| Kurds agree to Russian-brokered plan to allow Assad into their territory Posted: 13 Oct 2019 04:38 PM PDT  The West's Kurdish allies on Sunday night announced they had agreed to a Russian-brokered deal to allow the Assad regime into their territory in a bid to spare their cities from a Turkish assault after they were abandoned by Donald Trump. Hours after the US said it was withdrawing all of its troops from northern Syria, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said it had reached an agreement to allow Bashar al-Assad's troops into their territory. "If we have to choose between compromises and the genocide of our people, we will surely choose life for our people," said Mazloum Kobani Abdi, the commander of the SDF. It was not immediately clear if the agreement with Assad would bring a halt to the Turkish offensive or if the Turkish military and its Syrian rebel allies would continue to advance. But the deal appeared to strike a death knell for Kurdish hopes of maintaining autonomy from Damascus in their own semi-state in northeast Syria. Read more | Syria crisis The announcement marked a stunning fall for the SDF, who just a week ago could count on the support of the US military in deterring Turkey from taking action. That security came to an end last Sunday night when Mr Trump told Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey's president, the US would not interfere in a Turkish attack on northeast Syria. "The betrayal process is officially completed," an SDF official said of the US withdrawal. Turkish warplanes thundered into Syrian airspace while Turkish-backed rebel forces advanced against the SDF on the ground and on Sunday night Kurdish commanders decided they had to strike a deal to prevent annihilation. While the formal details of the agreement were not announced, Syrian regime forces appeared poised to enter many of the key Kurdish-held cities along the Turkish-Syrian border, including Kobani, Manbij and Qamishli. Many of the areas hold vast symbolic importance for the Kurds, who have lost 11,000 men fighting against the Islamic State (Isil) in the last five years to free those cities from jihadist rule. A woman sits in the back of a truck as they flee Ras-al-Ain The announcement came after Mark Esper, the US defence secretary, said he and Mr Trump had decided to withdraw all 1,000 US troops from northern Syria because the Turks "likely intend to expand their attack further south than originally planned". "We have American forces likely caught between two opposing advancing armies and it's a very untenable situation," he said on Sunday morning. While Mr Trump said last week he was removing around 50 US commandos from a 120km section of the Turkey-Syria border, hundreds of other American soldiers remained near Kurdish key cities like Kobani and Qamishli. News of the US retreat sparked panic across northern Syria as civilians, who believed their towns might be spared from Turkish onslaught by the presence of American forces, started fleeing their homes. At least 200,000 people have been displaced so far, aid groups said, and the number is likely to rise. The town of Ras-al-Ain in flames The decision came as civilian casualties mounted and Islamic State prisoners took advantage of the chaos to mount a mass escape. Kurdish authorities said early on Sunday around 785 women and children escaped from a camp in Ain Issa when it came under attack from Turkish shelling. Isil inmates "attacked the camp guard and opened the gates" while Kurdish forces were under fire, authorities said. Tooba Gondal, a notorious British Isil recruiter from Walthamstow, and her two children, may have been among those who fled and her whereabouts were unknown on Sunday night. Ms Gondal travelled to Syria to join Isil in 2015 and has been accused of grooming other young British women, including Shamima Begum, to follow her. There were unconfirmed reports last night that Ms Gondal had contacted family back in Britain to tell them she had escaped the camp. The Telegraph understands at least three other British women, and reportedly three British orphans, were held in Ain Issa camp before the break-out. British Isil recruiter Tooba Gondal pictured inside Ain Issa camp The SDF warned the West the breakout may be the first of many and that the resurgent jihadists "will come knocking on your doors" if the Turkish offensive is not stopped. Mr Trump said on Sunday night that Turkey and the Kurds must not allow Isil prisoners to escape and blamed the terror risk on Europe for not taking them back. "The US has the worst of the ISIS prisoners. Turkey and the Kurds must not let them escape," he tweeted. "Europe should have taken them back after numerous requests. They should do it now. They will never come to, or be allowed in, the United States!" The SDF said Turkish-backed rebel fighters intercepted a car carrying Hevrin Khalaf, a Kurdish political leader with the Future Syria Party, and shot her to death along with her driver and an aide on Saturday. Video footage showed her black SUV riddled with bullet holes while Arabic-speaking Syrian fighters cheered. Turkey has said such fighters, known as the National Army, would be at the forefront of anti-Isil operations once the Kurds were defeated. While US officials insisted America was opposed to the Turkish invasion, Mr Trump struck a laissez-faire note in a series of Sunday morning tweets. Plight of the Kurds | Timeline of Western involvement "The Kurds and Turkey have been fighting for many years," he noted. "Others may want to come in and fight for one side or the other. Let them!" The US has yet to slap any sanctions on Turkey for the assault, despite White House warnings that it would target the Turkish economy if the offensive led to a humanitarian crisis or disrupted anti-Isil operations. Both outcomes have already happened. At least 60 civilians have been killed in northern Syria and 18 civilians have died from Kurdish shelling in southern Turkey since last Wednesday, according to the Syrian Observatory. France and Germany both announced they were halting arms sales to Turkey but the UK did not match their announcements. Britain approved military export licenses worth £583m to Turkey in 2017, including licenses for attack aircraft and helicopters.
