| We need an active, robust Republican primary with choices that aren't Donald Trump Posted: 26 Aug 2019 02:00 AM PDT  The presidency hasn't changed Trump, he is changing the presidency. I hope he gets more primary challengers. Give Republicans a chance to reject him.
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| Candidates hope to replicate Ocasio-Cortez's tactics across the country Posted: 25 Aug 2019 02:01 AM PDT  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., stunned the political world last year when she pulled off an upset victory against a 10-term incumbent who held a leadership position in the Democratic caucus. Now candidates are looking to replicate some of her tactics to take on Democratic incumbents across the country. According to the group the Justice Democrats, which backed Ocasio-Cortez in her race, the first-time candidate succeeded in part because of her unique social media strategy, a refusal to take money from large corporations and her recognition of issues that resonate with millennials.
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| Man found with mummified remains called dangerous to society Posted: 26 Aug 2019 02:11 PM PDT  Prosecutors called a New Jersey man "dangerous to society" after pieces of a human body were found in his closet, including a head, part of an arm, and a torso dressed in a necktie and suit jacket. Robert Williams, of Newark, pleaded not guilty Monday to desecrating human remains and separate charges of child sexual abuse. Police initially went to Williams' home to investigate allegations he abused a 12- to 13-year-old boy over several months, but when they searched the apartment they found an altar and mummified human remains that had apparently been used in religious ceremonies, according to prosecutors.
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| Eggs from last northern white rhinos fertilized, scientists say Posted: 26 Aug 2019 02:51 AM PDT  Seven eggs from the world's last two remaining northern white rhinos have been successfully fertilized artificially, reviving hopes of saving the endangered animals, scientists said on Monday. The world's last male northern white rhinoceros, a 45-year-old named Sudan, died last year in Kenya, leaving only the two surviving female members of the species. Najin and Fatu are Sudan's daughter and grand-daughter and the three animals lived together at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, about 250km (155 miles) north of Nairobi, where Sudan died.
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| Sidney Rittenberg, former American advisor to Mao, dies at age 98 Posted: 26 Aug 2019 09:40 AM PDT  Sidney Rittenberg, a former American advisor to Mao Tse-tung who spent long spells in prison as he fell in and out of favor with China's communist leaders, has died in the state of Arizona, the New York Times reported. The rebellious son of a prominent family from Charleston, South Carolina, Rittenberg arrived in China as a US army linguist at the end of World War II, and was soon swept up in the country's epochal civil war and communist revolution. Hiking 46 days to reach Mao's mountain redoubt, he served as an interpreter and traveled with the red army.
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| Four face charges in deaths of 12 Florida nursing home patients following Hurricane Irma Posted: 26 Aug 2019 02:08 PM PDT  A dozen patients died at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills when the facility's air conditioning power went out amid sweltering heat.
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| Amazon fires: Brazil sends warplanes to dump water on devastating blaze after international outcry Posted: 26 Aug 2019 04:31 AM PDT  Brazil's warplanes are dumping water on fires across the Amazon, as Jair Bolsonaro's government scrambles to contain the damage following an international outcry.A video posted by Brazil's Defence Ministry on Saturday evening showed a military plane pumping thousands of litres of water as it passed through clouds of smoke close to a forest canopy in Rondonia state.
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| California parents charged with hate crime after allegedly assaulting boy found in daughter's closet Posted: 25 Aug 2019 09:02 AM PDT  According to San Bruno Police the 15-year-old's biological dad Luisandor Suarez, her mom Haydee Arguello and step-dad Wilfredo Amaya physically abused a 17-year-old African American boy for 30 minutes and threaten to kill him with a deadly weapon after finding him in his daughter's closet.
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| Apple and Samsung phones are reportedly being investigated by the FCC for emitting too much radiation Posted: 26 Aug 2019 07:33 AM PDT  The iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 — and Samsung's Galaxy S8, Galaxy S9, and Galaxy J3 — emitted more radiation than they should have in an independent test.
