| India's president appoints Modi as premier for 2nd term Posted: 25 May 2019 08:08 PM PDT  NEW DELHI (AP) — India's president on Saturday appointed Narendra Modi as the prime minister, soon after newly elected lawmakers led by Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party chose him as their leader following a thunderous victory in national elections.
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| Trump, Pelosi trade barbs as impeachment talk stirs anger Posted: 25 May 2019 01:50 PM PDT  Democratic congressional leader Nancy Pelosi says Donald Trump is angry that her party is not rushing to impeach him, as the relationship between the rivals reaches new lows. Trump responded by branding Pelosi "crazy Nancy," in what appeared to be the first time he has ascribed a pejorative nickname to the woman who is his congressional nemesis.
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| Utah climber, 4 others die on Mount Everest Posted: 24 May 2019 06:43 PM PDT  KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — An American climber who fulfilled his dream of climbing the highest mountains on each of the seven continents died of probable altitude sickness on the way down from Mount Everest, mountaineering officials said.
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| UPDATE 3-Kurdish MPs, prisoners end hunger strike in Turkey Posted: 26 May 2019 01:55 AM PDT ![UPDATE 3-Kurdish MPs, prisoners end hunger strike in Turkey]( "UPDATE 3-Kurdish MPs, prisoners end hunger strike in Turkey") Several Kurdish lawmakers and thousands of prison inmates in Turkey have ended their hunger strike, heeding a call from jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan, MPs said on Sunday, 200 days after the protest was launched. The decision removed a source of tension in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey after Ankara let Ocalan meet his lawyers this month for the first time since 2011, triggering speculation about possible fresh efforts to end conflict in the region.
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| Eating Way Too Much Rice Almost Doomed Japan's Imperial Navy Posted: 25 May 2019 09:30 PM PDT  After the war, the Emergency Beriberi Investigative Committee investigated the disease's devastation of Japanese ranks. Worried about the composition of the committee and fully aware of Takaki's success, the emperor stepped in. "The army's beriberi problem can be effectively prevented if the army provides a staple of barley and rice," the emperor stated.In August 1882 in Incheon Bay near Seoul, four Japanese warships were locked in a tense stand-off with two Chinese warships that had brought troops to quell a revolt on the Korean peninsula.On paper, the Japanese flotilla outnumbered the Chinese, but the hulls of the Japanese ships hid a deadly secret. Less than half of their crews could man their stations.The Korean peninsula erupted into conflict on July 23. A soldiers' protest against ill treatment, unpaid wages and poor provisions turned into widespread mutiny. Ousted from power, the former regent of the king set the mutineers upon the government—and against the Japanese advisers working to modernize the Korean army.
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| Missing yoga teacher found alive two weeks after disappearing in Hawaii forest Posted: 25 May 2019 02:57 AM PDT  A yoga instructor who had been missing in a Hawaiian forest for more than two weeks has been found alive.Amanda Eller, 35, was last seen early on the morning of 8 May as she set off on a hike in the Makawao Forest Reserve trail on Maui island.Rescuers found her safe and in remarkably good condition after a helicopter team spotted her waving from the stream bed of a ravine around 5pm on Friday.Ms Eller's friends and volunteers who joined the 17-day search said she had lost her shoes in the jungle and was suffering from sunburn, but otherwise had no other injuries. The physical therapist had survived on water and local plants, one said."She was very alert, she knew her father's phone number, she knew who she was, where she was, knew exactly how long she had been out there," her friend Chris Berquist told ABC News. "I've never felt something quite that overpowering."Ms Eller was able to call her father from the helicopter that lifted her out of the ravine and took her to Maui Memorial Hospital to be checked over.The woman's family – who had feared she could have been "intercepted" by someone after she disappeared – had raised the reward for finding her from $10,000 to $50,000 only hours before she was found.Hundreds of volunteers, including many experienced hikers, had joined the effort to locate the missing yoga teacher – originally from the US state of Maryland but living and working in Hawaii. Police dogs and drones had been used to scour the forest.Ms Eller was last seen by her boyfriend Benjamin Konkol before she set off on a morning hike without her phone. He told ABC News last week that evidence suggested "she's definitely still here, we just haven't found her yet".Her mother Julia said: "I do firmly believe that Amanda is still alive, but occasionally those doubts creep in and I try to dispel them as I can."Hawaiian authorities also released surveillance footage last week showing Ms Eller at the Ha'iku Post Office and a local store on the morning she went missing. Police found her white Toyota RAV4 in the parking lot of the forest trail soon after she was declared missing.Although it is not yet known how she came to get stuck in the ravine, Mr Berquist said the spot where she was finally found was "way off the beaten track".He said: "She was not injured. She has a little bit of exposure from the sun, a little bit of sunburn. She lost her shoes a few days in. But no injuries."
