| As the Trump administration fills board seats, critics see an alarming attempt to remake government Posted: 15 Jan 2020 02:00 AM PST  For the Trump administration, appointing board members may be an effective and little-noticed means of weakening a federal apparatus it fundamentally distrusts. His board appointments, many of which may outlast his presidency, could serve an internal Republican resistance to a future Democratic administration.
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| 'Kill shot that took them out': Video reportedly shows 2nd Iranian missile hitting passenger jet Posted: 15 Jan 2020 12:58 PM PST  Surveillance video circulating on social media appears to show two Iranian missiles slamming into a Ukrainian jet that crashed, killing 176.
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| Teacher asks students to ‘identify rapist’ on homework assignment, prompting investigation Posted: 15 Jan 2020 09:34 AM PST  Texas schools officials say they've taken "corrective action" after a ninth grade teacher included a question about a rape victim in a homework assignment receivedApproximately 90 students received an assignment that asked the following: "Suzy was assaulted in an alley and is a victim of rape. The police collected a sample of sperm that was left at the crime scene and now have three suspects in custody. Which of the suspects raped Suzy?"
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| As Iran missiles battered Iraq base, US lost eyes in sky Posted: 14 Jan 2020 05:52 PM PST  Ain al-Asad Air Base (Iraq) (AFP) - Moments after volleys of Iranian missiles began to batter Iraq's Ain al-Asad airbase, US soldiers at the desert facility lost contact with their ultra-powerful -- and expensive -- eyes in the sky. At the time the attack was launched at 1:35 am on January 8, the US army was flying seven unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over Iraq to monitor bases where US-led coalition forces are deployed. "We thought it may lead to a ground assault, so we kept the aircraft up," said one of the pilots, 26-year-old Staff Sergeant Costin Herwig.
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| Iran president slams removal of candidates from elections Posted: 15 Jan 2020 04:51 AM PST  Iran's president Wednesday slammed the disqualification of thousands of people, including 90 current lawmakers, from running in upcoming parliamentary elections. Although hard-liners were among those disqualified by the powerful Guardian Council, most of those rejected were reformist and moderate candidates, according to Tehran's reformist newspaper Etemad. President Hassan Rouhani appeared to confirm this in his stinging critique of the council, which barred more than 9,000 from the over 14,000 people who had registered to run.
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| Six tourists have been arrested over accusations that they damaged Peru's cultural heritage Posted: 14 Jan 2020 10:33 AM PST  Six tourists, including a Frenchwoman, have been arrested over accusations that they damaged Peru's cultural heritage by defecating in a sacred temple at the iconic Machu Picchu sanctuary. "The six tourists are being detained and investigated by the public ministry for the alleged crime against cultural heritage," Cuzco regional police chief Wilbert Leyva said on Monday, quoted by the local Andina news agency.
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| Ted Cruz Pitches ‘Witness Reciprocity’ for Impeachment Trial Posted: 15 Jan 2020 06:11 AM PST  Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas) on Tuesday pitched the idea of "witness reciprocity" for the Senate impeachment trial during a meeting with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) and other top Senate Republicans.The idea would allow Republicans and Democrats to summon an equal number of witnesses to testify. For example, if the Democrats subpoena testimony from former national security adviser John Bolton, Republicans would be allowed to summon Hunter Biden in return."We'll be dealing with the witness issue at the appropriate time into the trial. And I think it's certainly appropriate to point out that both sides would want to call witnesses if they wanted to hear from them," McConnell commented to reporters. "So if you get to that issue, I can't imagine that only the witnesses our Democratic colleagues want to call will be called."McConnell originally sought to dismiss the articles of impeachment without calling witnesses, angering Democrats who wanted to hear from Bolton before the Senate vote on impeachment. However, several Republican Senators have objected to the notion of dismissing charges before hearing from witnesses."Our members generally are not interested in the motion to dismiss," Senator Roy Blunt (R., Mo.) told reporters on Monday. "They think both sides need to be heard," and President Trump "deserves an opportunity to get a fair hearing, make his case and I think that's ultimately what will happen."Bolton, who was present at key moments in the Trump administration's actions regarding Ukraine, had previously indicated he wanted a decision from federal court regarding whether it was appropriate for him to testify. However, in early January the former adviser released a statement saying he would testify if subpoenaed by the Senate.
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| Missing Ohio teen found dead in abandoned home's chimney Posted: 14 Jan 2020 10:40 PM PST  The police checked the home several times, but found no sign of forced entry — then they checked one last time.
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| Tom Steyer gets his big moment by awkwardly interrupting Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren's postdebate exchange Posted: 14 Jan 2020 09:39 PM PST  "It was one of those awkward moments where I felt like, OK, I need to move on as fast as possible," Steyer told CNN.
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| Merkel to seek end to Huawei dispute in her conservative camp: sources Posted: 15 Jan 2020 03:44 PM PST  Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet senior conservative lawmakers on Thursday to resolve a dispute in her own party over whether to bar China's Huawei [HWT.UL] from the country's 5G network rollout, party sources said. Merkel's conservatives are divided on whether to support a proposal by their Social Democrat junior coalition partners that, if approved, would effectively shut out the Chinese technology giant from the network. Handelsblatt business daily was first to report on Wednesday the planned meeting between Merkel and senior conservative lawmakers.
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| Heartbreaking photos show dogs and horses being rescued after Taal volcano eruption Posted: 15 Jan 2020 08:08 AM PST  The nation's disaster response team said that at least 30,000 people fled their homes that surrounded the country's second most active volcano Monday.
