BBC NEWS: December 2019

Tuesday 31 December 2019

Sen. Susan Collins: 'It is inappropriate' for Mitch McConnell, Democrats to prejudge impeachment trial - USA TODAY

Sen. Susan Collins: 'It is inappropriate' for Mitch McConnell, Democrats to prejudge impeachment trial USA TODAY
Schumer calls for witness testimony at impeachment trial, says new ‘revelations’ a ‘game changer’ Fox News
Which of President Trump's accomplishments are the media not talking about? Fox News
Pelosi demand for fair impeachment trial is laughably hypocritical Washington Examiner
Every trial is a pursuit of truth. Will my colleagues in the Senate uphold that? The Washington Post
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Explainer: The case for Trump's impeachment - and the case against it - Reuters

Explainer: The case for Trump's impeachment - and the case against it ReutersView full coverage on Google News

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Protect Veterans From Fraud

By BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/36oXN8x

Texas Churchgoers Welcomed the Poor, but Sensed This One Was Trouble

By BY DAVE MONTGOMERY, ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS AND RICK ROJAS from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/37mK6XF

Al interior de un tribunal de guerra estadounidense: la ropa y la cultura en Guantánamo

By BY CAROL ROSENBERG AND WENDY MACNAUGHTON from NYT en Español https://ift.tt/2uaRjvL

Science Panel Staffed With Trump Appointees Says E.P.A. Rollbacks Lack Scientific Rigor

By BY CORAL DAVENPORT AND LISA FRIEDMAN from NYT Climate https://ift.tt/356WYj6

U.S. Taking Democracy for Granted, Chief Justice Roberts Says

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. has “come to take democracy for granted,” Chief Justice John Roberts said, urging his fellow judges to keep educating the public about the workings of the federal government and the Constitution.Roberts, who is slated to oversee the Senate‘s impeachment trial of President Donald Trump in the coming weeks, used his year-end report Tuesday to laud the federal judiciary’s work on civic education, while issuing a thinly veiled warning about the fragility of American democracy in a fractious time.“We have come to take democracy for granted, and civic education has fallen by the wayside,” Roberts wrote. “In our age, when social media can instantly spread rumor and false information on a grand scale, the public’s need to understand our government, and the protections it provides, is ever more vital.”Roberts described a 1788 riot that incapacitated John Jay while he was working with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison on the Federalist Papers, a series of articles published to promote the ratification of the Constitution. Jay was hit in the head with a rock while trying to quell the riot, which was sparked by a rumor that medical students were dissecting the body of a recently deceased woman. Jay later became the first U.S. chief justice.“It is sadly ironic that John Jay’s efforts to educate his fellow citizens about the framers’ plan of government fell victim to a rock thrown by a rioter motivated by a rumor,” Roberts wrote.Roberts has become the nation’s leading champion of judicial independence since being appointed to the Supreme Court by President George W. Bush in 2005. In his new report, the chief justice called the judiciary “a source of national unity and stability” but added a cautionary note.“We should also remember that justice is not inevitable,” Roberts wrote in a passage directed at his judicial colleagues. “We should reflect on our duty to judge without fear or favor, deciding each matter with humility, integrity, and dispatch.”Roberts, 64, is in the middle of a challenging Supreme Court term that includes cases on LGBTQ discrimination, abortion and gun rights. In late March or early April the court will hear arguments on Trump’s effort to prevent his financial information from being turned over to Congress and a New York grand jury.Roberts released the report three days after his mother, Rosemary A. Roberts, died at age 90. Her obituary said she was surrounded by her family when she passed away.To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Stohr in Washington at gstohr@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo, Anna EdgertonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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What Are Those Mysterious Drones Doing in Colorado?

The swarm appears to be practicing a search for ... something.

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New York Jews scared, defiant as mayor decries anti-Semitism 'crisis'

At a Hasidic synagogue in Brooklyn, police, state troopers and civilian volunteers stand guard as Orthodox Jews mark the end of Hanukkah under heightened security following a spate of attacks. New York, home to the largest Jewish community outside of Israel, had long been a place where Jews felt safe.

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Carlos Ghosn's escape from Japan is a nightmare for the country's justice system — and the ousted Nissan exec may now be looking to put that system on trial

Ghosn is an auto-industry celebrity who should now have the opportunity to tell his side of the story in detail.

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Raging wildfires trap 4,000 at Australian town's waterfront

Wildfires burning across Australia's two most populous states Tuesday trapped residents of a seaside town in apocalyptic conditions and killed at least two people while more property along the country's east coast fell victim to a devastating fire season. About 4,000 residents in the southeastern town of Mallacoota in Victoria state fled toward the water Tuesday morning as winds pushed an emergency-level wildfire toward their homes.

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Indonesia protests to China over border intrusion near South China Sea

Indonesia said on Monday it had protested to Beijing over the presence of a Chinese coastguard vessel in its territorial waters near the disputed South China Sea, saying it marked a "violation of sovereignty".

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Powerful winter storm lingers in Upper Midwest

A fierce winter storm that created blizzard conditions in parts of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota shut down interstates, led to hundreds of vehicle crashes and brought a metropolitan area of more than 200,000 people to a standstill on Monday morning. Residents in the Fargo and Moorhead, Minnesota area who are used to snowstorms were told to stay home after a foot of heavy, wet snow made that fell on top of a sheet of ice made travel difficult and stoked early fears about spring flooding. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning in northeastern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where periods of heavy snow and gusty winds were expected to create difficult travel conditions.

