| Trump Aide Kellyanne Conway Skips House Hearing Despite Subpoena Posted: 15 Jul 2019 01:35 PM PDT ![Trump Aide Kellyanne Conway Skips House Hearing Despite Subpoena]( "Trump Aide Kellyanne Conway Skips House Hearing Despite Subpoena") (Bloomberg) -- White House counselor Kellyanne Conway won't appear at a House hearing Monday on whether she violated a law prohibiting administration officials from engaging in political work while on the public payroll.President Donald Trump directed her to skip the hearing "in order to protect the prerogatives of the Office of the President," White House Counsel Pat Cipollone said in a letter to House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Elijah Cummings.The Department of Justice, he wrote, "has advised me that Ms. Conway is absolutely immune from compelled congressional testimony with respect to matters related to her service as a senior adviser to the president," Cipollone wrote.Cummings said at the hearing, which proceeded without Conway, that he would hold a vote on July 25 to hold her in contempt of Congress.She was the only witness listed for a scheduled hearing of Cummings' panel titled "Violations of the Hatch Act Under the Trump Administration." The Democratic-controlled committee voted last month to subpoena her after she previously refused to testify.The government's independent Office of Special Counsel said in June that Conway had repeatedly violated the law and should be fired. Conway and the White House have criticized the OSC for its finding, calling it a violation of Conway's First Amendment rights, and Trump has said he won't dismiss her.The OSC has said she broke the law by "engaging in both official and political activity on her Twitter account, @kellyannePolls" and by attacking Democratic presidential candidates in media interviews.Conway has "ignored OSC's requests" to come into compliance with the Hatch Act and has declined to respond to the office's reports, it said."If Ms. Conway were any other federal employee, her multiple violations of the law would almost certainly result in removal from her federal position," the office said in a June 13 letter to Trump.The oversight panel's top Republican, Jim Jordan of Ohio, called the allegations "ridiculous." He said that federal employees can't come to work and hand out election fliers or raise money for campaigns, "but a senior adviser to the president of the United States can sure as heck go on cable news shows and answer questions."\--With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs.To contact the reporters on this story: Billy House in Washington at bhouse5@bloomberg.net;Josh Wingrove in Washington at jwingrove4@bloomberg.net;Jarrell Dillard in Washington at jdillard11@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joe SobczykFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Italy seizes air-to-air missile, guns in raids on neo-Nazis Posted: 15 Jul 2019 09:04 AM PDT ![Italy seizes air-to-air missile, guns in raids on neo-Nazis]( "Italy seizes air-to-air missile, guns in raids on neo-Nazis") Italian police have seized a large arsenal of weapons, including an air-to-air missile, in raids on neo-Nazi sympathisers, they said on Monday. Elite police forces searched properties across northern Italy following an investigation into Italians who had fought alongside Russian-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, a police statement said. During their raids, police discovered a French-made Matra air-to-air missile that appeared to have once belonged to the Qatar armed forces.
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| Land crabs infest Florida man's house after heavy rainfall Posted: 15 Jul 2019 12:11 PM PDT  A man in Florida recently received hundreds of crabs as unexpected house guests.Heavy rain fall in south Florida forced hundreds of land crabs, which burrow underground, out of their holes and into the property of Dan Skowronski, a resident of of Port St Lucie. In a video shared to Facebook, the Florida man witnessed the home invasion with a surprising calm."They must have got rained out of their holes," he said while filming the crabs, which were scurrying all over his house and property. "All land crabs. Their homes got wiped out by the rain, and they're all over.""They're more scared of me than I am of them," he said, adding that "sometimes it happens once a year".Florida saw heavy rainfall as Hurricane Barry geared up in the Gulf Coast throughout last week, before making landfall in Louisiana on Saturday. The storm left heavy flooding throughout New Orleans, but was downgraded to a tropical storm upon hitting the city, and did less damage than anticipated. Still, much of the city experienced rampant flooding, which is expected to continue and spread this week.In the Florida panhandle, far north above the crab invasion, the storm stirred up a mass influx of jellyfish, washing up on the sand as the water picked up into dangerous riptides. Public beaches were closed to swimmers while the fish and waves persisted.WPTV reports that the crabs in South Florida were gone by Friday.
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| Boy slips through Heathrow security to board British Airways flight to Los Angeles Posted: 14 Jul 2019 03:09 PM PDT  Police at Heathrow Airport are investigating how a 12-year-old boy slipped through security and managed to board a British Airways flight to Los Angeles without a ticket or boarding pass. The unaccompanied child, who had no travel documents, mingled with passengers getting on the flight and was only spotted when cabin crew asked to see his boarding pass in order to direct him to his seat. The mystery youngster, who is thought to be Dutch, was not travelling with his parents, and refused to cooperate with cabin crew when he was challenged. Fellow passengers said he refused to leave the aircraft and was eventually removed by police officers who boarded to assist aircrew. As a result of the security lapse, the aircraft had to be cleared and all the passengers were forced to undergo a second security check, delaying the flight by more than four hours. The mystery youngster, who is thought to be Dutch, was not travelling with his parents, and refused to cooperate with cabin crew when he was challenged Credit: AP Photo/Alastair Grant Detectives were working to establish where the boy was originally from and how he had managed to pass through strict security cordons, without being spotted. One theory is that he was a transit passenger who had arrived at Heathrow with a ticket to an onward destination, but had then attempted to see if he how far he could get with our being challenged as part of an elaborate dare. The lapse also raises concerns over the effectiveness of security checks at Britain's busiest airport, although a spokesman for British Airways insisted the boy had been through the same controls as all other passengers. The spokesman said: "We have apologised to our customers for the delay to their flight after an issue during boarding. "The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top priority and everyone who had boarded the aircraft had been subject to security checks. "We conducted additional precautionary screening as soon as this issue came to light and we are assisting the police with their enquiries." Rachel Richardson, who was heading to Los Angeles on a business trip, described chaotic scenes as airline staff tried to deal with the situation. She said: "The boy would not speak to the cabin crew and they were asking if anybody spoke Dutch. He would not help them understand where his bags were so the whole aircraft had to be cleared which meant we were almost more than four hours delayed taking off. It was very frustrating." A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: "A 12-year-old boy boarded a BA flight from Heathrow to Los Angeles at around 17:15hrs on 14 July. "He was identified by cabin crew during pre-flight check. He did not have a ticket or any travel documents. "The boy was an unaccompanied minor. He is not a UK national. As a security precaution, passenger de-planed following a discussion between police and the captain. "The child is believed to have arrived at Heathrow as a transit passenger." A Heathrow spokesperson said: "We are working with our police colleagues and British Airways to understand how an unauthorised passenger boarded the incorrect aircraft. The individual did not represent a security risk and, purely as a precaution, the aircraft in question was re-screened and has since departed. We apologise for the disruption and will continue working closely with the authorities and our airline partners to keep the airport safe."
