| India Has Taken Kashmir, But Winning the Hearts and Minds of Kashmiris Will be Harder Posted: 08 Aug 2019 02:37 AM PDT  'This is an attack on Indian democracy': On Aug. 5, the Indian government blocked all communication in Kashmir in a bid for greater control.
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| Father of black man killed by US police in 2014 demands answers Posted: 09 Aug 2019 01:47 PM PDT  The father of Michael Brown, the black American whose killing by police triggered countrywide protests, on Friday marked the fifth anniversary of his son's death by calling on the Justice Department to re-open its investigation into the shooting. Prosecutors dropped the case against the officer who shot the unarmed 18-year-old, sparking riots in Ferguson, a suburb of St Louis in the conservative state of Missouri. "I am demanding evidence to be reanalyzed, and accountability to follow," Michael Brown Senior told a news conference.
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| Joe Biden says 'poor kids' are 'just as talented as white kids' Posted: 09 Aug 2019 08:58 AM PDT  The former vice president quickly corrected himself. He made the comment while speaking to the Iowa Asian and Latino Coalition Thursday night.
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| Arizona prosecutor who questioned Kavanaugh accuser promoted Posted: 09 Aug 2019 02:29 PM PDT  An Arizona sex-crimes prosecutor who questioned Christine Blasey Ford about her sexual assault allegation against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has been promoted to a top prosecutorial job in metro Phoenix. Rachel Mitchell was named chief deputy of the Maricopa County Attorney's Office last week, taking on the top staff position with Republican County Attorney Bill Montgomery. Mitchell was chief of the county's sex crimes division when the 11 Republican men on the Senate Judiciary Committee enlisted her to question Ford, hoping to avoid the potentially bad optics of men interrogating a woman about her allegation.
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| Missile Explosion Prompts Radiation Warnings in Russia Posted: 08 Aug 2019 12:41 PM PDT  Was the explosion, which reportedly killed three people, a test of the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile gone awry?
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| China issues 'red alert' as super typhoon approaches mainland Posted: 08 Aug 2019 05:21 PM PDT  SHANGHAI/TAIPEI (Reuters) - China's weather bureau issued a red alert early on Friday as super typhoon Lekima approached Zhejiang province on the eastern coast, after forcing flight cancellations in Taiwan and shutting markets and businesses on the island. The National Meteorological Center (NMC) said the typhoon, the strongest since 2014, was expected to hit the mainland in early on Saturday and then turn north.
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| Louisiana woman reportedly told police the meth found in her body part was not hers Posted: 08 Aug 2019 04:31 PM PDT  A Louisiana woman reportedly told police she did not know where the meth - found in her groin- came from.
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| British astrophysicist died 'instantly from fall' on Greek island Posted: 08 Aug 2019 01:57 PM PDT  The British scientist found dead at the bottom of a ravine on a Greek island died instantly from a fall, a Greek coroner said on Thursday. Natalie Christopher, 34, was discovered on Wednesday morning on the Greek island of Ikaria, which she was visiting on holiday. Miss Christopher, an astrophysicist and avid trail runner who lived in Cyprus, had set off for a run from their hotel, her boyfriend said. The area has trails along steep cliffs and ravines, and Miss Christopher was found at the bottom of a 65-foot ravine. Vangelis Kriaras, a volunteer, told local TV that rescue workers had come close the site "at least twice before", but because of its inaccessibility had failed to spot her. It was only when one volunteer walked through the gorge that her body was discovered, hidden beneath a boulder. Natalie Christopher, a British scientist based in Cyprus Nikos Karakoukis, a Greek coroner who travelled to the island from Athens, said evidence from an initial assessment of the area where Miss Christopher's body was found was "consistent with a fall from a height." He said she had suffered a head injury and died instantly. Her body was on Thursday being transported to a morgue in the Greek capital, Athens. Miss Christopher's disappearance led to a two-day manhunt across the island. Greek media reported that traces of blood had been found in the hotel room she shared with her Cypriot partner, but he explained that she had suffered a nose bleed. The forensic police examined the hotel as well as her partner's telephone. Miss Christopher was well known in Cyprus as an active sportswoman and for her involvement in several social media projects, including one - "Cyprus Girls Can" - which aims to break down barriers between Greek and Turkish youngsters on the divided island. Natalie Christopher was a keen trail runner President Nicos Anastasiades was among those who expressed sorrow, calling her death "an unjust loss of a young scientist and active citizen who had her whole life ahead of her and much to give". The incident comes a month after the murder of US molecular biologist Suzanne Eaton on Crete. The 59-year-old had been attending a conference near the city of Chania and gone out on July 2 without taking her mobile phone, the police said. Her body was found six days later in an abandoned World War II bunker. A 27-year-old farmer confessed to raping and killing Eaton, who had worked for the Max Planck Institute at Dresden University.
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| 'We Have Taken an Historic Decision.' Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Addresses Nation On Kashmir Move Posted: 08 Aug 2019 09:49 AM PDT  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation after his government revoked Kashmir's constitutionally-enshrined special status
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| Child pornography was found on a man's phone that was accidentally left on a bus. Authorities say his arrest may have prevented a hate crime. Posted: 09 Aug 2019 11:21 AM PDT  A federal judge ordered Wesley David Gilreath to be held without bail, arguing his actions and behavior demonstrated a threat to the community.
