| Massachusetts police officer charged with repeatedly raping 16-year-old homeless girl while on duty Posted: 28 Jun 2019 08:28 AM PDT  A 49-year-old Massachusetts police officer was arraigned Thursday on twocharges of rape after he allegedly sexually assaulted an underage homelessgirl multiple times while on duty
|
| Senate backs massive defense bill, targets China, sets Iran vote Posted: 27 Jun 2019 04:08 PM PDT  The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a $750-billion defense policy bill with provisions that target China on issues from technology transfers to the sale of synthetic opioids, pushing to counter growing Chinese influence around the world. Among other provisions, the Senate NDAA requires detailed reporting from the Department of Defense to prevent transfers of sensitive technology to China or Russia, as well as reports on access to the Arctic.
|
| Uruguay withdraws from OAS meeting over Venezuela opposition delegation Posted: 27 Jun 2019 04:13 PM PDT  Uruguay on Thursday withdrew from a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) being held in Medellin, Colombia, in protest of the presence of what it said was an illegitimate delegation from Venezuela. The incident, on the first of two days of meetings, laid bare a lack of consensus in the organization over whether to increase pressure on embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is backed by some member states but called a dictator by others. The country's opposition, lead by National Assembly head Juan Guaido, appointed Gustavo Tarre as its representative to the body.
|
| Sparks fly as Kamala Harris challenges Joe Biden's record on race Posted: 27 Jun 2019 08:03 PM PDT  The California senator sharply criticized the former vice president for his fond recollection of serving with two segregationist senators, and for opposing integration through busing in the 1970s.
|
| Stealth vs. Russia: U.S. F-22s and F-35s vs. Russia's S-300 and S-400 (Who Wins?) Posted: 27 Jun 2019 08:00 PM PDT  Physics dictate that a tactical fighter-sized stealth aircraft must be optimized to defeat higher-frequency bands such the C, X and Ku bands, which are used by fire control radars to produce a high-resolution track. Industry, Air Force and Navy officials all agree that there is a "step change" in an LO aircraft's signature once the frequency wavelength exceeds a certain threshold and causes a resonant effect—which generally occurs at the top part of the S-band.Russian air defenses may appear formidable as part of Moscow's increasingly sophisticated anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capability, but areas protected by these systems are far from impenetrable bubbles or 'Iron Domes' as some analysts have called them.While it is true that a layered and integrated air defense may effectively render large swaths of airspace too costly—in terms of men and materiel—to attack using conventional fourth generation warplanes such as the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet or Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon, these systems have an Achilles' Heel. Russian air defenses will still struggle to effectively engage fifth-generation stealth aircraft such as the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor or F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.(This first appeared in August 2016.)
|
| Ethics panel launches Gaetz investigation over Cohen tweet Posted: 28 Jun 2019 10:50 AM PDT ![Ethics panel launches Gaetz investigation over Cohen tweet]( "Ethics panel launches Gaetz investigation over Cohen tweet") Matt Gaetz sent a tweet in February in which he threatened to release embarrassing personal information about Michael Cohen.
|
| 21-year-old Torrance woman dies after being bitten by shark while snorkeling in Bahamas Posted: 27 Jun 2019 03:48 AM PDT  Jordan Lindsey, a 21-year-old woman from Torrance, California, was killed in a shark attack while snorkeling in the Bahamas.
|
| Mourning dog pictured at former owner's hospital bed finds new home Posted: 27 Jun 2019 03:30 PM PDT ![Mourning dog pictured at former owner's hospital bed finds new home]( "Mourning dog pictured at former owner's hospital bed finds new home") Moose, a 3-year-old lab mix, was recently photographed waiting at his former owner's hospital bed, spurring an adoption rush for the dog.
