| Chuck Todd rips GOP senator for responding to Trump-Ukraine question with 'Fox News conspiracy propaganda stuff' Posted: 06 Oct 2019 09:30 AM PDT  Chuck Todd slammed Republican Sen. Ron Johnson for bringing up "Fox News conspiracy propaganda stuff" on "Meet the Press" Sunday when Johnson failed to answer a question about President Trump.
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| Nevada fighting to keep 'zombie deer' from entering state Posted: 07 Oct 2019 08:22 AM PDT  Zombie deer may sound like something in a bad B-movie, but wildlife regulators say they're real and officials are working to keep them out of Nevada. The term relates to animals that have contracted chronic wasting disease, a highly contagious and terminal disorder that causes symptoms such as lack of fear of humans, lethargy and emaciation, The Las Vegas Sun reported. Officials are testing dead animals and monitoring migratory elk and deer at the state line with Utah for signs of the sickness, Peregrine Wolff, a Nevada Department of Wildlife veterinarian, said.
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| Israel unveils remains of 5,000-year-old city Posted: 06 Oct 2019 12:51 PM PDT ![Israel unveils remains of 5,000-year-old city]( "Israel unveils remains of 5,000-year-old city") Israeli archaeologists on Sunday unveiled the remains of a 5,000-year-old city they said was among the biggest from its era in the region, including fortifications, a ritual temple and a cemetery. "We have here an immense urban construction, planned with streets that separate neighbourhoods and public spaces," Yitzhak Paz of the Israel Antiquities Authority told AFP at the site near the Mediterranean in the country's centre. The archaeological site known as En Esur "is the largest site and the most important from that era" in the region, said Itai Elad, another archaeologist overseeing the excavation.
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| 10 Parking Feats on Video That Are Completely Next Level Posted: 07 Oct 2019 02:00 PM PDT |
| Sen. Graham: Congress will call for Turkey's NATO suspension and hit it with sanctions if it attacks Kurds Posted: 07 Oct 2019 12:43 PM PDT  Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on Monday warned Turkey a bipartisan group of lawmakers would introduce sanctions against it and "call for their suspension from NATO" if it attacks the Kurds in Syria.
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| One suspect in custody, second on the loose in Kansas City mass shooting Posted: 07 Oct 2019 12:38 AM PDT  Police arrested one suspect in a Kansas City, Kan., area bar mass shooting and were hunting for a second gunman early on Monday, in an attack that killed four people and wounded five, police said. No motive was given for the early Sunday shooting, but one of the two men wanted was kicked out of the Tequilla KC Bar, a private club, late on Saturday, police said. It took four people to throw the man out after he tossed a cup at a bartender who had refused to serve him, media including the Kansas City Star reported.
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| Israeli PM's pre-indictment hearing concludes: lawyer Posted: 07 Oct 2019 01:04 PM PDT  A four-day hearing into allegations of corruption against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to an end on Monday, one of his lawyers said. "The hearing ended tonight," the premier's lawyer, Yossi Ashkenazy, told reporters. "We presented all our arguments which must, logically, confirm that all the indictments must be annulled," he added.
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| The GOP is gaslighting America Posted: 07 Oct 2019 02:55 AM PDT ![The GOP is gaslighting America]( "The GOP is gaslighting America") President Trump is serious.He was serious in 2016 when he asked Russia to search for Hillary Clinton's emails. And he was serious last week when he stood in front of the White House and urged Ukraine and China to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a possible rival for the presidency in 2020. Trump really did want Russia to interfere in the 2016 election, and he really does want foreign countries to take out Biden for him before next year's campaign.Republicans know this. The problem, though, is that they cannot defend the indefensible. They don't want to endorse the idea of inviting foreign interference in American elections, but they aren't ready to abandon the president, either. So they've decided that the best way to defend Trump from impeachment is to tell the world he cannot be taken seriously -- that the word of the president of the United States is meaningless, because he's too busy trolling the world. The president of the United States is a jokester.Consider these comments made over the weekend by various congressional Republicans:Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.): "I doubt if the China comment was serious, to tell you the truth."Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.): "I don't know that that's a real request or him just needling the press, knowing that you guys are going to get outraged by it. He's pretty good at getting everybody fired up. And he's been doing that for a while and the media responded right on task."Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio): "You really think he was serious about thinking that China's going to investigate the Biden family? I think he's getting the press all spun up about this."Nonsense. Joking requires a punch line, a surprise at the end of a story. Good jokes require an audience ready to laugh. Jokes need context -- a wink, a nudge -- to land correctly. Really good jokes often involve a degree of misdirection. Most importantly, though, jokes need to be funny. The Republicans' "just joking" defense is a way to let the president have his cake and eat it too -- to ask for foreign intervention in American elections without having to be held responsible for making that request.Feminists long ago identified this kind of behavior for what it really is: gaslighting. It's a way that abusers, usually men, manipulate and control their victims by making them believe they can't trust the evidence relayed by their own senses. Trump may not be a master of gaslighting, but he is a frequent practitioner of it -- and now the broader Republican Party is taking his cue.So watch carefully the video of Trump asking Ukraine and China to investigate Biden, and ask yourself if you'd think any of this was funny -- or a put-on -- without Republicans rushing to assure you that he didn't really mean it:> President Trump says he wants both Ukraine and China to investigate Joe Biden and his son https://t.co/61W3znhPM1 pic.twitter.com/dhC0tXKhww> > -- CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 3, 2019It sure looks like he means what he says. So why pretend otherwise?Trump, of course, has long sought advantage by keeping his listeners off-guard and guessing at his meaning. Selena Zito advised observers in 2016 to take Trump "seriously, but not literally," a formulation not just confusing and wrong, but also advantageous: It forced pundits to spend unnecessary time trying to interpret what was happening in plain sight. The New Yorker's Emily Nussbaum got closer to the heart of the matter after the election, in a piece that asked: "How do you fight an enemy who's just kidding?"The humor deployed by Trump and his supporters during the campaign, she suggested, should properly be understood as authoritarian, cloaking their intentions in a fog of joking-not-joking memes and Pepe the Frog cartoons."The Big Lie is a propaganda technique: State false facts so outlandish that they must be true, because who would make up something so crazy?" Nussbaum wrote. "But a joke can be another kind of Big Lie, shrunk to look like a toy."Indeed, the latest invocations of the "just joking" defense are trying to persuade Americans of an easily debunked lie -- to suggest, against all available evidence, that the president's critics simply don't understand the man, that they're gullible, humorless scolds who should be embarrassed for taking his words so seriously. It's a ruse designed to foster second-guessing and help Trump elude his critics.But Trump has rather plainly stated his intentions: He wants the help of foreign governments to investigate and undermine his political opponents. There is no winking or nudging. He isn't pulling a gag. He means what he says. The only funny thing about the matter is that Republicans think they can persuade us the whole thing is just a big joke.Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.
