| Iran Knocked Out of the Sky a Very Special U.S. Drone (And Exposed a Key Weakness) Posted: 20 Jun 2019 01:44 PM PDT  The shoot-down of a U.S. Navy surveillance drone on June 20, 2019 underscores a weakness in the Pentagon's surveillance forces.Aside from a few classified vehicles, the U.S. military largely relies on slow, non-stealthy manned and unmanned aircraft for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Those ISR systems are vulnerable to the latest Iranian, Chinese and Russian air defenses.The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it shot down a "U.S.-made Global Hawk surveillance drone" flying in Iranian air space near the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command clarified that the drone was a Navy Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Demonstrator, a prototype naval variant of the 737-size Global Hawk. BAMS-D carries cameras and a radar and is designed to swoop between high and low altitudes, alternately scanning wide areas for ships then individually identifying them.Northrop built four BAMS-D drones starting in 2008. The Navy has stationed two of them in the United Arab Emirates for operational use as it prepares to deploy the full MQ-4C naval version of the Global Hawk starting in late 2019.
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| Surveillance drone may have tracked Japanese tanker: experts Posted: 21 Jun 2019 06:32 AM PDT  A "flying object" which flew over a Japanese tanker before it was rocked by a blast in strategic Gulf waters last week could have been a reconnaissance drone, experts have told AFP. The owner of the Kokuka Courageous said the tanker's Japanese and Filipino crew saw a "flying object", just before a blast that caused a fire on board the vessel, sparking a crisis between Washington and Iran. "The crew members are saying that they were hit by a flying object.
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| UPDATE 4-Denied a license, Missouri's only abortion clinic awaits judge's ruling Posted: 21 Jun 2019 08:18 AM PDT ![UPDATE 4-Denied a license, Missouri's only abortion clinic awaits judge's ruling]( "UPDATE 4-Denied a license, Missouri's only abortion clinic awaits judge's ruling") Missouri health officials on Friday refused to renew the license of the state's only abortion clinic, but the facility will remain open for now as a judge left in place an injunction blocking its closure. At a brief circuit court hearing on Friday, Judge Michael Stelzer said it might be days before the court would come to a decision on whether the state could shut its only abortion clinic, which is operated by women's healthcare and abortion provider Planned Parenthood. If the clinic were to close, Missouri would become the only U.S. state without a legal abortion clinic.
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| Apple warns that Trump’s proposed tariff would impact its contribution to the U.S. economy Posted: 20 Jun 2019 02:39 PM PDT  Over the past few weeks, Apple's stock price has been particularly volatile in light of a proposed tariff from the Trump administration that would tax devices imported from China by as much as 25%. And seeing as how the vast majority of Apple devices and accessories are manufactured in China, there's a legitimate concern among investors that the proposed tariffs would either raise the price of Apple products for consumers or force Apple to eat the additional cost.Consequently, Apple earlier this week sent a letter to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer which articulates how the proposed tariff would have an adverse impact on Apple's contribution to the United States economy.The letter begins by laying out the extent of Apple's current economic contributions.> In 2018, after the passage of tax reform in the U.S., we announced our intention to make a total direct contribution to the U.S. economy of over $350 billion over 5 years and we are pleased to report that we are on track to achieve this contribution. We are opening several new sites and adding new jobs to our U.S. employee base.> > Apple is also the largest U.S. corporate taxpayer to the U.S. Treasury and pays billions more each year in local property, sales, and employee taxes.The meat of the letter, so to speak, focuses on how the tariff would have the unintended consequence of bolstering China and other competitors not based in the U.S."U.S. tariffs would also weigh on Apple's global competitiveness," the letter reads in part. "The Chinese producers we compete with in global markets do not have a significant presence in the U.S. market, and so would not be impacted by U.S. tariffs. Neither would our other major non-U.S. competitors."A U.S. tariff would, therefore, tilt the playing field in favor of our global competitors," the letter concludes.While it remains to be seen how this all plays out, J.P. Morgan last month issued a research note claiming that Trump's proposed tariff would increase the price of the iPhone by approximately 14%. An entry-level iPhone XR, for example, might jump from $749 all the way up to $853.Again, Apple would likely bear the brunt of this additional cost as opposed to passing it on to consumers, but this would obviously have a detrimental impact on Apple's bottom line.On a related note, Foxconn executive Young Liu recently said that the company -- which manufactures the bulk of Apple's products -- would be able to meet Apple's manufacturing demands under any type of political climate."Twenty-five percent of our production capacity is outside of China and we can help Apple respond to its needs in the U.S. market," Liu said a few weeks ago.
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| Witness: Navy SEAL called dead prisoner an 'ISIS dirtbag' Posted: 19 Jun 2019 08:33 PM PDT  A Navy SEAL charged with killing a captive militant boy in his care had told fellow troops that if they encountered a wounded enemy, he wanted medics to know how "to nurse him to death," a former comrade testified Wednesday. When a radio call announced an Islamic State prisoner was wounded on May 3, 2017, Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher replied: "Don't touch him, he's all mine," Dylan Dille told jurors in a military courtroom. The captive was on the hood of a Humvee fading in an out of consciousness with only a minor leg wound visible when Iraqi forces delivered him to a SEAL compound in Mosul.
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| View Photos of our New Long-Term 2019 Honda Civic Type R Posted: 20 Jun 2019 12:00 PM PDT |
| Trump says Iran's 'unprovoked attack' on U.S. drone was likely not intentional Posted: 20 Jun 2019 07:55 AM PDT  Iran's latest shootdown of a U.S. military drone appears to fit exactly the scenario that a senior U.S. general warned earlier this week would trigger an American military response, dragging the United States into a military conflict the Trump administration has said it does not want.
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| Car and Driver Contributor Davey G. Johnson Found in Northern California Posted: 21 Jun 2019 05:49 AM PDT  C/D contributor David Gordon Johnson's body has been found after he went missing on a motorcycle trip through Calaveras County on June 5. We have updated this story with the latest information.
