| The Latest: Trump says threats led to carrier deployment Posted: 09 May 2019 10:27 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (AP) — The Latest on the crisis surrounding Iran's decision to step away from the embattled nuclear deal with world powers (all times local):
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| Chinese court holds off ruling on Canadian's death penalty appeal Posted: 09 May 2019 02:59 AM PDT  A Chinese court adjourned a hearing on a Canadian man's appeal against his death sentence for drug smuggling without a decision Thursday in a case that has deepened a diplomatic spat between Beijing and Ottawa. Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, 36, was sentenced to death in January after a court deemed his previous 15-year prison sentence too lenient. The Liaoning High People's Court in northeast China said in a statement that "all procedural rights of appellant Schellenberg were guaranteed in accordance with the law".
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| 'Missiles like these will start the war': North Korea tests showcase growing capability Posted: 09 May 2019 10:57 PM PDT  Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the first flight of a previously untested weapon - a relatively small, fast missile experts believe will be easier to hide, launch, and maneuver in flight. The tests have increased tensions after the last U.S.-North Korea summit collapsed in February in Hanoi with no agreement over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said late on Thursday the launches seemed like a protest over the failed summit, while North Korea has defended the tests as routine and self defensive.
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| Original iPod hits eBay at insane $20,000 list price Posted: 09 May 2019 04:06 PM PDT  When Apple unveiled the original iPod back in 2001, the reactions weren't universally positive. Indeed, some fan reactions on a MacRumors message board at the time have since taken on a life of their own.As an illustrative example, one outraged Apple fan wrote the following nearly 18 years ago: "I still can't believe this! All this hype for something so ridiculous! Who cares about an MP3 player? I want something new! I want them to think differently! Why oh why would they do this?! It's so wrong! It's so stupid!"Of course, the iPod would go onto become monumentally successful for Apple. In addition to padding Apple's bank account with billions of dollars, the iPod helped upend the music industry and, years later, would serve as the springboard for the iPhone. The iPhone may be a more revolutionary and impactful device, but it simply wouldn't exist had the iPod not paved the way years ahead of time.While some iconic products can still be found for cheap -- with Apple's original Bondi Blue iMac being one such example -- others are wildly expensive. The original iPod falls into the latter category.Hopping on over to eBay, someone is selling a completely unused and factory sealed original iPod for $19,995. And in a testament to how ancient the device is, the iPod in question features a mechanical scroll wheel and a paltry 5GB of storage. To be fair, though, 5GB of storage back then was more than enough for a world where the only media content people cared about was music.Is forking over $20,000 for an original iPod completely unnecessary, if not downright insane? Of course. Then again, never underestimate the power of nostalgia.
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| Joe Biden supports health care coverage for undocumented immigrants Posted: 09 May 2019 03:51 PM PDT  Former Vice President Joe Biden, considered one of the more centrist members of the Democratic presidential primary field, calls for a controversial new entitlement; Peter Doocy reports.
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| McConnell capitalizes on attack with 'Cocaine Mitch' shirts Posted: 09 May 2019 02:46 PM PDT  FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is capitalizing on a fellow Republican's attack by selling "Cocaine Mitch" shirts on his campaign's website.
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| Our Own Private Singapore Posted: 10 May 2019 08:06 AM PDT  The rap on Singapore is that it has fertile capital but a sterile culture -- a great place to do business, but a stultifying place to live.It is the Facebook of countries.The authorities there are sensitive to that kind of criticism. In a 2017 interview with the Straits Times, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong emphasized the diversity of the country and the distinctiveness of its individual cultural components. Singapore, he said, is oriented not toward assimilation but integration."The result has been distinctive Singaporean variants of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Eurasian cultures, and a growing Singaporean identity that we all share, suffusing and linking up our distinct individual identities and ethnic cultures," Lee said. "We certainly don't wish Singapore to be a first-world economy but a third-rate society, with a people who are well off but uncouth. We want to be a society rich in spirit, a gracious society where people are considerate and kind to one another, and as Mencius said, where we treat all elders as we treat our own parents, and other children as our own."That is a very nice vision, which the government of Singapore pursues energetically through authoritarianism, bullying, and intimidation. Singapore is an innovator in many fields, and one of the activities toward which it has turned a great deal of attention is one that is of increasing global and domestic significance: censorship.Singapore has just passed a law that would require Facebook, Twitter, and other social-media companies to publish corrections on their sites in response to content that is ruled untrue by the government of Singapore. Facebook executives say they have been looking to governments for guidance in their attempt to suppress certain kinds of speech on their platforms -- and here it is, from the world-beating experts.The government of Singapore is, in fact, not so different in its thinking from Facebook. It is just a little ahead of the curve. Facebook insists (sometimes laughably) that its speech restrictions are not directed at unpopular political ideas but exist to serve the "safety" of the public. Singapore, too, cites safety as it prohibits certain unwelcome political activism and cultural innovation. "Public safety" is, like "national security," an almost infinitely plastic criterion in the hands of an entrepreneurial politician: In March, President Donald Trump blocked the acquisition of Qualcomm by Singapore-based Broadcom, offering only the vague explanation that the company "might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States." Senator Marco Rubio has argued that corporate welfare for Florida sugar barons is a matter of national security, while others make the same argument for their favorite commodities; Democratic party officials have suggested that Second Amendment activists be investigated or suppressed as terrorists; the sniveling cowards who run the University of California at Berkeley cited "public safety" when they forbade conservative polemicist Ann Coulter to speak on campus. Et cetera ad nauseam.In Singapore, "public safety" is the rationale for a remarkably thorough program of official censorship, much of which is directed at the worthy goal of keeping the peace among the city-state's unamalgamated ethnic and religious groups. For example, if a crime has a potentially inflammatory ethnic