Hunter Biden to step down from Chinese board

Facing intense scrutiny from President Donald Trump and his Republican allies, Hunter Biden announced on Sunday that he will step down from the board of directors of a Chinese-backed private equity firm at the end of the month as part of a pledge not to work on behalf of any foreign-owned companies should his father win the presidency. Biden, the 49-year-old son of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, revealed his plan in an internet post written by his attorney, George Mesires, who outlined a defense of the younger Biden's work in Ukraine and China, which have emerged as one of Trump's chief lines of attack against Hunter's father despite no proof of impropriety. "Hunter makes the following commitment: Under a Biden Administration, Hunter will readily comply with any and all guidelines or standards a President Biden may issue to address purported conflicts of interest, or the appearance of such conflicts, including any restrictions related to overseas business interests.

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  Hunter Biden breaks silence to help father Joe

  AFP
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  Trump battling democrats on their impeachment investigation

  ABC News Videos

Missing dog reunited with owner 12 years later

It's a reunion more than a decade in the making: Dutchess the dog escaped her yard in Florida way back in February 2007, CBS Pittsburgh reports. More than 12 years later, she was found under a shed in Pittsburgh. Dutchess was just a puppy when she got lost; now the Fox Terrier is 14-years-old and has been reunited with her owner in Pittsburgh at the Humane Animal Rescue.

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  Missing Florida dog found 12 years later in Connecticut

  CBS News Videos
• Dog missing since 2007 reunites with her owner 1,100 miles away

  Good Morning America

BEHOLD: Is China's DF-26 Missile a Real Threat to U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers?

Key point: America has a range problem. Last year, Chinese state media reported that a new brigade of Beijing's most advanced intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) has been “activated. The newly commissioned brigade is armed with the Dong Feng-26 (DF-26) IRBM.

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  Revealed: Russia's Plan To Destroy U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers In a War

  The National Interest
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  America's Aircraft Carriers Are Steadily Heading Towards A Disaster

  The National Interest

Iran vows response to attack on tanker off Saudi coast

"By reviewing the available video and gathered intelligence evidence, the primary clues to the dangerous adventure of attacking the Iranian oil tanker in the Red Sea have been uncovered," he added. Shamkhani warned of "disturbing risks" for the global economy as a result of insecurity in international waterways. The National Iranian Tanker Company, which owns the Sabiti, said its hull was hit by two separate explosions on Friday off the Saudi port of Jeddah, But the state-owned company denied reports the attack had originated from Saudi soil.

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  Saudi Arabia says it was ready to help Iran vessel

  AFP
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  Iran offers warning after mysterious tanker attack

  Associated Press

NYC Cabbies Say ‘No-Cost’ Bailout Would Avoid Financial Ruin

The 22,000-member Taxi Workers Alliance says it has a plan at almost no net expense to the city: bailing out thousands of struggling drivers who can't afford to repay expensive loans they took out from private lenders to buy city taxi-operating medallions. De Blasio counters that it would cost billions of dollars to solve the problem and says the federal government should pay. The plan would have the city take over the loans from private lenders for about 25% of their original value, as some private-equity companies have done.

Harry Dunn: US woman allegedly involved in crash does not have diplomatic immunity, says Foreign Office

The US diplomat's wife allegedly involved in a crash which killed a teenager does not have diplomatic immunity, the Foreign Office has said. A letter, that appears to have been sent by foreign secretary Dominic Raab to Harry Dunn's parents, Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, says: “The question remains when such immunity comes to an end, regardless of any waiver. “The UK government's position is that immunity, and therefore any question of waiver, is no longer relevant in Mrs Sacoolas' case, because she has returned home.

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  The wife of an American diplomat who collided with a British teen speaks out

  ABC News Videos
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  Late teen's family wants US diplomat's wife to lose immunity

  Associated Press

German police investigate bitcoin transfer to synagogue killer

German police are investigating a bitcoin transfer made to the far-Right extremist behind Wednesday's terror attack in Halle to determine if the man possessed a broader support network. German media outlet Spiegel reports that a transfer of 0.1 bitcoin – approximately €750 (£660) – was made to alleged attacker Stephan Balliet in the lead up to the attack. Police said the transfer came from an unknown source.

