| Graham says he's 'increasingly optimistic' Trump's Syria strategy will succeed Posted: 21 Oct 2019 08:54 AM PDT  After spending a week railing against President Trump's decision to pull U.S. troops out of northern Syria, Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Sunday that he supports the move.
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| Truck driver indicted on 23 counts in motorcyclist deaths Posted: 21 Oct 2019 01:53 PM PDT ![Truck driver indicted on 23 counts in motorcyclist deaths]( "Truck driver indicted on 23 counts in motorcyclist deaths") A pickup truck driver accused of causing a collision that killed seven motorcyclists in New Hampshire has been indicted on 23 charges saying he negligently caused the deaths and was under the influence of one or more drugs at the time. Volodymyr Zhukovskyy , 23, of Springfield, Massachusetts, is to be arraigned by video on Nov. 5. The negligent homicide-DUI charges accuse Zhukovskyy of driving under the influence of a controlled drug or drugs at the time of the crash.
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| Spain will exhume dictator Francisco Franco's remains on Thursday Posted: 21 Oct 2019 02:24 AM PDT  Spain will on Thursday remove the 1.5-tonne slab which has covered the tomb of dictator Francisco Franco for the past 44 years and fly his remains by helicopter away from a state mausoleum, government sources told reporters on Monday. The ruling Socialists have long sought to exhume Franco's remains and turn the Valley of the Fallen complex near the capital Madrid into a memorial to the 500,000 people who were killed during the 1936-39 civil war he unleashed. A crane will lift the slab and, if the original zinc-lined wood coffin is too degraded, the dictator's remains will be transferred into a new coffin, the sources said.
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| Harry Dunn: Government knew American suspect was leaving UK Posted: 21 Oct 2019 10:01 PM PDT  The UK government was warned by the US embassy that the suspect in the crash which killed Harry Dunn was to leave the country. Mr Dunn, 19, was killed when his motorbike collided with a car near RAF Croughton, Northants, on Aug 27. Anne Sacoolas, the wife of an American diplomat, has admitted to driving on the wrong side of the road and hitting the teenager, but she returned to the US and has refused to come back. Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, told the Commons last night that the US embassy alerted them to Ms Sacoolas's "imminent" departure "unless the UK had strong objections" on Sept 13. Police were unable to arrest Ms Sacoolas as the US had not waived her diplomatic immunity. "We duly and immediately objected in clear and strong terms and we have done ever since," said Mr Raab. When the Foreign Office followed up on Sept 16, the embassy said Ms Sacoolas had returned to the US. Mr Dunn's family spokesman said the revelation "added insult to injury". Harry Dunn died in August but the driver of the car that hit him has not returned to the UK to face questioning Credit: Facebook The Foreign Secretary said the case had been raised at "every level" in the US, including with Donald Trump. In a statement, Mr Raab said: "I have already commissioned a review of the immunity arrangements of US personnel and their families at the Croughton annex I do not believe the current arrangements are right and the review will look at how we can make sure they cannot be used in this way again." Mr Raab said diplomatic immunity for Ms Sacoolas has "clearly ended". "There are no barriers to justice being done," in Harry's case he added. Harry's parents were due to meet Northamptonshire Chief Const Nick Adderley on Tuesday, but cancelled because they felt he was only able to offer condolences rather than solutions.
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| Hong Kong leader visits mosque struck by blue water-cannon dye Posted: 21 Oct 2019 11:17 AM PDT  Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leader and the city's police chief apologised Monday as they visited a mosque that was struck with blue dye from a water cannon during the latest bout of violent protests. The entrance to the Kowloon Mosque, the international hub's largest, was sprayed by a water cannon truck on Sunday, causing anger among both local Muslims and protesters. Police use the dye -- often mixed with an irritant -- as a way to identify protesters but it has frequently left streets and buildings daubed in a garish blue.
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| China Is Building 'The Mother of All Bombs': Report Posted: 21 Oct 2019 07:44 AM PDT  America already has one.
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| See Photos of 2020 Toyota Yaris Hatchback Posted: 21 Oct 2019 12:34 PM PDT |
| Seth Meyers Blasts Mulvaney and Pompeo’s Disastrous Sunday Show Spin Posted: 21 Oct 2019 09:07 PM PDT  NBCSeth Meyers had a lot of news to catch up on when he returned from vacation on Monday. And much of it had to do with the Trump administration's failed attempts to clean up its multiple calamities on the Sunday shows over the weekend. The Late Night host began with Trump's "acting" Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, who went on Fox News Sunday to explain why the president announced that he would be holding the G7 conference at his Miami Doral resort in Florida and then reversed his decision after loud protests from both sides of the political aisle. It's Not Just Ronan Farrow: NBC News Killed My Rape-Allegation Story TooStephen Colbert Mocks Mitt Romney's 'Embarrassing' Secret Twitter Account"He was honestly surprised at the level of pushback," Mulvaney said, adding, "At the end of the day, you know, he still considers himself to be in the hospitality business." "OK, first of all, he's not in the hospitality business, he's the president," Meyers said. "And second, Trump was never in the hospitality business. Hospitality is when you show warmth and compassion to guests and strangers. Trump was in the ruthless-real-estate-asshole-who-stands-like-a-baboon-on-his-hind-legs business." Later, Meyers turned to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who appeared on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos and repeatedly refused to acknowledge Mulvaney's confession that there had, in fact, been a "quid pro quo" with Ukraine. "You could see his brain short-circuit in real time," Meyers said before playing the now infamous of clip of Pompeo trying to dodge the host's questions until George Stephanopoulos stopped him in his tracks by reminding him of Mulvaney's admission. "Wow, normally when someone takes that long to answer a question on TV a red 'X' pops up on screen," Meyers joked, taking on the persona of a game show host. "Top five answers on the board, name a country that the president has colluded with." As Pompeo sat there silently, he finally said, "Sorry, the answer we were looking for was Ukraine." Sean Hannity Goes Off on Mick Mulvaney: 'I Just Think He's Dumb'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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| ‘This is oil country’: Newly painted Greta Thunberg mural defaced Posted: 21 Oct 2019 10:20 AM PDT  A mural of teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has been defaced with pro-oil and derogatory messages days after it was created.The vast artwork appears to depict the Swedish campaigner during her United Nations speech last month when she criticised world leaders for their "betrayal" of young people through their inertia over the climate crisis.
