| White House fires Vindman, the officer who testified to House about Ukraine call, in ongoing purge Posted: 07 Feb 2020 02:57 PM PST  Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a star witnesses in the inquiry that led to the impeachment of President Trump, was dismissed from his post on the National Security Council and escorted from the White House Friday, according to his lawyer.
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| Two-dozen US Marines were discharged after an investigation over their alleged involvement in drug crimes and a human trafficking operation along the border Posted: 08 Feb 2020 11:33 AM PST  One of the ex-Marines will face time in military prison, others did not face judicial action after chargers were dropped following an unlawful arrest.
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| UK woman loses challenge aimed at restoring her citizenship Posted: 07 Feb 2020 03:53 AM PST ![UK woman loses challenge aimed at restoring her citizenship]( "UK woman loses challenge aimed at restoring her citizenship") A U.K. woman who as a teenager ran away to join the Islamic State group lost a legal challenge Friday aimed at restoring her citizenship, which was revoked on national security grounds. Shamima Begum, one of three east London schoolgirls who traveled to Syria in 2015, resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria last year and told reporters she wanted to come home. Former Home Secretary Sajid Javid revoked her citizenship, but she challenged the decision before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.
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| Coronavirus cases on Diamond Princess cruise ship rise to 63, including 12 from US Posted: 08 Feb 2020 03:52 PM PST  Two more passengers, including another American, have fallen ill on the Diamond Princess cruise ship as the coronavirus rages on.
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| Some in Russia Think the Coronavirus Is a U.S. Biological Weapon Posted: 07 Feb 2020 04:33 PM PST  What is such a charge based on?
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| Is America ready to elect a gay president? Posted: 07 Feb 2020 03:31 PM PST  Pete Buttigieg, seeking to become America's first openly gay president, has said he was saddened after learning a woman in Iowa sought to cancel her vote for him after being told of his sexuality, but said he was "running to be her president too".In a video that went viral days after the caucuses, where the former South Bend mayor sneaked past Bernie Sanders to claim victory, a woman was seen displaying surprise when she learned the 38-year-old was gay.
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| EU official's 'Greta syndrome' remark riles protesters Posted: 07 Feb 2020 08:40 AM PST  A top EU official questioning the sincerity of young climate protesters and joking that they have "Greta syndrome" sparked blowback in Brussels on Friday among politicians and students demonstrating against climate change. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell triggered the row by saying he believed school students had been galvanised by teen Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg without fully realising the costs they would have to bear to ensure a carbon-neutral future. It "can be called 'Greta syndrome'," Borrell, 72, said during a meeting at the European Parliament on Wednesday.
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| Trump backs idea to 'expunge' impeachment Posted: 07 Feb 2020 10:21 AM PST  President Trump on Friday endorsed an idea floated by some Republicans that his impeachment be "expunged" from the congressional record.
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| Massachusetts man tries to save neighbor from dog attack, accidentally kills him with crossbow Posted: 06 Feb 2020 08:21 PM PST  A Massachusetts man trying to be a good Samaritan accidentally killed his neighbor with a crossbow, according to officials.
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| CORRECTED-WRAPUP 8-American dies of coronavirus in China; five Britons infected in French Alps Posted: 07 Feb 2020 07:37 PM PST  A 60-year-old American has died of the new coronavirus, the first confirmed non-Chinese death of the illness, U.S. officials said, as millions of Chinese began returning home after a Lunar New Year break that was extended to try to contain the outbreak. While the vast majority of cases have been in China, the virus has spread to some two dozen countries abroad, including five British nationals infected in a French mountain resort. The American man died on Thursday in Wuhan, epicentre of the virus outbreak in the central Chinese province of Hubei, a U.S. embassy spokesman said in Beijing on Saturday.
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| Billy Mitchell Redux: The Heavy Bomber is Returning as a Navy-Killer Posted: 08 Feb 2020 08:30 AM PST  Could these weapons of war become the real carrier-killer missiles?
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| Warren, Biden slide as Buttigieg rises in Sanders-led New Hampshire poll Posted: 08 Feb 2020 10:12 AM PST  It might come down to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg once again.In its latest poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, CNN shows Sanders leading the pack in the Granite State ahead of Tuesday's primary. The senator picked up 28 percent support in the survey, leading his closest contender Buttigieg by seven points. The two went toe to toe in the hotly contested — and mildly controversial — Iowa caucuses last week, with Buttigieg reeling in more delegates while Sanders led in terms of raw votes. New Hampshire, it seems, could provide another close race between the two, especially considering Iowa polls showed Sanders leading Buttigieg by a similar amount in the lead up to the caucuses.The CNN poll wasn't much to look at for anyone else. Former Vice President Joe Biden likely won't be surprised to hear he came in third with 11 percent, while no one else hit double digits. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) didn't get the New England love shown to Sanders in the survey, finishing with just 9 percent.Per CNN, Biden slid five points and Buttigieg rose six, indicating the mayor might be taking some of the vice president's voters.> New CNN/UNH poll of Dem primary among 365 New Hampshire likely primary voters (MoE +/- 5.1 percentage points):> > Sanders 28% > Buttigieg 21% > Biden 11% > Warren 9% > Gabbard 6% > Klobuchar 5% > Everyone else <5%> > — Kendall Karson (@kendallkarson) February 8, 2020The CNN New Hampshire Poll was conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center between Feb. 4-7 among a random sample of 365 likely Democratic primary voters. The margin of error was 5.1 percent. Read more at CNN.More stories from theweek.com American democracy is dying America's pig problem Ireland's general election exit poll suggests 'unprecedented' 3-way split
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| New photos emerge from Kobe Bryant crash site Posted: 07 Feb 2020 03:22 PM PST  New pictures showing the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his 13 year-old daughter Gianna and seven others have been released.The photos are part of a report the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released further detailing its investigators findings into the 26 January crash that led to Mr Bryant's death. New details on the location and state of the wreckage following impact and on the helicopter's engine status just before impact were included in the report.
