Syrian Kurdish-led force says it will abide by cease-fire

The commander of Kurdish-led forces in Syria on Thursday said they will abide by a cease-fire agreement announced in Turkey by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. Mazloum Abdi, speaking on Kurdish Ronahi TV, said the extent of the cease-fire stretches about 100 kilometers (60 miles) along the middle of the border — between the towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn. "We hope that this cease fire will be successful, and we will do our best to make it successful," Abdi said Thursday, describing it as a "tentative agreement." Abdi is also known by his nom de guerre, Mazloum Kobani.

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  Pence: Turkey has agreed to cease-fire in Syria

  Associated Press Videos
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  Shelling heard around Syrian town after Turkish-U.S. ceasefire deal

  Reuters

Cartel gunmen terrorize Mexican city, free El Chapo's son

Heavily armed fighters surrounded security forces in a Mexican city on Thursday and made them free one of drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's sons, after his capture triggered gunbattles and a prison break that sent civilians scurrying for cover. Security Minister Alfonso Durazo said a patrol by National Guard militarized police first came under attack from within a house in the city of Culiacan, 1,235 km (770 miles) northwest of Mexico City. After entering the house, they found four men, including Ovidio Guzman, who is accused of drug trafficking in the United States.

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  El Chapo's son released after capture as violence erupts in Mexico's state of Sinaloa

  KABC – Los Angeles
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  Gun Battles Sweep Mexican City After Troops Locate El Chapo's Son

  Meredith Videos

Trevor Noah Exposes Eric and Don Jr.’s Hunter Biden Nepotism Hypocrisy

What I don't understand is why these people are complaining about that. With that, he cut to a clip of Donald Trump Jr. accusing Hunter Biden of trading on his name and Eric Trump arguing that he and his brother are exempt from criticism because they do not sit on any corporate boards. First of all, I'm not surprised nobody has put Beavis and Forehead on any corporate boards,” Noah said.

A N.J. school district wants to ban students from attending prom if they have more than $75 in school lunch debt

A school district in New Jersey passed a new policy this week that will allow schools to bar students from attending prom if they have a school lunch debt above $75.

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  California Is Officially Putting an End to Lunch-Shaming Students

  Fatherly
• Legislators Join the Effort to End 'Lunch Shaming' in Schools

  Food & Wine

Woman rescued after drawing SOS message in Australian wilderness

After being lost in the wilderness for three days, an Australian woman was rescued after the SOS message she scrawled in the sand was spotted on a surveillance camera. Deborah Pilgrim, 55, was camping with friends last weekend when she decided to go for an early-morning walk near the town of Sedan. After she didn't return, authorities searched for her for three days, South Australia Police said in a statement.

Hong Kong Activist Renews Call for March After Hammer Attack

Jimmy Sham -- convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front, which has organized many of the city's largest peaceful protests -- issued a plea from his hospital bed Thursday for police to allow the march go ahead in the Tsim Tsa Tsui area as planned. Sham was assaulted by four to five men Wednesday while on his way to a meeting in nearby Mong Kok -- the second time he's been attacked since August. “When Jimmy was at his street counter, many of the citizens expressed that they really hope there will be a safe march on Sunday,” the Civil Human Rights Front said in a statement Thursday.

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  Hong Kong police association to build retirement property for staff in mainland China

  Reuters
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  Hong Kong, China warn of harm to US interests in House vote

  Associated Press

Mystery as plane carrying Russian arms smugglers crashes in Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo has one of the world's worst aviation safety records, so reports that an aircraft had tumbled into a remote forest last week caused few international ripples. Since then, however, a deepening mystery over the nature of the cargo and the identity of those on board has left the Congolese government facing awkward questions. The passengers were identified as the personal chauffeur of Felix Tshisekedi, Congo's president, and three of his bodyguards.

View Photos of the 2020 Subaru Crosstrek

The popular crossover gets more safety and tech features, plus selectable driving modes standard on all models. From Car and Driver

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  2020 Subaru Crosstrek Keeps the Good Looks, Adds More Safety and Tech Features

  Car and Driver
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  Subaru to exit BTCC as Levorg deal ends, BMR Racing to continue

  Autosport

Former top Navy SEAL who oversaw the Osama bin Laden raid says the US is 'under attack from the president'

In his fiercest condemnation against the president yet, McRaven recounted in a New York Times opinion column a military ceremony he recently attended at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he reflected upon the thousands of US service members who marched on the parade field before him. McRaven pointed out what he said were examples of the US neglecting its duty to be the "the protectors of the less fortunate" — including Trump's recent decision to withdraw troops from Syria as Turkish-backed militants wage war against the once US-backed Kurdish militia.

