Medina

U.S. will act if Iranian tanker tries to deliver oil to Syria: Pompeo

The tanker is carrying about 2 million barrels of oil.

Epstein may have gamed the system from beyond the grave

The will that Jeffrey Epstein signed just two days before his jailhouse suicide puts more than $577 million in assets into a trust fund that could make it more difficult for his dozens of accusers to collect damages. "This is the last act of Epstein's manipulation of the system, even in death," said attorney Jennifer Freeman, who represents child sex abuse victims. Epstein, 66, killed himself Aug. 10 in New York while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

Ex-VA doctor who was fired for being drunk on job charged with manslaughter in 3 veterans' deaths

Robert Morris Levy was arrested and faces a grand jury indictment on manslaughter and fraud charges in connection with the death of three veterans.

Tlaib Dismisses Criticism of Anti-Semitic Group That Planned Palestine Trip as ‘Distraction’

Representative Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) defended her aborted plan to attend a trip to Israel and Palestine sponsored by a notoriously anti-Semitic group on Monday, arguing that criticisms of the organization were intended to serve as a “distraction” from Israeli human-rights abuses committed against Palestinians.Tlaib and fellow Democratic representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota were barred from Israel by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week over their affiliation with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The pair were planning on attending a trip to the country that was funded and planned by Miftah, a non-profit Palestinian advocacy group with a lengthy history of endorsing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.Addressing the resulting controversy during a Monday press conference, Tlaib and Omar distanced themselves from Miftah, emphasizing that they weren't aware of the group's background when they decided to attend the trip, and adding that they implicitly trusted the group because other Democratic members of Congress participated in similar trip sponsored by it in 2016.“Our colleagues that are senior members, some of whom have served multiple terms, actually told us about the organization. We're not the ones who chose the organization. A U.S.-based sponsor organization chose it. But I think there were five members of Congress that actually went on a trip sponsored by the same organization,” Tlaib said when asked about criticisms of Miftah.The freshman Michigan lawmaker went on to argue that, while she was unaware of Miftah's background, recent criticisms of the group represent a cynical attempt to distract from the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.“We're just as taken aback and learned from everybody else that there are some issues around the organization. I think these are just distractions into the fact that this had nothing to do really with the agenda or these other issues,” she continued. “I think the focus is the hiding of the truth and hiding that the occupation is happening. I think they knew that us setting foot there would basically bring attention to something that many of us feel is very much against international human rights.”> Omar & Tlaib feign ignorance about their trip's organizer, MIFTAH, which prev organized a meeting w/Dems & a member of a Palestinian terrorist group> > MIFTAH also praised Palestinian suicide bombers & accused Jews of blood libelhttps://t.co/KNBDWPLsYDpic.twitter.com/r8GKzoi45F> > -- Elizabeth Harrington (@LizRNC) August 19, 2019In 2013, Miftah published an article on its website endorsing an ancient anti-Semitic trope that accuses “Jews [of using] the blood of Christians in the Jewish Passover.”The group subsequently apologized for the post, but it has issued no such apology for the numerous articles in which its contributors praise suicide bombers who have killed scores of civilians as legitimate combatants in a war for Palestinian rights.

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

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

Spain sends navy to save migrants as Italian justice intervenes

Spain on Tuesday deployed a naval patrol boat to pick up migrants on a charity rescue boat that has been stranded off Italy's Lampedusa island for days after numerous people jumped overboard in a desperate bid to swim ashore. Prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio also ordered the Open Arms charity vessel preventatively seized after inspecting the Spanish boat on which migrants have spent 19 days and "given the difficult situation on board", a judicial source said. Against the backdrop of a major political crisis in Italy, Patronaggio intervened as part of his probe into alleged kidnapping and refusing to obey orders targeting far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini.

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

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

China could ‘render US military bases useless’ within hours of conflict in Asia, report says

China’s military could use missiles to overwhelm American military bases in Asia within hours, a think tank has warned.The US defence strategy in the Indo-Pacific is “in the throes of an unprecedented crisis”, according to a report from the United States Studies Center, at the University of Sydney in Australia.

U.S. removed almost 2.7 million barrels daily of Iranian oil from market: Pompeo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has removed nearly 2.7 million barrels of Iranian oil from global markets daily as a result of Washington's decision to reimpose sanctions on all purchases of Iran's crude, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday.

