| U.S. to pull last troops from north Syria; Syrian army to redeploy on border Posted: 13 Oct 2019 12:14 AM PDT  WASHINGTON/BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United States said on Sunday it will withdraw its remaining 1,000 troops from northern Syria in the face of a Turkish offensive and Syria's army struck a deal with Kurdish forces to redeploy along its border with Turkey, both major victories for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The developments illustrate Washington's waning influence over events in Syria and the failure of the U.S. policy of keeping Assad from reasserting state authority over areas lost during the more than eight-year conflict with rebels trying to end his rule.
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| The Latest: Powerful typhoon reaches greater Tokyo area Posted: 12 Oct 2019 06:26 PM PDT  Helicopters are plucking people from their flooded homes as rescue efforts went into full force in wide areas of Japan, including Tokyo, after a powerful typhoon unleashed heavy rainfall, leaving at least four dead and 17 missing. Typhoon Hagibis made landfall south of Tokyo Saturday and moved northward. Several train service in the Tokyo area resumed early morning.
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| Adam Schiff says whistleblower may not testify in impeachment probe Posted: 13 Oct 2019 09:24 AM PDT ![Adam Schiff says whistleblower may not testify in impeachment probe]( "Adam Schiff says whistleblower may not testify in impeachment probe") House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff indicated Sunday that the whistleblower at the heart of Democrats' impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump might not testify over concerns about the person's safety. Schiff's remarks come after Trump dramatically escalated his attacks on the whistleblower and as he repeatedly calls for the official to be unmasked. Trump's unrelenting barrage has spurred worries from Democrats that congressional Republicans might try to reveal that person's identity — conceivably endangering his or her safety — at the behest of the president.
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| Police: Woman killed by 6-foot log pushed off cliff in Ohio state park; 2 teens charged Posted: 12 Oct 2019 02:46 PM PDT  Ohio investigators say the six-foot log was pushed or thrown off the cliff in the Hocking Hills State Park. Two teens have been charged.
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| HK leader ditches meeting Ted Cruz, says the U.S. senator Posted: 12 Oct 2019 03:53 AM PDT ![HK leader ditches meeting Ted Cruz, says the U.S. senator]( "HK leader ditches meeting Ted Cruz, says the U.S. senator") Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam scrapped a scheduled meeting with U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, the highest profile U.S. politician to visit the city since anti-government protests broke out more than four months ago, the senator said on Saturday. Lam had requested that the afternoon meeting be completely confidential and Cruz refrain from speaking with the media about it, Cruz told journalists in Hong Kong. "She seems to misunderstand how free speech operates, and also how freedom of the press operates," said Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas.
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| Police Respond to Reports of Mall Shooting in Florida, Confirm One Person Injured Posted: 13 Oct 2019 02:06 PM PDT  Authorities have not yet identified the circumstances which led to the shooting
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| EU Seeks to Halt U.S. Tariffs Over Airbus Aid in Last-Gasp Plea Posted: 13 Oct 2019 11:17 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. The European Union made a last-ditch appeal to the U.S. to refrain from triggering retaliatory tariffs over illegal subsidies to Airbus SE, warning of economic harm to both sides and repeating a call for a negotiated solution.European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told her U.S. counterpart, Robert Lighthizer, that his plan to hit $7.5 billion of EU goods ranging from planes to whiskey with duties would compel the EU to apply countermeasures in a parallel lawsuit over market-distorting aid to Boeing Co. U.S. levies would make a negotiated settlement harder to reach, she said."I strongly believe that imposing additional tariffs in the two aircraft cases is not a solution," Malmstrom said in an Oct. 11 letter to Lighthizer seen by Bloomberg News. "It would only inflict damage on businesses and put at risk jobs on both sides of the Atlantic, harm global trade and the broader aviation industry at a sensitive time."The World Trade Organization is due to give final approval for U.S. retaliation in the Airbus case on Monday, allowing tariffs to kick in as planned on Friday.The trans-Atlantic dispute over aircraft aid risks fraying a trade truce struck between the U.S. and EU in July 2018. At the time, both sides pledged to try to scale back commercial barriers and avoid a repeat of tit-for-tat tariffs that began with President Donald Trump's duties on European steel and aluminum on U.S. national-security grounds.The WTO cases over subsidies to Airbus and Boeing are 15 years old. Because of the calendar, the U.S. is entitled to strike first and the EU would follow suit sometime in 2020.Malmstrom gave no sign in her letter to Lighthizer that an idea floated in some EU circles for quicker European retaliation is gaining ground. The idea weighed was to hit back by invoking an unrelated, older WTO case against a now-defunct U.S. tax break given to companies, including Boeing, via subsidiaries known as foreign sales corporations.Instead, Malmstrom said the EU's planned countermeasures of $12 billion would be applied "when the time comes on the parallel Boeing case."Aside from causing economic harm, hastier European retaliation could undermine the EU's claim to be working to uphold the WTO system that Trump's protectionism is shaking."We are ready to negotiate a settlement for both the Airbus and the Boeing case addressing remaining compliance obligations on both sides, putting these cases behind us," Malmstrom said.To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at jstearns2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Tony Czuczka, Linus ChuaFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Deadly protests set stage for Iran, US tug-of-war over Iraq Posted: 11 Oct 2019 09:06 PM PDT  Iraq's deadliest wave of protests since the 2003 ouster of dictator Saddam Hussein has made the country vulnerable to a battle for influence between its two main competing allies, the United States and Iran, analysts say. The anti-government protests that erupted on October 1 echoed the demands that young Iraqis have made over recent years. "Without this context, Iran would not have intervened," Iraqi political analyst Munqith Dagher said.
