| Trump says hard to believe Iranian shooting down of U.S. drone was intentional Posted: 19 Jun 2019 08:37 PM PDT  WASHINGTON/DUBAI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump played down Iran's downing of a U.S. military surveillance drone on Thursday, saying he suspected it was shot by mistake and "it would have made a big difference" to him had the remotely controlled aircraft been piloted. Tehran said the unarmed Global Hawk surveillance drone was on a spy mission over its territory, but Washington said it was shot down over international airspace.
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| Top Iranian official: 'There will not be a military confrontation' with U.S. Posted: 19 Jun 2019 05:04 AM PDT  The Trump administration appeared to escalate tensions with Tehran two days earlier by announcing the deployment of 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East.
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| David Ortiz: Former Red Sox player shot by gunman who mistook him for someone else, Dominican officials say Posted: 20 Jun 2019 12:53 PM PDT  Former Boston Red Sox player David Ortiz was shot in the Dominican Republic by a man who mistook him for a different person, officials say.Jean Alain Rodríguez, the Dominican Republic's attorney general, and Ney Aldrin Bautista Almonte, director of the Dominican Republic's national police, told reporters that the attempted murder was ordered by Victor Hugo Gomez, an associate of Mexico's Gulf Cartel.Mr Gomez, who is believed to be in the United States, had hired assassins to murder his cousin, Sixto David Fernández, who he suspected of turning on him several years ago, it is claimed.Mr Fernández is friends with Mr Ortiz, a native of the Dominican Republic who is known to visit often.He was with the former baseball star on the night of shooting, seated at a table just next to him at an upscale bar in Santo Domingo.The hired gunman entered the cafe's area and fired, apparently from the back.Rodríguez and Bautista said the mistake was the result of a blurry photograph taken by an accomplice of the gunman while Mr Fernández was seated near Mr Ortiz. "It was a badly lit photo taken minutes before the attack," the chief prosecutor said.Mr Ortiz, who fans often refer to as "Big Papi," is currently recovering at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was moved after doctors in the Dominican Republic removed his gallbladder and part of his intestine. Doctors in the Boston hospital have upgraded his condition from guarded to good.At least 11 people have been arrested in the case so far, including the alleged gunman, minor accomplices, and drivers involved
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| Dad of Maleah Davis, slain 4-year-old, shares photos of her 'My Little Pony'-themed casket Posted: 20 Jun 2019 02:22 PM PDT  The father of Maleah Davis, the 4-year-old whose remains were found in Arkansas earlier this month, posted photos of 'My Little Pony'-themed casket.
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| Laura Ingraham Dismisses Reparations: ‘No Do-Overs...We Won, You Lost, That’s That’ Posted: 20 Jun 2019 04:32 PM PDT  Alex Wong/GettyFox News star Laura Ingraham waded into the ongoing debate over reparations for descendants of slaves during her podcast on Thursday by proclaiming there are no "do-overs" after a "conquest."Talking to Kentucky State professor and Hate Crime Hoax author Wilfred Reilly about the recent House hearing on reparations, Ingraham played a clip of author Ta-Nehisi Coates taking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to task for saying reparations are unnecessary because Americans elected Barack Obama as president.After praising McConnell's remarks, Reilly stated that the logistics of paying reparations would be far too difficult before wondering if Native Americans would then be next to request compensation over their treatment."I mean, obviously both white and black soldiers, frankly, took this country from the Indians—the first people," Reilly added."People would argue that the whole world, and I would, the whole world has been reshaped by people taking other people's land," Ingraham weighed in. "It's called conquest."Mentioning past empires and how there was a "totally different map" in the past, Ingraham—whose own brother thinks she is a "monster"—then complained that "they want to live in a fake world," presumably talking about liberals."As Trump always says, 'You don't get do-overs,'" she declared. "No do-overs, that's it. There was an argument, sometime—I think it was the 1980s. There was a quote, you won, we lost, that's that. Describing world politics, we won, you lost, that's that. That's just the way it is."Ingraham's racially inflammatory rhetoric has ignited a firestorm of controversy in recent months and led to advertisers dropping her Fox News program. Recently, she defended a virulent anti-Semite on her primetime cable news show, describing him as merely a "prominent voice" who has been censored by social media for having conservative values.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| New study to examine feeding habits of Cape Cod great whites Posted: 19 Jun 2019 03:10 AM PDT  Researchers on Cape Cod are launching a new study focused on the hunting and feeding habits of the region's great white sharks following last year's two attacks on humans, including the state's first fatal one in more than 80 years. The hope is that the work, which starts in the coming days, contributes critical information to the ongoing debate over how to keep Cape beachgoers safe, said state marine biologist Greg Skomal, who has been studying the region's great whites for years and is leading the new effort. Cape Cod officials have been wrestling with how to respond to public concern in the aftermath of last year's attacks.
