| Congressman defends posting fake Obama photo: 'No one said this wasn't photoshopped' Posted: 06 Jan 2020 02:17 PM PST  Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., stood by his decision Monday to post a fake photograph of former President Barack Obama shaking hands with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani despite the fact that the two men never met in person.
|
| Kosovo arrests Iran supporter over comments after Soleimani's death Posted: 07 Jan 2020 11:01 AM PST  Kosovo police arrested a woman on Tuesday accused of inciting terrorist acts for social media comments against the United States over the killing of Iranian Commander Qassem Soleimani. Police said that Ikballe Berisha Huduti, the founder of a now defunct pro-Islamic organization called Kur'ani, was arrested following an order from the prosecution and she will remain in detention for 48 hours awaiting a court decision. Huduti wrote comments on her private Facebook page criticizing Washington after the U.S. forces killed Soleimani on Friday.
|
| Official quits amid charges he paid women to give up babies Posted: 07 Jan 2020 01:49 PM PST  An elected official in metro Phoenix resigned Tuesday, months after being charged with running a human smuggling operation that paid pregnant women from the Marshall Islands to give up their babies in the U.S. The resignation of Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen came after leaders in the one of the nation's most populous counties suspended and pressured him to resign after his arrest nearly three months ago. The county's governing board voted in late December to start the process of removing Petersen, who also works as an adoption attorney.
|
| A social-media influencer giving out nudes in exchange for donations to fight the Australian bushfires says she has raised $700,000 Posted: 07 Jan 2020 04:05 AM PST  The 20-year-old model Kaylen Ward launched the plan Saturday to help Australia fight the fires, hiring four staffers to help sift through her DMs.
|
| This is how the US and Iran rank among the world's 25 most powerful militaries Posted: 07 Jan 2020 01:48 PM PST  Comparing the power of conventional military forces is complicated. But an annual ranking does just that — and these are the 25 most powerful.
|
| Climate change has Australian wildfires 'running out of control,' experts say Posted: 06 Jan 2020 01:04 PM PST  Climate change didn't ignite Australia's fires, but it's turning them into catastrophic blazes by creating warmer temps and increasing fuel available.
|
| Strike against Iran could cause issues with North Korea Posted: 07 Jan 2020 09:29 AM PST  The U.S. strike that killed Iran's top military commander may have had an indirect casualty: a diplomatic solution to denuclearizing North Korea.
|
| Rand Paul Rails Against Trump’s Soleimani Strike: ‘I Hate This’ Posted: 07 Jan 2020 08:47 AM PST  Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Tuesday railed against President Donald Trump's killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, calling it the "death of diplomacy" and declaring that the U.S. was safer before the president pulled out of the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal.The libertarian-leaning senator, who has long been opposed to military intervention abroad, was asked by Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer on Tuesday morning how he could be opposed to the airstrikes following National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien's new claim that American diplomats were saved because of it."I think you have to ask yourself the general question, are attacks more or less likely now that Soleimani is gone?" Paul responded. "The person who has replaced them has been his assistant general for 22 years, is a hard-liner, and now the whole country of Iran is consumed with revenge."The Kentucky lawmaker went on to say that Soleimani's assassination has "taken diplomacy off the table" and that the only possibility moving forward will be military escalation. Hemmer, meanwhile, wondered if there was much diplomacy with Iran to begin with."There was with the Iran agreement," Paul pushed back. "The Iran agreement wasn't perfect, and I was a critic of the Iran agreement, however, I think it was a big mistake to pull out of the agreement. You should have tried to build upon the Iran agreement."The Republican senator, who has become one of Trump's biggest supporters on Capitol Hill, further criticized the administration for placing an embargo on Iran, saying an "act of an embargo is like an act of war.""I think it is the death of diplomacy, and I see no way to get it back started again until, sort of, the revenge of the Iranian people is somehow sated," Paul noted. "I hate this. I hate that this is where we are going.""I have been someone who has been for engagement, but there was much less killing, there was much less violence after the Iran agreement," he continued. "In fact, there was a lull, a period in which I think we were headed towards a much more stable situation in Iran, and now I think that's gone. And I think it may be gone for a lifetime."Hemmer, meanwhile, pointed out that Trump recently told right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh that Soleimani "should have been taken out a long time ago," asking Paul if he took exception to that."Is Soleimani a bad guy? Yes. Is the guy who replaces him a bad guy? Yes," the Kentucky senator replied, adding, "Saddam Hussein was a bad guy but taking him out destabilized the region. It is about the broader implications of killing someone, not whether they're evil or not."In a Monday interview with CNN, Paul said that one would have to be "brain dead" to think that Soleimani's death will lead to diplomatic negotiations, calling the death of the Iranian military commander "the death of diplomacy."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.
