2019年3月31日星期日

Yahoo! News: Iraq

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: Iraq


Joe Biden accused of kissing former Nevada lawmaker, an allegation he doesn't recall

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 10:01 AM PDT

Joe Biden accused of kissing former Nevada lawmaker, an allegation he doesn't recallJoe Biden's spokesman said Friday that the former vice president does not recall kissing Nevada political candidate Lucy Flores on the back of her head during a 2014 event.


Comedian heads to run-off against incumbent for Ukraine presidency

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 01:44 PM PDT

Comedian heads to run-off against incumbent for Ukraine presidencyComedian Volodymyr Zelensky topped the first round of Ukraine's presidential election Sunday, exit polls showed, setting him up for a run-off with the incumbent after voters expressed frustration over corruption and a stalling economy. When he announced his long-shot candidacy at the start of the year, Zelensky's political experience had been limited to playing the president in a TV show. "This is just a first step towards a great victory," the 41-year-old in high spirits told supporters at his campaign headquarters minutes after the exit polls were released.


Venezuelans Take to the Streets After Another Round of Blackouts

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 10:32 AM PDT

Venezuelans Take to the Streets After Another Round of Blackouts"We will continue to hit the streets," Juan Guaido, head of the National Assembly recognized as interim president by some 50 nations, told protesters Saturday in San Antonio de Los Altos. Unlike other protests since January, Guaido did not call for huge rallies in the capital of Caracas but rather urged Venezuelans to protest at key locations or in their own neighborhoods. "My food is rotting and my appliances are going haywire,¨ said Yolanda Bellorin, a retired lawyer protesting among her neighbors in Caracas' Colinas de la California neighborhood.


Armed police raid home after parents refuse to take unvaccinated boy with high fever to hospital

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 09:27 AM PDT

Armed police raid home after parents refuse to take unvaccinated boy with high fever to hospitalWith guns drawn, the police officers broke down the door of the suburban Phoenix home in the early hours of a February morning."Come out with your hands up!" an officer yelled, with the dark front porch and foyer inside suddenly flooded with light from the officers' flashlights.The target of the raid: an unvaccinated 2-year-old boy with a high fever.Video from the officers' body cameras that was released on Thursday shows that moments later, the child's father emerges, walking out backward with his hands over his head. The boy's mother then comes out, too, cradling her young son in her arms.The boy was whisked away to a hospital, and since that raid on 25 February, he and the couple's two other children, aged 4 and 6, have been in the state's custody. The parents have been charged with child abuse.The boy's case is among the most extreme examples of the authorities overriding the rights of parents to make decisions for their children's health, and it comes at a time of rising concern about unvaccinated children infecting others around them.The parents, Brooks Bryce and Sarah Beck, say the authorities drastically overreacted. "They treated us like criminals, busting in our door," Mr Bryce told a local TV station. "I mean, I don't know what kind of trauma that did to my kids."But the Chandler Police Department has defended its role in the confrontation, saying it was compelled to carry out a court-ordered welfare check after the child's doctor became concerned that the boy might have meningitis, a potentially life-threatening illness, and was not receiving necessary emergency care.In rare cases, parents can be stripped of their ability to make health care decisions on behalf of their children. Even rarer are the occasions when parents lose custody of their children for declining treatment.But with 315 individual cases of measles confirmed in 