| Iran metal exports may be harder to sanction than oil, experts say Posted: 12 May 2019 05:45 PM PDT  Iran, hard hit by US sanctions on its oil sales, now faces restrictions on metals exports -- but industry insiders say foreign income from mining and steel will be harder to curb. Tensions are soaring a year after Washington withdrew from a multilateral 2015 deal over Iran's nuclear programme. A US aircraft strike group is heading for the Gulf and Tehran has said it will stop abiding by some restrictions on its nuclear activities.
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| Cory Booker says this Elizabeth Warren proposal sounds like 'a Donald Trump thing to say' Posted: 12 May 2019 12:42 PM PDT  Presidential candidate Cory Booker characterized his colleague and 2020 opponent Elizabeth Warren's proposals to break up tech giants as "a Donald Trump thing to say."
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| Christians should prepare to be 'shunned' for their beliefs, Mike Pence warns as he reaffirms Trump administration's anti-abortion stance Posted: 12 May 2019 02:15 PM PDT  Mike Pence has warned Christian graduates of an evangelical university that they should prepare to face "ridicule" for their beliefs.The deeply religious vice president told Liberty University students that "some of the loudest voices for tolerance today have little tolerance for traditional Christian beliefs".In a commencement address at the college founded by right-wing preacher Jerry Falwell, he said: "Throughout most of American history, it's been pretty easy to call yourself Christian."It didn't even occur to people that you might be shunned or ridiculed for defending the teachings of the Bible. But things are different now."You're going to be asked not just to tolerate things that violate your faith, you're going to be asked to endorse them. You're going to be asked to bow down to the idols of the popular culture."As an example, he cited attacks on his wife Karen's decision to begin teaching at a school that bans LGBT pupils.And Mr Pence, who has said he would like to see the landmark Roe vs Wade decision overturned, reaffirmed the Trump administration's anti-abortion stance, adding that it stood "without apology for the sanctity of human life".Both the president and vice president have been vocal in their support for anti-abortion activists over the last two years, and have both previously visited Liberty University.The late Mr Falwell's son, Jerry Jr, has provided advice to Mr Trump on faith matters and, during his speech, Mr Pence revealed that four Liberty University graduates worked in his White House office.> To the graduates of @LibertyU: As your own founder, Dr. Falwell, often said, "No one ever achieved greatness without experiencing opposition." You will face opposition for holding to your faith. pic.twitter.com/XJhHn9OgEd> > — Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) > > May 11, 2019The vice-president's comments on Saturday came a day after a judge struck down a Kentucky law that would have restricted access to terminations after 15 weeks by cracking down on the so-called dilation-and-evacuation procedure. The state's governor vowed to appeal.State governments across the southern US are considering or have passed so-called heartbeat abortion laws that prohibit terminations after a fetal heartbeat can be detected – which often occurs before a woman knows she is pregnant, at about six weeks' gestation.Such restrictions in Georgia, in particular, have sparked threats of boycotts by Hollywood production companies. Actor Alyssa Milano called for a "sex strike" in protest.
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| House Intel Chairman Schiff 'convinced' Mueller will testify: 'That is inexorable' Posted: 12 May 2019 05:37 AM PDT  Rep. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is interviewed on "This Week."
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| The Best SUVs and Crossovers 2019-2020 Posted: 13 May 2019 12:17 PM PDT |
| More 'heartbeat' abortion bans advancing in South, Midwest Posted: 12 May 2019 02:35 AM PDT  If a new Mississippi law survives a court challenge, it will be nearly impossible for most pregnant women to get an abortion there.
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| US seizes North Korea cargo ship linked to exporting tons of coal in violation of international sanctions Posted: 13 May 2019 05:07 AM PDT  U.S. seizes North Korean cargo ship, cites violations of international sanctions for coal shipments.
