| Iran vows to retaliate if US lists Revolutionary Guards as terror organisation Posted: 07 Apr 2019 09:02 AM PDT  Iran has threatened to retaliate against the US if it designates its elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation.Washington is reportedly expected to designate the IRGC as terrorists next week, marking the first time it has formally labelled another country's military a terror group.In response, a majority of Iranian parliamentarians said: "We will answer any action taken against this force with a reciprocal action."The statement was issued by 255 out of the 290 Iranian politicians, according to state news agency IRNA."So the leaders of America, who themselves are the creators and supporters of terrorists in the [Middle East] region, will regret this inappropriate and idiotic action," it added.US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has advocated the change in US policy as part of the Trump administration's tough posture towards Tehran.In 2017, IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari warned that if Donald Trump went ahead with the move "then the Revolutionary Guards will consider the American army to be like Islamic State [Isis] all around the world".The change in policy comes as Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged Iraq to demand US troops leave "as soon as possible" during a visit by Iraqi prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.Iran and the US have been competing for influence in Iraq since the US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.Some 5,200 troops are stationed in Iraq as part of a security agreement with the Iraqi government to advise, assist and support the country's troops in the fight against Isis."You must make sure that the Americans withdraw their troops from Iraq as soon as possible because expelling them has become difficult whenever they have had a long military presence in a country," Iran's supreme leader was quoted as saying by state media."The Iraqi government, parliament and current political activists in the country are undesirable for the Americans ... and they are plotting to remove them from Iraqi politics."Set up after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to protect the Shia cleric ruling system, the IRGC is Iran's most powerful security organisation.It controls large sectors of the Iranian economy and has huge influence in its political system.Additional reporting by agencies
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| Museveni vows 'Uganda is safe' after tourist kidnap Posted: 07 Apr 2019 05:40 PM PDT  Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday insisted his country was safe for travellers following the kidnapping of a US tourist, but vowed to further strengthen security in national parks. The American woman and her experienced safari guide were recovered unharmed Sunday after a ransom was paid for their release six days after they were abducted by gunmen while on an evening game drive in the Queen Elizabeth National Park. Police spokesman Fred Enanga told journalists that the woman would be handed over to the American embassy in Kampala later Monday.
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| Actress Felicity Huffman, 13 others to plead guilty in U.S. college admissions scandal Posted: 08 Apr 2019 01:15 PM PDT  Actress Felicity Huffman and 13 other people have agreed to plead guilty to participating in what prosecutors call the largest college admissions scam uncovered in U.S. history, federal prosecutors said on Monday. The 14 are among 50 people, including wealthy parents and college team coaches, accused by federal prosecutors in Boston of engaging in schemes that involved cheating on college entrance exams and paying $25 million in bribes to secure their children admission at well-known universities. Huffman, who starred in "Desperate Housewives," was among 33 parents charged in March with participating in the scheme in hopes of getting their children into universities including Yale, Georgetown and the University of Southern California.
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| Libya fighting escalates as Khalifa Haftar's forces bomb Tripoli airport Posted: 08 Apr 2019 09:56 AM PDT  Fighting for control of the Libyan capital escalated dramatically on Monday when rebel forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar carried out an airstrike on city's only operating airport. The attack came amid reports that the internationally recognised government of National Accord led by Fayyez al-Sarraj had begun conscripting migrants held in detention centres to fight against Gen Haftar's troops. At least one jet was seen firing rockets at the Mitiga airport in northern Tripoli on Monday afternoon. The airport said it would be closed for the foreseeable future. No casualties were reported. At least 2,800 people have been displaced since Gen Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army launched an assault on Tripoli last week. The LNA said on Monday that 19 of its soldiers had been killed in recent days. The Tripoli based health ministry, on the government side, said at least 25 people including fighters and civilians had been killed and 80 wounded in fighting to the south of the capital. The World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations' health agency, said two doctors had been killed while treating civilians and trying to evacuate patients from combat zones in the city. Territorial control in Libya Ahmed Al Mandhari, the WHO's regional director for the eastern Mediterranean, said in a statement Monday that the targeting of doctors was "unacceptable." Gen Haftar announced his assault on Thursday, citing the need to clear the city of "terrorists". Tracking progress on the ground is difficult partly because both sides are made up of loose alliances of militia groups rather than professional armies. But despite clashes in the southern suburbs, the LNA advance appears to have made little progress. Residents said LNA troops retreated from the former international airport, 15 miles south of the city centre, on Monday. Analysts say Gen Haftar's assault has compelled the disparate militia groups who control western Libya to band together, presenting a harder target than he may have anticipated. "He created that alliance by going in to early, too strong," said Jalel Harchaoui, a research fellow at the Clingdendael Institute, a think tank. Khalifa Haftar shaking hands with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres Credit: AFP/Getty Images "It prompted potential opponents who were considering siding with Haftar to do an about face and fight him." Mr Harchaoui warned that the international community appeared to have little if any diplomatic leverage to reign in the fighting and that the situation could "worsen dramatically." "If the airstrikes continue escalating, you could see the two camps committed in a very blind manner to saving face, and that means a lot of destruction," he said. Meanwhile reports emerged that the internationally recognised government is offering migrants held in detention centres their freedom in exchange for military service. Haftar's forces have come up against militias supporting the UN-backed government Credit: REUTERS/Hani Amara Thousands of asylum seekers, many of them sub-Saharan Africans, are stuck in detention centres along the coast around Tripoli, hoping to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. Many did national service in their own countries. "Reports of some Sudanese being released, given military uniforms and told that they may have to fight," Vincent Cochetel, special envoy of the UNHCR for the central Mediterranean, wrote on Twitter. He also said that the situation for asylum seekers in Libya is becoming increasingly desperate as fighting escalates between the two sides. Vehicles and militants, reportedly from the Misrata militia, gather to join Tripoli forces, in Tripoli Credit: STRINGER/EPA-EFE/REX "Unverifiable reports received suggesting that no more food is reaching some detention centres in Libya, where refugees and militants are kept arbitrarily," Mr Cochetel said. Medicins San Frontieres, an NGO, said the fighting has left refugees and migrants in detention centres "exceptionally vulnerable." "The Ain Zara detention centre is now in an area of active fighting, with more than 600 vulnerable people trapped inside, including women and children. In another detention centre, reports suggest that some people are being conscripted to work for armed groups," the group said in a statement. The European Union's foreign policy chief called on all sides to stop fighting and start talking. Speaking at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, Federica Mogherini said all sides should "go back to the negotiating table under the auspices of the UN and make sure that the Libyan people get what they really want, which is peace and stability for their country." Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, said Britain was engaging "all partners" to send the message that there is "no military solution" to the crisis. Earlier he said there was "no justification" for the LNA assault.
