| The Latest: House panel votes to hold AG Barr in contempt Posted: 08 May 2019 07:54 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Congress and special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia report (all times local):
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| Chinese court holds off ruling on Canadian's death penalty appeal Posted: 09 May 2019 02:59 AM PDT  A Chinese court adjourned a hearing on a Canadian man's appeal against his death sentence for drug smuggling without a decision Thursday in a case that has deepened a diplomatic spat between Beijing and Ottawa. Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, 36, was sentenced to death in January after a court deemed his previous 15-year prison sentence too lenient. The Liaoning High People's Court in northeast China said in a statement that "all procedural rights of appellant Schellenberg were guaranteed in accordance with the law".
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| Original iPod hits eBay at insane $20,000 list price Posted: 09 May 2019 04:06 PM PDT  When Apple unveiled the original iPod back in 2001, the reactions weren't universally positive. Indeed, some fan reactions on a MacRumors message board at the time have since taken on a life of their own.As an illustrative example, one outraged Apple fan wrote the following nearly 18 years ago: "I still can't believe this! All this hype for something so ridiculous! Who cares about an MP3 player? I want something new! I want them to think differently! Why oh why would they do this?! It's so wrong! It's so stupid!"Of course, the iPod would go onto become monumentally successful for Apple. In addition to padding Apple's bank account with billions of dollars, the iPod helped upend the music industry and, years later, would serve as the springboard for the iPhone. The iPhone may be a more revolutionary and impactful device, but it simply wouldn't exist had the iPod not paved the way years ahead of time.While some iconic products can still be found for cheap -- with Apple's original Bondi Blue iMac being one such example -- others are wildly expensive. The original iPod falls into the latter category.Hopping on over to eBay, someone is selling a completely unused and factory sealed original iPod for $19,995. And in a testament to how ancient the device is, the iPod in question features a mechanical scroll wheel and a paltry 5GB of storage. To be fair, though, 5GB of storage back then was more than enough for a world where the only media content people cared about was music.Is forking over $20,000 for an original iPod completely unnecessary, if not downright insane? Of course. Then again, never underestimate the power of nostalgia.
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| China and India seen as Europe's last hope to save Iran deal Posted: 09 May 2019 07:56 AM PDT ![China and India seen as Europe's last hope to save Iran deal]( "China and India seen as Europe's last hope to save Iran deal") BRUSSELS/PARIS/BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Union will defend the Iran nuclear accord despite Tehran's decision to backtrack on its commitments in response to U.S. sanctions, diplomats believe, but European powers expect it to collapse without a deal to sell Iranian oil to China or India. Britain, France and Germany, which signed the 2015 deal along with the United States, China and Russia, are determined to show they can compensate for last year's U.S. withdrawal from the accord, protect trade and still prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb. A French diplomat talked of a "negative spiral" in which trade in food and medicines was simply not enough, while another European envoy spoke of Iran's "phased exit" from the deal.
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| McConnell capitalizes on attack with 'Cocaine Mitch' shirts Posted: 09 May 2019 02:46 PM PDT  FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is capitalizing on a fellow Republican's attack by selling "Cocaine Mitch" shirts on his campaign's website.
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| Our Own Private Singapore Posted: 10 May 2019 08:06 AM PDT  The rap on Singapore is that it has fertile capital but a sterile culture -- a great place to do business, but a stultifying place to live.It is the Facebook of countries.The authorities there are sensitive to that kind of criticism. In a 2017 interview with the Straits Times, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong emphasized the diversity of the country and the distinctiveness of its individual cultural components. Singapore, he said, is oriented not toward assimilation but integration."The result has been distinctive Singaporean variants of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Eurasian cultures, and a growing Singaporean identity that we all share, suffusing and linking up our distinct individual identities and ethnic cultures," Lee said. "We certainly don't wish Singapore to be a first-world economy but a third-rate society, with a people who are well off but uncouth. We want to be a society rich in spirit, a gracious society where people are considerate and kind to one another, and as Mencius said, where we treat all elders as we treat our own parents, and other children as our own."That is a very nice vision, which the government of Singapore pursues energetically through authoritarianism, bullying, and intimidation. Singapore is an innovator in many fields, and one of the activities toward which it has turned a great deal of attention is one that is of increasing global and domestic significance: censorship.Singapore has just passed a law that would require Facebook, Twitter, and other social-media companies to publish corrections on their sites in response to content that is ruled untrue by the government of Singapore. Facebook executives say they have been looking to governments for guidance in their attempt to suppress certain kinds of speech on their platforms -- and here it is, from the world-beating experts.The government of Singapore is, in fact, not so different in its thinking from Facebook. It is just a little ahead of the curve. Facebook insists (sometimes laughably) that its speech restrictions are not directed at unpopular political ideas but exist to serve the "safety" of the public. Singapore, too, cites safety as it prohibits certain unwelcome political activism and cultural innovation. "Public safety" is, like "national security," an almost infinitely plastic criterion in the hands of an entrepreneurial politician: In March, President Donald Trump blocked the acquisition of Qualcomm by Singapore-based Broadcom, offering only the vague explanation that the company "might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States." Senator Marco Rubio has argued that corporate welfare for Florida sugar barons is a matter of national security, while others make the same argument for their favorite commodities; Democratic party officials have suggested that Second Amendment activists be investigated or suppressed as terrorists; the sniveling cowards who run the University of California at Berkeley cited "public safety" when they forbade conservative polemicist Ann Coulter to speak on campus. Et cetera ad nauseam.In Singapore, "public safety" is the rationale for a remarkably thorough program of official censorship, much of which is directed at the worthy goal of keeping the peace among the city-state's unamalgamated ethnic and religious groups. For example, if a crime has a potentially inflammatory ethnic or religious component, that