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| U.S. Supreme Court upholds federal sex offender law Posted: 20 Jun 2019 07:13 AM PDT  The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the federal government's authority under a 2006 law to require thousands of sex offenders to register with authorities in the states where they live, as the justices ruled against a child rapist convicted in Maryland. In its 5-3 decision, the court rejected convicted sex offender Herman Gundy's argument that in passing the law, Congress handed too much power to the U.S. attorney general in violation of a principal of constitutional law called the nondelegation doctrine. This doctrine forbids Congress from assigning its legislative powers to the federal government's executive branch.
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| West Hollywood man who visited Dominican Republic says he fell severely ill Posted: 20 Jun 2019 12:44 AM PDT  It has the best medical minds worldwide baffled: the growing number of tourists in the Dominican Republic getting sick and dying.
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| Dominican Republic deaths: What we know, including two more US tourists incidents Posted: 20 Jun 2019 05:52 AM PDT  Here's everything we know about tourist deaths and concerning incidents in the Dominican Republic so far.
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| Trump suggests 'loose and stupid' Iranian officer attacked US drone Posted: 20 Jun 2019 08:22 PM PDT  President stopped short of escalating standoff, saying if a person was in the drone 'it would have made a big, big difference'Donald Trump has stopped short of escalating the worsening standoff with Iran in the Persian Gulf, suggesting that the shooting down of a US drone could have been carried out by a "loose and stupid" Iranian officer without authorisation from Tehran, and emphasising that the aircraft was unmanned.After meeting with his top national security officials to discuss Wednesday night's downing of a Global Hawk spy drone, the president declared: "I would imagine it was a general or somebody that made a mistake in shooting that drone down."I find it hard to believe it was intentional if you want to know the truth. I think it could have been somebody who was loose and stupid that did it," Trump told journalists. "It was a very foolish move."Trump reinforced the administration's red line that it would respond militarily if Iranian forces or proxies harm Americans – but stressed that was not the case on this occasion."We didn't have a man or woman in the drone. It would have made a big, big difference," Trump said. Asked how the US would respond, he said: "You'll find out."Late on Thursday, the New York Times said Trump had initially approved attacks on a handful of Iranian targets, including radar and missile batteries, before pulling back. Citing officials, the paper said the operation was in its early stages and planes were in the air before it was called off.Later, Iran's foreign minister and the US military offered competing graphics showing the drone's flight path and where it was brought down.Javad Zarif said Iran had recovered parts of the drone in its waters and that it had originally taken off from the United Arab Emirates.> At 00:14 US drone took off from UAE in stealth mode & violated Iranian airspace. It was targeted at 04:05 at the coordinates (25°59'43"N 57°02'25"E) near Kouh-e Mobarak. > > We've retrieved sections of the US military drone in OUR territorial waters where it was shot down. pic.twitter.com/pJ34Tysmsg> > — Javad Zarif (@JZarif) June 20, 2019A map issued by US Central Command suggested the drone was brought down in international waters in the Strait of Hormuz.> The ISR Flight path and grid plots for the RQ-4A shot down by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. "This was an unprovoked attack on a U.S. surveillance asset that had not violated Iranian airspace at any time …" – Lt Gen Joseph Guastella, @USAFCENT pic.twitter.com/uczI5HF68b> > — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) June 20, 2019On Thursday night, Democratic congressional leaders urged Trump to work with US allies. House speaker Nancy Pelosi said the administration should "do everything in our power to de-escalate", while Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said he worried the administration "may bumble into a war". He said he told the president during a classified briefing there must be a "robust, open debate" and Congress should have a real say. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House intelligence committee, said: "The president certainly listened to what we had to say."Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, said: "The administration is engaged in what I called measured responses."Political support for the administration's Middle East policies is shaky. On Thursday, the Senate voted against the White House's use of an emergency declaration to sell $8bn to its allies in the Gulf without congressional approval. His critics are unlikely to muster enough senators to overturn the expected presidential veto, but Thursday's vote was a measure of unease over Trump's close relationship with the Saudi monarchy.Trump said he was sticking to his promise to extract the US from wars in the Middle East, adding: "But this is a new wrinkle, a new fly in the ointment what happened, shooting down a drone. And this country will not stand for it, that I can tell you."Iranian officials have said that the shooting down was a deliberate act and a success of the country's security forces, but claimed that the aircraft was over Iranian territory.The Iranian ambassador to the UN, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, claimed the aircraft was "in stealth mode as it had turned off its identification equipment and engaged in a clear spying operation"."When the aircraft was returning towards the western parts of the region near the strait of Hormuz, despite repeated radio warnings, it entered into the Iranian airspace," Ravanchi said in a letter to UN secretary general, António Guterres."The downing of the American drone was a clear message to America … our borders are Iran's red line and we will react strongly against any aggression … Iran is not seeking war with any country, but we are fully prepared to defend Iran," the IRGC commander, Hossein Salami, said, according to Iranian media.Trump insisted that the Global Hawk drone was over international waters, saying: "We have it all documented scientifically, not just words."The US military said the use of a high-powered anti-aircraft missile against a target in international airspace was a danger to commercial airliners in the region."This was an unprovoked attack on a US surveillance asset that had not violated Iranian airspace at any time during its mission," Gen Joseph Guastella, US Central Command's top air force commander, told reporters."This attack is an attempt to disrupt our ability to monitor the area following recent threats to international shipping and the free flow of commerce," Guastella said. "The aircraft was over the strait of Hormuz and fell into international waters."US officials confirmed the downed aircraft was a US navy Global Hawk surveillance drone, which had been hit by an Iranian surface-to-air missile over the strait of Hormuz at 11.35pm GMT.embedThe $130m (£102m) Global Hawk is the world's largest surveillance drone, packed with sophisticated electronics and the size of a small commercial airliner. Iranian forces and allied militias had previously fired at and brought down US Reaper drones, but this is the biggest US target Iran has hit to date, as tensions in the region escalate.Close to the same time as the drone was shot down, Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are backed by Iran, hit a Saudi desalination plant with an apparently sophisticated missile, and there have been a string of rocket and mortar attacks on or close to US facilities in Iraq.On Wednesday the Pentagon confirmed it was sending an additional 1,000 troops to the Gulf in response to two attacks on commercial tankers on 13 June which the US has blamed on Iran's IRGC.Trump downplayed the tanker attacks as "very minor" but US officials have made clear to Iran that it would view an attack on its forces by Iran or proxy militias as a threshold for a military response.Iran said the US drone was shot down by the "3rd Khordad" air defence system, which is an Iranian equivalent to the Russian Buk system that downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014. The use of such weapons in an area of crowded skies has underlined the dangers of the standoff in the Gulf spinning out of control.The secretary of Iran's supreme national security council, Ali Shamkhani, had said on Wednesday that Tehran would respond to any intrusion into its airspace or waters.Shamkhani emphasised that Iran robustly protects its aerial and maritime borders, describing its airspace as the country's "red line". "No matter whose plane trespasses into it, we have always given and will give a harsh response to intruders."Speaking in London, the Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said: "The international community is determined to push back against Iran's aggressive behaviour."Saying steps were being prepared to protect shipping in the Gulf, he added: "Freedom of navigation is essential to global security and the world economy. Any attempt to close the strait of Hormuz will provoke a very strong reaction."
