| 'You're wrong': Sanders, Warren open debate defending health care plan Posted: 30 Jul 2019 07:19 PM PDT  The two progressives joined forces Tuesday night against more moderate candidates — and the moderators.
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| Sanctions-hit Iran to cut zeros and rename plunging currency Posted: 31 Jul 2019 04:34 AM PDT  The government in sanctions-hit Iran on Wednesday approved a plan to remove zeros from the rial and rename the currency -- something its people have long been doing to simplify transactions. "The cabinet today agreed on a bill to eliminate four zeros from the currency and that 'toman' will be our national currency," government spokesman Ali Rabiei told reporters in Tehran. The value of the Iranian rial has hit low after record low since last year.
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| India Almost Sank Its Own $2.9 Billion Submarine by Leaving a Hatch Open Posted: 30 Jul 2019 11:00 PM PDT  Water "rushed in as a hatch on the rear side was left open by mistake while [the Arihant] was at harbor" in February 2017, shortly after the submarine's launch, The Hindu reports. The modern submarine is not a simple machine. A loss of propulsion, unexpected flooding, or trouble with reactors or weapons can doom a sub crew to a watery grave.Also, it's a good idea to, like, close the hatches before you dive.(This article originally appeared at Task & Purpose. Follow Task & Purpose on Twitter. This article first appeared in 2018.)Call it a lesson learned for the Indian navy, which managed to put the country's first nuclear-missile submarine, the $2.9 billion INS Arihant, out of commission in the most boneheaded way possible.The Hindu reported yesterday that the Arihant has been out of commission since suffering "major damage" some 10 months ago, due to what a navy source characterized as a "human error" — to wit: allowing water to flood to sub's propulsion compartment after failing to secure one of the vessel's external hatches.
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| Italy: Teen's father says son didn't know friend had knife Posted: 31 Jul 2019 02:06 PM PDT  Fabrizio Natale issued a statement through a lawyer after visiting his son, Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth at a Rome prison, a meeting Natale described as "very tough for both" of them. Prosecutors say Elder has confessed to knifing Cerciello Rega, 35, who was stabbed 11 times and died at a hospital.
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| Can Someone Please Vote CNN Off the Stage? Posted: 30 Jul 2019 09:49 PM PDT  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Ten of the Democrats debated on Tuesday night. But the debate was dominated by Jake Tapper, Dana Bash and Don Lemon – CNN's moderators. Norm Ornstein got it right:It's not just that the time allocations were harsh. (The candidates were constantly being cut off, sometimes after being given all of 15 seconds to make their points.) And not just that the time allocation seemed somewhat arbitrary. No, it was the questioning that really fell short – very, very short. The CNN moderators, again and again, employed the very worst types of questions. One style that Tapper used repeatedly early on was interrupting to insist that the candidates stick to a portion of a topic that he found interesting (such as whether their health care plans would involve increases in taxes for the middle class) rather than what they wanted to talk about. The night also featured too many gotcha questions, in which a candidate is challenged about something they said.(1) But even worse was a constant theme of asking one candidate to fight with another. Candidate X, what do you think of Candidate Y's plan? Those questions have superficial appeal because they appear to get to what separates the candidates. And they promise fireworks, with candidates forced to argue. But in reality, invitation-to-fight questions tend to emphasize the differences that the moderators select, which may or may not be substantively important ones. It leads the debate to focus on areas of internal candidate differences, leaving policy areas where they agree irrelevant – even if those areas are important, and contain real disputes with the other party. So for example late in the debate we had an extended exchange on nuclear no-first-use. Is that an important policy? Sure. Is it the most important thing to talk about in national security and foreign policy right now? I don't think many experts would say so. It also created a frame of moderates squaring off against Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren that worked well for the candidates running as self-professed moderates, especially John Delaney, and much less well for the candidates who straddle that divide (and, one might argue, therefore are best positioned to unify the party): Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and Beto O'Rourke. Buttigieg and perhaps to a lesser extent Klobuchar got in a few good lines anyway, but the debate was stacked against them by the way the moderators thought about the candidates.What's more to the point is that the framing wasn't very good for the party as a whole. It pushed both the moderates and the more progressive candidates away from the center of the party, because they were all cast that way. All of that raises the question of how much longer parties will go along with it.Once upon a time, in the 1970s and 1980s especially, presidential nomination debates were fully decentralized: Some organization (usually from the news media, including local news media, but sometimes other groups) would invite candidates to debate, and if enough of them accepted, the debate was on. They weren't necessarily televised nationally, and the sponsor would decide who to invite, what rules to use, and everything else – with the main constraint only whether candidates were willing to show up for whatever conditions were set. We still have plenty of group forums or town halls or whatever that work that way.Over the last four or five cycles, however, the parties have been taking over. This year the Democratic Party has decided a lot of the whens, wheres, hows and whos. After Tuesday night's event, I have to believe that there are plenty of people at the Democratic National Committee – and plenty of candidates and their staff – who are fed up with debates that put the TV stars first. I wouldn't be surprised, especially if things go badly over the rest of the cycle, if both parties start thinking seriously about running their own shows in 2024. Now, there would be plenty of pitfalls, just as there have been when the parties took over the scheduling and the invitations. It's certainly possible the parties, if they did take over the debates, might come to regret it. But could they? Yup. Sure, the networks want to promote their own talent by having them moderate, but the events would still be excellent for them even without that, and the parties could still arrange some sort of limited MC role for network anchors. And while party-sponsored debates would presumably stick to topics that the party wants to talk about, I'm not sure – especially after watching what CNN just did – that voters would be worse off. So I don't know who won tonight's debate, but I'm pretty sure that CNN, and perhaps in the future the media in general, were the losers.(1) Gotcha questions may have their place in interviews, although even there they tend to substitute for substance, but they're almost always a mistake in debates, where the candidates have each other to keep them honest.To contact the author of this story: Jonathan Bernstein at jbernstein62@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Philip Gray at philipgray@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy. He taught political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio and DePauw University and wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Deadly Heatwave Kills 11 and Hospitalizes Thousands in Japan Posted: 31 Jul 2019 02:46 AM PDT  Nearly 6,000 people have been hospitalized with heat-related conditions
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| When Kamala Harris faced political heat, Delaware's Beau Biden had her back Posted: 31 Jul 2019 05:09 AM PDT  Up until Beau Biden's death in 2015, Kamala Harris had a friendship with the Delaware politician — and by extension his father Joe Biden.
