| Chief Justice Roberts won't compel witnesses to testify at Trump impeachment trial, legal expert says Posted: 14 Jan 2020 02:01 AM PST  Jeffrey Rosen tells Yahoo News that Chief Justice John Roberts will almost certainly avoid weighing in on whether President Trump's Senate impeachment trial should include testimony from witnesses.
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| The Navy cryptically says it has top-secret UFO briefings that would cause 'exceptionally grave damage' to US national security if published Posted: 15 Jan 2020 11:41 AM PST  The Navy previously confirmed it was treating objects that baffled pilots in Department of Defense videos as UFOs.
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| Six tourists have been arrested over accusations that they damaged Peru's cultural heritage Posted: 14 Jan 2020 10:33 AM PST  Six tourists, including a Frenchwoman, have been arrested over accusations that they damaged Peru's cultural heritage by defecating in a sacred temple at the iconic Machu Picchu sanctuary. "The six tourists are being detained and investigated by the public ministry for the alleged crime against cultural heritage," Cuzco regional police chief Wilbert Leyva said on Monday, quoted by the local Andina news agency.
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| Teacher asks students to ‘identify rapist’ on homework assignment, prompting investigation Posted: 15 Jan 2020 09:34 AM PST  Texas schools officials say they've taken "corrective action" after a ninth grade teacher included a question about a rape victim in a homework assignment receivedApproximately 90 students received an assignment that asked the following: "Suzy was assaulted in an alley and is a victim of rape. The police collected a sample of sperm that was left at the crime scene and now have three suspects in custody. Which of the suspects raped Suzy?"
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| Iran Is Ready for the Next Great War in the Middle East Posted: 15 Jan 2020 06:49 AM PST  Tehran has the initiative to attack from the direction of its choosing—or several directions simultaneously—while confronting defenders with the Sisyphean task of providing 360-degree protection.
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| Missing Ohio teen found dead in abandoned home's chimney Posted: 14 Jan 2020 10:40 PM PST  The police checked the home several times, but found no sign of forced entry — then they checked one last time.
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| Pakistan: 21 more bodies recovered in avalanche-hit Kashmir Posted: 15 Jan 2020 09:17 AM PST  Search teams aided by Pakistani troops pulled out 21 more bodies from homes destroyed by this week's avalanches in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, raising the overall death toll due to severe winter weather to 160 for Pakistan and Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday. Rescuers were racing against time to reach scores of people believed still to be trapped inside their homes, buried under avalanches triggered by heavy snowfall in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
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| Lion at Chicago-area zoo dies after mysterious fall, less than 2 weeks after mate's death Posted: 14 Jan 2020 07:59 PM PST  Brookfield Zoo's lion Isis was put down Tuesday after suffering injuries from a fall in her enclosure. Her mate Zenda died less than two weeks ago.
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| Pat Cipollone, Trump’s aggressive impeachment defender, could change the presidency Posted: 14 Jan 2020 04:47 AM PST  Pat Cipollone is using a defensive strategy that could end up redefining the power of the presidency. His detractors say his stonewalling of the impeachment inquiry and other investigations into Trump could do long-term damage to the very institution he is supposed to protect.
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| Warning of 'serious threats' Virginia governor bans weapons at gun-rights rally Posted: 15 Jan 2020 05:54 AM PST  Northam, who is leading the push for stronger gun laws in his state, said he wants to avoid a repeat of violence that erupted at a 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, when a march by white nationalists erupted and led to the death of a counterprotester. Gun-rights advocates, including militia groups and ultraconservative activists, are planning a "Lobby Day" rally on Monday, seeking to block gun control legislation backed by Northam, a Democrat, whose party recently won majorities in both chambers of the state legislature.
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| How the world discovered the Nazi death camps Posted: 13 Jan 2020 06:09 PM PST  Images of what the Allies found when they liberated the first Nazi death camps towards the end of World War II brought the horror of the Holocaust to world attention. Many of the ghastly pictures were at first held back from the broader public, partly out of concern for those with missing relatives. The concentration and extermination camps were liberated one by one as the Allied armies advanced on Berlin in the final days of the 1939-1945 war.
