| PHOTOS: Iraqi Shiites break into U.S. Embassy in Baghdad Posted: 31 Dec 2019 05:24 AM PST  Dozens of Iraqi Shiite militiamen and their supporters broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday, smashing a main door and setting fire to a reception area, prompting tear gas and sounds of gunfire, angered over deadly U.S. airstrikes targeting the Iran-backed militia. An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw flames rising from inside the compound and at least three U.S. soldiers on the roof of the main embassy building. It followed deadly U.S. airstrikes on Sunday that killed 25 fighters of the Iran-backed militia in Iraq, the Kataeb Hezbollah.
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| U.S. Taking Democracy for Granted, Chief Justice Roberts Says Posted: 31 Dec 2019 03:00 PM PST ![U.S. Taking Democracy for Granted, Chief Justice Roberts Says]( "U.S. Taking Democracy for Granted, Chief Justice Roberts Says") (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. has "come to take democracy for granted," Chief Justice John Roberts said, urging his fellow judges to keep educating the public about the workings of the federal government and the Constitution.Roberts, who is slated to oversee the Senate's impeachment trial of President Donald Trump in the coming weeks, used his year-end report Tuesday to laud the federal judiciary's work on civic education, while issuing a thinly veiled warning about the fragility of American democracy in a fractious time."We have come to take democracy for granted, and civic education has fallen by the wayside," Roberts wrote. "In our age, when social media can instantly spread rumor and false information on a grand scale, the public's need to understand our government, and the protections it provides, is ever more vital."Roberts described a 1788 riot that incapacitated John Jay while he was working with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison on the Federalist Papers, a series of articles published to promote the ratification of the Constitution. Jay was hit in the head with a rock while trying to quell the riot, which was sparked by a rumor that medical students were dissecting the body of a recently deceased woman. Jay later became the first U.S. chief justice."It is sadly ironic that John Jay's efforts to educate his fellow citizens about the framers' plan of government fell victim to a rock thrown by a rioter motivated by a rumor," Roberts wrote.Roberts has become the nation's leading champion of judicial independence since being appointed to the Supreme Court by President George W. Bush in 2005. In his new report, the chief justice called the judiciary "a source of national unity and stability" but added a cautionary note."We should also remember that justice is not inevitable," Roberts wrote in a passage directed at his judicial colleagues. "We should reflect on our duty to judge without fear or favor, deciding each matter with humility, integrity, and dispatch."Roberts, 64, is in the middle of a challenging Supreme Court term that includes cases on LGBTQ discrimination, abortion and gun rights. In late March or early April the court will hear arguments on Trump's effort to prevent his financial information from being turned over to Congress and a New York grand jury.Roberts released the report three days after his mother, Rosemary A. Roberts, died at age 90. Her obituary said she was surrounded by her family when she passed away.To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Stohr in Washington at gstohr@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo, Anna EdgertonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Census Estimates Show California, New York Losing House Seats to Demographic Change Posted: 30 Dec 2019 12:08 PM PST  Census Bureau estimates released Monday reportedly showed the country's slowest population growth rate in a century, as demographic shifts to the south bring impending changes to the House of Representatives."While natural increase is the biggest contributor to the U.S. population increase, it has been slowing over the last five years," Sandra Johnson, Census Bureau demographer, said in the release. "Natural increase, or when the number of births is greater than the number of deaths, dropped below 1 million in 2019 for the first time in decades."Monday's estimates, which are close approximations of changes to state populations for the last year which ended July 1, project a seat shuffle in the House of Representatives, with Texas and six other states poised to gain seats, while California, New York, and six other states look set to lose representatives.The upcoming reapportionment is a smaller change than after the 2010 census, when eight states gained 12 House seats from 10 states.California, which recorded its lowest level of population growth in over a century, lost an estimated 200,000 people to domestic migration over the last year and is expected to lose a Congressional seat for the first time in its history. New York, which the Census estimates lost over 180,000 to domestic migration, will likely lose another House seat after losing two in 2010.Texas, which gained four seats in 2010, is expected to gain an additional two, while Florida, Arizona, and others are also slated to add seats as demographics shift south.The Census Bureau estimates another fall in net international migration, a statistic that has steadily fallen since 2016. From 2018 to 2019, migration fell to 595,348, down from a peak this decade of 1,046,709 in 2016.42 of 50 states also had a negative birth rate over the last year, with West Virginia having the worst natural decrease of over 4,600 more deaths than births from 2018 to 2019.
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| Carlos Ghosn reportedly fled prosecution in Japan by hiding in a box on a private jet. Meet Nissan's disgraced former chairman, who was charged in 2018 with underreporting his compensation. Posted: 31 Dec 2019 08:45 AM PST  Ghosn said he'd "no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is presumed, discrimination is rampant, and basic human rights are denied."
