Columbiana

Uneasy Democrats still hope for a white knight to save them from Biden, Warren or Sanders

With questions about the former VP's fundraising and the general election viability of the two New England senators, the Democratic establishment is looking for a new option in the primary race.

Iranian beauty queen pleads for asylum in the Philippines

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.”

Cummings lying in repose at historically black college

Mourners, constituents and other well-wishers paid respects to U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings on Wednesday as his body lay in repose at a historically black college in Baltimore ahead of the first in a series of services. A tan hearse with a U.S. House of Representatives seal carrying Cummings' body arrived Wednesday morning at Morgan State University's Murphy Fine Arts Center. A group of mourners led by Cummings' widow, Maya Rockeymoore, followed pallbearers who wheeled the black casket with silver trimmings into the building.

Once-Bitten Argentine Investors Aim to Avoid Panic on Sunday

(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.

US far-right activists get four years in jail for attacking leftists

Two members of a US far-right group were each sentenced to four years in prison on Tuesday for brawling with anti-fascist demonstrators in New York, prosecutors said. The sentencing comes as tensions between white supremacists and leftists simmer in the United States. Maxwell Hare and John Kinsman, members of the Proud Boys group, were found guilty in August by a state court of several counts of attempted assault and rioting.

SoftBank's WeWork takeover would lead to Adam Neumann's exit: sources

WeWork could run out of cash as early as next month without new financing, sources have said, after the company pulled plans in September for an initial public offering (IPO). It abandoned the IPO when investors questioned its large losses, the sustainability of its business model and the way WeWork was being run by co-founder Neumann, who gave up his CEO title last month and now serves as board chairman. WeWork owner The We Company's board will meet on Tuesday to evaluate SoftBank's offer against an alternative financing proposal from JPMorgan Chase & Co , the people, who were familiar with the matter, said.

Turkey Is No Ally of the United States

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.

Tasmanian Tigers Are Extinct, So Why Are Locals Reporting Sightings?

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

Seattle Public Schools Want to Teach Social Justice in Math Class. That Hurts Minorities.

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.

Is Russia the big winner in the Clinton-Gabbard clash?

Hillary Clinton's suggestion that Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was Russia's favorite candidate in the presidential primary sparked a harsh rebuke. Whose interests are served most by the public dispute between the two Democrats?

