| The Latest: Source: US prepared Iran attack, then withdrew Posted: 20 Jun 2019 09:07 PM PDT  A U.S. official says the military made preparations Thursday night for limited strikes on Iran in retaliation for the downing of a U.S. surveillance drone, but approval was abruptly withdrawn before the attacks were launched. The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump had approved the strikes, but then called them off. The newspaper cited anonymous senior administration officials.
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| Strait of Hormuz: key waterway under pressure Posted: 21 Jun 2019 06:10 AM PDT  The Strait of Hormuz, located in the area where Iran shot down a US military drone, is a strategically important waterway for the world's oil transits, which lies at the heart of regional tensions. Iran warned on Friday it would "decisively defend its territory" against eventual US retaliation, while the airlines KLM, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas and Singapore Airlines said they were suspending flights over the strait. The Strait of Hormuz links the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and is situated between Iran and Oman.
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| Medic stuns courtroom saying he killed prisoner, not Navy SEAL on trial Posted: 20 Jun 2019 03:22 PM PDT  A Navy SEAL medic testified on Thursday that he was responsible for the death of an Islamic State fighter - not the Navy SEAL defendant undergoing a court martial for war crimes - describing it as a mercy killing. Special Operator 1st Class Corey Scott, a SEAL team medic, said under cross-examination by the defense in a courtroom at the San Diego Naval Base that he killed the fighter by asphyxiation, after he saw Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher stab the victim with a knife. Scott said he held his thumb over a breathing tube that had been inserted into the mouth of a fighter, who had a leg wound and collapsed lung following house-to-house fighting in the Iraqi city of Mosul in 2017.
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| Hannity and Manafort’s Gushing Text Messages Revealed: ‘We Are All on the Same Team’ Posted: 21 Jun 2019 03:22 PM PDT  Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photo GettyThroughout Special Counsel Robert Mueller's prosecution of Paul Manafort, he found a willing and enthusiastic ally and confidante: Fox News host and presidential pal Sean Hannity. On Friday, a D.C. federal judge released dozens of pages of private text messages between the former Trump campaign chairman and Hannity, who at one point offered "anything I can do to help."The messages show Hannity apparently reached out shortly after the FBI raided Manafort's Alexandria, Virginia apartment in August 2017. Hannity checked in on Manafort throughout the course of the special counsel's investigation and prosecution of him, asking if he was OK. Like many other higher-ups in Trump's orbit, Manafort maintained a friendly relationship with Hannity during the 2016 election and kept in touch after he left the Trump campaign in August 2016. The special counsel's office charged Manafort with tax and bank fraud counts in Virginia and tried him in a separate case in Washington, D.C. for acting as an unregistered foreign agent, money laundering and obstruction of justice. Trump to Hannity: You're 'Not Really' a Patriot, You Just Want 'Great Ratings'Hannity spent large portions of his texts with Manafort discussing (and rehashing) episodes of his own television show. He complained about never-Trumpers, Hillary Clinton, and the special counsel's investigation. Hannity also repeatedly invited Manafort on TV, saying it would give to defend himself against Mueller's prosecutors. Hannity told Manafort to connect him with his lawyer to get information on important developments. Manafort repeatedly declined, citing a court gag order restricting him from publicly discussing his case. But the text messages were perhaps the most blatant behind-the-scenes look at how cozy the host was with Manafort, the subject of hours of news coverage on Fox and Hannity's show in particular.Hannity in one instance declared he was "NOT a fair weather friend," and told Manafort how unfairly he believed he was being treated. "We are all on the same team," he said. Manafort also had plenty of compliments for Hannity, saying he was on "fire," "great" on radio, and declared that "in a fair world, you would get a Pulitzer prize for your incredible reporting." He said he loved Hannity's interview with former Trump adviser Roger Stone, and in one instance, Manafort said he watched the show with his three month old grandson, who was apparently mesmerized."I swear to God. He was totally focused. Your audience is growing demographically," he said."You help me keep my hope and sanity," Manafort said on another occasion. And throughout the investigation and trial, Hannity repeatedly publicly called for the charges against Manafort to be dropped. Hannity even hinted at insider knowledge of attempts to retaliate against those involved in the Russia investigation. When Manafort said he hoped that then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions would appoint a new special counsel to investigate the Russia inquiry, Hannity texted "He has to [do] it [or else] he is gone. Talked to a friend." While it's unclear who Hannity was talking about, he often speaks to Trump.After the text messages were revealed on Friday, Hannity appeared to shrug them off, writing on Twitter that his views on the Russia investigation and Manafort "were made clear every day to anyone who listens to my radio show or watches my TV show." Manafort is currently serving a 7.5-year prison sentence after he was found guilty of financial crimes by a Virginia jury and plead plead guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice and defraud the United States in a separate D.C. case.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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| Choose your future Greenland, Earthlings Posted: 21 Jun 2019 03:00 AM PDT  Like Beyonce, Greenland is constantly making news. And for good reason. The Arctic landmass holds an ice sheet that's two and a half times the size of sprawling Texas -- and it's melting at rates that are unprecedented in at least centuries, if not thousands of years. "I can tell you the retreat is eye-popping," said Twila Moon, an Arctic researcher at the National Snow and Ice Data Center who has traveled along the vastly diminished ice. For humanity, the particularly salient question now is how quickly these massive stores of ice will melt into the sea.Greenland's future, of course, depends on the most uncertain, chaotic, and emotionally volatile portion of the climate science equation: humans, specifically how much heat-trapping carbon we decide to pump into the atmosphere. "The biggest uncertainty in climate science is human behavior," NASA scientist Kate Marvel told Mashable after the Trump administration recently said they will no longer consider many climate projections beyond 20 years from now. But regardless of the federal government's self-imposed limitations, new research, published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, lays out three clear, potential futures for Greenland: 1. Really bad: A future wherein carbon emissions continue rising as they are now, called the "business as usual" scenario (known as RCP 8.5).2. Pretty bad: A future wherein emissions moderately rise until around 2050, and then drop substantially -- but not completely -- by century's end (known as RCP 4.5).3. Not as bad: A future wherein humanity rapidly and immediately slashes carbon emissions today, bringing emissions to zero well before 2100 (known as RCP 2.5). * This last ambitious future, in line with the historic Paris climate agreement, is now nearly impossible to achieve. As you might suspect, the new research -- enhanced by NASA's recent aircraft observations of Greenland -- found that the melting land mass (in a rapidly melting Arctic realm) is expected to incur profound ice losses this century and beyond, should carbon emissions continue to saturate the skies (options 1 and 2). For reference, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are currently increasing at rates that are unprecedented in both the historic and geologic record. Yet, humanity has an immediate say in the matter."We can actually choose how it's going to look," said Andy Aschwanden, the study's lead author and researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Geophysical Institute. "The next couple decades are quite important to the future.""It's going to be worse if we burn more fossil fuels," added NASA's Josh Willis, an oceanographer who leads the science agency's Oceans Melting Greenland mission. "This has been clear for decades," said Willis, who had no role in the research. "The more CO2 you put into the atmosphere, the more you change the climate." The choiceIf emissions continue as they are, by century's end Greenland alone will lose enough ice to boost sea levels by between 5.5 and 13 inches, the research found. But matters get substantially worse as the centuries progress, adding as much as 12.5 feet by 2300. Eventually, all the ice would disappear. "We found that the Greenland ice sheet could melt within 1,000 years if we keep adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere," said Aschwanden. That would raise sea levels by some 23 feet.