| Trump tweets threat: 'If Iran wants to fight, that will be the end of Iran' Posted: 19 May 2019 02:46 PM PDT  Incendiary message follows disavowals of intent from both sidesOpinion: Trump supporters don't want war with Iran In a picture released on Friday, the USS Abraham Lincoln sails in the Arabian Sea near the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge. Photograph: Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brian M Wilbur/AP Donald Trump has issued one of his most direct threats yet to Tehran, warning that "if Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran". The US president emerged from his golf club in Sterling, Virginia, on Sunday to tweet belligerently at around 4.30pm, thereby risking a quickening of tension that is already rising. "Never threaten the United States again!" he wrote. The tweet will do little to assuage jitters in the Middle East and in Washington about aggressive language coming out of the White House. Concern is already running high that Trump's hawkish national security adviser, John Bolton, who played a key role in instigating the invasion of Iraq under George Bush, might be nudging the administration towards military action. In 2015, Bolton wrote a New York Times op-ed entitled "To stop Iran's bomb, bomb Iran". Trump withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal last year. On the other hand, Trump has a way of blowing hot one minute and cold the next. As with so many of his social media missives, the precise import of his Sunday tweet was hard to read. It directly conflicted with reports of just three days ago that the president had been telling the Pentagon he did not want to go to war and wanted to find a way to wind down tensions. Those reports were also subject to qualification. In response to reports about a draft plan for the deployment of 120,000 troops, Trump said that though he did not want war, if it came to it he would send "a hell of a lot" more soldiers than that. Earlier on Sunday, the Utah senator and former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney had joined the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in dismissing the threat of war. "Going to war with Iran?" Romney asked on CNN's State of the Union. "Not going to happen." According to the Fars news agency, Maj General Hossein Salami followed foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif by saying Iran was not pursuing war either. But both men offered caveats. Romney, a member of the Senate foreign relations committee, said the threat to US interests was "real" and added: "We're going to make sure they understand that if they take action against our people, against our allies and against our friends, there will be consequence and it will be far more severe than the initial action taken by Iran." Salami said Iran was ready to fight, as the difference "between us and them is that they are afraid of war and don't have the will for it". The White House has not said what is behind its claim of an increased threat. Romney said the "intelligence community says there's a great deal of risk" but did not elaborate. It has been reported that US intelligence believes Iranian commercial vessels have carried missiles and ammunition, which some analysts say indicates preparations to defend against a US attack. Saudi Arabia is the major US ally in the region. Four oil tankers, two of them Saudi, were attacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Iran-allied rebels in Yemen claimed a drone attack on a Saudi oil pipeline. Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, told reporters on Sunday his country also "does not want war … but at the same time, if the other side chooses war, the kingdom will fight this with all force and determination". The US has sent an aircraft carrier strike group and cautionary moves include an evacuation of personnel by the oil firm ExxonMobil and a warning from the US to commercial air traffic of increased risk in the region. The Associated Press reported on Sunday that Democrats in Congress will be briefed by former CIA director John Brennan, a stringent Trump critic, and Wendy Sherman, a former state department official who helped negotiate the Iran deal. Among Democratic presidential hopefuls on Sunday, the presumption was that Trump either wanted war or was behaving irresponsibly. The Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, a military veteran, told ABC's This Week Trump was "leading us down this dangerous path towards a war in Iran". Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, another veteran, said war with Iran would be "exactly what John Bolton wants". But David Petraeus, a retired general who led US troops in Iraq in 2003 and later led the CIA, told ABC it was "pretty clear" Trump "doesn't want to go to war with Iran. He's not after regime change". Romney agreed. "I don't believe for a minute," he said, "that either the president or John Bolton or anyone else in a serious senior position of leadership in the White House has any interest in going to the Middle East and going to war. That's just not going to happen … barring some kind of attack from Iran or something of that nature which I don't think anyone anticipates. "Look, the president made it very clear that he thinks the greatest foreign policy mistake probably in the modern age was the decision by President Bush to go into Iraq. The idea that he would follow that by going after Iran, a more difficult enemy if you will, that's just not going to happen." Famously, Trump said at the time that he supported George W Bush's invasion of Iraq. He has since vehemently denied that he did so.