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| AOC’s Holocaust Remarks Divide Congressional Democrats Posted: 19 Jun 2019 12:49 PM PDT  Democrats are split over Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's comments earlier this week equating American immigrant-detention centers with the concentration camps of Nazi Germany, some in her party defending the remarks while others spoke against them."The U.S. is running concentration camps on our southern border, and that is exactly what they are," the 29-year-old New York Democrat said during an Instagram Live stream on Monday. "I want to talk to the people that are concerned enough with humanity to say that 'never again' means something."Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday cautioned freshman Democrats that they are responsible for remarks they make."They come to represent their districts and their point of view," Pelosi said. "They take responsibility for the statements they make.""The President must walk away from these cruel, ineffective and discriminatory policies, and work with Democrats to support smart, effective immigration reform that honors our values and keeps families together and safe," Pelosi added in a statement.New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, said Ocasio-Cortez was "wrong" to make the comparison."They are entirely different realities," de Blasio said on MSNBC. "Of course she was wrong,""You cannot compare what the Nazis did in concentration camps," he said. "It was a horrible moment in history. There is no way to compare."However, Senator Brian Schatz, who is of Jewish heritage, defended Ocasio-Cortez's use of the comparison."Every American Jew that I know is disgusted by the cruel treatment of children and families at our southern border," the Hawaii Democrat wrote on Twitter. "If you want to show solidarity with American Jews, help us to stop this, and don't feign outrage at the language that people use to describe this tragedy."The Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerry Nadler, who is also Jewish, also defended Ocasio-Cortez."One of the lessons from the Holocaust is 'Never Again' - not only to mass murder, but also to the dehumanization of people, violations of basic rights, and assaults on our common morality. We fail to learn that lesson when we don't callout such inhumanity right in front of us," he wrote on Twitter.Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers made no secret that they found the New York representative's comments distasteful.Representative Liz Cheney, the third-ranking Republican in the House, took to Twitter to ask Ocasio-Cortez to "do us all a favor and spend just a few minutes learning some actual history. 6 million Jews were exterminated in the Holocaust. You demean their memory and disgrace yourself with comments like this."The Jewish Communities Relations Council (JCRC) also issued a condemnation of the remarks."As concerned as we are about the conditions experienced by migrants seeking asylum in the United States . . . the regrettable use of Holocaust terminology to describe these contemporary concerns diminishes the evil intent of the Nazis to eradicate the Jewish people," the JCRC said in a statement.
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| Strait of Hormuz: key waterway under pressure Posted: 21 Jun 2019 06:10 AM PDT  The Strait of Hormuz, located in the area where Iran shot down a US military drone, is a strategically important waterway for the world's oil transits, which lies at the heart of regional tensions. Iran warned on Friday it would "decisively defend its territory" against eventual US retaliation, while the airlines KLM, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas and Singapore Airlines said they were suspending flights over the strait. The Strait of Hormuz links the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and is situated between Iran and Oman.
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| Mom who died in Michigan river with 2 girls was 'tired, sad' Posted: 19 Jun 2019 11:44 AM PDT  A Michigan woman who drove her car into a river, killing herself and twin daughters, had been talking about being "sad and lonely," a family member said. The bodies of Ineza McClinton, 44, and 9-year-old twins Angel and Faith McClinton were recovered Monday and Tuesday from the Kalamazoo River. McClinton was "having some difficulties in her life," another daughter, Tishyron McClinton, told TV station WWMT .
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| Citing bias, US Supreme Court tosses murder conviction of black man Posted: 21 Jun 2019 08:16 AM PDT  The US Supreme Court on Friday threw out the conviction of an African-American man who was tried six times for a quadruple murder, saying the exclusion of black jurors was unconstitutional. Curtis Flowers, 49, was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to death for the July 1996 murders of four people in a furniture store in Winona, Mississippi, where he had briefly worked until being fired. The nation's highest court did not examine the guilt or innocence of Flowers but whether the district attorney deliberately sought to keep black people off the jury in his most recent trial.
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| This wireless charger has a smart feature every model should have, and it’s on sale for $9 Posted: 20 Jun 2019 08:59 AM PDT ![This wireless charger has a smart feature every model should have, and it's on sale for $9]( "This wireless charger has a smart feature every model should have, and it's on sale for $9") I've been using RAVPower wireless chargers for a while, and I love them... on my desk. On the table next to my bed, however, there's one thing about my RAVPower charger that I hate: the little LED indicator keeps fading on and off all night long to indicate that my phone is charging. It's super annoying, but I've just been too lazy to replace it -- until now. Amazon is running a great sale on the BEZALEL Slim Wireless Charging Pad that drops the price to just $8.99. It has a nice sleek design, but the real selling point for me was the fact that the charging indicator shuts off after a few seconds so you can sleep in peace!Here are the bullet points from the product page: * 【Small footprint & Superior Safety】 BEZALEL Qi5 slim wireless charging pad - ultra slim, small footprint and full CE, FCC, and RoHS certification. * 【Full Qi Compatibility】 Compatible with all Qi-certified devices, including iPhone XS/XR/XS Max, iPhone X/8/8 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Note 8/5, Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+/S8/S8+/S7/S7 edge/S6/S6 edge/S6 edge+/S6 active, LG G6/G7/V30/V30S/V35/V40 (US version), Sony Xperia XZ2, XZ3 (not for XZ2 compact), Google Pixel 3/3 XL. ★ CAUTION: Phone case cannot have any ring attachment, credit card, metal or magnetic sticker. This might cause overheating and affect the wireless charging process. * 【Sleep Friendly】 The LED indicator will glow few seconds to confirm charging is underway and the LED will stop glowing as it enters sleep mode. * 【Elegantly Simple Solution】 Simply connect it to a power source and place your Qi-enabled device in the center of the pad to start charging. * 【Satisfaction Guaranteed】 12-month warranty. Friendly customer service. Contact us via live chat or contact form on Bezalel website.
