| Bernie could win the Democratic nomination. But he has to show he can beat Trump. Posted: 07 Jan 2020 01:25 PM PST  Nationally, Sanders trails only longtime polling leader Joe Biden, having just crossed the 20 percent threshold in the RealClear Politics average for the first time since last April, while both Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg have been trending downward.
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| Saudis warn of new destructive cyberattack that experts tie to Iran Posted: 07 Jan 2020 05:31 PM PST  The Saudi authorities detected a new destructive cyberattack suspected of coming from Iran on Dec. 29, the same day the U.S. military struck targets controlled by Iranian-backed proxies in retaliation for a rocket attack that killed an American contractor the previous Friday.
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| New York opens celebrity chef probe after sex assault deal Posted: 08 Jan 2020 09:29 AM PST  Prosecutors in New York have said they will investigate celebrity chef Mario Batali after a business associate of his agreed to compensate former employees over sexual harassment allegations. New York Attorney General Letitia James said her office's probe of restaurateur Ken Friedman had unearthed information regarding Batali's alleged behaviour at a trendy Manhattan gastropub. Friedman, the majority owner of The Spotted Pig, will pay $240,000 to 11 women and give them a share of his restaurant's profits for ten years under a settlement negotiated by James, announced on Tuesday.
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| Climate change has Australian wildfires 'running out of control,' experts say Posted: 08 Jan 2020 11:03 AM PST  Climate change didn't ignite Australia's fires, but it's turning them into catastrophic blazes by creating warmer temps and increasing fuel available.
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| Husband of Missing Connecticut Mom Jennifer Dulos Arrested on Murder Charge Posted: 07 Jan 2020 08:54 AM PST  Seven months after Connecticut mom Jennifer Dulos disappeared after dropping her children off at school, her estranged husband has been charged with her murder, authorities said Tuesday.Fotis Dulos, 52, was taken into custody by Connecticut State Police after several police vehicles swarmed his Farmington home at about 11 a.m. He's been charged with capital murder, murder, and kidnapping, authorities confirmed to The Daily Beast. His bond was set at $6 million. "Justice!" the New Canaan Police tweeted on Tuesday shortly after the arrest. Dulos' former live-in girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, was also charged on Tuesday with conspiracy to commit murder. Her bail was set at $2 million. The former couple previously pleaded not guilty to tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution in connection with Jennifer Dulos' disappearance. An attorney who previously represented Dulos, Kent Mahwinney, was also charged Tuesday with conspiracy to commit murder, authorities said at a Tuesday press conference.Husband of Missing Connecticut Mom Jennifer Dulos Takes Stand in Civil Lawsuit Brought by Mother-in-LawCarrie Luft, a spokeswoman for Jennifer Dulos' family and friends, thanked authorities for their "diligent, painstaking work" in a statement to The Daily Beast."Although we are relieved that the wait for these charges is over, for us there is no sense of closure," Luft said. "Nothing can bring Jennifer back. We miss her every day and will forever mourn her loss."Dulos' lawyer, Norm Pattis, told reporters on Tuesday that while he is not surprised by the new charges, he welcomes "this fight because we think we will win it." "In fact, we are confident we will. And now we won't have to speculate what it will look like," the lawyer said. He added that Dulos "contends that he was not involved, and I think the evidence won't show he was."In a new, 35-page arrest warrant for Troconis, authorities revealed there are "indications that Jennifer Dulos is not alive." Husband of Missing Connecticut Mom Jennifer Dulos Arrested on Murder Charge"Jennifer Dulos had sustained an injury, or multiple injuries, which we would consider 'non-survivable' without medical intervention," the chief medical examiner concluded, categorizing the incident as a "homicide of violence." He added the mother died due to "some combination of traumatic, blunt-force injuries such as a bludgeoning/beating, and/or sharp-force injuries such as a stabbing/slashing."On May 24, 2018, Dulos, 50, was last seen dropping off her five kids at school. Authorities later found her car abandoned on a New Canaan road "in reverse" with its "lights on," according to the arrest warrant. Blood spatter was also found on the passenger side of the car.Investigators alleged Fotis Dulos, a luxury home builder, was "lying in wait" near his estranged wife's New Canaan home the day she vanished—and used a vintage bicycle to get to the home from his car, which was parked ten minutes away, according to the new arrest warrant. He'll 'Harm Me': Connecticut Mom Jennifer Dulos Missing Amid Two-Year Divorce BattleAt the house, authorities found "multiple stains" that "tested positive for human blood" on the floor and in a car inside the garage, prompting authorities to say the mother of five was the victim of a "serious physical assault." Zip ties were recovered at the scene, which authorities believe were used to "secure and incapacitate" Jennifer Dulos when she was alive, according to the arrest warrant.A previous warrant alleged that after the attack, Dulos and Troconis dumped several trash bags with bloody items. Evidence at the house also suggested there were "attempts to clean the crime scene," authorities said. Investigators found DNA belonging to Dulos and Troconis on a bag, shirt, mops, gloves, a sponge, a bike, and zip ties that were tossed in Hartford. The items also contained Jennifer Dulos' blood. The family nanny revealed in a police interview she noticed 10 rolls of paper towels and two camping pillows were missing from Jennifer Dulos' home. Fotis Dulos' Girlfriend Re-Arrested in Case of Missing Connecticut MomDespite initially telling police that she and her boyfriend shared a shower the morning of the murder, Troconis, 44, later recanted and said she did not see Dulos that morning. The 44-year-old also told investigators Dulos borrowed a truck from one of his employees just before his wife's disappearance. Troconis said she believed he had the truck washed because "Jennifer at some point was in there," police said. She also told authorities Dulos and his wife were in the middle of a bitter divorce and custody battle over the children at the time she went missing. In one interview, according to her arrest warrant, Troconis said Dulos often complained about his estranged wife, once telling her, "Sometimes I hope she disappears." Later, the 44-year-old said the couple's ongoing divorce caused tensions in her own relationship with Dulos and caused them to "fight all the time."In a July interview with NBC 4 New York, Dulos vehemently denied his involvement in his estranged wife's death."I know what I've done, I know what I haven't done," Dulos said at the time. "I have to stand and fight and hope the truth is going to come out."Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Russia Wants 50 of These Deadly 'New' Bombers Posted: 07 Jan 2020 10:00 PM PST  Buying 50 Tu-160Ms could prove too expensive for the cash-strapped Kremlin. And that's assuming the contractor actually can build the giant, swing-wing bombers.