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| The Latest: Man charged in New Hampshire church shooting Posted: 12 Oct 2019 04:44 PM PDT  The New Hampshire attorney general's office says a man has been charged in a shooting that took place during a wedding ceremony. Thirty-seven-year-old Dale Holloway has been charged on Saturday with purposely and knowingly causing bodily injury by means of a deadly weapon for shooting 75-year-old Stanley Choate in the chest. A third person, Mark Castiglione, 60, was struck in the head by an object.
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| HK leader ditches meeting Ted Cruz, says the U.S. senator Posted: 12 Oct 2019 03:53 AM PDT ![HK leader ditches meeting Ted Cruz, says the U.S. senator]( "HK leader ditches meeting Ted Cruz, says the U.S. senator") Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam scrapped a scheduled meeting with U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, the highest profile U.S. politician to visit the city since anti-government protests broke out more than four months ago, the senator said on Saturday. Lam had requested that the afternoon meeting be completely confidential and Cruz refrain from speaking with the media about it, Cruz told journalists in Hong Kong. "She seems to misunderstand how free speech operates, and also how freedom of the press operates," said Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas.
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| Norwegian Cruise Line passengers demand refunds after ship skips several scheduled stops Posted: 12 Oct 2019 11:31 AM PDT ![Norwegian Cruise Line passengers demand refunds after ship skips several scheduled stops]( "Norwegian Cruise Line passengers demand refunds after ship skips several scheduled stops") Norwegian Cruise Line passengers voiced their anger after disembarking from the ship Friday after several port stops were canceled due to weather.
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| Latest: Southern California wildfire is now 33% contained Posted: 12 Oct 2019 08:48 PM PDT  The Los Angeles County Fire Department says the wildfire in the San Fernando Valley is now 33% contained. The department says Saturday night that winds and temperatures have fallen to normal levels after the Santa Ana winds passed through the region. A man went into cardiac arrest and died at the scene of a wildfire that broke out late Thursday.
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| Deadly protests set stage for Iran, US tug-of-war over Iraq Posted: 11 Oct 2019 09:06 PM PDT  Iraq's deadliest wave of protests since the 2003 ouster of dictator Saddam Hussein has made the country vulnerable to a battle for influence between its two main competing allies, the United States and Iran, analysts say. The anti-government protests that erupted on October 1 echoed the demands that young Iraqis have made over recent years. "Without this context, Iran would not have intervened," Iraqi political analyst Munqith Dagher said.
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| Trump defends Giuliani, said to be under investigation Posted: 12 Oct 2019 01:08 PM PDT  President Trump on Saturday defended his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who is reportedly under federal investigation over his dealings with Ukraine on Trump's behalf.
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| Missing dog reunited with owner 12 years later Posted: 12 Oct 2019 04:51 AM PDT  "I'm just so happy to have her back. I cried so many nights without her," Dutchess's owner, Katheryn Strang, said
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| Hunter Biden is stepping down from the board of a Chinese private equity firm as Trump alleges corruption Posted: 13 Oct 2019 08:32 AM PDT  In a statement posted online, Biden's lawyer said he would also avoid all foreign business dealings.
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| Jake Tapper Exposes Pompeo, Graham and Giuliani’s ‘Stunning’ Hypocrisy Posted: 13 Oct 2019 09:34 AM PDT  It's easy to forget just how different some of President Trump's most loyal servants felt about oversight and impeachment when there were Democrats in the White House. On Sunday morning, CNN anchor Jake Tapper made sure his viewers remembered. In the final moments of his State of the Union broadcast this week, Tapper said that the White House's outright refusal to "participate" in the House impeachment inquiry means that the president is "seemingly thumbing his nose at the very notion that the U.S. government was designed with three co-equal branches, specifically to offer checks and balances on each other." "When President Obama was in the White House, the Republican-led House of Representatives conducted lots of oversight," Tapper continued, "on the Fast and Furious scandal, on the Benghazi tragedy and more." He said that anyone who covered or followed the Benghazi saga "may find it stunning to see Republican members of Congress trash-talking whistleblowers and inspectors general and trash-talking the oversight responsibilities of the House." "After all, during the Obama years, in the trenches, pushing to conduct oversight were many of these same House Republicans," Tapper said, "such as then Congressman Mike Pompeo from Kansas." After playing a clip of Pompeo extolling the constitutional necessity of oversight, Tapper added, "Yes it is!" In response to him saying it was "unacceptable" for the Obama administration to ignore subpoenas, Tapper said, "It is unacceptable!""One has to wonder what that congressman would make of the secretary of state, who has the same name, whose department is ordering State Department officials to ignore congressional subpoenas," Tapper said, before moving onto Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who also reportedly urged Donald Trump Jr. to do the same.That is a "far cry," Tapper said, from what Graham had to say when he was tasked with prosecuting the impeachment case against Bill Clinton. "The day that Richard Nixon failed to answer that subpoena is the day that he was subject to impeachment," Graham said at the time. "Similarly, during the Clinton impeachment, Rudy Giuliani made it very clear where he stood on the matter of avoiding subpoenas," Tapper said, revealing another clip from 1998 of Trump's personal lawyer telling Charlie Rose that "the president is not above the law, is not able to avoid subpoenas." "Now that Giuliani is enmeshed in the Ukraine scandal, however, Giuliani hasn't even made it clear whether he is going to honor the congressional subpoena aimed at him," Tapper added. "The arguments that Democratic presidents needed to comply with congressional oversight were correct. That's how the system was set up." Tapper concluded, "If you only apply constitutional standards to the other political party and not to your own, then those aren't principles, they're tactics." Rachel Maddow Predicts Senate GOP May Just Find Its 'Conscience' and Impeach TrumpRead 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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| Hong Kong protesters and police clash, metro and shops targeted Posted: 12 Oct 2019 07:56 PM PDT  Rallies in shopping malls on Hong Kong island and across the harbor in the Kowloon district began peacefully around midday with a few hundred people at each chanting "Free Hong Kong" and other slogans. Police said protesters threw bricks and petrol bombs at police, with one setting a police van alight in Kowloon's Sha Tin district. Police made several arrests and used tear gas to disperse protesters, saying they used "minimum force".
