israel records highest single-day virus tally Posted: 10 Jul 2020 09:26 AM PDT  Israel has recorded its highest number of coronavirus infections over a 24-hour period, with nearly 1,500 new cases confirmed in the most recent daily count, the health ministry said Friday. Israel had won early praise for its virus containment efforts, but cases have surged since a broad re-opening began in May. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted in a late Thursday news conference that the decision to allow businesses, including bars and event spaces, to re-open may have been made "too soon".
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| China vows retaliation against US sanctions over Xinjiang Posted: 10 Jul 2020 02:49 AM PDT  China said Friday it will retaliate against U.S. officials and institutions following Washington's imposition of sanctions on three local officials of the ruling Communist Party over human rights abuses in the northwestern region of Xinjiang. China will "definitely fight back" against actions it considers interference in its internal affairs and that which threaten its sovereignty, security and development interests, foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters at a daily briefing. Zhao said China "strongly opposes and condemns" the Trump administration's decision to bar the three officials from entering the U.S., the latest in a series moves taken against China as relations deteriorate over the coronavirus pandemic, human rights, Hong Kong and trade.
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| Brazil's Bolsonaro appoints evangelical pastor as new education minister Posted: 10 Jul 2020 01:54 PM PDT |
| Thousands Of Parents, Students Shocked As New York Catholic Schools Close Posted: 09 Jul 2020 03:45 PM PDT  Thousands of parents and students in New York were in shock Thursday after they were told their Catholic schools will not reopen in the fall. Officials say fallout from the coronavirus pandemic is to blame; CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reports.
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| Trump abruptly postpones weekend campaign rally in New Hampshire Posted: 10 Jul 2020 10:25 AM PDT  His campaign, already wary of another low turnout, blamed the decision on an impending tropical storm.
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| Ted Cruz Slams Trump’s ‘Road to Citizenship’ Claim for Pending DACA Executive Order: ‘HUGE Mistake’ Posted: 10 Jul 2020 04:08 PM PDT  Senator Ted Cruz warned the Trump administration not to include a "road to citizenship" for DACA recipients, after Trump implied one was coming in a new executive order on immigration he plans to sign "over the next few weeks.""There is ZERO constitutional authority for a President to create a 'road to citizenship' by executive fiat," Cruz tweeted. "It was unconstitutional when Obama issued executive amnesty, and it would be a HUGE mistake if Trump tries to illegally expand amnesty."Cruz's reaction came after Trump revealed in an interview with Telemundo that he would give DACA recipients "a road to citizenship" through an executive order."We're working out the legal complexities right now, but I'm going to be signing a major immigration bill as an executive order, which . . . because of the DACA decision, has given me the power to do that," Trump said. He then seemed to contradict himself, saying that "we put it in, and we're probably going to then be taking it out," in an apparent reference to DACA.But when pressed by Jose Diaz-Balart on the order, Trump appeared to double down."One of the aspects of the bill is going to be DACA, we are going to have a road to citizenship. If you look at the Supreme Court ruling, they gave the president tremendous powers when they said that you could take in, in this case 700,000 or so people," Trump claimed. "So they gave powers, based on the powers that they gave, I'm going to be doing an immigration bill — one of the aspects of the bill that you'll be very happy with, and that a lot of people will be, including me, and a lot of Republicans by the way, will be DACA. We'll give them a road to citizenship."The White House later released a statement that attempted to clarify Trump's comments, saying that Trump "has long said he is willing to work with Congress on a negotiated legislative solution to DACA, one that could include citizenship, along with stronger border security and permanent merit-based reforms. This does not include amnesty."Trump has previously said that "a deal will be made" with Democrats over the status of DACA's participants if his administration's attempt to end the program was successful.Trump's latest comments clash with reports that emerged this week claiming that the Trump administration was restarting its attempt to end President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program — which grants participants renewable deportation deferrals, but not a path to citizenshipThe reported move came after the Supreme Court said last month in a 5-4 decision that the Trump administration's previous attempt to end DACA violated the Administrative Procedure Act's "arbitrary and capricious" standard and could not move forward. In response, Trump said "nothing was lost or won" in the decision, adding that the court had "punted."Editor's Note: This piece has been updated with an additional comment from the White House.
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| 1986 cold case on ‘Dateline’ now has arrest in teen’s disappearance, Indiana cops say Posted: 09 Jul 2020 11:33 AM PDT  The missing teen mystery was featured by "Dateline" in March.
