| Audio: Trump seeks identity of person who leaked information to whistleblower Posted: 26 Sep 2019 01:51 PM PDT  President Trump likened the person who leaked information to a federal whistleblower to a spy.
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| Three-Dozen ISIS Fighters Killed in Series of U.S. Strikes in Libya Posted: 27 Sep 2019 10:26 AM PDT  The U.S. military killed 36 ISIS militants in a series of three airstrikes in Libya over the past eight days, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced Friday."This ongoing campaign against ISIS-Libya demonstrates that U.S. Africa Command persistently targets terrorist networks that seek to harm innocent Libyans," read a statement from AFRICOM's director of intelligence, Navy Rear Admiral Heidi Berg. "We will continue to pursue ISIS-Libya and other terrorists in the region, denying them safe haven to coordinate and plan operations in Libya."Seventeen ISIS members were killed in an airstrike on Thursday in southwest Libya. That strike followed a strike Tuesday near Murzuq that killed eleven jihadis, and a previous strike in the same area late last week that killed eight alleged fighters, AFRICOM said.Tuesday's airstrike "was conducted to eliminate ISIS terrorists and deny them the ability to conduct attacks on the Libyan people," said AFRICOM's director of operations, U.S. Army Major General William Gayler. "This effort demonstrates the resolve of the U.S. and our Libyan partners to deny safe havens to terrorists."None of the three strikes, which were the first such U.S. operations in Libya in over a year, appear to have caused civilian casualties, according to AFRICOM.
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| Hong Kongers kick off days of rallies ahead of China's birthday Posted: 27 Sep 2019 08:04 AM PDT  Thousands of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists on Friday night kicked off what is expected to be an intense period of protests, aiming to cast a shadow over communist China's momentous anniversary celebrations. Beijing is preparing a huge military parade on Tuesday to mark 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, revelling in its transformation into a global superpower. Four days of action are planned in the run-up to Tuesday with clashes almost certain after police denied permission for a march on the anniversary itself citing safety concerns.
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| Girl, 11, diagnosed with rare cancer just a day after she started school: 'She is a very sweet girl' Posted: 26 Sep 2019 04:21 PM PDT  An 11-year-old British girl who was excited to start her first day of secondary school was diagnosed with a rare cancer just 24 hours later.
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| View Photos of 2020 Ford Expedition King Ranch Posted: 26 Sep 2019 09:15 AM PDT |
| The Latest: Iran says US sanctions 'more unstable than ever' Posted: 27 Sep 2019 07:36 AM PDT  Erik Hanell, who heads the Sweden-based Stena Bulk group, also says the Swedish Foreign Ministry and "various UK government departments" assisted in securing the release of the vessel that was held at the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. The Stena Impero left Iranian territorial waters headed for Dubai where the crew would disembark and receive medical checks and be de-briefed. Iran seized the tanker July 19 in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all oil passes.
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| Tropical Storm Karen halts search for missing American woman in the Virgin Islands Posted: 26 Sep 2019 11:01 AM PDT  The Virgin Islands National Park announced that the Kentucky woman, Lucy Schuhmann, 48, has been missing in St. John since Sept. 19.
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| Experts criticize White House use of sensitive computer system to store Trump transcripts Posted: 26 Sep 2019 11:29 AM PDT  The decision to move records of President Trump's calls with foreign officials to a highly sensitive and protected computer system was highly unusual and likely inappropriate, experts say.
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| United Airlines flight forced to make emergency landing after passenger gets stuck in bathroom Posted: 27 Sep 2019 09:25 AM PDT  A United Airlines flight was forced to make an unexpected landing on Wednesday after a passenger got stuck inside the plane's bathroom.
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| Rwanda welcomes first group of African refugees from Libya Posted: 26 Sep 2019 09:13 PM PDT  A group of 66 African refugees and asylum-seekers arrived in Kigali late Thursday, the UN said, the first of what could be thousands relocated from Libya under a new programme. Earlier this month, Rwanda signed a deal with the African Union (AU) and the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR agreeing to take in African refugees and asylum-seekers stranded in Libya.
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| 'Headless' 2-year-old girl goes viral for her creepy Halloween costume Posted: 27 Sep 2019 09:32 AM PDT  A young Filipina girl quite literally turned heads with her inventive Halloween costume.
