| Yang and O'Rourke propose decriminalizing opioids, including heroin Posted: 15 Oct 2019 07:59 PM PDT  Two Democrats suggested making small amounts of heroin legal as a way to combat the drug epidemic.
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| Buttigieg, O'Rourke clash over assault-rifle buyback plan Posted: 15 Oct 2019 07:57 PM PDT  At Tuesday night's Democratic primary debate, presidential candidates Beto O'Rourke and Pete Buttigieg escalated their disagreement over O'Rourke's proposal for mandatory buybacks of assault weapons.
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| Warren Deletes Infamous DNA Test Tweet One Year After Reveal Posted: 16 Oct 2019 08:48 AM PDT  Senator Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) deleted from her Twitter and YouTube accounts a now-infamous video announcing the results of her DNA test on Wednesday, one year after its initial unveiling was met with heavy bipartisan criticism.A story titled "Happy Anniversary to Elizabeth Warren's DNA Test!" by Jim Treacher, a columnist at PJ Media, revisited the reveal by Warren on Tuesday, a year to the day after the initial video was posted. Treacher then later went to look for the tweet, but found it deleted."My family (including Fox News-watchers) sat together and talked about what they think of @realDonaldTrump's attacks on our heritage. And yes, a famous geneticist analyzed my DNA and concluded that it contains Native American ancestry," the text of the tweet read.The test, which was analyzed by Stanford professor Carlos D. Bustamante, found Warren to be between 1/64th and 1/1024th Native American and prompted further criticism from President Trump, who began calling Warren "Pocahontas" during the 2016 campaign.Following Warren's announcement, Trump mocked the Massachusetts Senator after the Cherokee Nation criticized Warren's use of the test as "making a mockery out of DNA tests and its legitimate uses while also dishonoring legitimate tribal governments and their citizens, whose ancestors are well documented and whose heritage is proven.""Now Cherokee Nation denies her, "DNA test is useless." Even they don't want her. Phony!" Trump tweeted.Though Warren had initially said in March 2018 that she would not undergo a DNA test, she responded to criticism in the aftermath by saying "I believe one way that we try to rebuild confidence [in government] is through transparency."In February, Warren apologized to Bill John Baker, the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, for her public advertising of the test. "The chief and secretary of state appreciate that she has reaffirmed that she is not a Cherokee Nation citizen or a citizen of any tribal nation," Cherokee Nation spokeswoman Julie Hubbard said in the aftermath.
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| New Jersey police are looking for a possible witness to the kidnapping of a 3-year-old girl 30 days ago Posted: 16 Oct 2019 07:35 AM PDT  Five-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez disappeared from Bridgeton City Park in New Jersey on September 16.
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| Kenya opens Chinese-built railway linking Rift Valley town to Nairobi Posted: 16 Oct 2019 01:47 AM PDT ![Kenya opens Chinese-built railway linking Rift Valley town to Nairobi]( "Kenya opens Chinese-built railway linking Rift Valley town to Nairobi") Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta is due to open a new $1.5 billion Chinese rail line on Wednesday linking the capital Nairobi to the Rift Valley town of Naivasha, despite delays in establishing an industrial park there to drive freight traffic. The development of Kenya's railways has been part of China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative, a multi-billion dollar series of infrastructure projects upgrading land and maritime trade routes between China and Europe, Asia and Africa. Kenya had planned to open an industrial park in Naivasha, offering companies tax breaks for investing in manufacturing, and preferential tariffs for electricity generated in the nearby geothermal fields.
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| A 75-year-old cruise ship passenger jumped overboard a Carnival-owned ship between Portugal and Spain (CCL) Posted: 15 Oct 2019 11:14 AM PDT  A Costa Cruises representative said the woman "voluntarily" jumped from the balcony in her cabin on the Costa Pacifica ship.
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| UAE to launch new low-cost airline Posted: 16 Oct 2019 06:47 AM PDT  Abu Dhabi's giant Etihad Airways and Sharjah's low-cost carrier Air Arabia announced Wednesday an agreement to launch a new low-cost airline based in the United Arab Emirates capital. Etihad Airways posted a loss in 2018 for the third year running, it said earlier this year, blaming investment losses and challenging market conditions. The new Air Arabia Abu Dhabi will be launched in "due course", Tony Douglas, CEO of Etihad Aviation Group, said in a statement issued by the two Emirati carriers.
