| At rally, Trump says Russia probe backers tried to steal power illegally Posted: 28 Mar 2019 06:25 PM PDT  Declaring the country "hurt" by the probe, Trump called his opponents "losers" and celebrated the fact the investigation had come to a close. "After three years of lies and smears and slander, the Russia hoax is finally dead. "The Russia witch hunt was a plan by those who lost the election to try and illegally regain power by framing innocent Americans – many of them, they suffered – with an elaborate hoax," he said.
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| 'That's unacceptable': Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stops person who insulted Republican Posted: 30 Mar 2019 08:13 AM PDT  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shut down an audience member at an MSNBC town hall after someone called former Rep. Bob Inglis a "moron."
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| Autopsy: Migrant child who died in US custody had infection Posted: 29 Mar 2019 05:11 PM PDT  HOUSTON (AP) — A 7-year-old girl from Guatemala died of a bacterial infection while detained by the U.S. Border Patrol, according to an autopsy released Friday, in a case that drew worldwide attention to the plight of migrant families at the southern U.S. border.
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| Chance of UK 'no-deal' Brexit has risen 'sharply', says France Posted: 29 Mar 2019 09:45 AM PDT ![Chance of UK 'no-deal' Brexit has risen 'sharply', says France]( "Chance of UK 'no-deal' Brexit has risen 'sharply', says France") French President Emmanuel Macron's office said on Friday the risk of Britain leaving the European Union without a deal had risen "very sharply" following parliament's rejection of Prime Minister Theresa May's withdrawal agreement for a third time. "France is well prepared (for no deal) and will accelerate its preparations for such a scenario," the Elysee said in a statement. It said it was now up to Britain to present an alternative plan in the coming days -- whether new elections, a second referendum, or a proposal for a customs union -- otherwise the country would leave the EU with no deal.
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| Corporations are endangering Americans. Trump doesn't care Posted: 30 Mar 2019 03:00 AM PDT  From Boeing to Monsanto and beyond: this week has revealed the tip of the iceberg of regulatory neglect 'Trump and his appointees have unambiguously signaled to corporations they can now do as they please.' Photograph: Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images Why didn't Boeing do it right? Why isn't Facebook protecting user passwords? Why is Phillip Morris allowed to promote vaping? Why hasn't Wells Fargo reformed itself? Why hasn't Monsanto (now owned by Bayer) recalled its Roundup weedkiller? Answer: corporate greed coupled with inept and corrupt regulators. These are just a few of the examples in the news these days of corporate harms inflicted on innocent people. To be sure, some began before the Trump administration. But Trump and his appointees have unambiguously signaled to corporations they can now do as they please. Boeing wanted to get its 737 Max 8 out quickly because airlines want to pack in more passengers at lower fuel costs (hence the "max"). But neither Boeing nor the airlines shelled out money to adequately train pilots on the new software made necessary by the new design. Nonetheless, Trump's FAA certified the plane in March 2017. And after two subsequent deadly crashes, the US was slower to ground them than other countries. Last week Facebook admitted to storing hundreds of millions of Facebook users' passwords in plain text that could be searched by more than 20,000 Facebook employees. The admission came just a year after the Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed that Facebook shared the personal data of as many as 87 million users with a political data firm. In reality, Facebook's business model is based on giving personal data to advertisers so they can tailor their pitches precisely to potential customers. So despite repeated reassurances by Mark Zuckerberg, the firm will continue to do what it wants with personal information. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the power to force Facebook to better guard users' privacy. But so far Trump's FTC has done nothing – not even to enforce a 2011 agreement in which Facebook promised to do just that. Altria (Phillip Morris) was losing ground on its sales of cigarettes, but the firm has recently found a future in vaping. Because inhaling nicotine in any form poses a health hazard, the FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb wanted to curb advertising of vaping products to teenagers. Gottlieb thought he had Altria's agreement, but then the firm bought the vaping company Juul. Its stock has already gained 14% this year. What happened to Gottlieb? He's out at the FDA, after barely a year on the job. Wells Fargo has publicly apologized for having deceived customers with fake bank accounts, unwarranted fees and unwanted products. Its top executives say they have eliminated the aggressive sales targets that were responsible for the fraud. But Wells Fargo employees told the New York Times recently that they're still under heavy pressure to squeeze extra money out of customers. Some have witnessed colleagues bending or breaking internal rules to meet ambitious performance goals. What has Trump's Consumer Financial Protection Agency done about this? Nothing. It's been defanged. This week, a federal jury awarded $80m in damages to a California man who blamed Monsanto's (now Bayer's) Roundup weedkiller for