| When Biden calls a 'lid,' Democrats wet the bed — and Trump starts mocking Posted: 25 Sep 2020 02:38 PM PDT  The Democratic nominee is sticking to his strategy: Keep a low profile, and let Trump light himself on fire.
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| House Republicans Call on Attorney General Barr to Investigate Recent Spike in Anti-Catholic Hate Crimes Posted: 25 Sep 2020 10:31 AM PDT  A group of House Republicans led by Representative Jim Banks (R., Ind.) on Friday called on attorney general William Barr to investigate a recent rise in anti-Catholic hate crimes.There have been 70 instances of anti-Catholic violence in North America this year — with 57 crimes being reported since May alone — according to a letter sent to the attorney general by Banks and 15 other House Republicans.By contrast, in all of 2018, the most recent year for which data is available, the FBI reported 53 incidents of anti-Catholic hate crimes in the U.S."Bigoted criminals are threatening Catholics and undermining America's core ideal of religious liberty," Banks said in a statement. "The DOJ's Civil Rights Division exists to combat spikes in targeted violence. It needs to fulfill its duty, determine who is behind this pattern of attacks and bring them to justice."Beginning in early July, reports of "horrific and brutal attacks on Catholic and Church properties" spiked, the letter says, including in Boston where a statue of the Virgin Mary at Saint Peters Parish Church was set ablaze. One day earlier, the letter says, a man in Florida allegedly drove a van into a church with parishioners inside before spilling gasoline in the church's foyer and attempting to set it on fire.That same day, San Gabriel Mission in California was burned down. The letter calls the issue "ongoing," citing an incident in September where a man was videotaped toppling an Our Lady of Guadalupe statue in Coney Island, N.Y."As in any other instance of a rapid spike in hate crimes targeted at a specific group, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has an obligation to investigate the perpetrators of this violence and any organizational or ideological connections between them," the letter states."Crimes like these aren't just targeted at individuals and their property; they are targeted at American society as a whole," it continues. "They are motivated by a destructive impulse to harm property and persons, but also the equally warped desire to undermine America's constitutionally guaranteed rights and social trust within our communities."The Republicans' call to investigate concludes in saying the attacks threaten the physical safety of Catholics as well as the integrity of the American system, and saying the Department of Justice has an obligation to uphold both. The letter was co-signed by Representatives Andy Harris (R., Md.), Greg Steube (R., Fl.), Ted Yoho (R., Fl.), Jackie Walorski (R., Ind.), Doug Collins (R., Ga.), Jeff Duncan (R., S.C.), Rick Allen (R., Ga.), Pete Olson (R., Texas), Glenn Grothman (R., Wisc.), Chuck Fleischmann (R., Tenn.), Ron Wright (R., Texas), Paul Gosar (R., Ariz.), Mike Kelly (R., Pa.), Ken Buck (R., Colo.), and Dan Crenshaw (R., Texas).
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| Kyle Rittenhouse's mom reportedly received a 'standing ovation' from the crowd at a Republican event in Wisconsin Posted: 26 Sep 2020 11:09 AM PDT  Kyle Rittenhouse faces multiple felony charges, including homicide, after shooting three people at a Jacob Blake demonstration in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
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| Fact check: Viral meme listing Breonna Taylor 'truths' includes misinformation Posted: 26 Sep 2020 11:21 AM PDT  Lists claiming to spell out what is true about the Breonna Taylor case are not entirely right. We rate a viral meme with 7 claims to be partly false.
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| Thousands of mosques in Xinjiang demolished in recent years: report Posted: 25 Sep 2020 01:03 AM PDT  Chinese authorities have demolished thousands of mosques in Xinjiang, an Australian think tank said Friday, in the latest report of widespread human rights abuses in the restive region.
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| Yitzhak Rabin memorial: AOC pulls out of event honouring former Israeli leader Posted: 26 Sep 2020 06:16 AM PDT  Memorial due to take place next month
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| Texas man charged with capital murder in deaths of Houston friends missing since 2016 Posted: 26 Sep 2020 11:50 AM PDT  Harvey Lester Cyphers, 53, of Austin, Texas, was arrested and charged with capital murder in the 2016 deaths of friends Sidney Taylor and Krislyn Gibson, both 35, who were visiting Houston for the 2016 Urban Music Festival. They were last seen alive on April 2, 2016. Cyphers was taken to the Travis County Jail where his bond was set at $1.5 million. The U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force and the Austin Police Department are investigating.
