| Biden pleads with Republicans to wait until 2021 to confirm Supreme Court nominee Posted: 27 Sep 2020 03:58 PM PDT  Democratic presidential nominee opposes Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg
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| With Breonna Taylor protests, COVID-19 and record homicides, Louisville police are in crisis Posted: 27 Sep 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Breonna Taylor's death has catapulted Louisville into the national spotlight and made its police force a focal point of the cry for racial justice.
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| An Irish tourist in Rome defaced the Colosseum by carving his initials into the walls of the ancient structure, according to a report Posted: 26 Sep 2020 07:34 AM PDT  The tourist was reported by security guards on Monday for defacing the inside of the historic site using a metal point, CNN reported.
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| Two People Injured After Driver Speeds Into Southern California Protest Posted: 27 Sep 2020 08:16 AM PDT  A man and a woman suffered "major injuries" after the car struck them and were transported to the hospital, but are expected to survive
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| Chinese Americans look to new platforms as WeChat's future remains uncertain Posted: 26 Sep 2020 09:26 AM PDT  The ban "significantly weakens the fabric of the Chinese immigrant community" in America, says one expert.
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| Heat wave brings 'critical risks' of wildfires to California Posted: 27 Sep 2020 02:10 PM PDT  A heat wave in the Western U.S., combined with windy conditions in California, have increased the risk of fire in an area already battered by blazes.
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| 'Taiwan is Taiwan': China name dispute moves from birds to climate change Posted: 27 Sep 2020 12:53 AM PDT  The dispute over international organisations referring to Taiwan as Chinese has moved from wild bird conservation to climate change, after a global alliance of mayors began listing Taiwanese cities as belonging to China on its website. China has ramped up pressure on international groups and companies to refer to democratic, self-ruled Taiwan as being part of China, to the anger of Taiwan's government and many of its people. This month a Taiwan bird conservation body said it had been expelled from a partnership with a British-based wildlife charity after it demanded the Taiwan group change its name and sign documents stating it did not support Taiwan's independence.
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| Army Leaders Want to Keep Pace with Diversity in Changing US Population Posted: 27 Sep 2020 07:44 AM PDT  The plan promotes diversity through 2025 in an attempt to adapt to the country's shifting demographics.
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| Woman arrested after driving car into California protest Posted: 27 Sep 2020 10:10 AM PDT  A woman who authorities say drove a car into a crowd during a Southern California demonstration against police brutality, striking and injuring two people, has been arrested for investigation of attempted murder and assault. The Orange County Sheriff's Department said in a statement late Saturday that 40-year-old Tatiana Turner of Long Beach was booked into jail. Turner drove a car into a crowd at a demonstration against police brutality and systemic racism Saturday that drew protesters and counter-protesters to the city of Yorba Linda, the statement said.
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| Pelosi expresses hope that deal can be made with White House on COVID-19 relief Posted: 27 Sep 2020 01:30 PM PDT  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Sunday that she thinks an agreement can be reached with the White House on a coronavirus relief package and that talks were continuing.
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| Lindsey Graham: We need a ninth Supreme Court justice, because "the courts will decide" the election Posted: 25 Sep 2020 08:38 PM PDT  "The courts will hear all of our complaints," the GOP senator says on "Fox & Friends." "The courts will decide"
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| Where Law Ends review: why Mueller failed to hold Trump to account Posted: 26 Sep 2020 10:00 PM PDT  Andrew Weissmann, a senior member of the special counsel's team, has written an alarming and necessary bookThe Mueller investigation ended a year and a half ago, but the aftershocks never stopped. A passel of books highlight the omissions and missteps of the special counsel's office. The Senate intelligence committee report fills in some of the gaps on Russian interference in the 2016 election.Although Robert Mueller found no basis for conspiracy charges, collusion remains a partisan buzzword, obstruction of justice a live concern. The harshest criticism leveled at Mueller is that he blinked.Specifically, the special counsel failed to issue a grand jury subpoena to Donald Trump, needlessly ceding the advantage to the White House. Then, his report went silent on whether grounds existed for charging the president with obstruction of justice, despite analysis that revealed such grounds. The weight of the presidency