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Warren Assails Lobbying Against Her Health Plan: Campaign Update

(Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren assailed the clout in Washington of billionaires and large corporations that have lined up to fight her calls for a wealth tax and Medicare for All.“Many corporate executives and career politicians and billionaires on both sides of the aisle want to keep their influence and their wealth,” Warren, a U.S. senator from Massachusetts, said in a speech in Boston Tuesday. “And they are already deep in the fight to do so.”Warren said that industry interests were lining up to stifle many of the more ambitious initiatives of her campaign, including the swift creation of a government-run health-care system that would cover all Americans and eliminate private insurance -- a proposal also offered by her rival for the party’s nomination, Bernie Sanders.“Americans overwhelmingly believe that health care is a basic human right,” Warren said. “But the private health insurance industry is dumping millions of dollars in false TV ads to scare people away from any change.”Medicare for All remains popular with the Democratic base, yet some have worried that it could hurt Democrats in the general election against President Donald Trump. Union members and millions of other Americans who have health insurance are reluctant to give it up.Biden Holds Narrow Edge Over Trump in Florida Poll (6 a.m.)Joe Biden holds a narrow edge over Donald Trump in a head-to-head match-up in Florida, the only leading Democratic candidate currently presenting serious competition to the president in the crucial 2020 swing state, according to a poll released Tuesday.The former vice president is backed by 47% of Florida voters, while 45% say they support Trump, according to the poll by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy conducted Dec. 11-16. The result is well within the survey’s 4 percentage point margin of error, and 8% of registered voters remain undecided.By comparison, Trump leads Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren 51% to 42%, and has a five-point advantage over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, 49% to 44%. Against South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Trump leads 48% to 45%. Trump won Florida’s 29 electoral 2016 by just more than 1 percentage point.A Mason-Dixon poll of Virginia registered voters showed Biden with a 49% to 45% lead over Trump. But as in Florida, Trump leads Warren, Sanders and Buttigieg in the state, which has been trending toward Democrats over the last several elections. -- Joe SobczykCOMING UP:Warren will deliver a New Year’s Eve address from Boston’s historic Old South Meeting House on fighting corruption.Five Democratic candidates -- Warren, Sanders, Biden, Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar have qualified for the next debate, on Jan. 14, in Iowa.Trump is scheduled to hold a campaign rally in Milwaukee on the same night as the debate.(Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)\--With assistance from Joe Sobczyk.To contact the reporter on this story: Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou in Washington at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Kevin Whitelaw at kwhitelaw@bloomberg.net, Michael Shepard, Elizabeth WassermanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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A Plan for World War III: How the Warsaw Pact Planned to Defeat NATO

History had other ideas.

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Mexico arrests seven suspects in Mormon family massacre

Mexican authorities have arrested seven suspects in connection with last month's massacre of nine Mormon women and children in the country's north, the attorney general's office said. A local police chief suspected of links to organized crime was among those taken into custody, according to local media. The victims -- six of them children -- had dual US-Mexican nationality and were shot dead on a rural road in a lawless region known for turf wars between drug cartels fighting over lucrative trafficking routes to the United States.

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New top story on Hacker News: Happy 10th Birthday, Krebsonsecurity.com

Happy 10th Birthday, Krebsonsecurity.com
3 by utopian3 | 0 comments on Hacker News.

Trump accuses Democrats of avoiding Senate trial to protect Bidens - The Washington Post

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Biden says he would consider Republican running mate, ‘but I can’t think of one now’ - The Washington Post

Biden says he would consider Republican running mate, ‘but I can’t think of one now’ The Washington Post
Joe Biden pitches unexpected running mate CNN
Chris Stirewalt on a potential Biden running mate: 'Unless the ghost of Dwight Eisenhower shows up, I doubt... Fox News
Leftists are fuming for no reason over Joe Biden's meaningless claim he's open to GOP running mate Washington Examiner
Opinion: Fasten your seatbelts for a truly ugly 2020 presidential campaign Los Angeles Times
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What we know about the drones watching Times Square on New Year's Eve - Quartz

What we know about the drones watching Times Square on New Year's Eve Quartz
Rossford native to host Times Square NYE webcast Toledo Blade
Tonight New York City Will Drop the Ball on Climate Change Popular Mechanics
Times Square is the safest place on Earth to spend New Year’s Eve: NYPD New York Post
New Year's Eve 2020: Revelers line up for Times Square ball drop New York Post
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Monday 30 December 2019

Machete Attacker Stabs 5 at NY Rabbi’s Hanukkah Celebration

A masked, machete-wielding man barged into a Hanukkah celebration and stabbed five people at a rabbi’s home in Monsey, New York, on Saturday evening, intensifying fears anti-Semitic violence after a spate of incidents last week. The assailant escaped but the NYPD quickly picked up a suspect. Law-enforcement sources identified him as Grafton Thomas, 37, who has several previous arrests on his record, including one for punching a police horse. He was turned over to the state police, and will face five counts of attempted murder.The terrifying ambush—which took place in Rockland County, a northern suburb that has the highest per capita Jewish population in the U.S.—drew swift condemnation from public officials from Israel to Washington. Gov. Andrew Cuomo called it an “act of domestic terrorism.”According to Ramapo Police Chief Brad Weidel, a man covering his face with a scarf knocked on the door at Rabbi Rottenburg’s shul during the seventh night of Hanukkah just as the rabbi was lighting the candle. The assailant rushed past the man who answered the door, who said he pulled out a machete and began stabbing people, according to several witnesses.He is said to have gone after terrified victims as they ran away and tried to access the adjacent synagogue before fleeing the scene after some of the guests hit him with chairs and a small table.Ramapo Town Police said the suspect was in custody. He reportedly escaped the scene but was arrested in Harlem after being tracked down through the license plate number of his vehicle.Of the five victims rushed to local hospitals, two of them were in critical condition as of late Saturday, according to the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council for the Hudson Valley region. The organization said one of the victims had been stabbed six times. Governor Andrew Cuomo called the stabbings a “cowardly act” and directed the State Police Hate Crimes Task Force to investigate the incident.“Let me be clear: anti-Semitism and bigotry of any kind are repugnant to our values of inclusion and diversity and we have absolutely zero tolerance for such acts of hate,” Cuomo said in a statement. “In New York we will always stand up and say with one voice to anyone who wishes to divide and spread fear: you do not represent New York and your actions will not go unpunished.”President Trump addressed the “horrific” bloodshed on Sunday afternoon, in a tweet: “We must all come together to fight, confront, and eradicate the evil scourge of anti-Semitism. Melania and I wish the victims a quick and full recovery.”Yossi Gestetner, a co-founder of the OJPAC for the Hudson Valley region, told The New York Times there were “many dozens of people” celebrating in the home at the time of the attack. “It was a Hanukkah celebration,” he was quoted saying. Videos said to have been taken by witnesses showed paramedics rushing to treat the victims in a chaotic scene. The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James released a statement saying she was left “deeply disturbed” by the incident.“There is zero tolerance for acts of hate of any kind and we will continue to monitor this horrific situation,” James said. “I stand with the Jewish community tonight and every night.”New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called the attack “horrific.” “So many Jewish families in our city have close ties to Monsey. We cannot overstate the fear people are feeling right now,” he wrote on Twitter. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also expressed solidarity with the victims during the opening remarks at his weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday. “Israel condemns in every sense the latest anti-Semitic incidents and the brutal attack in the middle of Hanukkah at the rabbi’s house in Monsey, New York,” he said. “We will work together in every way with the local authorities in order to help eliminate this phenomena. We offer our help to all countries.”The attack comes after at least seven other anti-Semitic incidents were reported in New York City this week, prompting the New York City Police Department to increase the number of officers in predominantly Jewish areas. The stabbings also come less than a month after four people were killed in a “targeted” shooting at a Jersey City kosher supermarket that investigators believe was fueled by a “hatred of the Jewish people.” Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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Greta Thunberg calls world leaders' attacks on her 'just funny'