or religious component, that fact generally will be omitted from media coverage as part of an unspoken agreement between the state and the newspapers. Films or books that are deemed to denigrate an ethnic or religious group are prohibited. The sale of Malaysian newspapers is prohibited. And in the same way that U.S. progressives seek to suppress political speech as a matter of "campaign finance," the authorities in Singapore have prohibited the unlicensed showing of "party political films," which may be the of "any person and directed towards any political end in Singapore." Such films are permitted only if the government considers them objective; the irony of demanding a subjective ruling about objectivity seems to have been lost on Singapore's rulers, who are not famous for their sense of humor.Singapore's censors make the same argument as do Facebook's: that the suppression of certain kinds of unwelcome political speech is necessary for "public safety." Singapore's is a genuinely multiethnic and multireligious society -- and, as it turns out, such societies do not have a very good record for long-term stability and domestic tranquility. If anything, Singapore has a more convincing argument that fanning the flames of communal politics in such a country is likely to actually endanger people than Facebook does that Milo Yiannapoulos is whatever kind of danger it is that he is supposed to be. Singapore's position is more convincing than the jactitations of those ignorant little twerps at Philadelphia's University of the Arts who protested that the presence of Professor Camille Paglia on their campus left them "unsafe." (They should feel grateful. I wonder who is the second-most distinguished intellectual associated with that school.) You will not be surprised to learn that the burdens here fall more heavily on dissidents and critics of the government.But let us give Singapore and Facebook the benefit of the doubt and assume that they are motivated by concerns that are in the main to be admired. The end results are no less risible: If American society is really so fragile that Alex Jones presents an existential threat to the republic, then we should send our British cousins a letter of apology and ask to be readmitted as a colony, if they'll have us. Likewise, if Singapore truly is going to be rocked, and not in a good way, by a Katy Perry song ("I Kissed a Girl" was prohibited as homosexual propaganda) then it is a pitiable little island indeed, to quaver at such a colossus as that.But, of course, almost no one takes seriously these claims, just as no one seriously thinks that Ann Coulter is a "danger" to anybody or that the NRA shares a genre with the Islamic State. These are pretexts, and flimsy ones. They are fig leaves for ochlocracy.But once censorship has been established in principle and accepted in practice, then officiousness, triviality, and vindictiveness are the inevitable outcomes. Bureaucracies -- Singapore's government, Facebook's management -- have interests of their own, and agendas of their own, and tastes of their own, and to take seriously the proposition that Facebook's speech-policing or U.S. "campaign finance" restrictions will be managed with any more objectivity or neutrality than Singapore's official state censorship is to ignore almost everything we know about how bureaucracies actually work. The powers that be at Facebook and Twitter may or may not be acting in good faith, but the more important fact is that they could not be fair and neutral even if they sincerely wished to be. This is a fact of organizational life, one that must be dealt with seriously. The bland little caudillos down in Human Resources are creatures of an insipid little culture all their own.And that is the one that Facebook et al. propose we live under.Facebook is a private company, and it may of course as a legal matter do whatever it pleases with its own platform, and Singapore's censorship is perfectly legal, too, for what that's worth -- which is not very much: Some of the worst crimes against humanity in modern history were carried out under the color of law. The question of what may be done is distinct from the question of what should be done.Singapore's censorship is quite defensible in principle -- if you accept censorship in principle -- and the consequences of its policies have been perfectly predictable. When the prime minister feels himself obliged to go public with his insistence that local cultural conditions are not "third rate," it is an excellent indicator that they are obviously third-rate. Some lies are accidental advertisements for the truth. There is much that is admirable about Singapore, but at its worst it is a kind of splendidly air-conditioned fascist shopping mall. Public safety is one of those good things it is possible to have too much of, and "graciousness" enforced at the point of a bayonet is not graciousness at all.Facebook, Twitter, et al. are houses divided: As businesses they are one thing, as institutions they are another. Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes argued in the pages of the New York Times on Thursday that Facebook should be broken up, in part because of its failure to contain "violent rhetoric and fake news." Facebook and other "gargantuan companies," he argued, are a threat to democracy. That is hysteria, but it contains a measure of truth. Democracy relies on discourse, and healthy discourse relies on a culture of open exchange, which in turn requires a measure of confidence that Facebook's executives lack. Ironically, the problems of Facebook and, especially, of Twitter are not so much threats to democracy but useful illustrations of the shortcomings of unmediated democracy, in which the mob bullies the institutions into submission. In a healthy democratic system, things work in roughly the opposite way, with institutions helping to contain and redirect the excesses of democratic passion. And that is where Facebook and Singapore differ: The government of Singapore -- which, whatever its shortcomings, seems to be run by men who genuinely believe in their own precepts -- serves no mob, but Facebook, lacking the real conviction that can be rooted only in the permanent things, is abject and quickly prone before whatever mob happens to show up at its door.The American settlement under the First Amendment is unusual to the point of being nearly unique. Censorship of different kinds is the norm in civilized countries from Singapore to Germany, where certain political parties, symbols, and ideas are strictly prohibited. The American arrangement is different because it is the product of men who as individuals and as a civilization believed in something, which gave them the confidence to live in a world in which they are likely to hear and read things they did not like from time to time, things that might even be wicked, scurrilous, or wrong. Some men endure winter at Valley Forge, and some tremble at the menace of Katy Perry or poor daft Laura Loomer.There is a wonderful scene in Serenity, a science-fiction film that is something of a libertarian manifesto, in which a fragile, psychologically damaged girl is taken along on what amounts to an Old West-style bank robbery, after which she and her friends are chased and nearly captured by mutant space cannibals who mean to eat them raw on the spot. At the end of a wild ride dodging fire in an open-air conveyance while speeding across a Sergio Leone landscape, she returns to her overprotective older brother, who asks if she is injured. She looks at him, wide-eyed, and says: "I swallowed a bug." Freedom tastes like that, sometimes.
