| AP sources: Former CIA chief Brennan to brief Dems on Iran Posted: 19 May 2019 05:13 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats will hear from former CIA Director John Brennan about the situation in Iran, inviting him to speak next week amid heightened concerns over the Trump administration's sudden moves in the region.
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| Boeing acknowledges flaw in 737 MAX simulator software Posted: 18 May 2019 05:22 PM PDT  Boeing acknowledged Saturday it had to correct flaws in its 737 MAX flight simulator software used to train pilots, after two deadly crashes involving the aircraft that killed 346 people. "Boeing has made corrections to the 737 MAX simulator software and has provided additional information to device operators to ensure that the simulator experience is representative across different flight conditions," it said in a statement. Its statement marked the first time Boeing acknowledged there was a design flaw in software linked to the 737 MAX, whose MCAS anti-stall software has been blamed in large part for the Ethiopian Airlines tragedy.
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| Roe v. Wade gave women a right to choose abortion. But doctors like me have a choice, too. Posted: 19 May 2019 11:25 AM PDT ![Roe v. Wade gave women a right to choose abortion. But doctors like me have a choice, too.]( "Roe v. Wade gave women a right to choose abortion. But doctors like me have a choice, too.") As a doctor, I'm not there to carry out the will of either the state or the individual, but to do what I see as in keeping with my medical role.
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| Democrat 2020 hopefuls eye coveted Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsement Posted: 18 May 2019 06:46 AM PDT  She is the great young hope of America's Left-wing, an articulate and impassioned progressive whose policies have gained traction and Twitter feed is followed by four million. Now Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 29-year-old first-time congressman from New York, is seeing her newfound political clout manifest in a new way – a race for her endorsement. With two dozen Democrats seeking their party's presidential nomination, the support of Ms Ocasio-Cortez is being seen as a way to win over the young, energised voters who will help shape the race. Chief among the contenders are Bernie Sanders, the independent 77-year-old senator from Vermont, and Elizabeth Warren, the former academic now representing Massachusetts in the Senate. Both have made tacit acknowledgement of Ms Ocasio-Cortez's influence in public in recent weeks – whether for policy reasons, or for political gain, or both. Earlier this month, Mr Sanders appeared alongside Ms Ocasio-Cortez at an office table where they discussed the importance of reducing credit card interest rates. At the end of the 25-minute video, shared on social media and viewed by more than half a million people, the pair patted each other on the back warmly and smiled. Last month, Mr Warren wrote a 180-word ode to Ms Ocasio-Cortez for Time Magazine when the latter was named in its top 100 most influential people. "A year ago, she was taking orders across a bar. Today, millions are taking cues from her," Ms Warren wrote of the congresswoman's remarkable political rise. "And she's just getting started." Those two are not the only Democratic hopefuls vying for an endorsement, it appears. Politico reported that both senator Kirsten Gillibrand and former housing and urban development secretary Julian Castro have made "overtures". There is no reason a person should pay more than 15% interest in the United States. It's common sense - in fact, we had these Usury laws until the 70s. It's a debt trap for working people + it has to end.https://t.co/sO0p5NF7WR— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) May 9, 2019 The enthusiasm is understandable. The Democratic Party's progressive base appears fired up for change and many candidates hoping to win the right to take on Donald Trump are leaning its way. Government-funded health care for all, a $15 minimum wage and bold action on climate change have been widely adopted by the field ahead of the first debate in June and the first primary vote next February. Ms Ocasio-Cortez, who last year shocked the political establishment by ousting a 10-term Democrat in her own party to take his seat, has become the progressive movement's most recognisable star. That was underscored this week as Joe Biden, the former US vice president who is polling top and running on a centrist ticket, was forced to defend his climate change stance after Ms Ocasio-Cortez dismissed it as "middle of the road". Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic senator for Massachusetts, has developed a reputation for standing up to Wall Street Credit: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall Mr Sanders is best placed to win the endorsement race. Ms Ocasio-Cortez worked on his 2016 presidential campaign, identifies like him as a democratic socialist and shares many of the same policy beliefs. Ms Warren has also laid out a left-wing platform taking on Wall Street and redistributing wealth but makes clear she remains a believer in capitalism. Asked recently about an endorsement by a CNN reporter, Ms Ocasio-Cortez said: "What I would like to see in a presidential candidate is one that has a coherent worldview and logic from which all these policy proposals are coming forward. "I think senator Sanders has that. I also think senator Warren has that." And, the questioner followed up, would she consider endorsing Mr Biden? Ms Ocasio-Cortez turned and walked away without a definitive answer.
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| Swiss Set to Back Tax Reform, Gun Control in Sunday Referendums Posted: 18 May 2019 08:00 PM PDT  The new tax regime would replace special tax breaks that multinational companies now enjoy but which Switzerland is forced to do away with to comply with international rules. While Switzerland isn't a member of the EU, it is in the open-border Schengen area and therefore the law needs to be changed in accordance with stricter rules in the bloc. Both measures are up for a vote because of Switzerland's system of direct democracy which calls for mandatory referendums if 50,000 votes are collected within 100 days of a law passing.
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| SAT to give students 'adversity score' Posted: 18 May 2019 12:20 PM PDT  Students will now be given an 'adversity score' to show challenges they have overcome based on their environment.