15 states this year, authorities are on high alert for people exhibiting symptoms of infectious diseases, especially children and toddlers who lack vaccinations for that disease and other illnesses.Under Arizona law, parents may decline vaccinations for their child based on personal, religious or medical exemptions. But that law is in opposition to the "parens patriae" theory, a centuries-old principle that empowers the state to look after the interests of children and others unable to care for themselves."It's a pretty high standard to meet," said Douglas S Diekema, who has been a practising emergency room doctor for 30 years at Seattle Children's Hospital. "I don't know that I've ever called Child Protective Services, though I've thought about it a couple of times."Police records show that on 25 February, Ms Beck had taken her 2-year-old boy to a clinic, where his temperature was recorded at above 100 degrees.The child's doctor became concerned that he could have meningitis, after learning that he was lethargic and had not been vaccinated. Ms Beck was told to take him to an emergency room."I called the doctor back and said, 'Hey, I'm not sure how you got this 105 reading, my son's acting fine,'" Ms Beck told a local TV station. "'This doesn't really seem like a medical emergency.'"The child's doctor, after learning Ms Beck had ignored the recommendation to take the child to the hospital and having follow-up phone calls to the family go unanswered, then contacted the Arizona Department of Child Safety.Asked to do a welfare check, police officers later arrived at the family's door, but were not allowed in. The body camera footage released on Thursday shows the police twice knocking and trying to enter, before an officer reaches Mr Bryce by telephone just before midnight, and tells him that he needs to verify that their youngest child is improving."No, you don't need to," Mr Bryce replies. He remains polite, saying "No, thank you" when he is asked to come out of his home.An emergency court order was issued, allowing police to take the child into custody. The officers asked the family to leave their home and take the child to the hospital, the video shows. After two more unsuccessful attempts at knocking at the door, they reminded Mr Bryce that they had a court order and broke down the door, nearly four hours after they arrived at the home.Though neither parent was arrested, each was charged with one count of child abuse after an investigation. Two of the children, including the youngest, were taken by ambulance to the hospital, and the third was taken by the Department of Child Safety, according to the police.All three children remain in separate foster care placements, according to The Arizona Republic.Mr Diekema, the emergency room doctor in Seattle, said he personally encounters parents refusing a treatment plan "maybe every month or two," meaning it likely happens in his hospital on a weekly basis. But there are procedures in place to stave off a hospital visit escalating into a child custody battle.Sometimes, he said, a compromise can be found on a less aggressive form of treatment that is acceptable to the doctor; other times, another doctor at the hospital can give a second opinion, which some parents find more comforting.Mr Diekema, who is also a bioethics professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said he tries to avoid coercion when he can. He recalled telling a patient's parents, "I hate to say this, but I have to let you know that if you walk out of this emergency department, without agreeing to something that makes me comfortable, I'll have to call child protective services."He said the doctor in Arizona would have been obligated to call the authorities if the family did not follow the clinic's instructions.The boy was eventually found to have a respiratory illness. A judge has told the child's parents that the state wants them to regain custody of their children, but it was unclear when that would happen."We love our children, we love them," Ms Beck told another local TV station. "If our children needed help, we would absolutely help them."The New York Times


