| Congressman defends posting fake Obama photo: 'No one said this wasn't photoshopped' Posted: 06 Jan 2020 02:17 PM PST  Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., stood by his decision Monday to post a fake photograph of former President Barack Obama shaking hands with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani despite the fact that the two men never met in person.
|
| Did the U.S. 'assassinate' Iranian general or just kill him? Why it matters Posted: 06 Jan 2020 10:10 AM PST  The killing of top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani has raised questions about what exactly to call the tactic that led to his death in a drone strike at a Baghdad airport.
|
| Official quits amid charges he paid women to give up babies Posted: 07 Jan 2020 01:49 PM PST  An elected official in metro Phoenix resigned Tuesday, months after being charged with running a human smuggling operation that paid pregnant women from the Marshall Islands to give up their babies in the U.S. The resignation of Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen came after leaders in the one of the nation's most populous counties suspended and pressured him to resign after his arrest nearly three months ago. The county's governing board voted in late December to start the process of removing Petersen, who also works as an adoption attorney.
|
| CNN Settles Lawsuit Brought by Covington Catholic Student Nicholas Sandmann Posted: 07 Jan 2020 12:12 PM PST  CNN agreed on Tuesday to settle a lawsuit brought by Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann.Sandmann sought $275 million from CNN over its coverage of the confrontation he and his classmates had with an elderly Native American man while visiting Washington, D.C., on a school trip in January of last year. The amount of the settlement was not made public during a hearing at the federal courthouse in Covington on Tuesday, according to a local Fox affiliate."CNN brought down the full force of its corporate power, influence, and wealth on Nicholas by falsely attacking, vilifying, and bullying him despite the fact that he was a minor child," reads the suit, which was filed in March 2019.Sandmann and his family still have lawsuits pending against NBC Universal and the Washington Post over their coverage of the incident. The Sandmann family sought a combined $800 million in damages from CNN, the Post, and NBC Universal."This case will be tried not one minute earlier or later than when it is ready," Sandmann's attorney Lin Wood said of the remaining lawsuits.Numerous national media outlets painted Sandmann and his classmates as menacing — and in some cases racist — after an edited video emerged of Sandmann smiling, inches away from the face of Nathan Phillips, an elderly Native American man, while attending the March for Life on the National Mall. A more complete video of the encounter, which emerged later, showed that Phillips had approached the Covington students and begun drumming in their faces, prompting them to respond with school chants.The lawsuit filed by Sandmann's attorneys in the Eastern District of Kentucky claimed that 53 statements included in CNN's coverage of the incident were defamatory. One such statement, included in a CNN opinion piece, accused the students of acting with "racist disrespect" towards Phillips. Meanwhile, Bakari Sellers, a CNN contributor, publicly mused about assaulting the 16-year-old Sandmann, and HBO host Bill Maher called him a "little prick."CNN filed a motion to dismiss the suit in May on the grounds that accusations of racism are not actionable in defamation cases because the allegation can't be proven true or false. They similarly argued they could not be held liable for uncorroborated claims that Sandmann and his classmates chanted "build the wall" during the encounter.It is not defamatory to say the Covington students "expressed support for the President or that he echoed a signature slogan of a major political party," CNN's motion to dismiss claims.An investigation conducted by an outside firm contracted by the Diocese of Covington found "no evidence that the students performed a 'Build the wall' chant" and that Phillips's account of the incident "contain some inconsistencies" that could not be explored because investigators were unable to reach him.Phillips initially claimed that the boys approached him but later admitted that he walked into their group after a video emerged disproving his initial claim. According to his second account, Phillips was attempting to defuse a confrontation between the students and a group of Black Hebrew Israelites, who can be heard on video shouting racial and homophobic slurs at the boys.Roger J. Foys, the bishop of Covington, celebrated the report as a vindication of the students. "Our students were placed in a situation that was at once bizarre and even threatening," he said in a statement. "Their reaction to the situation was, given the circumstances, expected and one might even say laudatory."
