| Baby Archie receives traditional African name Posted: 23 Sep 2019 10:53 AM PDT  "This name of Xhosa African origin means 'pillar of strength.' May you always be a pillar of strength for those who need you."
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| These DIY instant noodles are healthier than the store-bought versions and so easy to make Posted: 23 Sep 2019 12:48 PM PDT  These homemade ramen noodle recipes are quick and easy, and you can make them up to four days in advance.
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| UK, France Germany blame Iran for Saudi oil attacks Posted: 23 Sep 2019 04:31 PM PDT  Fallout from the Sept. 14 attacks is still reverberating as world leaders gather for their annual meeting at the U.N. General Assembly and international experts investigate, at Saudi Arabia's request, what happened and who was responsible.
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| Mother, grandmother charged with neglect after unsupervised child struck sibling with knife Posted: 23 Sep 2019 10:34 AM PDT ![Mother, grandmother charged with neglect after unsupervised child struck sibling with knife]( "Mother, grandmother charged with neglect after unsupervised child struck sibling with knife") Five kids were left home alone for about 30 minutes. Their mother and grandmother were charged with neglect after one child hit another with a knife.
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| U.S. Air Force is Prototyping a Replacement for the Stealth F-35 Posted: 23 Sep 2019 12:18 AM PDT  And it could be revolutionary.
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| China buys about 10 cargoes of U.S. soybeans after trade talks Posted: 23 Sep 2019 09:28 AM PDT  Chinese importers bought about 10 boatloads of U.S. soybeans on Monday following deputy-level trade talks in Washington last week that were overshadowed by the abrupt cancellation of a U.S. farm state visit by Chinese agriculture officials. Benchmark U.S. soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade <0#S:> jumped about 1.5% on news of the renewed buying, the market's steepest rise since Chinese buyers bought a large volume of U.S. soybeans on Sept. 12. Purchases of U.S. agricultural products like soybeans, the most valuable U.S. farm export, and pork are seen as key to securing a deal to end a bilateral trade war between the United States and China that has lasted more than a year.
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| Haiti: photojournalist shot in face as senator opens fire outside parliament Posted: 23 Sep 2019 11:30 AM PDT  * Jean Marie Ralph Féthière draws handgun amid chaotic scenes * Chery Dieu-Nalio avoids serious injury; another man woundedSenator Jean Marie Ralph Féthière, fires his gun outside parliament in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 23 September 2019. Chery Dieu-Nalio, an Associated Press photographer, was wounded in the shooting. Photograph: Chery Dieu-Nalio/APTwo men including a photojournalist have been shot and injured by a Haitian senator who opened fire outside the country's parliament, amid chaotic scenes as the government attempted to confirm the appointment of a new prime minister.Chery Dieu-Nalio, an Associated Press photographer, was wounded in the face and a second man, Leon Leblanc, a security guard and driver, was also injured in the incident in the country's capital, Port-au-Prince, on Monday.Although doctors were reported to be removing bullet fragments from Dieu-Nalio's face, the injuries are said not to be life-threatening.Before leaving the scene, Leblanc told reporters he had seen Jean Marie Ralph Féthière, a senator from the north of the country, draw a handgun as he tried to leave the parliamentary precincts through a crowd of protesters.Another senator, Patrice Dumont, said Féthière warned the crowd he would shoot if they did not let him leave. Féthière later justified his actions, without actually admitting firing his weapons. He told Radio Mega, "I was attacked by groups of violent militants. They tried to get me out of my vehicle. And so I defended myself. Self-defence is a sacred right."Armed individuals threatened me. It was proportional. Equal force, equal response."He said he did not know a journalist was present, even though Dieu-Nalio was wearing a helmet and flak jacket inscribed with the word "Press".Photojournalist Chery Dieu-Nalio holds a healing gauze next to his mouth. Photograph: Andrés Martínez Casares/ReutersThe incident came as the Haitian senate attempted to meet for the second time in two days to confirm the appointment of a new prime minister, Fritz-William Michel.President Jovenel Moïse is attempting to force through the appointment so he can leave the country to speak at the UN this week. His departure has already been delayed since Sunday.Haiti has been convulsed for a week by demonstrations against Moïse and the government, strengthened by fury at a serious fuel shortage and the rising cost of living.Protesters have blocked roads the length and breadth of the Caribbean nation, using trees, rocks, burning tyres and cars and trucks.Michel's nomination has already caused violence in the parliament, with politicians hitting each other with chairs and fists in the national assembly.Two years into his five-year term, Moïse is widely discredited. Annual per capita income is $350 a year and inflation is currently standing at 19%. Fuel price rises and their associated effect on food, have left Haitians to the point of despair.Even before the recent wave of unrest, Haitians have been saying the current situation is more serious than the Duvalier dictatorships, the US invasion or the 2010 earthquake. "I can't remember a situation this bad," said Leslie Voltaire, a former presidential candidate and adviser to two former presidents.Tensions had been rising outside the senate since early on Monday.The senate president, Carl Murat Cantave, had given instructions to the police that only senators would be allowed in to the senate precinct with one driver and two police-appointed security agents.People run as Haiti's Senator Jean Marie Ralph Féthière holds a gun in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Photograph: Andrés Martínez Casares/ReutersWithin hours he was criticising the police on Radio Magik9, saying they could not contain the crowds and there was chaos in the yard. Separately the senator Jean Rigaud Belizaire complained the senate's rooms had been smeared with a liquid resembling faeces.Senators, realising that the session would not happen and the ratification would have to be delayed again, began trying to leave to shouts of "thief, thief, thief."Cantave himself was reported to be confined to parliament, having to retreat in his car under a barrage of rocks.In a separate incident, in the town of Gonaïves, the offices of Cantave's foundation were attacked and destroyed.Demonstrators continue to move through Port-au-Prince, as rumours swirled that there would be other attempts, possibly at another location, to ratify Michel.
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| Israeli woman dies months after wounds from Gaza rocket Posted: 23 Sep 2019 08:07 AM PDT  An Israeli woman wounded by Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip in November 2018 has died from her injuries, officials said Monday. The southern coastal city of Ashkelon, where she lived, announced the death of Nina Genisdanova in a statement. Israeli media said she was 74 and died last week.
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| High school player collapses, dies in twin brother's arms: 'I'm about to pass out' Posted: 23 Sep 2019 10:01 AM PDT  A high school is struggling to come to terms with the death of a football player after he suddenly collapsed and died in his twin brother's arms.
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| 15 Coffee Tables Under $300 (That You'll Actually Like) Posted: 23 Sep 2019 02:06 PM PDT |
| Macron urges French climate protesters to target Poland Posted: 23 Sep 2019 12:13 PM PDT  French President Emmanuel Macron has annoyed Poland and irritated France's climate activists by urging them to move their protests from Paris to Poland, a European Union nation that is heavily dependent on coal. Poland, which relies on coal for some 80% of its energy, is treading cautiously on cutting coal. The country has a long tradition of coal mining, a major employer that offers tens of thousands of jobs in the southern Silesia region.