Fox News Tried to Get Jill Abramson to Call the New York Times Biased. It Backfired.

During a lengthy Fox News interview on Wednesday morning, former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson repeatedly frustrated America’s Newsroom anchors Sandra Smith and Jon Scott as she rebuffed their attempts to get her to criticize the paper’s coverage of President Trump.In recent days, Fox News has been laser-focused on a transcript of the newspaper’s recent town-hall meeting, claiming it showed current Times executive editor Dean Baquet admitting the paper switched narratives from the Russia investigation to racism in an effort to take out the president. Abramson, who has not been shy in her criticism of the paper she once ran, began the segment by immediately praising Baquet as “really doing a brilliant job” under the circumstances of Trump’s presidency.Noting that Baquet is “criticized all the time by you at Fox News and by conservatives were being way too hard on Trump and being biased” against him, Abramson went on to say how impressed she was with Baquet for explaining to the staff that their job was to be “independent and to hold power accountable.”“Essentially he told reporters and staffers that we started trying to cover the Trump and Russia collusion narrative and that has kind of gone away,” Scott countered. “So now we are going to cover President Trump as a racist. Is that essentially what he says, would you agree with that?”The ex-Times editor did not, in fact, agree with that.“No, I think you mischaracterized what he said,” she replied. “What he was explaining was that the paper had been set up to cover a deep investigative story out of Washington.”Abramson added: “And now they were pivoting to an election where the job of The New York Times is to be in the country figuring out how people feel and what they think. It was not telling people get ready to cover a racist administration. That was a complete mischaracterization of what he was saying. I read that transcript twice.”Smith, meanwhile, tried a different tack, reading a piece of the transcript in which Baquet says they need to “regroup” following their coverage of the Russian investigation while framing it within conservative criticism.“You heard some members of Congress, including Ted Cruz and others, speaking out pretty aggressively about that revealing an intentional shift in coverage from the Russia narrative to now race in covering the president, is that fair?” Smith asked.“I think that’s an overstatement,” Abramson responded. “If you look at the totality of what Dean said it, he was urging his staff to make a pivot to cover out in the country in all America, not just in Washington, but how people are feeling to understand deeply why they elected Donald Trump in 2016 and why they may possibly do so again in 2016.”Eventually, the Fox anchors shifted course and tried to get Abramson to blast the Times for changing a headline earlier this month, once again coming up empty as the former editor said the current editorial staff made the right judgment in making the alteration.As the interview came to an end, Smith threw up one final Hail Mary.“I know your book writes about old-school journalism and the changing media landscape and what’s missing from journalism today,” the anchor said. “I will just ask you, does The New York Times fairly cover the news?Does The New York Times fairly cover President Trump?”“I think it does fairly cover President Trump, who makes it very difficult to cover him,” Abramson answered, adding that it is “extremely difficult” to cover a president who has reportedly said more than 10,000 lies and falsehoods since entering office.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.

CNN Pundit’s Bodyguard Charged with Assault after Removing Reporter Covering Her Speech

CNN pundit April Ryan's security guard has been charged with assault after he forcibly removed a local New Jersey reporter from an event at which Ryan was delivering a speech.Charlie Kravotil, editor of New Brunswick Today, claims that Ryan's bodyguard, 30-year-old Joel Morris, approached him during Ryan's speech at The Heldrich Hotel on August 3 and stole his camera after he refused to stop filming.A video of the incident shows Kravotil, who secured press credentials for the event, following Morris into the lobby of the hotel to retrieve his camera. After the local journalist reclaimed his camera, Morris grabbed his arm, placed it behind his back, and shoved him out of the hotel.Morris has been charged with harassment, assault, and theft in connection with the incident.Kravotil says he was invited to the event and was allowed to film for roughly two hours before Ryan took the stage to deliver a speech, at which point Morris stole his camera but allowed other people in the room to continue filming. He called on Ryan to apologize for the incident in a Monday tweet.“She’s been silent about the unacceptable and illegal behavior of her bodyguard, Joel Morris, and we are still waiting for her comment on this unfortunate incident,” Kravotil said in a video posted to Twitter. “Maybe now that there are criminal charges, we might hear something from her. I hope, sincerely, that she does comment and I hope she does condemn this. This is unacceptable. . . . In our country, we have freedom of the press.”Ryan is a vociferous critic of President Trump and routinely disparages him for his rhetorical attacks on the press, even authoring a book on the subject last year entitled Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House.

