| Trump calls for Schiff to resign from Congress Posted: 28 Mar 2019 07:03 AM PDT  President Trump is joining the chorus of Republicans calling for Rep. Adam Schiff's resignation as the House Intelligence Committee chairman refuses to drop his investigation of the Trump campaign's contacts with Russia.
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| Pope signs law to prevent child abuse in Vatican and its embassies Posted: 29 Mar 2019 02:03 PM PDT  Although the city state within Rome is tiny, and very few children live there, the sweeping legal changes reflect a desire to show that the Catholic Church is finally acting against clerical child abuse after decades of scandals around the world. It is the first time a unified and detailed policy for the protection of children has been compiled for the Vatican and its embassies and universities outside the city state. The law sets up procedures for reporting suspected abuse, imposes more screening of prospective employees, and sets strict guidelines for adult interaction with children and the use of social media.
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| What's Next in Brexit? A Cliff-Edge and a Summit: Timeline Posted: 29 Mar 2019 10:20 AM PDT  May's team says she's going to keep fighting to get her a done quickly enough to avoid a long extension that would require the U.K. to take part in European elections -- but it's far from clear the EU will agree. April 1: Lawmakers to vote on alternatives to May's Brexit deal. By now the U.K. has to decide if it's holding European Parliament elections.
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| 10 Ways the 2019 Toyota Tacoma Pickup Lives Up to Its Cult-Like Image Posted: 29 Mar 2019 08:12 AM PDT |
| UK lawmakers reject Brexit deal for third time Posted: 29 Mar 2019 02:51 PM PDT  British MPs on Friday rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's EU divorce deal for a third time, opening the way for a long delay to Brexit -- or a chaotic "no deal" withdrawal in two weeks. The pound slipped as lawmakers defied May's plea to end the deadlock that has plunged Britain into a deep political crisis, defeating her withdrawal agreement by 344 votes to 286. The EU has set a deadline of April 12 for a decision, with two likely options: Britain leaves with no deal at all, or agrees a lengthy extension to allow time for a new approach.
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| British couple arrested on suspicion of smuggling cocaine on board cruise liner Posted: 28 Mar 2019 05:52 AM PDT  Two British nationals have been arrested on the holiday island of Madeira on suspicion of smuggling £2 million pounds worth of cocaine aboard a luxury cruise liner. The pair, were amongst 12 people, who were detained when the cruise ship, the MSC Opera, docked at Funchal en route from the Caribbean on March 24. Local police assisted by members of Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) recovered around 18 kilograms of cocaine, with an estimated street value of £2 million. The cocaine had been hidden in crisp packets and ceramic bowls which had been stashed in suitcases. Six of those arrested had been passengers on board the vessel when it travelled from the West Indies to Madeira. The other six, including the two Britons, and a Dutch national who lives in London, had recently travelled to Madeira, where it is suspected they were due to meet the ship when it docked. The drugs had been stored in crisp packets Those arrested were aged between 20 and 52 and included six men and six women. All twelve have been detained pending prosecution in the Portuguese courts. Allan Round, NCA operations manager at the Joint Border Intelligence Unit, said:"We believe this operation will have seriously disrupted an organised crime group looking to traffic cocaine into the UK and Europe. The drugs had been hidden in bowls "Working with our Portuguese colleagues we have been able to act on intelligence at speed and prevent this quantity of drugs from reaching its final destination. "Once in the UK we know cocaine generates huge profits for criminal networks who are also involved in street violence and exploitation, so stopping it will help reduce the harm caused by them." The Joint Border Intelligence Unit combines staff from the NCA, Border Force and other law enforcement to share intelligence and pursue and disrupt those who attempt to evade UK border controls for criminal purposes.
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| Scientists lower alert level for Hawaii's Kilauea volcano Posted: 28 Mar 2019 09:37 AM PDT  HILO, Hawaii (AP) — Scientists have downgraded the alert level for Hawaii's Kilauea volcano in response to reduced activity, saying the next eruption is likely a few years away.
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| Updated: Iceland's WOW Air budget carrier collapses, cancels all flights Posted: 28 Mar 2019 03:32 AM PDT  The collapse of the troubled airline, which transports more than a third of those travelling to Iceland, comes after buyout talks with rival Icelandair collapsed earlier this week. WOW Air, founded in 2011, exploited Iceland's location in the middle of the North Atlantic to offer a low-cost service between Europe and North America as well as tapping into a tourist boom to the volcanic island. On Monday WOW Air said it was in talks to restructure its debt with its creditors after Icelandair ended brief negotiations over buying a stake in the no-frills airline.
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| Does the media owe Trump an apology? Posted: 28 Mar 2019 02:00 AM PDT  Even the country's best newspapers and websites present almost everything the administration does in dramatic tones beyond all proportion, as if the mere act of Trump trying to govern constituted an existential threat.
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| Fifth grader dies after classroom fight Posted: 28 Mar 2019 05:29 AM PDT  School officials say a fifth grader who was injured when a fight broke out in her classroom at a South Carolina school has died. Linda So reports.
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| 10-year-old student found with loaded gun at Long Island elementary school: police Posted: 28 Mar 2019 07:56 AM PDT  Authorities on Long Island are investigating after a 10-year-old student wasallegedly caught with a loaded handgun at his elementary school on Monday
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| The Manual-Transmission Mazda 6 Is No More for 2019, but It May Not Be Gone for Good Posted: 29 Mar 2019 08:25 AM PDT  Mazda says there's a possibility that the stick-shift 6 could be available by special order in the future.
