| Kim Jong Un Fires a Missile. Is This the Return of ‘Rocket Man’? Posted: 04 May 2019 10:22 AM PDT  REUTERS/Shamil ZhumatovNorth Korea launched a missile for the first time in 522 days on Saturday morning, but it's hard to be surprised. And much will depend on Washington's reaction. In a speech in April, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made it clear that he wasn't happy with the way the last summit with U.S. President Donald J. Trump, in Hanoi, had turned out.There, it became obvious that the grand bargain for North Korea to give up, in one stroke, all its nuclear weapons and delivery systems in exchange for a complete lifting of sanctions and massive aid—which Trump wanted to claim was a done deal after his first meeting with Kim last year—is not at all what Kim has in mind. His preference has long been a gradual step-by-step approach, building trust and confidence along the way. That process can last for years, leaving Pyongyang's nuclear program still fundamentally intact in the short-run.Russian President Vladimir Putin, who met with Kim last month, supports confidence-building gradualism. Putin's office says he told Trump as much in their long phone call on Friday, "stressing that Pyongyang's good-faith fulfilment of its commitments should be accompanied by reciprocal steps to ease the sanctions pressure on North Korea." So, when confidence building doesn't work, a bit of confidence busting is in order, and that's now happening on both sides. Kim's making clear that his patience is limited.Kim really wasn't happy with two specific recent developments: the fact that the United States and South Korea had pushed ahead with military exercises and that the U.S. conducted an apparently successful missile defense test against a target that was designed to simulate an intercontinental-range ballistic missile (ICBM) of the sort that might be launched by North Korea in a war.Kim warned that these actions—just additional evidence, in North Korea's view, of the United States' decades-long so-called "hostile policy" against it—would "bring our corresponding acts." The basis for a tit-for-tat had been set up.While Saturday's launches will have evoked unpleasant memories for the residents of Seoul and Tokyo, who spent 2016 and 2017 waking up every couple to news of North Korean missile launches, it wasn't the first sign of Kim's turn toward his old ways. In April, the North Korean leader presided over a "tactical" weapon test—one that was carefully calibrated to not rise to the level of a missile launch resulting in major news alerts the world over.Whatever Kim launched on Saturday, South Korea's military managed to pick it up on its terrestrial radars. That led to the release of a statement that North Korea had launched "short-range missiles" early on Saturday. This alert was later revised by South Korean authorities to the more anodyne-sounding word "projectiles."Not all projectiles are missiles, but all missiles are projectiles. There's a particular sensitivity around the word "missile," especially if you're South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who has put his credibility on the line with his North Korea diplomacy. Trump staked his own deal-making reputation on the claim that his agreement to meet with with Kim at least ended North Korea's missile launches.So, Saturday's actions could mark a tipping point, and we might imagine a return to the days of "fire and fury" last seen in the second half of 2017 should the White House overreact.A little more than one year ago, Kim unilaterally announced that North Korea would no longer test ICBMs—not in this case to build confidence with the United States, but because Kim claimed the technology had been fully validated over the course of testing in 2017.Trump would cling to Kim's promise–and oversell it. At the press conference after the collapse of the Hanoi summit, Trump claimed Kim said "he's not going to do testing of rockets or missiles or anything having to do with nuclear." We don't know what Kim may have told Trump privately, but his commitment in public only barred him from testing the real big missiles: the ones capable of reaching the United States.What's true of whatever North Korea tested on Saturday is that it is assuredly not a nuclear-capable system. North Korea's known nuclear warhead designs are too large to be fitted comfortably onto whatever short-range projectiles were fired off on Saturday. That's an important distinction, and a signal or gradualism. In the same vein, Kim also withheld any nuclear-capable assets from his parade in September 2018, right before his third summit with Moon Jae-in. Now, he's only testing "tactical" systems and short-range weapons—ones without a clear nuclear role. If the White House chooses to seize on that salient fact, it could keep a fig leaf on the negotiating process. In effect, the tests are similar to the way North Korea often has reacted to major U.S.-South Korea exercises.Saturday's launches also are about more than just Trump and the United States. For Kim there are domestic issues. The launches convey a degree of seriousness about national defense after the embarrassment he faced in Hanoi. In March, North Korea's First Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Choe Son Hui told diplomats gathered in Pyongyang that Kim had faced "petitions" from domestic groups, including "officials of the munitions industry," warning him not to go to Hanoi to talk to the United States.But in this scenario Kim Jong Un went out on a limb and ended up with nothing. Since his return, not only has Kim conducted two significant weapons tests, he has underscored the importance of national defense. In the same speech last month where he criticized the United States, Kim emphasized the importance of a "self-reliant national defense" for North Korea and several prominent officials known to be associated with North Korea's missile programs were seen for the first time in state media reports since 2017. The rocket-men were back.In South Korea, Saturday's launches will give ammunition to critics of Moon's engagement with Kim. In particular, critics will argue that Kim's move represents a clear violation of the spirit and the letter of the September 19, 2018, inter-Korean Comprehensive Military Agreement, which has seen remarkable successes in implementation so far. Article 1 of that agreement commits both sides to cease all "hostile acts" against each other; North Korea's launches are in violation. In Pyongyang's view, the recent defensive U.S.-South Korea exercises—particularly a recent joint aerial exercise—are also evidence of Seoul violating the pact.None of this portends well for the course of diplomacy this year, but for the moment it does not shut any doors. North Korea has set a clock ticking for the end of the year. As Kim warned in his New Year's Day message even before the Hanoi summit, the United States only had so much time before North Korea's patience would run out. Saturday's launches are yet another reminder to Trump about what stands to be lost: this time it was a small missile, but it might not be so small in a matter of weeks or months.U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen E. Biegun is bound for Seoul and Tokyo in the coming days, where he'll coordinate with allies. Meanwhile, National Security Advisor John Bolton, the greatest skeptic of engagement with North Korea, may seek to derail the route back to diplomacy. Since Hanoi, Bolton has been conspicuously doing the rounds on Sunday talk shows, making clear that the administration is far from interested in the kind of step-by-step denuclearization process that North Korea has made apparent is the only way forward.The realities of negotiating with North Korea are setting in now after Hanoi. If Trump thought he and Kim were in "love" last year, he may find now that it was more of a fleeting infatuation. The hard work that will be necessary to make their relationship work—and realize a third date—lies ahead.Read more at The Daily Beast.
