| Iran begins uranium enrichment beyond limit set by 2015 nuclear deal in latest violation Posted: 08 Jul 2019 07:03 AM PDT  At a news conference on Sunday, Iran nuclear agency spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said that the increased uranium enrichment would begin "within hours."
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| Malta to relocate 65 migrants after rescue ships defy Italy ban Posted: 07 Jul 2019 01:53 PM PDT  Malta's prime minister said Sunday his country would relocate to other EU nations 65 migrants from the Alan Kurdi rescue ship, after two other boats defied efforts to stop them landing in neighbouring Italy. All 65 were transferred to a Maltese navy ship on Sunday evening, the German charity Sea-Eye which operates the boat said in a statement, adding that its vessel had been refused entry to Valetta port. Premier Joseph Muscat tweeted earlier that "following discussions with the EU Commission and the German government", the 65 people would be transferred from the Alan Kurdi to a Maltese military "asset which will then enter a Maltese port".
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| California earthquake: more major quakes and months of aftershocks likely, seismologists say Posted: 07 Jul 2019 01:39 AM PDT  Up to 30,000 aftershocks could hit California in the next six months after the US state was hit by two major earthquakes in 48 hours last week, seismologists have warned. They were part of a continuing sequence of tremors that would affect the area for months, said Lucy Jones, of the California Institute of Technology and said the earthquakes. The region could see more than 30,000 minor earthquakes over six months, with one or two magnitude 6 quakes expected, her colleague and fellow seismologist Egill Hauksson, added. Up to 190 magnitude 3 earthquakes could take place over the next week alone, with a 12 per cent probability of a magnitude 6 earthquake, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).Magnitude 3 earthquakes are big enough to be felt and any earthquake over magnitude 4 is big enough to cause damage to buildings."It is a wake-up call for the rest of the state and other parts of the nation, frankly," California Governor Gavin Newsom said, voicing concerns about the possibility of major aftershocks in the months to come. He said that residents should make sure they know how to respond if more natural disasters strike.Friday's evening's earthquake was the largest one Southern California in nearly 20 years. Centred 11 miles from Ridgecrest, a small town with around 28,000 residents it struck the same area of the desert where a 6.4-magnitude temblor hit on ThursdayThe earthquake was felt by millions across an area ranging from Sacramento, the state capital in the north, to Mexico and including the Las Vegas and Los Angeles counties.It came off the back of hundreds of "foreshocks" that rattled the region late last month. Those left behind cracked and burning buildings, broken roads, obstructed railroad tracks and leaking water and gas lines and prompted the evacuation of the US Navy's largest single landholding, the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in the Mohave Desert.Only a few injuries were reported, but two houses were reported to have caught fire from broken gas pipes; water gushed from zigzagged cracks in the busted pavement; and deep fissures were seen snaking across the Mojave Desert.In Ridgecrest, local fire and police officials said they were initially swamped by calls for medical and ambulance service.But police Chief Jed McLaughlin said there was "nothing but minor injuries such as cuts and bruises, by the grace of God."In Trona, a town of about 2,000 people considered the gateway to Death Valley, fire officials said up to 50 structures were damaged. San Bernardino County Supervisor Robert Lovingood said the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) delivered a tractor-trailer full of bottled water because of damage to water lines. Newsom declared a state of emergency for the county. The USGS has issued a red alert for economic losses, meaning that extensive damage is probable and that the disaster is likely widespread. Estimated economic losses are at least $1 billion dollars."Past events with this alert level have required a national or international level response," the USGS said in its assessment.Mr Newsom estimated more than $100m (£79m) in economic damages and said President Donald Trump called him to offer federal support in the rebuilding effort."He's committed in the long haul, the long run, to help support the rebuilding efforts," Mr Newsom, a Democrat, said of his leader. "There's no question we don't agree on everything, but one area where there's no politics, where we work extremely well together, is our response to emergencies," he added. The USGS said the aftershock activity is decreasing faster than average. Aftershocks are minor earthquakes that take place as the displaced crust adjusts to the effects of the main earthquake. It is normal for aftershocks to take place for weeks after a major shock, although their number decreases over time. A large aftershock can temporarily increase the numbers again.With aftershocks expected and temperatures forecast to reach 38 Celsius over the next several days, officials were taking precautions.The California National Guard sent 200 troops, logistical support and aircraft. Major General David Baldwin said the Pentagon had been notified and the entire California Military Department was put on alert. The California Office of Emergency Services also brought in cots, water and meals and set up cooling centres in the region. Additional reporting by Associated Press
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| Migrant children held in Texas facility need access to doctors, says attorney Posted: 07 Jul 2019 10:00 PM PDT  'Inhumane' conditions for detained children amount to 'emergency public health crisis', says attorney who visited centerOvercrowding at the US border patrol station in McAllen, Texas, on 10 June. The team who visited the center in Clint found children did not have adequate access to drinking water or food. Photograph: Handout/Getty ImagesHundreds of children at a migrant detention center in Texas are being held in "inhumane" conditions that amount to an "emergency public health crisis" and should be allowed immediate access to doctors, according to an attorney who gained rare access to the facility.Elora Mukherjee, the director of Columbia Law School's immigrant rights clinic, was one of six attorneys to visit the detention center in Clint as part of ongoing litigation about an agreement that states unaccompanied children can't be held in US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities for more than 72 hours.The team found that children had no adequate access to medical care, had no basic sanitation, were exposed to extreme cold and did not have adequate access to drinking water or food."I've been visiting children detained in federal immigration custody for 12 years," Mukherjee told the Guardian. "I have never seen anything like this before. I have never seen, smelled, had to bear witness to such degrading and inhumane conditions."The UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Monday said she was "appalled" at the conditions. "As a paediatrician, but also as a mother and a former head of state, I am deeply shocked that children are forced to sleep on the floor in overcrowded facilities, without access to adequate healthcare or food, and with poor sanitation conditions," the statement quoted Bachelet as saying.Two weeks ago, the attorneys met with 60 children between the ages of five months and 17 years to interview them about the conditions in the facility, which is holding 350 children. Some had bodily fluids including breast milk, urine and mucus stained on their clothes and many were wearing the same clothes they had crossed the border in, days or weeks earlier.An aerial view of the border patrol facility in Clint, Texas, where attorneys reported migrants had been held in disturbing conditions. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty ImagesIn the past, Mukherjee said she would raise concerns about conditions with the lead counsel in the case, who would then pursue a remedy. This time, however, the conditions were so shocking the attorneys were compelled to approach the media.Mukherjee noted that seven children have died in federal immigration custody or shortly after being released, compared to no such deaths in the 10 previous years. "We were extremely concerned that more children might die if we didn't go public," she said.At Clint, attorneys learned a flu epidemic had left children quarantined, but were blocked from interviewing them in-person to ensure they were receiving proper medical care and instead communicated with some of the oldest children by phone.A week before their visit to Clint, at a similar facility in McAllen, Texas, lawyers and a pediatrician had identified five detained babies who needed immediate hospitalization and were transferred to a local hospital's neonatal intensive care unit."The conditions within which they are held could be compared to torture facilities," the physician, Dolly Lucio Sevier, wrote in a medical declaration obtained by ABC News.CBP initially denied the attorneys' reports, but its own watchdog, the homeland security department's Office of Inspector General, had already put together – then released last week – reports warning of dangerous overcrowding in border patrol facilities.On 10 June, the auditor said it witnessed "serious overcrowding" in four of five facilities and prolonged detention at the other five facilities – of both adults and children – that needed to be addressed immediately.Overcrowding observed by the Office of Inspector General at the border patrol station in McAllen, Texas, on 11 June. Photograph: Handout/Getty ImagesCBP said in a statement it "leverages our limited resources to provide the best care possible to those in our custody, especially children. As DHS and CBP leadership have noted numerous times, our short-term holding facilities were not designed to hold vulnerable populations and we urgently need additional humanitarian funding to manage this crisis."In response to the slew of devastating reports, the health department, which takes custody of unaccompanied migrant children until they can be paired with relatives or foster parents, is expanding its shelter network.And the House oversight committee said it will hold a hearing on Wednesday about the treatment of migrants at detention facilities.Also next week, an independent mediator in the case that spurred the attorneys' visit to Clint is due to provide a report about the detention centers before 12 July, according to court documents. That same day, Lights for Liberty vigils are planned around the country to protest the government's failure to adequately care for these children.Jennifer Nagda, policy director at the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights, said that the issue stems from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) treating detention centers as part of enforcement instead of a site for protecting adults and children."It is incredibly frustrating when you know that on the part of homeland security, it is not due to a lack of resources, it is due to a lack of intention," Nagda said. "They have sufficient funds to provide three decent meals a day and a mattress a child can sleep on and a bathroom they can use privately."Nagda is one of hundreds, if not thousands, of advocates who have been raising concerns about immigration detention facilities while the US rapidly expanded immigration detention in the past two decades.The number of detained migrants increased in 1996 after then president Bill Clinton signed a pair of laws that introduced mandatory detentions for asylum seekers and legal immigrants who had committed crimes and allowed for indefinite detention.Nagda said after a decade working in this field, she was still shocked by the reports that emerged in recent weeks and was concerned a similar situation was replicated at other border facilities.Despite the grim reality at the border, Nagda clung to the power public outcry could have to change the current conditions. She thinks activists should specifically be pushing for children in detention to have access to pediatricians or medical experts with experience helping children and to have child welfare experts in the facility."Those kinds of agency changes will only happen in response to extraordinary public pressure and I think the public should take heart that their anger, and rallying and marches could actually influence how this agency spends money and cares for families arriving at the border," Nagda said, highlighting the role protests played in bringing an end to family separation in the summer of 2018.
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| Media denounce border crisis Posted: 07 Jul 2019 08:54 AM PDT  Trump says migrants have it 'far better now.'
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| Boston suburb reflects broad changes in US immigration Posted: 07 Jul 2019 11:03 AM PDT  Guatemalan bakeries, Honduran restaurants and Salvadoran markets are joining an already ethnically diverse mix of businesses in downtown Chelsea, a tiny industrial city across the Mystic River from Boston. Among them is Catracho's, a modest Honduran eatery recently purchased by Johanna Mateo, who was born in New York and raised in Honduras until she was 12, when she joined her older sister in Chelsea. "I always wanted to reinvest in Chelsea," said Mateo, 27, who plans to expand to a vacant storefront next door.
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| U.S. to seek death penalty for murder of Chinese grad student Posted: 08 Jul 2019 03:00 AM PDT ![U.S. to seek death penalty for murder of Chinese grad student]( "U.S. to seek death penalty for murder of Chinese grad student") U.S. prosecutors were expected on Monday to argue that an Illinois man who kidnapped, raped and murdered a Chinese graduate student two years ago should be executed. A jury in U.S. District Court in Peoria, Illinois, found Brendt Christensen, 29, guilty last month of the abduction and murder of Yingying Zhang, a 26-year-old student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. While Illinois has outlawed the death penalty, federal prosecutors trying Christensen under U.S. kidnapping laws had said they planned to seek the death penalty if he was found guilty.
