Democrat 2020 hopefuls eye coveted Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsement

She is the great young hope of America’s Left-wing, an articulate and impassioned progressive whose policies have gained traction and Twitter feed is followed by four million.  Now Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 29-year-old first-time congressman from New York, is seeing her newfound political clout manifest in a new way – a race for her endorsement.  With two dozen Democrats seeking their party’s presidential nomination, the support of Ms Ocasio-Cortez is being seen as a way to win over the young, energised voters who will help shape the race.  Chief among the contenders are Bernie Sanders, the independent 77-year-old senator from Vermont, and Elizabeth Warren, the former academic now representing Massachusetts in the Senate.  Both have made tacit acknowledgement of Ms Ocasio-Cortez’s influence in public in recent weeks – whether for policy reasons, or for political gain, or both.  Earlier this month, Mr Sanders appeared alongside Ms Ocasio-Cortez at an office table where they discussed the importance of reducing credit card interest rates.  At the end of the 25-minute video, shared on social media and viewed by more than half a million people, the pair patted each other on the back warmly and smiled.  Last month, Mr Warren wrote a 180-word ode to Ms Ocasio-Cortez for Time Magazine when the latter was named in its top 100 most influential people.  “A year ago, she was taking orders across a bar. Today, millions are taking cues from her,” Ms Warren wrote of the congresswoman’s remarkable political rise. “And she’s just getting started.” Those two are not the only Democratic hopefuls vying for an endorsement, it appears. Politico reported that both senator Kirsten Gillibrand and former housing and urban development secretary Julian Castro have made “overtures”.  There is no reason a person should pay more than 15% interest in the United States. It’s common sense - in fact, we had these Usury laws until the 70s. It’s a debt trap for working people + it has to end.https://t.co/sO0p5NF7WR— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) May 9, 2019 The enthusiasm is understandable. The Democratic Party’s progressive base appears fired up for change and many candidates hoping to win the right to take on Donald Trump are leaning its way.  Government-funded health care for all, a $15 minimum wage and bold action on climate change have been widely adopted by the field ahead of the first debate in June and the first primary vote next February.  Ms Ocasio-Cortez, who last year shocked the political establishment by ousting a 10-term Democrat in her own party to take his seat, has become the progressive movement’s most recognisable star.  That was underscored this week as Joe Biden, the former US vice president who is polling top and running on a centrist ticket, was forced to defend his climate change stance after Ms Ocasio-Cortez dismissed it as “middle of the road".  Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic senator for Massachusetts, has developed a reputation for standing up to Wall Street Credit: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall Mr Sanders is best placed to win the endorsement race. Ms Ocasio-Cortez worked on his 2016 presidential campaign, identifies like him as a democratic socialist and shares many of the same policy beliefs.  Ms Warren has also laid out a left-wing platform taking on Wall Street and redistributing wealth but makes clear she remains a believer in capitalism.  Asked recently about an endorsement by a CNN reporter, Ms Ocasio-Cortez said: “What I would like to see in a presidential candidate is one that has a coherent worldview and logic from which all these policy proposals are coming forward. "I think senator Sanders has that. I also think senator Warren has that.” And, the questioner followed up, would she consider endorsing Mr Biden? Ms Ocasio-Cortez turned and walked away without a definitive answer.

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  Former House Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's impact on the 2020 race

  FOX News Videos
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  Ocasio-Cortez Sides With Buffett on How Errant CEOs Should Pay

  Bloomberg

Wild video shows the moment an F-16 fighter jet crashed into a California warehouse

