| Trump approval drops 3 points to 2019 low after release of Mueller report: Reuters/Ipsos poll Posted: 19 Apr 2019 02:14 PM PDT  The number of Americans who approve of President Donald Trump dropped by 3 percentage points to the lowest level of the year following the release of a special counsel report detailing Russian interference in the last U.S. presidential election, according to an exclusive Reuters/Ipsos public opinion poll. The poll, conducted Thursday afternoon to Friday morning, is the first national survey to measure the response from the American public after the U.S. Justice Department released Special Counsel Robert Mueller's 448-page report that recounted numerous occasions in which Trump may have interfered with the investigation. In his report, Mueller said his investigation did not establish that the Trump campaign had coordinated with Russians.
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| 'Still alive!': Notre Dame's 180,000 bees survive cathedral fire Posted: 19 Apr 2019 09:41 AM PDT  The 180,000 bees live in three hives on Notre Dame's roof as part of an effort since 2013 to help prevent bee die-off.
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| Macron's polls rise to highest level since yellow vest revolt as French approve his handling of Notre-Dame fire Posted: 19 Apr 2019 08:16 AM PDT  Emmanuel Macron's approval ratings have risen to levels not seen since before the "yellow vest" revolt erupted last autumn with most French feeling he "rose to the occasion" over the Notre-Dame fire, a poll out on Friday suggests. President Macron's popularity plummeted last September following a tax rise on pensioners and a backlash over plans to raise fuel taxes. According to BVA, Mr Macron has clawed back three points in the past month and is now on 32 per cent with six out of ten French feeling he did a good job handling the Notre-Dame inferno. Mr Macron had been due to broadcast a key televised address on Monday night to address "yellow vest" concerns in the wake two months of debates around the country. Leaked details of the speech suggest he was going to announce tax cuts for poor households and a boost to small pensions, among other measures. Instead, he rushed to the famed Gothic building in central Paris and later promised to rebuild the cathedral within five years. A poll out yesterday suggested most of the measures Mr Macron was due to announce "answered" yellow vest demands, although the vast majority were angry at his refusal to instantly reinstate a wealth tax. Mr Macron is expected to detail the measures in person next week. The poll also found that 54 per cent of French think "yellow vest" protests should be put on hold in the name of national unity over Notre-Dame. Due to the fragility of the building and the risk of violence, police are to impose a protest ban on the area around the fire-stricken for Saturday's 23rd consecutive "gilets jaunes" protest. Despite this, police fear fresh protests in the French capital on Saturday with the interior minister warning "some people literally want to trash Paris". A number of high-profile gilets jaunes figures have called for action with some outraged that almost €1billion (£865 million) was donated to rebuilding Notre-Dame while there was no such gesture for the poor. Yesterday the last artworks inside the cathedral were removed with art conservationists confirming none suffered major damage in the fire. In more good news, the 180,000 bees kept in hives on the monument that were thought to have perished in this week's fire were discovered alive.
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| FBI arrests member of rightwing militia accused of detaining migrants Posted: 20 Apr 2019 01:51 PM PDT  Larry Mitchell Hopkins accused of illegal weapons possession after videos apparently showed men stopping migrants in New MexicoMen including Jim Benvie, a spokesman for the militia calling itself the United Constitutional Patriots, share cigarettes while patrolling the US-Mexico border in Sunland Park, New Mexico last month. Photograph: Paul Ratje/AFP/Getty ImagesA member of an armed rightwing militia group accused of illegally detaining migrants at the US-Mexico border has been arrested, officials said on Saturday.The FBI arrested Larry Mitchell Hopkins, 69, for alleged unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition , days after his group posted videos that appeared to show armed men stopping migrants at the border in New Mexico, ordering them to sit on the ground and coordinating with US border patrol agents to have them taken into custody."Today's arrest by the FBI indicates clearly that the rule of law should be in the hands of trained law enforcement officials, not armed vigilantes," the New Mexico attorney general, Hector Balderas, said in a statement.On Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called for an investigation into the pro-Trump, anti-immigrant men who have been patrolling the border and calling themselves the United Constitutional Patriots (UCP).The ACLU in New Mexico described the group as "an armed fascist militia organization" made up of "vigilantes", saying they were working to "kidnap and detain people seeking asylum" and had directly made illegal arrests and held migrants at gunpoint.Hopkins' role in the group was unclear, and it was also not clear if he was facing any charges directly related to the videos of the men stopping migrants. The New Mexico attorney general's office described Hopkins as a "dangerous felon who should not have weapons around children and families" and labeled him an "armed individual detaining migrants at the border".An FBI statement on the arrest did not mention the militia group or the detention of migrants, but noted that Hopkins has also gone by the name Johnny Horton Jr and that he was due to appear in court on Monday.In one video posted last Monday night by Jim Benvie, a member of the armed group, it appeared the men were ordering around dozens of migrants, including many children, and telling them to sit. Benvie narrated: "There's no border patrol here. This is us."The men appeared to call border patrol agents, who later were seen. The ACLU, in a letter to state officials, said the group had targeted nearly 300 migrants in Sunland Park, New Mexico, which is along the Mexico border and adjacent to El Paso, Texas.The militia members advocated for Trump's proposed border wall on the video streams and echoed the president's anti-migrant rhetoric, warning of an "invasion".There have also been concerns that the men, who wear military-style clothes, could be misrepresenting themselves as border patrol agents. In another video, Benvie filmed himself stopping a group of four adults and three children and said "border patrol" as he approached, before calling for another member of his group to join him. In an apparent call to border patrol, one man said: "Hello, I've got seven over here."The UCP has previously presented itself as a group of "volunteers" aiding border patrol and supporting Trump. In recent years, there have been numerous reports of an increase in paramilitary groups and xenophobic activists surveilling the border, working with US agents and targeting undocumented people.The UCP has not responded to the Guardian's requests for comment.On Thursday, a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said border patrol "welcomes assistance from the community" but "does not endorse private groups or organizations taking enforcement matters into their own hands".The Daily Beast reported that Hopkins has a history of pushing far-right conspiracies and has a conviction for impersonating an officer and felony firearm possession. He could not be reached on Saturday and it was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer.Stephanie Corte, an immigrant rights campaign strategist with the ACLU in New Mexico, said her group was still trying to make contact with the detained migrants and was uncertain if any had been released."Our next focus is to try to get their story and making sure they feel safe to tell their story of being held at gunpoint," she told the Guardian, adding that the ACLU would explore legal options.She said she hoped authorities would work to make sure this does not happen again."We absolutely believe that this was completely unlawful," she said. "We're hoping those involved will be brought to justice."
