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).
WorldAFPAnti-govt protest in Jordan over murder of writerProtesters called on Monday for Jordan's government to resign over its failure to prevent the murder of Christian writer Nahed Hattar, as the killing was condemned internationally. Carrying his portrait, they called for the resignation of both Prime Minister Hani al-Malki and Interior Minister Salama Hammad. "We handed over 200 names (of people who had threatened the writer) to the governor (of Amman), including that of the assassin, and demanded protection," said Khaled Hattar, one of the victim's brothers.
- 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.
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.
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.
- WorldForeign Policy MagazineFrance to U.K.: Brexit Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Help Us Handle the Crisis in Calais
Last week, construction began on a roughly $2 million wall in the French border town of Calais. To block migrants and asylum-seekers living in the sprawling, makeshift camp known as “the Jungle,” from jumping on the backs of trucks as they pass through the town on their way to England. The United Kingdom is funding the wall, but the question of what to do with the thousands of people living in Calais has found itself at the center of France’s upcoming presidential election.
- 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.
- 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
PoliticsAssociated PressClinton, Trump to meet separately with Israel PM NetanyahuHillary Clinton and Donald Trump are meeting separately with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday in sessions that could set the tone for relations between the allied countries during the next presidential administration. Trump met Sunday with Netanyahu for over an hour at his residence in Trump Tower in Manhattan, according to Israeli and campaign officials. Clinton also was expected to meet with the prime minister in New York on the eve of the first debate between the candidates.
- 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.AFPFour men injured in shooting in SwedenFour men were injured, one critically, in the centre of Sweden's southern city of Malmo, in what police said appeared to be a targeted attack by gunmen riding scooters. The shooting broke out shortly before 7pm (1700 GMT) in a street in the southern city's Fosie district. Police in the area evacuated one of the wounded to the city hospital.
- 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.
- 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.
HealthLiveScience.comDrug Overdose Cluster in Canada Tied to Opioid-Laced CocaineMore than 40 people in a Canadian city were treated for an opioid overdose this summer after they smoked crack cocaine that had been contaminated with an opioid drug related to fentanyl, according to a new report. In mid-July, a hospital in the city of Surrey, British Columbia, experienced a large spike in patients needing treatment for an opioid overdose — about 11 patients per day needed treatment, up from the usual four patients per day. Most of the patients had become unconscious after smoking what they thought was crack cocaine, the report said.
WorldReutersKerry defends diplomacy as Russian-backed forces pound AleppoBy Patricia Zengerle and Lisa Barrington CARTAGENA, Colombia/BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry defended his efforts to negotiate with Moscow over the war in Syria on Monday, despite the collapse of a ceasefire that has led to a massive Russian-backed assault on the besieged rebel-held sector of Aleppo. Medical supplies were running out in eastern Aleppo, with victims pouring into barely functioning hospitals as Russia and its ally President Bashar al-Assad ignored Western pleas to stop the bombing of the last major urban area in opposition hands. Moscow and Damascus launched their assault last week despite months of negotiations led by Kerry that resulted in a short-lived ceasefire this month.
- 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.
WorldABC News VideosKatrina Vanden Heuvel Says This is a 'Rewrite the Rules Election'The Powerhouse Roundtable preview the upcoming presidential debate.
PoliticsAssociated PressThe Latest: Ryan differs with Trump about black AmericansHouse Speaker Paul Ryan disagrees with Donald Trump's recent statement that things have been "absolutely in the worse shape that they've ever been in before" for blacks living in America's inner cities. On CBS' "Face the Nation," Ryan then praised Trump for making appeals to black voters.
U.S.Yahoo News PhotoInvestigation of shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott at hands of Charlotte policeRay Dotch, brother-in-law of Keith Lamont Scott, who was killed by police in Charlotte last week, today called for the full police video of the incident to be released and said that he hopes Americans will take “an absolute unflinching look” at prejudice and police-involved shootings and that “we as a nation tell the truth about who we are.” Dotch told “GMA” this morning that the partial video of the encounter Tuesday between Scott and Charlotte police which the police department released Saturday “left us with more questions than with answers” about the shooting. “We’re, first, happy they released” the partial video, Dotch told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos . “Our absolute first goal is to get to the absolute truth … We’re still trying to understand how it came to be that this particular moment led to the loss of life.” Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina, released some of the police department’s tapes of the fatal shooting of Scott on Saturday, and Police Chief Kerr Putney said more footage will come later. Dotch said that in the wake of the tragedy, “My family is trying to expand the conversation beyond just us.” (GMA) See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Tumblr .
- 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
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.
SportsThe DriveBMW Drivers Had a Really, Really Bad Day at the NürburgringOn Saturday, the Nürburgring hosted the ADAC Barbarossapreis race, the eighth event on the VLN Endurance Championship calendar. The Germs dominated on home turf, handily sweeping the Nordschleife podium. The No. 8 HARBIO Mercedes-AMG GT3 took the overall
- 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.
- WorldReutersU.S. slams Russian 'barbarism' in Syria, Moscow says peace almost impossible
By Michelle Nichols and Yara Bayoumy UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States on Sunday called Russia's action in Syria "barbarism," not counter-terrorism, while Moscow's U.N. envoy said ending the war "is almost an impossible task now" as Syrian government forces, backed by Moscow, bombed the city of Aleppo. The United Nations Security Council met on Sunday at the request of the United States, Britain and France to discuss the escalation of fighting in Aleppo following the announcement on Thursday of an offensive by the Syrian army to retake the city.