|
| 40 suspects in Mexico Mormon massacre: lawyer Posted: 07 Jan 2020 01:25 PM PST  Mexican authorities believe at least 40 people were involved in killing nine Mormon women and children in the north of the country in November, a lawyer for one of the families said Tuesday. The three women and six children from a breakaway Mormon community with dual US-Mexican nationality were on a remote road in a lawless region between the states of Chihuahua and Sonora when gunmen attacked their cars, a crime that sparked outrage on both sides of the border.
|
| America's Stealth Weapons: Can Iran Shoot Down a B-2 or F-35? Posted: 06 Jan 2020 02:00 PM PST  We might find out...
|
| Monks at Saint Anselm clash with college board over power Posted: 06 Jan 2020 11:42 AM PST  Monks at a Catholic college in New Hampshire faced off in court Monday against the school's board of trustees in a dispute over an effort to limit the the monks' power — a move some worry could lead to increased secularization. A judge heard motions in Hillsborough Superior Court related to a lawsuit filed against the Saint Anselm College board last year. The unusual clash was set in motion when the board moved to take away the monks' ability to amend the school's bylaws.
|
| California has sued tech billionaire Vinod Khosla over beach access, reviving a decade-long legal battle Posted: 06 Jan 2020 06:06 PM PST  The billionaire tech investor has previously said he regretted buying the beach, but will continue defending his property rights
|
| Venezuela: Maduro opponents storm parliament to reinstall Guaidó as leader Posted: 07 Jan 2020 10:25 AM PST  * Juan Guaidó sworn in for second term as caretaker leader * Maduro attempted to seize control of parliament on SundayVenezuela's increasingly byzantine political meltdown took its latest turn on Tuesday as opponents of authoritarian president Nicolás Maduro stormed the country's parliament to reinstall Juan Guaidó as their leader.Troops loyal to Maduro had surrounded the palm-dotted national assembly compound in Caracas in a bid to keep Guaidó and his supporters out after the president's attempt to seize control of the parliament on Sunday.But in frantic scenes that spread rapidly on social media, Guaidó and his backers were filmed physically forcing their way into the 19th-century capitol to cheers of "Viva Venezuela!"> En la unión de los venezolanos está la fuerza para salir de la dictadura. > > Entramos al hemiciclo a cumplir con nuestro deber, no con la violencia, sino con la fuerza de la razón y la mayoría. > > Unidos, organizados y con firmeza, es posible. 100diputados ANLegítimaConVzla pic.twitter.com/6S1mjuE0LF> > — Juan Guaidó (@jguaido) January 7, 2020Outside, pro-government thugs attacked and robbed Venezuelan and European journalists, including one correspondent from Spain's El País.Inside, Guaidó was sworn in for a second term as Venezuela's caretaker leader, even though the auditorium's electricity had been cut."In the name of those who have no voice, of the mothers who weep in the distance, of the teachers who are battling and the nurses and the students, of the political prisoners … in the name of Venezuela, I vow to fulfill the duties of interim president," said Guaidó, who is recognized by more than 50 governments including the United States and United Kingdom but boasts little concrete power.Guaidó's wife, Fabiana Rosales, tweeted: "Now the struggle goes on, together with all Venezuelans we will rescue our country from dictatorship."The new decade has started with a bang in Venezuela, with Guaidó's stuttering year-long campaign to topple Maduro suddenly reinvigorated by this week's events.Even the leftwing governments of Argentina and Mexico were critical of Maduro's attempt to take over Venezuela's parliament on Sunday, with Argentina's new foreign minister warning such actions would condemn Hugo Chávez's heir to "international isolation".Vanessa Neumann, Guaidó's envoy to London, said she was convinced Maduro's maneuver had backfired by reuniting Venezuela's opposition behind her leader."Guaidó