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• Trump?s 'lynching' tweet draws outrage ? and some Republican support
  October 22, 2019, 9:37 am
  

  President Trump's comparison of the House Democrats? ongoing impeachment inquiry to ?a lynching? was promptly condemned by many critics. But three prominent GOP senators came to his defense.

  
  

  
  
• UPDATE 1-Kremlin says U.S. betrayed Kurds in Syria, tells Kurds to withdraw o...
  October 23, 2019, 12:19 am
  

  The Kremlin said on Wednesday that the United States had betrayed and abandoned the Syrian Kurds and advised the Kurds to withdraw from the Syrian border as per a deal between Moscow and Ankara or be mauled by the Turkish army. The comments by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov to Russian news agencies followed a deal agreed on Tuesday between Russia and Turkey that will see Syrian and Russian forces deploy to northeast Syria to remove Kurdish YPG fighters and their weapons from the border with Turkey. Peskov, who was reported to be reacting to comments by U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Syria James Jeffrey, complained that it appeared that the United States was encouraging the Kurds to stay close to the Syrian border and fight the Turkish army.

  
  

  
  
• South Carolina police find remains of 5-year-old girl missing since August in...
  October 22, 2019, 7:18 pm
  

  The Sumter Police Department on Tuesday announced the remains of Nevaeh Lashy Adams were found after a search that began in August.

  
  

  
  
• Bamboozled: 'Panda dog' cafe sparks China animal rights debate
  October 23, 2019, 3:58 am
  

  A pet cafe in China where dogs are dyed black and white to look like panda cubs has triggered a heated online debate over the treatment of animals. The Cute Pet Games cafe opened last month in Chengdu, capital of southwest Sichuan province which is home to China's famous giant pandas, and features six panda-like Chow Chow dogs, according to a video posted by Hongxing News on Tuesday. The cafe owner, only identified by his last name Huang, told Hongxing News that he had started offering pet dyeing services after the panda dogs became an instant hit with clients.

  
  

  
  
• Newt Gingrich and Whoopi Goldberg go at it on 'The View' over Trump's 'lynchi...
  October 22, 2019, 11:19 am
  

  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Whoopi Goldberg go toe to toe over Trump?s ?lynching? comments on Twitter.

  
  

  
  
• An Air France flight was forced to turn back in midair when staff found an un...
  October 22, 2019, 5:14 am
  

  Air France flight 136 to Chicago from Paris landed at Ireland's Shannon Airport, where the police scanned a cellphone found on board.

  
  

  
  
• Kim orders South's buildings at resort in North be destroyed
  October 23, 2019, 3:34 am
  

  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the destruction of South Korean-made hotels and other tourist facilities at the North's Diamond Mountain resort, apparently because Seoul won't defy international sanctions and resume South Korean tours at the site. Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday that Kim had visited the resort and described its facilities as "shabby" and lacking national character.

  
  

  
  
• Iranian beauty queen pleads for asylum in the Philippines
  October 22, 2019, 8:11 am
  

  An Iranian beauty queen is seeking asylum in the Philippines, fearing for her life after Tehran demanded her extradition for a crime she claims she did not commit.  Bahareh Zare Bahari, who represented Iran at the 2018 Miss Intercontinental pageant in Manila, and who has studied dental medicine in the Philippines since 2014, has been held for six days at the country?s Ninoy Aquino airport after Iran slapped an Interpol Red Notice on her for alleged assault.  In a series of messages, the distraught Ms Bahari told the Telegraph that the case was a ?big lie,? adding that she believed she was being targeted for her political activism and outspoken support of women?s rights. If she was deported to Iran, ?they will kill me,? she said.  Markk Perete, undersecretary at the Philippine department of justice, said that ?the only reason she was held at the airport -  and we really don?t call it detention -  it is really restraining her from entering the Philippine territory, is only because of that Red Notice issued against her.? He added that the request had been made ?presumably on account of a pending criminal case against her in Iran, and this case was filed by an Iranian national against her in relation to an assault that happened presumably here in the Philippines.? Bahareh Zare Bahari, who is studying dental medicine, is an outspoken advocate for women's rights Credit: Facebook However, Mr Perete said that the Philippines was unaware of this allegation, and that an earlier accusation of commercial fraud against her had been dismissed.  There were no criminal cases pending against Ms Bahari, he confirmed. ?We don?t have any cause for refusing her entry for violation of our laws.? Ms Bahari?s asylum plea is now being considered by the justice department, with the help of a lawyer.  Meanwhile, the dental student is confined to Terminal 3?s transit area awaiting her fate. ?There is no updating, no information about the reason why [they] keep me here so long,? she said.  She believes her political statement at the pageant - waving a poster of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled former crown prince, and one of the foremost critics of Iran?s Islamic government - made her enemies in Tehran.  Mr Pahlavi's name has been invoked by some Iranian groups who have called for a return of the monarchy to deal with corruption and poor economic conditions. ?I used his photo on stage to be [the] voice of my people because all news and media are ignoring my people,? she said.  Human Rights Watch on Tuesday called for ?a fair and impartial hearing of her claim? in Manila.  ?It?s absolutely critical the Philippines provides Bahareh Zare Bahari with support, including access to legal counsel, to compile and file her asylum application,? said Phil Robertson, HRW deputy Asia director.  ?While waiting for the details to become clear, there should be no action under Iran?s Interpol red notice, especially since under Interpol rules a red notice is null and void if the person named in the notice is found to be a refugee fleeing from the state that issued it.?

  
  

  
  
• Once-Bitten Argentine Investors Aim to Avoid Panic on Sunday
  October 22, 2019, 7:52 am
  

  (Bloomberg) -- Investors and analysts who wrongly predicted President Mauricio Macri would win a key August primary now say a victory by his challenger on Sunday is a foregone conclusion. The only question left, they say, is how big a margin he will score -- and whether he can afford to tone down the populist campaign-trail rhetoric that pointed him to victory.Money managers -- and virtually every pollster and analyst -- guessed wrong when Alberto Fernandez upended incumbent Macri in a primary vote that all but guaranteed the challenger a victory this weekend. Stocks, bonds and the peso plunged as investors mourned the campaign of market-darling Macri and worried about a return to Peronism and the risk of Argentina?s ninth default.As the final vote approaches, they won?t need to hit the panic button again, said Carolina Gialdi, a senior fixed-income strategist at BTG Pactual in Buenos Aires. The odds are well in Fernandez?s favor, and his victory would still leave plenty of time for markets to digest future policies before he enters office in December.?Once officially elected, Fernandez can start to make definitions,? she said in an interview. ?He can announce his cabinet, he can announce measures, he could meet with investors.?Investors have been preparing for this outcome since August, so bond prices, stocks and the peso market have his victory ?fully priced in already,? she said.Read More: Everything You Need to Know About Argentina?s ElectionArgentines will also be casting ballots for almost half of the nation?s congressional seats, along with some key gubernatorial races -- including the province of Buenos Aires. Here are a few of the scenarios economists, strategists and investors are considering in the days leading before the Oct. 27 elections:Fernandez WinsFernandez and his running mate, former President Cristina Kirchner, beat Macri by 16 points by taking almost 48% of the vote in the compulsory August primary. An expected speech on Sunday evening will also be closely watched for any calming signs to investors that could help prices to rally.Sovereign bond prices, which are in the mid-40 cent range, would probably fall if Fernandez?s margin is much wider than expected ?because the mandate of populism he would have would be stronger and the congress composition would be more left wing,? Gialdi said.TPCG Chief Economist Juan Manuel Pazos sees the bonds nearing 40 cents if Fernandez sweeps the competition, with prices dropping even lower if a Peronist win is large enough to align both houses with Fernandez?s party.A victory in the election this month would leave investors in a holding pattern as they await clarity on his policies and a the appointment of a cabinet, said Adrian Yarde Buller, chief economist at Buenos Aires-based broker Grupo SBS. A more market-friendly tone once he?s off the campaign trail would support a recovery in Argentine assets.?Cabinet members should be revealed within days,? Buller said. ?We expect Fernandez to quickly give some signs regarding fiscal and monetary policy so as to stabilize the economy, moderate reserves loss and try to reclaim a nominal anchor.?Runoff ElectionIt?s possible, though unlikely, that Fernandez fails to secure at least 45% of the vote, or 40% with a 10-point margin over the next runner-up, forcing Argentines to return to polling centers on Nov. 24.?Even if he manages to get to the second round it is still unlikely he has chances in the runoff,? BTG Pactual?s Gialdi said. ?The market would react positively, though contained by the fact that he still may not even win.?A runoff could drive the peso to between 50 and 55 per dollar, said Win Thin, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. in New York. In that case, he expects a ?a knee-jerk release? in which assets gain temporarily, he said.Others say a runoff could flag a change in voter sentiment big enough to knock Fernandez out of the running. TPCG?s Pazos assigned that a slim probability, but said that could mean Macri wins a second term, sparking a short bond relief rally into the high-50 cent range. Any gains would be limited by an impending default, he said.?If we go to a runoff, the spreads will likely break 2,000, but they won?t get it to 1,500,? he said in an interview. ?It will be somewhere in the 1,700 range.?Second TermMacri would shock markets by winning outright in the October election. Assets would broadly rally, from equities to the currency, said Benito Berber, chief economist for Latin America at Natixis in New York. Thin, meantime, forecast the peso to rally past 50 per dollar if Macri wins another four years.?Even if Macri wins, I don?t see bonds going higher than 60,? said Walter Stoepplewerth, chief investment officer at Portfolio Personal Inversiones in Buenos Aires. ?That?s because the next government will be inheriting a difficult situation in terms of debt amortization, inflation, and growth.?\--With assistance from Andres Guerra Luz.To contact the reporters on this story: Sydney Maki in New York at smaki8@bloomberg.net;Scott Squires in Buenos Aires at ssquires4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Carolina Wilson at cwilson166@bloomberg.net, Alec D.B. McCabe, Carolina MillanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

