| Trump asking foreign countries for help against Biden violates law, Election Commission chair warns Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:39 PM PDT  FEC chair Ellen Weintraub posted a reminder about U.S. election law following Trump's latest requests to foreign nations.
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| Bob Woodward Enrages Audience at Times Reporters’ Book Event Posted: 02 Oct 2019 10:32 PM PDT  Dominik Bindl/GettyVeteran reporter Bob Woodward was accused of derailing an event on Wednesday night with the two Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters who broke the Harvey Weinstein sexual-abuse story that ushered in the MeToo movement. At the Sixth & I synagogue in Washington, D.C., to discuss their new book, She Said, about the consequences of the Weinstein scandal and what his accusers went through, New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey attempted to have a meaningful discussion about rape culture and how the MeToo movement has changed society. But they were reportedly repeatedly interrupted by Woodward—with questions that left the audience at once outraged and baffled. "Tomorrow there will be stories about how horribly Bob Woodward bombed this discussion. Repeatedly asked why Harvey Weinstein did what he did. The authors responded, multiple times: power. He accused them of dodging the question," ProPublica reporter J. David McShane tweeted. Reporter Kara Swisher, the co-founder of Recode, described Woodward's behavior during the discussion as "interruptive, not focused on the women who were victimized by Harvey Weinstein and weirdly obsessed with that creep, it's a exercise in how not to interview."Robyn Swirling, the founder of Works in Progress, an organization that aims to confront sexual harassment in progressive spaces, wrote a tweet thread detailing the audience's frustration with Woodward, who she said repeatedly failed to let Kantor and Twohey speak. On the topic of Weinstein, Woodward was said to prefer to focus on the disgraced movie mogul's motives rather what his alleged victims endured. "Showing exactly why he was the wrong person to have any sort of public (or private) discussion about metoo," Swirling wrote, Woodward repeatedly asked Kantor and Twohey why Weinstein allegedly preyed on so many young women. When they answered that they believed it was about power, Woodward reportedly said, "It's about sex also though, isn't it?'"The audience repeatedly booed him, though Woodward, apparently undaunted, went on to claim Weinstein's behavior constituted a "weird foreplay," Swirling tweeted. Later in the discussion, he reportedly asked Kantor and Twohey, "Did you find any women who made up allegations? That's very important" before asking them if they believed Brett Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford's allegations were credible enough to be published. Kantor and Twohey exposed decades of sexual-harassment allegations against Weinstein in a bombshell New York Times report in late 2017, sparking a reckoning of sorts in Hollywood, Weinstein's downfall, and the rise of the MeToo movement. Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual abuse and misconduct by dozens of women, faces a sexual assault trial in New York in January. 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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| Prosecutor: ‘El Chapo’ gave $1M to Honduras leader’s brother Posted: 02 Oct 2019 12:13 PM PDT  Prosecutors alleged Wednesday that convicted Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán personally gave $1 million in bribes to the brother of Honduras' president to pass on to the Central American leader, who swiftly denied wrongdoing. Prosecutor Jason Richman revealed the allegation in a federal court in Manhattan where Juan Antonio "Tony" Hernández, 41, is accused of using his government connections to smuggle U.S.-bound cocaine through Honduras. In opening statements, Richman described Hernández as "untouchable" in Honduras and confident he would never face justice because of his powerful sibling.
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| About $4 billion Hong Kong deposits may have left for Singapore in June-August - Goldman Posted: 02 Oct 2019 10:23 PM PDT  Hong Kong may have lost as much as $4 billion in deposits to rival financial hub Singapore between June and August, Goldman Sachs estimated this week. The period during which these flows took place coincides with escalating anti-government protests and political unrest in the Chinese city. Goldman's report did not make any mention of the protests.
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| Why the Japan-South Korea Trade War Is Worrying for the World Posted: 03 Oct 2019 03:20 AM PDT  The U.S.-China trade war is inflicting the most damage to the global economy, but it's Japan and South Korea's spat that's more concerning.
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| Bernie Sanders was hospitalized with chest discomfort and has cancelled all 2020 campaign events until further notice Posted: 02 Oct 2019 02:07 PM PDT  Sen. Bernie Sanders, 78, was hospitalized in Las Vegas, Nevada, due to chest discomfort and has canceled all 2020 campaign events indefinitely.
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| The History of “Nine-O-Nine”, the B-17 Bomber that Crashed Posted: 03 Oct 2019 02:28 PM PDT  The bomber involved in Tuesday's fatal crash in Connecticut never made it to war, but served as a search and rescue plane and water bomber.
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| Feuding children reach truce on funeral for Mexican superstar Jose Jose Posted: 02 Oct 2019 09:01 PM PDT  After days of drama involving a missing corpse, a family feud and a soundtrack of heartbroken love songs, late Latin singing sensation Jose Jose's children have set aside their differences and agreed on plans for his funeral, the Mexican government said Wednesday. Jose Jose, known as "The Prince of Song," one of the most famous Mexican singers of all time, died Saturday in Miami at age 71. Jose Jose will be given a funeral Friday in Miami, the ministry said in a statement.
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| Greta Thunberg doesn't understand complexities of ‘modern world,’ says Putin Posted: 02 Oct 2019 11:08 AM PDT  At an energy forum in Moscow, the Russian president dismissed the Swedish teenage climate activist's viral U.N. speech — and took a swipe at her parents.
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| Russia's Next Military Move: Selling Radar That Can Detect Hypersonic Weapons? Posted: 03 Oct 2019 05:44 AM PDT  Russia says it will sell radars in the Middle East that are designed to detect cruise missiles and hypersonic weapons.
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| Warren’s Poll Numbers Surge with Rising Support Among Black Voters Posted: 03 Oct 2019 06:02 AM PDT  Elizabeth Warren's polling numbers continue to surge among African Americans, an important demographic in the race for the Democratic nomination, according to the most recent Morning Consult poll released on Wednesday.The poll indicated Warren is up by five points among black voters since August, a shift confirmed by the latest Quinnipiac national poll, which showed the Massachusetts senator winning 19 percent of the African-American vote — a nine-point jump over earlier polling.In the RealClear Politics national polling average, Warren has cut former Vice President Joe Biden's overall lead to a mere 1.7 percent."It's certainly a dramatic shift that had to be noticed by the Biden campaign — and also Sanders, Harris and Buttigieg," Tim Malloy, Quinnipiac's polling analyst, told Politico. "Other [candidates] aren't moving. And if they are, it's in the wrong direction."While Joe Biden still maintains a strong lead among African American voters, polling steady at around 40 percent, Warren's increased efforts on the campaign trail to reach black voters have helped. Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, told Politico that the gradual broadening of Warren's base has played a significant role in her rise."If you're African-American, Warren may not have been someone you knew very well," Murray said. "You knew Joe Biden, sure, but now you're paying more attention."Warren's next challenge is performing well in South Carolina, the fourth state on the primary trail, where more than 60 percent of primary voters are African American. While a recent CNN poll put her at only 4 percent of the black vote in South Carolina, compared to Biden's 45, Warren has not dedicated significant time and resources to the state; she is ranked 12th overall among the Democratic pool in attending South Carolina events, with only 13 public appearances so far, per the Charleston Post and Courier.
