| U.S. envoy signed North Korea document to pay for Warmbier's care - Bolton Posted: 28 Apr 2019 09:04 AM PDT ![U.S. envoy signed North Korea document to pay for Warmbier's care - Bolton]( "U.S. envoy signed North Korea document to pay for Warmbier's care - Bolton") The United States signed a document agreeing to pay North Korea for the care of American Otto Warmbier but never paid the $2 million Pyongyang demanded, White House national security adviser John Bolton said on Sunday. Bolton, who said he was not part of the administration at the time, confirmed newspaper reports that North Korea demanded the money before Warmbier was flown out of Pyongyang in a coma on June 13, 2017.
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| Texas man accused in fatal Colorado crash appears in court Posted: 27 Apr 2019 03:53 PM PDT  GOLDEN, Colo. (AP) — A speeding semitrailer whose driver appeared to one witness to be "wide eyed" and "terrified" passed a truck ramp before plowing into other vehicles on a crowded highway near Denver, killing four people and injuring at least six others, according to court documents released Saturday.
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| NRA President Oliver North Ousted, Will Not Be Renominated for Post Posted: 27 Apr 2019 07:36 AM PDT  REUTERSINDIANAPOLIS—In a surprising move, Oliver North announced that he has been ousted as president of the National Rifle Association, going on the offensive to warn that the powerful gun rights group is in "clear crisis."In a letter read by the group's vice president Saturday morning to kick off the second day of the group's annual meeting, North said that he will not be renominated to serve as NRA president as infighting and controversy have taken hold at the gun rights group's annual meeting."Please know I hoped to be with you today as NRA president endorsed for reelection. I'm now informed that that will not happen," he wrote.North, who has been in the job six months, went on to attack the NRA law firm that filed a lawsuit against its leading ad firm. "There is a clear crisis" at the NRA regarding financial allegations, he wrote.The announcement comes as The Daily Beast exclusively reported on Saturday that longtime NRA lawyer, Steve Hart, has been suspended. The dual departures of long-time high profile NRA insiders with knowledge of the organization's legal troubles come just days after the gun-gun group took shots North in the days leading up to its much-watched national meeting keynoted by President Donald Trump—the first sign of a internal shake up.In a sign that something was afoot, Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's longtime CEO and leader, received a standing ovation at the beginning of the members meeting. He was seated next to Oliver North's empty chair and placard.North's opening remarks were essentially a rebuke of his ouster, read by First Vice President Richard Childress to the thousands of members who had packed Lucas Oil Stadium, an NFL football arena in downtown Indianapolis for the popular event.Childress said that he only learned that he would be reading the letter around 7 p.m. Friday night and asked the audience to bare with him."After resuming office as NRA president in September of 2018, I was confronted by NRA members and board members who expressed concern about the amount of money the NRA was paying to the Brewer law firm," North wrote in his letter. "There is a clear crisis and it needs to be dealt with immediately and responsibly so the NRA can continue to focus on protecting our Second Amendment."In an updated version of a civil complaint filed April 24 in Virginia state court, the NRA made new allegations regarding North, a former Marine Corps lieutenant colonel perhaps best known for his role in the Iran-contra affair, and his relationship the company that runs NRATV. The updated complaint alleges that not only did North not deliver on all of the material promised for NRATV but he allegedly garnered a salary from both the gun rights group and Ackerman McQueen, the advertising form that has worked with the advocacy group for three decades, at the same time.On Thursday, LaPierre claimed in a letter published in the Wall Street Journal that North was trying to "oust him" in an alleged extortion attempt and would not comply with the threat. "Delivered by a member of our Board on behalf of his employer, the exhortation was simple: resign or there will be destructive allegations made against me and the NRA," LaPierre, who is also the group's executive vice president, wrote in the letter. In response, North wrote his own letter to the board on Thursday, defending his actions that were "for the good of the NRA." North, once a political commentator and Fox News host, also served as a staff member of the National Security Council during the Regan administration. He was later convicted on three felony accounts stemming from the affair involving an arms-for-hostages deal with Iran in which the proceeds were used to secretly arm a Contras rebel group in Nicaragua. The conviction was later overturned.On May 7, 2018, the NRA announced that North would become the organization's next president after years of serving as a board member and appearing at the national conventions in 2007 and 2008. "I've been on the NRA board for more than two decades. It was a great privilege to serve as your president this past year, an honor second to only serving our country as a U.S. Marine in combat," he wrote in the Saturday letter. On Saturday, New York Attorney General Letitia James also confirmed her office has launched an investigation into the NRA regarding the group's finances, a spokesperson confirmed to NPR. "The Office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James has launched an investigation related to the National Rifle Association (NRA). As part of this investigation, the Attorney General has issued subpoenas," the spokesperson said. According to NPR, the group received a document preservation notice in connection with the AG's investigation.In response, an outside lawyer for the NRA told the news organization that the group is " fully cooperat[ing] with any inquiry into its finances." "The NRA is prepared for this, and has full confidence in its accounting practices and commitment to good governance," William A. Brewer III, an outside lawyer for the NRA, told the news organization on Saturday. Read more at The Daily Beast.
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| What we know about the California synagogue shooting Posted: 28 Apr 2019 11:43 AM PDT  Officials are still investigating a Passover shooting at a California synagogue that left one dead and three injured.
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| Concha: I want to hear Biden questioned about the issues, not blind praise Posted: 26 Apr 2019 06:25 PM PDT  The Hill media reporter Joe Concha reacts to Joe Biden's 2020 run and the media's reaction on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.'
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| Indian police uncovered a plot, but Sri Lanka didn't act Posted: 27 Apr 2019 11:09 AM PDT  COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — While monitoring the usual channels, Indian police stumbled upon something extraordinary: a detailed plot for what would become the bloodiest attack linked to the Islamic State group in South Asia.
