WorldAFPRegime advance cuts off Turkish convoy in northwest Syria
Rebel-backer Turkey said its forces were targeted by an air strike, while the Syrian regime accused Turkish forces of backing "terrorists". The convoy had entered Idlib province before heading towards a key town where Russian-backed regime forces are waging a fierce battle to retake the area from jihadists and rebels. Turkey claimed an air strike hit its convoy, killing three civilians, though a war monitor said a Russian air raid took the lives of three rebels in the surrounding area.
- NewsMiami Herald
Mountain lion attacks Colorado hunter armed with just a pocket knife, officials say
A Colorado man was scouting spots to hunt elk earlier this month when he became prey himself, according to state wildlife officials. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials said the scouting hunter reported that a mountain lion attacked him on Aug. 10 around 9 p.m. near Kremmling, CBS Denver reported. Marriott said he slashed the mountain lion, yelled at it and tossed rocks until he scared it off, according to the publication.
- WorldReuters
U.S. removed almost 2.7 million barrels daily of Iranian oil from market: Pompeo
The United States has removed nearly 2.7 million barrels of Iranian oil from global markets daily as a result of Washington's decision to reimpose sanctions on all purchases of Iran's crude, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday. In an interview with MSNBC, Pompeo said the U.S. government was confident it could continue with its strategy. The United States re-imposed sanctions on Iran in November after pulling out of a 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and six world powers.
- NewsThe Telegraph
Jeffrey Epstein signed will two days before suicide as battle for £475m estate begins
Jeffrey Epstein signed a will just two days before he killed himself in jail, new court records show, opening a new legal front in what could be a long battle over the financier's fortune. The existence of the will, first reported by the New York Post, raised new questions about Epstein's final days inside the Metropolitan Correctional Centre, where he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. Epstein signed the document on August 8.
- NewsUSA TODAY
FBI: Ohio police arrest man connected to online shooting threat against Jewish community center
An Ohio man was arrested Friday after police received a tip about an online video where the man identified himself as the shooter at a Jewish community center — an incident that hadn't happened yet, according to the FBI. James P. Reardon, 20, was arrested on charges of telecommunications harassment and aggravated menacing, according to a news release from the FBI Cleveland Division. The FBI did not state whether Reardon would face federal charges.
- BusinessCar and Driver
The Must-See, Drop-Dead-Gorgeous Cars from the 2019 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
These incredible rides glittered on the 18th green at Pebble Beach this year and caught our editors' attention. From Car and Driver
- NewsSacramento Bee
Mexican man facing voter fraud trial in Sacramento. He’s a Trump supporter
For years, President Trump has claimed that millions of noncitizens voted in the 2016 presidential election, unfairly skewing his vote as Democrat Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College. On Monday in federal court in Sacramento, a man accused of coming to the United States from Mexico and voting illegally in elections for the past 20 years went on trial on charges of aggravated identity theft, voting by an alien and making a false statement on a passport application. Gustavo Araujo Lerma is an avowed Trump supporter, and evidence expected to be introduced in his trial includes letters of thanks from Trump, former Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and current RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel.
- SciencePopular Mechanics
A Neutron Star Might Have Just Collided with a Black Hole
Scientists at the Hawaii-based Keck Observatory believe they might have an exciting find on their hands, something like a galactic playoff game: nebula star vs. black hole. The black hole wins, but capturing the act of destruction, as they believe they have, would be a type of collision never seen before. The event has been named S190814bv and was detected by the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) and Virgo interferometers on August 14.
- NewsAssociated Press
US sued over Honduran man's suicide after family separation
A new lawsuit blames the Trump administration's family separations for the death by suicide of a Honduran father after being separated from his 3-year-old child. The widow of Marco Antonio Muñoz sued the U.S. government and South Texas' Starr County, which operated the local jail where he died. The Texas Civil Rights Project, which announced the lawsuit Monday, said it was the first known lawsuit that linked a person's suicide to the zero-tolerance policy enacted last spring and ended amid worldwide condemnation.