|
| This is how the US and Iran rank among the world's 25 most powerful militaries Posted: 07 Jan 2020 01:48 PM PST  Comparing the power of conventional military forces is complicated. But an annual ranking does just that — and these are the 25 most powerful.
|
| Gangs allegedly run Mississippi prison where inmates were killed Posted: 06 Jan 2020 09:56 PM PST  Almost half the roughly 1,300 corrections positions in three major facilities in Mississippi remain unfilled.
|
| India asks refiners to stop buying Malaysian palm oil after political row - sources Posted: 07 Jan 2020 01:28 AM PST  MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has informally asked palm oil refiners and traders to avoid buying Malaysian palm oil, government and industry sources said on Tuesday, following Malaysian criticism of India's actions in the Kashmir region and its new citizenship law. India is the world's biggest buyer of the oil and palm oil inventories could spike in Malaysia, putting prices under pressure if Indian refiners reduce purchases from the country. Malaysian prices are the global benchmark for palm oil prices.
|
| US military tells Iraq it is preparing to 'move out': official letter Posted: 06 Jan 2020 01:32 PM PST  The US military informed its counterparts in Baghdad on Monday it was preparing for "movement out of Iraq," a day after the Iraqi parliament urged the government oust foreign troops. The head of the US military's Task Force Iraq, Brigadier General William Seely, sent a letter to the head of Iraq's joint operations command, a copy of which was seen by AFP. The letter said forces from the US-led coalition in Iraq would "be repositioning forces over the course of the coming days and weeks to prepare for onward movement".
|
| Iran threatens to hit American bases with medium- and long-range missiles Posted: 07 Jan 2020 10:40 AM PST  Iranian military forces have said they are prepared to use medium- to long-range missiles to attack U.S. bases in the Middle East, in revenge for the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was the commander of Iran's Quds Force.
|
| America's Stealth Weapons: Can Iran Shoot Down a B-2 or F-35? Posted: 06 Jan 2020 02:00 PM PST  We might find out...
|
| Police, Secret Service mum after new incident at Mar-a-Lago Posted: 07 Jan 2020 12:50 PM PST  There was an unspecified incident involving the Secret Service at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, but authorities would not say Tuesday what happened — the latest in a series of incidents at the club since the president took office three years ago. Palm Beach police records show officers were called to Mar-a-Lago on Monday night to assist the Secret Service but most of the report is redacted, including the name of the individual who was contacted. Police spokesman Michael Ogrodnick said the Secret Service is the lead investigative agency in the matter and his department has no comment.
|
| The 'most prolific rapist' in UK history was known by his friends as bubbly and cheerful Posted: 07 Jan 2020 04:11 PM PST  Reynhard Sinaga lured victims with a place to stay for the night, as many were intoxicated, while others had lost their cell phones or credit cards.
|
| Philippines Prepares to Evacuate Citizens in Middle East Posted: 06 Jan 2020 01:00 AM PST |
| 'Everyone's scared' - Puerto Rico declares emergency after earthquakes Posted: 07 Jan 2020 12:48 AM PST  Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vazquez declared a state of emergency on Tuesday after a series of earthquakes killed at least one person, toppled buildings and knocked out power to nearly the entire island of more than 3 million people. With two large power plants shut down, drinking water was cut off to at least 300,000 customers, Vazquez told a news conference. Puerto Rico's electricity authority said it hoped to re-establish services during the night in the metropolitan area of San Juan, the capital, which is home to about 2.3 million people.
|
| 'Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated': US Army general says he's still alive after terrorist attack in Kenya Posted: 06 Jan 2020 12:41 PM PST  "This is yet another example of the lies, propaganda and fake news," US Army Gen. Stephen Townsend said in a statement.
