| Tulsi Gabbard tells Fox News host Tucker Carlson that DNC debate criteria isn't transparent Posted: 29 Aug 2019 11:00 AM PDT  Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is among the many Democratic presidential candidates who did not qualify for September's debate round by yesterday's deadline.
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| ‘Frozen in time’: Eerie footage inside 170-year-old shipwreck from lost Arctic expedition Posted: 29 Aug 2019 06:56 AM PDT  Archaeologists have obtained unprecedented footage of an Arctic shipwreck "frozen in time" for more than a century and a half.Video from inside HMS Terror reveals china plates and bottles still stacked on shelves, eerily well-preserved officers' cabins and weapons still in their racks.
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| Prosecutors are looking into the network of women they believe Jeffrey Epstein used to recruit underage girls for sex-trafficking Posted: 29 Aug 2019 02:09 PM PDT  The convicted sex offender was charged with sex trafficking and accused of molesting dozens of underage girls. The case was dismissed after his death.
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| Wave of child sex abuse lawsuits threatens Boy Scouts Posted: 29 Aug 2019 10:16 PM PDT  The Boy Scouts of America is facing a threat from a growing wave of lawsuits over decades-old allegations of sexual abuse. The Scouts have been sued in multiple states in recent months by purported abuse victims, including plaintiffs taking advantage of new state laws or court decisions that are now allowing suits previously barred because of the age of the allegations. A lawyer representing 150 people who say they were abused as Boy Scouts is planning a suit in New Jersey when the state's new civil statute of limitations law takes effect Dec. 1.
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| Fox News Host Jeanine Pirro believes Democrats plotting to ‘replace American citizens with illegals’ Posted: 29 Aug 2019 05:48 PM PDT  Appearing on Fox Nation's The Todd Starnes Show on Thursday, Fox News host Jeanine Pirro was asked by Starnes if Democrats and liberals hate President Trump and his supporters.
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| Candidates propose expanding the 'war on terror' to counter the real threat: White supremacists Posted: 29 Aug 2019 02:00 AM PDT  Since the El Paso shooting, which was declared an act of "domestic terrorism" by the Justice Department, the FBI has thwarted seven mass shootings, including attacks planned by alleged white supremacists. But those arrested are unlikely to be designated as domestic terrorists or face any federal terrorism-related charges.
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| The Invasion of Poland Wasn't Hitler's First Aggression. Here's Why That Move Marked the Beginning of WWII Posted: 30 Aug 2019 09:00 AM PDT  Roughly 1.5 million German soldiers, 2,000 airplanes and 2,500 tanks crossed the Polish border on Sept. 1, 1939
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| ICE says it will not conduct immigration enforcement operations in affected areas during Hurricane Dorian Posted: 30 Aug 2019 04:11 PM PDT  A spokesman for the federal agency said in a statement Friday that "we must stand as one community to focus on aiding the victims."
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| Russia strips Azeri blogger of citizenship and moves to deport him Posted: 30 Aug 2019 07:59 AM PDT ![Russia strips Azeri blogger of citizenship and moves to deport him]( "Russia strips Azeri blogger of citizenship and moves to deport him") Russia has ordered an immigrant blogger critical of the authorities in his native Azerbaijan to be deported there after revoking his Russian citizenship, his family said. Elvin Isaev, 39, who has held Russian citizenship for almost two decades, has run a video blog about politics in Azerbaijan from St Petersburg where he has lived with his Russian-born wife.
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| 155 migrants force entry into Spain's Ceuta enclave Posted: 30 Aug 2019 03:41 AM PDT  A group of 155 migrants forced their way into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco on Friday, Spanish authorities said. "They are all from sub-Saharan Africa, the majority from Guinea," a spokesman for the central government's office in Ceuta told AFP.
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| Kashmiris say Indian officers tortured them and shoved mud in their mouths so they couldn't scream. The army denies it ever happened. Posted: 30 Aug 2019 04:18 AM PDT  A new BBC report details gruesome allegations from civilians living in Kashmiri villages known to be hubs of anti-India militant groups.
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| Condemned inmate waits to hear whether he will be spared Posted: 29 Aug 2019 03:58 PM PDT  A condemned Tennessee prisoner is waiting to hear whether he will be spared the death chamber after he claimed prosecutors illegally excluded African Americans from the jury pool. Abu-Ali Abdur'Rahman (ah-BOO'-ah-LEE') (AHB'-dur-RAK'-mahn), who is black, faces an April 16 execution date for the 1986 murder of Patrick Daniels. Nashville's district attorney agreed on Wednesday to convert Abdur'Rahman's sentence to life, but Criminal Court Judge Monte Watkins still has to sign off on the agreement.
