| A NASA Intern Bought Apollo 11 Videotapes for $218. Now They're Going to Auction for Millions Posted: 15 Jul 2019 05:45 AM PDT  They are 'the only surviving first-generation recordings of the historic moon walk'
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| Trump Aide Kellyanne Conway Skips House Hearing Despite Subpoena Posted: 15 Jul 2019 01:35 PM PDT ![Trump Aide Kellyanne Conway Skips House Hearing Despite Subpoena]( "Trump Aide Kellyanne Conway Skips House Hearing Despite Subpoena") (Bloomberg) -- White House counselor Kellyanne Conway won't appear at a House hearing Monday on whether she violated a law prohibiting administration officials from engaging in political work while on the public payroll.President Donald Trump directed her to skip the hearing "in order to protect the prerogatives of the Office of the President," White House Counsel Pat Cipollone said in a letter to House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Elijah Cummings.The Department of Justice, he wrote, "has advised me that Ms. Conway is absolutely immune from compelled congressional testimony with respect to matters related to her service as a senior adviser to the president," Cipollone wrote.Cummings said at the hearing, which proceeded without Conway, that he would hold a vote on July 25 to hold her in contempt of Congress.She was the only witness listed for a scheduled hearing of Cummings' panel titled "Violations of the Hatch Act Under the Trump Administration." The Democratic-controlled committee voted last month to subpoena her after she previously refused to testify.The government's independent Office of Special Counsel said in June that Conway had repeatedly violated the law and should be fired. Conway and the White House have criticized the OSC for its finding, calling it a violation of Conway's First Amendment rights, and Trump has said he won't dismiss her.The OSC has said she broke the law by "engaging in both official and political activity on her Twitter account, @kellyannePolls" and by attacking Democratic presidential candidates in media interviews.Conway has "ignored OSC's requests" to come into compliance with the Hatch Act and has declined to respond to the office's reports, it said."If Ms. Conway were any other federal employee, her multiple violations of the law would almost certainly result in removal from her federal position," the office said in a June 13 letter to Trump.The oversight panel's top Republican, Jim Jordan of Ohio, called the allegations "ridiculous." He said that federal employees can't come to work and hand out election fliers or raise money for campaigns, "but a senior adviser to the president of the United States can sure as heck go on cable news shows and answer questions."\--With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs.To contact the reporters on this story: Billy House in Washington at bhouse5@bloomberg.net;Josh Wingrove in Washington at jwingrove4@bloomberg.net;Jarrell Dillard in Washington at jdillard11@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joe SobczykFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Inside Epstein network, layer upon layer to protect the boss Posted: 14 Jul 2019 01:06 PM PDT  A few cells away from drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman at a New York City jail, jet-setting financier Jeffrey Epstein sits accused of running a different kind of criminal network. There was the team of recruiters and enablers bringing Epstein dozens of underage girls to sexually abuse, federal prosecutors allege. There were the mansions in New York and Florida, the sprawling ranch in New Mexico and the private island in the Caribbean that kept prying eyes at a distance, and the forms his employees had to sign swearing they wouldn't speak about him publicly.
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| 'Snakes and other critters' join flooding, tornadoes as Barry's latest threat Posted: 15 Jul 2019 01:16 PM PDT  Hurricane Barry, quieted to a tropical depression Monday, remained a dangerous storm that threatened flooding, tornadoes and snakes.
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| Boy slips through Heathrow security to board British Airways flight to Los Angeles Posted: 14 Jul 2019 03:09 PM PDT  Police at Heathrow Airport are investigating how a 12-year-old boy slipped through security and managed to board a British Airways flight to Los Angeles without a ticket or boarding pass. The unaccompanied child, who had no travel documents, mingled with passengers getting on the flight and was only spotted when cabin crew asked to see his boarding pass in order to direct him to his seat. The mystery youngster, who is thought to be Dutch, was not travelling with his parents, and refused to cooperate with cabin crew when he was challenged. Fellow passengers said he refused to leave the aircraft and was eventually removed by police officers who boarded to assist aircrew. As a result of the security lapse, the aircraft had to be cleared and all the passengers were forced to undergo a second security check, delaying the flight by more than four hours. The mystery youngster, who is thought to be Dutch, was not travelling with his parents, and refused to cooperate with cabin crew when he was challenged Credit: AP Photo/Alastair Grant Detectives were working to establish where the boy was originally from and how he had managed to pass through strict security cordons, without being spotted. One theory is that he was a transit passenger who had arrived at Heathrow with a ticket to an onward destination, but had then attempted to see if he how far he could get with our being challenged as part of an elaborate dare. The lapse also raises concerns over the effectiveness of security checks at Britain's busiest airport, although a spokesman for British Airways insisted the boy had been through the same controls as all other passengers. The spokesman said: "We have apologised to our customers for the delay to their flight after an issue during boarding. "The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top priority and everyone who had boarded the aircraft had been subject to security checks. "We conducted additional precautionary screening as soon as this issue came to light and we are assisting the police with their enquiries." Rachel Richardson, who was heading to Los Angeles on a business trip, described chaotic scenes as airline staff tried to deal with the situation. She said: "The boy would not speak to the cabin crew and they were asking if anybody spoke Dutch. He would not help them understand where his bags were so the whole aircraft had to be cleared which meant we were almost more than four hours delayed taking off. It was very frustrating." A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: "A 12-year-old boy boarded a BA flight from Heathrow to Los Angeles at around 17:15hrs on 14 July. "He was identified by cabin crew during pre-flight check. He did not have a ticket or any travel documents. "The boy was an unaccompanied minor. He is not a UK national. As a security precaution, passenger de-planed following a discussion between police and the captain. "The child is believed to have arrived at Heathrow as a transit passenger." A Heathrow spokesperson said: "We are working with our police colleagues and British Airways to understand how an unauthorised passenger boarded the incorrect aircraft. The individual did not represent a security risk and, purely as a precaution, the aircraft in question was re-screened and has since departed. We apologise for the disruption and will continue working closely with the authorities and our airline partners to keep the airport safe."
