| UPDATE 2-U.S. sanctions Iran's nuclear research unit, urges Tehran to negotiate Posted: 22 Mar 2019 07:07 AM PDT ![UPDATE 2-U.S. sanctions Iran's nuclear research unit, urges Tehran to negotiate]( "UPDATE 2-U.S. sanctions Iran's nuclear research unit, urges Tehran to negotiate") The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on 14 people and 17 entities connected to an Iranian research organization it said had played a central role in the country's past nuclear weapons effort and which remains active. Among those designated for sanctions was the Shahid Karimi group, which works on missile and explosive-related projects for Iran's Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, and four associated individuals, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a Statement. The United States charges that the organization, known by its Farsi acronym SPND, oversees nuclear-relevant research for Iran and is active in the training of new scientists.
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| The Real Reasons American Evangelicals Support Israel Posted: 22 Mar 2019 11:54 AM PDT  It never fails. Whenever a Republican president makes a controversial or contentious move to support Israel -- such as moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, or yesterday's decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights -- you'll see various "explainers" and other stories that purport to inform progressives why the American Evangelical community is so devoted to the nation of Israel.The explanation goes something like this -- Evangelicals believe that the rebirth of Israel is hastening not just the second coming of Christ, but a particular kind of second coming, one that includes fire, fury, and war that will consume the Jewish people. The pithy, tweet-length version of this analysis comes from progressive Young Turks host Cenk Uygur:> You know what's REAL anti-semitism? Right-wing Evangelical Christians supporting Israel because they think it will bring about the End Times where all of the Jews die. Worst anti-Semitism in the world!> > -- Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) March 7, 2019Thus, the political marriage between American Evangelicals and Israelis represents a cynical form of mutual exploitation. Evangelicals support Israel to hasten the apocalypse, while Israelis (who obviously don't believe Christian eschatology) are happy to humor the Evangelical community and milk that support for tourist dollars and political power.But the true narrative of American Christian support for Israel is substantially different. The intellectual and theological roots of Christian Zionism do not rest in end-times prophesies but rather in Old Testament promises. Last month Samuel Goldman at Tablet wrote an outstanding piece explaining the centuries-old history and legacy of Christian support for Jewish claims to the Holy Land. After tracing Christian support for a Jewish Israel to the Reformation, he writes this:> These arguments were products of the emphases on the plain meaning of Scripture and the theological significance of covenants that characterized Calvinism. Before the Reformation, most Christians read prophecies like Ezekiel's as allegories for the transformation of the "carnal" Israel descended from the patriarchs into the "spiritual Israel" represented by the Church. Calvin and his followers, by contrast, insisted that allegorical interpretations were permitted only when literal ones made no sense. But why was it nonsensical to believe that the Jews might be reconstituted as a nation and return to their own land?In addition, I'd argue that Romans 11 has enduring significance in the American Christian mind. It begins, "I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means!" Paul declares that God "has not rejected his people whom he foreknew." The chapter continues with the assertion that Gentiles have now been "grafted in" to the same spiritual tree, and it concludes with the promise not that all Israel will be burned up in the apocalypse, but rather with the statement that "all Israel will be saved."Now, the precise theological meaning of these verses has been and will be debated for some time, but the practical impact in contemporary American Christian culture has been to create a bond between American Christians and Jews that would be utterly mystifying to the vicious Christian persecutors of Jews in the not-so-distant European past.The end result is a community -- including a political community -- that believes two things with firm conviction. First, God has reserved Israel as the Jewish homeland, and second, that the creation of modern Israel was an act of divine providence. While there are many Christians who believe this act of divine providence may be a prelude to the Second Coming (whenever that may be), that is miles and miles away from the belief that Jews will burn in a fiery apocalypse.These beliefs are then reinforced by experience and basic morality. It's difficult to overstate the profound impact that a visit to the Holy Land has on a believing Christian. I'll never forget my time in Israel. Not only was it moving to stand where Jesus stood and to walk where Jesus walked, other aspects of the visit bring the miracle of Israel's rebirth into sharp focus. How can you visit