| The Latest: Slain pregnant woman knew her alleged killer Posted: 16 May 2019 04:23 PM PDT  CHICAGO (AP) — The Latest on the slaying of a pregnant Chicago woman whose baby was cut from her womb (all times local):
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| U.S. pulls staff from Iraq, says Iran gave 'blessing' for tanker attacks Posted: 15 May 2019 03:34 PM PDT  A U.S. government source said American security experts believe Iran gave its "blessing" to tanker attacks, which hit two Saudi crude oil tankers, a UAE-flagged fuel bunker barge and a Norwegian-registered oil products tanker off Fujeirah near the Strait of Hormuz. The source said the United States believes Iran's role was one of actively encouraging militants but indicated the United States does not now have evidence that Iranian personnel played any direct operational role. Iran's Foreign Ministry has called the tanker attacks "worrisome and dreadful" and called for an investigation.
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| Polish Catholic Church expects 'wave' of child sex abuse reports after release of film on paedophilia Posted: 15 May 2019 12:54 PM PDT  Poland's Catholic Church says it is expecting a "wave" of reports of child sex abuse by priests as it struggles to cope with the impact of a new film on paedophilia in the church that has been seen by millions. The crowd-funded two-hour-long film 'Just Don't Tell Anyone' has so far had over 14 million views on YouTube in just three days, and proved to be a sensation in Poland while appearing to deliver a hammer blow to the moral credibility of the Catholic Church. The film, which hears the accounts of victims and some confessions from their abusers, has already prompted Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, the head of Poland's episcopate, to issue an apology to "all those harmed" but now the Church appears to be bracing itself for an avalanche of sexual abuse allegations. "So far Poland has not seen the huge increases in reported cases as seen in other countries," said Father Piotr Studnicki, from the Church's Centre for Child Protection, during a television interview. "But that wave is probably coming." The Catholic Church has also said that it will re-open old cases and start new investigations in response to the material shown in the documentary. Reacting to the film Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Law and Justice, Poland's governing party, said the government was preparing changes to the penal code that would introduce sentences of up to 30 years for child abuse. The film could also have an influence on the European elections later this month. Before its release Law and Justice had sought to make political capital by portraying itself as the defender of the Catholic Church and conservative values, with Mr Kaczynski even going as far to say that "anyone who raises their hand against the Church, raises their hand against Poland". But his party now risks being tainted by the scandal engulfing the Church, and opposition parties have been quick to exploit the possibility. Grzegorz Schetyna, the leader of Civic Platform, Poland's main opposition party, has already parodied his opponent's words by saying "anyone who raises their hand against children, raises their hand against Poland".
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| Alabama bill marks the start of all-out war on abortion Posted: 15 May 2019 01:28 PM PDT  The abortion ban approved Tuesday night by the Alabama Senate is more than just the most restrictive legislation passed by any state in the 46 years since the Supreme Court legalized abortion nationwide.
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| Prying money from NRA CEO's hands: Today's Toon Posted: 15 May 2019 04:51 PM PDT  Want to keep up with USA TODAY's editorial cartoons? Bookmark this page. We'll update it frequently.
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| Lloyd Blankfein Says ‘Tariffs Might Be An Effective Negotiating Tool’ Posted: 14 May 2019 07:26 PM PDT  "Tariffs might be an effective negotiating tool," Blankfein -- a regular attendee of annual Davos conferences in Switzerland when was chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. -- wrote in a Twitter post Tuesday. "Saying it hurts us misses the point.
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| India Claims It Can Track China's New J-20 Stealth Fighter Posted: 16 May 2019 02:36 AM PDT  The Indian Air Force has boasted its Su-30 Flankers have tracked J-20s on radar, but as stealth fighters often employ emitters called "Luneburg Lens" to enlarge their RCS on routine flights, and thus conceal their true capabilities, it's difficult to infer much from this either.In January 2011, the maiden flight of a large, dagger-like grey jet announced that China had developed its first stealth aircraft—the Chengdu J-20 "Mighty Dragon." Six years later, after several substantial revisions, J-20s entered operational service with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force.(This first appeared several months ago.)As radar-guided missiles from fighters and ground-based launchers threaten aircraft from dozens, or even hundreds of miles away, stealth capabilities are increasingly perceived as necessary for keeping fighter pilots alive on the modern battlefield.But just how good is the J-20? And what is its intended role? After all, America's first stealth fighter, the F-117 Nighthawk, was not even really a fighter and lacked any air-to-air capability whatsoever.
