| Hillary Clinton kicks off the 'stop Sanders' movement. Will Obama follow her lead? Posted: 21 Jan 2020 02:35 PM PST  Sanders himself has been dismissive of Clinton's comments. And then there's Obama himself to consider. Clinton's timing is conspicuous.
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| Indonesia detains American journalist over visa regulations Posted: 22 Jan 2020 05:13 AM PST ![Indonesia detains American journalist over visa regulations]( "Indonesia detains American journalist over visa regulations") An American journalist is facing up to five years in an Indonesian jail and a fine on charges of violating immigration regulations, a lawyer and officials said Wednesday. Philip Jacobson of California was detained Tuesday in Palangkaraya city on Borneo island. The government has promised to ease visa restrictions for international media since President Joko Widodo took office in 2014.
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| Putin to Meet Jailed Israeli’s Mother Amid Reports of Release Posted: 22 Jan 2020 05:30 AM PST ![Putin to Meet Jailed Israeli's Mother Amid Reports of Release]( "Putin to Meet Jailed Israeli's Mother Amid Reports of Release") (Bloomberg) -- President Vladimir Putin is to meet in Jerusalem with the mother of an Israeli woman imprisoned in Russia on drug-smuggling charges, the Kremlin said, amid reports Russian authorities are preparing to free her.Putin, who'll be a guest of honor Thursday at a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Red Army's liberation of the Nazi Auschwitz death camp, spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone last week about 26-year-old Naama Issachar. Netanyahu said after the call that he was optimistic about securing her freedom.Issachar was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in a Russian prison in October for carrying a small amount of hashish on a transit flight via Moscow. Her mother, Yaffa, asked Putin in November to pardon her daughter in a letter handed to him by Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. The plight of the U.S.-born Israeli army veteran, who was detained in April, has become a cause celebre in Israel, where she's widely regarded as a pawn in a political game.Putin will meet Yaffa Issachar together with Netanyahu and the patriarch, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow on Wednesday. While Ushakov wouldn't confirm that a release is planned, he said the president's right to pardon a convicted person is "an important prerogative."Property DisputeIn another sign of a possible resolution, Ushakov said Russia and Israel are making progress in settling a dispute over the ownership of Russian Orthodox Church property in Jerusalem. Israel's Haaretz newspaper said resolving the issue could form part of a quid pro quo with Putin for the release of Issachar.Putin will speak at the anniversary ceremony, though there won't be time for him to meet with other leaders attending the event, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, according to Ushakov.Issachar's case for a time became entangled with that of a Russian national, Alexei Burkov, whom Israel extradited to the U.S. in November on charges including hacking and credit card fraud. Russia had offered to swap the two, according to Natan Sharansky, a former Soviet dissident and Israeli politician.Putin rebuffed repeated pleas to free her by Netanyahu, who's fighting to maintain his 13-year-rule as he battles fraud and bribery charges, with new elections due in March.\--With assistance from Gwen Ackerman and Ivan Levingston.To contact the reporters on this story: Andrey Biryukov in Moscow at abiryukov5@bloomberg.net;Henry Meyer in Moscow at hmeyer4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Gregory L. White at gwhite64@bloomberg.net, Tony HalpinFor 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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| On the menu at China virus market: rats and live wolf pups Posted: 22 Jan 2020 02:03 AM PST  The food market where China's deadly virus surfaced was a smorgasbord of exotic wildlife ranging from wolf pups to species linked to previous pandemics such as civets, according to vendor information and a Chinese media report. The Huanan Seafood Market in the central city of Wuhan came under greater scrutiny on Wednesday as Chinese officials said that the virus which has so far killed nine people and infected hundreds may have originated in a wild animal sold at the food emporium. Past deadly epidemics have been blamed on wild animals -- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was linked to Chinese consumption of civet meat -- setting Chinese authorities up for potential embarrassment if lax supervision of wildlife trafficking is found at fault in the latest outbreak.
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| As Trump trial starts, Pelosi's star rises with opening of one-woman theatrical show Posted: 21 Jan 2020 01:49 PM PST  "The Adult in the Room," which started to take shape about a year ago, was "fast-tracked" to keep pace with the events leading to the president's impeachment by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, playwright Bill McMahon told WBBM radio. McMahon's play primarily tells the story of Pelosi, a Democrat who is now serving her 17th term representing a California congressional district.
