| Fox News host Chris Wallace tells Stephen Miller: 'No question' Trump is 'stoking racial divisions' Posted: 21 Jul 2019 03:16 PM PDT  "I've never called any of his tweets racist, but there's no question that he is stoking racial divisions," said "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace.
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| Huawei secretly helped North Korea build, maintain wireless network: Washington Post Posted: 22 Jul 2019 05:57 AM PDT  Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL], the Chinese company put on a U.S. blacklist because of national security concerns, secretly helped North Korea build and maintain its commercial wireless network, the Washington Post reported on Monday, citing sources and internal documents. The Chinese telecommunications giant partnered with a state-owned Chinese firm, Panda International Information Technology Co Ltd., on a number of projects in North Korea over at least eight years, the Post reported. Sources briefed on the matter confirmed the Commerce Department has been investigating Huawei since 2016 and is reviewing whether the company violated export control rules in relation to sanctions on North Korea.
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| US sanctions Chinese oil trader for violating Iran restrictions: Pompeo Posted: 22 Jul 2019 09:18 AM PDT  The United States is placing a leading Chinese oil importer on its sanctions blacklist for trading in Iranian crude, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday. "As part of that maximum pressure campaign, I am announcing that the United States is imposing sanctions on the Chinese entity Zhuhai Zhenrong and its chief executive Youmin Li," Pompeo said in a speech.
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| U.S. Navy Identifies Missing Sailor Who Reportedly Went Overboard from Aircraft Carrier Posted: 22 Jul 2019 06:31 AM PDT  The Navy has identified the missing sailor from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln as Aviation Electronics Technician 2nd Class Slayton Saldana, who was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5, with Carrier Air Wing 7.Saldana has been listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown since July 17. He was reported overboard while the Lincoln was in the Arabian Sea. Search and rescue efforts ended on July 19.He joined the Navy in April 2015 and joined his current squadron in September 2018, according to his official Navy biography. He was promoted to petty officer second class in February.Navy officials have not yet released any information about how Saldana went overboard.His fiancé Lexi Posey posted on Facebook on Monday that the day marked the couple's 38-month anniversary.They had planned to get married in April."Since I'm traveling back to the States and 'traveling back in time' due to time zones, today, our anniversary, will be a very long day," Posey wrote in a message to Saldana. "But I wish I could travel back in time to the start of our relationship over 3 years ago and constantly reassure you how much I have loved you and appreciate all the little things that you did for me."This first appeared in Task and Purpose here.
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| Black Georgia Lawmaker Alleges White Man Told Her to 'Go Back Where You Came From' in Grocery Store Confrontation Posted: 21 Jul 2019 08:18 AM PDT  The man admits he called her lazy, but says he didn't utter the racist phrase
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| Sarah Huckabee Sanders shows up to govs shindig as Arkansas rumors swirl Posted: 22 Jul 2019 11:10 AM PDT  Sanders is seen as a possible 2022 Arkansas gubernatorial candidate.
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| The Latest: Hospital sued over school principal's death Posted: 22 Jul 2019 02:19 PM PDT  A hospital sued by the family of a New Jersey high school principal who died after a procedure to donate blood marrow to an anonymous French teenager says it is saddened by the tragic death. Hackensack University Medical Center is a defendant in the suit filed by the fiancee and family of Derrick Nelson, who fell into a coma in February and died in April. A spokeswoman for Hackensack Meridian Health says the hospital isn't commenting on the lawsuit but says it has been in touch with Nelson's family and fiance Sheronda Braker.
