| Pompeo appeared to coordinate with Giuliani on Ukraine, new documents show Posted: 24 Feb 2020 11:28 AM PST  While the impeachment proceedings are now over, ongoing lawsuits and upcoming books are expected to reveal still more details about the campaign to have Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pursue the investigations Trump wanted.
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| It looks like people with no real interest in Bloomberg are signing up to be grassroots campaigners because he pays $2,500 a month Posted: 24 Feb 2020 04:46 AM PST  Mike Bloomberg's social-media army, who can command payments of $2,500 a month, have variable levels of commitment.
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| Trump Admin. Considers Booting Chinese Reporters in Response to ‘Egregious’ Expulsion of WSJ Journalists: Report Posted: 24 Feb 2020 01:09 PM PST  The Trump administration is considering whether to expel Chinese journalists in response to China's own expulsion of three Wall Street Journal reporters, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.A meeting will be held at the White House on Monday to discuss the administration's options. The meeting will be led by deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, who himself was a Journal reporter based in Beijing.According to Bloomberg, administration officials are debating whether to expel up to hundreds of Chinese journalists in its response, or whether such a move would even be legal, seeming to contradict American values regarding freedom of the press."This expulsion is yet another attempt to control the press, and prevent the world's readers as well as investors from reading important stories about China," said John Ullyot, a spokesman for the National Security Council, in comments on the situation on Friday. Ullyot called China's expulsion of the Journal reporters an "egregious act."China expelled the three reporters after the Journal refused to apologize for a headline China deemed "racist." The headline, "China is the Real Sick Man of Asia," was chosen for a column by Bard College professor Walter Russell Mead on China's difficulty in coping with the Wuhan coronavirus and the shaky financial foundations of its economy.The phrase "sick man of Asia" was used in the late 1800's to describe a China that had lost a string of wars and feared conquering by the western colonial powers. Dozens of reporters from the paper's China bureau have called on the Journal's publisher to change the headline.
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| Tom Steyer has paid more than $40,000 to rent a property owned by Jim Clyburn's daughter Posted: 24 Feb 2020 06:49 AM PST  Billionaire Tom Steyer is facing some criticism over his spending in South Carolina, a state where his Democratic presidential campaign is making some legitimate headway.Some people have even accused him of trying to buy votes from the state's African-American voters, which Steyer and many others have adamantly denied, The New York Times reports. One thing that's been particularly scrutinized is the Steyer campaign's rental agreement with a company owned by Jennifer Clyburn Reed, the daughter of Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the highest-ranking African American in Congress whose endorsement is considered key in South Carolina. Since October, the Steyer campaign has paid more than $40,000 to the company to rent one of its properties as its state headquarters in Columbia, South Carolina. A California-based bank founded by Steyer, meanwhile, has loaned $1 million to a Columbia-based bank that has one of Clyburn's sons-in-laws on its board.The campaign has brushed off the accusations of trying to procure political favor from the Clyburn family, arguing Steyer is simply committed to hiring local organizers and investing in local businesses to get his grassroots operations running. "The question isn't why Tom is doing this," Steyer spokesman Benjamin Gerdes said in a statement. "The real question is why isn't every other candidate doing it?"The politically-active Reed called the accusations of vote-buying "disturbing" and seemed a bit annoyed that people think she merely serves as a surrogate for her father. "I'm an adult," she told the Times. "There is no connection. My father has his business and I have mine. We do not vote the same way."Besides, it's probably all a moot point — both Reed and Clyburn seem likely to back former Vice President Joe Biden. Read more at The New York Times.More stories from theweek.com The coronavirus recession? The real third way in 2020 Top member of Trump's coronavirus task force asks Twitter for help accessing map of virus
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| Probe into abuse at America's oldest deaf school finds 'appalling truths' Posted: 23 Feb 2020 08:21 PM PST  Officials apologized for the "inexcusable actions" of staff and faculty members and the "fact that the school did not prevent or stop them."
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| Islamic Jihad renews rocket fire on Israel amid ongoing air strikes Posted: 24 Feb 2020 11:16 AM PST  Islamic Jihad resumed firing rockets at Israel from Gaza Monday night amid ongoing Israeli air strikes, damaging hopes for an end to a two-day flare-up a week before the Jewish state's election. The militant Islamist group announced Monday evening it had ceased firing rockets but backtracked about an hour later after Israel continued striking its forces in the Gaza Strip. Islamic Jihad, which is allied to Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas, has fired some 60 rockets towards Israel since the killing of one of its fighters Sunday morning, according to the United Nations.
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| Iran Prepares to Suffer the Wrath of the Coronavirus Posted: 24 Feb 2020 01:01 PM PST  Iran has sought to deny that the coronavirus is spreading within its borders. Now, the Middle East is facing a new type of crisis—one that could further exacerbate tension in the region.
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| Two groups of US Diamond Princess passengers, two disparate experiences: 'I feel ill-used by my country' Posted: 24 Feb 2020 08:26 AM PST  Two groups of American travelers who were stuck on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship due to a coronavirus quarantine are now in limbo.
