| Donald Trump Upstaged at G7 By Foreign Minister of ... Iran Posted: 25 Aug 2019 09:50 AM PDT  Jeff J Mitchell/ReutersIt looked like President Donald Trump was set up for a diplomatic ambush at the Group of Seven summit on Sunday when Iran's foreign minister suddenly flew into town.The arrival of the smooth-talking Javad Zarif at the elegant French beach resort of Biarritz, where the leaders of the seven most industrialized democracies are gathered, underscored a key conflict between Trump and the rest about how to deal with Iran's nuclear ambitions. 'Absolute Amateur Hour': Team Trump Mangles Messages to IranLast year, the U.S. pulled out of an agreement that severely limited for several years Iran's production and stockpiling of nuclear fuel and imposed an extensive inspection regime. Trump claimed the accord forged under Barack Obama was a disastrous deal, and he could do better.A senior French diplomat told reporters at the G7 summit in Biarritz that Macron informed Trump over lunch on Saturday that Zarif would be coming, and told the rest of the summit participants at dinner that night. The Trump administration imposed sanctions specifically targeting Zarif earlier this month, but when Trump was asked for a reaction after the the visit became public, his initial comment was, "No comment."Although Trump has said he would be willing to meet with Iran's leaders, they have so far declined, and a tweet from the Iranian foreign ministry stated flatly, "There will be no meetings or negotiations with the American delegation on this trip."Trump has insisted he can force Iran to make more concessions, not only about nukes, but about its missiles and extensive proxy forces outside its borders, most notably Hezbollah, and to that end the U.S. has imposed draconian sanctions crippling the Iranian economy while punishing its trading partners.Germany, France and Britain–all signatories of the Iran deal, and all represented at the G7–have sought desperately to shore up the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the agreement is called. They share Trump's view that missiles and proxies are serious issues, but they believe it makes more sense to keep the nuclear agreement that exists rather than throw all the cards up in the air.To try to keep Iran on board, the Europeans have been discussing various mechanisms to try to bypass the American sanctions, but with little success. Meanwhile, step by calculated step, Iran terminates bits of the JCPOA. As Iran-U.S. Tensions Rise, Hezbollah Readies for War With IsraelIn June, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, also at the G7 this weekend, visited Tehran to try to calm the situation, but to no avail. Indeed, holes were blown in a Japanese tanker by mysterious, presumably Iranian, agents at the same time as Abe's visit.It's likely that Zarif's visit to Biarritz is mainly political theater orchestrated by Macron, and there is little hope it will resolve an increasingly dangerous standoff between the U.S. and Iran. Already we have seen attacks on shipping near the strategic Strait of Hormuz and the recent British seizure, then release against U.S. objections, of an Iranian tanker at Gibraltar. Last month, when Iran downed an American drone it claimed was over its territorial waters, Trump gave a green light, then a red one, to a retaliatory attack that would have killed a number of Iranian personnel.Meanwhile, as The Daily Beast has reported, Iran's clients in Lebanon and Syria, the Hezbollah militias, are preparing for war with Israel as part of a wider conflagration, and Israel is attacking Iranian installations in Iraq as well as Syria.What Zarif's visit to the G7 summit might do is calm the situation and buy some 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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| Man found with mummified remains called dangerous to society Posted: 26 Aug 2019 02:11 PM PDT  Prosecutors called a New Jersey man "dangerous to society" after pieces of a human body were found in his closet, including a head, part of an arm, and a torso dressed in a necktie and suit jacket. Robert Williams, of Newark, pleaded not guilty Monday to desecrating human remains and separate charges of child sexual abuse. Police initially went to Williams' home to investigate allegations he abused a 12- to 13-year-old boy over several months, but when they searched the apartment they found an altar and mummified human remains that had apparently been used in religious ceremonies, according to prosecutors.
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| Eggs from last northern white rhinos fertilized, scientists say Posted: 26 Aug 2019 02:51 AM PDT  Seven eggs from the world's last two remaining northern white rhinos have been successfully fertilized artificially, reviving hopes of saving the endangered animals, scientists said on Monday. The world's last male northern white rhinoceros, a 45-year-old named Sudan, died last year in Kenya, leaving only the two surviving female members of the species. Najin and Fatu are Sudan's daughter and grand-daughter and the three animals lived together at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, about 250km (155 miles) north of Nairobi, where Sudan died.