U.S. ‘Withdraws’ Forces to Let Turks Advance on America's Allies

In the latest surge of anti-war rhetoric from the Trump administration, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the U.S. is launching a “deliberate withdrawal” of American forces from northern Syria, but refused to say how long it will take. Two knowledgeable U.S. officials told The Daily Beast that the troops are just withdrawing further away from the advance of Turkish forces massacring the Syrian Kurds whom America relied upon to destroy the so-called Islamic State's caliphate.

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  Trump tells Pentagon to begin withdrawing remaining troops from northern Syria

  Reuters
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  Exclusive: U.S. could pull bulk of troops from Syria in matter of days - officials

  Reuters

Correction: California-New Laws story

In a story Oct. 12 about a California ban on the sale and manufacture of new fur products, The Associated Press erroneously identified the Humane Society of the United States as the Human Society of the United States. A corrected version of the story is below: California governor signs fur sale, circus animal bans California will ban the sale and manufacture of new fur products starting in 2023 SACRAMENTO, Calif. AP) — California will be the first state to ban the sale and manufacture of new fur products and the third to bar most animals from circus performances under a pair of bills signed Saturday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

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  California to end its use of private, for-profit prisons

  Associated Press
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  California Officially Bans Sale, Manufacture of New Fur

  WWD

Russia's New Nuclear Weapon Is A Real Doomsday Device (And Aimed At America)

On May 22, 2018, the Russian submarine Yuri Dolgoruky slipped beneath the waves of the Arctic White Sea. The four missiles soared across Russia to land in a missile test range on the Kamchatka peninsula, roughly 3,500 miles away. Each of the submarine's sixteen R-30 Bulava (“Mace”) missiles typically carries six 150-kiloton nuclear warheads designed to split apart to hit separate targets.

Nobel snub no obstacle in Greta Thunberg's climate quest

Hours after judges passed her up for the Nobel Peace Prize, Greta Thunberg stood before a cheering throng, insisting once again that something must be done about climate change -- and fast. "We as young people are tired of constantly being betrayed by those who are supposed to work for our greater good," the 16-year-old Swedish activist told hundreds of supporters gathered in an outdoor ampitheater in Colorado's largest city, Denver. "We are here because we care about the future, about what we one day will leave after us," Thunberg, clad in a cream-colored jacket with her hair in her trademark braid, said to thunderous applause.

Canadian Snowbird plane crashes during Atlanta air show

According to the FAA, the crash occurred around 1:30 p.m. The Atlanta Air Show sent out a statement to WGCL, recapping the incident: "Snowbird 5, Captain Kevin Domon-Grenier was forced to eject from his aircraft shortly before our performance in Atlanta this afternoon," the statement read. "Domon-Grenier made it safely to the ground and is okay.

Federal judges rule against Trump in three cases on executive powers

President Trump suffered defeats in three major court rulings Friday that address the limits of his executive authority.

Mother to sue over 'wrongful removal' of children by Dutch social services

The Dutch Court of Appeal made repeated rulings that the children should be reunited with their mother but these were overturned when the child protection board, part of the justice ministry, sought the extension of the care order in a lower family court. The family's case was first highlighted by the late Christopher Booker in a series of columns for The Sunday Telegraph. The case was also raised in the European parliament in March 2014.

A Real Threat: Why Russia's Air Force Should Be Taken Seriously

Key point: Although behind America, Russia's air force is rapidly improving. When it comes to air power, it's no secret that the United States and the West have often held an edge over Russia. This dates at least as far back to World War II, when the United States and Britain were allied with Russia.

Portland antifa activist killed in hit and run, police say

A Portland antifascist activist was killed in the early hours of Saturday in an apparent hit-and-run near Cider Riot, a cidery and taproom popular with the city's anarchist left that has been the scene of conflict with rightwing groups. According to the Portland Police Bureau, the car involved was fired upon and crashed into a nearby building. Police said in a statement that the 23-year-old victim, Sean D Kealiher, was taken to a local hospital by associates.