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| World welcomes 2020, but celebrations shadowed by wildfires, protests, Korea tensions Posted: 31 Dec 2019 04:24 AM PST  SYDNEY/HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) - The world celebrated the New Year on Wednesday with fireworks displays from Sydney to London, although celebrations were clouded by deadly wildfires in Australia, protests in Hong Kong and India and new nuclear tensions with North Korea. Large crowds gathered in European capitals for spectacular fireworks displays that lit up the skies over landmarks like Big Ben in London, the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the Parthenon in Athens and the Kremlin in Moscow.
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| MSC Cruises' new and largest ship, MSC Grandiosa, crashes in the port of Palermo, Sicily Posted: 31 Dec 2019 11:13 AM PST ![MSC Cruises' new and largest ship, MSC Grandiosa, crashes in the port of Palermo, Sicily]( "MSC Cruises' new and largest ship, MSC Grandiosa, crashes in the port of Palermo, Sicily") MSC Cruises' new ship experienced a collision on Monday morning. MSC Grandiosa collided with the dock in Palermo, Sicily, a spokesperson confirmed.
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| PHOTOS: #MenToo: The hidden tragedy of male sexual abuse in the military Posted: 31 Dec 2019 04:53 PM PST  Award-winning photojournalist Mary F. Calvert has spent six years documenting the prevalence of rape in the military and the effects on victims. She began with a focus on female victims but more recently has examined the underreported incidence of sexual assaults on men and the lifelong trauma it can inflict.
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| New York Jews scared, defiant as mayor decries anti-Semitism 'crisis' Posted: 30 Dec 2019 01:23 PM PST  At a Hasidic synagogue in Brooklyn, police, state troopers and civilian volunteers stand guard as Orthodox Jews mark the end of Hanukkah under heightened security following a spate of attacks. New York, home to the largest Jewish community outside of Israel, had long been a place where Jews felt safe.
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| 19-year-old found guilty of lying about being gang-raped Posted: 30 Dec 2019 12:06 PM PST  A British teenager has been found guilty of lying about being gang-raped in Cyprus. The woman, 19, was convicted of a single count of public mischief at Famagusta District Court in Paralimni, Cyprus, on Monday.
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| Trump threatens Iran after protesters break into U.S. embassy in Baghdad Posted: 31 Dec 2019 06:22 AM PST  President Trump is blaming Iran after supporters of Iraq's Iran-backed militias stormed the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.In a tweet Tuesday morning, Trump accused Iran of "orchestrating" the attack on the U.S. embassy, threatening to hold them "fully responsible."> Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!> > — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2019Protesters breached the embassy on Tuesday following U.S. airstrikes against Kataib Hezbollah, which came in response to an attack on an Iraqi military base that killed an American contractor, The New York Times reports. Kataib Hezbollah has denied involvement. A spokesperson for the militia said it would erect tents outside of the embassy and "not leave these tents until the embassy and the ambassador leave Iraq."The Associated Press described this "unprecedented breach" as "one of the worst attacks on the embassy in recent memory," reporting that the embassy's main door was smashed, a reception area was set on fire, and protesters hurled stones over the compound's wall. Per AP, the protesters were joined by some commanders of militia factions that are loyal to Iran, and The Wall Street Journal reports some protesters identified themselves with fatigues and badges as members of Kataib Hezbollah.Trump on Tuesday also defended the airstrikes while writing the U.S. expects Iraq "to use its forces to protect the embassy." AP notes "Iraqi security forces made no effort to stop the protesters."More stories from theweek.com The Obama legacy is not what many liberals think Trump's scandals will haunt America for years The first decade in history
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| Angola Court Freezes Assets Held by Africa’s Richest Woman: Reports Posted: 31 Dec 2019 10:58 AM PST ![Angola Court Freezes Assets Held by Africa's Richest Woman: Reports]( "Angola Court Freezes Assets Held by Africa's Richest Woman: Reports") (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Next Africa newsletter and follow Bloomberg Africa on TwitterAn Angolan court placed a freeze on assets held by Isabel dos Santos, Africa's richest woman, including stakes in wireless operator Unitel SA and lenders Banco BIC and Banco de Fomento Angola, Diario de Noticias and Lusa reported, citing a statement from the Angolan Attorney General's office.The court order also applies to dos Santos's husband, Sindika Dokolo, and Mario da Silva. The Attorney General sought the order, saying the three had engaged in transactions with state-owned companies that led to Angola's government incurring losses of $1.14 billion, according to the reports.Isabel dos Santos said in an emailed statement on Tuesday that the judgement contains statements that are completely untrue, and that she'll use all available instruments of Angolan and international law to fight the order.Dos Santos, the daughter of Jose Eduardo dos Santos who served as Angola's president from 1979 to 2017, wrote earlier on Twitter a "message of tranquility and confidence to my teams," without referring directly to the court action. "The road is long, the truth will prevail," she said.In October, dos Santos said she did nothing wrong when she was chairwoman of state-owned oil company Sonangol and called a probe into the transfer of millions of dollars from the Luanda-based firm "political vengeance."