| 'Ask the family of Herman Cain,' DNC chair Perez says when asked opinion of live Trump campaign events Posted: 18 Aug 2020 09:23 AM PDT  Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez invoked Herman Cain, who died of COVID-19, when asked about Trump's live campaign events.
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| Virginia state senator faces felony charges after protesters topple Confederate statue Posted: 18 Aug 2020 09:19 AM PDT  Sen. Louise Lucas is among six others charged in the June incident.
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| Portland: Man left with serious injuries after being kicked in head by protester Posted: 17 Aug 2020 05:14 AM PDT  A man driving near a demonstration in Portland, Oregon has been taken to hospital after being pulled from his car and physically attacked by several protesters – one of whom deliberately kicked him in the head.The attack, which was filmed by various bystanders, occurred late on Sunday night at the intersection of Broadway and Southwest Taylor Street, a few blocks from the federal courthouse and other buildings that have been the focus of recent protests.
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| Car-sized asteroid just made the closest fly-by of Earth on record Posted: 18 Aug 2020 02:16 PM PDT  Astronomers didn't even know about the asteroid until after it had already crossed our path.
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| De Blasio’s Wife Employs Six Undisclosed Taxpayer-Funded Staffers: Report Posted: 18 Aug 2020 07:19 AM PDT  New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray, employs at least six staffers whose salaries are paid by taxpayers but are not listed on her official staff roster.The city's first lady's office officially includes eight staffers who all together receive a collective $1.1 million in salaries, The City reported. However, McCray's staff numbered a total of 15 people for much of this year, but the recent departure of a staff member brought the total down to 14 people.The unlisted staffers include several who make six-figure salaries, including communications advisor Felicia Lee, whose $140,000 salary is paid by New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and director of policy Grace Choi, who makes $130,000 paid by the city's Department of Social Services. A social media manager whose salary is paid by the city's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, as well as two other low-level staffers paid by the mayor's office, were also not listed on McCray's official staff roster. A second speechwriter was also put on a different payroll.Additionally, McCray in February hired a videographer with a $70,000 salary that was paid by the Department of Health. The videographer filmed her "Baking with the First Lady" clip that was posted in April as the pandemic ripped through New York City and residents observed stay at home orders.McCray, who has said she is considering running for Brooklyn borough president, is a highly involved volunteer for New York City and is not paid by the government. She runs the ThriveNYC program, which works to enhance mental health services for New Yorkers.The news of McCray's undisclosed staffers comes as her husband's administration prepares to lay off 22,000 city workers in October due to the fiscal crisis in the city caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Strong quake in Philippines kills 1, damages houses, roads Posted: 17 Aug 2020 06:22 PM PDT  A strong earthquake jolted the central Philippines on Tuesday, killing at least one person, injuring dozens, and damaging houses, two buildings used for coronavirus quarantine, bridges and a port. A three-story house collapsed in the coastal town of Cataingan as the ground shook. More than 40 people were injured by the quake in Masbate province, according to disaster response officials.
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| James Comey, who led controversial FBI probe into Hillary Clinton's emails, wears 'Elect More Women' T-shirt Posted: 18 Aug 2020 02:56 PM PDT  The former FBI director posted a photo of himself wearing a T-shirt with the message "Elect More Women."
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| 'Never seen anything like it': Postal workers raise alarm on mail delays Posted: 17 Aug 2020 04:27 PM PDT  "Everybody is fundamentally watching the beginning of the dismantling of the Postal Service," one 22-year USPS veteran said.
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| Kamala Harris' Secret Service code name reportedly reflects her groundbreaking nomination Posted: 17 Aug 2020 06:05 PM PDT  Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) is well aware of her groundbreaking status.The new Democratic vice presidential pick has selected "Pioneer" as her Secret Service code name, CNN first reported Monday ahead of the first night of the Democratic National Convention. A source confirmed the report to ABC News.Harris was quickly put under Secret Service protection last week after former Vice President Joe Biden chose her as his presidential running mate, CNN reports. She picked her new code name off a list the White House Communications Agency had approved. Biden, meanwhile, will keep his code name from the Obama administration, which was "Celtic," and Jill Biden will keep hers, which was "Capri."CNN's law enforcement analyst Jonathan Wackrow, a former Secret Service agent, said protectees have often "taken on the persona of the call sign that they had selected." Former President Barack Obama's "'Renegade' is a great example: how he went against the establishment in some of the things that he had done," Wackrow said.Harris has already started fulfilling her name: She's the first Black woman nominated to be the vice president. And if elected, she'll be the first woman, Indian American, and Black vice president in U.S. history.More stories from theweek.com TV networks are reportedly afraid of giving the RNC too much airtime, so they cut the DNC's time short too Bill Clinton is getting sidelined at the DNC Cuba Gooding Jr. accused of rape in lawsuit
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| Roger Stone drops appeals of felony convictions Posted: 17 Aug 2020 10:53 PM PDT  President Donald Trump had already commuted Stone's sentence.
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| Hikers horrified as teen slips, plunges off rocks in South Dakota, officials say Posted: 17 Aug 2020 12:12 PM PDT  Video shows hikers screaming as the teen tumbles from Falling Rock.
