| 6 Officers Shot in Florida and Pennsylvania, 2 Killed and 4 Wounded Posted: 19 Aug 2017 08:39 AM PDT  Three police departments are reeling from a violent night that has left two officers dead.
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| Watts: When Leaders are Silent, They Are Agreeing With KKK Posted: 19 Aug 2017 11:11 PM PDT  Former Congressman J.C. Watts (R-Okla) tells Chuck Todd that now "is not a time for us to be afraid to be tweeted" by the president.
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| Flying dogs caught in action Posted: 20 Aug 2017 08:30 AM PDT ![Flying dogs caught in action]( "Flying dogs caught in action") These excited pooches are flying without wings in this series of hilarious images. Taken in July by photographer Peter Mueller, Each photo shows the canines' exuberant facial expressions, as they appear to be leaping through the air.
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| Lost WWII USS Indianapolis Wreckage Finally Uncovered Posted: 19 Aug 2017 01:59 PM PDT  It was 18,000 feet under the water's surface.
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| Former Obama DHS Secretary: 'Confederate monuments are a threat to public safety' Posted: 20 Aug 2017 05:00 AM PDT  Former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said Confederate monuments are "becoming symbols and rallying points for white nationalism, for neo-Nazis, for the KKK."
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| Thousands Protest White Supremacy In New Orleans Posted: 19 Aug 2017 07:43 PM PDT  Suber told HuffPost the rally was organized for two reasons. "This is our solidarity with the people in Charlottesville, Virginia, as well as a notice to our local leaders that we want all statues dedicated to white supremacists taken down," he said. Watch Suber speak during Saturday's protest in New Orleans, below.
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| Man charged with using drone to smuggle drugs into the US Posted: 19 Aug 2017 07:35 PM PDT  A man has been charged with using a drone to smuggle more than 13 pounds of methamphetamine into the US from Mexico. Jorge Edwin Rivera, 25, told the US authorities that he was paid to deliver the drugs to an accomplice at a filling station in San Diego. Rivera, who is a US citizen, admitted smuggling the drugs five or six times since March. Border agents spotted the flying drone on August 8 and tracked it back to Rivera who was about 2,000 yards from the border. He was found with the methamphetamine in a lunchbox and a drone was hidden in a nearby bush. Drones have not normally been the mode of choice for smuggling narcotics into the America, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration. This is because they are only capable of carrying small amounts and are regarded as less cost-effective than using boats or hidden vehicle compartments. In 2015 two people admitted using a drone to deliver 28 pounds of heroin to Calexico, a border town in California. Border agents in Arizona spotted a drone being used to drop 30-pound bundles of marijuana in the same year. Rivera has been remanded in custody and his next hearing is scheduled for September 7.
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| The Latest: Wildfire forces evacuation of 440 Oregon homes Posted: 18 Aug 2017 06:25 PM PDT ![The Latest: Wildfire forces evacuation of 440 Oregon homes]( "The Latest: Wildfire forces evacuation of 440 Oregon homes") PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Latest on wildfires in the West (all times local):
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| Ivanka Trump Praises Boston Counter-Protesters Posted: 19 Aug 2017 11:43 PM PDT  President Donald Trump in one of his tweets called the counter-protesters as "anti-police agitators." However, he later tweeted supporting the right to demonstrate.
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| Who's Selling Solar Eclipse Glasses? Here's a Complete List Posted: 19 Aug 2017 01:20 PM PDT  You'd better hurry.
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| Elderly Swiss couple found murdered in Kenya's Mombasa city Posted: 20 Aug 2017 10:46 AM PDT ![Elderly Swiss couple found murdered in Kenya's Mombasa city]( "Elderly Swiss couple found murdered in Kenya's Mombasa city") By Joseph Akwiri MOMBASA (Reuters) - The bodies of an elderly Swiss couple were found dumped by a country road in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa with severe injuries on Sunday, police said, and the caretaker of a property where they had been due to stay was being sought for questioning. Regional police chief Larry Kiyeng identified them by name and said they had flown into Kenya on Saturday and had planned to stay at a private residence in Nyali, an upmarket estate in Mombasa. The couple, who appeared to be between 60 and 70 years old, were found wrapped in a blanket near a local nightclub on the outskirts of Mombasa, area police chief Christopher Rotich said. "They have severe injuries.
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| Couple Who Engaged In Sexual Act Aboard Southwest Airlines Flight Questioned Posted: 20 Aug 2017 09:24 AM PDT  The airline said the incident occurred on a flight from Atlanta to Las Vegas and apologized to other passengers aboard the flight.