(Adds statement from dos Santos in third paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Jim Silver in New York at jsilver@bloomberg.net;Joao Lima in Lisbon at jlima1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Mike Cohen, Alastair ReedFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| US ambassador defends moustache as South Koreans bristle at 'disrespectful' facial hair Posted: 29 Dec 2019 08:40 PM PST  The US ambassador to Seoul has defended his decision to grow a moustache, with some South Koreans bristling that the facial hair is disrespectful and a calculated slight. Harry Harris took over as US ambassador to South Korea in July 2018 after a distinguished 40-year career in the US Navy. Clean-shaven whilst an admiral in the navy, Mr Harris told The Korea Times that he decided to grow a moustache to mark his career change. "I wanted to make a break between my life as a military officer and my new life as a diplomat", he said. "I tried to get taller, but I couldn't grow any taller, and so I tried to get younger, but I couldn't get younger. But I could grow a moustache, so I did that". Mr Harris was responding to the suggestion that his new moustache was an insult to Korea. The US government has been roundly criticised in South Korea after Donald Trump announced the US would demand $5 billion a year to keep troops in South Korea. As the face of the US administration in South Korea, Mr Harris has borne the brunt of much of the criticism. The second strike against Mr Harris is his ethnicity. The son of a US Navy officer and a Japanese mother, Mr Harris was born in Yokosuka, south-west of Tokyo, leading to allegations that he has a natural affinity for Japan - which has a complicated history with the Korean Peninsula. The peninsula became a Japanese protectorate in 1905 and part of the Japanese empire from 1910 until the end of the Second World War in 1945. Some South Koreans have accused Mr Harris of sporting a moustache that harks back to the years of colonial rule on the grounds that all eight Japanese governor-generals of Korea also had moustaches. Shrugging off the controversy, he said: "All I can say is that every decision I make is based on the fact that I'm American ambassador to Korea, not the Japanese-American ambassador to Korea". Asked if he intended to shave his moustache off to quell the criticism, Mr Harris replied, "You would have to convince me that somehow the moustache is viewed in a way that hurts our relationship".
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| Thousands of Google cafeteria staff have unionized, and it's the latest group of Google's 'shadow workforce' to join a union Posted: 31 Dec 2019 08:07 AM PST  The union organizing comes as Google is facing a wave of internal activism from its own employees protesting the company's treatment of workers.
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| CIA devised way to restrict missiles given to allies, researcher says Posted: 30 Dec 2019 06:21 PM PST  The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has devised technology to restrict the use of anti-aircraft missiles after they leave American hands, a researcher said, a move that experts say could persuade the United States that it would be safe to disseminate powerful weapons more frequently. The new technology is intended for use with shoulder-fired missiles called Man-Portable Air-Defense Systems (MANPADS), Dutch researcher Jos Wetzels told a cybersecurity conference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHj_iQZ9pTk in Leipzig, Germany on Saturday. Wetzels said the system was laid out in a batch of CIA documents published by WikiLeaks in 2017 but that the files were mislabeled and attracted little public attention until now.
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| Death toll from Philippines typhoon hits 50 Posted: 30 Dec 2019 07:24 PM PST  The number of people killed by a powerful storm that pummeled the central Philippines over Christmas has risen to 50, authorities said Tuesday, making it the nation's deadliest storm of 2019. Typhoon Phanfone's destructive winds and heavy rains brought down flimsy homes and destroyed commercial buildings mainly in the central island of Visayas, affecting more than two million people. Typhoon Phanfone, locally called Ursula, was the 21st cyclone this year to hit the storm-prone Philippines.
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| Donald Trump threatens Iran for insurgents storming of US Embassy in Iraq Posted: 31 Dec 2019 02:03 PM PST  Supporters of the Iraq Shiite militia, which is backed by Iran, broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad earlier Tuesday.