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| Jeffrey Epstein 'misappropriated vast sums of money,' billionaire Leslie Wexner alleges Posted: 08 Aug 2019 11:56 AM PDT  Accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein misappropriated millions from Leslie Wexner, the L Brands retail billionaire alleges
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| Tucker Carlson: Advertisers abandon Fox News host after he says 'white supremacy is a hoax' Posted: 09 Aug 2019 07:08 AM PDT  Advertisers are deserting Fox News' primetime host Tucker Carlson, who called white supremacy "a hoax" in the wake of a mass shooting thought to be racially motivated."The whole thing is a lie," Mr Carlson said live on Tucker Carlson Tonight on Tuesday. "It's actually not a real problem in America … This is a hoax, just like the Russia hoax. It's a conspiracy theory used to divide the country."Mr Carlson's comments came three days after a gunman suspected of writing a white supremacist manifesto referencing a "Hispanic invasion" opened fire in a Texas supermarket, killing 22 people, including eight Mexican citizens.Hours later, the hashtag FireTuckerCarlson began trending on Twitter, with thousands of people calling for consumers to boycott the show's advertisers. A Nestlé spokesperson confirmed to The Independent on Friday that the company, which placed adverts on the programme within the last three months, has no plans to do so again in the future. America's largest fast seafood chain Long John Silver confirmed to watchdog Media Matters that they would no longer be advertising on Fox News, after reportedly running adverts nearly every day in 2018. The FBI has made more than 100 arrests relating to domestic terror in 2019, already higher than the previous year's total.FBI director Christopher Wray in July attributed the majority of these cases to "white supremacist violence", but Mr Carlson dismissed such concerns on Tuesday."If you were to assemble a list, a hierarchy, of concerns or problems this country faces, where would white supremacy be on the list? Right up there with Russia probably," he said. "It's actually not a real problem in America."Mr Carlson's choice of language, previously condemned as racist and misogynistic, has cost him advertisers in the past.More than 20 companies deserted his show in December after he claimed immigration made the US "dirtier". Several more followed suit in January after he suggested that women earning more money than men was bad for society.Fox News has stuck by its presenter throughout the controversy, while watchdogs and campaigners intensified calls for his removal.By March, the number of advertisers on his programme had halved from roughly 36 to 18 per show, according to the Hollywood Reporter."We cannot and will not allow voices like Tucker Carlson to be censored by agenda-driven intimidation efforts from the likes of Moveon.org, Media Matters and Sleeping Giants," the broadcaster said in a December statement. The Independent approached Fox for comment on Friday.Donald Trump, of whom Mr Carlson has long been an ally, was also heavily criticised after the El Paso massacre.Top Democrats, including Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, decried the president's recent use of racist language as emboldening white supremacists.Ms Ocasio-Cortez said the president, who in his 2016 campaign described Mexicans as "in many cases, criminals, drug dealers and rapists", was "directly responsible for what happened in El Paso", according to the New York Daily News.Mr Trump spent a tumultuous Wednesday visiting El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, where a second mass shooting also took place on Saturday.El Paso's congresswoman Veronica Escobar would not meet the president until he discussed how his "racist and hateful words and actions" had harmed her community and country, she said on Twitter.
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| US slaps Hezbollah financier with prison, $50 mn fine Posted: 08 Aug 2019 07:43 PM PDT  A Lebanese businessman designated by US authorities as an important financial supporter of Hezbollah was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to forfeit $50 million, the Justice Department said Thursday. Kassim Tajideen, 63, pleaded guilty in December to one count of conspiracy to launder money as part of a scheme to evade US sanctions. "His sentencing and the $50 million forfeiture in this case are just the latest public examples of the Department of Justice's ongoing efforts to disrupt and dismantle Hezbollah and its support networks," said Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski.
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| A floating nuclear plant in Russia features a gym, bar, and pool. An expert calls it 'Chernobyl on ice.' Posted: 09 Aug 2019 05:47 AM PDT  Environmental activists worry about the perils of placing nuclear reactors at sea, where they could be vulnerable to climate-related disasters.
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| Philippines to protest Chinese ships presence amid troubled ties Posted: 08 Aug 2019 11:29 PM PDT ![Philippines to protest Chinese ships presence amid troubled ties]( "Philippines to protest Chinese ships presence amid troubled ties") The Philippines will lodge a protest over the unannounced presence of two Chinese research vessels in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), one of at least three diplomatic challenges in recent weeks amid a souring of relations. The protest comes ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte's planned visit to Beijing this month, during which he has promised to raise Manila's South China Sea international arbitration victory over Beijing with leader Xi Jinping, having avoided confronting the thorny issue for three years. Historically frosty bilateral relations had warmed under Duterte, but he is looking increasingly awkward in defending his controversial approach to China amid constant activity by its coastguard, navy and paramilitary fishing vessels in Philippine-controlled areas of the South China Sea.