Greta Thunberg says it's "just funny" when she's personally attacked by world leaders like President Trump.The 16-year-old Swedish climate change activist, who earlier this month was named Time's person of the year, spoke with Today on BBC Radio on Monday and was asked about recent attacks on her, such as when Trump lashed out at her in a tweet by claiming she has an anger management problem or when Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro called her a "brat.""Those attacks are just funny because they obviously don't mean anything," Thunberg said. "Well, I guess, of course, it means something. It means they are terrified of young people bringing change, which they don't want."Thunberg went on to say that these attacks are "proof that we are actually doing something and that they see us as some kind of threat."This comes after Trump went after Thunberg on Twitter in response to Time's decision to name her person of the year, writing she "must work on her anger management problem, then go to a good old-fashioned movie with a friend!"Asked in the BBC interview whether Trump is one of those people who sees her as a threat, Thunberg said "it's possible.""Not me, of course, me myself alone am not much of a threat," she added. "But it's that I'm a part of a big movement that they probably see as a threat."Thunberg also reiterated that a meeting with Trump at the United Nations earlier this year would not have been productive, saying that even if she did have an opportunity to speak with the president, she "wouldn't have wasted my time."More stories from theweek.com The best headlines of 2019 Giants, Browns fire head coaches on otherwise quiet 'Black Monday' Republicans are still trying to steal your health insurance

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Ex-Nissan boss Ghosn, facing Japan trial, arrives in Beirut

Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn, who is awaiting trial in Japan on charges of financial misconduct, has arrived in Beirut, a close friend said Monday. It was not clear how Ghosn, who is of Lebanese origins and holds French and Lebanese passports, left Japan where he was under surveillance and is expected to face trial in April 2020. Ricardo Karam, a television host and friend of Ghosn who interviewed him several times, told The Associated Press Ghosn arrived in Lebanon Monday morning..

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North Korea's Kim urges 'positive and offensive' security measures ahead of nuclear talks deadline

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for "positive and offensive measures" to ensure the country's security before a year-end deadline he has set for denuclearization talks with the United States, state media KCNA said on Monday. Kim convened a weekend meeting of top Workers' Party officials to discuss policy matters amid rising tension over his deadline for Washington to soften its stance in stalled negotiations aimed at dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. At a Sunday session, Kim suggested action in the areas of foreign affairs, the munitions industry and armed forces, stressing the need to take "positive and offensive measures for fully ensuring the sovereignty and security of the country," KCNA said, without elaborating.

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US strikes Iran-backed militia strongholds in Iraq and Syria

The U.S. launched strike against Iranian military targets in Syria following a Friday attach in Iraq that killed one American.

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Hasan Minhaj’s 2020 Advice: Be Like Mitch McConnell

Before signing off for 2019, Hasan Minhaj has turned his eye towards 2020. The host of Netflix’s Patriot Act ended his final episode of the year by sharing some updates from stories he covered earlier in the year, including an interview during which he tried to get Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to accept Islam as his “one true faith.” Two weeks later, his brownface scandal erupted. “Little did I know he had actually converted decades ago,” Minhaj joked. The biggest problem of 2019, he went on to argue, is that “we’re exposed to all the news, all the time, which makes us feel like we have to care about everything all the time.” It’s called “compassion fatigue” and Minhaj compared it to feeling like you have “50 tabs open in our mental browsers and we’re about to crash.” “You know who really figured out 2019?” he asked, before adding, “You’re not going to like this.” He was talking about Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. “We’ve shat on Mitch McConnell all year. ‘He’s a goblin, he’s a skin tag with glasses, he looks like something from a wax museum dumpster.’ He doesn’t give a fuck.” To extend Minhaj’s analogy, McConnell “closed all tabs, except for the Republican Party and locking down the courts.” And he thinks those on the other side of the political divide should do the same.Hasan Minhaj Fires Back at Saudi Arabia for Censoring His Netflix Show ‘Patriot Act’“So here’s what I’m pitching,” he continued. “For 2020, give yourself a break. Just pick a couple things to not care about, for your sanity. I’m not saying shut down your browser. Just close a couple tabs.” For himself, Minhaj has decided to let other people worry about plastic straws, North Korea and brownface. “I know, that’s supposed to be my issue,” he said. “But I’ve got other tabs to focus on. So if someone comes up to me and is like, ‘Did you hear? Joe Biden dressed up as Apu for Halloween!’ I’d be like, ‘Yo, I bet the accent was funny.’” Minhaj acknowledged that it was “weird” to hear this advice from a host—much like his fellow Daily Show alum John Oliver—who “tells you to care about something new every week.” And he promised to keep doing so in 2020, something that was an open question before Patriot Act aired the 32nd episode of its initial 32-episode order this past week. “I’ll see you guys in 2020,” he concluded. “We’ve got a few more tabs to open.” For more, listen to the most recent episodes of The Last Laugh podcast. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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Police confirm pilot, six passengers died in Hawaii helicopter crash; recovery efforts suspended

Authorities in Hawaii confirmed there were no survivors of a Thursday helicopter crash and suspended recovery efforts Saturday afternoon.