  
  

  
  
• Trump claims US is building wall in Colorado ? 370 miles from Mexico border
  October 23, 2019, 1:17 pm
  

  Donald Trump has promised American workers that he's building a border wall in Colorado, even though that state is landlocked and hundreds of miles away from any foreign border.Mr Trump made the comment during a speech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he told a conference on shale energy that he had made good on "every promise" he made during the 2016 election.

  
  

  
  
• Hillary Clinton's attacks on Tulsi Gabbard are embarrassing
  October 22, 2019, 6:56 am
  

  It?s sad that instead of doing something useful with her post-political career, Clinton has decided to lob ludicrous accusations at younger Democrats?Even though Gabbard may be a flawed messenger, the message itself is correct: we no longer need to hear what Hillary Clinton thinks about anything.? Photograph: Richard Drew/APHillary Clinton has kept a relatively low profile since her embarrassing 2016 election defeat, popping up only occasionally to make out-of-touch elitist comments that confirm why she lost. So it was somewhat surprising to hear her weigh in on the 2020 Democratic primary with a truly bizarre comment about (of all people) Tulsi Gabbard.Clinton accused the Hawaii congresswoman of being groomed by outside forces, saying: ?I think they?ve got their eye on somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate ? She?s the favorite of the Russians.? There is some dispute about whether Clinton meant it was the Russians or Republicans who were pushing a third-party Gabbard candidacy, but a Clinton spokesman asked about the comments replied ?if the nesting doll fits?, clearly implying it was dastardly Russians.Gabbard immediately hit back hard, calling Clinton (accurately) ?the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic party for so long?. While hosts of The View backed up Clinton, calling Gabbard a ?useful idiot?, others such as the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders and South Bend?s mayor, Pete Buttigieg, suggested that Clinton ought to have had some evidence before implying something so outrageous about a Democratic elected official.But it was typical Clinton. Paranoia about Russian influence has been ubiquitous among the Clinton set since 2016, in part because it helps to explain how the loss to Donald Trump wasn?t really Clinton?s fault. Liberals in the media like Rachel Maddow openly admit to having an obsession with Russia, and end up seeing the hands of Vladimir Putin on everything. Clinton herself has had trouble coming to terms with her loss. Even though accounts from inside the campaign confirm that Clinton barely knew why she was running for president, couldn?t craft any kind of message, and made laughably overconfident decisions about where to campaign, her campaign memoir was less a mea culpa than a j?accuse. It pointed fingers at Sanders and James Comey, and ended up sounding a lot like the Onion?s parody title: We All Made Mistakes But You Made Most Of Them.Years later, Clinton has learned seemingly nothing. Elsewhere on the podcast episode in which she made the accusations against Gabbard, Clinton blames fake news, foreign interference and voter suppression for undermining democracy and keeping Democrats out of power. Those are factors, but the big one is the one that Gabbard herself identified: the ?rot that has sickened the Democratic party for so long?. Clinton practiced a corrupting and duplicitous form of politics that made many would-be Democratic voters feel completely unrepresented by the party. But instead of spending her time in the woods doing some soul-searching, Clinton has evidently spent it cooking up new conspiracy theories about the all-powerful Putin.Tulsi Gabbard is completely right about what Clinton represents. Clinton was the Democratic party at its absolute worst: pro-war, pro-Wall Street, self-enriching, inept, devoid of any transformative vision and contemptuous of ordinary people. It?s very clear that Sanders would have been the smart choice in 2016, and Gabbard was one of the few Democratic officials to recognize that at the time and endorse him. Actually, that was courageous of her ? most Democratic officials, even those whose politics should have aligned them more closely with Sanders than Clinton, were too timid to buck the establishment and risk their career by potentially getting on the wrong side of an incoming Clinton administration.That?s not to say that Gabbard herself should be the future of the Democratic party. Far from it: while Gabbard has made a big deal of her anti-war stance, she has embraced the vicious Indian nationalist prime minister, Narendra Modi, and been far more hawkish and softer on torture than she would like progressive voters to believe. Her willingness to criticize the ?rot? in her own party may make Gabbard a refreshing presence on the debate stage, but no serious leftist can support someone who spent the Obama years echoing Republican talking points about ?radical Islam?. She?s still no ?useful idiot?, and even with her flaws she is preferable to truly intolerable candidates like Buttigieg and Joe Biden. If we were (God forbid) somehow faced with the choice between Tulsi Gabbard and Amy Klobuchar, the country would be far better off in Gabbard?s hands.Even though Gabbard may be a flawed messenger, the message itself is correct: we no longer need to hear what Hillary Clinton thinks about anything. Her kind of politics is, thankfully, a relic of history, and we have moved on. It?s sad that instead of doing something useful with her post-political career, Clinton has decided to lob ludicrous, borderline defamatory, accusations at younger Democratic women who were less wrong than Clinton was about dozens of issues. Fortunately, hardly anybody is listening any more. * Nathan Robinson is the editor of Current Affairs and a Guardian US columnist

  
  

  
  
• Rudy Giuliani Admits He ?Did Sort of Look at? Ukrainian Oligarch Dmitry Firta...
  October 22, 2019, 8:05 pm
  