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| Trump 'like a squirrel caught in traffic' during Pentagon meeting: Aide Posted: 21 Oct 2019 10:41 AM PDT  In President Trump's first full briefing at the Defense Department, he requested a grand "Victory Day" parade with "vehicles and tanks on Main Street" and down Pennsylvania Avenue, like the "amazing" parade he'd just witnessed in France, Guy Snodgrass, a top aide to then-Defense Secretary James Mattis, recounts in his new book, "Holding the Line." "The Fourth of July is too hot," Trump added.
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| Castro says he needs $800,000 in 10 days or campaign is over Posted: 21 Oct 2019 12:29 PM PDT  Former Obama administration housing secretary Julián Castro said Monday that he'd drop out of the presidential race if he doesn't raise $800,000 in 10 days — following the lead of rival Cory Booker, who rode a similar plea to a recent uptick in donations. Last month, Booker, a New Jersey senator, made a similar request and raised $2.1 million in just 10 days , after a number of his opponents and other elected officials rallied around him and encouraged people to donate. Castro has the 165,000 donors the Democratic National Committee is requiring to qualify for the next debate but hasn't met a polling threshold showing at least 3% support in four party-approved polls.
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| Justice Department Distances Itself From Giuliani Posted: 21 Oct 2019 05:05 AM PDT  The Justice Department distanced itself Sunday from Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, declaring that department officials would not have met with Giuliani to discuss one of his clients had they known that federal prosecutors in New York were investigating two of his associates.Several weeks ago, Brian A. Benczkowski, the head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, and lawyers from the division's Fraud Section met with Giuliani to discuss a bribery case in which he and other attorneys were representing the defendants.That meeting took place before the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan publicly charged the two Giuliani associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, with breaking campaign finance laws and trying to unlawfully influence politicians, including former Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas. Parnas and Fruman were part of Giuliani's effort to push Ukraine for an inquiry into Democrats."When Mr. Benczkowski and fraud section lawyers met with Mr. Giuliani, they were not aware of any investigation of Mr. Giuliani's associates in the Southern District of New York and would not have met with him had they known," said Peter Carr, a department spokesman.The Justice Department's public statement Sunday illustrates the unusual and broad set of roles that the president's personal lawyer has played in the scandal that has engulfed the White House and imperiled Trump's presidency.Even as Giuliani ran a shadow foreign policy campaign to pressure Ukraine to investigate the president's political enemies -- which is now at the heart of an impeachment inquiry against Trump -- he and his business associates were under criminal investigation for unlawfully wielding political influence. And while all of this was happening, Giuliani still served as a lawyer to clients with cases to plead before the Justice Department.In distancing itself from Giuliani and trying to draw bright lines around how the Justice Department will and will not engage with him, the department has also undercut the perception that Giuliani can influence some of Washington's most important lawyers and decision-makers. That could make it harder for Giuliani to represent clients who are under Justice Department scrutiny in the future."This is an incredibly unusual statement from the Justice Department, which does not comment on ongoing investigations or even acknowledge them, and it's the kind of statement that would give clients pause about who is representing them," said Joyce Vance, a former federal prosecutor.Giuliani did not respond to a request for comment.While the Southern District of New York has been investigating Giuliani's associates -- an inquiry that may be tied to a broader investigation of Giuliani himself -- prosecutors there had not told Benczkowski of the Criminal Division of the case, as he does not oversee or supervise their work. The U.S. attorney's offices report to the deputy attorney general, Jeffrey A. Rosen.Prosecutors in Manhattan informed Attorney General William Barr about the investigation of Parnas and Fruman soon after he was confirmed in February, according to a Justice Department official. They were required to do so under the department's rule that requires prosecutors to notify the attorney general of any cases that could generate national news media or congressional attention.When Giuliani and other lawyers requested the meeting with the Justice Department to discuss a foreign bribery case, Benczkowski and the lawyers in the Fraud Section had not been informed of the Manhattan case and agreed to meet.Last week, Giuliani told The New York Times that he was being unfairly attacked by reporters and lawmakers and that questions about his behavior would "destroy" his business."I can't publicly defend everything I do because I'm presumed guilty," Giuliani said in a text message. "If I did, my business and firm would be unable to have any clients."Foreign business leaders and politicians have long hired those with ties to the White House as consultants, paid back channels to the administration who could plead their cases and present their interests to U.S. decision-makers.Trump, however, was not connected to the usual array of Washington power brokers who had built lucrative businesses off their ties to U.S. leaders, and Giuliani was perceived as the rare figure who could provide a direct line to the president.Now that tie to the Justice Department seems to be gone, and Giuliani himself is a person of interest in at least two federal investigations.While The Times and other publications have reported that Giuliani is being investigated by prosecutors in Manhattan, the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York have declined to confirm or deny an investigation into him. But any such inquiry would make it difficult for the department to work with him on any of his clients' cases."Giuliani can continue to represent clients before the department because people are innocent until proven guilty, but it's unclear whether a client would want to have a lawyer who is being scrutinized in so many investigations," Vance said.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| UPDATE 2-EU's Tusk taking Brexit request seriously, decision in days Posted: 22 Oct 2019 01:10 AM PDT ![UPDATE 2-EU's Tusk taking Brexit request seriously, decision in days]( "UPDATE 2-EU's Tusk taking Brexit request seriously, decision in days") The European Council president said on Tuesday that London's request for an extension of its deadline for divorce from the EU should be taken seriously, and the bloc's other members would never take a decision that forces Britain out with no deal. Donald Tusk told the European Parliament that he was discussing Prime Minister Boris Johnson's request for a Brexit delay beyond Oct. 31 with the leaders of the other 27 member states and would make a decision "in the coming days". "I have no doubt that we should treat the British request for an extension in all seriousness," he told lawmakers in the Strasbourg assembly of the European Union parliament.
