| Schiff demands answers from Pentagon on monitoring domestic unrest Posted: 08 Jun 2020 02:02 PM PDT  Rep. Adam Schiff wrote the Pentagon Monday expressing concerns that the Defense Department might be involved in "unlawful or unethical activities" in response to recent nationwide protests.
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| Fired Atlanta officers file suit against mayor, police chief Posted: 09 Jun 2020 02:12 AM PDT  Two Atlanta police officers who were fired after video showed them using stun guns on two college students pulled from a car in traffic during a large protest against police brutality are looking to get their jobs back. Bottoms and Shields have said they reviewed body camera footage from the May 30 incident and decided to immediately fire the officers and place three others on desk duty. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard brought criminal charges on June 2 against Gardner, Streeter and four other officers involved in the incident.
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| UK protesters face off with police Posted: 08 Jun 2020 12:44 AM PDT 
Mass peaceful protests in London to condemn police violence Sunday (June 8) - later gave way to violence. A crowd of tens of thousands dwindled into a small group of people, who faced off with police. Crowds shouted chants in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement in the US. And for better treatment in the UK. "We want to be treated the same way that you lot are treated, we want to be treated with the same respect." Police arrested more than 40 people over the weekend, for offences including violent disorder and assault on emergency service workers. At least 27 officers were injured, including two seriously. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Twitter, people have a right to protest peacefully ... while observing social distancing, but they have no right to attack the police... and that the "demonstrations have been subverted by thuggery." Earlier in the day, protesters vandalised a memorial to former British leader Winston Churchill - calling him racist. And in Bristol, the statue of slaver trader Edward Colston was pulled down and thrown into a river. There were similar scenes in Belgium, where police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters who'd gathered near a colonial statue. It marked a second weekend of demonstrations in Europe, mirroring protests in the US sparked by the death of George Floyd in police custody.
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| Small cars are still the most dangerous choice on the market, according to a new ranking of vehicles by fatality rate Posted: 09 Jun 2020 10:42 AM PDT  These 20 models — including cars from Ford, Chevy, Hyundai, and Kia — have the highest rates of driver death, according to a new IIHS study.
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| 3-ingredient recipes to shake up your quarantine meal rut Posted: 09 Jun 2020 07:57 AM PDT  These 3-ingredient recipes are the answer to your meal prep prayers.
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| DOJ Claims Flynn Was Involved in Conspiracy to Target Turkish Exile Posted: 08 Jun 2020 07:12 AM PDT  The Justice Department said in a new court filing that it is "unsustainable" to suggest that Michael Flynn "was not a part of any conspiracy" with members of the Turkish government.The filing was drafted as part of the government's case against Bijan Rafiekian, a former business partner of Flynn who was prosecuted by Robert Mueller on charges of conspiracy and acting as a foreign agent. The development marks a departure from the DOJ's decision last month to drop charges against Flynn.Rafiekian's defense recently wrote to Jeff Jensen — the U.S. Attorney that Attorney General Bill Barr appointed to review the Flynn case — to request that Rafiekian's case get a similar review, but the DOJ is pressing ahead with a request to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to move forward with its case."Defendant argues that the district court should have instructed the jury not on law but on a specific fact: that Michael Flynn was not a part of any conspiracy. That argument is unsustainable," the DOJ says in its brief, which was filed on Sunday."Wrongful and wasteful use of scarce taxpayer resources," Flynn's lead attorney Sidney Powell told Politico on the decision to include Flynn in the case against Rafiekian. Flynn's case has yet to be dropped, with the D.C. Circuit hearing oral arguments this week after the judge overseeing Flynn's case refused to comply with the DOJ's request.Rafiekian was found guilty by a jury — only for a judge to later overturn the conviction — after Flynn said in his initial 2017 guilty plea that he had made "materially false statements and omissions" related to Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) filings for his Flynn Intel Group.Prosecutors used Flynn's admission to say Rafiekian, a former Trump transition team adviser, had secretly worked as a Turkish agent to hide the fact that Flynn signed a contract in 2016 for $530,000 to investigate Fethullah Gulen, an exiled cleric and critic of the Turkish government who lives in the U.S.Flynn wrote an op-ed for The Hill on Election Day 2016 that said Gulen was the "primary bone of contention" between Turkey and the U.S., calling him a "radical Islamist" and a "shady Islamic mullah." Prosecutors also looked into reports that Flynn had been involved in trying to kidnap Gulen to return him to Turkey, but Flynn denied any such plot.Flynn initially agreed to serve as the government's star witness against Rafiekian, but later backed out after dropping his initial defense team, which also had handled FARA filings on behalf of Flynn Intel Group.