  Georges Schneider/AFP/GettyVictoria Toensing and Joe DiGenova, the pro-Trump lawyers representing a Ukrainian oligarch wanted by U.S. authorities on conspiracy charges, reportedly met personally with Attorney General William Barr in July?at the height of Rudy Giuliani?s hunt for kompromat on Joe Biden in Ukraine.  Citing three sources familiar with the meeting, The Washington Post reports that diGenova and Toensing argued against the charges facing Dmitry Firtash?who has been described by federal prosecutors as having connections to the ?upper echelons? of Russian organized crime?in the meeting with Barr and other Justice Department officials. Barr is said to have refused to intercede. Firtash, who has been fighting extradition to the U.S. on bribery and corruption charges from Vienna for more than five years, had only recently hired Toensing and diGenova at the time of the reported meeting. According to Bloomberg, he paid them $1 million earlier this year to dig up dirt on Biden in a bid to get Giuliani?s help with his legal woes. While Giuliani has maintained he never had anything to do with Firtash?s case, Firtash reportedly bankrolled at least one piece of opposition research that Giuliani would later hold up on cable news as proof of Biden?s wrongdoing: a witness statement from Viktor Shokin, Ukraine?s former prosecutor general, claiming the former vice president had him fired to protect his son from a corruption investigation. Giuliani told the Post that he ?did sort of look at Firtash to see if he had any relevant information? that could help with his search for damaging information about Democrats. ?As far as I can tell, he didn?t. I looked at maybe 20 of these oligarchs.?A Justice Department spokeswoman said the Firtash case ?has the support of the department leadership? and said DOJ would ?continue to work closely with the Austrian Ministry of Justice to extradite Mr. Firtash.? Toensing reportedly declined to comment on the Barr meeting.The Post also reports that prosecutors in Chicago who filed the bribery charges against Firtash in 2013 had previously come across two of Giuliani?s recently arrested associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, in their case. Prosecutors there are now said to be reviewing whether there is a larger relationship between Firtash and the Soviet-born businessmen accused of campaign finance violations. Parnas and Fruman, who were reportedly enlisted by Giuliani to help find dirt on Trump?s political opponents in Ukraine, are accused of making an illicit campaign donation in a bid to have the then-U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, removed. Giuliani claimed he did not know whether Firtash, Parnas, and Fruman had a relationship. ?It?s none of my business,? he told the Post. Lawyers for Parnas and Fruman have not publicly spoken about their clients? potential ties to Firtash.Firtash reportedly hired both Toensing and diGenova this summer at the recommendation of Parnas, who is said to have worked as a translator for Toensing and diGenova in the Firtash case. A Toensing and diGenova spokesman said Firtash had ?no business relationship? with Parnas or Fruman. ?No money has been paid to Mr. Parnas by Mr. Firtash beyond his work as a translator for the law firm,? the spokesman said.Parnas and Fruman were both arrested at a D.C. airport before they reportedly could board one-way flights to Vienna earlier this month. Giuliani told The Atlantic that he also intended on going to Vienna just one day after Parnas and Fruman were scheduled to depart the U.S.Indicted Oligarch Dmytro Firtash Praises Paul Manafort, Says Trump Has Third-Grade SmartsRead 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.

  
  

  
  
• Connecticut College Students Charged With Violating State Law Prohibiting ?Ri...
  October 22, 2019, 7:06 am
  

  University of Connecticut students Jarred Karal and Ryan Mucaj were arrested by campus police Monday night and charged with violating a Connecticut hate crime statute for using a racial slur in an incident captured on video.One night earlier this month, Karal and Mucaj ? both described by police as white ? walked with another individual through the parking lot of a student apartment complex playing ?a game in which they yelled vulgar words,? according to the incident report. Police allege that the two switched to saying ?n*****? when they reached the parking lot, which was loud enough for two people inside to hear.The two were charged under a Connecticut State law that criminalizes ridiculing ?any person or class of people on account of creed, religion, color, denomination, nationality, or race.? The misdemeanor is punishable by up to 30 days in jail, a fine of $50, or both. The third individual was not charged for saying the slur.It is unclear whether the statute violates First Amendment grounds. ?It is supportive of our core values to pursue accountability, through due process, for an egregious assault on our community that has caused considerable harm,? UConn President Thomas C. Katsouleas said in a statement late Monday.Karal and Mucaj were released after promising to return for a scheduled court date on October 30.After the video went viral online, Campus blowback was swift. The administration, which learned of the incident October 11, faced severe criticism from students and activists. On Monday, the university?s NAACP chapter published a letter to the editor in the campus newspaper lambasting the university?s administration.?If the university does not adequately address and handle these occurrences of racism appropriately, it will create a culture in which racism is tolerated and normalized,? the NAACP letter reads. ?We demand for your full assurance that you will take appropriate measures to hold the students involved in these heinous acts of racism accountable.?On Monday afternoon, hundreds of students chanted ?it?s more than just a word? during an on-campus march and rally. During the march, Katsouleas voiced support for the students and extended an invitation to discuss the incident during his open office hours scheduled for Friday morning.UConn?s president also announced a nationwide search for a chief diversity officer in a letter to students on Friday. But students and professors criticized the president for his slow and inadequate response.?No stance is a stance,? Conn senior Areon Mangan told the Chronicle. ?Not saying anything says a lot.?In its letter to the campus newspaper, the NAACP released a list of eight demands, including new student guidelines and punishments for instances of racism, a new first-year course on diversity training, and increased hiring of black administration, faculty, staff, and police officers.Democratic State Senators Mae Flexer and Gregory Haddad, both UConn alums, voiced their support for students during the Monday rally.?White people can?t just say they care about this with words,?Flexer said. ?You can?t just say you?re an ally. You need to be a co-conspirator.??I?m here because I want to lift your voices up,? Haddad added.

  
  

  
  
• UPDATE 3-China plans to replace Hong Kong leader Lam with 'interim' chief exe...
  October 22, 2019, 1:53 pm
  

  China is drawing up a plan to replace Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam with an "interim" chief executive, the Financial Times reported, citing people briefed on the deliberations, which would bring to a close Lam's rule after months of often-violent pro-democracy protests. Lam has become a lightning rod for protests over fears that Beijing is tightening its grip, limiting the freedoms enjoyed under the "one country, two systems" principle enshrined when colonial ruler Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997. Sources told the FT that officials in China want the situation in Hong Kong to stabilise before making a final decision, as they do not want to be seen to be giving in to violence.

  
  

  
  
• The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs acidified the ocean in a 'flash,' kill...
  October 22, 2019, 11:39 am
  

  A new study found that the asteroid impact that led the dinosaurs to go extinct also caused rapid ocean acidification, which killed most sea life.

  
  

  
  

FOX 5 San Diego

• Trump Threatens to Veto Bill on Foreign Influence in Elections
  October 23, 2019, 4:02 pm
  

  (Bloomberg) -- The White House on Wednesday threatened a veto of a bill backed by House Democrats aimed at stopping foreign interference in U.S. elections, even as an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump centered on the issue.The measure?s ?ambiguous language would ensnare American citizens and entities acting in good faith in its web of requirements and prohibitions,? the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a statement.The House passed the measure, known as the Shield Act, on Wednesday evening. It would require political campaigns to report contacts with foreigners to the FBI and the Federal Election Commission. It would also outlaw handing private campaign information to foreigners and bolster ad-reporting requirements.The White House called the those requirements ?overly broad? and ?unenforceable,? arguing elections are adequately protected under current law.House Democrats are investigating whether Trump should be impeached for attempting to pressure the president of Ukraine into investigating his political rivals, including former Vice President Joe Biden. Biden is a top contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and Trump has accused his son Hunter of improper business dealings in Ukraine. The Bidens have denied any wrongdoing.Trump has been widely criticized for saying he?d accept information on a political rival from a foreign source, dismissing the notion he should inform law enforcement.?The Trump campaign and White House have welcomed and repeatedly solicited foreign assistance for his political activities,? House Administration Committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat, said in a statement earlier this month. ?This behavior is unacceptable.?Lofgren said the legislation, which she introduced, would ?protect our elections from foreign interference? and ensure ?that individuals engaging in conduct with foreign actors intending to influence the outcome of our elections will be held accountable by law.?The measure faces strong opposition among Republicans who control the Senate. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell this week described it as an ?attack on the First Amendment.?(Updates with McConnell comment, in final paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Jordan Fabian in Washington at jfabian6@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu, John HarneyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

  
  

  
  
• UPDATE 1-Kremlin says U.S. betrayed Kurds in Syria, tells Kurds to withdraw o...
  October 23, 2019, 12:19 am
  

  The Kremlin said on Wednesday that the United States had betrayed and abandoned the Syrian Kurds and advised the Kurds to withdraw from the Syrian border as per a deal between Moscow and Ankara or be mauled by the Turkish army. The comments by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov to Russian news agencies followed a deal agreed on Tuesday between Russia and Turkey that will see Syrian and Russian forces deploy to northeast Syria to remove Kurdish YPG fighters and their weapons from the border with Turkey. Peskov, who was reported to be reacting to comments by U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Syria James Jeffrey, complained that it appeared that the United States was encouraging the Kurds to stay close to the Syrian border and fight the Turkish army.