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| Illinois not alerted to early clues in womb-cutting case Posted: 19 May 2019 03:29 AM PDT  CHICAGO (AP) — Police and Illinois' child welfare agency say staff at a Chicago-area hospital didn't alert them after determining that a bloodied woman who arrived with a gravely ill newborn had not just given birth to the baby boy, as she claimed.
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| Attorney general Barr is 'sliming his own department,' says former FBI director Comey Posted: 18 May 2019 01:20 AM PDT  Former FBI director James Comey has accused Attorney General William Barr of "sliming his own department" by questioning the creation of the Trump-Russia investigation.Mr Comey also suggested the head of the US justice department – who has launched a review into the origins of the 2016 election meddling probe – had been acting as a "spokesperson" for Donald Trump."The AG should stop sliming his own Department," the former FBI chief tweeted. "If there are bad facts, show us, or search for them professionally and then tell us what you found. An AG must act like the leader of the Department of Justice, an organization based on truth. Donald Trump has enough spokespeople."The attorney general has asked John Durham, the US attorney in Connecticut, to examine how the probe into Russian election interference began and whether laws were broken while intelligence was collected on the Trump campaign, it was revealed earlier this week.On Friday Mr Barr said the review would focus on the actions of the US intelligence community before the FBI opened a formal inquiry in July 2016."Government power was used to spy on American citizens," the attorney general told The Wall Street Journal. "I can't imagine any world where we wouldn't take a look and make sure that was done properly."Mr Barr told a Senate subcommittee last month that he believed "spying did occur". He said: "The question is whether it was adequately predicated and I'm not suggesting it wasn't adequately predicated, but I need to explore that."The attorney general has provided no details about what "spying" may have taken place but he could be alluding to a surveillance warrant the FBI obtained on former Trump associate Carter Page and the FBI's use of an informant while investigating ex-Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos.> The AG should stop sliming his own Department. If there are bad facts, show us, or search for them professionally and then tell us what you found. An AG must act like the leader of the Department of Justice, an organization based on truth. Donald Trump has enough spokespeople.> > — James Comey (@Comey) > > May 18, 2019His suggestions that members of the Trump campaign were unfairly targeted have been welcomed by the president and his associates, who have repeatedly claimed investigations into the campaign were motivated by political bias.The president said that he did not request Mr Barr launch the review, but that he thinks "it's a great thing that he did it."FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress earlier in May that he has no evidence the FBI illegally monitored the Trump campaign and doesn't consider court-approved FBI surveillance to be "spying". Mr Comey has said "the FBI doesn't spy, the FBI investigates". He has been a consistent critic of Mr Trump since he was fired as FBI director by the president in May 2017, calling him "morally unfit to be president".
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| Blast hits Egypt tourist bus, 17 injured: security, medical sources Posted: 19 May 2019 07:05 AM PDT  An explosion struck a tourist bus on Sunday near Egypt's famed pyramids, injuring 17 people including foreigners, security and medical sources said. South Africans and Egyptians were among those injured when an explosive device went off, hitting the bus in Giza, according to the sources. Sunday's incident comes after three Vietnamese holidaymakers and their Egyptian guide were killed when a roadside bomb hit their bus as it travelled near the pyramids outside Cairo in December.
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| This Missile Might be the U.S. Navy's Important Weapon in Decades Posted: 19 May 2019 10:00 AM PDT  The Tomahawk and its controversies might make headlines, but as the U.S. Navy re-arms for high-tech warfare, the SM-6 is the missile to watch.The U.S. Navy in late January 2019 confirmed the designation of its newest cruise missile, in the process clarifying its long-term plan for arming its growing fleet of warships.The plan heavily leans on one missile, in particular. It's the SM-6, an anti-aircraft weapon that quickly is evolving to perform almost every role the Navy assigns to a missile.(This first appeared earlier in the year.)The Navy dubbed the newest version of the venerable Tomahawk cruise missile the "Block V" model, Jane's reported. There are two separate variants of the Block V missile, one with an anti-ship warhead and another with a warhead the Navy optimized for striking targets on land.Raytheon's Tomahawk has been the subject of controversy in Washington, D.C. In order to save money the Obama administration wanted to pause production of the long-range missile, which since the 1980s has been the Navy's main weapon for striking land targets from the sea.Congress overruled the Obama administration and continued buying Tomahawks for roughly $1 million apiece, adding potentially hundreds of the missiles to the thousands the fleet already possesses.