> Drastically reducing emissions could limit ice loss to under a quarter of the ice sheet. That scenario would produce up to 6 feet of sea level rise by 3000. pic.twitter.com/c7PM4itnis> > -- NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) June 19, 2019Even if unprecedented steps are taken to curb Earth's warming this century (option 3), Greenland will still experience some melting (adding between 2 and 7 inches of sea level rise this century). That's because there's already substantial warming baked into the absorbent oceans, and the elevated carbon levels already saturating the skies will take hundreds to thousands of years to naturally get soaked into the seas."A lot of ice loss has already been baked into the system because of human actions in the past," said Moon. But that's still a future humanity can adapt to, more so than runaway glacial melting, anyway. "All the effects are worse if we do nothing," noted Willis. "And they're all better if we avoid burning so much fossil fuel."This study's projections were enhanced by new observational data from NASA's IceBridge missions, which involves swooping over the Greenland ice sheet to capture detailed measurements of the ice. The airborne NASA mission proved particularly valuable in measuring the conditions of Greenland's exit glaciers -- the rivers of ice that pour into the ocean -- said Aschwanden. With this new information, the research team could simulate how much ice was likely to drain into the sea as glaciers experience an accelerating rise in air temperatures. "This is really nice work," said Moon, noting that the new incorporation of ice loss around Greenland's edges produced a quality, advanced simulation.> From Tuesday's IceBridge flight, a close-up of a supraglacial lake above Eqip Sermia, with a thin skin of refrozen ice floating on top pic.twitter.com/YGW9kTxPSA> > -- NASA ICE (@NASA_ICE) May 15, 2019For all the grim observations from this study, it's crucial to note that things could actually be significantly worse. Yes, worse. That's because these projections may underestimate the powerful influence the warming oceans have on glaciers."The oceans have the potential to make this more extreme," said NASA's Willis. "There's still room for [the projections] to get worse."Arctic waters meet Greenland's colossal exit glaciers, some which are walls of submarine ice around 2,600 feet tall. And recent research, performed by NASA, found these glaciers are extremely sensitive to ocean temperatures. The ocean has the power to accelerate melt, or even stoke the glaciers to start growing again during cooler shifts in ocean circulation.SEE ALSO: The Green New Deal: Historians weigh in on the immense scale required to pull it offAs airborne scientists, on-the-ground ice-gathering researchers, and satellites scouring from space continue to probe the region, Greenland's future will grow increasingly clear. "The work is ongoing," said Willis.But the bigger picture is already evident. There are distinct futures ahead for Greenland. Which one will our descendants experience, even beyond this century?"Two-hundred or 300 years really aren't many human generations," noted Moon. "It will be here in a blink of an eye."* * *P.S. A succinct note to those contending, incredibly, that Greenland is not experiencing drastic melt: One big glacier (Jakobshavn) recently stopped shrinking, but that doesn't mean the entire landmass is miraculously on an epic rebound. "Just because Jakobshavn stopped growing does not mean there's no global warming and we're not changing the planet -- we are radically changing the planet," explained NASA oceanographer Josh Willis, who annually flies over Greenland. WATCH: Ever wonder how the universe might end?
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| Roy Moore announces new Senate campaign Posted: 20 Jun 2019 12:57 PM PDT  Roy Moore's announcement that he would once again run for the U.S. Senate in Alabama sent a shudder through the Republican Party and raised a question: Could the GOP have avoided this scenario by uniting early around a credible consensus candidate?
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| Car and Driver Contributor Davey G. Johnson Found in Northern California Posted: 21 Jun 2019 05:49 AM PDT  C/D contributor David Gordon Johnson's body has been found after he went missing on a motorcycle trip through Calaveras County on June 5. We have updated this story with the latest information.
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| Iran Shoots Down U.S. Military Drone in ‘Unprovoked Attack’ Posted: 20 Jun 2019 05:35 AM PDT  On Thursday, Iran shot down a U.S. military drone that the country claims was flying over Iranian air space in the southern Gulf region, further escalating tensions between the two nations.The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps website said the "spy" drone was shot down over the southern province of Hormozgan. The U.S. Navy, meanwhile, said the drone was flying in international air space over the Strait of Hormuz, a major thoroughfare through which one-third of the world's global oil supply flows."Iranian reports that the aircraft was over Iran are false," Captain Bill Urban, a U.S. Central Command spokesman, said in a statement. "This was an unprovoked attack on a U.S. surveillance asset in international airspace."The Navy's MQ-4C Triton drone, which costs roughly $180 million and provides real-time intelligence and surveillance to forces on the ground, was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, U.S. Central Command said. The Iranians also unsuccessfully attempted to shoot down a second drone.Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have continued to escalate since the U.S. withdrew from the 2015 international nuclear accord last year. There have been six explosive attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz since May. While Iranian officials have denied responsibility for the attacks, U.S. intelligence agencies have determined that Iran is the only actor in the region with the capacity to execute the sophisticated operations.In response to the most recent spate of attacks last week, the Pentagon announced on Monday the deployment of 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East in addition to the 1,500 troops deployed to the region after the tanker attacks in May.A commander for Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the Trump administration declared a terrorist organization earlier this year, said the attack should serve as a "clear message" to the U.S."We do not have any intention for war with any country, but we are fully ready for war," Revolutionary Guard commander general Hossein Salami said in a televised address.Asked about the incident Thursday morning, President Trump told reporters that Iran made a "big mistake" by further escalating hostilities with the U.S. When asked by a reporter at the White House if he would launch a strike against Iran in response, Trump said "you'll find out."
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| The Latest: Refinery fire controlled but still burning Posted: 21 Jun 2019 02:09 PM PDT  A fire at a refinery complex in Philadelphia is controlled and contained but still burning more than 12 hours after it started. Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy says the blaze at Philadelphia Energy Solutions started in a tank that holds a mix of propane and butane. Murphy says five employees had minor injuries and were treated at the scene.
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| Surveillance drone may have tracked Japanese tanker: experts Posted: 21 Jun 2019 06:32 AM PDT  A "flying object" which flew over a Japanese tanker before it was rocked by a blast in strategic Gulf waters last week could have been a reconnaissance drone, experts have told AFP. The owner of the Kokuka Courageous said the tanker's Japanese and Filipino crew saw a "flying object", just before a blast that caused a fire on board the vessel, sparking a crisis between Washington and Iran. "The crew members are saying that they were hit by a flying object.
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| California governor proposes a $21 billion wildfire fund Posted: 21 Jun 2019 12:31 PM PDT  California Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed helping utilities create a fund of up to $21 billion to compensate future victims of wildfires sparked by the companies' equipment or employees, an aide said on Friday. The proposal by the Democratic governor follows the bankruptcy filing earlier this year of San Francisco-based utility PG&E Corp, which anticipates $30 billion in liabilities from wildfires that have been blamed on its equipment, including the state's deadliest blaze which killed more than 80 people last year. The state's other two large utilities, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric, have seen their credit ratings downgraded over wildfire concerns.
