| Police chief: Officer faked shooting, distress call Posted: 01 Aug 2019 04:48 PM PDT  An Alabama police officer staged a shooting last month to make it look like he was under attack, a police chief said Thursday. Birmingham Police Chief Patrick Smith said that Officer Keith Buchanan made a distress call early July 21 while patrolling an isolated area. Shots could be heard in the background, and an abandoned police car was later found with a bullet hole.
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| ‘Suicide Mission’: Democratic Candidates Warned Against Attacking Obama Posted: 01 Aug 2019 12:42 PM PDT  Former Attorney General Eric Holder and Rev. Al Sharpton warned Democratic presidential candidates against attacking former President Barack Obama, whose record came under fire during Wednesday night's CNN debate."To my fellow Democrats. Be wary of attacking the Obama record. Build on it. Expand it. But there is little to be gained – for you or the party – by attacking a very successful and still popular Democratic President," Holder warned on Twitter late Wednesday night."This whole suicide mission of going after Barack Obama smells like desperation, and I think it certainly shows that some of them are just not ready for where they are, and that is where you can take incoming fire and also shoot fire out," Sharpton said in a Thursday morning appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe.""You and I, Joe, have built our careers taking shots at people, but we also know how to take a shot without throwing our mama in front of the bus," Sharpton told host Joe Scarborough.Democratic candidates took shots at Obama's record Wednesday while clashing with former Vice President Joe Biden, the current front runner.Julian Castro, the former secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under Obama, claimed Biden hadn't learned from "the lessons of the past," because Biden opposes decriminalizing unauthorized border crossings.
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| Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff, spokesman leave her office Posted: 02 Aug 2019 04:24 PM PDT  Saikat Chakrabarti to work for climate change non-profit
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| Indonesia lifts tsunami warning after powerful quake off Java Posted: 02 Aug 2019 08:14 AM PDT  Indonesian authorities lifted a tsunami warning late Friday after a powerful earthquake earlier struck off the southern coast of heavily populated Java island. The USGS initially put the quake's magnitude at 6.8 and at a shallower depth before raising its intensity. Indonesia's disaster agency pegged the quake at magnitude 7.4 and warned it could spark a tsunami as high as three metres (10 feet).
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| Man opens fire in national park ‘because he thought he saw Bigfoot’ Posted: 01 Aug 2019 01:21 AM PDT  A gun-wielding camper has opened fire in an American national park – because he says he saw Bigfoot.The man, who has not been named, offloaded several rounds at Mammoth Cave, in Kentucky, after telling other overnight visitors the half-man-half-ape had lunged at him.Park rangers have since said they had found no evidence Bigfoot was there – but are investigating the fact a firearm was fired.Madelyn Durand and Brad Ginn, who reported the incident, said the shooter had woken them at 11pm on Sunday by shining a flashlight in their tent."We got out and saw a man [and his son] who told us their campsite had been destroyed by someone or something," said Ms Durand, 22. "We heard them coming back about 10 minutes later. We heard them yelling 'I see it'."We saw the flash from his gun, and he shot maybe 20 yards from the side of our tent into the pitch-black darkness."Asked if she was scared, the Western Kentucky University student told CNN: "I was mostly just concerned about him shooting the gun in the middle of the night without him really seeing anything."The couple called 911 and decided to hike the five miles back to their car without staying the night, she added.It is unclear what happened to the shooter but park spokeswoman Molly Schroer said rangers knew who he was and that no threat remained in the area.Although US laws prohibit the discharge of firearms in national parks, she said no charges had been brought as yet.The incident comes just eight months after a Montana man reported being shot at in a forest by a gunman who then told him he had mistaken him for Bigfoot. The legendary creature, also known as Sasquatch, is more commonly associated with America's Pacific Northwest region but sightings have been reported all over the country.