|
| Republican John James Out-Raises Incumbent Dem Gary Peters by $1 Million in Fourth Quarter of Michigan Senate Race Posted: 07 Jan 2020 10:16 AM PST  Republican Senate candidate John James out-raised incumbent Gary Peters (D., Mich.) for the second straight quarter, further tightening an already competitive race for a vulnerable Senate seat.James's campaign said it raised $3.5 million in the fourth quarter, $1 million more than Peters in the same time frame, securing a higher margin than James's $600k advantage in the third quarter. While Peters' campaign says it has $8 million in cash on hand, a poll last month showed James surging to a narrow lead in the race, and Peters' job disapproval rating increasing to 7 percent.In a December interview, Peters seemed to endorse the Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal resolution, saying "I believe we can" when asked if the U.S. can realistically transition the economy to zero-net emissions by 2050."We have to push the technology as aggressively as we can," the senator said. ". . . We should look at this as an economic opportunity to drive our economy while also doing the right thing for the environment."Peters, who voted "present" when the resolution was brought to the Senate floor for a vote in March, said a month later that he backed certain aspects of the Green New Deal, but remained vague on what specifically attracted him, save for one specific detail."There's no question we're going to need to make a massive effort to deal with this issue [climate change], and there are many aspects of the Green New Deal I support, particularly when it comes to retrofitting buildings," Peters said at the time.
|
| Meet America's B-25G Bomber: The Plane That Used A Tank Cannon To Destroy Enemy Warships Posted: 06 Jan 2020 08:00 AM PST  When the U.S. Army Air Force procured the B-25G Mitchell, it had a very different mission in mind—sinking ships at sea.
|
| Pakistani air force jet crashes in training, 2 pilots killed Posted: 07 Jan 2020 05:17 AM PST |
| 40 suspects in Mexico Mormon massacre: lawyer Posted: 07 Jan 2020 01:25 PM PST  Mexican authorities believe at least 40 people were involved in killing nine Mormon women and children in the north of the country in November, a lawyer for one of the families said Tuesday. The three women and six children from a breakaway Mormon community with dual US-Mexican nationality were on a remote road in a lawless region between the states of Chihuahua and Sonora when gunmen attacked their cars, a crime that sparked outrage on both sides of the border.
|
| VP says Philippine president's drug campaign is a failure Posted: 06 Jan 2020 07:39 AM PST  Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo said only about 1% of the estimated supply of methamphetamine, a powerful banned stimulant locally known as shabu, has been seized in the last three years, since the crackdown was launched by Duterte when he took office in mid-2016.
|
| How many women in Puerto Rico must die before there's change? Women are done waiting. Posted: 07 Jan 2020 12:15 AM PST  Feminist groups in Puerto Rico are demanding that their government take violence against women seriously. But that's just the beginning.
|
| 'Not a standard deployment': 3,500 US paratroopers deploying amid soaring Iran tensions were told to leave their cellphones and electronics behind Posted: 07 Jan 2020 11:24 AM PST  The unusual decision of banning personal phones, an Army spokesman said, is intended to protect soldiers and their missions in the Middle East.
