| After Sondland bombshell, Democrats look to expand Trump probe to Pompeo, others Posted: 21 Nov 2019 01:12 PM PST  House Democrats, emboldened after Ambassador Gordon Sondland provided stunning testimony Wednesday, are debating whether to expand the investigation to other Trump administration officials.
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| Gabbard and Harris clash over visions for the Democratic Party Posted: 20 Nov 2019 07:19 PM PST  At the Democratic debate in Atlanta on Wednesday, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii and Sen. Kamala Harris of California clashed over their differing visions for the party, particularly when it comes to foreign policy.
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| A man in India dressed up as a pilot and used his disguise to skip lines and get free upgrades, police say Posted: 22 Nov 2019 04:40 PM PST  The police detained Rajan Mahbubani as he tried to board an AirAsia plane flying from Delhi to Kolkata. They say he impersonated a Lufthansa pilot.
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| Daughter's 911 call for pizza was actually a domestic violence report. The dispatcher knew Posted: 22 Nov 2019 12:51 PM PST  An Ohio dispatcher detected that a woman calling 911 ordering a pizza was in need of police help.
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| Lawsuit alleges McDonald’s puts employees in physical danger Posted: 21 Nov 2019 08:56 AM PST  A group of employees from 13 McDonald's restaurants in Chicago filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging that the company's drive for profits puts workers at "daily risk" of physical attack by dangerous customers. In the lawsuit filed in Cook County court, the 17 workers say McDonald's has failed to protect them from what they say is a "citywide and nationwide" pattern of violence and that police respond to more than 20 911 calls every day regarding Chicago McDonald's restaurants.
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| Federal Judge Rules Covington Student’s $275M Libel Lawsuit against NBC May Proceed Posted: 22 Nov 2019 02:36 PM PST  Federal judge William Bertelsman on Thursday allowed Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann's $275 million libel lawsuit against NBCUniversal to move forward, rejecting the media company's attempt to have the suit dismissed in full even as he threw out parts of it.Sandmann, 16, sued NBC and other major news outlets in the aftermath of their coverage of a controversial interaction he and several of his classmates had with Native American activist Nathan Phillips near the Lincoln Memorial on January 18. Viral video of the incident showed Sandmann and Phillips standing face to face as Phillips loudly beat on a drum and Sandmann smirked from time to time. NBC asserted that Sandmann "blocked" Phillips and "did not allow him to retreat" during their interaction. Longer versions of the video showed that Phillips approached Sandmann, who stood mostly still during the incident.Sandmann and his classmates wore "Make America Great Again" caps and were attending the annual anti-abortion March for Life, while Phillips was participating in the Indigenous Peoples March.Phillips has claimed Sandmann "just blocked my way and wouldn't allow me to retreat."Sandmann's lawsuit against NBC will now continue to discovery, according to his, attorney, L. Lin Wood, who called it a "huge win" for his client."As predicted, today Judge Bertelsman entered an order allowing the Nicholas Sandmann case against NBCUniversal to proceed to discovery just as he had earlier ruled with respect to WaPo & CNN cases. Huge, huge win!" Wood wrote on Twitter.
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| Ninth family member dies after Israeli strike: ministry Posted: 22 Nov 2019 06:24 AM PST  A Palestinian wounded in an Israeli strike that killed eight members of his family has died, the health ministry in the Hamas-run strip said on Friday. Mohammed Abu Malhous al-Sawarka, 40, succumbed after being wounded in "the massacre in which eight members of a family died when they were targeted in their homes," ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said in a statement. It said he was the brother of Rasmi Abu Malhous who was killed when his home was hit by an air strike on November 14.
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| Exclusive: Acting Homeland Security chief Chad Wolf makes unannounced visit to privately funded border wall Posted: 21 Nov 2019 02:38 PM PST  Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf made an unpublicized visit Wednesday to the site of a privately constructed border wall during his first official trip to the southern border, Yahoo News has confirmed.
