Ronan Farrow: NBC paid settlements to Matt Lauer’s victims for years…
October 11, 2019
Ousted ambassador Marie Yovanovitch tells Congress Trump pressured State Dept. to remove her…
October 11, 2019
The former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine whose abrupt ouster in May has become a topic of interest for House impeachment investigators said Friday that her departure came as a direct result of pressure President Trump placed on the State Department to remove her, according to her prepared remarks before Congress obtained by The Washington Post.
Marie Yovanovitch told lawmakers that she was forced to leave Kiev on “the next plane” this spring and subsequently removed from her post, with the State Department’s No. 2 official telling her that, though she had done nothing wrong, the president had lost confidence in her and the State Department had been under significant pressure to remove her since the summer of 2018.
Hong Kong officials say 750 out of the 2,379 people arrested during four months of protests are under 18…
October 11, 2019
“[The government] says this is ‘heartbreaking’ but doesn’t ask why. Youth is rising up. They know they’re fighting for their future against a dictatorial regime,” said Kong Tsung-gan, an author and well-known blogger, on Twitter. “Totalitarianism is going to destroy our next generation, resist!” wrote another person on Twitter...
Trump ending U.S. role as worldwide leader on refugees…
October 11, 2019
President Donald Trump is dramatically slashing the number of refugees allowed into the United States to an all-time low, but the real number of refugees set to be admitted into the country could be far lower than the official limit, as the Trump White House has slowed down every step of the process and created a bottleneck that could last for years.
For example, 4,000 Iraqis are supposed to gain admission this year, but only 465 got in last year because their applications were delayed by heightened vetting and a lack of political will to speed up processing. Only 503 refugees from Central America were admitted last year even though the cap allowed for thousands. Beyond that, the administration has created a new system of limits for different types of refugees and has effectively stopped recruiting new refugees into the pipeline. Since resettlement usually takes years, the impact could last well beyond the Trump era...
Mexico mayor tied to truck, dragged through streets amid reported anger over unfulfilled campaign promise…
October 11, 2019
Trump Signs Executive Order to Offset Agencies’ Increased Administrative Spending…
October 11, 2019
The order, which President Trump signed Thursday, would apply to any agency actions not required by law, including new rules, guidance or program notices. If an agency head determines such action would affect mandatory spending on expenses such as Social Security they would have to submit a proposal to the Office of Management and Budget “to comparably reduce mandatory spending,” according to the order.
“This policy includes ensuring that agencies consider the costs of their administrative actions, take steps to offset those costs, and curtail costly administrative actions,” the White House said in its order.
South African former President Jacob Zuma will stand trial on corruption charges relating to a $2.5 billion arms deal…
October 11, 2019
The ruling by Judge Jerome Mnguni in the Pietermaritzburg High Court paves way for Zuma’s trial to start on Oct. 15. Zuma, who was in office from 2009-2018, had applied for a permanent stay of prosecution from 16 charges of fraud, racketeering and money laundering relating to a deal to buy 30 billion rand of European military hardware for South Africa’s armed forces in the late 1990s. The 77-year-old has denied any wrongdoing and has said he is the victim of a politically motivated witch-hunt.
A golden chamber buried under a mountain in Japan contains water so pure it can dissolve metal, and it’s helping scientists detect dying stars…
October 11, 2019
- The Super-Kamiokande neutrino detector is a physics experiment the size of a 15-story building, buried under a mountain in Japan.
- Neutrinos are sub-atomic particles that pass through us all the time, and studying them can tell us about supernovas and the composition of the universe.
- The detector is full of ultra-pure water, which can leach the nutrients out of your hair and dissolve metal.
Iran shows off new killer wheeled robots designed to take on tanks, infantry…
October 11, 2019
These ground robots shoot guns, roll under tanks, and blow up.