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| The Private Sector Must Lead the Way to 5G Posted: 08 Apr 2019 03:30 AM PDT  There's an interesting debate brewing on these pages between former House speaker Newt Gingrich and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner Brendan Carr on how to make the move to super-fast 5G wireless networks and how to protect America in the process.By way of background, I founded the House Internet Caucus back when Gingrich was speaker. We didn't see eye-to-eye on very much, but I welcomed his occasional interest in technology.On this issue, though, he is wrong, and Commissioner Carr is right. The best -- really the only -- way to ensure the fastest possible deployment of 5G technology and to preserve American leadership in wireless is to follow the path that has driven American leadership in 4G. The private sector, not the government, must take the lead, and the primary government role should be to continue selling 5G spectrum to the private sector at auction.In January of last year, it was reported that the Trump administration was considering, in effect, nationalizing at least part of the 5G spectrum by having one government-owned network. This poorly considered idea was rejected the very next day by the administration's own FCC chairman, Ajit Pai. We all hoped that the notion had been squelched.Now, however, Gingrich has revived the controversy, first with a piece widely interpreted as favoring nationalization and then in his response to Commissioner Carr here at NRO. In the latter article, Gingrich calls for a "public-private partnership [with] shared spectrum available for a carrier-neutral, wholesale-only, nationwide 5G network."While he suggests that the government-fostered wholesale network be built with private capital, he doesn't say from where the money would come, and he clearly envisions a broad government role. What would that role be? How would a wholesale network work with multiple companies contributing to its construction and multiple carriers utilizing it for services? Gingrich doesn't say, but if the rules for FCC spectrum auctions are complex and take too long to resolve, one can only imagine how difficult it would be to create rules for one network that multiple providers are supposed to finance and share.Gingrich is preoccupied with the notion that Chinese companies will build 5G networks in other countries, arguing that to counter those efforts, we need government involvement in the development of our own 5G network. This leap of logic is particularly hard to comprehend because the major carriers in the U.S., with strong government urging, have already decided not to buy core wireless technology developed by Chinese companies. Our carriers today purchase routers and other hardware from providers outside of the U.S., including Nokia and Erickson, since no U.S. companies currently compete in that market. But the intelligent parts of the networks -- the computer chips, software, and back-end operations -- are already provided by leading American companies, including QUALCOMM, Juniper, and Cisco. Our government can and seems willing to prevent Chinese equipment providers from expanding into our market, and building a government network in the U.S. will do nothing to blunt Chinese expansion abroad.Gingrich claims that a government-fostered national 5G network with shared access is necessary to unleash the power of deep liquid financial markets, enable market price discovery, and promote a culture of innovation. Those are exactly the virtues that have underpinned our wireless supremacy to date.Our liquid financial markets powered the investments that enabled America to lead the world in 4G. As for market price discovery, that's precisely what our spectrum auctions -- the very thing Gingrich criticizes -- accomplish. We have an unrivaled culture of innovation with a network that is the envy of the world and the platform for Google, Facebook, Amazon, and other edge providers that are among the world's most innovative companies. Moving to a government-overseen network both is unnecessary and would put that success at risk.Spectrum-sharing does not address any perceived need, nor would it appear to make the network more resilient or secure, or even offer a better platform on which for edge providers to innovate.Gingrich is right in pointing to the painful absence of broadband in large swaths of rural America; innovative new approaches may be needed to address this urgent concern. A role for government in providing grants to rural electric and telephone cooperatives and other providers willing to build out may be a partial answer, but Gingrich is not proposing a rural-only solution, and creating a national, government-overseen 5G network doesn't appear to offer obvious improvements, even for rural America.In short, major American commercial operators have the incentives they need to get to market quickly. They are not sitting on their hands and certainly not willingly ceding global leadership to China. This is not the time for the government to be in the market as a wholesaler to multiple companies whose systems are competing. That's a recipe for confusion, slow deployments, potential additional points of failure, and the ceding of American leadership.Commissioner Carr is right: Our current policies, which have established American leadership in 4G, have narrowed the digital divide, raised Internet speeds, and put us on the path to having a far stronger deployment of 5G than Asia will by 2022.As we say in the mountains, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
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| Free speech means I don't have to be nice to Devin Nunes on Twitter. So why's he suing me? Posted: 07 Apr 2019 12:23 PM PDT  I didn't act like Miss Congeniality toward a member of Congress. He's upset that I did my job, so now he's trying to stifle my free speech and yours.