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| Donald Trump Upstaged at G7 By Foreign Minister of ... Iran Posted: 25 Aug 2019 09:50 AM PDT  Jeff J Mitchell/ReutersIt looked like President Donald Trump was set up for a diplomatic ambush at the Group of Seven summit on Sunday when Iran's foreign minister suddenly flew into town.The arrival of the smooth-talking Javad Zarif at the elegant French beach resort of Biarritz, where the leaders of the seven most industrialized democracies are gathered, underscored a key conflict between Trump and the rest about how to deal with Iran's nuclear ambitions. 'Absolute Amateur Hour': Team Trump Mangles Messages to IranLast year, the U.S. pulled out of an agreement that severely limited for several years Iran's production and stockpiling of nuclear fuel and imposed an extensive inspection regime. Trump claimed the accord forged under Barack Obama was a disastrous deal, and he could do better.A senior French diplomat told reporters at the G7 summit in Biarritz that Macron informed Trump over lunch on Saturday that Zarif would be coming, and told the rest of the summit participants at dinner that night. The Trump administration imposed sanctions specifically targeting Zarif earlier this month, but when Trump was asked for a reaction after the the visit became public, his initial comment was, "No comment."Although Trump has said he would be willing to meet with Iran's leaders, they have so far declined, and a tweet from the Iranian foreign ministry stated flatly, "There will be no meetings or negotiations with the American delegation on this trip."Trump has insisted he can force Iran to make more concessions, not only about nukes, but about its missiles and extensive proxy forces outside its borders, most notably Hezbollah, and to that end the U.S. has imposed draconian sanctions crippling the Iranian economy while punishing its trading partners.Germany, France and Britain–all signatories of the Iran deal, and all represented at the G7–have sought desperately to shore up the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the agreement is called. They share Trump's view that missiles and proxies are serious issues, but they believe it makes more sense to keep the nuclear agreement that exists rather than throw all the cards up in the air.To try to keep Iran on board, the Europeans have been discussing various mechanisms to try to bypass the American sanctions, but with little success. Meanwhile, step by calculated step, Iran terminates bits of the JCPOA. As Iran-U.S. Tensions Rise, Hezbollah Readies for War With IsraelIn June, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, also at the G7 this weekend, visited Tehran to try to calm the situation, but to no avail. Indeed, holes were blown in a Japanese tanker by mysterious, presumably Iranian, agents at the same time as Abe's visit.It's likely that Zarif's visit to Biarritz is mainly political theater orchestrated by Macron, and there is little hope it will resolve an increasingly dangerous standoff between the U.S. and Iran. Already we have seen attacks on shipping near the strategic Strait of Hormuz and the recent British seizure, then release against U.S. objections, of an Iranian tanker at Gibraltar. Last month, when Iran downed an American drone it claimed was over its territorial waters, Trump gave a green light, then a red one, to a retaliatory attack that would have killed a number of Iranian personnel.Meanwhile, as The Daily Beast has reported, Iran's clients in Lebanon and Syria, the Hezbollah militias, are preparing for war with Israel as part of a wider conflagration, and Israel is attacking Iranian installations in Iraq as well as Syria.What Zarif's visit to the G7 summit might do is calm the situation and buy some time.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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| Mass shootings are a call to arms for some black Americans, not a moment for gun control Posted: 26 Aug 2019 04:00 AM PDT  Black gun rights advocates say limiting access would make them more vulnerable to racist attacks, especially in the absence of real problem solving.
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| Authorities: Los Angeles deputy lied about sniper assault Posted: 25 Aug 2019 01:49 PM PDT  A Los Angeles County deputy lied when he said he was shot in the shoulder while standing in a sheriff's station parking lot last week and will face a criminal investigation, authorities said. "The reported sniper assault was fabricated" by Deputy Angel Reinosa, Assistant Sheriff Robin Limon said at a news conference late Saturday. Reinosa, 21, made a frantic radio call Wednesday claiming he'd been shot by someone in a nearby building as he walked to his car outside the Lancaster station, prompting a huge police response.
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| A Giant Raft of Volcanic Rock From an Underwater Eruption Could Help Revive the Great Barrier Reef Posted: 26 Aug 2019 02:38 AM PDT  Chunks of rock from an underwater volcano are carrying living organisms
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| Malaysia hopes to pay for military equipment with palm oil Posted: 26 Aug 2019 04:18 AM PDT  Malaysia is in talks with at last six countries on the possibility of using palm oil to pay for arms, as Southeast Asia's third-biggest economy seeks to replace old equipment to boost its defence capabilities. Malaysia has struggled to update its defence equipment over the years and a cut in its defence budget this year all but derailed efforts to replace navy ships, some of which have been in service for 35 years or more. Costs have been a big hurdle but using palm oil to help pay for equipment could open new avenues to upgrade, Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu said on Monday.