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| Churches in Sri Lankan capital cancel Sunday mass due to threat Posted: 02 May 2019 10:33 PM PDT  Sri Lankan security forces have said they were maintaining a high level of alert as intelligence reports indicated the militants were likely to strike before the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which is due to begin on Monday. Colombo's Archbishop, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, said on Thursday that a "highly reliable foreign source" had warned of an attack on a prominent church. Sri Lankan authorities, who have come under fire for not acting on repeated warnings about attacks, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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| Ilhan Omar: Democratic congresswoman fires back at Mike Pence in row over Venezuela Posted: 04 May 2019 07:48 AM PDT  Ilhan Omar has hit back after US Vice President Mike Pence said she "does not know what she is talking about" in regards to ongoing political unrest in Venezuela.Ms Omar, one of the first Muslim women to serve in the US congress, argued that America was partly to blame for the conflict in Venezuela.Mr Pence's criticism of her views was something "women of colour have heard" before, she said."Instead of 'we disagree,' it's 'she doesn't know what she's talking about'. They have to make us feel small," the Minnesota Democrat tweeted. "This from an administration that thinks climate change is a Chinese hoax".Ms Omar apportioned blame on American foreign policy for the political turmoil in Venezuela – arguing the US promotes regime change that is harmful to both America and the people in the countries targeted."A lot of the policies that we have put in place has kind of helped lead the devastation in Venezuela, and we've sort of set the stage for where we're arriving today," Ms Omar said."This particular bullying and the use of sanctions to eventually intervene and make regime change really does not help the people of countries like Venezuela, and it certainly does not help and is not in the interest of the United States."Ms Omar made the remarks during an appearance on the radio programme Democracy Now! where she discussed US interventions in Central America broadly and the long term impacts of US sanctions.Sanctions have been a key US foreign policy tool for several decades now, and the Trump administration can be noted for its heavy use of the measure.Asked why he criticised Ms Omar on social media, Mr Pence told Fox News anchor Sandra Smith it was "because the congresswoman doesn't know what she's talking about.""Nicolas Maduro is a socialist dictator who has taken what was once one of the most prosperous nations in this hemisphere and brought it literally to a level of deprivation and oppression and poverty that we have never seen," Mr Pence said of the embattled Venezuelan president. "That is not a result of US policies."Ms Omar's remarks come as protests continue in Venezuela, where National Assembly and opposition leader Juan Guaido unsuccessfully tried to initiate a military uprising against Mr Maduro earlier this week. The Trump administration announced support for Mr Guaido in January, recognising him as the country's interim president over Mr Maduro and looking for ways to support him economically.In March, the US administration implemented new sanctions on Venezuela in order to force Mr Maduro to relinquish his power to Mr Gauido.Mr Guaido's efforts and those sanctions culminated this week in mass protests in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, where violence erupted as Mr Guaido and Mr Maduro battled for power. Economic conditions in Venezuela have deteriorated since Mr Maduro – who has repeatedly blamed attempts to overthrow him on the US - took power in 2013. The oil-rich country is plagued with economic and political turmoil – with hyperinflation leaving the currency practically worthless and causing the cost of essentials to skyrocket, leaving many unable to afford basics such as food and medicine.
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| UNCC student to be honored, Kentucky Derby and spring meteor shower: 5 things you need to know this weekend Posted: 04 May 2019 02:31 AM PDT  Slain UNCC student Riley Howell will be honored with weekend events, the annual Kentucky Derby runs and more of the weekend's news to know.
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| The Scientology Cruise Ship Quarantined for Measles Has Set Sail. Here's How the Next Port Plans to Handle It Posted: 03 May 2019 02:02 PM PDT  The Scientology cruise ship that was quarantined in St. Lucia is now sailing for the Dutch Caribbean island Curaçao.
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| All survive as plane carrying US military crashes into river Posted: 04 May 2019 03:54 PM PDT  JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A military-chartered jet carrying 143 people landed hard, then bounced and swerved as the pilot struggled to control it amid thunder and lightning, ultimately skidding off the runway and coming to a crashing halt in a river at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.
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| For Jews, America was once exceptional. Now, anti-Semitism is as strong here as in Europe. Posted: 03 May 2019 02:00 AM PDT  I was used to being harassed, abused and put in danger when I prayed in synagogues abroad. Never did I think America would become just as dangerous.
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| Massive Afghanistan peace summit ends in Kabul Posted: 02 May 2019 07:07 PM PDT  A huge peace meeting aimed at finding an exit from Afghanistan's war is due to finish Friday in Kabul, with leading politicians expected to announce visions for a much-needed breakthrough. This week's "loya jirga", or grand assembly, saw about 3,200 religious and tribal leaders, politicians and representatives gather under tight security to try to find common ground and discuss possible conditions for a peace deal with the Taliban. On Thursday, several officials said a vital first step is an immediate reduction in violence, which has continued apace across Afghanistan even with various peace summits taking place.
