| US military training for Saudi students could resume soon Posted: 16 Jan 2020 09:30 AM PST  U.S. training for more than 800 Saudi Arabian military students could be restarted "in the coming days," the Pentagon said Thursday, nearly six weeks after a shooting by one Saudi trainee killed three sailors at a Florida base. The Pentagon had stopped all flight and field training for the approximately 850 Saudi students amid fears that others may have known about or been involved in the shooting at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. Jonathan Hoffman, chief spokesman for the Defense Department, said officials probably will have an announcement soon about the training resumption.
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| FBI Busts Members of Neo-Nazi Group ‘The Base’ Days Before Richmond Gun Rally Posted: 16 Jan 2020 10:02 AM PST  The FBI arrested three members of a neo-Nazi group called "The Base" on Thursday morning, days ahead of a pro-gun rally in Richmond that is attracting fringe figures and has already prompted a state of emergency declaration. The three suspects—Brian Mark Lemley, William Garfield Bilbrough, and Canadian fugitive Patrik Mathews—face a variety of gun charges. Lemley and Bilbrough are also accused of illegally harboring Mathews, a former Canadian military reservist who fled his home country after being accused of being a recruiter for The Base. The trio is expected to face a federal judge in Maryland on Thursday afternoon. The suspects had discussed traveling to Richmond, Virginia, for a Jan. 20 rally in front of the state Capitol to protest new gun control legislation, The New York Times reported. The rally has become a flashpoint for the fringe right, prompting Gov. Ralph Northam to declare a four-day state of emergency and ban guns from the Capitol complex.Lemley and Mathews had allegedly built an assault rifle and amassed hundreds of rounds of ammunition before their arrest, according to the FBI. On a recording, Lemley said he had made the gun into an illegal machine gun and made plans to hide it from federal agents, according to the FBI."Oh oops, it looks like I accidentally made a machine gun," Lemley, a former cavalry scout in the U.S. Army, said, according to the affidavit. "I'm going to stow it here until next week, just in case the ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms] shows up tomorrow," he told Mathews."Um, if they show up here, we got other problems," Mathews replied.Missing Canadian Bomb Expert With Neo-Nazi Ties May Be in U.S.The Base, which is derived from the English translation of the name of radical Islamic terrorist group al Qaeda, is a white supremacist paramilitary group committed to race war. In an affidavit filed with an application for the arrest warrants, the FBI described how Base members discuss their racial terrorism plans online."Within The Base's encrypted chat rooms, members have discussed, among other things, recruitment, creating a white ethno-state, committing acts of violence against minority communities (including African-Americans and Jewish-Americans), the organization's military-style training camps, and ways to make improvised explosive devices," the affidavit reads. Mathews allegedly crossed into Minnesota from Canada around Aug. 19, according to the FBI. After learning that Mathews was hiding in Michigan, Lemley and Bilbrough allegedly drove from Maryland to pick him up, then allegedly drove him back to the mid-Atlantic area on Aug. 30.On Nov. 4, according to the FBI, Mathews and Lemley rented an apartment in Delaware, according to the FBI. They ordered a part for the gun and ammunition, according to the affidavit, and made regular trips to a Maryland gun range with the functional assault rifle they had assembled. At one point, Bilbrough visited the pair, and the three allegedly discussed the Base's membership and tried to make the hallucinogen DMT. On Jan. 11, Lemley picked up hundreds of rounds of additional ammunition and components for body armor, according to the FBI. 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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| Disease that killed millions of China's pigs poses global threat Posted: 16 Jan 2020 04:05 AM PST  Soon the dog's handler discovered and confiscated a ham sandwich in the purse of a passenger who had flown on a China Eastern Airlines flight from Shanghai. China has lost millions of pigs in outbreaks of the disease, pushing its pork prices to record highs, forcing purchases of costly imports and roiling global meat markets. Bettie is among an expanded team of specially trained beagles at U.S. airports, part of a larger effort to protect the nation's $23 billion pork industry from a disease that has decimated China's hog herd, the world's largest.
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| 10 Home Prep Tips Before Going on Vacation Posted: 16 Jan 2020 11:00 AM PST |
| Senate Impeachment Trial Won't Look Like ‘Law & Order’ Posted: 15 Jan 2020 03:00 AM PST ![Senate Impeachment Trial Won't Look Like 'Law & Order']( "Senate Impeachment Trial Won't Look Like 'Law & Order'") (Bloomberg Opinion) -- If you're expecting President Donald Trump's impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate to be a matter of high drama, it's time to lower your expectations. The trial won't look much like "Law & Order," or for that matter any other criminal trial you've seen on TV or in real life: There will be no witnesses in the opening phase, and likely none at any point in the proceedings. Instead, it will look much more like a series of speeches by the House impeachment managers and Trump's lawyers.How can it be that the impeachment trial will barely be a trial at all? The answer lies in the Senate's own changing practices over the centuries. Given the Senate's love for protocol, you might imagine that there would be some time-tested, universally respected procedure for how an impeachment trial should go. The truth is otherwise.The Senate has been all over the map when it comes to impeachment trial procedures. The procedures being proposed by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell bear some resemblance to those followed in Bill Clinton's impeachment trial in 1998-99. But those procedures were themselves radically different from the practices followed by the Senate in the early years of the republic.The first impeachment undertaken by the House of Representatives was directed against Senator William Blount in 1797, for his involvement in a scheme intended to give Britain control over Florida and Louisiana to protect speculative land investments he'd made. The House of Representatives went to great pains to follow the procedures that had been used in Britain by the House of Commons in impeaching Warren Hastings, the former governor general of Bengal, before the House of Lords — a protracted affair that took place in fits and starts from 1788-95. A House member appeared in the Senate and announced that he was "commanded" by the House "to impeach William Blount … of high crimes and misdemeanors."Then things got messy. The very next day, the Senate voted to expel Blount from the Senate — and then spent months adopting detailed rules in anticipation of a trial. In his defense, Blount argued that he was no longer a senator, and that in any case the Constitution didn't provide for the impeachment of senators, only members of the executive branch and the judiciary. After deliberations, the Senate voted 14-11 to dismiss the impeachment charges on the ground that the Senate did not have "jurisdiction" over the case. The Senate never did decide whether the problem was that Blount was no longer a senator or that senators weren't subject to impeachment.The