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  Former Special Ops Commander Warns Nation Is Under Attack From Our Own President

  HuffPost
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  America ‘is under attack from the president,’ ex-special ops commander says

  MarketWatch

China detains 2 US citizens who ran teaching program

China said Thursday it detained two U.S. citizens on suspicion of organizing others to illegally cross the border, amid sharpening tensions between the sides over trade, technology and other sensitive issues. Police in the eastern province of Jiangsu arrested Alyssa Petersen and Jacob Harlan on Sept. 27 and Sept. 29, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said. "The department handling the case has informed the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai in a timely manner, arranged U.S. diplomats to conduct consular visits and protected the legitimate rights and interests of the two," Geng said at a regular press briefing.

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  Two Americans detained in China on border charges

  AFP
• REFILE-China says two U.S. citizens arrested in September have been released on bail

  Reuters

One dead in strong 6.4-magnitude Philippines quake: mayor

A child was killed in a strong 6.4-magnitude quake that hit the southern Philippines on Wednesday, a local mayor said, as houses collapsed, power was knocked out and a shopping mall burst into flames. Residents evacuated homes and buildings across the Mindanao region including a mall that caught fire in the city of General Santos shortly after the quake struck in the evening, officials said. The child died in a house collapse in the town of Datu Paglas, while four residents of nearby Tulunan town were injured when at least two other houses fell down, Tulunan Mayor Reuel Limbungan told AFP.

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  6.4-magnitude quake shakes southern Philippines

  KABC – Los Angeles
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  Landslide, building damage from Philippine quake kills 5

  Associated Press

Explainer: Democrats Warren and Sanders want wealth tax; economists explain how it works

From 1982 to 2018 the share of U.S. wealth held by the 400 richest Americans is estimated to have grown from 1% to around 3.5%, or probably around $3 trillion. According to Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, the University of California at Berkeley economists who developed that estimate, that is in part because the wealthiest American families declare only a small portion of their actual economic gains in any given year as income, while leaving the rest invested in stocks and other assets, to grow in value. Saez has been involved in a series of what are considered groundbreaking studies of U.S. income, inequality and economic mobility that involved both developing techniques to impute income based on holdings of wealth, and extensive access to U.S. Internal Revenue Service records.

• Cato's Chris Edwards: What Warren and Sanders get wrong about wealth inequality (and capitalism)

  Fox Business
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  Moderate Dems (Cautiously) Critique Warren Wealth Tax

  The Fiscal Times

Why Mexico Is Cooperating with Us on Immigration

One of the reasons border apprehensions have dropped from their alarming peak in May is that Mexico has been pretty aggressive in stopping third-country nationals from traversing its territory on their way north to make bogus asylum claims so they can be released into the U.S. It's especially curious because in the past, Mexico was not at all eager to help us limit illegal immigration, a pattern we might have expected to intensify with last year's election as president of left-wing populist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (commonly known as AMLO, pronounced as a word rather than initials). No doubt President Trump's tariff threats had some effect.

South Korea’s Moon Sees Approval Rating Hit New Low Amid Scandal

The approval rating for South Korean President Moon Jae-in hit a record low in a poll released just days after he issued a public apology for the resignation of a scandal-tainted minister who was a close political ally. The support rate for Moon's government was at 39%, according to data released Friday by Gallup Korea, which conducts regular tracking polls. The resignation of Cho Kuk -- a former justice minister who resigned just five weeks after taking the job -- added to Moon's woes that include a tepid economy, a trade war with Japan, and North Korea snubbing his overtures for talks.

Ancient Cambodian city found using aerial mapping

An ancient settlement, known has the 'lost city' of Cambodia, has been rediscovered by scientists using aerial mapping after remaining hidden in dense jungle for centuries. Mahendraparvata, believed to have been the first capital of the Khmer Empire, a powerful Southeast Asian state that existed during the Angkor period from the 9th to 15th centuries, had long-eluded archeologists, who knew of its existence but were unable to map it out because of the difficult terrain.

Porsche's 718 Cayman Fits More Cargo Than the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette

The new mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette and the mid-engine Porsche 718 Cayman are direct competitors, but which one has the most cargo space? Both sports cars have both a front and a rear trunk, but the Porsche offers two cubic feet more space. Our testing revealed that while the Porsche could accommodate one extra carry-on suitcase, the Corvette excels at carrying longer items such as a set of golf clubs.