fact generally will be omitted from media coverage as part of an unspoken agreement between the state and the newspapers. Films or books that are deemed to denigrate an ethnic or religious group are prohibited. The sale of Malaysian newspapers is prohibited. And in the same way that U.S. progressives seek to suppress political speech as a matter of "campaign finance," the authorities in Singapore have prohibited the unlicensed showing of "party political films," which may be the of "any person and directed towards any political end in Singapore." Such films are permitted only if the government considers them objective; the irony of demanding a subjective ruling about objectivity seems to have been lost on Singapore's rulers, who are not famous for their sense of humor.Singapore's censors make the same argument as do Facebook's: that the suppression of certain kinds of unwelcome political speech is necessary for "public safety." Singapore's is a genuinely multiethnic and multireligious society -- and, as it turns out, such societies do not have a very good record for long-term stability and domestic tranquility. If anything, Singapore has a more convincing argument that fanning the flames of communal politics in such a country is likely to actually endanger people than Facebook does that Milo Yiannapoulos is whatever kind of danger it is that he is supposed to be. Singapore's position is more convincing than the jactitations of those ignorant little twerps at Philadelphia's University of the Arts who protested that the presence of Professor Camille Paglia on their campus left them "unsafe." (They should feel grateful. I wonder who is the second-most distinguished intellectual associated with that school.) You will not be surprised to learn that the burdens here fall more heavily on dissidents and critics of the government.But let us give Singapore and Facebook the benefit of the doubt and assume that they are motivated by concerns that are in the main to be admired. The end results are no less risible: If American society is really so fragile that Alex Jones presents an existential threat to the republic, then we should send our British cousins a letter of apology and ask to be readmitted as a colony, if they'll have us. Likewise, if Singapore truly is going to be rocked, and not in a good way, by a Katy Perry song ("I Kissed a Girl" was prohibited as homosexual propaganda) then it is a pitiable little island indeed, to quaver at such a colossus as that.But, of course, almost no one takes seriously these claims, just as no one seriously thinks that Ann Coulter is a "danger" to anybody or that the NRA shares a genre with the Islamic State. These are pretexts, and flimsy ones. They are fig leaves for ochlocracy.But once censorship has been established in principle and accepted in practice, then officiousness, triviality, and vindictiveness are the inevitable outcomes. Bureaucracies -- Singapore's government, Facebook's management -- have interests of their own, and agendas of their own, and tastes of their own, and to take seriously the proposition that Facebook's speech-policing or U.S. "campaign finance" restrictions will be managed with any more objectivity or neutrality than Singapore's official state censorship is to ignore almost everything we know about how bureaucracies actually work. The powers that be at Facebook and Twitter may or may not be acting in good faith, but the more important fact is that they could not be fair and neutral even if they sincerely wished to be. This is a fact of organizational life, one that must be dealt with seriously. The bland little caudillos down in Human Resources are creatures of an insipid little culture all their own.And that is the one that Facebook et al. propose we live under.Facebook is a private company, and it may of course as a legal matter do whatever it pleases with its own platform, and Singapore's censorship is perfectly legal, too, for what that's worth -- which is not very much: Some of the worst crimes against humanity in modern history were carried out under the color of law. The question of what may be done is distinct from the question of what should be done.Singapore's censorship is quite defensible in principle -- if you accept censorship in principle -- and the consequences of its policies have been perfectly predictable. When the prime minister feels himself obliged to go public with his insistence that local cultural conditions are not "third rate," it is an excellent indicator that they are obviously third-rate. Some lies are accidental advertisements for the truth. There is much that is admirable about Singapore, but at its worst it is a kind of splendidly air-conditioned fascist shopping mall. Public safety is one of those good things it is possible to have too much of, and "graciousness" enforced at the point of a bayonet is not graciousness at all.Facebook, Twitter, et al. are houses divided: As businesses they are one thing, as institutions they are another. Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes argued in the pages of the New York Times on Thursday that Facebook should be broken up, in part because of its failure to contain "violent rhetoric and fake news." Facebook and other "gargantuan companies," he argued, are a threat to democracy. That is hysteria, but it contains a measure of truth. Democracy relies on discourse, and healthy discourse relies on a culture of open exchange, which in turn requires a measure of confidence that Facebook's executives lack. Ironically, the problems of Facebook and, especially, of Twitter are not so much threats to democracy but useful illustrations of the shortcomings of unmediated democracy, in which the mob bullies the institutions into submission. In a healthy democratic system, things work in roughly the opposite way, with institutions helping to contain and redirect the excesses of democratic passion. And that is where Facebook and Singapore differ: The government of Singapore -- which, whatever its shortcomings, seems to be run by men who genuinely believe in their own precepts -- serves no mob, but Facebook, lacking the real conviction that can be rooted only in the permanent things, is abject and quickly prone before whatever mob happens to show up at its door.The American settlement under the First Amendment is unusual to the point of being nearly unique. Censorship of different kinds is the norm in civilized countries from Singapore to Germany, where certain political parties, symbols, and ideas are strictly prohibited. The American arrangement is different because it is the product of men who as individuals and as a civilization believed in something, which gave them the confidence to live in a world in which they are likely to hear and read things they did not like from time to time, things that might even be wicked, scurrilous, or wrong. Some men endure winter at Valley Forge, and some tremble at the menace of Katy Perry or poor daft Laura Loomer.There is a wonderful scene in Serenity, a science-fiction film that is something of a libertarian manifesto, in which a fragile, psychologically damaged girl is taken along on what amounts to an Old West-style bank robbery, after which she and her friends are chased and nearly captured by mutant space cannibals who mean to eat them raw on the spot. At the end of a wild ride dodging fire in an open-air conveyance while speeding across a Sergio Leone landscape, she returns to her overprotective older brother, who asks if she is injured. She looks at him, wide-eyed, and says: "I swallowed a bug." Freedom tastes like that, sometimes.