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| Soldier who testified at Trump impeachment loses W.House job Posted: 07 Feb 2020 02:49 PM PST  A US Army officer who testified in President Donald Trump's impeachment probe was pushed out of his White House job on Friday, his lawyer said. Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman was escorted out of the White House where he worked on the National Security Council, with his lawyer calling the move an act of revenge by the president. "Vindman was asked to leave for telling the truth," lawyer David Pressman said.
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| Fear in Mexico as twin deaths expose threat to monarch butterflies and their defenders Posted: 08 Feb 2020 07:19 AM PST  The deaths of two butterfly conservationists have drawn focus to a troubling tangle of disputes, resentments and violenceThe annual migration of monarch butterflies from the US and Canada is one of the most resplendent sights in the natural world – a rippling orange-and-black wave containing millions of butterflies fluttering instinctively southward to escape the winter cold.The spectacle when they reach their destination in central Mexico is perhaps even more astonishing. Patches of alpine forest turn from green to orange as the monarchs roost in the fir trees, the sheer weight of butterflies causing branches to sag to the point of snapping. Tens of thousands of the insects bounce haphazardly overhead, searching replenishment from nearby plants.Monarch butterflies weigh just half a gram but are able to undertake an epic migration of up to 3,000 miles – a unique phenomenon in the insect world.A voracious eater, the monarch caterpillar can consume an entire milkweed leaf in less than five minutes. The species is entirely dependent upon milkweed for its propagation.The monarch's bodies retain the toxins present in the milkweed, making them an unappetizing snack for birds.Scientists believe that monarchs navigate using the angle of the sun, setting off on their southward journey when the sun hits a certain point in the sky, no matter the stage of their journey.The species roosts in huge numbers in fir trees situated more than 3,000 metres above sea level in the forested volcanoes of central Mexico, having travelled from as far north as southern Canada.Monarchs are an important tourist drawcard for communities in and around the protected reserve in Mexico. The species has long had a cultural resonance, too – pottery unearthed from the era before Spanish conquest features depictions of the butterflies.To witness this sight is as if to enter a waking dream. "People have a spiritual and emotional connection to monarchs," said Sonia Altizer, a monarch butterfly researcher at the University of Georgia. "Many people tell me that seeing them was a highlight of their life."The recent deaths of two butterfly conservationists in the region has, however, drawn attention to a troubling tangle of disputes, resentments and occasional bouts of harrowing violence that has lingered over the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, a sprawling world heritage site situated 60 miles north-west of Mexico City.> En el Santuario El Rosario Ocampo Michoacan miles de Monarcas buscando agua .....El más grande del mundo pic.twitter.com/hXgAYk1Ztb> > — Homero gomez g. (@Homerogomez_g) January 13, 2020Mustachioed and gregarious, Homero Gómez González tirelessly promoted the El Rosario sanctuary, a section of the butterfly reserve that receives the bulk of tourists who come from around the world to see the monarchs. He featured in mesmerizing social media videos – posing with butterflies fluttering around him – and called the creatures "a marvel of nature". Gómez, who was 50, disappeared on 13 January after attending a patron saint festival in the municipality of Ocampo; his body was found two weeks later at the bottom of a watering hole. His death has yet to be ruled a murder, although police say he suffered a blunt trauma to the head.The incident raised fears that gangs, possibly tied to the illegal logging of the butterfly reserve, had targeted Gómez for his advocacy of ecotourism over the felling of trees in this rugged swath of Mexico where communities, often beset by poverty, have traditionally relied upon the harvesting of timber, potatoes and wheat.Those concerns were further heightened this week after the death of a part-time tour guide from another nearby butterfly sanctuary, called Raúl Hernández Romero. His body was found 1 February with injuries possibly inflicted by a sharp object."The panorama for the community, the forest and the monarch butterflies is now very complicated and uncertain," Amado Gómez González, one of Gómez's nine siblings, told the Guardian."There are now these two crimes and it has spread fear. You find yourself thinking 'What if this is a group that is coming to try and take the sanctuary away from us?"Investigations into the two deaths are ongoing. But some conservationists fret they are a byproduct of the violence that has long troubled the state of Michoacán, which stretches from the mountains of central Mexico to the west coast.As they have done across the country, organized crime groups linked to the drug trade have diversified into many other activities, including kidnapping, avocado cultivation, land theft – and the lucrative market in pine, fir and cedar wood.Logging is supposedly under tight controls, but high prices mean lumber mafias often stray into protected areas – and are prepared to use violence. "In Michoacán, a tree is worth more than a human life," said one former state official."Homero Gómez was in conflict with these loggers," said Homero Aridjis, an environmentalist and poet, who is a longtime defender of the monarch butterfly sanctuaries. "They've always been a very dangerous group because there are always politicians, businessmen involved in deforestation."Aridjis said his own activism against illegal logging, the planting of avocado orchards and the proposed construction of a mine near the sanctuaries has brought threats. He largely stays away from the butterfly sanctuaries due to security concerns.But