|
| SCOTUS Blocks Trump Administration from Including Census Citizenship Question Posted: 27 Jun 2019 08:00 AM PDT  The Supreme Court on Thursday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from adding a citizenship question to the decennial national census on the grounds that it failed to provide an adequate justification for doing so.In a split decision, the Court sent the matter back to a lower court for review, setting up a protracted and high-stakes legal battle that will likely last throughout much of the summer, surpassing the July deadline that administration attorneys have said they would need to meet to include the question on the upcoming census.In his decision, Chief Justice John Roberts explicitly criticized Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross for failing to adequately justify his decision to add the citizenship question to the census for the first time since 1950."The evidence tells a story that does not match the explanation [Ross] gave for his decision," Roberts wrote. "The sole stated reason seems to have been contrived."Ross claimed last year that he added the citizenship question at the behest of the Department of Justice in order to facilitate the enforcement of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which, in certain circumstances, requires that government lawyers know how many minorities live in a certain area for the purpose of drawing election districts.Critics of the administration have suggested the rationale was a disingenuous ploy intended to conceal a true desire to weaken Democratic congressional representation by eliminating illegal immigrants from the census rolls.Writing in dissent, three of the Court's four conservative justices said they would have approved the administrations's request to add the citizenship question because they accepted the justification Ross provided."For the first time ever, the court invalidates an agency action solely because it questions the sincerity of the agency's otherwise adequate rationale," said Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. Justice Samuel Alito Jr. wrote a separate dissent.The liberal justices concurred with Roberts's decision to send the matter back to a lower court.The ruling comes after U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman of New York blocked the citizenship question, arguing that the question would discourage participation in the census and lead to significant undercounting.
|
| U.S. will sanction any countries that import Iranian oil: special envoy Posted: 28 Jun 2019 04:19 AM PDT  The United States will sanction any country that imports Iranian oil and there are no exemptions in place, the U.S. special envoy for Iran said on Friday. U.S. President Donald Trump targeted Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top Iranian officials with sanctions on Monday, taking an unprecedented step to increase pressure on Iran after Tehran's downing of an unmanned American drone last week. "We will sanction any imports of Iranian crude oil," Brian Hook said when asked about the sale of Iranian crude to Asia, adding that the United States would take a look at reports of Iranian crude going to China.
|
| Here's the one thing Democratic candidates want you to remember about them after tonight's debate Posted: 27 Jun 2019 02:00 AM PDT  On Thursday, people will set summer relaxation aside and turn their attention to politics, since this is the debate at which most top-tier candidates will appear.
|
| Yellowstone's Steamboat Geyser Is Incredibly Active Right Now, and We Don't Know Why Posted: 27 Jun 2019 06:09 AM PDT  Yellowstone National Park's Steamboat Geyser blasted steam and water into the air at 12:52 p.m. local time on June 12. Then, three days, 3 hours and 48 minutes later -- at 4:40 p.m. on June 15 -- it blasted steam and water into the air again, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS)'s Volcano Hazards Program. That's a new record for the geyser, according to the Billings Gazette: the shortest time ever recorded between eruptions.But don't worry. Increased activity at a single geyser doesn't indicate any new threat from the Yellowstone caldera -- the "supervolcano" hiding under the park -- according to USGS."Geysers are supposed to erupt, and most are erratic, like Steamboat," the agency wrote. [Infographic: Yellowstone Geology, Geysers, and Volcano]Additionally, records of Steamboat's eruptions go back only to 1982, the Billings Gazette noted. Yellowstone's history is much older than that.The newspaper also reported that the eruptions were especially dramatic, large and loud, with one ejecting a rock that shattered a wooden post. Researchers don't have good, tested theories to explain why geysers like one this slip in and out of active periods, according to the Gazette.Mostly, the eruptions suggest that now is a particularly good time to go see Steamboat Geyser blow its lid. The geyser set a record for total number of eruptions in 2018, with 32 in the calendar year, according to USGS. Already in 2019 there have been 24 eruptions, six of them in June as of this writing. * Yellowstone and Yosemite: Two of the World's Oldest National Parks * All Yours: Top 10 Least Visited National Parks * The Grand Canyon in PicturesOriginally published on Live Science.
|
| Doing this one thing with your Social Security could mean losing $100,000 in retirement Posted: 27 Jun 2019 09:01 PM PDT  Americans will lose $111,000 per household by taking Social Security benefits too early into their retirement, rather than using their own savings.
|
| Video: Parents fight off woman trying to kidnap their child at airport Posted: 27 Jun 2019 10:26 AM PDT  Dramatic footage released by police shows every parent's worst nightmare at a busy Atlanta airport.
