N. Korea says it will remain 'threat' to US, slams Pompeo

North Korea on Friday launched a scathing attack on US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, calling him a "diehard toxin" and saying it was "sceptical" whether it can negotiate with him. Pyongyang also vowed to remain the United States's "biggest 'threat'" and said annual US-South Korea joint military drills had "complicated" nuclear talks between the two countries. "We are ready for both dialogue and stand-off," North Korea's foreign minister Ri Yong Ho said in a statement.

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  North Korea fires 'short-range ballistic missiles' into sea: Seoul

  AFP
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  Japan lashes out at South Korea as worst relations in decades threaten North Korea peace talks

  The Independent

Ex-wife, children of Atlanta surgeon Christopher Edwards found dead in apparent murder-suicide

ATLANTA – The ex-wife and two adult children of a prominent Atlanta surgeon and housing chairman were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide. The shooting victims were identified as Dr. Marsha Edwards, 58; Christopher Edwards Jr., 24; and Erin Edwards, 20, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Authorities say they believe Marsha Edwards shot both of her children before turning the gun on herself.

Police are trying to arrest their way out of a mass shooting epidemic, and experts warn that law enforcement can't shoulder the entire burden

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.

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  Have Police Really Thwarted More Mass Shootings Since El Paso and Dayton, or Are We Just Paying Closer Attention?

  Time
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  Authorities foil 3 new mass shooting threats

  ABC News Videos

UK Hong Kong consulate worker Simon Cheng freed after detention in mainland China

A British consulate employee in Hong Kong has been freed by China after being detained for 15 days on the mainland amid rising tensions between the former British colony and Beijing. Simon Cheng, 28, a trade and investment officer at the Hong Kong consulate's Scottish Development International section, went missing on August 8 on his way back from a work trip in Shenzhen, a neighbouring Chinese city. It was not until after the UK expressed “extreme concern” about his disappearance that China's foreign ministry broke its silence, confirming Mr Cheng had been detained without releasing further details.

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  UK consulate staffer returns to Hong Kong after China detention

  AFP
• UK warns China travellers of greater checks on Hong Kong/mainland border

  Reuters

Revered as a saint by online extremists, how Christchurch shooter inspired copycat terrorists around the world

The shooting was the first deadly attack linked to the massacres at two mosques in Christchurch – but not the last. On 3 August, a man who declared himself a “supporter of the Christchurch shooter and his manifesto” murdered 22 people in El Paso. And a week later, a gunman who hailed Tarrant as a “saint” launched a failed attack on a mosque in Norway.

Russia's Chechnya inaugurates what it says is Europe's largest mosque

Authorities in the Russian region of Chechnya on Friday inaugurated what they said was the largest mosque in Europe in a pomp-filled ceremony attended by local and foreign officials. Named after the Prophet Mohammed, the marble-decorated mosque has capacity for more than 30,000 people and has been described by the Chechen authorities as the "largest and most beautiful" mosque in Europe. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, said the mosque -- located in Shali, a town of 54,000 just outside the regional capital Grozny -- was "unique in its design, and majestic in its size and beauty".

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."

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  Russia's floating nuclear plant sails to its destination

  Associated Press
• UPDATE 1-Russia's first seaborne nuclear power plant sets sail across Arctic

  Reuters

Fast-moving wildfire erupts in California, forcing thousands to evacuate

A fast-moving wildfire that broke out on Thursday in northern California has forced the evacuation of nearly 4,000 residents, racing across at least 600 acres within just a few hours, officials say. The Mountain fire, which erupted on the outskirts of a national forest in northern California, has threatened 1,110 homes and structures. Photos of the blaze posted on Twitter by the Shasta county sheriff's office showed thick black and gray smoke billowing into the area over a highway near the Shasta-Trinity national forest.

CNN's Brooke Baldwin Blasts Trump for Joking About Plummeting Dow Jones

Minutes after President Donald Trump cracked a Twitter joke Friday over the plunging stock market, CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin slammed the president for making light of the economic damage currently being felt by workers and farmers. The president sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average into a tailspin on Friday morning when he raged on Twitter over China's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, calling Fed Chair Jerome Powell an “enemy” and ordering American companies to look for alternatives to China while promising to announce a response to the tariffs later in the afternoon.

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  China announces tariff hike on $75 billion of US products in retaliation to Trump's planned increase

  WABC – NY
• China To Raise Import Tariffs On $75B Additional US Goods

  Benzinga

South Korea begins annual war games to defend against Japan

South Korea Sunday began two days of war games to practise defending disputed islands off its east coast against an unlikely attack from Japan, further stoking tensions between the Asian neighbours. The annual drills come just days after Seoul terminated a military intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo, with the countries at loggerheads over Japan's use of forced labour during World War II. The two-day exercise will involve warships and aircraft, the South Korean navy said in a text message without providing more detail.

