| 'I thought it was dead': Donald Trump says he thought he had escaped impeachment after Mueller report Posted: 25 Sep 2019 04:04 PM PDT  Donald Trump says he thought he had avoided impeachment after Robert Mueller ended his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
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| Stacey Abrams is breaking all the rules in the best way possible Posted: 25 Sep 2019 02:52 PM PDT  When it comes to politics, Stacey Abrams is a powerhouse -- and she has no plans on slowing down anytime soon.
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| A Wisconsin prisoner just reportedly confessed to the 'Making a Murderer' killing Posted: 24 Sep 2019 11:00 AM PDT  The director of a new documentary about the case told Newsweek that the inmate told filmmakers he was responsible for the notorious slaying.
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| Young boys tortured in Kashmir clampdown as new figures show 13,000 teenagers arrested Posted: 25 Sep 2019 09:55 AM PDT  A new report claiming thousands of Kashmiri children have been incarcerated has cast doubt on claims life is returning to normal in the state. After visiting Kashmir, activists found around 13,000 boys have been detained since its autonomous status was revoked on Aug 5. The report, led by the National Federation of Indian Women, detailed claims that boys - some as young as 14 - had been imprisoned for up to 45 days. It also claimed that families were paying up to 60,000 rupees (£678) for their children's release. The Muslim-majority state has been under a rigid curfew and communications blackout since Article 370 and Article 35A were removed last month. The Jammu and Kashmir government said there is "no centralised figure" for numbers of Kashmiris who have been arrested during the crackdown. Kashmir | Read more On Monday, however, the Chief of Staff of the Indian Army said any stories of disruption were a "narrative being driven by separatists." Krishna Saagar Rao, chief spokesperson of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) told the Telegraph it had detained Kashmiri politicians to ensure stability in the state. "Politicians in the Kashmir valley were plotting to create unrest amongst people by instigating them," said Mr Rao. According to government data, over 200 local politicians have been detained, including former Chief Ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah. Official data on the number of children imprisoned has not been released. It is also unclear why minors have been arrested, although it is believed some have been detained for throwing stones at army personnel. An Indian paramilitary trooper stands guard in Srinagar Credit: TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/Getty Images The activists visited Kashmir between September 17 and 21 and interviewed members of the Jammu and Kashmir police, doctors and professors. Their report claims the authorities used excessive force when arresting the boys, and that some have been tortured while imprisoned. Domestic and international media has detailed the use of torture against Kashmiris, including beatings and electric shocks. On Saturday, a 15-year-old boy committed suicide in Srinagar after allegedly being assaulted by the army. "It is [an] Indian variant of genocide," said Annie Raja, the General Secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women. Ms Raja's organisation has called on the India to release all children detained in Kashmir since August 5.
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| GOP primary challenger Joe Walsh says he's 'a big gun guy' and that 'the numbers' on gun violence have been good the past few decades Posted: 25 Sep 2019 06:52 AM PDT  GOP primary and Trump challenger Joe Walsh is aligned with most Republicans who want to maintain strong gun rights.
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| GM and UAW union making progress in talks for new labor deal: sources Posted: 25 Sep 2019 07:30 AM PDT  General Motors Co and the union that represents its 48,000 striking hourly workers in the United States have made progress in talks toward a new labor deal but are grappling with issues over the pay and job security of newer and temporary workers, two people familiar with the talks said on Wednesday. United Auto Workers (UAW) Vice President Terry Dittes told union members in a statement issued late in the day that "all unsettled proposals are now at the Main Table and have been presented to General Motors. UAW members went on strike at GM on Sept. 16 seeking higher pay, greater job security, a bigger share of the leading U.S. automaker's profit and protection of their healthcare benefits.
