| Schiff takes charge of impeachment, issues stern warnings to Trump and Pompeo Posted: 02 Oct 2019 11:11 AM PDT  House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff charged President Trump with "incitement of violence" in his combative response to the whistleblower complaint.
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| Florida man shot and killed son-in-law in case of mistaken identity, sheriff says Posted: 03 Oct 2019 04:34 PM PDT  A Florida man will not face charges after authorities said he shot and killed his son-in-law who had flown from Norway as a birthday surprise.
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| Paris Knife Attacker Converted to Islam 18 Months Before Attack: Report Posted: 03 Oct 2019 11:14 AM PDT  The French police employee who killed four of his colleagues at the Paris police headquarters on Thursday was a recent convert to Islam, according to French television BFM TV.The 45-year-old attacker killed three police officers and an administrative worker, three men and one woman, before being shot and killed by police. Officials so far have not publicly released a motive, and are trying to discover if there was a terrorism link. The man's wife has been taken in custody.Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took to Twitter to offer her condolences to the victim's families."During the Paris Council, we will pay tribute to the victims and will salute the unfailing commitment of police forces serving the security of Parisians. We know what we owe them," she wrote.The attack comes on the heels of a period of unrest within French police, who staged a massive protest on Wednesday as thousands marched and demanded better working conditions. Police have also seen an uptick in suicides this year, coming on the heels of months of unpaid overtime and anti-police press surrounding the "Yellow Vest" protests.The attack marks the fourth public Islamic stabbing incident in France since October 2017.In March, an inmate stabbed two prison guards while reportedly shouting "Allahu Akbar." The attack was labelled a "terrorist incident" by the French Interior Minister.In September, British church leaders called for the government to "take urgent measures to promote the sale of safe kitchen knife designs and restrict those designs which have been used in so many acts of violence."
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| Satellite images show activity around Iranian-flagged tanker Posted: 03 Oct 2019 01:04 AM PDT  Satellite images released on Thursday show that a once-detained Iranian-flagged oil tanker sitting off the coast of Syria has been approached by a smaller Iranian tanker, an indication the ship could be preparing to transfer its cargo. Images released by Maxar Technologies show the Jasmine alongside the Adrian Darya 1 on Wednesday, with mooring lines between them and a crane deployed on the larger vessel. The Adrian Darya 1, formerly named the Grace 1, was detained off the British overseas territory of Gibraltar in July while carrying $130 million in crude oil, on suspicion of breaking European Union sanctions by taking the oil to Syria.
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| Why the Japan-South Korea Trade War Is Worrying for the World Posted: 03 Oct 2019 03:20 AM PDT  The U.S.-China trade war is inflicting the most damage to the global economy, but it's Japan and South Korea's spat that's more concerning.
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| Shot HK protester charged by police, as gov moves to 'ban face masks' Posted: 03 Oct 2019 07:59 AM PDT  A teenage pro-democracy protester shot by a Hong Kong police officer was on Thursday charged with rioting, as authorities were reportedly set to ban the wearing of face masks at public rallies. Tsang Chi-kin, 18, was hit in the chest during clashes on Tuesday, a day which saw some of the worst violence in almost four months of unrest. It came as reports emerged that Hong Kong will soon ban the wearing of face masks at protests, in a clampdown on pro-democracy rallies that have rocked the strife-torn city.
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| Rudy Giuliani has been asking an imprisoned Paul Manafort for information on Ukraine Posted: 02 Oct 2019 09:31 PM PDT ![Rudy Giuliani has been asking an imprisoned Paul Manafort for information on Ukraine]( "Rudy Giuliani has been asking an imprisoned Paul Manafort for information on Ukraine") Unable to chat face-to-face with Paul Manafort due to his imprisonment, Rudy Giuliani has been communicating with President Trump's former campaign manager through his lawyer, seeking information on Ukraine.Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, told The Washington Post this week that he's spoken with Manafort via an intermediary several times over the last few months. Giuliani, who said he's been investigating Ukraine since last year, asked Manafort about a ledger The New York Times reported on in August 2016. This secret ledger, discovered by Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau, showed that former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's political party paid Manafort $12.7 million in cash.Giuliani said he thinks that this ledger was faked and is the key to proving the already debunked conspiracy theory that it was Ukraine, not Russia, that meddled in the 2016 presidential election, seeking to help Hillary Clinton. Manafort said the ledger doesn't exist, Giuliani told the Post. The FBI had a case open against Manafort prior to the 2016 election and the discovery of the secret ledger. After being convicted of tax and bank fraud last year, Manafort pleaded guilty to laundering money he received from Ukraine.