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| Atheists, Secular Groups Up in Arms Over State Department Boosting Pompeo’s ‘Christian Leader’ Speech Posted: 15 Oct 2019 12:46 PM PDT  Joe Raedle/GettyThe U.S. Constitution protects the separation of church and state—but evidently not church and State Department, which came under fire for promoting a "Being a Christian Leader" speech Monday on its website.The speech, delivered by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at a meeting of American Association of Christian Counselors on Friday, saw Pompeo discuss the influence of his faith on his work as a U.S. official. On Monday, the State Department shared the speech at the top of its website, ahead of more pressing department issues, like U.S. involvement in Turkey's invasion of Syria. The speech and the State Department's promotion of the video breached the divide between church and state, leaders from secular and atheist communities say."Secretary Pompeo's speech was pure proselytization," Sarah Levin, director of governmental affairs at the Secular Coalition for America told The Daily Beast. During the speech, which he gave in his capacity as Secretary of State, Pompeo stated that "I know some people in the media will break out the pitchforks when they hear that I ask God for direction in my work."His personal faith isn't the problem, Levin said. It's when it dictates his actions as Secretary of State, or when those beliefs top the State Department website."To be clear, we don't judge Secretary Pompeo for being a Christian or for connecting what he's achieved to his faith, but it's unacceptable and a violation of separation of church and state for him to take those beliefs and apply them to policy that affects the American public," Levin said, "and it's just as wrong from him to elevation Christianity above other faiths as it is to elevate Christianity above non-faiths."Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, echoed Levin. "It's perfectly fine for Secretary Pompeo to be a leader who is Christian," Laser said in a statement. "But he cannot use his government position to impose his faith on the rest of us—that is a fundamental violation of the separation of religion and government. Secretary Pompeo's speech on how being a Christian leader informs his decision-making and the posting of the speech on the State Department website send the clear message that U.S. public policy will be guided by his personal religious beliefs."Pompeo has previously indicated that his religious beliefs factored into his policy decisions as a government official. In a March interview with Christian Broadcasting Network, Pompeo was asked whether President Donald Trump had been raised by God "to help save the Jewish people from the Iranian menace.""As a Christian, I certainly believe that's possible," Pompeo answered.The secular website Patheos has tracked Pompeo's comments for years, including a 2015 speech in which he opposed same-sex marriage and stated that "we will continue to fight these battles, it is a never ending struggle… until the rapture."In a 2014 speech at a Kansas church, Pompeo cast Islam as the greatest "threat to America" and urged that "we make sure that we pray and stand and fight and make sure that we know that Jesus Christ our savior is truly the only solution for our world."Nick Fish, president of American Atheists said Pomeo's Friday speech wasn't surprising, given his record."As disappointing as it is to see the State Department parroting Christian nationalist talking points, it isn't a surprise. But this goes above and beyond the obvious problem of Secretary Pompeo promoting one religious worldview on taxpayers' dime," Fish told The Daily Beast. "The bigger issue is that the State Department is being led by a man who genuinely believes that politics is 'a never-ending struggle... until the rapture.'"Levin said the Trump administration has consistently pushed at the boundary between church and state. "This administration has pursued an agenda of Christian nationalism," she said. She pointed to two other questionable incidents this weekend. On Friday, Attorney General Bill Barr gave a speech blaming "the growing ascendancy of secularism" for depression, mental illness, violence, and the opioid epidemic. On Saturday, Trump gave a speech to religious leaders proclaiming that "forever and always, Americans will believe in the cause of freedom, the power of prayer, and the eternal glory of God."Levin called the trio of speeches a "triple threat.""This is not unusual rhetoric we've seen from officials," she said, "but it is unusual to see Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, clear-cut abuse, these officials violating the separation of church and state."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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| 'They were sent to the slaughter': Mexico mourns 13 police killed in cartel ambush Posted: 15 Oct 2019 03:20 PM PDT  Ambush the latest in string of brazen attacks by Mexico's drug cartels, as President Amlo defends strategy to halt the violenceFamily members and fellow officers mourn pay tribute to the officers killed in an ambush on Monday. At least 30 gunmen opened fire on the convoy of state police officers. Photograph: Enrique Castro/AFP via Getty ImagesWith an AR-15 assault rifle in his hand and six spare magazines across his chest, the burly policemen looked nothing if not intimidating as he prepared to attend a memorial service for 13 fellow officers who were killed in an ambush in western Mexico on Monday.Inside, he didn't feel so tough."We feel impotent, we feel alone," the officer said, asking for his name not be used for fear of reprisals from his superiors. "We don't have any support."At least 30 gunmen opened fire on the convoy of state police officers as they drove along a rural road in the municipality of Aguililla in the state of Michoacán early on Monday morning.The ambush was the latest in a string of brazen attacks by the Jalisco New Generation cartel (known by its Spanish initials CJNG), and represents a direct challenge to Andrés Manuel López Obrador's promise to end Mexico's security crisis while avoiding direct conflict with organized crime groups.President López Obrador, widely known as Amlo, insists the military-led offensives against the cartels pursued by his two predecessors have only made things worse, and has instead focused on crime prevention. Meanwhile, a 70,000-strong militarized police force called the National Guard has drawn criticism for being used heavily to keep migrants from reaching the US border.Asked about the ambush on Tuesday, Amlo said the government would continue with its strategy. "This is a violent area, and we are going to continue attending to the causes of this kind of social decomposition," he said.According to Falko Ernst, Mexico analyst of the Crisis Group, the problem is that this focus on the long term is allowing entrenched conflicts, like the one in Michoacán, to spin out of control."There is no short-term strategy," he said. "At the very least, these groups are getting the message that the leash is loose – and it makes sense for them to test how far they can go."Monday's ambush was claimed by the CJNG, which is currently fighting to seize the region known as Tierra Caliente – the Hot Land – from a litany of other armed groups.These include the remnants of older cartels partially dismantled by government offensives of the past (such as the once-dominant Knights Templar), former armed vigilante groups and the different police forces – all of which are deeply corroded by links to organized crime.The memorial service in Morelia. Photograph: Enrique Castro/AFP via Getty ImagesTwo active officers and one former officer at Tuesday's memorial services, speaking on condition of anonymity, accepted that the state police force is riddled with corruption.They blamed the commanders who they said gave their subordinates no choice but to follow orders – even if these were orders meant acting in ways that favoured the interests of criminal groups.They also said that they suspected senior commanders knew of an impending attack when they sent the officers to Aguililla to serve a a warrant related to a dispute in a family court.One officer said it was almost unheard of for police to go into that area without an army escort because it is known to be so dangerous."They were sent to the slaughter," she said. "There is a lot of anger."While the police officers at the memorial service held in the state capital Morelia remained stony-faced, several grieving relatives were not so restrained.A speech by Governor Silvando Aureoles – who called for all Mexico to stand together to against criminals "who are on the lowest rung of the human ladder" –was greeted with tepid applause.But as he left a smattering of female voices screamed out "¡Asesino!" and a small group began a chant of "Justicia." Though their voices faded, their sentiment prompted mumblings of agreement throughout the crowd."This ceremony is a mockery – a chance for the bosses to pretend that they care," said the brother of one officer, whose death leaves his five-months pregnant wife and one-year-old child without support. "We are only here so that he is not forgotten."