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| South Korea calls Japan reports of North Korea sanctions breach 'grave challenge' Posted: 14 Jul 2019 11:58 PM PDT  South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Monday Japan's reported accusations that South Korea had exported banned goods to North Korea posed a "grave challenge" amid a growing dispute over Japanese export curbs. Japan has tightened restrictions on the export of three materials used in high-tech equipment, citing "inadequate management" of sensitive items exported to South Korea. Japanese officials have cited "inadequate management" of sensitive items exported to South Korea as a reason behind the curbs, as well as lack of information sharing on export controls.
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| 15+ Chicken Casseroles To Spice Up Weeknight Dinners Without Much Work Posted: 15 Jul 2019 02:44 PM PDT |
| Russia’s Election Hackers Are Back—and Targeting George Soros Posted: 15 Jul 2019 02:21 AM PDT  Sean Gallup/GettyThe Russian intelligence agency behind 2016's election attacks is training its sights on billionaire financier George Soros, The Daily Beast has learned. The move comes hot on the heels of a surge in U.S.-focused hacking by Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate with similarities to 2016 in targeting and methodology. Laura Silber, chief communications officer for Soros' Open Society Foundations, confirmed the hack attempt, but couldn't provide additional details over the weekend. "We were aware of an attack," Silber told the Daily Beast.Last month Microsoft quietly seized a new batch of 10 deceptive domain names the company says were set up by the hackers known as Fancy Bear, the group intelligence officials and independent analysts have long attributed to Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate, the GRU. Those web addresses imitate genuine domains used for Microsoft services like Sharepoint, an unmistakable sign that they were intended for use in phishing attacks, in which a victim is tricked into typing their password into a fake login page. Mueller Finally Solves Mysteries About Russia's 'Fancy Bear' HackersOne domain targets a Singapore-based investment firm, and another references the Berlin anti-corruption organization Transparency International, which Russia has targeted before. Others are generic or ambiguous in their targeting. But one seized domain, soros-my-sharepoint[.]com, jumps out as a clear reference to Soros, a past GRU target from Russia's 2016 election interference. An additional four phishing domains registered in the same time frame appear to target Soros' Open Society Foundations, said Kyle Ehmke, an intelligence researcher at the Arlington, Virginia-based cybersecurity firm ThreatConnect. Those domains haven't been seized and ThreatConnect hasn't found enough evidence to definitively link them to the Russian hackers, said Ehmke. The Kremlin's targeting of Soros and his organization carries echoes of 2016, when the GRU dumped 2,500 files stolen from the Open Society Foundations for the debut of "DC Leaks", the fake leak site the spies created for their 2016 election interference campaign. "SOROS INTERNAL FILES – BIG DATA", the site announced at the time.Some of the stolen files were reportedly altered to create the appearance that Soros was secretly financing Russian opposition candidates, making the leak politically useful to Vladmir Putin. More importantly, the Soros dump earned DC Leaks instant credibility in American right-wing circles, where the 88-year-old Hungarian-American philanthropist plays the role of villainous global puppet-master in countless conspiracy theories. Russia's Internet Research Agency—the so-called "troll farm, later indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller—pushed the same trope on its Facebook and Instagram feeds in the run-up to election day. One meme featured a close-up of Soros against a backdrop of anti-Trump picketers. "No lives matter for those who sponsoring [sic] anti Trump protests," the caption read. Another imagined Soros confronting the late Senator John McCain. "Hey Johnny, I'm paying you a fortune. I don't care how much cancer you have, get back to DC and backstab Trump."The Soros targeting comes in the wave of what one expert describes as a fresh wave of Fancy Bear attempts against political nonprofits in the U.S. that ran from last December to March or April of this year, using similar tactics to the mass phishing campaign that famously ensnared Hillary Clinton's campaign chief in 2016. "It's a similar type of activity to what hit Podesta," said Robert Johnston, the former Marine Corp captain who investigated the 2016 DNC breach, and now heads the financial cybersecurity firm Adlumin. "These were against political organizations and NGOs. The FBI has reached out to of bunch of them."Putin's Hackers Now Under Attack—From MicrosoftIn 2016 Microsoft sued Fancy Bear in federal court in Virginia and won, unopposed, an injunction allowing the company to seize any web addresses registered by the GRU's hackers that imitate a Microsoft product or service. The company has seized over 100 domains so far.Experts caution that Russia's hackers have always cast a wide net, and there's no way to tell what their motives are in revisiting old haunts now. It may be pure intelligence gathering, or the opening salvo of a 2020 election interference campaign."We don't know whether they are ultimately looking to compromise targets for influence operations, internal intelligence uses, or both," said Ehmke.Either way, Russia likely views its 2016 efforts as a success, and is certain to try for an encore. "I think you should absolutely anticipate a very vocal Russian interference in the 2020 elections," said Johnston.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Report: A $15 Minimum Wage Would Be an Economic Disaster Posted: 14 Jul 2019 04:01 PM PDT  Just in time for next week's likely House vote on a federal $15 minimum wage, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has come out with a caustic report on the consequences of the policy.The report confirms what even liberal economists caution: A $15 minimum wage would "risk undesirable and unintended consequences" and lead to a survival-of-the-fittest labor market, where only the highest-skilled workers come out on top. Democrats are under the illusion that the government can force employers to artificially increase wages with no adverse consequences for American workers. But that's like saying the government could double families' mortgage and rent payments without any consequence.Here are six ways this new report exposes the minimum wage proposal as bad policy.1\. It would be a job-killer.The Congressional Budget Office report estimated that a $15 minimum wage would lead to 1.3 million lost jobs by the year 2025, with job losses rising over time due to compounding negative impacts.The exact number of job losses are highly uncertain, but the report says losses would most likely range between zero and 3.7 million, with a not-insignificant chance that losses could exceed 3.7 million.A 2011 Heritage Foundation estimate was even bleaker. It estimated a $15 minimum wage would lead to 7 million lost jobs.
