| Audio: Trump seeks identity of person who leaked information to whistleblower Posted: 26 Sep 2019 01:51 PM PDT  President Trump likened the person who leaked information to a federal whistleblower to a spy.
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| Georgia sheriff's office employee fired after racist rant at McDonald's Posted: 26 Sep 2019 12:07 PM PDT  A Georgia sheriff's office employee has been fired after he was caught on video telling a teenager to "speak English" at a local McDonald's.
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| Grieving mother shares heartbreaking tribute to children on 'first day of school' Posted: 26 Sep 2019 10:47 AM PDT  A distraught mother took to Facebook earlier this month to share a touching tribute to her children, all three of whom were killed by a drunk driver.
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| Pelosi, taking on a president, meets feminists' desire for a superhero Posted: 26 Sep 2019 01:01 PM PDT  Women who study women agree that this week marks a moment.
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| Off-duty officer won't be charged in deadly Costco shooting Posted: 25 Sep 2019 04:36 PM PDT  An off-duty Los Angeles police officer will not be charged for fatally shooting a mentally ill man who had attacked him and his young son from behind in a California Costco, prosecutors said Wednesday. In announcing a grand jury's findings, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said Officer Salvador Sanchez believed he had been shot in the head and a shooter was on the loose when he and his son were knocked to the ground in the unprovoked assault. Hestrin said his office would not bring its own charges against Sanchez in the wake of the grand jury decision.
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| Michigan school bus driver fired after kicking kids off bus for sharing bag of chips: Officials Posted: 26 Sep 2019 08:20 AM PDT  A Michigan school bus driver and bus aide have both been fired after they forced "several" students to exit the bus early, officials say.
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| Biden’s brother touted Biden Cancer Initiative ties in investment pitch Posted: 26 Sep 2019 02:06 AM PDT  Joe Biden's brother told executives at a healthcare firm that the former vice president's cancer initiative would promote their business, according to a participant in the conversation, who said the promise came as part of a pitch on behalf of potential investors in the firm. The allegation is the latest of many times Biden's relatives have invoked the former vice president and his political clout to further their private business dealings. It is the first that involves the Biden Cancer Initiative, a project Joe Biden made the centerpiece of his post-White House life following the death of his son Beau.
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| View Photos of the 2020 Nissan Titan Posted: 26 Sep 2019 08:15 AM PDT |
| Shep, Judge Nap, Tucker and the Fox News Civil War Over Impeachment Posted: 26 Sep 2019 01:25 PM PDT  As an impeachment inquiry looms over President Donald Trump, some Fox News anchors and right-wing commentators have begun openly insulting one another over the president asking Ukrainian President Zelensky, via a July phone call, to investigate Joe Biden."It is a crime for the president to solicit aid for his campaign from a foreign government," Judge Andrew Napolitano, a Fox News senior judicial analyst, said Tuesday on consummate newsman Shepard Smith's daytime broadcast.That analysis clearly irked a frequent Tucker Carlson guest, Joe diGenova, a right-wing conspiracy theorist, who later that night called Napolitano a "fool" on-air.The next afternoon, Smith looked sternly into the camera and called the insult of a fellow Fox colleague "repugnant." And, of course, that was followed by diGenova reprising that evening on Carlson's show for a segment in which the primetime host mocked Smith's "repugnant" line and diGenova said he would "educate" the judge.Outside of the Shep/Judge vs. Tucker/diGenova spat, Fox's mid-afternoon gabfest The Five also had a blow-up of its own this week when its lone liberal panelist Juan Williams accused his co-hosts of peddling White House talking points on Ukraine."Asking a foreign government to investigate a political rival is illegal," Williams referred back to Napolitano's analysis. In return, his co-host Jesse Watters, a Trump booster, accused him of using the judge's "talking points."Watch the video above to see the sparring in action.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Tropical Storm Karen halts search for missing American woman in the Virgin Islands Posted: 26 Sep 2019 11:01 AM PDT  The Virgin Islands National Park announced that the Kentucky woman, Lucy Schuhmann, 48, has been missing in St. John since Sept. 19.
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| How Pakistan Has Won the War in Afghanistan (America Lost) Posted: 24 Sep 2019 09:15 PM PDT  Could it be?