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Kremlin says Putin called Trump to thank him for information that thwarted terrorist attack

Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked President Trump over the phone Sunday for information that helped thwart a terrorist attack, the Kremlin says.The Kremlin released a statement saying that Putin "thanked Donald Trump for the information transmitted through the channels of U.S. special services that has helped thwart terrorist acts in Russia."While further details were not provided, The New York Times notes that Russia's Federal Security Service told Russian media it detained two suspects who were allegedly preparing a New Year's Eve attack in St. Petersburg. Russia's news agencies reported that materials were seized from the suspects and that "information about the preparation of the crime was provided by U.S. intelligence," The Wall Street Journal reports.In December 2017, Putin similarly thanked Trump for information that helped thwart a planned attack in St. Petersburg, the Times notes.Putin and Trump on Sunday also discussed a "range of issues of mutual interest and agreed to continue bilateral cooperation in combating terrorism," the Kremlin said, but the White House has yet to comment on the call.More stories from theweek.com The best headlines of 2019 Giants, Browns fire head coaches on otherwise quiet 'Black Monday' Republicans are still trying to steal your health insurance

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Politicians and celebrities spoke out after the New York machete attack that shook the Jewish community to its core

Five people were stabbed in a rabbi's home in Monsey, New York during a Hanukkah celebration on Saturday.

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Iraq warns US ties at stake after deadly strikes

Iraq's government warned Monday that its relations with the United States were at risk after deadly American air strikes against a pro-Iran group sparked anger on the streets, with protesters torching US flags. Baghdad said it would summon the US ambassador while Washington responded by accusing Iraqi authorities of having failed to "protect" US interests. The attacks came as Iraq is caught up in mounting tensions between its allies Tehran and Washington while it also grapples with huge street protests against corruption and Iran's growing political influence in the country.

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Bernie Sanders Condemns Rise of Anti-Semitism in Iowa Menorah Lighting

(Bloomberg) -- Bernie Sanders helped light a menorah at a “Chanukah on Ice” event at an Iowa ice skating rink Sunday night, and condemned a rise in anti-semitism in America and “all over the world.”It’s rare to see the U.S. senator from Vermont, who is a secular Jew, in a religious setting while running for the Democratic presidential nomination.The annual Hanukkah event, organized by Des Moines Rabbi Yossi Jacobson, came less than 24 hours after an intruder stabbed five people at a rabbi’s home in the New York City suburb of Monsey Saturday night.“What we’re seeing right now -- we’re seeing it in America, we’re seeing it all over the world -- is a rise in anti-semitism. We’re seeing a rise in hate crimes,” Sanders said.“We’re seeing somebody run into a kid here in Des Moines because that child was a Latino. We’re seeing people being stabbed yesterday in New York City because they were Jewish. We are seeing people being assaulted because they are Muslim,” he told an audience of about 90 gathered on a frigid Iowa winter night.“And as the rabbi indicated, if there was ever a time in American history where we say no to religious bigotry, this is the time,” he said.Sanders talked about his father immigrating at age 17 from Poland, “fleeing anti-semitism and fleeing violence and fleeing terrible, terrible poverty.”Sanders joked about not burning down the ice skating rink before lighting the menorah candles with a blowtorch provided by the event organizers. He joined in, reading the words, as the rabbi sang a blessing. An icy wind blew his borrowed kippah off his head at one point.As Jacobson and his wife, Chana, who run Maccabee’s Kosher Deli in Des Moines, handed out latkes and doughnuts, the rabbi noted that Sanders rarely talks about Judaism on the campaign trail.That has raised questions about whether he’s uncomfortable with his Jewish identity, Jacobson said.Jacobson said Sanders was reluctant at first to accept the invitation to light the menorah candles, but once he did, he embraced the evening with enthusiasm.Jacobson said he asked Sanders his Hebrew name. Binyamin, Sanders answered.The rabbi said he gave Sanders a blessing, “for his health.”To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth Wasserman, Kasia KlimasinskaFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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After ICE Raids, a Reckoning in Mississippi's Chicken Country

