| Palestinians say U.S. 'deal of the century' will finish off their state Posted: 31 May 2019 10:14 AM PDT  The U.S. blueprint to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, still in draft form after almost two years, is seen by Palestinians, and by some Arab officials and politicians, as a plan to finish off the Palestinian cause. The initiative, driven by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law and White House adviser, was billed by the U.S. president as the "deal of the century". While its precise outlines have yet to be revealed, Palestinian and Arab sources who have been briefed on the draft plan say Kushner has jettisoned the two-state solution - the long-standing U.S. and international formula that envisages an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza.
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| Chicago detectives knew a Jussie Smollett deal was in the works, new documents show Posted: 31 May 2019 07:33 AM PDT  Newly released documents from the Jussie Smollett case show Chicago police detectives knew a month in advance a deal was in the works.
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| Rudy Giuliani Steps Up Biden Attacks With New Ukraine Conspiracy Theory Posted: 30 May 2019 09:15 PM PDT  Weeks after Ukraine's prosecutor general shot down Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani's claims that there was some nefarious plot by former Vice President Joe Biden just waiting to be uncovered in the country, Giuliani upped the ante on Thursday night and straight-up accused Biden of bribing the Ukrainian president to make an investigation into his son go away.Coincidentally (or predictably?), the claim came amid mounting calls for impeachment after Special Counsel Robert Mueller broke two years of silence earlier this week to say he could not clear President Trump of a crime, despite the president and his allies' declarations to the contrary. Appearing on Fox News' Hannity to ostensibly talk about that recent statement, the former New York City mayor quickly pivoted to 2020 contender Biden. Complaining that the press isn't covering all of Biden's supposed scandals, Giuliani ranted about a series of suspicious money flows, none of which he provided any actual details on. "How bout the $5 million from one of the most crooked people in the Ukraine? While Joe is doling out the money to the Ukraine? And then Joe bribes the president of the Ukraine," he said. "He says, 'You have six hours, fire the prosecutor that's investigating his son, or I'm leaving with America's money,'" host Sean Hannity said, helpfully setting Giuliani up to continue with his baseless accusations."The money that would have the country go under," Giuliani exclaimed. "Remember, it was not just 1.2 billion. They were going to default without that 1.2 billion. They were desperate!" It was not immediately clear what funds Giuliani was referring to. The European Union extended a $1.2 billion loan to Ukraine early last year, and before that, in 2014, Congress approved a $1 billion loan package to Ukraine. The U.S. Treasury also backed $2 billion in loan guarantees in 2015. Giuliani went on to allege that former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was "extorted" by Biden, claiming Biden held the loan guarantees unless the president fired a top prosecutor who was investigating a company Biden's son worked for. Poroshenko, Giuliani said, was even the "godfather to the guy's kids.""That's the crime, Joe. Extorted!" Giuliani shouted. "And by the way, when he took the money for the Ukraine, we call that, under all laws, bribery!"While Giuliani has spent much of the past month persistently claiming that then-Vice President Biden abused his power to force Ukraine to drop a probe involving his son—even announcing and then quickly canceling a trip to Kiev to convince the nation's president-elect to keep the pressure on the Bidens—this appears to be the first time he explicitly accused Biden of bribing a world leader. And despite the current Ukrainian prosecutor pouring cold water on Giuliani's suspicions, the Trump campaign hatchet man still appeared baffled and outraged that his conspiracy theory is not gaining more traction. "And the dishonest press will not cover it," he said. "That's why when the president says they are dishonest, when he says they are corrupt, and even when he says they are the enemy of the people, they are proving it."While the Ukrainian government appears to have no interest in Giuliani's gambits, he has continued to push forward. Recently, he met with a former Ukrainian diplomat in an effort to prove that Ukrainian officials worked with Democrats in order to undermine former Trump campaign official Paul Manafort.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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| Turkey's Erdogan absent from Mecca Islamic summit: AFP Posted: 31 May 2019 07:48 PM PDT  Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was notably absent from a key summit of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Saudi holy city of Mecca early Saturday, an AFP photographer said. Turkey, a regional heavyweight, was instead represented by its Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Erdogan's visit would have been his first to the kingdom since the brutal murder last October of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, which tarnished the international reputation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
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| I was let go as substitute teacher because I corrected my students' grammar Posted: 01 Jun 2019 04:00 AM PDT ![I was let go as substitute teacher because I corrected my students' grammar]( "I was let go as substitute teacher because I corrected my students' grammar") What students apparently objected to was me handing back their papers, hectoring them about language errors.