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| Greta Thunberg doesn't understand complexities of ‘modern world,’ says Putin Posted: 02 Oct 2019 11:08 AM PDT  At an energy forum in Moscow, the Russian president dismissed the Swedish teenage climate activist's viral U.N. speech — and took a swipe at her parents.
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| The History of “Nine-O-Nine”, the B-17 Bomber that Crashed Posted: 03 Oct 2019 02:28 PM PDT  The bomber involved in Tuesday's fatal crash in Connecticut never made it to war, but served as a search and rescue plane and water bomber.
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| It's a girl! Florida deputy pulls over speeding car, helps deliver baby Posted: 02 Oct 2019 05:29 PM PDT  Deputy Robert Pounds ran back to his patrol car, got a pair of latex gloves and a fresh blanket, and delivered the baby almost immediately.
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| Former Dallas cop sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting her unarmed black neighbor to death in his own apartment Posted: 02 Oct 2019 02:21 PM PDT  Amber Guyger, 31, had faced the possibility of 99 years in prison, though the judge told the jury they could sentence her to as few as two years.
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| Fish-hunting 'iron dragon' soared over Australia in age of dinosaurs Posted: 03 Oct 2019 08:02 AM PDT ![Fish-hunting 'iron dragon' soared over Australia in age of dinosaurs]( "Fish-hunting 'iron dragon' soared over Australia in age of dinosaurs") A winged beast dubbed the "iron dragon" soared above Australia during the age of dinosaurs, hunting fish in rivers and lakes, according to scientists who found that continent's most complete fossil representing the flying reptiles called pterosaurs. Paleontologists on Thursday said fossils of the pterosaur, named Ferrodraco lentoni, were unearthed in the Australian state of Queensland. The creature, which lived about 96 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period, boasted a 13-foot (4-meter) wingspan, a bony crest at the tip of its upper and lower jaws and spike-shaped teeth perfect for a diet of fish.
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| Bernie Sanders was hospitalized with chest discomfort and has cancelled all 2020 campaign events until further notice Posted: 02 Oct 2019 02:07 PM PDT  Sen. Bernie Sanders, 78, was hospitalized in Las Vegas, Nevada, due to chest discomfort and has canceled all 2020 campaign events indefinitely.
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| Mosquito-Borne Illness EEE Has Killed 11 People So Far in 2019. Here's What to Know About the Disease Posted: 03 Oct 2019 06:02 AM PDT  It's been a more severe year than usual
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| Joe Biden’s Gun-Control Plan Is a Constitutional Disaster Posted: 02 Oct 2019 12:22 PM PDT  This morning, Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden unveiled his "Plan to End Our Gun Violence Epidemic," and it's a mess. It contains provisions that would bankrupt gun manufacturers for the crime of selling fully functional, legal firearms. It would ban the sale of the most popular rifles in America and the standard-capacity magazines made for America's most commonly used handguns. Oh, and to incentivize a voluntary buyback of existing "assault weapons," it would grant the owners of such weapons a choice: sell your rifle to the government or join a firearms registry.Put simply, Biden's plan would leave law-abiding citizens outgunned in their own homes by predatory criminals, and place virtually every gun-maker at risk of financial ruin. This is what Democratic "moderation" looks like?Biden begins his plan by pledging to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, a 2005 law that was designed to shield gun-makers from liability for "harm solely caused by the criminal or unlawful misuse of firearm products or ammunition products by others when the product functioned as designed and intended." This is a solid basic principle. If a terrorist uses an SUV in a ramming attack or puts a bomb in a van, it's not the automaker's fault. Why should it be the gun-maker's fault if if an evil man uses a lawful product unlawfully?It shouldn't be. Yet there are all too many Americans (and American judges, especially in state courts) who view the manufacture and sale of guns as morally suspect, and of so-called assault weapons as inherently illegitimate. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act stands as a firewall against activist litigation designed to put gun companies out of business. Biden would destroy that firewall.What of his proposed assault-weapons ban? Let's be clear — what the Biden plan calls "weapons of war" are not the weapons that our soldiers carry into combat. Instead, AR-style rifles are among the most popular civilian firearms in the United States. They are extraordinarily useful for self-defense, and they're rarely used to commit crimes. (Indeed, rifles more broadly are used to kill fewer people than blunt objects or hands and feet.) Yes, they have been used in several high-profile mass killings, but there's no meaningful evidence indicating that banning them would decrease mass shootings. In fact, they've been used in mass shootings in states that already ban them.Taken together, Biden's bans on the sales of assault weapons and the magazines that come standard with millions of popular rifles and handguns would create the perverse result of placing law-abiding Americans at