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| CNN settles defamation lawsuit with Kentucky teen in Lincoln Memorial case Posted: 07 Jan 2020 07:15 PM PST |
| Appeals Court Refuses to Lift Injunction Freezing Trump’s ‘Public Charge’ Rule for New Immigrants Posted: 08 Jan 2020 09:37 AM PST  A federal appeals court on Tuesday refused to lift an injunction blocking the Trump administration's implementation of a new public charge rule for legal immigrants."Public charge" refers to immigrants who use government assistance such as food stamps and Medicaid. The Trump administration has attempted to restrict the number of legal immigrants who would require such assistance, by applying the public charge designation to any immigrant who requires government assistance for more than 12 months within a three-year period. However, the policy was blocked nationwide by federal court injunctions in Maryland and New York.Three judges for the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in New York ruled to retain the nationwide injunction against the administration's public charge rule. The judges are all Democratic appointees of former presidents Carter, Clinton and Obama.The court also ruled that the White House, which is appealing a lower court injunction against the public charge rule, must submit legal documents for the appeal by February 14, while oral arguments will be heard soon after the submission.Officials for the White House and Justice Department did not immediately comment. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has led opposition to the administration's public charge policy, also did not immediately comment.In December, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed two preliminary injunctions against the administration's policy, but did not have the authority to overturn the nationwide hold on the policy. Judge Jay Bybee, a George W. Bush appointee, attached an addendum to the court's decision in which he criticized Congress for failing to draft appropriate immigration legislation, thus transferring much of the fight over immigration policy to the courts."We have seen case after case come through our courts, serious and earnest efforts, even as they are controversial, to address the nation's immigration challenges. Yet we have seen little engagement and no actual legislation from Congress," Bybee wrote. "It matters not to me as a judge whether Congress embraces or disapproves of the administration's actions, but it is time for a feckless Congress to come to the table and grapple with these issues."
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| Troop deployments "shattering" for military families amid Iran threats Posted: 07 Jan 2020 08:57 PM PST  The Pentagon is sending more than 3,000 additional troops to the Middle East to protect against possible revenge attacks from Iran.
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| The United States' allies warn Trump that terrorists 'would be the only winners' of war with Iran Posted: 07 Jan 2020 04:12 AM PST  US allies are speaking out increasingly strongly against war with Iran as Trump raises his threats to Tehran.
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| Serbian church protests 'suffering' of Serbs in the Balkans Posted: 08 Jan 2020 08:56 AM PST  Orthodox priests led a procession through downtown Belgrade to the landmark St. Sava Temple, one of the world's largest Orthodox churches, to pray about the "suffering" of Serbs living in Montenegro, Kosovo, Bosnia, Croatia and elsewhere in the Balkans. The demonstration featured religious iconography, including Serbian church flags and paintings. The focus of the protest was a religion rights law adopted last month by the Parliament of Montenegro.
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| Hong Kong politician vows to return to the streets after being pepper-sprayed in the eyes Posted: 07 Jan 2020 11:29 PM PST  A Hong Kong legislator who was temporarily blinded after a riot officer lifted his protective goggles to fire pepper spray directly into his eyes on New Year's Day has vowed to return to the frontlines of the months-long pro-democracy movement to record allegations of police brutality. "It was very painful and I lost my sight for half an hour. Not totally – it was like I can't open my eyes, I can't cry. I didn't lose my sight completely as I could see blurred images, but it was horrible to have someone guide me," Ted Hui said of the moment he was pepper-sprayed in a downtown shopping district. Mr Hui, a Democratic Party politician, is one of several members of the city's parliament, the Legislative Council, who have risked injury and arrest while trying to deescalate conflict between the riot police and anti-government demonstrators who have rallied in the streets since June. He said it saw it as his duty as a "public officer" to hold the police accountable during the protests, which began in opposition to a controversial extradition bill, and to get firsthand information to follow up on mounting accusations of the excessive use of force by officers. now : Riot police just attacked Legislative Councillor Ted Hui Chi-fung and then pepper spraying citizens and journalists pic.twitter.com/rGtn2xU5xH— Studio Incendo (@studioincendo) January 1, 2020 "I want the public to feel that members of parliament are with them. I don't want them to feel isolated," he said in an interview. The altercation began during a police clearance operation after the authorities abruptly cancelled a mass rally of an estimated one million people calling for more democratic rights, ordering them to disperse in under an hour. According to Mr Hui, he was challenging the police to allow reporters to witness the arrest of a young man they had surrounded and pinned down after riot officers charged through Causeway Bay, a crowded shopping area. Hundreds were detained that night in one of the largest mass arrests since the protests began. "I told them that if you are not abusing your power then you should allow the world to watch your actions. Of course, they ignored me and started warning me, pointing pepper spray at me," he said. Riot police fire tear gas in central Hong Kong on New Year's Day Credit: Kyle Lam/Bloomberg But he was "astonished" when an officer snapped off his protective plastic glasses to spray his eyes twice with a stinging peppery substance, pushing him and causing him to stagger backwards from the pavement to the road. The incident, during which spray was also fired into the crowd, was witnessed by multiple media outlets, including the Telegraph, and recorded in videos which have since gone viral. The police have frequently denied using more force than is permissible during protest operations. Kong Wing-cheung, a senior superintendent, claimed in a press conference that Mr Hui had refused to leave and refused to go back to the pavement, reported the Hong Kong Free Press. "He displayed passive resistance and kept on arguing. Our colleague warned him that pepper spray would be used to disperse him," Mr Kong said. An estimated one million people marched on New Year's Day Credit: Kyle Lam/Bloomberg "He was wearing a pair of goggles – we don't know if that was the reason he wasn't afraid of our pepper spray. That's why our colleague pulled off his goggles and used pepper spray to make the dispersal operation more effective," he added. For Mr Hui, the pain lasted through the night, causing him to seek hospital treatment. "It's not only the eyes, but also the hair and the hands because I was trying to cover my face. My hands were sprayed very seriously. It burns the worst in the hands," he said. "I felt that the aim was to hurt my eyes, not to disperse people. It was out of hatred, out of anger, totally unprofessional," he alleged. Acknowledging that the police were also "overloaded", he said he would continue to attend the protests undeterred. "It's also a gesture that I want the police or the government to know that no matter how you hurt me you can never defeat us, there are still many of us and that we are brave enough, we are not backing down, just like the young ones in the streets," he said.