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| 'We are not done': Tropics likely to blossom again in early October Posted: 26 Sep 2020 08:47 AM PDT  AccuWeather meteorologists warn that another round of tropical activity is likely to return in October, despite the current and brief break in tropical systems across the Atlantic Ocean Basin."After what has been a very busy stretch of tropical activity in the Atlantic, things have seemed to quiet down for the time being," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller.There were no tropical cyclones spinning across the Atlantic on Thursday for the first time since Sept. 6, or the first time in 18 days. Additionally, the National Hurricane Center did not identify any areas that they were monitoring on Thursday for the first time since late August.Miller explained further that a shift in the jet stream, which is normal at end of summer and start of autumn, is partially to thank for the current lull in activity across the basin."When the jet stream starts to shift, it changes the weather pattern across the globe. In this case, high pressure over the central Atlantic has become stronger, helping to limit if not outright suppress thunderstorm activity across the tropical Atlantic for now," Miller added. This high pressure is helping to hold an elongated area of stronger wind shear in place across the middle of the Atlantic Ocean through next week. Wind shear, which is the change in direction and wind speed at increasing heights in the atmosphere. As a result, this is a major factor in suppressing tropical activity through the end of September.Tropical waves and disturbances, although typically less robust this time of year, will continue to push off the coast of Africa. But, the wind shear in place will squash most chances for those waves to become more organized.There will still be some small pockets of low wind shear and moisture scattered about the Atlantic basin, which could be just enough to allow pop-up tropical systems to take shape. However, no area in particular looks concerning at this time.CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APPThe current pause in tropical activity across the entire Atlantic Basin won't last long, forecasters warn."We are not done with tropical season, and there are some indications that the Atlantic Basin could come back to life in the western Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico the first week or two of October," said Miller.Warm waters east of the Yucatan Peninsula to Jamaica combined with ample moisture could make this a breeding ground for tropical activity in October. The absence of that strong wind shear across the Caribbean Sea is also part of the reason that tropical development will be possible.The Caribbean, from the Leeward and Windward Islands to Central America and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, climatologically speaking, is a favorable zone for tropical development in early autumn.Should a gyre form in this zone, it will increase the chances for development in early October.A gyre is a slow-spinning wind pattern that rotates counterclockwise. The spin from the gyre tends to create an area of low pressure. Sometimes the low pressure area can become more organized and grow into a tropical system, especially if a tropical disturbance from Africa is injected into it, or a non-tropical weather system happens to stall nearby.Whether an organized tropical system develops in this zone or not, the tropical waves are likely to deliver rounds of heavy rainfall.Moisture will come from two sources, one being a stalled front from the Yucatan Peninsula to southern Florida, and the other from incoming tropical waves from the eastern Caribbean. These two factors combing over the western Caribbean Sea is expected to result in rounds of tropical downpours for Jamaica and Cuba all the way to eastern Mexico, Belize and northern Honduras.With more than one wave of heavy rain expected during the first week of October, enough rain could fall in some areas to prompt flash flooding and even mudslides in the higher elevations into the second week of October.Interests, especially from Central America, northward to the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. and Atlantic Canada, should not let their guard down. Forecasters urge those who live in hurricane-prone locations to have a plan in place and remain prepared should a system develop, especially during these uncertain times amid the pandemic, which has added challenges to storm preparations.The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season has already been one for the record books, including the number of storms that have formed so early in the season and the number of landfalls that have occurred in the United States. Forecasters say even more records may soon be broken, despite a brief lull in tropical systems churning across the basin.Storms have been forming at a record pace this year, with Tropical Storm Cristobal as well as every named storm from Edouard through Beta beating previous early formation records in the Atlantic. Most of the records that have been knocked off the list had been set during the historic 2005 hurricane season, which generated a record-setting 28 named storms in one year. The 2005 season was the only other year in which Greek letters had to be used, with storms Alpha to Zeta being named. This season is on pace to tie or perhaps break the record number of storms to achieve tropical storm status or greater. Thus far, there have been 23 such storms this year. AccuWeather meteorologists predicted that 2020 will tie the previous seasonal record set with a total of 28 named storms now projected. More storms are likely to be given Greek letters for names in the coming weeks and perhaps even into December, beyond the official end of the Atlantic hurricane season on Nov. 30.There is another troublesome record that the 2020 season has broken. The U.S. has already experienced nine landfalls from tropical systems so far this year, which ties 1916 for the most in one season.Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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| Proud Boys rally draws fewer than expected in Portland Posted: 26 Sep 2020 04:05 AM PDT  Around one thousand supporters of the right-wing Proud Boys group, some armed, rallied in Portland, Oregon on Saturday in a largely peaceful event that drew far fewer followers than had been forecast by organizers, police said. The rally in a north Portland park ended after a couple of hours with demonstrators dispersing north, the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office said. Police said they were investigating an assault of one person documenting the rally, and that a total of three people were arrested at the Proud Boys rally and a left-wing counter protest about 2 miles away that drew around 500 people.