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| As PG&E Is Remade, Will Wildfire Victims Be Left Behind? Posted: 07 Oct 2019 11:53 AM PDT  SAN FRANCISCO -- After a succession of devastating wildfires in the last four years, tens of thousands of Californians -- many with broken spirits, many homeless -- may now lose out on compensation from the company that was to blame.A deadline for victims to file claims is less than three weeks away. About 30,000 have done so with the help of lawyers, along with 1,500 acting on their own. But the deadline could pass without claims from as many as 70,000 others eligible for compensation.They include Steve Kane, who fears he would take away money from those needing it more, and Kelly Boyer, who says he can't prove the value of all his losses when the town of Paradise was destroyed last year.The filing deadline, part of the bankruptcy case of Pacific Gas & Electric, California's biggest utility, is the victims' chance to piece together at least parts of their shattered lives. The stakes are high: If people like Kane and Boyer do not file claims, investors in the utility -- whose equipment has been blamed for several major fires -- will retain that much more. PG&E filed for bankruptcy protection in January as it amassed billions of dollars in potential liability for years of wildfires. It has set a target of $8.4 billion for payouts to wildfire victims, while pledging that all court-approved claims from victims will be honored."PG&E remains focused on doing right by the customers and communities we serve," Andrew Castagnola, a PG&E spokesman, said in a statement. The utility says it has mailed 6.2 million claim forms to possible victims of about two dozen fires, calling attention to the process through websites, email, social media, and radio and television ads.But some lawyers for wildfire victims say the utility's bankruptcy proceeding has been used to prevent as many people as possible from filing a claim."They wanted to use the bankruptcy rules to their benefit to limit their liability to victims," said Mike Danko, a lawyer in the Bay Area who represents about 4,000 victims from fires in 2015, 2017 and 2018. He said the Oct. 21 deadline for claims was unduly rigid and was meant by PG&E "to end up with a smaller number."Many wildfire victims are still displaced, sometimes living in tent cities or on the streets, often confused about the convoluted claims process and traumatized by their losses. Their failure to come forward could benefit PG&E and its investors."There are probably thousands, if not tens of thousands, that have had some impact from these Northern California fires that are not going to seek anything from PG&E," said Cecily Dumas, a lawyer for the Official Committee of Tort Claimants, a group appointed by the court to represent all wildfire victims in the bankruptcy."If people choose not to file claims in the PG&E bankruptcy case," she added, "at least they know they can."Weighing a 'Moral Dilemma'Eleven months after a 100-year-old utility tower is suspected of sparking California's most devastating wildfire, known as the Camp Fire, Kane barely recognizes his quiet corner of Paradise in the Sierra Nevada foothills north of Sacramento.The beauty of the roomy lots and old-growth pine trees that lured the retired contractor and his wife from the high desert outside Los Angeles have been replaced by trailers, scorched basketball hoops and the skeleton of a former hospital.After a long week in limbo last November with other evacuated members of their family, the couple learned that a guesthouse, a workshop and nine other structures on the property had burned -- and that insurance covered less than half the approximately $250,000 in damage. But the main house survived, and after a brief attempt at selling the property, Kane, 61, threw himself into scrubbing away ash, installing a water purification system and salvaging the property.He did not, however, file a claim against PG&E for the roughly $150,000 in uninsured losses."Every time I've got to deal with it, it just brings me back to what I don't really want to think about anyway, you know?" Kane said. "When I'm working on my house, I'm not thinking about those problems."Before he was asked whether he planned to file a claim, Kane said he was unaware he could do so without a lawyer. He said he was unsure whether he had received forms from PG&E to file a claim by mail.But even if he had a claim form to file, Kane fears that it would take away from those who suffered more profound losses, like neighbors who lost relatives, pets, homes or businesses."That is where I wrestle with the moral dilemma," said Kane, who is housing some of those whose properties burned. "It's like if I join the club and then seek recovery, they're going to get less, when they need more than I need."Such views trouble lawyers arguing for victims' interests, who have argued in court and in legal filings that victims often believe there is a lack of money to pay them because of PG&E's bankruptcy. They also say many do not understand that they can collect compensation from PG&E even if insurance companies have covered some losses, and that the payments would not force them to rebuild where they formerly lived if they had moved away or wanted to start over.In addition, one of the lawyers said, it is a common misconception that people who do not have proof cannot file a claim. Just having to flee the fire enables a claim, the lawyer said."The legacy of this bankruptcy should not be that tens of thousands of underinformed, displaced and traumatized fire victims have their substantial claims precluded," Steven Skikos, one of the court-appointed lawyers representing victims' interests, said by email. "Thousands of fire victims have lost everything and now, without their knowledge or informed consent, are about to lose their opportunity to recover anything."From interviews with wildfire victims, confusion about what is available to them appears widespread.Helen Sedwick and her husband lost their home in Santa Rosa, near the state's wine country, in a 2017 fire. PG&E was not found responsible for the fire, but the court has allowed victims to pursue a lawsuit against the utility for damage based on evidence that suggests that the power company was at fault.Sedwick, a lawyer, said she was filing a claim and urging other victims to do so. But she said many did not understand the process or were simply too traumatized to focus on it."Losing your home is profoundly disorienting," Sedwick said. "A lot of people are not filing because they