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| Saudi intercepts six Yemen rebel missiles: coalition Posted: 25 Aug 2019 01:23 PM PDT  Saudi Arabia intercepted six missiles fired by Yemeni rebels at the southern city of Jizan on Sunday, a Riyadh-led military coalition said, as the insurgents escalate cross-border attacks. The missiles fired by the Iran-aligned Huthis targeted civilians in Jizan, the coalition said in a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency. The rebels' Al-Masirah television said the Huthis had launched 10 "Badr 1" ballistic missiles targeting military aircraft and apache helicopters in Jizan airport and nearby military sites.
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| These Luxury Watches Are Trending Now Posted: 26 Aug 2019 05:00 AM PDT |
| 7 dead, including 2 children, after a plane collided with a helicopter midair over the popular Spanish tourist island of Mallorca Posted: 25 Aug 2019 10:59 PM PDT  Local media said two Spanish nationals were aboard the small aircraft, while an Italian pilot and a German family were aboard the helicopter. There were no survivors.
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| Cardi B might be one of Bernie's most powerful 2020 allies. Seriously. Posted: 26 Aug 2019 02:01 AM PDT  "She's a no-B.S. person," says one aide to the Democratic hopeful. "And Bernie Sanders loves no-B.S. people."
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| 7 escape injury in fiery plane crash at California airport Posted: 26 Aug 2019 10:06 AM PDT  Seven people escaped unhurt when a large transport plane they were on crash-landed and caught fire at Southern California's Santa Barbara Airport, authorities said. The crew declared an emergency and diverted to Santa Barbara, where it landed on its belly and skidded along a runway, the FAA said. Firefighters sprayed the aircraft with foam to douse the flames sparked in the crash.
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| Their Death Sentences Were Overturned Because of Racial Bias. Now North Carolina Might Leave Them Back on Death Row Posted: 26 Aug 2019 06:55 AM PDT  They proved racial discrimination affected their trials. But they still might have to stay on death row.
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| Exclusive: Iran says it will not negotiate missile work, wants to export more oil Posted: 25 Aug 2019 09:47 AM PDT  Iran wants to export a minimum of 700,000 barrels per day of its oil and ideally up to 1.5 million bpd if the West wants to negotiate with Tehran to save a 2015 nuclear deal, two Iranian officials and one diplomat told Reuters on Sunday. A second official said "Iran's ballistic missile programme cannot and will not be negotiated.
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| Netanyahu orders news settler homes at fatal attack site Posted: 26 Aug 2019 03:04 AM PDT  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday ordered hundreds of new settler homes to be built near the site of a bomb attack that killed an Israeli teen in the occupied West Bank. The homemade bomb on Friday near the settlement of Dolev, northwest of Ramallah, killed 17-year-old Rina Shnerb and wounded her father Eitan and brother Dvir in what the military called a terror attack. Israeli security forces have detained a number of Palestinian suspects but say the investigation is still under way.
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| Driver kicks pregnant woman in stomach during fight at Chick-fil-A, police say Posted: 25 Aug 2019 01:23 PM PDT ![Driver kicks pregnant woman in stomach during fight at Chick-fil-A, police say]( "Driver kicks pregnant woman in stomach during fight at Chick-fil-A, police say") The pregnant woman tried to pull in front of her in the drive-thru lane, police said.