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| The Democratic Civil War Is Here Posted: 20 Jun 2019 02:02 AM PDT  Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/GettyDonald Trump told his rapt audience in Orlando Tuesday night that the Democrats "want to destroy you."The next day, the Democrats started doing some destroying, all right. But of each other.Trump Kicks Off His 2020 Campaign ... Against Hillary ClintonIt started with Joe Biden's totally bizarre comments about how they all used to get along with racists in the Senate, which brought a number of well-deserved smackdowns on Wednesday, the best by far from Cory Booker: "You don't joke about calling black men 'boys.' ... Vice President Biden's relationships with proud segregationists are not the model for how we make America a safer and more inclusive place for black people, and for everyone. I'm disappointed that he hasn't issued an immediate apology for the pain his words are dredging up for many Americans. He should."Then, later the same day, Bernie Sanders' campaign seized on a Politico report from Charleston, S.C., where the centrist group Third Way was having a conclave, which said that the group was learning to like Elizabeth Warren. "The cat is out of the bag. The corporate wing of the Democratic Party is publicly 'anybody but Bernie,'" Sanders wrote on Twitter.Is there any bigger lesson in these dustups? To some extent, yes. They reflect divides within the party that everyone is going to have to take care not to let get out of control lest they help make it easier for Trump to win a second term.On the Biden-Booker front, on one level this was just another Biden malapropism. He's made them his whole career, and there was no reason to think he was going to stop making them now.This one alone probably isn't a killer. His campaign is already arguing what he meant to say and in the coming days, he'll apologize, or make a self-deprecating joke, and rehearse the positive parts of his civil rights record and have black supporters come out attest to their conviction that though he may misspeak here and there, they have no doubt his heart is in the right place. And if it really looks like it's dinging him, he may have to use that Obama lifeline far earlier in the game than planned.But it also showed how out-of-date his idea of acceptable rhetoric is in today's Democratic Party. Someone is going to have to sit that guy down and tell him how to communicate in this day and age. And that he should never talk about the past. It only reminds people of his record (the bad parts) and his age. The kind interpretation of his remarks would be that he was trying to say we had horrible sonsabitches back then, too, but somehow we found ways to compromise, but what came across was a long, long way from that.Booker, Harris, Warren Tee Off on Biden for His Nostalgia for Segregationist SenatorsBooker pounced effectively, which is what you need to do when you're a second-tier candidate—seize these little openings. He'll get some press and raise some money out of this. More eyes will be on him at next week's debates. He will not, however, have a chance to jam Biden in person. Booker is night one, and Biden, night two.From a distance, the Sanders-Warren flare-up may have looked the same. But the contrast between Booker-Biden and Sanders-Warren is that Booker responded to something that Biden directly did (said), while in the second case, Warren didn't do anything. Some other folks started talking her up. But Sanders' people never miss a chance to reinforce the "it's us vs. the world" narrative. That's the driving motivation of the Sanders campaign. Their beef in this case isn't with Warren. It's with Third Way and the "corporate wing of the Democratic Party." It was opportune, from Sanders' perspective, that this happened during a week when everyone is chattering about how Warren is overtaking Sanders in some polls, moving into second place. And here, lo and behold, was a chance to tie Warren to the corporatists!If one of these two quarrels is going to metastasize into something ugly, it's pretty easy to see which one. Despite Booker's tough words today, if Biden wins the contest, Booker will get behind him and campaign vigorously for the Democratic nominee. It would take a lot more than what Biden said for Booker to want to be seen by anyone as having not done his part to stop Trump. Likewise, if somehow Booker catches fire and is the nominee, Biden will back him in a heartbeat.Sanders-Warren, though, has the potential to get bitter. If Biden pulls two or three more of these verbal gaffes, Democratic insiders are going to start worrying that he just can't go the distance, and they'll probably settle on Warren, at least as things stand now, because she has earned it (though it's way too early to count out Kamala Harris and two or maybe three others).And if it really is the case that the party starts to close ranks around Warren, how will Sanders and his devoted base react? The bottom line here is the same thing it was in 2016. Sanders is not a Democrat. He hates Trump as much as the rest of them and wants to see Trump lose; no doubt of that. But he has no loyalty to the Democratic Party in the way all the rest of them do. If he loses, he will not act in as predictable a fashion.It's never been more important for the Democratic Party to win an election. In the history of the country. Never. But these two episodes suggest a couple of fault lines—generational and ideological—on which the party's divisions could badly damage its chances. 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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| Georgia puts inmate to death for man's 1996 shotgun slaying Posted: 20 Jun 2019 07:59 PM PDT  Warden Benjamin Ford pronounced Marion Wilson Jr. dead at 9:52 p.m. at the state prison in Jackson. Wilson, 42, and Robert Earl Butts Jr. were convicted of murder and sentenced to death for the shotgun slaying of 24-year-old Donovan Corey Parks in Milledgeville, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta. "I ain't never took a life in my life," Wilson said as part of a final statement before receiving a deadly injection of pentobarbital.
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| Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez refusing to apologize for comparing migrant detention centers to concentration camps Posted: 20 Jun 2019 03:23 AM PDT  AOC comments spark outrage for both Republicans and Democrats; Aishah Hasnie reports.
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| A 12-foot alligator was found on a Florida highway: 'He wasn't happy' Posted: 20 Jun 2019 07:47 AM PDT  The 463-pound alligator was suffering from injuries after being hit in the head by a semi-truck on Interstate 10. It was later euthanized.
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| Pelosi slams Trump administration for delaying Harriet Tubman on $20 bill: 'An insult to the hopes of millions' Posted: 20 Jun 2019 10:47 AM PDT  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called out the Trump administration's decision to delay putting former slave and abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, calling it "an insult to the hopes of millions."
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| 9/11 first responder pleads for victims fund from his hospice bed Posted: 21 Jun 2019 10:19 AM PDT  Luis Alvarez, who testified with Jon Stewart, asked Congress to 'do the right thing' in what he expects to be his last interviewAn emergency first responder who was diagnosed with cancer following his work at Ground Zero in New York has spoken from his hospice bed just days after he testified alongside comedian and activist Jon Stewart about funding for those sickened by their work after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.Retired New York police department (NYPD) detective Luis Alvarez used what he expects to be his final interview to give a last impassioned plea to Congress to renew the 9/11 victims fund and deal with an "epidemic" of Ground Zero-related illnesses.Alvarez said on Thursday that after nearly 70 rounds of chemotherapy, doctors had told him there was nothing more they could do. He was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2016 that has spread to his liver."It's an epidemic. There's going to be more and more first responders getting sick. And our government has to take care of them. It's just a matter of decency, a matter of doing the right thing. We did the right thing when we went down there. Now it's the government's turn to do the right thing by us," Alvarez, 53, told Fox News.> UPDATE: 9/11 first responder Luis Alvarez does an interview with @FoxNews as his liver is failing after breathing in toxic dust after the Twin Towers fell https://t.co/cIUomvx6OJ> > — Nikki Schwab (@NikkiSchwab) June 20, 2019Alvarez said going through cancer has been stressful for his whole family. "We need to ease the stress on the first responders," he added. "And let them know that they're not alone. That the government is here to back them up, to give them the support they need, the financial support that they're going to need when they get sick. It's just a matter of time. You know, most of us that were down there – it's just a matter of time before we get sick."It came just nine days after he received a standing ovation in Washington DC, where Stewart and other first responders addressed the House judiciary committee, to speak out against plans to cut 9/11 compensation by up to 70%."You made me come down here the day before my 69th round of chemo, and I'm going to make sure that you never forget to take care of the 9/11 responders," he said at the hearing. But the following day his health took a downturn and doctors concluded that his liver had shut down.Speaking with his son David by his side from a hospice in Long Island, near New York City, Alavarez said to Fox News host Shepard Smith on Thursday: "We need this bill passed, Shep. It's got to be passed quickly and efficiently so we never have to come down to Washington again and lobby."He said he was comfortable and "at peace" surrounded by his family and that he had "no regrets whatsoever".He insisted that he was just doing what any fire, police or emergency worker would have done when he spent three months at the site of the 9/11 attacks, searching for remains and clearing up in a smoldering, toxic pile after terrorists flew hijacked passenger jets into the World Trade Center. He added: "I'm nobody special. I did what all the other guys did. And now we're paying the price for it."He said he is leaving his sons David, 29, Tyler, 19, and Ben, 14, "without a father".While he said he was "lucky" to have had the heath care that he has, there are people in his position who do not.He said it was time for the government to act: "We just want the money to be there for our families so that God forbid they do get sick, they're covered."He said they were told the air was safe – which it was not – but even if they had known it was unsafe they would have gone in regardless, "because that's what we do".He said the problem is a US-wide issue among first responders who travelled to New York after the 9/11 attacks to help and warned others to be vigilant."I just want them to know, hey if you were down at Ground Zero … get yourself checked out. Because you could be sick from ground zero," he added.