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| Millions of Barrels of Iranian Oil Are Piled Up in China’s Ports Posted: 22 Jul 2019 05:28 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Tankers are offloading millions of barrels of Iranian oil into storage tanks at Chinese ports, creating a hoard of crude sitting on the doorstep of the world's biggest buyer.Two and a half months after the White House banned the purchase of Iran's oil, the nation's crude is continuing to be sent to China where it's being put into what's known as "bonded storage," say people familiar with operations at several Chinese ports. This supply doesn't cross local customs or show up in the nation's import data, and isn't necessarily in breach of sanctions. While it remains out of circulation for now, its presence is looming over the market.The store of oil has the potential to push down global prices if Chinese refiners decide to draw on it, even as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies curb production as growth slows in major economies. It also allows Iran to keep pumping and move oil nearer to potential buyers."Iranian oil shipments have been flowing into Chinese bonded storage for some months now, and continue to do so despite increased scrutiny," said Rachel Yew, an analyst at industry consultant FGE in Singapore. "We can see why the producer would want to do so, as a build-up of supplies near key buyers is clearly beneficial for a seller, especially if sanctions are eased at some point."See also: Iranian Oil Tanker Daniel Enters Chinese Port: Ship TrackingThere could be more of the Persian Gulf state's oil headed for China's bonded storage tanks, Bloomberg tanker-tracking data show. At least ten very large crude carriers and two smaller vessels owned by the state-run National Iranian Oil Co. and its shipping arm are currently sailing toward the Asian nation or idling off its coast. They have a combined carrying capacity of over 20 million barrels.The bulk of Iranian oil in China's bonded tanks is still owned by Tehran and therefore not in breach of sanctions, according to the people. The oil hasn't crossed Chinese customs so it's theoretically in transit.Some of the crude, though, is owned by Chinese entities that may have received it as part of oil-for-investment schemes. For example, one of the Asian nation's companies could have helped fund a production project in Iran under an agreement to be repaid in kind. Whether this sort of transaction is in breach of sanctions isn't clear, and so the firms are keeping it in bonded storage to avoid the official scrutiny it would if it's registered with customs, according to the people.Nobody replied to a faxed inquiry to China's General Administration of Customs.Lack of ClarityThe build-up of Iranian oil in Chinese bonded storage has yet to be clearly addressed by Washington. The White House ended waivers allowing some countries to keep importing Iranian oil on May 2.There are currently no exemptions issued to any country for the import of Iranian oil, and any nation seen importing cargoes from the Persian Gulf producer will be in breach of sanctions, according to a senior Trump administration official, who asked not to be identified because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the matter."The U.S. will now need to define how it quantifies the infringement of sanctions," said Michal Meidan, director of the China Energy Programme at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. There's a lack of clarity on whether it would look at "financial transactions or the loading and discharge of cargoes by company or entity," she said.See also: China Buying Iran LPG Despite Sanctions, Ship-Tracking ShowsChina received about 12 million tons of Iranian crude from January through May, according to ship-tracking data, versus about 10 million that cleared customs over the period. The discrepancy could be due to the flow of oil into bonded storage. China will release June trade data that will include a country-by-country breakdown of oil imports in the coming days.One of the Iranian tankers that appears to have loaded oil after the U.S. waivers ended is VLCC Horse. It discharged at Tianjin in early-July after sailing from the Middle East, where shipping data showed it signaling its destination as Iran's Kharg Island on May 4.Several other Iran-owned tankers offloaded in China or were heading there, according to ship tracking data. VLCC Stream discharged at Tianjin on June 19, while Amber, Salina and C. Infinity offloaded crude at the ports of Huangdao, Jinzhou and Ningbo. Snow, Sevin and Maria III were last seen sailing in the direction of China.Putting crude into bonded tanks in China also means Iran can avoid having to tie up part of its tanker fleet by storing the oil at sea for months at a time. The Islamic Republic used floating storage in 2012 to 2016 and again in 2018 as buyers shunned its crude due to U.S.-imposed trade restrictions.Should the Iranian crude leave bonded storage and end up in the market, it could pressure oil prices, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. West Texas Intermediate plunged more than 20% from late April to mid-June as the U.S.-China trade war intensified. It's since recovered some of those losses, partly as a result of the rising tension between Washington and Tehran, and is trading near $57 a barrel."A further escalation in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods could jointly drive global economic growth a lot lower and encourage Iran-China cooperation," Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a June note. "If Chinese refiners start to purchase Iran oil in large volumes on a sustained basis as U.S. tariffs rise again, WTI could drop to $40 a barrel."(Updates with mention of June trade data in 12th paragraph.)\--With assistance from Nick Wadhams.To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Serene Cheong in Singapore at scheong20@bloomberg.net;Sarah Chen in Beijing at schen514@bloomberg.net;Alfred Cang in Singapore at acang@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Serene Cheong at scheong20@bloomberg.net, Andrew JanesFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Justice Department Warns Mueller Not to Tell Congress Too Much Posted: 22 Jul 2019 05:24 PM PDT  Chip Somodevilla/GettyTwo days before Robert Mueller testifies before Congress, the Justice Department has sent him a letter warning that he "must remain within the boundaries" of the public report on the Russia investigation.Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer told the former special counsel that he was restricted in what he could say because the probe included matters of executive privilege—which allows the president to keep certain information secret."These privileges would include discussion about investigative steps or decisions made during your investigation not otherwise described in the public version of your report," the letter said.Weinsheimer said it was "standard practice" for DOJ witnesses to refuse to answer questions that touched on issues of privilege so the department can later find a way to provide answers to Congress while "protecting Executive Branch confidentiality interests."Democrats' Job Is to Bring Mueller Down From Mount Above-It-AllThe letter came in response to a request by Mueller two weeks ago for guidance from the Justice Department on his Wednesday testimony before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees.Mueller has already said that he doesn't intend to stray from his report, which outlined 10 episodes of possible obstruction of justice by President Trump but did not declare whether he had committed a crime or impeachable offense.Democrats on the committees are hoping to pry some new details from the famously tight-lipped former FBI director about Trump's actions and his view of those actions.The DOJ letter reiterated that the department deems Mueller's testimony "unnecessary" but acknowledged that the decision to answer questions is his to make—while hammering down on the point that he should not disclose anything that isn't in the report or Mueller's May 29 public statement.In that statement, Mueller appeared to contradict Attorney General William Barr by saying that he did not make a determination about whether Trump broke the law because DOJ policy prohibits indictment for a sitting president, and not necessarily because he did not think a crime had occurred.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| 'Outrageous': Convicted criminals serve as Alaskan police amid public safety crisis, investigation finds Posted: 21 Jul 2019 04:09 PM PDT  Dozens of police officers with criminal records have worked in Alaska, despite state law that should have disqualified them, an investigation finds.