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| Change in the Saudi Birthplace of Islam Is Eyed Warily Worldwide Posted: 27 Sep 2019 10:00 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The world's 1.8 billion Muslims look to one country above all others.As the birthplace of Islam, Saudi Arabia is a symbol of purity for many who direct their prayers toward Mecca wherever they are in the world.The latest in a series of liberalizing reforms attributed to the modernizing influence of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman runs counter to that reputation for religious conservatism.As they awoke to the news on Friday that women from outside the kingdom would no longer be required to wear the flowing abaya that's been mandatory for decades, Muslims in Asia broadly welcomed the shift. But many also expressed misgivings about the overall direction of the lodestar of the Islamic world, and wondered just how far the changes would go."I view Saudi Arabia as the most sacred place for a Muslim," said Amirah Fikri, 30, an administrator in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, who called the kingdom "an example of a Muslim country in the eyes of the world."While reforms such as allowing women to drive and to travel without a guardian's approval are positive, some things "are better left unchanged," she said. The risk is of "harming the purity of Saudi when new, non-Islamic practices start to spread in the holy place."Khashoggi MurderThe Saudi bid to appeal to tourists with a relaxed dress code for foreign women and the promise of easier access to the country is aimed at diversifying the economy away from its overwhelming reliance on oil. But it also serves to present a softer image of the kingdom to the west at a time when its reputation is distinctly mixed.The crown prince was excoriated internationally over the gruesome murder in Turkey last year of columnist Jamal Khashoggi, and his prosecution of a bloody war in Yemen resulting in famine and thousands of civilian casualties prompted Germany and other countries to halt weapons sales to Saudi Arabia.At home, the kingdom's extensive use of the death penalty, torture, arbitrary detentions of rights activists and "severely restricted" freedoms are among the issues cited by Amnesty International in its overview of Saudi Arabia. "Despite limited reforms, including allowing women to drive, women faced systematic discrimination in law and practice and were inadequately protected against sexual and other violence," Amnesty says.Yet that evidence of the country's deeply conservative nature and its rigid interpretation of Islam helps to give a sense of the potential for domestic resistance to any kind of modernizing reform -- and the risks to the crown prince in pursuing change."Tourism of course will help the economy, but if it involves anything that goes against our religious beliefs then it will not be accepted," said Sultan, a 33-year-old resident of Riyadh, who only gave his first name. "Our religion is more important than anything." Foreign tourists will "import their culture" and "over time, these ethics and values will be stripped away from our conservative society."Necessary ChangeYet for many in Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country in the world, Saudi Arabia has no choice but to open up."Change is a necessity," said Nasaruddin Umar, Grand Imam of Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta. "There will be pressure from the traditional clerics group in the country. But I see what MBS is doing as a smart move because he does so in a measured way."Didik Saputra, a 32-year-old high school teacher from Depok in West Java, one of the most conservative Muslim provinces in Indonesia, spoke while on a visit to the country's largest mosque in central Jakarta during its renovation and expansion."Saudi Arabia must accept changes without totally eliminating the old customs and practices," he said over the noise of construction workers. "I agree with MBS that Saudi Arabia must be progressive and promote modernization of Islam. That would be good as it will also improve the image of Islam in the world."Beliefs and CultureThe threat of liberalization jeopardizing Saudi Arabia's global standing among devout Muslims is a proposition dismissed by Ahmed Al-Khateeb, chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage and a key adviser to the crown prince. Saudi Arabia is any case no stranger to foreign visitors, he said."We don't expect this to affect Saudi Arabia's image as the host for the Muslim world," he told Bloomberg Television in Riyadh on Thursday. "The Muslim world knows that Saudi Arabia follows rules and has beliefs and culture."Saudi Arabia has suffered far worse damage to its reputation in the recent past. It's less than two decades since the kingdom almost became an international pariah after al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, a Saudi national, claimed the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil.The country's post-World War II alliance with the U.S. survived the 9/11 attacks orchestrated by bin Laden. Donald Trump chose Saudi Arabia as the destination for his first overseas trip as president, and was quick to rally to its side after this month's attacks on Saudi oil installations widely attributed to regional rival Iran. However, that dependence on the U.S., more than Saudi Arabia's reform efforts, is regarded with suspicion by some Muslims."Saudi has lost her nobility ever since they chose to be in bed with the United States to fund extremist groups and create violent conflicts in their neighboring Arab countries," said Fatin Mohd Husni, 29, a teacher in Malaysia. "So I see these reforms as neither diminishing nor harming the purity of Saudi, because there's nothing so pure about the Saudi administration to begin with."Drawing a LineIn India, with some 200 million Muslims, men heading out of Friday prayers at the Jama Masjid adjacent to Parliament House in New Delhi welcomed Saudi Arabia's move to open up."Muslims across the world should support Saudi Arabia's decision," said Fazle Mobin Siddique, 45, secretary at the Diamond Charitable and Educational Trust in the central-Indian city of Nagpur. "This is a progressive step for Islam. Excessive restrictions on women and the moral police needed to go."For Tauqueer Khan, 40, a government consultant, Saudi Arabia's reforms are an effort to counter the stigma of being "synonymous with backwardness, extremism, radicalism and terrorism" and show the world it too can change with time."These changes up to a certain level is OK," he said. "But if they go beyond these and open up a pub with liquor, it will not acceptable at all. The Muslim world looks on Saudi as the guardian of Islam. If they go beyond a certain level, obviously, the Muslim community will not like that.''\--With assistance from Donna Abu-Nasr, Sarah Algethami and Bibhudatta Pradhan.To contact the reporters on this story: Anisah Shukry in Kuala Lumpur at ashukry2@bloomberg.net;Arys Aditya in Jakarta at aaditya5@bloomberg.net;Archana Chaudhary in New Delhi at achaudhary2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Crawford at acrawford6@bloomberg.net, Mark WilliamsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Israel's Air Force Is Armed with F-35s and F-15s (And Now Supersonic Missiles) Posted: 27 Sep 2019 05:49 AM PDT  How good are they?