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| South Carolina 5th-grader in school fight died of natural causes; no charges will be filed Posted: 19 Apr 2019 07:25 PM PDT  Officials said the 10-year-old died from a preexisting condition called arteriovenous malformation, and there was no evidence trauma led to her death.
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| The Latest: 12 students,1 teacher killed honored at ceremony Posted: 20 Apr 2019 05:14 PM PDT  LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) — The Latest on events commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting (all times local):
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| The Army Passed on This Glock Gun (And It Could Be Your Gain) Posted: 20 Apr 2019 01:00 AM PDT  The ultimate Glock? The Army may have chosen Sig Sauer's P320 for its Modular Handgun System program over Glock's offerings, but that doesn't mean you have to: Glock plans on releasing a civilian variant of its 9mm Glock 19 pistol to civilian buyers this month, the company announced today.(This article by Jared Keller originally appeared at Task & Purpose. Follow Task & Purpose on Twitter. This article first appeared in 2018.)Glock's commercial pistol, dubbed the 19X, is the company's first stab at a crossover model, combining the Glock 17 frame with a Glock 19 barrel. With a "marksman barrel" and ambidextrous slide-stop levers, the pistol is designed to be as versatile as it is powerful, "almost like a [1911] Commander-style situation where you've got the shorter barrel with the full-sized grip frame," as national sales manager Bob Radecki told Army Times on Jan. 2.The new 9mm Glock 19X from Glock
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| Google is making it easier for Android users in Europe to pick a new browser Posted: 18 Apr 2019 06:03 PM PDT  We've known for a while now that Google offered Android users in Europe a different experience than international customers, and that's because the European Union really wants Google to behave a lot less like a monopoly than before. Google lost three major anti-trust cases in the region, including one that concerns Android.The European Commission slapped Google with three multi-billion fines in each case, which Google has contested. But the company agreed to make changes to its business models, and the changes also concern its mobile operating system. We know now what changes are in place for Android in Europe.Google explained in a new blog post on the matter that Android users in Europe will get search app and browser options, and showed the world what those prompts will look like.The new screens will be shown the first time a user opens Google Play after receiving an update. We're looking at two screens, one for search and one for browsers, as follows below.Each screen will present the user five apps, including the ones that are installed. The apps that are not installed will show up based on their popularity, but they'll show up in a randomized order.A third screen will be shown to users when they install a search app. Google will ask whether they want to change Chrome's default search engine the next time they open the browser.These screens will show up on both existing and new Android phones in Europe in the coming weeks, Google explained, and their implementation will "evolve" over time.
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| Mueller report: A corrupt, unpatriotic president, a stark impeachment choice for Democrats Posted: 19 Apr 2019 05:38 AM PDT  We have to decide if we're willing to go on with a president who was elected with Russian help and tried 10 times to obstruct a probe into that help.
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| In war-torn Syria, an ancestor of Notre-Dame still stands Posted: 19 Apr 2019 07:25 AM PDT  An arched entrance flanked by two towers, elaborate carvings and a broad-aisled nave: a 5th century limestone church in northwestern Syria is the architectural forerunner of France's famed Notre-Dame cathedral. Hemmed by the village of Qalb Lozeh (Arabic for Heart of the Almond), the cathedral which goes by the same name is widely hailed as Syria's finest example of Byzantine-era architecture.