next big development took place in 1831, when Judge Samuel Peck was impeached for issuing a contempt order against the author of an anonymous letter in a St. Louis newspaper criticizing one of Peck's judicial opinions. At Peck's trial, his lawyer sought to get opinion evidence from a witness — evidence that would not have been admissible in a court of law. The House managers argued that the Senate trial should apply strict rules of evidence like those used in court.The two sides fought it out, each relying on arguments that had been used in the Hastings trial some 30 years earlier. In that trial, Edmund Burke, the lead impeachment manager (famous today as the father of gradualist conservatism), had maintained that strict rules should not be followed because an impeachment differed from a criminal trial. His opponents, Hastings' defenders, had argued for strict rules of evidence that would exclude lots of the material that the House of Commons had relied on in voting to impeach Hastings. They won — and Hastings was eventually vindicated after the evidence was excluded.In the end, the Senate voted to follow strict rules of evidence in its own impeachment trials. That norm continued to hold through the impeachment of Andrew Johnson and into the 20th century. The most important compendious guide to impeachments, Asher Hinds' "Precedents of the House of Representatives," published in 1907, still treated this decision as binding. The relevant chapter on "rules of evidence in an impeachment trial," chapter 69 of volume 3, has a section headed "strict rules of the courts followed."But the Peck precedent eventually gave way. In 1974, law professor Charles Black argued in his influential handbook on impeachment that "both the House and the Senate ought to hear and consider all evidence which seems relevant, without regard to technical rules." The Senate relaxed the rules of evidence considerably in the impeachment trials of judges Harry Claiborne (1986) and Alcee Hastings (1989).By the time Clinton was tried, the new rules said only that the chief justice of the Supreme Court, serving as the presiding officer, "may rule on all questions of evidence including, but not limited to, questions of relevancy, materiality, and redundancy of evidence and incidental questions," pursuant to being overturned by a majority of the senators. And much of the most important evidence against Clinton including Linda Tripp's account of her conversations with Monica Lewinsky, would have been inadmissible hearsay that could not have been accepted as evidence in a court of law.The upshot is that a majority of the Senate can make the impeachment trial into almost anything it wants. The Senate can treat the impeachment trial like a regular criminal trial, with witnesses and evidence, or it can turn the trial into a series of speeches. That's what the sole power to try impeachment means — for better or for worse.To contact the author of this story: Noah Feldman at nfeldman7@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Sarah Green Carmichael at sgreencarmic@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a professor of law at Harvard University and was a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter. His books include "The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President." For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| AOC-Linked Dark Money Goes After Biden and Buttigieg Posted: 15 Jan 2020 11:59 AM PST  Wait, isn't she against that...
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| An Iranian general said officials lied about shooting down a Ukrainian passenger jet to defend national security Posted: 15 Jan 2020 04:49 PM PST  Amir Ali Hajizadeh said that Iran's public lies about shooting down Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 were justifiable.
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| Australia’s Bushfires Show the Wicked, Self-Destructive Idiocy of Climate Denialism Must Stop Posted: 15 Jan 2020 05:00 PM PST  'We have to urgently stop burning coal,' writes Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull
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| These are the 2 most damning bits of evidence in the new impeachment documents, according to MSNBC Posted: 15 Jan 2020 05:15 AM PST  While CNN was focused on the Democratic presidential debate Tuesday night, MSNBC was digging through the newly released documents Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas handed over to the House Intelligence Committee. MSNBC hosts and guests found quite a few bits of evidence "shocking," like the involvement of President Trump's White House impeachment team in Parnas' efforts to procure dirt on Joe Biden from Ukrainian officials, but two sets of documents were deemed especially damning."Among the most disturbing material released tonight is a long series of encrypted text messages" in which Parnas discussed ominous-sounding efforts to closely surveil U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovich with Robert Hyde, a Trump donor now running for a House seat in Connecticut, Rachel Maddow said, asking Rep. Jim Hines (D-Conn.) to "please tell me this is a fabulist who has concocted some sort of fantasy plot in his mind, and this wasn't a real thing."Hyde "is a malignant clown," and "it is quite possible that he was just making all this stuff up," Hines said. But threatening an ambassador "is the kind of thing that we take very, very seriously, despite the clownlike behavior of Mr. Hyde."The Hyde texts are among the "most ominous" things in the documents, Chris Matthews agreed, but his guest Andrew Weismann, a former top prosecutor on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team, found more significance in a letter from Giuliani to Ukrainian President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky.The Giuliani letter "is a real smoking gun," Weismann said, "because you have Rudy Giuliani saying that he's acting in the president's personal capacity. That shows that the president and Rudy knew this would be improper to use the office of the presidency for a personal errand, to use Dr. Fiona Hill's phrase. And yet, the president, on the call with President Zelenksy, was using the office of the president. That is precisely what has been charged in the impeachment count.""If there was any room for doubt that this was a shakedown by the president and that he was involved and that Rudy was involved and Rudy's subalterns Lev and Igor [Fruman] were involved, former federal prosecutor John Flannery told Ari Berman, the letter from Giuliani to Zelenksy "put that all to rest." More stories from theweek.com Ukraine opens criminal probe into whether Marie Yovanovitch was under illegal surveillance Mitch McConnell should recuse himself Lev Parnas: Devin Nunes was 'involved in getting all this stuff on Biden'
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| Guatemala sweeps up migrant group, returns them to border Posted: 15 Jan 2020 09:02 PM PST  Guatemalan police accompanied by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents swept up the majority of a group of some 300 migrants Thursday, loaded them on buses and took them back to the Honduran border, effectively dashing their plans to travel together in a "caravan" with hopes of reaching the United States. Praying and singing songs, the group of 300 migrants — adults, teens and young children — had set out from a shelter in Entre Rios under rainy skies before dawn and walked about six hours before stopping in the town of Morales to eat and rest. There they were challenged by police who asked for their entry documents, and nearly all had crossed into Guatemala irregularly and didn't have such documentation.
