| Trump's Immigration Plan Faces Cold Reception Even Within GOP Posted: 16 May 2019 12:11 PM PDT  Details of the proposal -- and particularly the decision by presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner to sidestep what to do about those in the country illegally -– have already doomed its legislative prospects among Democrats. Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who oversees immigration legislation, said Kushner's bill isn't going to become law.
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| Billy Chemirmir: Healthcare worker accused of murdering 12 elderly women could be linked to over 1,000 deaths Posted: 16 May 2019 10:40 AM PDT  A healthcare worker has been charged with the murder of 12 elderly women by smothering, and is being investigated for any potential links to 1,000 more unexplained deaths.Billy Chemirmir, 45, of Texas is accused of murdering multiple elderly women who lived in Dallas and Collins counties with a pillow, and subsequently robbing them. In March of 2018, Mr Chemirmir was charged with capital murder in the death of an 81-year-old woman, Lu Thi Harris, leading to his arrest. Mr Chemirmir has also been accused of two counts of attempted capital murder for attacking two women. One of the two women, a 93 year-old who was a resident of the Parkview Elderly Assisted Living facility in Frisco, Texas, had reported the incident to police. She described how a well-dressed man had knocked on her door, claiming to be a maintenance worker. When she responded that she did not require any work done, he forced his way inside and "knocked her from her walker to the floor", as reported by Dallas News.Mr Chemirmir worked as a nurse in his native country of Kenya, but appears to not have been legally working in healthcare in the US. Court records indicate that Mr Chemirmir posed as an employee at the Edgemere Retirement Community in Dallas under the alias "Benjamin Koitaba".Plano Police Chief Gregory W. Rushin said Mr Chemirmir used "health care experience to his advantage, targeting and exploiting seniors", something Mr Rushin called "disturbing'.Authorities plan to review the unattended deaths of hundreds of elderly women in the area, including those who were previously thought to have died from natural causes to investigate any potential ties to Mr Chemirmir.Recently, the accused killer has been newly indicted in six deaths of elderly women from 2016 to 2018: Phyllis Payne, aged 91, Phoebe Perry, aged 94, Norma French, aged 85, Doris Gleason, aged 92, Rosemary Curtis, aged 96, and Mary Brooks, 87. He has also been charged with five other murders, of which the victims have yet to be named. Mr Chemirmir is currently being held in the Dallas County Jail, where he's been since March of 2018. His bond currently set at more than $9m.
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| NASA just spotted the crash site of Israel’s Beresheet lander Posted: 16 May 2019 04:06 PM PDT  April was supposed to be an exciting time for Israel's privately-funded space group SpaceIL. After years of development, SpaceIL's Beresheet lander was poised to land on the lunar surface, which would have been a first for the country as well as the first privately-funded mission to touch down on Earth's satellite.Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned, and a malfunction in the spacecraft's engine caused the entire ship to shut down just moments before it was to land. A rapid restart of the craft brought it back online but it was already speeding towards the surface and a crash was unavoidable. Now, thanks to NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, we can see exactly where the doomed craft ended up and, well, it's not a pretty sight.Beresheet's mechanical woes came at the absolute worst possible time. Details regarding the glitch have been scant, but a report from SpaceIL revealed that a "manual command" triggered a series of events that cause the spacecraft's main engine to power down. Engineers did manage to get the engine back on, but the precious seconds that were lost during its descent meant that there was no way to slow the lander down enough to perform a soft landing.When Beresheet struck the Moon it was moving very fast. According to NASA, its speed was around 1,000 meters per second higher than its team had planned for, and when the lander contacted the surface it was completely destroyed.The images from NASA's lunar orbiter show the aftermath, in the form of a long dusty streak that leads to a dark area where the lunar dust has been kicked up and pushed away. The lander itself is sitting somewhere near that darkest area, and it's likely in several pieces.The good news is that SpaceIL isn't taking this defeat lying down, and it has already announced that it plans to launch "Beresheet 2.0," in an attempt to complete a soft landing on the lunar surface.
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| Trump tells aides he does not want U.S. war with Iran Posted: 16 May 2019 03:34 PM PDT  It's not who he is," one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Trump has communicated to his national security team and other aides that wants to keep tensions with Tehran from boiling over into an armed conflict, the officials said. U.S. intelligence showed heightened activity by Iran or its proxies that U.S. officials took as a threat against American targets in the region.