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| Utah family sues police, claiming 'gratuitous violence' Posted: 25 Sep 2020 05:57 PM PDT  The family of a Utah man who was shot at nearly 30 times and killed as he ran from police filed a lawsuit Friday against Salt Lake City and its police department. The family of Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal family allege the officers engaged in "gratuitous violence" by shooting at him between 27 and 29 times after he was already on the ground and incapacitated. "Despite the family's attempts to negotiate, it is apparent that the SLCPD and the Salt Lake City Mayor's Office (are) not interested in real reform," the family's attorneys wrote in a statement.
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| Wisconsin Republicans tried to stifle a plan for poll workers to collect absentee ballots in parks across Madison Posted: 26 Sep 2020 07:54 AM PDT  Poll workers in Madison, Wisconsin, are expected to allow people to fill out and turn in an absentee ballot at more than 200 parks in the city.
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| Fact check: Joe Biden did not botch the Pledge of Allegiance in speech Posted: 26 Sep 2020 08:00 AM PDT  An eight-second clip from a speech purports to illustrate another Joe Biden gaffe. But what is missing is the rest of the speech.
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| Three men are accused of creating 'man cave' under Grand Central station Posted: 25 Sep 2020 11:02 AM PDT  Three railroad workers have been suspended for turning a storage room under New York's Grand Central Terminal into an unauthorized "man cave" with a television, a refrigerator, a microwave and a futon couch, officials said Thursday.
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| The Trump Administration’s Obamacare Punt Posted: 25 Sep 2020 03:26 PM PDT  A group of states has brought a longshot lawsuit to invalidate Obamacare, and the Trump administration has largely supported their position. Democrats have seized the opportunity to charge that Republicans would eliminate legal protections for people with pre-existing conditions. President Trump's counter has been to promise that he will make sure that they have protection even after Obamacare. A new executive order puts that promise into writing without explaining how he would keep it. What Republicans are telling voters concerned about this issue is: Trust us. The flaw in the political strategy is that they generally don't.A significant number of people with chronic conditions had difficulty getting affordable insurance before Obamacare. The law dealt with the problem by prohibiting insurers from discriminating on the basis of health status. If you have a chronic condition, they have to sell you the same policy at the same rate they would offer someone in perfect health. That regulation raises the cost of health insurance for healthy people and thus discourages them from buying it. (It also creates an incentive for insurers to design policies that are more attractive to healthy than to sick people.)When they tried to legislate a replacement to Obamacare in 2017, Republicans sought to let states relax that regulation. Under their proposal, states could have required insurers to offer the same policies at the same rates to all customers, regardless of health status, so long as they had previously maintained coverage. That way, people would have had an incentive to purchase insurance while healthy, bringing premiums down. States would have been allowed to make this change only if they had shown that they had credible plans to take care of those who fell through the cracks.This would not have been a return to the pre-Obamacare situation. People would have had much greater ability to maintain continuous coverage than they did back then, thanks both to new forms of federal assistance (tax credits created under Obamacare and largely maintained under Republican replacements) and to the requirement that insurers offer affordable coverage to those who already had it. High-risk pools to assist the uninsured, which had been inadequate to handle the problem before Obamacare, would have much more easily helped a smaller population in need. But Republicans in Congress, largely unfamiliar with the ins and outs of health policy, did not make the case for their approach.Republicans now have three basic choices in answering the question of how they would help people with pre-existing conditions if they replaced Obamacare or courts invalidated it. The first would be to promise that they would reenact Obamacare's stringent regulation and provide subsidies for those who need it to afford the high premiums it necessitates -- essentially re-creating a lot of Obamacare. The second would be to promise to enact continuous-coverage protections of the type they proposed in 2017. And the third would be to do nothing, telling people with pre-existing conditions that they are on their own (even though the paucity of cheap, renewable catastrophic policies is largely the result of government policies).Our preference would be the second option. The Trump administration, unable to decide among these options, is instead, effectively, promising to choose among them at some future date when the courts have struck down Obamacare or Republicans have unified control in Washington. That refusal to choose lets the Democrats hang the third position around Republican necks while also doing nothing to dislodge Obamacare. It also lets Democrats say that Republicans are dodging the question instead of leveling with the voters. Which is, unfortunately, true.