Silicon Valley CEOs Appear to Have Chosen Their 2020 Candidate

(Bloomberg) -- The technology industry is looking for something different in a president in 2020. And it appears Pete Buttigieg is their candidate.While Joe Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren are topping national polls in the contest for the Democratic Party’s nomination, California’s deep-pocketed Silicon Valley is donating to the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana over the former vice president by a 5-to-1 margin.“Pete is a clean slate for the party in ways Biden can’t be,” said Cyrus Radfar, a 35-year-old technology entrepreneur and Democratic donor. “There’s new life and new energy that Pete brings, especially as the base of the Democratic Party is getting younger. I think he’s going to be on the national stage for a long time.”Buttigieg has staged a fundraising blitz in posh Northern California communities, holding events hosted by technology executives such as Netflix Inc. Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings, Nest Labs home-automation company co-founder Matt Rogers, and Chelsea Kohler, director of product communications at Uber Technologies Inc., among others.Were he to win, Buttigieg would not only be the youngest president, but also the first openly gay one. While he is successfully raising money, Buttigieg has struggled until recently to enter the top tier of candidates nationally.But there are signs that he could be a moderate voter’s alternative to Biden. While raising money in California, Buttigieg is campaigning heavily in Iowa, and it appears both efforts are paying off. A USA Today/Suffolk University poll of likely Iowa caucus goers put Buttigieg just behind Biden and Warren for the first time. Biden had 18% support, Warren 17% and Buttigieg 13%.Millennial voters in the tech industry say they appreciate that Buttigieg’s liberal policies seem grounded in reality and recognize “a cutthroat world,” as Elizabeth Moran, 28, put it at a debate watch party in Silicon Valley’s Sunnyvale. Moran, who works at Poshmark, a social commerce platform, said she likes Buttigieg’s grasp of economics.“Well-educated recognizes well-educated,” Moran said, adding that Buttigieg could have come to Silicon Valley after graduating from Harvard as many Ivy League graduates do.In other words, in their eyes, Buttigieg is like them.“There’s a big move on the Democratic side to more heavily regulate tech, and that hasn’t been part of Buttigieg’s message,” said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles. “His message is consistent with innovation and forward-looking technology. He has not given the impression that he would threaten their interests.”While he hasn’t said much about competition and antitrust, Buttigieg has focused on improving regulations as opposed to breaking up big tech.“We’re going to need to empower the FTC to be able to intervene, including blocking or reversing mergers, in cases where there’s anti-competitive behavior by tech companies,” he said in a CNN town hall in April, referring to the Federal Trade Commission.Buttigieg was his high school’s valedictorian and went on to Harvard, where he befriended two roommates of future Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and was one of the first 300 users on the social media platform. He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, joined McKinsey & Co. as a consultant, and volunteered for Barack Obama’s tech-savvy 2008 presidential campaign before joining the U.S. Navy Reserve and serving in Afghanistan.His relationship with Zuckerberg persisted. Zuckerberg, 35, visited South Bend in 2017 while doing research for his philanthropic organization, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and got a personal tour from Buttigieg. That relationship lasted into this year, when Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, recommended two people that Buttigieg ultimately hired for his campaign. Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for Zuckerberg and Chan, said the couple hasn’t yet decided whom to support for president.The Golden StateCalifornia voters have an unusually large influence in choosing the party’s nominee this cycle. The state primary next year is in March instead of its previous June slot and its donors contributed 1 of every 5 dollars raised by the party’s presidential candidates in the first six months of this year, data from the Center for Responsive Politics show.Buttigieg is second only to home-state senator Kamala Harris in the percentage of his campaign money that comes from California. Harris got 45% of her donations from Californians, Buttigieg got 22%.Harris, who was the state’s attorney general, raised $1 million from California lawyers, more than twice as much as any other candidate. She was also the top recipient of donations from employees of the entertainment industry. But California employees of tech companies, including giants like Facebook, Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp., backed Buttigieg more than any other candidate.Silicon Valley bundlers -- fundraisers who gather money from numerous employees of a firm -- have raised concerns about both Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders, who are relying primarily on small-dollar contributions from online donors.Warren is particularly thorny for the tech industry. She has vowed that she will not meet with big donors who want to “buy access” -- and perhaps more troubling for them, has promised to break up big technology companies. Some technology workers are contributing to Warren and Sanders, but few are writing the $2,800 checks that Buttigieg and Biden are relying on, likely because they’ve been quieter on the question of how to handle big tech.Buttigieg is positioning himself as a younger alternative to 76-year-old Biden. Like Biden, he has not embraced the progressive wing’s Medicare for All, instead proposing government-run health care “to those who want it,” without eliminating private insurance.In other areas, he hasn’t taken many unique stances, but his Midwestern and military background seeps into some plans. An issue page on his campaign website is simply called “Unleash rural opportunity,” and he has proposed eliminating some student debt in exchange for national service.Paul Holland, a California venture capitalist and fundraiser for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, said he believes a moderate has the best chance of winning. In his circles, Biden hasn’t attracted the same kind of enthusiastic support that other candidates have.“It’s Mayor Pete and Cory Booker who are getting most of the attention,” he said.Buttigieg himself drew the contrast between his candidacy and Biden’s during a Marin County event.“Every time we’ve won in our party it’s been with a candidate with new ideas, who hasn’t been on the scene for too long,” Buttigieg said. “That’s what works. Also, Americans are most likely to support the opposite of what’s in the Oval Office.”Among Buttigieg’s donors are Ron Conway, an investor who has guided San Francisco mayors to back tech-friendly policies; Scott Belsky, the chief product officer and executive vice president at Adobe Inc.; Tony Xu, CEO of Doordash Inc.; David Marcus, the head of Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project and Wendy Schmidt, wife of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.Buttigieg’s fundraising has been prodigious, but he’s still behind in national polls. He stands at just 5% in the RealClearPolitics national average, compared with 26% for Biden. And that raises pragmatic questions about who can win the Democratic nomination.“Even with his flaws, Biden is the guy who’s probably going to satisfy the moderates,” Holland said.To contact the reporters on this story: Bill Allison in Washington DC at ballison14@bloomberg.net;Jeffrey Taylor in San Francisco at jtaylor184@bloomberg.net;Sophie Alexander in San Francisco at salexander82@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Peter EichenbaumFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Newt Gingrich and Whoopi Goldberg go at it on 'The View' over Trump's 'lynching' comments

