| Showdown in Congress between Trump, Democrats intensifies Posted: 21 May 2019 12:25 AM PDT  The clash between US President Donald Trump and the Democratic majority in Congress intensified on Monday, with the White House telling the president's former lawyer to ignore a subpoena to testify about Trump's alleged obstruction of justice in the Russia probe.
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| HUD Secretary Ben Carson stumped during congressional hearing Posted: 21 May 2019 12:22 PM PDT  The HUD secretary faced a tough hearing before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday.
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| Researchers say a tiny planet slammed into the Moon a long time ago Posted: 21 May 2019 12:11 PM PDT  Earth's Moon only ever shows us one face. It's locked into its current orientation, with a permanent nearside and farside, but it wasn't until the Apollo missions that scientists were able to see just how different the two sides really are. The nearside, with its sea of dark gray basins standing in contrast to the brilliant white powder that covers the rest of its face, varies dramatically from the farside, which is marked with countless smaller craters in a more uniform distribution.The debate over how the Moon's split personalities developed has raged for decades, but new research seems to indicate that one of the possible explanations does indeed hold water. The theory, that Earth's Moon was struck by a tiny dwarf planet long ago, is the subject of a new research paper published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.Using computer models to simulate what may have happened to the Moon's surface long ago, researchers suggest the most likely scenario seems to be the collision between the Moon and a very large body. The impact of a dwarf planet as large as 480 miles across would have struck what we see today as the Moon's nearside at a speed of 14,000 miles per hour.This theory stands in contrast to other proposed explanations, including the theory that Earth may have once had not one Moon, but two. The two-moon theory suggests that Earth's moon duo may have at one point collided and merged, leaving the Moon as we see it today looking oddly unsymmetrical.The dwarf planet collision scenario assumes that whatever the body that struck the Moon was, it was in its own path around the Sun and just happened to be in the right place at the right time to strike Earth's natural satellite. This, the researchers say, would also explain why the crust on the farside of the Moon is different than that of its nearside."We demonstrate that a large body slowly impacting the nearside of the Moon can reproduce the observed crustal thickness asymmetry and form both the farside highlands and the nearside lowlands," the paper explains. "Additionally, the model shows that the resulting impact ejecta would cover the primordial anorthositic crust to form a two‐layer crust on the farside, as observed."
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| Marlen Ochoa-Lopez murder: Baby boy cut from mother's womb opens eyes for the first time Posted: 21 May 2019 07:21 AM PDT  A baby boy, cut from his mother's womb after her murder last month, opened his eyes for the first time on Tuesday as he fights for his life in a Chicago hospital.The mother, 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, was nine months pregnant when she was killed last month. Clarisa Figueroa and her daughter Desiree Figueroa have been arrested as suspects.According to police, the pair had lured Ochoa-Lopez to their home under the pretext of offering her baby clothes.After strangling Ochoa-Lopez, the two allegedly cut the unborn baby out of her womb. Police said that they believe the elder Figuaroa had hoped to raise the child as her own after the recent death of her own son. Both Figueroas have been arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Clarissa's boyfriend, Piotr Bobak, has also been arrested and charged with concealing a homicide.The baby, who was removed from the womb almost two months premature, has been fighting for his life ever since.Sunday however, a picture emerged of the little boy in the arms of his father, Yovany Lopez, apparently taken shortly after he had opened his eyes for the first time, CNN reported."We were just praying and praying and he opened his eyes, and his dad said, 'Oh my God, he opened his eyes!'" Cecilia Garcia, a student pastor who is assisting the family and is the one who took the photo, told CNN.Garcia, said she was horrified when she first heard about the killing, but believes that the country has united in support of the family."She's evoked the whole nation of people, pouring their love out for this family," Garcia said in reference to Marlen. "He's a single dad now, and we're praying this baby makes it."
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| Iran Says It Will Hit Limit on Nuclear Stockpile in Weeks Posted: 22 May 2019 03:39 AM PDT  "If we were proceeding at the previous speed, it would have taken several months," said Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, in an interview with Tehran's Vatan Emrooz newspaper. The 2015 deal cut Iran's low-enriched uranium by some 97% and capped its stockpile at 300 kilograms (661 pounds). Iran has remained well below that inventory limit for more than a year and had just 203 kilograms on hand during the first quarter, according to monitoring data.