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| Pakistan and China launch joint naval drills. Should India be concerned? Posted: 08 Jan 2020 10:00 AM PST  A nine-day Sino-Pakistani naval exercise commenced in Pakistan's port of Karachi this week with the arrival of a Chinese naval task group. Find out what ships were in attendance.
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| Iran threatens to hit American bases with medium- and long-range missiles Posted: 07 Jan 2020 10:40 AM PST  Iranian military forces have said they are prepared to use medium- to long-range missiles to attack U.S. bases in the Middle East, in revenge for the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was the commander of Iran's Quds Force.
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| 5 Stunning Buildings in Africa Inspired by Nature Posted: 08 Jan 2020 12:35 PM PST |
| Australian Aboriginal officials approve killing up to 10,000 feral camels Posted: 08 Jan 2020 10:04 AM PST  Aboriginal officials in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in Australia agreed to an "aerial cull" of nearly 10,000 feral camels.
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| "We Will Level Tel Aviv and Haifa to the Ground": Iran's Latest Threat to Israel Posted: 06 Jan 2020 11:00 PM PST  "If the US takes any action after our military response, we will level Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground," said Mohsen Rezayee, Secretary of Iran's Expediency Council and a former IRGC commander, according to Iran's Fars News Agency. The council advises Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and also has legislative powers.
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| Carlos Ghosn: I Have Documents Showing Nissan, Japan Officials Set Me Up Posted: 08 Jan 2020 07:48 AM PST  TOKYO—Carlos Ghosn, the former chairman of auto giant Nissan, who was under house arrest in Japan until he escaped on Dec. 29, came out swinging at his two-hour press conference in Beirut today. In an effort to get back in shape after more than four months altogether in solitary confinement, he started training in boxing this summer in a gym in this city's Minato-ward. A 45-year-old banker who trained at the same place told The Daily Beast, "For a 65-year-old guy, he had quite a punch. Which is to say, when you hit the boxing mitt right, it makes a kind of delightful thwacking sound. That's a good hit. Ghosn was making a lot of thwacks." Today, Ghosn was parrying, jabbing, and hitting back with dignity and grace. There were no knockout blows and he pulled his punches on the issues of Japanese government involvement in his prosecution for alleged financial misconduct, but he was clearly on the offense and no one was able to back him into a corner. The press conference started at 10 p.m. Japan time and was watched worldwide. He had been scheduled to face trial in 2021. Ghosn tried to hold a press conference in April last year after more than three months in detention after the initial 2018 arrest. He was immediately re-arrested by prosecutors and put back in solitary, in an apparent attempt to muzzle him. He pointed out that the Tokyo prosecutors issuing an arrest warrant for his wife, Carole, on Tuesday appeared to be another attempt to make him shut up. Carlos Ghosn's 'Great Escape' Writes a Hollywood Ending to Japanese ImprisonmentAfter being kept quiet for months by Japan's prosecutors, under a Damocles sword threatening that if he held a press conference, he would be re-arrested and thrown into what he called "the pig box," Ghosn spoke out today. Ghosn asserted that he had "actual evidence" and documents that would show that Nissan executives had planned his downfall in conjunction with the Japanese government. He expressed his belief, at the conference, as he expressed to me last July, that he was set up for a downfall because Japan did not want Renault to take over Nissan. He named several Nissan executives as being instrumental in the attempt to put him in prison for the rest of his life. Ghosn said his treatment in a Japanese jail was brutal. He was confined to a cell with a tiny window and only allowed to shower twice a week, in solitary confinement. He was questioned eight hours a day without a lawyer present, or being informed of the charges against him. The prosecutors kept shouting at him to confess and told him if he would only confess that he would go free. "I was brutally taken away from my work as I knew it, ripped from my work, my family and my friends," he said. Ironically, the Japanese media, which except for a few periodicals, kept leaking information from Nissan and the prosecutors without scrutiny, was supposed to be completely shut out of the press conference. That was not quite the case but the usual swarm of Japanese media was not to be seen. Ghosn questioned whether his prosecution had been good for anyone. He pointed out the value of Nissan's shares had fallen severely and so had confidence in the automaker. When questioned as to how far the alleged conspiracy against him went, he minced his words and said, "I don't think Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was involved…"The Japanese government has been placing great pressure on the government of Lebanon to keep Ghosn in line, and requesting his extradition. When a Japanese reporter indirectly accused him of resenting Japan, Ghosn replied that he loved Japan and that he would hope the country could be improved, to a place where justice would be evenly distributed. In addition, after enduring months of being written up poorly by the Japanese press, he pointed out to the Japanese reporter talking to him that for a prosecutor to talk to the press is illegal but it happens all the time—accusing the prosecutors of also breaking the laws that they are supposed to uphold. It was an uppercut that made the Japanese press wince, from across the globe. Ghosn kept pounding in one point again and again: He was willing to face a trial but only in a venue where he could have a fair shot of proving his innocence. In Japan, with its 99.4 percent conviction rate, it seems like the fight would be fixed before it even started. 