a distinct disadvantage in defending themselves from criminals. With hundreds of millions of magazines already in circulation, the foreseeable threat comes from a criminal armed with just such a magazine. That's one reason why police officers carry equivalent weapons. It's one reason why bans on standard-capacity magazines tend to contain exceptions for law-enforcement officers. But if police can protect themselves from common domestic threats, why can't my family?Biden wants to give existing assault-weapon owners a choice: Sell your weapon to the government or register it with the government. But we know registration is a failed policy, one that's routinely met with massive public indifference. It's estimated that as many as 1 million New Yorkers have defied the Empire State's assault-weapon-registration law, and as many as 85 percent of Connecticut assault-weapon owners have flouted the Nutmeg State's registration requirement. A California registration requirement has had compliance rates as low as 3.6 percent. If states are the laboratories of democracy, then registration is a lab experiment that's failed.Biden's proposal also contains now-standard calls for universal background checks and his own hobby-horse, so-called smart guns that present enormous technological and practical challenges, including challenges that could hamper their use in self-defense, when innocent lives are on the line. And while I support properly drafted "red flag" laws, I have little confidence in the due-process protections that a Biden administration would endorse.There are good elements to Biden's proposal. Stricter enforcement of laws prohibiting straw purchases would be a welcome way of cracking down on a method we know criminals use to obtain guns. Forwarding failed background-check requests to law enforcement could deter individuals who know they're prohibited purchasers from attempting to slip through cracks in the system. But the heart of the plan is a direct attack on the gun industry and on the inherent right to self-defense of America's law-abiding citizens.One final note: While it's important to highlight the injustice of Biden's proposals, it's also worth mentioning that draconian Democratic gun-control proposals are partly the fault of a Supreme Court that has been woefully delinquent in taking and deciding Second Amendment cases. We cannot expect the Court to rapidly develop a body of case law as rich and detailed as its First Amendment jurisprudence, but we have a reasonable right to expect it to definitively decide whether the government can, in fact, ban the nation's most popular firearms and most widely used magazines.Until that question is answered, though, our body politic will continue to confront a series of escalating Democratic gun-control proposals. Those proposals will have virtually no chance of passing at the federal level. But they'll still demonstrate the vast, growing cultural and political divide over American gun rights.
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| Judge Pressures Prosecutors to Decide Whether to Pursue a Case Against McCabe Posted: 02 Oct 2019 05:00 AM PDT  WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department has come under increasing pressure in its investigation of the former deputy FBI director Andrew G. McCabe, as a federal judge threatened to release internal department records unless prosecutors decide whether to move forward with or abandon the politically charged case.Judge Reggie B. Walton of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, who is presiding over a lawsuit over FBI documents related to McCabe's firing last year, said at a hearing on Monday that he would soon begin releasing them. The Justice Department has argued that the materials should stay confidential while prosecutors investigate McCabe over whether he lied to internal investigators about dealings with the news media."You all have got to cut and make your decision," Walton said, according to a transcript. "It's not a hard decision, and I think it needs to be made. If it's not made, I'm going to start ordering the release of information because I think our society, our public, does have a right to know what's going on."McCabe, long a target of President Donald Trump's, was the subject of a scathing report by the Justice Department inspector general's office that faulted him for violating media policy and repeatedly misleading its investigators. They were asking about an October 2016 Wall Street Journal article about an investigation into the Clinton Foundation. McCabe, working through the FBI press office, had authorized a spokesman and a bureau lawyer to speak to a reporter to rebut allegations that he had slowed the inquiry.McCabe was fired in March 2018, hours before retirement benefits would have kicked in, and the inspector general referred his findings to federal prosecutors in Washington a month later.Walton's stern warning came as prosecutors grappled with whether to bring charges in what is a seemingly straightforward case with a limited set of facts and witnesses that has been under investigation for 19 months."This matter is a high-profile matter," Walton said. He added that as long as prosecutors hold off on deciding how to proceed, they "undermine the credibility not only of the Justice Department because it's not making these hard decisions, but also the court."McCabe's lawyers have argued that the case is weak and that he is being singled out because of the president's disdain for him. Trump has relentlessly attacked McCabe, potentially complicating