In a wild story that was captured on video, an F-16 fighter jet crashed into a warehouse in Riverside, California shortly after takeoff yesterday afternoon. The pilot managed to safely eject from the plane before the crash and is said to have suffered no injuries, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.A full-on investigation into the cause of the crash will certainly yield more details, but early reports suggest that a hydraulics failure was the reason behind the malfunction and subsequent crash.Video of the impact was captured by a nearby car's dashboard cam. Ty Stanonis was on the freeway when the crash occurred ahead of him, he told FOX11. His vehicle's dashboard camera recorded the moment the jet crashed, showing the plane dropping into the building. "Everybody was slowing down, just trying to figure out what just happened," Stanonis said. The pilot's parachute deployed after he ejected, and he landed in a field inside the base. Stanonis said the pilot was still for a few moments but finally rose to his feet.The moment of impact can be seen in the first few seconds of the video below.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j4dzuttA1wFootage captured from within the warehouse can be seen below. It's worth noting that the video contains explicit language.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ho35RgfUfIMiraculously, no one in the warehouse was seriously injured as a result of the crash, though a few individuals were taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation for minor injuries.Further, the F-16 was said to be carrying live ammunition which thankfully -- and remarkably -- did not go off. All in all, what could have been an all-out disaster resulted in no deaths or serious injuries

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  F-16 jet was armed when it crashed near March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, official says

  KABC – Los Angeles
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  Investigation continues into fighter jet crash in southern California

  KFSN – Fresno

Boeing acknowledges flaw in 737 MAX simulator software

Boeing acknowledged Saturday it had to correct flaws in its 737 MAX flight simulator software used to train pilots, after two deadly crashes involving the aircraft that killed 346 people. "Boeing has made corrections to the 737 MAX simulator software and has provided additional information to device operators to ensure that the simulator experience is representative across different flight conditions," it said in a statement. Its statement marked the first time Boeing acknowledged there was a design flaw in software linked to the 737 MAX, whose MCAS anti-stall software has been blamed in large part for the Ethiopian Airlines tragedy.

Vineyard Vines arrives at Target on Saturday. How to shop the limited-edition collaboration

Set your alarm clock if you're interested in shopping Target's latest designer collaboration, Vineyard Vines. The new collection goes on sale May 18.

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  The Vineyard Vines x Target Release Has Preppies Losing Their Minds

  W
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  Priyanka Chopra's $30 Target skirt is finally here — shop it before it sells out

  Yahoo Lifestyle

This Missile Might be the U.S. Navy's Important Weapon in Decades

The Tomahawk and its controversies might make headlines, but as the U.S. Navy re-arms for high-tech warfare, the SM-6 is the missile to watch.The U.S. Navy in late January 2019 confirmed the designation of its newest cruise missile, in the process clarifying its long-term plan for arming its growing fleet of warships.The plan heavily leans on one missile, in particular. It's the SM-6, an anti-aircraft weapon that quickly is evolving to perform almost every role the Navy assigns to a missile.(This first appeared earlier in the year.)The Navy dubbed the newest version of the venerable Tomahawk cruise missile the "Block V" model, Jane's reported. There are two separate variants of the Block V missile, one with an anti-ship warhead and another with a warhead the Navy optimized for striking targets on land.Raytheon's Tomahawk has been the subject of controversy in Washington, D.C. In order to save money the Obama administration wanted to pause production of the long-range missile, which since the 1980s has been the Navy's main weapon for striking land targets from the sea.Congress overruled the Obama administration and continued buying Tomahawks for roughly $1 million apiece, adding potentially hundreds of the missiles to the thousands the fleet already possesses.

Once again, Iraq caught up in tensions between US and Iran

BAGHDAD (AP) — When U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sat down with Iraqi officials in Baghdad last week as tensions mounted between America and Iran, he delivered a nuanced message: If you're not going to stand with us, stand aside.

