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Showing posts from October, 2019

Trump Administration Challenges California Sanctuary Law in Supreme Court

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The Trump administration has petitioned the Supreme Court to strike down California's "sanctuary law," which hinders cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.The administration is challenging several provisions in the California Values Act, or S.B. 54. The law prohibits officials from sharing information with ICE about a suspect's release from custody, eliminating any opportunity for ICE agents to take illegal immigrants into custody before they are released from local jails. It also prohibits local law-enforcement officers from sharing physical descriptions of suspects with immigration authorities."The practical consequences of California’s obstruction are not theoretical; as a result of SB 54, criminal aliens have evaded the detention and removal that Congress prescribed, and have instead returned to the civilian population, where they are disproportionately likely to commit additional crimes," the Trump administration

Boeing 'doesn't understand our grief'

Zipporah Kuria's father Joseph Waithaka was one of 157 people killed when a Boeing 737 Max crashed in March. from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/33bRJi5

Liberia's child soldiers: 'I know I killed people'

Miatta says she was forced to fight when she was 14 and can't remember how many people she's killed. from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2qYVCsm

Michelle Obama: White Americans 'still running' from black neighbors

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Michelle Obama said that white Americans are “still running” from their nonwhite fellow citizens during a summit in which she detailed how her own experience of white flight unfolded during her upbringing on Chicago’s South Side. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2osJoqS

China pushes higher 'moral quality' for its citizens

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From budgeting for rural weddings to dressing appropriately and avoiding online porn, China's Communist Party has issued new guidelines to improve the "moral quality" of its citizens. Officials have released several sets of guidelines this week alongside a secretive conclave of high-ranking officials in Beijing which discusses the country's future direction. Public institutions like libraries and youth centres must carry out "targeted moral education" to improve people's ideological awareness and moral standards, according to the rules. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2BZ5uEw

Tucker Carlson and Guest Blame Diversity and ‘Woke’ Culture for California Fires

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Fox NewsFox News host Tucker Carlson and his guest, conservative YouTube personality Dave Rubin, both insisted Tuesday night that the wildfires burning across California are due largely to progressive ideology, “woke” culture, and diversity in hiring.During Tuesday’s broadcast of Tucker Carlson Tonight, Carlson welcomed on Rubin, a political commentator and podcaster, to discuss the issues surrounding the large fires engulfing the state, including those related to the electrical grid and firefighting methods.“PG&E; strikes me as almost a metaphor for the destruction of the state,” Carlson said about the state’s power company. “Here’s the utility which doesn’t really know anything about its own infrastructure but knows everything about the race of its employees. How did we get there?”After noting that he lives near one of the fires in the Los Angeles area, Rubin immediately took aim at liberal politics as the main reason the wildfires have grown so large and dangerous.“The problem r

Man loses foot, another seriously injured in shark attack while snorkeling in Australia

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The shark attack occurred in Hook Passage in the Whitsunday Islands off Australia's Queensland coast, rescuers say. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2BQYklJ

The Latest: Islamic State leader buried at sea, US says

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The head of United States Central Command says Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was buried at sea after a weekend raid on his compound. Gen. Frank McKenzie told reporters Wednesday that al-Baghdadi died after he exploded a suicide vest just before U.S. troops were going to capture him. McKenzie says two children were killed in the explosion set off by the Islamic State leader. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2qR1fsn

The Democrats' impeachment process has a credibility problem

Has the House impeachment inquiry hit a brick wall on credibility? Or have House Democrats decided to call Republicans' bluff?After weeks of refusing to hold a full floor vote to formally launch an impeachment inquiry, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) abruptly changed position this week. A Thursday vote will set out more clear parameters for the ongoing investigation without explicitly declaring an impeachment inquiry, but it's far from clear whether this changes anything appreciably -- or if there's anything to change with the current focus on Ukraine policy as the predicate for impeachment.The bill that emerged Tuesday afternoon appears to directly address some of the key criticisms of House Republicans, who grew so frustrated with the closed hearings that they staged an intervention of sorts last week, breaching the Secure Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) in which the depositions were being taken under the control of House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff. Th

California Governor Accepted Donations from Utility Company He Now Excoriates for ‘Greed’