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| Kashmir crisis: Will nuclear-armed Pakistan go to war with India again? Posted: 08 Aug 2019 12:55 AM PDT  Pakistan has downgraded diplomatic ties with India and suspended trade with its neighbour as the political row over the disputed territory of Kashmir escalates. India's announcement that it will abolish self-rule for Kashmir has been denounced as illegal in Islamabad, with the country's military warning it will "go to any extent" to support Kashmiris. What options does Pakistan have? Why is there pressure on Pakistan to act? Kashmir has poisoned relations between India and Pakistan since Independence. Both claim the territory, which is now divided between them by a fortified line of control. They have fought three wars over it. India's move has been met with widespread protest and anger in Pakistan Credit: AP The dispute now symbolises the rivalry and mistrust between the neighbours and goes to the ideological heart of Pakistan. Pakistan's leaders have used protection of the Muslim majority residents of Kashmir as a unifying call for decades and championed Kashmiris' right to independence. The unresolved conflict against a far larger neighbour has helped Pakistan foster a heavily militarised state. Moreover, much of Pakistan's water flows through the Himalayan territory, leaving Pakistani leaders concerned their supply could be held hostage. Delhi's sudden decision to revoke autonomy in Indian-administered Kashmir has therefore provoked widespread outcry, with accusations the government was blind-sided and has let Kashmiris down. "Even if the government wants to play it carefully, there's a lot of pressure from the public," said Umer Karim, a visiting fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. What are the diplomatic options? Pakistan's first move will be to try to occupy the moral high ground and deploy diplomatic resources, predicted Farzana Shaikh, a Pakistan expert at the Chatham House think tank. "We can expect Pakistan to try to mobilise international opinion and show that what India is doing is illegal and in clear breach of UN resolutions," she said. Imran Khan has said he will use all diplomatic channels "to expose the brutal Indian racist regime". Imran Khan has said he will "expose the brutal Indian racist regime" Credit: AP But realistically what could the United Nations do? Not much predicts Mr Karim. While forcing India to answer questions on its conduct at the United Nations could be embarrassing to Delhi, it will not change much on the ground, he said. Likewise Pakistan's first moves are largely symbolic. Diplomatic ties have been downgraded during rows before and India has already withdrawn Pakistan's most-favoured-nation trading status to Pakistan and imposed customs duties of 200 per cent on Pakistani products. What are Pakistan's military options? Pakistan's military commanders have said they will go to "any extent" to support Kashmir, while the president of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir warned of war. Beyond the rhetoric, analysts believe military options are severely limited. Kashmir is already one of the most militarised regions in the world. The neighbours face off against each other and regularly exchange artillery fire along the line of control. Both are also pointing nuclear weapons at each other. In such a stand-off any military action is fraught with the terrible risks of escalation. And others? Pakistan has for decades been accused of backing militants and insurgents who are fighting Indian forces in Kashmir. Anti-India jihadist groups have been allowed to live, recruit and fundraise freely in Pakistan, Delhi complains. Pakistan's harbouring of militants has also overshadowed ties with the West, though Islamabad says it only provides moral support to Kashmiris. Could Pakistan-based militants be about to unleash a new wave of attacks? India's move in Kashmir comes as Pakistan's relations with America appeared to be suddenly warming. Imran Khan and army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa were warmly welcomed in Washington by Donald Trump who is desperate for Pakistani help to extricate himself from Afghanistan. American aid and trade beckon, but Washington still wants Islamabad to take "irreversible" steps against militant groups on its territory. Yet, with influential religious hardliners are now baying for militants to be unleashed to wage jihad in Kashmir, that puts Pakistan "in an impossibly difficult position, particularly the military establishment and Gen Bajwa," said Dr Shaikh. "Clearly they want to repair relations with the US. What are they going to do about this call for irreversible action against militant groups at a time when everyone across the political spectrum is baying for blood?"
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| Illinois Cop Shot Unarmed Black 12-Year-old in Bed During Botched Raid: Lawsuit Posted: 08 Aug 2019 01:55 PM PDT  HandoutAn Illinois mother filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing police officers of "terrorizing" innocent children after her unarmed, 12-year-old son was shot in his bed with an assault rifle during a pre-dawn raid on their home. The lawsuit alleges that nearly two dozen Country Club Hills and Richton Park SWAT officers entered Crystal Worship's home in May with exploding flash-grenades and automatic rifles to execute a search warrant intended for her boyfriend. During the raid, her black son, Amir, was allegedly shot by a white officer as he sat on his bed with his hands in the air and suffered a shattered kneecap."There is a silent epidemic of trauma being perpetrated upon the children and families of color by Chicago and South Suburban police barreling into the wrong homes, handcuffing innocent adults, holding guns on children, handcuffing children, trashing their homes, refusing to show warrants, and screaming dehumanizing commands," Al Hofeld Jr., the family's attorney, said in a press release announcing the lawsuit."Now, children are being shot in their beds," he added. 