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| Latest: Southern California wildfire is now 33% contained Posted: 12 Oct 2019 08:48 PM PDT  The Los Angeles County Fire Department says the wildfire in the San Fernando Valley is now 33% contained. The department says Saturday night that winds and temperatures have fallen to normal levels after the Santa Ana winds passed through the region. A man went into cardiac arrest and died at the scene of a wildfire that broke out late Thursday.
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| Kurdish general to U.S.: Either protect us, or 'move aside so we can let in the Russians' Posted: 12 Oct 2019 10:54 AM PDT ![Kurdish general to U.S.: Either protect us, or 'move aside so we can let in the Russians']( "Kurdish general to U.S.: Either protect us, or 'move aside so we can let in the Russians'") Gen. Mazloum Kobani Abdi, the commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, did not mince words when meeting with William Roebuck, the Deputy Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS on Thursday, CNN reports. "You have given up on us," Mazloum said, referring to President Trump's decision to pull U.S. troops out of northern Syria, giving Turkey an opening to invade, which they have. "You are leaving are leaving us to be slaughtered."An internal U.S. government readout obtained by CNN also revealed that Mazloum told Roebuck he has considered gaining the support of another foreign power in place of the U.S. "I've been holding myself for two days from going to the press and saying that America abandoned us and that I would like you to get out of our areas now so that I can invite Russia and regime planes to take over this airspace," Mazloum said. "Either you stop this bombing on our people now or move aside so we can let in the Russians."Roebuck reportedly then suggested Mazloum not make any "immediate decisions," but instead give him time to relay the message to the State Department. Read more at CNN.
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| Russia's New Nuclear Weapon Is A Real Doomsday Device (And Aimed At America) Posted: 11 Oct 2019 11:00 PM PDT  If you can't beat them, destroy them.
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| Norwegian Cruise Line passengers demand refunds after ship skips several scheduled stops Posted: 12 Oct 2019 11:31 AM PDT ![Norwegian Cruise Line passengers demand refunds after ship skips several scheduled stops]( "Norwegian Cruise Line passengers demand refunds after ship skips several scheduled stops") Norwegian Cruise Line passengers voiced their anger after disembarking from the ship Friday after several port stops were canceled due to weather.
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| Hong Kong protesters and police clash, metro and shops targeted Posted: 12 Oct 2019 07:56 PM PDT  Rallies in shopping malls on Hong Kong island and across the harbor in the Kowloon district began peacefully around midday with a few hundred people at each chanting "Free Hong Kong" and other slogans. Police said protesters threw bricks and petrol bombs at police, with one setting a police van alight in Kowloon's Sha Tin district. Police made several arrests and used tear gas to disperse protesters, saying they used "minimum force".
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| Girl scales replica of Trump’s 'un-climbable' border wall Posted: 12 Oct 2019 11:35 AM PDT  An 18-foot replica of President Trump's border wall has been climbed in a matter of seconds by an 8-year-old girl and a man who returned for another attempt while juggling with one hand.
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| Black Woman, 28, Shot and Killed by Police Officer in Her Texas Home While Watching Her 8-Year-Old Nephew Posted: 13 Oct 2019 09:34 AM PDT  The white officer responded to a report that the front door of her house had been left open
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| German police investigate bitcoin transfer to synagogue killer Posted: 13 Oct 2019 07:12 AM PDT  German police are investigating a bitcoin transfer made to the far-Right extremist behind Wednesday's terror attack in Halle to determine if the man possessed a broader support network. German media outlet Spiegel reports that a transfer of 0.1 bitcoin – approximately €750 (£660) – was made to alleged attacker Stephan Balliet in the lead up to the attack. Police said the transfer came from an unknown source. Balliet told police interrogators that he had received the money from someone whom he had communicated with on the internet, but that he did not know who they were. Questions were raised as to how Balliet, who had been unemployed for a significant period of time in the lead up to the attack, was able to fund the attack, including buying the materials for his home-made weapons. As reported by Spiegel, the man told investigators that the weapons were cheap to manufacture, primarily as he constructed them from basic raw materials. He told police he bought steel worth €50, cartridge cases for €25 and a telescope for €20 to manufacture the weapons, which he based on designs released online by British pro-gun activist Philip Luty "The further investigations will deal in particular with the question of whether other persons were involved in the act or its preparation alongside Stephan Balliet", said a spokesman for the Federal Criminal Police Office. The 27-year-old Balliet was active in far-Right chatrooms, with police suspecting he was radicalised online. Balliet uploaded a manifesto outlining his motives, details of his weapons and indications as to the nature of his plans in the lead up to the attack.