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| Prince Andrew took a flight on Epstein private jet with Russian model Posted: 25 Aug 2019 09:39 AM PDT  In 1999, prince and Anna Malova were among nine people on previously undisclosed flight from the US Virgin Islands to FloridaPrince Andrew in 2013. Photograph: Koji Sasahara/APPrince Andrew took a previously undisclosed flight on Jeffrey Epstein's private jet with a group that included a Russian model.Andrew and Anna Malova, then 27, were among nine people on Epstein's plane for a trip from the US Virgin Islands to Florida in February 1999, according to flight logs.Malova was later jailed in the US for failing to comply with a court-ordered programme relating to her use of prescription painkillers.The discovery of the flight added to pressure on Andrew over his friendship with Epstein, who this month was found dead at 66 in his New York jail cell while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. The city medical examiner ruled the death a suicide.Andrew has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. He said in a statement on Saturday that he did not "see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort" that led to Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting sex from an underage girl. The prince said it was a mistake to have continued seeing Epstein after that.The February 1999 flight, first reported by the Sunday Times, was recorded in logs kept by Epstein's pilots that were filed to a US court by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who has alleged she was used as a sex slave by Epstein.The flight log was among almost 2,000 pages of records released by a federal judge in New York this month. It was missing from the notorious 73 pages of previously released Epstein flight logs, some of which also named Andrew as a passenger.The group flew from St Thomas, the airport closest to Epstein's private island, Little St James, to Palm Beach in Florida, where Epstein had a mansion. The disgraced money manager is accused of abusing underage girls at both properties and other sites.There is no suggestion Malova or Andrew were involved in any wrongdoing during the trip.They and Epstein were joined on the flight by others including Epstein's close friend Ghislaine Maxwell, a daughter of the late financier Robert Maxwell who has been accused by several victims of assisting Epstein's abuse of girls. Maxwell denies this.Also present was Gwendolyn Beck, a former financial industry executive and friend of Epstein, who made a failed run for Congress in Virginia in 2014. Epstein donated more than $12,000 to Beck's campaign.Malova did not respond to an email. A former Miss Russia, she moved to the US and made it to the final of the 1998 Miss Universe beauty pageant, which was then owned by Donald Trump – another former friend of Epstein.In 2010 she was accused of forging a prescription for Vicodin from a stolen doctor's pad. She was jailed in May 2011 after repeatedly arriving late for a court-mandated drug programme. She denied all the charges against her.Last week it was alleged that Andrew was once seen receiving a foot massage from "two young well-dressed Russian women" at Epstein's home in Manhattan. The claim was made in an email by the literary agent John Brockman, another former Epstein associate.Last week also saw the release of video of Andrew at Epstein's New York City home in 2010.
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| Fallout from Russia's mysterious missile disaster suggests a nuclear reactor blew up Posted: 26 Aug 2019 09:07 AM PDT  An explosion at a Russian weapons testing site in August released radioactive isotopes that almost certainly came from a nuclear reactor, experts say.
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| Trump promotes unfounded Ilhan Omar conspiracy and shares claim Justin Trudeau 'assumes submissive position' with him Posted: 26 Aug 2019 08:54 AM PDT  Donald Trump unleashed a series of controversial late-night tweets from the G7 Summit in France over the weekend, reigniting his feud with Ilhan Omar and attacking Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.The president promoted an unfounded and incendiary claim purported by the far right online that Ms Omar, a Democratic congresswoman of colour and former refugee from Somalia, married her brother years before she took office in 2018.
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| Survey shows growing number of Millennials starting to care less about traditional American values Posted: 26 Aug 2019 12:19 PM PDT  Over the last 21 years, the Wall Street Journal/NBC News conducted a survey asking millennials the importance of religion, patriotism and family.
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| Recent developments surrounding the South China Sea Posted: 25 Aug 2019 09:41 PM PDT  A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte arrives in China on Wednesday for a visit that will include meetings with top Chinese officials over the South China Sea and attendance at a world basketball championship game. Duterte's visit will be his fifth to China but the first during which he plans to finally raise the result of the 2016 Hague arbitration case that mostly invalidated China's claim to virtually the entire South China Sea under the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.