emerges stronger from all of this," Neumann insisted. "He has more legitimacy even than he did in 2019."Geoff Ramsey, a Venezuela specialist at the Washington Office on Latin America, said Tuesday's storming of the legislature represented "a clear symbolic victory" for Guaidó."But I don't think this fundamentally alters the equation," he added."The main problem for the opposition for the last two years has been how to get their democratic legitimacy to translate into real power on the ground. Unless Guaidó is able to get the masses into the streets in a way he hasn't been able to for almost a year I don't see much changing in the short term."The coming weeks could prove crucial for Guaidó, who shot to prominence last January after using his position as national assembly president to declare himself Venezuela's rightful interim leader.This Friday is the first anniversary of Maduro's swearing-in, an event many western governments boycotted because of suspicions he stole the 2018 presidential election. 23 January marks a year since Guaidó publicly declared himself president.Ramsey said both sides would exploit those politically charged dates to pose as the "clear victors in this conflict"."But the truth is that this is increasingly looking like a stalemate," he said. "The only way forward is for the mainstream opposition and the regime to hash out the details of some kind of electoral way forwards [towards presidential elections]."Later on Tuesday, Guaidó summoned fresh protests for Friday, Saturday and next Tuesday when he urged "all of Venezuela" to demonstrate outside the national assembly. "It is time to rise up and rise up with strength," he said.
|
| Gangs allegedly run Mississippi prison where inmates were killed Posted: 06 Jan 2020 09:56 PM PST  Almost half the roughly 1,300 corrections positions in three major facilities in Mississippi remain unfilled.
|
| Republican John James Out-Raises Incumbent Dem Gary Peters by $1 Million in Fourth Quarter of Michigan Senate Race Posted: 07 Jan 2020 10:16 AM PST  Republican Senate candidate John James out-raised incumbent Gary Peters (D., Mich.) for the second straight quarter, further tightening an already competitive race for a vulnerable Senate seat.James's campaign said it raised $3.5 million in the fourth quarter, $1 million more than Peters in the same time frame, securing a higher margin than James's $600k advantage in the third quarter. While Peters' campaign says it has $8 million in cash on hand, a poll last month showed James surging to a narrow lead in the race, and Peters' job disapproval rating increasing to 7 percent.In a December interview, Peters seemed to endorse the Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal resolution, saying "I believe we can" when asked if the U.S. can realistically transition the economy to zero-net emissions by 2050."We have to push the technology as aggressively as we can," the senator said. ". . . We should look at this as an economic opportunity to drive our economy while also doing the right thing for the environment."Peters, who voted "present" when the resolution was brought to the Senate floor for a vote in March, said a month later that he backed certain aspects of the Green New Deal, but remained vague on what specifically attracted him, save for one specific detail."There's no question we're going to need to make a massive effort to deal with this issue [climate change], and there are many aspects of the Green New Deal I support, particularly when it comes to retrofitting buildings," Peters said at the time.
|
| How many women in Puerto Rico must die before there's change? Women are done waiting. Posted: 07 Jan 2020 12:15 AM PST  Feminist groups in Puerto Rico are demanding that their government take violence against women seriously. But that's just the beginning.
|
| Elizabeth Warren on 'The View': 'Of course' Soleimani was a terrorist Posted: 07 Jan 2020 01:50 PM PST  Warren, a 2020 contender, also said it would be a war crime for Donald Trump to target Iranian cultural sites, a threat he backed off of Tuesday.