  
  

  
  
• Connecticut College Students Charged With Violating State Law Prohibiting ?Ri...
  October 22, 2019, 7:06 am
  

  University of Connecticut students Jarred Karal and Ryan Mucaj were arrested by campus police Monday night and charged with violating a Connecticut hate crime statute for using a racial slur in an incident captured on video.One night earlier this month, Karal and Mucaj ? both described by police as white ? walked with another individual through the parking lot of a student apartment complex playing ?a game in which they yelled vulgar words,? according to the incident report. Police allege that the two switched to saying ?n*****? when they reached the parking lot, which was loud enough for two people inside to hear.The two were charged under a Connecticut State law that criminalizes ridiculing ?any person or class of people on account of creed, religion, color, denomination, nationality, or race.? The misdemeanor is punishable by up to 30 days in jail, a fine of $50, or both. The third individual was not charged for saying the slur.It is unclear whether the statute violates First Amendment grounds. ?It is supportive of our core values to pursue accountability, through due process, for an egregious assault on our community that has caused considerable harm,? UConn President Thomas C. Katsouleas said in a statement late Monday.Karal and Mucaj were released after promising to return for a scheduled court date on October 30.After the video went viral online, Campus blowback was swift. The administration, which learned of the incident October 11, faced severe criticism from students and activists. On Monday, the university?s NAACP chapter published a letter to the editor in the campus newspaper lambasting the university?s administration.?If the university does not adequately address and handle these occurrences of racism appropriately, it will create a culture in which racism is tolerated and normalized,? the NAACP letter reads. ?We demand for your full assurance that you will take appropriate measures to hold the students involved in these heinous acts of racism accountable.?On Monday afternoon, hundreds of students chanted ?it?s more than just a word? during an on-campus march and rally. During the march, Katsouleas voiced support for the students and extended an invitation to discuss the incident during his open office hours scheduled for Friday morning.UConn?s president also announced a nationwide search for a chief diversity officer in a letter to students on Friday. But students and professors criticized the president for his slow and inadequate response.?No stance is a stance,? Conn senior Areon Mangan told the Chronicle. ?Not saying anything says a lot.?In its letter to the campus newspaper, the NAACP released a list of eight demands, including new student guidelines and punishments for instances of racism, a new first-year course on diversity training, and increased hiring of black administration, faculty, staff, and police officers.Democratic State Senators Mae Flexer and Gregory Haddad, both UConn alums, voiced their support for students during the Monday rally.?White people can?t just say they care about this with words,?Flexer said. ?You can?t just say you?re an ally. You need to be a co-conspirator.??I?m here because I want to lift your voices up,? Haddad added.

  
  

  
  
• Bamboozled: 'Panda dog' cafe sparks China animal rights debate
  October 23, 2019, 3:58 am
  

  A pet cafe in China where dogs are dyed black and white to look like panda cubs has triggered a heated online debate over the treatment of animals. The Cute Pet Games cafe opened last month in Chengdu, capital of southwest Sichuan province which is home to China's famous giant pandas, and features six panda-like Chow Chow dogs, according to a video posted by Hongxing News on Tuesday. The cafe owner, only identified by his last name Huang, told Hongxing News that he had started offering pet dyeing services after the panda dogs became an instant hit with clients.

  
  

  
  
• Iranian beauty queen pleads for asylum in the Philippines
  October 22, 2019, 8:11 am
  

  An Iranian beauty queen is seeking asylum in the Philippines, fearing for her life after Tehran demanded her extradition for a crime she claims she did not commit.  Bahareh Zare Bahari, who represented Iran at the 2018 Miss Intercontinental pageant in Manila, and who has studied dental medicine in the Philippines since 2014, has been held for six days at the country?s Ninoy Aquino airport after Iran slapped an Interpol Red Notice on her for alleged assault.  In a series of messages, the distraught Ms Bahari told the Telegraph that the case was a ?big lie,? adding that she believed she was being targeted for her political activism and outspoken support of women?s rights. If she was deported to Iran, ?they will kill me,? she said.  Markk Perete, undersecretary at the Philippine department of justice, said that ?the only reason she was held at the airport -  and we really don?t call it detention -  it is really restraining her from entering the Philippine territory, is only because of that Red Notice issued against her.? He added that the request had been made ?presumably on account of a pending criminal case against her in Iran, and this case was filed by an Iranian national against her in relation to an assault that happened presumably here in the Philippines.? Bahareh Zare Bahari, who is studying dental medicine, is an outspoken advocate for women's rights Credit: Facebook However, Mr Perete said that the Philippines was unaware of this allegation, and that an earlier accusation of commercial fraud against her had been dismissed.  There were no criminal cases pending against Ms Bahari, he confirmed. ?We don?t have any cause for refusing her entry for violation of our laws.? Ms Bahari?s asylum plea is now being considered by the justice department, with the help of a lawyer.  Meanwhile, the dental student is confined to Terminal 3?s transit area awaiting her fate. ?There is no updating, no information about the reason why [they] keep me here so long,? she said.  She believes her political statement at the pageant - waving a poster of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled former crown prince, and one of the foremost critics of Iran?s Islamic government - made her enemies in Tehran.  Mr Pahlavi's name has been invoked by some Iranian groups who have called for a return of the monarchy to deal with corruption and poor economic conditions. ?I used his photo on stage to be [the] voice of my people because all news and media are ignoring my people,? she said.  Human Rights Watch on Tuesday called for ?a fair and impartial hearing of her claim? in Manila.  ?It?s absolutely critical the Philippines provides Bahareh Zare Bahari with support, including access to legal counsel, to compile and file her asylum application,? said Phil Robertson, HRW deputy Asia director.  ?While waiting for the details to become clear, there should be no action under Iran?s Interpol red notice, especially since under Interpol rules a red notice is null and void if the person named in the notice is found to be a refugee fleeing from the state that issued it.?

  
  

  
  
• An Air France flight was forced to turn back in midair when staff found an un...
  October 22, 2019, 5:14 am
  

  Air France flight 136 to Chicago from Paris landed at Ireland's Shannon Airport, where the police scanned a cellphone found on board.

  
  

  
  
• NYC, California sue Postal Service over smuggled cigarettes
  October 22, 2019, 1:13 pm
  

  California and New York City sued the U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday to stop tens of thousands of cigarette packages from being mailed from foreign countries to U.S. residents, saying the smugglers are engaging in tax evasion while postal workers look the other way. The lawsuit in Brooklyn federal court blames the Postal Service for deliveries from Vietnam, China, Israel and other countries, saying the failure to enforce a federal law aimed at banning cigarette mail deliveries costs California an average of $19 million annually in tax revenues and New York City and state over $21 million each year.

  
  

  
  
• Tasmanian Tigers Are Extinct, So Why Are Locals Reporting Sightings?
  October 23, 2019, 8:23 am
  

  These sightings, if true, would reverse the belief that the carnivore has gone extinct.

  
  

  
  
• Mother charged with murder of ?terminally ill? seven-year-old daughter she ra...
  October 23, 2019, 4:21 am
  

  A mother who asked for donations to pay for her daughter?s medical treatment while ensuring she achieved a ?bucket list? of experiences, has been accused of murdering the seven year old.Kelly Turner and not the multiple illnesses she claimed daughter Olivia Gant suffered from, led to her death in 2017, a grand jury indictment alleges.