the ruins of the fortress of Masada and not grasp the improbability of the journey from total destruction to diaspora to renaissance?Then there's basic morality. As I've written before, from the very moment of its founding, Israel has been subject to repeated, genocidal threats to its existence. It has defended itself in the face of overwhelming odds, faced enduring terrorist threats that we in the United States can't imagine, and built an imperfect but well-functioning democracy that grants all its citizens (Jewish and Arab) a greater degree of individual liberty than the citizens of any other Middle Eastern nation.The pernicious persistence of anti-Semitism heightens the moral case for supporting Israel. There is zero justification for the U.N.'s obsessive focus on alleged Israeli crimes. Actual genocidal tyrants face less condemnation by the U.N. Human Rights Council than does the state of Israel. The Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS) movement proudly holds Israel to higher standards than it holds the entire rest of the Middle East and most of the rest of the world. Some of its founders and leaders hope to eradicate Israel as a Jewish state.Finally, the fact that Evangelical support for Israel is rooted in part in Christian biblical interpretation does not mean that it is somehow less legitimate than purely secular support. In a nation full of believers, religious arguments have always been a part of our national life, and they always will be. They should be weighed and measured just like any other belief. Nor are religious arguments a right-wing phenomenon. There are liberal religious arguments for gun control, for laxer immigration policies, and for welcoming refugees, to take just a few, easy examples. And who can forget the mighty power of the Christian argument in the American civil-rights movement?Yes, you can find Christians who obsessively focus on the end times and try to match each and every significant news story in Israel with biblical prophecies. Those people are out there, no question. But the vast bulk of Evangelical support for Israel rests on faith in ancient promises, wonder at modern miracles, and a deep conviction that evil forces must not prevail against the Middle East's most vibrant democracy.
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| Harvard University sued over allegedly profiting from what are believed to be the earliest photos of American slaves Posted: 20 Mar 2019 07:29 PM PDT  A direct descendant of a slave featured in photos owned by Harvard is seeking an unspecified amount of damages from the university. She's also demanding Harvard give her family the images.
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| Some Pickups Lag in Passenger Crash Protection Posted: 20 Mar 2019 09:01 PM PDT  Crash Tests Show Some Pickup Trucks Lag in Passenger Protection Most pickup trucks fall short when it comes to protecting passengers in certain types of crashes, according to new findings from t...
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| Marines commandant protests US border deployments, wall Posted: 21 Mar 2019 04:20 PM PDT  America's top marine warned that deployments to the US-Mexico border and President Donald Trump's plan for a wall pose an "unacceptable risk" to the force, according to documents revealed Thursday by The Los Angeles Times. In memos addressed to acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan and Navy secretary Richard Spencer, General Robert Neller wrote that he had been forced to cancel or reduce exercises in five countries. Marines will miss exercises in Indonesia, Scotland and Mongolia, and their participation in joint exercises in Australia and South Korea will be reduced, Neller said in the documents dated March 18 and 19.
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| CNN takes over a week to report Covington lawsuit Posted: 21 Mar 2019 05:57 PM PDT  What happened to 'facts first'? Reaction from former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino.
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| The Latest: Nebraska puts flood damage at more than $640 mln Posted: 21 Mar 2019 06:33 PM PDT  KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on flooding in the Midwest (all times local):
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| JetBlue pilots who drugged and raped flight attendants continued working for airline without repercussion, lawsuit says Posted: 22 Mar 2019 10:20 AM PDT  Three female flight attendants claim they were drugged and two of them raped by two JetBlue pilots during a layover in Puerto Rico, a new lawsuit filed this week in New York federal court has claimed. At least one of the female flight attendants said she was forced to work with one of the accused pilots after the alleged rape. After making their way to a beach in Puerto Rico near the hotel they were staying during their layover in May of last year, the women were offered sips from one of the flight attendant's alcoholic beverages.
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| Facebook Employees Had Access to 'Hundreds of Millions' of Users' Passwords Posted: 21 Mar 2019 10:39 AM PDT  Facebook on Thursday confirmed that it had improperly secured "hundreds of millions" of user passwords, leaving them open to be viewed.