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| Fourth day of virus protests in Serbia Posted: 10 Jul 2020 03:20 PM PDT  The protests were held as the Balkan nation announced a record daily death toll from COVID-19. Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said earlier Friday the Balkan state recorded 18 fatalities and 386 new cases over 24 hours in what she described as a "dramatic increase". At the same time, Brnabic condemned as "irresponsible" protests held in Belgrade and other cities on Thursday, after demonstrations in the capital on the previous two days had spilled over into violence.
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| U.S. warns citizens of heightened detention risks in China Posted: 11 Jul 2020 06:27 AM PDT  The U.S. State Department warned American citizens on Saturday to "exercise increased caution" in China due to heightened risk of arbitrary law enforcement including detention and a ban from exiting the country. "U.S. citizens may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime," the State Department said in a security alert issued to its citizens in China, adding that U.S. citizens may face "prolonged interrogations and extended detention" for reasons related to state security. "Security personnel may detain and/or deport U.S. citizens for sending private electronic messages critical of the Chinese government," it added, without citing specific examples.
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| Jared Kushner said the US would be 'really rocking again' by July. 7 states are shutting back down, and new COVID-19 cases have set records 6 times in July's first 10 days. Posted: 10 Jul 2020 01:59 PM PDT  In Kushner's confident Fox & Friends appearance back in April, he also proclaimed the US was "on the other side of the medical aspect" of the virus.
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| Seattle mayor and police chief told to remedy ‘unacceptable’ arrest of Independent journalist Posted: 11 Jul 2020 04:47 AM PDT  Seattle's mayor and police chief have been told to remedy the "unacceptable" treatment of journalists, including an Independent reporter who was arrested covering Black Lives Matter protests.Andrew Buncombe was shackled, assaulted and detained for more than six hours after being accused of "failing to disperse" from a demonstration he had the legal right to report on.
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| Three LAPD officers face felony charges for falsely labeling people as gang members Posted: 10 Jul 2020 08:59 AM PDT  According to a 59-count criminal complaint, three officers were charged with conspiracy, filing false reports, and prepping fraudulent documents for court.
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| As COVID crisis worsens, Miami-Dade scaling back $70M program for delivering senior meals Posted: 10 Jul 2020 04:26 PM PDT  As the coronavirus crisis hits a new peak, Miami-Dade is preparing to scale back one of its most expensive and ambitious programs to protect residents from the virus and isolation: a $70 million delivery operation that dropped off more than 8 million meals to the homes of elderly residents.
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| Mexico asks Canada to arrest, extradite ex-investigator Posted: 10 Jul 2020 01:30 PM PDT  Mexico is to seek the arrest and extradition from Canada of the former chief investigator in the murky disappearance of 43 students in 2014, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Friday. Tomas Zeron, who was head of the Criminal Investigation Agency, is in Canada and work is underway to extradite him, the minister said. "There is going to be no impunity, part of our function at the ministry of foreign affairs is to guarantee that, when there are cases of this nature, extradition occurs," Ebrard said.
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| Lawmakers vote to shut down Philippines' largest TV network Posted: 10 Jul 2020 12:30 AM PDT  Philippine lawmakers voted Friday to reject the license renewal of the country's largest TV network, shutting down a major news provider that had been repeatedly threatened by the president over its critical coverage. The House of Representatives' Committee on Franchises voted 70-11 to reject a new 25-year license for ABS-CBN Corp. The National Telecommunications Commission had ordered the broadcaster to shut down in May after its old franchise expired. It halted broadcasting then, but the vote takes it off the air permanently.
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| New photos show suspects in Lancaster beating, robbery Posted: 09 Jul 2020 06:09 PM PDT  The sheriff's department has released new photos of a man and a possible female accomplice involved in a vicious beating and robbery of an 80-year-old grandfather at a Lancaster grocery store.
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| 'UK faces mobile blackouts if Huawei 5G ban imposed by 2023' Posted: 10 Jul 2020 02:00 AM PDT  BT and Vodafone warn that users will face days without a mobile signal if a 2023 ban is imposed.
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| Five Guys employees were fired for refusing to serve police officers in Alabama, as tension mounts between service workers and law enforcement Posted: 11 Jul 2020 07:41 AM PDT  Five Guys confirmed the termination of the workers who turned their backs to the officers and that store is temporarily closed for customer service training.