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| AP Exclusive: Many problems at jail where inmates escaped Posted: 03 Oct 2019 09:35 AM PDT  CLEVELAND (AP) The overcrowded Ohio county jail from which four inmates escaped last weekend has been repeatedly cited by state inspectors for its lack of a security perimeter, broken security cameras and a lack of records showing whether officers conducted daily inmate counts, The Associated Press has learned. The male inmates who escaped overpowered two female corrections officers at the Gallia County Jail near the southern tip of Ohio using a handmade shank early Sunday. A report by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction after an inspection in December obtained by the AP said the jail was at double its capacity of 21 inmates and overall had failed to comply with 77 state standards.
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| 'Gigantic' iceberg breaks away from ice shelf in Antarctica Posted: 02 Oct 2019 01:38 PM PDT  A colossal iceberg roughly the size of Los Angeles or Sydney, Australia, and weighing an estimated 347 billion tons broke off from the Amery Ice Shelf in Antarctica last week.The 630-square-mile iceberg, named D28, separated from the ice shelf on September 26, next to a location scientists had been watching for nearly 20 years. The area was known as the "Loose Tooth," because it appeared to be barely hanging on to the ice shelf in recent years."We first noticed a rift at the front of the ice shelf in the early 2000s and predicted a large iceberg would break off between 2010-2015," said Helen Amanda Fricker, one of the lead researchers on the team studying D28, said in a statement from the Australian government's Antarctic division.The Antarctic division also released stunning aerial footage showing the "gigantic" hunk of ice that until last week had been hanging on by a thread. Below is a video animation made from satellite imagery showing the moment the break-away iceberg split from the Amery Ice Shelf.> A 1600 km² iceberg broke off Amery Ice Shelf, as seen in @CopernicusEU Sentinel-1 radar images. This part, coined the "Loose Tooth" by @helenafricker and colleagues, has been hanging by a thread since 2002 (https://t.co/IUhXDCWOFF) and finally gave way last week.@sentinel_hub pic.twitter.com/GG60Sk52GB> > -- Bert Wouters (@bert_polar) September 30, 2019The GIF shows the iceberg rotating westward, apparently pushed by the prevailing easterly winds, which reached speeds of 40 mph, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Jim Andrews."The calving will not directly affect sea level, because the ice shelf was already floating, much like an ice cube in a glass of water," Dr. Galton-Fenzi said in the statement released by the Australian Arctic division.However, Fenzi said scientists are interested to see if the loss of ice will influence the ocean melting under the remaining ice shelf and the speed at which the ice flows off the continent.Amery is the third-largest ice shelf in Antarctica, and is a key drainage channel for the east of the continent -- a closely-watched piece of real estate that researchers have been studying since the 1960s.Currently, there are instruments deployed on the ice measuring the impact of ocean melt and ice flow. "We don't think this event is linked to climate change, it's part of the ice shelf's normal cycle, where we see major calving events every 60 to 70 years," Fricker said.If the calving isn't linked to climate change, then what should people make of it? "I like to think of it as being akin to our fingernails -- they grow and break off -- at least if we don't keep them clipped," Andrews said.
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| Junior Partner at Silicon Valley Law Firm DLA Piper: Boss Sexually Assaulted Me 4 Times, Company Ignored It Posted: 02 Oct 2019 10:19 AM PDT  Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/GettyVanina Guerrero first immigrated to the U.S. from Colombia when she was 4 years old. Decades later—after cleaning offices, scrubbing toilets, attending college, graduating from law school, and mastering five languages—she was hired at top-grossing law firm DLA Piper.That's when her nightmare began, she says.Guerrero was hired as a junior partner in the multinational firm's Silicon Valley corporate practice in September 2018.By the end of November that year, Guerrero says she had endured four sexual assaults by her boss: one in Shanghai, one in Brazil, one in Chicago, and one in Palo Alto. "During my entire career I was known for my intellect, tenacity and confidence," Guerrero wrote in an open letter to the firm on Wednesday. "In less than nine months at DLA Piper... I became a shell of my former self."After allegedly complaining to top brass at the firm for months, Guerrero filed a report late Tuesday in San Jose, California, with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The report names DLA Piper, the $2.84-billion firm with lawyers in more than 40 countries that in 2010 famously represented Paul Ceglia—the wood-pellet salesman who allegedly tried to defraud Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.The complaint also names a senior partner at the firm's Silicon Valley office who, according to the complaint, recruited Guerrero. As part of his pitch, the partner allegedly told Guerrero that she was a "star" and that he expected her to soon outpace him. He told her "you'll be my boss soon," according to the complaint.Guerrero's EEOC filing alleges gender discrimination—including quid pro quo and hostile-environment sexual harassment—as well as retaliation."I went from working in Hong Kong as general counsel and the top female executive at a global tech company to being abused by [the partner]," Guerrero wrote in her open letter issued Wednesday, in which she asked to be voluntarily released from mandatory arbitration. Her letter also claims that, outside of forced arbitration, she would be able to file civil claims against the partner for assault, battery, and sexual harassment.Guerrero's complaint alleges that the partner's behavior was "common knowledge among employees, including other partners in the Palo Alto office" who refused to remedy the situation. She names at least three other senior male partners who were aware of the allegations against the partner for months and "opted to marginalize what happened and horrifically—did nothing."One of those partners, the complaint states, "bluntly told Ms. Guerrero that she was lying and that this was clearly a case of 'he said, she said'" and then "fabricated a reason to remove Ms. Guerrero from a valued account just days after learning specific details about her claims regarding Mr. [the partner]."> In a statement to The Daily Beast, the law firm said: "We are aware of these allegations by one of our partners and take them seriously. As soon as we were notified of the allegations, we took appropriate steps to investigate them. This process is ongoing and we continue to seek Ms. de Verneuil's cooperation in our investigation."