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| Police hunt suspect after explosion in French city of Lyon Posted: 25 May 2019 08:06 AM PDT  LYON, France (AP) — French police on Saturday hunted a suspect believed to have deposited a paper bag containing a device that exploded Friday, wounding 13 people on a busy pedestrian street in the city of Lyon.
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| Blow for Macron as Le Pen tops EU election in France Posted: 26 May 2019 03:02 PM PDT  The far-right National Rally party led by Marine Le Pen looked set to finish top in European elections in France on Sunday, dealing a symbolic blow, but not a knock-out punch, to pro-EU President Emmanuel Macron. Le Pen's National Rally (RN) appeared on track for around 24.0 percent of the vote, with Macron's centrist alliance trailing with 22.5-23.0 percent, according to exit polls. Le Pen, who lost out to Macron in a bitter presidential contest in 2017, called for the head of state to dissolve the parliament and call new elections, a proposal that was immediately rejected by the government.
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| Trump: So What if North Korea Fired Off Weapons? Kim Jong Un Dissed Joe Biden for Me Posted: 25 May 2019 04:51 PM PDT  Jonathan Ernst/ReutersPresident Trump says he isn't bothered by North Korea's recent weapons testing, unlike some of his own "people," because Kim Jong Un has already shown his loyalty by making a crack at Joe Biden. "North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me," Trump tweeted Sunday while visiting Japan. "I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Bidan [sic] a low IQ individual, & worse," the president wrote. "Perhaps that's sending me a signal?"The president later tweeted out the exact same comments again but corrected the spelling of Biden's surname. Bizarrely, Trump made the comments not only just hours after his own national security adviser condemned North Korea for testing ballistic missiles, but also right before his scheduled meeting in Japan with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who also spoke out about the missile testing. The country's test of ballistic missiles earlier this month was seen as an aggressive escalation that violates United Nations Security Council resolutions, according to Trump's national security adviser John Bolton. "In terms of violating Security Council resolutions, there's no doubt about that," Bolton told reporters on Saturday morning. Bolton also said Trump is working to maintain sanctions pressure on the North Korean regime until it backs down. A day earlier, Pyongyang suggested it had no intention of cooperating with Washington until the Trump administration agrees to make compromises instead of insisting on what it described as unilateral disarmament. An unnamed North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman made the comments to state media, saying nuclear negotiations between the two countries will not resume until the U.S. changes its terms. The president's tweet, on the other hand, suggests he is placing his bets on Kim being loyal to his earlier denuclearization pledge because of the North Korean leader's diss of the former vice president. The country's official Korean Central News Agency echoed Trump in an editorial earlier this week that labeled 2020 contender Biden a "fool of low IQ" and an "imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being." Trump, who now says he took that as a "signal" that Kim would keep his promises, apparently forgot his own history as the subject of mockery by the North Korean regime. Several months after he took office in 2017, the North Korean Foreign Ministry dismissed Trump as an "old lunatic." Trump's tweet has baffled many in Washington, including members of Joe Biden's team. Brandon English, a senior digital adviser for the presidential candidate, retweeted Trump and wrote, "... I honestly have no idea what to do with this."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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| Iran state TV fires managers over 'insult' to Sunnis Posted: 26 May 2019 08:04 AM PDT  Iranian state TV has fired two channel managers over a live programme deemed insulting to Sunni Muslims, it said in a statement Sunday. The sackings at Channel 5 came after a broadcast on May 20 celebrating the birthday of the second imam in Shiite Islam, Hassan ibn Ali. During the programme, religious chanter and story-teller Ahmad Qadami recited a eulogy that "insulted the sanctities of Sunni Muslims", according to official news agency IRNA.