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| Rashida Tlaib’s Vaping Interview: She’s Either Lying or Ignorant Posted: 25 Sep 2019 12:40 PM PDT  Representative Rashida Tlaib's performance during a House subcommittee hearing on vaping was so completely, totally absurd that she must either be willfully lying or totally stupid.No, I am not exaggerating. Tlaib made some straight-up bananas comments during Tuesday's hearing, including asking Vicki Porter (who, as Reason's Robby Soave notes, was the only pro-vaping witness at the hearing) whether or not she was a "conspiracy theorist."Tlaib asked:"Ms. Porter, I was reading because I want to know more about you and your beliefs, and I respect that we all have different beliefs, but you call yourself a converted conservative and a reformed Marxist? Are you a conspiracy theorist?"Porter responded:"I think my politics are entirely irrelevant to this hearing."Porter is, of course, absolutely correct in this sentiment — but more on that later. First, I've got to highlight the rest of the drivel that Tlaib spewed during her joke of an interview.For example: Because she apparently didn't think she'd come off nuts enough the first time, Tlaib doubled-down on the "conspiracy" allegation again later. Porter had winked at Representative Glenn Grothman, and Tlaib interrogated her as to why she had done so. Porter gave a reasonable answer ("Because I know Glenn Grothman") and Tlaib said — and I'm not kidding — "I thought maybe there was like a conspiracy thing going on."What?But the stupid doesn't end there. No, elsewhere in the interview, Tlaib literally said that secondhand smoke was "worse than directly smoking cigarettes."Again: What? Now, not only is that obviously not true, I am also having a hard time understanding how anyone could ever (ever!) even possibly think that it were. I mean, if that were the case, doctors would be advising children in households with parents who smoke to just start lighting up themselves, because puffing on cigs directly would at least be better for their health than just breathing it secondhand.Oh, and Tlaib also seemed to suggest that vaping is just as harmful as smoking in the following exchange:> Porter: "The truth for me is that I quit smoking with e-cigarettes and so did eight million other people."> > Tlaib: "You're still smoking, ma'am. You're still smoking."Hey, Tlaib? No, she's not, and suggesting that she is is just as ridiculous as claiming that secondhand smoke is worse than smoking. Although I'm sure it's not good for you, the expert consensus is that it is, at least, better. A study conducted by (known den of conspiracy theorists) Harvard found that vaping is "almost certainly less lethal than conventional cigarettes," and a Public Health England study found that it is 95 percent less harmful. (For more information on the actual facts on vaping safety, click here.)So, why did Tlaib make such bizarre statements? Honestly, there are only two options: Either she was purposely making false statements, or she really is that ignorant. I don't know which would be worse, but honestly, neither are acceptable. We need our legislators to design policy based on facts, without the influence of laughably outlandish garbage like that coming from Tlaib.Let me be clear: Tlaib's behavior at this hearing completely disgusted me — not just as someone who uses vaping products, but as an American. She had the nerve to not only make statements that fly in the face of facts, but also to act pompously in doing so, as if she were the smartest person in the room. And why? Why does she think she's smarter; just because she's a liberal and Porter is conservative? Certainly her whack-a-doo "conspiracy" allegation would suggest that that may be the case. Yes: Tlaib, apparently, believes that if you are a conservative, you are quite likely also a conspiracy theorist. She believes it so strongly that she actually finds it appropriate to bring up during a hearing that is about a nicotine product, without any regard for how disrespectful that is or how that further divides the country. The most mind-boggling part? She also, apparently, believes that she was the one with her head screwed on straight in that exchange.Tlaib, do better. In the meantime; I will continue to hit my Juul to help me cope.
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| Mother of boy killed in Sandy Hook shooting pays touching tribute: 'I feared today' Posted: 25 Sep 2019 08:46 AM PDT  The mother of a 6-year-old boy who was killed in a 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook paid a touching tribute to him on Twitter this week.
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| Trump was preparing for impeachment 'weeks' before Ukraine scandal; now he wants to go 'nuclear' on Biden Posted: 25 Sep 2019 02:24 PM PDT  Even before the Democrats announced plans for an impeachment inquiry on Tuesday, the White House and President Trump's campaign were preparing a counterattack.
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| Meghan Markle shares emotional group hug with young women in Cape Town: 'You guys are going to make me cry' Posted: 25 Sep 2019 10:58 AM PDT  Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle had an adorable moment with young women outside of mothers2mothers in Cape Town.
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| Tropical Storm Karen is expected to loop-de-loop back towards the Bahamas after soaking Puerto Rico Posted: 25 Sep 2019 12:14 PM PDT  Tropical Storm Karen may loop around in the Atlantic, heading back towards the Bahamas, after hitting Puerto Rico with serious rain on Tuesday.