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| Bangladesh to build barbed wire fences around Rohingya camps Posted: 27 Sep 2019 02:02 AM PDT  Bangladesh is planning to install barbed-wire fencing, guard towers and cameras around Rohingya refugee camps, raising fears of prison-like conditions in the already bleak settlements. The move comes amid growing security concerns and rising impatience in Dhaka that no solution has been found to repatriate or rehouse some one million refugees who have fled from Burma's Rakhine state to the Bangladeshi port of Cox's Bazar, most during a murderous military crackdown in 2017. "There are three large camps. We'll fence the three camps with barbed wires," Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters this week. "Watch towers and CCTV cameras" would also be set up to monitor activity in the Cox's Bazar district settlements, he added, according to AFP. Tensions over the camps have increased since a repatriation bid to encourage refugees to return to Burma in August failed because of the minority's fears that they would not be allowed back to their homes and would never be granted Burmese citizenship. Life inside the Bangladeshi camps is already bleak Credit: Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters The aborted attempt has heightened the possibility that a large section of the Rohingya community could be forcibly relocated in the near future to Bhasan Char, a remote, cyclone-prone silt island that only recently emerged from the sea. Dhaka has been dialing up the pressure on the Rohingya, taking steps to restrict their activities, including the blocking of 3G and 4G mobile networks, confiscating SIM cards and mobile phones, reportedly over fears that criminal gangs are involved in murder and drug smuggling. Two refugees were killed in a gun battle with Bangladeshi border guards after failing to surrender when they were caught trying to cross over from Burma early on Friday and reportedly opened fire. The guards claimed the men were carrying 70,000 methamphetamine tablets. The movement of Rohingya refugees to and from the crowded Cox's Bazar camps is already severely restricted, and families are unable to earn a livelihood and children cannot receive a higher education. Aid workers have indicated that conditions in the squalid settlements are rapidly becoming more desperate. Children in the camps have no hope of a higher education Credit: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP "As tensions inside Cox's Bazar mount, violence has become a daily occurrence and we know that there are many Rohingya refugees desperate to return to their homes," Manish Agrawal, Bangladesh director for the International Rescue Committee, told The Telegraph earlier this month. "People find it impossible to look to the future and live beyond each day; they cannot access basic services and finding work is out of the question." But Mr Agarwal added that despite the hardships, there was still "immense fear" of returning to Burma and that any repatriation must be done on a safe and voluntary basis. "This will only happen if the root causes of the crisis are addressed and the governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar work collaboratively with the international community; the Rohingya people must have a viable pathway to citizenship, have access to jobs and services and, most of all, protected from harm," he said. Last year, a United Nations fact-finding team recommended the prosecution of top Burmese military commanders on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Burma has rejected the allegations. In mid-September the team cited the lack of accountability for the perpetrators of the alleged crimes when it concluded that "that there is a serious risk that genocidal actions may occur or recur".
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| Watergate-era Dem urges party to go after Trump on all fronts Posted: 26 Sep 2019 04:28 PM PDT  Elizabeth Holtzman, a former member of the Judiciary Committee that voted to impeach President Richard Nixon, warned Democrats in charge of making the case against Donald Trump need to learn some lessons from the past.
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| The Treasury’s Housing Plan Would Pave the Way for Another Financial Crisis Posted: 27 Sep 2019 03:30 AM PDT  Treasury's plan for releasing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from their conservatorships is missing only one thing: a good reason for doing it. The dangers the two companies will create for the U.S. economy will far outweigh whatever benefits Treasury sees.Under the plan, Fannie and Freddie will be fully recapitalized — probably by allowing them to keep all or a portion of their profits and by selling shares to the public. However they are recapitalized, Treasury makes clear that they will continue to be backed by the government — a benefit for which they will be required to pay.The Treasury says the purpose of their recapitalization is to protect the taxpayers in the event that the two firms fail again. But that makes little sense. The taxpayers would not have to be protected if the companies were adequately capitalized and operated without government backing.Indeed, it should have been clear by now that government backing for private profit-seeking firms is a clear and present danger to the stability of the U.S. financial system. Government support enables companies to raise virtually unlimited debt while taking financial risks that the market would routinely deny to firms that operate without it.Nor, it seems, has Treasury considered what kind of business Fannie and Freddie will likely pursue as government-backed profit-seeking firms.When Fannie and Freddie had