| 2020 Vision: Where every candidate stands on Trump's impeachment Posted: 31 May 2019 11:33 AM PDT  Following special counsel Robert Mueller's public statement, more Democratic presidential hopefuls are calling on Congress to act.
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| Honduras: US has no drug proof against Honduran president Posted: 31 May 2019 09:59 AM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — The Honduran government says that U.S. federal court documents show no incriminating evidence against President Juan Orlando Hernández, despite listing him as being a target of a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation.
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| Sherpas on Everest: ‘This Is a Sacred Mountain. We Need to Respect It.’ Posted: 31 May 2019 03:51 PM PDT  Eleven deaths. Dangerously long lines to reach the summit. Piles of garbage. Melting ice revealing the tombs of frozen bodies.Those are the images from Mount Everest this climbing season, triggering calls for new restrictions on who can ascend the world's tallest peak.The Sherpas, an ethnic group from the Himalayan region near Everest, have been watching as the mountain they revere—and which is a source of work for many of them—slips further away from sanctity with each passing year. Dr. Pasang Yangjee Sherpa, a cultural anthropologist now based in Seattle, tells The Daily Beast she believes there is a way for the sacred mountain and the mountaineers to co-exist. 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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| I was let go as substitute teacher because I corrected my students' grammar Posted: 01 Jun 2019 04:00 AM PDT ![I was let go as substitute teacher because I corrected my students' grammar]( "I was let go as substitute teacher because I corrected my students' grammar") What students apparently objected to was me handing back their papers, hectoring them about language errors.
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| Hezbollah chief warns any war against Iran would engulf region Posted: 31 May 2019 03:05 PM PDT  The head of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah warned on Friday that if there was a war against Iran the whole Middle East region would "erupt", amid escalating US-Iranian tensions. US President Donald "Trump, his administration, and his intelligence know well that any war on Iran will not remain confined to Iran's borders", Hassan Nasrallah said. "Any war on Iran will mean the whole region will erupt," said the head of the Iran-backed movement in a televised speech, explaining that such a war was therefore unlikely.
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| Missouri abortion clinic to stay open for now after court order Posted: 31 May 2019 04:06 AM PDT  Missouri's only abortion clinic will stay open at least a few more days after a judge on Friday granted a request by Planned Parenthood for a temporary restraining order, allowing the facility to keep operating until a hearing on Tuesday. Planned Parenthood sued Missouri this week after state health officials said the license for Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood in St. Louis was in jeopardy, meaning the clinic could have closed at midnight unless the judge granted the request for a temporary restraining order.
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| China fights back against the Huawei ban with a blacklist of its own Posted: 31 May 2019 05:08 PM PDT  The Trump administration delivered a massive blow to Huawei a few days ago, placing the biggest China's smartphone maker on the US Commerce Department "Entity List" that bans the sale of Huawei products in the country. The US government also banned the Chinese vendor from importing technology made in the US, which covers anything from chips and other components from companies like Intel and Qualcomm to software like Android and Windows.Other international companies have also cut ties with Huawei temporarily, including chip-maker ARM, whose silicon designs are the basis of most mobile chips used in Huawei designs. All this prompted the Chinese government to create its own blacklist, which it's currently referring to as the "Unreliable Entity List."China announced its list on Friday, saying that it will add any foreign firms and individuals who do not play nice with Chinese companies, namely Huawei."Foreign enterprises, organizations or individuals that do not comply with market rules, deviate from a contract's spirit or impose blockades or stop supplies to Chinese enterprises for non-commercial purposes, and seriously damage the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, will be included on a list of 'unreliable entities'," Chinese commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said, per HongKongFP.The official did not say what companies are on the list, adding that they will be announced at a later date."Some foreign entities have violated normal market rules and the spirit of their contracts for non-commercial purposes, blockading and cutting off supplies and taking other discriminatory actions against Chinese companies damaging their legitimate rights and interests, and endangering China's national security and national interests," Gao said, according to state-owned Global Times.China's response seems to escalate trade-war tensions, but in reality, there's probably little that China can do to whatever companies end up on its list. That's because the most important US tech companies that may qualify for that list are in a co-dependency relationship with China. Intel and Qualcomm processors are needed and used by many Chinese smartphone makers. Google, meanwhile, doesn't have a presence in China, so the risk is small. Microsoft's Windows is also a critical operating system, one that China can hardly do without. If there's one company China could punish, it's probably Apple, but Apple doesn't have a business relationship with Huawei. Not to mention that China also needs Apple's business just as much as Apple needs China.If anything, China is trying to do whatever it can to deescalate the conflict and reach some common ground, as the ban on Huawei will have a severe impact on the smartphone vendor's bottom line, and even on its ability to conduct business in other markets.