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| Ginni Thomas: SCOTUS justice's wife leading right-wing effort to purge officials 'disloyal' to Trump Posted: 24 Feb 2020 11:28 AM PST  A group of pro-Trump activists led by Ginni Thomas has reportedly compiled lists of "disloyal" government officials it wants sacked.
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| ‘Senator Sanders, I’m Sorry’: Chris Matthews Apologizes for Nazi Analogy Posted: 24 Feb 2020 04:36 PM PST  Facing outrage over comparing Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' Nevada Democratic caucus victory to France falling to the Nazis in World War II, Chris Matthews addressed the controversy at the top of his Monday night broadcast."As I watched one-sided results of the caucus in Nevada, I reached for a historical analogy and used a bad one," the veteran MSNBC personality said. "I was wrong to refer to an event from the last days, or actually the first days, of World War II.""Senator Sanders, I'm sorry for comparing anything from that tragic era in which so many suffered, especially the Jewish people, to an elected result in which you were a well-deserved winner," Matthews continued. "This is going to be a hard-fought, heated campaign of ideas."The Hardball host concluded his apology by saying he would "strive to do a better job" of "elevating the political discussion" in the coming weeks and months before congratulating the Democratic presidential hopeful on his "tremendous win down in Nevada."Matthews then welcomed on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who recently endorsed Sanders, to make the case for the Vermont senator's candidacy.MSNBC has come under fire for its increasingly negative and critical coverage of the Democratic socialist lawmaker as the primary has heated up. Even before Matthews made his unfortunate analogy, the longtime host had been blasted over his unhinged reactions to Sanders' rise.Prior to Monday's mea culpa, Matthews received criticism from his own colleagues for his remarks, with MSNBC analyst Anand Giridharadas slamming Matthews on Sunday for likening Sanders' win to a Nazi invasion, noting that Sanders had relatives "murdered in the Holocaust."Following Matthews' on-air apology, Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir told the Washington Examiner that the campaign appreciates "some of the steps MSNBC has taken, and we hope to get fairer coverage going forward."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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| ‘I have never seen him eat a vegetable’: With steak off the menu, officials scramble to feed fussy eater Trump in India Posted: 24 Feb 2020 07:24 AM PST  Donald Trump has embarked on his first presidential visit to India, the world's largest democracy – and home to the world's largest population of vegetarians. Since Mr Trump is a noted beef-eater, in particular a lover of steak and burgers, gastronomically speaking, the visit will prove one of his most challenging.It's not all bad news for Mr Trump. India's reputation for overwhelming vegetarianism is overstated, and it's thought that more families eat beef at home than generally admit it.
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| China said it would relax its lockdown of Wuhan's 11 million residents, only to immediately reintroduce it Posted: 24 Feb 2020 03:25 AM PST  Wuhan announced that some people could leave the locked-down city, only to reverse the announcement hours later as the coronavirus spreads.
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| New Virginia sentencing law ends high court's DC sniper case Posted: 24 Feb 2020 12:21 PM PST  Lee Boyd Malvo, the Washington, D.C., area sniper, and Virginia agreed Monday to dismiss a pending Supreme Court case after the state changed criminal sentencing law for juveniles. Under the new law, signed by Gov. Ralph Northam earlier in the day, people serving life terms for crimes they committed before they turned 18 can be considered for parole after serving at least 20 years. The two sides agreed that Malvo's life term would remain in effect, though he will have a chance at parole early in 2024.
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| NASA space telescope spots a double star system with an alter ego Posted: 24 Feb 2020 07:53 AM PST  It's like a cosmic story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
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| Senate FISA Abuse Investigation to Focus on Mystery Source Who Contradicted Steele Dossier Posted: 24 Feb 2020 06:04 AM PST  Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) on Sunday told Fox News the Senate's investigation into FBI abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act will focus on interviews the agency conducted with a Russian source who contradicted much of the information in the Steele dossier."The first thing I want to do is call the people who heard from Russian sub-source that this dossier is a bunch of bar talk and hearsay," Graham said on Fox's Sunday Morning Futures. "I want to find out when did [former FBI director James] Comey and [former FBI deputy director Andrew] McCabe understand it was not reliable and start from there."The source, known in the Justice Department Inspector General's report as "Primary Sub-Source," was former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele's only direct contact in Russia for the allegations contained in the dossier. However, the IG report states that the primary sub-source told the FBI and Justice Department that Steele's allegations were false or misleading, including the assertion of Page's involvement in what the dossier terms a "well-developed conspiracy of cooperation" between the Trump campaign and Russian government."The Primary Sub-source made statements during his/her January 2017 FBI interview that were inconsistent with multiple sections of the Steele reports, including some that were relied upon in the FISA applications," the IG report states.Following the publication of the IG report, prominent Republicans called for an overhaul of the FISA system to prevent future abuses. On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported the Trump administration is considering doing just that before FISA legislation is set to expire in March.