others suggest Gómez may have fallen foul of a backlash to his buccaneering self-promotion and questions over his role as the former leader of the El Rosario community, which is run as an ejido – a traditional Mexican collectivist arrangement where residents share ownership of the land and its bounty."In this system, it's easy for a leader to become abusive with the community's income," said a Michoacán conservationist who was familiar with Gómez and the sanctuary but did not want to be named. The conservationist insisted it was still safe for butterfly guardians to do their work."He was an outspoken person, he drew a lot of attention to himself. I don't know why he was killed, but because of the non-transparent management of the ejido he had a lot of enemies. It's difficult to say this in Mexico because the press has portrayed him nearly as a saint."Regardless, Amado Gómez's fears that "large groups" might seize the sanctuary are not without foundation. Criminal groups have already moved in on resources such as water, forests and minerals – most famously in the indigenous Purépecha community of Cherán, where locals rose up in 2011 to halt illegal loggers, backed by a drug cartel, from clearcutting their forests.The demise of Gómez also highlights the misery suffered by Mexico's beleaguered environmental defenders, who have been murdered with impunity in shocking numbers. Fourteen defenders were murdered in Mexico in 2018, according to Global Witness.monarch mapSecurity concerns are rife in the region, and many prefer silence. "It's very difficult [to speak out], and even more so for those who live here," said a local researcher, who preferred to remain anonymous.While the reasons for the deaths of the two men have yet to fully emerge, concerns are already swelling that the incidents will hurt tourism. The fragile security situation across Mexico has been blamed for a quiet winter for visitors in one of the major sanctuaries, Sierra Chincua, even before the deaths.The monarch butterflies themselves are also coming under growing pressures. A historic low in overwintering populations was recorded in 2013-14, amid a longer-term slump that has prompted mayors in cities across North America to promise remedial action. It's suspected that butterfly numbers have been winnowed away by the use of toxic pesticides and razing of critical monarch habitat in the US and Canada.The decline was reversed somewhat last year but scientists warn the annual monarch migration faces an existential threat due to the climate crisis. The oyamel firs preferred by monarchs in Mexico are being stressed by rising temperatures and drought, with predictions the trees will be virtually wiped out by the end of the century.Global heating is also reducing the viability of milkweed, the sole plant where the monarch reproduces, in US and Canada. This trend is set to restrict the butterflies to isolated pockets and end their epic migration to Mexico, a journey that can stretch for 3,000 miles. A separate monarch migration, which brings butterflies to the warmth of coastal California, has shrunk from millions of insects in the 1980s to fewer than 30,000 individuals now."It's so obvious that it's painful," said Orley Taylor, a biologist and co-founder of Monarch Watch, a group of US volunteers focused on studying and conserving the species. "Within 30 years or so we probably won't be talking about the monarch migration. We risk losing something very special indeed."The demise of the overwintering monarchs would send an economic and cultural shock through central Mexico, although there are currently more pressing concerns in a region beset by crime and few economic opportunities."People are all for protecting the butterflies, but people have to have the necessities to survive," said Father Martín Cruz Morales, a local priest, on a break from a community lunch of tacos and aguas frescas to celebrate the anniversary of a colleague's ordination.In El Rosario this week, Gómez's friends and family packed a billiards hall – emblazoned with the image of Homer Simpson – to pray the novena, or nine days of prayer.Over pastries and hot cups of fruit punch, Amado Gómez remembered his brother, a former logger, as an ambitious but often altruistic man, who graduated from Mexico's premier agricultural university and mostly worked in government until launching his activism in favour of the monarch butterflies.Homero Gómez led tree-planting initiatives in El Rosario. He also helped organize patrols to protect the forests; teams of 10 persons still head out day and night into the hills to guard against incursions from illegal logging – something that locals say hasn't occurred in the butterfly reserve for at least two years."They know that people are organized here and know that it's difficult to cut down a tree and escape," Amado Gómez said. "Nobody trusts the local police so they do [security] themselves with sticks, with guns, with whatever they can use themselves."Altizer, the University of Georgia researcher stressed that she didn't think the reserve was too dangerous to visit and argued that tourism and conservation efforts should continue as before."El Rosario has so much to offer tourists, it's right in the core of the biosphere reserve," said Altizer. "If you think any place should be safe for monarchs and people it should be there, which makes this shocking. It makes me wonder if this will deter tourists from going there in the future. It sends a worrying message."She said scientists have long been advised to be cautious in the region, to not drive around at night and to avoid certain areas. A vehicle owned by the WWF had to cover its logo up on a previous visit due to fears of attack."You see federal police patrolling the forest in military-style vehicles which is a little disconcerting," she said."There is drug cartel violence in Michoacán, and if that bleeds over into logging operations I don't know what the best strategy to combat that is. People in these communities already have to deal with a lot of hardships. It's difficult to promote ecotourism when logging continues even after the designation of the biosphere reserves."