|
| India court orders execution of convicts for 2012 deadly rape on Jan. 22 Posted: 07 Jan 2020 07:46 AM PST  Four men sentenced to death for the gang rape and murder of a woman on a New Delhi bus in an attack that sent shockwaves across the world will be hanged on Jan. 22, an Indian court ruled on Tuesday. The four men were convicted in 2013 of the rape, torture and murder of the 23-year-old physiotherapy student in a case that triggered large protests in India. The attack prompted India to enact tough new laws against sexual violence, including the death penalty for rape in some cases, but implementation has been poor and the attacks have shown no signs of let-up.
|
| Titanic wave of star-forming gases found in Milky Way Posted: 07 Jan 2020 12:58 PM PST |
| 'Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated': US Army general says he's still alive after terrorist attack in Kenya Posted: 06 Jan 2020 12:41 PM PST  "This is yet another example of the lies, propaganda and fake news," US Army Gen. Stephen Townsend said in a statement.
|
| Power-starved Ethiopia rallies around Nile dam as Egypt dispute simmers Posted: 06 Jan 2020 07:03 PM PST  Cell phone batteries constantly dying, health centres bereft of modern equipment, a dependence on flashlights after sundown -- Kafule Yigzaw experienced all these struggles and more growing up without electricity in rural Ethiopia. "Our country has a huge problem with electricity," Kafule, 22, told AFP recently while taking a break from reinforcing steel pipes that will funnel water from the Blue Nile River to one of the dam's 13 turbines. Across Ethiopia, poor farmers and rich businessmen eagerly await the more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity officials say it will ultimately provide.
|
| CNN Settles Lawsuit Brought by Covington Catholic Student Nicholas Sandmann Posted: 07 Jan 2020 12:12 PM PST  CNN agreed on Tuesday to settle a lawsuit brought by Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann.Sandmann sought $275 million from CNN over its coverage of the confrontation he and his classmates had with an elderly Native American man while visiting Washington, D.C., on a school trip in January of last year. The amount of the settlement was not made public during a hearing at the federal courthouse in Covington on Tuesday, according to a local Fox affiliate."CNN brought down the full force of its corporate power, influence, and wealth on Nicholas by falsely attacking, vilifying, and bullying him despite the fact that he was a minor child," reads the suit, which was filed in March 2019.Sandmann and his family still have lawsuits pending against NBC Universal and the Washington Post over their coverage of the incident. The Sandmann family sought a combined $800 million in damages from CNN, the Post, and NBC Universal."This case will be tried not one minute earlier or later than when it is ready," Sandmann's attorney Lin Wood said of the remaining lawsuits.Numerous national media outlets painted Sandmann and his classmates as menacing — and in some cases racist — after an edited video emerged of Sandmann smiling, inches away from the face of Nathan Phillips, an elderly Native American man, while attending the March for Life on the National Mall. A more complete video of the encounter, which emerged later, showed that Phillips had approached the Covington students and begun drumming in their faces, prompting them to respond with school chants.The lawsuit filed by Sandmann's attorneys in the Eastern District of Kentucky claimed that 53 statements included in CNN's coverage of the incident were defamatory. One such statement, included in a CNN opinion piece, accused the students of acting with "racist disrespect" towards Phillips. Meanwhile, Bakari Sellers, a CNN contributor, publicly mused about assaulting the 16-year-old Sandmann, and HBO host Bill Maher called him a "little prick."CNN filed a motion to dismiss the suit in May on the grounds that accusations of racism are not actionable in defamation cases because the allegation can't be proven true or false. They similarly argued they could not be held liable for uncorroborated claims that Sandmann and his classmates chanted "build the wall" during the encounter.It is not defamatory to say the Covington students "expressed support for the President or that he echoed a signature slogan of a major political party," CNN's motion to dismiss claims.An investigation conducted by an outside firm contracted by the Diocese of Covington found "no evidence that the students performed a 'Build the wall' chant" and that Phillips's account of the incident "contain some inconsistencies" that could not be explored because investigators were unable to reach him.Phillips initially claimed that the boys approached him but later admitted that he walked into their group after a video emerged disproving his initial claim. According to his second account, Phillips was attempting to defuse a confrontation between the students and a group of Black Hebrew Israelites, who can be heard on video shouting racial and homophobic slurs at the boys.Roger J. Foys, the bishop of Covington, celebrated the report as a vindication of the students. "Our students were placed in a situation that was at once bizarre and even threatening," he said in a statement. "Their reaction to the situation was, given the circumstances, expected and one might even say laudatory."