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| India's top court to hear Ayodhya religious dispute on daily basis Posted: 02 Aug 2019 06:05 AM PDT  India's top court will hear arguments every day in an effort to resolve a decades-old dispute over what should be built on the ruins of a 16th-century mosque, Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said on Friday. The move strengthens hopes for eventual resolution of a quarrel at the center of fraught ties between India's majority Hindus and its Muslim community, which accounts for 14% of a population of 1.3 billion. Many devout Hindus believe the site in Ayodhya, in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, to be the birthplace of one of their most revered deities, the Lord Ram.
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| Iowa newlywed, 22, drowns on honeymoon during first-ever time in ocean, just 3 days after wedding Posted: 01 Aug 2019 08:45 AM PDT  A 22-year-old Iowa man tragically drowned Tuesday during his Floridahoneymoon, just three days after he and his bride said, "I do
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| Young Afghans wary as possible US-Taliban deal nears Posted: 02 Aug 2019 07:16 AM PDT  With momentum apparently building for a breakthrough in talks between Washington and the Taliban, younger Afghans whose lives have been overshadowed by nearly 18 years of war are sceptical any deal will bring them peace. "We cannot trust the Taliban and their commitments because they were cruel and oppressive in their regime," said Abdul Jamil Qureshi, a 23-year-old psychology student at Kabul University. Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special envoy leading America's push for peace with its longtime adversary, is expected to meet the Taliban in Doha this weekend for the latest in a months-long series of talks, with expectations high.
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| Truck driver was on drugs, reaching for drink at time of deadly New Hampshire crash, report says Posted: 02 Aug 2019 09:26 AM PDT  Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, a 23-year-old truck driver employed by Westfield Transport Inc., has been charged with seven counts of negligent homicide.
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| Sunk Your Battleship: How Russia's Su-57 Stealth Fighter Is a Navy Killer Posted: 02 Aug 2019 09:49 AM PDT  "Today the enterprise is working on developing an active homing warhead for the promising anti-ship missile that is planned to be carried by the Su-57 fighter as well," Krivoruchko said.Russia is designing an anti-ship missile for its Su-57 stealth fighter.But is hunting ships the best mission for such an advanced aircraft?Deputy Defense Minister Alexey Krivoruchko made the announcement while visiting the Detal Design Bureau, which is developing a new anti-ship missile, according to Russian news agency TASS.(This first appeared in June 2019.)"Today the enterprise is working on developing an active homing warhead for the promising anti-ship missile that is planned to be carried by the Su-57 fighter as well," Krivoruchko said."A working meeting was held on the premises of the Detal Design Bureau to discuss the issue of signing a contract with Tactical Missiles Corporation on acquiring the entire range of air-launched weapons for the Su-57 fighter jets," TASS said.
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| Illinois State Senator Tom Cullerton indicted on federal embezzlement charges Posted: 02 Aug 2019 10:20 AM PDT  Illinois State Senator Tom Cullerton has been indicted on federal embezzlement charges, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced Friday.