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| Tiger attacks Kansas zoo keeper after 'error' brought two together Posted: 20 Apr 2019 12:26 PM PDT ![Tiger attacks Kansas zoo keeper after 'error' brought two together]( "Tiger attacks Kansas zoo keeper after 'error' brought two together") The zoo keeper was alert and awake when she was rushed to a hospital, where she was listed in stable condition, city of Topeka spokeswoman Molly Hadfield said by phone. The victim, the primary tiger keeper at the Topeka Zoo and Conservation Center, was in the predator's outdoor habitat when she was attacked, zoo director Brendan Wiley said at a news conference. Somehow, the 7-year-old male tiger named Sanjiv entered the habitat, which is never supposed to happen when a person is present, Wiley said.
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| North Korea: US Marine arrested in connection with ‘violent raid’ of embassy in Madrid, sources say Posted: 20 Apr 2019 05:27 AM PDT  A former US Marine who was allegedly involved in a raid of the North Korean embassy in Madrid has been arrested, according to sources familiar with the case.Christopher Ahn was arrested on Thursday in connection with the incident, when a group of at least 10 people stormed into the embassy, restrained and physically beat some personnel and held them hostage for hours in February.Spanish investigators have said the group stole computers and hard drives before fleeing to the United States, where they shared the stolen material with the FBI.US federal agents also reportedly raided the apartment of Adrian Hong, the leader of self-styled human right group Cheollima Civil Defence, this week in relation to the investigation.Cheollima Civil Defence, which is seeking to overthrow North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has claimed responsibility for the incident but denied that they used violence.Mr Ahn is thought to be the first person arrested in relation to the raid.A Spanish judicial source said the stolen material has been returned to the North Korean embassy, two weeks after the FBI sent it to the Spanish court investigating the raid.The incident came just days before the second summit between Donald Trump and Mr Kim, which resulted in a failure to come to agreement about the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.North Korea's foreign ministry denounced the incident as a "grave terrorist attack" and suggested that the FBI was involved.The US State Department has denied that accusation.Cheollima Civil Defence has said the incident was not an attack and claimed it had been invited into the embassy."We were invited into the embassy, and contrary to reports, no one was gagged or beaten," the group wrote on their website."Out of respect for the host nation of Spain, no weapons were used. All occupants in the embassy were treated with dignity and necessary caution."The group also claimed that the US government was not involved with the incident until after the event.However, a judge for Spain's National Court has accused the group of violently beating embassy officials and putting them in "shackles and flanges".The judge also said three members of the group took an official into the embassy basement and tried to persuade him to defect from North Korea.Although documents released by the Spanish court said several members, including Mr Hong, had fled to the United States, their whereabouts are unclear.The court is seeking their extradition.Agencies contributed to this report
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| Delayed by Notre-Dame, Macron to answer protests next week Posted: 19 Apr 2019 09:36 AM PDT  French President Emmanuel Macron is to outline a reform plan drawn up in response to nationwide protests next week after the key policy action was delayed by the Notre-Dame fire, the presidency said Friday. Macron will hold a press conference on Thursday at 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) to make the announcements. It was to have set out his recipe for ending five months of often violent "yellow vest" protests that have rocked France.
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| Journalist who covered Columbine reflects on lives unlived Posted: 19 Apr 2019 12:05 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — Daniel. Rachel. Isaiah.
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| Tawdriness Is Not a High Crime Posted: 19 Apr 2019 11:09 AM PDT  Impeachment? Nah. Not gonna happen. What possible basis for impeachment could there be?"Well, you see, the president ordered Don McGahn to fire Robert Mueller.""Did McGahn actually fire Mueller?""Well, no . . .""Did anyone else fire Mueller?""Well, no . . .""So you're charging him with what, exactly?""Thinking about firing Mueller!"One of the most hilarious aspects of President Trump's personality is that Mr. "You're Fired" hates to actually tell people, "You're fired." He can't do it. Maybe he's a big ol' softie underneath it all. Maybe he just can't bear to bring the hammer down on someone who's sitting across the desk from him. He always has to find an intermediary, and though Washington is full of intermediaries, most of them are lawyers. A half-decent lawyer's Geiger counter starts rattling like a loose tailpipe on a 1975 Dodge Dart when he's told to do something that's illegal or unethical or will severely limit his future prospects. McGahn was ready to resign rather than execute Trump's order, and so Trump didn't press the matter, which means the "order" was really more like a strongly worded suggestion, which means that (at worst) Trump contemplated doing something (ousting Mueller) that could maaaaaaybe be construed as obstruction of justice.But not really: Mueller ultimately works for Trump. As a constitutional matter Trump can have Mueller or anyone else in the executive branch fired except the only other elected official in it: Mike Pence. As a political matter, of course, firing Mueller would have looked bad. But, again, "thought about doing something that would have looked bad" doesn't cut it, high-crimes-and-misdemeanors-wise.