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| French submarine lost in 1968 found at last in Mediterranean Posted: 22 Jul 2019 09:45 AM PDT  A French submarine that went missing in the western Mediterranean in 1968 has been found, officials said Monday, ending a 51-year wait for families of the crew who continue to seek answers to the naval disaster. The diesel-electric Minerve submarine was lost off France's southern coast with 52 sailors on board on January 27, 1968. "We found the submarine Minerve last night located 45 kilometres (30 miles) south of Toulon, about 20 kilometres further south than where it was searched for in 1968," the French maritime prefect of the Mediterranean, Vice Admiral Charles Henri du Che, told reporters in Toulon.
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| American crocodiles thriving near Florida nuclear plant; great white shark nearly bites boy on fishing boat Posted: 22 Jul 2019 05:47 AM PDT  Animal expert Jeff Corwin reacts to the week's biggest stories.
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| There's a Warning for the Thousands Who Signed Up to 'Storm Loch Ness' Because 'Nessie Can't Hide From Us All' Posted: 22 Jul 2019 08:36 AM PDT  "Nessie can't hide from us all"
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| Putin gives Russian citizenship to Novatek's finance chief, a U.S. national Posted: 22 Jul 2019 07:38 AM PDT  President Vladimir Putin handed Russian citizenship to gas producer Novatek's veteran finance chief Mark Gyetvay on Monday, a move that could potentially help the U.S. national bypass some sanctions restrictions. U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia in 2014 ban U.S. nationals and companies from helping organize long-term funding for some major Russian firms, including Novatek. When the U.S. and the EU imposed sanctions on Russia, executives with foreign passports at companies affected including Novatek - the country's largest non-state natural gas producer - and state bank VTB handed over responsibility for organizing new debt or equity issuance to colleagues without EU or U.S. passports.
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| This Is the ATV-Mounted Jammer That Took Down an Iranian Drone Posted: 22 Jul 2019 12:47 PM PDT  The drone was less than a mile from the USS Boxer when the Marines caused it to crash.
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| Israeli Air Force's F-35 Stealth Fighter Went Into Iran's Airspace: Report Posted: 22 Jul 2019 12:32 AM PDT  As we have already explained, in May 2018 the IAF revealed that it has used its stealth fighters in combat operations, making Israel the first country in the world to carry out an "operational attack" using the F-35.Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) commander Brigadier General Farzad Ismaili, who had been in office since 2010, has been fired by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after he kept secret that Israeli Air Force (IAF) F-35 stealth fighters had violated Iran's airspace, the Kuwaiti daily Al Jarida reported on Saturday.(This first appeared several weeks ago.)The newspaper emphasized that it was the original media source that exposed the Israeli raids, which had taken place in March 2018. Al Jarida cited senior Iranian military who said that only following its March report did the intelligence services of the Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian intelligence ministry begin to investigate the case, under Khamenei's direct orders.According to the newspaper's investigation, "the IAF F-35 "Adir" planes penetrated Iran's airspace, circled high above Tehran, Karajrak, Isfahan, Shiraz and Bandar Abbas – and photographed Iran's air defense system."
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| Trump turns up at wedding, prompting chants of ‘USA!’ Posted: 22 Jul 2019 05:33 AM PDT  A bride and groom were left stunned after Donald Trump made a surprise appearance at their wedding.The US president turned up unexpectedly as the event was in full flow at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey.Mr Trump was greeted by applause from newlyweds Nicole Marie and PJ Mongelli and their guests and clapped along himself.He then beckoned the couple over to him and put his arms around them as they led chants of "USA, USA" and "Trump, Trump, Trump" while pumping their arms in the air.The president can then be seen kissing the bride on the cheek before shaking the groom's hand.Ms Mongelli's cousin Danielle De Santiss posted footage of the meeting on Instagram with the hashtag MagaWedding.In an earlier video, posted on Instagram by @snd321, a woman tells Mr Trump as he stops by the bridal suite: "You're a class act that you came in here."> View this post on Instagram> > Congratulations to my beautiful cousin @nicoleeeemariie & @pattyboy3428 ❤️ ... swipe left ������ MagaWedding freeasaprocky> > A post shared by Danielle DeSantis (@danielledesantiss) on Jul 21, 2019 at 10:33am PDT> View this post on Instagram> > A post shared by SND321 (@snd321) on Jul 20, 2019 at 7:08pm PDTThe groom then asked the president to stop by their wedding reception later.Mr Mongelli, who has a Facebook photo of he and his wife wearing "Make America Great Again" hats, told CNN afterwards: "He was such a gentleman. He was aces."He added that the couple, who got engaged to his wife at the golf resort in 2017, were big Trump supporters, as were many of their guests.The president had been staying at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster over the weekend and returned to Washington on Sunday.