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| Guatemalan migrant toddler dies weeks after U.S. detention Posted: 15 May 2019 10:04 PM PDT ![Guatemalan migrant toddler dies weeks after U.S. detention]( "Guatemalan migrant toddler dies weeks after U.S. detention") The death comes after three Guatemalan minors died in U.S. custody since December, during the biggest surge of migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border in a decade. The deaths have spurred greater criticism of the Trump administration's hardline stance on illegal immigration, as well as closer scrutiny of why some migrants from Central America travel with children on the long, dangerous road north. Tekandi Paniagua, Guatemala's consul in El Paso, Texas, said the boy had been detained by U.S. migration officials after entering the United States in early April with his mother near the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, opposite El Paso.
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| US: Flynn described efforts to interfere with cooperation Posted: 16 May 2019 04:14 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn told the special counsel's office that people connected to the Trump administration and Congress sought to influence his cooperation with the Russia investigation, and he provided a voicemail recording of one such communication, prosecutors said in a court filing made public Thursday.
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| View 2020 Mercedes-Benz EQC400 Photos Posted: 16 May 2019 09:53 AM PDT |
| Iran says Trump playing 'very dangerous game,' risking 'devastating war' Posted: 16 May 2019 10:34 AM PDT  Iran's ambassador to the U.K. called the Trump administration's military deployment because of unspecified Iranian threats a "serious miscalculation."
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| Former Planned Parenthood executive slams Alabama abortion restrictions: ‘Women are watching’ Posted: 16 May 2019 04:17 PM PDT  Former Planned Parenthood president and CEO Cecile Richards has a message for politicians cheering the passage of the Alabama Human Life Protection Act: "Women are watching."
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| Migrants sleep on ground, rig awnings at Texas Border Patrol station Posted: 15 May 2019 04:34 PM PDT  U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesman Richard Pauza referred to testimony by U.S. Border Patrol chief Carla Provost when asked for comment. The Border Patrol is the law enforcement arm of the CBP. During her May 8 testimony to a U.S. Senate committee, Provost said the agency faced an "unprecedented border security and humanitarian crisis" as Central American migrant families headed north and apprehension numbers went "off the charts." U.S. border officers apprehended nearly 99,000 people crossing the U.S. southern border in April, the highest monthly figure since 2007, Provost said.
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| Texas Rangers to take over deadly Baytown officer-involved shooting investigation Posted: 16 May 2019 12:07 PM PDT  The Texas Rangers will take over the investigation into an officer-involved shooting that killed a woman in Baytown.
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| UPDATE 1-Ford to build more Lincolns for Chinese market locally -CFO Posted: 15 May 2019 07:16 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Ford to build more Lincolns for Chinese market locally -CFO]( "UPDATE 1-Ford to build more Lincolns for Chinese market locally -CFO") Ford Motor Co plans to start production of new luxury Lincoln models in China for that market as they are launched, starting with the new Corsair later this year, to benefit from lower costs and avoid the risk of tariffs, a top executive said on Monday. "It's a huge, huge opportunity for Lincoln because we see China as Ground Zero for Lincoln given the size of the market and how well the brand has been received," Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks said at a Goldman Sachs conference in New York. Ford has lower levels of localized production than rivals General Motors Co or Volkswagen AG, who make more vehicles in China for Chinese consumers, benefiting from lower labor and material costs, and avoiding tariffs in the burgeoning trade war between the United States and China.
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| Top FBI officials were 'quite worried' Comey would appear to be blackmailing Trump Posted: 15 May 2019 06:29 AM PDT  Senior FBI officials were concerned then director James Comey would appear to be blackmailing then President-elect Trump – using tactics notoriously associated with J.Edgar Hoover – when he attended a fateful Jan. 6, 2017 meeting where he informed the real estate magnate about allegations he had consorted with prostitutes in Moscow, according to Jim Baker, the bureau's chief counsel at the time.