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| As Conflict in Idlib Escalates, Turkey's Balancing Act Is Tested Posted: 23 Feb 2020 08:00 PM PST  What happens next?
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| Nine of the World’s Most Beautiful Outdoor Saunas Posted: 24 Feb 2020 08:25 AM PST |
| 'It's my guilty pleasure': Sen. Chuck Schumer confirms spending $8,600 on Junior's cheesecake Posted: 24 Feb 2020 02:29 PM PST  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer admitted he has dropped almost $9,000 on his favorite cheesecake over the years. "Guilty as charged," he said.
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| MSNBC Analyst Calls Out Colleague Chris Matthews for Comparing Bernie’s Nevada Win to Nazi Invasion Posted: 23 Feb 2020 10:50 AM PST  MSNBC political analyst Anand Giridharadas called out his colleague Chris Matthews live on-air Sunday morning after the longtime MSNBC host likened Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders' strong Nevada showing to France falling to the Nazis in World War II.As early results from Saturday's Nevada caucuses showed Sanders held a massive lead and was primed for a huge victory, a deflated Matthews—who has been increasingly unhinged over the prospect of a Sanders nomination—made an eye-popping analogy about the Vermont senator's frontrunner status."I'm reading last night about the fall of France in the summer of 1940. And the general calls up Churchill and says, 'It's over,'" the Hardball host declared. "And Churchill says, 'How can it be? You got the greatest army in Europe. How can it be over?' He said, 'It's over.'"Appearing on MSNBC's AM Joy, Giridharadas was asked by host Joy Reid—herself a fervent Sanders critic—about a recent piece he wrote criticizing former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg's campaign and his insistence he'll be incorruptible due to his billionaire status, noting it is the same argument Donald Trump made last election.Giridharadas, meanwhile, stated that we are currently seeing a "wake-up moment for the American power establishment" that Sanders has tapped into, adding that many establishment figures are reacting to the prospect of a Sanders nomination "like out of touch aristocrats in a dying aristocracy."Calling this a "moment of curiosity," Giridharadas went on to say that while he loved the network he works at, he wonders why it is constantly allowing tech lobbyists to appear as pundits "explaining a political revolution to us.""Why is Chris Matthews on this air talking about the victory [of] Bernie Sanders, who had kin murdered in the Holocaust, analogizing it to the Nazi conquest of France?" Giridharadas exclaimed."People stuck in an old way of thinking, in 20th-century thinking are missing what is going on. It is time for all of us to step up, rethink the dawn of what may be, frankly, a new era in American life," he added.Reid, for her part, defended Matthews, saying she didn't think he was "trying to make an anti-Jewish disparagement" but instead was speaking to the "cultural revulsion" of socialism many in his generation have.Matthews' latest remarks have led to progressives calling on MSNBC to fire the veteran host. The Hardball anchor isn't the only one who has found himself in hot water over his anti-Bernie rhetoric. MSNBC contributor Jason Johnson faced swift and loud backlash after he dismissed the "island of misfit black girls" who supported Sanders.After Giridharadas' segment began to make waves on social media, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)—a passionate supporter of Sanders—took to Twitter to praise the MSNBC analyst while adding: "Mass movements are beginning to transform our political landscape in a way we haven't seen in a long 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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| How South Korea’s Coronavirus Outbreak Got so Quickly out of Control Posted: 24 Feb 2020 12:37 AM PST  South Korea now has the highest number of coronavirus cases outside mainland China
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| President Trump, first lady visit Taj Mahal in India Posted: 24 Feb 2020 06:47 AM PST  President Trump, who once owned the former Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, N.J., took in breathtaking views of the real Taj Mahal Monday in India. As Trump walked from the iconic 17th century mausoleum, he told reporters that it is s an "incredible place."
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| Iran is closing schools, scrambling for hospital places, and spraying disinfectant in the subway as coronavirus deaths and cases spike Posted: 24 Feb 2020 08:25 AM PST  The government said 12 people had died of the novel coronavirus as of Monday, though one official said the number is actually much higher.
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| Coronavirus updates: 5 dead and 200 infected in Italy as Europe braces for COVID-19 Posted: 24 Feb 2020 06:44 AM PST  As new hotspots arise in South Korea, Italy and Iran, here is the latest for Monday, Feb. 24.
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| Susan Collins Breaks With Trump on Director of National Intelligence Pick Posted: 24 Feb 2020 04:13 PM PST  Republican Senator Susan Collins, a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Monday rejected President Trump's pick to lead the intelligence community, saying Richard Grenell does not have the experience to serve as director of national intelligence."I would have much preferred that the president nominate the acting director Maguire for the post," Collins said, referring to the former director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire."As one of the four authors of the law that created the DNI back in 2004, I care deeply about that position and believe the person needs experience in the intelligence community, which regrettably Ambassador Grenell does not have," Collins continued.The Maine Republican, who is up for reelection this year, is the first in Trump's party to raise concerns about his pick. Collins helped draft the 2004 law that established the office of director of national intelligence.Maguire was forced out on Thursday, his sudden departure causing consternation among the Intelligence Community, and replaced with Grenell, formerly the U.S. Ambassador to Germany.His departure came after Trump was reportedly irked about a classified briefing last Thursday during which Shelby Pierson, the intelligence community election threats executive, warned lawmakers that Russia is again interfering in the 2020 campaign and attempting to get Trump reelected.The president was said to be "out of joint with Maguire" on that process after hearing about the intelligence conclusion from a House Republican rather than from the intelligence community itself.Trump later pushed back on the narrative that he is the favorite candidate of Russia, calling it "another misinformation campaign" that was "launched by Democrats."