|
| Elizabeth Warren Shuts Down Meghan McCain’s Defense of Trump on Iran Posted: 07 Jan 2020 09:04 AM PST  On Monday morning, during The View's first new show of 2020, Meghan McCain defended President Donald Trump's targeted killing of top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. "For me, when a big, bad terrorist gets blown up, I'm happy about it," she said. When Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) appeared on the show Tuesday, she was quick to shut that position down. The drama started when McCain began to praise the 2020 presidential candidate, saying, "I believe you respect the American military and respect our troops. You have traveled overseas many times. I just want to say that first and foremost." Warren must have known there was a "but" coming. Seth Meyers Exposes 'Self-Serving Hypocrite' Fox News Host Ainsley Earhardt"You issued a statement calling Soleimani a murderer," McCain continued. "Later, you issued a second statement saying that he was 'an assassination of a senior foreign military official.' Now, this is a man who is obviously responsible for hundreds of American troops' deaths, carnage that we can't even imagine." After noting that both the Treasury and State departments have designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a "terrorist organization," she added, "I don't understand the flip-flop. I don't understand why it was so hard to call him a terrorist, and I would just like you to explain the change." Warren insisted that there wasn't a "change" in her position on Soleimani, arguing that both things can be true at the same time. "The question is what is the response that the president of the United States should make, and what advances the interests of the United States of America?" she asked. Saddam Hussein may have been a "bad guy," she added, "however, going to war in Iraq was not in the interest of the United States." The senator continued to make her case, but McCain was stuck on semantics. "Do you think he's a terrorist?" she asked, interrupting Warren. When Warren said Soleimani was "part of a group that has been designated as terrorists," McCain sneered and shook her head as she asked, "So he's not a terrorist?" "Of course, he is," Warren answered finally. "He's part of a group that our federal government has designated a terrorist. The question though, is what's the right response? And the response that Donald Trump has picked is the most incendiary and has moved us right to the edge of war, and that is not in our long-term interests." By the end of her appearance on the show, Warren was actively ignoring McCain's repeated attempts to interrupt her as she extolled the virtues of her 2 percent wealth tax. "Can we just switch gears for a second?" McCain asked, but Warren kept making her points undeterred. She simply wasn't having it.How Andrea Savage Finds the Sweet Spot Between Cringing and ComedyRead more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
|
| China eyes increased ties with Kiribati, site of space tracking station Posted: 06 Jan 2020 04:11 AM PST  China said on Monday it hoped to expand newly restored ties with the Pacific state of Kiribati, site of a strategic but mothballed Chinese space tracking station, in comments that may further stoke U.S. anxiety about Beijing's growing influence. A senior Chinese diplomat said Beijing was "open" to all sorts of projects in Kiribati, an ex-British colony made up mainly of atolls in the central Pacific, in waters dominated by the United States and its allies since World War Two. Speaking to reporters after Chinese President Xi Jinping met Kiribati's President Taneti Maamau in Beijing, the diplomat, Lu Kang, did not respond directly to a question about whether Beijing planned to reopen the space tracking station.
|
| Did A Russian Built Submarine 'Sink' A U.S. Navy Sub Back in 2015? Posted: 06 Jan 2020 10:55 PM PST  How could that be?
|
| Monks at Saint Anselm clash with college board over power Posted: 06 Jan 2020 11:42 AM PST  Monks at a Catholic college in New Hampshire faced off in court Monday against the school's board of trustees in a dispute over an effort to limit the the monks' power — a move some worry could lead to increased secularization. A judge heard motions in Hillsborough Superior Court related to a lawsuit filed against the Saint Anselm College board last year. The unusual clash was set in motion when the board moved to take away the monks' ability to amend the school's bylaws.
|
| Strike against Iran could cause issues with North Korea Posted: 07 Jan 2020 09:29 AM PST  The U.S. strike that killed Iran's top military commander may have had an indirect casualty: a diplomatic solution to denuclearizing North Korea.
|
| Trial opens in Japan for grisly murder of 19 at disabled home Posted: 07 Jan 2020 04:18 PM PST  The man accused of the 2016 murder of 19 disabled people at a Japanese care home goes on trial Wednesday in a case that ranks among the country's worst mass killings. Satoshi Uematsu, a former employee of the care centre outside Tokyo, has admitted carrying out the stabbing rampage, but his lawyer is expected to enter a plea of not guilty on grounds of diminished capacity. Uematsu reportedly said he wanted to eradicate all disabled people in the horrifying July 26 attack at the Tsukui Yamayuri-en centre in the town of Sagamihara outside Tokyo.