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| In-Depth Photos of the 2020 Porsche Taycan Posted: 24 Sep 2019 03:01 PM PDT |
| Watch Out: Ukraine's Military Is Much Better Than It Was in 2014 Posted: 24 Sep 2019 11:14 AM PDT  A vast improvement.
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| Deported Army veteran returns to US in bid to become citizen Posted: 24 Sep 2019 08:34 PM PDT  Federal immigration authorities granted Miguel Perez Jr. a two-week parole into the U.S. for an immigration hearing, according to his attorney. The 41-year-old Perez has a green card as a permanent U.S. resident, but after serving time for a 2008 non-violent drug conviction was deported last year. Then last month, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a pardon , erasing the conviction and reviving Perez's chances to become a citizen.
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| Doctors in India are stunned by baby born with 4 legs and 3 hands Posted: 25 Sep 2019 10:06 AM PDT  The mother was expecting triplets, but ended up delivering twins — one of which seemed to have absorbed extra limbs from the third unborn fetus.
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| The Trump administration just released the whistleblower complaint to Congress after a fierce tug-of-war Posted: 25 Sep 2019 01:22 PM PDT  Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire delivered a whistleblower complaint involving President Donald Trump to Congress on Wednesday.
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| Dershowitz: Epstein Victim Accused Billionaire Les Wexner of Sex Abuse ‘to Obtain Money’ Posted: 24 Sep 2019 01:12 PM PDT  Jefferson Siegel/ReutersAlan Dershowitz is dragging Victoria's Secret mogul Les Wexner into his legal battle with Virginia Roberts Giuffre—a victim of Jeffrey Epstein who claims she was coerced into sex with Dershowitz and is suing him for defamation. (He denies the accusation.)In Manhattan federal court on Tuesday, counsel for Giuffre and Dershowitz argued over whether the defamation suit should be dismissed—despite Dershowitz's previous claims to the press that he welcomed such litigation to prove his innocence—and whether Giuffre's lawyers should be disqualified from the case.Dershowitz argues Giuffre's lawyer David Boies and his firm, Boies Schiller Flexner, should be booted from the case because the defense will call them as witnesses. Dershowitz claims a member of Boies' firm consulted with Dershowitz and nearly represented him in 2015 over Giuffre's allegations. He also claims to have a secret phone recording where Boies allegedly questions his own client's credibility. Send The Daily Beast a TipEpstein Accuser Sues Alan Dershowitz Over Alleged Sex RingBoies' firm has denied Dershowitz's interpretation of events, saying that Boies has no doubts Giuffre is telling the truth, and that he was speaking hypothetically with Dershowitz, who, he says, is taking the recording out of context.Imran Ansari, a lawyer for Dershowitz, told Judge Loretta Preska that he plans to file a transcript of the recording under seal. Ansari also referred to a separate conversation relating to Wexner, prompting Judge Preska to say Wexner was "irrelevant" to the arguments.But Howard Cooper, another lawyer for Dershowitz, replied that Giuffre's complaint accuses Dershowitz of making defamatory statements relating to Wexner, and that one of Dershowitz's defenses in court will be proving his claims are true. ("Roberts made up the accusations out of whole cloth in order to obtain millions of dollars from Leslie Wexner," Dershowitz declared in December 2018, according to Giuffre's lawsuit.)Wexner's name also came up while Dershowitz's team tried arguing that he couldn't be sued for repeating in 2018 and 2019 "virtually the same statements" he made in 2015.Sigrid McCawley, a lawyer for Giuffre, disagreed and told the court that Dershowitz hasn't merely been recycling his 2015 statements. Instead, she said he's elaborated on his old claims and referred to other individuals including Wexner. "These statements go well beyond his statements in 2015," she said.McCawley argued that the law doesn't allow someone to become a "serial defamer" and avoid legal accountability after they've said one bad thing about someone in the past. Every new publication of defamatory statements triggers a new statute of limitations, she said.McCawley argued Giuffre has an actual malice claim against Dershowitz because he "went to the media and said he wanted to be sued" by Giuffre. Dershowitz "knew he had abused my client, then went before the public and called her a liar," she said.But Cooper said Dershowitz has continued to call Giuffre a "liar" in order to defend his reputation—referring to the