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Trump joked about trading Puerto Rico for Greenland, report says

Donald Trump joked about trading Puerto Rico for Greenland during a year-long private discussion about purchasing the Danish territory, a report has claimed.It comes amid an international row over the president’s handling of Denmark‘s opposition to the deal, during which he has lashed out wildly at the Scandinavian nation despite previously saying it was “not number one on the burner”.

Former Manafort deputy Rick Gates testifies against Greg Craig

Rick Gates was thrust into public view in August 2017 when he and Manafort were indicted in the first case publicly brought by Mueller’s office.

Jeffrey Epstein was accused of sex trafficking young girls on his mysterious private island. Over 40 years ago, a different millionaire escaped justice in a stunningly similar case.

Jeffrey Epstein was accused of using his wealth, connections, and island to prey on minors. He wasn't the first millionaire to be accused of doing so.

Beijing hits back after Trudeau vows to stand up to China

Beijing on Thursday accused Ottawa of worsening bilateral relations after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed to stand up to China amid deepening diplomatic and trade disputes. The two countries have been locked in a feud since last December, when Canada detained top Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou and -- in apparent retaliation -- China detained two Canadian nationals over espionage-linked accusations. On Wednesday, Trudeau pushed back against Beijing in a speech that promised to "always defend Canadians and Canadian interests" and to not "back down".

A shark attacked a woman in Hawaii, and authorities are warning it's 'still in the area'

A 27-year-old woman was bitten twice by a shark while swimming on Tuesday. She is reportedly recovering and in "good health."

Overstock.com CEO Resigns after Disclosing Relationship with Russian Agent Maria Butina

Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne stepped down Thursday amid the backlash to his disclosure of a romantic relationship with Russian agent Maria Butina.Byrne caused Overstock's shares to plummet last week after he admitted to carrying on a romantic relationship with Butina from 2015 to 2016. The fallout from his disclosure complicated “all manner of business relationships,” he said in a statement announcing his resignation.“Thus, while I believe that I did what was necessary for the good of the country, for the good of the firm,” he wrote, “I am in the sad position of having to sever ties with Overstock, both as C.E.O. and board member.”Byrne issued a statement on August 12th confirming a series of articles by Fox News contributor Sara Carter that exposed his relationship with Butina, a Russian national who pleaded guilty to acting as an unregistered foreign agent in the U.S. earlier this year.Carter's work detailed how Byrne became involved in the FBI's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election due to his relationship with Butina. Byrne said he felt compelled to go public with his role in the investigation after becoming concerned about the way in which the Department of Justice was handling the investigation into Butina's conduct.The Overstock executive met Butina at a libertarian conference in 2015 and subsequently contacted the FBI when she began to express interest in meeting with individuals associated with the Clinton and Trump presidential campaigns.In his statement, Byrne said that his interactions with the FBI were “less about law enforcement and more about political espionage conducted against Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.”Butina is serving an 18-month prison sentence for attempting to infiltrate conservative political organizations at the direction of Alexander Torshin, the former deputy governor of Russia's central bank. Torshin and Butina founded a gun-rights group in Russia and presented themselves as allies to conservative American groups such as the NRA.Butina is set to be released in October. Overstock's shares were up more than 10 percent on Thursday after Byrne's announcement.

Australian prison chaplain nervous about cardinal inmate

Cardinal George Pell is likely to be transferred from a high-security Melbourne prison for first-time inmates to a medium-security prison for pedophiles in nearby Ararat after he lost a court appeal on Wednesday of convictions on charges of molesting two choirboys. Chaplain Andrew Hayes said he was nervous about meeting Pope Francis' former finance minister in the Ararat prison. "It will be nerve racking for me to have the No. 3 in the world sitting there and I'm the person there to look after him," Hayes told Ten Network television.

July was the hottest month ever on Earth. Now massive wildfires are burning across the globe.

Scientists say it's no surprise wildfires have broken out after the warmest July on record globally.

Ex-U.S. presidential candidates Hickenlooper, Inslee to run for office in home states

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Democratic governors who recently abandoned their long-shot presidential bids announced their next steps on Thursday, with both opting to run for office in the friendlier political territory of their home states. Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, who dropped out of the 2020 Democratic presidential race last week, said he would run for a Senate seat instead. Washington Governor Jay Inslee, who ended his White House campaign on Wednesday, announced he would seek a third four-year term next year.

Six people aged 62 to 85 arrested for 'sexual activity' in woods after police surveillance operation

Six people aged 62 to 85 have been arrested after police officers went into the woods to watch them having sex.The group was arrested in a conservation area in Fairfield, Connecticut, which is some 87 acres in size.

Trump again says he is 'very seriously' looking to end birthright citizenship

Eight months after first raising the idea, the president said his administration is again “very seriously” looking into ending the practice of conferring U.S. citizenship on anyone born in the United States.