his cancer, after finding that Roundup was defectively designed, that Monsanto failed to warn of the herbicide's cancer risk, and that the company acted negligently. It was the second jury in eight months to reach the same conclusion about Roundup. Roundup contains glyphosate, a suspected carcinogen. Cases from more than 1,000 farmers and other agricultural workers stricken with non-Hodgkin lymphoma are already pending in federal and state courts. What has Trump's Environmental Protection Agency done about glyphosate? In December 2017 its office of pesticide programs concluded that glyphosate wasn't likely to cause cancer – although eight of the 15 experts on whom the agency relied expressed significant concerns about that conclusion, and three more expressed concerns about the data. These are just tips of a vast iceberg of regulatory neglect, frozen into place by Trump's appointees, of which at least 187 were lobbyists before they joined the administration. This is trickle-down economics of a different sort than Trump's corporate tax cuts. The major beneficiaries of this are the same big corporations, including their top executives and major investors. But these burdens are trickling down as unsafe products, fraudulent services, loss of privacy, even loss of life. Big money has had an inhibiting effect on regulators in several previous administrations. What's unique under Trump is the blatancy of it all, and the shameless willingness of Trump appointees to turn a blind eye to corporate wrongdoing. Trump and his Republican enablers in Congress yell "socialism!" at proposals for better balancing private greed with the common good. Yet unless a better balance is achieved, capitalism as we know it is in deep trouble. Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. He is also a columnist for Guardian US
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| 'Pitch up, pitch up': Final moments of Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max jet before crash Posted: 30 Mar 2019 03:30 PM PDT  A pilot on the Ethiopian Airlines flight which crashed three weeks ago was heard saying "pitch up, pitch up" just moments before the disaster, the Wall St Journal has reported. The conversation happened when the plane was just 450ft (137m) off the ground as the aircraft begun to point downwards, according to the paper. The plane's radio reportedly died moments after the comment was captured. All 157 people on board were killed when the Boeing 737 Max crashed. The plane's anti-stalling system, which sees its direction automatically righted if a sensor picks up the aircraft is tilting up too far, has been blamed for the disaster. The investigation is on-going and no official cause for the crash has been made public. Forensic experts work at the crash site of an Ethiopian airways operated by a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft Credit: TONY KARUMBA / AFP The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that investigators have determined that the flight-control system on an Ethiopian Airlines jet automatically activated before the aircraft plunged into the ground on March 10. The preliminary conclusion was based on information from the aircraft's data and voice recorders and indicates a link between that accident and an earlier Lion Air crash in Indonesia, the newspaper said. Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration declined to comment on the report. Also on Friday, The New York Times reported that the Ethiopian jet's data recorder yielded evidence that a sensor incorrectly triggered the anti-stall system, called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS. Once activated, the MCAS forced the plane into a dive and ultimately a crash that killed everyone on board, the newspaper said. Boeing is facing mounting pressure to roll out a software update on its best-selling plane in time for airlines to use the jets during the peak summer travel season. Kebebew Legesse, the mother of Ethiopian Airlines cabin crew Ayantu Girmay mourns at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash Credit: REUTERS/Baz Ratner Company engineers and test pilots are working to fix anti-stall technology on the Boeing 737 Max that is suspected to have played a role in two deadly crashes in the last six months. Boeing is also seeing its own expenses rise, although it would not disclose how much it is costing the company to make the software fix and also train pilots how to use it. Cowen Research analysts say a "very rough guess" is that Boeing will pay about $2 billion after insurance to fix the plane, pay crash victims' families and compensate airlines that had to cancel flights. Most Wall Street analysts are betting that the planes will be flying again in less than three months, while noting that it could take longer in countries that plan to conduct their own reviews of Boeing's upgrade instead of taking the word of the U.S. regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration.
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| Venezuelans Take to the Streets After Another Round of Blackouts Posted: 30 Mar 2019 10:32 AM PDT  "We will continue to hit the streets," Juan Guaido, head of the National Assembly recognized as interim president by some 50 nations, told protesters Saturday in San Antonio de Los Altos. Unlike other protests since January, Guaido did not call for huge rallies in the capital of Caracas but rather urged Venezuelans to protest at key locations or in their own neighborhoods. "My food is rotting and my appliances are going haywire,¨ said Yolanda Bellorin, a retired lawyer protesting among her neighbors in Caracas' Colinas de la California neighborhood.