Kellyanne Conway bristles at 'really inappropriate question' about husband on Fox News

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 05:20 PM PDT

Kellyanne Conway bristles at 'really inappropriate question' about husband on Fox News"What are you, Oprah now?" Conway said to "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace. "I think it's a really inappropriate question."


Brexit in meltdown: Theresa May under pressure to forge softer divorce deal

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 04:34 AM PDT

Brexit in meltdown: Theresa May under pressure to forge softer  divorce dealAfter one of the most tumultuous weeks in British politics since the 2016 referendum, it was still uncertain how, when or even if the United Kingdom will ever leave the bloc it first joined 46 years ago. A third defeat of May's divorce deal, after her pledge to quit if it was passed, left one of the weakest leaders in a generation grappling with a perilous crisis over Brexit, the United Kingdom's most significant move since World War Two. "There are no ideal choices available and there are very good arguments against any possible outcome at the moment but we are going to have to do something," said Justice Secretary David Gauke, who voted in the 2016 referendum to stay in the EU.


New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez compares the impact of climate change to 9/11

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 06:22 AM PDT

New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez compares the impact of climate change to 9/11AOC faces major backlash after making comments comparing 9/11 to the impact of climate change.


'Pitch up, pitch up': Final moments of Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max jet before crash

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 03:30 PM PDT

'Pitch up, pitch up': Final moments of Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max jet before crashA pilot on the Ethiopian Airlines flight which crashed three weeks ago was heard saying "pitch up, pitch up" just moments before the disaster, the Wall St Journal has reported.  The conversation happened when the plane was just 450ft (137m) off the ground as the aircraft begun to point downwards, according to the paper.  The plane's radio reportedly died moments after the comment was captured. All 157 people on board were killed when the Boeing 737 Max crashed.  The plane's anti-stalling system, which sees its direction automatically righted if a sensor picks up the aircraft is tilting up too far, has been blamed for the disaster.  The investigation is on-going and no official cause for the crash has been made public.  Forensic experts work at the crash site of an Ethiopian airways operated by a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft Credit: TONY KARUMBA / AFP The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that investigators have determined that the flight-control system on an Ethiopian Airlines jet automatically activated before the aircraft plunged into the ground on March 10. The preliminary conclusion was based on information from the aircraft's data and voice recorders and indicates a link between that accident and an earlier Lion Air crash in Indonesia, the newspaper said. Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration declined to comment on the report. Also on Friday, The New York Times reported that the Ethiopian jet's data recorder yielded evidence that a sensor incorrectly triggered the anti-stall system, called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS.  Once activated, the MCAS forced the plane into a dive and ultimately a crash that killed everyone on board, the newspaper said. Boeing is facing mounting pressure to roll out a software update on its best-selling plane in time for airlines to use the jets during the peak summer travel season. Kebebew Legesse, the mother of Ethiopian Airlines cabin crew Ayantu Girmay mourns at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash Credit: REUTERS/Baz Ratner Company engineers and test pilots are working to fix anti-stall technology on the Boeing 737 Max that is suspected to have played a role in two deadly crashes in the last six months. Boeing is also seeing its own expenses rise, although it would not disclose how much it is costing the company to make the software fix and also train pilots how to use it. Cowen Research analysts say a "very rough guess" is that Boeing will pay about $2 billion after insurance to fix the plane, pay crash victims' families and compensate airlines that had to cancel flights. Most Wall Street analysts are betting that the planes will be flying again in less than three months, while noting that it could take longer in countries that plan to conduct their own reviews of Boeing's upgrade instead of taking the word of the U.S. regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration.


The F-111 Aardvark: The Strike Aircraft That Was Dumped for the F-15 Eagle

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 11:00 AM PDT

The F-111 Aardvark: The Strike Aircraft That Was Dumped for the F-15 EagleTime for a comeback?


Morocco institute trains imams to counter extremism

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 08:34 AM PDT

Morocco institute trains imams to counter extremismWith its watchwords of dialogue and coexistence, the Mohammed VI Institute that trains Muslim prayer leaders to serve in Morocco and abroad was Saturday one of the first stops on Pope Francis's visit to the kingdom. Since 2015, the institute has received trainee imams from Morocco as well as several other African states and France. Under the patronage of King Mohammed, its mission is to counter "radical speech", its director Abdeslam Lazaar said.


Erdogan Loses Key Cities as Turkey Feels the Sting of Recession

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 05:03 PM PDT

Erdogan Loses Key Cities as Turkey Feels the Sting of RecessionThe Turkish lira traded down 0.4 percent against the dollar at 2:50 a.m. in Istanbul. Erdogan's first setback at the polls in years shows his ruling AK Party and its nationalist partner are paying the price after the economy dipped into its first recession since the global financial crisis.


Why 'Florida Man' is a thing: Weirdness in other states goes unnoticed

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 09:08 AM PDT

Why 'Florida Man' is a thing: Weirdness in other states goes unnoticedThere's just as much weirdness in every other state, but Florida has more people — and most important, wide-open public records laws.


US struggling with growing number of asylum seekers

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 06:08 AM PDT

US struggling with growing number of asylum seekersWASHINGTON (AP) — Border officials are aiming to more than quadruple the number of asylum seekers sent back over the southern border each day, a major expansion of a top government effort to address the swelling number of Central Americans arriving in the country, a Trump administration official said Saturday.


No foolin! Nor'easter to bring rain, wind and maybe snow to East Coast next week

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 08:49 AM PDT

No foolin! Nor'easter to bring rain, wind and maybe snow to East Coast next weekA powerful early April nor'easter storm is forecast to wallop the East Coast with rain, wind, pounding surf, and maybe even some unwelcome snow next week.


Palestinians mass at Gaza border to mark protest anniversary

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 11:47 PM PDT

Palestinians mass at Gaza border to mark protest anniversaryIsraeli forces had massed the other side of the fortified frontier, with tensions already high after a rocket attack from Gaza and Israeli air strikes earlier in the week. Four Palestinians were killed on Saturday, Gaza medical officials said. Three were 17-year-olds shot dead by Israeli troops while protesting, they said, adding another person was killed at an overnight protest hours before the main rally.