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| Putin calls U.S. treatment of admitted agent Butina an outrage Posted: 27 Apr 2019 05:09 AM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday made his first comments on a U.S. court sentencing admitted Russian foreign agent Maria Butina to 18 months in prison, calling her treatment a travesty of justice. Butina was sentenced on Friday after the Siberia native, her voice breaking with emotion, begged a judge for mercy and expressed remorse for conspiring with a Russian official to infiltrate a gun rights group and influence U.S. conservative activists and Republicans. Speaking in Beijing, Putin said the sentence looked like an attempt by U.S. law enforcement and judicial officials to save face.
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| Why Rear Passengers May Be Hurt More in Crashes, and What IIHS Wants Carmakers to Do about It Posted: 28 Apr 2019 07:31 AM PDT  Rear passengers in frontal collisions can fare worse than those in the front seats, according to a new study.
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| Bernie Sanders v the Democratic establishment: what the battle is really about Posted: 28 Apr 2019 03:00 AM PDT  Sanders is sparking a debate within the Democratic party about whether courting big dollars is the only way to stay competitive Bernie Sanders speaks during a rally in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday. Photograph: Vernon Bryant/AP In a crowded Democratic presidential primary field, there is one candidate who has drawn sustained opposition from party elites: Vermont's Senator Bernie Sanders. The New York Times reports that major donors, party operatives, senior lawmakers and rival candidate and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg have been attending private meetings where they discuss, among other things, how to prevent a Sanders nomination. One explanation for why a party would try to stop the ascendancy of a certain candidate is electability. But that explanation is weak: Sanders has maintained high national favorability ratings, and is outperforming the incumbent Republican, Donald Trump, in polling. Another explanation would be that the dispute is interpersonal in nature. A dramatic New York Times anecdote noted that Sanders's campaign manager, Faiz Shakir, was once punched or shoved, depending on whose story you believe, by the then Hillary Clinton aide Neera Tanden during a dispute in 2008. Tanden is a known longtime critic of Sanders and the president of the Center for American Progress (Cap), a liberal thinktank that came under fire from Sanders when its weblog ThinkProgress produced a video drawing attention to his wealth. But is this just about residual bad blood between Clinton and Sanders factions? I don't think so. Between 2009 and 2012, I worked for both Shakir and Tanden at the Center for American Progress. Shakir was the editor-in-chief of ThinkProgress at the time and we both worked under Tanden. Shakir and Tanden frequently clashed during my time there, but not a single one of their disputes was about anything personal. Instead, they argued about the role of money in politics. Although Cap is a thinktank that produces policy papers – many of which are commendable – it is also serves as an important political unit allied to the Democratic party. It promotes its policy stances to Democratic party politicians and works to get its staff hired into Democratic administrations. But it does so in a climate where big donors – banks, healthcare firms and foreign governments make up its donor rolls – frequently pressured it to adopt certain stances. As one example, stories I reported for the Intercept showed that the UAE paid Cap $2.5m as its senior staff helped them lobby the Trump administration and influence the wider DC policy community. During my time at the thinktank, Shakir repeatedly and vigorously pushed back at attempts by Cap's donors to influence ThinkProgress's content, while Tanden argued that this was simply the cost of doing business in Washington. It is hardly any surprise that she boasted about recruiting a pro-Israel board member and donor, after her invitation to the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to address her thinktank. In Tanden's mind, a thinktank like Cap can only maintain its influence through strong elite fundraising, so any cost in reputation it suffered by inviting Netanyahu was offset by the money. The Shakir-Tanden debate about money in politics at Cap is also the larger debate Sanders is sparking in the Democratic party. Joe Biden opened his presidential bid by allowing a Comcast executive to host a fundraiser for him at his home in Pennsylvania. Sanders, on the other hand, has written off such fundraisers and is insisting on relying on small donor funders, not corporate executives or lobbyists. It may sound like I am portraying Tanden, Biden and the Democratic establishment as corrupt and immoral – willing to sell policy and political communications to the highest bidder with no regard for the public interest. But social psychology research tells us that people who have different ideas about politics than us are not generally bad people – they're mostly good people with different convictions. In the eyes of the Democratic establishment, courting big dollars is the only way to stay politically competitive – and besides, corporations and wealthy individuals are major stakeholders in society, so why shouldn't they get a major say over policy? That's a coherent worldview, and it's one that the majority of Democratic and Republican powerbrokers hold. But increasingly, American voters are turning against what they see as a corrupting influence of money in our politics. Sanders believes that he can build a sort of politics where small donors and ordinary people drive political discussion rather than the large donors Cap and Biden are courting. Establishment voices will probably mock Sanders' view as naive or overly idealistic. But if you think about what Sanders is arguing, perhaps he is the realist. In 10 years of reporting about politics, almost every politician has told me their donors do not influence their behavior. If this were true, they would be the only individuals on planet Earth who are not tempted by money. What Sanders is arguing is the opposite – if he started doing big-ticket fundraisers with corporate executive and lobbyists, he would be influenced by their money. He is admitting his human flaws, and taking corrective action to make up for them. If anything, the establishment's argument is the idealistic one, and Sanders' is the pragmatic one.
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| UPDATE 1-Gunmen kidnap Canadian, Scottish oil workers from Nigerian oil rig Posted: 28 Apr 2019 01:11 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Gunmen kidnap Canadian, Scottish oil workers from Nigerian oil rig]( "UPDATE 1-Gunmen kidnap Canadian, Scottish oil workers from Nigerian oil rig") Gunman kidnapped three oil workers from Canada, Scotland and Nigeria at a rig in Nigeria's Delta region on Saturday, officials said - the second abduction in the area in less than a week. The attackers raided the rig owned by Niger Delta Petroleum Resources in Ogbele, Rivers State at around 8 a.m. (0700 GMT), the spokesman for the area's military operations, Major Ibrahim Abubakar, said. The Niger Delta produces the bulk of Nigeria's crude.