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| Crowds rally in Hong Kong after activists jailed Posted: 20 Aug 2017 08:29 AM PDT  Thousands of supporters of three jailed young democracy activists took to the streets in Hong Kong Sunday to protest their sentences. Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow, leaders of the 2014 Umbrella Movement rallies, were sentenced to six to eight months in jail Thursday for their role in a protest that sparked the months-long demonstrations calling for democratic reforms. People took on the scorching summer heat to stream from the district of Wan Chai to the Court of Final Appeal in the heart of Hong Kong Island, protesting the jail terms.
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| Neighbor, 24, Arrested After 3 Young Girls Found Murdered in Home Posted: 19 Aug 2017 07:19 AM PDT  He turned 25 the day after the alleged murders.
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| Expert: Arkansas may have reliable source of execution drug Posted: 18 Aug 2017 06:03 PM PDT  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A death penalty expert says Arkansas' recent purchase of a lethal injection drug — in a small amount and at a cheap price — suggests the state has found a reliable supplier to help it move 30 inmates from death row to the execution chamber.
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| Anti-Isil offensives: Soldiers fighting terror show solidarity with Barcelona victims as Tal Afar assault begins Posted: 20 Aug 2017 10:27 AM PDT  Jubilant Lebanese forces staged a show of solidarity for the victims of the Barcelona terror attack on Sunday, waving the flags of both Spain and Lebanon over captured Isil positions on the Syrian border. The UK and US-backed forces killed 20 militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil), capturing a third of their territory from areas on the border with Syria, according to a Lebanese military spokesman. The fighting, which left three Lebanese soldiers dead, has been coordinated with an offensive on the other side of the border against Isil. Fighters from the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitaries gather as they advance towards the city of Tal Afar Credit: AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE The assault in Syria came as the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi launched a new offensive against Isil in the Iraqi city of Tal Afar, one of the extremists' last remaining strongholds. "You either surrender, or die," he warned in a televised eve-of-battle speech. Haider al-Abadi announcing the start of operations in Tal Afar Credit: HANDOUT/AFP/Getty Images The Tal Afar offensive comes just weeks after Isil was ousted from its symbolic stronghold and 'second capital' of Mosul by a brutal campaign from Iraqi forces which left the centre of the city in ruins. Iraqi forces around Tal Afar began attacking Isil positions from three sides at dawn yesterday, while Shia militia fought south of the city and Kurdish Peshmerga troops in the north. Standing in front of the Iraqi flag and wearing military fatigues, Mr al-Abadi announced that "Zero Hour" had arrived for the Islamic State which is rapidly losing its grip over its so-called "caliphate". Iraqi forces pounded the Islamic State group in Tal Afar in a new assault Credit: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images "We have won all our battles, and Daesh have always lost," he said, using an alternative name for the terror group. "The entire world is with you," Mr al-Abadi told the troops. Several hours after the battle began, the federal police said it had retaken the village of Al-Abra Al-Sghira west of Tal Afar. The US-led coalition fighting Isil in Iraq and Syria welcomed the start of the offensive and pledged support to Iraqi forces involved. An Iraqi forces helicopter is seen flying as forces advance towards the city of Tal Afar Credit: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, the head of the anti-Isil coalition, said the operation in Tal Afar is "another important fight that must be won to ensure the country and its citizens are finally free of ISIS." "The coalition is strong, and fully committed to supporting our Iraqi partners until ISIS is defeated and the Iraqi people are free." The launch of another round of fighting in the country's north is causing fresh worries for the safety of civilians caught up in the offensive. The United Nations estimates 30,000 people have already fled the city, and it is preparing to receive thousands more displaced persons. It is believed up to 50,000 civilians remain in Tal Afar.
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| Ex-DHS Secretary Says John Kelly And Jim Mattis Need to Stay On The Job Posted: 20 Aug 2017 08:30 AM PDT  WASHINGTON ― Former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has one piece of advice if White House chief of staff John Kelly or Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis want to resign: Don't do it.
