- PoliticsThe Guardian
Trump wanting to buy Greenland is yet another sign of Putin’s puppetry
It's tempting to look at Donald Trump's ludicrous desire to buy Greenland – and the Danish spat that followed – as just another sick joke of the Trump presidency: an aberration that the world will forget with tomorrow's distracting tweets on some other outrage. The madness of Donald Trump is getting worse, not better. The presidency has not normalized him, it has only normalized our numbed reaction to his excesses.
- WorldReuters
UPDATE 1-U.S. man accused of spying by Russia says he was hurt in prison
A former U.S. Marine held in Russia on suspicion of spying said on Friday that prison authorities in Moscow had injured him, as a court ruled to extend his detention by two months. Paul Whelan, who holds U.S., British, Canadian and Irish passports, was detained in a Moscow hotel room on Dec. 28 and accused of espionage, something he denies. A Russian acquaintance gave him a flash drive which his lawyer said Whelan thought contained holiday photos, but which actually held classified information.
WorldAFPFamily of detained UK consulate worker rejects 'made-up' report
The family of a staffer at the UK consulate in Hong Kong have rejected a "made-up" report by Chinese state media that he was detained in the mainland for visiting prostitutes. Simon Cheng disappeared after visiting the city of Shenzhen from the semi-autonomous city on August 8, and the Foreign Office in London said both British officials and relatives have been unable to speak to him since. The Global Times, a tabloid state-run newspaper, said he had been detained for "soliciting prostitutes", citing police in Shenzhen, which lies on the China-Hong Kong border.
- NewsAssociated Press
Epstein may have gamed the system from beyond the grave
The will that Jeffrey Epstein signed just two days before his jailhouse suicide puts more than $577 million in assets into a trust fund that could make it more difficult for his dozens of accusers to collect damages. Estate lawyers and other experts say prying open the trust and dividing up the financier's riches is not going to be easy and could take years. "This is the last act of Epstein's manipulation of the system, even in death," said attorney Jennifer Freeman, who represents child sex abuse victims.
- NewsUSA TODAY
More NRA drama: Legal team shaken up as group cuts ties with longtime outside attorney
The National Rifle Association's outside legal team was reportedly shaken up on Thursday, during what can only be described as a turbulent time for the gun rights lobbying group. Since the spring, the NRA's president, chief lobbyist and several board members have also parted ways with the organization. In the apparent next phase of a continuing civil war within the NRA, the country's most powerful gun lobbying organization cut ties with outside attorney Charles Cooper, the New York Times and both Washington Post both reported.
- NewsINSIDER
Drivers in Idaho keep harassing busloads of immigrants' children on their way to pre-school
Idaho motorists have reportedly been harassing buses carrying children under the age of five. The buses drive low-income children of migrants or agricultural workers to federally funded educational programs during the day. Idaho drivers have reportedly been harassing busloads of young kids, prompting a local nonprofit to remove signs from the buses that identify the riders as children of migrant workers.
- BusinessCar and Driver
2020 Chevy Bolt EV Gets More Driving Range
According to the EPA, the 2020 Chevy Bolt EV has an estimated driving range of 259 miles, up from 238 miles. Chevrolet isn't saying yet exactly what it did to achieve this improvement, but we hear it has to do with new chemistry for the lithium-ion battery pack. The 2020 Chevy Bolt EV will go further on a charge than before, with the EPA reporting that the electric hatchback's range goes up to 259 miles, from 238.
- WorldBloomberg
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.
PoliticsFOX News VideosFederal appeals court rules Colorado was 'wrong' to force electors to vote for Hillary Clinton in 2016
Bradley Moss and John Yoo weigh in on a federal court ruling in Colorado on the Electoral College that could make its way to the Supreme Court.
- LifestylePopular Mechanics
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
- PoliticsThe Guardian
'I am the Chosen One': with boasts and insults, Trump sets new benchmark for incoherence
Soon after the ill-fated driveway news conference got under way, Trump faced a question about his decision to cancel a meeting with the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, who had rejected a proposal floated by the Trump administration to purchase Greenland as “absurd”. Calling Frederiksen “nasty” – his preferred insult for women in politics – Trump described his wounded pride at the way his offer had been rejected.
- WorldReuters
Chinese state media says fentanyl abuse is entirely U.S. responsibility
Chinese state media on Friday hit back at claims by U.S. officials that China was failing to crack down on the flow of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances into the United States, saying that responsibility for opioid abuse lay with users. The United States was "pushing responsibility" for fentanyl abuse to China and ignoring that Beijing had implemented strict controls on the highly addictive synthetic opioid, reported The People's Daily newspaper, published by the ruling Communist Party. U.S. officials say China is the main source of illicit fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances that are trafficked into the United States, much of it through international mail.
- NewsAssociated Press
Baltimore teen gets life in prison in police officer slaying
A Baltimore teenager was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday, more than a year after he accelerated a stolen Jeep and fatally struck a Maryland police officer in a suburban cul-de-sac. Dawnta Harris, 17, was tried as an adult earlier this year and convicted of felony murder in the slaying of Baltimore County police Officer Amy Caprio. A judge in the suburban county that surrounds the city of Baltimore also sentenced Harris to 20 years in prison for burglary.