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| End of the Road Draws Near for Democrats Shut Out of Next Debate Posted: 30 Aug 2019 01:00 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Many of the 10 candidates who didn't make the cut for the third Democratic presidential debate, now face a big decision -- drop out or keep running at the end of the pack.Losing a spot on the stage means more than just being deprived of a powerful platform. It's a signal to donors, supporters and primary-state voters that an already-struggling candidate has failed to break out. So what's that candidate to do?"Drop out," said Rebecca Katz, a Democratic strategist and founder of New Deal Strategies. "These candidates have had months, and in many cases two separate debates, to make their case to the American people."On Thursday the Democratic National Committee announced that Tom Steyer, Michael Bennet, Tulsi Gabbard, Marianne Williamson, Steve Bullock, Bill de Blasio, Tim Ryan, John Delaney and Joe Sestak will have to sit out of the Sept. 12 debate in Houston.The culling is no accident: The DNC set more stringent criteria for the September debate in hopes of winnowing an unprecedented field of more than 20 candidates. To make the stage this time candidates needed to attain 130,000 individual donors and register 2% support in four DNC-approved polls. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York dropped out hours before the qualification deadline on Wednesday, when it became clear she wouldn't meet either threshold.Three other candidates left the race in recent weeks -- John Hickenlooper, Jay Inslee and Seth Moulton. Hickenlooper has since launched a bid for Colorado's U.S. Senate seat and Inslee has said he will run for a third term as governor of Washington state.DNC Chairman Tom Perez dismissed candidates' complaints that the polling and fundraising requirements were unfair. He said the DNC helped candidates clear the bar by working with TV networks to offer "an unprecedented amount of free earned media" through hour-long town halls."With all due respect, the notion that we created burdens for candidates –- no, we gave opportunities to candidates and we will continue to give opportunities to candidates," he told Bloomberg. "Then it's up to them to take advantage to those opportunities."The end of a campaign doesn't mean the candidate won't serve in the next administration. Those who do not become the eventual party nominee often go on to Cabinet positions or other executive-appointed roles. After the 2016 election, for example, Donald Trump picked former rivals Ben Carson and Rick Perry to serve as as secretaries of housing and energy. They might also become the nominee's running mate.Democratic strategists like Lynda Tran, a partner at 270 Strategies, expects to see more drop out."If they don't end up in the debate stage, they know I think in their heart of hearts that that is not a good sign of their campaign," Tran said. "At some point people will start paying attention primarily to the front-runners."And voters should question the motivation of some candidates for sticking around after they didn't make the grade, Katz said."Why are the candidates who can't get more than 2% staying in the race? Is it about issues or is it about ego?"One candidate is pledging to stay on. Steve Bullock, the Montana governor, is a Democrat running a state Trump won in 2016."There are over 150 days before voters express their preference in Iowa and New Hampshire. It's those voters in early states and across the country who will decide this election," he said.If the September debate isn't the campaign-ending breaking point for candidates, Tran predicts the fourth one in October will be. Many of the lower-polling candidates like Gabbard, and even those who made the cut like Beto O'Rourke, have begun to dance around the growing possibility that they won't be the nominee.On stage in Houston will be Joe Biden, along with Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar. They will be joined by Pete Buttigieg, Andrew Yang, O'Rourke and Julián Castro.\--With assistance from Jennifer Epstein.To contact the reporter on this story: Emma Kinery in Washington at ekinery@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Max BerleyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Trump accused of tweeting image from secret intelligence briefing as he says US not involved in Iran satellite launch failure Posted: 30 Aug 2019 11:12 AM PDT  Donald Trump has tweeted what appears to be a new, high resolution image of the site of a failed Iranian satellite launch, claiming that the United States had nothing to do with the incident.The image was posted shortly after Mr Trump was scheduled to receive an intelligence briefing, and experts say was likely taken from briefing documents. It has the reflection of what appears to be a flash in the centre, suggesting the image may have been photographed from separate materials.