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  Katyusha rocket fired into Baghdad Green Zone

  AFP
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  The Latest: US military confirms rocket near embassy in Iraq

  Associated Press

Alex Rodriguez bathroom photo highlights permissive privacy laws

* Former Yankees slugger snapped through apartment window * Lawyers seek photographer but legal recourse uncertainAlex Rodriguez was pictured on the toilet in the Park Avenue apartment he shares with his fiancee Jennifer Lopez in an image being shared on social media. Photograph: NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty ImagesNew York’s liberal privacy laws are under scrutiny as lawyers for the retired baseball star Alex Rodriguez try to track down the photographer who snapped him sitting on the toilet in the Park Avenue apartment he shares with his fiancee, the actor and singer Jennifer Lopez.A picture making the rounds on social media shows the former New York Yankees slugger, known as “A-Rod”, looking at his phone in a white marble bathroom.The New York Post’s Page Six declined to publish the picture, citing privacy issues. The tabloid quoted an unidentified source who called the picture “a clear breach of privacy” and said: “One of the hedge funds in the building next door will be getting a big lawsuit.” With the continued onslaught of intrusive technologies, it may be time to revisit privacy protections Michael QuinnHowever, successful legal action may be hard to achieve.Six years ago, New York neighbours of the photographer Arne Svenson sought to block the sale of images he exhibited which showed them in unguarded moments.According to the New Yorker, Svenson consulted with a lawyer before peeking into the lives of others. The courts found he had not breached any legal convention.An appellate court decried the “technological home invasion” but ruled that Svenson’s actions were defensible under the first amendment, which guarantees free speech, and that such art needs no consent to be made or sold.On Saturday Michael Quinn, a New York art lawyer, told the Guardian Rodriguez’s options for recourse were limited.“New York state’s laws on rights to privacy are sparse,” Quinn said. “Any redress for this type of invasion – a photograph taken into a subject’s unobstructed window from a distance – would be limited to cases involving commercial exploitation.“With the continued onslaught of intrusive technologies, it may be time for the legislature to revisit privacy protections … of course, it may also be time for interior designers to bring back venetian blinds.”

8-year-old girl kidnapped in Fort Worth,Texas found safe, police say

FOUND SAFE: Police said two alert citizens reported the suspect's car at a hotel after the Amber Alert went out Saturday night.

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  8-year-old girl kidnapped and snatched from her mother

  ABC News Videos
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  Abducted 8-year-old found safe

  FOX News Videos

Modi’s jobs deficit: J&J’s largest India plant idle three years after completion

It was to eventually employ at least 1,500 people and help bring development to a rural area near Hyderabad in southern India. Two sources familiar with J&J's operations in India and one state government official told Reuters production at the plant, at Penjerla in Telangana state, never began because of a slowing in the growth in demand for the products. One of them said that demand didn’t rise as expected because of two shock policy moves by Prime Minister Narendra Modi: a late 2016 ban on then circulating high-value currency notes, and the nationwide introduction of a goods and services tax (GST) in 2017.

Blast hits Egypt tourist bus, 17 injured: security, medical sources

An explosion struck a tourist bus on Sunday near Egypt's famed pyramids, injuring 17 people including foreigners, security and medical sources said. South Africans and Egyptians were among those injured when an explosive device went off, hitting the bus in Giza, according to the sources. Sunday's incident comes after three Vietnamese holidaymakers and their Egyptian guide were killed when a roadside bomb hit their bus as it travelled near the pyramids outside Cairo in December.

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  Explosion targets tourist bus near new Egyptian museum

  The Telegraph
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  Egypt explosion: Tourist bus hit by blast outside museum near Giza Pyramids

  The Independent

'The point is to overturn Roe v Wade': How a quiet Republican effort to limit abortion rights has blown up into a full scale attack on women's rights

