| Democrat who was once impeached will vote on Trump impeachment Posted: 18 Dec 2019 09:06 AM PST  When the House of Representatives votes on the articles of impeachment against President Trump on Wednesday, one of the Democrats certain to vote in favor is Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings. In doing so, Hastings will become the first sitting member of Congress to vote for the impeachment of a sitting president after having himself been impeached — and removed from office.
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| Mexico won't probe ex-leader Calderon after U.S. nabs aide: president Posted: 18 Dec 2019 12:26 PM PST  Mexico will not investigate former president Felipe Calderon after one of his onetime aides was charged in the United States with accepting bribes from a drug cartel, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday. At a regular government news briefing Lopez Obrador was asked if Mexico would probe Calderon following the arrest of ex-security minister Genaro Garcia Luna last week, or whether he would leave the matter in the hands of the United States. "There won't be an investigation because it would create the perception we're doing it for political purposes," said Lopez Obrador, a leftist who claimed he was robbed of the presidency in 2006 after a narrow loss to the conservative Calderon.
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| Gohmert Melts Down on House Floor After Nadler Accuses Him of Spouting ‘Russian Propaganda’ Posted: 18 Dec 2019 01:45 PM PST  The U.S. House's impeachment debate took a dramatic turn on Wednesday afternoon when Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) stormed back to the dais to shout at Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) after he accused the Texas lawmaker of peddling "Russian propaganda."During his floor speech, Gohmert—a fervent defender of the president—groused that the impeachment of President Donald Trump was really an effort by Democrats to "stop the investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and Ukraine into the corruption of Ukraine interference in the U.S. election in 2016.""This is a travesty, We're in big trouble" Gohmert huffed, adding: "Now it's lowered even further, the bar. [Impeachment] will be used for political battles and this country's end is now in sight. I hope I don't live to see it. This is an outrage."After Gohmert wrapped up his speech, Nadler took a moment to chastise the Texas lawmaker before yielding his time to a Democratic congressman."I'm deeply concerned that any member of the house would spout Russian propaganda on the floor of the House," the judiciary chair sternly said, prompting Gohmert to run back to the podium.Pointing his finger at Nadler, the Texas congressman yelled and demanded that the chairman's words be stricken from the record. Nadler, for his part, appeared to not react to or indulge Gohmert's angry outburst.Last month, it was reported that the intelligence community had briefed senators and their aides that Russia has engaged in a lengthy campaign to frame Ukraine for Russia's 2016 election interference and hacking. The briefing basically aligned with Dr. Fiona Hill's impeachment testimony in which she criticized Republicans for pushing a "fictional narrative" about Ukrainian meddling.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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| OIC criticises Malaysia's Muslim summit Posted: 18 Dec 2019 10:42 AM PST  The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday mounted a veiled attack on a Muslim summit in Malaysia shunned by Saudi Arabia, saying such gatherings would weaken Islam. Leaders of Muslim nations, including Saudi rivals Iran, Turkey and Qatar, will attend the summit this week in Kuala Lumpur, which analysts say is aimed at rivalling the OIC, a 57-member pan-Islamic body headquartered in the Saudi city of Jeddah. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad dismissed those concerns in a phone call Tuesday with Saudi Arabia's King Salman, insisting the summit was not intended to create a new bloc.
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| Search finds possible graves of 1921's Tulsa Race Massacre victims Posted: 17 Dec 2019 04:03 PM PST  Scientists surveying a cemetery and a homeless camp in Tulsa, Oklahoma, found pits holding possible remains of black residents killed nearly 100 years ago in a race massacre, investigators have revealed.
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| Democratic Representative Calls on McConnell to Recuse Himself and Threatens Mistrial Posted: 18 Dec 2019 06:18 AM PST  Representative Jackie Speier (D., Calif.) has called on Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell to recuse himself from the impending impeachment trial over his admission that he would not be an "impartial juror" and his claim that the trial was politically motivated."I'm not an impartial juror," McConnell told CNN on Tuesday. "This is a political process. There is not anything judicial about it. Impeachment is a political decision."Speier responded by arguing that McConnell's statement should disqualify him from participating in the impeachment trial."I think we're going to have to call a mistrial before it even gets over to the Senate," Speier said on CNN. "My understanding is that each of the senators is going to have to take an oath that they will independently evaluate the evidence for impeachment. . . . It sounds like there's no interest in doing that whatsoever, and I would think Mitch McConnell should recuse himself."The House is expected to approve two articles of impeachment against President Trump this week, one for abuse of power and the other for obstruction of Congress.McConnell is currently under pressure from both Democrats and Republicans to set parameters for an expected impeachment trial in the Senate that will please both sides. On Tuesday, McConnell slammed minority leader Chuck Schumer's (D., N.Y.) proposal to determine which witnesses to call for testimony in the same document that will set rules for impeachment hearings."It is not the Senate's job to leap into the breach and search desperately for ways to get to 'guilty,'" McConnell said on the Senate floor. "The Senate is meant to act as judge and jury, to hear a trial, not to re-run the entire fact-finding investigation because angry partisans rushed sloppily through it."