'You're Gonna Kill Me': Body-Cam Footage Shows Cops Mocking Dallas Man as He DiesThe lawsuit, which was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County on Thursday, names the city of County Club Hills, the village of Richton Park, and several police officers as defendants. The family is seeking $50,000 in damages for alleged negligence, willful and wanton conduct, assault, battery, and false imprisonment.On May 26, 2019, officers dressed in "army fatigues with black cloth covering their faces and wearing goggles" entered the family's home at about 5 a.m. while Crystal Worship and her three sons—Amir, 13-year-old Eric, and 18-year-old Robert—were asleep, according to the lawsuit. The court documents allege the officers "battered open the two entry doors and set off between two and five flash-bang grenades," while executing a search warrant for Crystal's boyfriend.The boyfriend, Mitchell Thurnam, was arrested and charged with drug possession in a case that was dropped weeks later.Once inside the house, the lawsuit alleges, SWAT officers went to the children's bedroom and shouted "commands at them" while holding their assault rifles. "The children were terrified they were about to be killed," the lawsuit states. One officer allegedly continued pointing his firearm directly at Amir, who was shirtless and sitting at the edge of his bed with his hands in the air, even after the room had been cleared. After asking his age, the officer "pulled him up and off of his bed and told him to sit on his brother's bed... and to put a shirt one," the lawsuit alleges. Miami Cop Charged With Misconduct After Violent Arrest of Black WomanThirty seconds later, another officer entered the room and allegedly told Amir to "put his shoes on" but then snatched the child's shoes away when he tried to follow his orders. The officer then "asked which pair of shoes in the room were his" and examined one of the shoes with a flashlight, the lawsuit says.While handing the shoe back to Amir and trying to put his flashlight away in his vest, "the officer quickly moved his right hand back to the handle and trigger of his rifle, grabbing it and firing it," the lawsuit states. After the officer shot Amir in the knee, shattering his kneecap, he allegedly "covered his badge with black tape and covered his body camera." "Mom, they shot me," Amir started to yell, according to the documents. "I can't move it."As Amir started screaming, Crystal Worship asked officers in the next room if they were "shooting" the children, the lawsuit says. Officers allegedly refused to tell her what happened and "lied to her and told her they shot someone walking past outside."The lawsuit also alleges Eric heard his brother being shot while another officer pointed an assault rifle at him. He was handcuffed and placed in a squad car alone for an hour before officers held him at the station for five hours, according to the documents.Amir Worship was transported to the hospital after the bullet "entered his joint and partially exited the back of his leg on the right side"—an injury that required surgery, the lawsuit states. Texas Police Apologize for Viral Photo of Mounted Officers Leading Black Man by RopeThe boy was initially hospitalized for four days after the surgery, and later returned after he "developed complications from infection" which included a high fever, blurred vision, and blacking out twice, the family says."According to an orthopedic doctor, Amir will not be able to play any sports again, will have difficulty in physical education, will walk with a limp, and will have difficulty walking and running for the rest of his life," the lawsuit states. A spokesperson for the Country Club Hills Police Department declined to comment on Thursday's lawsuit, citing an ongoing investigation with the Illinois State Police. Richton Park Police did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast's requests for comment.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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| 4 dead, 2 injured in series of stabbings in Orange County, suspect in custody Posted: 07 Aug 2019 09:14 PM PDT  Four people are dead, two others are injured, and a robbery suspect is in custody after a series of stabbings in Orange County Wednesday afternoon, police say.
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| Indians plant 220 million trees in single day Posted: 09 Aug 2019 06:55 AM PDT  More than a million Indians planted 220 million trees on Friday in a government campaign to tackle climate change and improve the environment in the country's most populous state. Forest official Bivhas Ranjan said students, lawmakers, officials and others planted dozens of species of saplings Friday along roads, rail tracks and in forest lands in northern Uttar Pradesh state. Ranjan said the trees, including 16 fruit species, will increase forest cover in the state.
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| ICE released 300 of the 680 detained in raids at Mississippi food processing plants Posted: 08 Aug 2019 02:06 PM PDT  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 680 people at food processing plants in small towns near Jackson, Mississippi, on Wednesday.
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| Trump administration re-authorizes 'cyanide bombs' to kill wildlife Posted: 08 Aug 2019 05:04 PM PDT  US President Donald Trump's administration has re-authorized the use of controversial poison traps known as "cyanide bombs" to kill wild foxes, coyotes and feral dogs despite overwhelming opposition from conservation groups. The devices, known as M-44s, which are implanted in the ground and resemble lawn sprinklers, use a spring-loaded ejector to release sodium cyanide when an animal tugs on its baited capsule holder. The decision to re-instate their use was announced in the Federal Register earlier this week, and met with outrage by environmental groups that led a campaign to flood the Environmental Protection Agency with more than 20,000 letters.
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| 28 Sweet Summer Peach Desserts (That Aren't Pie) Posted: 09 Aug 2019 07:31 AM PDT |
| UPDATE 3-Thousands protest in Indian Kashmir over new status despite clampdown Posted: 09 Aug 2019 06:04 AM PDT ![UPDATE 3-Thousands protest in Indian Kashmir over new status despite clampdown]( "UPDATE 3-Thousands protest in Indian Kashmir over new status despite clampdown") Indian police used tear gas and pellets to fight back at least 10,000 people protesting Delhi's withdrawal of special rights for Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir state in its main city of Srinagar on Friday, a police official and two witnesses said. The demonstration soon after Friday prayers was the largest since authorities locked down the revolt-torn region five days ago, cutting off telephone and internet services and detaining more than 500 political and separatist leaders. Seeking to tighten its grip on the region also claimed by neighbouring Pakistan, India this week scrapped Jammu and Kashmir's right to frame its own laws and allowed non-residents to buy property there.
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| Here are all the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates who have qualified for the September primary debates Posted: 08 Aug 2019 08:15 AM PDT  The next round of debates have much more strict criteria for candidates looking to secure a spot on stage. As a result, the field could thin out fast.