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| A boat was up close and personal with Italy's Stromboli volcano and just barely got away as it began to erupt Posted: 29 Aug 2019 08:14 AM PDT  Italy's Stromboli volcano erupted off the coast of Sicily. And one boat off the coast got a little close to the scene just as the eruption started.
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| Israel Is Escalating Its Shadow War With Iran. Here's What to Know Posted: 29 Aug 2019 01:35 PM PDT  Israel-attributed attacks on targets in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq highlight the risks of a wider confrontation
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| Buttigieg Denounces ‘Hypocrisy’ of Pence, Other Christian Politicians Posted: 30 Aug 2019 09:44 AM PDT  Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg blasted Vice President Mike Pence and other Christian politicians this week for adopting what he charged were un-Christian political stances.Asked by Religion News whether he would call "sinful" those Christian politicians who supported the Trump administration's since-scrapped policy of separating families arrested after crossing the southern border illegally, Buttigieg declined to go that far."I'll be careful to use that word to kind of point out a speck in my brother's eye," the South Bend, Ind. mayor replied. "What I would say is that it's clear that some naked sins are being at best condoned by people who then summon religious arguments. That rings more and more hollow.""It's not just that we might have a different interpretation of faith, it's that these arguments no longer stack up even on their own merits, right?" the openly gay Buttigieg continued. "For example, Mike Pence's view of Christian sexuality is obviously a little different than mine. But even with his view, it makes no sense to condone this president and his behavior. So there's two layers to this. There's the fact that I subscribe to a vision of faith that leads me to a certain place politically. But it's also just seeing the hypocrisy among people who now endorse people and practices that are offensive, not only to my values, but to their own."Buttigieg made a similar accusation during the first Democratic presidential primary debate in June, calling out the "hypocrisy" of Christians who supported the family-separation policy."For a party that associates itself with Christianity to say that it is okay to suggest that God would smile on the division of families at the hands of federal agents, that God would condone putting children in cages, has lost all claim to ever use religious language again," he said.The Indiana mayor targeted Pence directly earlier this year as well, saying during an address to the LGBTQ Victory Fund's annual brunch that he wishes "the Mike Pences of the world would understand. . . . If you've got a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me. Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator."Pence pushed back at the time, saying he takes issue with what he saw as Buttigieg's personal attacks."He said some things that are critical of my Christian faith and about me personally. And he knows better. He knows me," said Pence, who has long been an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage.
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| Mexican president backs official accused of suspect real estate purchases Posted: 30 Aug 2019 02:00 PM PDT ![Mexican president backs official accused of suspect real estate purchases]( "Mexican president backs official accused of suspect real estate purchases") Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday expressed support for Manuel Bartlett, the head of national electricity company CFE, despite accusations that Bartlett has improperly accumulated nearly two dozen luxury properties. "I have confidence in Mr. Bartlett," Lopez Obrador told reporters at his morning news conference. The president tapped Bartlett, a veteran politician with a controversial past, to lead Mexico's state-owned power utility.
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| Japan PM wraps up Africa meet with debt warning aimed at China Posted: 29 Aug 2019 11:25 PM PDT  Investors in Africa must beware of burdening countries with "excessive" debt, Japan's prime minister warned Friday, an apparent swipe at China whose Belt and Road policy has been accused of saddling poor nations with crippling debt. Speaking to reporters at the end of an African development conference outside Tokyo, Shinzo Abe emphasised that countries in the G20 group of top economies, including China, had committed to the concept of "debt sustainability". "In providing assistance to Africa, we have to take note of the debt burden of the recipient country and take care that the debt burden does not become excessive," Abe said when asked about China's influence in Africa.
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| Utah man found guilty of running massive opioid ring Posted: 30 Aug 2019 04:39 PM PDT  A Utah man was convicted Friday of running a multimillion-dollar opioid ring that sent hundreds of thousands of potentially deadly pills across the country in a scheme that authorities said helped fuel the nation's opioid epidemic. A jury reached the verdict after deliberating less than a day in the case against Aaron Shamo. "He's 29 and his life is over," defense attorney Greg Skordas said after the verdict was read.
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| View Photos of the 2019 Honda Civic Si Coupe vs. 1999 Honda Civic Si Coupe Posted: 30 Aug 2019 05:00 AM PDT |
| Trump faked phone call with China at G-7 summit, White House aides admit Posted: 30 Aug 2019 11:36 AM PDT  The mystery behind a confusing phone call Donald Trump claims he had with "China" has been disclosed: The president made it up to try to boost the market.