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| Three Russian Security Officers Charged Over Downing of MH17 Posted: 19 Jun 2019 04:01 AM PDT  REUTERS / Maxim ZmeyevIt's been nearly five years since the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 passenger plane was shot down by a Russian missile over eastern Ukraine, killing 298 people. Finally, the victims' families may see those responsible brought to justice.Four suspects will face murder charges for the downing of MH17 in July 2014 and a trial is set to start next March in the Netherlands, investigators confirmed Wednesday. The Dutch-led investigation team revealed that three of the four have direct links to the Kremlin through previous work in the FSB and GRU intelligence services.The four will be prosecuted for causing the crash, leading to the death of all the people on board, and separately for murdering all 298 passengers. International and national arrest warrants have been issued for the four, and the Netherlands will request that Russia questions the three Russian nationals who are still believed to be living in the country.The most senior suspect was named as Igor Girkin. Investigators described Girkin as a former FSB colonel who was appointed "minister of defense" in the so-called Donetsk People's Republic—the region where MH17 was downed—making him the highest-ranking officer there at the time of the attack. He was in "direct contact" with Russia, investigators said.How We Know Russia Shot Down MH17The second suspect was named as Sergey Dubinskiy, who was previously employed by Russia's GRU military intelligence service. Investigators described him as the deputy head of intelligence services in Donetsk, making him the second-highest-ranking suspect named publicly.The third Russian suspected is Oleg Pulatov—a former soldier with the Spetsnaz GRU, the foreign military intelligence agency of Russia's armed forces. He was given the role of deputy head of intelligence service in Donetsk at the time of MH17's downing.The investigators said the presence of all three of these Russian nationals "formed a chain linking DNR with the Russian Federation," which led to the anti-aircraft system, believed to have been used in the attack, being brought to eastern Ukraine. They are therefore criminally liable for the attack.The final suspect, Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, is the lowest-ranked of the four. He had no military background, but led a military unit in the region under the supervision of Dubinskiy.However, the four accused are just the tip of an iceberg.Behind them lies a web including the local Ukranians and reaching into the top of Russia's military and intelligence apparatus. The full extent of the Russian involvement has been exposed by the British-based open-source investigative team Bellingcat.Bellingcat made new allegations Wednesday naming 12 military commanders as being directly involved, including one of those named in the charges, Igor "Strelkov" Girkin.Previous work by Bellingcat identified the exact Russian military unit that launched the attack as BUK 332. They used a BUK-M1, a self-propelled and completely autonomous anti-aircraft vehicle with four missiles and its own radar that seeks and the target and then, locking on to it, fires a missile.Russia Deployed Its Trolls to Cover Up the Murder of 298 People on MH17Bellingcat traced the movement of the unit from when it left Kursk, in Russia, on June 23 to its final track through the countryside of eastern Donetsk, in territory held by the Russian-supported Ukrainian separatists.On July 17, according to the Bellingcat tracking, the BUK 332 unit was positioned in a field near a village called Chervonyi Zhovten (Red October) when its radar found and locked on to the Malaysian Boeing 777 flying at 33,000 feet.Days before, two Ukrainian military aircraft had been shot down by anti-aircraft missiles fired by separatists.This part of Ukraine had clearly met the definition of a war zone in which any commercial flights were at risk—in fact, controllers in the airspace in nearby Russia had effectively eliminated all airline traffic by banning flights below 53,000 feet. Commercial flights operate between 30,000 and 40,000 feet.But on the day of the missile strike, there was confusion about whether it was safe to fly over Ukraine, normally one of the busiest routes connecting Europe and the Middle East. MH17 was cruising in an international air lane.Lacking an international ruling that this was a war zone, some airlines had nonetheless independently chosen to avoid Ukrainian airspace, but not Malaysia Airlines or 32 other nations that had flights passing through that corridor on that day.It took the BUK missile less than a minute to find Flight 17. Its warhead was a fragmentation bomb, triggered by a proximity fuse. When it exploded, the missile was to the left of and a little above the 777.A supersonic wave of shrapnel tore through the cockpit, eviscerating the pilots (part of a cockpit seat, retrieved from the crash site, was perforated by shrapnel). The entire front section of the fuselage broke away