Powerful coastal storm known as a 'bomb cyclone' will blast the Northeast from New York to Maine

A powerful coastal storm will unleash soaking rain and howling winds through Thursday from the Mid-Atlantic to New England. The strong winds – potentially gusting up to 60 mph – may cause some tree damage and power outages, the National Weather Service said. Up to 3 inches of rain could fall in this storm, especially from eastern New York to southern Maine, where flash flooding is possible.

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  Whipping winds create trouble for Long Island

  AccuWeather
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  Nor'easter slams the East Coast

  ABC News Videos

Trump's hasty exit forced US troops to bomb their own base in 'an extreme worst-case scenario'

US forces destroyed the former base of counter-ISIS operations in Syria, according to a release from Operation Inherent Resolve sent out on Wednesday. The statement says that the operation was pre-planned, but former Special Presidential Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Brett McGurk called the operation a "break glass" procedure used only in extreme emergencies. US President Donald Trump's hasty decision to pull US troops out of northeastern Syria last Sunday continued to spiral out of control when, a week after Turkey began its incursion into the region, US forces attacked the base of their counter-ISIS operations in Syria in a move one former official called a "break glass" pro...

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  US bombs its own military base in Syria to ‘reduce usefulness’

  The Independent
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  Trump: US troops 'largely out' of Syria region

  Associated Press Videos

APNewsBreak: Skeleton unearthed beneath California peak

Hofer phoned from the summit to report the finding and went to the sheriff's department the next day after hiking out to speak with investigators. Sgt. Nate Derr, who coordinates the county's search and rescue team, said bodies found in the mountains are typically connected with someone they know who has gone missing. The opposite is rarer: finding the remains of someone who appears to not have gone missing or been reported as missing.

Putin signals Russia's return to Africa with summit

President Vladimir Putin hosts dozens of African leaders next week as Russia seeks to reassert its influence on the continent and beyond. The heads of some 35 African countries are expected for the first Africa-Russia Summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi next Wednesday and Thursday. For Putin, the summit is a chance to revive Soviet-era relationships and build new alliances, bolstering Moscow's global clout in the face of confrontation with the West.

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  Oil, diamonds and nuclear power: Russia eyes Africa business

  AFP
• Oil, Military And Nuclear Tech: Russia’s Influence In Africa

  Oilprice.com

U.S. Supreme Court wrestles over 'D.C. Sniper' life sentence appeal

U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday questioned whether a lower court sufficiently considered that a man convicted in the deadly 2002 "D.C. Sniper" shooting spree in the Washington area was a minor at the time of the crimes when he was sentenced to life in prison. The nine justices heard arguments in an appeal by the state of Virginia objecting to the lower court's decision ordering that Lee Boyd Malvo's sentence of life in prison without parole be thrown out. The most likely contender based on questions he asked during the argument would be Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

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  Supreme Court to hear sentencing case for 'Washington sniper'

  AFP
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  Court seems split on possible resentencing for teen sniper

  Associated Press

McConnell Says He Wants ‘Something Stronger’ than House Resolution Condemning Syria Troop Withdrawal

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that he would like to see “something stronger” than the bipartisan resolution the House passed on Wednesday condemning President Trump's decision to pull U.S. troops out of northern Syria. For that reason my preference would be for something even stronger than the resolution that the House passed yesterday, which has some serious weaknesses,” McConnell said in a Senate floor speech. It states that Congress “opposes the decision to end certain United States efforts to prevent Turkish military operations against Syrian Kurdish forces in Northeast Syria” and demands the White House present a plan to support Kurdish fighters and prevent ISIS from regaining a foothold in the area.

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  McConnell gives Senate Republicans a lesson on impeachment trial rules

  Yahoo News Video
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  Trump has 'meltdown' during Syria meeting and has 'no plan' to deal with Isis

  The Independent

Washington Group Fighting Affirmative Action Used Proud Boys As Guards

An anti-affirmative action campaign used members of the Proud Boys for security—and is now claiming it didn't realize its protection team was an organization labeled a hate group. On Nov. 5, voters in Washington state are set to decide on the future of Referendum 88, a measure that would allow affirmative action hiring in public jobs. The measure has support from civil rights groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), but faces opposition from a state veterans group and the organization Washington Asians for Equality, which claims the measure would lead to preferential treatment for some groups.