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| Pet zebra shot and killed by owner in Florida after escaping Posted: 29 Mar 2019 06:47 AM PDT  A man has shot and killed his pet zebra after it escaped from his ranch in Callahan, a town in Florida.The animal, reportedly named Shadow, broke free from Cottonwood Ranch and ran down a main road, chased by several vehicles.Witnesses said the zebra was eventually cornered in a cul-de-sac around two miles from the ranch, where the owner shot and killed it.Bill Leeper, the local sheriff, said he understood that Shadow was injured during the escape and that the owner chose to euthanise the zebra while police officers were at the scene.Witnesses told WJXT-TV that the animal did not appear injured but the decision was made to kill it so that it could not hurt anyone."I had to stop and think a minute," Jenee Watkins told the news outlet."It's not every day you see a zebra trotting through your neighbourhood."Officials have confirmed that the owner did not have a valid license to keep a zebra on his ranch.A state permit is required to own and keep a zebra in Florida.It is unclear whether he will face charges over the lack of permit.Officials said the investigation into the animal's escape and death was ongoing.
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| Mueller Did the Right Thing Posted: 29 Mar 2019 03:30 AM PDT  It seems that "13 hardened Democrats" or "angry Democrats" did not deliver a politically motivated, illegitimate hit job after all. Based on what we know so far, the special counsel's office reported that it did not find evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. This is a fabulous vindication of the integrity of the system.No one is noticing that. Instead, the Trump team is gorging on schadenfreude, and the anti-Trump team is choking on bile.It's fair to say that those who spent hour upon cable-TV hour lovingly anticipating that President Trump would be frog-marched from the White House in handcuffs after the delivery of this report have egg on their faces. It isn't clear which hurts more, the disappointment about being wrong or the worry about drooping ratings.But there's plenty of egg to go around. Team Trump spent nearly two years denouncing the Mueller investigation as a "rigged witch hunt." By one count, the president used the term "witch hunt" more than 1,100 times. He mercilessly eviscerated his own attorney general, Jeff Sessions, for the sin of following Justice Department guidelines instead of corruptly abusing his office to shield Mr. Trump from scrutiny. At various times, the president has also suggested that the inquiry was a sinister plot of the "deep state"; a ploy by supporters of "crooked" Hillary Clinton to extract revenge (while also suggesting that the real collusion was between Democrats and the Russians); and an "illegal hoax" perpetrated by the "fake news" media. President Trump claimed that the Mueller probe was staffed by "very bad and conflicted people" and that the investigation was a "disgrace to our nation."The battle space was thus prepared for a Mueller report that would be devastating to the president. His supporters would disbelieve anything that reflected badly on Trump because the investigation itself, along with the law-enforcement bodies tasked with carrying out their responsibilities in an impartial fashion, had been discredited.Yet, when it turned out that the investigators did not invent or plant evidence, did not default to process crimes such as lying to investigators, did not spring a perjury trap, and, above all, did not permit their own feelings or political preferences to taint the administration of justice, there has been no embarrassment from Team Trump. On a dime, they have reversed themselves completely. A totally corrupt witch hunt has become a total vindication. (It wasn't that. Even Attorney General William Barr's letter acknowledged that the report did not "exonerate" the president on the charge of obstruction of justice.) But even if it had been a clean bill of health, how can they trust the Mueller people? Weren't they thoroughly corrupt? A disgrace?President Trump has a long history of impugning anyone or anything he perceives as a threat to his own interests and flattering anyone he thinks can help him. When he feared he would lose an election, he denounced the voting as "rigged." Judge Curiel became a "Mexican" judge when Trump feared he might rule against him in the Trump University case. Gold-star parents, deceased heroic senators, Charles Krauthammer, S. E. Cupp, Jeff Bezos, and an endless list of others have joined the ranks of the slighted. On the other hand, if you repent and join the Trump fan club -- as pretty much the entire invertebrate Republican party has done -- then you are swiftly forgiven and elevated. Lindsey Graham went from "nasty" and "dumb mouthpiece" to favorite golfing buddy in a trice.This transparently solipsistic approach to the world would be of little interest if it were just a quirk of a New York businessman. But when Trump employs the tactic to undermine confidence in institutions such as the justice system, he does lasting damage.The "witch hunt" was nothing of the kind. Honorable people did the right thing. Politics did not taint a criminal investigation. But that reality is buried under an avalanche of bad faith.© 2019 Creators.com
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| Police standoff on an Atlanta-area freeway halts traffic Posted: 29 Mar 2019 03:06 PM PDT  ATLANTA (AP) — A police standoff brought traffic to a standstill Friday on an Atlanta-area freeway as officers confronted a motorist who they believed was armed and matched the description of a robbery suspect.