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| The 7 Best Electric Cars of 2019 Posted: 18 Dec 2019 12:57 PM PST |
| Police investigating incident at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club Posted: 18 Dec 2019 02:14 PM PST  Police say they are investigating an incident Wednesday at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, but have not released any specifics. Palm Beach police spokesman Michael Ogrodnick said in an afternoon email, "There is an open investigation," but he did not indicate when specific information would be released. There have been two trespassing incidents at Mar-a-Lago in the last 13 months.
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| A Florida man 'sitting in his car' was killed in UPS hijacking shootout. His family is calling for an investigation Posted: 18 Dec 2019 08:28 AM PST  The family of Richard Cutshaw, a bystander who was killed in a shootout following the hijacking of a UPS truck in Florida, wants answers.
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| A nuclear attack would most likely target one of these 6 US cities — but experts say none of them are prepared Posted: 18 Dec 2019 03:58 AM PST  If a nuclear bomb were to strike the US, cities might not have enough emergency services to aid the wounded.
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| 16th-century anchors found off Mexican coast offer clues into Spanish conquest Posted: 17 Dec 2019 04:44 PM PST  Archaeologists have discovered two iron ship anchors off Mexico's Gulf Coast that they say date back 500 years and could have belonged to Spaniard Hernan Cortes' fleet, which landed in 1519 before overthrowing the Aztec empire. The anchors, found on the ocean floor near the former Spanish settlement of Villa Rica in southeastern Veracruz state, are well preserved and resemble those made in the 1500s, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said on Monday.
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| Why Both Russia And America Failed In Afghanistan Posted: 18 Dec 2019 05:00 AM PST  It's well past time to let Afghans decide Afghanistan's future without foreign "assistance."
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| Thai police make arrest over 'inappropriate' Facebook rally photo Posted: 17 Dec 2019 10:50 PM PST  Thai police arrested a suspect behind an "inappropriate" photo posted on Facebook from an anti-government rally, a minister said Wednesday, as the offending image went viral days after the largest protest since March's elections. Downtown Bangkok saw thousands turn out Saturday for a rally led by ultra-popular opposition frontman Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and his Future Forward Party (FFP) executives. Carrying posters denouncing "dictatorship" and calling for prime minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha to "get out", the protesters rallied peacefully for an hour.
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| Federal court: ObamaCare individual mandate unconstitutional Posted: 18 Dec 2019 03:18 PM PST  A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that the Affordable Care Act's individual insurance mandate is unconstitutional, striking down a key provision of ObamaCare, reports The New York Times.The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the ACA could not require people to have health insurance, but sent the rest of the case to a separate court in Texas. The Supreme Court upheld the individual mandate in 2012, but because Congress repealed the tax law that allowed the mandate and the Trump administration has opted not to defend the ACA, the mandate was re-examined.The rest of the health care bill's legality will be handled by a Texas court that previously argued the entire ACA was invalid. A final decision is likely several months away, writes Nola.com.Read more at The New York Times and Nola.com.More stories from theweek.com The Trump impeachment's failure before launch The Trump administration is reportedly trying to block Lindsey Graham's proposed Russia sanctions Democrats are sleepwalking into a Biden disaster
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| Mexican children shiver in tents at U.S. border as temperature freezes Posted: 18 Dec 2019 05:01 PM PST ![Mexican children shiver in tents at U.S. border as temperature freezes]( "Mexican children shiver in tents at U.S. border as temperature freezes") Mexican officials concerned about the health of Mexican asylum seekers including around 200 young children sleeping in the open near the U.S. border in Ciudad Juarez tried to move people to shelters on Wednesday, as temperatures dropped below freezing. In recent months, Ciudad Juarez has seen a rapid increase in Mexicans seeking to apply for asylum in the United States, leading to a backlog in the city as U.S. border officials limit the number of asylum cases they receive at the port of entry each day. A waiting list contains about 1,200 people, of which about 550 are staying in camps near the bridge to the United States, the Chihuahua state government said.