2016 Ford Mustang Roush Stage 3 Is A Wild Pony

Here's your chance to get a babied, one-owner Roush Mustang at no reserve.Before Ford announced the return of the Shelby GT500 for the 2020 model year, the most performance you could squeeze out of a Mustang was from the aftermarket tuning world. The 2016 Ford Mustang Roush Stage 3 is a perfect example of how far the modern Mustang can be pushed, and this gorgeous, one-owner Roush Mustang will be auctioned off at no reserve by GAA Classic Cars.The highest of the Roush tuning levels, the Stage 3 transforms the Mustang into a track car. This starts by bolting a Roush supercharger atop the Mustang's  5.0-liter Coyote V8 resulting in 670 horsepower – a significant improvement over the 435 -horsepower Mustang GT. Roush also added an active performance exhaust system, adjustable coil-over suspension, extreme-duty half shafts and 20-inch wheels wrapped in high-performance tires.Roush made sure its tuned Mustangs wouldn't be confused with a factory Mustang by giving its car a distinctive, racecar-like appearance. Since all of the Roush Mustang tuning options (RS, Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3) had similar styling modifications, that meant any unsuspecting Camaro or Challenger will get a big surprise from this 670-horsepower monster Mustang. The revised front end is far more menacing than the base Mustang GT, but these changes aren't just for style as the hood scoop, heat extractors and larger grille openings are all functional to improve the car's overall performance. Inside, the Stage 3 Roush Mustang gets billet foot pedals with the Roush logo and an eight-ball-style shift knob.This particular car is one of 28 Roush Stage 3 Mustang coupes painted in this dark gray hue, called Magnetic, and it is being auctioned off at no reserve as part of the George Shinn Collection on Saturday, November 9. The George Shinn Collection is owned by George Shinn, the former owner of the Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets who had started the NBA team and then moved it to New Orleans in 2002. Read More... * Rare 2010 Dodge Challenger Saleen In TorRed Goes To Auction * 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Stock Car Being Auctioned At No Reserve

Farmer Behind the U.S.'s Largest Organic Food Fraud Scheme Dies by Suicide

A Missouri farmer blamed for running the largest organic food fraud scheme in U.S. history has died by suicide, weeks before he was to report to federal prison to begin serving a 10-year term, a coroner said Tuesday.

Drivers in Idaho keep harassing busloads of immigrants' children on their way to pre-school

One driver reported experiencing threatening incidents with other drivers while she was driving a busload of children under the age of five.

We can't trust police to protect us from racist violence. They contribute to it

White nationalists pervade law enforcement. Fighting far right violence means continuing our fight for police accountabilityProtesters shout anti-Nazi chants after chasing alt-right blogger Jason Kessler from a news conference on 13 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesAs mass violence continues, many of us have become rightly afraid for the people we love. We want justice, but we also want protection.So what are the solutions we’re hearing about following this month’s violence? One idea we must reject is the idea of trusting law enforcement to protect us from white nationalist violence, given how much they contribute to it. If people in law enforcement want to be seen as experts on defeating white nationalism, shouldn’t they have to get rid of all the white nationalists in their own ranks first?White nationalists pervade law enforcement. There is a long history of the military, police and other authorities supporting, protecting or even being members of white supremacy groups. But it’s not just history. It was revealed last week that a black man in Michigan came upon KKK materials and Confederate flags in plain view while being shown a home for sale – the home of a police officer on the force for more than 20 years who shot and killed a black man in 2009 without consequence.It’s a widespread pattern. As early as 2006, the FBI flagged it. Another FBI report in 2015, not covered nearly enough, indicated that “domestic terrorism investigations focused on militia extremists, white supremacist extremists, and sovereign citizen extremists often have identified active links to law enforcement officers”. (And that’s the FBI, which has its own history of white supremacy affinity groups.)White nationalists connect through online networks and offline groups, and openly share tactics for infiltrating and influencing police departments, border patrol, the FBI and the military. That was the case for a Virginia police officer – assigned to a high school – who was revealed to be a longtime white nationalist and served as a recruiter for Identity Evropa, one of the groups behind the Charlottesville hate rallies and violence. He was not shy about his cover. In chat messages, he “discussed ways to downplay appearances of racism, while still promoting white nationalism”.Another thing many of those like him are not shy about: stoking and celebrating violence, and promoting hateful misinformation and rhetoric. The Plain View Project tracked publicly posted social media material from more than 3,500 confirmed current and retired law enforcement officers, and found that “about 1 in 5 of the current officers, and 2 in 5 of the retired officers, made public posts or comments ... displaying bias, applauding violence, scoffing at due process or using dehumanizing language”. The Center for Investigative Reporting was able to identify almost 400 current and retired law enforcement officials who were members of private Facebook “Confederate, anti-Islam, misogynistic or anti-government militia” groups.We have seen racist text messages and emails among active officers revealed in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland and more, including among those in management with direct authority over law enforcement practices. As the Portland case proved, we must come to terms with the depth of association between senior law enforcement and white nationalist leaders and groups – people they should be investigating and thwarting, not encouraging and helping to evade justice.Neo-Nazis and white supremacists at the University of Virginia after marching through the campus with torches in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. Photograph: Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesIt would be naive to look at cases in which agencies have dismissed white nationalists from their ranks as an encouraging sign, whether in police departments, border patrol (an agent with a pattern of racist text messages ran over a Guatemalan migrant with a truck), the coast guard (a white nationalist aimed to “murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country”), military units (more Identity Evropa members in the Marines), or anywhere else.In truth, would the level of violence committed by law enforcement in communities of color, and at the border, even be possible if racial hatred weren’t part and parcel of police culture? White nationalists in law enforcement and in many roles in government, such as prosecutors, are dangerous because they routinely abuse their power to attack and debilitate communities of color, including harassment and coercion, financial exploitation, acts of sexual and racially-targeted violence and mass incarceration – all officially sanctioned, and all celebrated as part of the larger white nationalist agenda.Within the FBI, there has been an active movement among white nationalist sympathizers to protect their own by unfoundedly targeting nonviolent black activists: inventing the idea of a black extremist threat to justify surveillance of nonviolent black activists and divert attention from truly violent white nationalist perpetrators. This policy was codified in an internal “Race Paper” that a federal court allowed to remain secret, despite a move for transparency led by my organization, Color Of Change. (And people who have spoken out about internal racism at the FBI have not been treated well.)Investigations have not yet uncovered the extent to which people in law enforcement at all levels are actually involved in white nationalist violence more directly: training and mentorship, advice and tips, offering the social validation that people of color and others are, in fact, the enemy, or offering the social validation that violence is, in fact, the answer.More stories from those who know what’s happening inside law enforcement officers’ lives would help.But we already know enough. We must change the incentives for law enforcement and their unions – financial, social, cultural and otherwise – that allow the denial of this threat to persist. Instead of allowing news media to praise law enforcement as problem-solvers, we must hold them to account for the harm they enable. Lawmakers across the country must also play their role: investigating the extent of the problem, and forcing a purge of white nationalists and their sympathizers from positions of power and influence – everywhere. Fighting white nationalist violence means doubling down on our fight for police accountability.

