Sugar Land

PHOTOS: Fluorescent turtle embryo wins forty-fifth annual Nikon Small World Competition

The winners of the 45th annual competition showcase a spectacular blend of science and artistry under the microscope.

Should billionaires exist?

Should billionaires, who own more wealth than half the world’s population, exist? Some progressive politicians have proposed plans that could make billionaires a thing of the past.

'Trump is thinking outside the box': Graham now 'impressed' with White House handling of Syria

Graham now says he was impressed by Trump's "thinking outside the box" in Syria after previously decrying the decision to pull out as "irresponsible."

Boris Johnson Still Has a Bazooka at His Disposal

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- It turned out last week that the key to getting a new Brexit agreement in Brussels wasn’t so complicated: Boris Johnson simply gave in on a couple of major negotiating red lines and then declared victory. He’ll have a much harder time repeating the trick in Parliament this week.The price of Johnson’s concessions to the European Union became clear on Saturday. Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, whose interests were sold out by the British prime minister so he could strike the deal, gave their backing to a parliamentary amendment that vastly complicates Johnson’s task. The Letwin amendment, named after the former Conservative lawmaker who drafted it, says the new Brexit deal isn’t done until Parliament passes the legislation to implement it.That had two effects. First, it forced Johnson to ask the EU for an extension to the Oct. 31 deadline, as required by a law that he said he’d rather “die in a ditch” than comply with. Second, it has set up another epic battle between the executive and Parliament that will determine whether Britain leaves on Halloween. It might also determine the shape of future U.K.-EU customs arrangements, whether there’s a second referendum and even the timing of new elections.The new battlefield is over the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which would turn Johnson’s agreement into British law, including things such as controversial new customs arrangements and institutional frameworks, among many others.Unlike the U.K.-EU deal itself (a formal treaty), the withdrawal bill can be amended by Parliament. Given the bitter opposition to Johnson’s administration from many lawmakers, expect it to be larded with attempted amendments to tie his hands in implementing the new treaty. The two most important ones being discussed are an amendment from the opposition Labour Party that would seek to keep the U.K. in the EU customs union and one to put the deal to a referendum. Johnson would probably abort the effort rather than submit to either.For those who just got their heads around the “Irish backstop” — the guarantee in former prime minister Theresa May’s deal to keep the Irish border fully open — my sympathies. Her backstop would have effectively locked the whole of the U.K. into the EU customs union (anathema to Brexiters), while Johnson’s deal effectively does that only for Northern Ireland, to the displeasure of his erstwhile allies in the DUP. There was no wriggling out of May’s backstop in a way that satisfied Brexiters without exactly these consequences.The central feature of Johnson’s deal is a permanent customs arrangement that leaves Northern Ireland in the U.K.’s customs regime legally but that creates a complex customs system in the Irish Sea between the U.K. mainland and Northern Ireland. The system will require the filling in of detailed customs forms for each good being transported from the mainland to Northern Ireland that might end up in Ireland and the EU. And it creates an entirely untested system by which EU tariffs would be paid for those goods, and then refunded if they didn’t go to the EU in the end.And people thought the backstop was a brain twister.This arrangement imposes a new barrier on mainland-Northern Ireland trade, however much Johnson tries to dress it up as a simple matter of box-ticking. As such, it drives a cart and horses through the DUP’s one main demand: that Northern Ireland be treated no differently from the rest of Britain. It would be surprising, to put it mildly, if the famously recalcitrant DUP moved at all.Johnson has two strong cards, however. First, momentum. Such is the general exhaustion with Brexit (and fear that further delay will see it never delivered) that his parliamentary support is already greater than any registered for May’s deal. The European Research Group of hard-core Brexiters, most of the Conservative moderates he booted out of the party for defying him and some Labour MPs seem to be on board. His deal could squeak through if given the chance.The prime minister had hoped to keep the momentum going with a vote on Monday to show his deal could pass Parliament. But the House of Commons speaker John Bercow disallowed the motion. Tuesday will see the government seek approval from lawmakers for the so-called second reading of the withdrawal bill — which would be a huge win for Johnson. If it passes, a second vote would follow immediately on an expedited three-day timetable to try to get the legislation through this week. If his attempt to speed up the legislative process fails, then it will be up to the EU to offer an extension.If the legislation does indeed become bogged down or unacceptable amendments are attached, Johnson would probably play his second card and move to get a general election agreed this week, to be held at the end of November. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn may run out of excuses to deny him a vote, especially once the EU approves Johnson’s request for an extension.Another bit of good news for Johnson: Polls suggest that Leave voters express a greater preference for his deal than a no-deal exit, which might just banish his fears of losing support at the ballot box to Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party. Things could change once the withdrawal bill gets an airing, but Johnson’s election strategy, as I wrote Saturday, is now clear: It’s his deal or no deal.Having retreated once in Brussels, the withdrawal bill may be a hill Johnson can’t hold either. But once again, he could fall back, this time asking Britain’s electorate to arm him for the next battle with a bazooka: a parliamentary majority.(This column was updated with details of the plan to expedite the Withdrawal Agreement Bill.)To contact the author of this story: Therese Raphael at traphael4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: James Boxell at jboxell@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Therese Raphael writes editorials on European politics and economics for Bloomberg Opinion. She was editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