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| Border Patrol says it found largest-ever migrant group Posted: 31 May 2019 01:40 AM PDT  A group of 1,036 migrants that crossed the border illegally into El Paso, Texas, is the largest the Border Patrol has ever encountered, the agency said Thursday. (May 31)
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| The American People Need Answers From Robert Mueller Posted: 31 May 2019 03:16 AM PDT  Special Counsel Robert Mueller's understated yet highly anticipated press conference yielded more questions than answers, even if the former FBI director largely stuck to the text of his already published report. Naturally, he took no questions from reporters and he said he did not want to face any from Congress either."The report is my testimony," Mueller said as he officially wrapped up his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Unfortunately, that won't cut it.Mueller hasn't given a satisfactory explanation for why he did not reach a definitive conclusion—a "traditional prosecutorial judgment"—about whether President Donald Trump committed obstruction of justice. In possibly the most significant discrepancy between his account of the Trump-Russia investigation and Attorney General William Barr's summary, Mueller leaned heavily on the Justice Department guidelines forbidding the indictment of a sitting president.Barr said that his, and ostensibly then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's, exoneration of Trump did not turn exclusively on this constitutional interpretation—and left the unmistakable Impression that this was true of the special counsel's more equivocal finding as well. Mueller left a rather different impression, but his public rationale for punting does not really hold water.
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| Police were told deal was in works with Jussie Smollett Posted: 31 May 2019 12:08 AM PDT  CHICAGO (AP) — New documents on the Jussie Smollett case released Thursday show that prosecutors told Chicago police detectives that a possible deal with the "Empire" actor was in the works a month before charges against him were dropped.
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| UPDATE 1-Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Wilders says Twitter blocks his account Posted: 31 May 2019 03:52 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Wilders says Twitter blocks his account]( "UPDATE 1-Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Wilders says Twitter blocks his account") Dutch far-right politician and anti-Islam campaigner Geert Wilders said on Friday that Twitter had temporarily blocked his account following remarks he made about a political rival. Wilders, who cannot easily appear in public due to threats against him by Islamists, relies heavily on Twitter to communicate with his supporters. "Twitter often tolerates death threats against me, but not a factual tweet by me about a colleague.
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| 'Dangerous overcrowding' in US migrant facilities: government report Posted: 31 May 2019 12:56 PM PDT  A US Department of Homeland Security report warned Friday of "dangerous overcrowding" in El Paso, Texas facilities for holding just-arrived migrants, with rooms packed with more than five times the number authorized. The report by the DHS inspector general said the health and security of both migrants and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials is under threat by squeezing people into holding rooms designed for a fraction of their numbers. "We are concerned that overcrowding and prolonged detention represent an immediate risk to the health and safety not just of the detainees, but also DHS agents and officers," the report said.
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| Younger voters continued to outstrip turnout by boomers and seniors in 2018 Posted: 31 May 2019 09:55 AM PDT  Young voters turned out to vote for the 2018 midterm elections at record-breaking numbers.
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| The Latest: Hungary IDs 7 Korean victims of boat sinking Posted: 01 Jun 2019 10:00 AM PDT  BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The Latest on the deadly tour boat collision on the Danube River in Hungary (all times local):
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| China vice minister says U.S. overestimates trade deficit Posted: 01 Jun 2019 08:11 PM PDT ![China vice minister says U.S. overestimates trade deficit]( "China vice minister says U.S. overestimates trade deficit") Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said on Sunday the United States overestimates the trade deficit between the two countries and China should not be blamed for job losses in the U.S. manufacturing sector. Wang told a news conference the U.S. goods and services deficit with China is actually closer to $150 billion and not the $410 billion quoted by U.S. officials. China's processing trade with the United States should not be included in trade deficit calculations, he added.
