| 2020 Vision Thursday: Why Kamala Harris is struggling in the polls Posted: 19 Sep 2019 07:05 AM PDT  Pundits have been speculating about the state of Sen. Kamala Harris's campaign ever since one of her staffers accidentally left an internal briefing memo that included the phrase "summer slump" at a Manchester, N.H., restaurant earlier this month.
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| PHOTOS: Tropical Storm Imelda floods Texas Posted: 20 Sep 2019 06:30 AM PDT  The slow-churning remnants of Tropical Storm Imelda flooded parts of Texas on Thursday, leaving at least two people dead and rescue crews with boats scrambling to reach stranded drivers and families trapped in their homes during a relentless downpour that drew comparisons to Hurricane Harvey two years ago.
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| 'Shocked and devastated': Connecticut father, son die in tragic fall after riding ATVs in abandoned quarry Posted: 20 Sep 2019 07:55 AM PDT  A father and son died after they both fell off a 75-foot cliff in Connecticut Wednesday, WVIT-TV reported.
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| Texas man wanted for allegedly divorcing his wife without her knowledge Posted: 20 Sep 2019 12:32 PM PDT  A Texas man is wanted by police after he allegedly filed for and completed divorce proceedings against his wife without her knowledge.
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| Why Trump had a wad of cash in his back pocket Posted: 19 Sep 2019 07:57 AM PDT  "I don't carry a wallet because I haven't had to use a credit card in a long time," he told reporters aboard Air Force One. "I do like leaving tips to the hotel. I like to carry a little something."
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| Elizabeth Warren Declares War on Lobbying, Hires Lobbyist One Day Later Posted: 20 Sep 2019 04:24 AM PDT  Is she serious?
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| A former employee of Andrew Yang claimed he abruptly fired her because she got married and he thought she'd stop 'working as hard' Posted: 20 Sep 2019 06:01 AM PDT  Kimberley Watkins worked for Yang when he was a CEO in 2007. She said Yang claimed marrying meant she "wouldn't want to continue working as hard."
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| UPDATE 1-Hezbollah says Iran would destroy Saudi Arabia in any war Posted: 20 Sep 2019 08:50 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Hezbollah says Iran would destroy Saudi Arabia in any war]( "UPDATE 1-Hezbollah says Iran would destroy Saudi Arabia in any war") Lebanon's Hezbollah warned Saudi Arabia on Friday against betting on a war against Iran because it would destroy the kingdom and said Riyadh and the United Arab Emirates should halt the conflict in Yemen to protect themselves. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, head of the Iran-backed Shi'ite Muslim group, also said new air defences could not easily defend Saudi Arabia from the type of drones used in a Sept. 14 attacks on Saudi oil installations. Tensions have spiked in the region since the attacks that officials in Washington and Riyadh have blamed on Iran, which has denied involvement.
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| House votes to end forced arbitration in business disputes Posted: 20 Sep 2019 10:40 AM PDT  The House approved a bill Friday to end forced arbitration clauses that prevent workers and consumers from filing lawsuits in disputes with companies over employment practices, billing or civil rights. Supporters, mostly Democrats, said the bill would restore access to justice for millions of Americans who are now locked out of the court system and forced to settle disputes against companies in a private arbitration system that often favors the company over the individual. Opponents, mostly Republicans, said the measure would make it harder for individual workers or consumers by forcing them into lengthy, expensive court fights that may end up shutting them out of the justice system entirely.
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| An Exclusive Image of the Interstellar Comet That Stunned Astronomers Posted: 19 Sep 2019 07:36 AM PDT  Here's what scientists are saying about our solar system's newest visitor.
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| High school sparks controversy over 'ridiculous' lunch: 'It's honestly sad' Posted: 20 Sep 2019 11:24 AM PDT  A Minnesota high school is facing criticism for serving a meal that many people have since called "ridiculous."
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| U.S. to return about $100 million to the Treasury for an Afghanistan project due to a lack of transparency Posted: 19 Sep 2019 07:27 AM PDT  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that the United States would return about $100 million to the Treasury for an energy infrastructure project in Afghanistan and would withhold a further $60 million in planned assistance to the country due to a lack of transparency.
