| Afghan women note Taliban shift after Doha talks Posted: 11 Jul 2019 04:30 PM PDT  An Afghan campaigner who took part in breakthrough talks with the Taliban said Thursday that she saw subtle improvements in the attitude towards women of the insurgents, who severely curtailed their rights while in power. The conference, co-organized by Germany, came as the United States negotiates with the Taliban to pull troops from Afghanistan -- with women's rights not explicitly on the agenda. Asila Wardak, a women's rights campaigner who works for the Afghan foreign ministry, said she was surprised at the positive atmosphere in Doha as women mingled directly with the Taliban over dinner and tea breaks.
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| Epstein Offers to Put Up Mansion, Jet to Get Out of Jail Posted: 11 Jul 2019 09:38 AM PDT  Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Getty/Rick FriedmanJeffrey Epstein's attorneys submitted a bail package proposal on Thursday in which he volunteered to go under house arrest at his Manhattan mansion—with a "trustee" who would live with him and make sure he doesn't break any rules.The defense team recommendation includes Epstein putting up a mansion they claim is valued at $77 million and his private jet to secure a bond, with his brother and a friend also offering up their homes to guarantee he doesn't flee charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy. Epstein, 66, has been locked up at a Manhattan federal jail since his arrest Saturday night, and prosecutors say he should stay there until his trial, calling him an "extreme" flight risk.The financier's lawyers pushed back on that and said that if he's released and put on home confinement, he would agree to wear a GPS tracking device on his ankle, install surveillance cameras, and ground his jet. They disputed government claims that he owns two jets, saying he has just the one, and said he holds one "active" passport, not the three prosecutors said he has.Everything You Need to Know About the Jeffrey Epstein CaseThe bail submission also gave a preview of how Epstein will try to get the case thrown out before it ever gets before a jury.They have previously argued that the new indictment obtained by federal prosecutors in Manhattan violates a non-prosecution agreement inked by the feds in Miami more than a decade ago. In Thursday's filing they trotted out a new argument: The allegations are a state matter not a federal one. "There are no allegations in the indictment that Mr. Epstein trafficked anybody for commercial profit; that he forced, coerced, defrauded, or enslaved anybody; or that he engaged in any of the other paradigmatic sex trafficking activity," Epstein's lawyers Reid Weingarten and Martin Weinberg argued in their letter to U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman."No one seeks to minimize the gravity of the alleged conduct, but it is clear that the conduct falls within the heartland of classic state or local sex offenses—and at or outside the margins of federal criminal law."The indictment alleges that Epstein, with the help of his employees, recruited underage girls for nude massages that turned into sex acts, and that he then tapped some of those victims to go out and find other girls he could pay hundreds of dollars for such massages.It says that the crimes took place in New York and in Florida, where Epstein has an estate and where he was allowed to plead guilty in 2008 to a state prostitution charge instead of a 53-page federal indictment that had been drafted and then scuttled.Alexander Acosta Says He's Actually the Hero of the Jeffrey Epstein CaseProsecutors say the seriousness of the charges and the weight of the evidence against Epstein—including photos of apparently underage girls found during a raid on his mansion—could prompt Epstein to use his considerable resources to flee.Epstein's lawyers said he didn't go on the lam the last time he was investigated and wouldn't now. "The government makes this drastic demand even though Mr. Epstein has never once attempted to flee the United States," the lawyers wrote."Mr. Epstein would be sacrificing virtually everything he has worked for—including any collateral the Court requires he post to secure his appearance—if he were to flee," they added. They said he would post a "substantial" personal recognizance bond that could be set by the court after it reviews new information regarding Epstein's finances.Later on Thursday, the defense asked for permission to file the detailed financial disclosure under seal, drawing a complaint from prosecutors who said they could not respond to the bail request without the facts about Epstein's assets. They then asked the judge to postpone a bail hearing scheduled for Monday.Epstein's wealth has been shrouded in mystery for decades.There is no question that the money manager, often described as a billionaire, has enjoyed a life of incredible luxury, using private planes to jet between the Manhattan mansion, the Palm Beach estate, an apartment in Paris, a ranch in New Mexico, and his private island in the Caribbean.In a filing on Monday, prosecutors said he has "access to vast financial resources to fund any attempt to flee.""Indeed," they wrote, "his potential avenues of flight from justice are practically limitless."Prosecutors also noted that when Epstein was arrested Saturday night, he landed at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey from France after weeks abroad.Epstein owns an apartment on Avenue Foch, home to some of the most expensive real estate in Paris, favored by ultra-rich foreigners, that becomes a magnet for clubbers and prostitutes after dark.A neighbor entering the building on Wednesday, holding a couple of baguettes, told The Daily Beast that he knew Epstein had left his second-floor apartment, where blinds were closed and drapes were drawn "just a few days ago."Told of the charges against Epstein, the neighbor half-shrugged. Asked if he had seen girls coming and going from the apartment, he indicated he had."There's no smoke without fire," he said.Send The Daily Beast a TipAlthough property ownership can be used as an argument for granting bail—the idea being that someone is unlikely to leave large assets behind to go on the lam—prosecutors argued that's not the case with Epstein."There can be little doubt that the defendant is in a position to abandon millions of dollars in cash and property securing any potential bond and still live comfortably for the rest of his life," they wrote.Epstein's road to riches began when he ditched a career teaching math at the elite private school Dalton to take a lowly job at Bear Stearns. He rose up the trading ranks before leaving the investment bank under a cloud and eventually starting his own firm, J. Epstein & Co.According to various profiles of Epstein over the years, he claimed that he managed the money of billionaires, though only one large client has ever been publicly identified: Victoria's Secret founder Leslie Wexner.Wexner, a self-made billionaire who turned a single Ohio outlet of The Limited into a global retail conglomerate, is a philanthropist and political donor. Epstein served as a trustee of the Wexner Foundation and was listed as the keeper of the foundation's books on federal filings in the 2000s.Wexner also owned the opulent seven-story mansion on East 71st Street before Epstein took it over—for how much remains murky—and allegedly turned it into a hub of sex-trafficking activity.One of Epstein's accusers, Maria Farmer, has alleged that she was preyed on by the money manager and his aide de camp, Ghislaine Maxwell, at Wexner's Ohio mansion in the mid-1990s. A spokesperson for Wexner told The New York Times on Monday that he cut ties with Epstein about a decade ago.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 Orleans already underwater as tropical storm approaches Posted: 11 Jul 2019 11:26 AM PDT  Tropical Storm Barry is expected to strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall, and could bring another 20 inches of rain to the beleaguered Gulf Coast.
