| Iran says talks with US impossible; US says it wants talks Posted: 24 Jun 2019 08:14 PM PDT  Iran's U.N. ambassador warned Monday that the situation in the Persian Gulf is "very dangerous" and called talks with the U.S. impossible in the face of escalating sanctions and intimidation, while the U.S. envoy said the Trump administration's aim is to get Tehran back to negotiations. Recent attacks on tankers and the downing of a U.S. drone played out in comments before and after a closed U.N. Security Council meeting called by the United States that provided sharply different views of the current situation. It took place hours after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior Iranian military figures with financial sanctions.
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| Vietnam jails US citizen for 'state overthrow' attempt Posted: 24 Jun 2019 02:16 AM PDT  A US citizen was sentenced Monday to 12 years in Vietnamese prison for "attempting to overthrow the state", a lawyer and state media said, as the one-party country squeezes dissent. Vietnamese-American Michael Nguyen was detained in July last year while travelling in the country with two activists, who were also arrested. The trio were accused of setting up a group to prepare armed protest and the occupation of official "headquarters" in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, according to state-run news site VnExpress.
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| Weird: India Sent a Really Old MiG-21 to Battle an U.S. Made F-16. Why? Posted: 24 Jun 2019 03:57 AM PDT  On Feb. 26, 2019 Indian planes crossed the line of control at India's border with Pakistan and bombed what New Dehli described as a terrorist training camp near Balakot.The Indian air force defended its decision to send old MiG-21 fighters up against much more modern Pakistani F-16s during recent aerial skirmishes.(This first appeared in March 2019.)Several days of aerial fighting followed the bombing raid. On Feb. 27, 2019, Pakistani F-16s and other planes crossed the line of control to attack Indian forces, New Delhi claimed.Indian MiG-21s and other fighters intercepted the Pakistanis and shot down one F-16, killing its pilot, according to the Indian government. Islamabad claimed its forces shot down two MiG-21s, but New Delhi copped to losing just one jet.Pakistani forces captured the MiG-21 pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, and held him for two days before handing him over to Indian officials.India's MiG-21s, while featuring some key upgrades, still are more than 30 years old. The Pakistani F-16 that the Indians shot down reportedly was a Block 52D model that Islamabad in 2005 ordered from the United States."The MiG-21 is in our inventory, why will we not use it?" Indian Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa rhetorically asked reporters when questioned about the aerial disparity.To be fair, India in the 1990s upgraded its MiG-21s to the "Bison" standard with Western-style avionics, a new radar and radar warning receiver and compatibility with modern weapons. "[It] has got better weapons system, better air-to-air missiles," Dhanoa pointed out.But the main reason India sent the MiG-21 into battle is that the type is still one of the most numerous in Indian air force service. "We fight with all the aircraft in our inventory," Dhanoa said.Indeed, the aerial battle in which the MiG-21 and F-16 were shot down involved, on both sides, mixed formations of old and new fighters."The MiG-21 that was shot down on Feb. 27, 2019, was part of a formation of eight Indian fighters which included four Sukhoi 30s, two upgraded Mirage 2000s and two MiG-21 Bisons that were dispatched to engage a package of 24 [Pakistani air force] jets that included eight F-16s, four Mirage III aircraft, four JF-17 Thunders," David Cenciotti reported at The Aviationist.India for years has been struggling to replace a large fleet of old, Russian-made warplanes. In 2018 the Indian air force operated 244 1960s-vintage MiG-21s and 84 MiG-27s that are only slightly younger.The MiG-21s, in particular, are accident-prone. Since the first of 874 MiG-21s entered Indian service in 1963, around 490 have crashed, killing around 200 pilots.
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| The Latest: Driver denies previous drunken driving charge Posted: 24 Jun 2019 02:17 PM PDT  A lawyer for the driver of a pickup truck in a crash that killed seven motorcyclists in New Hampshire says his client denies being intoxicated when he was charged with drunken driving in Connecticut last month. Volodymyr Zhukovskyy was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs on May 11 in a Walmart parking lot in East Windsor, Connecticut.
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| The First 2020 Democratic Debate Is Almost Here. Here’s Everything You Need to Know Posted: 23 Jun 2019 03:00 AM PDT  Democratic candidates will face off in the first primary debate in Miami on June 26 and 27. Here's what to know before they take the stage.
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| View Photos of the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLS-class Posted: 23 Jun 2019 03:01 PM PDT |
| FedEx sues US government over shipment restrictions Posted: 25 Jun 2019 01:06 AM PDT  American logistics giant FedEx sued the US government on Monday, saying Washington's restrictions on exports and imports due to growing trade disputes and sanctions created an "impossible burden" for delivery firms. The announcement of the lawsuit comes as Beijing and Washington face off in a trade war that has seen both sides exchange steep tariffs on hundreds of billions in exports. A statement by the delivery firm said the restrictions placed "an unreasonable burden on FedEx to police the millions of shipments that transit our network every day" or face heavy fines.
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| Trump administration abortion rules can take effect, 9th Circuit Court says Posted: 23 Jun 2019 12:58 PM PDT  Trump administration rules restricting federal funding for clinics providing abortion referrals can take effect a federal appeals court said Thursday.