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| NASA’s Spitzer telescope snaps ‘family portrait’ of epic proportions Posted: 31 May 2019 04:06 PM PDT  NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has a habit of providing us with some downright gorgeous views of deep space, but its latest snapshot might actually be its best yet. The image, which NASA is showcasing in a new blog post, is absolutely packed with things to see, but we'll need NASA's help to actually explain it all.The image of a mosaic of two regions of space known as Cepheus B and Cepheus C. The massive green cloud that dominates the frame is a nebula, which is a collection of loose material such as dust and gas that may eventually clump together to form other objects like stars.Along with the original image, NASA has been kind enough to provide us all with a labeled version that points out a handful of neat sights:Near the left center of the image, you'll spot the colossal star known as V374 Ceph, which astronomers theorize is surrounded by a ring of debris that allows it to cast the cone-shaped shadows off of its sides.Some of the newer features of the image, like the young nebula taking shape near the bottom right of the frame, are just babies in comparison to the larger nebula and star clusters. The image contains both new and very, very old stars and collections of objects which, NASA suggests, makes it a "family portrait" of sorts.As time passes, older star-forming regions fizzle out and new ones form from the material ejected from dying stars.https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLTiv_XWHnOZrcv46P6T4-u3v53VgGWKkh&v=p7YQ-KvGbJQAlong with the image, NASA produced a very cool video to provide additional context. It's only a couple of minutes long but does a great job of covering all the interesting features we can see in the Spitzer image.Spitzer is currently nearing its 16th year of service, which is significantly longer than the planned five-year primary mission timeline. The spacecraft is clearly still capable of delivering gorgeous views of space, so we're glad it's still around.
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| Merkel rebukes Trump politics in Harvard commencement speech: 'Tear down walls of ignorance' Posted: 31 May 2019 11:36 AM PDT  Without saying the president by name, German Chancellor Angela Merkel slammed the policies and worldview of Donald Trump's presidency.
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| Virginia beach shooting: 12 dead and six wounded after gunman opens fire in government building, police say Posted: 31 May 2019 02:41 PM PDT  Twelve people have been killed and six others wounded after a "disgruntled" employee opened fire at a municipal centre in Virginia Beach, the city's police chief has said.Police said the suspect, a long-term and current employee at Virginia Beach Municipal Centre fired "indiscriminately" and was killed when officers responded to the incident.Virginia Beach police chief James Cervera told reporters an officer was among the six wounded, adding that he was "basically saved by his bulletproof vest"."There's no way to describe an incident such as this," said Mr Cervera. At the same conference, Virginia Beach mayor Robert Dyer said: "This is the most devastating day in the history of Virginia Beach."The shooting happened at the Virginia Beach Municipal Centre, a campus of city offices and agencies, which includes the police department. The shooting happened in Building Number 2, which includes offices for planning and public works."This day will not define Virginia Beach," said Virginia Beach councilman Aaron Rouse at the press conference. "We will come together. We show the strength of our city."Officials told WAVY that one patient was taken to Sentara Pincess Anne hospital. They were brought by a helicopter reserved for severe injures. Five other patients were taken to Virginia Beach General, seemingly with lesser injuries. "This is a tragic day for Virginia Beach and our entire Commonwealth," wrote Virginia governor Ralph Northam on Twitter. "My heart breaks for the victims of this devastating shooting, their families, and all who loved them. I am on my way to Virginia Beach now and will be there within the hour."
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| Ramadan culture takes a fashionable turn, straining budgets Posted: 31 May 2019 12:49 PM PDT ![Ramadan culture takes a fashionable turn, straining budgets]( "Ramadan culture takes a fashionable turn, straining budgets") "We have to look our best when we are invited during Ramadan," Amina says. For many Arab families, advertising, peer pressure, a growing middle class, and Gulf-led consumerism are steering the holy month – traditionally a period of fasting, spiritual reflection, and family affairs – toward a social season of high expectations on par with Christmas in the United States. Slowly creeping into the holiday the past two decades, Ramadan consumerism is hitting new heights in the region this year.
