| Trump says he may revoke another security clearance 'very quickly' Posted: 17 Aug 2018 09:20 AM PDT  President Trump on Friday suggested that he is close to revoking the security clearance of a current Justice Department employee who had been in contact with author of the controversial dossier alleging ties between Trump and Russia.
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| Alex Jones Destroyed Evidence In Sandy Hook Defamation Cases, Motion Says Posted: 17 Aug 2018 02:43 PM PDT  Alex Jones, the conspiracy theory-peddling host of Infowars, deleted evidence
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| Body language expert analyzes Christopher Watts' behavior before arrest in deaths of wife, kids Posted: 17 Aug 2018 09:32 AM PDT  A body language expert has weighed in on the demeanor of Christopher Watts as
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| Elon Musk Unloads On 'Excruciating' Year As Tesla Stock Drops Posted: 17 Aug 2018 09:02 AM PDT  Anyone can see that Elon Musk has been having a rough year.
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| Satanic Temple's Baphomet Raises Hell Over Religious Freedom In Arkansas Posted: 16 Aug 2018 06:24 PM PDT  Members and supporters of the Satanic Temple wheeled a statue of winged, goat-
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| Worst floods in a century kill scores in India's Kerala Posted: 17 Aug 2018 10:56 AM PDT  "In some areas, airlifting is the only option... thousands are still marooned," Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. Vijayan said he was hoping the military could step up its support for rescuers already using dozens of helicopters and hundreds of boats. "I spoke to the defense minister this morning and asked for more helicopters," he told a news conference in the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram, adding that he planned to send 11 more helicopters to the worst-hit areas.
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| The secret Soviet organization that explains what Russia is doing today Posted: 17 Aug 2018 02:00 AM PDT  Russian attempts to dupe, confuse or weaken the West date back at least to the early decades of the 20th century. An outfit called the Cheka charted a course that's still being followed today.
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| Atlantia to hold board meetings after Genoa bridge disaster: source Posted: 17 Aug 2018 03:59 AM PDT  Italian toll-road group Atlantia has called special board meetings next week to discuss the deadly collapse of a bridge it operates in Genoa, a source said on Friday. Autostrade per l'Italia, the Atlantia unit that manages the stretch of motorway in northern Italy where the bridge is located, is expected to hold a board meeting on Tuesday while the Benetton-backed parent company will hold its own meeting on Wednesday, the source said. A series of technical and legal issues will be presented to Atlantia and Autostrade board members next week, according to the source .
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| Judge says Trump campaign screwed up on wording of confidentiality agreements Posted: 16 Aug 2018 07:56 PM PDT  A Manhattan judge issued a ruling on Thursday that thwarts the Trump campaign's attempts to keep a lawsuit out of open court.
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| Socialists Need To Fight For Economic Change -- Not Just Another Version Of Capitalism Posted: 17 Aug 2018 02:45 AM PDT  "Socialism" has become the new political buzzword. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
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| Nebraska Woman Beams After Allegedly Attacking Boyfriend With Sword Posted: 17 Aug 2018 07:10 AM PDT  Ivy Moore, 26, was arrested early Wednesday after she called police to tell them her boyfriend wouldn't leave her Lincoln apartment.
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| Elon Musk Says Stress and Long Hours Are Taking a Toll During an 'Excruciating' Year Posted: 16 Aug 2018 11:32 PM PDT  But he stood by a recent tweet saying he might take Tesla private
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| How Kofi Annan Once Reacted To Being Mistaken For Morgan Freeman Posted: 18 Aug 2018 11:01 AM PDT  With the passing of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
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| Yazidi 'ex-sex slave' trapped both in Iraq and in German exile Posted: 17 Aug 2018 03:33 AM PDT  A young Yazidi woman who fled to Germany but returned home to northern Iraq says she cannot escape her Islamic State group captor who held her as a sex slave for three months. Ashwaq Haji, 19, says she ran into the man in a German supermarket in February. Traumatised by the encounter, she returned to Iraq the following month.