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| Former Trump aide Sebastian Gorka screamed in a journalist's face in the Rose Garden as supporters cheered Posted: 11 Jul 2019 04:21 PM PDT  An onlooker told the reporter that Gorka could "kick your punk a--" as some looked on in shock and others cheered in support of the former Trump aide.
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| Ilhan Omar calls Tucker Carlson 'racist fool' after he says she proves 'immigration has become dangerous' Posted: 11 Jul 2019 10:11 AM PDT  "After everything America has done for Omar, and her family, she hates this country more than ever," Tucker Carlson said on his show Tuesday night.
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| Inventive Butternut Squash Recipes, From Stuffing to Soup Posted: 11 Jul 2019 12:31 PM PDT |
| Minnesota residents react to city council ditching Pledge of Allegiance Posted: 10 Jul 2019 07:06 PM PDT  Protesters demand city council reverse pledge ban; reaction from Fox News contributor Lawrence Jones and Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw.
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| South Africa sends troops into 'warzone' township Posted: 12 Jul 2019 11:56 AM PDT  South African president Cyril Ramaphosa ordered troops into the suburbs of Cape Town to quell a crime wave that municipal officials say has turned the city into a "warzone." Hundreds of soldiers will be deployed into sprawling area of townships known as the Cape Flats to combat gang-related violence that saw 14 people killed in 24 hours last week. More than 900 people have been killed in gang-related violence in the Cape Flats in the past year. Last Friday, six women between the ages of 18 and 26 were murdered by unknown gunmen at a home in a shanty town in the area. The next day another five men, aged 18 to 39, were shot dead and one was injured in two separate shooting incidents in the township of Philippi. The victims included three members of the same family: Sonwabo Zwilibi's, 17, and his brother Aphiwe, 18, and their cousin Sikelela Zwilibi, 25. Six policemen have also been shot and injured in the past week. Bheki Cele, the Police Minister, said the military deployment would last three months and see troops backing up police officers. "We'll go door to door, we'll collect every illegal firearm, we'll collect all criminals that we want, we'll collect all outstanding criminals that have been on bail and that is happening from two o'clock this morning," he said. The opposition Democratic Alliance, which control Cape Town and the Western Cape province, welcomed the move. "We have truly reached a state of emergency, which threatens the stability and reputation of the city," said Jean-Pierre Smith, a DA mayoral committee member for safety and security. He said the people of the Western Cape needed the army "because they want safety." More than 20,000 people, or 57 per day, were murdered in South Africa last year. Under apartheid, South Africa's Group Areas legislation assigned all the different racial groups to separate residential and business districts, mostly in urban areas Many people of mixed race who used to live close to the heart of Cape Town were uprooted from their homes in the 1950s and moved to the Cape Flats, a treeless, sandy area of ancient former beaches, so that the inner city would be exclusive to white people. "This situation has its roots in the history of South Africa. People were removed from their homes and dumped far away to areas where there was nothing, no society no shops, nothing," said Jakkie Cilliers, head of African Futures & Innovation at South Africa's influential Institute for Security Studies. "This created a generation of alcoholics which had a particularly violent impact in the Western Cape."
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| Federal court: Duggar sister privacy lawsuit can proceed Posted: 12 Jul 2019 11:00 AM PDT  A lawsuit filed by four reality show sisters can proceed against an Arkansas city that released confidential information about their alleged sexual abuse by a brother, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Jill Duggar Dillard, Jessa Duggar Seewald, Jinger Duggar Vuolo and Joy Duggar had an expectation of privacy when officials from the city of Springdale and Washington County investigated allegations that their brother Josh sexually abused them between 2002 and 2003, when they were minors.
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| Iran calls on Britain to release seized oil tanker immediately Posted: 11 Jul 2019 10:36 PM PDT  Iran called on Britain on Friday to immediately release an oil tanker that British Royal Marines seized last week on suspicion it was breaking European sanctions by taking oil to Syria, a foreign ministry spokesman told state news agency IRNA. Iran has warned of reciprocal measures if the tanker is not released. Britain said on Thursday that three Iranian vessels tried to block a British-owned tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which controls the flow of Middle East oil to the world, but backed off when confronted by a Royal Navy warship.