- WorldThe Independent
China could ‘render US military bases useless’ within hours of conflict in Asia, report says
China's military could use missiles to overwhelm American military bases in Asia within hours, a think tank has warned. The US defence strategy in the Indo-Pacific is “in the throes of an unprecedented crisis”, according to a report from the United States Studies Center, at the University of Sydney in Australia. The report said China has deployed a “formidable array of precision missiles and other counter-intervention systems to undercut America's military primacy” in the region.
WorldAFPHong Kong leader hopes peaceful rally presages 'return to calm'
Hong Kong's embattled leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday said she hoped "calm" will prevail after a massive weekend march passed without clashes between police and demonstrators, but again refused to give ground to protester demands. Hundreds of thousands of people marched through the heart of the city on Sunday in a show of peaceful protest after escalating street battles with police drew stark warnings from Beijing and threatened to undermine public support. "On Sunday, many Hong Kong residents participated in a rally at Victoria Park that was largely peaceful," Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a televised press conference.
- U.S.WPIX - New York
'It's a Horror Story': NYC Residents Living in Illegal Tiny Apartments
It was a 311 call that led New York City inspectors to a building and their disturbing, even shocking, discovery. The NYC Buildings Department says the owner of the apartment created a new floor between the fourth and fifth floors to rent out nine micro-apartments.
- WorldReuters
UPDATE 1-Pakistan, India spar over using water as a weapon in Kashmir dispute
ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Accusing India of waging "fifth-generation warfare", Pakistan said on Monday New Delhi had failed to inform it about the release of water from a dam that could cause flooding across the border. India, however, rejected the claim saying that under the terms of a water treaty between the two nations it had informed Pakistan about the release of excess water late on Monday when it crossed a certain threshold. Relations between the neighbours, already hostile, have been further strained over India's decision this month to revoke the special status of its portion of the Kashmir region that both countries claim.
- NewsMiami Herald
Man pees in sink behind Starbucks counter and douses merchandise, Penn. cops say
Pennsylvania police are looking for a man suspected of peeing in a Starbucks sink and onto merchandise in the store. Police asked anyone with information on the man's identity to contact the Manheim Township Police Department. Target isn't the only superstore to be hit with a bodily function crime this summer: A woman was caught peeing on potatoes in a West Virginia Walmart earlier this year, and soon after that a teen in Texas was seen peeing on a shelf of wine, McClatchy news group reported.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Russian nuclear monitors near blast site 'went silent' after missile testing explosion
Four Russian radiation monitoring stations went offline following reports of a nuclear accident in Arkhangelsk region on Russia's northern frontier, fuelling concerns of a cover-up. The Russian government has been vague and at times contradictory when addressing the mysterious explosion near a military test range on August 8. At least five nuclear scientists died, and a brief radiation spike was detected over nearby Severodvinsk.
- NewsThe Daily Beast
Bill Gates Adviser ‘Shocked’ Jeffrey Epstein Named Him in Will
Jeffrey Epstein signed his last will and testament just two days before he killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell—naming as his backup executor a former adviser to Bill Gates who doesn't even want the job. Epstein's longtime lawyers, Darren K. Indyke and Richard D. Kahn, were named as primary executors of the estate and are slated to receive $250,000 of the $577 million fortune for their efforts. Nikolic was reportedly “shocked” to learn that he was listed in the will—which dictates that all of Epstein's personal property should go to the trustees of a mysterious entity called The 1953 Trust.
- PoliticsPolitico
We talked to experts on aging about the 2020 field. Here’s what they told us.
But concerns about Biden's age and mental fitness are likely overblown, according to experts on aging and the brain, as well as actuarial tables used by the insurance industry to estimate the health and longevity of customers. The two brain aneurysms Biden suffered in 1988 were fully treated and he showed no signs of mental trouble as a result, said Dr. Neal Kassell, who performed the surgery on Biden three decades ago. Nor did Biden suffer any brain damage that could come back to haunt him in old age, Kassell said.