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| Summit fever: Everest's budget climbing boom puts Indians most at risk Posted: 30 May 2019 11:58 PM PDT ![Summit fever: Everest's budget climbing boom puts Indians most at risk]( "Summit fever: Everest's budget climbing boom puts Indians most at risk") KOLKATA/KATHMANDU, May 31 (Reuters) - Earlier this month Dipankar Ghosh, a 52-year-old Indian photographer, scaled the world's fifth-highest peak, the snow-capped Mount Makalu. After being separated from the rest of his team in bad weather, he collapsed and died along with Narayan Singh, an officer in the Indian army, according to his tour operator. "Dipankar personified mountains," said his brother, Goutam, sitting by the coffin after it returned to the family's home in Kolkata, the state capital of India's West Bengal, on Wednesday.
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| Virginia Beach shooting suspect DeWayne Craddock worked for city for 15 years Posted: 01 Jun 2019 12:55 PM PDT  Officials in Virginia Beach said they would name DeWayne Craddock only once and will not refer to him again.
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| Trump ‘Gone Rogue’ on Trade Is Last Thing Global Economy Needs Posted: 30 May 2019 10:39 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Economists warned that U.S. President Donald Trump's vow to impose a 5% tariff on Mexican goods poses a new danger to the world economy.
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| Hezbollah chief warns any war against Iran would engulf region Posted: 31 May 2019 03:05 PM PDT  The head of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah warned on Friday that if there was a war against Iran the whole Middle East region would "erupt", amid escalating US-Iranian tensions. US President Donald "Trump, his administration, and his intelligence know well that any war on Iran will not remain confined to Iran's borders", Hassan Nasrallah said. "Any war on Iran will mean the whole region will erupt," said the head of the Iran-backed movement in a televised speech, explaining that such a war was therefore unlikely.
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| Younger voters continued to outstrip turnout by boomers and seniors in 2018 Posted: 31 May 2019 09:55 AM PDT  Young voters turned out to vote for the 2018 midterm elections at record-breaking numbers.
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| UPDATE 2-China to probe FedEx after Huawei says parcels diverted Posted: 01 Jun 2019 07:35 AM PDT ![UPDATE 2-China to probe FedEx after Huawei says parcels diverted]( "UPDATE 2-China to probe FedEx after Huawei says parcels diverted") China will investigate whether FedEx Corp
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| Border Patrol: Group of 1,036 migrants is largest ever found Posted: 31 May 2019 01:23 AM PDT  EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A group of 1,036 migrants that crossed the border illegally El Paso, Texas, is the largest the Border Patrol has ever encountered, the agency said Thursday.
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| Why North Korea Is Raising Tensions with New Missile Tests Posted: 31 May 2019 05:00 PM PDT  After a hiatus of 521 days, North Korea has resumed its missile-testing regime. On May 9, the country launched its second flight test in less than a week of what appear to be short-range missiles. Its May 4 launch involved multiple missiles, possibly including several of the same type.The second test came on the second anniversary of South Korean President Moon Jae In's inauguration and just before a live TV interview in which Moon characterized the tests as a "pressure action" to shape further talks. He renewed his call for a fourth inter-Korean summit and emphasized planned shipments of South Korean food aid to the North. The May 9 test also coincided with the first visit to Seoul by U.S. Special Representative Stephen Biegun since the February breakdown of the Hanoi summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the tests routine and defensive in nature, while state-run media criticized the recent test of the U.S.-South Korea Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system.Why It Matters
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| Mastermind's accountant agrees to plead guilty in college admissions scandal Posted: 31 May 2019 04:34 PM PDT  The bookkeeper for Rick Singer, the ringleader of the college admissions bribery scandal, has agreed to plead guilty to charges and cooperate.
