- NewsAssociated Press
Judge: Michael Cohen campaign finance probe over
Federal prosecutors have told a judge in New York they have concluded their investigation into campaign finance crimes committed by President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen. The closure of the case is the strongest suggestion yet that federal prosecutors have decided not to bring criminal charges against anyone besides Cohen in the scheme to use hush-money payments to protect Trump's reputation during the 2016 presidential campaign. U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III made the disclosure in a court filing Wednesday as part of a legal fight over whether to unseal search warrant materials dealing with the investigation.
- WorldThe National Interest
What If America Lost a Carrier in a War with Iran?
The Navy simply lacks enough ships and aircraft to meet the increasing demands of its global mission. The recent oil tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman reinforce the need to reestablish a highly visible U.S. naval deterrent in the Middle East. With the United States needing a more robust posture against Iran and confronting renewed challenges in Asia and Europe, several immediate measures and concerted longer-term efforts are critical to ensure America has the carriers it needs.
- NewsUSA TODAY
'Dangerous': Air Force responds to plans to 'storm Area 51' and 'see them aliens'
As more than 1 million people on Facebook say they're attending a joke event to "storm Area 51," the U.S. military has responded to the plans – just in case they actually do. Air Force spokeswoman Laura McAndrews said in a statement to USA TODAY that military officials were aware of the event that aims to uncover what many people believe are conspiratorial secrets of the military installation in Nevada. McAndrews didn't specify any security plans at the base, but she did warn those thinking of entering the area.
WorldAFPIsraeli NGO seeks sale of seized Iranian tanker over attack
An Israeli NGO petitioned Gibraltar's top court Tuesday to sell an impounded Iranian oil tanker to compensate parents of a child allegedly killed by Iran-backed Hamas. Shurat Hadin, which wages legal battles worldwide against what it calls "Israel's enemies", says it won a $178.5 million US court judgement against Iran and Syria in 2017 over the death of an American infant killed in an attack in Jerusalem. The Iranian tanker Grace I, capable of carrying two million barrels of oil, was seized on July 4 by police and customs officers in Gibraltar -- a British overseas territory on Spain's southern tip -- with the aid of a detachment of British Royal Marines.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Investigators 'discover mysterious 200lb load' on board MH370 after take-off
Investigators looking into the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have discovered a “mysterious 200lb load” added to the flight list after take-off, according to an engineer whose wife and two children were on board. Ghyslain Wattrelos said the cargo was revealed in a report on the passengers and baggage by French investigators. Mr Wattrelos, who believes the flight was deliberately downed, told Le Parisien newspaper: “It was also learned that a mysterious load of 89 kilos was added to the flight list after take-off.
- ScienceBusiness Insider
Buzz Aldrin explains why Neil Armstrong was the first person on the moon
NASA via Getty Images July 20, 2019, is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing when American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person ever to walk on the moon. Most people assume mission Commander Neil Armstrong was always NASA's first choice to walk on the moon because of his seniority. Apollo 11 Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin revealed in a Reddit AMA that in previous moonwalks, it was typical for the junior crewmember to leave the space capsule while the commander remained inside.
- NewsReuters
Italian, U.S. police make arrests as Mafia clan looks to regroup
Italian and U.S. police have launched a coordinated crackdown against major crime families who were looking to rebuild their Mafia powerbase in Sicily, Italian investigators said on Wednesday. More than 200 police, including officers from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have been carrying out 19 arrest warrants since dawn targeting the Inzerillo clan in Sicily's capital Palermo and the New York-based Gambino family. Sicily's organised crime group, known as 'Cosa Nostra' (Our Thing), has been in a state of flux since the death of the feared boss of bosses Salvatore "Toto" Riina, who died in prison in 2017 after spending almost a quarter of century behind bars.
- WorldBloomberg
Susan Rice Calls Chinese Diplomat a ‘Racist Disgrace’ on Twitter
Sign up for Next China, a weekly email on where the nation stands now and where it's going next. Former U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice sparred with a senior Chinese diplomat on Twitter in an unusual and heated dispute over race in Washington. In a series of Tweets apparently aimed at making a broader point about diplomatic divisions over the mass detention of Muslims in China's Xinjiang province, Lijian Zhao, a diplomat posted in Islamabad, said on Sunday that if “you're in Washington, D.C., you know the white never go” to the southeastern part of the U.S. capital.
