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Court says banks must give Congress Trump records

A US federal judge on Wednesday rejected an attempt by President Donald Trump to block Congressional subpoenas sent to two banks for records related to his businesses. Lawmakers from the Democrat-controlled House of Representative's finance and intelligence committees in April sent Deutsche Bank and Capital One requests for documents related to Trump and his Trump Organization as part of a larger probe into election meddling by Russia. The investigation is particularly focused on the relationship between Trump and Deutsche Bank, one of the few major banks to continue lending him money after a series of bankruptcies in the 1990s.

Pentagon Will Present Plan to Send Thousands More Troops to Middle East, Officials Say

No decision about sending troops has been made amid tensions with Iran

In new charges against Assange, groups see cause for concern

WASHINGTON (AP) — New charges filed against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange quickly drew alarm Thursday from media organizations and others. The groups are concerned that the Justice Department is charging Assange for actions that ordinary journalists do routinely in their jobs.

Memphis teen overcomes homelessness to earn $3 million in scholarships, valedictorian honors

Tupac Mosley, 17, received $3 million in scholarships and was recognized as his high school's valedictorian at Raleigh Egypt High School in Memphis.

Huawei handsets draw fewer clicks after U.S. ban: PriceSpy

"It's not just network providers and tech giants who are turning their backs on Huawei," said Vanessa Katsapa, UK and Ireland country manager at PriceSpy. "Over the last four days, Huawei handsets have slumped in popularity – receiving almost half as many clicks as they did last week in the UK and 26% less on the global stage," Katsapa said. PriceSpy compiles data from customers in Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the UK.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi loses his home seat in humiliating election defeat

The Indian National Congress Party went from understated optimism to shellshocked defeat within the space of a few hours on Thursday as Narendra Modi and his party celebrated another landslide victory. For the Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, the performance by his party was nothing short of a humiliation, with several members of his own party demanding he step down and lay the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to rest for good. Mr Gandhi suffered the sting of losing the iconic seat of his family homestead in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, which he had held since 2004  and was controlled by his father before him. He won in his second constituency – candidates can run from two in India – but the symbolism of the defeat was one from which he may never recover. Modi vowed to build an 'inclusive' India after a first term marred by accusations of fomenting religious hatred Credit: AFP At a brief press conference as the results were still coming in, Mr Gandhi congratulated Mr Modi and said “the people are king and they have directed that the BJP and Modi have won this election”. He added: “I don't want to get into what went wrong today, this is not the time for that. I fully respect the Indian people's decision.” During the briefing he also conceded defeat in the Amethi election and congratulated his opponent Smriti Irani, of the BJP, who was more than 28,000 votes ahead at the time. Congress party officials did not return calls by The Telegraph but there were widespread reports in Indian media that the party had wildly miscalculated the margin of any potential loss with its internal polling, and now all that was left was to call for its talisman's head. “If they want to change anything, change the leadership,” a Congress official in Rajasthan told Reuters, referring to Mr Gandhi and the party's high command. “You need to give young people a chance.” However Mr Gandhi, 48, will probably not face an immediate leadership challenge as India's establishment party does some soul searching after an inglorious defeat. Some reports claimed Mr Gandhi had offered to resign. “According to sources, Sonia Gandhi and senior Congress leaders advised him to bring up the matter before the party forum,” reported India Today TV. “The CWC (Congress Working Committee) will meet in a week in which the proposal will be discussed,” it added. Ironically the youthful pretender had grown into his role as leader in the past 18 months after previously being seen as a reluctant heir to his political lineage which stretched back to India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. He campaigned vigorously and was not shy on calling out Mr Modi on the economy, national security, Hindu nationalism and women's rights. After a while the media started to take notice. However behind the scenes his inability to foster good relations with a host of regional party leaders that could have generated a tenable anti-Modi alliance may have damaged his chances. "The BJP fought these elections on the basis of social and religious divisive policies and the agenda was set by them on this basis," said Atul Kumar Anjaan, national secretary of the Communist Party of India, a potential ally.  "But more significant is the fact that the unity of the opposition has been damaged by the Congress. The policies and decisions of Rahul Gandhi has weakened opposition unity, led to divisions and opened the doors for Modi's victory.” Congress has ruled India for most of its history since independence from Britain in 1947, and boasts three prime ministers from the Nehru-Gandhi clan. But its weak performance in the last two elections seems to suggest it needs a drastic change of direction to take on someone with Mr Modi's political savvy.