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| Dominican Republic deaths: Georgia man is 11th American tourist to die since June 2018 Posted: 15 Jul 2019 04:49 AM PDT  A Georgia man died in the Dominican Republic in March, the State Department confirmed Friday.
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| A NASA Intern Bought Apollo 11 Videotapes for $218. Now They're Going to Auction for Millions Posted: 15 Jul 2019 05:45 AM PDT  They are 'the only surviving first-generation recordings of the historic moon walk'
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| An anonymous Democratic group leaked a poll that shows swing voters deeply dislike Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the left wing, widening the party's rift Posted: 15 Jul 2019 01:59 PM PDT  The poll found that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had a 22% approval rating among 1,003 white non-college-educated voters who knew of her.
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| Pastor confirmed with Ebola as disease spreads in DR Congo Posted: 14 Jul 2019 06:19 PM PDT  The first case of Ebola has been confirmed in Goma, the biggest city to have been affected by the disease since its outbreak in eastern DR Congo last August, the health ministry said on Sunday. "Given that the patient was quickly identified, as well as all the passengers on the bus from Butembo, the risk of the disease spreading in the city of Goma is low," the ministry said.
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| Russia’s Election Hackers Are Back—and Targeting George Soros Posted: 15 Jul 2019 02:21 AM PDT  Sean Gallup/GettyThe Russian intelligence agency behind 2016's election attacks is training its sights on billionaire financier George Soros, The Daily Beast has learned. The move comes hot on the heels of a surge in U.S.-focused hacking by Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate with similarities to 2016 in targeting and methodology. Laura Silber, chief communications officer for Soros' Open Society Foundations, confirmed the hack attempt, but couldn't provide additional details over the weekend. "We were aware of an attack," Silber told the Daily Beast.Last month Microsoft quietly seized a new batch of 10 deceptive domain names the company says were set up by the hackers known as Fancy Bear, the group intelligence officials and independent analysts have long attributed to Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate, the GRU. Those web addresses imitate genuine domains used for Microsoft services like Sharepoint, an unmistakable sign that they were intended for use in phishing attacks, in which a victim is tricked into typing their password into a fake login page. Mueller Finally Solves Mysteries About Russia's 'Fancy Bear' HackersOne domain targets a Singapore-based investment firm, and another references the Berlin anti-corruption organization Transparency International, which Russia has targeted before. Others are generic or ambiguous in their targeting. But one seized domain, soros-my-sharepoint[.]com, jumps out as a clear reference to Soros, a past GRU target from Russia's 2016 election interference. An additional four phishing domains registered in the same time frame appear to target Soros' Open Society Foundations, said Kyle Ehmke, an intelligence researcher at the Arlington, Virginia-based cybersecurity firm ThreatConnect. Those domains haven't been seized and ThreatConnect hasn't found enough evidence to definitively link them to the Russian hackers, said Ehmke. The Kremlin's targeting of Soros and his organization carries echoes of 2016, when the GRU dumped 2,500 files stolen from the Open Society Foundations for the debut of "DC Leaks", the fake leak site the spies created for their 2016 election interference campaign. "SOROS INTERNAL FILES – BIG DATA", the site announced at the time.Some of the stolen files were reportedly altered to create the appearance that Soros was secretly financing Russian opposition candidates, making the leak politically useful to Vladmir Putin. More importantly, the Soros dump earned DC Leaks instant credibility in American right-wing circles, where the 88-year-old Hungarian-American philanthropist plays the role of villainous global puppet-master in countless conspiracy theories. Russia's Internet Research Agency—the so-called "troll farm, later indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller—pushed the same trope on its Facebook and Instagram feeds in the run-up to election day. One meme featured a close-up of Soros against a backdrop of anti-Trump picketers. "No lives matter for those who sponsoring [sic] anti Trump protests," the caption read. Another imagined Soros confronting the late Senator John McCain. "Hey Johnny, I'm paying you a fortune. I don't care how much cancer you have, get back to DC and backstab Trump."The Soros targeting comes in the wave of what one expert describes as a fresh wave of Fancy Bear attempts against political nonprofits in the U.S. that ran from last December to March or April of this year, using similar tactics to the mass phishing campaign that famously ensnared Hillary Clinton's campaign chief in 2016. "It's a similar type of activity to what hit Podesta," said Robert Johnston, the former Marine Corp captain who investigated the 2016 DNC breach, and now heads the financial cybersecurity firm Adlumin. "These were against political organizations and NGOs. The FBI has reached out to of bunch of them."Putin's Hackers Now Under Attack—From MicrosoftIn 2016 Microsoft sued Fancy Bear in federal court in Virginia and won, unopposed, an injunction allowing the company to seize any web addresses registered by the GRU's hackers that imitate a Microsoft product or service. The company has seized over 100 domains so far.Experts caution that Russia's hackers have always cast a wide net, and there's no way to tell what their motives are in revisiting old haunts now. It may be pure intelligence gathering, or the opening salvo of a 2020 election interference campaign."We don't know whether they are ultimately looking to compromise targets for influence operations, internal intelligence uses, or both," said Ehmke.Either way, Russia likely views its 2016 efforts as a success, and is certain to try for an encore. "I think you should absolutely anticipate a very vocal Russian interference in the 2020 elections," said Johnston.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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| Report: A $15 Minimum Wage Would Be an Economic Disaster Posted: 14 Jul 2019 04:01 PM PDT  Just in time for next week's likely House vote on a federal $15 minimum wage, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has come out with a caustic report on the consequences of the policy.The report confirms what even liberal economists caution: A $15 minimum wage would "risk undesirable and unintended consequences" and lead to a survival-of-the-fittest labor market, where only the highest-skilled workers come out on top. Democrats are under the illusion that the government can force employers to artificially increase wages with no adverse consequences for American workers. But that's like saying the government could double families' mortgage and rent payments without any consequence.Here are six ways this new report exposes the minimum wage proposal as bad policy.1\. It would be a job-killer.The Congressional Budget Office report estimated that a $15 minimum wage would lead to 1.3 million lost jobs by the year 2025, with job losses rising over time due to compounding negative impacts.The exact number of job losses are highly uncertain, but the report says losses would most likely range between zero and 3.7 million, with a not-insignificant chance that losses could exceed 3.7 million.A 2011 Heritage Foundation estimate was even bleaker. It estimated a $15 minimum wage would lead to 7 million lost jobs.
