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 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).
SportsReutersCharlotte protesters march for sixth night despite shooting video releaseA couple hundred demonstrators chanted and marched through Charlotte on Sunday, as protests persisted after the release of two videos showing the fatal shooting of a black man by police officers in North Carolina's largest city. Angry protesters have filled the streets of Charlotte every day since the Tuesday killing of Keith Scott, 43, whom police said was armed when officers shot him. Crowds were smaller on Sunday than earlier in the week, but protesters said they would continue until police, who on Saturday released portions of videos showing Scott's death, published all the footage.
- 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.
BusinessAssociated PressUS not on track to meet 2025 carbon pollution cutting goalUnless it does more, the United States probably will fall short of goals set under last year's Paris agreement to dramatically reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases, according to a new study. The U.S. pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in 2025 by 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels. Looking at all types of greenhouse gases from energy and other sources— carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and various fluorocarbons — two scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Lab figure the U.S. will have to cut about 1,660 million tons of annual emissions.
WorldAFPFrance at UN says war crimes committed in Syria's AleppoFrance's envoy to the United Nations asserted Sunday that war crimes were being committed in Syria's battered city of Aleppo, as the Security Council met for urgent talks on the escalating military campaign. The Security Council was holding urgent talks after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was appalled by the "chilling" air bombardments on Aleppo and warned that the use of advanced weaponry could amount to war crimes.
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.
- PoliticsABC News VideosClinton, Trump Prepare to Battle in Pivotal First Debate
George Stephanopoulos previews the first debate showdown on "This Week."
- 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.
- 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 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.Associated PressProtests remain peaceful outside Charlotte Panthers NFL game
Nightly protests have shaken the city of Charlotte since the shooting death of a black man by police last week, but Sunday's NFL game between the Carolina Panthers and the Minnesota Vikings was played without interruption. A group of around 100 demonstrators gathered across the street from Bank of America Stadium to keep up the pressure in the aftermath of the death of Keith Lamont Scott. Six nights of protests have followed, the first two of them violent.
- 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.
- 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.
U.S.AFPPentagon chief calls Russia out over 'nuclear saber-rattling'Russia could be more willing to deploy nuclear weapons today than the Soviet Union ever was during the Cold War, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter warned Monday. Speaking at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota near the Canadian border, he accused Moscow of "nuclear saber-rattling," expressing concerns over Russia's push to overhaul its atomic weapons systems.
- 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
- BusinessU.S.News & World ReportIs 4 Percent Still the Safest Retirement Amount?
Back in 1994, William Bergman, a now-retired California financial planner, published a report in the Journal of Financial Planning that pegged 4 percent as the "safest" withdrawal number that would hike the odds of retirees not outliving their money. By and large, Bergman's 4 percent rule was meant to cover 30 years worth of retirement savings. Thus, if a newly-minted 65-year-old retiree could manage to limit annual withdrawals to 4 percent of savings, he or she would still have retirement fund cash available to them by his or her 95th birthday.
WorldAssociated PressTurks protest assault of young nurse who wore shorts on busTurks donned shorts and gathered in central Istanbul on Sunday to condemn the assault of a young nurse who was attacked on a bus for wearing shorts. With chants of "Don't interfere with my shorts!" the protest aimed to show solidarity with Aysegul Terzi, who was kicked in the face by a man, Abdullah Cakiroglu, on Sept. 12. Cakiroglu confessed to attacking Terzi for what he called her "inappropriate" clothing, yet was released from custody despite expressing no remorse, according to Turkish news reports.
PoliticsAFPTrump says he'll recognize Jerusalem as Israel's 'undivided' capitalRepublican candidate Donald Trump pledged to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's "undivided" capital if he is elected president, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who Hillary Clinton also met that evening. Netanyahu met privately with Trump at his residence in Trump Tower on Sunday, a day before the New York billionaire faces off against Democratic rival Clinton for their first presidential debate. "Trump acknowledged that Jerusalem has been the eternal capital of the Jewish people for over 3000 years, and that the United States, under a Trump administration, will finally accept the long-standing congressional mandate to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the state of Israel," his campaign said in a statement.
- LifestyleThe 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
WorldReutersErdogan sees 'ulterior motives' in U.S. case against gold traderBy Ayla Jean Yackley ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan believes U.S. federal attorneys had ulterior motives in including references to him and his wife in court papers related to their prosecution of a gold trader, Turkish media on Sunday quoted him as saying. Reza Zarrab, a dual Turkish-Iranian national, was arrested in Miami in March. The 33-year-old businessman, who lived in Turkey, remains in custody in New York.
- U.S.Inside EditionCommunity Outraged as Walmart Refuses to Make 'Blue Lives Matter' Cake for Retiring Cop
A community is in uproar after one man claims a Georgia Walmart refused to make a cake with the words "Blue Lives Matter" written across the top. According to Taylor Wilkes of Locust-Grove, the family of a police officer wanted to have a cake made for his retirement party. "Walmart refused to honor her request due to it being 'racist.' Three separate people in management denied her request," Wilkes wrote.
- WorldReutersTaiwan braces for arrival of Typhoon Megi on Tuesday
Flights and trains in Taiwan were disrupted by the approach of the third typhoon this month and most cities planned work and school closures for Tuesday. The island's financial markets will also be shut, financial regulators said. Typhoon Megi is expected to make landfall on the island's eastern coast on Tuesday afternoon.
WorldAFPIran's Ahmadinejad should stay out of election: conservativesIranian conservatives called on former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to stay out of next year's election following a speech by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday. Although he did not mention Ahmadinejad by name, several conservative figures interpreted his words as a rebuke to the controversial former president who led the country from 2005 until the 2013 presidential election. "Mr Ahmadinejad must be very thankful and grateful for the leader's advice and he will definitely listen to this advice and not run for the election, and will be of service to people in some other position," said Mohammad Gharavian, a cleric in the holy city of Qom, according to ISNA news agency.
- TechnologyTech Media Network (Tom's Guide)The Latest Hint That Apple's Gearing Up to Make Cars
Last Friday (Sept. 23), many in the media were shocked to find out that Chris Ziegler, a founding member and deputy editor of The Verge had been working for Apple for two months while still employed by the technology website. This story is bigger than clandestine work hours, though, as it could be the latest smoke-signal from Apple that the company is working on an automobile project. Ziegler's title at The Verge may have been deputy editor, but anyone familiar with his years of work covering the car industry for the website (his last piece covered a partnership between BMW and Intel) can read between the lines.