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| Guatemalan villagers recognize viral photo of mother pleading at U.S. border Posted: 30 Jul 2019 01:13 PM PDT  Lolinda Amaya cried last week when she saw a viral photograph of a Guatemalan mother imploring Mexico's National Guard to let her enter the United States. It was her niece, Ledy Perez, who had borrowed money weeks earlier and fled her village under cover of night, seeking a better life for her only child. The widely shared photo https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/guatemalan-mother-begs-soldier-to-let-her-enter-us showed her crouched meters away from Mexico's border with the United States, clinging to her young son Anthony Diaz as she looked up at an armed member of the newly formed Mexican military police force.
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| Israel approves hundreds of Palestinian homes in West Bank amid reports of US peace plan rollout Posted: 31 Jul 2019 10:02 AM PDT  Israel has made an unusual move to approve hundreds of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank amid reports the US is preparing to roll out its long-awaited peace plan. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, granted permits for 700 Palestinian houses but tried to appease his Right-wing base by also approving 6,000 housing units for Jewish settlers. Israel rarely grants building permits to Palestinians and the move was seen as a potential concession to the White House, which is trying to convince Palestinians and Arab states to back its peace initiative. Jared Kushner, Mr Trump's son-in-law and top aide on Israeli-Palestinian issues, is expected in Jerusalem this week to discuss the plan with Mr Netanyahu. The plan remains secret but Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Mr Trump intends to unveil it at a summit with Arab leaders at Camp David in the coming weeks. A White House official denied that planning for a summit was underway and said Mr Kushner's team would report back after their trip to Israeli and Arab states before deciding their next move. "No summit has currently been planned," the official said. The US unveiled the less controversial economic side of the plan at a conference in Bahrain in June but has not given a timeline for releasing the political side of the plan. Mr Trump enjoys the pageantry of high-profile international meetings and Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, has often been the site of peace talks between Israel and its neighbours. Expectations for Mr Trump's peace effort are low. The Palestinians have preemptively rejected the plan, arguing that Mr Trump is heavily biased towards Israel and is not an honest broker. David Friedman, the US ambassador to Israel, signaled that the White House opposed the idea of an independent Palestinian state, which has long been a demand of both Palestinians and America's Arab allies. Mr Friedman instead endorsed Mr Netanyahu's position that the Palestinians can be granted autonomy but not a state of their own. "We believe in Palestinian autonomy," he told CNN. "We believe that autonomy should be extended up until the point where it interferes with Israeli security."
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| Fox News Trolls CNN Democratic Debate With Praise for John Delaney, Marianne Williamson Posted: 30 Jul 2019 08:17 PM PDT  "People are gonna think that I'm trolling but compared to what else is up on this stage I think Marianne Williamson is actually winning this thing," Donald Trump Jr. tweeted about halfway through the first of two CNN Democratic debates on Tuesday night. "This is amazing. No question she seems to be drawing the biggest applause of the night." Moments later, nearly an hour before the debate actually ended, Williamson was getting similar praise on Fox News. And there was no question that it was trolling."I've got to tell you something, Laura," Mike Huckabee told host Laura Ingraham. "Let me go out on a limb here. I think I may end up abandoning President Trump this next election cycle. I'm going to stand with Marianne. I mean, she captured me tonight.""I lit a candle. I stroked a crystal," he continued, belaboring the joke. "I sat back and decided to take a yoga pose and chant. Because I could feel the love."Marianne Williamson Takes on Racism — and Warns of 'Dark Psychic Force'Ingraham and the rest of her Fox News panel were more enamored by another longshot Democratic candidate: former congressman John Delaney. Calling Delaney a "super-smart guy," Ingraham said he "hit it out of the park" when he pushed back on the "pie-in-the-sky" ideas of the progressive candidates who actually have a chance of winning the Democratic nomination. "What in the heck is he doing on that stage with those people?" Huckabee said. "He's not a Trump fan or anything like that but he's clearly not in sync with the rest of the Democratic field or the rest of the Democratic Party."Rudy Giuliani, who appeared to be checking his phone during the clip Ingraham played, took things even further. "Delaney has no chance," he admitted. "But he helped us a lot tonight by cornering them." It was left unclear whether "us" was referring to the Trump administration, Fox News or both. Tim Ryan Didn't Put His Hand on Heart During Debate National Anthem. Conservatives Are Freaking Out.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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| Authorities have arrested a woman they call the 'Pink Lady Bandit' in connection with 4 bank robberies across the East Coast in 6 days Posted: 30 Jul 2019 09:01 AM PDT  Authorities have arrested Circe Baez, 35, accusing her of robbing four banks in six days, occasionally while carrying a "distinctive" pink handbag.