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| Toddler missing for 3 days found alive on 50-foot cliffside near strip mine Posted: 16 May 2019 05:28 AM PDT ![Toddler missing for 3 days found alive on 50-foot cliffside near strip mine]( "Toddler missing for 3 days found alive on 50-foot cliffside near strip mine") Kenneth Howard, the missing Kentucky boy, was found just before 2 p.m. Wednesday in Floyd County in the area of a stripe mine.
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| 'Heartbeat bills' reveal extremist anti-abortion view that values unborn over women Posted: 17 May 2019 10:32 AM PDT  The anti-abortion movement pays lip service to caring for women, but there is only one thing they care about: the unborn. I care about all lives.
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| The Latest: Retired fisherman saved plane crash passengers Posted: 16 May 2019 07:18 AM PDT  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Latest on the midair collision of two sightseeing floatplanes in Alaska that killed six people (all times local):
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| Witness: Inmate prays, sings during execution Posted: 17 May 2019 02:04 AM PDT  A man convicted of killing his wife decades ago prayed and sang hymns as he was put to death Thursday in Nashville, Tennessee. Don Johnson, 68, was executed via lethal injection for the 1984 suffocation of his wife, Connie Johnson. (May 17)
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| Trump proposes overhauling legal immigration Posted: 16 May 2019 03:46 PM PDT  The changes to the United States immigration system announced by President Trump Thursday amount to a sweeping overhaul of the legal immigration process, intended to prioritize highly-skilled workers over immigrants with family-based ties.
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| Chelsea Manning jailed again as she refuses to testify before grand jury Posted: 16 May 2019 07:07 PM PDT  Former army private says she would 'rather starve to death' than cooperate in growing battle of wills Chelsea Manning was again behind bars on Thursday night after she was jailed for a second time for contempt of court, having refused to cooperate with a grand jury. A defiant Manning told Judge Anthony Trenga in a federal district court in Alexandria, Virginia, that she would "rather starve to death" than do what the state insisted and give testimony before the grand jury. Having already served 62 days in jail, 28 of which were spent in solitary confinement, she now faces up to 18 months more in custody. Trenga further tightened the screws on the former army private by adding a financial penalty. If Manning continues to refuse testimony and remains in jail after 30 days, she will be fined $500 for every subsequent day behind bars. If she reaches 60 days, the figure will be raised to $1,000 a day. The tussle over the grand jury is now shaping up into an epic battle of wills between Virginia prosecutors determined to force Manning to testify in what they hope will be an eventual trial of Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, and the former intelligence analyst, who has proven herself to have a defiant streak. In a video recording she made on the day she was released from jail a week ago following the expiry of the first grand jury, she said: "I will never agree to testify before this or any other grand jury. The government knows I cannot be coerced." The grand jury in front of which Manning has been ordered to appear is presumed to relate to the criminal prosecution of Assange. Assange has been charged with conspiring with Manning to break into military computers to help her transmit a vast trove of US state secrets to the open information organization in 2010. After Thursday's court hearing, Manning's lawyer, Moira Meltzer-Cohen, said : "In 2010, Chelsea made a principled decision to let the world see the true nature of modern asymmetric warfare. It is telling that the United States has always been more concerned with the disclosure of those documents than with the damning substance of the disclosures."
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| Barr: Probe Into Russia Investigation’s Origins Has Yielded ‘Inadequate’ Explanations Posted: 17 May 2019 08:50 AM PDT  Weeks into an investigation of the origins of the FBI's investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, Attorney General William Barr said Friday that the probe has provided more questions than answers due to the "inadequate" and in some cases inconsistent answers he's been given from the officials involved.Asked during an interview with Fox News whether he knew exactly when the FBI began its investigation into the Trump campaign, Barr said he had not yet identified a reliable timeline."I've been trying to get answers to the questions, and I've found that a lot of the answers have been inadequate and some of the explanations I've gotten don't hang together. In a sense I have more questions today than when I first started," he said during the interview.Pressed to explain what he was referring to, Barr would only say, "some of the explanations of what occurred."Barr told Fox that the investigation, which he disclosed to lawmakers during a congressional hearing last month, will eventually reveal whether the FBI puts its "thumb on the scale" by investigating and in some cases surveilling Trump campaign officials."People have to find out what the government was doing during that period. If we're worried about foreign influence, for the very same reason we should be worried about whether government officials abuse their power and put their thumb on the scale," Barr said before stipulating that he was "not saying that happened."Barr was maligned by congressional Democrats in the wake of his appearance on Capitol Hill last month for agreeing with Republicans' contention that the Trump campaign was "spied" on. He defended that characterization during the Fox interview and reiterated that his job is to determine whether that spying was properly predicated."Government power was used to spy on American citizens," he said in justifying his review. "I can't imagine any world where we wouldn't take a look and make sure that was done properly."In addressing whether the investigation was properly predicated, Barr suggested that it was "very unusual" for the FBI to rely on the Steele dossier, an unverified piece of opposition research commissioned by the Clinton campaign, to secure a FISA warrant to surveil Carter Page."It's a very unusual situation to have opposition research like that, especially one that on its face had a number of clear mistakes and a somewhat jejune analysis," Barr said. "And to use that to conduct counterintelligence against an American political campaign is a strange — would be a strange development."