any prosecution. McCabe has said the president targeted him to undermine his standing as a witness to whether he obstructed justice in the Russia inquiry.In August, McCabe's lawyers met with Jeffrey A. Rosen, the deputy attorney general, to make a last-ditch appeal for prosecutors to drop the case. Their pleas were rebuffed, and an indictment appeared imminent. But the grand jury hearing the case reconvened last month after weeks without meeting but did not indict McCabe, raising questions about whether prosecutors delayed a vote by jurors to avoid a rare and embarrassing setback of their declining to hand up an indictment.Other setbacks have emerged for the government. One prosecutor on the case left the Justice Department and has said it lacked merit while another left on what seemed like the eve of a possible indictment.A key witness in the case -- Lisa Page, the former FBI lawyer whom McCabe authorized to speak to the Wall Street Journal reporter -- also told the grand jury that he was not motivated to lie about the episode because he was authorized to speak with reporters and thus did not violate media policy. Her sympathetic testimony to McCabe would most likely be a problem for prosecutors.Another important witness who testified before the grand jury, Michael Kortan, the spokesman involved in the episode, could not immediately remember how the leak unfolded.Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a government watchdog group, sued in July 2018 for the records related to McCabe's dismissal. The organization is seeking access to investigators' notes taken during Kortan's interview, which could be exculpatory to McCabe, the group's lawyer, Anne Weismann, argued during the hearing."We're in dark times," she told the judge, saying that growing evidence showed that Trump was abusing his powers to go after perceived enemies in the intelligence and law enforcement communities. McCabe, she said, was "swept up in that."The judge seemed to acknowledge her point, noting that Trump was "going after the courts, too." He later added, "I totally appreciate what you just said and share many of the same concerns that you have expressed."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| A ‘Limited’ Nuclear War Quickly Could Kill 90 Million People Posted: 03 Oct 2019 01:00 PM PDT  That's the startling conclusion that a team of researchers at Princeton University reached when they simulated an exchange of small-yield "tactical" nuclear weapons between the United States and Russia.
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| He thought his sperm donation would be for only 5 kids. He fathered at least 17, suit says Posted: 03 Oct 2019 09:04 AM PDT ![He thought his sperm donation would be for only 5 kids. He fathered at least 17, suit says]( "He thought his sperm donation would be for only 5 kids. He fathered at least 17, suit says") Dr. Bryce Cleary donated his sperm thinking the donation would only be used to conceive five children. Now he's learned he fathered at least 17.
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| AP Exclusive: Many problems at jail where inmates escaped Posted: 03 Oct 2019 09:35 AM PDT  CLEVELAND (AP) The overcrowded Ohio county jail from which four inmates escaped last weekend has been repeatedly cited by state inspectors for its lack of a security perimeter, broken security cameras and a lack of records showing whether officers conducted daily inmate counts, The Associated Press has learned. The male inmates who escaped overpowered two female corrections officers at the Gallia County Jail near the southern tip of Ohio using a handmade shank early Sunday. A report by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction after an inspection in December obtained by the AP said the jail was at double its capacity of 21 inmates and overall had failed to comply with 77 state standards.
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| New York sues big U.S. student loan servicer for abusing borrowers Posted: 03 Oct 2019 11:30 AM PDT ![New York sues big U.S. student loan servicer for abusing borrowers]( "New York sues big U.S. student loan servicer for abusing borrowers") New York state on Thursday sued one of the largest federal student loan servicers, whose practices the U.S. government singled out for criticism earlier this year, saying it abusively treated borrowers working in lower-paying public service jobs. The lawsuit by state Attorney General Letitia James adds to a growing list of complaints by borrowers and regulators against the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, which operates as FedLoan and American Education Services. James said FedLoan has "failed miserably" as the sole servicer since 2012 for the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which excuses borrowers who work in public service for 10 years from repaying their loans, provided they make some qualifying payments.
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| Feuding children reach truce on funeral for Mexican superstar Jose Jose Posted: 02 Oct 2019 09:01 PM PDT  After days of drama involving a missing corpse, a family feud and a soundtrack of heartbroken love songs, late Latin singing sensation Jose Jose's children have set aside their differences and agreed on plans for his funeral, the Mexican government said Wednesday. Jose Jose, known as "The Prince of Song," one of the most famous Mexican singers of all time, died Saturday in Miami at age 71. Jose Jose will be given a funeral Friday in Miami, the ministry said in a statement.