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| Ex-casino employee to seek parole chance in Vegas killing Posted: 26 Sep 2019 11:01 AM PDT  A former Las Vegas Strip casino card dealer intends to seek a chance at parole when he's sentenced for killing a resort executive and wounding a co-worker at a company picnic in 2018, a defense lawyer said Thursday. Anthony Wrobel decided it was in his best interest to plead guilty before trial to murder in the shooting death of Venetian casino executive Mia Banks and attempted murder for wounding co-worker Hector Rodriguez, court-appointed defense attorney Joseph Abood said. The plea agreement by the 44-year-old Wrobel says he could face up to life behind bars without the possibility of parole.
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| Emaciated elephant forced to perform during religious festival in Sri Lanka has died Posted: 25 Sep 2019 09:14 AM PDT  A sickly elephant whose photos went viral in August after she was forced to walk in a Sri Lanka festival, despite her skeletal frame, died on Tuesday.
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| Cuban-American sues American Airlines, Latam Airlines for 'trafficking' in Havana airport. Posted: 25 Sep 2019 03:22 PM PDT  A Miami-based law firm filed a lawsuit on Wednesday on behalf of a Cuban-American who claims to be the rightful owner of Havana's international airport against American Airlines and the Latam Airlines Group for "trafficking" in the property he says the Cuban government stole. The case is one of a slew filed in U.S. courts since the Trump administration in May implemented a long-dormant and controversial law allowing U.S. citizens to sue foreign firms and Cuban entities over their use of properties expropriated after Cuba's 1959 revolution. In the lawsuit filed on Wednesday, law firm Rivero Mestre argues that Cuba's main airport, in Havana, was expropriated from the father of Jose Ramon Lopez Regueiro in 1959.
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| Whistleblower Complaint Claims White House Moved to ‘Lock Down’ Ukraine Call Transcript Posted: 26 Sep 2019 06:51 AM PDT  The Trump administration on Thursday released a whistleblower complaint that accuses the president of attempting to use his position "to solicit interference from a foreign country" in the 2020 election.According to the complaint, White House officials were "deeply disturbed" by Trump's controversial July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and moved to "lock down" all information about it.The White House on Wednesday released a partial transcript of the call, which confirmed that Trump asked Zelensky to help investigate former vice president Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, over allegations that the former vice president used his position to help a Ukrainian energy company avoid a corruption probe soon after Hunter was appointed to its board of directors.Trump on Tuesday admitted to temporarily withholding nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine intended to ward off Russian aggression, but said he did so because he wished other countries to contribute to Ukraine as well.The whistleblower said that White House officials moved to "lock down" the transcript by placing it in a "standalone" computer system, which is managed directly by the National Security Council Directorate for Intelligence Programs, and is reserved for "codeword-level intelligence information, such as covert action""According to information I received from White House officials, some officials voiced concerns internally that this would be an abuse of the system," the anonymous member of the intelligence community states in the complaint.The complaint adds that White House officials told the whistleblower it was "not the first time" a presidential transcript from Trump had been placed in this security system to protect politically sensitive rather than national security sensitive information.White House lawyers also discussed "how to treat the call because of the likelihood, in the officials' retelling, that they had witnessed the president abuse his office for personal gain," according to the complaint.
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| American Farmers Are Main Winners from U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement Posted: 25 Sep 2019 10:42 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. U.S. farmers -- reeling from trade wars, low commodity prices and bad weather -- are set to be the main winners from President Donald Trump's initial accord with Japan.Under a trade agreement announced by Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday, the Asian country will lower or reduce tariffs on some $7.2 billion of American-grown farming products, according to the U.S. Trade Representative's office.Japan will reduce tariffs in stages on U.S. farm goods, such as beef and pork, USTR said in a statement Wednesday. The country will eliminate tariffs on $1.3 billion of U.S. agriculture products, including almonds, blueberries, sweet corn and sorghum, it said. It will also eliminate duties on commodities like ethanol, cheese and whey, frozen poultry and oranges, USTR said.American farmers, a key part of Trump's rural base, have found themselves in the cross-hairs as the president scrutinizes trade agreements. China slapped retaliatory tariffs on U.S.-grown agricultural products, including soybeans, in the more than year-long trade fight between Washington and Beijing. The administration has responded by announcing $28 billion in aid to farmers.At a news conference on Wednesday, Trump called the pact a "huge victory" for American agriculture."These are really big dollars for our farmers and for our ranchers," Trump said.Missing from the list of farm products is rice. Japan is a key export market for U.S. rice farmers, who have been under pressure after the Asian nation signed trade agreements with other countries including the revised 11-member Trans-Pacific Partnership.Japan is required to import 682,000 tons of rice under World Trade Organization commitments, with the U.S. typically making up about half of that amount, according to USA Rice. Since Japan signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, there's been more competition from Australian producers, the industry group said.USTR said that out of $14.1 billion in U.S. food and agricultural products exported to Japan in 2018, $5.2 billion already didn't have duties. It characterized this plan as the "first-stage" of the initial tariff agreement and said that more than 90% of U.S. food and agricultural exports to Japan will either be duty free or receive preferential treatment once it's implemented.To contact the reporter on this story: Mario Parker in Chicago at mparker22@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: James Attwood at jattwood3@bloomberg.net, Sarah McGregorFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| 'Historic' September blizzard, bitter cold to wallop northern Rockies this weekend Posted: 25 Sep 2019 11:13 AM PDT !['Historic' September blizzard, bitter cold to wallop northern Rockies this weekend]( "'Historic' September blizzard, bitter cold to wallop northern Rockies this weekend") Heavy snow – up to 3 feet in some areas – and temperatures in the 20s and 30s will bring an early taste of winter to Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.