* * *Shanghai, Brazil, Chicago, and Palo Alto* * *The partner "regularly throws temper tantrums in and out of the office," involving yelling, cursing, and clenched fists, the complaint states.Once on a trip to Shanghai, the partner asked Guerrero to come up to his hotel room to discuss business, drank several glasses of wine, and offered her a foot massage, the EEOC complaint alleges. "Before she knew what was happening, he had her lying down on the couch with his body next to her, physically hugging and groping her," according to the complaint. "Upset and in shock, Ms. Guerrero told him 'no' and ran out of the room.""In panic and disbelief about what he had done, Ms. Guerrero stayed silent because she naively thought that [the partner] would stop future advances," the complaint states.The following week, on a flight to Brazil, the partner bumped himself and Guerrero up to business class and revealed his feelings for her, the report claims.Before the plane landed, Guerrero said she was crying in the bathroom. That night, according to Guerrero, the partner told her that he upgraded his room at the hotel so that the two could work there more comfortably and that two male associates on the trip would not be joining them for dinner. At a "romantic restaurant," without the other two male associates present, the partner "attempted to tell her things about his personal life" while she claims she tried to steer the conversation toward work, the complaint allegesGuerrero eventually "became so upset at the predicament that she was in and [the partner]'s obvious intent to relentlessly pursue her that she sobbed uncontrollably and they had to leave the restaurant," the complaint states. "Back at the hotel, undeterred and seeing her in a vulnerable state, [the partner] insisted that she go to his room for a drink."Then, according to the complaint, he repeated the same routine as he had in Shanghai. "Trapped, in distress, and aware of his temper, Ms. Guerrero believed the best way to protect herself was to allow his physical assault rather than fight back," the report alleges.The alleged assaults "directly impacted her performance and caused Ms. Guerrero to forfeit opportunities that she otherwise would not have missed," including opting out of at least four subsequent business trips with the partner in order to avoid further assault and harassment, according to the complaint.On another trip, in Chicago, the partner told Guerrero he needed to "work with her in his room" and again "jumped on" her, forcibly putting his hands on her neck while kissing her and playing with the zipper of his pants, according to the complaint. "I don't want to wait anymore. Look, the bed is right there, Let's have an affair," he allegedly said. Guerrero alleges that when she pushed him off, the partner asked, "Then why did I even come to Chicago? I introduced you to the powerful partners already."In November 2018 in Palo Alto, the partner threw a party at his home, during which he pushed "a never-ending supply of alcohol into [Guerrero's] hands," the report alleges. When they were in the kitchen alone, he grabbed her by the waist and "tried to kiss and rub against her," the report states.Guerrero "screamed, pushed him off her, and yelled for him to stop," according to the complaint. "Scared he would force himself on her, she begged and pleaded with [the partner] to stop."She kept yelling "Leave me alone!" but the partner "physically tried to prevent Ms. Guerrero from leaving his house, including by grabbing her wrists to hold her back," the report alleges.The next day, the partner allegedly told her he'd spent the "entire night sobbing because of the way she had rejected and treated him."* * *"Petrified"* * *Over the course of 10 months, Guerrero was "repeatedly forced to reject [his] advances, only to experience [the partner]'s unlawful retaliation," the complaint claims. "Less than a year after starting at DLA Piper, Ms. Guerrero's projected career path was in shatters." For months, according to Guerrero's complaint, she was "afraid to tell anyone" about the partner's alleged conduct, which included "manipulative badgering and belittling," "outbursts," "shunning," and "extreme and unwarranted jealousy," the report claims."I was petrified to believe what was happening to me, much less tell anyone," Guerrero wrote in her letter. "[The partner] controls my work and my ability to advance. When I dared to tell him to stop, [he] would refuse to speak to me for weeks, threaten to take me off of client deals, and accuse me of underperformance."But eventually, word got out that something was going on. The partner told Guerrero that there were "rumors" in the office of an affair between them and that Guerrero made male clients and other lawyers "uncomfortable" because of the way that she dressed and her "sexual appeal," according to the EEOC report.After one rejection, the partner allegedly "threatened her job, position, at the firm, and compensation, and told her that their working relationship would never be the same."By June 2019, Guerrero was hospitalized for severe intestinal problems, and physicians referred her to therapists, gastrointestinal specialists, and a social worker, according to the complaint. Later that summer, after more alleged bullying from the partner, Guerrero landed back in urgent care after a panic attack and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder."I speak five languages," Guerrero wrote in her letter. "I worked as a successful corporate lawyer for top global companies on Wall Street, and in Paris, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tanzania and India. I excelled and thrived, even in these male dominated spaces.""Only after joining DLA Piper's Silicon Valley practice and being subjected to [the partner]'s unlawful behavior, have I suffered such humiliation and harm simply because of my gender," she added."No female working at DLA Piper... should be forced to litigate claims involving sexual assault and battery or sexual harassment by male lawyers in secret," Guerrero wrote. "Female employees at DLA Piper deserve to know about what happened."Biden's Note to Stanford Rape Victim Chanel Miller: 'I See You'Yale Professor Lured Students to Caribbean Island to 'Molest' Them, Investigation FindsThis story has been updated to include DLA Piper's comment on the allegations.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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| Trump berates reporter, refuses to answer question about Ukraine and Biden Posted: 02 Oct 2019 12:55 PM PDT  At a press conference with the president of Finland, President Trump berated Reuters reporter Jeff Mason and refused to answer a question about what he wanted the Ukrainian president to do regarding former Vice President Joe Biden.
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| Perilous times for Trump: By 45%-38%, Americans support impeaching him over Ukraine allegations, poll finds Posted: 03 Oct 2019 07:45 AM PDT  In perilous times: Americans are now inclined to support impeaching President Trump and removing him from office, a USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll finds.
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| India-Pakistan nuclear war could kill 100 million Posted: 02 Oct 2019 06:30 PM PDT  The year is 2025 and militants have attacked India's parliament, killing most of its leaders. New Delhi retaliates by sending tanks into the part of Kashmir controlled by Pakistan. Fearing it will be overrun, Islamabad hits the invading forces with its battlefield nuclear weapons, triggering the deadliest conflict in history -- and catastrophic global cooling, with temperatures not seen since the last Ice Age.
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| China's Robot Submarines Could Be the Ultimate Underwater Spy Posted: 02 Oct 2019 11:45 PM PDT  How worried should Asia and America be?