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| The Farcical Bill Barr Scandal Posted: 03 May 2019 03:30 AM PDT  An investigation into whether the president of the United States committed treason has devolved into a squabble over Attorney General Bill Barr's brief letter saying that he didn't.We've gone from Donald Trump allegedly betraying the nation to Bill Barr allegedly betraying the nation, from potential Trump impeachment to potential Barr impeachment.Barr's offense, of course, is writing a quick letter summarizing the top-line conclusions of the Mueller report. Ever since, he's been the focus of conspiracy theories and the target of smears.The anti-Barr fury reached a new level with the news that Robert Mueller wrote him a letter complaining about the summary. Not since the Zimmermann telegram has a missive so exercised Washington, at least the segment of it that's been in a perpetual lather of outrage since November 2016.Let's be clear: If Barr wanted to cover for Trump, he could have crimped the Mueller probe, sat on the report or redacted the report into meaninglessness. He did none of the above.No one can claim his summary of findings was inaccurate. According to Barr, even Mueller conceded as much in a phone call. Mueller instead complained about the press coverage of the Barr summary, which isn't, strictly speaking, the attorney general's responsibility.Barr's conduct is defensible on its own terms. He wanted to get the basic verdict out because the investigation had so roiled our national life, especially the possibility that there was collusion with the Russians.When Mueller came back to him with a request for release of the summaries from the report, Barr declined because he didn't want to get into piecemeal releases when the full report would soon be available.That's what makes the controversy so nonsensical. Barr went further than required by the regulations to release the entirety of the report, letting everyone decide for themselves. What else was he supposed to do?Of course, Barr's summary letter inevitably lacked the narrative force and details of the 400-page report, but we know that . . . because he released the report.The notion that Barr was deceptive in congressional testimony is similarly absurd. In an exchange with Senator Chris Van Hollen last month, he was asked if Mueller supported his "conclusion," meaning his judgment that the president didn't obstruct justice. Barr accurately said he didn't know.Representative Charlie Crist asked Barr if he knew what Mueller officials anonymously complaining about his letter were referring to. Barr said he didn't (he presumably hadn't talked to these anonymous officials), but volunteered that they probably wanted more information out.Ultimately, the firestorm over Barr's letter is a misdirection, and he's a scapegoat. If Robert Mueller wanted to recommend charging Trump with obstruction of justice, he could have done so. Instead, he punted, and now he — or people around him — is upset that the Barr letter accurately stated his convoluted not-guilty/not-exonerated bottom line.As for the Democrats, if they disagree with Barr's conclusion that Trump didn't commit a chargeable crime, it is fully within their power to impeach the president for abuse of power.Democrats still want someone else to do their work for them. First, they wanted Mueller to blow Trump out of the water, and now they want Barr to adopt a frankly adversarial posture toward the president.Barr is not the one distorting procedure or norms here. It's the Mueller team that declined to make a call on whether Trump had committed a crime or not (the job we ordinarily ask prosecutors to do), yet catalogued his conduct in a quasi-indictment written for public consumption (which prosecutors aren't supposed to do) and, now we know, cared very much about the media narrative around its report (a public-relations or partisan question, not a legal one).That Barr and his letter are the focus of such political and media ire is a symptom of the lunacy of this era, rather than anything rotten in his Department of Justice.© 2019 by King Features Syndicate
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| Couple Says American Airlines Employee Called Police Officer `A Killer` Posted: 03 May 2019 11:01 AM PDT  American Airlines is in the spotlight because of an incident that was partly caught on video a couple of weeks ago. It happened when a New Jersey family's flight got redirected to Memphis International Airport.
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| Guaidó and advisers were 'too impatient' to oust Maduro, says man who led coup against Chávez Posted: 04 May 2019 09:22 AM PDT  Juan Guaidó and his advisers were "perhaps too impatient" in their keenness to force out Nicolas Maduro, according to the only man to have ever ousted the Chavista rulers of Venezuela. Pedro Carmona, now 77, toppled Hugo Chávez in a 2002 uprising whose anniversary was marked across Venezuela last month. He was sworn in as interim leader inside the Miraflores presidential palace and ruled the country for 48 hours, before supporters in the military rallied round Chávez and restored him to power. Mr Carmona, in his first ever interview with a British newspaper, said that the uprising launched on Tuesday was disappointing, risky, and should have been better planned. Five people have been killed in a week of protests, yet Mr Maduro has held on, despite this being Mr Guaidó's most serious push to oust him since declaring himself the constitutionally-legitimate interim president on January 23. "It's hard to opine from outside," said Mr Carmona, who has lived in exile in Bogota since his failed rebellion. "But it looks like they could have given advance warning of some actions. They could have planned better. It seems like they should have had some more things in place. It was risky." Mr Guaidó released a video on Twitter, calling on more soldiers to join him in Credit: EPA-EFE/REX Despite its failure, however, it was a stunning gambit on the part of the 35-year-old National Assembly leader. Venezuelans woke up to a dawn video message from Mr Guaidó, flanked by dozens of troops, stationed just outside the La Carlota air force base in Caracas, announcing the start of "Operation Freedom". By his side stood Leopoldo López, the long time opposition leader, freed from house arrest by members of the state intelligence service, Sebin. Across Venezuela, protesters heeded Mr Guaidó's call, pouring on to the streets. Most of the military, however, heeded Mr Maduro's, and succeeded in putting down the rebellion. But while the state was able to reassert its grip, the fracture within the armed forces was left in evidence; at one point, the gates to the La Carlota base opened, allowing in anti-government protesters. While Mr Guaidó has since acknowledged that he did not have enough military support for a definitive break, last week's events saw Mr Maduro come closer to losing his hold on the nation than ever before. Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, even said that Mr Maduro had an aeroplane waiting for him on the tarmac, destined for Cuba, but was convinced to hang on by Russian advisers. Rebelling forces identified themselves with blue armbands Credit: Yuri Cortez/AFP "In Venezuela, it's never just the opposition at work – it's international geopolitical forces, and armed gangs," Mr Carmona said. "Last week the Russian ambassador was acting like a military spokesman, reassuring the nation that everything was fine in the country. "It's a disgrace that the Russian government supports Maduro's genocidal regime." Mr Carmona sees clear parallels with his own attempted uprising 17 years ago, which was preceded by street protests similar to those occurring now. Fourteen people died in the violence and a group of soldiers, angered at the civilian bloodshed, conspired to remove Chávez. Mr Carmona, the president of the chamber of commerce (Fedecamaras), was chosen as interim president. On April 11, 2002, the military swung into action, and arrested Chávez, taking him to the national army headquarters, Fuerte Tiuna. Chávez accepted an offer of asylum from Fidel Castro, but was prevented from leaving by coup leaders who wanted him tried in Venezuela - a mistake which was to prove fatal to their plot. Pro-Chávez soldiers then came to his defence, and on April 13, at 4:40am, he addressed the nation from inside Miraflores, president once again. John Bolton pointed to three members of Mr Maduro's inner circle as being involved in the plan to remove him Credit: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/REX Recently declassified documents have shown that the US - as well as Spain - were strongly supporting Mr Carmona behind the scenes – he, however, insisted to The Telegraph that he never spoke to any US agent or official either before or during the coup. This time around, Donald Trump's administration has been open about its role. Speaking amid the uprising, John Bolton, the US national security adviser, claimed Mr Maduro had been betrayed by three of those closest to him: the supreme court president , the head of the presidential guard, and, crucially, General Vladimir Padrino Lopez, the defence minister. The next day, Elliot Abrams, the US envoy for Venezuela, said that those who had been negotiating Mr Maduro's departure had "switched off their cellphones". The Sebin intelligence chief, Manuel Cristopher Figuera, was also allegedly on board - and indeed was fired by Mr Maduro the day of the uprising; he himself released a letter admitting knowledge of, if not complicity in, the plot, before apparently fleeing the country. On Thursday, Mr Maduro addressed troops with Gen. Lopez by his side, insisting he was in control of the military Credit: Jhonn Zerpa/Miraflores Press Office Gen. Lopez, meanwhile, later appeared to confirm the Americans had contacted him, telling troops on Thursday there were those who approached him with a "ridiculous offer" who then went "shooting their mouths off". Whether he rejected the offer, double-crossed the US or reversed course as failure loomed isn't clear. Leopoldo López, meanwhile, also claimed on Thursday that senior military figures had committed themselves to ousting Mr Maduro. "I had meetings in my house when I was under house arrest. I met there with commanders, I met there with generals. I met there with representatives of specific parts of the armed forces and specific parts of the police forces," he insisted. Mr Carmona, however, believes the uprising has brought the end of Mr Maduro's reign closer. "Guaido did make advances last week – it wasn't a total failure," he said. "He weakened the resolve of many soldiers. He freed Leopoldo Lopez from house arrest. He reiterated international support. It's a process of steps. Now he is moving to a strike. And history has shown us that dictatorships in Latin America often fall with general strikes."
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| 2020 Vision: ‘Buttabeep, Buttaboop,’ Buttigieg — Who’s winning the Oprah primary? Posted: 03 May 2019 10:13 AM PDT  The buzz surrounding Pete Buttigieg has led to a bump in national polls, donations and Twitter followers. But, perhaps most importantly, it's earned him notice — and a nickname — from Oprah Winfrey.
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| Guatemalan boy who died in US custody suffered from brain infection Posted: 03 May 2019 09:13 AM PDT  Juan De León Gutiérrez, 16, travelled to the US from Camotán, hoping to be reunited with his older brother A group of migrant families walk from the Rio Grande near McAllen, Texas, on 14 March. Photograph: Eric Gay/AP A Guatemalan boy who died at a Texas children's hospital after being detained on the US southern border was suffering from a brain infection, the Guardian has learned. He was the third migrant child from Guatemala to die in US government custody in the past five months. Juan De León Gutiérrez, 16, had travelled to the US from Camotán, a poor rural community in the Chiquimula region of eastern Guatemala, hoping to be reunited with his older brother. It is unclear when or where the boy first fell ill, but he died on Tuesday, days after being detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and transferred to a government-contracted children's detention shelter. "My son was always healthy," his mother, Tránsito Gutiérrez Oloroso, told local newspaper Prensa Libre. "I ask that they treat his remains with dignity." Juan was diagnosed with a frontal lobe infection at Driscoll children's hospital in Corpus Christi. Medical treatment – including surgery to alleviate the pressure caused by the infection – failed, and he died on 30 April after several days in intensive care. The boy's older brother, who lives in Texas, visited him in hospital. Consular officials in McAllen hope to repatriate his body to Guatemala within the next few days. Silvia Samines, the deputy Guatemala consul in McAllen, said that efforts had been made to obtain humanitarian visas for the boy's parents so that they could visit him in hospital, but they were unable to travel due to their advanced age. "We have started the relevant procedures in order to repatriate the body as soon as possible," she said. The 16-year-old was under the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) when he fell ill. ORR contracts private firms and charities to house thousands of children separated from their parents at the border by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officials – as well as those detained after making the perilous overland journey from Central America without adult relatives. Two other Guatemalan children died in US custody within weeks of each other in December 2018, but unlike the latest case, they were in custody of CBP. Jakelin Caal, seven, who died on 8 December at an El Paso children's hospital, and Felipe Gómez Alonzo, eight, who died on Christmas Eve at a New Mexico hospital, were part of a mass exodus from the impoverished Central American country. Almost two-thirds of Guatemala's population live in poverty and half its children suffer from chronic malnutrition. In November, Guatemalans overtook Mexicans as the largest nationality taken into CBP custody – an extraordinary figure considering that the population of Mexico is seven times larger than that of its southern neighbour. Juan entered the US near El Paso, and was detained by CBP on 19 April. He was taken by Ice agents on 20 April to a children's facility in Brownsville which is run by Southwest Key – a not-for-profit organisation which houses up to 5,000 migrant children in more than 20 shelters. Juan was in apparently good health when he arrived, but the next morning he was taken to an emergency room after complaining of a fever, chills and a headache. He was discharged back to the shelter later that day, according to a statement by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). The boy's health deteriorated, and he was returned to the emergency room by ambulance on 22 April, said ACF. From there, the sick boy was admitted to the intensive care unit at the children's hospital with the brain infection. Southwest Key has not commented on Juan's death, but an ACF spokeswoman, Evelyn Stauffer, said in a statement: "Arrangements were made for the minor's brother and Guatemalan consular officials to visit the minor while he was hospitalised. The family who resides in the home country received frequent updates from hospital staff. The cause of death is currently under review, and, in accordance with standard ORR policies and procedures, the case will be subject to full review."
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| Man falls 70 feet into Hawaii's Kīlauea volcano — and survives Posted: 03 May 2019 11:34 AM PDT  A man was rescued but seriously injured after falling into Hawaii's Kīlauea caldera this week, National Park Service officials said.