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California governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom, has accepted large donations from Pacific Gas & Electric Co., a utility company he now excoriates for "greed" and "mismanagement."PG&E has faced widespread criticism for implementing blackouts for millions of customers to avoid sparking wildfires in the midst of California's dry and windy fall weather."I have a message for PG&E," Newsom wrote on Twitter on Friday. "Your years and years of greed. Years and years of mismanagement. Years and years of putting shareholders over people. Are OVER."Newsom and allies accepted $208,400 from the utility during his 2018 gubernatorial campaign, according to local affiliate ABC10. Of that total, $150,000 went to a political spending group called “Citizens Supporting Gavin Newsom for Governor 2018,” while the rest went to directly to Newsom's campaign.PG&E filed for bankruptcy in January 2019. Faulty PG&E electricity equipment has been blam

Prosecutors accuse ex-Trump adviser Flynn of trying to walk-back guilty plea

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U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday accused President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn of making "an extraordinary reversal" to try to undo his sworn admission that he lied to former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigators about his contacts with Russia. Federal prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan for the opportunity to oppose a bid filed by Flynn's lawyers last week to have the case dismissed - even though Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 - because of alleged prosecutorial misconduct. The retired Army lieutenant general and former Trump campaign adviser has pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents about his 2016 conversations with Sergey Kislyak, then-Russian ambassador to the United States. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/34eme6Z

Biden's communion denial highlights faith-politics conflict

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A Roman Catholic priest's denial of communion to Joe Biden in South Carolina on Sunday illustrates the fine line presidential candidates must walk as they talk about their faiths: balancing religious values with a campaign that asks them to choose a side in polarizing moral debates. The awkward moment for Biden came during a weekend campaign swing through South Carolina, a pivotal firewall in his hopes to claim the Democratic presidential nomination. The former vice president on Sunday visited St. Anthony Catholic Church in Florence, a midsize city in the state's largely rural northeast. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2MUhmOq

Here's How America Will Stop Iran from Invading Saudi Arabia

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The master plan. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2WA2kRm

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren got behind the Facebook employees slamming Mark Zuckerberg for allowing lies in political ads

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The two Democratic politicians tweeted their support for the Facebook workers who oppose the company's stance on lies in political ads. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/31YUdi0

Trump judicial nominee breaks down during Senate hearing

Lawrence VanDyke broke down when asked whether he was biased against LGBT people. from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2qRpsPg

Comedian Kevin Hart shares emotional video after crash

The US comedian shared the video of his recovery after a severe car accident in September. from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2qY0del

How to Eat Alone (and Like It)

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By BY JESS MCHUGH from NYT Smarter Living https://ift.tt/31WLbCt

Georgia Plans to Purge 300,000 Names From Its Voter Rolls

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By BY NICHOLAS CASEY from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2WrdJ5X

Stick to Sports? No Way. Deadspin Journalists Quit en Masse.

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By BY MARC TRACY from NYT Business https://ift.tt/31YbsQz

Hundreds of U.S. Troops Leaving, and Also Arriving in, Syria

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By BY ERIC SCHMITT AND HELENE COOPER from NYT World https://ift.tt/331hmlz

Iraq Prime Minister Pressed to Quit as Protests Clog Streets

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By BY ALISSA J. RUBIN from NYT World https://ift.tt/2pqzoyQ

China downplays Solomon island lease debacle, tells U.S. to stay out

There is nothing unusual about Chinese companies experiencing issues when investing in Pacific island states or elsewhere, China's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, after a rebuffed attempt by a Chinese firm to lease an island in the Solomons. The Solomon Islands government said last week a deal signed by one of its provinces to lease the entire island of Tulagi to a Chinese company is unlawful and should be terminated, a move applauded by United States. Details of the long-term lease between the Solomons' Central Province and China Sam Enterprise Group were made public shortly after the Pacific nation switched diplomatic ties to Beijing from Taiwan in September. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/36fNFz9

Ukrainian Oligarch Seethed About ‘Overlord’ Biden for Years

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Photo Illustration by Sarah Rogers/The Daily Beast/Photos GettyIndicted Ukrainian gas oligarch Dmytro Firtash spent more than $1 million hiring key figures in Republican efforts to investigate the Biden family. His lawyers—who often go on Fox News to defend President Trump—say they needed the dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden to demonstrate that Firtash’s prosecution was politically motivated. But the two men have a history. Two Ukrainian gas industry experts say the gas-market reforms pushed by Biden and others in 2014 and 2015 hit Firtash in the wallet, and badly. One knowledgeable outside observer estimated that the 2014 and 2015 gas reforms and legislation cost him hundreds of millions of dollars. On Dec. 9, 2015, Biden gave a speech to Ukraine’s parliament. He praised the protesters who forced out Ukraine’s Russia-friendly president, he recited Ukrainian poetry, and he called for reforms to Ukraine’s gas market, too. “The energy sector needs to be competitive, ruled by marke

