| Republican senator on Trump soliciting foreign interference: 'Things happen' Posted: 19 Jan 2020 12:42 PM PST  Republican Senator Richard Shelby defended an argument from President Trump's legal team that soliciting foreign interference in an election is not an impeachable offense, saying, "things happen."
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| Bloomberg pledges $70 billion to bolster black America in new plan Posted: 19 Jan 2020 09:00 AM PST  Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced his presidential campaign's plan for bolstering economic opportunity for black Americans.
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| Illegal crossings plunge as US extends policy across border Posted: 19 Jan 2020 09:24 AM PST  Adolfo Cardenas smiles faintly at the memory of traveling with his 14-year-old son from Honduras to the U.S.-Mexico border in only nine days, riding buses and paying a smuggler $6,000 to ensure passage through highway checkpoints. Father and son walked about 10 minutes in Arizona's stifling June heat before surrendering to border agents. Instead of being released with paperwork to appear in immigration court in Dallas, where Cardenas hopes to live with a cousin, they were bused more than an hour to wait in the Mexican border city of Mexicali.
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| Bodies of Ukrainian victims of Iran plane crash returned home Posted: 19 Jan 2020 02:30 AM PST  The bodies of the 11 Ukrainian citizens who died when a passenger plane was accidentally shot down by Iran this month were brought back to Ukraine on Sunday in a solemn ceremony at Kiev airport. All 176 on board the Ukraine International Airlines flight from Tehran to Kiev were killed when the Boeing 737-800 was shot down on Jan. 8, at a time when Iran was on high alert for a U.S. attack. Nine of the Ukrainian citizens were crew members.
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| China confirms human-to-human transmission as SARS-like virus spreads Posted: 20 Jan 2020 08:51 AM PST  A SARS-like virus that has spread across China and reached three other Asian nations is contagious between humans, a government expert said Monday, fuelling fears of a major outbreak as millions travel for the Lunar New Year holiday. The new coronavirus strain, first discovered in the central city of Wuhan, has caused alarm because of its connection to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003. The total number of people diagnosed with the virus rose to 218, as Beijing and Shanghai confirmed their first cases on Monday while more than a dozen more emerged in southern Guangdong province and and 136 new ones were found over the weekend in Wuhan, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
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| Virginia on edge as pro-gun activists seethe over governor’s state of emergency Posted: 19 Jan 2020 12:05 PM PST  Moments after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam approached the podium at the state capitol building on Wednesday to announce that he was issuing a temporary state of emergency ahead of a gun rights rally on Monday in Richmond, the angry comments started pouring in. What started in November as a fight between rural Virginia gun owners and newly elected Democratic lawmakers seeking to propose gun control legislation has since been warped and amplified by extremist groups which, for different reasons, have sought to exploit real tensions around Virginia's gun debate to advance their own agendas.
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| Mothers who occupied vacant Oakland house will be allowed to buy it Posted: 20 Jan 2020 04:07 PM PST  Intervention of California governor helps Moms 4 Housing group score victory in fight against state's homeless crisisThe homeless mothers who took over a vacant house in Oakland, California and occupied it for almost two months will be allowed to purchase the property – a major victory in a movement working to keep such homes out of the possession of speculators.The group Moms 4 Housing entered the house on Magnolia Street on 18 November with the intent to stay. The house had sat vacant for more than two years before it was purchased in July at a foreclosure auction for $501,078 by Wedgewood Properties, a real estate investment company with a history of buying up foreclosed-upon houses cheaply, evicting the tenants, renovating the homes and then putting them back on the market at much higher prices.Housing advocates say companies such as Wedgewood fueled the housing crisis that now grips the state, which needs anywhere between 1.8m and 3.5m new housing units by 2025. More than 15,500 units remain vacant in Oakland alone, according to the latest US census bureau data, while 4,071 people are homeless. House-flipping has led to rapid gentrification, which then in turn led to the widespread displacement of black residents.In Oakland, 78% of the homeless population reported that their last place of residence before becoming homeless was within county limits. Seventy percent were black.Moms 4 Housing chose the Magnolia Street house in part to try to force Wedgewood to negotiate the sale of the home back to the community."This is what happens when we organize, when people come together to build the beloved community," Dominique Walker, one of the mothers who lived in the house with her two children, said in a statement, on the day that America marked Martin Luther King Day. "Today we honor Dr King's radical legacy by taking Oakland back from banks and corporations."With the housing and homelessness crisis worsening each day, the mothers received widespread support for their cause, from local lawmakers to California governor Gavin Newsom, who praised the activists.Moms 4 Housing had brought the issue to court, but a judge ruled in favor of Wedgewood. Sheriff deputies arrived in the early hours of 15 January to evict them, arresting two of the mothers and two of their supporters.Wedgewood has maintained that the mothers had committed a criminal act in breaking into the house, and the house legally belonged to the company."Wedgewood has always been and continues to be open to thoughtful and purposeful discussions," spokesman Sam Singer said in a statement."After regaining possession of Magnolia Street, we engaged in discussions with governor Gavin Newsom, mayor Libby Schaaf and councilman Larry Reid. These led to progress that everyone should agree is a step in the right direction in helping to address Oakland's homelessness and housing crisis."