|
| SCOTUS Won’t Revive Alabama Law Banning Dismemberment Abortion Posted: 28 Jun 2019 08:25 AM PDT  The Supreme Court declined Friday to revive an Alabama law that would ban dismemberment abortions.The state was forced to appeal to the High Court after a lower court ruled that its 2016 Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act, which bans so-called "dilation and evacuation" abortions, violated the precedent established by Planned Parenthood v. Casey in placing an "undue burden" on abortion access.Justice Clarence Thomas was the only justice to comment on the Friday decision. In his concurring opinion, Thomas agreed that the law should not be revived on procedural grounds, but lambasted the legal "aberration" that constrained the court."The more developed the child, the more likely an abortion will involve dismembering it," Thomas said. "The notion that anything in the Constitution prevents States from passing laws prohibiting the dismembering of a living child is implausible. But under the 'undue burden' standard adopted by this court, a restriction on abortion — even one limited to prohibiting gruesome methods — is unconstitutional if 'the purpose or effect of the provision is to place a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion before the fetus attains viability.'""This case serves as a stark reminder that our abortion jurisprudence has spiraled out of control," he added.The declination comes after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled in August that dismemberment abortions, which are the most popular form of second-trimester abortion, cannot be prohibited because there are no alternatives that would not present an "unsurmountable obstacle" to women.Writing for the panel, Chief Judge Ed Carnes, like Thomas, held that he and his colleagues were bound by what amounts to an "aberration" in constitutional law."Some Supreme Court Justices have been of the view that there is constitutional law and then there is the aberration of constitutional law relating to abortion," Carnes wrote, referring to previous dissents from Thomas and the late Justice Antonin Scalia. "If so, what we must apply here is the aberration."
|
| Palestinians protest on Gaza-Israel fence after truce Posted: 28 Jun 2019 10:36 AM PDT  Thousands of Palestinians protested along the volatile Gaza-Israel frontier on Friday, hours after Israel and the territory's Hamas rulers confirmed an agreement to honor a past cease-fire. The unofficial truce, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations, emphasizes calm in exchange for Israeli measures to improve living conditions in the blockaded Palestinian enclave. Gaza's health ministry said 19 of them were wounded by live fire.
|
| NBC hot mic mars first Democratic debate Posted: 26 Jun 2019 07:38 PM PDT  A persistent technical issue forced NBC's moderators to take an unscheduled commercial break during the first Democratic presidential debate on Wednesday night.
|
| Iran delays threat to breach terms of nuclear deal ahead of signatories' summit Posted: 27 Jun 2019 09:37 AM PDT  Iran delayed a threat to breach its nuclear deal commitments while it waits for Europe to put the finishing touches to a multimillion-pound credit line to help it circumvent US sanctions. The Islamic Republic had said its stocks of low enriched uranium would breach the 300 kilogram limit allowed under the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the JCPOA, on Thursday. But officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency said enrichment had gone more slowly than expected and that Iran was not likely to hit the limit until the weekend. Representatives of Iran, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, and the European Union, the remaining signatories of the agreement, are expected to meet to discuss a possible Iranian violation of the agreement in Vienna on Friday. The three European nations are expected to use the meeting to announce a new credit instrument designed to facilitate trade with Iran. The mechanism, called Instex, is meant to allow European companies to sell essential goods to Iran without falling foul of US financial sanctions. Britain, France, and Germany are expected to put up a small amount of money to kickstart it. It is unclear whether the instrument, which has taken months of complex legal work to prepare, will be enough to defuse the brewing confrontation in the Gulf. The JCPOA offered Iran sanctions relief and trade opportunities in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activity. The United States withdrew from the agreement last year and has imposed punishing sanctions on Iran in a bid to force it to accept more restrictive agreement. Iran has said it will abandon its commitments, starting with the 300 kg uranium limit, unless the Europeans find a way for it to access economic benefits the deal promised. Iranian officials have said they will not be satisfied with requests for patience. But European diplomats say the instrument may take time to gain the confidence of private companies, and are unable to name the firms likely to make use of it. The US has been critical of the initiative. Brian Hook, the US special representative for Iran, said this week he did not think Iran would meet the transparency standards Europe will demand in order to make the mechanism functional.
