- NewsThe Guardian
Governor criticized for 'disgusting' anti-immigrant email sent day before El Paso attack
The day before a gunman in El Paso carried out the deadliest attack against Latinos in modern US history, the Texas governor sent out an anti-immigrant fundraising letter calling on Republicans to “DEFEND TEXAS NOW” and “take matters into our own hands”, according to news reports. The 2 August letter from the governor, Greg Abbott, lamented that in “just three weeks in June, 45,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended crossing the Mexican border into Texas!” It continued: “That amounts to the entire population of Galveston – every three weeks. “If we're going to DEFEND Texas, we'll need to take matters into our own hands,” Abbott wrote in the mailer, which was reported by the Texas Signal website.
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.
- WorldReuters
Chinese ship inches closer to Vietnam coastline amid South China Sea tensions
A Chinese survey vessel on Saturday extended its activities to an area closer to Vietnam's coastline, ship tracking data showed, after the United States and Australia expressed concern about China's actions in the disputed waterways. The Haiyang Dizhi 8 vessel first entered Vietnam's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) early last month where it began a weeks-long seismic survey, triggering a tense standoff between military and coastguard vessels from Vietnam and China. The Chinese vessel continued to survey Vietnam's EEZ on Saturday under escort from at least four ships and was around 102 kilometres (63 miles) southeast of Vietnam's Phu Quy island and 185 kilometres (115 miles) from the beaches of the southern city of Phan Thiet, according to data from Marine Traffic, a website that tracks vessel movements.
- NewsThe Independent
Jeffrey Epstein: 15 prison guards subpoenaed after two accused of sleeping on the job
Now, roughly 15 employees at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre where Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in his jail cell have been subpoenaed as the criminal investigation into the events around his suicide intensifies, according to a prison official and a person with knowledge of the matter. The subpoenas, issued in recent days by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, are the latest sign of the heightened scrutiny over the suicide of the high-profile detainee at the chronically understaffed federal jail. The US attorney general William Barr, whose Justice Department oversees the Bureau of Prisons, has complained about “serious irregularities at this facility”.
- PoliticsAssociated Press
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.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Who are the Koch brothers and how did David Koch help shape conservatism in America?
David and Charles Koch have been patiently reshaping the Republican Party and conservatism in America since at least the 1970s, Leonard told USA TODAY. "To do that, they've built a political influence machine that is unrivaled in America." Koch Industries The Koch brothers took what started as an oil company founded by their father Fred Koch, who himself was anti-Communist right-wing figure, and multiplied its already established wealth and international reach into the multi-billion dollar conglomerate it is today.
- WorldThe Telegraph
UK Hong Kong consulate worker Simon Cheng freed after detention in mainland China
A British consulate employee in Hong Kong has been freed by China after being detained for 15 days on the mainland amid rising tensions between the former British colony and Beijing. Simon Cheng, 28, a trade and investment officer at the Hong Kong consulate's Scottish Development International section, went missing on August 8 on his way back from a work trip in Shenzhen, a neighbouring Chinese city. It was not until after the UK expressed “extreme concern” about his disappearance that China's foreign ministry broke its silence, confirming Mr Cheng had been detained without releasing further details.
- PoliticsYahoo News
DNC likely to raise polling threshold for November debate, sources say
The field of eligible candidates may actually grow bigger for the October debate, since the DNC has decided not to raise the polling threshold above 2 percent from its September rules and will also keep the marker for small-dollar donations at 130,000. But in November the DNC, which is increasingly under fire for its handling of presidential debates, is likely to raise the polling requirement above 2 percent, according to multiple sources involved in the process who spoke to Yahoo News about internal deliberations on the condition they not be identified. What's not clear — and seems to be unsettled still — is how high that number will go.
- NewsINSIDER
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.
- U.S.Car and Driver
20 of the Craziest Pickup Trucks Ever
A pickup truck's job is simple, but that didn't stop some makers from turning these basic workhorses into wild machines. From Car and Driver
- NewsThe Guardian
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.
WorldAFPFear grips Bangladesh camp as 2 Rohingya refugees killed
Bangladesh police said they had shot dead two Rohingya refugees during a gunfight in a refugee camp on Saturday after the pair were accused of killing a ruling party official. Nearly a million Rohingya live in squalid camps in southeast Bangladesh, 740,000 of whom fled a 2017 military offensive against the Muslim minority in Myanmar. The incident comes two days after a second failed attempt to repatriate the refugees, which saw not a single Rohingya turn up to return across the border to conflict-scarred Rakhine state.