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| Falklands or Malvinas? Posted: 18 Aug 2020 03:30 AM PDT  On August 4, Argentina, the world's biggest deadbeat, announced that it had reached a deal with its creditors on its $65 billion worth of defaulted debt. The next day, the United Nations Decolonization Committee — the C24 — unanimously passed a resolution urging the United Kingdom and Argentina to resolve their differences over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. Or, are they the Malvinas?For 187 years, the United Kingdom has controlled the Falkland Islands, a small archipelago off the coast of Argentina populated by 3,480 Falklanders. Argentina claims that the Falklands are part of Argentina and, in fact, are not even the Falklands, but the Malvinas. These claims have resulted in the U.K. and Argentina coming to blows. In 1982, the Argentines met their match in the person of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The Iron Lady was in no mood to be pushed around by Argentina. After being challenged by Argentina, she sent part of the British fleet down to the Falklands for a ten-week undeclared war that resulted in 900 casualties. In the end, the Falklands remained the Falklands.With the swearing in of President Alberto Fernandez on December 10, 2019, it became clear that Argentina would once again attempt to seize control of the territory. Indeed, Fernandez formally established the National Council of Affairs Relating to the Malvinas, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime spaces on July 28. Its goal: to establish territorial control of the Falkland Islands for Argentina, once and for all.Just what advantages do the Falkland Islands provide Argentina? Admittedly, since the "war," the Islands' small population diversified its economy away from its traditional (and unsatisfactory) dependence on sheep farming and British subsidies into fishing, thanks to a massive expansion in the Islands' fishing rights in 1986. Fishing now makes up between 50-60 percent of total GDP, and a tourism industry has developed. Nevertheless, the Falklands still rely on communications and supplies from neighboring nations to survive, and its annual GDP is only about $370 million. That said, Britain maintains a strong military presence on the archipelago and has recently declared that its new "multi-role combat aircraft," the Typhoon, will be employed there for defensive purposes in the near future.So, it seems that Argentina is entangling itself in a fight against a superior military power over a territory that provides little economic value. This, however, is a superficial reading of reality. While patriotic, populist sentiments in Buenos Aires flare up from time to time as a distraction from Argentina's domestic economic problems, that is only part of the current story. The crux of the recent Argentine challenge is found beneath the surface of the sea.Oil exploration and the discovery of hydrocarbon reserves around the Falkland Islands have accelerated considerably since 2012. Oil companies from Britain and Argentina are now vying intensely for hydrocarbon control. In 2015, an Argentine judge ordered the seizure of goods and assets worth $156,432,000 belonging to British multinationals drilling in the Falkland Islands, claiming it an "unlawful assertion of jurisdiction over the Falkland Islands' continental shelf." In 2019, the Argentine government issued a stern warning to British drilling companies Rockhopper PLC and Premier Oil over drilling on the shelf, claiming that they were violating international law. The formation of the National Council of Affairs Relating to the Malvinas, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime spaces is a clear reassertion by Argentina that the hydrocarbons and minerals of the Falkland Islands belong to Argentina in its own right.How should the conflicting claims over sovereignty and property rights be settled? Years ago, after the U.K–Argentina dust-up, Sir Alan Walters — Mrs. Thatcher's economic guru — and I developed a transparent market solution that bestowed voting rights upon the settlers of the Falkland Islands. This plan was delivered to Mrs. Thatcher by Sir Alan. We advocated a binding referendum in which qualified Falklanders would vote on whether to uphold the status quo (British rule) or to agree to an Argentine take-over. If the required super-majority of Falklanders (say, 80 percent) voted in favor of Argentine rule, the United Kingdom would peacefully transfer administration of the islands to the Argentine government. It's time for our proposal to be resurrected.Unlike the 2013 referendum, when Falklanders voted 1,513 to 3 in favor of remaining a U.K. overseas territory, the Walters-Hanke referendum would require compensation from Argentina to the Falklanders — who are English speakers and British by custom, institutions, and loyalties — should they choose to transfer sovereignty over their lands and resources to Argentina. The referendum would be designed so that Argentina would offer a cash incentive if the islanders voted in favor of Argentina's rule. Prior to the referendum, Argentina would deposit an amount (say, $20,000,000) in escrow in Swiss accounts for every person who can prove their Falkland Islands citizenship.If 80 percent of the Falklanders agreed to Argentine citizenship, Argentine sovereignty, and a name change from the Falklands to the Malvinas, the funds in escrow would be transferred directly to each Falklander. Since the archipelago has a population of roughly 3,480, the total escrowed amount would be $69.6 billion.The best way for the United Kingdom and Argentina to bury the hatchet about the Falklands is to embrace a market-based referendum in which the Falklanders themselves decide their own destiny.
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| A same-sex infuencer couple are running a 'donor sperm giveaway' on Instagram, and people don't know how to feel Posted: 17 Aug 2020 09:10 AM PDT  Wives Allie and Sam are giving their followers the chance to win "1 vial of donor sperm (of your choice)," with free shipping included.
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| Carter Page: Clinesmith guilty plea is 'tip of the iceberg' in FBI wrongdoing Posted: 18 Aug 2020 05:53 AM PDT  Former foreign policy adviser to President Trump Carter Page reviews what happened to him and talks about other FBI wrongdoing during his tenure with the administration. He says ex-FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith's hearing is a 'turning point for justice in our country.'
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| Up to 300 Pizza Hut locations are set to close in the aftermath of the chain's largest franchisee filing for bankruptcy Posted: 17 Aug 2020 09:25 AM PDT  NPC International announced it also plans to sell its Pizza Hut business, currently consisting of 20% of all Pizza Hut locations in the US.