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| Actress Alyssa Milano calls for sex strike in protest at abortion bans Posted: 11 May 2019 06:48 PM PDT  Actress Alyssa Milano ignited social media with a tweet on Friday night calling for women to join her in a sex strike to protest against strict abortion bans passed by Republican-controlled legislatures. The former star of "Charmed" and current cast member of "Insatiable," which is filmed in Georgia, urged women in her tweet to stop having sex "until we get bodily autonomy back". Her tweet came days after Georgia became the fourth state in the US this year to ban abortions once a foetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant. "We need to understand how dire the situation is across the country," Milano told The Associated Press on Saturday. "It's reminding people that we have control over our own bodies and how we use them." She noted that women have historically withheld sex to protest or advocate for political reform. She cited how Iroquois women refused to have sex in the 1600s as a way to stop unregulated warfare. Our reproductive rights are being erased. Until women have legal control over our own bodies we just cannot risk pregnancy. JOIN ME by not having sex until we get bodily autonomy back. I'm calling for a SexStrike. Pass it on. pic.twitter.com/uOgN4FKwpg— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) May 11, 2019 Most recently, she noted that Liberian women used a sex strike in 2003 to demand an end to a long-running civil war. Milano received support from fans and fellow actress Bette Midler joined her in also calling for a sex strike with her own tweet. I hope the womenofGeorgia stop having sex with men until these indignities are overturned.— Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) May 11, 2019 But both liberals and conservatives also lampooned her idea, with conservatives praising her for promoting abstinence and liberals saying she was pushing a false narrative that women only have sex as a favour to men. 2. This idea frames sex as something that hetero women are subjected to rather than enthusiastic participants in.— Lara Witt (@Femmefeministe) May 11, 2019 Milano said the criticism didn't bother her and that her tweet was having her desired effect, "which is getting people to talk about the war on women." She said she feared one of the laws could eventually be decided by the conservative-leaning US Supreme Court, which Republicans hope will overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalising abortion. "That is absolutely horrifying to me," Milano said. "Anyone who is not completely and totally outraged by this and doesn't see where this is leading, I think is not taking this threat seriously." Milano said people had to determine for themselves how long the sex strike should last. For her part, she hasn't decided yet how long she will forgo sex. "I mean I don't know," she said. "I sent a tweet last night I haven't really thought much past that this morning."
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| CORRECTED-UPDATE 2-Gunmen kill six in second church attack in Burkina Faso Posted: 12 May 2019 09:06 AM PDT ![CORRECTED-UPDATE 2-Gunmen kill six in second church attack in Burkina Faso]( "CORRECTED-UPDATE 2-Gunmen kill six in second church attack in Burkina Faso") Gunmen killed six people including a priest outside a Catholic church in Burkina Faso on Sunday, the government said, the second attack on Christians in two weeks in a nation increasingly overrun by jihadists. Congregants were leaving church around 9 a.m. (0900 GMT) in the town of Dablo in the Central North region when about 20 men encircled them and shot six dead, according to a government statement and local sources. The attackers then burned the church, looted a pharmacy and some others stores, and left, Dablo mayor Ousmane Zongo told Reuters.
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| Sweden reopens rape probe against Assange Posted: 13 May 2019 12:35 PM PDT  Swedish prosecutors said Monday they were reopening a 2010 rape investigation against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, hoping to bring him to justice before the statute of limitations expires in August 2020. The 47-year-old has claimed the Swedish allegations were a pretext to transfer him to the United States, where he fears prosecution over the release by WikiLeaks of millions of classified documents. "I have today decided to reopen the investigation... There is still probable cause to suspect that Mr Assange committed rape," the deputy director of public prosecutions, Eva-Marie Persson, told reporters.
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| China Exporters Reel as U.S. Tariffs Imperil World’s Supply Hub Posted: 13 May 2019 01:04 AM PDT  Furniture makers like Yang's Sunrise Furniture Co., based in the industrial heartland of Dongguan in southern China, already had wafer-thin profit margins after years battling rising labor and other costs. A Bloomberg Economics analysis of almost 1,000 companies in major export sectors found "not many" can survive tariffs of 25%.
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| iPhone owners can sue Apple over its apps, US Supreme Court decides Posted: 13 May 2019 07:32 AM PDT  Apple can be sued by customers who claim it has too much control over the App Store, the supreme court has decided.The decision will allow the lawsuit from consumers who argue that the company has given itself a monopoly over apps on the iPhone. That lets it force them to pay too much for the apps, they argued.Apple had tried to stop the case, arguing that it could prove a problem for online sales.Apple shares were down about 5% after the justices, in a 5-4 ruling, upheld a lower court's decision to allow the proposed class action lawsuit to proceed. The plaintiffs said the Cupertino, California-based technology company required apps be sold through its App Store and extracted an excessive 30 percent commission on purchases.Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh, an appointee of President Donald Trump, joined the court's four liberal justices to rule against Apple and wrote the decision.Apple shares were trading down $10 at 187.13 by late morning.The company, backed by the Trump administration, argued that it was only acting as an agent for app developers, who set their own prices and pay Apple's commission. Apple had argued that a Supreme Court ruling allowing the case to proceed could pose a threat to e-commerce, a rapidly expanding segment of the U.S. economy worth hundreds of billions of dollars in annual sales.The dispute hinged in part on how the justices would apply a decision the court made in 1977 to the claims against Apple. In that case, the court limited damages for anti-competitive conduct to those directly overcharged rather than indirect victims who paid an overcharge passed on by others.Explaining the ruling from the bench, Kavanaugh said the 1977 precedent was "not a get-out-of-court-free card for monopolistic retailers," an apparent allusion to the popular board game Monopoly.Noting that they pay Apple - not an app developer - whenever buying an app from the App Store, the iPhone users who brought the case said they were direct victims of the overcharges. Apple said the consumers were indirect purchasers, at best, because any overcharge would be passed on to them by developers.Developers earned more than $26 billion in 2017, a 30 percent increase over 2016, according to Apple."Leaving consumers at the mercy of monopolistic retailers simply because upstream suppliers could also sue the retailers would directly contradict the longstanding goal of effective private enforcement in antitrust cases," Kavanaugh said.Dissenting from the decision, conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, said that the decision is "not how antitrust law is supposed to work" because it gives a green light to the exact type of case that the court has previously prohibited. Gorsuch also was appointed by Trump.A spokeswoman for Apple could not immediately be reached.The plaintiffs, including lead plaintiff Robert Pepper of Chicago, filed the suit in a California federal court in 2011, claiming Apple's monopoly leads to inflated prices compared to if apps were available from other sources. They were supported by 30 state attorneys general, including from Texas, California and New York.Apple, which was also backed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce business group, had sought to dismiss the case, arguing that the plaintiffs lacked the required legal standing to bring the lawsuit.After a federal judge in Oakland, California threw out the suit, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revived it in 2017, finding that Apple was a distributor that sold iPhone apps directly to consumers.Additional reporting by Reuters
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| Guaidó says Maduro is 'sowing terror' against leaders who tried to oust him Posted: 12 May 2019 08:40 AM PDT  Venezuelan opposition leader speaks to the Guardian as his allies face years in jail for their role in the abortive 30 April uprisingVenezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who declared himself the interim-president of Venezuela before the start of an interview, at the Popular Will party's headquarters in Caracas on 10 May. Photograph: Martín Mejía/APThe Venezuelan politician fighting to depose Nicolás Maduro has accused his rival of attempting to obliterate the opposition challenge to his rule with a campaign of "state terrorism".Speaking to the Guardian nearly two weeks after his failed uprising against Maduro, Juan Guaidó claimed Venezuela's strongman president was illegally targeting opposition leaders who took part.At least 10 Guaidó allies are facing years in jail for their role in the abortive 30 April insurrection – with three seeking refuge in diplomatic compounds and one fleeing to Colombia in recent days.The current location of Edgar Zambrano, the vice-president of Venezuela's opposition-controlled parliament, is unknown after he was seized by intelligence agents last Wednesday."Today what we are seeing is terror, the sowing of terror, which is all the Maduro regime has left," Guaidó said during an interview at his party headquarters in Caracas."What they are doing right now is basically state terrorism – because they are using the state apparatus to spread fear."Venezuela's foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza, has rejected international criticism of his government's clampdown, asking critics how they would respond to a similarly "foolhardy operation" to remove their leader.Maduro and his backers describe the botched mutiny as a US-backed coup attempt that was defeated thanks to the loyalty of Venezuela's armed forces.But Guaidó, the 35-year-old president of Venezuela's national assembly, claimed Maduro's pursuit of opposition lawmakers reflected the desperation of a regime "in its final moments"."All that he has left, regrettably, is persecution," Guaidó said of Maduro, who took power after Hugo Chávez's 2013 death and was returned to office last year in elections widely denounced as a fraud.Several key Maduro confidants were reportedly involved in the plot against him – including the defence minister and the head of the supreme court – and Guaidó said he believed Maduro was now racked with paranoia. "I think he mistrusts everyone … even the person who serves him coffee."He called the defection of Venezuela's top spy – who Maduro has accused of being a CIA mole – proof of a deep split within the military and predicted: "There will be more and more [defections]."Despite the recent upheaval, Guaidó cut a confident and carefree figure during the half-hour interview, at one point spontaneously breaking into a falsetto rendition of his campaign jingle: "Vamos bien!" ("We're doing good!"). As the Guardian left his office, Guaidó beamed and flashed a V sign with his left hand.But for all that outward bounce the politician's life has been upended since he launched his campaign against Maduro in January by declaring himself Venezuela's rightful interim president – a decision now endorsed by 54 governments, including the US and Britain.Thickset security guards prowl the corridors of his offices with walkie talkies strapped to their hips. Guaidó's wife and baby daughter have reportedly left Venezuela."There have been lots of threats," he said, calling recent days "very complicated".Guaidó has yet to be detained or charged – something many attribute to Maduro's reluctance to provoke the White House.But several close allies have gone into hiding or fled abroad after being stripped of their parliamentary immunity and accused of crimes including treason, civil rebellion and instigating insurrection.On Saturday, Venezuela's El Nacional newspaper said Zambrano faced up to 30 years in prison for his role in the so-called "Operation Freedom" against Maduro.Guaidó recalled feeling "great expectation" as he headed to Caracas' La Carlota airfield to launch the rebellion in the early hours of 30 April. But by noon it was clear crucial support from top military and political figures had not materialised. "We needed more," Guaidó admitted.Despite the setback – which some view as a calamitous defeat and others a temporary