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| Thousands protest against Bangladesh police after deadly shootings Posted: 21 Oct 2019 02:52 AM PDT  Thousands protested against police across Bangladesh on Monday, a day after at least four people died when officers fired on a crowd in one of the country's deadliest religious riots to date. Some 20,000 Muslims called for the execution of a young Hindu man on Bhola island Sunday for writing Facebook messages that allegedly defamed the Prophet Mohammed, with police saying they opened fire after rocks were thrown at officers. Mob attacks over online posts perceived to be blasphemous have emerged as a major headache for security forces in Bangladesh, where Muslims make up some 90 percent of the country's 168 million people.
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| The U.S. Army Has Big Plans to Smash Enemy Drones in a War Posted: 21 Oct 2019 03:56 AM PDT  The U.S. Army is fast-tracking what could be called an entire sphere of counter-drone weapons
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| A West Point cadet and his M4 rifle have been missing for three days Posted: 21 Oct 2019 01:49 PM PDT  Officials said that the cadet, member of the class of 2021, is not believed to be a threat to the public, but could be a threat to himself.
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| Democrats are lining up to take Elijah Cummings' Oversight Committee chairmanship Posted: 21 Oct 2019 12:43 PM PDT ![Democrats are lining up to take Elijah Cummings' Oversight Committee chairmanship]( "Democrats are lining up to take Elijah Cummings' Oversight Committee chairmanship") There's a long line of Democrats ready to take up one helm of the impeachment probe.House Oversight Committee Chair Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) died last week after longstanding health problems, leaving open his spot at one of the committees investigating President Trump. Talks of his replacement have been quiet out of respect for Cummings, but a handful of Democrats have said they're looking to take the position, The Washington Post reports.Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) is the most senior Democrat on the oversight committee and is currently serving as its active chair. She briefly told the Post on Friday she's looking to become the full-time chair, but wouldn't expand on her goals due to how recently Cummings had died. She'll likely campaign for the role based on past legislative wins like the permanent 9/11 victims' compensation fund.Reps. Gerald Connolly (D-Va.) and Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), both on the committee, are also reportedly looking to take up Cummings' gavel, two people familiar with their plans tell the Post. They declined to comment, but have both "been noticeably more involved in the impeachment probe than Maloney," the Post writes. Also in the running is Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), the third-highest ranking Democrat on the panel who some members of the Congressional Black Caucus are attempting to get into the role, people familiar with background discussions tell the Post. Washington, D.C., Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), who is the second-highest ranking Democrat, will try for the role if Maloney opts out, people familiar with her plans say.Cummings will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, followed by a Friday funeral at his longtime Baltimore church.
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| 'Lost' Road Built by Christ's Executioner Unearthed Posted: 21 Oct 2019 10:52 AM PDT  Pontius Pilate likely commissioned the street during or after 31 AD.
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| Trump Cheated (Shocker!) on Property Tax; But Will Anyone Go to Jail? Posted: 21 Oct 2019 04:00 AM PDT  Chip SomodevillaProPublica published a piece Wednesday that put the spotlight once again on some questionable financial practices of the Trump Organization, which showed one set of books to banks (inflating value) and another to New York City tax authorities (deflating value).Is this just the usual Trump mendacity, or can prosecutors see this as part of a pattern? And if so, could it be prosecuted? Who would be tagged as the defendant(s)? If not, what more is needed to bring the guilty parties to justice?Before we explore these questions, let's look at the facts. Both versions of them.ProPublica obtained property tax docs for four Trump properties. These docs became public when Trump appealed the tax bills, and the loan records became public when Trump's lenders sold the debt on the properties. Significant discrepancies were unearthed between the tax records and loan records for two of the properties: Trump International Hotel & Tower, on Central Park West, and 40 Wall St.Tax and loan documents for 40 Wall St. showed significant discrepancies in how certain costs such as insurance were reported. Further, Trump representatives reported different occupancy rates to lenders and tax officials: 81 percent to lenders (rising later to 95 percent), and just 59 percent to tax authorities. Rising occupancy rates are valued by lenders because they are indicative of rising income level which is material to securing refinancing, while lower rates, of course, mean lower taxes.Meanwhile, documents for the Trump International Hotel & Tower showed that city tax officials were advised that this property made about $822,000 in 2017 from renting space in the building to other businesses, while loan officials were told that the building made about $1.67 million. ProPublica further notes that Trump appeared not to report income from leasing space for television antennas on tax documents but did report the income on loan docs.Each of the above-noted discrepancies is indicative of potential fraud. But do they represent instances of a prosecutable case?The short answer is: not yet. The discrepancies do reflect a situational ethics approach toward financial obligations and responsibilities. But more evidence will be needed to prosecute anyone should criminal prosecution be considered by the authorities.Who might be prosecuted here? It is unclear just who is responsible for submitting the doctored financial statements to the lending authorities and tax officials. Were the folks who submitted the documents the same folks who prepared them? If so, what were their marching orders? Who directed the Trump Organization officials to tailor the financial statements to minimize property taxes or maximize occupancy rates to obtain loans?Investigators need to home in on the work papers prepared to support the finagled financial statements in order to determine "willful intent," or "mens rea" that James Comey so infamously referenced. Such evidence may well be found at Mazars USA—the Trump Organization accounting firm that is the subject of intensive litigation with regard to subpoenas served by both the U.S. Congress and the Manhattan DA's office.Accountant work papers have been found to be beneficial when uncovering evidence of intent to defraud in case after case of white-collar fraud, specifically tax fraud. In fact, accountant work files and testimony provided critical evidence leading to the conviction of Paul Manafort in the Mueller investigations and prosecutions. It should be noted that tax fraud, bank fraud, and the falsification of business records may result in felony charges that could be contemplated by the Manhattan DA and provide for prison sentences that could lead the convicted defendants to land in Rikers Island for a stretch with the aforementioned Manafort. Evidence of corrupt intent to defraud either a financial institution or a public tax authority is critical to a successful criminal prosecution. The use of a double or triple set of books and records by