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| 1969 Plymouth Road Runner Heads To The Auction Block Posted: 01 Aug 2019 04:07 PM PDT  It will be at the Saratoga Auto Auction this fall. The Saratoga Auto Auction will take place at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center this fall from Friday, September 20, 2019 through Saturday, September 21, 2019. The beautiful red 1969 Plymouth Road Runner convertible you see here will be crossing that auction block. This Road Runner is a numbers-matching classic powered by a 383 cubic-inch V8 engine mated to a four-speed manual transmission. It's just one of 769 models produced in that configuration for 1969. This beauty also has Edelbrock carbs with the factory intake and exhaust. It pushes out a satisfying 335 horses so you can really feel the wind in your hair.The Plymouth Road Runner was a mid-size car that was manufactured between 1968 and 1980; its main focus was on performance. By the year 1968, some of the original muscle cars increased in price as they gained more features. Plymouth decided to counter this trend by developing the Road Runner and marketing it with a lower price; it fell below the upscale GTX model.The 1969 model retained its look for the most part, but with slight changes to the taillights, grille, and side marker lights. Optional bucket seats were offered and the model sported new Road Runner decals. The Road Runner also added a convertible option for 1969 with 2,128 such models produced–all with the 383 cubic-inch motor and just ten with the 426 Hemi. Production numbers were broken down further according to the transmission type.This Plymouth Road Runner convertible was treated to a frame-off restoration and is in excellent condition. Just look at that stunning scorch red exterior with black stripes and the contrasting white top. The interior is also white and gives off added contrast when the top is down. You can register to bid on this classic right here. Read More: Show-Quality Silver Platinum 1969 Plymouth Road Runner 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Will Drive You Plum Crazy
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| Jesse Jackson pays homage to Roma at Auschwitz ceremony Posted: 02 Aug 2019 12:11 PM PDT  American civil rights activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson prayed and mourned at Auschwitz-Birkenau on Friday as he joined survivors paying homage to an often-forgotten genocide — that of the Roma people — on a key 75th anniversary. In addition to the 6 million Jews killed in death camps such as Auschwitz, the Nazis killed other minorities during World War II, including between 250,000 and 500,000 Roma and Sinti. Broadly speaking, Sinti are people who arrived from India and settled in Western and Central Europe many centuries ago, while Roma are centered largely in Eastern Europe.
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| Trump and Epstein's friendship reportedly soured after they fought over a $41 million Palm Beach mansion. 2 weeks after the home's auction, cops received a tip about underage women at Epstein's house. Posted: 01 Aug 2019 11:21 AM PDT  The formerly friendly New Yorkers both wanted to buy the Maison de l'Amitie at a bankruptcy auction in 2004, the Washington Post reported.
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| Washington Residents Share Tales of What They Believe Was a Terrifying Encounter with Bigfoot Posted: 02 Aug 2019 09:14 AM PDT  Stories of Bigfoot have been spread across the Pacific Northwest for hundreds of years, and two Washington residents are sharing their possible encounters with Sasquatch.
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| India accuses Pakistan-backed militants of targeting Hindu pilgrims in Kashmir Posted: 02 Aug 2019 05:25 AM PDT  SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian security officials on Friday said they had found evidence of attacks planned by Pakistani military-backed militants on a major Hindu pilgrimage in the disputed Muslim-dominated region of Kashmir. Tension has run high in the mountainous region since a vehicle laden with explosive rammed into an Indian police convoy on Feb. 14, killing 40 paramilitary policemen, and leading to aerial clashes between the two nations. Indian officials said a mine with Pakistan ordinance marking was among caches of ammunition, explosives and weapons retrieved following intelligence reports of likely attacks on routes used by hundreds of thousands of devout Hindus who trek to the region's holy Amarnath cave every year.
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| Canada raises detained citizens with China Posted: 02 Aug 2019 11:52 AM PDT  Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Friday she had spoken to her Chinese counterpart in their first public meeting since the countries became embroiled in a diplomatic spat over two Canadians detained in China. Freeland told reporters she brought up the arrests of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor with Wang Yi during a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Thailand.
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| Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is again the most-searched candidate on Google during Democratic debate Posted: 01 Aug 2019 05:48 PM PDT  Being the most searched candidate during the first round of the debate in Miami didn't translate into a boost in the polls for Gabbard.