hitch - Guaidó insisted the opposition was close to achieving its objective.He hinted secret negotiations aimed at securing Maduro's departure continued and said he would talk to any civil or military figure prepared to back his cause.Asked how long Maduro had left, Guaidó said he hoped it was "nanoseconds"."They have already lost. Venezuela hasn't won yet … [but] I believe it is just a matter of time."Maduro loyalists see the uprising as part of a gringo plot masterminded by Donald Trump's White House. Pedro Carreño, a top Maduro ally, branded Guaidó's movement a "despicable" jukebox that would play whatever tune it was paid to.Guaidó rejected his depiction as a "diabolical imperialist puppet" and urged foreign critics to consider how Chavista criminality – not US sanctions – had caused Venezuela's collapse."It wasn't a tornado. It wasn't a hurricane. It wasn't an earthquake. It wasn't a fire that spread uncontrollably," Guaidó said. "No – it was caused by the corruption of this regime."Additional reporting by Patricia Torres in Caracas
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| Correction: Pompeo story Posted: 13 May 2019 06:47 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — In a story May 12 about Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meeting with European officials to discuss Iran, The Associated Press reported erroneously that he had canceled a stop in Berlin to fly to Iran. He flew to Iraq, not Iran.
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| Dow stock swings are exhausting, but here's how to survive Posted: 13 May 2019 08:24 AM PDT  Massive intraday swings in the Dow Jones industrial average can test even the steeliest investor. What you need is a little perspective.
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| Ethiopian Airlines hesitant about using Boeing Max jets Posted: 13 May 2019 03:56 PM PDT  The CEO of Ethiopian Airlines says his airline might never fly the Boeing 737 Max again after a deadly crash in March, and if it does, it will wait until other carriers use the plane first. Tewolde Gebremariam told NBC News that Ethiopian won't use the plane unless the airline, its pilots and passengers are convinced that it is safe. "If we fly them again, we will be the last airline to fly them again," he said.
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| Brexit anger makes European vote 'difficult' for Conservatives: UK minister Posted: 12 May 2019 04:47 AM PDT  Almost three years since Britain voted to leave the European Union, the country's Brexit process has become mired in chaos with Prime Minister Theresa May's inability so far to get a deal through parliament fuelling anger among voters. With little movement in talks between the government and the opposition Labour Party to try to end the impasse in parliament, an election to the European Parliament on May 23 will offer a new opportunity for voters to show their discontent. "I don't think anyone is in any doubt these are going to be difficult elections for us ... for some people this is the ultimate protest vote opportunity," education minister Damian Hinds told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.
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| Bayer admits Monsanto may have other 'watch lists' Posted: 13 May 2019 09:40 AM PDT  German chemical giants Bayer admitted Monday its subsidiary Monsanto could have kept lists of key figures -- for or against pesticides -- "in other European countries", and not just in France. Bayer apologised Sunday after it emerged that Monsanto had a PR agency collate lists of French politicians, scientists and journalists, with their views on pesticides and GM crops.
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| Trade war: US stock markets fall sharply after Trump imposes new tariffs on China Posted: 13 May 2019 07:04 AM PDT  US stock markets opened sharply lower on Monday after Donald Trump's administration put tariffs on $200bn of Chinese imports.Beijing retaliated earlier on Monday with its own tariff increase on around $60bn of US goods in the latest round of an escalating trade war between the two countries.The Dow Jones Industrial average was 1.9 per cent down at 25,449 shortly after opening in New York.The S&P 500, which is a much broader index, fell, 1.7 per cent to 2,832.7. Boeing dropped almost 3 per cent, Caterpillar fell 4 per cent and Apple lost 5 per cent. Trade tensions worsened last week when the Trump administration announced a 25 per cent tariff on Chinese products worth about $200bn. The US is set to reveal a plan to levy a 25 per cent additional tariff on all remaining imports from China later on Monday.China's Ministry of Finance said in a statement on Monday: "China's tariff move is in response to the US unilateralism and trade protectionism. "China hopes that the US will return to the right track of bilateral trade talks, work together with China and meet each other halfway, to reach a win-win and mutually beneficial agreement on the basis of mutual respect."Beiijing's retaliatory tariffs will affect almost 2,500 products with rates to be set at between 5 per cent and 25 per cent on around 2,500 items. Most of the levies will be at the top end of that range.Mr Trump has repeatedly accused China of acting unfairly in its trade relationship with the US.But economists have warned that his America first approach will simply damage world trade. The president's top economic advisor warned this week that the US will "suffer" as a result of a trade war.While the tariffs only affect a small proportion of world trade they risk putting a dent in already fragile economic confidence. Some US firms have already been negatively impacted by Mr Trump's additional tariffs.Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at Quilter Cheviot the outlook for the global economy had worsened after the breakdown of US-China trade talks. "The economic impact of the trade war is hard to quantify," Mr Carter said. "Global growth and confidence is rather fragile at the moment so the timing is not great. It is possible, however, that the blow will be softened by further stimulus in China and an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve."This latter prospect would have seemed outlandish at the start of the year but is now gaining credence with bond markets pricing in a 70% chance of a cut by year end. The Fed certainly has room to manoeuvre with inflation at a fairly benign 2 per cent despite record low unemployment." There are no more formal talks planned although there remains hope that a meeting between Mr Xi and Mr Trump could be arranged at the G20 event in late-June to break the deadlock.