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| Girlfriend of Dating App Killer ‘Got Off Sexually’ on Torture: Prosecutors Posted: 26 Sep 2020 01:21 PM PDT  Bailey Boswell, the woman accused of helping her boyfriend strangle a 24-year-old wooed through Tinder, "got off sexually" from talking about killing and torture, prosecutors alleged on Friday, as the bombshell trial involving claims of a vampire sex cult began.Boswell, 26, is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and improper disposal of human remains for her role in the 2017 slaying and dismemberment of Sydney Loofe, a cashier at a Lincoln home-improvements store.Prosecutors allege Boswell conspired for weeks with her boyfriend, Aubrey Trail, 52, to lure Loofe to her death. Loofe was missing for 19 days after the Tinder date before her body was found in garbage bags scattered among ditches and farm fields in rural Nebraska.Dating App Murder Suspect Cuts Own Throat in Crazy Courtroom OutburstLast July, Trail was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder after jurors heard from witnesses who said the 52-year-old convinced his "cult" members he was a flying, mind-reading vampire with a coven of a dozen witches—who he claimed would gain their powers by killing people.During his dramatic trial—in which he cut his own throat "several times"—he claimed Loofe was accidentally strangled during a "sex party.""They will tell you that Bailey Boswell got off sexually talking about those kinds of things," Assistant Attorney General Sandra Allen said Friday, describing three women who will testify against Boswell.In opening statements in Dawson County Court on Friday, prosecutors claimed the 26-year-old was a willing participant in the sinister murder plot, pointing to evidence that the couple had conspired to lure several young women into their lifestyle.The three women testifying for the prosecution are set to detail Boswell and Trail's "rules"—including not wearing clothes in the apartment and participating in group sex—and frequent discussions about "killing and torture.""Some of these people are just pieces of the puzzle. And they might not make sense when you hear them individually," Allen said, according to the Omaha-World Herald, adding that in the end "it will all make sense to you."Allen told the 15-person jury that prior to Loofe's disappearance on Nov. 15, 2017, she had gushed to a friend about a future second date with Boswell, whom she described as her "dream girl." But prosecutors allege Trail and Boswell messaged Loofe on Tinder under the name "Audrey" with the intent of "killing, torture, and sex." (Tinder was formerly owned by IAC, the parent corporation of The Daily Beast.)Allen said cellphone data tracked the 26-year-old and her 52-year-old boyfriend the day of the killing, showing that they followed Loofe to work and bought a hack saw, utility knife, boxes of trash bags, four roasting pans, and duct tape.Dating App Grifters Charged in Nebraska Woman Sydney Loofe's MurderThat night, while Loofe was on a date with Boswell, Trail strangled the 24-year-old with an extension cord and then used a "fine-toothed saw" to dismember her body, prosecutors alleged. According to court documents, Trail confessed to the murder and told authorities Boswell helped clean up the crime scene.The morning after the date, Loofe was reported missing when she didn't show up for work at Menards. Nineteen days later, after an extensive search and a manhunt for Trail and Bowell, authorities found her body about an hour-and-a-half drive from her apartment complex outside of Lincoln.In a Facebook video after her arrest, Boswell explained she met Loofe on Tinder and they "drove around Lincoln, smoked weed [and] had a great time." She took Loofe on another date the following evening, she said."I gave her my number. We were planning to go to the casino that weekend," Boswell said. "I haven't heard from her since." Allen said that, at the end of the video, Bowell added: "I don't know where she's at. I really hope you find her."Boswell's defense attorney, however, poked holes at the prosecution's case and witnesses during his Friday opening statement, cautioning jurors against thinking emotionally."Look at the state's evidence critically," Todd Lancaster said, according to the Lincoln Journal Star. "They want you to be emotional in this case."Lancaster, who revealed prosecutors will be calling Loofe's mother as their first witness on Monday, stressed jurors will be "assaulted" by photos of the deceased 24-year-old and will hear emotional testimony."Remember when you start getting emotional, when you start getting upset about this, think about why the state's giving you that evidence," the defense attorney said. "It's because their case is weak and they want to rile your emotions up."Dating App Murder Suspect Aubrey Trail Convicted of Murdering Sydney LoofeDuring his trial, Trail testified that Loofe was accidentally strangled during a "sex party" that the 24-year-old had voluntarily agreed to participate in with him and Boswell. He said that Boswell helped him dispose of the body. The admission came after Trial stunned the Saline County courtroom when he cut his own throat before falling out of his wheelchair and yelling, "Bailey is innocent, and I curse you all.""I used people for money, I used people for sex… [killing someone] was counterproductive," Trail testified, according to the Omaha-World Herald, before adding: "I can't bring Sydney back. I didn't mean to, but I did."A 22-year-old woman who claimed to be a follower of Trail's alleged "cult" took the stand in his trial and told jurors she joined the pair's depraved world the summer before Loofe was killed. She described how the 52-year-old convinced her she'd need to kill someone and "take their last breath" in order to obtain her magical powers, according to the Norfolk Daily News.She said that she met Trail after communicating with Boswell via Tinder, and the 52-year-old showed her photos of women he claimed had witch powers. She said Boswell was called the "Queen Witch" and Trail referred to himself as "Daddy," NET Nebraska reported.It wasn't clear if the 22-year-old would be one of the three women to testify against Boswell, but Lancaster urged jurors to be skeptical about these testimonies."Do their stories match up?" Lancaster said. "You're going to hear some crazy things from these women, things that you'll shake your heads at. Some of what you hear is going to leave you with more questions than answers."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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| Federal judge blocks Texas’ elimination of straight-ticket voting Posted: 26 Sep 2020 11:59 AM PDT  Democrats sued the state in March to overturn the Texas Legislature's removal of straight-ticket voting.
