'It was sarcasm': President Donald Trump changes course on 'chosen one' remark

"You know exactly what I meant," Trump told reporters at the White House Friday before departing to the G-7 summit in France. "It was sarcasm. It was joking.

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
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  Russia launches floating nuclear reactor in Arctic despite warnings

  AFP

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.

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  Gary Ray Bowles, ‘I-95’ Serial Killer Who Preyed on Gay Men, Executed in Florida

  The Daily Beast
• UPDATE 1-Florida executes man convicted of killing gay men during crime spree in 1994

  Reuters

UK 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".

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  British travellers warned of increased checks at border between Hong Kong and China

  The Independent
• 
  Hong Kong protests could trigger global recession, warns Harvard economist

  The Independent

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.

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

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.

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  Amazon rainforest fires and deforestation approaching disastrous irreversible tipping point, scientists warn

  The Independent
• 
  'You won't get any trouble': Jair Bolsonaro's pledges to prospectors blamed for apocalyptic Amazon fires

  The Telegraph

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.

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.

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."

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  Virginia to Commemorate 1619 Slavery Anniversary

  The Wall Street Journal
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  Virginia marks pivotal moment when African slaves arrived

  Associated Press

Man arrested after using Band-Aids and gauze to repair flat tires

Deputies arrested a man who was allegedly under the influence of drugs, using Band-Aids and gauze to repair flat tires.

Judge hurries U.S. naturalization as pregnant woman gets contractions

A judge in California had to speed up the naturalization of a pregnant immigrant on Thursday when the woman, anxious to become a U.S. citizen because of President Donald Trump's immigration policies, started experiencing contractions. The 31-year-old Armenian-American woman, who was scheduled to give birth to her second child next week by cesarean section, said she started to feel contractions after a walk to a Los Angeles convention center where the judge was naturalizing about 3,200 immigrants.

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.

• UPDATE 1-Iranian tanker wanted by US not heading to Greece - Greek prime minister

  Reuters
• Iranian tanker not heading to Greece - Greek prime minister

  Reuters

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.

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  'People are on edge': Mass violence threats – at least 30 in 18 states – have surged since El Paso, Dayton

  USA TODAY
• 
  El Paso hospital refutes Trump's claim that doctors came out to meet him in wake of mass shooting

  Yahoo News Video

Beijing 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".

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  Pompeo says China's detention of two Canadians is 'wrong'

  AFP
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  China blames Canada for difficulties in relationship, demands Huawei executive be freed

  Reuters

CNN Hires Fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe as Contributor

Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe is joining CNN as an on-air contributor, the network's media reporter Oliver Darcy announced Friday. McCabe was fired from the FBI in March 2018 after the Department of Justice's inspector general revealed that he'd repeatedly lied under oath to investigators about his role in leaking information on the bureau's Clinton Foundation investigation to the Wall Street Journal. The Inspector General referred the matter to the U.S. attorney's office for investigation and McCabe may still face criminal charges. The 21-year FBI veteran maintains his innocence, arguing that he was misunderstood and tried to correct the record.

After 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.

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.

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  Bernie Sanders unveils climate strategy that would mobilize $16.3 trillion

  Yahoo News Video
• 
  Sen. Sanders unveils $16 trillion climate plan

  USA TODAY

Psychologist approved Jeffrey Epstein's removal from suicide watch

A psychologist at the federal detention center in New York City where financier Jeffrey Epstein was jailed on sex-trafficking charges had approved his removal from suicide watch before he killed himself, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday. The disclosure came in a letter dated on Thursday from Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd and addressed to the leaders of the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, seeking details about the circumstances surrounding Epstein's death earlier this month. Epstein, who was 66, was found dead Aug. 10 in his cell inside a segregated housing unit of the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Lower Manhattan.

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  Paris prosecutor opens inquiry into whether Epstein committed crimes in France

  Reuters
• 
  Prince Andrew was seen getting foot massage from young woman at Epstein's apartment – report

  The Guardian

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.

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  Trump vs. Automakers, and What's the Deal with Their Bizarre Fuel-Economy Fight

  Car and Driver
• Ford defends emissions deal with California after Trump criticism

  Fox Business

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.

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.