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| Postpone the Impeachment Trial Until the House Finishes Investigating Posted: 15 Jan 2020 02:34 PM PST  Two things happened simultaneously on Wednesday: (a) The House of Representatives transmitted to the Senate two articles of impeachment approved on straight partisan lines a month ago, and (b) the House's impeachment inquiry — yes, it's still very much alive — highlighted new, relevant evidence it has turned up about the activities in Ukraine of President Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and Giuliani's associates.The Democrats' strategy is coming clear.The House provided the Senate with two half-baked impeachment articles. House Democrats rushed through the investigation, forgoing salient witnesses and evidence, because of the political calendar. The charges are weak and the inquiry was needlessly short-circuited, so Democrats have continued investigating the premature allegations. Now they are publicly disclosing newly acquired evidence, with the promise of more to come. Transparently, their goal is to pressure the Senate not merely to conduct a trial but to complete the investigation that the House failed to complete — calling witnesses and gathering evidence, as if a trial were nothing more than an extension of an open-ended grand-jury probe.Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans should not let them get away with it. No trial court would allow itself to be whipsawed this way. A federal judge would tell prosecutors to go back to the grand jury, finish the investigation, and come back to the trial court when they have a case ready to be tried, not investigated.That is not to say new evidence may not be serious. It may be very serious. It could make the case worse for President Trump. But in any event, there should be just one trial, and it should occur when the investigation is complete. This is not supposed to be a non-stop grand jury, with an ever-hovering prospect of new articles of impeachment, in addition to an endless stream of newly emerging materials that the Senate is expected to sort out rather than judge.Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans should hold the two pending articles in abeyance, or vote to dismiss them without prejudice to the House's revoting them when its impeachment inquiry is finally concluded.The new information that has emerged underscores a strategic error by the president and House Republicans, which I have outlined several times since the Ukraine controversy emerged. They have insisted on fighting the Ukraine allegations on the impossible theory that the president's communication with his Ukrainian counterpart, President Volodymyr Zelensky, was "perfect," and that there was no quid pro quo — i.e., no indication that the president was withholding official acts sought by Kyiv ($400 million in defense aid and a White House visit) until its government met his demands (the public announcement that Ukraine would conduct an investigation of the Bidens and into Ukraine's role in the Trump-Russia investigation).I have contended, to the contrary, that the president's best defense is that nothing of consequence happened. I have been prepared to assume that the president pressured Ukraine, as alleged. But it was much ado about nothing: Ukraine got the defense aid (and barely knew it had been briefly delayed); Zelensky did not have to make any commitment about investigations; and he got his high-profile audience with President Trump (albeit at the United Nations in New York City, not at the White House). The president's defense should be that, while there may have been improprieties, nothing here approaches the egregious misconduct required to trigger impeachment.This would be the best strategy in any event. It is an imperative strategy, however, in a situation such as this one, where the investigation is continuing and new information is coming out continuously. Under my approach, if new evidence emerged about the president's knowledge of or complicity in the pressure campaign on Zelensky, it could be dismissed as mere confirmation of what was already obvious. But because the president and Republicans have taken the tack that nothing inappropriate happened and no pressure was asserted, any evidence of impropriety and pressure can be framed as a bombshell — even though it doesn't actually change the bottom line.Giuliani associate Lev Parnas is under indictment in the Southern District of New York (SDNY), in a case that has factual overlap with events that were the focus of the House impeachment inquiry. Parnas wants to use his potential value as a witness in the impeachment inquiry as leverage against his SDNY prosecution. So he has begun sharing information from the SDNY case with House investigators. They, in turn, are releasing the information to the media, which are reporting it as ground-shaking revelations.That information (texts, notes, and the like) indicates that Giuliani, representing that he was acting with the president's knowledge and approval, and in his official capacity as Trump's private lawyer, sought a meeting with Zelensky in mid May 2019. The implication is that this was part of a then-ongoing plan to push Ukraine for an investigation of the Bidens.Moreover, there are communications between Parnas and Yuriy Lutsenko, a Ukrainian prosecutor who was helping Giuliani investigate possible Biden corruption, about their desire for the ouster of Marie Yovanovitch — the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, who was eventually removed by the president at the urging of Giuliani (among others). There is enough detail in Parnas's correspondence about Yovanovitch's activities that it raises the disturbing specter that he was monitoring an American ambassador.The allegedly unjustified removal of Yovanovitch was extensively covered in the House hearings, which included the ambassador's testimony. It was mainly atmospheric, rather than substantive. The president does not need a reason to dismiss an ambassador. And while it was vaguely suggested that Yovanovitch was removed because she was seen as an obstacle to pressuring Ukraine for an investigation of the Bidens, that was not established. There are no impeachment articles tied to her removal.If I am right, and Parnas is trying to use his potential value as an impeachment witness as a chip in plea negotiations with the SDNY, that could take time to work out. (The SDNY, whose job is prosecution, not impeachment, would want a guilty plea and full cooperation; Parnas would want immunity.) Meanwhile, the other major storyline is that John Bolton, formerly the president's national-security adviser, has indicated that he is willing to testify if called. He is patently a relevant witness to the internal administration discussions over delayed defense aid to Ukraine. So is acting chief of staff and budget director Mick Mulvaney. So may be Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, if the House's continuing investigation is focusing on Ambassador Yovanovitch's dismissal.Plainly, there are loose ends here that the House should have tied up and that, importantly, the House is continuing to investigate. Note that Democrats have been caterwauling that the impeachment trial will not be fair because Senate Republicans are too in-the-tank for Trump to do their duty as impartial decision-makers (as if Democrats were not rabid anti-Trump partisans). But what could more undermine the