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| As U.S., China squabble at U.N., a plea - and warning - from one of world's smallest states Posted: 26 Sep 2020 01:05 PM PDT  As China and the United States feuded at the United Nations this week over COVID-19 and climate, one of the world's smallest states pleaded for detente. "Micronesia asks our American and Chinese friends to reinforce their cooperation and friendship with each other ... to achieve what is best for our global community," the Federated States of Micronesia President David Panuelo told the U.N. General Assembly in a video address.
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| A pregnant woman jumped into the ocean to save her husband from a shark attack 'without hesitation' after she saw blood in the water Posted: 26 Sep 2020 02:56 AM PDT  Margot Dukes-Eddy sprang into action after seeing the shark's dorsal fin and blood spilling into the water next to where her husband had gotten in.
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| 'Be very careful in the middle of the street': People have driven into protests 104 times this summer Posted: 26 Sep 2020 05:39 PM PDT  Amid thousands of protests nationwide this summer, dozens of drivers have plowed into crowds of protesters marching in roadways.
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| Jewish teens say life on TikTok comes with anti-Semitism Posted: 25 Sep 2020 09:08 AM PDT  Regardless of content, Jewish teens say they are bombarded. "It definitely affects me. It gets to me."
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| Cadets among 26 people killed in Ukraine military plane crash Posted: 25 Sep 2020 07:16 PM PDT  A total of 26 people, most of them air cadets, have been killed in a military plane crash in Ukraine. Footage of the crash released by officials on social media showed the smouldering remains of the Antonov-26 transport plane. Most of the dead were students of the Kharkiv National Air Force University, the air force said in a statement. There were 27 people on board, 20 cadets and seven crew. On Saturday, the death toll rose after three more bodies were found under the charred remains of the plane and one of the two survivors died in hospital from extensive burns. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the crash as a "terrible tragedy". "We are urgently creating a commission to investigate all the circumstances and causes of the tragedy," he wrote on Facebook. Mr Zelensky visited the only remaining survivor in a military hospital in Kharkiv, posting a picture of the 20-year-old cadet lying in bed with a bandaged head and right arm. He said the cadet, Vyacheslav Zolochevsky, "came to his senses near the wreckage of the An-26." "The plane was destroyed, there was fire, darkness and bodies all around. One of the guys was burning," he said on Facebook, adding that Zolochevsky rushed to try and save him. The second cadet died in hospital. Doctors said that Mr Zolochevsky suffered a concussion but his life was not in danger.
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| Will Democrats grow backbones amid Trump-Republican rush to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg? Posted: 26 Sep 2020 06:24 AM PDT  Most Americans didn't vote for Trump or the GOP Senate. The time has come to consider new states, more justices and 18-year Supreme Court term limits.
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| Kenosha shooting suspect Kyle Rittenhouse fights extradition charges Posted: 25 Sep 2020 12:05 PM PDT  A 17-year-old from Illinois accused of killing two Kenosha, Wis., protesters days after Jacob Blake was shot by Kenosha police fought his return to Wisconsin on Friday to face homicide charges that could put him in prison for life.
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| Trump Jr calls for 'army' of supporters to 'protect ballots' as he lies about Dems trying to steal election Posted: 25 Sep 2020 02:03 PM PDT  'We need every able-bodied man and woman to join Army for Trump's election security operation'
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| Air Force Begins Live-Fire Testing on New Helicopter, Jolly Green II Posted: 25 Sep 2020 01:33 PM PDT  The Air Force's new HH-60W combat rescue helicopter, known as the "Jolly Green II," has begun live-fire ground testing.