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| Woman Jumps From Ferry Boat at Walt Disney World in Orlando Posted: 31 Dec 2019 07:49 AM PST  The 56-year-old woman received minor injuries and was transported to a local hospital
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| Riot Police Use Tear Gas to Answer Firebombs: Hong Kong Update Posted: 31 Dec 2019 08:32 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong protesters rang in the new year with a wave of fresh mass demonstrations, as they tried to show they could maintain pressure on the Beijing-backed government into 2020.The Civil Human Rights Front -- organizer of some of the biggest rallies to rock the Asian financial center over the past six months -- obtained police approval for a New Year's Day march across Hong Kong Island. On New Year's Eve, when residents might normally watch fireworks fall over Victoria Harbor, protesters urged supporters to gather at shopping centers and build a human chain around the former British colony.The turnout could signal the staying power of a pro-democracy movement that has led to countless of violent clashes with police, pushed the economy into recession and forced the cancellation of numerous events, including the New Year's fireworks show. The city's chief executive, Carrie Lam, said in a year-end video message that restoring social "order and harmony" should be the city's resolution for 2020.Historic protests erupted in June in opposition to now-withdrawn legislation that would've allowed extraditions to mainland China and quickly morphed into a broader movement against Beijing's rule. The Communist Party and its local appointees have so far refused to meet demonstrators' demands including calls for direct leadership elections.Why Hong Kong Is Still Protesting and Where It May Go: QuickTakeHere's the latest (all times local):Tear gas fired in the new year (12:07 a.m.)Riot police fired tear gas in the Mong Kok district of Kowloon shortly after the city headed into the new year. The officers moved in as protesters threw petrol bombs on the main thoroughfare.Water cannons used on protesters (11:20 p.m.)Police used water cannons briefly in Mong Kok in Kowloon to disperse protesters who blocked the main thoroughfare. Riot police made a number of arrests. In the popular shopping district Tsim Sha Tsui, thousands of protesters gathered at the harborfront as the city readied to count down to the new year. Some of the demonstrators wore masks, held up mobile phones with lights shining and displayed a banner saying, "Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution of our times."Xi defends "one country, two systems" (7:15 p.m.)Chinese President Xi Jinping used his New Year's Eve address to defend China's system for running Hong Kong. Xi argued the success of neighboring Macau, which he visited earlier this month, shows that the "one country, two systems" framework used to govern both former European colonies "is fully applicable, achievable and popular.""Without a harmonious and stable environment, how can people live in peace and enjoy their work?" Xi asked. "I sincerely wish Hong Kong well. Hong Kong's prosperity and stability is the wish of Hong Kong compatriots and the expectation of our motherland."Small scale protests were held across the city on Tuesday evening.Lam urges return to order (11:45 a.m.)Restoring order and harmony in society should be a resolution for the new year, leader Lam said in a year-end video message. "Let's start 2020 with a new resolution: to restore order and harmony in society. So we begin again, together," she said.She vowed to "not shy away" from her responsibility and to "listen humbly to find a way out," while upholding the "one country, two systems" framework that assures Hong Kong's autonomy from Beijing. "To allow Hong Kong to move forward steadily, we must handle the problems at hand and acknowledge the shortcomings in our system," Lam said.New Year's Day MarchPeople will gather at centrally located Victoria Park -- the starting point for other mass marches thrown by CHRF -- starting at 2 p.m. and begin walking toward the city's central financial and shopping areas around 3 p.m. They plan to start early if the park's central lawn is 85% full, or if crowds overflow in the Wan Chai and Admiralty areas, which have seen regular violence over the past six months."We continue to show our opposition to Carrie Lam and the police force for police brutality," Eric Lai, vice convenor of CHRF, told a news conference Monday. He said the protest's other aims included solidarity with those detained in previous demonstrations.\--With assistance from Dandan Li and Justin Chin.To contact the reporters on this story: Natalie Lung in Hong Kong at flung6@bloomberg.net;Karen Leigh in Hong Kong at kleigh4@bloomberg.net;Fion Li in Hong Kong at fli59@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Colum MurphyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Kim calls for measures to protect North Korea's security Posted: 29 Dec 2019 05:43 PM PST  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for his military and diplomats to prepare unspecified "offensive measures" to protect the country's security and sovereignty, the North's state media said Monday, before his end-of-year deadline for the Trump administration to make major concessions to salvage a fragile nuclear diplomacy. During a ruling Workers' Party meeting Sunday, Kim also "comprehensively and anatomically analyzed" problems arising in efforts to rebuild the North's moribund economy and presented tasks for "urgently correcting the grave situation of the major industrial sectors," the North's official Korean Central News Agency said.
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| A Plan for World War III: How the Warsaw Pact Planned to Defeat NATO Posted: 31 Dec 2019 02:30 AM PST  History had other ideas.
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| Infowars founder who claimed Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax ordered to pay $100,000 Posted: 31 Dec 2019 12:38 PM PST ![Infowars founder who claimed Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax ordered to pay $100,000]( "Infowars founder who claimed Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax ordered to pay $100,000") Jones, founder of the Infowars radio show and webcast, has claimed the mainstream media and gun-control proponents conspired to fabricate the tragedy in which 20 school children and six school staff were shot dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012. In response, several parents of the slain 6- and 7-year-old children sued Jones and Infowars for defamation and emotional distress in Texas, where Infowars is based, and in Connecticut. In Texas, Travis County District Court Judge Scott Jenkins on Dec. 20 ordered Jones and Infowars to pay more than $100,000 in a case brought by Neil Heslin, whose 6-year-old son, Jesse Lewis, was killed at the school.
