world news: 2018-03-18

Saturday 24 March 2018

Trump: If I fought Biden, he would go down 'crying'

President Trump said Thursday that former Vice President Joe Biden shouldn't go around threatening people — though he himself as a history of doing so.

6 Real Ways We Can Reduce Gun Violence in America

America is the only developed country with such high rates of gun violence. Here are six steps we can take to reduce those numbers.

US firms face tough legal battles in China IP theft

It took a crucial piece of evidence for Microsoft to win one of its numerous anti-piracy lawsuits in China: A computer seller telling an investigator that he could install a Windows 7 knock-off for free. Premier Li Keqiang pledged this week that China will "strictly protect" intellectual property rights, and special IP courts have been created to hear such cases. As does the Silk Market in the heart of Beijing, where fake Ralph Lauren polo shirts fly off the shelves.

Woman Charged After Bodies of Newborn Twins Found in Suitcase

The Cross County Sheriff's Department confirms a woman has been arrested and charged in the case of two infant twins who were found in a suitcase near Wynne, Arkansas.

Iowa family found dead in vacation condo in Mexico

Kevin and Amy Sharp, along with their two children, were found dead in their vacation condo in Akumal, Mexico, one week after their family back in Iowa had last heard from them. A family member said there was no foul play and autopsy results are pending.

These Are The Biggest Marches In U.S. History

On Feb. 14, a lone gunman entered the halls of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High

Bolton expected to shake up Trump’s National Security Council

Donald Trump is replacing H.R. McMaster with John Bolton as his national security adviser. Bolton will have plenty on his desk, including North Korea, Russia and Iran. He’s also expected to shake up Trump’s National Security Council.

Parkland students scarred, determined after lives changed forever

PARKLAND, Fla. (Reuters) - Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students Madeline Gaffney, Diego Pfeiffer and Kayla Sanseverino were normal teens focused on homework and college applications before last month's mass shooting catapulted them into the U.S. debate on gun rights.

Former Cop Who Killed Sam DuBose Awarded $350,000 Settlement

The University of Cincinnati on Thursday awarded the officer who shot and

Bolton is a fan of Islamophobe activist Pamela Geller

President Trump’s next national security adviser, John Bolton, wrote the foreword to a book by Pamela Geller, an Islamophobic activist and blogger.

Mark Zuckerberg Says He May Never Be 'The Right Person' To Testify Before Congress

When will Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg agree to answer questions

With John Bolton, Trump's White House gets a 'bad cop' for foreign policy

The president's new national security adviser may have been brought on to play "bad cop" to Trump's "good cop" on foreign policy, a source familiar with the president's thinking says.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Scolds His Own Party For Trying To Impeach Justices

The chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, a Republican, spoke out

Latest: Shooting victim dies after removal of life support

GREAT MILLS, Md. (AP) — The Latest on a shooting at a southern Maryland school (all times local):

The Irony Of Joe Biden Trying To Protect Women By Threatening Donald Trump

Former Vice President Joe Biden was speaking at a rally against sexual

Trump: If I fought Biden, he would go down 'crying'

President Trump said Thursday that former Vice President Joe Biden shouldn't go around threatening people — though he himself as a history of doing so.

Bolton expected to shake up Trump’s National Security Council

Waterslide That Decapitated 10-Year-Old Boy Was a 'Deadly Weapon,' Indictment Says

(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) — A Kansas waterslide hyped as the world's highest was a "deadly weapon" that had already injured more than a dozen people…