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| Rudy Giuliani Jumps on the Seth Rich Conspiracy Bandwagon Posted: 26 Aug 2019 08:51 AM PDT  Alex Wong/GettyDonald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani promoted discredited conspiracy theories about murdered Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich on Twitter early Monday morning, further fueling the baseless speculation that has anguished Rich's grieving family.Giuliani quote-tweeted a tweet from conspiracy theorist Matt Couch, whose fevered claims about Rich's 2016 murder provoked a defamation lawsuit from Rich's brother. In his tweet, Couch pointed out that, while Washington, D.C. police believe that Rich was murdered in a currently unsolved botched robbery attempt, none of his belongings appear to have been taken by his killer.Speaking rhetorically from Rich's point of view, Couch pointed to popular conspiracy theorist talking points about Rich's murder."I was Shot multiple times in torso.. I worked for the DNC…." Couch tweeted. "They called it a botched robbery and sue anyone who investigates it..Who am I?""I'd like to know," Giuliani added in his own tweet. Rich's July 2016 murder has inspired a number of conspiracy theories claiming that he leaked Democratic emails to WikiLeaks, and then was murdered by Hillary Clinton or the "deep state" in retaliation. That idea, which isn't backed up by any evidence, has been embraced by some Trump supporters—including Fox News host Sean Hannity—because it would mean the emails were released by a whistleblower, rather than by Russian government hackers. In reality, Rich's neighborhood had experienced a series of robberies in the lead-up to his death, which led police to believe it was likely a botched robbery.Hannity Weasels Out of Seth Rich ConspiracyIn text messages with The Daily Beast, Giuliani insisted his tweet wasn't meant to promote any conspiracy theories but merely to ask questions about Rich's murder, which has remained unsolved. "I didn't support any conspiracy theory," Giuliani told The Daily Beast in a text message. "I raised several nagging coincidences." "I vaguely remember it and was asking a question about whether it was ever investigated fully," Giuliani added. "Don't remember if it was ever solved? Was it." After this article was published, Giuliani doubled down on his speculation and accused The Daily Beast of lacking "proper seductive reasoning." "Either you haven't been trained in proper seductive [sic] reasoning or the most truthful explanation is irrelevant," Giuliani wrote in a text message.Giuliani added that the media reaction to the conspiracy theorists made him more suspicious about the case."Another new area of suspicion beyond a possible murder of convenience is the overreaction you all have to anyone raising any question about this unsolved murder," Giuliani wrote. "'Me thinks the Lady Protests too Much?'"Rich's family has repeatedly asked conspiracy theorists to stop speculating about their son's murder, which has drawn in a number of publicity-seeking right-wing media figures. But in text messages to The Daily Beast, Giuliani said "legitimate questions" about Rich's murder shouldn't be off-limits because of "some degree of emotional pain." "It is tragic for the family but if we stopped all honicide [sic] investigations until solved because it will cause pain then it would leave many unsolved," Giuliani wrote. "There are legitimate questions here and the more they are suppressed with this media Hillary/oriented censorship the more the conspiracy theorists thrive." Giuliani, a former U.S. Attorney, said he wanted to look at the "parties with the greatest motivation.""I've done a number of very complex investigation [sic] and you must always look at the parties or parties with the greatest motivation and the most to gain or lose," Giuliani wrote. "Until a murder is conclusively solved that is always a viable hypothesis. Political censorship or even some degree of emotional pain can not suppress trying to solve an open homicide."Rich's family has repeatedly asked conspiracy theorists to stop speculating about their son's murder, which has drawn in a number of publicity-seeking right-wing media figures. Couch, who livestreams his conspiracy theory broadcasts to his fans online, is one of the most dedicated promoters of the Rich claims, despite reports that Russian intelligence agents spread the rumor that Rich's murder was somehow tied to the Democratic email releases.In 2018, Couch was sued for defamation by Rich's brother Aaron Rich, over his claims that Seth had helped to steal Democratic emails and received payment from WikiLeaks for the files. Earlier this month, Couch told a federal judge that he couldn't afford legal defense to continue fighting the case, and said he had removed mentions of Rich from his website.This story has been updated with Giuliani's responses following its publication.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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| Possible political motive seen in Berlin killing of ethnic Chechen exile Posted: 26 Aug 2019 08:43 AM PDT ![Possible political motive seen in Berlin killing of ethnic Chechen exile]( "Possible political motive seen in Berlin killing of ethnic Chechen exile") Prosecutors are considering the possibility of a political motive behind the killing on Friday of an ethnic Chechen exile in Berlin, allegedly by a Russian citizen who shot the victim twice in the head as he walked through a park. The victim, 40, was identified by Georgian human rights organisation EMC as Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, which described him as an ethnic Chechen citizen of Georgia, who had fought on the side of rebels who in the 1990s sought to free Chechnya from Moscow's control. "We have no evidence pointing towards a classic criminal motive," said Martin Steltner, spokesman for Berlin prosecutors on Monday, adding that they were considering the possibility of a political motive for the killing.