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| How Long Will the Total Solar Eclipse Last? Posted: 20 Aug 2017 04:00 AM PDT  Americans in some states will only witness seconds of it
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| Moroccan suspect in Barcelona attack turned more conservative in past year: family Posted: 20 Aug 2017 01:37 PM PDT ![Moroccan suspect in Barcelona attack turned more conservative in past year: family]( "Moroccan suspect in Barcelona attack turned more conservative in past year: family") By Samia Errazzouki MRIRT, Morocco (Reuters) - A suspect still at large after the Barcelona van attack began showing more religiously conservative behavior within the past year and refused to shake hands with women during a visit to his birthplace in Morocco in March, family members say. The relatives expressed shock and anger on Sunday after discovering the alleged involvement in the Barcelona attack of Younes Abouyaaqoub, 22, as well as his brother and two cousins, all originally from the small Moroccan town of Mrirt. Abouyaaqoub is one of 12 suspects in Thursday's attack on Las Ramblas, Barcelona's most famous boulevard, in which a van plowed into holidaymakers, killing 13 people.
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| Indian woman wins divorce over lack of toilet Posted: 19 Aug 2017 05:54 PM PDT  An Indian court has given a woman permission to divorce her husband because their home did not have a toilet, forcing her to seek relief outdoors. Justice Rajendra Kumar Sharma said women in villages often endured physical pain waiting until darkness to relieve themselves outdoors. The judge labelled open defecation -- a major health problem in India -- disgraceful and deemed it torture to deny women a safe environment for relief, the woman's lawyer Rajesh Sharma told AFP.
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| Young Taiwanese choose China jobs over politics Posted: 19 Aug 2017 07:55 PM PDT  Taiwan has long seen its international allies switching allegiance to an ascendant Beijing, but now there are also fears of a brain drain of the island's youth as they pursue careers in rival China. Cross-strait tensions have soared since China-sceptic Tsai Ing-wen took power last year, with Beijing cutting all official communication. China still sees the self-ruling island as part of its territory to be reunified, but young people in particular have increasingly developed a sense of pride in their Taiwanese identity.
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| The Latest: No bond for suspect in officers' death in Fla. Posted: 20 Aug 2017 08:36 AM PDT  KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — The Latest on police officers fatally shot in Florida (all times local):
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| Charlottesville: Student who attended neo-Nazi rally forced to leave university after backlash Posted: 19 Aug 2017 07:43 AM PDT  A student who took part in the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville has said he is leaving Boston University because of the violent threats he has received since the event. "It's becoming very dangerous," Nicholas Fuentes told the Boston Globe. "Massachusetts, and Boston in particular, are among the most left-wing states and cities," he said.
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| Community Helps Man Arrested After Leaving Kids Home Alone to Go to Work Posted: 20 Aug 2017 08:42 AM PDT  His wife reportedly has stage four cancer.
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| Indiana's Donnelly, a top GOP target, starts re-election bid Posted: 20 Aug 2017 05:54 AM PDT  INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly is positioning himself as a moderate who will fight for "common sense and compromise" as he launches a re-election bid in a state that President Donald Trump easily won last year.
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| Why the US total solar eclipse is so special Posted: 19 Aug 2017 12:48 AM PDT  On August 21, the US will experience the first coast-to-coast total eclipse in nearly a century. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and earth and blocks the sun. For those lucky enough to witness it in America it will be an unique experience, says Affelia Wibisono, astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Total Solar Eclipse in Australia 2012 Credit: Taxi Japan/Taxi Japan "They will see the sky get darker. It will feel like night-time has come early. "They might hear the birds singing. Some animals do get a little bit confused about what's happening. "But not only that, people might actually see the stars come out during the daytime and if they are very, very lucky the might see some of the planets." What creates a total solar eclipse Unfortunately, in the UK only a slight partial eclipse will be visible. Britain will not see a total solar eclipse until September 23, 2090.
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| 'Catching' a U-2 fresh back from America's air wars Posted: 20 Aug 2017 01:04 PM PDT  By Phil Stewart AL DHAFRA AIR BASE, United Arab Emirates (Reuters) - It may not sound possible to "catch" an American spy plane while driving a Dodge Charger. The plane itself was designed in the 1950s to grip the lightest parts of the atmosphere some 70,000 feet above the Earth, so, in the words of one of the U-2 pilots, "it really doesn't want to stop flying." Enter the Dodge Charger, which along with another so-called "chase car" helped guide the spy plane down to the runway, speeding at about 90 miles per hour - an operation perfected over the many years of the famed U-2 Dragon Lady's operations.
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| Serena Williams' Fiancé Is A Little Shocked By Her Pregnancy Cravings Posted: 19 Aug 2017 08:38 AM PDT  He knew there would be cravings, but not quite like this.