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| Police say Greek man detained in American scientist's death Posted: 15 Jul 2019 11:14 AM PDT  A Greek man has been detained for questioning in the slaying of an American scientist on the island of Crete, police said Monday. Authorities said the 27-year-old man detained Monday was one of 10 people interviewed over the weekend for the investigation of Suzanne Eaton's slaying. Homicide detectives traveled from Athens to the island to head the investigation.
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| South Korea calls Japan reports of North Korea sanctions breach 'grave challenge' Posted: 14 Jul 2019 11:58 PM PDT  South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Monday Japan's reported accusations that South Korea had exported banned goods to North Korea posed a "grave challenge" amid a growing dispute over Japanese export curbs. Japan has tightened restrictions on the export of three materials used in high-tech equipment, citing "inadequate management" of sensitive items exported to South Korea. Japanese officials have cited "inadequate management" of sensitive items exported to South Korea as a reason behind the curbs, as well as lack of information sharing on export controls.
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| Man 'shot polar bear and left its body outside his home for five months' Posted: 15 Jul 2019 03:29 AM PDT  A man has been charged with killing a polar bear and leaving the body to rot outside his home in Alaska for five months.Christopher Gordon, 35, allegedly shot the animal dead when it ventured into his front yard to try and eat some butchered whale meat.He then failed to report the polar bear carcass or attempt to "harvest" it for food between December 2018 and May this year.Gordon also allowed the bear to be covered with snow, which resulted in one of its legs being ripped off by a passing snowplough.Finally, on 22 May, he burned the carcass at the village dump in Kaktovik.He is now facing up to one year in prison and a $100,000 (£80,000) fine if convicted of the federal crime of "knowingly taking a polar bear in a manner unlawful under the Marine Mammal Protection Act".Prosecutors say that the killing of the bear was not done in legal self defence and that he "left the harvestable remains to waste"."Gordon allegedly left butchered whale meat outside in front of his yard of his residence for a substantial period of time, which attracted polar bear, as well as other animals to his front yard," said federal prosecutor Ryan Tansey."He then allegedly shot and killed the polar bear because it was trying to eat the improperly stored whale meat."Gordon has also been charged with the state offence of wasteful taking of a marine animal.The investigation was carried out by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.Gordon declined to comment about the case and is scheduled to appear in court in Fairbanks in August.Kaktovik, with a population of just over 250, has experienced increasing encroachment by polar bears in recent years due to the disappearing Arctic sea ice.As a result it has become a popular tourist destination, with more than 2,000 people visiting the village during 2017."These bears are getting used to people," said council member Mike Gallagher. "They're domesticated."Additional reporting by Associated Press
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| This revolutionary Galaxy S11 design could succeed where the Galaxy Fold failed Posted: 15 Jul 2019 01:45 PM PDT  With the release of the Galaxy S10 earlier this year, Samsung made its biggest leap forward in terms of design since the launch of the Galaxy S6 edge in 2015. From the phone's Infinity-O display to its ultrasonic fingerprint sensor to its triple rear camera, it quickly became one of the most advanced smartphones on the market. But if newly-discovered patents are any indication, Samsung has even bigger plans in store for its 2020 flagship.Over the weekend, Dutch technology blog LetsGoDigital shared images from a Samsung design patent which shows off a phone with an expandable display. The patent was filed late last year, approved this May, and then published on June 24th. As it often does, LetsGoDigital went to the trouble of mocking up the device.We covered the patent early on Monday, but what's most fascinating about this phone, which could be a new flagship device or an evolution of the Galaxy Fold, is that Samsung's earliest attempt at a new mobile form factor has been an unmitigated disaster. Samsung had initially planned to launch its game-changing Galaxy Fold smartphone in April, but three months later, we still don't have a release date. The Galaxy Fold will eventually be available for purchase, but at least in terms of marketing, the damage has been done.As you can see in the images scattered throughout this article (which, again, are mockups created by LetsGoDigital and almost certainly not indicative of a final product), the hole punch on the display is about the same size as on the Galaxy S10+, seemingly to account for an additional front-facing camera. It has also shifted over to the center of the display, while the triple rear camera array on the back of the phone has moved to the top-right corner.As for the expandable screen, it's unclear exactly how it would function, but it would increase the size of the display by 50%. Providing it is more sturdy than the foldable screen of the Galaxy Fold, it could be a more viable solution to giving consumers more display without making the phone itself any larger.The key here is that, unlike the Galaxy Fold, this device looks like a standard, modern smartphone when the screen has not been expanded. The same can't be said for the Galaxy Fold, which features an uncomfortably small display on the front of the device and a massive, awkward cut-out on the inner display.Whether or not the device pictured in this patent ever sees the light of day remains to be seen, but Samsung will likely be at Mobile World Congress once again in 2020, which means there's a slim chance we could be introduced to the company's first expandable smartphone in February or March of next year.