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| Candidates hope to replicate Ocasio-Cortez's tactics across the country Posted: 25 Aug 2019 02:01 AM PDT  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., stunned the political world last year when she pulled off an upset victory against a 10-term incumbent who held a leadership position in the Democratic caucus. Now candidates are looking to replicate some of her tactics to take on Democratic incumbents across the country. According to the group the Justice Democrats, which backed Ocasio-Cortez in her race, the first-time candidate succeeded in part because of her unique social media strategy, a refusal to take money from large corporations and her recognition of issues that resonate with millennials.
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| Saudi intercepts six Yemen rebel missiles: coalition Posted: 25 Aug 2019 01:23 PM PDT  Saudi Arabia intercepted six missiles fired by Yemeni rebels at the southern city of Jizan on Sunday, a Riyadh-led military coalition said, as the insurgents escalate cross-border attacks. The missiles fired by the Iran-aligned Huthis targeted civilians in Jizan, the coalition said in a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency. The rebels' Al-Masirah television said the Huthis had launched 10 "Badr 1" ballistic missiles targeting military aircraft and apache helicopters in Jizan airport and nearby military sites.
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| Mass shootings are a call to arms for some black Americans, not a moment for gun control Posted: 26 Aug 2019 04:00 AM PDT  Black gun rights advocates say limiting access would make them more vulnerable to racist attacks, especially in the absence of real problem solving.
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| Hong Kong protesters destroyed 'smart' lampposts because they fear China is spying on them Posted: 26 Aug 2019 12:25 PM PDT  During a weekend of volatile protests in Hong Kong, activists damaged the city's "smart" lampposts out of fear of their surveillance cameras.
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| Elizabeth Warren draws crowds as Joe Biden makes gaffes Posted: 26 Aug 2019 10:58 AM PDT  Democratic presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren could be on a collision course with frontrunner Joe Biden; Peter Doocy reports.
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| 7 escape injury in fiery plane crash at California airport Posted: 26 Aug 2019 10:06 AM PDT  Seven people escaped unhurt when a large transport plane they were on crash-landed and caught fire at Southern California's Santa Barbara Airport, authorities said. The crew declared an emergency and diverted to Santa Barbara, where it landed on its belly and skidded along a runway, the FAA said. Firefighters sprayed the aircraft with foam to douse the flames sparked in the crash.
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| 'Words and pictures matter': Two Alaska 13-year-olds arrested for middle school shooting plans, police say Posted: 25 Aug 2019 06:27 PM PDT !['Words and pictures matter': Two Alaska 13-year-olds arrested for middle school shooting plans, police say]( "'Words and pictures matter': Two Alaska 13-year-olds arrested for middle school shooting plans, police say") Alaska authorities arrested two 13-year-old students for planning to bring a gun to their school and shoot people, the Juneau Police Department said.
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| These Luxury Watches Are Trending Now Posted: 26 Aug 2019 05:00 AM PDT |
| A Giant Raft of Volcanic Rock From an Underwater Eruption Could Help Revive the Great Barrier Reef Posted: 26 Aug 2019 02:38 AM PDT  Chunks of rock from an underwater volcano are carrying living organisms
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| Iran president makes case for talks as G7 gambit slammed Posted: 26 Aug 2019 04:08 AM PDT  Iran's President Hassan Rouhani came out strongly in favour of talks Monday as his top diplomat came under fire from ultra-conservative media for a surprise visit to a G7 summit. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif flew in to the French seaside resort of Biarritz on Sunday for meetings on the sidelines of the G7 gathering. "I believe that for our country's national interests we must use any tool," Rouhani said in a speech aired live on state television.
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| Malaysia hopes to pay for military equipment with palm oil Posted: 26 Aug 2019 04:18 AM PDT  Malaysia is in talks with at last six countries on the possibility of using palm oil to pay for arms, as Southeast Asia's third-biggest economy seeks to replace old equipment to boost its defence capabilities. Malaysia has struggled to update its defence equipment over the years and a cut in its defence budget this year all but derailed efforts to replace navy ships, some of which have been in service for 35 years or more. Costs have been a big hurdle but using palm oil to help pay for equipment could open new avenues to upgrade, Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu said on Monday.
