| Sanders Hits Back after Co-Sponsor Harris Criticizes Medicare for All Posted: 20 Aug 2019 07:35 AM PDT  Senator Bernie Sanders hit back at Senator Kamala Harris Monday evening after Harris said at a fundraiser in the Hamptons that she has "not been comfortable" with the Medicare for All plan she cosponsored with Sanders.> I don't go to the Hamptons to raise money from billionaires. If I ever visited there, I would tell them the same thing I have said for the last 30 years: We must pass a Medicare for All system to guarantee affordable health care for all, not just for those who can afford it.> > -- Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) August 19, 2019Harris courted wealthy donors in the Hamptons and at Martha's Vineyard over the weekend, assuring them that, "I believe in capitalism, but capitalism is not working for most people.""I think almost every member of the United States Senate who's running for president, and many others, have signed on to a variety of plans in the Senate. And I have done the same," the California Democrat said. "I support Medicare for All. But as you may have noticed, over the course of the many months, I've not been comfortable with Bernie's plan, the Medicare-for-All plan."Harris floundered slightly earlier in her campaign on the question of whether private insurance plans would still be available under her health-care proposal. She originally said private health insurance would be eliminated but has since backtracked, saying that while she is "committed to reining in the private insurance companies," phasing out private insurance "has to happen over a period of time."Sanders is currently polling ahead of Harris but behind the front-runner, former vice president Joe Biden, and Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is in second place.
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| Trump: Again open to strengthening gun background checks Posted: 21 Aug 2019 11:30 AM PDT  President Donald Trump on Wednesday once again backed tighter background checks for gun purchases, but said he wants to be careful that closing what he calls "loopholes" doesn't clear the way for more gun control. Speaking to reporters as he departed the White House for Kentucky, the president said he considers gun violence a public health issue and is considering ways to make background checks more strict. In the days following the mass shootings early this month, Trump said he was eager to implement "very meaningful background checks" and told reporters there was "tremendous support" for action.
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| U.S. removed almost 2.7 million barrels daily of Iranian oil from market: Pompeo Posted: 20 Aug 2019 10:35 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has removed nearly 2.7 million barrels of Iranian oil from global markets daily as a result of Washington's decision to reimpose sanctions on all purchases of Iran's crude, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday.
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| Canada accused of unlawfully questioning Huawei's Meng Posted: 21 Aug 2019 01:30 PM PDT  Lawyers for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou alleged in court documents released Wednesday that she was unlawfully detained and questioned by Canadian border agents in Vancouver last year. Border agents detained her under the pretense of an immigration matter and never alerted her to a US warrant for her arrest, questioning her for hours before eventually handing her over to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the lawyers said. "From the outset of the applicant's detention," the RCMP and border agents were acting on behalf of "the FBI for the purpose of obtaining and preserving evidence," Meng's lawyers said.
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| The northernmost reaches of the Earth are on fire. Here's what this record-breaking hot summer looks like from space. Posted: 21 Aug 2019 05:24 AM PDT  Climate change comes with a higher risk of wildfires. This summer, fires have ravaged the Arctic, and the flames can be seen from space.
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| Sen. McSally calls out Omar and Tlaib, talks bill to define domestic terrorism as federal crime Posted: 20 Aug 2019 05:46 AM PDT  Republican Sen. Martha McSally weighs in on the Israel trip turmoil in Congress and her push to have domestic terrorism defined as a federal crime after the latest mass shootings.