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| Global software 'glitch' leaves Air India passengers stranded Posted: 27 Apr 2019 02:06 AM PDT ![Global software 'glitch' leaves Air India passengers stranded]( "Global software 'glitch' leaves Air India passengers stranded") Thousands of Air India passengers were stranded at airports across the world Saturday, after a software "glitch" left those travelling with the state-run airline unable to check in, officials said. "Our check-in software experienced a glitch following a routine software upgrade. It was resolved after six hours," Air India spokesman Praveen Bhatnagar told AFP.
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| Why the U.S. Navy Loved the Midway-Class Aircraft Carrier (For 47 Years) Posted: 26 Apr 2019 09:30 PM PDT  On March 20, 1945 the shipyard in Newport News, Virginia launched what would remain for a decade the largest warship on the planet. Named USS Midway after the decisive World War II carrier battle, she would be commissioned September 8 just a few weeks after the Japanese surrender.Few of the over four-thousand-man complement departing on Midway's first patrol could have imagined that same ship—admittedly, in drastically modified form—would be sailing into combat forty-six years later, her deck laden with supersonic jet fighters.Midway was joined a month later by New York-built sistership USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (or 'Rosey'), the first U.S. carrier to be named after a former U.S. president. The last ship of the class, USS Coral Sea, was launched in 1947.The Midway-class was meant to be a beefier battle carrier" compared to the twenty-four Essex-class carriers that entered service in the latter half of World War II. Naval engineers particularly sought to introduce an armored flight deck. British carriers with armored decks proved more resilient and quicker to recover from dive bombing and kamikaze attacks that crippled U.S. flattops. But armored flight decks were also considerably heavier, limiting deck size and number of aircraft carried.
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| Synagogue Shooting Suspect Was a Piano-Playing Nursing Student From Religious Family With a Racist Secret Posted: 28 Apr 2019 02:47 PM PDT  Sandy Huffaker/AFP/GettyPOWAY, California—Nineteen-year-old nursing student John T. Earnest, who was charged with murder Sunday as the lone gunman in the deadly Poway Synagogue shooting, played piano for hours a day and earned a 4.31 grade point average. His father was a church elder whom neighbors called "the sweetest man."But somewhere on his path, Earnest took a terrible turn, claiming Adolf Hitler as an idol and writing what appears to be his own rambling manifesto that Jews "deserved nothing but hell." He wanted to be the one to, as he put it, "Send. Them. There."Police say someone purporting to be him posted the anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, white supremacist "manifesto"—which eerily mirrored the Q&A; style that Christchurch terrorist Brenton Tarrant used in his own pre-massacre diatribe—about 20 minutes before he walked into the Poway synagogue with an AR-15 style assault rifle and started shooting—killing one woman and injuring three others—before the gun malfunctioned and he was chased out by an armed security guard.Earnest was arrested by police a few minutes after the shooting as he fled, called 911, and told them where to find him off an exit on a California highway, authorities said. As an officer approached, he exited his vehicle, raised his hands, and surrendered. A rifle was recovered from the car. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday on one count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.In his online posting, Earnest championed the likes of Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue shootings in Pittsburgh six months ago; Tarrant, who killed 50 people in a New Zealand mosque in March; and Hitler.He used mainstream social media like Twitter and the fringe message boards 8Chan in what has become a proven way for terrorist groups and lone wolves alike to ensure that propaganda is disseminated to both those looking for it and those who are not. He posted the original screed on Pastebin.com and Mediafire.com, and linked to them on 8Chan. Like Tarrant, he promised to live-stream his killing spree, which he evidently failed to pull off. Facebook immediately removed the profile link he intended to use, but had somehow not seen the warning signs when he created the page.Sheriff William Gore of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said during a press conference late Sunday that authorities were carrying out searches in the suspect's home and "looking into digital evidence and checking the authenticity of an online manifesto." If it is validated as authentic, the student, who was previously unknown to police, found footing in the usual tenets of hate and the now all-too-familiar desire for infamy. Zach Keele, pastor of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, where Earnest's father was an elder, or officer of the church, confirmed that he was part of the parish. "So John T. Earnest is a member here," he told The Daily Beast. "We completely deplore what he did. That is not part of our practices, our teachings in any way. Our hearts, our prayers, our tears go out to the victims, to all those wonderful neighbors at the synagogue."Keele said Earnest had never appeared to be the sort of person who would carry out this sort of an attack. "This is a complete surprise," he said.In a service at the church on Sunday, Keele delivered a sermon on betrayal and forgiveness, offering condolences to the victims–but also to Earnest's family. "We pray, Lord, for those who are hurting, and we pray for the victims of that synagogue," Keele told the crowd of 50 or so parishioners. "We deeply mourn that this evil came out from us. We do not understand it, oh Lord, and we pray that you would forgive us for any such shortcoming, for any good deeds we left undone. We pray, Lord, that you will be with the Earnest family."Speaking to his congregation after the service, Keele said he had spoken with Earnest's parents the night before. They had spent the night huddled in their other son's apartment close to the beach while their own house was searched by SWAT teams, he said. Earnest's father plans to release a statement Monday morning through an attorney. "It's a good statement," Keele said. "They have good family support."The minister added that Earnest must "suffer the full punishment of the law." Still, he hopes he will "recant his hatred." Keele plans to visit the young man in prison, if convicted, he said. After the service, Gerrit Groenewold, a board member at the Orthodox Presbyterian Church who happens to be the father of the girlfriend of one of Earnest's brothers, told The Daily Beast that he had noticed Earnest had seemed quiet, and often tried to reach out to the young man, but with little luck. "I have tried to talk