and fear of its occupant triumphed."Had we used all available tools to uncover the truth, undeterred by the onslaught of the president's unique powers to undermine our efforts?" asks Andrew Weissmann. "I know the hard answer to that simple question: we could have done more."That makes Where Law Ends unique among Trump-themed books. The author was a member of Mueller's team, supervisor of the prosecution of Paul Manafort. He is both admiring and critical of his former boss, which lends credibility and originality. Pathos is part of the package too.Weissman is a former federal prosecutor whose career intersected with Mueller's, FBI general counsel when Mueller was director. Before the FBI, Weissmann had a reputation for zealousness. In the Enron case, he successfully prosecuted Arthur Andersen, only to see the supreme court overturn the conviction and to watch the accounting firm close.As a younger government lawyer, Weissmann prosecuted Felix Sater. In 2015, according to the Mueller Report, Sater explored the "possibility of a Trump Tower project in Moscow while working with the Trump Organization".Under an apt subtitle, "Inside the Mueller Investigation", Weissmann offers a detailed look at why the special counsel reached the conclusions he did, and expands on how Bill Barr ambushed Mueller with his four-page summary of a 400-plus-page report."We had just been played by the attorney general," Weissmann writes.Weissman expresses anger toward Barr but points the finger at Mueller: "Part of the reason the president and his enablers were able to spin the report was that we had left the playing field open for them to do so."He is convinced of the substantive basis of an obstruction claim, even if justice department guidelines precluded the indictment of a sitting president. The "facts of the [James] Comey firing appeared to satisfy all the elements of … obstruction of justice", Weissmann writes. "There was simply no other credible conclusion one could reach."Where Law Ends also worries about the future of the US body politic."I now know that the death of our democracy is possible," Weissmann writes. "Fixing it is possible too."That is the book's last line. Weissmann's rhetoric is hot – but not overblown.Trump has publicly refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power. Take him literally and seriously, especially when polls show Biden up in Ohio, with Iowa and Georgia close."We're going to have to see what happens, you know that" is one for the ages. Whether it is a historic blip or a harbinger remains to be determined.Where Law Ends is also a guide to how the Mueller investigation divvied up its work. Sections on the case of Michael Cohen are particularly instructive. Trump's fixer was charged by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York – a strategic decision.Weissmann explains that the investigation of potential campaign finance violations fell outside Mueller's purview. He could have sought permission to charge Cohen from Rod Rosenstein, then deputy attorney general. Or he could hand the case to SDNY, where in Weissmann's words, "prosecutors have free rein to examine all potential federal crimes".Contrary to the hype surrounding the early days of the Mueller investigation, this was no "dream team". In Weissmann's telling, senior members did not possess supervisory experience, and in one instance a lawyer was hired simply because he had been a supreme court clerk. Those looking to work for Mueller were prone to both cockiness and hand-wringing, traits Mueller himself found distasteful.At one point, Mueller turned to Jeannie Rhee, a veteran prosecutor, and said she embodied the "pizazz" he wanted, but which appeared lacking in the applicant pool. Rhee, Weissmann writes, possessed "a kind of can-do, combustible energy" which is always in high demand and short supply.Weissmann upbraids Aaron Zebley, another Mueller deputy, for being overly cautious. Weissmann and Rhee concluded that the broad issue of Russian election interference was within their purview. For Zebley, the focus was limited to possible "links and coordination" between Russia and the Trump campaign.Weissmann hearkens back to the generals who served Abraham Lincoln, comparing Zebley to the "timorous" George McClellan, reluctant to fight the Confederates, and presenting himself and Rhee as approximations of Philip Sheridan and Ulysses S Grant. Sheridan helped defeat Robert E Lee at Appomattox Courthouse. Grant, who accepted Lee's surrender, would be elected president.Perhaps Weissmann overstates. William Barnett, the FBI agent assigned to the case, contends that the lawyers, not his bureau's investigators, drove most of the decisions. In a recent filing by the government in the Michael Flynn case, Barnett also says the special counsel's office was both permeated by groupthink and out to "get" the president. Either way, Where Law Ends is a dispiriting work. It is not simply about the Mueller investigation, or Trump. It is also an examination of where America stands.Weissmann contrasts Trump's inauguration with protest marches held the day after, and observes the country's changing demographics. Mindful of history, he ponders whether the civil war ever ended. Looking at the coming election, that is an open question. America's fissures are once again on display.
