US will 'defend' international order being 'undermined by Iran': Pentagon chief

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday that the US military is preparing a response to the attack on major Saudi Arabia oil facilities. After briefing President Donald Trump in the White House, Esper singled out Iran as undermining international order, without directly pinning blame on Tehran for the attack. "The United States military, with our interagency team, is working with our partners to address this unprecedented attack and defend the international rules-based order that is being undermined by Iran," he said in a tweet.

• 
  U.S. 'locked and loaded' after Saudi attack

  Reuters Videos
• 
  Middle East Mystery Theater: Who Attacked Saudi Arabia's Oil Supply?

  The National Interest

B-2 Spirit: The Stealth Bomber Trump Could Send to Strike Iran

Key Point: Conventional or nuclear, the B-2 Spirit can handle almost any precision attack mission in any environment imaginable, located at practically any point on Earth The B-2 Spirit is one of three strategic heavy bombers in U.S. Air Force service. Originally conceived to infiltrate the Soviet air-defense network and attack targets with nuclear weapons, over the decades its mission has grown to include conventional precision attack. The B-2 is the most advanced bomber in U.S. service, and the only one of three types that still carries nuclear gravity bombs.

'A serial killer off the streets': Florida man charged in woman's death linked to slayings of three others

A man linked to the deaths of at least four women dating back more than a decade has been arrested in Florida, authorities announced Monday. Robert Hayes, 37, was arrested Sunday on first-degree murder charges for the 2016 death of Rachel Bey, Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a news conference. "We have been able to take what we believe was a serial killer off the streets, and had we not done this we're pretty sure that he would have killed again," Bradshaw said.

• 
  Suspected Florida Serial Killer Linked to Murders of Four Women: Authorities

  The Daily Beast
• 
  Suspected serial killer arrested after 14 years

  ABC News Videos

The world's oil producers keep a massive amount of capacity in reserve. But it's almost all in Saudi Arabia and the drone attack messed with that too.

The drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil plants didn't just halve the country's production and send the price of oil rocketing. Drones hit two refineries owned by state-owned giant Saudi Aramco on Saturday, shutting down production on around 5% of the world's daily crude oil production and causing oil prices to surge up to 20%. The world's oil market is well supplied for now, but other oil producing countries are unstable, don't have these facilities, or are under sanctions.

• 
  Oil prices surge after Saudi oil attack disrupts global supply

  Yahoo Finance Video
• 
  Donald Trump says it is 'looking like' Iran was behind Saudi Arabia oil attack

  The Telegraph

Jihad, history link Taliban to al-Qaida in Afghanistan

The Taliban promised Washington during months of negotiations that the United States would never again be attacked from Afghan soil. Such a pledge would have included al-Qaida, which planned the 9/11 attacks from inside Afghanistan. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said the Taliban agreed to cut ties with al-Qaida as part of peace negotiations, which President Donald Trump abruptly called off last week.

New Zealand’s Ardern Under Scrutiny After Botched Sexual Assault Allegation

Ardern has been forced to apologize to the woman and take control of an investigation into the allegations, including that she was attacked and groped by a Labour Party staffer in early 2018. Since then, Labour Party President Nigel Haworth and the man at the center of the allegations, who worked in parliament and hasn't been identified, have both resigned. “There are no excuses for the handling of the complaints by the Labour Party, and I will offer none,” Ardern said at a post-cabinet press conference in Wellington on Monday, a week after the sexual assault allegation was detailed by website The Spinoff.

Iran seizes new boat near vital oil shipping lane

Iran has seized a boat suspected of being used to smuggle fuel and arrested its 11 crew members near a vital oil shipping lane, state television reported on Monday. A naval patrol of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intercepted the vessel carrying 250,000 litres of fuel near the Strait of Hormuz, state TV's website said, citing a commander of the force. "This boat was sailing from Bandar Lengeh towards United Arab Emirates waters before it was seized 20 miles (32 kilometres) east of Greater Tunb island," Brigadier General Ali Ozmayi was quoted as saying.