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| 'Gigantic' iceberg breaks away from ice shelf in Antarctica Posted: 02 Oct 2019 01:38 PM PDT  A colossal iceberg roughly the size of Los Angeles or Sydney, Australia, and weighing an estimated 347 billion tons broke off from the Amery Ice Shelf in Antarctica last week.The 630-square-mile iceberg, named D28, separated from the ice shelf on September 26, next to a location scientists had been watching for nearly 20 years. The area was known as the "Loose Tooth," because it appeared to be barely hanging on to the ice shelf in recent years."We first noticed a rift at the front of the ice shelf in the early 2000s and predicted a large iceberg would break off between 2010-2015," said Helen Amanda Fricker, one of the lead researchers on the team studying D28, said in a statement from the Australian government's Antarctic division.The Antarctic division also released stunning aerial footage showing the "gigantic" hunk of ice that until last week had been hanging on by a thread. Below is a video animation made from satellite imagery showing the moment the break-away iceberg split from the Amery Ice Shelf.> A 1600 km² iceberg broke off Amery Ice Shelf, as seen in @CopernicusEU Sentinel-1 radar images. This part, coined the "Loose Tooth" by @helenafricker and colleagues, has been hanging by a thread since 2002 (https://t.co/IUhXDCWOFF) and finally gave way last week.@sentinel_hub pic.twitter.com/GG60Sk52GB> > -- Bert Wouters (@bert_polar) September 30, 2019The GIF shows the iceberg rotating westward, apparently pushed by the prevailing easterly winds, which reached speeds of 40 mph, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Jim Andrews."The calving will not directly affect sea level, because the ice shelf was already floating, much like an ice cube in a glass of water," Dr. Galton-Fenzi said in the statement released by the Australian Arctic division.However, Fenzi said scientists are interested to see if the loss of ice will influence the ocean melting under the remaining ice shelf and the speed at which the ice flows off the continent.Amery is the third-largest ice shelf in Antarctica, and is a key drainage channel for the east of the continent -- a closely-watched piece of real estate that researchers have been studying since the 1960s.Currently, there are instruments deployed on the ice measuring the impact of ocean melt and ice flow. "We don't think this event is linked to climate change, it's part of the ice shelf's normal cycle, where we see major calving events every 60 to 70 years," Fricker said.If the calving isn't linked to climate change, then what should people make of it? "I like to think of it as being akin to our fingernails -- they grow and break off -- at least if we don't keep them clipped," Andrews said.
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| Biden invests in an insurance policy against Warren’s surge Posted: 03 Oct 2019 02:00 AM PDT  Joe Biden's campaign is ramping up its investment in Super Tuesday states, anticipating a Democratic race that narrows to two candidates by early March. The increase in staffing across the 14 states that will vote March 3 comes as Biden's polling figures have declined and Elizabeth Warren's have surged, particularly in states like Iowa and New Hampshire where she's heavily invested in field organization. Many of the states on the Super Tuesday map — which includes a handful of Southern and Border states — play to his strengths among African-American voters and more moderate Democrats.