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| Southwest’s just-announced fall fare sale has some great deals, with tickets as low as $49 Posted: 24 Jun 2019 08:31 PM PDT  We're barely into summer, which means most of you probably aren't already looking ahead to the latter part of the year yet or to the travel plans you may or may not pursue once the weather gets cool. That is, unless you're eager to snatch up a discounted fare early, in which case a number of carriers are already stepping up to offer a plethora of discounts to make the dog days of summer a little more bearable.Southwest is the latest, with its unveiling on Monday of a fall fare sale that runs from now through Thursday night and includes fares as low as $49 among other pretty sweet deals that can be found on flights around the country.The deals on offer include more than a dozen one-way fares for under $100, with the full rundown available at Southwest's fare sale page. The important thing to note is you've got between now and 11:59 p.m. PST on Thursday to book your flight with the budget carrier, and once you're on that sale page you can sort your options by the city of origin to get a look at the myriad deals available.Before we highlight a few of the available deals, just an important point -- Southwest says the deals are generally available for travel that will be done between September 3 and December 18 for all points within the continental US and if you're doing Hawaii inter-island travel. The fares are nonrefundable, and blackout dates apply.This is also not a blanket, across-the-board sale, as Southwest also notes that seats, travel days and markets are limited. That said, if you act now you can grab deals like a one-way $81 flight from Fort Lauderdale to the Cayman Islands or an $87 flight from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas.Other low-cost options:A one-way flight from San Francisco to Las Vegas would set you back $65, while you'd pay $94 to fly from Chicago to Detroit. Flights from Washington DC to Atlanta and from Boston to Atlanta would cost you $89 and $91, respectively.
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| Flynn's sentencing delayed again so new lawyer can study up Posted: 24 Jun 2019 09:51 AM PDT  The lawyer, Sidney Powell, said she needed the extra time to work her way through three hard drives delivered from Flynn's former lawyers.
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| Feds probe 'quality' of repairs on plane in Hawaii crash Posted: 23 Jun 2019 04:32 PM PDT  Federal investigators will review repair and inspection records on the skydiving plane that became inverted before crashing shortly after takeoff on Oahu's North Shore, killing all 11 people on board in the deadliest civil aviation accident since 2011. Repairs were then made to get the plane back into service, National Transportation Safety Board officials said at a news conference Sunday. "We will be looking at the quality of those repairs and whether it was inspected and whether it was airworthy," the NTSB's Jennifer Homendy said.
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| China says will not allow Hong Kong issue to be discussed at G20 summit Posted: 23 Jun 2019 07:29 PM PDT  China's Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Jun said on Monday that China will not allow the Group of 20 nations to discuss the Hong Kong issue at its summit this week. Millions of people demonstrated on the streets of Hong Kong this month against a bill that would allow people to be extradited to the mainland to face trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party. It triggered the most violent protests in decades when police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowds.
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| Bernie Sanders to propose wiping out $1.6 trillion of US student debt Posted: 24 Jun 2019 12:20 AM PDT  Bernie Sanders will unveil a plan to cancel all $1.6 trillion (£1.3 trillion) of US student debt by introducing a new tax on Wall Street speculation. The Democratic presidential candidate is proposing that federal government pays to wipe clean the student debt held by 45 million Americans including all private and graduate school debt.It comes as part of a package that also would make public universities, community colleges and trade schools tuition-free. Mr Sanders is proposing to pay for these plans with a tax on Wall Street that his campaign says will raise more than $2 trillion over 10 years, though some tax experts give lower revenue estimates.The Vermont senator will propose the legislation alongside Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who will introduce legislation in the House to eliminate all student debt in the United States, as well as Democratic congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, co-chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, who has championed legislation to make public universities tuition-free.[[gallery-0]] Mr Sanders helped popularise demands for tuition-free college tuition during his 2016 presidential campaign run but did less to emphasise solutions for those who had already left school saddled with debt.Since then, liberal Democratic lawmakers have called for increasingly aggressive government solutions for erasing existing student debt. Congresswoman Elizabeth Warren has proposed $640bn in student debt relief while former housing secretary Julian Castro is introducing a more modest debt forgiveness plan.Those proposals have faced fierce objections, including from some moderate Democrats, for giving taxpayer subsidies to educated Americans. On average, this group have higher earnings than those with only a high school degree.Advocates say the push reflects the growing recognition of the economic harm created by the nation's soaring student debt burden, particularly on the millennial generation, which ballooned from $90bn to $1.6 trillion in about two decades, according to federal data."This is truly a revolutionary proposal," said Mr Sanders, who is announcing the plan with the support of congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a handful of other House Democrats."In a generation hard hit by the Wall Street crash of 2008, it forgives all student debt and ends the absurdity of sentencing an entire generation to a lifetime of debt for the 'crime' of getting a college education."Mr Sanders is proposing to pay for the legislation with a new tax on financial transactions, including a 0.5 per cent tax on stock transactions and a 0.1 per cent tax on bonds. Such