constant stream of news relating to Dershowitz's friend and former client, wealthy sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. "What would someone in Professor Dershowitz's position do?" Cooper asked Judge Preska.After the proceeding, Dershowitz and his team addressed reporters outside the courthouse, where the Harvard academic claimed he was "defending not only my right but the rights of everyone who's ever been falsely accused."Asked for proof that Giuffre's claims were false, Dershowitz said, "I am standing here in front of you the media and I am stating unequivocally without the protection of defamation privilege, subject to being sued for defamation, I am saying to you I never met Virginia Giuffre. I never had sex with her. And the reason I'm saying it is because it's true. She on the other had… has never and will never stand in front of any media and repeat her lie saying that she did have sex with me.""We don't believe you. We don't believe you. Go back to your office!" a woman in the crowd yelled over Dershowitz, but he was undeterred.When a reporter asked about the Victoria's Secret mogul, Epstein's only known client, Dershowitz replied, "Les Wexner will be a major witness.""And we will prove that [Giuffre's attorneys] Sigrid McCawley and David Boies went to Les Wexner's lawyers and said that Les Wexner had sex with Virginia Giuffre between five and 10 times and that Les Wexner insisted that she wear Victoria's Secret-type lingerie. And I can't imagine any reason for having that conversation unless it was part of an effort to obtain money. So we will call Les Wexner as a witness, we will call Sigrid McCawley as a witness, we will call David Boies, we will call Les Wexner's lawyer. "And our goal is simply to have the entire whole truth come out."A spokesman for Wexner declined to comment.Those close to Wexner, however, appear to have denied Dershowitz's claims since 2015, when one insider told the New York Times that Wexner had never met Giuffre and that no extortion attempt was made.Brad Edwards, a longtime lawyer for victims of Epstein, recently told reporters that he did not believe Wexner had knowledge of Epstein's abuse of underage girls."I believe, based on the information that we have accumulated over 11 years, that the statements that he [Wexner] gave yesterday in the press that he did not know about the sexual proclivities of Mr. Epstein, are very highly likely to be true," Edwards said in July."We have not seen where he is in the company of Jeffrey Epstein at the time when he was engaging in these things," Edwards added. "In fact, it's very seldom that many of the victims actually even met him or saw him. I do know that there's a lot of business ties to him, but other than receiving information about their business connection, I don't have any information to believe otherwise."In affidavits filed as exhibits in the defamation suit, McCawley and Boies denied Dershowitz's extortion claims."Mr. Dershowitz asserts that I participated in an attempt and a conspiracy to extort Leslie Wexner," McCawley stated. "Again, Dershowitz cites no evidence to support his assertions, and they are false."For his part, Boies stated that "no settlement demand was ever made of, or even discussed with, Mr. Wexner or his counsel."Dershowitz also claimed on Tuesday that Giuffre and her lawyers have "done a terrible disservice" to the MeToo movement. When Miami Herald reporter Julie Brown asked Dershowitz why he goaded Giuffre to sue him and is now trying to dismiss her case, Cooper jumped in, "There's a competing balance between inviting a lawsuit and putting forth First Amendment defenses.""You cannot be faced with this situation and let the First Amendment die on the vine," Cooper added.Brown countered that Dershowitz could vindicate himself by going through with the trial as he said he wanted to do."He could vindicate himself by talking as he is now," Cooper replied. "Denying the allegations and making clear that he's telling the truth."Dershowitz intoned a now-familiar line, "I predict that if this case goes to trial, perjury will be committed in this courtroom. Because I will swear unequivocally I never met this woman, and if she says that she ever met me or had sex with me, she will be committing perury."Dershowitz said he invited the FBI to attend the trial, which he now wants dismissed, to determine who is committing perjury."It's not me," he declared.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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| Meghan Markle just wore the 'perfect work shirt' and it's super affordable Posted: 25 Sep 2019 08:30 AM PDT  Just because Meghan Markle is English royalty doesn't mean she always breaks the bank when it comes to her wardrobe.