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| Second Etihad plane from UAE lands in Israel Posted: 09 Jun 2020 05:13 PM PDT  UAE carrier Etihad Airways sent its second flight to Israel in less than a month Tuesday, carrying medical aid to help the Palestinians tackle the coronavirus pandemic, witnesses and officials said. Jordan and Egypt aside, Arab countries have no official diplomatic ties with Israel, but Gulf Arab nations have had ever more publicly warm ties with Israel of late, partly over shared rivalry with Iran. In mid-May, the United Arab Emirates flew its first publicly announced flight to Israel, also an Etihad flight carrying coronavirus aid for the Palestinians.
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| Georgia: Chaos engulfs voting in White House battleground Posted: 09 Jun 2020 04:56 PM PDT  Atlanta's mayor said the new voting machines did not work, but state officials blamed user error.
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| Virginia police investigating white officer who tasered unarmed black man unprovoked Posted: 08 Jun 2020 07:48 AM PDT  A police department in Virginia is investigating an incident where one of its own officers tasered an unarmed man, then restrained him with a knee on his back while he repeatedly said "I can't breathe".The officer concerned, Tyler Timberlake, was recorded by another officer's body camera. He has been charged with three counts of misdemeanour assault and battery; he and all officers at the scene have been relieved of duty while the incident is investigated.
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| Iran says it will execute man convicted of spying on Soleimani for CIA Posted: 09 Jun 2020 12:40 AM PDT  An Iranian who spied for U.S. and Israeli intelligence on slain Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani has been sentenced to death, Iran said on Tuesday, adding the case was not linked to Soleimani's killing earlier this year. On Jan. 3, a U.S. drone strike in Iraq killed Soleimani, leader of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force. Washington blamed Soleimani for masterminding attacks by Iran-aligned militias on U.S. forces in the region.
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| The U.S. Air Force’s Shiny, New Sea Power Presence Posted: 09 Jun 2020 09:28 AM PDT  It will take more than a lone bomber mission from afar—no matter how impressive—to rattle Moscow's complacency.
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| Falwell apologizes for tweet that included racist photo Posted: 08 Jun 2020 01:53 PM PDT  Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. apologized Monday for a tweet that included a racist photo that appeared on Gov. Ralph Northam's medical school yearbook page decades ago. "After listening to African American LU leaders and alumni over the past week and hearing their concerns, I understand that by tweeting an image to remind all of the governor's racist past I actually refreshed the trauma that image had caused and offended some by using the image to make a political point," he tweeted Monday. Falwell, a stalwart backer of President Donald Trump and the son of the late evangelist the Rev. Jerry Falwell, said he had deleted the tweet and apologized "for any hurt my effort caused, especially within the African American community."
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| North Korea expected to shut down all communications with the South Posted: 08 Jun 2020 05:53 PM PDT  Since 2018, the two countries have conducted two phone calls each day on 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. local time.
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| Researchers discover 'cataclysmic' ancient supereruptions in Yellowstone hot spot track Posted: 08 Jun 2020 05:30 PM PDT |
| Australia rejects China's racism warning to students Posted: 09 Jun 2020 06:01 PM PDT  Australian officials and leading universities on Wednesday rejected China's claims students should be "cautious" in choosing to study Down Under because of concerns over racist incidents during the coronavirus pandemic. China's ministry of education warned students on Tuesday there had been "multiple discriminatory incidents against Asians in Australia" during the pandemic, ramping up diplomatic tensions between the two countries. The advisory was the latest in an escalating dispute between Beijing and Canberra that was deepened by Australia's call for an independent inquiry into the origin and handling of the coronavirus in central China last year.
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| Top GOP senator says next coronavirus relief package expected in July Posted: 09 Jun 2020 05:51 AM PDT  Thune told reporters on Capitol that the Senate has a packed calendar for the remainder of June.
