| Election Commission chair hints that Trump asking foreign countries for help against Biden violates law Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:39 PM PDT  FEC chair Ellen Weintraub posted a reminder about U.S. election law following Trump's latest requests to foreign nations.
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| 2020 Vision Thursday: How a tough impeachment vote could threaten the GOP's Senate majority Posted: 03 Oct 2019 09:14 AM PDT  For a small group of endangered GOP senators, their votes on impeachment may eventually decide their electoral fates — and control of the Senate itself.
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| Man gets death penalty for killing 2 in SC bank robbery Posted: 03 Oct 2019 08:42 AM PDT  A man who killed two South Carolina bank employees while taking $15,000 during a robbery was sentenced to die Thursday by a federal jury. The same jurors found Brandon Council guilty last month of armed bank robbery resulting in death, among other charges for killing the manager and a teller at CresCom Bank in Conway in August 2017. Prosecutors pushed for the death penalty, saying Council deserved to die because he chose to murder everyone in the bank while seeking easy money, pulling a gun out instead of the robbery note he had in his pocket.
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| Southwest flight attendant's post disses passenger in Trump T-shirt: '#dumpTrump #eeew' Posted: 03 Oct 2019 05:32 PM PDT  A Southwest flight attendant said he didn't give a passenger in a "Trump 45'' T-shirt his best service. The airline is investigating.
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| Sperm donor sues clinic after discovering he has fathered 17 children Posted: 03 Oct 2019 09:36 AM PDT  A doctor is suing his medical school after discovering sperm he donated 30 years ago was used to father at least 17 children.Dr Bryce Cleary has filed a $5.25million (£4.23m) lawsuit against Oregon Health & Science University for allegedly breaking an agreement that his sperm would be used to father no more than five children.
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| Duterte Wants Stronger Defense Ties With Russia, Criticizes U.S. Posted: 04 Oct 2019 12:14 AM PDT ![Duterte Wants Stronger Defense Ties With Russia, Criticizes U.S.]( "Duterte Wants Stronger Defense Ties With Russia, Criticizes U.S.") (Bloomberg) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte used his second visit to Russia as an opportunity to again criticize the U.S. for being critical of his war on drugs, as he sought greater defense ties with Moscow.In a speech at an event organized by a Russian think tank in Sochi, Duterte took a swipe at "so-called friends" of the Philippines who "act like they know the answers to our problems.""They create rules and norms for almost everyone, and some refuse to be bound by the same," he said, according to a transcript of his speech. "They weaponize human rights oblivious to its damaging consequences."During the open forum, Duterte said the U.S. has "criticized heavily" his war on drugs that has killed thousands, and stopped the sale of weapons due to human rights concerns. He however also said that he has nothing against the U.S., which he described as "a close friend" and "our only treaty ally."In his bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday, Duterte said he has a "long-term commitment to elevate" defense relations with Russia. Putin, for his part, said Russia wants greater trade and economic ties with the Philippines.To contact the reporter on this story: Andreo Calonzo in Manila at acalonzo1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Cecilia Yap at cyap19@bloomberg.net, Colin KeatingeFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Gandhi’s ashes stolen and photo vandalized after 150th birthday celebrations, reports say Posted: 03 Oct 2019 01:19 PM PDT  An urn containing some of Mahatma Gandhi's ashes was reportedly stolen from a government building in India, according to the Wire, an Indian news site.
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| View Photos of the 2020 Subaru Impreza Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:02 PM PDT |
| Could Israel's Missile Defenses Withstand a Swarm or Missile Attack from Iran? Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:41 AM PDT  Who wins in a showdown? Here is all we can tell you about Israel's missile defenses.
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| Warren turns 'cougar' accusation into a talking point for her college debt plan Posted: 03 Oct 2019 02:03 PM PDT  Sen. Elizabeth Warren turned an unfounded personal attack into an opportunity to promote her college debt forgiveness plan.