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| Aide Accused of Murdering Former Arkansas State Senator Offered ‘Gold’ From Jail for Hit on Ex: Prosecutors Posted: 15 Jan 2020 10:51 AM PST  A woman awaiting trial for allegedly killing a former Arkansas state senator was hit with new charges Tuesday after she promised fellow inmates she would give them "gold and silver" to murder the victim's ex-husband and his new wife, prosecutors said. Rebecca Lynn O'Donnell, who pleaded not guilty to several charges in the June murder of former State Sen. Linda Collins-Smith, was slapped with two counts of soliciting to commit murder and two counts of solicitation to commit tampering with physical evidence in connection with the elaborate plot she allegedly tried to orchestrate from prison.The former campaign staffer for Collins-Smith has been behind bars since June 14—10 days after the 57-year-old Republican was found fatally stabbed and wrapped in a blanket under a tarp at the end of her Pocahontas, Arkansas, driveway. Former Arkansas State Senator's Shooting Death Investigated as 'Homicide'Authorities at the time said O'Donnell was caught on video removing Collins-Smith's home surveillance cameras on May 28, 2019—the last day the politician was seen alive—but have not elaborated on the details of the murder due to a gag order. O'Donnell, 49, faces the death penalty on the original murder charges and is being held without bond in Jackson County. "These newest charges further cement in our minds that the police have arrested the right person. Rebecca O'Donnell's threats are being treated very seriously but have not deterred our faith in what we are committed to: justice for Linda," the family of Collins-Smith said in a Wednesday statement to The Daily Beast. "Thank you all for your continued support, prayers and well wishes."According to several jailhouse informants, O'Donnell allegedly tried to hire two fellow inmates to stage a murder-suicide at the home of the lawmaker's ex, former state Judge Phil Smith, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in the Jackson County Circuit Court on Tuesday. During a Nov. 7 interview, one of the inmates told an Arkansas State Police special agent that O'Donnell wanted her to "shoot or hang Mr. Smith" and include a "suicide note" that the 49-year-old had handwritten, the affidavit states. The same inmate was then told to pack a bag to make it seem like his new wife "was in the process of leaving him," the affidavit states.Prosecutors allege O'Donnell told other inmates that "Phil Smith needed to be killed" so that "charges would be dropped off her." In exchange for the hits, the inmates were told they could take a bag of "gold and silver" from Smith's home—which investigators said had been appraised to be worth between $20,000 and $30,000 during his divorce.O'Donnell, in addition to working on Collins-Smith's campaign, had served as a witness in the couple's acrimonious divorce, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.They Were Hired to Murder a Man's Ex-Wife, But Accidentally Killed Her Sister: SheriffThe former campaign staffer also allegedly tried to enlist the inmates to go to Randolph County Jail to blow up her 2005 Honda Civic so she could "destroy any evidence" that could be used in her murder trial because "police had planted stuff in her truck," the affidavit states. On top of that, she allegedly asked two inmates to kill a judge and prosecutor connected to her murder case.The prosecutor, Henry Boyce, was taken off the case in December without citing a reason. "My family's faith in Becky is unwavering. We cannot imagine the evidence will actually substantiate these allegations. The allegations defy believability. I won't even comment on the informant's extensive criminal history but instead will wait to see if the state produces credible evidence at trial," Tim Loggains, O'Donnell's fiancé, said a statement. One inmate told police that while she never considered killing Smith, she was worried "a more gullible" inmate might. The three other inmates who reported O'Donnell also stated they refused the murder requests.Maryland Millionaire Daniel Beckwitt Found Guilty of Murder in 2017 Death of Man Who Helped Dig Bunker TunnelsO'Donnell's defense attorney, Lee Short, denied the allegations in a statement to ABC News, casting doubt on the inmates' credibility, insisting they had an incentive to offer information for a reduced punishment. Short did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast's requests for comment."It's not surprising at all—inmates do it all the time," Short said. "In high-profile cases, especially homicides, people tend to seek opportunities to improve their situations by giving statements against people."Collins-Smith was first elected to the state senate in 2014 but lost her re-election bid in 2018. Prior to her time in the Senate, the lawmaker served in the statehouse of representatives from 2011 to 2013. While she was elected as a Democrat, Collins-Smith switched parties just months after taking office, citing a change in "ideals."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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| Ghosn says French envoy told him Nissan was turning against him Posted: 14 Jan 2020 07:57 PM PST  Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn, speaking in Beirut after his dramatic escape from Japanese justice, said on Tuesday that the French ambassador had warned him shortly after his arrest that his own company was plotting against him. "Frankly, I was shocked by the arrest and the first thing I asked is make sure Nissan knows so they can send me a lawyer," Ghosn told Reuters in an interview in Beirut. Former Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa, who was forced to resign last year after admitting that he had received improper compensation, told a news conference hours after Ghosn's arrest that Ghosn had been using corporate money for personal purposes and under-reporting his income for years.