Missouri: destructive tornado leaves three people dead and severe damage

Series of devastating storms led to multiple tornadoes, leaving people injured and trapped in homes as torrid weather pummels parts of midwest A large and violent tornado has left at least three people dead in Missouri as torrid weather continues to pummel parts of America’s midwest. A series of devastating storms hit the area on Wednesday night leading to multiple tornadoes. The region has already endured days of torrential rain and flooding. The National Weather Service confirmed that the deadly tornado moved over Missouri’s capital, Jefferson City, shortly before midnight. “Across the state, Missouri’s first responders once again responded quickly and with strong coordination as much of the state dealt with extremely dangerous conditions that left people injured, trapped in homes, and tragically led to the death of three people,” Governor Mike Parson said. Authorities said the three were killed in the Golden City area of Barton county, near Missouri’s south-west corner, as the severe weather moved in from Oklahoma, where rescuers struggled to pull people from high water. Kenneth Harris, 86, and his 83-year-old wife, Opal, were found dead about 200 yards from their home, and Betty Berg, 56, was killed and her husband, Mark, seriously injured when their mobile home was destroyed, authorities said. The tornado hit during a week that has seen several days of tornadoes and torrential rains in parts of the southern plains and midwest. No deaths were reported in the capital, but city police officials said about 20 people were rescued by emergency personnel as the tornado caused damage to multiple buildings. Emergency workers reported about two dozen injuries, Williams said, and around 100 people went to shelters. Hospitals reported treating injuries such as cuts and bruises. The weather service reported that a “confirmed, large and destructive tornado” was observed over Jefferson City at 11.43pm local time on Wednesday, moving north-east at 40mph . The capital city has a population of about 40,000 and is located about 130 miles west of St Louis. “It’s a chaotic situation right now,” said Lt David Williams of Jefferson City police. A car is trapped under the fallen metal roof of the Break Time gas station and convenience store in Jefferson City, Missouri. Photograph: David A Lieb/AP The tornado was described as a “wedge”, meaning it was wider than it was tall. According to reports it moved at 40mph at some points, and dispersed debris 13,000ft into the air, including overturning vehicles. The weather service said it had received 22 reports of tornadoes by late Wednesday; some could be duplicate reporting of the same twister. One tornado skirted just a few miles north of Joplin, Missouri, on the eighth anniversary of a catastrophic tornado that killed 161 people in the city. The tornado caused some damage in the town of Carl Junction, about four miles north of the Joplin airport, where several injuries were reported. Storms and torrential rains have ravaged the midwest, from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. Authorities urged residents of several small towns in Oklahoma and Kansas to leave their homes as rivers and streams rose. Deaths from this week’s storms include a 74-year-old woman found early on Wednesday morning in Iowa. Officials there say she was killed by a possible tornado that damaged a farmstead in Adair county. Missouri authorities said heavy rain was a contributing factor in the deaths of two people in a traffic accident on Tuesday near Springfield. A fourth weather-related death may have occurred in Oklahoma, where the highway patrol said a woman apparently drowned after driving around a barricade on Tuesday near Perkins, about 45 miles north-east of Oklahoma City. The unidentified woman’s body was sent to the state medical examiner’s office to confirm the cause of death. Keli Cain, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma department of emergency management, said she was not yet listed as what would be the state’s first storm-related death. Catastrophic flooding in the area even swept some homes into a river. The Associated Press contributed reporting

Trump's $16 Billion Farmer Trade Aid Package Leaves Few Happy

The Trump administration unveiled its latest package Thursday to help farmers hurt by the trade war with China, including $14.5 billion in market facilitation payments directly to producers and $1.4 billion in government purchases to be distributed through school lunch programs and local food banks.