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| In separation of church and state, which institution is being protected? Posted: 14 Jan 2020 08:46 AM PST  Quebec has banned some public workers from displaying religious symbols on the job, prompting debate over what needs more protection, church or state.
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| China Faces Stepped-Up Calls to Slash Trade-Distorting Subsidies Posted: 14 Jan 2020 05:42 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. China came under greater international pressure to reduce industrial subsidies after the U.S., Europe and Japan agreed to push for stronger World Trade Organization rules against market-distorting government aid.The top trade officials of the U.S., the European Union and Japan struck a deal on Tuesday in Washington to expand the kinds of subsidies prohibited by the WTO. The announcement came on the eve of a planned signing ceremony at the White House for phase one of a U.S.-China trade deal, which doesn't address Beijing's support for domestic companies that compete internationally.The subsidies accord -- a breakthrough after years of deliberations -- targets Chinese practices that have been a source of growing tensions between China and the rest of the world including the U.S., the EU and Japan.This "is an important step toward addressing some of the fundamental issues distorting global trade," EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said in a statement. The accord "is also a symbol of a constructive strategic collaboration between three major players."Trade TruceThe joint initiative may signal a path for de-escalating international commercial tensions triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war against China, curbs on imports from the EU and assault on the WTO system.The Trump administration is gearing up for negotiations with China on a second-phase trade accord following the initial deal due to be signed on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the EU is scrambling to bolster the multilateral trade order underpinned by the WTO by seeking to address U.S. concerns.Under the agreement among the U.S., the EU and Japan, the list of subsidies unconditionally outlawed by the Geneva-based WTO would be broadened to cover:unlimited guaranteesaid to ailing businesses that have no credible restructuring plansupport for companies unable to obtain long-term financing or investment from independent commercial sources operating in industries in overcapacitysome direct forgiveness of debtIn addition, the deal would make it harder for countries to justify a range of other types of subsidies by reversing the burden of proof. The subsidizing nation would have to show that the aid in question has no serious negative trade effects.Broader SupportIf ultimately enacted, the agreement could represent the most significant upgrade of the global trade rulebook in more than a decade.Currently, about 64% of global exports must compete with subsidized rivals, according to researchers at the Global Trade Alert, which tracks global subsidies. In 2017, that trade would have been worth $11.3 trillion.Ultimately, the U.S., EU and Japan want to win support for their deal among a group of like-minded WTO members so it can become a wider agreement. That would allow members to sidestep a WTO requirement that all accords must be made by a consensus among its 164 members.A key question is how to win over China.Since 2001, China's steel production capacity has grown by more than 500% and now accounts for more than half of global output of the metal, the U.S. said during a 2019 WTO meeting in Geneva. In the aluminum sector, four of the world's top five recipients of government support are Chinese companies, according to a 2019 OECD report.Trump administration officials have pledged to tackle the issue in phase two of their trade talks with Beijing.\--With assistance from Shawn Donnan.To contact the reporters on this story: Bryce Baschuk in Geneva at bbaschuk2@bloomberg.net;Nikos Chrysoloras in Brussels at nchrysoloras@bloomberg.net;Jonathan Stearns in Washington at jstearns2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Murray at brmurray@bloomberg.net, ;Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, ;Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Zoe SchneeweissFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| The Navy’s Smallest Warship Gets a Big Laser Weapon Posted: 14 Jan 2020 01:53 PM PST  The USS Little Rock is the fourth ship to get a laser gun.
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| 'OK, Boomer' makes a Supreme Court appearance in age case Posted: 15 Jan 2020 10:24 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — "OK, Boomer" made its first appearance in the Supreme Court Wednesday, invoked by baby boomer Chief Justice John Roberts 12 days before he turns 65. The meme is a favorite of younger generations and Roberts used it in questions in a case about age discrimination in the workplace. "The hiring person, who's younger, says, 'OK, Boomer,' once to the applicant," Roberts said as he conjured a hypothetical exchange to try to figure out when an older federal employee might be able to win a lawsuit under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
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| As the Trump administration fills board seats, critics see an alarming attempt to remake government Posted: 15 Jan 2020 02:00 AM PST  For the Trump administration, appointing board members may be an effective and little-noticed means of weakening a federal apparatus it fundamentally distrusts. His board appointments, many of which may outlast his presidency, could serve an internal Republican resistance to a future Democratic administration.
