El Paso crowd decries racism week after mass shooting

More than 100 people marched through the Texas border city of El Paso on Saturday, denouncing racism and calling for stronger gun laws one week after 22 people were killed in a mass shooting that authorities say was carried out by a man targeting Mexicans. Chanting "gun reform now," '' El Paso strong" and "aquí estamos y no nos vamos" — Spanish for "here we are and we are not leaving" — the marchers included Hispanic, white and black people dressed in white to symbolize peace and carrying 22 white wooden crosses to represent the victims of the shooting at an El Paso Walmart. The man charged in with capital murder in the attack, 21-year-old Patrick Crusius told investigators he targeted Mexicans at the store with an AK-47 rifle, an El Paso detective said in an arrest affidavit.

Two Armies Face Off Online as Kashmir Wakes to a New Reality

(Bloomberg) -- India and Pakistan’s military are in open conflict on Twitter, trading accusations and threats over the disputed state of Kashmir.For now, the conflict is staying online. But the possibility of it spilling across the defacto border that divides the Indian- and Pakistan-controlled parts of Jammu and Kashmir, or erupting on the streets of the summer capital, Srinagar, remains a dangerous prospect.The rival nations have been at loggerheads for the past week after India scrapped a measure that granted autonomy to the restive Kashmir region. Islamabad has downgraded diplomatic ties and cut trade relations."Lately Pakistan has been openly threatening about certain incidents in Kashmir," India’s Chinar Corps, stationed in Srinagar, tweeted Friday. "Notwithstanding we’ll take care of all of them; let anyone come & try & disrupt the peace in valley, we will have him eliminated!"Pakistan responded. "Usual blatant lies," tweeted Pakistan Armed Forces spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor. "Should there be an attempt by Indian Army to undertake any misadventure, Pakistan’s response shall be even stronger than that of 27 Feb 2019," he said referring to a recent military conflict between the two countries.Meanwhile, the hashtag SaveKashmirFromModi was trending in India on Friday.But behind the online posturing are nuclear-armed adversaries who’ve fought three wars since the British left the subcontinent in 1947 -- two of them over Kashmir -- which is claimed in full and ruled in part by both. Artillery and small-weapons fire are exchanged often and cross-border infiltrations are reported regularly but so far, the threat of a nuclear conflict has prevented the situation from spiraling out of control.Increased ThreatsPrime Minister Narendra Modi shocked the nation on Monday when his government took just a few hours to end seven-decades of autonomy in Kashmir by diluting Article 370 of the constitution. Since then, India’s paramilitary troops have locked down the region, which for the last five days has been under an Internet and phone blackout and a strict curfew, its citizens shut out from the world and the fierce debate over Modi’s decision.“A new era has been started in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh,” Modi said on Thursday night in an address to the nation, referring to the Himalayan regions in northern India. “Article 370 did not give the people anything apart from separatism and terrorism and kept them from progress -- it was being used as a weapon by Pakistan.”At the same time, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan warned of violence when the now five-day long curfew is lifted. “I am saying it today, they will blame us," Khan told a special sitting of his parliament. "They will do one more thing, I fear they will do ethnic cleansing in Kashmir.”Observers say Modi’s actions have increased the risk of conflict.Kashmiris have been placed in a very difficult situation, said Mahmud Durrani, former Pakistan general, national security adviser and ambassador to the U.S."This is like cutting their jugular vein," Durrani said. "There is going to be a very obvious reaction in the valley. They may be able to suppress it for a month, two months or four months but there will be definite reaction to it."Still, he said Pakistan’s options were very limited, with diplomatic protests unlikely to have any impact on India. In the meantime, Durrani warned, "we must be careful about the boost that these jihadis will get all over India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Terrorists and religious fanatics will draw mileage from this and they will become stronger."Analysts shared similar concerns."We expect more decisions driven by Modi’s Hindu nationalist policy platform during his second term, risking intensified sectarian violence and civil unrest in the country," Marthe Hinojales, Asia politics analyst at Verisk Maplecroft said in note. "This dynamic suggests a continuing fragile bilateral relationship."This is the second time the neighbors have clashed on Kashmir this year. After an attack killed 40 Indian security personnel, India responded with its first airstrikes on Pakistani soil since 1971, which led to an aerial dogfight. Khan said in an Aug. 6 parliament session called to discuss India’s move that any possible violence in response would be again blamed on Pakistan. The South Asian nation has denied involvement in the February attacks as well as accusations it harbors militants who engage in cross-border attacks.Economic PressuresBeyond long-standing territorial disputes, Pakistan is facing a whole other set of pressures.It just took a $6 billion International Monetary Fund loan to avert an economic crisis and it’s seeking China’s help to avoiding tough financial sanctions, amid signs it is running out of time to meet global anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards.Pakistan has been on the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force “grey” monitoring list since last year, after a campaign by the U.S. and European nations to get the country to do more to combat militancy and close financing loopholes to terrorist groups.Given Islamabad’s financial challenges, it’s unlikely to opt for a war over Kashmir, said Ajai Sahni, executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi."There is no immediate intent on part of Pakistan to escalate to that level," said Sahni, adding it may intensify the efforts of militant groups to infiltrate India. "In terms of a credible calculus of risks this does not seems to be one of the options the Pakistanis are currently considering."Within the Indian side of Kashmir, there will be protests and efforts to engineer terrorist attacks, said Sahni. "But with the kind of saturation of India’s security forces, I don’t think this is going to grow into anything large scale.’’\--With assistance from Ismail Dilawar.To contact the reporters on this story: Faseeh Mangi in Karachi at fmangi@bloomberg.net;Bibhudatta Pradhan in New Delhi at bpradhan@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Unni KrishnanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Affidavit says fugitive Curtis Ray Watson strangled, sexually assaulted Tennessee corrections employee