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| Exclusive: U.S. threatens to derail meeting of Latam lender if China bars Venezuela Posted: 21 Mar 2019 04:19 PM PDT  The Washington-based IADB, the biggest lender to Latin America, voted last week to replace Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's board representative with Harvard economist Ricardo Hausmann, who is backed by Guaido. Several sources familiar with the situation told Reuters that China - one of the Venezuelan government's few remaining international allies - had proposed not inviting representatives from either the Maduro or Guaido camps to "de-politicize" the meeting. Discussions to try to resolve the issue are ongoing among IADB member countries, and a final decision has not yet been taken, the sources said.
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| New Zealand broadcasts Muslim call to prayer on day of mourning for mosque shooting victims Posted: 22 Mar 2019 11:01 AM PDT  At 1.32pm, exactly a week after a gunman began shooting people at two mosques in Christchurch, the nation of New Zealand observed a two-minute silence to remember the 50 victims. Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old suspected white supremacist from Australia, had launched the attack to try to repel "invaders" from New Zealand, he wrote in a manifesto. Yet, the nation came together on Friday to observe the Muslim call to prayer, which was sounded around the country — including on national radio and television — before ceremonies were attended by tens of thousands of people who paid tribute to the dead and heard calls for unity. Addressing a crowd of thousands standing quietly at Hagley Park, near the Al Noor mosque where 42 people were killed, Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand's prime minister, said: "New Zealand mourns with you. We are one." Jacinda Ardern announced a swift national crackdown on guns Credit: REUTERS/Jorge Silva Imam Gamal Fouda, from the mosque, told the crowd: "We are broken-hearted, but we are not broken. We are alive, we are together, we are determined to not let anyone divide us." He added: "To the people of New Zealand, thank you for your peace. Thank you for your haka. Thank you for your flowers. Thank you for your love and compassion." Many women wore headscarves to demonstrate solidarity with the grieving community. Across New Zealand, small ceremonies and prayers were conducted at mosques, schools, cafes and offices. New Zealand mosque massacre - In pictures The nation's The Press newspaper carried a front page simply saying "Salam, peace" in English and Arabic, and The Dominion Post listed the names of the victims, alongside the words: "1.32pm — Today we remember". Following the ceremony, mourners gathered at a cemetery to attend a burial service for 26 of the victims, including three-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim, the youngest of the dead. Despite Islamic custom requiring speedy burials, the funerals had been delayed due to the painstaking effort by authorities to identify the victims. The first to be buried on Friday was Naeem Rashid, a 50-year-old who died trying to tackle the gunman near the entrance of the Al Noor mosque. His 21-year-old son Talha Rashid was also killed. His wife, Ambreen Naeem Rashid, 44, told The Courier Mail of the murderer: "I feel really sorry for him. I feel sorry for all the people who hate in their hearts. They can never have satisfaction." New Zealand's terror alert level remains high, despite authorities being confident that the attack was conducted by a lone gunman. Fifty people were killed, and dozens were injured in Christchurch Credit: Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images Ms Ardern has announced a ban on military-style semiautomatic weapons and on the parts and ammunition used in the attack, ahead of a wider overhaul of gun laws over the coming weeks. She and Australian prime minister Scott Morrison have called for an international effort to force technology firms to prevent the spread of online hate speech. The gunman livestreamed his attack on Facebook, which, along with other sites such as YouTube and Twitter, has struggled to prevent the footage being republished online. About one per cent of New Zealand's 4.8 million residents are Muslim. Imam Fouda said the attack "did not come overnight" and urged the global community to combat Islamophobia. "[The attack] was the result of the anti-Muslim rhetoric of some political leaders, media agencies and others," he said. "The rise of white supremacy and right-wing extremism is a great global threat to mankind and this must end now."
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| Bringing the Sting: The U.S. Navy Is Getting New F/A-18E/F Super Hornets Posted: 21 Mar 2019 09:00 PM PDT  The Super Hornets would be the first new-build examples of the Block III variant of the F/A-18E/F. The Block III flies farther and carries more weapons than an older F/A-18E/F can do and also is stealthier than earlier Super Hornet models are.