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| Theresa May’s EU Brexit deal rejected by Parliament a third time Posted: 29 Mar 2019 01:05 PM PDT  Britain now has until April 12 to announce a new plan to leave the European Union, or leave the bloc without a deal and risk a disorderly exit.
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| Ben Shapiro responds to being called 'alt-right' and 'radical' by media Posted: 30 Mar 2019 05:01 AM PDT  The Daily Wire editor-in-chief Ben Shapiro reacts to the media's attacks against him on 'Fox & Friends.'
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| Who is paying for Monsanto's crimes? We are Posted: 30 Mar 2019 03:00 AM PDT  A US court ordered Monsanto to pay $80m in damages because it hid cancer risks. That's a small consolation for victims 'And while Bayer may dole out a few billion dollars in damages, who is really being made to pay?' Photograph: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images The chickens are coming home to roost, as they say in farm country. For the second time in less than eight months a US jury has found that decades of scientific evidence demonstrates a clear cancer connection to Monsanto's line of top-selling Roundup herbicides, which are used widely by consumers and farmers. Twice now jurors have additionally determined that the company's own internal records show Monsanto has intentionally manipulated the public record to hide the cancer risks. Both juries found punitive damages were warranted because the company's cover-up of cancer risks was so egregious. The juries saw evidence that Monsanto has ghost-written scientific papers, tried to silence scientists, scuttled independent government testing and cozied up to regulators for favorable safety reviews of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup. Even the US district judge Vince Chhabria, who oversaw the San Francisco trial that concluded Wednesday with an $80.2m damage award, had harsh words for Monsanto. Chhabria said there were "large swaths of evidence" showing that the company's herbicides could cause cancer. He also said there was "a great deal of evidence that Monsanto has not taken a responsible, objective approach to the safety of its product … and does not particularly care whether its product is in fact giving people cancer, focusing instead on manipulating public opinion and undermining anyone who raises genuine and legitimate concerns about the issue." Monsanto's new owner, the German pharmaceutical company Bayer, asserts that the juries and judges are wrong; the evidence of a cancer risk is invalid; the evidence of bad corporate conduct is misunderstood and out of context; and that the company will ultimately prevail. Meanwhile, Monsanto critics are celebrating the wins and counting on more as a third trial got underway this week and 11,000 additional plaintiffs await their turn. As well, a growing number of communities and businesses are backing away from use of Monsanto's herbicides. And investors are punishing Bayer, pushing share prices to a seven-year low on Thursday. Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Tom Claps has warned shareholders to brace for a global settlement of between $2.5bn and $4.5bn. "We don't believe [Monsanto] will lose every single trial, but we do believe that they could lose a significant majority," he told the Guardian. Following the recent courtroom victories, some have cheered the notion that Monsanto is finally being made to pay for alleged wrongdoing. But by selling to Bayer last summer for $63bn just before the Roundup cancer lawsuits started going to trial, Monsanto executives were able to walk away from the legal mess with riches. The Monsanto chairman Hugh Grant's exit package allowed him to pocket $32m, for instance. Amid the uproar of the courtroom scuffles, a larger issue looms: Monsanto's push to make use of glyphosate herbicides so pervasive that traces are commonly found in our food and even our bodily fluids, is just one example of how several corporate giants are creating lasting human health and environmental woes around the world. Monsanto and its brethren have targeted farmers in particular as a critical market for their herbicides, fungicides and insecticides, and now many farmers around the world believe they cannot farm without them. Studies show that along with promoting illness and disease in people, these pesticides pushed by Bayer and Monsanto, DowDuPont and other corporate players, are endangering wildlife, soil health, water quality and the long-term sustainability of food production. Yet regulators have allowed these corporations to combine forces, making them ever more powerful and more able to direct public policies that favor their interests. The Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren this week called for taking back some of that power. She announced on Wednesday a plan to break up big agribusinesses and work against the type of corporate capture of Washington we have seen in recent years. It's a solid step in the right direction. But it cannot undo the suffering of cancer victims, nor easily transform a deeply contaminated landscape to create a healthier future and unleash us from the chains of a pesticide-dependent agricultural system. And while Bayer may dole out a few billion dollars in damages, who is really being made to pay? We all are. Carey Gillam is a journalist and author, and a public interest researcher for US Right to Know, a not-for-profit food industry research group
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| IKEA's New Eco-Friendly Collection Is Our Summer Aesthetic Posted: 29 Mar 2019 09:10 AM PDT |
| Pope signs law to prevent child abuse in Vatican and its embassies Posted: 29 Mar 2019 06:20 PM PDT  Although the city state within Rome is tiny, and very few children live there, the sweeping legal changes reflect a desire to show that the Catholic Church is finally acting against clerical child abuse after decades of scandals around the world. It is the first time a unified and detailed policy for the protection of children has been compiled for the Vatican and its embassies and universities outside the city state. The law sets up procedures for reporting suspected abuse, imposes more screening of prospective employees, and sets strict guidelines for adult interaction with children and the use of social media.