minimal capitalization and a free but "implicit" government guarantee, profitability was easy. Most of the housing finance market was open to them, and they could set their pricing at levels others could not match. That enabled them to drive competitors out of any portion of the market that they wanted to dominate. By the early 2000s they were acquiring and securitizing — or holding in portfolio — about 50 percent of all U.S. mortgages.They will not be able to do this under Treasury's plan. The demands for profitability from their shareholders, coupled with the cost of their government backing, is almost certain to eliminate the pricing advantages that allowed them to dominate the housing finance market before the financial crisis.Still, their government support will allow them to earn significant profits in a different way — by taking on the risks of subprime and other high-cost mortgage loans. That business would make effective use of their government backing and — at least for a while — earn the profits that their shareholders will demand.The Treasury plan warns Fannie and Freddie that they will have to earn "less than the return on other activities" when they acquire the mortgages of "low-and-moderate-income families." But this only means that they will have to earn more on the middle-class mortgages that are the heart of the housing finance market.This is an open invitation to create another financial crisis. If we learned anything from the 2008 mortgage market collapse, it is that once a government-backed entity begins to accept mortgages with low down payments and high debt-to-income ratios, the entire market begins to shift in that direction.Middle-class homebuyers, who could otherwise afford the down payments and other terms of a prime mortgage, seek out the opportunity to buy a larger home with a low or no downpayment.Only a firm with government backing could pursue this business, but it will be a plausible profit-making activity for Fannie and Freddie once they are released from the conservatorships and free to exploit their government guarantee. In the midst of the housing boom in the early 2000s, Fannie's staff noted that 37 percent of the subprime mortgages they were acquiring — ostensibly to meet the government's affordable-housing goals — were going to homebuyers above median income.The results were clearly on view in 2008, when a collapse in the home-mortgage system brought on by the prevalence of weak and risky mortgages produced a monumental financial crisis. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.Given this potential outcome, why is the Treasury proposing this plan? There is no obvious need for a government-backed profit-making firm in today's housing finance market. FHA could assume the important role of helping low- and moderate-income families buy their first home.We would all be better off if the Federal Housing Finance Agency — the GSEs' regulator and conservator — simply decided to withdraw them gradually from the market. As their conservator, FHFA has the power to do this by reducing the size of the mortgages they are permitted to buy until they are no longer significant players in housing finance. Banks and private securitizers would then easily take their place, most likely focusing solely on prime mortgages.In that case, of course, today's speculators in Fannie and Freddie stock would be the losers, but the taxpayers and the financial markets would be saved from a major future loss.Why this hasn't already happened in a conservative administration remains an enduring mystery.
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| See Photos of Bollinger B1 SUV and B2 Pickup Posted: 26 Sep 2019 02:00 PM PDT |
| California teen put into coma after using vape pen reportedly laced with hydrogen cyanide Posted: 27 Sep 2019 07:01 AM PDT  A California teen spent nine days in a coma after using a vape pen that was reportedly laced with hydrogen cyanide.
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| Iranian woman convicted of US sanctions violation released Posted: 26 Sep 2019 02:22 PM PDT  An Iranian woman sentenced in the United States for violating sanctions against Tehran was released and has returned home, her lawyer told AFP Thursday, following her country's unsuccessful attempt at a prisoner swap. A judge in Minneapolis sentenced Negar Ghodskani to 27 months in prison on Tuesday, but determined the time she had already spent in custody in Australia and the United States was enough to fulfill her punishment. Ghodskani "is now free in Iran with her family," her lawyer Robert Richman said in an email.
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| ANALYSIS-Southeast Asia catches swine fever, U.S. crop exporters get the chills Posted: 27 Sep 2019 12:32 AM PDT  Last year, Southeast Asian farms offered a lifeline to U.S. grain exporters wounded in a bitter trade war with China. Now, African swine fever is set to tear through those markets, killing off business as surely as the fatal disease decimates vast herds of pigs once raised on U.S. crops.
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| Japan's Failed Twice to Track North Korean Missiles Posted: 27 Sep 2019 05:16 AM PDT  We've got a problem.
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| Pakistan court gives slain model's brother life sentence Posted: 27 Sep 2019 05:59 AM PDT  A Pakistani court on Friday found the brother of a slain social media model, Qandeel Baloch, guilty of her 2016 murder and sentenced him to life in prison. Baloch, aged 26, was found strangled in her home near the city of Multan. Friday's decision by a judge in Multan acquitted four other suspects, including Qawi, whose supporters showered him with rose petals as he left the court.