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants impeachment. But AOC has always wanted impeachment. Just the other day she claimed she wanted impeachment because of Trump's supposed violations of the emoluments clause. Or maybe it was tax fraud. Whatever, the details don't matter; all that matters is that the she and millions of Cortezites know Trump shouldn't be president. AOC is trying to take out Trump by grasping at straws and feverishly tying them together. This leaves her with a bundle of straws. A bundle of straws isn't much of a weapon.AOC will not be getting her impeachment, because for the Democratic party that would be stupid. AOC may be stupid, but her boss isn't. Nancy Pelosi may make noises to placate the youngest and most naive members of her caucus, but she knows that as the days and weeks go by everyone will calm down about the stink bomb that just detonated in D.C. and that it will soon be time to return to hard-nosed political calculations.Which are: * The Mueller Report does not provide evidence that Trump committed any crime. * You don't impeach a president on a charge of "He's a bad dude." * The Mueller Report does, however, provide lots of exceedingly juicy political points that can be used against Trump in 2020. * So let's use them and MoveOn to 2020.That's what Pelosi is thinking, and that's how she will act. Even if impeachment did happen, it would obviously lead nowhere in the Senate, and meanwhile Trump's approval ratings would tick upward as Bill Clinton's did, and for the same reason: In each case, tawdry behavior was revealed, and in each case the acts did not merit removal from office. Besides, do Democrats seriously want to put themselves in a position where bland, inoffensive Mike Pence is the incumbent president they have to run against in a time of peace and prosperity? The party of fear would of course try to horrify the public about Pence, but good luck convincing people that Mr. Rogers is secretly Freddy Krueger. If Trump could transplant Pence's personality into his body for the next 18 months he'd dominate the Upper Midwest like Big Ten football.AOC has a very special gift for not thinking things through, but Pelosi has not been bestowed with such a faculty. What she does have is the ability to keep AOC in her place, which is in front of the cameras, not actually making decisions for the party. Trump's angry ranting on Twitter today indicates that he's not loving how the Mueller Report was received, but his first tweeted remark on yesterday's events was the correct one: Game Over. He has won the Mueller wars, at least in Washington. What the voters will make of it remains to be seen, but that's what elections are for.
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| A backpack with a flexible screen? Sure, Sony, why not Posted: 18 Apr 2019 07:05 PM PDT  The race among consumer electronics giants to develop all manner of screens that flex and fold -- and to attach them to phones, tablets and more -- is starting to get a bit extreme.We saw over the past 24 hours, for example, the results of Samsung rushing to be the first with a foldable smartphone, with reports from several high-profile reviewers and journalists that their Galaxy Folds easily broke after just a day of usage. We've also covered myriad plans and patents from other tech companies that likewise want to rush into the flexible game, and now along comes Sony with a patent for a flexible display that can be attached to a bag -- like a handbag, or backpack.Ladies and gentleman, we've either reached peak flexible display or are very close to it.The Sony patent, published towards the end of March, was spotted by Dutch tech news blog LetsGoDigital, which reports that it depicts a bag with a flexible display module. The display also uses the same kind of "electronic paper" screen found in e-readers, which tends to require less power and background lighting. It's also thinner and more flexible than a typical LCD display.In terms of other aspects of the design, the bag is shown including a switch that can either be a button or a slider. It would allow the user to change what's shown on the display.The design also calls for both an "automatic" and "manual" mode, which are exactly what those suggest. Those would control what's shown on the display. Additionally, the screen connects to the bag through multiple removable contact points, so you can use the bag for, you know, things that don't involve screens.As the LetsGoDigital report notes, this is not the first example of a bag with a display. Last year, for example, the Pix backpack was released that showed animated patterns on it. Whether or not Sony ever does anything with this patent, meanwhile, it does serve as one more reminder that we're going to start seeing flexible screens pretty much everywhere now, even if manufacturers don't totally know what to do with them yet.
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| Pastor apologises for asking students to spit on and cut him in Easter demonstration Posted: 20 Apr 2019 10:17 AM PDT  A US church has been forced to apologise after a part-time associate pastor urged children to spit on, slap, and even cut him with a steak knife.The preacher at Impact City Church in Ohio, named Jaddeus Dempsey, was leading an after-school activity intended to explain "the very important topic of crucifixion".Mr Dempsey said the exercise was his idea alone and that no one else knew about his plans.One of the students who took part, aged 12, said: "I thought it was very weird and awkward."I took part because I thought it was OK because it was coming from an adult.""The reactions are appropriate," said the lead pastor, Justin Ross, speaking of the harsh response the church had received. "Many of you were disgusted, many of you were hurt by this, many of you were very confused." Mr Ross noted the activity was inappropriate, but he also said the "intent was honourable".Mr Ross added: "[Jesus] chose to allow them to spit on him and beat him and crucify him in order to take the payment of our debt that we call sin.""So Jaddeus, in an effort to share that message of love through the gospel and the story of Jesus' crucifixion, he shared this illustration and tried to share some of the pain that Jesus took on that day."In his apology, Mr Dempsey said: "I am so sorry for misrepresenting the community, the church, the parents, the students and anybody that I hurt," said Dempsey. "It was not my intention. My intention was just to show them how much Jesus loves them and I love them."The local sheriff's office has opened an investigation into the incident, as has the church's board of directors.
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| UPDATE 1-Ukrainian presidential candidates trade insults in rowdy stadium debate Posted: 19 Apr 2019 12:25 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Ukrainian presidential candidates trade insults in rowdy stadium debate]( "UPDATE 1-Ukrainian presidential candidates trade insults in rowdy stadium debate") The two men vying to be Ukraine's next president traded insults in a raucous debate on Friday in front of thousands of supporters before an election that could put a comedian with no political experience in charge of a country at war. The debate, held in a hulking football stadium, was one of the last opportunities for incumbent President Petro Poroshenko to try to overhaul a significant lead in the opinion polls enjoyed by his challenger Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a comic. At stake in Sunday's election is the leadership of a country on the frontline of the West's standoff with Moscow following 2014 protests that caused Poroshenko's Kremlin-backed predecessor to flee into exile, and foreshadowed Moscow's annexation of Crimea.