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| Warren Backs Down on Medicare for All, Now Says It’s a ‘Choice’ Posted: 17 Dec 2019 01:00 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is starting to back away from a full-blown Medicare for All plan on the campaign trail, as she faces increased questions about whether her support for the proposal hurts her electability.After pushing the swift creation of a government-run health care system that would cover all Americans and eliminate private insurance, Warren is now emphasizing her calls for a transition period that would make it optional for most of her first term in office.During a three-day bus tour through Iowa, she increasingly stressed the word "choice" in her interactions with voters, saying the three-year implementation period would let Americans keep their existing coverage or try out Medicare for All."We're going to push through health care that's available to everyone," Warren said during a town hall in Clinton, Iowa, on Saturday. "You don't have to, but it's your choice, if you want to come in and get full health care coverage."Warren insists she's sticking to her long-term commitment of creating a government-run health care system. Yet last month, she unveiled the transition plan after criticism on the campaign trail and at debates by rivals including front-runner Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, who both favor building on the existing system while offering a separate public option.Although Medicare for All remains popular with the Democratic base, some have worried that the government-run health care system envisioned by Bernie Sanders and adopted by Warren would hurt Democrats in the general election against President Donald Trump. Union members and millions of other Americans who have health insurance are reluctant to give it up.With fewer than two months until the first nominating contest, the Iowa caucuses, Warren's emphasis on choice appears to be an effort to reassure those voters. She insists that if they try Medicare for All, they'll like it."And then when people have a chance to try it, when you've had the choice -- nobody has to but -- when you've had the choice and tried full health care coverage, then we'll vote," Warren said in Washington, Iowa. "And I believe America is going to say, 'We like Medicare for All.'"But some of her Democratic rivals, including Buttigieg, have criticized her for using the word "choice" to describe a single-payer health care plan that would take that choice away after three years.Health-care policy has consumed the Warren campaign in recent months and led to a dip in the polls after she struggled to answer questions about the financing and cost of Medicare for All.While she had surged to second place in many national surveys, she then began to lose ground. Her national polling average has fallen from 23.4% in mid-October to 16% on Monday, according to Real Clear Politics, while Sanders, her progressive rival, and Buttigieg have gained.A Quinnipiac University poll published Monday showed Biden with a strong lead, with 30% support, followed by Warren at 17% and Sanders at 16%. Buttigieg had 9%.Under pressure from her rivals, Warren released a Medicare for All plan in November with a price tag of $20.5 trillion over 10 years -- $10 trillion less than most estimates -- paid for with a series of new taxes on the wealthy and corporations that are unlikely to pass Congress.A few weeks later, she released the transition proposal. She said that would be in effect until the full program had been passed, by her third year in office.Warren's signals last month about a three-year timeline for Medicare for All sparked a rally among health insurers. UnitedHealth Group Inc., Humana Inc. and Centene Corp. have all outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 Index since Nov. 14, the day before Warren floated her timetable.Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts Stephen Tanal and Grant Hesser wrote in a note on Sunday that the delay in implementation was good news for markets and the private health insurance industry.The "risk of 2020 continues to be Medicare for All proposals that would ban the sale of private health insurance," Tanal and Hesser said. "While the outcome of the 2020 election will matter for the stocks, the outcome of private insurance being banned carries low probability while other more moderate proposals do not represent substantial risk."If elected, Warren said she would ask Congress to "fast-track" a Medicare for All option that would immediately cover children under 18 and families making less than $51,000 a year, and provide an option for expanded Medicare for people older than 50. In the first three years, anyone else could buy into Medicare for All at a "modest" cost, Warren said, before it eventually became free.Her transition proposal, at least at first, ended up looking much like those of her moderate rivals, Biden and Buttigieg: Expanded government-run insurance without mandating it for everyone. But Warren says the plans aren't alike."Pete Buttigieg's plan is not offering full health care coverage to anyone. His plan is still about high deductibles, about fees, about co-pays and about uncovered expenses," Warren told reporters in Ottumwa, Iowa, Sunday. "What I'm offering is full health care coverage and middle class families don't have to pay a single dime to make this happen."Sean Savett, Buttigieg's communications director, said in a statement that his "Medicare for All Who Want It" plan would also provide universal access to coverage."The difference is Pete's plan also preserves health care choice for all Americans," Savett said. "It's a difference not just in policy, but in approach to governing. Pete's offering a way forward that rallies Americans together to accomplish bold goals, rather than more Washington style my-way-or-the-highway politics that drives us apart and keeps us from acting on our urgent challenges."(Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)To contact the reporter on this story: Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou in Washington at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Max Berley, John HarneyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Judge throws out New York fraud case against Trump campaign chair Posted: 18 Dec 2019 10:18 AM PST  A mortgage fraud case involving a disgraced former chair on Donald Trump's presidential campaign hsa been dismissed by a New York judge, who argued local charges stacked against Paul Manafort would amount to double jeopardy.Manafort, who recently began a seven and a half year prison sentence following charges stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into foreign interference in US elections, was already convicted on similar federal charges.