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| Dominican Republic deaths: Georgia man is 11th American tourist to die since June 2018 Posted: 15 Jul 2019 04:49 AM PDT  A Georgia man died in the Dominican Republic in March, the State Department confirmed Friday.
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| The Latest: Charlottesville victims describe pain of attack Posted: 15 Jul 2019 01:08 PM PDT  Jeanne "Star" Peterson was one of seven people who gave victim impact statements Monday before a judge sentenced James Alex Fields Jr. to life in prison, plus 419 years, on state charges. Fields was given a life sentence on federal hate crime charges last month.
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| Land crabs infest Florida man's house after heavy rainfall Posted: 15 Jul 2019 12:11 PM PDT  A man in Florida recently received hundreds of crabs as unexpected house guests.Heavy rain fall in south Florida forced hundreds of land crabs, which burrow underground, out of their holes and into the property of Dan Skowronski, a resident of of Port St Lucie. In a video shared to Facebook, the Florida man witnessed the home invasion with a surprising calm."They must have got rained out of their holes," he said while filming the crabs, which were scurrying all over his house and property. "All land crabs. Their homes got wiped out by the rain, and they're all over.""They're more scared of me than I am of them," he said, adding that "sometimes it happens once a year".Florida saw heavy rainfall as Hurricane Barry geared up in the Gulf Coast throughout last week, before making landfall in Louisiana on Saturday. The storm left heavy flooding throughout New Orleans, but was downgraded to a tropical storm upon hitting the city, and did less damage than anticipated. Still, much of the city experienced rampant flooding, which is expected to continue and spread this week.In the Florida panhandle, far north above the crab invasion, the storm stirred up a mass influx of jellyfish, washing up on the sand as the water picked up into dangerous riptides. Public beaches were closed to swimmers while the fish and waves persisted.WPTV reports that the crabs in South Florida were gone by Friday.
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| From Hershey's bars to hand lotion, here's what wealthy convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein purchased in commissary while serving time in Florida Posted: 15 Jul 2019 10:32 AM PDT  Jeffrey Epstein frequently purchased sugary snacks while serving a 13-month sentence at a jail in Palm Beach County, Florida.
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| India races for launch fix after Moon mission aborted Posted: 15 Jul 2019 04:16 AM PDT  Indian space chiefs pressed to quickly set a new date to launch a landmark moon mission after aborting one liftoff Monday just 56 minutes ahead of schedule, media reports said. The Chandrayaan-2 -- or Moon Chariot 2 -- rocket, a key part of India's ambitious space programme, could still blast off on July 29 or 30, media reports said. If that is not possible the launch would have to wait until September or beyond.
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| This crazy Samsung design with a pull-out screen might hint at a big overhaul for the Galaxy S11 Posted: 15 Jul 2019 05:35 AM PDT  Samsung is on the cusp of several major announcements at the moment, including the unveiling of the Galaxy Note 10 series set for next month at the Unpacked event as well as the new release date supposedly coming any day now for the company's second try at a foldable phone. Early next year, meanwhile, we'll see the next high-end Galaxy phone, the Galaxy S11, about which the rumor mill is already starting to crank out intriguing tidbits. There's been some chatter that the handset may get an all-new design in a break from previous iterations in the series -- and now, a new Samsung patent that's been spotted could offer an additional hint at what's to come.Samsung is constantly generating a slew of patents showing off all manner of proposed future handset designs -- some incremental, while others seem pretty strange and downright bizarre. Sort of the tech industry version of one of those fashion shows where you see models strutting down the catwalk in designs you know that normal people would absolutely never touch. We've reported on a number of the company's creations along these lines, which have teased foldable phones and phones with expandable screens and so much more. This time around, though, the design that's been laid out looks like something more in the realm of practicality and may even hint at a direction the company's Galaxy S11 series could go in.What Samsung is proposing in a newly published patent from the Korean Intellectual Property Office (h/t to Dutch tech news site LetsGoDigital) is a handset with an extendable display that pulls out from one side, increasing the overall effective display surface area by about 50%. You can see a 3D rendering the Dutch site prepared based on the patent documentation below:Other details:The patent documentation also makes clear this proposed handset would have a punch-hole camera positioned in the middle of the front display. As is also rumored to be the case with the Note 10, this would be a continuation of Samsung moving to this new camera setup that, among other things, allows for thinner bezels at the top of the display. The camera on the back, meanwhile, is positioned in the top right corner of this new proposed device.Samsung is increasingly releasing a growing selection of variations for its top handset models, like it did with the release of the S10, S10+, S10e, and S10 5G. You can almost see this new design being a possibility as one of several new Galaxy S11 designs -- though the Note handsets are known, among other things, for large displays, so you could arguably make the same case for inclusion in the Note 11 family.Regardless, it should be clear by now that the failure back in April of the company's Galaxy Fold that was rushed to market before being pulled back hasn't hampered the company's appetite for trying new things, embarrassing though that high-profile failure was. It will be interesting to see if the company has learned its lessons from the Fold debacle -- and, more important, how it incorporates those lessons into new experiments (like this new design, perhaps) going forward.