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| Russia's New Nuclear Weapon Is A Real Doomsday Device (And Aimed At America) Posted: 11 Oct 2019 11:00 PM PDT  If you can't beat them, destroy them.
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| Police: Woman killed by 6-foot log pushed off cliff in Ohio state park; 2 teens charged Posted: 12 Oct 2019 02:46 PM PDT  Ohio investigators say the six-foot log was pushed or thrown off the cliff in the Hocking Hills State Park. Two teens have been charged.
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| Correction: California-New Laws story Posted: 13 Oct 2019 08:52 AM PDT  In a story Oct. 12 about a California ban on the sale and manufacture of new fur products, The Associated Press erroneously identified the Humane Society of the United States as the Human Society of the United States. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will be the first state to ban the sale and manufacture of new fur products and the third to bar most animals from circus performances under a pair of bills signed Saturday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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| Modi, Xi talk of 'new' ties, after differences Posted: 12 Oct 2019 01:37 PM PDT  India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday spoke of a new era in relations, after talks aimed at overcoming differences between the world's two most populous nations. Modi and Xi strolled along a pristine Bay of Bengal beach and held one-on-one talks from chairs overlooking the ocean before their delegations sat down to official negotiations at the historic resort town of Mahabalipuram, south of Chennai. The two leaders met for the second time in 18 months in a bid to ease tensions over border disputes, the troubled Kashmir region and China's domination of trade between their economies.
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| British orphans missing in northern Syria after mass escape of Islamic State families Posted: 13 Oct 2019 10:42 AM PDT  Three British Islamic State orphans have gone missing in northern Syria after the camp they were in was shelled by Turkish forces. Ten-year-old Amira, her sister Hiba, eight, and brother Hamza, around the same age as Hiba, were discovered in the Kurdish-run Ain Issa camp by a BBC reporting team last week. But they vanished on Sunday after hundreds of women linked the caliphate fled the camp in what Kurdish-led forces described as a mass escape facilitated by Turkish forces. They had been living with 21 other orphans at the camp since they were evacuated from the wreckage of Baghouz, Isil's last redoubt, in March. The three siblings, whose surname is unknown, emerged from Isil's last stand bearing physical and emotional scars but still able to speak some English. Their parents, older brother, and two other sisters were killed in the battle. Their parents, who have not been identified, brought the family to Isil's so-called Capilphate in Syria five years ago. In an interview with the BBC, Amira, who still has traces of a London accent and is able to write, painstakingly wrote out the place she once called home: "LaNDN uKeH" -- London, UK. Describing her pre-war life, she said: "I go to the park, I go to grand-mum's house, I go to the fun fair." The family entered Syria around five years ago, travelling to Aleppo, on to Raqqa and then down the Euphrates river valley, ending up in Baghouz. Human rights watchdogs have heaped pressure on the international community, particularly Western countries, to repatriate their citizens from Syria. Few have done so, and the UK has revoked the citizenship of high-profile militants and Isil supporters, including Shamima Begum. The case for orphans is more complex, and both France and the Netherlands have permitted the return of child nationals whose parents took them to Syria to join the terror group, but died there. In the hours after the Ain Issa camp was overrun, aid agency Save the Children made a plea with countries to repatriate their citizens, particularly children, before it was too late. By Sunday afternoon, Amira, Hiba and Hamza were gone.