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| Indian women protest new citizenship laws, joining a global 'fourth wave' feminist movement Posted: 24 Feb 2020 05:47 AM PST  Women are among the strongest opponents of two new laws in India that threaten the citizenship rights of vulnerable groups like Muslims, poor women, oppressed castes and LGBTQ people.The Citizenship Amendment Act, passed in December 2019, fast-tracks Indian citizenship for undocumented refugees from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan – but only those who are non-Muslim. Another law - the National Register of Citizens – will require all residents in India to furnish extensive legal documentation to prove their citizenship as soon as 2021. Critics see the two laws as part of the government's efforts to redefine the meaning of belonging in India and make this constitutionally secular country a Hindu nation. Since Dec. 4, 2019, Indians of all ages, ethnicities and religions have been protesting the new citizenship initiatives in scattered but complementary nationwide demonstrations. The uprisings have persisted through weeks of arrests, beatings and even killings across India by the police.But the most enduring pocket of resistance is an around-the-clock sit-in of mostly hijab-wearing women in a working-class Delhi neighborhood called Shaheen Bagh. Women take chargeSince Dec. 15, 2019, women of all ages – from students to 90-year-old grandmothers – have abandoned their daily duties and braved near-freezing temperatures to block a major highway in the Indian capital. This is a striking act of resistance in a patriarchal country where women – but particularly Muslim women – have historically had their rights denied.The Shaheen Bagh protests are as novel in their methods as they are in their makeup. Protesters are using artwork, book readings, lectures, poetry recitals, songs, interfaith prayers and communal cooking to explain their resistance to citizenship laws that, they say, will discriminate against not just Muslims but also women, who usually don't have state or property papers in their own names. On Jan. 11, women in the Indian city of Kolkata performed a Bengali-language version of a Chilean feminist anthem called "The Rapist is You." This choreographed public flash dance, first staged in Santiago, Chile in November 2019, calls out the police, judiciary and government for violating women's human rights. A dangerous place for womenIndia is the world's most dangerous country for women, according to the Thompson Reuters Foundation. One-third of married women are physically abused. Two-thirds of rapes go unpunished. Gender discrimination is so pervasive that around 1 million female fetuses are aborted each year. In some parts of India, there are 126 men for every 100 women.Indian women have come together in protest before, to speak out against these and other issues. But most prior women's protests were limited in scope and geography. The 2012 brutal gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old Delhi woman – which sparked nationwide protests – was a watershed moment. All at once, the country witnessed the power of women's rage. The current women-led anti-citizenship law demonstrations are even greater in number and power. Beyond Shaheen Bagh, Indian women across caste, religion and ethnicity are putting their bodies and reputations on the line. Female students are intervening to shield fellow students from police violence at campus protests. Actresses from Bollywood, India's film industry, are speaking out against gender violence, too. Women's secular agendaWith their non-violent tactics and inclusive strategy, the Shaheen Bagh women are proving to be effective critics of the government's Hindu-centric agenda. Their leaderless epicenter of resistance raises up national symbols like the Indian flag, the national anthem and the Indian Constitution as reminders that India is secular and plural – a place where people can be both Muslim and Indian. The Shaheen Bagh movement's novel and enduring strategy has triggered activism elsewhere in the country. Thousands of women in the northern Indian city of Lucknow started their own sit-in in late January. Similar "Shaheen Baghs" have sprung up since, in the cities of Patna and even Chennai, which is located 1,500 miles from Delhi. Global women's springIndia's Shaheen Bagh protests form part of a broader global trend in women's movements. Worldwide, female activists are combining attention to women's issues with a wider call for social justice across gender, class and geographic borders. In January 2019 alone, women in nearly 90 countries took to the streets demanding equal pay, reproductive rights and the end of violence. Young women were also at the forefront of the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, Lebanon, Sudan, Brazil and Colombia.As I write in my 2017 book, such inclusive activism is the defining characteristic of what's called "fourth wave feminism." There isn't a common definition of the first three feminist waves. In the United States, they generally refer to the early 20th century suffragette movement, the radical women's movement of the 1960s and 1970s and the more mainstream feminism of the 1990s and early 2000s. Fourth wave feminism appears to be more universal. Today's activists fully embrace the idea that women's freedom means little if other groups are still oppressed. With its economic critique, disavowal of caste oppression and solidarity across religious divides, India's Shaheen Bagh sit-in shares attributes with the women's uprisings in Chile, Lebanon, Hong Kong and beyond. The last time women came together in such numbers worldwide was the MeToo movement, a campaign against sexual harassment which emerged on social media in the United States in 2017 and quickly spread across the globe. Shaheen Bagh and similarly far-reaching women's uprisings underway in other countries take MeToo to the next level, moving from a purely feminist agenda to a wider call for social justice. Women protesters want rights – not just for themselves, but human rights for all.[Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend. Sign up for our weekly newsletter.]This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * India's plan to identify 'illegal immigrants' could get some Muslims declared 'foreign' * India has a sexual assault problem that only women can fixAlka Kurian has been awarded the 2020-2021 Fulbright U.S. Scholar award. She volunteers for Tasveer, a South Asian non-profit dedicated to social change through thought-provoking South Asian films, art and storytelling.