Alabama Republicans call for Supreme Court to reconsider Roe v Wade in wake of abortion ban vote

Top politicians in Alabama have resulted to publicly calling for the Supreme Court to review Roe v Wade in the wake of the state passing the most severe restrictions against abortions in America. Del Marsh, one of the 25 all-male senators who voted for the abortion ban earlier this month, defended the legislation against criticism for not including exceptions for rape or incest by saying its sole purpose is to challenge the Supreme Court’s 1973 ruling. “At the end of the day, the bill passed with the only exemption the health of the mother,” he said in an interview with Sky News. “What I voted for was a bill to get to the Supreme Court to challenge Roe v Wade.”“That’s what the instrument is,” he continued. “We understand that this is not the end game. The federal courts are going to have to make a determination. What we're trying to do is force, then reconsider. That's what this is all about."Alabama’s abortion ban arrived amid a national trend in which states are passing restrictive legislation surrounding women’s reproductive health. Kentucky, Ohio, Georgia and Mississippi have also approved similar laws in which abortions on banned when a fetal heartbeat is detected. Those restrictions can occur six weeks into a pregnancy, when most people are not yet aware they are with a child. Not all states have taken a conservative approach towards abortion access in recent months, however. Nevada’s state legislature passed a bill relaxing decades-old policies surrounding abortion that critics said deterred women from seeking access. Alabama’s Governor Kay Ivey also called for the Supreme Court to reconsider its landmark ruling when signing the abortion ban. “Many Americans, myself included, disagreed when Roe v Wade was handed down in 1973,” she said in a statement at the time. “The sponsors of this bill believe that it is time, once again, for the US Supreme Court to revisit this important matter, and they believe this act may bring about the best opportunity for this to occur.”The wave of bans have sparked major protests across the country, with many 2020 presidential hopefuls speaking out against the restrictive measures against women’s reproductive rights. “Our democracy only works when the people of this country stand up and demand it,” Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York senator running for the White House, said at a StopTheBans rally in Washington on Tuesday. “Do not allow this moment to pass without putting everything you have behind it … organise, advocate and vote.”

Schiff blasts Trump's authorization to declassify documents related to 2016 campaign surveillance

Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Rep. Adam Schiff calls the move 'dangerous' and 'un-American'; Ellison Barber reports from the White House.

Jayme Closs: Abductor 'tried to steal me'

BARRON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin teenager Jayme Closs said Friday she wanted to see the man who kidnapped her and killed her parents "locked up forever," saying "he tried to steal me. And he didn't care who he killed or who he hurt."

Stealth History: The F-35C Is Now Ready For War If the U.S. Navy Needs It

By 2025, the Navy's aircraft carrier-based air wings will consist of a mix of F-35C, F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers electronic attack aircraft, E-2D Hawkeye battle management and control aircraft, MH-60R/S helicopters and Carrier Onboard Delivery logistics aircraft such as the Navy Osprey tiltrotor aircraft variant.As the F-35C becomes officially deemed “operational” and “ready for war," the Navy is adding weapons, sensors and software to the aircraft to expand its attack envelope --- and may even increase the F-35s ability to carry up to 6 air-to-air weapons in its internal weapons bay.Such a configuration, which would increase the stealth fighter’s internal weapons load by two missiles, has been designed and implemented by F-35-maker Lockheed Martin -- as an offering for the Air Force and Navy to consider.“Lockheed Martin has matured design concepts to integrate 6 air-to-air missiles within the internal weapons bays of the F-35A and F-35C variants,” Lockheed Martin spokesman Michael Friedman told Warrior in a written statement.While making a point to emphasize that any decision to increase the weapons capacity of the F-35 would of course need to come from the military services themselves, Lockheed engineers say the new “internally carried” firepower would massive increase attack options -- all while preserving the stealth configuration of the aircraft.

Mobile chip titan Qualcomm faces setback with US antitrust ruling

Smartphone chip giant Qualcomm suffered a fresh blow in its antitrust battle as a US federal judge ruled that it "strangled competition" for years at the expense of consumers and device makers. Qualcomm shares sank some 10.8 percent Wednesday to close at a one-month low after the ruling that the company violated antitrust law, in a case with major implications for the smartphone market. US District Judge Lucy Koh ordered Qualcomm to change its pricing and sales practices, after finding it "engaged in anticompetitive conduct" toward customers like device makers Huawei of China, South Korea's Samsung and Japan's Sony.