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| Meghan McCain Rages at Joy Behar About Impeachment: ‘You’re Not Listening’ to Me! Posted: 21 Nov 2019 09:29 AM PST  Having their first opportunity to discuss this week's dramatic public impeachment hearings, things quickly went off the rails on Thursday's broadcast of The View when conservative co-host Meghan McCain lashed out at frequent sparring partner Joy Behar over the impact of the damning testimony.Touching on President Donald Trump's reaction to U.S. Ambassador the EU Gordon Sondland's testimony, Behar asked her colleagues if it appeared that the president was getting nervous about impeachment."I think so," co-host Sunny Hostin replied. "He appeared to be coming undone, in my view, when I saw that."After Hostin claimed the Republican defense that Sondland didn't directly hear the president request a quid pro quo with Ukraine doesn't matter because the president was acting through his attorney Rudy Giuliani, Behar referenced former Trump attorney Michael Cohen's assertion that Trump "speaks in code."Conservative host Abby Huntsman, meanwhile, noted that she doesn't think that the president is nervous at all about impeachment because he still enjoys ninety-percent approval among Republicans. She also said that while she saw a "terrible abuse of power" by Trump, she wasn't yet sure he had committed a crime that would rise to impeachment.McCain eventually jumped into the fray and, predictably, things went awry."One of the things that I pride myself in is we can't get sucked into the Beltway in the media circles," she declared. "What I saw last night on the debate stage is not going to be good enough to beat him.""You all are very convinced he's crazy, he's whatever," McCain continued. "He's always been crazy like a fox. I knew he was going to win in 2016 and I'm telling you right now if you think this impeachment hearing and everything with Sondland and the 30,000 cast of characters—"As Behar attempted to interject to toss it to break, McCain kept talking, claiming TV ratings keep ticking lower and lower while saying anyone who thinks "this is enough to have it locked and loaded" is naive.Behar retorted that she wanted to see subpoenas issued to Giuliani and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, causing McCain to explode at her colleague."You're not listening to what I'm saying?! You're not listening to what I'm saying," she yelled. "Do you know what matters is the Electoral College which is what you all should be focusing on right now!"Throwing it to break, Behar tried to get in the last word by saying the Electoral College was created to "save slave states.""Oh, for God's sake," McCain uttered as the program went to commercial.After the break, the pair attempted to call a truce, with Behar joking that they were still arguing during the break."But I still love you and I still want your lasagna," McCain replied."I'll give you your lasagna when you give me your guns," Behar quipped back, obviously referencing McCain's infamous assertion that she would not live without her guns.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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| Former Boston College student charged over boyfriend's suicide pleads not guilty Posted: 22 Nov 2019 07:23 AM PST  A former Boston College student pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges of involuntary manslaughter stemming from what prosecutors said was her role in encouraging her boyfriend to commit suicide. A lawyer for Inyoung You, 21, entered the plea on her behalf during a hearing in Suffolk County Superior Court after she returned from South Korea to face charges brought last month over the May 20 suicide of her college boyfriend, who leaped to his death from a parking garage hours before his graduation. "These text messages demonstrate the power dynamic of the relationship," Assistant District Attorney Caitlin Grasso said in court.
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| Former federal prosecutor: Trump impeachment 'is not a defensible case' Posted: 22 Nov 2019 08:01 AM PST  Yahoo News Editor in Chief Daniel Klaidman and Chief Investigative Correspondent Michael Isikoff stump former federal prosecutor Peter R. Zeidenberg on how he would hypothetically defend President Trump in an impeachment trial.
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| Alabama cop who chased, beat and shot black man after stop-and-frisk guilty of manslaughter Posted: 22 Nov 2019 01:01 PM PST  Prosecutors argued Aaron C. Smith escalated a consensual stop to deadly force, killing Greg Gunn feet away from the home he lived in with his mother.
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| Benjamin Netanyahu was just indicted on fraud and bribery charges, becoming the first Israeli prime minister to be indicted in office Posted: 21 Nov 2019 09:00 AM PST  Netanyahu is accused of receiving gifts and positive news coverage in exchange for regulatory benefits from the government.