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| Shooting kills 6 in Puerto Rico, leads to emergency meeting Posted: 15 Oct 2019 05:00 PM PDT  Puerto Rico's governor called an emergency meeting Tuesday after six people were killed in a mass shooting in a San Juan housing project and gunfire left two people dead a day earlier in the island's north. A police statement said the violence left five men and one woman dead. The brazen murders led Gov. Wanda Vázquez to convene a gathering of her security team, led by public security chief Elmer Román and justice secretary Dennise Longo Quiñones.
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| 5 key takeaways from the Democratic debate in Ohio Posted: 15 Oct 2019 09:24 PM PDT  Warren is treated like the front-runner, a "healthy" Bernie returns to the debate stage with key endorsements in his pocket and more.
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| Everything Google Revealed at Its NYC Pixel Event Posted: 15 Oct 2019 08:44 AM PDT |
| Texas pastors seek federal action after police shoot black woman in her home Posted: 16 Oct 2019 03:07 PM PDT  Jefferson's killing on Saturday by a rookie Fort Worth officer was the latest in a string of fatal shootings that has made the city's African American community wary of police, said Pastor Kyev Tatum.
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| A British family has been deported after a wrong turn led to nearly 2 weeks in ICE detention. Here's how they got entangled in a US immigration nightmare. Posted: 16 Oct 2019 07:06 PM PDT  The Connors' story shows how just one unintentional violation of US immigration law can land a family in weeks of detention in an unfamiliar country.
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| Putin signals Russia's return to Africa with summit Posted: 16 Oct 2019 07:08 PM PDT  President Vladimir Putin hosts dozens of African leaders next week as Russia seeks to reassert its influence on the continent and beyond. The heads of some 35 African countries are expected for the first Africa-Russia Summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi next Wednesday and Thursday. For Putin, the summit is a chance to revive Soviet-era relationships and build new alliances, bolstering Moscow's global clout in the face of confrontation with the West.
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| 7-story building collapses in Brazil; 1 dead, others trapped Posted: 15 Oct 2019 01:09 PM PDT  A seven-story building collapsed Tuesday in an upscale part of the Brazilian city of Fortaleza, killing one person and leaving others trapped with some communicating with family members by cellphone from under debris, officials said. Fire department commander Cleyton Bezerra said 10 people were missing, though it was unclear if they were under the rubble or just unreachable by relatives and friends. Authorities in the city of 2.6 million inhabitants in Brazil's northeast said two trapped people were communicating with relatives and rescuers by phone.
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| How Nazi Germany Crushed France During World War II (It Wasn't Luck) Posted: 15 Oct 2019 11:00 PM PDT  Leadership was critical.
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| Three US diplomats held near Russian test site where mystery blast killed five Posted: 16 Oct 2019 10:18 AM PDT  * Russian foreign ministry says trio 'obviously got lost' * August explosion caused radiation levels to surgeA Russian navy official works on the Akula nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine at the Severodvinsk site in July. The August explosion there killed at least five people. Photograph: Sergei Bobylev/TassThree American diplomats were briefly detained in Russia near the military test site where a mysterious explosion released radiation in August, several Russia state news agencies have reported.The US embassy has confirmed the incident, the Interfax news service reported, but said the three diplomats had filed the proper paperwork to travel in the area.The Russian foreign ministry said the diplomats had named a different city as their destination and had "obviously got lost".The report comes just days after the United States said the accident was caused by a nuclear reaction when Russia tried to retrieve a nuclear-powered cruise missile from the Barents Sea.The diplomats were detained on Monday on a train in the city of Severodvinsk, near where Russian authorities said they had been testing a rocket engine with a nuclear component before the accident took place.The diplomats, who have been identified by Interfax as military attaches, were later released, but could face administrative charges for traveling in a restricted military area, agencies reported.In a statement, the Russian foreign ministry confirmed that the diplomats were on an official trip and had informed the Russian defence ministry of their plans."Only, they said their intention was to visit Arkhangelsk and they ended up en route to Severodvinsk," the ministry said."They obviously got lost. We are ready to give the US embassy a map of Russia," the ministry added.The blast at the military test site in August killed at least five people and caused panic after radiation levels jumped to 16 times their normal levels in nearby Severodvinsk.Russian authorities have given little information about the accident. But a US diplomat this week said that the accident took place when Russia attempted to retrieve a nuclear-powered cruise missile called Burevestnik from the Barents Sea."The United States has determined that the explosion near Nyonoksa was the result of a nuclear reaction that occurred during the recovery of a Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile," Thomas DiNanno, the diplomat, said during a speech at the UN.Russia's plans for a nuclear-powered cruise missile that could in theory fly indefinitely were first revealed by Vladimir Putin during a speech last year. The missile is still undergoing testing, and some weapons experts doubt if it can ever be made operable.Russia's military was attempting to retrieve the missile from another failed 2017 test when the accident took place.It was not immediately clear whether the diplomats were traveling to or from Nyonoksa, the village near the military testing site, when they were detained. But train timetables would indicate they were returning from the village when they were arrested close to 6pm in Severodvinsk.Russia has maintained a shroud of secrecy around the incident, closing off waters in the White Sea to foreign ships to prevent them from collecting information about the explosion.
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| Trump imposed sanctions on Turkey only after advisers explained to him the obvious consequences of letting it invade Syria, report says Posted: 15 Oct 2019 10:15 AM PDT  President Donald Trump has defended pulling back US forces in Syria, but he was warned Monday that the decision could yet cause further catastrophe.