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| Schiff Says Secret Testimony Aimed at Keeping Trump in the Dark Posted: 13 Oct 2019 09:51 AM PDT ![Schiff Says Secret Testimony Aimed at Keeping Trump in the Dark]( "Schiff Says Secret Testimony Aimed at Keeping Trump in the Dark") (Bloomberg) -- House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff defended holding testimony behind closed doors in the impeachment inquiry he's heading up against President Donald Trump, likening this phase of the investigation to a "grand jury.""We want to make sure that we meet the needs of the investigation and not give the president or his legal minions the opportunity to tailor their testimony and in some cases fabricate testimony to suit their interests," the California Democrat said Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation."Schiff said they may call some or all of the witnesses to return to testify in public later, though that might not include the whistle-blower who triggered the impeachment fight in the first place.While Trump and some of his Republican allies have hoped to unmask the official and question him or her, Schiff said his priority now is to protect the whistle-blower and said they don't need the person's testimony to find out what happened on the phone call between Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy."We're keeping our focus right now on the president's coercion of an ally, that is Ukraine, to create these sham investigations into his political opponent," Schiff said.Biden DirtSchiff said investigators have already seen strong evidence that Trump abused his office by conditioning a meeting Zelenskiy wanted with Trump on Ukraine "digging up dirt on the Bidens.""That is a terrible abuse of the president's power," Schiff said."Here we have a president of the United States abusing his power to the detriment of our national security and doing so to get yet another foreign country to intervene in our election. It's hard to imagine more of a corruption of his office than that."Schiff also said the committee continues to investigate whether the president decided to hold up military aid to Ukraine as leverage, saying there's already strong indications that is true "and we're going to get to the bottom of it."Representative Doug Collins of Georgia, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, ripped the closed sessions. "Democrats know they can't win on the facts, so they're having to move it behind closed doors," he said on Fox News. "I believe that sunshine is the best disinfectant."McConnell's MoveVermont Senator Bernie Sanders said on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that while he expects the Democratic-controlled House will vote to impeach Trump, he's "nervous" that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell "will put party in front of country" and not hold a full trial.McConnell has said the Senate will have to take up the impeachment, but it's not clear how long the proceedings would last.Schiff also tried to clear up his earlier statements that his committee hadn't heard from the whistle-blower."I was referring to the fact that when the whistle-blower filed the complaint, we had not heard from the whistleblower," Schiff said. "We wanted to bring the whistle-blower in at that time, but I should have been much more clear about that."Separately, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin defended the president.In an interview on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday, Mnuchin wouldn't comment on whether Trump's public request to China to investigate the Bidens earlier this month was serious or not, but said it had not come up in the context of trade talks with Beijing."And in the Oval Office, when the president was asked about this in front of the vice premier, the president made very clear, they can do what they want," Mnuchin said. "So, again, people who are trying to imply that the president is asking for things or quid pro quos, I think this is ridiculous."\--With assistance from Hailey Waller.To contact the reporter on this story: Steven T. Dennis in Washington at sdennis17@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Kevin Whitelaw at kwhitelaw@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, Linus ChuaFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Bernie Sanders differentiates himself from Warren, says he's the only candidate willing to stand up to corporate elite Posted: 13 Oct 2019 10:30 AM PDT ![Bernie Sanders differentiates himself from Warren, says he's the only candidate willing to stand up to corporate elite]( "Bernie Sanders differentiates himself from Warren, says he's the only candidate willing to stand up to corporate elite") It looks like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is beginning to distance himself from his good friend Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) policy-wise.The two Democratic presidential candidates have always gotten along well and are generally ideological allies, especially relative to many of their primary competitors. But Sanders was pretty clear in an interview that aired on Sunday's edition of ABC's This Week that Warren has a ways to go before she's at the same point on the political spectrum. Sanders praised Warren's tenure as a senator and reaffirmed their friendship, but he said "there are differences" in their platforms, namely the fact that Warren has maintained she is a capitalist "through her bones." He said the country doesn't need more regulation, but rather a "political revolution" and he believes he's the only candidate who will stand up to the corporate elite in the U.S. and say "enough." He said thar Warren would speak for herself on the matter, but, for the moment, Sanders, who considers himself a democratic socialist, thinks her adherence to capitalism is reason enough to separate them.> Sen. Bernie Sanders tells @jonkarl that Sen. Elizabeth Warren is a "very, very good senator," but "there are differences between Elizabeth and myself." > > "Elizabeth, I think, as you know, has said that she is a capitalist through her bones. I'm not." https://t.co/MAEIw7EoHO pic.twitter.com/HLHFGgmubs> > -- This Week (@ThisWeekABC) October 13, 2019The initial analysis Sanders' comments seems to be that Sanders recognizes he's falling behind Warren in the race, and understands he focusing on where they differ might be his best chance at getting back in contention. > .@rickklein says Bernie Sanders drawing a contrast with Warren is "an unmistakeable message" that he recognizes "the growing consensus in the Democratic Party that is buttressed by polls that says Elizabeth Warren is going to be the candidate to beat" https://t.co/9Q62slshzO pic.twitter.com/WzVrS41SCE> > -- Deena Zeina Zaru (@Deena_Zaru) October 13, 2019
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| UPDATE 1-Scientists endorse mass civil disobedience to force climate action Posted: 13 Oct 2019 04:53 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Scientists endorse mass civil disobedience to force climate action]( "UPDATE 1-Scientists endorse mass civil disobedience to force climate action") In a joint declaration, climate scientists, physicists, biologists, engineers and others from at least 20 countries broke with the caution traditionally associated with academia to side with peaceful protesters courting arrest from Amsterdam to Melbourne. Wearing white laboratory coats to symbolise their research credentials, a group of about 20 of the signatories gathered on Saturday to read out the text outside London's century-old Science Museum in the city's upmarket Kensington district. "We believe that the continued governmental inaction over the climate and ecological crisis now justifies peaceful and non-violent protest and direct action, even if this goes beyond the bounds of the current law," said Emily Grossman, a science broadcaster with a PhD in molecular biology.