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| Prince Harry banned from wearing military uniform after stepping back from armed forces Posted: 20 Jan 2020 07:06 AM PST  Harry, Duke of Sussex, will be barred from wearing his military uniform after he agreed to step back from his armed forces appointments.
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| Biden Tops Iowa Poll by Democratic Rural Group: Campaign Update Posted: 20 Jan 2020 08:05 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- A new Iowa poll has Joe Biden leading the Democratic presidential race in the first caucus state. The former vice president also placed as likely caucusgoers' top second choice, putting him in a strong position with just two weeks to go until voters begin to choose their nominee.Biden had the support of 24% of likely caucus-goers polled by Focus on Rural America, an Iowa group with Democratic ties that has been polling in the state since last year. Biden's backing in the survey has been roughly stable since the group's September poll, when he was at 25%. He is also the second choice of 24% of those surveyed, an important measure given that caucusgoers have the chance to choose a second candidate if their first choice gets below 15% at their caucus site on Feb. 3.Elizabeth Warren was in second place at 19%, a 4-point drop from her showing in the previous poll. Pete Buttigieg was in third place at 16% and Bernie Sanders was in fourth at 12%. Amy Klobuchar, who's staking her campaign on success in Iowa, was in fifth place at 11%. Buttigieg was the second most-popular second-choice candidate, with 21% of likely caucus-goers saying they'd support him if their first choice is not viable.The poll's ordering of the top four candidates is different than the well-regarded Des Moines Register poll released 10 days ago, which had Sanders leading and Biden in fourth. The discrepancies probably reflect what's expected to be a messy caucus night result that few Iowa Democrats are willing to predict.The poll, conducted by David Binder Research, surveyed 500 likely caucusgoers and has an error margin of 4.4 percentage points.COMING UP:Democratic presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York, both plan to address the U.S. Conference of Mayors on Wednesday.The candidates will debate again in New Hampshire on Feb. 7.The first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses will be held Feb. 3. The New Hampshire primary is Feb. 11. Nevada holds its caucuses on Feb. 22 and South Carolina has a primary on Feb. 29.(Michael Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer Epstein in Washington at jepstein32@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Edward DufnerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Giuliani associate in campaign cash probe seeks Barr recusal Posted: 20 Jan 2020 03:25 PM PST ![Giuliani associate in campaign cash probe seeks Barr recusal]( "Giuliani associate in campaign cash probe seeks Barr recusal") An associate of Rudy Giuliani charged with illegally funneling foreign money into U.S. political campaigns has asked Attorney General William Barr to recuse himself in the case and appoint a special prosecutor. The request is made in a letter filed Monday in the docket of the federal campaign finance violation case brought by New York prosecutors against Lev Parnas. The letter signed by defense lawyer Joseph Bondy came a day before the Senate impeachment trial against President Donald Trump was scheduled to start.
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| Climate crisis could justify asylum claims: UN committee Posted: 20 Jan 2020 11:20 AM PST  Governments that send refugees back to countries severely affected by climate change could be in breach of their human rights obligations, a UN committee said on Monday. The independent experts on the Human Rights Committee issued a non-binding but closely watched ruling in a case brought by Ioane Teitiota from the Pacific island nation of Kiribati. Several Pacific island nations including Kiribati are seen as among the most vulnerable in the world to climate change as they are just a few metres above sea level.
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| Police fire tear gas to disperse thousands in central Hong Kong Posted: 19 Jan 2020 12:08 AM PST ![Police fire tear gas to disperse thousands in central Hong Kong]( "Police fire tear gas to disperse thousands in central Hong Kong") Police fired tear gas on Sunday to disperse thousands of anti-government protesters who gathered in a central Hong Kong park but later spilled onto the streets, briefly barricading roads and spray-painting buildings. Out in numbers before the demonstration began, police intervened promptly when the rally turned into an impromptu march. Several units of police in riot gear were seen chasing protesters and several arrests were made.
