| Swimsuit controversy: Alaskan swimmer who was disqualified for 'curvier' figure gets win reinstated Posted: 11 Sep 2019 01:05 PM PDT  The high school swimmer who was disqualified over a controversial "uniform violation" has had her victory reinstated.
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| AOC: 'I want to see every Republican go on the record and knowingly vote against impeachment' Posted: 10 Sep 2019 11:35 AM PDT  With Congress returning to work after the August recess, some House Democrats are renewing their call to begin impeachment proceedings — even if just to get Republicans on the record voting in support of President Trump.
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| Is Israel's Iron Dome Missile Defense Really That Impressive? Posted: 11 Sep 2019 08:00 AM PDT  Let's find out.
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| Gorsuch welcomed to Supreme Court with a personal, history-filled gift from Ruth Bader Ginsburg Posted: 10 Sep 2019 08:01 PM PDT  "'You may recognize some of this. I hope I've improved it a little bit since you've last seen it,'" Gorsuch said Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in a note attached to a gift that was decades in the making.
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| 10 of the Toughest Math Problems Ever Solved Posted: 11 Sep 2019 02:59 PM PDT |
| Pope says he's 'not afraid of a split' in Catholic church as he accuses critics of stabbing him in the back Posted: 11 Sep 2019 12:23 AM PDT  Pope Francis said he does not fear a schism within the Roman Catholic Church, as criticism grows among conservatives of his liberal views on migrants, the protection of the environment and giving communion to divorcees. Speaking on board the papal plane on his return from a trip to Madagascar, Mauritius and Mozambique, the Pope said he had been unfairly labelled "a Communist" by his critics, with the most vocal being conservative Catholics in the United States. In his strongest remarks yet on the risk of a schism, he said there had been many doctrinal splits during the 2,000-year history of the Church, although he prayed there would not be another. "I am not afraid of schisms. I pray that there will be none, because what is at stake is people's spiritual health," he told journalists on board the plane. The Pope's impassioned defence of migrants and refugees, his opposition to Donald Trump's wall on the US-Mexico border, his sympathy towards homosexuals and his openness to remarried divorcees being allowed to take communion have earned him the ire of conservatives, particularly in the US. Pope Francis answered questions from journalists while travelling back from a trip to Africa Credit: ALESSANDRA TARANTINO/ AFP He said he was open to discussing differences of opinion with his critics, some of whom have accused him of heresy and have called for his resignation. "Let there be dialogue, let there be correction if there is an error, but the schismatic path is not Christian," he said. His critics were putting ideology over Catholic doctrine and deserved sympathy, not hostility. "We need to be gentle with those who are tempted by these attacks, they are going through a tough time, we must accompany them gently," he said. The Catholic Church last suffered a schism in 1988, when Marcel Lefebvre, an ultra-traditionalist French archbishop, ordained bishops without papal permission and started his own movement. Francis insisted that many of his views were similar to those of Pope John Paul II, who is regarded as an icon by conservatives, in part for his role in standing up to the USSR and bringing about the fall of Communism. "The social things that I say are the same things that John Paul II said, the same things. I copy him. But they say: 'the Pope is a communist.'" Pope Francis arrives for his weekly general audience, at the Vatican on Sept. 11 Credit: AP He said he was happy for critics to address him openly, but condemned those who launched attacks in an underhand way. "At least those who say something have the advantage of honesty in saying so. And I like that," he said. "I don't like criticism when it's under the table, when they smile at you and then then they try to stab you in the back." Echoing remarks that he has made throughout his papacy, he condemned populism and xenophobia, likening populist politicians to Adolf Hitler. "Sometimes, in some places, I hear speeches being given that sound similar to those made by Hitler in 1934. It's as if they want to return to the past in Europe." Xenophobia is "a human disease, like measles," he said. Pope Francis smiles as he arrives for his weekly general audience at St. Peter's square Credit: AFP In an apparent reference to President Trump's plans for a wall along the US border with Mexico, and European countries' efforts to keep out refugees and migrants with razor wire fences, he said: "Xenophobia is a disease that enters a country, enters a continent, and we build walls. But walls leave only those who built them. Yes, they leave out many people, but those who remain inside the walls will be left alone. Xenophobia rides the waves of political populism." Francis criticised Mr Trump's proposals for a border wall three years ago, saying that anyone who wants to build walls rather than bridges is "not Christian". The remark incensed the then Republican candidate, who said it was "disgraceful" that the pontiff should question his faith. To the discomfort of some conservative Catholics, Francis has repeatedly warned that the excesses of capitalism are leaving millions of people behind, fueling social tensions and harming the planet.