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| A Venezuelan Opposition Figure Has Been Arrested After Taking Part in a Failed Uprising Posted: 09 May 2019 01:22 AM PDT  It was the first arrest in an apparent crackdown on those who tried to revolt
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| Trump calls for prosecuting John Kerry for talking to Iran Posted: 09 May 2019 11:48 AM PDT  He's talking to Iran and...has many meetings and many phone calls and he's telling them what to do.
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| US ends support for Japan crashed fighter jet search Posted: 09 May 2019 03:02 AM PDT  The US Navy has ended operations assisting Japan's search for a stealth fighter jet that crashed in the Pacific, after some of its debris was recovered. "A US Navy salvage team aboard a contracted vessel completed its mission supporting search and recovery operations with the Japan Self-Defense Forces," the US 7th Fleet said in a statement on Wednesday. Japan will continue searching for the remains of the plane, a defence spokesman said.
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| 5 Takes on Porsche's 911 Speedster, Designed by Our Staff Posted: 09 May 2019 08:31 AM PDT |
| STEM School was urged to investigate concerns over 'a repeat of Columbine' months before shooting Posted: 09 May 2019 11:53 AM PDT  A woman claiming to be a parent of a STEM School student warned school district administrators in December about her fears of a 'a repeat of Columbine.'
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| U.S. House could slap $25,000 per day contempt fines on Trump advisers: Democrat Posted: 10 May 2019 04:49 PM PDT  Expanding on an idea floated days ago by Democrats as a way of putting some teeth into various inquiries of Trump, his turbulent presidency, his family and his business interests, Representative Adam Schiff spoke in two interviews about reviving the "inherent contempt" power of Congress. "We would levy fines on those who are not cooperating," Schiff, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee told Axios in an interview published on Friday. Republicans have accused Democrats of grandstanding for progressive voters, but even the Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed the president's son, Donald Trump Jr. Congress can subpoena testimony and documents, then enforce these formal requests by holding recalcitrant subpoena targets in contempt of Congress.
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| Shocker! The GoFundMe Campaign to Build the Wall Is a Bust Posted: 10 May 2019 02:09 AM PDT  Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/GettyThis story originally appeared in Right Richter, a newsletter by Will Sommer. Subscribe now to see what's happening in right-wing media from the safety of your inbox.Back in December, Washington state Trump supporter Joshua Greene donated a small amount of money to the crowdfunding effort to build a wall along the southern U.S. border. He wasn't alone. The GoFundMe page to build the wall, to which he'd donated, was a sensation on the right in late 2018 and raised more than $20 million. Organized by triple-amputee veteran Brian Kolfage, the campaign eventually morphed into a nonprofit called We Build the Wall, which promised to build portions of the wall on private land using the money it raised. Months later, there's no evidence that any construction has started, despite claims from Kolfage and his allies that construction would start in April. And now Greene is wondering what ever happened to that wall he was promised his dollars would fund? "The lack of updates is very concerning," Greene wrote in an email to Right Richter. He's not the only GoFundMe donor curious about what happened to the wall money. Since We Build the Wall blew their April deadline, Twitter replies to Kolfage and the group's Facebook page have filled up with angry donors. Greene started tweeting his displeasure, too. We Build the Wall has frequently presented itself as poised to start building portions of the wall on private land. In February, former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach—who is a member of We Build the Wall's board of directors—claimed that the group was "getting ready to break ground, probably in April." Kolfage himself went further, saying in a radio interview in March that "we're going to start breaking ground next month." The group had even promised to invite donors to a groundbreaking ceremony.More than a week into May, though, We Build the Wall hasn't shown any proof that any ground has been broken, and donors say they weren't invited to any promised groundbreaking ceremony. Donors to the group have begun taking out their frustrations on the organization's Facebook page, which often hypes the threat of immigrants crossing the border illegally. "Show me video of wall being built and I'll pony up my next donation," reads one angry Facebook comment. "Where is the rest of the money going?" reads another. Making donors more nervous is that Kolfage has a history of participating in questionable endeavors. He was a prolific operator of hoax pages on Facebook, and money he raised in the past to help veterans' programs in hospitals never actually went to those hospitals. Complicating the effort further is that it's not that easy to