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| China's Navy Warships Are Now Armed With Land-Attack Missiles Posted: 20 Jan 2020 08:20 AM PST  China says its newest destroyer is capable of launching land-attack missiles.
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| Armed Militias, Activists, and Alex Jones Converge on Richmond for Pro-Gun Rally Posted: 20 Jan 2020 09:24 AM PST  RICHMOND, Va.—Thousands of gun activists, many of them heavily armed and in full military gear, rallied around Virginia's heavily secured state capitol complex on Monday to protest new gun-control proposals—amid a four-day state of emergency declared by Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam.Thousands of people entered the security perimeter around the state capitol, where Northam had banned guns in an executive order, fearing violence. But thousands of others rallied on nearby streets that didn't fall under the emergency order, many of them carrying assault rifles and wearing tactical gear. Members of the Three Percenter and Oath Keepers militias marched in the streets with their weapons, while other rally-goers cheered one man carrying a large sniper rifle with an orange "Guns Save Lives" sticker affixed to its magazine. The rally drew a number of fringe right-wing figures, including members of the all-male Proud Boys, and Joey Gibson, a right-wing personality in the Pacific Northwest who faces a riot charge in Portland. Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones cruised the streets of Richmond with a megaphone and an armored truck. Shouting from his vehicle, deemed his "battle tank," the radio host reportedly declared: "We are here in Virginia at the capital in defiance of the globalist tyranny and their attempts to trigger a civil war."The pro-gun rally from the Virginia Citizens Defense League was initially tied to Lobby Day, an annual event where gun-control opponents and supporters lobby state lawmakers. But with the Virginia government now in unified Democratic control for the first time in 27 years and expected to pass mandatory background checks and monthly caps on gun purchases, the annual event took on national import for Second Amendment activists as well as fringe far-right groups. Prominent militia figures began speculating that the event would set off the "boogaloo"—far-right internet slang for a new civil war. The Base, a neo-Nazi group, allegedly made plans for a shooting at the event before members of the group were arrested last week.Hoax stories claiming that Northam planned to turn off the power grid or call in the United Nations to disarm Virginians further fueled tensions ahead of the rally. Republican state Sen. Amanda Chase claimed the event was a "set up" meant to embarrass gun owners and potentially lead to their arrests. "A lot of us constitutionalists feel that the Virginia bills set the stage for similar bills," said Jennifer Bailey, a militia activist who organized a "State of the Militia" dinner on Sunday night. While the event wasn't an official Donald Trump rally, paraphernalia supporting the president was bountiful. Shirt vendors sold tees with messages like "God, Guns, and Trump," or "Border Wall Construction Crew." An RV parked outside the entrance to the capitol featured a poster imagining Trump as Rambo. Also spotted in the crowds was a flag in support of QAnon, a bonkers pro-Trump conspiracy theory.While gun-control opponents filled the streets, a few advocates for stricter gun laws showed up after calling off their own event. Virginia resident Thomas Freeman was one of the few visible gun-control advocates in the crowd. Holding up a "Gun Laws Save Lives" sign, he said he felt he had to come to the event after other gun-control activists cancelled because of fears about violence."We had an election, guns were on the ballot, guns lost," Freeman declared. 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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| You Should Get an Electric Fireplace Posted: 20 Jan 2020 09:00 AM PST |
| Leopard runs into house before being captured in south India Posted: 20 Jan 2020 06:15 AM PST  A leopard that ran into a house and sparked a frantic search and a frenzy of attention in southern India on Monday has been caught and tranquilized. The big cat emerged from the Kamdanam forest and ran into a house in Shadnagar town in Telangana state, said Dr. Mohammad Abdul Hakeem, a wildlife official. Deadly conflict between humans and animals has increased in recent years in India largely due to shrinking forest habitats and urban expansion.
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| Puerto Rico governor fires more cabinet ministers after Hurricane Maria supplies discovered Posted: 20 Jan 2020 06:00 AM PST  Puerto Rico's governor Wanda Vazquez announced the dismissal of two more cabinet officials on Sunday — the latest fallout over the discovery of a warehouse full of emergency supplies intended for Hurricane Maria relief.Glorimar Andujar, the secretary of family service, and Fernando Gil-Ensenat, the secretary of housing, were sacked on Sunday, becoming the most recent cabinet members to lose their jobs after the dismissal of the director of Puerto Rico's Office of Emergency Management, Carlos Acevedo, who was fired on Saturday.