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| Hundreds of dogs dash for Westminster agility title Posted: 08 Feb 2020 01:22 PM PST  Over 300 dogs from dachshunds to Doberman pinschers are scrambling for the Westminster Kennel Club's agility trophy. The swift sheepherding dogs are widely seen as the breed to beat in Saturday's competition, having all but swept the seven-year-old Westminster contest except for an Australian shepherd's win in 2016. Border collie Trinity, for one, arrived Westminster-ready – so ready that she had a few streaks of Westminster purple in her fur.
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| Trump losing support of Boris Johnson: Report Posted: 08 Feb 2020 08:18 AM PST  President Trump is close to losing the support of the United States' closest ally, the United Kingdom, after a growing series of public rows.
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| Jehovah's Witnesses reportedly under investigation by Pennsylvania attorney general Posted: 08 Feb 2020 10:37 AM PST  The Pennsylvania attorney general's office is reportedly investigating if the Jehovah's Witnesses failed to report child sexual abuse to authorities.
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| How China Will Use Its Social Credit System to Keep Control Over Its Military Posted: 08 Feb 2020 12:00 PM PST  A good idea?
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| Pete Buttigieg was targeted by his Democratic rivals in New Hampshire, and they hit him where he's weakest Posted: 07 Feb 2020 08:17 PM PST  Buttigieg struggles among African American voters, and the New Hampshire debate saw his Democratic presidential rivals focus on that weakness.
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| ABC News analysts say debate was a 'breakthrough' for Amy Klobuchar, but Joe Biden 'had the worst night' Posted: 07 Feb 2020 08:18 PM PST  It was a great night for Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) at the New Hampshire debate, but not so much for former Vice President Joe Biden, ABC News' analysts say.After the conclusion of Friday's debate on ABC, the network quickly transitioned into commentary, with analyst Jonathan Karl praising Klobuchar first and foremost."I think this was a breakthrough night for Amy Klobuchar," Karl said. "This was by far her best debate."Martha Raddatz seemed to agree, noting that Klobuchar delivered an "especially strong close." Later, ABC analyst Matthew Dowd concurred that in the end, she's the only candidate who may have altered the race."The only person to me that fundamentally changed where they were ... was Amy Klobuchar," Dowd said.This was a familiar refrain, as pundits have quite often come out of Democratic debates declaring Klobuchar the winner, only for her position in the polls to stay roughly the same. "Klobuchar feels like 2020's Carly Fiorina," The Daily Beast's Lachlan Markay wrote. "Kills it on the debate stage every time, but it just doesn't seem to translate on the scoreboard."Dowd argued, though, that it was Biden who "had the worst night," explaining he didn't necessarily do badly but simply didn't improve his standing like he needed to after a disappointing fourth place Iowa showing. "His path is still on the downward slope," Dowd added. > .@jonkarl: "This was a breakthrough night for Amy Klobuchar." https://t.co/Rhy9aOaDTU DemDebate pic.twitter.com/wGYxa9gwzN> > -- ABC News (@ABC) February 8, 2020More stories from theweek.com American democracy is dying America's pig problem Ireland's general election exit poll suggests 'unprecedented' 3-way split
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| Four-year-old dies from flu after mother 'treated him with advice from anti-vaxx Facebook group' Posted: 07 Feb 2020 02:28 PM PST  A four-year-old boy has died from the flu after his mother reportedly treated him with advice offered by members of an anti-vaccine Facebook group, according to reports.Last week, Geneva Montoya, from Pueblo, Colorado, sought advice from the Facebook group "Stop Mandatory Vaccination" after two of her four children had been diagnosed with the flu, according to NBC News.
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| A Beginner's Guide to App Building Posted: 08 Feb 2020 02:00 PM PST |
| Sandra Fluke: Rush Limbaugh deserves health care, not the Presidential Medal of Freedom Posted: 07 Feb 2020 02:00 AM PST  Donald Trump and Rush Limbaugh would prevent every American from accessing affordable health care. But Democrats fight for coverage for all of us.
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| Texas executes man convicted of killing five family members Posted: 06 Feb 2020 09:53 PM PST  Texas Thursday executed a man who killed five family members including two of his children in 2002 during what his defense argued was a delirium induced by crack cocaine. Abel Ochoa, 47, was administered a lethal injection at the Huntsville penitentiary north of Houston and was pronounced dead at 6:48 pm (0048 GMT Friday), Texas prison officials said. According to court documents, on a Sunday morning after church in August 2002 Ochoa asked his wife for money to buy crack cocaine.
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| American, Afghan soldiers killed in shootout in Afghanistan: New York Times Posted: 08 Feb 2020 10:56 AM PST ![American, Afghan soldiers killed in shootout in Afghanistan: New York Times]( "American, Afghan soldiers killed in shootout in Afghanistan: New York Times") U.S. and Afghan forces came under attack in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, officials said in Kabul as they launched investigations into what the New York Times described as a deadly shootout between Afghan and American soldiers during a joint exercise. The Times, quoting two Afghan officials, reported that five or six American soldiers and six Afghan soldiers were killed. The newspaper quoted a U.S. military official saying there were at least six American casualties and confirmed that there were fatalities without saying how many.