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| Former Staffers Urge Gillibrand to End ‘Performative and Obnoxious’ Presidential Campaign Posted: 26 Aug 2019 06:23 AM PDT  Two of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's former staffers are urging the New York Democrat to discontinue her 2020 presidential campaign rather than continue fighting to qualify for the next Democrat primary debate."It would be best if she decided that this was not her time," one longtime Gillibrand fundraiser told the New York Post. "Most people that I talk to are very happy with her as their senator and don't want her to give up her Senate seat and don't see any realistic traction for her."Gillibrand, who has yet to breach one percent in major national polls, is working to secure the 130,000 individual donations required to appear on the debate stage next month in Houston — an appearance that one former staffer believes will only serve to harm her future political career."I don't know that anyone even wants to see her on the debate stage. Everyone I have talked to finds her performative and obnoxious," a former senior staffer in Gillibrand's Senate office told the Post."She comes across as an opportunist to the public. I think that's the biggest problem," said the staffer, noting Gillibrand's reversal on gun rights and immigration restrictionism, causes she championed as a member of the House representing a rural upstate New York district but later abandoned when she ran for the upper chamber. "I think she'll have to seriously evaluate her campaign and her candidacy if she doesn't make this debate."Gillibrand has received roughly 115,000 individual donations, which places her behind upstart candidate Marianne Williamson, a self-help author with no political experience who has already surpassed the threshold required to qualify for the next debate.
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| 7 dead, including 2 children, after a plane collided with a helicopter midair over the popular Spanish tourist island of Mallorca Posted: 25 Aug 2019 10:59 PM PDT  Local media said two Spanish nationals were aboard the small aircraft, while an Italian pilot and a German family were aboard the helicopter. There were no survivors.
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| Tom Cotton: The U.S. should buy Greenland Posted: 26 Aug 2019 10:25 AM PDT  "Greenland is rich in a wide array of mineral deposits, including rare-earth minerals," he writes.
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| Troubling rise of gun violence in St. Louis, Kansas City Posted: 26 Aug 2019 01:58 PM PDT  From huge rewards to calls for allowing Missouri cities to enact their own gun laws, leaders in St. Louis and Kansas City are grappling with a troubling rise in shooting deaths, especially those involving children. In Kansas City, four men were killed Sunday, including two in a drive-by shooting in a popular entertainment district. In St. Louis, six people were killed in shootings, including 8-year-old and 10-year-old girls and a 15-year-old boy.
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| Rudy Giuliani Jumps on the Seth Rich Conspiracy Bandwagon Posted: 26 Aug 2019 08:51 AM PDT  Alex Wong/GettyDonald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani promoted discredited conspiracy theories about murdered Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich on Twitter early Monday morning, further fueling the baseless speculation that has anguished Rich's grieving family.Giuliani quote-tweeted a tweet from conspiracy theorist Matt Couch, whose fevered claims about Rich's 2016 murder provoked a defamation lawsuit from Rich's brother. In his tweet, Couch pointed out that, while Washington, D.C. police believe that Rich was murdered in a currently unsolved botched robbery attempt, none of his belongings appear to have been taken by his killer.Speaking rhetorically from Rich's point of view, Couch pointed to popular conspiracy theorist talking points about Rich's murder."I was Shot multiple times in torso.. I worked for the DNC…." Couch tweeted. "They called it a botched robbery and sue anyone who investigates it..Who am I?""I'd like to know," Giuliani added in his own tweet. Rich's July 2016 murder has inspired a number of conspiracy theories claiming that he leaked Democratic emails to WikiLeaks, and then was murdered by Hillary Clinton or the "deep state" in retaliation. That idea, which isn't backed up by any evidence, has been embraced by some Trump supporters—including Fox News host Sean Hannity—because it would mean the emails were released by a whistleblower, rather