find private land right on the border where a wall can be built. Kolfage and We Build the Wall's board of directors have spent plenty of time in Arizona, ostensibly scouting private land to build the wall. But The Phoenix New Times reported in March that the "vast majority" of land on the border in the state is owned by the federal government. Meanwhile, many of the people who actually own land on the border told the New Times that they hadn't been contacted by We Build the Wall. We Build the Wall didn't respond to requests for comment. In a Facebook comment this week, the group claimed, once again, that it was very close to building the wall. Conveniently, though, We Build the Wall claimed the information about the private wall's location had to be "secure" in order to confound liberal foes. Want this in your inbox? Subscribe to Right Richter here. "VERY soon we can release the details but have to keep that information secure for the time being as to prevent giving our detractors a heads up to derail our progress," the statement reads. "Soon, everyone will have the update they've been waiting for which we can't wait to share. This updated delay is just the unfortunate process of building a controversial barrier some people don't want to happen."Kolfage has made similar statements in the past, claiming in a March radio interview that he can't say where the wall will be built because Trump critics like the American Civil Liberties Union would try to stop it. "I wish I could name where it's at, but we can't name it because of the ACLU, these other liberal groups that want to sue us and impede our progress," Kolfage said. "But it's actually happening." As for Greene, he's fed up with the lack of information about the campaign he financially supported."I knew Brian had some previous shady GoFundMe campaigns," Greene emailed. "I felt more confident when he brought on other big names to work with him, I haven't seen a tweet from ANY of them."Read more at The Daily Beast.
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| Sister: 9-year-old boy accused of killing mom just 'snapped' Posted: 09 May 2019 08:15 AM PDT  FAWN RIVER TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — The adult sister of a 9-year-old boy who is charged with killing their mother said he has mental health problems and probably just "snapped" on the day of the shooting.
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| Did Google just show us a Pixel 4 prototype at I/O 2019? Posted: 09 May 2019 08:44 AM PDT  Google's I/O 2019 keynote brought us several major announcements from the company, most of which focused on exciting innovations on the software front. Google Assistant was one of the show's highlights as Google found a way to reduce the size of the voice recognition software, and make it all happen on-device. The real-time on-device voice recognition demo on stage was easily one of the best things Google showed us. Google Assistant was able to deal with voice commands in rapid succession without missing a beat. But while we focused on the Assistant demo, we might have missed an incredible tidbit — Google may have used a product that's not available to anyone right now during the demo. Is it a Pixel 4 prototype? When Google ended that Assistant demo, a slide told us that the features we just saw are "coming to new Pixel phones later this year." This seemed to indicate that whatever hardware the Assistant needs to deliver all that real-time on-device voice-based magic might not be available on any of the existing Pixel phones, not even the Pixel 3. Looking again at the video and focusing on the hardware that a Googler named Meggie used to demo the Assistant, it's clear that it's covered in some protective gear meant to hide its design. Before we get to that, let's look at Pixel 3's current design. Here's what the rear cameras look like. Now let's look at the rumored Pixel 4 design, from a few weeks ago. Google might be going for a Galaxy S10-like design on the phone, according to some reports. The problem with this renders is that the camera placements aren't accurate. The punch-hole selfie camera and rear camera can't be on the same side of the phone. There's just no way the components would fit. The selfie cam should be placed on the left side of the screen. Here's the phone Meggie used — notice how the rear camera design isn't shown. That's not a lens we see there, it's the flashlight, which Google Assistant turns on and off during the demo. The front of the handset is even more puzzling. It's clear that we have at least one front-facing camera lens in there.
But what's with that strange notch-like cutout towards the left? What if that's a Galaxy S10-style hole-punch camera placed on the left side of the screen there? The phone we see in the demo definitely packs the kind of hardware that's needed to support the new Assistant experience. It's probably the Snapdragon 855 processor that's doing all the heavy lifting. Or maybe it's a special Pixel-banded chip built by Google running alongside the Snapdragon 855. We have no way of knowing, but in either case it's almost certainly not a publicly available Pixel phone being used in that demo. Google is reportedly exploring several Pixel 4 designs, according to a recent report, so we'll have to wait a while to see the final version get leaked.
