| 2020 Vision Thursday: How a tough impeachment vote could threaten the GOP's Senate majority Posted: 03 Oct 2019 09:14 AM PDT  For a small group of endangered GOP senators, their votes on impeachment may eventually decide their electoral fates — and control of the Senate itself.
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| Warren turns 'cougar' accusation into a talking point for her college debt plan Posted: 03 Oct 2019 02:03 PM PDT  Sen. Elizabeth Warren turned an unfounded personal attack into an opportunity to promote her college debt forgiveness plan.
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| Lou Dobbs Stands By as Joe diGenova Trashes His Colleague Chris Wallace Posted: 04 Oct 2019 12:53 PM PDT  Days after Fox News anchor Chris Wallace dropped a scoop that two frequent Fox guests—husband-wife lawyer team Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing—worked "off the books" with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani to dig up Ukrainian dirt on Joe Biden, the two attorneys roasted Wallace during a Fox Business Network appearance—and Trump-boosting host Lou Dobbs largely stood by.Appearing on Thursday night's broadcast of Lou Dobbs Tonight, the pro-Trump lawyers were asked about the Wallace report as well as the recent revelation that conservative columnist and Hannity regular John Solomon—who is at the center of the Ukraine-Biden mess—emailed them a completed copy of one of his Ukraine stories hours before it was published.Toensing, meanwhile, defended the email, claiming he was just sending them the entire draft for fact-checking purposes because that's what good journalists do. She also claimed that Solomon is being attacked "relentlessly" because he's getting "deep into the cases" surrounding Ukraine, something diGenova and Dobbs agreed on."Those attacks, it seems, multiplying as this impeachment inquiry gets hotter and hotter," Dobbs added before pivoting to Wallace's story, stating he wanted to "get this out of the way."Noting that he'd spoken to the Fox News anchor beforehand, Dobbs asked diGenova to respond to the report that the pair were working with Giuliani on Ukraine-Biden and only Trump knew about the plan."First of all, I don't know what 'off the books' means," diGenova insisted. "Chris did not explain it when he made his statement about us and it was clearly designed as a smear to make it sound like we were doing something improper or unethical."The frequent Dobbs guest went on to say that "this may come as a shock to" Wallace but the pair are lawyers and they've represented people all over the world, adding that they were once asked by Giuliani to possibly represent Ukrainian whistleblowers but that was the extent of any arrangement."We never went to the Ukraine," he exclaimed. "We never represented anybody. But somebody lied to Chris Wallace and said that we did and we told the president all about it, which is absolutely false."Toensing, for her part, jumped in to state that Wallace had called the pair and talked to them about it and that she went "off the record" with him, something Dobbs softly noted Wallace had told him about. "I dealt with journalists for so many years," she continued. "I always, when I'm explaining something, say this is off the record. If they want something particular they come back. Chris never did that. He never said I am going to accuse you of a crime and violating attorney-client privilege. If he had said that I certainly would have given him a statement."Dobbs, meanwhile, plainly noted that he appreciated that they had given their statement, adding: "Chris Wallace, I'm sure he appreciates it as well.""A particular coincidence of off-the-record and lost opportunities for denials," Dobbs said with a smile. "And a smear job? Eh, nobody is going to try to smear you guys. You are too bright and too effective. I don't believe that for a minute." Within a day of the release of Wallace's bombshell, Fox News appeared to quietly forget about its own scoop, discussing it only a few times on the air Monday and downplaying it on the network's website. This came in the wake of the New York Times' Ken Vogel claiming he first broke the diGenova-Toensing angle in May and Giuliani and diGenova offering forceful denials to Wallace's scoop. Wallace, through a Fox News spokesperson, has said he stands by his reporting.Interestingly, during a Friday morning appearance on Fox News' America's Newsroom, Wallace wasn't asked about his story nor offered a chance to rebut diGenova's and Toensing's fiery attacks on him.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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| Second man found guilty in the murder of 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee in Chicago Posted: 04 Oct 2019 12:39 PM PDT  On Friday, Corey Morgan was found guilty of first degree murder in the killing of 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee in Chicago.
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| Shot teen charged as Hong Kong considers ban on masks Posted: 02 Oct 2019 11:05 PM PDT  The teenager who was the first victim of police gunfire in Hong Kong's monthslong pro-democracy protests was charged Thursday with rioting and attacking police, as calls grew for the government to ban the wearing of masks to subdue rising violence in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. Local media reported that Chief Executive Carrie Lam will hold a special Executive Council meeting on Friday to discuss a ban on masks, which have helped protesters conceal their identities, and other tough measures under a colonial-era emergency law. Pro-Beijing legislator Michael Tien confirmed the meeting.
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| Duterte Wants Stronger Defense Ties With Russia, Criticizes U.S. Posted: 04 Oct 2019 12:14 AM PDT ![Duterte Wants Stronger Defense Ties With Russia, Criticizes U.S.]( "Duterte Wants Stronger Defense Ties With Russia, Criticizes U.S.") (Bloomberg) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte used his second visit to Russia as an opportunity to again criticize the U.S. for being critical of his war on drugs, as he sought greater defense ties with Moscow.In a speech at an event organized by a Russian think tank in Sochi, Duterte took a swipe at "so-called friends" of the Philippines who "act like they know the answers to our problems.""They create rules and norms for almost everyone, and some refuse to be bound by the same," he said, according to a transcript of his speech. "They weaponize human rights oblivious to its damaging consequences."During the open forum, Duterte said the U.S. has "criticized heavily" his war on drugs that has killed thousands, and stopped the sale of weapons due to human rights concerns. He however also said that he has nothing against the U.S., which he described as "a close friend" and "our only treaty ally."In his bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday, Duterte said he has a "long-term commitment to elevate" defense relations with Russia. Putin, for his part, said Russia wants greater trade and economic ties with the Philippines.To contact the reporter on this story: Andreo Calonzo in Manila at acalonzo1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Cecilia Yap at cyap19@bloomberg.net, Colin KeatingeFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Could Israel's Missile Defenses Withstand a Swarm or Missile Attack from Iran? Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:41 AM PDT  Who wins in a showdown? Here is all we can tell you about Israel's missile defenses.