Residents flee, power cut as crews battle California fire

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Cody Rodriguez never went to sleep the night two years ago when wildfire roared out of tinder-dry hills in Northern California wine country, trapping people unaware in their homes and forcing thousands of panicked residents to flee in the dark. "It has brought a lot of anxiety," Rodriguez said outside an evacuation center Sunday at Napa Valley College. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2PmKxLF

Congresswoman's exit prompts question of equity amid scandal

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The resignation of a female Democratic congresswoman over a consensual, sexual relationship with a campaign aide has sparked questions about whether women are held to higher standards in public life. At the center of the controversy is Katie Hill, a first-term lawmaker from California and a rising Democratic Party star. In a video released Monday, Hill said she was stepping down because she was "fearful of what might come next" following the online publication of explicit pictures that outed her relationship with a female staffer. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2MTbvJ8

Chile’s Pinera Fires Top Economic Ministers Amid Protests

(Bloomberg) -- Ten days of riots, protests and reprisals claimed their first political victims Monday as Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera fired eight ministers, including the biggest hitters in the cabinet.The interior, finance and economy ministers were all dismissed, with Pinera naming a younger, more centrist team to convince protesters that their voice has been heard.A wave of riots, looting and protests has caused more than a billion dollars of damage this month, before spawning the largest peaceful demonstration in the country’s history. Yet, today’s announcement is unlikely to placate a movement that has demands ranging from tax reform to constitutional change, via the resignation of the billionaire president himself.“These have been difficult days,” Pinera said at a ceremony in the presidential palace. “Our government has heard the loud and clear message of the Chilean people who want a more fair and more inclusive society.”The president’s approval rating slumped to 14% last

Elected Arizona official accused of selling babies suspended

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An elected official in Arizona was suspended Monday after he was charged with running a human smuggling scheme that brought pregnant women from the Marshall Islands to the U.S. to give birth and then paid them to give up their children for adoption. Leaders in Arizona's most populous county suspended Assessor Paul Petersen without pay for 120 days. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors doesn't have the power to permanently remove him from his office, which determines the value of properties for tax purposes in Phoenix and its suburbs. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2BSLJP7

Federal Prosecutors Are Lining Up Witnesses Against Jeffrey Epstein’s Cronies

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Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Photos GettyIt’s been more than two months since Jeffrey Epstein killed himself, but the investigation into possible accomplices is still very much alive. In recent days, federal prosecutors probing the financier’s sex-trafficking ring have been asking Epstein victims if they could serve as witnesses in the criminal case they are building.Representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York traveled to Florida for an Oct. 15 meeting with several of Epstein’s victims and their counsel. The staffers, who worked in the victim services unit, held a similar meeting in New York on Oct. 23, lawyers for the women and a law enforcement source told The Daily Beast.Two people familiar with the investigation said that prosecutors have heard from “dozens” of witnesses or victims since Epstein’s arrest in July.Following Epstein’s death in August, which was ruled a suicide by hanging, the Department of Justice said that it would c

UPDATE 1-Iraq's Sadr calls on rival to join him in ousting PM

Populist Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has invited his biggest political rival to work with him on ousting the country's prime minister as thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets for a fifth day. In a statement on Tuesday Sadr, who leads parliament's largest bloc, asked Hadi al-Amiri, leader of the second-largest, to help him introduce a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi. "To answer brother Abdul Mahdi, I thought asking you to call an early election would preserve your dignity but as you have refused, I invite brother Amiri to work with me on withdrawing confidence from you immediately," he said. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2pYJrLI

Schiff to handle impeachment witness testimony in break from precedent

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Under past precedent in 1974 and 1998 — the last two times the House conducted an impeachment inquiry — the House Judiciary Committee was the hub for investigations, hearings, and a committee vote on articles of impeachment. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Nia3z6

Woman Who Oversaw Robberies Targeting Asians and Indians Gets 37 Years in Prison

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By BY MARIEL PADILLA from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/369Aa3Q

72 British Lawmakers Condemn ‘Colonial’ Coverage of Meghan

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By BY ALAN YUHAS from NYT World https://ift.tt/2BRnK2I

House Passes Resolution Recognizing Armenian Genocide

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By BY CATIE EDMONDSON AND RICK GLADSTONE from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2Nq4qPo

Despair for Many and Silver Linings for Some in California Wildfires

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By BY THOMAS FULLER, JULIE TURKEWITZ AND JOSE A. DEL REAL from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/32WbkCw

Can the Nationals and Astros Turn This World Series Into a Classic?