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| Michael Avenatti Takes Stormy Daniels to Court for Millions in Legal Backpay Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:12 PM PDT  Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily BeastEmbattled lawyer Michael Avenatti is taking legal action against his ex-client Stormy Daniels for $2 million in legal fees from their infamous "hush agreement" lawsuit against President Donald Trump. Avenatti, who currently faces federal criminal charges set for trial next month, filed an attorney's lien on Thursday. It alleges that despite "repeated demands that Ms. Daniels fulfill her contractual obligations and pay for the millions in legal fees and costs she has enjoyed for her benefit over the last approximate 19 months, including in this case, she has refused."Avenatti, 48, claims the porn star refuses to pay up because she is a "celebrity," and is therefore "entitled to free legal services and costs" and to "manufacture and fabricate facts designed to impugn the reputation of her counsel and falsely accuse him of a multitude of acts.""But the law does not work that way Ms. Daniels wishes," reads the court filing, filed in the United States District Court in the Southern District of Ohio."I look forward to the facts and the truth about what really happened coming to light," Avenatti told The Daily Beast when reached for comment. His lawyer, Tom Warren, added: "Mr. Avenatti did an enormous amount of high quality legal work for Ms. Daniels under intense pressure and scrutiny. He made significant personal sacrifices for her benefit. He deserves to be paid by her, not criticized."Daniels and her lawyer did not respond to The Daily Beast's request for comment. The porn actress and Avenatti became household names in January 2018 after filing a lawsuit to nullify a "hush agreement" Daniels made with then-candidate Trump and his former fixer Michael Cohen just before the election. Since then, the two had a very public falling out back in May, and Avenatti has been hounded by legal troubles and currently faces federal charges in two states. In California, prosecutors alleged he stole $300,000 from Daniels and spent it on flights, hotels, restaurant deliveries, and to bankroll his law firm. And a New York grand jury indicted him in March for allegedly trying to extort Nike for $25 million.Avenatti's court filing this week alleges the initial February 2018 retainer agreement he made with Daniels was for "$100 up-front payment," prompting his firm to spend "thousands of attorney and staff hours, and a significant out-of-pocket-expenses." During his retention, Avenatti said he bailed Daniels out of jail "following her arrest in Columbus Ohio in July 2018" after a strip-club brawl and led the "successful efforts" to have the charges dropped."Despite the significance of his work, Ms. Daniels has yet to directly pay a single dollar to Mr. Avenatti or Avenatti & Associates, APC for their legal services beyond the $100.00 she initially paid back in 2018," the lien states. "Ms. Daniels is required to pay her lawyers." Avenatti has previously told The Daily Beast that "any and all other monies raised via a legal fund would go toward my legal fees and costs." Daniels and Avenatti alleged in her lawsuit, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, that Cohen paid her $130,000 during the 2016 campaign to stay quiet about an affair she had with then-reality TV star Trump a decade before he ran for office (the president admits to the payoff but denies the sexual tryst). The payoff allegations ultimately led to a federal investigation charging Cohen with eight campaign-finance violations. He pleaded guilty in August, admitting he made illegal payments at Trump's direction, and was sentenced to three years behind bars.But, in May, a little over a year after that lawsuit was filed, Daniels and Avenatti announced their split in a pair of tweets."I have retained Clark Brewster as my personal lawyer and have asked him and his firm to review all legal matters involving me," Daniels wrote. "Upon completion of Mr. Brewster's review and further consultation with me, I anticipate Mr. Brewster will serve as my primary counsel on all legal issues." Less than 15 minutes later, Avenatti responded with his own statement claiming he terminated his relationship with Daniels in February but would not disclose the reasons due to "attorney-client privilege."In his new legal action, Avenatti says he decided to cut ties after "Daniels became increasingly difficult, uncooperative, erratic, and unpredictable, and began falsely accusing people closely aligned with her (but not Mr. Avenatti) of theft without any legitimate basis.""Ms. Daniels' false accusations in some instances were targeted at friends of 20 years and her private security detail," the filing alleges. The letter states the firm also decided to sever ties after "prior false accusations (which you chose to make public before communicating them to me—I found out from a reporter)" and Daniels' "general lack of appreciation for our work and the thousands of hours we have devoted to you, which we have largely done for free at great expense to me and my firm."Avenatti concluded in the letter that the firm did not intend to make "any public announcement relation to our decision to no longer represent" Daniels and thanked her for the opportunity to serve as her counsel.Michael Avenatti Indicted on 36 Counts by Federal Grand JuryStormy Daniels' 'Gay Dads' Back Lawyer Michael Avenatti in Latest DramaStormy Daniels Files Defamation Lawsuit Against TrumpThis story has been updated to reflect the correct date of the lawsuit's filing.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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| China's Robot Submarines Could Be the Ultimate Underwater Spy Posted: 02 Oct 2019 11:45 PM PDT  How worried should Asia and America be?
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| Mike Pompeo may be involved in 'blatant cover-up' Democrats charge in new salvo aimed at top diplomat Posted: 02 Oct 2019 06:11 AM PDT  The extraordinary warning – sent to the State Department's top deputy – came after an earlier bitter exchange between Mike Pompeo and key Democrats.