WorldAFPRussia launches floating nuclear reactor in Arctic despite warnings
Russia will launch the world's first floating nuclear reactor and send it on an epic journey across the Arctic on Friday, despite environmentalists warning of serious risks to the region. Loaded with nuclear fuel, the Akademik Lomonosov will leave the Arctic port of Murmansk to begin its 5,000 kilometre (3,000-mile) voyage to northeastern Siberia. Nuclear agency Rosatom says the reactor is a simpler alternative to building a conventional plant on ground that is frozen all year round, and it intends to sell such reactors abroad.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Yale failed to stop professor who sexually assaulted students over decades, report says
A Yale professor sexually assaulted five students over decades, according to a report commissioned by the university, which had investigated the professor's behavior in 1994 but failed to stop him. D. Eugene Redmond was a professor of medicine before he retired from the university in 2018 while facing disciplinary action. “Redmond's actions, reported by the survivors who came forward, are reprehensible and antithetical to the educational mission of our university,” said Peter Salovey, Yale's president.
- NewsUSA TODAY Opinion
Want an assault weapons ban? Don't couple it with a mandatory gun buyback.
Now some of the Democratic presidential hopefuls are playing right into the NRA's hands by advocating mandatory buybacks of assault-style rifles already in circulation. Somewhere between confiscating every gun, which is impossible under the Supreme Court's current interpretation of the Second Amendment, and allowing the United States to drown in an ocean of firearms — estimated at 393 million — are commonsense gun laws. One example is universal background checks.
- NewsINSIDER
In the streets and on the run: Alligators are having a 'hot girl summer' of their own
From climbing fences in Florida to swimming in a Chicago lagoon, here are 11 of the best alligator stories so far this year. Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories. Sure, tales of Florida Man are well documented, but perhaps less talked about are the tales of Florida alligators, which have been popping up in the most unlikely of places.
- PoliticsPolitico
Luntz: ‘I was wrong’ on climate change
Luntz, who said he's doing work for both Democrats and Republicans, urged Democrats to "personalize, individualize and humanize" the impacts of climate change to make it more relatable to the average person. While he has polled the issue, Luntz said he was not associated with June 2019 polling for the Climate Leadership Council, conducted by Luntz Global Partners, finding widespread support among young Republicans for a carbon tax.
- BusinessBloomberg
Half of Venezuela's Oil Rigs May Disappear If U.S. Waivers Lapse
Almost half the rigs operating in Venezuela will shut down by Oct. 25 if the Trump administration doesn't extend a 90-day waiver from its sanctions, according to data compiled from consultancy Caracas Capital Markets. A shutdown in the rigs will also put pressure on Nicolas Maduro's administration, which counts oil revenues as its main lifeline. The U.S. is betting on increased economic pressure to oust the regime and bring fresh elections to the crisis-torn nation, a founding member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Latin America's biggest crude exporter until recent years.
WorldYahoo News VideoU.S. removed almost 2.7 million barrels daily of Iranian oil, according to Pompeo
The United States has removed nearly 2.7 million barrels of Iranian oil from global markets daily following Washington's decision to reimpose sanctions on all purchases of Iran's crude, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday.
- WorldReuters
UPDATE 1-Putin orders reciprocal Russian response to U.S. missile test
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday ordered a like-for-like response to a recent U.S. missile test, which he said showed that Washington aimed to deploy previously banned missiles around the world. The Pentagon said on Monday it had tested a conventionally-configured cruise missile that hit its target after more than 500 km (310 miles) of flight, its first such test since the demise of a landmark nuclear pact this month. Putin told his Security Council on Friday that Russia could not stand idly by, and that U.S. talk of deploying new missiles in the Asia-Pacific region "affects our core interests as it is close to Russia's borders".
- NewsThe Independent
Trump claim doctors treating mass shooting victims 'were coming out of operating rooms' to meet him dismissed by hospitals
Two hospitals have denied Donald Trump's claim doctors “were coming out of operating rooms” to meet him when he travelled to Texas and Ohio to console victims of two mass shootings. "At no time did, or would, physicians or staff leave active operating rooms during the presidential visit,” University Medical Center (UMC) spokesperson Ryan Mielke told local TV station KVIA. “When I went to Dayton and when I went to El Paso, and I went into those hospitals, the love for me – and 'me' maybe as the representative of the country – but for me, and my love for them was unparalleled, these are incredible people,” Mr Trump said.
- WorldAssociated Press
2 more El Salvador ex-officers to face trial in '81 massacre
Two ex-military officers were notified Thursday that they will join more than a dozen others in being prosecuted for the 1981 El Mozote massacre, a particularly infamous moment from El Salvador's nation's civil war. A judge in San Francisco Gotera, about 100 miles (170 kilometers) east of the capital, summoned former Cols. Roberto Antonio Garay and José Antonio Rodríguez to inform them they will be tried on the charges of torture, forced disappearance and forced displacement.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Prosecutor: Cannibalism victim was butchered 'like you wouldn't kill a livestock animal'
When police in Jeffersonville, Indiana, found Tammy Jo Blanton's dismembered body in her bathtub, it was draped with a camping tent with at least 25 stab wounds and blunt-force injuries on her throat, neck, nose, mouth, lips, fingers and chest, a prosecutor told a Clark County jury at a murder trial Wednesday. "Joseph Oberhansley butchered Tammy Blanton like you wouldn't kill a livestock animal," Clark County prosecutor Jeremy Mull told 12 jurors and four alternates who were bused to Jeffersonville from Hamilton County on Wednesday for Oberhansley's trial. The prosecution and defense agreed to take the death penalty off the table if Oberhansley's attorneys agreed not to use insanity as a defense.
WorldAFPBeijing 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".