than by Russian government hackers. In reality, Rich's neighborhood had experienced a series of robberies in the lead-up to his death, which led police to believe it was likely a botched robbery.Hannity Weasels Out of Seth Rich ConspiracyIn text messages with The Daily Beast, Giuliani insisted his tweet wasn't meant to promote any conspiracy theories but merely to ask questions about Rich's murder, which has remained unsolved. "I didn't support any conspiracy theory," Giuliani told The Daily Beast in a text message. "I raised several nagging coincidences." "I vaguely remember it and was asking a question about whether it was ever investigated fully," Giuliani added. "Don't remember if it was ever solved? Was it." After this article was published, Giuliani doubled down on his speculation and accused The Daily Beast of lacking "proper seductive reasoning." "Either you haven't been trained in proper seductive [sic] reasoning or the most truthful explanation is irrelevant," Giuliani wrote in a text message.Giuliani added that the media reaction to the conspiracy theorists made him more suspicious about the case."Another new area of suspicion beyond a possible murder of convenience is the overreaction you all have to anyone raising any question about this unsolved murder," Giuliani wrote. "'Me thinks the Lady Protests too Much?'"Rich's family has repeatedly asked conspiracy theorists to stop speculating about their son's murder, which has drawn in a number of publicity-seeking right-wing media figures. But in text messages to The Daily Beast, Giuliani said "legitimate questions" about Rich's murder shouldn't be off-limits because of "some degree of emotional pain." "It is tragic for the family but if we stopped all honicide [sic] investigations until solved because it will cause pain then it would leave many unsolved," Giuliani wrote. "There are legitimate questions here and the more they are suppressed with this media Hillary/oriented censorship the more the conspiracy theorists thrive." Giuliani, a former U.S. Attorney, said he wanted to look at the "parties with the greatest motivation.""I've done a number of very complex investigation [sic] and you must always look at the parties or parties with the greatest motivation and the most to gain or lose," Giuliani wrote. "Until a murder is conclusively solved that is always a viable hypothesis. Political censorship or even some degree of emotional pain can not suppress trying to solve an open homicide."Rich's family has repeatedly asked conspiracy theorists to stop speculating about their son's murder, which has drawn in a number of publicity-seeking right-wing media figures. Couch, who livestreams his conspiracy theory broadcasts to his fans online, is one of the most dedicated promoters of the Rich claims, despite reports that Russian intelligence agents spread the rumor that Rich's murder was somehow tied to the Democratic email releases.In 2018, Couch was sued for defamation by Rich's brother Aaron Rich, over his claims that Seth had helped to steal Democratic emails and received payment from WikiLeaks for the files. Earlier this month, Couch told a federal judge that he couldn't afford legal defense to continue fighting the case, and said he had removed mentions of Rich from his website.This story has been updated with Giuliani's responses following its publication.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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| Sidney Rittenberg, former American advisor to Mao, dies at age 98 Posted: 26 Aug 2019 09:40 AM PDT  Sidney Rittenberg, a former American advisor to Mao Tse-tung who spent long spells in prison as he fell in and out of favor with China's communist leaders, has died in the state of Arizona, the New York Times reported. The rebellious son of a prominent family from Charleston, South Carolina, Rittenberg arrived in China as a US army linguist at the end of World War II, and was soon swept up in the country's epochal civil war and communist revolution. Hiking 46 days to reach Mao's mountain redoubt, he served as an interpreter and traveled with the red army.
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| Exclusive: Iran says it will not negotiate missile work, wants to export more oil Posted: 25 Aug 2019 09:47 AM PDT  Iran wants to export a minimum of 700,000 barrels per day of its oil and ideally up to 1.5 million bpd if the West wants to negotiate with Tehran to save a 2015 nuclear deal, two Iranian officials and one diplomat told Reuters on Sunday. A second official said "Iran's ballistic missile programme cannot and will not be negotiated.