- NewsAOL.com
North Carolina father of 7 dies trying to save his drowning children at beach
A North Carolina father drowned Sunday while rescuing two of his young children who were swept away by a wave while walking on a submerged jetty at Wrightsville Beach. Johnny Lee Vann Jr., a 35-year-old father who recently moved to Durham from Detroit, Mich., with his family, did not hesitate to jump into the rough waters after watching two of his seven children go under, his widow, Dawn Vann, told WNCN. Vann Jr. successfully brought one child to shore but struggled to stay afloat after heading back out for the second, Capt. Jason Bishop of the Wrightsville Beach Police Department told ABC News.
- PoliticsKTRK – Houston
Facing censure, President Trump insists 'not a racist bone in my body'
President Trump insisted that his tweets suggesting four Democratic congresswomen of color return to their countries "were NOT Racist."
- WorldThe National Interest
An Air Force Pilot Tells Us What Flying a B-2 Stealth Bomber Is Like
Kris Osborn Security, “The B-2 is one of the most game-changing aircraft ever built…and one of the most cost-effective. One B-2 can deliver the punch of an entire aircraft carrier air wing at several orders of magnitude less in operating cost and personnel,” Deptula said. Washington, D.C.) When B-2 stealth bombers attacked Serbia on the opening night of Operation Allied Force in 1999, destroyed Iraqi air defenses during 2003's “Shock and Awe” and eliminated the Libyan fighter force in 2011 -- the attacks were all guided by highly-specialized pilots trained in stealth attack tactics.
- NewsUSA TODAY
At least 1 dead, 15 injured — including 3 firefighters — in California house explosion
One person was killed and 15 injured — including three firefighters — after a house exploded in Southern California on Monday, sending a wall of flames and heavy smoke into the air. The Southern California Gas Company posted on Twitter that crews responded to reports of a damaged natural gas line in Murrieta, a city of about 113,000 people in Riverside County, about 65 miles north of San Diego. The explosion happened around noon Monday, shortly after crews arrived, the company said.
- PoliticsAssociated Press
US kicking NATO ally Turkey out of fighter program
In a significant break with a longtime NATO ally, the Trump administration on Wednesday said Turkey can no longer be part of the American F-35 fighter jet program. In a written statement, the White House said that Turkey's decision to buy the Russian S-400 air defense system "renders its continued involvement with the F-35 impossible." The White House did not say explicitly that Turkey will be kicked out of the F-35 program, but the Pentagon was expected to do so.
- NewsTime
The Military Has a Warning for Anyone Interested In Raiding Area 51 In An Attempt To Free Aliens
The U.S. Air Force has responded to the 1.3 million people who have signed on to raid Area 51 in search of aliens as part of an internet joke that has gone viral. The fake plan to raid Area 51 started with a Facebook event and has inspired thousands of alien-related memes. “Any attempt to illegally access the area is highly discouraged,” an Air Force spokesperson told NPR in a Monday statement, along with several other media outlets including USA Today and The New York Times.
- LifestyleDelish
Your Kids Won't Have Any Room For Candy After These Halloween Dinner Ideas
Halloween fun should go way beyond just candy. From Delish
- WorldBusiness Insider
Boris Johnson rejects EU compromise and pushes Britain towards the no-deal Brexit cliff edge
The United Kingdom is hurtling towards a no-deal Brexit in October, after both contenders to replace Theresa May rejected a possible compromise deal with the EU. Boris Johnson, the likely next prime minister, said on Monday that he would not accept compromise on the Northern Irish backstop — a compromise that even hardline pro-Brexit MPs have said they would accept. This creates an even bigger chasm between the UK and the EU and significantly increases the chances of a no-deal Brexit on October 31.
- BusinessCar and Driver
How Kim Jong Un Got Mercedes-Benz Pullman Limos Home to North Korea
Researchers at a Washington, D.C., think tank, cited by the Wall Street Journal, have offered explanations as to how a pair of Mercedes-Benz limousines ended up in North Korean hands. Kim Jong Un must be used to convoluted means of getting at luxuries that the repressed populace he rules over cannot hope to touch. How else to explain why the North Korean dictator would pay a million dollars for a couple of 10-year-old Mercedes-Benz limousines?
