| Trial for accused 9/11 plotters likely still years from starting Posted: 11 Sep 2017 03:15 PM PDT  The military trial for five men accused of plotting the 9/11 terror attacks that killed thousands of Americans continues to be stalled at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prison with no trial date in sight.
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| Steve Bannon Says Trump Firing Comey May Be Biggest Mistake In Modern Politics Posted: 10 Sep 2017 07:49 PM PDT  Steve Bannon, the former chief strategist at the White House, described President Donald Trump's firing of former FBI Director James Comey as a historic error.
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| Russian Pol: Russia Elected US President Posted: 11 Sep 2017 11:00 AM PDT  Rachel Maddow rounds up some of the day's major headlines, including news of a Russian parliamentarian saying on a TV show that U.S. intelligence "slept through" Russia electing the U.S. president.
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| NYFW: Gigi Hadid handles losing shoe like a total pro at Anna Sui Spring 2018 show Posted: 12 Sep 2017 09:53 AM PDT  Gigi Hadid closed the Anna Sui Spring 2018 show on Monday night, but she suffered a minor hiccup -- a lost stiletto!
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| Mexico Reverses Hurricane Harvey Aid Offer to Texas Posted: 11 Sep 2017 10:45 AM PDT  After a series of natural disasters in Mexico, the country is reversing its offer of aid to Texas victims of Hurricane Harvey.
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| ‘Fox & Friends’ Host Asks If 9/11 Memorial Will Face Same Fate As Confederate Statues Posted: 11 Sep 2017 10:07 AM PDT  Leave it up to a Fox News Channel talk show host to ask a tone-deaf question.
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| Physics Explains Why It's Especially Dangerous to Fire Guns at a Hurricane Posted: 11 Sep 2017 09:16 AM PDT  Storm winds can shift a bullet's path more than you think.
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| A Silk Road Marriage Posted: 12 Sep 2017 05:00 AM PDT  Are cross-cultural marriages the key to integrating a region?
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| Uncontacted Tribe Allegedly Killed By Gold Miners In Brazil Posted: 11 Sep 2017 01:20 AM PDT  At least 10 members of an uncontacted tribe in Brazil's Amazon Basin were allegedly killed last month by illegal gold miners, according to Survival International.
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| 'France isn't liberal England', hardliners tell Emmanuel Macron, as tens of thousands protest labour reforms Posted: 12 Sep 2017 08:06 AM PDT  France will not be turned into "liberal England', Emmanuel Macron has been warned, as clashes broke out in protests against loosening labour regulations seen as a key public test of the president's reformist resolve. Stone-throwing protesters in Paris clashed with police who responded with tear gas as some 4,000 strikes were called around France by the country's biggest public sector trade union, the hardline CGT. Rail workers, students and civil servants were urged to protest in cities from Paris to Toulouse. By mid-afternoon, the CGT had already deemed the protests a "success", with at least 100,000 in force in provincial France and 60,000 in Paris. Police said there were 24,000 protesters in Paris. The numbers were, however, well below protests against another labour reform last year. Hundreds of masked protesters dressed in black clashed with police in Paris, who responded with tear gas and water cannons. Clashes between police and protesters at demonstration against the French government's labor reforms in Paris Credit: IAN LANGSDON/EPA The reference to Britain came not from the unions but from far-Left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who pledged to force Mr Macron to "backtrack" on business-friendly changes to France's labour code, which he recently called a "social coup d'état". "What is going to be a surprise is when he (Macron) ends up giving way," the leader of opposition party France Unbowed told reporters as he joined a protest in the southern port of Marseille. "This country doesn't want the liberal world... France isn't England," he added. French leader of La France Insoumise far-left coalition Jean-Luc Melenchon (C) speaks with a CGT union's demonstrator during a protest called by several French unions against the labour law reform in Marseille, southern France, on September 12, 201 Credit: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP Mr Mélenchon, who came fourth in this year's presidential elections, taking 19.6 per cent of around seven million votes sees Mr Macron, an ex-investment banker, as an Anglo-Saxon ultra-liberal whose aim is to unpick the French social model. Polls suggest he is currently seen as Mr Macron's most credible opponent, given the parlous state of the mainstream Right and Left. Unions are wary of the charismatic orator stealing their limelight as protest figurehead. They are not best pleased his party is organising a separate march on September 23. Mr Macron, meanwhile was thousands of miles away from the marches visiting hurricane-struck compatriots in the French Caribbean. France's President Emmanuel Macron waits on the tarmac of Pointe-a-Pitre airport, Guadeloupe island, before boarding an helicopter en route to French Caribbean islands of St. Martin and St. Barthelemy Credit: CHRISTOPHE ENA / POOL/ AP POOL He made no mention of the strike protests as he visited the devastated islands of Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy, where residents are angry at the speed of the rescue effort. But he will have kept a close eye on the scale of protests today against his business-friendly changes to the labour code. If the reform passes smoothly, it will bode well for a slew of other upcoming reforms on unemployment insurance, professional training and - most controversially - pensions. Protest leaders had hoped that ill-advised comments by Mr Macron apparently likening striking workers to "slackers" would swell the ranks of demonstrations around France. CGT leader Philippe Martinez said he was "scandalised" by the comment. "The president should listen to the people, understand them, rather than cause divisions," Mr Martinez told France 2. This was just "phase one" of protests, he insisted. Another is planned for September 21. Although the reform concerns the private sector, his union called for strikes across transport and other public sector businesses. A CGT union's demonstrator walks amid smoke of flares during a protest called by several French unions against the labour law reform in Rennes on September 12, 2017 Credit: DAMIEN MEYER/AFP CGT workers from the rail, oil and power sectors also heeded his call. Roads into several major cities were blocked and some trains cancelled. Budget airline Ryanair accused unions of "holding Europe to ransom" after being forced to cancel 110 flights. Furious, its marketing director Kenny Jacobs slammed the French government and European Commission saying: "They cannot stand idly by as more disruption and travel misery is inflicted upon Europe's consumers and airlines." Travellers were advised to check its website. Demonstrators, holding CGT labour union flags, attend a national strike and protest against the government's labour reforms in Marseille Credit: JEAN-PAUL PELISSIER/Reuters Some students' unions also called on members to take action. In the early hours of Tuesday, lorries were already blocking Paris' iconic Champs-Elysées and Place de l'Etoile, while staff at the Eiffel Tower were also due to go on strike in the afternoon. In one unexpected development, fairground workers - including the boss who runs the big wheel at Paris' Place de la Concorde - led blockages in Paris and elsewhere, furious at a totally unrelated administrative decree passed in April. A less radical reform of France's labour code sparked huge blockages and sometimes violent protests last year, but the Socialist government stood firm - a sign that the unions no longer have the clout to strong-arm Gallic governments to backtrack. This time, Mr Macron took comfort from the fact that two other unions, Force Ouvrière and the CFDT, the largest in the private-sector, declined to join the protests. However dozens of local units of the normally pugnacious FO ignored their leader's call to stay away and marched regardless. After weeks of negotiations, the government last month set out measures including a cap on payouts for dismissals judged unfair, and greater freedom for companies to hire and fire. Secretary-General of the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) French worker's union, Philippe Martinez Credit: JOEL SAGET/AFP The reform hands firms more flexibility to set pay and working conditions. The government plans to adopt the new measures, being implemented by decree, on Sept. 22. During a trip to Athens on Friday, Macron told French business leaders: "I am fully determined and I won't give any ground, not to slackers, nor cynics, nor hardliners." Bruno Cautres of the Cevipof political research institute said Mr Macron had "thrown oil on the fire" with his choice of words."With the 'slackers' comment, there are all the ingredients for this to heat up," he said. Mr Macron insisted that the term "slackers" referred to those who had failed to push through reforms in the past "in France and Europe", but many viewed it as an attack on the unemployed or on workers on highly-protected staff contracts. In Bordeaux, protesters chanted: "Macron you're screwed, the slackers are in the streets" while in Paris others carried placards reading: "Slacker on strike". Asked on Monday if he regretted his comment, he replied: "We cannot move forward if we don't tell it like it is." "It's Macron's style," said Jerome Fourquet of pollster IFOP. "He's not going to back down, make apologies. That carries a risk." The president's stated aim is cut unemployment from 9.5 per cent to 7. 5 per cent by 2022. The reforms are seen in Germany as a test of the French president's resolve to "re-found" the eurozone's second-biggest economy, key if he is to win Berlin's backing for broader reforms to the currency union. An opinion poll published on September 1 indicated that voters have mixed views on the reform. Nearly six in 10 said they opposed Macron's labour decrees overall. But when respondents looked at individual measures, most received majority support. Emmanuel Macron - Satisfaction with French presidents in first 100 days Mr Macron's attempts to push through the changes come as France's economic growth is accelerating, unemployment appears to be falling, and the unions are divided. Finance minister Bruno Le Maire told the newspaper Les Echos that voters had chosen Mr Macron "to carry out the reforms that France has shrunk away from for 30 years".