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| US sees Russia behind murder of Georgian in Germany: report Posted: 11 Sep 2019 08:13 AM PDT  The United States sees Moscow behind the murder in Germany last month of a Georgian man who had fought against Russian forces in Chechnya, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. "The United States believes that Russia is responsible for this assassination," one of several unnamed US officials told the newspaper, without saying which Russian group or agency undertook the killing. German police arrested a 49-year-old suspect from Russia's Chechnya republic, where Moscow waged two bloody wars that lasted until 2009.
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| Trump decries 'Fake Poll' showing his approval rate in the 30s Posted: 10 Sep 2019 11:50 AM PDT  The president bashed an ABC News/Washington Post poll that showed his approval rating falling by 6 points as fears of a recession grow.
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| Former Taliban hostage admits striking wife but says she asked to be hit Posted: 10 Sep 2019 02:59 PM PDT  Joshua Boyle, charged with sexual assault, tells court estranged wife Caitlan Coleman was unfit to parent their four childrenJoshua Boyle outside court in Ottawa in March. Boyle has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Photograph: Lars Hagberg/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Canadian man who spent five years held hostage in Afghanistan with his American wife has admitted striking her with a broom, but told a court in Ottawa that she asked to be hit, as his trial for sexual assault nears its conclusion.Under cross-examination by prosecutors on Tuesday, Joshua Boyle claimed he struck his estranged wife, Caitlan Coleman, several times in December 2017. But he had acted not out of anger, but because she frequently asked to be spanked.Boyle and Coleman, who married in 2011, were kidnapped by Afghan militants during a backpacking trip in 2012 and were transferred to the custody of the Taliban-linked Haqqani network.Boyle has pleaded not guilty to assault, sexual assault and unlawful confinement betweenOctober and December 2017, after the couple returned to Ottawa.Since taking the stand last week, Boyle, 36 has worked to counter the prosecution's depiction that he was a manipulative and abusive husband.He is also accused of administering a noxious substance.On Tuesday, he disputed accusations that he drugged Coleman with the anti-depressant trazadone, instead testifying he had offered her the drug because she was prone to "fits".Hygiene routines – in disarray after five years in captivity – were a point of friction between him and Coleman, he said.He told the court that on 5 November – about a month after they were rescued by Pakistan security forces – Coleman flew into a rage when he suggested that she took a shower before meeting his parents."I don't remember if I invoked the fact both my mother and father had complained about Caitlan's hygiene," said Boyle. "Meeting in public was often embarrassing for them."Earlier in the week, Boyle accused Coleman of "incompetence" as a mother, saying that while in captivity, Coleman would "shut down", neglecting to feed their newborn or change diapers, prompting him to ask guards for food for the child.Even after the family was rescued in 2017 and brought to Canada, Boyle claimed Coleman would strike and violently shake their oldest child in their family's Ottawa apartment.In previous testimony from March and April, Coleman claimed Boyle was mercurial and violent, choking, punching and biting her. In addition to cataloguing numerous instances of sexual assault, she also alleged Boyle threatened to kill her – in front of their children.But during-cross examination, Boyle dismissed the accusation that he was manipulative in their relationship, suggesting Coleman's behaviour and accusations could be attributed to mental illness. He also claimed that his demands that Coleman maintain a certain weight and dress in a specific manner were merely "suggestions" that she could have freely disregarded.The trial, which began in March, has been marred by numerous procedural delays over what material – including Coleman's past sexual history – is admissible in court.The proceedings also came to a standstill in July after Coleman gave several interviews to media outlets about her time in captivity, despite an order from the judge not to discuss the case.The defence will question Boyle on Wednesday, with closing arguments scheduled for the end of September.
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| For the first time, a timeline reveals what happened in the minutes and hours after the asteroid crash that killed the dinosaurs Posted: 11 Sep 2019 02:18 PM PDT  The dinosaurs' extinction was spurred by an asteroid that struck Earth. By studying the crater, scientists now know what happened after the impact.
