| House Democrats who tangled with leader not backing down Posted: 13 Jul 2019 05:31 PM PDT  Days after tensions with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi boiled over publicly, several House Democrats sent a message to Washington: We're not backing down. All are young women of color, a fact not lost on supporters who have bridled at the criticism thrown their way. "We never need to ask for permission or wait for an invitation to lead," Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota said when asked what she would say to women of color who are frustrated or hurt by comments that seek to minimize their impact or vilify them.
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| Will Nationalism Poison Ukraine's New President? Posted: 12 Jul 2019 09:53 AM PDT  Ever since Volodymyr Zelensky's upset victory in April, Ukrainians have been wondering whether their newly elected president will take new approaches to resolve the conflict with Russia. His thumping victory over Petro Poroshenko, who tried to dismiss all of his opponents as puppets of Russian Vladimir Putin puppets, uncovered a strong, untapped desire to end the Russophobia that has been porminant with over the past five years. During that time, the Poroshenko and other senior government officials routinely referred to Ukrainians who wanted better relations with Russia as a "fifth column."During the campaign Zelensky outflanked Poroshenko by promising to do anything to achieve peace, including direct negotiations with Putin. Since winning the election, however, Zelensky has backtracked from this pledge and reassured the West that he has no intention of negotiating with Putin without Western intermediaries present. In sum, he continues to try to be everything to everyone by telling each person whatever it is they want to hear.
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| Hong Kong protesters clash with police on border with mainland China Posted: 13 Jul 2019 05:43 AM PDT  Hong Kong protesters clashed with police on Saturday in a town near the boundary with mainland China where thousands rallied against the presence of Chinese traders, seizing on another grievance following major unrest over an extradition bill. The demonstration in the Hong Kong territorial town of Sheung Shui, not far from the Chinese city of Shenzhen, began peacefully but devolved into skirmishes and shouting. Protesters threw umbrellas and hardhats at police, who retaliated by swinging batons and firing pepper spray. Later in the day Hong Kong police urged protesters to refrain from violence and leave the area. The protest was the latest in a series that have roiled the former British colony for more than a month, giving rise to its worst political crisis since its 1997 handover to China. Sometimes violent street protests have drawn in millions of people, with hundreds even storming the legislature on July 1 to oppose a now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed criminal suspects in Hong Kong to be sent to China to face trial in courts under ruling Communist Party control. Critics see the bill as a threat to Hong Kong's rule of law. Chief Executive Carrie Lam this week said the bill was "dead" after having suspended it last month, but opponents vow to settle for nothing short of its formal withdrawal. Protests against the bill had largely taken place in Hong Kong's main business district, but demonstrators have recently begun to look elsewhere to widen support by taking up narrower, more domestic issues. A supporter begs police officer not to attack protesters Credit: AP In Sheung Shui, protesters rallied to oppose small-time Chinese traders who make short trips into the territory to buy goods that they then haul back to China to sell. The demonstrators chanted demands in Mandarin, China's official language, for the Chinese traders to go home. Many street-level shops were shuttered during the march. The traders have long been a source of anger among those in Hong Kong who say they have fuelled inflation, driven up property prices, dodged taxes and diluted Sheung Shui's identity. "Our lovely town has become chaos," said Ryan Lai, 50, a resident of Sheung Shui, where so-called "parallel traders" buy bulk quantities of duty-free goods to be carried into mainland China and sold. "We don't want to stop travel and buying, but please, just make it orderly and legal. The extradition bill was the tipping point for us to come out. We want Sheung Shui back." When Britain returned Hong Kong to China 22 years ago, Chinese Communist leaders promised the city a high degree of autonomy for 50 years. But many say China has progressively tightened its grip, putting Hong Kong's freedoms under threat through a range of measures such as the extradition bill. Hong Kong's lack of full democracy was behind the recent unrest, said Jimmy Sham of the Civil Human Rights Front, which organised protests against the extradition bill. "The government, Carrie Lam, some legislators in functional constituencies are not elected by the people, so there are many escalating actions in different districts to reflect different social issues," he said. "If political problems are not solved, social well-being issues will continue to emerge endlessly." Major demonstrations in the past month against a proposal to change extradition laws have reawakened other movements in Hong Kong Credit: AP One protester said Saturday's scuffles started when demonstrators charged the police after the latter came to the assiatcne of mainland traders who had assaulted demonstrators. "Some people were attacked and got injured in a stampede. I tried to save some girls so I was also attacked by pepper spray by police. Now I feel so bad. The cops are dogs," said the man, who would only give the name Ragnar. Protesters ripped up median barriers and fences to set up roadblocks and defences. A young man was treated for a bloody head wound metres from where surrounded police were hitting activists armed with umbrellas. A baton charge by police in riot gear cleared the street minutes later to free trapped officers. "We have no weapons and we were peaceful. When we saw them taking photos of us in the crowd we had to react," said another protester, surnamed Chan, who declined to give his full name. "We are all scared now. How can they hit us with batons?" he said, staring at a pool of blood where one of his peers was treated. Last week nearly 2,000 people marched in the Tuen Mun residential district to protest against what they saw as the nuisance of brash singing and dancing to Mandarin pop songs by middle-aged mainland women. On Sunday, tens of thousands marched in one of Kowloon's most popular tourist shopping areas, trying to persuade mainland Chinese tourists to back opposition to the extradition bill. "We want to raise awareness in Washington that the United States has to do more now to help Hong Kong become fully democratic," said a resident of the nearby town of Fanling, who was one of five people in Saturday's crowd carrying U.S. flags. "They are the most important power left that can stand up to China," added the 30-year-old man, who gave his name only as David. Anti-extradition protesters plan another demonstration on Sunday in the town of Sha Tin, in the so-called New Territories between Hong Kong island and the border with China.