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| ‘They set us up’: US police arrested over 10,000 protesters, many non-violent Posted: 08 Jun 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Over 10,000 people have been arrested around the US, as police regularly use pepper spray, rubber bullets, teargas and batons * George Floyd killing – latest US updates * See all our George Floyd coverageSince George Floyd's death at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 25 May, about 140 cities in all 50 states throughout the US have seen protests and demonstrations in response to the killing. More than 10,000 people have been arrested around the US during the protests, as police forces regularly use pepper spray, rubber bullets, teargas and batons on protesters, media and bystanders. Several major US cities have enacted curfews in an attempt to stop demonstrations and curb unrest. Jarah Gibson was arrested while non-violently protesting in Atlanta, Georgia, on 1 June. "The police were there from the jump and literally escorted us the whole march," said Gibson. She said around 7.30pm, ahead of Atlanta's 9pm city-wide curfew, police began boxing in protesters. While protesters were attempting to leave, Gibson tried to video-record a person on a bicycle who appeared to be hit by a police car and was arrested by police. She was given a citation for "pedestrian in a roadway," and "refusing to comply when asked to leave"."The police are instigating everything and they are criminalizing us. Now I have my mugshot taken, my fingerprints taken and my eyes scanned. Now I'm a criminal over an illegal arrest," added Gibson. "I want to be heard and I want the police to just abide by basic human decency."Ruby Anderson was arrested while non-violently protesting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 31 May. The police refused to provide a reason for her detention until they were placed in a police van, where they were told the charge was loitering. They were given a wristband that stated "unlawful assembly" and ultimately charged with disorderly conduct. "While I was arrested, I was standing next to two white people who were doing the same thing as me, standing between a group of officers and a group of black teenagers. I was the only one arrested in my group of three, I was the only black person," Anderson said.Reports of excessive police force throughout the protests have emerged around the US. More than 130 reports of journalists being attacked by police have been recorded since 28 May.On 2 June, six police officers in Atlanta, Georgia, were charged with excessive force during an arrest of two college students on 30 May. A staggering 12,000 complaints against police in Seattle, Washington, were made over the weekend of 30 May in response to excessive force at protests.A Denver, Colorado, police officer was fired for posting on Instagram "let's start a riot". In New York City, videos surfaced of NYPD officers pointing a gun at protesters, driving an SUV into a crowd of protesters, swiping a protester with a car door, an officer flashing a white supremacy symbol, and another officer shoving a woman to the ground, which left her hospitalized.Several protesters and bystanders around the US have been left hospitalized from rubber bullet wounds, bean bags, teargas canisters and batons, while police have reportedly torn down medical tents and destroyed water bottles meant for protesters. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Dan Rojas was arrested on the morning of 27 May. Though there were no protests occurring at the time, Rojas had decided to clean up fragments of rubber bullets, teargas and frag canisters on the public sidewalk in his neighborhood when six police officers confronted him and arrested him. "They put me in handcuffs, took my property off of me, and they shoved a local reporter out of the way. They put me in a squad car and arrested me for rioting at 10.30 in the morning, the day after a peaceful protest," said Rojas, who was not released until over 48 hours later. "At the end of it no charges were filed, everything was dropped and I was never told the probable cause they had to arrest me." Several non-violent protesters arrested during demonstrations requested to remain anonymous for fear of police retaliation as they still face citations and pending charges. The protesters described police tactics of "kettling", where protesters were surrounded and blocked by police forces from leaving, often until curfews took effect or arrests were made for obstructing a roadway. "The curfews are a way to give police more power, exactly the opposite of what protesters want. These curfews, like most other 'law and order' tactics, will disproportionately impact the very same communities that are protesting against state-sponsored violence and brutality," said Dr LaToya Baldwin Clark, assistant professor of law at UCLA.One protester in Los Angeles, California, told how she was returning to her apartment before the city's 6pm curfew, while police were blocking protesters and obstructing exits. "I was arrested two streets away from my apartment, it had just turned 6pm," said the protester. She noted during the arrests, bystanders were protesting against the arrests from their apartment balconies, while police were aiming rubber bullets, teargas and pepper spray at them."They handcuffed us all with zip tie handcuffs and left us in a police bus for about five hours … I asked for medical assistance and they denied it to me, I was handcuffed for over five hours with a bleeding hand that eventually turned purple until I was finally released." She was eventually released at 1am on 2 June, with a citation for being out past curfew. "The police set us up to get arrested. They shut off the streets forcing us on to Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. Once we were on the bridge, the police blocked both exits in front and behind us," said a protester in Dallas, Texas, who was arrested on 1 June and later released without charges.She added: "They shot teargas at us and shot a protester with a rubber bullet and it injured her hand. The police made us all get on the ground, proceeded to zip tie our hands together, lined us up on the side of the highway and left us there for hours."In Cincinnati, Ohio, a resident in a neighborhood where protests were occurring on 31 May saw several protesters were at risk of being caught outside past the city's curfew at 8pm. "It felt like a trap to me. I felt if I could pick some people up and take them to their cars, I could stop people from getting arrested, so I jumped in my car, drove down the street, saw a group of people hiding, they had their hands up, and they climbed into the car, and shut the doors. We tried to drive, but were stopped," said the resident. "We were asked to leave the car, zip-tied on the side of the road, loaded on to a bus, and they detained us for a few hours doing paperwork." A protester in Houston, Texas, described police kettling her and other protesters before getting arrested on 31 May for obstructing a roadway. "We weren't allowed to go home," she said. "We tried our best to go home and were told 'no, you're not leaving.' From then on, the cops said anyone outside their circle is going to jail and they would push us further from the sidewalk. They had us closed in."