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| Jake Tapper Exposes Pompeo, Graham and Giuliani’s ‘Stunning’ Hypocrisy Posted: 13 Oct 2019 09:34 AM PDT  It's easy to forget just how different some of President Trump's most loyal servants felt about oversight and impeachment when there were Democrats in the White House. On Sunday morning, CNN anchor Jake Tapper made sure his viewers remembered. In the final moments of his State of the Union broadcast this week, Tapper said that the White House's outright refusal to "participate" in the House impeachment inquiry means that the president is "seemingly thumbing his nose at the very notion that the U.S. government was designed with three co-equal branches, specifically to offer checks and balances on each other." "When President Obama was in the White House, the Republican-led House of Representatives conducted lots of oversight," Tapper continued, "on the Fast and Furious scandal, on the Benghazi tragedy and more." He said that anyone who covered or followed the Benghazi saga "may find it stunning to see Republican members of Congress trash-talking whistleblowers and inspectors general and trash-talking the oversight responsibilities of the House." "After all, during the Obama years, in the trenches, pushing to conduct oversight were many of these same House Republicans," Tapper said, "such as then Congressman Mike Pompeo from Kansas." After playing a clip of Pompeo extolling the constitutional necessity of oversight, Tapper added, "Yes it is!" In response to him saying it was "unacceptable" for the Obama administration to ignore subpoenas, Tapper said, "It is unacceptable!""One has to wonder what that congressman would make of the secretary of state, who has the same name, whose department is ordering State Department officials to ignore congressional subpoenas," Tapper said, before moving onto Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who also reportedly urged Donald Trump Jr. to do the same.That is a "far cry," Tapper said, from what Graham had to say when he was tasked with prosecuting the impeachment case against Bill Clinton. "The day that Richard Nixon failed to answer that subpoena is the day that he was subject to impeachment," Graham said at the time. "Similarly, during the Clinton impeachment, Rudy Giuliani made it very clear where he stood on the matter of avoiding subpoenas," Tapper said, revealing another clip from 1998 of Trump's personal lawyer telling Charlie Rose that "the president is not above the law, is not able to avoid subpoenas." "Now that Giuliani is enmeshed in the Ukraine scandal, however, Giuliani hasn't even made it clear whether he is going to honor the congressional subpoena aimed at him," Tapper added. "The arguments that Democratic presidents needed to comply with congressional oversight were correct. That's how the system was set up." Tapper concluded, "If you only apply constitutional standards to the other political party and not to your own, then those aren't principles, they're tactics." Rachel Maddow Predicts Senate GOP May Just Find Its 'Conscience' and Impeach TrumpRead more at The Daily Beast.Get 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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| Democratic debate: Time for 2020 presidential candidates to get real on health care Posted: 13 Oct 2019 10:47 AM PDT  Promises win elections, but how does this field plan to keep those promises once they reach the Oval Office?
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| Syria’s Assad Sends Troops North As Turkish Offensive Escalates Posted: 13 Oct 2019 01:30 PM PDT ![Syria's Assad Sends Troops North As Turkish Offensive Escalates]( "Syria's Assad Sends Troops North As Turkish Offensive Escalates") (Bloomberg) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sent troops to the northeast of the country to confront a Turkish offensive, raising risks of an escalation after Kurdish fighters turned to Damascus in the absence of U.S. support.The state-run SANA news agency said soldiers from the Syrian Arab Army had begun to move northwards. The Kurdish command for the northeast said it had reached a deal with Assad. The deployment comes after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered remaining U.S. forces in northern Syria to withdraw in the face of a rapid Turkish advance that has drawn international condemnation and the threat of sanctions.President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his offensive aims to push back Syrian Kurdish fighters linked to the separatist PKK group that has battled the Turkish government for decades; Turkey seeks to carve out a buffer zone inside Syrian territory to protect its own border and resettle Syrian refugees. The Kurdish-led Syrian Defense Forces say they are fighting for their rights inside Syria alone and have accused Turkish-backed Syrian fighters of committing war crimes.Who Are the Syrian Kurds the U.S. Is Abandoning?: QuickTakeErdogan launched the offensive on Wednesday, after receiving assurances from Trump that U.S. troops, who supported the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in the grueling war to defeat Islamic State, would stand aside.Kurdish-led forces control roughly a third of Syria and have tens of thousands of Islamic State fighters, their families, sympathizers and others in their custody in prisons and camps in northeastern Syria. They've warned that they will not be able to secure those areas whilst fending off an offensive by Turkey, a major NATO army. Even Trump allies have warned that chaos in the area could lead to an IS resurgence.U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said on CBS that Trump had directed the deliberate withdrawal of American troops from northern Syria due to an expected increase in military action. Esper said the U.S. had learned in the past 24 hours that Turkey was likely to attack further south and west and that Kurdish forces were looking to cut a deal with Assad and Russia to counterattack.Trump Has Ordered Troop Withdrawal From N. Syria, Esper Says (2)"We have American forces likely caught between two opposing advancing armies, and it's a very untenable situation," Esper said. "We want to make sure we don't put our soldiers in a situation where they could be killed or injured."The Kurdish leadership said that while the SDF had fought hard, Turkey was pressing ahead with its campaign. "To prevent and confront this assault, we agreed with the Syrian government, who's duty it is to defend the borders of the country and protect the sovereignty of Syria, to enter and spread out across Syria's border with Turkey," to help liberate the areas under Turkish control, it said in a statement.For the Kurds, inviting in Assad could come at a heavy price. The move may succeed in pushing Turkey back across the