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| Woman says she contracted deadly flesh-eating bacteria after getting a manicure at a nail salon: 'I'm just lucky to be alive' Posted: 26 Sep 2019 07:45 AM PDT  A woman in Tennessee said she contracted a rare, but deadly bacterial infection and nearly lost her hand after getting a manicure at a nail salon.
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| China Is Building Supersonic Drones to Spy on Navy Aircraft Carriers Posted: 26 Sep 2019 12:03 AM PDT  Report: The DR-8 reconnaissance drone has a role in assessing the strike impact of China's "aircraft carrier killer," the DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile, and the DF-26 ballistic missile.
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| Chinese relatives marry, divorce 23 times in scheme Posted: 25 Sep 2019 07:35 AM PDT  Eleven Chinese relatives married and divorced each other 23 times within a month to receive apartments given out by the state, Chinese media reported.
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| Correction: Liberty University-Falwell story Posted: 26 Sep 2019 12:41 PM PDT  In a story Sept. 25 about Liberty University, The Associated Press, relying on information from the school's accreditor, reported erroneously that the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges sent a letter asking for more information about recent news reports about Jerry Falwell Jr. A spokeswoman for the commission says that no letter has been sent but that the news reports are under review. RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The accrediting body that oversees Liberty University is reviewing recent news reports that have questioned President Jerry Falwell Jr.'s leadership style and personal business interests, a spokeswoman told The Associated Press.
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| Iranian woman convicted of US sanctions violation released Posted: 26 Sep 2019 02:22 PM PDT  An Iranian woman sentenced in the United States for violating sanctions against Tehran was released and has returned home, her lawyer told AFP Thursday, following her country's unsuccessful attempt at a prisoner swap. A judge in Minneapolis sentenced Negar Ghodskani to 27 months in prison on Tuesday, but determined the time she had already spent in custody in Australia and the United States was enough to fulfill her punishment. Ghodskani "is now free in Iran with her family," her lawyer Robert Richman said in an email.
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| U.S. sanctions firm it says provides jet fuel to Russia in Syria Posted: 26 Sep 2019 07:30 AM PDT ![U.S. sanctions firm it says provides jet fuel to Russia in Syria]( "U.S. sanctions firm it says provides jet fuel to Russia in Syria") The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on a firm it said was participating in a scheme to avoid U.S. sanctions while helping provide jet fuel to Russian forces in Syria. The U.S. Treasury Department said the newly sanctioned firm, Maritime Assistance LLC, was operating as a front company for OJSC Sovfracht, a company the United States had previously sanctioned in relation to operations in Ukraine. The Treasury also targeted three individuals it said were tied to Sovfracht, freezing any assets they may hold in the United States and barring Americans from dealing with them.