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| Monki's new fashion collection focuses on mental health awareness Posted: 13 May 2019 02:39 AM PDT  Fashion brand Monki is opening up the conversation around mental health with its latest collection. The label, which is part of the Swedish H&M Group, has teamed up with the non-profit organization Mental Health Europe for a second time in a bid to encourage discussion about the topic. The collaboration comprises a series of three short films based on different emotions, spanning feeling happy, feeling sad and feeling everything simultaneously.
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| NASA Takes Groundbreaking Photos of Mars' Weirdest Moon Posted: 13 May 2019 06:19 AM PDT  Is Phobos an asteroid
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| Iranian woman working for British Council jailed for 'spying for UK' Posted: 13 May 2019 07:18 AM PDT  An Iranian woman working for the British Council has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran on allegations that she spied for the UK government. Aras Amiri, 33, worked for the UK cultural institution in London and was arrested in Iran in March 2018 while on a private holiday to visit family. Iranian authorities announced Monday that a woman had been jailed for 10 years for "cultural infiltration by the British intelligence services in Iranian internal affairs". The report did not specifically name Ms Amiri as the woman being sentenced but a family member confirmed to The Telegraph that it was her. Ms Amiri's conviction is the latest in a long pattern of Iranian authorities arresting and harassing people it accuses of being British spies. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a 41-year-old charity worker, has been held for more than three years on espionage allegations, while Iranian authorities have repeatedly targeted employees of the BBC's Persian service. Ms Amiri lived in London for more than a decade and worked at the British Council on projects intended to showcase the Iranian art scene. She was also studying art philosophy at Kingston University. Letters from Jerusalem RHS The British Council, a charity partly funded by the UK government, closed its offices in Iran in 2009 after its staff were harassed by the Iranian government. The UK embassy closed two years later after it was stormed by a mob. Sir Ciarán Devane, the chief executive of the British Council, said: "Our colleague's safety and wellbeing remain our first concern, as it has been throughout their detention. We are in close contact with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office." The British Council said had no offices or representatives in Iran and no longer does any work in the country. A spokesman for the Iranian judiciary described Ms Amiri as being the head of the Iran desk at the British Council but the organisation said she was a junior employee. A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are very concerned by reports that an Iranian British Council employee has been sentenced to jail on charges of espionage. We have not been able to confirm any further details at this stage and are urgently seeking further information."
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| House intelligence committee subpoenas DOJ for materials related to Mueller probe, unredacted report Posted: 13 May 2019 02:15 PM PDT  The subpoena requires the Justice Department to turn over the documents by May 15.
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| Memorial service planned for Colorado school shooting hero Posted: 13 May 2019 02:49 PM PDT  HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (AP) — A memorial service for a student hailed as a hero for tackling one of the gunmen who attacked his suburban Denver school will be held Wednesday.
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| Doris Day has died at 97 years old Posted: 13 May 2019 09:22 AM PDT  The Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed that the legendary Hollywood star died early on Monday at her home in California.
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| Bar rises for shale takeovers as Chevron bows out of Anadarko fight Posted: 12 May 2019 11:00 PM PDT ![Bar rises for shale takeovers as Chevron bows out of Anadarko fight]( "Bar rises for shale takeovers as Chevron bows out of Anadarko fight") Chevron Chief Executive Michael Wirth's decision to opt out of a bidding war for Anadarko Petroleum Corp has raised the bar for deals, and dampened expectations that oil majors will drive a new wave of consolidation in U.S. shale. Wirth last week ruled out increasing his $33 billion offer for Anadarko after being outbid by Occidental Petroleum Corp , walking away from a company he had described as a perfect match. Chevron received a $1 billion breakup fee that it will use toward share buybacks.
