| 'He's two-faced': Trump, mad at Trudeau, says he's leaving NATO summit early Posted: 04 Dec 2019 06:51 AM PST  President Trump on Wednesday offered a blunt response to Justin Trudeau after video surfaced of the Canadian prime minister apparently mocking him during a conversation with other world leaders at the NATO summit in London.
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| Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas requests release of 'voluminous' electronic records to House impeachment inquiry Posted: 02 Dec 2019 09:47 PM PST  An attorney representing Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas has asked a federal court to release electronic devices containing "voluminous" materials to House committees leading the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump, during a court appearance ahead of his client's trial.Joseph Bondy, who is representing Mr Parnas, asked a federal court in Manhattan on Monday for an update on discovery in his client's case, specifically whether devices seized during his October arrest at Dulles International Airport in Washington might be handed over to those House committees.
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| Police chief firing puts spotlight on cops who let him go Posted: 04 Dec 2019 03:11 PM PST  When fellow officers discovered Chicago's police chief asleep behind the wheel of his running SUV, they did not conduct any sobriety tests and let their boss drive home — a decision that has thrown a spotlight on what happens when one officer confronts another on patrol. "It's a worst-nightmare situation for a police officer to encounter their superior or chief who has been drinking," said Philip Stinson, a criminal justice professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
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| Russia Has Something To Fear From The Royal Navy's Astute-Class Submarines Posted: 04 Dec 2019 03:36 AM PST  Taking a deeper look at NATO's antisubmarine capabilities.
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| US forces kill jihadist leader in Syria with precision 'ninja' missile that chops up targets with blades Posted: 04 Dec 2019 10:48 AM PST  US forces are thought to have killed a senior jihadist leader in northern Syria using a rarely deployed "Ninja" missile which attacks targets with precision sword-like blades. The Hellfire missile, or AGM-114R9X, which has a set of six folding blades instead of a warhead for minimum collateral damage, is believed to have been used to take out a commander in the al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) in the province of Idlib. The leader, named locally by his nom-de-guerre Abu Ahmad al-Muhajir, was reported to have been killed on Tuesday night when the car he was travelling in was hit by missiles in the town of Atmeh near the Turkish border, 10 miles from the US raid that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi last month. He was said to be a high-profile foreign trainer of an elite force within HTS, known as "The Red Bands". Another, unidentified fighter who had been in car was also killed. This fragment is reported to have been found at the site of what may have been an RX9 (Hellfire with frikken swords) strike. If you looks closely, you can see what appear to be hinges, as well as being and twisted projections from those hinges. H/T @obretix, who found this. pic.twitter.com/db7ZOE6S1x— Nick Waters (@N_Waters89) December 4, 2019 Images of the scene shared on social media show a hole in the driver's seat of the Mutsubishi Delica, which is otherwise largely intact. Inside the car, flesh and blood can be seen and a number of large identical cut marks. Experts point to the windows, which have not been blown out, as evidence the "Ninja" or so-called "flying Ginsu" was used. The missile has only been deployed on a handful of occasions in the eight-year conflict in Syria, with at least one other reported use in the killing of Abu Khayr al-Masri, the deputy leader of al-Qaeda, in February 2017. The Hellfire AGM-114R9X "ninja" missile substitutes the explosive warhead found on standard missiles for a set of six folding sword-like blades, designed to smash through buildings and vehicles with minimal civilian casualties. Masri was killed while driving a car in al-Mastouma, 30 miles south of Atmeh, in Idlib. US unmanned aircraft, such as MQ-9 Reapers, can carry Hellfire missiles and are known to carry out targeted strikes. The missile has various pros and cons; while its precision helps to minimise the risk of civilian casualties, it relies on detailed intelligence that requires a lot of human resources. Nick Waters, a former infantry officer and investigator at Bellingcat who analysed pictures from the scene, said he could clearly see four cuts in the roof, one in the windscreen and one through the door: "you've got six: the same number of blades an R9X has," he said. Al-Qaeda deputy Abu Khayr al-Masri's car was targeted by a Hellfire missile. Pictures from the scene in 2017 show minimal damage to the rest of the car - a trademark of the AGM-114R9X, Credit: Twitter "This strike is very distinctive and although the coalition have denied carrying it out, it is possible that other US agencies not under the control of the coalition, such as the CIA, may have carried out this strike unilaterally," he told the Telegraph. The US-led coalition said it did not carry out the strike. The Telegraph approached US Central Command (CENTCOM) for comment. The US has focused on targeting Isil leaders in northern Syria and has largely avoided HTS in Idlib in the northwest. The Islamist group rules control most of the province, pushing out more moderate groups who had previously been dominant. It would be the first US strike on an HTS leader since 2017. The skies above Idlib are crowded as the Syrian government and its Russian allies carry out an offensive to regain the last-remaining rebel stronghold in the country.
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| You just lived through the warmest decade on record – and it's only going to get hotter Posted: 03 Dec 2019 09:45 AM PST  And 2019 is on course to be the second- or third-warmest year on record, with 2016 still holding the all-time temperature record.
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| Look at This Very Good, Very Old Boy Posted: 03 Dec 2019 09:22 AM PST  Researchers found the 18,000-year-old puppy in permafrost with fur, whiskers, and teeth intact.