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| Lou Dobbs Stands By as Joe diGenova Trashes His Colleague Chris Wallace Posted: 04 Oct 2019 12:53 PM PDT  Days after Fox News anchor Chris Wallace dropped a scoop that two frequent Fox guests—husband-wife lawyer team Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing—worked "off the books" with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani to dig up Ukrainian dirt on Joe Biden, the two attorneys roasted Wallace during a Fox Business Network appearance—and Trump-boosting host Lou Dobbs largely stood by.Appearing on Thursday night's broadcast of Lou Dobbs Tonight, the pro-Trump lawyers were asked about the Wallace report as well as the recent revelation that conservative columnist and Hannity regular John Solomon—who is at the center of the Ukraine-Biden mess—emailed them a completed copy of one of his Ukraine stories hours before it was published.Toensing, meanwhile, defended the email, claiming he was just sending them the entire draft for fact-checking purposes because that's what good journalists do. She also claimed that Solomon is being attacked "relentlessly" because he's getting "deep into the cases" surrounding Ukraine, something diGenova and Dobbs agreed on."Those attacks, it seems, multiplying as this impeachment inquiry gets hotter and hotter," Dobbs added before pivoting to Wallace's story, stating he wanted to "get this out of the way."Noting that he'd spoken to the Fox News anchor beforehand, Dobbs asked diGenova to respond to the report that the pair were working with Giuliani on Ukraine-Biden and only Trump knew about the plan."First of all, I don't know what 'off the books' means," diGenova insisted. "Chris did not explain it when he made his statement about us and it was clearly designed as a smear to make it sound like we were doing something improper or unethical."The frequent Dobbs guest went on to say that "this may come as a shock to" Wallace but the pair are lawyers and they've represented people all over the world, adding that they were once asked by Giuliani to possibly represent Ukrainian whistleblowers but that was the extent of any arrangement."We never went to the Ukraine," he exclaimed. "We never represented anybody. But somebody lied to Chris Wallace and said that we did and we told the president all about it, which is absolutely false."Toensing, for her part, jumped in to state that Wallace had called the pair and talked to them about it and that she went "off the record" with him, something Dobbs softly noted Wallace had told him about. "I dealt with journalists for so many years," she continued. "I always, when I'm explaining something, say this is off the record. If they want something particular they come back. Chris never did that. He never said I am going to accuse you of a crime and violating attorney-client privilege. If he had said that I certainly would have given him a statement."Dobbs, meanwhile, plainly noted that he appreciated that they had given their statement, adding: "Chris Wallace, I'm sure he appreciates it as well.""A particular coincidence of off-the-record and lost opportunities for denials," Dobbs said with a smile. "And a smear job? Eh, nobody is going to try to smear you guys. You are too bright and too effective. I don't believe that for a minute." Within a day of the release of Wallace's bombshell, Fox News appeared to quietly forget about its own scoop, discussing it only a few times on the air Monday and downplaying it on the network's website. This came in the wake of the New York Times' Ken Vogel claiming he first broke the diGenova-Toensing angle in May and Giuliani and diGenova offering forceful denials to Wallace's scoop. Wallace, through a Fox News spokesperson, has said he stands by his reporting.Interestingly, during a Friday morning appearance on Fox News' America's Newsroom, Wallace wasn't asked about his story nor offered a chance to rebut diGenova's and Toensing's fiery attacks on him.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| US trade deficit widened in August to $54.9 billion Posted: 04 Oct 2019 05:33 AM PDT  The U.S. trade deficit widened in August for the first time in three months as exports increased but imports increased more. The politically sensitive gap with China in the trade of goods narrowed. Imports increased 0.5% to $262.8 billion on a big increase in shipments of cellphones, which are scheduled to be hit with new tariffs in December as part of the standoff with China.
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| An 18-year-old protester who was shot in the chest at point-blank range by Hong Kong police will be charged with assault Posted: 02 Oct 2019 11:43 PM PDT  The man was shot during clashes with police in Tsuen Wan on Tuesday, marking the first time that live fire was used since protests began in June.
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| National Taco Day 2019: Where to get free tacos, $1 tacos and deals Friday Posted: 04 Oct 2019 10:24 AM PDT  Oct. 4 is National Taco Day, and chains are marking the taco lovers' fiesta with free tacos or specials, including Del Taco, Taco Bell and Taco John's.
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| Sweden’s Anti-Immigrant Party Draws Even With Social Democrats in Poll for First Time Posted: 04 Oct 2019 12:39 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Support for the nationalist Sweden Democrats and the Social Democrats is almost equal for the first time in an Expressen/Demoskop poll, adding to Prime Minister Stefan Lofven's burden as he steers his minority government.His Social Democrats, the largest political party in Sweden for most of the past century, have lost voters to anti-immigration party Sweden Democrats, the survey showed."The result stands out," Demoskop spokesman Peter Santesson told Expressen. "The loss of voters to the Sweden Democrats is the main reason for the decline in support for the Social Democrats".Recent shootings and gang violence may be the reason for the rising concern and frustration among voters, Social Democrats spokeswoman Lena Radstrom Baastad told Expressen.Support for the Social Democrats declined by 0.9 percentage point from a month earlier to 23.1%, while the Sweden Democrats gained 1.5 percentage point to 22.9%. The other parties saw marginal changes.To contact the reporter on this story: Veronica Ek in Stockholm at vek@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Edith Moy at echan10@bloomberg.net, Jonas BergmanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iraq cleric Sadr demands government resign as deadly protests spike Posted: 04 Oct 2019 02:55 PM PDT  Iraqi firebrand cleric Moqtada Sadr called on the government to resign as violence spiked Friday across the country and protesters clashed with police on the fourth day of deadly demonstrations against corruption and unemployment. The former Shiite militia leader, whose bloc is the biggest in parliament, said in a statement that in order to avoid further deaths "the government should resign and early elections should be held under UN supervision". At least 60 people have died over four days of bloody protest across Iraq, the Iraqi Human Rights Commission said late Friday, without specifying how many were civilians or security forces.
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| Teacher suspended for Confederate flag message Posted: 04 Oct 2019 02:26 AM PDT  "Think of it like a white trash 'Save the Date' card," the message said
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| Russia's New Submarines Are Dangerous. But How Would They Be Used in War? Posted: 03 Oct 2019 11:33 PM PDT  Where the Russian navy is all but abandoning the production of new aircraft carriers, cruisers and other "blue-water" surface warships, it has recommitted to sustaining a large fleet of big, long-range submarines. Why?