The U.S. Army's Next Generation of Super Weapons Are Coming

“We are developing an AI stack regarding how we pull together the sensors, computing layer and analytics to manage the data,” Col. Doug Matty, Army AI Task Force Deputy Director, told Warrior in an interview. New algorithms, AI-enabled computer processing and high-speed networking are all specific elements of work now underway with the Army's AI Task Force, an emerging Army effort to collaborate with industry and academia, find technology breakthroughs and develop new applications for AI, Matty explained. The Task Force is now working on prototyping systems for integration onto UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, Long-Range Precision Fires systems and the Army's emerging fleet of Next-Gen Combat Vehicles, he said.

Rep. Ilhan Omar defends her controversial World Trade Center remarks: '9/11 was an attack on all Americans'

It was an attack on all of us, and I certainly could not understand the weight of the pain that the families of the victims of 9/11 must feel, but I think it's important for us to make sure that we are not forgetting the aftermath of 9/11,” she added. Many Americans found themselves now having their civil rights stripped from them, and so what I was speaking to was that as a Muslim, not only was I suffering as an American who was attacked on that day, but the next day I woke up as my fellow Americans were now treating me as suspect.

• 
  Weapons used in Saudi attacks 'came from Iran', says coalition

  AFP
• 
  Trump, top officials meet on how to respond to attack on Saudi oil facility blamed on Iran

  ABC News

Kamala Harris had a 'Trump strategy': Brazile on third Democratic debate

The Powerhouse Roundtable analyzes the third Democratic debate and discusses the week's politics on "This Week."

Best Bar Tools for Your Home Bar

Be sure to stock up. From Popular Mechanics

'A war zone': Propane explosion kills firefighter, injures 8 others, levels building in Maine

A firefighter was killed and eight people were injured Monday when a powerful propane explosion destroyed a new building in Farmington, Maine. Fire crews were responding to a call reporting the smell of gas in the building, which was evacuated, Farmington Town Selectman Scott Landry said. The blast had such force that only debris remained from the two-story building, which housed a nonprofit group called LEAP that serves people with cognitive and intellectual disabilities.

• 
  Deadly Maine explosion levels building

  CBS News Videos
• 
  Propane explosion in Maine kills firefighter, injures 6 others

  Yahoo News Video

Half of the 147 tigers rescued from Thai temple have died

More than half the tigers rescued three years ago from a Buddhist temple in Thailand where they served as a popular tourist attraction have died of disease, wildlife officials said Monday. The tigers were vulnerable to illness because of inbreeding, leading to laryngeal paralysis causing respiratory failure, said national parks official Patarapol Maneeorn. Eighty-six of 147 rescued tigers kept at government-run wildlife sanctuaries have died.

• 
  Over half of the tigers rescued from Thailand tourist attraction have died

  The Independent
• 
  Thai 'Tiger Temple' blames government for deaths of rescued tigers

  The Telegraph

Middle East Mystery Theater: Who Attacked Saudi Arabia's Oil Supply?

An oil facility in eastern Saudi Arabia burst into flames on Saturday, sending oil prices and tensions in the Middle East skyrocketing. After it became clear that the explosions were the result of an attack, all the fingers have been pointing at Iran and its allies—and there is talk of an armed response. The explosions tore apart a processing facility in Abqaiq, halting over half of Saudi Arabia's daily oil exports and one twentieth of all oil production in the world.

• 
  U.S. 'locked and loaded' after Saudi attack

  Reuters Videos
• 
  Weapons used in Saudi attacks 'came from Iran', says coalition

  AFP

Judge Refuses to Scrap Plea Deal That Protected Jeffrey Epstein’s Co-Conspirators

A federal judge refused to scrap the controversial plea deal that granted immunity to Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators, seven months after ruling that it had violated the Crime Victims' Rights Act. Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra ruled that the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami under Alexander Acosta—who later became President Trump's labor secretary—broke the law in 2007 when it devised Epstein's secret sweetheart deal without notifying victims. The ruling was seen as a huge victory for Jane Does 1 and 2, who sued the government in 2008, alleging the deal violated the Crime Victims' Rights Act by keeping them in the dark on the negotiations with Epstein.