border but will likely mean allowing Damascus to take back control over the northeast after eight years of bruising civil war that has claimed some 500,000 lives and displaced millions.Facing a backlash at home and abroad, Trump has defended his move by saying he did not support the Turkish offensive. On Sunday, he said the U.S. Treasury had further sanctions ready to impose on Turkey. He gave no timeline.European Union leaders may also settle on an arms embargo on Turkey over its advance into Syria as soon as this week, four officials familiar with the discussions said. Germany and France said Saturday they stopped shipments of military equipment to their NATO ally.EU Leaders May Impose Weapons Embargo on Turkey Over Syria (1)EU government envoys in Brussels discussed on Sunday the draft of a decision adopting punitive measures against Turkey over Syria, as well as its drilling activities off the coast of Cyprus.According to a copy of the draft communique, due to be adopted by EU foreign ministers on Monday and seen by Bloomberg, the bloc's nations will vow to coordinate on imposing an arms embargo against Turkey and take one more step in the process of adopting sanctions against Turkish individuals and companies involved in Mediterranean drilling operations.But two officials familiar with Sunday's debate said the wording in the statement will change, as many member states want tougher language: Cyprus, supported by Greece, wants a decision on drilling sanctions now, including asset freezes, travel bans, and a ban on exports of equipment which can be used for hydrocarbon exploration.France, supported by several member states, is pushing for stronger language on the arms exports ban. Sweden, supported by the Netherlands and Denmark wants the EU to condemn the Syrian operation in stronger terms. The final decision may be left to ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, on Monday.Why What Happens in Syria Matters Beyond Its Borders: QuickTake\--With assistance from Nikos Chrysoloras and Samer Khalil Al-Atrush.To contact the reporters on this story: Zaid Sabah in Washington at zalhamid@bloomberg.net;Dana Khraiche in Beirut at dkhraiche@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Rosalind MathiesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Why Poland Really Needs the Patriot Missile Defense System (Think Russia) Posted: 12 Oct 2019 07:00 PM PDT  A robust, modern, integrated Polish air defense will complicate Russian attack planning and help ensure the survivability of both Polish military units and installations, as well as NATO's forward-deployed forces.
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| Kamala Harris to Donald Trump Jr: 'You wouldn’t know a joke if one raised you' Posted: 11 Oct 2019 07:43 PM PDT  The 2020 democratic hopeful was responding to the President's son calling her "The most disingenuous person in politics, after Hillary" for laughing at her own jokes
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| UPDATE 2-Hong Kong protesters, police in chaotic clashes, as metro, shops targeted Posted: 13 Oct 2019 02:16 AM PDT ![UPDATE 2-Hong Kong protesters, police in chaotic clashes, as metro, shops targeted]( "UPDATE 2-Hong Kong protesters, police in chaotic clashes, as metro, shops targeted") * 'Hong Kong has become a police state. Several rallies in shopping mall started peacefully around midday with a few hundred people at each chanting slogans such as "Free Hong Kong", but by late afternoon hardcore black-clad activists trashed shops and metro stations and erected road blocks around the city.
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| Suit says feds using immigration marriage interviews as trap Posted: 11 Oct 2019 09:43 PM PDT  Alyse and Elmer Sanchez were thrilled when they survived their "green card" interview, a crucial step in obtaining lawful status in the United States. Moments later, Elmer was in shackles, detained pending deportation to his native Honduras, leaving her alone with their two little boys. "We feel it was a trap, a trick, to get us there," Alyse said.
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| Portland antifa activist killed in hit and run, police say Posted: 13 Oct 2019 08:40 AM PDT  City's antifascist group says death of Sean D Kealiher, 23, was not 'related to fascist activity' and police did not specify a motiveThe Multnomah county medical examiner determined the cause of death to be homicide, caused by blunt force trauma. Photograph: Jonathan Bachman/ReutersA Portland antifascist activist was killed in the early hours of Saturday in an apparent hit-and-run near Cider Riot, a cidery and taproom popular with the city's anarchist left that has been the scene of conflict with rightwing groups. According to the Portland Police Bureau, the car involved was fired upon and crashed into a nearby building. Its occupants fled the scene. Police said in a statement that the 23-year-old victim, Sean D Kealiher, was taken to a local hospital by associates. The Multnomah county medical examiner determined the cause of death to be homicide, caused by blunt force trauma. Police said homicide squad detectives would investigate and called on witnesses to come forward. Kealiher was a prominent participant in antifascist and anti-Trump protests in Portland, speaking and marching in opposition to events held by rightwing groups. His activities occasionally attracted the attention of rightwing bloggers and social media personalities. Rose City Antifa, the city's longest-standing antifascist group, said in a tweet addressing Kealiher's death that it "was not related to fascist activity". Police did not specify a motive. Portland mayor Ted Wheeler and the Oregon Democratic party, outside whose building the incident happened, expressed condolences on Twitter. Memorial tributes were laid at the site. Six men, including Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson, are awaiting trial on charges arising from a violent incident at Cider Riot on 1 May. In an affidavit in support of Gibson's arrest warrant, police officer Brad Kalbaugh described the group approaching Cider Riot "in an effort clearly designed to provoke a physical confrontation". Multiple videos of that incident show punches, thrown drinks and pepper spray being exchanged. One of the men awaiting trial, Ian Kramer, is alleged to have struck a woman with a baton, fracturing her vertebra. More video appears to show members of the group planning violence ahead of the brawl. Gibson and the other men are charged with riot. Some face felony assault charges.Cider Riot's owner, Abram Goldman-Armstrong, has commenced a $1m lawsuit against Gibson and several others. Goldman-Armstrong's lawyer, Juan Chavez, says his client has been subject to "homophobic and antisemitic" harassment since the suit was filed.