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| South African attacks on foreigners shame the continent, says Buhari Posted: 04 Oct 2019 05:59 AM PDT  Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said on Friday that a wave of deadly violence against Nigerians and other foreign nationals in South Africa last month was an embarrassment to the continent. "The recent acts of xenophobic attacks on our compatriots and other Africans in South Africa are shocking to me, Nigerians and indeed Africa.
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| Teacher suspended for Confederate flag message Posted: 04 Oct 2019 02:26 AM PDT  "Think of it like a white trash 'Save the Date' card," the message said
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| View Photos of the 2020 Subaru Impreza Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:02 PM PDT |
| Pro-Trump group takes credit for woman talking about eating babies at AOC town hall Posted: 04 Oct 2019 10:41 AM PDT  At a town hall for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., a woman in a T-shirt that read "Save the planet Eat the Children" stood up and suggested people should eat babies to fight climate change. A pro-Trump group, LaRouchePAC, took credit for the stunt.
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| Michael Avenatti Takes Stormy Daniels to Court for Millions in Legal Backpay Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:12 PM PDT  Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily BeastEmbattled lawyer Michael Avenatti is taking legal action against his ex-client Stormy Daniels for $2 million in legal fees from their infamous "hush agreement" lawsuit against President Donald Trump. Avenatti, who currently faces federal criminal charges set for trial next month, filed an attorney's lien on Thursday. It alleges that despite "repeated demands that Ms. Daniels fulfill her contractual obligations and pay for the millions in legal fees and costs she has enjoyed for her benefit over the last approximate 19 months, including in this case, she has refused."Avenatti, 48, claims the porn star refuses to pay up because she is a "celebrity," and is therefore "entitled to free legal services and costs" and to "manufacture and fabricate facts designed to impugn the reputation of her counsel and falsely accuse him of a multitude of acts.""But the law does not work that way Ms. Daniels wishes," reads the court filing, filed in the United States District Court in the Southern District of Ohio."I look forward to the facts and the truth about what really happened coming to light," Avenatti told The Daily Beast when reached for comment. His lawyer, Tom Warren, added: "Mr. Avenatti did an enormous amount of high quality legal work for Ms. Daniels under intense pressure and scrutiny. He made significant personal sacrifices for her benefit. He deserves to be paid by her, not criticized."Daniels and her lawyer did not respond to The Daily Beast's request for comment. The porn actress and Avenatti became household names in January 2018 after filing a lawsuit to nullify a "hush agreement" Daniels made with then-candidate Trump and his former fixer Michael Cohen just before the election. Since then, the two had a very public falling out back in May, and Avenatti has been hounded by legal troubles and currently faces federal charges in two states. In California, prosecutors alleged he stole $300,000 from Daniels and spent it on flights, hotels, restaurant deliveries, and to bankroll his law firm. And a New York grand jury indicted him in March for allegedly trying to extort Nike for $25 million.Avenatti's court filing this week alleges the initial February 2018 retainer agreement he made with Daniels was for "$100 up-front payment," prompting his firm to spend "thousands of attorney and staff hours, and a significant out-of-pocket-expenses." During his retention, Avenatti said he bailed Daniels out of jail "following her arrest in Columbus Ohio in July 2018" after a strip-club brawl and led the "successful efforts" to have the charges dropped."Despite the significance of his work, Ms. Daniels has yet to directly pay a single dollar to Mr. Avenatti or Avenatti & Associates, APC for their legal services beyond the $100.00 she initially paid back in 2018," the lien states. "Ms. Daniels is required to pay her lawyers." Avenatti has previously told The Daily Beast that "any and all other monies raised via a legal fund would go toward my legal fees and costs." Daniels and Avenatti alleged in her lawsuit, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, that Cohen paid her $130,000 during the 2016 campaign to stay quiet about an affair she had with then-reality TV star Trump a decade before he ran for office (the president admits to the payoff but denies the sexual tryst). The payoff allegations ultimately led to a federal investigation charging Cohen with eight campaign-finance violations. He pleaded guilty in August, admitting he made illegal payments at Trump's direction, and was sentenced to three years behind bars.But, in May, a little over a year after that lawsuit was filed, Daniels and Avenatti announced their split in a pair of tweets."I have retained Clark Brewster as my personal lawyer and have asked him and his firm to review all legal matters involving me," Daniels wrote. "Upon completion of Mr. Brewster's review and further consultation with me, I anticipate Mr. Brewster will serve as my primary counsel on all legal issues." Less than 15 minutes later, Avenatti responded with his own statement claiming he terminated his relationship with Daniels in February but would not disclose the reasons due to "attorney-client privilege."In his new legal action, Avenatti says he decided to cut ties after "Daniels became increasingly difficult, uncooperative, erratic, and unpredictable, and began falsely accusing people closely aligned with her (but not Mr. Avenatti) of theft without any legitimate basis.""Ms. Daniels' false accusations in some instances were targeted at friends of 20 years and her private security detail," the filing alleges. The letter states the firm also decided to sever ties after "prior false accusations (which you chose to make public before communicating them to me—I found out from a reporter)" and Daniels' "general lack of appreciation for our work and the thousands of hours we have devoted to you, which we have largely done for free at great expense to me and my firm."Avenatti concluded in the letter that the firm did not intend to make "any public announcement relation to our decision to no longer represent" Daniels and thanked her for the opportunity to serve as her counsel.Michael Avenatti Indicted on 36 Counts by Federal Grand JuryStormy Daniels' 'Gay Dads' Back Lawyer Michael Avenatti in Latest DramaStormy Daniels Files Defamation Lawsuit Against TrumpThis story has been updated to reflect the correct date of the lawsuit's filing.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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| US trade deficit widened in August to $54.9 billion Posted: 04 Oct 2019 05:33 AM PDT  The U.S. trade deficit widened in August for the first time in three months as exports increased but imports increased more. The politically sensitive gap with China in the trade of goods narrowed. Imports increased 0.5% to $262.8 billion on a big increase in shipments of cellphones, which are scheduled to be hit with new tariffs in December as part of the standoff with China.
