PoliticsLiz GoodwinClinton campaign takes victory lap after debateWell I sure do,” Hillary Clinton told a crowd of supporters at a debate watch party in Westbury, N.Y., Monday night after her hour and a half head-to-head with Donald Trump. Meanwhile, in the “spin room” at Hofstra University, her top staffers were taking a victory lap, calling Trump unprepared and erratic and praising Clinton’s performance to the hundreds of reporters still in the arena. “I think he was totally unprepared for this entire debate,” Clinton’s campaign manager, Robby Mook, said.
- ScienceThe DriveSpaceX's New Raptor Rocket Engine Shoots Massive Flames, As It Should
For the first time, SpaceX has fired the Raptor rocket engine Elon Musk and his company intend to use to send people to the Red Planet. SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted photos of the Raptor rocket engine churning out streams of fiery exhaust Monday morning. In a tweet, Musk stated that "SpaceX propulsion just achieved first firing of the Raptor interplanetary transport engine." The announcement of the first successful firing comes a day before a speech at the International Astronautical Congress in Mexico where Musk will be discuss his plans for sending humans to other planets in our solar system.
WorldAssociated PressJordanian writer gunned down outside courthouseA prominent and outspoken Jordanian writer on Sunday was shot dead in front of the courthouse where he had been on trial for posting a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam on social media. A Jordanian security official said the shooter was a former imam, or prayer leader, at a local mosque, and said the man had been motivated by his anger over the cartoon posted to Facebook by writer Nahed Hattar. The shooting was the latest in a string of deadly security lapses in Jordan.
WorldAFPSaudi king cuts ministers' salaries 20%Saudi Arabia Monday cut the salaries of cabinet ministers by 20 percent and froze the wages of lower-ranking civil servants in an intensified austerity drive to cope with lower oil revenues. While ministers will have lower salaries, the 160 members of the Shura Council will see a 15-percent drop in their annual allowances for housing, furniture and cars, a royal decree said. Council members -- who include 30 women -- are appointed by King Salman to advise the cabinet.
- BusinessThe DriveUber Is Researching Flying Taxis
In order to better handle the transportation needs of urban dwellers, Uber is looking into vehicles that could take off and land vertically. In a discussion at the Nantucket Conference yesterday, Uber products head Jeff Holden said the company has been looking into offering short flights around cities “so we can someday offer our customers as many options as possible to move around,” according to Recode. The Uber product boss did not specify whether the vertical-takeoff-and-landing craft, or VTOL, would be piloted like traditional aircraft, remote-controlled, fully autonomous, or some combination thereof, like Airvinci's helicopter drones (pictured above).
BusinessReutersU.S. official says inadequate EU emissions testing was widely knownEurope's car emissions tests have been seen as inadequate for decades, a top U.S. regulator told European Union lawmakers on Monday, saying much stronger enforcement will be needed to stop cheating by automakers like Volkswagen . Testifying before a European Parliament committee investigating foul play on diesel-car emissions tests, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Christopher Grundler said new EU testing rules were far from enough. "The European test cycle has been acknowledged quite broadly since the 1990s to be inadequate," Grundler, director of the EPA's transportation and air quality office, said in a written answer to lawmakers' questions.
- WorldChristian Science MonitorJordan’s small light in a dark Mideast
A good example is the Sept. 20 election in Jordan for a new lower house of parliament. The Muslim Brotherhood put up candidates for the first time in nearly a decade and did well – largely because it dropped the slogan “the Quran is our constitution” and instead proposed secular reforms. In addition, an estimated 2,000 Jordanians have joined Islamic State.
- U.S.Inside EditionUniversity of Dakota Investigates Two Separate, Racist Photos Posted Online Within 48-hours
The University of North Dakota is investigating two racially charged photos that were reportedly taken by students and posted online in a 48-hour period. The president of the university, Mark Kennedy, said in a statement that he’s appalled at the messages posted to social media. Etonde Maloke, a student at the university, shared what happened on her Facebook page.