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| UPDATE 1-Israeli troops wound Palestinians, anniversary rally approaches Posted: 29 Mar 2019 12:28 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Israeli troops wound Palestinians, anniversary rally approaches]( "UPDATE 1-Israeli troops wound Palestinians, anniversary rally approaches") Israeli troops shot and wounded 10 Palestinians on the Gaza border on Friday, Gaza medical officials said, as Israeli tanks massed on the eve of a huge rally to mark the first anniversary of the start of the deadly protests. Around 200 Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured by Israeli fire at the protests, Gaza medics say, as the demonstrations turned into an often deadly standoff between Gazans hurling rocks and petrol bombs and Israel troops on the other side of the fence. Israel defends its use of lethal force, saying that its troops are defending the border and Israelis living near it.
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| Texas AG investigating Chick-fil-A's exclusion at airport Posted: 28 Mar 2019 04:47 PM PDT ![Texas AG investigating Chick-fil-A's exclusion at airport]( "Texas AG investigating Chick-fil-A's exclusion at airport") AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas' attorney general opened an investigation Thursday into San Antonio's decision to exclude Chick-fil-A from opening airport concession facilities due to the fast-food chain owners' record on LGBT issues.
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| American Air Extends Halt of Venezuela Flights ‘Indefinitely’ Posted: 28 Mar 2019 03:15 PM PDT  The decision cut off the last remaining flights to Venezuela by a major U.S. carrier, deepening the country's isolation as it reels from a nationwide power failure and the prospect of electricity rationing in Caracas, the capital city. In its statement, the Fort Worth, Texas-based company said it was "proud of our more than 30 years of service'' to Venezuela.
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| Pakistan minister brands US envoy 'little pygmy' in Twitter row Posted: 27 Mar 2019 10:42 PM PDT  A Pakistani minister has branded the US ambassador to Kabul a "little pygmy" in a high-level diplomatic Twitter row that erupted over ongoing peace talks between Washington and the Taliban in Afghanistan. The furore underscores the delicate balance of regional tensions as the US steps up a push to find a way out of Afghanistan, more than 17 years after the invasion. It began after Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan reportedly suggested an interim government in Afghanistan to help smooth the talks process, making the comment during a briefing with local reporters on Monday.
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| Mueller report: How Trump avoided interview with special counsel during Russia investigation Posted: 29 Mar 2019 03:32 AM PDT  It was March 2018, nearly 10 months into his Russia investigation, when special counsel Robert Mueller III, a man of few words, raised the stakes dramatically in a meeting with Donald Trump's lawyers: If the president did not sit down voluntarily for an interview, he could face a subpoena.In the months that followed, Mr Mueller never explicitly threatened to issue a subpoena as his office pursued a presidential interview, a sit-down for which the special counsel was pushing as late as December.But with that prospect hanging over them, Mr Trump's legal team conducted a quiet, multi-pronged pressure campaign to avert such an action and keep the president from coming face-to-face with federal investigators - fearful he would perjure himself.At one point last summer, when a lull in talks had the president's attorneys worried that Mr Mueller was seriously contemplating a subpoena, White House lawyer Emmet Flood wrote a memo laying out the legal arguments for protecting the president's executive privilege. He sent the document to Mr Mueller's office and to the deputy for top Justice Department official Rod Rosenstein, who oversaw the probe, according to two people familiar with Mr Flood's outreach.Meanwhile, the Trump lawyers sent a steady stream of documents and witnesses to the special counsel, chipping away at Mr Mueller's justification for needing an interview with the president.[[gallery-0]] In the end, the decision not to subpoena the president is one of the lingering mysteries of Mr Mueller's 22-month investigation, which concluded last week when he filed a report numbering more than 300 pages.The special counsel did not find a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, but - in an unusual move - failed to come to a decision about whether Mr Trump obstructed justice, according to a summary of the Mueller report released by attorney general William Barr. An interview with the president would have been pivotal to helping assess whether the president had corrupt intent, a key element of such a charge, legal experts said.It is an open question whether a subpoena would have survived the court challenge Mr Trump's lawyers say they would have waged. The Supreme Court has never issued definitive guidance on issuing a subpoena to a president, but had Mr Mueller pursued one, the courts could have established a precedent for future presidents.In assessing whether to pursue such a high-stakes move, the special counsel was not operating with complete autonomy. That was a contrast with predecessors such as Kenneth Starr, who investigated President Bill Clinton and had broad leeway under the now-expired independent counsel statute.But Mr Mueller was supervised by Mr Rosenstein, a Trump appointee. The special counsel, Mr Rosenstein noted in one letter to a Republican senator, "remains accountable like every other subordinate."Mr Rosenstein himself was under intense political pressure: Mr Trump mused about firing the one-time George W Bush appointee and former US attorney for Maryland, whom he derided at one point as "the Democrat from Baltimore." And House conservatives threatened to impeach Mr Rosenstein, accusing him of withholding information about the Russia probe.Internal Justice Department discussions about whether to subpoena the president - including Mr Rosenstein's views on such an action - remain tightly held.In the final months of the probe, there was upheaval in the department's leadership. Mr Trump ousted attorney general Jeff Sessions, who had recused himself from the investigation. He