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| Rain, flooding expected in U.S. Southern Plains after deadly storms Posted: 22 May 2019 01:02 PM PDT  Weather forecasters on Wednesday expected drenching rains to roll into the storm-ravaged U.S. southern and central states, where thunderstorms and tornadoes killed at least three people and triggered widespread flooding. More than 30 tornadoes struck a swath from Texas to Iowa since Monday, according to the National Weather Service, and residents in at least three Oklahoma riverfront communities were urged to evacuate due to flooding. One person was killed and another was injured when a tornado struck the rural town of Adair, Iowa, about 50 miles (80 km)west of Des Moines, at about 1:30 a.m. local time, the weather service said.
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| US stocks rally on Huawei reprieve as pound gyrates on Brexit news Posted: 21 May 2019 05:37 PM PDT  Global stocks rallied Tuesday as the United States took a step away from imposing crushing restrictions on Chinese telecom company Huawei, while the pound gyrated on fresh Brexit drama.
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| I'm the same age as Elizabeth Warren. We 70-somethings have no business being president. Posted: 21 May 2019 11:57 AM PDT  I have nothing against old people — I'm one of them. But maybe it's time to add a maximum age limit to our minimum age requirement for our presidents.
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| Mississippi judge who blocked 15-week abortion ban hears arguments on fetal heartbeat law Posted: 21 May 2019 01:49 PM PDT  Mississippi's fetal heartbeat law which bans abortions after approximately six weeks could be blocked or upheld by Judge Carlton Reeves.
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| Don't Just Vacation in Any Old Airbnb When You Can Choose One on Wheels Posted: 21 May 2019 09:25 AM PDT |
| Rex Tillerson Secretly Meets With House Foreign Affairs Committee to Talk Trump Posted: 21 May 2019 12:34 PM PDT  Jonathan Ernst/ReutersFormer secretary of state Rex Tillerson spoke with the leaders of the House Foreign Affairs committee on Tuesday in a lengthy session that, an aide said, touched on his time working in the Trump administration, the frictions he had with the president's son-in-law, and efforts to tackle issues like Russian interference in the 2016 election.Tillerson's appearance, first reported by The Daily Beast, took place as virtually every other Trumpworld luminary has been stonewalling congressional oversight efforts. At the same time the former secretary of state was speaking before lawmakers, former White House counsel Don McGahn was ignoring a subpoena to testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee. Tillerson's arrival at the Capitol was handled with extreme secrecy. No media advisories or press releases were sent out announcing his appearance. And he took a little-noticed route into the building in order to avoid being seen by members of the media. Tillerson reached out to the committee and expressed a willingness to meet, a committee aide said. In a more than six-hour meeting, he told members and staffers that the Trump administration actively avoided confronting Russia about allegations of interference in the election in an effort to develop a solid relationship with the Kremlin, a committee aide told The Daily Beast. Tillerson also told members and aides that he had tried to establish a formal and disciplined interagency process at the State Department whereby the president could receive informed briefings on sensitive foreign policy matters, the aide said. That effort never manifested, Tillerson told the committee, in part because of the president's management style, but also because of interference from other aides.Tillerson told the committee that the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, at times impeded his ability to communicate effectively and introduce to President Trump policy proposals developed by State Department experts on major foreign affairs matters across the globe, not just in the Middle East. Kushner, a White House adviser, has publicly focused much of his international efforts on the Middle East and is set to unveil a Middle East peace plan in the coming weeks.Tillerson had a notoriously prickly relationship with the president, reportedly calling him a "moron" in private. But he was present during critical moments of the administration, including Trump's private 2017 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hamburg, Germany. Since leaving his post, Tillerson has rarely made public appearances, save for speaking at a panel in Houston in December. During that appearance, he said there was "no question" Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. "So often, the president would say, 'Here's what I want to do and here's how I want to do it,' and I would have to say to him, 'Mr. President I understand what you want to do but you can't do it that way. It violates the law,'" Tillerson said.Tillerson's interview by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel (D-NY) and ranking member Michael McCaul (R-TX) comes a month after special counsel Robert Mueller published his report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Since then, top Democrats on the Hill have demanded that Attorney General Bill Barr and Mueller answer questions related to the report and its publication. Barr has declined to testify before the House, citing the insistence of the committee that staff lawyers be allowed to conduct some of the questioning. Mueller is reportedly in negotiations to testify, though the Department of Justice had previously not agreed on a date for him to do so. On Tuesday, CNN reported that Mueller's team had expressed reluctance about the possibility of a testimony taking place in public for fear that it would appear political. This story has been updated with additional reporting.