U.S. presidential hopeful Warren rallies with striking Chicago teachers

U.S. Democratic presidential contender Elizabeth Warren rallied with striking Chicago teachers on Tuesday, expressing support for the union's demands before the country's third-largest school system canceled classes for a fifth day. Warren, a U.S. senator from Massachusetts and former teacher, joined a crowd of hundreds of teachers and parents outside an elementary school to back the Chicago teachers' demands for more resources, and promised to boost funding for U.S. public schools if elected president in 2020.

Why Russia Is Angry at America's Missile Defense Systems

Moscow hates THAAD and Aegis Ashore.

Q&A: How a woman's death got tangled in Hong Kong politics

Around Valentine's Day last year, the decomposing body of a pregnant Hong Kong woman, 21-year-old Poon Hiu-wing, turned up in the tall grass near a riverside spot in a suburban area of Taipei, Taiwan's capital. The murder case was cited by Hong Kong's leader, Carrie Lam, as justification for amendments to the city's extradition laws, a move that many said would make suspects vulnerable to being sent to mainland China, where they could face torture and unfair trials. The release of the suspect Wednesday after serving a sentence for a separate offense and the legal tussle between Hong Kong and Taipei over his fate underscore deep political divisions between Taiwan's freewheeling democracy and independent judiciary and China's tightly controlled, authoritarian one-party system.

US far-right activists get four years in jail for attacking leftists

Two members of a US far-right group were each sentenced to four years in prison on Tuesday for brawling with anti-fascist demonstrators in New York, prosecutors said. The sentencing comes as tensions between white supremacists and leftists simmer in the United States. Maxwell Hare and John Kinsman, members of the Proud Boys group, were found guilty in August by a state court of several counts of attempted assault and rioting.

Iraq: U.S. troops crossing border from Syria don't have approval to stay

U.S. forces that crossed into Iraq as part of a withdrawal from Syria do not have permission to stay and can only be there in transit, the Iraqi military said on Tuesday.

Subaru Levorg, Bold New Station Wagon, Previews the Next WRX

The Levorg's chiseled looks and updated technology could reach our shores on other Subaru models, but, sadly, probably not in this form.

House Democrats’ Campaign Arm Directly Ties Its Moderate Members to Impeachment

A new mailer sent by the Democratic Party’s House campaign arm directly ties some of the party’s most vulnerable members to the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, creating the potential for political potholes for those members down the road. The mailer, which was obtained by The Daily Beast, pleads with donors to contribute to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to help support so called “Frontliner” members who hail from key swing districts.  “House Democrats are courageously standing up for our democracy, our national security, and the Constitution by launching an impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump,” reads the mailer. "As I write to you, every single member of the leadership and a majority of the House have stepped forward for our nation. The courage of these leaders and of our newly elected Frontliners should be an inspiration to all of us. We cannot let them down.” House Democrats Plan an Impeachment BlitzAs far as fundraising solicitations go, the DCCC mailer is not particularly provocative. Indeed, dozens of congressional Democrats have sent similar fundraising appeals based on the impeachment inquiry since Speaker Nancy Pelosi made it official on Sept. 24.But in trying to gin up donations off of the impeachment proceedings, the campaign committee has taken a notable gamble. The frontline members in the party are precisely the ones most publicly skittish about pursuing Trump’s impeachment—arguing, often, that it is a solemn responsibility or even a grave step that is fraught with political risk. That message could be complicated by the fact that the House Democratic campaign arm is now raising money explicitly for them and explicitly off of impeachment. "The survival of our democracy may literally depend on what we do here,” the fundraising solicitation reads. “Please rush your contribution to the DCCC today."The DCCC’s plea, sent directly to potential donors inside a letter that announces “ACTION NEEDED,” reflects a notable shift in how party leadership has approached impeachment. For months, Pelosi and DCCC Chair Cheri Bustos (D-IL) let it be known that they thought pursuit of impeachment was a massive political risk for the party, specifically endangering the gains that Democrats had made with more moderate voters. But polls have shifted in the Democrats’ favor since the impeachment inquiry began. A spokesperson for the DCCC said that “Democrats won back the House because the American people knew they’d work to bring down the cost of health care, fight to invest in the future of America’s economy, and take on corruption in Washington. That includes ensuring no one–not even the Presidentis above the law.”Even DCCC data has suggested that the issue of impeachment is now a toss-up among the public. Whether that data is the same in swing districts is not entirely clear. But what’s notable is that of the many Democrats who have sent impeachment-based fundraising appeals since the inquiry began, several were Frontliners who did not favor impeachment until the anonymous whistleblower’s account of Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president became public.Rep. Colin Allred–a Texas Democrat and impeachment holdout who flipped a longtime GOP seat in 2018–sent a fundraising email on Sept. 30: “The President of the United States may think he is above the law–but Colin Allred is holding him accountable!”Others have leaned on attacks from the DCCC’s rival, the National Republican Congressional Committee. “The NRCC is attacking Mikie for calling on Congress to use all of the tools at its disposal–including impeachment hearings–to determine whether President Trump pressured Ukraine to interfere in our elections,” said a Sept. 25 fundraising appeal from Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), another district-flipping freshman. Democratic fundraising professionals say that the impeachment push—and the Trump conduct at the heart of it—have inspired the party base in a rare way. According to Greg Berlin, founder and partner at Mothership Strategies, a Democratic digital fundraising firm, the first weeks of the impeachment inquiry and the Ukraine story have been one of the most significant non-electoral fundraising and activism moments among Democrats since the president fired former FBI Director James Comey in 2017.“This was so brazen, so out in the open, so obvious, that it really allowed the donors and activists to grab onto it,” he said. “We haven’t seen something with this kind of staying power in a very, very long time.”Indeed, Pelosi’s impeachment announcement—which came at the end of the third fundraising quarter of 2019—helped to fuel a strong fundraising quarter for the DCCC. It raised $27.4 million in Q3—with nearly half of that total coming in the month of September—which the committee says is its strongest third quarter ever in a non-election year. House Democrats head into the final months of 2019 with three times more cash on hand—$36 million—than their GOP counterpart.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get 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.