|
| Apple design chief Jony Ive, Steve Jobs' confidant, to leave and start own firm Posted: 27 Jun 2019 02:03 PM PDT |
| The Story of How America's Mach 3 SR-71 Spy Plane Out Ran Missiles Posted: 27 Jun 2019 12:42 PM PDT  "The spikes are full aft now, tucked twenty-six inches deep into the nacelles. With all inlet doors tightly shut, at 3.24 Mach, the J-58s are more like ramjets now, gulping 100,000 cubic feet of air per second. We are a roaring express now, and as we roll through the enemy's backyard, I hope our speed continues to defeat the missile radars below."On Apr. 14, 1986, Operation El Dorado Canyon launched air-strikes against Libya in response to Libya's bombing of a Berlin discotheque frequented by US military personnel. The attack was performed by a strike-group of 18 U.S. Air Force (USAF) F-111s supported by numerous U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) A-6, A-7 and F/A-18 aircraft.On Apr. 16, 1986 after the raid, SR-71 64-17960 piloted by Maj. Brian Shul with RSO Maj.Walter Watson, entered Libyan airspace at a blistering 2,125 mph to photograph the targets for bomb damage assessment (BDA). As they neared the end of their sweeps, they started receiving launch indications from Libyan surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites below.
|
| Kevin Durant Sells Oceanfront Malibu Beach House for $12.15 Million Posted: 27 Jun 2019 01:08 PM PDT  The NBA star bought the sleek four-bedroom home just last April for $12.05 million
|
| 14 Refreshing Hard Ciders To Drink This Fall Posted: 28 Jun 2019 10:12 AM PDT |
| Controversial 'Straight Pride' parade gets approval from Boston to be held in August Posted: 27 Jun 2019 12:02 PM PDT  The city approved the event application for the group Super Happy Fun America to host the parade Aug. 31.
|
| Shot American woman who miscarried faces homicide charge Posted: 27 Jun 2019 04:30 PM PDT  An American woman who miscarried after being shot five times has been charged by Alabama authorities in the death of her fetus, a move abortion rights groups condemned on Thursday. The arrest of Marshae Jones came amid heightened tensions around abortion after more than a dozen states in the southern and midwestern United States, including Alabama, passed restrictive abortion laws that are currently being challenged in court. "Marshae Jones was indicted for manslaughter for losing a pregnancy after being shot in the abdomen five times.
|
| Boeing aims to finish software fix to 737 Max in September Posted: 27 Jun 2019 04:40 PM PDT  Boeing says it expects to finish work on updated flight-control software for the 737 Max in September, a sign that the troubled jet likely won't be flying until late this year. A Boeing official said Thursday that the company expects to submit the software update to the Federal Aviation Administration for approval "in the September timeframe." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because Boeing has not publicly discussed timing of the update. Once Boeing submits its changes, the FAA is expected to take several weeks to analyze them, and airlines would need additional time to take their grounded Max jets out of storage and prepare them to fly again.
|
| Health care question divides Democratic field Posted: 26 Jun 2019 07:54 PM PDT  During Wednesday evening's Democratic presidential debate, a question asking which candidates would support eliminating private health insurance marked the first apparent policy difference among the contenders.
|
| 'Liberalism Is Obsolete,' Russian President Vladimir Putin Says Amid G20 Summit Posted: 28 Jun 2019 06:37 AM PDT  He also spoke about Europe's migrant crisis and LGBTQ rights in Russia
|
| World Leaders Gather For Family Photo at G20 Meeting in Osaka Posted: 28 Jun 2019 06:01 AM PDT  As the leaders of the world's largest economies convene on Friday in Osaka, Japan, for the 14th G20 Summit, headlines are likely to focus on meetings between world leaders.