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| Hannity, After Nutty de Blasio Interview, Tells Dems: Look, It’s Not So Bad! Posted: 07 Aug 2019 08:44 PM PDT  At the tail end of what can only be described as a surreal hour-long interview with New York City Mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Bill de Blasio on Wednesday night, Fox News host Sean Hannity implored the rest of the 2020 field to come on his show, promising them: "It's not so bad!"Bad, maybe not. Strange, definitely!The New York mayor, who is both deeply unpopular in his city and flailing in Democratic polls, seemed absolutely thrilled to be on the Fox News primetime program. Beaming throughout, de Blasio couldn't appear any happier than when he was arguing with the pro-Trump host over any number of hot-button issues, such as climate change or taxes.Early on in the marathon clash, de Blasio set the stage for how the rest of the interview was going to go down. With Hannity trying to corner the mayor on the issue of health care for undocumented immigrants, de Blasio simply accused the conservative talker of playing a "charade." This wound up being a tactic de Blasio used more than once.With Hannity still hammering away at immigration, de Blasio again yelled that it was a "charade," this time telling Hannity that this is what Fox News does."Oh, my network!" Hannity exclaimed. "By the way, there are people on my network who don't like a single thing I say! What are you talking about!?""I agree you're not a monolith," the mayor replied. "But too much of the time what Fox and News Corp do is try and take people's minds off the fact they are being screwed economically by the one percent."And so it went. Back and forth the two would go, at times seemingly having the time of their lives. Hannity, who has rarely interviewed anyone outside the Trumpworld bubble over the past few years, constantly bounced between combativeness and chumminess. The mayor, meanwhile, just appeared elated that he was getting this much TV time to himself.At one point, during a conversation about New York police recently getting doused by water—which Hannity ominously described as "unidentified liquid"—the Fox News star took a few moments to recount the time that he said he nearly became a police officer.Telling de Blasio that the NYPD are his heroes and "extended family," Hannity claimed that he applied to be a New York City police officer."I got a 99 on the test—I even passed the psychological," he added. "And the physical!""Standards were lower back then," de Blasio quipped, prompting Hannity to applaud the mayor for his very good "jackass comment."After a further discussion about school diets that somehow segued into Hannity bragging about his 90-minute-a-day mixed martial arts workouts, the Fox News veteran wrapped up the night with his plea to Democrats."By the way, I have a message for all you 2020 candidates," he said. "It wasn't that bad. Come on the program, we will give you a fair shake and you can reach more people than any other show on cable."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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| Roger Stone’s lawyers object to playing ‘Godfather’ clip at trial Posted: 09 Aug 2019 04:02 PM PDT ![Roger Stone's lawyers object to playing 'Godfather' clip at trial]( "Roger Stone's lawyers object to playing 'Godfather' clip at trial") "Any reference to 'The Godfather' (regardless of which one) brings up a clear and unalienable connection to the Italian-American Mafia," the Stone lawyers wrote.
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| Nancy Pelosi to join group of lawmakers for McAllen migrant detention facility visit Posted: 09 Aug 2019 04:38 PM PDT  The visit to McAllen's facility follow a "three-day fact-finding mission to the Northern Triangles countries on the root causes of migration from Guatemala and El Salvador."
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| Mourners pay final respects to Khmer Rouge 'Brother Number Two' Posted: 09 Aug 2019 06:00 AM PDT  Crowds gathered for the funeral of "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea on Friday, paying their final respects to a man considered the chief ideologue of Cambodia's murderous Khmer Rouge regime. More than two million people were slaughtered under Pol Pot's Marxist reign in the 1970s in Cambodia, where deep -- and often unspoken -- cleavages remain over the legacy of the Khmer Rouge. Nuon Chea, who died Sunday in hospital at age 93, was one of Pol Pot's most trusted deputies.
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| Massive Collection of Classic Cars Up For Auction In MN Posted: 09 Aug 2019 09:06 AM PDT  There's plenty of classic farm equipment available, too!The recent episode of Hagerty's The Barn Find Hunter shows how extensive collections can get with the right kind of acreage. That's exactly the case with the James Graham Collection that is going up for auction this weekend in Beardsley, Minnesota consisting of almost 200 classic cars and trucks alone not to mention almost 40 vintage tractors. Graham, an 88-year-old military veteran and Minnesota farmer, passed away late last year, and his obituary noted that he was "always interested in collecting old cars and attending car shows." That is definitely obvious is his collection, which spans almost every era (from the '20s to the early Malaise Era) and vehicle type (coupes, convertibles, sedans and trucks). Aside from a 2004 Pontiac Bonneville GXP (with just 21,000 miles!) , the newest car in this collection is a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible!This collection really has everything you could imagine from typical cars like the Mustang, '57 Chevy and Thunderbird to rarer cars from Studebaker, Nash and DeSoto. The tractors and heavy-duty trucks are just as interesting, too, including a 1938 John Deere tractor, 1946 Dodge fire truck and a 1971 Ford F800 dump truck. Just like the cars themselves, the condition of this collection varies extensively from a super-clean 1957 Chevrolet Cameo truck to cars rotting away and sunk to the rocker panels in dirt. This collection is a barn find heaven.VanDerBrink Auctions will be auctioning off the farm equipment today (August 9) and the collection of cars and trucks tomorrow, August 10. In addition to vehicles, Graham had also amassed a huge collection of die cast toys (no surprise there) as well as collector decorative plates, Jim Beam decanters and more. h/t: Inforum Read More... * Quality Over Quantity: One Man's Classic Chevrolet Car Collection * Honda Shows Off Peter Cunninghan's Car Collection
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| Border Patrol Agents Shot at from Mexican Side of Rio Grande Posted: 09 Aug 2019 12:26 PM PDT  A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol boat patrolling the Rio Grande was shot at Friday morning, the agency has announced."Early this morning, agents assigned to the Rio Grande City Station Marine Unit patrolling near Fronton, Texas, reported they were fired upon from the Mexican riverbank," CBP said in a statement released Friday morning. "Agents saw four subjects with automatic weapons who shot over 50 rounds at them. The boat was hit several times but no one on board was injured."Running along the Texas–Mexico border, the Rio Grande is a hotbed of illegal immigration. Smugglers routinely expose migrants to unsafe conditions in order to raft them across the river into U.S. territory. The perilous but common journey captured national attention in June after a photo emerged of a father and daughter who drowned while trying to cross the river. The photo, which went viral on social media and appeared in newspapers around the world, showed 25-year-old Oscar Ramirez face down on the river bank next to his two-year-old daughter.CBP had rescued 63 migrants from the river this year as of April 26.