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| Officials seek to open major spillway on Mississippi River Posted: 09 May 2019 05:29 PM PDT  Army Corps of Engineers officials in Louisiana aim to open a historic flood control structure above New Orleans on Tuesday for an unprecedented second time in one year.
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| US ends support for Japan crashed fighter jet search Posted: 09 May 2019 03:02 AM PDT  The US Navy has ended operations assisting Japan's search for a stealth fighter jet that crashed in the Pacific, after some of its debris was recovered. "A US Navy salvage team aboard a contracted vessel completed its mission supporting search and recovery operations with the Japan Self-Defense Forces," the US 7th Fleet said in a statement on Wednesday. Japan will continue searching for the remains of the plane, a defence spokesman said.
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| 'We need to know why': Lawmakers wary as Trump aides weigh military options for Venezuela Posted: 09 May 2019 11:12 AM PDT  Trump administration plans range of U.S. military options in Venezuela after the country's U.S.-backed opposition leader failed to oust the president.
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| Slain teen charged attacker in Colorado school shooting Posted: 08 May 2019 09:39 PM PDT  HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (AP) — When a gunman burst into his high school classroom, Kendrick Castillo did not hesitate.
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| U.S. House could slap $25,000 per day contempt fines on Trump advisers: Democrat Posted: 10 May 2019 04:49 PM PDT  Expanding on an idea floated days ago by Democrats as a way of putting some teeth into various inquiries of Trump, his turbulent presidency, his family and his business interests, Representative Adam Schiff spoke in two interviews about reviving the "inherent contempt" power of Congress. "We would levy fines on those who are not cooperating," Schiff, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee told Axios in an interview published on Friday. Republicans have accused Democrats of grandstanding for progressive voters, but even the Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed the president's son, Donald Trump Jr. Congress can subpoena testimony and documents, then enforce these formal requests by holding recalcitrant subpoena targets in contempt of Congress.
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| French prosecutor opens investigation over suspected Monsanto file Posted: 10 May 2019 01:16 PM PDT ![French prosecutor opens investigation over suspected Monsanto file]( "French prosecutor opens investigation over suspected Monsanto file") The French prosecutor on Friday said it had opened a preliminary investigation into a suspected file assembled by Bayer's seed maker Monsanto to influence various personalities in France. The probe was opened after a complaint was filed by daily newspaper Le Monde. According to Le Monde and other French media, Monsanto built up a file of some 200 names that includes journalists and law makers in the hope of influencing their positions on pesticides.
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| Windows 10 update brings us closer to a world without passwords Posted: 09 May 2019 03:04 PM PDT  Microsoft is one step closer to fulfilling the passwordless Windows 10 dream, as the latest Windows 10 update will make it even easier to log into devices and online services without having to worry about passwords.That's because Microsoft's Windows Hello has received FIDO2 certification, which means Hello biometrics and PINs are now seen as secure authenticators."FIDO2 is a set of standards that enables easy and secure logins to websites and applications via biometrics, mobile devices and/or FIDO Security Keys. FIDO2's simpler login experiences are backed by strong cryptographic security that is far superior to passwords, protecting users from phishing, all forms of password theft and replay attacks," the FIDO Alliance explained in a press release.Microsoft said in its own announcement to mark the FIDO2 certification that "no one likes passwords (except hackers).""People don't like passwords because we have to remember them," Microsoft said. "As a result, we often create passwords that are easy to guess -- which makes them the first target for hackers trying to access your computer or network at work."With Windows Hello, you'll now be able to use facial authentication, fingerprints, or a PIN to "leave the world of passwords behind," although, technically, you won't drop the passwords for any of these devices or services anytime soon. But you won't have to fill them in with each login.You'll have to update your Windows 10 computer to version 1903 to take advantage of the feature. What that means, in practice, is that browsers including Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox will support Windows Hello biometrics. Similarly, several of Microsoft's own products, including Office 365, Skype, Xbox Live, and others will also authenticate users with Windows Hello rather than a password.