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| Trump Finds Himself Caught in Khan-Modi Crossfire Over Kashmir Posted: 23 Sep 2019 11:17 AM PDT ![Trump Finds Himself Caught in Khan-Modi Crossfire Over Kashmir]( "Trump Finds Himself Caught in Khan-Modi Crossfire Over Kashmir") (Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump found himself drawn deeper into a decades-long dispute between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region on Monday, as Pakistan's prime minister expressed frustration about a rally his Indian counterpart staged with the U.S. president a day earlier.Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said that he intended to privately discuss Kashmir with Trump, after the president's participation in the Houston rally on Sunday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But journalists asked Khan and Trump about it ahead of a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly."So I was going to say that, when you're supposed to meet Narendra Modi, now I would have asked you to at least lift the siege," he told Trump. "It's a huge humanitarian crisis taking place."The Houston rally, called "Howdy, Modi," gave Modi the opportunity to demonstrate his rapport with Trump, whom he endorsed to tens of thousands of Indian-Americans who attended. But Modi also drew Trump into offering tacit support for the Indian leader's moves to expand his country's authority over the parts of Kashmir it controls. India and Pakistan, which both possess nuclear weapons, have fought two major wars over the territory and regularly skirmish across the Line of Control that divides it."Border security is vital to the United States. Border security is vital to India, we understand that," Trump said at the Houston event. He pledged to fight "radical Islamic terrorism" and insisted: "We must protect our borders."In a speech that followed Trump's remarks, Modi obliquely criticized Pakistan and accused it of harboring terrorists, then assured the crowd that Trump was committed to fighting terrorism.Trump indicated on Monday that he had been surprised. "I didn't know I was going to hear that statement, I would say. I heard a very aggressive statement yesterday," though he didn't specify which of the Indian prime minister's remarks he was referring to.Modi charged at the Houston event that "people have put their hatred of India at the center of their political agenda," without naming Pakistan. "These are people who want unrest. These are people who support terrorism and nurture terrorism."He rhetorically asked who was responsible for the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai and the 2001 attacks in the U.S. "You know them, very well," Modi said. "You know who they are. It's not just you, the whole world knows who they are."The Mumbai attackers were Pakistanis, while several key figures in the Sept. 11 attacks, including Osama bin Laden, were killed or captured in Pakistan.Modi in August scrapped seven decades of autonomy in the Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting Pakistan to downgrade diplomatic and trade ties with India. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said last week that India ultimately expects to rule over the entire state of Kashmir.Khan said in his meeting with Trump that "8 million people are under siege by 900,000 troops" in Kashmir and "that this is the beginning of a crisis."I honestly feel that this crisis is going to get much bigger, what is happening in Kashmir," he said.The U.S. has a responsibility to help defuse it, he said."Just the fact that the position of the United States -- it's the most powerful country, it can affect the United Nations Security Council, it has a voice, so we look to the U.S. to put out flames in the world," he said.Trump said of Kashmir that "I'd like to see everything work out, I want it to be humane, I want everybody to be treated well."\--With assistance from Archana Chaudhary.To contact the reporter on this story: Josh Wingrove in Washington at jwingrove4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Justin BlumFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| White House press secretary: Trump stopped briefings because reporters were mean Posted: 23 Sep 2019 12:51 PM PDT  Any hope that Americans may one day see Trump's new press secretary taking questions from reporters in a formal White House press briefing went out the window on Monday morning when Stephanie Grisham sat down for her first appearance on "Fox & Friends" since taking over for Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year.
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| Mexican president praises historian at center of dispute with business leaders Posted: 23 Sep 2019 03:26 PM PDT  Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday praised a historian whose comments about the killers of a prominent industrialist in the 1970s sparked an angry response from a top business lobby and other corporate leaders. Last week, Pedro Salmeron, head of the National Institute of Historical Studies of the Revolutions of Mexico (INEHRM), described the left-wing guerrillas who fatally shot Eugenio Garza Sada in 1973 as "courageous youths" in a blog post. Garza, an 81-year-old businessman from the northern city of Monterrey, was killed along with several others when resisting a failed kidnapping attempt by members of a group known as the Liga Comunista 23 de Septiembre (September 23 Communist League).
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| Attacks on Saudi Oil – Why Didn’t Prices Go Crazy? Posted: 23 Sep 2019 12:03 PM PDT  The attack on the Abqaiq oil facilities in Saudi Arabia has sparked geopolitical tensions but has had only a minor impact on oil prices.
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| After protests, Greta Thunberg and others file UN complaint Posted: 23 Sep 2019 01:11 PM PDT  After global street protests demanding action on climate change, Greta Thunberg and 15 other young activists on Monday filed a complaint at the UN against five countries for not doing enough to ward off global warming. The complaint accused Germany, France, Brazil, Argentina and Turkey of failing to uphold their obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed 30 years ago. The complaint, filed by the 16-year-old Swedish activist and 15 other petitioners from 12 different countries and aged between eight and 17, accused the five countries of violating children's rights by failing to take adequate and timely action against climate change.
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| A Crackdown on Islam Is Spreading Across China Posted: 22 Sep 2019 09:14 AM PDT  YINCHUAN, China -- In China's northwest, the government is stripping the most overt expressions of the Islamic faith from a picturesque valley where most residents are devout Muslims. Authorities have destroyed domes and minarets on mosques, including one in a small village near Linxia, a city known as "Little Mecca."Similar demolitions have been carried out in Inner Mongolia, Henan and Ningxia, the homeland of China's largest Muslim ethnic minority, the Hui. In the southern province of Yunnan, three mosques were closed. From Beijing to Ningxia, officials have banned the public use of Arabic script.This campaign represents the newest front in the Chinese Communist Party's sweeping rollback of individual religious freedoms, after decades of relative openness that allowed more moderate forms of Islam to blossom. The harsh crackdown on Muslims that began with the Uighurs in Xinjiang is spreading to more regions and more groups.It is driven by the party's fear that adherence to the Muslim faith could turn into religious extremism and open defiance of its rule. Across China, the party is now imposing new restrictions on Islamic customs and practices, in line with a confidential party directive, parts of which have been seen by The New York Times.The measures reflect the hard-line policies of China's leader, Xi Jinping, who has sought to reassert the primacy of the Communist Party and its ideology in all walks of life.The campaign has prompted concerns that the repression of Uighur Muslims in the western region of Xinjiang has begun to bleed into other parts of China, targeting Hui and other Muslims who have been better integrated than Uighurs into Chinese society. Last year, a top party official from Ningxia praised Xinjiang's government during a visit there and pledged to increase cooperation between the two regions on security matters.Haiyun Ma, a Hui Muslim professor at Frostburg State University in Maryland, said the crackdown was continuing a long history of animosity toward Islam in China that has alienated believers."The People's Republic of China has become the world's foremost purveyor of anti-Islamic ideology and hate," he wrote in a recent essay for the Hudson Institute. "This, in turn, has translated into broad public support for the Beijing government's intensifying oppression of Muslims in the Xinjiang region and elsewhere in the country."None of the new measures, so far, have