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| The Tribute in Light Posted: 11 Sep 2017 09:20 PM PDT ![The Tribute in Light]( "The Tribute in Light") In what has become one of the most moving — and visible — 9/11 memorials, two giant pillars of light near where the World Trade Center's twin towers once stood were turned on in lower Manhattan this week to mark the 16th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
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| Anger in Singapore as no election for president Posted: 12 Sep 2017 07:04 AM PDT  Singaporeans Tuesday poured scorn on the process to select their new president after an establishment figure was deemed the only eligible candidate, meaning no election will be held. Halimah Yacob, a former speaker of parliament from the city-state's Muslim Malay minority, will be the first woman to hold the largely ceremonial role if -- as expected -- she is formally nominated to the presidency Wednesday. Two were disqualified as they were not Malay -- the presidency was on this occasion reserved for members of the ethnic minority -- while two Malay businessmen were disqualified as their companies were too small.
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| 95 Canadian Tourists Not Allowed To Board Air Canada Evacuation Flight Posted: 11 Sep 2017 03:38 AM PDT  According to the Air Canada authorities, they had received confirmations that "the charter flight would be authorized" to fly back with the Canadian tourists stranded on the island.
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| What The 2 Deadliest Mass Shootings This Year Have In Common Posted: 12 Sep 2017 11:35 AM PDT  On Sunday, 27-year-old Meredith Lane invited a group of friends over to her house in Plano, Texas, to watch football and grill.
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| Aircraft carrier is rushed to the hurricane-battered Keys Posted: 12 Sep 2017 08:32 AM PDT  Authorities sent an aircraft carrier and other Navy ships to help with search-and-rescue operations in Florida on Monday as a flyover of the hurricane-battered Keys yielded what the governor said were scenes of devastation.
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| Irma: Manatees found stranded on Florida beaches after hurricane sucks up water from sea Posted: 11 Sep 2017 02:18 AM PDT  People in Florida have teamed up to save a number of manatees left stranded after Hurricane Irma suddenly sucked back the tide. The phenomenon has led to ocean waters disappearing as the storm continued to tear through the region. It is caused when low air pressure inside the hurricane acts as a vacuum for the surrounding ocean – sucking up water and dumping it as it travels inland, leaving several sea creatures stranded on dry land.
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| In Reversal, Equifax Says It Won't Charge Hack Victims For 'Free' Service Posted: 11 Sep 2017 09:03 AM PDT  WASHINGTON ― The credit monitoring company that compromised the personal information of nearly half the U.S. population said Monday it won't ask people for credit card information if they sign up for its "free" service.