are intimidated by the process. They think that because PG&E filed bankruptcy, they're broke."'I Don't Really Have Any Proof'Boyer, 49, a former construction worker whose rented trailer in Paradise was destroyed in the Camp Fire, spent the first week afterward in a tent city outside the Walmart in Chico, a nearby town. For the next 10 months, he shuffled among an organic farm, a refugee camp at the county fairgrounds and encampments along rural highways.Life outside finally took its toll. Boyer had settled into a campsite near Butte Creek, serene but a steep 15-mile hike to and from the convenience store where he stocked up on 100 pounds of food twice a month. A cut on his toe became badly infected, and Boyer was admitted to a hospital for an amputation in August. After a few days, wary of losing his few remaining belongings, he left."The nurses down there are probably cussing me out, because when I left it was still an open wound," Boyer said. "I told them: 'I've got to go. I've got to get up there and check my camp. If I'm not careful, everything I own is going to be gone again.'"After the medical scare, with his foot still in thick bandages, Boyer sought help from an old friend and a few Facebook groups for fire survivors. He soon had a 1980s-vintage recreational vehicle and a three-month offer to stay on a parcel where the owners are finishing building plans. He considers himself lucky to have shelter and hopes to take advantage of aid programs to channel his love of guitar into sound-engineering classes at Butte College.Boyer said he did not have a lawyer and had not filed a claim against PG&E for his belongings or expensive musical equipment lost in the fire."See, I don't really have any proof of anything I had there," he said. "I'm wondering if it's worth the effort."A Looming DeadlineAny doubts, anxieties or crossed signals that limit the number of claims could benefit PG&E and its investors.Before the 2017 wildfires, PG&E stock was trading above $70 a share, a five-year high. But with the bankruptcy and investigators' determination that the utility was responsible for the Camp Fire and several others, the stock price is barely above $10.PG&E has proposed terms in the bankruptcy that would put its overall payments for wildfire-related losses at $20.4 billion. In addition to earmarking $8.4 billion for victims, it has committed $11 billion to insurers and $1 billion to public agencies, subject to court approval.It is pushing to complete the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process by June 30 so it can qualify for a newly created state program that will provide utilities with a backstop against liability in future fires.Ahead of the Oct. 21 cutoff for claims, a series of critical hearings is scheduled, starting Monday. Frank Pitre, a lawyer who represents wildfire victims, has signaled a possible move to push the deadline farther out."We may be coming before you and asking for an extension of time for the claims process," Pitre told the court last month. "I'm very concerned that we are not getting in the requisite claims that should come in based on what we believed, in good faith, are the number of people who have been impacted."He said the total number, including those who had already filed claims, could be 75,000 to 100,000."PG&E's game is to cut the time period for victims' compensation way down," Pitre said in an interview. "That works to the advantage of PG&E and their shareholders. They want to game the system."Asked to address the assertion, Castagnola, the company spokesman, said, "PG&E believes the Chapter 11 process will support the orderly, fair and expeditious resolution of claims, including wildfire claims."Victims like Sedwick said that with the trauma of dealing with their losses, filing a claim was not on a lot of victims' minds. Many assumed the 13-page claim package that PG&E sent was junk mail and threw it away, she said. Others, like Kane, aren't sure they ever got it.Kane is unsure whether he will stay in Paradise in the long term. He worries that it will remain a "trailer city," and that businesses won't return. He empathizes with those who lost everything, he said, but he hopes that the town will move forward with stricter rules for rebuilding, and he is wary of high costs for insurance, taxes and utilities."Life is messy," he said, "and it's not necessarily fair."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| Taliban commanders released as hopes rise for resumption of US peace negotiations Posted: 07 Oct 2019 11:34 AM PDT  Hopes are rising for the resumption of the abandoned Taliban and US peace talks after eleven senior Taliban members were freed from prison in an exchange with three kidnapped Indian engineers. Among those freed are two former provincial governors of the Taliban and Abdul Rashid Baluch, a notorious regional leader sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for trafficking opium. The men were being held near Bagram air base outside Kabul. It is believed American authorities must have given permission for the swap as Baluch was previously on their 'Specially Designated Global Terrorist' list. Last month, Donald Trump cancelled over a year's worth of on-going peace negotiations with the Taliban after the group claimed a Kabul bomb attack that killed 11 people, including an American soldier. However, relations appear to be thawing again after Zalmay Khalilzad, the Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation at the State Department, met senior Taliban leaders on Friday for clandestine talks in Islamabad. It is unclear whether the exchange of the Taliban leaders was discussed during the meeting. While the Afghan authorities do intermittently release prisoners early as gestures of goodwill it is rare to see such high-profile members of the Taliban freed. Abdul Rashid Baluch was a regional official for the group in the southwestern province of Nimroz when he was apprehended while personally escorting an almost one-tonne consignment of opium in 2014. Baluch's arrest was trumpeted by the U.S-Afghan authorities as proof of Taliban involvement in the international drug trade. Officials said Sheikh Abdur Rahim and Mawlawi Abdur Rashid – provincial governors in the Taliban administration when it was defeated by U.S-led forces in 2001 – were also released. The three Indians set free were working as engineers in the northern Afghan province of Baghlan when they were kidnapped in May 2018, along with four other colleagues. One man was released in March but the whereabouts of the three remaining Indians is unknown.