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| Rand Paul Warns Republicans of Electoral Consequences if They Back Dem Witnesses But Refuse to Call Hunter Biden Posted: 16 Jan 2020 01:27 PM PST  Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.) warned fellow caucus members that voting against subpoenaing President Trump's preferred witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial would be tantamount t0 "voting to lose your election.""If you don't want to vote and you think you're going to have to vote against Hunter Biden, you should just vote against witnesses, period," Paul said, adding that his "first preference" would be a trial with no witnesses.". . . If they insist on having people like Bolton coming forward, my insistence will be not just one witness. But that the president should be able to call any witnesses that he deems necessary to his defense," Paul stated.> My colleagues can't have it both ways. Calling for some, while blocking others. If we are going to give a platform to witnesses the Dems demand, I look forward to forcing votes to call Hunter Biden and many more! https://t.co/hrOzVyiG9x> > -- Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) January 14, 2020Last week, McConnell signaled that Republicans, who hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, had secured the minimum 51 votes required to move forward with a trial mirroring that of former president Bill Clinton, in which a vote to call witnesses took place after opening arguments. But a vote to allow witnesses to be called seems likely, after GOP leadership suggested Republicans "generally are not interested in the motion to dismiss."Paul said he believed an immediate dismissal was destined to fail, saying "there might be 10" Republicans who want to call witnesses.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democrats have been clamoring to allow witnesses like John Bolton to testify. They've also argued that newly released documents should be admitted to illuminate Rudy Giuliani and Lev Parnas's attempts to oust former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.
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| Japan Lawmaker Heads to Taiwan After China Protests Congratulatory Message for Tsai Posted: 15 Jan 2020 01:51 AM PST ![Japan Lawmaker Heads to Taiwan After China Protests Congratulatory Message for Tsai]( "Japan Lawmaker Heads to Taiwan After China Protests Congratulatory Message for Tsai") (Bloomberg) -- The head of the Japan-Taiwan parliamentary friendship association will go to Taipei to congratulate President Tsai Ing-wen on her election victory, weeks ahead of an expected state visit to Japan by Chinese President Xi Jinping.Ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Keiji Furuya's two-day trip from Thursday comes days after China protested Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi's official congratulatory message to Tsai. China sees Taiwan as a renegade province.Tsai's victory reflects strong public backing for her stance amid concern about Hong Kong's crackdown on pro-democracy protests, Furuya said in an interview Wednesday at his offices in Tokyo. Given that Japan has no formal ties with its southern neighbor, the lawmakers' association plays an important role, he added.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is hoping to pull off a visit by Xi this spring to crown a steady improvement in relations since he took office amid a heated territorial dispute with China in 2012 over a set of islands claimed by both countries. But the relationship is riddled with problems, including frequent incursions by Chinese government ships into what Japan sees as its territorial waters around the disputed islands.Defense Minister Taro Kono said in a speech in Washington on Tuesday that Japan could not overlook the incursions and urged China to "improve the situation" or risk creating a "difficult environment" for Xi's visit.To contact the reporters on this story: Isabel Reynolds in Tokyo at ireynolds1@bloomberg.net;Takashi Hirokawa in Tokyo at thirokawa@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Jon Herskovitz, Chris KayFor 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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| Supreme Court Not Buying It on Bridgegate Convictions Posted: 15 Jan 2020 11:34 AM PST  It's unclear whether they'll throw the cases out.
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| Biden allegedly told Bush in 2002 he'd get the Nobel Peace Prize if he could invade Iraq quickly Posted: 15 Jan 2020 11:23 AM PST  Presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden has been distancing himself from his 2002 vote for the invasion of Iraq as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the time.
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| Camera Captures the Moment a Deer Sheds Its Antlers in the Middle of the Night Posted: 16 Jan 2020 07:21 AM PST  If you blink you might miss it
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| Bureaucracy to brutality: New evidence reveals IS hierarchy Posted: 16 Jan 2020 11:13 AM PST  Documents compiled by a U.S.-based Syrian rights group reveal how Islamic State militants used one of their most powerful bureaucratic bodies to regulate daily life and impose and execute penalties. The Washington-based Syria Justice and Accountability Center said Thursday that the evidence — documents produced by IS itself — could help identify individuals responsible for atrocities during the militants' four-year reign of terror and lead to criminal prosecutions. The 24-page report, called "Judge, Jury and Executioner," is based on dozens of documents obtained by SJAC from inside Syria and collected by a local activist from abandoned IS offices in Raqqa province, where the militants also had their self-declared capital in a city that carries the same name.
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| Peru to deport tourists over Machu Picchu damage Posted: 15 Jan 2020 12:23 PM PST  Five tourists arrested for damaging Peru's iconic Machu Picchu site will be deported to Bolivia later on Wednesday, police said. A sixth was released from custody and ordered to remain in Machu Picchu pending trial after paying bail of $910. The six tourists -- four men and two women -- were arrested for damaging Peru's "cultural heritage" after being found in a restricted area of the Temple of the Sun on Sunday.