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| Impeachment Was Unpopular Before Pelosi Acted: Campaign Update Posted: 25 Sep 2019 07:31 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Most Americans remain opposed to impeachment, with 37% saying President Donald Trump should be removed from office and 57% saying he should not, according to a poll released Wednesday.Quinnipiac University conducted the survey from Sept. 19 to 23, as new developments regarding a conversation that the president had with Ukraine's leader unfolded.The poll doesn't capture the latest events including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's decision to begin impeachment proceedings and the release by the White House of the transcript of a telephone call in which Trump asked the Ukrainian president to look into the business dealings of former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter.Still, the numbers are up slightly from two months ago. Then, 32% of voters favored impeachment while 60% opposed, according to a previous Quinnipiac poll. The biggest shift has come from Democrats, who have gone from 61% for impeachment to 73%.The poll has an overall margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.Trump Manhattan Fundraiser to Raise $5 Million (7:39 p.m.)President Donald Trump on Wednesday evening attended a campaign fundraiser at the Manhattan home of hedge fund founder John Paulson that will raise $5 million, according to two people familiar with the matter.Another event, at Cipriani 42nd Street on Thursday, is expected to raise at least $3 million, the people said.Paulson, a billionaire and the founder of Paulson & Co., has been a Trump supporter since he first ran in 2016, and was an economic adviser to the campaign.The money will go toward the Trump Victory fund, which benefits the president's re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee, according to a Republican familiar with the arrangement. -- Jennifer JacobsTrump Reaps $5 Million After Impeachment Drive: 3:58 P.M.The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee raised $5 million in the 24 hours after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced she was opening a formal impeachment inquiry."Huge groundswell of support," campaign manager Brad Parscale tweeted in announcing the haul, which he said included donors from all 50 states. The total is far short of the $24.8 million Trump raised in less than 24 hours when he officially relaunched his re-election bid.The fundraising effort began within minutes of Pelosi's announcement Tuesday that the House inquiry would examine Trump's interactions with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. A text message to supporters Tuesday afternoon said, "Nancy just called for impeachment," and asked them to make a donation, with $45 the suggested amount.The campaign also sent an email to supporters Wednesday after the White House released the text of Trump's conversation with Zelenskiy. "I've done nothing wrong," the solicitation says, "Trust me, you saw the transcript." That pitch asked for donations of $5 and up. -- Bill AllisonElizabeth Warren's Having a Good Week in Polls (11:14 a.m.)Elizabeth Warren has had quite the week for positive polls.She's leading by 9 points over Joe Biden in California in a Los Angeles Times/University of California Berkeley poll out Wednesday, giving her an early lead in the country's largest Democratic state. She also has moved to the front in the first two nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, according to polls out in the last week.The Massachusetts senator was at 29% among likely California Democratic primary voters, up from 18% in June. She was followed by Biden at 20%, a drop of 2 points, and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders at 19%. Senator Kamala Harris only had 8% support in her home state, down from 13% in June.The California poll was conducted Sept. 13-18, before the stories about President Donald Trump's request to Ukraine that its government investigate Biden's son Hunter broke. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. -- Emma KineryWarren Tied With Biden in New National Poll (6:51 a.m.)Elizabeth Warren is essentially tied with Joe Biden nationwide, continuing a surge in surveys that showed her ahead in Iowa and New Hampshire, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday.The survey will fuel questions about whether the former vice president is losing his perch as the front-runner in the race for the 2020 Democratic nomination.The poll showed Warren with support from 27% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters, compared with 25% for Biden. That's well within the margin of error of the survey of 4.9% but represents the first time a candidate other than Biden has held a numerical lead since Quinnipiac began its survey in March.Warren has been riding a wave of momentum since the last Democratic debate earlier this month in Houston. -- Kathleen HunterCOMING UPThe United Food and Commercial Workers union will host forums in Iowa and Michigan with Democratic presidential candidates on Sept. 29 and Oct. 13. Michael Bennet, Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have confirmed that they will attend.\--With assistance from Kathleen Hunter, Emma Kinery, Bill Allison and Jennifer Jacobs.To contact the reporter on this story: Gregory Korte in Washington at gkorte@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Max Berley, John HarneyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Melting ice is slowing down the Atlantic ocean's circulation system. Yes, that's similar to what happens in 'The Day After Tomorrow.' Posted: 26 Sep 2019 11:48 AM PDT  A new UN report found global oceans could rise 3 feet by 2100 due in part to melting ice. That melt could also slow the Atlantic ocean current system.
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| Parents arrested in death of boy who had begged not to be returned to them Posted: 27 Sep 2019 10:49 AM PDT  The parents of a 4-year-old boy who had begged not to be returned to them have been arrested in his death.
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| 2020 Nissan Titan Makeover Adds Sharper Looks, More Muscle Posted: 26 Sep 2019 08:15 AM PDT  Nissan updates its half-ton pickup truck with a revised powertrain, fresh styling, and new features.
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| China rejects 'smear' after Airbus hacking report Posted: 27 Sep 2019 01:59 AM PDT  Beijing on Friday rejected an AFP report that Chinese hackers were suspected of being behind a series of cyber attacks on European aerospace giant Airbus. The hackers targeted Airbus suppliers -- British engine-maker Rolls-Royce, French technology consultancy and supplier Expleo, and two other French contractors -- in search of commercial secrets, according to security and industry sources who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity. "In recent years, there have been many reports about cyber attacks in the media.
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| The U.S. Army Is Working on Body Armor That Is 14 Times More Powerful Posted: 26 Sep 2019 12:13 AM PDT  A game-changer or a dud?
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| Boy, 13, fatally attacked at middle school. His organs will save lives, family hopes Posted: 26 Sep 2019 07:23 PM PDT ![Boy, 13, fatally attacked at middle school. His organs will save lives, family hopes]( "Boy, 13, fatally attacked at middle school. His organs will save lives, family hopes") The student, identified as Diego by police, was pronounced clinically dead Tuesday night. His family hopes to donate his organs, police say.
