- PoliticsYahoo News
Trump’s 'lynching' tweet draws outrage — and some Republican support
Leading Republicans rushed to defend President Trump's controversial tweet Tuesday in which he portrayed himself as the victim of a “lynching” by House Democrats pursuing his impeachment. “Lynching is a reprehensible stain on this nation's history, as is this President,” Harris tweeted. “Lynching is an act of terror used to uphold white supremacy,” Booker tweeted.
- WorldReuters
UPDATE 1-Kremlin says U.S. betrayed Kurds in Syria, tells Kurds to withdraw or be mauled
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that the United States had betrayed and abandoned the Syrian Kurds and advised the Kurds to withdraw from the Syrian border as per a deal between Moscow and Ankara or be mauled by the Turkish army. The comments by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov to Russian news agencies followed a deal agreed on Tuesday between Russia and Turkey that will see Syrian and Russian forces deploy to northeast Syria to remove Kurdish YPG fighters and their weapons from the border with Turkey.
LifestyleAFPBamboozled: 'Panda dog' cafe sparks China animal rights debate
A pet cafe in China where dogs are dyed black and white to look like panda cubs has triggered a heated online debate over the treatment of animals. The Cute Pet Games cafe opened last month in Chengdu, capital of southwest Sichuan province which is home to China's famous giant pandas, and features six panda-like Chow Chow dogs, according to a video posted by Hongxing News on Tuesday. The cafe owner, only identified by his last name Huang, told Hongxing News that he had started offering pet dyeing services after the panda dogs became an instant hit with clients.
- NewsBusiness Insider
An Air France flight was forced to turn back in midair when staff found an unattended cellphone that wasn't claimed by any of the passengers
REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes An Air France flight made an emergency landing in Ireland after a mobile phone found on board was not claimed by any passengers. The flight, scheduled to fly from Paris to Chicago, was met by the police and fire engines when it landed at Shannon Airport, and the police said they scanned the phone. The phone was deemed safe, and the Irish newspaper The Journal reported that it could have been left by a passenger on a previous flight and gone unnoticed by the cleaning crew.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Iranian beauty queen pleads for asylum in the Philippines
An Iranian beauty queen is seeking asylum in the Philippines, fearing for her life after Tehran demanded her extradition for a crime she claims she did not commit. Bahareh Zare Bahari, who represented Iran at the 2018 Miss Intercontinental pageant in Manila, and who has studied dental medicine in the Philippines since 2014, has been held for six days at the country's Ninoy Aquino airport after Iran slapped an Interpol Red Notice on her for alleged assault. In a series of messages, the distraught Ms Bahari told the Telegraph that the case was a “big lie,” adding that she believed she was being targeted for her political activism and outspoken support of women's rights.
- NewsThe Guardian
Honduran woman accuses immigration agent of sexual assault over seven years
A Honduran woman living in Connecticut has accused a US immigration agent of sexually assaulting her over a period of seven years under the threat of deportation, according to a federal lawsuit. The woman, identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe, sued the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), and the former Ice agent Wilfredo Rodriguez on Saturday, seeking $10m in damages. “My only comment is that my client had a choice: cooperate with Ice or be deported with her family,” said George Kramer, the woman's lawyer.
- WorldBloomberg
Mexico Misleads on Failed Arrest of ‘Chapo’ Son: Ex-DEA Official
Mexico's government isn't being truthful about the botched attempt to capture the son of the world's most notorious drug trafficker, according to a former head of international operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador hasn't revealed that while trying to bring Ovidio Guzman Lopez into custody, security forces had caught another son of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, Mike Vigil, the former DEA official, said in an interview. Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar had also been detained and let go when gunmen overpowered police, Vigil said, citing unverified intelligence he received from top Mexico police sources.