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| Strengthen Your Retirement Security in 7 Steps Posted: 22 Mar 2019 11:47 AM PDT ![Strengthen Your Retirement Security in 7 Steps]( "Strengthen Your Retirement Security in 7 Steps") Retirement security is the ability to live a comfortable retirement without the burden of financial stress. Early planning is the best way to ensure a financially secure retirement, but not everyone has the luxury of time to prepare. The financial decisions you make in the years approaching retirement will have a significant impact on your retirement security.
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| President Trump says U.S. should recognize Israel's sovereignty over disputed Golan Heights Posted: 21 Mar 2019 03:25 PM PDT  Trump's controversial move is sure to inflame tension in the Middle East. He said in a Tweet that the territory is critical to Israel's security.
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| US-backed forces press offensive against IS Syria enclave Posted: 21 Mar 2019 01:44 AM PDT  US-backed forces pressed an offensive against the Islamic State group in its last redoubt in Syria on Thursday, denying reports the jihadist enclave had fallen. "Mopping up operations continue in Baghouz camp," the command of the Syrian Democratic Forces said in a brief statement. The SDF, which launched a final assault against the village of Baghouz in eastern Syria on February 9, denied reports that the IS enclave had completely fallen to its forces.
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| Midwest flooding costs increasing, with $1.6B damage in Iowa Posted: 22 Mar 2019 02:29 PM PDT  DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Friday that recent flooding in the state has caused an estimated $1.6 billion in damage, pushing the total costs from the devastating Midwest flooding to at least $3 billion.
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| Crashed Boeing jets lacked two safety features that would have cost extra Posted: 21 Mar 2019 01:53 PM PDT  Two Boeing jets that crashed in Ethiopia and Indonesia each lacked a pair of cockpit safety features that the plane manufacturer charged extra for. The systems might have helped the pilots as they struggled to control their planes, aviation experts said. Lion Air Flight 610 crashed in October killing 189 people, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 went down on March 10, shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, with the loss of 157 lives. Both Boeing 737 Max aircraft were new but did not have an angle of attack indicator, which shows how much the nose is tilted. They also did not have an angle of attack disagree light, which is triggered if other sensors are giving conflicting information, the New York Times reported. Such safety features were not required on new planes by the US Federal Aviation Administration, and Boeing charged a fee to have them put in if an airline requested them. Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines had opted not to. Boeing has now announced the angle of attack disagree light will be free on new 737 Max planes. Ethiopia Airlines crash Bjorn Fehrm, an aviation analyst, told the New York Times: "They're critical and cost almost nothing for the airlines to install. Boeing charges for them because it can. But they're vital for safety." The various extra customised features offered by plane manufacturers can be expensive, with airlines paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for them. Many low-cost airlines opt not to do so if regulators have not made them mandatory. Airlines with Boeing 737 Max 8s in their fleet The US Justice Department has reportedly issued a number of subpoenas as part of an investigation, which is in its early stages, looking at Boeing's safety procedures. In a statement Ethiopian Airlines said its pilots went through all the extra training required by Boeing and the FAA to fly the 737 Max. As investigators look into the crashes attention has turned to a new software in the planes that can push the nose down in some circumstances, for example when the sensors suggest the plane may be stalling. The FAA has said satellite-based tracking data showed the movements of both flights were similar before they crashed. It has emerged that the Lion Air pilots frantically scrambled through a handbook to understand why the jet was lurching downwards.