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

Ginsburg to receive $1 million Berggruen Prize

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the winner of this year's $1 million Berggruen Prize for philosophy and culture. The award announced Wednesday by the Los Angeles-based Berggruen Institute honors Ginsburg for her pioneering legal work for gender equality and her support for the rule of law. The institute says Ginsburg will direct the money to charity.

U.S. attorney general calls for counseling, intervention to prevent mass shootings

U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday announced a new effort to prevent mass shootings through court-ordered counseling and supervision of potentially violent individuals. The effort, announced in a memo to federal prosecutors and law enforcement officials, follows dozens of deadly mass shootings in the United States this year, including a massacre of 22 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and another just one day later in Dayton, Ohio, in which nine people were killed. The FBI was given expanded powers after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks to investigate foreign terrorism threats.

'Who gives a s--- about Afghanistan?': Trump stunned officials with his comments during a military briefing, former aide says

Trump made the remarks during a meeting with top military officials, according to Jim Mattis' former speechwriter, Guy Snodgrass.

Can Israel Fend off an Iranian Missile or Drone Attack?

How good are their defenses?

Phoenix police officer involved in viral video stop of couple fired

Phoenix Chief Jeri Williams announced that the officer involved in a viral video stop of Dravon Ames and Iesha Harper has been fired.

Lebanon's Hezbollah under rare street pressure

When mass anti-government protests engulfed Lebanon, a taboo was broken as strongholds of the Shiite Hezbollah movement saw rare demonstrations criticising the party and revered leader Hassan Nasrallah. This shattered the myth of absolute acquiesence among Hezbollah's popular base, baffling even those who hail from the movement's strongholds. "No one ever expected that in any of these areas in south Lebanon we would hear a single word against Nasrallah," or Amal Movement leader Nabih Berri, said Sara, a 32-year-old activist who participated in protests in the southern city of Nabatiyeh.

Kim orders South's buildings at resort in North be destroyed

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.

Vatican financial regulator denies wrongdoing in London property buy

The Vatican's financial regulator on Wednesday rejected a prosecutor's accusations that it acted improperly over the purchase of a luxury building in London, raising the stakes in an awkward internal conflict for Pope Francis. A statement by the Financial Information Authority (AIF) was the latest twist in a saga that has so far included an unprecedented police raid on two key departments, the suspension of five employees and the resignation of the Vatican's longtime security chief and papal bodyguard. In its first public comment since the raid on its offices on Oct. 1, when police seized documents and computers, AIF said it had carried out an internal investigation and confirmed confidence in its director, Tommaso di Ruzza, who was suspended after the raid.