- BusinessAssociated Press
Democrat Buttigieg used marijuana 'a handful of times'
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg said Wednesday that he's used marijuana "a handful of times a long time ago," and that it's time for the U.S. to legalize marijuana. Buttigieg, speaking to reporters after touring a legal pot dispensary in suburban Las Vegas, was asked about whether he'd ever used marijuana. A handful of times a long time ago," he said.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Woman doused with gasoline, set afire at Florida Taco Bell. Police searching for suspect
Police are searching for a suspect who entered a Florida Taco Bell, doused a woman with gasoline and set her ablaze. Police were called to the Tallahassee restaurant in response to an aggravated battery. The victim was taken to the nearby North Florida Fairgrounds and airlifted to a hospital with serious injuries.
- PoliticsThe National Interest
Bernie Weighed in on the 'Outrageous' Hillary-Tulsi Spat. You Won't Believe Which Side He Took.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders jumped to Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard's defense Monday against unfounded allegations that she is a Russian asset, which former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and commentators at multiple news outlets have recently floated. “Tulsi Gabbard has put her life on the line to defend this country. People can disagree on issues, but it is outrageous for anyone to suggest that Tulsi is a foreign asset,” Sanders said of his fellow Democratic presidential hopeful on Twitter.
BusinessYahoo News VideoNewt Gingrich and Whoopi Goldberg go at it on 'The View' over Trump's 'lynching' comments
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Whoopi Goldberg go toe to toe over Trump's “lynching” comments on Twitter.
- BusinessCar and Driver
View Photos of the Mazda MX-30
Mazda's first EV sports body cladding, suicide doors, and the evocative MX moniker. From Car and Driver
- PoliticsThe Week
Republican lawmakers storm secure impeachment hearing room — and reportedly bring their cell phones
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) held a press conference Wednesday with a group of Republican colleagues blasting the "secret" impeachment inquiry into President Trump, contending Democrats are trying to "overturn the results" of the 2016 presidential election and declaring he and his colleagues would be disrupting the proceedings by barging into a closed-door hearing, The Hill reports. "We're going to try to go in there, and we're going to try to figure out what's going on," Gaetz said. About two dozen Republicans subsequently "stormed" a secure hearing room, reports CNN's Manu Raju, and they reportedly carried prohibited electronics.
- WorldPopular Mechanics
Tasmanian Tigers Are Extinct, So Why Are Locals Reporting Sightings?
The Australian government recently released a list of documented thylacine—also known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf—sightings. It remains to be seen whether or not any reported thylacine sightings will be made official—something made especially difficult with no photographic proof or other hard evidence. If the creatures are extinct, there may still be hope to see a living thylacine as scientists have replicated their DNA and may one day be able to use the genetic material to clone the animal.
- WorldReuters
UPDATE 3-China plans to replace Hong Kong leader Lam with 'interim' chief executive -FT
China is drawing up a plan to replace Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam with an "interim" chief executive, the Financial Times reported, citing people briefed on the deliberations, which would bring to a close Lam's rule after months of often-violent pro-democracy protests. Lam has become a lightning rod for protests over fears that Beijing is tightening its grip, limiting the freedoms enjoyed under the "one country, two systems" principle enshrined when colonial ruler Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997. Sources told the FT that officials in China want the situation in Hong Kong to stabilise before making a final decision, as they do not want to be seen to be giving in to violence.
- ScienceBusiness Insider
The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs acidified the ocean in a 'flash,' killing most marine life. The seas could see a similar problem a century from now.
A new study reveals that marine species weren't spared: Acid rain and fallout from the impact acidified the world's oceans in a "flash." That caused marine ecosystems to collapse. Within a minute of hitting the Earth, the Chicxulub asteroid had bored a hole nearly 100 miles wide into the sea floor, creating a bubbling pit of molten rock and super-hot gas. The contents of that fiery cauldron skyrocketed, creating a mountain-high plume that poured acid rain into the oceans.
NewsAssociated PressNYC, California sue Postal Service over smuggled cigarettes
California and New York City sued the U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday to stop tens of thousands of cigarette packages from being mailed from foreign countries to U.S. residents, saying the smugglers are engaging in tax evasion while postal workers look the other way. The lawsuit in Brooklyn federal court blames the Postal Service for deliveries from Vietnam, China, Israel and other countries, saying the failure to enforce a federal law aimed at banning cigarette mail deliveries costs California an average of $19 million annually in tax revenues and New York City and state over $21 million each year.