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| Monkey selfie case: British photographer settles with animal charity over royalties dispute Posted: 11 Sep 2017 07:15 PM PDT  The long-running legal battle over who owns the royalties to the famous "monkey selfie" has been settled. David Slater, the photographer whose camera was commandeered by a crested black macaque, has agreed to donate 25 per cent of the royalties generated by the photos with animal charities dedicated to protecting the monkeys' natural habitat. The agreement brings to an end to a dispute which originated in 2011 when Mr Slater travelled to Sulawesi, Indonesia, and spent a week taking pictures of macaques. At one point he mounted the camera on a tripod and one of the monkeys started pressing the shutter button. Monkey selfies The popularity of the pictures triggered legal action after Mr Slater asked Wikipedia to take down one of the pictures which it had published without his permission. Wikipedia refused, claiming the copyright belonged to the monkey. Then despite the US Copyright Office ruling that animals could not own copyright, an American charity, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), entered the fray. It sued Mr Slater in 2015, arguing that the copyright belonged to one of the macaques, Naruto. In a bizarre hearing in San Francisco, lawyers argued not only whether a monkey could claim copyright but whether Naruto was even the correct monkey. Mr Slater, who said he made around £100 every few months from image sales of the grinning monkey, was confronted with legal bills running into thousands of pounds. David Slater, the photographer behind the monkey selfie pictures Credit: Thomas Gaffney/Caters News Agency Facing financial ruin he even considered giving up wildlife photography and becoming a tennis coach or dog walker instead. Finally, agreement has been reached. In a joint statement, Peta and Mr Slater said that the case raised "cutting edge issues" about the legal rights of animals. "We must recognise appropriate fundamental legal rights for them as our fellow global occupants and members of their own nations who want only to live their lives and be with their families." Lawyers for the group and Mr Slater asked the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss the case and throw out a lower court decision that said animals cannot own copyrights. Monkey selfie photographer enters legal battle with PETA 01:17 Mr Slater had argued that his company, Wildlife Personalities Ltd, owns worldwide commercial rights to the photos, including the now-famous selfie of the monkey's toothy grin. US District Judge William Orrick said in a ruling in favour of Mr Slater last year that "while Congress and the president can extend the protection of law to animals as well as humans, there is no indication that they did so in the Copyright Act." The 9th Circuit was considering Peta's appeal. The lawyers notified the appeals court on August 4 that they were nearing a settlement and asked the judges not to rule. A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit heard oral arguments in the case in July.
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| Escape From Paradise: See the Harrowing Rescue of Americans Stranded on Tropical Island by Irma Posted: 12 Sep 2017 12:45 PM PDT  Members of the National Guard came to the rescue.
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| Trump meeting with Malaysian prime minister under scrutiny Posted: 12 Sep 2017 12:10 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump praised Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak for his country's financial investments in U.S. companies during a meeting Tuesday at the White House and thanked him for helping to fight Islamic State militants.
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| 21 Stunning Holiday Trifles Posted: 11 Sep 2017 10:36 AM PDT |
| DACA Recipients Detained At Border Region Checkpoint, Attorney Says Posted: 11 Sep 2017 04:11 PM PDT  Multiple recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program were detained for hours on Monday at a Customs and Border Protection checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas, according to an immigration attorney.
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| Man allegedly sets pregnant girlfriend on fire forcing her to deliver baby, police say Posted: 10 Sep 2017 06:46 PM PDT  Andrea Grinage, a mother-of-three, was rushed to a hospital in Maryland, after officers responded to a fire and found her with critical burns to over 90 per cent of her body. The 31-year-old gave birth to a girl, Journey Aleah, who was seven weeks premature. Ms Grinage told police that her boyfriend was responsible and claimed he poured flammable liquid on her before setting her on fire.
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| Texas man arrested in ex-wife's disappearance day of Harvey Posted: 11 Sep 2017 01:46 PM PDT  The body of a Texas real estate agent was found in a marshy wooded area Saturday more than two weeks after she disappeared the day Hurricane Harvey made landfall, authorities said.
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| This Wild Hair Dryer Will Make Your Blowouts Go Way Faster Posted: 11 Sep 2017 08:50 AM PDT  Try as we may, we can never quite get our hair to look as good at home as it does when we leave the salon.
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| Misery, uncertainty after Irma hits Florida idyll Posted: 12 Sep 2017 01:57 PM PDT  After Hurricane Irma reduced her home on a Florida Keys trailer park to rubble, Patty Purdo fears it's now only a matter of time before property developers complete her misery. The Florida Keys, a ribbon of islands on the southern tip of the United States, has long been a magnet for millionaires and film stars drawn to its warm waters and sunsets. Islamorada, situated in the middle of the archipelago, counts the actor Gene Hackman among its residents and draws thousands of well-heeled tourists over the summer months.
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| Merkel calls on Hungary to implement court ruling on refugee distribution Posted: 11 Sep 2017 04:09 PM PDT  German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Hungary to quickly implement a ruling by the European Union's top court that member states must take in a share of refugees who reach the continent. In its ruling last week, the court dismissed complaints by Slovakia and Hungary over the mandatory quotas introduced in 2015 to relocate asylum seekers from Greece and Italy. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday his government would not change its anti-immigration stance.
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| Parents Sue Boy Scouts After Son Dies of Heat Stroke During Hike Posted: 12 Sep 2017 11:26 AM PDT  The family is blaming negligence on behalf of the Boy Scouts of America for the death of the 15-year-old three months ago.