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| Stock up on Cold-Weather Essentials at Backcountry’s Winter Clearance Posted: 25 Sep 2019 01:40 PM PDT |
| Venezuelans accused of smuggling $5 mn in gold into US Posted: 24 Sep 2019 03:10 PM PDT  Two Venezuelans have been charged in US federal court with allegedly smuggling $5 million worth of gold bars into the United States in a private airplane. Jean Carlos Sanchez Rojas and Victor Fossi Grieco, who piloted the airplane, were arrested on September 20 at Florida's Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport after US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents discovered the undeclared cargo in the airplane's nose.
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| Russia Has One Way to Find and Kill U.S. F-22 and F-35 Stealth Fighters Posted: 24 Sep 2019 05:00 PM PDT  Can they pull it off?
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| Russia's Lavrov favors resumption of direct flights to Georgia: Kommersant Posted: 25 Sep 2019 12:31 PM PDT  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov supports the resumption of direct flights from Russia to Georgia that Moscow suspended in July, the Kommersant daily cited him as saying in an interview published on Wednesday. "It seems to me that it will be right (to restore flights) after the majority of the Georgian population realized the counterproductive and provocative nature of the trick that took place in the Georgian parliament," Lavrov said, according to Kommersant. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the temporary ban of passenger flights from Russia to Georgia following an outbreak of unrest in Tbilisi triggered by the visit of a Russian lawmaker in June.
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| Scientists answer whether the popular CBD oil trend is legitimate (and legal) Posted: 25 Sep 2019 06:28 AM PDT  Culture has dubbed CBD oil a miracle — you can now find it in lattes, food and creams — but is it effective? And is it legal?
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| Trump impeachment ‘almost inevitable’ as key Congress members decide president must be removed Posted: 24 Sep 2019 01:28 AM PDT  A majority of Democrats in the House of Representatives now support impeaching Donald Trump as Washington reels from allegations that the president improperly pressured Ukraine's leader to investigate Joe Biden's son.Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the house, has contacted key allies to gauge whether the party should launch impeachment proceedings.
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| Florida officer who arrested 2 elementary school children fired; charges dropped Posted: 24 Sep 2019 07:45 AM PDT  Chief Orlando Rolón said Officer Dennis Turner didn't follow department policy requiring him to get approval before arresting minors younger than 12.
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| Here's what the US Air Force has planned for all its bombers Posted: 25 Sep 2019 11:56 AM PDT  From the venerable B-52 to the future B-21, the US leads the way in firepower and stealth technology. This is what the US has in the skies.
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| Former police force partner of Guyger confirms sexual relationship Posted: 24 Sep 2019 06:51 AM PDT  The police force partner of former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger acknowledged that they had a sexual relationship and exchanged sexually explicit text messages and photos the day she shot Botham Jean in his apartment.
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| Rouhani at UN demands Saudis end war in Yemen Posted: 25 Sep 2019 11:00 AM PDT  Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday demanded that Saudi Arabia end its offensive in Yemen after an attack in the oil-rich kingdom which Washington blamed on Tehran. "The security of Saudi Arabia will be guaranteed with the termination of aggression in Yemen, rather than by inviting foreigners," he told the UN General Assembly. Saudi Arabia is leading an air campaign aimed at defeating Iranian-backed Huthi rebels who control much of Yemen, contributing to a humanitarian crisis in which thousands of civilians have died and millions are on the brink of starvation.
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| Death Match: America's F-16s vs. China and Russia's Best Planes (Who Wins?) Posted: 25 Sep 2019 09:00 AM PDT  Could America's legendary fighter make it?
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| Meghan Markle shares 'Cinderella moment' with teenager in South Africa: Watch! Posted: 24 Sep 2019 03:17 PM PDT  Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle made light of a potentially awkward situation during an engagement in Cape Town.