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| "I was terrified": Jeffrey Epstein accused of building a network of victims Posted: 11 Jul 2019 08:46 PM PDT  The indictment of Jeffrey Epstein has shone a light on what prosecutors say is a sprawling network of high school and college students forced to satisfy the US hedge fund billionaire's insatiable sexual appetite, strengthened by money and young recruiters. "He likes beautiful women... and many of them are on the younger side," Donald Trump said in 2002, describing his friend Epstein's taste in women.
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| Protesters rail against Biden on deportations Posted: 12 Jul 2019 04:20 PM PDT  Biden has come under fire for the 3 million deportations that occurred under the Obama administration.
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| Why Was an American Scientist Murdered in a Nazi Bunker? Posted: 12 Jul 2019 09:25 AM PDT  Courtesy of Suzanne Eaton FamilySuzanne Eaton was, by every standard, an accomplished woman. The 59-year-old molecular biologist from Oakland, California, held a black belt in Taekwondo and was a globetrotting speaker on the international science circuit. She was married to a British scientist with whom she had two children, and she was an avid runner, racking up several miles on her daily 30-minute run.Eaton, who worked as a research leader at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, Germany, was last seen playing piano at the Orthodox Academy of Crete, in Kolymbari, on July 2, where she was attending a conference. Her family and friends assumed that she had gone for a run and perhaps passed out in the stifling heat wave or fallen on rough terrain during her workout. Her passport, money, phone, cycling shoes, and laptop were all found in her hotel room, they say. All that was missing were her running shoes. Her relatives and friends raised nearly $50,000 to aid the search through an online campaign. Then, on July 9, her body was found by two local residents exploring a World War II-era Nazi bunker about seven miles from where Eaton had been staying. Her body, which was wrapped in burlap, showed signs of torture, including stab wounds, but her official cause of death, according to the coroner, was asphyxiation. The coroner said she likely suffered a "slow and painful death."There was no immediate sign of sexual violence, according to investigators, who said she was still dressed when she was found. A full autopsy is under way. Her body was in such an advanced state of decomposition after a week in the extreme heat that dental records had to be used for a positive identification. On Friday, Crete's police spokesperson Eleni Papathanasiou confirmed to The Daily Beast that they were questioning several suspects, including some with neo-Nazi ties, who may know something about what happened to Eaton. Papathanasiou also said they were looking into whether the location of her body inside a labyrinth of tunnels dug out by Nazis occupying Crete during World War II was connected to the murder. "It is of course part of the investigation," Papathanasiou told The Daily Beast. "It is a curious place to leave a body, especially when the victim was living and working in Germany."Police are also taking into consideration how a woman as fit as Eaton who held a black belt in Taekwondo could be overcome. "The perpetrator or perpetrators may have suffered defensive wounds, and we are looking at that as well."Crete has long been a magnet for neo-Nazi sympathizers who regularly treasure hunt in bunkers like the one where Eaton was found, searching for World War II relics. Several collectors have unofficial museums in small villages where their Nazi regalia is on display. Crete was also a recent base for several leaders of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party who had chosen the Greek island for its historical ties to Nazi occupation. In 2018, an anti-Fascist group was able to raid the Golden Dawn headquarters in the capital Heraklion, which sent the group underground. Konstantinos Beblidakis, the vice mayor of the local Platanias municipality, said the area where Eaton was found was accessible by various back roads but there were no surveillance cameras despite the fact that the area above the bunkers was a popular hiking area for tourists. He said that most people, except those who are well versed in the island's Nazi past, would not have known about the bunker, which was not open to the public or marked in any way. It is as yet unclear how the two local residents found her or just why they were inside the secret bunker. Eaton's university-age son, Max, praised his mother in a statement. "She managed to live a life with few regrets, balancing out her personal life with her career," he said. "I think the fact that I did not realize how well she had managed to do so was evident [by the fact] that other mothers around me had taken to caring for their children full time, yet mine was never outdone by any of them."Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Federal court: Duggar sister privacy lawsuit can proceed Posted: 12 Jul 2019 11:00 AM PDT  A lawsuit filed by four reality show sisters can proceed against an Arkansas city that released confidential information about their alleged sexual abuse by a brother, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Jill Duggar Dillard, Jessa Duggar Seewald, Jinger Duggar Vuolo and Joy Duggar had an expectation of privacy when officials from the city of Springdale and Washington County investigated allegations that their brother Josh sexually abused them between 2002 and 2003, when they were minors.
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| Iran calls on Britain to release seized oil tanker immediately Posted: 11 Jul 2019 10:36 PM PDT  Iran called on Britain on Friday to immediately release an oil tanker that British Royal Marines seized last week on suspicion it was breaking European sanctions by taking oil to Syria, a foreign ministry spokesman told state news agency IRNA. Iran has warned of reciprocal measures if the tanker is not released. Britain said on Thursday that three Iranian vessels tried to block a British-owned tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which controls the flow of Middle East oil to the world, but backed off when confronted by a Royal Navy warship.
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| The 51 Most Delish Baby Shower Appetizers Posted: 12 Jul 2019 03:00 PM PDT |
| FEMA’s response to Tropical Storm Barry Posted: 13 Jul 2019 02:52 PM PDT  Tropical Storm Barry brings heavy rain and winds to the Gulf Coast.