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| Denver policeman fired for saying he was raped by woman he impregnated Posted: 03 Oct 2019 06:18 PM PDT ![Denver policeman fired for saying he was raped by woman he impregnated]( "Denver policeman fired for saying he was raped by woman he impregnated") A Denver policeman has been fired for falsely claiming that he was raped by a woman he impregnated in what authorities said was an effort by the officer to avoid paying child support, a disciplinary letter released on Thursday showed. Samuel Sheppard, a six-year veteran of the force, was dismissed for fabricating a sexual assault by the unnamed woman, and lying to internal affairs investigators about the nature of the couple's relationship, according to an order signed by Denver's Deputy Director of Public Safety, Mary Dulacki. "The evidence presented is that Officer Sheppard made an unfounded sexual assault claim against the complainant seemingly to avoid or limit his financial obligations," Dulacki wrote.
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| Ohio University suspends all fraternities over hazing claims Posted: 03 Oct 2019 02:22 PM PDT ![Ohio University suspends all fraternities over hazing claims]( "Ohio University suspends all fraternities over hazing claims") Ohio University on Thursday announced it was suspending all its fraternities following allegations of widespread hazing. Suspension of the 15 fraternities at the university was immediate and indefinite. It followed allegations within the past week of hazing at seven of the fraternities, as well as the expulsion in May of a fraternity following the alleged hazing of a freshman who died last year.
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| Elizabeth Warren campaign staffer fired for unspecified 'inappropriate behavior' Posted: 04 Oct 2019 03:02 PM PDT  The campaign launched an investigation into the allegations over the past two weeks, which resulted in the staffer's termination.
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| Iran says it will release Russian journalist accused of espionage Posted: 04 Oct 2019 09:22 AM PDT  Iran agreed to release a Russian journalist detained on suspicion of spying for Israel, in a rare concession that defused a potentially damaging diplomatic rift with its key ally. The announcement came just hours after Russia's foreign ministry on Friday summoned the Iranian ambassador in Moscow to account for the arrest of Yulia Yuzik, who was seized from her Tehran hotel room by members of the Revolutionary Guards Corps earlier this week. Iran has been accused by several Western governments of systematically detaining foreign dual nationals and charging them with espionage to use as leverage in diplomatic disputes. It is rare for a citizen of Russia, a close ally, to be detained. Iran denies following a policy of diplomatic hostage taking, saying that all detainees are facing legitimate criminal investigations. Ms Yuzik, a specialist on the North Caucasus who has written for dozens of Russian and Western publications, arrived in Iran on Sunday but immediately ran into trouble when her passport was confiscated at the airport. "She was there for several days without documents. Then men came to her hotel, kicked in the door and took her away," her former husband Boris Voitsekhovsky told the Telegraph. In a brief call with her mother on Thursday evening, she said she was being held in a prison cell and was due to appear in court on charges of working with Israeli intelligence on Saturday. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been held in Iran since 2016. Credit: The Free Nazanin campaign Mr Voitsekhovsky said Ms Yuzik, 34, spent several months working in Iran in 2017, and had returned this week on a "private trip" to see local journalists she had met while there. He said he was unaware of any reason to believe she was under suspicion in Iran. Iran's foreign ministry told Russian news agencies late on Friday that Ms Yuzhik had been detained for questioning and would be released "shortly", but did not give further details. Jason Rezaian, a former Tehran bureau chief of the Washington post who spent a year and a half in Iranian detention after being accused of espionage in 2014, wrote on Twitter: "that's what they said about me and so many others." The rapid response to Russia's complaints contrasts with the long-running disputes over several dual nationals from Western countries. They include Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe, the mother of one from Hampstead who has been held on espionage charges since 2016 and whose case has become a matter of fierce diplomatic contention between Iran and Britain. "Will be released soon".. that's what they said about me and so many others. https://t.co/tDuAZs9ASn— Jason Rezaian (@jrezaian) October 4, 2019 Richard Ratcliffe, Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband, said Ms Yuzik's detention appeared to fit the same pattern as that of his wife. "More and more people are being taken, including from countries with ostensibly good relations with Iran. It is a clear escalation in an increasingly overt tactic of hostage diplomacy," he said. "State hostage taking is an issue that needs to be on the table at the United Nations Security Council. It really does need to be something that the great powers are sitting down and working out. This is getting out of control." In a separate case, Iran on Friday accused France of "unacceptable interference in its domestic affairs" after diplomats sought access to Fariba Adelkhah, a French-Iranian academic who has been held since summer. Ms Adelkhah, 60, is a research director at the Centre for International Studies and Research at Sciences Po University in Paris who specializes in Shiia Islam. She was arrested by Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel in June or July. France said on Thursday that it had "repeatedly" sought consular access to Ms Adelkhah and called on Iran to show "transparency" in her case. Iran does not recognise dual citizenship and rejects requests for consular access to dual nationals. Russia is an ally of Iran and the two countries' militaries have fought side-by side to prop-up Bashar Assad's regime in Syria. But they are at odds on a number of issues including delineation of oil resources in the Caspian Sea. Vladimir Putin signed a law ratifying a 2018 convention dividing the sea between the five Caspian littoral states on Monday. Iran's parliament has so far refused to ratify it, amid public criticism that it surrenders a large chunk of territory.