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Man who threatened to kill ‘as many girls as I see’ because he was repeatedly rejected set to be spared jail Posted: 22 May 2019 07:11 AM PDT  A man who threatened to murder "as many girls" as he could see may escape a jail sentence, despite pleading guilty to a charge of attempted threat of terrorism.Christopher Cleary wrote a detailed Facebook post about how he planned to become "the next mass shooter" in January 2019.The 27-year-old described himself as a virgin who had never had a girlfriend.He also said he wanted to make the fact that so many women had turned him down "right" by going on a shooting spree, according to documents filed by Provo Police.Cleary was arrested on 19 January after publishing the Facebook post.Cleary then struck a deal with Utah prosecutors, pleading guilty to a reduced criminal charge.Attempted threat of terrorism is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.But Utah prosecutors agreed to recommend him for probation, despite his extensive criminal record.A judge will decide whether or not to accept the deal at a hearing on Thursday.The 27-year-old has been accused of stalking multiple times, with at least eight alleged victims contacting the authorities about his behaviour since 2012, according to police and court records.He was on probation following a marijuana conviction in 2016 when he was charged with stalking two teenagers he had met online.Cleary was put on probation for the stalking cases but in 2017 was charged with stalking and harassing his case worker.In 2018 judges in Jefferson County, Colorado sentenced him, once again, to probation for all three stalking cases.In one of the cases a 19-year-old woman said she lived with Cleary for a fortnight in a hotel room. She said that he strangled and urinated on her during that time, court records show.Cleary was out on probation for the three cases when he was arrested in a McDonald's in January, after publishing his Facebook post.Pam Russell, a spokeswoman for the Utah's county prosecutor's office, said once the case was concluded Cleary would be returned to Colorado.Prosecutors in Denver will seek to revoke his probation and send him to prison in relation for the stalking and harassment cases, she added."All I wanted to be was loved," Cleary wrote in his Facebook post."Yet no one cares about me, I'm 27 years old and I've never had a girlfriend before and I'm still a virgin, this is why I'm planning on shooting up a public place soon and being the next mass shooter cause I'm ready to die."It is unclear how truthful the Facebook post was, as at least two of Cleary's accusers have said they had a sexual relationship with him.Some news reports have speculated that Cleary could be part of the "incel movement", which promotes the misogynistic idea that men are entitled to have sex with women.But a Colorado police detective, who investigated two accusations against the 27-year-old, said there as no evidence he was part of the movement."I truly think he's just wired differently," he said. Additional reporting by agencies
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| May Faces Pressure to Abandon Vote on Brexit Law and Resign Posted: 22 May 2019 01:20 AM PDT  Theresa May is facing pressure to abandon her Brexit deal and quit as British prime minister within days, according to people familiar with the matter. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the individuals said May's allies know there is little hope of her Withdrawal Agreement Bill passing a crucial vote in the House of Commons, even after she promised MPs the chance to call a second referendum on Brexit. A number of officials inside the party believe she will face intense pressure from her own ministers to quit and make way for a new leader to try to deliver Brexit.
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| After Huawei, U.S. could blacklist Chinese surveillance tech firm - media Posted: 22 May 2019 08:45 AM PDT  The U.S. administration is considering Huawei-like sanctions on Chinese video surveillance firm Hikvision, media reports show, deepening worries that trade friction between the world's top two economies could be further inflamed. The restrictions would limit Hikvision's ability to buy U.S. technology and American companies may have to obtain government approval to supply components to the Chinese firm, the New York Times reported https://nyti.ms/2MfgBS3 on Tuesday. The United States stuck Huawei Technologies on a trade blacklist last week, effectively banning U.S. firms from doing business with the world's largest telecom network gear maker, in a major escalation in the trade war.
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| Huawei founder says US underestimates company Posted: 20 May 2019 10:58 PM PDT  Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei on Tuesday shrugged off US attempts to block his company's global ambitions, saying the United States underestimates the telecom giant's strength. Ren spoke to Chinese media days after President Donald Trump issued orders aimed at thwarting Huawei's business in the United States, the latest salvo in a months-long effort to stop the company's charge to the top of the leaderboard in next-generation 5G technology. "The current practice of US politicians underestimates our strength," Ren said, according to transcripts from state-run media.