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| The Whistleblower's Complaint on Trump and Ukraine Has Been Released. These Sections Will Receive the Most Scrutiny Posted: 26 Sep 2019 08:32 AM PDT  Here are the key passages in the whistleblower complaint detailing concerns over Donald Trump's call with the Ukrainian president.
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| 'Just a second, please': El Salvador president's U.N. selfie eclipses speech Posted: 26 Sep 2019 03:34 PM PDT  Before starting his first address before the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, 38-year-old El Salvador President Nayib Bukele asked the audience to hold on a second, took out his phone, and snapped a selfie. "Believe me, many more people will see this selfie than will hear this speech," Bukele quipped before delivering his address calling on the United Nations to change with the times and for world leaders to do more to connect with their countries' youth. The former mayor of the capital, San Salvador, who took office in June, is a prolific user of social media.
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| Adam Schiff: We were presented with the most graphic evidence that POTUS has betrayed his oath of office Posted: 26 Sep 2019 06:39 AM PDT  House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff gives opening remarks during a Capitol Hill hearing on the whistleblower complaint.
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| TV reporter responds to stranger who kissed her during live broadcast: 'It is not OK' Posted: 27 Sep 2019 11:45 AM PDT  A Kentucky TV reporter is speaking out after a stranger kissed her during a live broadcast last Friday.
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| US says Assad again used chemical weapons, vows action Posted: 26 Sep 2019 05:16 PM PDT  The United States vowed a response Thursday as it said it had confirmed another chemical weapons attack by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces, although there were no fatalities. The Assad regime used chlorine on May 19 in Latakia province during its ferocious offensive to take back the last major rebel stronghold in nearby Idlib, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. "The United States will not allow these attacks to go unchallenged nor will we tolerate those who choose to conceal these atrocities," Pompeo told reporters in New York, where he was taking part in the UN General Assembly.
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| Federal board files plan to reduce Puerto Rico debt by 60% Posted: 27 Sep 2019 09:08 AM PDT  A federal control board that oversees Puerto Rico's finances filed in court Friday a long-awaited plan that it says would reduce the U.S. territory's debt by more than 60 percent and pull the island out of bankruptcy in what government officials called a historic moment. The plan comes three years after U.S. Congress created the board and would reduce $35 billion in liabilities to $12 billion, a move that some believe would help ease Puerto Rico's financial crisis amid a 13-year recession, pave the way to the board's departure and allow Puerto Rico to regain fiscal autonomy. Puerto Rico was dragging more than $70 billion in public debt after decades of mismanagement, corruption and excessive borrowing to balance budgets.
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| Trump Ponders Violent Retribution as the White House Projects Impeachment Calm Posted: 26 Sep 2019 11:54 PM PDT  Saul Loeb/AFP/GettyAs President Donald Trump wrapped up his swing through New York City on Thursday, he stopped by the luxury restaurant Cipriani to deliver remarks at a high-roller breakfast fundraiser. Fresh off meetings at the United Nations, the president clearly couldn't take his mind off a certain anonymous whistleblower whose recently declassified complaint has threatened to blow up his administration. According to an attendee at the breakfast, Trump brandished a printed copy of the memo of his now-infamous Ukraine phone call, flaunting it as he blasted Democratic lawmakers for being mean to him. After waving the document around and receiving cheers from the gathering of Republican donors and supporters, the president boasted about how much money—$13 million in 24 hours—he had raised for his re-election effort, the attendee noted.It was yet another illustration of how Trump's big week in New York has been overshadowed and bedeviled by revelations that he and his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani had urged Ukrainian officials to investigate the son of Joe Biden, the former vice president who remains likely to be Trump's 2020 election opponent. Over the past few days, the president has helped raise millions for the 2020 fight and has been lavished with praise by world leaders. And yet he's remained, through it all, obsessed over the scandal unfolding back in Washington, D.C., as Democratic members of Congress inched closer to impeachment proceedings. According to three people with knowledge of the situation, Trump has compulsively monitored TV and cable news coverage of the Ukraine-related scandal and has repeatedly asked those around him about the whistleblower and rumors that the complainant is hostile to or biased against him.Through it all, the president's demeanor and approach to the rapidly unfolding scandal has vacillated between spoiling for a fight and hoping for a détente. Often, it depended on who he was talking to or what setting he found himself in. According to those in attendance at his Thursday breakfast fundraiser, the president was upbeat and fired up, telling donors that he and his political team were ready to punch back hard. In private, however, there was genuine consternation regarding how a brutal impeachment process would affect his legacy and his White House, with much of his staff sharing those same anxieties. Those close to Trump say the president never expected House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to back any major impeachment moves—at least not until this week.Although one senior White House aide said the mood there "is fine," others said Trump has taken the past week personally, as if Democrats and what his allies call the "deep state" had just crashed his party. On Tuesday, the president took to Twitter to accuse liberals of deliberately ruining and degrading his "important day" at the U.N. And according to a Los Angeles Times report, Trump also used his time at a private event