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| View Photos of the 2020 Audi RS7 Sportback Posted: 24 Sep 2019 03:01 PM PDT |
| Sanders Calls for ‘National Wealth Registry’ to Enforce New Tax Posted: 24 Sep 2019 09:27 AM PDT  Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders on Tuesday rolled out his plan to levy an "extreme wealth tax" on millionaires and billionaires, which he plans to enforce through the creation of a "national wealth registry.""Today, the United States has more income and wealth inequality than almost any major country on Earth, and it is worse now than at any time since the 1920s," Sanders said in his proposal.Sanders' annual tax on the top 0.1 percent would apply to Americans with a net worth of over $32 million, or about 180,000 households, and would raise approximately $4.35 trillion over the next decade, the Sanders campaign estimates.The Vermont senator's plan seeks to combat capital flight and other forms of tax avoidance through a "national wealth registry" and the addition of "significant additional third party reporting requirements." The proposal calls for increased funding for the Internal Revenue Service to cover the bureaucratic costs associated with enforcing the wealth tax.Under the plan, the IRS will be required to audit 30 percent of the top one percent's wealth tax returns and 100 percent for billionaires.The tax would start at one percent for a married couple with $32.5 million and would progressively increase one percent for each bracket up to eight percent for those with a net worth of $10 billion. Those rates would be halved for single individuals.The new tax will partially fund Sanders' Medicare for All plan as well as his affordable housing and universal childcare plans.Sanders argues there has been a "massive transfer of wealth from those who have too little to those who have too much" over the last three decades."Under this plan, the wealth of billionaires would be cut in half over 15 years which would substantially break up the concentration of wealth and power of this small privileged class," the progressive candidate said.Sanders' plan goes beyond Senator Elizabeth Warren's wealth tax plan, which would impose just a 2 percent tax on families with $50 million and a 3 percent tax on those with $1 billion.
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| Trump, in call, asked Ukraine's president to examine Biden: summary Posted: 25 Sep 2019 07:04 AM PDT  U.S. President Donald Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a July telephone call to investigate whether former Vice President Joe Biden shut down an investigation into a company where his son worked, according to a summary of the call released by the Trump administration on Wednesday. "There's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great," Trump said in the call, according to the summary provided by the Justice Department. "Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it... It sounds horrible to me," he said, according to the memo.
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| Male model arrested in widely publicized Thai sex case Posted: 25 Sep 2019 03:53 AM PDT  Police in Thailand on Wednesday arrested a male model accused of taking an unconscious woman home, boasting online about his sexual exploits, and leaving her lifeless body in the lobby of his building. Police brought charges of illegal detention leading to death, abduction with intent of committing an indecent act and molestation against 24-year-old Ratchadech Wongtabut in a case that has riveted the attention of the public and press. The victim, Thitima Noraphanpiphat, 25, made a living as a "pretty," the term for young women normally hired for events such as auto shows to pose seductively with products they are promoting.
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| Rare painting, possibly worth millions, was just hanging in woman's kitchen, experts say Posted: 24 Sep 2019 07:29 AM PDT  "Christ Mocked," a work by the 13th century pre-Renaissance painter Cimabue was found in a house in northern France, art auctioneers say.
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| Asylum seekers I meet flee something even worse than Trump's unethical immigration agenda Posted: 24 Sep 2019 05:38 AM PDT  Our immigration policies seek to discourage border crossings by making life difficult for migrants. But almost nothing could be worse than going home.
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| Toilet controversy: India's Modi ignores protests to collect Gates award Posted: 24 Sep 2019 06:20 PM PDT  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday brushed aside an outcry from human rights activists to receive an award from the Gates Foundation in New York for his efforts to end open defecation. The decision to honor the Indian leader provoked several withering op-eds and the ire of three Nobel prize winners, citing rising attacks against minorities under Modi's tenure, while British-Asian actors Jameela Jamil and Riz Ahmed who had been due to attend dropped out. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said it respected the critics' views but defended its decision, saying sanitation is a neglected issue and India's program can serve as a model for other countries.
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| Amputee woman recreates iconic Cinderella scene with gorgeous glass prosthetic arm Posted: 25 Sep 2019 08:11 AM PDT  A woman who is missing part of her arm became fed up with a lack of amputee representation in media, so she decided to create her own.
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| Chinese relatives marry, divorce 23 times in scheme Posted: 25 Sep 2019 07:35 AM PDT  Eleven Chinese relatives married and divorced each other 23 times within a month to receive apartments given out by the state, Chinese media reported.