Trial starts in case of fatal shooting over parking spot

A prosecutor told jurors Wednesday that a white Florida man who fatally shot an unarmed black man during a dispute over a parking space had initiated a similar confrontation just months before, while his defense attorney said the shooting was in self-defense. Prosecutor Fred Schaub said during opening statements of Michael Drejka's manslaughter trial in Clearwater that five months before he fatally shot Markeis McGlockton in July 2018, the defendant had threatened another driver about parking in a handicapped parking spot at the same convenience store. Five months later, Drejka confronted McGlockton's girlfriend for parking in a handicapped space.

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

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

Albania bulldozes restaurant after owner attacks tourists

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

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

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

Here's How Aliens Might See Earth

It looks a bit different from the pale blue dot.

Take the deal, President Trump. Eighteen years is enough. It's time to leave Afghanistan.

Al-Qaida was debilitated long ago, and building an Afghan democracy is fool’s gold. No more U.S. troops should give their lives. Bring them all home.

Russia's new high-altitude drone just flew for the first time, and they want to arm it with one ton of bombs

On Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense shared video of a test flight for the Altius-U, a major step forward in its drone program.

Police Arrest Two Louisiana Men in 39-Year-Old Cold Case Murder of Teen

Rapides Parish Sheriff's OfficeAfter nearly four decades, Louisiana police have charged two men they believe brutally raped and murdered an 18-year-old girl before disposing of her body in the woods.Leo Laird, 64, and Gary Haymon, 54, were both charged on Monday in the death of 18-year-old Donna Gayle Brazzell, according to the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office. The young woman’s skeletal remains were found near Nichols Cemetery Road in 1980, but authorities were unable to identify them until last month.The Daring DNA Hunt That Cracked France’s Gruesome Cold Case“These cases never, ever leave a policeman’s mind,” Officer William Earl Hilton, who was first assigned the case, told KBLA. “They prey on you all the time. Especially cases like this that you never solve.”Authorities declined to elaborate on what evidence led to Laird and Haymon’s arrest, but said “sufficient probable cause was established.” Both men have been charged with first-degree murder, first-degree rape, and aggravated kidnapping.The mystery began on November 5, 1980, when the sheriff’s office responded to a call about “skeletal remains found in a wooded area” near Nichols Cemetery Road. Working alongside Louisiana State University’s Repository for Missing and Unidentified Persons, investigators were able to determine that the remains, which were likely in the woods for at least two months, belonged to a female victim between the ages of 16 and 21.  The lab also created a DNA profile and a facial sketch of the victim but were still unable to make a positive identification. In 2014, the sheriff’s office “received information in reference to the case” that led them to name Laird and Haymon as suspects. It remains unclear what new evidence pointed to the two men.Vatican to Open Tombs in Hunt for Teen Missing for 30 YearsThe sketch of the victim proved key to cracking the case five years later, when a woman contacted authorities claiming the picture resembled her long lost granddaughter. After a DNA comparison last month, authorities confirmed the remains belonged to the woman’s relative, Donna Gayle Brazzell.Laird, who would have been in his 20s at the time of the alleged murder, was arrested on August 14 and booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center. He is currently being held on a $1 million bold. Haymon is already serving a 49-year prison sentence for second-degree kidnapping, first-degree robbery, and public bribery, authorities said. While he was originally set for release in 2047, authorities said arrangements “are in place to have Haymon booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center in reference to his new charges.”Quadriplegic Charged in Cold-Case Murder of Bay Area MomRead 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.

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

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

Everest region bans single-use plastic

Single-use plastics have been banned in the Everest region to reduce the vast amounts of waste left by trekkers and mountaineers, Nepali authorities said Thursday. The new ban in Khumbu Pasang Lhamu rural municipality, home to Mount Everest and several other snow-capped mountains, covers all plastic of less than 30 microns in thickness as well as drinks in plastic bottles, and will be effective from January. "If we start now, it will help keep our region, the Everest and the mountains clean long term," local official Ganesh Ghimire told AFP.

A man lost his wife in the El Paso Walmart shooting, then his car was stolen during her funeral. His community came together to replace it.