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| Paris Knife Attacker Converted to Islam 18 Months Before Attack: Report Posted: 03 Oct 2019 11:14 AM PDT  The French police employee who killed four of his colleagues at the Paris police headquarters on Thursday was a recent convert to Islam, according to French television BFM TV.The 45-year-old attacker killed three police officers and an administrative worker, three men and one woman, before being shot and killed by police. Officials so far have not publicly released a motive, and are trying to discover if there was a terrorism link. The man's wife has been taken in custody.Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took to Twitter to offer her condolences to the victim's families."During the Paris Council, we will pay tribute to the victims and will salute the unfailing commitment of police forces serving the security of Parisians. We know what we owe them," she wrote.The attack comes on the heels of a period of unrest within French police, who staged a massive protest on Wednesday as thousands marched and demanded better working conditions. Police have also seen an uptick in suicides this year, coming on the heels of months of unpaid overtime and anti-police press surrounding the "Yellow Vest" protests.The attack marks the fourth public Islamic stabbing incident in France since October 2017.In March, an inmate stabbed two prison guards while reportedly shouting "Allahu Akbar." The attack was labelled a "terrorist incident" by the French Interior Minister.In September, British church leaders called for the government to "take urgent measures to promote the sale of safe kitchen knife designs and restrict those designs which have been used in so many acts of violence."
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| Elizabeth Warren campaign staffer fired for unspecified 'inappropriate behavior' Posted: 04 Oct 2019 03:02 PM PDT  The campaign launched an investigation into the allegations over the past two weeks, which resulted in the staffer's termination.
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| Sweden’s Anti-Immigrant Party Draws Even With Social Democrats in Poll for First Time Posted: 04 Oct 2019 12:39 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Support for the nationalist Sweden Democrats and the Social Democrats is almost equal for the first time in an Expressen/Demoskop poll, adding to Prime Minister Stefan Lofven's burden as he steers his minority government.His Social Democrats, the largest political party in Sweden for most of the past century, have lost voters to anti-immigration party Sweden Democrats, the survey showed."The result stands out," Demoskop spokesman Peter Santesson told Expressen. "The loss of voters to the Sweden Democrats is the main reason for the decline in support for the Social Democrats".Recent shootings and gang violence may be the reason for the rising concern and frustration among voters, Social Democrats spokeswoman Lena Radstrom Baastad told Expressen.Support for the Social Democrats declined by 0.9 percentage point from a month earlier to 23.1%, while the Sweden Democrats gained 1.5 percentage point to 22.9%. The other parties saw marginal changes.To contact the reporter on this story: Veronica Ek in Stockholm at vek@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Edith Moy at echan10@bloomberg.net, Jonas BergmanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iran says it will release Russian journalist accused of espionage Posted: 04 Oct 2019 09:22 AM PDT  Iran agreed to release a Russian journalist detained on suspicion of spying for Israel, in a rare concession that defused a potentially damaging diplomatic rift with its key ally. The announcement came just hours after Russia's foreign ministry on Friday summoned the Iranian ambassador in Moscow to account for the arrest of Yulia Yuzik, who was seized from her Tehran hotel room by members of the Revolutionary Guards Corps earlier this week. Iran has been accused by several Western governments of systematically detaining foreign dual nationals and charging them with espionage to use as leverage in diplomatic disputes. It is rare for a citizen of Russia, a close ally, to be detained. Iran denies following a policy of diplomatic hostage taking, saying that all detainees are facing legitimate criminal investigations. Ms Yuzik, a specialist on the North Caucasus who has written for dozens of Russian and Western publications, arrived in Iran on Sunday but immediately ran into trouble when her passport was confiscated at the airport. "She was there for several days without documents. Then men came to her hotel, kicked in the door and took her away," her former husband Boris Voitsekhovsky told the Telegraph. In a brief call with her mother on Thursday evening, she said she was being held in a prison cell and was due to appear in court on charges of working with Israeli intelligence on Saturday. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been held in Iran since 2016. Credit: The Free Nazanin campaign Mr Voitsekhovsky said Ms Yuzik, 34, spent several months working in Iran in 2017, and had returned this week on a "private trip" to see local journalists she had met while there. He said he was unaware of any reason to believe she was under suspicion in Iran. Iran's foreign ministry told Russian news agencies late on Friday that Ms Yuzhik had been detained for questioning and would be released "shortly", but did not give further details. Jason Rezaian, a former Tehran bureau chief of the Washington post who spent a year and a half in Iranian detention after being accused of espionage in 2014, wrote on Twitter: "that's what they said about me and so many others." The rapid response to Russia's complaints contrasts with the long-running disputes over several dual nationals from Western countries. They include Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe, the mother of one from Hampstead who has been held on espionage charges since 2016 and whose case has become a matter of fierce diplomatic contention between Iran and Britain. "Will be released soon".. that's what they said about me and so many others. https://t.co/tDuAZs9ASn— Jason Rezaian (@jrezaian) October 4, 2019 Richard Ratcliffe, Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband, said Ms Yuzik's detention appeared to fit the same pattern as that of his wife. "More and more people are being taken, including from countries with ostensibly good relations with Iran. It is a clear escalation in an increasingly overt tactic of hostage diplomacy," he said. "State hostage taking is an issue that needs to be on the table at the United Nations Security Council. It really does need to be something that the great powers are sitting down and working out. This is getting out of control." In a separate case, Iran on Friday accused France of "unacceptable interference in its domestic affairs" after diplomats sought access to Fariba Adelkhah, a French-Iranian academic who has been held since summer. Ms Adelkhah, 60, is a research director at the Centre for International Studies and Research at Sciences Po University in Paris who specializes in Shiia Islam. She was arrested by Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel in June or July. France said on Thursday that it had "repeatedly" sought consular access to Ms Adelkhah and called on Iran to show "transparency" in her case. Iran does not recognise dual citizenship and rejects requests for consular access to dual nationals. Russia is an ally of Iran and the two countries' militaries have fought side-by side to prop-up Bashar Assad's regime in Syria. But they are at odds on a number of issues including delineation of oil resources in the Caspian Sea. Vladimir Putin signed a law ratifying a 2018 convention dividing the sea between the five Caspian littoral states on Monday. Iran's parliament has so far refused to ratify it, amid public criticism that it surrenders a large chunk of territory.
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| Russia's New Submarines Are Dangerous. But How Would They Be Used in War? Posted: 03 Oct 2019 11:33 PM PDT  Where the Russian navy is all but abandoning the production of new aircraft carriers, cruisers and other "blue-water" surface warships, it has recommitted to sustaining a large fleet of big, long-range submarines. Why?
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| Tesla automated parking problems seen liability of app 'driver' for now Posted: 04 Oct 2019 12:33 PM PDT  If the accidents pile up, though, Tesla itself is sure to be brought into a legal fight, insurance industry experts said. A Tesla software update last week added a so-called Smart Summon feature for some customers. Users start the car by holding down a button and stop the car by releasing it, Tesla said in instructions, warning users to be careful.
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| The Oldest Building In Your State Says A Lot About Its History Posted: 04 Oct 2019 09:00 AM PDT |
| CNN refuses to air two Trump adverts due to ‘demonstrably false’ claims about impeachment and Joe Biden Posted: 04 Oct 2019 12:31 AM PDT  CNN will not run two Donald Trump campaign ads because they make "demonstrably false" claims while discussing impeachment, the television channel said on Thursday.The network added that the adverts disparage its journalists and push unsubstantiated allegations of corruption against former vice president Joe Biden.
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| Canadian police illegally shared info on Huawei exec: lawyers Posted: 03 Oct 2019 11:34 PM PDT  Canadian police illegally shared details of Meng Wanzhou's phone with US authorities, lawyers said Thursday, in a bid to have an extradition case against the top Huawei executive thrown out. The United States wants to put Meng on trial for fraud for allegedly violating Iran sanctions and lying about it to US banks -- accusations her lawyers dispute. Meng's lawyers alleged that Canadian border agents and police conducted a "covert criminal investigation" of the Huawei executive on behalf of the American Federal Bureau of Investigations.
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| Southwest flight attendant's post disses passenger in Trump T-shirt: '#dumpTrump #eeew' Posted: 03 Oct 2019 05:32 PM PDT  A Southwest flight attendant said he didn't give a passenger in a "Trump 45'' T-shirt his best service. The airline is investigating.