Seattle Public Schools Want to Teach Social Justice in Math Class. That Hurts Minorities.

Seattle’s public-school district has proposed a new math curriculum that would teach its students all about how math has been “appropriated” -- and how it “continues to be used to oppress and marginalize people and communities.”A draft of the curriculum, which was covered in an article in Education Week, would teach students how to “explain how math and technology and/or science are connected and how technology and/or science have (sic) been and continues to be used to oppress and marginalize people and communities of color,” as well as to “identify and teach others about mathematicians* of color in their various communities: schools, neighborhoods, places of worship, businesses, etc.”Education Week reports:> If adopted, its ideas will be included in existing math classes as part of the district’s broader effort to infuse ethnic studies into all subjects across the K-12 spectrum. Tracy Castro-Gill, Seattle’s ethnic studies director, said her team hopes to have frameworks completed in all subjects by June for board approval.> > If the frameworks are approved, teachers would be expected to incorporate those ideas and questions into the math they teach beginning next fall, Castro-Gill said. No districtwide—or mandated—math/ethnic studies curriculum is planned, but groups of teachers are working with representatives of local community organizations to write instructional units for teachers to use if they wish, she said.As strange as it may sound, this proposed curriculum is not the first time that someone has argued for teaching math in this way. In fact, in 2017, an online course developed by Teach for America -- titled “Teaching Social Justice Through Secondary Mathematics” -- instructed how to teach their students how “math has been used as a dehumanizing tool.” Also in 2017, a University of Illinois math-education professor detailed what she saw as some of the more racist aspects of math, claiming that “mathematics itself operates as Whiteness.”I wrote columns about both of these stories that year -- and, at the time, most people likely saw them simply as examples of “fringe” beliefs, confined to only super-progressive, ultra-woke circles. With the announcement of this Seattle proposal, however, we can no longer reassure ourselves that this is the case. Now, the social-justice approach to teaching math has officially entered the mainstream (and taxpayer-funded!) arena.This concerns me, and, believe it or not, that’s actually not because I despise “people and communities of color.” In fact, it’s quite the opposite: It’s because this approach to teaching math will only end up harming the very groups it claims it champions. As The American Conservative’s Rod Dreher notes:> The young people who are going to learn real math are those whose parents can afford to put them in private schools. The public school kids of all races are going to get dumber and dumber.Guess what? Minority students are far more likely to attend public school than whites. In fact, according to Private School Review, “[t]he average percent of minority students in private schools is approximately 28 percent.”In other words? The minority students, the members of the very groups that this curriculum presumably aims to aid, are actually going to be learning less math than they would have without it -- because they will be spending some of that class time learning about how math’s racism has hurt them. Ironically, one of the curriculum’s goals is to teach students how to “critique systems of power that deny access to mathematical knowledge to people and communities of color,” and yet, that’s exactly what the district itself would be doing with it.The historical contributions of communities of color are important, and students should study them. A better place to study them, though, would (quite obviously) be a history class, not a mathematics one. Mathematics classes should be for mathematics lessons; this is especially important considering the fact that math is exactly where American students (of all races) struggle compared to students in other countries. In fact, according to a Pew Research study from 2017, American students ranked 38th out of 71 countries in the subject. If we want to fix this, we need to focus more on math, instead of looking for ways to teach less of it in the very classes where our students are supposed to be learning it.The bottom line is: If Seattle’s school district really wants to help minority students excel in mathematics, the last thing it should be doing is proposing a math curriculum that would teach less of it in the schools that they’re most likely to attend.