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| In last words, Khashoggi asked killers not to suffocate him Posted: 10 Sep 2019 11:01 AM PDT  In his final words, slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi urged his killers not to cover his mouth because he suffered from asthma and could suffocate, according to Turkey's Sabah newspaper. Sabah newspaper, which is close to Turkey's government, published new details of a recording of Khashoggi's conversation with members of a Saudi hit squad sent to kill him. The paper says the recording of Khashoggi's grisly Oct. 2, 2018 killing and reported dismemberment at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul was obtained by Turkey's intelligence agency.
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| Kristin Cavallari called out for 'super insensitive' 9/11 post, fires social media staffer Posted: 11 Sep 2019 11:44 AM PDT  'Very Cavallari' star Kristin Cavallari is parting ways with her social media manager after a debacle on September 11.
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| Iran says tanker oil sold at sea, buyer sets destination Posted: 11 Sep 2019 04:35 AM PDT  Iran's envoy to London said on Wednesday the oil cargo of tanker Adrian Darya 1 was sold at sea to a private company, denying Tehran had broken assurances it had given over the vessel, but he insisted EU's Syria sanctions did not apply to Tehran. "At (the) meeting with the British Foreign Secretary, it was emphasized that British authorities' action against the tanker carrying Iranian oil was in violation of international law," ambassador Hamid Baeidinejad said on Twitter after being summoned in London.
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| How the U.S. Army 'Replicates' Enemy Drones to Destroy Them Posted: 11 Sep 2019 02:52 AM PDT  Commercially available attack drones now proliferating at alarming rates around the world.
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| China detains Taiwanese man who reportedly shared troop photos at Hong Kong border Posted: 11 Sep 2019 05:01 AM PDT  China has arrested a Taiwanese man on state security charges after he crossed from Hong Kong into the mainland and reportedly shared pictures of troops, renewing fears about arbitrary detention amid the ongoing political unrest in the financial hub. Lee Meng-chu, a volunteer activity organiser in the small Taiwanese fishing community of Fangliao, went missing on August 20 when he entered Shenzhen, a border city which links Hong Kong to Southeast China. Mr Lee, who studied in the US and is also known by the name Morrison, allegedly shared information about the ongoing Hong Kong protests on social media and sent Chen Ya-lin, the Fangliao mayor, a photo of Chinese troops massing equipment on the city's border. The Shenzhen police had previously told Mr Lee's worried family that they had no record of him arriving in the city, despite local friends reporting that they had dinner together before he disappeared. Last month the Taiwanese government also made official enquiries about his whereabouts but received no reply from China. On Wednesday, Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing, confirmed that he was being investigated after he "allegedly engaged in illegal activities that endanger state security." Mr Ma did not elaborate further. Lee Meng-chu was detained after crossing from Hong Kong into mainland China in August Credit: Pingtung County Fangliao Township Office Mr Lee's detention comes amid reports of Chinese citizens being arrested or harassed in relation to the protests, and of the Chinese authorities checking the phones of passengers travelling to the mainland from Hong Kong. Last month Simon Cheng, an official at the UK's Hong Kong consulate was held in Shenzhen for 15 days before being released without charge. His supporters believe he was investigated for signs of supporting the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement in an attempt to suppress free speech. The Taiwanese government, which has tense relations with China, said it was "deeply concerned" about Mr Lee's detention and urged the "relevant agencies" to negotiate "in full force" over the issue. Friends of Mr Lee expressed their fears about his well-being and the growing risk of enforced disappearances and China's opaque justice system on his Facebook page. His case has been compared to Taiwanese rights activist Lee Ming-che, who disappeared for weeks in southern China in 2017 before resurfacing to be sentenced to five years in prison for "the subversion of state power."
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| Israel strikes Hamas after new Gaza rocket fire: army Posted: 10 Sep 2019 05:52 PM PDT  Several rockets were fired Wednesday from the Gaza Strip at Israel, which responded by striking Hamas military positions in the enclave, the Israeli army said. The afternoon exchange came a day after rockets fired from the Palestinian territory towards the Israeli city of Ashdod forced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to flee the stage during a campaign rally. "Three projectiles were launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel," the Israeli army said in a statement, adding that sirens were triggered in nearby Israeli communities.