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| Mexican farmers revolt over sending water to US during drought Posted: 25 Sep 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Country has one month to deliver outstanding 289m cubic metres and ensure water for 14 major cities and growersMexican farmers in the drought-stricken state of Chihuahua are pitted against riot squads from the national guard in an increasingly violent standoff over their government's decision to ship scarce water supplies to the United States.The confrontation has already led to bloodshed: earlier this month, a woman was shot dead and her husband was wounded after guardsmen opened fire on farmers wielding sticks and stones.The Mexican government, meanwhile, has accused protesters of being backed by opposition politicians and sabotaging La Boquilla dam, which holds some of the water it wants to send north.The standoff in Chihuahua underscores the severity of water shortages as the climate crisis provokes more severe droughts and puts agriculture under strain.It has also raised questions about why Mexico's nationalist president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has put such a priority on repaying water debts to the US rather than going to bat for Mexican farmers."In all the history of Chihuahua, the army has never been sent to take the dams," said Mario Mata Carrasco, a federal lawmaker from Chihuahua. "Instead of fighting organised crime and narcotics traffickers, they're fighting our farmers."Disputes over water are nothing new on the high plains of Chihuahua state, where rainfall is becoming increasingly irregular. Neither is sending water to the US, which is required under the terms of a 1944 treaty.But the unrest has grown amid US demands that Mexico meets its five-year quota and completes the transfer of more than 100bn gallons by 24 October.Local farmers insist any shortfall on that quota can be repaid in the future, and argue that water held behind Mexican dams – for which they have concessions – has never been part of the agreement."When the government comes to steal our property, we don't have any other option but to defend it," said Raymundo Soto, a spokesman for the farmers. "The international water treaty clearly establishes alternatives for resolving these problems."Under the treaty, Mexico sends water from rivers in the Rio Grande basin to the United States, which in turn sends Mexico water in the Colorado River, further to the west.The treaty was negotiated when Mexico and the US were second world war allies and "is very favourable to Mexico", tweeted Lorenzo Meyer, a Mexican historian and commentator. "Not fulfilling our treaty obligations would be ending an agreement that would be impossible to improve upon."Both US and Mexican officials say water is flowing from Chihuahua to make up the deficit. But time is running out: Mexico still has to transfer almost a year's worth of water to meet the deadline.Mexico's president, commonly known as Amlo, insists Mexico will comply with the treaty. He also revealed that Texas' governor, Greg Abbott, had expressed impatience over Mexico falling behind in its water deliveries.Amlo has repeatedly alleged that big pecan farmers, backed by political interests, are behind the protests."They've been doing their best to get us into a conflict with the United States," Amlo recently told reporters. "It's all a plan to take electoral advantage of the situation."Mexico has fallen behind in its water payments for the current five-year cycle – and not for the first time, farmers say. They argue that Mexico can postpone payment in drought conditions – something Mexican and US officials say is off the table because Mexico was in deficit at the end of the last cycle in 2015.As of 24 September, the country had met roughly 86% of its treaty obligations, according to Roberto Velasco Álvarez, Mexican undersecretary for North America.Mexico now has a month to deliver the outstanding 289m cubic metres and ensure water for 14 major cities and growers in the lower parts of the Rio Grande, said Velasco."There are concerns for other water users, especially urban users," he said, adding: "Chihuahua is illegally retaining water in its dams."But farmers say they have already been forced to adjust to a drier environment by reducing planting. Meanwhile, the drilling of illegal wells is rampant.Many in Chihuahua fear that they may soon see a replay of a severe mid-1990s drought which forced many farmers to migrate, said Jesús Valenciano, a member of the legislature."They went illegally to the United States – and never returned," he recalled. "People don't want this to happen again. That's why there's such a conflict."
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| Pope to UN: Use COVID crisis to come out better, not worse Posted: 25 Sep 2020 09:18 AM PDT  Pope Francis urged world leaders Friday to use the coronavirus emergency as an opportunity to reform the injustices of the global economy and the "perverse logic" of the nuclear deterrence doctrine, warning that increased isolationist responses to problems "must not prevail." Francis laid out his appeal for greater involvement and influence of the United Nations in protecting the poor, migrants and the environment in a videotaped speech Friday to the U.N. General Assembly, held mostly virtually this year because of the pandemic. Francis said the world has a choice to make as it emerges from the COVID-19 crisis and addresses the grave economic impact it has had on the planet's most vulnerable: greater solidarity, dialogue and multilateralism, or self-retreat into greater nationalism, individualism and elitism.