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| ACLU challenges deportation of man to El Salvador Posted: 03 Oct 2019 09:56 AM PDT ![ACLU challenges deportation of man to El Salvador]( "ACLU challenges deportation of man to El Salvador") The American Civil Liberties Union is demanding that the federal government return a Salvadoran man to the United States after he was deported despite a court order allowing him to remain here. In its brief filed Wednesday, the ACLU of New Hampshire said that José Daniel Guerra-Castañeda was deported last month by U.S. Immigration and Enforcement to El Salvador and is in a crowded jail there. A federal judge in Boston ruled last month that Guerra-Castañeda could remain in the United States to fight deportation efforts over an alleged murder he committed in El Salvador.
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| Police Crack Down on Vaping, Surfacing Stockpiles of Illicit Cartridges Posted: 02 Oct 2019 03:01 PM PDT  The tip came to Minnesota police officers in July via a confidential informant: In a suburb in Anoka County, the informant said, a man had been quietly selling thousands of vaping cartridges laced with marijuana from his home.When authorities entered the man's condominium last week, they found a staggeringly large stash of vaping cartridges, believed to be one of the biggest busts in the country. Close to 29,000 cartridges were tucked away inside a Cadillac Escalade. Another 30,000 were stacked in a garage. Some were packaged in black boxes with colorful lettering, cheerful images of Fred Flintstone and names of candylike flavors like mai tai, strawberry shortcake and Fruity Pebbles.They were the sorts of vaping products that have been identified as possible culprits in a perplexing lung illness that has sickened at least 800 people across the country and killed at least 16.As health officials grapple with a public health crisis they are struggling to understand, police departments are in the midst of a swift crackdown on vaping products containing THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. In the Phoenix area, authorities recently raided three homes over eight days, seizing hundreds of THC cartridges at each. In Wisconsin, detectives arrested two young brothers accused of running a large-scale THC cartridge assembly operation inside a condo. And in Nebraska, sheriff's deputies found a stash of cartridges in a car parked at a truck stop.Until recently, some police departments busy fighting a national opioid epidemic had considered illegal vaping products a nuisance, but not a lethal threat. Police departments had taken small steps to root out illegal cartridges, but as more teenagers and young adults have begun vaping THC, sometimes with deadly consequences, authorities say they are now paying close attention."It's become an absolute priority," said Sheriff Paul Penzone of Maricopa County, Arizona, where deputies have made undercover purchases from vaping cartridge dealers and tried to disrupt a sprawling supply chain.The effort to crack down on illicit vaping products has been laden with complications. Police say they have been stunned by the growth in popularity and variety of vaping devices. Enforcement can be difficult because vaping THC is not accompanied by the distinctive -- and often incriminating -- smell of marijuana. And police officers have had to learn the difference between vaping cartridges for THC, which are illegal for recreational use in most states, and devices for vaping nicotine, which are legally sold at many drugstores and gas stations.Authorities are also still tracing a vast and shadowy distribution network in which empty cartridges are filled with THC-laced liquid in "pen factories," packaged with boxes available online and often shipped across state lines in trucks or rental cars."It is something we're trying to get our hands around," said L.J. Fusaro, the chief of police in Groton, Connecticut, where officers confiscated 435 THC cartridges in a bust this year. "As of late, it's really become of interest to law enforcement because of the harm that's come to folks, particularly our youth."In August, Illinois health officials announced the first vaping-related death in the nation. In the weeks after, more deaths in Kansas, California and Indiana were tied to the ailment, and that number has continued to grow. Illicit THC-filled vaping cartridges with labels like "Dank Vapes" could be culprits, according to health officials, but it is still unknown what is making people ill.In police circles, efforts have turned to trying to get a handle on the universe of vaping products -- a wide, disparate array of sources of cartridges and a murky and fragmented distribution network for them.Law enforcement officials have found a flourishing black market of vaping cartridges that are made in small operations, often in a house or apartment. The cartridges are filled with THC oil and often diluted with substances that are dangerous to inhale, like vitamin E acetate, one of the products that health officials suspect has caused lung damage. Then they are sold on the street or online for roughly $20 each.In recent years, police have sometimes struggled to classify vaping materials in official reports and to decide which criminal charges should apply to them."We started recognizing it as commanders from across the state were calling us, trying to figure out how to report them to us, because they didn't fit into a category," said Brian Marquart, the statewide gang and drug coordinator at the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.Authorities have tracked down illegal vaping operations through elaborate police investigation -- but also fortuitous traffic stops.In Indiana, 50,000 cartridges worth $1 million were found on a box truck traveling from California to Indianapolis after the driver was pulled over in March for following another vehicle too closely. In Nebraska, the State Patrol has netted three seizures of illegal vaping products in recent weeks, including the discovery of thousands of THC cartridges in the bed of a white pickup truck that made an improper lane change west of Lincoln.Some boxes of cartridges have been found in plain sight -- a reflection, perhaps, of the relative newness of efforts to crack down on THC cartridges and of states' differing laws on marijuana."It's not like it's unmarked and heat-sealed and hidden in a false compartment," Capt. Jason Scott of the Nebraska State Patrol said. "It's usually just right out in the open."Other cases have involved lengthy and intense investigations. In the Minnesota case, an undercover officer from a drug task force bought vaping products from Valentin V. Andonii, 22, then followed him to his home, leading to the discovery of nearly 77,000 cartridges.Alyssa Jones, a lawyer for Andonii, declined to comment on two felony drug charges her client faces, each of which could carry a 30-year prison term if he is convicted.Federal officials have also targeted illegal vaping, though local and state law enforcement agencies said they have mostly been operating on their own. In Ohio, three people were indicted in May after Drug Enforcement Administration agents found thousands of THC vaping cartridges. And last year in North Carolina, federal agents arrested a man accused of selling a synthetic marijuana vaping product.The threat of THC-laced vaping cartridges still pales in comparison to the pervasive presence of opioids, which killed more than 47,000 people in overdoses in 2017. Some police departments may have been so busy battling heroin, fentanyl and other drugs that they did not view THC vaping as a threat until very recently."Honestly, I think we kind of missed the boat a little bit because we've been dealing with opioids," said Fusaro of the Groton, Connecticut, police. "In some respects, we didn't see this coming."In places like Phoenix, where Penzone's deputies recently confiscated 1,100 cartridges, there is a growing sense of just how pervasive illegal vaping has become and just how hard it will be to choke off the supply."Through e-cartridges, we now have a pathway where our children can ingest literally any drug," Penzone said. "That creates a whole new challenge for us that we've never seen in the past."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| Satellite images show activity around Iranian-flagged tanker Posted: 03 Oct 2019 01:04 AM PDT  Satellite images released on Thursday show that a once-detained Iranian-flagged oil tanker sitting off the coast of Syria has been approached by a smaller Iranian tanker, an indication the ship could be preparing to transfer its cargo. Images released by Maxar Technologies show the Jasmine alongside the Adrian Darya 1 on Wednesday, with mooring lines between them and a crane deployed on the larger vessel. The Adrian Darya 1, formerly named the Grace 1, was detained off the British overseas territory of Gibraltar in July while carrying $130 million in crude oil, on suspicion of breaking European Union sanctions by taking the oil to Syria.