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| Deadly rocket fire hits near Damascus trade fair Posted: 20 Aug 2017 11:03 AM PDT  Six people were reported dead on Sunday when a rocket hit near an international trade fair in Syria's capital Damascus being held for the first time in five years. The Damascus International Fair was once the leading event on Syria's economic calendar but had not been held since shortly after the outbreak of the country's war in March 2011.
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| 'One of the Most Difficult Scenes.' 3 Kids Found Killed Inside Suburban Home Posted: 19 Aug 2017 06:12 AM PDT  'One of the most difficult scenes'
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| Girl, 11, makes incredible recovery after friend poured boiling water over her during sleepover Posted: 19 Aug 2017 04:43 AM PDT  An 11-year-old girl has made an incredible recovery after a friend poured boiling water over her face at a sleepover. Jamoneisha "Jamoni" Merritt was rushed to hospital with horrific burns after Aniya Grant Stuart, 12, splashed scalding water onto her while she slept at a house in the Bronx, New York, on 7 August. Aniya was charged with felony assault after the incident, which was said to be a "prank" gone horribly wrong.
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| State funeral for Pakistan's 'Mother Teresa' Posted: 19 Aug 2017 12:29 PM PDT  Ruth Pfau, a German nun who devoted her life to combatting leprosy in Pakistan, was buried with full state honours on Saturday, in an unprecedented service for a foreign Christian in the Muslim-majority country. Pfau, who died at the age of 87 on August 10 was known locally as Pakistan's Mother Teresa. Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain attended the state funeral service at St Patrick's Cathedral in the city, where hundreds of people gathered to pay their respects.
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| Dashcam video shows white cop punching black man during stop Posted: 18 Aug 2017 06:00 PM PDT  CLEVELAND (AP) — A dashcam video of a traffic stop that led to a white police officer with a history of disciplinary issues repeatedly punching a black man and hitting his head on pavement appears to show a different sequence of events than police had originally described.
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| How the Republican party quietly does the bidding of white supremacists | Russ Feingold Posted: 19 Aug 2017 03:00 AM PDT  Let us finally rip off the veneer that Trump's affinity for white supremacy is distinct from the Republican agenda. The phony claimed outrage becomes dangerous if it convinces anyone that there is a distinction between Trump's abhorrent comments and the Republican Party agenda. It is the unmasking of the Republican party leadership.
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| Solar Eclipse Safety Tips Posted: 18 Aug 2017 07:40 PM PDT  Many areas of the United States will experience a total eclipse of the sun on Monday, August 21, 2017, but there are some important safety concerns when it comes to experiencing an eclipse. A total solar eclipse will start in Oregon and stretch across the country all the way to South Carolina -- find out if you are in the eclipse's path of totality HERE -- with most people getting to see a partial eclipse. According to NASA, the only safe way to look at the sun during this event with special-purpose solar filters, commonly called "eclipse glasses" or a hand-held solar viewer.
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| How Tough Mudder and its 'adult obstacle courses' became a £100m business Posted: 18 Aug 2017 11:00 PM PDT  One Sunday morning, Will Dean informed his girlfriend Katie: "I am going to electrocute thousands of people." Unfazed, she continued reading her newspaper. But the Sheffield-born founder of Tough Mudder – the now-globally successful obstacle course series which comes to Gloucestershire's Badminton Estate this weekend – was devilishly serious. "I started calling engineering companies, saying: 'Hello, we're Tough Mudder, we want to shock people with electricity,'" explains Dean, 36, who launched his first "weekend obstacle course for adults" in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in May 2010, after studying a MBA at Harvard Business School. "You'd get a pause and then the line would go dead. People thought they were being pranked." In the Tough Mudder innovations lab, human guinea pigs spend their mornings running through hay bales and dipping their extremities in buckets of ice The obstacle called Electroshock Therapy, which involves running through wires fizzing with 10,000 volts (triple the sting of your average electric fence), is now the event's signature challenge. "As CEO, I have a unique role in all this because I am also the majority shareholder. People said: "Will, we can't do this." I was saying: "Yes, we can. We can have a board meeting and get it approved in two seconds. Look, it just happened…'" Dean spent five years working as a UK counter-terrorism officer in the Middle East and Afghanistan until, stifled by bureaucracy, he sought entrepreneurial fulfilment. His Harvard tutors called his business plan "optimistic". At the inaugural edition, he prayed for 500 customers and got 4,500. There are now 130 annual Tough Mudder events in 11 countries with 3 million entrants worldwide so far. This weekend's clientele have paid up to £139 to take on a 10- to 12-mile course littered with tunnels, nets, walls, fire, ice and mud. The company's annual revenues now exceed $100m. Mud Run Electroshock Wire Caught on Neck 00:27 Obstacles are conjured up at an "Innovation Lab" in Pennsylvania where human guinea pigs spend their mornings running through hay bales and dipping their extremities in buckets of ice. Cry Baby, an obstacle which requires people to crawl through eye-watering smoke, was tested by spraying staff with homemade tear gas. Spider Box (a pit full of tarantulas) and Acid Rain (a container of floating acid bubbles) didn't make the