fairness of a trial than a continuing, very public investigation of the same defendant while that trial is proceeding?No trial judge would put up with that. Prosecutors would not be permitted to present the case before a trial jury while, outside the courtroom, they were prejudicing the trial by continuing to investigate and publicize their findings.There is a very simple solution, one that judges in federal court deal with all the time in cases that are still under investigation when an indictment is initially filed: Don't schedule the trial until the prosecutors acknowledge to the court that the investigation is over and no further charges are anticipated.It is worth bearing in mind: Impeachment is not just any trial. It stops the legislative business of the United States cold. There will be no movement of bills, no consideration of appointments, no hearings on vital issues such as Iran and the use of force. The impeachment trial will impede the work of the Supreme Court, since the chief justice must preside. In this instance, the impeachment trial will even wreak havoc on the Democratic nomination campaign, as senators — including top-tier contenders Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders — must sit as jurors for six days a week.These are costs that must be borne. There has been an impeachment, so the Constitution calls on the Senate to act. But for the sake of our governance, that should mean a single trial, and it should represent the Democrats' best, most complete case for the president's removal. That trial should not happen until the investigation is done and the charges are fully ripe. By contrast, if Republicans allow Democrats to engage in the ongoing gamesmanship — in which the Senate trial would open, but House Democrats plan to throw new evidence into the mix every few days or weeks, demanding that the Senate trial be expanded to investigate what it all means — we would be looking at weeks, maybe months, of governmental paralysis. There is, moreover, basic fairness: The accused is supposed to know what the allegations are before the trial starts — the charges are not supposed to evolve as the trial proceeds.The importance of preserving impeachment as a viable constitutional remedy for presidential misconduct transcends the current administration and Congress. If impeachment must be done, it should be done right. It should not be done as a partisan game of investigative ping-pong between congressional chambers.
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| First Gaza rockets against Israel since Soleimani killing Posted: 15 Jan 2020 01:02 PM PST  The Israeli military said four rockets were fired Wednesday from Hamas-controlled Gaza, the first since Israel's ally the US killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. It did not say where the other two rockets landed.
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| Ukraine Urges Five-Nation Probe Into Downed Jet, Even Without Iran Posted: 14 Jan 2020 09:19 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Ukraine called for an investigation by five countries that lost citizens in last week's downing of a passenger jet leaving Tehran -- but said Iran isn't likely to participate in the probe.Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko will head to London to meet Thursday with his counterparts from the U.K., Canada, Sweden and Afghanistan after Iran belatedly admitted shooting down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 by mistake, killing all 176 people aboard."We'll elaborate on what we're going to do internationally and collectively against Iran," Prystaiko said Tuesday in an interview in Singapore. "We want to go deep down to the very bottom of it and have the people responsible brought to justice."Top prosecutors from the nations will create a criminal-investigation team and will pursue compensation, according to the minister, who said "so far we don't have Iran at the table." German officials could join the process, though, as some victims had dual German-Afghan citizenship, he said.The three-year-old Boeing Co. 737-800 abruptly stopped transmitting its position and plunged to the ground about two minutes after takeoff from Tehran on Jan. 8. The crash occurred hours after the Islamic Republic started launching rockets against Iraqi bases where U.S. forces are stationed, in retaliation for the killing of Iran's top general, Qassem Soleimani.On the day of the tragedy, Prystaiko said his opposite number in Iran didn't give away what really happened, with initial reports suggesting engine failure as the reason for the crash."In this conversation he never hinted to me that they actually shot down our plane," Prystaiko said. "It was a very formal conversation that something had happened: 'We send our condolences; we ask your team to help us with the investigation."'Iran said Tuesday that it's arrested a number of people linked to the downing of the plane."I promise that the government, with all its ability and using everything at its disposal, will investigate this matter," President Hassan Rouhani told officials in remarks broadcast live on state TV. "This is not an ordinary case. The entire world will be watching."Prystaiko welcomed the development but remains cautious, saying he wants to see "the real people, those responsible" brought to justice -- echoing calls for accountability from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.There's also tension over the fate of the flight's black boxes, which the government in Tehran indicated have been taken to France with investigators from Iran and Ukraine.Despite Iran accepting responsibility for the disaster, Ukraine wants a thorough investigation using data gleaned from the flight recorder that should be "in our possession on Ukrainian soil," according to PrystaikoIran's admission of culpability has prompted outrage and protests. Prystaiko said the demonstrations shouldn't impinge on the investigation."I expect full cooperation with us regardless of the political pressure," he said. "There are moments when the government has to explain to their own people that 'we're responsible for the deaths of these people and the crash of this plane shot down from our own skies."'\--With assistance from Daryna Krasnolutska.To contact the reporter on this story: Philip J. Heijmans in Singapore at pheijmans1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, Andrew LangleyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Pakistan: 21 more bodies recovered in avalanche-hit Kashmir Posted: 15 Jan 2020 09:17 AM PST  Search teams aided by Pakistani troops pulled out 21 more bodies from homes destroyed by this week's avalanches in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, raising the overall death toll due to severe winter weather to 160 for Pakistan and Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday. Rescuers were racing against time to reach scores of people believed still to be trapped inside their homes, buried under avalanches triggered by heavy snowfall in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
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| Tekashi 6ix9ine asked to serve the rest of his 2-year sentence in home confinement because his prison has a lot of Blood gang members Posted: 15 Jan 2020 07:38 AM PST  Lawyers for Tekashi 6ix9ine, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, said putting the rapper in any facility would jeopardize his safety.