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| U.S. Says South Korea’s Exit From Intel Pact Endangers Troops Posted: 26 Aug 2019 03:20 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. said that South Korea's decision to pull out of an intelligence-sharing deal with Japan endangers American troops -- an usually blunt criticism of one of Washington's closest allies.The Trump administration is disappointed in South Korean President Moon Jae-in's announcement Thursday that his government would stop participating in the 2016 General Security of Military Information Agreement with Japan, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said Sunday. The pact allowed the two neighbors to directly share intelligence about joint security concerns including North Korea and China, without going through the Americans."We are deeply disappointed and concerned that the ROK's government terminated the General Security of Military Information Agreement," Ortagus said in a Twitter post. "This will make defending Korea more complicated and increase risk to U.S. forces."The criticism is perhaps the clearest sign yet of the Trump administration's frustration with the months-long feud between South Korea and Japan. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump criticized Moon and his government at a Group of Seven meeting in France, the Sankei newspaper reported, citing unidentified Japanese government sources.On Monday, South Korea's foreign ministry said there had been "close communication" with the U.S. regarding the tensions between Seoul and Tokyo and the reasons for withdrawing from the agreement, without mentioning the risk to U.S. troops.The acrimonious dispute is rooted in historical grievances over Japan's 1910-45 occupation of the Korean Peninsula, but has recently escalated to include trade and security cooperation. While South Korea and Japan are protected by tens of thousands of U.S. troops, the Moon administration had argued after withdrawing from the pact that it would strengthen its alliance with the U.S. by increasing defense spending.The dispute risks complicating a coordinated response to North Korea's continued missile tests and China's rising military power projection in the region. On Saturday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally guided the test firing of a rocket launcher and sent two more short-range ballistic missiles into the sea between South Korea and Japan.The U.S. Department of Defense had previously expressed "strong concern and disappointment" with South Korea's decision to exit the security pact. While the agreement doesn't require the exchange of intelligence and both countries are part of a similar three-way pact with the U.S., the deal was significant because it demonstrated their ability to cooperate independently from Washington.South Korea's defense minister, Jeong Kyeong-doo, told the National Assembly's defense committee Aug. 5 that there had been 26 instances of intelligence-sharing with Japan since the agreement was signed. He nevertheless played down its practical importance, telling the committee the pact was more about relationships than utility.(Updates with South Korean response in fifth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Jihye Lee.To contact the reporter on this story: Iain Marlow in Hong Kong at imarlow1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Karen LeighFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Fallout from Russia's mysterious missile disaster suggests a nuclear reactor blew up Posted: 26 Aug 2019 09:07 AM PDT  An explosion at a Russian weapons testing site in August released radioactive isotopes that almost certainly came from a nuclear reactor, experts say.
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| 65 Super Simple Last-Minute Appetizers Posted: 26 Aug 2019 01:54 PM PDT |
| Recent developments surrounding the South China Sea Posted: 25 Aug 2019 09:41 PM PDT  A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte arrives in China on Wednesday for a visit that will include meetings with top Chinese officials over the South China Sea and attendance at a world basketball championship game. Duterte's visit will be his fifth to China but the first during which he plans to finally raise the result of the 2016 Hague arbitration case that mostly invalidated China's claim to virtually the entire South China Sea under the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.
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| Why is the Amazon rainforest on fire? Posted: 25 Aug 2019 10:11 AM PDT  The Amazon rainforest is burning at an alarming rate, with tens of thousands of fires laying waste to the world's largest tropical rainforest.
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| Trump promotes unfounded Ilhan Omar conspiracy and shares claim Justin Trudeau 'assumes submissive position' with him Posted: 26 Aug 2019 08:54 AM PDT  Donald Trump unleashed a series of controversial late-night tweets from the G7 Summit in France over the weekend, reigniting his feud with Ilhan Omar and attacking Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.The president promoted an unfounded and incendiary claim purported by the far right online that Ms Omar, a Democratic congresswoman of colour and former refugee from Somalia, married her brother years before she took office in 2018.
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| Survey shows growing number of Millennials starting to care less about traditional American values Posted: 26 Aug 2019 12:19 PM PDT  Over the last 21 years, the Wall Street Journal/NBC News conducted a survey asking millennials the importance of religion, patriotism and family.
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| Syria soldiers eye Turkish outpost in recaptured town Posted: 25 Aug 2019 07:42 PM PDT  Syrian soldier Ahmad Amuri rolls up on a motorbike to hand water bottles to comrades standing guard under pistachio trees, just a few dozen metres from a Turkish observation point in northwest Syria. President Bashar al-Assad's troops seized the town of Morek from jihadists and allied rebels on Friday, encircling the Turkish outpost. "Calm has returned to Morek," Amuri told AFP on Saturday, with water bottles in a black plastic bag, a cap on his head and his uniform covered in dust.