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| Saudi Arabia Can’t Escape Khashoggi’s Shadow Posted: 03 Oct 2019 05:30 AM PDT  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Last October, a few days after the murder of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, I found myself in the thicket of TV cameras outside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul. Standing a few dozen feet from the scene of the crime, I marveled at the international attention being devoted to the killing of a member of my professional tribe—and wondered how long this interest would last.A few weeks, I guessed, maybe a couple of months; my professional cynicism doesn't allow for much optimism.For journalists, murder is an occupational hazard. In the year of Khashoggi's murder alone, 53 journalists were killed, at least 34 of them as a direct consequence of their work. Only a handful of those murders made the international headlines — the four Capital Gazette journalists shot dead by a gunman in Annapolis, Raed Fares of Radio Fresh, assassinated by the regime in Syria — and even then, just for a few days. I reckoned the Khashoggi killing would fade from the collective memory in the same way.It's a safe bet that the people responsible for the killing, from those who ordered and planned it to those responsible for its execution and the botched cover-up that followed, were hoping that the world would quickly forget another dead journalist. Their professional cynicism allows for optimism.Yet that one murder refuses to fade away. When I returned to the consulate on the evening of the first anniversary of Khashoggi's killing, there was another thicket of cameras. As I stood there, I used my phone to read about memorial events and demonstrations in Paris, Berlin and The Hague. For journalists, this is a comfort. For the Saudi authorities, it is a continuing crisis: Khashoggi is Banquo's Ghost, haunting the kingdom and its de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.The specter of the murdered columnist has cast an ectoplasmic pall over efforts by the Saudi prince to deflect blame. A United Nations rapporteur assigned to investigate Khashoggi's murder reiterated on Monday that Prince Mohammed "has a responsibility in relationship to the killing." The CIA believes he gave the order.Last week, MBS — as the prince is commonly known — tried again to change the narrative. In an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes," he allowed that, since the killing had taken place "on my watch," he had responsibility. But he undercut his case by arguing that he could not know what all 3 million of his government's officials were doing at any given time.The questioning about Khashoggi must be especially frustrating for MBS at a moment when Saudi Arabia badly needs the world's attention — and sympathy. Less than a month has passed since the kingdom's largest oil installations were disabled by attacks, the presumed handiwork of Iran. And in less than a month, his pet project — the initial public offering of Saudi Aramco, potentially the world's most valuable firm — will be put to the test. It also clouds the recent flurry of economic and social reforms MBS has instigated. If the prince is given to introspection, he might ask himself why the world won't let him be rid of this meddlesome journalist. He can, if he is so inclined, pick from any number of explanations: the brazenness of the killing; the ineptitude of the killers; the doggedness of the U.S. media, and especially of the Washington Post; the outrage of the American Congress; the opportunism of Turkish authorities, and especially of MBS's bete noire, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.He might wonder, too, whether the steadfast support of President Trump is the boon it first appeared to be — or if the endorsement is more of a curse.MBS could also ponder whether it is possible, at this late date, to set things right: by allowing the trial of 11 suspects to take place under international monitoring, and by adding to their ranks his major domo, Saud al-Qahtani. Or, Prince Mohammed can pin his hopes to the passage of more time, and bet that the world will not be asking about Jamal Khashoggi a year from now. For all my professional cynicism, I wouldn't be optimistic about that.To contact the author of this story: Bobby Ghosh at aghosh73@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: James Gibney at jgibney5@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Bobby Ghosh is a columnist and member of the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board. He writes on foreign affairs, with a special focus on the Middle East and the wider Islamic world.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Biden Dirt File Has Private Email Between John Solomon and Rudy Allies Posted: 03 Oct 2019 07:06 AM PDT  Saul Loeb/AFP/GettyA controversial right-leaning reporter at the center of the Trump-Ukraine scandal emailed a copy of one of his stories—before it was published—to a top ally of Rudy Giuliani, as well as two pro-Trump investigators attempting to dig up negative information on the Biden family.In March, The Hill's investigative reporter John Solomon published a story claiming that the U.S. government had pressured Ukrainian prosecutors to drop a probe of a group funded by the Obama administration and liberal billionaire George Soros. The story was published at 6 p.m., according to a timestamp on the paper's website. Solomon himself didn't share it on his Twitter account until 6:56 p.m. that night. The earliest cache of the story in the Internet Archive is from 7:42 p.m. Eastern time.But hours before that, at 12:52 p.m. Eastern time, Solomon appears to have sent a version of the article to Ukrainian-American businessman Lev Parnas and the Trumpworld lawyers Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing. The email was titled "Outline of Soros reporting, including embedded documents" and included the headline and the text of his piece.Two congressional sources confirmed to The Daily Beast that Solomon's email was part of a roughly 50-page package of material that was turned over to lawmakers on Wednesday by the State Department's Inspector General's office. Reuters was the first to report the email's inclusion in the packet.That material, according to congressional sources, appeared to be a "misinformation" effort meant to smear the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and the Bidens. CNN reported on Wednesday that Giuliani had conceded that the information in the package originated, at least in part, with him.Not Just Ukraine: Rudy and Bannon Try a Whole New Way to Slime Biden"They told me they were going to investigate it," Giuliani said to CNN, referring to a call he got from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.Neither Solomon nor The Hill responded to request for comment from The Daily Beast. But in a series of tweets Wednesday night, Solomon said he sent the email "as a reporter fact-checking my work"—although the email contained the text of a fully drafted story, not isolated items that needed vetting."The email released to the public appears to omit the opening line of my originally sent email," Solomon claimed in the tweets. "Here is the passage that preceded the summary of my reporting. 