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| All the Best Amazon Prime Day Tech Deals to Shop (So Far) Posted: 15 Jul 2019 09:10 AM PDT |
| Populist pro-China mayor to face Tsai in Taiwan presidential clash Posted: 14 Jul 2019 09:03 PM PDT  A populist mayor who favours closer ties with Beijing was announced as the presidential candidate for Taiwan's opposition on Monday as it looks to unseat President Tsai Ing-wen in upcoming elections. Han Kuo-yu won the primary for the opposition Kuomintang party, comfortably seeing off a challenge from Taiwan's richest man, billionaire Foxconn founder Terry Gou.
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| Man Murdered Teen Star and Posted Instagram Photos, Cops Say Posted: 15 Jul 2019 01:09 PM PDT  Photos via InstagramAn upstate New York man is accused of brutally slaying a teenage internet personality he met online and posting pictures of her body to the internet, according to police.Authorities say Brandon Clark slashed Bianca Devins' throat early Sunday, nearly decapitating her. They first met online, and met in person two months ago, police told The Daily Beast. Shortly after her murder, Clark posted pictures of her corpse online. He then stabbed himself in front of officers who had been dispatched to search for him, police added.Devins, 17, a Utica, New York teen, had just graduated high school and was preparing to start a psychology degree at her local community college.Devins was anonymous to many of her internet friends. Online she was a popular Instagram and Tumblr user. She also frequented 4chan, and ran a Discord server populated with some of her 4chan connections, many of whom knew her as Oxychan.Two months ago, she met one of those internet friends in person, Utica police Lt. Bryan Coromato told The Daily Beast. Clark, 21, lived in Cicero, New York, approximately an hour away. The two had some form of offline relationship, Coromato said. On Instagram, Devins' sister wrote that "it wasn't just an 'internet boyfriend' this was a close family friend whom we've met and trusted so much. I do not want false information being spread around."Utica police said in a statement Monday evening that the two attended a concert together in New York City on Saturday and arrived back in Utica early Sunday. Police believe they had an argument, which precipitated the murder.Early Sunday morning, Clark began posting gruesome pictures on his Instagram story. One picture showed him covered in blood with the caption "I'm sorry Bianca." Another, of a dark road, referenced going to Hell. Other photos appeared to show a body under a tarp, and before-and-after images of a self-inflicted knife wound on his neck. Clark's updated Instagram biography and a post on his Facebook suggested that he planned to kill himself.Coromato confirmed that the pictures were authentic.Around the same time, Clark posted an image to Discord showing Devins with her throat cut in a car and a large knife next to her. He also doxxed her, sharing Devins' full name and hometown, which was unknown to many of her online friends, and included a derogatory remark about Devins and her online following. The pictures spread to multiple misogynistic forums, where some users called for more killings of women and girls.All the images hit the internet before police were alerted about the killing. Around 7:20 a.m., officers received a call about a person making statements of harm, Coromato said. They were able to triangulate Clark's location based on his cell phone. When they found him, he began stabbing himself in front of an officer, Coromato said.Eventually he took out a phone and began taking pictures of himself laying on the tarp that concealed Devins' body, police said.Clark was taken into custody and transported to a hospital, where he is sedated and in critical condition, but expected to survive. He has yet to be formally charged in the killing."Bianca was a lot of things to so many people," her stepmother wrote on Facebook. "She was young and beautiful and so full of life. She had been through hell and back conquering her own mental illness and she won. She was getting better. Fighting everyday. She was happy."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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| 15+ Chicken Casseroles To Spice Up Weeknight Dinners Without Much Work Posted: 15 Jul 2019 02:44 PM PDT |
| Florida suspect punches hotel owner Posted: 14 Jul 2019 01:55 PM PDT  Raw video: Surveillance video captures a suspect attacking a hotel owner over parking space dispute.
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| Workers recover hundreds of bodies from Syrian mass grave Posted: 15 Jul 2019 09:26 AM PDT  In an open field on the outskirts of the Syrian city of Raqqa, workers in black uniforms, surgical masks and red hardhats toil under a scorching sun to dig up bodies from a large mass grave discovered last month. All of the dead are men, women and children believed to have been killed or died during the Islamic State group's rule over the northern city, once the de facto capital of the extremist group's so-called Islamic caliphate and the site of atrocities committed by the group against residents who opposed its extremist ideology. The group at the time commanded large swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq that it administered based on its own radical version of Islamic rule.
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| Louisiana officials warn of snakes and other creatures fighting to escape Hurricane Barry floodwaters Posted: 14 Jul 2019 06:22 PM PDT  Hurricane Barry made landfall Saturday morning in Louisiana. It has since weakened back to a tropical storm, but heavy rains will continue.