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| 'No Food, No Drink, No Watermelon' Boston Schoolteacher Claims Her Students Were Racially Profiled at Museum Posted: 25 May 2019 12:32 PM PDT  A Boston schoolteacher alleges that her 7th grade students were racially profiled during a visit to the Museum of Fine Arts.
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| Qatar says invited to emergency Arab summits in Mecca by Saudi King Posted: 26 May 2019 02:25 PM PDT  Qatar has been invited by Saudi Arabia to attend two emergency Arab summits being convened in the Saudi city of Mecca on May 30, Qatar's foreign ministry said on Sunday, after previously saying it had not been. Last week Qatar said it had not been invited to the two summits Saudi is planning in Islam's holiest site to discuss the implications of drone strikes on oil installations in the kingdom and attacks on four vessels, including two Saudi oil tankers, off the UAE coast earlier this month.
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| Bodies in submerged Missouri vehicle bring storm toll to 9 Posted: 24 May 2019 08:27 PM PDT  OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The bodies of a man and a woman were discovered Friday in a submerged vehicle near the Mississippi River in Missouri, bringing the death toll to nine from storms that have ravaged the central U.S. this week and threaten major flooding through the holiday weekend.
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| This $8.99 iPhone case is perfect for people who hate iPhone cases Posted: 25 May 2019 07:33 AM PDT ![This $8.99 iPhone case is perfect for people who hate iPhone cases]( "This $8.99 iPhone case is perfect for people who hate iPhone cases") Some people are happy to spend hundreds or even more than $1,000 on an iPhone and then roll the dice by not protecting it with a case. We can totally understand not wanting to ruin Apple's design with a big, bulky case, but you can still protect your phone from scratches. Check out the TOZO Ultra-Thin Hard Cover for iPhone, which is only $8.99 on Amazon. It's paper thin so it won't really help with drops, but it'll do a great job of stopping scratches and swirls that would otherwise be inevitable.Here's more info from the product page: * Thin Like Naked- 0.35mm World Thinest protect Hard case. Maximum keep your iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or iPhone XS Max slim and provide scratch protection. * Concise Designed- Semi Transparent, Simple, Elegant * MATTE FACE - with matte optical texture, anti-glare(reduced reflection),reducing fingerprints or grease buildup. * CAMERA RAISED - Camera hole ring raised protective layer, provide cell phone camera detail protection. * PERFECT FIT - Specially designed for iPhone (2018 models), has precise cutouts for speakers, charging ports and buttons.
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| Huawei founder says he would oppose Chinese retaliation against Apple: Bloomberg Posted: 26 May 2019 04:52 PM PDT  Huawei Technologies' founder and Chief Executive Ren Zhengfei told Bloomberg https://bloom.bg/2HT7DUY that retaliation by Beijing against Apple Inc was unlikely and that he would oppose any such move from China against the iPhone maker. When asked about calls from some in China to retaliate against Apple, Ren said that he would "protest" against any such step if it were to be taken by Beijing.
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| Trump urges Democrats to 'get over their anger' about Mueller report Posted: 24 May 2019 06:43 PM PDT  Media praises Pelosi for 'getting under Trump's skin'; panel reaction and analysis on 'Hannity.'
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| Trump's orders to AG on Russia probe worry critics Posted: 24 May 2019 09:02 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Intelligence professionals warned Friday that President Donald Trump's decision to give his loyal attorney general carte blanche to disclose still-secret material from the Russia investigation will let William Barr cherry-pick intelligence to paint a misleading picture about what started the probe.
