- PoliticsThe Guardian
Joe Biden inspires no one – not even his own wife
Much like Hillary Clinton in 2016, Joe Biden's Democratic primary campaign has thus far cloaked itself in an aura of inevitability. You might not like Joe Biden. Jill Biden, the former vice-president's wife, made the case bizarrely explicit on MSNBC earlier this week.
- WorldBusiness Insider
A floating nuclear plant in Russia features a gym, bar, and pool. An expert calls it 'Chernobyl on ice.'
But some environmentalists are concerned that the floating plant could fall victim to a disaster like a tsunami, resulting in a possible nuclear catastrophe. "It's riskier than running an ordinary nuclear-power station, and Russia has a checkered past when it comes to ordinary power stations," Jan Haverkamp, a nuclear-energy expert at the environmental nonprofit Greenpeace, told Business Insider. Last year, Haverkamp published a blog post that referred to the floating plant as "Chernobyl on ice."
- NewsAssociated Press
Serial killer who preyed on gay men executed in Florida
Gary Ray Bowles, a serial killer who preyed on older gay men during an eight-month spree that left six dead, was executed by lethal injection Thursday at Florida State Prison. Bowles received the death penalty for the November 1994 murder of Walter Hinton in Jacksonville Beach. It began in Daytona Beach with the murder of John Hardy Roberts.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Newt Gingrich says slavery needs to be put 'in context,' calls 1619 project a 'lie'
WASHINGTON – Appearing on "Fox and Friends" on Monday morning, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said that The New York Times' 1619 Project was "a lie." The 1619 Project is an effort by the Times to commemorate the 400th anniversary of slavery's beginning in America. The 1619 Project aims to "reframe the country's history, [understand] 1619 as our true founding, and [place] the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are."
PoliticsFOX News VideosFederal appeals court rules Colorado was 'wrong' to force electors to vote for Hillary Clinton in 2016
Bradley Moss and John Yoo weigh in on a federal court ruling in Colorado on the Electoral College that could make its way to the Supreme Court.
WorldAFPUK consulate staffer returns to Hong Kong after China detention: family
A British consulate employee detained in China has returned to Hong Kong, his family said Saturday. Simon Cheng disappeared after visiting the neighbouring city of Shenzhen on August 8 and was placed in administrative detention by police. "Simon has returned to Hong Kong," his family said in a Facebook post, adding he would take "some time to rest and recover".
- BusinessReuters
Japan, U.S. reach framework trade pact, no tariff cuts on Japan cars - Nikkei
The United States and Japan have reached the broad framework of a trade agreement, with Washington maintaining tariffs on Japanese autos but Tokyo cutting tariffs on U.S. beef and pork, Japan's Nikkei business daily said on Saturday. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi reached the deal on Friday in Washington, and it will be announced at a meeting of President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expected on Sunday on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France, the newspaper said. The report comes shortly after Motegi told reporters in Washington that he and Lighthizer had made "big progress" in their talks.
- WorldThe Independent
Amazon fires: Bolsonaro actively trying to devastate rainforest, leaked documents show
Jair Bolsonaro hopes to sabotage conservation efforts in the Amazon, leaked documents show. A series of powerpoint slides reveal that Brazilian government officials intend to build a bridge, motorway and hydroelectric plant through the rainforest. The plans, which were leaked to Open Democracy, have emerged as fires rage throughout the Amazon.
- LifestyleCar and Driver
2020 Toyota GR Supra vs. 2019 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350: Which Is the Better Driver's Machine?
This is a fight between the 2019 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 and the 2020 Toyota GR Supra. Carroll Shelby's first Mustang GT350 was built in 1965, constructed in a small industrial building in Venice, California. Now, with the return of the Supra for 2020—albeit with more than a little help from BMW—these two legends are finally rolling off assembly lines at the same time.
- PoliticsYahoo News
Trump fumes over emissions deal between automakers and California
California announced a deal with four automakers Wednesday that would increase vehicle fuel efficiency and defy the Trump administration's plan to ease tailpipe emissions standards. In response, the president vented his frustration on Twitter. Ford, Honda, Volkswagen and BMW signed on to the voluntary agreement with California, but the deal will have nationwide impact, as the four automakers account for 30 percent of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. annually.
- LifestylePopular Mechanics
L.L. Bean's Huge End-of-Summer Sale Is Taking Up to 70% Off
Gear up for colder weather with jackets, fleece sweaters, boots, and more. From Popular Mechanics
- WorldAssociated Press
Iranian oil tanker pursued by US says it is going to Turkey
An Iranian-flagged oil tanker pursued by the U.S. amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington changed its listed destination to a port in Turkey early Saturday after Greece said it wouldn't risk its relations with America by aiding it. The crew of the Adrian Darya 1, formerly known as the Grace 1, updated its listed destination in its Automatic Identification System to Mersin, Turkey, a port city in the country's south and home to an oil terminal. Mersin is some 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of a refinery in Baniyas, Syria, where authorities alleged the Adrian Darya had been heading before being seized off Gibraltar in early July.
- WorldBloomberg
Putin Needs to Bury This Relic of Stalin
As Europe marks 80 years of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, which carved up eastern Europe between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, Russia is trying to defend the agreement again. There is no political benefit to doing this. President Vladimir Putin needs to abandon his Stalinist inheritance of a foreign policy based solely on national interest.
WorldUSA TODAYAfter 11 tons of trash taken off Mount Everest, officials ban single-use plastics
Officials banned single-use plastics in the Mount Everest region in an effort to reduce the increasing amounts of trash left behind by thrill-seeking climbers and tourists. The ban goes into effect January 2020 and covers all plastics less than 30 microns in thickness, according to Agence France-Presse. This includes plastic bags, straws, soda and water bottles and most food packaging, The Hindu reported.