was replaced temporarily by his former chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, who was publicly critical of the special counsel before joining the department.A month before Mr Mueller submitted his report, Mr Barr was confirmed as attorney general. He had questioned Mr Mueller's obstruction-of-justice inquiry in a June 2018 memo to Mr Rosenstein months before his appointment, writing that "Mueller should not be permitted to demand that the President submit to interrogation about alleged obstruction."If Mr Mueller wanted to push for a subpoena, he did not force the issue with Justice Department leaders. Mr Barr told lawmakers last week that no decision the special counsel wanted to take was vetoed during the investigation.The Justice Department and the special counsel's office declined to comment.More answers could be revealed in Mr Mueller's full report, which House Democrats are pushing Mr Barr to release.What is known is that the president's lawyers now believe keeping their client from sitting down with investigators was their greatest victory."The president would not have helped his case had he gone in," said Mark Corallo, a former spokesperson for Mr Trump's legal team. "No lawyer worth his salt would let that happen."The president was initially inclined to sit for an interview with Mr Mueller. He thought he could deliver a convincing performance and put a swift end to the probe.Negotiations between the sides began around Thanksgiving 2017, and an interview was scheduled for January 2018, according to a person close to the legal team and a former senior administration official.But John Dowd, then the president's lead attorney, cancelled the session. He had argued against it because he feared Mr Trump could misspeak or even lie. And a practice session with the president further convinced Mr Dowd that the president could be a problematic interviewee, these people said.White House officials declined to comment.Over the next 12 months, Mr Mueller tried repeatedly to reschedule the interview, to no avail.Mr Trump continued to state publicly that he would be glad to sit for an interview - he believed being seen as willing to talk with prosecutors showed "strength," according to a former administration official with direct knowledge of his thinking. But the president came to agree with his lawyers that doing so would be too risky, especially after former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in December 2017, current and former White House aides said.Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said that some of what Mr Trump's legal advisers were hearing from Mr Mueller "raised our suspicion that this is a trap, rather than a search for more information."As the standoff continued, Mr Mueller's team discussed at length the idea of issuing a subpoena, if necessary, to compel Mr Trump to sit for an interview, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal conversations.The discussions - which included Mr Mueller, his top deputy James Quarles, and prosecutors Michael Dreeben and Aaron Zebley - centred both on whether a subpoena was legally feasible and what the costs of such a move might be to the overall investigation, the person said.A fight over a presidential subpoena would have been likely to set legal precedent.Under President Richard Nixon, the US Supreme Court ruled that investigators could subpoena evidence from a sitting president and ordered Nixon to turn over materials including secret recordings made in the Oval Office. That ruling did not, however, address testimony by the president.When Mr Starr was independent counsel, he issued a subpoena to Mr Clinton ordering the president to testify before a grand jury about his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Mr Clinton's team considered challenging the subpoena in court but instead decided that it would be politically damaging to be seen as fighting the investigation. Mr Clinton's lawyers agreed that he would voluntarily sit for an interview, and Mr Starr withdrew the subpoena - leaving open the question of whether a president can be compelled to give testimony.Robert Ray, a former independent counsel now in private practice at Thompson & Knight, said Mr Mueller's team would have had to weigh whether a subpoena could survive the court challenge that was all but certain to come from the Trump White House.The Supreme Court has never issued definitive guidance on the question, but in a previous independent counsel investigation, of Mike Espy, an agriculture secretary in the Clinton administration, an appellate court offered some clarity on the bounds of how the White House could fight a subpoena by citing presidential privilege.On the basis of the precedent from that case - which was focused on documents, rather than an interview – Mr Mueller would have had to demonstrate both a need to subpoena Mr Trump to advance his investigation and show that he could not get the information he sought in any other way, Mr Ray said.Another major factor was time: Mr Mueller had to consider the likelihood that such a move would bog the investigation down in a lengthy legal battle."That's a major fight, and you have to decide whether, in the country's best interests, it's worth it," Mr Ray said.Mr Mueller broached the topic during a tense meeting on 5 March 2018, at the special counsel offices in Southwest Washington, as Mr Trump's attorneys maintained that the president had no obligation to talk to investigators.The special counsel noted there was an option if Mr Trump declined: He could be subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury, as The Washington Post previously reported.Mr Dowd erupted angrily."You're screwing with the work of the president of the United States," he told Mr Mueller, according to two people briefed on the discussion.After that meeting, the special counsel team changed its approach: trying to coax Mr Trump to sit for an interview voluntarily.Prosecutors hoped the president would agree to meet, mindful that they could not explicitly threaten a subpoena unless they were prepared to issue one, according to a person familiar with the matter.Still, Mr Trump's legal advisers felt after the March meeting that a subpoena threat hung over the president."The whole exercise was premised on the idea that that was a legal option they could pursue, and we were never absolutely sure until the end that they would not," said one Trump adviser familiar with