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| ACLU challenges deportation of man to El Salvador Posted: 03 Oct 2019 09:56 AM PDT ![ACLU challenges deportation of man to El Salvador]( "ACLU challenges deportation of man to El Salvador") The American Civil Liberties Union is demanding that the federal government return a Salvadoran man to the United States after he was deported despite a court order allowing him to remain here. In its brief filed Wednesday, the ACLU of New Hampshire said that José Daniel Guerra-Castañeda was deported last month by U.S. Immigration and Enforcement to El Salvador and is in a crowded jail there. A federal judge in Boston ruled last month that Guerra-Castañeda could remain in the United States to fight deportation efforts over an alleged murder he committed in El Salvador.
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| The Gift Guide for the Sophisticated Geek Posted: 02 Oct 2019 02:37 PM PDT |
| Spokesman defends dishevelled Duterte as 'very hygienic' Posted: 03 Oct 2019 06:11 AM PDT  President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman on Thursday defended the Philippine leader as "very hygienic" and nice-smelling after he was mocked on social media for looking dishevelled in a meeting with the Russian prime minister. The 74-year-old Duterte was in Russia on a working visit and sat down for the talks with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday. In pictures of the meeting, Duterte was seen in a rumpled suit with his tie hanging loose as the two posed for pictures and shook hands.
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| A vegan said she was 'poisoned for life' after accidentally eating meat. Here's the reality of what happens when you stop being vegan. Posted: 02 Oct 2019 02:44 PM PDT  Eating meat after years of veganism is rarely dangerous, but it may cause physical and mental symptoms, a dietitian said.
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| Dollar to enter 2020 on a strong footing, no contender in sight: Reuters poll Posted: 03 Oct 2019 05:47 PM PDT  The U.S. dollar will continue its rally for at least another six months with no contender in sight to challenge its dominance, a Reuters poll of foreign exchange analysts found. "The factors that are keeping the dollar strong over the last eight months or so are likely to persist for a while and the dollar's strength will remain extremely thematic for now," said Jane Foley, senior currency strategist at Rabobank in London. According to the latest data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), currency speculators kept raising their total net long dollar positions, a trend unlikely to change in the near-term.
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| Fox Host David Asman Fawns Over Trump for Attacking Wrong Paper for NYT’s Border Moat Story Posted: 02 Oct 2019 11:00 AM PDT  Minutes after President Donald Trump unleashed a lengthy and vicious attack against the wrong newspaper for reporting on his desire for snake-filled moats and the ability to shoot migrants at the border, Fox Business Network host David Asman gushed over the president's unhinged and false remarks.Serving Wednesday as the "One Lucky Guy" on Fox's daytime talk show Outnumbered, Asman immediately applauded Trump for railing against the media and Democrats while speaking to reporters at the White House."I think that there is a phrase he will hear a lot of from the president," Asman declared. "Who are you going to believe, you know that phrase, who are you going to believe? The fake media or me? Are you going to believe the Democrats, or are you going to believe me? Are you going to believe the rumor mill, the Beltway, or me in the transcripts?"Asman went on to say it is a good strategy for Trump to go after the Washington Post because they "have been caught several times with the news that did not turn out to be true." During his White House remarks, the president blasted the Post for first reporting that he pressed aides and officials to place a moat at the border "stocked with snakes and alligators" and that he told his staff to order soldiers to shoot migrants in the legs."That is the Trumpian way right now," the Fox Business host said.That story, however, first appeared in The New York Times, and is excerpted from an upcoming book by two of the paper's reporters."I think he feels he is winning," Asman noted later. He added: "The sense is that he feels like he is winning. He thinks he has a jump on the media, that he has a jump on the Democrats by releasing the information that he has to show discrepancies and so forth, that is just my sense here. We were talking about his speech at the U.N., which was very low-key, and then he gave a presser after that Wednesday, and he did seem to be down. I think that he has regained his energy somewhat."As for the president's claim that the report is "fake news," Fox News—along with several other outlets—confirmed key aspects of the Times story."A source who was in the room at the time confirmed the conversation about shooting migrants in the legs to Fox News late Tuesday," the network noted in its report.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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| The B-2 Bomber Has More Firepower Than an Aircraft Carrier Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:50 AM PDT  Could the B-2 stealth bomber be the most dangerous plane ever built?
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| New poll shows conservatives are considering leaving California Posted: 03 Oct 2019 06:54 AM PDT  A new poll show 74 percent of conservatives in California are considering moving out of the state; former California State Assemblyman Chuck Devore weighs in.
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| North Korea tests submarine-launched missile a day after saying it will resume nuclear talks with US Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:23 PM PDT  A day after saying it would resume nuclear talks with the US, North Korea said it successfully test-fired a submarine-launched missile.
