| Tourist says he experienced stomach pain while swimming in pool in Dominican Republic Posted: 13 Jun 2019 08:38 AM PDT  A Florida man has contributed to a list of disconcerting incidents in theDominican Republic by coming forward with his own recent experience in thecountry, according to WTVT
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| North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to 2015 Murder of 3 Muslim Students Posted: 12 Jun 2019 08:16 AM PDT  REUTERSA North Carolina man accused in the fatal shooting of three Muslim college students pleaded guilty on Wednesday, four years after the he turned himself into police.Craig Stephen Hicks, 50, pleaded guilty in Durham Superior Court to three counts of first-degree murder for the Feb. 2015 shooting, just two months after the District Attorney's office dropped their intention to seek the death penalty. Prosecutors alleged Hicks fatally shot his downstairs neighbors—23-year old Deah Barakat; his 21-year-old wife, Yusor Abu-Salha; and her 19-year-old sister, Razan Abu-Salha—in Chapel Hill near the University of North Carolina campus, after allegedly getting into an argument over parking spaces. "I've wanted to plead guilty since day one," Hicks said to Durham Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson when asked to enter his plea. On Feb. 10, 2015, authorities alleged, Hicks, a former car-parts salesman, burst into the Barakat's Chapel Hill condo and shot the 23-year-old several times as he stood in his doorway. His wife and her sister were shot "execution-style" in the head inside the condo, the medical examiner's office determined. Authorities said a 911 called described hearing "over eight shots and screaming" during the mid-afternoon encounter. When officers entered the apartment around 5:15 p.m., Barakat was found lying in the front doorway, while the sisters were found in the kitchen. All three were pronounced dead at the scene.What Turned Fury at North Carolina Muslim Neighbors to Murder"Our investigators are exploring what could have motivated Mr. Hicks to commit such a senseless and tragic act," Chapel Hill Police Chief Chris Blue said at the time. "We understand the concerns about the possibility that this was hate-motivated and we will exhaust every lead to determine if that is the case."Chapel Hill police said the deadly attack was provoked over a competition for parking spaces at Finley Forest Condominiums, a housing complex for many UNC graduate students. Namee Barakat, the 23-year-old's father, maintains the shootings were a hate crime, prompting a federal investigation currently underway."This is more than just about parking," Barakat said at the time. "Three people get shot in the head. The death penalty would not be enough." The 23-year-old's mother, however, argued against the death penalty at the UNC vigil the day after the shooting, where a few thousand people reportedly attended. "He died of hate crime and his legacy is never hate," Laya Barakat said. "You don't respond back by hating the other. You respond back by love. By peace, by mercy. That's Deah's way."Hours after the shooting, Hicks turned himself into police and was arrested. On Feb. 16, he was indicted by a Durham County grand jury on three counts of first-degree murder and one count of discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling. "I've semi-threatened them," Hicks admitted to police at the time, according to footage placed in court Wednesday. "I just pulled my gun out and started shooting them. I walked over and shot her and the other one. Then I walked to my car and left." Mohammad Abu-Salha, the two women's father, testified at a congressional hearing on hate crimes in April, alleging the murder was racially fueled after Hicks, self-described as a "devout atheist," had publically expressed hateful comments about Abu-Salha's daughters wearing head scarves in observance of their faith."Three beautiful young Americans were brutally murdered, and there is no question in our minds that this tragedy was born of bigotry and hate," Abu-Salha said before the U.S. House Judiciary COmmittee. "This has happened on too many occasions. Families like mine—regular Americans living regular lives—are left without hope that justice will truly be served."At the time of the shooting, Hick was studying to become a paralegal at Durham Technical Community College after his second divorce while Barakat was a second-year student in the UNC School of Dentistry. His wife of two months had plans to begin UNC dental school at UNC in the fall, her family said, and her sister was a sophomore at N.C. State University. 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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| India set to launch second lunar mission; land rover on the moon Posted: 12 Jun 2019 03:41 AM PDT  India said on Wednesday it will launch its second lunar mission in mid-July, as it moves to consolidate its status as a leader in space technology by achieving a controlled landing on the moon. The mission, if successful, would make India only the fourth country behind the United States, Russia and China to perform a "soft" landing on the moon and put a rover on it. China successfully landed a lunar rover in January.
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| Ilhan Omar’s Tax Filings Draw Accusations of Irregularities Posted: 12 Jun 2019 09:11 AM PDT  A state investigation into Representative Ilhan Omar's misuse of campaign funds uncovered discrepancies in her tax filings as well, alleging that she filed jointly with a man she was living with while still married to her previous husband.The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board stated in a report that the Democratic congresswoman filed joint tax returns with Ahmed Hirsi for two years despite still being legally married to another man, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. Minnesota prohibits filing joint returns unless the two parties are legally married to each other.Omar and Hirsi had two children together without being legally married, and separated in 2008. She legally married Elmi in 2009 but later reconciled with Hirsi and had another child with him in 2012. In 2017, she divorced Elmi, and in 2018 she married Hirsi legally for the first time.In the meantime, however, Omar filed joint tax returns with Hirsi in 2014 and 2015 while still legally married to Elmi.Omar argued that in 2011 she obtained a divorce from Elmi "in her faith," the Muslim tradition, although the divorce was not a legal one.The state investigation was originally initiated over accusations that Omar illegally spent campaign funds on personal expenses. The investigatory board has ordered her to reimburse her state House campaign committee almost $3,500 plus a $500 civil penalty for illegally spent funds. Of that money, $1,500 was paid to an accounting firm for work related to Omar's divorce, while the majority was spent on travel expenses to Boston, Washington, D.C., Florida, New York, and Chicago."All of Rep. Omar's tax filings are fully compliant with all applicable tax law," her campaign said in a statement.
