- U.S.Olivier KnoxDefying critics, Obama nominates Cuba ambassador
Secretary of State John Kerry, right, is greeted on the tarmac by Jeffrey DeLaurentis at José Martí International Airport in Havana, Aug. 14, 2015. Facing down congressional opponents of his historic outreach to Cuba, President Obama announced Tuesday that he has chosen highly respected career diplomat Jeffrey DeLaurentis to be the first U.S. ambassador to Havana in 55 years. DeLaurentis is currently the top official at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba.
- PoliticsLiz GoodwinClinton: Trump ‘bragged’ about not paying taxes
“He actually bragged about gaming the system to get out of paying his fair share of taxes,” Clinton told the crowd of roughly 1,500 at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh. “I think there’s a strong possibility he hasn’t paid federal taxes a lot of years, and this is a man who goes around calling our military a disaster, who goes around criticizing every institution from health care to education, our vets,” Clinton said. During the debate, Clinton brought up that the last tax returns Trump turned over to the public — from the 1970s — show that he paid nothing in federal income tax for several years.
- BusinessThe DriveHere's Our First Look at Mercedes-Benz's Futuristic Electric Concept Car
Automakers across the board are filling more and more of their lineups with utopian people-movers for the 21st Century, and Mercedes-Benz is no exception. To tease its new electric concept car before its full reveal at the Paris Motor Show this week, Mercedes-Benz released a short clip of the vehicle showing off a few details and hinting at other clues on the new car. Previously, The Drive reported on how Daimler, Mercedes-Benz's parent company, has been looking to start up its own electric car sub-brand to rival Tesla.
- U.S.Inside EditionTeacher Invited 2 Students to Her Home for Sex: Cops
A substitute teacher was arrested last week after police say she had sexual encounters with students she invited to her Georgia home. While Cherokee County Sheriff's Office officials said the students were at the age of consent for the state, it was 38-year-old Laura Rich's position of authority that makes her alleged deeds a crime. Rich is accused of starting a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old shortly after she began substitute teaching in early 2015, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Jay Baker said.
- LifestyleYahoo News PhotoWildfire in California's Santa Cruz Mountains
Firefighters worked to control a wildfire on Tuesday in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco Bay area that has forced hundreds of residents to evacuate, despite its relatively small size, officials said. The so-called Loma Fire broke out on Monday afternoon and has scorched more than 1,000 acres (405 hectares) about 10 miles (16 km) northwest of the town of Morgan Hill, fire officials said. Firefighters have built containment lines around 5 percent of the blaze.
- U.S.Christian Science MonitorWhy did an Ohio cop drive a man 100 miles to his sister's funeral?
A man rushing to meet up with his family after the sudden death of his 15-year-old sister was shown some kindness from an Ohio state police officer who sympathized with him, offering to escort him on the 100-mile journey back home. “Everybody knows how much I dislike Cops but I am truly Greatful for this Guy,” Mark Ross wrote in a Facebook post Sunday. In a time when tensions between white police officers and the black community run high, the heartwarming story was a breath of fresh air for many, quickly becoming a viral Facebook post that was shared nearly 100,000 times as of Tuesday afternoon.
BusinessAFPStock markets diverge, weighing oil output dealLondon (AFP) - Asian and European stocks rallied Thursday but failed to provide momentum to Wall Street which edged lower as traders weighed OPEC's surprise deal to limit oil output.After initially lighting a fire under oil prices, enthusiasm for the
U.S.Reuters'Bridgegate' witness says Governor Christie knew of lane closuresBy Joseph Ax NEWARK, N.J. (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was aware of a politically motivated scheme to close lanes at the George Washington Bridge in 2013 as it was unfolding, a key prosecution witness testified on Tuesday at the criminal trial of two former Christie associates. David Wildstein, a former executive at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who masterminded the plot, told jurors in Newark federal court that he and Bill Baroni, another Port Authority executive, discussed the lane closure with Christie before a memorial service marking the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks at the World Trade Center. The testimony marked the first specific evidence federal prosecutors have presented to back their contention that the Republican governor knew at the time about the scandal known as "Bridgegate," despite his repeated denials.