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| Philippines struggles to evacuate reluctant villagers near volcano Posted: 14 Jan 2020 05:23 AM PST  A cloud of ash and fountains of lava gushed for a third day from the crater of Taal, which lies in the middle of a lake about 70 km (45 miles) south of the center of the Philippines capital Manila. Everyone living within 14 km (9 miles) of the volcano has been ordered to leave: potentially as many as 300,000 people, though disaster agency spokesman Mark Timbal said he believed the actual number who had been there was much lower.
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| Shock as Putin names new PM, lays out constitutional reforms Posted: 15 Jan 2020 10:09 AM PST  Russian President Vladimir Putin named a little-known new prime minister and proposed a constitutional shake-up on Wednesday as he announced sweeping changes that fuelled speculation about his future plans. In a shock announcement, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said his government was stepping down after Putin used his annual state of the nation address to propose constitutional reforms that would strengthen parliament's role. Putin quickly nominated Mikhail Mishustin -- the long-serving head of Russia's tax service and seen as a technocrat -- to form a new government.
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| Michael Avenatti Arrested by Feds at California State Bar Hearing Posted: 14 Jan 2020 06:41 PM PST  LOS ANGELES—Ex-Stormy Daniels lawyer and Trump antagonist Michael Avenatti was led out of the State Bar Court in Los Angeles by federal agents on Tuesday evening. The arrest occurred outside the disciplinary hearing in which the State Bar of California has accused the hard-charging, tough-talking attorney of using a doctored document to scam a client out of nearly $840,000, funneling money from a lawsuit settlement fund to his own personal use.The State Bar of California, the official attorney licensing agency, has sought to put Avenatti on "involuntary inactive status," setting in motion a timeline for disbarment proceedings.During a break in testimony, members of the United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, who are prosecuting Avenatti in a separate criminal matter in Orange County, parleyed with Avenatti's team of lawyers and took the lawyer into custody. "I understand that Mr. Avenatti has been arrested by the federal authorities for violating the terms of his release," said attorney Steven Bledsoe, who represents the alleged Avenatti victim in the State Bar case and was present when the arrest occurred. Avenatti was taken into custody at around 6 p.m. PST. When the court resumed, his lead counsel in the disciplinary case, Thomas Warren, told the court that in connection with a criminal matter in Santa Ana, Avenatti was unable to return to court. As he was being led out of the courthouse, the normally garrulous lawyer said simply, "Completely innocent." This story is developing. Michael Avenatti Lived the High Life While Owing Millions to IRSRead 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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| U.K. Standoff Over Scottish Independence Rumbles On With Brexit Posted: 14 Jan 2020 04:45 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- As the U.K. prepares to put more than three years of uncertainty behind it when it leaves the European Union this month, a standoff over the country's constitutional future only looks more intractable.On Tuesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson rejected Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon's demand to hold another independence referendum in the wake of Brexit. Sturgeon responded by saying that his position was "not politically sustainable" and that her government in Edinburgh would continue to agitate for a vote.Scotland wants to remain in the EU and Sturgeon's Scottish National Party won 48 out of 59 districts in Scotland at last month's election, a result she said reinforced her mandate to give Scots the chance to choose their own path. In a letter Johnson refused to transfer the power to hold the vote, saying that Scotland already opted to stay in the U.K. in a 2014 referendum that all parties had agreed was a "once in a generation" event."The people of Scotland will get the right to decide our own future in an independence referendum," Sturgeon said. "The Westminster union cannot be sustained without consent. Democracy will prevail. The only question is how long it will take the Tories and the rest of the Westminster establishment to accept that inevitability."The tension between Scotland and England, which came together to form Great Britain in 1707, is set to rumble on as Johnson seeks a quick trade deal with the EU and Sturgeon heads toward a Scottish Parliamentary election next year determined to put the issue of full autonomy back to the people.The problem for Johnson is that the question over Scotland isn't going to go away anytime soon, though his emphatic election victory in December means he can afford to play the long game. For Sturgeon, the challenge is to maintain pressure on the U.K. government in London after ruling out anything other than a legal, internationally recognized referendum.To contact the reporter on this story: Rodney Jefferson in Edinburgh at r.jefferson@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Alex MoralesFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| To combat new missile threats, the US Navy prepares to move forward with destroyer upgrades Posted: 15 Jan 2020 11:56 AM PST  With an eye toward faster, more dangerous missile threats, the Navy is getting ready to move forward on a major upgrade for its destroyers.