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| Giant inland sea created by the disastrous Mozambique cyclone Posted: 21 Mar 2019 11:08 AM PDT  Cyclone Idai left death, destruction, and a sprawling inland sea in its wake. The powerful tropical cyclone -- which struck Mozambique last Thursday as the equivalent of a Category 2 or 3 hurricane with winds of around 100 mph -- has left at least 150 dead and 600,000 in need of help in the flooded nation said the EU, though the Associated Press reports over 300 fatalities as of March 21 when accounting for deaths in neighboring Zimbabwe.The cyclone's widespread flooding -- in part overshadowed by simultaneous and historic flooding in the Midwest -- has left behind an inundated area some 200 square miles in size (518 square kilometers), with the inland sea reaching up to 15 miles wide, according to satellite images from the European Space Agency (ESA). > And for better comparison a GIF animation of the images showing the Mozambique flood before (March 2nd) and after (March 20th) Mozambique Copernicus Sentinel-1️ Better quality GIF https://t.co/h8608N8so5 MozambiqueFloods MozambiqueFloods2019 RemoteSensing Beira Idai pic.twitter.com/d9hOmdiBbp> > -- Pierre Markuse (@Pierre_Markuse) March 21, 2019The destruction is particularly severe around Mozambique's fourth largest city, Beira. SEE ALSO: The West accepts its drought-ridden future, slashes water use"The situation is terrible. The scale of devastation is enormous. It seems that 90 per cent of the area is completely destroyed," said the Red Cross's Jamie LeSueur, who is working in the region. > The latest delineation maps for Mozambique: > ✴️Nhantaze: 24,837.7 ha (248 sq km) flooded > ✴️Macorreia: 9,862.5 ha (98.6 sq km) flooded > Maps and geospatial data: https://t.co/w3uo4SPyREMozambiqueFloods Idai IdaiCyclone pic.twitter.com/0siHZhW6hM> > -- Copernicus EMS (@CopernicusEMS) March 21, 2019Though there's little evidence showing that the planet is experiencing more cyclones and hurricanes, there is mounting evidence that these storms are growing stronger compared to storms in the 21st century.What's more, cyclones, like any big storm today, can now carry more water: The world has warmed by 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1 Celsius, over the last century, and for every 1 degree C of warming the atmosphere holds seven percent more water. > This just in: shocking footage from our team via helicopter that has just arrived in Beira, Mozambique. The devastation is widespread with barely a house intact following CycloneIdaipic.twitter.com/BnyqVIJ9YF> > -- IFRC Africa (@IFRCAfrica) March 17, 2019Since the 1960s, only three tropical storms of category 3 or stronger have hit Mozambique, according to Weather.com.When the total number of fatalities are confirmed and the great inland sea dissipates, Idai's rampage may end up being the worst storm on record in the Southern Hemisphere, the EU noted. WATCH: Jordan Peele explains the childhood experience that made him love horror
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| Turkey's Erdogan shows shooting video again, hours after NZ meeting Posted: 22 Mar 2019 10:22 AM PDT  New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters arrived in Istanbul on Friday to talk to Erdogan about the footage and comments he has made on the shooting of 50 people at mosques in Christchurch a week ago, which have drawn condemnation from New Zealand and Australia. "I did not ask that question because I felt that I did not have to ask it, because they are not doing that anymore," Peters told reporters after attending a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Two hours later, however, Erdogan paused his speech at an election rally in the central province of Konya so that the audience could watch the video footage of the shootings that the alleged gunman had broadcast on Facebook on March 15.
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| 'A gift sent from the heavens': Nebraska pals find fridge full of beer during flood cleanup Posted: 21 Mar 2019 11:14 PM PDT  Kyle Simpson and Gayland Stouffer had spent the day cleaning up from flooding in Nebraska when a fridge appeared in the distance. It was full of beer.
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| Kellyanne Conway says Trump is 'protective of me' in feud with her husband Posted: 21 Mar 2019 08:12 AM PDT  White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Thursday continued to defend her boss, President Trump, who called her husband, George, a "whack job" whose feud with Trump is "doing a tremendous disservice to a wonderful wife."
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| Brexit End Likely to Be Based on a Customs Union, JPMorgan Says Posted: 21 Mar 2019 12:41 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The realities of the Brexit situation indicate that the U.K. is going to end up with "something that's founded on a customs union" with the European Union, according to Karen Ward, chief market strategist for Europe, Middle East and Africa at JPMorgan Asset Management.
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| Ex-cop says he thought he saw a gun when he shot black teen Posted: 21 Mar 2019 07:38 PM PDT  PITTSBURGH (AP) — A white former police officer said Thursday he thought a weapon was pointed at him when he shot and killed an unarmed black teenager outside Pittsburgh last summer.
