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London Bridge terrorist was upgraded to a 'high risk' category A prisoner after threats to staff
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 16:00:00 -0500
London Bridge terrorist Usman Khan was upgraded to a ??high risk? category A prisoner after making threats to senior prison staff, The Telegraph can reveal. Prison officials increased the convicted terrorist??s threat level in prison from ??standard risk? after he breached security and put staff in danger. Only the most serious offenders have such a classification, requiring a constant watch and armed police escort when moved from prison. Prison sources claim it was one of a number of incidents including violence early on during the eight years he served for a terror plot to blow up the London stock exchange. He remained ??high risk? until released on licence from Woodhill high security jail last December into the hands of probation and police who were responsible for supervising him in the community. The disclosure challenges suggestions he was consistently a model prisoner who had reformed his beliefs, ultimately resulting in him being allowed to go unescorted to a prisoner rehabilitation conference at London Bridge where he stabbed to death two Cambridge University graduates. Profile | Who was Usman Khan? It also raises further questions about the system that allowed him to be automatically released halfway through his 16-year sentence without any assessment of his threat to the public by the parole board. A Government source said: ??There was some concern at the start over his behaviour. Threats were made and he was moved to high risk category A. He was on that to the end. For the vast majority of his sentence, particularly towards the end, there was not a problem - no violence, no threats.? Prison sources said it was significant he remained ??high risk? through his jail term and questioned whether adequate controls were put in place to protect the public when he was released. ??High risk is for the most serious criminals and being raised to that level only happens if there are security implications,? said a source. ??He wasn??t a model prisoner, he was involved in violence and moved from cat A prison to cat A prison but he was apparently receptive to every rehabilitation course. He did everything that was asked of him. ??It looks to me that he has played the system, giving the impression that he is reformed and rehabilitated but, like a sleeper cell, waited for the opportunity to grab a headline for the jihadis. Usman Khan??s route of terror ??The prison service had no option. The law states that an offender on a determinate sentence as he was has to be released halfway through his jail term.? The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said police, probation and the security services would have received a full report on his time in prison before his release including the upgrading to ??high risk.? Boris Johnson has pledged to end the automatic release of serious offenders halfway through sentences and impose longer jail terms. Terrorists responsible for more serious offences also face minimum 14 year sentences under his proposed crackdown. Yesterday an inquest heard that London Bridge terror attack victims Saskia Jones, 23, and Jack Merritt, 25, both died after suffering a stab wound to the chest and ??shock and haemorrhaging.? Ms Jones was pronounced dead half an hour after the attack by Khan just before 1pm at the Learning Together conference in Fishmonger??s Hall at London Bridge they had all been attending. Mr Merritt was moved from the scene to nearby King William Street where he was pronounced dead more than an hour after the attack at 3.14pm, despite efforts to save him. The inquest was told he was moved because the area had been cordoned off and evacuated, as it wasn't clear if the public was still in danger. Both were working with Learning Together, a prison education and rehabilitation programme which aims to bring together academics and former prisoners for interactive workshops. Three others were injured in the attack.
American forces kill jihadi leader in Syria with precision 'Ninja' missile that chops up targets with blades
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 13:47:09 -0500
U.S. forces are thought to have killed a senior jihadi leader in northern Syria using a rarely deployed ??Ninja? missile, which attacks targets with precision swordlike blades.
Pakistan Backs Off Prosecuting Chinese Sex Traffickers to Preserve Economic Ties to Beijing: Report
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 11:48:07 -0500
Pakistan has declined to pursue a sprawling case against Chinese sex traffickers due to fears it would harm economic ties with Beijing, the AP reported on Wednesday.Pakistan has been seeking closer ties with China for years as Beijing continue to make major investments in the country's infrastructure.Pakistani investigators have compiled a list of 629 girls and women who were brought to China to be sold as brides. Traffickers often target members of Pakistan's Christian minority, one of the poorest communities in the Muslim-majority country, and some even bribe ministers to advise churchgoers to sell their daughters.A senior Pakistani official said that many of the women who have spoken to the authorities have reported physical and sexual abuse while in China, as well as forced prostitution and fertility treatments. One investigation even contains allegations the organs of some of the women were harvested in China, although there is no evidence for the allegations as of yet.Those familiar with the case said Pakistani authorities are quashing the investigations, in some cases even transferring investigators to different areas."No one is doing anything to help these girls,? another official told the AP. ??The whole racket is continuing, and it is growing. Why? Because they know they can get away with it. The authorities won??t follow through, everyone is being pressured to not investigate. Trafficking is increasing now."A case against 31 Chinese nationals accused of human trafficking fell apart in October when a court acquitted all of them. Several women brought by police to testify were bribed or threatened to remain silent.
Devin Nunes Tries to Explain Away His Parnas and Giuliani Calls to Hannity
Tue, 03 Dec 2019 22:48:22 -0500
Hours after the House Intelligence Committee released call logs on Tuesday that revealed ranking member Devin Nunes (R-CA) had multiple phone calls with Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and Giuliani??s indicted Ukrainian associate Lev Parnas this past spring, Nunes appeared on Fox News host Sean Hannity??s show.According to the pro-Trump Republican lawmaker, the calls with individuals at the heart of the impeachment inquiry against the president were joking in nature??or maybe didn??t even happen at all (despite records saying they did).After talking about Nunes?? lawsuit against CNN over the network??s report that the congressman met with a former Ukrainian prosecutor in Vienna (Nunes has also threatened The Daily Beast with a suit), Hannity brought up the phone calls while offering Nunes a helping hand.??My sources are telling me that three of the four so-called calls were apparently just to Giuliani and maybe on Parnas?? phone and under a minute,? the Trump-boosting Fox host wondered. ??Is that true??Claiming he??s known Giuliani for a very long time, Nunes insisted that he was speaking to the former New York City mayor quite a bit in April due to the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller??s report on Russian election interference.??And during that time, if you remember, that was right when Robert Mueller completely bombed and flamed out,? Nunes recalled. ??So, I remember talking to Rudy Giuliani. And we were actually laughing about how Mueller bombed out.?The California lawmaker went on to say that if there were recordings of the calls, ??they are welcome to play them,? as he ??wouldn??t care if the American people found out.???Did you ever talk to this guy Les Parnas or whatever his name is?? Hannity asked, mispronouncing the Giuliani henchman??s name while acting like he barely knows who Parnas is.??You know, it??s possible,? Nunes replied. ??I haven??t gone through my phone records. I don??t really recall that name.???I remember the name now because he has been indicted,? the conservative congressman added. ??Why would CNN rely on somebody like this? I will go back and check my records, but it seems very unlikely I will be taking calls from random people.?The phone logs, meanwhile, showed that one of the calls between Parnas and Nunes lasted nearly nine minutes.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.