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| Fox News Host Quickly Moves On After GOP Rep. Says Tlaib ‘Hates Jews More Than She Likes Her Grandmother’ Posted: 20 Aug 2019 03:13 PM PDT  Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner swiftly brushed aside a Republican congressman's inflammatory comments about Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) on Tuesday, briefly expressing shock when Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) said Tlaib "hates Jews more than she likes her grandmother" before ultimately moving on.Green, who was part of a group of lawmakers who recently traveled to Israel, appeared on Fox News' Outnumbered Overtime to discuss Israel's controversial decision to bar Reps. Tlaib and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from entering the country.Reacting to the two Muslim congresswomen's recent press conference denouncing the travel restrictions, Green claimed everything they said in the presser was an "absolute lie" before taking aim at Tlaib, who cried while talking about her Palestinian grandmother."This grandmother visit and the tears," he groused. "She hadn't visited her grandmother for 13 years prior to this. If she really wanted to go see her grandmother, she would have gone."Noting that Tlaib refused Israel's offer for her to specifically see her grandmother, Green then added, "Obviously she hates Jews more than she likes her grandmother. Obviously.""Oh my goodness," Faulkner uttered, apparently taken aback.Instead of addressing the Tennessee lawmaker's incendiary remarks, the Fox News anchor went right back to her set of questions she wanted to ask Green, which centered around Muslims serving in Israel's Knesset and Tlaib's dismissal of criticism of the group that was set to sponsor her Israel trip.The Fox anchor, meanwhile, never circled back to Green's comments, letting the incendiary accusation sit without any pushback.The Tennessee congressman's remarks come on the heels of President Donald Trump saying he doesn't "buy" Tlaib's tears, claiming he's "watched her violence, craziness and, most importantly, WORDS, for far too long" while also accusing her of hating "all Jewish people."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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| Trump decries 'great disloyalty' of Jews who vote for Democrats Posted: 20 Aug 2019 01:15 PM PDT  President Trump said Tuesday that Jews who voted for Democrats were either ignorant or disloyal.
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| Russia, China ask U.N. Security Council to meet Thursday over U.S. missile developments Posted: 21 Aug 2019 12:20 PM PDT ![Russia, China ask U.N. Security Council to meet Thursday over U.S. missile developments]( "Russia, China ask U.N. Security Council to meet Thursday over U.S. missile developments") Russia and China have asked the United Nations Security Council to meet on Thursday over "statements by U.S. officials on their plans to develop and deploy medium-range missiles," according to the request seen by Reuters. Moscow and Beijing want to convene the 15-member council under the agenda item "threats to international peace and security" and have requested that U.N. disarmament affairs chief Izumi Nakamitsu brief the body. The Pentagon said on Monday it had tested a conventionally-configured cruise missile that hit its target after more than 500 km (310 miles) of flight, the first such test since the United States pulled out Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).
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| The Latest: Japan 'deeply concerned' about Hong Kong Posted: 20 Aug 2019 07:52 AM PDT |
| The police officer who fatally choked Eric Garner has been fired. The guy who filmed it is still in prison. Posted: 20 Aug 2019 11:46 AM PDT  Former NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo escaped criminal prosecution. Ramsey Orta, the man who filmed the deadly encounter, has been locked up for years.
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| China could ‘render US military bases useless’ within hours of conflict in Asia, report says Posted: 20 Aug 2019 03:41 AM PDT  China's military could use missiles to overwhelm American military bases in Asia within hours, a think tank has warned.The US defence strategy in the Indo-Pacific is "in the throes of an unprecedented crisis", according to a report from the United States Studies Center, at the University of Sydney in Australia.
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| Ford's "Mustang-Inspired" Mach E Electric SUV Steps Out in Prototype Form Posted: 21 Aug 2019 12:30 PM PDT  Said to arrive next year, this new battery-powered crossover promises 300 miles of range and a relatively affordable starting price.
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| The Amazon is burning and smoke from the fires can be seen from space Posted: 21 Aug 2019 08:59 AM PDT  Smoke from record wildfires raging in the Amazon rainforest blanketed São Paulo on Monday and could be seen from space.
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| Trump team braces GOP donors for a potential ‘moderate and short’ recession Posted: 20 Aug 2019 04:05 PM PDT  The White House is weighing cuts to corporate and payroll taxes, among other measures, to cushion the U.S. economy if an election-year recession hits.