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| The War Between Trump and Schiff is Just Starting Posted: 29 Mar 2019 09:53 AM PDT  A proponent of Trump-Russia collusion theories, Rep. Adam Schiff has been enveloped by fallout from the conclusions of Mueller's investigation.
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| The Latest: Police standoff on Atlanta-area freeway ends Posted: 29 Mar 2019 08:52 AM PDT  ATLANTA (AP) — The Latest on a freeway standoff outside Atlanta (all times local):
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| Parliament sounds death knell for Brexit deal Posted: 29 Mar 2019 10:11 AM PDT  The UK parliament has defeated Theresa May's Brexit deal for the third time, throwing her future and the way forward for Brexit into the balance. Lucy Fielder reports.
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| O'Rourke holds rally near Mexican border that Trump threatens to shut Posted: 30 Mar 2019 12:24 PM PDT  O'Rourke, a former congressman from El Paso, kicked off a series of three rallies in Texas in his bid to become the Democratic nominee a day after Republican Trump threatened to close the U.S. border with Mexico as soon as next week. Speaking in El Paso, a few hundred yards from the border with Mexico, O'Rourke decried the Trump administration's immigration policies and the president's call for a border wall. "We'll find security not through walls," he declared to cheers from several hundred supporters as he officially launched his presidential campaign.
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| New Australian laws could see social media execs jailed over terror images Posted: 29 Mar 2019 10:41 PM PDT  Australia pledged Saturday to introduce new laws that could see social media executives jailed and tech giants fined billions for failing to remove extremist material from their platforms. The tough new legislation will be brought to parliament next week as Canberra pushes for social media companies to prevent their platforms from being "weaponised" by terrorists in the wake of the Christchurch mosque attacks. Facebook said it "quickly" removed a staggering 1.5 million videos of the white supremacist massacre livestreamed on the social media platform.
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| Boeing 737 Max Grounding | Rights Flight Canceled Posted: 29 Mar 2019 04:18 AM PDT  Boeing 737 Max Grounding: Your Rights If Your Flight Gets Canceled The worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 Max is causing hundreds of U.S. flights to be canceled every day, scrambling the trav...
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| US woman kidnapped in Afghanistan says husband's abuse was just like captors' Posted: 29 Mar 2019 12:32 PM PDT  Caitlan Coleman says her Canadian husband, Joshua Boyle, was violent towards her before, during and after their kidnapping Caitlin Coleman leaves the Ottawa court house in Ottawa, Ontario, on Wednesday. Photograph: Lars Hagberg/AFP/Getty Images A Canadian man who was kidnapped with his wife in Afghanistan was controlling and violent towards her before, during and after their five-year hostage ordeal, she told a Canadian court on Friday. Caitlan Coleman, 33, gave testimony for a second day at the trial of Joshua Boyle, 35 who faces 19 criminal charges, including sexual assault, unlawful confinement and uttering death threats. Coleman was pregnant when she and Boyle were kidnapped by a Taliban-linked group while backpacking in Afghanistan in 2011. They spent five years as hostages, and had three children together before they were rescued by the Pakistani military. Coleman testified that during their captivity in the hands of the militant Haqqani network, Boyle dictated all aspects of her life. His behaviour "was just like my captors'", she told the court. "I was never to disagree with him, even on small things," she told the court. "In the past, he made it clear he didn't feel any guilt hurting me." Coleman, dressed in a white blazer, black dress and black headscarf, spoke through video link in an adjoining room in order to avoid being in the same room as Boyle. She had travelled from Pennsylvania, where she currently lives with her family, to testify. Boyle, wearing a navy blazer and maroon pants, sat at the front row of the courtroom, frequently taking notes on a yellow legal pad. He was briefly joined by his parents. Coleman described a pattern of abusive behaviour that culminated in a vicious assault after the couple had returned to Canada, in which Boyle demanded sex then hit her when she refused. She told the court she felt "very, very frightened" during the 27 November incident. "Josh told me to get on the bed. He took ropes he kept in a bag … and he started to tie my hands and legs." Boyle sexually assaulted her, then refused to release her, Coleman told the court. "He said he couldn't trust me, so he wasn't going to untie me," she said. She was only able to free herself after Boyle fell asleep, she told the court. "Looking back, I should have tried to leave," she said. "But I didn't." In her previous testimony, Coleman had described a "rollercoaster" relationship with Boyle, whom she met at age 16 in a Star Wars-themed online chatroom. "He was my first kiss," she told the