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| Climate change could be a 'catastrophic' national security threat, report warns Posted: 24 Feb 2020 09:04 AM PST  "Even at scenarios of low warming, each region of the world will face severe risks to national and global security in the next three decades," according to a report by the Center for Climate and Security.
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| Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity Posted: 24 Feb 2020 11:58 AM PST  Harvard University epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch is predicting the coronavirus "will ultimately not be containable" and, within a year, will infect somewhere between 40 and 70 percent of humanity, The Atlantic reports. But don't be too alarmed. Many of those people, Lipsitch clarifies, won't have severe illnesses or even show symptoms at all, which is already the case for many people who have tested positive for the virus.That's precisely why he doesn't think the virus can be stopped. Viruses like SARS, MERS, and the avian flu were eventually contained in part because they were more intense and had a higher fatality rate. In other words, if you were infected by the virus that caused SARS, chances were you weren't out and about. But because the current coronavirus, known as COVID-19, can be asymptomatic, or at least very mild, there's a better chance people will likely go about their day as normal. The down side, though, is that it becomes harder to trace and prevent. In that sense it's similar to the flu, which can also be deadly, but often passes without the infected person seeking medical care.The Atlantic reports Lipsitch is definitely not alone in his prediction. There's an emerging consensus that the outbreak will eventually morph into a new seasonal disease, which, per The Atlantic, could one day turn "cold and flu season" into "cold and flu and COVID-19 season." Read more at The Atlantic.More stories from theweek.com The coronavirus recession? The real third way in 2020 Top member of Trump's coronavirus task force asks Twitter for help accessing map of virus
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| US economy faces long-lasting damage from trade war: Fed official Posted: 24 Feb 2020 12:43 PM PST  The trade conflict of the past two years likely left a mark on the US economy, even with the recent agreement to defuse the situation, a Federal Reserve official said Monday. The outbreak of the new coronavirus in China adds another risk factor to the outlook, which otherwise seemed poised to provide steady growth, said Loretta Mester, president of the Federal Reserve's regional bank in Cleveland. With the partial agreement signed with China to call a truce in the dispute with Beijing -- despite leaving many tariffs in place -- as well as a new continental free trade pact with Canada and Mexico, Mester said the trade picture is "somewhat better" heading into 2020.
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| Putin Sent Her Activist Boyfriend to the Arctic Circle. Now She Wants to Go, Too. Posted: 24 Feb 2020 02:11 AM PST  MOSCOW—Few people are familiar with Novaya Zemlya, a very obscure archipelago above the Arctic Circle that is controlled by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor to the infamous Soviet spy agency, the KGB. Even fewer people hope to travel to those thinly populated and thoroughly militarized islands, where the Russian army tests its Arctic missile systems, and where polar bears suffering the effects of climate change dig through garbage pits at impoverished settlements. Alexei Navalny on Standing Up to Putin and His Murderous MinionsIt sounds like hell frozen over, in fact—and it figures in what looks like a new tactic by President Vladimir Putin (a former KGB operative) to intimidate his most vocal critics. But Kira Yarmysh has a special reason to go there. She is desperate to see her partner, who became the first victim of such an operation last December."The FSB abducted my boyfriend, Ruslan Shaveddinov, and isolated him in Novaya Zemlya," Yarmysh told The Daily Beast. "The most outrageous truth is that several divisions of the state system, including military authorities, aviation, and secret services, are helping to hide Ruslan from us." This was hardly a random act. Yarmysh is a news presenter and spokesperson for Russia's top opposition leader, Aleksei Navalny, and his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). Shaveddinov is one of the group's star reporters and presenters as well.Russia still has a military draft, and 12 months of service are mandatory for all male citizens age 18 to 33. Shaveddinov, known as "Shav," has been famous for presenting vivid, well-documented corruption investigations on YouTube. But at 23 years old, he was vulnerable, and authorities claimed he was draft-dodging.The news agency TASS quotes Moscow's military commissar, Col. Maksim Loktev, claiming the conscription of Shaveddinov was perfectly ordinary: "He departed to the place of his military service on the draft." But the young activist's colleagues aren't buying it. It's not just the matter of conscription; it's the deployment that's suspicious."This is a unique example of how the FSB begins to use military service as a prison for politically active young men," Navalny told The Daily Beast. "I think the order was to isolate Shav."Viewers all over Russia recognize Yarmysh and Shaveddinov