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| What Jeffrey Epstein’s Last-Minute Will Means for Accusers Trying to Recover Money From His Estate Posted: 20 Aug 2019 04:18 PM PDT  "It could take many, many years before anybody gets a penny of this"
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| Climate change will cripple economies regardless of countries' wealth- report Posted: 20 Aug 2019 04:41 PM PDT ![Climate change will cripple economies regardless of countries' wealth- report]( "Climate change will cripple economies regardless of countries' wealth- report") Climate change will damage the economies of countries whether they are rich or poor, hot or cold by the year 2100, economists said in a new report, dispelling the notion that impoverished, warm countries will suffer the most on a warming planet. Researchers who examined data from 174 countries over 50 years found that persistent temperature changes above or below a country's historical norm adversely affected economic growth, regardless of how warm a country is. The United States could see a 10% loss in gross domestic product (GDP) without significant policy change.
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| Albania bulldozes restaurant after owner attacks tourists Posted: 21 Aug 2019 07:17 AM PDT  Albanian officials on Wednesday razed a beachfront restaurant whose owner was captured on camera attacking a car rented by Spanish tourists, as the country scrambles to clean up its reputation as a burgeoning holiday destination. The incident, filmed by the victims' tour guide from inside their vehicle, took place at the weekend in Porto-Palermo on the Ionian coast in southern Albania, a popular tourist spot. The restaurant owner, 51-year-old Mihal Kokedhima, was arrested and faces trial for "verbally assaulting a group of Spanish tourists for futile reasons", damaging their car and causing minor injuries, police said.
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| Police Arrest Two Louisiana Men in 39-Year-Old Cold Case Murder of Teen Posted: 20 Aug 2019 01:53 PM PDT  Rapides Parish Sheriff's OfficeAfter nearly four decades, Louisiana police have charged two men they believe brutally raped and murdered an 18-year-old girl before disposing of her body in the woods.Leo Laird, 64, and Gary Haymon, 54, were both charged on Monday in the death of 18-year-old Donna Gayle Brazzell, according to the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office. The young woman's skeletal remains were found near Nichols Cemetery Road in 1980, but authorities were unable to identify them until last month.The Daring DNA Hunt That Cracked France's Gruesome Cold Case"These cases never, ever leave a policeman's mind," Officer William Earl Hilton, who was first assigned the case, told KBLA. "They prey on you all the time. Especially cases like this that you never solve."Authorities declined to elaborate on what evidence led to Laird and Haymon's arrest, but said "sufficient probable cause was established." Both men have been charged with first-degree murder, first-degree rape, and aggravated kidnapping.The mystery began on November 5, 1980, when the sheriff's office responded to a call about "skeletal remains found in a wooded area" near Nichols Cemetery Road. Working alongside Louisiana State University's Repository for Missing and Unidentified Persons, investigators were able to determine that the remains, which were likely in the woods for at least two months, belonged to a female victim between the ages of 16 and 21. The lab also created a DNA profile and a facial sketch of the victim but were still unable to make a positive identification. In 2014, the sheriff's office "received information in reference to the case" that led them to name Laird and Haymon as suspects. It remains unclear what new evidence pointed to the two men.Vatican to Open Tombs in Hunt for Teen Missing for 30 YearsThe sketch of the victim proved key to cracking the case five years later, when a woman contacted authorities claiming the picture resembled her long lost granddaughter. After a DNA comparison last month, authorities confirmed the remains belonged to the woman's relative, Donna Gayle Brazzell.Laird, who would have been in his 20s at the time of the alleged murder, was arrested on August 14 and booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center. He is currently being held on a $1 million bold. Haymon is already serving a 49-year prison sentence for second-degree kidnapping, first-degree robbery, and public bribery, authorities said. While he was originally set for release in 2047, authorities said arrangements "are in place to have Haymon booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center in reference to his new charges."Quadriplegic Charged in Cold-Case Murder of Bay Area MomRead 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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| A shark attacked a woman in Hawaii, and authorities are warning it's 'still in the area' Posted: 21 Aug 2019 07:22 AM PDT  A 27-year-old woman was bitten twice by a shark while swimming on Tuesday. She is reportedly recovering and in "good health."