the legal negotiations.That threat governed the president's legal strategy in the months that would follow.Mr Trump's lawyers left the distinct public impression that they were not an equal match for Mr Mueller, a venerated former FBI director. Mr Dowd and Ty Cobb, another legal adviser to Mr Trump, were overheard by a reporter discussing over lunch at a popular Washington steakhouse how much they would cooperate with Mr Mueller. Mr Giuliani developed a habit of misspeaking in meandering television interviews.But behind the scenes, Mr Trump's legal advisers had a quiet weapon: a husband-and-wife pair of criminal lawyers, Jane and Martin Raskin, who brought rigor and regimen to the team when they came aboard in April 2018.While Mr Giuliani and attorney Jay Sekulow managed the public relations strategy, the Raskins did most of the lawyering from a temporary office they set up in Washington. They declined to comment.Mr Giuliani said that roughly 80 per cent of the Trump team's interactions with the special counsel's office were handled by Jane Raskin, who has known both Mr Mueller and Mr Quarles for years. She knew Mr Mueller from her time as a federal prosecutor in Boston, while her husband had worked with Mr Quarles.She communicated mostly by email, developing a written record that Mr Trump's attorneys intended to use as evidence of their cooperation and responsiveness if they ended up in court fighting a subpoena.Martin Raskin, meanwhile, did a great deal of the writing and editing of legal arguments, including a "counter report" defending the president that Mr Giuliani said has been prepared but may never be released.Central to the Trump strategy - developed first by Mr Cobb and Mr Dowd and later carried out by Mr Giuliani, Mr Sekulow and the Raskins, as well as Mr Flood, who from his White House perch represented the office of the presidency - was to cooperate fully with every request for documents and witnesses from Mr Mueller, including Mr Trump's written answers to some questions.Their goal: to satisfy Mr Mueller's hunt for information to the extent that the special counsel would not have legal standing to subpoena the president's oral testimony."We allowed them to question everybody, and they turned over every document they were asked for: 1.4 million documents," Mr Giuliani said. "We had what you would call unprecedented cooperation."Mr Trump's lawyers, citing the independent counsel investigation of Mr Espy, argued that to justify a subpoena of Mr Trump, Mr Mueller needed to prove he could not get the information in any way other than by asking the president."No matter what question they would say they wanted to ask, I felt confident we could turn it over and say, 'You already have the answer to it,'" Mr Giuliani said. "If they said, 'Why did you fire Comey?' I'd give them five interviews, and particularly the Lester Holt tape, where he goes into great detail as to his reasons."Mr Giuliani was referring to Mr Trump's May 2017 interview with the NBC Nightly News anchor in which the president said he was thinking about "this Russia thing" when he fired James Comey as FBI director, one of the actions Mr Mueller was investigating as possible obstruction of justice.All the while, Mr Giuliani said, the legal team was not convinced that it would have prevailed in court. "Honestly, I don't know who would have won," he said. "I think our argument got better as time went on. But I don't know if we would have won."As Mr Mueller's lawyers quietly laboured, a political storm was raging around them.Mr Trump, his lawyers and his allies in Congress routinely attacked Mr Mueller and his investigators as compromised and corrupt. The president repeatedly urged an end to the probe, which he condemned as a "witch hunt," a "fraud" and a "hoax" that was wasting taxpayer money.Mr Rosenstein urged lawmakers to respect the confidential work of the special counsel, saying in a June 2018 letter to senator Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, then the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, that the probe would comply with all laws and Justice Department policies.But Mr Rosenstein also noted that Mr Mueller was not an entirely independent actor - and that his work was being closely supervised."Under the terms of his appointment, both by statute and by regulation, special counsel Mueller remains accountable like every other subordinate Department official," Mr Rosenstein wrote.A few months later, Mr Flood sent his memo on the scope of executive privilege. While it made broad arguments, the document could have been construed to pertain to Mr Mueller's push to interview the president, according to someone with knowledge of the contents.Notably, Mr Flood sent the memo not just to Mr Mueller's office, but also to Mr Rosenstein by way of his top deputy, Edward O'Callaghan.Mr Flood declined to comment.As each month passed without a subpoena, the president's attorneys increasingly doubted that Mr Mueller would seek to obtain one, according to people with knowledge of internal discussions.Mr Mueller's team kept insisting it needed to interview the president - but never followed through with an actual demand.Mr Mueller and Mr Quarles would stress that they needed to know Mr Trump's intentions when he fired Mr Comey and took other actions that could have thwarted the Russia investigation. Jane Raskin would respond by pressing them for a legal justification for seeking to interview the president, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.The president's team asked, "What evidence have you obtained that justifies you interviewing the president?" according the person, who added that Mr Mueller's office was "never able to articulate a compelling case. They never gave up asking, but they had no good answer for that question."In the absence of an interview, Mr Trump's attorneys offered Mr Mueller a substitute: The president would provide answers to a set of questions about Russia and the campaign, submitted in writing. But, citing executive privilege, they refused to provide answers to questions pertaining to the president's time in office - questions that went to the heart of the special counsel's inquiry into possible obstruction of justice.However, the process of compiling answers dragged. Mr Trump's lawyers found it difficult to get the president to focus on drafting the submission, according to people familiar with the sessions. Mr Trump's meetings with his lawyers were frequently interrupted by phone calls and other White House business.Finally, in late November 2018, the lawyers sent Mr Trump's answers to Mr Mueller.In December, Mr Mueller's team made one more request for an interview with the president.And in January, the special counsel's office contacted Mr Trump's lawyers to ask some follow-up questions, according to people familiar with the request.But Mr Trump's lawyers again declined. They neither agreed to an interview nor answered the additional questions.Two months later, Mr Mueller submitted his report without having spoken to the president. The investigation was over.The Washington Post