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| Rand Paul offers to send Ilhan Omar to Somalia so she will 'appreciate America more' Posted: 30 Jul 2019 12:54 PM PDT  Republican Sen. Rand Paul said he would offer to buy Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar a ticket to Somalia so she would "appreciate America more."
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| See Photos of the New Pagani Huayra BC Roadster Posted: 31 Jul 2019 06:00 AM PDT |
| Tim Ryan explains he 'wasn't protesting' by not putting his hand on heart during anthem at Democratic debate Posted: 31 Jul 2019 12:03 PM PDT  "Congressman Ryan wasn't protesting and didn't mean to make any statement last night in Detroit," read an email from the Ohio lawmaker's campaign.
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| Iranian women defy prison threats by sending veil videos - activist Posted: 31 Jul 2019 10:05 AM PDT ![Iranian women defy prison threats by sending veil videos - activist]( "Iranian women defy prison threats by sending veil videos - activist") Iranian women are sharing videos of themselves flouting laws forcing them to wear headscarves in public, despite a ruling they could face up to ten years in jail for doing so, a prominent activist said on Wednesday. Masih Alinejad, a U.S.-based Iranian journalist, started a social media campaign in 2014 encouraging women in Iran to share self-portraits without the Islamic veil, which she then shares on her Facebook page, "My Stealthy Freedom". "Today I have received lots of videos from inside Iran.
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| Hong Kong protesters in court as US warns troops massing on China border Posted: 31 Jul 2019 04:17 AM PDT ![Hong Kong protesters in court as US warns troops massing on China border]( "Hong Kong protesters in court as US warns troops massing on China border") Hong Kong police hauled dozens of protesters through court yesterday to face draconian charges of rioting in a move likely to further stir violent unrest. Charges were read against 23 people on Wednesday, accusing them of setting up road blocks, breaking fences, damaging street signs, and attacking police officers with "lethal weapons," such as bricks. It was the first time authorities have formally accused protesters of rioting - a charge that carries a possible 10-year prison sentence - since mass demonstrations broke out early June, plunging Hong Kong into its worst political turmoil since the former British colony was returned to Beijing. The charges came amid reports that Chinese armed forces are mobilising on the border with Hong Kong. The White House is monitoring the military build up, sources told Bloomberg. Protesters defied the lashing wind and rain of an incoming typhoon to gather outside court where demonstrators appeared before the judge to be formally charged with rioting. The indicted included a teacher, a nurse, an airline pilot, a barber, a chef, an electrician, a construction worker and unemployed people, according to their charge sheets. A 16-year-old girl was also among the group. The eldest was 41. Braving the weather, protesters chanted: "Release the righteous... There are no rioters, only tyranny... reclaim Hong Kong, the revolution of our times." Violent clashes ending in injuries and arrests are occurring nearly every day now in the former British colony as protesters angry with the government continue to go head-to-head with the police. Hong Kong protests On Tuesday spontaneous violent protests broke out outside the police headquarters as the new rioting charges were announced for the first time. Clashes between police and demonstrators took an extraordinary turn when crowds were targeted with fireworks shot from a moving car. At least six people were injured in the drive-by captured on video and shared widely on social media. The attacks are likely to sow further confusion amid the escalating crisis in Hong Kong, after protesters were targeted last week by a mob linked to triad gangs. Hong Kong police on Wednesday arrested three men on criminal damage and common assault, and said they will "spare no effort in investigating all illegal and violent acts". The charges formally levelled at protesters are likely to further enrage demonstrators, who first demanded the formal withdrawal of an extradition bill that would send suspects to face trial in mainland China, where Communist Party control of the courts contributes to a 99.9 per-cent conviction rate. Protesters have since expanded their demands to include the resignation of Hong Kong's chief executive Carrie Lam, the convening of an independent commission to investigate police brutality against the protesters, and the release of those arrested – at least 170 people so far. Continuing unrest is fuelling concerns that China's central government in Beijing might deploy the military,which would be reminiscent of the 1989 bloody crackdown in Tiananmen Square. In comments to Bloomberg on Wednesday, an anonymous US government official said the White House is monitoring a congregation of Chinese forces along the border to Hong Kong, though the nature of the build-up isn't clear. China's ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Wednesday she wasn't aware of a situation on the border. The Chinese central government reiterated earlier this week that it supported Hong Kong's leader and police in cracking down to maintain order, and that Beijing would only send troops at the request of city officials. China has also accused Western nations of sowing discord in the city as a way to destabilise China. "If the turbulence continues, the whole of Hong Kong society will pay the cost," said Yang Guang, a spokesman for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs office, which reports to China's cabinet. The Hong Kong government estimates the PLA maintains a garrison of 8,000 to 10,000 troops in Hong Kong, along with a naval squadron and a helicopter regiment; more troops are stationed in neighbouring Shenzhen. Demonstrations are planned through to late August.