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| Report Warned of Threat to U.S. Troops in Germany: Newsweek Posted: 19 Jan 2020 01:00 PM PST ![Report Warned of Threat to U.S. Troops in Germany: Newsweek]( "Report Warned of Threat to U.S. Troops in Germany: Newsweek") (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. received intelligence about a potentially imminent attack being planned against military personnel stationed in Germany, Newsweek reported, citing a memo it saw.The 66th Military Intelligence Brigade received third party information stating that a possible attack could occur against soldiers at either Tower Barracks in Grafenwohr or Tower Barracks, Dulmen; the exact location, date and time of possible attack was unknown Information was marked unclassified and from a senior U.S. intelligence official "The source of information stated the attack would be carried out by an unknown Jordanian extremist currently located in Germany near an unknown military base," the report saidU.S. Army Europe confirmed to Newsweek that a potential threat was identified and investigated last night "German and US officials were consulted and no imminent threat was found to exit"To view the source of this information click hereTo contact the reporter on this story: Nathan Crooks in Miami at ncrooks@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Sebastian Tong at stong41@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| A Trump impeachment lawyer says he will defend the president by arguing that even if he did abuse his power, he hasn't committed any actual crimes Posted: 20 Jan 2020 03:30 AM PST  "The vote was to impeach on abuse of power, which is not within the constitutional criteria for impeachment," Alan Dershowitz said.
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| Angola vows to bring back billionaire dos Santos over graft claims Posted: 20 Jan 2020 09:46 AM PST  Angolan prosecutors vowed on Monday to use "all possible" means to bring back Isabel dos Santos, the former president's billionaire daughter, after thousands of leaked documents revealed new allegations she siphoned off hundreds of millions in public money. Dubbed Africa's richest woman, dos Santos is accused of using her father's backing to plunder state funds from the oil-rich but impoverished southern African country and -- with the help of Western consulting firms -- move the money offshore. "We will use all possible means and activate international mechanisms to bring Isabel dos Santos back to the country," prosecutor general Helder Pitra Gros told public radio.
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| UK to introduce tougher jail terms for convicted terrorists after London Bridge attack Posted: 20 Jan 2020 04:12 PM PST  Britain will introduce tougher jail sentences for convicted terrorists and will end early release as part of a series of measures to strengthen its response to terrorism, the government said on Tuesday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to make changes after an attack near London Bridge in November in which Usman Khan, a convicted terrorist who had been released early from prison, killed two people. Khan had been sentenced to a minimum of eight years in prison in 2012 with a requirement that the parole board assess his danger to the public before release.
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| Could Taiwan Stop an Invasion By China? Posted: 19 Jan 2020 11:25 PM PST  Expert: "Over the next four years, it may be more important to acquire less glamorous but nimbler weapons to prevent Beijing from considering an invasion."
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| Virginia gun rally: anti-fascist activists will not mount counter-protest Posted: 19 Jan 2020 02:30 PM PST  * Local leftist groups cite serious safety concerns * Far-right groups expected to attend Richmond eventAnti-fascist activists will not mount a counter-protest at a gun rights rally at Virginia's state capitol on Monday that is expected to attract thousands, including white supremacists and anti-government militia groups.Anti-fascists from Richmond and Charlottesville publicly advised supporters to avoid the rally altogether, citing serious safety concerns. Molly Conger, a journalist and activist, told the Guardian activists in Charlottesville had agreed to encourage supporters to stay away."There is no counter-demonstration planned for the 20 January convergence of armed militias on Virginia's capitol," Conger wrote on Twitter on Saturday. "Conditions [on] Monday will not be safe. This is not an outcome we can affect."Anti-fascist groups cited several reasons for their decision, including serious threats of violence, their own opposition to some gun control measures proposed by the Virginia government and concern for ordinary gun owners planning to attend the rally.A number of arrests have highlighted the risk of white supremacist violence at the event. Among those arrested are alleged members of a neo-Nazi group, including men who reportedly discussed opening fire at the Richmond rally, and men who were charged with plotting to murder an antifascist couple in Georgia.As white supremacists, militia groups and conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones announced plans to attend, the event has drawn comparisons to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in August 2017, which produced extensive violence and the murder of counter-protester Heather Heyer.Some local activists who monitor the far right, however, said there were clear differences this time."The Charlottesville event was, from the beginning, an event by neo-Nazis and for neo-Nazis," a Twitter account run anonymously by a longtime Richmond anti-fascist activist said on Saturday."There were no other players. Everyone going into that event knew exactly who would be participating and there wasn't the risk of 5,000 unknowing subjects caught in the middle."In contrast, Monday is Lobby Day, an annual event organized by a gun rights group, the Virginia Citizens Defense League, that attracts a range of local residents."I expect a lot of the participants to be older, working class Virginians that are not far-right and do not fit into the category of any hate group," the anonymous anti-fascist activist who runs the Richmond Twitter account told the Guardian. "Part of the concern is their safety."The activist said many locals showing up to the rally will likely have had no experience with volatile protest environments.As conspiracy theories about what "antifa" activists might do at Lobby Day continue to circulate on the right, one Richmond-based anti-fascist group has publicly pushed back against such rumors."Hey! Antifascists are NOT bussing [people] in," Antifa Seven Hills wrote on Twitter. "In fact we are encouraging folks to stay away from the capitol and downtown [Richmond] because of far-right escalations like this."In a direct message, the group told the Guardian: "We are against the [gun control] legislation and the racists attempting to take advantage of this typically calm and multi-issue lobby day."Skepticism about government gun control is a point of agreement between rightwing activists and some US leftists, who argue that marginalized Americans should have the right to defend themselves with firearms.Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, said last week his supporters had been told antifa "is actually on our side of the fence, because they don't like these gun laws either"."If they show, it's not going to be to protest us," Van Cleave told the Guardian on Wednesday.