Ukraine police seize $60mn of heroin, say 'never seen so much'

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 08:36 AM PDT

Ukraine police seize $60mn of heroin, say 'never seen so much'Ukraine police seized heroin worth about $60 million -- over half a tonne of the powder -- in raids in the country's centre and west, officials said Sunday, describing it as the biggest haul they had ever seen. "I have never seen so much heroin seized by the Ukrainian police," Knyazev said. In a separate investigation, officials found "almost 130 kg of heroin worth $10 million" at a house in a village in the western Transcarpathia region, Larysa Sargan, spokeswoman for the Prosecutor-General wrote on Facebook.


Pope Francis urges Moroccan Christians against converting others

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 10:58 AM PDT

Pope Francis urges Moroccan Christians against converting othersPope Francis on Sunday warned Catholics in Morocco against trying to convert others to boost their small numbers, during a rare visit by a pontiff to the North African country. Speaking in Rabat's cathedral on his second day in the Moroccan capital, Francis insisted trying to convert people to one's own belief "always leads to an impasse". "Please, no proselytism!" he told an audience of around 400, who greeted the pope's arrival by ululating and applauding, while hundreds more gathered outside the cathedral. Christians are a tiny minority in Morocco where 99 percent of the population is Muslim, with sub-Saharan Africans making up a large part of the country's 30,000-strong Catholic community. Islam is the state religion and authorities are keen to stress the country's "religious tolerance" which allows Christians and Jews to worship freely. But Moroccans are automatically considered Muslim if they are not born into the Jewish community, apostasy is socially frowned upon, and proselytising is criminalised. Pope Francis greets locals during a visit to the Rural Centre for Social Services Credit: ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images "I protect Moroccan Jews as well as Christians from other countries, who are living in Morocco," King Mohammed VI told crowds on Saturday, following the pontiff's arrival. There are a few thousand Christian converts in Morocco, who since 2017 have called openly for the right to live "without persecution" and "without discrimination". Francis is the first pontiff to visit the North African country since John Paul II in 1985 and the cathedral had been repainted for the occasion. Waiting for the pope outside, a Nigerian man said the visit "shows that living together is possible in Morocco." But "there are things to improve, notably the question of migrants and that of Moroccan Christians," said 36-year-old Antoine, who works for an association to defend migrant rights. The need to support migrants was mentioned again Sunday by Francis, who has made the issue a focal point of his papacy. On Saturday he visited migrants at a Caritas charity centre, where the pope criticised "collective expulsions" and said ways for migrants to regularise their status should be encouraged. Morocco says it has a "humanistic" approach to migration and rejects allegations by rights groups of "brutal arrest campaigns" and "forced displacement" to the country's southern border.


Trump administration awards $1.7 million family planning grant to anti-abortion group

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 11:39 AM PDT

Trump administration awards $1.7 million family planning grant to anti-abortion groupThe non-profit Obria Group says the $1.7 million award it is receiving from the Trump administration will help fund a chain of crisis pregnancy centers that oppose abortion and do not offer contraceptives.


Why Iran Is So Afraid of a Free Iraq

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 02:42 PM PDT

Why Iran Is So Afraid of a Free IraqThe octogenarian Iraqi Grand Ayatollah remains an outsized political force that Iran must reckon with.


2020 Jeep Gladiator Costs More Than the Wrangler, but Not by Much

Posted: 29 Mar 2019 09:01 PM PDT

2020 Jeep Gladiator Costs More Than the Wrangler, but Not by MuchThe price premium for Jeep's pickup is less than we expected, but it can still crest the $50K mark.


Barr Hints at Wider Release of Mueller Report as Democrats Fume

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 05:56 AM PDT

Barr Hints at Wider Release of Mueller Report as Democrats FumeIn a letter to lawmakers on Friday, Barr said that sensitive material such as grand jury evidence will be stripped out of the version he sends to Congress. "As I informed the attorney general earlier this week, Congress requires the full and complete Mueller report, without redactions, as well as access to the underlying evidence, by April 2," House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler said in a statement.


Who else gets a Jussie Smollett deal?: Today's Toon

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 11:24 AM PDT

Who else gets a Jussie Smollett deal?: Today's ToonWant to keep up with USA TODAY's editorial cartoons? Bookmark this page. We'll update it frequently.


EXPLAINER-Breaking the deadlock over Brexit: Is Britain heading for a general election?