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| Boeing 737 Max: How will airlines convince skittish passengers it's safe to fly again? Posted: 08 Apr 2019 09:52 AM PDT  The air disasters of the Boeing Max 8 jets have created a disaster of another sort for airlines: namely, how can they convince the public to fly in the planes again?
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| Samsung is reportedly planning to launch four Galaxy Note 10 models in 2019 Posted: 08 Apr 2019 10:16 AM PDT  Several recent reports claimed that Samsung would be doing the unthinkable with this year's Galaxy Note 10 series by launching a smaller, more affordable version alongside the regular next-gen big-screen Samsung smartphone flagship. This wouldn't quite be a first for Samsung though, as the company did launch two distinct Note models a few years ago when it introduced the Note Edge display concept.A new report from Korea now says that Samsung is ready to double down on that strategy, with plans to reveal up to four Galaxy Note 10 models in stores later this year. That's something Samsung has never done before, and the Galaxy S10's sales success is apparently the catalyst behind this decision.Samsung introduced no less than four Galaxy S10 models back in February, including the Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+, and Galaxy S10 5G. We're looking at four flagship devices all sharing the same design and main specs. However, the more money you're willing to spend, the better features you get. Screen size increases considerably as you move towards the 5G model, as does battery size. Also, the 5G phone comes with support for the next-gen cellular data speeds standard (in case that wasn't clear from the product's name).According to ETNews, the Galaxy S10 strategy worked for Samsung in terms of early sales. An unnamed industry official said Samsung made some 14.5 million units in the first quarter of the year, up considerably from the average Galaxy S production for the first quarter, which is usually around 11 million.With the Galaxy Note 10, Samsung reportedly plans to introduce two LTE and two 5G models. The two 4G phones will come in two sizes -- 6.28-inch and 6.75-inch -- featuring triple and quadruple lens cameras on the back. Each phone will come in a 5G flavor as well, which will feature similar display and camera specs to the 4G versions.The report doesn't go into any other specifics about the four Note 10 models, but we'd expect them to feature the same design as the Galaxy S10 series, as well as the same processor options. On top of that, each Note 10 phone should come with a built-in S Pen stylus.Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy Note 10 at some point this August.
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| American Airlines extends Max-caused cancellations to June 5 Posted: 07 Apr 2019 08:59 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — American Airlines is extending by over a month its cancellations of about 90 daily flights as the troubled 737 Max plane remains grounded by regulators.
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| View Photos of the Jeep Gladiator Gravity Concept Posted: 07 Apr 2019 09:00 PM PDT |
| Trump: Uganda must capture kidnappers of freed US tourist Posted: 08 Apr 2019 11:53 AM PDT  KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday urged Uganda to find the kidnappers of an American tourist who has been freed amid conflicting reports over whether a ransom was paid for her release.
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| Felicity Huffman pleads guilty in college admissions cheating scam; 'I am ashamed,' she says Posted: 08 Apr 2019 04:22 PM PDT  The Oscar-nominated actress is among a group of parents who were accused of bribery and test cheating to get their kids into elite colleges.
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| 3 dead, 3 firefighters hurt in Phoenix collision Posted: 08 Apr 2019 12:31 AM PDT  Authorities say three people are dead and three firefighters seriously injured after a pickup truck and a fire engine collided at a west Phoenix intersection. Phoenix police say one victim of Sunday morning's crash was a 6-month-old baby. (April 8)
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| Russia blocks UN Libya statement singling out Haftar's forces Posted: 07 Apr 2019 03:01 PM PDT  Russia on Sunday blocked a UN Security Council statement that would have called on forces loyal to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar to halt their advance on Tripoli, diplomats said. Moscow insisted that the formal statement urge all Libyan forces to stop fighting, but the proposed change was opposed by the United States, council diplomats said. After a closed-door meeting on Friday, the council called on Haftar's self-proclaimed Libyan National Army to "halt its military activity" in an agreed statement to the press.
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| UPDATE 1-Turkey's Erdogan to discuss possible operation in Syria with Putin - RIA Posted: 08 Apr 2019 01:05 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Turkey's Erdogan to discuss possible operation in Syria with Putin - RIA]( "UPDATE 1-Turkey's Erdogan to discuss possible operation in Syria with Putin - RIA") Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he planned to discuss a possible Turkish military operation in Syria when he visits Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin on Monday, Russia's RIA news agency reported. Erdogan has vowed to crush U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters east of the Euphrates in Syria and said last year that preparations were complete for an operation. Turkey, Washington's main Muslim ally within NATO, considers Syria's YPG Kurdish militia an enemy and has already intervened to sweep the fighters from territory west of the Euphrates in military campaigns over the past two years.
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| Ghosn to reveal who he blames for arrest in Japan: wife Posted: 07 Apr 2019 02:56 AM PDT  Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn has recorded a message in which he names the people he believes are to blame for his legal problems in Japan, his wife said in an interview on Sunday. Ghosn was re-arrested last week in Japan over fresh allegations of financial misconduct which will see him held in custody until at least April 14. Ghosn's wife Carole told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper in France that he had recorded a video interview in English before his detention.
