McConnell rebukes Trump administration: Syria withdrawal is a 'grave strategic mistake'

LOUISVILLE – Sen. Mitch McConnell has published a stern rebuke of the Trump administration's decision to pull military forces out of Syria, saying the decision "will leave the American people and homeland less safe, embolden our enemies and weaken important alliances." In a Washington Post op-ed published Friday afternoon, and later provided to the Courier Journal, McConnell, R-Ky. the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria "a grave strategic mistake."

Nestor heads into Georgia after tornados damage Florida

Nestor raced across Georgia as a post-tropical cyclone late Saturday, hours after the former tropical storm spawned a tornado that damaged homes and a school in central Florida while sparing areas of the Florida Panhandle devastated one year earlier by Hurricane Michael. The storm made landfall Saturday on St. Vincent Island, a nature preserve off Florida's northern Gulf Coast in a lightly populated area of the state, the National Hurricane Center said. Nestor was expected to bring 1 to 3 inches of rain to drought-stricken inland areas on its march across a swath of the U.S. Southeast.

• 
  Nestor makes landfall on Florida island, heads north

  KFSN – Fresno
• 
  Tropical Storm Nestor leaves behind path of destruction along Florida's Gulf Coast

  WLS – Chicago

Four killed as police fire on Bangladesh protesters

At least four people were killed and nearly 50 injured Sunday after police fired on thousands of Bangladeshi Muslims protesting a Facebook post by a Hindu who allegedly defamed the Prophet Mohammed, officials said. Mob attacks over Facebook posts perceived to be blasphemous have emerged as a major headache for security forces in Bangladesh, where Muslims make up some 90 percent of the country's 168 million people. Some 20,000 Muslims demonstrated at a prayer ground in Borhanuddin town on the country's largest island of Bhola to call for the execution of the young Hindu man, who was arrested Saturday over charges of inciting religious tension.

• Four killed in Bangladesh over Facebook post

  Reuters
• Bangladesh police say violence over Facebook post kills 4

  Associated Press

Clever-Approved Travel Gear That Looks Good and Works Even Better

Travel in style, no matter how you're getting there Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

Hong Kong protest leaders urge turnout for march, despite risk of arrest

Pro-democracy leaders called on Hong Kong's citizens to join a Sunday anti-government march in spite of the risk of arrest, after police banned the rally which is seen as a test of the protest movement's strength following months of unrest. Police declared the march illegal on Friday, citing concerns over public safety, and a court on Saturday said the destination of the march - the main railway interchange with mainland China - could be attacked and vandalized. Hardcore protesters have in recent weeks targeted mainland Chinese businesses, daubing them in graffiti and at times setting fires, while mainland Chinese living in Hong Kong have begun to express fears for their own safety.

• 
  Petrol bombs thrown in Hong Kong as anger flares over 'triad' attack on protest leader

  The Telegraph
• 
  Tear gas and water cannon as crowds defy Hong Kong rally ban

  AFP

Trump calls Mexico's president to express 'solidarity'

Mexico's president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said on Saturday that President Trump called him to express his "solidarity" following an attempt to arrest a drug kingpin's son that prompted a wave of violence in the city of Culiacan.

Andrew Yang’s ‘Freedom Dividend’ Echoes a 1930s Basic Income Proposal that Reshaped Social Security

Entrepreneur and political novice Andrew Yang is hoping a wild gambit will help him win the Democratic presidential nomination: give 10 American families US$1,000 a month. The announcement of a test run of his signature universal basic income proposal, which Yang argues is necessary to counter automation's threat to millions of American jobs, garnered cheers from the student audience at the September debate and gave his candidacy a boost. At least half a million people have entered Yang's basic income raffle.

Hillary Clinton claims Tulsi Gabbard is being 'groomed' by Russia

Hillary Clinton has claimed a Democrat presidential candidate is being "groomed" by the Kremlin to run as an independent in 2020. In an astonishing attack on Tulsi Gabbard, a congresswoman from Hawaii, Mrs Clinton suggested Russia would use her to damage the Democrats' chances of taking the White House. The bitter row began when Mrs Clinton was being interviewed about the prospect of Russian interference in the upcoming election.

• 
  Hillary Clinton says Russians are “grooming” a 2020 candidate

  CBS News Videos
• Gabbard Responds to Hillary’s Russia Attacks, Challenges Her to Join Dem Primary

  National Review

‘I Am Back’: Bernie Sanders Addresses 26,000 With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders addressed a raucous crowd on Saturday as he showcased two high-profile progressive endorsements, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and filmmaker Michael Moore, in his first rally since he suffered a heart attack earlier this month. Surrounded by nearly 26,000 supporters at Queensbridge Park in New York, Sanders seemed energized by the enthusiastic show of force. The endorsement from Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most sought-after in the Democratic Party, comes at an important time for the Sanders campaign.

• 
  'I am back,' Bernie Sanders tells supporters

  Associated Press Videos
• 
  Bernie Sanders draws thousands to rally in New York in comeback from heart attack

  Reuters

70,000 California wildfire victims may miss out on payments

As many as 100,000 Californians are eligible to receive payments for the damages they suffered from a series of devastating wildfires over the last several years. Concerned that as many as 70,000 victims may miss out on payments, attorneys filed court papers Friday to alert the bankruptcy judge that wildfire survivors — many still traumatized and struggling to get back on their feet — aren't aware of their rights to file a claim. "People really are overwhelmed and don't understand what they need to do," said Cecily Dumas, an attorney for the Official Committee of Tort Claimants, a group appointed by the court to represent all wildfire victims in the bankruptcy.