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| Sporting a black eye, pope urges Colombians to reconcile Posted: 10 Sep 2017 08:50 PM PDT  CARTAGENA, Colombia (AP) — Pope Francis wrapped up his Colombia trip Sunday by honoring a fellow Jesuit who ministered to African slaves and urging Colombians today to follow his lead in working for a more peaceful future.
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| A History Of Donald Trump's Tasteless Comments About 9/11 Posted: 11 Sep 2017 06:45 AM PDT  WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump on Monday commemorated the 16th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, leading a moment of silence at the White House to mark the moment the first plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York.
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| 'Abducted, Raped and Burned Up.' Former Traveling Carnival Worker Pleads Guilty to Killing Young Sisters in 1975 Posted: 12 Sep 2017 07:18 AM PDT  A man charged in the killing of two young sisters from Maryland pleaded guilty Tuesday, more than four decades after the girls vanished during a trip to a local shopping mall
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| Why Flooded-Out Cars Are Likely Total Losses Posted: 12 Sep 2017 08:04 AM PDT  Auto owners whose vehicles were swept up by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma are facing two hard facts right now: Their car is almost certainly totaled, if it was swamped, and they'll get no money back...
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| Bridal Party's Doughnut Bouquets Are A Delicious Idea Posted: 11 Sep 2017 04:29 PM PDT  There was more flour than flower in these unusually sweet wedding bouquets.
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| Behind-The-Scenes Pics Show How Disney World Prepared For Hurricane Irma Posted: 12 Sep 2017 07:59 AM PDT  For only the fifth time in history, Disney World closed for two days Sunday and Monday as Hurricane Irma rolled over Florida.
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| Assad may win war but will preside over a ruined Syria Posted: 10 Sep 2017 08:09 PM PDT  Syria's President Bashar al-Assad appears to be winning the war against those who sought his overthrow, but he will preside over a ruined country with an economy in tatters. "Assad remains in charge of most of the population and most of the important territory, and I expect him to continue to rule most of Syria," said Aron Lund, a Syria expert with the Century Foundation think-tank. The writing is on the wall even in the halls of the United Nations, where special envoy Staffan de Mistura last week bluntly urged Assad's opponents to be more pragmatic.
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| Cop Takes Money From Wallet Of Hot Dog Vendor Who Had No License Posted: 12 Sep 2017 05:55 AM PDT  The UC Berkeley Police are claiming the money was evidence.
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| House Conservatives Were Plotting Against Paul Ryan. Then Came Trump's Surprise. Posted: 12 Sep 2017 02:46 AM PDT  WASHINGTON ― House Speaker Paul Ryan's position in the GOP conference appears a little more secure after President Donald Trump, not Republican leaders in Congress, struck a deal last week with Democrats to keep the government funded and raise the debt ceiling.
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| Judge tosses charges against Amtrak driver in 2015 Philadelphia crash Posted: 12 Sep 2017 02:05 PM PDT  Brandon Bostian, 34, had been facing charges including involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment. Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Gehret in Philadelphia threw out the case after a four-hour preliminary hearing, citing a lack of evidence that the crash was the result of criminal action rather than an accident.
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| Wanted: Volunteer shooters to thin Grand Canyon bison herd Posted: 11 Sep 2017 03:21 PM PDT  FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The National Park Service plans to thin a herd of bison in the Grand Canyon through roundups and by seeking volunteers who are physically fit and proficient with a gun to kill the animals that increasingly are damaging park resources.
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| South Africa's Most Expensive Hotel Suites Posted: 12 Sep 2017 02:35 PM PDT |
| Journalist Katy Tur Recounts Moment Trump Came Out Of Nowhere And Kissed Her Posted: 12 Sep 2017 11:15 AM PDT  Donald Trump's presidential campaign was largely characterized by his misogyny and inappropriate behavior toward women.
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| Richard Branson reveals Irma's devastating impact on his private island home Posted: 11 Sep 2017 07:31 AM PDT  Virgin boss Richard Branson has revealed the extent of damage to his private island in the Caribbean as he called for urgent government help for those in the Caribbean in desperate need after Hurricane Irma. In a series of tweets and postings on Instagram, Mr Branson showed the extensive damage to Necker, his own island in the British Virgin Islands (BVI).
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