Affidavits from the Lauderdale County Clerk's Office details charges against Curtis Watson, a fugitive who escaped at West Tennessee prison.

Scandal-ridden NRA head LaPierre digs in against gun control

In the aftermath of the back-to-back shooting massacres in Texas and Ohio, the debate over gun control has returned to the National Rifle Association and its immense power to stymie any significant legislation on the issue. The man largely responsible for the NRA's uncompromising stance is its decades-long CEO, Wayne LaPierre, who has been engulfed in turmoil and legal issues as he orchestrates the group's latest effort to push back against gun control measures. Law enforcement authorities are investigating the NRA's finances, and the gun group has ousted top officials and traded lawsuits with the longtime marketing firm credited with helping to shape LaPierre's and the NRA's image.

Allegations of labor abuses dogged Mississippi plant years before immigration raids

Last August, Illinois-based poultry supplier Koch Foods settled a multi-year lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of more than 100 workers at the Morton, Mississippi, plant over claims the company knew - or should have known - of sexual and physical assaults against its Hispanic workers. Mark Kaminsky, chief operating officer at Koch, said the company admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement and maintains, after fighting the matter in court for more than eight years, that all the allegations contained in the lawsuit are false.

North Korea conducts new missile tests as Trump backs Kim on war games

North Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range missiles on Saturday, South Korea said, in a “show of force” against US and South Korea joint military exercises. More missile launches are highly probable, as the North Korean military is conducting its own summer drills, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The launch came a few hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had received a “very beautiful letter” from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea has fired a series of missiles and rockets since Kim and Trump agreed at a June 30 meeting to revive stalled denuclearisation talks. Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un Credit: Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS A US official said that at least one projectile was launched and that it appeared to be similar to previous short-range missiles fired by Pyongyang. Two missiles flew about 400 km (250 miles) at a height of about 48 km, according to the South Korean military. Trump played down the recent North Korean weapons launches when he spoke to reporters earlier on Friday, saying: “I say it again: There have been no nuclear tests. The missile tests have all been short-range. No ballistic missile tests. No long-range missiles.” NOT HAPPY Kim has said the weapons tests were a response to US and South Korean military drills being held this month. Trump said Kim had written in his letter that he was “not happy” about the war games and missile tests. He added he could have another meeting with Kim. The United States and South Korea have kicked off largely computer-simulated exercises as an alternative to previous large-scale annual drills that were halted to expedite denuclearisation talks. North Korea decries such exercises as a rehearsal for war aimed at toppling its leadership. The projectiles were fired at dawn on Saturday from an area around the northeastern city of Hamhung, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. Large solid-fuel rocket engines for North Korea’s ballistic missile program are most likely being produced at a factory complex in Hamhung, monitoring group 38 North said last year. Hamhung also has a testing site for those engines. The missile launches on Saturday were apparently testing capabilities of a new short-range missile Pyongyang is developing, South Korea’s presidential office said. “Because of concerns that North Korea’s series of launches can raise military tensions on the Korean Peninsula, ministers called for North Korea to stop it,” the Blue House said, citing a meeting of South Korea’s top security officials. Kim Dong-yup, a former naval officer who teaches at Seoul’s Kyungnam University, said the weapons tested on Saturday could be related to the completion of North Korea’s new rocket artillery system that required multiple launches of the same kind.