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| US 'afraid' of war with Iran, claims head of Revolutionary Guard Posted: 19 May 2019 11:22 AM PDT  The US is "afraid" of war with the US, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard said as tensions between Tehran and Washington intensified over the weekend. Major General Hossein Salami told the Iranian state news agency, IRNA, that the country does not want war. "The difference between us and them is that they are afraid of war and don't have the will for it," he said. His remarks came against a backdrop of increased volatility in the region, with the US sending an aircraft carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf to counter an unspecified threat from Iran. Major General Salami's comments were dismissed by the US president on Twitter. "If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!" Mr Trump tweeted. The US Federal Aviation Administration has urged commercial aircraft to exercise caution when flying over the Persian Gulf, warning they ran the risk of being "misidentified". How Iran has stoked tensions in Gulf A similar misunderstanding in 1988 led to an American warship bringing down an Iran Air flight, killing all 290 people on board. Iraq, meanwhile, has condemned as "political" a decision by US energy giant ExxonMobil to evacuate staff from a southern oil field after Washington ordered personnel to quit its Baghdad embassy. Saudi Arabia responded to the escalating crisis by calling for a Gulf summit, adding that while the country did not want war it would defend itself if hostilities erupted. John Bolton wants tough line with Iran Credit: Joshua Roberts/Reuters In Washington Donald Trump has emerged as a dove within his own administration, telling his acting defence secretary, Patrick Shanahan, that he wants to avoid an armed conflict erupting. It has put the US president at odds with John Bolton, his national security adviser and a long-standing foreign policy hawk, who has made little secret of his desire for regime change in Tehran. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has also sought to lower the temperature by asking European allies to intervene with Iran. Washington's stance on Iran has put it at odds with European allies, notably after it withdrew from the nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration. Over the weekend Tulsi Gabbard, an Iraq war veteran and Democratic presidential candidate, rounded on Mr Trump and Mr Pompeo accusing them of leading the country into a war with Iran. "He says he doesn't want it, but the actions of him and his administration, people like John Bolton and Mike Pompeo, tell us a very different story," she said on ABC. "They are setting the stage for a war with Iran that would prove to be far more costly, far more devastating and dangerous than anything that we saw in the Iraq war."
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| Wild video shows the moment an F-16 fighter jet crashed into a California warehouse Posted: 18 May 2019 11:22 AM PDT  In a wild story that was captured on video, an F-16 fighter jet crashed into a warehouse in Riverside, California shortly after takeoff yesterday afternoon. The pilot managed to safely eject from the plane before the crash and is said to have suffered no injuries, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.A full-on investigation into the cause of the crash will certainly yield more details, but early reports suggest that a hydraulics failure was the reason behind the malfunction and subsequent crash.Video of the impact was captured by a nearby car's dashboard cam.> Ty Stanonis was on the freeway when the crash occurred ahead of him, he told FOX11. His vehicle's dashboard camera recorded the moment the jet crashed, showing the plane dropping into the building.> > "Everybody was slowing down, just trying to figure out what just happened," Stanonis said.> > The pilot's parachute deployed after he ejected, and he landed in a field inside the base. Stanonis said the pilot was still for a few moments but finally rose to his feet.The moment of impact can be seen in the first few seconds of the video below.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j4dzuttA1wFootage captured from within the warehouse can be seen below. It's worth noting that the video contains explicit language.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ho35RgfUfIMiraculously, no one in the warehouse was seriously injured as a result of the crash, though a few individuals were taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation for minor injuries.Further, the F-16 was said to be carrying live ammunition which thankfully -- and remarkably -- did not go off. All in all, what could have been an all-out disaster resulted in no deaths or serious injuries
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| Rocket attack hits near US Embassy in Baghdad's Green Zone Posted: 19 May 2019 04:13 PM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — A rocket was fired into the Iraqi capital's heavily fortified Green Zone Sunday night, landing less than a mile from the sprawling U.S. Embassy, an Iraqi military spokesman said.
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| Democratic Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards prepares to sign restrictive abortion bill Posted: 18 May 2019 10:18 AM PDT  "My inclination is to sign it," Gov. John Bel Edwards said when discussing a "heartbeat bill" currently under consideration in the state Legislature.
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| Al Jazeera suspends two journalists over Holocaust report Posted: 19 May 2019 11:00 AM PDT  Qatari state-funded broadcaster Al Jazeera suspended two journalists on Sunday over a video they produced claiming the extent of the Holocaust was being misrepresented by Jews. The clip, posted by Al Jazeera's online AJ+ Arabic service, claimed "the narrative" that the Nazis killed six million Jews was "adopted by the Zionist movement". The video said that "along with others, the Jews faced a policy of systematic persecution which culminated in the Final Solution".
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| Let Me Tell You About the Worst Submarine of All Time Posted: 18 May 2019 01:20 AM PDT  For the Worst Submarine of All Time, I go further and nominate an entire silent service: the undersea arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN).There are many candidates for this dubious honor. After all, submarining has been around for well over a century now. Many ships render honorable but unexceptional service. Standouts emerge, generally in times of strife, as do "floating coffins" and plain old hard-luck ships.And there are some that subtract value from the nation's effort to reach its strategic and political aims. This is the unpardonable sin.The idea of ships that could submerge has been around since antiquity. Combat submersibles date to the Turtle, a hand-propelled contraption built to smite Royal Navy ships from beneath during the War of American Independence. But subs really became a going concern during the fin de siècle age, when propulsion technologies such as batteries, electric motors, and internal-combustion engines came to maturity around the same time.Combining these technologies yielded the diesel-electric propulsion plant, a hybrid affair that enabled subs to run silent, run deep on quiet electric motors when submerged and run on diesels and recharge batteries while cruising the surface. At the direction of First Sea Lord Jacky Fisher, the Royal Navy ordered five rudimentary boats designed by John Phillip Holland in 1900, and the age of modern undersea warfare was on.