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| Boeing seeks regulators' OK, says 737 MAX software update complete Posted: 16 May 2019 02:14 PM PDT  Boeing said Thursday that it completed its software update on the 737 MAX after two deadly crashes resulted in a global grounding of the aircraft. The proposed fix, which addresses a problem with a flight handling system thought to be a factor in both crashes, must now win approval from US and international regulators before the planes can return to service. US airlines have targeted August as the date they expect to resume flying on the 737 MAX.
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| Flynn detailed attempts to obstruct Russia probe: U.S. court filing Posted: 16 May 2019 08:28 PM PDT  The documents revealed for the first time sections that had originally been blacked out before last month's release of Mueller's report on his probe into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election. Flynn "informed the government of multiple instances, both before and after his guilty plea, where either he or his attorneys received communications from persons connected to the Administration or Congress that could have affected both his willingness to cooperate and the completeness of that cooperation," Mueller wrote in a memo originally submitted ahead of Flynn's planned sentencing on Dec. 18, 2018. In some instances, the SCO was unaware of the outreach until being alerted to it by the defendant," he wrote, using the acronym for the Special Counsel's Office.
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| IM Pei death: World-renowned architect who redesigned the Louvre dies, aged 102 Posted: 17 May 2019 12:25 AM PDT  I. M. Pei, one of the last great modernist architects of the 20th century, has died aged 102.Tributes have poured in for the man who designed the controversial glass pyramid outside the Louvre in Paris and the multi-shaped rock 'n' roll hall of fame in the United States.A spokesperson for Mr Pei's New York architecture firm confirmed the death on Thursday and his son said he died overnight.The multiple award-winning architect worked internationally over many decades and was known for designs which had an emphasis on precision geometry and natural light.Born in Guangzhou, China, in 1917, Mr Pei came to the United States at the age of 17 to study architecture. His works ranged from the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC to the towers of the National Centre of Atmospheric Research that blend in with the reddish mountains in Boulder, Colorado.He also designed the steel and glass Bank of China skyscraper in Hong Kong.Some of his most recent projects were the Museum of Islamic Art, built on an artificial island just off the waterfront in Doha, Qatar, and the Macau Science Centre in China.Mr Pei wanted his designs to inspire people. "At one level my goal is simply to give people pleasure in being in a space and walking around it," he said. "But I also think architecture can reach a level where it influences people to want to do something more with their lives. That is the challenge that I find most interesting."The pyramid outside the Louvre, which contrasts with the classic French style of the museum, opened in 1993 with a mixed response. A slight man who wore distinctive round glasses and was considered to be a skilled diplomat, Mr Pei officially retired in 1990 but continued to work on projects. His wife Eileen, whom he married in 1942, died in 2014. He is survived by two sons, Chien Chung Pei and Li Chung Pei, as well as a daughter, Liane.
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| An abortion 'reversal'? The method is unproved, but Ohio lawmakers want women to consider it Posted: 17 May 2019 10:26 AM PDT  Republicans in Ohio want every women seeking a medical abortion to be informed of a method for abortion "reversal," which critics call unethical.
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| Photos of the Euro-spec Ford Focus ST Wagon Posted: 16 May 2019 08:10 AM PDT |
| Wynn and MGM in talks about sale of Encore Boston casino Posted: 17 May 2019 02:49 PM PDT  Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts International said in a joint statement they've engaged in conversations about the potential sale of Encore Boston Harbor. This comes as Wynn is about to open the $2.6 billion Everett, Massachusetts, casino. The companies say the talks won't delay the Everett opening scheduled for next month.
