- WorldReuters
Saudi king approves hosting U.S. troops to enhance regional security: SPA
Saudi Arabia's King Salman approved hosting U.S. forces in the country to boost regional security and stability, the state news agency (SPA) reported on Friday. The U.S. Defense Department confirmed the move in a statement, saying it would deploy troops and resources to Saudi Arabia to "provide an additional deterrent" in the face of "emergent, credible threats." The gesture comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran in the Gulf that have impacted global oil markets.
PoliticsAssociated PressMueller probe witness now faces child sex trafficking charge
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) A businessman who served as a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation now faces a charge of child sex trafficking in addition to transporting child pornography. An indictment made public Friday in federal court in Alexandria charges Lebanese-American businessman George Nader, 60, with transporting a 14-year-old boy from Europe to Washington, D.C., in February 2000 and engaging in sex acts with him. It details his efforts to serve as liaison between a Russian banker close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and members of President Donald Trump's transition team.
- NewsThe National Interest
Alleged American ISIS Sniper Brought Home by the Defense Department to Face Charges
An American citizen who allegedly served as a sniper for ISIS and became a leader for the terrorist group is expected to appear in federal court on Friday after being returned to the United States by the Defense Department, officials said. Ruslan Maratovich Asainov, who was born in Kazakhstan and became a naturalized U.S. citizen, is charged with providing and attempting to provide material support to ISIS, the Justice Department announced on Friday. A U.S. official confirmed to Task & Purpose that the Defense Department had transported Asainov from Syria to the United States.
WorldAFPRamush Haradinaj, Kosovo's 'Rambo' ex-PM and Serbian antagonist
Ramush Haradinaj, who resigned as Kosovo's prime minister on Friday, is hailed as a hero at home -- where he is nicknamed "Rambo" -- but considered a war criminal by Belgrade, which has long sought to see him behind bars. The controversial 51-year-old, who was a wartime commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), stepped down after being summoned as a suspect by a war crimes court in the Hague. It is the second time he has resigned after being called before a war crimes court over crimes allegedly committed by the ethnic Albanian KLA separatists during the 1998-99 war.
- PoliticsYahoo News
Michelle Obama counters Trump: 'There's a place for us all'
Former first lady Michelle Obama countered President Trump's attacks on four Democratic congresswomen of color by emphasizing the importance of America's diversity. “What truly makes our country great is its diversity,” wrote Obama in a tweet Friday afternoon. Trump has spent the week attacking Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., a Somali refugee who became a U.S. citizen at age 17.
- BusinessThe Daily Beast
Ex-NRA Ad Firm: Um, Wayne LaPierre is Lying
In a new filing against the National Rifle Association, lawyers for ad agency Ackerman McQueen suggest that longtime NRA executive Wayne LaPierre is lying about a critical moment in the gun rights group's recent leadership shake up. At issue is multi-million-dollar litigation between the NRA and its ex-ad firm. In court filings of its own, the NRA has alleged that Oliver North, the groups's former president, was ousted in part because he withheld information from the NRA about payments he took from Ackerman McQueen, which had served as the gun rights group's primary ad contractor until just months ago.
- WorldReuters
UPDATE 1-Suspected Japan arsonist a reclusive, quarrelsome gamer, neighbour says
The man suspected of killing 34 people in an arson attack in Japan lived alone, hundreds of kilometres from the torched Kyoto Animation studio, where he played video games non-stop and had "terrified" his neighbour just days earlier. Police late on Saturday issued an arrest warrant for 41-year-old Shinji Aoba, suspected of causing Japan's worst mass killing in two decades on Thursday when he went to the studio in western Japan, poured fuel around the entrance and shouted "Die" as he set the building ablaze, according to public broadcaster NHK. They plan to arrest Aoba, who suffered serious burns and on Saturday was airlifted to a university hospital for treatment, once he recovers, NHK said.
- NewsThe Independent
El Chapo: Mexico president calls life sentence ‘inhumane’ as drug lord moved to supermax prison
The Mexican president has described Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman's life sentence as “inhumane” after the notorious drug lord was sent to live out his remaining years in a supermax prison in Colorado. Guzman was sentenced to life behind bars in the US plus 30 years after being found guilty of running a murderous criminal enterprise, having already escaped Mexican prisons twice. In his home country, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador referred to sentences like the one handed to Guzman to be served in a “hostile jail” as "hard” and “inhumane", adding that it made life no longer worth living.