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| Ohio sheriff refuses to enforce governor's mask order: 'I'm not going to be the mask police' Posted: 09 Jul 2020 10:57 AM PDT  An Ohio sheriff said he won't enforce Governor Mike DeWine's order making face masks mandatory in states with high rates of Covid-19 infections.Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones appeared on CNN Wednesday and told anchor Brianna Keilar that while he wears a mask and is "good with that," he has no plans on enforcing the governor's mask order.
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| By the Numbers: What we know about Trump’s finances Posted: 09 Jul 2020 01:14 PM PDT  The Supreme Court just paved the way for the possible release of Trump's tax and business records. Here's what we already know about them.
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| Police identify bodies found in suitcases on Seattle beach by teens recording TikTok Posted: 10 Jul 2020 01:26 PM PDT  The bodies were found by a group of teenagers who were led to the beach by the Randonautic app.
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| In Hong Kong Security Law, China Asserts Legal Jurisdiction over the Entire World Posted: 10 Jul 2020 01:48 PM PDT  The Chinese Communist Party's new security law has criminalized any actions it deems to be subversion, secession, terrorism, and collusion with foreign entities in Hong Kong. The law spells an abrupt end to the political freedoms that Hong Kongers used to enjoy. Authorities Friday raided the offices of a research and polling institute associated with the pro-democracy camp just ahead of primaries in which it will choose its candidates for Legislative Council elections, and there's certainly more to come. But there's an additional reason to be wary of the law: It is Beijing's assertion of legal jurisdiction over the entire world.The text of the legislation's Article 38 is blunt, and makes an unprecedented jurisdictional claim: "The Law shall apply to offences under this Law committed against the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region from outside the Region by a person who is not a permanent resident of the Region." If the provision is enforced as it is written, Hong Kong authorities could charge and prosecute individuals who have never stepped foot in the city but whom Beijing deems to have violated the law. "If mainland practice to date is any guide—and it is—then the definitions don't matter that much," wrote Donald Clarke, a professor at The George Washington University Law School, in an analysis. "Anything can be stretched as necessary to cover something done by the person being targeted."The CCP could thus use Article 38 to prosecute offenses that are illegal in China but legal in the West. Theoretically, Westerners could be arrested by security agents from Beijing's new base in the city, then rendered to the mainland for trial — for the crime of speaking freely in liberal democracies. Or as Clarke put it, the CCP "is asserting extraterritorial jurisdiction over every person on the planet."This is not just a theoretical concern, either, says Kevin Carrico, a senior research fellow at Melbourne's Monash University. In 2015, Beijing abducted five employees of Causeway Bay Books, a store that sold works on political topics considered sensitive by mainland authorities, in violation of Hong Kong's Basic Law. The kidnappings demonstrate the CCP's desire for extraterritorial law-enforcement authority, says Carrico in an email, and the new law "just gives the false appearance of legality" to its efforts to secure such authority.It's not abnormal for countries to make legal claims that stretch beyond their borders or to punish their own nationals for crimes they commit abroad. But for a country to prosecute a foreigner for acts abroad would require harm to that country under widely accepted interpretations of international law. The other way that countries might claim jurisdiction over foreigners who live abroad is through extradition treaties. Without such treaties, says Terri Marsh, the executive director of the Human Rights Law Foundation, it would be very hard for China to reach non-Chinese citizens living in foreign countries. "China's incursion into our sovereignty is a demonstration of why precisely other nations who are equally sovereign should not comply or cooperate in any way shape, or form," says Marsh.As it happens, some 20 countries have extradition treaties with Hong Kong, including several that have not inked such agreements with the mainland. The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, a group comprising legislators from 13 countries, has in the wake of the new security law's enactment led a drive for countries to cancel these treaties. In recent days, Australia and Canada have suspended theirs, earning Beijing's ire, and the United States could soon follow suit. Others, such as the Netherlands, have warned their citizens against traveling to Hong Kong.Although most countries will not extradite an individual based on political charges, Jerome Cohen, an expert in Chinese law at New York University School of Law, points to Beijing's history of concocting false charges of conventional crimes, such as tax evasion, to target dissidents. Just this week, Xu Zhangrun, a prominent critic of the CCP, was arrested in Beijing on prostitution charges. Fake allegations won't be a problem in countries with robust justice systems, such as France, but Cohen says he's wary of countries that have voted with China on the U.N. Human Rights Council, and even of certain European countries.In addition to the risk of extradition, the high concentration of foreign