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| Mid-Engined Corvette Spied without Rear Wing Posted: 21 May 2019 09:48 AM PDT |
| Secret Service Officers Are Being Sent to the Border Posted: 20 May 2019 06:10 PM PDT  Jose Luiz Gonzalez/ReutersThe U.S. Secret Service is now participating in a not-so-secret undertaking: dealing with the influx of migrants at America's southern border. According to a communication from the Department of Homeland Security's headquarters reviewed by The Daily Beast, the small law enforcement agency has sent personnel to the border already and is looking to send more in the coming weeks. The move came in response to a directive then-DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen sent out earlier this spring asking each component of the department to find volunteers and dispatch them to the border. Even though it's most closely associated with the White House, the Secret Service—along with a host of other entities and agencies—is a component of DHS. And as a result, it's shipping people south. A DHS spokesperson did not dispute this reporting. "As we have consistently said, the Department is considering all options to address the humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border," said the spokesperson. "We will continue to work with our workforce to find dynamic solutions and funding to address this very serious problem. As part of this effort, it is our responsibility to explore fiscal mechanisms that will ensure the safety and welfare of both our workforce and the migrant population, which is also reflected in the supplemental request submitted to Congress."The Daily Beast reported last week that the arm of DHS that handles threats to America's cybersecurity and critical infrastructure, called the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, has struggled to find enough volunteers to head to the border and fulfill DHS headquarters' request. The agency works to secure election systems, schools, and places of worship—all of which face acute threats. Besides protecting the president, the first family, and other prominent government figures, the Secret Service also conducts criminal investigations. Its focuses include financial crimes and cybersecurity threats. The diversion of law enforcement and national security personnel to the border has concerned some congressional Democrats, who say it may be a misuse of limited government resources. But pushing back against the dramatic increase in people trying to enter the U.S. through the southern border has become has become a singular priority of President Trump. In both March and April, law enforcement officials apprehended more than 100,000 people trying to enter the U.S., according to DHS statistics. During the Obama administration, the agency was beset by scandal: Washington socialites slipped past agents and crashed the president's first state dinner; a Secret Service agent told his counterparts to stand down after a man fired a gun at the White House, thinking the sound came from a car backfiring; an agent who traveled to Amsterdam with the president to protect him got drunk and passed out in a hallway; and more, as NBC News has detailed. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Abducted Idaho girl found safe in Arizona, suspect jailed Posted: 21 May 2019 04:35 PM PDT  SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — A 17-year-old girl abducted from an Idaho fast-food restaurant where she worked was found safe in Arizona on Tuesday and the man accused of taking her was jailed on a $1 million bond, authorities said.
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| White House, Democrats in Talks to End Holdup on USMCA Approval Posted: 21 May 2019 12:14 PM PDT  Pelosi told Lighthizer that she will designate members of her caucus to be working group representatives to deal with labor, enforcement, environment and pharmaceutical provisions of the deal, two people briefed on the discussions said. The groups will likely consist of Democrats from the Ways and Means Committee, the congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus to ensure they can build consensus within the party, one of the people said.
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| Fears rise China could weaponise rare earths in US tech war Posted: 22 May 2019 03:53 AM PDT  The US has hit China where it hurts by going after its telecom champion Huawei, but Beijing's control of the global supply of rare earths used in smartphones and electric cars gives it a powerful weapon in their escalating tech war. A seemingly routine visit by President Xi Jinping to a Chinese rare earths company this week is being widely read as an obvious threat that Beijing is standing ready for action. Xi's inspection tour "is no accident, this didn't happen by chance," said Li Mingjiang, China programme coordinator at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore.
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| Apple more upfront with iPhone users on battery health: UK watchdog Posted: 22 May 2019 05:42 AM PDT  The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it raised consumer law concerns with the tech company last year after finding people were not being warned clearly that their phone's performance could slow down following a 2017 software update designed to manage demands on the battery. The iPhone maker previously came under scrutiny after it said in 2017 that software to deal with ageing batteries in iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE models could slow down performance.
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| Elon Musk hires man behind 'absolute unit' sheep meme to run Tesla's social media Posted: 21 May 2019 10:38 AM PDT  * Adam Koszary's tweet of giant sheep went viral last year * Musk adopted image and description for his Twitter profileElon Musk is legally obliged to have his tweets checked by lawyers. 'My Twitter is pretty much complete nonsense at this point,' he observed last month. Photograph: Mike Blake/ReutersElon Musk has reportedly hired the man responsible for a viral tweet about a giant sheep to be Tesla's social media manager.Adam Koszary, programme manager for the UK's Reading Museum and Museum of English Rural Life (@TheMERL), run by the University of Reading, will join Tesla in July, according to his Twitter account.The @TheMerl account went viral in April last year when it tweeted an old picture of a large ram with the caption: "Look at this absolute unit." The tweet has now been retweeted more than 31,000 times and has over 111,000 likes.> look at this absolute unit. pic.twitter.com/LzcQ4x0q38> > — The Museum of English Rural Life (@TheMERL) April 9, 2018Last month Musk changed his Twitter bio to "absolute unit" and his picture to the image of the sheep. @TheMerl returned the compliment by changing its bio photo to one of Musk.The tweet led to a series of messages from Musk ending with one reading: "My Twitter is pretty much complete nonsense at this point."> My Twitter is pretty much complete nonsense at this point> > — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 19, 2019Tesla was not immediately available for comment. It is not yet clear whether the sheep tweet was instrumental in Koszary's hiring.Musk has a troubled history with Twitter. The Tesla founder now has to have his tweets checked by lawyers after incorrectly claiming on social media that his company was close to a large investment from Saudi Arabia's largest investment fund.Tesla's share price has slid in recent weeks as investors worry the company is running out of cash.
