Senate Republicans have barely challenged Trump over Ukraine. Don't expect them to turn against him in an impeachment trial.

Barring more significant revelations, GOP senators are unlikely to support impeaching President Donald Trump,

View 2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat / Scat Pack Widebody Photos

Iran releases photo of Khamenei with Hezbollah chief

Iran has released a "never before seen" photo of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei alongside Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah. The three men are shown in front of what appears to be a door covered by a curtain and surrounded by shelves stacked with books -- decor associated with Khamenei's Tehran office.

Trump calls out CNN for missing punctuation mark as impeachment looms

An impeachment inquiry is looming, and the revelations in the whistleblower scandal pop up hour by hour, but President Trump took CNN to task on Friday over the use of the word “liddle.”

Could Elizabeth Warren end up the real winner from the Trump impeachment inquiry?

Elizabeth Warren could be unintentionally benefit from the impeachment inquiry as claims over her Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden’s activities in Ukraine dominate the headlines, polling experts have predicted. The US senator for Massachusetts has enjoyed a remarkable surge in the polls of who Democrats want as their White House candidate at the 2020 election and is now neck-and-neck with Mr Biden, long seen as the front-runner.  Despite the impeachment probe targeting Donald Trump and his alleged abuses in office, some are predicting the drive could inadvertently rebound and politically damage Mr Biden, the former US vice president. At the heart of the impeachment inquiry are claims that Mr Trump pressured the Ukrainian president to look into Mr Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s activities in the country.  Mr Biden, while in office, called for Ukraine’s prosecutor to step down. At the time his son Hunter worked for a Ukrainian gas company. The prosecutor was once investigating the head of that company. Joe Biden and his son Hunter at a basketball game in 2010 Credit: AP Photo/Nick Wass Mr Trump, his attorney Rudy Giuliani and other Republicans have made a string of unfounded allegations over the scenario, claiming it showed Mr Biden was somehow protecting his son. In fact Mr Biden’s calls were part of a drive supported by many Western countries at the time to replace the Ukrainian prosecutor, who was deemed to have not been tough enough on corruption. Both Mr Biden and his son have always denied any wrongdoing. The political problem, some election experts say, is that whatever the facts the coming months will see Mr Biden’s Ukraine actions and his son's job with a Ukrainian company put up in lights on cable TV news and in newspapers. It could draw attention to a potential weakness in Mr Biden’s hopes of winning the Democratic nomination – that he is viewed as a Washington insider after a half-century career in the capital whereas voters want change. Larry Sabuto, director of the Centre for Politics at the University of Virginia, told The Daily Telegraph: “It reinforces Biden’s problem, which is that he’s an old-style politician.” Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren shaking hands after a debate between Democrats hoping to reach the White House in 2020 Credit: AP Photo/David J. Phillip Mr Biden could be more vulnerable than Ms Warren to Mr Trump’s “drain the swamp” attacks given he his career as a senator and then Barack Obama’s vice president. Ms Warren, by contrast, only joined the Senate in 2013 and shot to prominence challenging the Wall Street elites and pushing bold left-wing policies such as a wealth tax. “Her image is perfectly designed to take advantage of this Biden problem,” Mr Sabuto said. “She is seen as a squeaky clean, anti-corruption politician. And Biden is connected to the old ‘you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours’ politics.” Questions over the appropriateness of Hunter Biden having a job at a Ukrainian company while his father oversaw Ukrainian policy for the Obama administration have already been voiced.  Mr Trump has shown no sign of backing off from demanding the Bidens be investigated despite that being at the very heart of the impeachment proceedings he now faces. That will no doubt continue in the coming months, however unfounded the allegations. Whether Democrat voters now rally to Mr Biden’s side or get cold feet remains to be seen.

Parents plead not guilty to abandoning daughter. Records show they legally changed her age

Parents are accused of abandoning their adopted daughter and moving the rest of the family to Canada.