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| View Audi RS Q3 and RS Q3 Sportback Photos Posted: 26 Sep 2019 08:35 AM PDT |
| Rudy’s Big Plan to Defend Trump on Ukraine: Play the George Soros Card Posted: 26 Sep 2019 02:12 AM PDT  HERBERT NEUBAUER/GettyDonald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani's bizarre media tour defending President Trump's efforts to pressure the president of Ukraine into investigating Joe Biden has focused on a seemingly unrelated target: billionaire Democratic financier and Republican bogeyman George Soros. In several rambling cable news appearances, Giuliani has claimed that Soros—who conservative conspiracy theorists have long blamed for everything from the Barack Obama presidency to actor Jussie Smollett's faking of a hate crime—is somehow involved in a wide-ranging, anti-Trump scheme in Ukraine. Like many Soros-related claims, this one is, well, flimsy. Indeed, Guiliani's argument appears to rest almost entirely on innuendos, a single op-ed in The Hill, and his vague claims about unnamed "people" in Ukraine.Russia's Election Hackers Are Back—and Targeting George SorosGiuliani's allegations center on a "Soros NGO" that manufactured evidence against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and a former FBI agent who Giuliani claims is on Soros's payroll."George Soros has a not-for-profit called AntAC," Giuliani said in a CNN appearance last Thursday. "AntAC is the one that developed all of the dirty information that ended up being a false document that was created in order to incriminate Manafort."In a Monday appearance on Fox Business, Giuliani claimed that "Soros's NGO was involved in this whole thing." On Tuesday, he told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that Biden was somehow involved in an effort to save a Soros-run organization in Ukraine from prosecution. "That organization was run by George Soros, who then hired the crooked FBI agent, who is now working for George Soros," Giuliani said. Soros, who is one of the Democratic Party's largest givers, has long been targeted by right-wing activists, who often paint him as a global, political puppetmaster—a charge that critics contend reeks of anti-Semitism. Few figures, indeed, are more often portrayed as a boogeyman by Republican politicians. Guliani's vague, nefarious accusations about Soros, have been echoed by Trump allies and the Trump campaign as well. In fact, the line has become so central to the messaging war against the Bidens that Giuliani often offers it up without being prompted. "Oh, and Soros—Soros!—is very important here," Giuliani said in a Monday interview, one of several with The Daily Beast in the last few days in which he discussed the progressive donor. "Don't forget that."* * *Considering the gravity with which Giuliani discusses Soros, one would think that there is ample evidence that something untoward has taken place. And yet, the allegations rest largely on a March 2019 op-ed in The Hill written by opinion writer John Solomon, who became a star on the right for his willingness to push attacks on Special Counsel Robert Mueller. In his March story, Solomon declared that the U.S. embassy in Ukraine "pressed Ukraine to drop [a] probe of George Soros group during 2016 election." The op-ed centers on Anticorruption Action Centre (AntAC), a Ukrainian anti-corruption group that has received funding from Soros's Open Society Foundation. Contrary to Giuliani's description of it as "Soros-run," though, AntAC has also received funding from the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and the European Union. Soros doesn't control AntAC's activities. It is instead operated by Ukrainian activists. In 2016, AntAC was under investigation by Ukrainian prosecutors for the alleged misuse of $4.4 million in aid, in what appears to have been a politically motivated pursuit from the investigators meant to punish the good-governance group. Even U.S. State Department sources in Solomon's own op-ed said the prosecution was believed to be just "retribution" for AntAC's anti-corruption work. In a letter sent to Ukrainian prosecutors, a State Department official in Ukraine said the United States had "no concerns" about the money. "We have accounted for every single foreign assistance dollar provided within the framework of this project," the State official continued. Smollett Conspiracy Theories Target George SorosNevertheless, Giuliani has accused the group, without any evidence, of falsifying the "Black Ledger" that listed millions in undisclosed payments to Manafort and setting the stage for his prosecution. But that document has never been disproven, as a story from The Intercept investigating Giuliani's claims found, and AntAC wasn't involved in its creation. The unfounded implication in both Giuliani's interviews and Solomon's opinion story is that the Obama administration's diplomats were either running interference for AntAC in exchange for an effort to take down Manafort, or were somehow just working generally on Soros' behalf. In a response published in The Hill and on its own website, AntAC co-founder Daria Kaleniuk pointed out a number of inconsistencies and omissions in Solomon's op-ed, alleging that he had confused key dates supposedly at the center of the opinion piece. Kaleniuk also claimed that Solomon's supposed key source, a former prosecutor, was using The Hill to retaliate against her group for its anti-corruption efforts. In an email to The Daily Beast, Kaleniuk described Giuliani's claims about her group as "bizarre allegations." Soros spokesman Michael Vachon also denied Giuliani's claims."Short answer is no, Soros was not somehow involved