| Churchgoers kill gunman who shot two during Texas service Posted: 29 Dec 2019 10:58 PM PST  Worshippers in the US state of Texas shot dead a gunman who opened fire during a livestreamed Sunday service, ending an attack that killed two parishioners, authorities said. The latest US shooting at a house of worship took place in the suburban Fort Worth community of White Settlement on Sunday morning when the gunman entered West Freeway Church of Christ, officials said. "A couple of members of the church returned fire, striking the suspect who died at the scene," White Settlement Police Chief J.P. Bevering told reporters.
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| Judge dismisses impeachment suit from ex-White House aide Posted: 30 Dec 2019 02:19 PM PST  A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit from a former White House official who had challenged a congressional subpoena in the impeachment inquiry involving President Donald Trump. Charles Kupperman, a former deputy national security adviser, sued in October after being subpoenaed by House Democrats to testify in their impeachment investigation into Trump's interactions with Ukraine.
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| PHOTOS: #MenToo: The hidden tragedy of male sexual abuse in the military Posted: 31 Dec 2019 04:53 PM PST  Award-winning photojournalist Mary F. Calvert has spent six years documenting the prevalence of rape in the military and the effects on victims. She began with a focus on female victims but more recently has examined the underreported incidence of sexual assaults on men and the lifelong trauma it can inflict.
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| U.S. presidential candidate Sanders given clean bill of health after October heart attack Posted: 30 Dec 2019 12:45 PM PST  U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders passed a stress test this month after a heart attack required him to have two stents inserted in an artery in October, doctors to the Democratic presidential candidate said on Monday. Sanders' campaign released letters from his main doctor and two heart specialists, who all gave the 78-year-old White House hopeful a clean bill of health after physical exams, electrocardiogram monitoring and a treadmill stress test. "Mr Sanders is more than fit enough to pursue vigorous activities and an occupation that requires stamina and an ability to handle a great deal of stress," said Philip A. Ades, the director of cardiac rehabilitation at the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVM), where the senator had the stress test on Dec. 11.
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| MSC Cruises' new and largest ship, MSC Grandiosa, crashes in the port of Palermo, Sicily Posted: 31 Dec 2019 11:13 AM PST ![MSC Cruises' new and largest ship, MSC Grandiosa, crashes in the port of Palermo, Sicily]( "MSC Cruises' new and largest ship, MSC Grandiosa, crashes in the port of Palermo, Sicily") MSC Cruises' new ship experienced a collision on Monday morning. MSC Grandiosa collided with the dock in Palermo, Sicily, a spokesperson confirmed.
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| Iranian-backed militia threatens retaliation for US strikes on their forces in Iraq and Syria Posted: 30 Dec 2019 12:05 PM PST  An Iran-backed militia vowed on Monday to retaliate for US military strikes in Iraq and Syria which killed 25 of its fighters and wounded dozens. "Our battle with America and its mercenaries is now open to all possibilities," Kataib Hizbollah said in a statement. "We have no alternative today other than confrontation and there is nothing that will prevent us from responding to this crime." Iraq described the attacks on Kataib Hizbollah as a "flagrant violation" of its sovereignty, and Iran said the airstrikes were "an obvious case of terrorism". Moqtada al-Sadr, the notorious Iraqi Shia cleric, said on Monday that he was willing to work with Iran-backed militia groups - his political rivals - to end the United States military presence in Iraq through political and legal means. If that does not work, he will "take other actions" in cooperation with his rivals to kick out US troops. Sadr's militia fought US troops for years following Washington's invasion of Iraq in 2003. Iraqi Shiite cleric and leader Moqtada al-Sadr attends a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister in Najaf on June 23, 2018 The US launched strikes against five targets in Iraq and Syria on Sunday, aiming to damage Kataib Hizbollah – a separate entity to the better-known Hizbollah, based in Lebanon. The US blames the group for the killing last week of an American contractor in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base. The US attack - the largest targeting an Iraqi state-sanctioned militia since 2011 - represents a new escalation in the proxy war between the US and Iran playing out in the Middle East. Russia's foreign ministry called the "exchange of strikes" between Kataib Hizbollah and US forces in Iraq "unacceptable," and called for restraint from both sides. "We consider such actions unacceptable and counterproductive. We call upon all parties to refrain from further actions that could sharply destabilise the military-political situation in Iraq, Syria, and the neighboring countries," a ministry statement said. Thousands of protesters blocked roads and bridges across southern Iraq on Dec 23, condemning Iranian influence and political leaders who missed another deadline to agree on a new prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, praised the "important" strikes, in a phone call to Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state. Mr Netanyahu "congratulated him on the important US action against Iran and its proxies in the region," according to a statement issued by the Israeli leader's office. Mr Pompeo said the strikes send the message that the US will not tolerate actions by Iran that jeopardise American lives. "We have repeatedly – the president, the secretary of state - made clear that if we are attacked by the regime or its proxies we will respond," said Brian Hook, Donald Trump's special envoy to Iran. He refused to comment on further possible actions. The US has maintained some 5,000 troops in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government, to help assist in the fight against the Islamic State group. But on Monday Iraq's prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, said that invitation could now be rescinded. "The prime minister described the American attack on the Iraqi armed forces as an unacceptable vicious assault that will have dangerous consequences," his office said.