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| Here Are All the 2019 Nobel Prize Winners (So Far) Posted: 07 Oct 2019 04:02 AM PDT  The first award went to a trio for their research into cellular oxygen use
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| GM laying off another 415 workers in Mexico as U.S. strike continues Posted: 07 Oct 2019 08:46 AM PDT  GM said it had partially idled its Ramos Arizpe propulsion plant, with the V8 engine line and the CVT transmission line not operating. The plant continues to build engines for the Ramos assembly plant, which is still operating, but GM previously laid off 6,000 workers in Mexico at a separate facility in Silao, Mexico.
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| If a War Happened, Iran Would Train Its Missile on the Navy Posted: 07 Oct 2019 12:43 PM PDT  Could they sink a carrier?
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| Everything we know about Hunter Biden's business connections in China Posted: 07 Oct 2019 07:16 AM PDT  President Donald Trump has made multiple allegations about the global business dealings of former Vice President Joe Biden's son.
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| FBI: Most prolific serial killer in U.S. murdered at least 50 Posted: 07 Oct 2019 04:23 AM PDT  A 79-year-old man murdered at least 50 people, making him the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history, the FBI said Sunday.
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| Tourists to be welcomed back to Indian Kashmir: governor Posted: 07 Oct 2019 10:05 AM PDT  Tourists warned by India to leave Kashmir just days before stripping the restive valley of its autonomy will be welcomed back later this week, the region's governor said Monday. Authorities in early August called for holiday-makers to leave "immediately" over "terror threats" to a major Hindu pilgrimage, sending thousands scrambling for places on planes and buses. New Delhi also imposed a clampdown on movement and cut off all communications including the internet and phone lines just before the controversial autonomy decision to quell unrest.
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| Witness: 'El Chapo' gave $1M to Honduran president's brother Posted: 07 Oct 2019 05:04 PM PDT  A Honduran former mayor and drug trafficker testified Monday that Mexican kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán personally gave $1 million to the brother of Honduras' president in 2013 for the politician's presidential campaign. The longtime Sinaloa cartel boss made the payment to be able to smuggle cocaine through Honduras to Guatemala, Amílcar Alexander Ardón alleged in testimony on the fourth day of the Manhattan drug trial of Tony Hernández, brother of President Juan Orlando Hernández.
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| What a Trump vs. Warren race would look like Posted: 07 Oct 2019 02:50 AM PDT ![What a Trump vs. Warren race would look like]( "What a Trump vs. Warren race would look like") Despite Elizabeth Warren's rise to the top of numerous major polls, I am not entirely sold on her winning the Democratic presidential nomination. The phenomenon of a candidate who races ahead of the competition months before the first primary contest only to end up with a third or fourth-place finish in Iowa -- or even drop out before a single vote is cast -- is not exactly unknown.That said, there is a good argument that at this point no one is mistaking Warren for a Michele Bachmann. Early surging dropouts tend to be ideological outliers who rile up the most excitable elements in a given party's base at a time when not everyone is paying attention, which is why people like Ron Paul were contenders in the Iowa Straw Poll back when that was a thing. Warren, meanwhile, is the only candidate showing signs of doing what I and many other observers said would be necessary for the eventual Democratic nominee -- namely, splitting the difference between DNC establishment types and progressive activists. On paper Warren might have a great deal in common with Bernie Sanders, but her style is fundamentally different. Yes, she talks about breaking up the world's largest corporations and increasing taxes (and even creating new ones) and single-payer health care, but she also talks about the importance of party unity. She understands that you can say "I agree with Bernie" in a debate as long you explain to donors behind closed doors that you are not here for a "revolution." She does not shout or rant.For all of these reasons, Warren is a great candidate in a Democratic primary and the one most likely to win the nomination if Joe Biden implodes. (Nancy Pelosi's recent decision to make his son Hunter's extensive knowledge of Eurasian mining infrastructure a 24/7 cable news talking point probably won't help forestall that possibility.)Does that mean that she will be equally effective in a general election? This will depend on a number of factors, only some of which Warren has the ability to control.The most important of these is the extent to which she decides to make her campaign about Trump as opposed to the policy debates in which she has generally excelled. If Democrats learned anything in 2016 -- an open question, surely -- it is that it is impossible to win with a campaign that is not about anything except the all-consuming "Can you believe he said that?" badness of one's opponent. McMansion wine moms in Northern Virginia want to hear about what a misogynist the gross orange man is, and they will pay $4600 a pop for the privilege. The voters Democrats actually need in 2020 are the ones in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania who want to hear that Trump is right about trade and manufacturing and the swamp but that he has shown he can't get the job done. Warren is in a good position to make the argument that she can. But will she?Then there is the related question of her composure. If you don't think Trump is capable of getting under her skin, remember that last year he single-handedly convinced her to take a freaking DNA test, the results of which she proudly reported, not-so-accidentally endorsing the "one-drop" theory. Native Americans were, rather understandably, appalled. Everyone else, with the possible exception of Trump himself, was confused. This is not how a sober-minded person responds to jibes from someone who has spent his entire life insulting people.The Native American ancestry controversy is not going away, even if Warren does somehow manage to beat the current Super Tuesday math, which still favors Biden. How many Pocahontas jokes do you think she can stomach? Is she ready for Trump to tweet "Colors of the Wind" with her face superimposed on the Disney princess character by some teenaged alt-right sludgelord? Is she ready for the rally at which Trump tunelessly declaims -- in that affectless monotone he adopts whenever he is trying to read something -- the lyrics from Cher's "Half Breed"? Talking about postal banking in the middle of all this is going to require a very cool head.This is to say nothing of questions that we officially do not discuss about the misogyny, unconscious or otherwise, that obviously persists among certain older Democratic voters. Among the small but all-important bloc of voters who went from supporting Barack Obama to Trump, it seems to me not impossible that sex was an important, if largely unacknowledged factor. If you do not think that there is such a thing as a lifelong Democrat who has doubts about a woman's ability to be commander-in-chief, you have never been on a UAW golf outing.Warren has no control over her sex. But she is the person who gets to decide whether she runs, both in the upcoming Democratic primary contests and in the general election if she manages to win, as the sober pragmatist she has always presented herself as.Doing so in the midst of what will almost certainly be relentless and crude personal attacks from Trump will be very difficult. But it is probably the only way to nullify the built-in rhetorical advantages that, in the face of his inability to deliver on any of the promises of his 2016 campaign, increasingly look like his only weapon in the next election.Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.