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| Greenland Lost 217 Billion Tons of Ice Last Month Posted: 02 Aug 2019 07:03 AM PDT  A staggering 217 billion tons (197 billion metric tons) of meltwater flowed off of Greenland's ice sheet into the Atlantic Ocean this July. The worst day of melting was July 31, when 11 billion tons (10 billion metric tons) of melted ice poured into the ocean.This massive thaw represents some of the worst melting since 2012, according to The Washington Post. That year, 97% of the Greenland ice sheet experienced melting. This year, so far, 56% of the ice sheet has melted, but temperatures -- 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit above average -- have been higher than during the 2012 heat wave. All told, this July's melt alone was enough to raise global average sea levels by 0.02 inches (0.5 millimeters), according to the Post.> For those keeping track, this means the Greenland icesheet ends July with a net mass loss of 197 Gigatonnes since the 1st of the month. https://t.co/Qgwj6WtUzF> > -- Ruth Mottram (@ruth_mottram) August 1, 2019"This might seem inconsequential, but every increment of sea-level rise provides a higher launchpad for storms to more easily flood coastal infrastructure, such as New York's subway system, parts of which flooded during Hurricane Sandy in 2012," Andrew Freedman and Jason Samenow reported in the Post. "Think of a basketball game being played on a court whose floor is gradually rising, making it easier for even shorter players to dunk the ball." [8 Ways Global Warming Is Already Changing the World]That melting occurred after a heat wave that had swept across Europe in July, setting temperature records in France, settled over Greenland. And June was the hottest June ever recorded the world over. This massive global warming coincides with a drastic increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, to amounts not seen in the last 800,000 years. At the same time, part of Greenland is on fire.In the long term, climate change is expected to cause even more-rapid melting -- melting that is even more extreme than predicted by even the worst-case models just a few years ago. That will mean worsening storms, swamped coastlines and millions of climate refugees. At the same time, the heat that's melting all that ice is expected to make vast regions of the world uninhabitable for parts of the year, as temperatures climb beyond what the human body can handle.Meanwhile, in Greenland, the heat wave is still going on. * Images: Sharks & Whales from Above * Deep Blue Sea: Winning Underwater Photographs * Quest for Survival: Photos of Incredible Animal MigrationsOriginally published on Live Science.
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| Princess Haya custody case tests Britain's loyalties to allies Jordan and UAE Posted: 01 Aug 2019 09:46 AM PDT  Hugging her brother who clasps a protective arm tightly around her shoulder, Princess Haya bint Al-Hussein appears eager to ensure the flag of her native Jordan on her jumper is prominent in her latest photograph. The Jordanian princess is locked in an acrimonious legal battle in the British courts with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the multi-millionaire ruler of Dubai, over the welfare of their two children. The picture, probably taken at her £85 million home in Kensington, shows her and Prince Ali bin al-Hussein staring intently at the camera. The caption, posted yesterday alongside the photograph on the prince's Twitter account, reads: "Today with my sister and apple of my eye." اليوم مع أختي و قرة عيني هيا بنت الحسين pic.twitter.com/kWRXx1J1M3— Ali Al Hussein (@AliBinAlHussein) July 31, 2019 Some commentators in the Middle East believe the message she wants to relay is clear - she has returned to the bosom of her Jordanian family. The 45-year-old mother fled with her children from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where she lived with the sheikh, the country's vice-president and prime minister, apparently "in fear for her life" in April. The estranged and sixth wife of Sheikh Matktoum, 70, has asked a judge in the High Court to make an arranged marriage protection order for one of her children, as well as a non-molestation order. The sheikh, who founded the Godolphin stables and is a friend of the Queen, has applied to the courts for the "summary return" of the youngsters to the UAE. Princess Haya Bint al-Hussein ( wearing white), arrives at the High Court in London this week with lawyer Baroness Shackleton Credit: i-Images This latest picture has fueled speculation in the Middle East that the break-up could trigger a diplomatic crisis between the UAE and Jordan. Meanwhile, the fact courts from a third country - Britain - are ruling on what's best for children belonging to the royal families of two different foreign countries is unprecedented. Some experts say it puts Britain in an awkward position because it tests loyalties to two of its most important Middle East allies. "British courts are absolutely independent and impartial, and will consider this case with the same objectivity as they would in any other," Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, said. "Having said that, I do believe such a sensitive case, with implications that could impact the UK's foreign relations in the region, and the reputations of two royal families, would be better handled privately." While Jordan has made no official mention of the hearing, the case has been widely discussed by nationals of both countries on social media. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a prominent Emirati political scientist, wrote this week on Twitter: "A sensible and respectable princess of strong lineage does not flee, kidnap, disappear or show ingratitude, and certainly does not trouble the spirit of someone who cherished, loved and provided for her and treated her with dignity." The message came after the sheikh himself posted a cryptic poem about deceit on online and another about the UAE's "shining sword" that would protect it from foes. Qusai Zreiqat, a Jordanian, posted: "She is a daughter of a king, a granddaughter of a king and a sister of a king before there was a country called the Emirates."