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| Rep. Devin Nunes got help from indicted Giuliani associate Lev Parnas for 2018 Europe trip Posted: 20 Nov 2019 10:51 PM PST ![Rep. Devin Nunes got help from indicted Giuliani associate Lev Parnas for 2018 Europe trip]( "Rep. Devin Nunes got help from indicted Giuliani associate Lev Parnas for 2018 Europe trip") Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) traveled to Europe with three aides from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3, 2018, on a $63,000 taxpayer-funded investigative trip, and Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani arrested last month on federal campaign finance and conspiracy charges, helped arrange meetings and calls for his trip, The Daily Beast reports, citing Parnas lawyer Ed MacMahaon and congressional records. Nunes aide Derek Harvey was involved in the Parnas meeting, and he accompanied Nunes to Europe along with fellow aides Scott Glabe and George Pappas.At the time of the trip, Nunes was outgoing chairman of the House Intelligence Committee -- he is now the committee's top Republican and lead voice in the public impeachment hearings. Nunes was visiting Europe as part of his investigation into the origins of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russia and President Trump's campaign. During the period Nunes was in Europe, Giuliani was in the middle of his ultimately successful campaign to oust U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Maria Yovanovitch, a plot Parnas and partner Igor Fruman were also involved in, according to the federal indictment.Parnas "believed that what he was doing was furtherance of the president's and thus our national interests," said Joseph Bondy, a member of Parnas' legal team. "President Trump's recent and regrettable disavowal of Mr. Parnas has caused him to rethink his involvement and the true reasons for his having been recruited to participate in the President's activities. Mr. Parnas is prepared to testify completely and accurately about his involvement in the President and Rudy Giuliani's quid pro quo demands of Ukraine." Read more at The Daily Beast.More stories from theweek.com Ivanka Trump tries to defend father with awkwardly fake Tocqueville impeachment quote Watch Kamala Harris learn from Stephen Colbert that Lindsey Graham is investigating Joe Biden and Ukraine Republicans are throwing Rudy Giuliani under the bus
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| Putin honours 'hero' pilots for Russian corn field landing Posted: 21 Nov 2019 08:27 AM PST  Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday bestowed the country's top state honour on two pilots who safely landed a plane carrying more than 230 people in a corn field after a bird strike. At a ceremony in the Kremlin, Putin handed pilot Damir Yusupov and co-pilot Georgy Murzin the Hero of Russia awards, praising the crew's courage and professionalism. "They were able to land the plane literally in an empty field and saved dozens of lives," Putin said.
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| Booker and Harris warn Dems: Electability doesn't just mean appealing to white voters Posted: 21 Nov 2019 01:18 PM PST  Electability is the biggest buzzword of the 2020 cycle. It's what Democrats say they prize above all else: a nominee who can defeat Donald Trump. But it's also a code word. It tends to mask a racialized assumption about which Americans a candidate needs to win over in order to qualify as "electable": that is, white voters who don't live in big coastal cities.
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| Ex-CIA officer gets 19 years in China spy conspiracy Posted: 21 Nov 2019 07:13 PM PST  A former CIA case agent was sentenced to 19 years in prison Friday for an espionage conspiracy in which prosecutors say he received more than $840,000 from China to divulge the names of human sources and his knowledge of spycraft. The sentence imposed on Jerry Chun Shing Lee, 55, was significantly longer than the 10-years sought by defense attorneys. Lee pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit espionage, but prosecutors and defense lawyers disagreed about whether there was proof Lee carried out any actual espionage.
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| Arrest made at Syracuse, chancellor bows to student demands as racist hate incidents continue Posted: 21 Nov 2019 10:54 AM PST  Syracuse Chancellor Ken Syverud agreed to the demands of students protesting a two-week run of almost daily racist or anti-Semitic incidents.
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| Iran says 'world war' against it foiled; blames U.S., Saudi Arabia and Israel Posted: 22 Nov 2019 12:24 PM PST  Iran's Basij militia said unrest sparked by fuel price hikes amounted to a "world war" against Tehran that was thwarted, and blamed the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
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| Trump Admin Warns Sanctuary States against Barring ICE Courthouse Arrests in Letter Posted: 22 Nov 2019 08:32 AM PST  State supreme courts in Washington and Oregon received a letter from Attorney General William Barr and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf on Friday warning them to reconsider "dangerous and unlawful" directives that prohibit immigration officials from detaining illegal immigrants in and around state courthouses.Last week, Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha Walters banned ICE from courthouse arrests "to maintain the integrity of our courts and provide access to justice," unless the agency has a criminal judicial warrant. Washington is considering adopting a similar measure.In response to Walters's ruling, ICE said it "will continue to carry out its mission to uphold public safety and enforce immigration law.""It is ironic that elected officials want to see policies in place to keep ICE out of courthouses, while caring little for laws enacted by Congress to keep criminal aliens out of our country," an ICE statement read.Barr and Wolf's letter, obtained exclusively by Fox News, disparages a claim that Walters makes in requiring a judicial warrant for ICE to make its arrests — an often-peddled sanctuary city policy that obfuscates the reality of immigration law."Put simply, an administrative arrest warrant is all that Congress requires for authorities to make an arrest of an alien inside the United States for violations of federal immigration laws subject to the exceptions specifically delineated by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act for immigration officers to make warrantless arrests. Administrative arrest warrants —while civil in nature —are issued based on probable cause, carry the full authority of the United States, and should be honored by any state or local jurisdiction," the letter explains."We will further note that ICE and CBP officers are not subject to state rules that purport to restrict ICE and CBP from making administrative arrests on property that is otherwise open to the public and other law enforcement officers," the letter continues. "Under the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution, such rules cannot and will not govern the conduct of federal officers acting pursuant to duly-enacted laws passed by Congress when those laws provide the authority to make administrative arrests of removable aliens inside the United States."In concluding, Barr and Wolf urge the courts that "we should all agree that public safety should be of paramount concern.""Court rules that would purport to further restrict the lawful operations of federal law enforcement officials only serve to exacerbate sanctuary laws and policies that continue to place our communities at unacceptable risk," the letter ends.