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| Endangered Gray Wolf Found Dead in California After Traveling Nearly 8,000 Miles Without a Pack Posted: 08 Feb 2020 01:01 PM PST  She broke from her pack in 2018 possibly in search of a mate
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| Xi Jinping has turned invisible during China's coronavirus epidemic, likely to cover his back in case things go badly wrong Posted: 08 Feb 2020 02:35 AM PST  The Wuhan coronavirus is seriously testing China's Communist Party. Hundreds are dead and people have accused officials of withholding information.
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| Police officers to stop women from having abortions under proposed new Missouri bill Posted: 07 Feb 2020 10:28 AM PST  Police officers would be granted the power to prevent women from having an abortion under a new bill proposed by a politician in Missouri.Mike Moon, a Republican Missouri state representative who previously shared a video of himself decapitating a living chicken on Facebook to justify why abortion should be banned, introduced the controversial legislation.
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| A Maryland county is the first in the US to ban hairstyle discrimination at the local level Posted: 08 Feb 2020 02:24 PM PST  To combat racist policies that prohibit Black people from wearing natural hairstyles, city council members passed the CROWN Act.
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| Joe Walsh Ends Race to Unseat ‘Dictator’ Trump: ‘He Can’t Be Stopped’ Posted: 07 Feb 2020 06:29 AM PST  Joe Walsh, one of President Trump's last remaining primary challengers, dropped out of the Republican race Friday, citing the sheer impossibility of overcoming the president within the "cult-like" Republican party."I got into this because I thought it was really important that there was a Republican out there every day calling out this president for how unfit he is. I want to stop Trump, I believe he's a threat to this country," Walsh told CNN's John Berman, admitting that the president "can't be stopped" within the GOP."Nobody can beat him. It's Trump's Party, John, it's not a party — it's a cult. He can't be beaten in the Republican primary, so there's no reason for me, or any candidate really, to be in there. The party has become a cult," Walsh declared.> JUST NOW: " I am ending my run for the President of the United States. ….It's not a party. It's a cult. [Trump] can't be beat in the Republican primary."@WalshFreedom drops out on @NewDay pic.twitter.com/kBD19j0SoY> > -- John Berman (@JohnBerman) February 7, 2020The recent Iowa caucuses showed Trump drawing a record Republican turnout to win with 97.1 percent of the vote. Walsh, a one-term congressman, finished third with just over one percent.A video from the Iowa caucuses showed Walsh unsuccessfully making his case to voters, as the crowd cheered when Walsh asked "if you want four more years of the Donald Trump show," and booed when Walsh characterized Trump as one who "makes every day about himself."> Former Rep Joe Walsh @WalshFreedom concludes by saying that if people want "4 more years of the @realDonaldTrump show… He is then cut off by the crowd who yell "yes!" and applaud loudly IACaucus Elections2020 pic.twitter.com/8pZLpGaSko> > -- Alex Plitsas (@alexplitsas) February 4, 2020Speaking Friday, Walsh slammed the conservative movement for not giving him the chance to challenge Trump's legacy."The state parties are beholden to Trump, the conservative media world — Fox News and all the rest — wouldn't give me the time of day. I'm a Republican candidate for president, but they bow down in front of their king," Walsh explained. He added that the monolith had swayed voters to the point of no return.Walsh also referred to Trump as a "dictator" and said he would support the eventual Democratic nominee regardless of their policies."I would rather have, John, a socialist in the White House than a dictator, than a king, than Donald Trump," he said.
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| In El Salvador, government effort against gangs bears fruit Posted: 07 Feb 2020 05:45 PM PST  Since his arrival in office in June, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has stepped up the country's war on criminal gangs, an effort that is bearing fruit according to experts who point to a falling murder rate. In January El Salvador recorded 119 murders, its lowest monthly tally since the end of its civil war in 1992, the president said recently. When Bukele assumed office, criminal gangs intensified their activity in an apparent attempt to force the new government to make concessions such as easing jail conditions, analysts said.
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| It was nearly 65 degrees in Antarctica, which may be the warmest day ever recorded there Posted: 07 Feb 2020 11:29 AM PST  The normally bitterly cold Antarctica recorded a temperature of 65 degrees on Thursday, which may be the warmest day ever there.
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| Why Russia Thinks It Has Nothing To Fear From The U.S. F-35 Posted: 06 Feb 2020 08:30 PM PST  It might be too complex and costly.
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| China's unprecedented quarantine of 11 million people in Wuhan is 2 weeks old. Here's what it's like in the isolated city. Posted: 07 Feb 2020 07:12 AM PST  Being sprayed with disinfectant in the street, making memes, and getting regular temperature checks are parts of daily life in Wuhan.
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| Virginia Democrats advance assault weapon ban Posted: 07 Feb 2020 07:48 AM PST ![Virginia Democrats advance assault weapon ban]( "Virginia Democrats advance assault weapon ban") Democratic lawmakers in Virginia are advancing legislation to ban the sale of assault weapons and the possession of high-capacity magazines despite fierce opposition from gun owners. A state House committee on Friday advanced legislation backed by Gov. Ralph Northam to ban the sale of certain semiautomatic firearms, including popular AR-15 style rifles, and silencers and prohibit the possession of magazines that hold more than 12 rounds. It's the most ambitious measure proposed by Northam and one that's met the most pushback, including from members of his own party.