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| Syria NGOs say Idlib attacks triggering mass displacement Posted: 31 May 2019 08:47 AM PDT  Syrian NGOs decried on Friday the inaction of the international community to mounting violence in the last jihadist stronghold of Idlib, saying it had triggered the biggest wave of displaced people since the war began. As well as killing dozens of civilians, the recent bombardments by Syrian and Russian forces in northwest Syria have pushed 300,000 people towards Turkey's border, the NGOs said at a press conference in Istanbul. "This is the single largest mass displacement in Syria since the beginning of the crisis" in 2011, they said in a statement.
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| New Mexico mayor gets death threats after halting crowdfunded border wall Posted: 31 May 2019 10:39 AM PDT  A New Mexico mayor on Thursday said he and his staff received multiple death threats after they briefly halted construction of a crowdfunded, private border wall by a group that then urged supporters to tell the city to "stop playing games" and alleged town officials were tied to drug cartels.
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| UPDATE 1-Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Wilders says Twitter blocks his account Posted: 31 May 2019 03:52 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Wilders says Twitter blocks his account]( "UPDATE 1-Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Wilders says Twitter blocks his account") Dutch far-right politician and anti-Islam campaigner Geert Wilders said on Friday that Twitter had temporarily blocked his account following remarks he made about a political rival. Wilders, who cannot easily appear in public due to threats against him by Islamists, relies heavily on Twitter to communicate with his supporters. "Twitter often tolerates death threats against me, but not a factual tweet by me about a colleague.
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| US cuts funds for ‘anti-propaganda’ Iran group that trolled activists Posted: 31 May 2019 02:04 PM PDT  The Iran Disinformation Project was funded by a state department group created to counter foreign propaganda Men read headlines in front of a newspaper stand in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Photograph: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images The US state department has cut off funding to a group that purported to combat Iranian propaganda, after it was found to be trolling US journalists, human rights activists and academics it deemed to be insufficiently hostile to the government in Tehran. The Iran Disinformation Project was funded by the state department's global engagement centre which was created to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation. In recent weeks however, the group's Twitter account @IranDisinfo targeted BBC journalists, thinktank experts and civil society advocates, denouncing them as being "mouthpieces" and supporters of the Iranian government. In one case they singled out a researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRW), Tara Sepehri Far, because she had looked into the human rights impact of sanctions on ordinary Iranians. The group also focused on supporters of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which Donald Trump withdrew from last year, particularly the National Iranian American Council, which has advocated nuclear diplomacy with Tehran. It used the hashtag #NIACLobbies4Mullahs. In response to a request for comment, a state department spokesperson said: "The bulk of the work by @IranDisinfo has been in line with the scope of a project with the Department of State. We have, however, identified recent tweets that fall outside the scope of the project to counter foreign state propaganda or disinformation." The statement added: "Today, the Department suspended the funding for the Iran Disinfo project until the implementer takes necessary steps to ensure that any future activity remains within the agreed scope of work." Many of the group's controversial tweets were deleted on Friday. Brett Bruen, who was director of global engagement in the Obama White House, said that the global engagement centre was originally created to counter Russian and Isis disinformation and propaganda. However, under the Trump administration, it was starved of funds and personnel, and has an operating budget of just $20m. Lea Gabrielle, a former navy intelligence officer and Fox News journalist was hired to run it in February. "It is not being used to deal with Russian disinformation or Isis propaganda, but they are syphoning money off to attack the Iran [nuclear] deal and Iran," Bruen said. "We know that information warfare is a serious and damaging threat, but the centre is being treated by the Trump administration like it is a reserve for dipping in to for pet political projects." Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's executive director for the Middle East and North Africa, welcomed the speed of the state department decision to cut funding to Iran Disinformation Project. "Groups like this really undermine human rights advocacy when they use it selectively as a political weapon to go after a perceived enemy."