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| Thousands of animals sacrificed in Nepal Hindu ritual amid outcry Posted: 04 Dec 2019 05:31 AM PST ![Thousands of animals sacrificed in Nepal Hindu ritual amid outcry]( "Thousands of animals sacrificed in Nepal Hindu ritual amid outcry") Tens of thousands of devout Hindus thronged a temple in southern Nepal where thousands of animals and birds were sacrificed this week, amid an outcry from animal rights activists who said the ritual was a cruel and gruesome spectacle. The ceremony, held every five years at the Gadhimai temple in Bara in southern Nepal, is believed to be the largest such mass-slaughter event in the world and animal rights activists have been campaigning to end the practice for years. About 80% of Nepal's 30 million population are Hindus and many sacrifice animals to appease deities during festivals.
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| George Nader Used Straw Donor for Over $3M in Illegal Campaign Contributions in 2016: Feds Posted: 03 Dec 2019 06:15 PM PST  George Nader, a Lebanese-American businessman and a witness in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into 2016 Russian interference, has been indicted for allegedly conspiring to pour more than $3 million in illegal campaign contributions into the 2016 presidential election. According to the Justice Department, Andy Khawaja—the CEO of a California-based credit card processing company—conspired with Nader to conceal the source of over $3.5 million in contributions made to the political committees linked to a 2016 presidential candidate. The Justice Department did not specify which presidential candidate or committees received the donations. While the donations were made under the names of Khawaja, his wife, and his business, the contributions were allegedly funded by Nader.As Khawaja and Nader arranged these payments, Nader is accused of reporting to an official of a foreign government on his efforts to gain influence with the unnamed candidate and other political figures with the donations.The Associated Press reported that Khawaja gave over $4 million to Clinton's campaign and to other Democrats, but he pivoted to throwing money at President Trump after he won the 2016 election, donating $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee—which got him an Oval Office picture with Trump. Nader, who is currently in prison on child porn charges, forged ties with the Trump campaign in 2016 and was known to act as an intermediary in setting up meetings between members of Trump's campaign and foreign officials. Federal prosecutors say Khawaja also conspired with six other men to hide his own excessive contributions to a number of political committees. Khawaja allegedly attempted to hide over $1.8 million in contributions between March 2016 through 2018 with those six men, identified by the Justice Department as Roy Boulos, Rudy Dekermenjian, Mohammad Diab, Rani El-Saadi, Stevan Hill and Thayne Whipple.The Justice Department alleges that these donations enabled Khawaja to host a private fundraiser for a 2016 presidential candidate and a fundraising dinner for one elected official in 2018. Neither the candidate nor the official were named by federal prosecutors. Khawaja is currently a commissioner for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. According to the website, he was appointed to the commission by Sen. Chuck Shumer (D-NY). His company, Allied Wallet, had previously come under scrutiny over accusations it helped shady businesses get past banking systems through the use of "sham websites and dummy companies."Khawaja was charged with 35 counts in the 53-count Nov. 7 indictment, including counts of conspiracy, making conduit contributions, making false statements, and obstruction of a grand jury investigation. Nader was also charged with conspiring to make conduit contributions. He was questioned extensively as part of Mueller's investigation due to his connections and efforts to sway the Trump White House. He was later arrested and charged with sex trafficking.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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| Relatives of massacred Americans say Mexico needs help Posted: 03 Dec 2019 05:24 PM PST  Relatives of nine U.S. dual citizens slaughtered in northern Mexico last month said Tuesday that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador prayed with them for the safety of the country and pledged to visit the region. Julian LeBaron said that during the family's Monday meeting with López Obrador and his Cabinet at Mexico City's National Palace, officials assured them that "at least four" suspects have been detained in the Nov. 4 killings. "We just bowed our heads" and "prayed for the president and the country, for peace and good will, and to protect our loved ones, and protect our country," LeBaron said.
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| Doomsday Testing: These 6 Huge Nuclear Weapons Tests Changed The World Posted: 04 Dec 2019 07:38 AM PST  You don't want to be nearby.
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| Navy warship seizes suspected Iran missile parts set for Yemen Posted: 04 Dec 2019 01:51 PM PST  A Navy warship has seized a "significant cache" of suspected Iranian guided missile parts headed to rebels in Yemen, U.S. officials said Wednesday, marking the first time that such sophisticated components have been taken en route to the war there.
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| Lyft slammed with a new lawsuit by 20 more sexual-assault victims who say the company is not doing enough to keep riders safe Posted: 04 Dec 2019 10:15 AM PST  The new victims say they were attacked by Lyft drivers since September, when the company laid out new safety plans and a features for its app.