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| Can Someone Be Fired for Being Gay? The Supreme Court Will Decide Posted: 24 Sep 2019 05:01 AM PDT  ATLANTA -- The Supreme Court has delivered a remarkable series of victories to the gay rights movement over the last two decades, culminating in a ruling that established a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. But in more than half the states, someone can still be fired for being gay.Early in its new term, on Oct. 8, the court will consider whether an existing federal law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, guarantees nationwide protection from workplace discrimination to gay and transgender people, even in states that offer no protections right now.It will be the court's first case on LGBT rights since the retirement last year of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who wrote the majority opinions in all four of the court's major gay rights decisions. And without Kennedy, who joined four liberals in the 5-4 ruling in the marriage case, the workers who sued their employers in the three cases before the court may face an uphill fight."Now that we don't have Kennedy on the court, it would be a stretch to find a fifth vote in favor of any of these claims that are coming to the court," said Katherine Franke, a law professor at Columbia and the author of "Wedlocked: The Perils of Marriage Equality."She added that lawyers working to expand gay rights might have focused too narrowly on the right to marry. "The gay rights movement became the marriage rights movement," she said, "and we lost sight of the larger dynamics and structures of homophobia."Other experts said the court should have little trouble ruling for the plaintiffs."Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans continue to face widespread job discrimination because of their same-sex attraction or sex identities," said William N. Eskridge Jr., a law professor at Yale and the author of an article in The Yale Law Journal on Title VII's statutory history. "If the justices take seriously the text of Title VII and their own precedents, LGBT Americans will enjoy the same job protections as other groups."The Supreme Court's earlier gay rights rulings were grounded in constitutional law. Romer v. Evans, in 1996, struck down a Colorado constitutional amendment that had banned laws protecting gay men and lesbians. Lawrence v. Texas, in 2003, struck down laws making gay sex a crime. United States v. Windsor, in 2013, overturned a ban on federal benefits for married same-sex couples.And Obergefell v. Hodges, in 2015, struck down state bans on same-sex marriage, ruling that the Constitution guarantees a right to such unions.The new cases, by contrast, concern statutory interpretation, not constitutional law.The question for the justices is whether the landmark 1964 law's prohibition of sex discrimination encompasses discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Lawyers for the gay and transgender plaintiffs say it does. Lawyers for the defendants and the Trump administration, which has filed briefs supporting the employers, say it does not.The common understanding of sex discrimination in 1964 was bias against women or men, Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco wrote. It did not encompass discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity."The ordinary meaning of 'sex' is biologically male or female," he wrote. "It does not include sexual orientation."In response, lawyers for one of the plaintiffs, Gerald Bostock, wrote that "a person's sexual orientation is a sex-based classification because it cannot be defined without reference to his sex."Bostock, who spent a decade building a government program to help neglected and abused children in Clayton County, Georgia, just south of Atlanta, said his story illustrated the gaps in protection for gay workers."Everything was going amazingly," he said in an interview in his home. "Then I decided to join a gay recreational softball league."He played catcher and first base for his team, the Honey Badgers, in the Hotlanta Softball League. A few months later, the county fired him for "conduct unbecoming a county employee."Bostock's case is at an early stage, and the reason for his dismissal is contested. His former employer has said it fired him after an audit indicated he had misused county funds, which Bostock denies.In an email, Jack R. Hancock, a lawyer for the county, said, "Mr. Bostock's sexual orientation had nothing to do with his termination."The justices will decide whether Bostock is entitled to try to make his case to a jury. The county insists that Title VII allows it to fire workers for being gay, meaning that the case should be dismissed at the outset."When Congress prohibited sex discrimination in employment approximately 55 years ago," Hancock wrote in a brief, "it did not simultaneously prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation."Bostock, 55, grew up in southern Georgia, where he said he "learned the three F's very quickly: family, faith and football." But he found his own calling, he said, when he was assigned to recruit volunteers to represent children from troubled homes in juvenile court."It was my passion," he said. "My employer loved the job I was doing. I got favorable performance reviews. We had great success."Things took a turn, he said, when he became more open about his sexual orientation."When I joined the gay softball league in January of 2013, that's when my life changed," he