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  'Blind men': End of South Korea-Japan pact undermines bid to understand North Korea threats

  Reuters
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  Japan, U.S. reach framework trade pact, no U.S. concessions seen - Nikkei

  Reuters

A man with schizophrenia was found guilty of murdering a Saint Augustine's University student in 1979. 40 years later, a panel of judges decided he's innocent after all.

Police could not find a suspect until 1983 when they arrested James Blackmon based on information from a confidential informant. There was no physical evidence linking Blackmon to the murder, yet, he still confessed to it. In November, almost 40 years after the student's death, The North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission announced they would re-evaluate the case.

VIDEO: 2 trans women, gay man ejected from DTLA bar after alleged altercation with other group

Two transgender women who were forcibly removed from a downtown L.A. bar say security guards used excessive force after they were allegedly verbally attacked with transphobic slurs.

Russian doctor has trace of radiation after explosion

More than 100 Russian medical workers who helped treat victims of a recent mysterious explosion at a military testing range have undergone checks and one man has been found with a trace of radiation, officials said Friday. It was followed by a brief rise in radiation levels in nearby Severodvinsk, but the authorities insisted it didn't pose any danger. The Arkhangelsk regional administration said Friday that 110 medical workers have undergone checks that one man was found with a low amount of radioactive cesium-137 in his muscle tissue.

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  Putin promises 'symmetrical response' to US missile test after end of nuclear treaty

  The Telegraph
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  Putin orders reciprocal Russian response to U.S. missile test

  Reuters

A man was training to get a gun permit. The instructor accidentally shot him, police say

A Riverside, California man attending a firearms training class to get his concealed weapons permit was accidentally shot by a Riverside County Sheriff's Department trainer, the department told The Desert Sun. On Aug. 10, the man, identified only as a civilian, was participating in a course at the Ben Clark Training Center's gun range in Riverside. According to a department news release issued in response to questions from The Desert Sun, gun range staff inspect students' firearms during the course and students are instructed to unload their guns.

20 of the Craziest Pickup Trucks Ever

A pickup truck's job is simple, but that didn't stop some makers from turning these basic workhorses into wild machines. From Car and Driver

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  Chester man charged with running over woman with pickup truck

  WPVI – Philadelphia
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  Relative of Man Charged with 2 Murders Believes Police Have Wrong Person

  KTVI - St. Louis

Metal detectorist finds £10,000 gold ring in garage 40 years after discarding it as worthless

A metal detectorist who discarded a gold ring in his garage for 40 years after a museum told him it was worthless has discovered its real value is £10,000. Tom Clark, 81, dug up the buried treasure while scanning an area of farmland near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979, then put it inside a metal tin and forgot about it. But the retired leather craftsman came across the rare seal ring eight years ago while sorting through items from his mother's house after she passed away.

Cathay flight attendant says fired over Facebook posts on HK protests

A flight attendant on Friday accused Cathay Pacific of summarily firing her over Facebook posts linked to Hong Kong's political crisis, adding to concerns about a China-driven witch-hunt to root out pro-democracy supporters at major firms. The Hong Kong-based airline has been accused of bowing to political and commercial pressure from Beijing by sacking employees in recent weeks for their public support for the massive anti-government movement roiling Hong Kong. Earlier this month, China's aviation authority ordered Cathay Pacific to stop pro-democracy supporters among its 27,000 staff from working on flights to -- or over -- China, after a general strike drew out some of its workers.

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  Timelapse Footage Spans Hong Kong Human Chain from Times Square to Tin Hau

  Storyful
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  Trump weighs in on Hong Kong to gain leverage in China trade talks

  The Independent

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.

All the Best Le Creuset Deals During Williams Sonoma Warehouse Sale

The best cookware—for cheap. From Popular Mechanics

Rep. Steve King wants to make abortion point in 'softer way'

Backed by supporters at a news conference in Des Moines, the Iowa Republican affirmed his belief that abortion should be outlawed with no exceptions for rape or incest. King faced criticism for his comment Aug. 14 that questioned whether there would be "any population of the world left" if not for births due to rape or incest. The remarks were condemned by numerous groups and individuals, including Republican and Democratic candidates seeking to oust King, Democratic presidential candidates as well as the Iowa Republican Party and Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 Republican in House leadership.

Democratic presidential candidates have a new approach for tackling gun violence: Treat it as a public-health crisis

Warren and Booker have outlined the need to fund public-health research to inform better policies to address gun violence, saying they will fund and use the tactics of community-based intervention. These programs use data to locate high-risk areas for gun violence. Community members then intervene to mediate and de-escalate violence and refer people to social services.