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| Taiwan loses another ally as Kiribati switches allegiance to China Posted: 20 Sep 2019 05:36 AM PDT  The tiny Pacific island nation of Kiribati severed ties with Taiwan on Friday, switching its diplomatic allegiance to China in the second such defection in a week. "Kiribati today officially notified us that it was cutting diplomatic ties with our country," Joseph Wu, Taiwan's foreign minister, told reporters at a hastily organised press conference. "Today we are also announcing that we are dropping ties with Kiribati," he added. Earlier this week, Tsai Ing-wen accused China of "dollar diplomacy" after the Solomon Islands, a Pacific archipelago and former British protectorate of some 600,000 people, also changed its diplomatic recognition to Beijing. "Over the past few years, China has continually used financial and political pressure to suppress Taiwan's international space," Ms Tsai said, calling the Chinese move "a brazen challenge and detriment to the international order." Kiribati is the seventh country to drop ties with Taiwan since Ms Tsai - who is viewed with deep suspicion in Beijing for not adhering to its 'One China' policy - took office in 2016. China, which seeks to annex the island of 23 million, has tried to lure or pressure Taiwan's diplomatic allies, claiming the state has no right to formal ties with any other nation, while trying to exclude it from international bodies such as the United Nations. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has accused China of dollar diplomacy Credit: AP Some analysts believe Beijing's relentless push to isolate Taipei internationally is part to a determined strategy by Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, to bring Taiwan under his control during his tenure. Taiwan, meanwhile, operates like any other democratic nation with its own elections, government, currency, military and foreign policy and the majority of citizens identify as Taiwanese, enjoying visa-free access to 149 countries worldwide. Taipei has now accused China of pressuring its allies to try to meddle in its January elections when Ms Tsai will stand for a second term. The latest break leaves Taiwan with just 15 formal allies although it still enjoys strong informal relations with many countries, including the US, UK, Australia and Japan. While the dwindling number of Taiwan's formal supporters may have a limited effect on Ms Tsai's electoral chances, there could be a more significant longer term impact on the US and its Pacific allies, who are nervous of China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region. "It is clear that broader geopolitics played as important a role in Beijing's calculations as the desire to punish the Tsai administration," wrote Michael Cole, a senior fellow in the Taiwan studies programme at Nottingham university, in the Nikkei Asian Review. "In the Solomon Islands' case, the aim is to undermine the US's strategy in the Indo-Pacific and extend China's influence closer to the US's defensive line in the Western Pacific." As a result of the decision, Mike Pence, the US vice-president, reportedly cancelled plans to meet Manasseh Sogavare, the Solomon Islands prime minister, in the margins of the UN general assembly in New York next week.
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| Architect Reinaldo Leandro on the Art of Building Design and Personal Style Posted: 20 Sep 2019 12:17 PM PDT |
| Trump asked Ukraine president 8 times to investigate Joe Biden's son, say reports Posted: 20 Sep 2019 11:44 AM PDT  Donald Trump reportedly repeatedly pressured Ukraine's new leader to launch an investigation into the son of the man the US president may face off again in 2020.Reports in the US media said Mr Trump badgered Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a July 25 phone called, to press ahead with the probe into Joe Biden's son, and suggested he work with his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
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| Murder charges dropped against 5 teens accused in north suburban attempted car theft Posted: 19 Sep 2019 04:03 PM PDT  Murder charges have been dropped against a group of five Chicago teenagers after a shooting during an attempted car theft in Lake County, Ill., last month.
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| Drowning of U.S.-bound Honduran mother and son underscores plight of migrants Posted: 19 Sep 2019 06:53 PM PDT ![Drowning of U.S.-bound Honduran mother and son underscores plight of migrants]( "Drowning of U.S.-bound Honduran mother and son underscores plight of migrants") TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras/MATAMOROS, Mexico Sept 19 (Reuters) - W hen Delia Hernandez, 44, bade farewell on Aug. 1 to Idalia Herrera, 27, and nearly two-year-old Iker Cordova, she dreamed her daughter and grandson were fleeing the arid fields of southern Honduras for a bright new life in the United States, she said. Instead, Herrera and Cordova drowned last week in the Rio Grande just shy of Brownsville, Texas, weeks into an anguished wait in the Mexican border city of Matamoros for an asylum hearing with U.S. authorities, migrants there and Herrera's grandmother said.
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| Climate change could turn oceans from friend to foe, UN report warns Posted: 19 Sep 2019 08:28 PM PDT  Global warming and pollution caused by humanity's carbon-heavy footprint are ravaging Earth's oceans and icy regions in ways that could unleash misery on a global scale, a landmark UN report to be unveiled next week will warn. The underlying 900-page scientific report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the fourth such UN tome in less than a year, with others focused on a 1.5-Celsius cap on global warming, the decline of biodiversity, as well as land use and the global food system. All four conclude that humanity must overhaul how it produces, distributes and consumes almost everything to avoid the worst ravages of global warming and environmental degradation.