from YouTube, which is the main outlet for Navalny's reports. More than three million viewed their presentation last summer (while Navalny was in jail) about Moscow Deputy Mayor Natalia Sergunina. They reported she was making millions of dollars off property deals in the Russian capital for companies controlled by her relatives, an allegation that she has denied. There are frequent police raids on FBK offices, along with confiscations of computers, cellphones, and video cameras. On July 27, members of an armed special unit raided Yarmysh's home at dawn, woke the couple up, put Ruslan on the floor, and confiscated all of the digital equipment. After a tough 2019, Kira and Ruslan looked forward to celebrating the New Year's holiday together, without any people around. But on Dec. 23, Kira's boyfriend vanished and his cellphone was not answered. His friends found the door to his apartment broken. Nearly 24 hours later, Yarmysh discovered that her partner was more than 3,000 kilometers (some 2,000 miles) away, in a unit of what's called the 33rd Guards Rocket Army based in Rogachevo village on the Southern Island of Novaya Zemlya. Yarmysh had never heard much about the rules of the archipelago and the news came as a shock: there was an old nuclear testing ground near Ruslan's base; she could not visit his island without a special FSB permit. Then Ruslan called her, and what she heard broke her heart, she says."There were two army captains with him listening in our conversation, so every time I asked him how he was, he said, 'Let's talk about you," Yarmysh remembered. "He told me he was banned from using his cellphone, which is a violation—every Russian soldier can call home once a week! So I decided to sue his commander."Yarmysh wanted to be present during the court hearing last week, and, of course, to see Ruslan. She requested an FSB permit earlier this month, but days passed and there was no word back. The court hearing was scheduled for last Wednesday, but a Moscow judge on the case was not able to get to Novaya Zemlya, Yarmysh said—the flight got canceled due to harsh weather conditions. (This is not unusual given the brutal Arctic weather.) "They regularly cancel flights during the winter, so I am surprised that the army managed to transport Ruslan there so easily in December," Yarmysh said. "It is obvious that the weather is not an issue, if there is an order to bring the guy."Finally a hearing was held at the end of the week, and a lawyer from the Navalny team was able to make it there, but there was no satisfaction to be had and communications were spotty. At midday on Saturday, Yarmysh tweeted that she still had heard nothing about her boyfriend's fated. (A troll responded with pictures of polar bears eating a bloody corpse: "Found him. But no need to thank me.")The lawyer finally got in touch late Saturday, but only briefly. He reported that, officially, the court said Shaveddinov had no unusual restrictions. But in practical terms that was no consolation, and Yarmysh said she couldn't be sure what happened until the attorney made it back to Moscow. As of Monday, however, he was till stuck above the Arctic Circle because of the weather."Prisoners have more rights than Ruslan," Yarmysh told The Daily Beast. "He doesn't have any right to call, or even to send letters."Yarmysh grew up in Rostov-on-Don, a provincial southern town on the border with Ukraine's Donbas region. Her single mother brought her up dreaming that one day Kira would win The Clever Heads, a televised competition for high-schoolers that awards the winners with a chance to enroll in Russia's most prestigious university for future diplomats, the MGIMO, or Moscow State Institute of International Relations. And, yes, Yarmysh won.While studying at MGIMO, she thought she would one day get a diplomat's position in Africa, far from the Russian political scene. But anti-Putin street protests in 2011-2012 changed her life, and she wound up on the front line of the opposition's constant fight with corrupt bureaucrats. Her mother has always been an Aleksey Navalny fan, Yarmysh said, so when she got her job at the FBK six years ago, her family supported her. "Kira Yarmysh is one of the brightest stars in Navalny's team. She is emerging to be even bigger but still stay in Navalny's shadow," Echo of Moscow Deputy Chief Editor Olga Bychkova told The Daily Beast. Yarmysh says that if she has to she will wait for her boyfriend for 12 months, as do millions of other Russian girls all over the country. "I hope this is going to be just one year," she says. For two months, Yarmysh has been worried, feeling "hurt," she says, wondering why out of all Russia's vast military bases, her boyfriend was isolated in the Arctic. "The authorities might think that Ruslan and I, if we come out to a street protest, might lead masses of people," Yarmysh said, then added: "I personally have no fear. If they raid our homes, if they detain us, I tell myself, we must be doing everything right." But for the moment that is, at best, cold comfort.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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| North Korea has yet to officially report any coronavirus cases. But it just quarantined 380 foreigners. Posted: 24 Feb 2020 08:23 AM PST  The majority of the quarantined individuals in the secretive, isolated country are diplomats. The nationalities of the quarantined individuals have not been identified.