approached the brutality of Xinjiang's mass detentions and invasive surveillance of Uighurs. But they have already stirred anxiety among the Hui, who number more than 10 million."We are now backtracking again," Cui Haoxin, a Hui Muslim poet who publishes under the name An Ran, said in an interview in Jinan, south of Beijing, where he lives.To Cui, the methods of repression that are smothering Uighur society in Xinjiang now loom over all of China. "One day, this model will not only target Muslims," he said. "Everyone will be harmed by it."'Sinicization of Islam'Islam has had followers in China for centuries. There are now 22 million to 23 million Muslims, a tiny minority in a country of 1.4 billion. Among them, the Hui and the Uighurs make up the largest ethnic groups. Uighurs primarily live in Xinjiang, but the Hui live in enclaves scattered around the nation.The restrictions they now face can be traced to 2015, when Xi first raised the issue of what he called the "Sinicization of Islam," saying all faiths should be subordinate to Chinese culture and the Communist Party. Last year, Xi's government issued a confidential directive that ordered local officials to prevent Islam from interfering with secular life and the state's functions.Critics of China's policies who are outside the country provided excerpts from the directive to The Times. The directive, titled "Reinforcing and Improving Islam Work in the New Situation," has not been made public. It was issued by the State Council, China's Cabinet, in April of last year and classified as confidential for 20 years.The directive warns against the "Arabization" of Islamic places, fashions and rituals in China, singling out the influence of Saudi Arabia, the home of Islam's holiest sites, as a cause for concern.It prohibits the use of the Islamic financial system. It bars mosques or other private Islamic organizations from organizing kindergartens or after-school programs, and it forbids Arabic-language schools to teach religion or send students abroad to study.The most visible aspect of the crackdown has been the targeting of mosques built with domes, minarets and other architectural details characteristic of Central Asia or the Arabic world.Taken in isolation, some of these measures seem limited. Others seem capricious: some mosques with Arabic features have been left untouched, while others nearby have been altered or shut down.But on a national scale, the trend is clear. Cui, the poet, calls it the harshest campaign against faith since the end of the Cultural Revolution, when so-called Red Guards unleashed by Mao Zedong destroyed mosques across the country.Targeting Domes and Arabic ScriptIn the state's view, the spread of Islamic customs dangerously subverts social and political conformity.In Ningxia, the provincial government banned public displays of Arabic script, even removing the word "halal" from the official seal it distributes to restaurants that follow Islamic customs for preparing food. The seals now use Chinese characters. That prohibition spread this summer to Beijing and elsewhere.The authorities in several provinces have stopped distributing halal certificates for food, dairy and wheat producers and restaurants. Chinese state media have described this as an effort to curb a "pan-halal tendency" in which Islamic standards are being applied, in the government's view, to too many types of foods or restaurants.Ningxia and Gansu have also banned the traditional call to prayer. Around historical mosques there, prayer times are now announced with a grating claxon. One imam in Ningxia's capital, Yinchuan, said authorities had recently visited and warned him to make no public statements on religious matters.Auuthorities have also targeted the mosques themselves. In Gansu, construction workers in Gazhuang, a village near Linxia, descended on a mosque in April, tearing off its golden dome. It has not yet reopened. Plainclothes policemen prevented two Times journalists from entering.In the southern province of Yunnan, where there have long been Hui communities, authorities last December padlocked mosques in three small villages that had been run without official permission. There were protests and brief scuffles with police, to no avail. The county issued a statement accusing the mosques of holding illegal religious activities and classes.In one of the villages, Huihuideng, Ma Jiwu carried his grandson outside the shuttered local mosque, which had operated inside a home.Ma, wearing the distinctive skullcap that many Hui wear, said the imams there had ignored warnings to move their services to the village's main mosque, where a Chinese flag hangs in the central courtyard and a large red banner exhorts worshippers, "Love your country, love your religion.""They did not listen," Ma said.Near the main mosque, a woman said the closing of the smaller one had stirred resentment, but also a feeling of resignation. She used a Chinese idiom for helplessness against a superior force, in this case the government: "The arm cannot twist the thigh."Xiong Kunxin, a professor of ethnic studies at Minzu University in Beijing, defended the government's recent actions. He said that China's far-reaching economic changes over the last 40 years had been accompanied by a loosening of restrictions on religious practice, but that the laxity had gone too far."Now China's economic development has reached a certain height," he said, "and suddenly problems related to religious and other affairs are being discovered."In the case of Islam, he cited the proliferation of mosques and the spread of "halal" practices into public life, saying they conflicted with the cultural values of the majority Han Chinese population.Official statistics indicate that there are now more mosques in China than Buddhist temples: 35,000 compared with 33,500. In the last year, scores of mosques have been altered, closed or destroyed entirely, many of them in Xinjiang, according to officials and news reports.'The Major Enemy the State Faces'The party asserts that it has the right to control all organized religion. Critics ascribe that to its fear that religious organizations could challenge its political power. In the past, the party's repression has triggered violent responses.In 1975, during Mao's Cultural Revolution, the People's Liberation Army surrounded Shadian, a mostly Hui Muslim town in Yunnan province where residents had protested the closure of mosques. Clashes ensued, prompting a massive military intervention that razed the town and left more than 1,600 people dead.The current pressure has also been met with unrest, though not on that scale. In August 2018 in Weizhou, a village in Ningxia, protests erupted when the authorities sent demolition workers to a newly built mosque. After a tense showdown that lasted several days, the local government promised to suspend the destruction and review the plans.Nearly a year later, police officers still block the roads into the village, turning away foreigners, including diplomats and two Times journalists who tried to visit in May.China claims that it allows freedom of religion, but emphasizes that the state must always come first. The Ningxia government, asked about its recent restrictions on Islam, said that China had rules on religious practice just like any other country.Mosques that violate laws such as building codes will be closed, it said, and schools and universities will not permit religious activities."Arabic is a foreign language," the government said about the restrictions on public signage, adding that they had been imposed "to make things convenient for the general public."In an interview, Ma, the Frostburg State scholar, said the current leadership viewed religion as "the major enemy the state faces." He said senior officials had studied the role played by faith -- particularly the Catholic Church in Poland -- in the collapse of the Soviet Union and its dominion in Eastern Europe.Believers have little recourse against the intensifying crackdown. Ma predicted that it would not relent soon, but that it would ultimately fail, as other campaigns against Muslims have."I really doubt they can eliminate religious faith," he said. "That is impossible."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| More blood pressure medicines recalled over possible cancer-causing impurity Posted: 23 Sep 2019 11:49 AM PDT  Three additional lots of losartan potassium tablets and two additional lots of losartan potassium/hydrochlorothiazide tablets were under recall.
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| Tropical Storm Karen Has the Internet Saying the Storm 'Wants to Speak to a Manager' Posted: 22 Sep 2019 10:57 AM PDT  "The hurricane being named Karen is like a gift to the internet"
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| How a routine training flight ended with 6 Marines killed in a tragic midair collision and 4 officers out of a job Posted: 23 Sep 2019 08:01 AM PDT  The deadly incident led to to a loss of "trust and confidence" in a squadron commander and saw the firing of another three Marine Corps officers.