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| US judge orders Iran pay $180 mn to reporter over detention Posted: 22 Nov 2019 02:24 PM PST  A US court on Friday ordered the government of Iran to pay nearly $180 million in damages to an Iranian-American journalist who was jailed by Tehran on espionage charges in 2014. A US District Court judge ordered the damages be paid to Jason Rezaian and his family in compensation for pain and suffering as well as economic loss for the 18-month detention, when he was physically abused, deprived of sleep and medical care and threatened with execution. Iran did not answer the lawsuit, according to Rezaian's employer The Washington Post, and the Islamic republic is not expected to pay the damages.
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| Would President Trump Ever Bring Back the Battleships? Posted: 21 Nov 2019 08:30 PM PST  The U.S. Navy will never again be a dreadnought fleet of big-gun battleships. But it is time to reexamine the role of armor in naval architecture. Even the most forward-leaning offensive operation needs a few tough linesmen who can take a beating and stay in the game. A future battleship would give the Navy— and by extension the president—warfighting options other than the total annihilation of the enemy.
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| A Pentagon official unexpectedly blew up Trump's defense in the Ukraine scandal and Gordon Sondland threw everyone under the bus. Here are the biggest takeaways from Wednesday's impeachment hearings. Posted: 20 Nov 2019 05:50 PM PST  Gordon Sondland was expected to be the big witness on Wednesday. But Pentagon official Laura Cooper took the spotlight with bombshell new testimony.
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| Mexico arrests judge linked by US to notorious cartel Posted: 22 Nov 2019 03:28 PM PST ![Mexico arrests judge linked by US to notorious cartel]( "Mexico arrests judge linked by US to notorious cartel") A Mexico judge whom the U.S. Treasury Department accuses of ties to Jalisco New Generation, one of the country's bloodiest drug cartels, was arrested in the city of Guadalajara on Friday, judicial authorities said. Earlier that month the U.S. Treasury Department designated and sanctioned Avelar Gutiérrez under the Kingpin Act "because of his actions on behalf" of Jalisco New Generation and an allied group known as Los Cuinis.
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| Colorado District Closes All 46 Schools to Stop Spread of 'Extremely Contagious Virus' Posted: 21 Nov 2019 08:13 AM PST  The Mesa County Valley School District 51 plans to keep all 46 of its schools closed on Thursday and Friday.
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| 50 Great Gadget and Gear Gifts for the Holidays Posted: 22 Nov 2019 11:03 AM PST |
| US-China trade war could spark real war: Kissinger Posted: 21 Nov 2019 01:39 AM PST  Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger warned Thursday that an armed conflict could break out between the United States and China if they fail to resolve their trade war. The sober remarks from Kissinger, who was instrumental in normalising diplomatic relations between Washington and Beijing, came at a conference in Beijing on the future of the two economic giants. "If conflict is permitted to run unconstrained, the outcome could be even worse than it was in Europe," he said at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum.
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| 'It's going to blow up': Trump impeachment witnesses describe scheme to use US government for domestic political means Posted: 21 Nov 2019 02:39 PM PST  Former White House adviser Fiona Hill has testified that the vast majority of the American diplomatic and intelligence community believed a central thrust behind Donald Trump's demands that Ukraine launch an investigation were based on a "fictional narrative" pushed by Russians intent on casting a dark cloud over the American electoral system, and that the unconventional American effort to pursue it was "going to blow up".The damning remarks undercut a central element of the Republican argument against the impeachment narrative — that the president had good reason to ask for a foreign leader to effectively interfere and dig into American elections – and came amid hours of testimony from Dr Hill, alongside evidence from David Holmes, a top staffer at the US embassy in Ukraine.