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| Bernie Sanders said he was talking about 'the weather' with Elizabeth Warren in viral moment at end of Iowa debate Posted: 15 Jan 2020 02:28 PM PST Sanders told a reporter on Wednesday that he and Warren were discussing "the weather" during a viral moment the night before.
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| Warning of 'serious threats' Virginia governor bans weapons at gun-rights rally Posted: 15 Jan 2020 05:54 AM PST  Northam, who is leading the push for stronger gun laws in his state, said he wants to avoid a repeat of violence that erupted at a 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, when a march by white nationalists erupted and led to the death of a counterprotester. Gun-rights advocates, including militia groups and ultraconservative activists, are planning a "Lobby Day" rally on Monday, seeking to block gun control legislation backed by Northam, a Democrat, whose party recently won majorities in both chambers of the state legislature.
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| Lion at Chicago-area zoo dies after mysterious fall, less than 2 weeks after mate's death Posted: 14 Jan 2020 07:59 PM PST  Brookfield Zoo's lion Isis was put down Tuesday after suffering injuries from a fall in her enclosure. Her mate Zenda died less than two weeks ago.
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| Why Andrew Yang thinks candidates of color have been shut out of the Democratic debates Posted: 14 Jan 2020 05:15 PM PST  Andrew Yang has a theory for why there are barely any candidates of color left in the Democratic primary race.After Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) dropped out earlier this week, Yang remains the only person of color in the Democratic race with a solid base of support. And as he tells Politico ahead of Tuesday night's Democratic debate, that dilemma stems from "inequities and financial realities" that affect people of color outside of politics, too.While Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) made the December debate stage, she dropped out of the 2020 race due to a lack of financial support beforehand, leaving Yang the only person of color in that debate. That left him feeling "a bit of extra pressure" to talk about race both in the debate and in his campaign in general, he told Politico. "Race has not been the central theme of my campaign from the beginning," Yang said, but added "it's more natural to talk about it when you're literally the only person of color on a national debate stage."Now, Yang has been barred from Tuesday's debate after he failed to make the Democratic National Committee's polling threshold, leaving six white candidates on the stage. This, Yang says, "reflects the realities of our society where being able to run for office and contribute to political campaigns requires a degree of disposable income. If you're black or Latino in the country, you are much less likely to have disposable income."DNC Chair Tom Perez defended the thresholds as a "remarkably inclusive and frankly low bar" which have resulted in "the most diverse field in American history."More stories from theweek.com John Bolton will reportedly reveal some of what he knows about Trump's Ukraine scandal in his upcoming book 'Okay Boomer' was just used in a Supreme Court argument for the 1st time The paradox of Trump's trillion-dollar deficit
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| Report: Putin and Assad caught laughing at Trump Posted: 15 Jan 2020 07:30 AM PST  Vladimir Putin and Bashar Assad have been caught on video mocking President Trump.
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| How the world discovered the Nazi death camps Posted: 13 Jan 2020 06:09 PM PST  Images of what the Allies found when they liberated the first Nazi death camps towards the end of World War II brought the horror of the Holocaust to world attention. Many of the ghastly pictures were at first held back from the broader public, partly out of concern for those with missing relatives. The concentration and extermination camps were liberated one by one as the Allied armies advanced on Berlin in the final days of the 1939-1945 war.
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| The Navy’s Smallest Warship Gets a Big Laser Weapon Posted: 14 Jan 2020 01:53 PM PST  The USS Little Rock is the fourth ship to get a laser gun.
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| 'OK, Boomer' makes a Supreme Court appearance in age case Posted: 15 Jan 2020 10:24 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — "OK, Boomer" made its first appearance in the Supreme Court Wednesday, invoked by baby boomer Chief Justice John Roberts 12 days before he turns 65. The meme is a favorite of younger generations and Roberts used it in questions in a case about age discrimination in the workplace. "The hiring person, who's younger, says, 'OK, Boomer,' once to the applicant," Roberts said as he conjured a hypothetical exchange to try to figure out when an older federal employee might be able to win a lawsuit under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
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| In separation of church and state, which institution is being protected? Posted: 14 Jan 2020 08:46 AM PST  Quebec has banned some public workers from displaying religious symbols on the job, prompting debate over what needs more protection, church or state.
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| Iran makes arrests in plane shootdown, police crack down on protests Posted: 14 Jan 2020 01:09 AM PST  Iran said on Tuesday it had arrested people accused of a role in shooting down a Ukrainian airliner and had also detained 30 people involved in protests that have swept the nation for four days since the military belatedly admitted its error. Wednesday's downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752, which killed all 176 people aboard, has created a new crisis for the Islamic Republic's clerical rulers. President Hassan Rouhani promised a thorough investigation into the "unforgivable error" in an address on Tuesday.
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| The Navy cryptically says it has top-secret UFO briefings that would cause 'exceptionally grave damage' to US national security if published Posted: 15 Jan 2020 02:47 AM PST  The Navy previously confirmed it was treating objects that baffled pilots in Department of Defense videos as UFOs.