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| China Figured Out The Secret To Closing The Gap With America's Military Posted: 14 Jan 2020 05:30 PM PST  More than just defense spending.
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| AOC is sounding the alarm about the rise of facial recognition: 'This is some real-life "Black Mirror" stuff' Posted: 15 Jan 2020 02:11 PM PST  When facial recognition is implemented, the software makes it easy for corporations or governments to identify people and track their movements.
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| Postpone the Impeachment Trial Until the House Finishes Investigating Posted: 15 Jan 2020 02:34 PM PST  Two things happened simultaneously on Wednesday: (a) The House of Representatives transmitted to the Senate two articles of impeachment approved on straight partisan lines a month ago, and (b) the House's impeachment inquiry — yes, it's still very much alive — highlighted new, relevant evidence it has turned up about the activities in Ukraine of President Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and Giuliani's associates.The Democrats' strategy is coming clear.The House provided the Senate with two half-baked impeachment articles. House Democrats rushed through the investigation, forgoing salient witnesses and evidence, because of the political calendar. The charges are weak and the inquiry was needlessly short-circuited, so Democrats have continued investigating the premature allegations. Now they are publicly disclosing newly acquired evidence, with the promise of more to come. Transparently, their goal is to pressure the Senate not merely to conduct a trial but to complete the investigation that the House failed to complete — calling witnesses and gathering evidence, as if a trial were nothing more than an extension of an open-ended grand-jury probe.Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans should not let them get away with it. No trial court would allow itself to be whipsawed this way. A federal judge would tell prosecutors to go back to the grand jury, finish the investigation, and come back to the trial court when they have a case ready to be tried, not investigated.That is not to say new evidence may not be serious. It may be very serious. It could make the case worse for President Trump. But in any event, there should be just one trial, and it should occur when the investigation is complete. This is not supposed to be a non-stop grand jury, with an ever-hovering prospect of new articles of impeachment, in addition to an endless stream of newly emerging materials that the Senate is expected to sort out rather than judge.Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans should hold the two pending articles in abeyance, or vote to dismiss them without prejudice to the House's revoting them when its impeachment inquiry is finally concluded.The new information that has emerged underscores a strategic error by the president and House Republicans, which I have outlined several times since the Ukraine controversy emerged. They have insisted on fighting the Ukraine allegations on the impossible theory that the president's communication with his Ukrainian counterpart, President Volodymyr Zelensky, was "perfect," and that there was no quid pro quo — i.e., no indication that the president was withholding official acts sought by Kyiv ($400 million in defense aid and a White House visit) until its government met his demands (the public announcement that Ukraine would conduct an investigation of the Bidens and into Ukraine's role in the Trump-Russia investigation).I have contended, to the contrary, that the president's best defense is that nothing of consequence happened. I have been prepared to assume that the president pressured Ukraine, as alleged. But it was much ado about nothing: Ukraine got the defense aid (and barely knew it had been briefly delayed); Zelensky did not have to make any commitment about investigations; and he got his high-profile audience with President Trump (albeit at the United Nations in New York City, not at the White House). The president's defense should be that, while there may have been improprieties, nothing here approaches the egregious misconduct required to trigger impeachment.This would be the best strategy in any event. It is an imperative strategy, however, in a situation such as this one, where the investigation is continuing and new information is coming out continuously. Under my approach, if new evidence emerged about the president's knowledge of or complicity in the pressure campaign on Zelensky, it could be dismissed as mere confirmation of what was already obvious. But because the president and Republicans have taken the tack that nothing inappropriate happened and no pressure was asserted, any evidence of impropriety and pressure can be framed as a bombshell — even though it doesn't actually change the bottom line.Giuliani associate Lev Parnas is under indictment in the Southern District of New York (SDNY), in a case that has factual overlap with events that were the focus of the House impeachment inquiry. Parnas wants to use his potential value as a witness in the impeachment inquiry as leverage against his SDNY