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| 900 asylum seekers returned to wait in Mexican border city Posted: 02 Aug 2019 09:05 AM PDT  The United States government has sent about 900 mostly Central American and Cuban migrants back to this northern Mexico border city since expanding its controversial "remain in Mexico" program to the easternmost point on the shared border two weeks ago, Mexican authorities say. Under the program, migrants who turn themselves over to U.S. authorities and, in most cases, request asylum, are returned to Mexico after being given a court date.
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| ‘Constant chaos’: Senate Republicans eye summer exit Posted: 01 Aug 2019 02:00 AM PDT  "All of us want to get back to where there's a lot of sanity. And that's back home," says Mike Rounds.
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| Texas police rescue 9-year-old boy from human trafficker trying to sell him Posted: 01 Aug 2019 07:52 AM PDT  Texas police officers rescued a 9-year-old boy who they say was kidnapped by asuspect allegedly looking to sell the child into human trafficking
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| Ukrainian president's staff chief tries to quit after two months Posted: 02 Aug 2019 02:46 AM PDT  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff sent in a letter of resignation, after two months in his job, but Zelenskiy has not signed it, according to a statement on the presidential website on Friday. Mystery has surrounded the status of Andriy Bogdan, the head of the presidential administration, since Thursday evening. The local news agency Interfax Ukraine had reported Bogdan's resignation but later retracted the story.
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| Money row sparks deadly Nigeria jihadist infighting: sources Posted: 02 Aug 2019 02:57 AM PDT  A dispute over money within a Nigerian jihadist faction affiliated to the Islamic State group has spiralled into clashes that has killed "scores" of fighters, sources said. The infighting -- which erupted into gun battles on July 26 -- has exposed divisions inside the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group, three sources with deep knowledge of the faction's internal workings told AFP. The disagreement centred on sharing income mainly generated by taxing cattle herders and fishermen in areas the jihadists control around Lake Chad, said the sources, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons.
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| Idaho girl, 9, clings to life after losing 'half of her skull' in freak accident Posted: 01 Aug 2019 06:14 AM PDT  Shaylyn Bergeson, 9, is clinging to life after falling from a tree and landing on a piece of rebar that punctured the left side of her brain.
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| Why Did Two Chinese SU-30 Fighters Fly Within 150 Feet of a Nuclear 'Sniffer' Plane in 2017? Posted: 01 Aug 2019 07:00 PM PDT  A U.S. official told CNN the two Chinese jets came within 150 feet of the U.S. plane, with one flying upside-down directly above it.As reported by CNN a U.S. Air Force (USAF) WC-135 was intercepted by two Chinese Sukhoi Su-30 fighters on May 17, 2017 while flying in international airspace over the East China Sea.According to the statement from Air Force Lt. Col. Hodge, the American flight crew described the encounter as "unprofessional.""While we are still investigating the incident, initial reports from the U.S. aircrew characterized the intercept as unprofessional. The issue is being addressed with China through appropriate diplomatic and military channels," He explained.(This first appeared in 2017.)A U.S. official told CNN the two Chinese jets came within 150 feet of the U.S. plane, with one flying upside-down directly above it.The WC-135 Constant Phoenix, whose mission is looking for distinctive elements a nuclear test of any type would emit into the air, has been regularly deployed on routine missions in Northeast Asia where it has been used to gather evidence of possible nuclear tests by North Korea.