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| Boris Johnson calls for 'Trump deal' to fix Iran nuclear standoff Posted: 23 Sep 2019 03:48 PM PDT  PM says president could come up with better pact, in apparent shift from European positionBoris Johnson arriving at the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan on Monday. Photograph: Craig Ruttle/APBoris Johnson has sided with Donald Trump in calling the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran a "bad deal", while praising the US president as a "very brilliant negotiator" capable of achieving a better one.The prime minister's remarks, made in a NBC interview, marked a sharp change in UK rhetoric. British leaders, including Johnson, had until now upheld the 2015 accord between six major powers and Iran as a major diplomatic achievement.British officials insisted that the prime minister continued to support full compliance with that deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Programme of Action (JCPOA).However, Johnson had clearly come to the UN determined to emphasise his personal relationship with Trump, who reneged on the JCPOA last year, praising him highly in the interview. Asked about the JCPOA, Johnson said: "The reality is, as President Trump rightly said, it was a bad deal. It had many defects. Iran was and is behaving disruptively in the region.""If it was a bad deal – and I'm willing to accept that, it had many, many defects – then let's do a better deal."And I think there's one guy who can do a better deal and one guy who understands how to get a difficult partner like Iran over the line and that is the president of the United States."Johnson described Trump as a "very, very brilliant negotiator" who could produce a "Trump deal".On the prospect of a US military response to the attacks, Johnson replied: "It's not something that I think will necessarily help the situation."Johnson's remarks came as the UK, France and Germany declared they were convinced that Iran was responsible for airstrikes against Saudi oil installations on 14 September and called on Iran to negotiate over its role in the Middle East and its development of missiles as well as its nuclear programme.In a joint statement at the UN general assembly on Monday, the three European governments supported the US and Saudi claim that Iran had carried out the missile and drone attack on 14 September against an oil field and petrochemical processing facility, but added they maintained support for the JCPOA."It is clear to us that Iran bears responsibility for this attack. There is no other plausible explanation. We support ongoing investigations to establish further details," the statement said following a meeting between Johnson, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron.The statement said that the attack raised the risk of a major new conflict, which was of concern to the whole world. It underlined the importance of collective security and multilateral action.The statement also restated the European nations' commitment to the 2015 nuclear deal.Asked whether Johnson's undertaking in the European statement clashed with his remarks on the US evening news, a UK official insisted there was a coherent message."What this is about is achieving compliance, and we're open to various ways of achieving that," he said."Our commitment is to working with all of our partners to find solutions to bring Iran into compliance. In his interview I think he was clear he wants to work with all our partners."The European agreement called for Iran to return to the limits on its nuclear programme imposed by that agreement, which Tehran has begun to ignore more than a year after the US withdrew from the deal.But the statement said Iran would now have to go further, arguing "the time has come for Iran to accept a long-term negotiation framework for its nuclear program, as well as regional security issues, which include its missile programs," the statement said.Iran has denied responsibility, insisting the strikes were launched from Yemen by their Houthi allies.On Monday night Iran ruled out the possibility of negotiating a new deal with major powers. Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet that European partners have failed to fulfil their commitments under a 2015 nuclear pact.France has sent investigators to examine the weapons fragments collected at the site of the attacks. The UN has also sent an investigative team, which has yet to deliver a report. Iran has said it will not necessarily accept the results of that report, calling into question the impartiality of the UN team.The European statement comes as the US and Iran are poised to clash at the UN general assembly. Donald Trump is due to address the assembly on Tuesday, and the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, who has already arrived in New York, will speak the next day. Both are expected to blame the other for the worsening instability in the Gulf.
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| Scientists race to read Austria's melting climate archive Posted: 23 Sep 2019 04:03 AM PDT  Scientists are racing to read a rapidly melting archive of climate data going back thousands of years - the inside of Austria's Alpine glaciers. Mountain glaciers are receding the world over as average global temperatures rise - a phenomenon that will be described in detail in a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change this week. Glaciers in Austria, on the eastern edge of the Alps, are particularly sensitive to climate change and have been shrinking even more rapidly than most, making it all the more urgent to examine their contents before they disappear, said Andrea Fischer, a scientist conducting the work.
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| See This Aircraft Carrier? Meet USS Enterprise (It Changed Everything) Posted: 22 Sep 2019 12:23 PM PDT  The Enterprise, or "Big E," was commissioned on November 25, 1961. The ship's subsequent twenty-five deployments read like a history of the Cold War and modern U.S. foreign policy. She made some serious history.
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| The Latest: Ex-lover denies rendezvous planned with Guyger Posted: 23 Sep 2019 04:21 PM PDT  The police force partner of former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger acknowledged that they had a sexual relationship and exchanged sexually explicit text messages and photos with her the day she shot Botham Jean. Prosecutors contend Guyger was distracted by a telephone conversation with Rivera when she mistook Jean's apartment for hers and entered, believed him to be an intruder and shot him.
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| Government warns people against using conditioner after a nuclear explosion Posted: 23 Sep 2019 08:30 AM PDT  Last month, the United States pulled out of a nuclear treaty with Russia that prohibited the two nations from possessing, producing or testing thousands of land-based missiles. The U.S. then conducted a missile test that would have been forbidden under the treaty. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers a few dos and don'ts that citizens should remember in case a nuclear explosion were to take place.
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| Most Protesters Depart After Mobbing Malls: Hong Kong Update Posted: 22 Sep 2019 05:42 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Most protesters departed the sites of rallies at malls in Hong Kong's Kowloon and New Territories districts, after an afternoon that saw some people vandalize a train station before clashing with riot police in Shatin.The rallies were relatively muted coming after Saturday's clashes that continued late into the night with protesters throwing petrol bombs and police firing tear gas, and some officers coming under direct attack. Hong Kong anticipates large-scale protests on the Oct. 1 anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.Local activists -- including protest leader Joshua Wong -- testified at a hearing in Washington last week in support of human rights legislation. There's momentum growing for Congress to take fast action to pressure Beijing to back off any crackdown on Hong Kong's pro-democracy demonstrators by threatening its special trading status with the U.S.The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 has bipartisan support and would require yearly assessments of whether the Asian financial hub remains sufficiently autonomous from China to justify its unique treatment under American law. The city's pro-democracy movement, which began over opposition to since-scrapped legislation allowing extraditions to the mainland, is in its fourth month.Here's the latest:Another Station Closed (8:30 p.m.)Most protesters had departed their various demonstration sites, with a handful of subway stations closed in the wake of the clashes. The latest to close was Kwai Fong, where trains were no longer stopping, according to the MTR's website.Kowloon Station Shuttered (6:45 p.m.)Kowloon subway station, a transit hub, was the third to close on Sunday, according to MTR Corp. It came after protesters and riot police clashed in Shatin. Meanwhile, protesters who had gathered at Maritime Square shopping mall, next to the also-closed Tsing Yi station, began leaving the mall after police inside the station moved out of sight.Trains Skip Shatin, Tsing Yi (5:30 p.m.)Both Shatin and Tsing Yi stations were closed by early evening and shutters came down over storefronts at the New Town Plaza mall where protesters had gathered for hours. Some demonstrators vandalized automated MTR ticket machines and others poured liquid on the floor of the mall, which is connected to the subway station. The shopping mall is operated by Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. Protesters jeered as police closed the shutters between Tsing Yi station and the Maritime Square shopping mall.Earlier in the afternoon, protesters removed a Chinese national flag outside Shatin City Hall and brought it inside