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| Marlen Ochoa-Lopez: Police not alerted to early clues in case of murdered teenager who ‘had baby cut from womb’ Posted: 19 May 2019 04:14 AM PDT  Police and Illinois' child welfare agency have said staff at a Chicago-area hospital did not alert them after determining that a bloodied woman who arrived with a gravely-ill newborn had not just given birth to the baby boy, as she claimed.The woman, Clarisa Figueroa, was charged more than three weeks later with killing the baby's mother, Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, after police found her body outside Ms Figueoa's home.Chicago police said she cut Ochoa-Lopez's baby out of her womb on 23 April, then called 911 to report she had given birth to a baby who was not breathing.Paramedics took Ms Figueroa and the baby to Advocate Christ Medical Centre in suburban Oak Lawn.Ochoa-Lopez's family spent those weeks searching for her and holding press conferences pleading for help finding her, unaware that the child was in a neonatal intensive care unit on life support.The baby remained hospitalised on life support on Saturday, according to authorities.Prosecutors said when Ms Figueroa was brought with the baby to the hospital, she had blood on her upper body and her face, which a hospital employee cleaned off. They also said Ms Figueroa was examined at the hospital and showed no physical signs of childbirth.Advocate Christ Medical Centre has declined to say whether or when it contacted authorities, citing state and federal regulations.Oak Lawn police said they were not contacted about Ms Figueroa by the medical centre or any other agency.Illinois Department of Children and Family Services spokesperson Jassen Strokosch said on Saturday the agency was alerted 9 May that there were questions about who had custody of the child in order to make medical decisions. He said he could not speculate about why the agency was not contacted sooner."We don't know what was happening at the hospital," he said.Mr Strokosch said the Department of Children and Family Services was alerted by someone required by law to contact the department about suspected abuse or neglect, but he could not say who contacted the agency.However, that was after Chicago police had connected Ms Figueroa to Ochoa-Lopez's disappearance.Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said police learned Ochoa-Lopez was missing when her husband reported it on 24 April.On 7 May, Chicago police learned from one of Ochoa-Lopez's friends that she had been communicating via a private Facebook group with Ms Figueroa about buying clothing. Police then went to Ms Figueroa's home, where her 24-year-old daughter eventually told them her mother had recently had a baby."There was nothing to point us in that direction in the beginning," Mr Johnson told reporters on Thursday, after police had arrested Ms Figueroa and her daughter on murder charges.Police spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said on Saturday that authorities had to subpoena medical records from the hospital for Ms Figueroa and the child.He said police did not learn Ms Figueroa showed no signs of childbirth until "a couple weeks" after she was examined.Both Mr Johnson and Mr Guglielmi referred questions about hospital protocol and policies to the medical centre. A spokesperson said in an emailed statement: "We have been cooperating with authorities and as this is an ongoing police matter, we're referring all inquiries to local law enforcement."DNA testing determined Ms Figueroa was not the baby's mother and that Ochoa-Lopez's husband was his father.Mr Strokosch said his department let protective custody of the child lapse on 13 May because his father had been identified.Associated Press
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| PHOTOS: Gun attack at bar in Brazil Posted: 20 May 2019 06:03 AM PDT ![PHOTOS: Gun attack at bar in Brazil]( "PHOTOS: Gun attack at bar in Brazil") A gang of gunmen reportedly attacked a bar in the capital of Brazil's northern Pará state Sunday afternoon, and authorities said 11 people were killed.
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| Is Biden out of touch?: Today's Toon Posted: 19 May 2019 11:12 AM PDT  Want to keep up with USA TODAY's editorial cartoons? Bookmark this page. We'll update it frequently.
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| China's tech transfer problem is growing, EU business group says Posted: 20 May 2019 04:11 AM PDT  China's trading partners have long complained that their companies are often compelled to hand over prized technology in exchange for access to the world's second-largest economy. Demands by the United States that China address the problem are central to the two countries' ongoing trade war, which has seen both sides pile tariffs on billions of dollars of each other's goods. The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said on Monday that results from its annual survey showed 20% of members reported being compelled to transfer technology for market access, up from 10% two years ago.
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| 'DM me': Warren wins over comedian with Twitter quip Posted: 19 May 2019 11:11 AM PDT  "Do you think Elizabeth Warren has a plan to fix my love life?" comedian Ashley Nicole Black tweeted, probably not expecting the response she got from the senator and presidential candidate.
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| The World Agrees With Trump on One Thing When It Comes to Iran Posted: 19 May 2019 01:42 PM PDT  Governments worldwide are alarmed at the tension between Washington and Tehran, concerned about the risk of escalation or military miscalculation and frustrated at a lack of communication about U.S. goals. What keeps the anxiety in check from Berlin to Moscow to Ankara is President Donald Trump's oft-stated aversion to starting fresh wars.
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| How Democrats can win the abortion war: Talk about Roe's restrictions as well as rights Posted: 20 May 2019 01:00 AM PDT  Republicans are lying when they paint us as the party of death and infanticide. Fight back by championing both the right to abortion and limits on it.
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| Swedish prosecutor requests Assange's detention over rape allegation Posted: 20 May 2019 01:01 AM PDT  Sweden reopened the rape investigation last week. It was begun in 2010 but dropped in 2017 after Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London. "I request the District Court to detain Assange in his absence, on probable cause suspected for rape," Deputy Chief Prosecutor Eva-Marie Persson said in a statement on Monday.