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| Police: Mom accused of killing her 3 kids said she smothered them while singing Posted: 22 Jan 2020 04:22 PM PST  A probable cause document doesn't provide a possible motive for the brutal killings that Rachel Henry is charged with.
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| The brazen (and careless) Russian assassination team behind the Salisbury poisonings has been spotted in Europe, again Posted: 22 Jan 2020 07:34 AM PST  They keep failing to kill their targets. And they leave lots of evidence behind them.
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| Feds: White supremacists hoped rally would start civil war Posted: 21 Jan 2020 02:42 PM PST  A hidden camera captured members of a white supremacist group expressing hope that violence at a gun rights rally in Virginia this week could start a civil war, federal prosecutors said in a court filing Tuesday.
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| REI’s January Sale Offers 50% off Cold-Weather Outdoor Gear Posted: 22 Jan 2020 07:26 AM PST |
| AP PHOTOS: Auschwitz, 75 years after its liberation Posted: 21 Jan 2020 03:31 AM PST  On Jan. 27, 1945, the Soviet Red Army liberated the Auschwitz death camp in German-occupied Poland. The Soviet troops also found gas chambers and crematoria that the Germans had blown up before fleeing in an attempt to hide evidence of their mass killings. Today, the site of Auschwitz-Birkenau endures as the leading symbol of the terror of the Holocaust.
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| China Sentences Ex-Interpol Chief Meng to 13.5 Years in Prison Posted: 20 Jan 2020 11:40 PM PST ![China Sentences Ex-Interpol Chief Meng to 13.5 Years in Prison]( "China Sentences Ex-Interpol Chief Meng to 13.5 Years in Prison") (Bloomberg) -- Sign up for Next China, a weekly email on where the nation stands now and where it's going next.A Chinese court sentenced former Interpol President Meng Hongwei to 13.5 years in prison, more than a year after he went missing during a visit to his home country.Meng previously pleaded guilty to charges that he accepted bribes of 14.5 million yuan ($2.1 million) between 2005 and 2017. China had earlier removed him from his government post as vice public security minister over violations that included taking bribes and abusing power, and expelled him from the Communist Party.Meng won't appeal the verdict, a Tianjin municipal court said Tuesday in a social media post announcing the sentence.The disappearance and secretive investigation into the international law enforcement agency's first Chinese president has shined a light on China's opaque legal system and raised questions about its respect for international norms. Details about investigation into Meng's finances have trickled out in Chinese state media since his disappearance in September 2018.Meng used his position to seek employment for his wife, Grace, and connived to use his authority for personal gain, China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in December 2018.Grace Meng said her husband worked at Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France, and was reported missing on Sept. 29, 2018. The Ministry of Public Security in Beijing said in October that he was being investigated on allegations including the acceptance of bribes and violation of other Chinese laws.Reuters reported in January that Grace Meng had applied for asylum in France because she feared for her life after being followed by strangers, receiving suspicious phone calls and having her car license plates photographed by mysterious people.\--With assistance from Lulu Shen.To contact the reporter on this story: Brendan Scott in Singapore at bscott66@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Ten Kate at dtenkate@bloomberg.net, Derek WallbankFor 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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| Bloomberg rises to 4th place in new national poll Posted: 22 Jan 2020 07:06 AM PST  Outside of Bloomberg's rise, the Monmouth poll shows a stable race at the top of the field with less than two weeks to go before Iowa.
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| Taiwan calls on China to share 'correct' virus information Posted: 21 Jan 2020 06:54 PM PST  Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen called on China on Wednesday to share "correct" information about a new coronavirus and for the World Health Organisation (WHO) not to exclude Taiwan from collaboration on the outbreak for political reasons. Authorities have confirmed more than 400 cases of the virus in China, most of them in the central city of Wuhan where the virus first appeared at the end of 2019. The virus, which health officials have said can be passed from person to person, has spread to cities including Beijing and Shanghai, with cases have been confirmed in Thailand, South Korea, Japan, as well as Taiwan.
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| Chief Justice John Roberts drops 'pettifogging' bomb while reprimanding both sides in impeachment trial Posted: 22 Jan 2020 09:37 AM PST  "Those addressing the Senate should remember where they are," Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said, admonishing participants in President Trump's impeachment trial to keep it civil.