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| Texas graduate celebrates by hugging father at Mexican border Posted: 31 May 2019 05:03 AM PDT  A Facebook post of a graduate and her father has gone viral after they met at the border on graduation night.
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| Honduran protesters set fire at entrance to US embassy Posted: 31 May 2019 05:35 PM PDT  TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Masked men set fire to a pile of tires placed at the front door of the U.S. Embassy in the Honduran capital on Friday amid three weeks of street protests.
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| The 2019 Mercedes-AMG CLS53 in Photos Posted: 31 May 2019 06:19 AM PDT |
| UPDATE 2-China to probe FedEx after Huawei says parcels diverted Posted: 01 Jun 2019 07:35 AM PDT ![UPDATE 2-China to probe FedEx after Huawei says parcels diverted]( "UPDATE 2-China to probe FedEx after Huawei says parcels diverted") China will investigate whether FedEx Corp
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| Wall St Week Ahead-Struggles of transport stocks transmit caution to market Posted: 31 May 2019 01:29 PM PDT ![Wall St Week Ahead-Struggles of transport stocks transmit caution to market]( "Wall St Week Ahead-Struggles of transport stocks transmit caution to market") Add this to worries about Wall Street: The index of planes, trains and trucking companies, considered an important stock barometer of the U.S. economy's health, is struggling. The Dow Jones Transportation Average swooned 10.2% in May, a far steeper decline than that of the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the S&P 500. For analysts who closely watch the transports, this could be a sign of deeper market stress.
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| Warren grilled on Native American ancestry claims: 'You're kind of like the original Rachel Dolezal' Posted: 31 May 2019 08:41 AM PDT  Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is asked to explain how she learned about her Native American ancestry.
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| Mastermind's accountant agrees to plead guilty in college admissions scandal Posted: 31 May 2019 04:34 PM PDT  The bookkeeper for Rick Singer, the ringleader of the college admissions bribery scandal, has agreed to plead guilty to charges and cooperate.
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| NASA spots explosion of X-rays glowing in the universe Posted: 01 Jun 2019 07:37 AM PDT  NASA peers deep into the cosmos at the bright, leftover cinders of exploded stars, called pulsars. Now, the space agency has released a map-like image showing loops and arcs of X-ray energy — invisible to the naked eye — radiating from these dense cores of once massive stars. The most radiant spots are the suspected pulsars, repeatedly blasting X-ray energy into space. These trails of energy, or electromagnetic radiation, reveal the powerful sources of these X-rays. "Even with minimal processing, this image reveals the Cygnus Loop, a supernova remnant about 90 light-years across and thought to be 5,000 to 8,000 years old," said NASA's Keith Gendreau, who leads the imaging mission called NICER, in a statement. "We're gradually building up a new X-ray image of the whole sky, and it's possible NICER's nighttime sweeps will uncover previously unknown sources." Locations of pulsars. Image: nasa / nicer NICER, short for Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer, is a cube-shaped instrument attached to the International Space Station (ISS). NASA focuses on specific pulsar targets, so NICER repeatedly follows similar tracks through the sky, ultimately creating prominent arcs of X-ray radiation on this sky map. In total, this image is an X-ray map showing 22 months of radiation traveling through space. SEE ALSO: The secretive lab that built 'the bomb' now scours Mars for signs of life NICER will continue to scan the cosmos for blasts of X-rays so they can better understand the sources of this energy — pulsars. Astronomers suspect these stars act like lighthouse beacons in the universe, regularly emanating or "pulsing" blasts of X-ray light as they spin. Grasping how different pulsars "pulse" may serve quite useful for future deep space travel through the solar system. NASA plans for a coherent map of pulsars to essentially act like a "GPS system in space." "When mature, this technology will enable spacecraft to navigate themselves throughout the solar system — and beyond," NASA said. WATCH: Meet Katie Bouman, one of the scientists who helped capture the first black hole image
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| US national spelling bee crowns eight co-champions after running out of challenging words Posted: 31 May 2019 01:27 AM PDT  A superhuman group of adolescents broke the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday, with eight contestants crowned co-champions after the competition said it was running out of challenging words.It was a stunning result, coming just after midnight, for the 92nd annual event, which has had six two-way ties but had never experienced such a logjam at the top.After the 17th round, Jacques Bailly, the event's pronouncer, announced that any of the eight remaining contestants who made it through three more words would share in the prize."We do have plenty of words remaining in our list, but we'll soon run out of words that will challenge you," Mr Bailly told the contestants at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Centre in National Harbour, Maryland.He added: "We're throwing the dictionary at you. And so far, you are showing this dictionary who is boss."None of the