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| Former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn fled prosecution in Japan in a private jet, under a fake name, hiding in a musical instrument box, reports suggest Posted: 31 Dec 2019 03:27 AM PST  Japanese authorities are trying to find out how Ghosn, one of its highest-profile defendants, managed to evade surveillance and leave the country.
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| New York Jews scared, defiant as mayor decries anti-Semitism 'crisis' Posted: 30 Dec 2019 01:23 PM PST  At a Hasidic synagogue in Brooklyn, police, state troopers and civilian volunteers stand guard as Orthodox Jews mark the end of Hanukkah under heightened security following a spate of attacks. New York, home to the largest Jewish community outside of Israel, had long been a place where Jews felt safe.
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| U.S. Taking Democracy for Granted, Chief Justice Roberts Says Posted: 31 Dec 2019 03:00 PM PST ![U.S. Taking Democracy for Granted, Chief Justice Roberts Says]( "U.S. Taking Democracy for Granted, Chief Justice Roberts Says") (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. has "come to take democracy for granted," Chief Justice John Roberts said, urging his fellow judges to keep educating the public about the workings of the federal government and the Constitution.Roberts, who is slated to oversee the Senate's impeachment trial of President Donald Trump in the coming weeks, used his year-end report Tuesday to laud the federal judiciary's work on civic education, while issuing a thinly veiled warning about the fragility of American democracy in a fractious time."We have come to take democracy for granted, and civic education has fallen by the wayside," Roberts wrote. "In our age, when social media can instantly spread rumor and false information on a grand scale, the public's need to understand our government, and the protections it provides, is ever more vital."Roberts described a 1788 riot that incapacitated John Jay while he was working with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison on the Federalist Papers, a series of articles published to promote the ratification of the Constitution. Jay was hit in the head with a rock while trying to quell the riot, which was sparked by a rumor that medical students were dissecting the body of a recently deceased woman. Jay later became the first U.S. chief justice."It is sadly ironic that John Jay's efforts to educate his fellow citizens about the framers' plan of government fell victim to a rock thrown by a rioter motivated by a rumor," Roberts wrote.Roberts has become the nation's leading champion of judicial independence since being appointed to the Supreme Court by President George W. Bush in 2005. In his new report, the chief justice called the judiciary "a source of national unity and stability" but added a cautionary note."We should also remember that justice is not inevitable," Roberts wrote in a passage directed at his judicial colleagues. "We should reflect on our duty to judge without fear or favor, deciding each matter with humility, integrity, and dispatch."Roberts, 64, is in the middle of a challenging Supreme Court term that includes cases on LGBTQ discrimination, abortion and gun rights. In late March or early April the court will hear arguments on Trump's effort to prevent his financial information from being turned over to Congress and a New York grand jury.Roberts released the report three days after his mother, Rosemary A. Roberts, died at age 90. Her obituary said she was surrounded by her family when she passed away.To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Stohr in Washington at gstohr@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo, Anna EdgertonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Biden Rebounds, Warren Slows, Sanders Rolls: The Latest on the 2020 Money Race Posted: 30 Dec 2019 05:09 PM PST  Sen. Elizabeth Warren's slip in the 2020 primary polls has been accompanied by a dip in donations, with her campaign setting a rare public goal: aiming to raise $20 million for the fourth quarter of 2019 ending Tuesday, or about 20% less than what she raised in the previous three-month period.Former Vice President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has rebounded from a weak third quarter, in which he raised only $15.7 million and spent $2 million more than he took in. Now his campaign is trying to assert his front-runner status in the Democratic race, pushing in the final 48 hours of the year to post "our biggest fundraising quarter yet," as Biden wrote in an email Sunday, by topping the $21.5 million he raised last spring.The shifting financial fortunes of Warren and Biden illustrate the unsettled nature of the Democratic presidential contest heading into 2020, with four candidates -- Biden, Warren of Massachusetts, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana -- battling for position in the top tier of polling and seeking to bolster their treasuries ahead of the final sprint to the Iowa caucuses and beyond.Sanders is expected to remain a financial pacesetter in the 2020 contest. He has about 1.6 million individual donations this quarter alone and is nearing a goal of 5 million total contributions. With an average donation of $18 for the year, and slightly less than that now, the numbers suggest he has already raised about $26 million in the fourth quarter -- more than any Democratic candidate has raised in any quarter this year.No other 2020 candidate has announced reaching 3 million donations for the year.Buttigieg is closing in on 2 million donations (he has more than 1.95 million, according to campaign emails). That means he has already received more than 700,000 contributions this quarter, his most in a three-month period. He recently said his average donation was around $30, suggesting a haul of more than $21 