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| Pro-Trump group takes credit for woman talking about eating babies at AOC town hall Posted: 04 Oct 2019 10:41 AM PDT  At a town hall for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., a woman in a T-shirt that read "Save the planet Eat the Children" stood up and suggested people should eat babies to fight climate change. A pro-Trump group, LaRouchePAC, took credit for the stunt.
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| RAH-66 Comanche Helicopter: Amazing to Look At (But a Massive Failure) Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:00 PM PDT  Waste of money.
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| The Oldest Building In Your State Says A Lot About Its History Posted: 04 Oct 2019 09:00 AM PDT |
| U.S. top court to weigh prohibition on encouraging illegal immigration Posted: 04 Oct 2019 06:51 AM PDT  The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a bid by President Donald Trump's administration to resurrect a federal law that makes it a felony to encourage illegal immigrants to come or stay in the United States after it was struck down by a lower court as a violation free speech rights. In a case involving a California woman named Evelyn Sineneng-Smith convicted of violating the law, the justices will review a ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals invalidating it for infringing on rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. Federal prosecutors in 2010 brought charges against Sineneng-Smith, a U.S. citizen who ran an immigration consultancy in San Jose, accusing her of making money by duping illegal migrants into paying her to file frivolous visa applications while remaining in the country indefinitely.
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| Giuliani Says Some of the Documents State Dept IG Handed to Congress Came From Him Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:39 AM PDT  Shannon Stapleton/ReutersAfter State Department Inspector General Steve Linnick briefed Congress on Wednesday and handed over materials that some Democrats said amounted to a packet of "propaganda" apparently designed to smear former Vice President Joe Biden, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani proudly told CNN that some of these documents originated with him."What Giuliani told me is that he somehow routed this information—this is at the end of March, earlier this year—he says he routed that to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo," reporter Michael Warren said on CNN Wednesday night. "He did say that he received a call a couple of days later from Pompeo who said that he had gotten these documents and that he would refer it for investigation.""Giuliani telling me he was frustrated he never heard anything back from the State Department thereafter," Warren added.The chairs of the House Intelligence, House Foreign Affairs and Oversight committees released a joint statement hours earlier expressing concerns about the "urgent" briefing that they had been summoned to by the State Department. The documents given to lawmakers at that briefing "raise troubling questions about apparent efforts inside and outside the Trump Administration to target specific officials," the statement said, including former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and Biden's son Hunter."The documents provided by the Inspector General included a package of disinformation, debunked conspiracy theories, and baseless allegations in an envelope marked 'White House' and containing folders labeled 'Trump Hotel,'" the statement read. "These documents also reinforce concern that the President and his allies sought to use the machinery of the State Department to further the President's personal political interests."The committee chairmen further noted that the IG "stated that his office interviewed Secretary Pompeo's Counselor, Thomas Ulrich Brechbuhl, who informed the Inspector General that Secretary Pompeo told him the packet 'came over,' and that Brechbuhl presumed it was from the White House."Giuliani later appeared on Fox News' Hannity, where he boasted about the Ukrainian documents he had fed to the State Department in the spring. "And the committees, I guess, they were sitting there figuring out how they can do impeachment based on nothing and what they got shoved down their throats, it's a complete, total absolutely terrific prosecutorial outline of why Joe Biden is so guilty," Giuliani exclaimed to Trump-boosting host Sean Hannity. "It's a joke for me to describe it to you."Giuliani also credited conservative columnist John Solomon—who apparently shared his Ukraine stories with Giuliani's allies before publication—with helping to get his Ukraine-Biden narrative to the forefront."Ultimately it was John Solomon, who should get a Pulitzer Prize, by the way, put them all on tape, so it's all memorialized on videotape," he declared, referencing Solomon's interviews with Ukrainian figures. "This is as solid as it can get."Earlier this week, Congress subpoenaed Giuliani for records relating to the Ukraine controversy that blew up following a whistleblower's complaint about the infamous July 25 call in which President Trump pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate the Bidens. The president's attorney has since hired a lawyer to represent him during the congressional investigation.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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| Photos of starving grizzly bear family stirs concern for climate crisis Posted: 03 Oct 2019 02:08 PM PDT  A Canadian photographer's images of an emaciated grizzly bear family has sparked widespread concern for the effect of climate change on wildlife in the area.Rolf Hicker shared a series of photos on Facebook of the bears looking for food on the shores of Canada's Knight Inlet.
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| Baltimore prosecutor wants 790 'tainted' convictions erased Posted: 04 Oct 2019 12:57 PM PDT ![Baltimore prosecutor wants 790 'tainted' convictions erased]( "Baltimore prosecutor wants 790 'tainted' convictions erased") Baltimore's top prosecutor has begun asking judges to throw out nearly 800 convictions that she said were tainted by officers linked to a corruption scandal. The Baltimore Sun reported Friday that State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's review found 790 criminal cases handled by 25 city officers whom she says she has reason to distrust. Mosby updated the number of officers being scrutinized on Friday, saying it could fluctuate as her office investigates.