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| Dead Drone: Are Iran and America Headed Towards a Bloody War? Posted: 12 Jul 2019 01:17 PM PDT  Deptula said the Pentagon must modernize its "geriatric air force with systems that have been designed to operate against high-threat capabilities like stealth fighters, bombers and [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] aircraft."Iran's destruction of a U.S. Navy Global Hawk surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz on June 20, 2019 shouldn't deter U.S. forces from monitoring the strategic waterway, officials said.Retired U.S. Air Force general David Deptula, dean of the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute, told Air Force magazine he would put an additional Global Hawk "in the exact same track." "We certainly don't want to be cowed," Deptula said.(This first appeared earlier in July 2019.)Northrop built four Broad-Area Maritime Surveillance-Demonstrator drones, based on the Global Hawk platform, for the Navy starting in 2008. The Navy has stationed two of them in the United Arab Emirates for operational use as it prepares to deploy the full MQ-4C naval version of the Global Hawk starting in late 2019.
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| Woman suing landlord for evicting her after ‘having African American guest over’ Posted: 13 Jul 2019 08:10 AM PDT  A white mother says she was evicted because she invited African American guests to a playdate.Victoria Sutton had her black co-worker visit with their five-year-old son, so that the youngster could play with her two daughters.After one of the playdates, a new lawsuit says, landlord Allen McCoy knocked on the door of her Georgia home and called her a "n***** lover."She also claims he threatened to call Child Protective Services over her having a "n***** on their property."The lawsuit - filed by lawyers from the ACLU \- says she was told she had two weeks to move out and that he had previously evicted a woman who wanted an African American to move in with her.As a result, she says she moved out of the home in December over concerns for her and her daughter's safety.When confronted by a news reporter, Mr McCoy denied the allegations, saying: "Some of the best friends I got is coloured."His wife Patricia instead claimed Sutton had been asked to move out because of damage to bathrooms, walls and doors.But legal papers filed by Ms Sutton say photographs show no such damage.Lawyers are asking for damages related to emotional distress and the "diversion of resources" in having to move.Sean J Young, legal director for the ACLU of Georgia, told CNN: "Discriminatory motives are rarely spoken aloud and even more rarely caught on tape. People who discriminate are almost always able to come up with a neutral-sounding pretext for their discrimination."He said a ruling in Ms Sutton's favour would be "a stark reminder of the injustice that continues to thrive in Georgia today".
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| A dramatic satellite photo shows Hurricane Barry enveloping the Gulf of Mexico just before making landfall in Louisiana Posted: 13 Jul 2019 09:58 AM PDT  Since the photo was taken around 10 AM Friday, the storm has since strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane.
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| Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta is out — here are all the casualties of the Trump administration so far Posted: 12 Jul 2019 07:34 AM PDT  From John Kelly and Rex Tillerson to Anthony Scaramucci and Reince Priebus, here's everyone who has left the Trump administration so far.
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| Warren, Biden Campaigns Appear to Find Loophole Around Paid Internships Posted: 12 Jul 2019 02:19 AM PDT  Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via GettyUnpaid interns are practically non-existent among Democratic presidential campaigns in 2019. But some top-tier candidates appear to be finding a creative way to tap unpaid talent: offering vague "fellowship" opportunities as volunteer positions. There's no singular definition for a "fellow" among 2020 candidates and most this cycle don't offer the option. But two leading contenders, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), give applicants who are selected a chance to participate in the campaign as volunteer fellows, without requiring compensation or academic credit. "Volunteers are asked to do something, workers are told," Renée Hagerty, an executive council member for the Campaign Workers Guild, said. "Everyone who's performing work on a campaign should be paid."For Biden's campaign, the "Team Joe Organizing Fellowship" consists of an eight-week program that includes weekly online trainings in grassroots and digital organizing, according to the listing, which closed this week. Unlike the internship program, which is paid $15 per hour, the fellowship program makes no mention of wages, academic credit, or time commitments. Warren's campaign features one joint application with three options: paid internship, volunteer fellowship, or volunteer fellowship for academic credit. Applicants are allowed to select more than one when applying. Warren's deputy communications director Chris Hayden told The Daily Beast their internship program "offers a limited number of paid, full-time campaign experiences on a competitive basis" and that "interns commit to working 30 hours a week, and have access to paid health insurance in addition to their weekly salary.""The campaign also offers a volunteer fellowship program, which provides similar training and work experiences with a smaller time commitment," Hayden added. "Many of our campaign fellows receive stipends from educational institutions or other third-parties, and everyone in our intern and fellowship programs has access to cost-free supporter housing while they're working in-state."Still, Guillermo Creamer, co-founder of the non-profit group Pay Our Interns, said there's a "gray area" that emerges from having both paid and unpaid options, creating a "fine line" between the roles. "It is interesting that some campaigns can still think about having both," Creamer said. "The question now is: is fellowship the scapegoat for not paying individuals?"Multiple activists who spoke to The Daily Beast declined to call out individual campaigns, saying they're generally pleased with the progress this cycle on the paid internship front, what some see as the first hurdle to overcome. But the separate volunteer fellowship option has led several activists to question the program's cost-benefit analysis. "What's actually the difference?" Creamer said when asked about paid internships versus unpaid fellowships. "Campaigns have to be the ones who identify that."Coming off the heels of a strong second quarter of fundraising, Biden and Warren each crystallized their spots in the top of the Democratic pack both in polls and in money raised. Biden brought in $21.5 million, while Warren reported $19.1 million. The large sums are even stronger reasons to pay fellows for work, rather than doling out fancy titles in exchange, some activists pointed out."At Biden for President, interns are employees who are paid by the hour (capped at 30 hours a week)," a campaign spokesperson wrote in an email. "Whereas fellows are part of an educational experience which we hope will equip them to be effective organizers in the future, and are not employees of the campaign.""Bosses have been coming up with reasons and excuses and caveats for not paying people since the dawn of time," Hagerty said, without commenting on any campaign specifically. "This is another version that fits into a middle-class narrative of prestige."Legally, there's no definition in the campaign finance world that would distinguish internships from fellowships, an official from the Campaign Legal Center said. "Campaigns are given pretty broad leeway for how they spend their money. They can provide any title they want," the official added. In a field of nearly two dozen contenders, other candidates offer several different fellowship models. Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-TX) offer paid fellowships, while Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) requires unpaid fellows to receive academic credit in order to participate in the program. The majority of other candidates offer paid internships. While some activists view the practice as a delicate balance between opening a door to those who seek the experience and a loophole for campaigns to use free labor, not everyone agrees the practice is problematic."There's utilitarian reasons for campaigns and there's utilitarian reasons for the workforce," Janice Fine, an assistant professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers University, said. For some, fellowships can be a vital way to gain experience with a specific candidate or area of expertise, without having to commit to a set number of hours or responsibilities, she added. "A lot of these jobs are just for the experience," Alan Seals, a labor economist and professor of economics at Auburn University, agreed. "The worst thing [campaigns] can do is say 'no they're all employees now and you've got to pay them minimum wage.' It would be an absolute disaster."But that argument is what some activists say is part of the problem, and that there needs to be a clear pay-for-work metric that mirrors the fair wage platforms campaigns are pushing on the trail."It smacks of hypocrisy," Hagerty said. "No candidate wants to be a hypocrite." Updated to include comment from the Biden campaign.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Vatican mystery over missing girl deepens as bones are found Posted: 13 Jul 2019 10:17 AM PDT  The mystery of the 1983 disappearance of the 15-year-old daughter of a Vatican employee took yet another twist Saturday following excavations this week at a Vatican City cemetery. The Vatican said it had discovered two sets of bones under a stone slab that will be formally opened next week. The new discovery came after Vatican on Thursday pried open the tombs of two 19th-century German princesses in the cemetery of the Pontifical Teutonic College in hopes of finding the remains of Emanuela Orlandi.
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| UK says Iran tanker will be freed after guarantees on destination Posted: 13 Jul 2019 12:20 PM PDT  British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt sought to ease tensions with Iran on Saturday, saying a tanker held by Gibraltar would be released if Tehran guaranteed it was not heading to Syria. "I reassured him our concern was destination not origin of the oil on Grace One," a tanker seized off the coast of the tiny British territory of Gibraltar on July 4, Hunt tweeted.
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| Tennessee governor signs 'Forrest Day' proclamation, honoring the Confederate general Posted: 12 Jul 2019 04:06 PM PDT  Tennessee law instructs the governor to do so, though Lee said he is not currently considering changing the law.
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| California boy, 4, who died begged his great-grandmother not to be reunited with birth parents Posted: 13 Jul 2019 09:44 AM PDT  A 4-year-old California boy who mysteriously died under his birth parents'care had begged his great-grandmother not to be reunited with them, KTLAreports
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| Police ID pregnant woman, 9-year-old son killed in flash flooding in Pennsylvania Posted: 12 Jul 2019 07:58 PM PDT  Police have identified the pregnant woman and her 9-year-old son who were killed as severe storms hit Berks County, Pennsylvania Thursday night.
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| Police officer who lost his job after shooting an unarmed man is ‘rehired to collect lifetime pension’ Posted: 13 Jul 2019 06:11 AM PDT  A police officer who was charged with murder for shooting an unarmed man in a hotel hallway was reportedly rehired temporarily so he could collect a pension, local media reports.Philip Brailsford, who killed Daniel Shaver at La Quinta hotel in Arizona in 2016, reportedly came to the agreement last year with the Mesa city manager's office. This allowed him to apply for a disability pension on the basis of a medical retirement in a reversal of his firing by the department after the shooting.He will receive a lifetime pension of around $30,000 per year.The agreement was first reported by local news outlets in Arizona, which obtained the settlement agreement that the city reached with Mr Brailsford last August.Mr Shaver's shooting captured media attention across the US when it happened in 2016, and again after Mr Brailsford's trial when his body camera video was released.Police were called to the hotel in January 2016 following a complaint about a man with a rifle in one of the rooms. Mr Shaver, 26, had been showing a legal pellet gun that he used in his job in pest control, to a woman in the room with him.Body camera footage begins with the confrontation between Mr Brailsford, other officers, and Mr Shaver and the woman. Mr Shaver complies with a series of confusing commands from the responding officers, putting his hands up and lying down on the ground.They threaten to kill him multiple times for not complying with their orders."If you move, we're going to consider that a threat and we are going to deal with it and you may not survive it," one officer says. "Please do not shoot me," Mr Shaver says at one point, his hands in the air. But Mr Brailsford opened fire after Mr Shaver appeared to reach behind himself while crawling towards the officers. He was struck five times.Mr Brailsford, who was carrying an AR-15 rifle with the phrase "You're F****d" etched into the weapon, according to a police report, was charged with murder for the shooting and fired from his job soon after.He testified in court that he believed Mr Shaver was reaching for a gun and would have done the same thing again.He was acquitted in November 2017 after a six-week trial on both second-degree murder and reckless manslaughter charges.The settlement notes that Mr Brailsford has been treated for post-traumatic stress disorder. Michael Piccarreta, his lawyer, told ABC 15 his PTSD stemmed from the shooting incident and criminal prosecution. Mesa City manager Chris Brady told ABC 15 that Mr Brailsford's PTSD claim dates to before his trial. "So in fairness he was given the opportunity to make that appeal to the board," he said. The shooting prompted a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by Mr Shaver's family, which is still pending.Washington Post
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| AOC 'should treat Nancy Pelosi with respect,' says Trump — but Paul Ryan was 'a terrible speaker' Posted: 12 Jul 2019 08:49 AM PDT  President Trump on Friday weighed in on the rift between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and four outspoken freshman congresswomen in her Democratic caucus. He also lashed out at former House Speaker Paul Ryan.