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| Passenger forcibly removed from American Airlines plane by police at Miami airport Posted: 07 Oct 2019 01:18 PM PDT  On Monday morning, a man was removed from an American Airlines plane by Miami-Dade Police using force.
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| Pennsylvania Groom Sexually Assaulted Bridesmaid Two Days Before His Wedding, Police Say Posted: 07 Oct 2019 12:21 PM PDT  He's now charged with the involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of an unconscious person
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| Wall Street falls amid caution on U.S.-China trade dispute Posted: 07 Oct 2019 04:38 AM PDT  U.S. stocks eased on Monday as reports on the U.S.-China trade front kept investors cautious ahead of scheduled talks later in the week. A report that Beijing was increasingly reluctant to agree to a broad trade deal pursued by President Donald Trump weighed on sentiment early.
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| The True Cost of the Attack on Saudi Arabia's Oil Supply Posted: 07 Oct 2019 10:39 AM PDT  Saudi Arabia has been the kingpin of American strategy toward Iran. Any loosening of Washington's ties with Riyadh is bound to redound to Tehran's benefit.
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| 'Idiot press!': Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani launches wild Fox News rant in latest meltdown on live TV Posted: 07 Oct 2019 06:16 AM PDT  Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani lashed out at the "idiot press" during his latest TV interview about the impeachment inquiry.The former mayor of New York even turned on Fox News host Howard Kurtz for daring to contradict his allegations about the US president's 2020 main rival Joe Biden.
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| Pastor: I hope Supreme Court agrees LGBTQ people should be free from job discrimination Posted: 07 Oct 2019 12:11 PM PDT  When we talk about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all, there should be no ambiguity in what the word "all" means.
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| Chicago Attorney Who Interfered In Jussie Smollet Probe Tapped to Run ‘Time’s Up’ Women’s Org Posted: 07 Oct 2019 12:50 PM PDT  Tina Tchen, a Chicago attorney who served as Michelle Obama's chief-of-staff, was tapped as the new chief executive of the national advocacy organization "Time's Up" on Monday. "[We're going to] work hard at the root cause of sexual harassment: because sexual harassment occurs when we have workplaces that aren't diverse, that aren't inclusive, that don't respect their workers," Tchen said in the announcement on Twitter. "And so we're going to work with companies, with employers, with employees to make those workplaces ones that are safe, respectful, and where everyone can reach their full potential."Tchen co-founded Time's Up's legal-defense fund, the organization's signature initiative to offer legal support for women in all industries facing workplace sexual harassment. The fund has so far raised more than $24 million.Tchen, who was tapped in March to review a series of workplace-harassment allegations for the Southern Poverty Law Center, played a key role in the dropping of 16 felony charges against actor Jessie Smollett, who falsely claimed to be the target of a racially-motivated attack. Per reporting from the Chicago Sun Times, Tchen, reportedly at the request of Smollett's family, texted Cook County state attorney Kim Foxx to ask that she persuade Chicago Police Department superintendent Eddie Johnson to turn Smollett's case over to the FBI. Tchen claims she made the request out of a desire to prevent media leaks. Just days after Smollett claimed the crime had occurred, Foxx replied to Tchen saying she had made her case to Eddie Johnson, who ultimately refused to relinquish control over the probe."OMG this would be a huge victory," Tchen wrote in response to a text message from Foxx. "I make no guarantees," Foxx answered, "but I'm trying."Foxx later recused herself from the case, a move that prompted a letter from the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police asking the Department of Justice to open an investigation into Foxx's handling of the situation. In June, a Chicago judge appointed a special prosecutor to look into the matter and suggested that Foxx acted improperly in her decision to hand over the case to a top deputy.Michelle Obama took to Twitter to celebrate the announcement.> I'm thrilled that @TIMESUPNOW named @TinaTchen—one of the most brilliant and purposeful leaders I've ever worked with—as its new president and CEO. I've seen how Tina's hustle and intellect can transform policies and touch lives, and I can't wait to see her thrive in this role! https://t.co/iWxPIaRQv0> > -- Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) October 7, 2019
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| Airline went into records after Max crash, engineer says Posted: 07 Oct 2019 02:04 PM PDT  Ethiopian Airlines' former chief engineer says in a whistleblower complaint filed with regulators that the carrier went into the maintenance records on a Boeing 737 Max jet a day after it crashed this year, a breach he contends was part of a pattern of corruption that included fabricating documents, signing off on shoddy repairs and even beating those who got out of line. Yonas Yeshanew, who resigned this summer and is seeking asylum in the U.S., said that while it is unclear what, if anything, in the records was altered, the decision to go into them at all when they should have been sealed reflects a government-owned airline with few boundaries and plenty to hide. "The brutal fact shall be exposed ... Ethiopian Airlines is pursuing the vision of expansion, growth and profitability by compromising safety," Yeshanew said in his report, which he gave to The Associated Press after sending it last month to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and other international air safety agencies.