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| 18 Famous Authors’ Houses Worth Seeing Posted: 04 Oct 2019 05:00 AM PDT |
| House Democrats subpoena White House for documents in Trump impeachment probe Posted: 03 Oct 2019 10:10 PM PDT  U.S. House Democrats on Friday subpoenaed the White House for documents they want to see as part of their impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump. The chairmen of three House of Representatives committees said they want documents related to a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that is at the heart of their inquiry. The three said they were forced to issue the subpoena after the White House failed to produce documents they requested in a Sept. 9 letter.
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| Boris Johnson’s conciliatory tone on Brexit falls flat on EU Posted: 03 Oct 2019 01:44 AM PDT  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sought Thursday to build a coalition at home to back his new Brexit approach even as key European leaders declared that the measures he just proposed fall far short of the concessions needed to forge a deal. Johnson offered a strikingly more conciliatory tone Thursday than in his previous tempestuous appearances in the House of Commons, arguing that the changes his government just offered on regulating trade between Ireland and Northern Ireland after Brexit represented a significant compromise. Johnson thinks the concessions should resolve the concerns that prompted British lawmakers to reject the previous Brexit deal three times.
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| He thought his sperm donation would be for only 5 kids. He fathered at least 17, suit says Posted: 03 Oct 2019 09:04 AM PDT ![He thought his sperm donation would be for only 5 kids. He fathered at least 17, suit says]( "He thought his sperm donation would be for only 5 kids. He fathered at least 17, suit says") Dr. Bryce Cleary donated his sperm thinking the donation would only be used to conceive five children. Now he's learned he fathered at least 17.
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| Do You Want to Preen on Camera, Democrats, or Do You Want to Take Down Trump? Posted: 03 Oct 2019 02:29 AM PDT  Saul Loeb/GettyDemocrats, lawyer up before you question again. You don't think Trump's going to let lackeys like Devin Nunes or Rudy Giuliani defend him before Congress, do you? To compete, Democratic committee chairs will have to bring in killer lawyers and give up much of what they treasure: time on TV, showing off for the folks at home, making use of a moldering law degree.It's a sacrifice that must be made to hold Trump accountable. It looks like the evidence is in hand to prove Trump tried to interfere with the 2020 election by convincing the Ukrainian president to find dirt on his main rival in exchange for the president releasing military aid. But not so fast. Trump lies better than Democrats tell the truth, as do his defenders. Because of his evil superpowers, he's shot many people on Fifth Avenue and gotten away with it. It's going to take a phalanx of skilled lawyers to counteract that. And the harsh truth House members have to face is that almost any prosecutor in the country will be better at building a case for impeachment than any of them. That last point hurts, since putting practicing lawyers center stage would sideline members who've been working towards this day for a long time. But if Democrats didn't see the need before Trump's performance on Wednesday, they must now. He commanded the stage with a narrative, furious, loud and repetitive. He lied at the speed of light about his beautiful encounter with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, reminiscent of his self-congratulation for his lovely summit with the North Korean dictator who's setting off missiles to thank him for the privilege. Trump doesn't bother mounting a defense of the indefensible. He's all offense. Everyone is after the stable genius and always has been. The whistleblower, whose account has been corroborated, is "vicious." Ukraine is so corrupt it shouldn't get already appropriated funds until it proves it's not corrupt by investigating Joe Biden. He angrily refused to answer the question--what exactly did you want Zelensky to do--other than to call Biden a "stone, cold crook" for supposedly helping his son, without a flicker of irony. Trump scolded the reporter who asked, as if he were 6 years old, and wouldn't answer any question that didn't further his contention that he was being impeached "over a fraud committed by other people." Among other people, it just happens, is House Intel chair Adam Schiff, a foil for the president in his campaign to blame others. He claims Schiff completely fabricated the content of his "congratulatory" call with Zelensky. Schiff didn't, but he did foolishly channel his inner Corleone to read a mobbish summary of Trump's call, too cute by half. It gave the president remaining defenders something to harp on for days, with Trump himself talking darkly about "treason".That should be seen as a warning of what's to come, and the wisdom of leaving the proceedings to grown-up finders of fact who can ignore the emotion and meaningless rantings and get to proving the actionable offenses. The best thing that could happen is that the hearings are so tediously legal, only C-Span covers them. It's the only way to try Trump, says Elizabeth Holtzmann, who served on the Watergate committee, which had more lawyers, at 42, than members, at 37. "Not to denigrate Schiff, but to have other than skilled courtroom veterans guiding the proceedings," says Holtzman, is to "send a dermatologist to perform brain surgery." To that end, Democrats on her House Judiciary Committee retained the best lawyer they could find even though that meant hiring a Republican, John Doar, who'd brought the federal case against the killers of three civil rights workers in Mississippi, as chief counsel. Republicans had Al Jenner of a huge Chicago law firm, who wasn't particularly partisan. Over in the Senate, Republican counsel Fred Thompson and Democrats Sam Dash did much of the painstaking questioning along with scripting questions for senators so that the train kept moving forward. Dash bit by bit wheedled the bombshell out of Alexander Butterfield that Nixon had installed a recording device in the Oval Office. Thompson was the simple country lawyer at the side of statesman Howard Baker, who would ultimately turn against Nixon. Thompson was so good at his job that he went on to a TV career as a lawyer playing a lawyer and was elected to the Senate himself. The press conference added one item to Nancy Pelosi's to-do list. Now that Trump's revealed that it's Rep. Adam Schiff he wants to make the face of