a levy would curb Wall Street speculation while reducing income inequality, according to a report by the Century Foundation, a left-leaning think tank. But conservatives warn it would stunt economic growth and investment.Conservatives and moderate Democrats are likely to raise concerns about any student debt forgiveness plans. They have pointed out that Democratic presidential candidates, including Mr Sanders, have pushed more than a dozen expensive federal projects – including Medicare for All, the Green New Deal and large infrastructure improvements – projected to cost substantially more than the $1.5 trillion Republican tax law approved in 2017, at a time of already high deficits."The cost will march towards $3 trillion and benefit a lot of wealthy families and future high-earners," said Brian Riedl, an analyst at the Manhattan Institute, a libertarian-leaning think tank. "Of all problems requiring a $3 trillion federal expenditure, the college costs of middle and upper class college graduates seem lower priority."A fierce debate has raged in left-leaning policy circles as well over whether cancelling student debt offers too much help to families with higher incomes. The top 40 per cent of earners would receive about two-thirds of the benefits from Ms Warren's plan, according to Adam Looney, a former Treasury official under president Barack Obama who is now at centre-left think tank the Brookings Institution.That number is likely to be higher under Mr Sanders' plan, given that proposals by Ms Warren and Mr Castro do not call for wiping clean the debt of those earning over six figures.Ms Warren has proposed forgiving up to $50,000 in student debt for those earning under $100,000, which will affect around 42 million people. Under Mr Castro's plan, borrowers would not have to repay their loans until their income rose above 250 per cent of the federal poverty line – around $64,000 for a family of four – after which it would be capped.Sara Goldrick-Rab, a professor at Temple University, Philadelphia, who specialises in higher education financing, said she had mixed feelings about plans such as the one proposed by Mr Sanders that involve forgiving all student debt."There's a piece of me that has seen how widespread the pain is, including among people you might say are financially fine," Ms Goldrick-Rab said. "But there's a piece of me that knows what the pot looks like, and says that's not the best use of the money."Other experts say such criticism misses the mark. If the plans are paid for with higher taxes on affluent Americans, they will ultimately redistribute resources down the income distribution, according to Marshall Steinbaum, a former researcher at the Roosevelt Institute, now an economics professor at the University of Utah.Student debt forgiveness would also help stimulate economic growth by freeing borrowers to buy homes and improve their credit, while primarily benefiting racial minorities, according to Mr Steinbaum and researchers at the Levy Institute, a left-leaning think tank.Ms Omar, who has student debt, said in a statement that the plan would "unleash billions of dollars in economic growth".Additionally, poorer Americans would see the percentage of their income held in debt fall much more dramatically than that of higher earners under the plan, Mr Steinbaum said. He also disputed Mr Looney's analysis, arguing that it ignores people who have so much debt that they cannot pay it off.The difference in these plans may reflect a wider debate in the Democratic Party over how to tailor government programmes. Mr Sanders has proposed universal government programmes whose benefits also go to the rich and do not depend on recipients' earnings. Mr Sanders' Medicare for All plan, for instance, would offer government health insurance to every American regardless of income, a break from Mr Obama's Affordable Care Act, which aimed to expand insurance primarily to low-income individuals.Supporters say making government programmes also available to the affluent makes them more politically durable, citing the popularity of programmes such as libraries and K-12 public education. But critics say such programmes offer help to those who do not need it. Ms Warren, for instance, has proposed a plan that would make childcare free only for those earning up to $51,200, in the case of a family of four.Her approach also makes her plans much less likely to require tax hikes on middle-class Americans. She has said she can pay for these programmes with tax hikes on people with more than $50m and on corporations with more than $100m in profits. Mr Sanders has embraced higher taxes on the middle class, saying families will benefit overall by seeing other expenses reduced.Critics are likely to say Mr Sanders' plans reflect his attempts to distinguish himself from Ms Warren, who has risen in the polls during the past several months of the Democratic primary. She has sometimes overtaken Mr Sanders' second position in polling behind former vice president Joe Biden. Ms Warren's student loan plan would entirely clear student debt for more than 75 per cent of borrowers. She has also embraced some universal plans, co-sponsoring Mr Sanders' single-payer legislation.Like Mr Sanders, Ms Warren has crusaded against rising income inequality and released detailed proposals for taking on Wall Street and expanding government programmes.Mr Sanders' higher education plan may reflect other ways he is attempting to stake out the left flank of the primary. For instance, his previous plan for free college tuition would eliminate tuition and fees only at four-year public colleges for those making up to $125,000, the result of a compromise he reached with Hillary Clinton after his 2016 campaign for the Democratic nomination. Mr Sanders had previously campaigned on free college tuition, regardless of income.His new plan goes further, calling for public four-year colleges and community colleges to be free for everyone, including tuition and fees. Mr Sanders' bill includes $1.3bn a year for low-income students at historically black colleges and universities, and $48bn per year for eliminating tuition and fees at public schools and universities.© Washington Post
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| Missing Utah Student Took Lyft to Park, Left With Someone in a Vehicle: Police Posted: 24 Jun 2019 03:26 PM PDT  Police in Salt Lake City said MacKenzie Lueck, a University of Utah student reported missing last week, left the park where Lyft dropped her off with someone who had come to meet her the day she fell off the grid.