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| Biden lashes out at reporter who suggested he misquoted Trump on Charlottesville Posted: 08 Aug 2019 02:24 PM PDT  At the Iowa State Fair, the former vice president snapped at a Breitbart radio host who said he misquoted President Trump's infamous statement saying there were "very fine people on both sides" of the deadly clash between neo-Nazis and counterprotesters.
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| 'I Was Scared to Death': Former Neighbor of Escaped Tennessee Inmate Speaks Out Posted: 08 Aug 2019 03:40 PM PDT  Curtis Ray Watson's lengthy criminal history in Tennessee reveals run-ins with the law that began with a conviction for driving under the influence in 1999.
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| Indian men who see new policy as chance to marry Kashmiri women accused of chauvinism Posted: 08 Aug 2019 01:55 AM PDT ![Indian men who see new policy as chance to marry Kashmiri women accused of chauvinism]( "Indian men who see new policy as chance to marry Kashmiri women accused of chauvinism") Women's rights advocates have slammed a torrent of online posts by men from across India who expressed enthusiasm about marrying women from Kashmir after India's sudden removal of special rights from the disputed region made it more appealing to do so. "It's deeply sexist," said Rituparna Chatterjee, an activist writing a book on the #MeToo movement in India. The latest comments of Kashmiri women, are only testimony to this fact," she said.
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| Hundreds of poor migrant workers flee Kashmir under lockdown Posted: 07 Aug 2019 06:04 PM PDT  Hit by a complete security lockdown in Kashmir, hundreds of poor migrant workers have begun fleeing the Himalayan region to return to their far-away villages in northern and eastern India. Authorities in Hindu-majority India clamped a complete shutdown on Kashmir as they scrapped the Muslim-majority state's special status, including exclusive hereditary rights and a separate constitution, and divided it into two territories. The Kashmir region is divided between India and Pakistan and is claimed by both.
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| Spear fisherman attacked by shark is rescued by boat full of nurses Posted: 08 Aug 2019 11:46 AM PDT  A spear fisherman who was attacked by a shark off the coast of Florida was rescued by a passing charter yacht – which happened to be full of nurses. Mario Avila, 37, was bitten in the left arm by what he believes is a bull shark near Key Biscayne on Saturday morning. "I was diving and immediately, the shark came and attacked me. I never saw it, it came by surprise and attacked me," he said. "It came to try and figure out what I was. It came directly and attacked my arm. I automatically pushed it away with my other arm and that's when he tore up all my fingers and my chest." Those diving with Mr Avila began waving for help. Bill Baggs State Park, to where the injured diver was taken He said the shark was about 20 feet long. "I've been fishing underwater for 20 years, and all my life, I've never seen one that big," he told CBS News Miami. Kayle Evans, an employee of Hot Shot Charters, said their boat was passing and rescued the fisherman. He said the bite was so severe that the Mr Avila's arm was "mangled" and he was "just blood from arm to foot." The nurses immediately applied a tourniquet to the man's arm while Mr Evans rinsed him off with a hose. Sig Ozols, the yacht captain, said he was glad they were there to assist. "I have never seen this in 30 years of being in the business," he said. "I don't want to see it again to be honest with you." The crew then sailed with the injured diver the 20 minutes to Bill Baggs State Park, where the diver was met by paramedics and taken to hospital. "We were there for a reason, and we made it happen," said Mr Ozols. "And I hope he's OK." Mr Avila was released from hospital on Tuesday. "Scuba diving, I don't think I'll ever do again," he said. "But I'll keep fishing with a rod." Two other people were attacked by sharks in Florida on Saturday, at New Smyrna Beach near Dayton Beach. A 20-year-old woman was bitten in the hand while she was surfing, and a 21-year-old man was bitten in the right foot. On Sunday a third man, a tourist from Tennessee, was standing knee-deep in the water at the same beach when he was bitten on the foot. So far this year, nine people have been victims of shark attacks at New Smyrna Beach. The International Shark Attack File named the beach the international shark attack capital. It's estimated that anyone who has swum there has been within 10 feet of a shark.
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| Frontier Airlines will let you fly for free if you have this last name Posted: 08 Aug 2019 09:21 AM PDT  Is your last name Green or Greene? If so, you've lucked out because Frontier Airlines will give you a free flight. Find out how to claim it.
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| Key airport closed as Indian state faces repeat flood crisis Posted: 09 Aug 2019 01:47 AM PDT  Floods that have killed more than 20 people forced the closure of Kochi international airport Friday as the south Indian state of Kerala confronted a second straight year of crisis level downpours. The main airport for the popular tourist state will remain closed until at least Sunday, authorities said, as rising waters took over the runways. With predictions of freak rains continuing for several days, Kerala's chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan warned the public that dam gates may have to be opened soon.