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| Weinstein's lawyer Donna Rotunno says she's never been sexually assaulted because she wouldn't 'put herself in that position' Posted: 07 Feb 2020 02:36 PM PST  New York Times' Megan Twohey asked Donna Rotunno if she's been sexually assaulted. She hadn't "because I would never put myself in that position."
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| Sanders lays out his 'radical dream' to solve climate change Posted: 07 Feb 2020 06:56 PM PST  At Friday's Democratic presidential debate in Manchester, N.H., Sen. Bernie Sanders channeled Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., expounding on his "dream" for the world to come together to solve climate change.
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| Pangolins are possible coronavirus hosts, scientists say Posted: 07 Feb 2020 03:01 AM PST  Pangolin meat is considered a delicacy in China and they are one of the most trafficked animals in the world.
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| Inside Colombia’s ‘Air Chapo’ Cocaine Shipping Scandal Posted: 07 Feb 2020 02:02 AM PST  CALI, Colombia—In Pablo Escobar's day, in the 1980s and early 1990s, the erstwhile Cocaine King moved mass quantities of the drug out of Colombia. But his planes loaded with dope had to take off from small airstrips hacked out of the jungle. That limited the size of the aircraft and the amount of contraband they could carry.Why the Drug War Can't Be Won—Cartel Corruption Goes All the Way to the TopAfter Escobar was killed in 1993, things started to change and by the mid-2000s his successor as kingpin-of-kingpins, Mexico's Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, allegedly came up with a simple solution to that smuggling dilemma. Why muck around in the bush when you can use one of the biggest and busiest hubs in Latin America to ship your illicit cargo?According to multiple detailed reports in the Colombian and Mexican press, Guzmán turned flights out of Bogotá's El Dorado International Airport into his own cocaine delivery service for about two years using a now defunct company dubbed Air Cargo Lines. And he had plenty of help doing it.The central allegations in the story are sourced to an anonymous whistleblower who claims that the deal was done through a broad narco-trafficking conspiracy involving a former Colombian president, a Colombian senator, Chapo's Sinaloa Cartel cohorts, airport officials, right-wing paramilitaries—and an ICE agent working out of the U.S. Embassy.El Chapo himself already is serving a life sentence at America's supermax prison in Colorado. His lawyers did not respond to requests for comment. Other alleged ringleaders in this aviation scam deny the claims. But the informant reportedly stands by his statements, and independent researchers find his testimony credible. So, by this account, how did Chapo Air come to be? And since the whistleblower remains unavailable, apparently in hiding, what corroboration is there for this story that has sent shock waves through the Colombian political elite—and should shake up some American law enforcement officials as well?* * *Señor Pista* * *The charges come courtesy of Richard Maok, a former detective with Colombia's treasury police (the fiscalía), who now lives in Canada. This isn't the first time Maok has been a thorn in the side of Colombian government officials. In 2002, he uncovered a bloody nexus among military officers, right-wing politicians, and drug-trafficking paramilitaries. That scandal was widely covered by the New York Times and other international media, and resulted in a number of high-profile arrests. But it also led to death threats against Maok and, eventually, he sought asylum in Canada.Apparently not one to be deterred by exile and what he says are several attempts on his life, Maok has continued to launch scathing attacks on corruption from afar, using his popular website as a platform. And he makes no secret of his fierce antipathy to former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, who remains one of the country's most powerful politicians. (The headline on Maok's version of the story is a hashtag, ElFinalDeUribe, the end of Uribe.)A few weeks ago, Maok says, he was contacted by a man we'll call Señor Pista who provided evidence that in the 2000s he had worked as the security director for a Colombian air cargo company—and that he had bombshell accusations to disclose. So, in early January, the whistle blew. Names were named. And a blow-by-blow description of an audacious drug trafficking scheme began to emerge, all of it catalogued in meticulous detail on Maok's website. The most sensational accusation brought by Maok's informant was that former president Uribe had been involved in the scam during his time in office. But perhaps that shouldn't come as a surprise. As Maok notes, "Uribe and his family have been accused of links to trafficking and organized crime for years."Also unsurprisingly, Uribe denies all these allegations. * * *Escobar's Friend* * *A declassified 1991 U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency report, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and published in 2004 by the National Security Archive at George Washington University in D.C., offered a damning assessment of Uribe and his Medellín Cartel connections.The document led with the caution that it was "an info report, not finally evaluated intel" and originally was classified CONFIDENTIAL NOFORN (not to be released to foreign nationals) WNINTEL (Warning Notice—Intelligence Sources or Methods Involved). It listed "Important Colombian Narco-Traffickers" and their associates. Escobar is cited as "the maximum chief of the Medellín Cartel who began as an assassin and now is in charge of the biggest multi-national criminal organization in the world." Further down the same page we find "Alvaro Uribe Velez—a Colombian politician and senator dedicated to collaboration with the Medellin Cartel at high government levels. Uribe was linked to a business involved in narcotics activities in the U.S. His father was murdered in Colombia for his connection to the narcotic traffickers. Uribe has worked for the Medellin Cartel and is a close personal friend of Pablo Escobar Gaviria."At the time, Uribe was governor of Antioquia department, which has Medellín as its capital.Despite these allegations in official Pentagon communications, when Uribe