impeachment, she needs to put a new face on impeachment and quickly appoint a spokesperson--impersonal, low-keyed, with no history, no animus. That would be no slight to Schiff, but a deprivation to Trump who can live without a friend but not without an enemy. And for the few months the inquiry lasts, she should discourage free-range TV appearances the way the White House metes out guests for the Sunday talk shows. Getting out the word on what happened during the day is too important to leave it to whomever a booker happens to call. It's not that Schiff is unserious, but like a toddler eating too much cake at a birthday party, he and his members got overstimulated by what Trump served up in the course of a few days: a guilty plea on live TV! The voluntary release of the call is what Watergate prosecutors had to go to the Supreme Court to get! One Cabinet secretary—Mike Pompeo—caught lying about not being in on the call! Another, Attorney General William Barr, discovered twisting the arms of our allies to help prove that our CIA and FBI—Barr's FBI—went rogue to falsely blame Russia for meddling in the 2016 election! Giuliani waving his phone on TV saying it held files which would show that every crazy thing he did was at the request of Trump's State Department! It's an embarrassment of riches but how Congress uses all this is crucial. Treat one person with a conscience who speaks up fairly and to important effect and it begets others with a conscience and who knows if finally the dam won't break. If instead Democrats lick their chops, show joy, freelance with five-minute sermons in the form of a question (Trump's awful, isn't he?), they should be impeached for squandering valuable time. Still, there's no equivalence between what Schiff did and what Trump has. No one in public life has ever behaved so badly and gotten away with it. It's as if politics is now conducted by NFL rules where grabbing a face mask can be cancelled out by the other side going offside. For two years, Trump's tantrums have been so childish, he should be tried as a juvenile. Look at what else the House is up against. On Tuesday, Pompeo tweeted about not tolerating the "tactics" of a committee which had sent him a polite letter: "I will use all means at my disposal to prevent and expose any attempts to intimidate, bully, & treat improperly the distinguished professionals of the Department of State." That vitriol came in response to a simple appeal for five employees to come to the Hill for depositions which Pompeo rejected. Imagine how ugly he'll be when subpoenaed to raise his right hand and swear to tell the whole truth about his boss. However open-and-shut the case looks, it isn't. Even a bank thief caught with a bag of marked bills has to be tried. Evidence doesn't magically make its way onto the record, not all witnesses willingly spill their guts, and due process must be accorded. Trump has an endless supply of aides who will lie. Some have gone to prison for him—including Paul Manafort, whose lawyer, we learned Wednesday evening, Rudy Giuliani has been talking with in his bid to dirty up the president's enemies by any means necessary. It's an enduring mystery the hold Trump has on people who led admirable lives until they got mixed up with him. Former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster was a sterling military man. John Kelly a decorated Marine general. Pompeo once abided by a Code of Honor as a West Point cadet. Now he can't handle the truth. It's going to take a village, of lawyers, to hold Trump to account. Don't kill them, as Shakespeare counseled. Hire as many as you can. 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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| Canadian police illegally shared info on Huawei exec: lawyers Posted: 03 Oct 2019 11:34 PM PDT  Canadian police illegally shared details of Meng Wanzhou's phone with US authorities, lawyers said Thursday, in a bid to have an extradition case against the top Huawei executive thrown out. The United States wants to put Meng on trial for fraud for allegedly violating Iran sanctions and lying about it to US banks -- accusations her lawyers dispute. Meng's lawyers alleged that Canadian border agents and police conducted a "covert criminal investigation" of the Huawei executive on behalf of the American Federal Bureau of Investigations.
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| Beto O’Rourke: Buttigieg Opposes Gun Confiscation Because He’s ‘Afraid to Do the Right Thing’ Posted: 03 Oct 2019 05:50 AM PDT  Democratic presidential candidates Beto O'Rourke and Pete Buttigieg sparred over the merits of mandatory gun confiscation during a gun control advocacy event in Las Vegas on Wednesday.During a one-on-one with Today Show anchor Craig Melvin, Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., was asked a question about mandatory assault weapon "buybacks," to which he responded that "as a policy, it's had mixed results. It's a healthy debate to have, but we've got to do something now." Buttigieg went on to say the issue could potentially distract Democrats from areas where they could make real advances in gun control.Buttigieg has called for a ban on the sale of certain semi-automatic rifles, but has joined the rest of the Democratic primary field in resisting O'Rourke's call for a "mandatory buyback," which would require gun owners to sell their semi-automatic rifles to the government and hold those who refuse criminally liable.Later in the event, Beto O'Rourke, who has made past headlines with his outspoken support of mandatory gun confiscation, challenged Buttigieg as a candidate "worried about the polls" and who "probably wants to get to the right place, but is afraid of doing the right thing right now."After the event in a news conference with reporters, O'Rourke went further."What Pete has been saying is that a mandatory buyback is the 'shiny object' that is distracting us. How in the world can you say that to March for Our Lives? How can you say that to survivors of mass shootings across this country?" O'Rourke stated. "How can you say that to the majority of Hispanics in America, certainly in Texas, who fear that they will be the victims of a mass shooting inspired by racism and hatred that has been welcomed into the open by this president, and has been armed with weapons of war."I was really offended by [Buttigieg's] comments. I think he represents a kind of politics that is focused on poll testing and focus group driving, and triangulating, and listening to consultants before you arrive at a position," he continued. "I think our politics has to be about doing the right thing, saying the right thing."According to the latest RealClear Politics national polling average, Buttigieg leads O'Rourke by just over three percentage points.