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| The Latest: Woman gets 10 years in prison in son’s death Posted: 03 Oct 2019 11:22 AM PDT  A Phoenix woman who says her 2-year-old son fatally shot her 9-year-old son with a handgun that she left on a bed was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in the 2017 killing. The sentence given Thursday to Wendy Lavarnia in the death of her son, Landen, marked the most lenient punishment available under the terms of her guilty pleas to manslaughter and attempted child abuse. A Phoenix woman who says her 2-year-old son fatally shot her 9-year-old son with a handgun that she left on a bed faces sentencing for her role in the 2017 killing.
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| Taiwan warns Chinese could be barred entry over anti-HK violence Posted: 02 Oct 2019 05:31 PM PDT  Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen warned Thursday that mainland Chinese who attacked Hong Kongers or damaged "Lennon Walls" could be barred from the island following a recent spate of such incidents. The walls plastered in colourful sticky-notes, posters and slogans that have sprung up across Hong Kong have also been set up in Taiwan, mostly in university campuses. Taiwan held a Hong Kong solidarity rally last weekend which was largely peaceful, although Hong Kong popstar Denise Ho -- a staunch democracy advocate -- had red paint thrown at her by an unidentified assailant as she spoke to local media.
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| Chuck Todd: ‘Let’s Be Frank, a National Nightmare Is Upon Us’ Posted: 03 Oct 2019 03:15 PM PDT  MSNBC anchor Chuck Todd began his Thursday afternoon broadcast of MTP Daily by solemnly telling his audience that following President Donald Trump's public call for the Chinese to investigate his potential 2020 rival, a "national nightmare is upon us."Speaking to reporters on the South Lawn on Thursday morning, the president urged China to probe former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, claiming that "what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine." Trump, who is currently facing an impeachment inquiry for pressuring the Ukrainian president to dig up dirt on the Bidens, also called on Ukraine Thursday to "start a major investigation" into the Biden family."I do not say this lightly," an ashen-faced Todd said. "Let's be frank, a national nightmare is upon us. The basic rules of our democracy are under attack, from the president." Noting that the president openly admitted to seeking foreign influence in the 2020 election, the Meet the Press host pointed out that thus far "Republicans have been silent on what we have seen from the president."Highlighting the president's remarks, Todd then expressed his belief that we are entering an extremely dark moment in our nation's history."Donald Trump is using the power of his office to solicit interference in the 2020 presidential election—while doing it relying on a debunked conspiracy or two," he said. "This is not hearsay or a whistleblower's complaint or a memorandum of a phone conversation. You heard the president do it himself on the White House lawn.""This moment should arguably be a national emergency—the founding fathers would have considered it a national emergency if the president publicly lobbied multiple foreign governments to interfere in the next election," Todd added. Once again noting that the GOP has failed to condemn Trump, Todd concluded that this was "remarkable considering the precedent it would set and the lasting damage it would do to our democracy.""It is tough to say lightly," he sighed. "But this is the moment we are at."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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| Is China's New "Laser Rifle" Actually a Joke? Posted: 03 Oct 2019 03:29 AM PDT  Not what it appears to be.
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| After terrifying ICE raid, Mississippi is still fighting back Posted: 03 Oct 2019 04:12 PM PDT  Families are still separated, and lawyers are still pushing back against slanted justice system
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| Will P&G split its stock? It hasn't happened in 15 years Posted: 03 Oct 2019 12:00 PM PDT  The longest P&G; has allowed the stock to remain above $100 before a stock split: 11 months. We're at six months, 10 days and counting.
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| Gulf military chiefs say attacks on Saudi flew through GCC airspace Posted: 03 Oct 2019 07:29 AM PDT ![Gulf military chiefs say attacks on Saudi flew through GCC airspace]( "Gulf military chiefs say attacks on Saudi flew through GCC airspace") Gulf military leaders on Thursday condemned the use of their countries' airspace to carry out attacks last month against a Saudi crude processing plant, a statement that indicated oblique backing for a U.S./Saudi account blaming Iran for the attack. Attacks on Sept. 14 hit major oil processing facilities at Abqaiq and Khurais belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco, causing a spike in oil prices, fires and damage that halved the crude output of the world's top oil exporter. Yemen's Houthi group claimed responsibility for the attacks but a U.S. official said they originated from southwestern Iran and Riyadh blamed Tehran.
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