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| Best Tech Deals in May 2019 Posted: 20 May 2019 08:03 AM PDT  Amazon Deals | Walmart Deals | Apple Deals | TV Deals | Gaming Deals | Laptop DealsGood news for bargain hunters this week. Retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart are offering early Memorial Day sales with discounts on everything from smart home devices to game consoles. So if you're looking for the best tech deals, you've come to the right place. Shopping around for a kid-friendly tablet for your upcoming family vacation? When you preorder the All-New Fire 7 Kids Edition Tablet for $99.99, you'll get a free pair of Toy Story Headphones (a $22 value). The new Fire 7 Kids Edition tablet sports a case that twice as rugged as the previous model. What's more, it features a built-in kickstand. If you're shopping for an affordable GPS running watch, Amazon has the Garmin Forerunner 35 on sale for $119.99 ($50 off). With built-in GPS and 24/7 heart rate monitoring, this watch helps you track and meet your daily health and fitness goals. With the imminent arrival of Amazon Prime Day 2019, soon we'll be gathering the best Amazon Prime Day deals. In the meantime, here are some of the best tech deals we're seeing right now. Amazon Hardware DealsAmazon is currently offering many of its proprietary devices at discounted pricing. * All-New Fire 7 Tablet w/ $10 Appstore Credit for $49.99 ($10 off) * All-New Fire 7 Kids Edition Tablet w/ Toy Story Headphones for $99.99 ($22 off, preorder) * Echo Connect for $24.49 ($11 off) * Fire TV Stick for $24.99 ($15 off, Prime Members Only) * Fire TV Stick 4K for $34.99 ($15 off, Prime Members Only) * Echo Dot (3rd Gen) Smart Speaker (3-Pack) for $70 ($80 off) * Echo Spot Smart Alarm Clock (2-Pack) for $219.98 ($40 off) * Echo Dot Kids Edition + Fire HD 8 Kids Edition for $149.98 ($50 off) * Echo Dot Kids Edition + Fire 7 Kids Edition for $129.98 ($40 off) * Ring Video Doorbell 2 w/ Echo Dot (3rd Gen) for $199 ($49 off) * Ring Spotlight Wireless Cam w/ Echo Dot (3rd Gen) for $199 ($49 off) * Ring Spotlight Wired Cam Wired w/ Echo Dot (3rd Gen) for $199 ($50 off) * Ring Stick-Up Wireless Cam w/ Echo Dot (3rd Gen) for $179.99 ($50 off) * Ring Stick-Up Wired Cam w/ Echo Dot (3rd Gen) for $179.99 ($50 off) * Ring Floodlight Cam w/ Echo Dot (3rd Gen) for $249 ($50 off) * Ring Smart Lighting Spotlights (2-pack) for $99.99 ($30 off) Top Tech Deals Right Now * Kenmore Smart Air Conditioner (12,000 BTUs) for $409.99 ($80 off) * Honeywell Portable Air Conditioner (10,000 BTUs) for $349 ($101 off) * Apple Smart Battery Case for $102 ($27 off) * Apple AirPods 2nd Gen (Back-order) for $139.99 ($19 off) * Apple iPad 9.7-inch 128GB for $329 ($100 off) * Apple iPad Air 2019 (Wi-Fi, 64GB) for $479 ($20 off) * Apple 9.7-inch iPad for $249 ($81 off) * Microsoft Surface Go for $399 ($100 off) * Acer Aspire 3 Laptop for $400 ($99 off) TV Deals * Vizio 50-inch 4K HDR Smart TV for $279.99 ($120 off) [NEW] * Samsung 55-inch Q60 Series 4K QLED Smart TV (2019) for $997.99 ($200 off) [PRICE DROP] * LG 65-inch 4K UHD Smart TV for $599.99 ($600 off) * Vizio 55-inch P-Series 4K HDR Smart TV for $598 ($200 off) * Vizio 65-inch M-Series 4K HDR Smart TV for $649.99 ($350 off) * Sharp 65-inch 4K Smart TV for $449.99 ($250 off) * Sony 70-Inch 4K UHD Smart TV for $1,098 ($500 off) * TCL 55-inch 4K Ultra HD Roku Smart TV for $329.99 ($270 off) * Samsung 49-inch Q60 Series 4K QLED Smart TV (2019) for $797.99 ($202 off) Tech Under $50 * SanDisk 128GB Nintendo Switch MicroSD Card for $24.99 ($10 off) [NEW] * Apple Lightning to USB Cable for $15 ($4 off) [NEW] * Chocotech Wireless Charging Stand for $8.99 ($8 off via coupon, "LZTVD9NI") [NEW] * Spotify Premium Membership for $0.99 ($27 off, ends 6/30) * Logitech M705 Marathon Wireless Mouse for $24.99 ($25 off) * Redragon K552 LED Gaming Keyboard for $34.99 ($25 off) * Anker 7-in-1 USB C Hub for $40 ($30 off) * Echo Connect for $24.49 ($11 off) Smartwatch Deals * Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS, 42mm, Renewed) for $209 ($100 off) * Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS, 38mm) for $199 ($80 off) * Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro w/ $125 GC for $199.99 ($125 off) * Garmin Forerunner 935 for $407 ($93 off) * Garmin Fenix 5S Plus for $599.99 ($200 off) also at Best Buy * Garmin Fenix 5X Plus for $649.99 ($150 off) also at Best Buy * Garmin Fenix 5 for $349.99 ($150 off) also at Best Buy Phones * Motorola Moto Z3 Black (Verizon) for $24 ($456 off with contract) [NEW] * Google Pixel 3 64GB (Clearly White) for $679.99 ($119 off) * Google Pixel 3 XL 64GB for $699 ($200 off) * Google Pixel 3 XL 64GB Unlocked (Just Black) for $720 ($179 off) * Google Pixel 3 XL 128GB Unlocked for $779 ($221 off) * Apple iPhone SE Unlocked for $249 ($100 off) * Samsung Galaxy S9 Unlocked 64GB for $493 ($107 off) * Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Unlocked 128GB for $673 ($327 off) [PRICE DROP] Cameras * Arlo Smart Wi-fi Baby Monitor Camera for $133 ($67 off) * Sony Alpha a6000 Mirrorless Camera for $498 ($150 off) * Canon EOS M50 Mirrorless Camera w /15-45mm Lens for $599 ($300 off) * Nikon D3500 DSLR Camera w/ 18-55mm VR Lens for $396.95 ($103 off) * Canon PowerShot SX530 Digital Camera for $229 ($150 off) Games and Consoles * Nintendo Switch Bundle with 2 Free Games for $299.99 ($50 off, ends 5/22) [NEW] * MS Xbox One X 1TB Division 2 Bundle for $329.98 ($170 off via coupon, "PRO60") [NEW] * Rainbow Six Siege Advanced Edition for $29 ($31 off) [NEW] * MS Xbox One S 1TB Console for $211 ($82 off) [PRICE DROP] * Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for Nintendo Switch for $50 ($10 off) * Mortal Kombat 11 for Xbox One or (Switch) for $50 ($10 off) * Marvel's Spider-Man for PS4 for $35 ($25 off) also at Amazon * WWE 2K19 Deluxe Edition for $39.99 ($50 off) * Kingdom Hearts 3 for PS4 for $29.99 ($30 off) * Kingdom Heart 3 for Xbox One for $29.99 ($30 off) * Red Dead Redemption 2 for PS4 for $34.99 ($25 off)