Trump ??was p****d?? about Giuliani??s claim he had insurance in case president turned on him
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 06:22:36 -0500
Rudy Giuliani??s claim he had an ??insurance policy? in the event Donald Trump turned on him angered the president so much he barred him from appearing on Fox News, it has been claimed.In an interview with Fox and Friends host Ed Henry last month, Mr Giuliani attempted to shrug off assertions he could used as a scapegoat by the US president as impeachment evidence mounts against him.
Navy warship seizes suspected Iran missile parts set for Yemen
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 16:51:42 -0500
A Navy warship has seized a ??significant cache? of suspected Iranian guided missile parts headed to rebels in Yemen, U.S. officials said Wednesday, marking the first time that such sophisticated components have been taken en route to the war there.
'The world is laughing at President Trump': Biden campaigns off of NATO moment
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 22:30:24 -0500
Biden released an ad capitalizing on the viral video showing NATO leaders chuckling about Trump, saying that the "world is laughing at" the president.
Ukraine threatens to wall off part of Donbass region if no agreement with Russia
Thu, 05 Dec 2019 05:23:56 -0500
A top Ukrainian presidential aide on Thursday said Ukraine would wall off the rest of the country from occupied territories if Russia failed to agree to a ceasefire and prisoner swap at a summit in Paris next week. If Russia doesn't want to agree to a deal "in this case we will be building a wall and life will go on," Andriy Yermak said at a forum in London. The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany will meet on Monday for the first time in more than three years to try to end a conflict in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed forces and Ukrainian troops that has killed more than 13,000 people.
Are China's 'Unsinkable Aircraft Carriers' in the South China Sea In Trouble?
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 00:30:00 -0500
??Rumors suggest the new islands?? concrete is crumbling and their foundations turning to sponge in a hostile climate. And that is before considering what a direct hit from a super-typhoon might do.?
Florida Keys Deliver a Hard Message: As Seas Rise, Some Places Can't Be Saved
Thu, 05 Dec 2019 08:15:05 -0500
KEY WEST, Fla. -- Officials in the Florida Keys announced what many coastal governments nationwide have long feared, but few have been willing to admit: As seas rise and flooding gets worse, not everyone can be saved.And in some places, it doesn't even make sense to try.On Wednesday morning, Rhonda Haag, the county's sustainability director, released the first results of the county's yearslong effort to calculate how high its 300 miles of roads must be elevated to stay dry, and at what cost. Those costs were far higher than her team expected -- and those numbers, she said, show that some places can't be protected, at least at a price that taxpayers can be expected to pay."I never would have dreamed we would say 'no,'" Haag said in an interview. "But now, with the real estimates coming in, it's a different story. And it's not all doable."The results released Wednesday focus on a single 3-mile stretch of road at the southern tip of Sugarloaf Key, a small island 15 miles up U.S. Highway 1 from Key West. To keep those 3 miles of road dry year-round in 2025 would require raising it by 1.3 feet, at a cost of $75 million, or $25 million per mile. Keeping the road dry in 2045 would mean elevating it 2.2 feet, at a cost of $128 million. To protect against expected flooding levels in 2060, the cost would jump to $181 million.And all that to protect about two dozen homes."I can't see staff recommending to raise this road," Haag said. "Those are taxpayer dollars, and as much as we love the Keys, there's going to be a time when it's going to be less population."The people who live on that 3-mile stretch of road were less understanding. If the county feels that other parts of the Keys ought to be saved, said Leon Mense, a 63-year-old office manager at a medical clinic, then at least don't make him pay for it."So somebody in the city thinks they deserve more of my tax money than I do?" Manse asked. "Then don't charge us taxes, how does that sound?"She suggested the county could offer residents a ferry, water taxis, or some other kind of boat during the expanding window during which the road is expected to go underwater during the fall high tides."If that's three months a year for the next 20 years, and that gets them a decade or two, that's perhaps worth it," Haag said. "We can do a lot. But we can't do it all."At a climate change conference in Key West on Wednesday, Roman Gastesi, the Monroe County manager, said elected leaders will have to figure out how to make those difficult calls."How do you tell somebody, 'We're not going to build the road to get to your home'? And what do we do?" Gastesi asked. "Do we buy them out? And how do we buy them out -- is it voluntary? Is it eminent domain? How do we do that?"Administrators and elected officials are going to have to start to rely on a "word nobody likes to use," Gastesi said, "and that's 'retreat.'"The county's elected officials must now decide whether to accept that recommendation. The mayor of Monroe County, Heather Carruthers, said she hopes the cost of raising the roads turns out to be lower than what her staff have found, as the need for adaptation leads to better technology.Still, Carruthers said, "We can't protect every single house."Asked how she expected residents would respond, Carruthers said she expects pushback. "I'm sure that some of them will be very irate, and we'll probably face some lawsuits," she said. "But we can't completely keep the water away."The odds of the county winning future possible lawsuits over the policy are unclear. The novelty of what the Keys' officials are proposing is perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that nobody can say for certain whether it's legally defensible.The law generally requires local governments to maintain roads and other infrastructure, because failure to do so will reduce the property value of surrounding homes, according to Erin Deady, a lawyer who specializes in climate and land-use law and is a consultant to the county on adapting to rising seas. But local officials retain the right to decide whether or not to upgrade or enhance that infrastructure.What's unclear, Deady said, is whether raising a road to prevent it from going underwater is more akin to maintaining or upgrading. That's because no court has yet ruled on the issue."The law hasn't caught up with that," Deady said.She said she thinks the county is within its rights to refuse to elevate the road at the end of Sugarloaf Key, so long as it's transparent about the rationale for that decision. "At some point, there's an economic consideration," she said. "We can't manage every condition."The debates over county spending and legal precedents will determine the future of Old State Road 4A, two lanes of asphalt tucked between mangroves that mostly obscure the water threatening it from all around. On a recent afternoon, the only signs of life on this road were the occasional passing car, along with the gates many of the road's few residents have erected to keep unwanted visitors out of their driveways.Henry Silverman, a retired teacher from Long Island in New York, bought a house on the southern edge of Sugarloaf Key 10 years ago. The building's first floor is 18 feet off the ground; a boardwalk cuts through a forest of mangroves to his boat launch. His wife, Melissa, said that when farmers burn sugar cane in Cuba, 90 miles to the south, they can