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| US 'conducted cyber attacks on Iran' in response to drone downing Posted: 23 Jun 2019 03:18 AM PDT  The United States launched cyber attacks against Iranian missile control systems and a spy network after Tehran downed an American surveillance drone, according to US media reports. US president Donald Trump secretly authorized US Cyber Command to carry out a retaliatory attack on Iran, The Washington Post reported Saturday, shortly after the US president pledged to hit the Islamic republic with major new sanctions. The attack crippled computers used to control rocket and missile launches, according to the Post, while Yahoo News said a spying group responsible for tracking ships in the Gulf was also targeted. Tehran is yet to react to the reports, Iran's Fars news agency said Sunday. It added that it was "still not clear whether the attacks were effective or not," and suggested the US media reports were a "bluff meant to affect public opinion and regain lost reputation for the White House" following the downing of its drone. Mr Trump called off a planned retaliatory military strike Friday, saying the response wouldn't be "proportionate", with Tehran warning Washington that any attack would see its interests across the Middle East go up in flames. On Sunday US National Security Adviser John Bolton warned Tehran against misinterpreting the last-minute cancellation. "Neither Iran nor any other hostile actor should mistake US prudence and discretion for weakness," he said ahead of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. At a glance | Key players in Tehran The downing of the US drone came after a series of attacks on tankers in the congested shipping lanes of the Gulf, that Washington has blamed on Iran, exacerbated already-tense relations between the two countries. Iran has denied responsibility for those attacks. Mr Trump, who spent Saturday huddling with his advisors at Camp David, initially told reporters that he was keen to be Iran's "best friend" - if the country agreed to renounce nuclear weapons. "When they agree to that, they're going to have a wealthy country. They're going to be so happy, and I'm going to be their best friend," he told reporters. Iran has denied seeking a nuclear weapon, and says its program is for civilian purposes. A multinational accord reached by Tehran and world powers in 2015 sought to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief. But Trump left that agreement more than a year ago and has imposed a robust slate of punitive economic sanctions designed to choke off Iranian oil sales and cripple its economy - one he now plans to expand. "We are putting major additional Sanctions on Iran on Monday," tweeted Mr Trump, who has also deployed additional troops to the Middle East. "I look forward to the day that Sanctions come off Iran, and they become a productive and prosperous nation again - The sooner the better!" Iran's ballistic missile range Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added: "When the Iranian regime decides to forgo violence and meet our diplomacy with diplomacy, it knows how to reach us. Until then, our diplomatic isolation and economic pressure campaign against the regime will intensify." But lest anyone think he was entirely ruling out military action, Trump tweeted Saturday evening that "I never called the strike against Iran 'BACK,' as people are incorrectly reporting, I just stopped it from going forward at this time!" A top Iranian military official warned Washington against any strikes. "Firing one bullet towards Iran will set fire to the interests of America and its allies" in the region, armed forces general staff spokesman Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi told the Tasnim news agency. "If the enemy - especially America and its allies in the region - make the military mistake of shooting the powder keg on which America's interests lie, the region will be set on fire," Mr Shekarchi warned. Following his comments, Iran said it had executed a contractor for the defense ministry's aerospace organization who had been convicted of spying for the United States. After the downing Thursday of the Global Hawk surveillance aircraft, Trump said the United States had been "cocked & loaded" to strike Iran. Tehran insists that the drone violated its airspace - something Washington denies - but a commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, told state news agency IRNA that the violation could have been an accident. "Nonetheless, this was an act of trampling international aviation laws by a spy aircraft," Mr Hajizadeh added. The Pentagon released a map of the drone's flight path, indicating it avoided Iranian waters, but Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday published maps showing the aircraft inside Iranian territory. "There can be no doubt about where the vessel was when it was brought down," he wrote on Twitter. The US Federal Aviation Administration has barred American civilian aircraft from the area "until further notice," and several major non-US airlines were altering flight paths to avoid the sensitive Strait of Hormuz.
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| The Navy Would Love to 'Sink' The Littoral Combat Ship. Here's Why. Posted: 24 Jun 2019 08:00 AM PDT  Given the embarrassing cost overruns and frequent mechanical failures that have plagued the program, the exquisitely-detailed report suggests that the Navy has run out of patience for the disappointment mill that is the Littoral Combat Ship, once the backbone of the future fleet that could have 355 ships.After 16 years and billions of dollars, the Navy may have finally acknowledged that its Littoral Combat Ship program looks like a miserable failure.The service "may not" deploy any of the dozen small surface combatants this year despite officials' previous plans to deploy several to join the 7th and 5th Fleets in Singapore and Bahrain respectively, the U.S. Naval Institute first reported on April 11.(This article by Jared Keller originally appeared at Task & Purpose. Follow Task & Purpose on Twitter. This article first appeared in 2018.)Given the embarrassing cost overruns and frequent mechanical failures that have plagued the program, the exquisitely-detailed report suggests that the Navy has run out of patience for the disappointment mill that is the Littoral Combat Ship, once the backbone of the future fleet that could have 355 ships.Here's the money graf from USNI News explaining the strange lack of upcoming deployments:Three of the Navy's four original LCSs are in maintenance now, and four of the eight block-buy ships that have commissioned already are undergoing their initial Post Shakedown Availabilities (PSA), Cmdr. John Perkins, spokesman for Naval Surface Force Pacific, told USNI News.In addition to the deploying ships themselves being in maintenance, so too are the training ships that will be required to help train and certify the crews. The Navy upended its LCS training and manning plans in 2016 when then-SURFOR commander Vice Adm. Tom Rowden announced a change to a blue-gold crewing model and a ship reorganization ... not only does the deployable ship have to be in the water and ready for operations, but so does the training ship.