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| What we know after Trump abruptly canceled the Iran strike Posted: 21 Jun 2019 07:42 AM PDT  Tensions between United States and Iran continued to rise after a U.S. drone was shot down. Poll shows many think we'll be at war within a few years.
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| VIDEO: Man rushes TSA agents at Phoenix airport Posted: 21 Jun 2019 12:14 AM PDT  Phoenix airport surveillance video shows a 19-year-old man running past a security checkpoint and wrestling with TSA agents.
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| Russia and China Go War Against America. Here's What Could Happen Next. Posted: 20 Jun 2019 05:25 AM PDT  Could Beijing and Moscow coordinate a pair of crises that would drive two separate U.S. military responses?The United States discarded its oft-misunderstood "two war" doctrine, intended as a template for providing the means to fight two regional wars simultaneously, late last decade. Designed to deter North Korea from launching a war while the United States was involved in fighting against Iran or Iraq (or vice versa,) the idea helped give form to the Department of Defense's procurement, logistical and basing strategies in the post–Cold War, when the United States no longer needed to face down the Soviet threat. The United States backed away from the doctrine because of changes in the international system, including the rising power of China and the proliferation of highly effective terrorist networks.But what if the United States had to fight two wars today, and not against states like North Korea and Iran? What if China and Russia sufficiently coordinated with one another to engage in simultaneous hostilities in the Pacific and in Europe?This first appeared in August 2017.Political Coordination
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| Great white shark lured to fisherman's boat in Jaws-like incident off Jersey Shore Posted: 19 Jun 2019 11:26 AM PDT  A man in New Jersey spotted a great white shark while out fishing on Monday - and caught the whole thing on camera.In what he called the "best day ever on the water," boat captain Jeff Crilly lured the shark towards his boat, Big Nutz Required II, with a bag of food.The incident happened as Mr Crilly was sailing in the Manasquan inlet off the coast of New Jersey, known as the Jersey Shore, with his brother Scott.In a video later posted to Facebook, the shark leaps up to the boat, giving the two-man crew a shock."We saw like v-waves, little ripples, in the back of the slick. We're like – there's something in there," Jeff later told Pix 11. "The shark would be from tail, here at the end of the boat – it's head would be inside the boat… easily.Despite the seemingly immediate danger, the brothers laughed and yelled "this thing is huge!" as the shark approaches them. The cheers veer into nerves, with a chorus of "Holy s***!" as the animal appears to get closer.Mr Crilly says he thinks the shark was about 16 to 18 feet long."This is the coolest f****** thing I've ever seen!" the narrator of the video, presumed to be Mr Crilly, says as the shark leaps towards his boat. "Once in a lifetime."Later, he told the Asbury Park Press "We've fished for sharks a lot and never seen anything like that.""We were amazed by how big it was," he added.Last month, a great white shark was spotted in the nearby Long Island Sound. Those who spotted it said it was their first sighting of the animal "ever."
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| Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez refusing to apologize for comparing migrant detention centers to concentration camps Posted: 20 Jun 2019 03:23 AM PDT  AOC comments spark outrage for both Republicans and Democrats; Aishah Hasnie reports.
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| Missouri denies license renewal for lone abortion clinic Posted: 21 Jun 2019 08:52 AM PDT  Missouri's health department has declined to renew the abortion license for the state's lone clinic, but a court order allows the St. Louis Planned Parenthood affiliate to perform the procedure — for now. The state notified the clinic of its decision Friday morning before a court hearing. St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer said a preliminary injunction he previously issued to allow the clinic to continue perform abortions would remain in place for now.
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| India deploys two ships in Gulf of Oman after tanker attacks Posted: 20 Jun 2019 09:45 AM PDT ![India deploys two ships in Gulf of Oman after tanker attacks]( "India deploys two ships in Gulf of Oman after tanker attacks") India's navy has deployed two ships in the Gulf of Oman to ensure safe passage for Indian-flagged vessels, the country's defense ministry said late on Thursday, a week after two oil tankers were attacked in the region. Indian naval ships named Chennai and Sunayna have been "deployed in the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf to undertake maritime security operations," the defense ministry said in a statement, adding that the navy is also conducting aerial surveillance of the area.
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| Biden Calls Trump's Iran Strategy ‘A Self-Inflicted Disaster’ Posted: 20 Jun 2019 06:10 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Democratic front-runner Joe Biden called President Donald Trump's Iran strategy a "self-inflicted disaster" after Iran shot down an American spy drone, raising tensions in a region that's been on the verge of military conflict for weeks."Two of America's vital interests in the Middle East are preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and securing a stable energy supply through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump is failing on both counts," the former vice president said in a statement Thursday.Biden blamed increased hostilities with Iran on Trump's decision to abandon a 2015 agreement to stop that nation from getting nuclear weapons. The multilateral agreement was negotiated by the former administration of President Barack Obama while Biden was vice president. Trump quit the accord a year ago and reimposed sanctions to try to force Iran to rein back regional proxy militias and its weapons programs."By walking away from diplomacy, Trump has made military conflict more likely," Biden said. "Another war in the Middle East is the last thing we need." Iranian media said the craft was hit inside Iranian airspace. The U.S. on Thursday said the Global Hawk drone was flying in international airspace when it was shot down by an Iranian missile over the Strait of Hormuz, an oil choke-point.The region has been volatile since the U.S. tightened sanctions on Iranian oil sales in early May, sent military reinforcements to the region and provoked an increasingly squeezed Iranian government to warn European nations that it would breach the multilateral nuclear accord, which had traded some sanctions relief for limits on Tehran's nuclear program.Frictions flared further last week after an attack on two oil tankers outside the entrance to the Gulf. The U.S. blamed Iran, which has denied involvement.To contact the reporters on this story: Jennifer Epstein in Washington at jepstein32@bloomberg.net;Margaret Talev in Washington at mtalev@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Kevin Whitelaw at kwhitelaw@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth Wasserman, Kathleen HunterFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Colorado shooter says he targeted kids over gender taunts Posted: 20 Jun 2019 10:09 PM PDT  A high school student charged in a classmate's death during a Colorado school shooting told police that he planned the attack for weeks and intended to target classmates who repeatedly mocked his gender identity. Written summaries of police interviews with the two suspected shooters portray 16-year-old Alec McKinney as the leader of the attack, enlisting 18-year-old Devon Erickson in the plan to kill the students who bullied McKinney, who identifies as male. Both teenagers told police that they broke into a gun safe at one of the teenager's homes before walking into the STEM School Highlands Ranch on the afternoon of May 7 with a guitar case and a backpack concealing four guns.