'Appreciate eyeballing for accuracy. Want to be fair and accurate.' That's not scandalous. It's good journalism."Emails sent to the addresses Solomon used for Parnas, diGenova and Toensing did not bounce back but were not returned.Solomon's email to Parnas, diGenova, and Toensing suggests even stronger ties between the Hill columnist and the Trump team tasked with digging up dirt on Biden abroad. And it raises questions about the degree to which pro-Trump figures were working directly with sympathetic journalists to try and dig up and spread dirt on Biden and like-minded Democrats. Solomon's March 29 story about the U.S. embassy in Ukraine makes no direct mention of Parnas, diGenova, or Toensing—instead, the piece cites a letter about the probe from U.S. embassy official George Kent, and claims by former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko that the U.S. pressured him to halt an investigation into the Soros- and U.S.-backed group. But the three individuals have emerged as key players in the lead-up to Trump's request for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to work with Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, to investigate the Bidens. Parnas, a Giuliani friend and golf buddy, was a key player in connecting the former New York City mayor to former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, whom Biden and other top Western government entities and officials had hoped to push out because of his perceived inaction tackling corruption.DiGenova and Toensing have been some of the president's most trusted outside allies for years. During Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation last year, the duo was briefly mentioned as possibilities to join the president's legal defense team. On Sunday, Fox News reported that diGenova and Toensing had been working alongside Giuliani to dig up dirt on Biden—a revelation that the New York Times had noted months prior. Leaked Memo: Colleagues Unload on John Solomon, the Journo Who Kicked Off Trump's Ukraine ConspiracySolomon's work has come under intense scrutiny following the revelation that a series of his stories about Ukraine may have helped spark events leading to Trump's request that President Zelensky team up with Giuliani to investigate the Bidens.On March 20, Solomon published an interview with Lutsenko in which the ex-prosecutor accused the former vice president of having pressured the then-Ukrainian president in 2016 to fire Lutsenko's predecessor, Shokin. The insinuation, according to Lutsenko, was that Biden hoped to quash an investigation into a Ukrainian gas company connected to his son Hunter Biden. Despite Lutsenko's retraction of some of the claims, and conclusion that Hunter Biden "did not violate any Ukrainian laws," the incident was cited in a U.S. government whistleblower's complaint as one of the circumstances that eventually led to Trump's call with Zelensky.Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported new details Wednesday night about Giuliani's dirt-digging on another front: He's been consulting via a lawyer with Trump's imprisoned former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort to inquire about the so-called black ledger that reportedly revealed a Ukrainian political party had funneled millions to Manafort. Giuliani believes the ledger was part of a conspiracy by Ukrainians to interfere in the 2016 election on behalf of Hillary Clinton.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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| RAH-66 Comanche Helicopter: Amazing to Look At (But a Massive Failure) Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:00 PM PDT  Waste of money.
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| Gandhi’s ashes stolen and photo vandalized after 150th birthday celebrations, reports say Posted: 03 Oct 2019 01:19 PM PDT  An urn containing some of Mahatma Gandhi's ashes was reportedly stolen from a government building in India, according to the Wire, an Indian news site.
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| Man gets death penalty for killing 2 in SC bank robbery Posted: 03 Oct 2019 08:42 AM PDT  A man who killed two South Carolina bank employees while taking $15,000 during a robbery was sentenced to die Thursday by a federal jury. The same jurors found Brandon Council guilty last month of armed bank robbery resulting in death, among other charges for killing the manager and a teller at CresCom Bank in Conway in August 2017. Prosecutors pushed for the death penalty, saying Council deserved to die because he chose to murder everyone in the bank while seeking easy money, pulling a gun out instead of the robbery note he had in his pocket.
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| Denver policeman fired for saying he was raped by woman he impregnated Posted: 03 Oct 2019 06:18 PM PDT ![Denver policeman fired for saying he was raped by woman he impregnated]( "Denver policeman fired for saying he was raped by woman he impregnated") A Denver policeman has been fired for falsely claiming that he was raped by a woman he impregnated in what authorities said was an effort by the officer to avoid paying child support, a disciplinary letter released on Thursday showed. Samuel Sheppard, a six-year veteran of the force, was dismissed for fabricating a sexual assault by the unnamed woman, and lying to internal affairs investigators about the nature of the couple's relationship, according to an order signed by Denver's Deputy Director of Public Safety, Mary Dulacki. "The evidence presented is that Officer Sheppard made an unfounded sexual assault claim against the complainant seemingly to avoid or limit his financial obligations," Dulacki wrote.
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| Trump's conspiracies are reaching a fever pitch amid revelations that the whistleblower went to Congress before filing their complaint Posted: 03 Oct 2019 06:46 AM PDT  It's common and legal for whistleblowers to do what the CIA officer did, and there are multiple paths for whistleblowers to convey their concerns.
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| Photos of starving grizzly bear family stirs concern for climate crisis Posted: 03 Oct 2019 02:08 PM PDT  A Canadian photographer's images of an emaciated grizzly bear family has sparked widespread concern for the effect of climate change on wildlife in the area.Rolf Hicker shared a series of photos on Facebook of the bears looking for food on the shores of Canada's Knight Inlet.
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| 18 Famous Authors’ Houses Worth Seeing Posted: 04 Oct 2019 05:00 AM PDT |
| Hannity takes shot at Fox News colleagues: ‘We have a few resistance people on the channel’ Posted: 04 Oct 2019 07:03 AM PDT  During Thursday night's broadcast of Sean Hannity's Fox News show, the host took a shot at some of his colleagues.
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| Former vineyard owner gets 5 months in college bribery case Posted: 04 Oct 2019 02:55 PM PDT  The former owner of a California wine business was sentenced Friday to five months in prison for paying $50,000 to rig his daughter's ACT score and for trying to bribe her way into the University of Southern California as a fake water polo recruit. Agustin Huneeus, 53, of San Francisco, pleaded guilty in May to fraud and conspiracy in a deal with prosecutors. Huneeus is among few parents accused of pursuing both angles of the scam: Most either cheated on their children's college entrance exams or paid bribes to get them admitted to elite universities as recruited athletes, but not both.