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| Panama begins exhumation of victims from 1989 US invasion Posted: 20 Jan 2020 02:53 PM PST  Forensic workers took preliminary steps Monday for digging up the remains of some victims of the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama, an effort that has lifted the hopes of Panamanians who had relatives die or disappear and have lived with unanswered questions about their fate for 30 years. Authorities gave the approval for exhumation of the 19 bodies buried in a Panama City cemetery after a truth commission set up three years ago documented about 20 disappearances from the U.S. military action to topple strongman Manuel Noriega. Prosecutor Maribel Caballero told reporters the remains will be compared to a database of DNA from relatives in 14 cases.
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| EU Tells China More Access Needed to Seal Investment Accord Posted: 20 Jan 2020 04:25 AM PST ![EU Tells China More Access Needed to Seal Investment Accord]( "EU Tells China More Access Needed to Seal Investment Accord") (Bloomberg) -- Sign up for Next China, a weekly email on where the nation stands now and where it's going next.European Union Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said China must improve an offer to scale back barriers to foreign money if the two sides are to reach a long-sought investment agreement this year.While demanding more concessions from Beijing, Hogan kept alive an end-2020 target date for achieving an accord that would ease European investors' access to the Chinese market."We are making progress," Hogan told a BusinessEurope conference on Monday in Brussels. "We are not satisfied with the existing offer."The outcome of the investment accord talks may serve as an indication of the EU's broader approach toward China. So far, the bloc has taken a less confrontational approach than U.S. President Donald Trump in seeking to rebalance its trading and investment relationship with the world's second-largest economy.The EU is China's No. 1 trade partner, while the Chinese market is the second biggest for European exports after the U.S.Both sides have been in talks since 2013 on a bilateral pact that would reduce Chinese restrictions on European companies. In April last year, the EU and China set a 2020 target date for reaching an "ambitious" investment deal."Our objective is to keep working with China in relation to this agreement and conclude it by the end of this year," Hogan said on Monday. "We will be as ambitious as we possibly can."In the negotiations, the EU will give priority to "substance over speed," he said."We'll have to make an assessment as we go along about whether we're going to get 100% of what we want; usually that doesn't happen that way," Hogan said. "But if we get 99 I'll be happy."To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at jstearns2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Flavia Krause-JacksonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Trump's lawyers confirm their impeachment playbook is to argue the charges are 'constitutionally invalid' and should be tossed Posted: 20 Jan 2020 11:13 AM PST  During a background briefing, sources working with Trump's legal team said the charges are "frivolous and dangerous" but declined to provide details.
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| Evacuation crackdown ordered as Philippine volcano 'recharges' Posted: 20 Jan 2020 01:42 AM PST  Philippine authorities ordered a crackdown Monday on evacuees' daily visits to their homes in the danger zone around Taal volcano as scientists warned it could be "recharging" for a more powerful explosion. More than 110,000 people have taken refuge in evacuation centres since Taal burst to life a week ago, but many hard-hit towns have let residents back for hours each day to fetch items, feed livestock and clean up their houses. "We are directing DRRMCs (civil defence officers)... not to allow anyone to enter the danger zone," said Epimaco Densing, undersecretary for the Department of Interior.