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| Best Tech Deals in June 2019 Posted: 24 Jun 2019 10:33 AM PDT  Amazon Deals | Walmart Deals | Apple Deals | TV Deals | Gaming Deals | Laptop Deals Upgrading your gadgets on a budget this month? Luckily, retailers are currently offering some the best deals we've seen on a variety of tech products. So if you can't afford to wait for Amazon Prime Day to bargain shop, you've come to the right place. We're rounding up the best tech deals on every thing from smart home devices to game consoles. Amazon continues to discount its best Kindle ever. For a limited time, the Kindle Oasis eReader is on sale for $199.99 ($50 off). Best Buy also offers this same Kindle Oasis deal. It features a 7-inch high-res anti-glare display, Wi-Fi connectivity, and Audible built-in. With 8GB of onboard storage, you'll have ample room for magazines, comics, newspapers, and audiobooks. It's also waterproof so you can read at the beach, by the pool or in the bathtub. Need more storage? Amazon also offers the 32GB model Kindle Oasis for $229.99 ($50 off). With Amazon's big shopping holiday just a few weeks away, soon we'll be gathering the best Amazon Prime Day 2019 deals. For the time being, here are some of the best tech deals we're seeing right now. Amazon Hardware DealsAmazon is currently offering many of its proprietary devices at discounted pricing. * Amazon Echo Alexa Voice Remote for $19.99 ($10 off) * Kindle Oasis 8GB eReader for $199.99 ($50 off) * Kindle Oasis 32GB eReader for $229.99 ($50 off) * Echo (2nd Gen) 2-Pack for $119.98 ($80 off) * Echo Auto for $24.99 ($25 off) * Echo Dot (3rd Gen) Smart Speaker (2-Pack) for $59.98 ($40 off) * Echo Plus (2nd Gen) with Philips Hue Bulb for $149.99 ($15 off) * All-New Echo Dot Kids Edition (2-Pack) for $109.98 ($30 off) * Fire HD 8 Tablet (3-Pack) for $179.97 ($60 off) * Fire HD 10 Tablet (3-Pack) for $329.97 ($120 off) * Fire HD 10 Kids Edition Tablet (2-Pack) for $299.98 ($100 off) * Echo Spot Smart Alarm Clock (2-Pack) for $219.98 ($40 off) * Ring Smart Lighting Spotlights (2-pack) for $99.99 ($30 off) Top Tech Deals Right Now * Google Home Hub Smart Display for $60 ($60 off via coupon, "SAVE15", ends 6/25) [NEW] * Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless Headphones for $227 ($123 off) PRICE DROP] * Acer A715 15.6-inch Gaming Laptop for $699.99 ($300 off via coupon, "EMCTBUD45", ends 6/24) * Jabra Elite 65T Wireless Earbuds for $149.99 ($20 off via coupon, "JUNESAVE19") * Dell Vostro 14 3000 Laptop for $299 ($481 off via coupon, "SMLBIZ299") * Beats EP On-Ear Headphones for $74 ($56 off) * Apple MacBook Air 13-inch Laptop for $749.99 ($249 off) * Shop ThinkGeek's Entire Sale * Apple 9.7-inch iPad for $249 ($80 off) TV Deals * RCA 43-inch 4K UHD LED TV for $159.99 ($240 off) * Sharp 40-inch FHD LED TV for $129.99 ($50 off) * Samsung 49-inch Q60 Series 4K QLED Smart TV (2019) for $797.99 ($202 off) * Vizio 50-inch 4K HDR Smart TV for $259.99 ($140 off) * Hisense 65-inch 4K Roku Smart TV for $498 ($150 off) * TCL 75-inch 4K Ultra HD Roku Smart TV for $1,399.99 ($200 off) * Samsung 65-inch Q60 QLED 4K Smart TV for $1,397.99 ($400 off) Tech Under $50 * SanDisk 200GB Ultra microSD Card for $24 ($9 off) [NEW] * Soundcore Liberty Neo Wireless Earbuds for $44.99 ($15 off) * Choetech Gravity Charging Car Phone Mount for $16.99 via coupon, "HRLT7DRT") * All-New Echo Dot Kids Edition (Rainbow) for $49.99 ($20 off) ) * Echo Auto for $24.99 ($25 off) Smartwatch Deals * Samsung Gear Sport Smartwatch for $167 ($133 off) [PRICE DROP] * Fitbit Alta HR for $75 ($115 off) * Garmin Vívoactive 3 (GPS) Smartwatch for $210 ($70 off) * Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS) 38mm for $199 ($80 off) * Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS/LTE) 42mm for $329 ($80 off) * Fossil Gen 3 Explorist Smartwatch for $179 ($76 off) Unlocked Phones * Google Pixel 3 XL 128GB Unlocked (Not Pink) for $749 ($251 off) * Samsung Galaxy Note 9 128GB Unlocked for $699 ($301 off) * Samsung Galaxy S10 128GB Unlocked for $699.99 via on-page coupon ($200 off) * Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus 128GB Unlocked for $799.99 via on-page coupon ($200 off) * Google Pixel 3 XL 128GB Unlocked for $779.99 ($220 off) * Apple iPhone SE 32GB Unlocked for $249 ($100 off) Cameras * Nikon Coolpix B500 Compact Camera for $224 ($76 off) * Nikon D3500 DSLR 2 Lens Camera Bundle for $446.95 ($400 off) also at Focus Camera * Canon EOS M100 Mirrorless Camera w/ 15-45mm Lens for $399 ($200 off) also at Amazon * Canon PowerShot SX530 Digital Camera for $229 ($150 off) Games and Consoles * Cyberpunk 2077 Preorder for PS4 or Xbox One for $50 ($10 off) [NEW] * MS Xbox One S 1TB Console for $199.99 ($100 off) at Newegg via eBay * MS Xbox One X 1TB Division 2 Bundle for $375 ($124 off) [PRICE DROP] * Sony PS4 1TB Slim Days of Play Console (Steel Black) for $299.99 (Limited Edition) * Sony PS4 Slim 1TB Marvel's Spider-Man Bundle for $331 ($29 off) at Walmart * Madden NFL 19 Hall of Fame Edition for PS4 for $27 ($53 off)
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| Georgian protesters slam 'Putinism' as Moscow tensions soar Posted: 23 Jun 2019 12:09 PM PDT  Several thousand protesters took to the streets of Georgian capital Tbilisi for a fourth day on Sunday as tensions rose between Moscow and its ex-Soviet neighbour. Some protest placards took aim at Bidzina Ivanishvili, the oligarch leader of the ruling party, believed by many to be the power behind the scenes in the Western-backed country of 3.7 million people. Others slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin who in response to the protests has banned Russian airlines from flying to Georgia and Georgian air carriers travelling to Russia.