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| Kentucky officials are getting a lot of attention from Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao Posted: 07 Oct 2019 11:43 AM PDT ![Kentucky officials are getting a lot of attention from Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao]( "Kentucky officials are getting a lot of attention from Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao") Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao's frequent meetings with officials from Kentucky are raising some eyebrows, Politico reports.Between January 2017 and March 2018, records show that 25 percent of Chao's scheduled meetings with local officials of any state seeking federal grant money were with Kentuckians. For reference, Indiana and Georgia were next in line with 6 percent of the meetings apiece, Politico reports.Chao is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who represents the Bluegrass State in the upper chamber, so the news hasn't been received particularly well. In fact, at least five of Chao's 18 meetings with Kentucky officials were requested by McConnell staffers, who reportedly told Chao's team if the officials were "friends" or "loyal supporters" of McConnell. "The marriage is the thing that underlies all of this," said Mel Dubnick, a professor of government ethics and accountability at the University of New Hampshire.Chao has maintained she shows no favoritism toward McConnell's state, but the numbers are not insignificant, especially when local officials from other states have complained about how difficult is to schedule a meeting with her office.A Department of Transportation spokesperson told Politico that Chao has traveled to and met with officials from 31 states since she's been in office, and that her meetings with Kentucky officials are natural due to her ties to the state. Read more at Politico.
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| Gandhi memorial defaced, ashes allegedly stolen on his 150th birthday Posted: 06 Oct 2019 07:15 PM PDT  Police confirm they're investigating the destruction of a portrait of the Indian icon, but they aren't yet taking seriously claims that his remains were stolen
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| Extinction Rebellion protesters pour fake blood over New York's capitalist bull Posted: 07 Oct 2019 11:26 AM PDT  Demonstrators were arrested in a wave of US protests that are part of a global week of action by the UK-based groupExtinction Rebellion climate crisis activists protest at New York City's famous Charging Bull statue. Photograph: Mike Segar/ReutersMore than 20 people were arrested by police in New York City's financial district after Extinction Rebellion climate protesters poured fake blood over the famous Charging Bull statue, a symbol of American capitalist might.The protesters launched a wave of disruptive protests in the city on Monday. A smaller number of arrests were made at a "die in" outside New York's stock exchange, with protesters subsequently blocking a nearby road to traffic.Protests are also taking place in other US cities, including Washington DC and Chicago, as part of a global week of action by the UK-founded activist group, which is seeking to make its first major mark in America.Climate crisis activists demonstrate in New York City where Extinction Rebellion organizers expect several thousand to congregate this week. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/ReutersExtinction Rebellion organizers expect several thousand people will congregate in New York's Washington Square Park for a week of protests and speeches that are expected to involve actions that will prompt further arrests."There will be broad disruption of business as usual," said a New York-based Extinction Rebellion spokesman. "Frankly we don't have time to wait for an opportune moment. Climate breakdown is under way and we can't afford to wait."Extinction Rebellion has a philosophy of nonviolent direct action aimed at pushing governments to confront the climate crisis. A key demand is that planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions are reduced to net zero within six years.A climate crisis activist covered in fake blood is arrested in New York City during the Extinction Rebellion demonstration. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP via Getty ImagesThe activist network has gained a high profile in the UK, following successful attempts to shut down parts of central London. Activists are hoping for a similar impact in the US, despite concerns over a more aggressive style of policing and an unsympathetic federal government, led by Donald Trump, that actively promotes fossil fuels and is regularly derisive of climate science."We need to account for the damage caused by fossil fuels because we have the chance of losing it all," said Jim Navarre, a protestor from New York's Long Island who help up a sign reading "You can't comb over climate change" with a picture of Trump's hair atop the globe.Climate crisis activists gather in Battery Park during Extinction Rebellion demonstrations in New York. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP via Getty ImagesYana Landowne, also from New York, said she was inspired to join the protests by British friends. "I see this as a movement I need to get behind, I realized I had to bring my whole being to this movement," she said.The stock exchange protest featured a mock funeral with people strewn on the ground, covered in blood. Tombstones mentioning hurricanes and fires made worse by the climate crisis were held aloft, along with a coffin with the words "Our future" written on the side. A New Orleans-style funereal band played for the several hundred protestors."It's a powerful message," Landowne said. "But more than death I fear living amongst the terror of people killing each other for water and food."
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| Portals to history and conflict: the gates of Jerusalem's Old City Posted: 07 Oct 2019 10:36 AM PDT ![Portals to history and conflict: the gates of Jerusalem's Old City]( "Portals to history and conflict: the gates of Jerusalem's Old City") Jews, Muslims and Christians pass daily through the gates of Jerusalem's Old City, on their way to and from prayers or simply to go about their everyday business in one of the most politically sensitive spots on earth. There are eight gates - seven are open and one is sealed - along the Old City walls that were built in the 16th century by Turkish sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.
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| Israel's Amazing F-35I Stealth Fighter Looks Almost Unstoppable Posted: 06 Oct 2019 04:00 AM PDT  Kings of the skies.