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| Boy improving after Michigan buggy crash kills 3 siblings Posted: 19 Sep 2019 02:51 PM PDT ![Boy improving after Michigan buggy crash kills 3 siblings]( "Boy improving after Michigan buggy crash kills 3 siblings") The condition of a Michigan boy who survived a horse-drawn buggy crash that killed his three siblings improved Thursday, a day after the tragedy that shocked the local Amish community. Henry Detweiler told the Lansing State Journal that the children — ages 6, 8, 10 and 13 — had finished school Wednesday and were headed to his blacksmith shop, less than 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) away, in Eaton County, southwest of the state capital. "I bawled all the way home," said Kevin Newton, who often drives for the Amish and knew the victims.
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| American Airlines Mechanic who Sabotaged Plane before Takeoff Suspected of ISIS Ties Posted: 19 Sep 2019 10:41 AM PDT  A federal judge denied bail on Wednesday to an American Airlines mechanic, who has been incarcerated since July for sabotaging a plane with 150 people on board, due to suspicions the mechanic has ties to ISIS.Abdul-Majeed Alani was arrested on September 5 and confessed to tampering with a Boeing 737 at Miami International Airport weeks earlier, grounding the plane before it had a chance to take off. He told investigators at the time that he was upset over a contract dispute involving a union, and decided to ground the plane so that he could obtain overtime work.However, investigators subsequently found videos of mass murders committed by ISIS on Alani's cell phone.In the Wednesday bail hearing, prosecutors announced that Alani has a brother in Iraq who may be involved with ISIS, and that Alani had previously expressed his desire for Allah to harm non-Muslims.Alani's lawyer requested bail to be posted at $200,000 but Magistrate Judge Chris M. McAliley denied the request, deeming Alani a flight risk.Alani has been a mechanic at American Airlines for thirty years and does not have a criminal record. He is a U.S. citizen.Court documents assert that Alani used a piece of foam to obstruct the plane's air data module, which tracks air speed and other critical flight data. Security camera footage from July 17 shows Alani tampering with the aircraft.The plane had left the gate and reached the runway just before takeoff when the pilots received an error message, after which they aborted the takeoff.
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| The Navy SEAL who ran the bin Laden raid says negotiating with the Taliban is like sitting down for talks with ISIS Posted: 19 Sep 2019 12:19 PM PDT  Talking to the Taliban is like meeting with ISIS, the retired Navy SEAL said weeks after Trump tried to bring Taliban leaders to the US for talks.
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| Boy, 4, who was diagnosed with autism and cancer within months of each other beats odds Posted: 20 Sep 2019 02:05 PM PDT  A 4-year-old boy who was diagnosed with autism and cancer within three months has impressively beaten the odds
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| 2019 Editors' Choice Awards: The Best Trucks, SUVs, and Vans Posted: 20 Sep 2019 10:15 AM PDT |
| Atlantic likely to churn out tropical systems into 2nd half of September Posted: 20 Sep 2019 08:35 AM PDT  Since the peak of Atlantic hurricane season, which occurred on Sept. 10, there has been no shortage of Atlantic tropical threats during the last full week of summer. The most menacing of those systems was Imelda, a storm that brewed quickly in the western Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday before moving inland over Texas and unleashing deadly flooding through late in the week.Meteorologists were also monitoring Humberto, which strengthened into a major hurricane in the western Atlantic and then weakened ahead of delivering fierce winds in Bermuda on Wednesday night. The powerful hurricane stayed well east of the United States, but threatened dangerous surf along the coastline.Not far behind Humberto, Jerry brewed over the open waters of the Atlantic and rapidly strengthened into a hurricane by Thursday before beginning to skirt northeast of the Leeward Islands on Friday.Three additional areas over the Atlantic Basin are being closely monitored for potential tropical development in the coming days, while the western Gulf may be an area to watch late in September or early October. A wide satellite shot of the Atlantic basin shows several of the tropical disturbances that meteorologists are monitoring on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019. One tropical disturbance was hovering over the central Caribbean, located to the south of Hispaniola, on Friday, according to AccuWeather meteorologists."While this central Caribbean feature was producing a broad area of showers and thunderstorms, significant wind shear has and is likely to continue to keep this system in check this weekend," Dan Kottlowski, AccuWeather's top hurricane expert, said. This image, taken on Friday morning, Sept. 20, 2019, shows part of the