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| Shocker! The GoFundMe Campaign to Build the Wall Is a Bust Posted: 10 May 2019 02:09 AM PDT  Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/GettyThis story originally appeared in Right Richter, a newsletter by Will Sommer. Subscribe now to see what's happening in right-wing media from the safety of your inbox.Back in December, Washington state Trump supporter Joshua Greene donated a small amount of money to the crowdfunding effort to build a wall along the southern U.S. border. He wasn't alone. The GoFundMe page to build the wall, to which he'd donated, was a sensation on the right in late 2018 and raised more than $20 million. Organized by triple-amputee veteran Brian Kolfage, the campaign eventually morphed into a nonprofit called We Build the Wall, which promised to build portions of the wall on private land using the money it raised. Months later, there's no evidence that any construction has started, despite claims from Kolfage and his allies that construction would start in April. And now Greene is wondering what ever happened to that wall he was promised his dollars would fund? "The lack of updates is very concerning," Greene wrote in an email to Right Richter. He's not the only GoFundMe donor curious about what happened to the wall money. Since We Build the Wall blew their April deadline, Twitter replies to Kolfage and the group's Facebook page have filled up with angry donors. Greene started tweeting his displeasure, too. We Build the Wall has frequently presented itself as poised to start building portions of the wall on private land. In February, former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach—who is a member of We Build the Wall's board of directors—claimed that the group was "getting ready to break ground, probably in April." Kolfage himself went further, saying in a radio interview in March that "we're going to start breaking ground next month." The group had even promised to invite donors to a groundbreaking ceremony.More than a week into May, though, We Build the Wall hasn't shown any proof that any ground has been broken, and donors say they weren't invited to any promised groundbreaking ceremony. Donors to the group have begun taking out their frustrations on the organization's Facebook page, which often hypes the threat of immigrants crossing the border illegally. "Show me video of wall being built and I'll pony up my next donation," reads one angry Facebook comment. "Where is the rest of the money going?" reads another. Making donors more nervous is that Kolfage has a history of participating in questionable endeavors. He was a prolific operator of hoax pages on Facebook, and money he raised in the past to help veterans' programs in hospitals never actually went to those hospitals. Complicating the effort further is that it's not that easy to find private land right on the border where a wall can be built. Kolfage and We Build the Wall's board of directors have spent plenty of time in Arizona, ostensibly scouting private land to build the wall. But The Phoenix New Times reported in March that the "vast majority" of land on the border in the state is owned by the federal government. Meanwhile, many of the people who actually own land on the border told the New Times that they hadn't been contacted by We Build the Wall. We Build the Wall didn't respond to requests for comment. In a Facebook comment this week, the group claimed, once again, that it was very close to building the wall. Conveniently, though, We Build the Wall claimed the information about the private wall's location had to be "secure" in order to confound liberal foes. Want this in your inbox? Subscribe to Right Richter here. "VERY soon we can release the details but have to keep that information secure for the time being as to prevent giving our detractors a heads up to derail our progress," the statement reads. "Soon, everyone will have the update they've been waiting for which we can't wait to share. This updated delay is just the unfortunate process of building a controversial barrier some people don't want to happen."Kolfage has made similar statements in the past, claiming in a March radio interview that he can't say where the wall will be built because Trump critics like the American Civil Liberties Union would try to stop it. "I wish I could name where it's at, but we can't name it because of the ACLU, these other liberal groups that want to sue us and impede our progress," Kolfage said. "But it's actually happening." As for Greene, he's fed up with the lack of information about the campaign he financially supported."I knew Brian had some previous shady GoFundMe campaigns," Greene emailed. "I felt more confident when he brought on other big names to work with him, I haven't seen a tweet from ANY of them."Read more at The Daily Beast.
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| China Vows Retaliation as New Tariffs Take Effect Posted: 10 May 2019 06:30 AM PDT  China promised to respond in kind to new U.S. tariffs that took effect Friday even as trade talks continued in Washington between Chinese trade representatives and their American counterparts.China "hopes the United States can meet China halfway, make joint efforts, and resolve the issue through cooperation and consultation," China's Commerce Ministry said, adding that it "deeply regrets" the decision.U.S. Customs and Border Protection hiked tariffs at midnight on Friday from 10 percent to 25 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, intensifying a 10-month trade war with the world's second-largest economy.The U.S. also currently has a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese high-tech products.Negotiations broke down earlier this month as the U.S. accused China of reneging on items previously agreed to, but U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met Thursday negotiations with China's top negotiator, Vice Premier Liu He, and are expected to continue discussing terms on Friday."Over the course of the last week or so, we've seen an erosion in commitments by China, I would say retreating from commitments that have already been made, in our judgment," Lighthizer said on Monday."I came here this time, under pressure, to show China's great sincerity," Liu told state broadcaster CCTV on Thursday.President Trump had strong words for China on the matter earlier this week, but on Friday said the talks are "congenial.""Talks with China continue in a very congenial manner - there is absolutely no need to rush," the president wrote Friday on Twitter."With the over 100 Billion Dollars in Tariffs that we take in, we will buy agricultural products from our Great Farmers, in larger amounts than China ever did, and ship it to poor & starving countries in the form of humanitarian assistance," he added in subsequent tweets. "In the meantime we will continue to negotiate with China in the hopes that they do not again try to redo deal!
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| Pope changes Church law to make reporting sex abuse obligatory Posted: 09 May 2019 10:49 AM PDT  Pope Francis on Thursday passed a landmark new measure to oblige those who know about sex abuse in the Catholic Church to report it to their superiors, in a move which could bring countless new cases to light. Every diocese in the world will now be obliged to have a system for the reporting of abuse, under a new law published by the Vatican following a global clerical paedophilia scandal. It is time to learn from the "bitter lessons of the past", Francis said in the text of the legal decree, which comes into effect on June 1.