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| Michigan GOP congressman says Trump conduct is 'impeachable' Posted: 18 May 2019 03:41 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican congressman from Michigan on Saturday became the first member of President Donald Trump's party on Capitol Hill to accuse him of engaging in "impeachable conduct" stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller's lengthy investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
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| US pilots warned about flying over Iranian territory amid rising tensions in Middle East Posted: 18 May 2019 12:54 PM PDT  US airlines have been warned by diplomats that their planes face a risk of being "misidentified" as they fly over the Gulf amid heightened tensions between America and Iran, A notice from the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) published on 16 May underlined the risks the tensions pose to a region crucial to global air travel.The guidance warned US pilots to be cautious in flying over the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, as there is "heightened military activities and increased political tension" between the two states.Washington has dispatched naval warships and bombers to the region in an attempt to protect American interests, diplomats, and forces from what it called Iranian aggression. The FAA warning only applies to US registered aircraft, pilots, and US carriers. The UK is understood not to have issued a similar warning.The warning stated that tensions may "present an increasing inadvertent risk to US civil aviation operations due to the potential for miscalculation or misidentification".The FAA also warned of potential GPS interference and communications jamming in the area, which they say may occur with "little to no warning".The region is home to major hub airports, including Dubai International, the busiest international airport in the world.
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| Modi’s jobs deficit: J&J’s largest India plant idle three years after completion Posted: 19 May 2019 01:20 AM PDT  It was to eventually employ at least 1,500 people and help bring development to a rural area near Hyderabad in southern India. Two sources familiar with J&J's operations in India and one state government official told Reuters production at the plant, at Penjerla in Telangana state, never began because of a slowing in the growth in demand for the products. One of them said that demand didn't rise as expected because of two shock policy moves by Prime Minister Narendra Modi: a late 2016 ban on then circulating high-value currency notes, and the nationwide introduction of a goods and services tax (GST) in 2017.
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| Genesis Intends to Build the Essentia Concept as an EV, and It May Be Powered by Hydrogen Posted: 19 May 2019 06:00 AM PDT  The premium brand doesn't want the concept from last year's show circuit to fade away.
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| Scouted: Tevas Sandals Will Survive Anything You Put Them Through And Look Good Doing It Posted: 18 May 2019 07:00 AM PDT  In two weeks, I'm traveling to Africa for the first time. When I step off that plane I'll be stepping onto my third continent in roughly a year. When I step off that plane, I'll be stepping out wearing my trusty Tevas. Africa will be their third continent in a year, too. I paired my Tevas with a silk jumpsuit while wedding dress shopping in L.A. I wore my Tevas on assignment in the Florida Everglades, crouched down in the hull of a swamp boat, hoping an alligator wouldn't chomp on my exposed toes. I protected said toes' modesty by wearing socks with my Tevas in Oman's Grand Mosque. I was wearing my Tevas a few nights ago when, slightly drunk on mezcal in Mexico, I fell into an open sewer.The fact that my Tevas seemed like the appropriate footwear for all of these scenarios is what makes them the perfect travel companion, and it's this low-key adaptability that makes me so obsessed with the brand. Now listen, I was (as perhaps you are now) skeptical at first. The last time I owned Tevas I was still wearing polar-fleece half-zip pullovers and eating raisins in the backseat of a neighbor's Volkswagen as they carpooled me to mandatory recreational sports practice. Developed in the 80s by a geophysicist/whitewater rafting guide, the brand (whose name translates to "nature" in Hebrew) has always represented a certain crunchy outdoorsiness that angsty kids who grew into East Coast city-goths like me shun out of habit. Tevas were for kids whose parents took them hiking and taught them the proper pronunciation of the word "nature" in Hebrew (it's Teh-vuh, not Tee-vuh.) But times, and I, have changed. Last year my travel schedule created the need for something I could only describe as a "performance sandal." After scoping the orthopedic curves and elastic straps of brands like Keen and Merrell, I was desperate for something that was simultaneously utilitarian and cute. In walked Teva. Women's Original Universal Sandal, $50 from TevaAs a brand, they know their reputation, but rather than ignore it by earnestly marketing to outdoor enthusiasts, they seem to be cheekily owning their identity. Like Timberlands, or other labels that have successfully made the jump from utility to streetwear, Teva isn't forsaking their core product; they are just having a little fun with it. Not only does their website have a section about how to pair their products with socks, you can even choose the height of the platform. Platforms might not be the best choice for long-endurance activities, but the brand's recent bright collab with Outdoor Voices signals that they aren't straying too far from their roots -- only updating it for a new type of colorway-conscious, Instagram-styled consumer. My Instagram DM's have been a battleground of opinions from friends and followers. . This divisiveness isn't all that surprising considering that Tevas are manufactured by the same parent company who own UGGs. Both brands flaunt a pragmatic anti-style that breeds intense loyalty. By designing shoes that apparently never even take into account sex-appeal, they're allowing women to subvert the tired old "fashion over function" trope. By insisting that function is fashion, fans can winkingly claim their comfort while feeling like provocateurs. At least, this is the narrative that runs through my head when I strap my amazingly adjustable Tevas on my much-abused feet and walk into a fancy restaurant. Their minimalist sensibility blended with unsentimental design, contribute to the effortless road-savvy, cool-girl travel aesthetic so many woman (including myself) try to project. Besides, as anyone who grew up in the 90s can attest, a strappy sandal pairs well with everything, even when drenched in Mexican sewer water. Scouted is internet shopping with a pulse. Follow us on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter for even more recommendations and exclusive content. Please note that if you buy something featured in one of our posts, The Daily Beast may collect a share of sales.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Missouri GOP lawmaker apologizes for comments on 'consensual rape' amid abortion bill debate Posted: 18 May 2019 08:07 AM PDT  The Republican state representative apologized after saying that most rapes he saw while on the police force were 'date rapes or consensual rapes.'