The northernmost reaches of the Earth are on fire. Here's what this record-breaking hot summer looks like from space.

Climate change comes with a higher risk of wildfires. This summer, fires have ravaged the Arctic, and the flames can be seen from space.

Iraq paramilitary units blame US for base attacks

Iraqi paramilitary units said Wednesday they held the US responsible for a string of mysterious blasts in recent weeks at their bases, renewing fears of a possible proxy war. Over the past month, alleged attacks have targeted four training camps and arms depots used by the Hashed al-Shaabi, a network of mostly-Shiite, pro-Iran paramilitary units opposed to the US. On Wednesday, the paramilitary group said in a statement it had carried out its own investigation and pointed the finger at the US military, but also accused Israel of infringing Iraqi airspace.

Brexit: Boris Johnson warned US trade deal 'highly unlikely' if Ireland has hard border

A post-Brexit trade deal with the US would be "highly unlikely" if there is a hard border on the island of Ireland, Boris Johnson has been warned.The Congressional Friends of Ireland, a group in the US Congress which supports and promotes peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland, has written to the prime minister warning that it will oppose any US-UK trade deal if it risks undermining the Good Friday Agreement.

U.S. official says China far short of soybean purchase pledge after small sale

China has purchased about only half the U.S. soybeans it pledged to buy earlier this year, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official said on Thursday, after a small sale was reported amid the two countries' escalating trade war. U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to impose new tariffs on Beijing starting in September, prompting China to say it had halted imports of all U.S. agricultural goods in a trade dispute that threatens growth in the world's two largest economies. U.S. officials have said repeatedly they expect China to buy large quantities of soybeans as a gesture of goodwill while the two sides negotiate a trade deal.

Prosecutor: Cannibalism victim was butchered 'like you wouldn't kill a livestock animal'

Joseph Oberhansley, 38, is accused of killing his estranged girlfriend and eating parts of her brain and organs in 2014.

Jet catches fire in Northern California; 10 aboard unhurt

All 10 people aboard a small jet escaped injury Wednesday after the aircraft aborted its takeoff at a small Northern California airport, went off the runway and burst into flames, officials said. The pilot of the twin-engine Cessna Citation jet aborted its takeoff at Oroville Municipal Airport for unknown reasons shortly before noon, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said. The plane was carrying two pilots and eight passengers, and "all were accounted for, no injuries," said Joe Deal, Oroville's fire and police chief.

Parkland Shooting Survivors Just Proposed Aggressive New Gun Restrictions. Here's What's in Their Plan

March For Our Lives has released an aggressive plan to address gun violence that would ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

In the streets and on the run: Alligators are having a 'hot girl summer' of their own

From climbing fences in Florida to swimming in a Chicago lagoon, here are 11 of the best gator stories so far this year.