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| John Bolton Is Exactly What Trump’s Iran Policy Needs Posted: 17 May 2019 03:00 AM PDT  President Donald Trump has said that he is open to negotiations and does not want a war, but his mustachioed national security adviser will not abide. Bolton's antipathy toward Iran is well-known and longstanding, but the current administration strategy is not aimed at starting a war with Iran.
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| 3 charged in killing of pregnant woman, removing baby from womb Posted: 17 May 2019 02:55 AM PDT  Three people, including a mother and daughter, have been charged in the strangling death of a young pregnant woman in Chicago and removing her baby from her womb.
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| REI’s Huge Anniversary Sale Can Help You Prep for Summer Adventures Posted: 17 May 2019 11:14 AM PDT |
| Brexit compromise talks collapse after six weeks Posted: 17 May 2019 10:22 AM PDT  Britain's Labour opposition pulled the plug Friday on six weeks of Brexit compromise talks with Prime Minister Theresa May, blaming her evaporating authority as her premiership nears its death throes. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said the gaps between them could not be bridged -- and he had no confidence that her successor would stick to any bargain they might have reached. The discussions have "gone as far as they can," Corbyn said in a letter to May.
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| No Longer a Trade Tiff: China Screams ‘People’s War’ Posted: 17 May 2019 04:00 AM PDT  "People's war." That's the Communist Party's new term for the trade dispute with the United States.The Global Times, the party's nationalist tabloid, used that phrase on the May 13, but China's leaders obviously approved of the rhetorical escalation. Both People's Daily, the self-described "mouthpiece" of China's ruling organization, and the official Xinhua News Agency carried the piece to wider audiences.There seems to be a mismatch in perceptions. President Donald Trump, in comments to reporters on Tuesday, characterized the trade disagreement this way: "We're having a little squabble with China."Trump was calming jittery markets. The party, on the other hand, was inflaming passions. The stoking of emotions—"people's war" suggests America is an enemy of all Chinese—suggests a trade agreement between the planet's two largest economies is not in the cards anytime soon.For months, market participants outside China, buying into the persistent cheerleading of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, assumed the two giants would reach a trade pact this spring. Most observers ignored, among other things, internal Chinese factors pushing Beijing away from agreement with the United States.
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| Google’s brand new Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL are now available on Amazon Posted: 16 May 2019 08:35 AM PDT  Google just released two brand new smartphones that bring back the beloved Nexus phone program! Well, sort of. They're not actually Nexus branded phones, but they do resurrect the spirit of Google's Nexus line, offering great designs and impressive performance at affordable prices. And we have more good news: they're finally available on Amazon! The new Google Pixel 3a and Google Pixel 3a XL are both in stock on Amazon right now, though they're likely flying off the virtual store shelves so you'll want to hurry up if you want to get your hands on one anytime soon. Definitely check them out. Google Pixel 3a * Get more done with an extraordinary camera, fast-charging battery, and the helpful Google Assistant built in. * Motion Auto Focus will make sure the people and pets in your shot stay sharp as you snap away. * Let the Google Assistant help screen your calls, so you know who's calling and why before you pick up. * Get more done with an Adaptive Battery that delivers 7 hours of use on just a 15-minute charge. It's designed to learn your favorite apps and reduce power to the ones you rarely use. * 3 years of security and OS updates to keep your phone protected against the latest threats and performing at its best. * The custom-made Titan M security chip helps secure the operating system and your most sensitive data, like passwords. Google Pixel 3a XL * Get more done with an extraordinary camera, fast-charging battery, and the helpful Google Assistant built in. * Motion Auto Focus will make sure the people and pets in your shot stay sharp as you snap away. * Let the Google Assistant help screen your calls, so you know who's calling and why before you pick up. * Get more done with an Adaptive Battery that delivers 7 hours of use on just a 15-minute charge. It's designed to learn your favorite apps and reduce power to the ones you rarely use. * 3 years of security and OS updates to keep your phone protected against the latest threats and performing at its best. * The custom-made Titan M security chip helps secure the operating system and your most sensitive data, like passwords.
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| Navy SEAL gets year in brig for hazing death of Green Beret Posted: 16 May 2019 06:49 PM PDT  NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A U.S. Navy SEAL was sentenced to one year in military prison on Thursday for his role in the 2017 hazing-related death of a U.S. Army Green Beret in Africa.
