Top House Armed Services Republican: Trump's Ukraine call was 'inappropriate' but not impeachable

Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, said Sunday that President Trump's call with Ukraine's president was "inappropriate" — but it did not warrant his impeachment. "I believe that it is inappropriate for a president to ask a foreign leader to investigate a political rival," Thornberry told ABC's "This Week" moderator Martha Raddatz. Thornberry, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, added: "I believe it was inappropriate.

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  Impeachment witness: Ukrainians asked about holdup of aid

  Associated Press
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  Trump's call transcript, Carter's surgery, Disney+'s launch: 5 things you need to know Tuesday

  USA TODAY

Mexico asks FBI to help probe killing of Americans

Mexico on Sunday invited the FBI to participate in the investigation of an attack in its north that killed nine dual citizens of the United States and Mexico. The Foreign Ministry said it made the invitation through a diplomatic note to the U.S. embassy in Mexico. On Monday, gunmen killed three women and six children from a breakaway Mormon community in northern Mexico, prompting U.S. President Donald Trump to offer President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador help in wiping out drug gangs he blamed for the ambush.

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  Mormon teenager who survived Mexican cartel massacre speaks out for the first time

  The Telegraph
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  Mexico massacre unites Mormon sects, even their exiles

  Reuters

A black man was put in handcuffs after a police officer stopped him on a train platform because he was eating

Steve Foster/Facebook Steve Foster was detained and cited at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station in Walnut Creek, California, on November 4. BART police said Foster violated state law by eating a sandwich on the platform. Foster told KTVU that he thinks he was detained because he is black and that that the officer who stopped him should be disciplined.

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  Black passenger detained and handcuffed by white police officer for eating sandwich on station platform

  The Independent
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  More protests expected at BART stations after man handcuffed for eating sandwich

  KGO – San Francisco

Gabbard Lawyers Demand Clinton Retract ‘Defamatory’ Russian Asset Comments

Attorneys for Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D., Hawaii) on Monday demanded Hillary Clinton retract “defamatory” comments she made linking Gabbard to Russia. “Your statement is defamatory, and we demand that you retract it immediately,” the 2020 presidential candidate's lawyer wrote in in a letter obtained by The Hill, adding that Clinton should “immediately” renounce her remark. “I think they've got their eye on someone who's currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate,” Clinton said last month on the Campaign HQ podcast without referring to Gabbard directly.

• Tulsi Gabbard is demanding an apology from Hillary Clinton

  The Week
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  Tulsi Gabbard's Lawyers Accuse Hillary Clinton Of Defamation For Russia Remarks

  HuffPost

Small plane crashes in Texas during 'gender reveal' stunt

In another instance of a “gender reveal” stunt gone badly wrong, a small plane crashed in Texas after “dump[ing] about 350 gallons of pink water” to indicate that a friend of the pilot was going to have a daughter. According to a National Transportation Safety Board report into the crash, which happened near the town of Turkey on 7 September, “the pilot reported, that while maneuvering at a low altitude in an aerial applicator airplane, he dumped about 350 gallons of pink water for a gender reveal. Gender reveal parties let expecting parents reveal whether they are going to have a boy or a girl.

Protesters hit Hong Kong commute as western powers urge restraint

Hong Kong protesters struck the city's transport network for a second day running on Tuesday as western powers voiced concern over spiralling violence after police shot a young demonstrator and another man was set on fire. The flare-up is the latest in the 24 straight weeks of increasingly violent rallies in Hong Kong, aimed at securing greater democratic freedoms from China. Small bands of masked protesters blocked roads, threw objects onto rail tracks and held up subway trains, sparking cat-and-mouse clashes with riot police and renewed chaos throughout the day.

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  Britain says it is concerned by escalation of violence in Hong Kong

  Reuters
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  Hong Kong's Central Business District Fills With Tear Gas Fired by Riot Police

  Storyful

Mexico makes arrests in last week's massacre of 3 women, 6 children

Mexico has made an unspecified number of arrests in last week's massacre of three women and six children of dual U.S-Mexican nationality in the north of the country, Security Minister Alfonso Durazo said on Monday. "There have been arrests, but it's not up to us to give information," Durazo told reporters in Mexico City.