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| Trump calls for prosecuting John Kerry for talking to Iran Posted: 09 May 2019 11:48 AM PDT  He's talking to Iran and...has many meetings and many phone calls and he's telling them what to do.
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| Colorado school shooting updates: Victim identified, heroes emerge. Here's what we know Posted: 08 May 2019 06:19 PM PDT  One student is dead and eight others injured after two students opened fire at a suburban Denver STEM school on Tuesday. Here's the latest news.
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| Federal judge keeps UAW lawsuit over plant closings in Ohio Posted: 10 May 2019 12:26 PM PDT ![Federal judge keeps UAW lawsuit over plant closings in Ohio]( "Federal judge keeps UAW lawsuit over plant closings in Ohio") A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit filed by the United Auto Workers against General Motors over the closing of three plants should be heard in Ohio. The Warren Tribune Chronicle reports U.S. District ...
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| Abortion bill delayed as Alabama Senate falls into chaos Posted: 09 May 2019 11:38 AM PDT  The lieutenant governor agreed to remove amendments creating exceptions for rape and incest, leading to anger and arguments on the Senate floor.
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| Best AirPods Accessories Posted: 09 May 2019 04:00 PM PDT  Apple wasn't the first company to release true wireless earbuds, but there's no question whatsoever that Apple's AirPods were the first cord-free earphones to really break out. In fact, they were so popular at launch that it took Apple more than a year before it finally caught up with demand. AirPods continue to be wildly popular with consumers all across the world, which makes plenty of sense considering how great they are. Of course nothing is perfect, and there are accessories out there that can make your experience with AirPods even better. Wireless charging caseRemember how liberated you felt the first time you got a wireless charger for your smartphone? No more fussing with cables and connectors, all you have to do is drop your phone on a pad and it charges right up. Wouldn't it be great if you could do the same thing with your AirPods? Well guess what: You can thanks to the NeotrixQI Wireless Charging Cover For Apple AirPods. Silicone coversApple's design is one of the best things about the AirPods. They're wonderfully compact and yet they manage to pump out phenomenally good sound quality with impressive bass response. Believe it or not, however, there's a simple way to get even better sound out of your AirPods. With EarBuddyz 2.0 Silicone AirPods Covers, you get a great secure fit in your ears without covering the sensors that enable Apple's coolest AirPods features. Neck strapThe true wireless design of Apple's AirPods is one of the biggest draws, of course, but there are times when having a cable that connects one earbud to the other is beneficial. One example is during workouts, so you can pop your earbuds out of your ears and let them hang around your neck. If you want the best of both worlds, the Spigen TEKA RA100 AirPods Neck Strap is just what the doctor ordered.> More options: * DamonLight AirPods Covers. These silicone covers are so thin that they'll fit in your AirPods case so you can recharge without having to remove them. * AhaStyle AirPods Covers. AhaStyle's covers are more like the ones we recommended in the main post, but they have a different fit that might work better for some people. * Waterproof AirPods Case Cover by Catalyst. This cover is the best way to protect your AirPods and the charging case from the elements. * AirPod Skins Protective Wraps. Completely change the look at your AirPods with these wraps, which are available in more than a dozen different colors. * Amasing 7 In 1 AirPods Accessories Kit. Want it all? Get seven different AirPods accessories in one nifty kit.
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| Uber shares tumble 7% on stock market debut Posted: 10 May 2019 09:00 AM PDT  Uber's much heralded debut on the New York Stock Exchange began with disappointment on Friday as its shares fell below an already reduced offering price.The taxi firm's stock opened 7 per cent lower than planned at $42 after the opening bell on Wall Street, before beginning to climb as trading got underway.Still, that means Uber is still worth around $80bn despite never having turned a profit and warning last month that it might never do so. Uber lost $3bn last year and $9bn since it was founded - large even by the standards of Silicon Valley tech startups.But it managed to pull off the third-largest US stock market float in history, behind only Facebook and Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba. The share sale gives Uber another $8.1bn of cash to fund its global expansion plans.While the feat will no doubt be seen as a triumph for Uber, its valuation is a third lower than the $120bn that investment bankers had said the company was worth just last year. That was then lowered to $90bn when Uber made its offering document available to investors last month, before a further reduction to $82bn this week.A host of regulatory battles, increasing disquiet from drivers about pay and workers' rights, along with doubts about the ability of ride-hailing firms to make money have lowered the hefty price tag. Uber's closest rival Lyft has seen its shares tank since listing six weeks ago.Meanwhile, jitters about an intensifying trade battle between China and the US have prompted caution among investors. All major share indices fell on Friday after the world's two largest economies failed to reach a deal on tariffs which had hoped to be wrapped up this week.Uber co-founders Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp were present at the NYSE but absent from the podium as the opening bell was rung by one of the company's first employees. The pair cashed out more than $300m between them on Friday by selling small slices of their respective stakes. Both retained the majority of their shares and became billionaires in an instant, with Mr Kalanick's stake worth around $5bn.Questions will remain about Uber's profitability but its eye-watering valuation is based on rapid growth above all else. Revenues surged 42 per cent last year to $11.3bn on the back of a staggering 5.2 billion trips on its taxi and Uber Eats food delivery service.Chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi told CNBC that Uber investors are in it for the long haul. "Today is only one day. I want this day to go great, but it's about what we build in the next three to five years," he said in an interview with CNBC. "And I feel plenty of pressure to build over that time frame." Uber is dealing with a potential $12 trillion market, Mr Khosrowshahi said.He predicted that younger generations will not want to own cars. "I think more and more you're going to have transportation on demand services, essentially de-bundle the car. They're going to want to push a button and get the transportation they want." The company envisages itself as a logistics company; an Amazon of transport. But it will have to deal with a number of problems before that vision is realised, particularly its treatment of drivers, many of whom protested ahead of Friday's IPO to show their dissatisfaction with the deal they are getting.