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| Joe Biden, Bleeding Cash, Spent Nearly $1 Million on Private Jets Posted: 16 Oct 2019 09:34 AM PDT  REUTERSJoe Biden's presidential campaign is bleeding cash. And a big reason why appears to be an antiquated, higher-end approach to electoral politics that the former vice president has adopted. Biden's team spent more than $923,000 on private jets during the third quarter of 2019, according to recently filed Federal Election Commission data. The expenses, all made to the company EJCR, LLC Dba Advanced Aviation Team, represented a major chunk of change—accounting for roughly one out of every 16 dollars the campaign raised. It's not uncommon for candidates to lean on private jets as they crisscross the country in an effort to keep a schedule packed with speeches, rallies, and debates. But a review of Biden's expenditures suggest that a good deal of what he's spending money on currently involve efforts to simply raise more money. The former vice president spent more than $230,000 on "fundraising consultants" during Q3; nearly $500,000 on direct mail; and major chunks of change on high-end hotels in cities that serve as donor hubs but aren't centrally located in early-voting states. During the third quarter period, the Biden campaign spent more than $20,000 at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City; more than $14,000 at the Coronado Island Marriott in San Diego; more than $4,400 at the Hotel Jerome Auberge in Aspen; more than $10,500 at the W Hotel in Los Angeles, and more than $3,000 at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho. While the campaign's major expenses involved traditional campaign functions like payroll (which was nearly $9 million), office rentals, and digital advertising, the campaign also spent heavily on consultants—including several big-named aides. During Q3, the Biden campaign spent $228,378 on research consultants and $150,400 on "strategic consultants." The firm Anzalone Liszt Grove Research Inc., run by longtime Biden pollster John Anzalone, received more than $122,000 for polling. And two well-known Biden advisers, Bruce Reed and Anthony Blinken, received $35,000 and $10,500 respectively for "policy consulting." Asked what type of policy work he was doing, Reed told The Daily Beast only: "Domestic." Collectively, the expenditures have taken a toll on the Biden campaign's bottom line and raised questions about its long-term viability. Overall, Biden currently has less than $9 million cash on-hand after taking in roughly $15.7 million during Q3 and spending $17.6 million during that same period.Asked for comment, a Biden aide noted that some of the cost of the private jet travel was for carbon offsets. As for the broader financial picture, Biden, standing outside of the IBEW Electrical Trade Center in Columbus, Ohio, told reporters that he was not worried about his campaign's financial situation. "We are doing fine. Fundraising is building, we've raised a lot of money online, and we've raised money offline as well. So we feel confident we're going to be ready," said Biden.But Democrats who have worked on past campaigns that bled cash recognize some similarities. "When you are a candidate running for president, the other thing to keep in mind is, it is a difficult and rigorous schedule, and to the extent there are creature comforts that people have, they are going to do whatever they can to make the person comfortable," said Phil Singer, who worked as a press hand for Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign, which also ended up in difficult financial straits. "But it is something they will have to solve fairly soon. Money, after all, doesn't grow on trees."—With additional reporting from Jackie Kucinich.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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| Man held after Dutch family found locked away in secret farmhouse room Posted: 16 Oct 2019 01:35 AM PDT  A man who paid the rent on a Dutch farmhouse where six members of a family were found locked away in a secret room will appear in court on Thursday on charges of unlawful detention and harming others' health, prosecutors said. Five siblings, estimated to be aged between 18 and 25, and a man they identified as their ailing father were found at the farm near Ruinerwold, a village in the province of Drenthe where they had apparently lived in isolation for years. "The man is suspected at this stage of the investigation of involvement in unlawful detention and injuring the health of others," the statement said.
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| After 30 days, GM-UAW talks suddenly face a deadline. Here's why the clock is ticking Posted: 16 Oct 2019 06:23 AM PDT  GM's executives have until Thursday to draft a provisional plan that UAW leaders will accept and turn into a tentative agreement for its members.
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| Noah: Democratic Party is like a club on Tuesday night; anyone can get in Posted: 16 Oct 2019 10:40 AM PDT  A look at the most recent debate in Best of Late Night
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| Judge says lawsuit against Harvard law professor can proceed Posted: 16 Oct 2019 04:02 PM PDT ![Judge says lawsuit against Harvard law professor can proceed]( "Judge says lawsuit against Harvard law professor can proceed") A woman who went public with claims she was a teenage victim of Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking ring can move toward trial with her defamation lawsuit against Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, a judge ruled Wednesday as she disqualified a law firm from representing her. U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska rejected Dershowitz's effort to toss out the lawsuit, but she granted his request to disqualify Boies Schiller Flexner LLP from the case. Dershowitz had sought to toss out the case on several grounds, including that the statute of limitations had passed.
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| Meet USS Barb: The Navy's Special World War II Submarine That Terrified Japan Posted: 15 Oct 2019 03:00 PM PDT  It sank the most Japanese vessels by tonnage.
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| US weather: 'Bomb cyclone' expected to lash northeast with fierce winds and rain Posted: 16 Oct 2019 12:44 PM PDT  A potential bomb cyclone is expected to hit the Northeast of the US Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Boston.New York City, Boston, and Maine will be affected, among other New England locations. It follows last week's storm in the same area, which brought strong winds to beach's along the East Coast.
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| A N.J. school district wants to ban students from attending prom if they have more than $75 in school lunch debt Posted: 16 Oct 2019 03:47 PM PDT  A school district in New Jersey passed a new policy this week that will allow schools to bar students from attending prom if they have a school lunch debt above $75.