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  Mormon families flee homes in Mexico following massacre

  CBS News Videos
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  Mexico massacre unites Mormon sects, even their exiles

  Reuters

India's Nuclear Arsenal Keeps Growing, And That's Bad News For Pakistan and China

“India is estimated to have produced enough military plutonium for 150 to 200 nuclear warheads, but has likely produced only 130 to 140,” according to Hans Kristensen and Matt Korda of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists. Unlike the missile-centric U.S. and Russian nuclear forces, India still heavily relies on bombers, perhaps not unexpected for a nation that fielded its first nuclear-capable ballistic missile in 2003. Kristensen and Korda estimate India maintains three or four nuclear strike squadrons of Cold War-vintage, French-made Mirage 2000H and Jaguar IS/IB aircraft targeted at Pakistan and China.

AP FACT CHECK: Trump's flawed 'read the transcript' defense

Heading into public hearings this week, people have read the transcript , and that's why President Donald Trump has an impeachment problem. The whistleblower, the rough transcript of the July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukraine's leader, and the words of a succession of career civil servants and Trump political appointees brought before Congress are largely in sync. Together they have stitched an account that shows Trump pressing for a political favor from a foreign leader and, as key testimony has it, conditioning military aid on getting what he wanted.

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  Rand Paul calls it ‘big mistake’ for Trump defense to center on quid pro quo

  Politico
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  Mulvaney to file his own lawsuit over testifying before impeachment inquiry

  MarketWatch

A Closer Look at the Beautified Architectural Revolution Within China

A new book examines the striking works of Zaha Hadid, Steven Holl, Thomas Heatherwick, and Kengo Kuma, all luminaries who have changed China's skyline in their own way Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

Bernie Sanders laughs at idea of Jeff Bezos floating Michael Bloomberg's presidential run

CORALVILLE, Iowa — When U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders learned Saturday that Amazon owner Jeff Bezos reportedly asked fellow billionaire Michael Bloomberg about running for president, Sanders couldn't contain his laughter to speak. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was in Iowa campaigning for Sanders, jumped in while Sanders composed himself. “Of course!” she said in an interview with the Des Moines Register.

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  Sanders slams Bloomberg for eyeing 2020 bid

  Reuters Videos
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  Warren and Sanders aim attacks at Michael Bloomberg

  CBS News Videos

America Wants To Innovate Its Way Out Of A War With Russia Or China (It May Not Work)

Key point: American overextension, both domestically and abroad, has temporarily weakened the United States, and the “third offset” alone cannot mend it. U.S. defense planners hope that the Pentagon's “Third Offset” will deter nations like China and Russia from risking war with the United States by expanding our narrowing technological lead. Superficially, the United States' pursuit of a decisive technological advantage sends a signal to the world: America will remain ready to deter aggression abroad, now and in the future.

Chinese state media praises Hong Kong police 'restraint'

State media in China on Tuesday said the People's Liberation Army was on hand if necessary to support police in Hong Kong as it praised the force for its "restraint", the day after an unarmed pro-democracy protester was shot. The city witnessed one of the most violent days yet in five months of pro-democracy unrest on Monday, with a police officer shooting a masked student protester and a pro-Beijing man set on fire. "When necessary, the People's Armed Police Force and the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison will back you up in accordance with the Basic Law," the commentary read, referring to Hong Kong's mini-constitution.

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  U.S. condemns latest Hong Kong violence, urges both sides to de-escalate

  Reuters
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  Widespread Unrest Across Hong Kong as Protesters Attempt to Enforce General Strike

  Time

Briton who helped found Syria's White Helmets dies in Turkey

A former British army officer who helped found the White Helmets volunteer organization in Syria was found dead in Istanbul early Monday, Turkish officials and the group said. James Le Mesurier's body was found near his home in the Beyoglu district by worshippers on their way to a mosque, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported. The Istanbul governor's office said "comprehensive administrative and judicial investigations" had been initiated into Le Mesurier's death.

