PoliticsAssociated PressBomb-laden drone from Yemen rebels targets Saudi airport
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen's Iranian-allied Houthi rebels attacked a Saudi airport and military base with a bomb-laden drone Tuesday, an assault acknowledged by the kingdom as Middle East tensions remained high between Tehran and Washington. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
- NewsThe Independent
Marlen Ochoa-Lopez murder: Baby boy cut from mother's womb opens eyes for the first time
A baby boy, cut from his mother's womb after her murder last month, opened his eyes for the first time on Tuesday as he fights for his life in a Chicago hospital.The mother, 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, was nine months pregnant when she was killed last month. Clarisa Figueroa and her daughter Desiree Figueroa have been arrested as suspects.According to police, the pair had lured Ochoa-Lopez to their home under the pretext of offering her baby clothes.After strangling Ochoa-Lopez, the two allegedly cut the unborn baby out of her womb. Police said that they believe the elder Figuaroa had hoped to raise the child as her own after the recent death of her own son. Both Figueroas have been arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Clarissa's boyfriend, Piotr Bobak, has also been arrested and charged with concealing a homicide.The baby, who was removed from the womb almost two months premature, has been fighting for his life ever since.Sunday however, a picture emerged of the little boy in the arms of his father, Yovany Lopez, apparently taken shortly after he had opened his eyes for the first time, CNN reported."We were just praying and praying and he opened his eyes, and his dad said, 'Oh my God, he opened his eyes!'" Cecilia Garcia, a student pastor who is assisting the family and is the one who took the photo, told CNN.Garcia, said she was horrified when she first heard about the killing, but believes that the country has united in support of the family."She's evoked the whole nation of people, pouring their love out for this family," Garcia said in reference to Marlen. "He's a single dad now, and we're praying this baby makes it."
PoliticsReutersOcasio-Cortez says it is time to open impeachment inquiry against Trump
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has so far resisted calls for Democrats to launch impeachment proceedings, instead backing continued investigations of Trump and his administration by numerous congressional panels instead. "I think it’s time for us to, at the very least, open an impeachment inquiry ... we’ve been given no choice I think, in this scenario," Ocasio-Cortez said outside the House of Representatives. The report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller stopped short of declaring that the president obstructed justice, but it also did not exonerate him.
NewsUSA TODAYMississippi judge who blocked 15-week abortion ban hears arguments on fetal heartbeat law
Mississippi's fetal heartbeat law which bans abortions after approximately six weeks could be blocked or upheld by Judge Carlton Reeves.
- CelebrityCar and Driver
New Feature on 2020 Chevrolet and GMC Models Won't Let Car Move Till Driver Fastens Seatbelt
The new tech is called Buckle to Drive, and it rolls out on several Chevrolet and GMC models for 2020 as part of the Teen Driver package.
PoliticsYahoo NewsHUD Secretary Ben Carson stumped during congressional hearing
The HUD secretary faced a tough hearing before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday.
WorldAFPFears rise China could weaponise rare earths in US tech war
The US has hit China where it hurts by going after its telecom champion Huawei, but Beijing's control of the global supply of rare earths used in smartphones and electric cars gives it a powerful weapon in their escalating tech war. A seemingly routine visit by President Xi Jinping to a Chinese rare earths company this week is being widely read as an obvious threat that Beijing is standing ready for action. Xi's inspection tour "is no accident, this didn't happen by chance," said Li Mingjiang, China programme coordinator at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore.