cut. "The Innovation Lab is as crazy as it sounds," says Dean. "I joke that you will never get a Nobel Prize unless you test it on yourself. We start by saying: let's think of the unthinkable. We finish by saying: now we have to make this work in Dubai, Germany and Mexico and get several thousand people of all shapes and sizes through in one hour. It is a strange remit." Splashdown: a Tough Mudder comptetitor comes to grief Credit: Ben Birchall /PA Obstacle races have become wildly popular, with 5 million people in 40 countries taking part in events each year. Tough Mudder attracts a mix of couples, families, friends, work colleagues, students and executives. "The mud is a leveller," says Dean. But why pay money to endure manufactured suffering? Dean believes the trend may be in part a reaction to our risk-averse society, with desk-bound workers seeking raw experiences to share on social media and in pub chats. But he insists the benefits are real. "I believe in challenging oneself to take on new things and I believe that is the secret to developing confidence. In a funny way, running through electric wires gives people the confidence to take on other challenges and changes in their life." Tough Mudder's latest obstacles 01:05 He says Tough Mudder's fun values have helped them outsmart rivals like Spartan Race, launched by Joe De Sena, a former Wall Street trader, in 2007. Miss an obstacle at Spartan Race and you have to do 30 burpees. At ToughMudder, nobody cares. Spartan Race times and ranks all contestants (accountability is the real secret to better health, insists De Sena), but Dean refuses, haunted by a 2008 triathlon when time-conscious athletes wouldn't stop to help him unjam the zip of his wetsuit. "My belief came from me saying: I would do this. My friends would do this. I genuinely believe there is a market for a race that is not a race." There are now 130 annual Tough Mudder events in 11 countries, with 3 million entrants worldwide so far Credit: Andrew Crowley Dean now lives in New York with his lawyer wife Katie and their one-year-old daughter, Isobel. He still tackles the courses himself and joins in "Breakfast Club" workouts at the company's Brooklyn HQ. His events deliberately inspire this same sense of community – what he calls his "tribe". He hates seeing runners plodding side-by-side on gym treadmills and never speaking. His event forces you to seek help from strangers to scale walls and nets. "Tough Mudder gives you a sense of personal accomplishment, a sense of a team and being a part of something bigger than yourself, and hopefully a sense of fun." He is not surprised it has proven popular in the UK. "More than any other culture, we believe in not taking ourselves too seriously. In our school sports, we have second and third teams. No American would play in that. It would be an embarrassment. You do get differences around the world. Germans ask six times more customer service questions. Australians sign up last-minute. But it's a bit like kids and ice cream – it's universal in its appeal." Tough Mudder - are you tough enough? Next month, Dean is publishing a new business book, It Takes a Tribe, which analyses the social psychology, corporate theory and personal stories behind his success. It also documents the fierce battles that shaped the company. Dean and De Sena used to fly provocative advertising banners over each other's events. De Sena once declared in an interview: "There's not a person on this planet I despise more than Will Dean." They have since bonded over lunch, but the rivalry bubbles away. "I have a lot of respect for Joe De Sena, as much as I tease him. I have said before when asked if we have anything in common: yes, we both wake up every morning and the first thing we think about is Tough Mudder. But I do think the rival philosophy has meant we ended up creating two companies which superficially may seem similar, but are very different." "Tough Mudder gives you a sense of personal accomplishment, a sense of a team and being a part of something bigger than yourself," says founder Will Dean Credit: Andrew Crowley More troubling was the multimillion dollar lawsuit Dean faced in 2010. Billy Wilson, a former soldier who launched Tough Guy, an obstacle course in Wolverhampton in 1987, had granted Dean access to his company information for his Harvard studies and then accused him of stealing his idea. Dean countersued for defamation. After a vitriolic battle, the pair agreed a confidential settlement in 2011, with Dean reportedly paying $725,000. "There is only so much I can say, but one thing I can say is that we had to literally quadruple our pace. We weren't just fighting for the survival of the company. Suddenly everything was on the line: personal bankruptcy, reputation. It was incredibly stressful. But it is part of the narrative now. I don't think we would be as ambitious were it not for that experience." The Four Phases | Chris Hall's Tough Mudder Workout Prep Aware of the perennial need to innovate, Dean has in recent years added events like Mini-Mudder (for kids) and World's Toughest Mudder (a 24-hour elite event). He has signed television deals with CBS and Sky Sports, and he is now launching Tough Mudder boot camps around the UK, offering high-intensity, 45-minute group workouts. "There are a few things in society right now which are worrying," he explains. "Obesity and diabetes rates are up, loneliness is up, people spend more time on social media and less time with friends. It all comes back to our mission to grow a global tribe. The boot camps are the local community hub and the event is the pilgrimage when the tribe comes together. I don't pretend we are curing cancer. But I do think in our own small way we are making the world a better place." For event details, go to toughmudder.co.uk. Jeep has launched a limited edition Tough Mudder Renegade: jeep.co.uk/tough-mudder
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| Ben & Jerry's Releases The Most Genius Ice Cream Yet Posted: 20 Aug 2017 07:33 AM PDT  Chocolate lovers are going to freak out.