to the mall. Some stepped and spray painted on it, then threw it in the Shing Mun River.Carrie Lam Speaks at Reception (3:55 p.m.)The city's chief executive spoke at a National Day reception hosted by the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, according to a government statement. Lam said Hong Kong has faced grave challenges recently, and that the government would try its best to keep order and safeguard working people's livelihoods.Shatin shopping center sit-in (1 p.m.)Hundreds of masked people massed in a busy shopping mall in the New Territories town of Shatin where they staged a sit-in, sang songs and musicians gave impromptu performances. The multilevel center was packed with protesters on every floor, raising the ire of some shoppers who shouted abuse at them.Meanwhile, there was no evidence of any service disruptions at the airport or train stations, even as transport was curtailed because of the threat of demonstrations.Police obtain protesters' data: report (9:10 a.m.)Police obtained data of protesters' bus commutes from Octopus stored-value smart cards and CCTV camera footage from Kowloon Motor Bus Company, the South China Morning Post cited an unidentified senior police officer as saying.Curtailed traffic to airport (9 a.m. Sunday)Airport Authority Hong Kong suspended some transport to the airport in anticipation of protests targeting the facility. All "E" route buses traveling from the city to the airport and the nearby AsiaWorld-Expo will end the trip at Tung Chung from 10:30 a.m., it said in an e-mailed statement Sunday morning. Airport Express trains bound for the airport will only pick up passengers at the Hong Kong Station from 9 a.m until the end of the day's service.Violence spreads (Sunday 02.15 a.m.)Protesters in Tuen Mun repeatedly threw petrol bombs at officers, police said in a statement. Some activists attacked a policeman with "hard objects" and tried to snatch his gun, according to the statement.In the border town of Yuen Long, petrol bombs were hurled at police vehicles and demonstrators attacked rail carriages, police said. Officers had to break up clashes between opposing groups in different parts of the district, according to the statement.Protesters blocked roads in the busy shopping district of Mong Kok, where officers fired tear gas and 40 mm react rounds to disperse mobs, police said.Mall sit-in (8 p.m.)Protesters gathered in a shopping mall in Yuen Long after a rally in Tuen Mun turned violent. With stores shut, the demonstrators took over the center, singing and chanting. Hundreds staged a sit-in while others milled around waving banners.Police fire tear gas (5 p.m.)Police fired tear gas after protesters hurled petrol bombs and set fire to barriers built across roads near shopping malls in Tuen Mun. Thousands of demonstrators roamed through Tuen Mun streets after a peaceful rally in a park.Light rail service in the area was suspended on three routes, MTR Corp., operator of the city's train network, said on its website. Police said that the protesters damaged train station facilities and obstructed traffic.Tear gas warning (3:50 p.m.)Police raised a black flag outside the train station in Tuen Mun as thousands more protesters poured into the area. The black-flag warning is a signal that officers might fire tear gas.Football rally (2 p.m.)The stands of the Tuen Mun sports ground were packed with anti-China demonstrators who watched masked players compete in a game of football in one of the more convivial events since protests began. By mid-afternoon, the turnout at the rally had failed to match a previous one at the venue when crowds packed the stands and filled the pitch.Clean-up clashes (10:10 a.m.)Small groups of people scraped walls of notices plastered on boards in public areas citywide by anti-China protesters.In the border town of Yuen Long, the scene of previous clashes, a small number of people gathered outside the train station, carrying cleaning implements and wearing T-shirts with pro-Beijing slogans. As they tried to clean the walls adorned in bright stickers with anti-government messages, they were confronted by another group clad in black. Police separated them and led some away.Rail service suspension (Saturday 10 a.m.)MTR said service at the Tuen Mun and Yuen Long stations would be suspended. The Tuen Mun station would close at 1 p.m. and Yuen Long would shut at 3 p.m., it said on its website, citing public activities. Rallies are planned in both areas Saturday.Police: 1,474 People Arrested Since June (4:16 p.m.)Hong Kong police gave updated figures for arrests made since June, saying 1,474 protesters had been detained. Calls for their release is one of demonstrators' major demands as the movement grinds into October.U.S. Legislation 'Hot Air,' Ip Says (12:58 p.m.)Pro-establishment lawmaker Regina Ip pushed back at the U.S. during a conference organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, calling the legislation "hot air" and threatening action by Beijing if American lawmakers don't back down. Ip, who made clear she was not speaking on behalf of the city's leader Carrie Lam, also urged American audience members to call their congresspeople and ask them to not impose sanctions on Hong Kong.Amnesty Alleges Police 'Torture' (12:23 p.m.)Hong Kong police beat up protesters who were in custody and committed acts that amount to "torture" during demonstrations, human rights group Amnesty International alleged. Officers used "unnecessary and excessive force" in making arrests, beat a demonstrator for declining to answer a question and then held him to the floor, shined laser pens in the eyes of people who had been detained -- and threatened to electrocute a man's genitals after he refused to unlock his phone. The new report could fuel anger among protesters who have pushed back at what they see as aggressive police tactics.Weekend EventsOn Sunday, protesters will attempt another disruption of the international airport's transportation network. Previous attempts haven't gained much traction.\--With assistance from Stephen Tan, Shelly Banjo, Iain Marlow and Natalie Lung.To contact the reporters on this story: Aaron Mc Nicholas in Hong Kong at amcnicholas2@bloomberg.net;Bei Hu in Hong Kong at bhu5@bloomberg.net;Justin Chin in Hong Kong at hchin15@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Ten Kate at dtenkate@bloomberg.net, Stanley James, Karen LeighFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Capital gains tax reform may be coming. Here's what Republicans and Democrats want Posted: 22 Sep 2019 07:35 AM PDT  Some Republicans are pushing an idea to tie the tax to inflation, which would lower what many owe. Democrats want to see the rich pay more.
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| Israel's Arab party throws its support to Benny Gantz in bid to oust Netanyahu Posted: 22 Sep 2019 11:27 AM PDT  Benjamin Netanyahu's grip on power slipped further last night after Israel's Arab minority party threw its support behind his rival Benny Gantz, virtually guaranteeing that Mr Gantz will get the first chance to form a government. The decision by the Joint List, which mainly represents Israel's 2 million Palestinian citizens, is the first time since 1992 that an Arab party has endorsed a Jewish candidate like Mr Gantz to be prime minister. Ayman Odeh, the Joint List leader, said he was backing Mr Gantz to bring an end to Mr Netanyahu's 13 years in power. "This will be the most significant step toward helping create the majority needed to prevent another term for Mr. Netanyahu. And it should be the end of his political career," Mr Odeh said in a New York Times op-ed. Mr Netanyahu's Likud party put out a furious statement in response. "As we warned, the Arab parties that oppose Israel as a Jewish and democratic State and glorify terrorists recommended Gantz for prime minister," the party said. The support of the Joint List means that Israel's president, Reuven Rivlin, will almost certainly allow Mr Gantz the first chance to form a coalition government. It will be the first time since 2009 that anyone other than Mr Netanyahu has been given the task. Letters from Jerusalem RHS But that does not mean Mr Gantz, a former army general, will necessarily succeed in cobbling together a majority. He says he hopes to form a national unity government with Likud but only if Mr Netanyahu, who is facing criminal corruption charges, agrees to resign. Mr Netanyahu is refusing to budge and so far his Likud ministers are remaining loyal to him. If Mr Gantz is unable to form a government within 42 days then Mr Netanyahu will get another chance to take up the task. If neither man is successful, Israel could be plunged into an unprecedented third election in a year. There were reports last night that both Mr Gantz's Blue & White and Mr Netanyahu's Likud were maneuvering to be allowed to go second in forming a government because they believed the first chance was a poison chalice likely to end in failure. The Israeli president said meanwhile that he hoped the two parties could find a way to bridge their differences and come together in a unity government. "A stable government cannot be a government without both of the two largest parties," Mr Rivlin said. The leaders of the Joint List at the president's office Credit: Menahem Kahana/Pool via AP While the Joint List is backing Mr Gantz to be prime minister, the party will not actually join a potential Gantz government nor adds its 13 seats towards his majority. Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of a secular nationalist party which holds the balance between pro-Netanyahu and anti-Netanyahu parties in parliament, said he was not backing Mr Gantz or Mr Netanyahu at this stage. Mr Lieberman, who has a history of incendiary rhetoric towards Palestinians, said he could not support Mr Gantz if the Arabs were supporting him. "They're enemies. Wherever they sit we'll be on the other side." That leaves Mr Gantz with a perilously narrow path to forming a majority government without joining forces with Likud.