  
  

  
  
• Mexico Misleads on Failed Arrest of ?Chapo? Son: Ex-DEA Official
  October 23, 2019, 9:52 am
  

  (Bloomberg) -- Mexico?s government isn?t being truthful about the botched attempt to capture the son of the world?s most notorious drug trafficker, according to a former head of international operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.The administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador hasn?t revealed that while trying to bring Ovidio Guzman Lopez into custody, security forces had caught another son of Joaquin ?El Chapo? Guzman, Mike Vigil, the former DEA official, said in an interview.Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar had also been detained and let go when gunmen overpowered police, Vigil said, citing unverified intelligence he received from top Mexico police sources. The New York Times had originally reported that Ivan Archivaldo had also been captured and released, citing people who asked not to be identified.?There are so many factors that point to the fact that he was there and they also released him,? said Vigil. ?But they?ll never admit to it because they?ve been lying from the get go.? Vigil wouldn?t disclose the sources behind his assertions, which couldn?t be independently corroborated. He added that authorities have been misleading the public by playing down the amount of planning that went into the operation.Lopez Obrador said at his daily news conference Wednesday that he had no information on whether Ivan Archivaldo had been captured and released. AMLO?s press office strongly rejected Vigil?s assertion that it misled the public on the botched arrest. ?There?s been an unusual amount of transparency, not only for Mexico but by international standards. The entire security cabinet was explaining every detail,? said Jesus Cantu, the information chief of the president?s press office. ?The president himself said he?d testify before the authorities if they considered he?d done something illegal.?How AMLO?s Plans to Transform Mexico Ran Into Reality: QuickTakeLopez Obrador, known as AMLO, has been struggling to convince the public that his government took the right step by releasing Guzman Lopez after gunmen began attacking civilians in efforts to free him in the northern city of Culiacan, Sinaloa. Guzman Lopez is said to have taken over some of the criminal activities after his father was sentenced to life in a U.S. prison.Initially, Mexico?s security chief, Alfonso Durazo, had said the troops had stumbled on Guzman Lopez by accident. Afterward, government officials said it was part of a planned operation. More recently, officials signaled that the arrest was approved by low-level law enforcement officials and cabinet ministers may not have been aware.While the president and Durazo have spoken of ?errors? regarding the operation, they?ve been distancing themselves from it. AMLO, as the president is known, said Tuesday that he wasn?t informed about the operation to capture Guzman Lopez.He also confirmed that there was an extradition order for the alleged trafficker and raised questions about whether the minister of defense had even been informed about the operation. ?I think the Defense Ministry had knowledge of it, the minister? I don?t know. I think so.?Jesus Ramirez, the president?s spokesman and like Cantu is also from AMLO?s press office, told Bloomberg News on Monday that Mexico attempted to detain Guzman Lopez upon request by the DEA for extradition. The DEA declined to comment and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City directed inquiries to the White House press office, which hasn?t responded to a request for comment.Vigil questioned why the authorities would target Guzman Lopez for extradition, when Chapo?s other sons are far more active in the Sinaloa Cartel once run by their father. ?Jesus Alfredo and Ivan Archivaldo are much more important than Ovidio,? he said. ?Mexico from the very beginning began distorting the truth in order to buy time so they could come up with a plausible deniability story.?(Updates with AMLO?s comment in fifth paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Nacha Cattan in Mexico City at ncattan@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, Robert JamesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

  
  

  
  
• Turkey Is No Ally of the United States
  October 23, 2019, 1:09 am
  

  Turkey says it is acting to defend itself from terror. But what Turkish officials tell their American counterparts is one thing; what they tell regional extremists is another.

  
  

  
  
• Indicted Giuliani Henchman Lev Parnas Raises Executive Privilege in Federal C...
  October 23, 2019, 11:09 am
  

  REUTERSLev Parnas, a Soviet-born business associate with ties to Rudy Giuliani, President Trump?s personal lawyer, raised the issue of executive privilege during a court proceeding Wednesday, arguing it could apply to some of the evidence gathered in his campaign-finance case in New York.The issue was raised during an arraignment for Parnas and Igor Furman, who pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges in a four-count indictment that accused them of funneling money through straw donors into U.S. elections in an effort to gain influence. Prosecutors also allege the pair petitioned U.S. politicians, including a congressman, to have the ambassador to Ukraine removed from her post. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebekah Donaleski, offered a glimpse into the ?voluminous? evidence that prosecutors have recovered so far on the two men who have become figures in the Trump impeachment proceedings, through ?dozens of search warrants,? property searches, and subpoenas. The information includes emails and social media accounts and financial records from more than 50 bank accounts.Rudy Giuliani?s Ukraine Henchmen Arrested Over Trump Group DonationDuring the hearing, Parnas? attorney, Edward MacMahon, told the judge that his client was told to invoke executive privilege in a letter that was submitted on Parnas? behalf by John Dowd, a former lawyer for the president, to a congressional committee conducting the impeachment inquiry.Asked by Judge Paul Oetken if Parnas has worked for the president, MacMahon said no, but that ?he worked for Mr. Giuliani.? MacMahon said that his concern stems from Parnas having used Giuliani as his lawyer for both personal and business dealings and that Giuliani also works for the Trump.?There are issues that we need to be very sensitive to,? MacMahon said, not going into detail what those issues are. He continued, adding that he doesn?t ?know who is looking at all this evidence. If information gets out that we determine it is all privileged, we?ve got a problem,? MacMahon said in court.?I can?t invoke [executive privilege], only the President of the United States and the government can,? MacMahon said, telling the judge that he doesn?t know how to proceed if the issue arises. ?I just wanted to raise the issue with you.?Prosecutors, seemingly shocked by the executive privilege claim, told the judge that while ?this is the first time that we?ve heard of this...we?re happy to have a conversation.? Donaleski, added that the government has already set up a ?filter team? a separate team of prosecutors within their investigation, who ensure that possibly sensitive information does not get exposed. The judge instructed the two sides to discuss the issues over the coming weeks. Parnas and Fruman are scheduled to return to court on Dec. 2. Flanked by his wife and attorneys, Parnas spoke briefly to the scrum of reporters outside the courthouse saying that he is looking forward to defending himself ?vigorously in court.? ?Many false things have been said about me and my family in the press and media recently,? he said, before adding that he is ?certain that in time the truth will be revealed, and I will be vindicated. In the end, I put my faith in God. Thank you.?His defense attorney, Joseph Bondy, reiterated the sentiment, saying that his team ?looks forward to defending Mr. Parnas in the court based upon the evidence and not a smear campaign that?s been driven by self-serving and misleading leaks apparently from the highest levels of our government.?Prosecutors are also looking into Giuliani?s business dealings as part of their investigation, sources have told The Daily Beast and other news organizations.Parnas and Fruman were arrested two weeks ago at Washington?s Dulles airport as they were preparing to board a flight to Frankfurt, Germany, holding one-way tickets. When prosecutors learned that the two were leaving the country, they moved quickly to secure the indictments, which were issued a day before the two were apprehended.The two have both been released on $1 million bail and are relegated to house arrest while they await trial. Their movements have been restricted to New York, where the trial is scheduled to take place and the Miami area where they both live.The case is the first criminal prosecution related to an apparent Trumpworld pressure campaign to coerce Ukrainian officials into digging up dirt on Trump?s political opponents for the 2020 re-election campaign, particularly former Vice President Joe Biden, an effort which is at the center of an impeachment inquiry underway by the U.S. House of Representatives.Parnas and Fruman are charged in four-count indictment with making illegal straw donations, including a $325,000 contribution to the group America First Action, which was first reported by The Daily Beast.That donation actually came from an entirely different, undisclosed company owned by Parnas. It is illegal to donate to federal political candidates in the name of another person or entity.During an arraignment for David Correia and Andrey Kukushkin, two businessmen charged with conspiring with Parnas and Fruman to use straw donors to make illegal campaign contributions, prosecutors offered a broad brushstroke of ?fairly voluminous? amounts of evidence they have gathered in the case from 10 search warrants and more than 50 bank accounts.Parnas and Fruman are accused in the indictment in a separate scheme of helping Giuliani to dig up dirt on the president?s political opponents in Ukraine.Prosecutors say that scheme involved having the former ambassador to Ukraine recalled. Giuliani believed the ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch, was standing in the way of investigations he and Trump wanted to see launched into Joe and Hunter Biden?s work in the country.The campaign-finance allegations against Parnas and Fruman are inextricably linked with that effort. Prosecutors say their extensive political contributions, beginning in early 2018, were designed to curry favor with American policymakers in an effort to advance Parnas? and Fruman?s political and business endeavors.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.