- NewsNational Review
Dem. Rep. Accuses DHS Secretary of Choosing to Let Migrant Kids Die: ‘This Is Intentional’
Representative Lauren Underwood (D., Ill.) on Wednesday accused the acting Department of Homeland Security secretary of intentionally implementing border-security policies that would lead to the deaths of migrant children.During his appearance before the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday, Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan was asked to explain why five children have died in federal custody after being apprehended at the southern border since December.“These stories are appalling and yet they keep happening,” Underwood said, referring to the recent migrants deaths, as well as reports of inadequate housing and medical care for migrant children apprehended at the border. “Now Congress just provided half a billion dollars in February to address the humanitarian crisis at the border and will soon provide more. Why do these tragedies keep happening?”McAleenan, who succeeded Kirstjen Nielsen in April, responded that the resources provided by Congress are insufficient to address the record number of asylum seekers, many of whom are women and children, arriving at the border each day.“They're happening because the crisis is exceeding the resources provided. That's why we've asked for more and we've asked for more authority to prevent this crisis from happening in the first place and to prevent the children from being placed at risk,” he said.Underwood, a 32-year-old freshman lawmaker, dismissed McAleenan's claims, suggesting instead that he was implementing policies intended to result in the death of children.“People keep dying, sir. People keep dying. So, this is obviously more than a question of resources,” she said. “Congress has been more than willing to provide the resources and work with you to address the security and humanitarian concerns, but at this point, with five kids that have died, 5,000 separated from their families, I feel like — and the evidence is really clear — that this is intentional. It's a policy choice being made on purpose by this administration and it's cruel and inhumane."“That's an appalling accusation and our men and women fight hard to protect people in our custody every single day,” McAleenan responded. The acting DHS secretary denies the accusation that migrant deaths are "intentional" policy. pic.twitter.com/7xiThg8IVY -- VICE News (@vicenews) May 22, 2019Republicans on the panel reacted forcefully to Underwood's assertion. The ranking Republican on the committee, Representative Mike Rogers (R., Mich.) called for a vote to strike her comments from the record. The vote passed 9-7.“You cannot impugn the character of the witness by stating that he intentionally murders children. That is completely inappropriate and her words should be taken down,” Rogers said during the hearing. “She was very explicit.”“It’s absolutely disheartening to see some radical Democrats stoop so low to say that the Acting DHS Secretary McAleenan is murdering children. McAleenan left the private sector to serve his country after the towers fell on 9/11. This is a sad day for America and the Democrat party,” Representative Mark Green (R., Tenn.) said in a statement provided to National Review.On Monday, 16-year-old Carlos Hernandez Vasquez became the fifth migrant child to die in federal custody in the last six months.Vasquez crossed into the U.S. without his parents and died of the flu at a Border Patrol station in Weslaco, Texas after spending a week in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CPB). His death has drawn scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers, who have pointed out that policy dictates he should have been transferred to the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within 72 hours of his apprehension.“Make no mistake: This is a pattern of death. This is an epidemic of death by the Trump administration,” Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas told reporters during a press conference Tuesday. “As I mentioned, nobody had died for ten years. And in the last six months, you've had five deaths.”The Trump administration has for months urged Congress to provide resources for medical care and the construction of housing units that can accommodate the new asylum-seekers arriving at the southern border. The existing detention centers lack the capacity to handle the record influx and were built to accommodate the mostly single men who formerly comprised most of the illegal-migrant population.The administration has also urged Congress to reform the asylum system through legislation in order to limit the number of migrants who must be detained on U.S. soil while their claims are being adjudicated.
- BusinessThe National Interest
Could One of America's Allies Take Down the F-35 Program?
What does America need to save its troubled F-35 stealth fighter?Turkey, that’s what.Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan recently warned that the multinational F-35 program, of which Turkey is a member, would fail if Turkey were excluded. Turkey is facing sanctions, including being dropped from the F-35 program if it goes ahead with purchasing Russia’s S-400 anti-aircraft missile system, which has raised Washington’s fears that F-35 secrets might be leaked to Russia. The U.S. has stopped shipping equipment to Turkey for that nation’s planned purchase of 100 F-35s, while the first two aircraft officially delivered to Turkey are still in the United States.For its part, Ankara is adamant that it has a right to purchase both American stealth fighters and Russian anti-aircraft missiles, despite the fact that the S-400 is one of the most likely Russian weapons to be used against the F-35. “We were surely not going to remain silent against our right to self-defense being disregarded and attempts to hit us where it hurts,” Erdogan said at a Turkish defense trade show. “This is the kind of process that is behind the S-400 agreement we reached with Russia.”“Nowadays, we are being subject to a similar injustice - or rather an imposition - on the F-35s ... Let me be frank: An F-35 project from which Turkey is excluded is bound to collapse completely.”
- PoliticsBloomberg
Schiff Strikes Deal to See Mueller's Counterintelligence Work
Schiff said in a statement Wednesday that the department has offered to start turning over 12 categories of information that his panel had subpoenaed, and he said the process should be completed by next week. It was a rare instance of cooperation as the Trump administration increasingly stonewalls demands from Democratic-controlled House committees for documents and testimony to follow up on Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
NewsAssociated PressAbducted Idaho girl found safe in Arizona, suspect jailed
SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — A 17-year-old girl abducted from an Idaho fast-food restaurant where she worked was found safe in Arizona on Tuesday and the man accused of taking her was jailed on a $1 million bond, authorities said.