million. Buttigieg raised $19.1 million and $24.6 million in the previous two quarters.The impending quarterly deadline Tuesday is critical for the campaigns as they urge their supporters to help them finish the year on a strong note. It is also the last time before the nominating contests begin that they will be required to open the books on their finances, with full reports to be released Jan. 31.The money chase shows not only which candidates are most viable for a potentially long and contested primary battle but also who has a diverse and well-built financial foundation for a potential general election matchup against President Donald Trump, who entered October with $158 million between his campaign and shared committees with the Republican Party.The estimated hauls are very much subject to change, since campaigns can bank millions in the final days of the quarter. And while the the top-line figures for money raised are significant, the Democratic campaigns' cash situation -- how much they have in the bank for ads, organizers and field programs -- is more crucial now that voting begins in less than 40 days.Despite Biden's turnaround on the fundraising front -- he raised more in just October and November than he had the previous three months -- he entered the fall with only a fraction of the cash of his leading rivals. His $9 million in the bank Sept. 30 trailed Buttigieg by $14.4 million, Warren by $16.7 million and Sanders by $24.7 million, gaps he is unlikely to substantially close.That is perhaps one reason Biden reversed himself in late October and blessed his supporters' forming a super PAC, which has already begun airing television ads in Iowa. (His campaign has said he reversed his stance because of anti-Biden ads funded by Trump.)It has been a turbulent three months in the fundraising world as one of the race's stronger fundraisers, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, dropped out unexpectedly in early December, sparking a frenzy among other campaigns for her mostly California-based team of financiers. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York also entered the race and began to spend some of his multibillion-dollar personal fortune on an enormous nationwide television ad campaign, reshaping the financial landscape beyond the early-voting states where another billionaire, Tom Steyer, has been flooding the airwaves.Besides the race's four polling leaders, Andrew Yang, the businessman who has surprised political observers with his staying power and a devoted online following he affectionately calls the Yang Gang, is expected to be the only other contender to crack $10 million raised in the fourth quarter."We expect to raise more than $12.5 million, at least 25% more than the previous quarter," said S.Y. Lee, a spokesman for Yang.How candidates are raising their money -- and whom they solicit for contributions -- has become a central point of contention in the primary in recent weeks, with Sanders and Warren touting their independence from the traditional world of big contributors while hitting Biden and Buttigieg for their reliance on wealthy donors."For far too long, the wealthy and the powerful have used their money to buy our candidates and our elections," said Tim Tagaris, a senior adviser to Sanders. "And what Bernie Sanders is proving -- for the first time -- is that one can run for president without begging them for their money."In a sign of the breadth of donors that Sanders counts, his campaign was pushing for 135,000 donations in the last two days of the year; Biden has set a goal of 500,000 donations for the entire quarter.Warren, who like Sanders has decided not to make appeals to big donors at traditional fundraisers, has called for her rivals to disclose their lists of "bundlers," who have gathered campaign checks for them. In turn, Warren has been pressed about the $10 million she transferred to her presidential campaign from her 2018 Senate bid, when she was still courting such large contributors.Both Biden and Buttigieg recently did disclose their bundlers, with Buttigieg sharing the names of more than 100 people or couples who had gathered at least $25,000 and Biden disclosing more than 200. Biden appeared to time his release to minimize attention, revealing the names of his top fundraisers late on the Friday evening after Christmas.Biden has seen some of the bundlers for his former rivals who have left the race -- especially Harris but also former Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas -- gravitate toward him as he continues to lead in national polling. Former Harris supporters now backing Biden include John Emerson, an investment executive in California; two influential New York finance-world fundraisers, Marc Lasry and Blair Effron; and Alex Heckler, an attorney in Florida."As the field narrows, we're seeing Democrats coalesce and rally around Vice President Biden," said Kate Bedingfield, a deputy campaign manager for Biden. "Voters want a candidate who can bring people together and defeat Donald Trump, and a sense of urgency about that as we approach voting is clearly driving a new wave of support."Wade Randlett, a fundraiser for Biden in the San Francisco Bay Area, said concerns over Biden's cash had been overblown and that "if money were the majority driver of success we'd be talking about a Bloomberg-Steyer ticket.""Money matters because you need to have enough," Randlett said. "And we are definitely going to have enough to prosecute a campaign in all 50 states through the primaries."Warren was the No. 2 fundraiser in the field in the third quarter, when she raised $24.6 million. But her campaign said Friday that she was "a good chunk behind" that mark this time, with a little more than $17 million collected with four days left in the quarter."It will be nearly impossible to match last quarter at this point. But we need to start closing the gap," read one Warren solicitation for donations.For the first time in the campaign, Warren also signed an email to the list of a group that supports her, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which split the proceeds between her and the organization.Buttigieg's campaign has set a $750,000 target in the final 48 hours of the quarter. He recently told The Des Moines Register's editorial board that "the average contribution was coming in around 30 bucks."Beyond the end of the year, Buttigieg's campaign is expecting at least a small windfall in early January from Wall Street, where he has become a popular figure, as some donors are waiting to avoid running afoul of laws restricting contributions to those who oversee public pensions (Buttigieg will then no longer be mayor).Two other candidates who have struggled relative to the leaders to raise money and garner attention are hoping to finish 2019 on a high note.Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, who missed the December debate because of the polling threshold, said two weeks ago that he needed to raise $800,000 to have his best quarter of the year. His previous high was $6 million. He had raised $641,000 of the $800,000 goal as of early Monday, according to a campaign fundraising email.Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota has announced raising more than $1 million in the 24 hours after two recent debates, and has said she would report more money than last quarter, when she raised $4.8 million.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| World welcomes 2020, but celebrations shadowed by wildfires, protests, Korea tensions Posted: 31 Dec 2019 04:24 AM PST  SYDNEY/HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) - The world celebrated the New Year on Wednesday with fireworks displays from Sydney to London, although celebrations were clouded by deadly wildfires in Australia, protests in Hong Kong and India and new nuclear tensions with North Korea. Large crowds gathered in European capitals for spectacular fireworks displays that lit up the skies over landmarks like Big Ben in London, the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the Parthenon in Athens and the Kremlin in Moscow.
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| US ambassador defends moustache as South Koreans bristle at 'disrespectful' facial hair Posted: 29 Dec 2019 08:40 PM PST  The US ambassador to Seoul has defended his decision to grow a moustache, with some South Koreans bristling that the facial hair is disrespectful and a calculated slight. Harry Harris took over as US ambassador to South Korea in July 2018 after a distinguished 40-year career in the US Navy. Clean-shaven whilst an admiral in the navy, Mr Harris told The Korea Times that he decided to grow a moustache to mark his career change. "I wanted to make a break between my life as a military officer and my new life as a diplomat", he said. "I tried to get taller, but I couldn't grow any taller, and so I tried to get younger, but I couldn't get younger. But I could grow a moustache, so I did that". Mr Harris was responding to the suggestion that his new moustache was an insult to Korea. The US government has been roundly criticised in South Korea after Donald Trump announced the US would demand $5 billion a year to keep troops in South Korea. As the face of the US administration in South Korea, Mr Harris has borne the brunt of much of the criticism. The second strike against Mr Harris is his ethnicity. The son of a US Navy officer and a Japanese mother, Mr Harris was born in Yokosuka, south-west of Tokyo, leading to allegations that he has a natural affinity for Japan - which has a complicated history with the Korean Peninsula. The peninsula became a Japanese protectorate in 1905 and part of the Japanese empire from 1910 until the end of the Second World War in 1945. Some South Koreans have accused Mr Harris of sporting a moustache that harks back to the years of colonial rule on the grounds that all eight Japanese governor-generals of Korea also had moustaches. Shrugging off the controversy, he said: "All I can say is that every decision I make is based on the fact that I'm American ambassador to Korea, not the Japanese-American ambassador to Korea". Asked if he intended to shave his moustache off to quell the criticism, Mr Harris replied, "You would have to convince me that somehow the moustache is viewed in a way that hurts our relationship".
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| Maryland police identify pilot killed in plane crash Posted: 30 Dec 2019 10:21 AM PST  The New York pilot who died when his plane crashed into a suburban Washington, D.C., home was communicating with air traffic controllers before impact, a federal investigator said Monday. Allen's plane took off from College Park, Maryland, and was bound for White Plains, New York.
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| Bailed tycoon Ghosn flees to Lebanon from 'rigged' Japan Posted: 31 Dec 2019 08:58 AM PST  Former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn said Tuesday he had fled to Lebanon to escape injustice in Japan, where he was on bail awaiting trial on financial misconduct charges. The auto tycoon's abrupt departure was the latest twist in a rollercoaster journey that saw him fall from boardroom to detention centre and sparked questions over an embarrassing security lapse in Japan. It was not clear how he managed to leave Japan, as his bail conditions barred him from exiting the country he had been held in since his sudden arrest in November 2018 sent shockwaves through the business world.
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| The suspect in the stabbing attack at a rabbi's home pleaded not guilty to all charges. Here's what we know about him so far. Posted: 29 Dec 2019 11:28 PM PST  Grafton E. Thomas, 37, has pleaded not guilty to five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary. Here's what we know about him so far.