was president of Colombia from 2002 to 2010 he was able to position himself as a staunch U.S. ally in both the War on Drugs and the fight against Marxist guerrillas. Those postures made him something of a darling in D.C., and that fact granted him a certain amount of political immunity back home in Colombia.In the trenches of the War on Drugs, it's sometimes hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Often, it's more like "our" bad guys against other, maybe worse, bad guys. But the distinctions can get pretty subjective. A 1993 State Department cable released in 2018 notes allegations that Uribe's early political campaigns were financed by the Medellín Cartel, but he had begun to fear for his life because he had failed to deliver sufficient political favors "for his Medellín Cartel mentors." Escobar had escaped from jail. He was on the run, increasingly desperate, and Uribe began trying to reposition himself as a go-between with the U.S. embassy, talking to Escobar's wife in an effort to get Escobar to surrender. The cable notes that when Uribe met with a U.S. diplomat, Uribe "constantly paced the small office; he was visibly agitated," but insisted there could be no dialogue with Escobar about government concessions the kingpin had requested. "As far as I'm concerned, Escobar has three options—surrender unconditionally, be captured, or be killed." Escobar died during a shootout with Colombian National Police in December 1993.Uribe has dismissed accounts of his ties to Escobar as "fake news," but former U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Myles Frechette, who served from 1994 to 1997, gave an interview in 2015 for a book on his tenure in Bogotá in which he said Uribe had "no interest in being honest with me or other people. That's who Álvaro Uribe is." Frechette, a career diplomat, also called Uribe's use of U.S. funds to arm drug-trafficking right-wing militias a "setup that Washington swallowed."At the moment, ex-President Uribe is also under investigation by Colombia's supreme court for attempting to bribe and manipulate witnesses who have linked him to widespread extrajudicial killings, including the massacre of 15 villagers in 1997, while he was still a governor. Nonprofit organizations from at least four countries, including the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and Lawyers Without Borders, have sent observers to monitor Uribe's trial. According to the Colombian newspaper Vanguardia, Uribe is also the subject of 276 additional pending investigations by the country's Congressional Accusation Commission—from wrongful contract infractions to violations of international humanitarian law—although he declares himself innocent of all charges. Uribe, now a senator, remains one of the most influential—and widely feared—men in Colombia. Current President Iván Duque is often described as Uribe's protégé, or his puppet, depending on who you ask. * * *The Powder Elite* * *"Finally we have a survivor come forward to speak out against Uribe. Many people in Colombia were waiting for this moment," says Maok, whose YouTube video on the air cargo scandal has racked up more than 370,000 hits since it was posted last month. Neither Uribe nor spokespersons for his Central Democratic Party responded to multiple interview requests for this article. But Senator Carlos Felipe Mejía, a member of the party, fired back the day after Maok's report went viral. Mejía uploaded his own video to Twitter denying Maok's accusations and referring to the "supposed" trafficking plot as "Operation Liar." Mejía's short clip also attacked Maok himself, calling him a fugitive from Colombian justice who had "escaped to Canada"—despite the Canadian decision that he should be granted asylum as a victim of death threats and political persecution. On January 24, during an interview with the magazine La Semana, Colombian senator and former mayor of Bogota Gustavo Petro also accused Uribe of having ties to the Sinaloa Cartel and specifically mentioned the El Dorado cocaine scandal."Doesn't this merit an investigation?" he said. "[Isn't it] terrible what this could mean?"Gonzalo Guillén, a Colombian journalist and director of the magazine La Nueva Prensa, also finds Maok's reporting credible."The relation between Chapo and Uribe is unmistakable," Guillén says, and cites his own research to back up the connection. "I had already interviewed a pilot for Chapo Guzmán, who had all the information…. So this was no shock to me."In that interview, Chapo's pilot claimed that the DEA had managed to catch at least one of the Sinaloa Cartel's flights into Bogotá. A Boeing 707 had been sent from Mexico full of cash and expected to return with "several tons" of cocaine, but ended up being sold for scrap after it was seized. Interestingly, that could imply the cartel was using other airlines, as Maok's whistleblower makes no mention of a Boeing jet being involved in the Air Cargo Lines scheme.Guillén also points out family ties between Uribe and Chapo, notably the fact that Uribe's brother was married to the sister of a man named Alex Cifuentes, who just happened to be Chapo's head of operations in Colombia. Both Cifuentes and his sister have since been extradited to the United States on charges of narcotics trafficking. Another of Uribe's brothers has been charged by the Prosecutor General's Office in Colombia with leading death squads to carry out "social cleansing" in the 1990s. These allegations about Colombia follow on the heels of several similar and possibly related disclosures about drug trafficking in Mexico and Central America.In December, Genaro García Luna—Mexico's former national security secretary and the architect of the nation's long-running drug war—was arrested in the U.S. on charges of taking bribes from Chapo's Sinaloa outfit. In Honduras, the sitting president has been named an unindicted co-conspirator in a drug-trafficking case by U.S. prosecutors, as was a former president of that country. During Chapo's New York trial last year, Mexico's most recent commander in chief, Enrique Peña Nieto, also was accused by a witness of being on Chapo's payroll. That same witness also alleged Chapo's criminal organization had bribed the Colombian air force for information on aircraft flight routes and strategic installations, and bought off General Oscar Naranjo, the national police commissioner under Uribe. Those charges were denied. But the witness in question? None