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| DNC adds Kerry Washington, Eva Longoria, Tracee Ellis Ross and Julia Louis-Dreyfus Posted: 17 Aug 2020 02:23 PM PDT  Actresses Kerry Washington, Eva Longoria, Tracee Ellis Ross and Julia Louis-Dreyfus join an already star-studded lineup for the Democratic National Convention.
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| Andrew Cuomo undercuts Democrats' message on coronavirus Posted: 17 Aug 2020 07:26 PM PDT  New York Governor Andrew Cuomo spoke during the first night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention Monday. As was expected, he attacked President Trump's abysmal performance on containing the coronavirus pandemic. Our "current federal government is dysfunctional and incompetent," he said, correctly.Unfortunately, Cuomo is perhaps the single least credible person in the entire country to make this criticism. As I have outlined in detail previously, Cuomo frittered away weeks bickering with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio while the virus was spreading like wildfire in the New York City metro area, only locking down his state after it was too late. And as we have since learned, his decision to force nursing homes to accept COVID-19 cases almost certainly caused thousands and thousands more infections and deaths.Though New York has since largely gotten the outbreak under control, Cuomo's initial performance was a world-historical catastrophe. His state has the second-highest rate of COVID-19 fatalities of any in the country (just behind New Jersey, which was essentially part of the same outbreak). If it were its own country New York would have by far the highest death rate in the world. In a sense, Governor Cuomo was right to say, "government matters and leadership matters." His record is an object lesson in what happens when that job is done poorly.More stories from theweek.com TV networks are reportedly afraid of giving the RNC too much airtime, so they cut the DNC's time short too Bill Clinton is getting sidelined at the DNC Cuba Gooding Jr. accused of rape in lawsuit
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| Former CIA officer charged with spying for China Posted: 17 Aug 2020 10:54 PM PDT  It is the latest espionage arrest at a time of growing tension between Washington and Beijing.
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| Missouri judge finds GOP redistricting measure misleading Posted: 17 Aug 2020 11:05 AM PDT |
| NYC mayor to move 13,000 homeless out of Manhattan hotels after residents' complaints Posted: 18 Aug 2020 09:17 AM PDT  Thousands of homeless in New York who had been given rooms at vacant hotels during the coronavirus outbreak are to be moved following complaints from residents. Bill de Blasio, the city's mayor, launched a program which saw the government pay 139 empty hotels to house some 13,000 homeless for $175 (£132) per person per night, to avoid Covid-19 outbreaks in overcrowded homeless shelters. However, local residents of Manhattan's Chelsea and the Upper West Side neighbourhoods say the decision has made streets more dangerous, complaining that intoxicated men are congregating on the street without masks, using drugs in public and getting into violent disputes. Others have reported incidents of assault and public exposure. "We see people inebriated, there are registered sex offenders," Alison Morpurgo, a member of the group Upper West Siders for Safer Streets, told NBC New York. "Sometimes I go running in the morning and I'll see needles on the ground," said the mother-of-three.
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| The Trump-Administration Reforms Obama’s Misguided Methane-Emissions Rule Posted: 18 Aug 2020 03:30 AM PDT  Let the hysteria begin. The Trump administration has finalized a reform of the federal rules on emissions of methane, the major component of natural gas, from oil and gas production. The existing rules were implemented by the Obama administration in 2016, justified largely as a means of addressing anthropogenic climate change. That justification is deeply dubious, but any relaxation of such regulations is unacceptable to an environmental Left ideologically opposed to fossil fuels. And so an inexorable avalanche of criticism and litigation from the usual suspects is upon us, all of which will ignore several central truths.First: Neither the Obama rule nor the proposed reform would have any detectable effect on temperatures or climate phenomena over the remainder of this century. (Climate projections beyond 2100 are not to be taken seriously.) Total U.S. methane emissions in 2018 (635 million metric tons in CO2 equivalents) were 9.5 percent of all U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions, and about 1.2 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions. Suppose that U.S. methane emissions were to be eliminated completely. If we apply the EPA climate model, which is based on assumptions that exaggerate the effects of reduced emissions, global temperatures would be about 0.012° Celsius lower than otherwise would be the case by the year 2100. If we apply assumptions more consistent with the modern peer-reviewed literature, that predicted effect becomes even smaller — about 0.005° Celsius. If a complete elimination of methane emissions would have a such a trivial effect, the effect of the Obama rule would be even less significant.The rule's effect on sea levels and other climate parameters similarly would be undetectable. As temperatures rise, driven by some combination of natural and anthropogenic causes, most climate models predict ancillary effects on sea levels, cyclones, and other phenomena; the commonly asserted seriousness of those effects ("existential threat!") is not supported by the evidence. The Obama administration claimed that the rule would reduce annual methane emissions by 11 million metric tons, or about 1.7 percent of annual U.S. methane emissions, by 2025 — again, a number too small to have an effect on climate phenomena. In short, the rule cannot satisfy any plausible cost/benefit analysis; the justification used by its backers — that it would be an effective way of addressing anthropogenic climate change — is inconsistent with basic climate science.Second: The Obama rule and the Trump reform apply only to U.S. oil and gas production and transport systems, which account for about 28 percent of U.S. methane emissions and about 2.6 percent of U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions. They do not apply to U.S. agriculture, which account for 40 percent of U.S. methane emissions and 3.8 percent of U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions.Agricultural methane emissions stem from enteric fermentation by livestock, manure management, rice production, composting, field burning of field residues, and other processes. The Trump reform recognizes the obvious: Even apart from the near-zero effect on the climate of methane emissions whatever their source, agricultural emissions are larger than those from fossil-fuel operations. But it would be much more difficult to reduce agricultural emissions; doing so would drive up the industry's costs significantly, and thus the