NewsReutersWith shelters at 'max' California border agents drop migrants at bus station
U.S. Border Patrol in the El Centro area of southern California said it began to drop migrants off at San Bernardino's Greyhound Station on Wednesday after it ran out of room to hold them. "It was a decision that was made because they couldn’t take any more families and obviously we cannot keep them in custody for much longer because we are at capacity," said Miguel Garcia, acting assistant chief patrol agent. Apprehensions of migrant families in California's El Centro sector rose 383 percent in the seven months through April from a year earlier as record numbers of mainly Central Americans crossed the border, Border Patrol data shows.
- LifestyleCar and Driver
Don't Just Vacation in Any Old Airbnb When You Can Choose One on Wheels
Get a taste of #VanLife without the full-time commitment.From Car and Driver
U.S.FOX News VideosMurrieta, California residents concerned as illegal immigrants are flown into town
Murrieta resident Bob Kowell speaks out about migrants being relocated to his city on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.'
PoliticsYahoo NewsBiden blasts Trump for saying he 'deserted' Pennsylvania: 'I was 10'
The former vice president blasted President Trump for telling the crowd at a rally in Pennsylvania earlier this week that he “deserted” them.
BusinessUSA TODAYBigger cuts expected: 23,000 more Ford layoffs needed, analysts say
Ford CEO Jim Hackett plans for layoffs won't deliver savings the company has said it wants. An analyst says another 23,000 layoffs are needed.
WorldAFPRussian bombers, fighters intercepted off Alaska: US military
US fighters intercepted six Russian military aircraft in international airspace west of Alaska, and shadowed them until they exited the area, the North American Air Defense Command said Tuesday. The Russian aircraft included two Tu-95 strategic bombers, which were intercepted Monday by two F-22 fighters, the command said. A second group of two Tu-95 bombers and two Su-35 fighters were also intercepted by a pair of F-22 fighters, it said.
- WorldThe National Interest
China's Navy Is Growing So Fast Its Running Out of Names For Its Warships
China’s navy has a new problem: not enough names for its rapidly growing fleet of warships.“China is running out of provincial capitals to name new destroyers, and it might have to turn to other big domestic cities, which reflects the country's rapid naval development in recent years,” according to Chinese newspaper Global Times.The People’s Liberation Army Navy recently named its first Type 055 destroyer the Nanchang, which is the capital city of East China's Jiangxi Province.One of the three other Type 055 destroyers will be named Lhasa, the capital of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, according to Chinese media. That just leaves Nanning and Taipei as the names of provincial capitals for destroyers (Taipei is Taiwan’s capital, though Taiwan has not yet declared independence as a separate nation from China).Which means non-capital cities will have to bequeath their names to Chinese destroyers. The latest destroyer is named Qiqihar, which is a non-capital city in in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. A few ships have been named after major cities, such as the Shenzen, a Type 051 destroyer.“Chinese destroyers and frigates should be named after big and medium Chinese cities, according to the naval vessels naming regulation,” Global Times said. “This means naming of destroyers does not necessarily have to use provincial capitals, as it was a non-binding tradition.”
- WorldBloomberg
Iran’s Rouhani Seeks More Powers to Confront U.S. ‘Economic War’
During Iran’s eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s, a supreme council was set up and “held all powers, and even the parliament and the judiciary did not intervene,” Rouhani told a gathering of clerics on Tuesday. The conflict, initiated by Iraq and referred to by Iran as the “imposed war,” killed a million people on both sides. Today Iran “is in a state of economic war” and “we need the same type of power,” he said, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency, referring to U.S. sanctions directed against the country’s vital oil industry and other targets.
NewsAssociated PressThe Latest: St. Louis airport reopens after storm shutdown
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Latest on severe weather in the central United States (all times local):
BusinessReutersU.S. eases curbs on Huawei; founder says clampdown underestimates Chinese firm
The U.S. Commerce Department blocked Huawei Technologies Co Ltd from buying U.S. goods last week, a major escalation in the trade war between the world's two top economies, saying the firm was involved in activities contrary to national security. The two countries increased import tariffs on each other's goods over the past two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump said China had reneged on earlier commitments made during months of negotiations. On Monday, the Commerce Department granted Huawei a license to buy U.S. goods until Aug. 19 to maintain existing telecoms networks and provide software updates to Huawei smartphones, a move intended to give telecom operators that rely on Huawei time to make other arrangements.