|
| Wildfire-Weary Australians See No End to Unprecedented Calamity Posted: 05 Jan 2020 10:41 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Exhausted firefighters welcomed cooler weather and patchy rain in blaze-ravaged southeastern Australia Monday after a calamitous few days, even as authorities warn of a return to dangerous conditions later this week.With no end in sight to the months-long crisis, authorities are counting the cost after the weekend saw properties in small towns on the south coast of New South Wales and alpine villages in neighboring Victoria state razed by fires that grew so large they generated dry thunderstorms. Thousands of people have been evacuated to recreation grounds hastily converted into makeshift camps that are shrouded in toxic smoke."There is no room for complacency, especially since we have over 130 fires burning across the state still," New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney on Monday. She said that two more people were missing on the state's south coast; the national death toll since the fire season began unseasonably early in September has risen to 24.Prime Minister Scott Morrison has faced criticism for his belated response in pooling national resources to combat the fires. On Monday he again signaled his conservative government won't toughen policies to combat climate change, which has been blamed for exacerbating a crippling drought that's helped create tinderbox conditions.On Saturday he announced an unprecedented level of military support to boost firefighting and recovery efforts, while on Monday after an emergency meeting of cabinet he said his government will commit A$2 billion ($1.4 billion) over two years to assist recovery efforts, focused on repairing infrastructure and boosting mental-health care."Today's cabinet was one of great resolve," Morrison told reporters in Canberra. "It was one where we stood together and said, whatever it takes, whatever it costs, we will ensure the resilience and future of this country and we will do it by investing in the work that needs to be done."Asked whether government relief funding and lost revenue due to the fires could jeopardize the government's promise to return the budget to surplus this fiscal year, Morrison said the surplus wasn't a focus compared to dealing with the human cost of the crisis. He said the economy's position of strength was allowing the government to adequately respond to the disaster and its economic implications.Hard HitCanberra, an inland city of about 500,000 people, has been one of the hardest hit by the smoke haze that's shrouded southeast Australia for weeks. Early on Monday, the capital again had the world's worst air quality, conditions which at the weekend prompted the release of about 100,000 particulate-filter masks from the national stockpile.There's little improvement expected in conditions that have already caused the cancellation of dozens of flights as well as postal services. On Monday, child-care centers were closed and shops and museums shuttered. The Department of Home Affairs has closed its Canberra offices until at least Wednesday, with non-essential staff told to stay home.The hazardous smoke on Monday reached Melbourne, the largest city in Victoria. Australia's navy was deployed at the weekend to rescue hundreds of stranded holiday-makers in the state who had been forced to huddle on the beach at Mallacoota as a ferocious blaze bore down on the tourist town last week.About 200 homes have been destroyed in Victoria, and four people are still missing in the state. An airlift evacuation of 300 people from Mallacoota on Monday had to be delayed due to thick smoke.Key authorities in New South Wales and Victoria welcomed the weekend news of the deployment of as many as 3,000 army reservists, but voiced disappointment that they weren't consulted ahead of the decision or briefed before Morrison detailed his response plans to the media.A 50-second advert about the deployment by Morrison's Liberal Party was widely criticized for appearing to opportunistically politicize the crisis. It's another misstep by Morrison, who was lambasted for taking an unannounced pre-Christmas vacation to Hawaii amid the crisis, and was filmed turning his back on a pregnant woman appealing for more resources to tackle the blazes as he toured a bushfire-ravaged community.The unfolding tragedy, that's blackened almost 5 million hectares (12.3 million acres) in New South Wales state alone, has prompted millions of dollars of donations and support from international celebrities, sports stars, and the British Royal Family.New Zealand-born actor Russell Crowe, who is in Australia to protect his properties, had a statement read to the audience when he won an award at the Golden Globes in Los Angeles."Make no mistake, the tragedy in Australia is climate change-based," Crowe said in the statement read by actress Jennifer Aniston. "We need to act based on science, move our global workforce to renewable energy and respect our planet for the unique and amazing place it is. That way, we all have a future."The resource-rich state of Western Australia will be completely cut off by road from the rest of the nation on Monday as fires and flood force the closure of main access routes, the West Australian newspaper reported. As well as the blazes that have affected major roads for weeks, the only highway out of Broome is due to close later Monday as Tropical Cyclone Blake bares down on the northwest coast.Australia's Wildfires Hurt Nation's Biggest Names Such as QantasOn Saturday, two people died in wildfires that destroyed more than a third of South Australia's Kangaroo Island, devastating the national park and farmland, and severely damaging the luxury Southern Ocean Lodge resort. Penrith, on the outskirts of Sydney, reached a record 48.9 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) Saturday, symbolic of the dangerous weather conditions that have fanned ferocious flames and sparked new blazes further south.While Berejiklian said conditions weren't expected to worsen to those levels in coming days, there are fears two huge fires in the southern highlands could merge to become a "mega blaze."Berejiklian said her state was in "uncharted territory" due to the length and severity of the fire season. An estimated 60 homes were destroyed in New South Wales at the weekend, meaning more than 1,400 houses have been lost since September."The weather activity we're seeing, the extent and spread of the fires, the speed at which they're going, the way in which they're attacking communities who've never ever seen fire before, is unprecedented," Berejiklian said on Sunday.