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| Panama marks 20 years in charge of canal, faces climate threat Posted: 30 Dec 2019 09:23 PM PST  On December 31, 1999 at midday sharp, then-president Mireya Moscoso hoisted Panama's red, blue and white flag over the Canal administration building for the first time. The entire Central American nation was swept with joy, having finally received sovereignty over the Canal after 85 years of management by the US, which built and inaugurated the ocean route in August 1914. Twenty years later, recurrent droughts caused by climate change are the main threat to the 80 kilometer-long canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, through which mostly American, Chinese and Japanese merchant ships pass.
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| FBI Agents: McCabe Apologized for Changing His Story on Leak Posted: 31 Dec 2019 02:03 PM PST  Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe faced scorching criticism and potential criminal prosecution for changing his story about a conversation he had with a Wall Street Journal reporter. Now newly released interview transcripts show McCabe expressed remorse to internal FBI investigators when they pressed him on the about-face. The FBI released the documents in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). They provide fresh details about the investigation into a leak to the Journal, McCabe's role in it, and the reaction of agents who investigated it.In the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign, the Journal broke news about an FBI investigation involving then-candidate Hillary Clinton, describing internal discussions among senior FBI officials.Emails Show McCabe Scrambling to Handle Stories About Hillary ProbeThe apparent leak drew scrutiny from the bureau's internal investigation team, which interviewed McCabe on May 9, 2017, the day President Donald Trump fired James Comey from his post as FBI director. The agents interviewed him as part of an investigation regarding a different media leak to the online publication Circa, and also asked him about the Journal story. In that interview, McCabe said he did not know how the Journal story came to be. But a few months later, his story changed after he reviewed his answer. On Aug. 18, FBI officials met with McCabe in an attempt to work through what they said was "conflicting information" they had gathered about the possible leak to the Journal."I need to know from you," an agent said he told McCabe in a sit-down meeting, "did you authorize this article? Were you aware of it? Did you authorize it?" McCabe then looked at the story he had reviewed months earlier. The FBI investigator described his response this way: "And as nice as could be, he said, yep. Yep I did."Ex-FBI Head Andrew McCabe Sues, Says Trump Ordered His FiringThe investigator then said that "things had suddenly changed 180 degrees with this." The interviewers stopped taking notes on what McCabe was saying, and the agent indicated their view of McCabe had changed: He was no longer a witness or victim. "In our business, we stop and say, look, now we're getting into an area for due process," the agent said.But the agent said that the team did not raise that line of thought with McCabe. "I was very careful to say… with all due respect, this is what you told us. This has caused us some kind of, you know, sidetracking here now with some information other people have told us."The agent's next comments to McCabe took on a frustrated tone."I remember saying to him, at, I said, sir, you understand that we've put a lot of work into this based on what you told us," the agent said. "I mean, and I even said, long nights and weekends working on this, trying to find out who amongst your ranks of trusted people would, would do something like that. And he kind of just looked down, kind of nodded, and said yeah I'm sorry."McCabe's lawyer has said his story changed because in the initial interview he wasn't prepared for the question. The question surprised him, and he didn't give his answer a second thought because Comey was fired shortly after the interview concluded and his world turned upside down. McCabe, who became acting director of the FBI after Trump fired Comey, was fired in March 2018, two days before he was expected to retire. Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he was axing McCabe because of the leak investigation's findings. McCabe, who had been assailed by Trump over and over again on Twitter over the Russia investigation, denied wrongdoing and alleged his firing was politically motivated. In August, he sued DOJ for wrongful termination and has since accused the Trump administration of withholding evidence that would help his case.The DOJ Inspector General, meanwhile, later accused McCabe of lying to investigators multiple times. After that report came out, McCabe's lawyer said it was "far less fair than he deserved," and "utterly failed to support the decision to terminate Mr. McCabe." Lying to federal investigators is a crime, and the Inspector General referred its investigation of McCabe to the U.S. Attorney's office for Washington D.C. McCabe has not been charged with any crime––despite numerous Trump tweets calling him a criminal. 