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| George Zimmerman is suing Trayvon Martin's family Posted: 04 Dec 2019 12:35 PM PST  George Zimmerman, who in 2013 was acquitted of charges in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, is suing Martin's family and others for $100 million, the Miami Herald reports.Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, is the lead defendant in Zimmerman's lawsuit filed in Polk County Circuit Court. Also being sued are the former prosecutors in the previous Zimmerman case, and Harper Collins, which published a book written by Ben Crump, the attorney who represented Martin's family.Prosecutors during the 2013 trial said that Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, was not justified in shooting and killing the unarmed black teenager, while Zimmerman claims he was acting in self-defense. The jury found him not guilty of second-degree murder.Zimmerman's new lawsuit, the Herald reports, cites "information in a documentary about the case that accuses the Martin family of engineering false testimony." He's reportedly seeking $100 million in civil damages and alleging defamation, abuse of civil process, and conspiracy.Crump in a statement described the lawsuit as "reckless" and "another failed attempt to defend the indefensible and a shameless attempt to profit off the lives and grief of others."More stories from theweek.com Rudy Giuliani is literally in Ukraine right now Trump's pathological obsession with being laughed at Impeachment witness Pamela Karlan unloads on GOP Rep. Doug Collins in opening statement: 'I'm insulted'
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| Florida Republican condemned for suggesting Ilhan Omar be executed for treason Posted: 04 Dec 2019 06:17 AM PST  George Buck, who is running for Congress, is the second Republican to reference the hanging of the congresswomanA Florida Republican with national party ties has been condemned after becoming the latest political opponent of the Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar to suggest that the Minnesota representative be put to death.A fundraising letter sent by George Buck, a Republican running for Congress, suggests that Omar, a Democrat, be executed for treason. "We should hang these traitors where they stand," the email reads.According to the Tampa Bay Times, Buck initially blamed the email on an errant staff member before seemingly backtracking and sending the newspaper a statement that referenced the death penalty for treason."Anyone who commits treason against the United States should be tried to the full extent of the law," said Buck, who is a member of the Young Guns program run by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).On Wednesday the NRCC and Kevin McCarthy, Republican House minority leader, removed Buck from the program in the wake of his comments.Buck is the second Republican to reference the hanging of Omar, a Somali-born Muslim, in the past week. A campaign account for Danielle Stella, a pro-Trump Republican candidate for Congress, was banned from Twitter after suggesting Omar be hanged, along with a depiction of a stick figure hanging from the gallows.Both Buck and Stella have based their accusations of treason on an unverified report that Omar is an asset of Qatar who has passed sensitive information on to Iran. There has been no evidence put forward to support this theory and has not been backed by any US government assessment.Omar is a frequent critic of Donald Trump, as well as the human rights records of both Israel and Saudi Arabia. Trump has repeatedly accused his critics of being guilty of treason and said Omar and other political opponents in Congress who are women of colour should be "sent back" to the "crime infested places from which they came" despite their either being born in the US or gaining citizenship and now holding national office."The fact that those who make these violent threats very publicly without hesitation reaffirms how much white supremacy has spread within the @NRCC," tweeted Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat and Omar ally who has also been targeted by Trump. "They are raising money on a call to hang a Black Muslim member of Congress and too many are silent."> The fact that those who make these violent threats very publicly without hesitation reaffirms just how much white supremacy has spread within the @NRCC. They are raising money on a call to hang a Black Muslim member of Congress and too many are silent. @IlhanMN https://t.co/VR92QvWh2z> > — Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) December 4, 2019Steve Scalise, the House Republican whip, also criticised Buck. "There's no place for inciting violence in politics," Scalise said in a statement. "Instead of doubling down on these disgraceful comments, the candidate ought to apologize unequivocally and denounce these unacceptable statements."Buck is one of several Republicans vying to take Florida's 13th congressional district, which is centered on the city of St Petersburg. The incumbent in Charlie Crist, a Democrat and former Florida governor.
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| Saudi king invites Qatar emir to Riyadh summit: Doha Posted: 03 Dec 2019 09:07 AM PST  Doha (AFP) - Saudi King Salman has invited Qatar's emir to a meeting next week of the Gulf regional bloc in Riyadh, Qatari state media said Tuesday without specifying if Doha had accepted.
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| Schiff says phone records show Nunes may have been 'complicit' in Ukraine affair Posted: 03 Dec 2019 03:09 PM PST  House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said Tuesday that phone records unearthed in the impeachment investigation raised questions about whether his Republican counterpart on the committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, might have been "complicit" in a White House plot to pressure Ukraine.
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| China Built The DF-26 Missile To Take Down America's Prized Aircraft Carriers Posted: 04 Dec 2019 08:30 AM PST  Don't underestimate these missiles.
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| ICE: Protest at Louisiana jail ends after pepper spray used Posted: 04 Dec 2019 08:58 AM PST ![ICE: Protest at Louisiana jail ends after pepper spray used]( "ICE: Protest at Louisiana jail ends after pepper spray used") U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said officers inside one of its Louisiana jails pepper-sprayed migrants to end their protest over prolonged detention. Spokesman Bryan Cox said Wednesday that "a brief, calculated use of pepper spray was employed" during a Tuesday protest at the Winn Correctional Center in rural Winnfield. Cox said about 50 migrants were pepper-sprayed and the protesters "subsequently became compliant." Cox said medical staff evaluated anyone who came into contact with the pepper spray and no injuries were reported.