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| How Smith & Wesson Took a 100 Year Old Gun Design And Made It Better Posted: 12 May 2019 04:30 AM PDT  One of the oldest gun companies in America produces its own take on one of the most exemplary handgun designs in U.S. history.Smith & Wesson's series of handguns based on the 1911 platform stays true to the gun's roots while adding in a number of features desirable to modern firearms enthusiasts. The company produces a full line of 1911s, from traditional to contemporary, catering to collectors and duty carriers, in a full range of sizes.(This first appeared last month.)The 1911 pistol was invented by prolific small arms designer John Moses Browning in the early twentieth century. Browning paired the pistol with his new .45 Automatic Colt Pistol cartridge, a large, heavy subsonic cartridge that delivered upwards of 400 foot-pounds of energy on target. The pairing of a semi-automatic pistol capable of holding eight rounds with the .45 ACP manstopper round was in response to reports that U.S.-issue revolvers in .38 Long Colt often failed to stop Filipino insurgents in close quarters combat.Although the 1911 missed the Philippine Insurrection, it was well positioned to enter World War I on the side of the U.S. military. The American Expeditionary Force issued the 1911 in large numbers where they fought in the trenches of World War I. Minor changes in the design resulted in the 1911A1 designation during the 1920s. More than a million pistols were produced for U.S. and allied forces during World War II, enough that the armed services kept the 1911 in frontline service well into the 1980s.
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| US farmers who sell to China feel pain of Beijing's tariffs Posted: 13 May 2019 04:09 PM PDT  DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — China's announcement Monday of higher tariffs on $60 billion of American exports — retaliation for President Donald Trump's latest penalties on Chinese goods — hit particularly hard in the farm belt. China's vast consumer market has been a vital source of revenue for American farmers.
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| May Aims to Reopen EU Brexit Talks to Win Corbyn's Support Posted: 13 May 2019 12:40 AM PDT  Theresa May is promising to reopen Brexit talks with the European Union to try to breathe life back into negotiations with the opposition Labour Party and take the U.K. out of the bloc by the summer. The prime minister's office said Sunday the government will explore with the EU this week how to rewrite the outline political agreement on future customs ties, even as a senior Labour official warned that the party's members of Parliament wouldn't back a deal without a second referendum. The EU has said it's willing to make changes to the political declaration, the non-binding part of the Brexit deal that focuses on future ties.
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| Five dead in Pakistan luxury hotel attack: military Posted: 12 May 2019 06:10 AM PDT  Five people including a soldier were killed after gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in the southwestern Pakistani city of Gwadar, the centrepiece of a multi-billion dollar Chinese infrastructure project, the military said Sunday. The soldier was among security forces who rushed to the five-star Pearl Continental Hotel after the attack on Saturday. During the attack "5 individuals got Shaheed (martyred) including 4 hotel employees and a Pakistan Navy soldier," the military said in a statement.
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| Saudi oil tankers among those attacked off UAE amid Iran tensions Posted: 13 May 2019 02:11 PM PDT  DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia said on Monday that two of its oil tankers were among those attacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and described it as an attempt to undermine the security of crude supplies amid tensions between the United States and Iran. The UAE said on Sunday that four commercial vessels were sabotaged near Fujairah emirate, one of the world's largest bunkering hubs lying just outside the Strait of Hormuz. The UAE on Monday identified the vessels as two crude oil tankers owned by Saudi shipping firm Bahri, a UAE-flagged fuel bunker barge and a Norwegian-registered oil products tanker.
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| Tinder joins Facebook, Google, with upcoming lite app offering Posted: 13 May 2019 02:33 AM PDT  Following in the footsteps of major tech companies like Facebook and Google which offer 'lite' versions of their full suite of applications, TechCrunch reported that Match Group's Tinder will be launching a lightweight version of the application that takes up less space and makes the service more accessible to rural areas. Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg was noted saying "...We are excited about the Tinder Lite app that will be coming soon.
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| UPDATE 2-FTSE 100 falls as trade dispute escalates, investors disconnect from Vodafone Posted: 13 May 2019 01:43 AM PDT ![UPDATE 2-FTSE 100 falls as trade dispute escalates, investors disconnect from Vodafone]( "UPDATE 2-FTSE 100 falls as trade dispute escalates, investors disconnect from Vodafone") Britain's FTSE 100 slipped to a seven-week low as China slapped retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, further escalating their protracted trade dispute, and as telecom giant Vodafone slipped after a report of a dividend cut.