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| Eldorado Resorts takes on bigger rivals with $8.5 billion Caesars buy Posted: 24 Jun 2019 03:30 AM PDT  The deal comes more than three months after Caesars agreed to give billionaire investor Carl Icahn three board seats to his representatives and a say on the selection of its next chief executive officer. Shares of Caesars, up 47% this year, rose 11.4% to $14.51 at mid-afternoon, while Eldorado's stock, which has increased 41.4% year to date, fell 13.2% to $44.45. Eldorado has made a series of acquisitions over the past few years including a $1.85 billion deal for Icahn-backed Tropicana Entertainment in 2018 and a $1.7 billion deal for Isle of Capri Casinos in 2017, strengthening its free cash flow and earnings per share.
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| Air Canada launches investigation after woman left 'all alone' in dark and empty plane after falling asleep on flight Posted: 23 Jun 2019 11:19 AM PDT  Air Canada has launched an investigation after a woman was left alone in a dark and locked plane after falling asleep on a flight.Tiffani Adams described waking up "all alone" on a "cold, dark" aircraft after flying from Quebec to Toronto earlier this month."I fell asleep probably less than halfway through my short 1.5 hour flight," she said, in a message posted on Air Canada's Facebook page."I wake up around midnight (few hours after flight landed) freezing cold still strapped in my seat in complete darkness (I'm talking pitch black)."Air Canada confirmed the incident took place, but declined to comment on how Ms Adams may have been overlooked as its staff disembarked."We are still reviewing this matter so we have no additional details to share, but we have followed up with the customer and remain in contact with her," Air Canada told the Associated Press. Ms Adams said she called a friend after waking up but her phone ran out of battery around a minute into the call and she could not recharge it because the power to the plane was off.She said: "I can't charge my phone to call for help I'm full on panicking [because] I want off this nightmare asap."As someone with an anxiety disorder as is I can tell you how terrifying this was," she wrote"I think I'm having a bad dream bc like seriously how is this happening!!?"Ms Adams said she found a torch in the plane's cockpit and eventually tried to exit the aircraft, but found herself 50ft above the ground with no way down.She said she then used her torch to send out "sos signals" but no one saw them, so she leaned out of the aircraft and called over a passing member of the ground crew, who was able to get her out.In her post, she said Air Canada personnel asked if she was OK and whether she would like a limo and hotel, but she declined the offer.She said representatives of the airline apologised and said they would investigate."I haven't got much sleep since the reoccurring night terrors and waking up anxious and afraid I'm alone locked up someplace dark," she wrote.Responding to her post on Facebook, Air Canada said it was surprised to hear the story and "very concerned," and asked Ms Adams to send a private message with her flight details."We'll take a look into it," the airline wrote.
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| Restored 1972 Chevrolet C10 Pickup Looks Quite Tactical Posted: 24 Jun 2019 08:42 AM PDT  Plus, it's been converted to a 4x4. Right off the bat, this 1972 Chevrolet C10 looks bad – in a good way, of course! The two-door pickup is currently up for sale by Art & Speed Classic Car Gallery in Tennessee. The current asking price is $19,900 and there are just 53,000 original miles on the dash of this 47-year old stunner. For a custom beast like this, that's a great deal. After all, this is basically a wolf in sheep's clothing and you'll soon find out why.This 1972 Chevrolet C10 pickup truck has been fully restored and the result is anything but conventional. It got turned into a go-anywhere and haul-anything kind of vehicle thanks to a full 4x4 conversion. Since the 4x4 variants are hard to come by, a conversion kit seemed to be the obvious choice here. The best part is that it is already installed, tested and ready to go.The 1972 C10s were the last year of the second-generation Chevy C/C pickups. In their twelve-year run, these trucks really succeeded in terms of perfecting the looks, power, and suspension components. Chevrolet C10 trucks are highly sought after, especially as collector's items.On the outside, this '72 C10 is rocking a unique Silver Green paint job (olive, if you will) that adds to its tactical, rugged appearance. It also sports black front and rear bumpers with chrome carriage bolts and chrome tow hooks. The chrome side mirrors blend in beautifully with the color scheme. At the front, you will find a 1969 grille that helps further set this truck apart and keeps people guessing about it. The subtle black fender flares give it an all-around accented look that complements the matte black rear vertical stripe and black tailgate outline. The rear also features a black tonneau cover that's in great condition with three support ribs.The interior has definitely been well taken care of and restored. It features black vinyl bench seats, dash pad, door panels, and floor mats. It includes all the original gauges and steering wheel. The stereo system has been upgraded with dual six-inch speakers in the doors and a removable face stereo in the dashboard.This Chevy pickup was custom built from the suspension, drivetrain, and frame of a factory 1969 4WD K10 Blazer. It's powered by Chevy's renowned 350 cubic-inch V8 engine mated to a three-speed automatic transmission and manual transfer case that gets the power to two or four wheels, as needed. Now the only thing left to do is sign the paperwork and get this truck out on the road, or off of it. Read more... Replica Chevrolet C10 Yenko Parts Truck Is Retro Cool Work Hard And Play Hard With This Restomod Chevrolet C10
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| Chinese victim's family distraught over loss Posted: 24 Jun 2019 03:39 PM PDT  The family of a Chinese scholar who was abducted and killed was distraught at a news conference following the conviction of the suspect on Monday. The family's lawyer said the family can't imagine how they will live their lives without her. (June 24)
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| Iran's Rouhani says US 'lying' about talks offer Posted: 25 Jun 2019 02:07 AM PDT  Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday that new US sanctions against senior Iranian officials including top diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif showed Washington is "lying" about an offer to negotiate. It's obvious that you're lying," Rouhani said in a meeting with ministers broadcast live on TV.