(Updates with Western Australia road closures)\--With assistance from Jason Gale.To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Scott in Canberra at jscott14@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Tony Jordan, Edward JohnsonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
|
| Hong Kong leader says new year will be a challenging one Posted: 06 Jan 2020 08:32 PM PST  Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said Tuesday that the city faces multiple challenges in the new year, including violence, economic tribulation and a health scare as anti-government protests enter their eighth month. The mass protests began in June to oppose proposed extradition legislation that would have allowed Hong Kong residents to be sent to stand trial in mainland China, where activists are routinely jailed. A former British colony, Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997 under the framework of "one country, two systems," which promises the territory certain rights not afforded to the mainland.
|
| California has sued tech billionaire Vinod Khosla over beach access, reviving a decade-long legal battle Posted: 06 Jan 2020 06:06 PM PST  The billionaire tech investor has previously said he regretted buying the beach, but will continue defending his property rights
|
| Netanyahu Distances From Soleimani Slaying, Says Israel Shouldn’t Be ‘Dragged’ Into It: Report Posted: 07 Jan 2020 03:59 AM PST  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump's closest ally on the international stage, is walking on a tightrope in crafting his reaction to the American strike against Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.On Sunday, for public consumption, Netanyahu issued a statement of praise, but restrained himself from the usual flourishes he indulges in when congratulating Trump, such as accompanying videos.In a statement released by his office, Netanyahu said, "Qassem Soleimani brought about the death of many American citizens and many other innocents in recent decades and at present. Soleimani initiated, planned and carried out many terrorist attacks throughout the Middle East and beyond."President Trump is deserving of all esteem for taking determined, strong and quick action. I would like to reiterate—Israel fully stands alongside the US in the just struggle for security, peace and self-defense."And that was it.Netanyahu is in the thorniest moment of his turbulent, three-decade long career in politics. He is running for re-election after having failed to form a coalition government in two elections held in 2019. Last November, he became the first sitting Israeli prime minister to be accused of crimes, when he was indicted on three separate counts of corruption. In the fight for his political life, Netanyahu took the unprecedented step of requesting parliamentary immunity last Thursday.Israel has previously been the target of terror attacks attributed to Iran, including the bombing of its embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992, and several attacks in other countries in the past decade.While the foreign ministry put all its embassies on high alert immediately following the assassination of Soleimani, the last thing Netanyahu wants is for Israelis to suspect the danger from Iran has grown since the 2018 American withdrawal from Syria, which Netanyahu championed and celebrated.Two leaks from his security cabinet meeting on Monday helped sustain this aim, despite Iranian troops' entrenchment along Israel's northern border with Syria in recent years.On Monday, as the meeting ended, several ministers transmitted Netanyahu's declaration distancing Israel from the Soleimani hit. "The assassination of Soleimani isn't an Israeli event but an American event. We were not involved and should not be dragged into it," he said, according to Israeli news outlets.Simultaneously, journalists were told that security and intelligence officials who briefed the security cabinet told ministers there was no imminent threat of Iranian attacks against Israel following the Soleimani assassination.With one exception, regarding the Kurds fighting in Syria after the withdrawal of American troops, Netanyahu has never distanced himself from Trump, though his thoughts about Iran have occasionally slipped out.Last November, speaking at a graduation ceremony for army officers, he said, "Iran's brazenness in the region is increasing and even getting stronger in light of the absence of a response."At the same time, Israel's Channel 13 news reported that some weeks earlier, in a closed-door meeting, Netanyahu told cabinet members he believed Trump would not act against Iran until the 2020 elections were behind him. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
|
| 12-year-old dog adopted after 6 years in shelter Posted: 06 Jan 2020 08:10 PM PST  The 12-year-old dog named Sandi took her "freedom walk" out of the shelter and onto a red carpet.