tropical Atlantic Basin. Jerry was near the center of the image with one tropical disturbance near the center of the Caribbean and another tropical disturbance northeast of South America over the lower right. (GOES-East/NOAA) Farther to the east, an area of showers and thunderstorms, located about 700 miles east of the Windward Islands and a couple of hundred miles northeast of the coast of South America on Friday, may drift into a zone with conditions more conducive for development into early next week.Steering winds are likely to push this feature close to the coast of South America initially. However, a northwestward or northward turn over the eastern Caribbean is possible, where waters are quite warm and able to sustain tropical development. However, rapid and strong development of this feature is unlikely due to wind shear once again. However, some organization and low-end development are possible."There is a small chance this system might attempt to wrap up and become a tropical depression from late Sunday to Tuesday," Kottlowski said.At the very least, an uptick in downpours and locally gusty winds is likely in the Windward and Leeward islands later this weekend and then perhaps across Puerto Rico and Hispaniola from Monday to Wednesday.This would occur only a day or two after Jerry passes by to the north of the Leeward Islands.Meanwhile, a potent tropical disturbance with a batch of heavy showers and thunderstorms is forecast to move off the coast of Africa this weekend. Indications are that this feature may have the greatest chance of becoming the Atlantic's next tropical depression and perhaps the 11th named storm of the 2019 hurricane season into next week."Because this feature is so far on the edge of the basin, movement and impact, if any on the Lesser Antilles and the Caribbean in general from one to two weeks away is highly uncertain," Kottlowski said.There is a chance this feature is steered northward over the middle of the Atlantic perhaps before approaching the Lesser Antilles.While the overall weather pattern will be conducive to spawning long-track Cabo Verde systems, which form off of the coast of Africa, and turning them away from the Atlantic coast of the United States, there is some risk of additional systems forming over the Gulf of Mexico into early October.Anytime there is a general area of high pressure that lingers from the western Atlantic to the south-central United States, the clockwise flow around this system can generate a broad area of counterclockwise flow, what meteorologists refer to as a gyre, near Central America. "This gyre can help spin up an organized tropical system from any tropical disturbance that comes along and passes through the wind field," Kottlowski said.Weak to moderate tropical systems can form in the western Caribbean or the southern and western Gulf of Mexico. These systems could brew with close proximity to land, similar to how Imelda formed near Texas, and thus could form with little lead time before striking.As we saw with Imelda, a powerful hurricane is not needed to cause great risk to lives and considerable property damage and disruptions due to flooding.This time of the year, residents, travelers, shipping and cruise interests should closely monitor the tropics as conditions can change significantly from one day to the next. The Atlantic hurricane season continues through the end of November.
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| Pro-China groups to tear down pro-democracy graffiti in Hong Kong Posted: 20 Sep 2019 01:59 AM PDT  A pro-Beijing Hong Kong lawmaker urged supporters to pull down "Lennon Walls" on Saturday across the Chinese-ruled city, where the displays of anti-government graffiti have sometimes been flashpoints during more than three months of unrest. Legislator Junius Ho, who has taken a tough stand against the protests, called for cleanups of 77 Lennon Walls from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on "Clean Hong Kong Day", by 100 people at each site. Anti-government protesters have said they will avoid confrontation but will rebuild the walls, named after the John Lennon Wall in communist-controlled Prague in the 1980s that was covered with Beatles lyrics and messages of political grievance.
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| State sending troopers to help fight St. Louis crime Posted: 19 Sep 2019 04:09 PM PDT  Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is sending highway patrol troopers and other state workers to St. Louis as part of an effort to fight the surge of violent crime that has included the killings of more than a dozen children in the region so far this year. Parson said the total cost of the state's commitment, including the 25 state employees who will work in the St. Louis region, is up to $4 million. "This is about targeting violent criminals and getting them off the street," Parson said at a news conference in St. Louis.
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| Russia Can't Stop Israel's F-35 Stealth Fighters Posted: 19 Sep 2019 06:00 PM PDT  Key point: The F-35 operates on another level that Russia's air defense cannot handle.