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| Susan Rice Calls Chinese Diplomat a ‘Racist Disgrace’ on Twitter Posted: 15 Jul 2019 05:19 AM PDT ![Susan Rice Calls Chinese Diplomat a 'Racist Disgrace' on Twitter]( "Susan Rice Calls Chinese Diplomat a 'Racist Disgrace' on Twitter") (Bloomberg) -- Former U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice sparred with a senior Chinese diplomat on Twitter in an unusual and heated dispute over race in Washington.In a series of Tweets apparently aimed at making a broader point about diplomatic divisions over the mass detention of Muslims in China's Xinjiang province, Lijian Zhao, a diplomat posted in Islamabad, said on Sunday that if "you're in Washington, D.C., you know the white never go" to the southeastern part of the U.S. capital."You are a racist disgrace. And shockingly ignorant too," Rice told Zhao on Twitter. Likely assuming that Zhao was posted in China's mission in Washington, she then addressed her next comment to China's ambassador to the U.S., Cui Tiankai. "Ambassador Cui, I expect better of you and your team. Please do the right thing and send him home."Zhao, who is deputy chief of mission at the Chinese embassy in Pakistan's capital, is often vocal on Twitter against critics of China's infrastructure-building projects in Pakistan and other parts of Asia. Beijing has invested tens of billions of dollars in Pakistan, whose leader Imran Khan has previously dodged questions about the issue.'Shockingly Ignorant'"You are such a disgrace, too. And shockingly ignorant, too. I am based in Islamabad. Truth hurts. I am simply telling the truth," Zhao fired back at Rice on Monday. "To label someone who speak the truth that you don't want to hear a racist, is disgraceful & disgusting."Read More: How China Is Defending Its Detention of Muslims to the WorldZhao didn't immediately respond to phone calls, an email and a direct message on Twitter seeking comment.In a string of messages that appeared aimed at highlighting U.S. hypocrisy on human rights, Zhao referred to everything from income inequality and school shootings in the U.S. to immigration officers separating children from parents.He tweeted a list of mostly-Western nations that condemned China for its actions in Xinjiang as well as a separate list of other countries -- including Pakistan, Cuba, Tajikistan and Nigeria -- that wrote a joint letter to the United Nations supporting Beijing, which Zhao called "a big slap on the face of U.S. & its western cohorts."Outspoken DiplomatsChina's diplomats have become increasingly vocal and outspoken. This month, China's ambassador to London, Liu Xiaoming, gave a rare televised statement accusing the British government of meddling in Hong Kong, the scene of mass protests against Beijing's rule.Earlier this year, China's envoy to Canada publicly accused his hosts of "white supremacy," while the country's chief envoy in South Africa said President Donald Trump's policies were making the U.S. "the enemy of the whole world."Asked about the Twitter dispute on Monday, China's foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang didn't comment directly."I don't know the specific situation," he said. However, he added, "we resolutely oppose the interference of the U.S. and individual Western countries in interfering in China's internal affairs with the Xinjiang issue."To contact the reporters on this story: Iain Marlow in New Delhi at imarlow1@bloomberg.net;Dandan Li in Beijing at dli395@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Chris Kay, Gregory TurkFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| With Iran deal teetering on brink, Europeans assess next steps Posted: 14 Jul 2019 10:03 PM PDT  European foreign ministers will seek to flesh out how to convince Iran and the United States to reduce tensions and initiate a dialogue when they meet in Brussels on Monday amid fears that the 2015 nuclear deal is close to collapse. U.S.-Iranian tensions have worsened since U.S. President Donald Trump decided last year to abandon the nuclear deal under which Iran agreed to curtail its atomic program in return for relief from economic sanctions crippling its economy. In reaction to the re-imposition of tough U.S. sanctions, which have notably targeted Iran's main oil revenue stream, Tehran has scaled back on some of its nuclear commitments under the deal, leading the European parties to the pact, France, Britain and Germany, to warn it about not fully complying with the terms.
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| Off-duty New Jersey police lieutenant in custody after fatal shooting at ex-wife's home Posted: 15 Jul 2019 11:56 AM PDT  An off-duty Newark police lieutenant surrendered to police after a shooting at his ex-wife's home. Newark has since suspended him without pay.
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| Saudi Arabia, Russia and North Korea were among 37 countries that signed a letter praising China's 'remarkable achievements in the field of human rights' over its Uighur Muslim oppression Posted: 15 Jul 2019 04:40 AM PDT  The Friday letter, signed by 37 ambassadors to the UN, praised China for making "remarkable achievements in the field of human rights."
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| India races for launch fix after Moon mission aborted Posted: 15 Jul 2019 04:16 AM PDT  Indian space chiefs pressed to quickly set a new date to launch a landmark moon mission after aborting one liftoff Monday just 56 minutes ahead of schedule, media reports said. The Chandrayaan-2 -- or Moon Chariot 2 -- rocket, a key part of India's ambitious space programme, could still blast off on July 29 or 30, media reports said. If that is not possible the launch would have to wait until September or beyond.