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| Libya Says Missile Find Shows France Is Backing Haftar Offensive Posted: 15 Jul 2019 12:43 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- France's admission that it owned U.S.-made missiles found at a Libyan base seized from strongman Khalifa Haftar's forces indicates it had operatives on the ground supporting his offensive on Tripoli, the interior minister of Libya's internationally-recognized government said.The Javelin anti-tank missiles were uncovered when government forces retook Gharyan from Haftar in late June, a surprise setback for the eastern commander who'd been using the city as a forward operating base for his campaign to take the capital. After wide-ranging speculation over who'd supplied the weapons, France last week acknowledged ownership and said the missiles were left behind by one of its counter-terrorism teams and were no longer operational.Speaking in an interview in the Libyan city of Misrata, Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha disputed France's claim that the missiles were inoperable and said his government has asked experts from the United Nations and U.S. to examine the weapons to confirm they are in working order."The dung leads to the camel," Bashagha said, quoting an Arab proverb. "France implicated itself when it said the Javelins were with a French security team. If the Javelins belonged to a French security team, that means France has admitted it was present militarily and officially in Gharyan to support Haftar."Haftar's campaign has ground to a halt on Tripoli's outskirts, with the fighting leaving at least 1,000 people dead and regional powers backing either side in the Middle East's latest struggle for supremacy.Splintered CountryLibya splintered in the aftermath of the NATO-backed overthrow of dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi in 2011 and two rival administrations and myriad militias are vying for control. Haftar's eastern-based forces swept through the south earlier this year before setting their sights on the capital.France's Defense Ministry told Bloomberg on Sunday that it was "not going to react through the press to this or that reaction." It then repeated last week's statement that the weapons "were intended for the self-protection of a French detachment deployed for counter-terrorism intelligence purposes."France, while seen as supportive of Haftar, also recognizes the UN-backed government in Tripoli and has signed security pacts with its interior ministry. The discovery of the Javelins had initially raised questions over whether a U.S. ally had broken a sales agreement with Washington by transferring the missiles directly to Libyan fighters.Bashagha said a French counter-terrorism team had been present in western Libya and cooperating with a military commander from the Tripoli-based government. The team left with all its equipment shortly after Haftar began his offensive in early April, he said.Another French team left by sea, and both groups took all their weapons, Bashagha said. France had denied having any military presence in Gharyan.(Recasts first paragraph.)\--With assistance from Helene Fouquet.To contact the reporter on this story: Samer Khalil Al-Atrush in Tripoli at skhalilalatr@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Michael GunnFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| 'The Five' respond to progressive Democrats' news conference on Trump's tweets Posted: 15 Jul 2019 03:07 PM PDT  Reps. Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib take aim at President Trump in a fiery news conference on Capitol Hill.
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| How To Sneak Pumpkin Into All Of Your Favorite Pasta Dishes This Fall Posted: 15 Jul 2019 02:58 PM PDT |
| Italy seizes air-to-air missile, guns in raids on neo-Nazis Posted: 15 Jul 2019 09:04 AM PDT ![Italy seizes air-to-air missile, guns in raids on neo-Nazis]( "Italy seizes air-to-air missile, guns in raids on neo-Nazis") Italian police have seized a large arsenal of weapons, including an air-to-air missile, in raids on neo-Nazi sympathisers, they said on Monday. Elite police forces searched properties across northern Italy following an investigation into Italians who had fought alongside Russian-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, a police statement said. During their raids, police discovered a French-made Matra air-to-air missile that appeared to have once belonged to the Qatar armed forces.
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| 1 dead, 15 hurt in California home gas explosion Posted: 15 Jul 2019 05:18 PM PDT  A natural gas explosion destroyed a Southern California home, killed a gas company worker and injured more than a dozen other people Monday, authorities said. Firefighters and Southern California Gas Co. workers went to the home after a report that a contractor had damaged a gas line. Murrieta Deputy Fire Chief David Lantzer said 15 people were injured, but he had no information about their injuries.
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| Get Ready, NATO: Russia's S-500 Is Coming Soon to a Battlefield Near You Posted: 14 Jul 2019 12:33 AM PDT  Following months of radio silence and scattered leaks by anonymous sources, top Russian defense industry officials are finally going on record about Russia's upcoming S-500 missile defense system—and it may be coming sooner than expected.Sergei Chemezov, CEO of Russian defense conglomerate Rostec, kicked off a new round of speculation when he recently told Russian media that the S-500 will enter service "very soon": "New state-of-the-art weapons are being developed. So, once we can already sell S-400 systems, we now begin to manufacture S-500 systems. These are more updated systems. I'd prefer not to tell [you] about them now, they are not yet operational. I think they will enter service very soon."Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov went even farther than Chemezov in asserting the S-500's readiness: "development of the Prometheus S-500 missile defense system is in its final stage. The S-500 has completed state trials, and is now undergoing systems refinement. The missile system's primary specifications were verified during the course of the tests, and the system is ready for serial production. On the whole, development is proceeding according to plan, and the first S-500 units will be delivered to the Russian armed forces within the timetable set by the state armament programme 2027," Chemezov said to the Russian Interfaks news agency.