see the plumes of smoke from their roof and even smell the sugar.Still, climate change is encroaching on their treehouse paradise. Hurricane Irma in 2017 blew out their screens and pushed water through the windows. Each high tide brings the saltwater a little bit closer, killing the palm trees under the deck and popping the wooden slats off the boardwalk. The couple used to fly down from Long Island in a Cessna, until one day the runway at the island's airport was underwater."What's government for? They're supposed to protect your property," Silverman said from behind the wheel of his shallow skiff boat on a recent afternoon.The couple listed the variety of jobs that depend on the people who live on this street: Landscapers, construction workers, caterers, carpenters, the restaurants up the road. "There's a lot of trickle-down," Silverman said.Still, he conceded that it might be difficult to generate sympathy among the broader public for the plight of this neighborhood. "Nobody feels sorry for anybody living down here," Silverman said, gesturing across the water to the gated mansions that line the shore.Mense, who lives in the last house on the road, suggested that officials focus instead on slowing global warming, without which no amount of adaptation will be enough for these islands."Maybe we should think about stopping, or trying to stop, the cause of the water rising," Mense said. "At what point will the road be high enough?"Others seemed resigned. Georgia Siegel, a 73-year-old yoga teacher who grew up in Buffalo, New York, and moved here 20 years ago, said that if the government decided this area can't be sustained, she would simply leave."What am I going to do?" Seigel asked, standing on the narrow beach in front of the home that she and her husband built. "It's a problem that's bigger than me."Not everyone was so sanguine about the prospect. A woman who lives in one of the more modest homes along this road, who asked not to be identified for fear that discussing flooding would hurt her property value, said she worried what the county's plans mean for her future."This is all I have," she said, gesturing to her house next to the water. "If that road goes under, I go under."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
Activists apologize for use of Holocaust victims?? remains
Thu, 05 Dec 2019 03:02:19 -0500
An activist group has apologized to Jewish organizations outraged over their use of purported Holocaust victims?? remains in an installation outside Germany??s parliament building meant to draw attention to the perils of far-right extremism. The Center for Political Beauty, a Germany-based activist group known for provocative stunts, installed an urn outside the Reichtstag building on Monday, saying it contained victims?? remains that it had unearthed from 23 locations near Nazi death and concentration camps in Germany, Poland and Ukraine. Following the uproar from Jewish organizations decrying the stunt as an instrumentalization of the Holocaust and an affront to the dead, the group apologized and by Thursday morning the urn had been wrapped in opaque black plastic so its contents could not be seen.
William Barr warned that communities that don't 'support and respect' cops could lose 'the police protection they need'
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 10:31:39 -0500
Attorney General William Barr was speaking at a ceremony honoring police officers, but at one point pivoted to chastise certain "communities."
Police chief firing puts spotlight on cops who let him go
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 18:11:13 -0500
When fellow officers discovered Chicago??s police chief asleep behind the wheel of his running SUV, they did not conduct any sobriety tests and let their boss drive home ?? a decision that has thrown a spotlight on what happens when one officer confronts another on patrol. ??It??s a worst-nightmare situation for a police officer to encounter their superior or chief who has been drinking,? said Philip Stinson, a criminal justice professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
Norwegian, Holland America win big in Cruise Critics awards 2019
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 07:09:29 -0500
From the best new ocean liner of 2019 to the best cruises for food, families and high rollers, experts at Cruise Critic have released their picks of the best cruise lines of the last year.
In Gaza, 'American hospital' fuels suspicions
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 10:19:37 -0500
Volunteers with a US Christian charity group pose for a selfie in front of tents and crates of equipment to build a contentious new field hospital on the Israel-Gaza border. The facility, to be located right next to a crossing into Israel, has rare joint support from the Jewish state and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas as part of an informal truce deal.
ICE: Protest at Louisiana jail ends after pepper spray used
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 11:58:48 -0500
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said officers inside one of its Louisiana jails pepper-sprayed migrants to end their protest over prolonged detention. Spokesman Bryan Cox said Wednesday that ??a brief, calculated use of pepper spray was employed? during a Tuesday protest at the Winn Correctional Center in rural Winnfield. Cox said about 50 migrants were pepper-sprayed and the protesters ??subsequently became compliant.? Cox said medical staff evaluated anyone who came into contact with the pepper spray and no injuries were reported.
North Korea's Underground Air Bases Would Be Key In a War Against America
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 21:00:00 -0500
Keep it secret, keep it safe.
Harvard grad student workers go on strike, seeking $25 an hour minimum wage, other demands
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 13:41:11 -0500
Harvard graduate student workers went on strike Tuesday, becoming the first Harvard academic employees to launch a work stoppage in decades.
Clinton Donors Charged in Massive Campaign-Finance Scheme
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 09:58:44 -0500
Eight people, including major Hillary Clinton donors and a witness in the Mueller investigation, have been charged in a massive campaign-finance scheme, the Justice Department announced on Tuesday.The individuals conspired to "make and conceal conduit and excessive campaign contributions" valued around $3.5 million in the 2016 election campaign and beyond, according to the announcement. Although the indictment does not specifically name the recipient of the donations, it is clear that the contributions went to groups allied with Clinton??s presidential campaign.One of those charged, George Nader, is a Lebanese American businessman who was a witness in the Mueller report. Nader was also caught in 2018 in possession of child pornography, but received partial immunity in exchange for testimony in the Mueller investigation. He faces between 15 to 40 years in prison if convicted on child-pornography charges.Also indicted on campaign-finance charges was Ahmad ??Andy? Khawaja, who hosted a fundraiser for Clinton in Los Angeles in 2016 and who conspired to conceal campaign donations from 2016 to 2018. Khawaja owns an online-payments company used by, among others, debt collectors, offshore gamblers, and pornographers. The company has made numerous campaign donations to both Democrats and Republicans.Nader also gained access to the Trump administration, meeting with the president on several occasions. Nader has experience in international diplomacy, has served as a diplomatic conduit to the Middle East and Russia, and was an informal adviser to the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates.