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By BY TYLER KEPNER from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/2NnCk7r

Catholic priest says he denied Joe Biden Holy Communion at Mass in South Carolina because of abortion views

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"Any public figure who advocates for abortion places himself or herself outside of Church teaching." Rev. Robert Morey said in a statement. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Pr8WzJ

Argentina’s Alberto Fernandez Has Olive Branch Coffee Meeting With Macri

(Bloomberg) -- Alberto Fernandez doesn’t take over as Argentine president until Dec. 10, but how he interacts with outgoing leader Mauricio Macri in the meantime is key to an economy in turmoil. On Monday at least the two men were talking.Fernandez arrived at the presidential palace in downtown Buenos Aires without any staff, save for a spokesman. Television networks showed pictures of the men, both in suits, shaking hands before sitting in armchairs facing each other. They met for about an hour over coffee.Later on Fernandez smiled and waved as he entered a car to leave, but he did not comment.Even that is a start for what could be a tricky transition period from a market-friendly leader who tried to enact fiscal discipline, to a left-leaning populist who has promised to increase spending for a public tired of the high cost of living and lack of strong public services.Fernandez told Macri during the meeting that he will provide details of a team to work with the Macri administration t

Australian sentenced to 36 years for murder, rape of Israeli

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An Australian judge sentenced a man to 36 years in prison on Tuesday for the murder and rape of an Israeli student whom he bludgeoned into unconsciousness moments after she stepped off a tram in Melbourne before setting her corpse on fire. Victoria state Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth ordered Codey Herrmann, 21, to serve at least 30 years behind bars for his crimes against 21-year-old Aiia Maasarwe last January. The judge said she would have sentenced Herrmann to 40 years in prison with 35 years to be served before he became eligible for parole if he had not pleaded guilty in the face of an overwhelming prosecution case. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2JwY2ET

Here's What California's Kincade Wildfire Looks Like From Space

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The Bay-area's Kincade wildfire has grown so large that a satellite can record the plumes from 23,000 miles away in space. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2JuWFGS

Correction: Puerto Rico-Cruise Ship Death story

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In a story Oct. 28 about charges brought in a cruise ship death, The Associated Press reported erroneously that a child who died was 2 and the man's niece. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A man who police say dropped his young granddaughter from the 11th floor of a cruise ship docked in Puerto Rico in July has been accused of negligent homicide. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/34gP7PJ

Is Trump trying to unleash the Border Patrol on all of America?

Two in three Americans live in the "border zone," a 100-mile stretch inland where some constitutional due process and privacy protections are functionally canceled in the name of border security. The zone includes entire states -- Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, nearly all of New England, and all but a tiny sliver of Michigan -- as well as about three in four of our 20 largest metro areas. Is the Trump administration trying to make it bigger?The prospect seems obviously attractive to immigration hawks like White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, known to be the president's chief influence on border policy. Yet the possible suggestion of interest in expanding the border zone comes not from Miller but acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Mark Morgan, who joined President Trump on stage at a law enforcement conference in Chicago this week."We will be building 450 miles of big, beautiful wall by the end of 2020," Morgan said, implausibly. &q

Ivan Milat, who killed backpackers, dies in Australia prison

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Ivan Milat, whose grisly serial killings of seven European and Australian backpackers horrified Australia in the early '90s, died in a Sydney prison on Sunday, ending hopes of a deathbed confession to more unsolved slayings. Milat died in Long Bay Prison where authorities sent him from a hospital last week to ensure he ended his days behind bars, officials said. Milat was convicted of murder in the deaths of three German, two British, and two Australian backpackers after giving them rides while they were hitchhiking. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Jq88Yl

‘Fear’ Review: 3 Men in a Shed, 1 Missing Girl on Their Minds

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By BY ELISABETH VINCENTELLI from NYT Theater https://ift.tt/2MVLF7q

Michelle Obama on white flight: 'Y'all were running from us'

The former US first lady says race and lack of understanding of migrants still divides the US and world. from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/36hg5IX

Anomalies in Trump situation room photo spark online conspiracy theories it was staged

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In 2011, 10 years after the terrorist attacks in New York which destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Centre, the architect of the hijackings, Osama bin Laden, was killed by US special forces in a raid in Pakistan.The US Navy Seals carrying out the raid relayed live footage to the White House, and a photograph of president Barack Obama alongside his national security team witnessing the operation was used on the front pages of newspapers around the world. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Ni2AjE