|
| Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says Beto O'Rourke and Cory Booker's Spanish is 'humorous' Posted: 27 Jun 2019 12:07 AM PDT  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez described the Spanish being spoken on stage by presidential candidates including Cory Brooker and Beto O'Rourke at the first Democratic primary debate as "humorous".The youngest ever congresswoman said there was "a lot of Spanglish in the building" as 10 presidential hopefuls sparred on policies and Donald Trump at the debate in Miami on Wednesday night.Speaking on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert after the debate, Ms Ocasio-Cortez, said:"I loved it, because, I represent the Bronx and there was a lot of Spanglish in the building.""I thought it was humorous sometimes, at times. Especially because, sometimes, of the content of the question."The Democratic congresswoman, who is of Puerto Rican heritage, added that she thought the candidates might start saying "I will not give you an answer to your question" in Spanish."But it was good," she added. "I thought it was a good gesture to the fact that we are a diverse country." Ms Ocasio-Cortez also compared the candidates to unprepared "high school students". "I think sometimes with the debate stage this big, it can kind of seem like a high school classroom, and so there are some folks that, like, didn't seem like they read the book, and then they got called on," she said.Asked who she think will make the next debate, Ms Ocasio-Cortez first praised Elizabeth Warren's performance."I think Elizabeth Warren really distinguished herself, I think Julian Castro really distinguished himself," she said. "I think Cory Booker did a great job in talking about criminal justice. "Looking ahead to the next debate on Thursday, the Democratic congresswoman warned that Joe Biden was not a "safe choice"."I think it's dangerous to assume that any candidate is a quote-unquote 'safe choice,'" she said. "That you pick one candidate and that's just going to deliver an election for you. But with respect to vice president Biden, it's more about an overall electoral strategy."I think there's this idea that we have to sacrifice everything," she continued. "That we can't talk about working class issues, that we can't talk about criminal justice issues, that we can't talk about immigration because it isolates this very small sliver of Obama-to-Trump voters."Ms Ocasio-Cortez also highlighted concerns she had over the way climate change is being disused during the debates.The Bronx congresswoman, who introduced Green New Deal proposal supported by a number of Democratic presidential candidates, said: "'Is Miami going to exist in 50 years?' we need to say, 'What are you going to do about this?'"
|
| Volcano, dormant for almost 100 years, erupts in 'spectacular' fashion Posted: 28 Jun 2019 05:25 AM PDT  Smoke billowed from the volcano on Raikoke in satellite images as the uninhabited island saw its first volcanic eruption since 1924.
|
| Pelosi Caves, Will Hold Vote on Senate-Passed Border-Funding Bill Posted: 27 Jun 2019 12:28 PM PDT  Update 5:48p.m.: The House passed a clean emergency spending bill on Thursday, just one day after it cleared the Senate. The bill, which passed 305-102, allocates $4.5 billion to alleviate the ongoing border crisis.House speaker Nancy Pelosi has agreed to hold a vote on the border-funding bill passed Wednesday by the Senate, marking a defeat for the progressive members of her caucus who demanded that the bill allocate more funds toward improving conditions for detained migrants and less toward enforcement mechanisms.Pelosi, in explaining her decision to support the Senate-passed bill, cited the hardships born by migrant children who have overwhelmed the Department of Health and Human Services's ability to house and care for them."In order to get resources to the children fastest, we will reluctantly pass the Senate bill. As we pass the Senate bill, we will do so with a Battle Cry as to how we go forward to protect children in a way that truly honors their dignity and worth," she said in a Thursday afternoon statement.The decision to move forward with a vote on the Senate bill was predictably met with hostility from the progressives in the House Democratic caucus, who advocated giving lawmakers the right to make unannounced check-in visits at detention facilities, further shortening the amount of time children can be detained, and providing certain hygiene products to detained migrants.Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez lashed out at Democratic leadership on Twitter minutes after the announcement, accusing the party of abdicating its responsibility to protect children.> Under no circumstances should the House vote for a McConnell-only bill w/ no negotiation with Democrats. Hell no.> > That's an abdication of power we should refuse to accept. They will keep hurting kids if we do.> > -- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 27, 2019The $4.6 billion emergency-spending bill, which passed the Senate 84–8 on Wednesday, provides $1.3 billion to improve Border Patrol and HHS detention facilities, as well as $2.9 billion to improve the medical care and supervision of migrant children, many of whom, according to multiple recent reports, have been deprived of basic hygiene products and proper beds due to lack of resources.Pelosi's Thursday concession represents a sharp departure from comments she made Wednesday, in which she suggested the two chambers would reach a compromise after engaging in a reconciliation process."They pass their bill, we respect that," Pelosi said Wednesday. "We passed our bill, we hope they would respect that. And there are some improvements that we think can be reconciled."