Back in February, as the United States obsessed over whether Donald Trump would force a second government shutdown, Ohio state senator Kristina Roegner quietly introduced a bill that is now part of a flood of laws threatening the right to an abortion all across the country.The bill, known as a “heartbeat” abortion bill, received little national press. But, when it was signed into law in April, it made good on a near seven-year effort to restrict abortions in the state to six weeks, before many women even know their pregnant.“The point for me, for this heartbeat bill, and all the pro-life legislation, is to save the unborn,” Ms Roegner told The Independent this week of the bill, which has been introduced in every legislative session in the state since at least 2011. “It’s to save innocent life.”The bill is one of eight in the US to be passed this year, following over 40 years' worth of incremental work to suppress abortions. And they have spurred a national reckoning over abortion rights, and led virtually every American who has much of an opinion on the issue to wonder: is this the end of Roe v Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case that made abortion a right for women across the US?As it turns out, it takes very little prodding for that goal to be made explicit.“The primary purpose is to save human life,” Ms Roegner said. “But we’re not going to shy away from it going to the Supreme Court with the intention of overturning Roe v Wade.”For supporters of abortion bans — including the Ohio bill and one recently signed law in Alabama, which would send physicians to prison for life for terminating a pregnancy at any stage — the strategy is pretty clear, and sets these red states on a direct collision course with the Supreme Court if all things go well.With Roe as the law of the land, the plan goes, each of these bills would run foul of the limits put in place by that ruling, which limits states from banning abortions if a foetus couldn’t survive outside of the womb. At six weeks, a foetus is the size of a sweet pea and is just beginning to form paddle-like hands and feet, but is nowhere near ready for the real world.So, far from banning abortion immediately, the laws that have been popping up across the country are intended to draw legal challenges, with the issue becoming more and more pressing for the nation’s higher court to make a decision as more states join the battle.State representative Terri Collins, who sponsored the bill in Alabama that would make virtually all abortions illegal, even in cases of rape or incest, confirmed that the Supreme Court is the point.“But what I’m trying to do here is get this case in front of the Supreme Court so Roe v Wade can be overturned,” she told the Washington Post, echoing a similar statements she has made to other media outlets.Since Roe v Wade was handed down in 1973, it is estimated that more than 54 million abortions have been performed in the United States alone.While abortion ban advocates describe that number as a mass slaughter — with the Alabama bill explicitly linking abortion to the Holocaust — many in the pro choice movement say the figure is not the point.One in four women are expected to have an abortion by the time they turn 45, according to the Guttmacher Institute, and the protections provided by Roe mean that those women have no reason to seek out the procedure in an unsafe condition. Instead, doctors and physicians are in the room, helping perform a procedure that was much more dangerous when it was done secretly fifty years ago.And, having the procedure in the realm of the legal means that there is no discrepancy in enforcement. While the bills banning abortion being passed across the country don’t mention the race or socioeconomic status of the women who might be targeted, it has been argued that abortions would disproportionately impact poor women and women of colour. That’s at least in part because judges and prosecutors in America often have a fair amount of discretion on sentencing guidelines, and that tends to benefit rich white folks.But, while Ms Roegner and Ms Collins may hope to force a new Supreme Court ruling — and might expect a favourable ruling, since Donald Trump has pushed the court to the right with the appointment of justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch — it is not clear that the court would actually take up the case.Plus, a challenge to Roe v Wade could come from anywhere, according to the deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union Reproductive Freedom Project, Brigitte Amir.Ms Amir told Mother Jones that she doesn’t think these laws getting loads of press will be the end of Roe, even if they have that potential.“Any Supreme Court case that deals with abortion could be used to dismantle Roe v Wade,” she told the magazine.Which is to say that, much like the Ohio bill passed in April, the biggest challenge may not come with a bang. It may end with a whimper.

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  Trump: 'Pro-Life' but favors exceptions for cases of rape, incest

  Yahoo News Video
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  ‘SNL’: Leslie ‘Dracarys’ Jones Goes Off on Alabama’s Anti-Abortion Law

  Indiewire

4 decades separate 2020's presidential candidates. Here's what that looks like.

From Buttigieg and Gabbard to Sanders and Biden, more than a generation separates the oldest and youngest candidates.