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| War Policy Dominates Democratic Debate After Trump’s Iran Strike Posted: 14 Jan 2020 09:25 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- The top Democratic presidential candidates used the final debate before the Iowa caucuses to make their case to be commander-in-chief less than two weeks after President Donald Trump took the biggest foreign-policy risk of his presidency by killing a top Iranian general.The six contenders argued for a reduced U.S. role in the Middle East after two decades in Iraq, and also Afghanistan -- a point Pete Buttigieg brought home by remembering fellow soldiers who were too young to remember Congress's decision to go to war in 2002.Senator Bernie Sanders went after former Vice President Joe Biden for his support of the Iraq war, which Sanders called one of the "two great foreign policy disasters of our lifetimes." The other, he said, was the Vietnam War. Both conflicts, he added, "were based on lies.""Joe and I listened to" Dick Cheney, George W. Bush and Bush's defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld. "I thought they were lying," Sanders said. "I didn't believe them for a moment. I took to the floor. I did everything I could to prevent that war. Joe saw it differently."Biden said he's long acknowledged that his Iraq war vote was a "big, big mistake" but worked hard as vice president to get U.S. forces out of war zones. Still, he added, there continues to be a role for Special Forces, working with allies, even as Sanders and Senator Elizabeth Warren said they would pull out troops completely."We should stop asking our military to solve problems that cannot be solved militarily," Warren said.All the Democratic candidates on stage at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, opposed Trump's decision to kill Iranian General Qassem Soleimani this month, saying it threatened to further destabilize the region.Buttigieg, an Afghanistan war veteran and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said U.S. involvement should be limited, proposing that Congress should have to renew its authorization for military force every three years.The first question in the Des Moines Register/CNN debate tested each candidate on their qualifications as commander-in-chief. That's been a selling point for Biden, but his past foreign policy positions have come under new scrutiny — from the right and the left — for his support of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.But the encounter will likely be best remembered for an exchange between Sanders and Warren over whether a woman can win the 2020 presidential election.Sanders flatly denied reports he told Warren in 2018 that a woman couldn't win the White House."I didn't say it," Sanders said. "Anybody who know me knows that it's incomprehensible to say that a woman could not be president of the United States."But Warren pounced nonetheless."Look at the men on this stage — collectively, they have lost 10 elections," she said. "The only people on stage who have won every single election they've been in are the women."The issue has strained a previously civil competition between Sanders and Warren, who are fighting for the same progressive voters.Drug PricesAsked about the high cost of prescription drugs, Warren defended her proposal for the government to manufacture generic drugs."Let's give them a little competition," Warren said of pharmaceutical companies.Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who often criticizes Warren's plan to abolish private insurance, said she was open to the proposal on generics but would first let Medicare negotiate the price of drugs and allow imports of cheaper drugs from other countries.Biden and Buttigieg are in a competitive four-way battle with Sanders and Warren for the campaign's first contest: The Iowa caucuses on Feb. 3. Also participating in the debate were Klobuchar and billionaire investor Tom Steyer.Tuesday's debate was the last such forum before the caucuses. It's particularly important for the senators — Sanders, Warren and Klobuchar — who will have to break away from campaigning as soon as this week to be sworn in as jurors in Trump's impeachment trial. After that, the trial could require their presence at the Capitol for weeks.Warren said it's her constitutional duty to be present during the impeachment trial. "Some things are more important than politics, she said.Klobuchar said impeachment was a "decency test" comparable to the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s. If the Republican-led Senate doesn't allow for witnesses to be called in the trial, she said of Trump, "they might as well give him a crown and scepter."While the Democratic primary contest started with the most diverse field of candidates in history, only white candidates made it to Tuesday's debate stage. Senator Cory Booker dropped out of the race on Monday while Andrew Yang, Representative Tulsi Gabbard and Deval Patrick all missed the polling and fund-raising requirements to qualify for the January debate.Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination, is self-funding his campaign so he didn't meet the donor requirement to participate. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.To contact the reporters on this story: Gregory Korte in Washington at gkorte@bloomberg.net;Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou in Washington at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, John Harney, Michael ShepardFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| To combat new missile threats, the US Navy prepares to move forward with destroyer upgrades Posted: 15 Jan 2020 11:56 AM PST  With an eye toward faster, more dangerous missile threats, the Navy is getting ready to move forward on a major upgrade for its destroyers.
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| Russia says US Indo-Pacific strategy is to contain China Posted: 14 Jan 2020 11:07 PM PST  Russia on Wednesday criticized the United States for introducing a new Indo-Pacific concept it said was aimed at containing China. Addressing a global conference in the Indian capital to discuss the most challenging issues facing the world community, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Asia-Pacific cooperation until now was centered on Southeast Asia. The Indo-Pacific concept being pushed by the United States, Japan and others was to reconfigure the existing structure, he said.