prices that Americans pay for food. The costs to fossil-fuel operations of the Obama methane rule by contrast are hidden in a long supply chain comprising exploration, production, gathering and transport (including transport of crude oil and refined products from overseas), refining, distribution, imports, and so on, while the adverse price effects can be blamed on the evil oil companies.All this helps to explain the refusal of one Congress after another to target methane emissions — or greenhouse-gas emissions more generally — through legislation. Political support for such policies is nonexistent outside the environmental Left, which is why the Obama administration resorted to executive-branch regulation to enact them.Third: The Obama rule largely overlapped with the existing regulation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted as a result of fossil-fuel companies' operations. VOCs contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone, a problem very different from the climate-change rationale used to justify the methane rule. Regulations directed at the reduction of VOC emissions have the natural ancillary effect of reducing methane emissions as well, a reality recognized by the Obama administration itself. For the reasons already discussed, these ancillary effects are so small as to be irrelevant in terms of climate phenomena, and the Trump administration is not proposing a relaxation of the regulations reducing VOC emissions in any event.Note that only about a quarter of U.S. VOC emissions result from industrial and other economic activities; about 70 percent are from biological ("biogenic") sources. Most of the emissions from economic activities result from "other industrial processes," defined by the EPA as "chemical production, petroleum refining, metals production, and processes other than fuel combustion." Between 1990 and 2014, the most recent period for which the EPA has reported data, non-biological VOC emissions have declined 47 percent, and VOC emissions from "other industrial processes" have declined about 26 percent. This is largely consistent with the 18 percent decline in U.S. methane emissions from 1990 to 2018. The correlation means that the Obama methane rule was redundant, imposing costs on fossil-fuel production without providing any benefits.Why is it that methane emissions from fossil-fuel operations have declined about 23 percent since 1990, despite an increase in oil production of 49 percent, and an increase in gas production of 72 percent? Notwithstanding the assertions of the environmental Left, a reduction in methane emissions furthers the industry's interests, because methane is valuable; from the viewpoint of a profit-seeking fossil-fuel producer, sales are vastly preferable to losses through emissions. The interests of the private sector and environmental protection are far more consistent than commonly asserted, a reality that no one should be allowed to obscure.
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| Golden State Killer faces his victims in court on first day of hearings Posted: 18 Aug 2020 07:57 AM PDT  Former Police Officer Joseph James DeAngelo, also known as the Golden State Killer, faces his victims in court Tuesday on the first of four days of hearings before he is sentenced to life in prison.
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| These states require travelers to self-quarantine or present negative COVID-19 test Posted: 18 Aug 2020 02:30 PM PDT  States are opening back up, but some still require or recommend visitors self-quarantine for two weeks. Find out where.
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| Severe obesity is linked to a higher risk of death from the coronavirus among men, regardless of underlying health conditions Posted: 18 Aug 2020 09:34 AM PDT  Severe obesity is linked to an increased risk of death from coronavirus, even when controlling for other health conditions and socioeconomic factors.
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| Arizona Teachers Waged a Sickout Over Coronavirus Concerns, and Organizers Say Other School Districts Could Be Next Posted: 18 Aug 2020 01:40 PM PDT  As some politicians and parents pressure schools to reopen, teachers are pushing back.
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| Trump admits moving US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was ‘for the evangelicals’ Posted: 18 Aug 2020 02:35 AM PDT  Donald Trump admitted his decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was made largely for Evangelical Christians, a community staunchly supportive of his presidency.Speaking at a campaign rally in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on Monday, the president also suggested that "the evangelicals" were more enthusiastic about his decision than Jewish people.
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| Now a medical student, Louisiana man returns to the hospital where he was once a security guard Posted: 17 Aug 2020 10:32 PM PDT  Eleven years ago, Russell Ledet would attend classes at Southern University and A&M College in the day and then work as a security guard at Baton Rogue General Medical Center at night, studying organic chemistry during his breaks.Today, Ledet is a medical student working inside the hospital, and he hopes that his story will inspire young people who believe becoming a doctor is out of their reach. "I thought growing up only rich people go to college," Ledet told BBC News. After high school, the Louisiana native joined the Navy as "a way out," and he "started to realize that the world was more than where I was from."He enrolled at Southern University and A&M College in 2009, and took on the security guard job in order to support his growing family. After shadowing the hospital's chief surgery resident, he was motivated to continue his education, and earned his PhD in molecular oncology from New York University. In 2018, Ledet was accepted into the Tulane University School of Medicine, and earlier this year, launched The 15 White Coats organization with fellow students. Their motto is "Resilience is in Our DNA," and they want to help give a foundation to children of color planning careers in the medical field."Coming from where I come from, nobody tells you that you can do things in the world, you can make an impact," Ledet told BBC News. "If nobody tells you, you don't know. But now that I know, I can tell the kids." More stories from theweek.com TV networks are reportedly afraid of giving the RNC too much airtime, so they cut the DNC's time short too Bill Clinton is getting sidelined at the DNC Cuba Gooding Jr. accused of rape in lawsuit
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| Tension with Washington helps fuel Turkey-Venezuela alliance Posted: 18 Aug 2020 01:20 PM PDT  There is an economic relationship; the murkier aspects have attracted the scrutiny of the U.S. Treasury Department. There is solidarity in their anti-U.S. rhetoric, even if the United States is a key trading partner of Turkey. The personal relationship between the leaders of Venezuela and Turkey is warm, partly forged by mutual words of support during domestic attempts to force them from power.