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| After terrifying ICE raid, Mississippi is still fighting back Posted: 03 Oct 2019 04:12 PM PDT  Families are still separated, and lawyers are still pushing back against slanted justice system
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| See Photos of the 2020 BMW 840i Gran Coupe Posted: 02 Oct 2019 09:59 AM PDT |
| Professor: Trump Must Resign or ‘Dangerous Individuals’ Will ‘Kill and Maim’ Posted: 03 Oct 2019 02:12 PM PDT  A professor at Georgia Southern University has declared that "people have already died" because of Donald Trump -- adding that the media must pressure him to resign or else "dangerous individuals" will "kill and maim."A linguistics and writing professor, Jared Yates Sexton, made the comments on Twitter on Saturday, and screenshots of them were obtained by Campus Reform.According to Sexton, the media "must push against that impulse to juice impeachment for profit," and start pressuring Trump to resign instead -- or else a bunch of bloodthirsty maniacs will be the end of us all."Trump is going to try everything, Fox is going to try everything, and they're going to both further the injuring of societal reality and inspire dangerous individuals to kill and maim," he stated."There's a vast number of people in this, people who have been taught their whole lives that they might need to kill in case of a coup or corrupt takeover," Sexton continued. "Trump and Republicans signal to them constantly. They're more than ready to see this as the occasion."Sexton then reiterated the need for the media to "assert pressure" on Trump "to resign so we can avoid this story going to a place that risks lives.""People have already died," he stated. "More will if this crisis isn't dismantled carefully."Now, Campus Reform later interviewed Sexton, and his comments there perhaps (and only perhaps) seem like a bit (but only a bit) of a walkback from his original tweets -- although he certainly did double down on his view that Trump is "dangerous." In the interview, though, Sexton clarified that he doesn't believe that people will "die simply because Trump remains in office," but that he does "believe there is a danger in President Trump and Republicans continually mentioning coups and civil wars as history, both recent and past, shows that individuals do kill when rhetoric like this permeates media.""For instance, Dylann Roof's killings were predicated by radicalizing propaganda that told him he must take his country back," he told the news source.(President Obama, not Trump, was in office at the time of Roof's murders.)"My concern is that the President has obviously committed impeachable offenses and that the fight over impeachment, considering there [are] already calls for a civil war, will be dangerous for Americans," Sexton continued.Okay. First of all, let me just say that I am certainly not someone who thinks that Donald Trump is perfect. For example, as a pro-immigration libertarian, I couldn't agree less with his views on that issue -- such as his desire to spend taxpayer money building a wall (no matter how "beautiful" he assures me it would be). What's more, I believe that he's said things that warrant criticism, and have not been hesitant to offer my own. In fact, like Sexton, I was also bothered by his tweet predicting that there would be a "Civil War" should he be impeached.Here's the difference, though: Despite having my own issues and concerns regarding the president, I have always managed to remain at least hinged in my criticism of him. For example: I have never even insinuated that he was a murderer, as Sexton did in his tweets. Now, of course, it's been easy for me to refrain from doing so -- because I myself happen to find such statements to be patently ridiculous and rooted in hysteria and prejudgments rather than in fact. For example (as I discussed in my column yesterday) last spring, CNN, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Post, and Vox all ran stories on a single study reporting a 226 percent increase in hate-related incidents in connection to Trump's rallies. Without looking into context or alternative explanations for the numbers, Democratic politicians from Representative Ilhan Omar to Senator Bernie Sanders weighed in to use the study as unequivocal evidence that Trump's rhetoric was absolutely causing hatred and violence. When reporters for Reason looked into the numbers, however, they found that Hillary Clinton actually had an even higher increase in hate incidents related to her rallies -- ultimately concluding that the increase that had been categorically blamed on rhetoric was actually more than likely due to the fact that politicians often choose to hold rallies in larger cities, where "the raw number of crimes is generally mechanically higher."All things considered, people like Sexton may want to contemplate being more measured in their own rhetoric when discussing Trump's presidency -- not for me, not for Trump or his supporters, but for themselves. Aside from the fact that a Trump resignation is quite obviously never going to happen under any circumstances (seriously, I'd bet my cat against it) speaking in clear, hysterical hyperbole is never the way to win anyone over to anything. Although it may energize the hard Left, talk of Trump being a murderer or "literally Hitler" or the like sounds like overblown nonsense to everyone else. The problem, of course, with people hearing you spew what they consider to be nonsense is that they're going to be far more likely to write you off even when you may have a legitimate point. What's more, that sort of talk makes Trump supporters further view the president as a victim, constantly being scourged with the lashes of outrageous allegations. You may be trying to push people away from Trump, but all you end up doing is pushing his supporters further toward him.
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| Taiwan warns Chinese could be barred entry over anti-HK violence Posted: 02 Oct 2019 05:31 PM PDT  Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen warned Thursday that mainland Chinese who attacked Hong Kongers or damaged "Lennon Walls" could be barred from the island following a recent spate of such incidents. The walls plastered in colourful sticky-notes, posters and slogans that have sprung up across Hong Kong have also been set up in Taiwan, mostly in university campuses. Taiwan held a Hong Kong solidarity rally last weekend which was largely peaceful, although Hong Kong popstar Denise Ho -- a staunch democracy advocate -- had red paint thrown at her by an unidentified assailant as she spoke to local media.
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| The B-2 Bomber Has More Firepower Than an Aircraft Carrier Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:50 AM PDT  Could the B-2 stealth bomber be the most dangerous plane ever built?
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| Florida man shot and killed son-in-law in case of mistaken identity, sheriff says Posted: 03 Oct 2019 04:34 PM PDT  A Florida man will not face charges after authorities said he shot and killed his son-in-law who had flown from Norway as a birthday surprise.