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| Pilots pushed Boeing to act after Lion Air crash: reports Posted: 14 May 2019 08:40 PM PDT  After a deadly crash in Indonesia, American Airlines pilots called a meeting to press Boeing executives for safety changes to the 737 MAX aircraft, US media reported Tuesday. The call for changes, which could have required the best-selling aircraft model to be temporarily grounded, were reported by The New York Times and CBS News after they obtained an audio recording of the November 27 meeting between the American Airlines pilots union and officials from the aircraft manufacturer. The 737 MAX 8 is currently grounded worldwide after the March crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 that killed all 157 people onboard and drew scrutiny to the new Boeing model's anti-stall system, which investigators believe may have brought the jet down.
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| Man arrested in bias attack on New Jersey bus after allegedly spouting racial slurs Posted: 16 May 2019 07:34 AM PDT  Police have arrested a man they say was responsible for a hate-filled verbal assault that could have turned into a violent encounter on a Jitney bus in New Jersey.
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| Top U.S. lawmakers press Pompeo for answers on Iran arms control report Posted: 16 May 2019 03:48 PM PDT  The chairmen of three congressional committees on national security on Thursday pressed U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to explain whether a Trump administration arms control report was politicized and slanted assessments about Iran. The chairmen of Foreign Affairs, Armed Services and Intelligence committees in the U.S. House of Representatives - all Democrats - asked Pompeo in a letter to provide a State Department briefing and documents no later than May 23.
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| Samsung insider teases breakthrough phone design coming in the second half of 2019 Posted: 15 May 2019 04:37 PM PDT  A Samsung insider who is perhaps best known for sharing details about brand new phones well ahead of their official announcements is back teasing that some sort of breakthrough smartphone design is coming in the second half of the year. It's unclear at this time whether he's talking about a Samsung phone or not, but the leaker did say recently that Samsung will be among the companies to deliver this brand new design.Ice Universe is the leaker in question, a constant presence in smartphone news. He posted the following Galaxy Note 7 images on Twitter teasing that a "better-designed phone" is coming later this year.https://twitter.com/UniverseIce/status/1128263015348953088The Galaxy Note 7 represents Samsung's biggest disaster to date. The phone was very well received, but then Samsung had to deal with a plethora of battery incidents, from explosions to fires. The phone was recalled and ultimately canceled, and Samsung had to deal with all the blowback. The Note 7 recall actually forced Samsung to delay the launch of the Galaxy S8 in early 2017, as it was still investigating the Note 7 and putting additional safety measures in place to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.No matter how great the Galaxy Note 7 design may have been, it's still a 2016 phone, and smartphone design has come a long way since. The Galaxy S8 was Samsung's first phone with an Infinity display. That screen morphed into the Infinity-O screen of this year's Galaxy S10, which is what we expect to see on the Note 10 come August.Samsung (and everyone else in the business) has tried to continuously increase the size of the screen at the expense of the bezels. Some did with it notches, pop-up selfie cams or slider phones. Others put two screens on the phone. And Samsung created hole-punch displays. The first foldable phones were also unveiled earlier this year, with one of them stealing the show back at the Mobile World Congress in 2019. So we already have smartphone designs better that are miles better than the Galaxy Note 7.How could Samsung or anyone else further perfect the smartphone design? The only thing nobody has done is to sell a phone with a selfie camera placed under the screen. That would be the perfect all-screen phone design, and something we expect to see in stores in the not-too-distant future. But is it ready for 2019?Ice Universe seems to know something we don't, and he's not sharing more details about it. However, since he's teasing it with the help of Note 7 pics, it's easy to assume Samsung is behind this new handset design, and that the Galaxy Note 10 could be the device he's referring to.
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| Hungary will have to buy Russian natural gas if Exxon waits on offshore project -minister Posted: 15 May 2019 03:57 PM PDT ![Hungary will have to buy Russian natural gas if Exxon waits on offshore project -minister]( "Hungary will have to buy Russian natural gas if Exxon waits on offshore project -minister") Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday his country would again turn to Russia for natural gas supplies if Exxon Mobil Corp has not decided by September whether to invest in a massive Black Sea offshore project. Romania's Black Sea reserves pose a potential challenge to Russian Gazprom's dominant role supplying Central and Eastern Europe, according to consultancy Deloitte. "Exxon Mobil can be the game changer in the energy supply of Europe.