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 06:49 AM PDT

EXPLAINER-Breaking the deadlock over Brexit: Is Britain heading for a general election?With Britain's parliament deadlocked over the way forward on Brexit, speculation was growing on Sunday that Prime Minister Theresa May could call a snap election to try and break the impasse. Last week, after her Brexit deal was rejected by parliament for a third time, May's comment that she feared "we are reaching the limits of this process in this House," was seen by many as a hint she could be moving towards an election. The Sunday Times reported her media chief, Robbie Gibb, and her political aide Stephen Parkinson were pushing for an election.


Immune system therapy shows wider promise against cancer

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 10:23 AM PDT

Immune system therapy shows wider promise against cancerATLANTA (AP) — A treatment that helps the immune system fight deadly blood cancers is showing early signs of promise against some solid tumors, giving hope that this approach might be extended to more common cancers in the future.


A year of Gaza border protests - key facts

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 04:57 AM PDT

A year of Gaza border protests - key factsThousands of Palestinian protesters gathered along the Gaza-Israel border on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of mass demonstrations for the right of return for Palestinian refugees. The first day, March 30, 2018, saw 20 Palestinians killed across the Gaza Strip. Since then dozens more have been killed during the at least weekly protests.


American tourist visiting Australia beaten unconscious

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 08:09 AM PDT

American tourist visiting Australia beaten unconsciousAn American tourist was beaten unconscious while visiting Melbourne, Australia, in what police describe as a random attack.


Justin Trudeau facing renewed calls to resign as secret tape escalates SNC-Lavalin corruption scandal

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 09:13 AM PDT

Justin Trudeau facing renewed calls to resign as secret tape escalates SNC-Lavalin corruption scandalCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing renewed calls to resign after a secretly recorded telephone call between two senior figures in his administration was made public, escalating claims he tried to shield an allegedly corrupt firm from prosecution.  The 17-minute call took place in December between Jody Wilson-Raybould, then the attorney general, and Michael Wernick, then Canada's most senior civil servant, about the engineering company SNC-Lavalin, which was accused of paying bribes to Libyan officials.  Mr Wernick is heard in the audio telling Ms Wilson-Raybould that Mr Trudeau is interested in having the firm avoid criminal prosecution in favour of paying a fine, repeatedly saying that the prime minister is in a "pretty firm" frame of mind on the issue.  "I think he is going to find a way to get it done one way or another. He's in that kind of mood. I wanted you to be aware of that," Mr Wernick is heard saying at one point.  Ms Wilson-Raybould in turn pushes back, raising concerns that the conversation could amount to "political interference" and an attempt to breach her "prosecutorial independence". She declined to push for the prosecution to be dropped.  Jody Wilson-Raybould, the former Canadian attorney general  Credit: Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP Ms Wilson-Raybould was eventually moved from the role in January, one month after the phone call, and given the more junior position of veterans affairs minister. She has since resigned and gone public with claims she was inappropriately leaned on.  The audio was released by Ms Wilson-Raybould along with more than 40 pages of documents backing up her allegations. She said that she chose to secretly record the conversation because she was concerned something "inappropriate" would be said.  She said she "took the extraordinary and otherwise inappropriate step of making an audio recording of the conversation" without telling Mr Wernick, adding that it was "something that I have never done before this phone call and have not done since".  Mr Wernick stepped down from his role as Privy Council clerk earlier this month.  The scandal has plunged Mr Trudeau's re-election hopes into doubt, seeing his Liberal Party fall behind the opposition Conservative Party ahead of the vote in October.  Michael Wernick, the former Privy Council clerk Mr Trudeau's party has been ahead in the polls for most of his time in office since he won a crushing victory in 2015. But the liberal poster boy, often compared to Emmanuel Macron, now finds his party trailing the Conservatives by around six points, according to the website Calculated Politics.  Andrew Scheer, the Conservative leader, said that Mr Trudeau had lost the moral authority to govern and must resign. "He looked Canadians in the eye and told them that no one had raised concerns with him. This is false and he owes Canadians an explanation," Mr Scheer said of the prime minister.  Last month Mr Trudeau denied any wrongdoing and declined to apologise, saying any lobbying by him or his inner circle for the company was done to protect jobs. SNC-Lavalin is one of the largest engineering and construction companies in the world and employs around 9,000 people in Canada.