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| Trial date set for former decorated Green Beret facing murder charge Posted: 12 Oct 2019 06:03 AM PDT  Maj. Mathew Golsteyn is accused of killing a Taliban bombmaker; an update on the case from Nancy Golsteyn and Rep. Duncan Hunter.
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| Rakhine rebels abduct dozens after storming Myanmar bus: army Posted: 13 Oct 2019 12:50 AM PDT  Suspected ethnic Rakhine rebels disguised as a sports team stormed a bus in rural Myanmar and took 31 hostages -- mostly off-duty firefighters and construction workers -- authorities said Sunday. The state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar said the bus -- travelling to the Rakhine state capital of Sittwe -- was flagged down by a man dressed in civilian attire before 18 rebels in sportswear emerged from the forest and ordered the passengers off at gunpoint. The Arakan Army, which is fighting for more autonomy for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, could not immediately be reached for comment.
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| ‘Stop talking’: Trump advisers want Giuliani dumped Posted: 12 Oct 2019 03:42 AM PDT !['Stop talking': Trump advisers want Giuliani dumped]( "'Stop talking': Trump advisers want Giuliani dumped") For weeks, prominent Republican advisers have been privately imploring President Donald Trump to sideline Rudy Giuliani after a barrage of inconsistent, combative and occasionally cringe-inducing media interviews, according to three people familiar with the conversations. Several reports have indicated Giuliani himself may be caught up in the probe. While the president has long appreciated Giuliani's pugnacious and never-back-down attitude, Trump allies fear Giuliani will damage Trump with his long-winded monologues and free-wheeling accusations.
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| A Real Threat: Why Russia's Air Force Should Be Taken Seriously Posted: 13 Oct 2019 05:00 AM PDT  And why countries love to buy them.
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| One killed as hotel under construction collapses in New Orleans Posted: 12 Oct 2019 04:39 PM PDT  Video of the collapse was widely shared on social media and the fire department posted photos of the aftermath showing crumpled floors and tangles of broken construction materials. Local media said three people were missing and emergency services were using rescue dogs and drones to search for any more victims. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards urged residents and visitors alike to avoid the area.
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| Iowa teacher who posted 'sniper rifle' comment about Greta Thunberg visit resigns Posted: 11 Oct 2019 07:46 PM PDT  Science teacher Matt Baish had been placed on administrative leave after posting "Dont have my sniper rifle" on an article about Greta Thunberg.
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| Canadian Snowbird plane crashes during Atlanta air show Posted: 13 Oct 2019 12:54 PM PDT  The remaining festivities associated with the annual air show were cancelled following the crash
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| Serial killer's victim portraits could help crack cold cases Posted: 13 Oct 2019 11:37 AM PDT  Most of the women in Samuel Little's hand-drawn portraits seem to be frowning. Little, whom the FBI identified this month as the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history, produced startlingly detailed likenesses of dozens of women he says he strangled over the course of more than three decades. Now the FBI is publicizing his portraits — hoping that someone, somewhere, will recognize the face of a long-lost loved one in an image drawn by the killer himself.
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| UPDATE 1-Scientists endorse mass civil disobedience to force climate action Posted: 13 Oct 2019 04:53 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Scientists endorse mass civil disobedience to force climate action]( "UPDATE 1-Scientists endorse mass civil disobedience to force climate action") In a joint declaration, climate scientists, physicists, biologists, engineers and others from at least 20 countries broke with the caution traditionally associated with academia to side with peaceful protesters courting arrest from Amsterdam to Melbourne. Wearing white laboratory coats to symbolise their research credentials, a group of about 20 of the signatories gathered on Saturday to read out the text outside London's century-old Science Museum in the city's upmarket Kensington district. "We believe that the continued governmental inaction over the climate and ecological crisis now justifies peaceful and non-violent protest and direct action, even if this goes beyond the bounds of the current law," said Emily Grossman, a science broadcaster with a PhD in molecular biology.
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| President Trump joins 'Justice with Judge Jeanine' Posted: 12 Oct 2019 07:02 PM PDT  Judge Jeanine talks one-on-one with President Trump about a potential investigation into Rudy Giuliani and Democrats' impeachment inquiry.
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| Multiple arrests in Hong Kong as "flashmob" protests hit pro-Bejing targets Posted: 13 Oct 2019 07:31 AM PDT  Riot police clashed with anti-government protesters across Hong Kong Sunday as masked activists vandalised businesses deemed sympathetic to Beijing in another weekend of chaos in the financial hub. Local television networks also broadcast footage of a man beaten bloody by protesters after they found a baton in his bag and suspected him of being an undercover officer. During cat-and-mouse encounters on Sunday officers made dozens of arrests, but there were fewer protesters than have taken to the streets more recently during the four-month long protest movement.