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| Photos of the 2020 BMW 3-Series Wagon Posted: 12 Jun 2019 08:29 AM PDT |
| North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's assassinated brother was 'CIA informant' Posted: 11 Jun 2019 06:30 PM PDT  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half-brother was an informant for the US Central Intelligence Agency before he was assassinated in Malaysia, it has been claimed. The report of a "nexus" between the CIA and Kim Jong-nam, 45, surfaced in the Wall Street Journal on Monday, citing an unnamed "person knowledgeable about the matter." However, the claim was first reported last week in The Times, based on a new book by Anna Fifield, a Washington Post journalist, which alleges that Kim was not only a CIA informant but that he laundered counterfeit money through casinos and associated with gangsters. The book sheds new light on the possible reasons for Kim's gruesome murder in February 2017 in Kuala Lumpur airport, when he was smeared with lethal VX agent by two women who thought they were taking part in a reality TV prank show. The US and South Korea have accused the North Korean regime of orchestrating the audacious assassination, although Pyongyang denies the accusation. Donald Trump said he would not have allowed US intelligence to use Kim Jong-un's half-brother as an asset. Asked about the CIA's links to Kim Jong-nam, Mr Trump said: "I don't know about that... I know that the relationship is such that that wouldn't happen under my auspices." Mr Trump also said he had received another "beautiful letter" from the North Korean leader and expressed openness to a third summit with him. Mr Trump said Kim had "kept his word" and "that's very important to me." Kim, who lived in exile in Macau before he died, was reportedly viewed as a threat to the rule of his ruthless younger brother, and any meetings with American spies would have added to that paranoia. "Kim Jong-nam became an informant for the CIA, an agency with a track record of trying to bring down dictators it didn't like," Ms Fifield writes in The Great Successor: The Secret Rise and Rule of Kim Jong Un. Kim Jong-nam and Kim Jong-un remained estranged as adults Credit: Shizuo Kambayashi/AP "His brother would have considered talking to American spies a treacherous act," she adds. "Kim Jong-nam provided information to them, usually meeting his handlers in Singapore or Malaysia." The Journal source said that Kim had travelled to Malaysia in February 2017 to meet his CIA contact, although this may not have been the sole reason for the trip. Former officials said that he had almost certainly been in contact with security services from other countries, particularly China's, although he had no known power base in Pyongyang and had not lived in the country for several years. As the eldest son of the Kim dynasty, Jong-nam was groomed for years as the successor to his father Kim Jong-il before he fell out of favour after the arrival of his three younger siblings. The tipping point into disgrace was reportedly a surreptitious trip to Japan on a fake passport to visit Disneyland, after which he left his homeland and, according to the book, lived in the shadows "amid gamblers, gangsters and spies." Kim spent time in Macau and Singapore, using multiples aliases. He had a Portuguese and Chinese passport as well as two North Korean ones in different names, including Kim Chol. Meanwhile, his former privileged position in the family's hereditary dynasty was overtaken by his youngest half-brother, Kim Jong-un, who assumed power shortly after their father's death in December 2011. Jong-nam, born to a North Korean starlet, and Jong-un to Ko Yong Hui, a dancer, had experienced isolated childhoods, and both were educated separately in Switzerland. The brothers remained estranged as adults, and in 2013 the younger Kim executed Chang Song-thaek, his aunt's husband, who was said to be close to Jong-nam. The execution heightened Jong-nam's fears that he was living on borrowed time, according to friends, although he is not believed to have been travelling with bodyguards at the time of his death. Want the best of The Telegraph direct to your email and WhatsApp? Sign up to our free twice-daily Front Page newsletter and new audio briefings.
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| Trump calls battle over census citizenship question 'ridiculous' Posted: 12 Jun 2019 12:23 PM PDT  While claiming he has not been "overly involved in the census controversy," President Trump called the question of whether to allow a question about citizenship on the 202 Census forms "totally ridiculous" Wednesday.
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| Maine legalizes medically assisted suicide Posted: 12 Jun 2019 03:35 PM PDT  Maine becomes the 8th state to legalize assisted suicide.
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| Australian pleads guilty to rape, murder of Arab-Israeli student Posted: 11 Jun 2019 09:19 PM PDT  A 20-year-old man pleaded guilty Wednesday to raping and killing a young Arab-Israeli student in Melbourne, one of a spate of attacks that sparked fears about women's safety in Australia's second biggest city. The body of Aya Maasarwe, 21, was found by passers-by near a tram stop on an early January morning, hours after she was attacked on her way home while she was speaking on the phone with her sister in Israel. Codey Herrmann was arrested and charged by police with the attacks several days later.