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| 65 Super Simple Last-Minute Appetizers Posted: 26 Aug 2019 01:54 PM PDT |
| St. Louis officials offered $100K reward for unsolved child murders. Then two more kids were shot Posted: 26 Aug 2019 03:29 PM PDT ![St. Louis officials offered $100K reward for unsolved child murders. Then two more kids were shot]( "St. Louis officials offered $100K reward for unsolved child murders. Then two more kids were shot") Officials in St. Louis offered a $100,000 reward for information in a recent string of child murders. Then two more kids were killed.
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| Syria soldiers eye Turkish outpost in recaptured town Posted: 25 Aug 2019 07:42 PM PDT  Syrian soldier Ahmad Amuri rolls up on a motorbike to hand water bottles to comrades standing guard under pistachio trees, just a few dozen metres from a Turkish observation point in northwest Syria. President Bashar al-Assad's troops seized the town of Morek from jihadists and allied rebels on Friday, encircling the Turkish outpost. "Calm has returned to Morek," Amuri told AFP on Saturday, with water bottles in a black plastic bag, a cap on his head and his uniform covered in dust.
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| View Photos of the 2020 Subaru Legacy Posted: 26 Aug 2019 06:00 AM PDT |
| Donald Trump offers olive branch to China as tensions ease on final day of G7 Posted: 26 Aug 2019 06:20 AM PDT  Donald Trump softened his tone on Monday on two of the most contentious issues at the strained G7 summit: his trade war with China and tensions with Iran. It was unclear if genuine progress had been made, but Mr Trump predicted a deal with China after it offered to return to the negotiating table, described by the US president as a breakthrough. "We'll be getting back to the table," he said. He also appeared to back away from confrontation with Iran, leaving a window open for diplomacy. Boris Johnson met Scott Morrison, the Australian prime minister, on the sidelines of the summit to discuss a possible post-Brexit trade deal. After talks with Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, Mr Johnson said he would like to visit Japan "as soon as we've got Brexit done, which will be on October 31". Leaders of the world's major industrialised nations, meeting in the upmarket French coastal resort of Biarritz, have agreed to spend more than £16 million to put out the fires engulfing huge swathes of the Amazon rainforest. Mr Johnson pledged £10 million on Sunday to help protect and restore the Amazon. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said he had a long discussion with Mr Trump on the fires and the US president backed the G7 initiatives, but Mr Trump was absent from a discussion on climate change with other leaders. Mr Trump said he had agreed to the Iranian foreign minister's surprise appearance on Sunday for talks with his French counterpart and Mr Macron, who is trying to broker a deal between Washington and Tehran. European diplomats have struggled to calm a deepening confrontation between Tehran and Washington Credit: AP Several other leaders were reportedly stunned at the arrival of Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, but Mr Trump said: "I knew [Mr Zarif] was coming in and I respected the fact that he was coming in. We're looking to make Iran rich again, let them be rich, let them do well, if they want." Mr Trump said the G7 leaders shared the common goal of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. There is "great unity", he said. "We've come to a conclusion, more or less." "I knew everything he [Macron] was doing and I approved everything he was doing." he said. "I said if you want to do that, that's OK. I don't consider that disrespectful at all. Especially when he asked me for approval." Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, was less upbeat about the prospects of a diplomatic solution to the stand-off between Washington and Tehran. "We all have a big interest in a peaceful solution to the Iran situation, but it won't be easy," she said. The US administration imposed sanctions on Mr Zarif at the end of last month, part of Mr Trump's policy of "maximum pressure" via crippling sanctions over Iran's nuclear programme. Mr Trump pulled out of a 2015 international agreement placing limits on Tehran's nuclear activities in return for trade and investment. Mr Macron decided to ditch the traditional joint communiqué at the end of the summit because of the gulf between the different leaders over issues ranging from China and Iran to the possible re-admission of Russia to the group, advocated by Mr Trump but opposed by most of the other leaders including Mr Johnson and Mr Macron. French officials had feared that Mr Trump, who has objected to the focus on the Amazon and climate change, could walk out or negate any progress with a caustic tweet after the close of the meeting. On Sunday, however, Mr Trump proclaimed that the meeting was going "beautifully". Mr Macron and Mr Macron are to hold a joint press conference before the summit closes. It will be followed by Mr Johnson's first formal press conference as prime minister.