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| Black women deserve better from Kamala Harris. Don't take our vote for granted Posted: 09 Aug 2019 03:00 AM PDT  Instead of championing real structural change, Harris prefers shallow virtue-signalling. We're waiting for more 'A Kamala Harris presidency would be ineffectual for the demographic that will likely comprise much of her base: black women.' Photograph: Mike Blake/ReutersWhen Senator Kamala Harris announced a student loan cancellation plan over the weekend, it was roundly, and justifiably, met with disdain. Convoluted and bloated with caveats, the plan would provide $20,000 of student loan debt relief … for Pell Grant recipients…who also operate a business in a disadvantaged community … for at least three years (sarcastic ellipses mine).After pushback against her rather niche proposal, Harris clarified that the plan is part of a larger package of entrepreneurship policies, not her education policies.But a review of both the education and entrepreneurship packages on her campaign website suggests a bigger problem. A Kamala Harris presidency would be ineffectual for the demographic that will probably comprise much of her base: black women.Black women have more student loan debt than any other graduates in the country. Of college graduates repaying student debt, black women experience more financial difficulty than anyone else in the country. Black women are paid the least of any group of people of both high school graduates and college graduates with a bachelor's degree.The causes for these inequalities vary, but research points to wealth disparities generally, differences in family dynamics between young black and white people, and hiring discrimination. According to a report by Demos, 41% of white college-educated families, compared with 13% of black families, get an inheritance. The report adds that "black people are more likely to financially help older family members, preventing wealth accumulation and leaving them more financially vulnerable". Further, "employers persist in discriminating against black workers in hiring, in assigning more precarious employment prospects to black workers than to white workers, and in requiring more education of black workers for the same job as white workers".> A Kamala Harris presidency would be ineffectual for the demographic that will likely comprise much of her base: black womenYoung black people, and black women in particular, are keenly aware of the latter. Without the same social networks to rely on as non-black workers in the event of lay-offs and to enter fields where we have been customarily excluded, black women heed the lessons that education is the great equalizer. We are at an intersection of racial and gendered expectations to work two times harder, not just because we are black, but also because we are women who tend to be underestimated in the labor force. This creates more pressure to "professionalize" ourselves, and it's not yet proving to pay off.These vast structural hurdles in higher education and employment opportunity cannot be overcome with the sort of piecemeal economic reform Kamala Harris has recommended. By her campaign's estimate, as reported by the Cut, the limited student loan cancellation program will affect .04% of the 45 million Americans with student loan debt.Instead of championing substantial debt relief, which would significantly close the black-white wealth gap, Harris seems to prefer shallow virtue-signaling to black voters. When she's not suggesting these modest proposals, she's taking the language of candidates to her left while muddying the water of what her policies will actually do. Instead of proposing free college tuition, she refers to "debt-free" college, without specifying what that means. While saying she supports reparations, she clarifies that they won't be particular to black Americans. While taking the debate stage to suggest that she supports a single-payer Medicare for All, she later advocates a different plan that won't be single-payer.Even worse, her assertion that she has no intention to "restructure society", even though scholars argue a government-backed redistribution of wealth is necessary for racial equality, makes Harris sound more like Joe Biden than Shirley Chisholm, after whom she has fashioned herself. While she may be able to make distinctions between herself and Joe Biden on civil rights, her brand of economic moderation is in some ways more dangerous.Appealing to black women superficially, without the substance to back it, gives her enough legitimacy to win black women over while offering little in return. This leaves progressive black women in the awkward position of not critiquing her so that she gets the nomination, which becomes not critiquing her so she wins the general election, which turns into leaving her presidency unchallenged so she can govern. While protecting the career of a single black politician, black women as a whole are likely to face unabated, growing inequality.We can't afford the four years of piecemeal moderation that Kamala Harris offers, and we have the debt to prove it. * Malaika Jabali is a public policy attorney, writer and activist whose writing has appeared in Essence, Jacobin, the Intercept, Glamour and elsewhere
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| U.S. Intel Officials Eye Disinformation Campaign Targeting John Bolton’s Family Posted: 08 Aug 2019 08:38 AM PDT  GettyAmerican intelligence officials are monitoring a social media disinformation campaign that attempted to falsely implicate the White House National Security Adviser in a global money laundering and drug trafficking operation.On Monday, a Twitter user claiming to be a high-ranking Canadian law enforcement official posted records supposedly showing a $350,000 wire transfer from a Canadian children's apparel company to a Swiss bank account owned by National Security Adviser John Bolton's daughter. "Police investigations show [the company] and its CEO are accused of laundering and transferring dirty money between Canada and some European countries, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United States," the Twitter account claimed.The claims are clearly fabricated, and the effort does not appear particularly sophisticated. But a U.S. official familiar with the apparent disinformation campaign said intelligence community officials were aware of the effort. And Lee Foster, an information operations intelligence analyst at the cybersecurity firm FireEye, told The Daily Beast that the hoax's techniques are "consistent with what we've seen with previous pro-Iranian influence operations."Foster emphasized that there wasn't enough information to attribute the Bolton hoax to Iran or any other specific party yet, but said the incident did share some similarities with other campaigns documented by FireEye.The Twitter account at issue impersonated a high-ranking Toronto police officer named Donald Belanger. Twitter suspended the fake Belanger account and Toronto Police Service spokesman Alex Li confirmed to The Daily Beast that it was "a fraudulent" persona. The real police official the account had impersonated has never had a Twitter account and Toronto's Police Service does not tweet out information naming