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| Converse introduces trans-themed shoes for Pride and Twitter is happy for once Posted: 20 Apr 2019 07:19 AM PDT  Brands sometimes go too hard during Pride season. Every once in a while, however, they get it right.The year 2019 has already brought us one *actually good* example. Converse recently introduced its LGBTQ Pride sneaker line, which now includes sneakers modeled after the Transgender Pride flag.This is the first time Converse has ever had a trans-specific sneaker.SEE ALSO: Mapping state-by-state tech trends: Most popular dating appsThe trans-specific sneakers currently retail for $80. Customers can also customize their own rainbow Pride shoes and add Trans Pride flair.Regardless of how you feel about corporate participation during gay Pride, this is a huge symbolic step forward. Advocates for the trans community have long complained that gay and lesbian people dominate the LGBTQ movement. Recognizing the trans community as a separate -- though equally sneaker-worthy community -- is emblematic of a larger cultural shift. Trans people are clearly moving into the public spotlight, and they can show that (if Converse is their thing) on their feet.Twitter was largely enthusiastic about the move.> TransIsBeautiful > Thank you @Converse for making a trans PRIDE shoe this year! > My 11 year-old-son is ECSTATIC! ️ pic.twitter.com/E6lcqIEvfA> > -- Rachel Q. Lyons (@RachelQLyons) April 15, 2019> CONVERSE HAS A NEW PRIDE COLLECTION THAT INCLUDES TRANS PRIDE SNEAKERS FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!!!!!! > > SHOP HERE: https://t.co/afn0Gc9nwy (affiliate link) pic.twitter.com/TptVcjY87E> > -- Alysse Dalessandro (@readytostare) April 19, 2019> I thought "which of my trans friends would rock Converse decked out in the colors of the trans flag," and then immediately realized the answer was "all of them." pic.twitter.com/E5NPDfPgMY> > -- Aram Vartian (@vartian) April 19, 2019> Me, looking at the chuck taylor pride collection for this year: *not super impressed* > Converse: we have trans shoes now > Me, out loud: DAMMIT pic.twitter.com/oqzpDUqaOD> > -- Rowan Adventurezone (@politebotanist) April 20, 2019> Y'all let me know when @converse lets me put trans flags on these (and they come in my size). pic.twitter.com/3ZOq9Y6rss> > -- Xan (@AlexandriaDVine) April 20, 2019> Look! You can make them with the pride base but then add trans pride touches. I'm in love! pic.twitter.com/bGtajM2QjF> > -- We'll Have A Gay Old Time (@IssaMeBrianO) April 19, 2019This Twitter user perhaps said it best.> Fuckin converse put the Trans flag on some shoes like.....yes fine I will buy them you stupid brand, ill bow to capitalism just this once> > -- Thank you gay dad (@Darius_lives) April 19, 2019Happy incredibly early Pride, everyone! WATCH: Meet the 10-year-old drag kid shaping the future of drag youth
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| Aircraft Carrier Alliance: Will Britain Build India a New Queen Elizabeth-Class Carrier? Posted: 19 Apr 2019 05:24 AM PDT  Will India's next aircraft carrier be a British design?British defense contractor BAE Systems is offering a Queen Elizabeth-class design as a contender for India's third aircraft carrier, which will be built in India."BAE Systems has begun discussions with India regarding the potential for basing development of the second Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-2) project on the successful Queen Elizabeth Class design," said a BAE statement. "The design is adaptable to offer either ski jump or catapult launch and can be modified to meet Indian Navy and local industry requirements."India currently operates one aircraft carrier, the 45,000-ton Vikramaditya, which is actually the former Soviet carrier Admiral Gorshkov. That ship has been plagued by engine problems as well as reliability issues with its MiG-29K fighters.Under construction is India's first indigenous carrier, the 40,000-ton Vikrant, while is scheduled to go to sea in 2020. But as is often the case with Indian-built defense projects, the vessel has suffered from problems such as massive cost overruns and disputes with Russian contractors who are supplying materials for the Indian-built ship.
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| Here Are All of the 2020 Hyundai Sonata's Available Colors—Including Yellow Posted: 20 Apr 2019 06:30 AM PDT |
| NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week Posted: 19 Apr 2019 01:11 PM PDT  A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these is legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked these out. Here are the real facts:
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| Trump thought Mueller would 'end' his presidency and other takeaways from the Mueller report Posted: 19 Apr 2019 10:11 AM PDT  Although the probe "did not establish that members of Trump campaign conspired" with the Russians, it identified "numerous links" between them.