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| Republican mega-donor urged ex-Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin to pardon convicted killer Posted: 17 Dec 2019 04:09 PM PST  Public records show prominent Kentucky banker Terry Forcht lobbied then Gov. Matt Bevin on behalf of Patrick Baker twice.
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| A 95-year-old former soldier was the only WWII veteran at the Battle of the Bulge memorial in Washington, DC Posted: 17 Dec 2019 01:30 PM PST  "Above all, it was bitter cold," George Arnstein said of the Battle of the Bulge. "It was the coldest winter in I don't know how many decades."
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| How Good Is Russia's New Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik-B "Hunter" Stealth Drone? Posted: 17 Dec 2019 04:21 AM PST  We take a look at this secretive Russian platform.
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| Accusing Bernie Sanders of antisemitism? That's a new low Posted: 18 Dec 2019 06:31 AM PST  The allegations should be called for what they are: politiking in service of politicians who will put more Jews in dangerBernie Sanders – son of Dorothy and Elias Ben Yehuda Sanders, who emigrated from Poland in 1921 to escape antisemitism, and whose family that remained in Poland was slaughtered in the Holocaust – is not antisemitic. But some are trying to convince you that he is.The conservative Washington Examiner's Tiana Lowe published a story accusing the Sanders campaign of being the "most antisemitic in decades". Worth noting is that Lowe expressed gratitude several months back for her grandfather's service to the Chetniks, a nationalist armed front which collaborated with the Nazis and delivered thousands of Jews to them in service of building an ethnically homogenous Greater Serbia. She also posed for a picture with Milo Yiannopoulos, who once sent $14.88 on PayPal to a Jewish journalist, a reference to Nazi slogans.For Lowe and others on the right that have jumped on this bandwagon, though, details don't really matter. Sanders, an avowed democratic socialist, simply belongs to an opposing political camp with opposing values. Like the attacks against Corbyn abroad and Ilhan Omar at home, those now being lobbed at Sanders aren't about defeating antisemitism so much as using it as a narrative device to undermine a worldview that offends them. Sanders's solidarity with Palestinians suffering under occupation is not an affront to Jews but to the right's propaganda that looking out for their best interest means a blanket, unquestioning support for whatever the Israeli government happens to be doing, which at the moment includes maintaining a brutal apartheid state.> Trump and his xenophobic allies abroad are undoubtedly bad for the Jews, and so are smear campaigns that play into their handsThis all stands in wild contrasts to Sanders's actual views on antisemitism. As the Vermont Senator himself explained a recent essay for Jewish Currents entitled How to Fight Anti-Semitism, we now live in one of the most dangerous periods Jews have faced in recent memory, from the deadly shootings like the one at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue last year to a wave of of far-right energy in Europe that waxes nostalgic for the continent's fascist past."Opposing antisemitism is a core value of progressivism," Sanders writes. "So it's very troubling to me that we are also seeing accusations of antisemitism used as a cynical political weapon against progressives. One of the most dangerous things Donald Trump has done is to divide Americans by using false allegations of antisemitism, mostly regarding the US–Israel relationship. We should be very clear that it is not antisemitic to criticize the policies of the Israeli government." He goes onto lay out how a Sanders administration will confront antisemitism at home and abroad: immediately appointing a special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, rejoining the United Nations Human Rights Council and "helping to shape an international human rights agenda that combats all forms of bigotry and discrimination", among other measures.That the Sanders campaign is somehow abetting antisemitism seems absurd on its face, but more outlandish blows have landed. As I wrote last week, antisemitism itself has been a reliable tool of a right looking to ward off the left, and anti-socialism has often peddled in antisemitic tropes. Accusations coming from rightwing pundits and politicians now follow proudly in this tradition, albeit with feigned concern for Jews now used to defend against policies they disagree with. Just last week, Trump called a room of Jews "brutal killers, not nice people at all" before selling an executive order to criminalize campus protests as a defense of the Jewish people. Trump and his xenophobic allies abroad are undoubtedly bad for the Jews, and so are smear campaigns that play into their hands.Before they snowball into something worse, the right's allegations of antisemitism against the left – and the first Jew within striking distance of the White House, at that – should be called out for what they are: cynical politiking in service of politicians who will put more Jews in danger. * Kate Aronoff is a writer based in New York. * This article was amended on 18 December 2019 to correct the spelling of Milo Yiannopoulos' name.