Why Kamala Harris Is Fading in the Democratic Primary

Anew national CNN poll of the 2020 Democratic primary has some pretty brutal numbers for Kamala Harris. When CNN last polled the presidential race shortly after the first Democratic debate in June, Harris was on Joe Biden’s heels, trailing just 17 percent to 22 percent. But according to the latest survey by CNN, conducted August 15 to 18, Biden has rebounded to 29 percent, while Harris has dropped all the way down to 5 percent, tied for fourth place with South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg.What went wrong for Harris?The second Democratic debate was a clear defeat for the California senator, but it’s now also obvious that her June debate performance was a Pyrrhic victory.At the first debate, Harris staked everything on attacking Joe Biden’s record on busing. It worked for her that night: Biden’s immediate response was hapless, Harris was widely declared the winner, and she got a significant bump in the polls.But Harris’s line of attack raised an obvious and problematic question for her: Would she support reinstating the policies that Biden opposed?Logically, the answer would appear to need to be “yes.”“I support busing. Listen, the schools of America are as segregated, if not more segregated, today than when I was in elementary school,” Harris said on June 30. “Where states fail to do their duty to ensure equality of all people and in particular where states create or pass legislation that created inequality, there’s no question that the federal government has a role and a responsibility to step up.”But there was a problem for Harris: Busing policies were abandoned because they were wildly unpopular, and there’s no reason to think they’ve magically become popular. So Harris equivocated and then backtracked.That attacking Biden on busing would paint the attacker into a corner was predictable. It was in fact predicted. See, for example, the end of this article from March in National Review. (Democratic strategists: Subscribe today!)Going on the offensive and then retreating on busing made Harris seem inauthentic. And the candidate had been dogged by questions of inauthenticity since the start of her campaign because of her waffling on the issue of Medicare for All, the policy at the center of the 2020 Democratic primary.First Harris indicated at a CNN town hall that she supported abolishing private insurance, as Medicare for All proposes. Then Harris said she didn’t support abolishing private insurance: She tried to hide behind the fig leaf that Medicare for All allows “supplemental insurance,” while obscuring the fact that “supplemental coverage” would be legal for only a very small number of treatments not covered by Medicare for All, such as cosmetic surgery. And cosmetic-surgery insurance doesn’t even exist.Harris thought she’d finally figured a way out of the Medicare for All mess in July: She introduced her own plan shortly before the Democratic debates. It tried to split the difference: She promised to transition to a single-payer plan in 10 years (as opposed to Sanders’s four-year deadline). This was meant to reassure progressives that they’ll get there eventually while also reassuring moderates that there will be at least two more presidential elections before the country goes through with anything crazy.Harris’s provision of Medicare Advantage–type plans was also supposed to reassure moderates, but the second debate demonstrated that she still wasn’t ready to respond to the fact that her plan would eventually abolish existing private health plans for everyone, and she has no serious plan for how to pay for single-payer.Then there were Joe Biden’s and Representative Tulsi Gabbard’s devastating attacks on Harris’s record as a prosecutor at the second Democratic debate. “Biden alluded to a crime lab scandal that involved her office and resulted in more than 1,000 drug cases being dismissed. Gabbard claimed Harris ‘blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row until she was forced to do so.’ Both of these statements are accurate,” the Sacramento Bee reported after the debate.As Harris’s backtracking on busing made clear, no one is seriously considering resurrecting the deeply unpopular policies of the 1970s. But criminal justice is very much a live issue in Democratic politics, and that’s why the attack on Harris’s record as a prosecutor has had such a greater impact than the attack on Biden’s record on busing. Biden continues to do very well among African-American voters, while Harris continues to struggle.So Harris’s problems go deeper than the fact that she had one good debate followed by one bad debate on matters of style. Both debates revealed she has serious weaknesses on matters of substance. And the hits keep coming on Medicare for All: On Monday, she was savaged by Bernie Sanders after it was reported that Harris told wealthy donors in the Hamptons that she was not “comfortable” with Bernie Sanders’s Medicare for All bill, which she co-sponsored and supported until a few weeks ago. There are still five months left until the Iowa caucuses, but the past two months have demonstrated that Harris has deep problems that she can’t paper over with some well-rehearsed, well-delivered lines in subsequent debates.

Luntz: ‘I was wrong’ on climate change

Luntz urged Democrats to "personalize, individualize and humanize" the impacts of climate change

Albania bulldozes restaurant after owner attacks tourists

Albanian officials on Wednesday razed a beachfront restaurant whose owner was captured on camera attacking a car rented by Spanish tourists, as the country scrambles to clean up its reputation as a burgeoning holiday destination. The incident, filmed by the victims' tour guide from inside their vehicle, took place at the weekend in Porto-Palermo on the Ionian coast in southern Albania, a popular tourist spot. The restaurant owner, 51-year-old Mihal Kokedhima, was arrested and faces trial for "verbally assaulting a group of Spanish tourists for futile reasons", damaging their car and causing minor injuries, police said.