Hundreds of Mexicans and Guatemalans Among Those Detained in Mississippi Raids

122 Mexicans and 176 Guatemalans among those arrested in immigration raids

Democratic presidential contenders demand action on guns

Democratic presidential contenders on Saturday urged Congress to take action to curb gun violence following mass shootings last weekend in Texas and Ohio that left 31 dead. Speaking at a hastily convened forum in Iowa, they called for the imposition of universal background checks on gun buyers, so-called "red flag" laws, and ultimately a ban on military-style assault weapons. The candidates took questions from gun-control advocates and shooting survivors at a program sponsored by Everytown for Gun Safety, an advocacy group founded by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Israel navy seeks to raise profile with multi-national drill

A huge earthquake hits northern Israel, killing thousands and knocking out infrastructure -- this doomsday scenario was the premise for a multi-national naval drill this week. Sailors from France, Greece and the United States arrived on their vessels and were joined by the Israelis off the Israeli port city of Haifa for the four-day exercise, called Mighty Waves. It was the first time Israel hosted and organised a drill of such scope, said Lieutenant Colonel Liav Zilberman.

Trump says students returning to school have 'nothing to worry about' after the recent mass shootings

President Donald Trump on Friday assured students going back to school that they “have nothing to worry about,” as the nation continues to reel after numerous mass shootings.

Police identify armed man arrested at Missouri Walmart

Five days after 22 people were killed at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, panicked shoppers fled a Walmart in Springfield, Missouri, after a man carrying a rifle and wearing body armor walked around the store before being stopped by an off-duty firefighter. Police on Friday identified the man as 20-year-old Dmitriy Andreychenko, who lived in the Springfield area. Andreychenko was being held in the Greene County jail on suspicion of first-degree making a terrorist threat.

FBI investigating incidents surrounding Jeffrey Epstein's apparent suicide

Accused sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his jail cell by apparent suicide. Epstein faced up to 45 years in prison if convicted; Bryan Llenas reports.

Armed group kills five in a club in southern Brazil

An armed group broke into a club in the southern Brazilian city of Mostardas before dawn on Saturday and shot at employees and customers, killing five people and leaving four others severely injured, according to local media reports.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2ZTZZS0

Twitter reverses course, unlocks McConnell campaign account

McConnell's team quickly celebrated the move, posting a tweet that reads "Victory!!! Thank you to EVERYONE for helping FreeMitch."

Family sues Glenview nursing home over video of aides taunting woman, 91, with dementia; aides charged and fired

Two nursing home aides in north suburban Glenview have been fired and charged after a Snapchat video showed them taunting a 91-year-old woman with dementia. Her family is now taking legal action.

Downturn to hit Hong Kong like a 'tsunami', as China slaps warning on Cathay

Hong Kong's protests are hitting its economy, the city's leader Carrie Lam said on Friday, echoing warnings from business leaders including powerful local property developers, as about 1,000 mostly young activists occupied the airport arrivals hall. China, whose rule over the city is being challenged by the protests, meanwhile demanded Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways <0293.HK> suspend staff involved in the demonstrations. The pair of warnings -- one aimed at residents planning more marches still and the other at a business emblematic of the city's colonial past -- mark a toughening stance by authorities as they grapple with Hong Kong's deepest crisis in decades.

Armed Trump supporter detained with gun and knife outside immigrant centre in El Paso

An armed Trump supporter sparked a security alert at an immigrant community centre in El Paso when he was spotted “brandishing” a knife outside.Thomas Bartram, 21, was detained by police following reports of a suspicious man parked in front of the building, four days after 22 people were killed in a mass shooting in the city.Mr Bartram, who was legally carrying a gun, was questioned by officers but was released after they decided he had not committed any criminal offence.Photographs and video footage posted online showed Mr Bartram being arrested next to a truck bearing a mocked up image of the US president as Rambo wielding a rocket launcher.Staff at the Casa Carmelita criticised the decision by the El Paso police department, claiming that the man had “clear intent to conduct an armed assault” on the day of Mr Trump’s visit.“He was sitting in his truck wearing blue latex gloves, and brandishing a knife,” they posted on the organisation’s Facebook page.“Police recovered a loaded gun, ammo, and a bag of white powder from his person. This happens just as Trump departs El Paso and follows a pattern of local organisers being targeted and increased violence and hate crimes.” Organisers also claimed the Trump supporter's presence outside the centre caused women to start “fleeing down the street, warning neighbours as they ran away.”The El Paso police department tweeted that “officers responded to a suspicious subject at the 900 block of Stanton near Casa Carmelita” at 7pm on 7 July.“The subject was detained, interviewed and released after it was determined that no criminal offence had been committed,” it added.A police spokesman confirmed the detained man was carrying a firearm legally.Mr Bartram had previously been photographed wearing plastic safety goggles while visiting a vigil for the victims of the shooting in El Paso.He claimed he drove to the city from Houston to “come out and support” Mr Trump and denied allegations he was brandishing the weapons.Asked about the knife and the gloves, he told NBC News: “I was eating prickly pears.” The “white powder” was a protein supplement, he said. Mr Bartram added: “I’m definitely not a white supremacist.”Seven of the victims of the El Paso shooting carried out by a suspected white supremacist were Mexican citizens. Thirteen were US citizens, one was German and one remains unknown.