journalists and businesspeople in Hong Kong would make it "a very convenient target, if China wanted to do something to hold some Americans hostage," says Ho-fung Hung, a professor at Johns Hopkins University. He notes the 2018 detention of two Canadian citizens in retaliation for Ottawa's arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou. While hostage diplomacy had already existed as a possibility on the mainland, Americans critical of the Chinese Communist Party have generally been denied visas to visit China, ending up in Hong Kong instead. They used to enjoy immunity from Beijing's reach there, but with the security law, Beijing could well detain and try them for speaking against the CCP in other countries. Carrico offers a dire warning: "In traveling to China and Hong Kong today, one is in effect taking the same type of risks as someone travelling to Pyongyang."The danger is particularly acute for Taiwanese individuals and organizations. Leaders in Taipei have watched the Hong Kong crackdown with apprehension, fearing that the CCP will turn its focus to them next. Carrico notes that Hong Kong, which despite its former autonomy from the mainland did not diverge from Beijing's official position on Taiwan, had until now allowed Taiwanese organizations to operate in the city. But "the [national-security law] means the end of that, and if I was in any way linked to the Taiwanese government and living in Hong Kong right now, I would leave immediately." In fact, the law subjects foreign and Taiwan-based organizations with offices in Hong Kong to onerous regulations requiring cooperation with the city's police commissioner. According to new rules released this week, the city police can even ask staff at "foreign and Taiwan political organizations" in Hong Kong to provide personal and financial information about their organizations.It is important to note that until Hong Kong's rulers release further guidelines on implementation of the law, the precise nature of the danger it poses will remain unclear. Cohen predicts that Article 38 will be interpreted more narrowly than its wording would suggest. "Now even China's regular domestic criminal law doesn't go as far as this new national security law could be interpreted," he says, noting that the mainland's criminal code would not lead to prosecutions of foreigners over political speech legal in their own countries. He thinks that Article 38's expansive wording was the result of a time crunch faced by those responsible for drafting it. But he is careful to emphasize that he's only making a prediction, and that the law is already intimidating some activists into silence. "They are already being deterred, not only in Hong Kong, but around the world," he says.
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| Lawyer: Over 150 Minneapolis officers seeking disability Posted: 10 Jul 2020 12:11 PM PDT  More than 150 Minneapolis police officers are filing work-related disability claims after the death of George Floyd and ensuing unrest, with about three-quarters citing post-traumatic stress disorder as the reason for their planned departures, according to an attorney representing the officers. While Floyd's death in May and the unrest that followed are not the direct cause of many of the disability requests, attorney Ron Meuser said, those events and what Meuser called a lack of support from city leadership were a breaking point for many who had been struggling with PTSD from years on the job. "Following the George Floyd incident, unfortunately it became too much and as a result they were unable to, and are unable to, continue on and move forward," Meuser said.
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| The governor of Florida is getting roasted online for comparing attending school with shopping at Home Depot or Walmart Posted: 09 Jul 2020 02:30 PM PDT  "I want our kids to be able to minimize this education gap that I think has developed," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Thursday.
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| Nasa Mars rover Perseverance is attached to rocket Posted: 10 Jul 2020 03:41 AM PDT  The US space agency's next rover is placed atop of the rocket that will send it to the Red Planet.
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| 'Not enough teachers to reopen': School districts expect booming demand for substitutes Posted: 10 Jul 2020 08:39 AM PDT  Schools anticipate higher than normal teacher absences in the fall because of COVID-19.
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| Thai monkey trainer rejects PETA claims on coconut harvesting Posted: 11 Jul 2020 02:24 AM PDT  A monkey trainer in southern Thailand said on Saturday that few monkeys are involved in harvesting coconuts for export, disputing an activist report which has caused several British supermarkets to ban coconut products from the country. Nirun Wongwanich, 52, who trains monkeys to fetch coconuts at a "monkey school" in the province of Surat Thani, said most coconuts used for export are harvested by humans with poles.
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| Ghislaine Maxwell says she hadn't been in contact with Jeffrey Epstein for more than 10 years before his death Posted: 10 Jul 2020 11:37 AM PDT  Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell filed court documents on Friday asking her released on bail as she awaits trial amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Police are welcome at Seattle ice cream shop — but their guns aren’t, owner says Posted: 09 Jul 2020 07:21 PM PDT  "Police officers: Molly Moon's is a gun-free zone," the sign says.
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