This $20 Alexa smart speaker is just as good as a $50 Echo Dot

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 07:32 AM PDT

This $20 Alexa smart speaker is just as good as a $50 Echo DotOkay seriously, don't buy an Amazon Echo Dot. We love the Echo Dot, don't get us wrong, but there's a comparable smart speaker out there that looks the same and gives you the same hands-free access to Alexa. The difference, however, is that it costs half as much. You'll pay $50 for an Echo Dot on Amazon or elsewhere, but the Eufy Genie Smart Speaker with Hands-Free Amazon Alexa can be had for just $19.99. Definitely check it out before you buy a Dot.Here's what you need to know from the product page: * eufy Genie is a voice-controlled smart speaker with Amazon's intelligent Alexa voice assistant. Just say the wake word "Alexa" and Genie plays music, controls your smart home devices, answers your questions, sets calendars, reports the weather and news and more.(2.4GHz Wi-Fi Network Support Only, No Bluetooth) If you have more than one Eufy Genie or Echo in your home, Spatial Perception Technology intelligently selects the Eufy Genie or Echo closest to you to answer your request. * Built with a 2W speaker that delivers dynamic audio and room-filling sound, so you can truly enjoy your favorite playlists from streaming services like Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Pandora and iHeartRadio. Call or message almost anyone hands-free with your Eufy Genie and instantly connect to other Alexa-enabled devices in your home using just your voice. * Enables a true voice-controlled smart home experience. Use Genie to control all Alexa-compatible Eufy smart products, such as RoboVac 11c and Lumos LED Smart Bulbs, in addition to other brands that work with Alexa. * Easy setup with the free EufyHome app. Use the Amazon Alexa app to access 10000+ skills and services, such as Sirius XM, Domino's Pizza, Uber, ESPN, NPR News, and much more. Plus, Genie is always getting smarter. Future updates include: Alexa messaging and calling. (EufyHome requires a smartphone or tablet running iOS 8.0 (and above) or Android 4.3 (and above) to operate.) * What You Get: eufy Genie, AC power adapter (5ft/1.5m), AUX cable (5ft/1.5m), user manual, safety instruction card, our worry-free 12-month warranty and lifetime technical support.


Ocasio-Cortez says Green New Deal critics are making 'fools of themselves'

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 09:29 AM PDT

Ocasio-Cortez says Green New Deal critics are making 'fools of themselves'Congresswoman hit back at Republicans who claim her resolution would cause 'genocide' and the end of hamburgers Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks to the media after a televised town hall in New York on 29 March. Photograph: Jeenah Moon/Reuters Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has rounded on her Republican opponents, accusing them of making "total fools of themselves" in criticising her Green New Deal proposals. The Democratic congresswoman from New York has come under increasing attack from conservatives over her resolution that calls for a 10-year "national mobilization" to eliminate greenhouse gases and avert the worst impacts of climate change. Republicans have claimed that the resolution, which contains no actual legislation, is a socialist manifesto which would cause "genocide". At a rally this week, Donald Trump called the proposal an "extreme $100tn government takeover" which would mean "no more airplanes, no more cows, one car per family". The Texas senator Ted Cruz has said the Green New Deal will result in the end of hamburgers. Such assertions have no basis in fact: the resolution does not call for the elimination of animal agriculture or aviation. The extraordinarily large cost attributed to the plan by Republicans, typically $93tn, is also false. Sign up for the US morning briefing Ocasio-Cortez said she expected such attacks. "But I didn't expect them to make total fools of themselves," she told MSNBC on Friday. "I expected a little more nuance, and I expected a little more 'concern trolling'," meaning expressions of disingenuous concern. Ocasio-Cortez added that politics in Washington DC often feels like "the upside down", a reference to a distorted parallel reality depicted in the Netflix show Stranger Things. The New Yorker said the challenge of climate change was inextricably linked to tackling issues such as economic inequality, requiring an enormous national effort to address. "We need to save ourselves, period," she said. "There will be no livable future for generations coming, for any part of the country if we don't address this issue urgently. "Historically speaking we have mobilized our country around war. It doesn't need to be this way when the greatest existential challenge we face is climate change. We will have to mobilize our entire economy around saving ourselves and taking care of this planet." Reducing emissions from agriculture "doesn't mean you end cows", Ocasio-Cortez said, but rather deploy new farming techniques to cut methane and other planet-warming gases. Some Democrats have questioned the feasibility of the Green New Deal, albeit in less extreme terms than Republicans. Ocasio-Cortez said action on climate change had been delayed for so long that only an aggressive response would be enough to avoid disastrous sea level rise, extreme weather and food and water insecurity. "A lot of what the Green New Deal is is about shifting our economic, political and social paradigms on every issue because we don't have time to wait," she said. "We don't have time to wait five years for a watered down compromise solution. To think that we have time is such as privileged and removed from reality attitude that we cannot tolerate." Trump has said he welcomes the chance to campaign for re-election on opposition to the Green New Deal. The president has routinely dismissed the scientific reality of climate change, vowed to remove the US from the Paris climate accords and attempted to spur new oil, gas and coal mining. On Friday, Trump issued a new presidential permit to push ahead the construction of the controversial Keystone pipeline, which would bring oil from Canadian tar sands to refineries in the US. "By personally approving the climate-killing Keystone XL pipeline, President Trump is showing complete contempt for the law and the idea of leaving a livable planet for future generations," said Kieran Suckling, executive director for the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the environment groups opposing the pipeline. Environmentalists have vowed to use the courts to block this agenda. They found encouragement on Saturday after a federal judge in Alaska overturned the Trump administration's attempts to open huge areas of the Arctic and Atlantic for oil and gas drilling. Protections for virtually all Arctic and Atlantic waters were put place by Barack Obama before he left office. These can only be undone by Congress, ruled Sharon Gleason, a US district court judge, meaning Trump's move to scrap the protections was unlawful.