company officials for fraudulent purposes is a terrific example of overt acts of corrupt intent. But further evidence will be needed here to link all those involved in each of the instances denoted above. Email, texts, voice mail, notes to the file and other evidence of directions to finagle the financial docs are needed. Further forensic analysis of the documents, for example fingerprint analysis, ink chemistry analysis and handwriting analysis are investigative tools available to the prosecutors to tighten the vise and provide the links in the chain of potential targets.Cohen was reportedly debriefed in detail recently by the Manhattan DA's office. His testimony will be needed to outline just who in the Trump Organization was responsible for the preparation of the questionable documents referenced above. Cohen's credibility will clearly be attacked in court by the defendant(s) and will become a question for the jury to grapple with. Cohen provided the Southern District of New York with a prosecutive path for those responsible for cooking the books at the Trump Organization with regard to the reimbursement of "hush money" payments to Cohen. That path is now available to the Manhattan DA. Add Cohen's now corroborated congressional testimony outlining the transactional financial ethics referenced above, used by the Trump team in their shady business dealings and the jury will likely be sitting on the edge of their seats. All the DA needs to do now is fill in some blanks in combination with demonstrating a pattern of fraud over time—the closing argument is shaping up to be very persuasive.The allegation that the Trump Organization appeared not to report income from leasing space for television antennas to tax authorities but did report the income on loan docs revives memories of the landmark New York Times tax fraud series on Fred Trump and Donald Trump's financial shenanigans in the '90s wherein the Times detailed multiple instances of unreported income streams tailored by Fred Trump for the Donald. While the statute of limitations has long expired with regard to the multi-million dollar gift tax evasion schemes entered into by Donald Trump, prosecutors can use evidence of historical frauds to depict a pattern of fraudulent conduct on the part of a defendant no matter how long ago the fraud occurred. It goes to willfulness or corrupt intent exhibited by Individual-1.The Manhattan DA's case against the Trump Organization may appear to be on its surface just a mundane business fraud type of case. But fraudulent documents don't change stories, particularly when there are witnesses available to tie the documents and the corrupt intent together. Add the historical pattern of fraud engaged in by Individual-1 and the Manhattan DA's case appears to be silently moving along like a stealth nuclear submarine under the radar and there are no available defenses available like an Office of Legal Counsel opinion to protect the prospective defendants from a potentially lethal prosecutorial attack.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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| Buttigieg surges in Iowa poll Posted: 21 Oct 2019 04:50 AM PDT  Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who lost the 2016 caucuses to Hillary Clinton by less than 1 percentage point, achieved 9 percent support in the poll. Four candidates garnered 3 percent: billionaire Tom Steyer, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, California Sen. Kamala Harris and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
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| U.S. proposes collecting DNA samples from detained immigrants Posted: 21 Oct 2019 12:19 PM PDT  The Justice Department said the proposed rule would be officially published on Tuesday and subject to 20 days of public comment. It represents the latest initiative by President Donald Trump's administration to reduce legal and illegal immigration, an issue central to his 2020 re-election campaign. The rule proposes collecting DNA samples from any immigrant "detained under the authority of the United States," which could include first-time border crossers whose offense is a misdemeanor.
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| US targets Cuba tourism with tighter airline sanctions Posted: 21 Oct 2019 11:57 AM PDT  The US moved to further hurt Cuba's vital tourism industry by tightening the ability of the country's airlines to lease aircraft. The US Department of Commerce said it was revoking existing licenses for US companies leasing aircraft to Cuban carriers, and will deny future applications for aircraft leases. The move could make it harder for Cuba to service its rapidly growing tourism sector, a key source of foreign revenue for the poor country.
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| Gun control advocate: Pushing mandatory buybacks will hand victory to the NRA, again Posted: 21 Oct 2019 02:00 AM PDT  We can pass significant gun safety laws but not if the 2020 campaign is about confiscating assault weapons. This is not timidity, it's reality.
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| View Photos of the 2020 GMC Acadia AT4 Posted: 22 Oct 2019 04:59 AM PDT |
| China Wants To Destroy U.S. Aircraft Carriers in a War (It Won't Be Easy) Posted: 21 Oct 2019 08:00 PM PDT  The story starts in 2005.
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| Billionaire Isabel dos Santos Denies Wrongdoing at Sonangol Posted: 21 Oct 2019 01:58 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Isabel dos Santos, Africa's richest woman and the daughter of former Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, said she did nothing wrong when she was chairwoman of state-owned oil company Sonangol and called a probe into the transfer of millions of dollars from the Luanda-based firm "political vengeance."Angolan newspaper Novo Jornal reported on Oct. 18 that Angola's prosecuting authority started a criminal investigation into the transfer of $38 million from Sonangol authorized by dos Santos. Her successor at Sonangol, Carlos Saturnino, accused dos Santos last year of authorizing the transfer to a company in Dubai days after she was dismissed as chairwoman. Saturnino was sacked in May."To say there was a transfer order after my dismissal is simply false," dos Santos said in statement emailed on Monday. "The fight against corruption can't be used to feed an agenda of persecution or a witch hunt."Dos Santos said the fund-transfer was legal and was made while she was still in her position at Sonangol on Nov. 15, 2017, the day she was dismissed and before a new board was appointed the next day. She said payment instructions were given one or two days before her dismissal.If Angolan authorities are serious about fighting corruption they should investigate why Sonangol had about $20 billion in debt at the end of 2015, before her appointment, and how this money was "used and lost," said the 46-year-old dos Santos.Dos Santos was dismissed as head of Sonangol amid a crackdown on corruption by Joao Lourenco, who replaced her father as president in 2017. Sonangol, long the main engine of Angola's oil-focused economy, has been at the center of Lourenco's anti-graft campaign.(Adds dos Santos's comment about timing of payment instructions in fourth paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Henrique Almeida in Lisbon at halmeida5@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joao Lima at jlima1@bloomberg.net, Rene Vollgraaff, Alastair ReedFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| The story behind a soldier's act of solidarity with the US allies Trump is leaving behind in Syria Posted: 21 Oct 2019 12:32 PM PDT  A US solider was photographed wearing a patch in apparent solidarity with the Kurdish-backed forces that the US is leaving behind.
