- PoliticsUSA TODAY
'It was sarcasm': President Donald Trump changes course on 'chosen one' remark
President Donald Trump said he was being sarcastic when he raised eyebrows earlier this week by referring to himself as "the chosen one" amid his ongoing trade war with China. "You know exactly what I meant," Trump told reporters at the White House late Friday before departing to the G-7 summit in France. Trump addressed the statement again on Saturday, sending a tweet from France.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
'Keep Marysville white': racist remark by would-be councilor shocks Michigan city
For the first hour of the election forum in Marysville, Michigan, on Thursday night the debate between the five candidates for a city council seat dealt with the local subjects you might expect – how to improve Little League fields, new real estate developments and the like. First to answer was Jean Cramer, a local resident running her first political campaign. Marysville, a small town of 10,000 north-east of Detroit, is 98% white and 0.3% African American.
- NewsINSIDER
Police are trying to arrest their way out of a mass shooting epidemic, and experts warn that law enforcement can't shoulder the entire burden
Since the El Paso and Dayton shootings left 31 people dead on August 3 and 4, at least 28 people across the US have been arrested and accused of plotting or threatening mass shootings. In the weeks since two gunmen in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, slaughtered 31 people within 24 hours, dozens of people across the US have been accused of threatening deadly shooting sprees. Among them are teenagers accused of posting violent threats on social media, grown men who authorities say possessed massive stockpiles of guns, and even a Florida mom who police say threatened to shoot up an elementary school because her children were being rezoned there.
- SciencePopular Mechanics
Ghost Particles Could Explain Just About Everything in the Universe
Scientists have learned more about the subatomic particles known as neutrinos, sometimes called ghost particles. They're known for traveling at near lightspeeds and being nearly massless, but a new study has shown the masslessness of the most massless neutrino. It's least six million times lighter than the mass of an electron.
WorldAFPJournalist killed in Mexico
The head of a Mexican news website was found stabbed to death in the center of the country, authorities said Saturday, the 10th such killing this year. The body of Nevith Condes Jaramillo "was found Saturday morning... showing injuries from a sharp object," the state prosecutor said in a statement. Condes Jaramillo, 42, was the head of a local news site in Tejupilco and was also an announcer on a community radio station.
- WorldBusiness Insider
A floating nuclear plant in Russia features a gym, bar, and pool. An expert calls it 'Chernobyl on ice.'
But some environmentalists are concerned that the floating plant could fall victim to a disaster like a tsunami, resulting in a possible nuclear catastrophe. "It's riskier than running an ordinary nuclear-power station, and Russia has a checkered past when it comes to ordinary power stations," Jan Haverkamp, a nuclear-energy expert at the environmental nonprofit Greenpeace, told Business Insider. Last year, Haverkamp published a blog post that referred to the floating plant as "Chernobyl on ice."
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
'King of Israel' and a Trump tower in Greenland: Here's what Trump had to say this week
The president has had a busy week on Twitter and with speeches. From grappling with Denmark over a potential acquisition of Greenland to joking he wanted to award himself the Medal of Honor, Donald Trump has turned heads with a series of comments. Here are the week's highlights, for anybody who needs to get caught up.
- WorldAssociated Press
Iranian oil tanker pursued by US says it is going to Turkey
An Iranian-flagged oil tanker pursued by the U.S. amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington changed its listed destination to a port in Turkey after Greece said it wouldn't risk its relations with America by aiding it. Meanwhile, Iran sanctioned a prominent Washington-based think tank that led criticism of Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers over its alleged "economic terrorism," something the organization described as a "badge of honor." The crew of the oil tanker Adrian Darya 1, formerly known as the Grace 1, on Saturday updated its listed destination in its Automatic Identification System to Mersin, Turkey, a port city in the country's south and home to an oil terminal.
- WorldReuters
Hong Kong police arrest 29 as city returns to violence, further protests planned
Hong Kong police on Sunday said they arrested 29 people after clashes overnight in which volleys of tear gas were fired to break up anti-government protests and as the Asian financial hub braced for further demonstrations in the day. Police used tear gas after some protesters threw Molotov cocktails and bricks and others tore up "smart" lamp posts equipped with surveillance cameras. It was the first use of tear gas in more than a week after a series of mostly peaceful demonstrations in the former British colony.
- LifestyleThe 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.
- U.S.KFSN – Fresno
Parents charged with hate crime after allegedly assaulting boy found in daughter's closet
The mother and step-father of a 15-year-old San Bruno girl are in jail after allegedly assaulting and kidnapping the teenage boy they found in their daughter's bedroom. Police are saying it was a hate crime.
- 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.
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.
- WorldThe Independent
Revered as a saint by online extremists, how Christchurch shooter inspired copycat terrorists around the world
The shooting was the first deadly attack linked to the massacres at two mosques in Christchurch – but not the last. On 3 August, a man who declared himself a “supporter of the Christchurch shooter and his manifesto” murdered 22 people in El Paso. And a week later, a gunman who hailed Tarrant as a “saint” launched a failed attack on a mosque in Norway.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
Poll: Majority of Americans don't want Trump to be impeached and removed from office
A majority of Americans oppose impeaching President Donald Trump, according to a new poll by Monmouth University released Thursday. The data point -- with 59% of those surveyed responding that Trump should not be impeached and compelled to leave office -- comes as Trump's approval rating remains at 40% in the same poll. In the poll, there is a clear partisan divide on whether the House Judiciary Committee should pursue an impeachment inquiry.
- WorldAssociated Press
Chinese embassy says the US is trying to suppress Huawei
China's embassy in Canada said Friday the U.S. is trying to suppress a Chinese tech giant with unwarranted charges in what it calls "typical bullying behavior." An embassy statement to The Associated Press said the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Canada at the request of U.S. authorities is "of course different" from China's detentions of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. He said the U.S. and Canada are guilty of arbitrary detention.
- BusinessReuters
China to soon unveil plan for retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. products: Global Times
China will soon unveil a plan to impose retaliatory tariffs on certain U.S. products, the editor in chief of China's Global Times newspaper said. "Based on what I know, China will take further countermeasures in response to U.S. tariffs on $300 billion Chinese goods. Beijing will soon unveil a plan of imposing retaliatory tariffs on certain U.S. products", Hu Xijin wrote in a tweet on Friday.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Cathay Pacific cabin crew union leader fired as Hong Kongers warn of spread of 'white terror'
Cathay Pacific fired a cabin crew union leader on Friday, the latest casualty in a fast-spreading “white terror” as mass protests in Hong Kong continue into their third month. Rebecca Sy, head of the Cathay Dragon flight attendant's association, said she lost her job of 17 years, without explanation, after managers saw and confirmed her Facebook account, which included messages in favour of the protests. “White terror” is a term used to describe a slew of events that create a climate of fear particularly as companies and employees worry of serious repercussions for voicing their views.
- NewsBusiness Insider
Democratic presidential candidates have a new approach for tackling gun violence: Treat it as a public-health crisis
Warren and Booker have outlined the need to fund public-health research to inform better policies to address gun violence, saying they will fund and use the tactics of community-based intervention. These programs use data to locate high-risk areas for gun violence. Community members then intervene to mediate and de-escalate violence and refer people to social services.
- 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.
- NewsINSIDER
A man with schizophrenia was found guilty of murdering a Saint Augustine's University student in 1979. 40 years later, a panel of judges decided he's innocent after all.
Police could not find a suspect until 1983 when they arrested James Blackmon based on information from a confidential informant. There was no physical evidence linking Blackmon to the murder, yet, he still confessed to it. In November, almost 40 years after the student's death, The North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission announced they would re-evaluate the case.