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| Galaxy Note 10 tipped to pack a camera feature no other phone has Posted: 20 Jun 2019 07:10 AM PDT  The Galaxy Note 10 already has a rumored announcement date, and we're getting quite close to the launch of one of the most exciting phones of the second half of 2019. That also means more of its secrets will be spilled in the coming weeks, long before Samsung takes the stage in New York to introduce the handset. Just the other day we learned that the phone will feature a screen technology that only one other phone has, an LG phone that's nowhere near as popular as the Note 10 will be. That's a Sound on Display (SoD) screen the Note 10 will reportedly get, which turns the entire display into a speaker. As a result, there's no need for the regular earpiece at the top of the phone, so the bezels can be made even thinner. The display will not be the only unique trick the Note 10 will offer buyers though, as a new leak details an even more exciting feature that Samsung will introduce on the Galaxy Note 10.Ice Universe is a well-known Samsung insider in some circles, the circles that follow smartphone rumors closely. The leaker said on Twitter that Samsung China engineers revealed a detail about the Note 10 camera that should have probably been kept secret. Rather than equipping the phone's main camera with a dual-aperture lens as is the case with previous flagships, Samsung's new Note 10 phones will have a three-stage variable aperture: f1.5, f1.8, and f2.4.https://twitter.com/UniverseIce/status/1141608857220681728That's something that hasn't been done before and might give Samsung an edge over competitors.Older Galaxy flagships including the Galaxy S10 support f1.5 and f2.4 apertures, with the Note 10 supposedly getting a stop in between those, f1.8. As SamMobile explains, the new aperture could be useful to reduce overexposure in intermediate cases between low-light (f1.5) and bright (f2.4) conditions.A different report said earlier this week that the Note 10 might be getting another notable camera upgrade, front and rear Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors that would enable 3D face recognition, improve bokeh in portrait shots, and help with AR/VR apps.
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| Dad of Maleah Davis, slain 4-year-old, shares photos of her 'My Little Pony'-themed casket Posted: 21 Jun 2019 05:13 AM PDT  The father of Maleah Davis, the 4-year-old whose remains were found in Arkansas earlier this month, posted photos of 'My Little Pony'-themed casket.
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| Tel Aviv Journal Posted: 20 Jun 2019 03:30 AM PDT  When we land in Tel Aviv from Bucharest, some people on the plane -- women! -- are very, very rude: pushing, shoving, and yelling. I'm about to put my dukes up and the F-word hangs on my lips -- and then I remember: "Ah, right: They're Israelis. They're supposed to be this way."And the same women who are trying to run you over to get to the overhead bins they want would probably cook you a meal and tuck you in at night.And take up arms to defend you.Culture, culture …• Inside the airport, there is a sign -- a tourism poster: Follow Your Sunshine, Visit Florida. Huh. Yet there's plenty of sunshine here, isn't there? Regardless, I should not overthink a tourism poster …• The immigration official looks at my passport very, very skeptically. There is a sour look on his face. "What do you do?" he asks. I say that I'm a journalist. If possible, his expression gets more sour. "Do you have a journalist's ID card?" he asks. No. I'm not from a Communist country."Where do you work?" he asks. "National Review magazine in New York," I answer. "What kind of magazine is that?" he asks. I say that it's a magazine of politics and culture.With an air of both annoyance and boredom, he turns to his smartphone and fiddles with it for a while. Suddenly, his face is wreathed in smiles. He grins at me almost goofily, like a girl. I have never seen such a sudden change of countenance. He immediately hands me back my passport and sends me on my way.Did he Google me? Had he received a billet doux from his girlfriend? I don't know …• Israeli cabbies are legendary -- legendary for trying to rip you off. There is a reason for the legend; it is grounded in fact -- and really too bad. Because a cabbie is often a person's introduction to Israel. What a first impression, you know?This is a matter of national honor …• All the clichés about Tel Aviv are true: young, vibrant, hip, sensual. I am reminded of Miami. The beachtown sensuousness of Miami and the hipster vibe of Brooklyn (certain neighborhoods of).It is humid as hell, by the way. The temperature is not high -- only about 80 -- but the humidity is very high.Is it worth mentioning that the girls and women are beautiful, and often exotically so? That's a little like mentioning that the bread in France is good, I know. But it's still true.Of course, the climate and the general beachtownness helps. Sundresses and all that.A middle-aged Israeli man tells me, "The nation got seriously prettier once the Russians started coming."As the U.S. is a nation of immigrants, so is Israel. It is a Jewish state, yes -- but a nation of immigrants at the same time. There are so many skin tones, so many hair types. Years ago, I had a visit here, and a colleague -- a young Jewish American -- said, "My Jewdar is all screwed up here."It ain't Scarsdale.• I am happy to see young mothers (and fathers, I guess) -- young people with children. Sign of hope, some people think. Sign of a willingness to press onward.Once, I asked Charles Krauthammer whether he thought Israel would survive. He said, "It depends on two things: the willingness of Israelis themselves to survive and the support of the United States."• Given the general looseness of Tel Aviv, I'm surprised to see pedestrians waiting for the light to change at intersections -- even when there are no cars coming. Where are we, Salzburg? My Ann Arbor feet want to get moving …• At a restaurant, a waitress approaches a table and talks to the couple seated at it. She says, "Are you from South Africa?" Yes, they are. "I'm from South Africa," she says. Then they talk about places, etc., they know in common.This is very Israel.• Needless to say, one should go to various restaurants and order various dishes. Personally, I can't stop returning to one restaurant, for one dish: spicy ground lamb on Yemeni bread (with a fresh salad, of course).• Here is a Vietnamese joint -- and I got a kick out of the sign, somehow:• A jaunt to Jerusalem with friends, to see the Sharanskys -- Natan and Avital. To read a little about it, go here. I did an article.(After this article appeared, more than one person said, "He [Sharansky] is the greatest Jew alive." And one of the greatest people, no question.)