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| Russia’s Troll Farm Is Kind of Sh*tting the Bed on Facebook Posted: 21 Oct 2019 02:04 PM PDT  Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/GettyFacebook on Monday removed nearly 200 newly discovered fake accounts linked separately to Iran and to Russia's Internet Research Agency. The takedowns demonstrate that foreign influence operations are already targeting the 2020 election, but provide evidence that Russia's notorious troll farm is struggling to regain anything close to the influence in held in 2016.The new wave of takedowns targeted separate networks of deceptive accounts created by Iran and Russia, including dozens of fake Facebook organization pages. In a press call, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the takedowns show the company has come far since getting caught flat-footed in 2016. "The fact that we've identified them proactively should provide some confidence that our systems here are working," Zuckerberg said.The Russian accounts were far more focused on U.S. domestic issues, but in terms of sheer numbers and longevity, the Iranian effort outstripped Russia. The Iranian accounts included 21 Instagram accounts and 135 fake Facebook accounts propping up 26 phony organization pages and four Facebook groups. More than 90 of the accounts were primarily focused on U.S. readers, with the others mostly targeting Latin America. The accounts largely pushed links to Iranian propaganda on state-run news outlets, according to Facebook.As with past takedowns, the company's announcement only identified a handful of the Iranian personas. Of those, though, one stands out as eerily reminiscent of Russia's 2016 efforts—a Facebook page called "BLMnews" that purported to be a news site covering the Black Lives Matters movement. The page had a meager 45 followers, and, according to Facebook, was devoted to driving traffic to an associated website that's been operating since August 2016, according to Internet registration records.Russia's Internet Research Agency ran similar sites and Facebook pages during and after the 2016 election season, some with sizable followings. But so far the Saint Petersburg troll farm appears to have a long way to go. Of the 50 accounts banned by Facebook on Monday, all but one were on Instagram alone, with no Facebook presence at all. The Russian operation appears to be in the early stages, Facebook said. "They're still trying to build their audience, and they put significant operation security into concealing who they were," said company cybersecurity chief Nathaniel Gleicher in Monday's press call.One sign of that improved op-sec is the dearth of text on the troll's posts—perhaps a sign that Russia is seeking to avoid the linguistic giveaways that marred some of its 2016 content. According to social network analysis tool Graphika, which had inside access to Facebook's data, the accounts generally pushed screenshots of other people's tweets and memes with no commentary. "Some posts gained hundreds of likes but typically obtained orders of magnitude fewer than the American personalities they copied," reads Graphika's report on the Russian accounts. "The 'conservative' accounts in the set had a particular fondness for the conservative partisan group Turning Point USA, often sharing its memes and comments."That may be a factor in the relatively limited reach of Russia's identified personas. The 50 accounts together had a total of 246,000 followers, according to Facebook's figures. "It seems they are getting stuck at the mimicry phase of infiltration," said Clint Watts, a research fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.As tallied by Graphika, the personas are the usual Russian mix of accounts pretending to be arch-conservatives in the heartland, and a roughly equal number pretending to be African American activists. A smattering of accounts were focused on more specific issues, like gun rights on the right or LGBTQ rights on the left.The accounts were largely devoted to sowing division, but when they directly addressed the 2020 election, they followed the IRA's 2016 playbook to the letter. The "conservative" accounts attacked liberals and heaped praise on Donald Trump, while "liberal" accounts derided the president while vocally supporting Bernie Sanders over Democratic frontrunners. Joe Biden is singled out for criticism in much the same way as Clinton in 2016.Notably, Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, a favorite of Russia's state-owned media, isn't featured at all in the posts shared by Graphika and Facebook, despite recently being labeled a "Russian asset" by Hillary Clinton.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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| Presidential candidate Warren slated to join striking Chicago teachers at rally Posted: 22 Oct 2019 03:02 AM PDT  Warren, a Massachusetts senator, is scheduled to visit with striking Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) teachers in the morning, according to her campaign. About 300,000 students have been out of school since Thursday when the system's 25,000 teachers went on strike. Late on Monday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot called for the union to end the strike and make a deal with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS).
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| Judge asked to stop student suspension over note about rape Posted: 21 Oct 2019 11:47 AM PDT ![Judge asked to stop student suspension over note about rape]( "Judge asked to stop student suspension over note about rape") A high school activist's comment about rape posted on a bathroom mirror represents constitutionally protected free speech — and punishing her would discourage young victims from coming forward, an attorney said Monday. The sticky note that proclaimed "There's a rapist in our school and you know who it is" aimed to call attention to the unaddressed problem of sexual assaults, said Emma Bond from the American Civil Liberties of Maine. U.S. District Judge Lance Walker, who listened to the arguments on Monday, said he'll rule soon on Aela Mansmann's request to intervene to stop a three-day suspension imposed by school administrators.
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| Philippine police recommend drug charges against ex-chief Posted: 21 Oct 2019 06:30 AM PDT  Philippine police recommended graft and drug charges against its former chief on Monday over a new scandal that has put President Rodrigo Duterte's anti-narcotics crackdown under the spotlight. The police face allegations some officers are involved in the illegal drugs trade and that they had the protection of former chief Oscar Albayalde. It is the latest controversy to engulf the Philippine police force, which is waging a drug war launched by President Duterte in 2016.