What to Do If You're Missing Facebook's Face Recognition Setting

Facebook says that users who are missing the company’s Face Recognition control can opt out of the platform’s use of facial recognition technology by turning off another setting, Tag Suggestions....

Chip designer ARM halts work with Huawei after U.S. ban

Huawei, in common with Apple Inc and chipmakers such as Qualcomm, uses ARM blueprints to design the processors that power its smartphones. "ARM is complying with the latest restrictions set forth by the U.S. government and is having ongoing conversations with the appropriate U.S. government agencies to ensure we remain compliant," an ARM spokesman said in a statement. "ARM values its relationship with our longtime partner HiSilicon (Huawei's chip arm) and we are hopeful for a swift resolution on this matter." Huawei said it valued its close relationships with its partners, but it recognized the pressure some of them are under "as a result of politically motivated decisions".

Michael Avenatti charged with defrauding Stormy Daniels

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Avenatti, the attorney who rocketed to fame through his representation of porn star Stormy Daniels in her battles with President Donald Trump, was charged Wednesday with ripping her off.

The 'AOC primary': Can Warren steal the prized endorsement away from Bernie?

While the Democratic star says she'll support whoever wins her party's nomination, she's leaning toward two candidates.

Outcry after Trump officials reveal sixth migrant child died in US custody

Ten-year-old girl from El Salvador died on 29 September ‘due to fever and respiratory distress’ after complications with surgery Children and workers at a tent encampment near the Tornillo port of entry in Tornillo, Texas, on 19 June 2018. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images The Trump administration has been forced to reveal that a 10-year-old migrant girl died in its custody more than seven months ago, sparking further outcry after a spate of recent migrant child deaths while detained by the US government. The 10 year-old girl from El Salvador is the sixth child to die in custody in the past eight months. Her death was not previously reported by authorities and was only made public late on Wednesday after a report by CBS News. The child’s name and how she entered the US has not been made public by authorities, but a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which administers the care of unaccompanied minors, told CBS the child had a history of congenital heart defects. The spokesman said the child was taken into the custody of an Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) facility in Texas on 4 March last year in a “medically fragile” state. The girl underwent surgery and was left in a coma after complications with the procedure. She was eventually transferred to a children’s hospital in Nebraska and died on 29 September “due to fever and respiratory distress”. The revelations follow the announcement of another child death in custody earlier in the week. Carlos Hernández Vásquez, 16, an unaccompanied minor from Guatemala, was found dead in immigration custody in south Texas. The teenager had been held in custody by US border patrol for a week, twice the time that is legally allowable. Reports indicate the teenager had been diagnosed with flu before his death but it remains unclear what, if any, treatment he received for his illness from authorities. Carlos is the fifth child from Guatemala to die in immigration custody over the past eight months. Wilmer Josué Ramírez Vásquez, two, died earlier this month after being taken into custody in April and falling sick. Juan de León Gutiérrez, 16, an unaccompanied minor, died on 30 April after falling ill in detention in south Texas. Felipe Gómez Alonzo, eight, died in December 2018 in New Mexico after falling sick in custody. And Jakelin Caal Maquin, seven, died the same month after contracting sepsis in custody. Jess Morales Rocketto, chair of Families Belong Together, a group that campaigns against the forced separation of migrant families after crossing the US-Mexico border, said: “Yet another tragedy on our watch.” She added, about the latest report: “It is simply outrageous. It is unacceptable that the nation is hearing about this tragedy for the first time eight months after her death, and it raises serious questions about how many other migrant children’s deaths the Trump administration either doesn’t know about, doesn’t care about or is sweeping under the rug.” Congressional Democrats are calling for an investigation into the death of the 10-year-old girl as US border agents temporarily closed the primary migrant processing facility in south Texas due to an outbreak of poor health conditions. Although HHS was not legally required to make the death of the 10 year-old public, a number of Democrats have accused the Trump administration of a cover-up. the former US housing secretary and Democratic candidate for president Julián Castro‏ described the administration as “morally bankrupt” for withholding the details.