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| Daily duels over abortion outside Alabama clinics Posted: 20 May 2019 11:43 PM PDT  It's been a particularly tough week for Margaux Hartline, a volunteer who holds a large umbrella over women going into an Alabama abortion clinic so their faces are unidentifiable to religious activists. Last week, the southeastern US state passed the strictest anti-abortion law in the country, and Hartline says there's been a jump in "harassment" from anti-abortion activists who shout from across the street at women going into the clinic. "They're ramping everything up, and we're very worried that more people are going to show up," said Hartline, 25.
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| Iran ‘quadruples production’ of enriched uranium amid rising tensions with Trump Posted: 21 May 2019 03:25 AM PDT  Iran has quadrupled its production of low-grade uranium enrichment amid increased tensions with the United States, nuclear officials have said.Iranian officials stressed the uranium would only be enriched to the 3.67 per cent limit set by the 2015 nuclear deal, making it suitable for civilian nuclear power generation but well below the 90 per cent purity required to make atomic bombs.However, by increasing production Iran will soon exceed the stockpile limit of 300kg."This is part of Iran's pushback strategy against the Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign," Sanam Vakil, a Chatham House expert on Iran, told The Independent. "This is their effort at building up various portfolios that can then be used as leverage or bargaining positions if and when they come back to the negotiating table."Tehran has set a deadline of 7 July for Europe to set a new terms for the deal after US president Donald Trump withdrew from the deal. It has warned it will enrich to medical grade levels of 20 per cent, closer to the 60 per cent needed for a dirty bomb or the 90 per cent for nuclear war head, if no deal is reached.Ms Vakil said said Iran would probably breach the deal's stockpile limit in 60 days, "sending a message" to Europe – and Russia and China – that its compliance "can't be taken for granted anymore".Former US director of national intelligence James Clapper, speaking to the BBC, played down the uranium announcement, saying "I don't know that it's necessary to go into the panic mode yet".He warned about the danger of accidental escalation, particularly as both US and Iranian vessels patrol in close proximity in the Strait of Hormuz."The thing I would be concerned about is some inadvertent incident that could go incendiary," he said.Tensions in the Middle East have flared after officials in the United Arab Emirates alleged four oil vessels including two Saudi Arabian oil tankers were sabotaged and Houthi rebels allied with Iran launched a drone attack on an oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia. Iran has denied it was behind any of the attacks.The US has ordered B-51 bombers and an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf after warning of unspecified threats from Iran.US president Donald Trump warned on Monday Iran would be met with "great force" if it attacked US interests in the Middle East, after a rocket landed near the US Embassy in the Green Zone of Iraq's capital Baghdad.No one was reported injured in the rocket attack, which happened days after nonessential US staff were ordered to evacuate from diplomatic posts in the country.Mr Trump told reporters: "I think Iran would be making a very big mistake if they did anything. If they do something, it will be met with great force but we have no indication that they will."The attacks all followed Mr Trump's decision to attempt to cut off Iran's oil exports, roughly a year after he withdrew from the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and six major powers.Iranian president Hassan Rouhani rejected any talks with the US on Tuesday and called for the government to be given more power to run the sanctions-hit economy in an "economic war"."Today's situation is not suitable for talks and our choice is resistance only" state news agency IRNA quoted Mr Rouhani as saying.Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif criticised the US for sending its aircraft carrier and bombeer group to the region."Having all these military assets in a small area is in of itself prone to accidents," he told CNN. "Extreme prudence is required and the United States is playing a very, very dangerous game."Iraq will send send delegations to Washington and Tehran to help "halt tension" amid fears of a confrontation between the two powers in the Middle East, Iraqi prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi announced on Tuesday.He said officials from both countires had informed Iraq they have "no desire to fight in a war" and Iraq is "playing a role to calm the situation".