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| Pelosi to Delay House Vote on Impeachment Inquiry Posted: 16 Oct 2019 08:49 AM PDT  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders have decided to delay a full House vote on whether to open an impeachment inquiry into President Trump, according to Politico.Several centrist Democrats facing difficult reelection bids, as well as powerful committee chairmen, reportedly were opposed to taking the vote."There's no requirement that we have a vote, and at this time, we will not have a vote," Pelosi commented to reporters on Tuesday. "We're not here to call bluffs. We're here to find the truth, to uphold the Constitution of the United States."The refusal by Democrats to authorize an impeachment inquiry with a full House-wide vote has drawn the ire of Republicans who claim the move is at odds with historical precedent."Unfortunately, you have given no clear indication as to how your impeachment inquiry will proceed — including whether key historical precedents or basic standards of due process will be observed," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) wrote in a letter to Pelosi in September.White House counsel Pat Cipollone wrote a letter to Pelosi on October 8, calling the impeachment inquiry "constitutionally invalid" without a full House vote.Democratic leadership announced the opening of an inquiry after allegations surfaced that President Trump tried to improperly pressure the president of Ukraine to conduct investigations damaging to political rival Joe Biden.
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| Turkey slams 'dirty deal' between Syria's Assad and Kurdish forces Posted: 15 Oct 2019 11:01 AM PDT  Turkey dismissed global opposition to its military operation in Syria on Tuesday and slammed a "dirty deal" between President Bashar al-Assad's regime and Kurdish forces as US troops began their withdrawal from the battle zone. Turkey's operation against Kurdish militants in Syria, launched a week ago, has been widely criticised by the international community, with the US, a NATO ally, slapping sanctions on Ankara. "We will continue to combat all terrorist groups, including Daesh (the Islamic State group), whether or not the world agrees to support our efforts," Fahrettin Altun, communications director at the Turkish presidency, told AFP.
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| U.S. Supreme Court wrestles over 'D.C. Sniper' life sentence appeal Posted: 16 Oct 2019 11:45 AM PDT  U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday questioned whether a lower court sufficiently considered that a man convicted in the deadly 2002 "D.C. Sniper" shooting spree in the Washington area was a minor at the time of the crimes when he was sentenced to life in prison. The nine justices heard arguments in an appeal by the state of Virginia objecting to the lower court's decision ordering that Lee Boyd Malvo's sentence of life in prison without parole be thrown out. The most likely contender based on questions he asked during the argument would be Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
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| Hiker Digs Up 1,000-Year-Old Iron Weapon Posted: 15 Oct 2019 07:49 AM PDT  Climate change melted away the ancient arrowhead.
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| The Amelia Earhart Mystery Stays Down in the Deep Posted: 15 Oct 2019 05:22 AM PDT  For two weeks in August, a multimillion-dollar search from air, land and sea sought to solve the 80-year mystery of Amelia Earhart's disappearance.Robert Ballard, the ocean explorer famous for locating the wreck of the Titanic, led a team that discovered two hats in the depths. It found debris from an old shipwreck. It even spotted a soda can. What it did not find was a single piece of the Lockheed Electra airplane flown in 1937 by Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan, which vanished during their doomed voyage around the world.Ballard and his crew don't consider it a failure. For one thing, he says, they know where the plane isn't. And in the process, they may have dispensed with one clue that has driven years of speculation, while a team of collaborating archaeologists potentially turned up more hints at the aviator's fate."This plane exists," Ballard said. "It's not the Loch Ness monster, and it's going to be found."Ballard had avoided the Earhart mystery for decades, dismissing the search area as too large, until he was presented with a clue he found irresistible. Kurt Campbell, then a senior official in President Barack Obama's State Department, shared with him what is known as the Bevington image -- a photo taken by a British officer in 1940 at what is now known as Nikumaroro, an atoll in the Phoenix Islands in the Republic of Kiribati. American intelligence analysts had enhanced the image at Campbell's request and concluded a blurry object in it was consistent with landing gear from Earhart's plane.Motivated by this clue, and by 30 years of research on Nikumaroro by the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, Ballard and his crew set a course for the island in August. They were joined by archaeologists from the National Geographic Society, which sponsored and documented the journey for "Expedition Amelia," which will air on the National Geographic Channel on Sunday.Ballard and Allison Fundis, the Nautilus' chief operating officer, coordinated an elaborate plan of attack. First, they sent the ship five times around the island to map it with multibeam sonar and deployed a floating autonomous surface vehicle to map shallower areas off the island's shore. They also used four aerial drones for additional inspections of the surrounding reef.Nikumaroro and its reef are just the tip of a 16,000-foot underwater mountain, a series of 13 sheer escarpments that drop off onto ramps, eventually fanning out at the base for 6 nautical miles.If Earhart crashed there, they believe, rising tides would have dragged her plane over the reef and down the escarpments. Fragments should have collected on the ramps, especially heavier components like the engine and the radio.In deeper water the team deployed the Hercules and the Argus, remotely operated vehicles equipped with spotlights and high-definition cameras. These robots descended 650 feet around the entire island and found nothing.At that point, the crew focused on the northwest corner of the island near the S.S. Norwich City, a British freighter that ran aground on the island in 1929, eight years before Earhart's disappearance. That is the area where the Bevington photo was taken.While they searched there, crew members found so many beach rocks consistent in size and shape with the supposed landing gear in the Bevington image that it became a joke on the ship."Oh look," Ballard would chuckle, "another landing gear rock."Fundis said, "We felt like if her plane was there, we would have found it pretty early in the expedition." But she said they kept up their morale because Ballard reminded them that it took four missions to find the Titanic and that one of those expeditions missed the ship by just under 500 feet.The crew mapped the mountain's underwater drainage patterns and searched the gullies that might have carried plane fragments down slope, to a depth of 8,500 feet. Crew members even searched roughly 4 nautical miles out to sea in case the plane