• Bad news, and common news: There has been a stabbing this morning. More than one stabbing, by one terrorist, a young Palestinian. He carried out his attacks at the Damascus Gate, which is a main entrance to the Old City (Jerusalem).Let me quote from a news report, published later on:> An Israeli man who sustained life-threatening stab wounds … was released from a Jerusalem hospital on Wednesday, vowing to reporters, "We will not be afraid."> > Gavriel Lavi, 47, said he struggled to remember the details of the stabbing attack … but believed he had been saved from death by prayers and charity given by fellow students at his yeshiva, or Jewish religious seminary.• I attend a wedding, outside Tel Aviv. It's a lovely evening, but not un-humid. Many of the men are in jackets and ties; many of them are not. One in the latter category tells me, "You can tell who was born here and who wasn't. We sabras don't wear jackets and ties to weddings."Happily, I shed my jacket, though keep the tie in place.• Have I mentioned that the wedding is outdoors? Let me offer a quick shot of the scene:• The father of the bride gives a warm, elegant toast. He is from Iraq. (What a story the Iraqi Jews have.) In his toast, he quotes a Turkish saying, and a Persian one. He is a worldly man, a worldly Middle Easterner -- cosmopolitan, you might say. This is a bad word in some quarters, but not to me, it isn't. The father of the bride is an Israeli patriot. He has also had a broad, rich experience of life.So, sue 'im …• It's not like me to shoot food porn, but get a load of this spaghetti:Where's the beef? (Remember that slogan? It made its way into the 1984 presidential campaign.)Put it on simmer, baby:I could go on …• At my table, there is a man named Moishe. "Oh, like 'Moses,'" I say. "No," he replies. "'Moses' is like 'Moishe.'"That is one of the greatest replies I have ever heard …• In Tel Aviv, Ben-Gurion Boulevard is a major thoroughfare. Well, it should be. So is Begin Road. Ditto. ("Begin" as in "Menachem," by the way, not as in "commence.") I also see Levi Eshkol Street. Do you know about him? The third prime minister of Israel, serving from 1963 until his death in 1969.(By the way, if you have any interest in Israeli politics at all, you will love -- devour -- Yehuda Avner's memoirs, The Prime Ministers. The book is like candy.)There is also Rabin Square -- where Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was murdered in 1995. The square used to be called "Kings of Israel Square." (Some people still call it that.)• Ah, the beach, the Med -- which makes me think of another late prime minister, Shimon Peres. He met with a group of us journalists in 2005. The location was Davos. Let me fish out, and quote from, my journal:> The Labor head speaks first about the need for the economic betterment of the PA [Palestinian Authority]: Europeans, and others, should invest there. In Gaza, for example, unemployment is over 45 percent. Someone asks, "What kinds of business would you like to see in the PA?" He answers -- I like this phrase -- "Everything that life calls for." He then elaborates: "high tech, low tech, no tech." He points out that Gaza, someday, should be ripe for tourism: It has "43 kilometers of the most beautiful beaches in the Mediterranean." He wonders whether (abandoned) settlements can be converted to resorts.Yeah, well …• Tel Aviv's waterfront is very, very friendly to people who want to walk. You can walk alongside the beach forever (though the surfaces change, not unpleasantly).Care for a quick shot?• One of the sequence of beaches here is (officially) "dog-friendly" -- meaning that Fido can frolic unleashed, as his owners look on, grinning.• Speaking of animals: I see five horses -- beautiful thoroughbreds (I believe) -- being walked by handlers on grassy areas (not knolls) just beyond a beach. Where are we, Kentucky?• On the beach, a mother in a bikini throws a football to her two young receiver sons. She has a good arm. A native Israeli, too (as her Hebrew indicates). I'm impressed. I wonder if the boys appreciate that this is not entirely normal.• Want to get some reading done?And the other side:• You can hear cries of muezzins all over the world, including here in Tel Aviv. One rises from the Great Mahmoudiya Mosque, near the beach …• Speaking of religion: I see some Jehovah's Witnesses, and their booth. I'm reminded that these people are banned and persecuted in Putin's Russia, which burns me.• Amid the buildings in Tel Aviv, the Trade Tower gleams, which makes me think, contentedly, "Up from the socialist past?"• Have another beach scene:And spot the cat? On the rocks, at about 5 o'clock?• I appreciate a blunt sign. Hard to get blunter than "Danger of Death!"• In my experience -- limited, to be sure -- Israelis are not great standers in line …• You know where they learn to stand in line? The Zarkor School. It is my favorite school in Israel, and possibly in the world. It has just three grades, so far: pre-school, kindergarten, and first grade. I bet it will grow. Zarkor was founded by my friend Michael Friedman, and it is a pioneering effort. Learn about it here.Michael -- who is a phenomenal story all by himself -- is married to another phenom, Rachel Zabarkes Friedman, a scholar who has three degrees from Harvard, but the pinnacle of whose life, surely, was her internship at National Review …(When I interviewed her, on the phone, I sat up a little straighter, because she was so authoritative, interesting, and compelling. She was just in college, mind you.)• You are familiar with the pop song "Saturday in the Park": "People dancing, people laughing, a man selling ice cream, singing Italian songs." Well, Saturday, it seems to me, is a deader, or emptier, or quieter day in Tel Aviv -- yes, even in Tel Aviv, to say nothing of Jerusalem and elsewhere. (Tel Aviv is regarded as a secular city.) Friday is probably more like "Saturday in the Park."• See the British embassy, here in Tel Aviv?It reminds me that ours is now in Jerusalem. I wrote about this issue for years and years: from the point of view of U.S. foreign policy; from the point of view of the Arab–Israeli conflict; and from the point of view of U.S. politics. I should not repeat myself, as I'm trying to breeze through a journal. Maybe I could provide a link.Hmmm -- here's a dollop.• I meet a woman who has a daughter in the third grade. She sings in a chorus (the daughter). One of the songs they sing is a patriotic one, saying that, surely, some of the little boys in their midst will grow up to die in Israeli wars.This is not a country bereft of realism, you might say (putting it mildly).