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| A transgender woman says she was forced to remove her makeup with hand sanitizer for a DMV photo Posted: 22 Nov 2019 10:36 AM PST  Jaydee Dolinar told Glamour that a DMV worker handed her hand sanitizer and said she wouldn't be granted a new photo ID unless she removed her makeup.
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| Pennsylvania Governor Vetoes Bill Banning Down-Syndrome Abortion Posted: 22 Nov 2019 10:02 AM PST  Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf on Thursday vetoed a bill that would have prohibited women from choosing abortion because of a Down-syndrome diagnosis."This legislation is a restriction on women and medical professionals and interferes with women's health care and the crucial decision-making between patients and their physicians," the Democratic governor said in a statement. "Physicians and their patients must be able to make choices about medical procedures based on best practices and standards of care."Abortion is legal in Pennsylvania during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy for any reason except the gender of the fetus. The bill, which passed the Republican-controlled legislature a day earlier, aimed to protect against abortions over a prenatal Down-syndrome diagnosis as well, although it included exceptions for rape, incest, and medical emergencies.Wold argued that the bill was unconstitutional and "not consistent with the fundamental rights" protected by the 14th Amendment, which guarantees the right to privacy."Further, I am not aware of a single disability-rights group that supports this bill," Wolf continued. "I support continuing the bipartisan work that's been done to help people with disabilities. I also believe there is much more Pennsylvania could do to help women and families facing complex pregnancies. However, this bill does not aid in either of these efforts."Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates also objected to the bill, saying it is unconstitutional and nearly impossible to enforce.According to the National Down Syndrome Society, one in 700 babies in the U.S., about 6,000 a year, is born with Down syndrome, a genetic condition caused by the presence of an extra chromosome and marked by developmental and physical growth delays.Wolf's decision jives with a federal-appeals court's October ruling that Ohio may not enforce a law barring doctors from performing abortions on mothers who want the procedure because of a fetal diagnosis of Down syndrome.The governor is a vocal abortion rights supporter and also rejected a measure in 2017 that would have banned elective abortions after 20 weeks, a week earlier than the youngest premature baby has survived. In August, Wolf's administration also announced plans to close two state centers for the intellectually and developmentally disabled, including some with Down syndrome. A previous closure of a similar facility in Pennsylvania resulted in the deaths of eleven of the 85 former residents.
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| IRS Says Millionaires Can Keep Estate Tax Benefits After 2025 Posted: 22 Nov 2019 02:49 PM PST ![IRS Says Millionaires Can Keep Estate Tax Benefits After 2025]( "IRS Says Millionaires Can Keep Estate Tax Benefits After 2025") (Bloomberg) -- Taxpayers can benefit from higher thresholds for U.S. estate and gift taxes even if they don't die until after the tax overhaul expires in 2026, the Internal Revenue Service said.The 2017 Republican tax law approximately doubled the estate and gift tax exemption. That means individuals this year can pass on, tax-free, $11.4 million from their estate and gifts they gave before their death. Couples can pass on $22.8 million. The higher levels expire in 2026, but individuals who make large gifts while the exemption is higher and die after it goes back down won't see the estate tax benefit eroded, the IRS said in regulations announced Friday."As a result, individuals planning to make large gifts between 2018 and 2025 can do so without concern that they will lose the tax benefit of the higher exclusion level once it decreases after 2025," the agency said in a press release.The exemption increase was a priority for Republicans in the 2017 tax overhaul. It cut the number of individuals who would be subject to the 40% estate tax by about two-thirds. The exemption was $5.5 million before the law change.Democrats, however, are eyeing a reversal of those changes if they sweep the House, Senate and White House in 2020. Almost every Democratic presidential candidate has called for the estate tax to apply to a larger number of wealthy families.Senator Bernie Sanders has called for the estate tax to kick in on fortunes worth at least $3.5 million, and has proposed rates as high as 77%.To contact the reporter on this story: Laura Davison in Washington at ldavison4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo, Ros KrasnyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Attorney general unveils plan on missing Native Americans Posted: 21 Nov 2019 09:54 PM PST  Attorney General William Barr announced a nationwide plan Friday to address the crisis of missing and slain Native American women as concerns mount over the level of violence they face. Barr announced the plan, known as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Initiative, during a visit with tribal leaders and law enforcement officials on the Flathead Reservation in Montana. Native American women experience some of the nation's highest rates of murder, sexual violence and domestic abuse.