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| Mattis: Trump's troop pullout will lead to 'disarray' in Syria and Isis resurgence Posted: 13 Oct 2019 06:44 AM PDT  * Ex-defense secretary calls resurgence of Isis 'a given' * Kurds say 785 Isis affiliates escape camp after Turkish shellingJames Mattis declined the opportunity to directly criticise his former boss, Donald Trump. Photograph: Leah Millis/ReutersThe former defense secretary James Mattis has said Donald Trump's abrupt withdrawal of US troops from the Syria-Turkey border has increased the chances of a resurgence of Islamic State. But the retired general passed up an opportunity to directly criticise the president."If we don't keep the pressure on," Mattis told NBC's Meet the Press, "then Isis will resurge. It's absolutely a given that they will come back."After Mattis's remarks were released, the Kurdish-led administration in northern Syria said 785 foreign individuals affiliated with Isis had escaped the camp where they were being held, following heavy Turkish shelling.Trump announced the US withdrawal on Monday after a call with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The surprise announcement prompted widespread accusations of a betrayal of Kurds allied to the US in war-torn Syria. Turkey, which regards some Kurdish groups as terrorists, swiftly attacked. The president also said Erdoğan would visit the White House.Trump faced stringent attacks from both sides of the aisle. In Washington on Saturday night he held his ground, telling the conservative Values Voter Summit he was "an island of one"."We have to bring our great heroes, our great soldiers, we have to bring them home," he insisted. "It's time. It's time."> If we don't keep the pressure on, then Isis will resurge. It's absolutely a given that they will come back> > James MattisOn Sunday morning, Trump warmed to his theme. The president said it was "very smart not to be involved in the intense fighting along the Turkish border, for a change", amid a stream of tweets that included a startling statement: "Others may want to come in and fight for one side or the other. Let them!"In more measured tones, defense secretary Mike Esper told CBS' Face the Nation "it's a very terrible situation over there" but insisted roughly 1,000 US troops would be evacuated in a "deliberate withdrawal".US forces are not yet out of harm's way. The Washington Post reported that Turkish forces which shelled an area where US special forces troops remained on Friday had known for months they were there.Brett McGurk, the former US envoy to the global coalition against Isis who resigned over Trump's attempts to withdraw from Syria, told the Post: "Turkey wants us off the entire border region to a depth of 30km [20 miles]. Based on all the facts available, these were warning fires on a known location, not inadvertent rounds."Turkey is facing threats of US sanctions – reiterated by Trump in his speech on Saturday night – unless it calls off the incursion. Two of its Nato allies, Germany and France, have said they are halting weapons exports and the Arab League has denounced the operation.But airstrikes and shelling continue in Kurdish areas and harrowing scenes among panicked and grieving refugees are being reported worldwide. More than 130,000 people have been displaced from rural areas around Tel Abyad and Ras al Ain as a result of the fighting, the United Nations said. Turkish forces and their Syrian allies seized large parts of the town of Suluk, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday, the fifth day of the offensive.On Saturday, CNN reported that earlier this week Gen Mazloum Kobani Abdi, head of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, told a senior US diplomat: "You have given up on us. You are leaving us to be slaughtered."Also on Saturday, another SDF commander told a press conference: "The protection of Isis prisons will not remain our priority. The defence of our soil will be prioritised if [the] Turkish military continues its attacks."On Sunday, the Kurds said some Isis prisoners had escaped. In an apparent reference to Turkish-backed Syrian insurgents, the Kurds said mercenaries attacked a camp where Isis "elements" attacked guards and opened the gates."The brutal military assault led by Turkey and its mercenaries is now taking place near a camp in Ain Issa, where there are thousands from families of Isis," the Kurds said, adding "some were able to escape after bombardments that targeted" the camp.Mattis discussed the threat of an Isis resurgence on NBC's Meet the Press with Chuck Todd, in an interview to be broadcast in full on Sunday."It's in a situation of disarray right now," he said in excerpts released by the broadcaster. "Obviously, the Kurds are adapting to the Turkish attacks. And we'll have to see if they're able to maintain the fight against Isis. It's going to have an impact. The question is, how much?"Asked if the US would regret Trump's decision, Mattis said: "We have got to keep the pressure on Isis so they don't recover."We may want a war over. We may even declare it over. You can pull your troops out as President Obama learned the hard way out of Iraq, but the 'enemy gets the vote', we say in the military. And in this case, if we don't keep the pressure on, then Isis will resurge. It's absolutely a given that they will come back."Trump said this week any militant prisoners escaping from camps guarded by Kurds "will be escaping to Europe". He also said the Kurds "didn't help us in the second world war, they didn't help us in Normandy, for example".Mattis's apparent disinclination to directly criticise the president, even as Syria spirals into ever worse chaos as a result of US actions, is in keeping with his approach since resigning in December 2018.The retired US Marine Corps general has said he has a "duty of silence" regarding the president he served. That commitment has held despite Mattis having resigned, like McGurk, in response to an earlier attempt by Trump to pull US troops from Syria and in protest at his treatment of America's allies.In September, Mattis published a memoir, Call Sign Chaos. The book skirted his service to Trump, focusing instead on his career in the US armed forces.