Former Acting Attorney General: ‘Abuse of Power Is Not a Crime’

Following Tuesday’s devastating House testimony by acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor about President Trump allegedly coercing the Ukrainian president to do his political bidding, former acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker defended the president by claiming “abuse of power is not a crime.”With House Democrats reportedly looking to focus their impeachment inquiry on a basic “abuse of power” narrative going forward, Fox News’ Laura Ingraham brought Whitaker on her primetime show Tuesday night to provide a counter-argument.Predicting Republican “payback” in the future if Democrats are successful in impeaching and removing the president, Whitaker went on to complain about the “secret testimony” in the House hearings before claiming that it is too close to the 2020 election for impeachment.“It’s corrosive and yet those that are perpetrating it cast themselves as the white knights,” Ingraham replied, seemingly referring to Taylor, among others. “They are saving the republic from the man whose policies they disagree with so vehemently.”Whitaker, meanwhile, blasted the “global elitists and careerists” who are upset with Trump for “upsetting the apple cart” of the “world establishment,” claiming Trump is “being punished for this.” He then called on Democrats to hold public hearings to make their case for impeachment.“I’m a former prosecutor and what I know is this is a perfect time for preliminary hearings where you would say show us your evidence,” Whitaker stated. “What evidence of a crime do you have? So the Constitution—abuse of power is not a crime.”“Let’s fundamentally boil it down,” he added. “The Constitution is very clear that there has to be some pretty egregious behavior and they cannot tell the American people what this case is even about.”The articles of impeachment against former President Bill Clinton specifically laid out gross abuse of presidential power charges. Richard Nixon was also looking at three articles of impeachment—one of which was for abuse of power—before he resigned as president.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Bernie Weighed in on the 'Outrageous' Hillary-Tulsi Spat. You Won't Believe Which Side He Took.

“She’s the favorite of the Russians,” Clinton had said.

Missouri farmer Garland Nelson charged with murder in deaths of Wisconsin brothers

Wisconsin brothers Nicholas and Justin Diemel were reported missing after they missed a flight back to Wisconsin following a business trip in July.

Turkey-U.S. Sparring Escalates as Bank Spurns NY Court

(Bloomberg) -- Turkey is snubbing U.S. demands for one of its biggest banks to face charges that it helped Iran evade sanctions amid escalating tensions fueled by Turkey’s incursion into northern Syria.U.S. prosecutors charged Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS last week with enabling a sanctions-evasion scheme that helped Iran tap $20 billion in frozen foreign oil sales revenue sitting in foreign bank accounts, at a time when the U.S. was trying to maximize leverage over the country in negotiations to abandon its nuclear program.The timing of the indictment led Turkish officials to dismiss the charges as false and politically motivated. The bank and its U.S. lawyers have refused to accept a legal summons or acknowledge U.S. legal authority in the matter. At a hearing Tuesday, no lawyers or executives showed up to represent the bank. A day earlier Turkey named a former executive at the bank, who’d been convicted in the U.S., to head the Istanbul stock exchange.Tensions between Turkey and the U.S. have heightened since President Donald Trump ordered the removal of U.S. troops from northern Syria, opening the door for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to send his forces to attack Kurds in the region.The incursion spurred the U.S. to sanction Turkey with Trump writing a letter last week to Erdogan imploring him not to be a “tough guy” or a “fool.” Erdogan reportedly threw the letter in the trash.Earlier, Trump threatened Turkey in a statement on Twitter.U.S. authorities had been pursuing a criminal case against the bank for at least a year, seeking to impose a massive financial penalty for its role in the scheme. But the case idled for months amid diplomatic wrangling until the charges were filed along with other sanctions last week.Read more on the charges hereFederal prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office have now deemed Halkbank a “fugitive,” and told U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman they may seek contempt sanctions if the bank fails to respond to renewed demands for its presence in court. Halkbank has no employees or offices in the U.S., though it does have a correspondent bank account and shares that are listed and traded as American depositary receipts in U.S. markets.The judge said he would consider the request but also said he wanted to give the bank two weeks to review the matter and reconsider its position.If Turkey’s current position on the issue is any indication, it may take more than two weeks: on Monday, it named a former Halkbank executive who was convicted in a U.S. trial over the sanctions scheme as the new chief executive of the Istanbul stock exchange. The executive, Mehmet Hakan Atilla, was released from U.S. custody in July. In making the appointment, Turkish finance minister Berat Albayrak, who is also Erdogan’s son-in-law, said Atilla was the victim of an “unjust conviction.”(Corrects bank’s name in second paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Christian Berthelsen in New York at cberthelsen1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Joe SchneiderFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Murder suspect whose case was catalyst for Hong Kong protests released