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| Church leaders held homeless people captive, forced them to go begging and stole their benefits, court documents say Posted: 11 Sep 2019 02:55 AM PDT  Christian ministry leaders allegedly forced a group of homeless people to beg, kept them in locked group homes and threatened to take away their children if they left, prosecutors said.Victor Gonzalez and eleven other leaders of Imperial Valley Ministries (IVM) were charged on Tuesday with subjecting dozens of homeless people to forced labour.
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| US jets smashed an island ISIS was using 'like a hotel' and troops found rockets and bombs stashed in caves Posted: 11 Sep 2019 12:34 PM PDT  At least 25 ISIS fighters are dead after a successful US air strike that dropped 80,000 pounds of ordnance, an Iraqi CTS spokesperson told Insider.
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| Court won't block death penalty trials despite moratorium Posted: 11 Sep 2019 06:03 PM PDT  The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to block death penalty cases from proceeding during Gov. Gavin Newsom's moratorium on executions. The justices rejected defense attorneys' arguments that jurors can't realistically gauge the seriousness of imposing a death sentence if they think it's never actually going to be carried out. Newsom halted executions in March for as long as he remains governor, but the death penalty remains on the books and courts have been proceeding on the assumption that executions may one day resume.
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| Nuclear power is too costly and too risky Posted: 11 Sep 2019 03:07 PM PDT  Renewable technologies are already cost competitive with fossil fuels, unlike nuclear power, writes Todd Larsen of Green America.
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| View Photos of Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Testing Posted: 11 Sep 2019 01:37 PM PDT |
| Russia's Su-57 Stealth Fighter Might Get 'Shot Down' By This (Not an F-35) Posted: 11 Sep 2019 05:53 AM PDT  But a Russian Su-35.
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| A couple accidentally got $120,000 from the bank. Then they were arrested for spending it Posted: 10 Sep 2019 04:29 AM PDT  The couple from Montoursville, Pennsylvania, allegedly purchased a car, paid their bills and handed the money out to friends, police said.
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| Injunction against Trump policy lifted in asylum case Posted: 11 Sep 2019 02:42 AM PDT  The ruling essentially restores the situation that existed last week.
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| The Bahamas has reportedly developed a black market for bread as residents scramble for basic supplies in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian Posted: 11 Sep 2019 04:18 AM PDT  Many residents live in fear of eating spoiled food "because so many markets lost their generators," according to a report from CNN.
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| Winner-take-all presidential elections: Unconstitutional and unfair to voters in 48 states Posted: 10 Sep 2019 12:15 AM PDT  This system hurts Republicans and Democrats alike, and it doesn't need a constitutional amendment to fix. Courts should prod states to make changes.
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| Few turn out as Mugabe is returned to a Zimbabwe in crisis Posted: 11 Sep 2019 01:26 PM PDT  Zimbabwe's founding leader Robert Mugabe made his final journey back to the country Wednesday, his body flown into the capital amid the contradictions of his long, controversial rule. The former guerrilla leader, who died Friday at 95 in a hospital in Singapore, led the fight to end white-minority rule in what was then Rhodesia, and ruled Zimbabwe from its independence in 1980 until he was deposed. During his 37-year authoritarian leadership, Zimbabwe descended from prosperity to economic crisis marked by hyperinflation, unemployment and a drastic drop in living conditions for its 16 million people.
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| Ugandan leader calls for eye-for-an-eye-style sentences after nephew murdered Posted: 10 Sep 2019 10:51 PM PDT  Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has said he wants courts to hand out eye-for-an-eye-style sentences for all murder convicts, to help stem soaring violent crime that claimed the life of his nephew last week. Ugandans complain that most crimes go unsolved because police are corrupt and not interested in investigating cases involving ordinary citizens, although security officials deny this. "We need to work on the courts," Museveni said in a statement posted on his official social media accounts late on Tuesday.