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| 2020 Candidates Delayed Paying Staff to Look Richer on Paper Posted: 22 Jul 2019 01:54 AM PDT  Drew Angerer/GettyFor months, Sen. Amy Klobuchar's (D-MN) presidential campaign made regular payments to its staff and vendors, with varying daily expenditures that never exceeded $335,000. But on April 1, 2019, the campaign's spending exploded.Whereas Klobuchar's campaign spent an average of about $55,000 per day through the end of June, according to FEC filings, it dropped a whopping $624,000 on the first day of April, including a $300,000 payment to the campaign's digital vendor. That massive uptick in expenses was likely due to the fact that April 1 marked the beginning of the new fundraising quarter. By putting off the payments until then, Klobuchar was able to put the best possible spin on her presidential campaign's financial position during the previous three months. If those expenses had come a day earlier, Klobuchar's cash on hand figure would have been roughly $6.35 million. Instead, the campaign was able to claim roughly $7 million in reserves—a sum that placed her among the better-positioned Democrats in the presidential race. A Daily Beast review of campaign finance records indicates that the delayed-expenses strategy has continued through the just completed cycle, and has involved payments to campaign staffers as well.Klobuchar Gets Barr to Defend Trump Over and Over AgainKlobuchar, whose campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment, is one of at least four Democratic presidential candidates who appear to have skipped a staff payday at the end of June, putting off that pay period until the beginning of the following month and hence transferring the expense to the next quarter's balance sheets.Virtually every campaign engages in forms of accounting gimmicks in order to enhance their financial standings. Veterans of past and current races say that it is common to try and delay spending to future quarters in order to bolster cash reserves that have to reported at filing deadlines. That pressure is particularly acute in elections with crowded fields (such as the 2020 Democratic primary) when reporters, donors, and voters are ever attuned to any signs of momentum or lack thereof.For some campaigns, the ability to put off a payroll payment—whether by design or coincidence—made a substantial difference. That's most true for the Klobuchar campaign, which reported $186,000 in salary expenditures on its last reported pay day, June 15.Federal Election Commission records indicate that the campaign was otherwise paying staffers on the 15th and last day of each month. But no paychecks went out at the end of June, according to its second quarter financial filing. Klobuchar didn't simply eliminate those expenses by postponing the last payroll payment of the second quarter. That's because her campaign appears to have put off its last pay period of the first quarter as well after writing salary checks on February 20, February 28, and March 15, the next payments went out on April 1. But her staff, and accompanying payroll expenses, were larger in June than in March. And at some point, she will either have to make all wage payments or simply not pay her staff. And by kicking the can down the road, she has been able to avoid taking the hit on a campaign finance filing for the time being. Three other campaigns also departed from previous payroll schedules by skipping end-of-month paychecks last month, according to a review of campaign finance records. Rep. John Delaney's (D-MD) campaign said the change in schedule was simply a product of switching to a new payroll management service that restructured that schedule.Sen. Michael Bennett (D-CO) and Gov. Jay Inslee (D-WA) both attributed it to the fact that June 30 was a Sunday, so checks went out the following day. But it's common practice for employers to send out paychecks on the preceding Friday when paydays fall on a weekend. The decision to do so the following Monday served, intentionally or not, to boost apparent cash-on-hand figures at the end of the quarter in a way that shrouded the campaigns' actual liabilities.There's nothing improper or problematic with structuring campaign payments in order to present the best possible picture of its financial situation. But an understanding that campaigns do so, and how they do so, can give the public a better grasp of the financial standing of the various political camps vying for the 2020 Democratic nomination.Delayed payroll payments can be relatively small fractions of total cash on hand figures. But campaign staffers are not heavily compensated employees to begin with. And the absence of a regular paycheck—even by just a matter of days—can cause life complications. "I haven't heard of this practice before but I am not surprised," said Kim McMurray, an executive council member of the Campaign Workers Guild and a former organizer for 2020 contender Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). "FEC timing deadlines are such an important moment for campaigns to show enthusiasm, support, etc. so campaigns want to show the largest number possible.""It is very disappointing if this came at the expense of the workers," McMurray added.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Gambian soldier names ex-president in reporter's 2004 murder Posted: 22 Jul 2019 12:49 PM PDT  A Gambian army officer on Monday accused ex-president Yahya Jammeh of ordering the 2004 murder of journalist Deyda Hydara and admitted he was involved in the killing. Hydara, who was editor and co-founder of the independent The Point daily and a correspondent for AFP and Journalists Without Borders (RSF), was killed by unidentified gunmen in his car on the outskirts of the Gambian capital Banjul in December 2004. The murder was widely condemned locally and abroad as another sign of Jammeh's despotic rule and his stifling of all opposition in the former British colony.