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| The Latest: Kamala Harris open to reforming Supreme Court Posted: 15 May 2019 08:28 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Democratic presidential candidates and abortion (all times local):
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| Trump declares national emergency over IT threats, hitting Huawei by banning foreign telecoms gear Posted: 15 May 2019 09:01 AM PDT  Donald Trump has signed an executive order that will ban American companies from using telecommunications equipment made by foreign firms posing a national security risk to the US, in a move thought to be aimed at China's Huawei.The president's move comes as tensions have flared between the two countries, with Beijing and Washington failing to find consensus on trade and tariffs after months of negotiations.In a statement, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that the emergency declaration by the president is"part of his commitment to protecting the information and communications technology and services of our Nation.""The President has made it clear that this Administration will do what it takes to keep America safe and prosperous, and to protect America from foreign adversaries who are actively and increasingly creating and exploiting vulnerabilities in information and communications technology infrastructure and services in the United States," Ms Sanders continued in the statement, which was emailed to reporters.The West Wing has reportedly been considering the executive order for more than a year, but repeatedly delayed the measure for unknown reasons.While the press secretary and executive order do not mention any specific country or company by name, the measure comes amid concerns in Washington that Huawei Technologies Co Ltd — the world's largest smartphone manufacturer — could be used by the Chinese government to spy on the US and western allies. The company has repeatedly denied those allegations.Just before the executive order was signed on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said during his daily briefing in Beijing that the US had been "abusing its national power" to "deliberately smear" and suppress Chinese companies."This is not honourable, nor is it just," he said.The new executive order represents something of an expansion of US policy already in place since August, when the president signed a bill that barred the US government from using Huawei equipment and goods from another Chinese company, ZTE Corp.The measure also follows after US prosecutors charged two Huawei units in Washington State with conspiring to steal T-Mobile trade secrets. The chief financial officer for the company was also charged, but for violating sanctions on Iran.Reuters contributed to this report
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| How the U.S. Air Force Makes Sure the F-22 Raptor Dominates the Skies Posted: 15 May 2019 11:00 PM PDT  As the Air Force and Lockheed Martin move forward with weapons envelope expansions and enhancements for the F-22, there is of course a commensurate need to upgrade software and its on-board sensors to adjust to emerging future threats, industry developers explained. Ultimately, this effort will lead the Air Force to draft up requirements for new F-22 sensors, Lockheed developers said.(Washington, D.C.) The US Air Force is now integrating new weapons onto 143 F-22s to massively expand their target envelope, air-to-air attack range and lock-on-launch precision -- to preserve the widely held belief that the stealth fighter is the most advanced and dominant air-to-air fighter ever to exist.F-22s will be able to track and destroy enemy targets flying behind them, hit air targets with much greater force, precision and destructive power and include new GPS jam-resistant technologies, developers explain.Actual integration of the new, upgraded weapons -- which include the AIM-9X and AIM-120D missiles -- begins this May, according to the 2018 Air Force Annual Acquisition Report. The weapons expansion is part on an ongoing, multi-year upgrade called 3.2B during which the weapons improvements were prototyped, tested, demonstrated and validated. Now, the Air Force Report says - they are operational and ready for war.
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| Saudi-led warplanes pound Yemen rebels after pipeline attack Posted: 16 May 2019 12:05 PM PDT  Saudi-led coalition warplanes bombed Yemeni rebel targets including in the capital on Thursday following insurgent drone strikes on a key oil pipeline that Riyadh said were ordered by its arch-rival Tehran. The Saudi deputy defence minister said that Tuesday's attack by Yemeni rebels on a major pipeline in his country was "tightening the noose" around peace efforts. The Saudi-led coalition, which has been battling the Huthi rebels since March 2015, confirmed that its warplanes were carrying out multiple strikes across rebel-held territory in Yemen.