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| White House says Congress has no 'legitimate role' in investigating Trump, rejects document demands Posted: 16 May 2019 03:22 PM PDT  The White House issued a broad rejection of House demands for records about Trump's conduct, saying it shouldn't 're-do' the special counsel probe.
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| Fund Manager Crushes Peers by Betting on Tencent and Alibaba Posted: 17 May 2019 07:41 AM PDT  The 41-year-old money manager's Handelsbanken Tillvaxtmarknad fund trounced 99% of more than 250 emerging-market peers this year and 95% in the past five. "I'm not sure about China's economy accelerating again, but I am fairly certain about Tencent and Alibaba growing," Synning said in a phone interview from Stockholm.
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| Alabama abortion law raised hope for execution reprieve Posted: 17 May 2019 10:57 AM PDT  ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — A lawyer for a condemned inmate said he hoped Gov. Kay Ivey might a grant clemency request and block the execution after she talked about her belief that "life is precious" in signing a bill to virtually outlaw abortion in Alabama.
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| Iranian missiles on small boats spotted in Persian Gulf: US official Posted: 16 May 2019 10:35 AM PDT  A US official said Thursday that Iranian missiles loaded on small boats in the Persian Gulf were among the "threats" that have triggered a beefed-up military deployment in the region. The person was confirming reports in The New York Times saying that Washington reacted to aerial photos from US intelligence agencies showing traditional boats carrying Iranian missiles in the Gulf, one of the world's most strategic waterways. The fully-assembled missiles were loaded on the boats by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, which the US has designated a "foreign terrorist organization," the newspaper reported.
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| Baidu swings to net loss for first time since listing, shares fall Posted: 16 May 2019 10:55 PM PDT ![Baidu swings to net loss for first time since listing, shares fall]( "Baidu swings to net loss for first time since listing, shares fall") Chinese search engine operator Baidu Inc booked its first quarterly loss since at listing in 2005 and forecast quarterly revenue below market estimates, saying a "challenging marketing environment" is sapping income from advertisers. The tech giant also pointed to the income impact of heightened government scrutiny of online advertising aimed at reducing the visibility of potentially fraudulent businesses. After the earnings report on Thursday, the price of Baidu's U.S.-listed shares fell as much as 8% in extended trading.
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| After Huawei blow, China says U.S. must show sincerity for talks Posted: 17 May 2019 04:08 AM PDT  China has yet to say whether or how it will retaliate against the latest escalation in trade tension, although state media has taken an increasingly strident tone, with the ruling Communist Party's People's Daily publishing a front-page commentary that evoked the patriotic spirit of past wars. China's currency slid to its weakest in almost five months, although losses were capped after sources told Reuters that the central bank would ensure the yuan did not weaken past the key 7-per-dollar level in the immediate term. Foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang, asked about state media reports suggesting there would be no more U.S.-China trade talks, said China always encouraged resolving disputes between the two countries with dialogue and consultations. "But because of certain things the U.S. side has done during the previous China-U.S. trade consultations, we believe if there is meaning for these talks, there must be a show of sincerity," he told a daily news briefing.
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| Galaxy S10 5G now available at Verizon, starting at $1,299 Posted: 16 May 2019 08:21 AM PDT  We are another step closer to the future of wireless technology today, as Verizon has officially launched Samsung's Galaxy S10 5G smartphone. Although the Moto Z3 and its 5G Moto Mod technically beat Samsung to the punch, the Galaxy S10 5G is the first phone on sale in America with 5G capabilities built in.The phone is on sale starting today at Verizon stores and online at verizonwireless.com, but 5G service is currently only available in Chicago and Minneapolis. Verizon has confirmed 20 additional cities that will get 5G Ultra Wideband service in 2019 as well, including Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Phoenix, San Diego, and Washington DC, with even more set to be unveiled later this year. 30 cities should have 5G before 2020.You can read more about the Galaxy S10 5G in our preview from February, but the phone features a 6.7-inch Quad HD+ AMOLED display, Snapdragon 855 5G processor, 8GB of RAM, up to 256GB of storage, 4,500 mAh battery, 10-megapixel front-facing camera, and triple rear camera with a 16-megapixel ultra-wide lens, 12-megapixel wide-angle lens, and 12-megapixel telephoto lens. In other words, a big leap over the standard Galaxy S10.Verizon will sell the 256GB model of the Galaxy S10 5G ($1,299) for $54.16 per month for 24 months on its payment plan, while the 512GB model ($1,399) will cost you $58.33 per month for 24 months.As for promotions, new and existing customers can trade in an eligible smartphone to save up to $450 off the price of the Galaxy S10 5G. This discount will take the form of monthly bill credits. If you're switching from another carrier, you can also get a $200 prepaid Mastercard with the purchase of an S10 5G and an unlimited plan.Finally, it's worth noting that in order to take full advantage of the phone, you will need to sign up for Verizon's Above Unlimited or Beyond Unlimited plan. Typically, access to Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband service costs an additional $10 per month, but it is included free in both plans for a limited time.