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| Motorcycle community mourns 7 killed in 'devastating' New Hampshire biker crash Posted: 24 Jun 2019 08:06 AM PDT ![Motorcycle community mourns 7 killed in 'devastating' New Hampshire biker crash]( "Motorcycle community mourns 7 killed in 'devastating' New Hampshire biker crash") The tight-knit motorcycle community was reeling Sunday after a horrific biker collision left seven people dead and three injured in New Hampshire.
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| Air Canada reviewing how crew left passenger on parked plane Posted: 23 Jun 2019 10:05 AM PDT ![Air Canada reviewing how crew left passenger on parked plane]( "Air Canada reviewing how crew left passenger on parked plane") Air Canada said Sunday it's looking into how crew members could have disembarked from a plane without noticing a sleeping passenger who was left behind. "I think I'm having a bad dream bc like seriously how is this happening!!?!" Tiffani Adams recounted in a June 19 Facebook post sent by her friend, Deanna Noel-Dale. The airline confirmed the incident took place but declined to comment on its disembarking procedures or how the passenger may have been overlooked.
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| GLAAD Survey: Young People Become Less Accepting of LGBTQ People, Because of Trump and ‘Newness’ Factor Posted: 24 Jun 2019 06:00 AM PDT  Photo Illustration by Lyne Lucien/The Daily Beast/GettyThe received wisdom is that younger people are more accepting when it comes to LGBTQ people and issues. Progressives place their hope in "the next generation" when it comes to shifting the goalposts around equality and political change.No longer. This morning, GLAAD published research that shows that young people—apparently overwhelmed by the "newness" of the variety of sexual preferences and gender identities, and the anti-LGBT animus of the Trump administration—are becoming less accepting of LGBTQ people.Wilson Cruz on Stonewall 50: 'I Am Inspired by All the LGBTQ People of Color Who Ignited the Revolution'In its fifth annual Accelerating Acceptance Index, GLAAD found that the only age-group to post a decline in acceptance of LGBTQ people was 18- to 34-year-olds.The study, conducted by the Harris Poll, looked at acceptance levels across seven areas: learning a family member is LGBT, learning one's doctor is LGBT, having LGBT members at one's place of worship, seeing an LGBT co-worker's wedding picture, having one's child placed in a class with a LGBT teacher, seeing a same-sex couple holding hands, and learning one's child has a lesson on LGBT history in school.GLAAD found that the number of U.S. adults ages 18-34 who reported being "very" or "somewhat" comfortable across these situations dropped from 53 percent to 45 percent. "This reflects a continued erosion in comfort among this age group over the past two years," GLAAD reported. "This year, the significant erosion is being driven by females ages 18-34, where comfort levels fell from 64 percent last year to 52 percent this year."Across all age groups, 18 percent of Americans know a transgender person; 31 percent know a bisexual person; and 75 percent know a gay or lesbian person.GLAAD also found that the majority of non-LGBTQ Americans (80 percent) support equal rights for the LGBTQ community. The eight-in-10 statistic has been consistent since 2016, and will bolster campaigners' hopes for ultimately passing legislation like the Equality Act.Breaking down the statistics further, GLAAD found more young people ages 18-34 responded that they were "very" or "somewhat" uncomfortable in three personal scenarios including learning a family member was LGBTQ (36 percent uncomfortable in the 2019 report vs. 29 percent in the 2018 report); learning one's doctor was LGBTQ (34 percent vs. 27 percent); and learning one's child had a lesson on LGBTQ history in their school (39 percent vs. 30 percent).Forty-three percent of males ages 18-34 reported that they were uncomfortable learning a family member was LGBTQ (up from 32 percent in 2018) and 42 percent of males ages 18-34 reported that they were uncomfortable learning their child's teacher is LGBTQ (up from 37 percent in 2018).Forty percent of females ages 18-34 reported that they were uncomfortable learning their child had a lesson on LGBTQ history in school, an increase of 13 percentage points from the previous year's findings. GLAAD also found that that nearly half of non-LGBTQ adults (49 percent) are classified as "allies," meaning they are "very" or "somewhat" comfortable with LGBTQ people across all of the seven situations. This has not changed from the 49 percent reported in 2018, which was down from 53 percent the year prior. Twelve percent of the survey reported to be LGBTQ themselves.Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, told The Daily Beast that GLAAD had conducted focus groups after the main statistical survey to see what factors had led to a decline in acceptance for 18-34-year-olds."The statistics are counterintuitive to what we believe. But if we stop and think about it for a second, newness takes a while to turn into acceptance. They're interfacing with new gender identities and sexual orientations, so that takes a minute to get used to."Then, look at this current administration we're living under, and its culture of hate and discrimination. Those are the two issues at hand here that emerged from the focus groups."Ellis sought to emphasize positives in the survey—such as that last year GLAAD had seen roll-backs on all seven indicators, which this year had stabilized. The group plans to target young men with pro-LGBTQ messaging in the arena of video games. But this year, in terms of