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| The Pentagon was apparently blindsided by a Trump administration move that affects some children of deployed troops Posted: 29 Aug 2019 02:47 PM PDT  A new policy affecting the citizenship of children born to some US service members appears to have surprised the Department of Defense.
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| Israel 'plants dummy decoy' soldiers on border with Lebanon after Hizbollah threats Posted: 29 Aug 2019 08:59 AM PDT  Israel has positioned dummy decoys dressed as soldiers on the border with Lebanon, according to local reports, as the country prepares for strikes by Hizbollah. Israel and Hizbollah, which last fought a war in 2006, are on high alert after Israel carried out a series of attacks on the group in Lebanon and neighbouring Syria and Hizbollah promised a retaliation. Lebanese journalist Ali Shueib, who works for Hizbollah's al-Manar TV station, tweeted photos of off-road army vehicles with what appeared to be a mannequin in the front seat. "Stop the jokes," he tweeted, saying that using these dummies only reveals "'stupidity and foolishness' because you have not learned that you are facing men that have the intelligence, professionalism, courage, and faith to defeat." خلصنا المزح بموضوع الجيب ✋ هذه الفضيحة كفيلة بإسقاط رؤوس كبيرة في جيشكم !! لأنها تدل عن "غباء وحمق" لأنكم لم تتعلموا بعد انكم بمواجة رجال لديهم من الحكمة والحرفية والشجاعة والإيمان مايكفي لهزيمتكم !!انضبوا وضبوا تماثيلكم .. هالحركات حتى الأطفال بلعبة الغميضة ما بيعملوها ✋ pic.twitter.com/0FqVHC0hF9— علي شعيب ���� (@ali_shoeib1) August 29, 2019 Or Heller, an Israeli military correspondent for Channel 10 News, posted a close-up of the dummy taken from the other side of the vehicle, suggesting that Israel had placed it there in anticipation of a Hizbollah assault. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has been known to use mannequins, placing them in bunkers or sniper's nests in an effort to trick its enemies into thinking they are manned by soldiers and leading them to reveal their position. Hizbollah, which is backed by Iran, have been warning they intend to carry out "calculated strike" against Israel in the coming days, in revenge for an Israeli strike in Syria which killed two Hizbollah fighters and a drone attack which is reported to have targeted precision-missile technology over the weekend. וכך ניראות הבובות בקו, בתמונה שחבר צפוני צילם. ברקע: ההבנה בצהל שנארסראללה סינדל את עצמו לתגובה על תקיפת הרחפנים בדאחייה. בדפוסי הפעולה האפשריים שלו: מטען, ירי צליפה, או ירי טילים נגד טנקים. pic.twitter.com/0jJ3QGc2iB— Or Heller אור הלר (@OrHeller) August 29, 2019 Sources close to the Shia movement had indicated to the Telegraph that the group would look to attack Israeli troops along the border and send drones into the country in a "like-for-like" retaliation for the drone attack. Israel is fighting a shadow war with arch-foe Iran, targeting its proxies in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq and attempting to disturb the flow of weapons. On its Twitter account on Thursday, the IDF went public with what it said were details about an extensive Iranian-sponsored project to provide Hizbollah with the means to produce precision-guided missiles. It released the names of four Iranian Quds Forces officers it alleged to be training Hizbollah members in Lebanon. Members of Lebanon's Shia Hizbollah movement carry the coffin of a fighter killed in Israeli strikes in Syria, during the funeral in the Ghobeiry neighbourhood of southern Beirut Credit: AFP Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, said Tehran had in recent months increased the pace of the project such that it was "faster in terms of buildings, facilities, locations, conversion and manufacturing facilities, and it means more people, operatives involved in doing so". "It is time for them (the Lebanese government) to understand their responsibility and understand the fact that what they are letting Hizbollah and Iran do on Lebanese soil is their responsibility," Lt Col. Conricus said. Israel has said that it holds the Lebanese state responsible for Hizbollah's actions since the movement now has MPs in parliament. Lebanon on Wednesday opened fire on Israeli drones operating inside Lebanese airspace, after warning its neighbour it would defend its sovereignty.