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| The Latest: Lawyer: Family got 'transformational' settlement Posted: 03 May 2019 01:04 PM PDT  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Latest on the city of Minneapolis paying a $20 million settlement to the family of an unarmed woman shot and killed by a police officer in 2017 (all times local):
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| Thai King's Formal Coronation Caps Eventful Two Years on Throne Posted: 03 May 2019 10:18 PM PDT  The 66-year-old monarch delayed the formal coronation until after a mourning period following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in October 2016. The ceremony comes at a tumultuous time in Thailand during which Vajiralongkorn has played a prominent role. Vajiralongkorn also gained ownership of Crown Property Bureau assets valued at more than $9 billion, including prime pieces of Bangkok real estate, through legal changes he approved.
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| Apple Watch Series 4 has never been as cheap as it is in this surprise sale Posted: 03 May 2019 04:58 AM PDT  Yesterday evening, we told you about the first big Apple Watch Series 4 sale. It came as a complete surprise when Amazon slashed a number of different Apple Watch S4 models to their lowest prices ever, and readers rushed to the site to take advantage of these killer deals. Well, it hasn't even been 24 hours but we're telling you about it again. Why? Because the odds are fairly good that these deals will end at some point over the weekend, and we want to make sure that as many people as possibly have the opportunity to snag an Apple Watch Series 4 at all-time low prices.Amazon has slashed $50 off the wildly popular Apple Watch Series 4 in Space Gray Aluminum Case with a Black Sport Band in both 40mm and 44mm sizes, which drops the price to $349 and $379, respectively. The Space Gray model with a Black Sport Loop Band is also down to $349 for the 40mm model and $379 for the 44mm model. Finally, you can also save $50 on the Apple Watch Series 4 in Silver Aluminum Case with a Seashell Sport Loop Band. We have no idea when prices will be this low again, so hurry!Here's more info from the product page: * GPS * Over 30% larger display and 50% louder speaker * Electrical and optical heart sensors * Digital Crown with haptic feedback * 50% louder speaker * S4 SiP with faster 64-bit dual-core processor * Improved accelerometer and gyroscope for fall detection * Swim proof - Water resistant upto 50 meters * watch OS 5 * Aluminum case
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| Ted Bundy: Who was the serial killer and how did he die? Posted: 03 May 2019 11:44 AM PDT  Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, a biopic about serial killer Ted Bundy, has just been released.Zac Efron portrays the murderer in the Netflix film, while Lily Collins stars as Bundy's former girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer.Bundy is believed to have started killing and assaulting women in the 1970s, murdering dozens of them until the end of the decade.Here is what you should know about Bundy before you see Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile:Who was Ted Bundy?Theodore Robert Bundy was born on 24 November, 1946 in Burlington, Vermont, and grew up in Tacoma, Washington. He dropped out of college before returning to the University of Washington and obtaining a degree in psychology in 1970, per a New York Times article published in 1978 while he was on trial.Bundy later entered law school but abandoned those studies as well. By 1971, Bundy was volunteering at a suicide hotline where he met the true crime writer Ann Rule, who later authored the book The Stranger Beside Me about her friendship with Bundy.Did Ted Bundy confess to his crimes?Bundy confessed to 30 killings across seven states by the time of his death.However, the actual death toll might be higher. Several unsolved murders have been linked to Bundy, even though evidence hasn't been sufficient to establish culpability.Bundy himself suggested that the actual number of his victims might be higher.When and how did he die?Bundy was executed by electrocution on 24 January, 1989, after being convicted on three separate murder cases – the killing of 12-year-old Kimberly Diane Leach, and the slayings of Margaret Bowman and Lisa Levy at the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University.He was 42 years old at the time of his death.More than 100 people cheered outside the Florida State Prison, setting off firecrackers and lighting sparklers, according to the Associated Press's report of the execution.Who was his girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer?Kloepfer, a single mother, started dating Bundy in 1969. The relationship started until the mid 1970s.Around that time, Kloepfer developed doubts about Bundy and gave his name to the police, though authorities didn't consider him a serious suspect.Kloepfer published a book about her relationship with Bundy, titled The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy, in 1981 under the name Elizabeth Kendall. Bundy was on death row at the time.She has remained out of the public eye for years, and Michael Werwie, the screenwriter of Extremely Wicked, told Vanity Fair she was "not findable".
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| Trump: Putin ‘Not Looking at All to Get Involved in Venezuela’ Posted: 03 May 2019 02:18 PM PDT  President Donald Trump said Friday after a phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin that Putin has no desire to involve Russia in the spiraling political crisis in Venezuela."We talked about many things. Venezuela was one of the topics. And he is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela, and I feel the same way," Trump told reporters at the White House.The U.S. recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's rightful leader, while Russia supports President Nicolás Maduro's socialist regime. The call between Trump and Putin was apparently their first conversation since Guaidó launched an effort to overthrow Maduro earlier this week. A month ago, when Putin sent a contingent of special forces to Caracas, Venezuela's capital, Trump said that "Russia has to get out." And on Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Moscow of convincing Maduro to stay in the country just as he was about to flee amid escalating tensions."He had an airplane on the tarmac, he was ready to leave this morning as we understand it, and the Russians indicated he should stay," Pompeo said.Guaido, the National Assembly president, this week called on the opposition to take to the streets to oust Maduro, but most of the military has remained loyal to Maduro thus far. Trump said Friday that the main U.S. concern was for the well-being of ordinary Venezuelans."We want to get some humanitarian aid; right now people are starving, they have no water, they have no food," he said. "[Venezuela was] one of the richest countries in the world 20 years ago and now they don't have food and they don't have water for their people. So we want to help on a humanitarian basis."
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| ISIS, defeated on the ground, returns to its roots with bombs and bloodshed Posted: 03 May 2019 02:00 AM PDT  President Trump has boasted about the defeat of the ISIS caliphate, a swath of territory in Syria and Iraq formerly controlled by the Islamist fundamentalist army. But ISIS hasn't disappeared, just retreated to fight a terror war — of which the Sri Lanka attacks may have been one of the opening battles.