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| Wake Schools parent sued after criticizing math curriculum Posted: 30 Jul 2019 05:41 PM PDT  A parent whose child goes to a high school in the Wake County Public School System has been sued after criticizing the math curriculum used in the district. "That's kind of scary that this would happen," said another parent.
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| Muslim Virginia lawmaker heckles Trump at Jamestown speech Posted: 30 Jul 2019 04:27 PM PDT  A heckler who interrupted a speech by President Donald Trump during Tuesday's commemoration of 400 years of American democracy is a new Muslim lawmaker from Virginia angered by the president's race-related rhetoric. After Samirah stood and held up his signs, he was led out of a tent where Trump was speaking at a museum near the site of the original Jamestown colony.
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| New York Extends Gun Background Checks, Bans Bump Stocks Posted: 30 Jul 2019 07:52 AM PDT  New York gun buyers may wait up to 30 days for background checks under a new law signed Monday by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo.Cuomo signed legislation to extend the background check waiting period from three days to as much as 30 for gun buyers who are not immediately approved, as well as a ban on bump stocks, the governor's office announced."By signing these measures into law we are strengthening our nation-leading gun laws — banning devices whose sole purpose is to create the most bloodshed in the shortest timeframe and providing law enforcement the tools they need to stop firearms from falling into dangerous hands." Cuomo said in a statement.The legislation passed both houses in January, according to the New York Post.New York gun dealers are required to perform National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) background checks on potential gun buyers, resulting in notifications to "proceed," "denied," or "delayed."The review typically took three days before the dealer could move forward or refuse the sale, a judgment they could make even if the background check came back "delayed."
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| Brazil inmates 'suffocated' during transfer after jail riot Posted: 31 Jul 2019 08:53 AM PDT  Four inmates involved in one of Brazil's deadliest prison riots suffocated while being transferred to another jail, officials said Wednesday, taking to 62 the number killed over two days. The men were among 46 prisoners removed from the Altamira Regional Recovery Center in the northern state of Para on Tuesday, a day after clashes between rival drug factions left 58 dead, according to the latest death toll. On Tuesday, 30 prisoners were handcuffed and put in four cells on a bus that was to take them to jails in the capital Belem, the state secretary for public security and social defense said in a statement.
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| Russian Instagram influencer, medical school graduate Ekaterina Karaglanova found dead in apparent murder Posted: 30 Jul 2019 07:38 AM PDT  Authorities are investigating after Ekaterina Karaglanova was found dead in a suitcase Friday in the hallway of her Moscow apartment building.
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| How to find out if your data was stolen in the Capital One hack, and what you can do about it (COF) Posted: 30 Jul 2019 08:55 AM PDT  If you applied for a Capital One credit card between 2005 and 2019, you might be one of the 100 million people affected.
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| Ancestry will let you search online for relatives who were displaced by the Holocaust Posted: 31 Jul 2019 10:19 AM PDT  Ancestry is digitizing millions of Holocaust persecution records and making them searchable online for free.
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| 'Please stay with me,' kidnapped Romanian girl begged police Posted: 31 Jul 2019 01:41 PM PDT !['Please stay with me,' kidnapped Romanian girl begged police]( "'Please stay with me,' kidnapped Romanian girl begged police") The family of a 15-year-old Romanian girl kidnapped earlier this month and now presumed dead has released recordings of her desperate calls for help to authorities whose handling of the case has caused public outrage and dismissals of officials. A mechanic from Caracal in south Romania has confessed to killing Alexandra Macesanu, who went missing on July 24, and another 18-year-old girl last seen in April. With authorities taking 19 hours to locate Macesanu after she made three calls to the emergency number 112, the case has sparked street protests, the interior minister's resignation, and the firing of some local officials.