|
| Meet America's B-25G Bomber: The Plane That Used A Tank Cannon To Destroy Enemy Warships Posted: 06 Jan 2020 08:00 AM PST  When the U.S. Army Air Force procured the B-25G Mitchell, it had a very different mission in mind—sinking ships at sea.
|
| U.S. implements agreement to send Mexican asylum seekers to Guatemala Posted: 06 Jan 2020 11:25 AM PST  Mexicans seeking asylum in the United States could be sent to Guatemala under a bilateral agreement signed by the Central American nation last year, according to documents sent to U.S. asylum officers in recent days and seen by Reuters.
|
| Meghan McCain Praises Trump: ‘I’m Happy’ He Killed a ‘Big, Bad Terrorist’ Posted: 06 Jan 2020 09:30 AM PST  The View's Meghan McCain on Monday declared her surprise that people would fear war after President Donald Trump assassinated top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani—a decision she is unequivocally "happy" about.Returning from its holiday break on Monday, The View brought on ABC News political director Rick Klein to discuss the ongoing Iran crisis. While discussing concerns from Democrats that the president is escalating tensions with Iran to distract from impeachment, McCain seemed to come to the defense of the president she has often criticized."Yesterday Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Soleimani was, quote, actively plotting against the American public and that Trump made the right decision," the conservative host said. "I was actually really surprised to see things like World War III trending, just given the fact that Soleimani was responsible for over 600 American deaths.""Why do you think people are reacting the way that they are?" McCain continued. "Do you think it's just because there is this trust gap, if you will, between the president of the United States and the American public? For me, when a big, bad terrorist gets blown up, I'm happy about it."Klein, meanwhile, said there were two things at play here: The trust gap Americans have with the president and the fact that the administration hasn't been able to explain how "imminent" the threat was of any attacks Soleimani was purportedly planning against the United States.In a later segment, McCain wondered why Trump was getting so much blowback over the attack on Iran since, in her opinion, other Republican presidents would have made the same decision."Iran has been escalating their attacks for months and months," the proudly hawkish pundit stated. "I mean, they were harassing our warships, firing rockets to American troops, orchestrated a rocket strike to killed a U.S. contractor and wounded four service members and obviously stormed the U.S. embassy.""I made the argument to a friend of mine yesterday that I don't think a President Marco Rubio or President Romney would have necessarily done anything different by taking out Soleimani," she added. "Why do you think people are reacting this way to Trump doing this?"Klein noted that much of it has to do with Trump's track record and "the way he's conducted himself and the fact that he's sitting under impeachment and would have reason to distract.""I also think if this was another president, a president Rubio or Romney, I think there would still be questions asked, which are the right questions to ask," the ABC reporter continued. "When you use military force to kill a guy, you want to know what was behind it."Fellow co-host Sunny Hostin, meanwhile, further stated that previous presidents had the opportunity to kill Soleimani but passed on it because "everybody knew that taking out someone who's not just a terrorist but also someone who's a member of a government, a sitting position in a government, that's a provocative action. It's actually tantamount to war."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.
|
| Man charged with hate crimes in beating of 70-year-old woman Posted: 07 Jan 2020 11:11 AM PST |
| NASA, Boeing probe software glitch that stopped astronaut capsule from reaching space station Posted: 07 Jan 2020 03:26 PM PST  Boeing Co's (BA.N) CST-100 Starliner astronaut capsule had a successful launch for its first unmanned test mission, but what has been described as an automated timer error prevented the spacecraft from attaining the correct orbit for it to rendezvous and dock with the space station. The U.S. space agency is forming an investigative team to determine what caused the timer glitch and "any other software issues," NASA said. NASA said it was weighing whether to make Boeing repeat the test, which would likely cost tens of millions of dollars and add further delay, to show it can dock at the station successfully.