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| Japan voices concerns over Chinese activity around disputed islands: NHK Posted: 18 Aug 2020 04:38 AM PDT  Japanese Defence Minister Taro Kono told China's ambassador to Japan, Kong Xuanyou, his country should refrain from activities around disputed East China Sea islands that are controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing, public broadcaster NHK reported. Kono expressed strong concern over China's actions in a 40-minute meeting at the defence ministry, NHK said, after Japan last month accused Chinese government ships of repeated intrusions into its territorial waters around the islands.
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| China Looks to Leverage Coronavirus Vaccine Access to Secure Strategic Concessions from Other Nations Posted: 18 Aug 2020 11:04 AM PDT  Top Beijing officials are promising certain countries, with whom they have strategic partnerships, early access to China's imminent coronavirus vaccines as they seek to repair their global image following criticism over their failure to contain the initial outbreak of the virus.The countries China is working with to produce vaccines and provide early access include Russia, Pakistan, the Phillippines, Brazil, and Indonesia. The details of China's negotiations with the countries remain unknown but are believed to be related to recognition of Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea.China's Foreign Ministry has struck a deal with the Philippines to provide them with priority access to a coronavirus vaccine developed in China, the Wall Street Journal reported.Meanwhile, China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd., which is ostensibly privately owned, has reached an agreement with Brazil and Indonesia to cooperate in producing hundreds of millions of doses of its vaccine for use in those countries.In Pakistan, the China National Pharmaceutical Group has agreed to conduct clinical trials in the country, and Pakistan will receive doses for about one-fifth of its 220 million population.Russia's health ministry must still approve a deal to produce a vaccine in Russia that was developed by China's military and the China-based CanSino Biologics Inc.Of the six global vaccine candidates in the final phases of clinical trials involving people, three are being developed in China. Last month, the U.S. began the world's largest vaccine study involving 30,000 volunteers, who will test doses of a vaccine developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna.China was swiftly criticized by the U.S., Britain, and other western countries for allowing the coronavirus outbreak which began in the Chinese city of Wuhan to spill across the country's borders and infect the rest of the world, causing a global pandemic.The pandemic damaged ongoing trade negotiations between the U.S. and China as the Trump administration laid the blame on Beijing for the global crisis."They could have stopped the plague. They could have stopped it. They didn't stop it," Trump said last month.
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| A man broke into an aquatic center in Arizona, got trapped in a water slide support pipe, and died before rescuers could get to him Posted: 18 Aug 2020 09:24 AM PDT  A 31-year-old man identified by the Scottsdale Police Department as Ryan Kelly died at Eldorado Aquatic and Fitness Center on Monday.
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| Ex-admissions worker used student IDs to steal $84K in aid at TN college, feds say Posted: 17 Aug 2020 04:03 PM PDT  A student's missing refund check led investigators to 32-year-old Renauld Clayton, who worked in the admissions office at Tennessee State University.
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| Tokyo installed see-through public toilets in a park to let people inspect their cleanliness before using them, at which point the glass turns opaque Posted: 18 Aug 2020 03:14 AM PDT  People can see through the colored "smart glass" when it's not in use. The glass then turns opaque when the door is locked.
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| 'We are staring into the abyss - Hizbollah has no place in Lebanon's future' says former PM's son Posted: 17 Aug 2020 12:10 PM PDT  The son of Lebanon's murdered prime minister Rafic Hariri has called for the Iranian-backed militia Hizbollah to end its involvement in Lebanese politics and allow the country to rebuild following this month's devastating blast at Beirut port which killed more than 200 people. Bahaa Hariri, the 54-year-old son of the Lebanese prime minister who was killed by a massive car bomb in 2005, said the blame for the huge explosion at Beirut port lay squarely with Hizbollah, which he said controlled the port, and Lebanon's Maronite Chrstian President Michel Aoun, who supported the militia's role in Lebanese politics. "President Aoun is a very ardent supporter of Hizbollah, and I am very disappointed that our president stands where he stands," said Mr Hariri in an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph. "Hizbollah was in control of the port and they were in control of the storage facility. We had very explosive products stored in the port for 6 years even though there were very many warnings about it. The utter carelessness that led to this situation is appalling." Mr Hariri was speaking prior to publication on Tuesday of the long-awaited judgement of the special UN-sponsored criminal trial of four Hizbollah members who were accused of involvement in his father's assassination by a UN inquiry in 2011. The trial, which has been conducted in the Netherlands, was held in absentia because Hizbollah refused to hand over the suspects named by UN investigators. A guilty verdict would heap even more pressure on the Iran-backed militia, which many Lebanese have blamed for the devastating blast at Beirut earlier this month, which was caused after 2,750-tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate stored at the port was ignited.
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| Trump tries to steal political spotlight from Biden as Democrats open convention Posted: 17 Aug 2020 03:36 PM PDT  Donald Trump traveled to battleground states on the first day of a weeklong tour aimed at countering Democrats during their political convention.