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| Curacao to quarantine cruise ship for measles case Posted: 03 May 2019 02:14 PM PDT  WILLEMSTAD, Curacao (AP) — Authorities in Curacao announced Friday they will quarantine a ship with 300 people aboard that is heading to the Dutch Caribbean island after they were banned from disembarking in nearby St. Lucia because of a confirmed case of measles.
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| These pictures show the devastation of the Hawaii volcano eruption one year later Posted: 04 May 2019 09:45 AM PDT  These pictures show how Mount Kilauea's lava flows destroyed an estimated 700 buildings, covered roads and reshaped the Big Island's coastline.
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| 10-month-old baby dies after migrant family's raft capsizes in Rio Grande Posted: 03 May 2019 09:30 AM PDT  Border Patrol agents responded to reports of a capsized raft carrying migrants who were attempting to cross into the U.S. from Mexico.
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| 40 Foods Graduates Actually Want You To Serve At Their Graduation Party Posted: 03 May 2019 11:13 AM PDT |
| Pressure grows on Attorney General Barr over Mueller Posted: 03 May 2019 06:55 PM PDT  Trump said it will be up to Barr to decide whether Special Counsel Robert Mueller, author of the report on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, will testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which wants to hear from him. Earlier in the day, House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler set a new deadline of Monday at 9 a.m. for Barr to comply with a subpoena seeking an unredacted version of the report before moving to hold Barr in contempt of Congress. The two developments ensured that Barr, Mueller and his report will remain in sharp focus next week in Washington, where Congress and Trump are on a collision course over investigations being led by Nadler and other committee leaders.
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| ExxonMobil sues Cuban companies for nationalized assets Posted: 03 May 2019 09:57 PM PDT  US giant ExxonMobil has filed a lawsuit against Cuba's state-owned oil company and a major business group for what it called "unlawful trafficking" of its assets after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. The suit, filed Thursday in federal court in Washington, seeks $280 million from Cuba-Petroleo (Cupet) and Cimex, which operates service stations on the island nation. The lawsuit from America's biggest oil producer came as the administration of US President Donald Trump lifted the suspension of Title III of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act.
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| Family of girl injured in Poway synagogue shooting: We fled violence in Israel. We thought it was safe here Posted: 04 May 2019 11:18 AM PDT  Eden Dahan — mother of Chabad of Poway shooting victim Noya Dahan — says her family left Israel's violence seeking a better life in America.
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| Pompeo: Omar’s Venezuela Comments ‘Ignorant’ and ‘Disgusting’ Posted: 03 May 2019 08:29 AM PDT  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday evening that he finds Representative Ilhan Omar's comments blaming the U.S. for the political crisis in Venezuela "disgusting.""The nicest thing I can say is, it is unbelievable ignorance. It's just factually wrong," Pompeo told Fox News. "The problems in Venezuela have been years in the making. It's been a socialist regime, first with Chavez now with Maduro. And for a member of Congress, who, frankly -- one who sits on an important national-security committee -- to make a statement blaming America first in this way, it's not only ignorant, it's disgusting."Omar, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was asked Wednesday by PBS's Democracy Now! about the "U.S.-supported coup attempt against President Maduro," to which the Minnesota Democrat responded that America's push for regime change in Venezuela does not help the country's citizens."A lot of the policies that we have put in place has [sic] kind of helped lead [to] the devastation in Venezuela," Omar said. "And we've sort of set the stage for where we're arriving today.""This particular bullying and the use of sanctions to eventually intervene and make regime change really does not help the people of countries like Venezuela, and it certainly does not help and is not in the interest of the United States," she added.The U.S. has thrown its support behind opposition leader Juan Guaidó, the president of the National Assembly, who this week announced "Operation Liberty," calling on the Venezuelan people to take to the streets in an effort to oust President Nicolás Maduro. Clashes have broken out in the streets of the capital, Caracas, and armored military trucks of troops loyal to Maduro were caught on video Wednesday plowing into crowds of opposition protesters."The military didn't fracture in the way that we would hope, but it is just a matter of time," Pompeo said. "Structurally, there is no way for [Maduro] to stay in power. It is time for him to leave, and we need the Cubans and the Russians to follow him out the door."
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| Turkey Begins Offensive on Kurdish Militias After Attacks Posted: 04 May 2019 12:26 PM PDT ![Turkey Begins Offensive on Kurdish Militias After Attacks]( "Turkey Begins Offensive on Kurdish Militias After Attacks") Turkish forces killed 28 Kurdish militants after they carried out two separate attacks from hideouts in Syria and Iraq that left four Turkish troops dead, the state news agency Anadolu reported. Saturday's cross-border offensive marked one of the deadliest days recently for the Turkish military, which conducted the attack along with the Free Syrian Army, a rebel group supported by Turkey.
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| UPDATE 3-Tesla boosts capital raise to $2.7 bln, Musk buys more stock Posted: 03 May 2019 04:28 AM PDT ![UPDATE 3-Tesla boosts capital raise to $2.7 bln, Musk buys more stock]( "UPDATE 3-Tesla boosts capital raise to $2.7 bln, Musk buys more stock") Tesla Inc on Friday was set to raise up to $2.7 billion in a record-setting capital raising for the electric carmaker, as investors scooped up a mix of new stock and convertible notes that will recharge the company's cash-depleted balance sheet. The $1.8 billion junk bond maturing in 2025 < 88160RAE1=>, which rose 1.8% Thursday to a high of 87 cents on the dollar, was last at 86.5 cents.