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| William Barr addresses attacks on his reputation, appointment of US attorney to review Mueller probe origins Posted: 16 May 2019 09:13 PM PDT  Attorney General Barr responds to criticism from former FBI Director James Comey as Barr reviews the origins of the Russia probe which began on Comey's watch; reaction and analysis from Chris Swecker, former assistant director of the FBI.
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| Trump grants pardon to conservative former media mogul and supporter Conrad Black Posted: 15 May 2019 06:28 PM PDT  Trump granted pardons to two conservative figures Wednesday, a former newspaper publisher and an advocate for criminal justice reform.
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| Brexit or Death Posted: 16 May 2019 02:49 PM PDT  There is a lesson in British politics for the rest of the world: A democratic revolt of the people against the establishment cannot be resisted forever.The immediate result of the Brexit vote in 2016 and Parliament's decision to accede to the will of the electorate and turn in its Article 50 notice to the EU was a strengthening of the two oldest mainstream parties, Tory and Labour, against the ultra-Remain party, the Liberal Democrats, and the ultra-Brexit party, UKIP. The Tory and Labour parties subsequently pledged in their campaign manifestos to deliver on the result of the 2016 referendum, and usher the U.K. out of the EU in a timely and orderly fashion. That Article 50 notice promised an exit date of at the end of March 2019, a date that was repeated endlessly in the media. By endorsing the populist outcome, both parties looked like they might thrive.And then Parliament refused to pass Theresa May's negotiated agreement by that date, and also refused to "crash out" of the EU on WTO terms. Leading voices in both the Tory and Labour parties began to embrace the idea of a second Brexit referendum, obviously hoping that voters would come to retroactively bless their indecision, and possibly relieve them of Brexit altogether. Voters seem inclined to destroy them instead.And now those two parties are about to reap their reward — in the grinning face of Nigel Farage, and in his new Brexit party, which has welcomed in Brexiteers from the left and the right. The former leader of UKIP, and a man who helped the Brexit cause get over the line in 2016, has done some studying on the new populist politics. And he is newly sharp. Asked by the media why his party did not publish a traditional manifesto, he said, "I will never, ever use that word manifesto. I think in most people's word association, 'manifesto' equals 'lie.'" After the performance of Parliament in the last two years, who could possibly dispute the charge?Even though this new party is only a few weeks old, Farage's outfit is already polling as likely to win a majority of the seats in the European parliamentary elections on May 23rd — a contest that his party believes should never have happened in the U.K. The Brexit party is polling at over 30 percent, with the Tories dropping to 12 percent and rapidly heading for the single digits. If this is a foreshadowing of how U.K. parliamentary elections will go, then the Brexit party is an existential threat to the Tories.It's also a sign that the Tories can no longer play the Corbyn card against their own supporters. Previously it was thought that Tory voters would be so afraid of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister that these voters would never defect or try to teach the Tory party a lesson by staying home.But voters seem to think that the democratic principle itself is more important than their preferred party. After all, the government solicited the opinion of the British people in the Brexit referendum. That same government campaigned overwhelmingly for Remain, and deployed incredible scare stories about immediate economic recession in the wake of a pro-Brexit result, even invoking unknown threats to European peace in the wake of it. The voters rebuked them. But, after more than two years, members of Parliament have done little more than deliver lip service to the Brexit cause, with a heaping dash of grumbling about having to get on with it. A second referendum at this stage amounts to a reversal of parliamentary democracy, in which elected members demand voters do a better job of mirroring Parliament's priorities.The Tory party has a history of letting its own internal politics distract its members from anger issues in the United Kingdom. But the initial polling for the Brexit party should awaken them to the fact that they face an existential threat due to their own dithering and impotence. They must decide immediately whether the government should negotiate a deal Parliament can support, or whether the Tory members in Parliament ought to set aside their criticisms of the deal on offer and save their party from imminent destruction. The promises that Brexit will happen at some point in the future or that Theresa May will be replaced at some later date, when it is more opportune for the chancery who would do the replacing, must come to an end. This is no longer a choice for the public, but for the Tory party. Leave or be pushed out for good.