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| Son who threw his terminally ill 79-year-old mother to her death spared jail Posted: 20 Sep 2019 11:13 AM PDT  A teacher who threw his terminally ill 79-year-old mother to her death from a first-floor balcony spared jail as judge describes it as a "mercy killing". A "devoted, loving son" who killed his dying mother to end her suffering by dropping her from a first floor fire escape at a care home has been given a suspended jail term. Robert Knight, 53, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his 79-year-old mother June at an earlier hearing at Basildon Crown Court. The languages teacher had denied murder and was cleared by a jury. Judge Samantha Leigh, sentencing Knight at Basildon Crown Court on Friday, told him: "You are someone who acted out of love and desperation. "You have been punished enough and you have to live with what you have done." She went on to describe it as a "mercy killing". Knight was sentenced to 24 months in prison suspended for 24 months. The incident happened at Langley Lodge Care Home in Westcliff, Essex, where Mrs Knight was receiving end-of-life care. Credit: EAST NEWS PRESS AGENCY Knight, of The Fairway, Leigh-on-Sea, signed into the care home on the evening of December 10 and lifted his mother out of bed. He dropped her from a fire escape and there was "no planning" involved, the judge said. The judge said: "This is a very sad case - anyone listening to the details of Mrs Knight's illness and her condition couldn't fail to be moved." She added that to "watch someone you love suffer as she was suffering... is truly cruel". The court heard that Mrs Knight had dementia and Alzheimer's disease, and a post-mortem report showed she had a twisted bowel that would have caused her pain. Knight visited her regularly, brushing her hair and cutting her nails, the judge said. She added that a "do not resuscitate" notice was in place at the time and care home staff "didn't think she would survive the night" from December 9 to December 10 last year. "You were convinced that she was suffering and it was more than you could bear," the judge told Knight. "You are described as a devoted, loving son," she added. "This case, I'm sure, was a very finely balanced one as to whether it was in the interest to prosecute in the first place." Michael Levy, mitigating, said Knight had no previous convictions, was remorseful, had admitted manslaughter and had spent more than nine months in custody while criminal proceedings were under way. Knight was ordered to complete 60 days of rehabilitation as part of his sentence, before he walked free from court.
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| Trump says he was 'surprised' by Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau's blackface scandal Posted: 20 Sep 2019 09:07 AM PDT  Trump said he was "surprised" to hear of Justin Trudeau's blackface scandal and was "more surprised" when he learned there were multiple instances.
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| Carson Daly surprises 'Today' co-hosts on-air with pregnancy news: 'How long have you been sitting on this?!' Posted: 20 Sep 2019 06:58 AM PDT  Carson Daly shared an exciting announcement live on-air during the 'Today' show, taking his co-hosts by total surprise.
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| FedEx Pilot Detained in China for Item Found in Luggage Posted: 20 Sep 2019 01:51 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- A FedEx Corp. pilot was temporarily detained in southeastern China after authorities found hundreds of air-gun pellets in his luggage prior to boarding a commercial flight to Hong Kong, marking the delivery firm's latest setback in the country.The pilot, who was held in the city of Guangzhou, was later released on bail and the company is working with relevant authorities to understand the facts better, Memphis-based FedEx said in an email. Geng Shuang, spokesman at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a briefing Friday that he was detained after being found with 681 air-gun pellets in his luggage.While FedEx didn't provide details, a Wall Street Journal report earlier cited people familiar with the matter as saying Chinese authorities have started a criminal probe on the former U.S. Air Force colonel for allegedly carrying ammunition illegally. China notified the U.S. consulate in Guangzhou about the matter and the case is still under investigation, Geng said.FedEx has been under particular scrutiny in recent months, after Huawei Technologies Co. said documents it asked to be shipped from Japan to China were diverted to the U.S. instead without authorization. In another incident, FedEx said it mistakenly rejected a package containing a Huawei phone being sent to the U.S. from the U.K., a claim China rebuffed.Separately, police in China's Fujian province started an investigation into a package containing a gun delivered by FedEx to a company in China, state media reported in August. Chinese authorities also began probing FedEx on suspicion of illegally handling a package sent to Hong Kong containing knives, Xinhua News Agency reported in early September.The fracas over the Huawei packages has seen FedEx targeted in Chinese state media, with Beijing considering adding the company to a list of so-called unreliable entities it is drafting, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg in June.China Mulls FedEx Blacklisting After Huawei Delivery ErrorsAfter the U.S. slapped curbs on Huawei, China's Commerce Ministry announced the creation of the list in late May to target firms that the government says damage the interests of domestic companies.(Updates with foreign ministry comment in second paragraph.)