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| Jerry Falwell Jr. on President Trump: He 'doesn't say what's politically correct' Posted: 20 Aug 2017 05:02 AM PDT  Trump supporter and Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. joins "This Week."
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| Spain vehicle attacks: What we know Posted: 18 Aug 2017 05:32 PM PDT  At least 14 people were killed and more than 100 others injured after cars deliberately slammed into pedestrians in Spain in two separate attacks, one on Barcelona's most popular street and another in a busy seaside town. One of the city's busiest streets, the promenade is normally thronged with tourists and street performers until well into the night. About eight hours later, just after midnight local time (2200 GMT), an Audi A3 hit pedestrians on the seafront promenade in Cambrils, a resort town some 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of Barcelona.
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| SeaWorld: Former trainer says deaths of three killer whales a 'disgrace to humanity' Posted: 20 Aug 2017 04:46 AM PDT  A former killer whale trainer at SeaWorld has spoken out about conditions at the attraction, after the deaths of three orcas there this year. Last week, Kasatka became the third killer whale at the Californian theme park to die. The orca was 41 years old, making her the oldest killer whale at SeaWorld in San Diego.
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| Iran parliament clears oil, foreign ministers for Rouhani's new cabinet Posted: 20 Aug 2017 03:21 AM PDT  By Babak Dehghanpisheh BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Iranian parliament voted on Sunday to keep the oil and foreign ministers, two of pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani's key members of cabinet, in their posts. Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh has been credited with the boost in Iran's crude output since many global sanctions were lifted last year and with a multi-billion-dollar deal with France's Total to develop South Pars, the world's largest gas field. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was Iran's lead negotiator in the landmark 2015 agreement in which Western powers agreed to rescind sanctions on the Islamic Republic in exchange for curbs on its disputed nuclear program.
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| Philippine churches to ring bells to protest drug killings Posted: 20 Aug 2017 05:50 AM PDT  MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine Catholic leader said Sunday that church bells would be rung every night for three months across his northern district to raise alarm over a sharp spike in police killings of drug suspects, adding to a growing outcry over President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody crackdown.
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| Mattis: US reached decision on Afghan strategy after 'rigorous' debate Posted: 19 Aug 2017 05:51 PM PDT  US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis confirmed Sunday that the Trump administration had decided on a new strategy for Afghanistan after "rigorous" debate, but said President Donald Trump would be the one to announce it. Mattis refused to hint at any details of the decision, which came after months of speculation over whether Trump, frustrated with a stalemate after 16 years in Afghanistan, would allow the Pentagon to boost troop numbers on the ground in the country.
