Thursday, 19 September 2019

'Powerful' Iran 'falsely' accused of everything: Guards

'Powerful' Iran 'falsely' accused of everything: GuardsIran's Revolutionary Guards' commander said Thursday the country is "so powerful" that it is "falsely" accused of being behind any regional incident, days after attacks on Saudi oil installations, Fars news agency reported. All paths are closed to Iran's enemies seeking to infiltrate the country, said Guards' commander Major General Hossein Salami, adding the country's border guards are vigilant. Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels have claimed responsibility for Saturday's strikes, but the US claims it has concluded the attacks involved cruise missiles from Iran.




‘We are preparing for the worst’: Storm Area 51 event could be disaster, locals fear

‘We are preparing for the worst’: Storm Area 51 event could be disaster, locals fearLocal residents are "preparing for the worst" as fans of the viral Storm Area 51 Facebook event descend on a town near the secretive military base.The event could become a disaster as people struggle with the difficult conditions in Nevada without proper preparation, they have warned.




The Latest: Hurricane Jerry continues to strengthen

The Latest: Hurricane Jerry continues to strengthenHurricane Jerry is strengthening, with top sustained winds now reaching 90 mph (150 kph). Forecasters say the storm is expected to pass just north of the Leeward Islands on Friday, go north of Puerto Rico on Saturday and be east-northeast of the southeastern Bahamas on Sunday. The National Hurricane Center has issued a tropical storm watch for the islands of Barbuda, Anguilla, St. Maarten, St. Martin, St. Barthelemy, Saba and St. Eustatius.




Marianne Williamson wants a national mandatory service for people ages 18-26 to combat climate change

Marianne Williamson wants a national mandatory service for people ages 18-26 to combat climate changeAt a presidential climate forum hosted by MSNBC, Marianne Williamson said Americans need a "World War II" level of mobilization against climate change.




Trump Pushes Baseless Smear That Ilhan Omar ‘Partied’ on 9/11

Trump Pushes Baseless Smear That Ilhan Omar ‘Partied’ on 9/11REUTERSPresident Donald Trump on Wednesday used his Twitter account to boost a baseless smear claiming that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) danced at an event last week on the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, a claim that’s based on footage that wasn’t actually taken from that day.Trump’s tweet circulated a video from conservative personality Terrence Williams, in which Williams declared that Omar “partied on the anniversary of 9/11.” In his video, Williams comments on footage of the Muslim congresswoman dancing and fumes that she’s disrespecting the memory of the Sept. 11 attacks.But the footage of Omar dancing actually came from a Sept. 13 event hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus and wasn’t taken on the 11th, as Williams and Trump wrongly claimed. Trump, however, used Williams’ video to declare that Omar would help Republicans win Minnesota. “Ilhan Omar, a member of AOC Plus 3, will win us the Great State of Minnesota,” the president tweeted. “The new face of the Democrat Party!” Williams’ original tweet was deleted from Twitter at some point on Wednesday. Twitter confirmed to The Daily Beast that the video post was not removed by the social media site’s administrators but was instead deleted by Williams or someone with access to his Twitter account.Williams did not respond to a request for comment.Omar blasted Trump’s smear on Wednesday, tweeting that he has put her life in danger.“The President of the United States is continuing to spread lies that put my life at risk,” she wrote. “What is Twitter doing to combat this misinformation?”Trump has frequently targeted Omar with smears, inspiring death threats against the Somali-American lawmaker. In July, Trump suggested that Omar had married her own brother to commit immigration fraud—a baseless claim that’s become increasingly popular on the right, despite being based entirely on a single, anonymous message-board post. 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.




A black Charlottesville city council candidate dropped out of the race after receiving violent threats from a white supremacist, prosecutors say

A black Charlottesville city council candidate dropped out of the race after receiving violent threats from a white supremacist, prosecutors sayA federal indictment accuses Daniel McMahon, 31, of using social media "to threaten and intimidate a potential candidate."




U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in Afghanistan

U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in AfghanistanA U.S. drone strike intended to hit an Islamic State (IS) hideout in Afghanistan killed at least 30 civilians resting after a day's labor in the fields, officials said on Thursday. The attack on Wednesday night also injured 40 people after accidentally targeting farmers and laborers who had just finished collecting pine nuts at mountainous Wazir Tangi in eastern Nangarhar province, three Afghan officials told Reuters. "The workers had lit a bonfire and were sitting together when a drone targeted them," tribal elder Malik Rahat Gul told Reuters by telephone from Wazir Tangi.