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| China repeats call on Canada to release Huawei CFO Meng Posted: 20 Jan 2020 12:12 AM PST  China repeated its call on Monday for Canada to release detained Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL] Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou as soon as possible, ahead of the executive's first extradition hearing later in the day. "The resolve of the Chinese government to protect Chinese citizens' proper legal rights is firm and unwavering," foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, told reporters during a daily briefing. Meng, daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested at Vancouver International Airport on Dec. 1, 2018, at the request of the United States, where she is charged with bank fraud and accused of misleading the bank HSBC about Huawei Technologies' business in Iran.
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| Deadly NJ police chases kill innocent victims, catch few crooks Posted: 20 Jan 2020 11:11 AM PST  Many police pursuits across the nation end tragically and disproportionately affect black people. Chases often start with a traffic violation.
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| 2 more Puerto Rico officials fired after warehouse break-in Posted: 19 Jan 2020 01:57 PM PST  Gov. Wanda Vázquez fired the heads of Puerto Rico's housing and family departments Sunday in the latest fallout over the discovery of a warehouse filled with emergency supplies dating from Hurricane Maria. The removal of Housing Secretary Fernando Gil and Department of Family Secretary Glorimar Andújar came a day after the governor fired the director of Puerto Rico's emergency management agency. Vázquez fired him hours after a Facebook video showed angry people breaking into the warehouse in an area where thousands have been in shelters since a recent earthquake.
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| Dozens wounded as Iraqi protesters up pressure on government Posted: 19 Jan 2020 11:50 AM PST  Iraqi security forces wounded dozens of protesters on Sunday as renewed anti-government demonstrations gripped the capital and Iraq's south, activists and officials said. The mass protests had lost steam when soaring U.S.-Iran tensions threatened an open conflict on Iraqi soil in past weeks. As the regional crisis receded, Iraqi activists gave the government a week's deadline to act on their demands for sweeping political reforms or said they would up the pressure with new demonstrations.
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| A Surge of Migrants Rushes a Mexican Border Crossing Posted: 19 Jan 2020 09:09 AM PST  CIUDAD TECÚN UMÁN, Guatemala -- After days of walking and hitchhiking, a crowd of migrants rushed a bridge at Guatemala's border with Mexico on Saturday and clashed with Mexican police who used pepper spray and closed the crossing's large metal gates to keep them out.More than 1,000 migrants were trying to cross the bridge spanning the Suchiate River, which delineates a section of the border between Guatemala and Mexico. After calm was restored, small groups of 20 or so migrants, many of them women and children from Central America, were allowed to file through in orderly fashion and register with Mexican migration officials.The melee was the latest test of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's resolve to get tougher on undocumented migration and stop the flow of migrants illegally entering Mexico, many of them trying to make their way to the United States.The governments of Mexico and several Central American countries, the source of many of the undocumented migrants who have sought to cross the southwest border of the United States in recent years, have been under pressure from President Donald Trump to help stem the flow. Trump temporarily withheld development aid and threatened tariffs to try to force his counterparts in the region to take a tougher stance.The showdown on the southern border of Mexico on Saturday involved the vanguard of a mass mobilization of migrants, most of them Hondurans who set off from the northern city of San Pedro Sula earlier in the week as part of a new caravan. They are part of a tradition of mass migrations that have offered safety in numbers to participants.Over the years, such caravans have usually numbered in the hundreds and have mostly passed unnoticed. But in fall 2018, a caravan that at one point numbered more than 7,000, according to the Mexican authorities, caught the attention of Trump. He turned the matter into a campaign issue, warning against an invasion along the American border.By some estimates, the current mobilization is also in the thousands. The Guatemalan authorities say that more than 4,000 migrants, part of this scattered caravan, have entered Guatemala from Honduras since Wednesday. Many of them had been expected to arrive in the small Guatemalan border city of Tecun Uman on Saturday or Sunday.In recent days, as the caravan approached the Guatemalan border with Mexico, the Mexican authorities announced that only migrants who registered with proper documentation seeking asylum, work permits or other protections would be allowed to enter. Once registered in Mexico, migrants were transported on white unmarked buses to another location to continue their application process.Lopez Obrador said Friday that 4,000 jobs in southern Mexico needed to be filled, which seemed to raise hopes among migrants here that they would be offered employment at the border. But at the same time, the Mexican government also stepped up its enforcement.On Saturday, dozens of armed guards lined the banks of the Suchiate River across from Tecun Uman to prevent migrants from slipping across. A recording warned migrants over a loudspeaker that the United States would not be granting asylum and would instead send them back to Guatemala."Mexico will offer opportunities of employment in your country of origin," the message added.On Friday night, Alex Valladares, 28, sat on a sidewalk with other migrants bedding down on plastic and cardboard in Tecun Uman. He said he had worked for years in Indianapolis as an undocumented mechanic until he was discovered by the authorities and sent back to Honduras, his home country."I'm searching for a better life, employment," Valladares said.At one time, his heart was set on returning to the United States. But now, Valladares said, he sees more opportunity in Mexico. A friend who had also been deported from the United States had called to offer him a job as a mechanic in Veracruz, a Mexican city on the Gulf of Mexico. All he had to do was get there."Better that I can stay in Mexico where they'll give me papers to work legally," he said.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| Palestinian family pledge appeal over Jerusalem eviction ruling Posted: 20 Jan 2020 10:08 AM PST  A Palestinian family pledged on Monday to appeal an Israeli court order to evict them from their home in a mainly-Palestinian east Jerusalem neighbourhood in a case lodged by a settler organisation. The Israeli anti-settlement NGO Peace Now said a Jerusalem magistrates court ruled Sunday in favour of evicting the Rajabi family from their home in the Silwan neighbourhood following a lawsuit filed by members of the pro-settlement Ateret Cohanim organisation. The three-storey building houses 17 Palestinians, the family said.