- LifestyleCar and Driver
See the 2020 Chevy Corvette C8 Driving on the Road Undisguised
Our spy photographers caught two different versions of the C8 out on the road with no camouflage for the first time. From Car and Driver
- WorldThe Telegraph
Iran crisis: How a British oil tanker was seized by Iran's balaclava-clad Revolutionary Guards
Allahu akbar”, or God is great, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard marine was heard shouting off camera as the group took control of the British-flagged Stena Impero. Scaling down ropes onto its bow, the balaclava-wearing hijackers made a daring - and seemingly well-rehearsed - raid of the oil tanker, as seen in alleged footage released by Fars news agency last night. The wind was choppy, the skies overcast.
- WorldAssociated Press
Vatican college space holds bones of dozens, expert says
A genetics expert retained by the family of a girl who went missing in 1983 said Saturday that a cavernous underground space near a Vatican cemetery holds thousands of bones that appear to be from dozens of individuals, both "adult and non-adult." The expert, Giorgio Portera, said the "enormous" size of the collection under the Teutonic College was revealed when Vatican-appointed experts began cataloguing the remains, which were discovered last week . "We didn't expect such an enormous number" of bones and other remains which "had been thrown into a cavity," Portera said.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Gabbard, AOC join lawmakers to call on Puerto Rican governor to resign over corruption scandal
WASHINGTON – Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, has joined a growing chorus of lawmakers including Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in calling for the resignation of Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló over a corruption scandal involving leaked text messages between the governor and top aides. In a Twitter video sent from San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Friday, Gabbard called "on all Democrats running for President to come here to Puerto Rico and show support for our fellow Americans" against corruption, and called for Rosselló's resignation.
- U.S.WXMI - Grand Rapids
Woman Calls 911 on Black Family Falsely Claiming They`re a Gang
A confrontation between a woman and a neighbor in Michigan led to a false police report of alleged gang activity.
WorldAFPIraq Kurds arrest two suspects in killing of Turkish vice consul
Iraqi Kurdish authorities announced Saturday they had arrested two suspects involved in the murder of three people, including a Turkish diplomat, in the regional capital Arbil this week. The autonomous region's security council first said its counterterrorism unit had arrested "the main perpetrator" Mazloum Dag, a 27-year-old from Turkey's Diyarbakir region. The council had put out a wanted notice for Dag a day earlier in connection to Wednesday's killing of Turkish Vice Consul Osman Kose and two Iraqi nationals.
- PoliticsYahoo News
2020 Vision: Democratic candidates raise funds off 'Send her back' chant at Trump rally
Reminder: There are 206 days until the Iowa caucuses and 479 days until the 2020 presidential election. When President Trump's supporters broke into a “Send her back” chant aimed at Rep. Ilhan Omar at his rally in North Carolina, the Somali-born Minnesota Democrat was having dinner with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and a small group of other progressive members of Congress at a Washington, D.C., Chinese restaurant. The next day, amid bipartisan outrage over the chant and Trump's strategy of stoking the country's racial division, Sanders, former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, and other Democratic groups used the episode in their fundraising pitches.
- WorldReuters
Irish, EU governments sound out Johnson to avoid no-deal Brexit: Sunday Times
Ahead of Boris Johnson's likely election next week as Britain's prime minister, EU countries are secretly wooing him in a bid to thrash out a new Brexit plan that would avoid a no-deal disaster, the Sunday Times newspaper reported. Senior Irish politicians and diplomats have held talks with two of Johnson's cabinet allies in recent days, it said. German and French figures as well as the Dutch and Belgian governments have also established contact with Johnson's team and signaled an intention to do a deal, it added.