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| Narendra Modi Kashmir election pledge woos Hindu nationalists and risks Muslim backlash Posted: 08 Apr 2019 12:25 PM PDT  India's ruling party on Monday attempted to woo Hindu nationalists by unveiling a last-ditch manifesto pledge to end Kashmir's special autonomous status. With his popularity falling to an all-time low after failing to deliver on previous economic pledges, Narendra Modi, the prime minister, is instead appealing to rising anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan sentiment among India's electorate to secure his second term. The world's biggest democracy heads to the polls on Thursday with Mr Modi expected to scrape a narrow victory when ballots are counted on May 23. Kashmir saw a huge escalation of tension in February, when a Pakistan-based Islamist group killed dozens of Indian troops and India responded with airstrikes. In front of a crowd at the the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in New Delhi yesterday (MON), Mr Modi declared he would scrap the autonomous status Jammu and Kashmir has had since 1954. BJP supporters have long petitioned for its removal arguing that it allows the state claimed by both India and Pakistan to resist central rule from New Delhi. Profile | Narendra Modi Mr Modi also controversially vowed to reverse a law forbidding anyone who is not a permanent resident of the state from owning property or obtaining a job there. This move is seen as an attempt to dilute Kashmiri identity by encouraging Indians from elsewhere in the country to move to the region. However, his pledge has sparked fears that it could lead to further unrest "If this happens then not only Kashmir but the country and the region will burn," said Mehbooba Mufti, president of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party. The leader of the National Conference Farooq Abdulla said if the articles were repealed it would lead to the state seceding from India. On Sunday, Mr Modi tightened his grip on the state by banning Kashmiri civilians from using the 170-mile highway – the only way in and out the region – for two days a week to allow easier access for his military personnel. Local politicians compared the decision to policies implemented by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
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| Google further 'confirms' unannounced Pixel 3 ‘Lite' with reference on site Posted: 08 Apr 2019 02:30 AM PDT  Late last week, 9to5Google spotted that the online Google Store was briefly updated to include the Pixel 3a under the Phone model menu and the Pixel 3a Case under the Featured Accessories menu in the website's navigation bar before it was promptly removed without a trace. On Friday, 9to5Google noticed that a couple of updates to Google's online store were accidentally published confirming a set of not yet officially named products: the lite version of the company's flagship device and a corresponding case. Last month, a 9to5Google source confirmed that the names of the rumored pair of Pixel 'Lite' smartphones will be the Pixel 3a and the Pixel 3a XL and, just last week, the Google confirmed the handsets themselves via the Google Play Developer Console, a platform used by developers to publish Android apps on Google Play.
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| Take it from an economist, Medicare for All is the most sensible way to fix health care Posted: 08 Apr 2019 12:15 AM PDT  I've spent decades studying US health care. Time to get real: Medicare for All is the only reasonable path to controlling costs and covering everyone.
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| Ex-Sen Ernest 'Fritz' Hollings of South Carolina dies at 97 Posted: 06 Apr 2019 11:38 PM PDT  COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Ernest F. "Fritz" Hollings, the silver-haired Democrat who helped shepherd South Carolina through desegregation as governor and went on to serve six terms in the U.S. Senate, has died. He was 97.
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| Durham schools to close May 1 as a quarter of educators request leave for rally in Raleigh Posted: 08 Apr 2019 02:50 PM PDT  Some schools will still offer lunches to students on a day when many teachers are expected to rally in Raleigh to request additional funding.
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| Congress Will Never See Trump’s Tax Returns, Mulvaney Says Posted: 07 Apr 2019 07:50 AM PDT  Democratic Representative Dan Kildee, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee that is seeking six years of Trump's personal and business tax returns, said the president can't decide for Congress whether it exercises its legal authority to get the documents -- not with the intention to make them public, but to inform policy decisions by the panel's chairman and provide proper oversight. "We are looking very carefully right now as to whether or not the IRS is properly auditing and enforcing tax law on the president of the United States, and we're considering legislative changes toward that end,'' Kildee of Michigan said on ABC's "This Week'' on Sunday.
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| 26 Stunning Pieces of Jewelry Mom Will Never Want to Take Off Posted: 08 Apr 2019 07:16 AM PDT |
| Nissan shareholders sack ex-chief Ghosn Posted: 07 Apr 2019 10:45 PM PDT  Nissan shareholders voted Monday to eject Carlos Ghosn from the board, as the detained former chairman fights multiple financial misconduct charges that have landed him in custody. The extraordinary shareholders' meeting at a Tokyo hotel was the first such gathering since the stunning arrest of the 65-year-old auto sector titan on November 19. The meeting also saw shareholders vote to remove Greg Kelly, a US executive who served as Ghosn's right-hand man and who also faces charges in Japan, and approve a motion to replace Ghosn with Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard.
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| In unprecedented move, U.S. names Iran's Revolutionary Guards a terrorist group Posted: 08 Apr 2019 02:44 PM PDT  The action by Trump, who has taken a hard line toward Iran by withdrawing from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and re-imposing broad economic sanctions, marks the first time the United States has formally labeled another nation's military a terrorist group. The U.S. step, which takes effect on April 15, prompted an immediate response from Iran, whose Supreme National Security Council in turn designated U.S. military forces as a "terrorist organization," Iranian state-run TV reported. "The U.S. military bases and their military forces in the region will be considered terrorist bases and terrorist forces that will be dealt with and confronted accordingly," Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Iranian state TV, calling the U.S. decision "a major strategic mistake." "The IRGC is the Iranian government's primary means of directing and implementing its global terrorist campaign," Trump said in a statement.