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| Fox News Proves Pete Buttigieg Right That All Democrats Will Be Called Socialists Posted: 31 Jul 2019 09:14 AM PDT  REUTERSDuring Tuesday night's Democratic presidential primary debate, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg declared that it is time for Democrats to "stop worrying about what the Republicans will say" because no matter what agenda they embrace, "they're going to say we're a bunch of crazy socialists."Following the debate, a number of conservatives and Republicans on Fox airwaves have already gone out of their way to prove the mayor right.Discussing the debate Tuesday evening on The Ingraham Angle, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani suggested that former Vice President Joe Biden—who is participating in Wednesday's debate— may have gotten a boost from the debate before, of course, painting the Democratic field as socialist."I think Biden probably gains tonight if he can have a decent performance tomorrow night," he told host Laura Ingraham. "He is the one that naturally people would think of as a moderate, but Biden has been running to pretend that he can out-socialist all of them."The following hour, Fox News anchor Shannon Bream welcomed Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel to weigh in on the debate. It didn't take long for the RNC head to invoke socialism."What you saw from the Democrats tonight is the total socialist plan, takeover of all of our health care with this proposal from Medicare for All," she groused. "They didn't know how to pay for it. They were dishonest about the fact that it was would raise taxes on every single American."The following morning, meanwhile, Fox Business Network anchor Stuart Varney kicked things off on Varney and Co. by mockingly brushing off the notion that there were any centrist candidates on the stage the night before."Now, the political story of the day, very obviously, the debates," he declared. "The socialists, Sens. Warren and Sanders, emerged as the clear front-runners, at least for last night. So-called moderates, Klobuchar, Mayor Pete, Delaney, Bullock and Ryan, had very little impact. Beto all but disappeared. Last night, socialism rules!"Later on in the program, Fox News contributor Doug Schoen agreed with Varney that the party is "moving hard left and socialists rule the day," adding that self-described Democrats like himself traditionally "don't share socialist principles" and he can't support Sanders, Warren or "their ilk."The most glaring example, however, was a Wednesday morning interview with Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) during Fox News' America's Newsroom.Speaking with anchor Bill Hemmer, Kennedy fully rejected any notion that Tuesday's debate was between progressives and moderates before fully proving Buttigieg's prophecy correct."I would remind you that the lesser of two socialists is still a socialist," the Republican senator exclaimed. "And what I heard last night even from the so-called less liberal candidates—I'm not impugning their integrity—even from the less liberal candidates, I heard a job-killing, soul-crushing socialist agenda."He added: "The only thing missing was the Cuban national anthem."Hemmer, meanwhile, ended the brief segment by joking with the Republican lawmaker: "I don't know how it played in Havana," he said with a smile. "But I appreciate you coming back today."There was one die-hard Fox News viewer who was thrilled over Kennedy's on-air remarks, making sure to amplify them immediately."'The lesser of two Socialists is still a Socialist!' Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana," President Trump tweeted minutes after Kennedy's appearance.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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| Half of US voters believe Trump is racist after ‘go back’ comments, poll finds Posted: 31 Jul 2019 02:21 AM PDT  Around half of American voters believe Donald Trump is racist despite the US president saying he is the "least racist person in the world", according to a new poll. The survey was conducted by Quinnipiac University several days after Mr Trump said a group of four congresswomen of colour should "go back" to the countries they came from, even though all four are US citizens. The survey period, from 25-28 July, also included the day that Mr Trump launched a new attack on black congressman Elijah Cummings.He called Mr Cummings "a brutal bully" and described his Baltimore district as a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess". The poll results come as Democrats seeking the party's nomination for president enter a second round of debates. Nearly all of the 2020 candidates have roundly condemned Mr Trump's remarks as racist and divisive.The poll found that 51 per cent of voters think Mr Trump is racist while 45 per cent do not.When separated by party, 86 per cent of Democratic voters classified Mr Trump as racist while 91 per cent of Republicans said he was not.About 88 per cent of those who said Mr Trump was racist disapprove of the job he is doing as president, while 94 per cent of those who said he was not racist approve of his performance.Other polls conducted by USA Today/Ipsos, The Economist/YouGov and Fox News in July have shown that between half and two-thirds of Americans believe that telling someone to "go back" is a racist statement and that Mr Trump's tweets "cross the line".The US president also attacked civil rights leader Reverand Al Sharpton earlier this week. The president denounced Mr Sharpton on Twitter as "a con man" who "Hates Whites & Cops" and doubled down on his attacks against Mr Cummings.Mr Trump also claimed he is the "least racist person in the world" following his comments attacking politicians of colour and civil rights figures.The Quinnipac poll found that 41 per cent of survey respondents believe Mr Trump's immigration policies are motivated by "racist beliefs", compared with 49 per cent who ascribed them to "a sincere interest in controlling our borders". New York Times
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| The Arctic’s On Fire (You Can Even See It From Space). It Will Get Worse. Posted: 30 Jul 2019 03:05 AM PDT  Europe's historic heat wave is heading north this weekend, to the relief of the continent, but its path will send it right towards the Arctic — where it could speed up the melting of sea ice and coincide with devastating wildfires.Unprecedented wildfires are currently raging across the Arctic Circle, with some the size of 100,000 football fields — so big they can be seen from space. Arctic sea ice is moreover already running at a record low this year; scientists worry a heat wave will only further exacerbate the area's problems.One week after the United States saw record-shattering high temperatures, the same fate befell Europe. On Thursday, Paris saw temperatures of 108.7 degrees Fahrenheit (42.6 degrees Celsius), a record high, with Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands also facing their own record days. The sweltering weather is the result of a heat dome that has allowed hot air to come north from the Sahara Desert, all while blocking cooler air from reaching people.July is typically a warm month in much of the northern hemisphere, but climate scientists have connected the uptick in dangerously hot temperatures to global warming, with future years set to be much worse.Scorching temperatures can be deadly for children, the elderly, and people with disabilities, in addition to anyone without access to cooling systems. In Europe, where air-conditioning is less common than the United States, many residents faced grueling heat without an easy mechanism for cooling off. London, for example, does not have air conditioning in its crowded subway system.