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| Texas Deer Hunters Tell Tale of Kidnapping After Deadly Mexican Cartel Shootout Posted: 04 Dec 2019 01:36 AM PST  A Thanksgiving weekend deer-hunting trip to Mexico took a terrifying turn for two Texans who say they suddenly found themselves the ones with rifles pointed at them.Donald Chapman and his nephew, Colby Williams, said the gunmen who appeared before them on Sunday apparently had been part of a convoy of cartel sicarios that rolled into the nearby town of Villa Union the day before.The sicarios had mounted a surprise attack on the town hall and killed four police officers. But the hitmen got a surprise of their own and found themselves the target of a fierce government response that included Mexican marines and military helicopters. Photos posted online showed several bullet-riddled and abandoned pick-up trucks bearing the letters C.D.N., for Cartel del Noreste, the Cartel of the Northeast. The occupants not among the 10 sicarios killed in the first hour seem to have fled into the surrounding countryside.The government pursued the remaining sicarios on into Sunday, killing at least seven more. It appears that's when a number of the hunted gunmen then encountered the hunting Texans.A New Twist in the Horrific Massacre of American Moms and Kids in MexicoChapman, 62, and Williams, 30, were out on a 10,000-acre ranch they had leased with a single purpose."It's just really good deer hunting," Williams told The Daily Beast.As they faced the sicarios, Williams and Chapman also faced the possibility of being as dead as a bagged buck. But they said that as soon as they obeyed a command to get down on the ground, the Mexicans threw their guns over their shoulders. The Texans said their captors took their rifles and their cellphones. But that was just a precaution. What they really wanted was Chapman's pick-up along with Williams' pick-up, which they had left back at the ranch house."They were walking," Chapman later said. "They were lost." They were also hungry and thirsty. The two Texans said they gave them food and water."You do those kind of things if you have a weapon at you," Williams noted.Another thing you do is get in a car when instructed. By Chapman and Williams' account, they all rode off in the two vehicles. "They used us to get where they wanted to be, which was home and their families," Williams said.The Texans said their captors treated them surprisingly well."They were nice to me, and to be honest with you, did not hurt us in any way," Williams reported.Chapman recalled, "Every other word out of their mouth was, 'No problem, you'll be OK. We don't hurt Americans.'"After 11 hours, the captors had arrived where they wanted to go. They gave the Texans back their cellphones and the rest of their property. "Everything that had been taken," Williams said.But that was not the biggest surprise."It seems wild, but they washed our vehicles and put fuel in them," Williams said.Chapman recalled that they only washed his nephew's truck."And detailed it," Chapman told The Daily Beast. "Mine's still dirty."The Mexican Cartels vs. a Mormon Sect: Behind the Horrific Massacre of American Moms and ChildrenThe gunmen had made it back to their families and now they were freeing the Texans to go back to theirs.Their gas tanks full, the Texans headed straight for the border."We got across as soon as possible," Wiliams said.Chapman said he checked his phone and saw missed calls and messages from seemingly every law enforcement outfit."The FBI, Secret Service, Homeland Security, all the agencies," Chapman told The Daily Beast. "Apparently, I was important to be found."Reports of their disappearance had already surfaced in the Mexican media and on social media, and their families had seen a report online that they had both been murdered. When Williams and Chapman called home to say they were on their way back, Caller ID was the first signal to their loved ones the two were alive."They were excited to see our call," Williams said with a Texas boy's understatement.Nobody from anywhere was ever happier to be returning home. He pulled up to his house in his gleaming, detailed pick-up. "I've got three kids under age 4," Williams said. "I wanted to enjoy every minute I had with him."He understood how easily that news report could have proven true. "We were just lucky the good Lord above took care of us," he said. "I've been on my knees ever since."Williams was asked on Tuesday if he expected to go deer hunting in Mexico again."No, sir," he answered.Chapman was headed to Kansas in his still-dirty pick-up."I'm deer hunting north this time," he said.Read 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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| UPDATE 1-Hungary to block Ukraine's NATO membership over language law Posted: 04 Dec 2019 07:50 AM PST ![UPDATE 1-Hungary to block Ukraine's NATO membership over language law]( "UPDATE 1-Hungary to block Ukraine's NATO membership over language law") Hungary's foreign minister on Wednesday said Budapest would block Ukraine's membership in NATO until Kiev restored the rights that ethnic Hungarians had before a language law curbed minorities' access to education in their mother tongues. Hungary has clashed with Ukraine over what it says are curbs on the rights of roughly 150,000 ethnic Hungarians to use their native tongue, especially in education, after Ukraine passed a law in 2017 restricting the use of minority languages. "We ask for no extra rights to Hungarians in Transcarpathia, only those rights they had before," Szijjarto told state news agency MTI at the NATO summit in London.
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| Pete Buttigieg and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez got into a nasty fight over free public college. It's part of a larger battle between progressive and centrist Democrats. Posted: 03 Dec 2019 01:24 PM PST  Buttigieg recently introduced his college affordability plan and took a swipe at his 2020 competitors who want public college to be tuition-free.
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| 'Jews are France', says Emmanuel Macron after 107 Jewish graves desecrated in anti-Semitic attack Posted: 04 Dec 2019 07:19 AM PST  President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to fight anti-Semitism saying "Jews are and make France" after 107 graves were desecrated at a Jewish cemetery in the northeast of the country. The daubing of swastikas and other anti-Semitic graffiti on the graves at the cemetery in Westhoffen around 15 miles west of Strasbourg in the Alsace region was the latest racist attack to shock the country. "Jews are and make France," President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. "Those who attack them, even their graves, are not worthy of the idea we have of France." "Anti-Semitism is a crime and we will fight it in Westhoffen as everywhere until our dead can sleep in peace," he added. In response to the latest in a string of such acts of anti-Semitic vandalism, France is to open a national bureau to lead the fight against hate crimes. The office, which would be part of France's gendarmerie, will be charged with investigating this crime but also all anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim and anti-Christian acts, said interior minister Christophe Castaner. France is to create a bureau against hate crimes Credit: ARND WIEGMANN/ REUTERS "The Republic itself has been desecrated," said Mr Castaner said after visiting the cemetery, which dates from the 16th century. The Alsace region has suffered a rash of racist vandalism over the past year, most notably the desecration of 96 tombs at a cemetery in Quatzenheim in February, which sparked nationwide outrage. The rising number of anti-Jewish offences reported to police - up 74 percent in 2018 from the previous year - has caused alarm in the country that is home to both the biggest Jewish and the biggest Muslim communities in Europe. Earlier this year, politicians from across the spectrum joined marches against anti-Semitism amid fears of a rise around the continent. They denounced a surge in attacks that some commentators blamed on incitement by Islamist preachers, others on the rise of anti-Zionism - opposition to the existence of Israel as a homeland for the Jewish people. The graves were desecrated just hours before French MPs adopted a resolution equating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. On Tuesday evening, French MPs approved a non-legally binding resolution modelled on the definition of anti-Semitism set by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). The IHRA definition, which serves as an international guideline, does not reference "anti-Zionism" but does say denying Jews their right to self-determination is anti-Semitic. The World Jewish Congress hailed France's step. "For too long too many have used the excuse that their obsessive criticism of Israel stands exclusive from their otherwise positive feelings for the Jewish people. Those days are now over," it said. Debate over the resolution split Mr Macron's ruling La Republique En Marche party, with some opponents saying it could smother freedom of expression in criticising the Israeli government. Backers said it merely targeted those who refused to recognise the existence of Israel or sought its destruction.