• 
  Epstein accusers denied damages in Florida victims' rights case

  Yahoo News Video
• 
  GNU founder Richard Stallman resigns from MIT, Free Software Foundation

  Engadget

Subterranean blaze: Indonesia struggles to douse underground fires

Human behaviour' - The culprit behind Indonesia's blazes is usually illegal fires set to clear land for the lucrative palm oil and pulpwood industries -- and the situation this year has been worsened by drier weather. Some of the most serious fires happen in carbon-rich peatlands -- topped with layers of decomposed plant material several metres thick -- which become highly combustible when they're drained of water to be converted into plantations. "The forest and peatland fires that occur every year are a crisis created by human behaviour," said Rusmadya Maharuddin, a forest campaigner at Greenpeace Indonesia.

• 
  Indonesia arrests nearly 200 over raging forest fires

  AFP
• Indonesia shuts schools as smoke from forest fires takes health toll

  Reuters

China signals veto in standoff with U.S. over Afghan U.N. mission: diplomats

China and the United States are deadlocked over a U.N. resolution to extend a mission in Afghanistan, with Beijing signaling it will cast a veto because there is no reference to its Belt and Road project, diplomats said on Monday. A planned vote on Monday by the 15-member Security Council to renew the U.N. mission, known as UNAMA, was delayed to Tuesday to allow for more negotiations. The mission's mandate expires on Tuesday.

Foxconn Billionaire Terry Gou Drops Taiwan Presidential Bid

Gou apologized to his supporters in a statement on Facebook Tuesday outlining his decision to withdraw from the race as an independent. After he quit the KMT last week, he had come under pressure from opposition leaders, including former President Ma Ying-jeou, to drop out of the race and support their nominee to help return the China-friendly party to power. “With this poor election climate and prevailing populism, I'm not willing to participate in this political farce, not only for my own personal and factional interests, but also because class struggle is tearing Taiwan apart,” Gou said in a video released Tuesday.

• 
  Former Foxconn chief abandons run for Taiwan presidency

  Associated Press
• 
  Ex-Foxconn chief Gou rules out Taiwan presidential bid

  AFP

Muslim American New Jersey Mayor Says CBP Wrongfully Detained Him for Almost 3 Hours

The Muslim American mayor of a New Jersey town accused U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officials at New York's JFK airport of “flat out profiling”, wrongfully detaining him and asking him if “he knew any terrorists” at a press conference earlier this week. Mohamed Khairullah, who has been mayor of Prospect Park, N.J., for more than a decade, said in a video posted to his Facebook page last month that CBP agents detained him and his family for almost three hours in early August after he returned home from a vacation in Turkey. The CBP also allegedly took his phone away despite his objections, Khairullah said, adding that it took him almost two weeks to get the device back.

Boy Scout leader sang naked in front of kids, and organization failed to investigate: Lawsuit

A Boy Scout leader who was accused of singing naked in front of several young boys was not investigated by his troop despite multiple complaints, according to NBC News. Michael Kelsey, who in 2016 was found guilty of first-degree sexual abuse for molesting two children in his Boy Scout troop, was accused of misconduct long before his conviction, according to a $320 million civil lawsuit filed in March 2017. The ongoing lawsuit — which has emerged with new information thanks to interviews with the plaintiffs by NBC News— details a number of troubling accusations against Kelsey, who was an assistant scoutmaster in Troop 95 of Fishkill, NY.

The Future of Design: Transportation

AD uncovers the world's leading innovations in travel, transportation, cities, home, and the workplace Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

Iran's supreme leader: No talks with the US at any level

Iran's supreme leader announced on Tuesday that "there will be no talks with the U.S. at any level" — remarks apparently meant to end all speculation about a possible U.S.-Iran meeting between the two countries' presidents at the U.N. later this month. Iranian state TV quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying this is the position of the entire leadership of the country and that "all officials in the Islamic Republic unanimously believe" this. "There will be no talks with the U.S. at any level," he said.

• 
  Trump says Iran appears to be behind Saudi strike

  USA TODAY
• 
  WRAPUP 1-Attack on Saudi oil facility came from direction of Iran, not Yemen -U.S. official

  Reuters