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| Delta has an incredible fare sale through Wednesday with flights as low as $97 Posted: 22 Sep 2019 06:06 AM PDT  Regular travelers probably don't associate the idea of sales and low-fares with a carrier like Delta Airlines, which are more in the wheelhouse of a low-cost brand like Southwest that offers up flash fare sales on the regular.Nevertheless, that's exactly what Delta has going at the moment \-- a fare sale with deals that start as low as only $97, though they come with a few important catches.One is that you've only got until September 25, to lock one of these fares in. Just as important to know: These are Delta basic economy fares, a classification that leaves several things to chance. You'll be assigned a seat at check-in, for example, and you'll be stuck in the last boarding group and thus will probably have to gate-check your luggage.If you can be fine with those limitations, though, there are some great deals to be had. In most cases, they're fares that are meant for travel happening sometime between October and February 2020, and the deals include a $97 round-trip offer in basic economy between Atlanta and Nashville; a $99 round-trip offer between Los Angeles and San Diego; a $117 offer between Austin and Cincinnatti; and a $127 offer between Seattle and San Jose.The full list of routes and discounted fares offered can be found on Delta's sale website. Of course, just because a fare that's discounted here looks pretty low doesn't mean you won't find a comparable offer elsewhere -- one that may also have some of the perks like earlier boarding that you're denied through this Delta sale. Speaking of those basic economy limitations here, savvy travelers should be able to easily get around them using certain co-branded credit cards that offer perks like early boarding, luggage benefits and the like.If you decide these deals are worth it, though, remember -- you've only got a few more days to decide, as the fare sale is only good through Wednesday.
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| Patriot Missile Defense: America's Answer to Ballistic Missiles, Drones, and Aerial Threats Posted: 22 Sep 2019 01:00 AM PDT  Can it handle 21st-century threats?
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| End of Boeing 737 MAX grounding up to individual countries: US FAA Posted: 23 Sep 2019 04:08 PM PDT  The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday that it still has no timeframe to lift the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX, and that individual countries will decide when the plane can fly again. The statement -- which points to a lack of consensus among regulators on when to clear the MAX for service -- followed a meeting of international regulators in Canada more than six months after the top-selling Boeing plane was grounded following the second of two deadly crashes that together claimed 346 lives. Boeing has said that it expects to receive regulatory approval early in the fourth quarter for the plane to resume service.
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| Florida police officer suspended for arresting two 6-year-olds Posted: 23 Sep 2019 03:07 PM PDT ![Florida police officer suspended for arresting two 6-year-olds]( "Florida police officer suspended for arresting two 6-year-olds") A Florida police officer has been suspended and is being investigated after arresting two 6-year-olds for separate disciplinary incidents at their school, police and a prosecutor said on Monday. Dennis Turner arrested the children on Thursday while working as a resource officer at a charter school in Orlando, charging them both with misdemeanor battery, Florida State Attorney Aramis Ayala told a news conference. Ayala said Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolón told her he did not intend to prosecute the children and had asked for the charges to be dropped.
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| The Latest: British PM questions Thomas Cook bosses' pay Posted: 23 Sep 2019 10:03 AM PDT  Prime Minister Boris Johnson says a "huge effort" is underway to bring home British tourists and passengers stranded by the sudden financial collapse of travel company Thomas Cook. Gambian Tourism Minister Hamat Bah has told The Associated Press the country's government has convened an emergency meeting to deal with the collapse of travel company Thomas Cook. A Swedish Thomas Cook customer stranded on Cyprus is making the best of a bad situation, saying he'll enjoy the sunshine until Friday when arrangements will hopefully be made for his return.
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| White House Press Sec: Trump ‘Put a Stop’ to Briefing Because Reporters Were Being Mean Posted: 23 Sep 2019 10:09 AM PDT  Any hope that Americans may one day see Trump's new press secretary taking questions from reporters in a formal White House press briefing went out the window on Monday morning when Stephanie Grisham sat down for her first appearance on Fox & Friends since taking over for Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year. Before Grisham even got a chance to explain why she has yet to brief the media, the Fox hosts were giving her cover. Steve Doocy suggested that President Trump "doesn't really need anybody to do the talking for him" because he's such a "great communicator.""He's his own best spokesperson, it's true," Trump's official spokesperson replied, pointing to Trump's helicopter-side chats with the press as evidence that he's the "most accessible" president in history. "Is this the new press briefing?" Ainsley Earhardt asked. "Before, we saw all of his press secretaries in front of the podium." Noting that Saturday Night Live "made fun of" Sean Spicer for his briefing behavior, she told Grisham, "You'll never have that moment because no longer are we doing that, right?" "Not right now," Grisham said, adding, "to be honest the briefings had become a lot of theater and I think that a lot of reporters were doing it to…" Doocy finished her sentence for her with, "get famous!" Without naming names, Grisham seemed to criticize White House reporters like CNN's Jim Acosta and ABC's Jonathan Karl for writing books about their experiences. When Brian Kilmeade asked Grisham if Trump "took it personal" when reporters demanded answers in briefings with Spicer or Sanders—in other words, doing their jobs by holding the administration accountable—she replied, "Absolutely.""I think it's so important that the spokesperson for the president can adequately speak to his policies and get his message out there. And I think the president saw that that's not what was happening," she said. "It had become, again, theater, and they weren't being good to his people. And he doesn't like that. He's very loyal to his people, and he put a stop to it." Sean Spicer Has Most Embarrassing 'Dancing With the Stars' Debut Ever, PeriodRead more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| In the 1980s, the World Acted to Save the Ozone Layer. Here's Why the Fight Against Climate Change Is Different Posted: 23 Sep 2019 10:47 AM PDT  A scientist who helped saved the ozone layer in the 1980s weighs inn on why it's been harder for science to lead to action on climate change
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| Karen Pence's attempt to help Trump 2020 online falls flat Posted: 23 Sep 2019 06:51 AM PDT  Karen Pence has joined Twitter to help with President Trump's reelection campaign, but it's not going well.
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| AOC says bigger scandal than Trump's 'lawbreaking behavior' is Dems' refusal to impeach Posted: 22 Sep 2019 09:55 AM PDT  Ocasio-Cortez added further fuel to the impeachment fire by saying the bigger scandal was Democrats' refusal to impeach President Trump.
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| Why Russia's Air Force Is So Dangerous Posted: 22 Sep 2019 01:30 AM PDT  Cheaper than Western aircraft and almost just as good.
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| India seizes one tonne of ketamine on boat, arrests six Myanmar crew Posted: 22 Sep 2019 02:02 AM PDT  India's coast guard has arrested six Myanmar men and seized $42 million worth of ketamine after spotting a suspicious vessel in the Indian Ocean near the Nicobar Islands. The 1,160 kilogram (about 2,500 pounds) drug haul came after coast guard aircraft spotted the boat, which had its lights off, on Wednesday in India's Exclusive Economic Zone, the defence ministry said in a statement. The boat's crew did not respond to radio calls and the coast guard eventually boarded it, with officials finding "57 gunny bundles of suspicious substance" on Friday.