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| 'Why are you parroting Russian propaganda?': Hillary Clinton slams Sen. Kennedy for Ukraine claim Posted: 03 Dec 2019 10:45 AM PST  Chuck Todd asked Sen. John Kennedy if the Senator was concerned that he had been "duped."
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| NATO leaders caught on camera appear to make fun of Trump Posted: 04 Dec 2019 03:29 AM PST  The leaders of Britain, Canada, France and the Netherlands were caught on camera at a Buckingham Palace reception appearing to mock President Trump's lengthy media appearances ahead of Wednesday's NATO summit.
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| French police clear 600 Tibetan migrants from camp outside Paris Posted: 03 Dec 2019 05:54 AM PST  French authorities said Tuesday that they removed some 600 asylum-seekers from Tibet from a camp on the edge of a forest outside Paris, which had grown into a rallying point for Tibetans in exile in recent years. The camp sprang up last August, the latest to emerge after several others were evacuated near Acheres, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) northwest of the capital. The area began attracting Tibetans after 2010, when a local aid association started offering meals, showers and help with their asylum requests.
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| US Rep. Denny Heck of Washington state to retire after term Posted: 04 Dec 2019 10:43 AM PST  Heck, 67, now in his fourth term, has been the only representative of Washington's 10th District since it was created in 2012. Heck said he had relished much of the work he did in Congress, including serving on the House Intelligence Committee, trying to protect Puget Sound from pollution and helping a soldier receive a Purple Heart after authorities overlooked his injuries.
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| Trump’s $28 Billion Trade War Bailout Is Overpaying Farmers Posted: 04 Dec 2019 08:57 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. President Donald Trump's $28 billion farm bailout may be paying many growers more than the trade war with China has cost them.The U.S. Department of Agriculture's calculations overshot the impact of the trade conflict on American soybean prices, according to six academic studies, a conclusion that is likely to add to criticism that the bailout has generated distortions and inequalities in the farm economy."It's clear that the payment rates overstated the damage suffered by soybean growers," said Joseph Glauber, the USDA's former chief economist who published a review of the research in late November. "Based on what the studies show, the damages were about half that."The academic research has focused on soybeans in part because the crop has been the most visible target of Chinese retaliation and overall received the most trade aid. But the method the department used to calculate trade losses also likely overstates the conflict's financial impact on most other farm products, though for a few commodities it may understate the true impact, Glauber, now a senior fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute, said in an interview.The divergence doesn't necessarily mean a bonanza for American farmers, who are being financially squeezed on other fronts, including a global commodity glut that is depressing prices and a year of wild weather that is damaging crop yields. Also, the trade conflict risks long-term loss of market share for U.S. producers as overseas customers build relationships with replacement suppliers. Neither the academic nor the USDA estimates take potential future market losses into account."You're ruining a huge export market," said Yuqing Zheng, an agricultural economist at the University of Kentucky. "Longer term, we don't know for sure what the impact will be. Even if there is no future tariff, China might import less from the United States."Still, a team led by Zheng estimated the trade conflict depressed U.S. soybean prices by only 36 cents per bushel in its first year, a period in which the bailout program paid soybean growers more than four times that: $1.65 per bushel.The scale of the farm rescue package has now swelled to more than twice the ultimate $12 billion cost of the controversial auto industry bailouts under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. And it's increasingly come under under fire.Senate Democrats issued a report in November arguing the trade aid program favors large producers over smaller ones. An advocacy group, the Environmental Working Group, released a study that asserted big farms so far have been the main beneficiaries of the billions of dollars in aid payments.The USDA forecast last week net farm income will rise more than 10% this year to $92.5 billion, with additional government aid accounting for all of the increase in profits. Almost 40% of projected U.S. farm profits this year will come from trade aid, disaster assistance, federal subsidies and insurance payments. With the extra aid, farmers will have their highest profits in six years, though still well below the $124 billion they netted in 2013, according to the department.A Purdue University-CME Group survey of farmers' agricultural sentiment climbed for a second month in November to match its highest level since the survey's inception in 2015. Midwest SupportersThe trade aid, particularly for soybeans, largely goes to the president's political supporters. Polls show Trump has maintained overwhelming backing from farmers. In the 2016 election, Trump won eight of the 10 states with the largest soybean acreage, all of them in the Midwest. Glauber estimates more than half of the direct payments under the USDA's market facilitation program cover soybeans.The apparent over-payment stems from the method the USDA used to compute trade damages for the rescue package. The department forecast the overall price impact of punitive tariffs China and other nations imposed on U.S. farm products without considering sales farmers would gain as the world market reorganized in response. But as China bought more soybeans from Brazil, instead of the U.S., other buyers stepped in to purchase more soybeans from the U.S., replacing product they had previously bought from Brazil."A broader analysis like some of these show the beans go elsewhere," Glauber