The Latest: Runaway barges cause 'minimal' damage to dam

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on severe weather moving across the central United States (all times local):

Google unveils a fresh new look for Search on mobile devices

Google unveiled a new look and feel today for the way it presents Google Search results on mobile, and the update has been regarded in a few corners now as somewhat News Feed-like.It's easy to see why that's the case, as the search giant's changes include putting emphasis on a website name and favicon above the search results. Whereas the source of results had previously not been so clearly emphasized, which makes the new design for showing results feel a little like scrolling through a feed of posts from publishers and the like."With this new design, a website's branding can be front and center, helping you better understand where the information is coming from and what pages have what you're looking for," explains Google Senior Interaction Designer for Search Jamie Leach in a company blog post today. "The name of the website and its icon appear at the top of the results card to help anchor each result, so you can more easily scan the page of results and decide what to explore next."The post notes that the refreshed look for what's arguably Google's most important product will start showing up to users over the coming days. As part of the changes, Leach continues, when you search for a product or service and Google feels like it's got a relevant, "useful" ad that would be worth including in the results, you'll now see an ad label in bold at the top of a search results card. The web address will also be included, so you can quickly determine where the information you're seeing is coming from.The other important thing to note about the Google Search refresh on mobile is that this also lays the foundation for Google to add more action buttons and information previews to search results cards, with Google wanting you to be able to now do everything from buying movie tickets to playing podcasts right there from within the results. "Our goal with Search always has been to help people quickly and easily find the information that they're looking for," Leach says. "Over the years, the amount and format of information available on the web has changed drastically -- from the proliferation of images and video to the availability of 3D objects you can now view in AR." Which is why the company thought a "visual refresh" of Search on mobile would do a better job of helping people find the information they need and quickly determine where it came from.

Abortion rights groups sue to block Alabama's near-total ban

The near-total abortion ban in Alabama is scheduled to go into effect in November, but Planned Parenthood and the ACLU are suing to block it.

NASA unveils schedule for 'Artemis' 2024 Moon mission

NASA on Thursday unveiled the calendar for the "Artemis" program that will return astronauts to the Moon for the first time in half a century, including eight scheduled launches and a mini-station in lunar orbit by 2024. The original lunar missions were named for Apollo -- Artemis was his twin sister in Greek mythology, and the goddess of hunting, wilderness and the Moon. Administrator Jim Bridenstine confirmed that Artemis 1 will be an uncrewed mission around the Moon planned for 2020.

Facebook accused of leaving 'broken children' in wake of its commercial aims, abuse inquiry hears

Facebook has been accused of leaving 'broken children' as collateral damage in the wake of their commercial aims, the child sex abuse inquiry has heard. Barrister William Chapman, representing the victims of abuse at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), said social media companies were not preventing paedophiles reaching children as it was “contrary to their business model” and that their apps needed to be “fundamentally redesigned”. Police also warned that tech firms were going ahead with plans to encrypt more features "in the certain knowledge" it would lead to more children being abused. The warnings came as the inquiry’s hearing into online child abuse drew to a close yesterday. Over the last fortnight IICSA has heard evidence from Facebook, Apple, Microsoft and Google about their efforts to combat child abuse online. Giving his closing statement, Mr Chapman singled out Facebook as the “unacceptable face of social media”, citing that over half of reported grooming offences in 2017 and 2018 related to the company or its Instagram and WhatsApp apps. William Chapman giving his closing address to the inquiry He said that social networks scanned for evidence of abuse after it happened and that they now needed to change their business model to stop abusers easily contacting children. Mr Chapman said: “What they will not do, because it is contrary to their business model, is to restrict the opportunities for abuse before it takes place.” He added: “They leave behind broken children like so much collateral damage. “Money, they say, is no object but none you heard from has a dedicated budget to tackling this problem.” Among the recommendations being made to the inquiry on behalf of victims are for tech companies pay compensation to those abused via their services and that a new criminal offence be made of posing online as a child online without a reasonable excuse. Mr Chapman also accused tech companies of not giving the inquiry a “straight answer” about the scale of abuse on their sites and selectively releasing figures without context. Earlier in the hearing Microsoft failed to provide figures for how many children had been groomed on its live chat services Xbox Live and Skype and Facebook was similarly unable to say how many registered sex offenders had been caught using its services. “It is not acceptable to hide the extent of the problem on your platform in a black box out of which you prick pinholes for others to see only hints of the full horror within," said Mr Chapman. Later in the hearing, Debra Powell QC, speaking for the National Police Chiefs Council, warned that tech giants' plans to make ever more services encrypted would lead to more children being abused. Last month Facebook announced plans to add end-to-end encryption to its 1.3 billion-user Messenger service, meaning not even it will be able to see the content of messages. Ms Powell said: “Currently many technology companies are building in and offering to their users ever greater privacy protections, including end-to-end encryption, in the certain knowledge that this will make the detection and prevention of child sexual abuse and exploitation more difficult. “The inevitable result must be that more children will be abused and exploited and that their ordeals will go on for longer before the perpetrators can be caught, if they are caught at all.”