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| Venezuelan lawmakers seek refuge in embassies after crackdown on Guaido allies Posted: 09 May 2019 04:22 PM PDT  The ex-head of the state intelligence service, Manuel Cristopher, the top Maduro government official to defect during the uprising, also spoke out for the first time on Thursday, urging Venezuelans to "build a new state" and combat corruption. The moves came the day after authorities arrested Edgar Zambrano, the opposition-run National Assembly's vice president. Richard Blanco of the Brave Peoples' Alliance party entered Argentina's embassy on Thursday, according to an Argentine foreign ministry source and a Reuters witness, while Americo De Grazia of the Radical Cause party sought refuge at Italy's embassy, according to three sources close to him.
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| Swift ruling likely in first round of Trump financial records subpoena fight Posted: 10 May 2019 04:08 AM PDT  Constitution Daily contributor Lyle Denniston explains why the fight between House Democrats and the Trump administration over the President's business records could move quickly through the legal system.
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| Israel lifts Gaza fishing ban as calm returns Posted: 10 May 2019 03:44 AM PDT  Israel lifted a ban on Friday on Palestinian fishing boats operating off Gaza, an Israeli military body said, ending a measure imposed during a deadly flare-up of violence earlier this month. The fishing union in Gaza confirmed the lifting of the ban, saying the new limits imposed by Israel were 12 nautical miles in the southern half of Gaza, and six nautical miles in the north.
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| Federal judge keeps UAW lawsuit over plant closings in Ohio Posted: 10 May 2019 12:26 PM PDT ![Federal judge keeps UAW lawsuit over plant closings in Ohio]( "Federal judge keeps UAW lawsuit over plant closings in Ohio") A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit filed by the United Auto Workers against General Motors over the closing of three plants should be heard in Ohio. The Warren Tribune Chronicle reports U.S. District ...
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| Grieving Students Walk Out of Colorado School Shooting Vigil: ‘This Was Not About Us’ Posted: 08 May 2019 09:50 PM PDT  Rick Wilking/ReutersHIGHLANDS RANCH, Colorado—A day after two students shot up a school, survivors walked out of a vigil organized by gun control advocates, saying they felt excluded from what should have been an opportunity to grieve.Team Enough and Moms Demand Action helped promote the Wednesday evening gathering, and more than 100 students and several hundred parents from the STEM School packed into the gymnasium bleachers, hoping to find community and catharsis.But after sitting through remarks by Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), and realizing the program was centered around changing gun laws, students who had hoped to speak lost patience and walked out en masse."This was not about us. We can do our own vigil," one STEM student remarked.Students from Team Enough said the event was organized on such short notice they were unable to find a way to include STEM students in the program."I feel terrible. They did not feel represented. I get it," said Laura Reeves, a volunteer with Moms Demand Action who spoke at the vigil."This was put together in such a short time. I know they did their best. Emotions are raw and sad. They are grieving. They need to express their feelings. They need to be together. I am hoping their school can help facilitate that conversation beyond this week."Police have said two STEM students opened fire at the school on Tuesday, killing one and wounding eight before they were arrested. Any motive for the attack—20 years after the Columbine High School massacre just seven miles away—has not been disclosed.Heavy rain had kept surviving students cooped up at home, and many of them were looking forward to the vigil at a neighboring school. Things began to fall apart an hour in when organizers suggested any STEM students who wanted to speak gather in the hall outside the gym.A few rose to speak, but soon the crowd filed out and left. Standing outside the building in the freezing rain, some began chanting. But they quickly dispersed as Douglas County Sheriff's vehicles began arriving at the school.One mom of a STEM student said it was a case of good intentions gone wrong."I really appreciate what they tried to do here tonight, but our kids didn't want to be talked at," she said.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here
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| Chelsea Manning: Jailed US analyst walks free after refusing to testify to WikiLeaks grand jury Posted: 09 May 2019 08:45 PM PDT  The former US intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning has been released from prison after she was jailed for refusing to testify to a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks.Ms Manning spent 62 days in jail on contempt charges but was released as the term of the grand jury she was supposed to give evidence to expired.However the ex Army employee, who served seven years of a 35-year sentence for handing a huge trove of confidential documents to WikiLeaks, could be back in jail within a week.She has received another subpoena demanding she testify to a new grand jury, opening on 16 May.Under US federal law, a person subpoenaed by a grand jury can be jailed on a civil contempt charge if judges believe it has a chance of coercing them to give evidence.Earlier this week, Ms Manning's lawyers filed court papers arguing that she should not be jailed again because she has proven that she will stick to her principles and will not testify no matter how long she is jailed.If a judge were to determine that incarcerating Ms Manning were punitive rather than coercive, she would not be jailed."At this point, given the sacrifices she has already made, her strong principles, her strong and growing support community, and the disgrace attendant to her capitulation, it is inconceivable that Chelsea Manning will ever change her mind about her refusal to cooperate with the grand jury," her lawyers wrote.Ms Manning filed an eight-page statement with the court on Monday outlining her resolve.She wrote that "cooperation with this grand jury is simply not an option. Doing so would mean throwing away all of my principles, accomplishments, sacrifices, and erase decades of my reputation - an obvious impossibility," she wrote.She also said she was suffering disproportionately in jail because of physical problems related with inadequate follow-up care to gender-reassignment surgery.Ms Manning was working for the Army in Iraq in 2010 when she was arrested and accused of leaking 700,000 documents, diplomatic cables and videos.She was accused of putting the lives of American soldiers at risk, but said she acted in order to open up debate about US foreign policy.Her 35-year sentence was the longest for leaking in US history, and president Barack Obama referred to it as "disproportionate" to her crimes. He commuted the remainder of her sentence in 2017, just before leaving office.Additional reporting by agencies
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| French prosecutor opens investigation over suspected Monsanto file Posted: 10 May 2019 01:16 PM PDT ![French prosecutor opens investigation over suspected Monsanto file]( "French prosecutor opens investigation over suspected Monsanto file") The French prosecutor on Friday said it had opened a preliminary investigation into a suspected file assembled by Bayer's seed maker Monsanto to influence various personalities in France. The probe was opened after a complaint was filed by daily newspaper Le Monde. According to Le Monde and other French media, Monsanto built up a file of some 200 names that includes journalists and law makers in the hope of influencing their positions on pesticides.