- NewsThe National Interest
Twice-Deported Illegal Alien Charged With Three Murders — Two Were Children
Marvin Oswaldo Escobar-Orellana, 31, was arrested after he allegedly shotthe family with which he lived in Des Moines, Iowa, and called 911 on himself. Orellana is the suspect in the murder of 29-year-old Rossibeth Flores-Rodriguez and her two children, Grecia Daniela Alvarado-Flores, 11, and Ever Jose Mejia-Flores, 5, according an Associated Press report. Orellana was deported in both 2010 and 2011, and convicted of illegal entry.
- WorldTime
A Passenger Was Fined $105,000 and Banned for Life for 'Extremely Disruptive Behavior' on an Airplane
An unruly passenger has been billed $105,000 after her “extremely disruptive behavior” caused a flight to be diverted with a military escort. British budget carrier Jet2 accused passenger Chloe Haines of “a catalogue of aggressive, abusive and dangerous behavior,” including trying to open the aircraft door, during a flight from the U.K. to Turkey. The airline said in a statement Haines was restrained by crew with the help of other passengers as two military fighter jets escorted the aircraft back to London Stansted.
- WorldThe Telegraph
British warship was an hour from tanker seized by Iran in 'hostile act'
Alan Mendoza: The only surprise about Iran's seizure is that it didn't happen sooner Analysis: Boris Johnson could face early test as Iran 'exploits' political uncertainty US developing 'coalition' of navies to protect ships amid Iran tensions Mark Almond: Brexit myopia and a fatal lack of foresight has enabled Iran to put Britain on the spot Former head of Navy questions why British ships weren't protected Foreign office summon Iranian diplomats Britain has admitted its nearest warship was one hour away from the merchant vessel seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday and could do nothing to help.
- WorldAssociated Press
Hong Kong police seize explosives as rival camps rally
Police in Hong Kong discovered a stash of a powerful homemade explosive as the semi-autonomous Chinese city readied for another major pro-democracy protest on Sunday following a pro-Beijing rally that attracted thousands. Materials voicing opposition to an extradition bill that has sparked more than a month of demonstrations in Hong Kong were found at the site, local media said, but a police spokesman said no concrete link has been established and that the investigation is continuing. In a rally that aimed to counter the pro-democracy movement, thousands of people filled a park in central Hong Kong on Saturday to support the police, who have been accused of using rough tactics on protesters.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
Kentucky host Matt Jones yanked amid speculation he'll challenge Mitch McConnell
Kentucky Sports Radio host Matt Jones is losing his television show until the outspoken media personality makes a decision on running for U.S. Senate in 2020, according to a Lexington station. LEX 18's General Manager Pat Dalbey announced on Tuesday that Jones is taking a leave of absence as host of "Hey Kentucky!" as he considers entering the Democratic primary for a chance to take on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
The 12 Best Home Decor Deals from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale
Marimekko and terrazzo and more Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldAFPPhilippine police seek sedition charges against VP, Duterte critics
Philippine police have recommended sedition charges against the vice president and other opposition figures, a move slammed Friday as an attempt to stifle dissent under President Rodrigo Duterte. Police allege Vice President Leni Robredo, Catholic Church leaders and opposition politicians plotted to destabilise the Duterte government by implicating him in the narcotics trade. Duterte launched a war against the drug trade when he came into power three years ago.
- PoliticsYahoo News
Trump impeachment 'wishful strain of thinking' by Democrats, Steve Kornacki says
As more Democrats push to impeach President Trump, MSNBC journalist and author Steve Kornacki said some on the left are misinterpreting the impeachment of President Bill Clinton in the late 1990s. I think there's a wishful strain of thinking out there among Democrats … [that] Republicans impeached Clinton and then they won the [2000] election because of it. I think they won the election in spite of it,” Kornacki, who has researched the 1990s rebuke of Clinton, said in an interview on “The Long Game,” a Yahoo News podcast.
- WorldReuters
Ahead of U.S. deadline, Mexico minister has fulfilled migration enforcement pledge
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Friday that Mexico has followed through on its commitment to the United States to reduce migration from Central America, as a deadline in a bilateral pact approaches. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to travel to Mexico City to discuss migration and trade with Ebrard on Sunday, a day before the end of a 45-day period in which the Mexican government pledged to significantly lower the number of people trying to cross the U.S. border illegally. Mexico struck the deal in June to avert punitive trade tariffs.