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| Suicide bombers in deadly attack on Afghan ministry Posted: 20 Apr 2019 08:10 AM PDT  Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the communications ministry in central Kabul on Saturday, officials said, in a deadly, hours-long assault that destroyed weeks of relative calm in the capital. The Taliban said it had "nothing to do" with the attack, which left some 2,000 people stranded in the tall office building for hours at the start of the Afghan work week. "As a result of today's explosion/attack in Kabul city, two people have been martyred (killed) and 6 others are wounded," the health ministry spokesman wrote in a tweet, adding 3 of the injured were women.
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| It sure looks like Samsung’s Galaxy Fold is a piece of junk Posted: 19 Apr 2019 05:46 AM PDT  Remember a little over 7 months ago when I told you that you shouldn't get excited about Samsung's first foldable phone? Well, here we are.Samsung has plenty of strong suits. It is the top-selling smartphone vendor in the world, after all. It makes gorgeous AMOLED screens for mobile devices. The company also makes some of the best components in the world and has a booming chip business. One thing Samsung is not good at, however, is first-generation products. In fact, "not good" is far too kind... Samsung is awful at designing first-generation products.We've seen it time and time again. Samsung's strength is refinement, as evidenced by its Galaxy S and Galaxy Note smartphone lines. Early generations were terrible, plasticky iPhone copycats. Now Samsung's current-generation flagship phones are market leaders in so many ways. The Galaxy S10+ might be the best all-around Android phone I've ever tested, and the Note 10 sounds like it will be even more impressive. But the Galaxy Fold is nothing short of an absolute disaster, just like I said it would be. In fact, the only way the Galaxy Fold launch could possibly be any worse is if batteries start exploding like they did back in 2016 when Samsung had to cancel production of its Galaxy Note 7 and recall every single phone it sold.It's official: the first widely available smartphone with a foldable display is a piece of junk. Feel free to check it out when it hits store shelves next Friday. But for the love of whatever or whomever you pray to, don't buy one.Yesterday I briefly touched on the huge new issues facing Samsung's Galaxy Fold. The company gave out phones to bloggers for review, and a shockingly high percentage of those phones are breaking. Anything above a 0% failure rate would be shocking for review units of a new smartphone, to be frank, and a quick search yielded more bloggers complaining of broken phones than bloggers who said their Fold units were working fine. That's insane.Many of the issues we've been hearing about stem from the fact that the Galaxy Fold appears to have a screen protector pre-applied on the display. As with all Android phones that ship with cheap plasticky screen protectors, the first thing reviewers did when they got the phones was peel it off. The problem, as we now know, is that Samsung failed to tell most of them that the plastic layer in question is actually an integral part of the display. Long story short, peeling it off breaks the phone.https://twitter.com/MKBHD/status/1118580472576118787Now, there are a few glaring issues here. First, can you imagine a company being so horrible at design that it's going to sell a $2,000 smartphone with an integral plastic film on the screen that can easily be peeled off? Can you imagine a company being so naive as to think that some customers won't end up peeling it off even with better messaging? And what happens when the phone has been used for a while and the adhesive at the edges of that film inevitably begins to peel on its own?This is one of the worst smartphone design decisions I have ever seen. It's absolutely unforgivable.Then there were other bloggers who found that the screens on their Galaxy Fold review units were malfunctioning without having touched that stupid film at all. That's right, the displays are spontaneously breaking on a new smartphone that has one major selling point: the display. The foldable OLED screen on the Galaxy Fold is literally the only thing about the phone that is exciting. And it's breaking for no discernible reason.Here's the thing: the Galaxy Fold would be a horrible phone even if it didn't have these issues. The design is terrible, with a giant notch bitten out of the top corner for the front-facing cameras. And I do mean GIANT, as you can see in the image above. On top of that, the crease at the center of the display is visible while you use the phone, it doesn't fold all the way closed, it's uncomfortably thick in your pocket, and the outer screen is ridiculously tiny with giant bezels above and blow it.This phone is junk.The idea of foldable smartphones is cool and exciting, but it absolutely is not ready for primetime right now. The Galaxy Fold never should have seen the light of day. Samsung rushed to be the first company with a widely available foldable smartphone, which is nothing new for Samsung. It often rushes to be first with a new type of product, and the results are garbage each and every time.Maybe Huawei will have better luck in a couple of months when it releases the Mate X. It certainly sports a far better design than the Galaxy Fold, and the construction seemed vastly superior when we played with it briefly at MWC 2019. But we won't know for certain until we get our hands on a review unit.In the meantime, do yourself a favor and keep your wallet in your pocket when the Galaxy Fold is released next week.
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| NFL defensive back Ha Ha Clinton-Dix's college degree withheld for $1 debt Posted: 19 Apr 2019 01:43 PM PDT  Chicago Bears defensive back Ha Ha Clinton-Dix tweeted Thursday that the University of Alabama is holding his degree, which he earned in 2018, over a $1 unpaid debt. It's unclear why Clinton-Dix owes Alabama a single dollar but he should have no problem finding the pocket change as he recently signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Bears in the offseason.
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| Church apologizes after video shows cleric inviting kids to spit, slap and cut him for Easter lesson Posted: 20 Apr 2019 09:58 AM PDT  An associate pastor at Impact City Church in Pataskala, Ohio, invited abuse from youths, including spitting, slapping, and allegedly cutting.