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| The new specialty Reese's cups are perfect for the nuanced Reese's palate Posted: 28 Mar 2019 06:41 AM PDT  The only good news is candy news, so it's wonderful that two new Reese's cups will hit shelves soon.Chocolate Lovers and Peanut Butter Lovers cups, which will be available beginning mid-April of this year, cater to those who crave slightly more chocolate or slightly more peanut butter from their Reese's experience. They're not shaped differently than a standard cup -- we have seasonal Reese's for that -- but they are fun little variations on an already good candy.Let's break them down: Chocolate LoversImage: Reese'sI have never sought out a Reese's cup for the chocolate. It's the peanut butter that sets the candy apart. So I was not particularly excited for the " thicker chocolate shell," which I felt would further ruin the chocolate-peanut butter ratio, nor the "richer, darker milk chocolate."Luckily, I did not notice a big difference between the Chocolate Lovers and a standard Reese's cup. If you're really looking for it, you can see that the ridges on the Chocolate Lovers are slightly thicker, but I can't imagine that anyone unaware they were eating a speciality cup would be able to tell. At the end of my final bite, I did notice a bit more chocolate taste lingering than usual -- but if I hadn't noticed a large label reading "CHOCOLATE LOVERS," I'm not sure that I would have.SEE ALSO: Making gourmet Reese's Peanut Butter Cups is harder than you thinkFans of seasonal Reese's like the Egg, the Pumpkin, and the Christmas Tree will perhaps prefer Peanut Butter Lovers to Chocolate Lovers -- there's simply not enough peanut butter in the latter to satisfy them. But if all you've ever wanted from a Reese's was for it to be slightly less like itself, this is the option for you. Peanut Butter LoversImage: Reese'sNow for the real Reese's-heads: the Peanut Butter Lovers. This candy features an all-peanut butter top and extra peanut butter inside, which means that taking a bite of one is basically inviting a peanut butter bomb into your mouth. (For me, this is good.)The ratio of PB-to-chocolate on this one is a bit more similar to that of seasonal Reese's -- it really feels like the chocolate is a vehicle for the peanut butter here. Yes, the base is still made of chocolate, but it takes a backseat to the interior PB goop and firm PB-flavored top shell. This is how it should be in a perfect Reese's world: Fewer chocolate ridges means fewer obstacles to the peanut butter prize.The Peanut Butter Lovers cup deviates far more from the standard cup than the Chocolate Lovers cup does, but it still tastes firmly like a Reese's. That's the thing with these speciality cups -- if you like standard Reese's, you are going to like both of them. If you have a strong preference between the two? You probably have an extremely nuanced Reese's palate already.Not that that's a bad thing. WATCH: CBD-infused jelly beans are here
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| View Photos of the 2019 Porsche GT3 RS Posted: 29 Mar 2019 04:59 AM PDT |
| Two Dead, Several Injured After `Random, Senseless` Shooting and Crash in Seattle Posted: 27 Mar 2019 09:20 PM PDT  A man was fatally shot and another died in a car crash Wednesday after authorities say a man opened fire on several vehicles in North Seattle. The suspect was taken into custody after allegedly crashing a stolen car.
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| Modi promises 'new India' as he launches election campaign Posted: 28 Mar 2019 03:48 AM PDT  A coalition led by Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is widely expected to retain power in a staggered election beginning on April 11, especially given recent tension with old rival Pakistan. "This country has seen governments that only made slogans, but for the first time, they are seeing a decisive government that knows how to demonstrate its resolve," Modi told the rally in the city of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh state, which has the most members of parliament of all states. "Our vision is of a new India that will be in tune with its glorious past," he said to roars of approval from the crowd who waved BJP flags and chanted for another term for Modi.
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| Viking Sky cruise timeline: A breakdown of what we know happened Posted: 29 Mar 2019 06:16 AM PDT  Here's a breakdown of everything we know so far about the Viking Sky cruise.
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| Investigators believe anti-stall system activated in Ethiopia crash: WSJ Posted: 29 Mar 2019 01:17 AM PDT  Investigators probing the fatal crash of a Boeing 737 Max in Ethiopia have reached a preliminary conclusion that a suspect anti-stall system activated shortly before it nose-dived to the ground, the WSJ reported Friday citing people familiar with the matter. The findings were based on flight recorder data and represented the strongest indication yet that the system, known as MCAS, malfunctioned in both the Ethiopian Airlines crash on March 10 and the Lion Air crash in Indonesia last year, the Wall Street Journal said. US government experts have been analyzing details gathered by their Ethiopian counterparts for the past few days, the newspaper added, and the emerging consensus was relayed at a high-level briefing of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday.
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| US watchdog: Peace with Taliban won't resolve Afghan crises Posted: 28 Mar 2019 07:10 AM PDT  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan will remain dependent on international donors and foreign help even after a peace deal with the Taliban is reached, a U.S. watchdog said Thursday.