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| China fights back against the Huawei ban with a blacklist of its own Posted: 31 May 2019 05:08 PM PDT  The Trump administration delivered a massive blow to Huawei a few days ago, placing the biggest China's smartphone maker on the US Commerce Department "Entity List" that bans the sale of Huawei products in the country. The US government also banned the Chinese vendor from importing technology made in the US, which covers anything from chips and other components from companies like Intel and Qualcomm to software like Android and Windows.Other international companies have also cut ties with Huawei temporarily, including chip-maker ARM, whose silicon designs are the basis of most mobile chips used in Huawei designs. All this prompted the Chinese government to create its own blacklist, which it's currently referring to as the "Unreliable Entity List."China announced its list on Friday, saying that it will add any foreign firms and individuals who do not play nice with Chinese companies, namely Huawei."Foreign enterprises, organizations or individuals that do not comply with market rules, deviate from a contract's spirit or impose blockades or stop supplies to Chinese enterprises for non-commercial purposes, and seriously damage the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, will be included on a list of 'unreliable entities'," Chinese commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said, per HongKongFP.The official did not say what companies are on the list, adding that they will be announced at a later date."Some foreign entities have violated normal market rules and the spirit of their contracts for non-commercial purposes, blockading and cutting off supplies and taking other discriminatory actions against Chinese companies damaging their legitimate rights and interests, and endangering China's national security and national interests," Gao said, according to state-owned Global Times.China's response seems to escalate trade-war tensions, but in reality, there's probably little that China can do to whatever companies end up on its list. That's because the most important US tech companies that may qualify for that list are in a co-dependency relationship with China. Intel and Qualcomm processors are needed and used by many Chinese smartphone makers. Google, meanwhile, doesn't have a presence in China, so the risk is small. Microsoft's Windows is also a critical operating system, one that China can hardly do without. If there's one company China could punish, it's probably Apple, but Apple doesn't have a business relationship with Huawei. Not to mention that China also needs Apple's business just as much as Apple needs China.If anything, China is trying to do whatever it can to deescalate the conflict and reach some common ground, as the ban on Huawei will have a severe impact on the smartphone vendor's bottom line, and even on its ability to conduct business in other markets.
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| The Flaw in Trying to Paint Biden as Another Hillary Clinton Posted: 31 May 2019 03:30 AM PDT  Is Joe Biden Hillary Clinton — or George W. Bush?The first, most obvious and literal answer is, he's neither. He's Joe Biden, one of the most known and familiar personalities in American politics.Matt Continetti, editor of the Washington Free Beacon, recently asked: "Is Biden the new Hillary?""Trump plans to wage the same sort of campaign against Biden that he did against Hillary Clinton in 2016," Continetti wrote for National Review. "Back then, Trump defined Hillary as the candidate of entrenched interests who used a long career in politics for familial gain. He highlighted Clinton's support for the 1994 crime bill and for NAFTA and TPP, driving wedges between the former secretary of state and important Democratic constituencies. And he went after Hillary's foreign-policy credentials, painting her as an interventionist who had weakened America's standing in the world."Continetti is surely correct that this is Team Trump's game plan. Both D.C. scuttlebutt and public reporting suggest that they see Biden as the biggest threat to Trump's reelection prospects. That's certainly borne out in the polls, which show Biden leading Trump by 8 points (according to the RealClearPolitics average). Biden's lead in some crucial states is even more worrisome for Trump.A recent Quinnipiac poll had him ahead by double digits — 53 percent to 42 percent — in Pennsylvania. Biden has a 10.5 percentage-point lead in Michigan, 8 points in Wisconsin (though polling there is sparse), and 4 points in Ohio, and is tied in Florida, according to the RealClearPolitics average.Trump won the Electoral College by taking a handful of states out of the traditional Democratic column with razor-thin margins. It's insanely early, but the scary part for Trump is that Biden is not only wildly beating the other Democrats in the field, he's also outperforming Clinton at a comparable time in 2015.And this points to a possible flaw in the effort to turn Biden into another Hillary. Clinton ran as an experienced Washington hand, Continetti notes. But "after 16 months of Trump attacks, 77,000 voters in three states denied her the presidency," he adds. "The same could happen again to a nominee easily caricatured as the epitome of Beltway cluelessness. What looks like Joe Biden's greatest strength — electability born of experience — may