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| Serbs Ignore EU Warning Over Plan to Join Russian-Led Trade Bloc Posted: 11 Sep 2019 12:09 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. Serbia's plan to join a Russian-led economic union is drawing ire from the European Union, which the Balkan nation says it wants to be part of.The EU's executive commission has made clear that Serbia will have to cancel any bilateral trade agreements with other countries if and when it joins the EU, and leaders said they'd rather see Belgrade aligning its policies more with the bloc's. Serbian officials have ignored the criticism and will sign a deal to join the Eurasian Economic Union on Oct. 25. The Russian-led bloc also includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.The plan is "not a hindrance to European integration," Serbian Trade Minister Rasim Ljajic said by email last week. The European Commission's warning isn't going to "affect Serbia's decision to enter into this agreement in Moscow," he said.The EU has no say over which groups Serbia joins while it's not a member, but some of its representatives indicated they would like to see greater commitment to membership, especially after an EU progress report earlier this year showed that Serbia was only partially aligning its foreign and security policies with the EU's.Serb leaders have said that EU membership is a priority, a goal they hope to achieve around the middle of next decade. At the same time, Serbia has historic and religious ties with Russia, which is helping it prevent the further recognition of Kosovo in international bodies. Additionally, Russia has donated fighter jets and tanks to Serbia and Serb leaders, including President Aleksandar Vucic, are frequent visitors to Moscow.'European Orientation'"You can't be marching in several directions at the same time," Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak, who spent years working in the Balkans, said last month in Helsinki. "If you're serious about your European orientation then obviously you make political decisions that bring you closer to it. This is not one of them."The Eurasian Economic Union, established by Russian President Vladimir Putin to create a rival to the EU's open market and help rebuild Moscow's sphere of influence in the former Soviet Union, has four other members aside from Russia.Economists in Belgrade have also questioned the benefit of the trade membership for Serbia, whose main export markets are in western Europe, not in the east."Russia accounts for only one quarter of what we export to Germany and Italy," said Ivan Nikolic, an economist and member of central bank's advisory council. "We are accessing a new market but the question is what we can offer. We are exporting food products, and fruit and vegetables, but we are not price competitive."(Updates to add details on trading bloc in second paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Gordana Filipovic in Belgrade at gfilipovic@bloomberg.net;Misha Savic in Belgrade at msavic2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, Michael WinfreyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Indulgent Salmon Recipes for a Healthy Dose of Omega-3 Posted: 10 Sep 2019 01:05 PM PDT |
| Surveillance Video Raises Questions about Washington Police's Version of Deadly Officer-Involved Shooting Posted: 11 Sep 2019 05:41 PM PDT  Surveillance video of a deadly police shooting in Washington is raising questions about the official statement from the city's police department.
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| BREAKING: U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan Attacked on 9/11 Anniversary Posted: 11 Sep 2019 04:24 AM PDT  On America's darkest day...
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| Sex assault claims rock Ardern's New Zealand government Posted: 10 Sep 2019 07:40 PM PDT  New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern apologised Wednesday for her party's handling of an alleged sexual assault, as a top ally was forced to resign. In the most serious scandal Ardern has faced since she took office in late 2017, the centre-left leader admitted "mistakes were made" after a Labour Party volunteer accused a senior party staffer of assault last year. "Raising an allegation of sexual assault is an incredibly difficult thing to do -- for additional distress to be caused through the way these allegations are handled is incredibly distressing," Ardern said in a statement.
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| Hundreds of Nigerians board plane to leave South Africa Posted: 11 Sep 2019 08:22 AM PDT  A group of Nigerians boarded a free flight from Johannesburg to Lagos on Wednesday, following a week of violence targeting foreigners in South Africa that has stoked tensions between Africa's two largest economies. It was not immediately clear how many people were on board the flight, operated by the private Nigerian airline Air Peace, but Nigeria's government said it estimated 313 people would board. In total, 640 Nigerians living in South Africa had registered at Nigerian missions to take the flights offered by the airline last week after bands of South Africans launched violent attacks against foreign-owned shops and stalls, looting and burning the small businesses and attacking some of the shopkeepers.