- WorldReutersSouthern Japan jolted by 5.7 magnitude quake
Japan's southern Okinawa island and a chain of neighboring islands were shaken on Monday by an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.7, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of damage or injury. Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. On March 11, 2011, the northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, the strongest quake in Japan on record, and a massive tsunami.
PoliticsDylan StablefordHead of Commission on Presidential Debates: It’s not the moderator’s job to fact-checkHostra University students playing the roles of the candidates and moderator go through a rehearsal for the first presidential debate in Hempstead, N.Y., on Sunday. On the eve of the first presidential debate of the 2016 election, Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, said on Sunday that she doesn’t believe moderators should fact-check the candidates. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to get the moderator into essentially serving as the Encyclopedia Britannica,” Janet Brown, executive director of the Commission on Presidential Debates, said in an interview with CNN’s “Reliable Sources” from Hofstra University, where Monday’s debate, moderated by NBC’s Lester Holt, will be held.
- BusinessThe DriveVolkswagen Teases Its Paris-Bound 300-Mile Electric Car Concept
Few cars due to make their debut at this week’s Paris Motor Show are more hotly anticipated than Volkswagen’s new electric car concept, which previews its upcoming compact production EV. Previous reports have suggested the car, expected to go on sale by 2019, could cost less than a similar gas-powered hatchback, as that was one of CEO Matthias Müller’s stated goals for the project.
- U.S.Yahoo News PhotoShooting at a strip mall in Houston
Several people were injured by a shooter in Houston, Texas, on Monday and the suspect was shot by police officers, the Houston Police Department said on its Twitter feed. Local media reports said the incident took place by a strip mall, where the gunman was firing upon vehicles. People who were shot by the suspect were transported to area hospitals and the exact extent of their injuries was not yet known, Houston police said.
WorldAFPFormer Dutch MEP says denied entry to TurkeyTurkish authorities blocked from entering the country a Dutch former member of the European Parliament who used to write columns for a newspaper close to the alleged mastermind of the July 15 failed putsch, he said Monday. Joost Lagendijk was briefly held by Turkish authorities at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport on the Asian side of the city on Sunday and was being sent back to the Netherlands on Monday. "Turk(ish) authorities stopped me on my return from Neth(erlands) at Sabiha Gokcen airport.
- BusinessThe DriveMercy, the Nissan GT-R Has Gotten Expensive
The R35 Nissan GT-R, the first generation sold in America, arrived at the L.A. Auto Show nine years ago. The spec (478 hp, 434 lb-ft.) put it squarely in period supercar territory. And the price, under $70,000, had everybody in fits. When the first GT
- SciencePopular MechanicsChina Builds The World's Largest Radio Telescope
The world's largest radio telescope began searching for signals from stars and galaxies and, perhaps, extraterrestrial life Sunday in a project demonstrating China's rising ambitions in space and its pursuit of international scientific prestige. Beijing has poured billions into such ambitious scientific projects as well as its military-backed space program, which saw the launch of China's second space station earlier this month. Measuring 500 meters in diameter, the radio telescope is nestled in a natural basin within a stunning landscape of lush green karst formations in southern Guizhou province.
WorldABC News VideosKatrina Vanden Heuvel Says This is a 'Rewrite the Rules Election'The Powerhouse Roundtable preview the upcoming presidential debate.
- WorldAssociated PressAt least 26 killed in Aleppo as UN meets over Syria
At least 26 civilians were killed in fresh government airstrikes on the contested city of Aleppo, Syrian activists said Sunday, as the United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting on the spiraling violence in Syria but failed to take any action because of deep divisions between Russia and the Western powers. The United States, Britain and France, who called the emergency meeting, heaped blame on Moscow for supporting the Syrian offensive which U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura called one of the worst of the 5 1/2-year war. When Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari was called to speak in the council, the ambassadors of the three Western powers walked out in protest.