also be a debilitating weakness."Maybe. But while Trump's attacks on Clinton were surely effective at times, Trump was aided enormously by the fact that Americans, particularly Republican and Republican-friendly ones, were skeptical or outright hostile to her already, thanks to decades of experience with, and criticism of, her. Trump didn't define Clinton as much as she did.Moreover, implicit to her campaign was the promise of both a third Obama term and a restoration of the Clinton dynasty. Trump did not need to work all that hard to convince voters exhausted or frustrated by the Obama years or disdainful of Clinton Inc. to vote against her.Biden occupies a different space, psychologically and politically. There's a lot of conventional wisdom in Washington that the early front-runner always loses. And that's true except when it isn't. In 2003, former Vermont governor Howard Dean dominated the polls. Then he lost Iowa, screamed, and eventually skulked away.But in 1999, George W. Bush dominated the polls and, except for a brief scare from Senator John McCain in the New Hampshire primary, essentially cruised to victory.A key part of Bush's early success, not just in polls but in fundraising, stemmed from the fact that he was promising a Bush restoration. Indeed, some of his early approval ratings were a direct result of nostalgia for his father, with whom he shared a name.Also, he was offering a referendum on the incumbent president and the scandals and partisanship that defined the end of his administration. He vowed to restore "honor and dignity to the Oval Office" and to be a "uniter not a divider."The very different context notwithstanding, this is pretty much Biden's campaign message. The ideological, activist, and Twitter-obsessed base of the Democratic party may not like Biden's pitch. But it sure looks like rank-and-file Democrats do, particularly African-American women who may see in Biden something of an Obama restoration.Of course, Biden can blow it, as he did the two previous times he ran for president. But counting on the past repeating itself is a good strategy only when you pick the right example from the past.© 2019 Tribune Content Agency LLC
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| Warren grilled on Native American ancestry claims: 'You're kind of like the original Rachel Dolezal' Posted: 31 May 2019 08:41 AM PDT  Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is asked to explain how she learned about her Native American ancestry.
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| Disgruntled city worker kills 12 in Virginia beach resort; suspect also killed Posted: 31 May 2019 02:12 PM PDT  A disgruntled public utility employee opened fire with a handgun on co-workers at a municipal building in Virginia on Friday afternoon, killing 12 people and wounding at least four before he was fatally shot by police, authorities said. The mass shooting in the coastal resort of Virginia Beach was the deadliest instance of U.S. gun violence since November 2018, when a dozen people were slain at a Los Angeles-area bar and grill by a gunman who then killed himself. Virginia Beach Police Chief James Cervera said the suspect in Friday's carnage was armed with a .45-caliber pistol equipped with a "sound suppressor" device and "extended" ammunition magazines he used to reload repeatedly during the attack.
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| Stone Was Like ‘Uncle Roger,’ Miller Testifies to Grand Jury Posted: 31 May 2019 12:18 PM PDT  Prosecutors focused their examination on Miller's relationship with Stone and Stone's connection to WikiLeaks founder Assange, Miller's attorney Paul Kamenar told reporters after the proceeding. Stone was indicted by the grand jury in January on charges of lying to Congress about communications with Assange, obstruction and witness tampering.
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| GM's Cadillac unveils two new performance cars: the 2020 CT4-V and 2020 CT5-V Posted: 31 May 2019 04:40 AM PDT  The 2020 Cadillac CT4-V and CT5-V performance sedans made their debut as GM aims to rejuvenate luxury sedan sales.
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| The Latest: Iran's president says stay focused on Palestine Posted: 31 May 2019 05:34 AM PDT  MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The Latest on developments related to tensions in the Persian Gulf (all times local):
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| Could Taiwan Halt an Invasion by China? Posted: 01 Jun 2019 01:49 AM PDT  The Taiwan question has long been in a thorn in the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) side. In the decades following the Shanghai communiqué, the CCP's core strategic approach to Taiwan was to bide their time while building up national strength. As Deng Xiaoping famously proclaimed, the People's Republic of China (PRC) can wait 100 years to reunify with Taiwan (also known as Republic of China, or ROC) if necessary.Today's CCP appears to be operating within a much shorter time frame, however. With China's rise to great power status, Beijing wields unprecedented economic leverage over Taiwan and is increasingly comfortable with flexing its military muscle overseas. XI Jingping is "losing patience" with the defiant island off his southeastern coast, which continues to rebuff Chinese reunification schemes premised on what Xi calls a "one country, two systems" approach.