2020 Chevy Bolt EV Gets More Driving Range

The Bolt goes from 238 miles to 259 and leapfrogs rival EVs from Tesla, Hyundai, and Kia.

US mental health staff warned not to contradict Trump after mass shootings

When Donald Trump targeted mental illness as the cause of the mass shootings that killed 31 people in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, federal health officials made sure no government experts might contradict him.A Health and Human Services (HHS) directive on 5 August warned communication staffers not to post anything on social media related to mental health, violence and mass shootings without prior approval.

Newt Gingrich says slavery needs to be put 'in context,' calls 1619 project a 'lie'

"There were several hundred thousand white Americans who died in the Civil War in order to free the slaves," Gingrich argued.

Farmer's threat prompts U.S. Agriculture Department to pull staff from crop tour

CORALVILLE, Iowa/CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Wednesday it had pulled all staff from an annual crop tour after an employee was threatened, and three sources said the threat of violence was made during a phone call from an angry farmer. U.S. farmers have complained this month that a government crop report did not reflect damage from historic flooding this spring. Lance Honig, crops chief at the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, was among the USDA staffers who had to leave the privately-run Pro Farmer tour, three sources with knowledge of the situation said.

Worker Accused of Installing Secret Cameras in Oklahoma City Homes Given Life Sentence

A man who plead guilty to secretly recording video of a "staggering" number of victims in their homes and in public places was sentenced to life in prison.

The US just entered a great-power arms race in a big way — and Russia and China are panicking

The US just tested its first post-INF Treaty missile, and Russia and China are both worried and warning that the US is igniting a new arms race.

Last of its kind rocket puts GPS satellite in orbit

A rocket that's the last of its kind delivered the newest, most powerful GPS satellite to orbit for the Air Force on Thursday. The Delta IV Medium ended its 17-year run with 29 launches. Denver-based United Launch Alliance said it will be replaced by the still-in-development Vulcan rocket.

Giant panda Bei Bei, soon to go bye-bye, turns four in US

The birthday celebration for Bei Bei -- his name is pronounced "Bay Bay" -- could be viewed live thanks to the zoo's "Panda Cam," which broadcasts scenes of the four-year-old and his siblings and parents from their enclosure round-the-clock. Bei Bei will soon be returned to China, under terms of the agreement that brought him to the US zoo on loan. Under the loan agreement, the zoo pays China $500,000 a year to support conservation efforts there, and any panda cubs born at the zoo may stay until age four, according to the Smithsonian website.

NYC Rules Ease Affordable Housing Path for Undocumented Migrants

(Bloomberg) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio is making it easier for New York City’s undocumented immigrants to qualify for scarce city-subsidized affordable housing.New eligibility rules de Blasio unveiled scrap credit-rating, Social Security and taxpayer identification requirements if applicants can show 12 consecutive monthly rent payments.“For too long, families without access to credit have faced barriers to the affordable housing they need,” de Blasio said Wednesday. “By allowing New Yorkers to submit rental history instead of credit checks, we are creating a fairer system for all New Yorkers.”The mayor’s goal of creating or preserving 300,000 units of affordable housing by 2026 has been one of his signature programs, which he’s touted while campaigning for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. The city’s 500,000 undocumented immigrants would be able to participate in a lottery that already attracts more than 500 applicants for each available unit, said Bitta Mostofi, commissioner for the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.Unlike federal housing programs that bar undocumented immigrants from applying for U.S. funded public or subsidized housing, they were never legally disqualified from city housing programs, said Margy Brown, associate commissioner for housing opportunity in the city’s Department of Housing Preservation & Development. By ending credit-rating requirements, there’s no need for an applicant to provide Social Security and taxpayer documents, making it easier for non-citizens to qualify, she said.“We are committed to ensuring that New Yorkers across the board have equal access to affordable housing,” she said.The new policy was criticized as “a really bad idea” by Howard Husock, vice president for research and publications, at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative policy research group. “People who consistently pay their bills should be rewarded for their efforts, especially when property owners are being asked to take less-than-market rent, and deserve assurance they will get paid,” he said.To contact the reporter on this story: Henry Goldman in New York at hgoldman@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Flynn McRoberts at fmcroberts1@bloomberg.net, Michael B. Marois, William SelwayFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Stephen King has a very bleak prediction for how Trump's presidency will affect the U.S.