MORTON, Miss. -- Juan Grant strode into the Koch Foods chicken processing plant for his new job on a Wednesday morning, joining many other African Americans in a procession of rubber boots, hairnets and last cigarettes before the grind.At 20, Grant was too young to remember the days of a nearly all-white workforce in Mississippi's poultry industry or the civil rights boycotts and protests that followed. He was too young to have seen how white workers largely moved on after that, leaving the business of killing, cutting and packing to African Americans.He did not know the time before Hispanic workers began arriving in the heart of chicken country by the thousands, recruited by plant managers looking to fill low-paying jobs in an expanding industry.But Grant clearly remembered Aug. 7, the day the Trump administration performed sweeping immigration raids on seven chicken plants in central Mississippi. He remembered the news flashing on his phone: 680 Hispanic workers arrested. He remembers seeing an opportunity."I figured there should be some jobs," he said.He figured right.The raids were believed to be the largest statewide immigration crackdown in recent history and a partial fulfillment of President Donald Trump's vow to deport millions of workers living in the U.S. illegally. The impact on Mississippi's immigrant community has been devastating. For nonimmigrant workers, the aftermath has forced them into a personal reckoning with questions of morality and economic self-interest: The raids brought suffering, but they also created job openings.Some believe that the immigrant workers had it coming. "If you're somewhere you ain't supposed to be, they're going to come get you," said a worker named Jamaal, who declined to give his full name because Koch Foods had not authorized him to speak. "That's only right."But there was also Shelonda Davis, 35, a 17-year veteran of the plant. She has seen many workers -- of all backgrounds -- come and go. But she was horrified that so many of her Hispanic colleagues were rounded up. Some of them, she said, wanted to work so badly that they tried to return the next day."I'm glad that I see my people going to work," she said of her fellow African Americans. "But the way they came at the Hispanic race, they act like they're killing somebody. Still, they were only working, you know?"Some of the new replacement hires also felt conflicted. While the roundup "gave the American people their jobs back," said Cortez McClinton, 38, a former construction worker who was hired at the plant hours after the raids, "how they handle the immigration part is that they're still separating kids from their families."Devontae Skinner, 21, denounced the raids one recent morning while finishing up his first turn on the night shift. "Everybody needs a job, needs to work, provide for their families."Then there was Grant, only two years out of high school and still finding his way in the world. He said it felt good to be earning $11.23 an hour, even if the new job entailed cutting off necks and pulling out guts on a seemingly endless conveyor of carcasses. It was about $4 better, he said, than what he used to earn at a Madison County cookie factory.But he also called the raids "cruel" and "mean." There were moments when the necks and guts and ambivalence and guilt all mixed together so that he wondered whether he wanted to stick with the job."It's like I stole it," he said, "and I really don't like what I stole."The New Cotton FieldsThe story of poultry work tracks closely with the 20th-century story of race relations in Mississippi.White women dominated the lines until the 1960s, when African Americans pressed for their rights. In Canton, African Americans called for a boycott of the local chicken plant over its refusal to hire black workers, according to Angela Stuesse, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina and author of the 2016 book "Scratching out a Living: Latinos, Race, and Work in the Deep South."By the end of the 1960s, black workers predominated on the lines.It was an important win for African Americans looking for an alternative to housework in wealthy white homes, or for those who had seen fieldwork dry up in an increasingly mechanized agricultural sector."The chicken plant," Stuesse quoted a civil rights veteran saying, "replaced the cotton field."But as U.S. chicken consumption boomed in the 1980s, manufacturers went in search of "cheaper and more exploitable workers," Stuesse wrote -- chiefly Latin American immigrants.At the time, the Koch plant in Morton was owned by a local company, B.C. Rogers Poultry, which organized efforts to recruit Hispanics from the Texas border as early as 1977. Soon, the company was operating an effort it called "The Hispanic Project," bringing in thousands of workers and housing them in trailers.A 2016 study on the effects of immigration on the U.S. economy found that immigration had "little long run effect" on U.S. wages. But some wonder whether Hispanic immigrants displaced black workers in central Mississippi, the heart of the state's multibillion-dollar chicken industry.Some black Mississippi workers, Stuesse said, took advantage of less dangerous new job opportunities in retail, fast food, construction and auto parts. But "an eager pool of black labor did indeed exist," she wrote, noting that a black labor force moved in when a large number of Hispanics were fired from a Carthage chicken plant in the mid-2000s.And yet much of the outrage over the August raids has come from leaders in Mississippi's black community. Constance Slaughter-Harvey, a renowned local lawyer and civil rights activist who was the first black woman to receive a law degree from the University of Mississippi, called the raids a "Gestapo action."Wesley Odom, 79, president of the Scott County NAACP, spoke of the family members separated -- the Hispanic mothers and fathers who remain in custody -- as well as the moments, on the day of the raids, when some schoolchildren must have wondered whether they would walk into empty homes."The blacks were witness to that same thing as slaves," he said.Jere Miles, a special agent in charge with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, recently told a congressional committee that the Mississippi raids would deter future illegal immigration. He also said authorities discovered 400 instances of identity theft that had been perpetrated against legal U.S. residents. Conservative columnist Henry Olsen, citing high poverty rates and low incomes in the area, argued that the Mississippi workers living in the country illegally were taking jobs from Americans.Koch Foods representatives did not return requests for comment. The company, which has said it did not knowingly hire workers without legal status, has challenged the raid on its Morton plant in federal court, calling it an "illegal search" and demanding the return of seized property and records.Bryan Cox, a spokesman for ICE, said there was a continuing criminal investigation into the operation and hiring practices at all of the Mississippi plants. No executives from the targeted companies have been charged.'The Smell of Money'The Koch Foods plant is in the heart of Morton, a rural community with about 3,600 residents, about one-quarter of whom are Hispanic. The parking lot at shift change can feel like the most social place in town, outside of church and school sporting events.A sleepy clutch of downtown blocks hugs the opposite side of the highway. There are a few fast-food places, trailers and ranch houses, and several markets and businesses that cater to what has been for several decades a growing Hispanic population. A smaller chicken processing plant, owned by the company PH Food, was also raided in August.Sometimes the smell of chicken hangs over the place. But longtime residents hardly notice anymore. "Of course, the joke in Mississippi is, that's the smell of money," said David Livingston, a real estate appraiser who grew up in town.Today, the unknowable future for the Hispanic workers and their families hangs heavy over Morton and the nearby city of Forest, the county seat roughly a 15-minute drive away. Signs of pain and fear are everywhere; most of the people affected declined to give their full names for fear of government retribution.On a recent afternoon in a quiet Latin grocery, a 46-year-old immigrant named Mariela said she had no choice but to shut down the taco truck she once stationed at a workplace that had been raided. She burst into tears as she realized she was unable to afford a basket of cilantro, radishes and pumpkin seeds.At the Trinity Mission Center, a church in Forest that serves as a crisis response center, a man who was swept up in the raids stood by his van, rifling through confusing legal papers, unsure of his next court date. The man, Victoriano Simon-Gomez, 32, said he had a disabled child and was afraid she would receive insufficient care if he was forced to return to Guatemala.At the church entrance, a 31-year-old Guatemalan mother of two named Eva waited to pick up a donated lunch. She had been detained at a chicken plant in Carthage and was wearing an electronic ankle monitor, now a common sight around Scott County. She referred to it as "la grilleta" -- "the shackle." She said she was going to fight to remain in the United States with her children, 13 and 9, who are U.S. citizens.She knew it was going to be difficult. "The president doesn't want us here," she said. But she said she harbored no ill will toward the people who have taken jobs like hers. "I'm not mad."More than one-third of the 680 arrested workers across Mississippi were picked up at the Koch plant in Morton. In an affidavit taken a few weeks after the raid, Robert Elrod, a vice president of human resources, said 272 of the 1,170 employees there were Hispanic.Marquese Parks, who works for a staffing agency that helped Koch Foods find new employees after the raids, said applicants included "a lot of African American, a lot of white, Caucasian. Latinos, not so much."He said potential hires were being subjected to strict identification checks.Parks, who is black and grew up in Morton, said he never wanted to work in the chicken plants. He went away to college but later found himself in the industry anyway, first as a poultry supervisor and now at the staffing agency. He said he did not know how long the new non-Hispanic recruits would last on the job."I honestly don't think they will stay because of the simple fact that the jobs are that hard," said Parks, 28. "It's something they didn't see themselves doing growing up, something they don't want to do."The opportunity to earn more than $11 an hour can still turn heads in this part of Mississippi. Grant was not the only person to jump at the chance the raids provided. Niah Hill, manager of the Sonic Drive-In in Morton, said 10 of her workers quit soon after the raid at Koch Foods."When they heard about the raids, they all went over there and got jobs right away," Hill said. Carhops at this Sonic make $4.25 an hour -- $3 less than the state's minimum wage -- plus tips, she said.Yet the belief that native-born Americans are not sufficiently motivated to work persists, even among some African Americans. Jeff White, a Morton-based builder and rental property owner, said so many chicken plant jobs became available in the 1980s because American-born residents "didn't want to work, period."He added that he quickly learned he was not chicken plant material after landing a job at one shortly after high school. "I worked there 3 hours and 20 minutes," he said, chuckling. "I didn't even get the check. It's too hard."For a while, Grant said the hard work was worth it. With his better wage, he was starting to finally save a little. He talked about buying a used Honda and about getting serious with his girlfriend.But Morton was 75 miles from his trailer home in rural Holmes County, and after a while it proved to be too much. He showed up late one too many times, and in November, he said, Koch let him go.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company