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| Correction: Texas-Police Shooting story Posted: 16 May 2019 11:28 AM PDT  BAYTOWN, Texas (AP) — In a story May 15 about the shooting of a Houston-area woman by a police officer, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Pamela Turner was shot in the parking lot of an east Houston department store and a rally was held there Wednesday. The demonstration was held in the parking lot of the Baytown apartment complex where Turner was shot.
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| Susan Collins has faith Kavanaugh won't uphold Alabama abortion law Posted: 16 May 2019 11:40 AM PDT  The senator from Maine stands by her belief that Kavanaugh will be compelled by court precedent when it comes to abortion rights.
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| Thomas Cook shares collapses on broker warning Posted: 17 May 2019 04:19 AM PDT  Shares in troubled British tour operator Thomas Cook collapsed on Friday after Citigroup reportedly warned in a broker note that the stock was worthless. The company's share price dived 27.26 percent to just 14.26 pence in midday deals on the London stock market. "Thomas Cook shares have plunged again, this time after being on the receiving end of a sell recommendation from Citigroup, with a zero pence target price," said analyst Michael Hewson at traders CMC Markets UK.
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| Huawei's HiSilicon says it has long been preparing for U.S. ban scenario Posted: 16 May 2019 10:37 PM PDT ![Huawei's HiSilicon says it has long been preparing for U.S. ban scenario]( "Huawei's HiSilicon says it has long been preparing for U.S. ban scenario") Huawei Technologies' chip arm HiSilicon said on Friday it has long been prepared for the "extreme scenario" that it could be banned from purchasing U.S. chips and technology, and is able to ensure steady supply of most products. HiSilicon, which mainly designs chips for Huawei equipment, made the comments in a letter to staff attributed to President He Tingbo dated "the small hours of May 17", shortly after the United States officially banned Huawei from buying U.S. technology without special approval. HiSilicon has been secretly developing back-up products for years in anticipation of the unlikely scenario that Huawei may one day be unable to obtain advanced chips and technology from the United States, He said in the letter.
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| Today’s top deals: Rare AirPods 2 sale, $10 Philips Hue bulbs, $25 Fire TV Stick, $7 smart plugs, more Posted: 16 May 2019 07:35 AM PDT  Today's daily deals roundup is a phenomenal one, so we'll get right to it. Highlights include a rare chance to sale $20 on new AirPods 2 true wireless earbuds (order even though they're out of stock so you can lock in the price, and they'll likely ship within a few weeks), the Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Stick 4K at their lowest prices of the year for Prime members, Alexa and Google ready smart plugs for $7.22 a piece when you use the coupon code 273MOVFC at checkout, renewed Philips Hue white LED bulbs for an all-time low of $10 a piece when you buy a 4-pack, 16-foot warm white LED light strips for $7.99 each, brand new 6th-gen iPads for an all-time low of $249, one of the best Wi-Fi range extenders on Amazon for only $14.99, $400 off the most incredible 4K home theater projector on the planet while supplies last (which won't be much longer), 400GB SanDisk microSD cards at the lowest price yet, excellent Anker Bluetooth earbuds for only $22, and more. See all of today's best deals down below.
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| Tesla Model 3 Autopilot Involved in Third Fatal Crash Posted: 17 May 2019 10:09 AM PDT  Should 10 seconds of Autopilot be able to save someone's life? In this case, it did not.