|
| These 5 Air Forces Control The World's Skies Posted: 06 Jan 2020 07:30 PM PST  Don't violate their air space.
|
| Third OU student alleges sexual misconduct by ex-official Posted: 07 Jan 2020 09:42 AM PST |
| India court orders execution of convicts for 2012 deadly rape on Jan. 22 Posted: 07 Jan 2020 07:46 AM PST  Four men sentenced to death for the gang rape and murder of a woman on a New Delhi bus in an attack that sent shockwaves across the world will be hanged on Jan. 22, an Indian court ruled on Tuesday. The four men were convicted in 2013 of the rape, torture and murder of the 23-year-old physiotherapy student in a case that triggered large protests in India. The attack prompted India to enact tough new laws against sexual violence, including the death penalty for rape in some cases, but implementation has been poor and the attacks have shown no signs of let-up.
|
| Former I.Coast rebel leader dies in New York Posted: 06 Jan 2020 05:44 AM PST  Issiaka Ouattara, a key figure in the years-long unrest that gripped Ivory Coast at the start of the century, has died in a New York hospital at the age of 53, associates said on Monday. "He died from illness this morning in a New York hospital," where he had been admitted several weeks ago, Affoussiata Bamba-Lamine, an attorney linked to former rebel commander Guillaume Soro, told AFP. "One of the pillars of September 19 2002 has fallen," Soro said on Twitter, referring to the start of a revolt in northern Ivory Coast that split the country in two.
|
| EU seeks Libya ceasefire, end to Turkish 'interference' Posted: 07 Jan 2020 09:39 AM PST  The European Union called Tuesday on Turkey to stop its "interference" in conflict-ravaged Libya and appealed to forces fighting in the northern African country to call a ceasefire around the capital, Tripoli. "The over-riding urgency is to stop the fighting in and around Tripoli," Borrell said.
|
| American families are paying a hidden $8,000 'poll tax' to cover their healthcare costs, 2 economists argue Posted: 07 Jan 2020 10:31 AM PST  Two Princeton economists say that American families pay an exorbitant amount of money to access healthcare in the US compared to other countries.