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| Sanders campaign announces it will cut hours to pay staffers $15 minimum wage Posted: 22 Jul 2019 10:33 AM PDT  Democrat presidential candidate Bernie Sanders will cut staffers' hours so they can effectively be paid the $15-an-hour minimum wage he champions on the campaign trail.
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| These Versatile Corn Recipes Are Perfect for Any Meal Posted: 22 Jul 2019 12:46 PM PDT |
| Turkey seizes $271 mln in counterfeit U.S. currency -newspaper Posted: 22 Jul 2019 08:59 AM PDT ![Turkey seizes $271 mln in counterfeit U.S. currency -newspaper]( "Turkey seizes $271 mln in counterfeit U.S. currency -newspaper") The raid was carried out on Friday in Istanbul's Esenyurt neighbourhood and five people were arrested, it said. Hurriyet said one of those arrested was previously released after being detained for suspected membership in a network that Ankara blames for orchestrating a failed military coup in 2016. Turkish authorities accuse the leader of this network, U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, of masterminding the attempted putsch in July 2016.
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| NASA Finally Completes the Orion Crew Capsule Posted: 22 Jul 2019 02:17 PM PDT  NASA hopes the capsule will take astronauts back to the Moon, and Mars after that.
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| Jeremy Hunt announces joint European task force to protect ships in Gulf after Iran's tanker seizure Posted: 22 Jul 2019 09:16 AM PDT  Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, on Monday announced a joint European maritime mission on the Strait of Hormuz in the aftermath of a British tanker seizure in the Gulf. In a statement to the House of Commons he said the UK will ask all British flagged ships to give notice of intention to pass through the Strait of Hormuz so they can be given protection. It followed a signal from the United States that it would not aid Britain in the Persian Gulf, in a fresh sign of disagreement between the allies over Iran policy. Asked about any possible US role in the tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State, said on Monday that "the responsibility ... falls to the United Kingdom to take care of their ship". The US has been attempting to build a "coalition of navies" to coordinate efforts to protect ships in the Gulf, which the UK has not said it will participate in. It is understood Britain is hesitating over fears such a move could be seen by Tehran as provocative, at a time when the Government wants to avoid being dragged into more confrontation. Iran seized the British-flagged Stena Impero on Friday in retaliation for Royal Navy marines impounding an Iranian supertanker off Gibraltar earlier this month on suspicion it was transporting oil to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions. A speedboat of the Iran's Revolutionary Guard moves around a British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero, which was seized on Friday by the Guard, in the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, Credit: AP It is thought that British authorities had been pressured by the US, which has its own sanctions on Iran and is keen to stop as much of its oil exports as possible. Mr Hunt said he had spoken to the Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif, as well as the foreign ministers of Oman, the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, Spain and Denmark. He added he had "raised the security level for British-flagged shipping to Level 3, advising against all passage in Iranian waters and, for the moment, in the entire Strait of Hormuz." Mr Hunt said: "We will now seek to put together a European-led maritime protection mission to support safe passage of both crew and cargo in this vital region." He added that the UK would not be joining the US's "maximum pressure policy" on Iran, saying: "we remain committed to preserving the Iran nuclear agreement." He said he would discuss how this would complement US proposals in the area. Spanish newspaper El Pais reported over the weekend that the US alerted Madrid that the Grace 1 was heading towards its waters. It has also been reported that after Spain denied a request by Washington to seize the ship, the UK then accepted, despite reservations it would escalate already heightened tensions. The US has pursued a policy of maximum pressure on Iran after pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal; reimposing sanctions while designating the powerful Revolutionary Guard Corp as a terrorist entity. The UK on the other hand has attempted to deescalate tensions and keep the accord alive. It agrees with other European signatories to the deal that it is the best chance of limiting Iran's nuclear ambitions. Following discussions with Mr Hunt on Sunday and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Monday, Heiko Maas, Germany's Foreign Minister, said that alongside handling the dangers in the Strait of Hormuz, Europe will continue to play the "diplomatic card". Mr Maas said that "what we need is deescalation, and my British and French colleagues have the same opinion." He said that Germany does not want to join the US's strategy. Sir Michael Fallon, the former defence secretary, said over the weekend that Britain could have joined with the US and other nations in protecting shipping in the strait, while distancing itself from the Trump administration's decision to tear up the nuclear deal. "We don't have to support Trump's position to recognise Britain and America have to be part of an international protection force for the international waterway," Sir Michael said.