to John several times, but he is very silent and very reclusive. I noticed that he was quiet and just wanted to have contact... The other [members of his family] are not nearly as quiet," he said. "It's not good if someone is that quiet. He needs to be part of the community, to let them know what is going on."Earnest also claimed responsibility for an attempted arson attack last month on Dar-ul-Arqam Mosque in Escondido, about nine miles from Poway, Security cameras at the mosque caught a suspect breaking a lock and pouring liquid on a side door but had failed to identify the person. Gore said investigators are now looking his "possible involvement in the arson and vandalism of mosque."In a comment that was left after the synagogue shooting, someone asks, "How does a child of such privilege to so horribly wrong? Where does this hatred come from?"Late Saturday afternoon, California State University San Marcos president Karen S. Haynes confirmed that Earnest had been enrolled at the its nursing school."We are dismayed and disheartened that the alleged shooter—now in custody—is a CSUSM student. CSUSM is working collaboratively with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department to assist and gain more information," Haynes said in a statement. "We are heartbroken by this tragedy, which was motivated by hate and anti-Semitism."A man who identified himself as Earnest's grandfather expressed shock at his grandson's role in the deadly shooting on Saturday."He did what?" the man told The Daily Beast when reached by phone. "That is out of whack. My heart is sinking into my chest. I'm going to hang up now." By Saturday evening, police had barricaded the streets leading to the cul-de-sac in Rancho Peñasquitos, a hilly, middle-class suburb of San Diego about seven miles from the synagogue where Earnest lives with his family. More than three dozen law enforcement officers, including FBI agents, ATF agents, and cops, were at the scene. Eyewitnesses told The Daily Beast that the family left their home under police escort hours earlier. Around 9 p.m. local time, law enforcement had secured a search warrant to enter Earnest's house, which may well confirm the authenticity of his hate-filled screed and could possibly uncover how far he was willing to act on his hate. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here
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| Trump falsely claims babies are being legally executed, mimics Saudi king's accent and calls former FBI officials 'scum' in wild rally speech Posted: 28 Apr 2019 02:35 AM PDT  Donald Trump has falsely claimed that newborn babies are being legally "executed" during a wild and often incoherent rally speech in Wisconsin.The US president said mothers who had just given birth were being given the choice of keeping the child or allowing it to be killed.The claim – demonstrably false – came as he spoke about late-term abortions."The baby is born, the mother meets with the doctor, they take care of the baby, they wrap the baby beautifully, and then the doctor and the mother determine whether or not they will execute the baby," Mr Trump said to a chorus of boos.He rounded on Wisconsin's democrat governor Tony Evers, who, earlier this year, vetoed a Republican bill that would have required doctors to provide medical care to babies born alive after failed abortion attempts.Mr Evers said he did not support the bill because he believed existing laws offered enough protection to such babies.The remarkable inaccuracy was one of a series of extraordinary claims made by the president during a typically bellicose rally address in the city of Green Bay.He also referred to former FBI officials he has purged from government as "scum", referred to the media as "sick people", and mimicked the accent of King Salman of Saudi Arabia.He implied that he had continued to deal with the Middle East country after its leaders are said to have ordered the execution of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi because they "have a lot of money".At one point he revelled in anti-Hillary Clinton chants of "lock her up". At another, he said his proposed plan to send all undocumented immigrants to just a handful of America's sanctuary cities had been "my sick idea".He also dismissed rumours that, if voted in for a second term in 2020, he would attempt to change the constitution so he could run for a third time."I promise at the end of six years, I'll be very happy but you're gonna be left with the strongest country you've ever had," he said.The rally, which Mr Trump said had attracted more than 10,000 people, was held as a counter event to the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington, which is traditionally attended by sitting presidents.
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| Report: Politicians hampered fight against California fire Posted: 26 Apr 2019 10:10 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (AP) — The battle against a devastating November wildfire in Los Angeles County was hampered by politicians asking firefighters to check on certain homes.
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| More than 56 tons of ground beef recalled in E. coli outbreak, now spanning 10 states Posted: 28 Apr 2019 05:07 AM PDT ![More than 56 tons of ground beef recalled in E. coli outbreak, now spanning 10 states]( "More than 56 tons of ground beef recalled in E. coli outbreak, now spanning 10 states") A Georgia meat producer is recalling 113,424 pounds of ground beef, over concerns of an E. coli outbreak that officials have expanded ten states.
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| Sri Lanka bans groups suspected to be behind attacks; ringleader's relatives wounded Posted: 27 Apr 2019 09:23 AM PDT  The National Thawheedh Jamaath (NTJ) and Jamathei Millathu Ibrahim were banned under his emergency powers, President Maithripala Sirisena said in a statement, nearly a week after the Easter Sunday attacks that killed more than 250 people. Police believe the suspected mastermind of the bombings, Mohamed Hashim Mohamed Zahran, led either the NTJ or a splinter group. Less is known about Jamathei Millathu Ibrahim, whose members are also believed to have played a role in the bombings.
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| FAA considered grounding some Boeing 737 Max planes last year: source Posted: 28 Apr 2019 03:10 PM PDT  US regulators considered grounding some Boeing 737 MAX planes last year after learning of a problem with a system that is now the main suspect in two deadly crashes, a source close to the matter said. Investigators in the Lion Air crash in October off the coast of Indonesia and the Ethiopia Airlines disaster in March have zeroed in on the planes' anti-stall system, called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS. Last year, inspectors with the Federal Aviation Administration discovered Boeing de-activated a signal designed to advise the cockpit crew of a malfunctioning of the MCAS system, the source said.