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| Man 'shot polar bear and left its body outside his home for five months' Posted: 15 Jul 2019 03:29 AM PDT  A man has been charged with killing a polar bear and leaving the body to rot outside his home in Alaska for five months.Christopher Gordon, 35, allegedly shot the animal dead when it ventured into his front yard to try and eat some butchered whale meat.He then failed to report the polar bear carcass or attempt to "harvest" it for food between December 2018 and May this year.Gordon also allowed the bear to be covered with snow, which resulted in one of its legs being ripped off by a passing snowplough.Finally, on 22 May, he burned the carcass at the village dump in Kaktovik.He is now facing up to one year in prison and a $100,000 (£80,000) fine if convicted of the federal crime of "knowingly taking a polar bear in a manner unlawful under the Marine Mammal Protection Act".Prosecutors say that the killing of the bear was not done in legal self defence and that he "left the harvestable remains to waste"."Gordon allegedly left butchered whale meat outside in front of his yard of his residence for a substantial period of time, which attracted polar bear, as well as other animals to his front yard," said federal prosecutor Ryan Tansey."He then allegedly shot and killed the polar bear because it was trying to eat the improperly stored whale meat."Gordon has also been charged with the state offence of wasteful taking of a marine animal.The investigation was carried out by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.Gordon declined to comment about the case and is scheduled to appear in court in Fairbanks in August.Kaktovik, with a population of just over 250, has experienced increasing encroachment by polar bears in recent years due to the disappearing Arctic sea ice.As a result it has become a popular tourist destination, with more than 2,000 people visiting the village during 2017."These bears are getting used to people," said council member Mike Gallagher. "They're domesticated."Additional reporting by Associated Press
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| Populist pro-China mayor to face Tsai in Taiwan presidential clash Posted: 14 Jul 2019 09:03 PM PDT  A populist mayor who favours closer ties with Beijing was announced as the presidential candidate for Taiwan's opposition on Monday as it looks to unseat President Tsai Ing-wen in upcoming elections. Han Kuo-yu won the primary for the opposition Kuomintang party, comfortably seeing off a challenge from Taiwan's richest man, billionaire Foxconn founder Terry Gou.
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| Beto O'Rourke says he is descended from slave owners, supports reparations to unite 'two Americas' Posted: 15 Jul 2019 09:08 AM PDT  The Democratic presidential hopeful from Texas published a blog post in which he discussed his family's history and his support for reparations.
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| Saudi Arabia, Russia and North Korea were among 37 countries that signed a letter praising China's 'remarkable achievements in the field of human rights' over its Uighur Muslim oppression Posted: 15 Jul 2019 04:40 AM PDT  The Friday letter, signed by 37 ambassadors to the UN, praised China for making "remarkable achievements in the field of human rights."
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| Man Murdered Teen Star and Posted Instagram Photos, Cops Say Posted: 15 Jul 2019 01:09 PM PDT  Photos via InstagramAn upstate New York man is accused of brutally slaying a teenage internet personality he met online and posting pictures of her body to the internet, according to police.Authorities say Brandon Clark slashed Bianca Devins' throat early Sunday, nearly decapitating her. They first met online, and met in person two months ago, police told The Daily Beast. Shortly after her murder, Clark posted pictures of her corpse online. He then stabbed himself in front of officers who had been dispatched to search for him, police added.Devins, 17, a Utica, New York teen, had just graduated high school and was preparing to start a psychology degree at her local community college.Devins was anonymous to many of her internet friends. Online she was a popular Instagram and Tumblr user. She also frequented 4chan, and ran a Discord server populated with some of her 4chan connections, many of whom knew her as Oxychan.Two months ago, she met one of those internet friends in person, Utica police Lt. Bryan Coromato told The Daily Beast. Clark, 21, lived in Cicero, New York, approximately an hour away. The two had some form of offline relationship, Coromato said. On Instagram, Devins' sister wrote that "it wasn't just an 'internet boyfriend' this was a close family friend whom we've met and trusted so much. I do not want false information being spread around."Utica police said in a statement Monday evening that the two attended a concert together in New York City on Saturday and arrived back in Utica early Sunday. Police believe they had an argument, which precipitated the murder.Early Sunday morning, Clark began posting gruesome pictures on his Instagram story. One picture showed him covered in blood with the caption "I'm sorry Bianca." Another, of a dark road, referenced going to Hell. Other photos appeared to show a body under a tarp, and before-and-after images of a self-inflicted knife wound on his neck. Clark's updated Instagram biography and a post on his Facebook suggested that he planned to kill himself.Coromato confirmed that the pictures were authentic.Around the same time, Clark posted an image to Discord showing Devins with her throat cut in a car and a large knife next to her. He also doxxed her, sharing Devins' full name and hometown, which was unknown to many of her online friends, and included a derogatory remark about Devins and her online following. The pictures spread to multiple misogynistic forums, where some users called for more killings of women and girls.All the images hit the internet before police were alerted about the killing. Around 7:20 a.m., officers received a call about a person making statements of harm, Coromato said. They were able to triangulate Clark's location based on his cell phone. When they found him, he began stabbing himself in front of an officer, Coromato said.Eventually he took out a phone and began taking pictures of himself laying on the tarp that concealed Devins' body, police said.Clark was taken into custody and transported to a hospital, where he is sedated and in critical condition, but expected to survive. He has yet to be formally charged in the killing."Bianca was a lot of things to so many people," her stepmother wrote on Facebook. "She was young and beautiful and so full of life. She had been through hell and back conquering her own mental illness and she won. She was getting better. Fighting everyday. She was happy."Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Susan Rice Calls Chinese Diplomat a ‘Racist Disgrace’ on Twitter Posted: 15 Jul 2019 05:19 AM PDT ![Susan Rice Calls Chinese Diplomat a 'Racist Disgrace' on Twitter]( "Susan Rice Calls Chinese Diplomat a 'Racist Disgrace' on Twitter") (Bloomberg) -- Former U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice sparred with a senior Chinese diplomat on Twitter in an unusual and heated dispute over race in Washington.In a series of Tweets apparently aimed at making a broader point about diplomatic divisions over the mass detention of Muslims in China's Xinjiang province, Lijian Zhao, a diplomat posted in Islamabad, said on Sunday that if "you're in Washington, D.C., you know the white never go" to the southeastern part of the U.S. capital."You are a racist disgrace. And shockingly ignorant too," Rice told Zhao on Twitter. Likely assuming that Zhao was posted in China's mission in Washington, she then addressed her next comment to China's ambassador to the U.S., Cui Tiankai. "Ambassador Cui, I expect better of you and your team. Please do the right thing and send him home."Zhao, who is deputy chief of mission at the Chinese embassy in Pakistan's capital, is often vocal on Twitter against critics of China's infrastructure-building projects in Pakistan and other parts of Asia. Beijing has invested tens of billions of dollars in Pakistan, whose leader Imran Khan has previously dodged questions about the issue.'Shockingly Ignorant'"You are such a disgrace, too. And shockingly ignorant, too. I am based in Islamabad. Truth hurts. I am simply telling the truth," Zhao fired back at Rice on Monday. "To label someone who speak the truth that you don't want to hear a racist, is disgraceful & disgusting."Read More: How China Is Defending Its Detention of Muslims to the WorldZhao didn't immediately respond to phone calls, an email and a direct message on Twitter seeking comment.In a string of messages that appeared aimed at highlighting U.S. hypocrisy on human rights, Zhao referred to everything from income inequality and school shootings in the U.S. to immigration officers separating children from parents.He tweeted a list of mostly-Western nations that condemned China for its actions in Xinjiang as well as a separate list of other countries -- including Pakistan, Cuba, Tajikistan and Nigeria -- that wrote a joint letter to the United Nations supporting Beijing, which Zhao called "a big slap on the face of U.S. & its western cohorts."Outspoken DiplomatsChina's diplomats have become increasingly vocal and outspoken. This month, China's ambassador to London, Liu Xiaoming, gave a rare televised statement accusing the British government of meddling in Hong Kong, the scene of mass protests against Beijing's rule.Earlier this year, China's envoy to Canada publicly accused his hosts of "white supremacy," while the country's chief envoy in South Africa said President Donald Trump's policies were making the U.S. "the enemy of the whole world."Asked about the Twitter dispute on Monday, China's foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang didn't comment directly."I don't know the specific situation," he said. However, he added, "we resolutely oppose the interference of the U.S. and individual Western countries in interfering in China's internal affairs with the Xinjiang issue."To contact the reporters on this story: Iain Marlow in New Delhi at imarlow1@bloomberg.net;Dandan Li in Beijing at dli395@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Chris Kay, Gregory TurkFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| SpaceX astronaut mission looking 'increasingly difficult' in 2019: executive Posted: 15 Jul 2019 02:46 PM PDT  One of the space company's Crew Dragon capsules exploded on a test stand at a Florida Air Force station moments before firing eight emergency abort thrusters designed to propel an on-board crew to safety in the event of a failure. Crew Dragon was slated earlier this year to carry U.S. astronauts to the International Space Station in a first manned test mission in July, although that date slipped until November following the explosion and some other hitches in the vehicle's design. "I'm pretty optimistic at this point in time because we have a good path forward," Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX's vice president of Build & Flight Reliability told reporters on a conference call as the company provided fresh details from the investigation.
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| Police say Greek man detained in American scientist's death Posted: 15 Jul 2019 11:14 AM PDT  A Greek man has been detained for questioning in the slaying of an American scientist on the island of Crete, police said Monday. Authorities said the 27-year-old man detained Monday was one of 10 people interviewed over the weekend for the investigation of Suzanne Eaton's slaying. Homicide detectives traveled from Athens to the island to head the investigation.
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| Louisiana officials warn of snakes and other creatures fighting to escape Hurricane Barry floodwaters Posted: 14 Jul 2019 06:22 PM PDT  Hurricane Barry made landfall Saturday morning in Louisiana. It has since weakened back to a tropical storm, but heavy rains will continue.
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| Ocasio-Cortez reminds Trump, 'I come from the United States' after the president suggests congresswomen of color should 'go back' home Posted: 14 Jul 2019 11:24 AM PDT  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez lashed out at President Trump, who tweeted that she and three other congresswomen of color should "go back" to their "broken and crime infested" countries, pointing out that she was born in the United States.
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| Police officer who killed Ethiopian-Israeli released on bail Posted: 15 Jul 2019 07:03 AM PDT  A police officer who shot dead a 19-year-old Ethiopian-Israeli, sparking nationwide protests, was freed on bail from house arrest on Monday, Israel's justice ministry said. The officer, who was off-duty and said he felt his life was in danger at the time of the June 30 shooting, will be subject to a series of restrictions while the investigation continues. The bail amount was not made public by the ministry following the closed-door court hearing over the shooting of Solomon Teka in Kiryat Haim near the northern port city of Haifa.
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| Boeing slips on report the troubled 737 Max could remain grounded into 2020 Posted: 15 Jul 2019 06:48 AM PDT  Airlines have said they'll add the 737 Max back to schedules in November, but now it seems the plane won't return to the skies until 2020.