in cooking up charges against Trump in Ukraine," Vachon wrote in an email.Giuliani also alleges in his cable news appearances that Soros has offered a large payout to a former FBI agent who was involved in the Manafort investigation, supposedly via AntAC. "The FBI agent is now working for George Soros, making hundreds of thousands of dollars," Giuliani said in his Tuesday appearance on Fox News. That appears to be a reference to former FBI supervisor Karen Greenaway, who was part of the FBI's International Corruption Unit and the Manafort investigation. Greenaway has appeared at some anti-corruption events with AntAC staff. And her appearance is used in Solomon's article to suggest some nefarious connection between the group, Greenaway, and Soros. Greenaway retired from the FBI in February, and agreed to later join AntAC's board alongside prominent figures like "End of History" political scientist Francis Fukuyama and the former head of the EU's anti-fraud office. That appears to be where Giuliani is getting the idea that Greenaway is making "hundreds of thousands" of dollars from Soros, since the board is mentioned in Solomon's op-ed. But membership of the AntAC board is, alas, an unpaid position. Asked for proof of his claim that Greenaway is receiving large amounts of money from Soros, either through AntAC or another group, Giuliani referred only to vague sources in Ukraine. "That is what I was told by several people in Ukraine," Giuliani told The Daily Beast, adding later, "If it gets investigated we will find out." Giuliani declined to offer any more evidence of his claims against Greenaway, and accused The Daily Beast of trying to impede his "investigation" into Biden. "It seems to me your intent here is not to cover the inherent apparent corruption in the way this was done but to find any contradictions or create them," Giuliani wrote in a text message. Greenaway couldn't be reached for comment.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Woman who rescued kitten on busy road surprised to learn it is not a kitten at all Posted: 26 Sep 2019 11:21 AM PDT  A Tennessee woman who believed she was rescuing a lost kitten was surprised when she found out the creature was actually a baby bobcat.
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| Despite Draghi’s Turbulent Exit, Germans Are Giving ECB a Break Posted: 26 Sep 2019 10:09 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Go inside the global economy with Stephanie Flanders in her new podcast, Stephanomics. Subscribe via Pocket Cast or iTunes.German hawks lost another toehold on the European Central Bank this week. But Angela Merkel didn't seem too bothered.Sabine Lautenschlaeger quit the bank's Executive Board Wednesday, frustrated at her failure to rein in monetary stimulus, in the sort of move that has triggered a German backlash in the past. This time the response was muted and Merkel herself called on European governments to help out the central bank, rather than let it become a political football."Monetary policy is something which concerns people and which is perceived very differently in Portugal and Greece or in Germany and the Netherlands," the chancellor said at a conference in Frankfurt Thursday. "The political task that we have is, of course, not to overburden monetary policy, but with sensible reforms and finance policies to make sure that the ECB is not overburdened."That intervention was all the more striking because Merkel herself is in a tricky spot with the central bank at the moment.ECB chief Mario Draghi is among the prime movers in an international campaign for fiscal stimulus from Berlin. At home, Merkel is facing criticism because Germany failed, once again, to secure the ECB presidency when Draghi steps down on Oct. 31.Yet behind the scenes, there's a sense that the central bank's arguments are starting to gain traction.Former Bundesbank chief Axel Weber said this week that Merkel should deliver the fiscal stimulus Draghi is calling for to help keep the European economy going. Even Wolfgang Schaeuble, the former finance minister who helped conceive her balanced budget policy, says it's time to consider whether some more investment would be needed.Germany's political class still struggles to accept the loss of its dominance over European monetary policy, even after 20 years. Before the euro, the Bundesbank set the benchmark rate for a continent. Since then, officials in Berlin have watched a Dutchman, a Frenchman and now an Italian take the helm. And the next president will be a Frenchwoman."We don't want a German monetary policy in Europe," said Alexander Radwan, a lawmaker from Merkel's Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union. "But we want a large country like Germany to be properly represented in the European Central Bank."In the past, Schaeuble blamed Draghi's loose monetary policy for the rise of the populism and his influence remains. Bild, Germany's biggest-selling newspaper, is still running a campaign against Draghi and the populist AfD is winning support from savers frustrated with ultra-low interest rates."Those who claim that the ECB's monetary policy is misguided and harms German interests will feel confirmed," said Clemens Fuest, German economist and president of the country's Ifo Institute. "Public critique of the ECB for the negative side effects of low interest rates will become even more popular than it is today."Dramatic ExitDraghi's regime has been particularly turbulent and the final weeks before Christine Lagarde takes over have been marked by a revolt featuring Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann over his decision to restart quantitative easing.Weidmann