world news: 2018-12-02

Saturday 8 December 2018

Huawei Reveals the Real Trade War With China

After all, the president and trade-warrior-in-chief has called himself “Tariff Man.” And the tentative trade deal between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping was mainly about tariffs, especially on items like automobiles. The arrested executive, Wanzhou Meng, is the chief financial officer of telecom-equipment manufacturer Huawei Technologies Co. (and its founder’s daughter). The official reason for her arrest is that Huawei is suspected of selling technology to Iran, in violation of U.S. sanctions.

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou Faces Extradition To US After Arrest In Canada

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, also known by the names Sabrina Meng and Cathy Meng, was arrested in Vancouver, Canada, on December 1. As reported by CNN Business, Meng is set for a bail hearing on Friday in Canada, according to Canadian Justice Department spokesman Ian McLeod. This comes after a judge agreed to grant Meng a publication ban, meaning that neither the police nor prosecutors are allowed to publicly share any details about the case.

Nancy Pelosi rejects Trump's demand for border wall

House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi says that lawmakers should punt a debate over the president's demand for a border wall to next fall in order to avert a partial government shutdown.

Southwest plane skids off the runway in rainy weather in California

A Southwest plane skidded off the runway Thursday at Hollywood Burbank Airport in southern California.

Pearl Harbor created the 'Greatest Generation.' Out of it came men like George H.W. Bush

The 77th anniversary of Pearl Harbor coincides with the death of George H.W. Bush. As his generation disappears, our country's future is uncertain.

Rep. Ted Lieu: It's 'Too Late' For Trump To Shut Down The Russia Probe

A prominent Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee says it's "too late" for

Exclusive: U.S. probe of China's Huawei includes bank fraud accusations - sources

Is this Chevrolet Camaro the ultimate Christmas decoration?

Want to win the battle of the Christmas lights in your neighborhood? Check out this working Chevy Camaro complete with 1500 illuminations!

New NASA lander captures 1st sounds of Martian wind

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA's new Mars lander has captured the first sounds of the "really unworldly" Martian wind.

Lawyer for undocumented Trump Organization workers seeks investigation

Anibal Romero says "many of the abuses" his clients received at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., "constitute crimes."

Principal on leave after banning Christmas decorations, including candy canes and reindeer

The principal of Manchester Elementary School - located near Omaha, Nebraska - sent her staff a memo outlining specific steps educators were expected to take during the holiday season to remain "inclusive and culturally sensitive."

Aide to Mohammed bin Salman 'supervised torture of female prisoner'

A top aide to Saudi Arabia's crown prince, fired for his role in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, personally oversaw the torture of at least one detained female activist earlier this year, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. Saud al-Qahtani was a royal adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman until October, when he was sacked and then sanctioned by the US Treasury over the Washington Post columnist's murder. Now three sources, briefed on the activists' treatment, say a group of men subjected this woman and at least three others to sexual harassment, electrocution and flogging between May and August at an unofficial holding facility in Jeddah. They described the group of about six men as distinct from the regular interrogators the women saw and said they belonged to the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones, which Mr Qahtani headed at the time, or to state security. Mr Qahtani was present when at least one of the women was tortured, two of the sources said. Reuters has been unable to reach Mr Qahtani since he was sacked in October. Portraits of Saudi King Salman (R) and his son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) are displayed in Riyadh Credit: FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images A Saudi official said the allegations of mistreatment and torture of the female detainees were "false ... and have no connection to the truth." "The detainees were detained based on accusations related to harming the security and stability of the kingdom," the official said in response to questions from Reuters. Their legal rights were being respected and they were receiving medical and social care, family visits and had the right to an attorney, the official said. The women are among more than a dozen prominent activists arrested since May amid a broader crackdown targeting clerics and intellectuals. Eleven women are still being held, activists say, including the four alleged to have been tortured. The allegations come as Riyadh tries to get past the Oct. 2 killing of Khashoggi, a long-time royal insider who became a critic of Prince Mohammed and went into self-exile in the United States last year. Khashoggi was killed inside the kingdom's Istanbul consulate, damaging the crown prince's reputation and opening Riyadh up to the threat of sanctions. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said last month at least three of the activists -- most of whom had agitated for the right to drive and an end to a male guardianship system -- were tortured. They did not report Mr Qahtani's involvement. The sources, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals, told Reuters that Mr Qahtani was in the room on several occasions when one of the four detained activists was subjected to kissing, groping and electrocution. He made threats of rape and murder to the woman, the sources said. At least two other detainees endured sexual insults, flogging and electric shocks that turned one of the women's fingers blue, the sources said. Captors also made another woman kiss a male detainee while they watched, one of the sources said. Reuters could not determine whether Mr Qahtani was in the room during the episodes with those three other detainees, but the sources said all of the women's tormentors were from "Saud's group". A third source said Mr Qahtani addressed several of these women in May when they were initially transferred to Jeddah from Riyadh, telling them the penalty for treason was 20 years in prison or the death penalty.