Florida is scooping up huge amounts of data on schoolchildren, including security camera footage and discipline records, and researchers are worried – Florida schools are now required to collect, store and crunch data on students in the name of predicting a school shooting…
October 11, 2019
Federal appeals court rules Donald Trump’s accountants MUST hand over his tax returns to Democrats in Congress…
October 11, 2019
In a 2-1 ruling, judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said House Democrats can enforce a subpoena for the documents. The ruling upholds a lower court's decision, leaving the president's attorneys with few ways to block his accountants, Mazars LLP, from complying with the House Oversight Committee's demands. Trump could ask for a new decision from the full D.C. Circuit appeals court. That typical next step would leave him with only the U.S. Supreme Court as a last resort if he loses again. An administration official with knowledge of the case said Friday that Trump will 'in all likelihood be headed to the Supreme Court for [legal] relief.'
Beto O’Rourke: Religious Institutions Will Lose Tax Exemption If They Oppose Same Sex Marriage…
October 11, 2019
Artificial meat is now made in space, coming to a supermarket near you…
October 11, 2019
Tests carried out in space in September led to the production of beef, rabbit and fish tissue using a 3D printer. This new technology "could make long-term travel possible and renew space exploration," to Mars for example, said Didier Toubia, the head of the Israeli startup Aleph Farms, which provided cells for the tests. "But our goal is to sell meat on Earth," he told AFP.
University program teaches faculty and staff how they ‘support racism and white supremacy’…
October 11, 2019
Boise State University has rolled out a new “book circle” for faculty and staff focused on white privilege in an attempt to “dig deep into ourselves to explore the ways in which we all, as individuals, sometimes unknowingly, support racism and white supremacy,” the university’s website states... While the program is open to “folks of all racial identities,” the website states, “the primary audience of this book [is] people who are interested in unpacking white identity and how white folks distance themselves from conversations about race, as well as learning how to engage white folks in recognizing their privilege.”
Deranged official of a Chicago suburb went on a rant during a government meeting on Monday, shouting that her white male colleagues “shouldn’t have an opinion” about “diversity”…
October 11, 2019
“I’m so tired of hearing two white men tell us what systems of oppression are,” she said, slamming her fist on the dais. “For Christ’s sake, no! No! You don’t know what systems of oppression are. You’ve never been oppressed!”...
Clip of the Day: Oak Park, Ill. town trustee Susan Buchanan lambastes her colleagues for discussing updating the town’s diversity statement while being white. pic.twitter.com/CzBG2HqpYi
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 10, 2019
Burning trash sparked wildfire that destroyed dozens of homes in California: fire department…
October 11, 2019
Burning trash dumped by a garbage truck caused a fire that by early Friday had destroyed dozens of homes in California’s Riverside County, fire officials said, as wildfires across the state led to power cuts for hundreds of thousands of people. Authorities ordered hundreds of people in the area to evacuate their homes and seek shelter as they worked through the night to contain the blaze. The Sandalwood Fire was one of about 275 wildfires that have broken out across California as hot, gusty winds signaled the start of its peak fire season, state officials said.
NYC council member launches Democratic primary challenge to Ocasio-Cortez…
October 11, 2019
City Council member Fernando Cabrera said he believes a moderate Democrat such as himself could beat the socialist Ocasio-Cortez. He plans to target her far-left views and highlight his belief that she is a “no show” in the district.
Deutsche Bank tells court that it does not have Trump’s tax returns…
October 11, 2019
Michael McKinley, Senior adviser to Pompeo resigns…
October 11, 2019
A senior officer who has held a range of diplomatic posts, including ambassador to Afghanistan, Colombia and Peru, McKinley was serving as ambassador to Brazil last year when Pompeo recruited him as a policy adviser and a conduit between his office and the career service. Pompeo was expected to issue a statement Friday announcing the departure. McKinley declined to comment Thursday evening.
Elon Musk says that NASA is free to share all SpaceX IP with “anyone it wants”…
October 11, 2019
I’ve been very very clear with Jim that any SpaceX data should not be considered proprietary,” Musk said during the remarks. “It can be used by any of our competitors […] No charge.” Later on, he reiterated that what he meant was literally any of SpaceX’s IP is on the table for NASA to distribute freely as the agency sees fit...