• It is also not a country bereft of stress. The difficulty of life in Israel is famous, or infamous. I meet a man who is hoping to emigrate to Canada. He is native-born (in Israel, I mean). After his military service, he went to Japan, where he worked for seven years. It is not uncommon for Israelis to do this kind of thing, he says. He loved Japan: its orderliness, its peacefulness. When he returned to Israel, he found the stress -- the noise, the pressure, the tumult -- almost unbearable.Look, this is just one testimony, one story, one guy. But no Israeli would be surprised to hear him.• I have not said anything about Prime Minister Netanyahu -- and there is a lot of talk about him, among the people I meet. There was an election in April; there will be another in September. I'm just breezin' along here, coming to a close. But let me say: Netanyahu is an interesting, impressive, and historic figure, with legions of admirers (including me). But even some of them say, or fear, that he has stayed too long.This is an age-old problem. Leaders begin to equate their personal interests or desires with the national interest, you know? L'état, c'est eux.Anyway, a big, big subject. (I used to call Netanyahu "the Leader of the West." I also applied the phrase to Stephen Harper, the prime minister of Canada.)• You want to see a funny sign? I don't have a picture, but I can quote it for you: Please Avoid Unpleasantness Involved in Towing Vehicles.Amen.• An Israeli tells me that shalom is used for goodbye in only one, special instance: when you are going away for a long, long time. Then it's an adieu (rather than au revoir); an addio (rather than arrivederci).• It still amazes me, after all these years, that people -- modern people -- call their dad "Abba," just as in the Bible …• One last shot of funkilicious Tel Aviv?• When I get back to New York, an airport official is jawing at a man who is hawking a car service, and he responds, "I know my rights!"Ah, America. See you, dear ones, and thanks for going to Israel with me.One more thing, maybe. Four years ago, I wrote an essay called "Hung Up on Israel": here. It answered the question, "Why do you care about Israel so much?" At least, it answered it as well as I can.Thanks again, and see you.
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| Pelosi slams Trump administration for delaying Harriet Tubman on $20 bill: 'An insult to the hopes of millions' Posted: 20 Jun 2019 10:47 AM PDT  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called out the Trump administration's decision to delay putting former slave and abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, calling it "an insult to the hopes of millions."
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| Merkel cautions EU leaders over choice of EU Commission chief Posted: 20 Jun 2019 05:28 PM PDT  German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that EU leaders could provoke a crisis if they did not take into account the views of the European Parliament when choosing the next head of the EU executive. This wouldn't be good for the work of the Commission in the next five years," she told reporters after leaders failed to settle on a name during their summit. Merkel also said an agreement on top jobs should be reached before the new European Parliament meets for a first time on July 2.
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| 10-year-old Colorado girl 'overwhelmed' after Yosemite climb Posted: 19 Jun 2019 03:55 PM PDT  A 10-year-old Colorado girl scaled Yosemite National Park's El Capitan and may have become the youngest person to climb one of the most celebrated and challenging peaks in the world. Selah Schneiter of Glenwood Springs, Colorado, completed the 3,000-foot (910 meters) climb of the vertical rock formation with the help of her father, Mike Schneiter, and family friend, Mark Regier. The trio took five days to climb the Nose — the best known route — and reached the summit on June 12, Mike Schneiter said.
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| Jilted by Trump, Xi and Kim Seek Upper Hand Before G-20 Summit Posted: 20 Jun 2019 01:53 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Both China's Xi Jinping and North Korea's Kim Jong Un have suffered from President Donald Trump's penchant for walking away from talks. Now, he'll have to worry about what they tell each other behind closed doors.Xi's state visit to Pyongyang on Thursday -- the first such visit by a Chinese president in 14 years -- will showcase a renewed camaraderie between two neighbors that battled the U.S. together in the Korean War. The trip also sends Trump a pointed message about China's broader influence ahead of potentially pivotal trade talks between American president and Xi on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan.For Kim, it's another chance to demonstrate he's got options beyond a third meeting with Trump, after the second ended in collapse in February. The North Korean leader may find a more receptive audience for complaints about U.S. after Trump rejected China's latest trade offer last month."Both leaders will likely seek to put pressure on Washington to conduct nuclear diplomacy with North Korea largely on North Korea's terms -- through a phased, step-by-step approach to denuclearization and including partial sanctions relief," said Mintaro Oba, a former U.S. diplomat who worked on Korean Peninsula issues. "If anything, this visit will underscore the weakening regional support for the U.S. pressure campaign."China's LeverageXi arrived in Pyongyang before noon local time Thursday accompanied by his wife, Peng Liyuan, the official Xinhua News Agency said. He was met by Kim at the airport and feted with a 21-gun salute, honor guard and a convertible ride past cheering crowds, according to the Communist Party's People's Daily newspaper. The two leaders held talks on what was expected to be the first of two days of events. Xi's entourage included top diplomats Yang Jiechi and Wang Yi, as well as He Lifeng, head of the National Development and Reform Commission.The summit comes at dramatic point in the strategic dance between the three leaders -- with U.S. ties with both China and North Korea on the downswing. Until his recent breakdowns with Xi and Kim, Trump had managed to keep relations with either one or the other on the rise.The problem for Trump is that China -- as North Korea's dominant trading partner and sole security ally -- is key to maintaining the economic isolation the U.S. is relying on to force Kim back to the negotiating table. While China has repeatedly affirmed its commitment to the international sanctions regime it helped erect against North Korea, the country has shown its limits amid the trade showdown with Trump.On Tuesday, China joined Russia in blocking the UN Security Council committee that monitors North Korea sanctions from declaring that the country exceeded its annual import cap on refined petroleum products, the Associated Press said, citing two diplomats. The move came after the U.S. and its allies accused North Korea of using illicit ship-to-ship transfers to bring in more oil, Bloomberg News reported, citing a U.S. letter to the panel.In a commentary published Wednesday in North Korea's ruling party newspaper, Xi said he wished to "open a new chapter" in ties. He told Kim, whom he repeatedly referred to as "Comrade Kim Jong Un," that China supported North Korea's "right direction for politically solving the issue on the Korean Peninsula."Xi's visit -- representing his fifth meeting with Kim -- is part of series of moves to repair ties strained by Kim's weapons tests and other efforts to assert his independence after taking power in late 2011. The first meeting came in the early days of the U.S.