lifted off the reef intact and glided underwater as it sank.Each time a new search tactic yielded nothing, Ballard said, he felt he was adding "nail after nail after nail" to the coffin of the Nikumaroro hypothesis.Still, Ballard and Fundis confess that other clues pointing to Nikumaroro have left them with lingering curiosity about whether Earhart crashed there. For instance, Panamerican Airway radio direction finders on Wake Island; Midway Atoll; and Honolulu, Hawaii; each picked up distress signals from Earhart and took bearings, which triangulated in the cluster of islands that includes Nikumaroro.For years, many Earhart historians have been skeptical of the Nikumaroro theory. And Ballard, Fundis and their team's return to the island will now depend on whether the archaeologists from the National Geographic Society came up with evidence that Earhart's body was there.Fredrik Hiebert, the society's archaeologist in residence, has some leads. His team awaits DNA analysis on soil samples taken at a bivouac shelter found on the island.The camp, known as the Seven Site for its shape, was first noticed by a British officer in 1940. Thirteen bones were gathered then and sent to a colonial doctor in Fiji, who determined they belonged to a European man. The bones were subsequently lost.Decades later, the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, or TIGHAR, tracked down the doctor's analysis. Richard Jantz, director emeritus of the Forensic Anthropology Center at the University of Tennessee, determined that the bones most likely belonged to a woman and that Earhart's build was "more similar to the Nikumaroro bones than 99% of individuals in a large reference sample."Since the 1980s, Tighar has conducted 12 expeditions to Nikumaroro in an effort to find more skeletal remains. It turned up other items from a castaway's existence at the camp but never any bones or DNA.Hiebert's team is hoping to use new techniques to identify evidence of mitochondrial DNA with similarities to Earhart's living relatives in the 22 soil samples they collected.Before the expedition, Hiebert and Erin Kimmerle, a forensic anthropologist, visited the National Museum in Tarawa, Kiribati's capital. On an unmarked shelf, Kimmerle spotted remnants of a female skull. The team now awaits DNA analysis of the specimen.In 2021, the Nautilus will be in the South Pacific fulfilling a contract to map underwater U.S. territories. That will bring the ship to the area around Howland Island, Earhart's intended destination for refueling before her plane disappeared. Ballard and Fundis plan to make time to explore the alternate theory favored by some skeptics of the Nikumaroro hypothesis: that Earhart crashed at sea closer to Howland.Fundis considers Earhart a role model, which gives her the "fuel to keep going," she said.And Ballard explained his own motivation to continue the search."In many ways, I'm doing this for my mother," he said, describing her as a "brilliant woman" who grew up in Kansas, like Earhart, but dropped out of college to raise three children and care for her sister.His mother, Hariett Ballard, admired Earhart and hoped she might pave the way for her children, or perhaps grandchildren, to pursue adventurous careers. Robert Ballard's daughter, Emily Ballard, was among the crew of the Nautilus, hunting for Earhart's plane."I'm not giving up," he said.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| Paris says Iran has detained 2nd French researcher Posted: 16 Oct 2019 08:53 AM PDT ![Paris says Iran has detained 2nd French researcher]( "Paris says Iran has detained 2nd French researcher") Iran has been holding a second French researcher in custody for months, France's foreign ministry said Wednesday, denouncing the detention as "unacceptable" and demanding his release. The confirmation that Roland Marchal is being held in Iran — as well as his fellow-academic Fariba Adelkhah — comes at a time of high tensions and diplomatic maneuvering in the Persian Gulf. French President Emmanuel Macron has sought to serve as a mediator between Tehran and Washington over Iran's nuclear program.
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| Is the U.S. Army In Decline? Posted: 16 Oct 2019 04:00 PM PDT  What is the Army doing to stay at the top of the pack?
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| ‘Barbaric’: DLA Piper Partner Who Said Boss Assaulted Her Four Times Has Been Put on Leave Posted: 16 Oct 2019 12:16 PM PDT  Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photos HandoutThe junior partner at top-grossing law firm DLA Piper who claimed she was sexually assaulted four times by her boss in 2018 has been placed on paid administrative leave.Vanina Guerrero, who works out of the multinational firm's Silicon Valley corporate practice, filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission earlier this month, claiming that the $2.84-billion firm discriminated against her and retaliated when she complained of the alleged assaults. The complaint identified her boss, DLA Piper partner Louis Lehot, as the man who allegedly assaulted her in Shanghai, Brazil, Palo Alto, and Chicago."During my entire career I was known for my intellect, tenacity and confidence," Guerrero, who is married with children, wrote in an open letter to the firm earlier this month. "In less than nine months at DLA Piper... I became a shell of my former self." In her letter, Guerrero asked the firm to allow her to litigate the matter in court instead of through forced arbitration. A spokesman for the law firm has said the company took appropriate steps to investigate the allegations against Lehot as soon as they were reported and that the company "takes them seriously."Lehot has since left the firm, the company said last week."Despite the fact that the allegations have not been substantiated by the investigation to date, the firm has concluded for various reasons that it is in the best interest of the firm that we part ways with Louis Lehot," three executives wrote in a memo, Bloomberg Business reported.But on Tuesday, the firm sent a letter to Guerrero claiming that "during the course of our investigation of your allegations against Louis Lehot, another individual at the firm alleged that you engaged in inappropriate behavior toward, and harassed, that individual.""DLA Piper takes allegations of harassment seriously, regardless of the position or gender of the individual making those allegations or against whom they are made," said the letter, which was provided to The Daily Beast by Guerrero's attorney. "Unfortunately, you continue to refuse to cooperate with that investigation, including refusing to discuss the allegations that have been made against you. Indeed, you refused to do so despite our stated willingness to allow your counsel to be present during the interview."The memo states that Guerrero is barred from going to the Silicon Valley office or engaging in any of the firm's business until the investigation has concluded—and that DLA Piper has retained an outside firm to probe the matter.Guerrero's attorney, Jeanne Christensen, said in a statement on Wednesday that the letter was sent overnight to media outlets "across the country" in an attempt "to publicly smear" Guerrero "for daring to complain about being sexually assaulted."Christensen called the move "barbaric" and unprecedented."To be clear, as of the writing of this email, our firm