Trump Impeachment Is a Market Nothingburger—for Now

(Bloomberg) -- Subscribe to What Goes Up on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to What Goes Up on Pocket CastsSubscribe to What Goes Up on Spotify House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to open a formal impeachment inquiry over President Donald Trump’s attempt to get Ukraine to dig up dirt on former Vice President Joseph Biden exploded in the news this week, sending a shudder through America’s political foundation. For investors though, it triggered a simple question: How should I trade this?Natixis Investment Managers Chief Market Strategist Dave Lafferty and Bloomberg reporter Luke Kawa join this week’s “What Goes Up’’ to break it all down.“In the near term, it doesn’t strike me as something tradeable,” said Lafferty. “We don’t know what we don’t know at this point; we don’t know what the revelations will be.” As 2020 approaches, however, “it has a lot of real market implications going into the election.”Lafferty also discusses using game theory to analyze how the impeachment proceedings may affect Trump’s trade war, and how central bank stimulus is having diminishing effects. “Super accommodative policy 10 years on now serves to undermine investor and consumer confidence, more than it does to instill it,” he said.Mentioned in this podcast:  Impeachment Latest Risk for Markets on Edge Over Trade, Growth Trump Whistle-Blower Goes Where Mueller Never CouldTo contact the authors of this story: Sarah Ponczek in New York at sponczek2@bloomberg.netMichael P. Regan in New York at mregan12@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Magnus Henriksson at mhenriksso10@bloomberg.net, David RovellaFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Israel's Air Force Is Armed with F-35s and F-15s (And Now Supersonic Missiles)

How good are they?

The White House reportedly tried to conceal transcripts of Trump's calls with other world leaders, including Russia's Putin and Saudi Arabia's Mohammad bin Salman

The White House is accused of trying to cover up Trump's call with Ukraine by storing the transcript in a system housing the country's top secrets.

Mets’ Pete Alonso Breaks Rookie Home-Run Record

By BY KEVIN ARMSTRONG from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/2m3FfbW

‘You’re a Bad Police Officer’: Official Confronts Deputy at Awards Ceremony

By BY MARIEL PADILLA from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2nxYdYq

2020 Vision: Impeachment is gaining in the polls — and so is Warren

How Trump impeachment is polling, Warren's continued rise, Gabbard qualifies for the fourth debate, and campaign cash troubles plague some Democrats.

Democrats have a long list of possible witnesses in Trump impeachment inquiry

The list of people Democrats may seek information from regarding President Trump's attempt to obtain dirt on Joe Biden seems to grow by the minute.

Surprise! A U.S. F-22 Stealth Raptor 'Flew Under' Iran's F-4 Fighter

Never had a chance.

Barreling toward impeachment proceedings, Pelosi offers Trump her thoughts and prayers

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Trump took to cable news and Twitter on Friday morning as the first week of the impeachment battle came to a close in Washington.

Hong Kongers kick off days of rallies ahead of China's birthday

Thousands of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists on Friday night kicked off what is expected to be an intense period of protests, aiming to cast a shadow over communist China's momentous anniversary celebrations. Beijing is preparing a huge military parade on Tuesday to mark 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, revelling in its transformation into a global superpower. Four days of action are planned in the run-up to Tuesday with clashes almost certain after police denied permission for a march on the anniversary itself citing safety concerns.

Pakistan warns of Kashmir bloodbath, India silent

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has denounced terrorism but avoided any mention of India's crackdown in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan denounced India's crackdown and warned of a "bloodbath." (Sept. 27)