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U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria hit sites linked to Iran

The United States carried out airstrikes in Iraq and Syria on Sunday, targeting weapons and munitions depots used by Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia.Over the last two months, there have been 11 rocket attacks against bases used by the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State. U.S. officials said Sunday's airstrikes were in response to an attack that took place in Kirkuk, Iraq, on Friday, which left one U.S. contractor dead and four U.S. troops injured.Kataib Hezbollah is connected to Iran's paramilitary Quds Forces, U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal, and the Pentagon said the airstrikes are meant to serve as a warning to stop attacking the coalition's bases. A Kataib Hezbollah official said 25 members of the militia were killed in the airstrikes.More stories from theweek.com The best headlines of 2019 Giants, Browns fire head coaches on otherwise quiet 'Black Monday' Republicans are still trying to steal your health insurance

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NTSB: Poor condition of wreckage will slow plane crash probe

The lack of a distress call and flight data recorder coupled with mangled and charred wreckage will make finding the cause of a fiery airplane crash in Louisiana extremely challenging, federal officials said Sunday. National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said at a press conference that it could take 12 to 18 months to figure out why the two-engine Piper Cheyenne fell from the sky about a minute after taking off from the Lafayette Regional Airport on Saturday.

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Why Does Russia Want the United States to Buy the F-15EX Fighter?

We shouldn't take Moscow's advice.

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New top story on Hacker News: “Wyze was committing espionage against American citizens in the United States”

“Wyze was committing espionage against American citizens in the United States”
13 by Andrex | 7 comments on Hacker News.

New top story on Hacker News: Deep learning approach demonstrates improved accuracy of screening mammography

Deep learning approach demonstrates improved accuracy of screening mammography
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New top story on Hacker News: Researchers observe brain-like behavior in nanoscale device

Researchers observe brain-like behavior in nanoscale device
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Pompeo to Meet With Ukraine’s Zelensky in Kyiv

By BY EDWARD WONG from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2QBrqwz

Judge Dismisses Lawsuit by Ex-Trump Aide Subpoenaed in Impeachment Inquiry

By BY CHARLIE SAVAGE from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2F9n62h

Schumer Demands Witnesses Be Called at Senate Impeachment Trial

By BY ERIC LIPTON AND MAGGIE HABERMAN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2ZCv39z

Double the Federal Minimum Wage

By BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2SIqNUv

After Death From Falling Debris, Violations Found at 220 Buildings

By BY AZI PAYBARAH from NYT New York https://ift.tt/36acVGp

Sunday 29 December 2019

Sen. Kennedy: Constitution offers little guidance on impeachment - POLITICO

Sen. Kennedy: Constitution offers little guidance on impeachment POLITICOView full coverage on Google News

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Biden just invited Sanders for dessert at the White House - CNN

Biden just invited Sanders for dessert at the White House CNNView full coverage on Google News

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Monsey stabbing: NYPD cops praised for 'keen eye' in arrest of suspect Grafton Thomas - New York Post

Monsey stabbing: NYPD cops praised for 'keen eye' in arrest of suspect Grafton Thomas New York Post View full coverage on Google News

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‘I Have a Fighting Chance.’ Rep. John Lewis Says He Has Pancreatic Cancer

(ATLANTA) — Congressman John Lewis of Georgia announced Sunday that he has stage IV pancreatic cancer, vowing he will stay in office and fight the disease with the tenacity which he fought racial discrimination and other inequalities since the civil rights era.

Lewis, the youngest and last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists in a group once led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., said in a statement that cancer was discovered this month during a routine medical visit. He said subsequent tests confirmed the diagnosis of stage IV pancreatic cancer.

“I have been in some kind of fight — for freedom, equality, basic human rights — for nearly my entire life. I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now,” he said in a statement.

His statement added: While I am clear-eyed about the prognosis, doctors have told me that recent medical advances have made this type of cancer treatable in many cases, that treatment options are no longer as debilitating as they once were, and that I have a fighting chance.”

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Taliban council agrees to cease-fire in Afghanistan

The Taliban's ruling council agreed Sunday to a temporary cease-fire in Afghanistan, providing a window in which a peace agreement with the United States can be signed, officials from the insurgent group said. A cease-fire had been demanded by Washington before any peace agreement could be signed. A peace deal would allow the U.S. to bring home its troops from Afghanistan and end its 18-year military engagement there, America's longest.

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Navy Seal Edward Gallagher described by his own unit as 'evil', 'toxic' and 'perfectly OK with killing anybody'