- WorldAssociated Press
Iranian tanker sought by US heading toward Greece
An Iranian supertanker with $130 million worth of light crude oil that the U.S. suspects is tied to a sanctioned organization left Gibraltar and was heading east into the Mediterranean Sea on Monday, with its next destination reported to be Greece. The Iran-flagged Adrian Darya 1, previously named Grace 1, set course for Kalamata, Greece, with an estimated arrival on Aug. 25, according to ship tracking service MarineTraffic. It wasn't immediately clear why the tanker would be heading there or whether the destination could change.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Search for missing firefighters continues as groups ask anyone with boat to help
The search continues for two missing firefighters who disappeared Friday after heading out for a day of fishing off Port Canaveral. A Coast Guard search plane and two 87-foot patrol boats were searching Monday, along with planes from the Navy, Customs and Border Protection, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Brevard County Sheriff's Office and dozens of private citizens.
WorldAFPTeens swept up in night raids in Kashmir clampdown
Ali Mohammad Rah sat on the pavement outside a police station in Kashmir's main city of Srinagar on Tuesday, waiting to see his teenage sons, who were swept up in government raids overnight. "Soldiers violently banged windows of our home while we were sleeping," Rah told AFP, saying his sons -- aged 14 and 16 -- were taken away before dawn in the Srinagar neighbourhood of Mehjoor Nagar. Government sources say at least 4,000 people have been detained in Kashmir since India revoked the restive Himalayan region's autonomy on August 5 and imposed a massive security lockdown on the restive region.
- WorldBloomberg
Boris Johnson’s Bid to Renegotiate Brexit Starts on Irish Border
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson made his first public attempt to renegotiate the Brexit deal by telling the European Union he wants to explore different ways to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland. In a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, Johnson said he wants to replace the so-called backstop provision in the divorce agreement with a “legally binding commitment” not to build infrastructure or carry out checks between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland -- the U.K.'s new frontier with the EU -- as long as the bloc promises the same. Johnson also talked to Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar for almost an hour on Monday, and agreed to meet him in Dublin next month.
- WorldReuters
Germany takes back four Islamic State children from Syria
Germany has for the first time allowed children whose parents were suspected members of Islamic State to return to Germany from northern Syria and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said it will push for more such children to come to the country. Like other western countries, Germany faces a tricky decision on how to deal with citizens who went to the Middle East to join groups like Islamic State, which was driven out of its last territorial enclave in March by U.S.-backed forces. Three of the four repatriated German children are orphans, according to German media, but no further details were available.
- NewsThe Independent
Texas police who led black man down street by rope will not face criminal probe
Police officers who led a handcuffed African American man down a street with a rope on horseback will not be subjected to a criminal probe in the state, despite widespread outrage after images of the incident were shared online. The decision was announced on Friday by the Texas Rangers, who said in a statement that an initial investigation found “nothing that warranted a criminal investigation”. The Galveston Police Department officers were seen riding horseback on 3 August, with 43-year-old Donald Neely being led with a rope clipped to his handcuffs.
- NewsThe Telegraph
Tourists who stole sand from beach in Sardinia could face up to six years in prison
A pair of tourists face up to six years in prison after allegedly stealing a large quantity of sand from the pristine beaches of Sardinia. The French couple were found to have nearly 40kg (90lb) of fine white sand in the boot of their car. The vehicle was stopped during a routine check by border police as the tourists were preparing to board a ferry in Porto Torres, on the north coast of the island, bound for Toulon in France.
PoliticsFOX News VideosRadical members of 'The Squad' use news conference to slam Israel
Top Democrats reportedly threaten to retaliate after Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar were denied access to Israel over their support of the BDS movement; reaction and analysis on 'The Five.