from the rest of the airplane and the rest of it lurched violently and exploded into a ball of fire as the gas tanks exploded.The Flightpath to Hell: MH17 Wasn't the Only Flight in Russia's SightsPeople in the villages below watched as the blazing hulk fell into the fields, along with bodies.In addition to those identified by the international investigators, the new report from Bellingcat reveals the command structure of the military in the Donetsk People's Republic.Conversations between these separatist forces after the downing of the Malaysian jet were intercepted by Western intelligence and revealed that while Russia was vigorously denying any role, the Ukrainians knew that BUK 332 was part of Russia's 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade—and they knew where it was and when it carried out the attack.The Kremlin's response was to forge an alternative scenario, including fake radar images, absolving Russia of any part in the atrocity, and to dismiss Bellingcat as a tool of Western propaganda. In fact, by working with multiple sources who provided eyewitness accounts, Bellingcat assiduously prepared the ground for today's indictments.Although international arrest warrants have been issued for the four, Russia does not normally permit the extradition of its nationals for prosecution. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Mom who died in Michigan river with 2 girls was 'tired, sad' Posted: 19 Jun 2019 11:44 AM PDT  A Michigan woman who drove her car into a river, killing herself and twin daughters, had been talking about being "sad and lonely," a family member said. The bodies of Ineza McClinton, 44, and 9-year-old twins Angel and Faith McClinton were recovered Monday and Tuesday from the Kalamazoo River. McClinton was "having some difficulties in her life," another daughter, Tishyron McClinton, told TV station WWMT .
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| Elizabeth Warren is running the year's most substantive campaign. What does that say about everyone else? Posted: 20 Jun 2019 02:00 AM PDT  Warren is just doing what a presidential candidate is supposed to do — offer some larger argument for what government ought to look like. What makes her so notable is how little any of the other candidates seem to have thought about this at all.
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| US alleges tanker hit by mine resembling Iran's Posted: 19 Jun 2019 07:31 AM PDT  A Japanese-owned tanker attacked in the Gulf of Oman last week was damaged by a limpet mine resembling those used by Iran, the US military said Wednesday, as the Islamic republic slammed accusations against it. Commander Sean Kido of US Naval Forces Central Command, or NAVCENT, said the mine used in the attack "is distinguishable and it is also strikingly bearing a resemblance to Iranian mines that have already been publicly displayed in Iranian military parades". The Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous, loaded with highly flammable methanol, came under attack last Thursday as it passed through the Gulf of Oman along with the Norwegian-operated Front Altair.
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| Colorado shooter says he targeted kids over gender taunts Posted: 20 Jun 2019 06:00 PM PDT  A high school student charged in a classmate's death during a Colorado school shooting told police that he planned the attack for weeks and intended to target classmates who repeatedly mocked his gender identity. Written summaries of police interviews with the two suspected shooters portray 16-year-old Alec McKinney as the leader of the attack, enlisting 18-year-old Devon Erickson in the plan to kill the students who bullied McKinney, who identifies as male. Both teenagers told police that they broke into a gun safe at one of the teenager's homes before walking into the STEM School Highlands Ranch on the afternoon of May 7 with a guitar case and a backpack concealing four guns.
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| Semi crash, explosion in Wisconsin leaves 2 dead, multiple injured Posted: 19 Jun 2019 01:32 PM PDT  At least two people have died and multiple others were critically injured when a semi crashed, exploded and ignited other vehicles on Interstate 94 in Racine County, Wisconsin.
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| U.S. targets families for deportation to discourage migrants Posted: 19 Jun 2019 12:23 PM PDT  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will target for deportation families that have received a removal order from a U.S. immigration court, said Mark Morgan, the acting director of ICE, in a call with reporters. On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump formally launched his re-election bid with a vow to continue his hardline against illegal immigration.
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| Granger Smith opens up about final moments before son River's death, how the family heals Posted: 20 Jun 2019 05:44 AM PDT  Country singer Granger Smith is sharing an update with fans following the drowning death of his 3-year-old son, River.