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| Bodies of Maryland couple who died at Dominican Republic resort returned to US Posted: 12 Jun 2019 11:10 AM PDT  Edward Nathaniel Holmes and Cynthia Ann Day were found dead in their hotel room in the Dominican Republic on May 30.
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| Pompeo Claims Iran Is Responsible for Oil-Tanker Attacks Posted: 13 Jun 2019 11:47 AM PDT  The U.S. intelligence community has concluded that Iran is responsible for the oil-tanker attacks that occurred in the Strait of Hormuz Thursday morning, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a press conference hours after the attack.Two oil tankers were attacked within the space of 45 minutes in the Gulf of Oman, off of the coast of Iran, where four oil tankers were similarly attacked last month by Iranian forces.Addressing reporters at the State Department, Pompeo explained that the assessment of Iranian culpability was "based on intelligence, weapons used, the level of expertise needed to execute the operation, recent similar Iranian attacks on shipping, and the fact that no proxy group operating in the area has resources and proficiency to act with such a high degree of sophistication."> BREAKING: Sec. Pompeo says the US blames Iran for the attacks on 2 tanker ships in the Gulf of Oman today. https://t.co/oAIxR89P7b pic.twitter.com/pdWBjgqYyS> > -- MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 13, 2019The tankers, one of which was operated by a Japanese company, were hit with torpedo-like projectiles near the water line, causing fires on-board that forced crew members to abandon ship. The attacks came shortly after Tehran rebuffed Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe's attempts to deescalate military tensions between Iran and the U.S.The incident disrupted global oil-supply chains and caused prices to increase sharply, since roughly one-third of the world's oil flows the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has repeatedly threatened to close off the strait in retaliation for U.S. sanctions that have cut off most Iranian oil exports and devastated the country's already-struggling economy.In describing the pattern of aggression that Iran has engaged in since the U.S. withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement reached by the Obama administration, Pompeo noted that 26 civilians were killed on Wednesday after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels fired a missile into a Saudi airport."Taken as a whole, these unprovoked attacks present a clear threat to international peace and security, a blatant assault on the freedom of navigation, and an unacceptable campaign of escalating tension by Iran," he said.Pompeo also criticized the Iranian foreign minister's suggestion that the U.S. might be attempting to frame Iran for the attack."Iran's foreign minister responded to these attacks today. He said sardonically: 'Suspicious doesn't begin to describe what likely transpired this morning.' Foreign Minister Zarif may think this is funny but no one else in the world does," Pompeo said. "Iran is lashing out because the regime wants our successful maximum-pressure campaign lifted. No economic sanctions entitle the Islamic republic to attack innocent civilians, disrupt global oil markets and engage in nuclear blackmail."U.S. representatives have been instructed to raise the attacks during a U.N. meeting Thursday afternoon, Pompeo said.
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| Official: Pilot who crashed helicopter radioed he was lost Posted: 12 Jun 2019 08:58 AM PDT  The pilot killed when his helicopter hit the roof of a New York City skyscraper in rain and fog radioed that he was lost and trying to get back to the heliport but couldn't find it, an official briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Videos posted on social media soon after the crash showed a helicopter that investigators believe is the doomed chopper pausing and hovering south of the heliport, then turning and making an erratic flight back north through rain and clouds. The pilot, 58-year-old Tim McCormack, was not authorized to fly in limited visibility, raising questions about why he took off in the first place.
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| Uganda-DRC border point on high alert over Ebola outbreak Posted: 13 Jun 2019 08:36 AM PDT  At the bustling Mpondwe border post, a woman crossing from the Democratic Republic of Congo into Uganda is whisked away to an isolation unit after a thermal scanner picks up her high temperature. Health workers keep Mulefu Kyakimwa, a 32-year-old vegetable oil trader, under observation but later discharge her, once Ebola has been ruled out as the cause of her fever. The border post is on high alert after a family with suspected Ebola escaped isolation on the Congolese side and entered Uganda, where two of them died this week.
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| Calls Grow for Lam to Delay Bill as Hong Kong Streets Calm Down Posted: 13 Jun 2019 04:38 PM PDT  "So far everybody is very unhappy with the way the government handled it," Felix Chung, who represents the textile and garments industries as a pro-establishment member of Hong Kong's legislature, said in a phone interview. Bolstering those concerns, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, reintroduced the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. Among other provisions, the measure threatens to freeze U.S. assets of individuals involved in forcibly removing people from Hong Kong.