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| 10 deals you don’t want to miss on Sunday: SanDisk microSDs, $20 off AirPods 2, $25 Fire TV Stick, more Posted: 19 May 2019 04:27 AM PDT ![10 deals you don't want to miss on Sunday: SanDisk microSDs, $20 off AirPods 2, $25 Fire TV Stick, more]( "10 deals you don't want to miss on Sunday: SanDisk microSDs, $20 off AirPods 2, $25 Fire TV Stick, more") Yesterday's roundup of the best daily deals we could find was a huge hit, and we have some good news on that front: several of the most popular deals are still going strong, plus we have some great new ones for you to check out on Sunday. Highlights include an extremely rare opportunity to save $20 on Apple AirPods 2 (they're sold out, but order now to lock in the discount and they'll likely within a few weeks), the Fire TV Stick 4K for $35 instead of $50 and the Fire TV Stick for $25 instead of $40 (exclusive deal for Prime members), all-time low prices for the Apple Watch Series 3 starting at $199, insanely low pricing on SanDisk microSD cards like a 64GB card for $11.50, a huge 5.3-quart air fryer for $75, $100 off a powerful Greenworks 80V electric mower, 25% off a white noise machine that'll have you sleeping like a baby, and more. Check out all the deals below.
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| UPDATE 1-Lumentum says halting all Huawei shipments, cuts quarterly forecast Posted: 20 May 2019 05:36 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Lumentum says halting all Huawei shipments, cuts quarterly forecast]( "UPDATE 1-Lumentum says halting all Huawei shipments, cuts quarterly forecast") Mobile phone parts producer Lumentum Holdings Inc on Monday was the first U.S. company to confirm formally it was halting shipments to Huawei Technologies , following export restrictions put in place by the United States Department of Commerce. The company, which is seen as a major supplier of Apple Inc's Face ID technology, said it cannot predict when it will be able to resume shipments. The Trump administration last week added Huawei to a trade blacklist, a move that bans the company from buying parts and components from American firms without U.S. government approval.
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| F-16 fighter jet crashes into warehouse near March Air Reserve Base in California Posted: 19 May 2019 10:53 AM PDT  The crash happened as the pilot was landing following a routine training mission, March Air Reserve Base Deputy Fire Chief Timothy Holliday said.
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| Kashmir group seeks UN probe into torture by India troops Posted: 20 May 2019 03:58 AM PDT  SRINAGAR, India (AP) — A prominent rights group in Indian-controlled Kashmir is advocating for the United Nations to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate what it calls the endemic use of torture by government forces amid a decades-long anti-India uprising in the disputed region.
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| Columbine Survivor Austin Eubanks, 37, Dies at Home Posted: 20 May 2019 10:35 AM PDT  Austin Eubanks, a survivor of the 1999 Columbine shooting, has died. He was 37. According to Austin's family, he lost the battle with the very disease he fought so hard to help others face.
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| DOJ Office of Legal Counsel Concludes Congress Can’t Force McGahn to Testify Posted: 20 May 2019 01:51 PM PDT  In an opinion released Monday, the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel ruled that former White House counsel Donald McGahn is "not legally required" to testify to Congress on matters related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report."The immunity of the President's immediate advisors from compelled congressional testimony on matters related to their official responsibilities has long been recognized and arises from the fundamental workings of the separation of powers," the opinion stated.McGahn featured prominently in Mueller's final report, released last month. His assertion that President Trump directed him to have the Justice Department fire Mueller drew particular attention as an instance in which Trump may have attempted to obstruct justice. In the days following, House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler subpoenaed him for documents and testimony related to that claim.Mueller ultimately found that the Trump campaign had not colluded with Moscow to influence the 2016 presidential election, but refrained from reaching a conclusion on whether the president obstructed justice during the investigation.White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders cited the memo Monday and said the administration has directed McGahn to "act accordingly" with the DOJ's statement."This action has been taken in order to ensure that future Presidents can effectively execute the responsibilities of the Office of the Presidency," Sanders said in a press release. "The Democrats do not like the conclusion of the Mueller investigation - no collusion, no conspiracy, and no obstruction - and want a wasteful and unnecessary do-over."