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| The Trump-Greenland effect: Deplorable policies buried in an avalanche of absurd optics Posted: 21 Aug 2019 01:13 AM PDT  Trump's reality TV 'rivals' are never climate change, or whatever is causing declining life expectancy, or the country that attacked our elections.
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| US mental health staff warned not to contradict Trump after mass shootings Posted: 21 Aug 2019 03:35 AM PDT  When Donald Trump targeted mental illness as the cause of the mass shootings that killed 31 people in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, federal health officials made sure no government experts might contradict him.A Health and Human Services (HHS) directive on 5 August warned communication staffers not to post anything on social media related to mental health, violence and mass shootings without prior approval.
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| US has half a million fewer jobs than believed after big government revision Posted: 21 Aug 2019 04:22 PM PDT  There were 501,000 fewer jobs created from April 2018 to March 2019. Jobs in retail, hospitality and professional services were revised down sharply.
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| WIDER IMAGE-"I don't recommend you do this": Thailand's stealthy snake wrangler Posted: 20 Aug 2019 04:00 PM PDT ![WIDER IMAGE-"I don't recommend you do this": Thailand's stealthy snake wrangler]( "WIDER IMAGE-\"I don't recommend you do this\": Thailand's stealthy snake wrangler") In the dead of night, Thai firefighter Pinyo Pukpinyo stealthily approaches a python coiled around the rafters of a home in Bangkok, and quickly grabs its head with his bare hands. "This job makes me feel like I'm a superhero," he said.
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| Money, muscle, media: how China has handled Hong Kong protests Posted: 21 Aug 2019 01:34 AM PDT  China has deployed a three-pronged strategy to suffocate pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong -- propaganda, economic leverage and intimidation. Here is a look at Beijing's efforts so far to squash a movement that has refused to die. As protests erupted in June, discussion inside authoritarian China was muted, censored on social media or played down on state outlets.
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| Farmer Behind the U.S.'s Largest Organic Food Fraud Scheme Dies by Suicide Posted: 21 Aug 2019 06:27 AM PDT  A Missouri farmer blamed for running the largest organic food fraud scheme in U.S. history has died by suicide, weeks before he was to report to federal prison to begin serving a 10-year term, a coroner said Tuesday.
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| In-Depth 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan Photos Posted: 20 Aug 2019 09:59 AM PDT |
| The True Stories Behind the Serial Killers of Mindhunter Season 2 Posted: 20 Aug 2019 05:39 PM PDT  From Charles Manson to William "Junior" Pierce
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| Biden confronts Fox News reporter: 'You're going to go after me no matter what' Posted: 21 Aug 2019 06:17 AM PDT  2020 Democrat Joe Biden challenges Fox News' Peter Doocy after being asked about the size of his crowds in Iowa.
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| Drivers in Idaho keep harassing busloads of immigrants' children on their way to pre-school Posted: 21 Aug 2019 12:23 PM PDT  One driver reported experiencing threatening incidents with other drivers while she was driving a busload of children under the age of five.
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| Jet catches fire in Northern California; 10 aboard unhurt Posted: 21 Aug 2019 02:57 PM PDT  All 10 people aboard a small jet escaped injury Wednesday after the aircraft aborted its takeoff at a small Northern California airport, went off the runway and burst into flames, officials said. The pilot of the twin-engine Cessna Citation jet aborted its takeoff at Oroville Municipal Airport for unknown reasons shortly before noon, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said. The plane was carrying two pilots and eight passengers, and "all were accounted for, no injuries," said Joe Deal, Oroville's fire and police chief.
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| Trump’s White House guest list favours smaller European countries over traditional allies Posted: 21 Aug 2019 02:26 AM PDT  When Klaus Iohannis smiled for cameras alongside Donald Trump on Tuesday, the Romanian president became the 10th European leader to visit the president at the White House this year.But none have come from the large Western European powers that have been cornerstone US allies for decades. Instead, Mr Trump has courted and been courted by Central and Eastern European leaders.