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| Kristin Smart: FBI tells mother of woman missing since 1996 to 'be ready' for developments Posted: 22 Jan 2020 09:54 AM PST  The mother of a California teenager who has been missing for more than 20 years says the FBI told her to "be ready" for imminent news about her disappearance.Hoping that police would finally be able to bring some closure to a seemingly endless investigation, Kristin Smart's mother Denise told the Stockton Record that the FBI warned that the family "might want to get away for a while" and obtain a spokesperson
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| Are North Korea's Vaunted Submarines Actually Any Good? Posted: 22 Jan 2020 01:20 AM PST  Let's take a look.
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| Saudi Crown Prince Appeared to Taunt Jeff Bezos Over Secret Affair Before Enquirer Exposé Posted: 22 Jan 2020 06:54 AM PST  Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent Jeff Bezos a photograph of a woman loosely resembling the one he was having an affair with months before the National Enquirer published a report exposing the liaison, according to a United Nations investigation.Two United Nations special rapporteurs released a statement Wednesday detailing forensic evidence linking MBS to the Bezos hack, which suggests the future king of Saudi Arabia may have been threatening the owner of The Washington Post and founder and CEO of Amazon.Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night denied allegations of a politically motivated hack when it emerged that the UN was expected to formally request a response to the extraordinary claim that malware was sent from MBS' personal WhatsApp account to Bezos.Saudi officials described as close to the crown prince told The Wall Street Journal they knew of a plan to hack Bezos' phone but had no knowledge of any attempts to blackmail him. According to them, Saud al-Qahtani, the Saudi spymaster who handled cybersecurity issues for the Saudi government, was involved in the hack as part of an effort to intimidate columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The alleged hack took place in May 2018, a few months after Khashoggi began writing columns critical of the Saudi regime for the Post. Four months later, Khashoggi was murdered and dismembered inside a Saudi consulate. The CIA concluded that MBS had personally ordered his assassination.Two UN special rapporteurs released a statement Wednesday laying out forensic evidence personally linking MBS to the hack on Bezos, which would later lead to a special edition of the National Enquirer dedicated to discrediting the newspaper boss.Bezos Investigation Finds the Saudis Obtained His Private DataThe statement was drafted by Agnes Callamard, a UN expert on extrajudicial killings who has been probing the murder of Khashoggi, and David Kaye, who has been investigating violations of press freedom.They wrote: "Mr. Bezos was subjected to intrusive surveillance via hacking of his phone as a result of actions attributable to the WhatsApp account used by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman." In a detailed timeline of the hack, the UN report says MBS messaged Bezos on Nov. 8, 2018, weeks after the murder of his columnist Khashoggi."A single photograph is texted to Mr. Bezos from the Crown Prince's WhatsApp account, along with a sardonic caption. It is an image of a woman resembling the woman with whom Bezos is having an affair, months before the Bezos affair was known publicly," the report read.Bezos' phone appears to have been compromised on the day that an encrypted video downloader was sent from the prince's WhatsApp account to Bezos in May 2018.The two men had been chatting on the messaging app after they met at a dinner in Los Angeles and exchanged numbers. Almost immediately after Bezos opened the video file, the report says, "a massive and unauthorized exfiltration of data from Bezos' phone began, continuing and escalating for months."The UN report on the hacking was drawn up by Anthony Ferrante, a cybersecurity expert at FTI Consulting who conducted a forensic analysis of Bezos' phone.In the firm's technical report, which was obtained Wednesday by Motherboard, analysts wrote that cellular traffic from Bezos' phone spiked 29,156 percent just hours after he opened the video file. FTI researchers said they found no malware in it, but were unable to determine the contents of the downloader because of encryption.While they were not able to identify the exact malware used, the UN report concludes, "Experts advised that the most likely explanation for the anomalous data egress was use of mobile spyware such as NSO Group's Pegasus or, less likely, Hacking Team's Galileo, that can hook into legitimate applications to bypass detection and obfuscate activity."The FTI report pointedly noted that in 2016 Qahtani, who oversaw the killing of Khashoggi, purchased a 20 percent stake in Hacking Team, a security firm that offers offensive hacking services to authoritarian governments. "Customers of Hacking Team," the FTI report said, "had asked the company to create the capability to infect devices via a video sent in WhatsApp."According to the FTI report, the image of the woman that Bezos received was part of meme with the caption: "Arguing with a woman is like reading the Software License agreement—in the end you have to ignore everything and click I agree." The analysts reported the Nov. 8, 2018, message was unlike any the Post owner had received from MBS before and "this was after the relationship [with girlfriend Lauren Sanchez] would have been obvious to persons with access to private texts, calls, and