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| Pelosi Names Impeachment Prosecutors, Triggering Senate Trial Posted: 15 Jan 2020 07:12 AM PST  The team of House Democratic lawmakers who will act as prosecutors in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump was formally introduced by Speaker Nancy Pelosi in an announcement on Wednesday morning.The speaker named seven so-called "impeachment managers" who will take up the case, outlined in the two articles of impeachment that the House passed in December, that Trump abused his power by pressuring the government of Ukraine to do him political favors while withholding U.S. security aid.As expected, the group of managers will be led by the two House lawmakers most closely associated with impeachment: Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the House Intelligence Committee chairman who was the face of the impeachment inquiry, and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), the House Judiciary Committee chairman whose panel wrote the articles.The rest of the roster includes a mix of veteran and up-and-coming legislators, the result of a cautious process on Pelosi's part to ensure the group reflected the diversity of the Democratic caucus. Named as managers were several Judiciary Committee members, including Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), a senior member of Democratic leadership, and Rep. Val Demings (D-FL), who also serves on Schiff's Intelligence Committee. Another Judiciary member named to the team, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), brings a background on impeachment that no other manager will: She sat on the Judiciary Committee during the impeachment of President Bill Clinton in 1998, and in 1973 she was a congressional staffer who helped draft articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon. In addition, Democrats' big class of freshmen lawmakers will be represented on the team, including Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), a Judiciary member, and Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), who in September co-wrote with colleagues a consequential Washington Post op-ed calling for an impeachment inquiry. Introducing the managers at a press conference, Pelosi offered a basis for her decision-making in putting together the House team. "The emphasis is on litigators," she said. "The emphasis is on comfort levels in the courtroom." Six of the seven managers are attorneys. Pelosi's announcement sets up the formal conclusion of the full House's role in the impeachment process later Wednesday, when the chamber will vote on the resolution naming the managers and sending the articles to the Senate. When it passes, the seven managers will walk in a formal procession from the House side of the U.S. Capitol to the Senate side to manually transmit the articles, per tradition. 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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| Australia’s Wildfire Crisis: Key Numbers Behind the Disaster Posted: 15 Jan 2020 03:15 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Australia is in the grip of deadly wildfires burning across the country, triggering an emotive debate about the impact of climate change in the world's driest-inhabited continent. The unprecedented scale of the crisis, and images of terrified tourists sheltering on beaches from the infernos, has shocked many Australians.With the nation only midway through summer and suffering a prolonged drought, authorities fear the death toll will continue to mount as more homes and land are destroyed. Here are some key details of the crisis:How many people have died?Since the fire season began months ago during the southern hemisphere winter, at least 28 people have died. Among the fatalities are volunteer firefighters, including a young man who died when his 10-ton truck was flipped over in what officials have described as a "fire tornado." Australia's worst wildfires came in 2009 when the Black Saturday blazes left 180 people dead.How big an area has burned?Massive tracts of land have burned. Almost 12 million hectares (30 million acres) have been destroyed -- that's almost the size of England. In New South Wales state alone, more than 5.2 million hectares of forest and bush has been destroyed, while more than 1.4 million hectares has been burned in Victoria. The fires are so large they are generating their own weather systems and causing dry lightning strikes that in turn ignite more. One blaze northwest of Sydney, the Gospers Mountain fire, has destroyed about 512,000 hectares -- about seven times the size of Singapore.The scale of the blazes dwarfs the California wildfires in 2018, which destroyed about 1.7 million acres, and about 260,000 acres in 2019.How many homes have been destroyed?Some 2,600 homes have been destroyed, mostly in New South Wales. Scores of rural towns have been impacted, including the community of Balmoral about 150 kilometers southwest of Sydney, which was largely destroyed before Christmas.What's the economic impact?The near-term cost is mounting. Toxic smoke shrouding Canberra has shuttered businesses and government departments and forced national carrier Qantas Airways Ltd. to cancel flights. The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of 2020 that brings in an estimated A$290 million, has seen qualification games disrupted due to the smoke. Economists estimate the wildfires and associated drought could cut up to half a percentage point off GDP growth as agriculture, tourism and sentiment take a hit.How has wildlife been affected?The University of Sydney estimates that 800 million animals have been killed by the bushfires in New South Wales alone since September and one billion have died nationally. The "highly conservative figure" includes mammals, birds and reptiles killed either directly by the fires, or later due to loss of food and habitat. The fires have raised concerns in particular about koalas, with authorities saying as much as 30% of their habitat in some areas had been destroyed. Images of the marsupials drinking water from bottles after being rescued have gone viral on social media.How can I help?Donations are flooding in to help with the relief effort, led by wealthy philanthropists, companies, investment banks and a string of celebrities. Mining billionaire Andrew Forrest's Minderoo Foundation has pledged A$70 million. Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer James Gorman, who is Australian, is pitching in A$1 million, while pledges have come in from stars such as Elton John, Chris Hemsworth, Bette Midler and Nicole Kidman.\--With assistance from Jason Scott.To contact the reporter on this story: Edward Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Edward Johnson at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net, Jason ScottFor 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 Best Compact Fitness Equipment Under $300 Posted: 16 Jan 2020 09:56 AM PST |
| Newly revealed Giuliani letter destroys Trump Ukraine defense Posted: 15 Jan 2020 04:19 AM PST  The House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday made public a trove of previously unreleased documents that dramatically raise the stakes of the impeachment proceedings against President Trump.
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| Former U.S. Marine: Suleimani’s Killing Is the Apotheosis of American 'Strategy' Posted: 16 Jan 2020 05:06 AM PST  A strategy that has achieved the opposite of its promises is a failure. Before another moment is wasted, Americans need to ask their leaders the same question General David Petraeus plaintively asked at the height of the Iraq War: "Tell me how this ends."
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| Biden Says He Would Consider Beto O’Rourke, Julian Castro as Potential Running Mates Posted: 16 Jan 2020 01:17 PM PST  Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Wednesday that he would consider former 2020 contenders Beto O'Rourke and Julián Castro as running mates or members of his Cabinet should he get the party's nomination."I would consider either or both of them. I've spoken to each of them," Biden told the Dallas Morning News. "My plea to both of them is that they stay engaged. They are talented, talented people."O'Rourke made headlines during the 2018 congressional elections when the former Texas congressman nearly ousted conservative Senator Ted Cruz in the deep-red state. He garnered early attention after launching his presidential bid but suspended his campaign in November after being outshone by Biden and other candidates.Castro served with Biden in the Obama administration as secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He dropped his 2020 bid earlier this month after a year of campaigning and endorsed Senator Elizabeth Warren.Biden said in August that he would prefer to choose a woman or a person of color as his running mate. He also remarked on Tuesday that he would consider Senator Kamala Harris, who dropped out of the presidential race early last month, for "anything that she would be interested in," including as his running mate."Whomever I pick, preferably it will be someone who was of color and/or a different gender, but I'm not making that commitment until I know that the person I'm dealing with I can completely and thoroughly trust as authentic and on the same page," the former vice president said.As a former presidential running mate himself to President Barack Obama, Biden said the main quality he would prioritize in a potential vice president is being "simpatico" with his values.Obama "knew that he and I had the same value set and the same political disposition as what we should do, and he knew if I ever had any doubt, I would come back to him," Biden said last year.Biden currently leads in polling among Democratic 2020 candidates at 27 percent, with Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren behind him, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls.