\--With assistance from Thomas Black, Feifei Shen and April Ma.To contact the reporter on this story: Young-Sam Cho in Hong Kong at ycho2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at ycho2@bloomberg.net, Emma O'BrienFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Gerald Bostock Was Fired. He Wants His Supreme Court Case to Help Change LGBTQ Rights in America. Posted: 20 Sep 2019 01:43 AM PDT  Courtesy Gerald BostockGerald Bostock relished doing his job. He was proud of helping young people. Until 2013 he worked for Clayton County, Georgia, managing the county's CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) program, which trained and assigned volunteers to represent children who have experienced abuse or neglect in court proceedings."Imagine having a job you love, that's your dream job, and all of sudden losing it," Bostock, 55, from Doraville, Georgia, told The Daily Beast. In 2013, Bostock was suddenly fired by Clayton County. Bostock claims it was because he is gay, the firing coming after it was revealed to colleagues that he played for a local gay softball league. He was also subject to homophobic slurs, he claims.Now Bostock's case is one of three historic LGBTQ discrimination cases that will be heard at the Supreme Court on Oct. 8. (The Daily Beast reported on the other two cases, involving former funeral director Aimee Stephens and skydiver Donald Zarda, in detail recently.)Inside the Supreme Court Discrimination Cases That Could Change LGBTQ RightsIn all three cases, SCOTUS will consider—and ultimately adjudicate—whether current sex discrimination laws protect LGBTQ people from workplace discrimination. "For me it has been extremely emotional," Bostock told The Daily Beast of the last six years of legal fighting. "I lost my livelihood, and my source of income. I even lost my medical insurance, and at a time I was just recovering from prostate cancer. It's been a long six-year journey not only to clear my name, but also help make it so no one has to go to work in fear of being fired for who they are, how they identify, and who they love."The lawyers in all three SCOTUS cases claim that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, includes sexual orientation and gender identity, under the "sex" classification.All three cases represent as momentous a moment for LGBTQ rights and equality at the Supreme Court as the Defense of Marriage Act and marriage equality rulings did in 2013 and 2015, respectively.Two of the cases focus on gay-related discrimination and will be heard together—Bostock's and Zarda's. The case of Stephens, who alleges her employer discriminated against her because she is transgender, will be heard separately.The cases are being heard against the backdrop of the stymied passage of the Equality Act, which would enshrine anti-LGBTQ discrimination protections in federal law (28 states presently have no protections for LGBTQ employees). The act passed in the House of Representatives but has little chance of getting passed in a Republican-controlled Senate.Thomas J. Mew, partner at Buckley Beal in Atlanta and one of Bostock's attorneys, told The Daily Beast: "This is a landmark case because we're in a situation where right now in too many parts of the country a gay or lesbian individual can marry their partner on Sunday and then be fired for their sexual orientation on Monday."Mew said, "What this situation is screaming out for is a uniform federal standard, and application of the law that protects LGBTQ men and women. Whether the individual is protected or not from discrimination should never be contingent on the luck of the geographical draw."As summarized by SCOTUSBlog, Bostock claimed that the county falsely accused him of mismanaging public money, when it really fired him for being gay.In the other cases, lower courts have delivered rulings in favor of Zarda and Stephens. But so far in Bostock's case, a district court ruled that Title VII did not cover sexual orientation, a ruling upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit—and so Bostock has brought his case to the Supreme Court.Brian J. Sutherland, partner at Buckley Beal and another of Bostock's attorneys, told The Daily Beast that the "plain language of the Civil Rights Act clearly applies to sexual orientation. You can't consider a person's sexual orientation without considering his or her sex, and you can't consider a person's sex when you're making an employment decision against them."A spokesperson for Clayton County, Georgia, told The Daily Beast they would not discuss the case, adding: "We do not comment on pending litigation."Jennifer King, executive director of Georgia CASA, told The Daily Beast that the organization was aware of the Supreme Court case "and its potential to further define protections under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act."King revealed that Georgia CASA has not had involvement with any resulting legal proceedings, nor been a party to the case. "Georgia CASA does not have direct authority in personnel matters at local affiliates; we are not responsible for any hiring or termination decisions," King wrote in an email to The Daily Beast. "Our focus continues to be on our mission of supporting and providing volunteer advocacy for children experiencing foster care. As a state network of independent affiliates, Georgia CASA embraces the diversity of its volunteers, staff, and supporters and actively works to engage advocates who are inclusive and representative of the communities and children the CASA program serves."The Trump administration—led by Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco and Department of Justice attorneys—has argued that Title VII does not include sexual orientation or gender identity, and therefore it is perfectly legal to fire and discriminate against people on the grounds that they are LGBTQ. "Unfavorable treatment of a gay or lesbian employee as such is not the consequence of that individual's sex," the Justice Department argued, "but instead of an employer's policy concerning a different trait—sexual orientation—that Title VII does not protect."