said. "They don't just go into storage. Some of them go to Europe. Some of them go to other uses. We ended up crushing a lot more soybeans in 2018 than expected. We exported more vegetable oil, more protein meal. All of that mitigates the price impact."Pat Westhoff, director of the University of Missouri's Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, led a team that estimated tariffs from China and other nations involved in trade disputes caused the price of U.S. soybeans to drop by 78 cents per bushel.The USDA projections "do not consider the impact of exports to other markets," Westhoff said. "They consider only the negatives and not the positives."New MarketsMichael Adjemian, an economist at the University of Georgia, came up with a lower impact: 52 cents a bushel. He based his model on the export price for soybeans in New Orleans."New markets emerged," Adjemian said. "We sold more to the rest of the world, though not enough to make up all of the difference."Robert Johansson, the USDA's chief economist, said the department decided to base trade aid on a projection of "gross" trade losses rather "net" losses primarily for consistent treatment of producers of diverse farm products affected. It's harder to isolate net trade impact for specialty crops such as pecans or almonds than for major commodities such as soybeans, he said."We need to be pretty sure whatever method we use is consistent across all commodities," Johansson said. "You can imagine what the reaction would be if we said we'll use this model for soybeans and that model for sorghum and another one for cotton."USDA officials also concluded after consulting with U.S. trade negotiators that there was an advantage to using the gross damages method because it is the basis the country uses for arguing cases before the World Trade Organization, which handles international trade disputes, Johansson said.Transportation FactorIndividual producers also may face greater losses than the overall net price impact of the trade war depending on their location because there may be higher transportation costs for moving their goods to a different market or other adjustment costs, he added.In some cases, though, the method the USDA uses to compute trade aid may understate losses to farmers. Westhoff cited corn growers. The gross trade losses cover only the direct impact of the tariff dispute. Corn growers have primarily been hurt by indirect effects as farmers who might otherwise grow soybeans produce corn instead, bringing down corn prices, he said.The USDA has made a higher trade damage estimate for soybeans in this year's aid program, at $2.05 per bushel, which Westhoff said also exceeds his group's estimate for the impact in the period.This year's payment is higher because the USDA decided to calculate the damage based on export sales over the past 10 years; last year's payment was based on a comparison with the prior year.Wendy Brannen, a spokeswoman for the American Soybean Association, declined to comment.(Updates with sentiment survey in 11th paragraph. A previous version of the story corrected the spelling of Johansson.)To contact the reporter on this story: Mike Dorning in Washington at mdorning@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Millie Munshi, Steven FrankFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Huawei urging suppliers to break the law by moving offshore - U.S. Commerce chief Posted: 03 Dec 2019 02:05 PM PST ![Huawei urging suppliers to break the law by moving offshore - U.S. Commerce chief]( "Huawei urging suppliers to break the law by moving offshore - U.S. Commerce chief") China's telecoms giant Huawei has been encouraging its suppliers to violate U.S. law by telling them to move operations offshore in a bid to avoid U.S. sanctions, Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross told Reuters on Tuesday. In May, the U.S. government placed Huawei Technologies Co Ltd on a trade blacklist known as the entity list, over national security concerns, forcing some suppliers to apply for special licenses to sell equipment to the company. On Tuesday, Ross said in an interview that those frustrations extended to a push from Huawei to move its supply chain overseas.
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| Trump taps consultant who urged food ban on homeless to lead council Posted: 04 Dec 2019 03:44 PM PST  The administration last month pushed out an Obama appointee.
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| Two of four teens who escaped juvenile detention center found outside Tennessee apartments Posted: 04 Dec 2019 08:10 AM PST  Metro Nashville police arrested the teens, who escaped Saturday, outside an apartment complex in Madison, Tennessee. Two are still on the loose.
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| NATO allies just want the United States to subsidize European defense Posted: 04 Dec 2019 02:11 PM PST  Reform NATO. China is our foremost adversary, not Russia, writes Jordan Schachtel, an investigative journalist based in Washington, D.C.
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| Gaza fields, ravaged by Israeli herbicides, bloom again Posted: 03 Dec 2019 06:03 PM PST  For four years, he said, Israeli planes regularly sprayed herbicides along the border which scorched his crops, and he fears it could resume at any time. Israel says it sprays only on its side of the border, to clear a buffer zone of hiding places for potential Palestinian attackers. Israel and the Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas, which controls the strip, have fought three wars since 2008, with regular cross-border clashes since the last round in 2014.
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| F-15X: A Few Billions Dollars Down the Drain (Why Not More F-35s Instead?) Posted: 03 Dec 2019 10:30 PM PST  Stealth really matters against modern air defenses.
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| What happens if Trump loses in 2020 and refuses to leave the White House? Posted: 04 Dec 2019 07:36 AM PST  As Democratic primary voters agonize over who is their most "electable" candidate, a slightly different question looms: Who would be the strongest standard-bearer if the fight goes on past the election, beyond the experience of history and into the uncharted territory outside the Constitution?