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| The Latest: Ethiopian airline defends pilots' training Posted: 21 Mar 2019 08:47 PM PDT  NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The Latest on the Ethiopian plane crash (all times local):
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| Ram Rebel TRX Pickup Spied, Likely to Get the Supercharged Hellcat V-8 Posted: 22 Mar 2019 11:11 AM PDT  Looks like the Ford F-150 Raptor isn't going to have the sandbox to itself anymore.
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| 'Unprecedented' Spring Flood Season to Put 200 Million People in the U.S. at Risk, NOAA Warns Posted: 22 Mar 2019 12:56 AM PDT  Some 200 million people across the U.S. are at risk of experiencing spring flooding, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned
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| U.S.-backed Syrian force still battling Islamic State Posted: 21 Mar 2019 10:26 PM PDT ![U.S.-backed Syrian force still battling Islamic State]( "U.S.-backed Syrian force still battling Islamic State") The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) battled Islamic State militants holed up in the Baghouz area overnight, supported by U.S.-led coalition air strikes, the SDF said, seeking to defeat the last pockets of jihadist resistance. The SDF has been battling for weeks to defeat Islamic State at the Baghouz enclave in southeastern Syria at the Iraqi border, all that remained of the territory the militants ruled, which once spanned a third of Syria and Iraq. While the U.S.-backed SDF has captured most of the area, Mustafa Bali, head of the SDF media office, told Reuters SDF fighters were clashing late on Thursday with IS militants in more than two positions where they were refusing to surrender.
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| Sanders: ‘We Must Follow New Zealand’s Lead’ on Assault-Rifle Ban Posted: 21 Mar 2019 09:12 AM PDT  Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) on Thursday praised New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern for immediately banning military-style semi-automatic weapons in response to the Christchurch mosque shootings, and suggested the executive action should serve as a blueprint for the U.S.> This is what real action to stop gun violence looks like. We must follow New Zealand's lead, take on the NRA and ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons in the United States. https://t.co/lSAisDG9Ur> > -- Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 21, 2019The ban, which applies to semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that can be equipped with detachable magazines capable of holding more than five rounds, went into immediate effect Thursday to prevent stockpiling, and legislation codifying it is expected to pass Parliament in the coming days. Once the bill passes, New Zealanders will be granted a buyback period, after which they will be fined and jailed for up to three years if found in possession of a banned weapon."On 15 March, our history changed forever. Now, our laws will, too," Ardern said Thursday. "We are announcing action today on behalf of all New Zealanders to strengthen our gun laws and make our country a safer place."Gun ownership is popular in New Zealand but there is no right to self defense codified in the country's laws.The announcement comes just six days after a 28-year-old Australian man killed 50 people and injured 40 others while rampaging through two mosques in Christchurch. The second shooting, at the Linwood mosque, was interrupted after one congregant retrieved his firearm from his house and returned to confront the attacker.While the exact weapon used in the attack remains unknown, images of the weapon appear to show an AR-15, a widely available semi-automatic rifle.Prior to the attack, the shooter published an extensive manifesto online that was replete with white-nationalist propaganda and mentioned stirring controversy around the U.S. gun-control debate as one motive for the massacre.Sanders, who was criticized by Hillary Clinton during the 2016 Democratic primaries for being too moderate on the issue of gun control, has in recent years embraced the Democratic establishment's insistence on banning assault rifles outright.Senator Chris Murphy (D., Conn.), who has helped lead Democrats' gun-control efforts since the Sandy Hook massacre, also praised Ardern's swift action in a Thursday tweet.> See. It's not that hard. https://t.co/6nTAYmHjnb> > -- Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) March 21, 2019
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| Home loan applications rise as wealthier shoppers hunt for more expensive houses Posted: 21 Mar 2019 12:56 PM PDT  Mortgage interest rates are now lower than a year ago, and home shoppers are buying in, but most are wealthier and purchasing more expensive homes.
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| Midwest flooding makes a dent in farmers' wages Posted: 21 Mar 2019 07:59 AM PDT  Record flooding has devastated a wide swath of the Midwest Farm Belt where many farmers have been struggling due to a U.S.-China trade war. Early estimates of lost crops and livestock, in the aftermath of the floods, are approaching $1 billion in Nebraska alone. Jillian Kitchener reports.