court on Wednesday. Coleman quickly fell in love with Boyle, but she told the court that he became an emotionally and physically abusive partner, critiquing her drinking and interactions she had with men. Coleman told the court that the abuse continued in Afghanistan, where the final two years of captivity were the worst. He would choke, bite and spank her as punishment, she said. While in captivity, Boyle demanded she remain in a bathroom stall for extended periods of time – telling his wife he couldn't stand the sight of her. Coleman testified that Boyle also joked about killing her by lighting her on fire or spilling cooking oil on her. "This was probably the darkest period of my life," she told the court. During their five years as prisoners in Afghanistan, the couple and their small children are believed to have been shuttled between more than 20 locations. The court had previously heard that Boyle's violence continued after the couple returned to Canada. Coleman testified that he would often hit her and demand sex; on one occasion, he forced her to swallow powerful sleeping medication, she testified. "He stood in the bathroom and watched me take them that time … I took them because I knew that if I didn't he would hit me harder," she told the court on Wednesday. On Friday Coleman told the court that when the couple was back in Ottawa, Boyle gave her a detailed list of rules dictating her diet, weight, appearance and frequency of sex. "I would be punished if I did not follow this list," she testified, adding that Boyle withheld meals from her, and threatened corporal punishment if she did not comply. Coleman told the court that the rules required her to address her children as "Sir" and "Madam", "so I could understand I was beneath everyone." During her testimony, Coleman also said her former husband was paranoid about reports of the family in the media. "He was so focused on the fact that world's eyes were on us … he said we have to look like a happy family," she said. Coleman told the court that during interviews, Boyle – once an aspiring journalist – attempted to control the narrative of the couple's time in Afghanistan. "He would give verbal or physical instructions about what could be answered … what story we could tell or what part of captivity we could talk about," said Coleman. The 19 charges against Boyle are all related to alleged events after the family returned to Canada. Coleman was the alleged victim in 17 of the offences; a publication ban protects the identity of a second alleged victim. The trial is expected to last eight weeks.
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| U.S. Attorney General Barr will release redacted copy of Mueller report by mid-April Posted: 29 Mar 2019 01:11 PM PDT  Attorney General William Barr plans to issue a redacted copy of the nearly 400-page investigative report by mid-April, he said a letter to lawmakers.
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| New 737 MAX crash details reveal what may have been to blame Posted: 29 Mar 2019 05:07 PM PDT  The recent tragic crash of a second 737 MAX aircraft prompted airlines around the globe to halt any and all passenger flights using Boeing's popular jet. Now, new details from a preliminary investigation reveal that software designed to keep the plane from crashing may have been to blame.A software feature called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) appears to have been triggered shortly before the plane dove towards the Earth. The system is supposed to activate when sensors on the plane tell it that the aircraft is moving too slowly or climbing at too steep of an angle, preventing a stall that could result in a crash.When a plane is at risk of stalling the easiest way to get more air flowing through the engines is to dip the nose down to gain speed. That's what the system is supposed to do if the plane is at risk of a stall, but in this case it's possible the system triggered erroneously, possibly causing the plane to dive downward even if everything was seemingly fine.As Wall Street Journal reports, this malfunction is thought to be connected to a similar issue present in the previous 737 MAX crash, a Lion Air flight in 2018. Between the two accidents, nearly 350 people lost their lives. There were no survivors of either crash.The MCAS system seems to have pulled both planes into dives, and the investigation has revealed that the pilot of the Lion Air jet was fighting against the aircraft to keep its nose pointed up. The plane, which the MCAS system falsely believed was at risk of stalling, pushed the aircraft down towards Earth, causing a loss of control and ultimately ending in a crash.Earlier this week, Boeing reportedly began rolling out a software update to 737 MAX aircraft that may prevent the MCAS from being triggered erroneously. Simulations using the new software showed the updated system made it easier for pilots to control the aircraft without having to manually disable its software to prevent a crash.Crash investigations typically take many months to complete, and it's unlikely that Boeing's 737 MAX planes will be allowed back in the skies before safety officials explore every possible reason why both planes came down. In the meantime, the planes will remain grounded.