images on Bezos' phone, but months before the relationship was known or reported publicly."The photo and caption were sent precisely during the period Bezos and his wife were exploring divorce," it states, adding, "Memes such as this were available on the Internet, however the content of the text was not typical of any past communication from MBS, making it likely it was sent with reference to Bezos' personal life events at that time."The Bezos hack came to light after private texts showing that he was engaged in an extramarital relationship were published by the National Enquirer. In response, the world's richest man set out to uncover how the tabloid magazine had gotten access to the most private messages on his phone.American Media Inc. (AMI), which owns the National Enquirer, publicly stated that its source was Michael Sanchez, the estranged brother of the woman dating Bezos, but last March, Bezos' experienced security consultant Gavin de Becker wrote an op-ed in The Daily Beast explaining that his investigation had found that the Saudi government had obtained access to the phone.Not only that, AMI had threatened to release a trove of embarrassing photos of Bezos—also taken from his phone—unless he agreed to make a public statement claiming that the report about his affair was not "instigated, dictated, or influenced in any manner by external forces, political or otherwise."The media company was trying to strong-arm Bezos into shutting down reports that the Saudis were somehow involved."I've seen a lot. And yet, I've recently seen things that have surprised even me, such as the National Enquirer's parent company, AMI, being in league with a foreign nation that's been actively trying to harm American citizens and companies, including the owner of The Washington Post," De Becker wrote in The Daily Beast.After the bombshell op-ed, AMI doubled down on its claim that Michael Sanchez, an associate of Trumpworld insiders including Roger Stone and Carter Page, had been the "single source" of their midweek special edition, which exposed Bezos' relationship with the TV host Lauren Sanchez.The targeting of Bezos and The Washington Post fits into a pattern of Saudi aggression against critics, which includes blackmailing, discrediting, and even killing those who speak out against the regime.Iyad El-Baghdadi, founder of the Kawaakibi Foundation and editor in chief of the website; Arab Tyrant Manual, who lives in exile in Norway, wrote in The Daily Beast early last year that MBS had been targeting Bezos. "There's mounting evidence that the de facto ruler of the kingdom has been trying to punish Bezos for the fierce coverage by his newspaper, The Washington Post," he wrote.David Kaye, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression, told The Daily Beast that while the allegations about the Bezos hack were inevitably eye-catching, it shouldn't obscure the threats to political speech posed by the rapidly expanding availability of commercial surveillance tools like the ones made by NSO Group or Hacking Team. "There's a fundamental problem right now with this industry that can export its technology, sell, and transport it with very little constraint. On the user side, it can be used with very little legal framework [and] little rule-of-law standards," said Kaye, who in June called for a moratorium on the sale of surveillance tech. "Imagine if you're Omar Abdulaziz or another activist. What tool do you have to protect yourself?" Kaye said.As well, Kaye said, the UN officials' statement on Wednesday was no surprise to the Saudi government. Last week, he said, they sent a letter informing the kingdom of the allegations through the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Then, on Monday—a day before The Guardian broke the story—they sent the Saudis a draft of their Wednesday statement. As far as Kaye knows, Saudi Arabia has yet to formally respond. The procedure Kaye outlined typically allows 60 days for an accused government to issue a response before proposing an investigation. There are different forms an investigation can take, but Kaye said he and Callamard hope it will include both his prior work on the explosion of commercial surveillance and her prior work investigating the Khashoggi slaying. "This is just one incident of an abuse by many, many governments," Kaye said.Kaye said their involvement started in November, after a source he declined to describe further provided them with the forensic report into the Bezos hack. He said they contacted four infosec experts to stress-test it. "It was a kind of vetting to make sure the allegations are credible enough to raise with the government of Saudi Arabia and to go public with them," he said. After The Guardian and the Financial Times reported Tuesday night that MBS' phone was implicated, Saudi Arabia's U.S. embassy said reports "that suggest the Kingdom is behind a hacking of Mr. Jeff Bezos' phone are absurd. We call for an investigation on these claims so that we can have all the facts out."Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Putin to meet mother of Israeli backpacker jailed over hash Posted: 22 Jan 2020 06:49 AM PST  Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to meet with the mother of an Israeli tourist who was jailed in Russia for carrying a few grams of hashish, the Kremlin said Wednesday. The Russian leader is set to meet with Naama Issachar's mother while he is visiting Israel on Thursday, Putin adviser Yuri Ushakov said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of the Holy Land, are also taking part in the meeting that will focus on "the humanitarian aspect" of the case, Ushakov told reporters Wednesday.