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| Four Inmates Faked a Fight to Escape Florida Juvenile Detention Center Posted: 21 Jul 2019 08:31 AM PDT  Jacksonville Sheriff's Office HandoutFour teenage inmates staged a fight inside their dorm-style cell late Saturday night at a Florida juvenile detention center as a ruse to escape, overpowering staff and stealing a staff member's car and a cell phone as they fled.Two of teens who escaped from the Florida Department of Juvenile justice facility in Jacksonville, remained at large Sunday and a manhunt was underway to apprehend them.According to a tweet from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, the four inmates faked a brawl in their room and then attacked the staff who responded to the scuffle. The boys were then able to overpower staff in the center's control room and pushed several buttons until one released the jail's main door. The boys then stole car keys from the handbag of one of the staff members and made off in the dark of the night with the a four-door Infiniti Q50 with Florida license plate LANE19.The foursome also took the staff member's county-issued cellphone and wallet with an unknown amount of cash. The Jacksonville Sheriff's office named the escapees still at large as Tajah Bing, 16, Davione Baldwin, 17. Tyjuan Monroe, 16, and Marcus Ledbetter, 17, were captured early Sunday morning. The inmates were serving jail time for offenses ranging from grand theft auto to robbery with a firearm and are considered dangerous, though are not known to be armed. One was serving time for "lewd and lascivious" behavior with a child under the age of 12-years-old. The Jacksonville sheriff's office has offered an award up to $3,000 for information that leads to the capture of the escaped individuals noting that the boys "could be anywhere."Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| British-Iranian woman transferred back to Tehran prison Posted: 22 Jul 2019 07:25 AM PDT  A British-Iranian mother jailed in Tehran since 2016 has been returned to prison after being held in the mental ward of a public hospital for nearly a week, her husband said Monday. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was kept chained and under heavy guard for six days which she says left her "broken", according to her husband Richard Ratcliffe. The 40-year-old detainee, who is serving a five-year term for sedition, was returned to Tehran's notorious Evin prison -- used to hold political prisoners -- on Saturday, he said.
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| F-35s Go to War: Why Israel's Strike on Syria Was so Successful Posted: 20 Jul 2019 11:00 PM PDT  The Israeli Air-force had apparently been waiting for a provocation as the resulting counterattack against the launchers and the Iranian military infrastructure was an overwhelming one. On May 9th the Iranian Quds force that belongs into the Revolutionary Guards Corps launched a rocket salvo against the Israeli forces in the Golan heights. The IDF had anticipated the move and placed several Iron Dome batteries to protect the region, so the attack did very little damage and several rockets were shot down.There have been conflicting reports on whether the weapon used to attack Israel was a Russian built BM-27 Uragan or an indigenous Iranian Fajr-5.The Fajr-5 system is an indigenous Iranian 333 mm artillery rocket that is mounted on Mercedes-Benz 2624 trucks in 4-tube launchers. System has a maximum range of 75 km and rather abysmal accuracy with a 3 km CEP. Combination of a 900 kg class conventional warhead and the low accuracy makes the FAJR-5 more of a terror weapon than any kind of precision battlefield instrument.The Israeli Air-force had apparently been waiting for a provocation as the resulting counterattack against the launchers and the Iranian military infrastructure was an overwhelming one. Unlike in the response for the February drone incident, the IAF was well prepared with a large strike package that had a sizable SEAD element on hand.
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| Thousands without power after explosion, fire at Madison Gas and Electric Posted: 21 Jul 2019 11:58 AM PDT  Two fires are burning at downtown Madison properties of the Madison Gas and Electric company.