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| A War Begins? How Iran Shot Down a U.S. RQ-4N Surveillance Drone Posted: 21 Jun 2019 05:40 AM PDT  Early in the morning on June 20, 2019, a transporter erector launcher truck near the coastal town of Gerouk, Iran, angled its three missiles heavenward as its boxy phased array radar illuminated a target dozens of miles to the south. Gerouk overlooks one of the narrowest parts of the Straits of Hormuz through which huge oil tankers transiting to and from ports in the Persian Gulf must pass for access to the Indian Ocean.The aircraft in question was a large U.S. Navy drone called the RQ-4N Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Drone (BAMS-D) with wings spanning 35 meters across—as wide as a 737 airliner. Converted from retired Air Force RQ-4A Global Hawk drones, the BAMS-D served as prototypes for the MQ-4C Triton maritime surveillance drones now entering service.This RQ-4N, part of the Navy's VX-20 Test and Evaluation squadron, reportedly took off from Al Dhafra Airbase in the United Arab Emirates at a quarter past midnight, initially remotely piloted by a specialist launch and recovery pilot. It then cruised to its station over the Persian Gulf at roughly 350 miles per hour—two-thirds the speed of a typical airliner—ascending as high as 100,000 feet high into the stratosphere.
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| U.S. cannot unilaterally remove Turkey from F-35 program: Turkish defense official Posted: 21 Jun 2019 01:15 AM PDT  The United States cannot unilaterally remove Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program as the partnership agreement does not allow it, Turkey's head of Defense Industries Directorate said on Friday. "No single country can say they don't want you and then remove you from the program," Ismail Demir told reporters. Ankara and Washington have been at loggerheads for months over Turkey's planned purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense system.
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| US Senate votes to block Saudi arms sales, UK suspends licenses Posted: 20 Jun 2019 11:43 AM PDT  Saudi Arabia's controversial military campaign in Yemen suffered a double blow Thursday as US lawmakers voted to block President Donald Trump's arms sales to Riyadh hours after Britain temporarily suspended similar sales. In Washington, the Senate voted to prevent $8.1 billion in US arms in a symbolic bipartisan rebuke to the president and his close ties with the kingdom. A handful of Republicans joined Democrats in voting against 22 separate sales of aircraft support maintenance, precision-guided munitions and other weapons to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan at a moment of heightened tensions in the Middle East.
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| Prosecutors: Teen killed after fake internet offer Posted: 20 Jun 2019 05:51 PM PDT  Authorities say Alaska teens hoping to cash in on a $9 million online offer brutally killed a woman on a popular trail outside Anchorage, shooting her in the back of the head and dumping her body in a river. (June 18)
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| China says Interpol ex-president confesses to bribe taking Posted: 19 Jun 2019 11:43 PM PDT |
| Samsung reportedly seeking compensation because Apple isn’t selling enough iPhones Posted: 21 Jun 2019 08:16 AM PDT  While Samsung keeps comparing its flagship phones to the latest iPhones that Apple makes in the hopes of convincing customers that Galaxy phones are a better option, Samsung is also a huge fan of the iPhone. That's because Samsung is a supplier of iPhone parts, and these Apple deals can be very lucrative. The best example concerns the iPhone's OLED screen, which is very expensive. Samsung Display happens to be the supplier of most iPhone OLED panels, as Samsung makes the best OLED screens for smartphones. But it turns out that Samsung isn't happy with iPhone sales, and wants Apple to pay a hefty penalty for all the iPhone screens that it failed to purchase as a result of the slower than expected iPhone sales.A report from ETNews says that Samsung Display seeks compensation amounting to hundreds of billions of won, which converts to hundreds of millions of dollars. Apple had reportedly agreed to acquire a certain quality of panels from Samsung Display but then failed to meet these numbers. Samsung Display and Apple have been negotiating the matter but have yet to agree on terms.Samsung invested in an A3 display facility that would cater only to Apple, a 6th-generation flexible OLED plant that can produce about 100 million OLED iPhone screens each year. But it's unclear what the minimum supply Apple agreed to buy might've been.Production at the A3 plant fell to under 50% of capacity as demand for iPhone sales remained sluggish, the report notes. Sales for the iPhone XS generation that followed 2017's iPhone X wasn't spectacular either, and Apple was often rumored to have cut OLED panel orders as a result. Samsung Display's operating profit dropped to 2.62 trillion won last year, about half of the 5.7 trillion the company reported in 2017, a figure that perfectly reflects the smartphone sales slump. Galaxy sales have been slower than expected as well, and these devices also pack OLED screens from Samsung Display.Meeting quotas isn't the only problem between the two parties, ETNews says. Apparently, Samsung Display has experienced some manufacturing issues with some of the OLED panels it supplied to Apple, and it may have been charged a "small penalty."ETNews also notes that failing to meet quotas might be a problem for Apple's deals with other panel suppliers, although screen makers rarely seek reimbursements. Instead, Apple may ink additional display deals with those manufacturers that cover other products.Interestingly, the report notes that Apple has offered such options to Samsung Display for OLED panels that would fit tablets and notebooks. So far, but none of the existing iPads or MacBooks feature OLED screens. Earlier rumors have said that Apple is considering OLED panels for other devices, MacBooks included.