Antonio Basco's Ford Escape was stolen after a funeral for his wife, Margie Reckard, in El Paso. The community banded together to find him a new one.

Mexican president says government not talking with criminal gangs

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday said his nine-month-old administration's efforts to bring down record rates of violent crime do not include talks with criminal gangs or armed self-defense groups. On Tuesday, Mexico's interior minister told reporters the government was holding talks with "various groups" in states hard hit by violence, in response to a question about organized criminals.

Biden confronts Fox News reporter: 'You're going to go after me no matter what'

2020 Democrat Joe Biden challenges Fox News' Peter Doocy after being asked about the size of his crowds in Iowa.

Marianne Williamson pledges to remove Oval Office portrait of Andrew Jackson put there by Trump

Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson pledged to remove the portrait of former President Andrew Jackson that President Donald Trump chose to hang in the Oval Office if she is elected to be its next occupant.

23 towns in Texas were hit by possibly the largest-ever ransomware attack, in what could be the first coordinated cyberattack of its kind

The coordinated ransomware attack on 23 Texas towns was carried out by a "single threat actor," the Texas Department of Information Resources said.

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

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

Newark man faces child sex charges; mummified remains found

Police responding to a call about child sexual abuse said they found mummified remains and an altar to an unknown deity in the home of a man who is now facing multiple charges. Robert Williams is scheduled for an initial court appearance Friday. According to the Essex County prosecutor's office, Newark police investigated after receiving reports that the 53-year-old Williams had been abusing a 13-year-old child for several months.

Teens swept up in night raids in Kashmir clampdown

Ali Mohammad Rah sat on the pavement outside a police station in Kashmir's main city of Srinagar on Tuesday, waiting to see his teenage sons, who were swept up in government raids overnight. Government sources say at least 4,000 people have been detained in Kashmir since India revoked the restive Himalayan region's autonomy on August 5 and imposed a massive security lockdown on the restive region. To try and stop the raids, residents in Srinagar's Soura area have erected barricades and dug trenches in roads that lead to their cluster of homes.

Luntz: ‘I was wrong’ on climate change

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

Sanders Hits Back after Co-Sponsor Harris Criticizes Medicare for All

Senator Bernie Sanders hit back at Senator Kamala Harris Monday evening after Harris said at a fundraiser in the Hamptons that she has "not been comfortable" with the Medicare for All plan she cosponsored with Sanders.> I don't go to the Hamptons to raise money from billionaires. If I ever visited there, I would tell them the same thing I have said for the last 30 years: We must pass a Medicare for All system to guarantee affordable health care for all, not just for those who can afford it.> > -- Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) August 19, 2019Harris courted wealthy donors in the Hamptons and at Martha’s Vineyard over the weekend, assuring them that, “I believe in capitalism, but capitalism is not working for most people.”"I think almost every member of the United States Senate who's running for president, and many others, have signed on to a variety of plans in the Senate. And I have done the same," the California Democrat said. "I support Medicare for All. But as you may have noticed, over the course of the many months, I've not been comfortable with Bernie's plan, the Medicare-for-All plan."Harris floundered slightly earlier in her campaign on the question of whether private insurance plans would still be available under her health-care proposal. She originally said private health insurance would be eliminated but has since backtracked, saying that while she is “committed to reining in the private insurance companies,” phasing out private insurance “has to happen over a period of time.”Sanders is currently polling ahead of Harris but behind the front-runner, former vice president Joe Biden, and Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is in second place.

Japanese report to say North Korea has miniaturized nuclear warheads: newspaper

Japan has upgraded its estimate of North Korea's nuclear weapons capability in an upcoming annual Defence White Paper, saying it seems Pyongyang has achieved the miniaturization of warheads, the Yomiuri newspaper said in an unsourced report on Wednesday. The report, to be approved at a Cabinet meeting in mid-September, will maintain the assessment that North Korea's military activities pose a "serious and imminent threat", the Yomiuri said. North Korea's ability to build nuclear warheads small enough to fit on its ballistic missiles has been widely accepted for several years, but the Japanese report highlights the lack of progress on denuclearisation talks aimed at curtailing the program, said Vipin Narang, a nuclear affairs expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States.