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| FBI Agents: McCabe Apologized for Changing His Story on Leak Posted: 31 Dec 2019 02:03 PM PST  Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe faced scorching criticism and potential criminal prosecution for changing his story about a conversation he had with a Wall Street Journal reporter. Now newly released interview transcripts show McCabe expressed remorse to internal FBI investigators when they pressed him on the about-face. The FBI released the documents in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). They provide fresh details about the investigation into a leak to the Journal, McCabe's role in it, and the reaction of agents who investigated it.In the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign, the Journal broke news about an FBI investigation involving then-candidate Hillary Clinton, describing internal discussions among senior FBI officials.Emails Show McCabe Scrambling to Handle Stories About Hillary ProbeThe apparent leak drew scrutiny from the bureau's internal investigation team, which interviewed McCabe on May 9, 2017, the day President Donald Trump fired James Comey from his post as FBI director. The agents interviewed him as part of an investigation regarding a different media leak to the online publication Circa, and also asked him about the Journal story. In that interview, McCabe said he did not know how the Journal story came to be. But a few months later, his story changed after he reviewed his answer. On Aug. 18, FBI officials met with McCabe in an attempt to work through what they said was "conflicting information" they had gathered about the possible leak to the Journal."I need to know from you," an agent said he told McCabe in a sit-down meeting, "did you authorize this article? Were you aware of it? Did you authorize it?" McCabe then looked at the story he had reviewed months earlier. The FBI investigator described his response this way: "And as nice as could be, he said, yep. Yep I did."Ex-FBI Head Andrew McCabe Sues, Says Trump Ordered His FiringThe investigator then said that "things had suddenly changed 180 degrees with this." The interviewers stopped taking notes on what McCabe was saying, and the agent indicated their view of McCabe had changed: He was no longer a witness or victim. "In our business, we stop and say, look, now we're getting into an area for due process," the agent said.But the agent said that the team did not raise that line of thought with McCabe. "I was very careful to say… with all due respect, this is what you told us. This has caused us some kind of, you know, sidetracking here now with some information other people have told us."The agent's next comments to McCabe took on a frustrated tone."I remember saying to him, at, I said, sir, you understand that we've put a lot of work into this based on what you told us," the agent said. "I mean, and I even said, long nights and weekends working on this, trying to find out who amongst your ranks of trusted people would, would do something like that. And he kind of just looked down, kind of nodded, and said yeah I'm sorry."McCabe's lawyer has said his story changed because in the initial interview he wasn't prepared for the question. The question surprised him, and he didn't give his answer a second thought because Comey was fired shortly after the interview concluded and his world turned upside down. McCabe, who became acting director of the FBI after Trump fired Comey, was fired in March 2018, two days before he was expected to retire. Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he was axing McCabe because of the leak investigation's findings. McCabe, who had been assailed by Trump over and over again on Twitter over the Russia investigation, denied wrongdoing and alleged his firing was politically motivated. In August, he sued DOJ for wrongful termination and has since accused the Trump administration of withholding evidence that would help his case.The DOJ Inspector General, meanwhile, later accused McCabe of lying to investigators multiple times. After that report came out, McCabe's lawyer said it was "far less fair than he deserved," and "utterly failed to support the decision to terminate Mr. McCabe." Lying to federal investigators is a crime, and the Inspector General referred its investigation of McCabe to the U.S. Attorney's office for Washington D.C. McCabe has not been charged with any crime––despite numerous Trump tweets calling him a criminal. 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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| Does Russia Really Have A 100 Megaton Nuclear Torpedo Called Status-6? Posted: 30 Dec 2019 12:30 PM PST  The Pentagon thinks so.
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| 19-year-old found guilty of lying about being gang-raped Posted: 30 Dec 2019 12:06 PM PST  A British teenager has been found guilty of lying about being gang-raped in Cyprus. The woman, 19, was convicted of a single count of public mischief at Famagusta District Court in Paralimni, Cyprus, on Monday.
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| Hong Kong to end year with multiple protests, kick off 2020 with big march Posted: 29 Dec 2019 07:58 PM PST  Hong Kong will end 2019 with multiple protests planned for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day aimed at disrupting festivities and shopping in the Asian financial hub, which has seen a rise in clashes between police and protesters since Christmas. Events dubbed "Suck the Eve" and "Shop With You" are set for New Year's Eve on Tuesday in areas including the party district of Lan Kwai Fong, the picturesque Victoria Harbour, and popular shopping malls, according to notices on social media. A pro-democracy march on Jan. 1 has been given police permission and will start from a large park in bustling Causeway Bay and end in the central business district.