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| North Korea vs. the F-35 Stealth Fighter (Who Wins? Who Dies?) Posted: 28 Apr 2019 01:59 AM PDT  Alternatively, the F-35A might be assigned to dangerous suppression or destruction of enemy air defenses (SEAD/DEAD) missions. The stealth and onboard jamming capabilities of the F-35 would make it more survivable than the ROKAF's 4th generation aircraft in such a role.The ROKAF, South Korea's Air Force received their first F-35A fighter jets in April 2019. The ROKAF hopes to eventually buy forty F-35As and should have ten F-35As by the end of the year.(This first appeared several weeks ago.)But how do these aircraft fit into the ROKAF's existing fleet of aircraft? What role could they play in countering the North Korean KPAF?The ROKAF already fields a variety of advanced American fighters, including over one hundred KF-16Cs and around 60 F-15K Slam Eagles. The KF-16C is fully integrated with the American AMRAAM air-to-air missile, which the ROKAF fields in the AIM-120C-5 and AIM-120C-7 variants.The combination of the KF-16C and AMRAAM vastly outclasses the majority of fighters the KPAF can field. The bulk of the KPAF fighter fleet is built out of MiG-21 variants and the J-7 fighter, which can only mount short-range infrared air-to-air missiles. KF-16Cs could just fire AMRAAMs, turn around and bug out before the KPAF MiGs lock on, though individual conditions could dictate engagement at shorter ranges.
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| New York Archdiocese releases list of 120 priests accused of child sexual abuse Posted: 28 Apr 2019 01:41 PM PDT  The list released by the New York Archdiocese includes 120 men, none of them in active ministry now.
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| Impeachment Would Be a Redundant Judgment Posted: 28 Apr 2019 02:30 AM PDT  The Mueller investigation was supposed to be a legal process concerned with crimes. Investigators identified no crimes to charge, and so it has, naturally, become something else: no longer a theory about a criminal conspiracy — only an irritable mood.An ordeal that had been conducted under the procedures of law in accordance with legal criteria is now an ordeal that is being conducted under the procedures of politics in accordance with political criteria — or, if you prefer, with moral criteria related to Donald Trump's character. For those who want to see President Trump impeached and who think of impeachment as a fundamentally political process in spite of its mock-trial aspect, that's just fine. They'll take their pound of flesh, however it is had.The problem with this point of view is that the question of Donald Trump's personal fitness for office already has been adjudicated as a political matter: That is what happened in the 2016 presidential election. Many critics, myself included, argued that Trump was unfit for the office, both morally and intellectually. We made our arguments, the voters consulted their own consciences, and, weighing these things however it is that voters weigh them, chose Trump. There wasn't some occult intermediary step in there. That's how things go in politics: The people behave just as if they had minds of their own! And, sometimes, they get to have their own way.In terms of Donald Trump's character and habits, there is practically nothing in the Mueller report — or in the public record since 2016 — that voters did not already know when they elected him. And that is really the fundamental argument against impeaching President Trump: The political judgment called for in an impeachment at this point and in this context properly ought to be understood as beside the point, if we take seriously the democratic assumption that the judgment of the people, rendered in the election, is sovereign.There isn't some shocking new thing, and, of course, some Democrats have been talking impeachment since before Trump was even sworn in. The Democrats do not propose to impeach Donald Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors, but simply for being Donald Trump. One may sympathize with that, but Donald Trump is the man the voters chose.And that goes to the real issue here: The Democrats cannot accept that they lost an election to Donald Trump. One sympathizes with that, too, but that is what actually happened, for several reasons: Trump focused on two issues — immigration and trade — that speak to a substantial bipartisan plurality with nationalistic and protectionist impulses rarely taken seriously by mainstream figures in either party; his opponent ran an inept campaign and has been questing after power for so long that both she and the voters are exhausted by it; the "elites" and Washingtonians against whom Trump & Co. inveigh were judged, not without some reason, to merit a trip to the woodshed; the so-called war on terror and the financial crisis of 2008–09 have destabilized formerly sturdy political coalitions. And, of course, it was Republicans' turn.Which is to say: The Democrats' talk of impeachment is partly about 2020, but it's mainly about 2016, and their adolescent psychic need to believe that the presidential election that brought Donald Trump to the White House was illegitimate rather than an opportunity they simply blew. The theory that the election was thrown by Russian trolls posting dank memes on Twitter is hard to take seriously. If we had a list of every voter whose mind was changed in 2016 by an anonymous social-media account with a Cyrillic bio, then disenfranchising those voters would be a good start on improving things for 2020. Alas and alack, we don't do that sort of thing. But the argument that bot-executed shenanigans nullified democracy in 2016 amounts to the Democrats protesting: "These trolls robbed us of the support of our natural base: morons!"There's no quality control in social media — and less quality control in ordinary news media than there used to be. Lies, distortions, exaggerations, and pure inventions are going to be out there in the intellectual marketplace, whether they originate in Moscow or in Brooklyn. That's a real problem, but it doesn't invalidate the outcome of the 2016 election.There are many reasons to oppose an impeachment at this time: One is that no one has made a very persuasive case for one, all of the Democrats' arguments up to this point having been transparently pretextual. Another is that the Republican majority in the Senate all but ensures that the process would be purely symbolic, an exercise in chaos for pleasure's sake. A third is that it normalizes the invocation of a procedure that should be reserved for extraordinary circumstances in the service of ordinary short-term partisan interests. For comparison, consider that there was no serious impeachment talk when Barack Obama authorized the assassination of U.S. citizens without so much as a by-your-leave from Congress — or when he took executive actions that he himself had described as unconstitutional only months before. That suggests a pretty high standard — and if "I think that guy is a fink!" ends up being a common rationale for impeachment, then you'd better make your peace with anarchy, because Washington is going to be a ghost town.But the most important reason for forbearance here is that a political judgment already has been rendered on Donald Trump's character — and, if you don't like how that came out, there's another chance right around the corner.
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| U.K. Conservatives Still Seeking Brexit Deal Before EU Election Posted: 28 Apr 2019 04:10 AM PDT ![U.K. Conservatives Still Seeking Brexit Deal Before EU Election]( "U.K. Conservatives Still Seeking Brexit Deal Before EU Election") Theresa May is still pursuing a Brexit deal that would get the U.K. out of the European Union before elections next month. With negotiations with the opposition Labour Party set to continue next week, there's still time for Parliament to settle on a deal before the May 23 vote, Conservative Party Chairman Brandon Lewis said in an interview with the BBC on Sunday.