Five years after Brown's death and Ferguson protests, America must commit to doing better

More than 1,000 blacks have died at the hands of police since 2014. Protests, push for accountability show a nation still striving for change.

Thousands defy crackdown in Moscow's biggest protest for years

Tens of thousands of Russians staged what a monitoring group called the country's biggest political protest for eight years on Saturday, defying a crackdown to demand free elections to Moscow's city legislature. Police rounded up scores of people after the demonstration in Moscow and at another rally in St Petersburg, and detained a leading opposition figure before it began. The White Counter monitoring group said up to 60,000 people had attended the Moscow rally, describing it as the biggest in Russia for eight years.

Should Walmart, Kroger and other retailers ban carrying guns in stores?

After shootings at Walmart, Kroger, Waffle House, Macy's and others, are you comfortable visiting a business where patrons can bring their weapons?

Chicago immigrants warned possible ICE raids targeting Pilsen homes, businesses

ICE agents were reportedly spotted in a Chicago neighborhood.

US military says service member dead in Iraq mission

The US military said Saturday that an American service member died during an operation alongside Iraqi security personnel in Nineveh province. "One US service member died today during an Iraqi Security Force mission in... Iraq, while advising and accompanying the ISF during a planned operation," US Central Command said in a statement. Iraq's government in late 2017 declared victory against IS, which seized vast swathes of the country including the key northern city of Mosul in a lightning 2014 offensive.

Elon Musk Says He Supports 2020 White House Hopeful Andrew Yang

(Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk supports Andrew Yang, the Tesla Inc. chief executive officer said in a tweet that could give the tech entrepreneur’s 2020 White House bid a boost.Musk, who often interacts with some of his almost 28 million followers on Twitter, made the declaration while responding to political commentator Dan Carlin, who uses the handle @HardcoreHistory. Carlin’s tweet had cited Yang’s earlier tweet on leadership.Musk said in a separate tweet that universal basic income, an idea Yang supports, is “obviously needed.”The CEO jokingly added that Yang would be the first “openly goth” U.S. president. Yang told Jezebel in April he wanted to be America’s first ex-goth president. The comments came after Yang tweeted some pictures of his younger self and revealed his favorite bands were The Smiths and The Cure.Yang has qualified for the next round of presidential primary debates to be held next month in Houston, the ninth Democrat to do so.“The country heard my message and is ready to talk about real solutions to gun violence, the new realities of the American economy, and how we measure our health and success as a nation,” Yang said in a statement on Thursday. “I’m excited to have those conversations in Houston and throughout the 2020 election.”To contact the reporter on this story: Maria Jose Valero in New York at mvalero3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Polina Noskova at pnoskova@bloomberg.net, Virginia Van Natta, Ros KrasnyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

UPDATE 2-China issues 'red alert' as super typhoon approaches mainland

SHANGHAI/TAIPEI, Aug 9 (Reuters) - China's weather bureau issued a red alert early on Friday as super typhoon Lekima approached Zhejiang province on the eastern coast, after forcing flight cancellations in Taiwan and shutting markets and businesses on the island. The National Meteorological Center (NMC) said the typhoon, the strongest since 2014, was expected to hit the mainland in early on Saturday and then turn north.

Police: Man with rifle, bulletproof vest arrested at Springfield, Missouri, Walmart store

Springfield, Missouri, police said the man had body armor and entered the Walmart store carrying a “tactical rifle” and another gun.

Why Are So Many House Republicans Retiring?