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| Chevron spills 800,000 gallons of oil, water in California Posted: 12 Jul 2019 05:55 PM PDT  Officials began to clean up a massive oil spill Friday that dumped nearly 800,000 gallons of oil and water into a California canyon, making it larger — if less devastating — than the state's last two major oil spills. The newly revealed spill has been flowing off and on since May and has again stopped, Chevron spokeswoman Veronica Flores-Paniagua said. Chevron reported that 794,000 gallons (about 3 million liters) of oil and water have leaked out of the ground where it uses steam injection to extract oil in the large Cymric Oil Field about 35 miles (56 kilometers) west of Bakersfield.
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| See How the Army's Would-Be Stealth Helicopter Borrowed from the F-35 Posted: 12 Jul 2019 10:00 PM PDT  The Comanche, in theory, might have been an awesome-looking helicopter—but that did not make it any less of a poorly managed defense program.Pop quiz: what prominent U.S. military aircraft has a stealthy radar cross section and advanced networked sensors but has gone billions over budget and has fallen years behind schedule?While the F-35 stealth fighter might come to mind today, in 2004 the most timely answer might have been the RAH-66 Comanche. The slick-looking stealth helicopter spent twenty-two years in development, consuming over $7 billion dollars before being abruptly canceled with only two flying prototypes to show for it.The Comanche sprang of by the Army's Light Helicopter Experimental program conceived during the defending spending glut of the 1980s. Among other objectives, this program sought a replacement for the Army's OH-58 Kiowa and OH-6 Cayuse scout helicopters, which were derived from the civilian Bell 206 JetRanger and Hughes 500 choppers.(This first appeared in June 2019.)Scout helicopters were primarily tasked with spying out enemy positions and designating them for attack by friendly forces. However, they also were suitable for attacking lightly defended targets with rocket pods, miniguns, and even tank-busting TOW or Hellfire missiles, while armored Apache gunships tackled heavier foes.
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| 20 Vintage 4x4s That Are Cooler Than Modern SUVs Posted: 13 Jul 2019 04:03 AM PDT |
| Obama sends letter to prisoner he freed, who made the dean's list: 'I am so proud of you' Posted: 12 Jul 2019 07:50 AM PDT  President Obama granted clemency to Danielle Metz in 2016. After she made the dean's list in college, she wished she could thank him. Now, she has.
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| Turkey receives first delivery of Russian S-400 missile system: Ankara Posted: 12 Jul 2019 01:37 AM PDT  Turkey received the first batch of Russia's S-400 missile defence system on Friday, the defence ministry said, despite repeated warnings from its NATO ally United States against the purchase. "The delivery of the first shipment of parts of the S-400 long range regional air missile defence system began as of July 12, 2019 to Murted air base in Ankara," the ministry said in a statement. The delivery, which was made by plane, is likely to escalate tensions with the US after Washington warned this week that there would be "real and negative" consequences if Ankara bought the Russian defence system.
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| Some of Amazon's highly paid tech workers say warehouse worker conditions are 'a source of shame' (AMZN) Posted: 12 Jul 2019 03:53 PM PDT  Dozens of Amazon tech workers are supporting a strike by warehouse workers on Prime Day. Some will even fly out and picket.