prosecution. So he has begun sharing information from the SDNY case with House investigators. They, in turn, are releasing the information to the media, which are reporting it as ground-shaking revelations.That information (texts, notes, and the like) indicates that Giuliani, representing that he was acting with the president's knowledge and approval, and in his official capacity as Trump's private lawyer, sought a meeting with Zelensky in mid May 2019. The implication is that this was part of a then-ongoing plan to push Ukraine for an investigation of the Bidens.Moreover, there are communications between Parnas and Yuriy Lutsenko, a Ukrainian prosecutor who was helping Giuliani investigate possible Biden corruption, about their desire for the ouster of Marie Yovanovitch — the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, who was eventually removed by the president at the urging of Giuliani (among others). There is enough detail in Parnas's correspondence about Yovanovitch's activities that it raises the disturbing specter that he was monitoring an American ambassador.The allegedly unjustified removal of Yovanovitch was extensively covered in the House hearings, which included the ambassador's testimony. It was mainly atmospheric, rather than substantive. The president does not need a reason to dismiss an ambassador. And while it was vaguely suggested that Yovanovitch was removed because she was seen as an obstacle to pressuring Ukraine for an investigation of the Bidens, that was not established. There are no impeachment articles tied to her removal.If I am right, and Parnas is trying to use his potential value as an impeachment witness as a chip in plea negotiations with the SDNY, that could take time to work out. (The SDNY, whose job is prosecution, not impeachment, would want a guilty plea and full cooperation; Parnas would want immunity.) Meanwhile, the other major storyline is that John Bolton, formerly the president's national-security adviser, has indicated that he is willing to testify if called. He is patently a relevant witness to the internal administration discussions over delayed defense aid to Ukraine. So is acting chief of staff and budget director Mick Mulvaney. So may be Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, if the House's continuing investigation is focusing on Ambassador Yovanovitch's dismissal.Plainly, there are loose ends here that the House should have tied up and that, importantly, the House is continuing to investigate. Note that Democrats have been caterwauling that the impeachment trial will not be fair because Senate Republicans are too in-the-tank for Trump to do their duty as impartial decision-makers (as if Democrats were not rabid anti-Trump partisans). But what could more undermine the fairness of a trial than a continuing, very public investigation of the same defendant while that trial is proceeding?No trial judge would put up with that. Prosecutors would not be permitted to present the case before a trial jury while, outside the courtroom, they were prejudicing the trial by continuing to investigate and publicize their findings.There is a very simple solution, one that judges in federal court deal with all the time in cases that are still under investigation when an indictment is initially filed: Don't schedule the trial until the prosecutors acknowledge to the court that the investigation is over and no further charges are anticipated.It is worth bearing in mind: Impeachment is not just any trial. It stops the legislative business of the United States cold. There will be no movement of bills, no consideration of appointments, no hearings on vital issues such as Iran and the use of force. The impeachment trial will impede the work of the Supreme Court, since the chief justice must preside. In this instance, the impeachment trial will even wreak havoc on the Democratic nomination campaign, as senators — including top-tier contenders Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders — must sit as jurors for six days a week.These are costs that must be borne. There has been an impeachment, so the Constitution calls on the Senate to act. But for the sake of our governance, that should mean a single trial, and it should represent the Democrats' best, most complete case for the president's removal. That trial should not happen until the investigation is done and the charges are fully ripe. By contrast, if Republicans allow Democrats to engage in the ongoing gamesmanship — in which the Senate trial would open, but House Democrats plan to throw new evidence into the mix every few days or weeks, demanding that the Senate trial be expanded to investigate what it all means — we would be looking at weeks, maybe months, of governmental paralysis. There is, moreover, basic fairness: The accused is supposed to know what the allegations are before the trial starts — the charges are not supposed to evolve as the trial proceeds.The importance of preserving impeachment as a viable constitutional remedy for presidential misconduct transcends the current administration and Congress. If impeachment must be done, it should be done right. It should not be done as a partisan game of investigative ping-pong between congressional chambers.
