- PoliticsUSA TODAY
Alabama Democratic Sen. Doug Jones calls state's new restrictive abortion law 'shameful'
Alabama Democratic Sen. Doug Jones, who is up for re-election, slammed his state's new restrictive abortion law, calling it "shameful and callous.''
PoliticsYahoo News2020 Vision: There are 14 white male Dems running for president. So why should Kamala Harris settle for veep?
Few have suggested that any of the white guys in the race would be better suited to serve as vice president. That dubious honor, it seems, has so far been reserved for candidates of color — black women in particular.
- BusinessReuters
Exclusive - U.S. may scale back Huawei trade restrictions to help existing customers
The Commerce Department, which had effectively halted Huawei's ability to buy American-made parts and components, is considering issuing a temporary general license to "prevent the interruption of existing network operations and equipment," a spokeswoman said. Potential beneficiaries of the license could, for example, include internet access and mobile phone service providers in thinly populated places such as Wyoming and eastern Oregon that purchased network equipment from Huawei in recent years. In effect, the Commerce Department would allow Huawei to purchase U.S. goods so it can help existing customers maintain the reliability of networks and equipment, but the Chinese firm still would not be allowed to buy American parts and components to manufacture new products.
NewsAssociated PressThe Latest: Ammo from crashed F-16 safely destroyed
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on an F-16 fighter jet that crashed into a Southern California warehouse (all times local):
- WorldThe National Interest
Here Is Russia's Plan to Build a Fleet of Su-57 Stealth Fighters
The Su-57 is coming—76 of them over the next decade, to be exact.Russian President Vladimir Putin announced at a Kremlin meeting that the Russian Defense Ministry plans to procure 76 Su-57 fifth-generation fighters by 2028, himself acknowledging that these new quantities dwarf previous Russian defense ministry estimates: "The 2028 arms program stipulated the purchase of 16 such jets… In the nearest future we will sign a package contract to supply 76 such jets equipped with modern weapons of destruction and provided with the necessary land infrastructure."The announcement defies the western defense analysis consensus, which concluded that the Su-57 will not enter production until the late 2020’s. Even then, it was alleged that Russia lacks the industrial output to churn out Su-57 fighters in militarily meaningful numbers.If the Kremlin’s new forecast proves to be accurate, what accounts for this drastic output increase?
WorldAFPPoor boy Modi becomes India's nationalist powerhouse
Stern, sharp and shrewd, Narendra Modi fought his way off the streets to become one of India's most popular and polarising prime ministers. There is no middle ground between admirers and adversaries of the man -- now running for a second term -- who helped his father run a railway station tea stall before launching his career in nationalist politics. The 68-year-old makes much of his humble roots while unashamedly portraying himself as the tough guy protecting India's national security and Hindu values, pressing its claims to be the world's rising power.
LifestyleUSA TODAYVineyard 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.
NewsReutersNearly 180 former Ohio State University students claim sexual abuse by doctor
Dr. Richard Strauss was accused of abusing at least 177 male students when he worked as a physician for the university's athletic department and the student health center from 1978 to 1998, the report said, detailing the findings of a year-long independent investigation. Staff members knew of the abuse as early as 1979, but complaints were never elevated to administrators and senior officials of the athletics or student health departments until 1996. At that time, the school suspended and ultimately removed Strauss after a "very limited investigation" into a student's claim that the doctor fondled him during an exam, the report said.
- LifestyleTime
How Architect I.M. Pei Achieved Greatness By Forever Testing and Challenging Himself
Famed architect I.M. Pei designed some of the greatest buildings across the globe in his more than half century career.
- LifestyleCar and Driver
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
PoliticsFOX News VideosComey tears into Bar for 'slimming his own department'
Reaction to Comey's remarks from former independent counsel Sol Wisenberg and national security attorney Bradley Moss.
- PoliticsYahoo News
2020 candidate Seth Moulton: 'I'm proud to say I'm a capitalist'
Sep. Seth Moulton talks to the Yahoo News “Skullduggery” podcast about how he plans to take on President Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
PoliticsAssociated PressAP sources: Former CIA chief Brennan to brief Dems on Iran
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats will hear from former CIA Director John Brennan about the situation in Iran, inviting him to speak next week amid heightened concerns over the Trump administration's sudden moves in the region.