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| Twenty suspects held in child serial killer investigation in Pakistan Posted: 23 Sep 2019 10:47 AM PDT ![Twenty suspects held in child serial killer investigation in Pakistan]( "Twenty suspects held in child serial killer investigation in Pakistan") Pakistani police have detained 20 suspects as they investigate the possibility of a serial killer being behind the suspected murder and sexual assault of three boys in a district which has a history of child abuse and abduction. The body of eight-year-old Muhammad Faizan was found on an industrial estate, after he went missing on the way home from nearby shops. Local media reported three other children from the area had been missing since the middle of the year and another child had disappeared late last week after the bodies were found.
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| UNC denies claims of bias in Middle East studies program Posted: 23 Sep 2019 03:54 PM PDT  The University of North Carolina is disputing the Trump administration's accusations of bias in a Middle East studies program that the school operates with Duke University. In a letter sent to the department Friday and obtained by The Associated Press through a records request on Monday, UNC's research chief defends the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies, saying it has been a leader in Middle Eastern language studies for years. UNC, which houses the consortium, was responding to an Aug. 29 letter from the department.
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| Iran Demands a $15 Billion Credit Before Resuming Talks With Trump and EU Posted: 22 Sep 2019 06:01 PM PDT  Photo Illustration by Lyne Lucien/The Daily BeastForeign Minister Javad Zarif said Sunday that Iran would not resume talks with President Donald Trump and his administration until a French plan to extend $15 billion of credit to Tehran goes into full effect."The credit we are talking about is not a charity. We are a wealthy nation," Zarif told a group of reporters in New York on Sunday. "The credit is in lieu of the oil [the French] were supposed to buy." Zarif said Iran is requesting the $15 billion credit be extended until December, at which point in time it would request $3 billion per month. "That was one way for the French—not just the French but the European Union—in order for them to come back into compliance with the JCPOA," Zarif said, referring the Iran nuclear deal. He said the U.S. would eventually "lose its leverage" if it continued to block Tehran from selling its oil."They are the ones who are dependent on the global market," Zarif said.Iran has been in conversations with French President Emmanuel Macron for weeks about the possibility of accessing billions of dollars from either the French central bank or the European Central Bank to compensate for the money Iran lost in oil sales due to American sanctions. Trump Flirts With $15 Billion Bailout for Iran, Sources SayZarif, who is in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, said the $15 billion deal was just one of several of the Iranian government's demands for the European Union and the U.S. It also wants to be able to sell its oil and access the revenue made from oil sales. Zarif said the Trump administration's sanctions campaign was "starving" the Iranian people and equated it to "economic terrorism," saying Secretary of State Mike Pompeo should "be prepared to face the consequences in the International Criminal Court."On CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, Pompeo said: "I don't know why anyone listens to the Iranian foreign minister. It's beneath the dignity of anyone to listen to him."Since the early days of 2017, the Trump administration, with the help of hawkish Washington think tanks and politicos, has rolled out what it calls a "maximum-pressure campaign." The policy relies almost entirely on the implementation of targeted economic sanctions on Iran's most important leaders, sectors, and industries. The plan was in part crafted by former National Security Adviser John Bolton. Following Bolton's departure, it was unclear exactly how President Trump would move forward with Iran. He has long tried to avoid military confrontation with Iran, but members of his administration, notably Pompeo and Brian Hook, the special representative for Iran, have quietly lauded Bolton's maximum-pressure campaign and aggressive attitude toward Tehran.On Friday, the Trump administration announced that it had placed the Iranian central bank under the strictest of sanctions, making it almost impossible for France or any other country to extend it a line of credit. Trump called them the sanctions package the "highest sanctions ever". Zarif blamed Mark Dubowitz, the CEO of Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a think tank in Washington that has been instrumental in the shaping of the Trump administration's Iran policy."Mark Dubowitz wanted to make sure that neither this president or his successor will not be able to normalize relations with Iran," Zarif said. "I think President Trump knowingly or unknowingly closed the door to negotiations on Friday." In August, Iran blacklisted FDD, accusing it of "economic terrorism.""In America, think tanks research analyze and offer policy ideas. Elected officials and their deputies make the decisions," Dubowitz said. "Mr. Zarif, having lived in America for so many years, might have been expected to be familiar with the customs of a free country. Apparently, he did not pay close attention. We will fully support normalization when the Islamic Republic of Iran acts like a normal nation and ends its support for terrorism and other destructive activities."Now, Zarif said, Iran is only going to agree to talks with the U.S. and the European Union if the cash starts flowing."When we went and discussed all of that and [France] thought—and we respect their decision but that does not relieve them of [their] legal obligations—that [they] needed to get some green light from the U.S.," Zarif said. "That's a contradiction because if the U.S. is interested in maximum pressure, then they wouldn't give them a green light and that's what we warned them about."The Daily Beast has previously reported that President Trump was considering the possibility of giving that green light to the French. But following the latest attacks on the Saudi oil facilities—described by Trump officials as "an act of war" on the part of Iran—Trump seems to have completely written off any idea of approving a deal that would benefit Tehran. Zarif flatly denied any accusations that Iran was involved in those attacks, pointing the finger instead at "the Yemenis." Saudi Arabia is investigating the exact origin of the drones and missiles that were used in the attack. "I think [Trump] is determined not to get involved in our country militarily," Zarif said. "But there are others who are determined to drag him into a military conflict with Iran."Zarif said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani would introduce a plan, titled "Coalition for Hope," at the United Nations this week. Although he did not provide reporters with the exact details, he said the coalition would include Iraq and other Persian Gulf countries should they choose to join and would focus on freedom of navigation and energy security. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| A Thomas Cook flight attendant says she only learned that the company collapsed and she lost her job on Facebook Posted: 23 Sep 2019 05:08 AM PDT  Thomas Cook, the travel group and airline, filed for bankruptcy early on Monday morning, leaving 600,000 people stranded around the world.