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| Boeing Hiked Fourth-Quarter Lobby Spend in 737 Max Crisis Posted: 21 Jan 2020 03:52 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co.'s spending on federal lobbying rose to $3.4 million in the last quarter of 2019 as the embattled plane-maker faced new threats in Washington after its 737 Max jetliner was grounded following two fatal crashes.The aerospace giant's lobbying outlay in the last three months of 2019 jumped 8% compared with the third quarter as the company's crisis over the 737 Max deepened.Former chief executive officer Dennis Muilenburg faced a bipartisan pummeling in two days of testimony in late October, with even GOP stalwarts like Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, delivering blows. That performance was the beginning of the end for Muilenburg, who was ousted in late December and replaced with David Calhoun.The same month, the company was publicly rebuked by Federal Aviation Administration chief Steve Dickson for a litany of grievances. The agency complained that Boeing's projections for returning the 737 Max to service were too optimistic and amounted to an attempt to put pressure on the regulator, according to an email the agency sent to lawmakers.A Boeing spokesman declined to comment on the company's lobbying spending.Boeing said Tuesday that the grounded 737 Max won't be cleared to fly until the middle of this year, months later than previously anticipated, in a new delay that will add to the company's financial burden. The FAA hasn't set a time frame for completing work on the Max.Boeing's shares fell 3.3% to $313.37 at the close in New York, the biggest decline on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the lowest closing price in more than a year.The FAA grounded the 737 Max in March of 2019 after two crashes within five months killed 346 people. Representative Rick Larsen, the Democrat who represents Boeing's Seattle industrial hub, is spearheading a House investigation of the Max crashes with Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat.For decades, Boeing has spread big money around Washington, but the company struggled to shore up its image last year.Lawmakers have accused Boeing of putting shareholders ahead of safety and questioned the design lapses behind a flight-control system that played a role in two fatal Max crashes. The company at times also clashed with federal regulators, though its interactions with FAA mostly aren't considered lobbying under the law.Boeing's fourth-quarter lobbying spend was down 12% compared with a year earlier. Overall Boeing spent $13.8 million on federal lobbying last year, down 9% from what it spent in 2018. Congress is mulling whether to rein in a decades-old program that delegates some certification work to aircraft manufacturers including Boeing. Though the FAA retains the ultimate responsibility for ensuring safe designs, Boeing approved features of the 737 jetliner with little input from the agency.Earlier this month, key lawmakers vowed to change the system following the release of internal Boeing documents showing employees discussed deep unease with the 737 Max and the flight simulators used to train pilots on the new jetliner, while also mocking senior managers and regulators in messages.(Updates with Boeing comment in fifth paragraph)\--With assistance from Bill Allison, Julie Johnsson and Alan Levin.To contact the reporter on this story: Naomi Nix in Washington at nnix1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net, Jon MorganFor 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 college student from Iran who waited a year to be granted a student visa to the US was deported when he arrived Posted: 21 Jan 2020 12:36 PM PST  The deportation of an Iranian college student has ignited outrage from local community members as well as politicians on Capitol Hill.
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| China says virus cases rise to 440, with 9 deaths Posted: 21 Jan 2020 06:31 PM PST  China's National Health Commission said on Wednesday 440 people in 13 Chinese provinces were confirmed to be infected with a new coronavirus as of Tuesday, with nine deaths, and that there was evidence of respiratory transmission from patient to patient.
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| 26 Coffee Makers for Every Type of Coffee Drinker Posted: 22 Jan 2020 08:57 AM PST |
| California Man Accused of Killing 3 Teens After 'Intentionally' Ramming Them With His Car Posted: 21 Jan 2020 06:39 AM PST  Anurag Chandra, 42, is facing 3 murder charges
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| Judge upholds mom charged for being topless at home Posted: 22 Jan 2020 04:00 AM PST  A judge refused to overturn part of Utah's lewdness law Tuesday in a blow to a woman who's fighting criminal charges after her stepchildren saw her topless in her own home.