* * *Bostock said he was not only immensely fulfilled by his work for Clayton County but also that the program was immensely successful and had received many awards for its work. He received favorable performance reviews. "My employer loved me doing my job."It was when he joined the Hotlanta Softball League in January 2013 "that my life started to change," said Bostock."Negative comments about my sexual orientation started surfacing, disparaging comments about my participation within the league, and the fact I was promoting the CASA program within what was said to be 'the gay community' of Atlanta."Both the national and Georgia CASA chapters have strict inclusion and anti-discrimination policies, including around sexual orientation, Bostock said. "I did nothing wrong and nothing differently, other than joining a gay softball league," insisted Bostock.He and his lawyer declined to say what anti-gay slurs had been said to him. "I need my day in court in order to do that," said Bostock.The day he was fired, Bostock went to work and his key-swipe no longer worked. His subsequent termination was abrupt."I was completely shocked and devastated. Everything flashed before me in an instant: all my hard work given to the county for 10 years advocating for child abuse and neglect victims, and all my successes and achievements—all of that being taken away from me suddenly because of my sexual orientation. The timeline speaks for itself."It was both physically and emotionally draining for me. I was still recovering from prostate cancer. The stress of this alone prolonged my recovery. As I moved through this journey I learned that it was a much bigger issue than just me. Because it is an issue of national importance, I thought someone should make the issue known and bring it to the attention of the courts. I didn't want this to happen to anyone else. I didn't want anyone else to experience what I've gone through for the last six years."Going to the Supreme Court and being part of a landmark case was "exciting but surreal," said Bostock. "This is no longer about me, it's about the LGBTQ community that deals with this issue every day throughout our country. Homophobia is not acceptable, and workplace discrimination of any form is just wrong."Bostock said he was "living proof" of Clayton County's homophobia. "But what about the children still in foster care in Clayton County? We had achieved the benchmark of serving 100 percent of children in care, and it is now my understanding the program is no longer supplying a CASA volunteer for every child in the courts. Those children have become re-victimized. "What about children in care who identify as LGBTQ? What kind of message does this case send to them? They have lost a positive role model. They lost somebody they could look up to. I think Clayton County have sent a very homophobic message to them that their lives don't matter. "What about the gay softball league, and the LGBTQ community within Atlanta—all those wonderful people interested in the program and volunteering? It's also a very homophobic message sent to that community: 'You're not welcome to participate in the Clayton County court program.' There are lots of homophobia-related issues at play here, and a lot of victims as a result of it."* * *Attorney Sutherland invoked the 1989 SCOTUS case involving Ann Hopkins, a Price Waterhouse employee who sued her employer after she was denied partnership because her firm objected to how she dressed and did her makeup. When the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Hopkins, it made clear that gender stereotyping was as actionable as sex discrimination. "This also supports the conclusion that sexual orientation discrimination is a form of sex discrimination that is prohibited by the law," said Sutherland.There had also been amendments to the Civil Rights Act, "supporting expansive interpretations of the law," Sutherland added. "The Civil Rights Act should be interpreted broadly, and the Supreme Court has recognized that it reaches broadly, and it should be interpreted broadly to include sexual orientation discrimination as a prohibited form of sex discrimination."The present rightward-tilting makeup of SCOTUS does not concern Sutherland."We are confident and expect to be successful. The legal arguments we are making are grounded in the text and history of the law. The right to work is not a political issue. That's what the Civil Rights Act is about when it comes to discrimination: People need to be judged according to their work performance. This is a straightforward application-of-the-law issue."As an employee, Bostock, said Sutherland, was an "incredibly effective employee developing a program that served at-risk children in the Clayton County juvenile system. He won awards. Nothing changed except he joined a gay recreational softball league." The case was dismissed without a chance to go trial and so, said Sutherland, "a large part of this is to give Gerald his day in court to show evidence to support his claim—that he was fired because of his sexual orientation."Bostock's career in child welfare services ended after he was fired in 2013. He couldn't get an interview in that field, he said. He has since become a mental health counselor working at Georgia Regional Hospital. "I'm still making a difference, but with adults, not children. I've always been a person who wanted to give back and make a positive difference in the community around me, but my passion was working with children, and that was the job I was good at. The program I ran had great success, and had national and statewide accolades—and having that passion taken away from you for doing nothing wrong is just hurtful. "Working with children absolutely is and always has been my passion since graduating from college and starting my career."Bostock's lack of success in the lower courts has been "difficult and hurtful," but motivating to "keep pushing forward with my legal team. Without the support of my partner as well as my family and circle of friends, I don't know if I would have had the strength and ability to do what I've done. They've been by my side the entire time and I love them dearly. They have been a great support and source of strength for me." (Bostock said he was now cancer-free, and no longer plays softball.)This reporter asked Sutherland and Mew if LGBTQ rights and equality would be placed on a surer footing if a piece of law—like the Equality Act, if it ever passes—mentioned sexual orientation and gender identity as specifically prohibited grounds of discrimination.Sutherland reiterated that it wasn't necessary: The current law prohibited sexual orientation discrimination as a form of sex discrimination.Bostock himself told The Daily Beast: "I will continue in my fight for equality and equal rights for all. Any American who wants to work and is able to work should have that right without fear of losing their job because of who they are, how they identify, and who they love."I am proud of who I am, and the man I have become—and I am very proud of the hard work and success I had in Clayton County. Nobody is going to take that away from me. I hope and pray that others have that same self-confidence, and follow this path with me, so we can ensure that nobody goes to work in fear of losing their job."