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| D.C. National Guard responding to protests test positive for coronavirus Posted: 09 Jun 2020 01:40 PM PDT  Some Washington D.C. National Guard troops have tested positive for the coronavirus after being deployed to the city to respond to protests over the death of an African-American man in police custody, the military said on Tuesday. About 1,300 D.C. National Guard troops were sent to the capital to back law enforcement during demonstrations that erupted over the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died in Minneapolis police custody after being pinned beneath a white officer's knee for nearly nine minutes. The National Guard said in a statement it would not reveal how many personnel had tested positive because of "operational security."
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| One of oldest wild grizzly bears emerges from hibernation with cubs Posted: 09 Jun 2020 11:14 AM PDT  A beloved grizzly bear believed to be one of the oldest living in the wild has been spotted alive and with a new litter of cubs.399 - the bear's number - is a 24-year-old grizzly living in Grand Teton national park, within the Yellowstone ecosystem.
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| Amid US tension, Iran builds fake aircraft carrier to attack Posted: 09 Jun 2020 01:08 AM PDT  As tensions remain high between Iran and the U.S., the Islamic Republic appears to have constructed a new mock-up of an aircraft carrier off its southern coast for potential live-fire drills. The faux foe, seen in satellite photographs obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, resembles the Nimitz-class carriers that the U.S. Navy routinely sails into the Persian Gulf from the Strait of Hormuz, its narrow mouth where 20% of all the world's oil passes through. While not yet acknowledged by Iranian officials, the replica's appearance in the port city of Bandar Abbas suggests Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard is preparing an encore of a similar mock-sinking it conducted in 2015.
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| F-35s And Supersonic Missiles: This Is Japan's Strategy To Beat China's Navy Posted: 09 Jun 2020 06:30 AM PDT  Japan is extending the range of its weapons.
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| Fact check: No, Donald Trump church photo op was not the same as Bill Clinton church photo Posted: 09 Jun 2020 08:32 AM PDT  An image of Clinton holding a Bible was not at the same church, and came amid vastly different circumstances than Trump's June 1 photo op.
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| Why Kenyans are begging their president for freedom Posted: 09 Jun 2020 04:13 PM PDT  About 1.2 million people have lost their jobs since coronavirus hit the East African state in March.
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| Canada border opens to foreign families of Canadians Posted: 08 Jun 2020 12:57 PM PDT  Thousands of foreign nationals will be able to reunite with their families in Canada after the government in Ottawa moved Monday to exempt them from its travel ban. In late May, a deal was reached with the United States to extend the closure of their shared border but still allow a select few, including health care workers, to cross back and forth until at least June 21. "This is an incredibly difficult time to be apart from a spouse or a child or mom and dad," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters.
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| U.N. expert says some are 'starving' in North Korea Posted: 09 Jun 2020 02:49 AM PDT  A United Nations human rights expert voiced alarm on Tuesday at "widespread food shortages and malnutrition" in North Korea, made worse by a nearly five-month border closure with China and strict quarantine measures against COVID-19. Tomas Ojea Quintana, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, urged the U.N. Security Council to reconsider sanctions imposed on the isolated country over its nuclear and missile programmes, so as to ensure food supplies. The pandemic has brought "drastic economic hardship" to North Korea, Ojea Quintana said, with a 90% fall in trade with China in March and April leading to lost incomes.