GOP Candidate's Consultant Linked To 2nd County In North Carolina Election Probe

LUMBERTON, N.C. ― McCrae Dowless, the political operative at the center of an

Democrat Dan McCready Retracts Concession Amid North Carolina Election Fraud Probe

Dan McCready, the Democratic candidate in North Carolina's 9th Congressional

Bushes depart on first presidential funeral train since 1969

SPRING, Texas (AP) — The locomotive was painted to resemble Air Force One, but George H.W. Bush joked that if it had been around during his presidency, he may have preferred to ride the rails rather than take to the skies.

NASA Released Breathtaking New Images From The Surface Of Mars

A brand-new batch of Mars photos has just come through from the InSight lander, NASA announced yesterday. This latest collection of images from the spacecraft’s landing site at Elysium Planitia comprises 17 novel snapshots and was received by mission controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, on December 4 — or sol 8 of the InSight Mars mission. The new photos offer a more detailed look at the lander’s surroundings, while also showing a clearer view of the InSight scientific instruments, currently resting on the probe’s deck.

Nancy Pelosi On North Carolina Election Fraud: We Can Refuse To Seat That Congressman

WASHINGTON ― House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that

U.S. military air crash off Japan coast kills one Marine, five missing

Japanese and American officials said they had so far found two of the seven Marines who had been aboard the aircraft, an F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet and a KC-130 Hercules. "One of the recovered Marines is in fair condition and the other has been declared deceased by competent medical personnel," a U.S. Marine Corps statement said. The deadly crash is the latest in a string of U.S. military aviation accidents around the world in recent years, which have prompted hearings and criticism in Congress over aircraft safety.

Live stream: U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree lighting

USA TODAY is providing live coverage of the 2018 Capitol Christmas Tree lighting.

North Carolina Republican Says He May Support New Election

The candidate, Mark Harris, holds a 905-vote lead in the North Carolina race, which hasn’t been certified by the state election board amid allegations that a consultant hired by his campaign destroyed or altered absentee ballots. The state board of elections will meet again before Dec. 21 and could call for a new election if wrongdoing is found to cast doubt on the entire election, according to North Carolina statute.

Paul Ryan’s bittersweet exit shows the limits of ideas in politics

It’s a bittersweet farewell for retiring House Speaker Paul Ryan, who failed to reduce the budget deficit or to stand up to President Trump when it counted. But he still has his admirers — including some Democrats.

China launches rover for first far side of the moon landing

China launched a rover early Saturday destined to land on the far side of the moon, a global first that would boost Beijing's ambitions to become a space superpower, state media said. The Chang'e-4 lunar probe mission -- named after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology -- launched on a Long March 3B rocket from the southwestern Xichang launch centre at 2:23 am (1823 GMT), according to the official Xinhua news agency. The blast-off marked the start of a long journey to the far side of the moon for the Chang'e-4 mission, expected to land around the New Year to carry out experiments and survey the untrodden terrain.

Stampede in Italian Nightclub Leaves 6 Dead and Dozens Hurt

By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO from NYT World https://ift.tt/2Pq4SMw

What’s on TV Saturday: ‘Ready Player One’ and the Heisman Trophy Ceremony

By LAUREN MESSMAN from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/2BZsAvT

Belgium’s Africa Museum Had a Racist Image. Can It Change That?