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| New footage shows Iranian missiles hitting Ukraine plane Posted: 15 Jan 2020 06:56 AM PST  New video footage has emerged showing two Iranian missiles tearing through the night sky and hitting a Ukrainian passenger plane, sending the aircraft down in flames and killing all 176 passengers and crew on board. The projectiles were fired 30 seconds apart and explain why the plane's transponder was not working as it hurtled to the ground -- it was disabled by the first strike, before being hit by a second, said the New York Times, which published the verified security camera footage Tuesday. The blurry film, shot from a rooftop in a village four miles from an Iranian military site, shows the Kiev-bound plane on fire and circling back to Tehran's airport, the Times said.
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| No tweeting: Senators have to keep quiet, stay off iPhones, and remain seated during Trump's impeachment trial Posted: 15 Jan 2020 11:37 AM PST  Senators cannot take electronic devices into the chamber during the trial, which means they will not be live-tweeting the proceedings.
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| Japan minister Koizumi to take paternity leave, aims to be role model Posted: 14 Jan 2020 05:49 PM PST  Japanese environment minister Shinjiro Koizumi on Wednesday announced he would take paternity leave, as he aims to become a role model for the country's working fathers. Koizumi, son of charismatic former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi and seen as a future leader himself, said he would take about two weeks of leave over three months following the birth of his first child this month. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been trying to encourage more men to take paternity leave, and for businesses to allow a better work-life balance, as part of his "Womenomics" program of bolstering women's employment.
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| South Korea Should Consult U.S. on North Korea Tours, Envoy Says Posted: 16 Jan 2020 02:21 AM PST ![South Korea Should Consult U.S. on North Korea Tours, Envoy Says]( "South Korea Should Consult U.S. on North Korea Tours, Envoy Says") (Bloomberg) -- South Korea's push to allow for private tourism to North Korea should be discussed with the U.S., said Ambassador Harry Harris, who added the visits are technically possible."Tourism is allowed under sanctions, but what you take with you when you tour, some of those things might not be allowed under those sanctions," the U.S. envoy to South Korea told reporters Thursday after President Moon Jae-in raised the proposal earlier this week. Harris said consultations with a designated U.S. government body should take place to "avoid misunderstandings."Moon said at a news conference in Seoul on Tuesday that individual tourism is not restricted by international sanctions and he's willing to "seek approval from the United Nations for exceptions when it comes to cooperation between South and North Korea."Tourism allows cash-starved North Korea to obtain hard currency and significant flows of money to Kim's regime could undermine President Donald Trump's maximum pressure campaign to squeeze its economy through sanctions.Harris also said that the U.S. has made adjustments in its request for funding from South Korea to host U.S. troops and was looking for Seoul to do the same -- without mentioning any specific figures. His comments came after U.S. and South Korean negotiators failed to reach an agreement at their latest defense cost-sharing talks held in Washington, with the two sides saying there is still a "difference in stances," according to a statement from South Korea's foreign ministry.Their current deal technically expired at the start of the year and the tension over the new terms has raised questions about one of the U.S.'s closest military alliances and a key piece of the Pentagon's strategy for countering North Korea and a rising China. There has been no major change to the U.S. military presence in the country as they two sides meet to discuss a new deal.U.S. Walks Out of Military Cost-Sharing Talks With South KoreaTrump has demanded South Korea contribute about $5 billion for hosting about 28,500 U.S. military personnel, well above the current one-year deal where Seoul pays about $1 billion. The price tag originated with the White House, according to people familiar with the matter, and administration officials justify it by saying it reflects the costs South Korea would incur if it takes operational control of combined U.S.-South Korean forces in the case of a conflict.To contact the reporter on this story: Jihye Lee in Seoul at jlee2352@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Jon Herskovitz, Chris KayFor 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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| A man who was put up in a Comfort Inn 'boardroom suite' discovered it was literally a boardroom with a bed Posted: 15 Jan 2020 02:37 PM PST  The stranded traveler shared his amusement on Twitter, where the photo of the "boardroom suite" hotel room went viral.
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| Egypt and Ethiopia reach deal on Nile 'mega dam' that brought threats of war Posted: 16 Jan 2020 09:35 AM PST  Egypt and Ethiopia have struck a preliminary deal to end a row over the construction of a giant dam on the Nile, potentially averting a war between two of Africa's biggest military powers. Following talks in Washington brokered by the US government, Egypt agreed in principle to drop its opposition to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam after receiving assurances that its water supply would not be threatened. The breakthrough follows years of recrimination, with both countries periodically resorting to threats of war ever since Ethiopia announced plans to build the dam in 2011. With 95 percent of its population living in the Nile Valley, Egypt has always been acutely sensitive about the flow of a river on which it has depended for its very existence since the dawn of civilisation 5,000 years ago. The world's longest river is the source of nine-tenths of Egypt's fresh water. Arguing that it was granted ultimate control of the Nile under safeguards implemented by Britain in 1929, Egypt says the Renaissance Dam — which will be the world seventh largest on completion — could cause vital downstream reservoirs to dry up. Ethiopia, in whose highlands the Blue Nile rises before meeting the White Nile in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, argues that the dam will transform the lives of its 110m people, providing many of them with electricity for the first time and allowing the country to industrialise. Hopes for a resolution to the crisis were raised last year after Ethiopia, which had previously resisted international mediation, agreed to US involvement after Egypt's president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, made a personal appeal to Donald Trump, his US counterpart. Mr Trump instructed the US treasury department to work with the World Bank to find a solution. Following talks in Washington, officials from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan agreed to allow the dam, which has largely been completed, to be filled in stages every July and August, the Ethiopian rainy season, so long as the impact on downstream reservoirs is monitored. "The subsequent stages of filling will be done according to a mechanism to be agreed," the US treasury department said in a statement. A final deal could be signed at the end of the month, although analysts warn that differences between Egypt and Ethiopia remain, particularly over how long it should take to fill the dam's reservoir, which will be the size of Buckinghamshire. Sudan has sided with Ethiopia in the row, believing the dam will help regulate the flow of the Blue Nile and reduce downstream flooding.