Let jihadists return home, French anti-terror magistrate urges

The refusal of the French government to take back Islamic State fighters from Syria could fuel a new jihadist recruitment drive in France, threatening public safety, a leading anti-terrorism investigator has told AFP. David De Pas, coordinator of France's 12 anti-terrorism examining magistrates, said that it would be "better to know that these people are in the care of the judiciary" in France "than let them roam free". Turkey's offensive against Kurdish militia in northeast Syria has sparked fears that some of the 12,000 jihadists, including thousands of foreigners, being held in Syrian Kurdish prisons could escape.

Hondurans call for president to step down after drug verdict

Opposition groups called Saturday for more protests to demand that Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández be removed from office after his younger brother was convicted of drug trafficking in a New York court. Thousands of Hondurans protested into the early hours of the morning after Juan Antonio "Tony" Hernández was convicted Friday in what U.S. prosecutors described as a conspiracy that relied on "state-sponsored drug trafficking." Protesters blocked key roads in half of the country's 18 provinces, setting barricades ablaze, while some took advantage of the disturbances to loot stores.

• 
  Honduras President’s Brother Convicted in Drug-Conspiracy Case

  The Wall Street Journal
• 
  US court finds Honduran president's brother guilty of drug charges

  AFP

Could France and Germany Jointly Build an EU Aircraft Carrier?

While discussing France and Germany's joint development with France of the FCAS sixth-generation stealth fighter in March 2019, the new head of Germany's governing CDU party Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer raised eyebrows with her suggestion of a chaser. As a next step, we could start the symbolic project of building an aircraft carrier to give shape to the role of the European Union as a global force for security and peace. German chancellor Angela Merkel endorsed the idea a few days later.

Deadly protests in Guinea as Russia calls for change of rules to keep despot in power

When police shot dead nine pro-democracy protesters in Guinea this week, Western embassies quietly shared their misgivings with the country's president, Alpha Conde. François Patuel of Amnesty International denounced “a shameful attempt by Guinean authorities to stifle dissent by any means necessary”. Mr Conde's ruthless response to protests against his apparent efforts to cling to power not only suited Russia, it seems probable that they were tacitly endorsed by the Kremlin.

The Chicago teachers' strike shows how to go on offense against neoliberalism

Seven years ago, Rahm Emanuel had just been elected mayor and was looking to deal the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), who he saw as a barrier to privatizing the city's education system, a crushing defeat. That agenda was shared by both Republicans and Democrats across the country, with a barrage of attacks on teachers' unions, devastating budget cuts to schools and charter school networks – intended to undercut public schools and do an end run around their unions – rapidly multiplying.

• 
  Chicago Teachers Strike: Thousands of teachers take to picket lines for 2nd day Friday; CPS classes remain canceled

  WLS – Chicago
• 
  Chicago Teachers Strike: Union says progress made but no deal reached as strike heads into 4th day; classes 'unlikely' to resume Monday

  WLS – Chicago

GOP congressman who was open to impeachment calls it quits

Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.), who was the first House Republican express openness to voting to impeach President Donald Trump, announced his retirement on Saturday. “I thought the idea was you came and did your public service and left, you accomplish what you want to accomplish and you left," Rooney said on Fox News. The two-term congressman confirmed his plans shortly afterward in an interview with POLITICO.

• 
  Rep. Francis Rooney says he will not seek a third term

  FOX News Videos
• 
  Ken Starr: Impeachment probe should be public

  FOX News Videos

Her son shot his way into an Indiana high school. Now she's facing six felony charges

York's situation is relatively rare in the United States, because parents or guardians of juveniles who discharge firearms at schools do not often face charges. In most cases, however, the juveniles obtain their weapons from their home, as did York's son, whom The Pal-Item does not identify because of his age. It was a real emotional time': Oregon coach Keanon Lowe takes gun from high school student, hugs him in viral video Prosecutor Mike Shipman filed the seven charges against York on Oct. 11, nearly 10 months after York's son killed himself inside Dennis after shooting his way into the school through a glass exterior door.

Ousted Communist leader Zhao Ziyang is buried: family

A former Chinese Communist Party leader ousted after he opposed the use of force to quell 1989 democracy protests was buried over a decade after he died, his family said, in a service ignored by state media. Zhao Ziyang, who is a revered figure among Chinese human rights defenders, is still a sensitive topic in the country, where commemorations of his death are held under tight surveillance or prevented altogether. There was no mention of his burial ceremony Friday on state media, and searching for his name on social media returned no results.

Atomwaffen Division’s Washington State Cell Leader Stripped of Arsenal in U.S., Banned from Canada

Kaleb James Cole, the 24-year-old leader of Atomwaffen Division's Washington State Cell stripped of his firearms by a “red-flag law” late last month, was deported and banned for life from Canada earlier this year, according to court records, which also showed that he had been previously interrogated by American border agents about his extremist views. Cole, a National Socialist black metal enthusiast who goes by the alias “Khimaere,” was first identified as a member of Atomwaffen Division in a 2018 ProPublica investigation. Atomwaffen Division is an underground neo-Nazi guerrilla organization which had 23 chapters throughout the United States as of mid-2018.

• 
  Kaleb James Cole: Guns seized from suspected neo-Nazi leader over ‘race war’ fears

  The Independent
• 
  Police seize guns from man believed to be neo-Nazi leader

  Yahoo News Video