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| Trump again says he personally 'captured' ISIS Posted: 21 Oct 2019 10:01 AM PDT ![Trump again says he personally 'captured' ISIS]( "Trump again says he personally 'captured' ISIS") President Trump did what?In a Cabinet meeting Monday, Trump addressed the ongoing withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, again referring to the Kurds, the U.S. allies who largely fought America's campaign against ISIS, as "not angels." He then went all-in on claiming he "captured" ISIS all by himself."ISIS was all over the place," Trump said Monday of the time before he got involved in Syria, per a pool report. "It was me ... who captured them. I'm the one who did the capturing. I'm the one who knows more about it than you people or the fake pundits," Trump then told the gathered reporters. It's reminiscent of his false claim last week that, even though his then-Secretary of Defense James Mattis said it would take two years to defeat ISIS, Trump did it in one month.With his infamous bone spurs, age, and the general busyness of being the president, it seems safe to say that Trump did not, in fact, fight with thousands of U.S. troops and even more Kurds to defeat ISIS fighters in Syria. Trump did, however, order America's troops out of the area earlier this month and leave the Kurds to face the ISIS threat and a Turkish incursion on their own.
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| Lonely Planet releases their picks for top destinations to visit in 2020 Posted: 21 Oct 2019 11:06 AM PDT ![Lonely Planet releases their picks for top destinations to visit in 2020]( "Lonely Planet releases their picks for top destinations to visit in 2020") A kingdom that has pledged to become completely organic by next year and the city that will toast the centenary anniversary of the world's most important classical music festival are among the top destinations to visit in 2020, as chosen by the tastemakers of travel guide Lonely Planet.
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| We Asked An Expert to Think Up a Nightmare: A U.S.-China War in 2030 Posted: 20 Oct 2019 09:00 PM PDT  What would the War of 2030 between China and the United States look like?
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| Democrats Seek Insider Trading Probe After ‘Trump Chaos’ Article Posted: 21 Oct 2019 02:09 PM PDT ![Democrats Seek Insider Trading Probe After 'Trump Chaos' Article]( "Democrats Seek Insider Trading Probe After 'Trump Chaos' Article") (Bloomberg) -- Democratic lawmakers are increasingly demanding that U.S. authorities investigate allegations raised in a recent magazine article that traders might be using non-public government information to reap huge illegal profits, even as the exchange where the transactions purportedly took place called the story "patently false."In a Monday letter, 14 Democratic senators urged the heads of the Justice Department, FBI, Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission to probe "disturbing reports of suspicious trading in our futures and equities markets" described in a Vanity Fair piece. The magazine referred to the transactions as "Trump Chaos Trades."Since the story's publication, the suggestion that White House leaks could be a factor in futures traders making billions of dollars from well-timed bets ahead of major geopolitical announcements has fueled endless chatter from Washington to Wall Street. Still, the article has been met with widespread skepticism from the financial industry.CME Group Inc., the world's biggest futures exchange, has dismissed the claims, arguing that the trades highlighted in the story couldn't have been based on inside information because too many market participants were involved. The article describes five big transactions in S&P 500 e-mini futures from June 28 to Sept. 13, ranging from 55,000 to 420,000 contracts."As it relates to the Vanity Fair article published on October 17, 2019, regarding activities in the E-mini S&P futures contract, the allegations about the trading activity are patently false," CME said in an Oct. 18 statement.In Monday's letter, Democrats said they wanted federal authorities "to investigate immediately whether any rules, laws or regulations were violated." The lawmakers added that "if any wrongdoing is uncovered, we demand that you swiftly hold violators accountable to the fullest extent possible."Spokesmen for the SEC and Justice Department declined to comment, while spokesmen for the FBI and CFTC didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.The wagers cited by Vanity Fair were made shortly before market-moving news -- three times involving the U.S.-China trade war, once involving the bombing of Saudi oil fields and once involving Hong Kong politics. Thanks to market reactions, the magazine said, people involved in the transactions could've booked gains of between $82.5 million on the smallest to $1.8 billion on the biggest.The story's author, William D. Cohan, has said that finance professionals with decades of experience alerted him to the trades. Cohan, a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist, has said that factors other than illegal buying-and-selling could explain the transactions and that he doesn't know whether any nefarious activity actually occurred.Earlier Monday, Angus King, an independent Maine senator who caucuses with the Democrats, also called on the SEC to investigate. Last week, Democratic Representatives Ted Lieu and Kathleen Rice requested a federal investigation into the timing around sales of e-mini futures contracts before significant geopolitical events or statements from Trump.\--With assistance from Nick Baker.To contact the reporters on this story: Ben Bain in Washington at bbain2@bloomberg.net;Matt Robinson in New York at mrobinson55@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Jesse Westbrook at jwestbrook1@bloomberg.net, Gregory MottFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Three people hospitalised by chemical leak on board American Airlines plane Posted: 21 Oct 2019 09:24 AM PDT  Three people have been hospitalised after a cleaning product leaked on an American Airlines flight forcing it to make an emergency landing in Dublin. The plane was less than an hour into its flight from London Heathrow to Philadelphia when two crew members fell unconscious due to the powerful smell. Several passengers complained of burning eyes and skin irritation and one traveller was also taken to hospital in Ireland. 287 passengers and 12 Philadelphia-based crew members were on board flight AA729, which had been cleared for take off despite concerns over the leaked liquid. Reports suggest the product was left behind in one of the bathrooms. In audio from the cockpit, the pilot explained that although the product is believed to be non-toxic, the crew required immediate assistance. He said: "We've actually covered the container of the substance. It was a cleaning product that was used at London Heathrow, if you wait a moment I actually have a picture of the container that I have in a plastic bag. "It was spilled and for some reason the container itself was left behind in the aircraft in one of the lavatories and continued to seep into the carpeting and produce what I'm told is not, it is not a toxic substance. "We require paramedics to come on board the airplane and render immediate assistance. We've had two of our flight crew staff made, excuse me, the cabin staff have actually lost consciousness, but I think they're back to a state of consciousness just now and there are general complaints about burning eyes and skin problems." The pilot added that the leaking product was an aircraft interior cleaner made by Callington, a leading specialty chemicals manufacturer. One passenger told The Telegraph the plane had been delayed at Heathrow whilst reports of an "unusual smell" were investigated. He said: "Before take off the captain came on the loudspeaker saying the flight attendants had reported an unusual smell, and the flight was delayed while they investigated. They must've judged it safe because we flew out after, only to be rerouted to Dublin a short time later." @AmericanAir There aren't even chairs, we're not allowed to leave this area where we're penned in like cattle, and we've not been fed by the likes of you since boarding four plus hours ago. You're the worst. pic.twitter.com/PqnelJ2P2u— Philip Ott (@Blasphevism) October 21, 2019 He added that the flight's 287 passengers were "penned in like cattle" at Dublin airport before been taken by bus to stay overnight in a hotel. They have not been told when they can expect onward travel. Another passenger expressed concern for others onboard, calling the incident a "sickness outbreak". Ok, so this hasn't quite gone to plan. Chemical spillage has led to sickness outbreak and an emergency landing in Dublin. firecrewparamedicspolice— Katie Phillips (@KatieHJP) October 21, 2019 A statement released by American Airlines said: "American Airlines flight 729 from London Heathrow to Philadelphia diverted to Dublin due to an odor caused by a spilled cleaning solution in the galley." "The flight landed safely in Dublin at 1:15 p.m. local time, and taxied to the gate." "Medical personnel have met the aircraft to evaluate any crew members or passengers who may need additional assistance." The Telegraph has contacted Callington for comment. Want the best of The Telegraph direct to your email and WhatsApp? Sign up to our free twice-daily Front Page newsletter and new audio briefings.