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| Shutdown Showdown: How the Strait of Hormuz Factors into the U.S.-Iran Crisis Posted: 07 Jul 2019 01:02 AM PDT  The recent mining of two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, attributed to Iran by the United States, offers an important window into the strategic thinking of Iran and similarly situated regional powers. The incident is notable because the act of mining a limited number of vessels makes relatively little sense when viewed through the lens of traditional patterns of coercive behavior. Limited coercive acts typically have little value with regards to gaining concessions from a determined opponent. Generally, these acts may serve as a visible demonstration of a state's willingness to enact some other, more substantial threat, such as shutting down the Strait of Hormuz outright. However, this requires the state making the threat to have the capacity to make good on its more substantial threats and for its opponents to believe that it is willing to incur the risks entailed. Iran, however, could not shut down the Strait of Hormuz for very long even if it wished to—something noted by President Donald Trump—and is unlikely to incur the substantial risks that an attempt would entail. Iran's opponents, then, clearly don't see its limited provocations as harbingers of something worse.
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| Ex-GOPer Amash doubles down on call for Trump impeachment Posted: 07 Jul 2019 01:48 PM PDT  Days after declaring his independence from his Republican Party, Rep. Justin Amash reaffirmed his belief that "there's a strong case" to bring up articles of impeachment against President Trump. The newly independent Michigan lawmaker, who was the only GOP member to call for impeachment proceedings after Robert Mueller's report was released, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was making a mistake in not moving forward. From a strategic position, she's making a mistake," Amash said in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" Sunday.
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| Iran minister vows to respond to UK detaining oil tanker Posted: 08 Jul 2019 10:02 AM PDT  Iran's defence minister vowed Monday to respond to Britain's detention of an Iranian oil tanker off the coast of Gibraltar. The tanker's seizure "will not be tolerated by us and will not go without a response", said Amir Hatami, quoted by Iran's ISNA and Tasnim news agencies. "This move is against international regulations and a kind of maritime piracy," he said during a ceremony at Bandar Abbas port in southern Iran.
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| Governor estimates California quake toll at $100 million, says poor have been hit hardest Posted: 07 Jul 2019 01:04 PM PDT  Although Californians are on the path to recovery, deeper devastation - in economic recovery - has already taken root.
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| Starbucks apologizes to police for incident in Arizona shop Posted: 06 Jul 2019 08:14 PM PDT ![Starbucks apologizes to police for incident in Arizona shop]( "Starbucks apologizes to police for incident in Arizona shop") Starbucks apologized after an employee reportedly asked six police officers to leave or change their location in one of the company's shops in a Phoenix suburb because another customer reported feeling unsafe. Starbucks said it has "deep respect for the Tempe Police Department" and was apologizing "for any misunderstanding or inappropriate behavior that may have taken place" during the July 4 encounter. The Tempe Officers Association said the officers had just bought their drinks and were standing together before their shift started when a barista made the request for a customer.
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| Dog owners told to feed pet before post arrives and lock them in room for ten minutes after postman has left, under Royal Mail guidance Posted: 07 Jul 2019 04:00 PM PDT  Dog owners should feed their pets before the postman arrives and lock them away for ten minutes after he leaves, the Royal Mail has said following a spate of attacks. Every week in the last year around 47 postmen and women were attacked by dogs in the course of their work, new figures show. There were 2,484 dog attacks on postal staff in the past year, representing an increase of 9% on the year previously. Attacks have left some mail workers with "permanent and disabling injury" the report said. In response the Royal Mail has issued a set of guidelines to dog owners to prevent further attacks in which it warns even the most lovable dog can pose a danger to delivery workers. Among the postal services' advice is to give your dog some food to occupy them while mail is being delivered. Pet owners should shut their canines in a secure room when the postman comes knocking and "wait 10 minutes after mail has arrived to let your pet back into your hallway". In several postcodes, attacks on postal workers have risen. Telford has seen the rate of dog attacks quadruple, Royal Mail said. A Royal Mail postal van Credit: Luke MacGregor/Reuters In the last year, 883 or 35% of dog attacks on postal workers happened at the front door or in the garden, the report said. Tina O'Toole, a postwoman who has been working in Warrington for three years was set upon and bitten on the leg by a dog in the front garden of a property she was delivering to. Ms O'Toole received treatment in hospital for her injury and required a skin flap. She was unable to work for five weeks following the incident. "The day before the attack, the dog had attempted to grab the mail through the box. That made me think it was quite aggressive," Ms O'Toole said. "On the day of the attack… I turned to leave the premises when I heard the dog barking and running up behind me. As I was attempting to get through the gate I felt pain to my right calf. Ms O'Toole said she "went int shock" when she saw the blood seeping through her trousers. "It would have been much worse if I was wearing shorts. Neighbours called the ambulance and I was rushed to hospital."
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| Wife of arrested Chinese ex-Interpol president sues agency Posted: 07 Jul 2019 01:44 AM PDT  The wife of former Interpol President Meng Hongwei is suing the international police agency, accusing Interpol of failing to protect him from arrest in China and failing to protect his family. Meng's wife Grace Meng said her lawyers filed a legal complaint in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands. Interpol said Sunday it strongly disputes the allegations.