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| Putin says use of US force against Iran would be 'disaster' Posted: 20 Jun 2019 06:06 AM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said any use of force by the US against Iran would lead to disaster as tensions escalate between Washington and Tehran. "The US says it does not rule out the use of force... This would be a disaster for the region," Putin said during an annual televised phone-in with screened questions posed by Russian viewers. Moscow has backed Tehran in its stand off with the United States since Washington pulled out of an international 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran last year.
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| 'Sully' Sullenberger Tells Congress Deadly Boeing 737 Max Crashes 'Should Never Have Happened' Posted: 20 Jun 2019 08:02 AM PDT  He warned that similar accidents could follow
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| U.S. House Speaker Pelosi on Trump: 'If the goods are there, you must impeach' Posted: 19 Jun 2019 06:32 AM PDT  U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday said that if Democrats' multiple investigations of President Donald Trump find significant wrongdoing, the chamber would have to move to impeach him. "If the goods are there, you must impeach," Pelosi told reporters at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. Pelosi repeated her concerns about the need for public support for any impeachment process, which could result in the removal of Trump from office if approved by the House followed by conviction in the Senate.
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| How the Death of This Aircraft Carrier Insured America Would Win World War II Posted: 20 Jun 2019 07:55 AM PDT  Commissioned on December 14, 1927, the Lady Lex, as she became affectionately known, participated with the Saratoga in her first fleet problem on January 23-27, 1929, when Rear Admiral Joseph M. "Bull" Reeves, the U.S. Battle Fleet's air commander, demonstrated carrier tactics with a simulated attack against the Panama Canal.Responding to a November 27, 1941, war warning message from Admiral Harold R. "Betty" Stark, chief of naval operations, America's prized handful of aircraft carriers were fortuitously absent from Pearl Harbor when Japanese planes savaged the Pacific Fleet on Sunday, December 7.The USS Saratoga (CV-3) was refitting in San Diego, the USS Enterprise (CV-6) was returning after ferrying fighters to the Marine Corps defense force on Wake Island, the USS Wasp (CV-7) was serving with the Royal Navy Home Fleet in the Mediterranean, the USS Yorktown (CV-5) was at Norfolk, Virginia, and the USS Lexington (CV-2) was carrying a squadron of Vought SB2U Vindicator dive bombers to the tiny Marine garrison on Midway Island.This first appeared in September 2017.But the sorely needed planes were not delivered. When word came of the Pearl Harbor attack, the Lexington, still 400 miles southeast of Midway, turned and headed southward. She spent several days with other U.S. ships searching unsuccessfully south of Oahu for the Japanese flattops and returned to Pearl Harbor for refueling and reprovisioning.
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| View Photos of our New Long-Term 2019 Honda Civic Type R Posted: 20 Jun 2019 12:00 PM PDT |
| China's Xi Jinping arrives in North Korea on historic visit Posted: 19 Jun 2019 10:04 PM PDT  Tens of thousands of North Koreans lines the streets of central Pyongyang on Thursday and cheered as Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, arrived for a two-day state visit with Kim Jong-un to reinforce their uneasy alliance in the face of two leaders' increasing tension with the United States. A smiling Kim greeted the crowds as he drove past Chinese flags with Mr Xi in an open-top Mercedes on their way to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, a complex that serves as the mausoleum for North Korea's founder, Kim Il Sung. Mr Xi was afforded the honour of being the first foreign leader to have "received a tribute" at the palace, "which fully reflects the enthusiasm and respect of the host," reported the NK News website, citing Chinese state media. Images of the pomp and grand ceremony would likely have bolstered Mr Xi, who has been embarrassed by mass pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in recent weeks, and who must face Donald Trump, the US president, at the G20 summit in Japan next week in the midst of a bitter trade dispute. Mr Xi is first Chinese president to visit North Korea in 14 years, and the visit gives Kim a much-needed boost as he strives to restore his image