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| Alabama Governor Apologizes for Blackface Skit, Refuses to Resign Posted: 30 Aug 2019 07:07 AM PDT  Alabama Governor Kay Ivey apologized Thursday for a blackface skit she participated in while a student at Auburn University during the 1960s."I offer my heartfelt apologies for the pain and embarrassment this causes, and I will do all I can — going forward — to help show the nation that the Alabama of today is a far cry from the Alabama of the 1960s," Ivey said in a statement. "We have come a long way, for sure, but we still have a long way to go."The Republican governor, 74, stopped short of capitulating to calls from Alabama Democrats to resign, however."While some may attempt to excuse this as acceptable behavior for a college student during the mid-1960s, that is not who I am today, and it is not what my Administration represents all these years later," Ivey insisted.The governor claimed she cannot recall either the skit or a 1967 interview on a campus radio program with her then-fiancé, who described how Ivey had "had put some black paint all over her face" for the bit. However, she acknowledged she had likely participated in such a skit and said she has "genuine remorse" now for her involvement.Democratic state representative Terri Sewell dismissed Ivey's apology as not reparation enough, saying the governor's actions are "reprehensible and are deeply offensive."Her words of apology ring hollow if not met with real action to bridge the racial divide," Sewell added.
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| Iran goes further in breaching nuclear deal, IAEA report shows Posted: 30 Aug 2019 08:01 AM PDT  Iran has gone further in breaching its nuclear deal with world powers, increasing its stock of enriched uranium and refining it to a greater purity than allowed, the U.N. atomic agency report said on Friday. The quarterly report from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is policing the 2015 deal, confirms Iran is progressively backing out of the deal in retaliation for Washington's withdrawal form the accord and renewal of sanctions that have hit Iranian oil sales. Iran has said it will breach the deal's limits on its nuclear activities one by one, ratcheting up pressure on parties who still hope to save it.
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| Six countries block UN sanctions against Somalia's Al-Shabaab Posted: 29 Aug 2019 06:17 PM PDT  Six UN Security Council members on Wednesday blocked a move to include Somali jihadist group Al-Shabaab on a list of organizations such as Al-Qaeda that are under international sanctions, diplomatic sources said. Several NGOs and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recently stepped in to oppose the classification, which would have effectively kept humanitarian aid away from millions of Somalis living in Al-Shabaab-controlled areas. Germany, Belgium, Poland, France, Kuwait and the United States were the six countries whose votes blocked the implementation of the new sanctions.
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| 'Storm Area 51' event forces second Nevada county to sign emergency declaration Posted: 30 Aug 2019 05:10 AM PDT  The "Storm Area 51" event has drawn more than 2 million RSVPs on Facebook. Officials in Nye County, Nevada, OK'd an emergency order in preparation.
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| El Salvador busts alleged migrant smuggling network, nabs 25 Posted: 29 Aug 2019 12:10 PM PDT  At least 25 people were arrested across El Salvador on Thursday, including businesspeople, lawyers and a former police officer, as part of an operation to break up an alleged migrant smuggling network. Authorities said they conducted raids in a number of municipalities and seized 23 vehicles and 14 properties with a collective value of about $1 million. The director of the attorney general's office anticorruption unit said 32 arrest warrants were issued.
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| We need Unions for All. It's a bold agenda for helping everyone get ahead in our economy. Posted: 30 Aug 2019 02:00 AM PDT  We need serious plans to empower all workers to form unions, no matter what job they do. 'Unions for All' is our litmus test for 2020 candidates.
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| 10 Hacks Every Grill-Meister Should Master Posted: 29 Aug 2019 09:02 AM PDT |
| Senate GOP writes letter to the Supreme Court, pledging not to allow Dems to 'pack the Court' Posted: 29 Aug 2019 06:59 PM PDT  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and every Republican in the Senate have written a letter to the Supreme Court pledging that they wont let Democrats "pack the Court" as several 2020 Democrats have been open to that idea.
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| Suspect in Berlin killing had links to Russian state security: Der Spiegel Posted: 30 Aug 2019 04:33 AM PDT ![Suspect in Berlin killing had links to Russian state security: Der Spiegel]( "Suspect in Berlin killing had links to Russian state security: Der Spiegel") The suspect detained over the killing last week of a Georgian citizen in Berlin had a passport whose number linked him to Russian security services, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Friday. Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, who had previously fought alongside anti-Moscow separatists in the province of Chechnya, was shot twice in the head last Friday as he headed through a central Berlin park to the mosque. If confirmed, the report could add to problems between the European Union and Moscow, which are already at odds over the apparent murder attempt against a Russian defector in Britain last year.