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| Michigan Man Allegedly Shot Two Men ‘Because They Were Gay’: Prosecutors Posted: 13 Jul 2019 12:02 PM PDT  Leon Neal/GettyA Michigan man was charged Friday for allegedly shooting two men he contacted through a dating app "before they were gay." Demetris Nelson, 26, was charged with several crimes, including first-degree murder, after allegedly trying to rob and fatally shoot Brian Anderson, 31, and critically wounding 26-year-old Malcolm Drake, Wayne County prosecutor's office said. Authorities say Nelson used the popular dating app, Grindr, to target and locate the two men. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison for the murder charge. "To some, this will be just another hateful and violent act in America. They will read about this case and continue to go about their day. To me, that is quite tragic," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement.Two Men Sentenced for Serial Anti-Gay Hate Crimes Using GrindrProsecutors allege on July 6, Nelson used the app to "targeted Anderson and Drake because they were gay." The pair were driving along a highway less than a mile from Nelson's Detroit home, prosecutors during Nelson's arraignment Friday, when the 26-year-old got into the back of the vehicle. After announcing a robbery, Nelson shot Drake in the back of the head, then fatally shot Anderson."We are saddened and outraged by this despicable crime. This case is just the most recent example of how members of Detroit's LGBTQ community are too often targets of violence," Alanna Maguire, president of the Fair Michigan Foundation, a nonprofit civil rights group assisting in the investigation, said in a statement. Nelson set up a series of social networking profiles, including Grindr, with the intent on finding victims and is being investigated in a series of other similar incidents, prosecutors said in court Friday.According to WXYZ, the July 6 incident might be Nelson's latest series of incidents involving people he met on online dating apps. Nelson, who allegedly uses different profiles and aliases to avoid being caught, allegedly robbed another victim two hours before he fatally shooting the two Detroit men. On Friday evening, a judge ordered Nelson to be held without bail. He is expected in court on July 26. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| ‘They're well cared for’: Mike Pence defends Trump administration’s treatment of migrants on tour of detention centres Posted: 13 Jul 2019 03:41 AM PDT  US vice president Mike Pence has defended the Trump administration's treatment of migrants on a tour of detention facilities at the country's southern border. Mr Pence visited two detention centres on Friday following reports of inhumane conditions. He started with a border station in Donna, a vast collection of air-conditioned, interconnected tents built in May to temporarily handle 1,000 migrants and currently holding 800.Later in the day, the US vice president visited an outdoor portal at the McAllen border station, where 384 single men were being held in cages with no beds.When reporters toured the facility before Mr Pence, the men said that they had been held there 40 days or more.They said they were hungry and wanted to brush their teeth. It was sweltering hot, but the only water was outside the fences and they needed to ask permission from the border patrol agents to drink."I was not surprised by what I saw," Pence said later at a news conference. "I knew we'd see a system that was overwhelmed."He added: "This is tough stuff."The vice president's office said it specifically instructed the border patrol agents not to clean up or sanitise the facility beyond what is routine so the American people could see the overcrowding and scarce resources, and and see how serious the crisis is at the border."That's the overcrowding President [Donald] Trump has been talking about. That's the overwhelming of the system that some in Congress have said was a manufactured crisis," Mr Pence said during a news conference after visiting the second facility."But now I think the American people can see this crisis is real."Mr Pence's comments were at odds with recent statements from Republicans, as well as Donald Trump, who have accused Democrats who have visited similar facilities of exaggerating the poor conditions.Mr Trump called recent media reports and comments from Democrats about poor conditions "phony".And earlier this month, the US president downplayed concerns about how migrants are being treated at the facilities."Many of these illegals aliens are living far better now than where they came from, and in far safer conditions," Mr Trump tweeted on 3 July. Mr Pence said the tough conditions are why the administration recently requested and Congress approved $4.6bn in aid for the border, and he accused Democrats of not supporting more funding for additional beds at facilities for migrants.He also defended the job being done by the employees at the detention centres."I was deeply moved to see the care that our Customs and Border Protection personnel are providing," Mr Pence said."Coming here, to this station, where single adults are held, I've equally been inspired by the efforts of Customs and Protection doing a tough job in a difficult environment."Mr Pence's visit was the latest move by both political parties to use border trips to highlight their case for who is at fault for the border crisis caused by a surge in Central American migrants and what should be done to remedy it. Republicans have accused Democrats of failing to get on board with legal changes to the asylum system that would make the flow of migrants easier to handle, while Democrats have accused Mr Trump's policies and rhetoric of making a bad situation worse.The political fight over the border is likely to only intensify as both parties prepare for the 2020 presidential race, in which immigration will be a top issue.Border officials sought to counter some of the men's claims at the second facility Mr Pence visited.Michael Banks, the patrol agent in charge of the McAllen facility, said the men there are allowed to brush their teeth once a day and are given deodorant after showering. But he conceded that many of the men had not showered for 10 or 20 days because the facility previously did not have showers. There were no beds for them to sleep on because there wasn't room, Mr Banks said. Instead, they are each given a Mylar blanket. He said they are also given three hot meals a day, along with juice and crackers. After he toured the first facility, Mr Pence described a much better situation than the one that has been relayed by Democrats and in news reports. He said Mr Trump wanted him there with media cameras to see for themselves how people were being treated. "Every family I spoke to said they were being well cared for, and that's different than some of the harsh rhetoric we hear from Capitol Hill," Mr Pence said. "Customs and Border Protection is doing its level best to provide compassionate care in a manner the American people would expect."Mr Pence first toured the cavernous facility built in May to handle overcrowding, where 800 people are living. Most were lying on napping mats on the floor, covered with thin, tinfoil blankets. In another room, children, all under 8 years old, were seated in front of a television watching an animated Spanish film. Mr Pence asked the children if they had food and were being taken care of. They all nodded, and some said "sí." A few children shook their heads no when asked if they had a place to "get cleaned up".As Mr Pence toured the facilities, a House committee was having a contentious, partisan debate back in Washington over how migrants have been treated. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez requested to be sworn in when appearing as a witness before the panel to show she was telling the truth when she retold a story about a migrant woman who said she had to drink water from the toilet because her sink broke. Congressman Chip Roy accused her of playing to her millions of Twitter followers.Some Democrats have described the detention centres as "concentration camps" and say the US government is holding children in "cages". Several children have died after crossing the border and being taken into federal custody. Mr Pence said it was "heartbreaking" to hear from children who had walked two or three months to come to America and cross the border illegally, but he ultimately blamed Congress for failing to pass legislation that would deal with the influx of migrants at the southern border.Washington Post
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| The Latest: Mueller testimony delayed until July 24 Posted: 13 Jul 2019 03:11 AM PDT  Special counsel Robert Mueller's testimony to Congress has been delayed until July 24 under an agreement that gives lawmakers more time to question him. Under the new arrangement, Mueller will testify for an extended period of time with the House Judiciary and intelligence committees.