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| Remains of 117 Chinese soldiers killed in Korean War returned Posted: 26 Sep 2020 11:19 PM PDT  The remains of 117 Chinese soldiers who died in the 1950-53 Korean War were returned to China on Sunday in an annual repatriation delayed this year by the coronavirus outbreak. South Korea handed over the remains at a ceremony at Incheon airport outside Seoul, and a Chinese military transport plane flew them to Shenyang, a northeastern Chinese city near the North Korean border. Chinese soldiers fought on the North Korean side against US-led forces in the South during the war on the Korean Peninsula. Most of the 117 remains were found in the Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Korea. It was the seventh annual repatriation, and the largest since the 437 returned in the first one in 2014. In all, the remains of 716 Chinese soldiers have been sent back. This year's return, originally planned for the spring, was postponed for several months because of the spread of Covid-19.
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| China's Xi says 'happiness' in Xinjiang on the rise, will keep teaching 'correct' outlook Posted: 27 Sep 2020 05:56 AM PDT  Chinese President Xi Jinping said levels of happiness among all ethnic groups in the western region of Xinjiang are rising and that China plans to keep teaching its residents a "correct" outlook on China, Xinhua news agency reported late on Saturday. China has come under scrutiny over its treatment of Uighur Muslims and claims of alleged forced-labour abuses in Xinjiang, where the United Nations cites credible reports as saying one million Muslims held in camps have been put to work.
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| Brain-eating microbe: US city warned over water supply Posted: 26 Sep 2020 10:08 PM PDT  People in Lake Jackson, Texas, are urged to take precautionary measures amid contamination concerns.
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| A USPS under fire for slowdowns now reveals it has no reliable means of tracking mail theft Posted: 27 Sep 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Anecdotal accounts suggest mail theft is on the rise in parts of the country. Postal inspectors don't have a reliable internal system to track the crime.
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| Trump's SCOTUS nomination will 'motivate voters on the left in a way we haven't seen:' Laura Fink Posted: 26 Sep 2020 10:56 AM PDT  Rebelle Communications CEO Laura Fink joins 'America's News HQ' to discuss President Trump's nomination for the Supreme Court.
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| Three Florida police officers fall ill after 'potential poisoning' on night out Posted: 27 Sep 2020 09:54 AM PDT  Investigators await test results to show whether group was drugged
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| Letters to the Editor: Black voters and everyone else have more than enough reasons to support Joe Biden Posted: 27 Sep 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Trump says the Democrats play "plantation politics." To that, one reader says Trump and the Republicans are playing "genocidal politics."
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| 100 Arrested During Unauthorized and 'Unruly' Car Rally in Maryland Posted: 27 Sep 2020 12:43 PM PDT  People at the event shared videos of confrontations that erupted between police officers and rally attendees
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| No more temperature checks? CDC changing COVID-19 screenings for international air passengers Posted: 27 Sep 2020 10:38 AM PDT  Starting Sept. 14, the U.S. will replace its current system of temperature and symptom checks with one that focuses on where travelers have been.
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| New rule may strip pollution protections from popular lakes Posted: 27 Sep 2020 06:33 AM PDT |
| 40 years after Oktoberfest attack, survivor's wounds still healing Posted: 25 Sep 2020 07:35 PM PDT  That evening on September 26, 1980, Robert Platzer, then 12, was having a great night out. He had been on fairground rides, eaten bags of sweets and even bought a helium balloon -- all that a child dreams of at the Munich Oktoberfest.
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| Analysis: Why Trump was never going to nominate a Cuban-American woman for the Supreme Court Posted: 26 Sep 2020 04:24 PM PDT  Analysis: The president's campaign has always been about white evangelical voters, and his high court pick reflected that
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| Firefighters battling a Brooklyn blaze discovered up to $1 million cash when bundles started falling on their heads Posted: 26 Sep 2020 06:46 PM PDT  According to local news, firefighters had to cut through a ceiling to extinguish the fire when cash started falling out.
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| Thousands of protesters gather to call for Netanyahu's resignation, despite a strict second lockdown Posted: 27 Sep 2020 06:43 AM PDT  Thousands of Israelis protested outside the residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, demanding his resignation over how the government has handled the coronavirus pandemic. The protests continue weeks of anti-Netanyahu demonstrations despite a strict lockdown order and one of the worst infection rates in the world. Draconian new lockdown measures came into force on Friday that closed many businesses, banned large gatherings and ordered people to stay close to their homes. Protesters say Mr Netanyahu's government is bungling the response to the pandemic. The Knesset, Israel's parliament, failed to pass a measure that would ban the right to protest more than a kilometre away from home which would have seen an end to the weekly demonstrations outside Mr Netanyahu's official residence. Mr Netanyahu rejected allegations that tougher lockdown rules were in part intended to quash the protests, which he has often called "anarchist" and "ludicrous".