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| 'I stayed alive to tell' - Auschwitz's dwindling survivors recount horrors of Nazi death camp Posted: 20 Jan 2020 05:14 AM PST  A strip of skin tattooed with the Auschwitz death camp number 99288 sits in a silver frame on a shelf in Avraham Harshalom's living room. As the 75th anniversary of the camp's liberation on Jan 27, 1945, nears, Harshalom, 95, is very clear about why he kept it. Harshalom is one of some 200,000 Holocaust survivors living in Israel today.
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| The US Air Force recently acquired a new $64 million Gulfstream private jet for VIP government officials — see inside Posted: 20 Jan 2020 05:53 AM PST  The US president isn't the only government official that flies in a VIP plane operated by the US Air Force.
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| The Rift Between Turkey and America Has Paved the Way for Russia's Rebound Posted: 20 Jan 2020 12:08 PM PST  Once bitter rivals, Russia and Turkey have seen their relationship rebound over the past few years.
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| The 11 most expensive cities to live in around the world in 2020 Posted: 20 Jan 2020 05:27 AM PST  The 16th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey reveals cities bordering the Pacific Ocean are the most expensive.
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| 3 killed, 100-plus hurt in collapse during Ethiopia ceremony Posted: 20 Jan 2020 05:38 AM PST  At least three people were killed and more than 100 others injured when a wooden stand erected for the colorful Epiphany celebration collapsed in Ethiopia on Monday, an official and hospital source said. The security chief for the city of Gondar, Tesfa Mekonnen, did not specify the number of deaths in comments to regional broadcaster Amhara Mass Media Agency. A hospital source in Ethiopia's city of Gondar confirmed that at least three people died.
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| Impeachment Anticipation Builds in Washington Ahead of Trial Posted: 19 Jan 2020 04:26 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Anticipation is building in Washington ahead of the nation's first impeachment trial in 20 years even as Democrats and Republicans continue to squabble about everything from the length of trial days to calling witnesses. The Democratic House impeachment managers held meetings for much of Sunday. They're expected to do a formal walk-through of the Senate chamber on Monday morning, open to the public, to get their bearings. Each of the seven managers will have their own role in the proceedings. Both sides on Sunday stuck to familiar positions, reflecting legal filings made on Saturday. For Democrats, Trump is a "threat to the nation and the rule of law." For Republicans, Democrats are staging a "brazen and unlawful" attempt to overturn the 2016 election. Alan Dershowitz, a member of Donald Trump's legal team, said earlier he sees no grounds for the impeachment of the president. "If the allegations are not impeachable, then this trial should result in an acquittal, regardless of whether the conduct is regarded as OK by you or by me or by voters," Dershowitz said on ABC's "This Week." "That's an issue for the voters." 'I'm the Kicker' Dershowitz, a constitutional law expert whose clients have included accused sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, will be part of what he characterized Sunday as "special teams" on the Trump legal roster. "I'm the kicker, and I can kick the field goal that wins the game," Dershowitz said on CNN's "State of the Union."An initial six-page response from Trump's legal team on Saturday took aim at the House Democrats who investigated the president. "Well-founded articles of impeachment both allege that crimes were committed and those are the types of crimes that constitute an abuse of the public trust," said Robert Ray, another member of the president's legal team and former Whitewater independent counsel.Abuse of power alone has been tried in the past, "but they have not fared well," Ray said on "Sunday Morning Futures" on Fox News Channel.The process starting Tuesday will be the Senate's first impeachment trial in two decades. Democrats have called on senators to conduct a fair trial as part of the oath they took this week to "do impartial justice."Trump's legal team will be led by White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Trump's private attorney, Jay Sekulow. Other team members, including Dershowitz, expect to give discrete presentations on specific topics.Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff is leading the Democrat's impeachment team with six colleagues. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi selected him in September after she decided to move forward with the investigation.Debate continued Sunday about the rules that will apply to the trial, including whether to call witnesses and whether Republicans will move to dismiss the case altogether."We do not know what the rules are going to be at this moment. We certainly look forward to being able to review the resolution," Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, one of the impeachment managers, said on "Fox News Sunday." No DismissalThe idea of dismissing is "dead for practical purposes," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said on "Fox News Sunday." "We don't have the votes for that.""Dismissing this case is a much less attractive option than rendering final judgment and acquitting the president," Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said on "Sunday Morning Futures" on the Fox News Channel. "A dismissal doesn't reach the merits. An acquittal, a verdict of not guilty, that verdict stands for all time."Impeachment Arguments Open With Dueling Filings: Key TakeawaysThe impeachment managers, who represent the geographic and demographic diversity within the Democratic Party, walked the articles of impeachment across the Capitol to the Senate chamber last week, kicking off the symbolic start to the Senate process.The managers, effectively serving as prosecutors, will spend the first days of the trial outlining the articles to the senators, who'll be required to be present in the chamber. The trial, slated to begin at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, is expected to last for weeks.Only a few Republican senators have been open to the idea of calling witnesses, which Graham opposes. "What they're doing here is, they've got a railroad job in the House and they're trying to fix it in the Senate, and I'm not going to be part of that," he said.Cruz also said that it witnesses are called, the trial could extend from a potential one to two weeks to six or eight weeks or longer.Open Mind"If the Senate decides, if Senator McConnell prevails and there are no witnesses, it will be the first impeachment trial in history that goes to conclusion without witnesses," Schiff said on ABC. Senator Richard Shelby, Republican of Alabama, also on ABC, said he was keeping an open mind on the need for witnesses."What we do this week and what we hear and what are the facts that we hear will probably meet the test and determine whether we get additional witnesses that will help us make a relevant and a fair decision," Shelby said.Senator David Perdue, a Georgia Republican, also is open to calling witnesses, but "only within the scope" of the impeachment articles, he said on NBC's "Meet the Press."Some Senate Republicans have called for former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter to be deposed if former National Security Adviser John Bolton testifies, as Democrats want. \--With assistance from Billy House.To contact the reporters on this story: Hailey Waller in New York at hwaller@bloomberg.net;Laura Davison in Washington at ldavison4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: James Ludden at jludden@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, Steve GeimannFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Photos surface showing convicted Nazi guard Demjanjuk at Sobibor Posted: 20 Jan 2020 03:36 AM PST  New photos have emerged which for the first time show convicted Nazi guard John Demjanjuk at the Sobibor death camp, a Berlin archive confirmed Monday, although he always denied ever being there. Ukrainian-American Demjanjuk was convicted of being an accessory to the murder of nearly 30,000 Jews at Sobibor by a German court in 2011. According to the Berlin-based Topography of Terror archive, photos of Demjanjuk are among a newly discovered collection of more than 350 snaps which give "detailed insight" into the camp in German-occupied Poland.
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| The images of Australia's storms are downright apocalyptic Posted: 20 Jan 2020 07:21 AM PST  Australia just can't catch a break. As wildfires continued to devastate parts of the country, a miles-long dust storm rolled across New South Wales Sunday, blotting out the sun. As CNN reports, the area has been experiencing drought since 2017, so dirt is loose and easily kicked up by high winds.> In Australia, people have been filming rolling clouds of dust sweeping across New South Wales. > > The massive dust storms blanketed entire towns and blacked out the sun over the weekend. https://t.co/59EwemGKFX pic.twitter.com/RA7nMgMsjN> > -- CNN (@CNN) January 20, 2020In other parts of the southeast, thunderstorms over the past two days brought hail stones the size of baseballs, bringing down trees, battering cars and buildings, and leaving thousands of people without electricity, according to The New York Times. There's also been flash flooding. And the Bureau of Meteorology says the storms could continue for another few days.> Parts of eastern Australia has been pelted by golf-ball sized hail - the storms have helped to fight some bushfires, but many continue to burnhttps://t.co/aaGqbxlEIa pic.twitter.com/VVuWXINivH> > -- BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 20, 2020More stories from theweek.com The strongest case for Joe Biden Boeing goes from bad to worse Trump's legal team calls on Senate to dismiss impeachment charges
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