contestants faltered. They each got their own moment of triumph as they correctly spelled their words in the 20th round, then patiently sat back in their seats as the following contestants had their moments. They supported each other with high-fives and hugs, and each placed a hand on a single trophy.The champions were, along with the final words they spelled:Rishik Gandhasri, 13, of San Jose, California: auslaut.Erin Howard, 14, of Huntsville, Alabama: erysipelas.Saketh Sundar, 13, of Clarksville, Maryland: bougainvillea.Shruthika Padhy, 13, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey: aiguillette.Sohum Sukhatankar, 13, of Dallas: pendeloque.Abhijay Kodali, 12, of Flower Mound, Texas: palama.Christopher Serrao, 13, of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey: cernuous.Rohan Raja, 13, of Irving, Texas: odylic.The competition normally offers a $50,000 (£39,610) prize to the champion. Instead of splitting it eight ways, all eight contestants will receive $50,000 and their own trophies.There have been marathon spelling bees before — the 2017 event went 36 rounds, with two spellers battling it out after the 17th round — but the competition has never hosted such a large group of spellers who could not be defeated.The field is typically winnowed down to fewer than four by the 16th round.This year, the ninth-place finisher, 13-year-old Simone Kaplan of Davie, Florida, was thwarted in the 15th round.From that point on, the contestants correctly spelled 47 straight words.Already nervous, they started showing signs of fatigue as the competition stretched on past its expected window.At the beginning of the 17th round, Rishik had a question for Mr Bailly."Out of curiosity, would you happen to know what time it is?" he asked. It was 11:18 pm.It was one of several moments of levity from a group of students who appeared largely unfazed by the pressure, with their parents in the audience often looking more unsettled.Rohan prompted laughter in the 17th round as he recoiled at his errant pronunciation of "Gaeltacht.""Oh God," he said, "I sound like I vomited."The New York Times
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| Israel Will Hold an Election for Prime Minister in September — Even Though Netanyahu Just Won the Vote. Here's Why Posted: 31 May 2019 09:51 AM PDT  Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a government within the allotted 42-day limit
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| US cuts funds for ‘anti-propaganda’ Iran group that trolled activists Posted: 31 May 2019 02:04 PM PDT  The Iran Disinformation Project was funded by a state department group created to counter foreign propaganda Men read headlines in front of a newspaper stand in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Photograph: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images The US state department has cut off funding to a group that purported to combat Iranian propaganda, after it was found to be trolling US journalists, human rights activists and academics it deemed to be insufficiently hostile to the government in Tehran. The Iran Disinformation Project was funded by the state department's global engagement centre which was created to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation. In recent weeks however, the group's Twitter account @IranDisinfo targeted BBC journalists, thinktank experts and civil society advocates, denouncing them as being "mouthpieces" and supporters of the Iranian government. In one case they singled out a researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRW), Tara Sepehri Far, because she had looked into the human rights impact of sanctions on ordinary Iranians. The group also focused on supporters of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which Donald Trump withdrew from last year, particularly the National Iranian American Council, which has advocated nuclear diplomacy with Tehran. It used the hashtag #NIACLobbies4Mullahs. In response to a request for comment, a state department spokesperson said: "The bulk of the work by @IranDisinfo has been in line with the scope of a project with the Department of State. We have, however, identified recent tweets that fall outside the scope of the project to counter foreign state propaganda or disinformation." The statement added: "Today, the Department suspended the funding for the Iran Disinfo project until the implementer takes necessary steps to ensure that any future activity remains within the agreed scope of work." Many of the group's controversial tweets were deleted on Friday. Brett Bruen, who was director of global engagement in the Obama White House, said that the global engagement centre was originally created to counter Russian and Isis disinformation and propaganda. However, under the Trump administration, it was starved of funds and personnel, and has an operating budget of just $20m. Lea Gabrielle, a former navy intelligence officer and Fox News journalist was hired to run it in February. "It is not being used to deal with Russian disinformation or Isis propaganda, but they are syphoning money off to attack the Iran [nuclear] deal and Iran," Bruen said. "We know that information warfare is a serious and damaging threat, but the centre is being treated by the Trump administration like it is a reserve for dipping in to for pet political projects." Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's executive director for the Middle East and North Africa, welcomed the speed of the state department decision to cut funding to Iran Disinformation Project. "Groups like this really undermine human rights advocacy when they use it selectively as a political weapon to go after a perceived enemy."