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| Mexican president says government not talking with criminal gangs Posted: 21 Aug 2019 05:55 AM PDT  Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday said his nine-month-old administration's efforts to bring down record rates of violent crime do not include talks with criminal gangs or armed self-defense groups. On Tuesday, Mexico's interior minister told reporters the government was holding talks with "various groups" in states hard hit by violence, in response to a question about organized criminals.
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| 'Storm Area 51' event pushes rural Nevada county to declare emergency Posted: 21 Aug 2019 06:52 AM PDT !['Storm Area 51' event pushes rural Nevada county to declare emergency]( "'Storm Area 51' event pushes rural Nevada county to declare emergency") Lincoln County commissioner pre-signed an emergency declaration ahead of the "Storm Area 51" raid event that's drawn more than 2 million RSVPs.
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| NYC Rules Ease Affordable Housing Path for Undocumented Migrants Posted: 21 Aug 2019 10:43 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio is making it easier for New York City's undocumented immigrants to qualify for scarce city-subsidized affordable housing.New eligibility rules de Blasio unveiled scrap credit-rating, Social Security and taxpayer identification requirements if applicants can show 12 consecutive monthly rent payments."For too long, families without access to credit have faced barriers to the affordable housing they need," de Blasio said Wednesday. "By allowing New Yorkers to submit rental history instead of credit checks, we are creating a fairer system for all New Yorkers."The mayor's goal of creating or preserving 300,000 units of affordable housing by 2026 has been one of his signature programs, which he's touted while campaigning for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. The city's 500,000 undocumented immigrants would be able to participate in a lottery that already attracts more than 500 applicants for each available unit, said Bitta Mostofi, commissioner for the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs.Unlike federal housing programs that bar undocumented immigrants from applying for U.S. funded public or subsidized housing, they were never legally disqualified from city housing programs, said Margy Brown, associate commissioner for housing opportunity in the city's Department of Housing Preservation & Development. By ending credit-rating requirements, there's no need for an applicant to provide Social Security and taxpayer documents, making it easier for non-citizens to qualify, she said."We are committed to ensuring that New Yorkers across the board have equal access to affordable housing," she said.The new policy was criticized as "a really bad idea" by Howard Husock, vice president for research and publications, at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative policy research group. "People who consistently pay their bills should be rewarded for their efforts, especially when property owners are being asked to take less-than-market rent, and deserve assurance they will get paid," he said.To contact the reporter on this story: Henry Goldman in New York at hgoldman@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Flynn McRoberts at fmcroberts1@bloomberg.net, Michael B. Marois, William SelwayFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| We can't trust police to protect us from racist violence. They contribute to it Posted: 21 Aug 2019 05:29 AM PDT  White nationalists pervade law enforcement. Fighting far right violence means continuing our fight for police accountabilityProtesters shout anti-Nazi chants after chasing alt-right blogger Jason Kessler from a news conference on 13 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesAs mass violence continues, many of us have become rightly afraid for the people we love. We want justice, but we also want protection.So what are the solutions we're hearing about following this month's violence? One idea we must reject is the idea of trusting law enforcement to protect us from white nationalist violence, given how much they contribute to it. If people in law enforcement want to be seen as experts on defeating white nationalism, shouldn't they have to get rid of all the white nationalists in their own ranks first?White nationalists pervade law enforcement. There is a long history of the military, police and other authorities supporting, protecting or even being members of white supremacy groups. But it's not just history. It was revealed last week that a black man in Michigan came upon KKK materials and Confederate flags in plain view while being shown a home for sale – the home of a police officer on the force for more than 20 years who shot and killed a black man in 2009 without consequence.It's a widespread pattern. As early as 2006, the FBI flagged it. Another FBI report in 2015, not covered nearly enough, indicated that "domestic terrorism investigations focused on militia extremists, white supremacist extremists, and sovereign citizen extremists often have identified active links to law enforcement