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| Tel Aviv Journal Posted: 20 Jun 2019 03:30 AM PDT  When we land in Tel Aviv from Bucharest, some people on the plane -- women! -- are very, very rude: pushing, shoving, and yelling. I'm about to put my dukes up and the F-word hangs on my lips -- and then I remember: "Ah, right: They're Israelis. They're supposed to be this way."And the same women who are trying to run you over to get to the overhead bins they want would probably cook you a meal and tuck you in at night.And take up arms to defend you.Culture, culture …• Inside the airport, there is a sign -- a tourism poster: Follow Your Sunshine, Visit Florida. Huh. Yet there's plenty of sunshine here, isn't there? Regardless, I should not overthink a tourism poster …• The immigration official looks at my passport very, very skeptically. There is a sour look on his face. "What do you do?" he asks. I say that I'm a journalist. If possible, his expression gets more sour. "Do you have a journalist's ID card?" he asks. No. I'm not from a Communist country."Where do you work?" he asks. "National Review magazine in New York," I answer. "What kind of magazine is that?" he asks. I say that it's a magazine of politics and culture.With an air of both annoyance and boredom, he turns to his smartphone and fiddles with it for a while. Suddenly, his face is wreathed in smiles. He grins at me almost goofily, like a girl. I have never seen such a sudden change of countenance. He immediately hands me back my passport and sends me on my way.Did he Google me? Had he received a billet doux from his girlfriend? I don't know …• Israeli cabbies are legendary -- legendary for trying to rip you off. There is a reason for the legend; it is grounded in fact -- and really too bad. Because a cabbie is often a person's introduction to Israel. What a first impression, you know?This is a matter of national honor …• All the clichés about Tel Aviv are true: young, vibrant, hip, sensual. I am reminded of Miami. The beachtown sensuousness of Miami and the hipster vibe of Brooklyn (certain neighborhoods of).It is humid as hell, by the way. The temperature is not high -- only about 80 -- but the humidity is very high.Is it worth mentioning that the girls and women are beautiful, and often exotically so? That's a little like mentioning that the bread in France is good, I know. But it's still true.Of course, the climate and the general beachtownness helps. Sundresses and all that.A middle-aged Israeli man tells me, "The nation got seriously prettier once the Russians started coming."As the U.S. is a nation of immigrants, so is Israel. It is a Jewish state, yes -- but a nation of immigrants at the same time. There are so many skin tones, so many hair types. Years ago, I had a visit here, and a colleague -- a young Jewish American -- said, "My Jewdar is all screwed up here."It ain't Scarsdale.• I am happy to see young mothers (and fathers, I guess) -- young people with children. Sign of hope, some people think. Sign of a willingness to press onward.Once, I asked Charles Krauthammer whether he thought Israel would survive. He said, "It depends on two things: the willingness of Israelis themselves to survive and the support of the United States."• Given the general looseness of Tel Aviv, I'm surprised to see pedestrians waiting for the light to change at intersections -- even when there are no cars coming. Where are we, Salzburg? My Ann Arbor feet want to get moving …• At a restaurant, a waitress approaches a table and talks to the couple seated at it. She says, "Are you from South Africa?" Yes, they are. "I'm from South Africa," she says. Then they talk about places, etc., they know in common.This is very Israel.• Needless to say, one should go to various restaurants and order various dishes. Personally, I can't stop returning to one restaurant, for one dish: spicy ground lamb on Yemeni bread (with a fresh salad, of course).• Here is a Vietnamese joint -- and I got a kick out of the sign, somehow:• A jaunt to Jerusalem with friends, to see the Sharanskys -- Natan and Avital. To read a little about it, go here. I did an article.(After this article appeared, more than one person said, "He [Sharansky] is the greatest Jew alive." And one of the greatest people, no question.)• Bad news, and common news: There has been a stabbing this morning. More than one stabbing, by one terrorist, a young Palestinian. He carried out his attacks at the Damascus Gate, which is a main entrance to the Old City (Jerusalem).Let me quote from a news report, published later on:> An Israeli man who sustained life-threatening stab wounds … was released from a Jerusalem hospital on Wednesday, vowing to reporters, "We will not be afraid."> > Gavriel Lavi, 47, said he struggled to remember the details of the stabbing attack … but believed he had been saved from death by prayers and charity given by fellow students at his yeshiva, or Jewish religious seminary.• I attend a wedding, outside Tel Aviv. It's a lovely evening, but not un-humid. Many of the men are in jackets and ties; many of them are not. One in the latter category tells me, "You can tell who was born here and who wasn't. We sabras don't wear jackets and ties to weddings."Happily, I shed my jacket, though keep the tie in place.• Have I mentioned that the wedding is outdoors? Let me offer a quick shot of the scene:• The father of the bride gives a warm, elegant toast. He is from Iraq. (What a story the Iraqi Jews have.) In his toast, he quotes a Turkish saying, and a Persian one. He is a worldly man, a worldly Middle Easterner -- cosmopolitan, you might say. This is a bad word in some quarters, but not to me, it isn't. The father of the bride is an Israeli patriot. He has also had a broad, rich experience of life.So, sue 'im …• It's not like me to shoot food porn, but get a load of this spaghetti:Where's the beef? (Remember that slogan? It made its way into the 1984 presidential campaign.)Put it on simmer, baby:I could go on …• At my table, there is a man named Moishe. "Oh, like 'Moses,'" I say. "No," he replies. "'Moses' is like 'Moishe.'"That is one of the greatest replies I have ever heard …• In Tel Aviv, Ben-Gurion Boulevard is a major thoroughfare. Well, it should be. So is Begin Road. Ditto. ("Begin" as in "Menachem," by the way, not as in "commence.") I also see Levi Eshkol Street. Do you know about him? The third prime minister of Israel, serving from 1963 until his death in 1969.(By the way, if you have any interest in Israeli politics at all, you will love -- devour -- Yehuda Avner's memoirs, The Prime Ministers. The book is like candy.)There is also Rabin Square -- where Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was murdered in 1995. The square used to be called "Kings of Israel Square." (Some people still call it that.)• Ah, the beach, the Med -- which makes me think of another late prime minister, Shimon Peres. He met with a group of us journalists in 2005. The location was Davos. Let me fish out, and quote from, my journal:> The Labor head speaks first about the need for the economic betterment of the PA [Palestinian Authority]: Europeans, and others, should invest there. In Gaza, for example, unemployment is over 45 percent. Someone asks, "What kinds of business would you like to see in the PA?" He answers -- I like this phrase -- "Everything that life calls for." He then elaborates: "high tech, low tech, no tech." He points out that Gaza, someday, should be ripe for tourism: It has "43 kilometers of the most beautiful beaches in the Mediterranean." He wonders whether (abandoned) settlements can be converted to resorts.Yeah, well …• Tel Aviv's waterfront is very, very friendly to people who want to walk. You can walk alongside the beach forever (though the surfaces change, not unpleasantly).Care for a quick shot?• One of the sequence of beaches here is (officially) "dog-friendly" -- meaning that Fido can frolic unleashed, as his owners look on, grinning.• Speaking of animals: I see five horses -- beautiful thoroughbreds (I believe) -- being walked by handlers on grassy areas (not knolls) just beyond a beach. Where are we, Kentucky?• On the beach, a mother in a bikini throws a football to her two young receiver sons. She has a good arm. A native Israeli, too (as her Hebrew indicates). I'm impressed. I wonder if the boys appreciate that this is not entirely normal.• Want to get some reading done?And the other side:• You can hear cries of muezzins all over the world, including here in Tel Aviv. One rises from the Great Mahmoudiya Mosque, near the beach …• Speaking of religion: I see some Jehovah's Witnesses, and their booth. I'm reminded that these people are banned and persecuted in Putin's Russia, which burns me.• Amid the buildings in Tel Aviv, the Trade Tower gleams, which makes me think, contentedly, "Up from the socialist past?"• Have another beach scene:And spot the cat? On the rocks, at about 5 o'clock?• I appreciate a blunt sign. Hard to get blunter than "Danger of Death!"• In my experience -- limited, to be sure -- Israelis are not great standers in line …• You know where they learn to stand in line? The Zarkor School. It is my favorite school in Israel, and possibly in the world. It has just three grades, so far: pre-school, kindergarten, and first grade. I bet it will grow. Zarkor was founded by my friend Michael Friedman, and it is a pioneering effort. Learn about it here.Michael -- who is a phenomenal story all by himself -- is married to another phenom, Rachel Zabarkes Friedman, a scholar who has three degrees from Harvard, but the pinnacle of whose life, surely, was her internship at National Review …(When I interviewed her, on the phone, I sat up a little straighter, because she was so authoritative, interesting, and compelling. She was just in college, mind you.)• You are familiar with the pop song "Saturday in the Park": "People dancing, people laughing, a man selling ice cream, singing Italian songs." Well, Saturday, it seems to me, is a deader, or emptier, or quieter day in Tel Aviv -- yes, even in Tel Aviv, to say nothing of Jerusalem and elsewhere. (Tel Aviv is regarded as a secular city.) Friday is probably more like "Saturday in the Park."• See the British embassy, here in Tel Aviv?It reminds me that ours is now in Jerusalem. I wrote about this issue for years and years: from the point of view of U.S. foreign policy; from the point of view of the Arab–Israeli conflict; and from the point of view of U.S. politics. I should not repeat myself, as I'm trying to breeze through a journal. Maybe I could provide a link.Hmmm -- here's a dollop.• I meet a woman who has a daughter in the third grade. She sings in a chorus (the daughter). One of the songs they sing is a patriotic one, saying that, surely, some of the little boys in their midst will grow up to die in Israeli wars.This is not a country bereft of realism, you might say (putting it mildly).• It is also not a country bereft of stress. The difficulty of life in Israel is famous, or infamous. I meet a man who is hoping to emigrate to Canada. He is native-born (in Israel, I mean). After his military service, he went to Japan, where he worked for seven years. It is not uncommon for Israelis to do this kind of thing, he says. He loved Japan: its orderliness, its peacefulness. When he returned to Israel, he found the stress -- the noise, the pressure, the tumult -- almost unbearable.Look, this is just one testimony, one story, one guy. But no Israeli would be surprised to hear him.• I have not said anything about Prime Minister Netanyahu -- and there is a lot of talk about him, among the people I meet. There was an election in April; there will be another in September. I'm just breezin' along here, coming to a close. But let me say: Netanyahu is an interesting, impressive, and historic figure, with legions of admirers (including me). But even some of them say, or fear, that he has stayed too long.This is an age-old problem. Leaders begin to equate their personal interests or desires with the national interest, you know? L'état, c'est eux.Anyway, a big, big subject. (I used to call Netanyahu "the Leader of the West." I also applied the phrase to Stephen Harper, the prime minister of Canada.)• You want to see a funny sign? I don't have a picture, but I can quote it for you: Please Avoid Unpleasantness Involved in Towing Vehicles.Amen.• An Israeli tells me that shalom is used for goodbye in only one, special instance: when you are going away for a long, long time. Then it's an adieu (rather than au revoir); an addio (rather than arrivederci).• It still amazes me, after all these years, that people -- modern people -- call their dad "Abba," just as in the Bible …• One last shot of funkilicious Tel Aviv?• When I get back to New York, an airport official is jawing at a man who is hawking a car service, and he responds, "I know my rights!"Ah, America. See you, dear ones, and thanks for going to Israel with me.One more thing, maybe. Four years ago, I wrote an essay called "Hung Up on Israel": here. It answered the question, "Why do you care about Israel so much?" At least, it answered it as well as I can.Thanks again, and see you.