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| Rep. Devin Nunes files $435 million defamation lawsuit against CNN Posted: 04 Dec 2019 08:28 AM PST  Rep. Devin Nunes, a California Republican, alleges that CNN published a "demonstrably false hit piece" on him.
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| Cory Booker Bets $100 Billion on Historically Black Colleges and Universities Posted: 03 Dec 2019 12:03 PM PST  Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey on Tuesday proposed investing $100 billion in historically black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions, a broad proposal in a Democratic field that has offered varying plans to prop up this long-standing yet struggling arm of the educational system.Many HBCUs, as historically black colleges and universities are commonly known, have faced widespread financial woes recently, with some schools losing accreditation and facing plummeting enrollment.Booker's proposal comes at a precarious time for his presidential campaign: Despite crossing the 200,000 individual-donor threshold last month, he is still short four qualifying polls for the December debate and is in real danger of being left off the stage.While many candidates, including Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts; former Vice President Joe Biden; and Mayor Pete Buttigieg, of South Bend, Indiana, have already rolled out proposals to invest billions into HBCUs, an anchor of Booker's proposal is dedicating at least $40 billion to those institutions for climate change research.Booker's plan also calls for an additional $30 billion in grants to expand and improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics -- known as STEM education -- at HBCUs and minority-serving institutions, and another $30 billion in grants to upgrade facilities and infrastructure at the schools."HBCUs make our country stronger and more reflective of the diversity that makes us so great," Booker said in a statement announcing the proposal. "I am here today because of the power of these institutions to uplift and bring about opportunity to black Americans."More than 70% of students at HBCUs and minority-serving institutions rely on Pell Grants, according to Marybeth Gasman, an education professor at Rutgers University. The Booker campaign aims to expand access to college by doubling the value of Pell Grants to $12,400 from $6,200 and require that 10% of Second Chance Pell Grant programs are given to HBCUs and minority-serving institutions."It's the most aggressive plan," Gasman said. "Of course it's coming out after the others, so I think that's a smart and bold move on his part."Indeed, discussion about the many ways the Democratic candidates have proposed to bolster HBCUs has become a central topic in the Democratic presidential primary.Warren committed to investing a minimum of $50 billion into HBCUs, paid for by her wealth tax proposal, within her overarching plan to make public college free and to cancel most student loan debt. She said she would seek to increase the budget with her secretary of education to ensure equity in spending per student compared with other colleges in a given area.Sanders, who also proposed universal free public college and canceling all student loan debt, pledged to make similar investments in HBCUs with a focus on educating teachers and those in the medical field. In addition, Sanders also proposed canceling the $1.6 billion in existing loan debt HBCUs face through the current Capital Financing Program.Last month, Buttigieg wrote an op-ed in The Baltimore Sun, also promising to invest $50 billion in HBCUs.Biden proposed more than $70 billion in investments for HBCUs, with dedicated funds to specific needs, such as $10 billion to create at least 200 new research incubators; $20 billion in high-tech labs, facilities and digital infrastructure; and another $18 billion in grants to help with tuition at four-year colleges, equivalent to up to two years of tuition per low-income and middle-class students.Some experts, while lauding the financial scope of Booker's plan, questioned whether focusing so much of the funding on STEM programs and climate change studies was the best solution for many of the HBCUs around the country."There are maybe 10 to 20 HBCUs facing being shuttered that don't have those fields," said Jerry Crawford II, a professor of journalism and a director of the multicultural scholars program at the University of Kansas.Of course, underpinning all of these proposals is the difficulty in paying for them. Booker's campaign said he would request $100 billion over 10 years from Congress in his first budget and has identified other sources of new revenue in previous policy proposals, such as undoing President Donald Trump's tax cuts and restoring the estate tax to 2009 levels."If Sen. Booker could pull off this kind of investment in HBCUs," said Gasman, "it would be historic."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| Democrats See USMCA Deal Near, Urge Mexico to Accept Compromise Posted: 04 Dec 2019 04:28 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. House Democrats said Wednesday that a deal on the stalled U.S.-Mexico-Canada free-trade agreement is within reach and urged Mexico to accept a compromise on labor-rights enforcement."We are on the 2 1/2-yard line," Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal said about efforts to wrap up negotiations on the replacement for Nafta and clear the way for approval in Congress.Mexico's top trade negotiator, Jesus Seade, met Wednesday in Washington with his Trump administration counterpart, Robert Lighthizer, in an attempt to resolve final details.Leaving the meeting, Seade said there were still outstanding issues and that he'd return on Thursday to continue negotiations. He pointed out that Mexico has already accepted a lot of changes as negotiators try to accommodate the demands of House Democrats who will decide whether and when Congress will vote on the trade agreement.One of the concerns raised by Democrats includes enforcement of stricter labor standards, especially in Mexico. Seade said there were still details to be worked out, but bringing in U.S. inspectors to monitor Mexican companies was off the table.Mexico's SovereigntyCalifornia Representative Jimmy Gomez, a member of the House Democrats negotiating team, said that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Lighthizer have offered Mexico a compromise on labor enforcement that "respects Mexico's sovereignty.""If they want a deal, it is ripe now," Gomez said. "It's a good deal. That's my message to the Mexicans and that's my message to Democrats."While Seade ruled out U.S. inspectors in Mexican factories, he told reporters that Mexico was open to a fast-track arbitration process to address labor-rights violations. Gomez said the compromise does not involve "rogue" U.S. inspections, but that there is an element of monitoring involved to ensure compliance.According to people briefed on the deal in Mexico, the labor proposal aims to make dispute settlement more effective. Disputes could take into account enforcement of Mexico's overhaul to improve labor conditions, but wouldn't allow investigators to just show up on any day to a factory unannounced, the "lone ranger" type of inspections that Seade has rejected.On another sticking point for Mexico, the White House and Democrats suggested removing a provision guaranteeing 10 years of data protection for biologic drugs, according to people briefed on the deal. That would be a victory for both Democrats and Mexico, which had opposed including the protection in the USMCA before it was signed one year ago.