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| China urges UK not to discriminate against Huawei in 5G development Posted: 28 Apr 2019 01:02 AM PDT  China on Sunday warned Britain not to discriminate against companies involved in developing the 5G network and to resist pressure from other countries over whether it should work with Huawei Technologies. Huawei, the world's biggest telecoms equipment maker, is under intense scrutiny after the United States told allies not to use the company's technology because of fears it could be a vehicle for Chinese spying. Huawei has denied this.
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| U.S. sanctions Venezuela's foreign minister, Venezuelan judge Posted: 26 Apr 2019 07:13 PM PDT  The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on Venezuela's Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, saying it would pursue those in President Nicolas Maduro's government for corruption as well as officials conducting diplomacy on his behalf. Arreaza and a judge in the Court of Appeals for Caracas, Carol Padilla, were targeted in the latest round of U.S. sanctions against Maduro's government over the crisis in Venezuela, the Treasury Department said.
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| Southwest: Boeing didn't say it had deactivated safety alert Posted: 28 Apr 2019 02:44 PM PDT ![Southwest: Boeing didn't say it had deactivated safety alert]( "Southwest: Boeing didn't say it had deactivated safety alert") Southwest Airlines says Boeing did not disclose that it had deactivated a safety feature on its 737 Max jets until after one of the airliners crashed last year.
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| Police visited AJ Freund’s house 17 times before his brutal death. Why was the boy in his parents’ care? Posted: 28 Apr 2019 10:50 AM PDT  Last December, police reports indicated dog feces and urine were scattered throughout 5-year-old Andrew "AJ" Freund's home.
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| Spain election: Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wins as far-Right makes breakthrough Posted: 28 Apr 2019 03:52 PM PDT  Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez earned his first general election win on Sunday, despite the emergence of a hard-Right party that capitalised on many Spaniards' fury with the government's attempt to find common ground with the breakaway region of Catalonia. On high turnout of close to 76 per cent, the Socialist party (PSOE) claimed victory for the first time since 2008 with 123 seats out of 350, although a delicately hung parliament means that forming a government will involve complex negotiations with other forces from the Left and regional parties. With more than 98 per cent of the vote counted, the PSOE was declared winner by Spanish government spokeswoman Isabel Celaá. "We have sent a clear message to Europe and the world: you can beat authoritarianism and involution from the left," Mr Sánchez said in reference to his victory over his conservative opponents including the anti-immigration, populist force Vox. Vox became the first hard-Right force to gain significant representation in Spain's parliament since the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975 with 24 seats. Santiago Abascal, leader of far right party Vox, addresses supporters outside the party headquarters after the general election in Madrid Credit: AP With the vote on the Right side of the spectrum split three ways, the biggest loser of the night was the main conservative opposition Popular Party (PP), falling to 66 seats, less than half of the 137 seats it achieved when winning the previous election in 2016. The liberal Ciudadanos came close to pipping the PP to second place, with 58 seats. Vox came from a result of 0.2 per cent in 2016 to win 10 per cent, but it had the effect of cannibalising the Right-of-centre vote and helping Mr Sánchez to stretch out his lead. Together, the PP, Ciudadanos and Vox won 43 per cent, one point more than PSOE and Podemos combined. The PP, Ciudadanos were hoping to combine with Vox for a majority to eject Mr Sánchez from power in order to crack down on Catalonia's separatist leaders by suspending the region's autonomy. The three parties had accused Mr Sánchez of being a danger to Spanish unity after he used his 10-month-long spell in government before the election to seek a negotiated end to the impasse between Madrid and Catalonia's regional government. But Vox's secretary general, Javier Ortega, was exultant over the result. "This is just the beginning," he told supporters in Madrid's Margaret Thatcher square. "Every Vox member of Congress is going to be a whirlwind." The general secretary of VOX, Javier Ortega Smith, is seen during his speech at the Plaza Margaret Thatcher, where the party celebrates the electoral results Credit: Getty Pablo Iglesias, the leader the hard-Left Podemos, offered his party's 42 seats to "build a leftist government coalition". But Mr Sánchez will also have to seek support from Basque nationalists and other minority forces, possibly including Catalan pro-independence parties in order to reach a majority. Divisions over how to deal with Catalonia's bid for independence played out in an ill-tempered campaign with the trial of 10 imprisoned Catalan leaders over their role in the region's unconstitutional referendum in 2017 rumbling on in the background. Mr Sánchez was described by Vox as "an enemy of the nation" for negotiating with Catalan forces, while PP leader Pablo Casado accused the prime minister of siding with "bloodstained hands" after the government received parliamentary support from Basque party Bildu, regarded as the successor to the political wing of terrorist group Eta. The party leaders clashed in fractious televised debates. Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera described Mr Sánchez as a "disgraceful" prime minister for kneeling before Catalan separatists, while the latter took his Right-wing opponents to task over their Andalucian government's rollback of assistance for women victims of male violence.
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| The Day the Carrier Died: How the Navy (Nearly) Lost an Aircraft Carrier in Battle Posted: 27 Apr 2019 09:00 PM PDT  "The treatment of these Franklin crewmen," concludes Springer, constituted "one of the greatest but least-known injustices involving the U.S. Navy in World War II."Seldom do I come away incensed from reading history. The saga of the World War II aircraft carrier USS Franklin (CV-13) constitutes an exception. We normally think of Franklin's history as a parable about the importance of shipboard firefighting and damage control. It's about materiel and methods, in other words. And these things are important without a doubt. Fighting ships are metal boxes packed with explosives and flammables. Suppressing fire represents a crucial function, which is why the first thing a new sailor does after reporting aboard is qualify in rudimentary damage control.(This first appeared several years ago.)But a ship is more than a hunk of steel. The hunk of steel plus the crew that lives on board it comprises the ship. Bad leadership marred Franklin's human component. In the end, then, this is a story with mixed lessons. It is not merely about the material dimension of naval warfare.