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| No Matter 18,000 Lost Jobs, Germany OK With Deutsche Bank Cull Posted: 08 Jul 2019 04:49 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Chancellor Angela Merkel's government will look past Deutsche Bank AG's cutting a fifth of its workforce as the German lender commits to an overhaul.Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing's bid to reboot the bank is viewed in Berlin as a necessary change, according to an official with direct knowledge of the issue who asked not to be named. Despite the headline 18,000 job cuts, normally a red flag for politicians, the Frankfurt-based lender's makeover is seen as necessary to cut fat and boost the bank's profitability. In addition, the government welcomes a step back from investment banking and a renewed focus on German businesses.Deutsche Bank's failure in April to combine with Commerzbank AG, in which the government has a stake of about 15.5%, was a stinging defeat for Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, whose bid to rescue a potential national champion got little public support from across the political spectrum.That left Deutsche Bank to its own devices and Sewing on Sunday pledged to do what many in Germany's political ranks have always called on it to do: drop its ambitions as a global investment bank and return to its German-lending roots.Olav Gutting, a lawmaker for Merkel's Christian Democratic Union who sits on the finance committee of the lower house of parliament, called the overhaul "bold" given a challenging business environment in which lending money is hardly profitable any more. "This is very ambitious," Gutting, who in the past has ruled out any form of state involvement in helping Deutsche Bank, said in a message, adding that job cuts naturally concerned politicians. "But I'm crossing my fingers, because we need a Deutsche Bank present globally."A spokesman at Germany's Finance Ministry declined to comment on the overhaul plans.Markets have had a mixed view on the overhaul for a bank viewed by German regulators as systemically relevant, with risk gauges falling and its euro convertible bonds climbing. Deutsche Bank shares fell 1.7% in afternoon trading after seesawing in the morning. (Updates with CDU lawmaker comments in fifth, sixth paragraphs.)To contact the reporters on this story: Patrick Donahue in Berlin at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net;Birgit Jennen in Berlin at bjennen1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Raymond ColittFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Democrat Buttigieg announces minority-focused small business investment plan Posted: 07 Jul 2019 10:08 AM PDT  Joining several other Democrats targeting black voters this weekend with economic proposals, presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg released a policy on Sunday aimed at helping minorities start businesses. Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, announced the proposal at Essence Festival, a gathering of thousands of black women organized by Essence magazine. Black voters have played a critical role in the Democratic primary process, and winning the party's nomination would be unlikely without their support.
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| Spy Photos of the 2021 Volkswagen GTI Mark 8 Posted: 08 Jul 2019 07:31 AM PDT |
| Hong Kong protesters moot Bank of China 'stress test' after latest clashes Posted: 08 Jul 2019 03:11 AM PDT  Anti-government protesters in Hong Kong began circulating plans on Monday to "stress test" the Bank of China in their bid to keep pressure on the city's pro-Beijing leaders, after five people were arrested in the latest clashes with police. The finance hub has been plunged into its worst crisis in recent history following a month of huge marches as well as separate violent confrontations with police involving a minority of hardcore protesters. The rallies were sparked by a now-suspended law that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, but have since morphed into a wider movement calling for democratic reforms and a halt to sliding freedoms in the semi-autonomous territory.
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| Trump approval rating jumps to highest level of his presidency in Washington Post/ABC News poll Posted: 07 Jul 2019 06:04 PM PDT  His high of 44% is lower than the average approval rating for every other president going back to Harry Truman.
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| Rainbow flag again set on fire at New York gay bar Posted: 08 Jul 2019 05:35 AM PDT  A rainbow flag was set on fire at the entrance to a New York City gay bar on Monday — the second such incident at the same club in just over a month. Alibi Lounge owner Alexi Minko said staff members, alerted by someone on the street, found the flag had been set aflame between 12:20 a.m. and 12:45 a.m. New York City police were already investigating a possible anti-gay bias crime after rainbow flags at the Harlem bar's entrance were torched just after midnight May 31, a day before the start of the city's Pride Month celebrations.
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| F-35 Is Old: Russia Could Turn Its Su-57 Into a 6th Generation Stealth Monster Posted: 07 Jul 2019 03:18 AM PDT  Russia could turn its first fifth-generation fighter, the Sukhoi Su-57, into a sixth-generation fighter the former head of the Russian Aerospace Force, chief Col. Gen. Viktor Bondarev recently told TASS."This is actually a splendid plane and it can embrace both fifth-and sixth-generation features. It has huge modernization potential," Bondarev, now chairman of the Federation Council Defense and Security Committee, said. "Importantly, it is the best among the existing versions by its stealth characteristics. It incorporates all the best that is available in modern aviation science both in Russia and in the world," he added.(This first appeared in late 2017.)As reported by Franz-Stefan Gady in an extensive piece for The Diplomat, Russian defense officials have repeatedly claimed that hardware elements designed for a future sixth generation fighter have been tested on the Su-57 prototype, including flight and navigation systems as well as advanced electronic warfare and radar systems.Noteworthy Russia revealed the design of a new sixth-generation fighter aircraft for the first time in March 2016. According to Russian defense officials, the new aircraft is slated to be available in manned and unmanned configuration and could take to the air for the first time in the late 2020s.