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| Rockets fired from Syria at Israeli-occupied Golan Heights -military Posted: 01 Jun 2019 12:25 PM PDT ![Rockets fired from Syria at Israeli-occupied Golan Heights -military]( "Rockets fired from Syria at Israeli-occupied Golan Heights -military") Two rockets were fired on Saturday from Syria towards the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights causing no casualties, the Israeli military said. A military spokeswoman said that the details were still being looked into and that it remained unclear who had fired the rockets and where they had landed. Israel says that arch-foe Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, both of whom are fighting on the side of President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian war, are trying to turn Syria into a new front against Israelis.
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| ExxonMobil staff to return to work in Iraq: ministry Posted: 31 May 2019 05:08 PM PDT  Foreign employees of US energy major ExxonMobil will return to work near Iraq's border with Iran Sunday, the oil ministry said, two weeks after being evacuated over tensions between Washington and Tehran. "ExxonMobil accepted that the 83 employees evacuated will resume their posts from Sunday," spokesman Assem Jihad told AFP. ExxonMobil pulled out its expatriate employees from the southern oil field after the US ordered non-essential personnel to quit its diplomatic missions in the country on May 15.
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| Trump’s Mexico tariff plan divides Republicans Posted: 31 May 2019 03:43 PM PDT  President Trump's latest effort to crack down on migration at the southern border by imposing punitive tariffs on Mexican goods appears to be driving a wedge between the White House and some of Trump's biggest supporters in the Senate — including immigration hard-liners who ordinarily back him on border security issues. Among Senate Republicans, only Lindsey Graham of South Carolina publicly backed the tariff plan. "I support nearly every one of President Trump's immigration policies, but this is not one of them," Sen. Chuck Grassley said Thursday evening, shortly after the White House announced its new tariff tactic.
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| Wall St Week Ahead-Struggles of transport stocks transmit caution to market Posted: 31 May 2019 01:29 PM PDT ![Wall St Week Ahead-Struggles of transport stocks transmit caution to market]( "Wall St Week Ahead-Struggles of transport stocks transmit caution to market") Add this to worries about Wall Street: The index of planes, trains and trucking companies, considered an important stock barometer of the U.S. economy's health, is struggling. The Dow Jones Transportation Average swooned 10.2% in May, a far steeper decline than that of the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the S&P 500. For analysts who closely watch the transports, this could be a sign of deeper market stress.
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| Waive your yearly Amex fee and snag 80,000 bonus Delta miles with this limited-time offer Posted: 31 May 2019 08:35 PM PDT  One of the great things about Delta's co-branded rewards cards is that they can offer something all at once that a semi-frequent flyer might be hard-pressed to accumulate otherwise. We're talking, of course, about frequent-flyer miles -- or, in the case of the limited-time offer Delta just kicked off for its main cards, the sizable welcome bonuses that in a couple of instances can be as high as 80,000 bonus miles.Through July 2, the six Delta co-branded cards that are issued by American Express which we talk about below offer an impressive range of bonus miles when certain spending requirements are met. The cards include both personal and business Delta Amex cards, and for anyone who's been watching the increasingly frequent award sales Delta unveils but doesn't have enough SkyMiles in your account -- read on, because according to The Points Guy these are among the highest welcome bonus offers seen on the Delta cards. Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express and Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American ExpressOn the entry-level side of the spectrum, the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express is offering 60,000 miles if you're a new cardholder who spends $2,000 in the first three months. Make a Delta purchase within that time, and you'll also score a $50 statement credit. The Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express, meanwhile, has a sweeter offer -- 70,000 miles after you spend $4,000 in the first three months, plus that same $50 statement credit after making a Delta purchase in the first three months.Both cards waive the $95 annual fee during the first year, in addition to offering cardholders a first bag checked free on Delta flights, as well as priority boarding and 20% off of inflight purchases on Delta.The bonus miles look all the more impressive when you consider the valuation from The Points Guy of $720 for 60,000 SkyMiles and $840 for 70,000. Meaning, the bonus -- when viewed in the context of some of Delta's recent award sales -- could be enough for several round-trip domestic airfares. Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express and Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American ExpressOne step up annual fee- and benefits-wise, the Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express has sweetened its welcome offer to 75,000 bonus miles and 5,000 Medallion Qualification Miles, or MQMs, for new cardholders who spend at least $3,000 in the first three months of card ownership. Make a Delta purchase within the first three months, and there will also be a $100 statement credit. The Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express, meanwhile, is offering 80,000 bonus miles and 5,000 MQMs after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months, plus a $100 statement credit after making a Delta purchase in the first 3 months.Both versions of the Platinum Delta Amex come with a $195 annual fee that, unfortunately, can't be waived in year one. To take some of the sting out of that fact, the cards at least offer additional benefits like an annual companion certificate that can be used for travel in the main cabin. Owning a Platinum Delta Amex also helps you rack up MQMs toward Delta elite status, with 5,000 MQMs you earn from the welcome bonus as well as 10,000 MQMs and 10,000 redeemable miles once you spend $25,000 with the card in a calendar year. Additionally, you'll pick up another 10,000 MQMs and 10,000 redeemable miles after you spend $50,000 in a calendar year. Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express and Delta Reserve® for Business Credit CardThe top-of-the-line personal credit card in this lineup is the Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express. Like the Platinum Delta Amex, it comes with the possibility of earning 75,000 SkyMiles and 5,000 MQMs as long as you meet the spending requirement of $5,000 in the first three months. The Delta Reserve® for Business Credit Card from American Express, meanwhile, is offering 80,000 bonus miles and 5,000 MQMs after you spend $6,000 in the first 3 months.Both cards come with a $450 annual fee, but with that price you get the most benefits. Things like complimentary Delta Sky Club access when you're flying Delta, and the ability to have up to two guests accompany you at a discounted rate of only $29 per person. The Delta Reserve also offers you the ability to earn MQMs toward Delta elite status by meeting spending thresholds. Spend $30,000 with the card during a calendar year, and you'll earn 15,000 MQMs as well as 15,000 redeemable miles. Spend $60,000 in a calendar year, and you can tack on another 15,000 in both of those categories. The verdictWhile it's true that the valuation from The Points Guy puts Delta SkyMiles on the lower end of the scale when ranking the offerings from major US airlines, things are in fact changing. Delta has, for example, started to offer more frequent award sales, with more destinations and cabins available at discounted prices.This also isn't the first time Delta Amex credit cards have offered elevated welcome bonuses, but this time around the offer is definitely looking more attractive than ever.
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| Pope braves rain-soaked mountain roads for Transylvania Mass Posted: 01 Jun 2019 03:14 PM PDT  MIERCUREA CIUC, Romania (AP) — Pope Francis braved a rain-soaked, twisting drive through the mountains of Transylvania on Saturday to visit Romania's most famous shrine, urging Romanian and ethnic Hungarian faithful to work together for their future.
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| Scouted: Cold Brew Coffee is the Best Kind of Coffee and Here’s How to Brew the Best Cup Posted: 31 May 2019 01:00 PM PDT  There are some people who can drink hot coffee year-round. I am not one of those people. If anything, I could drink cold brew well into winter time without much thought (though I would get some looks from strangers).I've talked about what I love about cold brew and why it's superior to any other method of brewing coffee. If you want to make it yourself at home, you have many options. We've rounded up some of the best-selling cold brew coffee makers on the market that deserve a place on your kitchen counter — and in your heart.Takeya Deluxe Cold Brew Iced Coffee Maker, $19 on AmazonTakeya Deluxe Cold Brew Iced Coffee Maker, $19 on Amazon: I love this cold brew maker because it's just so easy. You just dump your favorite ground coffee into the center compartment, fill the rest with water, and let it sit. The only thing you really need for a really good cold brew from this maker besides coffee and water is patience.OXO BREW Cold Brew Coffee Maker, $50 on AmazonOXO BREW Cold Brew Coffee Maker, $50 on Amazon: What's great about this cold brew maker is that you can evenly distribute the water thanks to the "Rainmaker" top that disperses water across the grounds. It brews up top and then a quick-release button empties the coffee into a ready-to-pour carafe. Toddy Cold Brew System, $35 on AmazonToddy Cold Brew System, $35 on Amazon: This maker from Toddy comes with its own reusable filter and the ability to buy a separate paper filter for quick and easy cleanup. Steep your coffee in the top and then pull out the rubber and empty