said. "Within months of that, there were negative comments about my sexual orientation." In particular, he said, he was criticized for recruiting volunteers for the program from the gay community in Atlanta.Bostock said he would attend the Supreme Court arguments in his case, Bostock v. Clayton County, No. 17-1618. "I hope they give me the right to have my day in court, to come back to Georgia and clear my name and have the truth come out," he said.The justices will also hear a companion case, Altitude Express v. Zarda, No. 17-1623. It was brought by a sky diving instructor, Donald Zarda, who said he was fired because he was gay. His dismissal followed a complaint from a female customer who had expressed concerns about being strapped to Zarda during a tandem dive. Zarda, hoping to reassure the customer, told her that he was "100% gay."Zarda sued under Title VII and lost the initial rounds. He died in a 2014 sky diving accident, and his estate pursued his case. His lawyers told the justices that the case could be decided "without ever using the term 'sexual orientation' or 'gay.'""The claim could accurately be framed entirely in terms of sex and nothing else: Zarda was fired for being a man attracted to men," they wrote. "That is sex discrimination pure and simple."Most federal appeals courts have interpreted Title VII to exclude sexual orientation discrimination. But two of them, in New York and Chicago, have ruled that discrimination against gay men and lesbians is a form of sex discrimination.Last year, a divided 13-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in New York, allowed Zarda's lawsuit to proceed. Writing for the majority, Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann concluded that "sexual orientation discrimination is motivated, at least in part, by sex and is thus a subset of sex discrimination."Hancock, in his brief for Clayton County in Bostock's case, urged the justices to be wary of what he called a novel interpretation of an old law. "One would expect that, if Congress intended to enact a statute of such magnitude -- socially, culturally, politically and policy-wise -- as one prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation," he wrote, "Congress specifically would have so stated in the text of Title VII."The Supreme Court has ruled that it is race discrimination to fire a worker for being a member of an interracial couple. Lawyers for Zarda said the same principle should apply to same-sex couples."Just as firing a white employee for being married to an African American person constitutes discrimination because of race," they wrote, "so firing a male employee for being married to another man constitutes sex discrimination."Francisco, in his brief for the administration, wrote that the analogy did not hold."An employer who refuses to hire an applicant in an interracial relationship would rightly be branded a racist," he wrote. "But no ordinary speaker of English would call an employer who refuses to hire an applicant in a same-sex relationship a sexist."At bottom, the cases may turn on whether the justices focus on the words of the statute or their sense of what the lawmakers who voted for it in 1964 understood they were doing. In a 1998 decision in a Title VII case, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that it was the words that matter."Statutory prohibitions," he wrote, "often go beyond the principal evil to cover reasonably comparable evils, and it is ultimately the provisions of our laws rather than the principal concerns of our legislators by which we are governed."If nothing else, Franke said, the cases will explore divisive and difficult issues. "Sex," she said, "is a confounding term in our culture, in our language and certainly in the law."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| Group sues US for details about impact of grazing program Posted: 25 Sep 2019 01:05 PM PDT  The U.S. government is keeping details secret about a cattle grazing program in six Western states that could be harming habitat and endangered species, an environmental group says. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, Western Watersheds Project said the Interior Department is unlawfully withholding information from the public about a grazing initiative announced in 2017. "This is the latest example of the (Trump) administration favoring industrial agriculture over conservation, biodiversity, and wildlife," said Scott Lake, Idaho Director of Western Watersheds Project.
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| UPDATE 1-US launches strike in southern Libya as UN warns of escalation Posted: 25 Sep 2019 04:42 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-US launches strike in southern Libya as UN warns of escalation]( "UPDATE 1-US launches strike in southern Libya as UN warns of escalation") U.S. forces said on Wednesday they killed 11 suspected militants in their second air strike in a week near the southern Libyan town of Murzuq, as the U.N. envoy warned of a growing risk of armed escalation and rights abuses in the country. The strike comes as rival factions have been locked in a battle around the capital Tripoli, about 500 miles (800km) to the north, which forces loyal to eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar have been trying to capture since April. The U.S. attack, carried out on Tuesday deep in Libya's southern desert, followed a Sept. 19 strike that the U.S. said had killed eight suspected militants.
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