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| Pope Benedict demands his name is taken off controversial new book criticising current Pope Francis Posted: 14 Jan 2020 12:24 PM PST  Abattle inside the Vatican over a book about priestly celibacy took an odd turn on Tuesday when Pope Benedict demanded his name be taken off it, a day before it was due to appear in bookshops. The book, From the Depths of Our Hearts, puts up a staunch defence of celibacy and was interpreted as a critical attack on Pope Francis, who is mulling whether to relax the stipulation in parts of the world where there is an acute shortage of clergy. It contains an essay written by Benedict and was due to be published in French on Wednesday and in English next month. The Pope Emeritus, who in 2013 became the first pope in seven centuries to resign but who still lives within the walls of the Vatican, was credited as the co-author of the volume, along with a fellow conservative, Cardinal Robert Sarah from Guinea. But in an unexpected announcement, Benedict's aides said they wanted his name removed from the cover and from the book's introductory and concluding chapters. Pope Francis celebrates mass in the Vatican on Jan 14 2020 Credit: EPA The move raised questions as to whether the 92-year-old Benedict had been in any way manipulated by conservatives keen to coopt him in the fight against the reformist Pope Francis. It was the latest twist in a saga that reflects the war of attrition being fought between traditionalists and progressives within the Catholic world. "The pope emeritus knew that the cardinal was preparing a book and he sent him a text on the priesthood, authorising him to use it as he wanted," said Georg Ganswein, Benedict's personal secretary, whose good looks and suave manner have earned him the nickname 'the Black Forest Adonis'. "But he did not approve a project for a co-authored book and he had not seen or authorised the cover. It is a misunderstanding that does not raise questions about Cardinal Sarah's good faith." In the book, Benedict, 92, argues that a priest cannot devote all his time and energy to the service of God if he also has a family – despite the fact that there are several parts of the Roman Catholic Church in which married priests are tolerated. Pope Benedict stunned the world when he resigned in 2013 Credit: AP Coming at a time when Francis is considering the deliberations of an October synod on whether to relax the celibacy rule in certain circumstances, it was seen as Benedict trying to influence the debate and of running, in effect, a parallel papacy. Cardinal Sarah, 74, strongly denied any suggestion that he had misled Benedict. "I solemnly affirm that Benedict XVI knew that our project would take the form of a book," the cardinal wrote on Twitter. In a lengthy statement, he insisted that Benedict knew his name would be on the front of the book and that accusations that he had manipulated the former pope were "despicable". In future editions of the book, Benedict will be named as a contributor rather than the co-author, but the text of what he wrote would remain unchanged, the cardinal said. The French publishers of the book, Fayard, said that "discussions were taking place" about how to respond to Benedict's request to have his name removed.
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| Secret mission saves Australia's 'dinosaur trees' from bushfires Posted: 15 Jan 2020 04:08 PM PST  A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi Pines, a pre-historic species known as "dinosaur trees", from Australia's unprecedented bushfires, officials said. Fewer than 200 of the trees exist in the wild, hidden in a gorge in the World Heritage Blue Mountains northwest of Sydney, which have been hit by one of the biggest bushfires that have been ravaging much of Australia for months. With flames approaching the area late last year, firefighters deployed air tankers to drop fire retardant in a protective ring around the trees while specialist firefighters were winched down into the gorge to set up an irrigation system to provide moisture for the grove, officials said.
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| Australian student expelled from North Korea says he was kidnapped from dorm Posted: 15 Jan 2020 02:06 AM PST  An Australian student who was briefly detained in North Korea last year over spy charges said he had been kidnapped by secret police and forced to make a false confession, according to an article written by him and seen by Reuters on Wednesday. Alek Sigley was held for nine days from June 25 while studying for a postgraduate degree in modern Korean literature at the prestigious Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital. North Korean state media KCNA said he had admitted his "spying acts" including passing data and photos he collected by utilizing his status as a foreign student to "anti-state" media outlets.
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| New video shows that 2 missiles struck the Ukrainian plane that crashed in Iran Posted: 14 Jan 2020 11:53 AM PST  The video shows that the plane continued to fly for a brief period after it was struck by the two missiles, which were fired about 20 seconds apart.
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| All Senior Russian Officials Resign as Putin Announces Reforms That Would Weaken His Successor Posted: 15 Jan 2020 06:45 AM PST  Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced his resignation and that of a host of other senior officials during a televised address on Wednesday.President Vladimir Putin, Medvedev's longtime mentor and ally, praised the Prime Minister while noting that Medvedev's cabinet failed to accomplish certain goals.The resignation came just after Putin delivered his state of the nation address. In the speech, as reported by the Turkish paper The Daily Sabah, Putin argued for changes to Russia's constitution to increase the authority of lawmakers to appoint prime ministers and cabinet members.However, at the same time Putin asserted that Russia would not remain stable under a parliamentary system of government, and that the President should retain power to dismiss parliamentary appointments and remain in control of the country's military and law enforcement bodies.Putin's current term ends in 2024, and under current law he must step down from the office. According to CNN, the proposed reforms would weaken Putin's successor and shift power to parliament prime minister's office, to which Putin may ultimately transfer.Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny charged the changes were a ploy by the President to help him retain power even after he leaves office."The only goal of Putin and his regime is to stay in charge for life, having the entire country as his personal asset and seizing its riches for himself and his friends," Navalny wrote on Twitter.Putin has led Russia for over 20 years, longer than any Russian leader since Josef Stalin. From 2008 to 2012 Medvedev took up the post of president while Putin switched to prime minister, but Putin was widely understood to retain ultimate control over the government during that time.