gender, the decline was seen most in women, aged 18-34. Ellis said that GLAAD would start targeted messaging aimed at that demographic in the arena of country music. GLAAD maintains an updating list of (what is currently) 114 attacks on LGBTQ people by the Trump administration, in both policy and rhetoric. Ellis said the presence of high-profile LGBTQ supporters and stories in pop culture helped "stem" the anti-LGBTQ actions of the White House."Imagine how bad it would be if they didn't step up, and we just had hate spewing out of the most powerful office in the country and world," Ellis said.She added that two consecutive years showing a decline in LGBTQ acceptance was concerning, though not in her view "a movement or beginning of a trend. I don't think we're ever going to give up on the next generation."Ellis said the Trump administration's actions and words were key. "If we had an administration helping people, making them understand, and bringing together, not dividing people, we'd be in a much more different position than we are now."That said, Ellis accepted that "we progressives have taken young people, the next generation, for granted, while conservatives have targeted and tried to pull them in. They have robust college-level programming where they go after millennials on college campuses to incite hate and discrimination. As an organization driving acceptance, we have to look very closely at this."Contrasting with younger people, there has been an uptick in acceptance among older generations, said Ellis, which again progressives had misjudged. "They thought millennials were in their pockets, and they didn't have to worry about the older generation because they wouldn't be in power much longer. But they are coming to us as supporters."Whether the general LGBTQ acceptance level can rise over 50 per cent again, and whether young people rebound as supporters is down to one big thing, said Ellis. "Hopefully this is a two-year blip, until we have a turnover in the administration." Put more bluntly: If the administration continues on its anti-LGBTQ course, and if Trump wins re-election in 2020, expect to see those LGBTQ acceptance figures drop even further.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get 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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| All the Secret (Or Not) Ways to Kill a Hypersonic Missile Posted: 24 Jun 2019 06:00 AM PDT  The defense against the cruise missiles is more challenging and difficult since they remain in the atmosphere during all their flight time at low altitude. Currently, the United States has different anti-cruise missiles including the Standard Missile-2, Standard Missiles-6, Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), and Evolved Seasparrow Missile (ESSM) systems. These systems are designed for supersonic cruise missiles.At a time when existing missile defenses can't guarantee success against the ballistic missiles, a whole new challenge has been posed by hypersonic vehicles. Many people believe that after a certain time period the effectiveness of ballistic missile defenses will grow. In that situation, hypersonic weapons' deployment is important. However, as of now, the Hypersonic Glide Vehicles (HGVs) and Hypersonic Cruise Missiles (HCMs) are solutions looking for a problem.(This first appeared earlier in June 2019.)What's New in Hypersonic WeaponsSpeed, maneuverability, and low-altitude travel are major traits of hypersonic weapons which are not comparable to the existing ballistic or cruise missiles. Cruise missiles lack speed while the ballistic missiles can't maneuver. Hypersonic weapons travel normally at speeds greater than Mach 5 at lower altitudes with maneuverability making them harder to detect and kill than the legacy ballistic and cruise missiles.Major global powers are engaged in building, testing and deploying hypersonic weapons. Among them are the United States, Russia, and China. India and France are also working on hypersonic research and development. Russian's demonstration of "Avangard" in 2018 added urgency to the U.S. plans to expedite hypersonic developments. The United States is also looking at various options to defend against Russian and Chinese hypersonic threats with parallel developments of its own weapons. Russia and China would also be considering options of defensive capabilities after the United States has rushed to develop this capability.Among the options being discussed to protect against hypersonic threats are directed-energy weapons, hit-to-kill capabilities, space-based interceptors, a laser weapon mounted on an unmanned airborne platform to track and destroy missiles in their boost-phase, and cyber-attacks on the enemy's command and control systems.Boost Phase InterceptionHypersonic gliders can be best intercepted during their launch from the ICBM in boost phase when a missile travels at its slowest speed. Unlike conventional reentry vehicles (RVs), glide vehicles follow unpredictable trajectories due to their maneuvering ability after the boost phase. The interception becomes hard during the terminal phase. The F-35 Lightning II aircraft has a sensor system capable of detecting infrared signatures and the location of a boosting missile. It is capable of shooting down cruise missiles today. The Missile Defense Review (MDR) 2019 has called for a report from the U.S. Air Force and Missile Defense Agency on incorporating ballistic missile defense capability to F-35 to shoot down missiles in boost phase. As the hypersonic glider is launched from a traditional ICBM till the boost-phase, the F-35 can be one of the options to defend against the Avangard glider.
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