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| Biden invests in an insurance policy against Warren’s surge Posted: 03 Oct 2019 02:00 AM PDT  Joe Biden's campaign is ramping up its investment in Super Tuesday states, anticipating a Democratic race that narrows to two candidates by early March. The increase in staffing across the 14 states that will vote March 3 comes as Biden's polling figures have declined and Elizabeth Warren's have surged, particularly in states like Iowa and New Hampshire where she's heavily invested in field organization. Many of the states on the Super Tuesday map — which includes a handful of Southern and Border states — play to his strengths among African-American voters and more moderate Democrats.
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| Fate of Georgia ex-cop who shot naked man is in jury’s hands Posted: 03 Oct 2019 10:56 AM PDT  Shortly after arriving, he killed 26-year-old Anthony Hill, an Air Force veteran, who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and PTSD. The charges against Olsen include two counts of felony murder, two counts of violation of oath of office, and one count each of aggravated assault and making a false statement. Prosecutor Pete Johnson told jurors it's unreasonable to believe that Olsen, who was bigger than Hill and had multiple weapons, was afraid of the unarmed, naked man and justified in using deadly force.
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| France Wants to Harvest Facebook Data to Catch Tax Fraudsters Posted: 02 Oct 2019 02:59 AM PDT ![France Wants to Harvest Facebook Data to Catch Tax Fraudsters]( "France Wants to Harvest Facebook Data to Catch Tax Fraudsters") (Bloomberg) -- French President Emmanuel Macron is planning to give tax authorities the power to harvest data from Facebook, Instagram and other social media to help detect fraud.The government wants parliament to include an article in the 2020 budget law granting the new powers to officials from the tax and customs administrations. The state will also screen online market places like EBay Inc., Vinted, or Le Bon Coin as part of a trial program that is slated to run for three years."This is not about searching your personal data," Budget Minister Gerald Darmanin said on LCI television Wednesday. "This is about some people who are trying to dodge taxes."He said the government was ready to see the article amended by lawmakers but he hopes it will be maintained.Macron's administration is pushing ahead with the plan despite the objections of the national privacy regulator. The Paris-based organization said on Sept. 30 that the plan marks a step change in the government's use of personal data."This mechanism presents very particular challenges from the point of view of freedoms, given the impact of the mechanism on privacy and its possible effects on freedom of expression online," it said.France is not the first country to screen social media for tax reasons. In 2018, the U.K. authorities started to gather internet data for the same purposes.Under the French plan, data will initially remain on state servers for 30 days and will be retained for up to a year where there is a suspicion of fraud, the government said Tuesday.France's National Assembly will start reviewing the budget law on Oct. 14.To contact the reporter on this story: Helene Fouquet in Paris at hfouquet1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Geraldine AmielFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Fish-hunting 'iron dragon' soared over Australia in age of dinosaurs Posted: 03 Oct 2019 08:02 AM PDT ![Fish-hunting 'iron dragon' soared over Australia in age of dinosaurs]( "Fish-hunting 'iron dragon' soared over Australia in age of dinosaurs") A winged beast dubbed the "iron dragon" soared above Australia during the age of dinosaurs, hunting fish in rivers and lakes, according to scientists who found that continent's most complete fossil representing the flying reptiles called pterosaurs. Paleontologists on Thursday said fossils of the pterosaur, named Ferrodraco lentoni, were unearthed in the Australian state of Queensland. The creature, which lived about 96 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period, boasted a 13-foot (4-meter) wingspan, a bony crest at the tip of its upper and lower jaws and spike-shaped teeth perfect for a diet of fish.
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| Judge Pressures Prosecutors to Decide Whether to Pursue a Case Against McCabe Posted: 02 Oct 2019 05:00 AM PDT  WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department has come under increasing pressure in its investigation of the former deputy FBI director Andrew G. McCabe, as a federal judge threatened to release internal department records unless prosecutors decide whether to move forward with or abandon the politically charged case.Judge Reggie B. Walton of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, who is presiding over a lawsuit over FBI documents related to McCabe's firing last year, said at a hearing on Monday that he would soon begin releasing them. The Justice Department has argued that the materials should stay confidential while prosecutors investigate McCabe over whether he lied to internal investigators about dealings with the news media."You all have got to cut and make your decision," Walton said, according to a transcript. "It's not a hard decision, and I think it needs to be made. If it's not made, I'm going to start ordering the release of information because I think our society, our public, does have a right to know what's going on."McCabe, long a target of President Donald Trump's, was the subject of a scathing report by the Justice Department inspector general's office that faulted him for violating media policy and repeatedly misleading its investigators. They were asking about an October 2016 Wall Street Journal article about an investigation into the Clinton Foundation. McCabe, working through the FBI press office, had authorized a spokesman and a bureau lawyer to speak to a reporter to rebut allegations that he had slowed the inquiry.McCabe was fired in March 2018, hours before retirement benefits would have kicked in, and the inspector general referred his findings to federal prosecutors in Washington a month later.Walton's stern warning came as prosecutors grappled with whether to bring charges in what is a seemingly straightforward case with a limited set of facts and witnesses that has been under investigation for 19 months."This matter is a high-profile matter," Walton said. He added that as long as prosecutors hold off on deciding how to proceed, they "undermine the credibility not only of the Justice Department because it's not making these hard decisions, but also the court."McCabe's lawyers have argued that the case is weak and that he is being singled out because of the president's disdain for him. Trump has relentlessly attacked McCabe, potentially complicating any prosecution. McCabe has said the president targeted him to undermine his standing as a witness to whether he obstructed justice in the Russia inquiry.In August, McCabe's lawyers met with Jeffrey A. Rosen, the deputy attorney general, to make a last-ditch appeal for prosecutors to drop the case. Their pleas were rebuffed, and an indictment appeared imminent. But the grand jury hearing the case reconvened last month after weeks without meeting but did not indict McCabe, raising questions about whether prosecutors delayed a vote by jurors to avoid a rare and embarrassing setback of their declining to hand up an indictment.Other setbacks have emerged for the government. One prosecutor on the case left the Justice Department and has said it lacked merit while another left on what seemed like the eve of a possible indictment.A key witness in the case -- Lisa Page, the former FBI lawyer whom McCabe authorized to speak to the Wall Street Journal reporter -- also told the grand jury that he was not motivated to lie about the episode because he was authorized to speak with reporters and thus did not violate media policy. Her sympathetic testimony to McCabe would most likely be a problem for prosecutors.Another important witness who testified before the grand jury, Michael Kortan, the spokesman involved in the episode, could not immediately remember how the leak unfolded.Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a government watchdog group, sued in July 2018 for the records related to McCabe's dismissal. The organization is seeking access to investigators' notes taken during Kortan's interview, which could be exculpatory to McCabe, the group's lawyer, Anne Weismann, argued during the hearing."We're in dark times," she told the judge, saying that growing evidence showed that Trump was abusing his powers to go after perceived enemies in the intelligence and law enforcement communities. McCabe, she said, was "swept up in that."The judge seemed to acknowledge her point, noting that Trump was "going after the courts, too." He later added, "I totally appreciate what you just said and share many of the same concerns that you have expressed."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| Spokesman defends dishevelled Duterte as 'very hygienic' Posted: 03 Oct 2019 06:11 AM PDT  President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman on Thursday defended the Philippine leader as "very hygienic" and nice-smelling after he was mocked on social media for looking dishevelled in a meeting with the Russian prime minister. The 74-year-old Duterte was in Russia on a working visit and sat down for the talks with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday. In pictures of the meeting, Duterte was seen in a rumpled suit with his tie hanging loose as the two posed for pictures and shook hands.