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| Seven people shot at two-year-old’s birthday party in Washington DC suburb Posted: 25 Aug 2019 12:03 PM PDT  Seven people have been left hospitalised after a shooting at a two-year-old's birthday party in a suburb of Washington DC.Police believe the incident, which took place on Saturday at around 9pm local time (1am GMT), may have been sparked by an "exchange of words" between party-goers and a bystander who had approached the group.
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| Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson says Russia denied him a visa Posted: 26 Aug 2019 03:03 PM PDT  A U.S. senator from Wisconsin who has publicly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Russia has denied him a visa to visit as part of a congressional delegation. Ron Johnson said he had planned to speak with government officials, American businesses and others during his trip. The Republican is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation.
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| Muslims in China's most oppressed, closed-off region are turning to China's version of Gen Z favorite TikTok to communicate with the world Posted: 25 Aug 2019 03:06 AM PDT  Dozens of Uighurs in Xinjiang are using Douyin to tell the outside world about their plight. This is their first contact with the outside world.
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| DEA to expand marijuana research after years of delay Posted: 26 Aug 2019 10:21 AM PDT  The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said on Monday that it will move ahead with a long-delayed expansion of its marijuana research program, in a sign that the Trump administration's hostility to the drug may be waning as a growing number of states have legalized its use. The DEA said it would roll out new guidelines that would allow more growers to produce marijuana for scientific and medical research. The DEA also said producers of hemp, an industrial form of marijuana that has little psychoactive effect, will not have to get a permit from the agency.
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| NRA’s Former Ad Firm Slaps Wayne LaPierre With Subpoena Posted: 26 Aug 2019 12:18 PM PDT  Lucas Jackson/ReutersThe National Rifle Association's former ad firm has subpoenaed the gun group's chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, for a deposition, according to a court document reviewed by The Daily Beast. Lawyers for the NRA, who filed the document in Virginia Circuit Court on Aug. 21, are seeking to postpone LaPierre's interview. LaPierre isn't the only senior NRA official who faces a grilling from ad firm Ackerman McQueen. According to the filing, the ad firm also wants to question the gun group's top spokesperson, Andrew Arulanandam; Millie Hallow, assistant to the executive vice president; and the NRA's chief financial officer, Craig Spray. NRA Spent Tens of Thousands on Hair and Makeup for CEO's WifeIt's the latest episode of an ongoing legal brawl between the powerful but troubled gun-rights group and the ad firm that helped it sally forth into America's culture wars. For more than three decades, there was no daylight between the two entities that was visible to outsiders. But last April, the NRA sued the firm, and within weeks, the two had parted ways. Ackerman then counter-sued the NRA, and now both entities are seeking tens of millions of dollars from the other. The NRA's filing says that the ad firm has refused to hand over materials responsive to its own document demands because of the NRA's outside law firm, Brewer Attorneys and Counselors. Ackerman has argued that Brewer's firm tried to steal its business from the NRA and has asked the judge presiding over the case to limit Brewer's access to material it shares with the NRA. Wayne LaPierre Promised Job Security, Then Ousted an NRA Top GunThe NRA's filing argues that as long as Ackerman McQueen withholds materials, LaPierre and the other gun-group chiefs shouldn't have to be deposed. LaPierre's deposition is currently scheduled for Sep. 4, according to the filings. It isn't LaPierre's only scheduled Q-and-A session. According to the New York Daily News, the New York Attorney General's Office has also subpoenaed LaPierre as part of its investigation of the gun group. 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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| 5 years after murders, man accused of killing Spring family execution-style goes to trial Posted: 26 Aug 2019 11:54 AM PDT  Investigators say Ronald Haskell, Jr. tied the Stay family up and shot them all because he was angry about his recent divorce.