It's been another odd couple of days for Donald Trump.There's been that strange situation with him wanting to buy Greenland; whispers of a possible recession that have led to more angry tweets about the media; and as questions about the impact of his trade war with China ramped up, he stood in front of a group of reporters on Wednesday and said: "I am the chosen one."Strange, strange times.Last night, Stephen King -- who once basically predicted the rise of Donald Trump in a 1979 novel -- took to Twitter to share a fairly bleak forecast for the future.> Questions of Trump's possible impeachment aside; questions of his possible re-election aside; he has besmirched and devalued the American Presidency so severely it will take at least a generation to recover.> > -- Stephen King (@StephenKing) August 21, 2019"He has besmirched and devalued the American Presidency so severely it will take at least a generation to recover."SEE ALSO: Stephen King really, really, really wants you to know he's not Steve KingKing has tweeted countless criticisms of Trump over the past few years, but that has to be one of his most damning sentences so far. WATCH: Stephen King condemns President Trump after racist tweets, comments about 'The Squad'

Interpol issues red notice for former Colombian guerrilla leader

Interpol on Thursday issued a red notice for a fugitive Colombian lawmaker and former FARC rebel commander who the United States wants extradited for alleged conspiracy to export 10 tonnes of cocaine. Seuxis Paucias Hernandez - known best by his guerrilla nom de guerre Jesus Santrich - was indicted in 2017 by a U.S. grand jury, setting off a legal saga that has seen him twice arrested and released. Hernandez has denied the U.S. allegations.

Carrie Symonds 'barred from entering the US over Somaliland trip'

Boris Johnson's girlfriend, Carrie Symonds, has been barred from visiting the US. She had applied for permission to go to the US in the next few days as part of her job with environmental group Oceana but the request was blocked by the American authorities, the Daily Mail reported. The situation could prove embarrassing for the Prime Minister, who is expected to meet US President Donald Trump at the G7 summit in France which begins on Saturday. The problem with Ms Symonds' travel plans could be linked to a trip to Somaliland last year. The US does not recognise Somaliland as an independent country, instead viewing it as part of Somalia. Applicants under the electronic system for travel authorisation (Esta) visa waiver programme, which allows Britons to spend up to 90 days in the US, are asked whether they have visited Somalia since March 2011. Ms Symonds visited Somaliland last year with her friend Nimco Ali, a campaigner against female genital mutilation. Following the reports of Ms Symonds' travel difficulties, Ms Ali said on Twitter: "Somaliland is Africa's best kept Secret, it's my birth place and it's stunning. "For 28 years without international assistance we have rebuilt our Country and are the only democracy in the Horn of Africa. I am happy to personally show anyone around the land I was sourced from." Ms Symonds has no official role in Downing Street and no taxpayer-funded support, although she has been pictured at functions in Number 10 with Mr Johnson. Downing Street declined to comment. Ayan Mahamoud, Head of the Somaliland Mission to the UK said, the country is an "independent, peaceful and stable" nation often wrongly confused with neighbours Somalia. She said: "We have a longstanding and positive relationship with the UK Government, and we have been proud to host members of the Government within the last 12 months, numerous Members of Parliament, and thousands of tourists from the UK every year. “We continue to call on the UK Government to support our calls for international recognition and to support Somaliland as we seek to overturn the damaging and unjustified travel restrictions unfairly imposed on our citizens by the US Government.”

Hispanic Journalism Group Boots Fox News Over Immigrant ‘Invasion’ Rhetoric

Kevin HagenA major organization for Hispanic journalists on Thursday gave Fox News the boot from its upcoming conference in response to the network’s use “invasion” rhetoric when discussing immigration.Fox News was set to appear as a sponsor at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists’ confab next month in San Antonio, but in a letter to the group’s members, NAHJ President Hugo Balta said that invitation has been revoked.“The line between commentary and journalism was crossed long ago by Fox News and is no longer even in sight,” wrote Balta, who is currently an MSNBC senior producer. “To accept financial support from an entity that perpetuates the spread of disinformation to the public about the Hispanic and Latino community risks the integrity and credibility of NAHJ’s 35 year mission.”As such, the NAHJ head wrote, the journalist org will return $16,666 in sponsorship funds back to Fox News.“It is unfortunate the country’s main organization for Hispanic journalists has chosen to exclude FOX News from their upcoming convention,” Marsheila Hayes, Fox News’s vice president of diversity and inclusion, wrote in a statement. “As the leading news network in the country, we are committed to fostering a diverse and collaborative workplace environment, and have been recognized in the industry for our advancement in this area, most notably with our multimedia reporter program. We are proud of our inclusive team and their achievements in journalism.”Balta explained that the final straw was a recent segment in which Todd Starnes, a Fox News pundit with a lengthy history of racist and anti-gay comments, described immigrants as a “rampaging horde of illegal aliens” and compared them to Nazis.Balta noted that Starnes’ comments closely resembled rhetoric used in a racist manifesto written by the suspected gunman who killed more than 22 people earlier this month in El Paso, Texas.“Starnes brazen language is symptomatic of a culture that provides a megaphone for disinformation by those in power with agendas, including the Trump administration at the cost of the most vulnerable – immigrant communities,” Balta said.Although the organization singled out Starnes, Balta said Fox News was ultimately responsible for such rhetoric. Fox News management “accorded Starnes the license to use his program to sustain and cultivate fear,” Balta wrote, adding that the NAHJ repeatedly met with and talked to Fox News about segments the organization found alarming and offensive. “The latest ‘regret’ by Fox News is one of many where the immigrant community and by association, all Hispanics and Latinos, have been demonized by voices with high visibility due to there being little to no consequences by management,” Balta said.Though Fox News will no longer appear as a sponsor at the NAHJ event, Thursday’s statement said the organization would continue to engage network brass, and will revisit future sponsorship should they “demonstrate real change and a true sincerity for their partnership with our association.”NAHJ joins a number of other organizations who have shunned Fox News over its pervasive anti-immigrant rhetoric. Many advertisers have boycotted purchasing time during Tucker Carlson’s primetime show over xenophobic comments he has made in the past year, including describing immigrants as making America “poorer and dirtier.”Fox Host Compares Migrants to Nazis: ‘We’ve Been Invaded by a Horde’Read 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.