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| 'Green wave' in EU vote amid climate crisis Posted: 26 May 2019 02:50 PM PDT  With double-digit scores across Europe's biggest countries including a stunning 20 percent in Germany, the Greens bagged record gains in European elections on Sunday with younger voters leading calls for action to halt global warming. The environmental party doubled its score in Germany from the last EU elections in 2014, knocking the Social Democrats off their traditional second place. In France, the Greens came in number three with 12 percent, while in Austria, Ireland and the Netherlands, they garnered double-digits.
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| Rouhani says Iran could hold referendum on nuclear programme as tensions with US rise Posted: 26 May 2019 09:04 AM PDT  Iran's president Hassan Rouhani has suggested that the Islamic Republic could hold a public referendum on its nuclear programme, in the wake of rising tensions in the Persian Gulf. "Article 59 of the Constitution (referendum) is a deadlock breaker ... and could be a problem-solver at any junction," the semi-official news agency ILNA quoted Rouhani as saying late on Saturday. The statement followed Mr Rouhani's public dressing-down by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for his handling of the country's fast-unravelling nuclear deal. In recent weeks, Mr Rouhani responded to a new round of crippling US economic sanctions against Tehran by threatening to walk away from terms of the 2015 agreement, which the US withdrew from last year. This approach appears to have pushed the country uncomfortably close to military confrontation with the US. Since US President Donald Trump withdrew, his government has dialled up pressure on Iran by blocking global oil exports and stoking long-simmering tensions in the region. Citing an unnamed threat against American troops in the Middle East, the US sent warships and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf earlier this month, further escalating the potential for conflict. Tehran has described the US buildup of troops and material as psychological warfare and a political game. While many in Iran's leadership have insisted they do not want a war with the US, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's public chastising of the Islamic Republic's president reflects his more hawkish position. Ayatollah Khamenei has long maintained the view that Iranian negotiators surrendered too much in the deal. Last summer, he said they had "trespassed the red lines that had been set" and that the country owed the little it had thanks to his advice to Mr Rouhani. Without this guidance, the ayatollah said, "we would have given up more." Mr Rouhani's move to put a referendum on the table could help him settle this internal dispute without losing face and provide political cover for whichever path voters backed. The Iranian public has been broadly supportive of the nuclear deal and its attendant possibilities for economic growth. The country's middle classes in particular have been exhausted by years of sanctions and currency depreciation. But there is also an alternate view that sees a referendum as a device to offer Iranian leadership a pathway back to enrichment. Iran has held three referendums since its 1979 Islamic revolution, the first to approve the set-up of an Islamic Republic and the second to approve and amend the constitution. Mr Rouhani said he proposed a third, on the nuclear issue, to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei back in 2004 while negotiating the nuclear deal.
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| Jayme Closs kidnapping: Jake Patterson jailed for life for killing girl’s parents and keeping her prisoner Posted: 25 May 2019 05:46 AM PDT  The kidnapper of 13 year-old Jayme Closs has been jailed for life after she told the judge she wanted him "locked up forever" for murdering her parents and keeping her prisoner for 88 days.Jake Patterson, 21, targeted the teenager after spotting her getting on a school bus in a rural area of Wisconsin while he was driving to work at a cheese factory.After two aborted attempts to kidnap her, he dressed up in black clothing, armed himself with his father's shotgun and drove to her home in Barron in the early hours of 15 October.Her shot her father James Closs through a window in the front door, blasted the lock and entered the house. After finding the bathroom locked he broke down the door and discovered Jayme and her mother clinging to each other in the bathtub.Patterson tied Jayme up with tape and shot Denise Closs in the head as she sat next to her daughter. He then dragged Jayme through her father's blood and put her in the truck of his car before driving to his remote cabin about 60 miles away in Gordon, Douglas County.Patterson kept her captive under a bed and hit her with a curtain rod, Wright said. "He kept her in constant fear, threatening her, telling her things would get worse," said district attorney Brian Wright.Jayme's disappearance mystified authorities until she finally escaped on 10 January while Patterson was away. She flagged down a neighbour and