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| American Airlines blames mechanics for 2,200 flight delays, cancellations, warns of summer travel trouble Posted: 21 May 2019 11:39 AM PDT ![American Airlines blames mechanics for 2,200 flight delays, cancellations, warns of summer travel trouble]( "American Airlines blames mechanics for 2,200 flight delays, cancellations, warns of summer travel trouble") American Airlines says a slowdown by mechanics led to nearly 2,200 flight cancellations, delays since February and has intensified.
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| Dem. Rep. Accuses DHS Secretary of Choosing to Let Migrant Kids Die: ‘This Is Intentional’ Posted: 22 May 2019 09:48 AM PDT  Representative Lauren Underwood (D., Ill.) on Wednesday accused the acting Department of Homeland Security secretary of intentionally implementing border-security policies that would lead to the deaths of migrant children.During his appearance before the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday, Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan was asked to explain why five children have died in federal custody after being apprehended at the southern border since December."These stories are appalling and yet they keep happening," Underwood said, referring to the recent migrants deaths, as well as reports of inadequate housing and medical care for migrant children apprehended at the border. "Now Congress just provided half a billion dollars in February to address the humanitarian crisis at the border and will soon provide more. Why do these tragedies keep happening?"McAleenan, who succeeded Kirstjen Nielsen in April, responded that the resources provided by Congress are insufficient to address the record number of asylum seekers, many of whom are women and children, arriving at the border each day."They're happening because the crisis is exceeding the resources provided. That's why we've asked for more and we've asked for more authority to prevent this crisis from happening in the first place and to prevent the children from being placed at risk," he said.Underwood, a 32-year-old freshman lawmaker, dismissed McAleenan's claims, suggesting instead that he was implementing policies intended to result in the death of children."People keep dying, sir. People keep dying. So, this is obviously more than a question of resources," she said. "Congress has been more than willing to provide the resources and work with you to address the security and humanitarian concerns, but at this point, with five kids that have died, 5,000 separated from their families, I feel like — and the evidence is really clear — that this is intentional. It's a policy choice being made on purpose by this administration and it's cruel and inhumane.""That's an appalling accusation and our men and women fight hard to protect people in our custody every single day," McAleenan responded.> The acting DHS secretary denies the accusation that migrant deaths are "intentional" policy. pic.twitter.com/7xiThg8IVY> > -- VICE News (@vicenews) May 22, 2019Republicans on the panel reacted forcefully to Underwood's assertion. The ranking Republican on the committee, Representative Mike Rogers (R., Mich.) called for a vote to strike her comments from the record. The vote passed 9-7."You cannot impugn the character of the witness by stating that he intentionally murders children. That is completely inappropriate and her words should be taken down," Rogers said during the hearing. "She was very explicit.""It's absolutely disheartening to see some radical Democrats stoop so low to say that the Acting DHS Secretary McAleenan is murdering children. McAleenan left the private sector to serve his country after the towers fell on 9/11. This is a sad day for America and the Democrat party," Representative Mark Green (R., Tenn.) said in a statement provided to National Review.On Monday, 16-year-old Carlos Hernandez Vasquez became the fifth migrant child to die in federal custody in the last six months.Vasquez crossed into the U.S. without his parents and died of the flu at a Border Patrol station in Weslaco, Texas after spending a week in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CPB). His death has drawn scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers, who have pointed out that policy dictates he should have been transferred to the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within 72 hours of his apprehension."Make no mistake: This is a pattern of death. This is an epidemic of death by the Trump administration," Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas told reporters during a press conference Tuesday. "As I mentioned, nobody had died for ten years. And in the last six months, you've had five deaths."The Trump administration has for months urged Congress to provide resources for medical care and the construction of housing units that can accommodate the new asylum-seekers arriving at the southern border. The existing detention centers lack the capacity to handle the record influx and were built to accommodate the mostly single men who formerly comprised most of the illegal-migrant population.The administration has also urged Congress to reform the asylum system through legislation in order to limit the number of migrants who must be detained on U.S. soil while their claims are being adjudicated.
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| Tornado touched down in Lancaster County, officials confirm Posted: 20 May 2019 05:48 PM PDT  Officials have confirmed that a tornado touched down in Lancaster County as severe storms hit the region.
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| Farage's Brexit Party to Trounce May, Sporting Index Says Posted: 21 May 2019 09:03 AM PDT  Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives will win seven, while Labour will take 13 and the Liberal Democrats 12, Sporting Index predicted in an email in London on Tuesday. Sporting Index has had a consistently strong record in predicting some of the key twists and turns of the Brexit saga. Last month, about two hours before the latest vote on May's Brexit deal, the spread betting firm forecast she'd lose by 60 votes.