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| European leaders fail to grasp 'hardening' of UK view on Brexit, Latvia warns Posted: 14 Jul 2019 08:27 AM PDT  A hard Brexit could be made more likely because European Union leaders have failed to grasp the hardening of opinion in Britain, Latvia's foreign minister has warned. Edgars Rinkēvičs, who has served as the Baltic state's chief diplomat for eight years, said a mutual gulf of understanding between London and Brussels means revising the Withdrawal Agreement before the October 31 deadline will be "extremely difficult." And he warned that Boris Johnson's plan to use hard Brexit as a "credible threat" in negotiations was based on a false assumption about the European position and the speed with which the EU can move. Speaking during a visit to London, Mr Rinkevics said: "I think that in the European Union we sometimes do not grasp that the UK, after three years of this very tortuous process, has a very hardened stance," he told the Telegraph. "But there is another dynamic that is not well understood here in London, which is very important for me as a representative of a small member state: it is also very important that the unity and solidarity of the European Union is not just words. "When you have a situation where your key national interests are at stake, you count on the support of all the other 26 members. There are key national interests of Ireland at stake here - I don't think anyone can deny that - and I believe that a very similar situation other member states would be counting on the support on all of them," he said. Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, the candidates in the Conservative leadership race, have both said Britain must leave the European Union by October 31. That will give the new prime minister just three months to negotiate a new Withdrawal Agreement after a winner is declared on July 23. Both candidates have said the threat of a no-deal Brexit should be used to push the European Union to make concessions on controversial areas including the Irish backstop. Mr Rinkēvičs said: "I do not think the [withdrawal agreement] can be revised in just a couple of weeks." Incoming EU leaders | Their views on Brexit Latvia is considered a close ally of Britain inside the European Union. They both take a hard line on Russian sanctions and increasing Nato defence spending, and Mr Rinkēvičs said Riga remains anxious for the EU to maintain the closest possible cooperation on security and law enforcement. A crash-out Brexit on October 31 would jeopardise both European and British security if it also took Britain out of the European Court of Justice, undermining the work of European arrest warrants and cooperation via Europol and Eurojust, the pan-European policing and legal agencies. Britain's absence from the European Union may also raise questions about the endurance of the sanctions regime imposed against Russia following the annexation of Crime and war in eastern Ukraine in 2014. Several countries including Hungary and Italy have publicly criticised the sanctions regime. Latvia and neighbouring states were alarmed when the Council of Europe, a human rights body unrelated to the European Union, voted to restore Russia's voting rights last month. Mr Rinkevics said it was widely acknowledged that there will be a "change in dynamic" in the formation of EU foreign policy after Britain leaves, but said it was too early to predict how it would develop. "There are some members states - I don't want to single out any - that could raise [lifting sanctions on Russia]," said Mr Rinkēvičs. "In that case I believe so the consequences are going to be really damaging for the credibility of the European Union," he said. "If we give in, the implications for the security and stability in the neighbourhood will be quite grave."
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| How a Modified Iraqi Falcon 50 Business Jet Nearly Destroyed a US Frigate Posted: 14 Jul 2019 02:00 AM PDT  Following a series of training flights, on the morning of May 17, 1987 Suzanna's crew received the order to load two Exocets and then transfer to Wanda AB for an operation over the Persian Gulf.All through 1985 and early 1986, director of the Iraqi Air Force (IrAF) Intelligence Department, Brigadier-General Mudher al-Farhan, was collecting intelligence about the work of the Iranian tanker-shuttle ('shuttle tankers' were oil tankers equipped with upgrade fire-fighting equipment operated by specially trained crews, they made way in convoys of four ships escorted by warships of the Islamic Republic if Iran Navy). Every day at 1800hrs, he would brief Major-General Sha'ban about related developments.
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| The Latest: Elders brace for arrest for blocking summit road Posted: 15 Jul 2019 11:41 AM PDT  Hawaii officials have closed a road leading to the summit of the state's tallest mountain, the site of an embattled giant telescope project. The road was officially closed Monday, but protesters who say they're protecting Mauna Kea from desecration had already blocked it. Hundreds gathered to protest the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope, hoping to stop construction convoys from delivering equipment to the top.
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| Macron Doubles Down on Demand for EU Reform Before New Expansion Posted: 15 Jul 2019 10:51 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- French President Emmanuel Macron stuck to his demand for deep reforms in the European Union before it accepts new members, telling biggest candidate Serbia that premature entry would benefit no one.Leaders across the Balkans have expressed frustration at what they say is stalling by the EU over when they can become part of the world's biggest trading bloc. While most member are wary of taking in new members, Balkan leaders are struggling to explain the delay to their 18 million citizens who see entry as a guarantee toward higher pay and less corruption.Concerns flared two weeks ago when, after a marathon session of wrangling over who will take the EU's top jobs, Macron said there would be no further enlargement unless "deep reform" of the EU happens first. During a visit to Serbia Monday, where he met President Aleksandar Vucic, Macron again said that "Serbia is destined to join" but that expanding the bloc without changing the way it makes decisions would cause problems for everyone."Entering too quickly wouldn't be good for Serbia, nor would it be for the EU," Macron said, adding that even setting an entry timetable could backfire. "We must not lock ourselves in to a calaendar with a date, because if we fail it would be seen as a failure."The last country to become an EU member was Croatia, in 2013. Outgoing Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the earliest that any of the six remaining aspirants would be able to join is around 2025.For Serbia, the biggest hurdle is resolving relations with Kosovo. Backed by Russia and China, it refuses to recognize its neighbor's unilaterally declared independence since 2008 and has blocked its efforts to join the United Nations and other international organizations.EU-mediated talks between Serbia and Kosovo all but collapsed last year when the latter imposed punitive 100% tax on products from Serbia and from Bosnia-Herzegovina, retaliating for Serb lobbying against its international recognition. Kosovo has ignored calls from EU states to lift the barrier.Vucic said he expected France's help "in the search for a compromise." He also said that Serbia embraced the changes that it had committed to as part of EU entry."For us, it's important to reform ourselves, to do our part of the work, for the sake of our people to do good and that our economy makes progress."Macron's visit followed France-based Vinci Airports venture into Serbia with a 25-year concession for Aerodrom Nikola Tesla, while a unit of Suez Groupe SAS won an equally long contract in Belgrade, the capital. Alstom SA is also vying to build a subway in Belgrade, where the two first lines may cost $4.5 billion.To contact the reporters on this story: Misha Savic in Belgrade at msavic2@bloomberg.net;Gordana Filipovic in Belgrade at gfilipovic@bloomberg.net;Helene Fouquet in Paris at hfouquet1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Irina Vilcu at isavu@bloomberg.net, ;Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, Michael WinfreyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Trump may face more court battles over giving citizenship data to states Posted: 15 Jul 2019 03:11 AM PDT  Trump dropped the effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census on Thursday following a recent defeat in the U.S. Supreme Court. Instead, he ordered other federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration, to provide relevant data.