-China trade dispute last year, when Xi told Kim in Beijing that he had made a "strategic choice" to have a friendlier relationship."It is in China's interest to comply with UN sanctions without necessarily enforcing them, mainly for two reasons -- so as not to put strain on DPRK-China relations, and to ensure that North Korea survives prolonged sanctions," said Rachel Minyoung Lee, a Seoul-based senior analyst with NKPro.Trump may have facilitated Xi's trip to North Korea by playing down Kim's recent tests of short-range ballistic missiles in an apparent violation of UN sanctions -- approved with China's vote. During a trip to Japan last month, the U.S. president referred to the missiles tested as "some small weapons," saying the operation "disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me."South Korea's top nuclear envoy, Lee Do-hoon, expressed optimism about Xi's visit during an appearance Wednesday in Washington with U.S. counterpart Stephen Biegun, noting that previous meetings between the Chinese and North Korean leaders were followed by contacts between Kim's regime and the U.S. "I hope that this time again this pattern will apply," Lee said.Biegun noted that China had long backed the elimination of nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula. "China's not doing this as a favor for United States of America -- this is China's national interests," he said, adding "in this case, Chinese national interests and American national interests coincide." Xi and Kim might discuss ways to convince Trump to drop his demands that North Korea first dismantle its nuclear arsenal before it can receive sanctions relief. China, like Russia, backs a process in which North Korea's disarmament steps are met by U.S. rewards, arguing that it's the best way to build trust.'Over-interpreting'Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang acknowledged during a briefing Wednesday that the country wields "significant" influence in North Korea, but encouraged "all parties" to do more to promote a resolution. Earlier this week, Lu dismissed a link between trade talks and the North Korean visit, saying: "Whether or not this meeting will be used as a marker or leverage, I can only say that people who think this may be over-interpreting."Still, Xi's mere presence in Pyongyang -- a place no top Chinese leader has visited since Hu Jintao in 2005 -- may make the point. Trump has previously speculated after meetings between Xi and Kim that China was working to undermine nuclear talks out of spite for their trade disputes."Xi's visit will send a message that the strong relations between China and North Korea are critical to tackle the nuclear issue and to maintaining the peace on the peninsula, which the U.S. should not ignore," said Wang Sheng, a professor of international politics at Jilin University in China.(Updates with Xi-Kim talks.)\--With assistance from Peter Martin, April Ma and Lucille Liu.To contact the reporters on this story: Jihye Lee in Seoul at jlee2352@bloomberg.net;Dandan Li in Beijing at dli395@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Jon HerskovitzFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| 11 Cool Things We Learned Driving the Tomcar TX 4X4 Posted: 21 Jun 2019 08:24 AM PDT |
| Samsung reportedly seeking compensation because Apple isn’t selling enough iPhones Posted: 21 Jun 2019 08:16 AM PDT  While Samsung keeps comparing its flagship phones to the latest iPhones that Apple makes in the hopes of convincing customers that Galaxy phones are a better option, Samsung is also a huge fan of the iPhone. That's because Samsung is a supplier of iPhone parts, and these Apple deals can be very lucrative. The best example concerns the iPhone's OLED screen, which is very expensive. Samsung Display happens to be the supplier of most iPhone OLED panels, as Samsung makes the best OLED screens for smartphones. But it turns out that Samsung isn't happy with iPhone sales, and wants Apple to pay a hefty penalty for all the iPhone screens that it failed to purchase as a result of the slower than expected iPhone sales.A report from ETNews says that Samsung Display seeks compensation amounting to hundreds of billions of won, which converts to hundreds of millions of dollars. Apple had reportedly agreed to acquire a certain quality of panels from Samsung Display but then failed to meet these numbers. Samsung Display and Apple have been negotiating the matter but have yet to agree on terms.Samsung invested in an A3 display facility that would cater only to Apple, a 6th-generation flexible OLED plant that can produce about 100 million OLED iPhone screens each year. But it's unclear what the minimum supply Apple agreed to buy might've been.Production at the A3 plant fell to under 50% of capacity as demand for iPhone sales remained sluggish, the report notes. Sales for the iPhone XS generation that followed 2017's iPhone X wasn't spectacular either, and Apple was often rumored to have cut OLED panel orders as a result. Samsung Display's operating profit dropped to 2.62 trillion won last year, about half of the 5.7 trillion the company reported in 2017, a figure that perfectly reflects the smartphone sales slump. Galaxy sales have been slower than expected as well, and these devices also pack OLED screens from Samsung Display.Meeting quotas isn't the only problem between the two parties, ETNews says. Apparently, Samsung Display has experienced some manufacturing issues with some of the OLED panels it supplied to Apple, and it may have been charged a "small penalty."ETNews also notes that failing to meet quotas might be a problem for Apple's deals with other panel suppliers, although screen makers rarely seek reimbursements. Instead, Apple may ink additional display deals with those manufacturers that cover other products.Interestingly, the report notes that Apple has offered such options to Samsung Display for OLED panels that would fit tablets and notebooks. So far, but none of the existing iPads or MacBooks feature OLED screens. Earlier rumors have said that Apple is considering OLED panels for other devices, MacBooks included.