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| Former Baltimore mayor pleads guilty to charges related to book sales Posted: 21 Nov 2019 11:28 AM PST  Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh pleaded guilty on Thursday to tax evasion and other federal charges related to sales of a self-published children's book as part of an illegal scheme to fund her election campaign. Pugh entered the plea on two counts of tax evasion, and one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States. The charges stem from sales of the book, "Healthy Holly" to a charity where Pugh served on the board.
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| JFK files: CIA spy in Cuba ‘befriended’ Castro, Che; played key role amid nuclear-war fears Posted: 22 Nov 2019 07:43 AM PST  Fifty-six years after John F. Kennedy's murder, unsealed government files detail dangerous intrigues about Cuba. This CIA spy was deeply involved.
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| Military: 2 airmen killed in crash at Oklahoma base during training Posted: 21 Nov 2019 04:59 PM PST  Two airmen were killed Thursday in an accident involving two jets during the landing phase of a training exercise at a U.S. Air Force base in northwestern Oklahoma, a military official said.
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| Why All of America's Enemies Should Still Fear the B-1 Bomber Posted: 21 Nov 2019 10:00 PM PST  A new age, a new role.
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| Christian group wrote legislation eerily similar to Ohio religious liberty bill Posted: 22 Nov 2019 03:30 AM PST  Critics suspect hand of Project Blitz in draft passed by Ohio house which they fear could let students' religious beliefs trump scienceThe draft law says a teacher 'shall not penalize or reward a student based on the religious content of a student's work' – language strikingly similar to Project Blitz's model legislation. Photograph: Justin Lane/EPAAn Ohio state bill which could allow students' religious beliefs to trump science-based facts is almost identical to model legislation backed by an evangelical, anti-gay Christian group.The Student Religious Liberties Act, which passed the Ohio house last week, instructs schools to neither "penalize or reward" students on the basis of their religious speech. It also stipulates schools must provide opportunities for religious expression "in the same manner and to the same extent" as secular speech. Critics argue the bill would provide protect students from bad grades based on religion.The bill's backers deny it is connected to the group, called Project Blitz but the bill has nearly identical language to the model legislation backed by Project Blitz in their 2018-19 "playbook".While student religious liberties bills existed before Project Blitz, its inclusion in a playbook by groups whose goal is to inject religion into law shows the priority they place on the matter. When contacted by the Guardian, Steven W Fitschen, president of the National Legal Foundation, said "We are, of course, delighted that legislators in Ohio drafted a bill so similar to our model bill since we believe its provisions are constitutional and beneficial to students of faith in Ohio, without impinging on anyone else's rights."By contrast, many mainstream civil rights groups have lined up against the bill.Project Blitz model legislation says: "A student may not be penalized or rewarded based on the religious content of his or her work." The Ohio Student Religious Liberties Act says teachers "shall not penalize or reward a student based on the religious content of a student's work.""This bill is under the guise of religious freedom for students, but it's really designed to encourage students to pray and proselytize in public schools," said Maggie Garrett, the vice-president of policy for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "It adds more confusion than clarity, and of course current law already protects the rights of students," she said.The law's predicted effects have divided critics and supporters. Opponents have said the bill will cause controversy-averse teachers and school administrators to hedge against correcting students who might cite religious beliefs in classwork.Backers argue school officials are intimidated by "well funded groups" who are "biased against Ohio students' religious freedom". The most likely impact, groups such as the Anti-Defamation League said, is potential lawsuits against school districts.Student religious liberty bills have spread across the US south and midwest for more than a decade with roots in a 1995 set of guidelines from the Clinton administration, according to a University of California, Davis law review article.In 2007, Texas reincarnated the guidelines in a form which "intentionally lacks" some of the caveats the Clinton administration included, such as a prohibition on having a "captive audience" in school, the article said."This bill has been around since before the Project Blitz campaign, but the bill is part of the Project Blitz playbook," said Garrett, the vice-president for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "We will be seeing more of these bills in the future, because we're certainly seeing an increase in other Project Blitz bills."In another example of their similarities, Project Blitz's model legislation reads, "A student may organize prayer groups, religious clubs, and other religious gatherings before, during, and after the school day in the