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| Diver Has Epic Nose-to-Nose Encounter with One of the Most Elusive Sharks Lurking in the Deep Sea Posted: 22 Jul 2019 08:33 AM PDT  You may have heard of megalodon, the massive prehistoric shark, but what about the bluntnose sixgill? This enormous, ancient shark was lurking in the deep long before its extinct cousin -- and still exists today at the bottom of the ocean. It's rarely seen even by scientists. But on a recent submarine dive shark expert Gavin Naylor caught amazing footage of one on camera cozying up to his research vessel, seeming to almost flirt and play with the vessel."I'm literally nose to nose with this animal," Naylor, who does research at the Florida Museum of Natural History, told Live Science, referring to his trip in a submersible.Bluntnose sixgills are the oldest living shark lineage, said Dean Grubbs, a deep-sea ecologist at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Although Grubbs wasn't on board the submarine that night, the dive was part of his ongoing research on the behavior and biology of these sharks. [Photos: Orcas Are Chowing Down on Great-White-Shark Organs]"This is like studying dinosaurs," Grubbs told Live Science.In fact, the sixgill predates most dinosaurs -- the species has been around for roughly 200 million years. Some scientists even believe they may have survived the largest mass extinction event, the Permian-Triassic, which killed 96% of sea life.Diver comes nose-to-nose with a huge six gill shark. OceanXThe 16-foot-long (4.9 meters) female sixgill was spotted about 3,250 feet (1,000 m) beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, just off the Cape of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. She appeared to show off for Naylor, opening her massive mouth ("big enough to swim into," Grubbs said) and blinking huge blue eyes. She seemed curious about the submarine, Naylor said, nudging it with her nose."She was quite gentle," Naylor added.That is, until she started tearing into the bait that was attached to the sub, shaking the entire vessel."They seem really slow and really graceful," Lee Frey, a deep-sea engineer who was piloting the submarine at the time, told Live Science, "but then, boy, when they go after a meal, they are just really powerful."Naylor's dive was the fourth attempt during a mission to track down and tag a sixgill shark in its deep-sea environment -- a tricky feat from the submarine.Tagging a sixgill shark in its natural environment poses an unusual challenge because they live so deep in the ocean -- between 2,500 and 3,500 feet (800-1,100 m) below the surface. In the past, researchers had pulled sharks to the surface to tag them. But that method didn't always paint a clear picture of shark behavior -- after surfacing, the tagged sharks would act erratically. So the researchers equipped a vessel with a dart gun that could shoot tags at the sharks. If they succeeded, they would be the first team of scientists to successfully tag an animal from a submarine.When Naylor saw this particular sixgill, it became clear that she was far too close to the research vessel to tag with a dart gun. But he wasn't about to miss a great camera shot. Luckily, a better opportunity to tag a shark arose later that night, when he spotted a male sixgill at perfect range; he pointed and shot.The tag, which will track the shark's movement, will help Grubbs' team better understand the behavior of these seldom-studied prehistoric creatures.The dive was part of an OceanX mission, an organization that conducts ocean research, sometimes alongside institutions. * 7 Unanswered Questions About Sharks * In Photos: Baby Sharks Show Off Amazing Ability * Photos: Great White Shark Mysteriously Washes Up on a California BeachOriginally published on Live Science.
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| Protests spread as activists fight telescope in Hawaii Posted: 22 Jul 2019 05:41 PM PDT  Demonstrations against a giant telescope planned for Hawaii's tallest peak have spread to New York, Las Vegas and Honolulu's tourist mecca of Waikiki as Native Hawaiians push to protect what they say is a sacred place. In Nevada, a few hundred Native Hawaiians and former Hawaii residents gathered under the famous "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign to show their solidarity with protesters back home.
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| Lawyer: Man who killed mob boss thought he was helping Trump Posted: 22 Jul 2019 12:21 PM PDT ![Lawyer: Man who killed mob boss thought he was helping Trump]( "Lawyer: Man who killed mob boss thought he was helping Trump") A man charged with killing a reputed New York mob boss was deluded by internet conspiracy theories and thought he was helping President Donald Trump defend Democracy, his attorney said in court papers filed Friday. Anthony Comello is facing murder charges in the March 13 shooting of Francesco "Franky Boy" Cali, an alleged leader in the Gambino crime family. In a legal filing, attorney Robert Gottleib said Comello was gripped by an irrational belief that Cali was part of a "deep state" that secretly controls the U.S., and went to the gangster's home on Staten Island with handcuffs with the intention of arresting him.
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| Hong Kong actor stabbed in mainland China Posted: 21 Jul 2019 08:43 PM PDT  Hong Kong actor Simon Yam was stabbed in the stomach while appearing on stage for a promotional event in southern China on Saturday. A man ran onto the stage and stabbed and slashed the veteran actor, video broadcast on local media showed. "We are extremely shocked by this incident," Yam's management company said Saturday evening in a statement released on the Twitter-like Weibo platform.
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| Why America and Iran Came Within Minutes of War Posted: 22 Jul 2019 12:51 AM PDT  If America wants Iran to change its behavior, it will have to re-establish ruptured lines of communication and re-create genuine incentives for diplomacy, rather than leading with threats of war and crushing sanctions. After all, the danger of devastating and messy regional war already underpins Iran's own deterrence-based security strategy in the Persian Gulf—and games of chicken where neither side de-escalates end badly for everyone involved.By most accounts, the United States and Iran came within minutes of armed conflict with each other on June 20, 2019. (This first appeared last month.)Around 4:30 AM that morning, a U.S. Navy RQ-4N Global Hawk spy drone flying a routine circuit over international airspace in the Persian Gulf was shot down by an Iranian Ra'ad surface-to-air missile system.Later that day, U.S. forces were ostensibly "ten minutes" away from striking three Iranian bases likely with air- and sea-launched missiles when President Donald Trump changed his mind and canceled the attack. He later cited concerns that killing an estimated 150 Iranians over the loss of an unmanned drone was a disproportionate response.
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| Report: Pence canceled trip to avoid contact with an alleged drug dealer Posted: 22 Jul 2019 01:20 PM PDT  Vice President Mike Pence abruptly canceled a trip to New Hampshire this month to avoid shaking hands with an alleged interstate drug dealer, Politico reported Monday.