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| Explosions rock Syria's northern city of Raqqa, killing 10 Posted: 01 Jun 2019 02:53 PM PDT ![Explosions rock Syria's northern city of Raqqa, killing 10]( "Explosions rock Syria's northern city of Raqqa, killing 10") BEIRUT (AP) — Two explosions killed 10 people in Raqqa Saturday in the latest attacks to hit the city in northern Syria, opposition activists reported.
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| Could Taiwan Halt an Invasion by China? Posted: 01 Jun 2019 01:49 AM PDT  The Taiwan question has long been in a thorn in the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) side. In the decades following the Shanghai communiqué, the CCP's core strategic approach to Taiwan was to bide their time while building up national strength. As Deng Xiaoping famously proclaimed, the People's Republic of China (PRC) can wait 100 years to reunify with Taiwan (also known as Republic of China, or ROC) if necessary.Today's CCP appears to be operating within a much shorter time frame, however. With China's rise to great power status, Beijing wields unprecedented economic leverage over Taiwan and is increasingly comfortable with flexing its military muscle overseas. XI Jingping is "losing patience" with the defiant island off his southeastern coast, which continues to rebuff Chinese reunification schemes premised on what Xi calls a "one country, two systems" approach.
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| Summit fever: Everest's budget climbing boom puts Indians most at risk Posted: 30 May 2019 11:58 PM PDT ![Summit fever: Everest's budget climbing boom puts Indians most at risk]( "Summit fever: Everest's budget climbing boom puts Indians most at risk") KOLKATA/KATHMANDU, May 31 (Reuters) - Earlier this month Dipankar Ghosh, a 52-year-old Indian photographer, scaled the world's fifth-highest peak, the snow-capped Mount Makalu. After being separated from the rest of his team in bad weather, he collapsed and died along with Narayan Singh, an officer in the Indian army, according to his tour operator. "Dipankar personified mountains," said his brother, Goutam, sitting by the coffin after it returned to the family's home in Kolkata, the state capital of India's West Bengal, on Wednesday.