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| Russian climber killed by falling rock at Mt Fuji Posted: 26 Aug 2019 06:14 AM PDT  A Russian national climbing Mount Fuji was killed by a falling rock near the summit of Japan's highest peak, police and news reports said Monday. Police said a woman in her 20s was fatally injured in the morning while approaching the top of the 3,776-metre (12,388-foot) volcanic mountain. "Rescuers and a doctor rushed to the site but she was later confirmed dead," a local police official told AFP.
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| Tom Cotton: The U.S. should buy Greenland Posted: 26 Aug 2019 10:25 AM PDT  "Greenland is rich in a wide array of mineral deposits, including rare-earth minerals," he writes.
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| Two Children Were Left Alone For Eight Days After ICE Arrested Their Parents During Mississippi Raids Posted: 26 Aug 2019 02:45 PM PDT  Two children were left alone for eight days after both their parents were arrested by ICE during sweeping workplace raids in Mississippi.
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| Drone war takes flight, raising stakes in Iran, US tensions Posted: 25 Aug 2019 12:59 PM PDT  From the vast deserts of Saudi Arabia to the crowded neighborhoods of Beirut, a drone war has taken flight across the wider Middle East, raising the stakes in the ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Since the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal last year, there has been an increasing tempo of attacks and alleged threats, notably this weekend, from unmanned aircraft flown by Tehran's and Washington's allies in the region. The appeal of the aircraft — they risk no pilots and can be small enough to evade air-defense systems — fueled their rapid use amid the maximum pressure campaigns of Iran and the U.S. As these strikes become more frequent, the risk of unwanted escalation becomes greater.
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| 'Political vacuum' in Kashmir after crackdown by Indian authorities Posted: 26 Aug 2019 05:57 AM PDT  Senior members of every political party in Kashmir have reportedly been targeted in a crackdown by the Indian authorities since the state's autonomous status was revoked three weeks ago. It had been thought that only high-profile Kashmiri figures, such as former Chief Ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, were among the roughly 4,000 people detained or placed under house arrest. However, it is now being alleged that the top five layers of leadership from every political party have been arrested to remove any channels of resistance for Kashmiris. The Indian Express newspaper documented politicians from both key political parties in Kashmir such as the People's Democratic Party and those from smaller grass-root organisations like the J&K; People's Movement being detained en masse. This reportedly includes almost every former state minister, the Deputy Mayor of Srinagar and even district and neighbourhood-level activists. Despite the arrests there have been sporadic protests across Kashmir since the Indian Government revoked Article 370 and Article 35A of its constitution on August 5. The controversial move means that Kashmir – India's only Muslim-majority state – will fall under central government rule for the first time since independence in 1947. Scattered clashes have broken out between Kashmiri protesters and the Indian security forces since August 5 Credit: Adnan Abidi/Reuters It also means that non-Kashmiris are able to buy land and property, as well as seek employment, in the state, leading to fears of demographic change and inter-communal violence. The Indian Government argues the move is necessary to end a violent insurgency that has fulminated since 1989 between militants pursuing independence and the Indian state. It has justified the complete communications blackout and curfew imposed as a means to reduce violent opposition to the removal of Kashmir's self-rule. Its political crackdown has not just been limited to those living within the Kashmiri state. On Saturday, a delegation of opposition politicians led by former Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi were detained on arrival at Srinagar Airport and sent back to Delhi. The group had been planning to investigate living conditions in Kashmir after reports of the Indian authorities torturing residents and of hundreds of civilians sustaining injuries from pellet guns used by the Indian Army.
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| Japan's Tepco may mothball reactors at world's biggest nuke plant Posted: 25 Aug 2019 10:43 PM PDT ![Japan's Tepco may mothball reactors at world's biggest nuke plant]( "Japan's Tepco may mothball reactors at world's biggest nuke plant") Tokyo Electric Power said on Monday it may start to decommission at least one nuclear reactor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant, the world's biggest nuclear plant by capacity, within five years of restarting two of the reactors at the site. Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) President Tomoaki Kobayakawa made the decommissioning comments in a statement outlining its response to a request for plans on the station's future by the government of the city of Kashiwazaki in Niigata prefecture, where the plant is located. In 2017, Tepco received initial regulatory approval from the Japanese government to restart the No. 6 and No. 7 reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, each with a capacity of 1,356 megawatts (MW).
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