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| 9 Cool Things We Learned Driving the Spectre Land Rover Defender Posted: 20 May 2019 08:00 AM PDT |
| Sig Sauer vs. Glock vs. Every Other Gun: Who Really Makes the Best Guns? Posted: 18 May 2019 07:00 PM PDT  The company's Model 1 handgun was purchased privately by soldiers on both sides of the U.S. Civil War, while the heavier Schofield revolver was carried by postwar U.S. cavalrymen. America's prolific firearms industry means that choosing the top five manufacturers is no easy task. While boutique handgun builders may produce some very fine pieces, quantity has a quality all its own, and several companies ship hundreds of thousands of handguns a year. Like the auto industry, some of the best handguns come from foreign manufacturers. Here are the five best handgun manufacturers.(This article first appeared in 2017 and is being republished due to reader interest).GlockGaston Glock's initial attempt to build a handgun for the Austrian military has exploded into an international empire, all the more amazing considering that it was built solely on handguns. From the original Glock 17, the company now offers twenty-six handguns on the U.S. market in calibers from .380 Auto to .45 G.A.P. The company's simple emphasis on lightweight, slim-profile, "pointable" pistols was a recipe for success, impressing first-time shooters with their ease of use and longtime shooters with their reliability and accuracy. For all of the variety, Glock's handguns are strikingly similar to one another, demonstrating that Glock won't fix what isn't broken.
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| Google and Android system start to cut ties with Huawei Posted: 19 May 2019 09:35 PM PDT  US internet giant Google, whose Android mobile operating system powers most of the world's smartphones, said Sunday it was beginning to cut ties with China's Huawei, which Washington considers a national security threat. In the midst of a trade war with Beijing, President Donald Trump has barred US companies from engaging in telecommunications trade with foreign companies said to threaten American national security. The measure targets Huawei, a Chinese telecoms giant in Washington's sights that is listed by the Commerce Department among firms with which American companies can only engage in trade after obtaining the green light from the authorities.
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| Erasing history? Buttigieg says eliminating Thomas Jefferson's name is the 'right thing to do' Posted: 20 May 2019 04:06 AM PDT  Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg echoes far-left calls to rename buildings or events that carry the names of prominent U.S. figures who owned slaves.
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| Eiffel Tower climber in custody after daring ascent Posted: 20 May 2019 03:38 PM PDT ![Eiffel Tower climber in custody after daring ascent]( "Eiffel Tower climber in custody after daring ascent") Rescuers successfully talked down a man who scaled the upper heights of the Eiffel Tower on Monday, forcing the monument's evacuation, and handed him over to police. Television channels ran live shots as rescuers perched on the 324-metre (1,063-foot) tower's wrought-iron struts, just below the highest viewing platform, tried to persuade the unknown man to give himself up. The lattice tower, named after its designer and builder Gustave Eiffel, is one of the world's most recognisable landmarks.
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| Elon Musk: Tesla needs to cut costs or it will run out of money in 10 months Posted: 20 May 2019 11:06 AM PDT  Defying skeptics, Tesla during the September quarter of 2018 actually managed to turn a profit of $312 million thanks to strong demand for the mass market Model 3. Tesla's profits for the quarter were far from staggering, but it nonetheless instilled faith that the electric automaker was on a path towards financial viability.Just a few months later, the narrative surrounding Tesla has drastically shifted. When the company last month released its earnings report for the March quarter, it posted a quarterly loss of $702 million. That said, it's worth noting that production, deliveries, and demand for Tesla vehicles have all grown at an impressive clip over the past many months. As an illustrative example, Tesla during Q1 of 2019 manufactured 77,100 vehicles, a figure which well more than double the amount it manufactured during the same quarter in 2018.Nonetheless, Tesla continues to burn through money at an alarming rate. So much so, in fact, that Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently sent an email (obtained via Electrek) wherein the Tesla CEO explained that the company -- which has approximately $2.2 billion in cash on hand -- may not have enough cash to last beyond a period of 10 months."This is a lot of money," Musk said, "but actually only gives us about 10 months at the Q1 burn rate to achieve breakeven!"Consequently, Musk explained that the company will be taking a much closer look at employee expenses as it pertains to "parts, salary, travel expenses, and rent."Musk conceded that the soon to be implemented cost-cutting measures are "hardcore," adding that it's the "only way for Tesla to become financially sustainable and succeed in our goal of helping make the world environmentally sustainable."This isn't the first time Musk has rung the alarm bells about drastically cutting costs, but it remains to be seen what the company can do within a 10-month timeframe.
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| The Latest: Saudi Arabia won't hesitate to defend itself Posted: 19 May 2019 11:30 PM PDT  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The latest on developments in the Persian Gulf region and elsewhere in the Mideast amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran (all times local):
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| Bernie Sanders: 'Beating Trump is not good enough' Posted: 19 May 2019 08:06 AM PDT  Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., says his presidential campaign is about much more than beating President Trump.
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| Borrowing from your 401(k) is easy. But should you really break open that piggy bank? Posted: 20 May 2019 02:01 AM PDT  Nearly 3 in 10 Americans dip into retirement savings, says Transamerica. It pays for higher education, lowering debt and covering medical costs.
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| Boeing acknowledges flaw in 737 MAX simulator software Posted: 20 May 2019 06:49 AM PDT  Boeing acknowledged Saturday it had to correct flaws in its 737 MAX flight simulator software used to train pilots, after two deadly crashes involving the aircraft that killed 346 people. "Boeing has made corrections to the 737 MAX simulator software and has provided additional information to device operators to ensure that the simulator experience is representative across different flight conditions," it said in a statement. Boeing's statement about the flight simulator marked a first acknowledgement of shortcoming since the two accidents led to the grounding of the top-selling 737 MAX plane.