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| Windows 10 update brings us closer to a world without passwords Posted: 09 May 2019 03:04 PM PDT  Microsoft is one step closer to fulfilling the passwordless Windows 10 dream, as the latest Windows 10 update will make it even easier to log into devices and online services without having to worry about passwords.That's because Microsoft's Windows Hello has received FIDO2 certification, which means Hello biometrics and PINs are now seen as secure authenticators."FIDO2 is a set of standards that enables easy and secure logins to websites and applications via biometrics, mobile devices and/or FIDO Security Keys. FIDO2's simpler login experiences are backed by strong cryptographic security that is far superior to passwords, protecting users from phishing, all forms of password theft and replay attacks," the FIDO Alliance explained in a press release.Microsoft said in its own announcement to mark the FIDO2 certification that "no one likes passwords (except hackers).""People don't like passwords because we have to remember them," Microsoft said. "As a result, we often create passwords that are easy to guess -- which makes them the first target for hackers trying to access your computer or network at work."With Windows Hello, you'll now be able to use facial authentication, fingerprints, or a PIN to "leave the world of passwords behind," although, technically, you won't drop the passwords for any of these devices or services anytime soon. But you won't have to fill them in with each login.You'll have to update your Windows 10 computer to version 1903 to take advantage of the feature. What that means, in practice, is that browsers including Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox will support Windows Hello biometrics. Similarly, several of Microsoft's own products, including Office 365, Skype, Xbox Live, and others will also authenticate users with Windows Hello rather than a password.
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| Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams says she is considering White House run Posted: 09 May 2019 04:45 PM PDT  Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams, a rising party star who narrowly fell short of becoming the first female African- American governor last year, said on Thursday she is still considering running for president.
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| Trump got the crisis he wanted in Iran. Now what? Posted: 09 May 2019 10:39 AM PDT  With both sides reacting to each other with provocations and rhetorical bluster, foreign-policy experts are concerned the situation is one miscalculation from spinning out of control.
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| Mueller won't testify next week, House chairman says Posted: 10 May 2019 01:59 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee says special counsel Robert Mueller won't appear before his panel next week, despite the committee's hope that Mueller would testify May 15.
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| Three party leaders seeking to win S.Africa election Posted: 09 May 2019 03:24 AM PDT  South Africa was counting votes on Thursday following national polls with the leaders of the three main parties hoping to come out on top. Cyril Ramaphosa, the leader of the ruling ANC party, took the country's reins last year after a dramatic and varied career intertwined with the birth of modern South Africa. When Mandela walked out of jail in 1990, Ramaphosa was standing beside him.
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| Uber drivers go on strike in London and U.S. ahead of IPO, early protests sparse Posted: 09 May 2019 02:37 PM PDT ![Uber drivers go on strike in London and U.S. ahead of IPO, early protests sparse]( "Uber drivers go on strike in London and U.S. ahead of IPO, early protests sparse") Protests were sparsely attended in London, New York and California, and rides appeared easily available in some cities where strikes were called. Drivers and regulators around the world have long criticized the business tactics of Uber Technologies Inc . The Uber app indicated fares were higher in London during a rainy morning rush hour due to increased demand.