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| 'Joe's Jokers': Meet Some of the Best Marine Aces of World War II Posted: 16 Jan 2020 12:15 AM PST  VMF-115 compiled an amazing combat record with Medal of Honor recipient Joe Foss at the helm.
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| DOJ Is Investigating Comey’s Role in Leak of Classified Document during Clinton-Email Probe Posted: 16 Jan 2020 03:04 PM PST  Department of Justice prosecutors reportedly are investigating the possibility that former FBI director James Comey leaked a classified Russian intelligence document to the media during the investigation of Hillary Clinton's emails, according to a Thursday report from the New York Times.Per the Times, the investigation is centered around two 2017 articles from the Times and the Washington Post describing the Russian document, which played a key role in Comey's unilateral decision to announce in July 2016 that the FBI would not pursue charges against Clinton for using a private email server to conduct official business during her time as secretary of state.The document, which Dutch intelligence shared with the U.S., includes an analysis of an email exchange between Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D., Fla.), who was then chairing the Democratic National Committee, and Leonard Bernardo, an official with the Soros-backed non-profit Open Society Foundations. Wasserman Schultz assures Bernardo in the email that then–attorney general Loretta Lynch would make sure Clinton wasn't charged in the email probe.Both Bernardo and Wasserman Schultz have denied ever having the exchange, and the FBI's assessment claimed that the document was a fake and part of a Russian disinformation campaign.Department of Justice inspector general Michael Horowitz said in a review of Comey's actions over the Clinton probe — and its subsequent reopening in October 2016 — that the former FBI director had a "troubling lack of any direct, substantive communication" with Lynch over his decisions.Both 2017 articles cite Comey's private concern that if Lynch had announced no charges for Clinton, the Russians could have released the document to cast doubt on whether the investigation was ethical. They also cite Comey's decision not to tell Lynch that he was declining to charge Clinton as a way of protecting the FBI's political independence.Investigators are examining whether Comey's personal lawyer, Daniel Richman, gave the Russian document to reporters. Richman played a key role in a different, confirmed leak that Comey orchestrated to hand over memos of his private encounters with President Trump in the early days of the Trump administration."I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter," Comey testified to Congress in June 2017. "I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel."In August, Horowitz found that Comey violated policy and set a "dangerous example" for the rank-and-file by retaining and leaking the memos. Horowitz referred Comey for potential prosecution over the matter, but the DOJ declined to prosecute.Comey has long taken criticism for his handling of the Clinton investigation from Republicans and President Trump, who suggested in December that Comey could get jail time.> So now Comey's admitting he was wrong. Wow, but he's only doing so because he got caught red handed. He was actually caught a long time ago. So what are the consequences for his unlawful conduct. Could it be years in jail? Where are the apologies to me and others, Jim?> > -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2019
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| Australia raises with Iran imprisoned Australian academic Posted: 16 Jan 2020 03:06 PM PST ![Australia raises with Iran imprisoned Australian academic]( "Australia raises with Iran imprisoned Australian academic") Australia's foreign minister said on Friday she had raised with her Iranian counterpart the fate of an imprisoned Australian-British academic after a report that the woman had urged the Australian government to help free her. Foreign Minister Marise Payne declined to detail her conversation with Mohammad Javad Zarif about convicted academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert on the sidelines of a global leadership conference in India. Moore-Gilbert, a Melbourne University lecturer on Middle Eastern studies, has been held in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran since September 2018.
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| Woman who poisoned husband with eyedrops sentenced to 25 years in prison Posted: 16 Jan 2020 02:41 PM PST  A woman accused of poisoning her husband to death with eye drops then burning his will has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.South Carolina woman Lana Clayton pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter more than a year after she had spiked her husband's water with Visine until he collapsed inside the couple's multi-million-dollar home on 21 July 2018.
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| Universities, Colleges Where Students Are Eager to Enroll Posted: 16 Jan 2020 06:29 AM PST ![Universities, Colleges Where Students Are Eager to Enroll]( "Universities, Colleges Where Students Are Eager to Enroll") As students apply to their dream schools, acceptance is almost too good to pass up.
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| Report: Putin and Assad caught laughing at Trump Posted: 15 Jan 2020 07:30 AM PST  Vladimir Putin and Bashar Assad have been caught on video mocking President Trump.
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| Merkel to seek end to Huawei dispute in her conservative camp: sources Posted: 15 Jan 2020 03:44 PM PST  Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet senior conservative lawmakers on Thursday to resolve a dispute in her own party over whether to bar China's Huawei [HWT.UL] from the country's 5G network rollout, party sources said. Merkel's conservatives are divided on whether to support a proposal by their Social Democrat junior coalition partners that, if approved, would effectively shut out the Chinese technology giant from the network. Handelsblatt business daily was first to report on Wednesday the planned meeting between Merkel and senior conservative lawmakers.