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| Waive your yearly Amex fee and snag 80,000 bonus Delta miles with this limited-time offer Posted: 31 May 2019 08:35 PM PDT  One of the great things about Delta's co-branded rewards cards is that they can offer something all at once that a semi-frequent flyer might be hard-pressed to accumulate otherwise. We're talking, of course, about frequent-flyer miles -- or, in the case of the limited-time offer Delta just kicked off for its main cards, the sizable welcome bonuses that in a couple of instances can be as high as 80,000 bonus miles.Through July 2, the six Delta co-branded cards that are issued by American Express which we talk about below offer an impressive range of bonus miles when certain spending requirements are met. The cards include both personal and business Delta Amex cards, and for anyone who's been watching the increasingly frequent award sales Delta unveils but doesn't have enough SkyMiles in your account -- read on, because according to The Points Guy these are among the highest welcome bonus offers seen on the Delta cards. Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express and Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American ExpressOn the entry-level side of the spectrum, the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express is offering 60,000 miles if you're a new cardholder who spends $2,000 in the first three months. Make a Delta purchase within that time, and you'll also score a $50 statement credit. The Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express, meanwhile, has a sweeter offer -- 70,000 miles after you spend $4,000 in the first three months, plus that same $50 statement credit after making a Delta purchase in the first three months.Both cards waive the $95 annual fee during the first year, in addition to offering cardholders a first bag checked free on Delta flights, as well as priority boarding and 20% off of inflight purchases on Delta.The bonus miles look all the more impressive when you consider the valuation from The Points Guy of $720 for 60,000 SkyMiles and $840 for 70,000. Meaning, the bonus -- when viewed in the context of some of Delta's recent award sales -- could be enough for several round-trip domestic airfares. Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express and Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American ExpressOne step up annual fee- and benefits-wise, the Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express has sweetened its welcome offer to 75,000 bonus miles and 5,000 Medallion Qualification Miles, or MQMs, for new cardholders who spend at least $3,000 in the first three months of card ownership. Make a Delta purchase within the first three months, and there will also be a $100 statement credit. The Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express, meanwhile, is offering 80,000 bonus miles and 5,000 MQMs after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months, plus a $100 statement credit after making a Delta purchase in the first 3 months.Both versions of the Platinum Delta Amex come with a $195 annual fee that, unfortunately, can't be waived in year one. To take some of the sting out of that fact, the cards at least offer additional benefits like an annual companion certificate that can be used for travel in the main cabin. Owning a Platinum Delta Amex also helps you rack up MQMs toward Delta elite status, with 5,000 MQMs you earn from the welcome bonus as well as 10,000 MQMs and 10,000 redeemable miles once you spend $25,000 with the card in a calendar year. Additionally, you'll pick up another 10,000 MQMs and 10,000 redeemable miles after you spend $50,000 in a calendar year. Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express and Delta Reserve® for Business Credit CardThe top-of-the-line personal credit card in this lineup is the Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express. Like the Platinum Delta Amex, it comes with the possibility of earning 75,000 SkyMiles and 5,000 MQMs as long as you meet the spending requirement of $5,000 in the first three months. The Delta Reserve® for Business Credit Card from American Express, meanwhile, is offering 80,000 bonus miles and 5,000 MQMs after you spend $6,000 in the first 3 months.Both cards come with a $450 annual fee, but with that price you get the most benefits. Things like complimentary Delta Sky Club access when you're flying Delta, and the ability to have up to two guests accompany you at a discounted rate of only $29 per person. The Delta Reserve also offers you the ability to earn MQMs toward Delta elite status by meeting spending thresholds. Spend $30,000 with the card during a calendar year, and you'll earn 15,000 MQMs as well as 15,000 redeemable miles. Spend $60,000 in a calendar year, and you can tack on another 15,000 in both of those categories. The verdictWhile it's true that the valuation from The Points Guy puts Delta SkyMiles on the lower end of the scale when ranking the offerings from major US airlines, things are in fact changing. Delta has, for example, started to offer more frequent award sales, with more destinations and cabins available at discounted prices.This also isn't the first time Delta Amex credit cards have offered elevated welcome bonuses, but this time around the offer is definitely looking more attractive than ever.
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| Virginia Beach gunman who killed 12 was disgruntled city engineer Posted: 01 Jun 2019 06:01 AM PDT  The gunman who killed 12 people at a Virginia Beach municipal building before dying in a shootout with police was identified on Saturday as a disgruntled city engineer and co-worker of most of the victims. All but one of the victims from Friday's mass shooting in the coastal resort community were employed by the city, officials said, while the other was a contractor seeking a permit. The gunman, DeWayne Craddock, had worked for the city's public utilities department for about 15 years, Virginia Beach Police Chief James Cervera said at a news conference.
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| JPMorgan Chase settles case with male employees over paid parental leave Posted: 31 May 2019 09:14 AM PDT ![JPMorgan Chase settles case with male employees over paid parental leave]( "JPMorgan Chase settles case with male employees over paid parental leave") JPMorgan Chase reached a settlement with male employees who accused the company of denying them paid parental leave.
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| In a time when life seems to be going off the rails, remember modern life is extraordinary Posted: 01 Jun 2019 03:00 AM PDT  In 2019, the news can be depressing, but the small and ordinary miracles of the modern world should prompt us to pause and be grateful.