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| Russia and China Go War Against America. Here's What Could Happen Next. Posted: 20 Jun 2019 05:25 AM PDT  Could Beijing and Moscow coordinate a pair of crises that would drive two separate U.S. military responses?The United States discarded its oft-misunderstood "two war" doctrine, intended as a template for providing the means to fight two regional wars simultaneously, late last decade. Designed to deter North Korea from launching a war while the United States was involved in fighting against Iran or Iraq (or vice versa,) the idea helped give form to the Department of Defense's procurement, logistical and basing strategies in the post–Cold War, when the United States no longer needed to face down the Soviet threat. The United States backed away from the doctrine because of changes in the international system, including the rising power of China and the proliferation of highly effective terrorist networks.But what if the United States had to fight two wars today, and not against states like North Korea and Iran? What if China and Russia sufficiently coordinated with one another to engage in simultaneous hostilities in the Pacific and in Europe?This first appeared in August 2017.Political Coordination
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| Merkel cautions EU leaders over choice of EU Commission chief Posted: 20 Jun 2019 05:28 PM PDT  German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that EU leaders could provoke a crisis if they did not take into account the views of the European Parliament when choosing the next head of the EU executive. This wouldn't be good for the work of the Commission in the next five years," she told reporters after leaders failed to settle on a name during their summit. Merkel also said an agreement on top jobs should be reached before the new European Parliament meets for a first time on July 2.
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| Biden Calls Trump's Iran Strategy ‘A Self-Inflicted Disaster’ Posted: 20 Jun 2019 06:10 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Democratic front-runner Joe Biden called President Donald Trump's Iran strategy a "self-inflicted disaster" after Iran shot down an American spy drone, raising tensions in a region that's been on the verge of military conflict for weeks."Two of America's vital interests in the Middle East are preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and securing a stable energy supply through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump is failing on both counts," the former vice president said in a statement Thursday.Biden blamed increased hostilities with Iran on Trump's decision to abandon a 2015 agreement to stop that nation from getting nuclear weapons. The multilateral agreement was negotiated by the former administration of President Barack Obama while Biden was vice president. Trump quit the accord a year ago and reimposed sanctions to try to force Iran to rein back regional proxy militias and its weapons programs."By walking away from diplomacy, Trump has made military conflict more likely," Biden said. "Another war in the Middle East is the last thing we need." Iranian media said the craft was hit inside Iranian airspace. The U.S. on Thursday said the Global Hawk drone was flying in international airspace when it was shot down by an Iranian missile over the Strait of Hormuz, an oil choke-point.The region has been volatile since the U.S. tightened sanctions on Iranian oil sales in early May, sent military reinforcements to the region and provoked an increasingly squeezed Iranian government to warn European nations that it would breach the multilateral nuclear accord, which had traded some sanctions relief for limits on Tehran's nuclear program.Frictions flared further last week after an attack on two oil tankers outside the entrance to the Gulf. The U.S. blamed Iran, which has denied involvement.To contact the reporters on this story: Jennifer Epstein in Washington at jepstein32@bloomberg.net;Margaret Talev in Washington at mtalev@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Kevin Whitelaw at kwhitelaw@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth Wasserman, Kathleen HunterFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| View Photos of our New Long-Term 2019 Honda Civic Type R Posted: 20 Jun 2019 12:00 PM PDT |
| Citing bias, US Supreme Court tosses murder conviction of black man Posted: 21 Jun 2019 08:16 AM PDT  The US Supreme Court on Friday threw out the conviction of an African-American man who was tried six times for a quadruple murder, saying the exclusion of black jurors was unconstitutional. Curtis Flowers, 49, was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to death for the July 1996 murders of four people in a furniture store in Winona, Mississippi, where he had briefly worked until being fired. The nation's highest court did not examine the guilt or innocence of Flowers but whether the district attorney deliberately sought to keep black people off the jury in his most recent trial.
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| Death of Egypt's Morsi comes amid Brotherhood struggles Posted: 21 Jun 2019 05:47 AM PDT  The sudden collapse and death of former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi in a Cairo courtroom this week was a brief rallying point for the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist movement that has seen its influence steadily wane across the Mideast since Egypt's military ousted Morsi in 2013. Seven years ago, in the still hopeful aftermath of the Arab Spring, Morsi took the podium in front of hundreds of thousands in Cairo in 2012 as the first freely elected president of Egypt, and opened his jacket to show he wore no bulletproof vest. At that moment, the Brotherhood leader embodied the rise of the Islamists in the Middle East.
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| Dad of Maleah Davis, slain 4-year-old, shares photos of her 'My Little Pony'-themed casket Posted: 21 Jun 2019 05:13 AM PDT  The father of Maleah Davis, the 4-year-old whose remains were found in Arkansas earlier this month, posted photos of 'My Little Pony'-themed casket.