Conman sets up fake Russia border with Finland to trick migrants
Thu, 05 Dec 2019 05:20:28 -0500
Border guards in Russia??s north west last week arrested a man who had set up a bogus border outpost with Finland and taken thousands of euros from migrants for what they thought was a journey through the woods to the European Union. The man, who was only identified as a citizen of one of the former Soviet Union republics, put up border posts in the forest outside St Petersburg and charged four men from South Asia more than 10,000 euros (£8,400) for his services for smuggling them into neighbouring Finland, Russia??s Border Guard Service said on Wednesday. Russia??s 1,340-kilometer border with Finland mostly runs across sparsely populated areas in the forest, offering a relatively easy way for migrants to get into the European Union. The Russian Border Guard Service said that the conman took the migrants on a trip out of town and led them to the bogus Russian-Finnish border where he left them. The conman apparently took the trouble to fake the migrant journey so meticulously that he even carried a dingy with him. The Komsomolskya Pravda daily said that the four men were from Sri Lanka and that they were detained when they reached a real Russian border guard outpost. A video released by authorities showed four men with their hands up standing in a dark forest. ??The incredible adventures of the foreigners in the stillness of the night ended with a ruling of the Vyborg district court,? the Border Guards said in a statement. The men were fined and deported out of Russia. Authorities did not specify their nationalities. The unidentified smuggler now faces charges of fraud. The Russian border with Finland became a popular destination for asylum seekers at the end of the 2015 migrant crisis in Europe. In 2016, Russia and Finland even briefly restricted access at two crossings only to the citizens of Finland, Russia, and Belarus, plus their family members, following a hike in the number of asylum seekers. Russians living in the border areas were at that time offering the migrants help to get to the border crossing with Finland.
Khamenei orders Iran unrest victims treated as 'martyrs'
Thu, 05 Dec 2019 08:12:01 -0500
Iran's supreme leader has agreed that people killed in nationwide unrest last month who had no role in fomenting it should be treated as "martyrs" with their families compensated. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's decision marked a significant softening of position by the Iranian authorities towards those killed during the protests that erupted on November 15 following a surprise hike in fuel prices. Iran has yet to give overall figures for the number of people killed or arrested when security forces moved in to quell the unrest that saw buildings torched and shops looted.
Huawei urging suppliers to break the law by moving offshore - U.S. Commerce chief
Tue, 03 Dec 2019 17:05:37 -0500
China's telecoms giant Huawei has been encouraging its suppliers to violate U.S. law by telling them to move operations offshore in a bid to avoid U.S. sanctions, Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross told Reuters on Tuesday. In May, the U.S. government placed Huawei Technologies Co Ltd on a trade blacklist known as the entity list, over national security concerns, forcing some suppliers to apply for special licenses to sell equipment to the company. On Tuesday, Ross said in an interview that those frustrations extended to a push from Huawei to move its supply chain overseas.
Postal worker shot at a Virginia post office
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 17:52:43 -0500
Authorities say a postal worker has been shot at a northern Virginia post office by an agent for the Postal Service's Inspector General's office. News outletsreport that it happened Wednesday morning at the parking lot of the Lovettsville post office in Loudoun County. The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office is investigating the shooting along with the inspector general's office.
Pete Buttigieg and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez got into a nasty fight over free public college. It's part of a larger battle between progressive and centrist Democrats.
Tue, 03 Dec 2019 16:24:28 -0500
Buttigieg recently introduced his college affordability plan and took a swipe at his 2020 competitors who want public college to be tuition-free.
Soldier stationed in Afghanistan raises thousands to bring home his buddy, Sully the cat
Tue, 03 Dec 2019 18:18:23 -0500
Funding is a challenge for this Afghanistan animal rescue. To get a cat to the U.S., it generally costs $3,000 or more and for a dog, up to $5,000.
??The View?? Host Abby Huntsman Defends Kellyanne Conway: ??She??s Been Getting Bullied??
Tue, 03 Dec 2019 12:19:02 -0500
The public contention between White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and her husband, anti-Trump conservative lawyer George Conway, reached a new level this week when Kellyanne tweeted, ??Sleepy Joe is Creepy Joe. We need Ukraine??s help to defeat THIS guy?? and George replied, ??Your boss apparently thought so.? Or as Joy Behar put it Tuesday morning on The View: ??America's strangest lovebirds are at it again.? Serving as guest co-host for the day, Ronan Farrow attempted to put a ??journalistic? spin on the story by highlighting the time Kellyanne Conway tried to bad mouth her husband ??on background? to a reporter without realizing she was on the record. ??It??s delightful to constantly watch them go at each other,? Farrow said. ??I think that they have a really sick relationship,? Meghan McCain added, once again claiming that she and her husband would never behave this way in public. ??The idea that me and my husband would be somehow feuding with each other over our work, I just think it's gross,? she said. ??I don't know why America has to be subjected to the marital problems.? At the same time, McCain seemed to resent the fact that George Conway has become a ??resistance celebrity? because of his relationship with Kellyanne. ??And as a result, he craps all over her on Twitter all day and I think it's very disrespectful. And I don't like her and I don??t like the Trump Administration, but I don't like this either.? ??The View??s?? Abby Huntsman Finally Convinced Trump??s a Criminal: ??This Is Extortion??But ultimately it was Abby Huntsman who really went out on a limb to take Kellyanne Conway??s side. ??The whole thing??s uncomfortable,? she said. ??I don??t like talking about it at this table, I don??t like reading it on Twitter. And I??m not the biggest fan of what??s going on right now in the White House, but Kellyanne has been getting bullied.? ??She??s been getting bullied?!? Behar shot back. ??She works for the Bully-in-Chief!? Even McCain agreed, pushing back on Huntsman by saying Kellyanne ??can dish it out, too.? Meghan McCain Explains Why Kellyanne Conway Will Never Betray TrumpRead more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet 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.