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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| Putin’s Hypersonic Nuclear Missile Stirs Fears of Arms Race Posted: 30 Dec 2019 07:30 AM PST ![Putin's Hypersonic Nuclear Missile Stirs Fears of Arms Race]( "Putin's Hypersonic Nuclear Missile Stirs Fears of Arms Race") (Bloomberg) -- A new hypersonic nuclear missile that Russia says it has deployed is fueling concerns of a new arms race with the U.S. as the clock ticks down on the expiry of the last treaty limiting the strategic arsenals of the two former Cold War foes.Russia's first regiment of Avangard missiles was commissioned in the Urals region of Orenberg, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Dec. 27, days after President Vladimir Putin boasted that the new weapon could penetrate any defensive shield."Not a single country possesses hypersonic weapons, let alone continental-range hypersonic weapons," Putin told military chiefs. "They're trying to catch up with us."The Russian leader unveiled the Avangard and five other new-generation weapons in his annual state-of-the-nation address in March 2018, saying it could travel at up to 20 times the speed of sound like a "meteorite" or a "fireball."The new weapon has gone into service amid heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington after President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of a landmark 1987 treaty banning deployment of short- and medium-range missiles, accusing Russia of being in breach of its terms. The Kremlin, which withdrew from the pact in response, denied the allegation.Nuclear TreatyRussia and the U.S. are also confronting each other over alleged Kremlin meddling in the 2016 presidential election, the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, and Iran's nuclear program.The two sides are deadlocked over the future of the 2010 New START treaty that limits their nuclear arsenals and is due to expire in February 2021. The Trump administration has so far rebuffed Russian calls to begin talks on extending the treaty, saying that any new accord should include China, which refuses to accept limits on its much smaller nuclear capability.U.S. experts visited a facility with Avangard missiles in November as part of a system of mutual inspections under the treaty."It is important to note that the Avangard system is being deployed in small numbers and is accountable under the New START agreement for as long as New START lasts," said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association in Washington.The demise of New START "will have a disastrous impact" on the strategic balance between Russia and the U.S., said Alexander Golts, an independent defense analyst in Moscow. "We'll be going back to the period that led up to the Cuban missile crisis" in 1962, when the Soviet Union and the U.S. came close to nuclear war, he said.While the U.S. alongside China is also developing hypersonic technology, it's probably "a couple of years" away from producing a weapon of such a caliber, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in August. The general who oversees U.S. nuclear forces, Air Force Gen. John Hyten, said in February that hypersonic missiles can strike America within 15 minutes, half the time of ballistic weapons.'Technologically Ahead'"This is an unprecedented situation in which we see that Russia is technologically ahead of the U.S. and the Pentagon is playing catch-up," said Nikolai Sokov, a senior fellow at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Nonproliferation. "The U.S. only woke up this year to this technology and has started to throw money at it."Russia successfully tested Avangard in December last year, firing it from a military base in the southern Urals 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles) to the Kamchatka peninsula. After a ballistic launch, the Avangard glides toward its target with a high degree of maneuverability.The difference between the hypersonic weapon and a traditional ballistic missile is that it "disappears and we don't see it until the effect is delivered," Hyten said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.Claims the Avangard can evade any defenses are overblown since it can be shot down in the early ballistic phase of its trajectory, said Golts, the defense analyst. The real breakthrough will come when Russia implements the same technology in another weapon class, like cruise missiles, according to Sokov, the disarmament expert.Abandoning New START at this juncture would be a major mistake, Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley warned this month. There's bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress for extending the agreement, which "has successfully kept the U.S. and Russia out of a modern-day nuclear arms race," he said on Twitter. "We cannot risk unleashing a new Cold War."(Adds arms control campaigner's comment in ninth paragraph)\--With assistance from Stepan Kravchenko.To contact the reporters on this story: Henry Meyer in Moscow at hmeyer4@bloomberg.net;Jake Rudnitsky in Moscow at jrudnitsky@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Gregory L. White at gwhite64@bloomberg.net, Torrey Clark, Tony HalpinFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| USA TODAY's guide to cruise ship gratuity fees and service charges Posted: 31 Dec 2019 10:57 AM PST ![USA TODAY's guide to cruise ship gratuity fees and service charges]( "USA TODAY's guide to cruise ship gratuity fees and service charges") In the world of cruising, gratuities and service charges are the apex controversy. Check out these fee listings on major cruise lines.
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| Why Does Russia Want the United States to Buy the F-15EX Fighter? Posted: 30 Dec 2019 08:00 AM PST  We shouldn't take Moscow's advice.
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| Huawei says it will generate a record $122 billion in annual revenue despite US sanctions Posted: 31 Dec 2019 05:05 AM PST  The $122 billion figure would, however, fall short of Huawei's own annual revenue projections for 2019.
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| Indonesia protests to China over border intrusion near South China Sea Posted: 30 Dec 2019 06:08 AM PST ![Indonesia protests to China over border intrusion near South China Sea]( "Indonesia protests to China over border intrusion near South China Sea") Indonesia said on Monday it had protested to Beijing over the presence of a Chinese coastguard vessel in its territorial waters near the disputed South China Sea, saying it marked a "violation of sovereignty".