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| Donald Trump scraps North Korea sanctions 24 hours after his own administration announces move Posted: 22 Mar 2019 03:25 AM PDT  Donald Trump said on Friday that he would lift economic sanctions linked to North Korea which his own administration had announced just 24 hours earlier. In a bizarre public about-turn, the US president tweeted that he would withdraw the sanctions despite two members of his cabinet endorsing them on Thursday. His comment appeared to refer to the US Treasury's action against two Chinese shipping companies who were punished for helping North Korea evade existing sanctions. It was the first time fresh sanctions over North Korea had been imposed since Mr Trump and Kim Jong-un's talks in Vietnam collapsed without a deal on denuclearisation last month. Mr Trump tweeted: It was announced today by the U.S. Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea. I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2019 The US president's reference to "today" triggered confusion. No new action that matched the description was announced on Friday and it appeared he was actually discussing Thursday's move. No detailed explanation was given for the change of heart. Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, said: "President Trump likes Chairman Kim and he doesn't think these sanctions will be necessary." The about-turn was embarrassing given that both Steven Mnuchin, the US Treasury secretary, and John Bolton, the White House national security adviser, endorsed the sanctions on Thursday. The renewed tension comes less than a month after Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un met in Hanoi Credit: White House Photo/Shealah Craighead/Handout Mr Bolton, who is believed to have pushed for a tougher line on Pyongyang since joining the White House, had tweeted that the sanctions amounted to "important actions". Mr Mnuchin was quoted in a government press release saying: "Treasury will continue to enforce our sanctions, and we are making it explicitly clear that shipping companies employing deceptive tactics to mask illicit trade with North Korea expose themselves to great risk." One possible cause for the change in US position was North Korea's decision to pull out of an inter-Korean liaison office on Friday – a step back for dialogue with South Korea. The move came a week after Choe Son-hui, Pyongyang's vice foreign minister, threatened to pull out of nuclear negotiations with the US, citing a lack of American steps to match disarmament measures the North took last year. The US has ramped up the pressure on North Korea by drafting additional sanctions Credit: ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images Friday's withdrawal from the office, which was opened last September in the North Korean border city of Kaesong, represents a major setback for Moon Jae-in, the South's president. He had been seeking improved relations with Pyongyang alongside the nuclear talks between the North and the US. Mr Moon's office said on Friday that his national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, had convened an emergency meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the withdrawal. The US Treasury's initial announcement froze the US property and interests of two companies which it said "used deceptive practices" to help North Korea obtain oil and other goods banned under United Nations sanctions. Pyongyang has signalled its anger at the renewed pressure. On Thursday, an article in Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece of the Workers' Party of Korea, said the nation would rather "starve or freeze to death" than give up its "self-esteem". Progress to convince North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons has stalled since two days of talks between Mr Trump and Kim were held in Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, last month. Despite upbeat comments from both leaders throughout the summit both sides hit an impasse, with Pyongyang insisting all sanctions imposed since 2016 were lifted in turn for the destruction of a key nuclear complex.
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| See How Snøhetta’s Architecture Brought the Best of Scandinavian Design to the World Posted: 21 Mar 2019 01:21 PM PDT |
| Brazilian ex-president remains silent under questioning Posted: 22 Mar 2019 02:01 PM PDT  RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Former Brazilian President Michel Temer remained silent when questioned by investigators Friday, a day after he was arrested as part of the country's sprawling Car Wash corruption probe.
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| Economic Inequality: What It Is and How It Impacts You Posted: 21 Mar 2019 06:00 AM PDT ![Economic Inequality: What It Is and How It Impacts You]( "Economic Inequality: What It Is and How It Impacts You") It's nearly impossible to read the news these days without running across mentions of economic inequality. In recent months, politicians have debated the merits of raising marginal tax rates on the wealthy, a move proponents say could reduce economic inequalities. Likewise, economic inequality takes center stage when columnists discuss the extreme riches of some of today's business owners, like Jeff Bezos, who could purchase every home in Austin, Texas, according to real estate brokerage Redfin.