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| Democrats at Essence Fest Woo Voters They Ignore at Their Peril Posted: 07 Jul 2019 05:27 PM PDT ![Democrats at Essence Fest Woo Voters They Ignore at Their Peril]( "Democrats at Essence Fest Woo Voters They Ignore at Their Peril") (Bloomberg) -- A half-dozen Democratic presidential hopefuls spent the weekend pitching themselves and their plans to an audience of voters they ignore at their peril: black women.The annual Essence Festival in New Orleans is the country's largest gathering of African-American women, a group that votes in greater numbers than any other demographic in the Democratic party. The star-studded event -- it featured an interview of Michelle Obama by broadcaster Gayle King -- is now in its 25th year.The primary message was that black women as a voting bloc are not to be taken for granted."From abolition to civil rights, from workers rights to women's rights, black women have been at the center of every movement for social justice in our country's history,'' Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey said on Saturday."If black women are going to be the highest [Democratic] voters in this country then the agenda of African American women has to be at the center of Democratic agenda," Booker said.Sustainable GrowthOn Saturday, Senators Kamala Harris of California, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Booker and former Texas Representative Beto O'Rourke gave speeches and took part in panels. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado also dropped in with unannounced, five-minute speeches.The candidates were quizzed on their plans to create sustainable economic growth for the black community and to narrow the wealth gap between white and black Americans.Lower levels of homeownership among African Americans through the denial of loans was cited by nearly all of the candidates as squelching the ability of families to accrue wealth over the generations.Harris announced a new plan to make it easier for black families to buy homes through a $100 billion investment by the federal government into neighborhoods that have historically been redlined, or where loans are declined because borrowers are seen as poor financial risks.Capital SqueezeAnother key impediment to economic development within the African American community is the shortage of capital available to black entrepreneurs."The fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in America are African American women, but they still do not get the access to capital that they deserve" Booker said. "In fact, between 2008 and 2017, just 0.0006% of all the startup capital was going to black women entrepreneurs."Warren, Booker, and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg all have proposals to funnel grants to underrepresented entrepreneurs, or to take steps to remove racial bias in credit making decisions.On Saturday, Warren outlined her policy to raise wages for women of color, saying she'd sign an executive order to ensure federal contractors pay their employees equally or they would not receive federal contracts. And Buttigieg said he'd require employers to publish their gender pay gaps.As he did during a Miami candidates' debate in late June, Buttigieg -- essentially polling at zero among potential black Democratic voters -- took responsibility for racial tension in the city he leads."Three weeks ago, when we experienced the police shooting of a black man, Eric Logan, I have challenged our own police department to recognize all of the ways the uniform has been burdened by racism," Buttigieg said.Buttigieg has proposed what he dubs the "Douglass Plan for Black America," named for abolitionist Frederick Douglass. It would require 25% of federal government contracts to be awarded to minority-owned firms.To contact the reporter on this story: Emma Kinery in Washington at ekinery@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, Steve GeimannFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Life-threatening rains pound U.S. capital; White House basement offices leak Posted: 08 Jul 2019 10:19 AM PDT  Driving rains flooded parts of Washington, D.C., on Monday, shattering a daily record in just an hour, forcing 15 swift-water rescues from stranded cars and causing an undeniable leak in the White House. Seek higher ground now!" the National Weather Service warned amid torrential rains that dropped 3.3 inches (8.4 cm) at Reagan National Airport from 9 a.m. through 10 a.m. ET (1200-1300 GMT), shattering in one hour the previous record of 2.2 inches (5.6 cm) set in 1958. It was the seventh-wettest July day since record-keeping began in 1871, said NWS meteorologist Marc Chenard.
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| Boy stabs brother because he 'would rather be in jail than spend eight hours in a car with him' Posted: 08 Jul 2019 07:14 AM PDT  A 13-year-old boy who stabbed his older brother told police he would "rather be in jail" than spend eight hours in a car with his sibling.The teenager complained his 15-year-old brother had been teasing him before he slashed him three times with a pocket knife.The victim was found bleeding heavily in the drive of a house in Florida while his sibling sat in the front seat of their car.The younger boy was arrested and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office said.The teenager said he had "had enough" of his brother and did not regret attacking him on Saturday. According to an arrest report, he told officers: "I'd rather be in jail than eight hours in the car with him."His sibling was taken to hospital for treatment but has since been discharged.The boys live in Clarksville, Tennessee, northwest of Nashville.
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| India 'dosa king' seeks delay to life sentence for love-saga murder Posted: 08 Jul 2019 04:06 AM PDT  The founder of a trailblazing Indian restaurant chain sentenced to life for murder launched a Supreme Court appeal to delay the beginning of his term Monday, citing ill-health. P. Rajagopal, the wealthy founder of the Saravana Bhavan chain of eateries popular across India and beyond was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in 2004 over the killing of a love rival. Reports say Rajagopal, 71 and known as the "Dosa King" was obsessed with the daughter of an employee and wanted to marry her.
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| Donald Trump vows to hold 4th of July bash next year and for 'the foreseeable future' Posted: 08 Jul 2019 01:26 PM PDT  President Donald Trump is promising to repeat his 4th of July celebration on the National Mall again next year and in "the foreseeable future."
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| Months of aftershocks could follow big California earthquake Posted: 06 Jul 2019 08:00 PM PDT  Officials in Southern California expressed relief Saturday that damage and injuries weren't worse after the largest earthquake the region has seen in nearly 20 years, while voicing concerns about the possibility of major aftershocks in the days and even months to come. No fatalities or major injuries were reported after Friday night's 7.1-magnitude earthquake, which jolted an area from Sacramento to Mexico and prompted the evacuation of the Navy's largest single landholding, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in the Mojave Desert. The quake struck at 8:19 p.m. Friday and was centered 11 miles (18 kilometers) from Ridgecrest, the same area of the desert where a 6.4-magnitude temblor hit just a day earlier.
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| 2019 Honda Insight vs. 2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid: Which Affordable, Normal-Looking Hybrid Is Best? Posted: 08 Jul 2019 05:00 AM PDT  Both of these compact hybrid sedans can be had for less than $24,000-see which one you should buy.