and Ms. Guerrero have no knowledge or information about the purported 'harassment,'" she added. "The message is loud and clear: MeToo movement or not—speaking out about gender motivated violence will result in untold harm, damage and pain to you personally and professionally."Junior Partner at Silicon Valley Law Firm DLA Piper: Boss Sexually Assaulted Me 4 Times, Company Ignored ItRead 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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| Inside the Hong Kong families left broken divided over months of violent protest Posted: 15 Oct 2019 10:00 PM PDT  The Wongs had always been a close-knit family. But a brooding disagreement over Hong Kong's worst political crisis in decades erupted in a bitter argument at a relative's funeral in August saw father and son angrily throw tea at each other. Brian, a 37-year-old teacher and the family's eldest son, was among the shocked onlookers as a table was overturned when the two men could no longer contain their emotions over the city's fractured politics. "I've never seen my father so angry," he said. The pro-democracy movement, now entering its fifth month, has taken a heavy toll on Hong Kong families as the middle ground between the city's polarised political camps narrows, causing personal rifts that may take years to heal. Brian fears his father and younger brother may never speak to each other again. "Before the movement our family was harmonious and could talk about politics," he said. "But as the situation has escalated we have become gradually divided." In June, his parents, although politically more "blue", or pro-Beijing, did not oppose the participation of Brian and William, 35, in the more peaceful mass rallies against a controversial bill that would have allowed the extradition of criminal suspects to China. Brian's family was once close-knit and used to talk openly about politics Credit: Nicola Smith "At first, they just warned us to be careful," said Brian. "But [later] my father did not agree with the actions of the more radical protesters, saying they just wanted to become famous by destroying things, including the national emblem and flags," he added. William, on the other hand, like many in the so-called "yellow" pro-democracy camp, had been angered by heavy-handed police tactics and violent attacks on protesters, including a shocking mass assault on members of the public at the Yuen Long metro station by triad members in July. Father and son have not communicated since their heated argument nearly ended in blows. William stopped his weekly visits to the family home and his parents did not call him on his birthday in October. "My father said that if William doesn't take the initiative to talk to him, he doesn't want to see him…My mother is normally the mediator, but even she doesn't have a solution," said Brian. The summer of huge, sometimes violent, pro-democracy protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese city have been cross-generational but are overwhelming led by the young. Academic research has shown that half of those at rallies are between 20 and 30 years old, reported the Hong Kong Free Press. An anti-government protester throws a Molotov cocktail in Hong Kong Credit: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters Ideological splits are becoming more common in families across the city of 7.5 million, where middle-aged parents are more supportive of the government or, fearful of Beijing's authoritarian leaders, are more accepting of the status quo, while their children take to the streets to push for universal suffrage. The generational divide is fueled in part by the sources of information different age groups consume. While younger people glean information from Twitter, Telegram, Whatsapp and other open social media channels, Brian said his parents, both born in China, believed the protests were receiving financial support based on reports on pro-China media or on WeChat, a Chinese messaging app. A WeChat video of a brutal protesters' assault on a taxi driver, shared by his mother and her friends, did not reveal that the taxi had driven into a demonstration moments before, seriously injuring a young woman. Isaac, 20, a psychology student who has been on the protest frontlines since June, said his parents' fixation on pro-establishment media, which he felt distorted the truth, was a big factor in his decision to leave home. "The major argument with my family was over watching TV channels…I tried to teach them to use other TV channels and watch different medias..I wanted to expose them to a better news source," he said. Their disputes grew as clashes between protesters and the riot police spiraled. "In July, they asked me to obey the law, and constantly urged me not to go out. In August, the police were very brutal, and we had some arguments about the law and the current police brutality," he said. Many thousands of protesters met for a peaceful mass rally on Monday to ask for US help in the crisis Credit: Vivek Prakash/REX Isaac gave up his part-time job to focus on the pro-democracy movement, and became fearful that the police would come looking for him at home. Meanwhile, his pro-government family criticised the protesters for damaging the public transport system, affecting their commute to work. "I asked them why they didn't live in China, if they believed China was all right. We had arguments over money, and my father asked me who will carry the responsibility in this family if he couldn't get to work. After that they asked me to leave." The student initially moved into the notoriously cramped Chungking Mansions hostel before he was offered a room by a stranger, who had been alerted to his plight by the movement's social media channels. Isaac said he remained unmoved by the estrangement with his family over politics. "When I left my parent's home, I felt very cold and lacked emotion," he said. "My parents are the kind of people who want a safety net and I knew that they cared a lot about "face"." Some names have been changed
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| Trump's presidency is disintegrating as he faces his worst 30 days since taking office Posted: 16 Oct 2019 02:56 AM PDT  President Donald Trump has weathered scandal after scandal — but a perfect storm of whistleblowers and policy blunders is descending.
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| Democratic presidential candidate Wayne Messam appears to raise $5 over the last quarter Posted: 15 Oct 2019 04:06 PM PDT  Wayne Messam has spent no money over the last quarter and has struggled in fundraising over the campaign cycle, only raising a total of about $94,000 so far.
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| Dark web child porn bust leads to 338 arrests worldwide Posted: 16 Oct 2019 07:38 AM PDT  Law enforcement officials said on Wednesday they had arrested hundreds of people worldwide after knocking out a South Korea-based dark web child pornography site that sold gruesome videos for digital cash. Officials from the United States, Britain and South Korea described the network as one of the largest child pornography operations they had encountered to date. Called Welcome To Video, the website relied on the bitcoin cryptocurrency to sell access to 250,000 videos depicting child sexual abuse, authorities said, including footage of extremely young children being raped.