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| Warren, Biden Campaigns Appear to Find Loophole Around Paid Internships Posted: 12 Jul 2019 02:19 AM PDT  Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via GettyUnpaid interns are practically non-existent among Democratic presidential campaigns in 2019. But some top-tier candidates appear to be finding a creative way to tap unpaid talent: offering vague "fellowship" opportunities as volunteer positions. There's no singular definition for a "fellow" among 2020 candidates and most this cycle don't offer the option. But two leading contenders, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), give applicants who are selected a chance to participate in the campaign as volunteer fellows, without requiring compensation or academic credit. "Volunteers are asked to do something, workers are told," Renée Hagerty, an executive council member for the Campaign Workers Guild, said. "Everyone who's performing work on a campaign should be paid."For Biden's campaign, the "Team Joe Organizing Fellowship" consists of an eight-week program that includes weekly online trainings in grassroots and digital organizing, according to the listing, which closed this week. Unlike the internship program, which is paid $15 per hour, the fellowship program makes no mention of wages, academic credit, or time commitments. Warren's campaign features one joint application with three options: paid internship, volunteer fellowship, or volunteer fellowship for academic credit. Applicants are allowed to select more than one when applying. Warren's deputy communications director Chris Hayden told The Daily Beast their internship program "offers a limited number of paid, full-time campaign experiences on a competitive basis" and that "interns commit to working 30 hours a week, and have access to paid health insurance in addition to their weekly salary.""The campaign also offers a volunteer fellowship program, which provides similar training and work experiences with a smaller time commitment," Hayden added. "Many of our campaign fellows receive stipends from educational institutions or other third-parties, and everyone in our intern and fellowship programs has access to cost-free supporter housing while they're working in-state."Still, Guillermo Creamer, co-founder of the non-profit group Pay Our Interns, said there's a "gray area" that emerges from having both paid and unpaid options, creating a "fine line" between the roles. "It is interesting that some campaigns can still think about having both," Creamer said. "The question now is: is fellowship the scapegoat for not paying individuals?"Multiple activists who spoke to The Daily Beast declined to call out individual campaigns, saying they're generally pleased with the progress this cycle on the paid internship front, what some see as the first hurdle to overcome. But the separate volunteer fellowship option has led several activists to question the program's cost-benefit analysis. "What's actually the difference?" Creamer said when asked about paid internships versus unpaid fellowships. "Campaigns have to be the ones who identify that."Coming off the heels of a strong second quarter of fundraising, Biden and Warren each crystallized their spots in the top of the Democratic pack both in polls and in money raised. Biden brought in $21.5 million, while Warren reported $19.1 million. The large sums are even stronger reasons to pay fellows for work, rather than doling out fancy titles in exchange, some activists pointed out."At Biden for President, interns are employees who are paid by the hour (capped at 30 hours a week)," a campaign spokesperson wrote in an email. "Whereas fellows are part of an educational experience which we hope will equip them to be effective organizers in the future, and are not employees of the campaign.""Bosses have been coming up with reasons and excuses and caveats for not paying people since the dawn of time," Hagerty said, without commenting on any campaign specifically. "This is another version that fits into a middle-class narrative of prestige."Legally, there's no definition in the campaign finance world that would distinguish internships from fellowships, an official from the Campaign Legal Center said. "Campaigns are given pretty broad leeway for how they spend their money. They can provide any title they want," the official added. In a field of nearly two dozen contenders, other candidates offer several different fellowship models. Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-TX) offer paid fellowships, while Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) requires unpaid fellows to receive academic credit in order to participate in the program. The majority of other candidates offer paid internships. While some activists view the practice as a delicate balance between opening a door to those who seek the experience and a loophole for campaigns to use free labor, not everyone agrees the practice is problematic."There's utilitarian reasons for campaigns and there's utilitarian reasons for the workforce," Janice Fine, an assistant professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers University, said. For some, fellowships can be a vital way to gain experience with a specific candidate or area of expertise, without having to commit to a set number of hours or responsibilities, she added. "A lot of these jobs are just for the experience," Alan Seals, a labor economist and professor of economics at Auburn University, agreed. "The worst thing [campaigns] can do is say 'no they're all employees now and you've got to pay them minimum wage.' It would be an absolute disaster."But that argument is what some activists say is part of the problem, and that there needs to be a clear pay-for-work metric that mirrors the fair wage platforms campaigns are pushing on the trail."It smacks of hypocrisy," Hagerty said. "No candidate wants to be a hypocrite." Updated to include comment from the Biden campaign.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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| EU to Cut the Flow of Funds to Turkey as Drilling Spat Heats Up Posted: 12 Jul 2019 08:31 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The European Union is poised to freeze most high-level contacts with Turkey and cut the flow of funds to the country, while holding back for now on sanctions that could target Turkish companies involved in offshore drilling in the eastern Mediterranean.EU diplomats have agreed on the wording of a draft decision due to be formally adopted by the bloc's foreign ministers on Monday, two officials familiar with the talks said. The draft calls for suspending negotiations on an aviation agreement with Ankara, halting scheduled ministerial meetings, reducing aid and inviting the European Investment Bank to review sovereign-backed lending to Turkey.The bloc will also reiterate that it's working on targeted sanctions in light of Turkey's continuing controversial drilling practices, according to the final draft of the communique seen by Bloomberg. The statement was agreed on Friday afternoon after several rounds of redrafting, and it will be rubber-stamped by EU ambassadors on Monday before ministers sign off later in the day.Turkey and Cyprus are at loggerheads over offshore gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean that are claimed by the Cypriots and disputed by Ankara. Turkey has sent exploration vessels into the area, a move Cyprus calls a violation of its sovereignty.Deep-Sea ExplorationEU leaders have squarely sided with Cyprus in the dispute, declaring last month that they're ready to consider sanctions if Turkey continues drilling. That could target companies, individuals, and Turkey's deep-sea hydrocarbon exploration and production sectors, though such measures weren't officially on the menu of options debated this week.Still, the escalation marks a new low in EU-Turkey relations, which have been deteriorating since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pushed through constitutional reforms that Brussels claims weaken the country's democratic safeguards.The European Commission says Turkey has been drifting further away from the prospect of eventual EU membership, and some member states, such as Germany and France, have considered formally shelving long-stalled accession talks.The spat with Brussels adds to a climate of uncertainty weighing on Turkish assets, following the dismissal of the country's top central banker and the prospect of U.S. sanctions over Erdogan's decision to purchase Russian missiles. Washington has also called on Turkey to cease drilling off the coast of Cyprus.Maintaining CommunicationDespite renewed tensions in the Mediterranean, the EU is wary of an escalation that would risk a landmark 2016 migration agreement, under which Turkey stemmed the bulk of refugee flows to Europe in exchange for financial assistance. Even though options for targeted sanctions were mandated by the bloc's leaders last month, they are not being activated at this stage.An EU diplomat said the bloc in its Monday decision will seek a balance between sending a clear message to Ankara and agreeing on measures that won't harm the interests of EU nations or cut all ties with Turkey. The EU wants to keep some lines of communication open in areas such as migration and terrorism, the diplomat said, asking not to be named discussing sensitive issues.\--With assistance from Viktoria Dendrinou and Jonathan Stearns.To contact the reporter on this story: Nikos Chrysoloras in Brussels at nchrysoloras@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Jerrold Colten, Chris ReiterFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Dozens of birds fall from the sky like 'a horror movie.' They were poisoned, experts say Posted: 12 Jul 2019 07:44 AM PDT  Sarah King, founder of local nonprofit Casper's Bird Rescue, was contacted by a member of her staff who discovered corella birds falling out of nearby trees and the sky.