Silicon Valley CEOs Appear to Have Chosen Their 2020 Candidate

(Bloomberg) -- The technology industry is looking for something different in a president in 2020. And it appears Pete Buttigieg is their candidate.While Joe Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren are topping national polls in the contest for the Democratic Party’s nomination, California’s deep-pocketed Silicon Valley is donating to the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana over the former vice president by a 5-to-1 margin.“Pete is a clean slate for the party in ways Biden can’t be,” said Cyrus Radfar, a 35-year-old technology entrepreneur and Democratic donor. “There’s new life and new energy that Pete brings, especially as the base of the Democratic Party is getting younger. I think he’s going to be on the national stage for a long time.”Buttigieg has staged a fundraising blitz in posh Northern California communities, holding events hosted by technology executives such as Netflix Inc. Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings, Nest Labs home-automation company co-founder Matt Rogers, and Chelsea Kohler, director of product communications at Uber Technologies Inc., among others.Were he to win, Buttigieg would not only be the youngest president, but also the first openly gay one. While he is successfully raising money, Buttigieg has struggled until recently to enter the top tier of candidates nationally.But there are signs that he could be a moderate voter’s alternative to Biden. While raising money in California, Buttigieg is campaigning heavily in Iowa, and it appears both efforts are paying off. A USA Today/Suffolk University poll of likely Iowa caucus goers put Buttigieg just behind Biden and Warren for the first time. Biden had 18% support, Warren 17% and Buttigieg 13%.Millennial voters in the tech industry say they appreciate that Buttigieg’s liberal policies seem grounded in reality and recognize “a cutthroat world,” as Elizabeth Moran, 28, put it at a debate watch party in Silicon Valley’s Sunnyvale. Moran, who works at Poshmark, a social commerce platform, said she likes Buttigieg’s grasp of economics.“Well-educated recognizes well-educated,” Moran said, adding that Buttigieg could have come to Silicon Valley after graduating from Harvard as many Ivy League graduates do.In other words, in their eyes, Buttigieg is like them.“There’s a big move on the Democratic side to more heavily regulate tech, and that hasn’t been part of Buttigieg’s message,” said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles. “His message is consistent with innovation and forward-looking technology. He has not given the impression that he would threaten their interests.”While he hasn’t said much about competition and antitrust, Buttigieg has focused on improving regulations as opposed to breaking up big tech.“We’re going to need to empower the FTC to be able to intervene, including blocking or reversing mergers, in cases where there’s anti-competitive behavior by tech companies,” he said in a CNN town hall in April, referring to the Federal Trade Commission.Buttigieg was his high school’s valedictorian and went on to Harvard, where he befriended two roommates of future Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and was one of the first 300 users on the social media platform. He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, joined McKinsey & Co. as a consultant, and volunteered for Barack Obama’s tech-savvy 2008 presidential campaign before joining the U.S. Navy Reserve and serving in Afghanistan.His relationship with Zuckerberg persisted. Zuckerberg, 35, visited South Bend in 2017 while doing research for his philanthropic organization, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and got a personal tour from Buttigieg. That relationship lasted into this year, when Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, recommended two people that Buttigieg ultimately hired for his campaign. Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for Zuckerberg and Chan, said the couple hasn’t yet decided whom to support for president.The Golden StateCalifornia voters have an unusually large influence in choosing the party’s nominee this cycle. The state primary next year is in March instead of its previous June slot and its donors contributed 1 of every 5 dollars raised by the party’s presidential candidates in the first six months of this year, data from the Center for Responsive Politics show.Buttigieg is second only to home-state senator Kamala Harris in the percentage of his campaign money that comes from California. Harris got 45% of her donations from Californians, Buttigieg got 22%.Harris, who was the state’s attorney general, raised $1 million from California lawyers, more than twice as much as any other candidate. She was also the top recipient of donations from employees of the entertainment industry. But California employees of tech companies, including giants like Facebook, Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp., backed Buttigieg more than any other candidate.Silicon Valley bundlers -- fundraisers who gather money from numerous employees of a firm -- have raised concerns about both Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders, who are relying primarily on small-dollar contributions from online donors.Warren is particularly thorny for the tech industry. She has vowed that she will not meet with big donors who want to “buy access” -- and perhaps more troubling for them, has promised to break up big technology companies. Some technology workers are contributing to Warren and Sanders, but few are writing the $2,800 checks that Buttigieg and Biden are relying on, likely because they’ve been quieter on the question of how to handle big tech.Buttigieg is positioning himself as a younger alternative to 76-year-old Biden. Like Biden, he has not embraced the progressive wing’s Medicare for All, instead proposing government-run health care “to those who want it,” without eliminating private insurance.In other areas, he hasn’t taken many unique stances, but his Midwestern and military background seeps into some plans. An issue page on his campaign website is simply called “Unleash rural opportunity,” and he has proposed eliminating some student debt in exchange for national service.Paul Holland, a California venture capitalist and fundraiser for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, said he believes a moderate has the best chance of winning. In his circles, Biden hasn’t attracted the same kind of enthusiastic support that other candidates have.“It’s Mayor Pete and Cory Booker who are getting most of the attention,” he said.Buttigieg himself drew the contrast between his candidacy and Biden’s during a Marin County event.“Every time we’ve won in our party it’s been with a candidate with new ideas, who hasn’t been on the scene for too long,” Buttigieg said. “That’s what works. Also, Americans are most likely to support the opposite of what’s in the Oval Office.”Among Buttigieg’s donors are Ron Conway, an investor who has guided San Francisco mayors to back tech-friendly policies; Scott Belsky, the chief product officer and executive vice president at Adobe Inc.; Tony Xu, CEO of Doordash Inc.; David Marcus, the head of Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project and Wendy Schmidt, wife of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.Buttigieg’s fundraising has been prodigious, but he’s still behind in national polls. He stands at just 5% in the RealClearPolitics national average, compared with 26% for Biden. And that raises pragmatic questions about who can win the Democratic nomination.“Even with his flaws, Biden is the guy who’s probably going to satisfy the moderates,” Holland said.To contact the reporters on this story: Bill Allison in Washington DC at ballison14@bloomberg.net;Jeffrey Taylor in San Francisco at jtaylor184@bloomberg.net;Sophie Alexander in San Francisco at salexander82@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Peter EichenbaumFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