Texas police officer shot his own son, thinking he was a home intruder, police say

The incident occurred Saturday evening when the off-duty Dallas police officer returned home and thought someone might be inside, DeSoto police said. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/31QJBSr

Ethiopia's 900-year-old Shonke village on a mountain

Residents say they prefer their traditional stone-built homes to Ethiopia's "shining cities". from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/3491o92

Nunes Aide Is Leaking the Ukraine Whistleblower’s Name, Sources Say

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Photo Illustration by Sarah Rogers/The Daily Beast / Photos GettyA top aide to Rep. Devin Nunes has been providing conservative politicians and journalists with information—and misinformation—about the anonymous whistleblower who triggered the biggest crisis of Donald Trump’s presidency, two knowledgeable sources tell The Daily Beast. Derek Harvey, who works for Nunes, the ranking Republican on the House intelligence committee, has provided notes for House Republicans identifying the whistleblower’s name ahead of the high-profile depositions of Trump administration appointees and civil servants in the impeachment inquiry. The purpose of the notes, one source said, is to get the whistleblower’s name into the record of the proceedings, which committee chairman Adam Schiff has pledged to eventually release. In other words: it’s an attempt to out the anonymous official who helped trigger the impeachment inquiry.On Saturday, The Washington Post reported that GOP lawmakers and staffers have

US police sergeant told to 'tone down the gayness' wins $20m in damages

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Keith Wildhaber, who was allegedly passed over for promotion 23 times, wins discrimination lawsuit against St Louis county policeSergeant Keith Wildhaber. Jurors in St Louis county court also heard that a police captain had called Wildhaber ‘fruity’. Photograph: Cristina M Fletes/APA gay Missouri police sergeant has been awarded nearly $20m in damages after he was told if he wanted to be promoted he should “tone down the gayness”.Keith Wildhaber, a sergeant with St Louis county police, filed a lawsuit against the department in 2017, after allegedly being passed over for promotion 23 times. Jurors in St Louis county court also heard that a police captain had called Wildhaber “fruity”.“I was sickened by it,” Wildhaber told the court last week, according to the St Louis Post-Dispatch.“I think I said: ‘I can’t believe we are having this conversation in 2014.’ It was devastating to hear.”Wildhaber said he was told to “tone down the gayness” by John Saracino, a former St Louis county police

After India's Aircraft Carrier Fire Left 1 Sailor Dead, China Had Words

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Beijing didn't mince words. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2WkqL5e

US proposes cutting off funds for Chinese telecom equipment

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The Federal Communications Commission will vote next month on a proposal to bar telecom companies from using government subsidies to pay for networking equipment from Huawei and ZTE. The move mostly affects small, rural companies, as larger U.S. wireless companies do not use equipment from those Chinese companies. The agency is also exploring the impact of requiring companies to rip out their current Huawei and ZTE equipment. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2BRkGni

Detained Moroccan jihadists were planning sea attacks: official

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An Islamic State cell broken up last week planned to attack Casablanca and its port, but a Syrian militant who assisted the group remains at large, the head of Morocco's BCIJ security agency said on Monday. The group had targeted economically sensitive sites both in the city of Casablanca and offshore, said Abdelhak Khiame, adding that the jihadists, all aged between 19-27, were radicalized online. Khiame said the cell was probably the last to pledge allegiance to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before he was killed on Saturday in a U.S. special forces raid in northwestern Syria. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2WkiQoc

Trump news – live: President booed at World Series as Democrats demand to know why Congress was not briefed on al-Baghdadi raid

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Donald Trump was roundly booed as he attended Game 5 of baseball’s World Series in DC on Sunday, with fans of the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros chanting “Lock him up!” as “Veterans for Impeachment” signs were held aloft by spectators, prompting the president to leave the stadium early.On Saturday, Mr Trump had triumphantly announced the death of Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a US-led raid that saw him cornered in a dead-end tunnel in Syria, the president assuring the world the terrorist had died “crying and screaming”. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2pajXLl

2 Photos of Tense White House Moments: Note the Differences

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By BY ANNIE KARNI from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/34aLqes

A Chocolate Bar With a Golden Blockchain Token

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By BY FLORENCE FABRICANT from NYT Food https://ift.tt/31WXWg6

In Praise of ‘Human Scum’

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By BY MICHELLE GOLDBERG from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/32WnaMS