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| Wanted Louisiana woman comments on mugshot cops posted: 'That picture ugly' Posted: 12 Jul 2019 04:38 AM PDT  A wanted Louisiana woman seemed more concerned about how she looked in her mugshot than about the police.
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| Palestinian child shot in head during West Bank clashes: ministry Posted: 12 Jul 2019 11:36 AM PDT  A Palestinian child was seriously wounded Friday during clashes between Israeli forces and protesters in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry and official media said. Official news agency Wafa named him as Abdelrahman Shteiwi, saying he was 10 years old and was wounded during clashes in Kafr Qaddum near Nablus in the northern West Bank.
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| A 4-month-old baby was separated from his parents at the border last year and still can't walk or speak. Experts say he could grow up with trauma he has no memory of experiencing. Posted: 12 Jul 2019 11:42 AM PDT  Constantin Mutu was 4 months old when he was separated from his father, and 9 months old when he was finally reunited.
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| The Latest: US aware Turkey taking Russian missile system Posted: 12 Jul 2019 09:00 AM PDT  The acting U.S. secretary of defense says Washington is aware that Turkey has begun taking delivery of a Russian-made S-400 air defense system. Mark Esper, who is expected to be officially nominated next week to be defense secretary, told reporters at the Pentagon that the U.S. remains unwilling to allow Turkey to acquire the U.S. F-35 stealth fighter, as long as it has the S-400. The Trump administration has repeatedly told Turkey that it will be cut off from the F-35 fighter program if it buys Russian air defenses, because the S-400 is incompatible with NATO defenses and could jeopardize sensitive information about F-35 technologies.
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| Pete Buttigieg unveils agenda to help black Americans Posted: 11 Jul 2019 07:35 AM PDT  Facing dismal poll numbers among black voters, Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg released a multipronged plan addressing everything from promoting black history and culture and ensuring Washington, D.C., statehood to tackling the racial wealth gap.
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| UPDATE 1-China's June exports fall after U.S. tariff hike, imports shrink more than expected Posted: 12 Jul 2019 01:27 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-China's June exports fall after U.S. tariff hike, imports shrink more than expected]( "UPDATE 1-China's June exports fall after U.S. tariff hike, imports shrink more than expected") China's exports fell in June as the United States ramped up trade pressure, while imports shrank more than expected, pointing to further strains on the world's second-largest economy. China's manufacturers are struggling with sluggish demand at home and abroad, and a sharp U.S. tariff hike announced in May is threatening to crush already-thin profit margins, reinforcing views that Beijing needs to announce more stimulus measures soon. "The latest U.S. tariff hike probably contributed to this drop, alongside a broader slowdown in foreign demand," Capital Economics said in a note.
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| Father chases down thief who stole car with children inside and beats him to death with help of bystanders Posted: 12 Jul 2019 06:10 AM PDT  A father chased down and beat to death a thief who stole a car with his children inside, US police have said.Bystanders also joined in the attack on the 54-year-old man, who later died in hospital of head injuries, said detectives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Three young children – aged seven months, 18 months, and five years old – were in the Hyundai when the carjacker stole it on Thursday evening.Their mother had left the car running as she went into a pizza takeaway where her boyfriend – who is the father of the two younger children – was working at 9pm local time.As the woman was speaking to her partner, the thief climbed into the car and drove off.The parents, both aged 25, ran after the car, which became stuck in traffic nearby."They were able to pull this car thief out of the vehicle," chief inspector Scott Small, of the Philadelphia Police Department, told local television station WPVI."He fled on foot about a half a block. And the boyfriend caught up to him and there was some sort of physical struggle that ensued," Mr Small said."Then other males from the neighbourhood intervened and began punching and kicking the male who took the vehicle."The man was taken to hospital with severe head and facial injuries. He was pronounced dead at 10.05pm local time.The children's parents were both taken into custody for questioning and were said to be co-operating with investigators.The police department's homicide unit and the District Attorney's Office will decide if the father will face charges.The three children were unharmed and stayed with other relatives on Thursday night.
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| This Is Iran's Sad Attempt at Reverse-Engineering an Old F-5F Fighter Posted: 10 Jul 2019 07:00 PM PDT  Rouhani called on the Iranian military to strengthen their readiness in the face of enemy threats in a speech during Tuesday's defense show. Iran says its new Kowsar fighter jet has flown. President Hassan Rouhani was on scene to see the jet – which is a carbon copy of the American F-5F – undergoing flight trials.Test flights of the Kowsar, took place on Aug. 21, 2018 on the eve of the National Day of the Defense Industry, according to semi-official Mehr News Agency. It was unclear whether the jet's first public display flight has yet taken place.The Kowsar can be used for "short aerial support missions" and is equipped with systems that "promote precision targeting," according to state media.Rouhani called on the Iranian military to strengthen their readiness in the face of enemy threats in a speech during Tuesday's defense show."When we say we are ready for defense, it means that we seek the establishment of sustainable peace," Rouhani said.
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| Tennessee governor signs 'Forrest Day' proclamation, honoring the Confederate general Posted: 12 Jul 2019 04:06 PM PDT  Tennessee law instructs the governor to do so, though Lee said he is not currently considering changing the law.