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| Kim Foxx in Court Today to Make New Requests in Jussie Smollett Case Posted: 09 May 2019 08:44 AM PDT  Illinois State Attorney Kim Foxx heads to court to make new requests regarding the Jussie Smollett case. Foxx is requesting that a judge unseal documents in the case so that an Independent Inspector General can review them. It's a move many people have been waiting for, but it doesn't look like the public would have access to those documents.
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| Trump got the crisis he wanted in Iran. Now what? Posted: 09 May 2019 10:39 AM PDT  With both sides reacting to each other with provocations and rhetorical bluster, foreign-policy experts are concerned the situation is one miscalculation from spinning out of control.
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| Three party leaders seeking to win S.Africa election Posted: 09 May 2019 03:24 AM PDT  South Africa was counting votes on Thursday following national polls with the leaders of the three main parties hoping to come out on top. Cyril Ramaphosa, the leader of the ruling ANC party, took the country's reins last year after a dramatic and varied career intertwined with the birth of modern South Africa. When Mandela walked out of jail in 1990, Ramaphosa was standing beside him.
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| Twitter suspended 166,153 accounts for terrorism content in H2 2018 Posted: 09 May 2019 06:49 AM PDT  Twitter is making headway in tackling online terrorism content on its platform as it suspended over 166,000 accounts in the second half of last year, about a fifth less than in the previous period, the social media company said on Thursday. Together with Facebook and Google, Twitter is under pressure from regulators and governments worldwide to remove extremist content more rapidly or face more heavy-handed legislation. Announcing its latest transparency report, the company said its technical tools were producing results, with 91 percent of accounts promoting terrorism content proactively suspended by its internal technology, the majority of which happened before their first tweet because the data used to set them up raised red flags.
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| Nadler threatens to hold McGahn in contempt if he does not testify to Congress Posted: 09 May 2019 12:40 PM PDT  "I fully expect that the Committee will hold Mr. McGahn in contempt if he fails to appear before the Committee," Nadler wrote in a letter.
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| Chinese MiG Fighter Jets vs. F-86 Sabers: Who Wins the Korean (Air) War? Posted: 08 May 2019 09:30 PM PDT  The Korean War was not only a landmark conflict under the guidance of the United Nations, but it was also the first serious testing ground for jet-to-jet combat. The North Korean military capacity had barely progressed past ox carts and prop planes, forcing the Communist Chinese Air Force (CCAF) to augment much of their air defense. This led to Soviet equipment, training, and personal participating in the air war, and fast-evolving jet fighters quickly complicated air combat tactics.American-lead UN air power was largely unrivaled in the early stages of the war. North Korean air presence mainly consisted of Soviet built PO-2s, which were prop plain relics from the 1930s. North Korean pilots were largely inexperienced, often "flying by the seat of their pants" and using their limited expertise to harass UN forces under cover of darkness. Due to its inability to field tactically competent pilots and its lack of advanced fighter jets, the Communist Chinese Air Force was a prime candidate to fight a proxy air war.The Proxy Air War in MiG Alley
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| The Range Rover Astronaut Edition Is Only for Virgin Galactic's Commercial Astronauts Posted: 09 May 2019 11:43 AM PDT  If you're one of the 700 people that dropped $250,000 on a ticket, you can buy this SUV.