- NewsINSIDER
Police are trying to arrest their way out of a mass shooting epidemic, and experts warn it could have dire consequences
Since the El Paso and Dayton shootings left 31 people dead on August 3 and 4, at least 28 people across the US have been arrested and accused of plotting or threatening mass shootings. In the weeks since two gunmen in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, slaughtered 31 people within 24 hours, dozens of people across the US have been accused of threatening deadly shooting sprees. Among them are teenagers accused of posting violent threats on social media, grown men who authorities say possessed massive stockpiles of guns, and even a Florida mom who police say threatened to shoot up an elementary school because her children were being rezoned there.
- NewsThe Guardian
Radical gun reform may finally have a voice in Washington
And it may represent the first time in decades that the majority of Americans will get any real representation in the gun control debate in Washington. March for Our Lives' young activists endorsed an Australia-style mandatory government buyback and destruction of “assault weapons”. They want to decrease the number of guns in circulation by 30% – which would mean roughly 100m fewer firearms in American hands.
- WorldNational Review
Brexit Held at the Border
Basically, the backstop is a promise that there will be no hard border — a customs border across the island of Ireland, between the Republic of Ireland and the six counties of Northern Ireland. Irish public officials have argued (with the support of the EU) that a frictionless border is necessary for economic and political reasons. The frictionless border is understood there as part of the the peace settlement in Northern Ireland, following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
WorldAFPBeijing hits back after Trudeau vows to stand up to China
Beijing on Thursday accused Ottawa of worsening bilateral relations after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed to stand up to China amid deepening diplomatic and trade disputes. The two countries have been locked in a feud since last December, when Canada detained top Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou and -- in apparent retaliation -- China detained two Canadian nationals over espionage-linked accusations. On Wednesday, Trudeau pushed back against Beijing in a speech that promised to "always defend Canadians and Canadian interests" and to not "back down".
- WorldReuters
Should I stay or should I run? Pompeo under pressure over U.S. Senate seat
Republican pressure on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to run for the U.S. Senate next year to help keep the party's majority intact is coming up against President Donald Trump's hope of keeping one of his most trusted aides in his administration. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Senate Republicans believe the former U.S. congressman from Kansas would be a strong candidate should he decide to run for one of the state's Senate seats in 2020. "Secretary Pompeo would clear the field and guarantee the Senate stays Republican," said Scott Reed, senior political strategist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
- WorldThe Daily Beast
After Beating and Hernia, American Prisoner Paul Whelan Refused Hospitalization by FSB Doctors
MOSCOW–Paul Whelan, a U.S. citizen held in Russia on suspicion of spying, looked pale and sick when his prison guards brought him to Lefortovo court on Friday. He said he had been beaten and is suffering from a hernia, but his condition is hardly a surprise after eight months in Moscow's Lefortovo, a prison run but the Russian Federal Security Service, FSB, and it looks like Whelan has learned only too well how incarceration there operates. Whelan is facing 20 years in Russian prison for spying, after accepting a flashcard that allegedly contains some sensitive information.
- PoliticsAssociated Press
Sanders campaign boss concedes he may not win New Hampshire
The campaign manager for Bernie Sanders emphasized Thursday that New Hampshire is a critical presidential primary state he expects Sanders to win, but he's leaving room for a scenario in which Sanders falls short. Faiz Shakir said he doesn't "like the language of must-win," though he does believe it is an important early voting state. But he said he still thinks Sanders could win the Democratic nomination without taking New Hampshire, though he acknowledges that the path to victory would be more difficult if Sanders doesn't.
- WorldBloomberg
Modi Ally Calls for Boycott of China Companies on Kashmir, Trade
Indians should stop buying from Chinese companies and the government should reconsider trade concessions to its biggest neighbor after China allied with Pakistan on Kashmir, according to an economic policy group linked with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Companies like technology giant Huawei Technologies Co. should be barred from accessing the Indian market in the future and Chinese companies should be banned from state tenders, Ashwani Mahajan, co-convenor of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, affiliated to the ruling party's ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh said in an interview Thursday.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Florida will be target of tropical depression expected to form off Southeast coast this weekend
A soggy weekend is on tap in Florida, as a tropical disturbance that formed Wednesday near the Bahamas spins toward the state. The National Hurricane Center gives the system a 90% chance of tropical development within the next five days: "The system is expected to move northeastward offshore of the southeastern United States coast," the hurricane center said. "If the current trend continues, a tropical depression is likely to form by Saturday night."
- NewsINSIDER
An innocent man spent months in jail after customs officials thought honey he brought back from Jamaica was liquid meth
Leon Haughton told The Washington Post that he was stopped at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on December 29. Haughton, a Jamaican native and green card holder with no prior convictions, told The Post that this was the first time he had been stopped by customs in the 10 years he had been traveling back and forth to visit his mother. A Maryland man spent nearly three months in jail after US Customs and Border Protection agents at Baltimore's airport thought honey he had brought back from a trip to Jamaica was liquid meth.
- NewsThe Independent
Man arrested for holding woman as sex slave and keeping her eight-month-old baby captive
A North Carolina man has been arrested after holding a woman and her 8-month-old baby captive for over a month, authorities said. The Pender County Sheriff's department said in a press release they received an emergency call on 9 August from a woman who said she was being held against her will at a home in Willard, North Carolina. Deputies responding to the call found a 24-year-old woman and her infant child, both unnamed, being held by James Bryan Peterson, 54, who had apparently kept them for weeks.