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| UK warship commander says Iran trying 'to test' Britain in Gulf Posted: 31 Jul 2019 02:13 AM PDT  The commander of a British warship accompanying UK-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions with Iran said Wednesday that Tehran appeared to be testing the Royal Navy's resolve. William King, commander of HMS Montrose, said during 27 days patrolling the flashpoint entrance to the Gulf he had had 85 "interactions with Iranian forces", which had often led to "an exchange of warnings" over radio. Montrose, on a three-year deployment in the region since April based at a British naval hub opened in Bahrain last year, began the escorts through the world's busiest oil shipping lane earlier this month.
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| Kane, once Pennsylvania attorney general, released from jail Posted: 31 Jul 2019 09:08 AM PDT  A former Pennsylvania attorney general who was convicted of leaking grand jury material and lying about it is out of jail, walking free Wednesday after serving eight months behind bars. Kane resigned after being convicted in 2016 of perjury, obstruction and other counts for leaking grand jury material to a Philadelphia newspaper and lying about it. Kane won in a landslide in 2012, becoming the first woman and first Democrat to win the office.
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| 3-year-old Chinese boy falls from six stories, gets saved by blanket-wielding crowd below Posted: 31 Jul 2019 11:33 AM PDT  A three-year-old boy who fell from the sixth floor of a building on Monday wassaved after a crowd of bystanders used a blanket to catch him, China's CCTVreported
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| Lyft driver fatally shot on 52nd wedding anniversary. He had just called his wife to celebrate Posted: 31 Jul 2019 09:24 AM PDT  Harold Treadwell, 71, was driving for Lyft around 12:30 a.m. Sunday when someone outside of the vehicle shot him, Phoenix police said.
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| Three tourists found dead in frigid waters of Alaskan lake Posted: 30 Jul 2019 10:27 PM PDT ![Three tourists found dead in frigid waters of Alaskan lake]( "Three tourists found dead in frigid waters of Alaskan lake") Three tourists were found dead on Tuesday in a boating accident in the glacial waters of an Alaskan lake, famous for its spectacular views, police said. The victims, all in their 60s, appeared to have been paddling a single inflatable boat on Valdez Glacier Lake, about 120 miles east of Anchorage, police in Valdez said. The lake is known for its spectacular views of the surrounding mountains, and chunks of ice that have broken off from the Valdez Glacier float on its surface, according to tour guides.
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| 'I Have Lived in Repentance for the Past Several Years.' Megachurch Pastor, Purity Advocate Says He's No Longer Christian Posted: 31 Jul 2019 08:29 AM PDT  A former relationship guru and megachurch pastor who advocated premarital purity in his million-selling 1997 book "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" now says he's "not a Christian."
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| 'Moscow Mitch' bets your bottom ruble: Today's Toon Posted: 31 Jul 2019 05:18 PM PDT  Want to keep up with USA TODAY's editorial cartoons? Bookmark this page. We'll update it frequently.
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| Fox News Show Blows Up Over Whether Trump Is Racist or Not: ‘This Is Insane!’ Posted: 31 Jul 2019 11:24 AM PDT  Fox News' early-afternoon gabfest Outnumbered went completely off the rails Wednesday as lone liberal panelist Jessica Tarlov tangled with her conservative colleagues over whether or not it is fair to describe President Trump as racist.Discussing the president's days-long attacks on Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and Baltimore, things quickly heated up when co-host Dagen McDowell was openly miffed when fellow panelist Lisa Marie Boothe continued to correct her as she tried to make a point.Responding to a recent poll showing 51 percent of Americans and 86 percent of Democrats believing the president is racist, McDowell attempted to counter a point that Boothe made earlier that Democratic politicians are allegedly pandering to the left."Here's the problem—all those people you mention, Lisa, they're not running for re-election next year," McDowell said, prompting Boothe to note that Bernie Sanders is running for president. As McDowell conceded that point, Boothe further mentioned a member of Congress was also up for re-election, causing McDowell to snap."I said president," the Fox Business host sneered. "You corrected me once and you were right. Let's move on."That strange confrontation merely set the stage for an even more combative blow-up involving Boothe. After McDowell noted that a large number of black voters who voted for Obama stayed home in 2016, and that Trump's race-baiting could come back to bite him, Boothe contended that Trump could simply argue that black unemployment is at an all-time low and tout criminal justice reform. This prompted Tarlov, the lone liberal, to jump in and insist that such a strategy wouldn't erase Trump's history of racism."He could make those arguments but it won't change the fact that he is a racist and he does racist things," Tarlov declared as anchor Harris Faulkner said those were "two different things" and Boothe claimed she was "weaponizing words."The liberal co-host, however, pushed forward. "A birther means that you're a racist," Tarlov said. "Telling women of color who are congressional representatives to go back to where they came from—when three of them are Americans from birth, one a refugee who is now a citizen—is racist. Thinking that the Central Park Five is still guilty even though they've been exonerated, is racist."Moments later, after going back and forth with Faulkner over whether the so-called "Squad" was right to suggest Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is racist—even though Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has specifically said she doesn't believe Pelosi is racist—Tarlov then found herself in a battle with Boothe.Having already noted that she's been in countless Fox debates over whether Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are anti-Semitic or bigoted, Tarlov said they "need to be honest" that it was racist for Trump to describe Baltimore as a place where "no human would want to live.""That's what Bernie Sanders said as well—that it was a third world country," Boothe responded, prompting Tarlov to bury her head in her hands and exclaim: "This is insane!"As Boothe insisted Tarlov was "playing a semantics game," the liberal co-host said she would remember all of this the next time they had a discussion on Louis Farrakhan or Omar's controversial "all about the Benjamins" tweet and they demand that she talk about that.The two would continue to argue a little bit longer over which political party was more racist until Faulkner stepped in."I appreciate the passion, and I know we will go back and forth, but it's a conversation," the anchor said. "Okay? When you put your hands in the air and you roll your eyes and we kind of go back and forth, it feels less like a conversation. But that's where we need to be."