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| Democrats are mulling offering Hunter Biden as part of a Trump impeachment witness swap in exchange for testimony from John Bolton Posted: 22 Jan 2020 03:22 AM PST  In public, Democrats have resisted the prospect of Biden testifying, but in private it's an option they're said to be discussing.
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| New charge filed against Michigan lawmaker who reportedly said boys could 'have a lot of fun' with reporter Posted: 21 Jan 2020 11:41 AM PST  The sexual harassment allegation, filed by a Michigan state senator, comes as Peter Lucido faces investigation over remarks to a reporter.
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| Fifth condemned Tennessee inmate opts for the electric chair Posted: 22 Jan 2020 12:42 PM PST  A Tennessee inmate has chosen the electric chair for his scheduled execution next month, opting like four other inmates in little more than a year for electrocution over the state's preferred execution method of lethal injection. Nicholas Sutton, 58, is scheduled to be put to death Feb. 20 for the stabbing death of a fellow inmate decades ago while serving a life sentence for his grandmother's slaying. An affidavit signed on Tuesday said he waives the right to be executed by lethal injection and chooses electrocution.
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| Halkbank Hit With U.S. Demand for Millions in Contempt Fines Posted: 21 Jan 2020 01:12 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Turkey's Halkbank should pay millions of dollars in fines for its continued failure to respond to U.S. sanctions-evasions charges, federal prosecutors in New York said.In a court filing Tuesday, the government asked a federal judge to impose a daily $1 million fine that would double each week the bank refuses to appear in the case.Prosecutors charged the bank in October with aiding a yearslong scheme to help Iran evade U.S. economic sanctions and access $20 billion in frozen oil revenue. Since then, the bank has refused to accept service of the indictment or answer the case, leading prosecutors to deem it a fugitive from justice.The U.S. pursuit of Halkbank, which is owned by the Turkish government, has been a sore point in relations between the two countries. Manhattan federal prosecutors previously won the conviction of a senior Halkbank executive in a case Turkish President Recep Erdogan likened to an "international coup attempt."Read More: Halkbank Threatened with U.S. Contempt in Iran Sanctions Case"Halkbank has consistently sought to avoid responsibility for its role in a massive sanctions-evasion and money-laundering scheme that gave the Government of Iran access to billions of dollars' worth of restricted oil proceeds," the U.S. said in Tuesday's filing.The U.S. argued that Halkbank improperly ignored an initial summons, "intentionally frustrated" efforts to serve the summons and indictment, attacked the charges in the press and failed to show up for a required court appearance.Andrew Hruska, a U.S. lawyer for Halkbank, didn't immediately return a phone message seeking comment on the sanctions request.A judge in December denied Halkbank's request that it be allowed to make a "special appearance" to argue for the charges' dismissal without submitting itself to the court's jurisdiction. U.S. District Judge Richard Berman denied the request, leaving Halkbank with a choice between answering the charges and defending against them or not participating in the case in any way.While Halkbank does almost no business in the U.S., it has some ties to the nation's financial system, which the government could limit or sever.In its initial filing, the U.S. provided conflicting statements about the amount of the proposed fine. In one section the daily $1 million fine was said to double at the end of each week the bank fails to comply. In another section the government said the fine would double every day. In a corrected filing, prosecutors made clear the fine should double only each week.The case is U.S. v. Halkbank, 15-cr-867, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).(Updates with amount of requested fine)To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Van Voris in federal court in Manhattan at rvanvoris@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Joe Schneider, Steve StrothFor 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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| How Was the Secret Air War Between the U.S. Navy and Soviet Fighters Over Siberia Kept Secret for Forty Years? Posted: 21 Jan 2020 10:00 PM PST  Blame North Korea.
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| Hong Kong on high alert to tackle coronavirus outbreak Posted: 21 Jan 2020 10:55 PM PST  Hong Kong's government is on high alert to deal with a new flu-like coronavirus that has killed nine people in mainland China, the city's commerce secretary, Edward Yau, said on Wednesday. The outbreak has rattled financial markets as investors recall the huge impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 800 people globally during a 2002/03 outbreak that also started in China. Yau is part of a delegation on a mission to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos to convince global business and political leaders that the Asian financial hub is back on track after more than seven months of protests, even as it faces a potentially more damaging crisis.