other than Uribe's brother-in-law Cifuentes.Robert Bunker, a cartel specialist at the U.S. Army War College, describes the ongoing pattern of corruption as "structural in nature.""In countries with traditions of authoritarian governance and impunity—such as Mexico, Honduras, Colombia—the elites have a tendency to profit when they can from illicit dealings," Bunker said. "The entire system in such countries is skewed by elites and traffickers working together for mutual economic advantage." * * *Guns, Gems, and Cash* * *From 2006 to 2007, some 10 metric tons of cocaine were shipped from El Dorado airport to Sinaloa, using Air Cargo Lines as a shell company, according to Maok's informant. Uribe, who allegedly was known to the traffickers by the alias "Gobierno" (Government), is supposed to have arranged for a special hangar to be built at El Dorado solely for the purpose of handling contraband for Chapo and his partners. "Uribe authorized the Aerocivil, or civil aviation authority, to build a cold storage facility close to the tarmac," Maok says. "That's where they kept the cocaine." Most of it came from the Antioquia region, and allegedly was supplied by the same far-right paramilitaries Maok had exposed in 2002.From the cold-storage unit it was flown to Mexico in a DC-8 four-engine cargo plane. In return, Uribe is supposed to have received jewelry and cash from the Sinaloa Cartel, including an emerald presented to him in the presidential palace, and at least a million dollars in U.S. currency, which Maok's informant claims he delivered personally. Uribe's chief paramilitary ally, who is alleged by Maok's informant to have delivered the cocaine to Bogotá, in turn is supposed to have received a shipment of high-powered 5.7 mm pistols, called "cop killers" because the rounds they fire can penetrate police body armor. The whistleblower named other major players, such as Chapo's son, Jesús Guzmán, who allegedly entered Colombia without passing through customs in order to speed up Air Cargo's delivery efforts. And Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who allegedly sent his own people to assist with logistics. All told, the operation involved scores of people, including airline officials, Air Cargo Lines personnel, and various paramilitaries and sicarios. Due to restrictions on flight manifests, and runway scheduling, "If top officials hadn't been involved," says journalist Guillén, "they couldn't have shipped out a single gram."One of the most eye-popping names on Señor Pista's list of alleged conspirators is an American special agent for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) who was serving in Colombia at the time Pista was working as security director for the airline and as an ICE asset. Pista says his handler went by the alias "Abastos" (Supplies)."By 2006 I was [working with] Abastos, an ICE official for Colombia, who received me at the American embassy," the whistlerblower says in Maok's published report. "There I told him about all the illegal activities of Mr. Raúl Jiménez Villamil." Villamil was president of Air Cargo Lines at the time, and is now in prison in Spain after he was caught using the airline to ship some two tons of cocaine into that country.But to the informant's dismay, he found that his handler at the embassy already knew all about the cargo runs out of El Dorado. "After several meetings with [Abastos], he confirmed that there was no problem with Raúl Jiménez Villamil and that I could work for both of them," that is, for Abastos and Jiménez Villamil, the source says.The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, ICE, and the DEA did not respond to interview requests for this article."Sometimes special agents work undercover out of the embassy, pretending to aid cartel operations so as to capture an entire criminal network," Maok says. "The curious thing about [Abastos] of ICE is that it appears he knew what was going on, yet didn't bust anybody, even while tons of cocaine were being flown into Mexico."* * *More Powerful Than Escobar* * *Colombia produces 80 percent of the world's cocaine, notes Guillén at La Nueva Prensa, with much of it bound for the U.S. market. That profound, concentrated, and illicit wealth has resulted in a "narco-state with a narco-economy," Guillén said. "Today's traffickers aren't like Pablo Escobar. They're much more sophisticated and powerful. And they've learned they can't operate without buying off the authorities."Bunker says there are two primary factors that make a country prone to becoming a so-called narco-state. One is that "it is authoritarian in nature" meaning its weak judicial institutions are unable to hold ruling officials to account, and that "narcotics production and trafficking represents a high value industry [compared to] the rest of the country's economic output."Back in 2007, when Chapo Air shut down, it wasn't because of a threat from ICE or the government, but because more than a ton of cocaine went missing in Mexico. After that, a couple of sicarios showed up at El Dorado aiming to kill the owner of the DC-8 transport used in the runs. A month later, says Maok's informant, a video arrived at Air Cargo Lines HQ showing the beheaded corpse of the alleged thief.Today, more than a decade after the El Dorado Airport smuggling ring self-destructed, the Sinaloa cartel maintains a far stronger presence in Colombia than even Chapo could have foreseen. Chapo's old syndicate, currently ruled by his partner Ismael Zambada and Guzmán's own sons, has moved on from merely exporting, and now has "direct access to cocaine production for eventual distribution into the U.S.," Bunker says.They've achieved that by working closely with the "network of operatives, supporting gangs and private armies, and Colombian governmental elites that they are colluding with."Former prosecution agent Maok describes the growing power of Sinaloa and other cartels in Colombia as a threat to civic freedoms. "In the narco-state, real democracy doesn't exist. Instead of his constituents, the corrupt politician serves the criminals who have bought him off. Meanwhile, armed groups decide who will run for office and are free to kill anyone who challenges them," Maok says."The people of Colombia deserve something better than this kind of domination," he says. "They deserve justice."Read 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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