South African airlines ground flights after faults found at SAA maintenance unit

South African Airways (SAA) and other carriers grounded aircraft and canceled domestic flights on Tuesday after South Africa's aviation regulator instructed the loss-making state airline to address problems at its maintenance unit. The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) said it had inspected a number of aircraft at SAA Technical and had issued a prohibition order until the faults it had found had been fixed. It did not disclose what the faults were or which aircraft type was affected, citing confidentiality agreements.

Kim orders South's buildings at resort in North be destroyed

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the destruction of South Korean-made hotels and other tourist facilities at the North's Diamond Mountain resort, apparently because Seoul won't defy international sanctions and resume South Korean tours at the site. Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday that Kim had visited the resort and described its facilities as "shabby" and lacking national character.

South Carolina police find remains of 5-year-old girl missing since August in landfill

The Sumter Police Department on Tuesday announced the remains of Nevaeh Lashy Adams were found after a search that began in August.

China Is Building 'The Mother of All Bombs': Report

America already has one.

Lebanon's Hezbollah under rare street pressure

When mass anti-government protests engulfed Lebanon, a taboo was broken as strongholds of the Shiite Hezbollah movement saw rare demonstrations criticising the party and revered leader Hassan Nasrallah. This shattered the myth of absolute acquiesence among Hezbollah's popular base, baffling even those who hail from the movement's strongholds. "No one ever expected that in any of these areas in south Lebanon we would hear a single word against Nasrallah," or Amal Movement leader Nabih Berri, said Sara, a 32-year-old activist who participated in protests in the southern city of Nabatiyeh.

President Trump is right to keep administration members from secret tribunals: Rep. Biggs

Speaker Nancy Pelosi should formalize the impeachment inquiry by a vote of the whole House, writes Rep. Andy Biggs, chairman of the Freedom Caucus

Hong Kong Government Formally Withdraws Extradition Bill That Ignited Protests

Hong Kong's government on Wednesday formally pulled the extradition bill that ignited months of violent pro-democracy protests.“I formally announce the withdrawal of the bill,” Secretary for Security John Lee announced to the Chinese territory's legislature, citing “conflicts in society” as his justification.Hong Kong has been roiled by protests throughout the summer, originally sparked by outrage over the extradition law, which Hong Kong residents say would allow Chinese authorities to effectively “kidnap” them with little evidence of criminality.However, the concern over the law has ballooned into fear that China plans to throw out its “One Country, Two Systems” policy regarding Hong Kong — and the withdrawal of the bill is unlikely to curb the protests.China has vowed a “severe” response to the protests and has accused demonstrators of terrorism.Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced last month that the extradition bill would be withdrawn. The protesters have since made several other broader demands including enhanced democracy for Hong Kong, an independent investigation into police conduct, and amnesty for protesters who have been arrested.

'Lost' Road Built by Christ's Executioner Unearthed

Pontius Pilate likely commissioned the street during or after 31 AD.

U.S. defense chief recuses himself from review of $10 billion cloud computing contract

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has removed himself from reviewing a disputed $10 billion cloud computing deal because of a possible conflict of interest, a move that could further delay the contract-award process. Esper has delegated decision-making on the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud (JEDI) program to Deputy Secretary David Norquist, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. "Although not legally required to, he (Esper) has removed himself from participating in any decision making ... due to his adult son's employment with one of the original contract applicants," chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Rath Hoffman said in a statement.

Russia's Military Has One Key Feature That Makes It A Force to Fear

2nd only to America.