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| Swedish Government Won’t Sign ‘Problematic’ UN Nuclear Treaty Posted: 12 Jul 2019 05:22 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Sweden has decided not to sign the UN treaty on nuclear arms, calling it problematic and unrealistic.The decision was announced by Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom at a press conference in Stockholm, who said the country will remain a "strong voice" against the proliferation of nuclear weapons.Reality is complicated and the treaty is problematic, but the decision was made as a militarily alliance-free nation, said Wallstrom. Sweden will become an observer nation to the treaty and won't close the door on signing it, she said.Backed by Sweden, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons passed in 2017 in the UN General Assembly by a vote of 122 in favor with just the Netherlands, a NATO member, voting against. The negotiations were boycotted by the world's nine nuclear-armed countries -- the U.S., China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and the U.K. as well as most NATO members.Sweden, which has close ties with NATO, has been pressured not to sign the treaty by the U.S., newspaper Svenska Dagbladet has reported.To contact the reporter on this story: Jonas Bergman in Oslo at jbergman@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Tasneem Hanfi Brögger at tbrogger@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Vincent Lambert: French quadriplegic at heart of life-support debate Posted: 11 Jul 2019 12:54 AM PDT  Vincent Lambert, the man at the centre of a years-long life-support battle that played out right up until his death on Thursday, was the silent witness to the wrenching public feud between his parents and wife. Lambert was a rebellious teenager who had settled down and was due to become a father when was in a devastating car crash in 2008 that left him in a vegetative state. In the end, his wife Rachel and the medical team at Reims University Hospital prevailed, with doctors taking him off life support on July 2 after France's top court ruled that doctors could remove his feeding tubes.
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| Tropical Storm Barry is expected to hit parts of Louisiana with more than 3 feet of storm surge and 20 inches of rain — here's what that much water looks like Posted: 12 Jul 2019 11:33 AM PDT  New Orleans has already been drenched in nearly 9 inches of rain, prompting a flash-flood emergency declaration.
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| Washington AG opens inquiry into NRA's financial affairs Posted: 12 Jul 2019 01:49 PM PDT  The attorney general for Washington D.C. has issued subpoenas to the National Rifle Association and its related charitable foundation as part of an investigation into allegations of financial misconduct inside the powerful gun lobbying organization. The subpoenas add to a host of difficulties for the NRA, which is facing internal turmoil and multiple external inquiries as it gears up for a 2020 election push in support of President Donald Trump. Attorney General Karl Racine said in a statement that his office is examining both the NRA and the NRA Foundation.
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| Storm in Gulf of Mexico strengthens into tropical storm; expected to turn into Hurricane Barry this weekend Posted: 11 Jul 2019 05:23 PM PDT  Areas in the southern United States are bracing for a possible hurricane that could strike the Gulf Coast and raise the Mississippi River to the brim of the city's protective levees.
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| We Lightened Up All Your Favorite Casseroles Posted: 11 Jul 2019 02:24 PM PDT |
| Radioactive uranium, whiskey and rattlesnake found in stolen car pulled over by police Posted: 12 Jul 2019 05:52 AM PDT  A pair of alleged car thieves were found with radioactive uranium, whiskey and a rattlesnake in their vehicle when they were pulled over in a routine traffic stop, police said.Driver Stephen Jennings and passenger Rachael Rivera were arrested after the unusual items were found in their car on Wednesday morning in Guthrie, Oklahoma.They were initially stopped after police noticed their vehicle's licence plate had expired, but officers soon noticed the timber rattlesnake in a box on the backseat.Mr Jennings, 40, then told police he had a gun in the vehicle and police discovered that the car was stolen."So now he's got a rattlesnake, a stolen vehicle, firearm, and somebody under arrest," Guthrie Police Sergeant Anthony Gibbs told local broadcaster KFOR-TV.After a further search of the car, police found an open bottle of Kentucky Deluxe whiskey and a container of "yellowish powder" that was labelled "Uranium."Mr Jennings told officers he was trying to create a "super snake" after the uranium was discovered, ABC reported."When that happens, of course, we call in a company that deals with that specifically, and it's taken safely into possession," Mr Gibbs said. "The uranium is the wild card in that situation."Bodycam footage from the arrest shows one officer spotting the snake in the backseat, before saying: "That sucker is huge."Timber rattlesnakes are highly venomous and their fangs are long enough to penetrate clothing and boots, according to the Ohio Public Library Information Network.> Uranium, a rattlesnake, and an open bottle of Kentucky Deluxe found after police pulled over a couple in a stolen vehicle in Guthrie. @kfor pic.twitter.com/6bh4MUuHcO> > — Cassandra Sweetman (@CassandraOnTV) > > July 11, 2019Mr Jennings was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, transporting an open container of liquor, operating a vehicle with a suspended license, and failure to carry a security verification form, ABC reported.Ms Rivera, 30, was charged with possession of a firearm after a former felony conviction.Mr Jennings had a valid lifetime hunting and fishing license so possession of the rattlesnake was legal.The pair were not charged in connection with the uranium as officers are still looking into a potential motive.
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| Dolphin impaled in the head found dead, wildlife officials seek clues Posted: 11 Jul 2019 06:22 PM PDT  Investigators are looking for who or what made a gash in the head of a bottlenose dolphin found dead in May.