The navy SEAL whose demotion after being convicted of posing next to the corpse of a captured Islamic State prisoner was overturned by Donald Trump has been described as “toxic” and “evil” by members of his own unit. Explosive testimony obtained by the New York Times has reignited the controversy over Chief Petty Officer Eddie Gallagher, one of three US servicemen facing war crimes allegations who were pardoned by the American president. The Gallagher case polarised American public opinion with Fox News taking up his case as well as the US president. Mr Trump’s intervention angered the Pentagon with senior figures fearing it would undermine military discipline. The row culminated in the sacking of the US Navy Secretary, Richard Spencer. Gallagher, 40, had been accused of war crimes following the fatal stabbing of a captured ISIS fighter and the shooting of two civilians in Iraq in 2017. At a court-martial in July he was acquitted of six out of seven charges, including murder and attempted murder after a key witness changed his testimony. Corey Scott, who had been granted immunity, took responsibility for the wounded prisoner’s death, telling the hearing he blocked the man’s breathing tube as an act of mercy rather than allow him to be tortured by the Iraqi security forces. A military jury in San Diego did convict Gallagher of posing next to the prisoner’s body and demoted him one rank and stripped him of the prestigious Trident Insignia. Mr Trump described the soldier as one of America's 'great fighters' and invited him to Mar-a-Lago Credit: LEAH MILLER/REUTERS The punishment was overruled by Donald Trump who ordered that Gallagher’s insignia should be restored and that he should be allowed to retire with his rank intact. Earlier this month Mr Trump invited Gallagher and his wife to Mar-a-Lago and described him at a recent rally as one of America’s “great fighters”. However, the footage of evidence presented to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), obtained by the New York Times and broadcast on “The Weekly” paints a very different picture of Gallagher, who was the leader of Alpha Platoon, SEAL Team 7. Members of the team told investigators that they spent much of their time trying to protect civilians from Gallagher. Special Operator Craig Miller described Mr Gallagher as "freaking evil", while another member of the team said he was ”toxic” describing the incident as "the most disgraceful thing I've ever seen in my life." Corey Scott, whose testimony was pivotal in the court-martial, told investigators “You could tell he was perfectly OK with killing anybody that was moving.” In a statement, Gallagher voiced his “surprise and disgust” at the testimony which he described as “blatant lies”. He added: "I felt sorry for them that they thought it necessary to smear my name, but they never realised what the consequences of their lies would be. “As upset as I was, the videos also gave me confidence because I knew that their lies would never hold up under real questioning and the jury would see through it. “Their lies and NCIS's refusal to ask hard questions or corroborate their stories strengthened my resolve to go to trial and clear my name." Gallagher’s lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, told the New York Times the videos were full of inconsistencies and falsehoods which “a clear road map to the acquittal.”

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Ukraine holds big prisoner swap with pro-Russian separatists

KIEV/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the east completed a large-scale prisoner swap on Sunday after bussing scores of detainees in the five-year conflict to an exchange point in the breakaway Donbass region. The swap should help build confidence between the two sides, who are wrangling over how to implement a peace deal after the loss of more than 13,000 lives, but major disagreements remain and full normalization is far off. Ukraine said 76 pro-government detainees were handed over, while separatists said they took 120 of their prisoners during the swap at a checkpoint near the industrial town of Horlivka.

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Bolivia says Spain 'tried to extract' wanted aide from Mexico embassy

Bolivia on Saturday accused Spain of an abortive attempt to extract a wanted former government aide from Mexico's embassy in La Paz, prompting a sharp denial from Madrid. It was the latest twist in a murky incident Friday involving embassy personnel in the Bolivian capital that has sparked a bitter diplomatic spat. Several hours later, Bolivia's top diplomat accused Spanish embassy staff of trying to infiltrate the Mexican mission with a group of masked men in what it said was a violation of Bolivian sovereignty.

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Missile attack kills 10 at military parade in Yemen's south

A ballistic missile ripped through a military parade for a Yemeni southern separatist group that's backed by the United Arab Emirates, killing at least six troops and four children, a spokesman said Sunday. Maged al-Shoebi, a spokesman for the group, blamed Houthi rebels for the attack. The explosion took place while the separatists, known as the Resistance Forces, were finishing a parade for new recruits at a soccer field in the capital of Dhale province, al-Shoebi told The Associated Press.

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Five killed in Louisiana plane crash

A small plane crashed into the parking lot of a post office in Louisiana shortly after takeoff on Saturday, killing five people and fully engulfing a car on the ground in flames, authorities said. The two-engine Piper Cheyenne crashed about 1 mile from the Lafayette Regional Airport, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro said. The plane was en route to a college football playoff game in Atlanta between Louisiana State University and Oklahoma, said Steven Ensminger Jr., who told The Associated Press that his wife, Carley McCord, was on board. Ensminger Jr. is the son of the offensive coordinator for the LSU football team. McCord was a sports reporter. View of a car which was damaged in light aircraft plane crash which killed five Credit: Scott Clause /The Daily Advertiser Video and photos showed a trail of scorched and burning grass around the crash site in the city of Lafayette. A blackened car sat in the post office parking lot, which was carpeted with scattered tree limbs. Four people were brought to the hospital: one from the plane, one on the ground and two post office employees who were brought in for evaluation, said Lafayette Fire Department spokesman Alton Trahan. The aircraft was an eight-passenger plane, Lafayette Fire Chief Robert Benoit told KLFY-TV. The plane went down in a part of the city with a scattering of banks, fast food chains and other businesses. Marty Brady, 22, said the lights went out at his apartment a couple of hundred yards (183 meters) or so away from the crash site as he was preparing to make coffee. He said he ran out and saw black smoke and flames from the post office parking lot and downed power lines. “There were some people screaming and somebody yelled that it was a plane,” he said. Brady said the plane clipped a power line over the gate to his apartment complex. "If it had been a little lower, it could have been a lot worse,” he said. Kevin Jackson told KLFY-TV he heard a "massive explosion" and saw a "big old ball of flame" when the plane crashed. He and other eyewitnesses told the TV station that the plane hit a car as it fell, and that someone could be heard screaming inside the vehicle. Lafayette is the fourth-largest city in Louisiana with a population of about 130,000, according to the 2018 census. It is located about 135 miles west of New Orleans. _-

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Buttigieg critiques Biden's 'judgment' on Iraq War vote

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg on Sunday called former Vice President Joe Biden’s vote to authorize the Iraq War part of the nation's “worst foreign policy decision” of the millennial mayor’s lifetime. Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was responding to a question about how his foreign policy experience measured up to others' in the Democratic race, specifically Biden, who was a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when the U.S. went to war. “This is an example of why years in Washington is not always the same thing as judgment,” Buttigieg said while recording the program “Iowa Press” on Iowa Public Television, according to a transcript.

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Republican senator says ‘there are virtually no rules’ for impeaching Trump

A Republican senator has said there are “virtually no substantive rules” for impeachment as he avoided criticising Mitch McConnell for pledging to coordinate with Donald Trump in the impending Senate trial.John Kennedy, a senator for Louisiana, was asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper if he was “disturbed” by Mr McConnell’s pledge, as Republican senator Lisa Murkowski said she was earlier this week.

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Scuffles break out in Paris as pensions protesters, 'yellow vests' march

Protesters marching against the French government's planned pension reform clashed with the police in Paris on Saturday as police fired tear gas to disperse some groups of demonstrators. French trade unions have spearheaded nationwide strikes since early December in an outcry over President Emmanuel Macron's pensions overhaul, disrupting schools, railways and roads, while lending support to regular protests. On Saturday "yellow vests" - an anti-government movement that sprung up a year ago as a backlash against the high cost of living - joined a rally of several thousand people against the pensions shake-up.