Two of four teens who escaped juvenile detention center found outside Tennessee apartments
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 11:10:14 -0500
Metro Nashville police arrested the teens, who escaped Saturday, outside an apartment complex in Madison, Tennessee. Two are still on the loose.
'Jews are France', says Emmanuel Macron after 107 Jewish graves desecrated in anti-Semitic attack
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 10:19:31 -0500
President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to fight anti-Semitism saying ??Jews are and make France? after 107 graves were desecrated at a Jewish cemetery in the northeast of the country. The daubing of swastikas and other anti-Semitic graffiti on the graves at the cemetery in Westhoffen around 15 miles west of Strasbourg in the Alsace region was the latest racist attack to shock the country. "Jews are and make France," President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. "Those who attack them, even their graves, are not worthy of the idea we have of France." "Anti-Semitism is a crime and we will fight it in Westhoffen as everywhere until our dead can sleep in peace," he added. In response to the latest in a string of such acts of anti-Semitic vandalism, France is to open a national bureau to lead the fight against hate crimes. The office, which would be part of France's gendarmerie, will be charged with investigating this crime but also all anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim and anti-Christian acts, said interior minister Christophe Castaner. France is to create a bureau against hate crimes Credit: ARND WIEGMANN/ REUTERS "The Republic itself has been desecrated," said Mr Castaner said after visiting the cemetery, which dates from the 16th century. The Alsace region has suffered a rash of racist vandalism over the past year, most notably the desecration of 96 tombs at a cemetery in Quatzenheim in February, which sparked nationwide outrage. The rising number of anti-Jewish offences reported to police - up 74 percent in 2018 from the previous year - has caused alarm in the country that is home to both the biggest Jewish and the biggest Muslim communities in Europe. Earlier this year, politicians from across the spectrum joined marches against anti-Semitism amid fears of a rise around the continent. They denounced a surge in attacks that some commentators blamed on incitement by Islamist preachers, others on the rise of anti-Zionism - opposition to the existence of Israel as a homeland for the Jewish people. The graves were desecrated just hours before French MPs adopted a resolution equating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. On Tuesday evening, French MPs approved a non-legally binding resolution modelled on the definition of anti-Semitism set by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). The IHRA definition, which serves as an international guideline, does not reference ??anti-Zionism? but does say denying Jews their right to self-determination is anti-Semitic. The World Jewish Congress hailed France??s step. ??For too long too many have used the excuse that their obsessive criticism of Israel stands exclusive from their otherwise positive feelings for the Jewish people. Those days are now over,? it said. Debate over the resolution split Mr Macron??s ruling La Republique En Marche party, with some opponents saying it could smother freedom of expression in criticising the Israeli government. Backers said it merely targeted those who refused to recognise the existence of Israel or sought its destruction.
Tucker Carlson Blasts ??Moron?? Pamela Karlan: ??This Lady Needs a Shrink??
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 21:29:04 -0500
Fox News host Tucker Carlson began his show Wednesday night by lashing out at impeachment witness Pamela Karlan, claiming the Stanford law professor was a ??moron? who was in ??need of a shrink.?After insisting that Karlan??s testimony during the House Judiciary Committee's impeachment hearing was ??insane and dumb,? the Fox News star went on to blast the legal expert over her wordplay pun in which she invoked the name of President Donald Trump??s 13-year-old son to make a point about the Constitution. (An analogy she later apologized for in the wake of outrage from conservatives.)??It was petty and dumb,? Carlson seethed. ??Not surprising though. Karlan has made remarks like this before. She previously suggested that Jeff Sessions was evil. Why? Because of the name his parents gave him.?Labeling the Stanford professor a ??mediocrity,? Carlson dug up footage of Karlan speaking in 2006, featuring her saying the following remarks: ??We have to seize back the high ground on patriotism and love of our country because we have more reason than they do to love America. The rich, pampered prodigal sanctimonious incurious white, straight sons of the powerful do pretty well everywhere in the world and they always have.?Snarking that she had ??embraced the great a-woke-ning? before the rest of the left, Carlson then took a number of personal potshots at Karlan.??This lady needs a shrink,? he growled. ????The sons of the powerful??? Really? You are a law professor at Stanford and you are lecturing other people how they are powerful? Right.???This is the legendary scholar coming down from on high to tell us who is good and who is evil,? Carlson concluded. ??Please, what a mediocrity. What a moron.?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.
Sailor kills 2 civilians, self at Pearl Harbor shipyard
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 20:22:26 -0500
An active duty U.S. sailor whose submarine was docked at Pearl Harbor opened fire on three civilian employees Wednesday, killing two and then taking his own life just days before dignitaries and veterans descend on the base for the 78th anniversary of the Japanese attack. The commander of Navy Region Hawaii, Rear Adm. Robert Chadwick, said he didn??t know the motive behind the shooting at the Hawaii base??s naval shipyard that left the third civilian Department of Defense employee hospitalized. The sailor was assigned to the fast attack submarine USS Columbia, which is at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for maintenance.
Thousands of animals sacrificed in Nepal Hindu ritual amid outcry
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 08:31:20 -0500
Tens of thousands of devout Hindus thronged a temple in southern Nepal where thousands of animals and birds were sacrificed this week, amid an outcry from animal rights activists who said the ritual was a cruel and gruesome spectacle. The ceremony, held every five years at the Gadhimai temple in Bara in southern Nepal, is believed to be the largest such mass-slaughter event in the world and animal rights activists have been campaigning to end the practice for years. About 80% of Nepal's 30 million population are Hindus and many sacrifice animals to appease deities during festivals.
U.S. trade deficit narrows to 1-1/2-year low on weak imports, exports
Thu, 05 Dec 2019 08:38:38 -0500
The U.S. trade deficit dropped to its lowest level in nearly 1-1/2 years in October, suggesting trade could contribute to economic growth in the fourth quarter, though a fall in imports of consumer goods hinted at a slowdown in domestic demand. The Commerce Department said on Thursday the trade deficit tumbled 7.6% to $47.2 billion, the smallest since May 2018, as both imports and exports of goods declined. The decreases in imports and exports suggested the White House's "America First" agenda, marked by a 17-month trade war with China, was reducing trade flows.