for U.S. officials at the Intercontinental Hotel in New York on Thursday morning to rage about the whistleblower and whoever supplied that individual with information. "I want to know who's the person—who's the person who gave the whistleblower the information? Because that's close to a spy," Trump said. "You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? The spies and treason—we used to handle it a little differently than we do now."In video obtained by Bloomberg of the same speech, Trump declared, "We're at war," before adding that "these people are sick. They're sick."He went on to tear into those who have expressed concerns over the whistleblower's complaint, mocking the size of House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff's (D-CA) neck, calling Biden "dumb as a rock," and dismissing the media coverage of his call with the Ukrainian president as "highly partisan."It is unclear what punishments the president has envisioned for those he claims gave the whistleblower information, and the White House did not provide clarification on it when asked. Hours before Trump spoke, the whistleblower complaint detailing allegations that the president pressured the Ukrainian government to interfere in the 2020 election and that White House officials attempted to cover up records of that call had been made public. And shortly thereafter, Joseph Maguire, Trump's acting director of national intelligence, began his congressional testimony, during which he affirmed the complaint as credible. Already roiled by the publication the previous day of a partial call transcript detailing the pressure he had placed on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Biden, Trump now watched as Maguire fended off accusations that the White House had illegally tried to withhold records of that call and the complaint as well.And yet, despite having compared the whistleblower and his or her sources to spies who had committed treason, when Trump returned to the White House on Thursday—the senior White House official said—he told his lieutenants that there was no current need to start a "war room" or any special initiative to combat impeachment fever. A report that Trump was bringing back his former 2016 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to spearhead such an effort was an attempt at "self-aggrandizement" by those officials on the outside, the official added. And the White House, indeed, subsequently denied the reports. In the president's inner circle, some continued to believe that the rush to embrace impeachment by Democratic leadership amounted to a politically tinged bluff."This is all theater," Jay Sekulow, one of Trump's lawyers who worked with Giuliani to defend the president during the Mueller probe, told The Daily Beast on Wednesday. "Nancy Pelosi didn't announce anything that hasn't been going on already," he added, referring to how House Democrats had weeks ago declared they were launching proceedings simply to decide if they should impeach Trump. While the White House was attempting to project an all-is-calm demeanor, outside groups were preparing for war. According to a senior Republican National Committee official, the RNC's in house research team has begun putting together materials to counter-attack House Democrats and a "war room" of its own to deal with Trump impeachment. As Trumpworld's strategy for how to handle growing impeachment woes comes together, the president and his staff will have to adjust to a reality in which even less progress is made on his agenda than was before. Earlier in the week, a senior administration official bemoaned how much of a gigantic pain impeachment proceedings would be for the White House staff to manage. The official said that is, in part, because being impeached would inevitably devastate Trump's focus, mood, actions, and agenda for the remainder of his first term. And White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham has said that "House Democrats have destroyed any chances of legislative progress for the people of this country by continuing to focus" on impeachment.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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| Man who released Canadian PM's brownface photo says he has no political affiliation Posted: 27 Sep 2019 12:20 PM PDT  The man who gave Time magazine the photo of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wearing brownface at a school event said on Friday he had no political affiliation nor did he receive any payment for releasing the image. Vancouver businessman Michael Adamson said in a statement he was motivated solely by the belief that "Canadian public had a right" to see the photo. The photo was taken at a gala dinner of British Columbia private school West Point Grey Academy (WPGA) in 2001, when Trudeau was a 29-year-old teacher at the school, showing him in a Middle East-inspired costume, skin darkened by makeup.
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| Murder Suspect Who Sparked Hong Kong Unrest May Soon Be Free Posted: 27 Sep 2019 02:24 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- After four months of unprecedented violent demonstrations in Hong Kong and no end in sight, the city's beleaguered leader has one more thing to worry about: the suspect in the murder case that led to the social unrest could soon walk free.When Chief Executive Carrie Lam proposed amending the extradition law in February, she cited the case of Chan Tong-kai, wanted in Taiwan in connection with the February 2018 slaying of his girlfriend, Poon Hui-wing. Chan was sentenced by a Hong Kong court in April to 29 months for money-laundering after he used Poon's bank card for ATM withdrawals, but no legal framework exists for him to be returned to Taiwan to face the murder charges.While Lam was forced to eventually say she would withdraw the extradition bill, it wasn't enough to appease the protesters who've since broadened their demands to include an independent inquiry into police conduct and a more democratic form of governance. Meanwhile, Chan could be released as early as October on good behavior, Hong Kong's security head John Lee said in April. "This administration has all the reasons to bring Chan to justice -- not only was his alleged conduct serious and lethal, but also it was this administration who presented the victim's mourning family as a moral motive to push the now-withdrawn extradition bill," Alvin Yeung, a barrister and pro-democracy lawmaker in