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| Prosecutors challenge Barr's bid to change immigration rules Posted: 02 Aug 2019 09:02 AM PDT  More than 40 elected state and local prosecutors on Friday challenged Attorney General William Barr's bid to give himself more authority in deciding whether to deport immigrants with criminal convictions. Barr wants to change immigration rules that defer to state and local decisions on criminal cases that may affect whether an immigrant is deported. It's one of several efforts Barr is making to gain greater authority in deportation cases.
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| Trump Resisted Mnuchin’s Proposal to Warn China of New Tariffs Posted: 01 Aug 2019 06:49 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. President Donald Trump resisted giving Beijing advance notice of his intent to slap a new 10% tariff on $300 billion in Chinese goods in an Oval Office meeting before he announced the duties, according to several people familiar with the discussion.During the meeting, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer briefed Trump on their talks in Shanghai this week with their Chinese counterparts. While the White House called the talks "constructive" in a statement issued Wednesday, Trump concluded that the two U.S. officials actually came away with nothing, the people said."When my people came home, they said 'we're talking, we have another meeting in early September,"' Trump told reporters as he departed the White House on Thursday for a campaign rally. "I said 'that's fine, but in the meantime, until such time as there's a deal, we'll be taxing them.'"Spokesmen for Treasury and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Mnuchin and Lighthizer knew the president was considering a new round of tariffs before they left for Shanghai, three of the people said. Trump has been unhappy about what the U.S. views as Chinese back-tracking on trade talks, and has recently said he believes Beijing may be trying to wait until after the presidential election in 2020 to conclude a deal.Trump accused the Chinese government of reneging on a tentative trade deal in May, which prompted an impasse in talks. After a meeting with Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Japan in June, Trump declared that the Chinese president had agreed to increase purchases of U.S. agricultural goods as part of a ceasefire in the trade war. But Chinese state media said there was no such agreement, and the purchases never materialized.Trump complained again on Thursday about Chinese trade practices -- "for many years, China has been taking money out by the hundreds of billions of dollars a year.""So now it's time that we change things around," he told reporters. "If they don't want to trade with us, that would be fine with me. We'd save a lot of money."Thursday's meeting in the Oval Office was tense. Mnuchin recommended that the U.S. notify Beijing before Trump announced the new tariffs, the people said. Trump demurred, but with his permission Lighthizer later attempted to place a call to Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who is the country's lead trade negotiator. He didn't answer.Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney talked through the market effects of increasing the China tariffs, the people said. Trump hit send on his tweets announcing the new tariffs at 1:26, while Mnuchin, Lighthizer, Mulvaney and others were still in the Oval Office.\--With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy.To contact the reporters on this story: Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.net;Jenny Leonard in Washington at jleonard67@bloomberg.net;Shawn Donnan in Washington at sdonnan@bloomberg.net;Saleha Mohsin in Washington at smohsin2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Canadian authorities are winding down their manhunt for 2 teen murder suspects amid theories that they died in the wilderness Posted: 01 Aug 2019 08:11 AM PDT  Amid the manhunt, which has received international news coverage, experts have speculated that the suspects may even have died in the Manitoba swamps.
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| Woman caught throwing puppy in bin Posted: 01 Aug 2019 02:50 AM PDT  A woman caught on CCTV throwing a puppy into a waste skip is being hunted by animal cruelty investigators.The woman is seen holding the dog by the scruff of the neck before she launches it into the bin and walks off.Officers were called to the scene, at an apartment complex in Oklahoma City, after the manager of the property saw the incident while reviewing security footage.Manager CR Head said: "It's very disturbing, you know. They left it [the dog] there for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, crawled back in the dumpster, threw the dog back on the ground."That people would be here doing that, not only to an animal, what if they treat another human being like that? It's not a good combination."He added: "I don`t want anything like that going on here. We want a safe environment."He suggested the woman involved was related to a someone who lived at the complex.Ion Gary, animal welfare superintendent with Oklahoma Animal Welfare, said it was clear case of animal cruelty."This is something our officers will be investigating," he told local news network WCSC-TV. "There is potential for even felony level cruelty."Police said they would not make an official report as the woman had removed the dog by the time they were called.