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| Why Poland Really Needs the Patriot Missile Defense System (Think Russia) Posted: 12 Oct 2019 07:00 PM PDT  A robust, modern, integrated Polish air defense will complicate Russian attack planning and help ensure the survivability of both Polish military units and installations, as well as NATO's forward-deployed forces.
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| Kamala Harris to Donald Trump Jr: 'You wouldn’t know a joke if one raised you' Posted: 11 Oct 2019 07:43 PM PDT  The 2020 democratic hopeful was responding to the President's son calling her "The most disingenuous person in politics, after Hillary" for laughing at her own jokes
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| Serial killer's victim portraits could help crack cold cases Posted: 13 Oct 2019 11:37 AM PDT  Most of the women in Samuel Little's hand-drawn portraits seem to be frowning. Little, whom the FBI identified this month as the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history, produced startlingly detailed likenesses of dozens of women he says he strangled over the course of more than three decades. Now the FBI is publicizing his portraits — hoping that someone, somewhere, will recognize the face of a long-lost loved one in an image drawn by the killer himself.
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| Rakhine rebels abduct dozens after storming Myanmar bus: army Posted: 13 Oct 2019 12:50 AM PDT  Suspected ethnic Rakhine rebels disguised as a sports team stormed a bus in rural Myanmar and took 31 hostages -- mostly off-duty firefighters and construction workers -- authorities said Sunday. The state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar said the bus -- travelling to the Rakhine state capital of Sittwe -- was flagged down by a man dressed in civilian attire before 18 rebels in sportswear emerged from the forest and ordered the passengers off at gunpoint. The Arakan Army, which is fighting for more autonomy for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, could not immediately be reached for comment.
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| Rose McGowan attacks Hillary Clinton over ties to ‘monster’ Harvey Weinstein Posted: 13 Oct 2019 04:33 AM PDT  Rose McGowan has lashed out at Hillary Clinton over a report that Ronan Farrow's investigation into Harvey Weinstein was a "concern" for the Clinton camp.The actor was one of the first to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against the disgraced producer, and a lead campaigner for the MeToo movement. Weinstein has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.
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| German police investigate bitcoin transfer to synagogue killer Posted: 13 Oct 2019 07:12 AM PDT  German police are investigating a bitcoin transfer made to the far-Right extremist behind Wednesday's terror attack in Halle to determine if the man possessed a broader support network. German media outlet Spiegel reports that a transfer of 0.1 bitcoin – approximately €750 (£660) – was made to alleged attacker Stephan Balliet in the lead up to the attack. Police said the transfer came from an unknown source. Balliet told police interrogators that he had received the money from someone whom he had communicated with on the internet, but that he did not know who they were. Questions were raised as to how Balliet, who had been unemployed for a significant period of time in the lead up to the attack, was able to fund the attack, including buying the materials for his home-made weapons. As reported by Spiegel, the man told investigators that the weapons were cheap to manufacture, primarily as he constructed them from basic raw materials. He told police he bought steel worth €50, cartridge cases for €25 and a telescope for €20 to manufacture the weapons, which he based on designs released online by British pro-gun activist Philip Luty "The further investigations will deal in particular with the question of whether other persons were involved in the act or its preparation alongside Stephan Balliet", said a spokesman for the Federal Criminal Police Office. The 27-year-old Balliet was active in far-Right chatrooms, with police suspecting he was radicalised online. Balliet uploaded a manifesto outlining his motives, details of his weapons and indications as to the nature of his plans in the lead up to the attack.
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| Trump takes his stump speech to the Values Voter Summit Posted: 12 Oct 2019 05:58 PM PDT  President Donald Trump on Saturday delivered a full-throated defense of his presidency at the Values Voter Summit, calling Democrats "crazy" over their impeachment inquiry, touting his recent withdrawal of troops from Syria and pledging to fight for religious liberty in America and around the world. "These are bad bad people," Trump said of House Democrats, telling some 3,000 attendees at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., that "we're going after" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House intel chair Adam Schiff, while raising the prospect of suing them, in a 79-minute address that hewed closely to his stump speech. Pelosi "hates our country," the president continued, before further lashing out against the House impeachment inquiry that followed revelations from a whistleblower alleging Trump sought the help of a foreign government to dig up dirt on a political rival.