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| Canada election polls: Trudeau faces defeat as conservative rival Scheer pulls ahead Posted: 21 Oct 2019 03:55 AM PDT  Justin Trudeau is at risk of losing power after a single term as Canadians head to vote following a bruising election campaign and the prime minister's blackface scandal.Mr Trudeau rose to international fame when he became Canada's second-youngest prime minister in 2015 but a combination of scandals have damaged his political standing.
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| Chile's Pinera extends state of emergency, says 'we are at war' Posted: 20 Oct 2019 06:23 AM PDT  Chile's government will extend a state of emergency to cities in its north and south, President Sebastian Pinera said late on Sunday, after at least seven people were killed amid violent clashes and arson attacks over the weekend. "We are at war against a powerful enemy, who is willing to use violence without any limits," Pinera said in a late-night televised statement at army headquarters in Santiago. Pinera said Santiago´s metro and bus system would operate a partial service on Monday, along with hospitals and some schools and crèches, and appealed for Chileans to band together and help their neighbors to get on with their lives and remain safe.
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| Poll: Majority of Mexicans say organized crime stronger than government after El Chapo’s son released Posted: 21 Oct 2019 11:41 AM PDT  A majority of Mexicans see organized crime as more powerful than the Mexican government after government forces capitulated to drug-cartel strongmen and released the son of the former cartel leader Joaquín Guzmán, known as "El Chapo."
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| Haiti's dicey prison conditions made worse by crisis Posted: 20 Oct 2019 07:15 PM PDT  Port-au-Prince (AFP) - With protests rocking the streets, some prison authorities in Haiti have confined inmates to cells that lack showers or toilets, in a country where most detainees are stuck awaiting trial for months or even years. The move is meant to stop protests from breaking out in Haiti's badly overcrowded prisons, but violates the law and risks the health of prisoners, human rights advocates say. "To prevent any kind of riot from the general tension in the country, prison officials decided to keep detainees in their cells without being allowed at least an hour of outdoor time," Marie Rosy Auguste Ducena of the National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) told AFP.
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| Afghan official: Taliban storm checkpoint, kill 15 policemen Posted: 22 Oct 2019 12:33 AM PDT  The Taliban stormed a checkpoint in northern Afghanistan, killing at least 15 policemen in the latest attack by insurgents, an Afghan provincial official said Tuesday. The multi-pronged attack on the checkpoint in the Ali Abad district of northern Kunduz province began late on Monday night and set off an hours-long gunbattle, according to Ghulam Rabani Rabani, a provincial council member. The attack came as Afghan troops have been battling the Taliban for the past few weeks in Kunduz's Dashti Archi and Imam Sahib districts, Rabani added.
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| The FBI says at least 3 American tourists died of natural causes in the Dominican Republic, not tainted alcohol Posted: 21 Oct 2019 10:18 AM PDT  This year saw a spate of tourist deaths that sparked fears over tainted alcohol or other mysterious conditions before the investigation was launched.
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| Why Russia's Navy Is Becoming a Smaller, Regional Force Posted: 21 Oct 2019 05:44 AM PDT  (But is still deadly.)