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| Meng Wanzhou: The PowerPoint that sparked an international row Posted: 27 Sep 2020 04:56 PM PDT  The top Huawei executive's closely watched extradition case returns to court on Monday.
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| Niagara Falls: Free admission and other things you may not know about this tourist spot Posted: 27 Sep 2020 02:31 PM PDT  Did you know that Niagara Falls actually consists of three falls and that it's a state park that doesn't charge an admission fee?
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| Man convicted of collecting urine from boys now faces child porn charges, Ohio cops say Posted: 27 Sep 2020 09:59 AM PDT  Officials say the man liked to drink the urine he collected.
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| Russian dissident Navalny recovering faster than expected Posted: 27 Sep 2020 12:23 PM PDT  Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is recovering from the suspected assassination attempt last month faster than expected, one of his aides said Sunday. Navalny, who collapsed on a plane from Siberia to Moscow on Aug. 20 and spent nearly three weeks in a coma, was discharged last week from the Berlin hospital where he was being treated. "He is doing much better, I would say unexpectedly better," Leonid Volkov, Navalny's chief of staff, told German broadcaster RTL.
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| New Fort Hood Commander Orders Training Pause to Rebuild Soldiers' Trust Posted: 26 Sep 2020 04:39 AM PDT  Maj. Gen. John Richardson IV has launched a yearlong effort to heal the base's deeply scarred image.
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| Greece warms to EU asylum pact but refugee groups rage Posted: 26 Sep 2020 07:51 PM PDT  Greece's government has cautiously welcomed a plan from Brussels to reform the EU's shaky asylum system, but charity groups working with refugees on the ground have blasted a continued "outrageous containment policy".
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| What to expect at Trump and Biden’s first presidential debate: Yahoo News Explains Posted: 26 Sep 2020 01:06 PM PDT  On Tuesday, President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will face off in the first of three scheduled presidential debates. While the two candidates have been trading jabs via the media for years, this will be the first time either has had the opportunity to confront their opponent in person. The debate, which will be moderated by Fox News' Chris Wallace, is expected to be divided into six 15-minute blocks with questions focusing on specific topics selected by the moderator: "The Trump and Biden Records," "The Supreme Court," "COVID-19," "The Economy," "Race and Violence in our Cities," and "The Integrity of the Election." Yahoo News National Politics Reporter Brittany Shepherd explains what we can expect from the candidates on each topic based on recent statements.
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| Greece calls on Turkey to condemn flag incident on Greek island Posted: 27 Sep 2020 04:48 AM PDT |
| Salt Lake City airport just opened a massive new terminal with canyon-themed art as Delta relies on the hub as a gateway to the west – see inside Posted: 27 Sep 2020 05:43 AM PDT  The brand-new terminal comes at a $4.1 billion cost and uses immersive artwork to welcome passengers to Salt Lake City and the Mountain West.
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| Australia begins disposal of over 350 dead whales after mass stranding Posted: 26 Sep 2020 11:29 AM PDT  Officials were able to rescue 108 whales from the nation's largest-ever mass beaching.
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| Meet the groups bailing protesters nationwide from jail. They're demanding bail reform. Posted: 26 Sep 2020 04:00 AM PDT  Bail funds in Louisville and across the country won a massive financial infusion this summer as protests began in late May.
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| Maine lobster business salvaged its summer despite pandemic Posted: 26 Sep 2020 05:30 AM PDT  The pandemic has posed significant challenges for the state's lobster fishery, which is the nation's largest, but members of the industry reported a steady catch and reasonable prices at the docks. Prices for consumers and wholesalers were low in the early part of the summer but picked up in August to be about on par with a typical summer. The Maine lobster industry is in the midst of a multiyear boom, and fishermen have caught more than 100 million pounds (45,360,000 kilograms) for a record nine years in a row.
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| A Miami-Dade teacher gave her $425K life savings to a pilot. Here’s where he is today Posted: 27 Sep 2020 07:38 AM PDT  A Miami-Dade County Public Schools teacher spent a career building a $425,447 retirement nest egg. Licensed pilot Michael Atkins spent three years convincing her to loan it to him.
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