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| U.K. Navy Intervenes After Iran Tries to Stop British Oil Tanker Posted: 11 Jul 2019 08:50 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The British Navy intervened to stop Iran from blocking a BP Plc oil tanker, the U.K. government said, in the latest evidence that merchant shipping is becoming increasingly embroiled in the wider confrontation with the Islamic Republic.The BP-operated British Heritage, which can carry as much as 1 million barrels of oil, was attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping chokepoint at the mouth of the world's largest oil-producing region, when "three Iranian vessels attempted to impede it," according to a U.K. government statement.The HMS Montrose "was forced to position herself between the Iranian vessels and British Heritage and issue verbal warnings to the Iranian vessels, which then turned away," the statement said. The frigate was escorting the tanker, which had remained inside the Persian Gulf to avoid being targeted in response to last week's seizure by British special forces of a tanker hauling Iranian crude in the Mediterranean Sea.Iran denied any such intervention took place.The flare up is the latest involving merchant ships trading to and from the Middle East, a region that handles about a third of all seaborne petroleum. Six tankers were attacked just outside the Persian Gulf between mid-May and mid-June and the U.S. blamed Iran, an allegation Tehran denied.Why Tanker Attacks Raise Fears Over Strait of Hormuz: QuickTakeAuthorities in Gibraltar, assisted by British Royal Marines, seized the supertanker Grace 1 last week, claiming the ship was taking oil to Syria in breach of European Union sanctions. Iran denied the vessel was heading to Syria and vowed to retaliate. On Thursday, Gibraltar police announced they had arrested the master and chief officer of the Grace 1, following a search of the vessel.The escalating tensions come as European nations scramble to salvage a landmark accord with the Islamic Republic intended to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. The U.K. has been a leading voice in trying to rescue the the 2015 deal after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out and Iran stepped up uranium enrichment in defiance of extended sanctions."We are concerned by this action and continue to urge the Iranian authorities to de-escalate the situation in the region," Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman, James Slack, told reporters in London. "We have a long standing maritime presence in the Gulf. We are continuously monitoring the security situation there and are committed to maintaining freedom of navigation in accordance with international law."Seized Gibraltar Tanker Starts What May Be Lengthy Legal ProcessIran's Revolutionary Guard Corps denied trying to impede the British tanker but said its forces could act fast if ordered to do so. "If it receives an order to seize foreign ships, naval forces can act fast, with determination and without hesitation within the geographic scope of its mission," the semi-official Fars news agency reported.Benchmark Brent crude was 3 cents higher at $67.04 a barrel in London trading at 4:47 p.m. local time. Oil has been rallying since the middle of last week as tensions surrounding Iran stoke concerns crude flows may be disrupted.The British Heritage was able to pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz and was sailing along the Omani coast, according to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.BP had been keeping the British Heritage empty inside the Gulf, near Saudi Arabia, rather than risk its seizure by Iran in a tit-for-tat retaliation over the Gibraltar action, a person familiar with the matter said Monday.The U.K. repeated its insistence that the seizure of the Grace 1 in Gibraltar was about Syria, not Iran. "We've been very clear that Grace 1 is a Syrian sanctions rather than an Iran issue," Slack said.Insurance costs for covering tankers and their cargoes jumped as much as tenfold in the wake of the incidents in May and June. Some owners were initially wary of sending vessels to the region, although that reticence appears to have subsided.U.S. Push to Pressure Iran Rebuffed at Nuclear Meeting in ViennaThe prospects of a showdown between the U.S. and Iran have spiked since the Trump administration quit the multiparty nuclear accord with Iran a year ago and re-imposed sanctions. In early May, the U.S. tightened penalties on buyers of Iranian oil prompting Iran to begin scaling back its commitments under the deal.Iran said this week it's enriching uranium beyond the agreed cap and would gradually roll back compliance unless European signatories find ways to ensure it can sell its oil and access the global financial system.Iran is producing oil at the slowest clip since 1986, making U.S. sanctions as effective as the devastating Iraq-Iran war that ended more than 30 years ago. The measures have hit the currency, fueled inflation and hobbled growth.U.K. FrictionThe stand-off also comes at an awkward time for Britain which, along with its European allies, is trying to keep the nuclear deal alive, but is also relying on Trump's White House to clinch a trade deal after Brexit.The British Heritage was meant to load crude from Iraq before sailing onto Europe but a person with knowledge of the matter said BP elected not to lift the cargo because of concerns about the wider political situation. The ship didn't have oil on board when it left the region, the person said.There are six vessels operating in the Gulf registered to Britain, or a British Overseas Territory, and five operating under the British flag. In total, they have the capacity to transport almost 9 million barrels of crude.The incident was originally reported by CNN, which cited two U.S. officials saying Iran had tried to seize, rather than impede, the tanker and order it to change course.(Adds Gibraltar police arrest master of tanker carrying Iranian oil in sixth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Ladane Nasseri, Karen Leigh, Verity Ratcliffe, Kelly Gilblom, Thomas Penny, Ana Monteiro and Jessica Shankleman.To contact the reporters on this story: Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.net;Anthony DiPaola in Dubai at adipaola@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, ;Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, Mark Williams, Stuart BiggsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Raped, widowed, homeless: Haiti's slum women abandoned to gangs Posted: 11 Jul 2019 06:56 PM PDT  Port-au-Prince (AFP) - As the first bursts of gunfire rang out, the women from La Saline slum grabbed their kids and fled for cover. Shootings are common here, but this time, there was no outrunning the full-on battle between five rival gangs in the heart of the Haitian capital. There is not much left of Lovely Saint-Pierre's home, aside from some slabs of concrete and two sheets of rusty metal which provide scant protection from the blazing sun as she recounts the nightmare that began eight months ago.
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| Fossil of 99 million-year-old bird with giant toe found in Burma Posted: 11 Jul 2019 10:24 PM PDT  The fossilised remains of an ancient 99-million-year-old bird with a freakishly long toe have been discovered in a chunk of amber from Burma. Researchers found the third digit of the sparrow-like creature's foot was 9.8 millimetres long, about 41 percent longer than its second-longest digit, and 20 percent longer than its entire lower leg, reported Science News. Palaeontologists are unsure what purpose the extra-long toe served, but it may have helped the cretaceous period bird find food in difficult-to-reach places such as holes in trees. The bird may have been a tree-dweller, also using its extended claw to grasp on to branches. The formation of its foot was so unique that a team examining the fossil, led by paleontologist Lida Xing from the China University of Biosciences in Beijing, decided to declare a new species, calling the bird Elektorornis (amber bird) chenguangi. Their findings were published in Current Biology on Thursday. The New York Times reported that the remains had lain undisturbed in hardened tree resin until amber miners found the fossil in Burma's Hukawng Valley in 2014. It was first presented to Chen Guang, a curator at China's Hupoge Amber Museum, and initially suspected to be an extinct lizard. However, Mr Chen decided to consult Ms Xing who specialises in Cretaceous birds and the tiny creature was discovered to be related to an extinct group of toothed, clawed birds called Enantiornithes, which was bountiful during the Cretaceous period of 145.5 million to 66 million years ago. The ancient bird was found fossilized in amber Credit: Lida Xing/PA "I was very surprised at the time," Dr Xing told the Times, recalling that the fossil was "undoubtedly the claw of a bird." Dr Xing's team compared the toe size ratios with other known birds starting from the Mesozoic era, which began 252 million years ago, and found that no other species had such a dramatic difference in toe sizes. The Elektorornis chenguangi died out with other species in its family along with non-avian dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period.