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| Will FAA's plan for 737 MAX fly outside US? Posted: 22 May 2019 02:29 AM PDT  Getting Boeing's top-selling 737 MAX back in the skies faces a critical test this week as the company and US regulators each seek to restore their reputations after two deadly crashes. The US Federal Aviation Administration convened a summit of global aviation regulators on Thursday to walk through the steps taken to address concerns with the MAX following criticism the agency dragged its feet on the decision to ground the jets. Most agencies around the world have said little or nothing about the situation since the 737 MAX was grounded following the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines crash, which together with a Lion Air crash in October, claimed 346 lives.
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| U.S. eases curbs on Huawei; founder says clampdown underestimates Chinese firm Posted: 21 May 2019 03:49 PM PDT  The U.S. Commerce Department blocked Huawei Technologies Co Ltd from buying U.S. goods last week, a major escalation in the trade war between the world's two top economies, saying the firm was involved in activities contrary to national security. The two countries increased import tariffs on each other's goods over the past two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump said China had reneged on earlier commitments made during months of negotiations. On Monday, the Commerce Department granted Huawei a license to buy U.S. goods until Aug. 19 to maintain existing telecoms networks and provide software updates to Huawei smartphones, a move intended to give telecom operators that rely on Huawei time to make other arrangements.
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| Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she'd be 'hard pressed' to back Biden in primary Posted: 21 May 2019 05:35 PM PDT  Bernie Sanders appears to be the favorite to secure Ocasio-Cortez's prized endorsement in the Democratic presidential primaryCongresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez told the Guardian: 'I'm not close to an endorsement announcement any time soon.' Photograph: Joshua Roberts/ReutersAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive US congresswoman and social media sensation, has said she would be "hard pressed" to endorse the frontrunner, Joe Biden, in the Democratic presidential primary.The statement is the latest sign of the left's apathy towards the former vice-president, who has surged ahead of the Senator Bernie Sanders and other rivals in recent polls.Sanders, a self-declared democratic socialist, appears to be the favourite to secure 29-year-old Ocasio-Cortez's prized endorsement but she said she was still some way off making a decision."I'm not close to an endorsement announcement any time soon," she told the Guardian on Tuesday. "I'm still trying to get a handle on my job. It seems like ages but I'm just five months in and we have quite some time. The debates are in the summer and our first primary election for the entire country isn't until next year." Asked if she would consider endorsing Biden, widely seen as a centrist, Ocasio-Cortez replied: "I'd be hard pressed to see that happen, to be honest, in a primary."Biden, comfortably leading every opinion poll, came under fire last week when Reuters reported he was pursuing a "middle ground" approach to the climate crisis. He later distanced himself from the implication.Ocasio-Cortez criticised politicians seeking "a middle-of-the-road approach to save our lives". Sanders, running second in most polls, tweeted that there was "no 'middle ground' when it comes to climate policy".If and when Ocasio-Cortez does endorse a candidate, Sanders probably remains the favourite to secure her support. She was an organiser for his 2016 primary campaign against Hillary Clinton. The pair appeared at a rally in Washington last week to support the Green New Deal climate plan.In a short interview on Tuesday the congresswoman, who has more than 4 million Twitter followers, also reiterated her demand for Donald Trump's impeachment. "I think that the grounds have been there for quite some time but the case is really getting to a larger point that we haven't seen before," she said.Democratic leaders are putting the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, under pressure to move ahead with the process. Ocasio-Cortez added: "I know that the conversation is really changing this week in the caucus and so we'll see where the speaker lands."
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| The Latest: Merkel, Macron and Putin discuss Iran situation Posted: 21 May 2019 12:44 PM PDT  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Latest on developments in the Persian Gulf region and elsewhere in the Mideast amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran (all times local):
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| Bigger cuts expected: 23,000 more Ford layoffs needed, analysts say Posted: 22 May 2019 08:14 AM PDT  Ford CEO Jim Hackett plans for layoffs won't deliver savings the company has said it wants. An analyst says another 23,000 layoffs are needed.
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| The Perfect Land Rover Discovery Is For Sale With Morris Leslie Posted: 22 May 2019 05:30 AM PDT  Land Rover's second-generation Discovery is largely ignored by those seeking a classic 4x4. The first-generation Land Rover Discovery broke new ground when it first hit tarmac in 1989. Some bemoaned that Land Rover's fresh addition to their showroom lacked the vagabond nobility and charisma of its plush brethren, yet they missed the point.
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| Who can beat James Holzhauer on 'Jeopardy!'? Former opponent sounds off Posted: 21 May 2019 11:36 AM PDT  If you ask Claudia Walters, there's only one person who can derail James Holzhauer's journey to the top of the "Jeopardy!" leaderboard.