- U.S.ReutersCedar Rapids, Iowa, braces for flooding as river expected to crest
Iowa's second-biggest city is hoping to avoid the widespread destruction caused by the U.S. Midwest floods of June 2008 that inundated hundreds of businesses and thousands of homes in Cedar Rapids. "It's crunch time in Cedar Rapids," Mayor Ron Corbett told residents and reporters on Monday. The next 48 hours are the most dangerous." The Cedar River, which winds through the city of around 126,000 in eastern Iowa, is expected to crest early on Tuesday morning at 23 feet (7 m).
- PoliticsForeign Policy MagazineWhy Are We So Sure Hillary Will Be a Hawk?
If she wins election in November, the conventional wisdom is that Hillary Clinton’s handling of foreign affairs will be less restrained than Barack Obama’s, and that she’d be more willing to use military force to advance U.S. objectives in various corners of the world. Unlike some of the things of which Clinton has been (bizarrely) accused, this particular claim isn’t without some basis. As I’ve observed, most of her close advisors are card-carrying liberal interventionists (or worse), which reinforces concerns that a future Clinton administration would be ready to repeat the same policies that have consistently disappointed in the past.
- BusinessThe DriveSwizz Beatz Hit With $42M Lawsuit for Supercar Fraud
Swizz Beatz is being sued for $42 million for his alleged role in civil racketeering. A lawsuit filed last week in Brooklyn federal court levies a claim that Swizz Beatz leased at least 10 supercars, including McLarens, Bentleys, Porsches and Ferraris, using a company named Metro Gem Leasing and Funding to bankroll the leases, then illegally resold the vehicles. Metro Gem Leasing and Funding, who filed the suit, says they put up the capital required to help Beatz, real name Kasseem Dean, and his wife Alicia Keys lease a slew of high-end rides.
- WorldReutersEx-IMF head Rato stands trial in Spain over credit card use
By Angus Berwick MADRID (Reuters) - (Please note offensive language in fifth para) Crowds jeered at former International Monetary Fund chief Rodrigo Rato when he arrived at a Madrid court on Monday to face trial for his alleged misuse of company credit cards on extravagant personal expenses. Rato and 64 other executives and former board members from lender Bankia and its founding savings bank Caja Madrid are accused of illegally spending 12 million euros ($13.48 million) for personal use on so-called "black cards" between 2003 and 2012. Prosecutors are seeking a four-and-a-half year prison sentence for Rato, Bankia's chairman shortly before it needed a state bailout in 2012 at the height of the euro zone debt crisis.
PoliticsAFPPalestinians condemn Trump vow on Jerusalem as Israel's capitalPalestinian leaders Monday accused Donald Trump of abandoning any hope of a two-state solution after the Republican candidate said he would recognise Jerusalem as Israel's "undivided" capital if he won the US presidential election. Trump pledged Sunday during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he would recognise Israel's claim over east Jerusalem, which would break with decades of precedent and put Washington at odds with most UN member states.
- SportsYahoo News PhotoGrieving the death of José Fernández
Jose Fernandez escaped from Cuba by boat on his fourth try as a teenager, and when his mother fell into the Yucatan Channel during the journey, he jumped in and pulled her out.Fernandez’s heroic backstory made his death early Sunday that much more heart
- U.S.Associated PressPAL plane safely lands in Manila after smoke seen in cabin
A Philippine Airlines plane en route to Haneda airport in Tokyo returned to Manila's airport 20 minutes into its flight Monday after the crew detected smoke in the cabin. Last week, a Saudi Arabian Airlines pilot mistakenly pressed a hijack warning button on a flight approaching Manila's airport, where officials mobilized commando forces and isolated the jet after it landed.
- U.S.Inside EditionAfter Traffic Stop, Cop Drives Man More Than 100 Miles To Join Family Grieving Over Death of His Teenage Sister
The call came in the wee hours of Sunday. At 3 a.m., Mark Ross learned his 15-year-old sister had just been killed in a car wreck. Stunned and shocked, and without a car, he convinced someone he knew to drive him from Indiana to Detroit. Read: Police