  
  

  
  
• Seattle Public Schools Want to Teach Social Justice in Math Class. That Hurts...
  October 22, 2019, 2:05 pm
  

  Seattle?s public-school district has proposed a new math curriculum that would teach its students all about how math has been ?appropriated? -- and how it ?continues to be used to oppress and marginalize people and communities.?A draft of the curriculum, which was covered in an article in Education Week, would teach students how to ?explain how math and technology and/or science are connected and how technology and/or science have (sic) been and continues to be used to oppress and marginalize people and communities of color,? as well as to ?identify and teach others about mathematicians* of color in their various communities: schools, neighborhoods, places of worship, businesses, etc.?Education Week reports:> If adopted, its ideas will be included in existing math classes as part of the district?s broader effort to infuse ethnic studies into all subjects across the K-12 spectrum. Tracy Castro-Gill, Seattle?s ethnic studies director, said her team hopes to have frameworks completed in all subjects by June for board approval.> > If the frameworks are approved, teachers would be expected to incorporate those ideas and questions into the math they teach beginning next fall, Castro-Gill said. No districtwide?or mandated?math/ethnic studies curriculum is planned, but groups of teachers are working with representatives of local community organizations to write instructional units for teachers to use if they wish, she said.As strange as it may sound, this proposed curriculum is not the first time that someone has argued for teaching math in this way. In fact, in 2017, an online course developed by Teach for America -- titled ?Teaching Social Justice Through Secondary Mathematics? -- instructed how to teach their students how ?math has been used as a dehumanizing tool.? Also in 2017, a University of Illinois math-education professor detailed what she saw as some of the more racist aspects of math, claiming that ?mathematics itself operates as Whiteness.?I wrote columns about both of these stories that year -- and, at the time, most people likely saw them simply as examples of ?fringe? beliefs, confined to only super-progressive, ultra-woke circles. With the announcement of this Seattle proposal, however, we can no longer reassure ourselves that this is the case. Now, the social-justice approach to teaching math has officially entered the mainstream (and taxpayer-funded!) arena.This concerns me, and, believe it or not, that?s actually not because I despise ?people and communities of color.? In fact, it?s quite the opposite: It?s because this approach to teaching math will only end up harming the very groups it claims it champions. As The American Conservative?s Rod Dreher notes:> The young people who are going to learn real math are those whose parents can afford to put them in private schools. The public school kids of all races are going to get dumber and dumber.Guess what? Minority students are far more likely to attend public school than whites. In fact, according to Private School Review, ?[t]he average percent of minority students in private schools is approximately 28 percent.?In other words? The minority students, the members of the very groups that this curriculum presumably aims to aid, are actually going to be learning less math than they would have without it -- because they will be spending some of that class time learning about how math?s racism has hurt them. Ironically, one of the curriculum?s goals is to teach students how to ?critique systems of power that deny access to mathematical knowledge to people and communities of color,? and yet, that?s exactly what the district itself would be doing with it.The historical contributions of communities of color are important, and students should study them. A better place to study them, though, would (quite obviously) be a history class, not a mathematics one. Mathematics classes should be for mathematics lessons; this is especially important considering the fact that math is exactly where American students (of all races) struggle compared to students in other countries. In fact, according to a Pew Research study from 2017, American students ranked 38th out of 71 countries in the subject. If we want to fix this, we need to focus more on math, instead of looking for ways to teach less of it in the very classes where our students are supposed to be learning it.The bottom line is: If Seattle?s school district really wants to help minority students excel in mathematics, the last thing it should be doing is proposing a math curriculum that would teach less of it in the schools that they?re most likely to attend.

  
  

  
  
• UPDATE 3-China plans to replace Hong Kong leader Lam with 'interim' chief exe...
  October 22, 2019, 1:53 pm
  

  China is drawing up a plan to replace Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam with an "interim" chief executive, the Financial Times reported, citing people briefed on the deliberations, which would bring to a close Lam's rule after months of often-violent pro-democracy protests. Lam has become a lightning rod for protests over fears that Beijing is tightening its grip, limiting the freedoms enjoyed under the "one country, two systems" principle enshrined when colonial ruler Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997. Sources told the FT that officials in China want the situation in Hong Kong to stabilise before making a final decision, as they do not want to be seen to be giving in to violence.

  
  

  
  
• The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs acidified the ocean in a 'flash,' kill...
  October 22, 2019, 11:39 am
  

  A new study found that the asteroid impact that led the dinosaurs to go extinct also caused rapid ocean acidification, which killed most sea life.

  
  

  
  

Channel 8 San Diego

• Trump?s 'lynching' tweet draws outrage ? and some Republican support
  October 22, 2019, 9:37 am
  

  President Trump's comparison of the House Democrats? ongoing impeachment inquiry to ?a lynching? was promptly condemned by many critics. But three prominent GOP senators came to his defense.

  
  

  
  
• UPDATE 1-Kremlin says U.S. betrayed Kurds in Syria, tells Kurds to withdraw o...
  October 23, 2019, 12:19 am
  

  The Kremlin said on Wednesday that the United States had betrayed and abandoned the Syrian Kurds and advised the Kurds to withdraw from the Syrian border as per a deal between Moscow and Ankara or be mauled by the Turkish army. The comments by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov to Russian news agencies followed a deal agreed on Tuesday between Russia and Turkey that will see Syrian and Russian forces deploy to northeast Syria to remove Kurdish YPG fighters and their weapons from the border with Turkey. Peskov, who was reported to be reacting to comments by U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Syria James Jeffrey, complained that it appeared that the United States was encouraging the Kurds to stay close to the Syrian border and fight the Turkish army.

  
  

  
  
• South Carolina police find remains of 5-year-old girl missing since August in...
  October 22, 2019, 7:18 pm
  

  The Sumter Police Department on Tuesday announced the remains of Nevaeh Lashy Adams were found after a search that began in August.

  
  

  
  
• Bamboozled: 'Panda dog' cafe sparks China animal rights debate
  October 23, 2019, 3:58 am
  

  A pet cafe in China where dogs are dyed black and white to look like panda cubs has triggered a heated online debate over the treatment of animals. The Cute Pet Games cafe opened last month in Chengdu, capital of southwest Sichuan province which is home to China's famous giant pandas, and features six panda-like Chow Chow dogs, according to a video posted by Hongxing News on Tuesday. The cafe owner, only identified by his last name Huang, told Hongxing News that he had started offering pet dyeing services after the panda dogs became an instant hit with clients.

  
  

  
  
• An Air France flight was forced to turn back in midair when staff found an un...
  October 22, 2019, 5:14 am
  

  Air France flight 136 to Chicago from Paris landed at Ireland's Shannon Airport, where the police scanned a cellphone found on board.

  
  

  
  
• Iranian beauty queen pleads for asylum in the Philippines
  October 22, 2019, 8:11 am
  

  An Iranian beauty queen is seeking asylum in the Philippines, fearing for her life after Tehran demanded her extradition for a crime she claims she did not commit.  Bahareh Zare Bahari, who represented Iran at the 2018 Miss Intercontinental pageant in Manila, and who has studied dental medicine in the Philippines since 2014, has been held for six days at the country?s Ninoy Aquino airport after Iran slapped an Interpol Red Notice on her for alleged assault.  In a series of messages, the distraught Ms Bahari told the Telegraph that the case was a ?big lie,? adding that she believed she was being targeted for her political activism and outspoken support of women?s rights. If she was deported to Iran, ?they will kill me,? she said.  Markk Perete, undersecretary at the Philippine department of justice, said that ?the only reason she was held at the airport -  and we really don?t call it detention -  it is really restraining her from entering the Philippine territory, is only because of that Red Notice issued against her.? He added that the request had been made ?presumably on account of a pending criminal case against her in Iran, and this case was filed by an Iranian national against her in relation to an assault that happened presumably here in the Philippines.? Bahareh Zare Bahari, who is studying dental medicine, is an outspoken advocate for women's rights Credit: Facebook However, Mr Perete said that the Philippines was unaware of this allegation, and that an earlier accusation of commercial fraud against her had been dismissed.  There were no criminal cases pending against Ms Bahari, he confirmed. ?We don?t have any cause for refusing her entry for violation of our laws.? Ms Bahari?s asylum plea is now being considered by the justice department, with the help of a lawyer.  Meanwhile, the dental student is confined to Terminal 3?s transit area awaiting her fate. ?There is no updating, no information about the reason why [they] keep me here so long,? she said.  She believes her political statement at the pageant - waving a poster of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled former crown prince, and one of the foremost critics of Iran?s Islamic government - made her enemies in Tehran.  Mr Pahlavi's name has been invoked by some Iranian groups who have called for a return of the monarchy to deal with corruption and poor economic conditions. ?I used his photo on stage to be [the] voice of my people because all news and media are ignoring my people,? she said.  Human Rights Watch on Tuesday called for ?a fair and impartial hearing of her claim? in Manila.  ?It?s absolutely critical the Philippines provides Bahareh Zare Bahari with support, including access to legal counsel, to compile and file her asylum application,? said Phil Robertson, HRW deputy Asia director.  ?While waiting for the details to become clear, there should be no action under Iran?s Interpol red notice, especially since under Interpol rules a red notice is null and void if the person named in the notice is found to be a refugee fleeing from the state that issued it.?