Patterson was arrested by police minutes later as he returned to the cabin. The killer pleaded guilty last month to two counts of intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping.Jayme did not appear at the sentencing but her statement was read out in court by a family attorney."He thought that he could own me but he was wrong. I was smarter," the statement said. "I was brave and he was not. ... He thought he could make me like him, but he was wrong."For 88 days he tried to steal me and he didn't care who he hurt or who he killed to do that. He should be locked up forever." Judge James Babler called Patterson the "embodiment of evil" before sentencing him to consecutive life sentences without the possibility of release on the homicide charges. He also ordered Patterson to serve 25 years in prison and 15 years of extended supervision on the kidnapping count. "There's no doubt in my mind you're one of the most dangerous men to ever walk on this planet," Babler said. Offered a chance to speak, Patterson offered an apology: "I would die," he said. "I would do absolutely anything ... to bring them back. I don't care about me. I'm just so sorry. That's all." In statements written while in prison, the killer said he had succumbed to fantasies about keeping a young girl and torturing and controlling her.He started looking for an opportunity to kidnap someone, even deciding he might want to take multiple girls and kill multiple families.After seeing Jayme, he decided then that "she was the girl he was going to take." Patterson's attorneys, Richard Jones and Charles Glynn, told the judge that Patterson was isolated and that he overreacted to loneliness. The killer was also ordered to register as a sex offender.Jayme's aunt, Jennifer Smith, said after the sentencing that this was an important step in helping Jayme to move forward.She said the family believes the outcome will give Jayme some "much needed peace of mind".Additional reporting by Associated Press
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| Bud Light's message about Miller Lite and Coors Light now has limits Posted: 26 May 2019 02:28 PM PDT ![Bud Light's message about Miller Lite and Coors Light now has limits]( "Bud Light's message about Miller Lite and Coors Light now has limits") The company behind Bud Light will not be able to use two TV ads and two billboards regarding its light beer rivals.
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| Huawei founder says he would oppose Chinese retaliation against Apple- Bloomberg Posted: 26 May 2019 03:48 PM PDT ![Huawei founder says he would oppose Chinese retaliation against Apple- Bloomberg]( "Huawei founder says he would oppose Chinese retaliation against Apple- Bloomberg") Huawei Technologies' founder and Chief Executive Ren Zhengfei told Bloomberg https://bloom.bg/2HT7DUY that retaliation by Beijing against Apple Inc was unlikely and that he would oppose any such move from China against the iPhone maker. When asked about calls from some in China to retaliate against Apple, Ren said that he would "protest" against any such step if it were to be taken by Beijing.
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| Get the Charming Look of the Kentucky Getaway Posted: 26 May 2019 05:00 AM PDT |
| Judge blocks Trump from building sections of border wall Posted: 25 May 2019 01:21 PM PDT  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump from building key sections of his border wall with money secured under his declaration of a national emergency, delivering what may prove a temporary setback on one of his highest priorities.
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| EU votes as far right seeks blow to Macron Posted: 25 May 2019 08:43 AM PDT  Slovaks and Latvians cast their ballots in EU elections on Saturday as the far right hoped to clinch major gains and deny a pro-Europe victory to French President Emmanuel Macron. Polls were open in Malta, Slovakia and Latvia, with most of the bloc's 28 member states -- including big players Germany, France and Italy -- to vote on Sunday, with turnout expected to be low. Polling has shown for months that eurosceptics and the anti-immigration far right could make big gains in the vote, which will also help determine who replaces Jean-Claude Juncker as head of the European Commission as well as other top jobs.
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| Houthi leader says drone attacks a response to spurned Yemen peace moves Posted: 26 May 2019 11:59 AM PDT  Mohammed Ali al-Houthi dismissed Saudi accusations that the attacks had been carried out on the orders on Iran - at a time of growing tension between Tehran and Riyadh alongside its Western and regional allies. Saudi Arabia, leading a Western-backed Sunni Muslim coalition, intervened in neighboring Yemen in 2015 after the Houthis ousted the government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi from power in the capital Sanaa. The Houthis have stepped up attacks on the kingdom in the past two weeks - including a drone strike on two oil pumping stations near Riyadh - in a resurgence of tactics that had largely subsided since late last year amid U.N.-led peace efforts.