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| Iraq cleric Sadr demands government resign as deadly protests spike Posted: 04 Oct 2019 02:55 PM PDT  Iraqi firebrand cleric Moqtada Sadr called on the government to resign as violence spiked Friday across the country and protesters clashed with police on the fourth day of deadly demonstrations against corruption and unemployment. The former Shiite militia leader, whose bloc is the biggest in parliament, said in a statement that in order to avoid further deaths "the government should resign and early elections should be held under UN supervision". At least 60 people have died over four days of bloody protest across Iraq, the Iraqi Human Rights Commission said late Friday, without specifying how many were civilians or security forces.
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| Pentagon orders officials to submit all documents on Ukraine aid freeze Posted: 03 Oct 2019 10:57 AM PDT  The Pentagon's Office of General Counsel has ordered officials to send all documents and communications about military aid to Ukraine "for cataloguing and review," the top Defense Department spokesperson said today, adding that this is standard practice for high-profile issues. The documents could play a role in the House's impeachment inquiry, launched after President Donald Trump appeared to make military aid to Ukraine conditional on officials investigating Trump's political rivals, including former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. "Today, the general counsel of the department, in keeping with past practice on matters of importance and to ensure that all appropriate department information is available on this matter directed that DoD offices should provide any pertinent documents and records to the Office of General Counsel for cataloguing and review," Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman told reporters.
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| China removes former head of securities regulator from government post after corruption probe Posted: 04 Oct 2019 06:03 AM PDT ![China removes former head of securities regulator from government post after corruption probe]( "China removes former head of securities regulator from government post after corruption probe") SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The former head of China's top securities regulator, Liu Shiyu, has been removed from a government position following an investigation by the country's anti-corruption watchdog, the watchdog said on Friday. Liu "severely violated political discipline and political rules", received gifts and used his power and position to seek personal gains for others, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a statement. Liu will remain a member of the Chinese communist party, the watchdog said.
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| Fiery B-17 plane crash has people asking: Are vintage bomber rides dangerous? Posted: 04 Oct 2019 03:41 PM PDT  The World War II-era B-17 bomber that crashed Wednesday was never designed to carry passengers. Yet seven died. Should historic flights end?
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| Jeffrey Epstein mysteriously made $200 million with a new start-up after taking a hit from the financial crisis, registering as a sex offender, and losing his biggest client Posted: 03 Oct 2019 04:44 PM PDT  Jeffrey Epstein had no problem making millions, even after the 2008 financial crisis, losing his biggest client, and registering as a sex offender.
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| Beto O’Rourke: Buttigieg Opposes Gun Confiscation Because He’s ‘Afraid to Do the Right Thing’ Posted: 03 Oct 2019 05:50 AM PDT  Democratic presidential candidates Beto O'Rourke and Pete Buttigieg sparred over the merits of mandatory gun confiscation during a gun control advocacy event in Las Vegas on Wednesday.During a one-on-one with Today Show anchor Craig Melvin, Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., was asked a question about mandatory assault weapon "buybacks," to which he responded that "as a policy, it's had mixed results. It's a healthy debate to have, but we've got to do something now." Buttigieg went on to say the issue could potentially distract Democrats from areas where they could make real advances in gun control.Buttigieg has called for a ban on the sale of certain semi-automatic rifles, but has joined the rest of the Democratic primary field in resisting O'Rourke's call for a "mandatory buyback," which would require gun owners to sell their semi-automatic rifles to the government and hold those who refuse criminally liable.Later in the event, Beto O'Rourke, who has made past headlines with his outspoken support of mandatory gun confiscation, challenged Buttigieg as a candidate "worried about the polls" and who "probably wants to get to the right place, but is afraid of doing the right thing right now."After the event in a news conference with reporters, O'Rourke went further."What Pete has been saying is that a mandatory buyback is the 'shiny object' that is distracting us. How in the world can you say that to March for Our Lives? How can you say that to survivors of mass shootings across this country?" O'Rourke stated. "How can you say that to the majority of Hispanics in America, certainly in Texas, who fear that they will be the victims of a mass shooting inspired by racism and hatred that has been welcomed into the open by this president, and has been armed with weapons of war."I was really offended by [Buttigieg's] comments. I think he represents a kind of politics that is focused on poll testing and focus group driving, and triangulating, and listening to consultants before you arrive at a position," he continued. "I think our politics has to be about doing the right thing, saying the right thing."According to the latest RealClear Politics national polling average, Buttigieg leads O'Rourke by just over three percentage points.
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| A-10 Warthog: Pilots Who Fly Them Love Them (And They Told Us Why) Posted: 03 Oct 2019 07:37 AM PDT  A killer that just won't go away.
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| Indictment: ‘Party and play’ sex and drug use turned deadly Posted: 03 Oct 2019 07:18 AM PDT  Wealthy California political donor Ed Buck was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury for two overdose deaths in his West Hollywood apartment and charged with providing methamphetamine to three other men, one of whom survived two overdoses. The indictment returned in U.S. District Court charged Buck with distributing meth resulting in the deaths of Timothy Dean in January and Gemmel Moore in 2017. Buck had previously been charged in Moore's death after his arrest last month.
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| Iran claims 'victory' after bank compensated by Britain Posted: 04 Oct 2019 12:42 PM PDT  Iran claimed a "victory" on Friday after one of its banks received compensation from British authorities over "illegal" sanctions. According to the UK daily The Times, London paid Bank Mellat "1.25 billion pounds sterling ($1.54 million) with interest". The settlement was announced on Twitter by Tehran's ambassador to London Hamid Baeidinejad.