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| Two years after María, many in Puerto Rico 'are still living as if the hurricane happened yesterday' Posted: 22 Sep 2019 04:18 PM PDT  Outside of the town of Yabucoa, Fermín Pérez keeps his new refrigerator in a box and his new mattress in its packaging. He keeps them stored so they aren't damaged by the water that still leaks from his roof when it rains, despite the aid that came to repair it after Hurricane María made landfall practically in his backyard two years ago.María made came ashore as a strong Category 4 storm on Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, tearing into his home. Not having the money to make repairs and no family around to help, the 71-year-old man had reached out for aid. Even then, it wasn't until a year later in 2018 when he received electricity after the news organization Metro Puerto Rico brought attention to his story.The news outlet visited Pérez three times: last year, again when aid arrived within the week and a third time last week. Fermín Pérez stands in front of his house in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, a year after Hurricane María made landfall as a strong Category 4 storm. The storm had broken his windows, his door and had damaged his roof. A year later, after having asked for aid, no help came until Metro Puerto Rico covered his story. (Metro Puerto Rico/José Encarnación) When Metro Puerto Rico returned in 2019, Pérez's door, roof and windows had been repaired after María had pummeled the city, though the outlet noted the job had looked rushed. The ceiling leaked when it rained. Pérez's house wasn't one of the thousands of roofless homes still shielded by blue tarp, but mold still clung to the walls, and the living conditions hadn't looked much better than when they had first met Pérez a year ago. They noted that while there is water, electricity and a standing structure, the home that was once there was gone.Pérez told Metro Puerto Rico that FEMA had given him the fridge and some Americans had been in charge of the infrastructure, but Peréz wasn't living in much better conditions than when the hurricane had hit. Fermín Pérez lived for about a year without electricity after Hurricane María made landfall in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. (Metro Puerto Rico/José Encarnación) "Many Puerto Ricans are still experiencing a livelihood or a situation that is very similar to Sept. 21, Sept. 22 after Hurricane Maria. Many Puerto Ricans are still living below blue tarps," Penn State assistant professor of human development and family studies Alexis Santos told AccuWeather. "Many Puerto Ricans are still living as if the hurricane happened yesterday, and we strive and we hope that we can help them get their lives back to normality even if it's two years after the hurricane has happened."Santos had been a part of a research effort that was run from Penn State with support from individuals from the University of Texas at San Antonio, which published a study in early August of 2018 that contributed additional deaths in the months following María to the death toll. Originally, the Puerto Rican government had said 64 people had died from María. Santos said their estimates had placed them between 1,200 to 1,300 at the time before the official investigation by the Milken Institute School of Public Health.Metro Puerto Rico editor and reporter Ronald Ávila-Claudio, who has been reporting on María since before the storm made landfall, has said that the time that Puerto Rico will take to recover will depend on the money they receive for aid. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has estimated that Hurricane María caused about $90 billion in damages.Recently, Trump falsely claimed in a pair of tweets in July and again in August that Congress had given $92 billion to Puerto Rico for hurricane relief. Although Congress has allocated $42.5 billion to disaster relief for the United States territory, Puerto Rico has only received about $14 billion. In this Sept. 8, 2018, file photo, Alma Morales Rosario poses for a portrait between the beams of her home being rebuilt after it was destroyed by Hurricane María a year earlier in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico. On Friday, May 10, 2019, The Associated Press has found that stories circulating on the internet that Puerto Rico has received $91 billion from Congress for hurricane disaster relief, more than any state in the U.S, are untrue. Congress has approved $41 billion in aid for recovery efforts in the U.S. territory, but only about $11 billion of that aid has been dispersed. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) Bureaucracy has also slowed down recovery and has impacted the lives of the people on the island, Ávila said."There are still a lot of people today who don't have a roof. There are buildings with blue tarp because the bureaucracy of the housing departments," he said.Ávila has described the government's response as "negligent," and that they are still fighting for information and to get accountability from the state and federal government."We received a lot of aid from outside. I have to be honest, I didn't see a lot of this aid and help in the hands of the people," Ávila said, though admitted that it was difficult to keep tabs on the government's activity while communications had been down.Ávila first found himself in the dark a few hours after María had hit. He had been reporting in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, on their preparations and had taken shelter at an Emergency Management base when María had struck, taking down communications with it. With no power or way to communicate over long distances, the island was in the dark on the amount of devastation María had caused. Ávila couldn't reach his newsroom, his editors or even his family. Hurricane María decimated Puerto Rico's power grid, causing the largest blackout in U.S. history. This photo from Dec. 2017 shows a fraction of the destruction caused. (Photo/Dan Vineberg) "All of the coverage plan was down, so I started to improvise what I could do now to get all the information I could so I could write it all down and get the news to the people," Ávila said.Only a few hours after María had left the island, Ávila found out from a first responder that a woman in the community had died from the storm. It was the first death he had heard of from María.He did some investigating, finding his way to her public housing building, where the woman's neighbors directed him to her first-floor apartment. The elderly woman had lived alone. Ávila said she hadn't been able to walk and had died in her bed from the water that had flooded her room."When I got down there, the body was on the floor. It was...it was really tough for me, and that's the moment when I started to realize the devastation was really big," Ávila said, who had been 24 at the time. "It was the hardest part of my coverage there in Aguadilla."It was one of the first of the 2,975 deaths that would illuminate the reality of María."Socioeconomics seems to be the driving force here not only for deaths, but for getting back on their feet during recovery or after the hurricane and mitigating the recovery efforts," Santos said. He estimates about 30,000 houses still have blue tarps covering their homes in the place of an absent roof. In this Oct. 19, 2017, file photo, homes in the Cantera area are covered with FEMA tarps, where buildings from the Hato Rey area stand in the background in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The U.S. government announced Tuesday, April 10, 2018, that it will award $18.5 billion worth of disaster recovery grants to Puerto Rico to help repair homes, businesses and its crumbling power grid as the U.S. territory struggles to recover from Hurricane María. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti) In the aftermath, Santos and his research team found that it was the people with low income levels who were more likely to end up suffering from the post-disaster dynamics. Research had also found that older persons were more likely to die post-María, whereas people more likely to leave the island were younger people.In his research, Santos and his team found that deaths were concentrated in places like nursing homes, where people were already vulnerable to pre-disaster conditions. People with a cardiovascular disease were also more likely to die than someone who didn't have one. People with diabetes also found themselves vulnerable.After María, "People were leaving the elderly patients in the hospital because if they stayed at home, they were going to face certain death," Santos said. Nerybelle Perez poses with a portrait of her father, World War II veteran Efrain Perez, who died inside an ambulance after being turned away from the largest public hospital when it had no electricity or water, days after Hurricane Maria passed, in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Thursday, June 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti) It was the experiences of his mother, a nurse at one of the major hospitals in Puerto Rico, which encouraged him to venture into his research on the original death toll. The numbers hadn't matched her narrative. Her story had been one of devastation, one that had made her sick as she drove to the hospital."The hospital was overrun by patients," Santos said.He describes María both as an environmental event and environmental disaster - an event with stronger impacts than what might be considered normal and that is tied to the environment and climate."This was the worst hurricane I have seen in my life," Ávila said, having experienced a few on the island before. In this December 2017 photo, debris is piled at the side of the road as residents begin to clean up the destruction caused by Hurricane María. Blue tarp still covers thousands of homes even two years after the storm. (Photo/Dan Vineberg) Seeing the devastation of buildings collapsed and overturned and listening to the stories from the people in Aguadilla after the hurricane, Ávila eventually was brought to the point where he could no longer stay in the city. He needed to know about his family."When I started to find all these buildings that were down or houses that were moved and all the people without anything, because people lost everything, I yelled, I said I have to go back to my house and my home to see my mom," he said. In this Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, file photo, the foundation of a heavily damaged house stands amid broken trees in the mountains after the passing of Hurricane María in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa,File) After driving nearly the entire length of the island, Ávila found his family was safe in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. He continues to cover the impacts of María, despite the psychological challenges it has presented."The coverage of the emergency process of the response of the government, it was really difficult for us journalists here in Puerto Rico," Ávila said. "I went six months without power in my apartment, so I was covering this, I was visiting the island, I was talking with people that lost everything and when I get back to my house, I was living that too. It was really stressful for us. It was a psychological challenge for us journalists to cover it."People across Puerto Rico pulled blue tarp over their homes in the place of the roofs that had been blown away or demolished by María. Two years later in late August, Puerto Rico and its 30,000 blue tarp-covered houses braced for a hit from Dorian. The storm took mercy upon the island.The people of Puerto Rico are well aware of where they are and the probability of another hurricane hitting the island. Ávila said that now they know what to prepare for."The people know that there's the probability that we have to save ourselves," he said. "There is no one that is going to go up to your house and help you."
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