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| The Latest: China, US trade talks adjourn until next week Posted: 29 Mar 2019 04:41 AM PDT  BEIJING (AP) — The Latest on China-U.S. trade talks (all times local):
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| 'Hoarder' pleads guilty to potentially largest theft of classified information in history Posted: 29 Mar 2019 08:11 AM PDT  A former US National Security Agency contractor, portrayed as an eccentric hoarder by his lawyers, pleaded guilty on Thursday to stealing classified documents in a deal likely to put him in prison for nine years. Harold Martin, 54, who worked for several private firms and had clearances to access top secret information, was arrested over two years ago for what may have been the biggest breach of classified information in history. When Federal Bureau of Investigation agents raided his home south of Baltimore in 2016 they found stacks of documents and electronic storage devices amounting to 50 terabytes of files, including classified ones, prosecutors said. US Department of Justice prosecutors said in a statement that Mr Martin's actions risked the disclosure of top secret information to America's "enemies." One of their allegations was that Mr Martin talked online with people in Russian and other languages but they never found proof he shared stolen information with anyone. His lawyers said he was a hoarder who liked to take work home with him. "His actions were the product of mental illness. Not treason," lawyers Deborah Boardman and James Wyda said in a statement. Mr Martin and the government agreed that if the federal court in Baltimore accepted the plea agreement, he would be sentenced to nine years in prison on the charge of willful retention of national defense information, prosecutors said.
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| California lawmakers propose sweeping reforms to counter college admissions scandal Posted: 28 Mar 2019 08:50 PM PDT  The package includes measures seeking to phase out the SAT and ban preferential admissions for students related to a college's donors or alumni.
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| May Risks Fresh Defeat on Day U.K. Meant to Leave: Brexit Update Posted: 29 Mar 2019 04:39 AM PDT  Key Developments:May's Northern Irish allies, the DUP, confirm they won't back the Withdrawal Agreement in Friday's voteVote expected at 2:30 p.m.Read our guide to the parliamentary numbers hereSNP lawmakers suspect Labour MPs will back the deal. The Labour Party is confident of beating the government's motion on Friday, an official familiar with the matter said, adding that any rebellion among its members is likely to be fewer than 10 MPs. Meanwhile one of the lawmakers thought to have been a potential rebel, Lisa Nandy, said in an interview that while the government is moving in the right direction on assurances regarding the U.K.'s future relationship with the European Union, it isn't enough to win her vote.
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| Singapore airport still ranked best in the world Posted: 29 Mar 2019 09:56 AM PDT  Singapore's Changi Airport was voted world's best airport for the seventh consecutive year according to the Skytrax ranking, which is determined by around 13.73 million travellers voting in a global customer satisfaction survey.
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| Alex Jones: Instagram refuses to remove right-wing conspiracy theorists' anti-semitic post Posted: 29 Mar 2019 01:14 PM PDT  Infamous conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was expected to have his Instagram account shut down, or at least have a recently posted photo deleted, after he recently posted an image of an art piece called "False Profits" on his Instagram story.The image depicts six white men with hooked noses playing monopoly on the backs of other humans, surrounded by gold, skulls, money, medicine, and a globe. In the background appears to be the city of Manhattan in nuclear fall-out, and the men sit in front of the pyramid of the Great Seal of the United States.The pyramid with the all-seeing eye has been co-opted by conspiracy theorists as evidence of an evil "new world order". The globe on the table also may potentially represent "globalists", two heavily used anti-semitic tropes.Despite this, Instagram claims that the post did not violate their community standards.There seems to be disagreement at parent-company Facebook among high level executives, if Jones is a hate figure or not, as seen in leaked emails.The post has since been removed, although not by Instagram.This is not the first time Jones has been criticised for posting controversial conspiracy material. Jones is known for claiming that the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting was a false flag hoax and for his claims that in fluoride treated water turns frogs gay.