Jeffrey Epstein's ex-cellmate Nicholas Tartaglione alleges threats, wants to be moved from MCC

The accused killer who shared a cell with Jeffrey Epstein appeared in federal court in White Plains Wednesday seeking protection after he claims federal guards have been threatening him.

Federal judge rules that immigration law is unconstitutional

A federal judge in Kansas has ruled that a law making it a crime to "encourage" or "induce" immigrants to enter or live in the country illegally is unconstitutional. KCUR-FM reports that U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia issued his ruling from the bench Wednesday before throwing out the convictions of Jose Felipe Hernandez-Calvillo and Mauro Papalotzi. Kansas isn't governed by the Ninth Circuit, but Murguia found the argument persuasive.

Money, muscle, media: how China has handled Hong Kong protests

China has deployed a three-pronged strategy to suffocate pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong -- propaganda, economic leverage and intimidation. Here is a look at Beijing's efforts so far to squash a movement that has refused to die. As protests erupted in June, discussion inside authoritarian China was muted, censored on social media or played down on state outlets.

Progressive Group That Backed AOC Takes Aim at Incumbents Across U.S.

(Bloomberg) -- The atmosphere at Buunni Coffee in the Bronx is thick with the aroma of roasted Ethiopian beans and anti-establishment fervor.The shop is in the Riverdale neighborhood represented for more than 30 years in the House by Democrat Eliot Engel, a close ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Wielding their personal laptops and cell phones, a crew of volunteers mostly in their 20s and 30s is trying to change that.“Hello, I’m calling on behalf of Jamaal Bowman,” begin most calls from a make-shift phone bank upstairs, introducing a progressive candidate few people in the district have ever heard of. A lot of the connections end abruptly. But occasionally, interest is piqued, and another potential voter’s name is logged for the middle school principal endorsed by Justice Democrats, the progressive activist group that backed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a neighboring district.The group is hoping to repeat Ocasio-Cortez’s stunning 2018 Democratic primary victory over Joe Crowley, who was a member of House leadership and a 20-year incumbent. Energized by that upset, the Justice Democrats who has endorsed candidates in Massachusetts, Texas and Ohio to challenge Democratic incumbents they deem as too moderate to reflect the progressive energy animating voters in solidly blue districts.It’s a major 2020 headache for Pelosi. She often reminds her caucus that their House majority depends on defending and flipping swing districts where middle-of-the-road voters are turned off by progressive causes like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal.Losing her incumbents to upstart challengers risks ceding crucial seats to Republicans and playing into President Donald Trump’s attempt to present Ocasio-Cortez and her closest allies -- Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota -- as the face of a Democratic Party trending towards socialism.EndorsementBowman, 43, an education-reform activist from Yonkers, is one of Engel’s two leading primary challengers. Another is educator Andom Ghebreghiorgis, 33, of Mount Vernon. But it was Bowman who won the endorsement of Justice Democrats, a progressive badge of honor also sought by Ghebreghiorgis and about 10 others vying for the Democratic nomination in New York’s 16th Congressional District.The district is heavily Democratic and Engel, 72, has been entrenched. He handily defeated three Democratic primary challengers in 2018 with 74 percent of the vote -- and didn’t even have a Republican opponent in the general election.But for Bowman and other progressives, too many Democrats in such safe districts haven’t changed with the times and don’t reflect the more leftward tilt of their constituents.“A corporate Democrat and a paper progressive,” is how Bowman dismissively described Engel.The fight for Engel’s seat is but one of the tests for whether Ocasio-Cortez’s surprise 2018 victory was a template for efforts to yank the party further left, which aren’t limited to Justice Democrats.Engel’s fellow New Yorkers such as House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, Carolyn Maloney, Nita Lowey, Kathleen Rice, and Yvette Clark, are among those facing primary challenges, as are Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal of Massachusetts, Henry Cuellar in Texas and Minority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland.Engel’s ConfidenceEngel said he wouldn’t know Bowman “if I fell into him” and expressed confidence he won’t lose the primary -- to anyone.He concedes that Justice Democrats “did catch lightning in a bottle” by backing the rise of Ocasio-Cortez in 2018. But he suggests the group is seriously miscalculating by “going around the country thinking they can catch lighting in a bottle again in many other places.”Justice Democrats, which was founded by former staff members of the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign, is trying to do just that.Along with Bowman, the organization so far this year has endorsed Jessica Cisneros to challenge Cuellar in Texas; Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse in his Massachusetts primary bid against Neal; and Morgan Harper in an Ohio challenge to Representative Joyce Beatty. The group also endorsed candidates who lost their 2018 challenges to Representatives Dan Lipinski in Illinois, and William Lacy Clay in Missouri. Progressive Betsy Sweet has the group’s backing in the primary vying to defeat Republican Senator Susan Collins, as well as Kara Eastman in her bid to unseat Nebraska Representative Don Bacon.