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| Officials block thousands marching in Pakistani Kashmir Posted: 07 Oct 2019 01:43 PM PDT  Police blocked a march Sunday by thousands of protesters in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir who wanted to move toward the highly militarized Line of Control that divides the territory between Pakistan and India. The marchers are protesting the lockdown in Indian-administered Kashmir.
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| Boris Johnson Says He’s Ready to Press Trump on U.K. Teenager’s Death Posted: 07 Oct 2019 06:57 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he's prepared to raise the death of a British teenager with U.S. President Donald Trump after the wife of an American diplomat left the U.K. following a fatal road accident.The diplomatic spat comes at a time when Johnson is looking to strengthen ties with the U.S. as he negotiates Britain's departure from the European Union. The prime minister is caught between championing a cause that has sparked a public outcry in the U.K. media -- as he prepares to fight an election -- and remaining on good terms with Trump.Motorcyclist Harry Dunn died after a collision with a car on Aug. 27 near a U.S. Airbase at Croughton, central England, according to Northamptonshire Police. The force said "a 42-year-old American woman being treated as a suspect in our investigation" has since left the country.A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in London confirmed the driver of the car had diplomatic immunity, but declined to identify her."I do not think that it can be right to use the process of diplomatic immunity for this type of purpose," Johnson told Sky News on Monday. He said Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is raising the issue with the U.S. Embassy. "If we can't resolve it, then of course I will be raising it myself personally with the White House," Johnson said.The U.S. Embassy issued a statement expressing sympathy to Dunn's family but said diplomatic immunity is "rarely waived.""Any questions regarding a waiver of the immunity with regard to our diplomats and their family members overseas in a case like this receive intense attention at senior levels and are considered carefully given the global impact such decisions carry," the embassy statement said. "Immunity is rarely waived."To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Thomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Woman 'Consumed' by Columbine and Oklahoma City Killings Had 24 Pipe Bombs, Police Say Posted: 06 Oct 2019 08:47 AM PDT  A Florida woman obsessed with the Columbine High School massacre and the Oklahoma City bombing was arrested after her parents discovered two dozen pipe bombs in her bedroom, authorities said Friday.The woman, Michelle Kolts, 27, was charged with 24 counts of making a destructive device with intent to harm, Chad Chronister, the sheriff of Hillsborough County, said at a news conference.Kolts had been on the radar of authorities for more than a year, Chronister said.A printing company had contacted his department in 2018 because Kolts had ordered "several" manifestos and "anarchist instructions," the sheriff said, adding, "She became consumed with the Columbine and Oklahoma killings."In 1995, a homemade bomb planted outside a federal office building in Oklahoma City killed 168 people. The 1999 Columbine shooting, in which two gunmen killed 13 and wounded 21 in Littleton, Colorado, has "infatuated" some young people and prompted copycat shootings across the country."While checking Michelle's bedroom, her parents found what appeared to be a significant amount of pipe bombs, other bomb-making materials and numerous weapons," Chronister said. Her parents, who were in the military, called authorities Thursday, he said.When police arrived, they evacuated the home, in Wimauma, Florida, about 30 miles south of Tampa, and called the bomb squad.Police discovered 24 pipe bombs, smokeless pistol powder, fuse material, 23 different knives, two hatchets, two BB-pellet-type rifles, six BB-pellet-type handguns and dozens of books and DVDs about murder, mass killing, domestic terrorism and bomb making, Chronister said."The amount of highly destructive materials we found in this home were astonishing," he said, adding, "If used, these bombs could have caused catastrophic damage and harm to hundreds, even thousands of people."Police found Kolts at her job, he said. Arrest records listed her occupation as laborer, but no additional details were available. Kolts admitted to detectives that she made the devices and had planned to use them, though it was unclear how, the sheriff said.Kolts was being held with bail set at $180,000. Records showed no lawyer listed for her and attempts to reach her parents Saturday were unsuccessful."Who knows the amount of harm that could have been done, or how many lives could have been lost, had these parents not found the courage to call the sheriff's office and seek help," Chronister said.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| Democrat Amy Klobuchar raises $4.8M for presidential bid Posted: 07 Oct 2019 01:47 PM PDT  Amy Klobuchar said Monday that she raised $4.8 million in the third quarter for her 2020 presidential campaign, a total that places the Minnesota senator in the middle of the Democratic field in fundraising for the third straight quarter. Klobuchar has raised more than some rivals but less than top-tier candidates such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, who raised $25.3 million last quarter, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who raised $24.6 million. Klobuchar said during a stop in New Hampshire on Sunday that she's been careful about how the campaign spends money and "we have money in the bank." The campaign, which announced its total ahead of the Oct. 15 filing deadline, did not disclose how much cash it has on hand.
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| Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio weren't convinced by reports of a pullback in Syria. The reports are based off a White House statement. Posted: 07 Oct 2019 07:58 AM PDT ![Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio weren't convinced by reports of a pullback in Syria. The reports are based off a White House statement.]( "Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio weren't convinced by reports of a pullback in Syria. The reports are based off a White House statement.") An official White House statement apparently isn't enough proof for some people in this day and age.Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are clearly not thrilled with the White House's decision to pull troops from northern Syria and subsequently allow Turkey to launch an invasion in the region. The move potentially gives Ankara an opening to battle with Kurdish-led forces there, who were long the U.S.'s strongest ally in the battle against the Islamic State. Rubio called the announcement a "grave mistake" and Graham said it was a "disaster in the making."Except both senators were still speaking in hypotheticals when criticizing the decision Monday morning. They both wanted to know if reporting on the situation is accurate, with Graham adding that he was going to talk to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, before officially pushing back against the White House. That generally seems fair, but in this instance the reports on the decision came directly from a White House press release, so it's tough to figure out how the reporting might have missed the mark. Graham, for his part, did continue to criticize the move as the morning went on. > I guess it's politically safer for Republican senators to question the accuracy of media reports than to criticize the presidential statements they're based on. pic.twitter.com/tQKBlZXA08> > -- Chris Megerian (@ChrisMegerian) October 7, 2019
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| Disney World visitors left dangling for hours after cable car gondolas break down Posted: 07 Oct 2019 12:32 AM PDT  Holidaymakers riding a new aerial gondola system at Walt Disney World in Florida on Saturday night were stranded in the air for several hours after an unknown problem caused some of the gondolas to come to a halt.The Disney Skyliner gondola system launched on 29 September.