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| Iran blames ‘unacceptable’ US sanctions for spike in tensions as White House advisors push for forceful response Posted: 16 May 2019 05:08 AM PDT  Iran's foreign minister has hit out at "unacceptable" sanctions imposed by the US as an international deal to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions continues to unravel amid a spike in tensions.Mohammad Zarif defended Iran's right to respond to the US pullout from the nuclear deal last year."We believe that escalation by the United States is unacceptable and uncalled for. We have exercised maximum restraints," he said during a visit to Tokyo. In other comments carried on the semi-official Mehr news agency, Mr Zarif was quoted as saying: "A multilateral deal cannot be treated unilaterally."The spat over the nuclear deal has been heightened by a number of events this week, including a drone attack on a Saudi Arabian oil pipeline claimed by Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, allegations of acts of sabotage perpetrated against oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the dispatch of US warships to the region.The Saudis – Iran's biggest rival in the region – blamed Tehran for ordering the Houthi attack. A Saudi-led coalition has been waging an air war against the Houthis since 2015, with both the US and Riyadh accusing Iran of providing weapons to the Houthis. Tehran has denied this.Saudi Arabia's deputy defence minister Khalid bin Salman tweeted: "The attack by the Iranian-backed Houthi militias against the two Aramco pumping stations proves that these militias are merely a tool that Iran's regime uses to implement its expansionist agenda in the region".The longest-simmering issue is the Donald Trump-mandated withdrawal from the nuclear pact and the cranking up of sanctions against Iran by Washington. Iran has issued a number of veiled threats about enriching its uranium stockpiles to weapons-grade levels, with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying the "the next steps are easier" than what has come before.Iran recently threatened it might resume higher enrichment by 7 July, beyond the level permitted by the current deal between Tehran and world powers, claiming that its programme is for peaceful purposes. White House advisor John Bolton in particular has long-standing concerns about Iran, writing in The New York Times in 2015 that the US should think about bombing Iran as the country "will not negotiate away its nuclear programme" – although an agreement was approved the next year.Mr Bolton was reportedly behind a push to update military plans surrounding the use of aggression by Iran, including sending as many as 120,000 troops to the region in the wake of an attack by Tehran on US interests or a significant move in its nuclear programme.Speaking on Thursday, Mr Trump said that he was the one to rein in 70-year-old Mr Bolton. "I'm the one who tempers him, which is OK," he said."I have John Bolton and I have people who are a little more dovish than him," Mr Trump added.In a tweet on Wednesday, the president denied any infighting between members of his team. "There is no infighting whatsoever," Mr Trump wrote. "Different opinions are expressed and I make a decisive and final decision – it is a very simple process.However, Mr Trump is said to be getting frustrated with officials like Mr Bolton and secretary of state Mike Pompeo over a push for a confrontation with Iran, according to The Washington Post. "They are getting way out ahead of themselves, and Trump is annoyed," a senior administration official said.Mr Trump is not inclined to respond forcefully unless there is a "big move" from the Iranians, the paper quoted a White House official as saying, with the president believed to be loath to go against his long-standing promise to end costly foreign wars by the US. The Democratic US House speaker Nancy Pelosi meanwhile said on Thursday that the the Trump administration "must realise" it does not have congressional authorisation to go to war against Iran.Washington sent ships and warplanes into the Gulf last week, citing an increased threat from Tehran, and the state department warned all non-essential government staff to leave Iraq.British forces in Iraq were also placed on high alert on Thursday, following the decision.However, Major General Chris Ghika, the British deputy commander of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), the US-led coalition fighting Isis, had a day earlier disputed claims from the White House that forces in the Middle East are facing an increased threat from Iran or its allies.Maj Gen Ghika told reporters during a video conference from coalition headquarters in Baghdad on Tuesday, that there "has been no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria".
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| Democrats read Mueller report aloud in U.S. Capitol hearing room Posted: 16 May 2019 01:03 PM PDT  The reading began at noon EDT (1700 GMT) and was expected to take 12 to 14 hours. For those who could not make it to the Capitol hearing room to listen, it was being broadcast on C-SPAN and lawmakers plan to release a podcast version.Representative Mary Gay Scanlon, one of the top Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, started the reading and nearly two dozen of her colleagues were to take part. "There [are] a lot of average people who have not seen the Mueller report," Representative Sylvia Garcia, another Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said ahead of Scanlon kicking off the reading.
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| He told her to be 'nicer' and she pushed him off a bus, authorities say. He died a month later Posted: 16 May 2019 09:03 AM PDT  Las Vegas police released video of a woman pushing a 74-year-old man off a bus, asking witnesses to come forward and describe the alleged murder.
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| After Alabama OKs strictest abortion law in nation, Missouri could be next. Where states stand on abortion bans Posted: 17 May 2019 09:30 AM PDT  Alabama's passage of the nation's strictest abortion law is the latest bid by states in the South and Midwest to stake out a legal challenge on a highly emotional, and controversial topic.
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