Great Pacific Garbage Patch now contains 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch now contains 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic, 16 times higher than previous estimates, experts have warned. A three-year mapping project led by the The Ocean Cleanup Foundation, which is based in The Netherlands, has discovered that the problem is far worse than first thought. The ‘Garbage Patch’ also known as the ‘Pacific Trash Vortex’ was first noticed by US boat captain Charles Moore in 1997 when he was sailing from Hawaii to southern California and claimed to have stumbled upon ‘plastic…as far as the eye could see” Experts said they were surprised about how large some pieces of plastic were Credit: The Ocean Cleanup Foundation Plastic aggregates in the area because of circular ocean currents which pick up rubbish along coastlines and swirl them into the centre. It is estimated that items take around six years to reach the patch from the coast of the USA and around a year from Japan. Previously scientists have used fine-meshed nets to trap the plastic and quantify how much rubbish has accumulated, but the new study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, has found that the method has vastly underestimated the problem. The new study involved traditional trawling with nets, as well as aerial scanning to map plastic in the ocean in 3D. The team used huge nets to trawl for trash Credit: The Ocean Cleanup Foundation The results show that the Garbage Patch is now three times the size of France, with nearly two trillion pieces of plastic, weighing the equivalent of 500 jumbo jets. The figures are four to sixteen times higher than previous estimates. 92 per cent of the mass is represented by larger objects such as fishing nets, while eight per cent of the mass was due to microplastics. “We were surprised by the amount of large plastic objects we encountered,”said Dr. Julia Reisser, Chief Scientist of the expeditions. “We used to think most of the debris consists of small fragments, but this new analysis shines a new light on the scope of the debris.” Much of the plastic was marine waste Credit: The Ocean Cleanup Foundation By comparing the amount of microplastics with historical measurements of the Garbage Patch, the team found that plastic pollution levels have been growing exponentially since measurements began in the 1970s. It is estimated that there is now a 1:2 ratio of plastic to plankton and, left unchecked, plastic will outweigh fish by 2050. Plastic in the oceans swallowed by marine animals that cannot digest it. Chemicals leach into the water, and it has been shown that even humans who eat seafood ingest 11,000 pieces of microplastic each year. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch sites between California and Hawaii Boyan Slat, Founder of The Ocean Cleanup Foundation and co-author of the study, elaborated on the relevance of the findings for his organisation’s cleanup plans: “To be able to solve a problem, we believe it is essential to first understand it. “These results provide us with key data to develop and test our cleanup technology, but it also underlines the urgency of dealing with the plastic pollution problem. “Since the results indicate that the amount of hazardous microplastics is set to increase more than tenfold if left to fragment, the time to start is now.”

Roseanne Barr’s outburst on ‘Kimmel’ wins cheers

“I’ve always liked Roseanne, she holds nothing back.” “Finally someone on a talk show with a dissenting opinion.” After her headline-making appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Rosie’s got Newsroom commenters talking — and applauding. Things got a bit awkward during the Thursday appearance. Barr, who voted for President Trump (and makes no apologies), shut down the late-night host after he questioned her political views. A defiant Roseanne replied: “A lot of us, no matter who we voted for, we don’t want to see our president fail.” Then came the bleeps: “Because we don’t want [Mike] Pence! Are you f***ing kidding me? You want Pence? You want Pence for the freaking president? Well, then, zip that f***ing lip.” Newsroom has her back. See the video above for more responses. Kimmel and Barr’s little debate ended with some laughs, and the two agreeing to disagree. What do you think of Roseanne Barr’s outburst? Join the conversation in Newsroom.

The Latest: Mother: Unexploded bomb addressed to daughter

PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (AP) — The Latest on the investigation of the Austin bombings (all times local):

US firms face tough legal battles in China IP theft

Kellyanne Conway warns college kids to avoid fentanyl

On Thursday, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, President Trump’s pick to lead the fight against opioid abuse, warns an audience of college kids to avoid fentanyl.

U.S. Drops Charges Against Turkish Security Accused Of Attacking American Demonstrators

The U.S. has dropped criminal charges against nearly all of the Turkish

Afghan migrant gets life sentence for raping, murdering German student

A German court on Thursday sentenced an Afghan migrant to life in prison for raping and murdering a university student, as the country wrestles with security and integration concerns after taking in over a million migrants since 2015. In December 2016 police detained the young Afghan man, who had arrived in the country at the height of the refugee crisis a year earlier. A test determined that his DNA matched that found near the site where a 19-year-old German female student had died in the southwestern city of Freiburg two months earlier.

Family of Austin Bomber Mark Conditt 'Devastated' Over His Involvement in Attacks

Conditt's aunt claims that the family is normal, and they are "broken" over the news.

Iowa family of four found dead in Mexico

The bodies of Kevin Sharp, 41, his 38-year-old wife Amy, and their children Sterling, 12, and Adrianna, 7, of Creston, Iowa, were discovered by authorities in Akumal, Mexico, the Iowa city's police department said in a statement. Akumal, a small coastal resort on the Yucatan Peninsula about an hour south of Cancun in the Riviera Maya, is known for its white sand beaches and warm-water bay. Ashli Peterson, a relative, posted on Facebook on Thursday night that the family was not on their scheduled Wednesday flight from Cancun to St. Louis, Missouri.