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In 2010, The Navy Surfaced 3 Nuclear Submarines To Scare China

Submarines are good for more than defense.

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Thai SEAL dies of blood infection a year after cave rescue

A Thai navy SEAL who was part of the dramatic rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave has died of a blood infection contracted during the risky operation, the Royal Thai Navy said. Petty Officer 1st Class Bayroot Pakbara was receiving treatment but his condition worsened after the infection spread into his blood, according to an announcement on the Thai navy SEAL’s Facebook page. Lt. Cmdr. Saman Gunan died while resupplying oxygen tanks on July 6, 2018.

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Louisa May Alcott’s Courageous Career as a Civil War Nurse

The Christmas release of director Greta Gerwig’s new film version of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women presents a fresh opportunity for Alcott’s 19th-century classic to be read as a book that speaks to the present feminist moment. But it will be a shame if the renewed interest in Alcott that Gerwig has sparked does not also lead to a long-overdue appreciation of Alcott’s heroism in the Civil War.In 1862, two weeks before Christmas, Alcott left her home in Concord, Massachusetts, to serve the Union cause by working in a military hospital in Washington, D.C. In Little Women Alcott made the Civil War the background for her story of the March sisters and their mother, but in 1862 the Civil War became central to Alcott’s life.In the Union Hotel Hospital, a former Georgetown tavern in which she worked, Alcott saw death firsthand, and, like the doctors and nurses in the hospital, became vulnerable to the disease and infection the wounded troops brought with them.Men Will Love ‘Little Women’ Too. I Can’t Believe I Have to Say That.Walt Whitman’s account in Specimen Days of his work at the modern Union hospital in Washington, D.C., is far better known than Alcott’s. When we think of the suffering experienced by the soldiers of the Civil War, the quote most often cited is Whitman’s “the real war will never get in the books.”Alcott’s stories of her Civil War experiences appeared serially in May and June 1863 in the Commonwealth, a Boston anti-slavery newspaper. They are as moving as anything Whitman wrote about the war and were published together in August 1863 under the title Hospital Sketches long before Specimen Days appeared in book form.Alcott began her Civil War nursing service as a novice. On Dec. 16, 1862, the carts she saw drawing up to the hospital to which she had been assigned were not, as she first thought, farmer’s market carts carrying produce. They were carts bearing wounded and dying men from the battle of Fredericksburg, where the Union Army endured one of its worst defeats of the war, suffering 13,000 casualties. There was no time for Alcott to absorb the war gradually or get used to the sight of a veteran “with an arm blown off at the shoulder.”Alcott soon realized her duties were as much psychological as physical: “Having got the bodies of my boys into something like order, the next task was to minister to their minds,” she observed early in Hospital Sketches. The doctors, after doing their best for their patients, had no hesitation in giving Alcott the unwelcome task of telling men who were dying that they would not survive their hospital stay.“I could have sat down on the spot and cried heartily, if I had not learned the wisdom of bottling up one’s tears for leisure moments,” Alcott wrote of an especially painful assignment to deliver the bad news. She did as told. Then she stayed with the soldier to the end.When the soldier died, he was holding Alcott’s hand so tightly that she needed help prying open his grip. Even when her hand got back its color, the white marks of the dead soldier’s fingers remained. “I could not but be glad that through its touch, the presence of human sympathy, perhaps had lightened that hard hour,” Alcott remarked.Over the course of her time in Washington, Alcott became better at learning to deal with the suffering around her, but she never shut her eyes to the wrongs she saw. She was especially sensitive to the racism of the North. “The nurses were willing to be served by the colored people, but seldom thanked them, never praised, and scarcely recognized them in the street,” she noted. In her postscript to Hospital Sketches, she observed that the next hospital she hoped to work in would be one for “colored regiments.”That next assignment never came. As a result of her hospital work, Alcott contracted pneumonia and typhus. At the end of six weeks at the military hospital that she called Hurly-burly House because of its disorganization, Alcott’s father, the famed educator Bronson Alcott, came to Washington to take her home. As her biographer Susan Cheever has written, “She left for the war a vigorous and energetic woman; she returned a true casualty.”Alcott suffered from mercury poisoning that came from the doses of calomel medicine the doctors in Washington prescribed for her, and the physician treating her at her home in Concord added to her difficulties, ordering her head shaved on the grounds the shaving would lower her fever. Sick as she was, Alcott thought she had no grounds for complaint given the horrors she had witnessed in Washington. As she wrote in her understated conclusion to Hospital Sketches, “I shall never regret the going, though a sharp tussle with typhoid, ten dollars and a wig are all the visible results of the experiment; for one may live and learn much in a month.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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US base near North Korea accidentally sounds attack alarm instead of bugle call

An American military base in South Korea accidentally sounded an alert siren instead of a bugle call, causing a scare that the base might have been under attack from North Korea. The US and its allies are closely monitoring Pyongyang for signs of provocation amid a recent escalation of threats from the secretive state, which has warned that it could send Washington a "Christmas gift". The siren at Camp Casey, which is near the border with North Korea, went off by "human error" at around 10pm on Thursday, said Lt Col Martyn Crighton, a public affairs officer for the 2nd Infantry Division. The operator immediately identified the mistake and alerted all units at the base of the false alarm, which did not interfere with any operations, Crighton said. The incident came a day before Japanese broadcaster NHK caused panic by mistakenly sending a news alert saying that North Korea fired a missile over Japan that landed in the sea off the country's northeastern island of Hokkaido early Friday. The broadcaster apologised, saying the alert was for media training purposes. North Korean missile ranges North Korea has been increasing pressure on Washington before an end-of-year deadline issued by leader Kim Jong-un for President Trump to offer acceptable terms for a nuclear deal. There are concerns that Pyongyang could react if Washington does not relieve sanctions imposed on the North's broken economy. North Korea fired two missiles over Japan during a run of weapons tests in 2017, which also included three tests of developmental intercontinental ballistic missiles that demonstrated potential capabilities to reach the US mainland. Tensions eased after Kim initiated diplomacy with Washington and Seoul in 2018 while looking to leverage his nukes for economic and security benefits. But negotiations have faltered since a February summit between Mr Kim and Mr Trump broke down after the US side rejected North Korean demands for broad sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities.

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