- WorldReuters
UPDATE 1-Argentina grants offshore oil, gas exploration permits in Malvinas West basin
Argentina awarded permits for hydrocarbon exploration in 18 areas off its southern coast to companies including Exxon Mobil Corp, Total SA , YPF SA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the government said on Friday. The winning companies offered bids totaling $724 million, the government said in official statements, and won the rights to explore for up to 13 years in areas of the South Atlantic, some near the Malvinas Islands under the control of the British government but whose sovereignty is claimed by Argentina. The other companies that will make up exploration consortia in Argentina's Malvinas West basin include BP, Qatar Petroleum, Tullow Oil, Pluspetrol , Wintershall, Equinor, Eni , Mitsui &Co Ltd and Tecpetrol SA.
WorldAFPAustrian president calls for September poll in wake of scandal
Austria's president on Sunday called for fresh elections in September after a corruption scandal embroiling the far-right brought down the coalition government in spectacular fashion. Just days before key EU elections, Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache was forced to resign in disgrace Saturday following explosive revelations from a hidden camera sting. Conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz -- whose 18-month coalition with Strache's far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) had been held up as a European model -- reacted by pulling the plug on their union.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Record number of migrants puts 'severe pressure' on Border Patrol facilities, local shelters
“The whole system is under severe pressure,” said David Kim, assistant chief patrol agent for the Border Patrol’s El Centro sector in California.
- NewsThe National Interest
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.
NewsAssociated PressDeath row inmate dies 1 day after fellow inmate's execution
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee death row inmate died in prison on Friday, less than three months before his scheduled execution and less than a day after a fellow inmate was executed .
- BusinessBGR News
A camera phone that puts Samsung and Apple to shame now has 5G, too – but it’s banned in the US
Verizon just launched the Galaxy S10 5G, but Samsung is hardly the only company putting out 5G smartphones this year. International carriers have also started rolling out 5G networks and compatible smartphones, and UK carriers are the latest ones to prepare for their 5G launches. However, one of the first phones to deliver 5G experiences in Britain is a device that you'll have a hard time scoring in the States, even if you just want the older 4G version. That's because it's made by Huawei, the Chinese company the US government has just targeted with additional punitive measures.When it launched the Mate 20 series last fall, Huawei came out with a few features that were not available on any other Android handsets at the time. The Mate 20 Pro was the flagship version of the three Mate 20 phones, and Huawei also launched a regular Mate 20 as well as a Mate 20 X model geared toward gaming. The latter has just received 5G support, and it's available in the UK for £999 unlocked. That's £200 more than the 4G model.Huawei unveiled the 5G version of the Mate 20 X in London on Friday, reports 9to5Google, and it's exactly what you expect -- a 5G version of the device that Huawei launched as a gaming phone last year.The phone packs the same huge 7.2-inch FullView display, Kirin 980 chip, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and class-leading triple-lens main camera as the 4G version. But the phone has a smaller battery (4,200 mAh vs. 5,000 mAh) and lacks the 3.5mm headphone jack the 4G version has. You still get fast 40W battery charging on the 5G model, though. That's probably because of all the extra internal space occupied by the 5G components, including a Balong 5000 5G chip and the 5G antennas.The Mate 20 X 5G is obviously still a flagship device by all accounts and will work on all local carriers in Britain, including EE, O2, Three, and Vodafone. The Mate 20 X 5G is the first Huawei 5G phone to launch this year, but it should be followed somewhat closely by the foldable Mate X the company unveiled earlier this year.