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| Missouri River flooding forces evacuation of 7,500 from waterfront city Posted: 22 Mar 2019 04:18 PM PDT  Record floodwaters that submerged vast stretches of Nebraska and Iowa farmland along America's longest river reached a new crest on Friday at the waterfront city of St. Joseph, Missouri, forcing chaotic evacuations of thousands from low-lying areas. With emergency sirens blaring as the Missouri River rose to the top of the three-story-high levee wall in St. Joseph, about 55 miles (88 km) north of Kansas City, Missouri, sheriff's deputies rushed door-to-door urging residents to flee to higher ground.
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| Love it or Hate it?: China Is Studying Russia's New Su-57 Stealth Fighter Posted: 20 Mar 2019 08:00 PM PDT  The Su-57's overall capability is "not bad at all," Global Times paraphrased Wang as saying.
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| Australian PM welcomes 'moderation' from Turkey's Erdogan Posted: 20 Mar 2019 06:32 PM PDT  Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday welcomed some "moderation" in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's comments in the wake of the Christchurch massacre. Trying to take the sting out of a diplomatic row that has threatened relations between Australia, New Zealand and Turkey, Morrison pointed to a recent Erdogan column in the Washington Post as progress. "Overnight, progress has been made on this issue and overnight we've already seen a moderation of the president's views," Morrison said, citing the article in which Erdogan stepped away from direct criticism of New Zealand.
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| Tax refunds are $3 smaller on average versus last year after seventh week of filing season Posted: 22 Mar 2019 04:02 PM PDT  After three weeks of rising tax refunds, the average tax refund is $3 less than a year ago.
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| In a gift to Netanyahu, Trump tweets U.S. support for Israel annexing Golan Posted: 21 Mar 2019 03:19 PM PDT  President Trump on Thursday reversed a long-standing American policy that treated Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights as temporary.
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| Facebook Stopped Bangladeshi Ad Farm Targeting Utah in Midterms Posted: 22 Mar 2019 03:00 AM PDT  Political news in a Utah congressional district wasn't coming from inside the U.S. -- a mismatch Facebook had tuned its software algorithms to detect. A data scientist in the election-monitoring center at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California, inspected the activity manually and discovered, at 11:47 a.m., that the source spreading the content was an ad farm in Bangladesh. The slides, viewed by Bloomberg News, show in detail how Facebook has improved its process for rooting out bad actors using tactics similar to those Russian operatives used in 2016.
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| Barrett-Jackson Showcases Modern Muscle At Palm Beach Posted: 21 Mar 2019 07:32 AM PDT  When the Barrett-Jackson crew rolls into Palm Beach this April, they will bring a slew of modern muscle cars with them - further proof that this market is booming. "We continue to run at the forefront of collector car trends," said Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson. "With one of the largest databases of collector cars at our fingertips, we can quickly identify where the collector car market is headed.
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| Correction: Southern Flood Threat story Posted: 22 Mar 2019 01:07 PM PDT  In a story March 21 about the U.S. flooding outlook, The Associated Press misspelled the last name of a weather forecaster. He is Kevin Low, not Lao.
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| U.S. cautions Venezuela's Maduro over detained Citgo workers, others Posted: 22 Mar 2019 12:07 PM PDT  The Trump administration on Friday warned the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over the detention of Americans, including six executives from Houston-based oil company Citgo Petroleum who have been jailed since 2017. "We will hold Maduro and his prison officials to account for their safety and well-being," the U.S. State Department said in a statement, adding that the Citgo employees include five individuals with dual U.S. citizenship and one U.S. legal permanent resident. The United States is concerned about reports of prison officials preventing attorneys and families of detained U.S. citizens from delivering food and denying communication, the statement said.
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| Which Subcompact Crossovers and SUVs are Best? Here Are All 17, Ranked Posted: 21 Mar 2019 08:31 AM PDT |
| 'I was the last person to get out alive': Narrow escape from the New Zealand mosque Posted: 21 Mar 2019 06:18 AM PDT  Survivors have described horrific scenes of carnage inside the two mosques in New Zealand where at least 50 were killed in a shooting rampage.
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