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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| Gun Owner Tells Beto ‘Hell No You’re Not’ Taking My Gun’ During Rally Posted: 20 Sep 2019 10:38 AM PDT  A female gun owner challenged presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke at a campaign rally on Thursday in Aurora, Colorado over his plan to confiscate certain semi-automatic rifles from law abiding Americans.O'Rourke vowed to confiscate certain semi-automatic rifles from their legal owners during the third Democratic primary debate earlier this month."Hell, yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47. We're not going to allow it to be used against a fellow American anymore," said O'Rourke.At the Wednesday rally, gun owner Laura Bobert challenged O'Rourke, saying, "I am here to say 'hell no, you're not'" going to confiscate my gun.> A woman confronts Beto O'Rourke over his claims that he is going to confiscate people's guns> > She tells him "Hell no!" > > O'Rourke's supporters were so rude to the woman that O'Rourke repeatedly has to tell them to knock it off pic.twitter.com/LD9ORGJHHT> > -- Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) September 20, 2019Bobert proceeded to explain that she "was living in Aurora during Columbine, I had just recently moved when the Aurora shootings happened…all of those people were there defenseless, they had no way to defend themselves against a crazed shooter."O'Rourke had to ask the crowd to listen respectfully as some participants shouted over Bobert's speech.She also mentioned O'Rourke's criminal record, to which the crowd responded with boos. O'Rourke was arrested twice in the 1990's, once on a charge of forced entry and the second time for drunk driving. Both cases were dismissed at the time.Bobert has been profiled before for her pro-gun activism. She owns a Colorado restaurant at which all the waitresses carry guns.O'Rourke has been struggling in the polls during the primary campaign. He is currently drawing around 1-2 percent of the possible vote, according to a recent Wall Street Journal poll.
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| The Latest: Greek refugee camp unable to house new arrivals Posted: 20 Sep 2019 03:33 PM PDT  The Ocean Viking had assisted Maltese authorities and pulled the migrants from an overcrowded wooden boat on Thursday in international waters. The Ocean Viking initially counted 36 people but corrected the number to 35 after the Friday transfer. Malta has refused to take the remaining people, arguing they were found in international waters where Libya has search and rescue duties.
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| Woman Pleads Guilty in Chinese 'Birth Tourism' Ring Posted: 19 Sep 2019 04:29 AM PDT  She made millions cheating the U.S. immigration system.
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| Russia criticizes U.S. general over plan to destroy Kaliningrad air defenses Posted: 20 Sep 2019 07:51 AM PDT ![Russia criticizes U.S. general over plan to destroy Kaliningrad air defenses]( "Russia criticizes U.S. general over plan to destroy Kaliningrad air defenses") Russia on Friday accused the United States of brazenly threatening it after a senior U.S. general said Washington had drawn up a plan in case it needed to destroy air defenses in Russia's Kaliningrad exclave in Europe. U.S. General Jeffrey Harrigian said on Tuesday that "If we have to go in there to take down, for instance, the Kaliningrad IADS (Integrated Air Defense System), let there be no doubt we have a plan to go after that," the Breaking Defense magazine reported. Kaliningrad is a Russian region that lies on the Baltic Sea between EU members Lithuania and Poland.
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| Jeffrey Epstein victim says Prince Andrew bought her vodka at a London club when she was 17 before having sex with her Posted: 20 Sep 2019 02:21 PM PDT  Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who has accused Jeffrey Epstein of sex trafficking her, explained how the late financier's close associate Ghislaine Maxwell coerced her into having sex with Prince Andrew of Britain.
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| Meghan Markle and Prince Harry to attend same wedding as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner (report) Posted: 19 Sep 2019 07:00 AM PDT  When Misha Nonoo married Michael Hess in Rome this weekend, the royals may have a run-in with the Trumps.
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| 'They're forming like roaches.' The 6 tropical storms whirling at once have tied a record Posted: 20 Sep 2019 06:05 AM PDT  It's hurricane season, but this is ridiculous. The six storms whirling this week in the Atlantic and Pacific set a record, forecasters reported.
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| India police arrest former minister after rape claim Posted: 20 Sep 2019 04:31 AM PDT  Indian police Friday arrested a former minister from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party after he was accused of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman. Swami Chinmayanand, 73, a former internal affairs minister, is the second senior member of the right wing Bharatiya Janata Party to face sex charges in recent months. Chinmayanand runs several educational and welfare institutions in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and the victim was a student at one of his colleges, according to media reports.
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