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| Galaxy Note 10 tipped to pack a camera feature no other phone has Posted: 20 Jun 2019 07:10 AM PDT  The Galaxy Note 10 already has a rumored announcement date, and we're getting quite close to the launch of one of the most exciting phones of the second half of 2019. That also means more of its secrets will be spilled in the coming weeks, long before Samsung takes the stage in New York to introduce the handset. Just the other day we learned that the phone will feature a screen technology that only one other phone has, an LG phone that's nowhere near as popular as the Note 10 will be. That's a Sound on Display (SoD) screen the Note 10 will reportedly get, which turns the entire display into a speaker. As a result, there's no need for the regular earpiece at the top of the phone, so the bezels can be made even thinner. The display will not be the only unique trick the Note 10 will offer buyers though, as a new leak details an even more exciting feature that Samsung will introduce on the Galaxy Note 10.Ice Universe is a well-known Samsung insider in some circles, the circles that follow smartphone rumors closely. The leaker said on Twitter that Samsung China engineers revealed a detail about the Note 10 camera that should have probably been kept secret. Rather than equipping the phone's main camera with a dual-aperture lens as is the case with previous flagships, Samsung's new Note 10 phones will have a three-stage variable aperture: f1.5, f1.8, and f2.4.https://twitter.com/UniverseIce/status/1141608857220681728That's something that hasn't been done before and might give Samsung an edge over competitors.Older Galaxy flagships including the Galaxy S10 support f1.5 and f2.4 apertures, with the Note 10 supposedly getting a stop in between those, f1.8. As SamMobile explains, the new aperture could be useful to reduce overexposure in intermediate cases between low-light (f1.5) and bright (f2.4) conditions.A different report said earlier this week that the Note 10 might be getting another notable camera upgrade, front and rear Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors that would enable 3D face recognition, improve bokeh in portrait shots, and help with AR/VR apps.
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| The 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 is the brand's most powerful car Posted: 21 Jun 2019 07:12 AM PDT  This week, Ford announced that the 2020 Mustang Shelby will be equipped with the most powerful V8 engine "in the world," making it the company's highest performing street-legal car to date. This week, however, Ford revealed the model's engine specs: the supercharged V8 will be able to produce 760 horsepower and 625 lb.-ft of torque.
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| Tucker Carlson Slams Republicans for Ignoring Voters in Favor of Koch Brothers’ Priorities Posted: 20 Jun 2019 05:19 AM PDT  Fox News host Tucker Carlson lashed out at Republican lawmakers on his television show on Wednesday night, claiming that they've ignored the priorities of their voters in order to appeal to the influential Koch brothers' preference for free-market economic policy.Carlson, who has leveraged his primetime perch to disrupt the GOP's Reagan-era free-market economic consensus, claimed that the Koch political network wields its substantial wealth to guide Republican politicians away from restrictionist immigration policy and trade protectionism — which Carlson claims voters prefer, as evidenced by their support for President Trump — and toward a more libertarian worldview."They have a sincere desire to change the world," Carlson said of the billionaires Charles and David Koch, during a Wednesday night monologue on "Tucker Carlson Tonight.""So for years, the brothers have been the single most important funders of Republican politics in Washington," the host added.Conservatives, Carlson argued, are naturally inclined to view the Kochs favorably, because the wealthy brothers are constantly maligned by the mainstream press, as well as liberal activists and politicians. But that calculation is misguided in the case of the Kochs, according to Carlson."But in the case of the Kochs, conservatives might want to pause and rethink the relationship," he said. "As it turns out, the Kochs don't have much in common with conservatives. They are in fact totally opposed to most conservative policy goals. The Kochs are libertarian ideologues. They are passionate and inflexible about what they believe.""The overwhelming majority of Republicans want a secure border and less immigration," he continued. "That's why they voted for Donald Trump. Two-and-a-half years later though, the border is more porous than ever. A tide of humanity is flooding in illegally. Republicans in Congress have done almost nothing to help with the situation. Why? You can thank the Kochs for that."The disparity between the preferences of Republican voters and those of the Koch brothers doesn't end at immigration, Carlson argued: Sentencing reform for drug dealers, cuts to entitlement programs, and corporate tax cuts all rank high on the Koch brothers' priority list, while undermining Republican lawmakers' credibility with their base.Carlson also suggested that the Koch brothers' libertarian orthodoxy makes them overly deferential to big-tech firms that he claims pose a significant threat to ordinary Americans."Big tech has become a far greater threat to your freedom than government is," he said at the end of the segment. "The Kochs don't care. Nothing Google does violates libertarian orthodoxy. More to the point, the Kochs don't care about Republican voters or what happens to them. Okay, that's fine. No law requiring them to care, but then why are they running the Republican Party? That's a question Republicans should start asking themselves."
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| 11 Cool Things We Learned Driving the Tomcar TX 4X4 Posted: 21 Jun 2019 08:24 AM PDT |
| Iran Says Its Revolutionary Guard Shot Down a U.S. Drone Posted: 19 Jun 2019 08:30 PM PDT  Abdullah Dhiaa Al-Deen/File Photo/ReutersIran's Revolutionary Guard has claimed it shot down a U.S. drone, according to the country's state-run IRNA news agency. The news comes amid mounting tensions between Washington and Tehran and fears of a confrontation in the region. According to IRNA, the drone, identified by the Revolutionary Guard as a RQ-4 Global Hawk, was struck after entering Iranian airspace in Hormozgan province.A spokesman for U.S. Central Command appeared to dispute Tehran's claim, however, telling the Associated Press: "There was no drone over Iranian territory."White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump had been "briefed on the reports of a missile strike in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," according to the Associated Press. "We are closely monitoring the situation and continuing to consult with our partners and allies," she was quoted as saying.Trump Tells His Team to Tone Down the Tough Talk on IranThe incident comes as tensions are already at a boiling point following a bitter exchange of accusations last week, when President Trump accused Iran of waging an attack on two fuel tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Tehran has denied involvement in the attack. The U.S. military also accused Iran of targeting a drone that responded to the attack at the time. Relations between Tehran and Washington took a nosedive since Trump pulled the U.S. out of a landmark nuclear deal last year and reimposed sanctions on the country, but many have recently begun to fear the deteriorating ties could lead to a military clash.While Trump and his administration have said they do not want to take military action, the president ordered an additional 2,500 troops to the Middle East in recent weeks to counter what U.S. officials have described as a growing threat from Iran. In what some lawmakers see as a sign the Trump administration is trying to make a case for military action, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other officials are said to have begun briefing Congress on ties between Iran and al Qaeda going back to after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, The New York Times reports. These briefings have led a set of bipartisan members of Congress to question if the Trump administration is attempting to invoke the 2001 war authorization passed by Congress to take action against Iran under the guise of battling terrorism. The authorization allows the United States to go to war with al Qaeda and its allies without a vote from Congress.Gulf Tanker Whodunit: Trump's a Liar. So Are the Mullahs.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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| Spain's top court convicts 5 men in gang rape case Posted: 21 Jun 2019 12:13 PM PDT  Spain's Supreme Court on Friday overruled two lower courts and sentenced five men to 15 years in prison for raping an 18-year-old woman. The case had triggered an outcry because the lower courts last year convicted the men of the lesser crime of sexual abuse and handed down nine-year sentences. Women's rights advocates had expressed anger about what they saw as the lower court's leniency and the confirmation of that sentence by a second court.
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| China's Economic Expansion is a Shot Across the Bow at Russia Posted: 20 Jun 2019 06:44 AM PDT  In Ancient Rome, the arrival of a conquering general from the front meant either a rapid change of political scenery or as much pomp and circumstance as could be drawn from its seven hills. With the lengths to which the Italian government went through to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping last March to inaugurate Italy's joining of China's Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, Romans may very well have asked themselves if both outcomes were taking place simultaneously. Outside of Italy, however, enthusiasm for the visit was more restrained. Even some of Italy's closest European Union partners saw Italy as a modern-day Trojan Horse, betraying trans-Atlantic ideals for Chinese patronage.Whatever their views on the visit, both Western press and policy circles overwhelmingly focused on what the trip meant for the EU rather than assessing Beijing's motives. The Chinese angle went beyond co-opting a G7 member into its belt and road initiative. Beijing's first successful foray into securing an EU investor partner for its BRI is not just an economic victory for Beijing, but a powerful warning shot to the Kremlin that China will not allow Russia to envelop parts of Europe spinning off the illiberal axis all on its own.