3 Tips for Saving Money on Medical Expenses

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 04:36 AM PDT

3 Tips for Saving Money on Medical ExpensesInside Edition teamed up with RxSaver by RetailMeNot and its medical expert, Dr. Holly Phillips, for tips on how to save on medical expenses during this time of year.


INSIGHT-Regulators knew before crashes that 737 MAX trim control was confusing in some conditions - document

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 04:00 PM PDT

INSIGHT-Regulators knew before crashes that 737 MAX trim control was confusing in some conditions - documentU.S. and European regulators knew at least two years before a Lion Air crash that the usual method for controlling the Boeing 737 MAX's nose angle might not work in conditions similar to those in two recent disasters, a document shows. The European Aviation and Space Agency (EASA) certified the plane as safe in part because it said additional procedures and training would "clearly explain" to pilots the "unusual" situations in which they would need to manipulate a rarely used manual wheel to control, or "trim," the plane's angle. The undated EASA certification document, available online, was issued in February 2016, an agency spokesman said.


Boston Uber driver arrested for allegedly raping woman

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 06:07 AM PDT

Boston Uber driver arrested for allegedly raping womanBoston Uber driver arrested for allegedly raping woman.


GM removes made-in-Mexico Chevy Blazer from Comerica Park display after controversy

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 08:33 PM PDT

GM removes made-in-Mexico Chevy Blazer from Comerica Park display after controversyGM swapped out its Mexican-made SUV that was on display at America's favorite pastime where UAW workers congregate.


Turkey's ruling AKP set for defeat in Ankara vote, dead heat in Istanbul

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 05:04 PM PDT

Turkey's ruling AKP set for defeat in Ankara vote, dead heat in IstanbulTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP looked set for defeat in the capital Ankara and faced a dead heat in Istanbul after Sunday's local election delivered a blow to a party in power for a decade and a half. Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) have won every vote since the party first came to power in 2002, but they had risked losing Ankara and faced a tough fight in Istanbul as an economic slowdown took hold in Turkey. With 99 percent of the ballot boxes counted, the joint opposition candidate for Ankara mayor was winning with 50.89 percent of votes and the AKP on 47.06 percent, Anadolu state agency reported citing preliminary results.


Afghan veterans of Syrian war struggle back home

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 10:00 AM PDT

Afghan veterans of Syrian war struggle back homeHERAT, Afghanistan (AP) — Too poor to even buy pens and notebooks for school, Mehdi left his home in Afghanistan soon after his 17th birthday and headed to Iran, hoping to make his way to Europe and find work.


EU has been patient over Brexit but patience runs out: Juncker

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 12:34 PM PDT

EU has been patient over Brexit but patience runs out: JunckerThe European Union has had a lot of patience with Britain over Brexit but patience runs out, the head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said in an interview on Italian state TV RAI on Sunday. Juncker, whose words were translated into Italian, said he would like Great Britain to be able to reach an agreement in the coming hours and days that could be followed. "So far we know what the British parliament says no to, but we don't know what it might say yes to," he said.