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| US, Russian military leaders meet in Switzerland on Syria Posted: 18 Dec 2019 10:54 AM PST  The top US and Russian military chiefs met Wednesday in Switzerland for talks on Syria, where both countries are militarily engaged and maintain regular contact to avoid accidental confrontations. General Mark Milley, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his Russian counterpart, General Valery Gerasimov, met in Bern, a spokeswoman for Milley said. It was Gerasimov's first meeting with Milley, who became chairman in September.
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| Merkel rules out retaliation after U.S. sanctions Russian gas pipeline Posted: 18 Dec 2019 01:44 PM PST  BERLIN/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday Germany would not retaliate against a decision by the United States to impose sanctions on companies building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed legislation to impose sanctions on firms constructing the underwater pipeline to bring Russian natural gas to Germany. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is backed by Russia's Gazprom, would allow Russia to bypass Poland and Ukraine to deliver gas under the Baltic Sea to Germany.
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| Dozens of former French soldiers joined jihadist groups in Middle East, new report reveals Posted: 18 Dec 2019 06:00 AM PST  Islamist groups have recruited dozens of former French soldiers, a troubling new report has revealed less than three months after a terrorist attack by a staff member at police headquarters in Paris shocked the nation. More than a third of the ex-servicemen are converts to Islam and nearly half served in elite Foreign Legion, parachute, commando or marine units where they acquired expertise in combat and handling weapons and explosives. The conservative newspaper Le Figaro published excerpts on Wednesday from the forthcoming report by the Centre for the Analysis of Terrorism, a Paris-based think tank. The report says the French army "constitutes a strategic recruitment target for terrorist groups… and former soldiers represent tremendous assets for these groups." The report, "Soldiers and Jihad", profiles 23 ex-servicemen "identified within terrorist organisations [mainly Isil] or implicated in plotting terrorist attacks". An earlier parliamentary report noted that about 30 former servicemen have joined jihadist groups since 2012. Several former Legionnaires have been arrested over terrorist plots in France, and ex-paratroopers or commandos have become leaders of Isil combat units in Syria or Iraq. French troops are fighting Islamists in the Middle East and the Sahel region of Africa Credit: MICHELE CATTANI/AFP via Getty Images Others who stayed in France have been involved in planning attacks against soldiers or military sites. Some of the ex-servicemen "became radicalised after they joined the French army, while others started becoming radicalised after they left the army," the report said. "However, some were planning to go and join jihadist groups before being recruited by the French armed forces." One such fighter is named as Boris V., from Charente, in south-western France, who became an air commando specifically to learn skills that would be useful to a terrorist group. He took the nom de guerre of "Younous the Deserter" and was killed near Aleppo, Syria, in 2016. Frédéric R., a former legionnaire in his sixties who converted to Islam, was arrested last month and confessed to helping a group of radicalised youths plan attacks. French military intelligence said efforts to detect and prevent radicalisation were stepped up earlier this year and "several cases showing low-level signs" were currently being monitored. It said none of the cases posed an immediate danger and "the threat level from Sunni jihadist Islam within the armed forces is now considered low". In October, a radicalised police employee stabbed four people to death at police headquarters in Paris, supposedly one of France's most secure buildings. Thibault de Montbrial, a former paratrooper and head of the Centre for Internal Security Studies, another think tank, told the Telegraph: "The issue of detecting people likely to become radicalised while serving [in the armed forces] is capital. Even if the army is a formidable institution for integration and cohesion, the risk is real".