A murder suspect whose proposed deportation to Taiwan was a catalyst for massive anti-government protests in Hong Kong was released from prison Wednesday, but despite saying he wants to face justice will remain in the city for now. The proposed law -- which was formally scrapped Wednesday -- was prompted by the case of Hong Konger Chan Tong-kai, 20, who is wanted in Taiwan for the 2018 murder of his pregnant girlfriend, Poon Hiu-wing. "I am willing to surrender myself... and go back to Taiwan to face the trial and serve the sentence," he said.

Shamima Begum appeals against loss of British citizenship but Home Office suggests plight is her 'own fault'

Shamima Begum, the Isil bride, chose to go to Syria and can only blame “her own actions” if she is in danger, the Government said on Tuesday as it argued against her return to the UK.  The Bethnal Green schoolgirl fled to join the terror group when she was 15 with two other friends and married a Dutch fighter with whom she had three children.  As the caliphate crumbled earlier this year, she was tracked down to a refugee camp close to the Syrian border, heavily pregnant and grieving the deaths of her two older children.  Her re-emergence into the public eye prompted Sajid Javid, then Home Secretary, to revoke her British citizenship to prevent her travelling home. Her newborn child died days later. On Tuesday, a legal challenge launched by Ms Begum, now aged 20, reached the Special Immigration Appeals Commission in London, as her lawyers tried to get the decision ruled unlawful. They are claiming the revocation left her stateless, exposed her to the risk of death or harm and deprived her of access to a “fair and effective” appeal.  Concerns were raised that Ms Begum could be “hanged” if she was sent back to Bangladesh - where the Government alleges she has citizenship - or rendered to face trial and possible execution in Iraq by the forces currently running the al-Roj camp. She claimed the loss of her British citizenship had left her trapped in “wretched and squalid conditions” at the camp, contrary to her rights under the European Convention on Human Rights However, the Home Office rejected these claims in written submissions presented to the court and suggested Ms Begum’s current plight was her own fault.  The argument, prepared by Jonathan Glasson QC, said: “It is relevant that the appellant is in Syria because of her own actions; and is detained in a camp run by the (Syrian Democratic Forces) as a direct consequence of her own actions; the Secretary of State has no role in the running of that camp; and no role in the decision of the SDF to detain the appellant there. “If her appeal succeeds on this preliminary issue, she will still be in precisely the same situation.” The Government claimed Ms Begum had “not presented any evidence” to show she was at risk of being deported to either Bangladesh or Iraq. A similar argument was deployed to counter the suggestion she had been denied a route of appeal, as she was said to have travelled to Syria “against Foreign Office advice, aligned with Isil and remained there in those circumstances for the next four years”. “Any difficulties she faces there - including difficulties leaving the camp or appealing against the deprivation decision from outside the UK - are not the result of any actions of the Secretary of State,” the written submissions continued.  Ms Begum’s lawyer, Tom Hickman QC, said in his own submissions that the Isil bride was not a Bangladeshi citizen as she was born in the UK and had never travelled to the country, meaning she would have to apply for dual citizenship through the Bangladeshi citizenship of her parents. The Bangladeshi government released a statement in February saying it was “deeply concerned” that Ms Begum had been “erroneously identified as a holder of dual citizenship”. These claims were also dismissed by the Home Office, which argued Ms Begum held dual citizenship through her parents because her father never became a naturalised British citizen and therefore she was not required to reapply for Bangladeshi citizenship as she was under 21.  It also suggested in a letter to her lawyers on October 18 that the chaos which has engulfed northern Syria since Turkey launched an offensive meant Ms Begum was “free to leave” as her camp was “likely to be unguarded”. But Mr Hickman told the court on Tuesday: “As far as we are aware nothing material has changed at al-Roj, albeit that the environment there is incredibly fragile and dangerous." Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing is expected to reserve her judgment at the end of the four-day preliminary hearing in London.  It is not expected to examine the “national security” allegations against Ms Begum this week, which may include claims, first reported by The Telegraph, that she was an enforcer in Isil’s morality police.