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| The eclipse: From ancient paganism to American history, it's been a thing Posted: 20 Aug 2017 10:27 AM PDT  Nothing reminds us that we are on a celestial island surrounded by the abyss like watching our planet's energy source turn into a gaping black hole. But don't take my word for it. From occult and pagan lore to American history and yes, Hollywood, solar eclipses have been harbingers of doom, transformation, and revolution since time immemorial. And can't you just ... feel it? SEE ALSO: 20 questions you're too embarrassed to ask about the solar eclipse At a time when the fabric of American reality appears on the verge of collapse, maybe we can take comfort in the ancient beliefs that an eclipse isn't just a phenomenon. It's a sign. Everyone, particularly the Deadhead-like eclipse hunters called "Shadow Chasers," is blowing their lids over this particular one taking place on Monday. We are all now part of a tradition that has governed humans since the dawn of man — looking upward to remember that we are at the mercy of a cosmic dance indifferent to our inner worlds. As one Redditor put it on the "occult" thread, the eclipse is a coming together of "light and dark, symbolizing the unification of good and evil." Other online occult experts like the Academy of the Pagan Path say that since solar eclipses "can only occur during the day, on a new moon," it's a great time to take advantage of that unique blend of energy toward "planting new seeds and ideas." Even NASA admits that, while it may not cause any evident physical effects in people, there's something here: The eclipse even has our no-nonsense nerds sounding like vague, prophetic philosophers. Much like our future, outer space is hella femaleImage: GETTY IMAGESBut NASA's right about one thing: Belief shapes reality. Wars waged in the name of religion have slaughtered millions since the genesis of society. Pagan rituals practiced thousands of years ago still inspire the same psychological effects in modern people that they did to our earliest ancestors. So, in celebration of our astrological insignificance, let's dive into a brief, abridged human history of the solar eclipse. May your reckoning be delicious. A tale as old as pre-history It's hard to choose from the countless, ageless, globally-shared legends about solar eclipses. The most ancient records endure to this day, etched in stone. Five thousand years ago, neolithic man built a circle of cairns in Loughcrew, Ireland. Despite lacking all the precise modern knowledge needed to predict an eclipse accurately, the ancient Irish created a monument that aligned with the solar eclipse of 3340 B.C.E. A millennia before the Chinese even started using paper, they carved solar eclipses into "oracle" bones that date back to 2100 B.C. Drombeg prehistoric stone circle, County Cork, IrelandImage: UIG via Getty ImagesEclipses were believed to be signals of turmoil, but political turmoil in particular. In ancient Chinese culture, the sun symbolized the Emperor and the moon a dragon, so the solar eclipses was seen attacks on the ruler to be warded off. Two court astronomers were beheaded for failing to anticipate them. Many shared this common view of solar eclipses as a devouring of divine beings. Vietnamese legends believed the culprit to be a giant frog, while the Vikings saw wolves. Hindu belief interprets eclipses as the decapitated head of the deity Rahu being chucked into the sky. The ancient Greeks viewed the uncanny event as a sign of certain doom. The poet Archilochus described the 647 B.C.E. eclipse as such: It could also work in reverse. In 585 B.C., "The Battle of the Eclipse" saw the warring Lydians and Medes lay down their weapons, and end a decade-long battle in the husk of the unnatural twilight. The truly great American eclipses Closer to home, eclipses have been tied to events of revolution. Two reportedly occurred during the Revolutionary War, and were used to demonstrate a cultural shift away from the religious and mystical and toward the scientific. But beyond justifying American exceptionalism, solar eclipses are embedded in the African American struggle for liberty, too. In 1791, self-taught black astronomer Benjamin Banneker correctly calculated the eclipse date, contradicting most respected mathematicians. Banneker then sent Thomas Jefferson a mic-drop of a letter, along with a copy of his meticulous work. Banneker wrote that he was "recommending to you and all others, to wean yourselves from those narrow prejudices which you have imbibed with respect to [my brethren]." Benjamin Banneker's Alamack, 1792. Sent to Thomas Jefferson proving Af-Ams created intellectually equal. https://t.co/TotyNGqZYM … pic.twitter.com/3UZFjCvG2M — Leandra Bernstein (@LeandraB_sbg) August 18, 2017 And most famously — as depicted in Nate Parker's The Birth of a Nation — enslaved African-American Nat Turner interpreted one eclipse he witnessed in February 1831 as a black man's hand reaching for the sun, a sign that he should launch a revolt. After a second eclipse in August, his plans came to fruition, and 70 freed slaves joined him in liberating plantations all over Virginia, a moment widely interpreted as a precursor to the Civil War. We suggest Trump and his neo-Nazi buddies take note. Total eclipse of the pop culture heart As a modern iteration of myth, eclipses have also captured the imagination of our greatest