Explainer: China's rare earth supplies could be vital bargaining chip in U.S. trade war

Rare earth elements are used in a wide range of consumer products, from iPhones to electric car motors, as well as military jet engines, satellites and lasers. Rising tensions between the United States and China have sparked concerns that Beijing could use its dominant position as a supplier of rare earths for leverage in the trade war between the two global economic powers. WHAT ARE RARE EARTHS USED IN?

Trump Justice Department Crosses New Line, Charges Assange With Publishing U.S. Secrets

Daniel Leal-Olivas/GettyIn a stunning escalation of the Trump administration’s war on the press, the Justice Department has indicted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for revealing government secrets under the Espionage Act. It’s the first time a publisher has been charged under the World War I-era law.The indictment charges Assange with 16 counts of receiving or disclosing material leaked by then-Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2009 and 2010. The charges invoke broad provisions of the Espionage Act that make it a crime to disclose or retain any defense information knowing it “could be used to injure” the U.S. The act has no exception for reporters or publishers, but prior administrations have balked at invoking the law against journalists for fear of colliding with the First Amendment. The Justice Department immediately sought to draw a distinction between Assange and the press in a briefing for reporters announcing the new indictment.“The department takes seriously the role of journalists in our democracy and we thank you for it,” said John Demers, head of the department’s National Security Division. “It has not and never has been the department’s policy to target them for reporting. But Julian Assange is no journalist.” Demers cited WikiLeaks’ publication of the names of U.S. government sources, saying it endangered people in China, Iran, and Syria.WikiLeaks on Twitter called the prosecution “the end of national security journalism and the First Amendment.”Assange is currently serving an 11-month sentence in the U.K. for jumping bail in a Swedish rape investigation, while the U.S. pushes its request to extradite him to the United States on computer hacking charges revealed in April. He was kicked out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London that month after taking refuge there from authorities for seven years. The leaked documents comprised 250,000 State Department cables, 90,000 Army field reports from Afghanistan and 400,000 from Iraq, and 800 detainee assessment briefs from Guantanamo Bay. Assange released most of that material without redaction, and the new indictment claims that the U.S. sources identified in the leaks were put in harm’s way as a result. “By publishing these documents without redacting the human sources’ names or other identifying information, Assange created a grave and imminent risk that the innocent people he named would suffer serious physical harm and/or arbitrary detention,” the indictment alleges. He is also charged with two counts of conspiracy for allegedly working with Manning to violate the Espionage Act and the anti-hacking Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The FBI and federal prosecutors in Alexandria, Virginia, first began investigating Assange in 2010 and amassed a wealth of internal WikiLeaks chats and documents from informants and subpoenas. But the Obama administration was reluctant to indict Assange. A former senior Justice Department official told The Daily Beast last month that the Trump administration saw Assange’s case as a way to pursue its war on leaks. “There was renewed interest under the new administration to revisit issues of what qualifies as the media and to look back at the Assange case,” said Mary McCord, who was acting head of DOJ’s National Security Division. Despite the barrage of leaks in the years following the Manning disclosures, there were signs as early as 2017 that the Justice Department was still focused on the leaks that first put WikiLeaks on the map. A witness at the grand jury proceedings that produced Thursday’s indictment told The Daily Beast that prosecutors were specifically probing Assange’s reluctance to redact his leaks for any reason.“They showed me chat logs in which I was arguing vehemently with him about releasing documents that would leave people vulnerable and put people’s lives at risk,” said David House, a former WikiLeaks volunteer, in an interview last March. “That was the only thing they put in front of my face that made me think, ‘This may be what they’re going after him for.’”No U.S. sources are known to have come to harm as a result of the leaks, likely in part because of a massive remediation effort launched in the weeks before Assange published the material. The indictment takes pains to distinguish WikiLeaks from conventional journalism outfits in other ways as well, quoting Assange’s own description of his site as an “intelligence agency of the people” and lingering on Assange’s chats with Manning in which he encouraged and guided the soldier in the leaking. It also claims Manning deliberately sought out military secrets that were listed on a “most wanted leaks” section on WikiLeaks’ website.None of this is strictly relevant to the Espionage Act. If the Justice Department included these details to make the Assange prosecution more palatable to journalists and free speech advocates, it’s not working.  “Any government use of the Espionage Act to criminalize the receipt and publication of classified information poses a dire threat to journalists,” said Bruce Brown, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in a statement.  “This is an extraordinary escalation of the Trump administration’s attacks on journalism, and a direct assault on the First Amendment,” said the ACLU’s Ben Wizner. “It establishes a dangerous precedent that can be used to target all news organizations that hold the government accountable by publishing its secrets.”How Assange Could Beat the U.S. and Stay Out of JailRead 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.