Hong Kong, said this week. "Now the chief executive has abandoned the murder case and the victim's family."Emails to Ronnie Leung, a lawyer who represented Chan in Hong Kong, and to the Secretary for Justice's Office went unanswered. A spokeswoman for the Hong Kong Security Bureau said Friday that the exact date for Chan's release depended on different factors, including his discipline while incarcerated.Chan and Poon, both Hong Kong residents, went to Taiwan on vacation in February 2018, the South China Morning Post reported. When Poon failed to return, her parents filed a missing persons report and her father traveled to Taiwan to find her, it said. Poon's decomposed body was found by Taiwan police on March 13, the day Chan was arrested, according to the Post.Hong Kong police said that Chan confessed under caution to killing his pregnant girlfriend in Taiwan, the Morning Post said. Chan said that after an argument he strangled Poon and stuffed the body in a suitcase, which he later disposed of in a park, according to the report, citing evidence at his trial. He was remanded in custody for 13 months, it said. Reports gave their ages at around 19 and 20.Judicial Assistance"I suppose he will be a free man but I doubt he can stay in Hong Kong with such attention on his every move," said Bernard Chan, a top adviser to Lam and convener of the executive council.Taiwan officials made requests to Hong Kong for judicial assistance in March and April 2018, and in December asked that the suspect be sent to Taiwan for investigations, Chiu Chih-hung, deputy chief prosecutor in Shilin district, said in a phone interview on Sept. 23. They received no reply, he said.Still, the government in Taiwan made it clear that it would not agree to the extradition bill, which it said could infringe on its sovereignty. President Tsai Ing-wen in June said she rejected Hong Kong's use of individual extradition "as an excuse to make legal amendments.""We cannot work together to crack down on crime using laws that infringe on human rights as a precondition," she said. "We will not be an accessory to the passage of this unconscionable law."Lam's proposed law sparked protests because it would have permitted the extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China, opening the possibility that Hong Kong residents could become subject to its laws. In the 1984 joint declaration, Britain and China agreed among other things that the city would follow English common law under a "one country, two systems" arrangement for 50 years.Taiwan SympathizersIn Taiwan, sympathizers of Hong Kong's protests have held their own rallies since June, ranging from small gatherings to several thousands of demonstrators surrounding the legislature. Others have rallied to the cause by donating tear gas masks and helmets to be shipped to the Hong Kong activists, according to the Taipei Times.Poon's family has lobbied the government to return Chan to Taiwan to face justice. Her mother appeared in February in front of the press in a baseball hat, mask and sunglasses and urged the administration to take action. While the parents initially backed the plan for an extradition bill, after the protests erupted her father asked Lam in a letter on June 26 to consider a one-off arrangement or other measures, instead of a introducing a new law, HK01 reported.Both Lam's office and Poon's family declined to comment on the report, HK01 said.The Hong Kong Law Society said in an 11-page submission in June that the government should consult all stakeholders and the community before rushing into legislation regarding extraditions to China, Taiwan and Macau, which was proposed in the bill."The circumstances which have now purportedly given rise to this sudden need for legislation are not persuasive, notwithstanding the repeated reliance by the government on a murder case in Taiwan," the society said in the submission.Yeung was one of three lawmakers who submitted alternative proposals for Chan to be sent to Taiwan, which were rejected by the administration in July. He said he was "disappointed and dismayed" at the administration's refusal to embrace alternatives."What is happening now politically and on the streets does not necessarily prohibit the administration from pursuing other legislative proposals" to bring Chan to justice, he said.There is no law in the city enabling the government to surrender fugitive offenders to Taiwan, the Security Bureau spokeswoman said.Hong Kong's Lam Takes Blame for 'Entire Unrest' Rocking CityThe government's initial reluctance to withdraw the bill allowed protests to develop beyond the original demand and increase in intensity. Almost every week for about four months police have fired tear gas, pepper spray and non-lethal firearms to disperse demonstrations. There have been almost 1,500 arrests, and extensive damage to train stations and government buildings since the civil unrest began."The entire unrest is caused by the government's work in amending the extradition law," Lam told a town-hall style meeting in Hong Kong on Thursday.When Lam suspended the bill on June 15, she said she told the Poon family the government has "done their best" to deal with the murder case, drawing an angry response from protesters."The case has only been an excuse to introduce the extradition bill," said Ventus Lau, a 25-year-old protester and organizer for the rallies."From our perspective, our priority is not this case," he said. "I don't believe the movement will come to a halt if the Chan Tong-kai case has been dealt with."(Adds Security Bureau comment in sixth paragraph f4om end.)\--With assistance from Stanley James.To contact the reporters on this story: Natalie Lung in Hong Kong at flung6@bloomberg.net;Adela Lin in Taipei at alin95@bloomberg.net;Blake Schmidt in Hong Kong at bschmidt16@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Stanley JamesFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| A fitness influencer will serve nearly 5 years in jail for using 369 Instagram accounts to harass bodybuilding colleagues and allegedly faking her daughter's kidnapping Posted: 27 Sep 2019 03:19 PM PDT  Police also say that Tammy Steffen faked the attempted kidnapping of her 12-year-old daughter and tried to pin it on a former business partner.
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| 3 of the Oldest Weapons in the Pentagon’s Inventory Posted: 26 Sep 2019 08:00 AM PDT  If it ain't broke, why fix it?
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