|
| Huge crowd flocks to Istanbul mayor inauguration Posted: 27 Jun 2019 11:18 AM PDT  A vast crowd gathered at Istanbul's town hall on Thursday to see the inauguration of new mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, whose landslide victory has boosted the opposition for the first time in years. "Today is a celebration of democracy, a celebration of Istanbul," he told a sea of Turkish flags in the city's historical centre. None of Turkey's main television channels, seen as cowed by the government of President Recept Tayyip Erdogan, carried Imamoglu's speech.
|
| Man accused of killing 7 bikers in New Hampshire arrested in Texas Posted: 27 Jun 2019 09:09 AM PDT  Months before the deadly crash in New Hampshire, police say 23-year-old Volodoymyr Zhukovskyy had two run-ins with Baytown police.
|
| First Democratic Debate Shows What the Party Stands For Posted: 27 Jun 2019 10:07 AM PDT  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- If nominations are about defining the party to itself, the Democrats on Night One of the first round of debates made it pretty clear who they are. Demographically diverse. Pragmatic. Liberal. Programmatic. Group-oriented. Competent.Yes, Elizabeth Warren has a plan for that, but so do Julian Castro, Amy Klobuchar and Cory Booker. Some of the others, too, but those are the four who stood out to me. Yes, Klobuchar is relatively moderate, and Warren is relatively more progressive, and the other eight can probably be arrayed on an ideological spectrum based on their answers; still, however, they were very much of the same approach to politics. Take policy seriously. Show solidarity with various party-aligned organized groups and demographic groups: Moms Demand, unions, climate activists, women and more – and demonstrate it with concrete, specific policy solutions.What Democrats are really like was, I think, best demonstrated by the candidate who in my view had the worst night, Washington Governor Jay Inslee. Inslee is supposedly running on climate. In his closing statement, he tried to differentiate by arguing that he alone is pledging to make it his number one priority if he is elected. And yet Inslee utterly failed to do what a candidate with that kind of plan is supposed to do: Connect every question back to "his" issue to demonstrate that in fact he really would govern that way. Instead, he wound up talking about unions when he got an economy question, and immigrant communities when he got an immigration question – and then, most embarrassingly, he was not among the four candidates who volunteered climate as the nation's biggest geopolitical threat. Inslee said "Trump," which is a perfectly good Democratic answer. All his answers were perfectly fine Democratic answers. They just weren't about climate, and so instead of standing out he faded in with the rest of the candidates who may not qualify for the September debates.In other words, Democrats aren't really very good at running single-issue campaigns because they are trained, as Democratic politicians, to take policy seriously in all the areas in which Democratic groups want something.Whether this is good or bad, I suppose, depends on one's sense of what politics is supposed to be about and what one wants from a president. I tend to think it's very healthy for a party, and a very nice contrast to the bluster and ideological preening that tends to dominate Republican debates even when Donald Trump isn't one of the candidates.But whether that's correct or not, what was on display tonight is what the Democrats are.I counted six very plausible nominees going into the evening – Warren, Castro, Klobuchar, Booker, Inslee and Beto O'Rourke. Of those, I suspect that fans of all except Inslee and perhaps O'Rourke will believe their candidate did very well. None of the other four did anything to make me think that they are anything other than distant longshots. But that's mostly guesswork. As several pre-debate pieces have emphasized, it's what happens next that determines the winners – what the pundits say, which clips get used on TV news, and which clips go viral on social media. That may take a few days to sort out, especially with a second debate coming Thursday night.Hey, for all I know, the contentious argument between Tulsi Gabbard and Tim Ryan over war in Afghanistan could wind up getting plenty of attention and help one of them (or both) to move up in the polls a little. It was, for whatever it's worth, one of only two real active arguments, along with Castro and O'Rourke debating immigration policy. It's not always predictable what the media will do or which clips people will find appealing. What I would say is that neither Gabbard nor Ryan appears to have the support from party actors to take advantage of any surge. Castro and O'Rourke, and Klobuchar, Booker and Warren, are in much better position to leverage a small uptick into something more substantial.Other than that, I'll stick by my initial sense that this Wednesday group is in fact at least as strong as the Thursday group, even though their polling numbers are far weaker at this point. As a group, they were reasonably impressive despite the difficult logistics of a 10-candidate debate, in which all of them have to fight for time and candidates tend to go missing for half an hour here or fifteen minutes there.And with that, on to the second night.(Corrects spelling of Senator Booker's name in second paragraph. Corrects name of group in second paragraph.)To contact the author of this story: Jonathan Bernstein at jbernstein62@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Philip Gray at philipgray@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy. He taught political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio and DePauw University and wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