Trump calls 'treason' on Comey, McCabe and 'a number of people'

President Trump on Thursday escalated his attacks on those involved in launching the federal investigation into his campaign’s contacts with Russia, saying “a number of people” are guilty of treason.

The Real Green New Deal Doesn’t Belong to AOC

Climate change has long been a disaster in the making, but until recently the American public tended to treat it as an afterthought. The Green New Deal brought climate change front and center, and made Americans think about big bold solutions instead of technical tweaks and half measures. The think tank Data for Progress has a plan that actually predates Ocasio-Cortez’s, but which goes into much greater detail about how to combat climate change both at home and abroad.

Group seeks $100M for woman killed by US border agent

HOUSTON (AP) — Advocates demanded $100 million in damages Thursday on behalf of the family of a 20-year-old Guatemalan woman who was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent last year.

This is what the Galaxy Note 10 might look like

With May almost over, we're some two months away from the next major Android phone launch. The Galaxy Note 10 will likely drop in early August, and it'll come in as many as four versions, according to recent reports, including two differently sized 4G phones, and their respective 5G counterparts.The Galaxy Note 10 will not share the Galaxy S10's design, reports keep telling us, but it won't feature a perfect all-screen design either. We're still looking at an Infinity-O hole-punch screen design and a multi-lens camera on the back of the Note 10, but both the rear and selfie cameras will have different placements.One leak suggested that the Galaxy Note 10's selfie camera will be placed in the center at the top of the phone, while the camera module on the back will have a vertical orientation instead of horizontal, as is the case on the Galaxy S10 phones. As a result, PhoneArena created the following renders of a potential Galaxy Note 10:On the front, we have a curved Infinity-O display with a smaller camera hole at the top.On the back, meanwhile, the camera module has four distinct lenses, and it's positioned in the top-left corner. If Samsung is ditching the horizontal camera layout, then the cameras will have to go in one of the two corners. Most phone makers tend to place their cameras near the left corner, so the renders make sense, assuming these leaks are accurate.What's interesting to point out is that the Galaxy Note 10 will also feature a built-in stylus, whose housing is also on the left side, when looking at the phone's rear. In other words, Samsung has to factor in all these details when designing the new Note. The extra cameras and stylus take up a lot of space inside the phone and could affect battery size.There's also one other practical reason for slightly tweaking the phone's design, making it stand out from the crowd of Galaxy S, A, and Note models. Recycling the Galaxy S10 design for the Note 10 could hurt sales of the latter. The rumored tweaks above, meanwhile, would give the Note 10 its own personality.

Runaway barges smash into dam

This incredible video shows two barges that became loose during flooding on the Arkansas River, and then crashed into the Webbers Falls Lock and Dam in Oklahoma on May 23.

Rape and incest account for hardly any abortions. So why are they now a focus?