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| Unprecedented fires burn the Arctic Posted: 13 Jul 2019 08:35 AM PDT  Smoke is rising over the forests of Alaska and Siberia.The World Meteorological Organization called the wildfires now burning around the Arctic "unprecedented." The United Nations agency noted that over 100 intense fires burned in the Arctic Circle alone over the past six weeks, releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than Sweden does in an entire year. A rare fire even ignited in Greenland, amid unusually hot and dry weather.Amplified wildfires are an expected, predictable consequence of a warming climate. This is all the more true in the Arctic, a sprawling region that is heating up twice as fast as the rest of the globe. The profound changes here can be easily observed over the Arctic ocean, too, where sea ice has broken records for melting throughout the 2019 summer.Over the course of 10 days in July, Alaskan wildfires burned an area of land the size of Rhode Island. This is way above normal -- though this doesn't match Alaska's extreme burning of 2015. > Alaska wildfires have now burned 1.28 million acres (519k ha), the 3rd highest total to date (since 1993) according to @BLM_AFS analysis. This includes 1218 square miles burned in July. That's one Rhode Island in 10 days. akwx wildfire @Climatologist49 @IARC_Alaska @TScottRupp pic.twitter.com/gVTIox3x2k> > -- Rick Thoman (@AlaskaWx) July 10, 2019> Record-breaking heat in Alaska has exacerbated clusters of wildfires burning throughout the state. https://t.co/8zqVC5JAjx NASA MODIS fire pic.twitter.com/64zL7gYETx> > -- NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) July 11, 2019The largely Arctic state, however, just had its warmest 12-month period on record.SEE ALSO: Climate change will ruin train tracks and make travel hellJust across the Bering Sea, in Siberia, NASA satellite images from July 13 show dense smoke swirling over eastern Russia, with red spots designating wildfires.Fires in Siberia on July 13, 2019.Image: nasa worldviewWhile a warming climate itself doesn't create weather events or fires, it amplifies these events and significantly boosts the odds of such events occurring. That's why leading climate scientists emphasize looking at the bigger picture -- and following trends.And the trends are clear. On Earth, 18 of the 19 warmest years on record have occurred since 2001. Warmer climes mean an atmosphere that holds more water, which translates to a boost in pummeling deluges -- like the type that flooded Washington, D.C. earlier this week. The U.S. just experienced its wettest 12 months in 124 years of recorded history. Such warming also means momentous declines in Arctic sea ice, amplified, growing drought in arid swathes of the United States, and fires that are burning for weeks longer than they were in the 1980sThe future may have its many unknowns. But it's almost certain that the Arctic will be a smokier place as the region continues a relentless, accelerating warming trend. This July, Anchorage hit 90 degrees Fahrenheit. That's the hottest day ever recorded in the city's history. WATCH: Ever wonder how the universe might end?
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| Hypersonic War: The Weapons of the Future Have Arrived Posted: 12 Jul 2019 06:07 AM PDT  Aircraft capable of hypersonic flight will be able to penetrate layered anti-aircraft defenses. During its career as one of the Air Force's premier Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, the venerable SR-71, which could fly at speeds up to Mach 3, was fired upon unsuccessfully hundreds of times. A new technological competition has begun, one in which America's rivals, particularly Russia and China, may be ahead. This is the race to build and put in the field super-fast or hypersonic weapons and vehicles. The military defines a hypersonic weapon as one that travels at least Mach 5 or five times the speed of sound. In comparison, commercial aircraft fly at around Mach 1 while some military jets can push themselves to around Mach 3, but only for a short time.There are two basic types of hypersonic weapons: super-fast cruise missiles, and boost-glide vehicles that are mounted on ballistic missiles. Hypersonic cruise missiles, which would most commonly be launched from aircraft, maintain powered flight from launch to impact. Boost-glide vehicles are lofted by a ballistic missile launched from an aircraft, ship, submarine or ground unit to the edge of space from which point they use their speed and aerodynamic design to skip along the top of the atmosphere for up to 10,000 miles.(This first appeared in June 2019.)
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| Kentucky Fried Chicken in ruins after explosion levels out restaurant in North Carolina Posted: 12 Jul 2019 04:59 PM PDT  Authorities say no one was in the restaurant when it exploded.
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| View 2020 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4/Spyder Photos Posted: 12 Jul 2019 12:00 PM PDT |
| Pakistani traders strike over IMF austerity measures Posted: 13 Jul 2019 05:04 AM PDT ![Pakistani traders strike over IMF austerity measures]( "Pakistani traders strike over IMF austerity measures") Markets and wholesale merchants across Pakistan closed on Saturday in a strike by businesses against measures demanded by the International Monetary Fund to crack down on tax evasion and bolster the country's depleted public finances. In Karachi, the country's main commercial city, around 80% of markets dealing in bulk goods were closed, said Atiq Mir, president of the All Karachi Traders Alliance, which represents hundreds of markets in the city. "Government policies have created mistrust in trade and industry," said Mir, who added that traders were already struggling with corrupt tax officials demanding bribes.
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| New Zealand gun owners turn over their weapons for money Posted: 12 Jul 2019 10:36 PM PDT  Dozens of Christchurch gun owners on Saturday handed over their weapons in exchange for money, in the first of more than 250 planned buyback events around New Zealand after the government outlawed many types of semi-automatics. Police said they paid more than 430,000 New Zealand dollars ($288,000) to 169 gun owners during the event. The money was paid directly into the bank accounts of gun owners.