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| Turkey says to produce S-500s with Russia after S-400 missile deal Posted: 18 May 2019 03:39 PM PDT  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said Turkey and Russia would jointly produce S-500 defence systems after Ankara's controversial purchase of the S-400 missile defence system from Moscow. Turkey's push to buy the S-400s has further strained already tense relations with the United States which has repeatedly warned Ankara of the risks including sanctions as a result of the purchase. "There is absolutely no question of (Turkey) taking a step back from the S-400s purchase.
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| Oprah surprises New Jersey principal, students with $500K donation Posted: 18 May 2019 08:31 AM PDT  Oprah Winfrey surprised a high school principal in New Jersey that is making a huge difference in his community.
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| Trump tweets threat: 'If Iran wants to fight, that will be the end of Iran' Posted: 19 May 2019 02:46 PM PDT  * Incendiary message follows disavowals of intent from both sides * Opinion: Trump supporters don't want war with Iran In a picture released on Friday, the USS Abraham Lincoln sails in the Arabian Sea near the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge. Photograph: Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brian M Wilbur/APDonald Trump has issued one of his most direct threats yet to Tehran, warning that "if Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran".The US president emerged from his golf club in Sterling, Virginia, on Sunday to tweet belligerently at around 4.30pm, thereby risking a quickening of tension that is already rising."Never threaten the United States again!" he wrote.The tweet will do little to assuage jitters in the Middle East and in Washington about aggressive language coming out of the White House. Concern is already running high that Trump's hawkish national security adviser, John Bolton, who played a key role in instigating the invasion of Iraq under George Bush, might be nudging the administration towards military action.In 2015, Bolton wrote a New York Times op-ed entitled "To stop Iran's bomb, bomb Iran". Trump withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal last year.On the other hand, Trump has a way of blowing hot one minute and cold the next. As with so many of his social media missives, the precise import of his Sunday tweet was hard to read. It directly conflicted with reports of just three days ago that the president had been telling the Pentagon he did not want to go to war and wanted to find a way to wind down tensions.Those reports were also subject to qualification. In response to reports about a draft plan for the deployment of 120,000 troops, Trump said that though he did not want war, if it came to it he would send "a hell of a lot" more soldiers than that.Earlier on Sunday, the Utah senator and former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney had joined the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in dismissing the threat of war."Going to war with Iran?" Romney asked on CNN's State of the Union. "Not going to happen."According to the Fars news agency, Major General Hossein Salami followed foreign minister Mohammed Javad Zarif by saying Iran was not pursuing war either.But both men offered caveats.Romney, a member of the Senate foreign relations committee, said the threat to US interests was "real" and added: "We're going to make sure they understand that if they take action against our people, against our allies and against our friends, there will be consequence and it will be far more severe than the initial action taken by Iran."Salami said Iran was ready to fight, as the difference "between us and them is that they are afraid of war and don't have the will for it".The White House has not said what is behind its claim of an increased threat. Romney said the "intelligence community says there's a great deal of risk" but did not elaborate. It has been reported that US intelligence believes Iranian commercial vessels have carried missiles and ammunition, which some analysts say indicates preparations to defend against a US attack.Saudi Arabia is the major US ally in the region. Four oil tankers, two of them Saudi, were attacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Iran-allied rebels in Yemen claimed a drone attack on a Saudi oil pipeline.Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, told reporters on Sunday his country also "does not want war … but at the same time, if the other side chooses war, the kingdom will fight this with all force and determination".The US has sent an aircraft carrier strike group and cautionary moves include an evacuation of personnel by the oil firm ExxonMobil and a warning from the US to commercial air traffic of increased risk in the region.The Associated Press reported on Sunday that Democrats in Congress will be briefed by former CIA director John Brennan, a stringent Trump critic, and Wendy Sherman, a former state department official who helped negotiate the Iran deal. Among Democratic presidential hopefuls on Sunday, the presumption was that Trump either wanted war or was behaving irresponsibly.The Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, a military veteran, told ABC's This Week Trump was "leading us down this dangerous path towards a war in Iran". Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, another veteran, said war with Iran would be "exactly what John Bolton wants".But David Petraeus, a retired general who led US troops in Iraq in 2003 and later led the CIA, told ABC it was "pretty clear" Trump "doesn't want to go to war with Iran. He's not after regime change".Romney agreed."I don't believe for a minute," he said, "that either the president or John Bolton or anyone else in a serious senior position of leadership in the White House has any interest in going to the Middle East and going to war. That's just not going to happen … barring some kind of attack from Iran or something of that nature which I don't think anyone anticipates."Look, the president made it very clear that he thinks the greatest foreign policy mistake probably in the modern age was the decision by President Bush to go into Iraq. The idea that he would follow that by going after Iran, a more difficult enemy if you will, that's just not going to happen."Famously, Trump said at the time that he supported George W Bush's invasion of Iraq. He has since vehemently denied that he did so.
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| Target is selling a giant unicorn float that will hold up to 6 people Posted: 18 May 2019 07:15 AM PDT  Ever wanted to lay out on the water at the beach in a giant unicorn float withfive of your friends? Sure you have! And this summer, it's happening
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| What Are the Best Inexpensive Small SUVs? Posted: 19 May 2019 03:17 AM PDT  This member question submitted to Ask Our Experts touches on a common need. We like that it is focused on the goal, rather than strictly how to achieve it. In this case, it would be wise to resis...