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| Bernie Sanders to defend his brand of socialism in speech Posted: 12 Jun 2019 04:30 AM PDT  Presidential contender will outline his political philosophy and accuse Trump of profiting from 'corporate socialism' 'While Trump and his fellow oligarchs attack us for our support of democratic socialism, they don't really oppose all forms of socialism,' Sanders will say at Georgetown University. Photograph: Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty Images Bernie Sanders, draping himself in the progressive tradition of Franklin Roosevelt, is poised to defend his political philosophy in a speech that accuses Donald Trump of profiting from "corporate socialism". In a speech at George Washington University on Wednesday, the Democratic party presidential contender for 2020 will outline a distinctly American brand of socialism as he forcefully rebuts attacks on democratic socialism from the president and other senior Republicans. "While President Trump and his fellow oligarchs attack us for our support of democratic socialism, they don't really oppose all forms of socialism," Sanders will say, according to excerpts of his speech distributed on Tuesday by his campaign. "They may hate democratic socialism because it benefits working people, but they absolutely love corporate socialism that enriches Trump and other billionaires." Sanders will describe democratic socialism as a reflection of deeply-held American values like fairness and equality as he calls for a reimagining of the US economy. "Over 80 years ago, Franklin Delano Roosevelt helped create a government that made huge progress in protecting the needs of working families," he will say. "Today in the second decade of the 21st century we must take up the unfinished business of the New Deal and carry it to completion. This is the unfinished business of the Democratic Party and the vision we must accomplish." Since Sanders ran unsuccessfully for president in 2016, public perception of democratic socialism has shifted remarkably. The Vermont senator, an independent who registered as a Democrat to run for president, is no longer the only member of Congress to embrace the label; membership to the group Democratic Socialists of America has skyrocketed; a majority of House Democrats support universal healthcare; and at least one survey found that more young people prefer socialism than capitalism. But as the ideology becomes more popular, it has invited more attacks from the right. During his State of the Union address this year, Trump vowed that the US will "never be a socialist country". Sanders, seated in the audience, remained stone-faced. His philosophy has also faced pushback from his own party. At a recent party event in California, presidential candidate John Hickenlooper was booed by party activists when he declared: "If we want to beat Donald Trump and achieve big progressive goals, socialism is not the answer." Hickenlooper was joined by rival John Delaney, who dismissed "slogans posing as policies". "Medicare for All may sound good. But it's actually not good policy, nor is it good politics," he added. Sanders trails Joe Biden in many early primary polls but recent surveys show him beating Trump by similar margins in hypothetically head-to-heads. Part of Sanders's success in the primary depends on persuading Democrats that he is the strongest candidate to take on Trump. He has repeatedly argued that Trump's election proved voters are hungry for big ideas – and that the nominee should be a movement builder who can energize the electorate with a progressive vision. At the California event, Sanders denounced "middle ground" policies in a thinly veiled swipe at Biden, a more moderate Democrat who largely rejects Sanders's brand of politics. "We cannot go back to the old ways," Sanders said. "We have got to go forward with a new and progressive agenda."
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| UPDATE 3-Memphis man killed by U.S. marshals was a new father, wanted for felonies Posted: 13 Jun 2019 08:23 AM PDT ![UPDATE 3-Memphis man killed by U.S. marshals was a new father, wanted for felonies]( "UPDATE 3-Memphis man killed by U.S. marshals was a new father, wanted for felonies") The young black man killed by U.S. marshals in Memphis, Tennessee, whose death sparked clashes with police overnight, had recently become a father for the second time and was the subject of multiple felony warrants, according to his family and officials. The victim, identified by authorities as Brandon Webber, 20, was the eldest of eight sons, his father, Sonny Webber, said in an interview on Thursday. Sonny Webber said his son had sold marijuana but was not a drug dealer.
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| Flying Southwest or American this summer? Check your reservation for new Max 8 cancellations Posted: 13 Jun 2019 08:24 AM PDT  The airlines have taken the grounded planes out of their schedule into early September. Affected travelers will be rebooked or offered refunds.
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| Marsha P Johnson: ‘America’s first transgender statue’ will immortalise Stonewall riots veteran Posted: 12 Jun 2019 08:01 AM PDT  The "P" in Marsha P Johnson stood for "Pay it no mind" – and when people got too nosy about her, that is what she would tell them. Pay it no mind.Friends say the world heeded that advice, giving Johnson – a transgender activist who played a vital role in the Stonewall riots and the gay rights movement it launched – far less attention than she deserved.Now that's finally changing.As New York prepares to mark the 50th anniversary of Stonewall alongside its Pride celebration, the city announced plans to build a statue honouring Johnson and her friend Sylvia Rivera, who also championed LGBT\+ rights.It will be the first permanent, public monument honouring transgender women in the world."The city Marsha and Sylvia called home will honour their legacy and tell their stories for generations to come," said New York City first lady Chirlane McCray.Johnson was born in 1945 and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey.In a 1992 interview, she said she started wearing dresses at the age of five, but stopped after being teased.As soon as she graduated from high school, she went to New York with a bag of clothes and $15, she said.Although Greenwich Village was one of the most tolerant places for LGBT+ people at the time, police frequently harassed anyone who didn't conform to sexual norms.There was no way someone like Johnson could get or keep a job. So, like a lot of gay, lesbian and transgender people at the time, she was frequently homeless and worked as a prostitute.Despite these hard circumstances, Johnson was known for her open and optimistic