Fukushima Radiation Becomes Latest Japan-South Korea Sore Point

(Bloomberg) -- Radiation from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is becoming the latest source of tension between Japan and South Korea, potentially undercutting Tokyo’s effort to promote the 2020 Olympics.In recent days, South Korean officials have summoned a Japanese diplomat to express concern about a planned release of treated radioactive water into the ocean by Tepco, the plant’s owner. They’re also pushing for independent radiation checks at Olympic venues and proposing a separate cafeteria for their athletes, citing concerns about contaminated food.The radiation dispute is threatening to prolong tensions between the two U.S. allies, who have spent much of the summer trading economic sanctions and diplomatic threats in a tit-for-tat dispute. The feud has exposed lingering mistrust and disagreements over Japan’s colonial rule on the Korean Peninsula.South Korea’s radiation concerns contrast with signs of softening attitudes last week on the anniversary of Japan’s World War II surrender. Japan has also taken steps to show that its recent export controls won’t prevent legitimate sales to its neighbor. JSR Corp., one of the materials makers subject to the restrictions, received an export permit this week, according to a person familiar with the matter.No Backing Down“It’s gone so far that neither side can back down,” said Hiroyuki Kishi, a former trade official turned professor at Keio University in Yokohama, adding that the dispute would probably continue “or get worse.” “I’m concerned that Japan may respond emotionally, because the Olympics are seen as very important.”South Korea is also mulling whether to maintain an agreement on sharing military information with Japan, and may announce its decision as soon as Thursday, Yonhap News reported. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono told reporters in Beijing following a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha that the pact was important and should be maintained.‘Under Control’The issue of radiation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was damaged in the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, has loomed over Tokyo’s Olympic bid from the start. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe threw his weight behind the campaign, assuring the International Olympic Committee in a 2013 speech that the plant was “under control” and would have no impact on the capital.Now, Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings Inc. is preparing a release from on-site storage tanks, which are expected to fill up by 2022 with water treated to remove most radioactive elements. An adviser for the company has recommended a controlled release into the Western Pacific -- a common practice at other reactors around the world -- while the environmental group Greenpeace has urged keeping the water in storage.South Korea summoned a Japanese diplomat on Monday, with the Foreign Ministry urging Tokyo to look into international organizations’ views on the matter and be more transparent about its plans.Separately, the Korea Sport & Olympic Committee is set to make an official request that international organizations such as Greenpeace monitor radiation at Tokyo Olympic venues, the committee’s press officer, Lee Mi-jin, said. South Korean officials have also drawn up a plan to run a separate cafeteria exclusively for South Korean athletes, to ensure they don’t eat food from Fukushima, Lee said.The South Korean Food Ministry also announced Wednesday it would step up radiation checks on 17 items imported from Japan, including tea and chocolate.Produce from Fukushima is screened before shipment and is widely available in Japanese supermarkets. Recent data from volunteer organization Safecast shows that radiation levels in Tokyo are somewhat lower than those in Seoul. The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee declined to comment on requests from other countries’ organizing committees.(Updates with comments from Japanese foreign minister in sixth paragraph. A previous version of this story misspelled the name of Hiroyuki Kishi in fifth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Stephen Stapczynski.To contact the reporters on this story: Isabel Reynolds in Tokyo at ireynolds1@bloomberg.net;Jihye Lee in Seoul at jlee2352@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Peter PaeFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

A billboard in Baltimore calls Jared Kushner a 'rich pest.' It was put up by PETA

The billboard plays off the discovery that President Donald Trump's son-in-law's family real estate owned several rat-infested buildings.

Demolition derby accident kills woman after car flies into crowd

A woman was killed and seven other people injured when an out-of-control demolition derby car veered into spectators, it has been reported.The woman, believed to be a paramedic in her 30s, died after the crash in Deer Lodge, Montana, which happened during the final event of a tri-county fair on Sunday.

Immigration lawyers: We saw what's happening at the US-Mexico border. It's a tragic farce.

There is no due process in Mexico for asylum seekers, just endless obstacles to staying alive, finding an attorney and communicating with authorities.

Hong Kong police in standoff with protesters after sit-in

Near the end of the event, the police began what they called a "dispersal operation, using minimum force" after some protesters blocked roads and flashed laser pointers at officers. Police with riot shields faced off at the station entrance against a group of remaining protesters, who sprayed a firehose and spread soap on the floor to slow a police approach, while piling up trash bins, a wheelchair and umbrellas in a makeshift blockade. The station's entrance shutters were lowered, barricading the protesters inside.