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| 27 Sweet Summer Peach Desserts (That Aren't Pie) Posted: 08 Jul 2019 02:58 PM PDT |
| Amnesty identifies new 'killing field' in Philippines drugs war ahead of key UN vote Posted: 07 Jul 2019 10:00 PM PDT  Human rights group Amnesty International has identified a new "killing field" in the Philippines ahead of a United Nations vote this week on a mandate to investigate deaths during the country's brutal three-year drugs war. Thousands of suspected drug dealers and users have been gunned down by masked assassins or by the police since Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine president, instigated a violent crackdown when he came into office in 2016. He recently indicated that the second half of his term will be deadlier. The new Amnesty report, 'They just kill: Ongoing extrajudicial executions and other violations in the Philippines' war on drugs', claims that extrajudicial killings by the police remain rampant. Investigators hope it will provide crucial evidence to nudge the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva towards passing a resolution that would initiate a year-long investigation in the Philippines by UN special rapporteurs. The vote is expected to take place on Thursday. The "scale of abuses reaches the threshold of crimes against humanity," claims Amnesty, alleging that the police have operated with total impunity as they murder people from poor neighbourhoods whose names have appeared on manufactured "drug watch lists" with no legal basis. Kateleen Myca Ulpina, 3, was killed in a police sting operation last month Credit: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images The Philippine government has acknowledged at least 6,600 killings carried out by the police. However, evidence suggests that thousands more have been fatally shot by masked assassins, often driving in tandem on a motorbike. Amnesty reports that the country's "bloodiest killing field" has shifted from the capital region to Bulacan province, in Central Luzon, seven miles north of Manila. The investigation identified 20 cases in which 27 people were killed between May 2018 and April this year. After interviewing 58 people, including witnesses, relatives and officials, the human rights group concluded that many of the deaths appeared to be extrajudicial killings. In one case, police claimed Jovan Magtanong, 30, and a father of three children, was killed after he fired at them first. They alleged they had found a .38 calibre gun and sachets of illegal drugs at the scene. However, witnesses said he was sleeping alongside his children when officers knocked on his house door asking for another man. His family said he did not even own a gun and had not used drugs for over a year. "They killed him like an animal," said one relative. "It is not safe to be poor in President Duterte's Philippines," said Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty's regional director for East and Southeast Asia. President Rodrigo Duterte instigated the drugs war three years ago Credit: Albert Alcain/PPD "All it takes to be murdered is an unproven accusation that someone uses, buys, or sells drugs. Everywhere we went to investigate drug-related killings ordinary people were terrified. Fear has now spread deep into the social fabric of society." In every police operation examined by Amnesty, police cited the same "buy-bust" justification of an undercover drug sting where suspects were armed and fought back "prompting" the use of lethal force. Rachel Chhoa-Howard, an Amnesty researcher who helped to compile the report, told The Telegraph that the violations followed a now routine pattern. "They are carried out in the total absence of accountability, and a climate of continued incitement from the president," she said. "Families spoke to us about their desperation in terms of their inability to obtain justice for loved ones, enormous obstacles to filing cases, extreme difficulty in obtaining police autopsy reports and a pervasive climate of fear of reprisals and retaliation if they did try to probe further," she said. The police accused Kateleen Myca's father of using her as a human shield, which her mother denied Credit: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images Ms Chhoa-Howard added: "We are concerned that the failure of the international community to act has sent a clear message to the Duterte administration that it's free to continue this campaign with impunity." Human rights groups are in Geneva this week to lobby member states to approve the UNHRC resolution. Meanwhile, Philippine officials are attempting to block it, with President Duterte's spokesman, Salvador Panelo, calling the resolution an interference, claiming that other nations may have been misled by "false news". Human Rights Watch has focused its own campaign on the plight of children who have suffered emotional, psychological and economic impacts of drug war violence, especially those who have lost their parents. Last week a country now accustomed to frequent drugs war deaths was rattled once again by the shooting of three-year-old Kateleen Myka Ulpina during a sting operation. The police claimed her father used her as a human shield in an account vehemently rejected by her mother. Senator Ronald dela Rosa, a former police chief who once led the anti-drugs operation, further incensed public opinion by his callous response. "Would a police officer want to shoot a child? Never, because they have children as well. But s--t happens during operations," he said.
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| F-22s vs. F-35s: Who Wins When the 2 Deadliest Stealth Fighters Fight? Posted: 07 Jul 2019 09:00 AM PDT  Two F-22s from the 95th Fighter Squadron flew to Orland Air Base, Norway, Aug. 15, for a one-day exercise with Norwegian F-35s.The two U.S. F-22s are among 13 in Europe for a series of short-term deployments in places such as Greece and Poland, with further training missions planned in undisclosed locations in coming days.As reported by Reuters, Colonel Leslie Hauck, chief of the fifth generation integration division at the U.S. Air Force's headquarters in Europe, said that even if the Norwegian deployment lasted just one day it will lay the groundwork for NATO allies as they work to integrate their stealth warfare capabilities.(This first appeared last year.)Growing numbers of Lockheed Martin F-35s are arriving in Europe as the world's most advanced warplane and most expensive weapons program matures following a raft of cost increases and technical challenges in its early years."Every training opportunity that we have betters our readiness for any potential adversary of the future," Hauck said at the Orland air base, already home to six of Norway's expected 52 F-35s.
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| RPT-WRAPUP 2-Iran makes new nuclear threats that would reverse steps in pact Posted: 08 Jul 2019 07:31 AM PDT ![RPT-WRAPUP 2-Iran makes new nuclear threats that would reverse steps in pact]( "RPT-WRAPUP 2-Iran makes new nuclear threats that would reverse steps in pact") GENEVA/DUBAI, July 8 (Reuters) - Iran threatened on Monday to restart deactivated centrifuges and ramp up its enrichment of uranium to 20 percent purity as its next potential big moves away from a 2015 nuclear agreement that Washington abandoned last year. The threats, made by the spokesman for Tehran's nuclear agency, would go far beyond the small steps Iran has taken in the past week to nudge its stocks of fissile material just beyond limits in the nuclear pact.
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| Police officers praised after paying for woman's groceries instead of arresting her for shoplifting Posted: 07 Jul 2019 10:22 AM PDT  Three New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers have been praised after they paid for a woman's groceries when she was caught attempting to steal the goods.The moment at a Manhattan Whole Foods was captured by a fellow shopper, who snapped a photo and posted it on Twitter.The image shows the woman burying her head in her hands, while the three officers stand around her at the cash register, paying for the food."I know that the police make split second decisions each day, so for the police to pay for the woman's food without hesitation was powerful," Paul Bozymowski, the individual who took the photo, told The Independent. "It was incredibly moving to see such a genuinely kind moment."The officers have since been identified as lieutenant Louis Sojo, and officers Esnaidy Cuevas and Michael Rivera, who said during a press conference that officers all around the city act in this way frequently – but that these actions are rarely seen.During that press conference on Friday they said they were heading into the store to when they were told by security guards that the woman was stealing food."I asked her, 'What's going on?' She told me she was hungry," Mr Sojo said. "So, I looked in her bag. I decided – we decided – to say 'We'll pay for her food'."He added that they were not expecting the reaction they received."You know, I've been doing this for 22 years. This is not the first time I've paid for food. This is not the first time they've paid for someone's food," Mr Sojo said."We don't go out and do it all the time, but, you know, when you look at someone's face and you notice that they need you, and they're actually hungry. It's pretty difficult as a human being to walk away from something like that. We weren't raised like that. So, it's the right thing to do."Mr Bozymowski, for his part, said he did not think many in the supermarket noticed the police officers and their act of kindness. But, he said he was glad his photo had resonated."When I posted the photo, I certainly didn't think it would get this amount of attention. I'm happy it is," he said. "If the story can inspire others to be generous and kind, then that's good for all of us."