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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| Why the U.S. Marines Might Totally Hate Their New Sniper Rifle Posted: 30 Jul 2019 12:33 AM PDT  "The M110A1 was never intended to replace the M40A6, but to replace the M110," Hamby told Task & Purpose. "The bolt action M40A6 has a different purpose from the semi-automatic M110A1, which is used for rapid engagement … The M40A6 remains a program of record for the Marine Corps."The Marine Corps is throwing down cash to test-drive the same compact sniper rifle the Army has pursued in recent months. But while its 7.62mm rounds pack the punch required by scout snipers facing increasingly protected enemies downrange, its effective range falls well short of the sniper systems used by both foreign militaries and militants — a limitation that makes it unclear just what the Corps could do with this new weapon.(This first appeared last year.)The Army's proposed fiscal 2019 budget includes $46.2 million to field 5,180 M110A1 Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System (CSASS) rifles for infantry, scout, and engineer squads, with the goal of eventually buying as many as 8,711 of the lightweight 7.62mm arms. PEO Soldier told Task & Purpose in January 2018 that the Marine Corps also was "committed" to adopting the CSASS.And lo and behold: The Marine Corps' $40.8 billion proposed fiscal 2019 budget includes just under $1 million for the service to procure just 116 CSASS rifles. The Marines' line item says the CSASS, based on the Heckler & Koch G28E sniper rifle with a baffle-less OSS suppressor, could replace the venerable M110 with "enhanced shooter ergonomics and increased operational availability time" and "improve the sniper's ability to rapidly engage multiple, moving targets."
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| 500 Beers of Summer Posted: 30 Jul 2019 09:00 AM PDT |
| George W. Bush paintings to go on display at Kennedy Center Posted: 31 Jul 2019 12:53 PM PDT  Paintings of wounded US military veterans by former president George W. Bush are to go on display this year at a Kennedy Center gallery, the Washington-based national cultural center said Wednesday. "The Kennedy Center is proud to share these works -- painted by a living president -- that honor the men and women who defend our freedom," its president Deborah Rutter said in a statement.
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| Match.com attacker found guilty of rape for lying to woman about having a vasectomy Posted: 31 Jul 2019 07:33 AM PDT  The Match.com attacker has been found guilty of the rape of a woman he lied about having had a vasectomy to convince her to sleep with him, in the first case of its kind. One of the worst serial rapists in Britain, Jason Lawrance had contacted thousands of women on the dating site Match.com or its partner company Dating Direct between 2009 and 2014, attacking 13 of them to "satisfy a selfish sexual need". The 54 year-old, who was jailed for life with a minimum term of 12 years and six months in 2016 for sexually violating seven women, appeared emotionless as jurors at Nottingham Crown Court delivered the latest verdicts. Despite offering no defence during his second trial, the father-of-three denied seven counts of rape, one charge of sexual assault and a further charge of assault by penetration - claiming all sex had been consensual. But he was found guilty of five counts of rape, one count of sexual assault and one charge of assault by penetration. Jurors cleared Lawrance of two further charges of rape. A jury panel of six men and six women were told of the former businessman's convictions for rape, attempted rape and sexual assault in his previous trial at Derby Crown Court, in which a judge labelled the rapist as a "devious and manipulative... sexual predator". Five of Lawrance's latest victims came forward after his "criminality filtered out into homes across the country" through news reports covering the trial. Jurors in Nottingham were told that in July 2014, the former self-employed builder got one woman pregnant despite telling her he had had a vasectomy - something he later passed off as "just banter". Despite reassuring her repeatedly, the court heard how Lawrance, who used Match.com with profile names such as KeepItStraightToday and StraightMan-Looking, messaged her the following day to tell her: "I have a confession. I'm still fertile. Sorry." He also attacked another woman in late 2012 in her Northamptonshire home before "calmly" going upstairs to have a shower. Lawrance had met the woman after she invited him round for a coffee. Other women were attacked in Lawrance's car or van, with one being pushed on a double bed in the back of his van after taking a drive to Bradgate Park, Leicestershire in January 2014. The court was told another woman had a belt wrapped around her neck, in an area called Bluebell Woods in Dingley Dell, Market Harborough shortly after he joined Match.com in 2009. Opening the case against Lawrance earlier in July, Clive Stockwell QC said: "Rape necessarily involves the exploitation of vulnerability, vulnerability exploited to satisfy a selfish sexual need. "During this trial, you will hear of the cruelty suffered by... vulnerable women, all exploited to satisfy a selfish sexual need. "The selfish sexual needs of Jason Lawrance." In the previous trial in Derby, Judge Gregory Dickinson QC called for a review of internet dating safety measures after expressing concern that four of the victims had made complaints to Match.com before three other women were raped. Upon hearing of his latest offences, Match.com said member safety is their "primary priority" - adding: "Match has a zero-tolerance policy for reports of serious offences and we encourage anyone who has felt exposed to unsafe behaviour, whether through our services or anywhere else, to speak to the police." To try to prevent similar attacks, the site introduced the "report a profile" feature and encourages all users to only message on its own platforms. Lawrance, formerly of Liphook, Hampshire, was remanded back into custody by Mr Justice Jeremy Baker to be sentenced at the same court at a later date.