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| The Army Wants Killer Electromagnetic Pulse Artillery Shells Posted: 02 Oct 2019 07:00 PM PDT  A sci-fi fantasy?
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| Score a New Laptop on Sale Around Microsoft’s Fall Event Posted: 02 Oct 2019 06:41 AM PDT |
| The Catholic Church and Boy Scouts are lobbying against child abuse statutes. This is their playbook Posted: 02 Oct 2019 05:46 AM PDT  The Catholic Church and Boy Scouts oppose legislation that would give child abuse survivors more time to sue. Both groups wield unique influence.
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| Joe Biden’s Gun-Control Plan Is a Constitutional Disaster Posted: 02 Oct 2019 12:22 PM PDT  This morning, Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden unveiled his "Plan to End Our Gun Violence Epidemic," and it's a mess. It contains provisions that would bankrupt gun manufacturers for the crime of selling fully functional, legal firearms. It would ban the sale of the most popular rifles in America and the standard-capacity magazines made for America's most commonly used handguns. Oh, and to incentivize a voluntary buyback of existing "assault weapons," it would grant the owners of such weapons a choice: sell your rifle to the government or join a firearms registry.Put simply, Biden's plan would leave law-abiding citizens outgunned in their own homes by predatory criminals, and place virtually every gun-maker at risk of financial ruin. This is what Democratic "moderation" looks like?Biden begins his plan by pledging to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, a 2005 law that was designed to shield gun-makers from liability for "harm solely caused by the criminal or unlawful misuse of firearm products or ammunition products by others when the product functioned as designed and intended." This is a solid basic principle. If a terrorist uses an SUV in a ramming attack or puts a bomb in a van, it's not the automaker's fault. Why should it be the gun-maker's fault if if an evil man uses a lawful product unlawfully?It shouldn't be. Yet there are all too many Americans (and American judges, especially in state courts) who view the manufacture and sale of guns as morally suspect, and of so-called assault weapons as inherently illegitimate. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act stands as a firewall against activist litigation designed to put gun companies out of business. Biden would destroy that firewall.What of his proposed assault-weapons ban? Let's be clear — what the Biden plan calls "weapons of war" are not the weapons that our soldiers carry into combat. Instead, AR-style rifles are among the most popular civilian firearms in the United States. They are extraordinarily useful for self-defense, and they're rarely used to commit crimes. (Indeed, rifles more broadly are used to kill fewer people than blunt objects or hands and feet.) Yes, they have been used in several high-profile mass killings, but there's no meaningful evidence indicating that banning them would decrease mass shootings. In fact, they've been used in mass shootings in states that already ban them.Taken together, Biden's bans on the sales of assault weapons and the magazines that come standard with millions of popular rifles and handguns would create the perverse result of placing law-abiding Americans at a distinct disadvantage in defending themselves from criminals. With hundreds of millions of magazines already in circulation, the foreseeable threat comes from a criminal armed with just such a magazine. That's one reason why police officers carry equivalent weapons. It's one reason why bans on standard-capacity magazines tend to contain exceptions for law-enforcement officers. But if police can protect themselves from common domestic threats, why can't my family?Biden wants to give existing assault-weapon owners a choice: Sell your weapon to the government or register it with the government. But we know registration is a failed policy, one that's routinely met with massive public indifference. It's estimated that as many as 1 million New Yorkers have defied the Empire State's assault-weapon-registration law, and as many as 85 percent of Connecticut assault-weapon owners have flouted the Nutmeg State's registration requirement. A California registration requirement has had compliance rates as low as 3.6 percent. If states are the laboratories of democracy, then registration is a lab experiment that's failed.Biden's proposal also contains now-standard calls for universal background checks and his own hobby-horse, so-called smart guns that present enormous technological and practical challenges, including challenges that could hamper their use in self-defense, when innocent lives are on the line. And while I support properly drafted "red flag" laws, I have little confidence in the due-process protections that a Biden administration would endorse.There are good elements to Biden's proposal. Stricter enforcement of laws prohibiting straw purchases would be a welcome way of cracking down on a method we know criminals use to obtain guns. Forwarding failed background-check requests to law enforcement could deter individuals who know they're prohibited purchasers from attempting to slip through cracks in the system. But the heart of the plan is a direct attack on the gun industry and on the inherent right to self-defense of America's law-abiding citizens.One final note: While it's important to highlight the injustice of Biden's proposals, it's also worth mentioning that draconian Democratic gun-control proposals are partly the fault of a Supreme Court that has been woefully delinquent in taking and deciding Second Amendment cases. We cannot expect the Court to rapidly develop a body of case law as rich and detailed as its First Amendment jurisprudence, but we have a reasonable right to expect it to definitively decide whether the government can, in fact, ban the nation's most popular firearms and most widely used magazines.Until that question is answered, though, our body politic will continue to confront a series of escalating Democratic gun-control proposals. Those proposals will have virtually no chance of passing at the federal level. But they'll still demonstrate the vast, growing cultural and political divide over American gun rights.
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| More benefits planned for some Oklahoma death row inmates Posted: 03 Oct 2019 08:58 AM PDT  OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Some of the 44 death row inmates housed at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester will soon be moved from the prisons maximum-security H-Unit to another unit to give them more benefits and access to the outdoors, the states new prisons boss said. In a letter released by the agency on Thursday, the Department of Corrections Interim Executive Director Scott Crow told officials with the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma that the agency plans to move qualifying inmates to its less restrictive A-Unit by the end of October. The ACLU had threatened legal action over what it says are potential constitutional violations of the rights of death row inmates, mostly by confining them to their cells for 23 hours per day.