On Monday, Representative Kenny Marchant became the twelfth House Republican (and the fourth GOP member from Texas) to announce that he will not seek reelection in 2020. What explains the House GOP exodus in general and the “Texodus” in particular?There are a few different factors. First, being in the minority simply isn’t as interesting or fun as being in the majority. Plenty of Republicans saw the writing on the wall in 2018, when 39 House GOP incumbents, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, declined to seek reelection. Some are learning that lesson now.“It would be unusual if Republicans weren’t experiencing a high number of retirements,” David Wasserman, who analyzes House races at the Cook Political Report, tells National Review. “That’s what happens when you lose the majority. That’s what happened in 2008, which is one reason Democrats had a banner year in House races twice in a row.” Wasserman notes that 2020 GOP retirements are “on pace to match or exceed 2008.”A second factor contributing to the GOP retirements is that the Trump presidency has turned safe Republican suburban districts into battlegrounds.For example, Kenny Marchant’s margin of victory in his suburban Dallas district was 25 points in 2012, 33 points in 2014, 17 points in 2016, and 3 points in 2018.Texas congressman Pete Olson, who has also announced his retirement, won his suburban Houston district by 32 points in 2012, 35 points in 2014, 19 points in 2016, and 5 points in 2018.Those are trend lines that no incumbent wants to see.“The suburbs are diversifying and moderating so rapidly that many of the districts Republicans drew back in 2011 are no longer reliable,” says Wasserman.In 2018, Democrats ousted two Texas Republicans in Houston and Dallas. “Historically, the cities have been bright blue and surrounded by bright red doughnuts of Republican suburban voters,” Texas senator Ted Cruz told the Washington Post last week. “What happened in 2018 is that those bright red doughnuts went purple — not blue, but purple. We’ve got to do a more effective job of carrying the message to the suburbs.”“The president’s reelection campaign needs to take Texas seriously,” said Cruz, who won reelection by just 2.6 points in 2018. Cruz added that it is “by no means a given” that Trump will carry the state in 2020.The GOP’s suburban problem isn’t limited to Texas. Retiring Georgia congressman Rob Wooddall won reelection in his district northeast of Atlanta by 21 to 31 percentage points from 2012 to 2016, but he won reelection by just two-tenths of a percentage point in 2018. When a blue wave swept over the House GOP in 2018, Republicans lost districts that include suburban areas in states as red as Kansas, Utah, and South Carolina.A third factor contributing to GOP retirements, says Wasserman, is the “disconnect between President Trump’s worldview” and that of some in the Republican caucus. This is the best explanation for the retirement of Texas Republican Will Hurd, a former CIA operative and the lone black Republican in the House, who won narrow victories in 2014, 2016, and 2018. Many thought that Hurd, at age 41, could be the future of the party.But Hurd said in a statement last week that he has decided to “pursue opportunities outside the halls of Congress to solve problems at the nexus between technology and national security,” without saying what exactly he plans to do. Hurd has disagreed with President Trump on the border wall, free trade, and foreign policy. And he was one of just four House Republicans who voted in July to condemn Trump’s tweets telling progressive Democratic congresswomen to “go back” to the countries “from which they came,” fix them, and then “come back and show us how it is done.” (The four lawmakers he was addressing are minorities, and three are natural-born citizens.)Martha Roby, an articulate and promising 43-year-old member from Alabama, also announced her retirement this summer. In 2016, Roby said she couldn’t vote for Trump after the Access Hollywood tape became public, but she supported the Trump presidency enough to win the president’s endorsement in 2018.Another possible factor nudging members toward retirement, a factor that no one would ever likely admit to, is that members of Congress haven’t gotten a pay raise in a decade. On one hand, a member’s $174,000 salary is three times the national median salary. On the other hand, members of Congress are expected to maintain two residences while making a salary well below what they could likely make outside of government. At this populist moment, it’s not clear when the next raise for members of Congress is coming: A deal to raise congressional salaries by 2.6 percent collapsed in June.Some of the retirees are stepping down for reasons that have little to do with the weakness of the House GOP. A couple are seeking higher office, such as Alabama’s Bradley Byrne, who is running for the Senate, and Montana’s Greg Gianforte, who is running for governor. And a couple of retirees, Rob Bishop of Utah and Mike Conaway of Texas, come from safe districts but are losing their status as committee ranking members owing to the GOP’s self-imposed term-limits.But any way you look at it, twelve retirements so far is bad news for the House GOP. We’re still only seven months into the new Congress, and several more representatives will probably announce their retirement in the coming months. For all the talk about voters’ anger at Washington, incumbents are still much more likely to win their elections than are candidates running for open seats. This summer, the GOP’s slim odds of winning back the 19 seats necessary to take back the House have become even slimmer.