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| Why Are Rear-Seat Entertainment Systems behind the Times? Posted: 07 Apr 2019 07:30 AM PDT  It's not quite as bad as the era of crappy car stereos, but nearly every automaker's system has some downsides.
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| Wall Street loves socialism for bankers – but not for ordinary people Posted: 08 Apr 2019 07:28 AM PDT  JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon decries socialism. Unless of course it's the banks that need a government bailout'JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon was paid $31m last year. He is estimated by Forbes to be worth $1.3bn.' Photograph: Mike Blake/ReutersIn his annual letter to shareholders, distributed last week, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon took aim at socialism, warning it would be "a disaster for our country," because it produces "stagnation, corruption and often worse."Dimon should know. He was at the helm when JPMorgan received a $25bn socialist-like bailout in 2008, after it and other Wall Street banks almost tanked because of their reckless loans.Dimon subsequently agreed to pay the government $13bn to settle charges that the bank overstated the quality of mortgages it was selling to investors in the run-up to the crisis. According to the Justice Department, JPMorgan acknowledged it had regularly and knowingly sold mortgages that should have never been sold. (Presumably this is where the "stagnation, corruption and often worse" comes in.)The $13bn penalty was chicken feed to the biggest bank on Wall Street, whose profits last year alone amounted to $35bn. Besides, JPMorgan was able to deduct around $11bn of the settlement costs from its taxable income.To state it another way, Dimon and other Wall Street CEOs helped trigger the 2008 financial crisis when the dangerous and irresponsible loans their banks were peddling – on which they made big money – finally went bust. But instead of letting the market punish the banks (which is what capitalism is supposed to do) the government bailed them out and eventually levied paltry fines which the banks treated as the cost of doing business.If this isn't socialism, what is it?Yet it's a particular form of socialism. Millions of homeowners who owed more on their homes than the homes became worth didn't get bailed out. Millions of workers who lost their jobs or their savings, or both, didn't get bailed out. No major banker went to jail.Call it socialism for rich bankers.It's a gift that keeps giving. Dimon took advantage of the financial crisis to acquire Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual, vastly enlarging JPMorgan. America's five biggest banks, including Dimon's, now control 46% of all deposits, up from 12% in the early 1990s.And because they're so big, Dimon's and other big Wall Street banks are now considered "too big to fail". This translates into a hidden subsidy of some $83bn a year, because creditors who face less risk accept lower interest on deposits and loans.More socialism for rich bankers.After the financial crisis and bailout, Congress enacted a milquetoast version of the Glass-Steagall Act, a banking law from the Great Depression that bankers killed off in the 1990s. The replacement was called the Dodd-Frank Act.Ever since, Dimon has pushed to weaken Dodd-Frank.When Obama's regulators wanted to extend Dodd-Frank to the foreign branches and subsidiaries of Wall Street banks, Dimon warned it would harm Wall Street's competitiveness.This was the same Jamie Dimon who chose London as the place to make highly risky derivatives trades that lost the firm some $6bn in 2012 – proof that unless the overseas operations of Wall Street banks are covered by US regulations, giant banks like his will move more of their betting abroad, hiding their wildly-risky bets overseas so U.S. regulators can't see them.More recently, Trump's bank regulators have heeded Dimon, and rolled back Dodd-Frank.Dimon was also instrumental in getting the big Trump tax cuts through Congress. They saved JPMorgan and the other big banks $21bn last year alone.Dimon was paid $31m last year. He is estimated by Forbes to be worth $1.3bn.Ironically, a few weeks ago Dimon warned that income inequality is dividing America. He said that a "big chunk" of Americans have been left behind, and, announcing a $350m program to train workers for the jobs of the future, lamented that 40% of Americans make less than $15 an hour.True, but $350m over five years isn't even a drop in the ocean for the Americans left behind.Wall Street bonuses totaled $27.5bn last year, which is more three times the combined annual earnings of all American workers employed full-time at the federal minimum wage. That's more than 600,000 low-wage workers.If Dimon were serious about the problem of widening inequality, he'd use his lobbying prowess to help raise the federal minimum wage. He'd also try to make it easier for workers to unionize, and to raise taxes on the super-wealthy like himself.But, of course, Dimon isn't really concerned about widening inequality. He's not really concerned about socialism, either.Dimon's real concern is that America may end the kind of socialism he and other denizens of the Street depend on – bailouts, regulatory loopholes, and tax breaks.These have made Dimon and his comrades a fortune, but they've brought the rest of America stagnation, corruption, and often worse. * Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. He is also a columnist for Guardian US
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| The Latest: Rwandan genocide survivor recounts horror Posted: 07 Apr 2019 10:41 AM PDT  KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — The Latest on the commemorations to mark the start of Rwanda's genocide 25 years ago. (all times local):
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| Prosecutor In Foxx’s Office Slams Her Handling of Smollett Case: ‘An International Laughingstock’ Posted: 08 Apr 2019 06:47 AM PDT  An anonymous attorney in the Cook County prosecutor's office lambasted state attorney Kim Foxx over her handling of the high profile Jussie Smollett case, and the tendency of her and her allies to resort to accusations of racism when criticized, in an a letter provided to CWB Chicago on Monday.Foxx's office dropped all charges against Smollett last month after he was indicted by a grand jury for allegedly staging a bigoted and politically-motivated hate crime against himself with the help of two friends who were paid for their services. Citing his record of community service and the technically victimless nature of his alleged crime, Foxx's office dropped all charges without requiring that Smollett admit guilt.After briefly reviewing the history of racial discrimination in Chicago, the unnamed assistant state's attorney attacked Foxx and her allies for casting criticism of the decision as racist.The letter reads:> Fast forward to 2019 Chicago. The State's Attorney's Office (SAO) is an international laughingstock, as politicians, comedians, scholars, legal pundits and regular ol' citizens alike blast its handling of the case against Jussie Smollett. The criticism is pointed squarely at Kim Foxx, the first African American female elected to fill the prestigious role of Cook County State's Attorney.