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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| Kansas City Sues Gun Manufacturer for Illegal Trafficking in First Such Suit in Ten Years Posted: 08 Jan 2020 06:48 AM PST  Kansas City, Mo. announced Tuesday that it is filing suit against a gun manufacturer and several firearms dealers, accusing the group of running a trafficking ring that supplied guns to known felons.The public nuisance lawsuit, filed in Jackson County Circuit Court, marks the first time a U.S. city has sued a gun manufacturer for illegal trafficking in over a decade.The city alleges that firearms manufacturer Jiminez Arms and local firearm dealers Conceal & Carry, CR Sales Firearms, and Mission Ready Gunworks aided and abetted in a gun trafficking ring run by former Kansas City fire captain James Samuels.Samuels was arrested in October and faces criminal charges of trafficking guns from 2013 to 2018, including to individuals he knew were felons who informed him they planned to shoot people. He has pled not guilty and remains in federal custody.The lawsuit states that Nevada-based Jimenez Arms repeatedly shipped dozens of firearms to Samuels "knowing that he was not a licensed dealer and knowing that he was going to resell these guns."Mayor Quinton Lucas, who has promised to curb gun violence in the city, cited a "significant problem with illegal gun trafficking in our city.""While a lot of our criminal justice partners certainly try to make sure that they root this out, that they address it, there are a lot of private actors that, each day, create new threats for the citizens of Kansas City — frankly to the citizens of our entire region," Lucas said."Gun dealers and manufacturers have a legal responsibility not to ignore suspicious purchasing behaviors that indicate illegal gun trafficking or straw purchasing," said attorney Alla Lefkowitz, of Everytown Law, which is representing Kansas City.Lawsuits against firearms manufacturers and dealers are few and far between since such businesses are generally protected under federal law from charges when their weapons are used to commit crimes. However, the city argues such protections do not apply when the businesses violate federal gun laws by selling weapons to people they know to be felons.
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| Furore after top Bollywood star attends student demo Posted: 08 Jan 2020 03:42 AM PST  One of Bollywood's top stars sparked a social media storm on Wednesday, attracting admiration and vitriol after showing solidarity with students who were attacked at a Indian university this week. Indian film stars have traditionally shied away from politics, fearing their films could be boycotted or their safety threatened. The protest came two days after masked attackers went on a rampage inside the campus of the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), leaving 34 students and faculty members injured.
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| A Border Patrol agent who separated migrant families says it was 'the most horrible thing I've ever done' Posted: 08 Jan 2020 07:37 AM PST  A Border Patrol agent told PBS's "Frontline" that he had to separate a devastated two-year-old boy from his family and he refused to do it again.
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| Iran missile strikes Q&A: Was the missile attack enough to satisfy Tehran's need for revenge? Posted: 08 Jan 2020 02:24 AM PST  What happened? The Iranian military fired 22 missiles from Iran at US bases in Iraq in retaliation for America's killing of Qassim Soleimani. According to the Iraqi military, 17 missiles were fired at the al-Asad airbase in western Iraq and five missiles were fired at a smaller base in Irbil in northeast Iraq. Was anyone hurt? All indications right now are that no one was killed or injured in the missile barrage. US officials say there were no American casualties and the Iraqi army say none of its personnel were killed. The Ministry of Defence says there were no UK casualties. Is Iran's attack over? Iran is signaling that it does not plan further direct attacks against the US and is not looking for further escalation. "Iran took and concluded proportionate measures in self-defence," said Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister. "We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression." Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, said military action alone was "not sufficient" to avenge Soleimani and suggested he wanted to see a broader political effort to expel the US from the Middle East. What happens next? The ball is firmly in Donald Trump's court. The US president must decide if he's prepared to ignore the Iranian missiles and move on, in which case there is a good chance the cycle of escalation stops, or whether American credibility and his own political prestige demand that the US retaliates. If he chooses the second option we should expect more shooting in the days to come. Mr Trump at al-Asad air base in December Credit: AFP Mr Trump is due to speak on Wednesday morning US time but his early response has been uncharacteristically relaxed. "All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good!" he wrote on Twitter. Is this enough to satisfy Iran's need for revenge? It will be a bit humbling for Iran if their "severe revenge" for Soleimani's death is essentially a fireworks show that didn't kill anyone. But there may also be sighs of relief in Tehran that no Americans were killed as the Iranian regime is eager to avoid a head-on war with superior US forces. For now, Tehran has video footage missiles lifting off into the night in defiance of the US, which will no doubt play on a loop for days on pro-government television. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a speech during a gathering in Tehran Credit: Reuters And it can muddy the waters in the information war by suggesting to its own public that the Western media is lying that there were no US casualties. Meanwhile, it is likely to continue planning covert action against US interests. Is it politically possible for Trump to ignore the missiles? Mr Trump threatened last week to hit 52 targets in Iran in retaliation for any Iranian strike and his public image is built upon being the tough man who brooks no defiance from Iran. So it will be a bit of a political climb down for him to let these missiles go unanswered. But there is a political win here for Mr Trump if he chooses to take it. He doesn't want a war with Iran and he knows the American public doesn't either. If he de-escalates now he can say that he killed Soleimani, taught Iran a lesson for attacking the US embassy in Baghdad, and proved that the Democrats were being hysterical when they predicted that Soleimani's death would lead to war.