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| May’s Desperate Gamble on a New Brexit Referendum Falls Flat Posted: 22 May 2019 12:19 AM PDT  Theresa May made a desperate final gamble to get her Brexit deal through the British Parliament before she's thrown out of office -- but her efforts looked doomed. In a hastily arranged speech on Tuesday, the embattled prime minister promised to give members of Parliament a vote on whether to call another referendum to ratify Britain's divorce from the European Union. It's something many MPs -- including scores in the opposition Labour Party -- have been calling for, but she made it conditional on them backing her deal first.
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| U.S. judge approves PG&E $105 million wildfire assistance fund Posted: 22 May 2019 11:23 AM PDT ![U.S. judge approves PG&E $105 million wildfire assistance fund]( "U.S. judge approves PG&E $105 million wildfire assistance fund") PG&E Corp may set up a $105 million housing fund for victims of 2017 and 2018 wildfires in California, which set records for devastation and were blamed on the utility's equipment, the judge overseeing the investor-owned power producer's bankruptcy ruled on Wednesday. Creditors, which include wildfire victims, are fighting for funds as PG&E navigates bankruptcy stemming from the blazes and as the state plans for increasingly long and dangerous fire seasons its officials attribute to climate change. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali at a hearing approved a motion by PG&E seeking permission to establish the fund for people who lost homes in the fires and were uninsured or have used up or will exhaust their insurance.
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| This Is the Secret to Making Your Driveway 10 Times More Beautiful Posted: 22 May 2019 08:24 AM PDT |
| N. Korea state media hits out at 'imbecile' Biden Posted: 21 May 2019 07:22 PM PDT  North Korean state media on Wednesday slammed former US vice president Joe Biden as an "imbecile" and a "fool of low IQ" after he criticised leader Kim Jong Un. Biden, who served two terms as President Barack Obama's deputy, has been on the campaign trail since announcing last month his candidacy for the Democratic Party nomination in the 2020 presidential election. It accused Biden of "slandering the supreme leadership" of North Korea -- a term usually referring to leader Kim -- and said the former senator had become "reckless and senseless, seized by ambition for power".
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| Easing tone, US says robust actions deterred Iran Posted: 21 May 2019 02:41 PM PDT  President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday appeared set on easing weeks of escalating tensions with Iran, assuring worried lawmakers it does not seek war and crediting robust US military moves with deterring the clerical regime. After a month of fiery warnings to Iran, top Trump officials delivered a classified briefing to the full US Congress where Democrats have accused the administration of hyping intelligence and pushing the United States dangerously close to war.
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| Carson says he had 'difficulty hearing' during viral Oreo testimony, defends HUD proposals Posted: 22 May 2019 10:43 AM PDT  Carson said he "was having difficulty hearing" during the committee testimony that went viral when he appeared to mix up a real estate term and Oreos.
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| Google unveils a fresh new look for Search on mobile devices Posted: 22 May 2019 05:03 PM PDT  Google unveiled a new look and feel today for the way it presents Google Search results on mobile, and the update has been regarded in a few corners now as somewhat News Feed-like.It's easy to see why that's the case, as the search giant's changes include putting emphasis on a website name and favicon above the search results. Whereas the source of results had previously not been so clearly emphasized, which makes the new design for showing results feel a little like scrolling through a feed of posts from publishers and the like."With this new design, a website's branding can be front and center, helping you better understand where the information is coming from and what pages have what you're looking for," explains Google Senior Interaction Designer for Search Jamie Leach in a company blog post today. "The name of the website and its icon appear at the top of the results card to help anchor each result, so you can more easily scan the page of results and decide what to explore next."The post notes that the refreshed look for what's arguably Google's most important product will start showing up to users over the coming days. As part of the changes, Leach continues, when you search for a product or service and Google feels like it's got a relevant, "useful" ad that would be worth including in the results, you'll now see an ad label in bold at the top of a search results card. The web address will also be included, so you can quickly determine where the information you're seeing is coming from.The other important thing to note about the Google Search refresh on mobile is that this also lays the foundation for Google to add more action buttons and information previews to search results cards, with Google wanting you to be able to now do everything from buying movie tickets to playing podcasts right there from within the results. "Our goal with Search always has been to help people quickly and easily find the information that they're looking for," Leach says. "Over the years, the amount and format of information available on the web has changed drastically -- from the proliferation of images and video to the availability of 3D objects you can now view in AR." Which is why the company thought a "visual refresh" of Search on mobile would do a better job of helping people find the information they need and quickly determine where it came from.
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