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| Southern downpours may precede arrival of one or more tropical systems Posted: 18 Aug 2020 10:25 AM PDT  Rain-weary residents of the South may not be thrilled to see more soaking weather in their forecast this week, but others may be relieved to see rain following a deficit in recent weeks. And, forecasters say that all Southerners should keep a close eye on the tropics, which may play a role in the region's weather next week.Meteorologists expect an onslaught of showers and thunderstorms later this week and this weekend with an uptick in activity already getting underway as early as Wednesday. "As a southward dip in the jet stream directs Gulf of Mexico moisture northward across the Southeastern states from Thursday to Sunday, spotty downpours will tend to become more widespread and repeat in nature," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham. Those hoping to spend time outdoors may have to dodge showers and thunderstorms.Through Wednesday, rainfall is likely to range from 0.25 of an inch to 1 inch with locally higher amounts. But, from Friday through Sunday, a general 1-3 inches of rain is likely with the greatest and locally higher amounts expected along the northeastern part of the Gulf Coast.CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APPFor places such as Atlanta, that is not terrible news as the city has received less than 60% of its normal rainfall since July 1. Portions of Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Florida are considered to be abnormally dry, based on latest report from the United States Drought Monitor.However, Hickory, North Carolina, was deluged by 16.50 inches of rain during the same period, compared to the normal rainfall of 6.67 inches. Richmond, Virginia, picked up a whopping 15.08 inches of rain during the first 17 days of August alone. Richmond typically receives 2.60 inches of rain during the first part of the month.Where the ground remains saturated from last week's rain and more recent rainfall this week, the risk of flash flooding will be greatest. The risk is highest along the Atlantic coast and over parts of the southern Appalachians.Another concern will be what happens next week as there are two tropical systems brewing over the Atlantic. One and possibly both systems could pose threats such as more heavy rainfall to part of the Southern states. The more immediate threat from a hurricane making landfall would be for high winds and coastal flooding. However, the track after landfall might be a concern in saturated areas of North Carolina, Virginia and perhaps farther up the coast in the Northeast."If a tropical system were to track into the South sometime next week, the ground may be already saturated in some spots, making it easier for flooding to occur," Buckingham said.Rainfall from either or both tropical systems would probably not affect the entire region. It is unclear at this point which areas might be most impacted by the heaviest rainfall, especially since the Atlantic systems haven't become organized enough to be named yet.Forecasters urge people across the South to monitor the short-term forecast for rainfall as well as the long-term tropical outlook.In terms of temperature, the same dip in the jet stream helping to promote a wet weather pattern for the Southeast will also lower temperatures in much of the region from midweek through this weekend, even though the core of the cool air will be over the Midwest. The most notable difference will be daytime highs running 5-10 degrees Fahrenheit below average across the interior and up to a few degrees below average in coastal areas. Typical highs during the third week in August for the region are in the middle 80s to near 90.https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-forecasts/dip-in-the-jet-stream-to-usher-in-refreshing-air-mass-across-the-ohio-valley-mid-south/796186 During next week, as the jet stream retreats northward and with the potential approach of one or two tropical systems, temperatures will trend upward and the air may get quite steamy.Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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| Chinese diplomats return from Houston consulate shut by US Posted: 17 Aug 2020 07:28 PM PDT  The staff of the Chinese consulate in Houston that was ordered shut by the U.S. government has returned to China. Wearing face masks because of the coronavirus pandemic, they were greeted on the tarmac by Foreign Minister Wang Yi after disembarking from a chartered Air China flight in Beijing on Monday night. "You have resolutely safeguarded the core interests, the dignity of the country and the legitimate rights of China's overseas institutions under very difficult, even dangerous, conditions," he said.
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| Canada refuses to release emails with U.S. over Huawei exec's arrest Posted: 17 Aug 2020 03:02 AM PDT  Canada has released as much information as it legally can about the arrest of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, the government's lawyers said on Monday, as she sought more confidential documents relating to her 2018 detention. Meng, 48, was arrested in December 2018 at Vancouver International Airport on a U.S. warrant charging her with bank fraud for allegedly misleading HSBC about Huawei's business dealings in Iran. On the first day of hearings expected to last up to three days, Meng's lawyer said a "flurry of emails" between Canadian and American officials around the time of Meng's arrest should not all be covered by privilege, as Canadian prosecutors have argued.
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| China launches anti-dumping investigation into Australian wine Posted: 18 Aug 2020 03:28 AM PDT  China on Tuesday ramped up tensions with Australia as it launched a probe into wine imports from the country, the latest salvo in an increasingly bitter row between the trade partners.