> In the wake of said criticism, Ms. Foxx speaks at a Rainbow PUSH coalition meeting and states she cannot run an office "driven by anger and public sentiment." She says "the goal posts change" when an African-American takes the position of head prosecutor, seemingly calling the critique of the SAO's handling of the Smollett case racially-based and derogatory toward her people.He later adds: And blaming Jussie Smollett fallout on race? That is just ignorant and self-serving. It is a complete bastardization of a bona fide movement against acts of racism, which, as a society we should obviously not tolerate. Much like Jussie Smollett's acts bastardized a bona fide movement against hate crimes. The unnamed prosecutor goes on to accuse Foxx of insulting the Chicago police by dropping all charges without consulting them just weeks after their superintendent, Eddie Johnson, made an impassioned speech about the harm Smollett did to the community by staging a hate crime.> When you demean law enforcement like that you not only strip them of their dignity, you also contribute to the violence in the city. Because young African-American boys and girls who hear the head prosecutor, Jesse Jackson, Bobby Rush, Al Sharpton, et al call police racist, act accordingly," the letter reads.No prosecutors or police officers, and I mean none, thought that the just result would be for Jussie Smollett to go to prison. He was charged with a Class 4 felony. The anticipated outcome was a reduced sentence, a misdemeanor with some community service or restitution. This would have been done on the record, on a regularly scheduled court date, with the Chicago Police being notified, since they are the "victim" in a disorderly conduct of this nature. This case was handled markedly different from any other case at 26th Street. No one knows why, and more importantly, no one can explain why our boss, the head prosecutor of all of Cook County, has decided to so demean and debase both our hard work, and our already tenuous relationship with the Chicago Police Department.Just to be clear - this is not an attack on Ms. Foxx's race, it is an attack on her ethics and her efficacy as State's Attorney.
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| These are the nation's largest U.S. airlines, ranked from worst to best by new study Posted: 08 Apr 2019 10:16 AM PDT ![These are the nation's largest U.S. airlines, ranked from worst to best by new study]( "These are the nation's largest U.S. airlines, ranked from worst to best by new study") The top and bottom airlines in the Airline Quality Rating mirrored The Points Guy's best and worst rankings last month.
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| Trump Taps Kevin McAleenan As New Mr. Fix-It for Border Crisis Posted: 07 Apr 2019 03:06 PM PDT  Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/GettyHomeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned from her position on Sunday evening, after serving 16 turbulent months as the nation's top national security official and the president's punching bag on border security.Nielsen's immediate departure comes only two days after President Donald Trump announced that he was withdrawing the nomination of Ronald D. Vitiello to head U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Homeland Security agency tasked with enforcing Trump's border policy, in favor of a "tougher" nominee who has yet to be named.Trump lambasted the current enforcement of American immigration laws for years, and as the nation's top immigration and national security official, those laws and their implementation fell under Nielsen's purview.In a tweet, President Trump said Nielsen "will be leaving her position," and announced that Kevin McAleenan, the current U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, will become acting secretary as he searches for a permanent replacement.In her resignation letter, Nielsen appeared to lay partial blame on Congress for failing to provide the Department of Homeland Security with "all the tools and resources... to execute the mission.""I hope that the next Secretary will have the support of Congress and the courts in fixing the laws which have impended our ability to fully secure America's borders and which have contributed to discord in our nation's discourse," Nielsen wrote.Nielsen's ouster comes amid a continuing—even continuous—shakeup in the Trump administration. The president cleaned house after the midterm elections, ditching former Attorney General Jeff Sessions and other officials he viewed as disloyal or unwilling to cooperate on strategy.Officials inside the Department of Homeland Security told The Daily Beast that they have speculated Nielsen would be out of a job sometime after the midterms. Nielsen, Trump and National Security Adviser John Bolton have often quarreled about the department's strategy on immigration, officials said, and Nielsen is regularly chastised for not taking a tough enough stance on border security.One former department official told The Daily Beast that Trump's decision to replace Nielsen with the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection was indicative of the president's superficial understanding of immigration and national security policy."Just because there's a new man at the helm of DHS, the border crisis will be fixed?! Ha!" the official said in a text. "They think just because he's former CBP, and he understands the border, he'll fix it? I don't think so."Plus, the official added, "getting a man is so stereotypical!"Nielsen was one of three women in Trump's cabinet.Internally, staffers and officials said Nielsen was viewed by some as too loyal to the president, often catering to his demands despite the legal implications. Officials said Nielsen's public rhetoric on immigration and asylum is crafted specifically to cater to President Trump.The general focus of the department has changed drastically under Nielsen's leadership, too, officials said. Over the past year, most of the department's high-level briefings and meetings have centered around threats by foreign actors, particularly those from South America. At the same time, the department has drawn back from looking at threats posed by people living in the U.S. who have the potential to carry out mass casualty attacks, the officials said.Even after shootings in Pittsburgh and California, the department continued to focus more of its attention on border security and migrant caravans, DHS staffers told The