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| EU Seeks to Halt U.S. Tariffs Over Airbus Aid in Last-Gasp Plea Posted: 13 Oct 2019 11:17 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. The European Union made a last-ditch appeal to the U.S. to refrain from triggering retaliatory tariffs over illegal subsidies to Airbus SE, warning of economic harm to both sides and repeating a call for a negotiated solution.European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told her U.S. counterpart, Robert Lighthizer, that his plan to hit $7.5 billion of EU goods ranging from planes to whiskey with duties would compel the EU to apply countermeasures in a parallel lawsuit over market-distorting aid to Boeing Co. U.S. levies would make a negotiated settlement harder to reach, she said."I strongly believe that imposing additional tariffs in the two aircraft cases is not a solution," Malmstrom said in an Oct. 11 letter to Lighthizer seen by Bloomberg News. "It would only inflict damage on businesses and put at risk jobs on both sides of the Atlantic, harm global trade and the broader aviation industry at a sensitive time."The World Trade Organization is due to give final approval for U.S. retaliation in the Airbus case on Monday, allowing tariffs to kick in as planned on Friday.The trans-Atlantic dispute over aircraft aid risks fraying a trade truce struck between the U.S. and EU in July 2018. At the time, both sides pledged to try to scale back commercial barriers and avoid a repeat of tit-for-tat tariffs that began with President Donald Trump's duties on European steel and aluminum on U.S. national-security grounds.The WTO cases over subsidies to Airbus and Boeing are 15 years old. Because of the calendar, the U.S. is entitled to strike first and the EU would follow suit sometime in 2020.Malmstrom gave no sign in her letter to Lighthizer that an idea floated in some EU circles for quicker European retaliation is gaining ground. The idea weighed was to hit back by invoking an unrelated, older WTO case against a now-defunct U.S. tax break given to companies, including Boeing, via subsidiaries known as foreign sales corporations.Instead, Malmstrom said the EU's planned countermeasures of $12 billion would be applied "when the time comes on the parallel Boeing case."Aside from causing economic harm, hastier European retaliation could undermine the EU's claim to be working to uphold the WTO system that Trump's protectionism is shaking."We are ready to negotiate a settlement for both the Airbus and the Boeing case addressing remaining compliance obligations on both sides, putting these cases behind us," Malmstrom said.To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at jstearns2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Tony Czuczka, Linus ChuaFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Nepal eyes railway deal with China during Xi visit Posted: 12 Oct 2019 01:02 AM PDT  Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Nepal on Saturday on a state visit for talks with Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and both sides are expected to sign a deal expanding a railway link between the Himalayan nation and Tibet, officials said. Xi, the first Chinese president to visit Nepal in 22 years, arrived from India, where he held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Nepal, a natural buffer between India and China, has been trying to lessen its dependence on New Delhi.
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| Girl scales replica of Trump’s 'un-climbable' border wall Posted: 12 Oct 2019 11:35 AM PDT  An 18-foot replica of President Trump's border wall has been climbed in a matter of seconds by an 8-year-old girl and a man who returned for another attempt while juggling with one hand.
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| A Real Threat: Why Russia's Air Force Should Be Taken Seriously Posted: 13 Oct 2019 05:00 AM PDT  And why countries love to buy them.
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| In or out? Court case on job bias casts pall on LGBT fests Posted: 13 Oct 2019 02:40 PM PDT  National Coming Out Day festivities were tempered this year by anxiety that some LGBT folk may have to go back into the closet so they can make a living, depending on what the Supreme Court decides about workplace discrimination law. "I want all members of our community to feel supported by the government, and often for a lot of us and a lot of friends of mine, it's the first time that they feel represented," said Jessica Goldberg, a bisexual senior at the University of Colorado Denver.
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| Portland antifa activist killed in hit and run, police say Posted: 13 Oct 2019 08:40 AM PDT  City's antifascist group says death of Sean D Kealiher, 23, was not 'related to fascist activity' and police did not specify a motiveThe Multnomah county medical examiner determined the cause of death to be homicide, caused by blunt force trauma. Photograph: Jonathan Bachman/ReutersA Portland antifascist activist was killed in the early hours of Saturday in an apparent hit-and-run near Cider Riot, a cidery and taproom popular with the city's anarchist left that has been the scene of conflict with rightwing groups. According to the Portland Police Bureau, the car involved was fired upon and crashed into a nearby building. Its occupants fled the scene. Police said in a statement that the 23-year-old victim, Sean D Kealiher, was taken to a local hospital by associates. The Multnomah county medical examiner determined the cause of death to be homicide, caused by blunt force trauma. Police said homicide squad detectives would investigate and called on witnesses to come forward. Kealiher was a prominent participant in antifascist and anti-Trump protests in Portland, speaking and marching in opposition to events held by rightwing groups. His activities occasionally attracted the attention of rightwing bloggers and social media personalities. Rose City Antifa, the city's longest-standing antifascist group, said in a tweet addressing Kealiher's death that it "was not related to fascist activity". Police did not specify a motive. Portland mayor Ted Wheeler and the Oregon Democratic party, outside whose building the incident happened, expressed condolences on Twitter. Memorial tributes were laid at the site. Six men, including Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson, are awaiting trial on charges arising from a violent incident at Cider Riot on 1 May. In an affidavit in support of Gibson's arrest warrant, police officer Brad Kalbaugh described the group approaching Cider Riot "in an effort clearly designed to provoke a physical confrontation". Multiple videos of that incident show punches, thrown drinks and pepper spray being exchanged. One of the men awaiting trial, Ian Kramer, is alleged to have struck a woman with a baton, fracturing her vertebra. More video appears to show members of the group planning violence ahead of the brawl. Gibson and the other men are charged with riot. Some face felony assault charges.Cider Riot's owner, Abram Goldman-Armstrong, has commenced a $1m lawsuit against Gibson and several others. Goldman-Armstrong's lawyer, Juan Chavez, says his client has been subject to "homophobic and antisemitic" harassment since the suit was filed.