personality. She dressed in flashy, homemade outfits, and bedecked her hair in flowers, fruit and even Christmas lights."I was no one, nobody from Nowheresville, until I became a drag queen," she said.The word "transgender", which describes people whose gender identity does not correspond to their birth sex, was not in use at the time.Johnson referred to herself using female pronouns, and at times described herself as "gay", a "queen", a "drag queen", and a "transvestite".She also had a religious streak. She was often seen praying for friends in neighbourhood churches, and said she would never get married because Jesus "is the only man I could really trust...he listens to all my problems, and he never laughed at me."In the 2012 documentary Pay It No Mind: The Life and Times of Marsha P. Johnson, Stonewall veteran Agosto Machado said: "Marsha always gave this blessed presence and encouragement to be who you wanted to be."Longtime friend Randy Wicker added: "Friends and many people who knew Marsha called her 'Saint Marsha', because she was so generous."Sylvia Rivera even credited Johnson with saving her life – a life marked by hellish trials from the beginning.Her father abandoned her at birth, and her mother killed herself when she was three.As a child, Rivera would try on her grandmother's clothes and makeup, and was beaten when caught. By 11, she was a runaway and child prostitute.She met Johnson on the streets in 1963, when she was still a preteen."She was like a mother to me," Rivera said later. Johnson gave her a measure of stability and love she had never experienced.There are many stories about what Johnson and Rivera did in the early morning hours of 28 June 1969, when the Stonewall riots erupted.Almost everyone agrees they were there. One legend has Johnson throwing the first "shot glass heard around the world"; another has her throwing the first brick.Stonewall historian David Carter concluded it was "extremely likely" that Johnson was among the first people to resist the police.But in 1987, Johnson herself told historian Eric Marcus that she didn't arrive until "the riots had already started".And in 2001, Rivera said she was at the Stonewall Inn with a boyfriend when it was raided, but that she wasn't the first to resist.In his book, The Gay Metropolis, Charles Kaiser suggested the first person to physically resist may have been a lesbian named Stormé DeLarverie, who died in 2014.In a 2018 essay, transgender poet Chrysanthemum Tran said the particulars of who-did-what don't matter.Stonewall was a "collective uprising", and Johnson and Rivera should be acknowledged not just for their actions on those few days, "but for their lifelong work of organising and activism".In the wake of the riots, the pair were frequent organisers and participants at gay rights protests.They also founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, or STAR, and opened a house to shelter homeless LGBT+ youth – the first shelter of its kind in the country.But as the gay rights movement grew, some wanted people like Johnson and Rivera pushed out.Some gay and lesbian activists took the tack that they were no different than their straight peers, and thought that argument was harder to make if Johnson showed up in plastic heels and fruit in her hair.Things came to a head at the Pride March in 1973, when Rivera said she was repeatedly blocked from speaking.When she finally took the microphone, she shouted: "If it wasn't for the drag queen, there would be no gay liberation movement. We're the front-liners." She was booed off the stage.After the speech, Rivera attempted suicide, she said; Johnson found her and saved her life.Rivera left activism and New York after the incident, but Johnson stayed.In the mid-1970s, Andy Warhol made her the subject of one of his famous silkscreen portraits.She also began performing in a drag revue called the Hot Peaches. In 1980, her housing situation finally stabilised when Wicker took her on as a roommate.As the AIDS crisis devastated the LGBT+ community in the 1980s, Johnson continued her work, marching with activist group ACT UP, helping at fundraisers, and nursing her friends on their death beds.Johnson's body was found floating in the Hudson River on 6 July 1992.Her death was quickly ruled a suicide, but after protests, the cause was changed to an unexplained drowning.Johnson was repeatedly the victim of violent attacks, and many close to her think she was murdered. The case was reopened in 2012, and remains open.Rivera returned to New York after Johnson's death. She struggled with addiction and lived by the pier where Johnson's body was found.But by 2001, she was sober, marching in Pride parades, and living in Transy House, which was created by activists inspired by STAR.Rivera died of liver cancer in 2002. The Village Voice eulogised her as "the Rosa Parks of the modern transgender movement". In the last hours of her life, she was urging gay leaders who had come to her bedside to be more inclusive.Now, as the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots approaches, the search begins for an artist to create a monument to two of the women who helped make it the turning point that it was.The Washington Post
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| Oil prices surge after suspected attacks on tankers Posted: 13 Jun 2019 03:00 PM PDT  World oil prices rose Thursday following suspected attacks on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman, worsening frayed tensions in the crude-rich Middle East region.
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| Hong Kong protesters scuffle with police, government offices shut Posted: 12 Jun 2019 10:50 AM PDT  Scuffles broke out between demonstrators and police in Hong Kong on Thursday as hundreds of people kept up a protest against a planned extradition law with mainland China, a day after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break up big crowds. Protests around the city's legislature on Wednesday forced the postponement of debate on the extradition bill, which many people in Hong Kong fear will undermine freedoms and confidence in the commercial hub. Hong Kong's China-backed Chief Executive Carrie Lam condemned the violence and urged a swift restoration of order but has vowed to press ahead with the legislation despite the reservations about it, including within the business community.
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| U.S. Sees State Actor Behind Oil Tanker Attacks in Gulf Region Posted: 13 Jun 2019 09:29 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- An attack on two oil tankers near the entrance to the Persian Gulf was likely done by a state actor, according to a U.S. official, heightening tensions over a potential military confrontation between the U.S. and Iran. Oil prices surged.