witnesses, victims, and other sensitive information in the course of criminal investigations, Li said. The tweet from the fake police official also made another mistake when the supposed wire transfer record in "Belanger's" tweet misspelled Bolton's daughter's name.The operator of the account first registered it in 2013 and appears to have originally tweeted in Arabic before repurposing the account into a fake Toronto police service official. The account, under the now defunct handle @BelangerPolice, retweeted an unremarkable stream of content from Canadian police accounts and mentioned nothing about Iran or Bolton until Monday.A Twitter spokesperson did not respond to questions about the "Belanger" account.Bolton is among the Trump administration's most aggressive critics of the Iranian regime. The U.S. official, while not commenting on this week's disinformation campaign specifically, said Bolton has been the target of state-sponsored influence operations designed to weaken his standing in the administration.Though Twitter quickly removed the tweet on Monday and suspended the account, it had already been picked up and covered by a handful of websites with editorial positions sympathetic to the Iranian government. News outlets such as Iran Front Page blared "Belanger's" claims that a Canadian business had supposedly transferred the funds at issue had been caught smuggling "a significant amount of opium" and "has close ties with the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) terrorist group."The outlet attributed its story to a tweet from a "senior Canadian law enforcement agent from the Toronto Police Drug Squad"—the fake police account—but has not updated or corrected its story to reflect the account's suspension or the Toronto Police Service's confirmation that the account was fake. "John Bolton," the "exclusive" article added, "is a fervent supporter of MKO terror group," using one of several acronyms for the Mujahideen-e-Khalq organization, or MEK. Bolton has earned tens of thousands of dollars in speaking fees for appearances at MEK conferences. The MEK participated in the 1979 revolution which installed Iran's theocratic government, but eventually sought exile in Iraq, where it carried out terrorist attacks in Iran on behalf of Saddam Hussein's government. The United States removed the MEK from its list of designated terrorist groups in 2012, but critics claim the organization, which has paid influential former American officials thousands of dollars to speak at events, is a cult bent on pushing the U.S. to war with Tehran. In May, FireEye assessed with "low confidence" that a series of fake Twitter accounts impersonating U.S. and Israeli political candidates and reporters "was organized in support of Iranian political interests." The fake accounts published content in line with Iranian foreign policy, but FireEye was unable to pinpoint the identity or location of those behind it. In other cases, FireEye has found more direct ties between social media influence campaigns and Iran. An August 2018 report from the company cited a network of interconnected fake news websites and Facebook pages echoing "anti-Saudi, anti-Israeli, and pro-Palestinian themes" tied to Iranian state-run media outlets. Send The Daily Beast a TipFoster noted that one of the Iran-linked fake news websites identified in that FireEye report, "US Journal," published a story based on the fake account's tweet. In contrast to the other stories, which summarized the fake Torono police account's tweet, U.S. Journal also claimed to have "other documents we got our hands on," in addition to the @BelangerPolice tweet. The apparent disinformation campaign comes as the feud between Iran and the Trump administration over U.S. sanctions and a 2015 nuclear agreement have grown increasingly personal. In late July, the Trump administration sanctioned Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif "because Zarif acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran." Zarif has spent the past few months blasting Bolton as part of a so-called "B_team" bent on war with Iran and undermining President Trump's attempts at diplomacy with the Islamic Republic. The Daily Beast was initially alerted to "Belanger's" tweets by a Twitter user claiming to be a U.S.-based freelance journalist covering the Middle East. The Twitter account was created in June, and has posted numerous tweets in broken and grammatically incorrect sentences consistent with someone whose first language is not English.Of the account's 63 tweets, 47 were devoted to promoting the "Belanger" story. Another 11 attacked Bolton by name.The Daily Beast could not identify any bylines by the purported Middle East freelance reporter. 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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| FBI releases Bruce Ohr interview reports Posted: 08 Aug 2019 08:02 PM PDT ![FBI releases Bruce Ohr interview reports]( "FBI releases Bruce Ohr interview reports") The FBI released its notes detailing a dozen interviews agents had with senior Justice Department official Bruce Ohr.
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| A 'mildly venomous' snake has gone missing from the Bronx Zoo Posted: 08 Aug 2019 09:46 AM PDT  The snake is over 3 feet long. It slithered away on Tuesday and is known to be shy.
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| View Every Angle of the 2020 Mini Clubman John Cooper Works Posted: 08 Aug 2019 04:59 AM PDT |
| Nineteen bodies, some dismembered, found in southwestern Mexico Posted: 08 Aug 2019 12:25 PM PDT ![Nineteen bodies, some dismembered, found in southwestern Mexico]( "Nineteen bodies, some dismembered, found in southwestern Mexico") Mexican authorities said Thursday that they found 19 bodies, some dismembered, in the southwestern state of Michoacan, as the federal government seeks to combat rising violence with a new militarized police. The victims, which included three women, were found at three different locations in the drug-cartel hotbed of Uruapan, state prosecutor Adrian Lopez told reporters Thursday morning. Battles between rival criminal groups have made Michoacan one of Mexico's bloodiest states.
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| EPA won't approve warning labels for Roundup chemical Posted: 09 Aug 2019 02:04 PM PDT  The Trump administration says it won't approve warning labels for products that contain glyphosate, a move aimed at California as it fights one of the world's largest agriculture companies about the potentially cancer-causing chemical. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency disagrees, saying its research shows the chemical poses no risks to public health. California has not enforced the warning label for glyphosate because Monsanto, the company that makes Roundup, sued and a federal judge temporarily blocked the warning labels last year until the lawsuit could be resolved.
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| 89-year-old Florida woman battles and kills 6-foot snake after it eats visiting birds Posted: 09 Aug 2019 10:23 AM PDT  An 89-year old Tallahassee woman killed a six-foot snake in her backyard yard after it ate most of her birds in three weeks.
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