Trump's Ukraine call sparks new questions over intelligence chief's firing

The president removed Dan Coats days after his conversation with Zelenskiy and insisted that Coats’s deputy not get the jobDan Coats, seen in 2018, reportedly interrupted a meeting to convince his deputy to resign. Photograph: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty ImagesThree days after his now infamous phone conversation with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Donald Trump abruptly fired his director of national intelligence in favour of an inexperienced political loyalist.According to a New York Times report, the White House learned within days that the unorthodox call on 25 July with Zelenskiy had raised red flags among intelligence professionals and was likely to trigger an official complaint.That timeline has raised new questions over the timing of the Trump’s dismissal by tweet of the director of national intelligence (DNI), Dan Coats, on 28 July and his insistence that the deputy DNI, Sue Gordon, a career intelligence professional, did not step into the role, even in an acting capacity.Instead, Trump tried to install a Republican congressman, John Ratcliffe, who had minimal national security credentials but had been a fierce defender of the president in Congress. Trump had to drop the nomination after it emerged that Ratcliffe had exaggerated his national security credentials in his biography, wrongly claiming he had conducted prosecutions in terrorist financing cases.Despite the collapse of the Ratcliffe nomination, Gordon was forced out. She was reported to have been holding a meeting on election security on 8 August when Coats interrupted to convince her that she would have to resign.In a terse handwritten note to the president, Gordon said: “I offer this letter as an act of respect and patriotism, not preference. You should have your team.”The Office of the DNI (ODNI) and its inspector general has the authority to receive whistleblower complaints from across all US intelligence agencies and determine whether they should be referred to Congress.“We all knew Coats’ departure was coming because he had clashed with the president on several issues. What was weird was the president’s forcefulness in not wanting Sue Gordon to take over as acting director,” said Katrina Mulligan, a former official who worked in the ODNI, the national security council, and the justice department.“I was hearing at the time that Sue was getting actively excluded from things by the president that she would ordinarily have taken part in, and she was being made to feel uncomfortable,” said Mulligan, now managing director for national security and international policy at the Center for American Progress.“And then the president tried to install someone who was clearly unqualified,” she added. “Now the timeline of the whistleblower in the White House raises a lot of questions about the Sue Gordon piece of this.”John McLaughlin, the former acting CIA director, said the fact that Ratcliffe’s nomination was dropped and the job of acting DNI ultimately went to an intelligence professional, Joseph Maguire, was a sign that the intelligence community was so far resisting political pressure from the White House.Maguire faced tough questioning in Congress this week about his initial refusal, on justice department guidance, to refer the whistleblower complaint to Congress.“On politicisation, my sense is that the community is holding the line against it although undoubtedly dealing with more or less constant pressure,” McLaughlin said. “I felt kind of bad for the acting DNI, an honourable man with impeccable service to the nation. I believe he made some honest errors in judgment rather than yielding to political pressure. Throwing him into this job in these circumstances on such short notice is a little like assigning me on a navy Seal mission.”

New chapter opens in Pennsylvania in fight over suing church

When post offices close Monday, the last victim compensation funds at Pennsylvania's Roman Catholic dioceses will also close, hours before lawmakers plunge back into a years-old fight over whether to let long-ago victims of child sexual abuse sue perpetrators and institutions that may have covered it up. It comes more than a year after last year's landmark grand jury report that accused senior Catholic Church officials of hushing up the abuse for decades. In the report's wake, the Philadelphia archdiocese and six Pennsylvania dioceses opened victim compensation funds while state lawmakers fought to a standstill over giving now-adult victims of childhood sexual abuse a legal "window" to sue.

Joseph Wilson, U.S. diplomat who spoke out on Iraq War, dies at 69: NYT

Wilson's ex-wife, Valerie Plame, a former CIA officer now running for Congress, told the Times his cause of death was organ failure. Wilson died at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Times reported. Wilson served in several diplomatic posts during a 23-year career that began in 1976.

Here's who will be onstage for the October 15 Democratic debate hosted by CNN and The New York Times, what time it'll start, and how to watch

The debate, which will feature 12 candidates all debating on one stage, will be hosted at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio.

How Ukraine envoy's resignation could affect his possible Congressional testimony

Kurt Volker, the State Department's special envoy for Ukraine, resigned Friday amid a formal impeachment inquiry of President Trump and his communications with the Ukrainian government, including the country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky. Volker did not provide a public explanation for leaving his post, but a source familiar with his decision said Volker concluded he could not perform the job effectively as a result of the recent developments.One person familiar with the matter told NBC News that Volker's resignation will likely enable him to be much freer in what he can say about his time at his post if he is called at some point to testify before Congress.The whistleblower complaint that sparked the impeachment inquiry alleges that Volker went to Kiev to help guide Ukrainian officials on how to handle Trump's alleged demands that the government investigate former Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter. He also reportedly spoke with Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani in an attempt to "contain the damage" to U.S. national security.Giuliani has said Volker encouraged him to meet with Ukrainian officials regarding the Biden family. That indeed appears to be the case, but The New York Times reports Volker was acting at the request of the Ukrainians, who were reportedly concerned about how Giuliani's attempts to procure information about the Bidens and other Democrats might affect their relationship with the U.S. Read more at NBC News and The New York Times.

Greta Thunberg marches in Montreal for global climate protests

The 16-year-old Swede met privately with Trudeau but later told a news conference with local indigenous leaders that he was "not doing enough" to curb greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. Thunberg generated headlines around the world earlier this week with her viral so-called "How Dare You?" speech at the UN climate summit, accusing world leaders of betraying her generation.

Michigan school bus driver fired after kicking kids off bus for sharing bag of chips: Officials

A Michigan school bus driver and bus aide have both been fired after they forced "several" students to exit the bus early, officials say. 

Saudi crown prince says journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder 'happened under my watch'

“I get all the responsibility, because it happened under my watch,” Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in an excerpted interview, though he denied direct knowledge.