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| Democrat Warren targets Pentagon contractors, calls industry corrupt Posted: 16 May 2019 08:03 AM PDT  Warren wants to limit the ability of former Pentagon officials to work for contractors or foreign governments and to make public the documents of private companies working with the Defense Department, she outlined on Thursday in a post on Medium. Warren is one of more than 20 Democrats vying for her party's nomination to challenge Republican President Donald Trump in the November 2020 election. Warren has distinguished herself in the field as the candidate with the most prolific series of policy proposals on a myriad of topics.
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| Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Most controversial statements Posted: 15 May 2019 01:41 PM PDT  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has been known for her strong opinions. Here's a look back at a few of her most controversial statements.
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| Take a Good Look at the Ford Focus ST Wagon, Because You Won't Be Able to Buy One Posted: 16 May 2019 08:14 AM PDT  Of all the versions of the Focus that us Americans don't get, this one stings the worst.
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| US stealth fighter suffers millions in damage from bird strike Posted: 16 May 2019 02:37 AM PDT  A US F-35 stealth bomber suffered millions of dollars in damage after being hit by a bird during take-off from an air base in Japan, the US Marine Corps said in a statement Wednesday. "On May 7, 2019 an F-35B with Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing aborted take-off due to a bird strike at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and safely taxied off the runway," the statement said.
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| Alabama Senate passes ban on abortion, with few exceptions Posted: 14 May 2019 09:55 PM PDT  MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama's Senate passed a near-total ban on abortion Tuesday, sending what would be the nation's most stringent abortion law to the state's Republican governor.
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| This graphic designer’s vision of iOS 13 on the iPhone 11 will blow your mind Posted: 15 May 2019 05:17 AM PDT  Last year's big iOS 12 software update was simultaneously Apple's best update in years and Apple's most boring update in years. It seems odd, but it's true. In terms of exciting new features, there really weren't any to be found. There were plenty of nice refinements like improved notifications, but there really weren't any new marquee features to speak of. Siri Shortcuts was likely the most notable new feature, and most iPhone users probably don't even realize it exists. Instead, the big news in iOS 12 was the fact that it fixed all the big problems in iOS 11. And there where a whoooooole lot of big problems in iOS 11. iOS 12 squashed bugs, it increased speed, and it prolonged battery life. Best of all, it was compatible with every single iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch model that supported iOS 11. Android updates sometimes don't even make it to smartphones that are a year or two old, but iOS 12 worked on devices that were released as far back as 2013! Because there were so many issues that needed to be cleaned up last year, Apple fans were fine with an update that was light on excitement. This year, however, iPhone and iPad users are looking to make up for lost time. We've heard rumors of a few big additions to iOS 13, which will be unveiled early next month at WWDC 2019. One graphic designer didn't want to wait until then though, so he created a video to showcase his vision of iOS 13 on Apple's next-generation iPhone 11. Graphic designer and blogger Nicholas Ghigo mocked up his vision of iOS 13 on Apple's next-generation iPhone, and he posted a video showcasing his work on YouTube. Some of the new features shown in the video depict actual new features we expect Apple to unveil during next month's WWDC 2019 keynote. Others, like the revamped Control Center above and the awesome new Messages interface below, are not expected to make it to Apple's actual iOS 13 software. That said, we really wish they would. We also really wish Ghigo's simple but excellent concept for quick access to the most commonly used emoji would make its way to iOS 13, but alas. It really is a terrific reimagining of Apple's iOS platform, and you can check out the full video below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUW8E12uN6Y
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| One-pan cilantro lime pork chops are quick and easy to make Posted: 16 May 2019 09:15 AM PDT  Welcome to Best Bites, a twice-weekly video series that aims to satisfy yournever-ending craving for food content through quick, beautiful videos for theat-home foodie
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| 2020 Democrats Warn of U.S.-Iran Risks as Trump Pressures Tehran Posted: 16 May 2019 09:34 AM PDT  "It would be an absolute disaster," said Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Sanders said he was trying to rally fellow lawmakers to make it clear to President Donald Trump that he cannot involve the country in a military conflict without authorization. "The president has to understand that the Constitution mandates that it's Congress that decides when we go into war, not the president alone," Sanders said.
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