Newt Gingrich and Whoopi Goldberg go at it on 'The View' over Trump's 'lynching' comments

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Whoopi Goldberg go toe to toe over Trump’s “lynching” comments on Twitter.

Sen. Lindsey Graham and a Fox News contributor threw a Hail Mary to keep US troops in Syria

The duo attempted to persuade Trump to keep a contingency force in Syria to help defend oil fields from Iranian interests, NBC News reported.

Unrest in Catalonia fuels China's accusations of Western 'hypocrisy'

China is seizing on violent protests in Europe and South America to bolster its condemnation of pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong and defend its handling of the unrest. Recent clashes in Chile and Spain's Catalonia region have added fuel to China's claims that Western governments and media have hypocritically supported Hong Kong's protests even while condemning violence at home. Chinese state media and officials have been weighing in on the unrest abroad in recent days.

Honduran woman accuses immigration agent of sexual assault over seven years

In a $10m lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, she says the officer threatened her with deportationA Honduran woman has sued the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency over sexual assault she says occurred over a period of seven years. Photograph: Bryan Cox/Associated PressA Honduran woman living in Connecticut has accused a US immigration agent of sexually assaulting her over a period of seven years under the threat of deportation, according to a federal lawsuit. The woman, identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe, sued the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), and the former Ice agent Wilfredo Rodriguez on Saturday, seeking $10m in damages.“My only comment is that my client had a choice: cooperate with Ice or be deported with her family,” said George Kramer, the woman’s lawyer. “She remains in a very fragile psychological state. She is not only seeking compensation for the physical and emotional damage she suffered but to change the way those who are cooperating with Ice are treated by those in a position of power and who often wield total control over the ability to remain in the United States.”An Ice spokesman told the Associated Press he couldn’t comment on litigation but confirmed Rodriguez no longer works for the agency. Homeland security didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.It was not immediately clear whether Rodriguez had a lawyer to speak for him, and a phone listing for him could not immediately be found, according to the AP.Tom Carson, a spokesman for the US attorney’s office in Connecticut, told the AP he could not comment on whether there has been or will be a criminal investigation.The woman first met the Ice agent in 2006 after her brother was arrested for entering the US illegally, according to the lawsuit.Rodriguez found out she was also living in the country illegally and said that to avoid deportation she would have to become an informant by helping Ice locate criminals. According to the lawsuit she did so, but, in 2007, Rodriguez sexually assaulted her in a motel.He called himself the “wolf” and said he was the reason she and her family weren’t deported, she says in the lawsuit.The woman alleges that the assaults continued and resulted in three pregnancies, each followed by abortions, one of which Rodriguez paid for. Later, he told her that he was leaving the agency but that if she told anyone what happened, “she and her family would pay”, according to the lawsuit.The woman finally told her story last year when her father, living in the US and fearing deportation because of her friendliness with Ice, applied for asylum. She opened up to an agent who approached her about her father’s application, the lawsuit says.The agent, she says, suggested she consult an attorney.

Making do with less: Mexican media bruised by president's austerity

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office in December promising to reduce public spending to free up more resources for the poor. Between January and August, Lopez Obrador's government spent 88 million pesos ($4.6 million) on advertising, just 3.6% of the sum spent in the same months of 2018 by his predecessor Enrique Pena Nieto, Public Administration Ministry (SFP) data show. The reduction in government publicity, which had accounted for 10% or more of advertising revenue for many outlets, has sparked layoffs and the suspension of projects in an industry still suffering disruption from the shift to the internet.

Japanese Emperor Naruhito ascends Chrysanthemum Throne

Three booming cheers of "Banzai!" rang out Tuesday at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo as Naruhito formally declared his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne as the nation's 126th emperor. As a driving autumn rain briefly gave way to sunshine and 2,000 guests looked on, Naruhito pledged at an elaborate, ritual-laden ceremony to serve as a symbol of the state for his people. The enthronement ceremony is the high point of several succession rituals that began in May when Naruhito inherited the throne after the abdication of Akihito, his father.

Canadian Court Rules against Transgender Activist Jessica Yaniv in Fight with Beauticians over Waxing

The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has ruled against Canadian transgender activist Jessica Yaniv in a case stemming from a complaint Yaniv filed against multiple female beauticians who refused to wax Yaniv’s male genitalia.“Self-identification does not erase physiological reality,” said Jay Cameron, a lawyer for the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, which represented the beauticians. “Our clients do not offer the service requested. No woman should be compelled to touch male genitals against her will, irrespective of how the owner of the genitals identifies.”The Tribunal said in its decision that Yaniv had had filed the “complaints for improper purposes,” and had contradicted herself in “disingenuous” testimony. Yaniv, who is sexually attracted to women, brought 15 complaints against a number of beauticians in the Vancouver area, seeking as much as $15,000 in damages from each one.“Most of the women who were the target of Yaniv’s complaints work out of their own home, are of immigrant background, and have small children with them in the house during the day,” the Justice Centre’s report said. Yaniv also apparently accused immigrants during the trial of discrimination for refusing service on religious grounds, writing earlier this year on Facebook that “we have a lot of immigrants here who gawk, judge and aren’t the cleanest of people, they’re also verbally and physically abusive, that’s one reason I joined a girl’s gym.”Yaniv is being ordered to pay $2,000 to three of the accused women, one of whom was forced out of business due to the case.In August, Yaniv was arrested for owning a taser, after brandishing it on camera during an interview about Yaniv’s alleged history of predatory behavior toward children. Screen-captured messages allegedly from Yaniv highlighted intimate questions to underage girls, and legal documents showed an attempt to organize a topless pool party for such girls.