- 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
Russian doctor has trace of radiation after explosion
More than 100 Russian medical workers who helped treat victims of a recent mysterious explosion at a military testing range have undergone checks and one man has been found with a trace of radiation, officials said Friday. It was followed by a brief rise in radiation levels in nearby Severodvinsk, but the authorities insisted it didn't pose any danger. The Arkhangelsk regional administration said Friday that 110 medical workers have undergone checks that one man was found with a low amount of radioactive cesium-137 in his muscle tissue.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Dog owner charged with second-degree murder in Detroit 9-year-old's mauling death
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced Thursday that Pierre Cleveland, 33, will face charges of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and having a dangerous animal causing death. Cleveland was arrested Monday and arraigned in Detroit's 36th District Court. According to the prosecutor, Cleveland allegedly left his three dogs in his backyard Monday behind a fence that was damaged and not secure.
PoliticsFOX News VideosRep. Jerry Nadler slams 'growing anti-Semitism,' condemns cartoon shared by Omar and Tlaib
Zach Friend and David Bahnsen weigh in on controversial comments made by Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Rep. Ilhan Omar and President Trump.
- BusinessReuters
COLUMN-Trump must choose between economy and trade war: Kemp
But more than two years into a bold effort to remake U.S. international policy by using tariffs to increase leverage in trade negotiations, the trade deficit is still growing at an annual rate of 15%. DEFICIT FUNDAMENTALS There is no evidence the U.S. currency is significantly overvalued or that currency misalignment is contributing to the deficit (https://tmsnrt.rs/2Zc2SRJ). The U.S. dollar exchange rate against a trade-weighted basket of other currencies is close to its long-run average, once adjusted for differential inflation rates.
- NewsThe Telegraph
Metal detectorist finds £10,000 gold ring in garage 40 years after discarding it as worthless
A metal detectorist who discarded a gold ring in his garage for 40 years after a museum told him it was worthless has discovered its real value is £10,000. Tom Clark, 81, dug up the buried treasure while scanning an area of farmland near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979, then put it inside a metal tin and forgot about it. But the retired leather craftsman came across the rare seal ring eight years ago while sorting through items from his mother's house after she passed away.
- WorldBloomberg
Iceland Held Talks With U.S. Ambassador Over Pence Visit
Iceland' prime minister is open to a meeting with Vice President Mike Pence during his trip to the Nordic island, should the visit be extended. The option was discussed during a pre-scheduled meeting on Friday between Katrin Jakobsdottir and ambassador Jeffrey Gunter, a government spokesman told Bloomberg. Jakobsdottir, a left-of-center feminist and LGBT advocate, is due to attend a conference by Nordic trade union leaders in Sweden on Sept.
- NewsThe Guardian
Fast-moving wildfire erupts in California, forcing thousands to evacuate
A fast-moving wildfire that broke out on Thursday in northern California has forced the evacuation of nearly 4,000 residents, racing across at least 600 acres within just a few hours, officials say. The Mountain fire, which erupted on the outskirts of a national forest in northern California, has threatened 1,110 homes and structures. Photos of the blaze posted on Twitter by the Shasta county sheriff's office showed thick black and gray smoke billowing into the area over a highway near the Shasta-Trinity national forest.
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.
- BusinessUSA TODAY Opinion
China is feeling the pain of U.S. tariffs. Now it's time for negotiators to secure a deal.
With each passing week, we get more news that China's economy is under pressure from U.S. tariffs. Growth is slowing, production has faltered and consumers are pulling back. The president took a big economic and political risk by enacting tariffs to create a window for negotiations, and it would be a waste to let that window close. If his trade advisers can't unify around priorities and deliver a deal, the president should start looking for a new team.
- PoliticsAssociated Press
Rep. Steve King wants to make abortion point in 'softer way'
Backed by supporters at a news conference in Des Moines, the Iowa Republican affirmed his belief that abortion should be outlawed with no exceptions for rape or incest. King faced criticism for his comment Aug. 14 that questioned whether there would be "any population of the world left" if not for births due to rape or incest. The remarks were condemned by numerous groups and individuals, including Republican and Democratic candidates seeking to oust King, Democratic presidential candidates as well as the Iowa Republican Party and Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 Republican in House leadership.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Joe Biden asks audience to imagine Barack Obama’s assassination
Former US vice president Joe Biden has speculated about how a political assassination of Barack Obama might have affected the country in 2008. After speaking about the health care plan he introduced last month and taking a few questions, Mr Biden grew most animated as he recalled the fraught political era of 1968, when he was a college senior, and two of his political heroes, Martin Luther King Jr and Robert F Kennedy, were assassinated within weeks of each other. “My senior semester they were both shot and killed,” Mr Biden said.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Ex-wife, children of Atlanta surgeon Christopher Edwards found dead in apparent murder-suicide
ATLANTA – The ex-wife and two adult children of a prominent Atlanta surgeon and housing chairman were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide. The shooting victims were identified as Dr. Marsha Edwards, 58; Christopher Edwards Jr., 24; and Erin Edwards, 20, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Authorities say they believe Marsha Edwards shot both of her children before turning the gun on herself.