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| Possible political motive seen in Berlin killing of ethnic Chechen exile Posted: 26 Aug 2019 08:43 AM PDT ![Possible political motive seen in Berlin killing of ethnic Chechen exile]( "Possible political motive seen in Berlin killing of ethnic Chechen exile") Prosecutors are considering the possibility of a political motive behind the killing on Friday of an ethnic Chechen exile in Berlin, allegedly by a Russian citizen who shot the victim twice in the head as he walked through a park. The victim, 40, was identified by Georgian human rights organisation EMC as Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, which described him as an ethnic Chechen citizen of Georgia, who had fought on the side of rebels who in the 1990s sought to free Chechnya from Moscow's control. "We have no evidence pointing towards a classic criminal motive," said Martin Steltner, spokesman for Berlin prosecutors on Monday, adding that they were considering the possibility of a political motive for the killing.
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| Russian authorities seek to take children of stroller-pushing protesters into care Posted: 26 Aug 2019 08:05 AM PDT  State prosecutors are seeking to take a newborn and a toddler into state custody after their parents were filmed with them at a street protest, the second such case as huge demonstrations for free elections have shaken the Russian capital this summer. Authorities have responded to the peaceful protests, which were sparked by the disqualification of independent candidates from September's city council elections on technicalities, by bringing criminal cases and other forms of pressure against those filmed or arrested there. Prosecutor Yana Starovoitova filed a complaint to strip Pyotr and Yelena Khomsky of their parental rights, alleging that they brought their three-month-old and three-year-old daughters to a protest on August 3 "to prevent their own possible arrest by police officers". A court will begin hearing the case next week. The complaint reports by the REN TV channel that showed the two parents wheeling the girls in strollers away from a line of advancing riot police. The channel bizarrely claimed that the couple had "pushed law enforcement with their backs" and falsely described the father as the bodyguard of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Speaking with the Telegraph, Mr Khomsky denied the prosecutor's allegations and said the family had not been yelling slogans or carrying signs. Police detain a man during the July 27 protest Credit: Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters "What law are we violating?" he asked. "We're endangering our kids? You're endangering our kids!" "They want to make a show trial out of us, accuse us of putting our children at risk, accuse of us of all sorts of sins and take away our kids so that others won't go to demonstrations with children," he added. "They want to intimidate protesters." On Wednesday, a court will hear a state prosecutor's motion to strip another couple of parental rights after they were filmed with their young child at a demonstration on July 27, even though the national children's rights ombudswoman has criticised the case. State television accused protesters of exploiting the infant as a "human shield" after father Dmitry Prokazov was seen handing the child to his wife's cousin near police. The relative now faces up to eight years in prison on charges of participating in mass riots. Mr Prokazov said the young family and the cousin had simply been walking in the city centre when they were caught up in a cat-and-mouse game between protesters and police, who forced crowds down various side streets and arrested more than 1,300 people. The children's ombudswoman said she was looking into the case against the Khomskys and that taking a child away from parents should be a "last resort". The Moscow children's rights ombudsman called the prosecutor's complaint "political blackmail". "Only in rare cases when nothing helps does the question of removing parental rights arise. In these two cases this state policy is being completely destroyed," Yevgeny Bunimovich told Interfax news agency. "This worries me. It's a signal for everyone. Every family will feel unsafe if these things happen." As part of the "Moscow case" opened after the July 27 protest, a dozen people face prison time on charges of mass rioting and fighting with police, accusations that look dubious given the nonviolent nature of the demonstrations. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny after what he said may have been a poisoning attempt in jail Credit: AFP/Getty/Navalny.com On Monday, guards refused to let press or relatives into court hearings involving a defendant charged with attacking a national guard soldier at the protests and another accused of tweeting about a movement to "de-anonymise" riot police by publishing their names and personal details. Other people arrested at the protests have suddenly come under official scrutiny for outstanding debts or dodging Russia's universal military conscription, a widespread practice. Several independent candidates have been jailed for weeks as Moscow has seen the biggest protests since the 2011-12 movement against a fraudulent parliamentary elections and Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency. Mr Navalny spent a month in jail and was briefly hospitalised after what he said may have been a poisoning attempt.
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| View Photos of the 2020 Subaru Legacy Posted: 26 Aug 2019 06:00 AM PDT |
| Cardi B might be one of Bernie's most powerful 2020 allies. Seriously. Posted: 26 Aug 2019 02:01 AM PDT  "She's a no-B.S. person," says one aide to the Democratic hopeful. "And Bernie Sanders loves no-B.S. people."