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| Organs Missing After Veteran Dies in Police Custody Posted: 12 Jun 2019 09:06 AM PDT  Army veteran Everett Palmer Jr. wanted to resolve an outstanding DUI warrant from an incident in 2016 in Pennsylvania to make sure his license was valid. Two days later, his family was told that Palmer had died in police custody. Fourteen months later, the family is demanding answers because when the body was returned to them, his throat, heart and brain were missing.
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| Even after new state abortion bans, women will retain the same choice men have always had Posted: 12 Jun 2019 12:15 AM PDT  But for those abortion restrictions to make sense, there have to be exceptions for victims of rape and incest.
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| Mexico: Amlo says sale of presidential plane will fund migrant crackdown Posted: 12 Jun 2019 11:32 AM PDT  Funds from sale of Andrés Manuel López Obrador's jet will be put toward the deployment of the newly formed national guard The presidential plane, pictured in Colombia in June 2017. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Andrés Manuel López Obrador has promised to fund a crackdown on migrants to Mexico from Central America with proceeds from the sale of his office's aircraft, a 787 Dreamliner which has been on offer since shortly after the Mexican president took office in December. Funds from the sale would be put toward the deployment of the newly formed national guard which has the power to detain migrants without correct papers, López Obrador said on Wednesday. Under the deal struck on Friday, Mexico agreed to enforce the new measures to stop migrants crossing its territory in order to head off Donald Trump's threat of imposing import tariffs of 5% on Mexican goods. Mexico promised to send 6,000 members of the militarized national guard to seal its porous southern border with Guatemala – a major route for migrants fleeing violence, poverty and climate change. López Obrador, also known as Amlo, insisted that the agreement had averted an economic and financial crisis and was "a good deal for our country". "About how much this plan is going to cost, let me say, we have the budget," Amlo said at a daily news conference. "It would come out of what we're going to receive from the sale of the luxurious presidential plane." Amlo said the starting price for the plane would be $150m. He expected the sale to close this week. On Tuesday, the foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, said the immigration deal would be revisited in 45 days and a regional deal with countries in Central and South America would be sought if the migrant flows failed to slow. But critics pointed out that the new national guard was initially presented as a force to fight organized crime and rein in Mexico's soaring murder rate. "Now they're using this national guard not only to pacify the country, but for the detention of migrants," said Alberto Xicoténcatl, director of the migrant shelter in the city of Saltillo. "It strikes us as a hypocritical discourse." Making good on his promise to rule with frugality and restraint, López Obrador regularly travels on commercial flights rather than the presidential plane, for which he said Mexico had paid up to 8bn pesos ($392m). On Tuesday, El Universal newspaper reported that during the first three years of the preceding administration, 746 bottles of alcohol were consumed on the aircraft – including 35 bottles of booze which were opened on a short flight from Mexico City to Acapulco. In contrast to his predecessor Enrique Peña Nieto, López Obrador has shown little interest in foreign travel, arguing there are too many problems at home. He has not left the country since taking office and has said he will skip the upcoming G20 conference in Japan. "Mexicans associate presidential travel with waste," said Rodolfo Soriano-Núñez, a sociologist in Mexico City.
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| Former Stanford sailing coach avoids prison in first sentence of college admissions scandal Posted: 13 Jun 2019 06:22 AM PDT  John Vandemoer is the first of the 22 defendants who pleaded guilty in the nation's sweeping college admissions scandal to be sentenced.
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| The F-22 Raptor Has One Problem That Won't Ever Be Solved Posted: 12 Jun 2019 06:00 PM PDT  The time and money needed to develop and build a new F-22s would take money away from PCA and other Air Force program that are more relevant to the 2030 fight. Even an export version of the F-22—should one have been developed—would have used up scarce resources. "The costs to restart production of the F-22 would be extensive even with the involvement of foreign partners," the report states. "Just as F-22 production would compete for fiscal and contractor resources with other Air Force programs, any F-22 export would compete with FMS customers' resources as well, including countries already committed to F-35 purchases. Most nations are not likely to have the resources available for procurement of an export F-22, which extremely limits the ability of FMS to reduce the costs associated with restarting production."A 2017 Pentagon report to Congress detailing production retail costs for Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor show that reviving the powerful stealth air superiority fighter would be prohibitively expensive. Moreover, it would take so long to reconstitute the production line that it would not be until the mid to late 2020s before the first "new" F-22s would have flown. By that time, the F-22 would be increasingly challenged by enemy—Russian and Chinese—capabilities.(This first appeared last year.)
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| DA: Suspect in Ortiz shooting likely wanted in Pennsylvania Posted: 13 Jun 2019 04:36 PM PDT  U.S. prosecutors said Thursday that one suspect in the shooting of former Red Sox star David Ortiz is believed to be wanted in Pennsylvania for attempted homicide, while the father of another suspect said his son belongs to a notorious Dominican gang of drug-dealing hitmen. Berks County District Attorney John Adams said he believes Luis Rivas-Clase to be the suspect wanted for a Reading, Pennsylvania, shooting in April 2018, although confirmation would have to come through a fingerprint match. Pennsylvania authorities have released a mug shot of Rivas-Clase that strongly resembles the suspect in an image provided by Dominican authorities, who provided the same name but without the hyphen listed in U.S. court documents.