Glock 31 Gun: All You Need To Know About this Powerful Pistol

In the early 1990s, a handful of calibers emerged to challenge the nine-millimeter as the dominant semi-automatic handgun round. One of these, the .357 Sig, is the caliber of choice for the Glock 31 pistol. The Glock 31 is the company’s offering for those into high velocity or long distance handgun shooting. The G31 also comes with a large magazine capacity, making it an excellent self-defense or duty sidearm.The now infamous 1986 FBI Miami shootout was a watershed moment in the history of law enforcement. Eight FBI agents armed with pistols and shotguns engaged two bank robbers armed with superior weapons. Over the course of the gun battle, which saw the federal agents pinned down by suppressive fire from a Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic rifle, two agents were killed and another five wounded. The two bank robbers were hit multiple times by incoming fire but were both able to continue shooting, contributing to the very high law enforcement casualty rate.In the aftermath of the shootout, the FBI and other government agencies began the search for a new, more powerful handgun round. Nine-millimeter and .38 Special proved ineffective at stopping the robbers, while .357 Magnum was a revolver cartridge that limited the user’s carrying capacity to six rounds at a time. Law enforcement wanted a powerful round that could be carried in large quantities.

US: Iran military could misidentify airliners amid tension

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Commercial airliners flying over the Persian Gulf risk being targeted by "miscalculation or misidentification" from the Iranian military amid heightened tensions between the Islamic Republic and the U.S., American diplomats warned Saturday, even as both Washington and Tehran say they don't seek war.

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  Trump aims to cool tensions in Middle East, but Iran is probably not ready to negotiate

  CNBC
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  US pilots warned about flying over Iranian territory amid rising tensions in Middle East

  The Independent

View Photos of the First Hot Wheels Toy Based on a Fan's Custom Car

A flame-throwing, 600-hp ground-bound jet from Jersey is cool enough-then they up and made a toy version.From Car and Driver

Al Jazeera suspends two journalists over Holocaust report

Qatari state-funded broadcaster Al Jazeera suspended two journalists on Sunday over a video they produced claiming the extent of the Holocaust was being misrepresented by Jews. The clip, posted by Al Jazeera's online AJ+ Arabic service, claimed "the narrative" that the Nazis killed six million Jews was "adopted by the Zionist movement". The video said that "along with others, the Jews faced a policy of systematic persecution which culminated in the Final Solution".

What Are the Best Inexpensive Small SUVs?

This member question submitted to Ask Our Experts touches on a common need. We like that it is focused on the goal, rather than strictly how to achieve it. In this case, it would be wise to resis...

U.S.-China Feud Widens, Europe Populists Buoyant

U.S.-China relations hit a new low this week after President Donald Trump’s administration slapped new tariffs on imports from China and targeted its biggest technology company, Huawei Technologies. Elsewhere, residents in the Iranian capital, Tehran, worry more about feeding their families than the rumors of war with the U.S., and populists hoped to score unprecedented gains in next week's elections to the European Parliament.Read about those topics and more in this edition of Weekend Reads, and click here for some of Bloomberg’s most compelling political images from the past seven days. China Vows ‘People’s War’ as Trade Fight Takes Nationalist TurnAs China’s state media ratchets up the rhetoric in the deepening trade dispute with the U.S., Peter Coy reports on how Trump’s tariffs on China will place a heavier burden on America’s poor and working class.

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  Emerging-Market Stocks, Currencies Fall as Trade War Intensifies

  Bloomberg
• Trump says tariffs causing companies to move out of China

  Reuters

Bernie Sanders proposes U.S. education overhaul in appeal to black voters

Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders unveiled an education policy proposal on Saturday designed to pump billions of dollars into the public schools system, in a bid to appeal to black voters who shunned the U.S. senator during his previous presidential run. The 10-point plan Sanders detailed in a speech in South Carolina aims to end racial disparities in the public education system. America's education policy debate has long been steeped in discussions of race and racial discrimination.

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  Bernie Sanders Calls for Ban on For-Profit Charter Schools, $60K Minimum Salary for Teachers

  The Daily Beast
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  Sanders: 'There are millions of people that are sick and tired of that Democratic establishment.'

  Yahoo View

Illinois not alerted to early clues in womb-cutting case

CHICAGO (AP) — Police and Illinois' child welfare agency say staff at a Chicago-area hospital didn't alert them after determining that a bloodied woman who arrived with a gravely ill newborn had not just given birth to the baby boy, as she claimed.