Why Iran's 'Stealth' Qaher 313 Is Nothing to Fear
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 00:15:00 -0500
A sad excuse for a plane.
Colombia: thousands take to the streets in third national strike in two weeks
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 14:22:35 -0500
Protests put more pressure on unpopular president Iván Duque, who is engaged in a ??national dialogue?? with strike organisers Colombians have taken to the streets for a third national strike in two weeks, piling more pressure on the unpopular rightwing president, Iván Duque, and his proposed tax reforms.Thousands thronged the streets of Bogotá, the capital, shutting down much of the city??s historic centre, indicating that the unrest will continue while Duque engages in a ??national dialogue? with strike organisers.??We??ll be out on the streets until Duque listens to us,? said Andres López, a student at a gathering on one of Bogotá??s main commercial streets. ??We??re not scared of the government.?Hundreds of thousands of people joined the first national strike on 21 November, and have turned out in daily demonstrations since then, initially sparked by proposed cuts to pensions.Though that reform was never formally announced, it became a lightning rod for widespread dissatisfaction with the government of Duque, whose approval rating has dropped to just 26% since he took office in August last year.Protesters are also angry at the lack of support for the historic 2016 peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), which formally ended five decades of civil war that killed 260,000 and forced more than 7 million to flee their homes.Others are protesting in defense of indigenous people and rural activists, who continue to be murdered at alarming rates. A recent airstrike against a camp of dissident rebel drug traffickers left at least eight minors dead, adding to protesters?? fury.While most of the protests have been peaceful, some property was vandalised when the demonstrations first broke out. Police have often responded with teargas and ??less lethal? bean bag rounds and flash bangs.One 18-year-old protester, Dilan Cruz, was killed by riot police after being shot in the head with a bean bag on 23 November. The incident infuriated demonstrators and led strike organisers to demand the dismantling of Esmad, Colombia??s feared riot police squadron, who they accuse of readily using excessive force.Four others have also died across the country in connection with the protests.The rage could be felt on Wednesday as protesters shouted ??murderers? as they marched past police officers.Strike organisers are also demanding the scrapping of proposed economic reforms and that the government honour the peace deal.Despite the ongoing demonstrations, some analysts suspect that Christmas could offer Duque a much-needed reprieve.??The protests will take a break for the holiday season, unless something egregious happens, and are likely to pick up in the new year,? said Sergio Guzmán, the director of Colombia Risk Analysis. ??The big risk is if the protests transcend their urban nature and spill over into rural areas.?
Robert Mugabe died with $10m in cash and several houses, but left no will
Tue, 03 Dec 2019 12:30:02 -0500
The wealth of Zimbabwe's former longtime president Robert Mugabe was long a mystery. Now the first official list of assets to be made public says he left behind $10 million and several houses when he died in September. Some in Zimbabwe view that estate as far too modest for Mugabe, who ruled for 37 years and was accused by critics of accumulating vast riches and presiding over grand corruption. The report by the state-run Herald newspaper on Tuesday does not mention any overseas assets, though it is thought that Mugabe had properties in neighboring South Africa and in Asia. The report says there appears to be no will, though lawyers are still looking for one. The report cites the lawyers as saying the law stipulates that Mugabe's wife, Grace, and children will inherit the property in that case. Mugabe also left behind a farm, 10 cars and 11 hectares (27 acres) of land that included an orchard at his rural home where he was buried. His daughter, Bona, registered the estate on behalf of the family, the report said. Mugabe's wife Grace will inherit his assets if no will is found Credit: REUTERS/Howard Burditt More than a dozen farms are publicly known to have been seized from both black and white farmers by the late strongman's family. Mugabe died of cancer in a Singapore hospital at age 95 nearly two years after he was forced by Zimbabwe's military and ruling party to resign. Many in the southern African nation say the country he left behind has fallen deeper into economic and political crisis, with a growing hunger problem that a United Nations expert last month called "shocking" for a state not at war. Half of Zimbabwe's population, or more than 7 million people, is experiencing severe hunger, the UN World Food Program said Tuesday. Critics blame the administration of Emmerson Mnangagwa, the president, who has struggled to fulfil promises of prosperity since taking power in 2017.
Florida Republican: 'We should hang?? treasonous Democrats
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 16:40:02 -0500
Local and national GOP leaders distanced themselves Wednesday from a Florida congressional candidate who sent a fundraising letter stating that ??anti-American radical Democrats? should be hung for treason. Omar was born in Somalia and came to the U.S. as a child. In the recent letter to potential donors, he said that ??we should hang? Omar and other ??traitors? for ??abusing our system to destroy our country.? He mentioned ??tinfoil hat accusations? against President Donald Trump, but didn't elaborate.
Attorney General Barr's hand-picked prosecutor said he can't back a 'deep state' theory that the Russia probe was an anti-Trump conspiracy
Thu, 05 Dec 2019 06:49:38 -0500
Trump has long claimed that the Russia probe was a partisan hit job, but a prosecutor hired by Barr has not found any facts to back the theory.
N.Korea warns Trump it will use 'corresponding' force if attacked
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 11:49:29 -0500
North Korea on Wednesday warned that if the United States used military force against Pyongyang it would take "prompt corresponding actions at any level", in response to comments by US President Donald Trump. Denuclearisation negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington have been deadlocked since a summit in Hanoi broke up in February, and the renewed threats come as a deadline set by Pyongyang for fresh concessions approaches. Trump on Tuesday indicated that military action was still possible when he was asked about North Korea on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Britain on Tuesday.
China Built The DF-26 Missile To Take Down America's Prized Aircraft Carriers
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 11:30:00 -0500
Don't underestimate these missiles.
House Democrats to vote on restoration of Voting Rights Act this month
Tue, 03 Dec 2019 14:07:06 -0500
House Democrats will vote this month on a bill intended to lay the foundation for a restoration of the full Voting Rights Act, a significant step in a years-long effort to respond to a 2013 Supreme Court decision that significantly weakened the law.