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| Kim Jong Un: North Korea ending test moratoriums Posted: 31 Dec 2019 02:12 PM PST  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared that Pyongyang is abandoning its moratoriums on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests, state media reported Wednesday. "There is no ground for us to get unilaterally bound to the commitment any longer," the official KCNA news agency cited him telling top ruling party officials. Kim declared in 2018 that the North had no further need for nuclear or ICBM tests, and Wednesday's announcement threatens to upend the nuclear diplomacy of the last two years, with US President Donald Trump regularly referring to Kim's "promise" to him not to carry any out.
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| 6 arrested in killings of 4 men at California backyard party Posted: 31 Dec 2019 12:01 PM PST  Police in California announced Tuesday that they have arrested six suspected gang members in the shooting deaths of four men last month at a backyard gathering of family and friends that they believed was a rival gang's party. The victims were killed Nov. 17 when gunmen entered the back of a Fresno home through an unlocked gate and used semiautomatic weapons to open fire on people watching a football game in the backyard. Fresno Police Chief Andy Hall said at a news conference that the suspects are all self-admitted members of the Mongolian Boys Society gang and that they were retaliating against a rival gang called the Asian Crips that they believed was responsible for killing a member of their gang hours earlier.
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| Greta Thunberg calls world leaders' attacks on her 'just funny' Posted: 30 Dec 2019 05:57 AM PST  Greta Thunberg says it's "just funny" when she's personally attacked by world leaders like President Trump.The 16-year-old Swedish climate change activist, who earlier this month was named Time's person of the year, spoke with Today on BBC Radio on Monday and was asked about recent attacks on her, such as when Trump lashed out at her in a tweet by claiming she has an anger management problem or when Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro called her a "brat.""Those attacks are just funny because they obviously don't mean anything," Thunberg said. "Well, I guess, of course, it means something. It means they are terrified of young people bringing change, which they don't want."Thunberg went on to say that these attacks are "proof that we are actually doing something and that they see us as some kind of threat."This comes after Trump went after Thunberg on Twitter in response to Time's decision to name her person of the year, writing she "must work on her anger management problem, then go to a good old-fashioned movie with a friend!"Asked in the BBC interview whether Trump is one of those people who sees her as a threat, Thunberg said "it's possible.""Not me, of course, me myself alone am not much of a threat," she added. "But it's that I'm a part of a big movement that they probably see as a threat."Thunberg also reiterated that a meeting with Trump at the United Nations earlier this year would not have been productive, saying that even if she did have an opportunity to speak with the president, she "wouldn't have wasted my time."More stories from theweek.com The Obama legacy is not what many liberals think Trump's scandals will haunt America for years The first decade in history
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| Boris Johnson Pledges to ‘Waste No Time’ in Delivering Brexit in 2020 Posted: 31 Dec 2019 02:30 PM PST ![Boris Johnson Pledges to 'Waste No Time' in Delivering Brexit in 2020]( "Boris Johnson Pledges to 'Waste No Time' in Delivering Brexit in 2020") (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson pledged to "waste no time" in delivering Brexit before moving on to the "people's priorities" of funding schools and hospitals.In his New Year message, the prime minister promised to complete the U.K.'s divorce from the European Union by the end of January, repeating the campaign message that saw his Conservative Party win its largest majority in more than three decades in the Dec. 12 general election."The necessary legislation has already begun its passage through Parliament and, once MPs return to Westminster, we'll waste no time in finishing the job," Johnson said. Before the Christmas recess, his Brexit deal with Brussels easily cleared its first hurdle in the House of Commons, and its ratification in January is expected to be a formality.He appealed for the country to "turn the page on the division, rancor and uncertainty which has dominated public life," and said the 2020s promise to be a "remarkable decade" for the U.K.Johnson appears determined to try to retain the Labour voters who switched to the Conservatives this time, enabling the Tories to win seats in the main opposition party's traditional strongholds in northern and central England. Funding the state-run National Health Service "will always be my top priority," the prime minister said, parking his tanks firmly in an area where Labour is typically perceived to hold an advantage."I know that many of you do not consider yourself natural Tories and may only have lent me your vote. I am humbled by your support and will work every day to keep it," Johnson said. "I want to reassure you that I will be a prime minister for everyone, not just those who voted for me."To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Andrew LangleyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| What Are Those Mysterious Drones Doing in Colorado? Posted: 30 Dec 2019 07:00 AM PST  The swarm appears to be practicing a search for ... something.
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| Russia Was Almost A France And British Enemy At The Onset Of World War II Posted: 29 Dec 2019 06:00 PM PST  Would Hitler have won?