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| 12 Deals We Love From REI’s Last-Minute Holiday Sale Posted: 18 Dec 2019 01:52 PM PST |
| India rejects final death sentence appeal in 2012 gang rape Posted: 18 Dec 2019 12:47 AM PST  India's Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the final appeal of one of the four men sentenced to death for the 2012 fatal gang rape of a woman on a moving bus in New Delhi, paving the way for the four to be hanged. The gruesome case made international headlines and exposed the scope of sexual violence against women in India, prompting lawmakers to stiffen penalties in rape cases. The victim, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student whom Indian media dubbed "Nirbhaya," or "Fearless," because Indian law prohibits rape victims from being identified, was heading home with a male friend from a movie theater when six men lured them onto a bus.
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| Impeachment Explained: The sitting Congressman who was impeached and removed from former federal judgeship – now voting in Trump’s impeachment Posted: 18 Dec 2019 08:25 AM PST  In this episode of Impeachment Explained, Yahoo News looks at a historical instance when a Florida federal judge was impeached and removed from office in 1989 but was able to get elected to Congress in 1992. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., is still a member of Congress today but finds himself in some hot water after all these years. Who is Alcee Hastings, and how was it possible? Yahoo News explains.
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| Service dog has epic reaction seeing his hero, Dug from 'Up,' at Disney's Animal Kingdom Posted: 18 Dec 2019 10:28 AM PST ![Service dog has epic reaction seeing his hero, Dug from 'Up,' at Disney's Animal Kingdom]( "Service dog has epic reaction seeing his hero, Dug from 'Up,' at Disney's Animal Kingdom") People say that you should never meet your heroes. But for Henry the service dog, meeting his hero was everything it should have been.
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| Russia's Military Is Powerful, But Its Tanks Can't Stand Up To America's Javelins Posted: 17 Dec 2019 09:30 PM PST  The Javelin has undergone quite a few upgrades since initial deployment in 1996.
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| GOP senators reportedly unhappy with Trump's impeachment rant Posted: 18 Dec 2019 10:28 AM PST  At least some members of President Trump's party weren't thrilled with the scathing letter he sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday.Trump protested impeachment in the letter, accusing Democrats of staging a "coup" and "declaring a war on American democracy." But it reportedly wasn't a galvanizing moment for the GOP — at least a few Republican senators were unhappy with the performance, a senior GOP official said.> Asked a senior GOP official whether it was a good idea for Trump to send that letter to Pelosi. "Of course not," official said who acknowledged it didn't go over well among some Republican senators.> > — Jim Acosta (@Acosta) December 18, 2019Those senators aren't going on the record with their displeasure, but former GOP congressman Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.) was free to echo the sentiment.> "The danger [in Trump's letter], is suggesting that... this impeachment power that has been a bedrock of Congress' ability to provide oversight to the president has someway eroded to the point where it's no longer valid." - Fmr. GOP Rep. David Jolly https://t.co/UHaytoF6aC> > — MSNBC (@MSNBC) December 18, 2019It was also reported Tuesday that White House lawyers weren't involved in drafting the letter, with Trump deciding to keep them out of the loop. Instead, he relied on Legislative Affairs Director Eric Ueland, adviser Stephen Miller, and Michael Williams, an adviser to acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.More stories from theweek.com Democrats are sleepwalking into a Biden disaster Wait — did liberals actually think they'd remove Trump from office? Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker's critics say J.J. Abrams blew it
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| Air Force general says the US military is preparing responses in case North Korea's 'Christmas gift' is a long-range missile Posted: 17 Dec 2019 10:17 AM PST  "What I would expect is some type of long-range ballistic missile would be the gift," Gen. Charles Brown said of North Korea's supposed "gift."
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| U.S. sues CVS for fraudulently billing Medicare, Medicaid for invalid prescriptions Posted: 17 Dec 2019 07:48 AM PST  CVS Health Corp and its Omnicare unit were sued on Tuesday by the U.S. government, which accused them of fraudulently billing Medicare and other programs for drugs for older and disabled people without valid prescriptions. The Department of Justice joined whistleblower litigation accusing Omnicare of violating the federal False Claims Act for illegally dispensing drugs to tens of thousands of patients in assisted living facilities, group homes for people with special needs, and other long-term care facilities. According to a civil complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, Omnicare would often assign new numbers to prescriptions after the original prescriptions expired or ran out of refills.