was also a candidate, but he failed to win the support of euro-area leaders."For those in Germany who care about a stable currency, it was a big disappointment that Weidmann didn't get the post," said Klaus-Peter Willsch, a lawmaker in Berlin from Merkel's CDU. "Germany's economic weight isn't properly represented in the ECB."Serial QuittersThe Germans, it has to be said, carry their share of the blame for that.Lautenschlaeger bowed out rather than fight her corner. So did former Chief Economist Juergen Stark, while former board member Joerg Asmussen and Weber himself also quit. European officials told the Germans that Weidmann's hard line track record made his candidacy a long shot, but Merkel stuck by him anyway (and ultimately placed a German at the head of the European Commission instead).Otmar Issing, in fact, is the only German to have completed his term on the Governing Council, and he retired before the financial crisis pitched policy makers into the world of extraordinary measures.But a new generation of policy makers are taking a more conciliatory view. Where Schaeuble railed against Draghi's decisions when he was finance minister, his successor Olaf Scholz prefers to emphasize how the ECB's monetary policy helped Germany out of a crisis.A spokeswoman for the German Finance Ministry said the euro zone's biggest country expects to retain its seat on the ECB board and will soon nominate a "suitable candidate" to succeed Lautenschlaeger.\--With assistance from Zoe Schneeweiss.To contact the reporter on this story: Birgit Jennen in Berlin at bjennen1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Paul GordonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Next Big Effort: Tackling Poverty Posted: 25 Sep 2019 04:51 AM PDT  WASHINGTON -- For a House freshman and political neophyte, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has proved to be remarkably adept at shaping the debate on her Democratic Party's left flank, boosting the visibility of single-payer health care through her support of "Medicare for All" and elevating climate change with her Green New Deal.On Wednesday, Ocasio-Cortez hopes to do for the nation's poor what she has done with health care and climate politics with the unveiling of an ambitious anti-poverty package that, among other things, would cap annual rent increases, ensure full access to social welfare programs for people with convictions and unauthorized immigrants, pressure federal contractors to offer better wages and benefits, and update official poverty measurements by taking into account geographic cost-of-living variations and access to health insurance, child care, and "new necessities" such as internet access."I think this really starts to approach, head-on, economic injustice in America," Ocasio-Cortez said. "We are at our richest point that we've ever been, but we've also been our most unequal."She added, "It's something that we have to talk about."Since defeating Rep. Joe Crowley, a senior member of the Democratic leadership, during the 2018 primaries, Ocasio-Cortez, 29, has used her social media following -- 4 million followers on Instagram and more than 5 million on Twitter -- and strong ties to the party's progressive wing to shift the party leftward. Her Green New Deal would move the nation's energy economy rapidly away from fossil fuels, with vague promises of guaranteed job security. Medicare for All would replace all private insurance with one government-run health care system like Britain's or Canada's.Such ideas would have once been dismissed as fringe initiatives on the far left, but many members of Congress and Democratic presidential candidates have rushed to embrace them, seeking the approval of Ocasio-Cortez and her supporters."She's a lightning rod," said Dianne Enriquez, a director at the Center for Popular Democracy, a liberal advocacy group. "I think the boldness, the ability to be innovative, the willingness to go out on a limb for what she believes is right is really what makes her an ideal champion for a lot of the issues that have gone largely ignored at the federal level."Establishment Democrats have worried that Ocasio-Cortez has moved the conversation too far to the left too fast, becoming the policy face of the party and jeopardizing the political futures of more moderate members elected last year in Republican-leaning districts.But in recent weeks, Ocasio-Cortez has pushed out her chief of staff, who had picked fights with moderate Democrats, and moved her combative communications director to her campaign. Unlike the Green New Deal, which is a gauzy congressional resolution, her anti-poverty initiative, "A Just Society," is six fully formed bills, written in legislative language -- another sign of serious legislative intent.She had good reason to make overtures to fellow House Democrats, who had grown weary of her staff's antagonism. Matt Bennett, the executive vice president of Third Way, a centrist Democratic organization, said Ocasio-Cortez is "vastly more influential" than most freshman House members.But, he added: "Legislating is an inherently group activity. The question is, if she wants to move this legislation, or any that she's sponsoring, can she attract co-sponsors and votes? We'll see if she has the ability to do that as well."As the Green New Deal looked to Franklin D. Roosevelt's signature initiative, "A Just Society" echoes Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society."With the Green New Deal, we weren't just talking about climate change; we're talking about the systems that got us to climate change," Ocasio-Cortez said. "We're addressing root causes.""And similarly," she added, "with