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| Hundreds of thousands march across Europe for Gay Pride Posted: 06 Jul 2019 08:27 PM PDT  Four hundred thousand people turned out on the streets of Madrid Saturday for a Gay Pride parade dedicated this year to pioneers of the LGBT+ cause, amid growing fears of fresh repression with the rise of the far-right in Europe. The slogan for this year's march was "History, struggle and memory" and participants marked 50 years since the Stonewall riots in New York in 1969 which were the foundation of the gay rights movement worldwide. Catholic Spain at the time was controlled by dictator General Francisco Franco and homosexual acts were illegal.
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| On social media, calls for boycott of Home Depot because co-founder supports Donald Trump Posted: 08 Jul 2019 03:13 PM PDT  Shoppers have taken to Twitter and Facebook to call for a boycott of Home Depot after its co-founder says he will back Donald Trump's reelection bid.
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| Rains strand Washington drivers, flood White House basement Posted: 08 Jul 2019 11:47 AM PDT  A slow-moving rainstorm Monday washed out roads, stranded drivers and soaked basements, including the White House's, during a chaotic morning commute in the national capital region. Flooding led to electrical outages that closed the National Archives Building and Museum, according to a statement from the National Archives, which said the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were safe and not in any danger. National Weather Service meteorologist Cody Ledbetter said the storm dumped about 6.3 inches of rain near Frederick, Maryland, about 4.5 inches near Arlington, Virginia, and about 3.4 inches at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in a two-hour period.
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| View Photos of the BMW X7 Pickup Concept Posted: 08 Jul 2019 11:19 AM PDT |
| To Dim Guaido's Appeal, Maduro Offers Venezuela His Own Version Posted: 08 Jul 2019 02:00 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Juan Guaido, the 35-year-old head of Venezuela's opposition, arrived this year with Tigger-like energy. He bounced around holding rallies in the poorest neighborhoods, showing up onstage at a relief concert, trying to sway troops to his side outside a military base. The middle-aged regime of Nicolas Maduro, dominated by burly revolutionaries in Castro-chic fatigues and dated facial hair, needed to counter him. Enter Hector Rodriguez. Increasingly visible in Maduro's circle of trust, the 37-year-old governor of Miranda state regularly draws crowds at events in Caracas and was sent to Oslo in May to negotiate with the opposition. He shows up in tailored button-down shirts or polos to make soothing statements about dialogue and unity. He has a fashionably shaved pate. He grins.Venezuela under Maduro has fallen into dysfunction and international condemnation. Hunger is rampant, and the mainstay oil industry continues to devolve. With Maduro deeply unpopular amid the devastation -- but with Guaido so far unable to dislodge him -- Rodriguez is increasingly visible as the regime retools itself for a long haul. In some Chavista circles, his name is now whispered as the regime's best chance of holding onto power if an international coalition forces new elections."Hector Rodriguez is a liked figure; he's seen as a different kind of Chavista, open to dialogue and able to charm the opposition members who were once Chavez supporters," said Felix Seijas, head of pollster Delphos. "If handled right, he could be a figure that could give life to Chavismo and make it competitive."Maduro's natural successors would be Diosdado Cabello, who heads the supreme National Constituent Assembly created by Maduro's government in 2017 or Industry Minister Tareck El Aissami. But both are unpopular and have been sanctioned by the U.S., which accuses them of money laundering and drug trafficking, among other offenses. This limits their ability to act on a global stage."Eighty percent of the people reject Maduro, and nobody likes Cabello or El Aissami. With the emergence of a young leader like Guaido, the only option left is Hector Rodriguez," said political scientist Luis Salamanca of Venezuela's public Central University in Caracas. "If a democratic election is agreed upon, Rodriguez would be the candidate."Rodriguez traveled to Oslo with Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez and Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, two close allies of Maduro. After the inconclusive negotiations, Maduro appeared a couple of times with Rodriguez on state television to congratulate him for his effort.Rodriguez, who rarely speaks to the press and declined requests for an interview, has been conspicuous at key moments. In 2017, when Maduro announced the country's decision to stop paying its foreign debt, Rodriguez sat by his side on national television. He was also at the presidential palace on Jan. 23, the day Guaido claimed the constitution made him interim president because the regime stole the election. QuicktakeWhy Venezuela Has Two Presidents, One Thorny Standoff: QuickTakeBut Rodriguez has cultivated an image as a domestic powerhouse. Rather than making showy threats against the yanquis, he focuses publicly on fighting crime, cultivating fallow land for cocoa exports and promoting a food program in Miranda schools."I like Rodriguez better than Maduro," said Maria Victoria Ballesteros, a Miranda state school teacher. "Maduro doesn't do anything right. If Rodriguez orders a highway repair, he actually shows up to supervise the work."His image belies his actual accomplishments. Rodriguez equipped Miranda police with dozens of SUVs, bicycles and motorcycles and has increased the number of officers. But Miranda reported the second-highest rate of violent deaths in Venezuela last year, with 124 homicides for every 100,000 people, according to the Venezuelan Violence Observatory. Local cocoa producers fear he will take over production and sell it to allies in China or Turkey.And despite his promotion of food programs, almost 11% of children in Miranda 5 years old and younger suffer from acute malnutrition, according to the Catholic charity Caritas.Yet some regime supporters believe Rodriguez -- relatively young and unsullied -- could one day take the reins of the socialist revolution. "He has all the profile, the commitment, maturity, talent and the trajectory to assume a presidential candidacy," said Ricardo Sanchez, a Constituent Assembly member