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| Deadly, 40,000-foot fire tornado revealed in new videos Posted: 18 Aug 2018 08:11 AM PDT  Harrowing new footage released by California's firefighting agency Cal Fire reveals the massive fire tornado that led to the death of a firefighter on July 26. The fire tornado was part of the Carr Fire that's engulfed 223,610 acres of land in Northern California so far. A report from Cal Fire breaks down the details surrounding the fiery phenomenon. SEE ALSO: A fire tornado hit California. Here's how it happened. Per the report, the tornado "was a large rotating fire plume that was roughly 1,000 feet in diameter at its base" and managed to reach a height of 40,000 feet. In late July, we covered news of a fire tornado in the area on the evening of July 26. It's unclear whether the fire tornado in the report is the same as the one that garnered media attention at the time, according to Cal Fire. "Observations from witnesses and other evidence suggest that either several fire tornados occurred at different locations and times, or one fire tornado formed and then periodically weakened and strengthened causing several separate damage areas," the report says. Fire tornados can happen when extreme heat spins up from the ground. As Mashable's Mark Kaufman explained at the time: Firefighters captured the disturbing video above from a helicopter, as well as footage taken from a fire engine, and from the Keswick Dam on the Sacramento River. The Carr Fire continues to ravage parts of Shasta County and Trinity County. It is 77 percent contained, and other fires continue to rage in Northern California and other areas These fires are spurred on by extreme heat and dryness in the region. While human-caused climate change isn't necessarily the direct cause of any single weather event, like these fires, it can make extreme weather more likely now and in the future. WATCH: Scientists made an awesome error that could save our planet from plastic hell
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| Venezuelans flee economic crisis at home Posted: 18 Aug 2018 09:55 AM PDT ![Venezuelans flee economic crisis at home]( "Venezuelans flee economic crisis at home") The Pentagon is preparing to dispatch a hospital ship to Colombia and possibly other parts of South America to help relieve strain on health care systems overloaded by an influx of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans. An estimated 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled the crisis-torn country as of June, mainly to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil.
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| 565 Migrant Children Remain Separated From Families 3 Weeks Past Judge's Deadline Posted: 16 Aug 2018 08:26 PM PDT  Only a small fraction of the nearly 600 migrant children reported to still be
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| Trump blames D.C. pols for raining on his parade Posted: 17 Aug 2018 06:42 AM PDT  President Trump on Friday blamed Washington, D.C., lawmakers for ballooning costs that forced the cancellation of his planned military parade.
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| Officials Defend Plan To Close Almost All Polling Places In Majority Black Georgia County Posted: 17 Aug 2018 12:51 PM PDT  Election officials in a rural southwest Georgia county are defending a plan to
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| Colorado Killings: Bodies of Pregnant Mom Shanann Watts, 2 Kids Found After Dad Chris Watts Allegedly Confesses to Murders Posted: 17 Aug 2018 04:52 AM PDT  Chris Watts reportedly confessed to killing his wife and two children.
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| Tucker Carlson's Taco Tantrum: 'It’s An American Food! ... Those Are My Tacos. Mine!' Posted: 16 Aug 2018 09:59 PM PDT  Tucker Carlson likes his tacos to be American.
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| Chinese plane slides off Manila runway causing flight delays Posted: 16 Aug 2018 05:41 PM PDT  A Chinese passenger jet slid off the runway as it landed at Manila airport in torrential rain forcing dozens of flight cancellations on Friday, as engineers struggled to remove the stricken aircraft. The Xiamen Airlines plane, carrying 157 passengers and eight crew, landed on its second attempt before skidding onto the grass and ripping off its left engine late Thursday evening, airport general manager Ed Monreal said. All on board were safely evacuated from the aircraft with no serious injuries.
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| New Horrifying Details Released About Fire Tornado That Killed California Firefighter Posted: 16 Aug 2018 06:20 PM PDT  The fire tornado shot glass into one of the firefighter's eyes
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| A Jury Is Deciding Paul Manafort's Fate. Then It's Donald Trump's Turn. Posted: 17 Aug 2018 11:12 AM PDT  WASHINGTON ― As jurors in Alexandria, Virginia, deliberate in the tax and bank
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| Body found in New Mexico compound identified as missing Georgia boy, police say Posted: 17 Aug 2018 03:10 PM PDT  Police have identified the body of a boy found in a New Mexico compound as Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj, who was reported missing in November. The Office of the Medical Investigator identified the remains of three-year-old Abdul-Ghani, who was from Jonesboro, Georgia, when he was reported to be missing. Prior to identifying Abdul-Ghani's body, the Taos County Sheriff's Office in New Mexico had raided the compound they referred to as a "makeshift residence" on 3 August and found 11 children ranging in age from one to 15 years old.