our Just Society package, we're not simply addressing poverty or wages. We're addressing some of the basic structural reasons that are resulting in those outcomes."Nearly 40 million people in the United States live in poverty. Even middle-class workers face a shortage of affordable housing and stagnant wages. The problems are worse for people of color, including immigrants, and people who were formerly incarcerated. The Trump administration's response has been to tighten access to some federally funded low-income programs.The bills in Ocasio-Cortez's package seek to change the federal response. She conceded that because Democrats do not control the Senate or the White House, her intention is to lay "down a vision for when we take back both of those bodies."The Recognizing Real Poverty Act requires the secretary of health and human services, in collaboration with the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to work with the National Academy of Sciences to change the poverty line, adjusting for family size and geographic differences in the cost of goods and services. The poverty threshold would be raised to account for health insurance costs, work expenses, child care, and consideration of new necessities such as internet access.Poverty has been "a taboo word in our politics for so long," Ocasio-Cortez said. Even if they are officially above the poverty line, there are "people who are living a quality of life on par" with the impoverished, she added, "but you wouldn't see that based on our numbers because we choose not to measure it."Enriquez said housing has not been a central topic of the Democratic presidential debates, even though several contenders have released full-fledged affordable housing plans. She said she hopes that Ocasio-Cortez can help elevate the issue with one of the bills in her package, the Place to Prosper Act, which would provide tenant protections and regulate corporate landlords.That bill would cap rent increases at 3% a year and restrict the reasons that landlords could evict tenants. For instance, tenants could be evicted only if they have not paid rent for two or more consecutive months or have wrecked a property, or if the landlord needs a unit to house an immediate relative. The bill would prohibit discrimination because of the source of a tenant's income and would provide funding for tenant legal representatives.The act would also mandate that landlords keep rental units in good repair. It would allocate $10 billion for fiscal years 2020 through 2029 for removing toxins.Housing in America "is a crisis," she said, "and it's not one that we are discussing enough at the level that we need to be discussing it."Two other bills, The Embrace Act and The Mercy in Re-Entry Act, would outlaw the denial of any federal benefit because of immigration status or a past criminal conviction.The Uplift Our Workers Act would create a "worker-friendliness score" for federal contractors which would consider, for example, whether the contractor offers paid overtime for those who work more than 40 hours per week, or provides predictable scheduling, paid sick leave and paid parental and family leave.None of this will be enacted in the foreseeable future."No one questions her ability to raise awareness around an issue," Bennett said, "just because she wields her social media and mainstream media platforms very effectively. But that's not the same as getting votes on a bill."Ocasio-Cortez acknowledged the package's ambitions. "I don't think there's any shortage of obstacles that we have ahead of us, but I don't think that we not do things just because they're hard," she said. "In fact, sometimes the hard things to do are the most worthwhile."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| Army sergeant faces charges in fatal West Point accident Posted: 26 Sep 2019 06:45 AM PDT ![Army sergeant faces charges in fatal West Point accident]( "Army sergeant faces charges in fatal West Point accident") A staff sergeant is facing charges in a rollover accident that killed a U.S. Military Academy cadet during training exercises this summer, Army officials confirmed Thursday. Staff Sgt. Ladonies P. Strong was charged Sept. 13 with multiple violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including involuntary manslaughter, negligent homicide and reckless operation of a vehicle. The sergeant, assigned to Fort Benning in Georgia, also was charged with prevention of authorized seizure of property and two specifications of dereliction of duty, according to a release from the Army.
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| Adam Schiff says White House ‘hijacked’ House Russia probe transcripts Posted: 26 Sep 2019 12:54 PM PDT ![Adam Schiff says White House 'hijacked' House Russia probe transcripts]( "Adam Schiff says White House 'hijacked' House Russia probe transcripts") "Negotiations now, after 10 months, are at an impasse and our patience has been exhausted," Schiff says.
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| Members of disbanded EPA air quality panel form independent group Posted: 26 Sep 2019 02:09 PM PDT  The 20 experts were to review the science on particulate matter pollution and health beginning with a two-day meeting in Virginia on Thursday. Dubbed the Independent Particulate Matter Review Panel, the group plans to issue a report on whether the current federal particulate matter standard is adequate, members said. Members of the independent group previously served on the EPA's Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) Particulate Matter Review Panel, which was disbanded last October by EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler.