The Republicans' early response to impeachment: discredit, doubt, delay

The Republican response to impeachment appears focused on a three-pronged strategy: discredit the whistle-blower, cast doubt on the most explosive elements of Trump’s call and slow down the Democrats’ process in the House.

The 10 Hardest Math Problems That Remain Unsolved

Family sues Best Buy after the death of a 75-year-old woman who police say was bludgeoned and set on fire by a man delivering her washing machine

Evelyn Udell's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Best Buy and two delivery contractors.

'Used and dehumanized': Dozens of boys found chained in Nigeria

More than 300 boys and men, some as young as five and many in chains and bearing scars from beatings, have been rescued in a raid on a building that purported to be an Islamic school in northern Nigeria, police said on Friday. Most of the freed captives seen by a Reuters reporter in the city of Kaduna were children, aged up to their late teens. Some children had been brought from neighboring countries including Burkina Faso, Mali and Ghana, police said, while others had been left by their parents in what they believed to be an Islamic school or rehabilitation center.

California Police Officer Forced to End 120 mph Chase After Tesla Patrol Car Battery Runs Low

Even so, police say the patrol cars are 'meeting or exceeding our expectations'

Giuliani Backs Out of Kremlin-Supported Conference in Armenia

By BY MAGGIE HABERMAN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2o0pHGB

Harris County Deputy Is Fatally Shot in Traffic Stop, Official Says

By BY CHRISTOPHER MELE AND AIMEE ORTIZ from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2nixiQg

UK's Sajid Javid to unveil 16.6 billion pound 'no-deal guarantee': Daily Mail

British finance minister Sajid Javid will unveil a 16.6 billion pound ($20.40 billion) "no-deal guarantee" to make up for a shortfall in European Union grants to British businesses, universities and charities over the next few years, the Daily Mail newspaper reported https://dailym.ai/2mszW5P on Friday.

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

Mysterious oil spill contaminates beaches across swathe of Brazilian coast

An oil spill has contaminated beaches and coastline across eight Brazilian states, the country's environment agency said on Friday, although authorities are still stumped as to its origin.

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

Iraq to open border-crossing with Syria on Monday

Iraq's Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has approved the reopening on Monday of the Qaim border-crossing with Syria, state news agency INA said, the latest sign of normalization between Baghdad and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government.

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

Zimbabwe's Mugabe now expected to be buried on Saturday

Zimbabwe's longtime leader Robert Mugabe is expected to be buried on Saturday, a family spokesman said Friday, after three weeks of drama over the former strongman's final resting place. Security was tight around the rural home that now will be the burial site after an abrupt change of plans left Zimbabwe's government with an incomplete mausoleum on a hilltop in the capital, Harare. Family spokesman Leo Mugabe confirmed the new plan, a day after the government announced it would comply with the family's latest wishes.

Impeachment: A Preview for What Could Come Next for Donald Trump

As the inquiry moves forward, it is important to understand that the Framers of the Constitution did not provide for impeachment as a partisan political weapon or as a response to a president’s policies with which members disagree. Here is how the process, according to the Constitution, should work.

Members of disbanded EPA air quality panel form independent group

The 20 experts are scheduled to review the science on particulate matter pollution and health beginning at a two-day meeting in Virginia on Oct. 10. Dubbed the Independent Particulate Matter Review Panel, the group plans to issue a report on whether the current federal particulate matter standard is adequate, members said. Members of the independent group previously served on the EPA's Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) Particulate Matter Review Panel, which was disbanded last October by EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler.

Ghosts of China's past haunt former capital Nanjing

The eastern city of Nanjing contains vestiges of China's past that represent an inconvenient truth for the government today: the Chinese world has not always revolved around the Communists and Beijing. China is preparing for grand celebrations next month to mark 70 years since Mao Zedong founded the Communist government based in the northern capital. "Nanjing was the capital of short-lived dynasties in history, and regimes died away quickly," Jiang Shaojian, a Nanjing resident, told an AFP journalist.

2020 Nissan Titan Makeover Adds Sharper Looks, More Muscle

Nissan updates its half-ton pickup truck with a revised powertrain, fresh styling, and new features.

Boeing, FAA should fix 737 Max's automated systems so they don't confuse pilots, NTSB says

The NTSB says the FAA should require Boeing to redesign its system in a way that is more intuitive, so pilots can take corrective action quickly.