|
| 'Not a standard deployment': 3,500 US paratroopers deploying amid soaring Iran tensions were told to leave their cellphones and electronics behind Posted: 07 Jan 2020 11:24 AM PST  The unusual decision of banning personal phones, an Army spokesman said, is intended to protect soldiers and their missions in the Middle East.
|
| Did A Russian Built Submarine 'Sink' A U.S. Navy Sub Back in 2015? Posted: 06 Jan 2020 10:55 PM PST  How could that be?
|
| 'Our Work Is Helping People Find Happiness.' Meet the Leftist Nuns Helping Migrants at the U.S.-Mexico Border Posted: 07 Jan 2020 11:12 AM PST  Priests and bishops have condemned the Trump administration's immigration policy, but it's the nuns—mostly middle-aged or elderly women—who have actually built a mass movement at the border.
|
| NTSB: Witness saw Louisiana plane level out before crash Posted: 07 Jan 2020 12:49 PM PST  A witness said a plane that crashed in south Louisiana had leveled out its wings before it hit trees and transmission lines and crashed in a fiery heap, according to a preliminary investigation issued Tuesday by federal investigators. The report by the National Transportation Safety Board did not give a cause for the Dec. 28 plane crash that killed five people on their way to the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.
|
| Dangerous snow squalls to hamper travel conditions in Northeast Posted: 07 Jan 2020 02:27 AM PST  The first several hours of a brief burst of cold air will lead to an outbreak of lake-effect snow and snow squalls from the Upper Midwest to the Northeast from late Tuesday night to Wednesday night. A dangerous quick freeze-up will accompany and follow the snow."This setup looks to be similar to that of Dec. 18, where flurries and snow squalls wandered well away from the Great Lakes region and reached New York City," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Dombek said. Pedestrians observe a snow squall in Times Square Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) For a time during Tuesday night in the Midwest and Wednesday in the Northeast, a couple of snow squalls have the potential to travel hundreds of miles downwind of the Great Lakes. This means that portions of Interstate 70 in eastern Ohio; I-76 and I-80 in Pennsylvania; and part of I-95 in Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and New England could be affected.The weather may be clear and roads dry one minute, then the next minute snow may be coming down at a fast pace, with slippery road conditions the next. Conditions like this in the past have contributed to deadly accidents and multiple-vehicle pileups including in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan.While far from the heaviest lake-effect snow that can fall during early January, a few inches of snow can accumulate in parts of northern Michigan, northwestern Pennsylvania and western, central and northern New York state.An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 5 inches is expected, where the bands of snow persist downwind of lakes Erie and Ontario.Portions of Interstate 75, I-79, I-86 and I-90 will fall within the bands of lake-effect snow. Motorists traveling through the portions of the states aforementioned should be prepared for rapidly changing weather conditions that include poor visibility and snow-covered roads.While far from how cold it can can get this time of the year, the combination of the cold air, wind and other factors will make for harsh conditions from Wednesday to Thursday from the Great Lakes to the central Appalachians, mid-Atlantic and New England. Plunging temperatures can cause roads to become icy in a matter of minutes. People who headed out to work, school or the store with few problems may have blinding snow and icy roads on the trip home.AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures can dip to 15-25 degrees Fahrenheit lower than the actual temperature when factoring in the blustery conditions. RealFeel® Temperatures will dip below zero over the upper Great Lakes, northern New York state and northern New England, and the single digits, teens and 20s farther south over the Ohio Valley, central Appalachians and mid-Atlantic."The period from Wednesday to Thursday is likely to bring the first day with below-average temperatures since Dec. 21, 2019 in the Northeast," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tom Kines.On Dec. 21, normal high temperatures ranged from the upper 20s in northern Maine and northern Michigan to the upper 30s over the Ohio Valley and the upper 40s over the lower part of the Chesapeake Bay region.During the middle of this week, average high temperatures typically range from near 