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| House Democrats Press White House for Drone-Strike Justification Posted: 14 Jan 2020 09:00 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- House Democrats demanded the White House provide a legal justification for the drone strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad as administration officials continue to provide divergent accounts for why the attack took place."What was the justification," Representative Eliot Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, asked at a hearing on Tuesday, the first since Iran responded to the killing by firing a barrage of missiles at a U.S.-Iraqi base. "Was there any legal basis whatsoever with this strike that took us to the brink of open hostilities with Iran?"Engel said that the Trump administration's main justification for the strike -- that there was an imminent threat that was thwarted by the killing of Soleimani -- "makes you wonder if the word 'imminent' still has any meaning."Administration comments on the Jan. 3 strike have varied widely. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has said Soleimani was planning attacks on U.S. interests that were just "days" away when he was killed, but officials have been unable to provide details on that accusation. President Donald Trump on Monday suggested the justification didn't matter because of Soleimani's history, which includes helping send Iraqi-based militias technology for improved explosive devices used to kill and maim U.S. forces.The debate over the president's move isn't entirely partisan. While most Republicans in Congress have lined up behind the Trump administration, praising the strike as not only justified but necessary and effective, there are a few exceptions, particularly in the Senate.Following a similar measure in the House, Senators Mike Lee and Rand Paul, two libertarian Republicans, are backing a resolution by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia that would order the president to cease any hostilities against Iran, its government or its military without express authorization from Congress. And two moderate Republicans, Susan Collins of Maine and Todd Young of Indiana, say they might support the resolution, citing concerns about constitutional authorization for military action.Paul went a step further Monday when asked whether he agreed with the Trump administration's justification for the strike."No," he said.Senators on the Foreign Relations Committee will receive a second classified briefing about the strike from administration officials Wednesday. Their briefers will include Brian Hook, the special representative for Iran, and David Schenker, the assistant secretary of state for the Middle East.Attorney General William Barr on Monday sought to dispel questions about the legality of Trump's decision to order the strike, saying "this was a legitimate act of self-defense because it disrupted ongoing attacks that were being conducted, a campaign against Americans, and it re-established deterrence.""Frankly, I don't think it was a close call," Barr told reporters.During Tuesday's hearing, Stephen Hadley, a former national security adviser to President George W. Bush, said that the fallout from the strike risks destabilizing the region further."The problem was that the strike occurred in Iraq," Hadley said. "To keep U.S. forces in Iraq, Iraqi authorities will have to manage the domestic political fallout from the strike on Soleimani."Democrats also pushed back on characterizations by Trump and others that they are apologists for terrorists."We're not asking these questions because we mourn the death of Soleimani or sympathize with terrorists -- and let me say right now that I will not tolerate any member of this committee making that sort of accusation against other members of this body, even in a general sense," Engel said. "We are all patriotic Americans -- Democrats and Republicans, alike."To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Flatley in Washington at dflatley1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Bill Faries, Anna EdgertonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Imagine Suffocating in a Submarine. For a Chinese Crew, That Was Reality. Posted: 14 Jan 2020 03:00 PM PST  Its crew's last moments.
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| Abby Huntsman Confronts Bloomberg Over ‘Sexist’ Comments Posted: 15 Jan 2020 09:21 AM PST  At the end of his first of three segments Wednesday morning on The View, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wrapped up his answer on the controversial "stop-and-frisk" policy by saying, "In some things, I did it wrong and I apologized and then tried to do something else." "Well, we're going to give you more time to apologize," Whoopi Goldberg said before throwing the commercial. That's exactly what they did after the break, but this time, a defiant Bloomberg refused to take responsibility. "I also have friends that have worked at your company and have wonderful things to say, but you have been accused in the past of making lewd and sexist comments and fostering a frat-like culture at your company that was uncomfortable for some female employees," Abby Huntsman, who will leave a different kind of "toxic" work environment at the end of this week, said. "ABC has actually has spoken to several women who want to share their stories, but you won't release them from their NDAs." Huntsman then paraphrased Bloomberg's 2020 Democratic primary rival Elizabeth Warren, who said, "If his company has an enviable record, then let people in his company or former people from his company speak about that enviable record. What is it that Michael Bloomberg has to hide?" Elizabeth Warren Shuts Down Meghan McCain's Defense of Trump on Iran"We don't have anything to hide but we made legal agreements, which both sides wanted to keep certain things from coming out, they have a right to do that," Bloomberg answered. "Remember, just because you signed a nondisclosure doesn't mean you can't talk about other things. You just can't talk about what was in that agreement where perhaps you don't disparage the other party or you don't want to retell a story, whatever it is." "You don't take away anybody's rights to say what they want to say," he added, a bit disingenuously. As Huntsman tried to bring up "this MeToo era," Bloomberg continued to talk over her, "I think if you talk to most women in the company they would say equal pay, equal promotion, equal opportunity. it's a great place to work." "Did I ever tell a bawdy joke? Yeah, sure I did," Bloomberg said. "Do I regret it? Yes, it's embarrassing, but, you know, that's the way I grew up." Among the inappropriate comments that Bloomberg allegedly made include urging a pregnant woman to "kill it" and admitting that he'd like to "do" several female employees. Joy Behar attempted to laugh off the whole thing with Bloomberg, asking, "who hasn't" told a "bawdy" joke at work? "You said that, not me," he joked in response. But Huntsman pressed on, asking, "So you have no desire to lift the NDAs?""No, we have an agreement. You couldn't do it if you wanted to," Bloomberg said, "And incidentally, I think an awful lot of the women would not want to do that. There may be a few, but I don't think so." ABC News reported last week that it had "spoken with several women who expressed interest in telling their stories who were subject to confidentiality agreements, but said they feared the prospect of facing retribution from the company for speaking out." "And we don't have that many of them," he added. "We have 20,000 people. We've been in business since 1981, and in recruiting, you know, I think most people would say we're a great place to work, at least I hope so. I can tell you that's what I try to do." There was no apology. ABC Execs Try to Get Abby Huntsman to Cover for Toxic Culture at 'The View'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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| Man cleared of wife's murder asks daughter to call him Posted: 14 Jan 2020 04:26 PM PST ![Man cleared of wife's murder asks daughter to call him]( "Man cleared of wife's murder asks daughter to call him") "I have dealt with this for 30 years," Carl Harris Jr. said during a news conference Tuesday with his attorney. Harris and defense attorney David Harrison held a news conference Tuesday, the day after prosecutors dropped charges against Harris and arrested another man in the 1990 death of Tracy Harris, the Dothan Eagle reported. "What the cold case unit at Ozark Police Department did to his life with incompetent evidence is just appalling," Harrison said.