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| Ukraine's Zelenskiy calls early elections as he disbands parliament in first act as president Posted: 20 May 2019 02:41 AM PDT  Ukraine's new president dismissed parliament and called a snap election just moments after being sworn into office on Monday. Volodymyr Zelensky, whose Servant of People party has no representation in the current parliament, also used his inaugural address to promise an end to the war in the east of the country and asked MPs to fire several key officials including the current defence minister. "All my life I tried to do all I could so that Ukrainians laughed," Mr Zelensky, a television comedian, told MPs during a ceremony in the parliament in Kiev. "Now I will do all I can so that Ukrainians at least do not cry any more." Mr Zelensky, 41, won the presidency last month with a landslide run-off victory against incumbent Petro Poroshenko, who had been in power since 2014. He had no prior political experience, and he was mostly known for his role in a television comedy 'Servant of the People', in which he played a school teacher who accidentally becomes president of Ukraine after ranting against corruption. He named his party after the TV show. Zelenskiy greets his supporters as he walks to take the oath of office ahead of his inauguration ceremony Credit: REUTERS Critics say he has given few specific details about his plans for presidency and have questioned his links to Ihor Kolomoisky, a billionaire oligarch who had fallen out with the previous government. On Monday he dispensed with the traditional motorcade and arrived at the parliament building on foot, he stopping to pose for selfies and high-five his cheering supporters who gathered outside. Inside, he delivered a punchy and at times confrontational speech in which he said his priority would be ending the war, which has claimed at least 13,000 lives since Russia sent troops across the border to support a separatist uprising in 2014. "I'm ready to do everything so that our heroes don't die there," he said. "I'm ready to lose my popularly and, if necessary, I'm ready to lose my post so that we have peace," he said. He said he would begin by demanding Russia release Ukrainian prisoners. When one MP heckled for switching from Ukrainian into Russian in an appeal to residents in the east, he snapped back: "Thank you for continuing to divide our people". He also spoke against a deep-rooted culture of corruption among the government officials, saying politicians themselves had created "the opportunities to bribe, steal and pluck the resources." He suggested the MPs should lift their own right to immunity from prosecution and demanding the dismissal the defense minister, the head of the Security Service, and the prosecutor general. The next elections for the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's single-house parliament, were scheduled to take place in October. Mr Zelensky said they would be brought forward to July. The move appears designed to help his party win a majority of seats before the surge of popularity on which he rode to office dissipates. In a symbolic move Volodymyr Groysman, the current prime minister, said he would resign Wednesday, inviting Mr Zelenskiy to take full responsibility for the country. If parliament accepts his resignation, he will remain as a caretaker prime minister until the snap election. Russian media reported that no officials were invited to the ceremony from Moscow. The Kremlin said Vladimir Putin would not congratulate Mr Zelensky on his electoral victory until there was progress in ending the war.
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| Exclusive: Google suspends some business with Huawei after Trump blacklist - source Posted: 20 May 2019 01:35 AM PDT  Holders of current Huawei smartphones with Google apps, however, will continue to be able to use and download app updates provided by Google, a Google spokesperson said, confirming earlier reporting by Reuters. "For users of our services, Google Play and the security protections from Google Play Protect will continue to function on existing Huawei devices," the spokesperson said, without giving further details. The suspension could hobble Huawei's smartphone business outside China as the tech giant will immediately lose access to updates to Google's Android operating system.
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| 5 Catalan separatist leaders escorted to Spanish Parliament Posted: 20 May 2019 04:12 AM PDT  MADRID (AP) — The five separatist leaders on trial for Catalonia's 2017 secession attempt who were elected to the Spanish Parliament last month picked up their official credentials under police escort on Monday.
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| 2020 Democrat Pete Buttigieg says eliminating Thomas Jefferson's name is the 'right thing to do' Posted: 20 May 2019 03:02 AM PDT  Presidential historian Jane Hampton Cook weighs in on South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg's controversial comments.
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| Iran and the US have been at war for 40 years – so what is different this time? Posted: 20 May 2019 08:00 AM PDT  For months, tension between the US and Iran has been simmering – with Washington urging allies not to do business in Tehran, and Iranian proxies or allies launching attacks at the US and its partners, including two ballistic missiles reportedly fired towards Jeddah and Mecca on Monday.And the rhetoric is escalating. "In this face-off they are the ones who will be forced to retreat," said Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a speech last week. "If Iran wants to fight," US president Donald Trump wrote in a tweet after a rocket fell about a mile from the US embassy compound in Baghdad on Sunday, "that will be the official end of Iran".Fears of a full-on war between the US and Iran have spiked in recent days. But the two countries and have been locked in a low-simmering conflict for decades.It's not a very cheery relationship. More often than not they have managed their considerable disagreements through threats, hostage-taking, economic blackmail, bombings and assassinations. The conflict began shortly after Iran's Islamic revolution, when students stormed the US embassy in Tehran in 1979, holding Americans hostage for 444 days, in an expression of anger for Washington's quarter-century of support for the dictatorial monarch it installed after a 1953 CIA-backed coup. The animosity continued during the 1980s, when Tehran's allies bombed US embassies and military barracks, and the US torpedoed Iranian ships in the Persian Gulf. In the 1990s, the US sought to strangle and isolate Iran with sanctions, and Tehran did its part to blow up the Israeli-Palestinian peace deal that was supposed to herald the start of a new Middle East. In the 2000s, the administration of George W Bush again ratcheted up the sanctions on Iran, threatening it with military action over its nuclear programme as it pursued its stillborn project to bring democracy to the Middle East, by way of Iraq.Iran responded by handing out explosively formed penetrators to its proxies in Baghdad, where they devastated US armoured vehicles. Both sides launched cyberattacks against each other. Israelis, likely with US acquiescence, gunned down and blew up nuclear