- LifestyleCar and Driver
Mid-Engined Corvette Spied without Rear Wing
Caught high-speed testing at GM's proving grounds, this car looks like it could be a base model due to its lack of a rear wing.From Car and Driver
- NewsThe Daily Beast
Gloria Allred Opens Up About Nearly ‘Bleeding to Death’ From Her Illegal Abortion
Kyle Grillot/ReutersAttorney Gloria Allred took the stage at a pro-choice rally in Manhattan on Tuesday and told a harrowing story about nearly “bleeding to death” after she was forced to get an illegal abortion following a rape in the 1960s.Describing herself as “living evidence of what happens if abortion is criminalized,” Allred said recent anti-abortion legislation in Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri will effectively condemn women and girls to death by leaving them no options other than illegal abortion. While Alabama’s near-total abortion ban stipulates up to 99 year prison sentences for doctors performing abortions, Allred said, “The truth is, the victims are the women and the girls who have to get a back-alley abortion and who are going to be left to die.” The women’s rights lawyer told the crowd in Foley Square that she’d seen firsthand what it was like for women who had no access to abortion in the 1960s. After being raped at gunpoint in Mexico, she said, she traveled back to the United States, found out she was pregnant, and discovered that it was a crime in many states for doctors to perform abortions. “I had to get a back-alley abortion in a bathtub from a person who was not licensed, they were just doing it for the money,” she said. Once she began hemorrhaging, she said, the person who performed the procedure told her it was “[her] problem now.” Allred recalled suffering from a 106-degree fever and being packed in ice once she was hospitalized, all while she was surrounded by other women who were “suffering” from illegal abortions. “The only time a hospital would admit a woman like me was if she was bleeding to death from an abortion,” she said. But even then, she said she was vilified for having gotten the procedure done. “The nurse told me, ‘This should teach you a lesson,’” Allred said. “It taught me abortion should be safe, legal, and accessible!” New Laws in Georgia and Alabama Have Women Panicking They Can’t Get AbortionsAllred told the crowd of demonstrators that women under the jurisdiction of the new anti-abortion laws in Alabama, Missouri, and Georgia will also likely have to turn to back-alley abortions as a means of terminating their pregnancies, claiming the laws will force women into “no-win situations.”“More women died from illegal abortions than men in Vietnam,” Allred said. “Most of these lawmakers signing these bills will never have to get an abortion.”New York mayor and 2020 contender Bill de Blasio also spoke at the rally, describing the lawmakers passing the bills as “right-wing extremists” ignoring the American majority and trying to take the U.S. back to a time of equality “disparity.”“The only person who gets to decide is the woman herself. That is what the American people believe,” de Blasio said. “Women will die because these laws were passed, and that shouldn’t happen in our America… The rights of women are what matter most.”Earlier this month, Alabama’s Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill that would punish doctors for performing abortions with a maximum sentence of 99 years. The law outlaws abortion in all stages of pregnancy and makes no exception in cases of rape or incest. Missouri lawmakers also recently passed a bill that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, and Georgia’s Gov. Brian Kemp signed a similar bill.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
- PoliticsNational Review
House Judiciary Committee Subpoenas Hope Hicks and McGahn Aide
The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday issued subpoenas to former White House communications director Hope Hicks and an aide to former White House counsel Donald McGahn, requesting more details about what lawmakers see as disturbing information in the special cousel's report on the Russia investigation.The committee's Democratic chairman, Jerrold Nadler, requested documents and public hearings from both Hicks and McGahn's former aide, Annie Donaldson, just a day after the White House directed McGahn to defy a subpoena the committee issued to him."As I said earlier today, the Judiciary Committee's investigation into obstruction of justice, public corruption and abuse of power by President Trump and his Administration will continue," Nadler said in a statementThe Department of Justice issed a legal opinion on Monday stating McGahn is "not legally required" to comply with the subpoena, explaining that, "the immunity of the President’s immediate advisors from compelled congressional testimony on matters related to their official responsibilities has long been recognized and arises from the fundamental workings of the separation of powers."McGahn caused alarm among lawmakers when Robert Mueller's final report came out, describing McGahn's statements to the special counsel that President Trump had directed him to have the Justice Department fire Mueller, a possible instance in which the president may have obstructed justice.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
Target and tariffs: The retailer has plans to limit higher prices
Target plans to lessen the impact tariffs will have on the retailer’s prices, the company said on Wednesday. Details were not disclosed.