same manner and to the same extent that a student is permitted to organize secular activities and groups."Ohio's bill said students could attend "religious gatherings, including but not limited to prayer groups, religious clubs, 'see you at the pole' gatherings, or other religious gatherings" and "may engage in religious expression before, during, and after school hours in the same manner and to the same extent that a student is permitted to engage in secular activities or expression before, during, and after school hours."Even though backers deny the bill has been designed to promote Christian values, others disagree. "It is negligent and reckless of our colleagues to push an agenda this way and act as if it is not based on this one religious tenet," said Emilia Strong Sykes, the Democratic Ohio house minority leader and a Christian. "It is anti-American," she said.Long-term Republican control of Ohio state politics through gerrymandering – a process of drawing district lines to benefit one party – has turned Ohio into a proving ground for conservative legislation. Including 2019, Republicans have held all three levers of Ohio state government for 21 of the last 27 years, according to Ballotpedia.Ohio was the first of several states to pass a six-week ban on abortion last summer. The same legislators introduced a bill to ban abortion outright last week, including new criminal penalties for "abortion murder". Courts stopped Ohio's six-week ban from going into effect. Abortion is legal in all 50 US states."My personal feeling, quite frankly, is this is disgraceful," said Paul Beck, an Ohio State University political science professor and an expert on gerrymandering, about the Student Religious Liberties Act. "One of the products of gerrymandering and Republican domination we have in the Ohio general assembly is these are not necessarily reasonable people making our laws," he said."Here you have legislation that is not only not needed, but will – at minimum – cause confusion," said Gary Daniels, chief lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio. The ACLU often sues on behalf of those who suffer religious discrimination, and opposes the bill.Project Blitz is organized by the Congressional Prayer Caucus, the National Legal Foundation and the WallBuilders ProFamily Legislators Conference. Other Blitz proposals include proclamations to establish, "Christian heritage week" and a "public policy resolution favoring sexual intercourse only between a married man and woman".The privately run Congressional Prayer Caucus works to "preserve America's Judeo-Christian heritage and promote prayer", according to its website. WallBuilders is led by a widely criticized revisionist historian who claims the US was founded on Christian ideals. The not-for-profit National Legal Foundation aims to "create and implement" public policy "to support and facilitate God's purpose for [America] … in such a way as to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ".When contacted by the Guardian, Steven W Fitschen, president of the National Legal Foundation, said "We are, of course, delighted that legislators in Ohio drafted a bill so similar to our model bill since we believe its provisions are constitutional and beneficial to students of faith in Ohio, without impinging on anyone else's rights."Representative Timothy Ginter, the bill's sponsor and a pastor, said he had "no knowledge" of Project Blitz. He declined further requests for an interview.The Guardian contacted 11 co-sponsors of the legislation. None responded. The Guardian also contacted the legislator who originally introduced the legislation in 2016, former representative Bill Hayes. He did not respond to a request for comment.In a statement, Ginter argued the bill is necessary, "Because of increased pressure on our schools from groups who are biased against Ohio students' religious freedoms, many school officials are confused, and frankly intimidated by the threat of litigation from these well-funded groups." He also denied the bill is meant to promote Christianity. "Nowhere in the language of the bill is a specific religion mentioned," Ginter said.The Republican-backed Ohio house passed the bill last week with a party-line vote. Only two Democrats voted in favor. The bill must be passed by the Republican-controlled Senate and the Republican governor, Mike DeWine, to become law. He did not respond to a Guardian request for comment.
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| US backs sustained Indian role in Afghanistan Posted: 21 Nov 2019 03:19 PM PST  The United States said Thursday that it supported continued Indian involvement in Afghanistan, even as President Donald Trump looks to withdraw troops. India is one of the most enthusiastic backers of Afghanistan's government, contributing more than $3 billion since the 2001 US-led invasion toppled the Taliban, who harbored virulently anti-Indian militants. "The United States welcomes India's substantial investment in and assistance to Afghanistan," said Nancy Izzo Jackson, a State Department official in charge of Afghanistan.
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| After campaign by young activists, Miami declares ‘climate emergency.’ It’s symbolic, for now. Posted: 22 Nov 2019 03:00 AM PST  Miami is officially in a state of emergency over climate change, delighting local youth activists that have been pushing the city to declare a "climate emergency" for months.
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