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| China expels WSJ reporter who wrote about Xi's cousin Posted: 30 Aug 2019 06:09 AM PDT  Beijing said journalists who attack China were "not welcome" in the country, after it failed to renew the press credentials of a foreign journalist who wrote an article about one of President Xi Jinping's cousins. It amounts to the effective expulsion of Chun Han Wong, a Singaporean national who has worked for the Wall Street Journal's Beijing bureau since 2014. In a statement to AFP, the foreign ministry said it "strongly opposed some foreign reporters' malicious smears and attacks on China, and these kinds of journalists are not welcome".
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| Air Force and DARPA testing new hypersonic weapons prototypes Posted: 29 Aug 2019 03:59 PM PDT  The Pentagon and industry developers are now testing a new series of hypersonic weapons prototypes. Hypersonic weapons are engineered as 'kinetic energy' strike weapons, meaning they will not use explosives but rely instead upon sheer speed and the force of impact to destroy targets.
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| The Latest: 62 Pakistani migrants reach Italy southern port Posted: 30 Aug 2019 08:35 AM PDT  Sixty-two Pakistani migrants have reached the southern Italian port of Gallipoli, in the Apulia region, after being found on a tiny island by the local coast guard. The coast guard said Friday that all the migrants, including nine unaccompanied minors, received assistance from the Red Cross and were in good health, despite a long and distressing journey. Hundreds of migrants continue to reach Italy's southern shores in small boats and dinghies, even though rescue ships operated by NGOs in the Mediterranean are banned from docking in Italian ports, due to the hard-line policy of outgoing Interior Minister Matteo Salvini.
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| Ohio man accused of planning to attack Jewish center faces federal charge Posted: 29 Aug 2019 01:17 PM PDT  James Reardon, 20, whose case is one of many thwarted potential mass shootings reported by U.S. law enforcement in recent weeks, faces one count of transmitting threatening communications via interstate commerce, federal prosecutors said as his indictment was unsealed on Thursday. Federal authorities said their investigation is ongoing.
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| Why President Trump Cut a Methane Regulation That Even Big Oil Companies Wanted to Keep Posted: 29 Aug 2019 02:03 PM PDT  The decision to side with a group of smaller fossil fuel producers shows the influence these companies retain within the administration
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| Wreck of paddle steamer throws light on British support for Confederacy slave states during US Civil War Posted: 29 Aug 2019 10:00 PM PDT  Britain has long been proud of its historically progressive attitude to slavery, frequently pointing to the fact that this country abolished the trade across its territories as early as 1833. But beneath the waters of Liverpool Bay lies something that should dent our complacency about this country's role in the ending of human bondage. The wreck of the paddle steamer Leila, which sank on its maiden voyage in 1865, sheds new light on the actions of some British businessmen in supporting the southern slave states of the Confederacy during the US Civil War. Now the wreck - described by historians as "one of the most historically-significant in the north west" - is to be granted protected status on the advice of Historic England. The 19th century paddle steamer was on its maiden voyage from Liverpool to Bermuda loaded with guns and supplies for Confederate forces when it foundered on 14th January 1865 during stormy weather in Liverpool Bay, with the loss of 47 lives. The wreck on the Leila on the seabed in Liverpool Bay Credit: Historic England Leila was secretly built in Liverpool on behalf of the Confederate Government late in the American Civil War of 1861 to 1865 as a purpose-built vessel to run the blockade imposed on the southern states by the Union forces of Abraham Lincoln. She was technically advanced for her day and was designed to evade the northern Union ships enforcing the blockade. Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England said: "The Lelia is one of a small group of British ships involved in British complicity in running guns and munitions to the Confederates. "Though the UK remained officially neutral throughout the American Civil War, the Leila comprises evidence of the British financing of blockade runners that sent munitions and luxuries to Confederate ports in return for cotton and tobacco. As such it is very significant as historical evidence." Although the British Government's position on the blockade was officially neutral, opinion in Britain over the issue of the Civil War was split. Many Lancashire cotton workers supported the blockade and the Union's fight against the slave states, even though it resulted in a downturn in the weaving industry and severe hardship for their families. Such was their support for the abolitionist cause that a statue of Lincoln was erected in their honour in 1919, with a plaque reproducing his letter of 19th January 1863 to the Manchester cotton workers thanking them for their support. Statue of Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Square, Manchester, inscribed