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| Alaska boaters likely killed by falling glacier ice, officials say Posted: 01 Aug 2019 05:25 PM PDT  The bodies of three boaters from Europe who died in an Alaska lake were surrounded by frozen debris, a sign that the victims were killed by ice that fell from the melting glacier that feeds the lake, officials in the city of Valdez said on Thursday. The victims were identified by the city as two Germans and an Austrian and were found dead on Tuesday morning in Valdez Glacier Lake, about 120 miles (193 km) east of Anchorage. The victims were found in an area that "was littered with floating icebergs, glacial slush and challenging terrain for recovery," said a statement released by Valdez city officials.
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| Taiwan president's bodyguard smuggling scam implicates 76: spy agency Posted: 01 Aug 2019 05:34 PM PDT  More than 70 members of Taiwan's presidential security detail have been swept up in a cigarette smuggling scandal, the island's spy agency announced Friday, as its chief took the unusual step of appearing in public to vow a crackdown. The scandal first erupted last month when the customs administration said that an agent within President Tsai Ing-wen's entourage tried to bring in 9,800 cigarette cartons as he returned from an official trip accompanying the island's leader to the Caribbean. The agent pre-ordered the cigarettes online in Taiwan, stored them at an airport warehouse, and then planned to smuggle them past customs onto government vehicles as Tsai's motorcade left, authorities said.
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| 'It was terrible': 1 dead, up to 7 missing after natural gas line explosion in Kentucky Posted: 01 Aug 2019 08:05 PM PDT  A natural gas explosion happened after a pipeline ruptured in Kentucky near the Moreland community by Junction City and Hustonville.
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| Argentina's Navy and Air Force are Dying a Slow Death. Here's Why. Posted: 01 Aug 2019 12:38 PM PDT  The Argentine navy has had a rough few decades. It lost ships and sailors fighting the Royal Navy over the Falkland Islands in 1982. Political upheaval and economic depression robbed it of funding and support. Sanctions constrained modernization efforts. Ships rusted out. Some sank. More sailors died.Now the Argentine navy is set to lose two more of its larger, oceangoing "blue-water" vessels, potentially shrinking the fleet to just a handful of operational warships that increasingly are suitable only for coastal, "brown-water" missions."The Argentine navy is consistently turning from a blue-water navy to a brown-water one," LATAMilitary reported. "if no corrective measures are taken, this will only continue to fall towards the shoreline."As recently as 2017, the Argentine fleet on paper operated around 40 warships together displacing around 120,000 tons of water. These included three submarines of 1970s- and 1980s-vintage, four 1980s-vintage frigates and nine corvettes dating from the '70s, '80s and 2000s.
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| A New Alzheimer's Blood Test Proved 94% Accurate in Finding Brain Changes Related to the Disease Posted: 01 Aug 2019 01:00 PM PDT  A blood-based test could identify Alzheimer's disease earlier, which could give patients a better chance of slowing or eventually preventing the brain disease
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| View Photos of the 1987 Porsche 962 IMSA GTP Posted: 02 Aug 2019 12:00 PM PDT |
| Trump Calls Hong Kong Protests ‘Riots,’ Adopting China Rhetoric Posted: 01 Aug 2019 11:30 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump labeled recent protests in Hong Kong as "riots," adopting the language used by Chinese authorities and suggesting the U.S. would stay out of an issue that was "between Hong Kong and China.""Something is probably happening with Hong Kong, because when you look at, you know, what's going on, they've had riots for a long period of time," Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday before departing for a campaign rally in Cincinnati.Trump said he didn't know what China's attitude was toward unrest in the former British colony, which is home to tens of thousands of Americans. "Somebody said that at some point they're going to want to stop that," Trump said. "But that's between Hong Kong and that's between China, because Hong Kong is a part of China."Trump's comments about the protests in Hong Kong could bolster the city's Beijing-backed government to crack down, despite the U.S. State Department's official efforts to defend protesters' freedom of expression. Protests erupted outside police stations earlier this week when the Hong Kong government charged 44 demonstrators with a colonial-era rioting statute that carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.The