18 Clever-Approved Coat Racks You Don??t Need to Hide
Tue, 03 Dec 2019 14:44:25 -0500
'In cold blood': Syria Kurds say killed, robbed by Turkey proxies
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 20:47:38 -0500
Syrian Kurdish mother Shara Sido says the news came to her via a messaging application. Sitting inside a modest house in the de-facto Syrian Kurdish capital of Qamishli, the displaced 65-year-old scrolls through her phone to find a picture. Turkish troops and their Syrian proxies have overrun a swathe of northern Syria since October, after a deadly military campaign against Kurdish forces that caused tens of thousands to flee their homes.
Russia's Very Own A-10 Warthog? Meet Moscow's Su-25
Thu, 05 Dec 2019 00:30:00 -0500
Let's have a look.
Warren Is Drafting U.S. Legislation to Reverse ??Mega Mergers??
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 18:43:24 -0500
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is drafting a bill that would call on regulators to retroactively review about two decades of ??mega mergers? and ban such deals going forward.Warren??s staff recently circulated a proposal for sweeping anti-monopoly legislation, which would deliver on a presidential campaign promise to check the power of Big Tech and other industries. Although the Trump administration is currently exploring their own antitrust probes, the proposal is likely to face resistance from lawmakers.According to a draft of the bill reviewed by Bloomberg, the proposal would expand antitrust law beyond the so-called consumer welfare standard, an approach that has driven antitrust policy since the 1970s. Under the current framework, the federal government evaluates mergers primarily based on potential harm to consumers through higher prices or decreased quality. The new bill would direct the government to also consider the impact on entrepreneurs, innovation, privacy and workers.Warren??s bill, tentatively titled the Anti-Monopoly and Competition Restoration Act, would also ban non-compete and no-poaching agreements for workers and protect the rights of gig economy workers, such as drivers for Uber Technologies Inc., to organize.A draft of Warren??s bill was included in an email Monday from Spencer Waller, the director of the Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies at Loyola University Chicago. Waller urged fellow academics to sign a petition supporting it. He said Warren was working on the bill with Representative David Cicilline, the most prominent voice on antitrust issues in the House. Waller declined to comment on the email.Representatives for Cicilline and Warren declined to comment. The existence of the bill and Warren??s support of it were reported earlier this week by the technology publication the Information.In Washington, there is some support across the political spectrum for increased antitrust scrutiny of large technology companies. Warren positioned herself as a leader on the issue this year while campaigning on a plan to break up Big Tech. She has repeatedly called for unwinding Facebook Inc.??s acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram, along with Google??s purchase of YouTube and advertising platform DoubleClick.Read more: Warren Accuses Michael Bloomberg of ??Buying the Election??It??s not clear when a bill would be introduced or whether it would move forward in its current form. Cicilline has said he would not introduce antitrust legislation until he concludes an antitrust investigation for the House Judiciary Committee in early 2020.Amy Klobuchar, a Senator from Minnesota who??s also vying for the Democratic nomination, has pushed legislation covering similar ground. Klobuchar plans to introduce additional antitrust legislation soon, according to a person familiar with the matter who wasn??t authorized to discuss the plans and asked not to be identified.Any proposal would face significant hurdles to becoming law, and Warren??s version could be particularly problematic because it promotes the idea that antitrust enforcement is equivalent to being against big business, said Barak Orbach, a law professor at the University of Arizona who received a draft of the bill. ??The way I read it is that Elizabeth Warren is trying to make a political statement in the course of her campaign,? Orbach said. ??It??s likely to have negative effects on antitrust enforcement, so I just don??t see the upside other than for the campaign.?The bill proposes a ban on mergers where one company has annual revenue of more $40 billion, or where both companies have sales exceeding $15 billion, except under certain exceptions, such as when a company is in immediate danger of insolvency. That would seemingly put a freeze on many acquisitions for Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc., Facebook, Microsoft Corp. and dozens of other companies. The bill would also place new limitations on smaller mergers.Chris Sagers, a law professor at Cleveland State University, said the proposal would serve as an effective check on corporate power. ??I don??t think you??ll have new antitrust policy until Congress says the courts have incorrectly interpreted the statutes,? he said. ??Someone has to do what Elizabeth Warren is doing.?(Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)To contact the reporters on this story: Eric Newcomer in San Francisco at enewcomer@bloomberg.net;Joshua Brustein in New York at jbrustein@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Milian at mmilian@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Thai cave dive hero fights back tears as he tells court ??life sentence with no parole?? inflicted by Elon Musk
Thu, 05 Dec 2019 05:48:00 -0500
A British diver who helped rescue a dozen boys trapped in a cave in Thailand fought back tears as he told a court Elon Musk's "pedo guy" slur amounted to ??a life sentence with no parole?.Vernon Unsworth choked up on Wednesday as he testified against the Tesla CEO during a defamation trial in Los Angeles.
Judge dismisses lawsuit in 1930s gangster John Dillinger case
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 16:29:47 -0500
A judge dismissed a lawsuit Wednesday by a nephew of 1930s gangster John Dillinger who wants to exhume the notorious criminal's Indianapolis gravesite to prove whether he's actually buried there, ruling that he must get the cemetery's permission.
Macron fact-checks Trump to his face for false claim on Isis fighters: ??Let??s be serious??
Tue, 03 Dec 2019 11:53:47 -0500
The president of France fact-checked Donald Trump??s claims about European Isis fighters in real time during a tense meeting between the two world leaders at the Nato summit in London.Emmanuel Macron said that, while Isis fighters from Europe are ??a tiny minority of the overall problem?, the majority of those detained in Syria are not ??mostly from Europe? as Mr Trump has previously claimed.