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| Ukraine and Russia Can Deal When They Must But Peace Isn’t Close Posted: 31 Dec 2019 03:05 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Quickfire agreements on energy and the Kremlin-backed war that erupted after Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea show Ukraine and Russia can increasingly look past their differences to strike deals.The natural-gas pact agreed late Monday, which ended fears of disruptions to European Union supplies, comes a day after the former allies' second prisoner swap in four months. EU diplomats, mediating in both cases, may feel they're making headway in easing tensions more than five years after the conflict in eastern Ukraine rekindled Cold War animosity and brought a barrage of sanctions against Russia.That Ukraine and Russia now meet at all -- let alone reach consensus on hot-button issues like these -- marks undoubted progress. It's been driven by pragmatism and a readiness to compromise under EU and U.S. pressure, including the Trump administration's sanctions against Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.The gas deal was necessary as transit contracts ran down. Putin wants sanctions relief and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has prioritized ending a war that's killed more than 13,000 people.The fundamental question -- whether Ukraine leans east or west -- is going nowhere without concessions regarded as impossible by one side or another. The standoff with Moscow over Ukraine's desire to join the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will remain a headache for world powers from Brussels to Washington."The events of the past several years have created significant changes in how the two governments and their people relate to one another, and to the rest of Europe," said Alex Brideau, an analyst at Eurasia Group. "Recent developments help ease tension, but they don't reset that relationship."Ensure FlowsThe EU will nevertheless breathe a sigh of relief after the accord was signed to ensure flows of gas through Ukraine from Russia's Gazprom for the next five years. Supplies to the region have been cut twice during in the past 13 years at times of peak demand because of financial and political disputes between the two neighboring states.Russia, keen to take advantage of French President Emmanuel Macron's push to reintegrate it after years of isolation, has less incentive to cause mayhem this time. But it retains its long-term goal of seeking to slash dependence on Ukraine's transit network.That Russia agreed to a longer-than-expected gas deal this time reflects potential fallout from the U.S. sanctioning its Nord Stream 2 pipeline to send flows directly to Europe bypassing Ukraine rather than any act of kindness. For Zelenskiy, it ensures Ukraine remains one of the key transit routes for Russian gas during the remainder of his five-year term and beyond, earning the country billions of dollars in fees.Still, the fact an initial deadline to finalize the deal was missed stems from a lack of trust that prompted demands for safeguards to be added to the new contracts.Prisoner DealThere are similar reasons to scrutinize the exchange of prisoners.Despite efforts to return all his countrymen, Zelenskiy remains frustrated, with hundreds still being held.What's more, the latest swap included Ukrainian riot police who sided with the Kremlin-backed leader that protesters toppled in 2014 after more than 100 were killed on the streets of Kyiv. Handing over those officers, who aren't prisoners of war, prompted demonstrations against their release back home.The gas agreement and the prisoner swap cap a month in which Putin and Zelenskiy held their first face-to-face meeting during talks on the conflict in eastern Ukraine in Paris. While the detente remains fragile, the two sides enter 2020 with potentially the best prospects in years for easing tensions.Putin and Zelenskiy spoke by phone on Tuesday and agreed to coordinate lists of detainees for possible future exchanges, according to a statement from the Ukrainian president's office. The gas agreement creates a "favorable atmosphere for resolving other bilateral problems" and the Dec. 29 prisoner swap "helps strengthen mutual trust," the Kremlin said in a statement.There may be more prisoner exchanges, though "I do not think we will see real compromises on big issues" from Russia in relation to resolving the conflict, said John Herbst, director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center and a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.To contact the reporters on this story: Daryna Krasnolutska in Kyiv at dkrasnolutsk@bloomberg.net;Andrew Langley in London at alangley1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, Tony Halpin, Gregory L. WhiteFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Biden questioned about sharing 2020 ticket with Republican Posted: 30 Dec 2019 03:32 PM PST  Former Vice President Joe Biden entertained the idea of choosing a Republican as a 2020 running mate as he campaigned Monday — though he conceded he didn't have anyone specific in mind. A voter told Biden during an event Monday afternoon in Exeter, New Hampshire, that her son had wondered if the Democratic presidential contender would consider choosing a Republican as a running mate. "The answer is, I would, but I can't think of one now," Biden said as the crowd laughed.
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| Greta Thunberg's dad says he was "not supportive" at first Posted: 30 Dec 2019 02:28 AM PST  "I didn't do it to save the climate, I did it to save my child," Svante Thunberg said about joining his daughter's fight against climate change.
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| China took their parents: the Uighur refugee children of Turkey Posted: 30 Dec 2019 06:01 PM PST  The school on the outskirts of Istanbul is a rare place where Uighur child refugees from China can study their language and culture. Having fled a worsening crackdown on Uighur Muslims in northwest China, some of their parents thought it was still safe to return occasionally for business and to visit family, only to disappear into a shadowy network of re-education camps from which no communication is permitted. Nine-year-old Fatima has only vague memories of her homeland -- and now, of her father, too.