Trump 'like a squirrel caught in traffic' during Pentagon meeting: Aide

In President Trump's first full briefing at the Defense Department, he requested a grand "Victory Day" parade with "vehicles and tanks on Main Street" and down Pennsylvania Avenue, like the "amazing" parade he'd just witnessed in France, Guy Snodgrass, a top aide to then-Defense Secretary James Mattis, recounts in his new book, "Holding the Line." "The Fourth of July is too hot," Trump added.

This 1 Invention Made Swedish Submarines Among the Best

A silent, powerful new engine.

Liberal-NDP Tally Exceeds 170 Seats: Canada Election Update

(Bloomberg) -- The combined tally of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals and the left-leaning New Democratic Party has climbed above 170 seats, potentially giving the prime minister an ally as he seeks to remain in power with a minority government.The Liberals were elected or leading in 152 of Canada’s 338 districts, according to preliminary results from Elections Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. The NDP, led by Jagmeet Singh, were sitting at 24, for a combined 176 districts. Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives, who pre-election polls showed were running neck and neck with the Liberals, had 120 districts.That said, preliminary returns showed the Conservatives had captured 33.9% of the popular vote, versus 33.8% for the Liberals.Trudeau Poised to Win Second Term, Fall Short of Majority (10:30 p.m.)Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is poised to win a second term in national elections, winning enough seats to form a minority government.The ruling Liberals were elected or leading in 150 districts, ahead of the 100 for the Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives, according to projections from the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. The parties need 170 seats to form a majority in the House of Commons.Trudeau extends lead as polls close across country (10:03 p.m)As results from Canada’s largest provinces begin to pour in, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party is holding its lead over Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives.The Liberals are elected or leading in 113 of Canada’s 338 districts, the Conservatives in 79, according to preliminary results from Elections Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. The separatist Bloc Quebecois was sitting in third place with 18, followed by the New Democratic Party with nine. If no party wins the 170 districts required for a majority, the winner would require the support of one of the smaller parties to remain in power.British Columbia polls closed at 10 p.m. eastern time.Trudeau In Lead as Most Polls Close (9:30 p.m.)Justin Trudeau’s ruling Liberal Party was on track to hang on to most of its seats in Atlantic Canada, as the next wave of results from Canada’s tight election were set to come in from Quebec all the way to Alberta in the west.With polls now closed in another 262 of the 338 districts, the Liberals won or were leading in 24 of 32 districts in the Eastern provinces, according to preliminary results from Elections Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. The Conservatives were ahead in six districts, while the New Democrats and the Green Party won or were leading in one each.Trudeau Posts Expected Atlantic Losses (8 p.m.)Justin Trudeau’s ruling Liberal Party was on track to lose roughly half a dozen seats in Atlantic Canada, as expected, as results began to roll in for what is poised to be one of the closest elections in the country’s history.The Liberals have won or were leading in 24 of 32 districts, according to preliminary results from Elections Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. The Conservatives were ahead in six districts, known as ridings, while the New Democrats were leading in one. In 2015, the Liberals swept the region, which accounts for less than 10% of the 338 up for grabs in the federal election. Trudeau was widely expected to retain most of his seats there while losing some from the 2015 results.Trudeau is seeking a second term as prime minister -- weighed down by scandal and voter fatigue but still poised to win more districts than any of his rivals, based on polling projections at the end of the campaign. Trudeau and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer were tied in popular support for much of the final week, though Trudeau’s support is spread more widely and in vote-rich regions like Ontario and Quebec.No party looks poised to win 170 districts required for a majority, meaning the winner will likely require the support of other parties to pass laws. As the incumbent, Trudeau has the right to continue to govern and test parliament for support, even if he wins fewer districts than Scheer.If Trudeau tries to govern with or without a plurality, it will likely force a leftward shift in his agenda. His most natural partner is the New Democratic Party, which is anti-pipeline, and wants more aggressive moves to combat climate change, higher taxes for companies and the wealthy, and the creation of new universal social programs.A Liberal government propped up by the NDP wouldn’t be an ideal scenario for Canada’s energy sector, already saddled with reduced oil prices due to pipeline bottlenecks. The prospect of that loose alliance may also send the Canadian dollar lower.There are many wild cards, including voter turnout, the strength of the separatist Bloc Quebecois, and whether Toronto’s vote-rich suburbs will break Trudeau’s way. The biggest question mark may lie on the West Coast. British Columbia, Canada’s third-most-populous province, looks like a dead heat among the Liberals, Conservatives and the NDP.To contact the reporter on this story: Josh Wingrove in Washington at jwingrove4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: David Scanlan at dscanlan@bloomberg.net, Stephen WicaryFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Trump news – live: Pentagon official set to testify in impeachment probe, as Biden extends poll lead over 2020 Democrat rivals