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| Prices Are Out for the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD and 3500HD Pickups Posted: 13 Jun 2019 09:20 AM PDT  Configuring a pickup is a highly personal task, but here are the numbers to get you started.
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| Huawei files to trademark mobile OS around the world after U.S. ban Posted: 12 Jun 2019 12:08 PM PDT  LIMA/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's Huawei has applied to trademark its "Hongmeng" operating system (OS) in at least nine countries and Europe, data from a U.N. body shows, in a sign it may be deploying a back-up plan in key markets as U.S. sanctions threaten its business model. The move comes after the Trump administration put Huawei on a blacklist last month that barred it from doing business with U.S. tech companies such as Alphabet Inc, whose Android OS is used in Huawei's phones. A senior U.S. official on Thursday said Huawei's clients should be asking themselves if the Chinese firm can meet its commitments given its dependence on U.S. companies.
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| Trump ally Sean Hannity claims 'foreign dirt' interview was set up to create 'phoney outrage' Posted: 13 Jun 2019 08:45 AM PDT  Donald Trump's most loyal defender in the media, Fox News' Sean Hannity, has claimed an interview in which the president said he would accept dirt about an opponent from a foreign power, was a "set-up" intended to trigger "phoney moral outrage".Just hours after segments were released of a jaw-dropping interview the president gave to ABC News in which he said he may not inform the FBI if a foreign power contacted him, Mr Hannity went to bat for Mr Trump.His foil, as ever, was Mr Trump's 2016 rival, Hillary Clinton, whose campaign had been one of the groups that paid for former British spy Christopher Steele to collect information about the Republican candidate. The information – much of which remains unverified – formed part of the evidence the FBI used to obtain a warrant to carry out surveillance on Carter Page, an advisor to Mr Trump."Why are they not so outraged about Hillary paying for Russian lies, disinformation, Comey generously using the unverifiable data from Russia to spy on the Trump campaign, again, a FISA warrant," said Mr Hannity."No doubt, by the way, this will all get another round of fake, phoney, moral selective outrage over that interview, but it's the perfect set-up because if they're outraged about that, then how can you not be outraged over what I just said?> Hannity on Trump Comments About Foreign Dirt in 2020: Media Will Gin Up 'Phony Moral Selective Outrage' https://t.co/IHtW9TlAEs> > — Mediaite (@Mediaite) > > June 13, 2019He added: "Of course, that's all to be expected. In many ways that was a genius set-up because the media mob will fall right into his trap breathlessly spewing fake, phoney outrage over a non-story for days."In his interview, Mr Trump was asked whether he would contact the FBI if he was approached with dirt on an opponent from a foreign country."I think maybe you do both," he said. "I think you might want to listen, there isn't anything wrong with listening."He added: "If somebody called from a country, Norway, [and said] 'we have information on your opponent' – oh, I think I'd want to hear it."Another Fox News' Trump defender, Laura Ingraham, suggested the president's aides were to blame for agreeing to the interview "Setting aside the question of why you would have George Stephanopoulos standing over the president in the Oval Office––I don't know who approved that––what about this notion of accepting foreign intel about an opponent," she said."Is that a risk for president Trump, getting pulled back into Mueller? Again, why he was put in that situation is beyond me."
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| US warns UN of 'clear threat' from Iran after tanker attacks Posted: 13 Jun 2019 03:19 PM PDT  The United States called Thursday for the UN Security Council to confront a "clear threat" posed by Tehran, after Washington said Iran was behind an attack on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. The council met behind closed doors to hear US acting Ambassador Jonathan Cohen present a briefing on Washington's assessment that Iran was responsible for the suspected attack on two tankers in the strategic sea lane.
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| Restored Genuine 007 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Heading To Auction! Posted: 12 Jun 2019 08:26 AM PDT  One of three surviving genuine James Bond Aston Martin DB5s will be sold during Monterey car week 2019. 'The Most Famous Car in the World' is heading to auction with RM Sothebys! One of three surviving examples commissioned in period by EON Productions and fitted with Q-Branch specifications, as showcased in 1964's Goldfinger, will be sold during Monterey 2019. Perhaps the ultimate marketing relationship, James Bond and Aston Martin have walked hand-in-hand for more than half a century.
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| Google just revealed the Pixel 4 months earlier than expected Posted: 12 Jun 2019 11:59 AM PDT  In a shocking turn of events, Google shared the first image of its next smartphone on Wednesday, confirming many of the leaks that have been spreading around the internet over the last few weeks. If Google sticks to the same release schedule it had for the Pixel 3, then the Pixel 4 won't officially launch until October, which makes this an incredibly early reveal. But there's no denying that it will get people talking.If you've been keeping up with the countless leaks in recent weeks, the product shot shared by Google shouldn't do much to surprise you. As expected, Google is scrapping the old multi-colored back panel in favor of one solid sheet of what we assume is glass. We also see the rear camera housing, which appears to contain two cameras (the first time a Pixel has had more than one rear camera), and at least two other sensors.It's worth noting that the phone in the photo above (and in the tweet below) looks virtually identical to the renders that OnLeaks and Pricebaba shared earlier this week. Those renders also included a look at the front of the phone, which, based on Google's official image, we can't help but assume are accurate as well.https://twitter.com/madebygoogle/status/1138876305158500353In an era where everyone is prone to massive leaks, even the likes of Apple, Samsung, and Google, it's interesting to see a company try to ride the wave rather than fight back. OnePlus has had some success by joining in on the fun of early feature reveals and hints at designs, and now Google will try to replicate that success.If you want to see the phone in one piece, rather than split in half, this tweet from Roland Quandt should help:https://twitter.com/rquandt/status/1138883250322051072
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| Cuba travel ban: Disappointed passengers return after being rerouted mid-cruise Posted: 13 Jun 2019 11:42 AM PDT ![Cuba travel ban: Disappointed passengers return after being rerouted mid-cruise]( "Cuba travel ban: Disappointed passengers return after being rerouted mid-cruise") Thousands of cruise passengers originally headed to Cuba ended up in the Bahamas after a travel ban was announced earlier this week.