Just 1% of women obtain an abortion because they became pregnant through rape, and less than 0.5% do so because of incest.

India's Congress leader Rahul Gandhi faces backlash over election drubbing

The drubbing was so bad that Gandhi himself lost the traditional family seat in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. As vote-counting trends on Thursday showed Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning more than 300 seats against just 49 for Congress, current and former party officials blamed a lackluster campaign and a failure to overhaul its top team. "If they want to change anything, change the leadership," said a Congress official in the western state of Rajasthan, referring to the old guard around Gandhi.

Trump says US-China trade deal could include Huawei

President Donald Trump on Thursday for the first time linked a dispute over telecom giant Huawei, which he views as a threat to American security, with a deal to resolve the US-China trade war. "Huawei is something that is very dangerous," Trump told reporters at the White House. The two sides have hardened their stands over Huawei, with the US blacklisting the smartphone and telecommunications company over worries that China uses it as a tool for espionage, while Beijing has accused Washington of "bullying" the firm.

The Latest: Tornadoes move through southwest Missouri towns

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Latest on storm damage in the Southern Plains and Midwest (all times local):

Oregon State Student Dies After Falling 100 Feet While Taking Photos at Scenic Lookout

A junior student at Oregon State University died on Sunday May 19 after falling 100 feet from a scenic viewpoint on the Oregon coast.

Is the stock market closed for Memorial Day?

U.S. stock and bond markets are closed on Monday to observe Memorial Day. Foreign financial markets will be open.

Pound Investors Are Bailing Out as May’s Fate Deepens Brexit Chaos

Investec Asset Management, Aberdeen Standard Investments and Pictet Asset Management SA are cutting sterling positions or staying on the sidelines as Britain’s political turmoil reignites uncertainty around the nation’s exit from the European Union. With a senior minister resigning to add pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May to abandon her deal with the EU and quit, the risk of a disorderly Brexit is back on the radar. Sterling slid to a four-month low near $1.26 Thursday and is on the longest losing streak on record versus the euro amid concern that May’s successor could take Britain out of the bloc without a deal or call an early election.

The top 10 Memorial Day sales we are shopping this weekend

This year, there is certainly no shortage of awesome Memorial Day sales

China says lodged solemn representations with U.S. over Huawei

China said on Thursday it had lodged solemn representations with the United States after it escalated a trade war between the two countries by placing Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd on a blacklist for U.S. suppliers. No further trade talks between top Chinese and U.S. negotiators have been scheduled since the last round ended in a stalemate on May 10, the same day U.S. President Donald Trump sharply increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and took steps to levy duties on all remaining Chinese imports.

Teen arrested in attack on off-duty firefighter defending elderly couple on Upper East Side

The 17-year-old suspect told reporters that he was "defending his friend." He's charged with second-degree assault.

Trump fires back at Pelosi: 'She's a mess'

The president offered a different account of his infrastructure meeting with the House speaker and the Senate minority leader.

India's ruling party takes 303 of 525 seats in election win

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with leaders of his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday following his thunderous victory in national elections.

The 2020 Cadillac CT5-V Officially Debuts May 30

Could the 500-plus-hp Blackwing V-8 make its way under the hood of Cadillac's newest sports sedan?

Today’s top deals: Apple Watch Series 4 sale, $22 true wireless earbuds, $180 off Dyson V10, AirPods 2, more

Yesterday's daily deals roundup was our most popular one of the month so far, which means we had to dig extra deep to follow it up on Thursday. Highlights from today's roundup include your last chance to get wildly popular true wireless earbuds for just $22.49 (clip the 5% coupon and use the promo code S3SM57YQ at checkout), all-time low prices starting at just $349 on a bunch of different Apple Watch Series 4 models, the best-selling Bluetooth earbuds on all of Amazon for just $15.29 if you're a Prime member, a rare $20 discount on AirPods 2 earbuds (order now and they'll ship as soon as they're back in stock), discounts on two popular Instant Pot models, rock-bottom prices on renewed MacBook Pro with Touch Bar models for one day only, a new all-time low price on the Dyson V10 Motorhead cordless vacuum, SanDisk 200GB microSD cards within pennies of the lowest price ever, and more. See all of today's best deals below.