|
| Tucker Slams Soleimani Intel: Now We Trust the Deep State? Posted: 06 Jan 2020 06:19 PM PST  At the top of his primetime Fox News program Monday night, Tucker Carlson seemingly took a dig at his network colleagues who have suddenly taken U.S. intelligence on Iran at face value after denigrating the intel community as the "deep state" for years.Once again devoting his opening monologue to criticizing the escalation of tensions with Iran sparked by the U.S. assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, the Fox News host placed the lion's share of the blame for the push for war on Republican lawmakers and hawks in the Trump administration. (But again, he largely let the president off the hook.)"It's harder to get rich and powerful during peacetime, so our leaders have a built-in bias for war," Carlson declared. "So they decided on television studios over the weekend to describe in detail the type of violence they are prepared to wreak on a country very few of them know about."After taking aim at Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for claiming on Sunday that the risk of terror is "increased by appeasement," the Fox News star then wondered why there's been a sudden change of heart among Trump supporters toward the intelligence community."It's hard to remember now, but as recently as last week, people didn't consider Iran an imminent threat," he noted. "Iranian saboteurs were not committing acts of terror in our cities. Oh, but our leaders tell us, 'They were about to any second! That's why we struck first.'""What's striking is how many people are willing to accept this uncritically," Carlson added. "Just the other day, you remember, our intel agencies were considered politically tainted and suspect. Certainly on this show they are, were, and will be for quite some time."He went on to accuse the intel community of pretending that President Donald Trump "was a Russian spy" before pointing out that it was faulty intelligence on nonexistent weapons of mass destruction that led the United States into the Iraq War."People pushing conflict with Iran are the same people who did that," the conservative host declared. "It seems like about 20 minutes ago we were denouncing these very people as the 'deep state' and pledging to never trust them again without verification. But now, for some reason, we do seem to trust them implicitly and completely."In recent days, some of the network's biggest Trump boosters—who had spent the past three years accusing the intel community of waging am anti-Trump coup and disinformation campaign—have quickly dropped that criticism and defended the intelligence agencies' claims that Soleimani's assassination disrupted "imminent attacks." Fox News host Ainsley Earhardt, for instance, said she found it "so interesting that people are critical of the president's decisions, of our intelligence community's decisions, of our generals' decisions."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.
|
| Hong Kong’s Carrie Lam to Work ‘Closely’ With New China Liaison Posted: 06 Jan 2020 06:38 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said she hoped to work "closely" with China's new top local official to maintain the "one country, two systems" framework that provides the city limited autonomy from Beijing.Lam said Tuesday she would meet later this week with Luo Huining, who the Chinese government appointed Saturday to replace former Hong Kong Liaison Office director Wang Zhimin. The choice of Luo -- a Communist Party cadre known for executing President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign, with little past connection to the largely Cantonese-speaking former British colony -- was seen as a signal of Beijing's intention to restore law and order after more than six months of protest and political unrest."I am sure we could work together in strict accordance with the implementation of 'one country, two systems' and the Basic Law to ensure the continued stability of Hong Kong," Lam told a regular news briefing on the sidelines of her weekly meeting with top advisers.Lam called the situation in the financial hub "heart wrenching" and said it was her duty as Chief Executive to set it on the "right track." Apart from suppressing violence and restoring order, Lam said she and her team also have to deal with grim economic challenges this year, with unemployment expected to climb.China's New Hong Kong Liaison Confident City Will StabilizeChinese and Hong Kong officials have frequently appeared to be caught off guard by developments over the course of the protests, and communications between Beijing and Hong Kong are mainly conducted through the office.Lam also said Hong Kong would increase monitoring of pneumonia cases amid an outbreak of the illness amid an outbreak originating in the central mainland city of Wuhan. The government on Saturday classified its response level to the outbreak as "serious" -- the second-highest scale of action in its three-tier system, with the top being an emergency.Protests that began in June over legislation that would have allowed extradition to China have since morphed into often-violent calls for broader democracy. The unrest has crippled the city's economy, particularly its tourism and retail sectors, and is leading some people to eye competing financial center Singapore.\--With assistance from Stephen Tan.To contact the reporters on this story: Natalie Lung in Hong Kong at flung6@bloomberg.net;Karen Leigh in Hong Kong at kleigh4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
|
| U.S. implements agreement to send Mexican asylum seekers to Guatemala Posted: 06 Jan 2020 11:25 AM PST  Mexicans seeking asylum in the United States could be sent to Guatemala under a bilateral agreement signed by the Central American nation last year, according to documents sent to U.S. asylum officers in recent days and seen by Reuters.
|
| India Could Become the Next Breeding Ground for Radicalism Posted: 07 Jan 2020 07:34 AM PST  The way India has clamped down on Kashmir, the only Muslim majority state of India since August and the systematic violation of human rights there and across the country can only be described as state-sponsored Islamophobia.
|