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| New York reports 1,000 coronavirus cases for first time in months Posted: 26 Sep 2020 10:03 AM PDT  For the first time since June 5, New York state, the home of the United States' worst coronavirus outbreak since the pandemic began earlier this year, reported just over 1,000 new COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour period.Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced Saturday that the Empire State crossed the quadruple-digit threshold, though he didn't specifically address the number, saying only that New Yorkers should continue to practice social distancing, wear masks, and follow other mitigation guidelines.The state has seen a consistently upward trend in cases over the last week, which has prompted some concern as businesses and college campuses reopen, and officials have noted that spikes in some neighborhoods in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens are especially worrisome. But New York also continues to see a high number of daily tests. Data collected by the state shows the positivity rate has remained at 1 percent, or just a tick below, for some time now, indicating that the high volume of tests is a significant factor in the case increase.A new study published by The Lancet on Friday that searched for COVID-19 prevalence in a large nationwide sample of patients on dialysis found that about one-third of those tested in New York showed signs of a previous coronavirus infection. In terms of the study, that's the highest of any state in the U.S. and while it's far from what experts have pinpointed as the target for herd immunity, those experts have also pointed out that numbers like that can still help slow the spread of the virus. Read more at Bloomberg and NBC New York.More stories from theweek.com America is the Holy Roman Empire of the 21st century Democrats need to bring retirement back to politics Trump officially nominates Amy Coney Barrett for Supreme Court
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| American faces two years in prison for posting unflattering TripAdvisor review of Thailand island resort Posted: 26 Sep 2020 06:14 AM PDT  An American could face up to two years in prison after leaving a negative review for a hotel in Thailand on TripAdvisor. The Sea View Resort on Koh Chang island claims Wesley Barnes launched a barrage of complaints against them after his stay, forcing them to take legal action. "The Sea View Resort owner filed a complaint that the defendant had posted unfair reviews on his hotel on the Tripadvisor website," Colonel Thanapon Taemsara of Koh Chang police told AFP. Mr Barnes is accused of causing "damage to the reputation of the hotel", as well as arguing with them during his stay about a corkage fee for alcohol brought to the hotel. He was arrested by immigration police and returned to Koh Chang for a brief detention, but is now out on bail. Mr Barnes, who works in Thailand, had penned multiple reviews on different sites over the past few weeks, the hotel alleges. In one posted in July, he claimed to have encountered "unfriendly staff" who "act like they don't want anyone here". Another post, which accused the hotel of "modern day slavery", was removed by TripAdvisor for violating its guidelines. The Sea View Hotel said they only took legal action to discourage further reviews from being posted, and had attempted to contact Mr Barnes beforehand. "We chose to file a complaint to serve as a deterrent, as we understood he may continue to write negative reviews week after week for the foreseeable future," the hotel said. Thailand has notorious anti-defamation laws that have faced condemnation from human rights organisations in the past. They argue the laws can be used to stifle free expression. If found guilty for defamation, offenders can face two years imprisonment and a 200,000 baht (£4,965) fine. In December 2019, a Thai journalist was handed a two year sentence for libelling a chicken farm on Twitter. Suchanee Cloitre was convicted for a post she made about a legal dispute over working conditions at the Thammakaset farm. "I'm shocked and did not think the sentence would be so harsh," Ms Suchanee told Reuters after the sentencing.
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| Federal judge delivers a blow to AG Barr in the battle against former FBI deputy director McCabe Posted: 25 Sep 2020 04:00 PM PDT  A federal judge has ruled that Andrew McCabe's lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice can continue
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| Sole Witness Who Heard Cops Announce Themselves in Breonna Taylor Raid Changed His Story Posted: 26 Sep 2020 02:53 PM PDT  This week, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron made the bombshell announcement that the cops who fatally shot Breonna Taylor would not be charged with killing her, calling their use of force in the March raid "justified to protect themselves."In that justification, he said that one witness corroborated the three officers' insistence that they knocked and identified themselves at Taylor's Louisville home while executing a search warrant in connection with a narcotics investigation. It contradicted claims from Taylor's boyfriend, Kenny Walker, and 11 other residents, who said they didn't hear the cops announce themselves. Instead, Walker thought he was being burglarized and fired a warning shot that triggered a tragic chain of events.But, according to documents and audio obtained by VICE News on Saturday, that sole witness initially told investigators days after the March 13 raid that he didn't actually hear officers Brett Hankison, Jonathan Mattingly, and Myles Cosgrove announce themselves.The witness—identified by VICE as Aarin Sarpee but by other outlets and public records as Aaron Julue Sarpee—was picking up his daughter from a unit above Taylor's when the raid took place.It wasn't until he was interviewed a second time, about two months after the raid by a sergeant in LMPD's Public Integrity Unit, that Sarpee said he heard police say, "This is the cops."Sarpee's flip-flop, the latest twist in a case that has made Taylor an icon in the Black Lives Matter movement, calls into question the strength of Cameron's case and the grand jury report, which state officials are demanding be made public."I never had faith in Daniel Cameron to begin with, I knew he was too inexperienced with a job of this caliber. I knew he chose to