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| With Hypersonic Missiles, Israel's F-35s Are Upping The Ante In Syria Posted: 13 Oct 2019 03:20 PM PDT  Iran has taken notice.
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| UPDATE 1-Russia says exploring settlement in euros, roubles for energy exports Posted: 12 Oct 2019 11:02 PM PDT |
| A professor spoke about whiteness at Georgia Southern University. Students burned her book. Posted: 13 Oct 2019 01:53 PM PDT ![A professor spoke about whiteness at Georgia Southern University. Students burned her book.]( "A professor spoke about whiteness at Georgia Southern University. Students burned her book.") A Latina author challenged students at Georgia Southern University to think about white privilege. Students burned copies of her book.
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| Rose McGowan attacks Hillary Clinton over ties to ‘monster’ Harvey Weinstein Posted: 13 Oct 2019 04:33 AM PDT  Rose McGowan has lashed out at Hillary Clinton over a report that Ronan Farrow's investigation into Harvey Weinstein was a "concern" for the Clinton camp.The actor was one of the first to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against the disgraced producer, and a lead campaigner for the MeToo movement. Weinstein has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.
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| The Latest: Man charged in New Hampshire church shooting Posted: 12 Oct 2019 04:44 PM PDT  The New Hampshire attorney general's office says a man has been charged in a shooting that took place during a wedding ceremony. Thirty-seven-year-old Dale Holloway has been charged on Saturday with purposely and knowingly causing bodily injury by means of a deadly weapon for shooting 75-year-old Stanley Choate in the chest. A third person, Mark Castiglione, 60, was struck in the head by an object.
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| Canada Has Winter-Tire Appointment Week, and Maybe We Should, Too Posted: 12 Oct 2019 09:01 AM PDT  With snow making its first appearance, U.S. drivers in northern areas should consider switching to winter tires.
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| Another storm to keep chilly air in place across northern Plains through midweek Posted: 12 Oct 2019 07:49 AM PDT  Following the potent snowstorm and blizzard conditions just a few days ago, another storm will keep the November-like chill in the region into Wednesday.The last storm brought more than two feet of snow across parts of the Dakotas, and caused chaos for travelers by air and along interstates 90 and 15.This same storm will stall north of the Great Lakes, helping to funnel in chilly Canadian air into much of the region through Sunday. Snow showers will linger in Minnesota and the northern half of Wisconsin.The cool conditions will hold for the Chicago Marathon on Sunday as well, with wet weather staying to the north and east. The storm will gradually weaken and move northward into Canada through Monday, allowing for a brief rise in temperatures for some in the Plains.By being further removed from the storm and on the southern side of the jet stream, cities like Rapid City, South Dakota; Omaha, Nebraska; and Des Moines, Iowa, will all warm up noticeably on Monday.After being stuck in the 40s, afternoon highs on Monday in these cities will reach into the middle and upper 50s, which is still 5-10 degrees Fahrenheit below normal for the middle of October.The next storm looks to take shape in western Canada on Sunday, which will trek through the northern Plains and Upper Midwest on Monday night and Tuesday.Unlike the last storm, significant snow accumulation is not expected, although there could be a little light snow for some. "A cold rain, gusty winds and even some wet snowflakes will be in store for portions of the Upper Midwest on Tuesday, lingering into early on Wednesday," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham.Snowflakes will be most likely to mix in across northern Minnesota during the day on Tuesday, but there could be some snowflakes mixing in across northern Michigan and Wisconsin Tuesday night."In what has been a difficult year already for farmers across the Midwest, early season snow and well below-average temperatures aren't providing much help during the harvest," said Buckingham.The cold air filtering in along with the storm could cause any wet areas to rapidly freeze up, leading to areas of black ice. Motorists and those on foot should be on the look out for these slippery spots, even if it only rained in their area.Farther east, temperatures are likely to peak on Tuesday before the chilly air moves in Wednesday."Temperatures will rebound briefly to around 60 Tuesday for places like Chicago and Detroit, but the warmer temperatures will be accompanied by showery weather," Buckingham added.By Wednesday, the wet weather will shift to the Northeast, but leave behind November-like temperatures for the Great Lakes region.The late-autumn weather is likely to hold through the middle of the week, before a high pressure pushes a different air mass into the area late this week."This should bring more seasonable conditions by late in the week," said Buckingham. Download the free AccuWeather app to see the exact forecast for your area. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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| India tightens security clampdown ahead of divisive temple ruling Posted: 13 Oct 2019 12:25 PM PDT  Authorities have tightened security restrictions in the northern Indian flashpoint city of Ayodhya ahead of a crucial Supreme Court ruling over the disputed site fiercely contested between Hindus and Muslims. Hindus and Muslims have for decades been bitterly divided over the 16th-century Babri mosque in Ayodhya, a city in Uttar Pradash state. The Supreme Court is expected to conclude on October 17 hearings into appeals against a key 2010 court ruling that both groups should split the site, with Hindus granted the lion's share.