with his letter of thanks to the city's cotton weavers Credit: Phil Portus / Alamy Stock Photo But there were those in Britain willing to take advantage of the war and help supply the slave states with goods and materials. At the start of the Civil War, the Confederacy lacked the manufacturing capacity to compete with the more industrialised northern states and so relied on importing war supplies, including guns and ammunition, to sustain its war effort. It acquired fast steamships, mainly paddle steamers, from British and other shipbuilders, intended to breach the naval blockade of its main ports imposed by the Union in 1861 in an attempt to strangle the southern war effort. They hoped a combination of speed and stealth would help them to break the blockade, enabling them to carry cotton and tobacco to Europe and war supplies back to the Confederacy. The Lelia was built in Millers shipyard in Toxteth, Liverpool, where shipbuilders had been experimenting with the early use of steel, which, being lighter than iron, allowed for larger cargo space and greater speed - perfect for blockade runners. The paddle steamer was only identified in 1997 after a bell marked 'Lelia 1864' was recovered from close to the wreck beneath Liverpool Bay by a local diver. An infra-red photograph of the wreck of the Leila Credit: Historic England The partially-buried remains of the Leila include one of the paddle wheels, the engine and boiler rooms, less well-preserved cargo areas and a steam winch. The deck and all structures that were on it have not survived, but as much as 1.9m of its hull remains buried in the seabed, raising the prospect that its cargo of British-manufactured munitions and machinery may have been partially preserved . The Leila is one of three blockade busters to have been discovered in British waters. The other is the paddle steamer Iona II, which sank in 1864 in foggy conditions close to the Isle of Lundy in the Bristol Channel on her first trans-Atlantic voyage. The Iona II's sister ship Iona I, also a paddle steamer believed to be involved in gun-running, was lost in 1862 in the inner Clyde Estuary, near Greenock, in Scotland. Rebecca Pow, Heritage Minister at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said: "Protecting sites like the wreck of the Lelia helps us to preserve an important story about Britain's role in the American Civil War. "Although the conflict happened over a hundred years ago, it is right that we ensure the protection of this site so we can learn more about one of the most significant shipwrecks off the coast of North West England and broaden our knowledge about our nation's seafaring history." A print depicting the upsetting of the Liverpool lifeboat during its ill fated attempt to rescue the crew of the Leila Credit: Historic England
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| DNC will reject Iowa Democrats' virtual caucus plan, throwing the state's first-in-the-nation status into question Posted: 29 Aug 2019 09:48 PM PDT  The decision follows a meeting of the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee last week in San Francisco, where members voiced concerns about cybersecurity.
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| Israel's Anti-Drone Industry Takes Off Posted: 30 Aug 2019 08:37 AM PDT ![Israel's Anti-Drone Industry Takes Off]( "Israel's Anti-Drone Industry Takes Off") In late August, Israeli military officials claimed responsibility for airstrikes in Syria targeting Iranian-made "killer drones" intended to attack Israel. While the Aug. 24 incident sparked worries of escalation in this tense region, many are questioning how Israel -- or any other country -- would or could detect and defend itself against a fleet of explosive-laden drones. Some question how it's possible to differentiate between civilian drones that could be used for terrorism or espionage and those that are simply doing things like making food deliveries.
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| Worsening fuel shortage in impoverished Haiti Posted: 29 Aug 2019 06:43 PM PDT  Port-au-Prince (AFP) - Haiti's long-suffering population has faced an extra burden for more than a week: closed service stations and lines of motorists hoping to buy even a few drops of petrol during a fuel shortage that's getting worse. Haiti is one of the world's poorest countries which has faced months of political turmoil. "I have been in this never-ending line for hours," a driver of one of Port-au-Prince's ubiquitous motorbike taxis complained.
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| Taiwan demands China disclose whereabouts of missing citizen Posted: 30 Aug 2019 06:07 AM PDT  Officials in Taiwan demanded Friday that China disclose information about the disappearance of a Taiwanese man who reportedly distributed photos of Chinese troops massing equipment just outside protest-racked Hong Kong. Friends and family have been unable to reach Lee Meng-chu, a volunteer activity organizer in a small township in southern Taiwan, for 10 days, the Taiwanese government's Mainland Affairs Council said after receiving pleas for help from Lee's family members. Communist Party-ruled China often detains people over political matters and may hold them in an unknown location for several months if they are suspected of threatening national security.
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