be at the wrong side of the law," Tamika Palmer, Taylor's mother, said in a Friday statement. "My hope was that he knew he had the power to do the right thing, that he had the power to start the healing of this city, that he had the power to help mend over 400 years of oppression. What he helped me realize is that it will always be us against them. That we are never safe."On Wednesday, a grand jury indicted only Hankison, though only for recklessly firing shots that endangered people in other units. Mattingly and Cosgrove—the cop who fired the shot that killed Taylor—weren't charged.Cameron's charging recommendations were at least partly based on Sarpee's testimony, since the attorney general said Wednesday that investigators had "an independent witness" corroborate the officer's account.No Cops Charged With Killing Breonna Taylor"My office was not tasked with determining if this was a tragedy, as it was," Cameron said Wednesday, admitting that it was unlikely more charges would be laid. "My job was to put emotions aside and investigate facts to see if state law was violated."Wednesday's charges came more than six months after a "no-knock" warrant was issued for Taylor's apartment as part of a controversial narcotics investigation into the 26-year-old's ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover.According to VICE, LMPD's Public Integrity Unit first contacted Sarpee a week after the shooting. The officers involved in Taylor's warrant had previously said Sarpee was outside the apartment upstairs and got in an argument with Hankison as they were banging on Taylor's door.When Sgt. Jason Vance asked Sarpee if he heard anyone identify themselves as law enforcement, he answered: "No, nobody identified themselves."At the end of the March 21 conversation, Vance told Sarpee investigators would be calling him again to conduct a formal interview. Investigation notes suggest attempts were made to contact Sarpee but he didn't speak to the Public Integrity Unity again until May 15.In a seven minute call, Sgt. Amanda Seelye pressed Sarpee on whether he knew the individuals entering Taylor's home were officers and if he heard them announce themselves.This time, Sarpee said he heard police identify themselves, a change that suddenly corroborated the testimonies of the officers at the scene."It's been so long now," Sarpee told Seelye on the call. "I recall some of it."Sarpee also told The New York Times that he saw the officers as he stepped out onto the exterior staircase of Taylor's apartment unit with his 2-year-old. He said that before the officers ordered him to go back inside the apartment, he heard at least three loud knocks on Taylor's door and heard at least one of the officers scream "Police!" Sarpee, however, insisted to the Times he only heard them say the statement once.Despite Sarpee's changing story, his claim to have heard police from the front of an apartment doesn't offer complete clarity on whether Taylor and her boyfriend would have heard it from their bedroom towards the back of their unit.Sarpee did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast's request for comment. VICE reported that the witness declined to speak with them, saying he had to speak with his lawyer first. The LMPD and Attorney General's office also did not immediately respond to request for comment.Hankison was fired in June for "extreme violations" of police protocol after "wantonly and blindly" firing 10 shots into Taylor's apartment–including several shots through the patio door and window, and into a neighbor's apartment—after Walker fired an initial shot. Mattingly, Cosgrove, and the detective who requested the warrant were put on administrative leave. Six more officers are reportedly under investigation for their role in the raid.Earlier this month, the city of Louisville reached a $12 million settlement with Taylor's family in their wrongful death lawsuit.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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| Taiwan's armed forces strain in undeclared war of attrition with China Posted: 25 Sep 2020 10:59 PM PDT  Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen visited a low-key but critical maintenance base for fighter jet engines on Saturday, offering encouragement as the Chinese-claimed island's armed forces strain in the face of repeated Chinese air force incursions. This month alone, China's drills have included its jets crossing the mid-line of the sensitive Taiwan Strait and exercising near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the South China Sea. Beijing regards Taiwan as a wayward province and has never renounced the use of force to bring the democratic island under its control.
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| Marine Lance Corporal Apprehended, Charged with Armed Robbery After Fleeing Camp Lejeune Posted: 25 Sep 2020 07:47 PM PDT  Lance Cpl. Shawn M. Miller was last seen around 6 p.m. Thursday in Jacksonville, the town outside Lejeune.
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| Innocent Madoff investors must pay back profits, court rules Posted: 24 Sep 2020 07:32 PM PDT  The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan upheld lower-court decisions in cases filed by a court-appointed trustee.
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| 'Enough is enough': China attacks US at Security Council Posted: 25 Sep 2020 09:21 AM PDT  China on Thursday lashed out at the United States at a high-level UN meeting over its criticism on the coronavirus, with its envoy declaring, "Enough is enough!"
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| Presidential debate coach previews Trump vs. Biden Posted: 26 Sep 2020 04:11 AM PDT  Presidential debate coach Brett O'Donnell breaks down past Trump, Biden debates performances on 'Fox & Friends.'
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| Kim Jong-un apologises for killing of South Korean official - South Posted: 25 Sep 2020 06:38 AM PDT  Seoul said the man was shot dead and set alight while allegedly trying to defect to the North.
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| A white supremacist gang member was killed during a shootout with police in California Posted: 26 Sep 2020 05:57 AM PDT  Christopher Michael Straub hid and then ambushed deputies after fleeing from a traffic stop, according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office.
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