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| Donald Trump: xenophobe in public, international mobster in private Posted: 12 Oct 2019 10:50 PM PDT  The founding fathers said betraying America to foreign powers was an impeachable offense. The president must goDonald Trump exits after speaking at a campaign rally in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on Friday. Photograph: Gerald Herbert/APThe most xenophobic and isolationist American president in modern history has been selling America to foreign powers for his own personal benefit.Trump withdrew American troops from the Syrian-Turkish border, leaving our Kurdish allies to be slaughtered and opening the way for a resurgent Islamic State. Trump's rationale? He promised to bring our soldiers home.There could be another reason. Trump never divested from his real estate business, and the Trump Towers Istanbul is the Trump Organization's first and only office and residential building in Europe. Businesses linked to the Turkish government are also major patrons of the Trump Organization. Which may be why Trump has repeatedly sided with the Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has been intent on eliminating the Kurds.Back home, Trump has separated families at the border, locked migrant children in cages and tried to ban Muslims from entering the country. He says he wants to protect America's borders.> Under Trump, thuggery has replaced diplomacyBut guarding America's geographic borders isn't nearly as important as guarding the integrity of American democracy, which Trump has repeatedly compromised for personal political gain. He did this on 25 July when he asked the president of Ukraine to do him a personal "favor" by digging up dirt on Joe Biden, his most likely 2020 opponent.Trump justifies his trade war with China as protecting America from Chinese predation. But he asked China to start an investigation of Biden, and last week his adviser on China conceded he spoke with Chinese officials about the former vice-president.During the 2016 election, Trump publicly called on Russia to find Hillary Clinton's missing emails. Within hours, Russian agents sought to do just that by trying to break into her computer servers.Special counsel Robert Mueller found that Russia sought to help Trump get elected, and Trump's campaign welcomed the help.Now Trump is playing at being a double foreign agent – pushing the prime minister of Australia, among others, to gather information to discredit Mueller.Rudy Giuliani is Trump's international thug, arranging deals with foreign powers. On Wednesday, two of Giuliani's business associates were arrested in connection with a criminal scheme to funnel foreign money to candidates for office, including donations to a Super Pac formed to support Trump.Under Trump, thuggery has replaced diplomacy. On Friday, in an opening statement for congressional impeachment investigators, Marie Yovanovitch, former US ambassador to Ukraine, said people associated with Giuliani "may well have believed that their personal financial ambitions were stymied by our anti-corruption policy in Ukraine".> You don't have to be an originalist to see the dangers when a president seeks personal favors from foreign governmentsMeanwhile, even as Trump spews conspiracy theories about the Biden family, his own children are openly profiting from foreign deals. Eric and Don Jr have projects in the works in Ireland, India, Indonesia, Uruguay, Turkey and the Philippines.Trump is pocketing money from foreign governments eager to curry favor by staying at his hotels. The practice has become so routine that during Trump's 25 July phone call, the Ukrainian president assured him that the "last time I traveled to the United States, I stayed in New York near Central Park and I stayed at the Trump Tower".According to a former Trump Organization official, foreign governments spent more than a million dollars at Trump businesses in 2018, mostly at the Trump International hotel in Washington. Trump will make even more money if he carries out his plan to host next year's G7 meeting at his Doral golf resort, in Florida.All of this is precisely what the founding fathers sought to prevent.When they gathered in Philadelphia 232 years ago to write a constitution, a major goal was to protect the new nation from what Alexander Hamilton called the "desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils".To ensure no president would "betray his trust to foreign powers", as James Madison put it, they included an emoluments clause – barring a president from accepting foreign payments.They also gave Congress the right to impeach a president for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors". During the Virginia ratifying convention, Edmund Randolph confirmed that a president "may be impeached" if discovered "receiving [help] from foreign powers".You don't have to be an originalist to see the dangers to democracy when a president seeks or receives personal favors from foreign governments. There is no limit to how far a foreign power might go to help a president enlarge his political power and wealth, in exchange for selling out America.Donald Trump is a xenophobe in public and international mobster in private. He has brazenly sought private gain from foreign governments at the expense of the American people.This is shameful and criminal. At the very least, it is impeachable. * Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. He is also a columnist for Guardian US
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| The USS Enterprise: How One Aircraft Carrier Changed Naval History Posted: 12 Oct 2019 09:00 PM PDT  What was really remarkable about the Enterprise was that it marked the debut of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, which are the backbone of U.S. naval power.
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| Deadly Los Angeles wildfire burns with subdued fury after change in weather Posted: 13 Oct 2019 09:45 AM PDT  Firefighters have tightened their grip on a deadly Los Angeles wildfire burning with subdued fury on Sunday after extremely dry desert winds that had stoked the flames gave way to moister, gentler breezes blowing in from the Pacific. The so-called Saddleridge fire, which erupted Thursday night and raced across the northern edge of L.A.'s San Fernando Valley, had scorched nearly 8,000 acres (3,237 hectares) by Sunday but was mostly confined to foothills and canyons away from populated areas, fire officials said. As of Sunday morning, firefighters had managed to carve containment lines around 41% of the fire's perimeter, more than double the containment level reported a day earlier as authorities lifted all remaining evacuation notices.
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