  
  

  
  
• 39 Bodies Including One Teenager Found in Back of Semitrailer in Britain
  October 23, 2019, 5:37 am
  

  Peter Nicholls/ReutersPolice in South-East England have launched a murder investigation involving a 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland after 39 dead bodies, including one that appears to be a teenager, were found in the trailer of a semi truck in an industrial park. Authorities were called to the Waterglade Industrial Park in Essex early Wednesday morning where the gruesome discovery was made. All 39 people were pronounced dead on the scene. It is yet unclear how the victims died, how long they had been dead when they were discovered, or if they died at the same time. Seventy Dead Migrants Found in Chicken TruckWednesday, British immigration services had joined the investigation, which is presumed to be a case of people smuggling, though British authorities said they could not officially confirm details until the identities of the victims are known. Each year thousands of migrants die attempting to cross into Europe. Many sink to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea without a trace. Others die on land and mountain routes. The International Organization for Migration estimates that 4,503 people are known to have died worldwide in 2018, with the highest number perishing in the Mediterranean Sea. Human smugglers and traffickers are by contrast rarely caught and punished. There are around two dozen people in jail in Italy related to trafficking crimes, but the masterminds are generally in countries of origin and difficult to hold accountable. Authorities working to determine the nationalities of the victims in Essex have warned that the process is complicated because of lack of documents in the victims? possession. Chief Superintendent Andrew Mariner said in a statement that the process could be lengthy. ?This is a tragic incident where a large number of people have lost their lives,? he said. ?Our enquiries are ongoing to establish what has happened.? Mariner originally said the semitrailer started its journey in Bulgaria. Later Wednesday, the police corrected that statement and now say they believe it starts its deadly journey in Zeebrugge, Belgium. Police have also suggested that two different trucks pulled the semitrailer at different times though it is not clear when the 39 people. Records show that it entered the U.K. in Holyhead, Wales, on Saturday, Oct. 19, which is one of the busiest ferry ports in the area with primary service to Ireland. Authorities called such a route into the U.K. ?unusual.?Seamus Leheny, the head of Northern Ireland Freight Transport Association told the BBC that increased security and checks in places like Dover and Calais have made smugglers and traffickers rethink traditional routes. ?It might be an easier way to get in by going from Cherbourgh or Roscoff, over to Rosslare, then up the road to Dublin,? he said of the presumed route via Ireland.Historically, migrants and refugees coming into Europe from Syria by way of Turkey have used long established smuggling routes through the so-called Balkan route, while migrants coming from sub-Saharan Africa tend to try to cross the Mediterranean Sea. In 2014, 71 migrants and refugees were found dead in the back of a chicken truck in Austria. In June 2000, 58 dead Chinese migrants were discovered in a truck at the busy port of Dover, U.K. The Dutch driver was convicted of multiple homicides after that incident. 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.

  
  

  
  
• Latest: Utility defends itself against outage outrage
  October 23, 2019, 6:41 pm
  

  Pacific Gas & Electric Corp.'s president and CEO has defended the utility's unpopular decision to switch power off in the second blackout this month. Bill Johnson of PG&E took pains during a televised briefing to say the company was doing a better job communicating with local governments and the general public ahead of the blackouts. Johnson said Wednesday that the utility was "working in lockstep" with state agencies.

  
  

  
  
• Mexico Misleads on Failed Arrest of ?Chapo? Son: Ex-DEA Official
  October 23, 2019, 9:52 am
  

  (Bloomberg) -- Mexico?s government isn?t being truthful about the botched attempt to capture the son of the world?s most notorious drug trafficker, according to a former head of international operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.The administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador hasn?t revealed that while trying to bring Ovidio Guzman Lopez into custody, security forces had caught another son of Joaquin ?El Chapo? Guzman, Mike Vigil, the former DEA official, said in an interview.Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar had also been detained and let go when gunmen overpowered police, Vigil said, citing unverified intelligence he received from top Mexico police sources. The New York Times had originally reported that Ivan Archivaldo had also been captured and released, citing people who asked not to be identified.?There are so many factors that point to the fact that he was there and they also released him,? said Vigil. ?But they?ll never admit to it because they?ve been lying from the get go.? Vigil wouldn?t disclose the sources behind his assertions, which couldn?t be independently corroborated. He added that authorities have been misleading the public by playing down the amount of planning that went into the operation.Lopez Obrador said at his daily news conference Wednesday that he had no information on whether Ivan Archivaldo had been captured and released. AMLO?s press office strongly rejected Vigil?s assertion that it misled the public on the botched arrest. ?There?s been an unusual amount of transparency, not only for Mexico but by international standards. The entire security cabinet was explaining every detail,? said Jesus Cantu, the information chief of the president?s press office. ?The president himself said he?d testify before the authorities if they considered he?d done something illegal.?How AMLO?s Plans to Transform Mexico Ran Into Reality: QuickTakeLopez Obrador, known as AMLO, has been struggling to convince the public that his government took the right step by releasing Guzman Lopez after gunmen began attacking civilians in efforts to free him in the northern city of Culiacan, Sinaloa. Guzman Lopez is said to have taken over some of the criminal activities after his father was sentenced to life in a U.S. prison.Initially, Mexico?s security chief, Alfonso Durazo, had said the troops had stumbled on Guzman Lopez by accident. Afterward, government officials said it was part of a planned operation. More recently, officials signaled that the arrest was approved by low-level law enforcement officials and cabinet ministers may not have been aware.While the president and Durazo have spoken of ?errors? regarding the operation, they?ve been distancing themselves from it. AMLO, as the president is known, said Tuesday that he wasn?t informed about the operation to capture Guzman Lopez.He also confirmed that there was an extradition order for the alleged trafficker and raised questions about whether the minister of defense had even been informed about the operation. ?I think the Defense Ministry had knowledge of it, the minister? I don?t know. I think so.?Jesus Ramirez, the president?s spokesman and like Cantu is also from AMLO?s press office, told Bloomberg News on Monday that Mexico attempted to detain Guzman Lopez upon request by the DEA for extradition. The DEA declined to comment and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City directed inquiries to the White House press office, which hasn?t responded to a request for comment.Vigil questioned why the authorities would target Guzman Lopez for extradition, when Chapo?s other sons are far more active in the Sinaloa Cartel once run by their father. ?Jesus Alfredo and Ivan Archivaldo are much more important than Ovidio,? he said. ?Mexico from the very beginning began distorting the truth in order to buy time so they could come up with a plausible deniability story.?(Updates with AMLO?s comment in fifth paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Nacha Cattan in Mexico City at ncattan@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, Robert JamesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

  
  

  
  
• Hillary Clinton's attacks on Tulsi Gabbard are embarrassing
  October 22, 2019, 6:56 am
  