Global Times, a nationalistic newspaper published by China's Communist Party, signaled approval with an article headlined "Trump tells truth about HK riot." The ruling party has long used such allegations to justify using force against dissidents, dubbing the 1989 pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square a "counter-revolutionary riot.""The use of the term riot is a bit sensitive to the protesters," said Joseph Cheng, a retired political science professor who is involved in Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement. "More significant still, I think people will pay attention to the fact that he said this is something between China and Hong Kong. It appears to the Hong Kong people that the Hong Kong issue is not an important issue in the agenda of the president."Hong Kong protesters have so far largely enjoyed support from American officials and business groups. Activist Joshua Wong urged the president to reconsider his comments, tweeting an Aug. 1 letter from American lawmakers including Senators Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, and Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, urging the White House to condemn Beijing's actions.Hong Kong has been stricken by weeks of escalating protests -- including crowds of more than 1 million people -- in response to Chief Executive Carrie Lam's now-suspended proposal to allow extraditions to mainland China. Protests have turned more violent as some demonstrators grow frustrated with the government's refusal to meet their demands, including the bill's formal withdrawal and the revival of plans for direct leadership elections.Here's What Hong Kong's Protesters Plan NextOn Friday, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo told Bloomberg TV's Haslinda Amin in Bangkok that the U.S. has urged China to "do the right thing" on Hong Kong. People should be free to express their views, he said, urging all sides to "proceed in a way that is not violent" and adding that violence was "not constructive" in trying to resolve the disputes.Pompeo didn't say what the U.S. might do if China decided to intervene militarily. "One thing this administration has been really good about is not tipping our hand to what we will or won't do," he replied, declining to comment further.Hong Kong's rioting law was passed by the U.K.-appointed government in 1967, when the city was in the depths of unrest driven by leftists sympathetic to the Communist Party. The law holds anyone who commits a "breach of the peace" while participating in a unlawful assembly liable for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.China has recently sought to blame the U.S. for crimes committed by some protesters on the front lines of rallies, saying violence was the "creation of the U.S." and calling the country a "black hand" behind the demonstrations. Tying the U.S. to the unrest could serve several purposes for Beijing, including discrediting the protesters, rallying mainland sentiment against them and potentially justifying more direct intervention.China Says Hong Kong Protest Violence 'Is Creation of U.S.'After eight weeks of unrest -- and more anti-government protests planned for this weekend -- anxiety is growing that Beijing might call in the People's Liberation Army. China seems willing to at least feed the speculation with hints and signals, including the release of a video Wednesday showing troops practicing riot control.In his remarks, Trump signaled that he considered the issue China's internal matter to resolve. "They'll have to deal with that themselves. They don't need advice," he said.To contact the reporters on this story: Derek Wallbank in Singapore at dwallbank@bloomberg.net;Iain Marlow in Hong Kong at imarlow1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Karen LeighFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| 10-Year-Old Girl Crashes Mom's SUV While Driving Herself to McDonald's Posted: 01 Aug 2019 02:36 PM PDT  Kansas City police say a 10-year-old girl went to the hospital Wednesday morning after she crashed her mom`s SUV into a minivan and electrical box while trying to go to McDonald's.
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| Woman killed by apparent stray bullet as Texas officer fires at dog Posted: 01 Aug 2019 11:48 PM PDT ![Woman killed by apparent stray bullet as Texas officer fires at dog]( "Woman killed by apparent stray bullet as Texas officer fires at dog") The officer and other emergency personnel had been sent to investigate a report that a woman had passed out in a grassy area, Arlington police said in a statement. The officer found the woman lying on the grass with a dog nearby. When he called out to her to check on her condition, the dog began running toward him and barking, police said in the statement.
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