it into the carafe below. The carafe itself comes with an airtight lid so you can easily store your cold brew without worrying about any flavor changes.Country Line Kitchen Cold Brew Coffee Maker, $27 on AmazonCountry Line Kitchen Cold Brew Coffee Maker, $27 on Amazon: While this may look a little kitschy, the mason jar brewer is all business. The interior filter is made from a super strong stainless steel and the lid features a flip-top lid to keep the caffeine flowing freely (this sounds like a dream I had last night). And look, the mason jar-style container is just darn cute.Bodum Bean Cold Brew Coffee Maker, $22 on AmazonBodum Bean Cold Brew Coffee Maker, $22 on Amazon: I always forget how much I enjoy French press coffee and this maker from Bodum pairs its classic French press style with multi-hour-long steeps. Just put your grounds in, fill with cold water, and let steep. After it's done, press down like you would any other French press-style brew.Scouted is internet shopping with a pulse. Follow us on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter for even more recommendations and exclusive content. Please note that if you buy something featured in one of our posts, The Daily Beast may collect a share of sales.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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| Meet the Man Who Brought Israel's Netanyahu to His Knees Posted: 30 May 2019 10:00 PM PDT  Now Avigdor Liberman, the blunt-talking former bouncer who engineered Benjamin Netanyahu's first electoral victory in 1996, has brought the prime minister to his knees. The former defense and foreign minister rejected any compromise on his proposed bill to draft more ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into the military, blocking Netanyahu's efforts to form his fifth government. Liberman, who grew up in Moldova and still speaks with a heavy Russian accent, said his Yisrael Beitenu party "won't be partners in a government run according to Jewish religious law." He dismissed Netanyahu's claims that he is to blame for the political turmoil.
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| Stocks Fall after Trump’s Threat to Slap Tariffs on Mexico Posted: 31 May 2019 07:16 AM PDT  Global markets were shaken Friday after President Trump said that the U.S. will impose tariffs on Mexican imports in an effort to stop the flow of illegal immigration to the southern border. In the wake of the the news, the Dow fell 253 points, or about 1 percent, when markets opened on Friday. The S&P 500 sank 0.8 percent to 2,766, while the NASDAQ fell 1.2 percent to 2,475.Trump's announcement, made Thursday on Twitter, called for a 5 percent tariff on all products from Mexico to take effect on June 10.> On June 10th, the United States will impose a 5% Tariff on all goods coming into our Country from Mexico, until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP. The Tariff will gradually increase until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied,..> > -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2019The U.S. will progressively raise tariffs to 25 percent by October if Mexico refuses to take action on immigration, according to the White House."Tariffs will permanently remain at the 25 percent level unless and until Mexico substantially stops the illegal inflow of aliens coming through its territory," the White House said.American companies Ford and Walmart trade heavily wit Mexico. About 6 million American jobs rely on trade with Mexico, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador criticized the tariffs late Thursday, saying that "social problems are not resolved with taxes or coercive measures.""The Statue of Liberty is not an empty symbol," Obrador said. "With all due respect, although it has the sovereign right to express it, the motto 'America First' is a fallacy."Trump warned about his tariff plan in April of last year, writing on Twitter that Mexico must "stop the big drug and people flows, or I will stop their cash cow, NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement]."Border authorities has been overwhelmed in recent months with tens of thousands of migrants, most from Central America, traveling through Mexico and crossing the southern U.S. border legally and illegally.
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| U.S. won't 'tiptoe' around China with Asia stability at threat: defense chief Posted: 31 May 2019 05:47 PM PDT  The United States will no longer "tiptoe" around Chinese behavior in Asia, with stability in the region threatened on issues ranging from the South China Sea to Taiwan, acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said on Saturday. Shanahan did not directly name China when making accusations of "actors" destabilizing the region, but went on to say the United States would not ignore Chinese behavior, the latest in the exchange of acerbic remarks between the world's two biggest economies.
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| Bacon-Wrapped Pickles, Caprese Bites, and More Must-Try Appetizers Posted: 31 May 2019 08:45 AM PDT |
| 2019 Toyota Corolla Posted: 31 May 2019 09:48 AM PDT  Corolla Review, Pricing and Specs
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