Bill Taylor, acting US ambassador to Ukraine, told the House impeachment inquiry on Tuesday he was informed military aid to the country was “dependent” on president Volodymyr Zelensky agreeing to publicly announce a corruption probe into Donald Trump’s 2020 rival Joe Biden, confirming the existence of the suspected quid pro quo at the heart of the Democratic-led investigation.President Trump attempted to distract from the deposition by describing the inquiry as “a lynching” and one of his key defenders in the subsequent outcry, senator Lindsey Graham, has now announced he is planning to table a resolution in the Republican-held upper chamber condemning the House’s activities.

Driver dies days after pickup collided with small plane

Patrick J. Schounard died from injuries he suffered when a single-engine aircraft attempting to land collided with his pickup truck in Wisconsin.

An Air France flight was forced to turn back in midair when staff found an unattended cellphone that wasn't claimed by any of the passengers

Air France flight 136 to Chicago from Paris landed at Ireland's Shannon Airport, where the police scanned a cellphone found on board.

North Mexico city of Culiacan cleans up after cartel fight

CULIACÁN, Mexico (AP) — Residents of the northern Mexico city of Culiacan tried to get back to their routines Tuesday, five days after gunmen from the Sinaloa drug cartel sowed terror across the city. Hundreds of cartel gunmen took to the streets with heavy weaponry Thursday to open fire on soldiers and police, seeking to force the release of a drug lord held by a military patrol. It now patrols the city streets in trucks and armored vehicles.

Iraqi Kurds turn to Zoroastrianism as faith, identity entwine

Zoroastrianism. Years of violence by the Islamic State jihadist group have left many disillusioned with Islam, while a much longer history of state oppression has pushed some in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region to see the millennia-old religion as a way of reasserting their identity. "After Kurds witnessed the brutality of IS, many started to rethink their faith," said Asrawan Qadrok, the faith's top priest in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.

Kremlin: preparations for Normandy summit on Ukraine have ground to a halt

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that preparations to organize a four-way summit aimed at finding a resolution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine had effectively ground to a halt. A breakthrough in talks last month appeared to open the way to a possible summit between Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany, known as the Normandy Four. "Preparations can't be conducted at the moment because the demands of one of the parties are constantly changing," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday. He did not say which side he was talking about.

Your History Book Missed It: In 1921, Great Britain and America Nearly Went to War

A U.S. invasion of Canada? What would have happened? One thing is for sure: our world would be a very different place.

Biden Regains Lead Over Democratic 2020 Rivals in New National Poll

A new CNN poll shows former vice president Joe Biden surging past his 2020 opponents and retaking the lead in the race to the Democratic presidential nomination after falling behind for several weeks.Biden enjoys the support of 34 percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning registered voters, the highest level of support CNN has recorded since just after his campaign's April launch, according to the poll, which was conducted by SSRS and published Wednesday.Trailing him are Senator Elizabeth Warren at 19 percent and Senator Bernie Sanders at 16 percent. South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Kamala Harris are at 6 percent each, Senator Amy Klobuchar and former El Paso congressman Beto O'Rourke are at 3 percent, and businessman Andrew Yang polls at 2 percent.Biden's newfound lift can be attributed to increases in support among several key Democratic demographics. Forty-three percent of moderate and conservative Democrats now support Biden, compared to just 29 percent last month, while 42 percent of racial and ethnic minorities support the former vice president, up from 28 percent last month. Biden has seen an increase in support among both older and younger voters as well.The spike in support for Biden comes as his campaign weathers controversy over his son Hunter Biden's business dealings in Ukraine, which have also become a focal point in the impeachment investigation against President Trump.During a July 25 phone call with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump asked Zelensky to help his administration investigate allegations that Biden used his position as vice president to help Ukrainian natural-gas company Burisma Holdings avoid a corruption probe soon after the younger Biden was appointed to its board of directors.Biden vigorously defended himself and his son during the Democratic debate earlier this month, saying neither had committed any wrongdoing.“Look, my son did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong,” Biden said. “I carried out the policy of the United States government in rooting out corruption in Ukraine.”The CNN poll was conducted from October 17 through 20 and surveyed 1,003 adults, 424 of whom were registered Democratic voters or Democratic-leaning independents. The margin of error is 3.7 percentage points for the entire poll and 5.8 points among potential Democratic voters.

A Tenn. county official called Pete Buttigieg a slur. It sparked calls to boycott Dollywood

Following his remark, Commissioner Warren Hurst went on to say, “I’m not prejudice, but by golly a white male in this country has very few rights."