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  British Founder of Syrian ‘White Helmets’ Aid Organization Found Dead in Istanbul

  National Review
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  James Le Mesurier, British ex-army officer who trained Syria's White Helmets, found dead in Istanbul

  The Telegraph

Airlines are flying tons of unneeded fuel around the world to save as little as $52 by not filling up in countries with higher prices

The practice was revealed by the BBC's "Panorama" show, which received leaked documents showing the practice at British Airways. Documents showed that British Airways planes were carrying tons of extra fuel for the sake of small savings — sometimes barely $50 on a whole plane's worth of fuel. The BBC estimates that the practice produced 18,000 metric tons of unnecessary carbon dioxide in 2018.

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  British Airways emits 18,000 extra tonnes of carbon dioxide every year to save money

  The Independent
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  A common cost-saving practice of airlines trashes the planet in the process

  Quartz

All U.S. Navy Submarines are Nuclear Powered (But That Could Change)

However, new Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) technology has significantly narrowed the performance gap on a new generation of submarines that cost a fraction of the price of a nuclear-powered boat. A conventional submarine's diesel engine generates electricity which can be used to drive the propeller and power its systems. The problem is that such a combustion engine is inherently quite noisy and runs on air—a commodity in limited supply on an underwater vehicle.

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  To Survive, American Submarines Must ‘Get Deeper’ (Thanks to China)

  The National Interest
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  USS Grayback discovered 75 years later

  ABC News Videos

Police Employees Charged in 911 Medical Fraud Ring

For years, Angela Meyers, a 911 operator with the New York Police Department, fielded emergency calls, then filed reports about the calls within the department. But according to court documents, when someone called 911 after a car accident, Meyers did something else: She also passed victims' information to an insurance fraud ring in Queens. Meyers was one of six current and former New York Police Department employees charged in federal court Thursday with conspiracy and bribery.

Maduro's military stands in the way of a Bolivia repeat in Venezuela

Venezuelan opposition leaders looking to oust their country's socialist government can perhaps take some hope from the resignation of its leftist ally in Bolivia, President Evo Morales, on Sunday after weeks of street protests. But one key factor makes the Bolivia playbook a difficult one to carry out against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro: Venezuela's armed forces have consistently refused to take the side of protesters as Bolivia's military did on Sunday. Venezuela's barracks have stood by the ruling Socialist Party despite a crippling economic meltdown, two waves of major protests in 2014 and 2017 and broad condemnation of Maduro's 2018 re-election that was widely described as fraudu...

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  The Latest: UN chief urges restraint for Bolivians

  Associated Press
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  Bolivian president Evo Morales resigns after fierce election backlash

  The Independent

Shootings, blasts prompt Denmark to tighten border controls

Denmark will temporarily reinstate border controls with Sweden and step up police work along the border after a series of violent crimes and explosions around Copenhagen that Danish authorities say were carried out by perpetrators from Sweden. The checks, which start Tuesday for six months, will take place at the Oresund Bridge between Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmo, and at ferry ports. Lene Frank of Denmark's National Police said there will be both random and periodic checks of people crossing the border and officers will focus "particularly on cross-border crime involving explosives, weapons and drugs."

China accuses US of using UN to 'meddle' in Tibet

China accused the US on Monday of using the United Nations to "meddle" in Tibet, as Washington intensifies its bid to prevent Beijing from handpicking the Dalai Lama's successor. Last week, Sam Brownback, the United States' ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, said the US wanted the UN to take up the succession issue of the Tibetan spiritual leader. The choice of the Dalai Lama's successor "belongs to the Tibetan Buddhists and not the Chinese government", Brownback told AFP.

Uber, Lyft say proposed California ballot measure is a good deal for drivers. Economists disagree

The battle over the future of the gig economy could end up being one of the most expensive proposition fights in California's history, and the outcome likely will have ramifications beyond the state's border. Drivers and app-based workers are divided over a plan paid for by tech titans to challenge Assembly Bill 5, the landmark labor legislation that could require companies — including Uber and Lyft — to bring independent contractors on board as employees. The two companies have already put up a combined total of $60 million to fund a ballot measure.