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| How the Marines Could Use Robots To Become Even More Lethal Posted: 13 May 2019 01:57 AM PDT  The U.S. Navy is moving quickly to develop robotic warships that could hunt submarines and other ships, screen aircraft carriers and convoys from air attack and sweep away enemy mines.But there's another mission the Navy should consider assigning to unmanned surface vessels, Neil Zerbe, a retired Navy officer, argued for the Center for International Maritime Security: shuttling supplies from ship to shore in the aftermath of an amphibious assault by U.S. Marines."While many functions are important in an amphibious assault, once the assault is underway and Marines are on the beach, logistics is the critical factor in ensuring their success," Zerbe wrote. "The operation will often only succeed if the Marines are able to have rapid, reliable and continuous resupply. Using manned naval craft to do this puts operators and vessels at unnecessary risk."The Navy and Marines already have begun to experiment with unmanned surface vehicles, or USVs, for logistics mission, Zerbe pointed out. During the Valiant Shield war game in 2018, the Navy deployed a 12-foot Mantas USV "to provide rapid ship-to-shore logistics resupply."> While this small, remotely-operated USV carried only 120 pounds of cargo, the proof-of-concept worked and successfully demonstrated that unmanned surface vehicles could safely and effectively resupply Marines ashore.
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| The Latest: Guaidó asks for relations with US military Posted: 12 May 2019 02:24 AM PDT  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The latest on the political crisis in Venezuela (all times local):
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| Boeing 737 makes emergency landing in Tennessee following a 'potential mechanical issue' Posted: 13 May 2019 05:07 AM PDT  Delta Air Lines flight 1417 landed safely at the airport after a crew reported a nose gear issue, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
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| Could climate change submerge Joe Biden's presidential bid? Posted: 11 May 2019 11:00 PM PDT  The former vice-president has yet to put forward a plan to address global warming, which polls suggest is the single most important issue for DemocratsJoe Biden is believed to be developing a 'middle ground' approach but his fellow candidate Jay Inslee warned: 'Half-measures mean full extinction of millions of species.' Photograph: Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty ImagesClimate change is transforming life by redrawing coastlines, turning vast areas of forest into infernos, stirring enormous storms and spreading exotic diseases. An indirect casualty of this upheaval could be Joe Biden's hopes of becoming US president.Biden, frontrunner in the polls to secure the Democratic nomination, has not laid out a plan to address the crisis.This is set to change, according to Reuters, with the Biden campaign working on a strategy to reinstate climate policies torn down by Donald Trump, such as restrictions on coal-fired power plants and vehicle fuel efficiency requirements.Sign up for the US morning briefingThe plan, which is being worked on by the former Barack Obama adviser Heather Zichal, would see the US remain in the Paris climate agreement and offer support for nuclear energy and also natural gas, which is generally cleaner than coal but still emits planet-warming pollutants. Biden is also said to favour nascent carbon capture technology, which aims to contain and store emissions from industrial facilities.But this "middle ground" approach has been roundly attacked by environmental groups and progressive Democrats for being woefully insufficient.More importantly, it does not appear to chime with the urgent action scientists say is required to avert disastrous climate change. A landmark UN report last year stated that "unprecedented", "rapid and far-reaching" transformations across energy, land use and transportation are needed to avoid increasingly dire flooding, wildfires, heatwaves, food insecurity and unrest."A 'middle ground' policy that's supportive of more fossil fuel development is a death sentence for our generation and the millions of people on the frontlines of the climate crisis," said Varshini Prakash, director of the Sunrise Movement, a youth climate change organization allied to progressive Democrats such as the New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez."Biden's betting that a retreat to mediocrity and tepid policymaking will garner him the Democratic nomination, but climate change is a top issue in this election and voters expect candidates to put forward solutions in line with the crisis."Ocasio-Cortez has championed the Green New Deal, which calls for a national mobilization against climate change on a par with the second world war. The concept has garnered support among some of Biden's rival presidential nominees including senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.The GND, perhaps alongside the severe hurricanes and wildfires that have rattled Americans over the past two years, has helped elevate the issue of climate change to a leading priority for Democratic voters.A CNN poll in April found that climate change was the single most important matter for Democrats, eclipsing healthcare, gun control and impeaching Trump, with 96% saying it was somewhat or very important to them.This rapid shift in priorities threatens to cast Biden's candidacy as out of touch, even at this early stage. A climate plan deemed feeble by primary voters could harm the former vice-president in a new landscape where the Democratic National Committee is being pushed to hold a climate change-only debate and one candidate, the Washington governor, Jay Inslee, is running solely on the issue of global warming.The Green New Deal, supported by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is setting the agenda on climate change for the Democrats. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images"We cannot simply go back to the past; we need a bold climate plan for our future," Inslee said of Biden's stance on climate change."Facing a crisis does not permit half-measures. Half-measures mean full extinction of millions of species and full economic damage to communities across America."Biden has never been at the forefront of the climate movement but is positioning himself as a pragmatic operator who gets things done, including having aided the passage of the Paris climate deal.In a recent rally in Iowa, Biden said he was "one of the first guys to introduce a climate change bill, way, way back in 87", a reference to his successful attempt to get President Ronald Reagan to set up a taskforce on the issue.TJ Ducklo, a spokesman for Biden, tweeted that the former vice-president had called climate change an "existential threat"."He knows how high the stakes are," Ducklo tweeted. "As president, Biden would enact a bold policy to tackle climate change in a meaningful and lasting way, and will be discussing the specifics of that plan in the near future. Any assertions otherwise are not accurate."Proponents of the GND hope that if Biden does manage to secure the Democratic nomination he will embrace the plan due to its focus on creating high-paying jobs in clean energy generation. The worry for climate activists is that the issue could revert to being largely overlooked, much like in the 2016 election, should Biden end up facing Trump in the 2020 contest."If you're running to lead the nation, you need to have a plan on climate change given it will be the most catastrophic thing to happen to us," said Rhiana Gunn-Wright, policy director at New Consensus, which helped design the Green New Deal. "It's disappointing Joe Biden hasn't said more. Beto [O'Rourke], Warren and Inslee have all released a plan, so Biden in many ways is an outlier."The next presidential election will be crucial, but this is a movement not solely focused on that. The Green New Deal is built to exist beyond this election season. People are energized and they want to fix this," Gunn-Wright said.
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| Merkel's preferred successor says won't seek post before 2021 Posted: 12 May 2019 03:12 AM PDT  German Chancellor Angela Merkel's preferred successor, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, said Sunday that she would not seek the top job before Merkel's term ends in 2021. The woman usually dubbed "AKK" took over from Merkel as head of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) last December, while the chancellor said she wants to serve out her 2017-2021 term. "The chancellor and the government were elected for an entire legislative term and the citizens rightly expect them to take seriously the commitment that came with the election," said Kramp-Karrenbauer.
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| 5 High-Tech Products That'll Make Your Home More Eco-Friendly Posted: 13 May 2019 10:35 AM PDT |
| Missing Texas girl’s mom heckled at court Posted: 13 May 2019 12:13 PM PDT  The mother of a missing 4-year-old Texas girl was heckled outside a courtroom by a group of people who questioned if she had done enough to protect her daughter before her disappearance. (May 13)
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| FOREX-Yen firms but yuan, Aussie slip as U.S.-China trade war heats up Posted: 12 May 2019 08:06 PM PDT ![FOREX-Yen firms but yuan, Aussie slip as U.S.-China trade war heats up]( "FOREX-Yen firms but yuan, Aussie slip as U.S.-China trade war heats up") The safe-haven yen firmed slightly and the Chinese yuan and Australian dollar dipped on Monday, after the latest escalation in the trade war between the United States and China. The trade conflict had escalated on Friday, with the United States raising tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. China has vowed to retaliate but has not given details.
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| Consumer Insolvencies in Canada Climb to Highest in 8 Years Posted: 13 May 2019 07:34 AM PDT  The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcies reported consumer insolvencies rose 5.7% to 11,963 in March, compared with 11,315 in the same month a year earlier. After declining for years, insolvencies are beginning to tick up again, stoking concern the country's record level household debt -- C$2.17 trillion at the end of the first quarter -- is unsustainable. In volume terms, however, insolvencies are still well below the peak of more than 15,000 reached in September 2009, in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
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| The Navy Sunk Japan's Top Secret Aircraft Carrier (And She Was Massive) Posted: 12 May 2019 12:57 AM PDT  At 6:10 am, Enright eased his vessel to periscope depth but, despite excellent visibility in the morning sunlight, could spot nothing in any direction. Exhausted, he headed for his bunk. At 10:55 a sailor woke him to say, "Cap'n, sonar heard—in fact we all heard—a deep rumbling explosion pretty far off. The officer on duty said to tell you he thinks it was our target going to the bottom." The skipper smiled and went back to sleep.The first torpedo struck farthest aft. Over the next 30 seconds three more warheads detonated against the massive aircraft carrier's hull, working their way forward. The explosions and instant flooding immediately killed scores of men, many asleep in their bunks.As tons of seawater cascaded into the wounded colossus, men below deck could see the extent of the damage, were seized with panic, and stampeded topside. The missiles had hit 10 feet below the water line, and on the bridge and upper levels the commander and his officers were not yet aware of how sorely they were hurt. Many had survived earlier torpedo attacks, and aboard less formidable vessels than this one. Even as their gargantuan ship began to list, they remained optimistic."Expressing the Flavor of an Ancient Samurai"
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