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| Iran says oil on tanker pursued by US sold; buyer unnamed Posted: 26 Aug 2019 09:47 AM PDT  Iran on Monday announced that the 2.1 million barrels of crude aboard an Iranian oil tanker pursued by the U.S. has been sold to an unnamed buyer as the ship, at the center of a crisis roiling the region, continued its voyage in the Mediterranean Sea. The announcement by government spokesman Ali Rabiei represent just the latest twist in the saga of the Adrian Darya 1, which had been known as the Grace 1 when authorities seized the vessel off Gibraltar on July 4, on suspicion of breaking European Union sanctions targeting Syria. The seizure of the ship, and Iran's subsequent seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker, came amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran over the collapse of Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers.
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| 5 years after murders, man accused of killing Spring family execution-style goes to trial Posted: 26 Aug 2019 11:54 AM PDT  Investigators say Ronald Haskell, Jr. tied the Stay family up and shot them all because he was angry about his recent divorce.
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| NYT Reporter: Trump Allies Targeting Journalists Are Deploying Media Matters Playbook Posted: 26 Aug 2019 05:42 AM PDT  New York Times media reporter Jeremy Peters said Monday that allies of President Trump are employing the opposition research model pioneered by the liberal advocacy group Media Matters to tar journalists that report critically on the administration.Peters appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe to discuss his recent report detailing how a loose network of Trump allies are combing the social media histories of hundreds of journalists at mainstream media outlets to expose political bias and other potentially embarrassing information."They've tried to pull embarrassing things, find unflattering things in the social media histories of these journalists. And I'm talking about journalists at the nation's top news organizations…and what they do is they publicize unflattering things that they've found in these social media histories when they want to retaliate against an outlet for publishing a story that is unflattering to the president," Peters said.Asked by host Joe Scarborough how that approach differs from the one used by Media Matters to discredit conservative journalists and activists, Peters admitted "it's not really all that much different.""It's not really all that much different. In fact, the people we spoke to as we interviewed for this story…told us that their template was Media Matters. And their template was this exhaustive — basically, what's called opposition research that people do all the time," Peters said.Peters did draw a distinction between Media Matters and the tactics employed by the Trump allies by arguing that Media Matters typically targets high-profile conservatives while the president's allies have attacked low-level journalists who do not have influence over how the administration is covered."The difference, though, is that its being deployed against very low-level people in a lot of cases," Peters said. "When you look at what these guys have uncovered here, and who it's hurt, it's low-level journalists at places like CNN; a photo editor who had nothing to do with CNN's coverage of Donald Trump, for example."Founded by billionaire liberal activist David Brock in 2004, Media Matters has, as Peters points out, routinely targeted well known conservative pundits. But the organization has also researched and exposed the social media histories of lesser known reporters at conservative media outlets.The group declined to take action after the Daily Caller exposed that its president, Angelo Carusone, authored a number of blog posts in 2005 that include mocking references to "trannies," "jewry," and Bangladeshis.
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| Four face charges in deaths of 12 Florida nursing home patients following Hurricane Irma Posted: 26 Aug 2019 02:08 PM PDT  A dozen patients died at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills when the facility's air conditioning power went out amid sweltering heat.
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| Russian climber killed by falling rock at Mt Fuji Posted: 26 Aug 2019 06:14 AM PDT  A Russian national climbing Mount Fuji was killed by a falling rock near the summit of Japan's highest peak, police and news reports said Monday. Police said a woman in her 20s was fatally injured in the morning while approaching the top of the 3,776-metre (12,388-foot) volcanic mountain. "Rescuers and a doctor rushed to the site but she was later confirmed dead," a local police official told AFP.
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| Japan's Tepco may mothball reactors at world's biggest nuke plant Posted: 25 Aug 2019 10:43 PM PDT ![Japan's Tepco may mothball reactors at world's biggest nuke plant]( "Japan's Tepco may mothball reactors at world's biggest nuke plant") Tokyo Electric Power said on Monday it may start to decommission at least one nuclear reactor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant, the world's biggest nuclear plant by capacity, within five years of restarting two of the reactors at the site. Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) President Tomoaki Kobayakawa made the decommissioning comments in a statement outlining its response to a request for plans on the station's future by the government of the city of Kashiwazaki in Niigata prefecture, where the plant is located. In 2017, Tepco received initial regulatory approval from the Japanese government to restart the No. 6 and No. 7 reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, each with a capacity of 1,356 megawatts (MW).