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| What we learned from Barr's summary of the Mueller report Posted: 29 Mar 2019 01:13 PM PDT  What's in the attorney general's summary of the Trump-Russia investigation? And will the report be made public? Full four-page letter of Barr's summaryFollow the latest US politics news William Barr sent his summary of the Muller report to Congress on Sunday Photograph: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images Barr is still reviewing Muller's report William Barr: Although my review is ongoing, I believe that it is in the public interest to describe the report and to summarize the principal conclusions reached by the Special Counsel and the results of his investigation. Barr immediately makes clear that his letter will only be a summary of the top-line conclusions from Robert Mueller's 22-month investigation. At just four pages long, the letter makes no claim to outline the full substance of the special counsel's findings, nor does it detail the evidence Mueller has amassed or the legal reasoning behind his decision making. Instead, we have the bare bones. Mueller had handed the full report to the attorney general less than 48 hours earlier, and Barr makes clear he is still reviewing its contents. On the size of the investigation In the report, the Special Counsel noted that, in completing his investigation, he employed 19 lawyers who were assisted by a team of approximately 40 FBI agents, intelligence analysts, forensic accountants, and other professional staff. The Special Counsel issued more than 2,800 subpoenas, executed nearly 500 search warrants, obtained more than 230 orders for communication records, issued almost 50 orders authorizing use of pen registers, made 13 requests to foreign governments for evidence, and interviewed approximately 500 witnesses. Here, the sheer size of the Mueller investigation is laid bare for the first time. Although the cost of the Russia investigation has been public for some time, along with the 37 public indictments issued by Mueller, the scale of the evidence he has amassed has not been known. Barr is clearly alluding to how comprehensive the special counsel's investigation has been. While the length of Mueller's final report is not known, it is likely to be based on hundreds of thousands of pages of evidence. Democrats have made clear they want access to as much of the report and its underlying evidence as possible. No new indictments The report does not recommend any further indictments, nor did the Special Counsel obtain any sealed indictments yet to be made public. This is the first of Barr's major announcements: Mueller will issue no fresh charges as the investigation wraps up. This is clearly good news for members of Donald Trump's inner circle, including his son Donald Trump Jr, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and, indeed, for Trump himself. There had been speculation that a number of sealed indictments in the same district court handling the Mueller prosecution could relate to further indictments from the special counsel. This is now clearly not the case. However, other criminal investigations involving the president and members of his inner circle are ongoing, most notably in the southern district of New York. Barr makes no comment on the status of these proceedings. On collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia The Special Counsel's investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. As the report states: "[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities." This is undoubtedly a pivotal conclusion of the investigation. Following almost two years of investigation Barr says that Mueller has found no evidence to prove that any member of the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election. He quotes only a partial sentence from the report to substantiate this. Also of note here is Barr's supplying a short definition of how Mueller defined collusion. Quoting directly from Mueller's report in a short footnote, Barr says the special counsel counted collusion as an "agreement – tacit or express – between the Trump campaign and the Russian government on election interference". This means that for any member of the campaign to be accused of colluding with Russia they would have had to have done so knowingly. Barr says that Mueller found two ways in which Russians interfered during 2016: a coordinated internet disinformation campaign and direct computer hacking. He provides no further details on the crimes themselves but further information on at least some of these actions has already been made public by Mueller through criminal indictments. On obstruction of justice The Special Counsel therefore did not draw a conclusion – one way or the other – as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction. Instead, for each of the relevant actions investigated, the report sets out evidence on both sides of the question and leaves unresolved what the Special Counsel views as "difficult issues" of law and fact concerning whether the President's actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction. The Special Counsel states that "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him." Barr briskly moves on to the last major revelation from Mueller: the special counsel was unable to decide whether Donald Trump obstructed justice during the investigation. Barr once again hangs a partial sentence quoted from the report making clear that Mueller did not completely clear Trump of obstruction. But the scant details make it impossible to understand the legal reasoning behind Mueller's decision nor all the evidence taken into account to make it. Conclusion on obstruction of justice After reviewing the Special Counsel's final report on these issues; consulting with Department officials, including the Office of Legal Counsel; and applying the principles of federal prosecution that guide our charging decisions, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and I have concluded that the evidence developed during the Special Counsel's investigation is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense. This revelation is likely to be the most controversial, at least until more of Mueller's report is released. It was Barr and his deputy Rod Rosenstein, both appointed to their positions by Trump himself, that decided the president should face no prosecution over obstruction of justice. Although Barr displays those he consulted with to make that decision and cites justice department guidelines governing the process, there is no escaping that the decision not to prosecute the president was made by one of his own cabinet members who has already privately described Mueller's investigation of obstruction of justice as "fatally misconceived". Barr explains his decision not to charge Trump with obstruction Generally speaking, to obtain and sustain an obstruction conviction, the government would need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a person, acting with corrupt intent, engaged in obstructive conduct with a a sufficient nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding. In cataloguing the President's actions, many of which took place in public view, the report identifies no actions that, in our judgement, constitute obstructive conduct, had a nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding, and were done with corrupt intent, each of which, under the Department's principles of federal prosecution guiding charging decisions, would need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to establish an obstruction-of-justice offense. Barr provides a little elaboration on his decision not to charge Trump with obstruction. Critically, Barr makes the point that at least part of the reason Trump is not being charged is due to the lack of an underlying crime. That while there may be sound arguments for Trump obstructing justice, it was not itself a criminal act because there had been no crime in the first place. There is also a suggestion from Barr here that while many of these potentially obstructive actions took place in public – it seems likely he is partially referring to Trump's public comments on his decision to fire FBI director James Comey – there are others the public may not yet know about. Will the public see the Mueller report? As I have previously stated, however, I am mindful of the public interest in this matter. For that reason, my goal and intent is to release as much of the Special Counsel's report as I can consistent with applicable law, regulations, and Departmental policies. The attorney general concludes by making a commitment to making parts of Mueller's report available to the public. In a letter to lawmakers on 29 March, Barr said a redacted version of the report would be delivered to Congress by mid-April, possibly before. Senior Democrats have indicated they will issue a subpoena for the full report if they are not satisfied with what Barr provides.