89-year-old Florida woman battles and kills 6-foot snake after it eats visiting birds

An 89-year old Tallahassee woman killed a six-foot snake in her backyard yard after it ate most of her birds in three weeks.

China issues 'red alert' as super typhoon approaches mainland

SHANGHAI/TAIPEI (Reuters) - China's weather bureau issued a red alert early on Friday as super typhoon Lekima approached Zhejiang province on the eastern coast, after forcing flight cancellations in Taiwan and shutting markets and businesses on the island. The National Meteorological Center (NMC) said the typhoon, the strongest since 2014, was expected to hit the mainland in early on Saturday and then turn north.

200 hit by New Zealand massacre take part in hajj pilgrimage

Two hundred survivors and relatives of victims of March's massacres at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, are undertaking the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia to "pray for the martyrs". "I want the world to know who Atta Elayyan was," said 27-year-old Farah Talal, dressed in a green djellaba robe and an elegant white scarf during her visit to Islam's holiest city. "He was a wonderful person, generous, I want to pay tribute to him," murmured the young woman of Jordanian-origin who, along with 200 others affected by the massacre, was invited to the hajj by Saudi's King Salman.

28 Sweet Summer Peach Desserts (That Aren't Pie)

Hundreds of poor migrant workers flee Kashmir under lockdown

Hit by a complete security lockdown in Kashmir, hundreds of poor migrant workers have begun fleeing the Himalayan region to return to their far-away villages in northern and eastern India. Authorities in Hindu-majority India clamped a complete shutdown on Kashmir as they scrapped the Muslim-majority state's special status, including exclusive hereditary rights and a separate constitution, and divided it into two territories. The Kashmir region is divided between India and Pakistan and is claimed by both.

Here are the candidates who have qualified for the September Democratic debate in Houston - so far

At present, only eight candidates have reached the required amount of support and funding to qualify for the next debate in Houston, Texas.

'I Was Scared to Death': Former Neighbor of Escaped Tennessee Inmate Speaks Out

Curtis Ray Watson's lengthy criminal history in Tennessee reveals run-ins with the law that began with a conviction for driving under the influence in 1999.

ICE released 300 of the 680 detained in raids at Mississippi food processing plants

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 680 people at food processing plants in small towns near Jackson, Mississippi, on Wednesday.

Man in anthem attack convinced Trump ordered it, lawyer says

A Montana man charged with assaulting a 13-year-old boy who refused to remove his hat during the national anthem believed he was doing what President Donald Trump wanted him to do, his attorney said. Attorney Lance Jasper told the Missoulian he will seek a mental health evaluation for Curt Brockway, a U.S. Army veteran who became caught up in the heightened animosity and rhetoric gripping the nation, and convinced himself that he was following the president's orders. Brockway suffered a traumatic brain injury in a vehicle crash in 2000 that has affected his decision making, and Jasper said he plans to raise that in his client's defense.