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| Newborn dies from sepsis after being sent home from a hospital Posted: 15 Jan 2020 08:54 AM PST  A 5-week-old baby died from sepsis after being sent home twice from a U.K. hospital with what doctors thought was a common infection.
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| Iran president slams removal of candidates from elections Posted: 15 Jan 2020 04:51 AM PST  Iran's president Wednesday slammed the disqualification of thousands of people, including 90 current lawmakers, from running in upcoming parliamentary elections. Although hard-liners were among those disqualified by the powerful Guardian Council, most of those rejected were reformist and moderate candidates, according to Tehran's reformist newspaper Etemad. President Hassan Rouhani appeared to confirm this in his stinging critique of the council, which barred more than 9,000 from the over 14,000 people who had registered to run.
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| Philippine lawyer to withdraw ICC complaint against Duterte Posted: 14 Jan 2020 07:39 AM PST  A Philippines lawyer who filed a complaint at the International Criminal Court (ICC) accusing President Rodrigo Duterte of murder in a bloody anti-drugs crackdown said on Tuesday he will no longer pursue the case. The complaint filed by attorney Jude Sabio in 2017 is one of several communications to the court calling for Duterte's indictment over thousands of alleged extrajudicial killings during his campaign against narcotics. "I fervently request that it be expunged or erased from the record, and that it should not be used in any way in the ongoing preliminary examination," Sabio said in a 28-page letter addressed to ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.
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| First Gaza rockets against Israel since Soleimani killing Posted: 15 Jan 2020 01:02 PM PST  The Israeli military said four rockets were fired Wednesday from Hamas-controlled Gaza, the first since Israel's ally the US killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. It did not say where the other two rockets landed.
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| Big Companies to Mexico’s President: Stop Changing Rules Posted: 15 Jan 2020 02:50 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. Representatives of two top business groups warned that it's getting increasingly harder for foreign companies to put their money in Mexico and said that messages from President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's government that hinder investment need to stop.In a rare critique of the current administration, Carlos Salazar, head of one of the largest Mexican business groups, CCE, said companies need a message of certainty from the Lopez Obrador administration to move away from conflicts.At the same event in Mexico City, Claudia Janez, the head of a group representing global businesses, spoke out even more forcefully against government interference in investment, saying it's the main cause of economic stagnation in Mexico.Mexico's gross domestic product remained flat last year in large part because of the "systemic change of rules to doing business and the constant political messages against the markets and companies," said Janez, president of the Executive Council of Global Companies (CEEG).The economy even dipped into a slight recession in the first half of 2019 after Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador scrapped a $13 billion airport project before becoming president in December, and then suspended private oil auctions once in power. His government staged a months-long dispute with several pipeline operators after it decided to change the terms of natural gas contracts signed with the previous administration."Companies make long-term investment decisions. Changing rules doesn't help growth," said Salazar, who has served as a liaison between the business community and the government.Mexico's AMLO Still Working to Win Over Private Sector SkepticsIn recent months, Lopez Obrador has been trying to win over private sector skeptics, but hasn't delivered what they want, which is mainly a return to business-friendly policies such as the oil auctions. Gross fixed investment, which includes spending in factories and machinery, has fallen for nine consecutive months through October, the longest losing streak since the 2009 recession.Janez, who is also president for Latin America at DuPont de Nemours Inc., stressed Mexico needs to be clear on why it deserves investment over other countries and that free trade deals will mean nothing if the country doesn't address its security issues.She said security has become the number one concern for many companies operating in the country and that some of them are now spending an extra 30% to 40% of their fixed costs to protect themselves. "Insecurity should not be the new normal," she said.Decisions to allocate money for Mexico became even harder in the second half of 2019, Janez said, an unusual situation considering that the country was expected to become a natural destination for investment amid the China-U.S. trade war. Members of her business group include Exxon Mobil Corp. and AT&T Inc.Salazar said he remains optimistic Mexico can reach growth goals in the future. He cited an infrastructure plan from November as a token of hope.Salazar is helping broker a second investment plan, this time for the energy sector, that could be announced this month or next.(Adds comments from Janez and Salazar starting in 10th paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Cyntia Barrera Diaz in Mexico City at cbarrerad@bloomberg.net;Andrea Navarro in Mexico City at anavarro30@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Nacha Cattan at ncattan@bloomberg.net;Ney Hayashi at ncruz4@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Russia Says It's S-500 Can Bring Down America's F-35, What's The Truth? Posted: 13 Jan 2020 10:45 PM PST  We look to Syria for hints.