Latest: Shooting victim dies after removal of life support

GREAT MILLS, Md. (AP) — The Latest on a shooting at a southern Maryland school (all times local):

Donald Trump-Joe Biden Feud Sparks Savage Meme Ridiculing The Pair

It was only a matter of time before the simmering feud between President

Elizabeth Warren Tells Ben Carson To His Face: You Should Be Fired

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) tore into Housing and Urban Development

Man dies after reclining movie theater seat closes on his head

A man in Birmingham, England, died after he reportedly got his head trapped in

Iowa family found dead in vacation condo in Mexico

The Climate Is Changing For Climate Skeptics

SAN FRANCISCO ― Climate change skeptics may have outlived their usefulness to

Man Rips School Superintendent During Board Meeting, Accusing Him of Bullying When They Were Students

Gregg Barrett says he was tormented over his last name, Gay, by Dr. Lance Hindt, and even considered suicide at 13.

Smoky condo fire in Vietnam kills at least 13, injures 28

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Residents startled awake by loud noise and smoke signaled for help with lit mobile phones and crawled onto cranes from their balconies to escape a fire Friday at a large condominium complex in southern Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City. At least 13 people were killed and 28 injured, with police saying it was unclear if anyone was missing.

Too old for 2020? Trump, Biden, Bernie and the politics of age

Will young voters, mobilized by the movement that has sprung up in response to the high school shooting in Parkland, Fla., turn out for candidates well into their 70s?

Autopsies Being Performed on Family of 4 Found Dead in Mexico

Authorities said they found no trace of violence on the bodies or signs of forced entry.

After Years Of Deficit Doomsaying, Republicans Go On Massive Spending Spree

WASHINGTON ― Republicans are learning to love deficits and debt again, now

Airline Crew Member Caught With 9 Pounds of Cocaine Hidden Under Pants

A Fly Jamaica Airways crew member was caught at Kennedy Airport with $160,000 worth of cocaine taped to his legs on St. Patrick's Day, according to officials.

Austin Bomber Is A Terrorist Of Our Own Making

It's been a hell of a few weeks here in Austin, Texas, and the last one was

Teen wounded in US school shooting dies after life support removed

A teenage girl left brain dead after she was wounded in a school shooting in Maryland died after she was removed from life support, local officials said Friday. The girl, 16 year old Jaelynn Willey, was shot in the head by the attacker, with whom she had had a relationship. "My daughter was hurt by a boy who shot her in the head and took everything from us," said her mother, Melissa Willey, according to The Washington Post.

How Authorities Caught the Austin Bomber Mark Anthony Conditt

Conditt's 'fatal mistake' was going into a FedEx store, police say

Lone Nigerian captive refused to convert for Boko Haram

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — The mother of the only Nigerian schoolgirl still in Boko Haram captivity after the extremists released 104 classmates said Thursday her daughter was blocked from boarding the vehicle to freedom and told to convert to Islam.

GOP lawmaker knocks Trump for Putin call but refuses to distance himself from president

A top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee chastised President Trump for congratulating Russian President Vladimir Putin on his reelection — but then refused to distance himself from Trump.

After veto threat, Trump signs $1.3 trillion spending bill

“I was thinking about doing the veto, but because of the incredible gains that we’ve been able to make for the military, that overrode anything,” said Trump.

George Clooney pens letter to student protesters

George Clooney declined to be interviewed by the Stoneman Douglas High School student journalists guest editing The Guardian, but he did send them a heartfelt letter instead.

Pacific plastic dump far larger than feared: study

The vast dump of plastic waste swirling in the Pacific ocean is now bigger than France, Germany and Spain combined -- far larger than previously feared -- and is growing rapidly, a study published Thursday warned. Researchers based in the Netherlands used a fleet of boats and aircraft to scan the immense accumulation of bottles, containers, fishing nets and microparticles known as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" (GPGP) and found an astonishing build-up of plastic waste. "We found about 80,000 tonnes of buoyant plastic currently in the GPGP," Laurent Lebreton, lead author of the study published in the journal Scientific Reports, told AFP.