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| Juan Guaido's deputy arrested and dragged away by tow truck in Venezuela Posted: 08 May 2019 09:17 PM PDT  Venezuela's government was condemned on Thursday for the arrest of opposition leader Juan Guaido's deputy, which the European Union described as "another flagrant violation" of the country's constitution. Edgar Zambrano, the vice president of the national assembly, which Mr Guaido leads, had his car surrounded on Wednesday night by agents from Sebin, the military intelligence. When he refused to get out of the car Sebin used a tow truck to take Mr Zambrano to El Helicoide, Sebin's headquarters and cells. "We warn the people of Venezuela and the international community: the regime has kidnapped the first vice-president" said Mr Guaido. Juan Guaido, right, and Edgar Zambranoleave the congress in Caracas Credit: Reuters "They are trying to destroy the power representing all Venezuelans, but they will not achieve it." At the end of March Mr Guaido's chief of staff, Robert Marrero, was also arrested by Sebin – dragged from his home in a dawn raid. Mr Guaido himself had his parliamentary immunity stripped on April 2, but so far Nicolas Maduro's regime has not dared to detain him. Mr Guaido, head of the national assembly, was declared interim president on January 23 and has been recognised as the country's legitimate leader by more than 50 countries. Mr Maduro, however, is clinging on – despite an uprising last week which saw thousands of protesters and some military defectors take to the streets to back Mr Guaido. Mr Zambrano is one of 10 opposition officials charged with treason, conspiracy and rebellion by the pro-Maduro Supreme Court, in connection to the plot. Opposition supporters took to the streets on May Day to back Mr Guaido Credit: AFP President Donald Trump, who was the first world leader to recognise Mr Guaido, was today reported to be questioning his administration's strategy, and accusing his advisors of underestimating Mr Maduro. Mr Trump described Mr Maduro as "a tough cookie," according to three senior officials who spoke to The Washington Post. They told the paper that Mr Trump felt he was misled, and has accused John Bolton, his hawkish national security advisor, of wanting to get the US "into a war". But Marco Rubio, the Florida senator who has emerged as one of the most influential voices in the administration on Venezuela, insisted that Mr Trump was unwavering in his commitment to oust Mr Maduro. Mr Rubio condemned Mr Zambrano's arrest, as did a series of Latin American nations. The EU's foreign affairs spokeswoman, Maja Kocijancic, described the kidnapping as "a politically motivated action aimed at silencing the National Assembly." She added: "The European Union calls for Edgar Zambrano's immediate release and holds the relevant authorities responsible for his safety and integrity." Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro greeting troop members during military exercises on May 4 Credit: AFP Washington called the detention "illegal and inexcusable", and warned of "consequences" if Mr Zambrano is not immediately released. Mr Trump said today he was "discussing the terrible abuses by Maduro." Mr Trump did not mention Mr Zambrano, but said the US will stand with the people of Venezuela "for however long it takes!" Mr Trump has insisted for the past three months that all options remain on the table to dislodge Mr Maduro. However, Russian, Chinese and Cuban support for the Chavista leader have made him tricky to remove. And any military intervention risks becoming a quagmire. La dictadura ha secuestrado al Vicepresidente de la @AsambleaVE a manos de su policía política. Llegaron al absurdo de llevárselo en una grúa, a bordo de su vehículo, violando todos los procesos y exhibiendo el autoritarismo al cual obedecen.— Juan Guaidó (@jguaido) May 9, 2019 Mike Pence, the vice president, announced earlier this week that he was lifting sanctions on the head of Sebin, who abandoned Mr Maduro on April 30. The move, Mr Pence said, was designed to encourage senior military and intelligence officials to let Mr Maduro go. He also announced that the US was sending a hospital ship to the Venezuelan coast. Other options under discussion to pressure Mr Maduro include sending additional military assets to the region, increasing aid to neighbouring countries such as Colombia, and even sending Navy ships to waters off Venezuela as a show of force. Mr Maduro mocked Mr Pence on Wednesday as a "ridiculous" white supremacist, adding: "All that is left for Mike Pence to do is to put on the hood of the KKK.
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| Chelsea Manning: Jailed US analyst walks free after refusing to testify to WikiLeaks grand jury Posted: 09 May 2019 08:45 PM PDT  The former US intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning has been released from prison after she was jailed for refusing to testify to a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks.Ms Manning spent 62 days in jail on contempt charges but was released as the term of the grand jury she was supposed to give evidence to expired.However the ex Army employee, who served seven years of a 35-year sentence for handing a huge trove of confidential documents to WikiLeaks, could be back in jail within a week.She has received another subpoena demanding she testify to a new grand jury, opening on 16 May.Under US federal law, a person subpoenaed by a grand jury can be jailed on a civil contempt charge if judges believe it has a chance of coercing them to give evidence.Earlier this week, Ms Manning's lawyers filed court papers arguing that she should not be jailed again because she has proven that she will stick to her principles and will not testify no matter how long she is jailed.If a judge were to determine that incarcerating Ms Manning were punitive rather than coercive, she would not be jailed."At this point, given the sacrifices she has already made, her strong principles, her strong and growing support community, and the disgrace attendant to her capitulation, it is inconceivable that Chelsea Manning will ever change her mind about her refusal to cooperate with the grand jury," her lawyers wrote.Ms Manning filed an eight-page statement with the court on Monday outlining her resolve.She wrote that "cooperation with this grand jury is simply not an option. Doing so would mean throwing away all of my principles, accomplishments, sacrifices, and erase decades of my reputation - an obvious impossibility," she wrote.She also said she was suffering disproportionately in jail because of physical problems related with inadequate follow-up care to gender-reassignment surgery.Ms Manning was working for the Army in Iraq in 2010 when she was arrested and accused of leaking 700,000 documents, diplomatic cables and videos.She was accused of putting the lives of American soldiers at risk, but said she acted in order to open up debate about US foreign policy.Her 35-year sentence was the longest for leaking in US history, and president Barack Obama referred to it as "disproportionate" to her crimes. He commuted the remainder of her sentence in 2017, just before leaving office.Additional reporting by agencies
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| Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams says she is considering White House run Posted: 09 May 2019 04:45 PM PDT  Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams, a rising party star who narrowly fell short of becoming the first female African- American governor last year, said on Thursday she is still considering running for president.