|
| Watch This Controversial Electric Shelby Cobra Daytona In Action Posted: 28 Jun 2019 12:41 PM PDT  It's fast, but there are some drawbacks. Renovo, a company better-known for creating software for self-driving cars, caused a huge wave of praise and despair when it revealed a fully-electric Shelby Cobra Daytona it had created. While this isn't the first classic car to be given the electrification treatment, the fact the racer is rare and highly coveted is what really angered some enthusiasts. To them, it's the equivalent of drawing on the Mona Lisa with crayon. Renovo said it purposely picked an American icon as an act of patriotism.The Renovo Coupe isn't exactly cheap, considering the original price was set at $529,000 when it released in 2015. All the cars were made in Silicon Valley.While you might groan at a classic car being electrified, especially one as iconic as the Shelby Cobra Daytona, there admittedly are some advantages. That electric powertrain produces 1,000 lb.-ft. of torque from a standstill, so the car can really scoot in a hurry. In fact, it does 0-60 mph in a smoking 3.4 seconds, blowing away the original acceleration. Yeah, it does all that with an eerie whining instead of the rumbling and roaring of a V8 engine, but even without all the saber rattling the car is just plain fast.Of course, there are drawbacks to electrification. We're spoiled with gas, because you just stick a nozzle in and the tank is full in only a few short minutes. While this Shelby has been outfitted to work with a fast charger, you still have to wait 30 minutes before the battery is replenished. To keep the curb weight down, Renovo skimped on the battery. That means a range of about 100 miles. But who would take this out for a weekend trip?The interior has some interesting features. There's still a shifter, so you get the exhilaration of rowing through gears, but the gauges are digital by necessity.Is the Renovo Coupe an atrocity or an undeniably American supercar of the future? You decide. More Cars Sound The Alarm For This 1968 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 1997 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 30th Anniversary Calls For Celebration 1977 Porsche 911 Strosek Puts A Spin On A Beloved Original VIDEO: Driving a KITT Replica to Knight Rider Filming Locations!
|
| Oklahoma woman caught on own CCTV camera firebombing and shooting into neighbour’s home Posted: 27 Jun 2019 12:46 PM PDT  An Oklahoma woman was arrested after being caught on camera firing gunshots and throwing a lit towel into her next door neighbour's home. Firefighters were called to the burning property in Del City on June 10th, responding to 911 calls that reported flames coming from the garage door.Having contained the blaze, fire investigators learned there was an ongoing conflict between the owner of the burnt home and the next door neighbour, Annie Durham, 59.Shocking footage of the incident was captured on CCTV, showing Durham firing two shots into the side of the home before throwing a flaming object into the door, setting the house ablaze.The video released by the Del City Fire Department came from the accused woman's own surveillance camera.According to the fire department, Durham was initially resistant to giving up the footage, claiming the camera had not been switched on.However, it was eventually obtained with the help of the City Police Department's Computer Forensic Division.Durham was arrested on Monday June 17 and is charged with second degree arson and discharge of a firearm into a dwelling.
|
| China warns of 'severe threats' to global order at G20 Posted: 27 Jun 2019 08:33 PM PDT  China warned on Friday that protectionism and "bullying" were threatening the world order as President Xi Jinping met other leaders at the G20 summit ahead of high-stakes talks with Donald Trump. Xi met three of his African counterparts Friday morning on the sidelines of the G20 summit of major world economies, which opened in Osaka amid the US-China trade war, geopolitical tensions, and divisions over climate change. "All leaders in the meeting stressed that unilateralism, protectionism, and bullying practices are on the rise, posing severe threats to economic globalisation and international order, and severe challenges to the external environment of developing countries," Chinese foreign ministry official Dai Bing told reporters.
|