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| Nigeria town celebrates claim as 'twins capital' of world Posted: 15 Oct 2019 08:00 PM PDT  To celebrate its self-proclaimed title the town hosts an annual festival, now in its second year, that draws hundreds of sets of twins from around the country. Donning different traditional clothes and costumes, the twins -- male and female, old, young and even newborns -- sang and danced at the latest edition this weekend to the appreciation of an admiring audience.
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| Boston pension votes to fire money manager Fisher, withdrawals surge toward $1 billion Posted: 16 Oct 2019 12:48 PM PDT  The City of Boston's retirement board on Wednesday voted unanimously to end its relationship with money manager Kenneth Fisher, whose firm has lost almost $1 billion in assets after allegations he made disparaging remarks about women last week. In addition, on Wednesday evening an official of the Los Angeles pension system for police and firefighters said it will review the roughly $500 million it has invested with Fisher's firm. "As with other pension funds, we are very concerned with the inappropriate comments made by Mr. Fisher," said the Los Angeles system's general manager, Ray Ciranna, via e-mail.
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| Asian shares mixed on caution over China-US trade deal Posted: 16 Oct 2019 10:12 PM PDT  Asian shares were mixed Thursday after officials signaled work remains to be done on an agreement for a truce in the tariff war between the U.S. and China. Hong Kong led regional gains after its chief executive, Carrie Lam, announced help for the property sector. The Hang Seng index added 0.7% to 26,863.25 as real estate companies advanced.
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| 'Just a matter of time' before president removed following impeachment testimony: Former Trump aide Posted: 15 Oct 2019 07:39 AM PDT  President Trump's ex-national security adviser, John Bolton, reportedly urged former Russia adviser Fiona Hill to warn the White House about a campaign to pressure Ukraine directed by the president's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, describing the latter as a "hand grenade who's going to blow everybody up."
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| Iran's So-Called New Fighter Jet Is Most Likely a Scam (Sort Of) Posted: 15 Oct 2019 09:00 PM PDT  Or just another F-5 ripoff?
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| Tulsi Gabbard Calls Syria ‘Regime Change War,’ Mayor Pete Buttigieg Says She’s ‘Dead Wrong’ Posted: 15 Oct 2019 06:55 PM PDT  Shannon Stapleton/ReutersIn a tense exchange, the two military veterans in the Democratic primary sparred over President Trump's decision to pull back U.S. troops in Syria. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), who has long opposed any U.S. efforts to undermine Bashar al-Assad's brutal regime, sparred with Mayor Pete Buttigieg over how the U.S. should extract itself from the long-running conflict."Donald Trump has the blood of the Kurds on his hand, but so do many of the politicians in our country from both parties who have supported this ongoing regime change war in Syria that started in 2011, along with many in the mainstream media, who have been championing and cheerleading this regime change war," she said. Last week, Trump announced that 50 U.S. troops stationed on Syria's northern border with Turkey would be pulled deeper south into the country. After the announcement, Turkey immediately invaded, slaughtering Kurdish fighters and civilians, and horrifying the international community. The Kurds fought ISIS alongside U.S. troops, and Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. protection for them was widely viewed as a betrayal that seriously harms America's international credibility. "We need to get out, but we need to do this through a negotiated solution," Gabbard said. Buttigieg lit into Gabbard."Respectfully, Congresswoman, I think that is dead wrong," he said. "The slaughter going on in Syria is not a consequence of American presence, it is a consequence of a withdrawal and a betrayal by this president of American allies and American values. Look, I didn't think we should have gone to Iraq in the first place. I think we need to get out of Afghanistan, but it's also the case that a small number of specialized, special operations forces and intelligence capabilities were the only thing that stood between that part of Syria and what we're seeing now, which is the beginning of a genocide and the resurgence of ISIS." Gabbard pressed him on his answer, asking if he would keep the U.S. in Syria indefinitely. "You can put an end to endless war without embracing Donald Trump's policy, as you're doing," he retorted."What is an endless war if it's not a regime change war?" she replied. "What we were doing in Syria was keeping our word," he replied. The skirmish encapsulated the tension within the Democratic Party on foreign policy. But neither is wooing voters in an outsize way: Buttigieg polls at just over 5 percent of the Democratic primary vote in the RealClearPolitics polling average, while Gabbard is just under 1 percent. 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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| Romanian President Nominates Liberal Party Chief for Premier Posted: 15 Oct 2019 08:24 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Romanian president Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday nominated the leader of the Liberal Party for prime minister as he seeks to swiftly resolve months of political uncertainty before the home stretch of his own re-election campaign.Ludovic Orban will now have 10 days to patch together enough votes in parliament to win approval for a new government. He'll primarily seek backing from allies who helped oust the Black Sea country's third prime minister in as many years last week. Should two attempts to confirm a prime minister fail in row, an early election may have to be called.Orban -- who has no relation to Prime Minister Viktor Orban in neighboring Hungary -- will attempt to rally a fractured group of parties. Even if he does, it's unclear whether he'll be able to muster a reliable parliamentary majority and he may be forced to lead a minority cabinet until general elections slated for next year."We're in a political crisis and I urge politicians to consider that and quickly reach a solution that will benefit all Romanians," Iohannis said in a televised speech from Bucharest. "It will be very difficult to negotiate support for complex laws in the current parliament."Former Prime Minister Victor Ponta, one of the opposition leaders who helped Orban topple outgoing the government Viorica Dancila, has already said his lawmakers won't support a liberal government. Other parties laid out conditions in exchange for their backing.If elected, Orban said his government will focus on addressing economic imbalances and improving the business environment and restructure the administration.(Updates with comments from president, PM-designate from first paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Andra Timu in Bucharest at atimu@bloomberg.net;Irina Vilcu in Bucharest at isavu@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, Balazs Penz, Michael WinfreyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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