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| The Other Attack on Americans That Has U.S. Forces Unnerved: Kenya Posted: 07 Jan 2020 10:18 AM PST  LAMU, Kenya—One U.S. serviceman and two American private contractors were killed by the Somali militant group al-Shabab in a raid before dawn Sunday here on the coast near the Somali border, according to a statement issued by U.S. Africa Command. In the attack, launched at an airstrip used jointly by U.S. and Kenyan forces, two other American contractors were wounded. The serviceman was 23-year-old Specialist Henry Mayfield, from Chicago.At a moment of fast-rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran, arguably the world's most sophisticated state sponsor of terrorism, even if there was no link to the American assassination days earlier of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad, the Kenya attack was a grim reminder of the many far-flung locales around the world where American soldiers can be targeted, and the ruthlessness of the forces that have them in their crosshairs. There was another casualty of Sunday's attack as well: a civilian. Witnesses near the Lamu County town of Hindi report that at around 3 a.m. Sunday some 20-30 men on foot were ghosting their way through farms and woods, heading east—in the direction of Manda Bay military base. Mwalimu Chengo Ponda, a resident in his mid-thirties, stepped outside to investigate the commotion to find a small group close to his home. The marauders grabbed him and whisked him away. Some hours later, neighbors found Mwalimu's body lying in the bush, shot in the head.From the vicinity of Hindi, al-Shabab militants advanced to the Manda Bay naval base and airfield. Even while the attack was underway, the group released a communiqué claiming that its elite "Martyrdom Brigade" had "successfully stormed the heavily fortified military base" and taken control of one area, where it had inflicted severe casualties on both Kenyan and American personnel. The attack, the statement read, was part of al-Shabab's "Al-Quds [Jerusalem] Will Never Be Judaized" military campaign.(Soleimani, one might note, was the head of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, but the quest to put Quds/Jerusalem is as old as Islam, and an especially common reference point for those who claim to wage jihad.)At 5:30 a.m. that day, the Kenya Defense Forces issued a statement saying that a "security breach" had taken place at "Manda Airstrip," but that the breach had been successfully repulsed. The statement went on to say four "terrorist" bodies had been recovered.Witnesses in the area reported loud booms at intervals and plumes of smoke Sunday continuing at 6 a.m.Because Lamu County's civil-aviation airport, used by tourists, is also referred to as Manda Airstrip, confusion ensued immediately. Tour operators went into action, frantically trying to organize transport out of the Lamu Archipelago for guests. The commercial airport, much smaller and located on Manda Island, about six miles from the naval base, was not attacked.There's been ample speculation as to whether the Manda Bay attack had anything to do with the operation President Donald Trump ordered that killed Soleimani. Analysts say no. It would have been impossible, they note, to stage the coordinated Manda attack just two days after the U.S. drones did their work in Baghdad. The attack on the Kenyan base was, no doubt, long in the works. It might also be pointed out that Somalia's Muslims are Sunni rather than Shia, and al-Shabab is affiliated with al Qaeda, which also follows a Sunni current of Islam.But in the murky world of terrorism and Iran's covert operations, the Sunni-Shia divide is not always well defined. Soleimani's Quds Force minions have worked with the radical Sunni Taliban, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and even al Qaeda when it suited them. Since Soleimani's assassination, American politicians have emphasized that fact. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence claimed specifically that Soleimani was responsible for "terror attacks" in 2011 and a bomb plot in 2012 in Kenya. Alleged Iranians or Iranian agents have been in and out jail on various charges relating to plans to bomb the Israeli embassy in Nairobi. Vice President Pence tweeted, "Directed IRGC QF (Quds Force) terrorist plots to bomb innocent civilians in Turkey and Kenya in 2011."Al-Shabab's focus on Manda Bay likely was a response to the U.S. use of drones flying out of there, attempting to show that these death-dealing robots in the sky do not guarantee impunity for those controlling them on the ground. Drone strikes worldwide have increased under Donald Trump. Last year the U.S. carried a record 63 drone strikes in Somalia—and al-Shabab is striking back.The Manda Bay attack is the first al-Shabab has carried out on a U.S. military installation inside Kenya. It is also the first attack by Islamic militants made against a U.S. installation in Kenya since al Qaeda bombed the U.S. Embassy in 1998, killing more than 200 people.The Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) has carried out airstrikes in Somalia for a decade, and has been carrying out clandestine operations against al Qaeda in East Africa, as well as its local ally al-Shabab, at least since the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.Al-Shabab attacked a U.S. special forces base in Somalia on Sept. 30 after four of its militants were killed in three airstrikes in Somalia the previous day, according to U.S. Africa Command.Among the aircraft destroyed at the Manda Bay base were manned surveillance planes that collect data across the border in Somalia, as well as over Kenya's dense Boni forest, about 10 miles north of the Manda Bay base, where al-Shabab is thought to be hiding.Big Game: U.S. Soldiers' Secret Hunt for Jihadists in a Kenyan ForestThe intelligence, including the locations of villages, Shabab leaders and members, is then fed to armed unmanned Reaper drones. In the view of recent U.S. operations, it is no surprise that the group specifically targeted surveillance aircraft on the Manda airstrip. Also reportedly destroyed were aircraft operated by U.S. Special Operations Command and modified Havilland Canada Dash-8 spy aircraft, which carries the U.S. civil registration code N8200L.Northeast Kenya is no stranger to al-Shabab attacks, having suffered massacres of civilians at Mpekatoni and Garissa, as well as numerous bus attacks. Al-Shabab's operations in the region have been directed at both military and civilian targets, including many innocent bystanders like Mwalimu. Sunday's attack marked a rare event, however: a successful incursion into a military base, and—rarer yet—a U.S. installation. (The only other such attack came in 2016, when al-Shabab penetrated an African Union base in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.) For all its lack of high-tech apparatus, al-Shabab remains resilient. Analysts attribute the group's success to its intelligence gathering on the ground, so very unlike the U.S. drones.Stig Jarle Hansen, analyst and author of Horn, Sahel and Rift: Fault-lines of the African Jihad, puts it like this: "The attack shows that Shabab is still able to hit Kenya inside its borders, and proves they can strike at U.S. personnel. But perhaps the attack mainly illustrates that Shabab can put a dent in the U.S. drone campaign in Somalia."That's a point worth remembering as we gird, it seems, for a new chapter in the war with terrorists. 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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| LGBTQ history lessons will soon be mandatory in NJ classrooms; 12 schools to pilot program Posted: 07 Jan 2020 10:21 AM PST  Twelve New Jersey schools will begin a new LGBTQ-focused curriculum, the first wave of a new standard that will soon be required across the state.