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| ‘I try not to sleep’: attacks on homeless in Los Angeles increase over past year Posted: 03 Oct 2019 10:00 PM PDT  A rise in vigilantism combined with anti-homeless policy proposals have made the city unfriendly for those on the streetsLos Angeles' Skid Row area is home to the nation's largest concentration of homeless people. A recent survey found almost 59,000 people are homeless. Photograph: Jae C Hong/Associated PressArson, assault, harassment and vandalism: as the rising cost of housing funnels more Los Angeles residents out of their homes and onto the streets, homeless people and their advocates are reporting an alarming rise in vigilante attacks against the unhoused.In late August, a fast-moving fire in the hip, residential neighborhood of Eagle Rock briefly dominated headlines when it temporarily closed down two freeways and triggered a small-scale evacuation. In the week that followed, authorities revealed the fire had started in a homeless encampment, and was set by two men, one the son of the local chamber of commerce president. No one was injured, but prosecutors are reportedly considering charges of attempted murder.By the time of the Eagle Rock fire, advocates for the homeless say they had already clocked a steady rise in vigilantism.Statistics have long shown that the homeless are more likely than the housed to be the victims of a variety of crimes. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) doesn't keep specific records of vigilante attacks against the homeless. But in interviews with close to a dozen people who live on the streets and in their cars, all said there had been a noticeable increase in attacks and harassment from people who target them for being homeless over the past year.Many of those attacks have occurred in the San Fernando Valley, a sprawling network of suburbs with a growing homeless population.Homeless camps line a street in downtown Los Angeles. Photograph: Richard Vogel/Associated Press 'I try not to sleep'Chris was attacked on the streets of North Hollywood, about three months ago. It was about 8.30 am, he said, and he and an elderly friend were both asleep."We both were attacked, and were both cursed at, and being instructed to get the F out of here, get the F on," Chris, who asked to be identified only by his first name for fear of reprisal, recalled. "I had a television thrown at my head while I was sleeping. My ear was bleeding. Thank god it didn't hit my face. And they threw a full trash can at [the] elderly woman, who I affectionately call Mom."Chris doesn't know the identity of his attackers. He's had a hard time sleeping since the incident."I do have night terrors now," he said. "Unfortunately, I try not to sleep. And it sucks, because you can't dream if you don't sleep, and I'm a dreamer."Another woman, who asked to be identified only by the initials SK, said that she'd been hit twice by the same car in two months while she was biking near the encampment where she lives in the west San Fernando Valley. It was a hit-and-run both times, she said, and she feels confident it was deliberate.Not all vigilantism takes the form of violent attacks. People report being threatened and yelled at, getting trash thrown at them, being beeped at in the middle of the night. There's also vandalism – RV's graffitied, tires slashed or punctured with nails – and persistent harassment.Even some advocates report being harassed – including having their addresses posted online – as a result of their work with the homeless. Several activists did not want to speak on the record for this story because they were worried about attracting the ire of vigilantes.Los Angeles police officers guard a freeway ramp near a newly displaced homeless camp during Donald Trump's recent visit. Photograph: Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press Anti-homeless policy proposalsThe rise in vigilantism comes alongside Los Angeles policy proposals that many advocates have called anti-homeless. A draft of a new municipal law that would severely restrict where people could legally sleep outside includes a clause that some have compared to a "stand your ground" law for housed people against the homeless. It bans "speaking to a person in manner that … is likely to cause a reasonable person to respond immediately with a violent reaction".And the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors recently voted to support challenging a federal court ruling that makes it unconstitutional to punish or arrest people for sleeping on the streets when there's not enough housing or shelter beds available. That's indisputably the case in Los Angeles, where there are close to 59,000 people homeless and only about 15,000 shelter beds available total, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority."I think the legislative process is a response to the daily calls that the city council receives from angry residents," said Jane Nguyen, the co-founder of a volunteer homeless outreach and advocacy organization that serves the Koreatown community called Ktown for All. She and other homeless advocates often fill the public comment section of city council meetings with speeches condemning legislation, but Nguyen says she believes city council members are inundated with calls and letters supporting that same legislation."I think there's a consistent drumbeat of people calling for these really harsh and punitive laws," Nguyen said.Homeless people sleep in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles. Photograph: Jae C. Hong/Associated Press Vigilante Facebook groupsNguyen and others believe that the increased vigilantism may also be linked to the rise of social media groups that are openly hostile to people living on the streets and in vehicles. Two such Facebook groups, both based in the San Fernando Valley, recently attracted media attention when activists published screenshots of some members making explicit comments about wanting to harass and even attack the unhoused, as well as pictures and videos of specific homeless people. Local police officers didn't make any of the comments