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| Trump says additional sanctions on North Korea not necessary Posted: 29 Mar 2019 03:11 PM PDT ![Trump says additional sanctions on North Korea not necessary]( "Trump says additional sanctions on North Korea not necessary") U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he decided not to put additional sanctions on North Korea last week because he wanted to maintain a good relationship with leader Kim Jong Un and because the North Korean people were already "suffering greatly." "I didn't think that additional sanctions at this time were necessary. It doesn't mean I don't put them on later," Trump told reporters at his Florida resort. A week ago Trump said he had decided against imposing new large-scale sanctions on North Korea.
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| Instant Pot Duo60 7-in-1 vs. Instant Pot Max Posted: 28 Mar 2019 06:48 PM PDT  Face-Off: Instant Pot Duo60 7-in-1 vs. Instant Pot Max Following its December 2013 release, the Instant Pot Duo60 7-in-1 multi-cooker became an internet sensation and an Amazon best seller, insp...
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| AP PHOTOS: Editor selections from Latin America, Caribbean Posted: 28 Mar 2019 10:01 PM PDT  This photo gallery highlights some of the top news images made by Associated Press photographers in Latin America and the Caribbean that were published in the past week.
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| Woman with YouTube channel pleads not guilty to abusing kids Posted: 29 Mar 2019 02:57 PM PDT  PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona woman who had a popular YouTube channel featuring children pleaded not guilty Friday to charges she abused some of her seven adopted children by pepper-spraying them, striking them with a clothes hanger and making them take ice baths.
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| Southeast Asia should be aware of Iran's tactics to evade oil sanctions: U.S. Posted: 28 Mar 2019 08:50 PM PDT  The United States is keen to see that Malaysia, Singapore and others are fully aware of illicit Iranian oil shipments and the tactics Iran uses to evade sanctions, a top U.S. sanctions official said on Friday. Sigal Mandelker, under-secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, told reporters in Singapore the United States had placed additional "intense pressure" on Iran this week.
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| Ukraine Goes to the Polls on Sunday. Can Its Next President End the Frozen War With Russia? Posted: 29 Mar 2019 06:53 AM PDT  As Ukraine's presidential elections approach on March 31, ending the conflict and improving relations with Russia are key concerns
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| Palestinian killed by Israel fire ahead of border protests: Gaza ministry Posted: 29 Mar 2019 11:43 PM PDT  A Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire on the Gaza border early Saturday, the territory's health ministry said, hours ahead of planned mass protests. The ministry said Mohammed Saad, 20, died after being hit in the head with shrapnel caused by Israeli army fire east of Gaza City.
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| Ex-Yale coach pleads guilty for soliciting almost $1 million in bribes in college admissions scandal Posted: 29 Mar 2019 03:32 AM PDT  The former women's soccer coach at Yale University is expected to plead guilty Thursday to taking bribes in exchange for pretending applicants were recruits to boost their chances of getting into the school.
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| Cruise Around Town In Style With This 1984 Dodge D150 Prospector Posted: 29 Mar 2019 07:40 AM PDT  With just 31,389 miles on the odometer, this 1984 Dodge D150 Prospector still has a lot of miles to go ahead of it.
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| Prosecutor: Charges not certain in 5th grader's fight death Posted: 29 Mar 2019 03:35 PM PDT ![Prosecutor: Charges not certain in 5th grader's fight death]( "Prosecutor: Charges not certain in 5th grader's fight death") COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — It could take weeks to unravel exactly what led to the death of a fifth grader after an elementary school fight in South Carolina and whether anyone should face criminal charges, a prosecutor said Friday.
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| Oil posts biggest quarterly rise since 2009 on OPEC cuts, sanctions Posted: 29 Mar 2019 12:55 PM PDT ![Oil posts biggest quarterly rise since 2009 on OPEC cuts, sanctions]( "Oil posts biggest quarterly rise since 2009 on OPEC cuts, sanctions") The May Brent crude oil futures contract, which expired Friday, gained 57 cents, or 0.8 percent, to settle at $68.39 a barrel, marking a first-quarter gain of 27 percent. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures rose 84 cents, or 1.42 percent, to $60.14 a barrel, and posted a rise of 32 percent in the January-March period. GRAPHIC: Crude futures quarterly performance - https://tmsnrt.rs/2HSqli7 U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela have boosted prices this year.
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