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| Iowa teacher who posted 'sniper rifle' comment about Greta Thunberg visit resigns Posted: 11 Oct 2019 07:46 PM PDT  Science teacher Matt Baish had been placed on administrative leave after posting "Dont have my sniper rifle" on an article about Greta Thunberg.
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| One dead, multiple injuries in New Orleans hotel collapse Posted: 12 Oct 2019 03:07 PM PDT  One person died and at least 18 others were injured Saturday when the top floors of a New Orleans hotel that was under construction collapsed, officials said. The New Orleans fire department received reports at 9:12am local time that the Hard Rock Hotel in downtown New Orleans had collapsed. One person died at the scene, according to Fire Chief Timothy McConnell, who added that the building is now structurally unstable.
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| Kurdish general to U.S.: Either protect us, or 'move aside so we can let in the Russians' Posted: 12 Oct 2019 10:54 AM PDT ![Kurdish general to U.S.: Either protect us, or 'move aside so we can let in the Russians']( "Kurdish general to U.S.: Either protect us, or 'move aside so we can let in the Russians'") Gen. Mazloum Kobani Abdi, the commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, did not mince words when meeting with William Roebuck, the Deputy Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS on Thursday, CNN reports. "You have given up on us," Mazloum said, referring to President Trump's decision to pull U.S. troops out of northern Syria, giving Turkey an opening to invade, which they have. "You are leaving are leaving us to be slaughtered."An internal U.S. government readout obtained by CNN also revealed that Mazloum told Roebuck he has considered gaining the support of another foreign power in place of the U.S. "I've been holding myself for two days from going to the press and saying that America abandoned us and that I would like you to get out of our areas now so that I can invite Russia and regime planes to take over this airspace," Mazloum said. "Either you stop this bombing on our people now or move aside so we can let in the Russians."Roebuck reportedly then suggested Mazloum not make any "immediate decisions," but instead give him time to relay the message to the State Department. Read more at CNN.
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| Canadian Snowbird plane crashes during Atlanta air show Posted: 13 Oct 2019 12:54 PM PDT  The remaining festivities associated with the annual air show were cancelled following the crash
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| Canada's Trudeau vows to forge ahead with campaign after security threat Posted: 13 Oct 2019 08:06 AM PDT  Canada's Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sunday that he will not change the way he is campaigning ahead of the Oct. 21 federal election after a security threat forced him to wear a bulletproof vest at a campaign rally on Saturday. Trudeau arrived 90 minutes late to a rally outside of Toronto wearing the bulky protection under his shirt after he had received a security threat. No details have been provided by the Liberal Party or police.
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| Democratic debate: Time for 2020 presidential candidates to get real on health care Posted: 13 Oct 2019 10:47 AM PDT  Promises win elections, but how does this field plan to keep those promises once they reach the Oval Office?
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| With Hypersonic Missiles, Israel's F-35s Are Upping The Ante In Syria Posted: 13 Oct 2019 03:20 PM PDT  Iran has taken notice.
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| Suit says feds using immigration marriage interviews as trap Posted: 11 Oct 2019 09:43 PM PDT  Alyse and Elmer Sanchez were thrilled when they survived their "green card" interview, a crucial step in obtaining lawful status in the United States. Moments later, Elmer was in shackles, detained pending deportation to his native Honduras, leaving her alone with their two little boys. "We feel it was a trap, a trick, to get us there," Alyse said.
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| A professor spoke about whiteness at Georgia Southern University. Students burned her book. Posted: 13 Oct 2019 01:53 PM PDT ![A professor spoke about whiteness at Georgia Southern University. Students burned her book.]( "A professor spoke about whiteness at Georgia Southern University. Students burned her book.") A Latina author challenged students at Georgia Southern University to think about white privilege. Students burned copies of her book.
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| Property investors turn to SE Asia amid Hong Kong unrest Posted: 12 Oct 2019 07:30 PM PDT  From luxury Singapore apartments to Malaysian seafront condos, Hong Kong investors are shifting cash into Southeast Asian property, demoralised by increasingly violent protests as well as the China-US trade war. Hong Kong businessman Peter Ng bought a condominium on the Malaysian island of Penang -- which has a substantial ethnic Chinese population and is popular among Hong Kongers -- after the protests erupted. "The instability was a catalyst for me," the 48-year-old stock market and property investor told AFP, adding he was worried about long-term damage to the Hong Kong economy if the unrest persists.
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| Lindsey Graham: Trump’s vow to sanction Turkey 'a game changer’ Posted: 13 Oct 2019 04:08 PM PDT  "I applaud his decision to work with Congress to stop Turkeys [sic] aggression in Syria through crippling economic sanctions," he tweeted, saying he had spoken to the president. Graham, usually an ardent Trump ally, has been openly critical of the White House decision to remove U.S. troops from northern Syria, allowing Turkey to invade the region.