By ALEX MARSHALL from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/2QLkSO8

Justin Trudeau Is Facing a Carbon Tax Backlash. He’s Not Alone.

By IAN AUSTEN from NYT World https://ift.tt/2BY2dGE

2 More Immigrants Say They Worked for Trump Despite Lacking Legal Status

By MIRIAM JORDAN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2RIQtNk

Trump Will Nominate William Barr as Attorney General

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

Heather Nauert’s Pick as U.N. Envoy Hints at Reshaping of the Role

By PETER BAKER and MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2Utebim

Eric Trump Weighs In on Kellyanne Conway’s Husband. He Doesn’t Like Him.

By ANNIE KARNI from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2Pq8o9V

Air Force Missed Six Chances to Stop Church Gunman From Buying Weapons, U.S. Says

By CHRISTOPHER MELE from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2EkhLqv

Quotation of the Day: Trump’s Insults End a Brief Civil Interlude

By Unknown Author from NYT Today’s Paper https://ift.tt/2PnE3bW

Uber Is Said to File for an I.P.O. as It Races Lyft to a Public Debut

By MIKE ISAAC, KATE CONGER and ERIN GRIFFITH from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2zNXANL

Nets End 8-Game Skid With Win Over Raptors

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/2PpeTcT

Whose Attorney General Will William Barr Be?

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

Is This the Beginning of the End for Trump?

By BARRY BERKE, NOAH BOOKBINDER and NORMAN EISEN from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2UsS7ED

A Presidency Without Humor

By BRET STEPHENS from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2zNWGkl

Why We Need to Forgive Kevin Hart

By SUSAN FOWLER from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2RJdujo

If America Had a Parliament

By MICHAEL TOMASKY from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2rqfCkt

Selma Engel, 96, Dies; Escaped Death Camp and Revealed Its Horror

By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE from NYT Obituaries https://ift.tt/2RO9LBj

Rock Climber’s Challenge

By CAITLIN LOVINGER from NYT Crosswords & Games https://ift.tt/2UtjYo6

The Playlist: Emo’s Past Meets Its Future, and 9 More New Songs

By JON PARELES, JON CARAMANICA and GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/2zHRdvp

Lawyer for undocumented Trump Organization workers seeks investigation

Anibal Romero says "many of the abuses" his clients received at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., "constitute crimes."

Tennessee executes man on death row for 36 years

Tennessee on Thursday electrocuted a convicted murder who had been on death row for 36 years, in a case that renewed debate on use of the death penalty so long after a crime. David Earl Miller, 61, was put to death at 7:25 pm (0125 GMT) at a high security prison in Nashville, authorities said, over the beating and stabbing death of a young woman with a mental disability. Miller was physically and sexually abused as a child and living as a drifter in the early 1980s when a Tennessee pastor gave him shelter in exchange for sex.

New NASA lander captures 1st sounds of Martian wind

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA's new Mars lander has captured the first sounds of the "really unworldly" Martian wind.

North Carolina Republicans open to new U.S. House seat vote if fraud found

Almost a month after Republican Mark Harris declared victory in his race for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, the North Carolina board of elections is declining to certify the result as it investigates mail-in ballots from two rural counties. Democrats in the U.S. House are also calling for an investigation and could rule on the contest when they take control of the chamber next year. North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Robin Hayes said his party supports a public hearing by the state election board on the investigation into allegations of improper handling of ballots by political operatives.

Sean Penn Spotted Filming Documentary on Khashoggi’s Murder

Penn was seen directing shooting on Wednesday outside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where Khashoggi was killed and dismembered on Oct. 2, as well as at the residence of the Saudi consul general, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency and Hurriyet Daily News reported.

One marine killed as search for missing continues after US military planes collides off coast of Japan

At least one US Marine has been killed and rescue teams are searching for five others missing after two US aircraft collided in mid-air and crashed into the sea off the coast of Japan during a refuelling exercise. Japanese and American officials said they had so far found two of the seven Marines who had been aboard the aircraft, an F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet and a KC-130 Hercules. “One of the recovered Marines is in fair condition and the other has been declared deceased by competent medical personnel,” a US Marine Corps statement said.