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| First a wedding, then hard work: Putin to visit Germany's Merkel Posted: 17 Aug 2018 03:04 PM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday for talks about the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, as well as the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project that has drawn U.S. ire. Putin arrives in Germany after a stop at an Austrian vineyard to attend Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl's wedding to entrepreneur Wolfgang Meilinger. Merkel warned on Friday against expecting too much from her discussions with Putin at the government's Meseberg palace, but said the two countries needed to remain in "permanent dialogue" on the long list of problems they face.
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| World Leaders Opt For China's Money Over The Rights Of 1 Million Jailed Muslims Posted: 18 Aug 2018 05:00 AM PDT  WASHINGTON ― Now that United Nations experts have endorsed widespread reports
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| Tesla shares tumble after Musk interview sparks fresh fears Posted: 17 Aug 2018 06:20 PM PDT  Tesla shares took a pounding Friday amid fresh fears about the future of the electric carmaker after a wide-ranging interview with chief executive Elon Musk in which he revealed his struggles with exhaustion and a lengthy but unsuccessful effort to find a number two executive. In closing trade, Tesla shares skidded 8.9 percent to $305.50 following the publication of the interview with The New York Times. Musk opened up to the newspaper about the personal toll he says he has endured, working marathon hours trying to ensure that deadlines are met, with Tesla ramping up production of its crucial Model 3 sedan.
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| Girl who pushed friend off bridge charged Posted: 17 Aug 2018 03:56 PM PDT  18-year-old Taylor Smith was charged with reckless endangerment for pushing her friend off a 60-foot-bridge.
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| 7 Family Members Killed in Horrendous Crash in Oregon Posted: 17 Aug 2018 01:30 PM PDT  The Oregon family was on its way to a Vegas vacation when their SUV was hit head-on.
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| Ryan Zinke Would 'Sell His Grandkids For Big Oil,' Says Washington Governor Posted: 17 Aug 2018 06:20 PM PDT  Washington Gov. Jay Inslee slammed Ryan Zinke's record on the environment
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| Don't worry, your cereal probably won't poison you with pesticides Posted: 17 Aug 2018 08:04 AM PDT  It may seem like an alarmist local news story to declare your breakfast could kill you, but a new independent study claims that some of your favorite cereals could contain unsafe levels of a chemical used in a popular weed killer. The report, from the Environmental Working Group (EWG), was published online Wednesday and outlines the levels of the chemical glyphosate they found in various breakfast cereals and snacks. Glyphosate is the major ingredient in the herbicide RoundUp and one at the center of an ongoing tug-of-war. The World Health Organization (WHO) has ruled the chemical is "probably carcinogenic to humans," and the state of California has categorized it as a chemical linked to cancer. Meanwhile, in late 2017, the EPA concluded an assessment that declared "glyphosate is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans. And its with that intersection in mind that one has to look upon the new EWG report — which wasn't peer reviewed by independent scientists — with quite a bit of scrutiny. EWG versus the EPA For the study, the EWG tested dozens of samples, looking for levels of glyphosate that were above 160 pars per billion (ppb)/0.16 mg, which the organization considers the upper range of safe levels of the chemical for children to be exposed to. You can see their full results here but a few items stand out: Quaker Dinosaur Eggs, Brown Sugar, Instant Oatmeal had readings of 620 ppb/0.62 mg and 780 ppb/0.78 mg. Cheerios Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal had readings of 470 ppb/0.47 mg, 490 ppb/0.49 mg, and 530 ppb/0.53 mg. Quaker Old Fashioned Oats had readings of 390 ppb/0.39 mg, 1100 ppb/1.1 mg, and 1300 ppb/1.3 mg. Those numbers seem not so great — if you use the EWG's threshold. But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets a much higher bar for how much glyphosate is safe for a person. According to a 1993 EPA report, the safe exposure level could be as high as 2 mg a day, well above any of the rates that the EWG uncovered in their studies. For what it's worth, The Guardian recently published a report showing that the FDA has been investigating the use of glyphosate for years but has yet to issue any public findings. The ongoing research into glyphosate is important because It's a hugely popular pesticide, with hundreds of millions of gallons being used on U.S. crops each year. And, per The Guardian's report, "the FDA has had trouble finding any food that does not carry traces of the pesticide." Not that eating pesticides is a great thing, but the large discrepancies between the EPA numbers and the EWG numbers can be confusing for consumers trying to determine how much, exactly, is still safe. "Finding glyphosate in food is residue," Kaitlin Stack Whitney, an environmental studies scholar, said in an interview. "Residue limits are a subset of exposure limits as eating pesticides residue is one route of potential exposure." "So finding non-zero