2020 Democrats Expose Extreme Abortion Policies in New Survey
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 06:30:13 -0500
The New York Times has released the results from a set of questions posed to each Democratic presidential candidate about his or her views on abortion. Thus far in the primary race, very few of the candidates have been pushed to account for their position on a variety of abortion policies, especially during the debates. The Times should be commended for this effort to get candidates on the record on specific policy questions.Five candidates did not complete the survey: Montana governor Steve Bullock (who has since exited the race), former Housing and Urban Development secretary Julian Castro, former Maryland congressman John Delaney, Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and California senator Kamala Harris (who ended her campaign yesterday).The survey is the first time that most candidates were asked whether they support restrictions on abortion procedures after fetal viability, usually somewhere around 21 weeks?? gestation, the earliest a premature infant has survived. Only Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar suggested that regulations could be acceptable, saying they ??must be consistent with Roe v. Wade,? which would allow states to limit abortion in the third trimester with an exception for women??s health. (It??s worth noting that Roe companion case Doe v. Bolton defined ??health? expansively to include financial, emotional, and familial health, making it difficult for states to limit abortion practically speaking.)Most candidates offered some form of a ??no,? including Colorado senator Michael Bennet, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, billionaire Tom Steyer, and New Jersey senator Cory Booker. Several candidates offered longer explanations, repeating the common claim that post-viability abortions are rare and only take place in the case of medical emergencies.??The fact is that less than 1 percent of abortions take place after 24 weeks of pregnancy,? South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg said. ??They often involve heartbreaking circumstances in which a person??s health or life is at risk, or when the fetus has a congenital condition that is incompatible with life.?Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren used the same formula. ??Only 1.3 percent of abortions take place at 21 weeks or later, and the reasons are heartbreaking,? she said. ??20-week abortion bans are dangerous and cruel. They would force women to carry an unviable fetus to term or force women with severe health complications to stay pregnant with their lives on the line.?Both Andrew Yang and Marianne Williamson offered similar responses. It??s worth explaining why these are cop-out answers that obfuscate the truth about late-term abortion. Just over 1 percent of abortions after 20 weeks does sound rare, until you consider that the pro-choice Guttmacher Institute also estimates about 926,000 annual abortions, meaning that 12,000 abortions happen after viability. That means there are more post-viability abortions each year than gun homicides.Contrary to the Democratic narrative, plenty of women obtain third-trimester abortions for reasons other than a fetal-health condition (and it is certainly debatable whether it??s ??medically necessary? to kill unborn human beings with an illness or disability). In this interview, a U.S. doctor who performs third-trimester abortions says ??a large percentage of our patients had no idea that they were pregnant? until late in pregnancy and that they then obtain an abortion at her clinic. There are a few clinics in the U.S. that advertise late-term elective abortions, including Southwestern Women??s Options, a facility in Albuquerque, N.M., that performs elective abortions through 32 weeks of pregnancy.A 2013 Guttmacher article reported that ??data suggest that most women seeking later terminations are not doing so for reasons of fetal anomaly or life endangerment.? Rather, they most often do so for reasons such as ??they were raising children alone, were depressed or using illicit substances, were in conflict with a male partner or experiencing domestic violence, had trouble deciding and then had access problems, or were young and nulliparous.?These talking points from Democrats are an inaccurate excuse deployed by candidates who refuse to support any regulations on abortion but want to provide cover for that unpopular position by twisting the facts.On several other key questions, meanwhile, all of the candidates are in lockstep, showcasing that support for nearly unlimited abortion, funded by taxpayers, has become a requirement for Democratic politicians with national aspirations. For example, every candidate said he or she wouldn??t so much as consider a running mate who opposes abortion rights, a signal that there is no room at the top of the party for pro-life Democrats.Several candidates answered an additional survey question about whether ??opponents of abortion rights? should be welcomed as members or candidates in the party. Two non-politician candidates, Williamson and Yang, said the party should be a ??big tent? free of litmus tests, and Bennet said the party ??is and should be an inclusive one.?Buttigieg, meanwhile, offered a vague reply seeming to suggest that pro-life Democrats are in fact unwelcome. ??Democrats believe every person has the right to make decisions about their own reproductive health and about their body,? he wrote. Warren had a similarly indirect answer: ??We should stand up to any politician who tramples on a personal decision that has health and economic security consequences for women, their future and their families.?Only one candidate, former Pennsylvania congressman Joe Sestak, who has since dropped out of the race, had an answer that articulated what Democrats risk by turning abortion into a litmus test. ??In some cases, I think it is appropriate for the Democratic Party to welcome candidates who oppose abortion rights,? Sestak wrote. ??Such cases could include candidates running in places where a Democrat who supports abortion rights would be unable to win. . . .?Consider the recent reelection of Democratic governor John Bel Edwards in Louisiana, who defeated his Republican challenger by a narrow margin in mid November. Of all the heartbeat bills signed into law earlier this year ?? prohibiting abortion after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which usually takes place around six weeks?? gestation ?? only Louisiana??s was signed by a Democrat: Edwards. Without his pro-life bona fides, Edwards almost surely would??ve lost his seat. If most national Democrats got their way, candidates like him would be excised from the party entirely, to the benefit of Republicans.There was unanimous support among candidates for ??codifying? the Supreme Court??s decision in Roe, though it is unclear how they would do so within the bounds of the Constitution. Every survey respondent expressed support for repealing the Hyde Amendment, a rider that prevents federal funds from directly underwriting abortion procedures. Even Joe Biden ?? who for decades of his public career supported Hyde as a protection for pro-life Americans with whom he says he personally agrees ?? has reversed his position, an indication of the party??s dramatic shift on the issue.??Biden will repeal the Hyde Amendment and use executive action to on his first day in office withdraw the Mexico City ??global gag rule?? and Donald Trump??s Title X restrictions,? Biden??s campaign told the Times in a statement. But despite his willingness to jettison his lifelong stance and drift along with party dogma, Biden didn??t answer two additional questions in the survey: whether he would sign a budget that included Hyde and whether he would require private insurers to cover abortion.Several candidates, including Buttigieg, Warren, Williamson, Yang, Bennet, Booker, and Sanders said they would compel private insurers to cover abortion, a step further even than opposing Hyde.Democrats running for president have made it abundantly clear up to this point that they plan to align their campaigns with their party??s most hard-core supporters of abortion rights. This survey suggests that they??re willing to do so even when it requires exposing their extremism to voters who disagree.
The fired Chicago police superintendent says he made a 'poor decision' on the night he was found asleep at a stop sign with his SUV running
Wed, 04 Dec 2019 10:27:31 -0500
Former Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson said he "did not intentionally mislead or deceive the Mayor or the people of Chicago."
Melania Trump has an icy relationship with second lady Karen Pence, according to a new book
Tue, 03 Dec 2019 12:48:02 -0500
CNN correspondent Kate Bennett reported that Trump kept her distance during travel, and uncharacteristically allowed herself to tower over Pence.