20 in northern Maine and the middle 20s in northern Michigan to the middle 30s over the Ohio Valley and the middle 40s over southeastern Virginia.On Wednesday, highs are forecast to be in the lower teens in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, to the middle 20s in Detroit and near 30 in Pittsburgh.The core of the cold will settle over the Northeast on Thursday. Highs on Thursday are expected to range from the lower teens in Caribou, Maine, to the middle 30s in New York City and the middle 40s over southeastern Virginia.Temperatures are forecast to rebound late this week and may challenge record-high levels in a dramatic turnaround by early this weekend.Download the free AccuWeather app to check the forecast in your area. Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
|
| Elizabeth Warren Shuts Down Meghan McCain’s Defense of Trump on Iran Posted: 07 Jan 2020 09:04 AM PST  On Monday morning, during The View's first new show of 2020, Meghan McCain defended President Donald Trump's targeted killing of top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. "For me, when a big, bad terrorist gets blown up, I'm happy about it," she said. When Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) appeared on the show Tuesday, she was quick to shut that position down. The drama started when McCain began to praise the 2020 presidential candidate, saying, "I believe you respect the American military and respect our troops. You have traveled overseas many times. I just want to say that first and foremost." Warren must have known there was a "but" coming. Seth Meyers Exposes 'Self-Serving Hypocrite' Fox News Host Ainsley Earhardt"You issued a statement calling Soleimani a murderer," McCain continued. "Later, you issued a second statement saying that he was 'an assassination of a senior foreign military official.' Now, this is a man who is obviously responsible for hundreds of American troops' deaths, carnage that we can't even imagine." After noting that both the Treasury and State departments have designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a "terrorist organization," she added, "I don't understand the flip-flop. I don't understand why it was so hard to call him a terrorist, and I would just like you to explain the change." Warren insisted that there wasn't a "change" in her position on Soleimani, arguing that both things can be true at the same time. "The question is what is the response that the president of the United States should make, and what advances the interests of the United States of America?" she asked. Saddam Hussein may have been a "bad guy," she added, "however, going to war in Iraq was not in the interest of the United States." The senator continued to make her case, but McCain was stuck on semantics. "Do you think he's a terrorist?" she asked, interrupting Warren. When Warren said Soleimani was "part of a group that has been designated as terrorists," McCain sneered and shook her head as she asked, "So he's not a terrorist?" "Of course, he is," Warren answered finally. "He's part of a group that our federal government has designated a terrorist. The question though, is what's the right response? And the response that Donald Trump has picked is the most incendiary and has moved us right to the edge of war, and that is not in our long-term interests." By the end of her appearance on the show, Warren was actively ignoring McCain's repeated attempts to interrupt her as she extolled the virtues of her 2 percent wealth tax. "Can we just switch gears for a second?" McCain asked, but Warren kept making her points undeterred. She simply wasn't having it.How Andrea Savage Finds the Sweet Spot Between Cringing and ComedyRead 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.
|
| Feds to seek death penalty in Virginia gang killings Posted: 07 Jan 2020 08:26 AM PST |
| From 'Middle-Class Joe' to millionaire: Joe Biden is worth an estimated $9 million. Here's a look at the lifestyle, finances, and real-estate portfolio of one of the leading Democratic presidential candidates. Posted: 07 Jan 2020 06:07 AM PST  Leading candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination Joe Biden came into most of his wealth after leaving the vice presidency in 2017.
|
| Pompeo rebuffs Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell's pleas to run for Kansas Senate seat Posted: 06 Jan 2020 04:33 PM PST  The secretary of State had been toying with a Senate bid for months. His decision to forgo a political run comes amid increased tensions with Iran.
|
| Romania's Aegis Ashore Is Now Online and Can Shoot Down Enemy Missiles Posted: 07 Jan 2020 06:00 AM PST  Aimed at Iran or Russia?