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| India Is Going to the Moon in July Posted: 13 Jun 2019 10:59 AM PDT  The country has ambitious plans for the next decade in space. They all start with Chandrayaan-2.
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| Memphis police after marshals kill black man appeal for calm Posted: 13 Jun 2019 05:23 PM PDT  Police appealed for calm Thursday in a tense Memphis neighborhood where a rock-throwing crowd gathered after federal marshals fatally shot a black man who, authorities said, had rammed a police vehicle with a stolen car. Thirty-six officers suffered minor injuries from flying rocks and bricks in the hours following the death of 20-year-old Brandon Webber, who was killed Wednesday evening after he exited the car holding some type of weapon, authorities said. Webber had been wanted in a June 3 shooting that happened during a car theft about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Memphis in Hernando, Mississippi.
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| Renault's Awesome Alpine A110 Sports Car Now Has a High-Performance Variant Posted: 13 Jun 2019 11:43 AM PDT  The compelling new A110S model looks a bit meaner and has extra power and a stiffer suspension.
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| Democratic candidates, forced to take a stand on gun control by activists, are speaking out forcefully Posted: 12 Jun 2019 02:00 AM PDT  As mass shootings continue to occur, advocates for stricter gun regulation have gained momentum. But so have those rallying to protect themselves and their constitutional right to bear arms.
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| Hong Kong police use tear gas as protesters try to storm parliament Posted: 12 Jun 2019 02:58 AM PDT  Violent clashes broke out in Hong Kong on Wednesday as police tried to stop protesters storming the city's parliament, while tens of thousands of people blocked key arteries in a show of strength against government plans to allow extraditions to China. Police used tear gas, rubber bullets and batons to disperse crowds of black-clad demonstrators -- most of them young people and students -- calling for authorities to scrap the Beijing-backed law. Clashes broke out shortly after 3:00 pm (0700 GMT) -- the deadline protesters had given for the government to abandon the controversial bill -- and continued throughout the afternoon in the worst political violence the city has seen in years.
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| Texas town bans abortion after decision made by five white men Posted: 13 Jun 2019 10:21 AM PDT  A small town in East Texas outlawed abortion after a council of five men declared the town a "sanctuary city for the unborn".Waksom, Texas, has a population of just over 2,000 people and borders Louisiana. The town has no abortion clinics. Despite this, the city council, which is comprised of five white men, signed a city ordinance banning abortion, with exceptions for rape, incest, and the health of the pregnant person as reported by the Washington Post. The city council was applauded by community members after passing the ordinance as a "preventative measure". The measure states "the Supreme Court erred in Roe v. Wade when it said that pregnant women have a constitutional right to abort their "pre-born children" and co-opts pro-immigrant language, using the term "sanctuary city", which generally refers to cities where migrants leading safe and lawful lives are safe from deportation. After Louisiana passed a restrictive abortion bill, anti-choice activists were fearful that a nearby facility across the border would move near their community. This city ordinance comes with the rising tides of abortion bans across America, ranging from foetal heartbeat bills to an all out ban in Alabama. This move, like many of the other abortion bans, is set up to provide a legal challenge to the Supreme Court precedent of Roe v Wade, which defends a pregnant persons right to abortion until foetal viability. The measure describes Roe v Wade as a "lawless and illegitimate act of judicial usurpation, which violates the Tenth Amendment by trampling the reserved powers of the States, and denies the people of each State a Republican Form of Government by imposing abortion policy through judicial decree."With a conservative leaning Supreme Court bench, it is believed that the 1973 case may be overturned and federal protections for abortion will cease.Town residents aren't concerned about a potential costly legal battle as, according to local media, "they say God will take care of them."On the other side of the abortion debate, the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, Aimee Arrambide, called the move a "dangerous attempt to undermine Roe v. Wade." Ms Arrambide reassured those seeking abortion that "abortion remains legal in all 50 states" in a statement on Thursday."We will not be intimidated."
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| 12 of America's Best Historic Homes to Visit Posted: 12 Jun 2019 02:29 PM PDT |
| 1 firefighter injured as crews battle brush fire in San Jose, structure burned Posted: 11 Jun 2019 06:25 PM PDT  One firefighter was injured as crews battled a large blaze in east San Jose on Tuesday afternoon.
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