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| Trump 'pulled out of Iran nuclear deal to spite Obama', suggests Kim Darroch in new leaked memo Posted: 13 Jul 2019 02:45 PM PDT  Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal to spite his predecessor Barack Obama, the UK's former ambassador reportedly suggested in a new leaked diplomatic memo.Sir Kim Darroch claimed the US president's actions amounted to "diplomatic vandalism" and were fuelled by "personality" reasons, according to a document seen by The Mail on Sunday.The ambassador's comments are said to have been made in May 2018 after Boris Johnson, who was foreign secretary at the time, made a failed trip to the White House in a bid to change Mr Trump's mind on leaving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.The latest revelation came as police identified a suspect behind the leak, according to The Sunday Times.Just hours earlier, Mr Johnson and Tory leadership rival Jeremy Hunt criticised Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu for warning journalists they could face prosecution for publishing the memos.Mr Basu said the leaked emails could be a "criminal matter" that was not in the public interest, and that a police investigation had been launched into a potential breach of the Official Secrets Act.Mr Hunt said he would "defend to the hilt the right of the press to publish those leaks if they receive them and judge them to be in the public interest".And Mr Johnson said prosecution "would amount to an infringement on press freedom and have a chilling effect on public debate".In a memo to Downing Street on 8 May last year, sent after Mr Johnson returned to London, Sir Kim said the Trump administration was "set upon an act of diplomatic vandalism, seemingly for ideological and personality reasons – it was Obama's deal", The Mail on Sunday reported.He is said to have suggested that there were splits among Mr Trump's closest advisers – with Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, distancing himself from the president's actions – and that the White House lacked a strategy on what to do following its withdrawal from the Iran deal.Neither Mr Pompeo nor Mike Pence, the vice president, or John Bolton, the national security adviser, "could articulate why the President was determined to withdraw, beyond his campaign promises", Sir Kim added.In a second cable sent later that day, the former ambassador reportedly wrote that "following a typically hyperbolic statement on the nature of the 'murderous' Iranian regime, Mr Trump signed a presidential memorandum to start the process of reinstating US nuclear sanctions".Sir Kim resigned from his role on Wednesday after leaked documents published a week ago by The Mail on Sunday revealed he had described Mr Trump's administration as "dysfunctional" and "inept".The president lashed out at the former ambassador in a string of tweets, saying Washington would "no longer deal" with him, and that he was "not liked or well thought of" within the country.Sir Kim quit his post, saying his job had become "impossible" after Mr Trump's tirade against him.It is believed he made the decision to resign while watching Tuesday's televised Tory leadership debate, during which Mr Johnson refused to rule out replacing him.
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| Hero Dad Dies in Rip Current After Passing His Drowning Daughter, 8, to Mom at Florida Beach Posted: 12 Jul 2019 09:19 AM PDT  Dad Dies After Saving Daughter in Florida Rip Current
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| Hurricane Barry is hitting Louisiana as the first hurricane of 2019. Here's why storms are getting stronger, slower, and wetter. Posted: 13 Jul 2019 08:40 AM PDT  Hurricane Barry is moving over the Louisiana coast. Here's how climate change is making storms stronger, wetter, and more frequent.
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| Fossil of 99 million-year-old bird with giant toe found in Burma Posted: 11 Jul 2019 10:24 PM PDT  The fossilised remains of an ancient 99-million-year-old bird with a freakishly long toe have been discovered in a chunk of amber from Burma. Researchers found the third digit of the sparrow-like creature's foot was 9.8 millimetres long, about 41 percent longer than its second-longest digit, and 20 percent longer than its entire lower leg, reported Science News. Palaeontologists are unsure what purpose the extra-long toe served, but it may have helped the cretaceous period bird find food in difficult-to-reach places such as holes in trees. The bird may have been a tree-dweller, also using its extended claw to grasp on to branches. The formation of its foot was so unique that a team examining the fossil, led by paleontologist Lida Xing from the China University of Biosciences in Beijing, decided to declare a new species, calling the bird Elektorornis (amber bird) chenguangi. Their findings were published in Current Biology on Thursday. The New York Times reported that the remains had lain undisturbed in hardened tree resin until amber miners found the fossil in Burma's Hukawng Valley in 2014. It was first presented to Chen Guang, a curator at China's Hupoge Amber Museum, and initially suspected to be an extinct lizard. However, Mr Chen decided to consult Ms Xing who specialises in Cretaceous birds and the tiny creature was discovered to be related to an extinct group of toothed, clawed birds called Enantiornithes, which was bountiful during the Cretaceous period of 145.5 million to 66 million years ago. The ancient bird was found fossilized in amber Credit: Lida Xing/PA "I was very surprised at the time," Dr Xing told the Times, recalling that the fossil was "undoubtedly the claw of a bird." Dr Xing's team compared the toe size ratios with other known birds starting from the Mesozoic era, which began 252 million years ago, and found that no other species had such a dramatic difference in toe sizes. The Elektorornis chenguangi died out with other species in its family along with non-avian dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period.
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| Northern California town of Paradise lost 90% of its population after Camp Fire, data shows Posted: 11 Jul 2019 08:14 PM PDT  The town of Paradise has lost over 90% of its population since the Camp Fire last year, according to data California released Thursday.
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| Canada says another citizen detained in China amid row Posted: 13 Jul 2019 05:00 PM PDT  China detained another Canadian citizen amid sour relations between the two countries, Canada's foreign ministry said on Saturday, though the reason for the jailing remains unclear. "Global Affairs Canada is aware of the detention of a Canadian citizen in Yantai, China," a spokesman told AFP. The detention follows Beijing's jailing of two Canadians earlier this year after Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer for Chinese tech giant Huawei, was taken into custody in Vancouver on a warrant from the United States.
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