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| Charge your iPhone and wirelessly charging your Apple Watch with one portable power bank Posted: 27 Apr 2019 08:33 AM PDT ![Charge your iPhone and wirelessly charging your Apple Watch with one portable power bank]( "Charge your iPhone and wirelessly charging your Apple Watch with one portable power bank") If you have an Apple Watch, you obviously also have an iPhone -- so why not charge them both on the go with this same device? The UGREEN Portable Charger for Apple Watch and iPhone has an MFi certified wireless charging disc for your Apple Watch as well as a USB port so you can connect your Lightning cable and charge your iPhone. It packs 2,200 mAh of juice, and it's discounted right now on Amazon.Here's more info from the product page: * Built-in Magnetic Charging Module Compatible for All Apple Watch: With built-in integrated magnetic charging module and USB port, it is ideal for all 44mm 40mm 42mm & 38mm Apple Watch models?Apple Watch Series 1/2, Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch Nike+, Apple Watch Hermes, Apple Watch Edition and iPhone, smartphones, cameras, PSP gamer etc. * Certified Quality and Safety: MFi Certified(PPID: 219693-0018) magnetic charging module offers a original charging speed-about 2.5 hours; UGREEN's multi-protect safety system ensures complete protection such as flame resistant material,over-current, over-voltage and short-circuit. * Simultaneously Charge Apple Watch and Phone: this 2200mAh power bank can simultaneously charge an Apple Watch and an iPhone 1 time; Charges an Apple Watch from 10% battery life to 100% 3-4 times. * Ideal Charging Companion for Home Office and Travel: It is with super compact design (L13.9 x W3.95 x H1.6cm), saving your space on the desk and easily being slipped into your travel bag. * What You Get: 15 months manufacturer warranty and life-time service support; Apple MFi Certified Wireless Charger Power Bank for Apple Watch and phone x1; 50cm Micro USB Charging Cable x1; (NOTE1: You should press the silver power switch before charging your cellphone NOTE 2：It should be used under 78.8℉， otherwise the power bank will charge your devices slowly to extend the service life)
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| White House consents to congressional interview of ex-staffer on security Posted: 26 Apr 2019 08:56 PM PDT  The "reasonable accommodation offer" of a voluntary appearance by former White House Personnel Security Director Carl Kline before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform was disclosed in a letter to the panel's ranking Republican, Jim Jordan. It came after Jordan, better known for stoking than soothing partisan frictions, sought to defuse tensions between House Democrats and the Trump administration with a letter urging the White House to agree to a voluntary committee interview on April 30 or May 1, according to two sources who saw Jordan's letter. The House Oversight Committee is probing allegations that the administration inappropriately granted security clearances to some Trump advisers during Kline's tenure as personnel security director for the White House.
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| Reuters World News Summary Posted: 28 Apr 2019 04:50 PM PDT ![Reuters World News Summary]( "Reuters World News Summary") Kuwait is looking at Iranian threats to block the Strait of Hormuz with concern, the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on Sunday quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled al-Jarallah as saying. KUNA said Jarallah was commenting on tensions in the region after Iran's Revolutionary Guards made a threat to close the strategic waterway.
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| The Latest: Pence says Lugar was 'leader on the world stage' Posted: 28 Apr 2019 01:19 PM PDT  INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Latest on the death of former Sen. Richard Lugar (all times local):
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| Tuscan paradise where da Vinci's genius bloomed Posted: 28 Apr 2019 04:37 AM PDT  Butterflies flutter around centuries-old olive groves in Vinci, the Tuscan village where Leonardo da Vinci was born and honed his inventor skills as a child by studying the local flora and fauna. Locals preparing to mark the 500th anniversary of Leonardo's death say little has changed among the vineyards, lush fields and brooks that appeared in his art. "The landscapes, impressions and interests that influenced Leonardo throughout his life remain almost intact," Roberta Barsanti, director of the Leonardian Museum of Vinci, told AFP.
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| Tesla CEO Musk strikes deal with market regulators over tweets Posted: 26 Apr 2019 07:02 PM PDT  Elon Musk and US stock market regulators told a US court on Friday that they have reached a deal to settle their differences over the Tesla chief executive's Twitter use. The settlement between Musk and the Securities and Exchange Commission sets out clearer guidelines on topics Musk should avoid on Twitter or other social media, including statements about acquisitions, mergers, new products and production numbers. Musk would have to adhere to Tesla rules regarding potentially significant comments by executives, and have tweets or other social media posts pre-approved by "an experienced securities lawyer employed by the company," according to the proposed settlement.