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| Philippines' Duterte says Xi offering gas deal if arbitration case ignored Posted: 10 Sep 2019 08:14 PM PDT ![Philippines' Duterte says Xi offering gas deal if arbitration case ignored]( "Philippines' Duterte says Xi offering gas deal if arbitration case ignored") Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said his Chinese counterpart has offered Manila a controlling stake in a joint energy venture in the South China Sea, if it sets aside an international arbitral award that went against Beijing. Duterte said Chinese President Xi Jinping told him during their recent meeting that if he ignored the Permanent Court of Arbitration's 2016 ruling, China would agree to be the junior partner in a joint venture to develop gas deposits at the Reed Bank, located within Manila's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). "Set aside the arbitral ruling," Duterte was quoted as telling reporters late Tuesday in remarks provided by his office on Wednesday.
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| AOC reveals her student loan balance and makes payment during congressional hearing Posted: 11 Sep 2019 10:41 AM PDT  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made a payment towards her student loan debt during a committee meeting and called on Congress to take swift action on the issue."I literally made a student loan payment while I was sitting here at this chair, and I looked at my balance and it was $20,237.16 (£16,410.62)," the New York Democrat said at a meeting of the financial services committee focusing on student debt.
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| Gun violence is a health crisis, not a political football. It's time to act: Cardiologist Posted: 10 Sep 2019 04:00 AM PDT ![Gun violence is a health crisis, not a political football. It's time to act: Cardiologist]( "Gun violence is a health crisis, not a political football. It's time to act: Cardiologist") This is an epidemic that calls for many responses, from new laws to more research. We can save lives while respecting responsible gun owners' rights.
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| 'Make America safe again': Veronica Escobar bringing El Paso shooting victims to Democratic debate Posted: 11 Sep 2019 01:49 PM PDT  Rep. Veronica Escobar represents El Paso where, earlier this summer, a gunman opened fire in a Walmart, killing 22 people.
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| Texas executes man who killed woman during spate of crimes Posted: 10 Sep 2019 05:38 PM PDT  A Texas death row inmate was executed Tuesday for fatally shooting a 61-year-old grandmother at her North Texas home nearly a decade ago during an eight-day spate of crimes that included thefts and another killing. Mark Anthony Soliz, 37, received a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville for the June 2010 slaying of Nancy Weatherly during a robbery at her rural home near Godley, located 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Fort Worth. Soliz was the 15th inmate put to death this year in the U.S. It was the sixth execution in Texas and the second in as many weeks in the state.
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| Trump Flirts With $15 Billion Bailout for Iran, Sources Say Posted: 11 Sep 2019 03:48 PM PDT  NICHOLAS KAMMPresident Donald Trump has left the impression with foreign officials, members of his administration, and others involved in Iranian negotiations that he is actively considering a French plan to extend a $15 billion credit line to the Iranians if Tehran comes back into compliance with the Obama-era nuclear deal.Trump has in recent weeks shown openness to entertaining President Emmanuel Macron's plan, according to four sources with knowledge of Trump's conversations with the French leader. Two of those sources said that State Department officials, including Secretary Mike Pompeo, are also open to weighing the French proposal, which would effectively ease the economic sanctions regime that the Trump administration has applied on Tehran for more than a year.The deal put forth by France would compensate Iran for oil sales disrupted by American sanctions. A large portion of Iran's economy relies on cash from oil sales. Most of that money is frozen in bank accounts across the globe. The $15 billion credit line would be guaranteed by Iranian oil. In exchange for the cash, Iran would have to come back into compliance with the nuclear accord it signed with the world's major powers in 2015. Tehran would also have to agree not to threaten the security of the Persian Gulf or to impede maritime navigation in the area. Lastly, Tehran would have to commit to regional Middle East talks in the future. While Trump has been skeptical of helping Iran without preconditions, In public, the president has in public at least hinted at an openness to considering Macron's pitch for placating the Iranian government—a move intended to help bring the Iranians to the negotiating table and to rescue the nuclear agreement that Trump and his former national security adviser John Bolton worked so hard to torpedo.At the G7 meeting in Biarritz, France last month, Trump told reporters that Iran might need a "short-term letter of credit or loan" that could "get them over a very rough patch."Why Trump Wants the Ayatollah's CashIranian Prime Minister Javad Zarif made a surprise appearance at that meeting. To Robert Malley, who worked