Rep. Ilhan Omar condemns North Dakota state senator's Facebook post

Rep. Ilhan Omar has condemned a Republican state senator from North Dakota who posted a long-debunked photo on his Facebook page that purports to show the Minnesota Democrat holding a weapon at an al-Qaida training camp.

North Mexico city of Culiacan cleans up after cartel fight

CULIACÁN, Mexico (AP) — Residents of the northern Mexico city of Culiacan tried to get back to their routines Tuesday, five days after gunmen from the Sinaloa drug cartel sowed terror across the city. Hundreds of cartel gunmen took to the streets with heavy weaponry Thursday to open fire on soldiers and police, seeking to force the release of a drug lord held by a military patrol. It now patrols the city streets in trucks and armored vehicles.

Making do with less: Mexican media bruised by president's austerity

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office in December promising to reduce public spending to free up more resources for the poor. Between January and August, Lopez Obrador's government spent 88 million pesos ($4.6 million) on advertising, just 3.6% of the sum spent in the same months of 2018 by his predecessor Enrique Pena Nieto, Public Administration Ministry (SFP) data show. The reduction in government publicity, which had accounted for 10% or more of advertising revenue for many outlets, has sparked layoffs and the suspension of projects in an industry still suffering disruption from the shift to the internet.

U.S. Navy Pilots Admit: We Could Lose a War With China

A panel of young aviators voiced a harsh warning to the audience at the U.S. Navy’s annual Tailhook aviation convention in Nevada in September 2019: the Navy’s pilots aren’t ready to do battle with a high-tech foe such as China.

Canadian Court Rules against Transgender Activist Jessica Yaniv in Fight with Beauticians over Waxing

The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has ruled against Canadian transgender activist Jessica Yaniv in a case stemming from a complaint Yaniv filed against multiple female beauticians who refused to wax Yaniv’s male genitalia.“Self-identification does not erase physiological reality,” said Jay Cameron, a lawyer for the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, which represented the beauticians. “Our clients do not offer the service requested. No woman should be compelled to touch male genitals against her will, irrespective of how the owner of the genitals identifies.”The Tribunal said in its decision that Yaniv had had filed the “complaints for improper purposes,” and had contradicted herself in “disingenuous” testimony. Yaniv, who is sexually attracted to women, brought 15 complaints against a number of beauticians in the Vancouver area, seeking as much as $15,000 in damages from each one.“Most of the women who were the target of Yaniv’s complaints work out of their own home, are of immigrant background, and have small children with them in the house during the day,” the Justice Centre’s report said. Yaniv also apparently accused immigrants during the trial of discrimination for refusing service on religious grounds, writing earlier this year on Facebook that “we have a lot of immigrants here who gawk, judge and aren’t the cleanest of people, they’re also verbally and physically abusive, that’s one reason I joined a girl’s gym.”Yaniv is being ordered to pay $2,000 to three of the accused women, one of whom was forced out of business due to the case.In August, Yaniv was arrested for owning a taser, after brandishing it on camera during an interview about Yaniv’s alleged history of predatory behavior toward children. Screen-captured messages allegedly from Yaniv highlighted intimate questions to underage girls, and legal documents showed an attempt to organize a topless pool party for such girls.