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| Mexico warns of 'deep concern' over armed groups on U.S. border Posted: 20 Apr 2019 02:21 PM PDT  Mexico said on Saturday it had "deep concern" about armed groups that intimidate and extort migrants on the border, shortly after the ACLU and Democratic senators called for a probe into such citizen efforts to block migrants from crossing. "These types of practices can drive human rights abuses of people who migrate or request asylum or refuge in the United States," Mexico's Foreign Relations Ministry said in a statement, referring to "militia groups" in New Mexico. On Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico condemned the United Constitutional Patriots, which patrols the southern U.S. border in New Mexico, as a "fascist militia organization" operating outside the law.
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| AP PHOTOS: Czech believers revive Easter rattling procession Posted: 19 Apr 2019 04:53 AM PDT  CESKE BUDEJOVICE, Czech Republic (AP) — Participants in black suits with white masks are marching in the southern Czech city of Ceske Budejovice, beating drums and pushing small carts in a revival of an Easter tradition.
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| Relatives of German bus crash victims arrive in Madeira Posted: 19 Apr 2019 08:16 AM PDT  FUNCHAL, Portugal (AP) — Relatives of some of the 29 German tourists who died in a bus crash in Madeira arrived on the Portuguese island on Friday as investigators pushed on with the task of finding out why the bus veered off the road and plunged down a slope.
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| Trump was ‘fighting for his political life,’ his former lawyer says, explaining attacks on Mueller Posted: 19 Apr 2019 10:20 AM PDT  In 2017 and 2018, Cobb played a pivotal role in organizing the White House response to the Mueller investigation, negotiating agreements to turn over documents and allow interviews with White House officials.
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| Nurse had no idea she had stage 4 esophageal cancer until she was coughing up blood Posted: 19 Apr 2019 10:09 AM PDT  Fox News' Dr. Manny Alvarez sits down with a stage 4 esophageal cancer survivor to talk about the rare but deadly disease and what new innovative treatment helped to put her in remission for the last five years.
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| Speed test between the US Galaxy S10 and the global version might surprise you Posted: 19 Apr 2019 11:01 AM PDT  Every year, Samsung releases two versions of its flagship phones: One with a Qualcomm processor, and one with its own Exynos processor. This is once again the case for the Galaxy S10, which comes equipped with the Snapdragon 855 in the United States, and the Exynos 9820 in several other regions around the world.In past years, the Exynos chipset has often outperformed Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon, but there were signs early on that Samsung's new processor might struggle to match Qualcomm's in 2019. As it turns out, the Snapdragon 855's impressive benchmark scores did indeed translate over to real-world usage, as PhoneBuff shows in a video featuring a speed test that pits the Snapdragon Galaxy S10 against the Exynos Galaxy S10.As in his other speed test videos, the self-proclaiming PhoneBuff has both phones open sixteen apps consecutively, while waiting for each of them to load before moving on to the next. Although most of the apps opened at about the same speed on both phones, the Snapdragon S10 was never slower than the Exynos S10. Any time there was a discrepancy, the phone with the Snapdragon processor came out on top:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts6DWsktKxYAgain, due to the benchmarks, this shouldn't surprise anyone, but after lagging behind in previous years, it's nice to know that American Android fans are getting the "better" version of the phone this time around. That said, phones are so ridiculously fast at this point, that the differences between top-of-the-line processors are going to be minuscule (as demonstrated by the twelve second difference above), but at least we know we're not missing out this time.
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| Meghan McCain goes after anti-vaxxers, slams their 'stupidity' for endangering children Posted: 20 Apr 2019 11:48 AM PDT ![Meghan McCain goes after anti-vaxxers, slams their 'stupidity' for endangering children]( "Meghan McCain goes after anti-vaxxers, slams their 'stupidity' for endangering children") Meghan McCain isn't mincing words when it comes to her take on anti-vaxxers, taking to Twitter Friday to send a message about their "stupidity."
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| Four Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK - ministry Posted: 20 Apr 2019 01:46 AM PDT ![Four Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK - ministry]( "Four Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK - ministry") Four Turkish soldiers were killed on Friday in clashes with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) near the border with Iraq, Turkey's Defence Ministry said on Saturday. Demiroren News Agency said a military base had been attacked in the mountainous Cukurca district of Turkey's southeastern province of Hakkari, prompting the Turkish military to respond with a "large-scale" military operation. "As part of ongoing operations in the Turkey-Iraq border, two soldiers were killed in clashes with terrorists despite all efforts to save them," the ministry said, adding a total of four soldiers were killed and six wounded.