- PoliticsYahoo News
McConnell says Trump is 'not a racist' and calls for Washington to 'tone down' rhetoric
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he doesn't believe Donald Trump is a racist despite the president's calls for four Democratic lawmakers to “go back” to the “crime infested places from which they came. Because Trump's comments have further widened Washington's partisan divide, McConnell was asked to comment on them during his weekly press conference. The president's not a racist,” McConnell said.
- WorldReuters
Prehistoric city offers glimpse of ancient living near Jerusalem
The 9,000-year-old metropolis, uncovered during a survey before the construction of a new highway, is one of the biggest ever found, the Israel Antiquities Authority said on Tuesday. It covered dozens of acres near what is today the town of Motza, some five km (three miles) west of Jerusalem. "This is most probably the largest excavation of this time period in the Middle East, which will allow the research to advance leaps and bounds ahead of where we are today, just by the amount of material that we are able to save and preserve from this site," Lauren Davis, an archaeologist with Israel's antiquities authority, told Reuters.
- NewsThe National Interest
Afghanistan Isn't Worth Dying For
Daniel L. Davis Security, Middle East Rewarding broken promises, waste, and incompetence is offensive to the sacrifices of our troops. Army Sgt. Maj. James Sartor was killed in action in Afghanistan's Faryab Province on Saturday. He was “only” the twelfth soldier to die there this year.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Planned Parenthood president Leana Wen says she was removed after 'secret meeting'
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America president Leana Wen says she's been removed from her role. Wen said in a Twitter post Tuesday that the Planned Parenthood board decided to terminate her at a "secret meeting." "I am leaving because the new board chairs and I have philosophical differences over the direction and future of Planned Parenthood," Wen said in a statement posted to her Twitter account.
- NewsAssociated Press
Greece: Suspect charged for US scientist's slaying in Crete
A 27-year-old man was charged with murder and rape Tuesday in the killing of an American scientist who disappeared on the Greek island of Crete and whose body was found in a tunnel formerly used as a storage site during World War II. Crete police said a Greek man from the island confessed to the "violent criminal act," telling investigators he struck Suzanne Eaton with his car and abducted her "motivated by the intention to commit sexual assault," Crete police spokeswoman Eleni Papathanasiou said. Eaton, 59, went missing on July 2 while attending a scientific conference in Crete.
PoliticsAFPUS confirms Turkey blocked from F-35 program after Russian missile purchase
The White House confirmed Wednesday that Turkey would no longer be permitted to take part in NATO's F-35 stealth fighter jet program after it purchased a Russian missile defense system. "Unfortunately, Turkey's decision to purchase Russian S-400 air defense systems renders its continued involvement with the F-35 impossible," White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said in a statement. The US-made F-35 Joint Strike Fighter "cannot coexist with a Russian intelligence collection platform that will be used to learn about its advanced capabilities," she said.
- NewsThe Independent
Couple kiss in photo with lion moments after shooting it dead
“There is nothing like hunting the king of the jungle,” the photo is captioned. Eduardo Goncalves, the founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, said: “It looks as though this lion was a tame animal killed in an enclosure, bred for the sole purpose of being the subject of a smug selfie. Legelela Safaris charges up to £2,400 for tours which include giraffe, zebra, leopard, elephant, rhino and lion hunts.
- PoliticsBusiness Insider
An anonymous Democratic group leaked a poll that shows swing voters deeply dislike Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the left wing, widening the party's rift
Susan Walsh/AP Images An anonymous Democratic group leaked an internal poll to Axios on Sunday that shows "swing voters" deeply dislike prominent progressive lawmakers, deepening a public rift within the party. The poll found that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had a 22% approval rating and Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota had a 9% approval rating among 1,003 "likely general-election voters who are white and have two years or less of college education" and knew of the two outspoken lawmakers. "If all voters hear about is AOC, it could put the [House] majority at risk," a Democrat involved in the 2020 congressional races told Axios.
"The department was thrown together during George W. Bush's administration, forged in fear in the aftermath of 9/11."
"The Department of Homeland Security has kept us safe."
"The abysmal track record of DHS's various divisions suggest that the department should be broken up altogether."
"The department will always be the hastily assembled product of a dark, paranoid moment in American history."
"Why stop there? I’m guessing AOC doesn’t like the Department of Defense, either."