Minister confirms Canada will not repatriate 'Jihadi Jack'

Canada does not intend to repatriate the Muslim convert dubbed "Jihadi Jack," who is being held in northern Syria after joining the Islamic State group, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale confirmed Tuesday. Jack Letts, 24, who was a dual UK-Canadian national, was captured by Kurdish forces in Syria in 2017 and is languishing in jail there. Goodale's statement comes a day after Britain stripped Letts of his citizenship, placing his fate in Canada's hands.

Walmart sues Tesla after solar panels start bursting into flames on store roofs

In something of a bizarre story, Walmart is suing Tesla after solar panels it purchased from the EV company caught fire on a number of Walmart stores. As it stands now, Tesla solar panels can be found on as many as 240 Walmart stores across the country. Following a few incidents involving seemingly spontaneous fires, Walmart now wants Tesla to remove the solar panels and foot the bill for all the corresponding damage.As a result of the fires, Walmart is suing for breach of contract and alleges that Tesla's actions in designing and installing the panels failed to live up industry standards.All told, roof fires impacted a total of seven Walmart stores and resulted in damage that ended up costing the nationwide retailer millions.The complaint (via the Los Angeles Times) reads in part:> To state the obvious, properly designed, installed, inspected, and maintained solar systems do not spontaneously combust, and the occurrence of multiple fires involving Tesla's solar systems is but one unmistakable sign of negligence by Tesla.> > ...> > To this day, Tesla has not provided Walmart with the complete set of final 'root cause' analyses needed to identify the precise defects in its systems that caused all of the fires described aboveWalmart's complaint further adds that a subsequent inspection into the fires revealed that Tesla was "engaged in widespread, systemic negligence and had failed to abide by prudent industry practices in installing, operating and maintaining its solar systems."It's worth noting that Tesla, as part of its deal with Walmart, was on the hook for maintenance and any upkeep issues arising from the solar panels. That said, Walmart alludes to the fact that the fires were most likely caused by improper installation.Interestingly, Walmart has an outstanding order with Tesla for 45 Tesla Semi Trucks, though it remains to be seen if Tesla will be able to ship those on time.

Joe Biden gets defensive about crowd size in Iowa

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden rejects comparisons to rivals' campaign events, claims he is drawing crowds 'bigger than anybody' in Iowa.

Ocasio-Cortez: The Electoral College Is a ‘Scam’

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) on Monday called the U.S. Electoral College "a scam" that negatively affects minorities."We're coming to you live from the Electoral College," the New York Democrat said in a video on Instagram, which featured her driving along a sparsely populated highway in what appears to be a desert somewhere in the western part of the country. "Many votes here, as you can see. Very efficient way to choose leadership of the country. I mean I can’t think of any other way, can you?"The freshman congresswoman went on to cite a New York magazine story titled, "Here's Every Defense of the Electoral College — and Why They're All Wrong.""Due to severe racial disparities in certain states, the Electoral College effectively weighs white voters over voters of color, as opposed to a 'one person, one vote' system where all our votes are counted equally," Ocasio-Cortez said. "Could you imagine if we had this kind of democracy-altering 'fairness' provision for literally any other group? If we weighed, for example, black and indigenous voters more because of unfairness?""Facts are facts America," said the 29-year-old progressive, who represents parts of the Bronx and Queens. "The Electoral College has to go."Several Democratic presidential candidates, including Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren and South Bend, Ind. mayor Pete Buttigieg, have also said they believe the Electoral College should be retired.The notion of ending the Electoral College has picked up steam lately in blue states. A number of states have joined the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which would give the states' electoral votes to the candidate who wins the popular vote. But the agreement will not take effect until the electoral votes of participating states total 270.

The Amazon is burning and smoke from the fires can be seen from space

Smoke from record wildfires raging in the Amazon rainforest blanketed São Paulo on Monday and could be seen from space.

Neo-Nazi arrested over threat to exterminate Hispanics said 'I thank God every day Trump is president'

A man arrested by the FBI on suspicion of threatening to kill Hispanic people in Miami allegedly wrote that he thanked God every day that Donald Trump was president.Eric Lin, 35, made a series of threats against the Hispanic community in the Miami area before being arrested in Seattle.