‘AOC’ TiesThe Justice Democrats’ website plays up its ties with Ocasio-Cortez and the rest of the squad, but the four freshmen aren’t now openly or actively campaigning against their House colleagues. One page sells t-shirts, hoodies and tank tops touting “Ayanna & Ilhan & Rashida & Alexandria” and “Green New Deal.”“We thought Jamaal had the best shot to take on someone who is difficult to beat,” said Justice Democrat spokesman Waleed Shahid. He pointed to Bowman’s background founding the Cornerstone Academy for Social Action, and his advocacy for equitable school funding and opposition to standardized school testing.Shahid said the group’s assistance for Bowman is similar to how it is operating for other insurgent House campaigns -- aiding in his launch, helping find staff and making voter contacts. Justice Democrats will use its “pretty wide net” of small-donation contributors to provide support, he said.Bowman and Ghebreghiorgis acknowledge they have a steep, uphill battle to unseat Engel. Ghebreghiorgis said eventually one of them should drop out to prevent a split of the progressive vote.Both seize on election data reflecting that only about 7% of the district’s registered voters showed up to cast ballots in the 2018 Democratic primary, and the Bronx portion of district -- which stretches to southern Westchester County -- is under-represented in the turnout.Untapped VotersThey say that suggests voters aren’t engaged by Engel and that there’s a lot untapped votes that could be won by a challenger.“It tends to make you think there’s actually a capacity to mobilize and bring people into the fold in the Bronx, who have historically not been voting,” Ghebreghiorgis said.Out on the stump, Bowman touts what is becoming a familiar progressive agenda. He is for Medicare for All, free public college tuition, overhauling the criminal justice system and the Green New Deal.“My opponent voted for an unjust war in Iraq, deregulating Wall Street, school privatization and building more prisons,” Bowman said in his launch video. “While the very few at the top continue to build their wealth and power, the majority of us continue to struggle.”At a picnic by the grassroots “Indivisible” group that began in opposition to Trump’s 2016 election, Engel made a point to highlight that he has joined the call for an impeachment inquiry, which now roughly half of the 235 House Democrats want to pursue.The incumbent congressman does have some progressive bona fides and a record of liberal achievements. Kenneth Jenkins, the Westchester deputy county executive, and former president of the Yonkers branch of the NAACP, said he’s been an Engel supporter for years, dating from their work together on desegregation and housing issues.“People forget that Eliot was the rabble-rouser of his time,” Jenkins said. “He was the renegade and the liberal.”When Engel first ran for the state Assembly in a 1977 special election, he was the insurgent liberal nominee who defeated both the Democratic and Republican candidates. And in his first race for a U.S. House seat, in 1988, he beat a 10-term congressman, Mario Biaggi, who had already resigned his seat after being convicted on racketeering charges, but remained on the primary ballot.At Buunni Coffee, some of the volunteers said they hadn’t met Bowman yet. But nearly all were aware he’d gotten the backing of Justice Democrats, the group famous for backing Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 candidacy.Jatnna De La Cruz, 20, a City College of New York political science student, said that “overlap with the Justice Democrats and AOC” played some role in her wanting to canvass for Bowman, but it was not the only reason.Asked what she knew about Engel, she said, “I know is he has been in Congress for 30 years.”When Bowman himself arrived, he was clearly happy to find such a crew of canvassers. He said he’s proud of his endorsement from the Justice Democrats: “It comes up and I bring it up, I mention it because I want people to know our ideology and where we are coming up.”He also recognizes a campaign to topple an incumbent won’t be built overnight.“It’s still early,” Bowman said. “We’re just working. We have our heads down. We’re grinding.”To contact the reporter on this story: Billy House in Washington at bhouse5@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Anna EdgertonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Trump ranted for 35 minutes in 89-degree heat, calling the prime minister of Denmark 'nasty,' repeating his claim that Jewish voters are 'disloyal,' and saying it 'isn't my trade war'

Trump has had a tumultuous week, from calling Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats "disloyal" to sparring with the prime minister of Denmark.

Dominican's largest drug trafficking gang dismantled after raids, says prosecutor

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