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| Jeremy Corbyn Faces a Crisis of His Own Making Posted: 15 Jul 2019 02:36 AM PDT  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- As Britain's Conservative Party tears itself apart over Brexit, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn might be expected to be enjoying a big lead in the opinion polls.Instead, the opposition is embroiled in a crisis every bit as deep as that facing the embattled government. At the European election, the Labour party put in its worst national performance in almost a century. A recent poll by YouGov put the party in fourth place, trailing not only the Conservatives but the Brexit Party and Liberal Democrats, too.Corbyn, a lifelong euroskeptic socialist, has been reluctant to oppose Brexit, leaving the party unable to capitalize on the unpopularity of leaving the European Union. At the same time, his party has been dogged by allegations of anti-Semitism – a scandal that has prompted lawmakers and supporters to resign in disgust.Given the continued impasse in parliament over Brexit, an early general election is no longer a remote possibility. Many Labour supporters are wondering if Corbyn is best-placed to lead his party into a vote – especially if his opponent is Boris Johnson instead of the more wooden Theresa May. He may, though, be almost impossible to dislodge.Labour has struggled to find a policy on Brexit that doesn't alienate at least part of its base: Most of the party's MPs represent leave-voting constituencies, yet the majority of Labour voters wanted to remain in the EU.The policy of "constructive ambiguity," in which Labour both promised to deliver on the Brexit referendum and leave all options open, had been an attempt to bridge this divide. But the grim opinion polls have finally forced Corbyn to take a position. Many disaffected Labor voters are lending their support, at least temporarily, to the remain-supporting Liberal Democrats.Pushed by the five largest Labour-affiliated unions last week, Corbyn has pledged to hold a second referendum on any Brexit put forward by a Tory government. In that scenario, Corbyn's party would campaign to remain in the EU. But if Labour were to get elected, the leader won't say what the party would do. This about-face feels too little, too late.Corbyn's problems run deeper than just Brexit; they go to questions of trust and competence. Back in May, Britain's Equality and Human Rights Commission began an investigation into anti-Semitism in the Labour party. Last week, the BBC's Panorama program broadcast an hour-long investigation into the issue. The party claimed it was a hatchet job, but viewers will draw their own conclusions from the chilling testimonies of party insiders who claimed that anti-Semitism isn't only rife, but institutionalized. Following the program, a group of leading Jewish intellectuals published a letter saying the party faces "a taint of international, historic shame." It's hard for Labour to be credible on any other issue if it can't move beyond this one.It's not hard to see why this issue has dogged Corbyn since he became leader. He has, at times in his political career, seemed more interested in Palestinian causes than British voters; his presence at a wreath-laying ceremony in Tunisia in 2014 (in which individuals believed to have been behind the 1972 Munich Olympic killings were also honored) offended and infuriated many.The persistence of the anti-Semitism charges suggest either he has very limited real control over his party or he has cared too little. Removing him, however, would be difficult.Corbyn faced down a leadership challenge after the Brexit referendum, where at least part of the blame for the result was laid at the feet of a leader who had barely bothered to campaign for his party's Remain position. He brushed aside resignations from his shadow cabinet and a non-binding no-confidence vote that saw 172 Labour MPs vote against him to only 40 in favor.While Corbyn has come under increasing criticism from within the parliamentary party (including from Deputy Leader Tom Watson), anyone seeking to challenge him needs the support of 20% of Labour MPs to be nominated. Even if a challenger cleared that hurdle, beating Corbyn in a vote of party members would be an even bigger ask.Corbyn has remade the party in his image after becoming leader, building up the membership with loyalists from the Momentum group, a powerful left-wing grassroots movement that is increasingly independent and aggressive. On Friday, the group announced a nationwide campaign to oust Labour MPs that don't meet with its approval and replace them with local activists.That is the heart of the Labour crisis: Its moderate parliamentary party is at odds with its hard-left base of members and socialist affiliates. These latter groups hold the leader's fate in their hand, but aren't representative of the wider voting public. The party has always been a broad church, but that unity presupposes a leader who can appeal across the various divides in a way Corbyn hasn't.Corbyn's politics of grievance may have worked well against May – at the 2017 election, Labour saw its largest increase in vote share since 1945. They might have worked well against May again; but against Johnson's message of exuberant optimism, they risk looking dour and defeatist.For all Corbyn's shortcomings, the party looks to be stuck with him. Just as the Brexit party has benefited from the turmoil in the Conservative party, so the Liberal Democrats are likely to benefit from Labour's crisis of leadership.To contact the author of this story: Therese Raphael at traphael4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Edward Evans at eevans3@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Therese Raphael writes editorials on European politics and economics for Bloomberg Opinion. She was editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Babysitter charged with homicide over death of two-year-old at unlicensed day care Posted: 15 Jul 2019 12:14 PM PDT  A man has been charged with homicide after a toddler died at an unlicensed day care in Wisconsin.Hunter Jones was charged earlier this month with first-degree reckless homicide in the death of 2-year-old Matthew Bolinski.A criminal complaint said Mr Jones called 911 on 27 March to say the child had jumped out of his playpen and hit his head. The complaint also said Mr Jones was on the phone with a dispatcher for four minutes before he revealed the child wasn't breathing.Katherine Bolinski, the little boy's mother, told local news outlets she feels like she is living in an "ongoing nightmare". "I still pretend like he's sleeping in the other room," Ms Bolinski told WITI."Now it's just like an ongoing nightmare of waking up and there are moments where I just wish he could be with me still." Mr Jones' wife, an in-home day care provider, told investigators she left the child and others in her husband's care while she went out to pick up dinner.An autopsy listed the cause of the child's death as undetermined, but also said the toddler had 18 contusions on his head and likely died of asphyxia. "That day I dropped him off, he threw a fit like no other fit and I obviously regret having to do that now because of the outcome, but that's my last memory of him alive," Ms Bolinski told the local news outlet.The mother said she was "confused," "hurt" and "angry" after her son was found to have multiple injuries to his neck and head.Mr Jones did not have a defence attorney listed in court records. Additional reporting by AP
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| Some Iranian women take off hijabs as hard-liners push back Posted: 15 Jul 2019 04:54 AM PDT  The simple act of walking has become a display of defiance for a young Iranian woman who often moves in Tehran's streets without a compulsory headscarf, or hijab. With every step, she risks harassment or even arrest by Iran's morality police whose job is to enforce the strict dress code imposed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The hijab debate has further polarized Iranians at a time when the country is buckling under unprecedented U.S. sanctions imposed since the Trump administration pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers last year.