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| Best AirPods Accessories Posted: 09 May 2019 04:00 PM PDT  Apple wasn't the first company to release true wireless earbuds, but there's no question whatsoever that Apple's AirPods were the first cord-free earphones to really break out. In fact, they were so popular at launch that it took Apple more than a year before it finally caught up with demand. AirPods continue to be wildly popular with consumers all across the world, which makes plenty of sense considering how great they are. Of course nothing is perfect, and there are accessories out there that can make your experience with AirPods even better. Wireless charging caseRemember how liberated you felt the first time you got a wireless charger for your smartphone? No more fussing with cables and connectors, all you have to do is drop your phone on a pad and it charges right up. Wouldn't it be great if you could do the same thing with your AirPods? Well guess what: You can thanks to the NeotrixQI Wireless Charging Cover For Apple AirPods. Silicone coversApple's design is one of the best things about the AirPods. They're wonderfully compact and yet they manage to pump out phenomenally good sound quality with impressive bass response. Believe it or not, however, there's a simple way to get even better sound out of your AirPods. With EarBuddyz 2.0 Silicone AirPods Covers, you get a great secure fit in your ears without covering the sensors that enable Apple's coolest AirPods features. Neck strapThe true wireless design of Apple's AirPods is one of the biggest draws, of course, but there are times when having a cable that connects one earbud to the other is beneficial. One example is during workouts, so you can pop your earbuds out of your ears and let them hang around your neck. If you want the best of both worlds, the Spigen TEKA RA100 AirPods Neck Strap is just what the doctor ordered.> More options: * DamonLight AirPods Covers. These silicone covers are so thin that they'll fit in your AirPods case so you can recharge without having to remove them. * AhaStyle AirPods Covers. AhaStyle's covers are more like the ones we recommended in the main post, but they have a different fit that might work better for some people. * Waterproof AirPods Case Cover by Catalyst. This cover is the best way to protect your AirPods and the charging case from the elements. * AirPod Skins Protective Wraps. Completely change the look at your AirPods with these wraps, which are available in more than a dozen different colors. * Amasing 7 In 1 AirPods Accessories Kit. Want it all? Get seven different AirPods accessories in one nifty kit.
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| Europe rejects Iran 'ultimatum' on nuclear deal, urging caution Posted: 09 May 2019 11:36 AM PDT  European powers rejected Iran's "ultimatum" on the nuclear deal yesterday, urging the regime to stick to the terms of the 2015 agreement despite America's withdrawal. The European Union along with Britain, France and Germany – all signatories to the deal – released a statement pushing back on Iran's warning it could start enriching uranium again in 60 days. "We strongly urge Iran to continue to implement its commitments", the statement read, adding that the countries would "reject any ultimatums". The remarks suggested European leaders may not be willing or able to deliver the sanctions avoidance mechanism demanded by Iran that would help businesses keep trading with the country. With their economy stuttering and America reimposing sanctions after withdrawing from the deal, Iranian leaders are under pressure to justify their continued participation. The deal, struck during Barack Obama's presidency, saw Iran agree to forgo nuclear programs which would help it develop a weapon in return for the lifting of sanctions. But Donald Trump, the US president who dubbed the agreement "horrific" and pledged to pull America out during his 2016 campaign, has reversed the US position since taking office. Mr Trump on Thursday seemed open to talks. "I would like to see them call me," Mr Trump said of Iran, reiterating hopes the country's leaders will come to the negotiating table. Trump administration officials believe the nuclear deal was too narrow in scope, curbing Iran's nuclear programme but leaving it free to pursue ballistic missile development. They favour a more comprehensive new agreement. Mr Trump also called for John Kerry, the former US secretary of state who helped sign the deal, to be prosecuted for continuing to talk to Iranian leaders since leaving office. Figures close to Mr Kerry dismissed the demand, saying there was no illegality. Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, blamed Europe for not fulfilling its obligations under the terms of the original deal on Thursday. "The US has bullied Europe-and rest of world-for a year and EU can only express 'regret'," Mr Zarif tweeted. "Instead of demanding that Iran unilaterally abide by a multilateral accord, EU should uphold obligations - including normalisation of economic ties." The disk banner embed
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| US seizes North Korean ship amid tense moment in relations Posted: 09 May 2019 11:10 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. said Thursday that it has seized a North Korean cargo ship that was used to violate international sanctions, a first-of-its kind enforcement action that comes amid a tense moment in relations between the two countries.
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| South Africa's ruling ANC in 10 dates Posted: 10 May 2019 09:50 AM PDT  The African National Congress (ANC) led the struggle that toppled apartheid in 1994 and has ruled South Africa ever since, remaining the most popular party despite a series of scandals. The South African Native National Congress was founded in 1912 in response to discrimination against blacks in the then-Union of South Africa, established two years earlier through the merger of white-run colonies and territories. The movement changed its name to ANC in 1923.
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| China armed with powerful market weapons in trade duel with Trump Posted: 10 May 2019 11:52 AM PDT  China has a powerful financial-market arsenal for its trade tussle with America, including a hoard of Treasuries and its currency. But using those weapons is not without cost.
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| Nadler threatens to hold McGahn in contempt if he does not testify to Congress Posted: 09 May 2019 12:40 PM PDT  "I fully expect that the Committee will hold Mr. McGahn in contempt if he fails to appear before the Committee," Nadler wrote in a letter.
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| Church of England 'put reputation before abuse victims': report Posted: 09 May 2019 10:13 AM PDT  The Church of England "put its own reputation above the needs of victims" of sexual abuse by clergy, a damning report found Thursday. Its response was marked by "secrecy, prevarication and avoidance of reporting alleged crimes", an inquiry into abuse in the diocese of Chichester found. The report also criticised Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, for his "misguided" support along with others of Bishop Peter Ball, a prolific sex offender.