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| UPDATE 1-Russia says exploring settlement in euros, roubles for energy exports Posted: 12 Oct 2019 11:02 PM PDT |
| Cubans' resilience sorely tested as US oil sanctions bite Posted: 13 Oct 2019 01:00 AM PDT  As Washington punishes Cuba for supporting Venezuela, Cubans are replacing tractors with oxen and oil with firewoodZoraide Hernández sits at her doorstep for fresh air in Havana this week. Photograph: Alexandre Meneghini/ReutersOn a muggy morning in eastern Havana, a bus crammed with more than 100 sweaty commuters pulls in to a bus stop. The doors open and more passengers press in before – inch by inch – the hydraulic doors groan shut, slowly shunting the new arrivals inside."All the buses are coming like this", said Roberto López, 66, on his way – fingers crossed – to buy biscuits in the city centre.Bus services throughout Cuba have been slashed in recent weeks as the island grapples with acute petrol shortages caused by US sanctions which target companies and oil tankers transporting Venezuelan petroleum to the island.Cuba's President Miguel Díaz-Canel has said the island is currently operating with 62% of the petrol it needs, and announced emergency measures to "disrupt the plans of imperialism". Across the island, production has been cut and stopgaps found, so that fuel can be prioritized for hospitals, schools and food distribution.Oxen have replaced tractors in sugarcane fields; some bakeries are using firewood to power their ovens. Transport inspectors have been deployed to ensure that anyone driving a vehicle which belongs to a ministry or state enterprise gives fellow citizens a lift.At the Alamar textile factory – and in offices and factories throughout the island – all machines and lights are switched off between 11am and 1pm. Taking her extended lunch break, Aimee Machu, 52, said the US wants to stem the flow of oil to "extinguish the flame of communism". "It they cut the power in my house it'll be torture," she laughed, adding with mettle: "But if we have to go through power cuts again, we'll do it.""We're Cuban," her colleague Rita Castro, 60, chuckled. "We're used to this!"Despite its myriad problems, the Cuban economy has proved resilient when times get tough, according to Pavel Vidal, a former economist at the Cuban Central Bank who now teaches at the Javeriana Cali University in Colombia."In normal conditions, Cuba's centrally planned economy impedes economic growth, progress and innovation," he said. "But in times of crisis, having a plan to assign resources where they are needed is an advantage."The collapse of Venezuela's oil industry – the result of years of mismanagement, incompetence and, more recently, US sanctions – has seen its oil shipments to Cuba slump, from more than 90,000 barrels a day four years ago to about 40,000 today.Alberto Font and Iris Ortiz watch a local TV news recording of a speech by Cuba's President Miguel Díaz-Canel in Havana on Thursday. Photograph: Alexandre Meneghini/ReutersThe current US plan to starve the Cuban economy of oil – which the state department says is necessary to pressure Cuba to stop supporting Nicolás Maduro's regime – is part of an onslaught on the communist-ruled island unleashed by the Trump administration this year. The US has progressively ratcheted up sanctions against Venezuelan oil and those buying or transporting it since January, culminating in Cuba's oil import-export company also being placed under sanctions in July.The three biggest sectors of the island's economy have all been targeted. The state department is working to delegitimise the island's main export: the leasing of doctors to other developing countries. In June, the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said Cuba's medical cooperation programmes – to which doctors sign up voluntarily – amount to "human trafficking".In June US cruise ships were banned from docking at the island – a major blow to tourism – while in September the cap on remittances people in the US can send to the island was sharply cut back.The Cuban government insists the situation is "temporary" and has said there will be no return to anything resembling the "Special Period", the official term for the deep economic crisis Cuba went through after the fall of the Soviet Union, when the average adult lost more than 5kg and getting through the day without electricity was so common that Cubans talked not so much of "power cuts" (apagones) but of "power ons" (alumbrones).After seeing her country's economy improve rapidly after the normalisation of US-Cuban relations announced in 2014, Maite Rizo, 26, has watched the deterioration of relations between the two countries with alarm."I feel confused, even scared," she said. "We've gone from a period of bonanza to a situation where everything's gone backwards very quickly. From here on, we don't know what will happen."Throughout the capital, meanwhile, commuters get by as best they can."It's a battle to get to work," said Nuerca Sánchez, 45, a rumba teacher, while a dozen commuters jostled for spare seats in a car on its way to a state cigar factory. She sees the emergency transport measures as common sense, and is touched when the odd private car stops voluntarily to give people lifts."Helping each other isn't about politics," she said. "It's about having heart."Under the blazing sun, others take the long view.Pedro Leocadeo, 64, who is retired, concedes that he might wait hours for a place on a bus. Shimmering in beads of sweat, he sees the sanctions on tankers in the broad sweep of New World history."We've been in this ever since Hatuey," he said, invoking the Taíno warrior who in 1511 fled from the island of Hispaniola to Cuba to warn the natives of unscrupulous aggressors from foreign lands."We're like this today; tomorrow things might get better – the following day things might get worse again," he said. "Today, it all depends on the Yankees."
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| California governor signs bill banning 'lunch shaming' Posted: 13 Oct 2019 11:47 AM PDT  The new bill guarantees all students a state-funded meal of their choice, even if their parent or guardian has unpaid meal fees.
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| The USS Enterprise: How One Aircraft Carrier Changed Naval History Posted: 12 Oct 2019 09:00 PM PDT  What was really remarkable about the Enterprise was that it marked the debut of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, which are the backbone of U.S. naval power.
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