in question, but they were active participants in the groups, and were ordered by the LAPD to leave after the comments were made public. Steve Slutzah, a San Fernando Valley resident who attended a meeting at the local police station about the Facebook groups, said he didn't approve of the violent comments. But he also said he didn't believe the comments were genuine threats."It is a place for people, you might say, to blow off some steam, and also communicate and commiserate with each other to find out that we all are suffering from the same types of problems," Slutzah said.A homeless encampment lies in the shadow of the courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. Photograph: Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press"Psychologically, this site kept a lot of people probably from doing things, because they knew the police were involved and were doing something to help them. Vigilantes become vigilantes because they feel there is no other way other than doing it themselves."But Tom Booth, a local homeless advocate and social worker, said he thinks the Facebook groups help spread misinformation, and fuel anger against the unhoused. He recognizes the LAPD is facing a difficult task, but thinks they, too, have contributed to misconceptions about the homelessness crisis."I feel like we've been unfair to the LAPD. We've made them the first responder and default responder to homelessness, and I don't think they're equipped to be the first responder," Booth said."[LAPD officers are] repeating at neighborhood council meetings that people don't want help. They're carrying that back to the community, and they're not seeing the full gamut [of homelessness]: kids aging out of foster care, college-age kids. They don't see the whole picture. So they're presenting their own narrative, and reinforcing constituents' point of view, and it's resonating within that echo chamber."Rita Dunn, a 39-year-old woman who lives on the street in the San Fernando Valley, said she thinks that divide is driven by fear."A lot of people are frustrated, a lot of people from the community are losing their own housing as we speak, as rents continue to skyrocket and we continue to do nothing about that. Then they're afraid, and they think, 'Oh my God, it's because of us'," she said.
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| A-10 Warthog: Pilots Who Fly Them Love Them (And They Told Us Why) Posted: 03 Oct 2019 07:37 AM PDT  A killer that just won't go away.
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| CORRECTED-Trump threats complicate negotiations for whistleblower to testify to Congress Posted: 03 Oct 2019 02:57 PM PDT ![CORRECTED-Trump threats complicate negotiations for whistleblower to testify to Congress]( "CORRECTED-Trump threats complicate negotiations for whistleblower to testify to Congress") U.S. President Donald Trump's public attacks on the unidentified whistleblower at the center of a Democratic-led impeachment inquiry are complicating negotiations for the person to testify to Congress, according to three people familiar with the matter. Trump has suggested the whistleblower committed treason, prompting concerns among Democrats on the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee that testifying could raise the risk of exposure. White House officials were not immediately available for comment.
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| The Latest: Memphis voters choose mayor for another term Posted: 03 Oct 2019 07:48 PM PDT  Incumbent Jim Strickland will get another four years to lead Memphis, Tennessee, after a big victory in the city's race for mayor. Strickland led by a wide margin late Thursday, with results still trickling in. Strickland's two main opponents, Willie Herenton and Tami Sawyer, have conceded the race to Strickland.
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| iPhone users, beware: 1,370 scam apps might’ve just been uncovered in the App Store Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:34 PM PDT  Policing a mobile applications marketplace is no easy feat when you're a tech giant the size of Google or Apple, both of which are constantly flooded with requests for new apps to be approved and both of which manage that inflow with a variety of tools that include human oversight and review.Google has been under fire in recent months over the discovery of hundreds of sketchy apps in its Google Play Store, apps found to be engaged in all manner of shady practices including serving as delivery mechanisms for adware. Today, meanwhile, one blog has turned its attention to Apple's App Store, announcing that it's found 1,370 sketchy apps -- mostly of the dating variety.Most of the apps, the site AppsExposed explains via a Twitter post, try to trick users into making in-app purchases. The full list (available here) includes apps that promise the possibility of one-night hookups, naughty chats and mature dating with "cougars."https://twitter.com/AppsExposed/status/1179520415733080067Taking a step back for a moment from the claim that this new list of apps should be avoided, this is a good time to offer an always-useful reminder in cases like these, no matter what app marketplace we're talking about. Just because something is available to download doesn't mean that you should, and judgment should be exercised especially when considering a download from a publisher that's unfamiliar to you or doesn't have a long track record of activity.David Barnard, developer advocate at RevenueCat, responded to AppsExposed via Twitter about this latest news and said that while he's not necessarily convinced every app on the list is scammy, there's still likely "a lot of crap" on the list that probably never should have found its way into the App Store to begin with.
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| Hannity takes shot at Fox News colleagues: ‘We have a few resistance people on the channel’ Posted: 04 Oct 2019 07:03 AM PDT  During Thursday night's broadcast of Sean Hannity's Fox News show, the host took a shot at some of his colleagues.
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