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| Pirates steal cash and shoes in Korean cargo ship robbery Posted: 21 Jul 2019 07:36 PM PDT  SEOUL/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Pirates attacked a South Korean-flagged cargo ship in the South China Sea early on Monday, stealing thousands of dollars in cash and even the sailors' shoes, South Korean authorities said. Two people sustained minor injuries when seven pirates boarded the CK Bluebell and made off with $13,000 and belongings including mobile phones, clothes and shoes from the 22-strong crew, officials from the oceans and fisheries ministry said. The dry bulk vessel CK Bluebell had set sail from its anchorage off Singapore on Saturday afternoon, heading northeast for South Korea's port of Incheon, Refinitiv Eikon ship tracking data showed.
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| Little Boy Is OK After Fish-Stealing Great White Shark Leaps at Him to Steal Fresh Caught Fish Posted: 22 Jul 2019 08:46 AM PDT  "It had come up and it lunged out of the water"
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| Ousted Planned Parenthood president said she faced opposition for trying to work with pro-lifers in new op-ed Posted: 21 Jul 2019 06:06 AM PDT  Former Planned Parenthood director turned pro-life advocate Abby Johnson says Planned Parenthood is terrified of former employees because they know all the dirty laundry.
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| Democratic Senator Takes Shot at DeVos: ‘I Think We Should Send Her Back’ Posted: 22 Jul 2019 11:01 AM PDT  Senator Debbie Stabenow attacked Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos in a speech Monday, saying "I think we should send her back.""Too many of our children languish in inadequate, ill-equipped schools. Thank you, Betsy DeVos," Stabenow said during her address to the NAACP convention in Detroit. "I really wish she was not from Michigan. I think we should send her back."Stabenow was referencing the chant of "send her back" that Trump supporters launched into during the president's campaign stop in North Carolina last week, aimed at Democratic representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who was born in Somalia.> Sen. Stabenow on Sec. DeVos while discussing Michigan schools at the NAACP convention: "I really wish she was not from Michigan. I think we should send her back." pic.twitter.com/loH0BNdWV7> > -- MSNBC (@MSNBC) July 22, 2019The chant, which Trump later said he was "not happy" with, followed on the heels of Trump's controversial criticism of Omar and three of her fellow congresswomen of color who were born in the U.S., Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts. The president had suggested that the four freshmen should "go back" to the countries their families immigrated from if they are not happy with America.The House condemned Trump's remarks as racist last week, with four Republicans joining the entire Democratic caucus to vote for a resolution asserting that the president had "legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color.""Trump has given permission to people who used to stand in sheets in the middle of night to stand in the light in front of the microphones. This is wrong," Stabenow said Monday.
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| The Latest: Trump says he's 'best thing' for Puerto Rico Posted: 22 Jul 2019 12:30 PM PDT  President Donald Trump says he's "the best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico" and he's renewing his attacks on the U.S. territory's officials on a day when tens of thousands are marching on the island to demand the resignation of Gov. Ricardo Roselló. The president called himself "the best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico" and added, "We did a great job in Puerto Rico.
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| Internal Probe Reveals SEAL Team 10 Operators’ Cocaine Use Posted: 22 Jul 2019 03:15 PM PDT  AFPSome SEAL Team 10 special warfare operators allegedly used cocaine or spiked their alcohol with it, according to an internal investigation obtained by the Navy Times following a Freedom of Information Act Request. In Little Creek, Virginia, six SEALs were caught using cocaine and other illicit substances, the report says. SEALs told investigators that the urinalysis tests were easy to beat, as they were not screened very often, and when they were, they'd often switch out tainted urine for clean urine samples, according to the report. No SEALs went to court-martial in the wake of the urinalysis screening, in Virginia, Naval Special Warfare Command spokeswoman Commander Tamara Lawrence told Navy Times, adding that four were administratively separated from the sea service. The urinalysis program has now been updated, said Lawrence, and will be given more often. The test administers will also be retrained. A command report obtained by the Navy Times shows that in mid-2018, the testing program "suffered from serious deficiencies, which did not maintain accountability for substance abuse and adversely affected readiness." Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| 11,000-HP Dodge Hellcat Drag Racer Will Make Your Head Pop Posted: 22 Jul 2019 03:45 PM PDT |
| US army chief for Mideast in first visit to northern Syria Posted: 22 Jul 2019 10:03 AM PDT  US Central Command chief General Kenneth McKenzie on Monday visited Kurdish-led allies in northern Syria for the first time since taking up the post. McKenzie -- who oversees US operations in the Middle East -- succeeded General Joseph Votel in late March. Votel's departure came just days after the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) recaptured the last patch of territory from the Islamic State group in eastern Syria with US support.
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| 2 inmates in New Mexico charged with attempted murder after attack on prison guards Posted: 22 Jul 2019 10:39 AM PDT  The Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility remains on lockdown after two prison guards were attacked by several inmates Tuesday evening.
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