Daily Beast.In news briefings compiled for the secretary and her senior staff over a three-week period obtained by The Daily Beast, the secretary was shown to have overwhelmingly received news updates on migrant caravans and Trump's remarks on immigration enforcement, despite two mass shootings and security concerns about midterm elections at the time.The top of the press packet compiled and distributed on November 9, 2018, the day after the shooting in Thousand Oaks, reads: "Administration Moves To Require Asylum Seekers To Go To Designated Ports Of Entry." Under that section, the briefing quotes and bolds a Breitbart headline: "Fewer than 10 percent of Central American Migrants Arriving At Border Have Legitimate Asylum Claim."Out of about 19 pages of quoted media text, one and a half focused on the California shooting, three and a half on border security and immigration and six on the Mueller investigation. The rest of the pages touched on news about cybersecurity, terrorism investigations and other DHS-related topics.Despite that near-myopic focus on immigration, the president has reportedly been frustrated with Nielsen's enforcement of some of his more controversial border policies for some time, most notably the chaotic implementation and eventual reversal of its family separation policy in late spring. At the time, Nielsen told reporters that the policy didn't even exist—"period"—even as the government held hundreds of undocumented minor children who had forcibly been taken from their parents.Nielsen was reportedly berated by President Trump in a Cabinet meeting in May 2018 over his perception that she was not doing enough to keep the southern border secure. The verbal flogging, detailed by The New York Times, prompted Nielsen to draft a resignation letter which she ultimately decided not to deliver.Both the Department of Homeland Security and Nielsen herself denied she planned to step aside at the time.For months, Nielsen soldiered on, testifying to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where she defended the administration's new, controversial policy of separating children from their parents if they cross the border illegally, even if they are claiming asylum. Trump, according to the Times report, had suspected Nielsen along was privately resisting his order to implement this policy as a deterrent. "Our policy is if you break the law, we will prosecute you," Nielsen said. "You have an option to go to a port of entry and not illegally cross into our country."As she left the hearing, she answered a reporter's question as to her future. "I have not resigned, I didn't threaten to resign," she said, according to Politico. Nielsen, a cybersecurity expert who previously worked in the George W. Bush administration, is a protégée of Gen. John F. Kelly, whom she replaced at the top of Homeland Security in early December. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here
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| The H-20 and JH-XX: China's Two (Yes, Two) New Stealth Bombers Posted: 07 Apr 2019 12:00 AM PDT  Why would PLA even order two types of stealth bombers?
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| Feud between wife, ex-wife sparks slander case in Dubai Posted: 08 Apr 2019 07:46 AM PDT  A British woman has been prevented from leaving Dubai, police in the Emirate said Monday, after her ex-husband's new wife pressed defamation charges over comments posted on Facebook. Dubai police confirmed a 55-year-old British woman was being tried for defamation under the UAE's cybercrime law. While police would not disclose the woman's identity, the London-based group Detained in Dubai identified her as Laleh Sharavesh, saying she had described her ex-husband's new wife as 'a horse'.
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| Russia decides to free captive whales after outcry - governor Posted: 08 Apr 2019 12:35 AM PDT ![Russia decides to free captive whales after outcry - governor]( "Russia decides to free captive whales after outcry - governor") Russian authorities have decided to free nearly 100 whales held in cages in Russia's Far East, the governor of Russia's Primorsky Region said on Monday, the TASS news agency reported. The decision to release the whales, after months of delays, coincided with a visit to the enclosures by Jean-Michel Cousteau, a French oceanographer and son of famous marine expert Jacques Cousteau. "An official decision has been taken to release all the animals into the wild," Oleg Kozhemyako, the governor of Primorsky Region, was quoted as saying by TASS.
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| US labels elite Iran force a foreign terrorist organization Posted: 08 Apr 2019 02:06 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on Monday designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps a foreign terrorist organization, an unprecedented declaration against a foreign government that may prompt retaliation and make it harder for American diplomats and military officers to work with allies in the region.
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| Apple rumored to launch two new OLED iPhone models with triple-lens cameras in 2019 Posted: 08 Apr 2019 06:15 AM PDT  We're still months out from the official reveal of Apple's next iPhone lineup, but most of the early rumors and reports have indicated that we will see three direct successors to the XS, XS Max and XR in 2019. There will be more than a few new features, and the standard bump in specifications, but we're not expecting any major design changes or new models. At least, we weren't, until Macotakara released a surprising report on Monday morning.According to the Japanese technology blog, Apple has five new iPhone models planned for 2019. In addition to the updated XS, XS Max, and XR models, reliable supply chain sources claim that Apple is working on two other OLED iPhone models built specifically to accommodate the triple-lens rear camera.The first OLED model is said to have a 6.1-inch display and be 0.15mm thicker than the iPhone XS, but the camera bump will be reduced by 0.05mm. The second model, which features a 6.5-inch display, will be 0.40mm thicker than the iPhone XS Max, but, similarly, the camera bump will see an 0.25mm reduction.Macotakara says that both of these models are expected to ship with USB-C to Lightning cables with an 18W charger, as well as support for reverse wireless charging, which will give the upcoming iPhones the ability to charge the latest AirPods with Wireless Charging Case and other Qi-compatible devices.Considering just how drastically this report diverts from the reports we've seen about the 2019 iPhone lineup so far, it's worth taking everything here with a grain of salt. That said, Macotakara has been a fairly reliable source of iPhone leaks over the years, so we'll be on the lookout for more reports to back these assertions up.