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| UPDATE 1-U.S. drillers cut most oil rigs in a quarter in three years -Baker Hughes Posted: 29 Mar 2019 10:25 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-U.S. drillers cut most oil rigs in a quarter in three years -Baker Hughes]( "UPDATE 1-U.S. drillers cut most oil rigs in a quarter in three years -Baker Hughes") U.S. energy firms this week reduced the number of oil rigs operating to their lowest in nearly a year, cutting the most rigs in a quarter in three years despite a 30 percent hike in crude prices so far in 2019. Drillers cut eight oil rigs in the week to March 29, bringing the total count down to 816, the lowest since April 2018, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday. More than half the total U.S. oil rigs are in the Permian basin, the nation's biggest shale field, where active units fell by five this week to 454, also the lowest since April 2018.
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| The 2019 BMW 8-series Coupe Brings Back One of BMW's Craziest Interiors Posted: 28 Mar 2019 12:00 PM PDT  The new color scheme from BMW Individual reminds us of the now dead 6-series Gran Coupe.
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| Pope issues new child abuse legislation for Vatican City Posted: 29 Mar 2019 06:53 AM PDT  Pope Francis issued stringent child abuse legislation for Vatican City employees on Friday, as part of the Church's bid to address a wave of sex abuse allegations against priests. The legislation requires officials and employees in the Vatican City State as well the Roman Curia, the central administration of the Catholic Church, to immediately report any abuse against minors and vulnerable people or face fines or a prison sentence. Francis said in a letter released with his "motu proprio" decree that it was the duty of everyone "to generously welcome children and vulnerable persons, and to create a safe environment for them".
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| Kamala Harris set to roll out five South Carolina endorsements Posted: 27 Mar 2019 09:05 PM PDT  South Carolina is the fourth state on the primary calendar, and local endorsements in the state are highly sought after. However, with a crowded field of 15 leading Democratic candidates competing for the party's presidential nomination, most officials in the state have stayed on the sidelines so far.
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| Warren Takes Aim at Farm Programs That Brought You ‘Got Milk?’ Posted: 28 Mar 2019 08:29 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- As part of her presidential platform, Elizabeth Warren is not just taking on big agriculture corporations like Bayer AG and Tyson Foods Inc. She's also going after checkoff programs, which do marketing campaigns for commodities.
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| Boeing MCAS anti-stall system was activated in Ethiopia crash: source Posted: 29 Mar 2019 07:37 AM PDT Boeing's MCAS anti-stall system, which was implicated in the October crash of a 737 MAX 8 in Indonesia, was also activated shortly before a recent accident in Ethiopia, a source with knowledge of the investigation said Friday. The information is part of preliminary findings from the analysis of black boxes from Ethiopian Airlines flight 302, which crashed southeast of Addis Ababa killing 157 people on March 10, the source told AFP on condition of anonymity. The information was presented Thursday to US authorities, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the source said.
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| “It's Like Fighting Mr. Invisible”: I Fought Against a Stealth F-22 (And Lost) Posted: 27 Mar 2019 11:00 PM PDT  It did not end well.
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| Betsy DeVos calls for more charter schools even as they spark investigations across the country Posted: 28 Mar 2019 04:32 PM PDT  Education Secretary Betsy DeVos says we need more charter schools. States want better regulation after charters spread rapidly with few rules.
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| 10 Things to Know for Today Posted: 29 Mar 2019 02:59 AM PDT  Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
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| UPDATE 1-PG&E creditors propose $35 bln exit plan - Bloomberg Posted: 27 Mar 2019 10:36 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-PG&E creditors propose $35 bln exit plan - Bloomberg]( "UPDATE 1-PG&E creditors propose $35 bln exit plan - Bloomberg") Some creditors of PG&E Corp, including Elliott Management Corp and Pacific Investment Management Co (Pimco), are proposing a $35 billion plan for the California power utility to exit bankruptcy within a year, Bloomberg reported late on Wednesday. Pimco, Elliott and David Kempner Capital Management have discussed the proposal with California lawmakers and other stakeholders, Bloomberg reported https://bloom.bg/2JOGnv0, citing sources familiar with the matter.
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| Is This The Perfect Chevrolet Corvette C2 Restomod? Posted: 29 Mar 2019 07:08 AM PDT  The C2 generation of the 1960s Chevrolet Corvette has to be one of the most charismatic incarnations of America's favorite sports car. This custom 1967 model heading to auction with Barrett-Jackson blends old and new together.
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| Pelosi vows to fight Trump ‘war on health care’ after surprise court filing Posted: 28 Mar 2019 10:14 AM PDT  Days after the Trump administration moved in court to dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would fight back.
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| Christchurch survivor tells remembrance service: 'I choose peace' Posted: 28 Mar 2019 04:37 PM PDT  A Maori lament echoed across Christchurch Friday as a survivor of the New Zealand mosque attacks told a national remembrance service he had forgiven the gunman responsible for the racist massacre that shocked the world. Wearing a traditional Maori cloak, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was joined by representatives from nearly 60 nations, including her Australian counterpart Scott Morrison. Ardern, who has been widely hailed for her response to the tragedy and received a prolonged standing ovation when she took the stage, praised the way New Zealanders had embraced their devastated Muslim community since the attacks.