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| Minneapolis Manufacturing Company Will Leave City after Plant Burned in Riots Posted: 09 Jun 2020 06:41 AM PDT  A Minneapolis manufacturing company whose plant was set on fire by rioters plans to leave the city, saying that city officials afforded them no assistance in handling the destruction."They don't care about my business," 7-Sigma Inc.'s president and owner, Kris Wyrobek, told The Star Tribune about Minneapolis public officials. "They didn't protect our people. We were all on our own."The 7-Sigma plant in south Minneapolis, which the company has maintained since 1987, shut down several hours early around 7 p.m. instead of 11 p.m. as a precautionary measure on the first night of rioting. The company manufactures several products, including rollers for high-speed printing presses and medical training mannequins.When a fire broke out in an apartment complex under construction that was next door to the manufacturing facility, "the fire engine was just sitting there, but they wouldn't do anything," Wyrobek said. The apartment complex was leveled by the fire, and several stores across the street including a Target store were looted during the first night of riots.Mayor Jacob Frey said the city's fire department was operating at full capacity in response to the riots, which he said required the state's National Guard to quell the violence. Governor Tim Walz, who excoriated the city's weak response, called in the state's National Guard to Minneapolis after the mayor requested it. The Minnesota National Guard said in a statement that "a key objective is to ensure fire departments are able to respond to calls.""This was a Guard-sized crisis and demanded a Guard-sized response," Frey said. "And once we had the full presence of the National Guard — which by the way hasn't been deployed since World War II — there was a significantly different result."The city will lose about 50 jobs when the company skips town, a move that Wyrobek said he had "not in my wildest nightmare" considered before the riots. Now, he is "cautiously optimistic" that he can rebuild his company elsewhere, "but we are certainly not able to do that in Minneapolis."Riots broke out in Minneapolis during the last week of May after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, including after Floyd passed out. Rioters set a police precinct ablaze as well as businesses across the city.Both peaceful protests and riots have occurred in metropolitan areas around the country in response to Floyd's death and have continued through both of the following weekends.
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| Letters to the Editor: Worry about police spreading COVID-19, not the protesters demanding justice Posted: 09 Jun 2020 03:00 AM PDT  If we're going to express concern about the coronavirus after these protests, call out the police for not wearing masks and using tear gas.
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| Barr on Russia probe: 'Painfully obvious' there was nothing there Posted: 09 Jun 2020 04:47 AM PDT  A preview of part two of Attorney General Bill Barr's interview with Bret Baier on 'Special Report.'
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| Ben Carson Isn’t ‘Inclined’ to March With BLM, But He’ll Lecture Them Posted: 09 Jun 2020 11:14 AM PDT  The nationwide demonstrations for racial justice in the wake of George Floyd's death have attracted hundreds of thousands of people to the streets—including some surprises, like Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), who joined a march in Washington last Sunday.But don't expect to see Ben Carson out there anytime soon. In an interview with The Daily Beast on Monday, the Secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development—and the only black member of Donald Trump's Cabinet—didn't totally rule out the idea of participating in a Black Lives Matter demonstration, but said: "I think I have other things that probably require my presence and attention."Carson then chided the group for supposedly being uninterested in the violence unfolding in cities like Chicago—where 24 people died last weekend in shootings—echoing a common response to the movement from conservatives, who have largely preferred to deflect focus away by asking activists why they aren't marching against other forms of violence. Black Lives Matter supporters have, of course, joined protests against gun violence in recent years. "I would like to take the opportunity to say to the Black Lives Matter group: Please, concentrate on some of the horrendous things that are going on in places like Chicago," said Carson. "Is that an important thing or is it not? Do we just not even care about that?" "I would be much more inclined to march with them," continued Carson, "if they were also concerned with all those people dying in other places around the country." However, Carson did acknowledge that the protests of police brutality and injustice have raised issues that President Trump and policymakers in Washington can't ignore. Though he declined to say there was systemic racism in police departments, saying only that racism "does exist and it does need to be dealt with."CNN's Jake Tapper Grills Ben Carson on Trump Tweeting Attacks on George Floyd"I'm sure there are some police departments that perhaps have a problem that is pervasive," said Carson. "I don't think that is generally the case. It does give us an opportunity to ask what are some of the policies that are hurting us as a society."In terms of specifics on that front, Carson emphasized tackling "low-hanging fruit"—for example, making it harder for cops with records of misconduct to transfer to police departments in other jurisdictions. He also motioned to the problems in police unions—a major target for reformers due to their aggressive protection of cops accused of wrongdoing—saying "they have to recognize they also