- EntertainmentABC News VideosFirst Look at Starliner Capsule
Astronaut Bob Behnken gives us a first look at the Starliner capsule. Lima Bob bank and I am an astronaut at the Johnson Space Center and one of four astronauts identified as the commercial crew cadre. Doug Hurley Eric both Sonny Williams and myself Bob Franken are all assigned to work with those basics and mowing the develop the next vehicles that we'll take astronauts of the International Space Station.
WorldAFPInquiry says MH17 shot down by missile brought into Ukraine from RussiaThe missile that downed flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine was transported from Russia, a criminal inquiry revealed Wednesday, as it announced that about 100 people were being investigated for playing "an active role" in the disaster. Saying they had "irrefutable evidence" that the BUK missile system was used to blow the Malaysia Airlines plane out of the sky, investigators also for the first time pinpointed that the device was fired from a field in a part of eastern Ukraine then controlled by pro-Russia separatists. The findings of the Dutch-led probe stopped short of directly accusing Moscow of involvement in the tragedy in July 2014, and both the rebels and Russia issued fresh statements denying any responsibility.
- PoliticsMichael WalshGiuliani digs up Lewinsky scandal to bash Hillary Clinton
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Monday night that Donald Trump is too much of a gentleman to dig up the Lewinsky scandal to attack his political opponent. After the presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., Giuliani delivered a litany of reasons he considers Trump to be a feminist despite frequent accusations of chauvinism against the GOP nominee, including about fair treatment of women at his organization. “Donald Trump is an honest person, and he was too reserved and gentlemanly in the end to say what I would’ve said about Hillary Clinton’s attack on him about not being a feminist,” Giuliani told reporters in a video shot by Alexandra Svokos of Elite Daily.
- BusinessThe DriveMercedes Is STILL Running "Self-Driving Car" Ads For The NOT Self-Driving E-Class
Just when you thought the saga of Mercedes-Benz claiming the 2017 E-Class was a “Self-Driving Car” was over, well, it’s not over. The saga began with early ads for the new E-Class stating “Introducing A Self-Driving Car from a very Self-Driven Company.” As I pointed out in my review of Mercedes’ DrivePilot, in no universe does the Mercedes system make it a Self-Driving Car, or anywhere near Level 4 Autonomy. Mercedes DrivePilot is no more than ADAS, and nowhere near Tesla’s state-of-the-art Autopilot system, which is at or slightly above Level 2.
- LifestyleThe DriveHow Not to Fix a Leaky Camper Roof
Zach Bowman has sold everything he owns, slapped a camper to his high-mileage 2003 Dodge Ram and has taken his family on the road. His clan numbers three, counting wife, Beth, and their infant daughter. They are touring America, working and discovering
U.S.Associated PressThe Latest: Friend: Starbucks victim was naturalized citizenThe man killed in a shooting at a Starbucks coffee shop in Las Vegas was a naturalized U.S. citizen from Tblisi, Georgia, where he served in the military and learned not to back away from conflict. The defendant in the slaying case, 34-year-old Pedro Jose Garcia, made an initial court appearance Wednesday on murder and other charges in the Sunday slaying.
- WorldReutersNo more trade in endangered pangolins, U.N. meeting decides
By Tanisha Heiberg JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The United Nations on Wednesday banned global trade in highly endangered pangolins, a scaly animal with the dubious distinction of being the world's most poached mammal. Member states of the U.N.'s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, known as CITES, voted to place the eight species of pangolin on the convention's "Appendix I," which prohibits any cross-border movement in the animals or their body parts for commercial purposes. Like other illicit wildlife commodity pipelines, such as elephant ivory and rhino horn, Africa is the main source of pangolin supply, while the demand comes from Asia.