Social Security, IRA and tax mistakes to avoid when planning retirement

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 04:05 AM PDT

Social Security, IRA and tax mistakes to avoid when planning retirementRetirement planning mistakes, especially Social Security, 401(k) and IRA blunders, can be costly. Here are some errors that you can fix, thought.


US boots on the Moon in 2024? It won't be easy

Posted: 29 Mar 2019 06:45 PM PDT

US boots on the Moon in 2024? It won't be easyFor the past 15 years, America has sought to put its astronauts back on the Moon, but NASA did not think it could be done before 2028. On Tuesday, the government of President Donald Trump set a new deadline: 2024. Just a few weeks ago, NASA chief Jim Bridenstine said the United States was not in any space race.


Study This Submarine (It Destroyed a U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier in a War Game)

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 05:45 AM PDT

Study This Submarine (It Destroyed a U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier in a War Game)In 2005, USS Ronald Reagan, a newly constructed $6.2 billion dollar aircraft carrier, sank after being hit by multiple torpedoes. Fortunately, this did not occur in actual combat, but was simulated as part of a war game.


Ebola treatment center in Congo reopens after attack

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 02:02 PM PDT

Ebola treatment center in Congo reopens after attackAn Ebola treatment center located at the epicenter of the current outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has resumed operations after it was attacked last month, the country's health ministry said on Saturday. The center run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in the district of Katwa was set on fire on Feb. 24 by unknown attackers, forcing staff to evacuate patients. "For now it is managed by the ministry in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF," it said, referring to the United Nations children's fund.


Upsides, downsides for Smollett, city in looming fines fight

Posted: 29 Mar 2019 11:02 PM PDT

Upsides, downsides for Smollett, city in looming fines fightCHICAGO (AP) — A brewing battle over Chicago's demand that Jussie Smollett recoup the city more than $130,000 for an investigation into his report of a racist, anti-gay attack and the "Empire" actor's apparent determination not to pay it could ultimately land in a civil court, where a jury could have to answer the question that was supposed to be answered in criminal court: Was the attack staged or not?


Arab leaders to seek U.N. Security Council resolution on Golan

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 12:51 PM PDT

Arab leaders to seek U.N. Security Council resolution on GolanArab leaders, long divided by regional rivalries, also ended their annual summit in Tunisia calling for cooperation with non-Arab Iran based on non-interference in each others' affairs. Arab leaders who have been grappling with a bitter Gulf Arab dispute, splits over Iran's regional influence, the war in Yemen and unrest in Algeria and Sudan sought common ground after Washington recognized Israel's sovereignty over the Golan. "We, the leaders of the Arab countries gathered in Tunisia ... express our rejection and condemnation of the United States decision to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan," Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said.


Taiwan blasts China for 'reckless' fighter jet incursion

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 08:00 AM PDT

Taiwan blasts China for 'reckless' fighter jet incursionTaipei hit out at China on Sunday for what it said was a "reckless and provocative" incursion by two fighter jets across a largely respected line dividing the two sides in the Taiwan Strait. The Defence Ministry said Taiwan scrambled its own aircraft on Sunday morning and broadcast warnings after two J-11 fighter jets crossed over the "median line" within the waters that separate the island from the mainland. "At 11 am, March 31, 2 PLAAF J-11 jets violated the long-held tacit agreement by crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Twitter.


F-15s on Steroids: Why the F-15X Should Make F-35 Fans Pretty Nervous

Posted: 31 Mar 2019 03:30 AM PDT

F-15s on Steroids: Why the F-15X Should Make F-35 Fans Pretty NervousOr maybe not.


Daimler asks EU antitrust regulators to probe Nokia patents

Posted: 30 Mar 2019 03:06 AM PDT

Daimler asks EU antitrust regulators to probe Nokia patentsGerman carmaker Daimler has complained to EU antitrust regulators about Nokia patents essential to car communications, a move underlining the tensions between tech companies and the car industry on the use of key technologies. Tech companies and mobile telecoms providers are playing an increasingly important role in the auto industry, with their technologies used in navigation systems, vehicle-to-vehicle communication and self-driving cars. Daimler confirmed that it had lodged a complaint with the European Commission against Nokia.


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