officers". (And that's the FBI, which has its own history of white supremacy affinity groups.)White nationalists connect through online networks and offline groups, and openly share tactics for infiltrating and influencing police departments, border patrol, the FBI and the military. That was the case for a Virginia police officer – assigned to a high school – who was revealed to be a longtime white nationalist and served as a recruiter for Identity Evropa, one of the groups behind the Charlottesville hate rallies and violence. He was not shy about his cover. In chat messages, he "discussed ways to downplay appearances of racism, while still promoting white nationalism".Another thing many of those like him are not shy about: stoking and celebrating violence, and promoting hateful misinformation and rhetoric. The Plain View Project tracked publicly posted social media material from more than 3,500 confirmed current and retired law enforcement officers, and found that "about 1 in 5 of the current officers, and 2 in 5 of the retired officers, made public posts or comments ... displaying bias, applauding violence, scoffing at due process or using dehumanizing language". The Center for Investigative Reporting was able to identify almost 400 current and retired law enforcement officials who were members of private Facebook "Confederate, anti-Islam, misogynistic or anti-government militia" groups.We have seen racist text messages and emails among active officers revealed in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland and more, including among those in management with direct authority over law enforcement practices. As the Portland case proved, we must come to terms with the depth of association between senior law enforcement and white nationalist leaders and groups – people they should be investigating and thwarting, not encouraging and helping to evade justice.Neo-Nazis and white supremacists at the University of Virginia after marching through the campus with torches in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. Photograph: Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesIt would be naive to look at cases in which agencies have dismissed white nationalists from their ranks as an encouraging sign, whether in police departments, border patrol (an agent with a pattern of racist text messages ran over a Guatemalan migrant with a truck), the coast guard (a white nationalist aimed to "murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country"), military units (more Identity Evropa members in the Marines), or anywhere else.In truth, would the level of violence committed by law enforcement in communities of color, and at the border, even be possible if racial hatred weren't part and parcel of police culture? White nationalists in law enforcement and in many roles in government, such as prosecutors, are dangerous because they routinely abuse their power to attack and debilitate communities of color, including harassment and coercion, financial exploitation, acts of sexual and racially-targeted violence and mass incarceration – all officially sanctioned, and all celebrated as part of the larger white nationalist agenda.Within the FBI, there has been an active movement among white nationalist sympathizers to protect their own by unfoundedly targeting nonviolent black activists: inventing the idea of a black extremist threat to justify surveillance of nonviolent black activists and divert attention from truly violent white nationalist perpetrators. This policy was codified in an internal "Race Paper" that a federal court allowed to remain secret, despite a move for transparency led by my organization, Color Of Change. (And people who have spoken out about internal racism at the FBI have not been treated well.)Investigations have not yet uncovered the extent to which people in law enforcement at all levels are actually involved in white nationalist violence more directly: training and mentorship, advice and tips, offering the social validation that people of color and others are, in fact, the enemy, or offering the social validation that violence is, in fact, the answer.More stories from those who know what's happening inside law enforcement officers' lives would help.But we already know enough. We must change the incentives for law enforcement and their unions – financial, social, cultural and otherwise – that allow the denial of this threat to persist. Instead of allowing news media to praise law enforcement as problem-solvers, we must hold them to account for the harm they enable. Lawmakers across the country must also play their role: investigating the extent of the problem, and forcing a purge of white nationalists and their sympathizers from positions of power and influence – everywhere. Fighting white nationalist violence means doubling down on our fight for police accountability.
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| This Crock-Pot Spaghetti Is the Fuss-Free Pasta You Need Tonight Posted: 21 Aug 2019 02:30 PM PDT |
| Prosecutor: Cannibalism victim was butchered 'like you wouldn't kill a livestock animal' Posted: 21 Aug 2019 04:58 PM PDT  Joseph Oberhansley, 38, is accused of killing his estranged girlfriend and eating parts of her brain and organs in 2014.