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| The Latest: Nissan shareholders OK ousting Ghosn from board Posted: 07 Apr 2019 09:29 PM PDT  TOKYO (AP) — The Latest on Nissan Motor Co. and its former chairman, Carlos Ghosn (all times local):
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| Has the media turned on UK's Prince Harry and wife Meghan? Posted: 08 Apr 2019 04:45 AM PDT  Less than a year after their wedding, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have found themselves on the receiving end of some less than flattering media coverage as they prepare for the birth of their first child this Spring. Edward Baran reports.
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| Trump's open secret on Secret Service, security clearances Posted: 08 Apr 2019 03:03 PM PDT  Donald Trump's carelessness follows him into the Oval Office. And Monday, while he fires Randolph Alles, a Chinese is in court over Mar-a-Lago: Our view
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| SNL Gives Joe Biden Sensitivity Training: ‘Let’s Hug It Out, America!’ Posted: 06 Apr 2019 09:02 PM PDT  Saturday Night Live gave Donald Trump a break this week and instead put Joe Biden through the ringer. Jason Sudeikis busted back onto the show in a cold open sketch that found the former vice president undergoing sensitivity training following a week in which he was repeatedly accused of inappropriate behavior with women over the years and awkwardly tried to dismiss those allegations with a series of jokes. "You guys know that I'm a tactile politician, right?" Sudeikis' Biden asked his campaign staffers. "I'm a hugger, I'm a kisser, and I'm a little bit of a sniffer. The last thing I ever want to do is offend anyone." With that in mind, they brought in a consultant played by Kate McKinnon to school him on how to behave, and Biden immediately started nuzzling her head and rubbing her arms. "Yeah, so this is exactly the kind of thing I'm here to prevent." "Wait, I think nose to nose is going to be OK," Biden replied. "Because look, I did the 23andme thing, like Lizzie, what's her name, Warren, right? It turns out that I'm 1-percent Eskimo, so I'm allowed to do the kissing." When she told him he shouldn't be hugging or kissing any women he meets, he protested. "That's a human connection. That's my whole thing," he said. "That's like telling Mario Batali to take his Crocs off." Later, they presented some female voters so Biden could practice and when he was told one was looking for someone who could beat Donald Trump, he asked, "You mean the guy who actually bragged about assault on tape?""Yes, but unlike his voters, your voters actually care," his staffer replied. Ultimately, Biden admitted he didn't really learn anything from the experience. "But the important thing, I think, is that I'm listening, I hear you, I feel you," Biden said. "So let's hug it out, America, what do you say? Biden and some woman in 2020, right? We can do this!" Read more at The Daily Beast.
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| Elections over, Turkey's Erdogan eyes economic reforms Posted: 06 Apr 2019 08:58 PM PDT  Soon after his ruling party faced defeat in Ankara and Istanbul in last Sunday's election, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quick to promise reforms to revive the country's weakened economy. Now with no elections until 2023, Erdogan has room to focus on the economy, but analysts say he must convince investors already wary over his sometimes unorthodox policies, and worried about fallout from tensions with the United States. Turkey's lira can be volatile, but analysts said Erdogan's government must balance any gains from short-term stopgaps with the need for deeper reforms for more long-term stability.
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| GE shares fall as J.P. Morgan analyst downgrades, lowers PT further Posted: 08 Apr 2019 06:38 AM PDT ![GE shares fall as J.P. Morgan analyst downgrades, lowers PT further]( "GE shares fall as J.P. Morgan analyst downgrades, lowers PT further") Shares of General Electric Co fell about 6 percent on Monday after J.P. Morgan's Stephen Tusa, a top-rated analyst on the stock, downgraded and further cut his target price to a Street-low of $5. Tusa, a long-time bear on the stock, cited significant liabilities and little free cash flow to support the company's ongoing reset and cut his rating to "underweight" from "neutral," an about-turn from his upgrade in December. "Investors are underestimating severity of challenges and underlying risks at GE and overestimating value of small positives," Tusa wrote in a note.
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| US pulls forces from Libya as fighting approaches capital Posted: 07 Apr 2019 06:04 PM PDT  BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — The United States has temporarily withdrawn some of its forces from Libya due to "security conditions on the ground," a top military official said Sunday as a Libyan commander's forces advanced toward the capital of Tripoli and clashed with rival militias.
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| Why You Should Create a My Social Security Account Posted: 08 Apr 2019 06:45 AM PDT ![Why You Should Create a My Social Security Account]( "Why You Should Create a My Social Security Account") A my Social Security account allows you to view your contributions to the Social Security program. You can also get a personalized estimate of your future Social Security payments in retirement. Periodically reviewing your Social Security record allows you to make sure your earnings are recorded correctly and to factor the likely payout into your retirement plans.
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| View 2020 Mercedes-AMG CLA35 Photos Posted: 08 Apr 2019 03:01 PM PDT |
| Creating an eco-friendly nursery, from paint to fabrics Posted: 08 Apr 2019 10:22 AM PDT  When interior designer Jenny Dina Kirschner was designing a bedroom for her first baby, she wanted to create the healthiest possible space — for her baby and for the environment.
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