U.S.AFPUS Congress rejects Obama's veto of Saudi 9/11 billThe US Congress voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to override Barack Obama's veto of a bill allowing 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia, the first such rebuke during his eight-year presidency. The Senate overrode the veto in a 97-1 vote, followed a short time later by the House of Representatives, which knocked it down with a 348-77 vote. The rare act of bipartisanship was a blow to Obama, who lobbied hard against the bill, known as the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA).
- WorldChristian Science MonitorDoes the US owe blacks reparations? Yes, says UN panel
Can reparations reconcile some of the damage done by centuries of slavery, segregation, and discrimination? The topic has always highlighted deep divides, and a recent United Nations report that called the slave trade a crime against humanity and urged the US to pay reparations has reignited the issue. “Past injustices and crimes against African Americans need to be addressed with reparatory justice,” the report said.
ScienceReutersBillionaire Elon Musk outlines plans for humans to colonize MarsBy Irene Klotz GUADALAJARA, Mexico (Reuters) - SpaceX is developing a massive rocket and capsule to transport large numbers of people and cargo to Mars with the ultimate goal of colonizing the planet, company chief and tech billionaire Elon Musk said on Tuesday. Musk outlined his plans for the Mars rocket, capable of carrying 100 passengers plus cargo per voyage, even as SpaceX is still investigating why a different rocket carrying a $200 million Israeli satellite blew up on a launch pad in Florida earlier this month. SpaceX intends to fly to Mars about every 26 months when Earth and Mars are favorably aligned.
- WorldForeign Policy MagazineRussia Is In Tailspin Over MH17 Shootdown Report
A new Dutch-led investigation of the 2014 deadly shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in a separatist-held area of Ukraine corroborates what was already widely documented: A Russian Buk missile system caused the crash. Prosecutors stopped short of directly blaming Moscow, which has denied involvement. Moscow’s spin machine quickly took flight after the inquiry’s report became public.
- WorldThe AtlanticShimon Peres, 1923-2016
Shimon Peres, an enduring figure of Israeli life and politics who in more than six decades in politics served as both prime minister and president of the Jewish state and, along the way, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace, has died. “Shimon devoted his life to our people and the pursuit of peace,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Born Shimon Persky in what was then Poland, in 1923, Peres immigrated with his family in 1932 to what was then Palestine.
WorldAFPTough anti-corruption law takes effect in S. KoreaA tough new anti-graft law came into force in South Korea Wednesday with many hailing it as a milestone to help root out widespread low-level corruption. Dubbed the Kim Young-Ran law after the former supreme court judge who drafted it, the sweeping legislation covers some four million public servants and employees of education institutions in the country of 50 million. The law targets teachers bribed by parents to give better grades, journalists paid to give favourable publicity and officials bought off by businessmen to speed up bureaucratic processes.
- BusinessThe DriveDJI's New Mavic Pro Drone Is Compact, Capable, and Can Fly Itself
With up to 27 minutes of flight time on a single charge, pilots can use the Mavic Pro's three-axis gimbal to take photos and record video from a stable aerial platform—making it ideal for aerial selfies or live-streaming video.
- BusinessAssociated PressVW chief: Working on settlement with US for emissions fraud
Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller says the company is cooperating with U.S. authorities and hopes to reach a settlement on a fine with the Justice Department for equipping diesel vehicles to cheat on emissions tests. The deal, which still has to be approved by a federal judge, requires the company to spend up to $10 billion buying back or fixing about 475,000 2-liter diesel vehicles involved in the scandal and paying owners an additional $5,100 to $10,000 each.
- U.S.U.S.News & World ReportFill Out the FAFSA Early
The first step in receiving student aid for college is filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This is one of a number of changes to this application this year. Don't wait to complete your application, even if you're a high school senior currently evaluating colleges.
U.S.AFPHundreds flee as wildfire scorches California hillsidesA fierce wildfire south of San Francisco has forced hundreds of people to flee their homes as fast-moving flames fed by withering temperatures have consumed nearly 2,500 acres (1,012 hectares). Several cannabis plantations are also threatened by the wildfire, with several already reduced to ashes, the AFP photographer said.