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| Police officer who killed Ethiopian-Israeli released on bail Posted: 15 Jul 2019 07:03 AM PDT  A police officer who shot dead a 19-year-old Ethiopian-Israeli, sparking nationwide protests, was freed on bail from house arrest on Monday, Israel's justice ministry said. The officer, who was off-duty and said he felt his life was in danger at the time of the June 30 shooting, will be subject to a series of restrictions while the investigation continues. The bail amount was not made public by the ministry following the closed-door court hearing over the shooting of Solomon Teka in Kiryat Haim near the northern port city of Haifa.
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| One of the world's largest airlines appears to be rebranding its Boeing 737 Max jets as customers say they don't want to fly on the plane after 2 fatal crashes Posted: 15 Jul 2019 05:35 AM PDT  People have expressed fears about flying in Boeing 737 Max planes, and airlines are finding different ways to reassure and accommodate them.
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| Missing woman found alive in remote area of California after four days Posted: 15 Jul 2019 04:59 PM PDT  Sheryl Powell, 60, took her dog for a walk from a campground in the White Mountains and didn't return. She was found in a remote area Monday.
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| Marshall Plan for Central America would restore hope, end migrant border crisis Posted: 15 Jul 2019 02:00 AM PDT  Food is essential for solving the migrant crisis in Central America. We need a new Marshall Plan to restore hope and stability in the region.
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| I Went to a Socialism Conference. Here Are 6 Shocking Things I Learned. Posted: 15 Jul 2019 05:02 AM PDT  While you were enjoying your Fourth of July weekend, I was attending a national conference on socialism.Why? Because socialism is having its moment on the left.Since there's often confusion as to what socialism really is, I decided to attend the Socialism 2019 conference at the Hyatt Hotel in Chicago over the Fourth of July weekend.The conference, which had the tag line "No Borders, No Bosses, No Binaries," contained a cross-section of the most pertinent hard-left thought in America. Among the sponsors were the Democratic Socialists of America and Jacobin, a quarterly socialist magazine.The walls of the various conference rooms were adorned with posters of Karl Marx and various depictions of socialist thinkers and causes. Most of the conference attendees appeared to be white, but identity politics were a major theme throughout—especially in regard to gender.At the registration desk, attendees were given the option of attaching a "preferred pronoun" sticker on their name tags.In addition, the multiple-occupancy men's and women's restrooms were relabeled as "gender neutral," and men and women were using both. Interestingly enough, the signs above the doors were still labeled with the traditional "men's" and "women's" signs until they were covered over with home-made labels.One of the paper labels read: "This bathroom has been liberated from the gender binary!"While the panelists and attendees were certainly radical, and often expressed contempt for the Democratic Party establishment, it was nevertheless clear how seamlessly they blended traditional Marxist thought with the agenda of what's becoming the mainstream left.
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| How To Sneak Pumpkin Into All Of Your Favorite Pasta Dishes This Fall Posted: 15 Jul 2019 02:58 PM PDT |
| Major prisoner swap between Russia, Ukraine in limbo Posted: 15 Jul 2019 08:50 AM PDT  A much-anticipated prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine was thrown into uncertainty on Monday after a Ukrainian court postponed a hearing that was expected to release an imprisoned Russian journalist. Russia and Ukraine were on track to launch a major prisoner swap involving the Russian journalist and 24 Ukrainians captured in the Sea of Azov last December when the Russian envoy for human rights, Svetlana Moskalkova, arrived in Ukraine on Monday on a rare visit.
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| Babysitter charged with homicide over death of two-year-old at unlicensed day care Posted: 15 Jul 2019 12:14 PM PDT  A man has been charged with homicide after a toddler died at an unlicensed day care in Wisconsin.Hunter Jones was charged earlier this month with first-degree reckless homicide in the death of 2-year-old Matthew Bolinski.A criminal complaint said Mr Jones called 911 on 27 March to say the child had jumped out of his playpen and hit his head. The complaint also said Mr Jones was on the phone with a dispatcher for four minutes before he revealed the child wasn't breathing.Katherine Bolinski, the little boy's mother, told local news outlets she feels like she is living in an "ongoing nightmare". "I still pretend like he's sleeping in the other room," Ms Bolinski told WITI."Now it's just like an ongoing nightmare of waking up and there are moments where I just wish he could be with me still." Mr Jones' wife, an in-home day care provider, told investigators she left the child and others in her husband's care while she went out to pick up dinner.An autopsy listed the cause of the child's death as undetermined, but also said the toddler had 18 contusions on his head and likely died of asphyxia. "That day I dropped him off, he threw a fit like no other fit and I obviously regret having to do that now because of the outcome, but that's my last memory of him alive," Ms Bolinski told the local news outlet.The mother said she was "confused," "hurt" and "angry" after her son was found to have multiple injuries to his neck and head.Mr Jones did not have a defence attorney listed in court records. Additional reporting by AP
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| Libya Says Missile Find Shows France Is Backing Haftar Offensive Posted: 15 Jul 2019 12:43 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- France's admission that it owned U.S.-made missiles found at a Libyan base seized from strongman Khalifa Haftar's forces indicates it had operatives on the ground supporting his offensive on Tripoli, the interior minister of Libya's internationally-recognized government said.The Javelin anti-tank missiles were uncovered when government forces retook Gharyan from Haftar in late June, a surprise setback for the eastern commander who'd been using the city as a forward operating base for his campaign to take the capital. After wide-ranging speculation over who'd supplied the weapons, France last week acknowledged ownership and said the missiles were left behind by one of its counter-terrorism teams and were no longer operational.Speaking in an interview in the Libyan city of Misrata, Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha disputed France's claim that the missiles were inoperable and said his government has asked experts from the United Nations and U.S. to examine the weapons to confirm they are in working order."The dung leads to the camel," Bashagha said, quoting an Arab proverb. "France implicated itself when it said the Javelins were with a French security team. If the Javelins belonged to a French security team, that means France has admitted it was present militarily and officially in Gharyan to support Haftar."Haftar's campaign has ground to a halt