  It?s sad that instead of doing something useful with her post-political career, Clinton has decided to lob ludicrous accusations at younger Democrats?Even though Gabbard may be a flawed messenger, the message itself is correct: we no longer need to hear what Hillary Clinton thinks about anything.? Photograph: Richard Drew/APHillary Clinton has kept a relatively low profile since her embarrassing 2016 election defeat, popping up only occasionally to make out-of-touch elitist comments that confirm why she lost. So it was somewhat surprising to hear her weigh in on the 2020 Democratic primary with a truly bizarre comment about (of all people) Tulsi Gabbard.Clinton accused the Hawaii congresswoman of being groomed by outside forces, saying: ?I think they?ve got their eye on somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate ? She?s the favorite of the Russians.? There is some dispute about whether Clinton meant it was the Russians or Republicans who were pushing a third-party Gabbard candidacy, but a Clinton spokesman asked about the comments replied ?if the nesting doll fits?, clearly implying it was dastardly Russians.Gabbard immediately hit back hard, calling Clinton (accurately) ?the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic party for so long?. While hosts of The View backed up Clinton, calling Gabbard a ?useful idiot?, others such as the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders and South Bend?s mayor, Pete Buttigieg, suggested that Clinton ought to have had some evidence before implying something so outrageous about a Democratic elected official.But it was typical Clinton. Paranoia about Russian influence has been ubiquitous among the Clinton set since 2016, in part because it helps to explain how the loss to Donald Trump wasn?t really Clinton?s fault. Liberals in the media like Rachel Maddow openly admit to having an obsession with Russia, and end up seeing the hands of Vladimir Putin on everything. Clinton herself has had trouble coming to terms with her loss. Even though accounts from inside the campaign confirm that Clinton barely knew why she was running for president, couldn?t craft any kind of message, and made laughably overconfident decisions about where to campaign, her campaign memoir was less a mea culpa than a j?accuse. It pointed fingers at Sanders and James Comey, and ended up sounding a lot like the Onion?s parody title: We All Made Mistakes But You Made Most Of Them.Years later, Clinton has learned seemingly nothing. Elsewhere on the podcast episode in which she made the accusations against Gabbard, Clinton blames fake news, foreign interference and voter suppression for undermining democracy and keeping Democrats out of power. Those are factors, but the big one is the one that Gabbard herself identified: the ?rot that has sickened the Democratic party for so long?. Clinton practiced a corrupting and duplicitous form of politics that made many would-be Democratic voters feel completely unrepresented by the party. But instead of spending her time in the woods doing some soul-searching, Clinton has evidently spent it cooking up new conspiracy theories about the all-powerful Putin.Tulsi Gabbard is completely right about what Clinton represents. Clinton was the Democratic party at its absolute worst: pro-war, pro-Wall Street, self-enriching, inept, devoid of any transformative vision and contemptuous of ordinary people. It?s very clear that Sanders would have been the smart choice in 2016, and Gabbard was one of the few Democratic officials to recognize that at the time and endorse him. Actually, that was courageous of her ? most Democratic officials, even those whose politics should have aligned them more closely with Sanders than Clinton, were too timid to buck the establishment and risk their career by potentially getting on the wrong side of an incoming Clinton administration.That?s not to say that Gabbard herself should be the future of the Democratic party. Far from it: while Gabbard has made a big deal of her anti-war stance, she has embraced the vicious Indian nationalist prime minister, Narendra Modi, and been far more hawkish and softer on torture than she would like progressive voters to believe. Her willingness to criticize the ?rot? in her own party may make Gabbard a refreshing presence on the debate stage, but no serious leftist can support someone who spent the Obama years echoing Republican talking points about ?radical Islam?. She?s still no ?useful idiot?, and even with her flaws she is preferable to truly intolerable candidates like Buttigieg and Joe Biden. If we were (God forbid) somehow faced with the choice between Tulsi Gabbard and Amy Klobuchar, the country would be far better off in Gabbard?s hands.Even though Gabbard may be a flawed messenger, the message itself is correct: we no longer need to hear what Hillary Clinton thinks about anything. Her kind of politics is, thankfully, a relic of history, and we have moved on. It?s sad that instead of doing something useful with her post-political career, Clinton has decided to lob ludicrous, borderline defamatory, accusations at younger Democratic women who were less wrong than Clinton was about dozens of issues. Fortunately, hardly anybody is listening any more. * Nathan Robinson is the editor of Current Affairs and a Guardian US columnist

  
  

  
  
• See Photos of the New Honda Fit
  October 22, 2019, 6:04 pm
  

  
  

  
  
• Connecticut College Students Charged With Violating State Law Prohibiting ?Ri...
  October 22, 2019, 7:06 am
  

  University of Connecticut students Jarred Karal and Ryan Mucaj were arrested by campus police Monday night and charged with violating a Connecticut hate crime statute for using a racial slur in an incident captured on video.One night earlier this month, Karal and Mucaj ? both described by police as white ? walked with another individual through the parking lot of a student apartment complex playing ?a game in which they yelled vulgar words,? according to the incident report. Police allege that the two switched to saying ?n*****? when they reached the parking lot, which was loud enough for two people inside to hear.The two were charged under a Connecticut State law that criminalizes ridiculing ?any person or class of people on account of creed, religion, color, denomination, nationality, or race.? The misdemeanor is punishable by up to 30 days in jail, a fine of $50, or both. The third individual was not charged for saying the slur.It is unclear whether the statute violates First Amendment grounds. ?It is supportive of our core values to pursue accountability, through due process, for an egregious assault on our community that has caused considerable harm,? UConn President Thomas C. Katsouleas said in a statement late Monday.Karal and Mucaj were released after promising to return for a scheduled court date on October 30.After the video went viral online, Campus blowback was swift. The administration, which learned of the incident October 11, faced severe criticism from students and activists. On Monday, the university?s NAACP chapter published a letter to the editor in the campus newspaper lambasting the university?s administration.?If the university does not adequately address and handle these occurrences of racism appropriately, it will create a culture in which racism is tolerated and normalized,? the NAACP letter reads. ?We demand for your full assurance that you will take appropriate measures to hold the students involved in these heinous acts of racism accountable.?On Monday afternoon, hundreds of students chanted ?it?s more than just a word? during an on-campus march and rally. During the march, Katsouleas voiced support for the students and extended an invitation to discuss the incident during his open office hours scheduled for Friday morning.UConn?s president also announced a nationwide search for a chief diversity officer in a letter to students on Friday. But students and professors criticized the president for his slow and inadequate response.?No stance is a stance,? Conn senior Areon Mangan told the Chronicle. ?Not saying anything says a lot.?In its letter to the campus newspaper, the NAACP released a list of eight demands, including new student guidelines and punishments for instances of racism, a new first-year course on diversity training, and increased hiring of black administration, faculty, staff, and police officers.Democratic State Senators Mae Flexer and Gregory Haddad, both UConn alums, voiced their support for students during the Monday rally.?White people can?t just say they care about this with words,?Flexer said. ?You can?t just say you?re an ally. You need to be a co-conspirator.??I?m here because I want to lift your voices up,? Haddad added.

  
  

  
  
• Newt Gingrich and Whoopi Goldberg go at it on 'The View' over Trump's 'lynchi...
  October 22, 2019, 11:19 am
  

  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Whoopi Goldberg go toe to toe over Trump?s ?lynching? comments on Twitter.

  
  

  
  
• Russia-Turkey deal shatters Syria Kurd dreams of self-rule
  October 23, 2019, 4:19 am
  

  A Turkish-Russian deal signed in the Black Sea resort of Sochi that carves up northeastern Syria sounds the death knell for Kurdish autonomy, analysts say. Syria's Kurds had hoped that the sacrifices made in the name of the international community to help crush the Islamic State group's "caliphate" would pay off. The Sochi agreement defines the contours of the debacle for the Kurdish forces, who still controlled close to a third of Syria two weeks ago and have now lost almost everything.

  
  

  
  
• Bitcoin plunges to five-month low vs dollar after Zuckerberg testimony
  October 23, 2019, 9:43 am
  

  Bitcoin's price dropped on Wednesday to its lowest level against the dollar since the middle of May after Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerbeg, in testimony before Congress, expressed doubts about whether the company's cryptocurrency project Libra was going to work. Bitcoin's price on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange was last down 6.95% at $7,471 , after hitting a five-month low below $7,300. Appearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, Zuckerberg admitted that he did not know if Libra would work.

  
  

  
  

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