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| I Went to a Socialism Conference. Here Are 6 Shocking Things I Learned. Posted: 15 Jul 2019 05:02 AM PDT  While you were enjoying your Fourth of July weekend, I was attending a national conference on socialism.Why? Because socialism is having its moment on the left.Since there's often confusion as to what socialism really is, I decided to attend the Socialism 2019 conference at the Hyatt Hotel in Chicago over the Fourth of July weekend.The conference, which had the tag line "No Borders, No Bosses, No Binaries," contained a cross-section of the most pertinent hard-left thought in America. Among the sponsors were the Democratic Socialists of America and Jacobin, a quarterly socialist magazine.The walls of the various conference rooms were adorned with posters of Karl Marx and various depictions of socialist thinkers and causes. Most of the conference attendees appeared to be white, but identity politics were a major theme throughout—especially in regard to gender.At the registration desk, attendees were given the option of attaching a "preferred pronoun" sticker on their name tags.In addition, the multiple-occupancy men's and women's restrooms were relabeled as "gender neutral," and men and women were using both. Interestingly enough, the signs above the doors were still labeled with the traditional "men's" and "women's" signs until they were covered over with home-made labels.One of the paper labels read: "This bathroom has been liberated from the gender binary!"While the panelists and attendees were certainly radical, and often expressed contempt for the Democratic Party establishment, it was nevertheless clear how seamlessly they blended traditional Marxist thought with the agenda of what's becoming the mainstream left.
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| Marshall Plan for Central America would restore hope, end migrant border crisis Posted: 15 Jul 2019 02:00 AM PDT  Food is essential for solving the migrant crisis in Central America. We need a new Marshall Plan to restore hope and stability in the region.
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| U.S., Russia to discuss nuclear arms limits in Geneva on Wednesday: officials Posted: 15 Jul 2019 11:58 AM PDT  Representatives from the United States and Russia are set to meet in Geneva on Wednesday to explore the concept of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China, senior U.S. officials said on Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump has said that he would like to see a "next generation" arms control deal with Russia and China to cover all types of nuclear weapons.
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| Agony of Yazidi women torn between IS kids, or return home Posted: 13 Jul 2019 07:32 PM PDT  Freed after years in jihadist captivity, Jihan faced an agonising ultimatum: abandon her three small children fathered by an Islamic State fighter or risk being shunned by her community. "How could I, when my three siblings are still in IS hands?," she added, highlighting the harsh reality that the children serve as constant reminders of the brutalities inflicted on the closed, tight-knit Yazidi community by the so-called Islamic State group. Dozens of Yazidi women and girls systematically raped, sold and married off to jihadists after being abducted by IS from their ancestral Iraqi home of Sinjar in 2014 have faced the same gut-wrenching dilemma.
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| AOC is right: Inflation is solved. That's why central banks are doing the unthinkable — cutting rates when we've got full employment and the Dow at 27,000. Posted: 14 Jul 2019 04:33 AM PDT  The economy is screaming for an interest rate rise. But the US Fed and the ECB have signalled they're going to cut instead.
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| Off-duty New Jersey police lieutenant in custody after fatal shooting at ex-wife's home Posted: 15 Jul 2019 11:56 AM PDT  An off-duty Newark police lieutenant surrendered to police after a shooting at his ex-wife's home. Newark has since suspended him without pay.
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| Monica Lewinsky Shares the Worst Career Advice She Ever Received. And It's Exactly What You Think Posted: 14 Jul 2019 09:58 AM PDT  The ex-White House intern jokes about her affair with President Clinton
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| AirPods 2 are on sale for Prime Day, but these popular true wireless earbuds are only $20 Posted: 15 Jul 2019 06:20 AM PDT  AirPods 2 are $15 off for Prime Day and they're $20 off if you get the version with the wireless charging case. Those are both the lowest prices ever on Amazon, and they're great deals if you really want AirPods. But there's another deal on true wireless earbuds that you should definitely check out before you drop $145+. The SoundPEATS TrueFree+ True Wireless Earbuds are wildly popular, offer great sound quality and a comfortable fit for just $33. They also have solid battery life and Bluetooth 5.0 support. Clip the on-site coupon right now and use the coupon code CWXHEI5F at checkout, and you can get a pair for just $20.39!Of note, it looks like the on-site coupon is a mistake because the final sale price is supposed to be $24.74. Hurry and you can save a few extra bucks, but these awesome cord-free earbuds will still be a fantastic deal once Amazon fixes the mistake.Here are the bullet points from the product page: * [TRUE WIRELESS & BLUETOOTH 5.0] - Adopt professional Bluetooth 5.0 chipset with high resolution decoder built-in and AAC/SBC audio coding technology to deliver extraordinary Hi-fi sound with low latency. * [AUTO PAIRING & ON-EAR CONTROL] - Auto power on and enter pairing mode right after out of charging case. User-friendly on-ear button on each side supports play/pause, switching tracks and handling phone calls easily. * [MONAURAL & BINAURAL CALLS] - Built-in microphones in both earbuds for you to enjoy hands-free calls and voice assistant with single or both earbuds as prefer. Voice comes from both earbuds in stereo mode. * [MORE & LONGER ENJOYMENT] - 3.5-4 hours working time per charge for the earbuds, 9-10 times full charge by the charging case. SoundPEATS TrueFree Plus wireless earbuds bring extended playtime and enjoyment. * [COMFORT FIT & WIDE COMPATIBILITY] - Different sized ear tips and in-canel cable-free design provide comfortable fit. Support Bluetooth-enabled devices with version 4.0 and above. PS: SoundPEATS provides 12 months hassle-free warranty to ensure the enjoyment of your purchase.
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| Florida suspect punches hotel owner Posted: 14 Jul 2019 01:55 PM PDT  Raw video: Surveillance video captures a suspect attacking a hotel owner over parking space dispute.
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