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| Mark Zuckerberg Has Quietly Recommended Campaign Hires to Pete Buttigieg Posted: 21 Oct 2019 11:29 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc. chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg has privately recommended several potential hires to Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign, a rare example of direct political involvement from one of tech's most powerful executives.Earlier this year, Zuckerberg sent multiple emails to Mike Schmuhl, Buttigieg's campaign manager, with names of individuals that he might consider hiring, campaign spokesman Chris Meagher confirmed. Priscilla Chan, Zuckerberg's wife, also sent multiple emails to Schmuhl with staff recommendations. Ultimately, two of the people recommended were hired.The emails between Zuckerberg and Buttigieg have come to light as Zuckerberg faces unrelenting attacks from politicians from both parties over such issues as misinformation, privacy, election meddling and bias. Zuckerberg is scheduled to testify Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee on Facebook's impact on the financial services and housing sectors.Zuckerberg used to make political contributions more frequently, including to former and current House speakers Paul Ryan and Nancy Pelosi in 2014, but he hasn't made any political donations or endorsements to specific candidates in the 2020 election cycle. In June, he gave $5,000 to Facebook's PAC, which contributes to both Democratic and Republican candidates.'Top-Tier Organization'"Since the beginning of the campaign, we've built a top-tier operation with more than 430 staff in South Bend and around the country," Meagher said. "The staffers come from all types of background, and everyone is working hard every day to elect Pete to the White House."A spokesman for the Zuckerberg-Chan family told Bloomberg News that the employees asked the tech mogul and Chan to recommend them."Having seen Mark's visit to South Bend in 2017 and Facebook Live with Mayor Buttigieg, colleagues later asked Mark and Priscilla to connect them with the Buttigieg campaign as they were interested in joining," spokesman Ben LaBolt said in a statement. Zuckerberg visited South Bend, Indiana, in April 2017 as part of his philanthropic work and got a tour from Buttigieg, that Zuckerberg live-streamed.LaBolt didn't answer a follow-up question asking whether Zuckerberg has made similar connections for other candidates.Zuckerberg, asked about the emails on a call with reporters Monday, acknowledged that he and his wife passed along hiring recommendations but said that those actions should not be seen as an endorsement."I think this should probably not be misconstrued as if I'm like deeply involved in trying to support their campaign or something like that," he said.Making IntroductionsIn the emails, Zuckerberg and Chan recommended potential campaign hires, and two of them are now on staff: Eric Mayefsky, senior digital analytics adviser, and Nina Wornhoff, organizing data manager.Mayefsky previously worked as the director of data science at Quora, a 10-year-old question-and-answer startup founded by former Facebook employees. Mayefsky worked at Facebook for almost four years starting in 2010, according to his LinkedIn profile. Wornhoff previously worked as a machine learning engineer at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and in Democratic politics in Indiana, Buttigieg's home state.The communication was initiated by Zuckerberg and Chan, Meagher said. It was sent shortly after Buttigieg officially launched his campaign in mid-April."From the CNN Town hall in March to our launch a month later, we literally got 7,000 resumes," Meagher said. "I think that he (Zuckerberg) thought Eric would be a good staff hire with a lot of experience and same with Nina and Priscilla."Crimson ConnectionZuckerberg, 35, and Buttigieg, 37, overlapped at Harvard, and Buttigieg was friends with two of Zuckerberg's roommates. He was also one of Facebook's first 300 users. But they were only introduced years later by a mutual Harvard friend.The staff recommendations from Zuckerberg are the first evidence of the Facebook CEO actively assisting a presidential campaign. A number of other high-ranking Facebook executives, including David Marcus, the executive leading Facebook's cryptocurrency efforts, Naomi Gleit, one of Facebook's longest-tenured executives, and Chris Cox, former chief product officer who is close friends with Zuckerberg, have donated to Buttigieg.In recent weeks, Democrats have escalated their criticism of Facebook for its refusal to moderate political ads. Elizabeth Warren, in particular, has repeatedly attacked Zuckerberg and Facebook over its decision not to fact check posts or ads shared by politicians. Joe Biden wrote the company on Thursday demanding that an ad paid for by a pro-Donald Trump super-PAC be pulled down for what he said were lies about his Ukrainian-related work as vice president.Silicon ValleyHe's been more apprehensive about breaking up big tech companies than some of his Democratic counterparts, saying the issue of monopolies extends beyond tech. But he's also raised concerns about tech companies having too much power and has floated regulation, including fines and the blocking of new mergers, for Facebook and other big tech companies.Republicans have accused Zuckerberg and Facebook of bias against conservative viewpoints, claiming that Facebook and other social media platforms unfairly suppress their views. Zuckerberg reportedly started to hold private meetings last summer with conservative leaders to hear their concerns.In the past, Facebook embedded staffers with political campaigns to give them guidance on how to best use the social media platform. The 2016 Trump campaign said it greatly benefited from having Facebook staffers on hand. The company announced in 2018 that it would pull back from offering on-site support.Now Zuckerberg needs friends in Washington, where Facebook is under unprecedented attack. His company is being investigated for possible antitrust violations by two federal agencies and Congress. It's also trying to get skeptical regulators and lawmakers on board with its goal of launching a cryptocurrency.But this presidential cycle, Facebook has become one of Democrats' top punching bags. In recent weeks, Warren's campaign has bought ads on Facebook claiming Zuckerberg endorsed Trump, a deliberate falsehood that she used to draw attention to Facebook's policies exempting politicians from fact-checking ads, and corrected later in the advertisement.(Adds new 9th, 10th paragraphs with Zuckerberg comment.)\--With assistance from Bill Allison.To contact the reporters on this story: Tyler Pager in Washington at tpager1@bloomberg.net;Kurt Wagner in San Francisco at kwagner71@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Ros KrasnyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| View Photos of the 2020 Ford Ranger Posted: 21 Oct 2019 12:32 PM PDT |
| UPDATE 1-Iraq says U.S. forces withdrawing from Syria have no approval to stay Posted: 22 Oct 2019 01:38 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Iraq says U.S. forces withdrawing from Syria have no approval to stay]( "UPDATE 1-Iraq says U.S. forces withdrawing from Syria have no approval to stay") U.S. forces that crossed into Iraq as part of a pull-out from Syria do not have permission to stay and can only be there in transit, the Iraqi military said on Tuesday. The Iraqi statement contradicts the Pentagon's announcement that all of the nearly 1,000 troops withdrawing from northern Syria are expected to move to western Iraq to continue the campaign against Islamic State militants and "to help defend Iraq". A senior U.S. defence official later clarified that the situation was still fluid and plans could change.
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| Japan set to celebrate Emperor Naruhito's enthronement Posted: 21 Oct 2019 02:00 AM PDT  Japan is abuzz ahead of a ceremony Tuesday marking Emperor Naruhito's ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne. It is one of several formal ceremonies for Naruhito, 59, who has been a full-fledged emperor since succeeding in May after the abdication of his father, Akihito. The enthronement ceremony marks the high point of succession rituals that began in May and will last through the spring.
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