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| 51 attorneys general call on Betsy DeVos to cancel up to 42,000 disabled veterans' student debts Posted: 25 May 2019 11:58 AM PDT  "As a nation, we have a moral obligation to assist those who have put their lives on the line to defend us," the attorneys general wrote.
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| Scouted: These Portable Bluetooth Speakers Have a 4.9-Star Average Rating — and Are On Sale Right Now Posted: 25 May 2019 12:00 AM PDT  The folks at one of Scouted readers' favorite electronics brands Anker has repackaged their extremely highly rated Bluetooth speakers into a perfect Father's Day gift — and marked down the price by 23%. The Soundcore Flare portable speakers, which play multi-directional sound and sync to each other for custom style surround sound, are $50 right now (that's the lowest price they've ever been) and come with a limited edition travel case. The enhanced bass, all-around 360-degree sound, and LEDs that phase, pulse, and shine in sync with your music, got reviewers to rate the Flares 4.9 stars, on average — a rare occurrence to be that well-liked. Use code ILOVEFATHER to trigger the discount at checkout and give your dad a pair of portable speakers that are easy to use, modern, and which will supplant a lack of entertainment at any family get together or party for many years to come.Scouted is internet shopping with a pulse. Follow us on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter for even more recommendations and exclusive content. Please note that if you buy something featured in one of our posts, The Daily Beast may collect a share of sales.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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| RPT-Hong Kong protestors demand China be held to account for 1989 Tiananmen crackdown Posted: 26 May 2019 05:08 AM PDT ![RPT-Hong Kong protestors demand China be held to account for 1989 Tiananmen crackdown]( "RPT-Hong Kong protestors demand China be held to account for 1989 Tiananmen crackdown") Thousands of protesters marched through central Hong Kong on Sunday as part of annual demonstrations demanding that China be held accountable for its democracy crackdown in and around Tiananmen Square three decades ago. Human rights groups and witnesses say that hundreds, perhaps thousands, died in the bloodshed as Chinese tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square and soldiers fired on student-led democracy protesters, beginning on the night of June 3, 1989. The Tiananmen crackdown is a taboo subject in China and authorities have refused to accept full accountability or release the death toll.
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| MacBook Pro teardown dives into Apple’s efforts to improve its keyboard design Posted: 24 May 2019 06:34 PM PDT  After years of controversy and deserved criticism, Apple earlier this week introduced a refreshed MacBook Pro with a slightly tweaked design that, we can only hope, will address longstanding complaints about the butterfly-switch keyboard originally introduced in 2016.At this point, it's been well-documented that the MacBook Pro keyboard is prone to failure if even the slightest piece of dust wedges itself underneath the keys. As recently as last month, Apple acknowledged that some users were still experiencing problems with their "third-generation butterfly keyboard." And while not a widespread issue by any means, it's simply unacceptable for this type of issue to arise on a notebook as pricey as a MacBook Pro.With the latest iteration of the MacBook Pro, Apple can hopefully put all keyboard-related criticisms in the rearview mirror. As Apple explained to a handful of publications this week, the new MacBook Pro keyboard employs "new materials" designed to lower the incidence of keys not performing or registering twice after a single press.In light of that, iFixit recently did what it does best: it tore apart a brand new MacBook Pro to better understand the steps Apple is taking to improve overall keyboard performance and reliability. The iFixit folks did uncover a new transparent material on the keyboard switch made out of nylon, though they weren't entirely sure what "problem Apple's engineers tried to solve using this updated material."The full teardown -- which touches on a number of other slight design changes -- can be viewed over here and is well worth checking out for anyone with an interest in how Apple's notebooks are put together and how everything looks when torn apart.Keyboard tweaks aside, Apple's new MacBook Pro refresh features 13 and 15-inch models and boast 8th and 9th-gen Intel Core processors."MacBook Pro now delivers two times faster performance than a quad-core MacBook Pro and 40 percent more performance than a 6-core MacBook Pro, making it the fastest Mac notebook ever," Apple's press release reads in part.As is to be expected, the new MacBook Pro models don't come cheap, with the entry-level models starting at $1,799 and $2,399, respectively.