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| Tekashi 6ix9ine won't be allowed to serve the rest of his 2-year sentence in home confinement even though his prison has a lot of Blood gang members Posted: 21 Jan 2020 02:35 PM PST  A judge dashed the controversial rapper's hopes that he could spend the rest of his two-year prison sentence away from the gang he once betrayed.
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| Trump says he doesn't think injuries soldiers suffered in Iranian strike are 'serious' Posted: 22 Jan 2020 08:21 AM PST  President Trump on Wednesday downplayed the injuries suffered by U.S. soldiers following retaliatory Iranian missile strikes on a military base in Iraq earlier this month.Speaking to reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump was asked why he has repeatedly said no Americans were hurt in the strikes despite reports that 11 U.S. service members were airlifted for medical reasons. The president said he was told the soldiers had "headaches" and he doesn't consider the injuries to be as serious as others he's seen in the past, such as the loss of limbs.> When asked about the 11 U.S. servicemen injured in the Iran airstrikes, President Trump told @weijia he didn't "consider them serious injuries relative to other injuries I've seen." https://t.co/anmIdCHO6a pic.twitter.com/boSjvDujCS> > -- CBS News (@CBSNews) January 22, 2020The comment quickly stirred up some backlash -- CNN's Chris Cillizza called Trump's description of the injuries "problematic" considering some of the patients are still being evaluated. He also brought up Trump's personal history which includes five deferments from serving in the Vietnam War, four of which were the result of bone spurs in his heels.The president was also chastised by Mark Hertling, a retired Army officer who served as the commanding general of the U.S. Army Europe and the Seventh Army. Hertling said that blasts like the one in Iraq can result in various long-term effects, some of them quite severe. Trump, he said, was "dangerously wrong" in his dismissal. > No longer an "active duty commander," I did spend 3+ yrs commanding large organizations & was personally subjected to multiple IED blasts. These can be serious injuries, they can contribute to death, neurological and psych disorders...and POTUS comment is dangerously wrong. https://t.co/dfVyrwj4Qt> > -- Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) January 22, 2020More stories from theweek.com The White House is arguing the impeachment articles don't include allegations of a quid pro quo because the exact words don't appear Joe Biden won't testify in Trump's impeachment trial even it means John Bolton will Several senators left the chamber in the middle of Adam Schiff's impeachment remarks
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| The search for Selena Not Afraid ends with 'great sadness.' Missing girl's body found near Montana rest area Posted: 21 Jan 2020 05:38 AM PST  The body of Selena Shelley Faye Not Afraid, 16, was found near the Montana rest area where she was last seen on New Year's Day, authorities said.
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| This 26-year-old former truck driver is running for Congress, and he's betting big that TikTok will help get him elected Posted: 22 Jan 2020 06:57 AM PST  Joshua Collins is ditching traditional ads to raise money and find volunteers through TikTok, which other politicians have been slow to adopt.
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| WWII-era ammunition found at Tesla factory site near Berlin Posted: 22 Jan 2020 06:32 AM PST  Authorities in Germany say 85 kilograms (187 pounds) of World War II ammunition have been found on the site where Tesla plans to build its first European factory. Local newspaper Maerkische Oderzeitung quoted officials in Brandenburg on Wednesday as saying they estimate about 25 unexploded bombs could be found at the partially wooded site on the outskirts of Berlin, the German capital. Thousands of unexploded bombs dropped over Nazi Germany by American, British and Russian forces remain undiscovered even 75 years after the end of the war.
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| French workers turn to sabotage as transport strike flags Posted: 21 Jan 2020 01:09 AM PST  French energy workers protesting against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform plans cut power to Paris' wholesale food market on Tuesday in the latest of a series of sabotage and wildcat actions as a weeks-long transport strike loses momentum. The deliberate sabotage of power supplies underlines the determination of left-wing unions after a wave of strikes and street protests since early December failed to force Macron to back down. The hard-left CGT union's energy branch said it was responsible for an early-morning power outage at Rungis, the world's largest wholesale fresh food market.
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| The United States Is Ready To Win the Landwars Of the Future With A New Super Missile Posted: 21 Jan 2020 04:00 PM PST  2027 will come with a big upgrade.