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| 30 of the Best Stainless Steel Kitchen Faucets Posted: 24 Feb 2020 03:28 PM PST |
| 'Truth still matters': Judge sentences Roger Stone to 3 years in prison for obstructing Congress' Russia investigation Posted: 24 Feb 2020 10:12 AM PST  The sentence caps a tumultuous 10 days for the Justice Department. Prosecutors originally recommended seven to nine years, but they were overruled.
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| 14 products dermatologists recommend for soothing redness and rosacea Posted: 24 Feb 2020 01:59 PM PST  These products help soothe skin, minimize redness and prevent flare-ups of rosacea.
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| Trump's 'Big' China Trade Deal Has Some Really Big Problems Posted: 23 Feb 2020 09:30 AM PST  The remaining issues, such as cyber theft, cyber security, and standardization, are untouched by the Agreement and could be the source of tension in the future.
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| Tennessee continues push for executions, setting 2 more Posted: 24 Feb 2020 02:27 PM PST |
| Eleven-year-old girl with AR-15 rifle enters US statehouse to support concealed gun legislation Posted: 24 Feb 2020 02:29 PM PST  An 11-year-old girl has openly carried an AR-15 rifle into a gun legislation hearing in Idaho's capital.Bailey Nielsen – escorted by her grandfather – visited a House panel at the Idaho Statehouse to support legislation allowing visitors to the state who can legally posses firearms to carry concealed handguns in urban areas.
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| China 'comprehensively bans' wildlife trade over virus Posted: 24 Feb 2020 02:14 AM PST  China on Monday declared an immediate and "comprehensive" ban on the trade and consumption of wild animals, a practice believed responsible for the deadly coronavirus outbreak. The country's top legislative committee approved a proposal "prohibiting the illegal wildlife trade, abolishing the bad habit of overconsumption of wildlife, and effectively protecting the lives and health of the people," state television reported. Previous temporary bans have been put in place, including after the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus killed hundreds of people in China and Hong Kong in 2002-03 and was also traced to wild animal consumption.
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| How the Spread of Coronavirus Could Affect Your Travel Plans Posted: 24 Feb 2020 03:28 PM PST  The coronavirus has now spread well beyond Asia, hitting the Middle East, Europe, and other parts of the globe. As new cases continue to erupt in different countries, what should American consume...
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| An official leading South Korea's battle against COVID-19 says he's a member of a doomsday cult where a virus 'super-spreader' event occurred Posted: 24 Feb 2020 02:14 PM PST  "If we have another Daegu in this country, I can't imagine what would happen," a professor said since medical resources are being stretched thin.
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| Progressive Young Turks Founder Cenk Uygur Asked Staff Not to Unionize Posted: 24 Feb 2020 11:48 AM PST  Cenk Uygur, one of the founders of the progressive news network The Young Turks, reportedly pleaded with his staff not to unionize during a meeting earlier this month, at times speaking passionately about his opposition to the move.The all-staff meeting in Culver City, California on February 12 was originally planned to handle personnel matters but drifted into a discussion about the recently announced intention of staff members to form a union, The Huffington Post reported Monday.Earlier in the day, a Twitter account purportedly representing the employees of The Young Turks announced their "decision to go union," saying they are "proud" to "put into practice in our workplace the values that our work helps bring to the screen every day.""We stand in solidarity with the renaissance of labor activism we see now in workplaces of all kinds throughout the country," the statement said.At the meeting however, Uygur reportedly gave a spirited argument against the decision to unionize, according to staffers who attended, at one point throwing his papers on the ground and reprimanding an employee."The reality is we're in a precarious position," Uygur said. "We're in a digital media landscape where almost no one makes money or is sustainable.""For a smaller digital media company, those are absolutely real considerations," he continued. "It doesn't mean you shouldn't have a union. Everyone should know the full context."The popular progressive activist and political commentator has previously expressed strong support for unions, and has endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who has suggested punishing companies that refuse to recognize unions. Uygur is currently running for Congress in California in the 2020 special election to succeed former Representative Katie Hill, who resigned after reports that she carried on a sexual relationship with a congressional staffer.On Friday, workers in the newly-formed TYT union tweeted that they are "dismayed to report" that leadership at the company "refused" their request to unionize.The company's acting chief operating officer, Jack Gerard, reassured employees that the company is not discouraging their campaign to form a union, but some staffers remained disappointed."We generally feel disappointed, but unshaken," one staffer told The Huffington Post. "We feel it's the right thing to do because of what TYT values.""This is a disappointing decision from an organization that presents itself as progressive," said the parent organization of TYT Union, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.
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| Former AG Loretta Lynch to lead investigation into Syracuse University police Posted: 24 Feb 2020 08:25 AM PST  Lynch will lead the investigation as the school has been rocked by a series of racist incidents and a call by some students to disarm campus cops.
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| Nazi Killer: This Was the Battle That Made Patton a Legend Posted: 22 Feb 2020 09:00 PM PST  But the cost of victory, like so many times during World War II, was high.
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| Forest fire near I-80, Appalachian Trail mostly contained Posted: 23 Feb 2020 09:48 PM PST  A forest fire burning through a popular hiking area that is crossed by the Appalachian Trail and a major interstate highway was about 80% contained by Monday afternoon, New Jersey fire officials said. The fire began Sunday afternoon on Mount Tammany, a steep, rugged area of New Jersey's Worthington State Forest and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area on the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border.