on Iran policy during the Obama administration, that visit indicated that "Trump must have signaled openness to Macron's idea, otherwise Zarif would not have flown to Biarritz at the last minute." "Clearly, Trump responded to Macron in a way that gave the French president a reason to invite Zarif and Zarif a reason to come," he said.The French proposal would require the Trump administration to issue waivers on Iranian sanctions. That would be a major departure from the Trump administration's so-called "maximum pressure" campaign to exact financial punishments on the regime in Tehran. Ironically, during his time in office, President Barack Obama followed a not-dissimilar approach to bring the Iranians to the negotiating table, throttling Iran's economy with sanctions before pledging relief for talks. The negotiations resulted in the Iran nuke deal that President Trump called "rotten"—and pulled the U.S. out of during his first term.Trump's flirtations with—if not outright enthusiasm toward—chummily sitting down with foreign dictators and America's geopolitical foes are largely driven by his desire for historic photo ops and to be seen as the dealmaker-in-chief. It's a desire so strong that it can motivate him to upturn years worth of his own administration's policymaking and messaging.And while President Trump has not agreed to anything yet, he did signal a willingness to cooperate on such a proposal at various times throughout the last month, including while at the G7 meeting in Biarritz, France, according to four sources with knowledge of the president's conversations about the deal.Several sources told The Daily Beast that foreign officials are expecting Trump to either agree to cooperate on the French deal or to offer to ease some sanctions on Tehran. Meanwhile, President Trump is also considering meeting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September. "I do believe they'd like to make a deal. If they do, that's great. And if they don't, that's great too," Trump told reporters Wednesday. "But they have tremendous financial difficulty, and the sanctions are getting tougher and tougher." When asked if he would ease sanctions against Iran in order to get a meeting with Iran Trump simply said: "We'll see what happens. I think Iran has a tremendous, tremendous potential."Spokespeople for the State Department, White House, and Treasury did not provide comment for this story. A spokesperson for the National Security Council simply referred The Daily Beast to Trump's Wednesday comments on Iran. Bolton didn't comment on Wednesday, either.Trump's willingness to discuss the credit line with the French, the Iranians and also Japanese President Shinzo Abe frustrated Bolton who had for months had urged Trump against softening his hard line against the regime in Tehran. Bolton, who vociferously opposed the Macron proposal, departed the Trump administration on explicitly and mutually bad terms on Tuesday. On his way out of door, Trump and senior administration officials went out of their way to keep publicly insisting he was fired, as Bolton kept messaging various news outlets that Trump couldn't fire him because he quit. The former national security adviser and lifelong hawk had ruffled so many feathers and made so many enemies in the building that his senior colleagues had repeatedly tried to snitch him out to Trump for allegedly leaking to the media. On Tuesday afternoon, Bolton messaged The Daily Beast to say that allegations about him being a leaker were "flatly incorrect."At a press briefing held shortly after Bolton's exit on Tuesday, neither Secretary of State Mike Pompeo nor Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin showed much sympathy for Bolton's falling star in Trumpworld. "There were many times Ambassador Bolton and I disagreed," Pompeo told reporters. "That's to be sure, but that's true with a lot of people with whom I interact."According to those who know Pompeo well, the secretary's public statement was a glaring understatement.Trump Approved Iran Strikes Knowing Body Count Would Be High"By the end he viewed [Bolton] as an arsonist hell bent on setting fire to anyone's agenda that didn't align with his own—including the president's," said a source close to Pompeo who's discussed Bolton with the secretary in recent weeks. Pompeo "believes him to be among the most self-centered people he's ever worked with. A talented guy, no doubt, but not someone who was willing to subordinate his ego to the president's foreign-policy agenda." Whether or not the president follows through with supporting Macron is unclear, as Trump is known to consider or temporarily back high-profile domestic or foreign policy initiatives, only to quickly backtrack or about-face. 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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| Russia scraps robot Fedor after space odyssey Posted: 11 Sep 2019 06:52 AM PDT  It's mission over for a robot called Fedor that Russia blasted to the International Space Station, the developers said Wednesday, admitting he could not replace astronauts on space walks. There's nothing more for him to do there, he's completed his mission," Yevgeny Dudorov, executive director of robot developers Androidnaya Tekhnika, told RIA Novosti news agency. The silvery anthropomorphic robot cannot fulfill its assigned task to replace human astronauts on long and risky space walks, Dudorov said.
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