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| Hong Kong Leader Says China Could Treat City the Same After 2047 Posted: 15 Jan 2020 08:16 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong's leader said China could continue guaranteeing the city its separate freedoms under the "one country, two systems" principle after it expires in 2047."My view is that, as long as we insist on the 'one country, two systems' principle, with the in-depth implementation of the principle and ample understanding, which fits the interests of Hong Kong citizens, then there is sufficient reason to believe that 'one country, two systems' will be practiced smoothly in the long term, and will not be changed after 2047," Chief Executive Carrie Lam told lawmakers at a question-and-answer session at the city's Legislative Council on Thursday.The comments are some of Lam's most detailed statements on the long-term political future of the former British colony, which was returned to Chinese rule in 1997 on the promise that Beijing would leave its capitalist economy and political freedoms untouched for 50 years. They echoed those made by China's government in recent years.During a 2017 visit to the financial hub marking the anniversary of its handover, President Xi Jinping said he hoped for the "smooth and long-term successful practice" of "one country, two systems," according to Hong Kong's pro-China newspaper Wen Wei Po.Uncertain FutureAnxiety and fear about Hong Kong's political future under an increasingly authoritarian administration in Beijing have fueled seven months of violent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, initially triggered by since-scrapped legislation over extraditions to the mainland.Once the 50-year time period expires in 2047, China is under no obligation to continue permitting Hong Kong to keep separate freedoms -- including a free media and the right to protest -- that make the city distinct from the mainland. Protesters and pro-democracy lawmakers have frequently accused China of undermining the promises the country's leaders made to Britain before the handover in 1997 and envision a bleak future beyond 2047, in which Hong Kong is treated like any other Chinese city.Some pro-establishment lawmakers have argued that violent protests in favor of greater democracy are likely to make Beijing feel threatened, and less likely to continue guaranteeing Hong Kong's separate freedoms after 2047.Luo Huining, the new director of China's Liaison Office in the city, said Wednesday that Hong Kong's people should place their hope in "one country, two systems."If the system is implemented well, "Hong Kong will win development opportunities and earn room for growth," he said. If it isn't, "there will be non-stop conflicts and chaos."To contact the reporters on this story: Iain Marlow in Hong Kong at imarlow1@bloomberg.net;Natalie Lung in Hong Kong at flung6@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Karen Leigh, Adrian KennedyFor 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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| One of Canada's biggest newspapers said Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are not welcome Posted: 16 Jan 2020 01:41 PM PST  The scathing opinion piece from The Globe and Mail argued their residency would break "an unspoken constitutional taboo."
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| Meet The Focke-Wult FW-190 Fighter: World War II's Best Fighter Aircraft Posted: 15 Jan 2020 09:00 PM PST  Created by a brilliant, German aircraft designer.
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| US military resumes counter-Islamic State operations in Iraq Posted: 15 Jan 2020 03:55 PM PST  The U.S. military is resuming operations against Islamic State militants in Iraq and is working to soon restart training Iraqi forces, U.S. officials said Wednesday, despite deep divisions over the American drone strike that killed an senior Iranian commander in Baghdad and the resulting missile attacks by Iran on Iraqi bases. One official said some joint operations between the U.S. and Iraqi forces have already begun, but there are not yet as many as before.
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| Race to save animals on Australia's fire-ravaged 'Galapagos' Posted: 16 Jan 2020 12:36 AM PST  On an island famed as Australia's "Galapagos" for its unique and abundant wildlife, rescuers are racing to save rare animals in a bushfire-ravaged landscape. The charred forest floor on Kangaroo Island is littered with corpses of animals incinerated by the blazes that swept through two weeks ago. Unprecedented fires across swathes of southern and eastern Australia over the past five months have killed an estimated billion animals.
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| Homeless Moms Forcibly Evicted From Vacant Oakland House Highlight Area's Affordable Housing Crisis Posted: 15 Jan 2020 11:37 AM PST  Oakland's mayor called their protest 'a courageous act of civil disobedience'
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| Texts Appear to Show Former Ukraine Prosecutor Offering Info on Bidens in Exchange for Ouster of Then-Ambassador Yovanovitch Posted: 15 Jan 2020 05:41 AM PST  A trove of documents provided to House impeachment investigators by Lev Parnas, an associate of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, appears to show former top Ukraine prosecutor Yuri Lutsenko offering Giuliani damaging information on Joe and Hunter Biden in exchange for the firing of then–U.S. ambassador Marie Yovanovitch.Lutsenko was critical of Yovanovitch due to her support for an anti-corruption institution based in Ukraine, as well as because the ambassador had been critical of Lutsenko and his office."It's just that if you don't make a decision about Madam — you are calling into question all my declarations. Including about B," Lutsenko wrote to Parnas in Russian in a Whatsapp message from March 22. "Madam" likely refers to Yovanovitch, while it is unclear if "B" designates Biden or Burisma, the Ukrainian company on whose board Hunter Biden sat from 2014 to early 2019.Lutsenko, who was in the midst of an investigation into Burisma, updated Parnas four days later, writing that he had found evidence of money transfers pertaining to "B.""And here you can't even remove one fool :(" Lutsenko told Parnas via text message."She's not a simple fool[,] trust me," Parnas wrote back. "But she's not getting away."The documents also reveal that Parnas's associate, Connecticut businessman and congressional candidate Robert Hyde, was in contact with some unidentified person who was surveilling Yovanovitch.During her testimony before Congress last year, Yovanovitch speculated that Giuliani and his associates were working to have her fired in order to install an ambassador who would be more amenable to their corrupt business dealings in Ukraine.The documents are likely to breath new life into the Democrat-led impeachment process against President Trump, just as the House plans to vote to transfer the impeachment articles to the Senate for trial.The contours of the trial are as yet unclear. Republicans in the Senate and the Trump administration have vacillated between calls to allow witnesses to testify at the trial and a desire to dismiss the charges without summoning witnesses at all.
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| Russia's entire cabinet resigned en masse in a plan that would help Putin keep power indefinitely. Here's everything we know. Posted: 16 Jan 2020 10:22 AM PST  The resignation came moments after President Vladimir Putin Putin suggested big constitutional changes.
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