- EntertainmentThe Daily Beast
Michael Bennet Understands Exactly What's Gone Wrong in America
Zach Gibson/GettyAs frightening as this historical moment is in so many ways, it’s hopeful in one respect. We may finally be at a point when a majority of people are ready to ditch supply-side economics. The economy is doing very well right now, so it seems in one sense a counterintuitive argument. But Americans are increasingly recognizing that even this good economy is mostly good for the top 10 percent, especially the top 1 and .1 percent; and that if you live in one of these 50 counties or hundreds of others like them where the unemployment rates are more than twice the national average and the poverty rates are above 25 percent, the economy doesn’t feel that great at all.There’s a story for the Democrats to tell here. A story of a country where prosperity was once broadly shared, because politicians of both parties in those days agreed that investments in ourselves and our future were good, and that there was an inextricable link between democracy and broadly shared prosperity. I wrote about this link recently in the Times, and they tell me it did gangbusters traffic, not because it was Shakespeare but because it’s a subject people care about devoutly and want to hear public figures address.Enter Colorado Senator Michael Bennet. One morning a while back I’d dropped the kid off at school and I tuned in to Morning Joe. I heard a voice saying: “Trump is not the cause of our problems. The cause of our problems is 40 years of economic immobility for 90 percent of the American people. Stagnant wages over that period of time. Periods when we had economic growth, but for most Americans, those were periods of recession. We have to fix that. It’s going to take us a generation to do it.”Oh my God. Naturally I thought this person was brilliant, because he was talking exactly the way I write. As the segment ended I heard them say thank you, senator, but they didn’t say a name. I emailed a guy I know who works on the show and asked. Yep, he wrote, that was Michael Bennet.Shortly thereafter, Bennet, a former schools superintendent, got a prostate cancer diagnosis. Today he declares himself “miraculously cured,” and makes sure to tell a visitor that the cost of his cure was $55,000, of which he had to pay only $1,800. “It made me realize just how insane it would be to get the same diagnosis without insurance,” he said. “Or not to get the diagnosis at all because you didn’t have a primary care doctor because you didn’t have insurance.”Now, Bennet—the brother as it happens of New York Times editorial page editor James Bennet, the only one-t Bennets I’ve ever heard of—is running for president. Is he likely to win? No. Woke lefties write him off as too moderate, because he is not for Medicare for All and because he says things about how he still thinks it’s possible to find reasonable Republicans in the Senate to work with. But however you feel about his proposals, whether you’re center or left, you must listen to his analysis of the problem, because he is exactly correct, and he’s saying it better and more clearly than anyone else running.So I sat down with him last week in his Capitol building hideaway office (complete with foosball table!) between votes. Unlike most pols, who stay focused on the moment, his perspective is relentlessly historical. “Maybe,” he mused, “we’re finally at the end of the Reagan era. Maybe there are things we can do together as a country to improve the economic condition of all of us.”This is why he’s running, he tells me—to say these things: “I didn’t think this was getting the articulation it deserves among the people who were running… I thought it was important to give voice to this and see what would happen.”To that end, most of our interview was him showing me a PowerPoint presentation—“this’ll be the first time I’ve walked anybody through his,” he says—that he and his staff assembled to tell the story of the inequality and stagnation of the last 40 years for the vast majority of the population. Slide 1, Wages for most Americans have been flat for decades; Slide 2, The rich are getting richer; Slide 4, The building blocks of the middle class are out of reach; Slide 12, America is no longer leading the world in investment. He goes into much deeper detail in an upcoming book, The Land of Flickering Lights: Restoring America in an Age of Broken Politics. It’s a campaign book, yes, but it’s a smart and substantive one. As much as this sort of thing excites me, I’m unfortunately not confident it’s going to get the hearing it deserves. He’s not bombastic. He’s no moralist. He did say one thing in particular during our chat that really caught my ear and may catch others’: “Since 2001, we’ve spent $5 trillion on tax cuts, almost all of which has gone to the richest people in the country, and we’ve spent $5.6 trillion on wars in the Middle East. So that’s $11 or $12 trillion we haven’t spent addressing any of the issues we could have addressed.” If his rhetoric were a pop song, that’s the line that strikes me as the hook. That, plus the fact that he says he wants to take on Big Pharma, which I think is a great issue.So we’ll see what happens. The one thing he said that I really disagreed with and challenged him on was that if he were president and the Democrats took control of the Senate, he would not ditch the filibuster. I said: So you’d pass nothing. He has no illusions about Mitch McConnell (“ruthless,” “immune to give-and-take unless he’s taking everything”), but he still thinks a few Republicans could be pressured or persuaded to vote with him. OK, good luck with that.But that’s hypothetical. What’s real is his analysis of the recent economic history of this country. As they said in a movie that came out back when the supply-side era started, nobody does it better.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