on Tripoli's outskirts, with the fighting leaving at least 1,000 people dead and regional powers backing either side in the Middle East's latest struggle for supremacy.Splintered CountryLibya splintered in the aftermath of the NATO-backed overthrow of dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi in 2011 and two rival administrations and myriad militias are vying for control. Haftar's eastern-based forces swept through the south earlier this year before setting their sights on the capital.France's Defense Ministry told Bloomberg on Sunday that it was "not going to react through the press to this or that reaction." It then repeated last week's statement that the weapons "were intended for the self-protection of a French detachment deployed for counter-terrorism intelligence purposes."France, while seen as supportive of Haftar, also recognizes the UN-backed government in Tripoli and has signed security pacts with its interior ministry. The discovery of the Javelins had initially raised questions over whether a U.S. ally had broken a sales agreement with Washington by transferring the missiles directly to Libyan fighters.Bashagha said a French counter-terrorism team had been present in western Libya and cooperating with a military commander from the Tripoli-based government. The team left with all its equipment shortly after Haftar began his offensive in early April, he said.Another French team left by sea, and both groups took all their weapons, Bashagha said. France had denied having any military presence in Gharyan.(Recasts first paragraph.)\--With assistance from Helene Fouquet.To contact the reporter on this story: Samer Khalil Al-Atrush in Tripoli at skhalilalatr@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Michael GunnFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Epstein investigation moves to his New Mexico 'Zorro Ranch' as alleged victims interviewed Posted: 14 Jul 2019 11:59 AM PDT  The investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the Wall Street financier charged with underage sex offences, has expanded to a sprawling ranch he owns in New Mexico's high desert. Epstein's "Zorro Ranch," worth $12 million, is in the hills outside Santa Fe and has a private runway for his plane, stables, and perfectly manicured gardens. The office of New Mexico attorney general Hector Balderas confirmed it was investigating allegations against Epstein, and interviewing people who allege that they were victims. Mr Balderas has been in contact with prosecutors in New York, where Epstein has already been charged and is awaiting trial. Epstein, 66, was first convicted of underage sex offences in 2008 when he agreed a plea deal in Florida. He admitted a single charge of soliciting a minor for prostitution in exchange for a 13 month jail sentence, and registering as a sex offender. Shortly after completing his sentence he bought the New Mexico ranch from the family of the late New Mexico governor Bruce King. Under New Mexico law he was not required to register as a sex offender there. According to local reports Epstein did voluntarily contact the sheriff's office in Santa Fe when he bought the ranch, alerting them about his conviction. But the New Mexico Department of Public Safety then told him he did not need to. In a statement Mr Balderas said the fact Epstein had not been required to register as a sex offender in New Mexico was a "huge black eye for our state." He added: "New Mexico continues to lag behind the rest of the country in strengthening outdated and weak laws that fail to protect our children from abuse." Mr Balderas has not said how many alleged victims have been interviewed, or any details of what they allege happened. In response to the New Mexico development Bradley Edwards, an lawyer for Epstein's alleged victims, told CBS News: "There are plenty of people that ran in his circles who have information. If you have information, you observed something, you heard something, come and let us know." In 2015 a woman who claims she was a victim filed a legal case in Florida in which she claimed to have been abused at several locations, including the New Mexico ranch. Epstein also owns a $77 million Manhattan townhouse and a 75-acre estate built on a private island in the US Virgin Islands. Last week Alex Acosta, the US Labor Secretary, resigned amid the fallout from the Epstein case. In 2008 he was the Florida prosecutor who negotiated Epstein's plea deal. Epstein has pleaded not guilty in New York to two charges including sex trafficking of minors. He could face up to 45 years in prison if convicted. In the 1970s Epstein was a teacher at Dalton School, a prestigious school in New York. Former students told the New York Times his behaviour there "violated norms," including turning up at a party where students were drinking.
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| Taiwanese president courts ally Haiti during Caribbean tour Posted: 13 Jul 2019 10:27 PM PDT  Port-au-Prince (AFP) - Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen made a brief visit to Haiti on Saturday without unveiling new spending commitments, as she courts Taipei's dwindling allies in the Caribbean in a diplomatic struggle with China. Since Tsai became president, Beijing -- which considers Taiwan part of its territory -- has poached five of the island's shrinking roster of allies, including Haiti's neighbor the Dominican Republic. Taipei has allocated $150 million to the country to help electrify its territory but the funds have not been allocated because they have yet to be ratified by the Haitian parliament.
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| People are canceling their Amazon Prime memberships to support the worker protests — here's how to cancel yours (AMZN) Posted: 15 Jul 2019 11:58 AM PDT  You can't cancel your Amazon Prime membership in just one click — there are four steps to follow. Here's how to do it.
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| SpaceX astronaut mission looking 'increasingly difficult' in 2019: executive Posted: 15 Jul 2019 02:46 PM PDT  One of the space company's Crew Dragon capsules exploded on a test stand at a Florida Air Force station moments before firing eight emergency abort thrusters designed to propel an on-board crew to safety in the event of a failure. Crew Dragon was slated earlier this year to carry U.S. astronauts to the International Space Station in a first manned test mission in July, although that date slipped until November following the explosion and some other hitches in the vehicle's design. "I'm pretty optimistic at this point in time because we have a good path forward," Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX's vice president of Build & Flight Reliability told reporters on a conference call as the company provided fresh details from the investigation.
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| The Latest: California home gas blast kills 1, injures 15 Posted: 15 Jul 2019 03:35 PM PDT ![The Latest: California home gas blast kills 1, injures 15]( "The Latest: California home gas blast kills 1, injures 15") Authorities say a gas explosion that destroyed a Southern California home has killed one person and injured more than a dozen others. The explosion occurred shortly after noon Monday in Murrieta in Riverside County. The Southern California Gas Co. says it sent a crew to the home after a contractor damaged a gas line.
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