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| Verizon’s new BOGO deal covers iPhones, Pixels, and Samsung phones Posted: 03 May 2019 02:56 PM PDT  Verizon is back at it with another of its BOGO (buy one get one) devices offers, this time coinciding with Mother's Day which is right around the corner.The limited-time deals are live now, and they include the usual pretty solid offers on some of the hottest smartphones by making them available for free or at a discount when you purchase another phone at full-price. The BOGO this time includes the opportunity to score $1,100 in bill credits when you buy two new Pixel 3s and you also add a new unlimited line. You'll save $300, no trade-in required, when you buy a new Pixel 3, then you'll get another $800 via bill credits when you buy another either Pixel 3 or 3XL, along with the unlimited line.As we always note with these BOGOs from Verizon, there are important caveats. For this particularly offer, both of the new Pixels would need to be paid for on a monthly installment plan. Within two months, the $1,100 would then begin to be applied to your bill, spread over 24 months.It's definitely a good deal if you're already a Verizon customer and thinking about a new line and device. The same goes for anyone thinking about becoming a Verizon customer. The full rundown of deals and the relevant details can be found on Verizon's site here, and among the other offers as part of this BOGO, you can: * Buy one Samsung Galaxy S10+ and get $750 off a Galaxy 10, 10+, 10e or Note 9. * Buy one Samsung Galaxy S10 5G and get $750 off a Galaxy 10, 10+, 10e or Note 9. * Finally, if you buy an iPhone XR, iPhone XS MAX, iPhone XS, or iPhone X you can get a free iPhone XR (or take $750 off a second iPhone X model).Verizon hasn't specified an end-date for this particular BOGO, but since it's tied to Mother's Day you've got at least all of next week, through Sunday May 12, to take advantage of it.
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| Donald Trump says he discussed 'Russia hoax' with Putin - but didn't raise election meddling Posted: 03 May 2019 12:54 PM PDT  President Donald Trump said he discussed special counsel Robert Mueller's report with Vladimir Putin on Friday, but did not warn against the Russian president against meddling in US elections. The White House said the two leaders spoke for more than an hour, during which they discussed the long-awaited report into Russian election interference as well as the crisis in Venezuela and the possibility of a nuclear treaty. Mr Mueller's report was finally published earlier this month after an almost two-year investigation into Russia's attempts to sway the 2016 US presidential election and the Kremlin's potential collusion with the Trump campaign. Mr Trump said Mr Putin described the Russia investigation as "something to the effect that it started off as a mountain and it ended up being a mouse", adding the Russian president "knew there was no collusion whatsoever." The report concluded that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 election in "sweeping and systematic fashion" to aid Donald Trump and harm Hillary Clinton. It also found that members of Mr Trump's campaign "expected" to benefit from Russia's actions but did not co-ordinate or conspire with Moscow. It was the first conversation between the pair since the release of the Mueller report Credit: Yuri Gripas During a brief Oval Office session with reporters Friday, Mr Trump was asked if he warned Mr Putin not to meddle in the 2020 elections and he said, "we didn't discuss that." "We didn't discuss that. Really, we didn't discuss it. We discussed five or six things. We also went into great detail on various things," Mr Trump said. Mr Trump said the bulk of the conversation focused on the ongoing crisis in Venezuela but the pair also discussed North Korea and a new arms control treaty. Mr Trump said they discussed the possibility of a new agreement limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between world's top three atomic powers. ....We discussed Trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, Nuclear Arms Control and even the "Russian Hoax." Very productive talk!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2019 "We're talking about a nuclear agreement where we make less and they make less and maybe where we get rid of some of the tremendous firepower that we have right now," he said. "So I think we're going to probably start up something very shortly between Russia and ourselves maybe to start off, and I think China will be added down the road. We'll be talking about non-proliferation, we'll be talking about a nuclear deal of some kind, and I think it'll be a very comprehensive one," he said. Mr Trump later tweeted that he and Mr Putin "had a long and very good conversation" in which they discussed the "Russian hoax" as well as trade, Ukraine and nuclear weapons treaties. In the Kremlin's readout of the phone call, the Mueller report was not mentioned. Moscow said Mr Trump had initiated the phone call and that the pair had discussed "the current state and prospects for bilateral relations with an emphasis on economic cooperation."
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| 'I will never hesitate' to fly in a 737 MAX, Warren Buffett declares Posted: 04 May 2019 12:00 PM PDT  Billionaire Warren Buffett, one of the world's most influential businessmen, said Saturday that he would not hesitate to fly in a Boeing 737 Max airplane, despite the grounding of the planes after two fatal crashes. "I will never hesitate even for a second to fly on a 737 MAX," he said in response to a question from AFP on the sidelines of the annual shareholder meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway empire in Omaha. While Buffett, the world's third-richest man, owns stakes in several of the most prestigious American companies -- from Coca-Cola to JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs to Apple and, recently, Amazon -- he holds no shares in Boeing, though he has invested in airlines.
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| The U.S. Air Force First F-35 Combat Doesn’t Prove Anything Posted: 03 May 2019 05:00 PM PDT  If dropping bombs on caves and tunnels were a guarantee of a weapon's success, the F-35 would be awesome.On April 30, two U.S. Air Force F-35A stealth fighters attacked ISIS positions in Iraq. "The F-35As conducted the airstrike using a Joint Direct Attack Munition to strike an entrenched Daesh tunnel network and weapons cache deep in the Hamrin Mountains, a location able to threaten friendly forces," according to the Air Force announcement.The strike marked the first time—or at least the first public admission—that the Air Force had used the Lightning II in combat. In September 2018, the Marine Corps became the first U.S. service to fly an F-35 combat mission, with a strike against Taliban positions in Afghanistan, followed by more than 100 F-35B sorties in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria from aircraft based on the amphibious assault ship USS Essex. First blood for the F-35 probably belongs to the Israeli Air Force, which has sent its F-35Is on missions over Syria.The initial Marine F-35 strikes in Afghanistan, and before that, Air Force F-22s attacking Taliban drug labs, drew as much ridicule as praise. Some questioned the use of expensive aircraft (the F-35 costs around $100 million apiece, the F-22 $400 million) to take out huts and tunnels. An F-35 mission costs $35,000 per flying hour, while for the F-22, it's $70,000.