contemporary creators. (And no, we're not talking about Bonnie Tyler's love ballad.) Solar eclipses are even vaguely referenced in the largest cultural phenomenon of our time, Game of Thrones, with its opening sequence showing the orbital ribbons of an astrolabe blotting out a spinning sun over a map of Westeros in certain frames. Stanley Kubrik's groundbreaking 2001: A Space Odyssey opens on the eclipse of star from space. The title card explodes across the scene, with Richard Strauss' famed trumpets sounding off a revolution in the entire filmmaking industry. Known as one of the most highly ranked Simpsons episodes ever, "Marge vs. the Monorail" opens on yet another example of the blue-haired matriarch sacrificing her own enjoyment and self-fullfilment for her family. She gives the ever-unprepared Homer her protective eyewear. But, unable to keep herself from missing out on the wonder, Marge looks up anyway — only to blind herself and incite the revelatory character arc of the episode. Meanwhile Mad Men, which often referenced cultural cosmic events (like the first satellite image of Earth), featured the July 1963 solar eclipse in the Season 3 episode "Seven Twenty Three." In the episode, each character's reaction to the celestial reckoning reveals core aspects of their character. Betty must have her eyes shielded by Henry. Don, on the other hand, thinks he is above the rules of mere mortals, and looks directly into it with sunglasses while the others aren't watching. Who knows what the coming solar eclipse will inspire in 2017, a year of unprecedented events. Maybe for once, these notions of political upheaval and transformations will finally be quantifiably true. We're holding out for a rapture that vaporizers the haters right off the planet. WATCH: How to watch the solar eclipse without burning your eyes out
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| The most expensive British car in history: 1956 Aston Martin DBR1 sells for record-breaking £17.5m Posted: 20 Aug 2017 05:36 AM PDT  A classic car raced by Sir Stirling Moss and described as the "most important Aston Martin ever produced" became the most valuable British-made car ever when it sold for $22.5m (£17.5m) at the annual auction at Monterey Car Week on Friday. The 1956 Aston Martin DBR1, is the firm's equivalent to the Ferrari 250 GTO and Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR and just five were built between 1956 and 1958. This one sold is chassis number one - a purpose-built model developed by racing design chief, Ted Cutting. DBR1/1 was designed to win at Le Mans, but while it failed to take the chequered flag in the 24-hour race, a later model did. Credit: South West News Service It is the first of a series of five racing cars, one of which won the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race. This particular car won the Nurburgring 1000 kilometre race that same year. It was subsequently sold, converted and made legal for street use in 1962. The DBR1's inline six-cylinder engine evolved from its debut in 1956 though its last race in 1959, ending up at 2,992cc and 268hp. The original engine is included in the price of the car - but it currently has a modern engine with no historical value, so it can be raced without concern. This new engine raised the car's output to 301hp. The 1956 DBR1 was built to be raced at Le Mans and has been labelled the "most important" Aston Martin ever produced Credit: Tim Scott / RM Sotheby's / SWNS.com RM Sotheby's had valued the Aston Martin - which is believed to be the first DBR1 to go under the hammer- at more than £15 million. The DBR1 joins a handful of other classic Aston vehicles, including a 1959 DB4GT, which sold for an impressive $6.765 million, and a 2006 DBR9, which went for a cool $616,000. By the end of the night, RM Sotheby's Monterey sale generated over $60 million in sales. The interior of the Aston is spotless Credit: Tim Scott / RM Sotheby's / SWNS.com Meanwhile, at rival auction house Bonham's on the same day, a 1995 McLaren F1 - the first of its model to sell in the US - sold for $15.62m (£12.2m). The F1 was the most sophisticated car the world had ever seen, when it was launched in the early 1990s. It was also the fastest, with the F1 capable of a accelerating from 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds and hitting a top speed of 243mph. Just 65 road cars were built and this model, known as chassis 044, remains as original as the day it left the Woking factory in 1995. The 1995 McLaren F1 which sold for a record price Credit: Bonhams The Aston Martin and McLaren are owned by different people and had both been valued at around £15 million making them the two most valuable cars to ever to be sold at auction. Both cars broke the current record for most expensive British car, which currently stands at $21.7m for the 1956 Le Mans-winning Jaguar D-Type. aston martin db3s auction
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| 11 Unique Pulled Pork Recipes That Aren’t Sandwiches Posted: 20 Aug 2017 07:00 AM PDT  Since pulled pork is so tasty and versatile, it'd be a shame to waste it on the same old barbecue sandwich recipe you've been using for generations. Since the sky is essentially the limit, make it into a chili or a soup, add some spices for a Mexican-style meal, or throw it into your favorite comfort food. Get our Pulled Pork Nachos recipe.
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