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| India has not closed door on China-backed Asian trade deal - foreign minister Posted: 14 Jan 2020 10:28 PM PST  India has not closed the door on a China-led regional economic pact, even though Asia's third-largest country pulled out of the deal last November, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Wednesday. In November, China joined 14 countries in agreeing terms for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), with India pulling out at the last minute saying the deal would hurt its farmers, businesses, workers and consumers. RCEP brings together the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
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| Newborn dies from sepsis after being sent home from a hospital Posted: 15 Jan 2020 08:54 AM PST  A 5-week-old baby died from sepsis after being sent home twice from a U.K. hospital with what doctors thought was a common infection.
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| Exclusive: U.N. sanctions experts warn - stay away from North Korea cryptocurrency conference Posted: 14 Jan 2020 10:07 PM PST  United Nations sanctions experts are warning people not to attend a cryptocurrency conference in North Korea in February, flagging it as a likely sanctions violation, according to a confidential report due to be submitted to the U.N. Security Council later this month. The warning comes after the independent U.N. experts told the council in August that North Korea generated an estimated $2 billion for its weapons of mass destruction programs using "widespread and increasingly sophisticated" cyberattacks to steal from banks and cryptocurrency exchanges. North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
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| 75 years ago, US troops began the main battle of the long, bloody fight to kick the Japanese out of the Philippines Posted: 15 Jan 2020 12:09 PM PST  US troops invaded Luzon, the largest island of the Philippines, on January 9, 1945, where fighting lasted until the Japanese surrender in August 1945.
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| Medvedev: loyal ally exits after decades with Putin Posted: 15 Jan 2020 08:07 AM PST  Dmitry Medvedev, who has lost his post as prime minister following the government's resignation, served a single term as president before standing aside to allow Vladimir Putin's return to the Kremlin in 2012. It's unclear how much power Medvedev will have in the newly-created post of deputy head of the Russian security council after his momentous resignation Wednesday. While president, Medvedev launched a campaign of modernisation to pull the country out of its post-Soviet stagnation but never escaped the shadow of his dominant mentor, to whom he remained resolutely loyal.
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| Russian Hackers Attacked Burisma in Midst of Impeachment Inquiry Posted: 13 Jan 2020 09:04 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- In the midst of the impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump, Russian hackers attacked the Ukrainian gas company linked to the inquiry, according to cybersecurity experts.Researchers at Area 1, a security company run by a former National Security Agency official, said Russian hackers sent phishing emails to subsidiaries of Burisma Holdings to try to penetrate the Ukrainian energy company. The email accounts of Burisma employees were accessed, but it's unclear how that was used or what material may have been gained, according to the report released Monday.Hunter Biden, the son of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, was on Burisma's board from 2014 until last year. Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has alleged that the elder Biden, when he was vice president, derailed an investigation into Burisma to protect his son.In 2016, Biden called for the ouster of Ukraine's prosecutor general, who in the eyes of U.S. leaders and Western allies, had been too lax in combating corruption. But a Ukrainian investigation into Burisma's founder had ended the year before.In a July 25 telephone call, Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to "look into" allegations of wrongdoing by Biden. A whistle-blower's complaint about the call triggered the impeachment inquiry, which began in September. Trump's impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate is expected to begin next week."Donald Trump tried to coerce Ukraine into lying about Joe Biden," Andrew Bates, a Biden campaign spokesman said in an email late Monday night. "Now we know that Vladimir Putin also sees Joe Biden as a threat."Hackers for the Russian intelligence agency GRU began attacking Burisma as early as November, according to Area 1.The timing of the alleged attacks, months ahead of the first presidential primary, "is an early warning" of the style of attacks foreign adversaries may use to influence the 2020 presidential election, Area 1 said in its report. The tactics of Russia's GRU were similar, if not identical, to the methods used in 2016 to hack emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee, Area 1 said in the report. The report didn't explain if the attacks have stopped."All cyber-actors have goals, and they figure out what works to guarantee that they are successful with the least resistance possible," according to the report. "The Burisma Holdings campaign is yet another example of the phishing playbook being applied to great effect."Area 1's report was reported earlier by the New York Times."Russia showed us their playbook in 2016, and intelligence officials across the government have warned that Russian meddling will only get worse this year," Representative Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat and the Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security said in a statement on Monday night. "The President owes it to all Americans to condemn all forms of election interference and demand Putin put a stop to it."(Updates with context, Biden campaign statement, starting in fourth paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Kartikay Mehrotra in San Francisco at kmehrotra2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew Martin at amartin146@bloomberg.net, Alistair Barr, John HarneyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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