- PoliticsThe Telegraph
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.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Attorney general Barr is 'sliming his own department,' says former FBI director Comey
Former FBI director James Comey has accused Attorney General William Barr of “sliming his own department” by questioning the creation of the Trump-Russia investigation.Mr Comey also suggested the head of the US justice department – who has launched a review into the origins of the 2016 election meddling probe – had been acting as a “spokesperson” for Donald Trump.“The AG should stop sliming his own Department,” the former FBI chief tweeted. “If there are bad facts, show us, or search for them professionally and then tell us what you found. An AG must act like the leader of the Department of Justice, an organization based on truth. Donald Trump has enough spokespeople.”The attorney general has asked John Durham, the US attorney in Connecticut, to examine how the probe into Russian election interference began and whether laws were broken while intelligence was collected on the Trump campaign, it was revealed earlier this week.On Friday Mr Barr said the review would focus on the actions of the US intelligence community before the FBI opened a formal inquiry in July 2016.“Government power was used to spy on American citizens,” the attorney general told The Wall Street Journal. “I can’t imagine any world where we wouldn’t take a look and make sure that was done properly.”Mr Barr told a Senate subcommittee last month that he believed “spying did occur”. He said: “The question is whether it was adequately predicated and I’m not suggesting it wasn’t adequately predicated, but I need to explore that.”The attorney general has provided no details about what “spying” may have taken place but he could be alluding to a surveillance warrant the FBI obtained on former Trump associate Carter Page and the FBI’s use of an informant while investigating ex-Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos. The AG should stop sliming his own Department. If there are bad facts, show us, or search for them professionally and then tell us what you found. An AG must act like the leader of the Department of Justice, an organization based on truth. Donald Trump has enough spokespeople. — James Comey (@Comey) May 18, 2019His suggestions that members of the Trump campaign were unfairly targeted have been welcomed by the president and his associates, who have repeatedly claimed investigations into the campaign were motivated by political bias.The president said that he did not request Mr Barr launch the review, but that he thinks “it’s a great thing that he did it.”FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress earlier in May that he has no evidence the FBI illegally monitored the Trump campaign and doesn’t consider court-approved FBI surveillance to be “spying”. Mr Comey has said “the FBI doesn’t spy, the FBI investigates”. He has been a consistent critic of Mr Trump since he was fired as FBI director by the president in May 2017, calling him “morally unfit to be president”.
- BusinessReuters
UPDATE 1-U.S. oil drillers cut rigs to lowest count since March 2018 -Baker Hughes
U.S. energy firms this week reduced the number of oil rigs operating for the second week in a row, with the rig count at its lowest since March 2018, as some drillers follow through on plans to cut spending. Drillers cut three oil rigs in the week to May 17, bringing the total count down to 802, below the 844 units operating a year ago, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday. More than half the total U.S. oil rigs are in the Permian basin, where active units decreased by three this week to 454, matching a recent low hit in March that was the lowest since April 2018.
PoliticsAFPMissouri, latest US state to restrict abortion
The Missouri House of Representatives passed a bill on Friday banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, making it the latest US state to pass tough restrictions on terminating a pregnancy. The bill, overwhelmingly approved by the Republican-led legislature and expected to be signed by the Midwestern state's Republican governor, would ban abortions from about eight weeks of pregnancy. Republican-led legislatures in several US states have recently passed bills restricting abortion access in a bid to eventually challenge the 1973 US Supreme Court ruling legalizing the practice.
- BusinessCar and Driver
The V-8 Engine Has No Future at Genesis
The next-generation G80 sedan will go no higher than a V-6, and the G90's Tau V-8 will eventually be phased out.
What to Read Next
PHOTOS: Uprising in Venezuela as troops join opposition leaders on the streets
Yahoo News Photo Staff