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| Hagia Sophia has been converted back into a mosque, but the veiling of its figural icons is not a Muslim tradition Posted: 18 Aug 2020 05:16 AM PDT  Ever since the reversion of Hagia Sophia back into a mosque, the Muslim call to prayer has been resounding from its minarets.Originally built as a Christian Orthodox church and serving that purpose for centuries, Hagia Sophia was transformed into a mosque by the Ottomans upon their conquest of Constantinople in 1453. In 1934, it was declared a museum by the secularist Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. As of June 24 of this year, Hagia Sophia's icons of the Virgin Mary and infant Christ are covered by fabric curtains as the edifice yet again changes functions.Turkish officials have stated that the veiling of the images, especially the interior mosaics, is necessary to transform the interior into a Muslim prayer space.As historians of Byzantine and Islamic art, we argue that in their rush to reassert the monument's Islamic past, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his associates have inadvertently – and superficially – emulated certain Orthodox Christian practices. Images of Mary and Christ were often ritually veiled and unveiled in Byzantium, while later Ottoman Muslim rulers did not engage in such practices. Images of Mary and Jesus in IslamWhen Sultan Mehmed II, known as the "Conqueror" or Fatih, took over Constantinople, he headed straight to Hagia Sophia, declared it a mosque and ordered it protected in perpetuity. He did not order the ninth-century mosaic of Mary and Christ in the interior removed or covered. Instead, Ottoman historians tell us that he stood in awe, feeling that the eyes of the Christ child followed him as he moved about the structure.Although images of humans are almost never found in mosque architecture, the depictions of Mary and Jesus remained uncovered in the mosque of Hagia Sophia until 1739. At that time, the mosaic was plastered over. The plaster was later removed during the building's 1934 conversion into a museum.The centuries-long display may have been a gesture in appreciation of the Prophet Muhammad, who is said to have preserved an icon of the Virgin and Christ when he destroyed the pagan statues at the Kaaba, Islam's holy sanctuary, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.In this and other cases, Muslim rulers clearly understood that religious figures can be used for devotional purposes without necessarily being idolatrous. This nuance has been lost as of late in the more recent debates surrounding representations of the Prophet Muhammad.From the medieval period onward, Mary and Christ are in fact a recurring motif in Islamic art. They are depicted in metalwork, on glassware and book paintings. European prints of the mother-and-child pair were also collected into albums by the Ottoman elites of Constantinople in the 17th century. Not shunned or destroyed, these images were sought after, safeguarded and even embellished with colorful paints. Veiling icons in ChristianityIn the history of Christianity, covering images, and revealing them at significant moments, often testified to their power. The wrapping, encasing, framing and veiling of the most precious images and objects signaled and guaranteed their divine qualities. Thus relics were stored in containers and icons strategically enshrouded. Sometimes, paintings of Mary and Christ in medieval Western European manuscripts were screened by veils sewn onto folio pages.Lifting these cloth "shields" enabled viewers a full visual and tactile experience of the divine depiction beneath.The Virgin Mary, or Theotokos, as she was known in Byzantium, is closely associated with veils. The "maphorion," or the cloth with which she is believed to have covered her head and shoulders, was housed in Constantinople. It was said to be invested with protective powers and believed to ward off enemies. A Byzantine miracleTurkish officials claim that the curtains covering the mosaics are on an electronic rail system and that they shall be lowered to cover the icons only during prayer times. But if the strips of cloth covering the Mary and Christ mosaic are to be raised intermittently and nonmanually between prayers as proposed, then a startling – if purely cursory – coincidence would emerge. [You're too busy to read everything. We get it. That's why we've got a weekly newsletter. Sign up for good Sunday reading. ]It would resemble somewhat a well-known 11th-century Christian miracle in Constantinople. The story goes that each Friday evening, the veil covering an icon of Mary and Christ would rise by itself after prayers. It would remain lifted until the following day when it fell again – on its own.The raised veil was interpreted, among other things, as a sign of the tangible interface between the divine and mortal worlds and, more specifically, as the Virgin Mary's embrace of her devotees. The paradox of the pastThe rich symbolism of the 11th-century miracle and other instances of Orthodox practice is certainly lost in the current strategy of veiling at Hagia Sophia. Ideological struggles over this world heritage structure since 1934 reveal the extent to which the monument serves as a symbol for the staking of political power and religious authority among Christians, Muslims and secularists in Turkey and beyond.This time around, rather than maintain Hagia Sophia as a monument of coexistence, the Turkish government's actions have sharpened an already tense ideological divide between pious and secular Turks, and between Muslims and Christians worldwide.But beyond the political and religious posturing, we argue that Erdoğan and his team have also accidentally, and speciously, brought back the fabric veiling of icons, one of the practices of Byzantine Orthodoxy.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * Turkey's collapsing lira: government is running out of options for embattled currency * Hagia Sophia controversy goes beyond Muslim-Christian tensions to treatment of 'paganism'The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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| Officials made false statements about dropping charges against Jussie Smollett, special prosecutor says Posted: 17 Aug 2020 12:57 PM PDT  A special prosecutor has concluded there were "substantial abuses of discretion" in the Jussie Smollett case and that officials involved made false or misleading statements to the public. Special prosecutor Dan Webb on Monday detailed the findings of his investigation into how the Cook County state's attorney's office handled the case against the Empire actor, and the probe did not conclude that officials broke the law, The New York Times reports. However, Webb's investigation established "abuses of discretion and operational failures" in the case.Smollett in 2019 said he had been the victim of a hate crime and that two men attacked him in Chicago while yelling racist and homophobic slurs, only for police to charge Smollett and accuse him of orchestrating the attack. Later, all of the charges against Smollett were unexpectedly dropped, and amid questions about what led to this outcome, a special prosecutor was appointed to look into the case. Webb says that he spoke with many Cook County officials who were "shocked" by the decision to drop the charges, BuzzFeed News reports.Additionally, the report says that the state's attorney's office "breached its obligations of honesty and transparency" by making false or misleading public statements. For example, the report says that even though Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx claimed that she stopped communicating with Smollet's sister, actress Jurnee Smollett, after being made aware that Smollett was the subject of an investigation, she actually "continued communicating" with her for several more days. Webb also said that a statement from the office about other cases having similar outcomes as Smollett's was misleading.In February, Smollett was once again indicted by a grand jury for allegedly lying to the police. He continues to maintain his innocence. The Cook County state's attorney's office in a statement said that it "categorically rejects" the allegation that it made false statements about the case. More stories from theweek.com Bill Clinton is getting sidelined at the DNC Andrew Cuomo criticized for writing mid-pandemic book about his response to the pandemic John Boehner would 'rather set himself on fire' than get involved in the 2020 election
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| North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reportedly condemns pet ownership as a 'decadence' and orders dogs be confiscated Posted: 18 Aug 2020 08:51 AM PDT  The dogs are being put down, sent to zoos or sold to restaurants where dog meat is eaten, an unnamed source told South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo.