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| Oregon's Democratic governor sends police for AWOL Senate Republicans Posted: 20 Jun 2019 02:53 PM PDT ![Oregon's Democratic governor sends police for AWOL Senate Republicans]( "Oregon's Democratic governor sends police for AWOL Senate Republicans") Oregon's Democratic governor dispatched the state police on Thursday to bring back to the legislature Senate Republicans who left the Capitol in order to scuttle a vote on climate change legislation. Governor Kate Brown said in a statement that Senate Democrats had requested the assistance of state police to bring their colleagues back. "As the executive of the agency, I am authorizing the state police to fulfill the Senate Democrats' request," Brown said.
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| US long-term mortgage rates little changed; 30-year at 3.84% Posted: 20 Jun 2019 09:23 AM PDT  U.S. long-term mortgage rates were little changed this week. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on the benchmark 30-year mortgage ticked up this week to 3.84% from 3.82% last week. Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country between Monday and Wednesday each week to compile its mortgage rate figures.
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| ‘Fox & Friends’ Calls Donald Trump ‘Weak,’ Tries to Goad Him Into War With Iran Posted: 21 Jun 2019 06:43 AM PDT  Fox & FriendsThe Fox & Friends morning crew was fired up Friday morning, ditching their usual white sofa for a red-backed war room set to discuss President Trump's last-minute abandoning of airstrikes against Iran overnight. Hosts Brian Kilmeade and Ainsley Earhardt were at odds about what the news meant. An unusually dovish Earhardt insisted Trump "knows more than we do" and that "something's happening behind the scenes, there's a reason he hunkered down."Trump on Iran: We Were 'Cocked & Loaded' Before I Backed OutKilmeade instead seemed to goad the president, implying that his hesitance to attack Iran was a weakness. At times almost sounding like he was directly addressing the president, who is known to be a fan of the show, Kilmeade insisted that "North Korea's watching. Turkey's watching. Russia's watching. China..."They then brought on a retired general who insisted that Trump was playing checkers with Iran when he should be playing chess. Earhardt repeated the Trump mantra that sanctions on Iran were working and tried to assure the audience that the president surely has a strategy. Kilmeade, clearly worked up, all but yelled at his co-host. "No! The sanctions have been in place before. This is Iran's response to the sanctions," he said. "Where is America's response to Iran's belligerence?""They blow up four tankers and we do nothing. When they blow up our drone that costs $130 million and we do nothing. We know it's not going to end there. So at some point, in the Middle East, no action looks like weakness, and weakness begets more attacks."Earhardt shot back, "Just because he called it off last night doesn't mean he's not going to do something."Kilmeade retorted, "It's been seven weeks!"Steve Doocey then took on the role as the adult on the set, trying to calm down his co-hosts and, again seeming clear that he knew the president might be watching, reinforced Trump's decision to avert what might well have been the start of a war. After John Bolton's former chief of staff Fred Fleitz then came on and applauded the president's attempts at de-escalation, Kilmeade got back on the warpath, quite literally. "I think by not doing something, he is doing something," Kilmeade said. "There are consequences for nonaction and there are consequences for action. In the Middle East, nonaction is looked upon in many cases as weakness."Doocey then disagreed, arguing that Trump did act by ordering the strike. "The planes were in the air," he said. "The ships were in position." He went on to channel the president, assuming his reasoning was to dial down tension and to send the message, "Listen, I've got the stuff right here. We can go and blow you up immediately."Kilmeade, clearly against diplomacy with Iran, again let out a battle cry. "Why would we talk to them?" he asked. "Blowing up tankers of our allies, then they blow up our drone, and then we'll talk to them? Makes us look so weak!"Trump eventually chimed in,
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| Self-help guru convicted in lurid sex-trafficking case Posted: 19 Jun 2019 02:34 PM PDT  The guru of a cult-like self-improvement group that attracted heiresses and Hollywood actresses was convicted Wednesday of turning his female devotees into his sex slaves through such means as shame, punishment and nude blackmail photos. A jury in federal court in Brooklyn took less than five hours to find 58-year-old Keith Raniere guilty on all counts of sex-trafficking and coercing women into sex. Raniere, a short, bespectacled figure who wore pullover sweaters in court, listened attentively but showed no reaction as he learned the verdict.
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| China's Economic Expansion is a Shot Across the Bow at Russia Posted: 20 Jun 2019 06:44 AM PDT  In Ancient Rome, the arrival of a conquering general from the front meant either a rapid change of political scenery or as much pomp and circumstance as could be drawn from its seven hills. With the lengths to which the Italian government went through to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping last March to inaugurate Italy's joining of China's Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, Romans may very well have asked themselves if both outcomes were taking place simultaneously. Outside of Italy, however, enthusiasm for the visit was more restrained. Even some of Italy's closest European Union partners saw Italy as a modern-day Trojan Horse, betraying trans-Atlantic ideals for Chinese patronage.Whatever their views on the visit, both Western press and policy circles overwhelmingly focused on what the trip meant for the EU rather than assessing Beijing's motives. The Chinese angle went beyond co-opting a G7 member into its belt and road initiative. Beijing's first successful foray into securing an EU investor partner for its BRI is not just an economic victory for Beijing, but a powerful warning shot to the Kremlin that China will not allow Russia to envelop parts of Europe spinning off the illiberal axis all on its own.
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| Samsung's Galaxy Fold is reportedly ‘ready to launch' Posted: 21 Jun 2019 03:23 AM PDT  On Wednesday, the Korea Herald reported that Samsung's Display VP declared earlier this week that the Galaxy Fold, the brand's foldable smartphone, is ready to hit the market -- with the launch likely taking place in July. Originally, the device was supposed to be released in April for the US market and in May for the Korean market.
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