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| Meghan Markle's 24K gold plated earrings are not as expensive as you think Posted: 25 Sep 2019 01:25 PM PDT  The duchess recently stepped out wearing a simple black jumpsuit by Everlane and styled it up with gold statement earrings.
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| The defense secretary praised the crew of an attack submarine that hasn't been on a mission since 2015 Posted: 25 Sep 2019 02:12 PM PDT  Defense Secretary Mark Esper visited the nuclear-powered attack sub USS Boise on Wednesday, calling it an "accomplished warship."
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| Iranian president warns of a region 'on the edge of collapse'; blames U.S. sanctions Posted: 25 Sep 2019 02:20 PM PDT  Iran's president warned world leaders Wednesday that security in the energy-rich Persian Gulf could collapse quickly with a "single blunder," and he accused the United States of engaging in "merciless economic terrorism" against his country.
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| How Trump’s obsession with Clinton’s emails could come back to bite him now he has his own server issues Posted: 26 Sep 2019 12:12 PM PDT  Donald Trump has made sure that nobody who even remotely follows his actions has been able to forget the scandal of Hillary Clinton using a private server to store emails.The president has repeatedly abused the former secretary of state since facing Clinton during the 2016 election campaign, with Trump supporters still chanting "lock her up" at rallies held by Trump close to three years into his presidency.
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| A United Airlines Flight Was Diverted After a Passenger Got Stuck in the Bathroom Posted: 26 Sep 2019 07:46 AM PDT  The flight was originally headed to San Francisco. The fire department was able to open the jammed door.
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| Meghan McCain addresses 'The View' walk-off: 'We're told by producers to leave' Posted: 25 Sep 2019 06:26 AM PDT  During her appearance on 'Watch What Happens Live,' Meghan McCain broke her silence on seemingly storming off the set of 'The View' last week.
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| Dallas officer on trial had no drugs, alcohol in system Posted: 24 Sep 2019 06:18 PM PDT  A white Dallas police officer who fatally shot her black neighbor in his apartment last year had no drugs or alcohol in her system at the time, a police detective testified Tuesday. Detective Eddie Ibarra's testimony during the second day of Amber Guyger's murder trial marked the first time her toxicology results have been publicly revealed. Guyger was off duty but in uniform when she shot Botham Jean last September.
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| In Syria, a vast underground hideout housed rebel base Posted: 26 Sep 2019 02:56 AM PDT  Tunnels run for hundreds of metres, connecting caves strewn with mattresses that formed what the Syrian army and its Russian allies say was a vast rebel underground network. The road leading to the entrance of the tunnels in Lataminah in northwestern Syria is lined with the charred shells of cars and armoured vehicles. According to the Russian army, which organised a press tour of the site for dozens of journalists, the network of caves dug into a rocky outcrop could shelter up to 5,000 people.
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| Khashoggi murder 'happened under my watch,' Saudi crown prince tells PBS Posted: 25 Sep 2019 10:39 PM PDT  Saudi Arabia's crown prince said he bears responsibility for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year by Saudi operatives "because it happened under my watch," according to a PBS documentary to be broadcast next week. It is the first time that Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, has publicly indicated personal accountability for the killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by operatives seen as close to him. The CIA and some Western governments have said they believe he ordered it, but Saudi officials say he had no role.
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| Enormous shark fin spotted off Florida coast revealed to be a hoax Posted: 26 Sep 2019 01:16 PM PDT  Beachgoers can rest easy after wildlife officials have reviewed several reported "shark sightings" and deemed them fake.
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| See Photos of Bollinger B1 SUV and B2 Pickup Posted: 26 Sep 2019 02:00 PM PDT |
| 2020 Vision Wednesday: Trump says impeachment will be 'a positive for me in the election.' Will it? Posted: 25 Sep 2019 08:44 AM PDT  There are many things that can derail a political career. Being found in bed with "a dead girl or a live boy" (in the immortal phrasing of Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards) is one. Impeachment is usually considered another. Yet there was President Trump on Tuesday, telling reporters at the United Nations that impeachment will be "a positive for me in the election."
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| Forget the SR-71 Spy Plane: Meet the CIA's A-12 (Was It Even Better?) Posted: 24 Sep 2019 11:00 PM PDT  Two high-powered Mach 3 planes duke it out.
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