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| Michael Bennet Understands Exactly What's Gone Wrong in America Posted: 17 May 2019 07:54 PM PDT  Zach Gibson/GettyAs frightening as this historical moment is in so many ways, it's hopeful in one respect. We may finally be at a point when a majority of people are ready to ditch supply-side economics. The economy is doing very well right now, so it seems in one sense a counterintuitive argument. But Americans are increasingly recognizing that even this good economy is mostly good for the top 10 percent, especially the top 1 and .1 percent; and that if you live in one of these 50 counties or hundreds of others like them where the unemployment rates are more than twice the national average and the poverty rates are above 25 percent, the economy doesn't feel that great at all.There's a story for the Democrats to tell here. A story of a country where prosperity was once broadly shared, because politicians of both parties in those days agreed that investments in ourselves and our future were good, and that there was an inextricable link between democracy and broadly shared prosperity. I wrote about this link recently in the Times, and they tell me it did gangbusters traffic, not because it was Shakespeare but because it's a subject people care about devoutly and want to hear public figures address.Enter Colorado Senator Michael Bennet. One morning a while back I'd dropped the kid off at school and I tuned in to Morning Joe. I heard a voice saying: "Trump is not the cause of our problems. The cause of our problems is 40 years of economic immobility for 90 percent of the American people. Stagnant wages over that period of time. Periods when we had economic growth, but for most Americans, those were periods of recession. We have to fix that. It's going to take us a generation to do it."Oh my God. Naturally I thought this person was brilliant, because he was talking exactly the way I write. As the segment ended I heard them say thank you, senator, but they didn't say a name. I emailed a guy I know who works on the show and asked. Yep, he wrote, that was Michael Bennet.Shortly thereafter, Bennet, a former schools superintendent, got a prostate cancer diagnosis. Today he declares himself "miraculously cured," and makes sure to tell a visitor that the cost of his cure was $55,000, of which he had to pay only $1,800. "It made me realize just how insane it would be to get the same diagnosis without insurance," he said. "Or not to get the diagnosis at all because you didn't have a primary care doctor because you didn't have insurance."Now, Bennet—the brother as it happens of New York Times editorial page editor James Bennet, the only one-t Bennets I've ever heard of—is running for president. Is he likely to win? No. Woke lefties write him off as too moderate, because he is not for Medicare for All and because he says things about how he still thinks it's possible to find reasonable Republicans in the Senate to work with. But however you feel about his proposals, whether you're center or left, you must listen to his analysis of the problem, because he is exactly correct, and he's saying it better and more clearly than anyone else running.So I sat down with him last week in his Capitol building hideaway office (complete with foosball table!) between votes. Unlike most pols, who stay focused on the moment, his perspective is relentlessly historical. "Maybe," he mused, "we're finally at the end of the Reagan era. Maybe there are things we can do together as a country to improve the economic condition of all of us."This is why he's running, he tells me—to say these things: "I didn't think this was getting the articulation it deserves among the people who were running… I thought it was important to give voice to this and see what would happen."To that end, most of our interview was him showing me a PowerPoint presentation—"this'll be the first time I've walked anybody through his," he says—that he and his staff assembled to tell the story of the inequality and stagnation of the last 40 years for the vast majority of the population. Slide 1, Wages for most Americans have been flat for decades; Slide 2, The rich are getting richer; Slide 4, The building blocks of the middle class are out of reach; Slide 12, America is no longer leading the world in investment. He goes into much deeper detail in an upcoming book, The Land of Flickering Lights: Restoring America in an Age of Broken Politics. It's a campaign book, yes, but it's a smart and substantive one. As much as this sort of thing excites me, I'm unfortunately not confident it's going to get the hearing it deserves. He's not bombastic. He's no moralist. He did say one thing in particular during our chat that really caught my ear and may catch others': "Since 2001, we've spent $5 trillion on tax cuts, almost all of which has gone to the richest people in the country, and we've spent $5.6 trillion on wars in the Middle East. So that's $11 or $12 trillion we haven't spent addressing any of the issues we could have addressed." If his rhetoric were a pop song, that's the line that strikes me as the hook. That, plus the fact that he says he wants to take on Big Pharma, which I think is a great issue.So we'll see what happens. The one thing he said that I really disagreed with and challenged him on was that if he were president and the Democrats took control of the Senate, he would not ditch the filibuster. I said: So you'd pass nothing. He has no illusions about Mitch McConnell ("ruthless," "immune to give-and-take unless he's taking everything"), but he still thinks a few Republicans could be pressured or persuaded to vote with him. OK, good luck with that.But that's hypothetical. What's real is his analysis of the recent economic history of this country. As they said in a movie that came out back when the supply-side era started, nobody does it better.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Austrian president calls for September poll in wake of scandal Posted: 19 May 2019 12:09 PM PDT  Austria's president on Sunday called for fresh elections in September after a corruption scandal embroiling the far-right brought down the coalition government in spectacular fashion. Just days before key EU elections, Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache was forced to resign in disgrace Saturday following explosive revelations from a hidden camera sting. Conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz -- whose 18-month coalition with Strache's far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) had been held up as a model by many on the European right -- reacted by pulling the plug on their union.