amounts isn't unexpected; it's's planned for and limited under current law," Stack Whitney, who also worked as a staff biologist for the EPA, added. There's also the issue of "spray drift," as Stack Whitney notes, pointing to EWG finding traces of the chemical on products labeled organic likely due to some of the pesticide drifting to those organic crops on the wind. "The current pesticide review process struggles to account for this because agencies can't know what anyone and everyone's neighbors may grow and which chemicals they may apply," she said. "So whether residues are from direct application or drift is critical to understanding how to address if you think the amount is unsafe." A question of methodology For Lori Hoepner, an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, it's about methodology. She notes that "it's hard enough to have consensus among scientists when you're talking about using the same methods." "So to go from something that would determine the limit of exposure, and try to extend that information to telling consumers about what it means to find glyphosate in their food, I think it can be perceived as something of a stretch," Hoepner said. Noting that she's familiar with the EWG's work and has vouched for them as a good resource for consumers, Hoepner still expressed some reservations about they way they presented their work for this study. "It always concerns me when science is presented in a way that is not peer-reviewed, doesn't have the oversight of additional researchers who can validate or question the method." Stack Whitney echoed Hoepner's sentiment: "[The EWG] study is like a white paper or other reports from think tanks, well researched and written but not peer reviewed. It would be useful to review their actual data and methods but those aren't available." Hoepner also wanted to see more about how they took their samples. "What was their method? Was it randomized? Was it all from one box? How many different boxes were used? Where did they buy them?" Hoepner said. Noting the wide ranges in some of the results, Hoepner says, "that definitely creates a question mark in my mind for validity." The corporations defend their products As for the companies identified in the study, they're standing by the quality of their products. A statement sent via email from the Quaker brand maintained the brand's stance they're products are perfectly safe and included a passage that denied the use of glyphosate in the making of their products. A spokesperson for General Mills, producers of Cheerios, echoed this sentiment in a statement. Corporate behemoth Monsanto, which produces RoundUp, has been under fire lately for the chemical, including a recent California verdict that ordered the company to pay $289 million to a school groundskeeper who claimed his constant and prolonged exposure to the chemical was to blame for him developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In the wake of the EWG's report, Monsanto posted a rebuttal on their website accusing the EWG of "publicizing misleading information." Additionally, in an email exchange, a spokesperson for Monsanto highlighted this portion: Additionally, Monsanto Vice President Scott Partridge told the New York Times in response to EWG study, "[The EWG] have an agenda. They are fear mongering. They distort science." For consumers, there's no right or wrong answer at the moment. While buying different brands may seem like an option, the prevalence of the pesticides used makes it nearly impossible to completely avoid. The opposing sets of data can only sow more confusion and consumers are left to decide who they trust more: groups like the EWG, government agencies like the EPA, or corporations. WATCH: Here's how long fruits and vegetables are stored before you buy them at the store
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| Lawyer For Omarosa's 'Unhinged' Publisher To Trump: Being Embarrassed Isn't A Legal Claim Posted: 16 Aug 2018 06:40 PM PDT  The publisher behind Omarosa Manigault Newman's new book, Unhinged, dismissed
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| Will other states follow Pennsylvania on church abuse? Posted: 17 Aug 2018 03:43 PM PDT  HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Attorneys general around the U.S. have been largely silent this week about any plans to conduct an investigation like Pennsylvania's that uncovered widespread child sexual abuse in six Roman Catholic dioceses, although New York's top prosecutor is an exception, saying she is exploring teaming up with the local district attorneys.
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| Tough talks, no agreements at Merkel, Putin meeting near Berlin Posted: 18 Aug 2018 04:40 PM PDT  Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters no agreements were reached, but the meeting had simply been intended to "check the watches" after Merkel's meeting with Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in May. Ties between the two countries have been strained since Russia's annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine in 2014. "That's why it is necessary to take measures against possible non-competitive and illegal attacks from the third countries in order to complete this project eventually," he told reporters shortly before Putin flew back to Russia. At the start of the talks, Merkel underscored her expectation that Ukraine should continue to have a role in gas transit to Europe, and welcomed the start of discussions among the European Union, Ukraine and Russia on that issue.