'Johnny Reb' no longer welcome in Norfolk: Virginia city gets OK to move Confederate statue

Virginia's attorney general says the city of Norfolk can move its "Johnny Reb" Confederate statue from a busy downtown intersection to a cemetery

Croatia Gets Green Light to Join EU’s Visa-Free Schengen Zone

(Bloomberg) -- Six years after Croatia joined the European Union, the Balkan nation is getting a green light from the European Commission to join the bloc’s passport-free Schengen area.Croatia has continued to fulfill all of Schengen criteria, the Commission said in a statement in Brussels on Tuesday. The European Council would still need to sign off on Croatia’s accession. It’s the latest country to join the EU.“I commend Croatia for its efforts and perseverance to meet all the necessary conditions to join Schengen,” President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a statement. “This is why I trust the member states will take the right steps for Croatia to become a full Schengen member soon.”Fellow EU nations Romania and Bulgaria, which joined the bloc in 2007, are still waiting to join the world’s largest multinational free-travel zone.(Updates with comments from Juncker from third paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Jasmina Kuzmanovic in Zagreb at jkuzmanovic@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, ;Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, ;Nikos Chrysoloras at nchrysoloras@bloomberg.net, Michael WinfreyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Boris Loses Control as Parliament Rejects Brexit Exit Plan

REUTERSLONDON—Boris Johnson’s “do or die” pledge to take Britain out of the European Union by Oct. 31 was quashed by Parliament on Tuesday night, handing the initiative to the EU to effectively trigger a British election.Johnson threatened to call for a general election if British lawmakers refused to allow him to rush through his deal and the EU proposed a new extension of three months or more. Under a law passed in Westminster last month, Johnson is not allowed to negotiate to shorten whatever extension the EU chooses. Rather than seek to compromise with opponents who want proper time to scrutinize the Brexit deal, Johnson responded to the 322 to 308 vote defeat on fast-tracking it by halting the passage of his deal altogether while Britain waits to see what extension the EU will grant. “We will pause this legislation,” he said, a phrase that sounded innocuous but could well kick-start an epic new election showdown between the forces of Remain and Leave. A snap vote could take place before Christmas. It remains to be seen if Johnson is as good as his word—and there have been plenty of reasons to cast doubt on it in the past—as there was no specific mention of the election he had threatened earlier in the day in the aftermath of his defeat. Under Britain’s fixed-term parliament act, a two-thirds majority is usually required to call an election so both the government and the opposition would have to agree. Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, did not need a second invitation, however. Soon after Johnson said he was pausing the agreement, Tusk tweeted that he was talking to leaders in Brussels about issuing a written extension, which is likely to delay the Brexit deadline until January 31.If that were confirmed, British politicians would be under heavy pressure to agree to hold an election and seek a fresh mandate from the voters before proceeding with any Brexit deal.Johnson had earlier won a vote on his deal—the first time his government has won a single significant vote in the Commons. That was a major step towards securing Brexit, as Parliament has always refused to back any formal arrangement that would result in leaving the EU.The next phase of the legislation’s progress is where things become more difficult, however, as lawmakers are able to amend the bill in order to clarify sections or—as No. 10 fears—introduce so-called wrecking amendments that would collapse the bill entirely.Just last week, Johnson had secured a compromise deal that many thought was impossible in Brussels, but that came at a serious cost. The EU had sworn they would not re-open the Withdrawal Agreement that had been negotiated with Theresa May, but then Johnson did what he said he would never do and he caved on one of his key red lines. He signed up to a version of the deal that May had rejected, which would effectively create a customs border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the mainland. That concession led to a breakthrough in Europe but it meant the Democratic Unionist Party, which had been propping up the Conservative government, fled from the deal. It was lawmakers who made the most aggressive speeches attacking the prime minister during a contentious debate in the House of Commons. Sammy Wilson of the DUP said he felt they had been betrayed by the Conservatives. “I nearly choked when the prime minister said it,” he said on Tuesday.Wilson and his nine DUP colleagues voted against Johnson’s expedited deal. Wilson was particularly aggravated that Johnson had been unfamiliar with the precise details of the deal he had agreed that would govern Northern Ireland’s relationship with the rest of Britain. There were doubts about exactly how familiar Johnson was with the customs rules that he was attempting to rush through Parliament.Jill Rutter, an independent former civil servant who worked at the Treasury and No. 10, said: “I don’t think Johnson understands what he has agreed for Northern Ireland…”With the Europeans jumping on his “pause” to bind Britain into another extension, Johnson may have also misunderstood that he was putting his job on the line. 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.