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| 6 suspected gang members arrested in shooting in Fresno backyard that killed 4 Posted: 31 Dec 2019 02:59 PM PST  The Fresno Police Department arrested six people in a mass shooting that killed four and injured several others during a backyard party.
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| Thousands of Google cafeteria staff have unionized, and it's the latest group of Google's 'shadow workforce' to join a union Posted: 31 Dec 2019 08:07 AM PST  The union organizing comes as Google is facing a wave of internal activism from its own employees protesting the company's treatment of workers.
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| A Plan for World War III: How the Warsaw Pact Planned to Defeat NATO Posted: 31 Dec 2019 02:30 AM PST  History had other ideas.
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| Points of Progress: Where good news happened in 2019 Posted: 30 Dec 2019 08:42 AM PST  Our correspondents report on significant steps of progress their regions have made headed into 2020.
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| Trump blames Iran as protests erupt outside U.S. embassy in Iraq Posted: 31 Dec 2019 12:47 AM PST  Militiamen and their supporters protesting against deadly U.S. air strikes on Iraq hurled stones and torched a security post at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday in an unprecedented attack on an American diplomatic mission in the country. Embassy guards responded with stun grenades and tear gas after the attackers stormed and burned the security post at the entrance but did not breach the main compound. The incident marked a sharp escalation of the proxy conflict between Washington and Tehran - both influential players in Iraq - while mass protests are challenging Iraq's own political system nearly 17 years after the U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
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| Woman Jumps From Ferry Boat at Walt Disney World in Orlando Posted: 31 Dec 2019 07:49 AM PST  The 56-year-old woman received minor injuries and was transported to a local hospital
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| Uber, Postmates sue to challenge California's new labor law Posted: 30 Dec 2019 05:40 PM PST  Ride-share company Uber and on-demand meal delivery service Postmates sued Monday to block a broad new California law aimed at giving wage and benefit protections to people who work as independent contractors. Uber said it will try to link the lawsuit to another legal challenge filed in mid-December by associations representing freelance writers and photographers. The California Trucking Association filed the first challenge to the law in November on behalf of independent truckers.
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| Panama marks 20 years in charge of canal, faces climate threat Posted: 30 Dec 2019 09:23 PM PST  On December 31, 1999 at midday sharp, then-president Mireya Moscoso hoisted Panama's red, blue and white flag over the Canal administration building for the first time. The entire Central American nation was swept with joy, having finally received sovereignty over the Canal after 85 years of management by the US, which built and inaugurated the ocean route in August 1914. Twenty years later, recurrent droughts caused by climate change are the main threat to the 80 kilometer-long canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, through which mostly American, Chinese and Japanese merchant ships pass.
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| Deputy tases woman, 70, while trying to make arrest at her home Posted: 29 Dec 2019 11:29 PM PST  Authorities say Barbara Pinkney wouldn't let them in and had to be tased three times before she could be subdued.
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| Russia Was Almost A France And British Enemy At The Onset Of World War II Posted: 29 Dec 2019 06:00 PM PST  Would Hitler have won?
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| USA TODAY's guide to cruise ship gratuity fees and service charges Posted: 31 Dec 2019 10:57 AM PST ![USA TODAY's guide to cruise ship gratuity fees and service charges]( "USA TODAY's guide to cruise ship gratuity fees and service charges") In the world of cruising, gratuities and service charges are the apex controversy. Check out these fee listings on major cruise lines.