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| Boeing anti-stall system was activated in Ethiopia crash: source Posted: 29 Mar 2019 09:34 AM PDT Boeing's MCAS anti-stall system, which was implicated in the October crash of a 737 MAX 8 airliner in Indonesia, was also activated shortly before a recent accident in Ethiopia, a source with knowledge of the investigation said Friday. The information is among the preliminary findings from the analysis of the "black boxes" retrieved from Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which crashed southeast of Addis Ababa on March 10, killing 157 people, the source told AFP on condition of anonymity. The information retrieved from the plane's voice and data recorders was presented Thursday to US authorities, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the source said.
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| The U.S. Navy Wants 32 More Nuclear Attack Submarines in the Next 15 Years Posted: 28 Mar 2019 12:36 AM PDT  All in the plan to get to a 355 ship navy.
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| Philippines Journalist Maria Ressa Arrested Again Posted: 28 Mar 2019 10:43 PM PDT  Acclaimed Philippine journalist Maria Ressa was arrested at Manila's airport Friday for allegedly violating a ban on foreign media ownership, the latest legal backlash to sting the longtime critic of President Rodrigo Duterte.
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| Donald Trump tells Russia to 'get out' of Venezuela as tensions rise Posted: 28 Mar 2019 12:16 AM PDT  Donald Trump has demanded that Russia "get out" of Venezuela after 100 of its troops landed to help embattled president Nicolás Maduro, escalating a war of words between Washington and Moscow. The US president's rebuke was delivered while he held White House talks with the wife of Juan Guaidó, the Venezuelan opposition politician who has declared himself interim president. America, along with many European and South American nations, supports Mr Guaidó's claim to the presidency while Russia and China are backing Mr Maduro. The political crisis escalated on Saturday when two Russian air force planes touched down outside Caracas carrying nearly 100 Russian troops. Cyber experts were reportedly among the "special forces" sent from Moscow. Experts believe Russia is attempting to protect its investments, having given Venezuela billions of dollars of loans in the past and taken part in joint ventures in the country's oil industry. "Russia has to get out," Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, seated alongside Mr Guaidó's wife Fabiana Rosales. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who America has recognised as the country's rightful interim ruler Credit: REUTERS/Marco Bello Earlier Mr Trump had told her: "We are with Venezuela, we are with your husband, as you know, and we are with the people that he represents, which is a big, big majority of the country. "What's happening there should not happen and be allowed to happen anywhere. So we are with you 100 per cent, okay? Please give my regards. It will all work out." Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, hit back on Twitter, sending a message which included the slogans "HandsOffVenezuela" and "YankeeGoHome". "It's not up to US to decide actions and fate of other countries, Mr Polyanskiy wrote, citing Mr Trump's comments on Wednesday afternoon. "It's only up to the people of Venezuela and its only legitimate president Nicolas Maduro. We have bilateral relations and agreements with this country which we will honour." The exchanges were the latest in an increasingly hostile back-and-forth between the US and Russian administrations over the situation in Venezuela. The population is malnourished and facing both hyperinflation and political repression. Mr Maduro has refused to let aid packages enter the country. The latest crisis was triggered in January when Mr Guaidó, head of the National Assembly, unexpectedly declared himself interim president, claiming Mr Maduro's election was illegitimate. On Tuesday, Mr Pompeo used a telephone call with Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, to warn that America would not "will not stand idly by as Russia exacerbates tensions in Venezuela". Mr Lavrov in turn told Mr Pompeo that "Washington's attempts to organize a coup d'état in Venezuela and threats against its legitimate government" violated UN rules, according to the Russian foreign ministry. Mr Bolton also issued his own message, tweeting: The legitimate Interim President, Juan Guaido asks for humanitarian aid to support those in need. Maduro asks for Cuban and Russian goons to suppress the people of Venezuela. The military ranks are seeing Maduro's corruption, violence, and lack of support within Venezuela.— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) March 26, 2019 Mr Guaidó used a speech on Wednesday to call for supporters to protest against a nationwide blackout, the second major power outage this month that is dragging into its third day. Mr Pompeo on Wednesday estimated that rebuilding Venezuela's economy could cost between $6 billion to $12 billion, warning that it would take years to complete. Ms Rosales, a 26-year-old journalist and opposition activist, told Mr Trump that her husband Mr Guaidó was attacked on Tuesday, though she did not provide details. "I fear for my husband's life," she said. She was accompanied by the wife and sister of Roberto Marrero, Mr Guaidó's chief of staff, who was arrested and detained last week.
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| Netanyahu: Israel is prepared for broad Gaza campaign - but as final option Posted: 28 Mar 2019 08:59 AM PDT ![Netanyahu: Israel is prepared for broad Gaza campaign - but as final option]( "Netanyahu: Israel is prepared for broad Gaza campaign - but as final option") Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel is prepared to wage a broad military campaign in Gaza but only as a last resort, after a two-day flareup of cross-border fighting less than two weeks before an Israeli election. "All Israelis should know that if a comprehensive campaign is required, we will enter it strong and safe, and after we have exhausted all of the other possibilities," Netanyahu said after visiting the Gaza frontier and meeting with Israeli commanders.
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| The Best Family SUVs Posted: 29 Mar 2019 02:30 AM PDT |
| Prosecutor: Grand jury in Russia probe 'continuing robustly' Posted: 27 Mar 2019 06:01 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — A grand jury that was involved in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation is "continuing robustly," a federal prosecutor said Wednesday.
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