An Air France flight was forced to turn back in midair when staff found an unattended cellphone that wasn't claimed by any of the passengers

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

Indian troops kill 3 senior Kashmiri militants

Indian forces have killed a top militant commander and his two associates in a counterinsurgency operation in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said Wednesday. Hamid Lelhari and his associates were killed Tuesday evening in a gunfight that erupted after Indian security forces launched a counterinsurgency operation in southern Awantipora area, said Dilbagh Singh, chief of police in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Police say Lelhari became the operations chief of Ansar Ghawzat-ul-Hind, an affiliate of the al-Qaida militant group, after Indian troops killed a top militant, Zakir Musa, last year.

'I'm in charge of the Hatch Act': Trump lashes out at chief of staff over potential ethics violations, report says

Donald Trump reportedly told a room of his top aides that he is in charge of the Hatch Act, when warned by his chief of staff that bringing his cabinet members to a campaign rally could violate ethics rules.The comment, reported in a new Wall Street Journal article, illustrates the degree to which Mr Trump believes his administration does not have to worry about the rule, which was passed a century ago with the intention of warding off political activity by government employees.

Sen. Schumer: Democrats will try to overturn tax deduction cap

Senate Democrats are attempting to repeal an IRS regulation that is designed to keep people from exceeding the $10,000 limit on state and local tax deductions.

Iraqi Kurds turn to Zoroastrianism as faith, identity entwine

Zoroastrianism. Years of violence by the Islamic State jihadist group have left many disillusioned with Islam, while a much longer history of state oppression has pushed some in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region to see the millennia-old religion as a way of reasserting their identity. "After Kurds witnessed the brutality of IS, many started to rethink their faith," said Asrawan Qadrok, the faith's top priest in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.

Driver dies days after pickup collided with small plane

Patrick J. Schounard died from injuries he suffered when a single-engine aircraft attempting to land collided with his pickup truck in Wisconsin.

Florida Committee Backs Removing Sheriff Over Response to Parkland Shooting

The Florida Senate Rules Committee on Monday recommended removing the Broward County sheriff accused of mishandling the February, 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.Sheriff Scott Israel has been accused of bungling the response to the shooting by not effectively coordinating officers on the scene, as well as for not properly investigating threats made by the shooter before he acted.Seventeen students and school staff were killed in the shooting by a former student, who had been expelled from the high school due to disciplinary issues.Florida Governor Rick DeSantis, a Republican, had campaigned to remove Israel from his post during the Florida general election. DeSantis suspended Israel soon after taking office in January 2019.The committee's decision was divided along party lines, with Democrats backing Sheriff Israel.Now that the committee has recommended Israel's removal, the full Florida Senate will vote on the matter on Wednesday."We didn't understand the magnitude of the failures by law enforcement," Ryan Petty, whose 14 year old daughter was killed in the shooting, said in testimony to the committee. "The testament to that failure is 17 dead children and teachers, 17 more with life-altering injuries — a burden we must bear forever."Israel's supporters urged the Senate to reinstate him. The Sheriff was elected to office in 2012."Please be the body that doesn't turn its back on the voters of Broward County," said Patti Lynn, a backer of Israel. "Our county voted for Sheriff Scott Israel. It's up to the voters of Broward County to remove him."