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| Twitter suspended 166,153 accounts for terrorism content in H2 2018 Posted: 09 May 2019 06:49 AM PDT  Twitter is making headway in tackling online terrorism content on its platform as it suspended over 166,000 accounts in the second half of last year, about a fifth less than in the previous period, the social media company said on Thursday. Together with Facebook and Google, Twitter is under pressure from regulators and governments worldwide to remove extremist content more rapidly or face more heavy-handed legislation. Announcing its latest transparency report, the company said its technical tools were producing results, with 91 percent of accounts promoting terrorism content proactively suspended by its internal technology, the majority of which happened before their first tweet because the data used to set them up raised red flags.
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| 1965 Chevrolet Corvette Has Survived Unscathed Posted: 09 May 2019 01:19 PM PDT  It has been tastefully preserved for future generations to enjoy. Classic 'Vettes are great, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to find any that haven't been adulterated with different modifications. This beautiful machine, America's sports car, is being offered a lucky future owner by Savannah Classic Cars.
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| Mueller's evidence enough to charge Trump if he weren't president, Comey says Posted: 10 May 2019 06:16 AM PDT  The former director of the FBI has said he believes Donald Trump would face charges for evidence laid out in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election – were he not the president of the United States. James Comey pointed to the numerous examples of possible obstruction of justice on the part of the president outlined in the special counsel's report, which described Russia's "sweeping and systematic" interference in the election that sent Mr Trump to the White House. "There are a whole lot of facts in Bob Mueller's report that raise serious questions about whether there's a chargeable case for obstruction and witness tampering against this president," Mr Comey, who was fired by Mr Trump in 2017, said in a CNN town hall on Thursday night. He then pointed to two key examples of the president's alleged obstruction of justice: when Mr Trump ordered former White House counsel Don McGahn to fire the special counsel, as well as when he attempted to severely the limit the scope of the investigation into only future elections. "The direction to Don McGahn to get the special counsel fired is to my mind a flaming example of corrupt intent," Mr Comey said. According to the former FBI director, both instances serve as "examples that any reasonable prosecutor would charge." His comments arrived as more than 800 former federal prosecutors signed a public letter that said Mr Trump would face charges over obstruction of justice throughout Mr Mueller's investigation were he not to have won the election. Democrats on Capitol Hill have issued subpoenas for the unredacted Mueller report and its underlying evidence, meanwhile, as the president has attempted to invoke executive privilege after lawmakers moved to hold his attorney general in contempt of Congress for failing to supply the full report. Mr Comey went on to say he believed it was possible the Russians had some form of leverage over the president. "Do you think the Russians have leverage over President Trump?" CNN's Anderson Cooper asked the former FBI director. "I don't know the answer to that," he responded. "Think it's possible?" The reporter asked. "Yes," Mr Comey immediately replied.
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| Iranian Commander: No Talks With US After Trump Invite Posted: 10 May 2019 06:50 AM PDT  A top Iranian commander shut down the idea of talks with the U.S. Friday while shrugging off the presence of American B-52 bombers that arrived in the area the previous day."No talks will be held with the Americans and the Americans will not dare take military action against us," General Yadollah Javani of the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guards said, according to Iran's state-run Tasnim news agency.Iran "sees America as unreliable," the Guards' deputy chief for political affairs added.The U.S. deployed the four bombers as well as the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf and they reportedly arrived at the Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar on Thursday.The Pentagon moved the bombers and aircraft carrier to the region amid fears that Iran is transporting short-range ballistic missiles in the Persian Gulf with the intention of striking U.S. targets, putting American forces and U.S.-backed coalitions in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar in danger."What I would like to see with Iran, I would like to see them call me," Trump said at the White House Thursday.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a warning to the state terror sponsor, saying that, "our restraint to this point should not be mistaken by Iran for a lack of resolve.""The regime in Tehran should understand that any attacks by them or their proxies of any identity against U.S. interests or citizens will be answered with a swift and decisive U.S. response," Pompeo said in a statement."We do not seek war," the secretary of state said. "But Iran's 40 years of killing American soldiers, attacking American facilities, and taking American hostages is a constant reminder that we must defend ourselves."Iran has escalated its rhetoric since April, when the U.S. officially designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Pompeo announced an end to the temporary exemptions from U.S. sanctions that eight countries had been granted, allowing them to continue importing Iranian oil and gas.
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| Tesla CEO Elon Musk faces trial for 'pedo' insult of diver Posted: 10 May 2019 04:10 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tesla CEO Elon Musk will have to go to trial to defend himself for mocking a British diver as a pedophile in a verbal sparring match that unfolded last summer after the underwater rescue of youth soccer players trapped in a Thailand cave.
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| Venezuela reopens borders with Brazil and Aruba, official says Posted: 10 May 2019 01:05 PM PDT  Venezuela is reopening its borders with Brazil and the Caribbean island of Aruba, Venezuela's Economy Vice President Tareck El Aissami said on Friday, though Aruba's government said it did not consider a re-opening "opportune." The government of President Nicolas Maduro shut those borders in February amid an opposition campaign to bring humanitarian aid into the country, which is suffering from a hyperinflationary economic collapse amid a power struggle between Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido. "We want to convert it into a peaceful border region," El Aissami said in a state television address.
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| 10 Things to Know for Today Posted: 09 May 2019 03:54 AM PDT  Your daily look at late breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
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