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| Brexit Deal Clears U.K. Parliament, Ending Years of Deadlock Posted: 22 Jan 2020 02:30 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal cleared its final hurdles in Parliament, bringing the crisis that paralyzed U.K. politics since the country voted to leave the European Union almost four years ago to a close.The passage of the law vindicates Johnson's gamble to call an election last month in which he asked voters to back his blueprint for leaving the bloc on Jan. 31. His 80-seat majority in the elected House of Commons meant he could sweep aside objections from pro-EU politicians in the upper chamber of Parliament, the Lords, and break the deadlock that cost his predecessor, Theresa May, her job last year."At times it felt like we would never cross the Brexit finish line, but we've done it. Now we can put the rancour and division of the past three years behind us," Johnson said, according to an emailed statement.Later Wednesday, members of the unelected House of Lords formally dropped their opposition and accepted the legislation as approved by the Commons. The bill will now go to Queen Elizabeth II who will sign it into law, putting Britain on track to leave the EU in nine days' time.The agreement with the EU will now need to be formally ratified by the European Parliament on Jan. 29, before the U.K. leaves the bloc at the end of the month. Britain will then enter a transition period, scheduled to last until the end of the year, during which it will continue to be bound by EU laws until it negotiates a new trade deal with the remaining 27 member states.Johnson is expected to sign the agreement in the coming days, and the European Council and Commission presidents may sign it Friday in Brussels, according to a U.K. government official.U.K., EU Draw Battle Lines as the Hard Part of Brexit Begins"We're in a very happy position in that we leave the EU in a position of absolute grace and uniformity," Johnson said as he answered questions from the public about the future negotiations with Brussels on Facebook. "We are in perfect alignment with our EU friends and partners."Looking ahead, Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid acknowledged Johnson's Dec. 31 deadline for reaching a new trade deal with the EU was "tight.""Both sides recognize that it's a tight timetable, a lot needs to be put together in the time that we have, but it can be done," Javid said during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "And it can be done for both goods, where we want to see free trade, zero tariffs, zero quotas -- but also on services."The House of Lords had tried to amend the Brexit legislation to enhance EU citizens' rights in Britain, allow judges -- rather than ministers -- to decide on the use of rulings by European Courts, and to ensure unaccompanied refugee children can join family in the U.K. All the measures were rejected by the Commons. Johnson's government rejected these changes and pushed the Lords to back down.(Adds Johnson comments from third paragraph.)\--With assistance from Lucy Meakin, Olivia Konotey-Ahulu, Ian Wishart and Jessica Shankleman.To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Edward EvansFor 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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| Frat brothers sentenced to jail in Penn State hazing death Posted: 21 Jan 2020 02:31 AM PST  The 19-year-old died in February 2017 after an alcohol-fueled event at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house
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| Why No GOP Senator Will Stand Up to Trump Posted: 22 Jan 2020 02:10 AM PST  Barry Goldwater had the power to tell Nixon it was all over. But don't expect a repeat this time.
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| Deadly funnel-web spiders descend on battered Australian cities; experts warn of bite Posted: 22 Jan 2020 07:23 AM PST  The Australian Reptile Park attributes increased activity in funnel-web spiders to recent weather and expected warm air on the way.
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| The US plans to force passengers to change routes, and potentially redirect entire flights, to make sure they get screened for the Wuhan virus Posted: 22 Jan 2020 07:09 AM PST  US officials described an ambitious 'funnel' system to make sure every passenger from Wuhan, China, to the US gets screened — no matter their route.
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| Tour agencies: N Korea bans foreign tourists over new virus Posted: 21 Jan 2020 07:28 PM PST  North Korea has banned foreign tourists to guard against the spread of a new virus from China, tour operators in China said. Foreign travel to North Korea has been temporarily suspended as of Wednesday, the Beijing-based Uri Tours said on its website citing its partners in Pyongyang. It said it wasn't immediately known how long the travel suspension will last or what protocols will be implemented.
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| Elizabeth Warren says half her cabinet will be women Posted: 21 Jan 2020 08:13 AM PST  Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday promised to appoint women or nonbinary people to at least half of the top positions in the executive branch if she wins the presidency.
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| Double trouble: Sri Lanka's twin gathering marred by overcrowding Posted: 20 Jan 2020 07:19 PM PST  Thousands of twins packed two-by-two into a stadium in Sri Lanka's capital on Monday - so many that officials struggled to count them in time to prove they had organised a record-breaking gathering. Huge queues built up at the open-air venue in Colombo as sets of siblings waited to get their birth certificates checked. The last record was set in Taiwan in 1999, when 3,961 sets of twins, 37 sets of triplets and four sets of quadruplets gathered outside Taipei City Hall.
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