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| Trump’s Open Requests for Foreign Meddling Test Dem Impeachment Focus Posted: 04 Oct 2019 02:16 AM PDT  Al Drago/Bloomberg/GettyHouse Democrats' plan for the impeachment inquiry is simple: focus exclusively on President Trump pressing his Ukrainian counterpart to discredit Joe Biden. But the pace of new revelations, like Trump openly calling for China to collude with him, is testing that strategy, and prompting some progressives to wonder if it's a mistake to ignore Trump's interactions with other foreign leaders.With the inquiry not even two weeks old, and reluctantly undertaken by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), many House Democrats worry that an expansive focus will distract from the straightforward account, presented in a whistleblower complaint and confirmed by a call summary released by the White House, that Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate political rival Biden. Most lawmakers have backed up Pelosi's keep-it-simple strategy. "I think we should be focused, not overthink this," said Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) last Thursday. "Right now, people understand what he did."And staffers for members around the Democratic caucus indicated support for a narrow inquiry focused on Ukraine. "Arguably, the stronger case you have to send to the Senate is what you want," said one Democratic aide, "but they're already so slow moving on one topic, so to add in more… I think there could be enough with Ukraine to do what needs to get done."That calculus grates on some progressives, even if they may be outliers on the Hill. One congressional aide said it was "malpractice" for the Democrats to keep a narrow impeachment focus, as Trump is "blatantly using our country's foreign policy as a tool for his own domestic political benefit.""In the particular case that triggered the impeachment inquiry, it was Trump pressuring the Ukrainian president to help gin up something against Biden, but we know he's brought this kind of pressure before," the aide continued. "In the case of pressuring [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to ban two members of Congress, he did it right out in the open. So it would frankly be malpractice for Congress not to seek records of other calls to determine what pressure may have been brought to bear by Trump against other foreign leaders to achieve political and possibly financial benefits for himself."A Senate Democratic staffer agreed. "I don't understand why House Democrats would limit themselves to Ukraine given that the president laid out his own blueprint for what Democrats should investigate. Just today it's China, but now his attorney general is pressing U.S. allies like the Five Eyes [surveillance] alliance to work on behalf of his political agenda undermining the Mueller Report." The staffer said Senate Democrats weren't much better: "I don't think Senate Democrats have been particularly brave or outspoken for a broad impeachment inquiry, either."Neither the news cycle nor the president is cooperating with the Ukraine-centric strategy, which may stretch current Democratic patience. New revelations that the president pressed foreigners to aid him in discrediting his domestic political opponents accumulate almost daily. This week alone, they've expanded to include Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Then, on Thursday morning, Trump openly said that "China should start an investigation into the Bidens," something Biden campaign aide Kate Bedingfield likened to Trump's 2016 call for Russia to steal Hillary Clinton's emails.All that is eclipsing behavior that earlier in Trump's presidency was seen as abuses of power, such as a foreign government reportedly booking multiple rooms in Trump hotels for a single guest or aiding the rehabilitation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after the CIA assessed him as responsible for murdering journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The recent revelations have raised questions about how standard it is for Trump to solicit personal favors while ostensibly conducting presidential business. And before the Ukraine revelations emerged, several House Democrats wanted Trump impeached for using his office to enrich himself, a violation of the Constitution's emoluments clause.A congressional source said the House Foreign Affairs Committee intends to stay focused on Ukraine at present but didn't rule out expansion in the future. A representative for the House Intelligence Committee declined to comment, and those from the House Oversight Committee didn't respond to requests for comment. Yet by Wednesday, the two committees took a step to expand the probe. Listed among materials the committee chairs plan to subpoena from the White House are communications between Trump "and the leader of any other foreign country" relevant to "pursuing investigations of President Trump's political rivals and Ukrainian foreign aid." Asked if the inquiry would expand to scrutinize conversations with other foreign leaders, a congressional source said "it may be trending in that direction," as each of the "new stories hit all the same notes." Presidential communications with foreign counterparts are typically considered privileged and beyond the scope of Congress. The subpoena, which Democratic leadership anticipates formally issuing Friday, already tests that and is likely to lead to litigation in order to enforce it. That outcome is uncertain enough before any potential expansion into non-Ukraine communications. Scott Cullinane, a former staffer on the foreign affairs committee, warned that going after Trump's other communications with foreign leaders risked setting precedents that would come back to haunt both Democratic and Republican presidents. "The Executive Branch has a legitimate need for confidential conversations as a part of effective American diplomacy. Congress has an oversight responsibility, but overreaching has consequences that will outlast any one administration," Cullinane said. "It could affect how any future president conducts foreign policy and change how foreign leaders share information with the U.S. government."And any effort to expand the scope of the impeachment probe, however incremental, is likely to meet stiff resistance among the dozens of House Democrats, largely from swing districts, who recently came out in favor of an impeachment inquiry and are bracing for its political impact. Though they acknowledge additional findings could be explosive, these Democrats worry about a drawn-out effort to obtain records of more Trump calls—which would probably be decided through the courts—extending into next year and snarling the prospects for bills they're holding out hope to pass on health care and infrastructure. Pelosi is clearly proceeding with their concerns top of mind, and her team is taking pains to hear out moderates worried about impeachment becoming a 2020 liability. At a town hall on Wednesday night, Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA), who was an impeachment holdout before the Ukraine allegations broke, argued Democrats should keep the inquiry limited—a view echoed by many of her colleagues who also flipped GOP-held districts in 2018. Impeachment Splits the Crowd in a Democrat's Purple District"I have an interest in keeping it as narrow as possible," she said. "I don't want this to be another Benghazi."—Erin Banco contributed reportingRead 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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