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| At annual call-in show, Vladimir Putin talks Western sanctions, arrested reporter and $390B infrastructure bill Posted: 20 Jun 2019 01:34 PM PDT  At his annual call-in show, Russian President Vladimir Putin backed a $390 billion spending program to address an array of complaints by callers.
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| Just $9 gets you a fast wireless charger that’s a must-have for anyone with an iPhone Posted: 21 Jun 2019 09:31 AM PDT  How annoying is it that Face ID doesn't work while your iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, or iPhone X is sitting on your desk? Soooooooooo annoying. What you might not realize is that there's a simple and affordable charging solution that also fixes this very problem! Pick up a LATOW Fast Wireless Charging Stand while it's on sale for less than $9 on Amazon, and plop it on your desk. Presto, problem solved! Wireless charging stands hold your phone upright while they charge, so the TrueDepth camera will see your Face without having to move the phone. Each time a new notification comes in, your iPhone will be unlocked before you even begin to reach for it! The same is true of recent Samsung Galaxy phones, OnePlus phones, and any other smartphone with face unlock support. Definitely snag one of these great charging stands while the price is so low! * 【Intelligently Identify Charging Devices】There are three charging mode, 10W fast charging mode compatible for Galaxy S9 plus, S9, S8 plus, S8, Note 8, S7, S7 edge, S6 edge plus, Note 5 models, 7.5W charging mode compatible for iPhone X/8/8 plus, 5W standard charging mode compatible for Lumia 830/1020, LG G6 plus/G6, Nexus6, Nexus5 etc. All Qi-enabled devices. * 【2 Coils Fast Charging】Built-in 2 coils offer a wider charging area, you can charge your phone vertically or horizontally and there is no difference in performance, just lay it up on the stand and it's charging! EVERY time. The fast wireless charger offer a higher charging speed, which is 1.4 times faster than other standard wireless charger. * 【Multiple Protection for Charging Safety】With over-charge protection, over-current protection, over-heat protection and foreign body detection. The LATOW wireless charger ensures the safety of your device and promises a 2-YEAR WARRANTY. * 【Ergonomic Design & Case Friendly】The Wireless Charger with an upright position so your phone can be more easily viewed, you can watch movies, make video call and live chat while it's charging, especially great for face ID. It supports phone case within 4MM and compatible with most kinds of cases. But please remove the metal and magnetic attachments or credit cards before charging. * 【Important Notice】The LED indicator will tell you if the phone has made proper contact, as well if it is charging or fully charged. For fast charge mode, the QC 2.0/3.0 adapter is required (NOT INCLUDED). For standard charge mode, the 5V 2A adapter is required (NOT INCLUDED). To get a higher charging speed, a USB cable with 2A output is recommended.
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| Chevy Claims Its New Silverado 3500 Accelerates Quicker Than the Ram 3500—and Ram Fires Back Posted: 21 Jun 2019 12:00 PM PDT  Chevy may be down 90 lb-ft of torque from the 1000 lb-ft Ram 3500, but they still claim they can outrun the Ram, trailering or not, so the truck wars go on.
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| Joe Biden refuses to apologise amid Democrat anger at remarks on segregationist senators Posted: 19 Jun 2019 07:28 PM PDT  Joe Biden, the former US vice president, said on Wednesday he had nothing to apologise for after coming under fire for remarks about his time working civilly with segregationists serving in the Senate in the 1970s. The Democratic frontrunner came under sharp criticism from some of his presidential rivals, with US Senator Cory Booker calling on him to apologise. "Frankly, I'm disappointed that he hasn't issued an immediate apology for the pain his words are dredging up for many Americans. He should," Mr Booker, who is black, said in a statement. The criticism exposed bubbling racial and generational tensions within the Democratic field that is the most diverse in history. Mr Biden, 76, is leading in early opinion polls in the crowded Democratic contest to take on Republican President Donald Trump in the November 2020 election. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday evening, Mr Biden was asked about Mr Booker's demand that he apologise. "Apologise for what? Cory should apologise. He knows better. Not a racist bone in my body. I've been involved in civil rights my whole career," Mr Biden said. BREAKING: @JoeBiden responds to Dem rival criticism on comments re: "some civility" w/segregationist senators: "Apologize for what? @CoryBooker should apologize" @CBSNews (w/@JuliaCherner) pic.twitter.com/zFaEXpSNXM— Bo Erickson (@BoKnowsNews) June 19, 2019 At a fundraiser in Potomac, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, Mr Biden cited civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as a personal "hero" and an inspiration for his political career. Mr Biden's campaign said he was not endorsing the positions of the segregationists he named but using them as an example of someone with whom he disagreed. "And I think anyone who served with Joe Biden, you know, whether it was in the Senate or whether they worked with him during his eight years as Barack Obama's vice president, knows that this is a man who is committed to equality and civil rights in this country," Anita Dunn, a senior Biden aide, told MSNBC. At issue are Mr Biden's remarks at a New York fundraiser for his presidential campaign on Tuesday night. Mr Biden said US leaders had lost the ability to work together. He pointed to two segregationists from the South who were serving in the Senate when he was first elected - Democratic Senators James Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia. Eastland described black people as inferior and fought against efforts to desegregate the South. When Biden joined the U.S. Senate in 1973, he and fellow Democrat Eastland served on the same committee. "At least there was some civility. We got things done. We didn't agree on much of anything. We got things done. We got it finished," Mr Biden said. "But today, you look at the other side and you're the enemy. Not the opposition, the enemy. We don't talk to each other anymore." It's past time for apologies or evolution from @JoeBiden. He repeatedly demonstrates that he is out of step with the values of the modern Democratic Party. (2/2)— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) June 19, 2019 New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination, criticised Biden's remarks. "It's past time for apologies or evolution from @JoeBiden," de Blasio wrote on Twitter. "He repeatedly demonstrates that he is out of step with the values of the modern Democratic Party." De Blasio called out Biden for invoking Eastland, posting a photo of himself on Twitter with his wife, who is black, and his two multiracial children. "It's 2019 & @JoeBiden is longing for the good old days of 'civility' typified by James Eastland. Eastland thought my multiracial family should be illegal & that whites were entitled to 'the pursuit of dead n*ggers,'" Mr de Blasio wrote on Twitter. Mr Booker also criticised Mr Biden for his use of the word "boy" - a term that was frequently used by racists to demean black men. While describing Eastland, Mr Biden said: "He never called me boy, he always called me son." Mr Booker said it was inappropriate to "joke about calling black men boys." "Vice President Biden's relationships with proud segregationists are not the model for how we make America a safer and more inclusive place for black people, and for everyone," Mr Booker said. Another Democratic candidate, former congressman John Delaney, offered a more restrained criticism. "Evoking an avowed segregationist is not the best way to make the point that we need to work together and is insensitive. We need to learn from history, but we also need to be aggressive in dismantling structural racism that exists today," Delaney said in a statement.
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| Samsung's Galaxy Fold is reportedly ‘ready to launch' Posted: 21 Jun 2019 03:23 AM PDT  On Wednesday, the Korea Herald reported that Samsung's Display VP declared earlier this week that the Galaxy Fold, the brand's foldable smartphone, is ready to hit the market -- with the launch likely taking place in July. Originally, the device was supposed to be released in April for the US market and in May for the Korean market.
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| Ten American tourists die mysteriously in the Dominican Republic Posted: 20 Jun 2019 07:49 AM PDT  Former homicide detective Ted Williams says an independent forensic pathologist should be brought in to determine the mysterious causes of death.
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