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| Score an entire suite of creative design apps for only $40 Posted: 20 Apr 2019 02:00 AM PDT  We're not about to make assumptions here, but we'd wager that the starving artist myth is partially perpetuated by the fact that design programs are so darn expensive. A subscription to a single app alone can sometimes require you to fork out hundreds of dollars you don't have. We don't know about you, but that's plain robbery.You don't have to put yourself in the red just to score apps that will help you perform a variety of design jobs. The Corel Creative Mac Bundle includes an entire creative design app suite from one of the leading software makers with a few surprise bonuses. And you only have to pay $40 to get the whole set.Check out what's in store: Toast 17 TitaniumThe ultimate DVD burning software, Toast 17 Titanium lets you turn videos into professional-looking discs. It comes equipped with a feature-rich digital media suite that includes screen recording, movie editing tools, and media browser. AfterShot Pro 3RAW images aren't the easiest things to edit and manipulate, but this app makes the process feel like a cakewalk. On top of converting RAW files into editable images without inflicting damage, it also boasts a medley of editing tools you can take advantage of to enhance your shots. Painter Essentials 6Create lifelike artworks with this app that features a selection that's chock-full of realistic painting tools and effects. With just a few clicks, it can help you transform a photo into a painting infused with realism. WinZipNobody has the time to wait for hours when sending files. WinZip compresses data with bank-level AES encryption so you can send and receive files faster and more securely. ParticleShopThis powerful brush plugin for Photoshop and AfterShot 3 breathes new life into your masterpieces with fluid, artistic strokes that are a breeze to use. It features 11 different custom brushes, all of which you can incorporate on your creations to take them to the next level.Usually valued at $309.95, grab the Corel Creative Mac Bundle on sale for only $39.99 -- a savings of 87%. Image: Pexels The Corel Creative Mac Bundle -- $39.99 See Details
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| Someone Is Trying To Sell a Baby T. Rex Skeleton on eBay for $2.95 Million Posted: 19 Apr 2019 07:33 AM PDT  And paleontologists aren't happy about it.
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| View Photos of the Aston Martin DBS 59 Special Edition Posted: 19 Apr 2019 07:54 AM PDT |
| 'It's a witch hunt': Trump's brash fight against Mueller Posted: 18 Apr 2019 11:26 PM PDT  President Donald Trump's strategist warned him not to fire FBI director James Comey. Trump ignored them all, and could still claim vindication Thursday after the Mueller report cleared him of collusion charges. It was hugely risky, but it appears to have paid off -- notwithstanding further investigations Congressional Democrats have promised into Trump's alleged abuse of his authority.
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| The Latest: Egypt begins vote on extending el-Sissi's rule Posted: 20 Apr 2019 04:03 AM PDT  CAIRO (AP) — The Latest on Egypt's vote on a referendum potentially extending President el-Sissi's rule to 2030 (all times local):
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| Once-dead compact pickup is poised for a comeback: Ford, Hyundai, maybe even VW jump in Posted: 18 Apr 2019 09:01 PM PDT ![Once-dead compact pickup is poised for a comeback: Ford, Hyundai, maybe even VW jump in]( "Once-dead compact pickup is poised for a comeback: Ford, Hyundai, maybe even VW jump in") The next evolution of the pickup wars: Several automakers are suddenly reviving the long-lost compact pickup, which perished earlier this century.
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| Measles Crisis: Judge Dismisses Parents’ Suit Against NYC Posted: 19 Apr 2019 01:48 AM PDT  Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/GettyA New York judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit brought against the city's Department of Health by five parents who refuse to vaccinate their children.The dismissal shores up an emergency order declaring the city's measles outbreak a public health emergency. In addition to mandating the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine for children in zip codes affected by the crisis, it threatened parents with fines of up to $1,000.There have been 329 confirmed cases of the viral illness, mostly among observant Jews in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. "The unvarnished truth is that these diagnoses represent the most significant spike in incidences of measles in the United States in many years and that the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn is at its epicenter," Kings County Supreme Court justice Lawrence Knipel wrote.Knipel debunked the parents' arguments, concluding that their medical objections to vaccines ran counter to scientific evidence; their religious objections weren't supported by doctrine, and were only relevant to school admissions; and their moral objections, such as their insistence on informed consent for vaccines, were misplaced."A fireman need not obtain the informed consent of the owner before extinguishing a house fire," he wrote. "Vaccination is known to extinguish the fire of contagion."Jay Begun, founder of Kindercare Pediatrics in Williamsburg and an instructor in the Department of Pediatrics at Mount Sinai, said the dismissal was a victory for the community."Now more people will be encouraged to immunize their children, and it will create a safer environment for everyone," he said. "This proves that the greater good trumps the marginal opinions of a small segment of the population."But, he added, when it comes to enforcing the order, "the less punitive the better and the more educational the better."One Hasidic father, who asked that his name not be shared in order to protect his privacy, felt that the dismissal was a step toward safety for his community."It is still scary to go out with the kids in Williamsburg, but hopefully this will help turn around the situation," he said.Robert Krakow, the parents' attorney and a frequent representative of parents who claim their children were injured by vaccines, said he wasn't particularly surprised by the judge's decision.Krakow claimed that a new version of the order presented during the hearing said the city could fine parents per day, as opposed to only once, for refusing to vaccinate their children."Wouldn't you expect, when the city handed over the order and said the criminal provisions are removed, that they would also highlight any significant changes?" he said. "I didn't hear them say anything about fines per day. Let's just say we're investigating it."The decision came on the same day that the Health Department announced it had issued summonses to three parents for not vaccinating their children. The department also shut down four yeshivas for not complying with its order that unvaccinated students be forbidden from attending. A daycare that was shut down earlier this week, United Talmudical Academy, reopened today under close supervision by the Health Department.Read more at The Daily Beast.
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