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| Mexico former top cop in NY plea talks over drug bribe case Posted: 07 Jan 2020 03:14 PM PST  Mexican former top security official Genaro García Luna is in talks on a possible plea agreement with federal prosecutors in New York, where he is charged with accepting millions in drug-money bribes from the notorious Sinaloa cartel of convicted kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. A court document filed Monday says lawyers for García Luna and prosecutors are engaged in negotiations, "which they believe are likely to result in a disposition of this case without trial," according to the filing signed by García Luna, his lawyer, a prosecutor and magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo. García Luna, 51, was indicted in New York on three counts of cocaine trafficking conspiracy and a false statements charge.
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| Ghosn lawyers in Japan refuse to comply with seizure warrant Posted: 07 Jan 2020 11:16 PM PST  Lawyers for former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn on Wednesday refused to turn over a computer used by the auto tycoon before he jumped bail and fled the country last month. Prosecutors arrived at the offices of one of Ghosn's Japanese lawyers with a warrant for seizure of the machine -- only to be told to go away. Ghosn was out on bail in Japan on financial misconduct charges before he fled the country for Lebanon in late December.
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| Heartbreaking photos show animals impacted by Australia's bushfires Posted: 08 Jan 2020 04:28 AM PST  As the bushfires in Australia continue to rage, they are taking a toll on animals as well as humans.
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| Progressive Governments’ Economic War on the NRA Fails in Court Posted: 08 Jan 2020 03:30 AM PST  Some politicos just can't stop grandstanding, even if it means their court case goes down in flames. Consider what just happened in a federal court in Los Angeles.Not long ago, progressive state and local officials nationwide were vowing to take down the hated National Rifle Association by targeting its pocketbook. When city authorities in Los Angeles and San Francisco gave that idea a try, they were following the lead of Governor Andrew Cuomo, who had unleashed New York financial regulators to go after the gun-rights organization's access to insurance and banking services.Now all three are facing a reckoning in court, based not on the Second Amendment but on the First. Without needing to even consider the issue of gun rights, federal courts are recognizing that boycotts enforced by government power can menace free speech and free association.The amusing part is that the public officials themselves are helping to provide the basis for these rulings by tweeting and speechifying about how much damage they intend to do the NRA.In December, a federal court in California granted a preliminary injunction against a Los Angeles ordinance requiring city contractors to disclose any business links to, or memberships in, the gun group. It found the evidence "overwhelming" that the city's intent in passing the law was "to suppress the message of the NRA."* * *Public officials have been on notice about this sort of thing for at least two decades, since the 1996 Supreme Court case Board of County Commissioners v. Umbehr. In that case, the Court held that a county's having terminated a government contract in retaliation for the contractor's persistent and annoying political speech could violate the First Amendment. Controversial and unpopular speech is protected speech; officials cannot yank a contract from some business, or threaten to, just because it has donated to, or partnered in some venture with, the Sierra Club, the NAACP, or the NRA.Lawyers for Los Angeles tried to defend their ordinance by saying all it did was require disclosures from contractors, which wouldn't necessarily amount to punishing or chilling speech. But this sort of First Amendment claim comes down to a question of intent. And the court found that the city's lawmakers had made their intent to suppress speech and association utterly clear. They had done so in the text of the ordinance itself, in its legislative history, and in the statements made at the time by its chief sponsor, Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell (Hollywood-Silver Lake).The ordinance starts off with a long preamble that, amid much demagogy, cites the NRA's $163 million (2015) in membership dues and asserts that those dues go toward foiling beneficent legislative ends. That helped establish nicely that part of the bill's aim was "to cut off revenue to the NRA because of its pro-firearm advocacy," as the court put it.Then there were O'Farrell's various pronouncements. Earlier in the year, he had motioned the city to "rid itself of its relationships with any organization that supports the NRA" and further moved that the city's chief legislative analyst "report back with options for the City to immediately boycott those businesses and organizations" that do business with the NRA "until their formal relationship with the NRA ceases to exist."Were doubt left about his intentions, O'Farrell's Twitter outbursts through 2018 told of his efforts to jawbone businesses such as FedEx and Amazon into cutting off business relations with the NRA, often tagging friendly accounts such as @everytown, @momsdemand, @shannonrwatts, and @bradybuzz. It was unnecessary to show that the city had actually cut off any businesses, or that any such businesses had cut ties with the NRA for fear of city displeasure. So long as the ordinance was intended to chill speech and association, as it was, it would fall.* * *San Francisco's similar ordinance, although also the subject of a brief challenge in court, collapsed as a practical matter even more quickly. The measure's tantrum-like preamble branded the NRA a domestic terrorist group, in a move calculated to draw wide national attention. The text of the ordinance proclaimed that the city should "take every reasonable step to limit those entities who do business with the City and County of San Francisco from doing business with" the gun-rights organization. Commentators promptly pointed out that any such step would fail in court as unconstitutional.Soon thereafter, San Francisco mayor London Breed issued a memo clarifying that "the City's contracting processes and policies have not changed and will not change as a result of the Resolution" because only an actual ordinance can enact changes to city law. The NRA is suing anyway, but by the city's own account the measure at this point does nothing except beam out vain hostility.