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| Be All You Can Be: All of the Reasons People Join the U.S. Army Posted: 25 May 2019 02:47 PM PDT  All the reasons why. Americans join the Army for plenty of reasons: for country, family, and honor. According to a new study of enlisted soldiers, however, a core motivation is relatively simple: for money.A RAND Corporation exhaustive survey of 81 soldiers between E-1 and E-4 suggests that the choice to enlist is influenced by two overlapping factors: institutional ones like family and duty, and occupational ones like professional development and job stability.(This article by James Clark originally appeared at Task & Purpose. Follow Task & Purpose on Twitter. This article first appeared in 2018.)But while 37% of soldiers identified cited both institutional and occupational reasons for joining the Army, a full 46% said they enlisted due to purely occupational reasons; only 9% said they joined for entirely institutional ones. (Interestingly, those who did cite service as a calling were mostly medics.)
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| US sanctions on Iran felt in Iraqi Shiite tourist districts Posted: 26 May 2019 02:53 AM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — For years, Karar Hussein has sold sweets in his shop near the entrance to one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines, accepting whatever currency was offered to him by his clients, many of them religious tourists from neighboring Iran. But lately, when Iranian pilgrims ask about prices, he tells them he can only sell if they pay in Iraqi currency. They often walk out, disappointed.
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| Greek EU vote slams Tsipras, rewards conservatives: exit polls Posted: 26 May 2019 01:01 PM PDT  Greek voters on Sunday slammed Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' Syriza party in EU parliament and local elections, giving the opposition conservative New Democracy party a solid lead, exit polls and early results indicated. The exit polls for European parliament elections gave New Democracy 33.5 percent compared to 25 percent for Syriza, according to a combined survey by the five main private TV stations.
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| UPDATE 2-Teva Pharm to pay Oklahoma $85 mln to settle opioid claims Posted: 26 May 2019 09:29 AM PDT ![UPDATE 2-Teva Pharm to pay Oklahoma $85 mln to settle opioid claims]( "UPDATE 2-Teva Pharm to pay Oklahoma $85 mln to settle opioid claims") BOSTON/JERUSALEM, May 26 (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd said on Sunday it had agreed to pay an $85 million settlement with the state of Oklahoma days before the company was set to face trial over allegations that it and other drugmakers helped fuel the U.S. opioid epidemic. Teva, the world's largest generic drugmaker, said the settlement "does not establish any wrongdoing on the part of the company" and denied contributing to opioid abuse in Oklahoma. Claims against Teva focused on the branded opioid products Actiq and Fentora as well as generic painkillers it produced.
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| India's Economy Needs Tougher Reform. How Will Modi Use His Election Mandate? Posted: 25 May 2019 11:46 AM PDT  Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a historic second five-year term — with a single-party majority — for the Bharatiya Janata Party this week. He campaigned…
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| NASA captures an incredible photo of a creeper galaxy Posted: 25 May 2019 10:21 AM PDT  Most galaxies are traveling away from our galaxy, not closer to it. Still, there are exceptions. Take Messier 90, one of the few galaxies that appears to be traveling towards our own Milky Way galaxy. Recently, NASA's Hubble telescope caught an awe-inspiring photo of the galaxy. Here it is in full. Messier 90 is part of the Virgo cluster, a collection of about 1,200 galaxies Image: ESA/Hubble & NASA, W. Sargent et SEE ALSO: SpaceX just blasted a critical NASA instrument into space Because the universe is expanding, most galaxies are moving away from the Milky Way galaxy. Consequently, these galaxies appear to be on the red side of the spectrum, a phenomenon known as redshift. Messier 90, however, compresses the frequency of its light as it moves closer to us. That makes it fall closer to the blue side of the spectrum, a phenomenon known as blueshift. It's important to note that the Virgo cluster, of which Messier 90 is a part, is moving away from us. But Messier 90 is actually moving faster than other galaxies in the cluster, making it appear as if it's racing towards the Milky Way. The cluster's colossal mass accelerates some of these galaxies to very high velocities. Just look at how pretty it makes them. Messier 90 is a looker Image: NASA, ESA, STScI, and V. Rubin (Carnegie Institution of Washington), D. Maoz (Tel Aviv University/Wise Observatory) and D. Fisher (University of Maryland) I would totally take a selfie with this galaxy. WATCH: Marvel intends to introduce a gay character 'soon'
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| UPDATE 2-Fiat Chrysler in tie-up talks with Renault - sources Posted: 25 May 2019 12:13 PM PDT ![UPDATE 2-Fiat Chrysler in tie-up talks with Renault - sources]( "UPDATE 2-Fiat Chrysler in tie-up talks with Renault - sources") MILAN/PARIS, May 25 (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler and Renault are in talks on a comprehensive global tie-up that could address some of the main weaknesses of both carmakers, two sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters on Saturday. The talks are at an advanced stage, the sources said. The Financial Times https://on.ft.com/2HRDghE earlier reported that FCA and Renault were discussing a deal to forge "extensive ties" to tackle structural challenges facing the global auto industry.