Illinois Cop Shot Unarmed Black 12-Year-old in Bed During Botched Raid: Lawsuit

HandoutAn Illinois mother filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing police officers of “terrorizing” innocent children after her unarmed, 12-year-old son was shot in his bed with an assault rifle during a pre-dawn raid on their home. The lawsuit alleges that nearly two dozen Country Club Hills and Richton Park SWAT officers entered Crystal Worship’s home in May with exploding flash-grenades and automatic rifles to execute a search warrant intended for her boyfriend. During the raid, her black son, Amir, was allegedly shot by a white officer as he sat on his bed with his hands in the air and suffered a shattered kneecap.“There is a silent epidemic of trauma being perpetrated upon the children and families of color by Chicago and South Suburban police barreling into the wrong homes, handcuffing innocent adults, holding guns on children, handcuffing children, trashing their homes, refusing to show warrants, and screaming dehumanizing commands,” Al Hofeld Jr., the family’s attorney, said in a press release announcing the lawsuit.“Now, children are being shot in their beds,” he added. ‘You’re Gonna Kill Me’: Body-Cam Footage Shows Cops Mocking Dallas Man as He DiesThe lawsuit, which was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County on Thursday, names the city of County Club Hills, the village of Richton Park, and several police officers as defendants. The family is seeking $50,000 in damages for alleged negligence, willful and wanton conduct, assault, battery, and false imprisonment.On May 26, 2019, officers dressed in “army fatigues with black cloth covering their faces and wearing goggles” entered the family’s home at about 5 a.m. while Crystal Worship and her three sons—Amir, 13-year-old Eric, and 18-year-old Robert—were asleep, according to the lawsuit. The court documents allege the officers “battered open the two entry doors and set off between two and five flash-bang grenades,” while executing a search warrant for Crystal’s boyfriend.The boyfriend, Mitchell Thurnam, was arrested and charged with drug possession in a case that was dropped weeks later.Once inside the house, the lawsuit alleges, SWAT officers went to the children’s bedroom and shouted “commands at them” while holding their assault rifles. “The children were terrified they were about to be killed,” the lawsuit states. One officer allegedly continued pointing his firearm directly at Amir, who was shirtless and sitting at the edge of his bed with his hands in the air, even after the room had been cleared. After asking his age, the officer “pulled him up and off of his bed and told him to sit on his brother’s bed... and to put a shirt one,” the lawsuit alleges. Miami Cop Charged With Misconduct After Violent Arrest of Black WomanThirty seconds later, another officer entered the room and allegedly told Amir to “put his shoes on” but then snatched the child’s shoes away when he tried to follow his orders. The officer then “asked which pair of shoes in the room were his” and examined one of the shoes with a flashlight, the lawsuit says.While handing the shoe back to Amir and trying to put his flashlight away in his vest, “the officer quickly moved his right hand back to the handle and trigger of his rifle, grabbing it and firing it,” the lawsuit states. After the officer shot Amir in the knee, shattering his kneecap, he allegedly “covered his badge with black tape and covered his body camera.” “Mom, they shot me,” Amir started to yell, according to the documents. “I can’t move it.”As Amir started screaming, Crystal Worship asked officers in the next room if they were “shooting” the children, the lawsuit says. Officers allegedly refused to tell her what happened and “lied to her and told her they shot someone walking past outside.”The lawsuit also alleges Eric heard his brother being shot while another officer pointed an assault rifle at him. He was handcuffed and placed in a squad car alone for an hour before officers held him at the station for five hours, according to the documents.Amir Worship was transported to the hospital after the bullet “entered his joint and partially exited the back of his leg on the right side”—an injury that required surgery, the lawsuit states. Texas Police Apologize for Viral Photo of Mounted Officers Leading Black Man by RopeThe boy was initially hospitalized for four days after the surgery, and later returned after he “developed complications from infection” which included a high fever, blurred vision, and blacking out twice, the family says.“According to an orthopedic doctor, Amir will not be able to play any sports again, will have difficulty in physical education, will walk with a limp, and will have difficulty walking and running for the rest of his life,” the lawsuit states. A spokesperson for the Country Club Hills Police Department declined to comment on Thursday’s lawsuit, citing an ongoing investigation with the Illinois State Police. Richton Park Police did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s requests for comment.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet 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.

Missile Explosion Prompts Radiation Warnings in Russia

Was the explosion, which reportedly killed three people, a test of the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile gone awry?

We Asked Trump to Recognize That Words Matter. His Refusal to Do So Has Led to More Tragedy

Members of the Tree of Life community in Pittsburgh demanded that Trump recognize that words matter and denounce white nationalism, but he didn't. Now people have died in El Paso and other cities across the country.

Verdict set for Cambodians who worked for US-funded radio

Two Cambodian journalists charged with espionage who had worked for the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Asia said they were hopeful they will go free after their trial concluded Friday. Rights groups have characterized the case against Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin as a flagrant attack on freedom of the press. Prosecutor Seng Heang said in his closing argument that the two had been arranging to secretly send news to Radio Free Asia after it had closed its office in the Cambodian capital in September 2017.

Nineteen bodies, some dismembered, found in southwestern Mexico

Mexican authorities said Thursday that they found 19 bodies, some dismembered, in the southwestern state of Michoacan, as the federal government seeks to combat rising violence with a new militarized police. The victims, which included three women, were found at three different locations in the drug-cartel hotbed of Uruapan, state prosecutor Adrian Lopez told reporters Thursday morning. Battles between rival criminal groups have made Michoacan one of Mexico's bloodiest states.

Trump administration re-authorizes 'cyanide bombs' to kill wildlife

US President Donald Trump's administration has re-authorized the use of controversial poison traps known as "cyanide bombs" to kill wild foxes, coyotes and feral dogs despite overwhelming opposition from conservation groups. The devices, known as M-44s, which are implanted in the ground and resemble lawn sprinklers, use a spring-loaded ejector to release sodium cyanide when an animal tugs on its baited capsule holder. The decision to re-instate their use was announced in the Federal Register earlier this week, and met with outrage by environmental groups that led a campaign to flood the Environmental Protection Agency with more than 20,000 letters.