scientists in Tehran's streets.Accompanying the steady drumbeat of bombs was shrill rhetoric, each side's threats and outrageous antics strengthening hardline counterparts. President Barack Obama and his team sought to end the cycle with the nuclear deal, which was meant to serve as a cornerstone for improving relations. Mr Trump withdrew from the deal a year ago, promising to pressure Iran into submitting to "a better deal" that would encompass Tehran's missile programme and its support for militant groups. Ripping up the nuclear deal and resuming sanctions, the two countries' relations have returned to default settings.As the US has increased pressure, attempting to strangle Iran's economy, Tehran has begun to respond. US decisions to remove waivers on all international oil trades with Iran coupled with the designation of the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation "created the consensus within the Iranian leadership that they need to escalate or impose some costs for the US behaviour", according to Ellie Geranmayeh, an Iran expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, adding: "The US has gone so far in cornering Iran that Iran is already in a state of war when it comes to the economic landscape."Iran already perceives itself as under attack, surrounded by US military hardware and personnel in the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Caucasus, and strangled by sanctions. And the Trump administration has described Iran as the source of much of the world's woes, calling it the world's number one backer of terrorism and blaming it for everything from backing the Taliban to strengthening Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. Both Ayatollah Khamenei and Mr Trump have said they don't want to push for an all-out war. But the US has begun positioning hardware and personnel in preparation for any attack. Iranian officials, including major general Hussein Salami, the newly appointed chief of the Revolutionary Guards, have boasted in recent days that Iran too has set up networks, allies and infrastructure all over the region to exact costs on the US and its allies for Washington's pressure campaign. Sunday's rocket attack towards the US embassy in Baghdad was seen as a message to the Americans, although there is no solid evidence it was necessarily directed at the outpost and it has as yet been unclaimed. One European diplomat involved in Iranian affairs said they expected more "messages through proxies increasing in the coming weeks".European officials have assured themselves that Mr Trump will restrain the more hardline players in his orbit, including his hawkish national security adviser John Bolton, who has long sought regime change in Iran and has publicly advocated for a campaign of airstrikes against the country. Asked about Mr Trump's latest tweet, threatening to destroy the entire Iranian nation, the European official quipped: "Which one? There are 10 a day."Others are less convinced of distance between the Trump and Bolton and other hardliners' positions on Iran, or that it even matters what either thinks. Once the US scuttled the nuclear deal and chose the path of pressure, the longstanding dangerous state of affairs – the one Obama sought to dismantle – was inevitable ."What is taking place now was all too predictable," US Democratic Party lawmaker Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told CBS News on Sunday, citing the administration's decisions to pull out of the nuclear deal, label the Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organisation and up the rhetoric. "All of these policy decisions have led us to a state where confrontation is far more likely. When you take a series of steps that ratchet up tensions, you shouldn't be surprised when the intelligence tells you, hey, tensions have been ratcheted up."
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| Anker’s true wireless earbuds fix everything wrong with the other brands’, and they’re down to $45 today Posted: 20 May 2019 10:01 AM PDT ![Anker's true wireless earbuds fix everything wrong with the other brands', and they're down to $45 today]( "Anker's true wireless earbuds fix everything wrong with the other brands', and they're down to $45 today") The Soundcore Liberty Neo Truly-Wireless Earbuds by Anker are a tremendous value at their full retail price of $65, especially when you consider the fact that they improve upon Apple's $159 AirPods in every conceivable way. The graphene drivers produce better sound and deeper bass, the silicone tips fit better in your ears, and the IPX5 rating provides better water-resistance. They're among the best cord-free earbuds we've ever tested in this price range, and they just dropped to an all-time low of $44.99! Definitely pick up a pair before this excellent deal is done.Here are the bullet points from the product page: * Breathtaking Sound: Exceptional clarity delivered via Graphene drivers with deep, resonant bass. * Smaller & Lighter: Each bud weighs only 0.2 oz for incredible comfort and seamless sound that sits effortlessly in your ears. * 12-Hour Playtime: Get 3.5 hours' playtime from a single charge and 9 extra hours in the compact charging case. * Ultra-Fast Pairing: Push and Go Technology simplifies the setup: process so the last-paired device automatically connects on startup. * IPX5 Protection: Resists liquids for workouts in the sun or songs in the rain. * Hand-Free Calls: A built-in microphone ensures easy on-the-go phone calls.
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| Grumpy Cat, beloved meme star, dies at age 7: 'Some days are grumpier than others' Posted: 19 May 2019 10:15 AM PDT  Grumpy died from complications related to a urinary tract infection, the cat's publicist said.
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| Australia's conservatives secure majority government: ABC Posted: 19 May 2019 11:21 PM PDT  Australia's ruling conservative coalition is set to secure a governing majority in its shock election victory over the centre-left Labor Party, the national broadcaster ABC projected Monday. Prime Minister Scott Morrison's Liberal-National coalition will hold at least 77 seats in the 151-member lower house, one more than needed to govern on its own, ABC's election analysts projected. A number of close races across the vast island continent were still to be officially decided following Saturday's vote, with the formal count by the Australian Electoral Commission not expected to conclude until later this week.
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| UPDATE 2-Chairman of U.S. telecoms regulator backs T-Mobile, Sprint merger Posted: 20 May 2019 06:54 AM PDT ![UPDATE 2-Chairman of U.S. telecoms regulator backs T-Mobile, Sprint merger]( "UPDATE 2-Chairman of U.S. telecoms regulator backs T-Mobile, Sprint merger") Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US Inc has won the support of the chairman of the U.S. telecommunications regulator but will require a series of changes to their proposed $26 billion merger, including selling Sprint's Boost Mobile cell service. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai said on Monday he will recommend that the other four commissioners vote to approve the merger. A second member of the five-person FCC, Commissioner Brendan Carr, a Republican, also said he will vote to approve the deal.