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| Don't tell us to halt the violence, tell the Americans, Afghan Taliban say Posted: 03 May 2019 02:20 AM PDT ![Don't tell us to halt the violence, tell the Americans, Afghan Taliban say]( "Don't tell us to halt the violence, tell the Americans, Afghan Taliban say") Zalmay Khalilzad, an Afghan-born U.S. diplomat, entered a sixth round of talks with the hardline Islamist group in Qatar this week in a bid to end America's longest war. "In our opening session, I underscored to the Talibs that the Afghan people, who are their brothers & sisters, want this war to end," Khalilzad said in a tweet. "It is time to put down arms, stop the violence, & embrace peace." Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid issued a series of sharp tweets in response.
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| 'Jeopardy!' champ James Holzhauer's brother says his streak is decades in the making Posted: 03 May 2019 04:59 PM PDT  For some of the people who knew James Holzhauer before he was famous, like his brother Ian, the Jeopardy champion's winning streak has been decades in the making.
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| 'Game of Thrones' cast sends video greetings to dying fan who wanted to see Episode 3 Posted: 03 May 2019 07:07 AM PDT  Claire Walton, a patient at HopeHealth Hulitar Hospice Center in Rhode Island, wanted to live long enough to see the Battle of Winterfell. She got a little something extra: messages from several cast members.
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| Pompeo-Lavrov meeting comes as Venezuela tension grows Posted: 03 May 2019 08:05 AM PDT ![Pompeo-Lavrov meeting comes as Venezuela tension grows]( "Pompeo-Lavrov meeting comes as Venezuela tension grows") MOSCOW (AP) — The top diplomats of Russia and the United States are to meet next week, just days after they sparred over the crisis in Venezuela.
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| Europe’s first 5G phone is already here, but it’s not the phone we expected Posted: 02 May 2019 08:07 PM PDT  The 5G networks are finally here, but they're more exciting on paper than in real life. That's because carriers are still rolling out 5G support on a market-by-market basis. Initial data speeds won't nearly be as impressive as they are on paper, but they're still much faster than 4G, though you might experience connectivity issues.That said, 5G adoption has to start somewhere, and Europe is about to get is own taste of 5G. Korean and US carriers turned on their 5G networks in the past few weeks, and now Europe is about to get its first 5G phone, but it's not the device you might suspect Europeans would be getting.Samsung's Galaxy S10 5G was launched in Korea a few weeks ago, and Verizon has just started taking preorders for it. But it's not going to be Europe's first 5G phone. OnePlus has long confirmed that it'll partner with UK mobile operator EE to launch its first 5G phone, and the two companies already confirmed plans to launch the device in the second quarter of the year. We now know the phone's name and its launch date -- the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G will be unveiled on May 14th. But that's not going to be Europe's first 5G phone either.The honor apparently goes to the Oppo Reno 5G, VentureBeat reports, which is available from Swiss carrier Swisscom. The 256GB Reno 5G sells for around $1,000. Swisscom is using the 3.5GHz spectrum to deliver speeds of up to 2Gbps on 5G, with customers expected to pay a $10 premium over 4G 100Mbps speeds. The service will be available initially in 100 local markets, with nationwide coverage promised by the end of 2019.Switzerland also has a second carrier ready to offer 5G service to its customers. Sunrise opened sales for the 256GB Huawei Mate 20 X 5G a day after Swisscom -- the phone is also priced at around $1,000. On top of that, Sunrise is also selling a 128GB Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 for $830 in the region. However, these are only preorders, with the phones expected to ship in late May. Sunrise will cover 173 markets initially and use 3.5GHz and 700Mhz bands for 5G service.
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| Porsche 917 Living Legend Concept in Photos Posted: 03 May 2019 07:20 AM PDT |
| After Barr's Snub, Democrats Lack Options to Compel Cooperation Posted: 03 May 2019 08:37 AM PDT  Democrats seeking to compel -- or punish -- Barr and others who ignore Democratic invitations and subpoenas could pursue contempt proceedings, which carry no tangible penalty when branches of government face off, or take action in court, which would be protracted. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leaders are resisting the other obvious option -- moving to impeach the president -- even as Republicans goad them on.
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| Reuters World News Summary Posted: 04 May 2019 05:59 AM PDT ![Reuters World News Summary]( "Reuters World News Summary") A Brexit deal could be reached by negotiators from Britain's Conservative and Labour parties within a few days, the leader of Scotland's Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, said. North Korea fired several "unidentified short-range projectiles" into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, prompting South Korea to call on its communist neighbor to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula." The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description.
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| Pornhub reveals how ‘Star Wars’ fans are celebrating May the Fourth Posted: 04 May 2019 03:00 AM PDT  Star Wars fans love to celebrate just like everyone else -- with porn.With May The Fourth -- aka "Star Wars Day" -- upon us, the folks at Pornhub have revealed the many ways that Star Wars fans use the adult entertainment site to mark the holiday. Searches for Star Wars on Pornhub on May 4, 2018 surged above the days surrounding it.Image: PornhubStar Wars-related searches see huge spikes over the days preceding and following May 4th every year. These are the spikes for the last three years: * 2016: 633 percent spike * 2017: 1048 percent spike * 2018: 748 percent spikeAs Darth Vader would say, most impressive. Topping the Star Wars-related search list is Princess Leia, who famously donned a gold bikini as a captive of Jabba the Hutt for the first third of 1983's Return of the Jedi. This is also why the unfortunately phrased "Princess Leia Slave" is in the top 10.Princess Leia remains the porn icon of the Star Wars universe.Image: PornhubOther popular searches include the new trilogy lead Rey, Clone Wars favorite Ahsoka Tano, and Padme Amidala, portrayed by Natalie Portman in the prequel trilogy. If you're looking for a male character on this list, you have to go number 20 where a presumably shirtless Kylo Ren pops up. Taking these searches into account, it's not exactly shocking that men are 38 percent more likely to search for Star Wars than women. Also unsurprising is that users in the 18-to-24 age demographic are 77 percent more likely to search for Star Wars content. Shocking: Star Wars porn is really popular among young men.Image: PornhubFinally, it's worth mentioning what's not listed in all of these stats. Conspicuous in their absence are both the Ewoks and Jar Jar Binks -- proving that, even in porn, there's room for the Star Wars universe to expand. WATCH: 'Star Wars' movies to take hiatus after episode IX
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