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| Former Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee, Who Sparked Both a Nuclear Arms Race and a Peace Process, Has Died at 93 Posted: 16 Aug 2018 06:51 PM PDT  Vajpayee set off India's nuclear race but later reached out to Pakistan in peace
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| Google employees sign protest letter over China search engine: NYT Posted: 17 Aug 2018 02:46 AM PDT  Hundreds of Google employees have signed a protest letter over the company's reported work on a censor-friendly search engine to get back into China, The New York Times said Thursday. The employees are demanding more transparency so they can understand the moral implications of their work, said the Times, which obtained a copy of the letter. Employee anger flared with a report this month in The Intercept that Google is secretly building a search engine that will filter content banned in China and thus meet Beijing's tough censorship rules.
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| AP FACT CHECK: Ohio voters in special election not over 116 Posted: 17 Aug 2018 06:08 AM PDT  With Ohio's special congressional election still too close to call, questions have been raised about the veracity of voter rolls in the swing state.
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| New panda mom doesn't know she has twins thanks to these sneaky zookeepers Posted: 18 Aug 2018 10:16 AM PDT  Crafty zookeepers are keeping a set of newborn panda twins alive by switching them out every day. Although twins aren't uncommon, when pandas have multiple babies they tend to devote all of their attention to only one of their cubs, leaving the other to starve. SEE ALSO: Someone tried to smuggle a snake onto a plane by hiding it in a hard drive But these zookeepers have managed to get new panda moms to care for both babies by rotating them out, tricking the pandas into believing they only have one cub to care for. A BBC Earth video — narrated by the one and only David Attenborough — shows the keepers' technique. New mother Lee Lee hasn't realized that she had twins because her keepers have been switching her 18-day-old cubs out, so she only has one at a time. When they need to change out the cubs, they distract Lee Lee with a bowl of honey water and worm the young cub from her paws. Then, they put that cub in an incubator and bring the other cub to Lee Lee, ensuring that both get the maternal care they need. Keepers swap the cubs out at least 10 times a day, keeping a meticulous record of the babies' time with their mom. The technique has an almost 100 percent survival rate. Although pandas are no longer endangered, they are still vulnerable, so finding new ways to help the species along, even in captivity, is important. Plus, it's freaking adorable. WATCH: This design studio is growing gourds inside 3D printed molds to create organic, biodegradable cups
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| Trump Administration Blows Smoke On Climate Change Effect On Wildfires Posted: 16 Aug 2018 05:39 PM PDT  Just when it seemed that the Trump administration had rolled out every
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| Will Tesla be around for that much longer? Elon Musk, stock drops, Tweet scares Posted: 17 Aug 2018 08:56 PM PDT  Tesla shares dropped nearly 9 percent after the New York Times reported stress is taking a heavy toll on CEO Elon Musk.
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| Top Pennsylvania Catholic leader vows to ensure abuses 'never recur' Posted: 17 Aug 2018 09:48 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Pennsylvania's top Roman Catholic official on Friday vowed to ensure the widespread sexual abuse by hundreds of priests and cover-up revealed in this week's bombshell grand jury report would never happen again. In the most wide-ranging U.S. investigation into sexual abuse by priests since the scandal burst into the public eye in Boston in 2002, a two-year Pennsylvania investigation found evidence that at least 1,000 people, mostly children, had been sexually abused by some 300 clergymen during the past 70 years. "The substance of the report is brutally graphic and profoundly disturbing as a chronicle of evil inflicted on hundreds of innocents," Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput said in a weekly letter to Catholics. "The only acceptable responses are grief and support for the victims and comprehensive efforts to ensure that such things never recur." Chaput's archdiocese was not covered by the Tuesday report, although a 2005 grand jury report found evidence that hundreds of children had been sexually abused by at least 63 priests in the district.
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| Tesla's Board Is Reportedly Searching for a Second-in-Command to Help Elon Musk Posted: 17 Aug 2018 07:06 AM PDT  After Musk's controversial tweet could cost the company dearly
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