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| Grumpy Cat lives forever on the internet. These were some of her best memes Posted: 19 May 2019 10:54 AM PDT  Grumpy Cat may be gone, but the feline star lives on forever thanks to the internet. These were some of the best memes starring Grumpy Cat.
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| Cold Brew’s Insidious Hegemony Posted: 18 May 2019 02:00 AM PDT  Soon, many parts of the United States will be unbearably hot. Texans and Arizonans will be able to bake cookies on their car dashboards; the garbage on the streets of New York will be especially pungent; Washington will not only figuratively be a swamp. And all across America, coffee consumers will turn their backs on traditional coffee in favor of a more "refreshing" vehicle for caffeine: cold brew.As conservatives, we are inherently skeptical of any change of language norms that seeks to warp the objective meaning of words, and so we defend terms such as "man and woman," "traditional marriage," and now, we must defend "coffee." "Coffee" is defined as a hot beverage made by steeping coffee in boiling water. Cold brew is made by soaking beans overnight, and the drink relies on time instead of heat to extract the flavor. The major disqualifying factor is that it's cold.Starbucks's imperial command over coffee is greatly responsible for this Orwellian redefinition. Its ubiquitous mermaid logo may read "Starbucks Coffee," but the corporate café caliphate makes most of its profit from drinks sugary enough to induce a diabetic coma in a small mammal. Even more sinister is that Starbucks expanded into Milan in 2018, irreverently flexing its muscle at coffee purists who turn up their noses while its ostentatious drinks conquer the international beverage forum, marginalizing and undermining traditional coffee.Smaller coffee shops have followed in Starbucks's footsteps. Today, "Let's go out for coffee!" seems like an innocent request from a coworker or friend, and it should suggest that the order will include a cup of boiled water that was brewed with coffee beans — whether it's a single shot of espresso or a cup of café americano, made with a French press or Moka Express. But too often, they mean something else. In the summer, they mean cold brew.One New York City coffee-store owner told the New York Times in 2017 that in the summer, 65 percent of the "coffee" he sells is iced — every other part of the year, 75 percent of the "coffee" sold is hot. Iced coffee itself is a cousin of cold brew, but with nearly all of hot coffee's features except the most significant one: heat. It's brewed the same way, and then cooled. But demand for cold brew specifically is increasing, unsurprisingly, among my generation: Millennials. A habit of subversive behavior among Millennials has driven us to attack all of our civilization's most sacred institutions, including coffee — the backbone of American productivity.As cold brew's popularity metastasizes, usurping coffee for several months of the year, will we forget our proud national heritage? Cold brew requires patience and planning: One must make a prediction of business the next day in order to estimate how much to make the night before. This is a clear break from our proud tradition of urgency. While the harvesting and roasting of good coffee beans surely requires patience, has prepared coffee ever been associated with anything other than the quick satiation of a morning addiction, or the rush to meet a deadline? Like bread, coffee is a staple for good reason: One needs only five minutes, a heat source, a filtration method, and the beans. It's dependable and democratic.Coffee has even provoked constitutional debate. Would we have considered tort reform within the framework of the Seventh Amendment had it not been for 1994's infamous hot-coffee lawsuit, Liebeck v. McDonald's?To those who will, during the summer months, abandon the beverage that gives many of us our will to live in the mornings, I ask just one concession to coffee purists: Drink your cold brew, but please, don't call it "coffee."
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| UK PM May to make 'new, bold offer' in Brexit bill, Labour skeptical Posted: 19 May 2019 05:54 AM PDT  After failing three times to get parliament's approval for her deal, the government will now put the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, legislation which will enact that deal, before parliament for a vote in early June. "Whatever the outcome of any (indicative) votes, I will not be simply asking MPs (lawmakers) to think again. The date of the vote and the substance of what lawmakers will be asked to consider - including whether they will be given chance to indicate what preferences might secure a majority before the vote is binding - have yet to be made public.
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| Ahead of Fox News Forum, Buttigieg Critical of Hosts and Trump Posted: 19 May 2019 10:17 AM PDT  Buttigieg, the openly gay mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who's risen in polls since a CNN town hall in March gave him national exposure, said he agreed to appear because he wants to reach voters who might not otherwise hear his message. "I'm concerned that we're retreating into media bubbles," Buttigieg told reporters after an event Saturday in Dubuque, Iowa.