who's known Rodriguez since college.Born in a modest beach town in northeast Venezuela, Rodriguez has two children with his wife, Dubraska Moreno. He first stood out as a student leader at Central University, where he obtained a law degree. While he hewed to the socialist ideology of the late President Hugo Chavez, he had good relationships with students in the opposition. He's even admitted to calling opposition lawmakers including Stalin Gonzalez and Miguel Pizarro friends, a bold move in a nation that imprisons dissidents as traitors. Pizarro has since fled the country.Chavez, who died of cancer in 2013, saw Rodriguez as someone who could perpetuate his program of redistributing Venezuela's oil-created wealth."Rodriguez emerges the same year as the year the young generation of students like Guaido," said Nicmer Evans, a Central University political scientist and disaffected regime supporter. "Chavez liked him for his conceptual depth and his oratorical skills. He saw in Rodriguez some kind of relay generation."Rodriguez first dazzled Chavez with his fiery speeches during a wave of 2007 protests, where he stood his ground against student activists after the president closed the popular channel RCTV, which took an opposition editorial line. The next year, Chavez named him chief of staff. Since then, he has run ministries devoted to education, youth and sports and led the ruling party in the National Assembly, since bypassed by the Constituent Assembly.In 2017, Rodriguez became Miranda's governor by a margin of 6% in an election decried by the opposition as a fraud. The elections agency, which is controlled by the government, moved dozens of voting centers at the last minute, displacing some 225,000 voters. Opposition observers also were forcibly removed from several centers.Rodriguez "knows how to work in teams," said Victor Clark, a close friend and governor of Falcon state, who met Rodriguez in college. "He knows how to listen and ask questions. He is analytical and disciplined."That might not be enough. Even if Maduro somehow left the scene, Rodriguez would drag the weight of his ruinous economy, one so bad 4 million Venezuelans have left the country. Evans said Rodriguez must know that his window of opportunity to assume real leadership is limited. "He knows that this is a disaster and he is sinking with the country's collapse," Evans said. To contact the author of this story: Alex Vasquez in Caracas at avasquez45@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Merelman at smerelman@bloomberg.net, Melinda GrenierFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Top Secret: We Can Now Show You Inside the Cockpit of a B-2 Stealth Bomber Posted: 07 Jul 2019 11:00 AM PDT  For the first time in the 30-year history of the Air Force's B-2 stealth bomber program, video footage recently filmed in a B-2A "Spirit" stealth bomber cockpit while in flight is available for viewing at Defense News. Additional footage of the B-2 cockpit in-flight, as well as cockpit photographs are also available at JeffBolton.org.A product of Dallas-based film producer and radio personality Jeff Bolton, the historic video in this post shows the full array of instrumentation in this technological wonder, as well as a dramatic in-flight refueling from inside the cockpit of America's most secret aerial weapon. The B-2 stealth bomber deploys internationally, and also flies up to 44-hour round trip missions around the world from its home base at Whiteman Air Force Base (AFB) in Missouri. "In an era of rising tensions between global nuclear powers – the United States, China, Russia, and North Korea – this timely video of is a vivid reminder of the B-2's unique capabilities," said producer Jeff Bolton, "No other stealth bombers are known to exist in the world."
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| Iran tanker detention by Britain was threatening act, minister says Posted: 07 Jul 2019 09:30 PM PDT ![Iran tanker detention by Britain was threatening act, minister says]( "Iran tanker detention by Britain was threatening act, minister says") Britain's detention of an Iranian tanker last week was a threatening and incorrect action, Iran's Defence Minister Amir Hatami said on Monday in a speech broadcast live on state television. Royal Marines seized the tanker on Thursday for trying to take oil to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions, a dramatic intervention that sparked Tehran's fury and could escalate its confrontation with the West.
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| Top immigration official says ICE will begin deporting 1 million illegal immigrants with final removal orders Posted: 08 Jul 2019 06:28 AM PDT  Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ken Cuccinelli announces operations will begin to remove illegal immigrants who have been lawfully ordered to leave the country; Kevin Corke reports from the White House.
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| Prominent Detroit priest removed from pulpit Posted: 07 Jul 2019 12:39 PM PDT  The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit said Sunday that it removed a prominent priest from public ministry after reviewing what it described as a "credible allegation" that he had sexually abused a child decades ago. The Rev. Eduard Perrone was suspended from ministry Friday, a month after The Associated Press began asking the pastor himself, the archdiocese and law enforcement authorities about a former altar boy's allegations that Perrone had groped him. Archdiocese officials told Perrone's congregation at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish during services Sunday that members of the local archdiocese review board found a "semblance of truth" to the accusations, but that they are maintaining a presumption of innocence.
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| Bodies of woman, 3 children found in rental car in apparent murder-suicide in New York Posted: 08 Jul 2019 09:35 AM PDT ![Bodies of woman, 3 children found in rental car in apparent murder-suicide in New York]( "Bodies of woman, 3 children found in rental car in apparent murder-suicide in New York") A tow truck driver discovered the bodies of a woman and three children in New York on Sunday.
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| This Is the Mid-Engined 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8's Rear End Posted: 08 Jul 2019 07:55 AM PDT  No, this doesn't appear to be an even uglier Camaro-it's the new mid-engined Corvette, spotted before its official reveal.
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