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| Photos of the Mercedes-Benz Experimental Safety Vehicle Posted: 20 May 2019 06:49 AM PDT |
| Hundreds protest Alabama abortion ban: 'My body, my choice!' Posted: 19 May 2019 10:02 PM PDT  MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Hundreds of demonstrators marched to the Alabama Capitol on Sunday to protest the state's newly approved abortion ban, chanting "my body, my choice!" and "vote them out!"
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| Trump considering pardons for US military members convicted or accused of war crimes, officials say Posted: 19 May 2019 03:50 AM PDT  Donald Trump has indicated he is considering pardons for several US military members accused or convicted of war crimes, including high-profile cases of murder, attempted murder and desecration of a corpse, according to two US officials.The officials said the Trump administration had made expedited requests this week for paperwork needed to pardon the troops on or around Memorial Day.One request is for Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher of the Navy SEALs, who is scheduled to stand trial in the coming weeks on charges of shooting unarmed civilians and killing an enemy captive with a knife while deployed in Iraq.The others are believed to include the case of a former Blackwater security contractor recently found guilty in the deadly 2007 shooting of dozens of unarmed Iraqis; the case of Major Mathew Golsteyn, the Army Green Beret accused of killing an unarmed Afghan in 2010; and the case of a group of Marine Corps snipers charged with urinating on the corpses of dead Taliban fighters.The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly, said they had not seen a complete list and did not know if other service members were included in the request for pardon paperwork.The White House sent requests on Friday to the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney, which alerted the military branches, according to one senior military official. Pardon files include background information and details on criminal charges, and in many cases include letters describing how the person in question has made amends.The official said while assembling pardon files typically takes months, the Justice Department stressed that all files would have to be complete before Memorial Day weekend, because Mr Trump planned to pardon the men then. A second US official confirmed the request concerning Mr Gallagher.The military branches referred questions to the Justice Department, which declined to comment on the matter.Mr Trump has often bypassed traditional channels in granting pardons and wielded his power freely, sometimes in politically-charged cases that resonate with him personally, such as the conviction of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona.Earlier this month, the president pardoned former Army 1st Lieutenant Michael Behenna, who had been convicted of killing an Iraqi during an interrogation in 2008.While the requests for pardon files are a strong sign of the president's plans, Mr Trump has been known to change his mind, and it is not clear what the impetus was for the requests. But most of the troops who are positioned for a pardon have been championed by conservative lawmakers and media organisations, such as Fox News, which have portrayed them as being unfairly punished for trying to do their job. Many have pushed for the president to intervene. The White House declined to comment.Pardoning several accused and convicted war criminals at once, including some who have not yet gone to trial, has not been done in recent history, legal experts said. Some worried that it could erode the legitimacy of military law and undercut good order and discipline in the ranks."These are all extremely complicated cases that have gone through a careful system of consideration. A freewheeling pardon undermines that whole system," said Gary Solis, a retired military judge and armour officer who served in Vietnam."It raises the prospect in the minds of the troops that says, 'Whatever we do, if we can get the folks back home behind us, maybe we can get let off.'"Mr Gallagher's lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, was surprised by the news that the president could be considering a pardon, and said ideally the chief would be acquitted at trial."We want the opportunity to exonerate my client," Mr Parlatore said in an interview. "At the same time, there is always a risk in going to trial. My primary objective is to get Chief Gallagher home to his family. To that end, Chief Gallagher would welcome any involvement by the president."The fact that the requests were sent from the White House to the Justice Department, instead of the other way around, is a reversal of long-established practices, said Margaret Love, who served as the US pardon attorney during the first Bush administration and part of the Clinton administration.Process aside, Ms Love said that pardoning the men would be an abrupt departure from the past."Presidents use pardons to send messages. They recognise when a process wasn't just or when punishments were too extreme, like for some nonviolent drug cases," she said."If this president is planning to pardon a bunch of people charged with war crimes, he will use the pardon power to send a far darker message."The New York Times
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| CVS, Payless and Victoria's Secret are just some of the brands closing stores in 2019 Posted: 20 May 2019 03:42 PM PDT ![CVS, Payless and Victoria's Secret are just some of the brands closing stores in 2019]( "CVS, Payless and Victoria's Secret are just some of the brands closing stores in 2019") While 2019 is on track to be a record year for store closings, it's not expected to bring the same amount of empty retail space as last year.
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| Tonight make salmon that flakes apart in buttery chunks Posted: 20 May 2019 09:02 AM PDT  As we learned with recipes for beef, lamb, pork, and poultry, cooking en cocotte_cooking a protein in a covered pot with little to no liquid_concentrates flavor.
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| Poor boy Modi becomes India's nationalist powerhouse Posted: 18 May 2019 10:56 PM PDT  Stern, sharp and shrewd, Narendra Modi fought his way off the streets to become one of India's most popular and polarising prime ministers. There is no middle ground between admirers and adversaries of the man -- now running for a second term -- who helped his father run a railway station tea stall before launching his career in nationalist politics. The 68-year-old makes much of his humble roots while unashamedly portraying himself as the tough guy protecting India's national security and Hindu values, pressing its claims to be the world's rising power.
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