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| You’ll wonder why you ever watched TV without this $13 gadget Posted: 19 May 2019 07:34 AM PDT ![You'll wonder why you ever watched TV without this $13 gadget]( "You'll wonder why you ever watched TV without this $13 gadget") If you want to completely transform your TV watching experience without spending a fortune on a new TV, you have to check this out. Pick up a SPE LED Lighting Strip for HDTVs on Amazon, and use the self-adhesive back to stick it to the back of your television. Then plug it into the open USB port on the back of your TV, and it'll cast a gorgeous glow onto the wall behind your TV anytime your TV turns on. It really extends the viewing experience beyond the edges of your TV screen, and you can even change the color to suit your mood!Here's the key info from the product page: * ⚡ INCLUDES: 78-in, high quality LED strip light kit to provide bright accent lighting. USB bias lighting, 3M adhesive backing and USB for easy plug-in. For reference: TV in product image is 50'' * ⚡ EASY TO USE: Just clean the back of your TV, secure your LED strip light, plug the TV backlight USB plug into the USB port, and you have a great TV light or monitor backlight. Cut the LED strip every 1 inches for the perfect fit. The TV light strip powers on and off with your TV's USB port. * ⚡ CREATE A BEAUTIFUL VIEWING EXPERIENCE: With LED bias lighting, you create sharper images and color contrast while adding beautiful TV ambient lighting to your surroundings. The SPE Backlight for TV creates an environment that makes your friends and family want you to be the one to host viewing parties. * ⚡ REDUCE EYE STRAIN IN CHILDREN & ADULTS: With increasing screen time, eyestrain and headaches have become more and more common. Bias lights save your eyes and prevent unwanted headaches in both children and adults by reducing the contrast between the brightness of the TV and the surrounding room. This 78-inch TV backlight kit provides benefits with any TV size up to 60'' * ⚡ 12 Month Warranty - SPE products are all covered with an industry standard warranty on parts and replacements. Please reach out to our support email assistance.
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| Does Sunscreen Expire? Posted: 18 May 2019 03:00 AM PDT  The unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day, isn't too far off. And it's around this time that many people start taking stock of their sunscreen supply. Do you need to buy a new bottle, or will ...
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| Comey tears into Bar for 'slimming his own department' Posted: 17 May 2019 08:18 PM PDT  Reaction to Comey's remarks from former independent counsel Sol Wisenberg and national security attorney Bradley Moss.
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| Texas passing laws, but not leading abortion fight this time Posted: 17 May 2019 07:42 PM PDT  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Sidestepping bigger abortion battles playing out elsewhere in the U.S., Texas Republicans on Friday pushed a bill toward Gov. Greg Abbott's desk that would ban the state's liberal capital city from leasing a downtown building to Planned Parenthood for just $1.
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| Saudi, UAE see sufficient oil supplies, rising stocks Posted: 19 May 2019 12:14 PM PDT  Oil supplies were sufficient and stockpiles were still rising despite massive output drops from Iran and Venezuela, said OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and key producer UAE on Sunday, as oil exporters met in Jeddah. Producer nations discussed how to stabilise a volatile oil market amid rising US-Iran tensions in the Gulf, which threaten to disrupt global supply.
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| 10 surprising places to find the Statue of Liberty Posted: 19 May 2019 10:06 AM PDT ![10 surprising places to find the Statue of Liberty]( "10 surprising places to find the Statue of Liberty") You don't have to travel to New York to see Lady Liberty. Even before the statue's dedication in 1886, replicas began to appear.
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| Nothing Beats These Compact Handheld Egg Weights For Working Out While Traveling Posted: 19 May 2019 11:00 AM PDT  As a short person, I've often been told that good things come in small packages. It may be true, but it's even better, as far as I'm concerned, when those small things also pack a hefty punch.Egg Weights are one example of just this sort of combination, literally: little but mighty, Egg Weights are highly portable, easier on sensitive wrists, and add numerous benefits to boxing, running, or any other workout.Coming in dense metal weights ranging from 1 to 5 pounds, the ergonomic Egg Weights slip comfortably around your middle finger and into your grip, making it easier to build muscle, tone, and burn extra calories while you punch the air, run, or even keep your arms straight in Warrior 2. They fit into your palms surprisingly naturally (even with my very little hands), and add a noticeable extra intensity to any workout. Used by certain Olympic athletes to train, Egg Weights says their product is scientifically proven to increase the intensity of any movement from 28-62 percent according to their site. It certainly feels that way.What I also like is that Egg Weights can reduce stress and risk of injury compared to dumbells, taking some of the pressure off certain joints. Unlike dumbells, you aren't using your already-taxed-from-typing wrists to grip the weights — instead, you're engaging your shoulders and arms more fully. If you get sore wrists from lifting weights as I do, these will help. Egg Weights Hand Dumbbell Sets, $30-$50 on AmazonAnother huge added bonus for me is the fact that Egg Weights are so compact. They come with a nice carrying case, smaller than most toiletry bags, and though they'll add some extra weight to your suitcase, they won't take up much space at all. I pack them whenever I'm going somewhere where I might not be able to hit a gym but still want to be able to tone or amp up a quick home workout. The most common way I use them is to get on the floor in Boat Pose, boxing diagonally as I twist my abs. It quickly gets my heart rate up and works out multiple parts of my body at once. I'll also use them to punch the air when I need to get some aggression out or to add toning as I dancercise alone in my room. It helps to have a solid beat playing in your wireless headphones to egg you on as well. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)It's definitely worth the investment for this small-but-punchy fitness tool — and if you want to get one as a gift for the knockout in your life, you can even purchase a monogrammed pair.Scouted is internet shopping with a pulse. Follow us on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter for even more recommendations and exclusive content. Please note that if you buy something featured in one of our posts, The Daily Beast may collect a share of sales.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Australian PM heads to church, football after 'miracle' election win Posted: 19 May 2019 12:15 AM PDT  Morrison's Liberal-led conservative coalition has won or is leading in 76 seats, the number needed to form a majority government, according to the Australian Electoral Commission. A jubilant Morrison hugged community members after an early Sunday service at the Horizon Church in Sydney's southern suburbs, from where he was first elected to parliament in 2007. The result drew comparisons with Republican Donald Trump's victory over Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
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