as an international statesman after his failure to secure a deal to relieve punishing international sanctions during a summit with Mr Trump in Hanoi in February. Xi and Kim met in the North's capital on Thursday, their fifth meeting in 15 months Credit: CCTV via AP In meeting with Mr Xi, Kim wants to show Mr Trump that he has China's support on nuclear negotiations even as talks have come to a halt with Washington and the next US presidential election looms. Analysts say the trip is equally a chance for China to showcase its influence in the region. "Comrade Xi Jinping is visiting... in the face of crucial and grave tasks due to complex international relations, which clearly shows the Chinese party and the government place high significance on the friendship," the North's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said on Thursday. The North Korean media revealed little about the substance of their discussions, although it is expected that Pyongyang will seek Beijing's help in securing sanctions relief and may discuss future investment through China's global development "Belt and Road" initiative. China is historically North Korea's largest trading partner. Mr Xi, whose entourage includes the head of China's state economic planner, may offer fresh support measures for its floundering, sanctions-bound economy. Inside North Korea: Everyday life in the secretive state, in pictures However, President Xi's visit, accompanied by Peng Liyuan, will remain largely symbolic and is unlikely to produce any major announcements or agreements. After he arrived at the airport, the two leaders reviewed a military guard procession and a 21-gun salute. The Chinese president was due to attend a welcoming banquet on Thursday evening and to be entertained by a mass gymnastic performance. He was also expected during his visit to pay tribute at the Friendship Tower, which commemorates Chinese troops who fought together with North Koreans during the 1950-53 Korean War. The conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty, leaving the North technically still at war with South Korea. The timing of Xi's visit to North Korea was no accident, said Li Zhonglin, a North Korea expert at China's Yanbian University, told Reuters. China could be hoping to play a role in coaxing the North and the United States to resume denuclearisation talks after this year's failed Kim-Trump summit in Hanoi, he added.
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| Galaxy Note 10 leak reveals a futuristic feature you won’t find on any iPhone Posted: 19 Jun 2019 07:12 AM PDT  The Galaxy Note 10, now expected to launch on August 7th, is hardly a secret anymore. We've seen plenty of leaks that have confirmed the phone's design and even the sky-high price tag has been outed. The Note 10 will come in two sizes, both featuring the same Infinity-O display that will have curved edges with tiny top and bottom bezels. In many ways, the Galaxy Note 10 will be similar to the Galaxy S10 when it comes to specs, but an insider now claims the phone will have a futuristic feature that no other popular smartphone has -- not even the iPhone. If this rumor is accurate, it will give Samsung an advantage over almost all competitors out there when it comes to design.Ice Universe, a reliable Samsung leaker, explained on Twitter that the Note 10 will have bezels as narrow as the iPhone, and that's possible thanks to a new display innovation: Sound on Display (SoD) tech.https://twitter.com/UniverseIce/status/1141244216992866304Instead of having to place a speaker at the top of the phone, Samsung can turn the screen itself into a speaker. This tech has been in the making for quite a while, and Samsung is one of the two companies that can pull it off. The other one is LG, which launched its LG V8 ThinQ earlier this year, the world's first phone with SoD tech. LG, however, hasn't been able to match Samsung for a long time when it comes to flagship smartphone sales.The Galaxy S10 still features a speaker at the top. It's almost invisible, but it's there. SoD screens will allow Samsung and every other company that sources OLED screens from Samsung Display to further reduce the size of their top bezels.The iPhone 11, meanwhile, isn't expected to drop the front-facing speaker anytime soon, and certainly not this year on the iPhone 11. Apple is rumored to stick with the same iPhone X notch design for at least one more generation of handsets, which means the front speaker isn't going anywhere for the time being. Google's Pixel 4, one other highly anticipated handset of the second half of 2019, will also have a speaker at the top, right in the middle of a pretty thick top bezel.