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| 18 Inventions that Changed Our Lives in the 2010s Posted: 31 Dec 2019 08:53 AM PST |
| Kim Says North Korea Not Bound to Test Freeze, Built New Weapon Posted: 31 Dec 2019 03:51 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Kim Jong Un declared that he was no longer bound by his pledge to freeze major weapons tests, saying the regime would soon debut a "new strategic weapon" and take "shocking" action toward the U.S.The North Korean leader told a gathering of party leaders in Pyongyang that the new weapon system had been "perfectly carried out" by scientists, designers and "workers in the field of the munitions industry," the state-run Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday. The comments were released early New Year's Day in North Korea, an occasion when Kim has previously made a televised address announcing big policy shifts."The world will witness a new strategic weapon to be possessed by the DPRK in the near future," KCNA said, citing Kim and referring to the country's formal name.While showing his frustration for sputtering nuclear talks with the U.S., Kim still left an opening for President Donald Trump by not explicitly stating he would resume tests or break off the nuclear negotiations that have seen three face-to-face meeting since June 2018. Kim expressed his anger at joint U.S.-South Korean militarily drills, new U.S. weapons being deployed on the peninsula and sanctions, which have been choking North Korea's paltry economy.Kim said the U.S. actions had forced him to reconsider a moratorium on tests of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles that could deliver them to the U.S. "He stressed that under such condition, there is no ground for us to get unilaterally bound to the commitment any longer," KCNA said."North Korea's moratoriums are meant to be broken," said Sung-yoon Lee, a professor of U.S.-East Asia relations at Tufts University's Fletcher School. "North Korea always lays the blame for its actions on the U.S. Kim Jong Un, I believe is setting the stage for the next big provocation to come."It was unclear whether Kim would also deliver a separate new year's speech. Kim could replace his annual address with a policy statement from the plenary, the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported before KCNA issued the report.In a previous New Year's address, Kim said he planned to resume tests of ICBMs, but no mention was made of new testing in the latest report. Kim didn't specify what the new strategic weapon was, or when it would be deployed.How Kim Jong Un Keeps Advancing His Nuclear Program: QuickTakeNorth Korea had expressed increasing frustration with the U.S. since Trump walked out of their last formal summit in February. Kim resumed launches of mostly short-range ballistic missiles at a record-setting pace and repeatedly warned that his freeze on tests on ICBMs might be coming to an end. Trump was not mentioned by name in the report, a sign that Kim has not resorted to the name-calling that punctuated their relationship ahead of their detente."In the future, the more the U.S. stalls for time and hesitates in the settlement of the DPRK-U.S. relations, the more helpless it will find itself before the might of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," Kim told the four-day party gathering that ended Tuesday.'Fell in Love'While Trump in 2018 claimed that North Korea was "no longer a nuclear threat" and that he and Kim "fell in love," a deal between the two countries has remained elusive.Neither side can agree on the terms of disarmament or U.S.-imposed economic sanctions. Meanwhile, North Korea has continued to conduct missile tests and build its nuclear arsenal.North Korea had suggested a "Christmas gift" would be forthcoming after demanding additional concessions as part of the stalled nuclear talks. Earlier this year, Kim's regime set a Dec. 31 deadline for a breakthrough. Trump has downplayed any threat, saying on Christmas Eve that the U.S. will "deal with it" and joking that Kim's "gift" could be a "beautiful vase."Robert O'Brien, Trump's national security adviser, said in December that the U.S. will be ready to respond should Kim fire additional long-range missiles or conduct further nuclear weapons tests."We'll reserve judgment, but the United States will take action as we do in these situations," O'Brien said on ABC's "This Week." "If Kim Jong Un takes that approach, we'll be extraordinarily disappointed and we'll demonstrate that disappointment."Kim, however, had some ominous words for the U.S. "He said that we will never allow the impudent U.S. to abuse the DPRK-U.S. dialogue for meeting its sordid aim but will shift to a shocking actual action to make it pay for the pains sustained by our people so far and for the development so far restrained," KCNA reported.\--With assistance from Shinhye Kang.To contact the reporters on this story: John Harney in Washington at jharney2@bloomberg.net;Jihye Lee in Seoul at jlee2352@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Jon HerskovitzFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| CIA devised way to restrict missiles given to allies, researcher says Posted: 30 Dec 2019 06:21 PM PST  The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has devised technology to restrict the use of anti-aircraft missiles after they leave American hands, a researcher said, a move that experts say could persuade the United States that it would be safe to disseminate powerful weapons more frequently. The new technology is intended for use with shoulder-fired missiles called Man-Portable Air-Defense Systems (MANPADS), Dutch researcher Jos Wetzels told a cybersecurity conference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHj_iQZ9pTk in Leipzig, Germany on Saturday. Wetzels said the system was laid out in a batch of CIA documents published by WikiLeaks in 2017 but that the files were mislabeled and attracted little public attention until now.
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| AP Explains: Who are Iraq's Iran-backed militias? Posted: 31 Dec 2019 10:24 AM PST  Iran emerged as a major power broker in Iraq after the American invasion in 2003, supporting Shiite Islamist parties and militias that have dominated the country ever since. Worries are increasing that the militias could drag Iraq into the growing proxy war between the U.S. and Iran in the Middle East. The United States and its ally, Israel, are targeting pro-Iranian militias across Lebanon, Syria and Iraq with economic sanctions and airstrikes hitting their bases and other infrastructure.
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| Boy sets lawn on fire with magnifying glass, mother says Posted: 31 Dec 2019 12:29 AM PST  "...It will now be a Christmas to remember! 2019- The Christmas the lawn lit on fire," the boy's mother wrote on Facebook.
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| Huawei says it will generate a record $122 billion in annual revenue despite US sanctions Posted: 31 Dec 2019 05:05 AM PST  The $122 billion figure would, however, fall short of Huawei's own annual revenue projections for 2019.
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| Why Does Russia Want the United States to Buy the F-15EX Fighter? Posted: 30 Dec 2019 08:00 AM PST  We shouldn't take Moscow's advice.
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