NewsAFPUS far-right activists get four years in jail for attacking leftists
Two members of a US far-right group were each sentenced to four years in prison on Tuesday for brawling with anti-fascist demonstrators in New York, prosecutors said. The sentencing comes as tensions between white supremacists and leftists simmer in the United States. Maxwell Hare and John Kinsman, members of the Proud Boys group, were found guilty in August by a state court of several counts of attempted assault and rioting.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Phoenix police officer involved in viral video stop of couple fired
PHOENIX – Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams has fired the officer involved in a viral cellphone video showing him threatening to shoot at a family. The video, recorded by a bystander on May 27, shows Phoenix Officer Christopher Meyer pointing a gun at a car occupied by Dravon Ames, his pregnant fiancee, Iesha Harper, and their children. In the video, Meyer can be heard yelling, "You're going to get (expletive) shot" when Ames didn't immediately open his vehicle's door.
- WorldThe National Interest
Can Israel Fend off an Iranian Missile or Drone Attack?
The IDF's missile defense shield is composed of four layers: the iconic Iron Dome system for intercepting short-range rockets, David's Sling for medium-range rockets, Arrow-2 against intermediate-range ballistic missiles, and Arrow-3 against ICBM's and potentially satellites. Widely seen as a class-leading missile defense system when it was introduced in 2011, Iron Dome has since come under criticism by several revisionist defense commentators. MIT Professor Ted Postol authored a series of influential if not controversial articles arguing that Iron Dome's true interception rate -- that is, its ability to strike and destroy a rocket's warhead rather than its fuselage-- was under 50%.
- NewsNational Review
Seattle Public Schools Want to Teach Social Justice in Math Class. That Hurts Minorities.
Seattle's public-school district has proposed a new math curriculum that would teach its students all about how math has been “appropriated” — and how it “continues to be used to oppress and marginalize people and communities. A draft of the curriculum, which was covered in an article in Education Week, would teach students how to “explain how math and technology and/or science are connected and how technology and/or science have (sic) been and continues to be used to oppress and marginalize people and communities of color,” as well as to “identify and teach others about mathematicians* of color in their various communities: schools, neighborhoods, places of worship, businesses, etc.” Educat...
U.S.Yahoo News VideoAs teachers strike, Chicago mayor touts $838M deficit fix
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who's still trying to settle a nearly week-old teacher's strike, proposed a combination of debt refinancing, tax and fee hikes and assistance from the state Legislature on Wednesday to close a massive $838 million budget deficit.
- PoliticsThe New York Times
Anxious Democratic Establishment Asks, 'Is There Anybody Else?'
When a half-dozen Democratic donors gathered at the Whitby Hotel in New York City last week, the dinner began with a discussion of which presidential candidates the contributors liked. Would Hillary Clinton get in, the contributors wondered, and how about Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor? One person even mused whether Michelle Obama would consider a late entry, according to two people who attended the event, which was hosted by the progressive group American Bridge.
- NewsBloomberg
Rats and Mold in Kushner-Managed Apartments, Maryland Claims
Westminster Management lied about the quality of rental units and the level of maintenance the company would provide, routinely failing to address hazardous conditions in the properties, including infestations by rodents and other vermin, water leaks and mold growth, Attorney General Brian Frosh said in a statement. “We're charging that Westminster and the rental property owners in this case took advantage of consumers, primarily low- and middle-income families, collecting fees and other unlawful costs from them and often failing to make the repairs needed to maintain suitable environments for their tenants,” Frosh said. Westminster Management is a unit of Kushner Cos., a family-run, New York-based business that owns, manages and develops properties and was built on working-class apartment complexes in New Jersey and Maryland.
- WorldThe Daily Beast
39 Bodies Including One Teenager Found in Back of Semitrailer in Britain
All 39 people were pronounced dead on the scene. It is yet unclear how the victims died, how long they had been dead when they were discovered, or if they died at the same time. Wednesday, British immigration services had joined the investigation, which is presumed to be a case of people smuggling, though British authorities said they could not officially confirm details until the identities of the victims are known.
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