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| 75 years ago, US troops began the main battle of the long, bloody fight to kick the Japanese out of the Philippines Posted: 15 Jan 2020 12:09 PM PST  US troops invaded Luzon, the largest island of the Philippines, on January 9, 1945, where fighting lasted until the Japanese surrender in August 1945.
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| A handwritten note on Ritz-Carlton paper shows Giuliani associate Lev Parnas spelling out his top goal for Ukraine's president: Announce a criminal probe into Joe Biden Posted: 15 Jan 2020 04:15 AM PST  "Get Zalensky to Annonce that the Biden case will be Investigated," wrote Parnas, spelling out his objective in the hunt for dirt on Joe Biden.
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| Why Andrew Yang thinks candidates of color have been shut out of the Democratic debates Posted: 14 Jan 2020 05:15 PM PST  Andrew Yang has a theory for why there are barely any candidates of color left in the Democratic primary race.After Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) dropped out earlier this week, Yang remains the only person of color in the Democratic race with a solid base of support. And as he tells Politico ahead of Tuesday night's Democratic debate, that dilemma stems from "inequities and financial realities" that affect people of color outside of politics, too.While Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) made the December debate stage, she dropped out of the 2020 race due to a lack of financial support beforehand, leaving Yang the only person of color in that debate. That left him feeling "a bit of extra pressure" to talk about race both in the debate and in his campaign in general, he told Politico. "Race has not been the central theme of my campaign from the beginning," Yang said, but added "it's more natural to talk about it when you're literally the only person of color on a national debate stage."Now, Yang has been barred from Tuesday's debate after he failed to make the Democratic National Committee's polling threshold, leaving six white candidates on the stage. This, Yang says, "reflects the realities of our society where being able to run for office and contribute to political campaigns requires a degree of disposable income. If you're black or Latino in the country, you are much less likely to have disposable income."DNC Chair Tom Perez defended the thresholds as a "remarkably inclusive and frankly low bar" which have resulted in "the most diverse field in American history."More stories from theweek.com John Bolton will reportedly reveal some of what he knows about Trump's Ukraine scandal in his upcoming book 'Okay Boomer' was just used in a Supreme Court argument for the 1st time The paradox of Trump's trillion-dollar deficit
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| U.S. Army chief of staff: Russia's hypersonic missiles are not 'game changing' Posted: 14 Jan 2020 04:22 PM PST  The U.S. Army's top officer said Tuesday during an appearance in Washington, D.C., that he isn't worried by Russia's growing arsenal of hypersonic missiles.
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| Police: Husband nearly ran over wife 2 years before killing Posted: 15 Jan 2020 12:56 PM PST  Two years before mother-of-five Jennifer Dulos went missing last May in what police believe was a murder, her estranged husband tried to run her over outside her new Connecticut home around the time she had filed for divorce, the children's nanny told police. The allegations were revealed in nearly 500 pages of search warrants that were released Wednesday after being unsealed by a state judge presiding over the criminal cases of Fotis Dulos, who last week was charged with murder in the disappearance and presumed death of Jennifer Dulos. A message seeking comment was left Wednesday with Fotis Dulos' lawyer, Norman Pattis.