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| Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says science will drive a Biden administration's response to coronavirus Posted: 17 Aug 2020 07:35 PM PDT  Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addresses the Democratic National Convention.
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| Michelle Obama’s rebuke and anti-Trump Republicans: key DNC takeaways Posted: 17 Aug 2020 10:15 PM PDT  The opening night of the virtual convention saw the former first lady and John Kasich warn against re-electing the presidentMonday marked opening night of a Democratic national convention that will be like no other in US history, as four days of events and speeches are held almost entirely online due to the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed more than 170,000 lives so far and continues to rage across the country.Here are the main takeaways from the evening's program:Michelle Obama stole the show. The former first lady delivered a searing rebuke of Donald Trump in a keynote speech, arguing the president is incapable of leading the country during this moment of profound crisis due to the pandemic, its economic fallout and the national reckoning on racism sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in May."If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it," the former first lady said. The pre-taped speech attracted instant widespread praise, with many Democrats saying Obama offered an eloquent and urgent call to action.> A powerful call to action by @MichelleObama. Register to vote now at https://t.co/MykJL0X5gt. DemConvention pic.twitter.com/Zp9qSnyFlY> > — Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 18, 2020An everyday American who lost her father to coronavirus upstaged many Democratic lawmakers. Kristin Urquiza specifically blamed Trump for misleading her father, Mark Anthony Urquiza, who voted for Trump in 2016 about the seriousness of the virus.The president has repeatedly downplayed the threat of the virus, instead championing the reopening of the economy and schools."My dad was a healthy 65-year-old," Urquiza said. "His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump, and for that, he paid with his life."Urquiza's words struck a chord with many viewers, and commentators compared her speech to that of Gold Star father Khizr Khan, who memorably criticized Trump at the 2016 Democratic convention.George Floyd's family delivered a plea for changes in policing. "George should be alive today," Philonise Floyd said of his brother, a Black man who was kill by a white Minneapolis police officer in May. Floyd listed some of the African Americans killed by police in recent years and said: "When this moment ends, let's make sure we never stop saying their names."Bernie Sanders called on his supporters to rally around Biden. A theme of the convention, and this night in particular, was unity. The progressive Vermont senator, Biden's former rival for the presidential nomination, acknowledged his policy differences with the Democratic nominee, but Sanders argued Trump's disastrous handling of the pandemic demanded that all Americans come together to elect Biden. "Nero fiddled while Rome burned," Sanders said. "Trump golfs."Anti-Trump Republicans warned against the dangers of re-electing the president. The former Ohio governor John Kasich, a frequent Trump critic, delivered his speech endorsing Biden alongside a literal fork in the road, attracting some mockery on Twitter. "America is at a crossroads," Kasich said. "The stakes in this election are greater than any in modern times." Like Sanders, Kasich acknowledged he does not agree with Biden on every issue, but he described his vote for the Democratic candidate as a matter of necessity amid a historic time of crisis.The virtual convention, while not seamless, still produced some memorable moments. The night saw some glitches and timing misses, but overall the event went as planned, despite the unprecedented nature of this year's conventions. However, certain lawmakers' Zoom backgrounds did prompt questions, such as, where did Bernie Sanders find all that chopped wood to stand in front of?
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| World's largest naval exercise sparks more friction between US and China Posted: 17 Aug 2020 03:14 AM PDT  The world's largest naval exercise begins off the coast of Hawaii on Monday as diplomatic tensions escalate between the US and its allies and China over Beijing's territorial ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region. Several countries participating in the joint exercises, billed by the US navy as strengthening alliances to "ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific" have raised concerns about China's attempts to assert its control over critical trade routes and waterways. They include Australia, Japan, the Philippines and India. The coronavirus pandemic has forced the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) event, hosted by the US Pacific Fleet, to scale down from 25 to 11 nations, about 20 ships and 5,300 personnel, and its drills, which will now only be conducted at sea, have been whittled down from the usual five weeks to two. However, the exercises have riled Beijing, which was not invited to participate, despite taking part in 2014 and 2016. China was disinvited in 2018 by the Trump administration which accused it of militarising disputed areas of the South China Sea.
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| Two tropical waves in the Atlantic are headed west and might turn into depressions Posted: 18 Aug 2020 03:47 AM PDT  Two tropical waves are making their way west across the Atlantic, and the National Hurricane Center said they both have a chance of strengthening into a tropical depression later this week.
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| Gun Safety Issues Helped Democrats Flip Virginia's General Assembly in 2019. Is Texas Next? Posted: 18 Aug 2020 10:50 AM PDT  'The pandemic has exacerbated this crisis'
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