* * *Governor Cuomo was shrewder. He avoided the blatant statements of intent that tripped up his California counterparts. But did he retain enough deniability to survive a court challenge? In April 2018, he issued a statement saying he was directing "the Department of Financial Services to urge insurance companies, New York State-chartered banks, and other financial services companies licensed in New York to review any relationships they may have with the National Rifle Association and other similar organizations." Review such relationships for what, exactly? Well, "the companies are encouraged to consider whether such ties harm their corporate reputations and jeopardize public safety." In a press release, he made things a tad more explicit, saying that he was directing his financial regulators "to urge insurers and bankers statewide to determine whether any relationship they may have with the NRA or similar organizations sends the wrong message" (emphasis added).Those regulators, of course, have the discretion to make life very unpleasant for insurers and banks dense enough not to take the hint. Sure enough, the NRA in short order was cut off by some long-term business partners, notable among them one major insurer and one major insurance broker. The state declared that it had found regulatory infractions in NRA-branded insurance-affinity offerings, and in the ensuing settlements with the insurer and the broker it got them to promise never to do business with the NRA again, in New York or anywhere else. Yet at the same time, the NRA says, the state took no action against similarly marketed affinity products sold by others. Cuomo's financial regulator made things a little more explicit still: "DFS urges all insurance companies and banks doing business in New York to join the companies that have already discontinued their arrangements with the NRA."In November 2018, a federal court in New York found that all in all, there was enough plausible evidence of "direct and implied threats to insurers and financial institutions because of these entities' links with the NRA" to allow the group to proceed with a First Amendment suit. While Cuomo was of course free to express his own views, the Constitution would have something to say about it if he or his appointees had made veiled threats against banks and insurers to encourage them to disassociate from the NRA. The court also asked for more evidence documenting a selective-enforcement claim, and this summer, against stiff legal resistance from the state, the NRA succeeded in getting discovery of some state files. In a filing on December 20, the NRA said it had found new documentation of both the pressure and the selective enforcement.* * *One reason the California disputes went so well for the NRA is that the officials just couldn't help grandstanding at every turn in search of followers' applause. That's how O'Farrell, in Los Angeles, helped tweet his side of the case right out of court. But Cuomo, while he's been more circumspect, has not covered himself as thoroughly as he might have. "If I could have put the NRA out of business, I would have done it 20 years ago," he declared in response to one legal development.Tell us more, Governor.
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| Iran has offered Trump an 'off-ramp' from war, and there's growing speculation he might take it Posted: 07 Jan 2020 10:05 PM PST  Fears (and in some quarters, hopes) that self-styled "counterpuncher" President Trump would effectively declare war on Iran after Tehran fired ballistic missiles at Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops Tuesday evening slowly abated as the tense night wore on. The White House announced Trump wouldn't make any official statement Tuesday, the U.S. military said there appeared to be no U.S. casualties, a grammatically correct tweet from Trump's account proclaimed "all is well!" with the Iran situation, and news emerged from Iran that it considered the missile strikes just revenge for the U.S. killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.> IranAttacks > Sources in Iran say if US doesn't retaliate then Iran will also de-escalate. But if it does, then it's war. > IRGC statements reflect same.Iran Iraq Alasad> > -- Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) January 8, 2020Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif made that statement somewhat official:> Iran took & concluded proportionate measures in self-defense under Article 51 of UN Charter targeting base from which cowardly armed attack against our citizens & senior officials were launched. > > We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression.> > -- Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 8, 2020Some Iran observers, like Iranian-American journalist Yashar Ali, were deeply skeptical that Tehran was done avenging Soleimani's death, but other Trump watchers suggested that if it turns out no Americans were killed by Iran's precision missiles, Trump might actually take the proffered "off-ramp" from war with Iran.> Some around POTUS think he is looking for an off-ramp. https://t.co/VgFbbQ8JG3> > -- Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 8, 2020> As night wears on -- and if this good news holds -- there is a strong need for U.S. restraint. A missile strike from Iran is serious, but the small size of the attack looks more like saving face than an attempt at serious escalation. Press pause. https://t.co/C0cDYFo9Pu> > -- David French (@DavidAFrench) January 8, 2020> Agree, and I'll go further -- I think what Trump wants is to tweak/rebrand the Iran nuclear deal, a la USMCA. (Whether he can get this is another question.) https://t.co/0FdSJLYYiE> > -- Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) January 8, 2020The common thread from Trump supporters and detractors alike, though, is that you never know which way this president will fall until he's hit the ground. > Ironically, I suspect Trump himself likely wants to take the out the Iranians are offering; and if this descends into all-out war, it will be because establishment Republicans and rightwingers goaded Trump into it. https://t.co/XJUrBAwtvq> > -- Jeff Spross (@jeffspross) January 8, 2020More stories from theweek.com Joe Biden's free ride is over Harvey Weinstein's legal team tries to get judge, attorney Gloria Allred removed from proceedings Trump's Iranian diplomacy gambit
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| Timeline set to get troubled flattop Ford to sea Posted: 08 Jan 2020 01:36 PM PST  In a message last month to the fleet, the Acting SECNAV pushed for a renewed sense of urgency to deploy the carrier.
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| India Could Become the Next Breeding Ground for Radicalism Posted: 07 Jan 2020 07:34 AM PST  The way India has clamped down on Kashmir, the only Muslim majority state of India since August and the systematic violation of human rights there and across the country can only be described as state-sponsored Islamophobia.
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| California governor proposes more than $1 billion toward homelessness Posted: 08 Jan 2020 03:50 PM PST  Responding to a growing crisis on the streets of California's major cities, Governor Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday his state budget proposal would include more than $1 billion in funds directed at homelessness.
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| Blumenthal: Some GOP 'have very severe misgivings' about McConnell impeachment strategy Posted: 08 Jan 2020 08:37 AM PST  Richard Blumenthal stated he believes some Senate Republicans are concerned with McConnell working with the White House on Trump's impeachment trial.