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| UK PM's inquiry fails to dampen anti-Muslim row Posted: 18 Dec 2019 08:48 AM PST  Britain's Conservatives have long sought to exploit an anti-Semitism scandal in the opposition Labour party, but face accusations they are failing to confront anti-Muslim sentiment in their own ranks. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's party has announced a long-awaited review into discrimination in the party, led by psychology professor Swaran Singh, a former member of the equalities watchdog.
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| Judge drops hate crime charge in student's fatal stabbing Posted: 17 Dec 2019 11:03 AM PST  A judge on Tuesday dismissed a hate crime charge against a white man who stabbed a black college student to death at a bus stop on the University of Maryland's campus. Prince George's County Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Hill Jr. granted a defense motion to acquit Urbanski of the hate crime charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, according to defense attorney William Brennan and state's attorney's office spokeswoman Denise Roberts. News outlets report that the judge ruled prosecutors didn't meet their legal burden of showing that racial hatred motivated Urbanski to stab Collins.
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| New details emerge on snowstorm plane crash that left 9 dead Posted: 18 Dec 2019 01:41 PM PST  An NTSB investigator examines the wreckage of a Pilatus PC-12 airplane at Chamberlain Municipal Airport in South Dakota. The aircraft crashed on Saturday, November 30, 2019, moments after taking off. The crash killed nine of the 12 people on board. (NTSB) The pilot and a passenger worked for three hours "to remove snow and ice from the airplane," according to a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) preliminary report, prior to a deadly plane crash late last month in South Dakota that claimed the lives of nine passengers and injured three others.The NTSB said a witness recalled having seen the efforts to clear the single-engine Pilatus PC-12 before the plane took off and then crashed within a mile of takeoff in Chamberlain, South Dakota, Nov. 30."If you have the proper equipment it shouldn't take three hours, especially for a plane that size," Ethan Klapper, a journalist and licensed aircraft dispatcher, told AccuWeather. "Sounds like something improper happened here. Also, they were clearing the snow while it was still snowing. So likely there was additional accumulation that was occurring during this, and they took off with still more snow that accumulated on the aircraft."Chamberlain, and much of South Dakota, was under a Winter Storm Warning from the National Weather Service at the time of the crash. Winds of 7 mph and moderate snow were reported at the time of the flight with overcast conditions and half-mile visibility, according to the report. Freezing rain and snow were observed at the Chamberlain Municipal Airport the previous afternoon and overnight.The plane arrived in Chamberlain Friday at about 9:30 a.m. CST, according to an earlier NTSB statement. The airplane remained parked on the airport ramp until the accident a day later."It seems a classic case of no deicing chemicals were sprayed or that there was some kind of buildup of new snow on the wings," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. "Or is it possible the air speed indicator was clogged with, or again became clogged with, snow and ice? Or, did they damage something on the plane while clearing it of snow and ice?" A photo of a Pilatus PC-12 in flight. (Pilatus Aircraft Ltd) Ice and snow need to be properly removed from a plane for the flight to be legal, and if that doesn't happen, the consequences can be dire. Variations in drag and lift could be substantial if a plane is not properly deiced, an aviation expert confirmed with AccuWeather.Three of the plane's warning systems - the stall warning, stick shaker and stick pusher \- activated within 15 seconds after liftoff, the NTSB report noted. The airplane immediately rolled about 10 degrees to the left after takeoff. The plane then reversed to five degrees to the right before it "ultimately entered a 64-degree left bank as the airplane reached its peak altitude of 460 feet above ground," according to the report.It's also possible the time taken to clear the plane's snow and ice affected pre-flight preparations. The pilot and passenger worked for three hours before being joined by the remaining passengers shortly before the flight, according to the NTSB report. The pilot requested clearance from Minneapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) at 12:24 p.m., saying he'd be ready in five minutes. At 12:27 p.m., he received clearance with a void time of 12:35 p.m. No radio communications were received from the pilot and radar contact was never established. At 12:40 p.m., Minneapolis ARTCC contacted the Chamberlain airport manager, who advised the plane had departed about 10 minutes earlier. An alert notice was then issued.Another factor that could have contributed to the crash was a possible load imbalance. The Pilatus PC-12 pilot's information manual notes the "maximum number of occupants is 9 passengers" plus 1-2 pilot(s). According to the NTSB report, there were 12 people on the plane.The data recorder captured cockpit sound, the report noted; the NTSB will convene a group of technical experts to produce a transcript. The preliminary report does not include analysis or a probable cause for the accident. Probable cause will be determined at the end of the investigation, which could take between 12-14 months to complete.According to Travis Garza, president of wellness company Kyani, the company's two founders, Jim Hansen and Kirk Hansen, were among the crash victims. The other seven passengers who died were their relatives; three passengers survived.There were 393 U.S. civil aviation deaths in 2018, an increase from 347 in 2017, according to the NTSB. Most aviation deaths in 2018 took place during general aviation operations - all civilian flying except scheduled passenger airline service - when 381 were killed, compared to 331 in 2017.