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| The U.S. Drone Shot Down by Iran Is a $200 Million Prototype Spy Plane Posted: 20 Jun 2019 11:53 AM PDT  Bloomberg via GettyThe U.S. military drone Iran shot down over the Persian Gulf on Thursday was a high-flying prototype model belonging to the Navy.The Navy for years has deployed the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Demonstrator, or BAMS-D, drones on an emergency basis, stationing the 737-size unmanned aerial vehicles to watch over Syria and Iran.The unarmed BAMS-D drone "was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile system while operating in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz," Navy Capt. Bill Urban, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson, told The Daily Beast via email. "Iranian reports that the aircraft was over Iran are false," Urban added.Inside the U.S.-Iran Drone WarThe Pentagon's decision to deploy the rare BAMS-D underscores the military's urgency amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran. Prior to the shoot-down, the Navy possessed just four copies of the BAMS-D, which is a naval variant of the RQ-4 Global Hawk that Northrop Grumman builds for the Air Force.A single Global Hawk sells for more than $200 million, counting the cost of its sensors. Operators control the drone from work stations on the ground, beaming commands via satellite to the pilotless aircraft.The Pentagon began developing the Global Hawk and its variants back in the '90s, hoping to replace Cold War-vintage U-2 spy planes. The idea was that a drone, with no pilot aboard, could stay aloft longer and fly riskier missions than a U-2 could do.The Global Hawk and its variants can circle at up to 65,000 feet for as many as 30 hours while simultaneously carrying a camera, an infrared sensor, and a radar that can track moving targets. In the end, the Air Force decided to keep the U-2 and build up a force of dozens of RQ-4s. The giant drones with the 131-feet wingspan have flown over Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2008, the Navy paid Northrop more than $1 billion to begin developing a version of the Global Hawk with modifications for tracking ships.Iranian Revolutionary Guard 'Shoots Down U.S. Drone' in Gulf CrisisNorthrop built the four BAMS-D drones as prototypes while it worked on the definitive MQ-4C version. The Navy plans to buy as many as 70 MQ-4Cs. The first copy could deploy for front-line patrols as early as this year.But apparently only the BAMS-Ds were ready when tensions escalated between the United States and Iran this summer. A pair of the drones could, in theory, watch over the Persian Gulf around the clock, beaming intelligence imagery to ships and ground stations in near real time. For years, the Navy has paid Northrop to station probably two BAMS-Ds at Al Dhafra air base in the United Arab Emirates. The drones have flown front-line missions while also feeding data into Northrop's test program. In 2013, as the war in Syria grew bloodier, the Navy upped the value of Northrop's contract in order to fly the BAMS-Ds 15 times per month, up from nine.A BAMS-D would fly overhead, keeping an eye out for Iranian forces, each time a major Navy warship slipped through the Strait of Hormuz, which is just 21 miles wide at its narrowest point. "We use it on every strait transit," Adm. Jon Greenert, then the chief of naval operations, said of the drone. "The theater commander loves it."But the BAMS-D is not invulnerable. While flying at 65,000 feet, the drone is beyond the reach of most, but not all, enemy air defenses. Iran possesses Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air missiles that can reach as high as 100,000 feet. Moreover, the BAMS-D is designed to descend periodically to low altitude in order to inspect ships.The Thursday shoot-down reduces the Navy's fleet of high-flying drones to as few as three and could compel the service to change how it deploys the aircraft. But the loss of one BAMS-D is unlikely to compel the Pentagon to ground its spy planes. Now that Iran has directly attacked U.S. forces, American commanders need intelligence more than ever.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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| St. Louis abortion clinic to defy state over pelvic exam Posted: 20 Jun 2019 09:01 AM PDT  Missouri's only abortion clinic, already facing the threat of losing its license, says it will defy the state by refusing to perform a required pelvic examination days before an abortion. Calling the exam requirement "disrespectful and dehumanizing," a Planned Parenthood spokeswoman confirmed that as of Thursday the St. Louis clinic no longer performs it during a consultation at least 72 hours before an abortion. Doctors do perform a pelvic exam at the time of the procedure.
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| Self-help guru convicted in lurid sex-trafficking case Posted: 19 Jun 2019 02:34 PM PDT  The guru of a cult-like self-improvement group that attracted heiresses and Hollywood actresses was convicted Wednesday of turning his female devotees into his sex slaves through such means as shame, punishment and nude blackmail photos. A jury in federal court in Brooklyn took less than five hours to find 58-year-old Keith Raniere guilty on all counts of sex-trafficking and coercing women into sex. Raniere, a short, bespectacled figure who wore pullover sweaters in court, listened attentively but showed no reaction as he learned the verdict.
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