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| Google will answer all your questions about the Stadia cloud gaming service ‘this summer’ Posted: 24 May 2019 08:06 PM PDT  E3 2019 is a little more than two weeks away, and it's starting to look like some gaming announcements from Google might also be set to drop around that time.Since unveiling its new Stadia game streaming service in March, the company has been pretty quiet when it comes to the key details that potential subscribers want to know. Things like when it will be live, how much the service will cost and what titles will be lined up and ready to go for the launch. But that doesn't look like it will be the case much longer.It just so happens that Google decided to let everyone know on Friday, via a tweet from the Stadia Twitter account, that the answers to each of those things will be revealed soon. As in, sometime "this summer."https://twitter.com/GoogleStadia/status/1131953000061243392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1131953000061243392&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2F9to5google.com%2F2019%2F05%2F24%2Fgoogle-stadia-launch-details%2FGoogle formally unveiled Stadia in March at GDC 2019, presenting the service as a digital platform that will allow users to play games on virtually every device they own. At launch, it will support desktops, laptops, TVs, tablets, and phones, and you can seamlessly jump between them all. Benefits Google touts of the service include the fact that you don't have to suffer through updates or downloads. You can just jump right into games -- which you can also enjoy with beautiful graphics of up to 4K HDR and smooth frame rates of up to 60 FPS. Among the other details we do know so far, games like Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Doom Eternal have already been confirmed for the service. Google will be making plenty of first-party titles through its new "Stadia Games and Entertainment" studio, and it's also shipped development tools to more than 100 studios around the world.Pricing details we're still waiting on include how much the companion Stadia Controller will cost and what the actual pricing model for the overall service will be. As well as whether there will be some kind of trial offering to entice players to try it out before they go all-in.
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| Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle reopens with new touches Posted: 24 May 2019 07:24 PM PDT  Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle reopened Friday with sparkling new touches a week before the debut of "Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge."
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| Iraq offers to mediate in crisis between its allies Iran, US Posted: 26 May 2019 04:36 AM PDT  Iraq offered Sunday to mediate in the crisis between its two key allies, the United States and Iran, amid escalating Middle East tensions and as Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers steadily unravels. Iraqi foreign minister, Mohammed al-Hakim, made the offer during a joint news conference in Baghdad with visiting Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif. "We are trying to help and to be mediators," said al-Hakim, adding that Baghdad "will work to reach a satisfactory solution" while stressing that Iraq stands against unilateral steps taken by Washington.
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| Germany's Greens surge in EU vote as Merkel bloc's lead shrinks Posted: 26 May 2019 09:47 AM PDT  Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right bloc was leading in European elections in Germany, exit polls showed Sunday, but the score was shaping out to be a historic low, while the Greens recorded a surge. Merkel's Christian Democratic Party and allies Christian Social Union were set to garner around 28 percent, two separate polls by national broadcasters ARD and ZDF showed, sharply under their 35.3 percent in 2014. The far-right AfD was set to improve on their 2014 score of 7.1 percent, with both exit polls seeing it coming in at 10.5 percent.
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