(Updates with Seade comments beginning in the fourth paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Erik Wasson in Washington at ewasson@bloomberg.net;Eric Martin in Mexico City at emartin21@bloomberg.net;Josh Wingrove in Washington at jwingrove4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, John Harney, Anna EdgertonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| London Bridge terrorist was upgraded to a 'high risk' category A prisoner after threats to staff Posted: 04 Dec 2019 01:00 PM PST  London Bridge terrorist Usman Khan was upgraded to a "high risk" category A prisoner after making threats to senior prison staff, The Telegraph can reveal. Prison officials increased the convicted terrorist's threat level in prison from "standard risk" after he breached security and put staff in danger. Only the most serious offenders have such a classification, requiring a constant watch and armed police escort when moved from prison. Prison sources claim it was one of a number of incidents including violence early on during the eight years he served for a terror plot to blow up the London stock exchange. He remained "high risk" until released on licence from Woodhill high security jail last December into the hands of probation and police who were responsible for supervising him in the community. The disclosure challenges suggestions he was consistently a model prisoner who had reformed his beliefs, ultimately resulting in him being allowed to go unescorted to a prisoner rehabilitation conference at London Bridge where he stabbed to death two Cambridge University graduates. Profile | Who was Usman Khan? It also raises further questions about the system that allowed him to be automatically released halfway through his 16-year sentence without any assessment of his threat to the public by the parole board. A Government source said: "There was some concern at the start over his behaviour. Threats were made and he was moved to high risk category A. He was on that to the end. For the vast majority of his sentence, particularly towards the end, there was not a problem - no violence, no threats." Prison sources said it was significant he remained "high risk" through his jail term and questioned whether adequate controls were put in place to protect the public when he was released. "High risk is for the most serious criminals and being raised to that level only happens if there are security implications," said a source. "He wasn't a model prisoner, he was involved in violence and moved from cat A prison to cat A prison but he was apparently receptive to every rehabilitation course. He did everything that was asked of him. "It looks to me that he has played the system, giving the impression that he is reformed and rehabilitated but, like a sleeper cell, waited for the opportunity to grab a headline for the jihadis. Usman Khan's route of terror "The prison service had no option. The law states that an offender on a determinate sentence as he was has to be released halfway through his jail term." The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said police, probation and the security services would have received a full report on his time in prison before his release including the upgrading to "high risk." Boris Johnson has pledged to end the automatic release of serious offenders halfway through sentences and impose longer jail terms. Terrorists responsible for more serious offences also face minimum 14 year sentences under his proposed crackdown. Yesterday an inquest heard that London Bridge terror attack victims Saskia Jones, 23, and Jack Merritt, 25, both died after suffering a stab wound to the chest and "shock and haemorrhaging." Ms Jones was pronounced dead half an hour after the attack by Khan just before 1pm at the Learning Together conference in Fishmonger's Hall at London Bridge they had all been attending. Mr Merritt was moved from the scene to nearby King William Street where he was pronounced dead more than an hour after the attack at 3.14pm, despite efforts to save him. The inquest was told he was moved because the area had been cordoned off and evacuated, as it wasn't clear if the public was still in danger. Both were working with Learning Together, a prison education and rehabilitation programme which aims to bring together academics and former prisoners for interactive workshops. Three others were injured in the attack.
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| Gunmen kill head of Japan aid agency, five others in Afghanistan Posted: 03 Dec 2019 11:45 PM PST  KABUL/NANGARHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Gunmen killed six people, including the head of a Japanese aid agency, on Wednesday in an attack on their vehicle in Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, officials said. The ambush comes a week after a grenade attack on a United Nations vehicle in Kabul heightened fears for those doing humanitarian work amid one of the world's longest-running conflicts. Tetsu Nakamura, head of Peace Japan Medical Services, had been involved in rebuilding Afghan irrigation and agriculture and had recently been granted honorary Afghan citizenship for decades of humanitarian work in the east of the country.
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| Taiwan charges ex-officer, father with spying for China Posted: 03 Dec 2019 02:53 AM PST  Taiwanese prosecutors on Tuesday charged a former lieutenant colonel and his father with spying for China in the latest allegations of espionage on the island. The men are accused of threatening national security by sharing information and recruiting others in exchange for gifts, the Tainan district prosecutor's office said. The younger man, identified by local media as Cheng Chih-wen, helped recruit Taiwanese soldiers "to develop networks to seriously affect national security and damage military discipline", prosecutors said in a statement.
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| Learn About Russia's 'Version' of the B-52 Bomber Posted: 03 Dec 2019 03:30 PM PST  The Tu-95 might be sixty years old, but it's still in use because it does the job few planes can.
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