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| Botham Jean's father: I forgive Amber Guyger but I wanted stiffer sentence Posted: 03 Oct 2019 03:05 PM PDT  * Bertrum Jean: 'I don't want to see her rot in prison' * Botham's brother Brandt hugged Guyger in emotional scenesBertrum Jean, the father of Botham Jean, said on Thursday he wished his son's killer had received a stiffer sentence. But he also said he agreed with his surviving son Brandt, who amid extraordinary scenes in court in Dallas on Wednesday offered forgiveness to former police officer Amber Guyger."I felt the same way as Brandt," Bertrum Jean told CNN. "I wish I could've extended that same courtesy … I don't want to see her rot in hell. I don't want to see her rot in prison."Guyger shot Botham Jean dead last September, after entering his apartment thinking, she said, it was hers on a lower floor and he was a dangerous intruder. The 26-year-old accountant was sitting on his couch, eating ice cream.Guyger, 31, was fired by Dallas police. Convicted of murder, she received a 10-year sentence. The maximum sentence available was 99 years. Prosecutors had asked for 28 years, based on the age Jean would have attained had he been alive today.At the sentencing hearing on Wednesday, Brandt Jean, 18, told Guyger: "I forgive you … I don't even want you to go to jail. I want the best for you. Because I know that's exactly Botham would want you to do."He then asked permission to embrace Guyger, and did so. Film of the moment went viral. The judge in the case, Tammy Kemp, embraced Guyger and also gave her a Bible.Asked on CNN what allowed him and his son to be so forgiving, Bertrum Jean said: "That's what Christ would want us to do. If you will not forgive, neither will your Father forgive you."I don't want to see her rot in hell. I don't want to see her rot in prison. I hope this will help her to change and recognize the damage, the hurt that our family's going through."So I wish her well and I will pray for her family and pray for her as well."Asked about the sentencing, he said: "We expected a conviction, and I felt the sentence may not have been sufficient based on the crime. I think it could've been a little more. But the jury has spoken."Benjamin Crump, an attorney for the Jean family, said he had not seen anything similar in a courtroom."This was an extraordinary moment from an extraordinary family," he said. "They are a very godly family and what Mr Bertrum and Brandt were talking about was her internal grace, even though Alison, the mother, has expressed that there must be worldly consequences."Crump said the case was historic, as it was believed to be the first time a white female police officer has been convicted of murder for killing a black man.Further controversy was sparked, however, when it emerged that the judge, Tammy Kemps, also embraced Guyger after the jury had left, and gave her a copy of the Bible, recommending a verse.On Thursday, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a secular Wisconsin-based advocacy group that challenges religious displays in government, accused her of proselytizing from the bench. The group filed a complaint with a Texas state agency that investigates judicial misconduct.Meanwhile, like many others in recent years, the case sparked protests about police treatment of black Americans. Dallas county district attorney John Creuzot said he had expected a longer sentence but he respected the jury's decision.Bertrum Jean told CNN that Botham had been "a gentle giant, because of his size. But he was so soft. He just embraced everyone."The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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| Netanyahu weighing Likud leadership election: party spokesman Posted: 03 Oct 2019 09:04 AM PDT  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering a snap leadership vote in his Likud party, a spokesman said on Thursday, adding a new twist to Israeli politics after two deadlocked general elections this year. A leadership vote would give Netanyahu an opportunity to win a new mandate from his party after his failure to secure a parliamentary majority in national elections in April and last month left him politically weakened. In a statement, the party spokesman said Netanyahu was weighing the idea "to shatter the illusion of a Likud rebellion" against him and persuade any political rivals who might be anticipating one that they should join a unity government with him now.
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| Fox Host David Asman Fawns Over Trump for Attacking Wrong Paper for NYT’s Border Moat Story Posted: 02 Oct 2019 11:00 AM PDT  Minutes after President Donald Trump unleashed a lengthy and vicious attack against the wrong newspaper for reporting on his desire for snake-filled moats and the ability to shoot migrants at the border, Fox Business Network host David Asman gushed over the president's unhinged and false remarks.Serving Wednesday as the "One Lucky Guy" on Fox's daytime talk show Outnumbered, Asman immediately applauded Trump for railing against the media and Democrats while speaking to reporters at the White House."I think that there is a phrase he will hear a lot of from the president," Asman declared. "Who are you going to believe, you know that phrase, who are you going to believe? The fake media or me? Are you going to believe the Democrats, or are you going to believe me? Are you going to believe the rumor mill, the Beltway, or me in the transcripts?"Asman went on to say it is a good strategy for Trump to go after the Washington Post because they "have been caught several times with the news that did not turn out to be true." During his White House remarks, the president blasted the Post for first reporting that he pressed aides and officials to place a moat at the border "stocked with snakes and alligators" and that he told his staff to order soldiers to shoot migrants in the legs."That is the Trumpian way right now," the Fox Business host said.That story, however, first appeared in The New York Times, and is excerpted from an upcoming book by two of the paper's reporters."I think he feels he is winning," Asman noted later. He added: "The sense is that he feels like he is winning. He thinks he has a jump on the media, that he has a jump on the Democrats by releasing the information that he has to show discrepancies and so forth, that is just my sense here. We were talking about his speech at the U.N., which was very low-key, and then he gave a presser after that Wednesday, and he did seem to be down. I think that he has regained his energy somewhat."As for the president's claim that the report is "fake news," Fox News—along with several other outlets—confirmed key aspects of the Times story."A source who was in the room at the time confirmed the conversation about shooting migrants in the legs to Fox News late Tuesday," the network noted in its report.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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| Fairfax County, Va., cop suspended for turning individual over to ICE Posted: 02 Oct 2019 01:14 PM PDT  The Fairfax County, Va., Police Department has suspended an officer for detaining and turning the driver in an accident over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Saturday in violation of the department's policy not to assist ICE with civil enforcement.
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| Your History Book Missed It: Japan Started the Pearl Harbor Attack with Submarines Posted: 03 Oct 2019 03:47 AM PDT  An hour before the air attack, a squadron of tiny Japanese midget submarines attempted to slip into the harbor's defenses, like burglars in the night, to wreak havoc on Battleship Row. Unlike the aerial assault, the sailors failed spectacularly — and the story is often forgotten.
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