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| Trump's Mexico Tariffs Risk Economic Turmoil Ahead of 2020 Vote Posted: 31 May 2019 01:00 AM PDT  Trump announced a 5% tariff on all imports from Mexico unless it takes "decisive measures" -- as judged by his administration -- to stem migrants entering the U.S., according to a White House statement. The tariffs would begin June 10 and scale up incrementally until they reach 25 percent on Oct. 1.
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| Iran accuses Saudi Arabia of 'sowing division' Posted: 31 May 2019 12:15 AM PDT  Tehran accused Riyadh Friday of "sowing division" in the region to Israel's advantage, after the kingdom hosted summits of Gulf and Arab leaders to rally support against the Islamic republic. Saudi Arabia has "continued to sow division between Islamic countries and in the region, which is the wish of the Zionist regime," foreign ministry spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi said. "We see the attempts by Saudi Arabia to rally neighbouring and Arab countries against Iran as the continuation of futile attempts by America and the Zionist regime," he added.
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| Turkey, Russia face conflicts over Syria's push into Idlib Posted: 01 Jun 2019 12:20 PM PDT  ISTANBUL (AP) — Ankara and Moscow are again facing an escalation of violence in Syria's last rebel-held territory, a development that puts their cooperation to the test even as they support opposing sides in the eight-year war that has devastated Syria.
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| Major film studios threaten to boycott Georgia over abortion law Posted: 30 May 2019 10:19 PM PDT  WarnerMedia, Sony Pictures and NBCUniversal on Thursday joined a growing number of major studios threatening to pull their productions out of Georgia should a controversial abortion law in the southern US state go into effect. "We will watch the situation closely and if the new law holds we will reconsider Georgia as the home to any new productions," WarnerMedia, which encompasses HBO, Turner and Warner Bros., said in a statement to AFP. NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Entertainment and AMC Networks also warned that should the abortion bill go into effect, that would impact their choice for filming locations.
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| Volkswagen's Atlas Cross Sport Two-Row SUV Is Almost Here Posted: 31 May 2019 09:02 AM PDT  Spy photos show the mid-size SUV is close to production ready.
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| WhatsApp Hacked and Bugs in Intel Chips: What You Need to Know Posted: 01 Jun 2019 09:32 AM PDT  It's been a day of high-profile security incidents.First there was news the popular WhatsApp messenger app was hacked. Updated versions of WhatsApp have been released, which you should install if you're one of the more than one billion people who use the app.There was also news of several security flaws in the majority of Intel processors, found in many of the world's desktop, laptop and server computers.Software patches to prevent exploitation of these hardware flaws have been released by several vendors, including Microsoft. You should install security updates from vendors promptly, including these.WhatsApp hack revealedThe WhatsApp news was revealed first by the Financial Times, which says the bug was used in an attempt to access content on the phone of a UK-based human rights lawyer.The lawyer reported unusual activity on his phone to the Citizen Lab, an academic research centre that focuses on digital espionage. The centre then contacted WhatsApp, which had independently noted signs of some kind of hack and put in place preliminary preventative measures in its network infrastructure.
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| UPDATE 1-Comcast says no interest in acquiring divested spectrum from Sprint, T-Mobile deal Posted: 31 May 2019 09:37 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Comcast says no interest in acquiring divested spectrum from Sprint, T-Mobile deal]( "UPDATE 1-Comcast says no interest in acquiring divested spectrum from Sprint, T-Mobile deal") U.S. cable operator Comcast Corp has no interest in acquiring divested spectrum from the Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US Inc transaction, the company said on Friday. Bloomberg reported earlier this week that Comcast and Charter Communications Inc were in discussions with U.S. regulators to buy wireless spectrum. T-Mobile and Sprint were considering divesting spectrum back to the government, which would then sell it to help establish a fourth carrier.
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| Bacon-Wrapped Pickles, Caprese Bites, and More Must-Try Appetizers Posted: 31 May 2019 08:45 AM PDT |
| 4 accused of sexually assaulting child while producing porn in New Jersey Posted: 31 May 2019 04:39 AM PDT  Four suspects involved in a pornography production company in New Jersey are accused of aggravated sexual assault and endangering a 7-year-old child.
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