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| S.Sudan says renegotiating oil deal with Sudan Posted: 07 Oct 2019 07:37 AM PDT  South Sudan said Monday it was renegotiating an oil deal with Khartoum, as it will not meet a December deadline to finish paying $3 billion (2.7 billion euros) agreed as compensation for the oil-rich nation's 2011 secession. South Sudan and Sudan in 2012 signed a deal in which Juba would pay the amount after it voted for independence, taking with it 70 percent of the oil fields Khartoum used to manage. Petroleum Minister Awou Daniel Chuang told journalists that the cash-strapped nation had paid $2.4 billion so far, but would not manage to pay the remaining $600 million by December.
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| Russian village's last teacher stays on for her one remaining pupil Posted: 07 Oct 2019 12:53 AM PDT  Uminur Kuchukova, 61, could have retired years ago, but she continues to teach at this dying Russian village's once bustling school for the sake of its last pupil, a 9-year-old boy. Like thousands of villages dotted across Russia, the remote Siberian village of Sibilyakovo emptied after the closure of its state-run collective farm following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet planned economy. Kuchukova has taught at the school for 42 years.
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| Why China Engages in Such Massive Live Fire Military Drills Posted: 06 Oct 2019 02:00 AM PDT  They are for the U.S. Navy.
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| Harris Releases Plan for Six Months of Taxpayer-Funded Family Leave Posted: 07 Oct 2019 12:17 PM PDT  Senator Kamala Harris on Monday released a paid family leave proposal that is significantly more generous than those embraced by the rest of the Democratic presidential field.As she campaigns in Iowa, the California Democrat detailed her plan to give workers up to six months of taxpayer-funded paid family and medical leave, twice the length of time provided by a family leave bill currently under consideration in Congress.Americans who earn less than $75,000 annually would receive their full wages during their paid leave, while those who earn more would receive incrementally less compensation. Employees would be able to take leave for personal or family medical issues, including to care for domestic partners, parents-in-law, and "chosen family."Prerequisites for claiming the benefits include "personal serious health conditions, caring for new children or family members with serious health conditions, or addressing medical or non-medical needs," such as those arising from domestic violence or sexual assault, Harris' plan states.Self-employed workers, part-time employees, and independent contractors would all be eligible to claim the benefits.The former California attorney general also said she would put pressure on Congress to pass the Child Care for Working Families Act, which would provide child care assistance to middle and lower-class families.The program would be run by a new Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave, which would be paid for by a "combination of employer and employee payroll contributions and government expenditures paid for by tax increases on the top one percent and big corporations."
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| House Democrats are so afraid Trump allies will expose the whistleblower that they might mask their voice and face when they testify Posted: 07 Oct 2019 01:41 PM PDT  The debate comes as President Trump's allies amplify his claims that the whistleblower broke the law and is guilty of espionage.
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| Homeless man charged with murder after killing spree in New York City's Chinatown neighborhood Posted: 06 Oct 2019 04:04 PM PDT  A homeless man has been charged with murder in the brutal killings of four other homeless men in New York City's Chinatown neighborhood.
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| Barricades burn as Haiti enters 4th week of deadly protests Posted: 07 Oct 2019 12:15 PM PDT  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Stones flew and barricades burned in parts of Haiti's capital on Monday as the country entered its fourth week of anti-government protests that have paralyzed the economy and shuttered schools. Opposition supporters gathered in areas including the front of the National Palace to demand the resignation of President Jovenel Moïse as tear gas wafted through some neighborhoods. "Jovenel Moïse has to go because people can't go to school, people are hungry," he said.
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| Why the EU is rejecting Boris Johnson's latest Brexit plan Posted: 07 Oct 2019 01:43 PM PDT ![Why the EU is rejecting Boris Johnson's latest Brexit plan]( "Why the EU is rejecting Boris Johnson's latest Brexit plan") It was no secret that the European Union wasn't prepared to accept U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's latest Brexit proposal, but The Guardian obtained leaked documents with the EU's point-by-point reasoning for its rejection.Johnson's plan included Northern Ireland remaining in an all-Ireland regulatory zone within the EU's single market for goods and electricity, but with a catch that the EU reportedly couldn't come to terms with. Northern Ireland's parliament would hang on to veto powers to block the arrangement every four years, which was cause for concern for the EU.Beyond that, The Guardian reports that the EU believes Johnson's plan could eventually result in abuses within the trading market. For example, they argue Johnson and his team provided no details about how to combat smuggling and that they removed assurances made by previous Prime Minister Theresa May that Northern Ireland would not enjoy a competitive advantage when it comes to trade. The EU also noted that the U.K. would have access to EU databases which would allow it to police the Irish customs border and the U.K.-Northern Ireland regulatory border even if the proposal was vetoed.EU sources denied that Brussels would present a counteroffer to Downing Street. "It is the U.K. that wants to replace the backstop -- and that is our solution," one senior EU diplomat said. Read more at The Guardian.
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