have a responsibility to the public at large," though he didn't divulge specific reforms.Asked about proposals in Congress and in cities nationwide to ban the style of chokehold that killed Floyd, Carson said, "If you can't come up with a good reason why you should be choking people. It's something to talk about."Carson, the famous Baltimore neurosurgeon who became a conservative activist and GOP presidential candidate in 2016, is one of a few original members of Trump's Cabinet remaining in office. Perhaps the most high-profile black supporter and ally of the president, Carson has been making the media rounds in recent days, talking up the administration's record on issues of race amid a moment of profound national upheaval. Though Trump is historically unpopular among black voters—a May poll from Quinnipiac University found that just 3 percent of them support him over Democrat Joe Biden—he and his campaign have fixated on selling the idea that his presidency has delivered for them, largely on the basis of low unemployment rates in minority communities. Whatever appeal that sales pitch had has largely been rendered moot by the economic devastation of the coronavirus pandemic. But Carson has defended those results, talking to The Daily Beast about the president's passage of criminal justice reform and support of an "opportunity zone" policy designed to provide tax breaks to minority business owners. An August 2019 investigation from The New York Times found that policy has so far largely advantaged wealthy real estate developers.Asked if race relations in America have improved under Trump's presidency, however, Carson wouldn't say definitively. "I don't know that they have or have not," he said. "A lot depends on who you talk to. I must admit I haven't seen a lot of problems here where I'm working." Perhaps, said Carson, the president "says some things that sometimes rankle people. I understand that.""The important thing is, obviously, to demonstrate understanding of the issue, why is it that so many people are upset—I think that's very important," said Carson. "I talked to him about that, he does have an understanding. But he also has the duty, as the commander in chief, to assure people that chaos is not going to reign supreme."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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| Philippine defense chief flies to disputed island amid feud Posted: 09 Jun 2020 03:14 AM PDT  The Philippine defense chief and top military officials flew to a disputed island in the South China Sea on Tuesday to inaugurate a beach ramp built to allow the "full-blast" development of the territory in a move likely to infuriate China. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana brought journalists to witness the ribbon-cutting ceremony on the island, internationally called Thitu, in what he said was a milestone in efforts to make the island, long occupied by Filipino forces and fishermen, more livable without militarizing it. Lorenzana said the Philippines has the right to develop its nine occupied islands as other claimants have done.
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| Biden seeks running mate who's "ready to be president on day one" Posted: 09 Jun 2020 04:05 PM PDT  The presumptive Democratic nominee said he wants someone who's comfortable raising any disagreements with him.
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| Kill the Carrier: The DF-100 Anti-Ship Missile Is Crucial To China's Pacific Plans Posted: 09 Jun 2020 04:00 PM PDT  America's carriers are at risk.
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| Alabama police admit officer punched black shopkeeper who reported robbery after ‘mistaking him for suspect’ Posted: 09 Jun 2020 04:47 AM PDT  An Alabama police department has admitted one of its white officers punched a black shopkeeper after he called 911 to report a robbery because he mistook him for a suspect, according to multiple reports.Both AL.com and the Associated Press reported that Decatur police admitted the mix-up on Monday.
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| 'Enough is enough': South African opposition leads protests outside U.S. missions Posted: 08 Jun 2020 06:43 AM PDT  Demonstrators gathered outside U.S. missions in South African cities on Monday to condemn the killing of George Floyd, the black man whose death in police custody has set off a wave of protests worldwide and ignited a debate about race and justice. Protesters led by opposition party the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) carried placards saying "Black Lives Matter" and "Black people are not slaves" outside the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria and consulates in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
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| A Brazilian health council has started releasing the country's full coronavirus count after Brazil wiped months of data from its official COVID-19 tracker Posted: 08 Jun 2020 01:27 AM PDT  President of CONASS Alberto Beltrame said the health council's decision was guided by "science, truth, and accurate and timely information."
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| For Italy's Muslims, lack of burial space deepens grief in pandemic Posted: 08 Jun 2020 09:10 PM PDT  Italy's Muslim community, like others, suffered many deaths as the coronavirus pandemic hit the Mediterranean country hard. Imams and Muslim community leaders are now calling for more Islamic cemeteries, or additional space in the country's existing graveyards, as the faithful increasingly want to be buried in Italy, their home. "We have experienced the pain (of the pandemic), but it has sometimes been deepened when some families could not find a place to bury their dead because there were no Muslim sections in the town cemeteries," Abdullah Tchina, imam of the Milan Sesto mosque, told AFP.