Man fights off grizzly bear by stabbing it in neck with pocket knife as it savaged him

A man savaged by a grizzly bear while mountain biking fought off the animal by stabbing it with a 2in pocket knife – and then cycled four miles to get help.Colin Dowler was out in the backwoods of British Columbia exploring possible hiking routes when he turned a corner and encountered the huge grizzly at a distance of about 30m, the BBC reported.He had hoped the bear would avoid confrontation and pass him by, or retreat into trees near the logging trail on Mount Doogie Dowler, named for his grandfather.But the animal approached him with “methodical, heavy swats” of its paws, Mr Dowler told the broadcaster. He tried talking it down, he said, telling it: ”I know this is your territory, I’m just passing through, we don’t have to do this.”When the grizzly did not retreat the 45-year-old tried throwing his bike at it, to no avail. Then it lunged, sinking its teeth into his stomach.Mr Dowler told Canadian broadcaster CBC: “It grabbed me by the stomach and kind of pushed me down and dragged me toward the ditch maybe 50 feet. I tried eye gouging it away and it didn’t really work.”The bear also bit into his limbs during the 29 July attack, the reports said.He added: “It sounded like it was grating my bones up. “Somehow, I don’t know how I did it. I used both hands to pull underneath the bear to get to that knife, and I grabbed the knife ... and stabbed the bear in his neck.“It let go of me immediately. It was bleeding quite badly, I wasn’t really sure if it was dying faster than I was.”Once free of the bear’s jaws Mr Dowler reportedly made a tourniquet from his shirt and rode some 4.3 miles before finding help, in the form of five logging camp workers who gave first aid and called for an air ambulance.Mr Dowler, a father of two, is now recovering at Vancouver General Hospital.The bear was reportedly tracked down and killed by wildlife officers.

Biden in Iowa Says ‘Poor Kids’ Are Just as Smart as ‘White Kids’

(Bloomberg) -- Joe Biden told a group of mostly Asian and Hispanic voters in Iowa on Thursday that “poor kids are just as bright” as white children.The former vice president, known for his verbal gaffes, made the remarks to the Asian & Latino Coalition in Des Moines, Iowa, where he’s on a four-day campaign swing for the Democratic presidential nomination.“We should challenge students in these schools and have advanced placement programs in these schools,” Biden said. “We have this notion that somehow if you’re poor, you cannot do it. Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented, as white kids.” He quickly added, “Wealthy kids, black kids, Asian kids, no I really mean it, but think how we think about it.”“We think how we’re going to dumb it down. They can do anything anybody else can do given a shot."Biden, 76, has been criticized for his tendency to say awkward, sometimes surprising, things. When his future boss, Barack Obama, was running for president, Biden once remarked that Obama was “clean” and “articulate,” a remark that raised eyebrows.The re-election campaign of President Donald Trump, under a barrage of criticism from Biden and other Democrats for what they term racist rhetoric, posted video of Biden’s remark.Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager, said in a statement on Friday that Biden “misspoke and immediately corrected himself during a refrain he often uses,” namely how to level the playing field for low-income students.She also said, incorrectly, that the video only contained the first part of Biden’s sentence. She added, "And it’s no coincidence this comes days after Joe Biden laid out how this president emboldens white nationalism and embraces racism.”(Updates with new details about Trump video and Biden aide quote in seventh paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Emma Kinery in Washington at ekinery@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Steve GeimannFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

'Massacre Mitch' trends on Twitter as his campaign account is suspended for posting videos of protesters

Is this a double standard? Kurt 'The Cyber Guy' Knutsson weighs in.

Trump says students returning to school have 'nothing to worry about' after the recent mass shootings

President Donald Trump on Friday assured students going back to school that they “have nothing to worry about,” as the nation continues to reel after numerous mass shootings.

'We Have Taken an Historic Decision.' Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Addresses Nation On Kashmir Move

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation after his government revoked Kashmir's constitutionally-enshrined special status

US border crossings plunge but immigration raids draw fire

The Trump administration hailed a large drop in migrant border crossings Thursday but found itself under attack over a massive sweep of long-resident undocumented immigrants working in several Mississippi slaughterhouses. Detentions on the southern US border plunged for the second straight month in July after a deal with Mexico to block Central American migrants, the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday. US Border Patrol agents detained or blocked 82,049 migrants at the frontier with Mexico last month, down from 104,367 in June and a 13-year peak of 144,266 in May.