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| Exclusive: U.N. sanctions experts warn - stay away from North Korea cryptocurrency conference Posted: 14 Jan 2020 10:07 PM PST  United Nations sanctions experts are warning people not to attend a cryptocurrency conference in North Korea in February, flagging it as a likely sanctions violation, according to a confidential report due to be submitted to the U.N. Security Council later this month. The warning comes after the independent U.N. experts told the council in August that North Korea generated an estimated $2 billion for its weapons of mass destruction programs using "widespread and increasingly sophisticated" cyberattacks to steal from banks and cryptocurrency exchanges. North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
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| Ireland’s Varadkar Places Brexit at Center of Election Campaign Posted: 14 Jan 2020 05:17 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar placed Brexit at the heart of his bid to retain power, as he set Feb. 8 as the general election date.Varadkar will dissolve parliament today, the president's office said, with lawmakers set to resume work on Feb. 20. He'll lead Fine Gael into a general election for the first time, seizing the initiative after helping secure a deal to minimize the impact on Ireland from Brexit.Now, he's asking for time to finish the job by giving him a role negotiating a new trade deal between the European Union and the U.K."It's only half-time" in the Brexit process, Varadkar told reporters in Dublin, as he confirmed the date of the ballot.Earlier: Ireland's Premier Goes for Election With Brexit Win in HandVaradkar took over from Enda Kenny in 2017, and the election had be held by April 2021. The 40-year old leader called the vote as parliamentary support for his minority administration crumbled, and he faces a tough fight as he seeks to strengthen his hold on government.While he has scored successes on the economy, Brexit and Northern Ireland, opposition parties are highlighting failings in the health sector and housing market.Fine Gael lost all four special elections for vacant parliamentary seats in November, and the most recent opinion poll indicates Varadkar's party is running level with its closest rival, Fianna Fail, at about 27%.Ireland usually elects coalition or minority governments, with weeks of government formation negotiations routine. This time, the Greens and the Labor Party, are potential king makers.Varadkar's Fine Gael currently controls 47 seats, well below the 80 needed for a majority. Fianna Fail, led by Micheal Martin, has 45. A former foreign minister, Martin is narrow favorite to become next prime minister, according to Paddy Power odds.To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Flanagan in Dublin at pflanagan23@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ambereen Choudhury at achoudhury@bloomberg.net, Dara DoyleFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Secret mission saves Australia's 'dinosaur trees' from bushfires Posted: 15 Jan 2020 04:08 PM PST  A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi Pines, a pre-historic species known as "dinosaur trees", from Australia's unprecedented bushfires, officials said. Fewer than 200 of the trees exist in the wild, hidden in a gorge in the World Heritage Blue Mountains northwest of Sydney, which have been hit by one of the biggest bushfires that have been ravaging much of Australia for months. With flames approaching the area late last year, firefighters deployed air tankers to drop fire retardant in a protective ring around the trees while specialist firefighters were winched down into the gorge to set up an irrigation system to provide moisture for the grove, officials said.
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| We Now Know Why Russia Never Had an Aircraft Carrier Fleet Posted: 14 Jan 2020 02:10 AM PST  Not enough money or capacity.
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| A CNN report said Abby Huntsman was leaving 'The View' over Meghan McCain's baby envy. McCain says that's sexist. Posted: 14 Jan 2020 07:35 PM PST  Abby Huntsman announced she was leaving "The View." A report in CNN Business said a recent confrontation with Meghan McCain was part of the reason.
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| India has not closed door on China-backed Asian trade deal - foreign minister Posted: 14 Jan 2020 10:28 PM PST  India has not closed the door on a China-led regional economic pact, even though Asia's third-largest country pulled out of the deal last November, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Wednesday. In November, China joined 14 countries in agreeing terms for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), with India pulling out at the last minute saying the deal would hurt its farmers, businesses, workers and consumers. RCEP brings together the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
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| Scientists Just Discovered the Oldest Material Ever Found on Earth Posted: 14 Jan 2020 06:38 AM PST  The ancient dust grains are 7.5 billion years old (and smell like rotten peanut butter).
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| Tekashi 6ix9ine asked to serve the rest of his 2-year sentence in home confinement because his prison has a lot of Blood gang members Posted: 15 Jan 2020 07:38 AM PST  Lawyers for Tekashi 6ix9ine, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, said putting the rapper in any facility would jeopardize his safety.
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| Democrats unveil billboard of Trump tossing paper towels Posted: 14 Jan 2020 02:25 PM PST  Ahead of Vice President Mike Pence's Latinos for Trump rally in central Florida, state Democrats have paid for a billboard showing an image of the president tossing paper towels at a Puerto Rican church after the island was devastated by Hurricane Maria. The Florida Democratic Party unveiled the billboard Monday in Kissimmee, a city outside Orlando with a large Puerto Rican population, including many who came to central Florida after the 2017 hurricane.
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