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| Singapore says drug smuggling worsens, even as hangings rise Posted: 31 Jul 2019 03:37 AM PDT ![Singapore says drug smuggling worsens, even as hangings rise]( "Singapore says drug smuggling worsens, even as hangings rise") Drug trafficking into Singapore, which has some of the world's toughest drugs laws, has risen recently, the law minister said on Wednesday, and he defended capital punishment for serious drug crime as reflecting public support. Rights group Lawyers for Liberty warned of an "execution binge" after it said a number of prisoners on death row in Singapore had their requests for presidential pardons rejected this month. "We have seen an increase in the number of people coming in from countries trying to traffic," Minister of Law K Shanmugam told Reuters.
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| Canada police shift manhunt for teen slaying suspects Posted: 30 Jul 2019 04:18 PM PDT  Canadian police said Tuesday they have pulled out of a remote northern town after an intensive search turned up no sign of two fugitive teenagers suspected of killing three people — a college professor, a North Carolina woman and her Australian boyfriend. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police used dogs and drones, helicopters, boats and even a military Hercules aircraft to scour the area around York Landing, Manitoba, but were unable to confirm a possible sighting of the two men reported by members of a neighborhood watch group. Nineteen-year-old McLeod and 18-year-old Schmegelsky have been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Leonard Dyck, a University of British Columbia professor whose body was found last week in British Columbia.
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| Beto Slams Warren’s ‘Mistaken’ Call to Decriminalize Border Crossings Posted: 31 Jul 2019 07:55 AM PDT  Beto O'Rourke criticized Senator Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday for suggesting that decriminalizing illegal border crossings is the most effective way to end family separations at the border.During the second round of Democratic primary debates Tuesday evening, Warren reiterated her support for eliminating the criminal statute prohibiting illegal entry into the country, which would ensure that only migrants who commit other, ostensibly more serious crimes can be detained.Asked about Warren's position during a Wednesday appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe, O'Rourke argued that the family separations that occurred at the border under the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" enforcement policy can be prevented without fundamentally altering immigration law."I tried to correct the record, but wasn't recognized to do this: Senator Warren mistakenly said that Donald Trump is using the criminal code to separate families and to cage kids and to visit this cruelty and inhumanity on our fellow human beings, and that's just not right," O'Rourke said."You can use the civil code, the criminal code, or you could just look to one of the cruelest, most inhumane presidents that we've ever had. That's the problem that we have right now. It's not an immigration law that's been on the books for decades," he added.The former Texas congressman was one of just three Democratic primary candidates to demure when asked during the first round of debates whether they would support Representative Julian Castro's proposal to make illegal border crossing a civil, rather than a criminal, offense.O'Rourke, who grew up near the southern border in El Paso, Texas, defended his opposition to Castro's proposal by pointing out that section 1325 of the Immigration and Naturalization Act, which makes crossing the border a criminal offense, is primarily being used to detain people who are suspected of human or drug trafficking. In fact, only roughly ten percent of people caught crossing the border illegally this year were prosecuted under section 1325.
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| Trump dismisses Baltimore backlash: 'I am the least racist person anywhere in the world' Posted: 30 Jul 2019 08:23 AM PDT  President Trump on Tuesday tried to defend his most recent attack on a lawmaker of color, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and Baltimore, claiming the city's African-American residents "really appreciate what I'm doing."
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| Army Soldiers Will Use Special M-2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle to Control Robots Posted: 30 Jul 2019 12:08 PM PDT  U.S. Army soldiers riding in a specially-modified M-2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle will control a platoon of ground robots during an upcoming exercise in Colorado.The planned 2020 test "moves beyond the basic 'robotic wingman' pursuits that have so far led how the mechanized community of the Army is getting at using semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles," Army Times reporter Todd South explained.Army officials intend for the month-long exercise at Fort Carson to gather data for the service's Ground Vehicle Systems Center. The soldiers in the exercise will operate the unmanned ground vehicles from inside upgraded Bradleys that the Army refers to as "Mission Enabler Technologies-Demonstrators."The upgrades include a remotely-operated turret for the vehicle's 25-millimeter gun, extra sensors for 360-degree awareness and new crew stations with touchscreens, according to an Army release.The Colorado war game will involve two of the special Bradley controlling a total of four UGVs, South reported.The U.S., British and Russian militaries, among others, quickly are moving to integrate armed robots into their ground forces.
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| Gensler's Temporary Structure for Notre-Dame Has Just Been Unveiled Posted: 30 Jul 2019 03:13 PM PDT  The Pavillon Notre-Dame, which could be situated next to the historic church, allows visitors a temporary place for worship and reflection
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