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| Turmoil in Malaysia as PM Mahathir resigns Posted: 24 Feb 2020 10:10 AM PST  Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad resigned Monday in a shock move as his alliance that came to power less than two years ago unravelled, but he was reappointed as interim leader by the king. It came after months of rising tensions in his "Pact of Hope" coalition, which toppled a corruption-mired government in 2018, and as some manoeuvre to block the ascent of leader-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim. The political drama began on Sunday when Anwar's rivals from the ruling coalition and opposition politicians held a series of meetings around Kuala Lumpur, stoking speculation a new alliance was taking shape.
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| Donald, Melania, Ivanka, and Jared Visited the Taj Mahal. Their Poses Spoke Volumes. Posted: 24 Feb 2020 10:14 AM PST  Melania Trump stood in front of the Taj Mahal, built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a symbol of devotion to his wife, Mumtaz, and watched her open-mouthed husband bellow to photographers.Her high-necked, ivory jumpsuit matched the exterior of the famed marble mausoleum (CNN's Kate Bennett identified the one piece as made by Trump's stylist, Hervé Pierre). It came with a moss green sash made of "vintage Indian textile" that slightly clashed with her husband's canary yellow tie. Still, the First Lady—known for looking absolutely miserable when out with her husband—appeared happy, or at least flashed a few more step-and-repeat smiles than normal. One tabloid described the pair as "loved-up," which is as big of a stretch as the notion that burger-loving Trump enjoyed his meatless Monday in India. Still, the Trumps were able to hold hands for a while, and they stood close while watching a flock of birds fly away, like two characters from a gothic poem. Trump Taj Mahal Slashed Security. Then the Murders Started.Ivanka, too, arrived with Jared Kushner in tow, though she kicked her husband out of her own picture. In a poppy-patterned turquoise dress, which matched the reflection pool she stood in front of, Ivanka mugged with her vacant-eyed but determined smile.If you have any doubts about any future political aspirations for this "presidential adviser," then (take a deep breath and) look at her Taj Mahal photo op. Despite all those "Unwanted Ivanka" detractors, just like the building itself, she endures. In Ivanka's words, such resilience is "awe inspiring." Others might call her seemingly ceaseless, free vacations (thinly) disguised as diplomacy, a horror scenario. The Taj Mahal was completed after ten years of construction in 1653, outlasting threats from the Japanese Air Force in World War II and Pakistan's bomber pilots in the late '60s. But the historic site, frequently referenced as a Wonder of the World, has succumbed to one thing: the rich and powerful using it as a backdrop to make coded statements to the world. The tradition began in earnest with the 1992 image of Princess Diana on a marble bench, her body a lithe strip in a cherry red blazer, nearly dwarfed compared to the gargantuan building behind her. She went to the site alone, without her husband Prince Charles, implying a fissure in their not-so-storybook romance. But Diana was not the first celebrity photo op at the Taj Mahal. In 1962, Jackie Kennedy took a solo trip to India and Pakistan, at a time when First Ladies did not often dabble in foreign diplomacy. For her pilgrimage to the spot, she wore a preppy blue and green sheath, projecting the Camelot-era's sunny confidence. Four years later, George Harrison snapped a selfie in front of the site, looking very anti-Kennedy in his counterculture duds: an unbuttoned cotton shirt and dark sunglasses. Since then, plenty of other young and famous men have come to the mausoleum in search of themselves, or at least a performative version of it.In 2015, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the Taj Mahal was an example of "what people can build—and what love can motivate us to build," using the elegant language of a good copywriter to plug his company after paying respects. That same year, Leonardo DiCaprio visited too, while in the country working on a climate change documentary. It was a "secret trip;" DiCaprio asked tourists not to take pictures, because he was working. In 1995, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton also sat on one of the Taj Mahal's benches for photographers, sitting close and smiling, visual code for girl power. Five years after that, the first daughter would return with her father, Bill. In wide-angle snapshots of Donald and Melania strolling in front of the Taj Mahal, the yuge building's scope leaves the pair looking tiny, nearly as tall as the shrubs which line the monument's grassy aisles. Trump, who's got a thing for screaming about his own bigness, might not appreciate how tiny he looks. But for a man who views the presidency as just another prize to show off that he's won, the Taj Mahal visit was a success. The man whose legacy was once a knockoff-named casino now has got his photo in front of the real thing, joining the star-studded ranks of those who came before him. And as we've seen from this optics-obsessed administration so many times before, the facade is all that matters. Samantha Bee Explains How Ivanka Trump Made Her Grow UpRead 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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| Canadian military stands up for women troops after viral tweet questioned 'how men could be attracted to women dressed as men' Posted: 24 Feb 2020 03:06 PM PST  "These are men's jobs," a blogger said in a viral tweet, adding that women ought to "stick to being feminine."
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