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| Luntz: ‘I was wrong’ on climate change Posted: 21 Aug 2019 09:11 AM PDT  Luntz urged Democrats to "personalize, individualize and humanize" the impacts of climate change
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| Fox News Tried to Get Jill Abramson to Call the New York Times Biased. It Backfired. Posted: 21 Aug 2019 09:39 AM PDT  During a lengthy Fox News interview on Wednesday morning, former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson repeatedly frustrated America's Newsroom anchors Sandra Smith and Jon Scott as she rebuffed their attempts to get her to criticize the paper's coverage of President Trump.In recent days, Fox News has been laser-focused on a transcript of the newspaper's recent town-hall meeting, claiming it showed current Times executive editor Dean Baquet admitting the paper switched narratives from the Russia investigation to racism in an effort to take out the president. Abramson, who has not been shy in her criticism of the paper she once ran, began the segment by immediately praising Baquet as "really doing a brilliant job" under the circumstances of Trump's presidency.Noting that Baquet is "criticized all the time by you at Fox News and by conservatives were being way too hard on Trump and being biased" against him, Abramson went on to say how impressed she was with Baquet for explaining to the staff that their job was to be "independent and to hold power accountable.""Essentially he told reporters and staffers that we started trying to cover the Trump and Russia collusion narrative and that has kind of gone away," Scott countered. "So now we are going to cover President Trump as a racist. Is that essentially what he says, would you agree with that?"The ex-Times editor did not, in fact, agree with that."No, I think you mischaracterized what he said," she replied. "What he was explaining was that the paper had been set up to cover a deep investigative story out of Washington."Abramson added: "And now they were pivoting to an election where the job of The New York Times is to be in the country figuring out how people feel and what they think. It was not telling people get ready to cover a racist administration. That was a complete mischaracterization of what he was saying. I read that transcript twice."Smith, meanwhile, tried a different tack, reading a piece of the transcript in which Baquet says they need to "regroup" following their coverage of the Russian investigation while framing it within conservative criticism."You heard some members of Congress, including Ted Cruz and others, speaking out pretty aggressively about that revealing an intentional shift in coverage from the Russia narrative to now race in covering the president, is that fair?" Smith asked."I think that's an overstatement," Abramson responded. "If you look at the totality of what Dean said it, he was urging his staff to make a pivot to cover out in the country in all America, not just in Washington, but how people are feeling to understand deeply why they elected Donald Trump in 2016 and why they may possibly do so again in 2016."Eventually, the Fox anchors shifted course and tried to get Abramson to blast the Times for changing a headline earlier this month, once again coming up empty as the former editor said the current editorial staff made the right judgment in making the alteration.As the interview came to an end, Smith threw up one final Hail Mary."I know your book writes about old-school journalism and the changing media landscape and what's missing from journalism today," the anchor said. "I will just ask you, does The New York Times fairly cover the news?Does The New York Times fairly cover President Trump?""I think it does fairly cover President Trump, who makes it very difficult to cover him," Abramson answered, adding that it is "extremely difficult" to cover a president who has reportedly said more than 10,000 lies and falsehoods since entering office.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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| Greece says it won't assist Iranian tanker sought by US Posted: 21 Aug 2019 05:24 AM PDT  Greece said on Wednesday it won't endanger its relations with the United States by aiding an Iranian supertanker sought by the U.S. but released by Gibraltar that's currently in the Mediterranean Sea, believed heading for a Greek port. Deputy Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said Athens is under pressure from U.S. authorities, which claim the Iran-flagged Adrian Darya 1 is tied to a sanctioned organization. The vessel can still enter Greek waters or anchor offshore, in which case Athens will "see" what it will do, Varvitsiotis added.
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| Trudeau says Canada will push back in China row, urges de-escalation in Hong Kong Posted: 21 Aug 2019 01:21 PM PDT  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that Canada will stand up to China in a deepening diplomatic and trade spat, while renewing calls for de-escalation of Hong Kong protest tensions. "We must recognize that China is a growing power and increasingly assertive towards its place in the international order. The two nations have been locked in a feud since December 2018 when Canada detained Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a flight stopover in Vancouver.
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