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| In Leaked Memo, Andrew Yang Asks DNC for More Debate Polls Posted: 30 Dec 2019 08:21 AM PST  Andrew Yang is urging the Democratic National Committee to take an unorthodox step in its debate oversight process: commission more polling over the next several days. In a letter sent to DNC Chairman Tom Perez on Dec. 21, obtained by The Daily Beast, the Democratic contender calls for the DNC to commission four early-state polls before Jan. 10 as part of an effort to encourage more diversity on the debate stage in Iowa. "With the upcoming holidays and meager number of polls currently out in the field, a diverse set of candidates might be absent from the stage in Des Moines for reasons out of anyone's control," Yang wrote. "This is a troubling prospect for our party. Regardless of the DNC's best intentions, voters would cry foul and could even make unfounded claims of bias and prejudice."Yang, who qualified for the first six debates but has yet to reach the polling threshold for the seventh, was the only candidate of color on stage at the recent Los Angeles event. Andrew Yang Goes Mainstream in New Million-Dollar Ad CampaignSo far, the five candidates who have qualified for the CNN-hosted Jan. 14 event at Drake University—former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg—are all white.Yang has met the individual donor requirement and one qualifying poll, but has three left before he can clear the criteria, and believes commissioning more qualifying polls would be a "simple solution." Yang, an entrepreneur who's had flashes of momentum throughout the Democatic primary in some early states, contends the biggest barrier to allowing "a diverse set of candidates" to debate at the next event is the lack of recent qualifying polls that meet the committee's specifications.It's been over a month since a poll in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, or South Carolina has been taken, the letter contends, which would not take into account any potential polling bumps from candidates' recent performances at the sixth debate earlier this month. "As you know, big shifts can happen within short periods in this race, as we've already witnessed multiple times," Yang wrote.Democrats Must Not Have an All-White Debate—and the White Candidates Should Say SoMore polls, "would provide an accurate snapshot of the current state of the race and where voters' hearts and minds are, thus getting ahead of an imminent problem," he wrote. A DNC official pointed to 26 total qualifying polls for the December debate. For the January event, the qualifying window was one week longer, in part to account for holidays, the official said. "The DNC has been more than inclusive throughout this entire process with an expansive list of qualifying polls, including 26 polls for the December debate, more than half of which were state polls," the official told The Daily Beast. "The DNC will not sponsor its own debate-qualifying polls of presidential candidates during a primary. This would break with the long standing practice of both parties using independent polling for debate qualification, and it would be an inappropriate use of DNC resources that should be directed at beating Donald Trump."The correspondence is the first time Yang has written Perez. A senior campaign official said the team has not heard back from the chairman directly, but did receive an acknowledgement that it was received from DNC staff. "Andrew Yang has managed to create a broad coalition for the future of our country and we, as a party, need to keep bringing more people into the fold instead of trying to keep people out of the political process," a senior Yang campaign official said, noting that the team now has nearly 400,000 donors and 1 million contributions, figures first shared with The Daily Beast. Yang's campaign expects to raise at least $12.5 million in the fourth quarter, 25 percent more money than in the previous one, his campaign said. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Bosnia indicts Serb army general over Srebrenica genocide Posted: 31 Dec 2019 07:14 AM PST  A Bosnian war crimes prosecutor on Tuesday indicted a Bosnian Serb former army general for taking part in the 1995 massacre of about 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, an atrocity described as genocide by two international courts. Milomir Savcic, 60, is accused of commanding the Bosnian Serb Army headquarters 65 Protection Motorised Regiment, which included a military police battalion, to capture, kill and bury adult Muslim Bosniaks from the U.N.-protected eastern enclave of Srebrenica in July 1995. Bosnian Serb forces led by General Ratko Mladic attacked Srebrenica on July 11, 1995, separated men from women and children, and killed about 8,000 Muslims, who were then buried in mass graves.
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| Maryland police identify pilot killed in plane crash Posted: 30 Dec 2019 10:21 AM PST  The New York pilot who died when his plane crashed into a suburban Washington, D.C., home was communicating with air traffic controllers before impact, a federal investigator said Monday. Allen's plane took off from College Park, Maryland, and was bound for White Plains, New York.
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| Uber sues California over gig-economy labor law Posted: 31 Dec 2019 02:44 AM PST  Ride-hailing giant Uber and delivery company Postmates have filed a lawsuit against the state of California, claiming a new law that would treat gig-economy freelancers as employees is unconstitutional. The legislation, known as Assembly Bill 5 and due to go into effect on Wednesday, would mean that -- under certain conditions -- independent contractors are classified as employees and granted the minimum salary and health insurance benefits that entails. This would include drivers for both Uber and Postmates.
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