|
| Trial opens in Japan for grisly murder of 19 at disabled home Posted: 07 Jan 2020 04:18 PM PST  The man accused of the 2016 murder of 19 disabled people at a Japanese care home goes on trial Wednesday in a case that ranks among the country's worst mass killings. Satoshi Uematsu, a former employee of the care centre outside Tokyo, has admitted carrying out the stabbing rampage, but his lawyer is expected to enter a plea of not guilty on grounds of diminished capacity. Uematsu reportedly said he wanted to eradicate all disabled people in the horrifying July 26 attack at the Tsukui Yamayuri-en centre in the town of Sagamihara outside Tokyo.
|
| Third OU student alleges sexual misconduct by ex-official Posted: 07 Jan 2020 09:42 AM PST |
| These 5 Air Forces Control The World's Skies Posted: 06 Jan 2020 07:30 PM PST  Don't violate their air space.
|
| Netanyahu Distances From Soleimani Slaying, Says Israel Shouldn’t Be ‘Dragged’ Into It: Report Posted: 07 Jan 2020 03:59 AM PST  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump's closest ally on the international stage, is walking on a tightrope in crafting his reaction to the American strike against Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.On Sunday, for public consumption, Netanyahu issued a statement of praise, but restrained himself from the usual flourishes he indulges in when congratulating Trump, such as accompanying videos.In a statement released by his office, Netanyahu said, "Qassem Soleimani brought about the death of many American citizens and many other innocents in recent decades and at present. Soleimani initiated, planned and carried out many terrorist attacks throughout the Middle East and beyond."President Trump is deserving of all esteem for taking determined, strong and quick action. I would like to reiterate—Israel fully stands alongside the US in the just struggle for security, peace and self-defense."And that was it.Netanyahu is in the thorniest moment of his turbulent, three-decade long career in politics. He is running for re-election after having failed to form a coalition government in two elections held in 2019. Last November, he became the first sitting Israeli prime minister to be accused of crimes, when he was indicted on three separate counts of corruption. In the fight for his political life, Netanyahu took the unprecedented step of requesting parliamentary immunity last Thursday.Israel has previously been the target of terror attacks attributed to Iran, including the bombing of its embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992, and several attacks in other countries in the past decade.While the foreign ministry put all its embassies on high alert immediately following the assassination of Soleimani, the last thing Netanyahu wants is for Israelis to suspect the danger from Iran has grown since the 2018 American withdrawal from Syria, which Netanyahu championed and celebrated.Two leaks from his security cabinet meeting on Monday helped sustain this aim, despite Iranian troops' entrenchment along Israel's northern border with Syria in recent years.On Monday, as the meeting ended, several ministers transmitted Netanyahu's declaration distancing Israel from the Soleimani hit. "The assassination of Soleimani isn't an Israeli event but an American event. We were not involved and should not be dragged into it," he said, according to Israeli news outlets.Simultaneously, journalists were told that security and intelligence officials who briefed the security cabinet told ministers there was no imminent threat of Iranian attacks against Israel following the Soleimani assassination.With one exception, regarding the Kurds fighting in Syria after the withdrawal of American troops, Netanyahu has never distanced himself from Trump, though his thoughts about Iran have occasionally slipped out.Last November, speaking at a graduation ceremony for army officers, he said, "Iran's brazenness in the region is increasing and even getting stronger in light of the absence of a response."At the same time, Israel's Channel 13 news reported that some weeks earlier, in a closed-door meeting, Netanyahu told cabinet members he believed Trump would not act against Iran until the 2020 elections were behind him. 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.
|
| France and EU ready to respond to US threat of new tariffs Posted: 07 Jan 2020 02:15 AM PST  France has warned it will retaliate with the full backing of the European Union if the United States imposes tariffs on up to $2.4 billion worth of French products, including Champagne, Roquefort cheese, handbags, and lipstick. The U.S. is considering 100% tariffs on some French goods in response to France's decision to tax the local digital business of major tech companies like Google and Facebook. With a decision on the tariffs expected in coming days, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire met Tuesday with EU trade chief Phil Hogan in Paris.
|
| 12-year-old dog adopted after 6 years in shelter Posted: 06 Jan 2020 08:10 PM PST  The 12-year-old dog named Sandi took her "freedom walk" out of the shelter and onto a red carpet.
|