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| Iranian Commander: No Talks With US After Trump Invite Posted: 10 May 2019 06:50 AM PDT  A top Iranian commander shut down the idea of talks with the U.S. Friday while shrugging off the presence of American B-52 bombers that arrived in the area the previous day."No talks will be held with the Americans and the Americans will not dare take military action against us," General Yadollah Javani of the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guards said, according to Iran's state-run Tasnim news agency.Iran "sees America as unreliable," the Guards' deputy chief for political affairs added.The U.S. deployed the four bombers as well as the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf and they reportedly arrived at the Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar on Thursday.The Pentagon moved the bombers and aircraft carrier to the region amid fears that Iran is transporting short-range ballistic missiles in the Persian Gulf with the intention of striking U.S. targets, putting American forces and U.S.-backed coalitions in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar in danger."What I would like to see with Iran, I would like to see them call me," Trump said at the White House Thursday.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a warning to the state terror sponsor, saying that, "our restraint to this point should not be mistaken by Iran for a lack of resolve.""The regime in Tehran should understand that any attacks by them or their proxies of any identity against U.S. interests or citizens will be answered with a swift and decisive U.S. response," Pompeo said in a statement."We do not seek war," the secretary of state said. "But Iran's 40 years of killing American soldiers, attacking American facilities, and taking American hostages is a constant reminder that we must defend ourselves."Iran has escalated its rhetoric since April, when the U.S. officially designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Pompeo announced an end to the temporary exemptions from U.S. sanctions that eight countries had been granted, allowing them to continue importing Iranian oil and gas.
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| Tesla CEO Elon Musk faces trial for 'pedo' insult of diver Posted: 10 May 2019 04:10 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tesla CEO Elon Musk will have to go to trial to defend himself for mocking a British diver as a pedophile in a verbal sparring match that unfolded last summer after the underwater rescue of youth soccer players trapped in a Thailand cave.
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| EXCLUSIVE-India orders anti-trust probe of Google for alleged Android abuse-sources Posted: 10 May 2019 04:46 AM PDT ![EXCLUSIVE-India orders anti-trust probe of Google for alleged Android abuse-sources]( "EXCLUSIVE-India orders anti-trust probe of Google for alleged Android abuse-sources") India's antitrust watchdog has ordered an investigation into Alphabet Inc's unit Google for alleged abuse of its popular Android mobile operating system to block rivals, two sources aware of the matter told Reuters. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) last year started looking into the complaint, which is similar to one Google faced in Europe that resulted in a 4.34 billion euro ($5 billion) fine on the company, Reuters reported in February.
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| TOPLive Starts: Follow Developments in U.S.-China Tariffs Spat Posted: 09 May 2019 06:25 PM PDT  China's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Says He Wasn't Aware of Any Xi-Trump Phone CallHere are the KEY TAKEAWAYS from U.S.-China trade tensions Friday:The Trump administration imposed a 25% tariff on more than $200 billion in Chinese goods, up from 10% before, in its most aggressive step yet in the trade war. China said it will take ``necessary countermeasures,'' though has yet to specify themDay one of talks between top Chinese and U.S. economic officials in Washington ended with little progress and a downbeat mood, according to people familiar with the talks. The index closed up 3.1% and the yuan roseInvestors are also on the lookout for any sign of a call between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, after Trump said he'd received a letter from Xi and flagged the potential for a phone conversation between themNext steps to watch include the details on China's retaliation, news on any broader stimulus efforts to safeguard growth and on any move by Trump to impose new 25% tariffs on $325 billion more of imports, a threat that he reiterated Thursday Chris Anstey Managing Editor, Asia Cross-Asset Markets05/10 03:55 ETThank you for following our coverage of the ongoing China-U.S. trade spat.
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| Hate paying for internet service at 35,000 feet? Delta to test free in-flight Wi-Fi Posted: 09 May 2019 07:25 AM PDT ![Hate paying for internet service at 35,000 feet? Delta to test free in-flight Wi-Fi]( "Hate paying for internet service at 35,000 feet? Delta to test free in-flight Wi-Fi") Delta passengers on select flights beginning May 13 will receive free high-speed Wi-Fi. The initial test will last two weeks.
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| Giuliani urges Ukraine to investigate Democrats Posted: 10 May 2019 01:18 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — Democrats on Friday denounced a plan by President Donald Trump's personal attorney to push Ukraine to open investigations that he hopes could benefit Trump politically, decrying it as an overt attempt to recruit foreign help to influence a U.S. election.
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| 1965 Chevrolet Corvette Has Survived Unscathed Posted: 09 May 2019 01:19 PM PDT  It has been tastefully preserved for future generations to enjoy. Classic 'Vettes are great, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to find any that haven't been adulterated with different modifications. This beautiful machine, America's sports car, is being offered a lucky future owner by Savannah Classic Cars.
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| Deputy to Venezuela's Guaido imprisoned, Maduro accuses sacked general Posted: 10 May 2019 05:08 PM PDT  The deputy to Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido was jailed on Friday at a military prison in Caracas following his dramatic arrest, while President Nicolas Maduro accused his sacked intelligence chief of being a CIA "mole" and the architect of a failed military uprising 10 days ago. Edgar Zambrano, deputy speaker of the opposition-majority National Assembly, is being held in preventive detention for "the flagrant commission of the crimes of treason, conspiracy and civil rebellion," the Supreme Court said in a statement announcing the verdict of a lower court. Zambrano was arrested by Maduro's SEBIN intelligence service in dramatic circumstances on Wednesday for supporting the April 30 revolt organized by US-backed Guaido.
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| Best Gas Grills to Buy at Lowe's Posted: 09 May 2019 12:55 PM PDT  Walk into any home improvement center and you'll see an armada of grills—a sure sign of spring. Home Depot and Lowe's alone account for more than 50 percent of gas grills sold in the U.S. Consume...
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