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| Teachers union has become an arm of the abortion-rights left. Conservatives should quit. Posted: 26 Aug 2019 01:59 PM PDT  Why would the NEA go out of its way to take extreme stands on hot-button issues so far removed from the real problems facing our nation's schools?
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| Seven people shot at two-year-old’s birthday party in Washington DC suburb Posted: 25 Aug 2019 12:03 PM PDT  Seven people have been left hospitalised after a shooting at a two-year-old's birthday party in a suburb of Washington DC.Police believe the incident, which took place on Saturday at around 9pm local time (1am GMT), may have been sparked by an "exchange of words" between party-goers and a bystander who had approached the group.
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| A person reportedly died and 320 passengers and crew had to be evacuated after a cruise ship in Russia caught on fire Posted: 26 Aug 2019 08:10 AM PDT  The ship was reportedly docked in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday when the fire began in the cabin of one of the ship's mechanics, Fontanka reported.
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| Drone war takes flight, raising stakes in Iran, US tensions Posted: 25 Aug 2019 12:59 PM PDT  From the vast deserts of Saudi Arabia to the crowded neighborhoods of Beirut, a drone war has taken flight across the wider Middle East, raising the stakes in the ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Since the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal last year, there has been an increasing tempo of attacks and alleged threats, notably this weekend, from unmanned aircraft flown by Tehran's and Washington's allies in the region. The appeal of the aircraft — they risk no pilots and can be small enough to evade air-defense systems — fueled their rapid use amid the maximum pressure campaigns of Iran and the U.S. As these strikes become more frequent, the risk of unwanted escalation becomes greater.
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| NRA’s Former Ad Firm Slaps Wayne LaPierre With Subpoena Posted: 26 Aug 2019 12:18 PM PDT  Lucas Jackson/ReutersThe National Rifle Association's former ad firm has subpoenaed the gun group's chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, for a deposition, according to a court document reviewed by The Daily Beast. Lawyers for the NRA, who filed the document in Virginia Circuit Court on Aug. 21, are seeking to postpone LaPierre's interview. LaPierre isn't the only senior NRA official who faces a grilling from ad firm Ackerman McQueen. According to the filing, the ad firm also wants to question the gun group's top spokesperson, Andrew Arulanandam; Millie Hallow, assistant to the executive vice president; and the NRA's chief financial officer, Craig Spray. NRA Spent Tens of Thousands on Hair and Makeup for CEO's WifeIt's the latest episode of an ongoing legal brawl between the powerful but troubled gun-rights group and the ad firm that helped it sally forth into America's culture wars. For more than three decades, there was no daylight between the two entities that was visible to outsiders. But last April, the NRA sued the firm, and within weeks, the two had parted ways. Ackerman then counter-sued the NRA, and now both entities are seeking tens of millions of dollars from the other. The NRA's filing says that the ad firm has refused to hand over materials responsive to its own document demands because of the NRA's outside law firm, Brewer Attorneys and Counselors. Ackerman has argued that Brewer's firm tried to steal its business from the NRA and has asked the judge presiding over the case to limit Brewer's access to material it shares with the NRA. Wayne LaPierre Promised Job Security, Then Ousted an NRA Top GunThe NRA's filing argues that as long as Ackerman McQueen withholds materials, LaPierre and the other gun-group chiefs shouldn't have to be deposed. LaPierre's deposition is currently scheduled for Sep. 4, according to the filings. It isn't LaPierre's only scheduled Q-and-A session. According to the New York Daily News, the New York Attorney General's Office has also subpoenaed LaPierre as part of its investigation of the gun group. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| White House insists Trump has authority to block American companies from doing business in China Posted: 25 Aug 2019 10:24 AM PDT  White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow asserted President Trump's threat to block trade between private Americans businesses and China, saying he has "emergency economic power authority" to do so.
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| Driver kicks pregnant woman in stomach during fight at Chick-fil-A, police say Posted: 25 Aug 2019 01:23 PM PDT ![Driver kicks pregnant woman in stomach during fight at Chick-fil-A, police say]( "Driver kicks pregnant woman in stomach during fight at Chick-fil-A, police say") The pregnant woman tried to pull in front of her in the drive-thru lane, police said.
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