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| Washington, D.C., National Guardsmen test positive for COVID-19 Posted: 09 Jun 2020 01:49 PM PDT  After mobilizing to assist in response to protests over the death of George Floyd, members of the D.C. National Guard tested positive for COVID-19.
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| ‘Ugh’: Republicans cringe after Trump's attack on 75-year-old protester Posted: 09 Jun 2020 11:21 AM PDT  Most GOP senators tried to deflect questions about the president's latest controversial tweet.
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| Chinese fighters briefly enter Taiwan airspace: Taipei Posted: 08 Jun 2020 10:49 PM PDT  Chinese fighter jets briefly entered Taiwan's airspace on Tuesday, forcing the island to scramble its fighters, the same day Taipei announced plans for its largest annual live-fire military drill. The Taiwanese defence ministry said it broadcast warnings and "took active responses to dispel" multiple Chinese Su-30 fighters to the southwest of the island. The incursion came as the ministry announced that the "Han Kuang" live-fire drill would be held next month, including computer simulations and an exercise to defend against forces landing on the island. China has ramped up fighter flights and warship crossings near Taiwan or through the Taiwan Strait since President Tsai Ing-wen was first elected in 2016, as she has refused to acknowledge that the island is part of "one China". Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary. On February 10, a Chinese military jet briefly crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait separating the two sides in the first major incursion since Tsai's landslide re-election in January. Tsai has lashed out at Beijing for "meaningless and unnecessary" moves. In March last year, two Chinese J-11 fighter jets crossed over the line for the first time in years, prompting Taipei to accuse Beijing of violating a long-held tacit agreement in a "reckless and provocative" move.
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| One Year After the Hong Kong Protests Began, Frustrated Hardliners Call for Independence Posted: 09 Jun 2020 02:22 AM PDT  Desperation forces some to call for a break from China
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| Defense: Harvard professor charged in China case is 'victim' Posted: 09 Jun 2020 02:51 PM PDT |
| Virginia judge blocks governor's demand to pull down Confederate statue Posted: 08 Jun 2020 10:14 PM PDT  The injunction was issued by a Richmond City Circuit Court judge on Monday, the Post reported. A lawyer for the man who sought the injunction - William C. Gregory - did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Northam's office.
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| Biden tops delegate threshold needed to become Democratic presidential nominee Posted: 08 Jun 2020 07:44 AM PDT  Joe Biden clinches the delegate threshold six months after the Iowa caucuses; Peter Doocy has an update.
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| Graham Says FBI ‘Denying’ Requests to Interview Agents Who Talked to Steele’s Subsource Posted: 08 Jun 2020 09:55 AM PDT  Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) revealed Sunday that the FBI has denied his requests to interview the two officials who interviewed Christopher Steele's primary subsource."I made a request to interview the case agent and the intel analyst . . . and they're denying me the ability to do that," Graham said in an interview on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures.The two FBI agents, a case agent and an intelligence agent, interviewed Steele's primary subsource three times in 2017. In the course of those interviews, the unidentified person "revealed potentially serious problems with Steele's descriptions of information in his reports," according to Inspector General Michael Horowitz's report on the origins of the Trump-Russia probe.Graham explained that he wanted to know "did the case agent and the intel agent refuse to tell the system about exculpatory information? Does the fault lie with two or three people? Or was it a system out of control?"Horowitz's December report on the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane investigation found that the Bureau knew in January 2017 that Steele's allegations relating to the Trump campaign relied in part on disinformation produced by Russian intelligence, according to recently declassified footnotes.One of the agents who took part in the initial interviews with Steele's source is Stephen Somma, a counterintelligence investigator in the FBI's New York field office. Horowitz said in his report that Somma — identified as "Case Agent 1" — was "primarily responsible for some of the most significant errors and omissions" in FISA applications to surveil former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.In April, Graham asked the DOJ for records that "question the accuracy and reliability" of former British spy Christopher Steele's sourcing, before announcing a number of hearings "regarding all things Crossfire Hurricane and the Mueller investigation" that began with the testimony of former acting Attorney General Rod Rosenstein last week.Rosenstein told Graham that he would not have signed off on the warrant to spy on Page, had he known the issues with the underlying evidence at the time, and blamed the FBI for failing to follow protocols "to ensure that every fact was verified."
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