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| The Latest: Shoppers fill carts with supplies ahead of Barry Posted: 12 Jul 2019 05:32 PM PDT  Ahead of Tropical Storm Barry's landfall, residents of southwestern Louisiana have been filling their shopping carts with supplies, including bottled water, canned goods and bread. A Walmart Neighborhood Market in Lake Charles was packed with shoppers late Friday afternoon. Fifty-five-year-old Scott Daley maneuvered two shopping carts that carried bottled water, gallons of milk and frozen meat.
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| Airline CEOs: Subsidized Gulf airlines are violating trade agreements, threatening US jobs Posted: 12 Jul 2019 02:00 AM PDT  The Trump administration knows a trade violation when it sees one. It should put other countries on notice by holding Qatar and the UAE accountable.
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| INTERVIEW-Serbia wants billions in foreign loans to invest in infrastructure - minister Posted: 12 Jul 2019 06:53 AM PDT ![INTERVIEW-Serbia wants billions in foreign loans to invest in infrastructure - minister]( "INTERVIEW-Serbia wants billions in foreign loans to invest in infrastructure - minister") Serbia plans to borrow billions of euros from China and other foreign countries in the coming years to fund investment in regional projects, its infrastructure minister Zorana Mihajlovic said on Friday. China views Serbia and other Balkan countries as part of its ambitious One Belt, One Road initiative to open trade links for Chinese companies. Serbia wants to join the European Union and to do so it must strengthen economic links with its neighbours including former Yugoslav republics, most of them foes from the bloody wars of the 1990s.
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| US Coast Guard filmed raiding moving submarine filled with £185m of cocaine Posted: 11 Jul 2019 02:32 PM PDT  The US Coast Guard has released bodycam footage of a raid on a moving submarine-type vessel filled with £185m of cocaine.A crew member on board US Coastguard cutter Munro can be heard shouting "stop your boat now" in Spanish over the sound of the waves as he draws up beside the semi-submersible vessel, nicknamed a "narco-submarine".The coastguardsman can then be heard saying "that's going to be hard to get on", before he and another crew member, both dressed in green camouflage uniforms, leap on top of the self-propelled vessel in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.The first man bangs his fist on the hatch of the hull before a man opens it and raises his hands in the area as commands are screamed at him.Inside was 17,000lbs of cocaine worth about $232 million (£185m).The drugs bust was just one of 14 similar raids by the US Coast Guard off the coasts of Mexico, Central America and South America between May and July this year.In total, they have recovered more than 39,00lbs of cocaine and 933 lbs of cannabis worth an estimated $569m (£454m).Lieutenant commander Stephen Brickey, a spokesman for the US Coast Guard Pacific Area, said pursuing the drug-smuggling boats was like the "white whale".He told the Washington Post: "They're pretty rare. For us to get one, it's a significant event."Around 80 per cent of drugs that enter the US come from the Pacific corridor and authorities stop about 11 per cent of semi-submersible boats, he said.The Coast Guard increased US and allied presence in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Basin, which are known drug transit zones off the coast of Central and South America, as part of its Western Hemisphere Strategy.
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| View 2020 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4/Spyder Photos Posted: 12 Jul 2019 12:00 PM PDT |
| Poll: Biden, Warren lead, while Sanders and Harris tied in 3rd place Posted: 11 Jul 2019 07:03 PM PDT  Sen. Bernie Sanders has slipped from his second-place standing in several recent polls. In a new NBC News/WSJ poll, Sen. Elizabeth Warren has claimed second place behind Joe Biden.
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| Four Britons held in China, two days after drugs bust Posted: 11 Jul 2019 09:01 PM PDT  Four Britons have been arrested in an eastern China province, the British embassy said Friday, two days after Chinese police announced a drug bust there involving 16 foreigners. Police in the city of Xuzhou in Jiangsu province said on Wednesday that a total of 19 people were arrested in a drugs case centring on a local branch of a language school. "We are in contact with the Chinese authorities following the arrest of four British people in Jiangsu province, and are providing consular assistance," a spokeswoman with the British embassy in Beijing told AFP.
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| Video: Family members attack woman's murderer in Ohio courthouse Posted: 12 Jul 2019 07:34 AM PDT  Two family members were supposed to give victim impact statements when they lunged at Dale Williams. Both family members were subdued, one with a Taser, and arrested.
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| Sebastian Gorka at the center of Rose Garden ruckus following Trump event Posted: 11 Jul 2019 05:26 PM PDT  After President Trump invited a group of right-wing and fringe media figures to the White House for a "social media summit" on Thursday, the event ended with a former presidential adviser and a CNN political analyst getting into a heated exchange in the Rose Garden.
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| Cuba's Dependency on Venezuela Makes it Vulnerable to Economic Turmoil Posted: 11 Jul 2019 02:45 PM PDT ![Cuba's Dependency on Venezuela Makes it Vulnerable to Economic Turmoil]( "Cuba's Dependency on Venezuela Makes it Vulnerable to Economic Turmoil") The economic crisis in Venezuela has turned millions of its citizens into refugees who are fleeing the country's hyperinflation and shortages in food and medicine. A plunge in aid from Venezuela, along with a hardened trade embargo by the United States, has brought Cuba to its worst economic crisis since the post-Soviet depression in the 1990s, Carmelo Mesa-Lago, professor emeritus of economics and Latin American Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, and Pavel Vidal Alejandro, associate professor economics at the Pontifical Xavierian University in Cali, Colombia, write in their report.