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| Putin breaks silence on Russian spy Maria Butina after jailing in US Posted: 27 Apr 2019 09:09 AM PDT  Vladimir Putin has called the 18-month prison sentence handed to Russian foreign agent Maria Butina by US authorities "an outrage". Describing her treatment a travesty of justice the Russian president said the sentence looked like an attempt by US law enforcement and judicial officials to save face.An admitted agent, Butina was sentenced by a US District Court judge in Washington DC where she expressed remorse for conspiring with a Russian official to infiltrate a gun rights group and influence American conservatives.In his first comments about the case since the sentencing, Mr Putin told reporters in Beijing: "It's an outrage. It's not clear what she was convicted of or what crime she committed. I think it's a prime example of saving face."They arrested her and put the girl in jail. But there was nothing on her, so in order not to look totally stupid they gave her, fixed her up, with an 18-month sentence to show that she was guilty of something."Butina admitted to conspiring with a Russian official and two Americans from 2015 until her arrest to infiltrate the National Rifle Association (NRA).Prosecutors said that while she did not engage in "traditional" spy craft, she worked behind the scenes to make inroads in conservative political circles and promote friendlier US- Russian ties.She arranged dinners in Washington and New York and attended events to meet high-profile politicians.Until Friday, Butina had not made any significant public comments since her arrest, but her remarks in court contradicted the Kremlin's account that she had been forced by the US to falsely confess to the "ridiculous" charge of being a Russian agent."I destroyed my own life," Butina told the judge. "While I know I am not this evil person who has been depicted in the media, I am responsible for these consequences. Now I beg for mercy, for the chance to go home and restart my life."Her lawyers argued her crime was down to a simple failure to notify the Justice Department of her activities on Russia's behalf."If I had known to register as a foreign agent, I would have done so without delay," Butina told the judge. "I just didn't register because I didn't know to."Judge Tanya Chutkan imposed a sentence that matched the prison term prosecutors requested and also agreed to have Butina deported back to Russia after she completes her incarceration.The sentence included the nine months she already has served in jail since her July arrest, meaning she will serve another nine months in prison. Mr Putin also said Moscow was considering offering all Ukrainian citizens fast-tracked Russian passports. The move will likely anger some politicians in Ukraine which has been at war with pro-Russian separatists since 2014.He made the statement days after signing an order to simplify the procedure for obtaining a Russian passport for residents of separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine.The Russian president also said he wanted to know the position of Ukrainian President-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the conflict in eastern Ukraine following the comedian's election victory."If we have a meeting sometime, begin some negotiations, which I do not rule out, then we will first of all have to talk about how to end the conflict in the southeast of Ukraine."Additional reporting by agencies
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| The Army's New Machine Gun Can Really Do Some Serious Damage Posted: 27 Apr 2019 07:00 PM PDT  A game changer or not? The U.S. Army has selected a new submachine gun for special security missions- and the winner of the procurement contest may surprise you.The Brügger & Thomet APC9K has been hailed the winner of the Sub Compact Weapon program, beating out well-seasoned military & police competitors such as the American Sig MPX and the Czech-made CZ Scorpion Evo.Made primarily of polymer and sporting translucent magazines, the APC9K SCW will be used for close protection duties and other situations where a 9mm submachine gun or carbine would be preferable to a 5.56 platform.According to Defence Blog, the U.S. Army Contracting command will be ordering around 350 of the SCWs, with a potential additional order of 1,000 more.The original competition, which began in May of 2018, had over ten companies providing options. One of the requirements was that the weapon had to be optimized to fire 147-grain 9mm ammunition.
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| How North Korea's Air Force Would Die a Fiery Death Posted: 27 Apr 2019 12:30 AM PDT  South Korea's K30 Biho Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun (SPAAG) rose to international prominence when it beat out Russia's Pantsir system for a massive Indian contract. While this contract is being disputed with the Indian government, it is worth looking at the Biho as it was considered to be one of the best anti-air systems in the world prior to the Indian contract.The system has seen significant evolution in recent years, with most Korean K30s being upgraded to the new "Hybrid Biho" standard and the new "Biho II" being offered for export. But how do these improve on the original design? The original Biho was built in the 1990s as a simple dual-gun design, similar to the German Gepard AA gun. However, unlike the Gepard and Shilka, the K30 Biho utilizes an electro-optical sensor on the visible and infrared bands to track and engage the targets. It only uses the radar for searching for targets.
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| FDA approves expanded label for Regeneron/Sanofi's cholesterol drug Posted: 26 Apr 2019 06:21 PM PDT ![FDA approves expanded label for Regeneron/Sanofi's cholesterol drug]( "FDA approves expanded label for Regeneron/Sanofi's cholesterol drug") The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc's cholesterol drug Praluent as a treatment to cut the risk of heart attacks, stroke and other major cardiovascular events. The FDA's decision will allow the drug, developed along with Sanofi SA, to be prescribed to reduce the overall risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).
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| Australia's plan to kill 2 million feral cats to combat 'extinction crisis' once again in the spotlight Posted: 27 Apr 2019 01:58 PM PDT  The plan to control Australia's feral cat population was first announced in 2015 as part of a conservation strategy to protect threatened species.
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| No Mass for Sri Lanka's Catholics; no veils for Muslim women Posted: 28 Apr 2019 11:44 AM PDT  AMPARA, Sri Lanka (AP) — The effects of Sri Lanka's Easter suicide bombings reverberated across two faiths Sunday, with Catholics shut out of their churches for fear of new attacks, left with only a televised Mass, and Muslim women ordered to stop wearing veils in public.
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| Israel frees two prisoners to Syria after Russian mediation Posted: 28 Apr 2019 02:46 AM PDT  Israel released two prisoners on Sunday, sending them back to Syria in what Damascus described as Russian-mediated reciprocation for the repatriation of the body of a long-missing Israeli soldier. Russia, a key Damascus ally, this month handed Israel the remains and personal effects of Zachary Baumel, who was declared missing in action along with two other Israeli soldiers following a 1982 tank battle with Syrian forces in Lebanon. A Syrian government source said Damascus then pressured Moscow to secure a prisoner release by Israel.
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| This is what your next iPhone design could look like Posted: 27 Apr 2019 07:54 AM PDT  A website out of India has published renders of what it says the iPhone 11 (or X1) might look like and include
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| Is This Jewel-Encrusted Ford Escort The Most Expensive Ever? Posted: 28 Apr 2019 01:52 PM PDT  This 6-inch replica of Ari Vatanen's 1970s Ford Escort RS1800 is crafted from silver, gold, platnium and diamonds - and could just be the most expensive Ford Escort of all time. Glance towards an Escort Cosworth or RS2000 and you'll be hit with the Ford tax harder than Conor McGregor takes a punch. In truth, it's been cheaper to purchase jewellery over adrenaline-fuelled Ford classics as of late.
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