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| Supreme Court will hear church-state separation case brought by religious schools that fired teachers Posted: 18 Dec 2019 11:29 AM PST  The question is whether teachers whose primary responsibility is education can be treated as "ministers" and exempted from discrimination laws.
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| Why Russia Felt Threatened By Estonia's Largest Ever Military Exercise With NATO Posted: 17 Dec 2019 11:00 PM PST  Estonia's large-scale Siil 2018 exercise is not trivial.
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| A solid majority of Americans think Trump should be impeached and removed from office, new Insider poll shows Posted: 18 Dec 2019 08:27 AM PST  55% percent of Americans say President Donald Trump should be impeached and removed from office, according to a new Insider poll.
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| Attorney General defends preserving surveillance court despite past FBI mistakes Posted: 18 Dec 2019 01:54 PM PST  U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday broke ranks with some fellow Republicans who have suggested the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court should be shuttered, calling it a "critical tool" in assisting law enforcement in keeping Americans safe and should be allowed to continue operating. "We are committed to preserving FISA," Barr told reporters at a news conference in Detroit, referring to the federal law that created the court and establishes the process by which law enforcement and intelligence agencies seek requests for surveillance warrants.
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| Former Fox News employees ask 2020 candidates to speak out against nondisclosure agreements Posted: 18 Dec 2019 04:58 AM PST  Gretchen Carlson and other former Fox News employees are seeking help from 2020 candidates in their fight against nondisclosure agreements.Carlson in 2016 filed a retaliation and sexual harassment lawsuit against Roger Ailes, the late CEO and chair of Fox News, but signed a nondisclosure agreement in a settlement. She has formed the group Lift Our Voices along with two other Fox News employees who sued the network and signed nondisclosure agreements, Julie Roginsky and Diana Falzone, to end the practice of silencing workers from speaking out about such workplace issues.The group is now calling on 2020 candidates for president to publicly condemn these nondisclosure agreements, The New York Times reports."It is time for our leaders to demonstrate that they are on the side of the women and men who have been silenced for too long from discussing the hostility they have encountered by speaking out loudly and publicly against NDAs," the letter says.The Times notes that the group is not calling for the end of all nondisclosure agreements in general but specifically ones having to do with workplace environment issues like sexual harassment. Carlson, whose story of alleged sexual harassment at Fox News is depicted in the new movie Bombshell, has spoken out about being "forced into silence" by a nondisclosure agreement she has asked to be release from, as she wrote in a recent Times op-ed."This is the next phase in the MeToo movement, and it is one that needs to gain traction if we truly want to change the culture for better," she wrote.More stories from theweek.com The Trump impeachment's failure before launch The Trump administration is reportedly trying to block Lindsey Graham's proposed Russia sanctions Democrats are sleepwalking into a Biden disaster
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| Feds: Seattle barrel company used hidden drain to pollute Posted: 18 Dec 2019 02:10 PM PST  A century-old Seattle barrel company has been indicted along with its third-generation owner in what prosecutors describe as a long-running pollution conspiracy. The 36-count indictment made public Wednesday said Seattle Barrel and Cooperage used a hidden drain to pump caustic wastewater directly into the King County sewer system. Seattle Barrel refurbishes used industrial and commercial barrels and drums.
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| Florida Man: a year in eccentricity, gators and crime Posted: 17 Dec 2019 05:51 PM PST  There is a Florida Man Twitter account, and for good reason -- the Sunshine State seems to be the scene of some of the wackiest news of any given year. Thanks to the marvels of the internet, the exploits of "Florida Man" -- a wayward regular Joe, or a clumsy criminal -- are the stuff of social media legend. Of course, the abundance of wild animals -- we are looking at you, alligators -- help a lot.
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| Dog found 2,000 miles from home made it back before the holidays Posted: 18 Dec 2019 01:13 PM PST  They say there's no place like home for the holidays — and a dog named Zeus had quite the journey back.
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