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| UPDATE 1-Ukrainian fighter found guilty over killing of Italian photographer Posted: 12 Jul 2019 12:57 PM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Ukrainian fighter found guilty over killing of Italian photographer]( "UPDATE 1-Ukrainian fighter found guilty over killing of Italian photographer") An Italian court sentenced a Ukrainian man to 24 years in jail on Friday over his role in the 2014 killing of an Italian photographer covering fighting between pro-Russian forces and Ukrainian troops. Journalist Andrea Rocchelli and his Russian colleague Andrey Mironov were killed after they were hit by mortar fire near the town of Slaviansk in eastern Ukraine five years ago. Italian prosecutors in the northern city of Pavia said Vitaliy Markiv, a volunteer fighter with the Ukrainian forces at the time, had taken part in the deadly attack and accused him of being an accessory to murder.
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| Man eaten by his own pet dogs Posted: 10 Jul 2019 11:58 PM PDT  A man who had been missing for months was eaten by his own pet dogs, police have said.The pack of 18 mixed-breed dogs apparently devoured Freddie Mack's body, clothing and hair at his home in Texas.Bone fragments measuring between 2-5in were all that remained."Never have we ever, or anyone we've spoken to, heard of an entire human being consumed," said Deputy Aaron Pitts."The bones were completely broken up and eaten." Mack had serious health problems and it is unclear whether the dogs killed their owner, or ate his body after he died.A relative reported the reclusive man missing from his home near Venus in May, saying the family had not heard from him since mid-April.The aggressive dogs stopped the family from entering Mack's property, and posed problems for deputies, who were eventually able to look around while keeping the dogs away with a "distraction method," the sheriff's office said.After days of searching the property, investigators discovered animal faeces containing bits of human hair, clothing and bone amid the high grass.The larger fragments were sent to the University of North Texas Center for Human Remains Identification, and were eventually matched to Mack through family DNA testing. Deputy Pitts said two of the dogs were killed by their mates, 13 were put down because of their "aggressive nature" and three have been put up for adoption. The deputy said the dogs were well fed and cared for. "This man loved his animals," he said.Additional reporting by Associated Press
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| Black Caucus Member Charges AOC With Playing the Race Card Posted: 11 Jul 2019 03:42 PM PDT  Jeenah Moon/ReutersRep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO) accused Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) of playing the race card after the freshman lawmaker complained that Speaker Nancy Pelosi had again singled out young, progressive lawmakers of color for strong public criticism.Saying he was personally offended at the suggestion, the long-tenured member of the Congressional Black Caucus said Thursday that Ocasio-Cortez and three fellow progressive freshmen women who call themselves "the Squad" were lashing out because "they didn't get their way" as the tensions between the old guard of Democratic leadership and the young, assertive lawmakers with outsized social network presences exploded into public view. Members of the House Democratic caucus were divided on Thursday, at odds over the Pelosi-AOC drama and who was at fault: the speaker, for training criticism on this vocal group of women; or that group's most visible member, for suggesting that the party's leader—who is highly esteemed among a diverse group of lawmakers on the Hill–was venturing into racially dicey territory.Since January, Pelosi has frequently dismissed tactics from the Squad—consisting of Ocasio Cortez and Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI)—as they've publicly pressed for more progressive policies on a range of issues. In June, for example, their goal of a border-funding bill with much-desired provisions by the left was quashed when the House ultimately advanced a bipartisan-backed bill, leaving them fuming. "All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world," Pelosi told The New York Times' Maureen Dowd in a recent interview. "But they didn't have any following. They're four people and that's how many votes they got." And in a closed-door meeting Wednesday, after Ocasio Cortez' chief of staff tweeted a comparison between moderate Democrats and Jim Crow-era segregationists, Pelosi urged members to back off on going after each other. Later that day, Ocasio Cortez fired back, telling the Washington Post that at first, she thought Pelosi was keeping progressives at arm's length to defend moderates. But she said it "got to a point where it was just outright disrespectful… the explicit singling out of newly elected women of color."Ocasio-Cortez later clarified she "absolutely" did not believe Pelosi was being racist. And the speaker said Thursday, "We respect the value of every member of our caucus… Diversity is our strength, unity is our power." But some damage had already been done. "I agree with the speaker: four people, four votes," Clay said Thursday. "Unbelievable."As Clay—who has been targeted for a primary challenge by Justice Democrats, the group that propelled Ocasio-Cortez's campaign—went off on the group, his colleagues rallied to the speaker's defense. "I don't think that she's singling out women of color," said Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, a group where goodwill toward the speaker runs deep. "I don't know what Alexandria meant, but I am going to ask her."Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA), a member of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition, said every member had a right to free speech. "I'll speak for myself and say that, Ms. Pelosi, to me, is one of the finest leaders I've met and I've got to work with."But for Democrats like Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Ocasio-Cortez's comments resonated. "I don't think the speaker is used to having a group of members who has bigger Twitter followings than her," she told Politico.And some were left with raw feelings over the episode. "I thought it was strange for Speaker Pelosi to go after them that way," said a House Democrat who requested anonymity to speak candidly. "I thought it was unnecessary. I don't know what her motivation was, or whether there was any kind of racial or ethnic element to it, I don't know. But I did think that it was heavy-handed."Sensing a need for communication, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told reporters that he was working to secure a meeting between members of his group and party leadership, including Pelosi, to talk about "a whole bunch of things."But there was a palpable sense of fatigue on Capitol Hill over the latest explosion of enmity in Democrats' fractious majority. Pressed to respond to some of the more controversial details of the drama—like the tweet of Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff—some, like Correa, simply threw up their hands.Asked about the issue as she exited the House floor on Thursday, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)—a lawmaker usually unafraid to speak her mind—just shook her head. "I don't pay any attention to it," she said. 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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