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| Texas governor picks new fight over homeless after attack Posted: 07 Jan 2020 06:35 AM PST  Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday that last week's seemingly random knife attacks by a homeless man at an Austin shopping plaza magnified a "sense of lawlessness" in the liberal state capital city, whose mayor has accused the governor of demonizing people living on the streets. Since the attacks Friday, which included the fatal stabbing of a restaurant kitchen manager, Abbott has sought to draw a link to relaxed camping ordinances that have made homelessness more visible in one of the nation's fastest-growing cities. "What Austin has done over the past half year is to perpetuate a sense of lawlessness in this city about the homeless," Abbott told reporters in the Texas Capitol.
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| Trial opens in Japan for grisly murder of 19 at disabled home Posted: 07 Jan 2020 04:18 PM PST  The man accused of the 2016 murder of 19 disabled people at a Japanese care home goes on trial Wednesday in a case that ranks among the country's worst mass killings. Satoshi Uematsu, a former employee of the care centre outside Tokyo, has admitted carrying out the stabbing rampage, but his lawyer is expected to enter a plea of not guilty on grounds of diminished capacity. Uematsu reportedly said he wanted to eradicate all disabled people in the horrifying July 26 attack at the Tsukui Yamayuri-en centre in the town of Sagamihara outside Tokyo.
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| Australian teens rescued a carload of koalas from an island where more than 25,000 of the animals have died Posted: 08 Jan 2020 08:08 AM PST  In a video that has gone viral, teenager Micah Lovegrove and his cousin loaded at least six koalas into their car on Kangaroo Island on January 2.
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| U.S. officials reportedly knew about Iran's missile strike ahead of time Posted: 08 Jan 2020 06:37 AM PST  There's reportedly a big reason casualties were avoided in Iran's Tuesday night strike.Shortly after midnight Wednesday morning, Iran told Iraq a response to the U.S. assassination of Qassem Soleimani "had begun or would start shortly," Iraq's prime minister's office said Wednesday morning. And as an Arab diplomatic source has since told CNN, Iraq then relayed that information to the U.S. and told it "which bases would be hit."Iran retaliated for the U.S. strike that killed Soleimani early Wednesday by shooting at least a dozen ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases where U.S. troops were housed. A U.S. defense official confirmed the advance notice given to Iraq, with CNN reporting that "Iraqis were told by Iran to stay away from certain bases.""U.S. officials had advance warning of Iran's missile assault," a U.S. official also told USA Today. But according to that official, the notice came from "an early warning system" that allowed troops to "scramble for cover."No casualties were reported after the attacks, but two Iraqi bases were damaged.More stories from theweek.com Iran has offered Trump an 'off-ramp' from war, and there's growing speculation he might take it Joe Biden's free ride is over Harvey Weinstein's legal team tries to get judge, attorney Gloria Allred removed from proceedings
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| Clips from 2003 Interview Contradict Biden’s Claim to Have Turned on the Iraq War ‘The Moment’ It Began Posted: 08 Jan 2020 11:07 AM PST  Joe Biden has claimed repeatedly on the campaign trail that he reversed his support for the invasion of Iraq as soon as it began, but resurfaced clips from a 2003 interview suggest he continued to defend his pro-war vote for years after the conflict was launched.Speaking with journalist Fareed Zakaria in September 2003, Biden defended his initial support for the war, saying he "still probably would have voted" to invade Iraq even if "the Lord Almighty" had told him the U.S. occupation would go poorly. When asked by Zakaria if it was a "good idea" for Democrats to "take a strong anti-war position in the next election," Biden said "I do not.""I think there's a need for more enlightened foreign policy, and I think to make the case that the use of force against Saddam was unjustified is, I think, the wrong case to make," Biden explained.> ZAKARIA: Do you think its a good idea though for the Democratic Party to take a strong anti-war position in the next election?> > BIDEN: I do not….I think to make the case that the use of force against Saddam was unjustified is, I think, the wrong case to make.> > (September 2003) pic.twitter.com/0GAN1xNWiZ> > -- Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) January 7, 2020The interview came two years before Biden first called his 2002 vote to authorize military force in Iraq a "mistake."But the former vice president has suggested multiple times on the campaign trail that he was against the war immediately after it began.During the Democratic debate in July, Biden said that "from the moment 'shock and awe' started, from that moment, I was opposed to the effort, and I was outspoken as much as anyone at all in the Congress and the administration."In a September interview with NPR which The Washington Post later called him out for, Biden said "before you know it, we had 'shock and awe.' Immediately, the moment it started, I came out against the war, at that moment."And on Saturday, Biden told an Iowa voter "from the very moment" President George W. Bush launched "shock and awe" Biden "opposed what he was doing, and spoke to him."Biden has repeatedly couched his comments with the claim that his vote for the war happened after Bush privately promised that he was only trying to get weapons inspectors into the country, a characterization that Bush denies."I'm sure it's just an innocent mistake of memory, but this recollection is flat wrong," Bush spokesman Freddy Ford told NPR in an email.During the 2012 race, Biden also seemed to imply that he opposed the war effort, saying that while Paul Ryan voted "to put two wars on a credit card . . . I was there. I voted against him."While campaigning in New Hampshire in August, Biden fabricated a war story about awarding a medal to a reluctant Navy captain by stitching together details from three separate stories.
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| Sorry China, But The J-20 Can't Beat America's F-22 Or F-35 Stealth Fighters Posted: 07 Jan 2020 03:30 PM PST  For the time being, Chinese jets are not on the same level as their American counterparts.
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| After slapping incident, pope kisses nun who vows not to bite Posted: 08 Jan 2020 07:44 AM PST  Pope Francis, who last month angrily slapped the hand of a woman who yanked him toward her, gave a light-hearted reaction more typical of his papacy on Wednesday when a nun asked him for a kiss. The good-natured exchange took place at the start of Francis' weekly general audience. Francis responded: "Oh, (but) you bite!", prompting laughter from the people near them.
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